Think Through: Poetry of Ancient Rome.

1. Both of the poems, to me, seemed to be saying to not ever get to curious. In "Seize the Day", the writer was saying to "not ask the forbidden question." And stating that "acceptance was much better". Some things in life you can't always ask why, or how, you just have to go with the flow of things, and accept things as they are, even though you may not always agree with the decisions made. In "Better to Live, Licinius..." the writer was saying to play things safely, that there isn't much room to wonder or aim high. It was saying how you should always stay in your comfort zone, and not exceed your safety net because those who do end up dead. Which I believe isn't true at all, because in order to live you have to take risks, or else you'll be left wondering your whole life "what if".

2. The speaker suggests that Leuconoe should live for the day because you should live every day as if it's your last. Enjoy life as it is, because many people take it for granted. Life, something you can never get back, and it can be gone in an instant. Live your life one day at a time.

3. The speaker means that a person in their who's in their comfort zone, being smug and is happy with where they are, should steer away from the risky parts of life. If your life is already perfect, why would you want to risk messing it up by venturing into the unknown? He's saying to not stick your neck out, like the giant pine and the tallest towers, because they have too big an ego, and are quickly struck down. Be happy about where you are, but don't become to egocentric because as soon as you do, someone will become upset, and just cut you down.

4. I think that "Better to Live, Licinius..." contrast is the most effective out of the two poems. In this poem, the speaker gives more examples to let you get the full visualization of the situations. You can really picture exactly what he's saying, and understand his tone, where as in "Seize the Day" it was just short and simple. It really didn't leave room for much visual concepts.

5. I would say that both of these poems are more for teaching aspects rather than delight. They both teach a valuable lesson, which aren't really for delight. "Better to Live, Licinius..." was more delightful out of the two, though, because you could really get a visualization going along with the different stanzas.

6. "Better to live, Licinius, not always rushing into deep water, and not, when fear of storms makes you shiver, pushing to the dangerous coast". This image really made me connect with the speakers words. I could really understand that if you're happy how you are, you wouldn't want to take a dumb risk, like going into rough deep water. That would risk your life and everything that you love. Certainly you shouldn't take a risk because your friends, or someone tells you to...you always have to consider the situation, and how risky it really is. If it's something like your life being at stake, then obviously you wouldn't take the risk related to that outcome.

7. "Seize the Day", in my opinion serves better advice. I agree that everyone has limitations, and only the person knows what exactly those limitations are. You can't force your body or your mind to do something that it's not capable of. If you had asthma, and you knew that the farthest you could run was a half mile, then you'd do a half mile. You certainly wouldn't risk an attack, by doing a full mile, because you know that your limit is eight-hundred meters.

8. "Trim your hopes to fit your limits". I don't think that I completely agree with this. As a kid, everyone told me that I could grow up to be whatever I pleased. As long as you have the desire and passion for your aspiration, then I truly believe that you can get there and be successful. However, if your goal is to become the king or queen of a country, now that can't happen, because you can't choose to be royalty, you're born into it.