Horace II.14 Haiku

Eheu Postume,
senectam et mutuum
ibit omne.

Haiku Carpe Diem

Si carpe diem,
dum nec credes posterum,
nec reseco aestam.

Epicurian

In the story of "The List," Epicurian philosophy can be found. The note of things to do which Toad creates can be seen as the God and Goddesses of Roman religion. To Epicurus, they would not bother to pay attention to the mortal world, and so mortals should not rely on the Gods to do everything for them. Toad relied on the note to tell him what to do, and when it abandoned him by blowing away in the wind, he was lost and just sat doing nothing. Therefore, it can be tied back to Epicurian philosophy, by saying that the note, like the Gods, should not have so much devotion placed into it, and that people should be more independent. Another Epicurian theme from Frog and Toad was the story "Cookies." It taught that overindulgence that makes you happy is a good thing, but if it is not permanent, then the pleasure is not real. Epicurus did not want overindulgence of food to be part of his philosophy, but people somehow connected it to that over the years. At the end of the story however, toad was not happy.
A third story, called "It's Mine," showed that true please came from sharing and enjoying the time you had with others. Before, the three frogs of the story would always be greedy and bicker, some Epicurian philosophy discouraged, but when they worked together, they were much happier. So the story reinforced the idea of unnecessary pleasure and true pleasure.

Horace

According to Epicurian philosophy, poem I.9 would go against some of the teachings. For example, the line "permitte divis cetera, qui simul stravere ventos aequore fervido deproeliantis" (line 9-11) suggests that the Gods will take of Thaliarchus. In Epicurian philosophy, the gods do not care about what happens to mortals, they only care about their own business.
However, it does follow the idea of attaining pleasure. "Quid sit futurum cras, fuge quaerere et quem Fors dierum cumque dabit, lucro appone nec dulcis amores sperne puer neque tu choreas, donec virenti canities abest morosa" (line 13-18) shows that Horace is encouraging people not to worry about things and to enjoy life while you can. Happiness, in this case, also comes from the pleasures of sweet love and dancing. Epicurus claimed that true pleasure was that which was not temporary and to avoid greed, ambition, ans superstitions. Dance and love do not fall into those categories. Therefore, Horace would be encouraging Epicurian philosophy this way.

Haiku

Sibili serpens
implicavunt Laocoonum,
et tum depascunt.

Sinon's Story

Sinon's story was a big factor into tricking the Trojans into accepting the wooden horse, Ajax. Certain elements made it believable. One of which was how he put small facts into his lie. One of the truths was the background story of Palamedes, a general who was put to death for treason. He explained some background story of the war which the Trojans were already familiar with. Also, he included how Apollo wanted him as a sacrifice, even after he gained the vigin sacifice he required in order to let them go into battle. Again, the Trojans already knew of these details, so it made the story seem to have enough truths to make it believable. Sinon also used the fact that Odysseus was known to be a very tricky man, and made him be the bad guy of the story. This would help him gain the pity points he would need from the Trojan, who fought again him.
Another way that Sinon's story was effective on the Trojans was that he included the Goddess, Minerva, in his story. He claimed that the wooden horse was made as a gift to her, and if the Trojans were to do any damage to it, as Laocoon had, then terrible things would happen. However, if they accepted the horse, then they might have good things bestowed on them. By using their beliefs against him, Sinon was able to, perhaps, scare the Trojans into taking in the horse. Since Laocoon had been eaten by snakes afterword, it was the final event that made Sinon's story effective and encouraged the Trojans enough to take in the horse.

Haiku: 254-271

Sator Iuppiter,
fatur de fatum Iulo;
patro longius.

Great Man Question

In the story, the poet's characterization of the great man prompts us to compare him with Aeneas himself. In lines 148-150, an angry, unruly mob of people is described, "saevitque animis ignobile vulgus iamque faces et saxa volant, furor arma ministrat." Then, they stop to a screeching halt when "pietate gravem ac meritis si forte virum quem conspexere, silent arrectisque auribus astant; ille regit dictis animos et pectora mulcet" (lines 151-153). The fact that his presecence is just needed to shut everyone up shows that he is a well respected man, which Aeneas is, since he is a brave, respectful war general. Also, Aeneas has shown to be a man who speaks well in front of others and later on encourages his men to not give up home and to battle through whatever obstacle they face. This also relates to how the great man's words settled down the uneasy mob of people. So, by looking at how the great man was able to gain attention quickly and uses his words to control the people and win them over, it can be paralleled to Aeneas and how he is able to keep the respect of his men and touch their hearts with his words, too. Both use words before violence.

Haiku in Latin

Eurus, Zephyrus,
punemini atque tum
misistis domo.

Haiku 92-101

Oh fortunate men,
who can perish with honor
under Troy's high walls.

Epics

When thinking about an epic, one of the first things that came to my mind was the classic movies by George Lucas, Star Wars. In order for it to be an epic it needs the details which make up an epic, most of which I found easily. For one thing, it's a lengthy story which first started by showing an already captured Princess Lea right after a quick intro is given. This sort of drop off "in media res" is a common trait for epics. Later on, we are introduced to our main protagonist, Luke Skywalker, who will eventually have single combat with Darth Vader, the main antagonist. Before this battle, however, he goes on numerous quests in order to become a Jedi master, yet another element which makes an epic story.
Although there is a bit of comic relief in the movies, the overall tone of them is quite serious, and the characters face periods of upheaval and trials for their task at hand of saving the galaxy from the evil Empire. The classic struggle of good versus evil make these movies a true epic.