The Epicurean philosophy of Horace’s Odes has something vital to teach those today who are besieged by anxiety and stress. While Epicurean philosophy misses the mark concerning what justice, the good, and freedom are, there is an important kernel of truth that I believe is extremely important for us to consider.
Life in our modern age is often consumed with an endless appetite. People are obsessed with more possessions, more money, and more power. This unquenchable thirst for more pleasure leads to empty and unfulfilled lives with no centering philosophy to tell individuals and families that there is more to life than being consumed by passion and worry. What I have described above is not a uniquely modern ague but is eerily reminiscent of life in the decadent late Roman Republic. Horace tells his ancient Roman readers (and by extension, his modern readers) to reject these endless desires and be content with simpler yet more important things. In Ode XVIII, he says,
“My wits abound, mine honour I support.
Me poor the rich men court.
I dun not heav’n for more, my craving ends.
Nor worry I my friends
Though potent, for new gifts, content to own
My Sabine farm alone.” [1]
Beseeching heaven for more not only adds unnecessary worries to our lives, but also presumes we can understand and control the will of heaven. Horace tells us that once he stopped asking the gods for more, he learned to be content with his simple life: his wits, his honor, a life that causes his friends not to worry for him, and his humble farm. It does not seem that he has cast aspersions on heaven; he just stopped trying to use it as a crutch to control his fate.
Similarly, another ode orders us to
Ask not of fate to show ye, —
Such lore is not for man, — …
Far nobler, better were it,
Whate’er may be in store,
With soul serene to bear it…
Be wise, your spirit firing. [2]
Asking fate to reveal its secrets is an act of presumption upon the gods and only leads to heartache. It is better to live simply. This disposition bears a striking similarity to Christ’s words in the Gospel of Matthew, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,” for worry cannot “add one cubit to his span of life.” [3]
These lines have personal meaning for me. Last year, my wife and I were in and out of the hospital and doctors’ offices due to our six-month-old son having respiratory distress and my wife having heart-related conditions. I have discovered that few things cause more worry in your life than concern for the well-being of your child and wife. I found myself thinking of Horace’s words to remember that additional worry would not help heal my child or provide comfort to my wife, who was in even greater distress. What truly helped was trying to enjoy little things when we were home together: getting up at 3 a.m. to change his diaper so my wife could sleep, comforting my son as he struggled to breathe normally, and most importantly, holding him as he slept in my arms peacefully. While I believe my faith helped me even more than Horace ever could, as I knew that my son was safe in the Lord’s hands, Horace’s words helped me to keep my fears at bay. The long hours spent in waiting rooms helped me to order my relationship with my son and my wife.
Horace’s viewpoint on life enriches our idea of justice, the good, and the life of the free man. Horace’s words cultivate the proper internal disposition for the pursuit of higher things. They orient us toward deeper truths so that we might more fully grasp and take them to heart. I know that I might not have found a silver lining in my stay at the hospital without Horace’s wisdom.
One could still argue that Horace describes a frivolous life, as a simple life does not necessarily mean a better one. While that claim does hold a certain amount of truth, it is only valid if Horace’s life is the culmination of the good life. The simple life enables our pursuit of justice and the life of the free man. If we are bogged down by the worries of the world in its many forms, i.e., the passions, our ability to pursue justice and freedom is severely hindered, thus limiting our ability to strive for justice. Plato understood this, as he founded his Academy outside the walls of Athens to limit the distractions that life within the city might elicit.
Epicureanism coheres with justice as defined in Plato’s Republic: the right relationship of the parts to a complex whole. If we first order our lives, and therefore our souls, by living according to Horace’s Epicurean ideas—i.e., to control or eliminate our passions—our ability to embody the ideals of justice in The Republic has a more realistic chance of success, just as I tried to do while caring for my wife and son. I do not claim that I was successful in that endeavor—only that I tried my best to control my worry and order myself more justly. The life Horace describes is a life that encourages us to control our passions, and if our passions are in control, we can more easily order our life and soul as Plato illustrates in the Republic. And we may truly live out the maxim of Jesus: “Do not be anxious.”
[1] Horace, The Odes, trans. W. E. Gladstone (New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1894), 68. [2] Ibid, 54. [3] Matthew 6:25-27 (RSVCE).
