“Carpe diem”
Another Augustan poet who lived through troubled times was Horace. He sought to adapt to the Augustan era by blending Greek and Roman literary traditions into his poems. Horace was a prolific writer who produced works on various topics, including philosophy, politics, personal relationships. He portrayed himself as a great supporter of Augustus, and in his poems, his constant flattery of the emperor made him a very favorable poet in the Roman Principate. In his Odes, for example, he celebrated the achievements of the royal family and talked about significant events within the Principate, albeit without broader context. Though Horace is considered a person with eclectic philosophy, he focused on Epicurean philosophy in his Odes, constantly referring to the idea of "carpe diem" or harvesting the day. This idea first originated in Book I of the Odes, and this idea is significant because it expressed a lifestyle change that members of the Roman world faced during the transition of regimes. As Horace wrote in the Odes, "Harvest the day, place in the hours that come as little faith as you can." This idea of “carpe diem” is of utmost importance to Horace (and other Epicurean philosophers). Horace advocated a life of poverty and recommended grasping and taking the opportunity of whatever we could. He wanted his audience to live a modest life and enjoy life to the fullest in a not so perfect society. This could show the balanced and harmonious life under Augustus and encouraged the poem's readers to seek a good life themselves instead of relying on other external factors, such as the regime.