In “Odes,” Horace wanted to apply the old way of Roman life to the Age of Augustus and Julius Caesar. Horace tried to tackle different kinds of human emotions within the poem, stating that death takes everyone. No one can be freed from death’s grip, so you should seek tranquility in this life. He accepted Stoicism and Epicureanism as acceptable ways of thought. 

The poet warned readers not to be too aggressive or too cautious. He said since death is inevitable, fortune and luck do not really exist, their only existence is the devil playing games with men. Horace wrote that both good times and bad times will come and go, adding that there is no such thing as personal sovereignty and that ethics is the leader of most decisions. 

In 35 BC, Horace wrote a series of poems in a book called “Satires,” a satirical book about Greek and Roman philosophy and the gods. According to “Satires,” people who say they are discontented with their lot are not ready to swap conditions with the more fortunate. Horace also said that money doesn’t buy happiness and he did not understand man’s quest for wealth. Horace warned to not equate yourself with your wealth, because it is a path to destruction. 

Five years after the first “Satires” book, Horace released a second part which included many more poems. Horace advised people against being overcritical, and wrote that readers should regard other’s faults as lightly or as harshly as they would regard their own faults. Moreover, “Satires” revealed that punishments should not be too harsh, and should only be as punitive as the crime committed.