Omnis linquenda est,
frustra evitAmus mortem,
mors facienda est.
Everything must be left behind,
we avoid death, in vain,
death must happen.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
haiku I.11
CapiAs diem,
moriAris hodiE,
ita vive nunc!
You should seize the day,
for you may die today,
so live now!
(while you can...)
moriAris hodiE,
ita vive nunc!
You should seize the day,
for you may die today,
so live now!
(while you can...)
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Epicurus' Philosophy & Modern Philosophy
To start, there is Epicurus' philosophy. His basic philosophy was to not worry about the little things in life and to just be happy by enjoying pleasures that outweight the pain in life. He believed people should live more in the moment and not get too worried. In modern philosophy, it seems his ideas live on. The three philosophy excerpts I have chosen are "A List", "Mouse Cookies", and "Verdi".
In "A List", Toad makes a list of things to do for his day and crosses each one out once he has done it. When he goes out with Frog, though, his list blows away. Once this happens, he feels as though he is unable to do anything else since he can't remember what was on the rest of the list. Obviously, this is not what Epicurus would have wanted him to do. Toad should not worry so much about all the little things, like his list, and just enjoy his day. In the end, although technically he is still worrying about his list, he kindof does just enjoy his day. Him and Frog go to sleep, and are happy. This shows that once you just relax and don't worry so much, you can enjoy lifes pleasures and be happy.
Next, there is "Mouse Cookies". In this story, once the mouse is given one thing, he keeps asking for another. The cycle goes on, and, it probably never ends. This definitely goes along with Epicurus' philosophy: temporary pleasures do not give you happiness. This concept really is self explanatory, considering something temporary cannot last forever. The mouse gets something like a cookie or makes a picture, but, he always wants more. People always want to get things that will make them happy, they just go about it the wrong way, like the mouse. Instead of focusing on the big picture, living in the moment, and enjoying true pleasures, he asks for little things that won't last forever and won't really even make him that happy. Epicurus believed that you must get real hedone, true pleasure, in order to be happy, and in being happy, you live a full life.
Lastly, we read the story "Verdi". Here, Verdi starts out as a young snake and wants to avoid being like the old, lazy 'greens'. He tries incessantly to keep from getting old. He tries to be the fastest he can be to not get old, he tries to jump the farthest to not get old, he even tries covering himself in mud to not be who he truly is. Clearly, he spent too much time worrying about this instead of just enjoying life. In the end, it seems as though he realizes his mistake. First, he just stays in the trees and examines the wild he is in. He enjoys the moment, he experiences true pleasure. Once he is completely old, he meets young snakes, trying to avoid the same thing he tried to avoid. He sees this and then plays with the other snakes. Thus, he really did experience hedone. Once he stopped worrying about getting old and trying to keep his stripes, he really enjoyed the pleasures around him and in his life. He sat back, relaxed, and was happy. This was true pleasure and so he ended up following Epicurus' philosophy and really did live a truly happy life.
In "A List", Toad makes a list of things to do for his day and crosses each one out once he has done it. When he goes out with Frog, though, his list blows away. Once this happens, he feels as though he is unable to do anything else since he can't remember what was on the rest of the list. Obviously, this is not what Epicurus would have wanted him to do. Toad should not worry so much about all the little things, like his list, and just enjoy his day. In the end, although technically he is still worrying about his list, he kindof does just enjoy his day. Him and Frog go to sleep, and are happy. This shows that once you just relax and don't worry so much, you can enjoy lifes pleasures and be happy.
Next, there is "Mouse Cookies". In this story, once the mouse is given one thing, he keeps asking for another. The cycle goes on, and, it probably never ends. This definitely goes along with Epicurus' philosophy: temporary pleasures do not give you happiness. This concept really is self explanatory, considering something temporary cannot last forever. The mouse gets something like a cookie or makes a picture, but, he always wants more. People always want to get things that will make them happy, they just go about it the wrong way, like the mouse. Instead of focusing on the big picture, living in the moment, and enjoying true pleasures, he asks for little things that won't last forever and won't really even make him that happy. Epicurus believed that you must get real hedone, true pleasure, in order to be happy, and in being happy, you live a full life.
Lastly, we read the story "Verdi". Here, Verdi starts out as a young snake and wants to avoid being like the old, lazy 'greens'. He tries incessantly to keep from getting old. He tries to be the fastest he can be to not get old, he tries to jump the farthest to not get old, he even tries covering himself in mud to not be who he truly is. Clearly, he spent too much time worrying about this instead of just enjoying life. In the end, it seems as though he realizes his mistake. First, he just stays in the trees and examines the wild he is in. He enjoys the moment, he experiences true pleasure. Once he is completely old, he meets young snakes, trying to avoid the same thing he tried to avoid. He sees this and then plays with the other snakes. Thus, he really did experience hedone. Once he stopped worrying about getting old and trying to keep his stripes, he really enjoyed the pleasures around him and in his life. He sat back, relaxed, and was happy. This was true pleasure and so he ended up following Epicurus' philosophy and really did live a truly happy life.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Horace I.9 (Epicurus)
Horace's poem seems to be the quintessence of Epicurus' philosophy. He starts out with telling the fictitious Thaliarchus to look at what is around him and how to dispel the cold, while still enjoying pleasures(fire and wine). He further goes on to say to him, "Quid sit futUrum cras, fuge quarere" in line 13, basically to live in the now and to not let the worry of tomorrow get in your way. Epicurus' philosophy was just that, to not fret upon tomorrow or the pain that may be in the future. His philosophy was to enjoy the moment and enjoy the pleasures of today. Horace's poem is about not letting the cold get in your way and not letting the pleasures of "dulcIs amOrEs", line 15, slip past you. To wrap up, Epicurus' philosophy is that of living in the moment and just trying to be happy, with as little pain as possible. Horace's poem is a direct relation to this philosophy, as if Horace had Epicurus' lesson plans in front of him while writing this poem. Horace does not want love to be looked past and also, he does not want "quem Fors diErum cumque dabit" to be worried about. When analyzing Horace's poem as Epicurian philosophy, the relations and connections are present through line 1 to line 24.
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