HANDBOUND AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
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ED/TED FOR USE AV SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF
EDWARD P. MORRIS, M.A.,
PROFESSOR OF LATIN IN YALE UNIVERSITY AND
MORRIS H. MORGAN, Ph.D.,
PROFESSOR OF CLASSICAL PHILOLOGY IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY
HeilSnxM
HORACE THE ODES, EPODES
AND
CARMEN SAECULARE
EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTARY, BY
CLIFFORD HERSCHEL MOORE, Ph.D.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF (IREEK AND LATIN IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY
NEW YORK •:■ CINCINNATI •:• CHICAGO
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY
Copyright, 1902, bv EDWARD P. MORRIS and MORRIS H MORGAN.
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London.
MOORE, HORACE. VV. P. I
MEMORIAE PATRIS
PREFACE
In preparing this edition of Horace's lyrical poems, I have had in mind the needs of freshmen and sophomores. The introduction is intended to give the necessary infor- mation as to the poet's Hfe and writings. The text is the vulgate, although in some passages I have preferred the better manuscript tradition. As young students require no little help if they are to understand as well as translate the Epodes and Odes, I have not limited my commentary to the baldest aids, but have tried to give such assistance in interpretation as may help students to some apprecia- tion of Horace's art and charm. The best illustrations naturally are furnished by the poet's own works ; but I have endeavored to show his relations to his Greek models by quoting from them as freely as my space and judgment allowed. To all the more difficult Greek passages I have appended translations, both for the benefit of those who cannot call themselves docti serniones titrmsque linguae, and in the hope that these translations may secure the originals more attention than students generally give to them. I have further given a number of quotations from the later Latin poets to indicate in some degree the ready acceptance which Horace's skillful phrases found among his successors. In writing my notes I have drawn freely on the fimd of illustrative material which is now common property ; like every other editor, I am indebted to Keller
7
8 PREFACE
and Holder's first volume ; and I have used most of the important foreign annotated editions, especially Orelli's fourth edition, and those of Schiitz, KiessHng, and Mueller. Although for obvious reasons I have avoided consulting any American edition, I am aware that my debt to Pro- fessor Smith's excellent book, which I have used in my teaching for some years, must be greater than I know. In the three or four places where I have detected direct in- debtedness, I have acknowledged it.
The notes to the earlier Epodes are rather full, as I firmly believe that at least Epodes i, 2, 7, 9, and 16 should be read before the Odes ; but since many teachers do not hold this view, I have adapted my commentary on the first book to meet the needs of beginners there also.
I am under obligations to many for criticism and help. My thanks are especially due Miss S. H. Ballou, Instructor in the University of Chicago, for the valuable assistance she gave me in the earlier part of my work ; also to Pro- fessor Morris, who kindly gave me the benefit of his criti- cisms on my notes to the first two books of the Odes ; but above all to Professor Morgan, whose suggestions and criticisms have been of the greatest value at every stage. Notice of errors and suggestions of every kind will be gratefully received by me.
CLIFPORD HERSCHEL MOORE.
Harvard University, June I, 1902.
CONTENTS
Maps:
Central Italy .....
The Valleys of the Anio and the Digentia
Introduction :
Horace's Life, Works, and Characteristics Manuscripts, Scholia, and Editions Metres Syntax
Odes, Books 1-3
Book 4 .
Carmen Saeculare
Epodes
Index to First Lines
INTRODUCTION
I . Early Life and Education. — Quintus Horatius Flaccus was born Dec. 8, 65 b.c, at Venusia, a colony founded in the time of the Samnite Wars, on the borders of Apulia, near Lucania. His father had been a slave, but was free at the time of Horace's birth, so that the son was ingenuus. His mother is never men- tioned, and it is probable that she died while the child was too young to remember her. His father was by profession a coactor, a collector of moneys for goods sold at public auctions, who by his thrift acquired a property sufificient to provide his son with the best education obtainable in his time. In later years Horace paid a most sincere tribute of gratitude to his father's devotion and sagacity. From him he learned a rude but practical code of morals, and it is undoubtedly to his influence that we may at- tribute the poet's marked characteristics of moderation, temper- ance, and self-control ; to his father's training was also due Horace's habit of observing men and manners, which bore fruit in the shrewd and searching comments on life which have en- deared him to many generations of men.
Up to the age of nine or ten Horace enjoyed such education as the local school in Venusia afforded. Then his father, whose sole ambition was to provide his son with the best education that could be had, unselfishly gave up his business at Venusia, and took the boy to Rome. Here he gave him proper attendants, provided him with suitable dress that he might not be ashamed among his high-born and wealthy schoolfellows, and with rare devotion attended the boy h\m?,e\{ 2i^ paedagogus.
§ i] INTRODUCTION
During the next nine or ten years Horace received the ordinary literary and rhetorical training ; under the rod of the schoolmaster Orbilius, whom he has immortalized with the adjective plagosus {Epist. 2, I, 70), he studied Latin literature, reading the works of Livius Andronicus and other old Roman poets, for whom he apparently felt little admiration ; his studies also included the I/iad and probably other Greek classics, and we can hardly doubt that this early study of Greek literature roused that enthusiasm for it which lasted all his life.
In his twentieth year Horace went to Greece to finish his studies at Athens, which had become a kind of university town to which it was the fashion for young men of his generation to resort. Among his fellow students were Cicero's son, Marcus, and M. Valerius Messala. During the next two years he heard lectures by the leaders of the various philosophic schools, without being seriously attracted by any one system. Speculative thought had little interest for him, or indeed for his fellow countrymen in general ; questions relating rather to conduct interested the Roman mind, and while Horace never gave himself up to any system of ethics, Epicureanism attracted him at first ; on growing older he turned more and more to the teachings of the Stoics, as the Stoic maxims and paradoxes in his odes abundantly testify ; yet no one had a keener sense than he for what was absurd in Stoic practice. His good sense always tempered his philosophy, and in all matters of conduct he steered a middle course. It is also most probable that during his stay in Athens he continued his study of the Greek poets, particularly of Archilochus and the early lyricists, especially Alcaeus and Sappho, who afterward be- came his chief models. At this time he was ambitious to excel in Greek verse, but wisely forsook the practice later ; yet his consummate skill in handling his own language must have been due to his early exercises in Greek. By studying in Athens he had further the negative advantage of escaping the influence of Alexandrianism which prevailed at Rome and affected all con-
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION [§ i
temporary poets. There, too, he made many friendships which lasted him through life.
In the autumn of 44 B.C. Brutus came to Athens, where the people received him with enthusiasm as a liberator. The young Roman nobles and Horace as well were attracted to his cause. Why the freedman's son was given the office of military tribune in the conspirators' army — a position for which he had no training — it is hard to say, and the appointment not unnaturally aroused envy at the time. It is probable, however, that Horace had already made some reputation among his fellow students as a skillful versifier, and Brutus' love of literature induced him to prefer the youth. Of Horace's military service we know little ; his writings show a familiarity with some islands of the Aegean and the famous cities of Asia, which was probably gained at this time, and it is certain that he shared in the defeat at Philippi in 42 B.C. No doubt he gave as good an account of himself during his two years of service as his fellows ; the ironical description of his flight at Philippi (C. 2, 7, 9 f.) is imitated from Archilochus and Alcaeus, and is not to be taken seriously.
The defeat of the conspirators' cause brought a crisis to Horace's life, and at the age of twenty-three taught him the meaning of the vicissitudes of fortune ; it seems also to have cured him of any political or social ambitions he may have cherished. He gradually accepted the new order of things, at first despairing of the state ; but later, after the battle of Actium had freed Rome from external dangers, he enthusiastically proclaimed the permanence of the Empire and celebrated the beneficence of Augustus' rule. But his entire life after his experience at PhiHppi was that of a man of letters, who mixed much with men rather as an observer than as a participant in their life. His later history falls into three periods of about ten years each : first, from his return to Rome to 29 B.C., the period during which he published his two books of Satires and the collection of Epodes ; second, 29-19 b.c, the period of his maturity, in which his genius reached its height. During
13
§§ 1-2] INTRODUCTION
these ten years he published the first three books of Odes (23 b.c.) and the first book of the Epistles (20 b.c.) . Of his personal history during the last decennium (19-8 b.c.) we know but little. He was less productive than in the two previous periods, publishing only the Carmen Saeculare (17 B.C.), the fourth book of Odes (after 13 B.C.), and the two literary epistles, which, with the Ars Poetica, form a second book of Epistles.
2. Return to Rome. — ^ The general amnesty granted by Octa- vian after the battle of Philippi allowed Horace to return to Italy. His father evidently died before his return, and he came back to find that Venusia, where his estate was situated, had been in- cluded in the districts assigned to the veterans of the victorious army, so that he -was thrown on his own resources. His means sufficed to buy him a position as clerk to the quaestors, by which his support was secured. In his leisure he turned to writing Latin verses.
Horace had now at the age of twenty- four acquired consider- able experience in the good and ill fortunes of life, and had lived through some important national crises. During his school days in Rome he had seen the rupture between Caesar and Pompey, and was old enough to understand something of the serious danger to the state which it involved ; Caesar's supreme position was well established before he went to Athens, and he had had a part in the final struggle between the would-be ' liberators ' and the dic- tator's successors. While he never after showed any desire to have a share in politics, it is most probable that these experi- ences of his early manhood caused him to think and feel earnestly on matters of state, so that in later life, when he had heartily accepted the new regime, he expressed himself on subjects touching the well-being of the nation with a warmth which no other theme except personal friendship called forth. He lived to see the national dangers removed, the Empire firmly estab- lished, and to enjoy the blessings of peace under the rule of Augustus.
14
THE SATIRES AND EPODES [§§ 3-4
3. The Satires. — As has been said above, Horace had prac- ticed Greek verses in the courses of his studies. He now turned to composition in his native language. When he began to write, Varius Rufus was the epic poet of the day, having won that posi- tion by his epic poem on the death of Juhus Caesar, published before 39 B.C. ; Asinius Pollio was distinguished in tragedy ; and Vergil was beginning to be known for his bucolic poems. The field of satire as practiced by Lucilius (ca. 180-103 B.C.), com- ments in verse on the most miscellaneous topics, appealed to Horace, and in the leisure which his official duties left him he began to write in hexameters after the manner of his model. He understood that politics could no longer be frankly treated, and, with few exceptions, he avoided personal attack ; but his nature and training had made him a keen observer of the life about him. This life he chose for his subject, and handled its different phases in the familiar tone of a man of the world ; he always speaks as one of the company at whose weaknesses he laughs, never preach- ing or setting himself up as superior to his fellow-mortals. Horace was blessed with a keen sense of humor as well as clear insight, so that these sketches have always been held in high esteem, not only for their cleverness and wit, but also because no other works in Latin literature give us such vivid pictures of the actual life in which the author shared. While Horace made a great advance on the metrical art of his model, he never called his satires poetry. His own name was sennones, ' familiar talks,' and he declared that they were only distinguished from prose by the rhythm. They were written at various times during the decennium follow- ing his return, and many were undoubtedly known before they were gathered together into books. The first book was published before 33, the most probable date is 35/34 ; the second in 30 B.C.
4. The Epodes. — At the time when he began to write satire, Horace also attempted to introduce into Latin a new form of verse, the epodic couplet, consisting of two verses, the second of which
15
§§4-5] INTRODUCTION
forms a refrain {epodus, cirwSds) to the first. In this he was a conscious imitator of Archilochus, who, in the seventh century B.C., had perfected this form in iambic measure, and used it as the sharpest weapon of personal attack. The name which Horace, following Archilochus, gave his verses — iambi — can apply prop- erly to only the first ten of the seventeen in the present collection. The remaining seven are in different measures, but only one, the seventeenth, lacks the epodic form ; so that in time the name Epodes drove out Horace's designation. While Horace shows himself equal to his model in form, he exhibits Httle of the passion ascribed to Archilochus. Eight epodes show the invective spirit, two exhibit a coarseness of thought and expression which does not appear later, but others have nothing aggressive in them. The first, for example, is a plea to be allowed to accompany Mae- cenas to Actium ; the ninth is a song of joy over the victory gained there ; the seventh and sixteenth deal with the conditions of the state ; the second is an idyl on the joys of country life ; and the others have little of the invective spirit. They were written at various times between 40 and 3 1 B.C. ; the sixteenth is probably to be referred to the earlier date, and the ninth is later than the battle of Actium, Sept. 2, 31 b.c.
5. Horace and Maecenas. — Horace's verses brought him into notice soon after his return, and gained him the friendship of Vergil and Varius, who introduced him to Maecenas, apparently in the spring of 38 B.C. Nine months later, in the winter of 38/37 B.C., Maecenas invited him to join the inner circle of his friends. From this time Horace was free from material cares ; and about the year 33 b.c he received from his patron a farm in the valley of the Digentia, among the Sabine hills, which was thereafter his favorite home and constant source of happiness, Maecenas was already at this time the trusted friend and adviser of Octavian. In 36 B.C., when Octavian set out from Rome for his campaign against Sextus Pompey, and in 31 B.C., during the final struggle with Antony and Cleopatra, Maecenas was left
16
HORACE AND MAECENAS [§ 5
as his representative with almost complete power ; and with the exception of a temporary estrangement in 23 b.c, when he indis- creetly betrayed to his wife Terentia the discovery of the plot which her brother, Licinius Murena, was forming against Augustus, he remained the emperor's most trusted adviser. Naturally, when Augustus' position was firmly established, Maecenas was to a cer- tain extent displaced by the members of the imperial family ; but the friendship between him and Augustus continued to the end. With all his opportunity and power, Maecenas declined politi- cal preferment, and remained a ' knight ' throughout his life. He had a native taste for literature, was a master of the Greek lan- guage, and wrote some mediocre verses himself; but it was by his wise patronage of men of letters that he won a permanent place in the grateful memory of men. He had no doubt a political pur- pose in his patronage also, for he saw that literature might be used to support and establish the new regime. Yet he imposed no fettering conditions on those to whom he gave his favor : we know {Epoii. 14) that he urged Horace to publish his Epodes; that Vergil wrote the Georgics at his suggestion ; that he advised Propertius to undertake some larger themes ; but nowhere is there any hint that he ever exacted any return for his favor which would not have been spontaneously made. Of the circle he gath- ered about him, Vergil, Horace, and Propertius achieved most permanent fame. Others were L. Varius Rufus, Plotius Tucca, Quintilius Varus, Domitius Marsus, and C. Melissus. Maecenas' favor assured Horace the friendship of these and many others be- sides that of Octavian, so that after 37 b.c. he had entrance into the best society of his time. His friendship with Maecenas was commingled with gratitude to him for the material aid he had given ; but the relation between the two men had so genuine a basis that Horace could accept Maecenas' gifts without hesitancy, aware that his friendship was a full return in Maecenas' mind. His acceptance, too, involved no loss of independence, and in many passages he makes it clear that he would readily resign all HOR. CAR. — 2 17
§§ 5-6] INTRODUCTION
the benefits conferred on him rather than lose his freedom in the slightest degree.
\/6. The Odes. — The second period of Horace's literary activity, 29-19 B.C., was devoted chiefly to lyric composition. He had long been a student of Greek poetry, and the rnodels he now fol- lowed were chiefly Alcaeus and Sappho (600 B.C.), whose measures he adopted as his own, and from whose works he drew many themes. While these two poets had the greatest influence on him, still, as the notes to the odes will show, we find evidence of the influence of Homer, Pindar, Bacchylides, Anacreon, Stesichorus, and the three tragedians. He drew also from the Alexandrians, but chiefly from Callimachus and Theocritus. Yet he followed no model slavishly, and even in his closest studies from the Greek, he made the themes his own. The earliest ode to which a date can be assigned with certainty is i, 37, written in 30 B.C., on hearing of the death of Cleopatra. A few may have been written before this, but not many. For seven years Horace gave himself almost ex- clusively to lyric verse. His mastery of form and language was now complete, and his developed taste set a high standard of per- fection. The eighty-eight lyrics which belong to this period were never equaled in variety and perfection among the Romans, and alone would entitle their author to the immortality he has enjoyed. Many of these odes, — Horace called them simply cannina, — especially those addressed to friends, were privately circulated before they were collected into the present three books ; these were published in 23 B.C., as is' clear from internal evidence.^
1 The young Marcellus died at the end of 23 B.C., but it is hardly probable that Horace would have published the reference to him in i, 12, 45 f. in its present form after his death; further, in 2, 10 (and possibly 3, 19), Horace mentions Licinius Murena, the^rother-in-law of Maecenas, who was involved in a conspiracy against Augustus in the latter half of 23 B.C. The publication must have been earlier than the discovery of this plot. The latest reference is to the death of Quintilius Varus in i, 24, which Hieronymus records in 23 B.C.; and it is probable that i, 4, in which L. Sestius is addressed, was written about July, 23 B.C., when Sestius entered on his office as consul suffectus.
18
THE ODES [§ 7
7. Arrangement and Character of the Odes. — In arranging his lyrics for publication, Horace placed at the beginning eleven odes, each in a different metre, illustrating all the measures employed by hini>n the three books with the exception of the unique rhythms in 2, 18; 3, 12.' Within this group certain other principles of arrangement can be detected. The first word is Maecenas, and the opening poem virtually dedicates the three books to their author's friend and patron, to whom he had already inscribed his Satires and Epodes. The second_ode celebrates Octavian as the divine restoren" pf order in the^stafp ; the third is a farevvelTpoern to Vergj] ; the fourth is addressed to Sestius, consul in the year of publication. The others are arranged to secure variety in subject as well as measure, a principle that is observed generally through- out the three books, so that grave themes are relieved by light, and a succession of similar metres is for the most part avoided. The second book opens with an ode to Asinius Pollio, celebrating his literary powers and touching sadly on the Civil Wars of which Pollio was about to undertake a history. In the first six odes of the third book, Horace comes forward as the teacher of the new generation, and deals earnestly with the problems and dangers of the state. This is the largest group of odes on related themes, and the Alcaic metre is used in all ; but, as if to avoid wearying his reader, Horace did not insert another ode in the same measure until the seventeenth. He had also some regard for chronological sequence, but this was always subordinate to the principle of variety. Each book, too, has certain characteristics. In the first \^ there are a larger number of studies from the Greek than in the other twoj_ about half the odes are on themes of love and wine; noyvhere is any serious philosophy of life presented ; and only five (2, 12, 14, 3*5, ■yi^ show deep concern with the stgte. As if to emphasize his character as the singer of light themes, and at the same time to offset the serious notes in odes 35 and 37, Horace
1 The tenth ode, while in Sapphic measure liiie the second, still exhibits certain metrical peculiarities.
19
§§ 7-9] INTRODUCTION
placed at the end of his book the dainty verses, Penicos odi, puer,
apparatus, which picture him at ease and free from care.
/ TJie odes of the second book show more reflection, a deeper
/ sense of the poet's personal relationsTiip to His friends, a more
I serious and a graver attitude toward hfe. His didactic odes here
\ lay stress on wise conduct, and the checkings of jontoward desires,
j rather than on the means of securing enjoyment. The twenty
/odes, with two exceptions, are composed in the Alcaic ^nd
Sapphic measures.
In the third book, Horace appears as the poet of the new Rome established by Augustus. He shows a conscious pride in his posi- tion as the priest of the Muses, and his didactic odes have a graver and severer tone ; yet he relieves his serious themes here, as in the other books, by lighter and charming verses nowhere excelled. The unity of the entire collection he emphasized by the form of his epilogue in which he repeats the lesser Asclepiadic measure used in the opening ode of the first book, but not elsewhere in the first three books. With proud assurance he claims that by his verse he has defeated death itself and won immortal fame.
8. The First Book of Epistles. — With the publication of his odes, in 23 B.C., Horace seems to have felt that his great work was done, and for some years he wrote no lyrics ; he did, however, re- turn to his earlier habit of recording in verse his observations on life and manners, sermones, which he now presented in the form of epistles. In some the epistolary form is only a cloak, but others are genuine letters, one a letter of introduction. Some offer a practical philosophy of life, others give rules of conduct, still others celebrate the delights of quiet country life, one is in praise of wine. The opening letter is to Maecenas, and announces Hor- ace's intention to abandon poetry and devote himself to philoso- phy. The collection, twenty epistles in all, was published after the middle of 20 b.c.
9. The Carmen Saeculare and Fourth Book of Odes. — Horace was not allowed to desert the lyric muse. The death of Vergil in
20
ODES AND EPISTLES [§§ 9-io
19 B.C. left him the chief poet of his day, and even those who had long scoffed at the freedman's son were at last ready to acknowl- edge his preeminence. His position received official recognition in 17 B.C. from the Emperor, who commissioned him to write a hymn for the great Secular festival of that year. A little more than two years later, at the personal request of Augustus, he cele- brated the victories of the young Neros, Tiberius and Claudius, over the Alpine tribes ; in two other odes he sang the praises of the Emperor's beneficent rule. With these he joined eleven other lyrics, mostly reminiscent of his earlier themes ; two of them, how- ever, hymn the power of poesy. He published the collection in 13 B.C. It was not dedicated to Maecenas, as all his earlier pubh- cations had been ; such dedication would have been out of place in a book the most important odes of which celebrated the imperial house. The significant fact is that, while Horace was ready to serve Augustus with his art, he did not dedicate the book to him. That his friendship with his patron was unbroken is abundantly proved by the eleventh ode in honor of Maecenas' birthday.
10. The Second Book of Epistles. — Soon after the publication of the first book of epistles, a young friend of Horace, Julius Flo- rus, asked him for some new lyrics. In answer Horace wrote another epistle, in which he says that he has renounced lyric verse ; he is too old for it ; the distractions of the city prevent composition, and careful work is no longer appreciated ; he will therefore devote himself to philosophy, and seek that golden mean which alone can bring happiness.
We hear from Suetonius that Augustus chided Horace for having failed to address any of his sermones to him. This reproach Hor- ace could not neglect, and about 14 B.C. he wrote an epistle to the Emperor, in which he discussed popular taste in literary matters, and defended the modern school to which he belonged against those who had a blind admiration only for the ancient and ruder literature. These two epistles he united with a third addressed to the Pisones, father and two sons, naturally putting the letter to
§§ IO-I3] INTRODUCTION
Augustus in the first place, and published the three about 1 3 B.C. This third epistle is of uncertain date, but probably written about 19-17 B.C. It is a didactic treatise on the art of poetry, but deals chiefly with dramatic poetry, and with the qualifications — genius and hard work — essential for the poet. The common name, Ars Poetica (or De Arte Poetica Liber), in all probability was not given it by Horace, but became attached to it before Quintilian's day. By Hadrian's time the epistle had become separated from the two with which it was originally published, and formed the tenth book in an edition of which the four books of Odes, with the Carmen Saeculare, the Epodes, the two books of Satires, and two of Epis- tles were the first nine. In the Mss. it regularly follows the Odes ; H. Stephanus in the sixteenth century restored it to its original position.
11. Chronological Table of Horace's Works. —
Satires, Book i 35-34 b-C
Epodes 30
Satires, Book 2 30
Odes, Books 1-3 23
Epistles, Book i 20
Carmen Saeculare 17
Odes, Book 4 ca. 13
Epistles, Book 2 ca. 13
12. Last Years and Death. — Of the last years of Horace's life we know nothing. Maecenas died in the spring of 8 b.c. ; his dying charge to the Emperor, Horati Flacci ut mei esio memor, bears witness to the unbroken friendship between the two men. Horace survived his patron but a few months, dying after a brief sickness at the close of the same year. He was buried near the tomb of Maecenas on the Esquiline.
13. Personal Characteristics. — Horace has left us at the close of his first book of Epistles an interesting description of himself at the age of forty-four : —
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS [§ 13
corporis exigui, praecanum, solibus aptum, irasci cderem, iamen ut placabilis essein.
" Short in stature, prematurely gray, fond of the sun, quick to take offense, but readily appeased." This agrees with the account given in Suetonius' life, where we are told that the Emperor joked the poet on his short, stout figure. In Horace's later years his health was poor. While fond of mixing with society, he had a greater love for quiet country life, and against the protests of Mae- cenas spent much time on his Sabine farm or at his beloved Tibur. Praeneste, Baiae, and Tarentum were also favorite places of resi- dence. He remained a bachelor, and was never deeply moved by love. Of all his flames named in his verses, only Cinara was cer- tainly a creature of flesh and blood. The rest existed in his fancy only, or were borrowed from some Greek. ^ While he can sing very prettily of love, his verses have none of Catullus' fire ; they were for Horace pretty works of art, but did not spring from his own passion. Likewise when he calls his friends to a carouse, we may be sure that temperance, not license, was the chief feature of his comissatio.
The subjects of his verse, whether lyric or pedestris, as he calls his muse in a passage in his Satires, were of the most varied sort ; hardly a feature of the life about him was left untouched, and more proverbial sayings bearing on the ways and weaknesses of men have been drawn from Horace's works than from those of any other Latin writer. Certain aspects of nature appealed to him ; and in a number of odes he shows the deepest interest in the welfare of the state. While he frequently shows a jovial spirit, yet there is, especially in the Odes, a melancholy that constantly reappears and overshadows his merrier moods. Many of his lyrics deal with death and the cheerless grave ; and his philosophy of enjoyment and moderation has more in it of resignation than of eager anticipation. Horace does not show that pathetic melan-
^ See Gildersleeve in Am. Jour, of Phil., 18, 121 f. 23
§§ 13-14] INTRODUCTION
choly which characterizes Vergil's poetry ; his melancholy is per- sonal, that of a sensitive individual, who has learned not to expect too much of this life, and has no hope beyond. Yet Horace avoids intruding his melancholy on his audience, as he shrinks from preaching, even in his most earnest moods.
The highest enthusiasms and deepest feelings were not given to Horace ; but this very fact has in no slight degree made him a place in the affections of ordinary men, who feel that he is one of them.
14. Fame. — While Horace never gained among his contempo- raries the honor enjoyed by Vergil, whose imperial epic appealed to the pride, as well as the imagination, of the Romans, still he lived to see himself pointed out by the passers on the street as the lyric poet of Rome, a fact to which he refers in C. 4, 3, 22 f., not without a touch of pride. Augustus' requests (cf. § 9), too, show the position in which Horace stood. Many lesser poets honored him as their master and model, but their verses have all disappeared ; also the spurious works which Suetonius says were circulated under his name. His poems were early used in schools, certainly before Quintilian's day ; in Juvenal's time, busts of Vergil and Horace adorned schoolrooms ; so that for nearly nine- teen centuries the works of Horace have formed part of liberal education in western Europe. Learned criticism and interpreta- tion by grammarians began at least as early as Nero's reign. But the best proof of Horace's influence in antiquity is to be seen in the numerous reminiscences, conscious and unconscious, of his verses that are found in almost every Roman writer after him. In the commentary of this book only a few such reminiscences are quoted, but enough to suggest how constantly his phrases reappear in later writers. In fact no other Roman poet but Vergil influ- enced posterity to any like degree. Even in the period of re- adjustment, which we call the Middle Ages, the works of Horace were still read in schools, especially the Satires and Epistles, and verses of moral import were learned by heart ; the Otfes and Epodes were less used, and the Carmen Saeculare not unnaturally
24
FAME, MANUSCRIPTS, ETC. [§§ 14-15
was almost entirely neglected.^ Yet the number of Mss. earlier than the thirteenth century — nearly twenty date from the eighth, ninth, and tenth — attest the esteem in which all the works were held in mediaeval cloisters.
In the Renaissance and modern times Horace's popularity has been great. Over seventy editions, partial or complete, were printed before 1500. There have been many would-be imitators of Horace's lyric verse in the last four centuries, but no better proof of the perfection of his art can be found than in the marked inferiority of all attempts, both ancient and modern, to repeat his measures. It is not exaggeration to say that no one since Horace's day has written Latin Alcaics or Sapphics that deserve to be com- pared with their models. Naturally Horace's influence on modern writers of lyric verse has been marked. To illustrate this here is not possible, but there is hardly a lyricist who has not felt his spell. Among contemporary English writers, Austin Dobson's methods and verses remind us most of the Roman bard. Yet Horace's lasting popularity is attested, not so much by literature, as by the regard in which men of varied pursuits hold him. His wisdom, his moderation and good-humored satire, coined into perfect form, have won him an unique place in the affections of mankind.
15. Manuscripts, Scholia, and Editions, (a) Mss. — There are more good manuscripts of Horace preserved than of any other Latin writer except Vergil ; they number about 250, dating from the eighth (or ninth) to the fifteenth century. All seem to come from a common early archetype, but the cross Hnes of tra- dition are so numerous that it is impossible to classify them satis- factorily. The most important are : —
(i) Codex Blandinius Veins tissimus. This manuscript was formerly in the Abbaye de St. Pierre on Mt. Blandin, near Ghent, but was burned when the Abbey was destroyed by fire in 1566. It was one of the four manuscripts borrowed from the monastery
1 On Horace in the Middle Ages, see the interesting monograph by M. Manitius, Analekten ziir Geschicht^ des Horaz iin Mitielaltei-,(^b\.i\ngen, 1893.
25
§ 15] INTRODUCTION
in 1565, and collated for his edition of Horace by Cruquius (Jacques de Crusque), professor at Bruges. He states in his edition of 1578 that this manuscript dated from the seventh century, and the readings which he gives from it show that, what- ever its age, it was of prime importance for the text. Keller and Holder deny its very existence, and charge Cruquius with false- hood, but the evidence against them is such that we cannot doubt the existence and value of the codex. Cruquius was at tinn careless, but his account can in the main be accepted.
(2) Codex Be7-ne7isis 363, in the city library at Bern, Switzer- land ; written by an Irish scribe in the ninth century. The best single extant manuscript of Horace. Reproduced in photographic facsimile under the direction of De Vries, 1897.
(3) Codex Sueco-Vaticaniis 1703, in the Vatican Library, writ- ten in the eighth century.
These two manuscripts are considered by Keller to be the most important ; some claim high rank for others, especially Parisinus 7900 A, J. IX/X ; Parisini ']()lit and 7971, i-. X; Parisinus 7972, s. IX/X, and Leidensis 28, j'. X ; but in establishing the text the read- ings of Cruquius' ' Vetustissimus ' are ordinarily of first importance.
For a description of the other manuscripts, reference may be made to the critical edition by Keller and Holder, 2 vols., Leip- sic, 1864-1870; vol. I in 2d ed., 1899.
{b) Scholia. — Comment on the works of Horace began in the first century of our era, with brief introductory notes, giving in each case the name of the person addressed, the metre, and a brief notice of the contents and character of the poem. Under Nero, M. Valerius Probus prepared a critical edition of Horace's works. Among early commentators were also Modestus and Claranus, who flourished apparently in Domitian's reign ; to the time of Hadrian belong the Life, by Suetonius, which is preserved in a fragmentary condition, and the edition in ten books (cf. p. 22), by Q. Terentius Scaurus. Under the Antonines, Helenius Aero wrote an explanatory commentary.
26
SCHOLIA AND EDITIONS [§ 15
The work of all these commentators has been lost, save in so far as it is incorporated in the following scholia : —
( 1 ) The scholia of Pomponius Porphyria, a grammarian of the third century apparently, who devoted himself chiefly to gram- matical and rhetorical interpretation.
(2) The schoHa which bear the name of Aero. This collection was drawn from many sources, one of which was Porphyrio, from whom much was taken. Acro's name was not attached to these scholia until the fifteenth century.
(3) The scholia of the Cotntnentator Cruquia7ius. These are the comments gathered together by Cruquius from many sources, and are of slight value.
(r) Editions. — The place and date of the editio princeps is unknown, but it was published in Italy before 147 1. Bentley's edi- tion in 1 71 1 made a new era in Horatian criticism. Of the modern critical and explanatory editions, the following are important : —
Keller and Holder, editio maior, 2 vols. Leipsic, 1864- 18 70; vol. I {Odes, Epodes, and C. S.) in 2d ed. by Keller, Leipsic, 1899; edilio minor, 1878. Keller, Epilegomena zu Horaz, Leip- sic, 1879-1880, is also important for its collection of variant readings and discussion of them.
Orelli, 4th ed. by Hirschfelder and Mewes, 2 vols., with Latin commentary and complete word index, Berlin, 1886, 1892.
Kiessling, 2d ed., 3 vols. Berhn, 1890-189 7 ; vol. i in 3d ed., 1898.
Wiekham, Odes and Epodes, 3d ed. Oxford, 1896; Satires and Epistles, 1 89 1 .
Z. Mailer, Satires and Epistles, Leipsic, 1891-1893. Odes and Epodes, 1900.
The schoha are not yet fully available in good editions. A be- ginning has been made by Keller and Holder, Porfyriofiis cotnmentum rec. A. Holder. Innsbruck, 1894. The scholia of the Commentator Cruquianus are now best printed in Keller and Holder's large edition, vol. i, 2d ed., pp. 343-370.
27
§§ 16-17] INTRODUCnON
i6. Translations and Important Books. — No classical author has been translated more often than Horace. Among the better complete translations of the Odes and Epodes into English are the following : —
Sir Theodore Martin, The Odes of Horace translated into Eng/ish verse, 2d ed., London, 1861.
John Conington, The Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace, 3d ed., London, 1865.
Lord Lyiton, The Odes and Epodes of Horace, London, 1869.
W. E. Gladstone, The Odes of Horace translated into English, New York, 1894.
C. W. Cooper, Horace'' s Odes Englished and Imitated by Vari- ous Hands, London, 1880.
Among books useful for criticism, interpretation, and illustra- tion, the following may be named : —
W. Y. Sellar, Horace and the Elegiac Poets, Oxford, 1892,
This is the most important single book in EngUsh on Horace.
J. W. Mackail, Latin Literature, pp. 1 06-1 19, New York, 1900.
This is a work of real genius, the best short history of Latin literature.
Andrew Lang, Letters to Dead Authors, pp. 223-234, London, 1886.
Gaston Boissier, The Country of Horace and Vergil; trans- lated by D. H. Fisher, I^ondon, 1896.
Schreiber-Anderson, Atlas of Classical Antiquities, London, 1895.
Baumeister, Denkmaler des klassischen Altertums, 3 vols., Mu- nich, 1889.
17. Language and Style. — Horace was well aware that his poetic genius was not great ; but he possessed a highly cultivated sense for poetic form and fitting expression, and a fondness for his art, which led him to take infinite pains in the elaboration of his verses. With wise judgment he therefore chose commonplace
28
LANGUAGE AND STYLE [§§ 17-18
themes and treated them with all the grace his taste and skill could give. He shows little deep thought ^^^ ini-pngp fp/^ling • hie verses are either exercises suggestti'd hy ryrepk lyrjcsj common- glaces of philosophy, Stoic or Epicurean, pretty but passionless 1 treatment of themes nf Inve^ and society verse. Some tributes to. friends show greater feeling, as do certain odes dealing with inter- ests of state ; ve^in this latter class some seem like perfunctory verses written to^^pleasg^ In his later odes, in which he celebrates Augustus as the restorer of peace g.nd prosperity^ he exhil:)its a warmth of sentiment that he dQes.JiaL-sJiQW-.elsewher£.jiLthej?oems which concern the imperial house. Yet if his themes are com- monplace, his treatment of them is so unapproachably felicitous that his phrases have become part of the world's vocabulary. Horace, therefore, deserves the high place he occupies in men's regard, not for his poetic inspiration, but because he has given I beautiful and permanent expression to ordinary truths, which are of universal concern.
His vocabulary is not large, partly because the Latin language in comparison with the Greek is poor in words, partly because he chose to be restrained and moderate in statement ; aQd_thediffi- cultyjiLu.singjh£_Alcaicjmd^ Latin doubtless
restricted the jgp^g^ of expression. He occasionally repeats a happy phrase. either_£j^.actly or with slight variation. His admira- tion for the Greeks never led him to violate the genius of his own language ; he did not attempt long compounds, avoided Greek words for the most part, and seldom used a construction that was foreign to the Latin idiom.
The study of Horace's style, therefore, is chiefly concerned with the art with which he formed his phrases and fitted them to his measures. The following paragraphs deal briefly with the Order of IVords, Prosody, Metres, and Syntax.
18. Order of "Words. — An inflected language admits greater freedom in the arrangement of words than is possible in one which is uninflected, so that an idea is often held in suspense until it has
29
§§ I8-20] INTRODUCTION
been brought into relation with associated ideas. It is therefore necessary for the student to learn to carry in his mind incomplete ideas through groups of words of varying length. Such groups are common to both prose and poetry ; but in prose they are usually brief, combinations of three words being most frequent, e.g. ab exiguis profecta initiis, although larger groups are not unknown. But in poetry the arrangement and grouping of words is much more highly developed. The following examples illustrate the more common arrangements in Horace's lyrics, which the student must train himself to grasp as units.
19. Groups of three words : —
I, I, I atavis edite regibtis I, 15, 8 regnum Priami vetus
1, 22, 22 terra domibus negata
2, 5, 12 purpurea varius colore 2, 7, 2 Bruto militiae duce
It should be noticed that in these groups the first and third words agree grammatically and inclose the word they modify ; and that the places of adjective and noun are varied at pleasure. In the following larger groups the relation of the words is shown by varying type so far as possible.
20. Groups of four words may have the following great variety of arrangement : —
2. 3, 9 pinus ingens albaque populus 2, 6, 5 Tibur Argeo positum colono I, 24, 9 multis ilk honis Jlebilis
1, 19, II f. versis animosum equis I Parthum
2, 8, 1 1 f. gelidaque divos \ morte carentis I, I, 22 ad aquae lene caput sacrae
I, 12, 22 f. saevis inimica virgo | beluis "■
3, 8, 13 f. cyathos amici \ sospitis centum
4, 1 , 4 f. dulcium I mater saeva Cupidinum
(a) Often a verb or verbs form part of the group, e.g. : — I, I, 34 Lesboum refugit tender e barbiton l> 5» 9 tei fruitur credulus aMxedi 30
ORDER OF WORDS [§§ 21-24
31. Larger groups show more complicated structure : —
1, 14, 14 f. nil pictis tiinidus navita puppibus | fidit
I, 14, 19 f. interfusa nitentis | vites aeqiiora Cycladas
I, 22, i7f. pigris ubi nulla campis | arbor aestiva recreatur aura
1, 28, 19 f. nullum I saeva caput Proserpina fugit
2, 3, ii f. quid obliquo laborat | lyrnpha fugax trepidare rivo ? 2, 4, II f. tradidit fessis leviora tolli | Pergama Grais.
2, II, II f. quid aeternis minorem \ consiliis animum fatigas ?
2, 12, 2f. nee Siculum mare \ "Poeno purpttreuin sanguine
3, I, 5 f. reguin timendorum in proprios greges | reges in ipsos im-
periuin est lovis 3, I, 16 omne capax movet urna nomen
3, 5, 21 f. vidi ego civium \ retorta tergo bracchia libero
I, 9, 21 is an unusually complex group : —
latentis proditor intimo | gratus puellae risus ab angulo.
Horace frequently employs position and arrangement to secure emphasis or other rhetorical effect.
22. Emphasis is obtained by placing the word to be emphasized at the beginning of a strophe or a verse, or before a caesura : —
I, 18, 3 siccis omnia nam dura deus proposuit
1, 34, I parens deorum cultor et infrequens
2, 9, 9 f. tu semper urges flebilibus modis | Mysten ademptum
23. Often the word in this position comes at or near the end of its sentence : —
1, 28, 5 f. animoque rotundum | percurisse polum morituro
2, 9, 15 ff. nee impubem parentes | Troilon aut Phrygiae sorores |
flevere semper
4, 9, 25 f. vixere fortes ante Aganiemnona | mulli
24. Often the words which agree grammatically are widely separated, gaining emphasis from their positions, and at the same time binding the sentence to which they belong into a single word group : —
I, I, 14 Myrtoum pavidus nauta secet mare I, 2, 39 f. acer et Marsi peditis cruentum \ voltus in hostem 31
§§ 24-28] INTRODUCTION
Also 3, 4, 9-12.
me fabulosae Volture in Apulo nutricis extra limina Pulliae ludo fatigatumque somno
fronde nova puermn palitmhes
Observe that the entire strophe is bound into a single group by the two initial and final words.
25. Occasionally a number of emphatic positions are employed in a single strophe or other closely connected group : —
2, 10, 9 ff. saepius ventis agitatur ingens pinus et celsae \graviore casu decidunt turres feriuntque summos fulgura montis
26. Emphasis is also secured by placing contrasted words in
juxtaposition : —
I, 6, 9 tenues grandia
I, 3, lo qui fragilevi truci coviwmiSX. pelago ratem
27. Also by placing words in similar or opposite positions in the verse or strophe : —
I, I, 9 f. ilium si propria || condidit horreo \ quicquid de Libycis || ver- ritur areis
1, 26, 2 f . tradam proUrvis \\ in mare Creticum | portare ventis \\
2, 2, 23 quisquis ingeniis \\ oculo inretorto | spectat acervos.
2, 3, I f. aequam memento rebus in arduis \ servare mentem, non
secus in bonis 2, 10, 13 sperat infestis \\ metuit secundis
Also in I, 10, where the initial te, te, tu of the second, third, and fifth strophe emphatically repeat the Mercuri of the first strophe. Cf. likewise 2, 9, 1.9. 13. 17 non semper, tu semper, at non, fle^iere semper.
28. Emphasis is further secured : —
{a) By immediate repetition in the same clause : —
2, 17, 10 ibirnus ibintus, utcumque praecedes. Epod. 4, 20 hoc hoc tribune militum. 32
POSITION OF PRONOUNS, PREPOSITIONS, ETC. [§§ 28-31
(l>) By immediate repetition at the beginning of a new clause {anadiplosis) : —
3, 16, 15 ff. subruit aemulos
reges muneribus ; || niunera navium saevos inlaqueant duces.
(<:) By repetition at the beginning of successive clauses {an- aphora), often with the added emphasis of position : —
1, 2, 4ff. terruit \\t\iQVA,
terrtiit gentis, grave ne rediret saeculum Pyrrhae
2, 4, 3 ff. serva Briseis niveo colore
movit Achillem; niovit Aiacem Telamone natum
3, 3, 65 ff. ter si resurgat murus aeneus
auctore Phoebo, ter pereat meis excisus Argivis, ter uxor
capta virum puerosque ploret
Cf. also I, 10, 1.5.9.17; I, 12, 53.57-59; I, 35. 5-6-9-I7-2I ; 2, 9, 1.9. 13. 17.
29. Often the anaphora serves as a connective : —
I» 5> 9f' l^i nunc te fruitur credulus aurea, qui semper vacuam
POSITION OF PRONOUNS, PREPOSITIONS, ETC.
30. Horace often makes his point by a reference to himself or his own experience, and introduces his concrete examples by me, etc., in an emphatic position : —
I, I, 29 f. vie doctarum hederae praemia fontium dis miscent superis, tne gelidum nemus I, 5, 13 f. /«1? tabula sacer | votiva paries indicat I, 22, 9 namque me silva lupus in Sabina
31. An important word or words may displace a relative or interrogative pronoun or a particle at the beginning of a clause : —
HOR. CAR. — 3 33
§§ 3I-37J INTRODUCTION
I, 2, 7 omne cum Proteus pecus egit
I, 2, i8 f. vagus et sinistra | labitur ripa
I, 7, 15 albus lit . . . deterget nubila . . . Notus
I, 22, 17 pigris ubi nulla campis | arbor aestiva recreatur aura
1, 18, 3 siccis omnia nam dura deus
2, 6, 6 sit meae sedes utinam senectae
3, I, 17 f. destrictus ensis cui super impia | cervice pendet
Likewise -que may be forced from its natural position by the requirements of the metre : —
2, 19, 32 ore pedes tetigit^«^ crura
32. A dissyllabic preposition sometimes follows its noun : —
T), 2,, II quos inter Augustus recumbens
33. Sometimes the preposition is placed next the verb : —
2, 16, 33 te greges centum Siculaeque circuin \ niugiunt vaccae
3, 27, 51 f. utinam inter errem | nuda leones
PROSODY
The following points in the prosody of Horace's. lyrics should be noted : —
34. The prosody of certain proper names varies : Etrusco 1, 2, 14; 3, 29, 35, Etrusca Epod. 16, 4 and 40; Dianam i, 21, i, Diana 3, 4, 71 ; Proserpina i, 28, 20, Proserpina 2, 13, 21 ; Ori- onis I, 28, 21, Orion Epod. 15, 7 ; Italos 3, 30, 13, Italo 2, 7, 4 ; Apuliae Epod. 3, 16, ApUli 2, 42 and usually.
35. The final syllable of the present and perfect indicative act- ive in the thesis occasionally retains its archaic long quantity in Books 1-3: perrtipit i, 3, 36; 7nanet i, 13, 6; ridet 2, 6, 14; titmt 2, 13, 16 ; arat 3, 16, 26; figit 3, 24, 5. It is once long in the arsis before the caesura 3,5,17 periret \\ immiserabilis.
36. In Epod. 9, 1 7 verterunt occurs, but elsewhere in the lyrics the third person plural of the perfect indicative always ends in -'eru7it.
37. A final syllable ending in a short vowel is not made long by two consonants at the beginning of the next word.
34
PROSODY AND METRES [§§ 38-44
38. Synizesis occurs in anteit i, 35, 17; antehac i, 37, 5; Pompei 2, 7, 5 ; vietis Epod. 12, 7; dehinc Epod. 16, 65 ; prob- ably also mpueris 2, 18, 34 (cf, § 56) ; laqtieb Epod. 2,-35 (cf- § 58) ; inferius z^, 79; tnulierculum 11, 23 (cf. § 58).
39. Hardening of vocalic i to a consonant is found in consilium 3, 4, 41 and principium 3, 6, 6. In both these cases the final syl- lable is elided.
40. Syncope occurs frequently in the perfect indicative forms. Also in puertiae \, 36, 8 ; lamnae 2, 2, 2 ; periclo 3, 20, i ; siir- puerat 4, 13, 20; repostum Epod. 9, i ; vincla 9, 9 and 17, 72. Possibly \n pav{i)dum Epod. 2, 35 and pos{i)tos 2, 65 (cf. § 58).
41. Dialysis occurs only in siluae i, 23, 4 and Epod. 13, 2.
42. Elision is confined chiefly to short syllables; in his earliest lyrics Horace apparently tried to avoid it altogether, but later he was less careful. There is no elision in the Second Archilochian Strophe oi Epod. 13 or in the hexameters oi Epod. 16. With the exception of me, te, and a single case of iam, Epod. 17, i, mono- syllables are never elided.
43. Hiatus is found after the monosyllabic interjections o and a, which naturally cannot be elided. Also in capiti inhumato i, 28, 24, Esquilinae alites Epod. 5, 100, Threicio Aqidilone 13, 3; and between the cola of Dactylo-Trochaic verses (cf. § 64 ff.). Also in male ominatis 3, 14, 11, if the reading be correct.
METRES
44. Logaoedic Verses. — The greater number of the Odes are in logaoedic rhythms, consisting of trochees (— ^), irrational spondees (— >), and cyclic dactyls (^ w or — ^^).^ The mu-
1 Elementary Latin prosody and the lyric metres of Horace are satisfacto- rily treated in the school grammars commonly used. A brief account is given here solely for convenience, and no attempt is made to provide the elemen- tary knowledge which must be gained from the grammars. One point, how- ever, may be noted. The common method of marking an irrational spondee ( — >) leads pupils to think that it is not to be distinguished from a trochee,
35
§§ 44-48] INTRODUCTION
sical time is |. While Horace adopted his measures from the Greeks, he is more strict than his models in certain points. He always uses an irrational spondee in place of a trochee before the first cyclic dactyl (— > | -^ ^, and not — w [ — ^ ^) ; and if an apparent choriambus — ^ w |i_ Ms followed by a second apparent choriambus in the same verse, the caesura regularly separates the two. The following logaoedic verses are used by Horace :
45. The Adonic :
/■ < /
— v^ \J \ — \J
terruit 1 urbem
(This may also be read A.^ ,^ | Li. | ^ ^)
46. The Aristophanic :
Lydia \ die per \ otnnes
(This may also be read -Aj ^\— \^\^\— /\)
47. The Pherecratic (read as a syncopated tetrapody catalectic) :
48. The Glyconic :
grato I Pyrrha sub \ an\tro
sic ie I diva po' tens Cy\pri
i.e. that both equal J ^ ; whereas the irrational spondee must be represented
in musical notation by c.'»#*- Furthermore the musical equivalent of the
/ fl /1 cyclic dactyl, as commonly expressed, —v^ w = ^. J ^, is hardly correct;
/1 fl fl it should rather be 0»g'^'- In the schemes as here given the form ~w v^
is used when the caesura does not fall within the foot or falls between the two short syllables, — ^ || w ; when the caesura occurs after the long syllable the foot is written — || ^y^.
1 This combination was regarded by the later Roman writers as a choriam- bus, — ^^ — , and many still give the name ' choriambic ' to metres in which this succession of syllables occurs.
36
METRES [§§ 49-53
49. The Lesser (decasyllabic) Alcaic :
fiumina \ constite\rint a\cuto
50. The Greater (hendecasyllabic) Alcaic :
di-w l-> II A>^ I- ^\Ck
per\initte \ divis || cetera \ qui si\mul
In Books 1-3 the anacrusis is usually long ; in Book 4 always so. In I, 37, 14 ; 4, 14, 17 diaeresis is neglected ; caesura occurs after a prefix in i, 16, 21 ex\\erciltis ; i, 37, 5 de\ promere ; 2, 17, 21 in\\credibili.
51 . The Lesser Sapphic :
^ w|- >!- II WW 1- w I ->
/aw ^rt|//5 ter\ris || «z'w'i' | atque | dirae
In Books 1-3 the masculine caesura is regularly used ; in the Carmen Saeculare and Book 4 the feminine caesura is more fre- quently allowed, e.g. :
^ w |-^>i ^ II wl- wl-> Phoebe \ silvar unique \\ poJens Di anae
52. The Greater Sapphic :
- wi->i-|l^l^ II - v^|-vy|-> (e deos oro Syba\rin |1 cur propeWes a mando.
Or we may write the second half of the verse as a syncopated tetrapody catalectic :
II A. V. I -^ w I '^ I ^ A
It should be observed that this corresponds with the Aristo- phanic verse (cf. 46).
53. The Lesser Asclepiadic :
Maece\nas atdyis || edite \ regi\bus
In 4, 8, I 7, caesura is disregarded, but the text is in doubt ; in 2, 12, 25 caesura occurs after the prefix in de\torquet.
§§ 54-56] INTRODUCTION
54. The Greater Asclepiadic :
^ > \ Aj v^i^ 11^ w||-I1-^w|-^w|6a Nullum I Vare sa\cra |{ vite pri\us || sever is | arbo\rem.
C. I, II, 18; 4, 10.
It should be observed that this differs from the preceding rhythm (53) in having a syncopated dipody 1| A^ w M— | inserted between the two tripodies. In i, 18, 16, caesura occurs after the prefix in
per^lucidior.
Iambic and Trochaic Verses. — The following iambic and trochaic verses are used by Horace :
55. The Iambic Dimeter:
> — \y — \ > — \y —
> W V^ W v^ V^ j
Or in anacrustic form : ^
> • — v^ — > I — Kj — A
The irrational spondee may be substituted in the first and third feet. Resolution of the thesis is found in four verses {^Epod. 2, 62 ; 3, 8 ; 5, 48; 15, 24), and then is Umited to the first foot for the apparent dactyl, > ^^ ^ ; while tribrachs may be used in the first two feet, e.g. :
Ohlivio I nem sensibus EpoJ. 14, 2.
videre prope\rantis domum Epod. 2, 62.
>wv^>^ — 1> II— w—
ast ego vicis\stm risero Epod. 15, 24.
56. The Iambic Trimeter Catalectic :
> — w — I > II — ^ — I w A
trahuntque sic cas || machinae \ carinas.
Or with anacrusis :
> : — w— >|| — >^ — w| ' A
1 Whenever iambic verses occur in logaoedic or composite rhythms, they are to be written with anacrusis.
38
I
METRES [§§ 56-58
In C. 2, 18, 34 possibly resolution occurs in the second foot regiimque pueris, > \ — k^ 6 ^—, unless, as is probable, we should read by synizesis, /?^m (cf. 38).
57. 'Y\vt Pure Iambic Trimeter : —
suis et ipsa\Roma vi ribus ruit
58. The Iambic Trimeter (with substitutions and resolutions) : —
v// / |W||/ '' \ \^ ^ , ^
>6 ^ > II w w
w v^ — ^ "^ —
£j>o{l 17. The caesura occurs after the prefix in im\plumibus, Epod. 1,19; and in \ aestuet, Epod. 11,15. The irrational spondee is not infrequently substituted in the first, third, and fifth feet ; the tribrach is used chiefly in the second and third feet, rarely in the first and fourth ; the dactyl is found in the first foot, rarely in the third ; and the anapaest is possibly to be read in the first foot twice {Epod. 2, 35 pavidum, 65 positos) and three times in the fifth {Epod. 2, 35 laqueo, 5, 79 inferius, 11, 23 mulierculum) ; yet some of these cases may be read by synizesis as iambs (cf. 38). Examples of trimeters with various substitutions : —
\j — w — !^ll — '^ — w — v^w per et Did nae |{ non moven\da numina
!> — v_/ wvy^ll — \j \j Kj ^ — \j O vectabor hume ris || tunc ego ini\micis eques.
'^\j\y\j — -iwll — \j — I > — w — Canidia par re || vocibuf \ tandem sacris
> — \j — I > II www — > — w w optat qui e tern || Pelopis in\fidi pater.
w w — wwwi w|| — w — |w w^ w w
pavidumque lepo\rem et || advetiam \ laqueo gi-nem,
w — w —
ox pav{{)du>nque, laqueo (cf. 38, 40).
39
§§ 59-65] INTRODUCTION
59. The Euripidean : —
— \j — \j \ — ^ \j i\ non ehur ne\que aureum
60. The Nine-syllable Alcaic : —
>: — \y\ — P*| — v^l — \j sil'-.vae la\boran\tes geluque
This consists of two trochaic dipodies with anacrusis. The second foot is always irrational.
Dactylic Verses.
61 . The Lesser Archilochian : —
— v^v^l — \J \J\ — A arbor i\busque co\mae
62. ^\\& Dactylic Tetrameter catalectic : —
saeva ca\put Pro\serpina \ Jugit
In C I, 28, 2 a spondee is found in the third foot.
63. The Dactylic Hexameter : —
WW I — WW I — ll>»'W I — WW I — WW I
The feminine caesura in the third foot is occasionally found, and the masculine caesura sometimes falls in the fourth or second foot, rhe four cases of spondees in the fifth foot are due to proper names {C. i, 28, 21 ; Epod. 13, 9 ; 16, 17 and 29).
Dactylo-trochaic Verses.
64. In these the cola, rhythmical sentences, are separate ; so that the verses are compound, having a change of time (| to f , or vice versa) within them. Syllaba anceps is allowed at the end of the first colon in the lambelegus and Elegiambus.
65. The Greater Archilochian (a dactylic tetrameter acatalec- tic + a trochaic tripody) : —
WW I V^w! 11 WW I — WW II — w I — wl — ~>
solvitur I acris hi\enis\gra \la vice || veris \ et Favoni. 40
METRES [§§ 66-68
The caesura is found regularly after the third thesis, and a diaere- sis after the dactylic colon. The fourth foot is always a dactyl.
66. The lambelegus (a trochaic dimeter catalectic with anacru- sis -f- a lesser archilochian) : —
>: — \y I — >| — w|w|| — \y\y \ — v^ ^| — A tu\vina \ Torqua\to mo\ve || consule \ pressa tne\o.
No substitutions but those indicated are allowed in the first colon ; and spondees are not allowed in the second.
67. The Elegiambus (the cola of the lambelegus reversed) : —
scribere \ versicujos II a\more \ perctis\sum gra\vi.
STROPHES
Most of the Odes are arranged in stanzas or strophes of four verses each ; in a few the distich or the single verse is the metrical unit. In the Epodes, with the exception of the seventeenth, which is written in iambic trimeters, the epodic distich (cf. .4) is the unit.
The lyric strophes used by Horace are these : —
68. The Alcaic Strophe — two Greater Alcaics (50), one Nine- syllable Alcaic (60), and a Lesser Alcaic (49) : —
— w \J I — l-IV^ I — v^ I — > 4
This strophe is the most frequent; found in C. \, 9. 16. 17. 26. 27. 29. 31. 34. 35. 37; 2, I. 3. 5. 7. 9. II. 13. 14. 15. 17. 19. 20; 3, 1-6. 17. 21. 23. 26. 29; 4, 4. 9. 14. 15. In 2, 3, 27 and 3, 29, 35 there is eUsion at the end of the third verse.
41
§§ 69-71] INTRODUCTION
69. The Sapphic Strophe — three Lesser Sapphics (51), and an Adonic (45) : —
After the Alcaic the most frequent strophe; found in C. i, 2. 10. 12. 20. 22. 25. 30. 32. 38; 2, 2. 4. 6. 8. 10. 16; 3, 8. II. 14. 18. 20. 22. 27 ; 4, 2. 6. II ; C. S. The feminine caesura is found in a few cases (cf. 51). In a number of strophes Horace follows Sappho in treating the third and fourth verses as one, so that in three places (C 1, 2, 19; i, 25, 11 ; 2, 16, 7) words run over from one verse to the next as now printed ; elision at the end of the third verse is found, 4, 2, 23 and C. S. 47 ; hiatus between the verses occurs but four times (C i, 2, 47 ; i, 12, 7 and 31 ; I, 22, 15); and in most cases the dactyl of the fourth verse is preceded by a spondee at the close of the third.
EHsion occurs three times also at the end of the second verse (C. 2, 2, 18; 2, 16, 34; 4, 2, 22).
70. The Greater Sapphic Strophe — an Aristophanic verse (46) followed by a Greater Sapphic (52) : —
C. I, 8.
71. The First Asclepiadic Strophe — a Glyconic (48) followed by a Lesser Asclepiadic (53) : —
C. I, 3. 13. 19. 36 ; 3, 9. 15. 19. 24. 25. 28 ; 4, I. 3. Elision at the end of the Glyconic is found 4, i, 35.
42
METRES [§§ 72-77
72. The Second Asclepiadic Strophe — three Lesser Asclepia- dics followed by a Glyconic : —
-^>1 A.^ I '^IIA.^ I^w I^A 1-3 -> l-^w 1-w i ^ A 4
C. I, 6. 15. 24. 33 ; 2, 12 ; 3, 10. 16 ; 4, 5. 12.
73. The Third Asclepiadic Strophe — two Lesser Asclepiadics, a Pherecratic (47), and a Glyconic : —
^>|-^wl ^^ I^A 3
-^>|-^w|^w|^A 4
C. I, 5. 14. 21. 23; 3, 7. 13; 4, 13.
74. The Iambic Strophe — an Iambic Trimeter (58) followed by an Iambic Dimeter (55) : —
Epod. i-io.
75. The First Pythiambic Strophe — a Dactylic Hexameter (63) followed by an Iambic Dimeter (55) : —
/ — I / — I / II I / — I / I / w
> W I > W —
Epod. 14 and 15.
76. The Second Pythiambic Strophe — a Dactylic Hexameter followed by a Pure Iambic Trimeter : —
Epod. 16.
77. The Alctnanian Strophe — a Dactylic Hexameter followed by a Dactylic Tetrameter (62) : —
— vTw I — \j\J i — II \j v^ I — \j\j I — w vv I
WW I WW I WW I
C. I, 7. 28 ; Epod. 12.
43
§§ 78-83] INTRODUCTION
78. The First Archilochian Strophe — a Dactylic Hexameter followed by a Lesser Archilochian (61) : —
C. 4, 7.
wv/ I — \^v^ I — II w^ I — v^^ I — ^ \y I — — ^ I -^ I ^ -
79. The Second Archilochian Strophe — a Dactylic Hexameter followed by an lambelegus (66) : —
— \j\j I — C7^ I — II \u \j I — \j \j I — \j \j I — — >: — \j \ — > I — '^l — A" — wwl — wwl — /^
Epod. 13.
80. The Third Archilochian Strophe — an Iambic Trimeter followed by an Elegiambus (67) : —
> — Ky — l>ll — y' — l> — \J —
— ^ \j I — Kj \j I — aIIV: — >^ I — >l — w I'^A Epod. 1 1 .
81. The Fourth Archilochian Strophe — a Greater Archilochian (65) followed by an Iambic Trimeter Catalectic (56) : —
— 0~0 I — \TXJ I — II <J^O I — v^wll — ■^J \ — >^l — —
C. 1,4-
82. The Trochaic Strophe — a Euripidean (59) followed by an Iambic Trimeter Catalectic : —
/ ^ I ^ ^ A
>. — \j >ll — v^ — ^1 — A C. 2, 18.
83. The Ionic Systejn — pure lonici a minore, ^ w , in
verses of ten feet : —
/ / \ //i //i //| //
WW I \J \J I WW I WW I WW
/ / \ //l //l //l //
WW I WW I WW I WW I WW
C. 3, 12. Diaeresis occurs at the end of most feet.
44
SYNTAX [§§ 84-88
SYNTAX
The following paragraphs deal briefly with the constructions in the lyrics of Horace, which depart most from prose usage.
THE ACCUSATIVE
84. The perfect passive participle is used as a middle with a direct object, sometimes accompanied by an instrumental abla- tive : I, I, 21 membra . . . stratus, 'stretching his Hmbs.' i, 2, 31 nube candentis ttmeros amictus, 'wrapping thy shining shoulders in a cloud.' 3, 8, 5 docttts sermones, ' learned in the lore.'
85. The common prose use of the accusative neuter of ad- jectives of number or amount is extended to other adjectives which express the manner of the action : i, 22, 23 dulce ridentem, dulce loquentem, ' sweetly smiling, sweetly prattling.'
86. The object accusative is used with many verbs which were ordinarily intransitive before Horace's time : 2, 13, 26 fif. sonantem . . . plectro dura navis, dura fugae mala, dura belli, ' sounding with his plectrum the hardships of the sea, the cruel hardships of exile, the hardships of war.' 4, 12, 5 Ityn flebiliter gemens, 'sadly mourning Itys.' 4, 13, 19 spirabat amores, 'breathed forth love.' Epod. 14, II fievit amorem, ' wept his love.'
THE DATIVE
87. The dative of agent is used with the perfect participle : I, 32, 5 barbite Lesbio modulate civi, 'lyre tuned by Lesbian citi- zen.' Also with verbs expressing feeling or perception: i, i, 24 f. bella matribus detestata, ' wars which mothers hate.' Rarely with present passives: as 3, 25, 3 f . quibus antris audiar? 'by what grottoes shall I be heard ? '
88. The dative of place, as well as of person, is used to denote the direction of motion : 4, 4, 69 f. Carthagini iam nonego nuntios
45
§§ 88-94] INTRODUCTION
mittain superbos, ' no longer shall I send proud messengers to Carthage.' Cf. i, 24, 15 num vanae redeat sanguis imagini ? ' would the blood return to the empty shade ? '
89. The dative is also used with verbs expressing union, com- parison, difference, etc. : 1,1,15 Itictantem Icariis fluctibiis Africum, 'the Afric struggling with the Icarian waves.' i, i, 30 ttie . . . dis miscent superis, ' make me one with the gods above.' i, 24, 18 nigra compulerit gregi, 'has gathered to his dark flock.'
THE GENITIVE
90. An adjective is often modified by a partitive genitive : i, 10, 19 superis deorum, equivalent to superis deis in prose. 1, 9, 14 quern fors dierum cumque dabit, equivalent to quemcunique diem.
91. In imitation of a Greek construction, a genitive is used modifying a neuter plural adjective: 2, i, 23 cuncta ierrarum, 'all the world.'
92. The objective genitive is used with a larger number of adjectives than in prose : i, 3, i diva potens Cypri, 'goddess that ruleth Cyprus.' 1, 34, 2 f. insanientis sapientiae consultus, 'adept in a mad philosophy.' 2, 6, 7 lasso maris et viarum, ' weary of journeys by sea and land.' 3, 27, 10 imbrium divina avis, 'bird prophetic of storms.' 4, 6, 43 docilis modorum, ' taught the strains of.'
93. In a few cases the genitive of ' specification ' is used : 2, 22, I integer vitae, 'pure in life.' 3, 5, 42 capitis minor, 'inferior as an individual ' = ' deprived of civil rights.' And once 2, 2, 6 the genitive is almost causal : notus animi paterni, ' known for his paternal spirit.'
94. The objective genitive is used with verbs of ceasing, want- ing, etc., in imitation of the Greek construction : 2, 9, 18 desine querellarum, 'cease thy plaints.' 3, 17, 16 /amti/is operum solutis,
46
SYNTAX [§§ 94-99
'the servants freed from toil.' 3, 27, 69 abstiyieto irarum, 'give up thy wrath.'
THE ABLATIVE
The simple ablative, without a preposition, is used somewhat more freely than in prose.
95. The simple ablative is used to express the place where an action occurs: i, 2, 9 siiinma haesit ulmo, 'clung in the top of the elm.' i, 9, 10 f. ventos aeqiiore fervido deproeliantis, 'winds struggling over the yeasty deep.' i, 32, 8 religarat litore iiavim, ' anchored his ships off the shore,' also belongs here.
96. Once in the Odes the ablative of agent is used without a preposition: 1,6, 1 i. scriberis Vario . . . AIa€07iii carminis alite, ' thou shalt be sung by Varius, that bird of Maeonian song.' With this we may compare Epist. 1, 19, 2 carmina, quae scrihun- tiir aquae potoribus, 'verses written by teetotalers,' although most editors and grammarians regard potoribus as dative of agent. While the phrase Vario . . . alite approaches the ablative abso- lute, the difference between it and such cases as S. 2, i, 84 iudice laudatus Caesare must not be overlooked.
97. The instrumental ablative is found once with a verbal lioun : 3, 4, 55 truncis iaculator, * he who threw trunks of trees.'
98. With vmto and a direct object the ablative is used to denote both that which is given and that which is received in exchange ; the context alone shows the relation : i, 17, i f. Lucre fiiem mutat Lycaeo, 'exchanges Lycaeus for Lucretihs.' The opposite i, 16, 25 f. ego mitibus mutare quaero tristia, ' I seek to substitute kind feelings for bitterness.'
«TRANSFERRED' ADJECTIVES
99. An adjective which naturally expresses some quality of a person or thing is sometimes transferred to an object or action which is associated with that person or thing : i, 3, 38 ff. neque \ per nostrum paiimur scelus \ iracunda lovem ponere fulmina ; I, 15, 33 f. ii-acunda . . . classis Achillei.
47
§§ I00-I05] INTRODUCTION
THE dTTo Koivov CONSTRUCTION
100. Occasionally a word is so placed with reference to two other words that it may grammatically be connected with either, while logically it is necessarily so connected: 2, 11, iif. ^uid aeternis minorem \ consiliis anitnum fatigas ? In this consiliis belongs equally to minore?n and to fatigas.
THE VERB
1 01. A singular verb is frequently used with two or more sub- jects : 3, 16, 29 if. rivus aquae silvaque . . . segetis certa fides . , . fallit.
102. The future indicative is occasionally used with permissive or hortatory force : i, 7, i laudabunt alii claram Rhodon, 'others may praise,' etc.; i, 12, 57 ff. te minor latum reget aequus orbem, etc., 'let him rule,' etc.
103. The perfect is used like the Greek gnomic aorist, to ex- press what has always been true or customary, i.e. a. general truth or customary action : i, 28, 20 nullum saeva caput Proserpina fugit, 'cruel Proserpina never passes by {i.e. never has, and there- fore, by implication, never does pass) a mortal.'
PROHIBITIONS
104. Horace occasionally employs the archaic form of prohi- bition, consisting of the imperative with ne : i, 28, 23 ne parce harenae, ' spare not the sand.'
Occasionally a circumlocution is employed : i, 9, i^fuge quae- rere, 'avoid asking' ; i, 38, 3 mitte sectari, ' give up hunting.'
INFINITIVE
105. The 'historical' infinitive is found but once in the Epodes, not in the Odes : Epod. 5, 84 puer iam non . . . lenire verbis impias, * the boy no longer tries to move the wretches by words.'
48
SYNTAX [§§ 106-110
106. The 'exclamatory' infinitive is found but twice in the Epodes, not in the Odes : Epod. 8, i rogare te, etc., ' the idea of your asking ! ' 1 1, r i f. contrdne lucrum nil valere candidum \ pau- peris ingenium ? ' to think that against mere gold the purity of a poor man's character has no power ! '
107. The infinitive of purpose is found occasionally : i, 2, 7 f. peeus egit altos \ visere montis, ' he drove the flock to visit the high mountains'; i, 12, 2 quern sumis celebrare ? 'whom dost thou take to celebrate in song? ' i, 26, i fif. tristitiam et metus \ tradam protervis in mare Crelicu?n | portare ventis, ' gloom and fear will I give to the bold winds to carry to the Cretan sea' ; Epod. 16, 16 malis carere quaeritis laboribus, ' you seek to escape,' etc.
108. The infinitive is used with a large variety of adjectives to complete their meaning: i, 3, 25 audax omnia perpeti, 'with courage to endure all'; i, 10, 7 callidu7?i . . . condere, 'skilled to hide'; i, 15, 18 celerem sequi, 'swift in pursuit'; i, 35, 2 praesens.. . . tollere, 'with power to raise'; 3, 21, 22 segnes nodum solvere, 'slow to undo the knot'; 4, 12, 19 spes donare novas largus, ' generous in giving new hope ' ; etc.
109. The passive infinitive is also used as a verbal noun in the ablative: i, 19, 8 lubricus adspici, 'dazzling;' 4, 2, 59 niveus videri, 'white in appearance.'
THE PARTICIPLE
110. The future active participle is often used to express pur- pose, readiness or ability, and prophecy, being equivalent to a clause: i, 35, 29 iturum Caesarem, 'Caesar, who proposes to go ' ; 2, 6, I Seplimi, Gadis aditure mecum, ' Septimius, thou who art ready,' etc. ; 4, 3, 20 O mutis quoque piscibus donatura cycni . . . sonum, ' O thou who couldst give,' etc. ; 2, 3, 4 moriture Delli, ' Dellius, who art doomed to die.'
HOR. CAR. — 4 49
HORATI CARMINA
LIBER PRIMVS I
This ode forms the prologue to the three books of lyrics published by Horace in 23 B.C. After the first two lines addressed to Maecenas, which virtually dedicate the whole collection to him, Horace rehearses the various interests of men, that at the end he may present his own ambition. ' Some men seek fame in athletic games or in politics (3-8), others have lower aims — riches, ease, war, or hunting (9-28) ; but as for me, I have the loftiest aim of all, Maecenas — to wear the ivy wreath and be the Muse's dear companion (29-34).' The ode was clearly written after the collection was fairly complete ; that is, not long before the actual publication. Metre, 53.
Maecenas atavis edite regibus,
o et praesidium et dulce decus meum :
I. Maecenas: for Maecenas' and note ; 2,2g,i Tyrr/ienaregum
position at Rome and Horace's progenies; S. i, 6, iff. ; Prop. 4,
relations with him, see Intr. 5. 9, i Maecenas^ eques Etrusco de
— atavis: ancestors, in a general sangtmie regtnn. This habit is sense, in apposition with regibus. referred to by Martial 12, 4, i f.
— edite regibus : Maecenas was quod Flacco Varioque fiat sitm- descended from an ancient line fuoque Maroni \ Maecetias atavis of princes of the Etruscan city of regibus ortics eques.
Arretium. Horace and his con- 2. oet: monosyllabic interjec-
temporaries emphasize the con- tions are ordinarily not elided,
trast between their patron's noble Intr. 42. — praesidium . . . decus:
birth and the equestrian rank he not merely a formal compliment,
preferred to keep at Rome. Cf. for there is a warmth in the second
3, 16, 20 Maecenas, eqiiitum decus half of the expression that is com-
51
I. I. 3]
HORATI
Sunt quos curriculo pulverem Olympicum collegisse iuvat metaque fervidis evitata rotis, palmaque nobilis terrarum dominos evehit ad deos ; hunc, si mobilium turba Quiritium
parable to the feeling expressed in hpod. I. Cf. the more formal phrase 2, 17, 3f. Maecenas, mea- riim I grande deciis cohiinenqtce rerum; a\so Epist. i, i, 103 rem in. tutela tnearmn. Vergil makes a similar acknowledgment of his obligation, G. 2, 40 f. 0 deciis, o famae merito pars max-uma nostrae, \ Maecenas. Horace's phrase proved a striking one and is frequently adopted by later writers.
3 ff. Note how Horace secures variety in the expressions by which he designates the various classes : sunt quos. hunc, ilium, etc. He has also arranged his typical ex- amples with care, contrasting one aim in life with the other, and in each case bringing out the point which would be criticised by one not interested in that particular pursuit.
— sunt quos . . . iuvat : equiva- lent to aliquos iuvat. Cf. v. 19 est qui. The indicative with this phrase defines the class, rather than gives its characteristics. — curriculo : from currzculus, chariot. — Olympicum: i.e. at the great games held every four years at Olympia in Elis. Yet Horace probably uses the adjective simply
to make his statement concrete. Cf note to V. 13. He is speaking here of athletic contests in general.
4. collegisse : to have raised in a cloud. Cf. S. i, 4, 31 piil- vis collectus turbine. — meta : the turning post at the end of the spina, which was the barrier that ran through the middle of the cir- cus, and round which the horses raced. See Schreiber-Anderson's Atlas, pi. 31, I and 2, for illustra- tions of the race course.
5. evitata : just grazed. The skill of the charioteer was shown in making as close a turn as possible about the meta without meeting disaster. — palmaque : equivalent to quosque palma. The palm, which was the regular prize for the Olympic victor from the time of Alexander, was adopted by the Romans about 293 B.C. Livy 10, 47, 3 translato e Graecia marc. — nobilis : with active meaning, modifying palma, the ennobling.
6. dominos : in apposition with deos. The victory exalts the vic- tors to heaven, where dwell the rulers of the world. Cf 4, 2, 17 f. quos Elea domum reducit \ palma caelestis.
7ff. Political ambition. — hunc : sc. iuvat. — mobilium: fickle; cf
52
CARMINA
[i. I, 14
certat tergeminis tollere honoribus ; ilium, si proprio condidit horreo quicquid de Libycis verritur areis. Gaudenteni patrios findere sarculo agros Attalicis condicionibus numquam demoveas, ut trabe Cypria Myrtoum pavidus nauta secet mare ;
Epist. I, 19, 37 ventosa piebs. — tergeminis : the three necessary steps in the republican ciirsns honorum, the curule aedileship, praetorship, and consulship.
gf. propris: with quicquid, re- ferring to the avarice which is frequently connected with great wealth. For the expression, cf. 3, 16, 26 f. si quicquid arat i>/i- piger Apiilus \ occttltare vieis di- cer er horreis. — Libycis : Africa, especially the fertile district of Byzacium about Utica and Ha- drumetum, was at this time the granary of Rome ; later, Egypt became the most important source of supply.
iiff. A modest establishment, in contrast to a great estate in Africa. — patrios: in this word there is a suggestion of contentment and calm security, as in Epod. 2. 3 pa- ter tia rura. This security is again contrasted with the vicissitudes and perils of the sailor. — sarculo: a hoe used for stirring and loosen- ing the soil. It suggests the small farm that Horace has in mind, too small to make it worth while to use a plow. — Attalicis condicion- ibus : Tvith the terms a prince could
offer; regiis opibus, says Porphy- rio. The Attali, kings of Perga- mon, were famous for their wealth. In 133 B.C. King Attalus III, at his death, bequeathed his kingdom, with his treasures, to the Romans. This lent to his name the glamour of wealth which we associate with the name of Croesus.
13. demoveas: potential subj-, — you could never allure. — trabe : bark. The part is used for the whole. Cf. Verg. A. 3, 191 vela damns vastumque cava trabe cur- rimus aequor ; Catull. 4, 3 natantis itnpetuJii trabis. — Cypria : Hor- ace regularly employs a particular rather than a general adjective, thereby making his expressions more concrete and his pictures more vivid — a device learned from the Alexandrine poets. So we have in the following verse Myrtoum, 15 Icariis, 19 Massici, 28 Marsus ; and often.
14. pavidus : especially applica- ble to the landsman turned sailor. — secet mare: a common figure from Homer's day. Cf. Od. 3, 173!!". avrap o y rffiiv \ Setl^e, kcu r/vutyu TTcAxxyo? /xecrov ets EujSoiai/ ' re'/xvetv.
53
h 1, 15]
HORATI
15
25
luctantem Icariis fluctibus Africum mercator metuens otium et oppidi laudat rura sui : mox rencit ratis quassas, indocilis pauperiem pati. Est qui nee veteris pocula Massici nee partem solido demere de die spernit, mine viridi membra sub arbuto stratus, nune ad aquae lene eaput sacrae. Multos eastra iu'.'^ant et lituo tubae permixtus sonitus bellaque matribus detestata. Manet sub love frigido
15 ff. Against the struggles of the sea, the trader sets the peaceful quiet of his nativecountry town; yet it has this roseate hue for him only when he is in the midst of danger.
16 f. oppidi rura: 'the country districts surrounding the village in which he was born.' — mox: his fear quickly passes, and he returns to his old pursuit of money getting.
18. pauperiem: a life of small estate; not to be confused with egestas or inopia. Cf. i, 12, 43f. saeva paupertas et avitiis apto \ cum lare fundus, also Sen. Epist. 87, 40 twn video quidaliiid sit pau- pertas qiiam parvi posses sio. — pati: with indocilis. Intr. 108.
igff. Between the merchant (u^- 18) and the soldier (23-25) is in- serted an example of the man who gives himself over to a life of ease and enjoyment, to cups of good old wine and the noonday siesta. — Massici: a choice wine from Mt. Massicus, on the southern border
of Latium. — solido . . . die: tinitt- terrupted, unbrokeft; i.e. for such strenuous men as the merchant or the soldier, who give their days to trade or arms. Cf Sen. Epist. 83, 3 hodiernics dies solidus est : nemo ex illo quicquam mihi eripuit.
21 f. stratus: a middle parti- ciple,— stretching his limbs, etc. Intr. 84. — sacrae: for the foun- tain heads of streams were the homes of the water divinities. Cf Sen. Epist. /\\, 3, tnagjioruf/i Jlumi- num capita vetieramur, . . . colun- tur aqiiartim calentium fontes.
24 ff. matribus: dat. with detes- tata ; abJiorred. Cf Epod. 1 6, 8 pare7ttibusqjie abominatus Hanni- bal.— manet: equivalent to per- noctat. — sub love : under the sky. Jupiter is often used by the poets for the phenomena of the sky. Cf Enn. Epich. Erg. 6 M. is tic est is liipiter quem dico; quem Graeci vocant I derem, qui vhitus est et nUtbes, imber postea \ dtqueeximbre
54
CARMINA
[I. I, 36
venator tenerae coniugis immemor, seu visa est catulis cerva fidelibus, sen rupit teretis Marsus aper plagas. Me doctarum hederae praemia frontium
30 dis miscent superis ; me gelidum nemiis
Nympharumque leves cum Satyris chori secernunt populo, si neque tibias Euterpe cohibet nee Polyhymnia Lesboum refugit tendere barbiton.
35 Quod si me lyricis vatibuS inseres,
sublimi feriam sidera vertice.
frigjts, vent lis post Jit, aer denuo. — tenerae: youtig.
28. teretis: stout, close twisted.
29. me: note the emphatic po- sition of this word here and in the following verse. Against the back- ground of other men's aims, Horace now places his own ambition. — doctarum . . . frontium : i.e. of poets, the cro(f>oL aetSoi taught by the Muses. — hederae : sacred to Bac- chus, on whose protection and favor the poets depend. Cf. Epist. i, 3, 25 prima feres hederae victricis prae- mia, and Verg. E. 7, 25 past ores, hedera nascentem ornate poetavi.
30. miscent : make me one with. Cf. Pind. Isth. 2. 28 f. 'OAv/attiov Atos I a Aero? • Iv d^avarois Alvr)- criodfjLov I TraiSe? iv rijU-ats efxti^Oev.
32 f. secernunt: set apart. The poet must rise superior to common folk and common things to fulfill his sacred office. — Euterpe . . . Polyhymnia : Horace follows the Greeks of the classical period in not
ascribing to each muse a special de- partment of literature or learning.
34. Lesboum: Lesbos was the home of Alcaeus and Sappho, Hor- ace's chief models among the ear- lier Greek lyricists.
35 f . vatibus : applied to poets as inspired bards. Horace may mean specifically the nine great lyric poets of Greece, vates was th e earliest word for poet among the Romans, but was displaced by the Greek poeta until the Augustan period. Cf. Verg. A. 6, 662 quique pa vates et Phoebo digna locuti. — sublimi feriam, etc.: a prover- bial expression from the Greek T17 K€<]>'j.X.r} ij/aijeLV tov ovpavov. Cf. Ovid Met. 7, 61 vertice sidera tan- gam, and Ausonius' imitation of Horace, 3. 5, 52 P. titnctangam ver- tice caelum. Also Herrick's 'knock at a star with my exalted head,' and Tennyson's lines. Epilogue, *01d Horace ? "I will strike," said he, I " The stars with head sublime.'"
55
I, 2] HORATI
/
' We have been terrified enough with snow and hail, with lightning and with flood, portents that show Heaven's wrath and threaten ruin to our impious state. Wliat god will come and save us? Apollo? Venus? Mars? or Mercury? Aye, thou art already here. Remain long among us, enjoy triumphs, the name of father and of chief; check and punish the Medes, divine leader Caesar.'
While the first ode of the collection dedicates the poems to Maece- nas, the second is a declaration of loyalty and devotion to the emperor. The first six strophes review the portents that followed on the murder of Julius Caesar. Cf. Porphyrio's comment on the opening words, — post occisum C. Caesarem, qjiem Cassms et Brutus aliique coniurati interfecerunt, viulta portenta stint visa. Haec autem omnia vidt videri in ultionevi occisi principis facta et poenain eorum, qui bella civilia agere nnn desinebant. With v. 25 Horace turns from the sins of the Romans to the means of help. The following three strophes call on Apollo, Venus, and Mars in turn to save their people. Finally, v. 41 ff., Horace appeals to Mercury, who has taken on an earthly form, that of the emperor. The ode culminates with v. 49 ff., the direct appeal to Octavian ; but the identification of Octavian with Mercury is not fully announced until the last word of the ode.
The choice of the gods invoked was undoubtedly determined by the subject of the ode. Apollo was the patron divinity of the Julian gens; his first and only temple at Rome to the time of the one built by Augus- tus was dedicated in 431 B.C., by Cn. Julius (Livy 4, 29) ; the members of the gens sacrificed to him at Bovillae, according to an ancient rite, lege Albana {C.l.L. i, 807), and Octavian believed that the god had espe- cially favored him at the battle of Actium. Cf. Prop. 5, 6, 27 ff., cum Phoebus litiquens stantem se vindice Delon \ . . . adstitit Augicsti pup- pim super et nova flamma \ luxit in obliquam ter sinuato facem. Verg. A. 8, 704, Actius haec cernens arcuin intendebat Apollo. Venus, mater Aeneadum, as genetrix was the especial protectress of Julius Caesar. Augustus is himself called (C S. 50), clarus Anchisae Venerisque sanguis. Mars is naturally appealed to as the father of Romulus' people. The final identification of the emperor is especially interesting, for it bears on the social and economic relations of the times. Under Octavian, with the restoration of peace, trade improved and prosperity returned, so that nothing could be more natural than to regard the man who was bringing this about as the incarnation of the god of trade.
The Pompeian dedicatory inscriptions quoted by Kiessling admirably
56
CARMINA
[i, 2, 6
illustrate the growth of this identification, at least in the Campanian city. In three of these records (C./.Z. lo, 885-887), the first two of which can be dated 14 B.C., the persons attached to the cult of Mer- cury are called ministri Mercurii Maiae; then no. 888, of uncertain date, has ministri Augusti Mercuri Maiae ; and finally nos. 890- 910, beginning with 2 B.C., have only ministri Angusii. Later, the conception of Augustus as identical with Apollo prevailed.
The date of composition falls between the return of Octavian from the East in 29 B.C. (cf. v. 49, inagnos — triumphos) and Jan. 13th, 27 B.C., when his imperium was renewed, and he received the new title, Augus- tus. The most probable date is late in 28 B.C., when Octavian's suggestion of giving up his power (Dio C. 53, 4, 9) may well have awakened fears of the return of civil strife. Metre, 69.
lam satis terris nivis atque dirae grandinis misit pater, et riibente dextera sacras iaculatus arcis terruit urbem,
5 terruit gentis, grave ne rediret
saeculum Pyrrhae nova monstra questae,
I ff. the repetition of -is is strik- ing and may suggest the hiss of the storm. Cf. //. 21, 239, KpvTTTwviv hivr)(TL /3a$€irj(riv fx,€ya.Xrj(TL. Snow and hail are not unknown at Rome in winter, but an especially severe storm might well pass for a portent.
— dirae : portentous, with both nivis and grandinis, marking them as prodigia. The word is espe- cially used of things of bad omen.
— pater : used absolutely, tJie all- father. Cf. 3, 29, 43 ff. eras vel atra \ mibe polnm pater occiipato
I vel sole pure. — rubente dex- tera : his red right hand ; i.e. glowing with the thunderbolt. Cf. Find. O. 9, 6 Ata . . . <J)olvl- KocrrepoTrav.
3. iaculatus : transitive, strik- ing at. — arcis : specifically the two heights of the Capitnlj^^f hill^ on the northern one of which was the arx proper, on the southern <^hf; t^r^pi? Tff Jiip'*^^*" '^^pitolinu" : hence sacras. However, Horace may mean in general the summits of Rome's seven hills. Cf. Verg. G. 2, 535 septefnquennasibifnuro circjimdedit arces.
4 f . terruit . . . terruit : note the anaphora by which the sen- tences are connected. Cf. 2, 4, 3 ff. serva Briseis niveo colore \ movit Achillem ; \ movit Aiacem. Intr. 29. — gentis : mankind.
6. saeculum Pyrrhae : i.e. the deluge from which Pyrrha with
57
I. 2, 7]
HORATI
omne cum Proteus pecus egit altos visere montis,
piscium et summa genus haesit ulmo, nota quae sedes fuerat columbis, et superiecto pavidae natarunt aequore dammae.
Vidimus flavum Tiberim retortis litore Etrusco violenterundis
her husband Deucalion alone es- caped to repeople the earth. For the story see Ovid Met. i, 260 ff. — nova : new, and therefore strange.
7. omne: of every sort. — Pro- teus : the shepherd of the sea who tends Neptune's flocks. Cf. Verg. G. 4, 395 arinenta et turpis pascit sub gurgite phocas. ' 8. visere: infinitive of purpose. Intr. 107. Cf. I, 26, I if. tristitiam et metus \ tradavt protervis in mare Creticum \ port are vent is.
9. summa ulmo : cf. Ovid Met. 1 , 296 /lie summa piscem deprendit in ulmo. The description may have been suggested by Archi- lochus Frg. 74, 6 ff. /at^Scis iff' vfiwv iiuopw Bavfia^eTM, \ firjB'' OTdv oeA<^tcri $ript<i dvTa/Aeti/'wvTat voixov I evaXiov Kai cr<f)Lv OaXdaarj^ riXiivra Kv/xara \ </>t'ATep' rjireipov yiv-qrai, ' No one among you should ever be surprised at what he sees, not even when the wild beasts take from the dolphins a home in the sea and the echoing waves of the deep become dearer to them than the firm mainland.'
II f. superiecto: sc.terris ; the whebning flood.
13 f. vidimus : i.e. with our own eyes, in the period between Caesar's murder and the date of writing. — flavum : the fixed epi- thet of the Tiber. Cf. i, 8, 8 air ti?net flavum Tiberim t anger e, and 2,3, 18 villaque, flavus quam Tiberis lavit ; also Verg. A. 7, 31 ;/iuIta flavus arena. It has been adopted by the modern poets. — retortis . . . undis : a glance at the map of Rome will show that the bend in the river above the island would naturally throw the Tiber's stream, in time of flood, over the Velabrum between the Capitol and Palatine, and thence into the Forum proper. — litore: abl. of separation, litus is tre- quently equivalent to ripa ; e.g. Virg. A. 8, 83 viridique in litore conspicit7ir sus. The popular be- lief, however, seems to have been, that such floods were caused by waves or tides driving back the waters of the river. Cf. Ovid Fast. 6, 401 f. hoc. nbi nunc for a
58
CARMINA
[l, 2, 20
15
ire deiectum monumenta regis teraplaque Vestae,
Iliae dum se nimium querenti iactat ultorem, vagus et sinistra labitur ripa love non probante u- xorius amnis.
suntyudaetetiuere paludes, \ amne redundatis fossa madebat aquis.
15 f . deiectum : supine of pur- pose. — monumenta regis : the Re- gia, the official residence of the pontifex maximus, built according to tradition by Numa. Cf. Ovid Fasti 6, 263 f. hie locus exiguus, qui sustiuet atria Vestae, \ tunc erat intonsi regia magna Nianae, and Plut. Nuvta 14, iSeifJuiTo wKrjaiov tov t^s Eorrtas upov ttjv KaXovfiev-qv, 'Prjyuiv. — templaque Vestae : at the foot of the Pala- tine. For an account of the tem- ple and of the house of the Vestal Virgins, the atrium Vestae, see Lanciani, 'Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Discoveries,' p. 134 ff. The foundations of this temple are only twenty-six feet above the mean level of the Tiber. That the ancient accounts of the flooding of the Forum are not ex- aggerated was shown by the flood of December, 1900, which rose quite as high as the one Horace describes. There is an especial significance in the mention of the Regia and the temple of Vesta, for they were both connected with the ,most ancient and sacred traditions
of the Romans. Within the temple of Vesta were the pignora imperii on whose preservation, it was be- lieved, the Roman empire's exist- ence depended. With the plurals monumenta and templa, cf. 3, 27. 75 tua nomina for nomen.
17. Iliae: the mother of the twins Romulus and Remus. Hor- ace here, as in 3, 3, 32, according to Porphyrio, follows the older tradition represented by Ennius. This made Ilia the daughter of Aeneas and sister of lulus, from whom the Julii derived their line. After the birth of the twins she was thrown into the Tiber in pun- ishment for her infidelity to her Vestal vows, but was saved by the river god and became his wife. — nimium : with ultorem ; the river is over eager to avenge his bride's complaints. Cf. uxorius, below.
19 f . ripa : ablative denoting the route taken, over the bank. But cf. Epod. 2, 25 ripis., between the banks. — u||xorius : Intr. 69. Horace here follows the example of Sappho, who frequently treated the third and fourth verses of this strophe as one, e.g. Frg. 2, 3f. aSu <^C()V£u !i eras viraKOi'ei ; 1 1 f .
59
I, 2, 2l]
HORATI
25
Audiet civis acuisse ferrum, quo graves Persae melius perirent, audiet pugnas vitio parentum rara iuventus.
Quem vocet divum populus ruentis imperi rebus ? Prece qua fatigent virgines sanctae minus audientem carmina Vestam ?
iTTLppofi II /SeLCTL 8' oLKOvaL. Other examples in Horace are i, 25, 11 inter ^lunia; 2, 16, 7 ve^nale. In the third and fourth books this is avoided. For the careful arrangement of the words in 18-20, see Intr. 21.
21-24. Civil strife with its dis- astrous results : ' the second gen- eration will hear with wonder the story of their fathers' wanton wickedness.' Notice that the strophe forms a single group of words that must be understood as a whole. Intr. 24. By the suspension of the subject of the principal verbs u&til the end, Horace produces a highly dramatic effect.
— civis : in the sense of fellow citizens, 'that citizens sharpened sword agamst citizens.' — graves Persate : the troublesome enemies of the Romans. Crassus' disaster at Carrhae was still unavenged, and the Roman standards had not yet been returned. — perirent : imperfect subj. of unfulfilled obli- gation, ought rather to have per- ished.
23 f . vitio parentum rara iu- ventus : the civil wars of 48-3 1 B.C. cost so many lives that Italy did not recover its population for many generations, if indeed it ever did. Cf. Verg. G. i, 507 f. squalent abduct is arva colonis \ et curvae rigidum fakes conflant^ir in ensem ; also Lucan 7, 398 f. crimen civile videmus \ tot vaciias urbes, and 535 ff. ^ modern parallel is the depopulation of France by the Napoleonic wars.
25 ff . Horace now turns from the portents sent by the gods, out- raged at the nation's crime, to seek for some divine aid ; for against divine wrath human resources are of no avail. — ruentis : rushing to ruin. This strong word is a favorite with Horace. Cf. Epod. 7, I quo, quo scelesti ruitis and "■ — rebus : dat. with vocet, call to aid. — fatigent: importune.
27. minus audientem : a eu- phemistic phrase. Vesta turns a deaf ear to the supplicating pray- ers (carmina) of the Virgins, for she is offended at the murder of Caesar, the pontifcx maximus, who
60
CARMINA
[i, 2,40
30
35
40
Cui dabit partis scelus expiandi luppiter ? Tandem venias, precamur, nube candentis umeros amictus, augur Apollo ;
sive tu mavis, Erycina ridens, quam locus circum volat et Cupido ; sive neglectum genus et nepotes respicis, auctor,
heu nimis Ion go satiate ludo, quem iuvat clamor galeaeque leves acer et Marsi peditis cruentum voltus in hostem;
had charge of her worship. Cf. Ovid Fast. 3, 698 f. mens fnit Hie sacerdos. \ sacrilegae telis nie petiere manits. With minus inti- mating a negative, cf. Epod. 5,61 f. minus \ venena Medea valent ; and the similar use of male i. 9. 24 male perthiaci.
29. partis : equivalent to /««««i", a technical word corresponding to our ' part ' in play, ' role,' etc. — scelus : the sin of fratricide.
30. tandem : ' since prayers have so long been of no avail.' Cf. neglectum genus, v. 35 below. — precamur : parenthetical : venias is grammatically independent of it.
31 f. nube . . . numeros amic- tus : the Homeric vetjiiXr] elXv- fijfidi w/Aovs, //• 5, 186; for the construction of a middle participle with the ace, cf. i, 22 stratus. Intr. 84. — Apollo: for the sig-
nificance of Apollo here, see intro- ductory note to this ode.
33 f. sive tu mavis : sc. ve- nias.— Erycina ridens: laughing '(<^tAo/i./i.£t8T;s) qneefi of Eryx. — locus : Mirth., the Greek Kw/aos, with Cupido the regular companion of Venus. Cf. Plant. Bacch. 113 Amor, Voluptas, Venus, Vemistas, Gaudiuni, locus. Ludus. — circum : postpositive. Intr. 33.
35 f. neglectum: cf. n. to v. 30. — auctor: the appeal is to Mars as the author of the Roman race.
37. ludo : ' the cruel sport of war." Cf. 2. I, 3 ludumqiie Fortunae.
38 ff. For the skillful arrange- ment of the words, see Intr. 21. 24. — clamor: the battle shout. — leves : smooth. — Marsi : the Marsi were a mountain folk living in cen- tral Italy, east of Rome. They were noted for their bravery. Cf. Verg. G. 2, 167 genus acre virmn.
61
1, 2,41]
IIORATI
45
50
sive mutata iuvenem figura ales in terris imitaris almae filius Maiae, patiens vocari Caesaris ultor,
serus in caelum redeas diuque laetus intersis populo Quirini, neve te nostris vitiis iniquiim ocior aura" ^
tollat; hie magnos potius triumphos, hie ames dici pater atque princeps,
Marsos. Appian, B. C. i, 46 has the proverb ovtc Kara Mdp- crwv ovTe avev M.a.p(T(x)v ytvicrOai. Bpiafxfiov.
41. mutata . . . figura: i.e. 'putting off the divine for a liu- man figure.' — iuvenem : this word gives the first hint of the point toward which Horace has been working, that is, that Octavian is a god come down to save the state.
42. imitaris: dost take on the form of.
43 f . vocari : dependent on pa- tiens. Intr. 108. — Caesaris ultor : Octavian declared his chief object in life to be the punishment of Caesar's murderers. Sutt. Aiig. 10 /////// convetiientius ducens quam iiecein aviuicnli vindicare. Man. Anc. I , g qui parentetn metiui in- terfeceriDit. eos in exiliiim expnli ill dici is legitimis tdtits corn m f aci- nus et postea bell urn inferentis rei publicae vicibis acie, and also Ovid Fast. 3, 709 f. hoc opus.: haec pietas,
haec prima elernenta fuerunt \ Cae- saris, ulcisci iusta per arma pa- trem.
45 f . This possibly gained es- pecial significance from Octavian's sickness in 28 B.C. Some years later Ovid oifered a similar prayer. Met. 15, 868 ff. tarda sit ilia dies et nostro serior aevo, \ qua caput Augustum, qtiem temper at, orbi relicto \ accedat caelo.
47. vitiis : modifying iniquum.
49. triumphos: -i.e. new ant greater triumphs than the threi celebrated in 29 B.C. Cf. Suet Aug. 22 triumphos tris egit, Del maticum, Actiacum, Alexandri num, continuo triduo omnes. I triumph over the troublesome Ori entals (v. 51) was at this tim especially desired.
50. pater atque princeps: Ui official designations, but titles 0 reverence and loyalty, — pater a divine protector, cf. i, 18, 6 Baccl. pater ; princeps as the first citizei
62
CARMINA [l, 3
neu sinas Medos equitare inultos te duce, Caesar.
Augustus was officially named pa- 52. The last line contains the
ter patriae in 2 B. c. climax of the ode. It is Caesar who
51. Medos: the Orientals are divinely leads and protects the state.
Persae (v. 22), Medi, or Parthi in- With the position of the last two
differently in Horace. — equitare: \\oxd& ci. ^,6. \-})i. reddidi carmen
ride on their raids. docilis modorum \ vatis Horati.
y
A propempticon, or farewell poem, to Vergil. ' Ship that bearest Ver- gil to Greece, deliver him safe, I pray. (1-8.) That mortal was overbold who first dared tempt the sea (9-24) ; of old man stole fire from Heaven and by that act brought on himself disease and early death (25-33) ; he essays the air itself and does not shrink to pass the very bars of Acheron (34-36). Nothing is safe from him; through pride and sin he still calls down the wrath of Jove.' Cf. with this the ill-natured propempticon to Mevius, Epod. 10.
Vergil's only voyage to Greece, so far as we know, was in 19 B.C., four years after the first three books of the Odes were published. Therefore we must believe that a visit to Athens was at least planned by him before 23 b. c. or that Horace is here addressing another Vergil than the poet. The second alternative can be rejected. No other Vergil could have been called by Horace animae dimidium ineae without receiving mention elsewhere, save possibly 4, 12, 13. For Horace's relation to Vergil, see Intr. 5 ; Sellar's Virgil, pp. 120-126.
It is remarkable that after the first eight verses which contain the propempticon proper, Horace, who was usually so tactful, should quickly revert to the old philosophical and theological notions of the sinfulness of human enterprise without observing how out of place such ideas were here, when Vergil was just about to show such enterprise by undertaking this voyage.
It is probable that the form of the propempticon was suggested by a
^poem of Callimachus, of which two verses are preserved. Frg. 114
a vav?, a to [i.6vov <f>€yyo<i ifilv to yXvKv ras ^0«? I a.pird^a<i. ttotl tv
Zavos iKvev/Ltai At)u.evoo-K07rco. ... ' O ship that hast snatched from me
my life's one sweet light, in name of Zeus, guardian of harbors, I
63
0
HORATI
beseech." . . . Statius" poem, Silvae 3. 2. is chiefly an expansion of Horace's verses. In modern poetry we may compare Tennyson's verses. /« Memor. 9. 'Fair ship, that from the Italian shore | Sailest the placid ocean plains ] With my lost Arthur's loved remains, | Spread thy full wings, and waft him o'er.' Metre, 71.
Sic te diva potens Cypri,
sic fratres Helenae, lucida sidera,
ventorumque regat pater,
obstrictis aliis praeter lapyga, 5 navis, quae tibi creditum
debes Vergilium, finibus Atticis
1. sic : expressing the condition on which the prayer is made : ' on this condition may Heaven and the winds favor thee, namely, that thou deliverest Vergil safe.' Here sic is expanded in the optative subj. reddas and serves. Often an im- perative or a conditional sentence follows. E.g. Epist. I, 7, 69 f. '■sic ignoz'isse pittaio | t/ie tibi, si cenas hodie tnecum.' Similarly in Eng- lish, e.g. Tennyson. In Memor. 17, ' So may whatever tempest mars | Mid-ocean, spare thee, sacred bark;' and the formula in oaths. 'So help me God.'
— diva potens Cypri: KuTrpov /AtSravo-cu I'enits marina, the pro- tectress of sailors. Cf. 3, 26, 5. g ; 4, II, 15. For the objective geni- tive with potens, cf. i, 6, 10 lyrae musa potens ; i, 5, i^potenti maris deo, i.e. Neptune.
2. Castor and Pollux. It was believed that the presence of these two guardians of sailors was at- tested by the electrical phenome-
non known to us as St. Elmo's fire. Cf. I, 12, 27 tf. : Lucian Navig. 9 ((ftaaKtv 6 vavKXi]p6i riva Xafiirpov darepa AicxrKOvpwv tov ercpov im- Kadicrax tw Kap^^r/atw Kol Karev^'vat 7-^v vavv ; Stat. Si/v. 3, 2, 8 ff. pro- ferte benigna \ siiiera et antemnae gemino considite cornu \ Oebalii fratres; and in English, Macaulay. Regilhis. ' Safe comes the ship to haven | Through billows and through gales, | If once the great Twin Brethren | Sit shining on the sails.' On coins a star is repre- sented over the head of each of the heroes.
3 f . ventorum . . . pater : Aeolus, who is Od. 10, 21 TafiCijs dvep.wv. — lapyga: the wind blowing from the west or northwest across lapygia, as Apulia was ancientl\ called, was favorable for voyages to Greece.
5 ff. Vergil is like a treasure in- trusted to the ship, and therefore owed by it. Note the emphasis on Vergilium before the caesura. —
64
CARMINA
[i, 3. i6
15
reddas incolumem precor
et serves animae dimidium meae. Illi robur et aes triplex
circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci commisit pelago ratem
primus, nee timuit praecipitem Africum decertantem Aquilonibus
nee tristis Hyadas nee rabiem Noti, quo non arbiter Hadriae
maior, toUere seu ponere volt freta.
finibus: dat. with reddas, deliver. — animae dimidium meae : a pro- verbial expression of affection. Cf. 2, 17, 5 te tneae partem atiimae; Meleager Attth. Pal. 12, 52 Notos, a» 8va€p<i}Tt<;, \ ijfiLcrv fxev i/'v^^Ss a.p7ra(T€v AvBpdyaOov.
9 ff. Horace now turns to re- flections on the rash presumption of mankind that seem to us ex- travagant ; but man's attempt to subdue the sea may well have been thought impious in a primi- tive age. These verses reflect this ancient feeling. See intr. n. Cf. Soph. Antig. 332 fT. ttoAAci to. oiiva, KOvBkv avOpioTTOv Setvortpov Trekei- | tovto koI ttoXlov iripav
TTOVTOV )(iLIXepL(0 VOTil) \ X'^P^^' ""Cpt- lipV)(lOLaiV I TTtpW VTt' oihpXKTLV.
' Wonderful things there are many, and yet none more wonderful than man. This marvelous creature, driven by the stormy south wind, crosseth even the gray sea, pass- ing half buried through the wave that would ingulf him.'
— robur et aes triplex : trans-
HOK. CAR. — 5
lated by Herrick 'A heart thrice wall'd with Oke, and brasse, that man | Had, first, durst plow the Ocean.' Horace was imitated by Seneca Med. 301 ff. aitdax tiimium qui freta primus \ rate tarn fra- gili perfida rupit \ terrasque suas post terga videns \ animam lexn- biis credidit auris.
12 f. praecipitem Africum : the headlong Afric wind, the Sirocco ; called Epod. 16, 22 protervus. — Aquilonibus: dative; cf. i, 15 luctantem Icariis fluctibus Afri- cum.
14. tristis Hyadas : bringing rain and so • gloomy .■" Cf. Verg. A. 3, ^16 plinnasque Hyadas, and of the Auster (Notus) G. 3, 279 pluvio centrist at frigore caelum. — Noti : equivalent to Auster.
15. arbiter : ruler ; cf. 3, 3, 5 Auster \ dux- inquieti turbidus Hadriae.
16. ponere : equivalent to com- ponere. Observe the use of the single seu in an alternative state- ment.
65
1.3. 17]
HORATI
25
Quern mortis timuit gradum,
qui siccis oculis ,monstra natantia, qui vidit mare turb'idum et
infarais scopulos Acroceraunia ? Nequiquam deus absCidit
prudens Oceano dissociabili terras, si tamen im^iae
non tangenda rates transiliurit vada. Audax omnia perpeti
gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas. Audax lapeti genus
ignem fraude mala gentibus intulit.
17. mortis . . . gradum : for the conception of death as stalk- ing abroad and pursuing men, cf. V. 33 below; i, 4, 13; 3, 2, 14.
18. siccis oculis : i.e. '■ unter- rified.' A man who is not moved by the awful terrors of the sea, lacks all reverence for Heaven's power and is prepared to defy the very gods. Cf. Mil- ton, ' Sight so deform what heart of oak could long ] Dry eyed be- hold?'
20. Acroceraunia : the long promontory on the northwest of Epirus, which had an ill repute (infamis scopulos) with sailors because of the number of ship- wrecks there.
21 f. nequiquam: emphatic, in vain it is that, etc. — prudens: in his wise providence. — dissocia- bili : estranging ; active as i . i , 5 nobilis.
23 f . impiae . . . rates : the ships are reckless of Heaven's displeasure, since they bound over the water which God has ordained should not be touched (non tan- genda . . . vada).
25 ff. Three examples of hu- man recklessness follow the gen- eral statement : the theft of fire (27-33), Daedalus' attempt on the air (34 f.), Hercules' invasion of Hades (36). — audax ... au- dax: emphatic anaphora, Intr. 28c. — perpeti: dependent on au- dax. Intr. 108. — ruit: rushes at random, characterizing the reck- lessness of man, as iransiliunt does in v. 24. — vetitum: sc. a diis.
27. lapeti genus : Prometheus. Cf. Hes. Op. 50 ff. Kpv^f. 8« irvp ■ TO [lev avTL'i eiis Trais laTreTOio \ €KXet/'' av6po)Trot<n Aios Trapa. firjTLoevTO'i 1 €v KotXoj vdpdrjKt, XaOiiiv Atix TepiriKepavvov. For
66
CARxMINA
[I, 3. 38
30
35
Post ignem aetheria domo
subductum macies ej: nova febrium terris incubuit cohors,^
semotique prius tarda necessitas leti corripuit gradum.
Expertus vacuum Daedalus aera pennis non homini datis ;
perrupit Acheronta Herculeus labor. Nil mortalibus ardui est ;
caelum ipsum petimus stultitia, neque
genus, equivalent to • child/ ' de- scendant/ cf. S. 2, 5, 63, ad alto deinissum genus Aenea, i.e. Oc- tavian ; and collectively of the Danaids, C. 2, 14, 1% Danai getius. 29 ff. post ignem . . . sub- ductum : after the theft of; sub- ductum is equivalent to siibreptum.
— macies et nova febrium . . . cohors : the legend has been pre- served to us by Serv. ad Verg. E. 6, 42 {ob Promethei furtmn) irati di duo mala immiseruni ter- ris, febres et morbos; sicut et Sappho et Hesiodus memorant.
— incubuit : brooded over. Cf. Lucr. 6, 1 143 (he is speaking of sickness), incubuit tandetn populo Pandionis omnei.
32 f . Note the cumulative force of semoti and tarda : ' inevitable death was far removed and slow in its approach.' Before Pandora came men lived, according to Hesiod Op. 90 ff. Trpwr/v \xkv gtaecTKov iirl x^ovl (ftvX' av6p(t)Trwv
I v6(T<f)l.V a.T€p T£ KUKOiV KOL aT€p
67
^oAtTroTo TTOVOio, I vovawv t apya- Ae'wv, aiT dvbpdcrt Krfp3.<i eSwKav-
— prius : with both semoti and tarda. Inlr. 100.
— necessitas leti : the Homeric Motpa OavdroLO.
34 f. Cf. Verg. A. 6, 14 f. Daedalus, ut fama est, fugiens Minoia regna, \ praepetibus pennis ausus se credere caelo. — non . . . datis : i.e. non concessis, imply- ing that wings were forbidden man.
36. perrupit : for the quantity, see Intr. 35. — Herculeus labor: for the use of the adjective, cf. 2, 12, 6 Herculea manu and the Homeric ^i-r] 'HpaKkeirj.
37. ardui: steep and hard, modifying nil. Cf. Petron. 87 nihil est tain arduum, quod non improbitas extorqucat.
38. In his blind folly man attempts to emulate the Giants, who with brute force tried to storm the citadel of Heaven. Cf. 3, 4, 49-60, 65, and nn.
I, 3. 39] HORATI
per nostrum patimur scelus 40 iracunda lovem ponere fulmina.
40. iracunda . . . fulmina: the ciinda classis Achillei ; Epod. 10,
transference of an epithet from 14 impiam Aiacis ratein. Intr.
the person to the action or thing 99.
is not uncommon. Cf. i, 12, 59 — ponere: equivalent to de-
inhnica fidmina ; i, 15, 33 ira- ponere.
L
' The earth is freed from winter's thrall ; Venus leads her bands, the Nymphs and Graces dance; Vulcan stirs his fires (1-8). Now crown thy head with myrtle and with flowers, now sacrifice to Faunus. Life is glad and lures one on to hope (9-12). But Death is near at hand, my Sestius ; to-morrow Pluto's dreary house will shut thee in : no delight in wine or love is there (13-20).'
/ To L. Sestius Quirinus, probably a son of the P. Sestius whom nlHcero defended. He was a partisan of Brutus, and very likely Hor- ace's acquaintance with him began with the time of their service together in Brutus' army. Later Sestius accepted the new order of things without giving up his loyalty to Brutus' memory, and was appointed consul suffectus_ (July-December, 23 B.C.) by Augustus. Cf. Dio Cass. 53, 32.
Few of the odes are more skillfully planned. The underlying thought is one expressed by Horace in many forms: * the world js gleasant and oflfers many joys; take them while you may, for death is near.' With this Book 4, Ode 7 ^ibuTd be TOttipared. The verses are apparently based on a Greek model, possibly the same as that of Silentarius in the Anth. Pal. 10, 15; or did Silentarius follow Horace? i^Sr; \ikv ^t^vpotai fitfivKora koKitov avoiyu \ €Lapo<; ^vXtL/xiDv diX^LVooio X*P'5 ' 1 tt/OTi 8e SovpaTeoicriv iTroiTrXiaOrjcre KvXivSpoi^ \ oAkois OLTT Tjiovwv is ^vOov iXKOfiivT). 'Now the grace of charming spring which brings back fair meadows opens the bay that roars under Zephy- rus' blasts. Only yesterday did the merchantman glide on the rollers, drawn down from the land to the deep.' The date of composition is uncertain, but cf. v. 14 and n. which may fix the date at 23 n.c. /The position here gives Sestius, who was consul in 23, the fourth place in honor after Maecenas, Augustus, and Vergil. Metre, 81.
68
a,^-^-
^r
Ji>^
CARMINA
[i,4. 6
Solvitur acris hiems grata vice veris et Favoni,
trahuntque siccas machinae carinas, ac neque iam stabulis gaudet pecus aut arator igni, ^^(nec prata cajiis^lbicant prjaini^ji lam Cythersa-choros ducit Venus imminente luna,
iunctaeque Nymphis Gratiae decentes
1. solvitur . . . hiems: 'the fetters of winter are broken.' Cf. I, 9, 5 dissolve fn'giis, and the opposite Verg. 6^. 2, 317 rura gelu claudit hiems. — vice: succession. So Epod. 13, 7 benigna . . . vice. Note the alliteration in vice veris et Favoni', cf. v. 13. — Favoni: the harbinger of spring {Zephynis^. Cf. Lucret. 5, 737 veris praennn- tiiis . . . graditnr Zephyr us.
2. siccas : from their winter position, high on the shore.
3ff. The whole world feels the pleasant change — the beasts, man. and the very divinities them- selves.
5 f. The contrast between Ve- nus and her band of Nymphs and Graces on the one side with glow- ing Vulcan and his workmen on the other is carefully planned. Venus is here the goddess of re- generation, at whose coming the world wakes into life. Cf. Lucret. I. 5 ff. te, dea, te fugiunt venti. te nubila caeli \ advent unique tuuni., tibi siiavis daedala tellus \ sub mitt it fiores, tibi rident aequora ponti \ placatumque nitet diffusa himine caelutn.
— Cytherea : of Cythera. For this use of a local adjective modi-
fying the name of a divinity, cf. 3. 4, 64 Delius et Pat are us Apollo.
— choros ducit : the concept is probably borrowed from the Horn. Hymn to Apollo, 194 ff. avrap ivirXoKafMOi XapiTts kul iv(f>pov€<;
Opat I Apfiovirj 6 "aprj re Atos dvydrrjp t A<j>pooLTr] | 6p)(€vvT dXXyXwv CTTt KapirQ )(e'ip.i<;'€)(ov<Tai..
— imminente luna : the night when no mortals are abroad, is the gods' favorite time to visit the earth. Cf. Stat. Silv. i, i,94f. j-«<^ node silenti, \ cum superis terrena placent. — iunctae, etc. : hand in hand; cf. 4, 7, 5f. Gratia cum Nymphis geminisque sororibus audet I ducere ntida choros. — Gra- tiae : Seneca de Bene/, i, 3 has given us an accurate description of the regular representation of the Graces in early painting and sculpture, tres Gratiae sorores manibus implexis, ridentes, iuve- nes et virgines, soluta ac pellucida ve.<!te ; in later art they are rep- resented as nude, with their arms about one another's shoulders. Cf. Baumeister, pp. 375-6. — de- centes : comely ; the word is trans- ferred to English poetry, e.g. Milton // Pens. • Over thy de- cent shoulders drawn.'
69
I. 4. 7]
HO RATI
"P^"
'5
alterno terram quatiunt pede, dum gravis Cyclopum
Volcanus ardens visit officinas*- 1 Nunc decet aut viridi nitidum caput impedire myrto, I aut flore terrae quern ferunt solutae ; nunc et in umbrosis Fauno decet immolare lucis,
seu poscat agna sive malit haedo. t>^^i ^ ' Pallida mors aequo _pulsat ^ede pauperufn tabernas
regumque turris. O beate Sesti, vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam.
lam te premet nox fabulaeque manes
7. alterno . . . quatiunt pede : /.e. in rhythmic dance; cf. i, 27' i //?tnc est hibendiini, nunc pede libera \ pulsatida tellus. — gravis : equivalent to labortosas, toilsome.
— ardens: 'glowing in the light of the fire.' Some editors prefer to regard it as a transferred epithet which would naturally belong to officinas : with the verse, cf. Apoll. Rhod. 3, 41 aXk b /Acv €? yaXKfMva. Ktti a/c/xovas ripi ^f.^y]KU.
gf. nitidum: shining, with un- guent ; cf. 2, 7, 7 nitentis . . . capillos.
— caput impedire myrto : entivine. Cf. Stat. Silv. 4, 3, 68 crinem niollibus impeditus ulvis. — ter- rae . . . solutae: cf. v. i, above.
II f. Fauno: the kindly god of Nature whose festival fell on Feb. 12. — agna . . . haedo : instrumen- tal abl.
13. Note the p five times re- peated. — pulsat pede : for the cus- tom of knocking with the foot, cf Plant. Most. 453 piilsando pedi- btis paene confregi hasce ambas (^fores), also Callim. Hymn to
Apollo, 3 KCLL SrJTTOv TO. dvperpa KaAw TTOdl «JotySos dpdcraci.
14. turris : the houses of the great (regum) with many stories, in contrast to the one-story dwell- ings (tabernas) of the poor. — beate : blessed by Fortune ; with almost concessive force. Some wish to see in this word a refer- ence to Sestius' consulship.
15. summa brevis : brie/ span. — incohare: used properly, as here, of entering on an undertaking that cannot be fulfilled. Cf. Sen. Epist. 1 01, 4 o quanta dementia est spes longas incohantium.
16 f . iam : presently. With the future iatn often expresses confi- dence in the result : cf. 2, 20, I3f. ia)n Daedaleo notior Icaro \ visam gementis liter a Bosphori. — fabu- lae : in apposition with manes, th^ spirits of the dead. The phrase W imitated by Pers. 5, 151 f. cinis ft manes etfabidafies; cf. also Calliin. Epig. 1 3, 3 f. w ^api8ci. TL TO. vepde ; iroXv (tk6to<;. at K avoBoi ti ; \ tf/ev- , 80s. o Se YLXovToiv ; fji.v6o<;. aTrtuAo-
70
CARMINA
[1.5.4
et domus exilis Plutonia ; quo simul mearis, ^/^^
nee regna vini sortiere talis nee tenerum^Lyeidan mirabere, quo calet iuventus 20 nunc omnis et mox virgines tepebunt.
\jL(Qa. ' Charidas, what is below ? Deep darkness. But what of the passages upward ? All a lie. But Fluto? Only talk. Then we're lost.'
— exilis: unsubstantial, dreary.
— simul : equivalent to simul ac, as regularly in Horace.
18 ff. In the last three verses Horace calls back the pleasure of wine and love, and reminds his friend that he must enjoy these delights while he may. Death
will soon deprive him of them. — regna vini : the presidency of .rtie drinking bout was determined by lot or by dice. Cf. n. to 2, 7, 25 quern Venus arbitrwn dicet bi- bendi? — talis : properly ' knuckle bones ' which would ordinarily fall on the longer sides ; the highest throw (iactus Veneris) was when each rested on a different side. — Lycidan : a name invented for the occasion.
^
To a coquette : ' What slender innocent enjoys thy smiles to-day, Pyrrha? Alas, he does not yet suspect that thou art fickle as the sea; thy smile lures on his love to shipwreck. Thank Heaven I escaped : in Neptune's temple 1 hang my dripping clothes as votive gift.'
The perfected simplicity of this ode can best be tested by an attempt to alter or transpose a word, or by translation. Even Milton's well- known version is inadequate. Metre, 73.
Quis multa gracilis te piier in rosa perfusus liquidis urget odoribus grato, Pyrrha, sub antro } Cui flavam religas comam,
I f . gracilis . . . puer : stripling. — multa ... in rosa : lying on many a rose; as in Sen. Epist. 36, 9 in rosa iacere. Cf. also Eleg. in Maec. i, 94 f. victor poti- atur in umbra. \ victor odorata dormiat inque rosa ; Cic. de Fin.
2. 65 potantem in rosa. — urget : courts.
3 f . Pyrrha : Ylvppd, a fictitious name, ' the auburn haired ' ; cf. flavam. — religas : i.e. in a simple knot. Cf. 2, II, 23 in comptutn Lacaenae \ more comam religata
71
».5. 5]
HORATI
simplex munditiis ? Heu quotiens fidem mutatosque deos flebit et aspera nigris aequora ventis emirabitur insolens,
qui nunc te fruitur credulus a urea, qui semper vacuam, semper amabilem sperat, nescius aurae fallacis. Miseri quibus
1
nodum. With the question, cf. Antk. Pal. 5, 227 eiTre tlvl TrXe^eis Itl l36aTpv)(ov, 7) TLVi )({.Lpa<i I cf>ai- Sjouvctis ovv^wv afJi(f)iTefHi)v aKioa ; ' Tell me for whom wilt thou still dress thy curling locks, or for whom wilt thou make fair thy hands and trim thy nails' sharp points ? ' (i.e. so that they may not be used to scratch in case of a quarrel between thee and thy new lover. Cf. v. 17 f. of the following ode) .
5 f . simplex munditiis : p/a/n in thy neatness (Milton), munditia denotes a natural beauty and ele- gance that is unadorned ; Pyrrha has chosen studied simplicity in dress. — fidem : sc. nmtatam from the following mutatos ; therefore equivalent \.o perfidia7>i., as the con- text shows. — mutatos deos: i.e. adversos : cf. Prop, i, i, 8 aim tamen adversos cogor habere deos.
7. nigris : belonging naturally with aequora, as ' darkened ' by the gusts of wind, but here transferred to ventis; cf. i, 3, 40, iracunda fubnina. Intr. 99. The com- parison of a coquette to the sea is very old. Cf Semonides of Amor-
gos, Frg. 7, 37 ff. (lidTTtp OaXxiaaa TToAAoiKts /x.ei/ d.Tpep.ri<i \ earrjK airrj- /xwv, xdppxL vavTrj<TLv /u.eya, | 9ep€OS iv (oprj, TToAAaKis Se puxLverai \ /8a- pvKTVTTOiarL Kvfjuaaiv (f>opevfji.€vr]. \ ravT-q fidXicTT lotKC TOLavrrj yvvq. ' As the sea ofttimes is motionless and harmless, a mighty joy to sail- ors in the summer season, and yet ofttimes doth rage, driven to and fro with loud roaring billows. This sea it is that such a woman is most like.'
8. emirabitur : found only here in classical Latin. The prefix is intensive. Cf. the Greek eV^au- fxAt,uv. — insolens : used here in its original meaning of nnaccnstomed, poor innocent.
9. credulus aurea : note the force of the juxtaposition ; cf i, 6, 10 ten lies grandia. — aurea : a common designation of perfection ; cf. the Homeric ^(pvaiy] 'A^poStV?;. In present-day English it is seldom applied to persons, but cf. Shak- spere, Cynibeline, 4, 2 ' Golden lads and girls all must | As chim- ney sweepers, come to dust.'
10 f. vacuam ; fancy free, to all the world but him. — aurae: re-
72
CARMINA [I, 6
intemptata nites : me tabula sacer votiva paries indicat uvida 15 suspendisse potenti
vestimenta maris deo.
turning to the metaphor of v. 6f. ; to Neptune, Isis, or other divinity.
ci. y 2,20 arbitriopopularisaurae. Cf. Verg. A. 12, 766 ff. forte
13. intemptata nites : still sacer Fauno foliis oleaster atnaris \
keeping up the figure of the glit- hie steterat, naiitis olim venerabile
tering sea, untried and treacher- lignum, \ servati ex undis tibi
ous. Cf. Lucret. 2, 559 snbdola figere dona solebant \ Later enti
cum ridet placidi pellacia ponti. divo et votas suspender e vestes.
— tabula sacer, etc. : the ancient For votive oiTering of various
custom of dedicating in the shrine sorts, see Schreiber's Atlas,
of a divinity a picture (tabula) can pi. 15.
still be seen in Roman Catholic — potenti . . . maris deo: cf. i,
churches, especially in Europe. 3, i diva potens Cypri; 6, 10
Shipwrecked sailors sometimes imbellisque lyrae Mtisa potens ;
hung up the garments in which and Plant. Trin. 820 salsipotenti
they had been saved as offerings . . . Neptuno.
'Varius, who vies with Homer, shall sing thy exploits, Agrippa. The deeds of heroes and tragic themes are all too great for my weak powers ; I will not detract from Caesar's fame and thine. Only wine and lovers' quarrels are suited to my verse.'
Addressed to M. Vipsanius Agrippa, Augustus' 'Minister of War' and greatest general ; he defeated Sextus Pompey at Naulochus, 36 B.C., and was commander at Actium, 31 B.C. Apparently Agrippa, or Agrippa's friends, had suggested to Horace that he celebrate the gen- eral's exploits in verse. This ode is Horace's skillful apology and should be compared with similar expressions, 2, 12; 4. 2, 27ff. ; S. 2, i. 12; Epist. 2, I, 250 ff. In each case, however, while declaring his unfitness for the task, he describes deeds of war, yet briefly, not in an elabo- rate poem. Here by his manner of declining, he pays Agrippa the highest tribute as well as compliments his friend Varius. The date of composition is after 29 B.C., when Agrippa returned from the East. Metre, 72.
73
I. 6, I]
HORATI
Scriberis Vario fortis et hostium victor Maeonii carminis alite, quam rem cumque ferox navibus aut equis miles te duce gesserit.
Nos, Agrippa, neque haec dicere nee gravem Pelidae stomachum cedere nescii
I . scriberis : expressing assur- ance ; different from laudabunt alii of the following ode, which is equivalent to others may praise (if they wish). The real subject of the verb is ' thy brave deeds and victories,' (/«) fortis et hos- tium victor. — Vario : frequently taken as abl. abs. with alite to avoid the apparent solecism of the abl. of agent without ab. This is as unnecessary as to change alite to the dat. aliti. For the abl. of agent without ab, cf. Epist. I, 19, 2 carmina . . .quae scri- buntur aquae potoj-ibus . I ntr. 96.
Lucius Varius Rufus was the in- timate friend of Horace and Vergil. With Plotius Tucca he was the latter's literary executor, and at Augustus' command published the Aeneid in 17 B.C. ; before the pub- lication of the Aeneid he was reck- oned the chief epic poet of the period. S. i, \o, \t^{. forte epos acer \ ut neuio Varius dticit. His posthumous fame, however, seems to have been based on his trage- dies, especially his Thyestes. Quint. 10, I, 98, Varii Thyestes cuilibet Graecarum co>?iparari potest. He brought out this play
not long after 3 1 B.C., according to the didascalia, Thyesten tragoediam magna cur a absolutam post Actia- cam victoriam August i ludis eius in scena edidit. Fro qua fabula sestertium deciens accepit.
2. Maeonii carminis alite: i.e. the equal of Homer, who, according to tradition, was born at Smyrna in Lydia, anciently called Maeonia; cf. 4, 9, 5 Maeonius Homerus. — alite : for ' bird ' in the sense of 'poet,' cf 4, 2, 25 Dircaeum . . . cycnum of Pindar, and 2, 20 entire.
3. quam rem cumque: this tmesis is common in Horace {eg. I, 7, 25 quo nos cumque feret . . . /ortuna) and not unknown in prose : Cic. pro Sest. 68 quod iudicium cumque subierat.
5 ff. With the following, cf. the Anacreontic verses 23 ^e'Aw \kyuv ATpeiSa.<;, \ 6i\(o 8k K.d8fxov aSeiv I a (ia.ppi.TO<i 8i -xpphais \ epwra fiovvov "flX^- — ^^^ '• ^he plural of modesty, so v. 17 below. The singular of the first person is ordinarily used in the lyric poems, the plural being found only here and 2, 17, 32 ; 3, 28, 9 ; Epod. 1,5. For the emphatic posi- tion, see Intr. 22. — haec: 'thy
74
CARMINA
[I, 6, 14
nec cursus duplicis per mare Vlixei nee saevam Pelopis domum
conamur, tenues grandia, dum pudor imbellisque lyrae musa potens vetat laudes egregii Caesaris et tuas culpa deterere ingeni.
Quis Martem tunica tectum adamantina digne scripserit aut pulvere Troico
exploits,' taking up quam rem . . . gesserit, above. — dicere : sing, in contrast to scribere, v. i, used of epic composition. Cf. loqui 2,, 25, 18. — gravetn Pelidae stomachum : i.e. the Iliad; II. i, I \t.r\viv aetSe, ^ea, Ilr/Ar/iaSeo) 'A^iA^os- — cedere nescii : Intr. 108. Cf. Verg. ^. 12, S27,nesda vinci pectora.
7. cursus duplicis . . . Vlixei : the Odyssey ; Od. 1 , i avBpa /xol IvveTTC, Movcra, TroXvrpoTrov, bs fidXa TToAAo, I TrXdyxOr)- Horace humorously shows his own unfit- ness for epic song by translating /i^vts by stomachus, di/e, and TToXirrpoTTos by duplex, wi/y. — Vlixei : from a (non-existent) nominative Vlixeits, formed after the Sicilian dialectic OvXC^-q'i,
8. saevam Pelopis domum : Tan- talus, Pelops. Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, Orestes, etc. The bloody history of this house was a favorite tragic theme ; we have still extant /Eschylus' Trilogy, Sophocles' Electro, Euripides'
Orestes, Electra, and two Iphige- nias. The verse is a compliment to Varius' genius for tragedy, as vv. 5-7 are to his position as epic poet.
9. tenues grandia : in agree- ment with, nos and haec. Notice the forceful juxtaposition. Cf. i, 3, 10 fragilem truci ; i, $,()credu- lus aiirea ; i. 15, 2 perfidus hospi- tam. — lyrae musa potens: cf. n. to 1,5, isf.
II. With great skill Horace associates Agrippa's glory with that of Caesar. — ^ egregii: Hor- ace applies this adjective only to Caesar among the living, and among the dead to Regulus, 3, 5, 48 egregius exul. — deterere : to impair, properly '■ to wear off the edge.'
13 ff. The answer to this ques- tion is of course, ' only a second Homer, a Varius.' The following themes are naturally selected from the Iliad. — tunica tectum ada- mantina : cf. the Homeric x*^' Ko^iTiMV. )(aXKeoO(i)pa^. )('^XKeo<; "Aprj';. — pulvere . . . nigrum : cf. 2,
75
1,6,15] HORATI
15 nigrum Merionen aut ope Palladis
Tydiden superis parem ?
Nos convivia, nos proelia virginum sectis in iuvenes unguibus acrium cantamus vacui, sive quid urimur, 20 non praeter solitum leves.
I, 22 ditces non indecoro pidvere and epic themes are drinking sordidos. — Merionen : charioteer bouts and lovers' quarrels, fit sub- to Cretan Idomeneus and one of the jects for Horace's iinbellis lyra. foremost fighters of the Greeks. — — nos . . . nos: for the anaphora, ope Palladis . . . parem: Horace seelntr. 28c. — sectis ... unguibus : had in mind //. 5, 881-884 (Ares and hence harmless. Cf. the Greek speaks) r] vvv TvSc'os vtdv, vTrep- verses quoted on i, 5, 3. — vacui: (f>La\ov Aio/Ai^8ea, | fxapyaCvuv fancy free ; i, 5, 10. — sive quid, a.vi-qK€v iir aOavdroLai Oeoiai. \ etc. : for the omission of the first }^v7r ptSa fikv TTpwTov a)(iS6v ovracrt sive, cf. I, 3, 16. — urimur: i.e. )(€ip' im Kapirw, | aurap Ittcit aww with love. — non praeter solitum: /xoi iiricravTo 8aifiovL «ros. i.e. ' after my usual fashion.' — le- 17 ff. Contrasted with the tragic ves: with the subject of cantamus.
/7
This ode is very similar in construction to the fourth, in which the first twelve verses are given to the praise of spring, the remainder of the ode to the exhortation to enjoy life while we may ; in this, 1-14 celebrate the charm of Tivoli, 15-32 urge the value of wine as a re- leaser from care. This second part again falls naturally into two divi- sions: the general exhortation (15-21), and the concrete example (21-32). The connection between the two parts of the ode is so slight that as early as the second century some critics regarded them as separate poems, and they so appear in some manuscripts, but that the two parts belong together was recognized by Porphyrio, who notes on v. 1 5 /lanc oden quidain piitant aliam esse, sed eadevi est ; nam et hie ad Planctim loquitur, in C7(ins honore et in superiori parte Tibtir laudavit. Plancus enini inde ficit oriundus.
L. Munatius Plancus, who is here addressed, had a varied military and political career. He was a legate of Julius Caesar; in 43 B.C. as
76
CARMINA
[i. 7.4
governor of Gaul he founded Lugdunum (Lyons) and Augusta Raura- corum (Augst near Basel) ; he was later the friend of Antony and was intrusted by him with the government of Asia and Syria, but Antony's relations with Cleopatra drove him in 31 B.C. to take sides with Octa- vian. It was he who proposed in January, 27 B.C., that Octavian be given the title Augustus. Of Horace's relations to him we know noth- ing beyond what this ode tells us, and as little of the special occasion for the poem. The date of composition is uncertain, but verses 26 ff. were hardly written before 29 B.C., for they seem to show acquaintance with Verg. A. i, 195 ff. Metre,^77.
Laudabunt alii claram Rhodon aut Mytilenen
aut Ephesoh bimarisve Corijithi moenia vel Baccho Thebas vel Apolline Delphos * insignis aut Thessala Tempe.
I . laudabunt alii : others may praise (if they will) ; the antith- esis is me, V. 10. For this use of the future, cf. Verg. A. 6, 847 ff. excudent alii spirantia tnollius aera . . . in regere iinperio popu- los, Romafie, memento. — claram : famous, or possibly suntiy. So Lucan 8, 247 f. claramque re- liquit I sole Rhodon. The adjec- tive belongs equally to Rhodon, Mytilenen. Epheson, which are closely connected by aut . . . aut. the following places being more loosely attached by ve . . . vel . . . vel. Rhodes (Catull. 4, 8 Rhodtim . . . nobilem) famous for its commerce, its schools of rhetoric and philosophy, and its art : Mytilene, capital of Lesbos, the city of Alcaeus and Sappho (Cic. de lege agr. 2, 40 lerbs et tiatura et situ et descriptione aedificiorum et pulchritndine in primis nobilis) : Ephesus, the chief city of the
province of Asia. The same three cities are named by Mart. 10, 68. I f. cum tibi noti Ephesos nee sit Rhodos aut Mitylene, \ sed domus in vico, Laelia, patricio.
2. bimaris: dfjL(l>L6dXacr(To<;. Corinth, destroyed by Mummius 146 B.C., restored by Julius Caesar, from its position on the isthmus enjoyed two harbors, Cenchreae on the Saronic and Lechaeum on the Corinthian Gulf. Cf Ovid. Trist. I, II, ^ bimarem . . . Isth- mon.
3 f. Bacchus according to one tradition was the child of Theban Semele. Cf. i, 19, 2 Thebanae . . . Semelae puer. Delphi was the seat of Apollo's greatest shrine on the mainland of Greece. — insignis : modifying both Thebas and Delphos. — Tempe : ace. neu- ter plur. ; famed for its beauty. Cf. Eurip. Troad. 214 ff. rav Ilr/veioi) crc/xvav ')(wpav, \ Kprprto OvXvfnrov
77
I. 7. 5]
HORATI
Sunt quibus iinum opus est intactae Palladis urbem
carmine perpetuo celebrare et undique dgpfiiptam fronti praeponere olivam ;
plurimus in lunonis honorem aptum dicet equis Argos ditisque Mycenas,
Me nee tam patiens Lacedaemon nee tam Larisae percussit campus opimae
quam domus Albuneae resonantis
KoXXiarav, \ oKfiw fipiduv (jxifjuiv TjKova I tvOaXtl t cvKapireia. ' I have heard that Peneus' sacred district, Olympus' footstool most fair, is weighted with great fortune and goodly increase.'
5 f . sunt quibus: cf. i, i, 3 j««/ yuos. — unum opus, etc. : ofi/y task, i.e. poets who devote them- selves to singing in ' unbroken song ' (perpetuo carmine) the glo- rious history of Athens, the city of the virgin goddess (intactae Palladis) . Some critics take per- petuo carmine to mean epic in contrast to lyric poetry, but this is not necessary.
7. The poets sing of all the leg- end and history that belongs to Athens, and so their work is com- pared to a garland made of olive leaves plucked from every part (un- dique) of the city. The same com- parison was made by Lucret. i, 928 ff. iuvatqtte ncrvos decerpere /lores I insigneinqne nieo capiti petere inde coronam, \ nnde prius ntdli velarini tenip07'a viusae. — olivam: sacred to Athena.
8. plurimus: 7nany a one. — in
lunonis honorem, etc.: cf. //. 4, 51 1. (Hera speaks) r]Toi ifiol r/aeis fiiv TToXv cfilKTaTaL elanrokr/ei, \ "Apyoi TC '2,iTapTr] re «ai tvpvayi}ia Mvkt/vt;-
9. aptum . . . equis Argos, etc.: //. 2, 287 aTr' *Apy£os LTnrojSoTOio, 7, 180 Tro\v)(pvao'i MvKrjvr]. See Tsountas and Manatt, T/ie Afyce- nean Age, Index, s.v. gems, for the treasure found at Mycenae.
10. me: emphatic contrast to alii V. I. Cf. I, I, 29. — patiens: hardy. Cf. Quintil. 3, 7, 24 ininus Lacedaevione studia litteraruin quam Athenis honores merebun- tur, plus patient ia ac fortitudo.
11. Larisae . . . campus opimae: Thessaly was famed in antiquity for its grain. Cf. //. 2, 841 Adpia-a ipLf3(Ji)X.a$.
12 ff. Tibur (Tivoli), beloved in antiquity as in modern times for its beauty, is situated on the edge of the Sabine Mountains, overlook- ing the Campagna. The Arno flows round the foot of Mount Ca- tillus (Monte Catillo still) and then falls to the valley in a number of beautiful cascades and rapids (therefore Albuneae resonantis ;
78
CARMINA
[I. 7. 21
et praeceps-Attio ac Tiburni lucus et uda
mobilibus pomaria rivis. Albus ut obscuro deterget nubila caelo
saepe Notus neque parturit imbris perpetuos, sic tu sapiens finire memento
tristitiam vitaeque labores molli,. Plance, mero, seu te fulgentia signis
castra tenent seu densa tenebit Tiburis umbra tui. Teucer Salamina patremque
praeceps Anio). For Horace's af- fection for Tivoli, see Sellar p. 1 79 f. — domus Albuneae : a grotto in which there was an ancient Italian oracle ; hence the name of the last of the Sibyls. Cf. Verg. A. 7, 82 ff. bicosqiie sub alta \ consiilit Albii- iiea, nemorum quae maxiiina sacro I fonte soiiat.
13 f. Tiburni: Tiburnus, grand- son of Amphiaraus, the Argive seer: according to tradition he was ban- ished with his brothers Coras and Catillus, and became with them the founder of Tibur. Cf. 2, 6, 5 Tibiir Argeo positu)ii colono. Ca- tillus gave his name to the moun- tain behind the town ; but was also associated with the town itself. Cf. I, 18, 2 circa mite sohun Tiburis et moenia Catili. — lucus : a sacred grove, distinguished from tiemus, the more general word. — uda mobilibus, etc. : the Arno with its restless streams (mobilibus rivis) irrigated the adjoining orchards (pomaria). Cf. Prop. 5, 7, 81 po- mosis Anio qua spumifer incubat arvis.
15 f. The only connection be- tween the preceding and that which follows is Tiburis umbra tui, v. 21. ' You and I love Tibur beyond all other places ; the thought of that spot reminds me of thee ; learn the lesson of an easy life wherever thou mayest be.' It must be acknowl- edged that the connection is very slight. We may have here in reality a combination of two ■ fragments ' which Horace never completed. Cf. introductory n. to i, 28. — albus Notus: the south wind usually brought rain {iiubilus Auster) ; but sometimes clearing weather (albus, \cuK6voTo<i), and wiped (deterget) the clouds from the sky. — parturit : breeds. Cf. 4, 5, 26 f. qtds {paveat) Germania quos horrida parturit \ fetus.
17. perpetuos: cf. v. 6 above. — sapiens, etc. : be wise and remonber.
19. molli: //tellow.
20. tenent . . . tenebit: notice change in tense.
21 ff. Again the connection with the preceding is slight, but the_ pointing of a General stateraenj
79
7.22]
HORATI
cum fugeret, tamen uda Lyaeo tempora populea fertur vinxisse corona,
sic tristis adfatus amicos : ' Quo nos cumque feret melior fortuna parente,
ibimus, o socii comitesque ! Nil desperandum Teucro duce et auspice Teucro ;
certus enim promisit Apollo
(17-20) by a mythological illustra- tion is a favorite device of Horace.— This particular story is found only here: Teucer's father. Telamon, refused to receive him on his re- turn from Troy, since he had failed to bring his brother, Ajax, with him; therefore Teucer sought a new home in Cyprus, where he founded a city, named after his birthplace. The tale was a fa- miliar one from Pacuvius' tragedy, Teucer^ which was much admired. Cf. Frg. 12 R. (which is a part of Telamon's reproach) segregare abs te aiisii's aut sine illo Salaminam Ingredi, \ nique paternum asptc- tum es Veritas, quoin aetate exacta ifidigein \ liberum lacerdsti orbasti extinxti, tieque fratr'is necis | neque eius gnati pdrvi, qui tibi in tutelam est trdditiis? Cic. Tusc. 5, 108 re- fers to the story, itaque ad omnem rationem Teiicri vox accommodari potest: '■ Patria est, ubicnmque est bene.""
22 f . cum fugeret : when start- ing to exile. — tamen : '■ in spite of his trouble.' — Lyaeo: the releaser, Liber, Awios. — populea : sacred to Hercules. Cf. Verg. A. 8, 276
Herculea bicolor . . . populus uvibra; Theocr. 2, 121 /cpart 8' v)(ytv AevKav, HpaKXeos le/aov epvo<;. The appropriateness of Teucer's honoring Hercules at this time lies in the character of Hercules as a traveler (3, 3, 9 vagus Her- cules^ and leader (Xen. Anab., 4, 8, 25 rfye/jitav), to whose pro- tection Teucer might naturally in- trust himself when starting on this uncertain journey. Furthermore it was in company with Hercules that Telamon took Troy (cf. Verg. A. I, 619 ff.) and captured Hesione, who became Teucer's mother.
25. quo . . . cumque : cf. n. to i, 6, 3. — melior parente: kinder than my father. Cf. Telamon's reproach quoted on v. 21 above.
27. Teucro . . . Teucro : note that the substitution of the proper name for me ... me appeals to their loyalty.— duce et auspice: formed from the technical Roman phrase ; cf. Suet. Aug. 21 domuit auteui partim ductu, partim auspiciis suis Cantabriam.
28 f . The reason for his confi- dence.— certus: unerring^ true.,
80
CARMINA
[1,8,2
ambiguam tellure nova Salamina futuram. 30 O fortes peioraque passi
mecum saepe viri, nunc vino pellite curas ; eras ingens iterabimus aequor.'
vq/JiepTT]^. — ambiguam . . . Sala- mina: a Salatnis to dispute the name (Wickham) ; j.e. when Sa- lamis was named, one could not tell which was meant, the old or the new. Cf. Sen. Troad. 854 hmcam- bigua verain Salamina opponitnt. 30 ff. Cf. Od. 12, 208 a» f^iXou ov
yap 77(0 TL KUKWV dOaTJfXOVt^ tlfxtv,
Verg. A. I, 198 f. 0 socii, neque enitn ignari siimus ante maloritm, \ o passi graviora, dabit dens his quoqnefitiem. — nimc : to-day, while yet you may.
32. ingens : boundless. — itera- bimus : sail again. Cf. Od. 12, 293 T]UiQ(.v 8' dvaj3a.vTt<; ivijcrofitv evpa
TTOVTW.
8
' Lydia, in Heaven's name, why 'wilt thou kill Sybaris with love? He no longer takes part in manly sports on the Campus Martius, but hides as did Achilles on the eve of Troy.'
The same theme — the weakening of a youth by love — was adapted by Plautus iJ/(9.y/'. 149 ff. from a Greek comedy, cdr dolet, qiidin scio, ut mine sum atque nt ful : | qud neque indiistrior de iuventute erdt \ • • • disco, hastis, pild. ciirsu, armis, equd .... The date of composi- tion is unknown. It is probably a study from the Greek, and is Hor- ace's single attempt to write in the greater Sapphic stanza. Metre, 70.
Lydia, die, per omnis
te deos oro, Sybarin eur properes amando
I. Lydia : (AuSt;) a common poetic name for the heroine in amatory poetry from the time of .Antimachus ; cf. i. 13, i ; 25, 8. — per omnis te deos oro : the usual order in appeals. Cf. Ter. And. 538 per te deos oro ; also in Greek, Soph. Phil. 468 Trpos vvv
(Tt TTttTpOS, . . . IKVOVfXXXl.
1 f. Sybarin : the name is chosen to fit the effeminacy of the
HOR. CAR. — 6
81
youth. Cf. the Eng. * Sybarite.' — cur properes, etc. : i.e. ' what possible motive can you have for ruining the boy so quickly ? ' The rhetorical form of the question, as well as its content, implies that Lydia is doing wrong ; no answer is expected. — amando : in mean- ing equivalent to an abstract noun. Cf. Epod. 14, 5 occidis saepe ro- gando, • by questioning.'
I. 8, 3]
HORATI
perdere, cur apricum .
oderit campum, patiens pulveris atque solis. Cur neque militaris
inter aequalis equitat, Gallica nee lupatis temperat ora frenis ?
Cur timet flavum Tiberim tangere ? Cur olivum sanguine viperino
cautius vitat neque iam livida gestat armis bracchia, saepe disco,
saepe trans finem iaculo nobilis expedite ?
4. campum : the Campus Mar- tius was the favorite place of exer- cise for the young Romans. — patiens : w/ien he once endured. Sun and dust are the two tests of manly endurance. Cf. Symmach. Or. I, I ibi pritnutn tolerans solis et pulveris esse didicisti; Tacitus, Hist. 2, 99, thus describes the demoralized condition of the Ger- man troops in 69 a.d. noti vigor corporibtts, nott ardor animis, len- tum et rarum ag}iieti,fiuxa ar/na, segnes equi ; iinpatiens solis, pul- veris, tempestatum.
5 ff. Two centuries later Philo- stratus wrote Epist. 27 o^x tTTrov dvaySatVets, ovk eis iraXataTpav (iTravTas, ov)( rfXto) St'Sws crcavTov. — militaris : modifying aequalis, wit/t the martial youth of his own age; i.e. in the exercises described 3, 7, 25 fF. quanivis non alius flectere equum sciens \ aeque con- spicitur gramine Martio, \ nee qtiisquam citus aeque \ Tuscodena- tat alveo. — Gallica . . . ora : equivalent to ora equorum Gal-
lorum. The best cavalry horses came from Gaul. — lupatis . . . frenis : bits with jagged points like wolfs teeth, serving the same purpose as the Mexican bit of the ' cowboy.' Cf. Verg. G. 3, 208 duris par ere lupatis.
8. Swimming in the Tiber was a favorite exercise ; cf. 3, 7, 27 quoted on v. 5 above, and Cic. pro Gael. 36 habes hortos ad Tiberim, quo omnis iuventus natandi causa venit. For the adjective flavum, cf. n. to I, 2, 13. — olivum: used by wrestlers to anoint the body. — sanguine . . . viperino: thought to be a deadly poison. Cf. Epod. 3, 6 cruor 7>iperinus.
10. livida : with bruises re- ceived in his sports with discus and javelin. — gestat : notice the force of the frequentative. Cf. eqtiitat v. 6. — trans finem: the winner with discus and javelin was he who threw farthest. Cf. Odysseus' throw Od. 8, 192 f. 6 (St'cTKOs) 8 VTrepTTTaTO ai^fjuiTa TrdvTwv ] pifJicjix Blisiv airb )((.(.p6<i.
CARMINA
[1.9
15
Quid latet, ut marinae.
filium dicunt Thetidis sub lacrimosa Troiae funera, ne virilis
cultus in caedem et Lycias proriperet catervas ?
13 ff. A post-Homeric legend told how Thetis, at the outbreak of the Trojan war, knowing the fate that awaited her son, Achilles, if he went to Troy, hid him in maiden's dress among the daugh- ters of Lycomedes, king of Scyros. (Cf. Bion 2, 15 ff. Aav^ave 8' iv Kwpais AvKOfirjStaL fjLOvvo<; A^iA.- Xeus, I eipia 8' avff ottXojv iSiBd-
(TKiTO, Koi X^P'- ^^^X^ I "TTapdtVlKOV
Kopov ctx^v, icf>aLV€TO 8 rjvTC K(i)pa. ' But Achilles alone lay hid among the daughters of Lycomedes. and was trained to work in wools, in place of arms, and in his white hand held the bough of maidenhood, in semblance a maiden.' (Lang.)
Here he was discovered by Ulys- ses, who came in disguise as a peddler bringing wares intended to attract the attention of girls ; there were also in his pack some weapons, by handling which Achil- les betrayed himself. The story is told by Ovid Met. 13, 162 flf.; cf. Statius Achilleis 2, 44 f. The discovery is shown in two Pom- peian wall paintings, one of which is reproduced in Baumeister, no. 1528.
— sub . . . funera : on the eve of; cf. sub noctem. — cultus : dress. — Lycias: the Lycians were the Trojans' chief allies against the army of the Greeks.
1/9
/.
'The world is bound in the fetters of snow and ice. Heap high the fire to break the cold ; bring out the wine. Leave all else to the gods ; whate'er to-morrow's fate may give, count as pure gain. To-day is thine for love and dance, while thou art young.'
The first two strophes at least are based on an ode of Alcaeus of which we still have six verses ; the setting only is Italian. Ale. Frg. 34 vet pkv o Zeus, Ik 8' opdvo) /leyas | ;(ei/u,ft)v, TrcTrayao-tv 8' iiSaToJV pdat. | • • • Ka^/?aXAe tov x^ifj-wv, im fikv Ti.6e.L<i \ irvp, iv 8c Ktpvais oTvov dcfiuSico'i | p.i\L-)(pov, avrap a.fx<f>l Koptrq. \ paXOaKov dp<^L{^aXliiv) yv6<f>akXov. 'Zeus sends down rain, and from the sky there falls a mighty winter storm; frozen are the streams. Break down the storm by heaping up the fire ; mix sweet wine ungrudgingly, and throw round thy head sweet lavender.' The last four strophes are apparently Horace's own. The theme is the same as that of Epod. 13.
83
1,9, I] HORATI
The ode clearly suggested to Tennyson the lines. In Mentor. 107. ' Fiercely flies | The blast of North and East, and ice | Makes daggers at the sharpened eaves, . . . But fetch the wine, | Arrange the board and brim the glass, || Bring in great logs and let them lie, | To make a solid core of heat ; | Be cheerful-minded, talk and treat | Of all things ev'n as he were by.'
Thaliarchus (v. 8) is only a person of Horace's fancy, although the name was in actual use, as is shown by inscriptions. The ode is evidently a study and not an occasional poem ; while it probably be- longs to Horace's earlier attempts at lyric verse, the skill with which it is written has won admiration from all critics. Metre, 68.
Vides ut alta stet nive candidum Soracte, nee iam sustineant onus silvae laborantes, geluque flumina constiterint acuto.
5 Dissolve frigus ligna super foco
large reponens, atque benignius
I . The point of view is appar- constiterint : this degree of cold
ently the neighborhood of Tivoli. is not known to the Campagna.
from which Soracte can be seen Horace here follows Alcaeus ttc-
some twenty miles to the west of Trayacrtv 8' vhaTOiv pdat. — acuto:
north ; while Soracte is the highest biting, sharp . Cf. Pind. P. i, 38 f.
peak (2000 feet) visible from this vK^oecro-' Airva, TraviTrj'i \ ;)(tdvos
vicinity, it is not ordinarily the d^etixs riOyjva, ' nurse of the biting
most conspicuous mountain. Snow snow the whole year through.' is seldom seen on it, and so Hor- 5. dissolve frigus: cf. i, 4, i
ace seems to choose this rare phe- solvit2ir acris hiems, and n. —
nomenon to suggest extreme cold foco : the common hearth in the
weather. — ut: interrogative. — middle of the atrium. nive candidum : cf. Macaulay, Re- 6. reponens : ' keeping up ' the
gillus, ' White as Mount Soracte | supply of wood ; re- implying a
When winter nights are long.' duty to replace what the fire con-
3 f. laborantes : with the burden sumes ; cf. xeMere. — benignius :
of the snow ; cf. 2, 9, 7 f. where without stint, dt^eiSe'ws ; the com-
the high wind is the cause of the parative is not opposed to the
wood's distress, Aqidlonibtis \ quer- positive large in any sense, but is
queta Garganilaborant. — flumina simply emphatic.
CARMINA
[1.9. 14
deprome quadrimum Sabina, o Thaliarche, merum diota.
Permitte divis cetera ; qui simul stravere ventos aequore fervido deproeliantis, nee cupressi nee veteres agitantur orni.
Quid sit futurum eras fuge quaerere, at quern fors dierum cumque dabit lucro
7. deprome : broach. Sabine wine was but ordinary 'vin de pays' which would be well aged in four years. Horace means 'a roaring fire and good vin ordinaire will give us warmth and cheer.' Yet the age — four years — may have been a commonplace of poets ; cf. Theoc. 7, 147 TCTpaeves 8« irtOuiv OLTTcXveTO Kparos aAet<^ap. ' And it was a four-year-old seal that was loosened from the mouth of the wine jars.' Likewise 14, 15 f dvtu^a Se (SifSXivov avrots | cvwSrj. Teropwv ireuiv, cr^eoov ws oltto Xxiv(i). ' And I opened for them Bibline wine, four years old, fra- grant almost as when it came from the wine press.' — Thaliarche: ®a\iap)(o<s ; this suggests the mas- ter of the drinking bout, arbiter' convivii. Cf. n. to i, 4, 18. — diota: 8tWo?; the two-handled amphora in which the wine was stored in the apotheca.
9 f . cetera : all else, in con- trast to the present moment and its joys. Cf. Epod. 13, 7 f. cetera tnitte loqui ; dens haec fortasse
85
benigna \ rediicet in sedem vice, and Theog. 1047 f. vvv pkv -nivovTt^ TepTTWfieOa, KaXa Aeyovres • | atrtra 8' tTreiT ItTTat, ravra OeoiaL fieXei. ' Now let us take our delight in drinking, speaking words of fair omen ; whatever shall come to- morrow is only Heaven's care.' Cf. also the passages quoted on v. 1 3 below. — qui simul, etc. : the fol- lowing illustrates the power of the gods. — simul : i.e. simul ac ; cf. I, 4, 17. and n. — stravere: so aropivvvfjiL, in the same connec- tion Od. 3, 158 icTTopea-ev 8k Oeos lxeyaK7]T€a ttovtov.
1 1 f . The cypresses of the gar- den are contrasted with the ash trees of the mountains.
13 ff. Common Epicurean sen- timents. Cf. the Anacreontic to crrjfxepov /xe'Xei /xoi \ to 8' avpiov Tts oT8ev ,• and Philet. Erg. 7 K. ri Sei yap ovra Ovrjrov, tKcreuoj. Troteiv | irXrjv rj8iu)<; ^rjv tov (3lov Kad' ri/xe- pav I et9 avpiov 8« fxij^k (f>povTL- ^CLv o Ti I eorat ; ' For what should I who am mortal do, I pray thee, save live pleasantly day by day,
h 9. 15]
HO RATI
15 adpone, nee dulcis amores
^l^j^iUu^ sperne puer neque tu ehoreas,
donee virenti eanities abest morosa. Nune at eampus et areae lenesque sub noctem susurri 20 composita repetantur hora ;
nune et latentis proditor intimo gratus puellae risus ab angulo
and have no anxiety for what may come on the morrow?' — f uge : shun, cf. 2, 4, 22 /uge stispicari. — fors : personified, Davie For- tune. — dierum: connect with quem . . . cumque. For the tmesis, cf. I, 6, 3. — lucro appone : in ori- gin a commercial expression ; 'carrying to the profit account.' Cf. Ovid, Trist. i, 3, 68 in lucro est quae dattir hora ?nihi.
16. puer : ' while thou art young.' — tu: in disjunctive sen- tences the subject pronoun is often reserved for the second member as here, giving emphasis to the charge. Cf. Epist. i, 2, 63 hutic frenis, hunc tu compesce catena', and luv. 6, 172 parce precor. Paean, et tu depone sagit- tas.
17. virenti canities : notice the forceful juxtaposition ; cf. n. to i, 5, 9. — virenti : sc. tibi. Cf. Epod. 13, 4 dum virent genua.
18 ff. morosa : crabbed. — nunc: ' while thou art young,' repeating donee virenti, etc. The Campus
Martins and the public squares (areae) were natural trysting places. In our climate we have little idea of the way in which Italian life, from business to love- making, is still carried on in the squares {piazze) of the towns and cities. — lenes . . . susurri : cf. Prop. I, II, 13 blandos audire susurros.
21 ff. nunc et : the anaphora weakens the violence of the zeugma by which this strophe is connected with repetantur, be claimed; the opposite of redder e. cf. n. on reponens, v. 6, above. The skillful arrangement of the verses is striking and cannot be reproduced in an uninflected lan- guage ; like an artist, Horace adds to his picture stroke after stroke, until it is complete. Each idea in the first verse has its complement in the second : — latentis proditor intitno
puellae
ab angulo Intr. 21.
86
CARMINA [I, lo, 2
pignusque dereptum lacertis aut digito male pertinaci."
23 f. The girl is coquettish. tota latere volens, \ sed magis ex
Porphyrio quotes Verg. E. 3, 65 aliqica cupiebat parte videri, \
et fngit (sc. puella) ad salices et laetior hoc pot his, quod male tecta
sc cupit atite videri. Cf. also /7///'. — pignus : j!^/?^^^?, either ring
Maximian's verses written in the or bracelet. — male : a weak nega-
sixth century a.d. Eleg. i, 67 ff. tive with pertinaci, like tninus,
et modo subridens latebras fugi- feebly resisting. Cf. i, 2, 27,
tiva petebat,\non tatnen effugiens and n.
l/
10
The Italian Mercury was early identified with the Greek Hermes, but was chiefly worshiped by the Romans as the god of trade. This ode is a hymn to Mercury with the varied attributes of his Greek parallel: he is celebrated as tJie__godofel^queiice (Aoyios). Q^ |ililetic-jCQiit.est§ (dywi/tos), the_ divine messenger (Sia/cropos), the in- ventor of the lyre (/AoucrtKos), the god of thieves («•Af7rT7yc)-iiie helper {ipiovvio'i), and the,§hepherd_of thejsb^des (i//i;xo7ro|U,7rds) , who restrains them with his .golden \yan3 (;^pucroppa7rts) . That this ode is leased on a similar ode by Alcaeus is expressly stated by Porphyrio, hymnus est in Mercuriuvi ab Alcaeo lyrico poeta, who adds on v. 9 fabida haec autem ab Alcaeo ficta ', furthermore Pausanias (7, 20, 5) informs us that Alcaeus treated in a hymn the theft of cattle from Apollo, but Menander {de encom. 7) says that ttie chief theme of the hymn was the birth of the god, so that we may safely conclude that Horace's treatment of his original was free. Unfortunately but three verses of Alcaeus' hymn are preserved, Frg. 5 xdlpi. KvAAavas o fxiSeL<;. ak yap fxoL \ Ovfxo'i vfiv-qv, Tov Kopv^toLS iv avrais | Maia yivvaro KpovtSa /xtyeicra. Metre, 69.
Mercuri, faciinde nepos Atlantis, qui feros cultus hominum recentum
I ff. facunde : as A,oytos. god of cunde minister, and also Acts 14, speech, expanded in the following 12 'And they called . . . Paul, Mer- qui . . . voce formasti : cf. Mart. 7, cury, because he was the chief 74. I Cyllenes caeliqne decus, fa- speaker.' — nepos Atlantis : cf.
87
J. lo, 3]
HORATI
voce formasti catus et decorae more palaestrae,
te canam, magni lovis et deorum nuntium curvaeque lyrae parentem, callidum quicquid placuit iocoso condere furto.
Te boves olim nisi reddidisses per dolum amotas puerum minaci voce dum terret, viduus pharetra risit Apollo.
Ovid's appeal, Fast. 5, 663 dare nepos Atlantis., ades, and Eurip. Ion I ff., where Hermes speakSj'ArXas . . . e<j>v(T€ Maiav, rj fi iyetvaro \ 'Eipfxrjv /AcytCTTO) Zrjvi — cultus : manners. — recentum : ' newly cre- ated ' ; i.e. mankind in its infancy, described by Horace, S. 1,3, 100 as mutiim et tnrpe pectis. By the gift of language (voce) and the in- stitution (more) of 'grace-giving' athletic sports Mercury raised men out of their early brute condition. An inscription (Orelli 141 7) in his honor reads sermonis dator infans palaestra»! protulit Cyllenins. — catus: an archaic word defined by Varro L. L. 7, 46 as aadus, the opposite oi stjdtjis.
6. nuntium : so he is called Verg. A. 4, 356 inter pres divotn. — ly- rae parentem: ci. ArnoXA''?, Merope 'Surprised in the glens | The bask- ing tortoises, whose striped shell founded | In the hand of Hermes the glory of the lyre.'
7 f. callidum : with the depend- ent infinitive condere. Intr. 108. Hermes is called Eurip. Rhes. 217 f^-qXyjTijiv ava^. — iocosO : sportii/e.
9 ff. According to the Homeric hymn to Mercury 22 IT. it was on the very day of the god's birth that he perpetrated this theft as well as invented the lyre. The Scholiast to //. 15, 256 tells the same story Ejo^-^s 6 A105 /cat MatasT^s ArAav- Tos evpe \vftav km tovs AttoAAwvos ^oas KXo/'as evpiOiq wo tov deov 8ia r>}s fxavTLKrj'i • a.iTuXovvTO% ok TOV 'AttoAAwvos eKAei/'CV avrov km TO. em Twv wjxwv To^a ■ yLtetotacra? Se 6 Oeo<; eScoKcv avT(Jo ttjv /xavTiKrjv pa^Sov. a(fi ^s KM )(poa6f)pa7n<; o 'Ep/i.^9 Trpoarjyoptvdr], lAa^e ok vap avTOv tyjv Xvpav. — olim : 'long ago in thy childhood.' — nisi red- didisses: the sentence stands in ' informal ' indirect discourse, the apodosis being contained in minaci voce ; Apollo said, threateningly. ' if you do not give back my
CARMINA
[i, lo, 20
15
Quin et Atridas duce te superbos Ilio dives Priamus relicto Thessalosque ignis et iniqua Troiae castra fefellit.
Tu pias laetis animas reponis sedibus virgaque levem coerces aurea turbam, superis deorum gratiis et imis.
cattle {nisi reddideris, fut. perf. ind.), rU . . . ,' his threat being in- terrupted by an involuntary laugh at seeing himself robbed (viduus) of his quiver. — risit: used in ob- ligatory sense, had to laugh; em- phatic from its position. Intr. 22.
13 ff. This strophe summarizes tiie twenty-fourth book of the Iliad, in which is told how Priam, under Mermes' direction, came into the ( ireek camp bringing great ransom for Hector's body, how he kissed the hand of his son's slayer, and carried back the corpse. This ex- ample of Hermes' power to protect and aid mankind forms an easy tran- sition from the story of his clever theft (7-12) to a mention of his highest functions, as i//vxo7ro/A7ros (17-20).
— quin et: regularly used in transition to a more striking state- ment, or. as here, to a higher theme. Cf. 2, 1 3, 37 ; 3, 1 1 , 2 1 . — dives : with the treasure he carried to ransom Hector's body. — Thessalos ignis: specializing the watch-fires as be- longing to Achilles' troops. — fe- fellit: went all unnoticed past.
17. tu: note the effective ana- phora whereby the Mercuri of the first strophe is repeated in the initial word of the second, third, and fifth (te . . . te . . . tu) ; in the fourth the initial quin et pushes the pro- noun (duce te) to the middle of the verse. Intr. 28c. — reponis: dost duly bring to the abodes of the blest, or possibly ' restorest to," under the conception that the souls returned to their former homes. For this force of re- cf. i,3,7r<?rtV/a.$-,and n. to 1 , 9, 6. — sedibus : abl . I ntr . 95 .
18 f. virga . . . aurea : the K-^pvKuov presented by Apollo, with which Mercury rules men and the shades alike. Cf. //. 24, 343 f. ctAero Se pd^Bov, Trj T dvSpwv ofJifxxiTa Oekyei \ wv iOeXei, tol^s 6 avre kol v7rvwovTa<i eyetpei. The familiar caduceus with which Mercury is often repre- sented is of later origin. — levem . . . turbam: flitting crowd ; ei8o>Aa /<ttyu.dvTfov. — coerces : as a shepherd. Cf. 1 , 24, 1 6 if. quain (sc. imagitieni) virga seniel horrida \ non lenis pre- cibus fata recludere, \ nigro coin- pulerit Mercurius gregi, and Od. 24. I ff.
I, II, I]
HORATI
II
' Leuconoe, give up trying to learn the secrets of the future. Be wise, do thy daily task, and live to-day ; time is swiftly flying.' This is simply a variation of the theme (i, 9, 12 ff.), quid sit futur urn eras, fuge qiiaerere, et \ quern fors dierum euf/ique dabit, luero \ appone. Probably a study from the Greek, possibly of Alcaeus, as are i, iS, and 4, ID, the two other odes in the same measure. Metre, 54.
Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nee Babylonios temptaris numeros. Vt melius quicquid erit pati, seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit luppiter ultimam 5 quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare
I. tu: emphasizing the requests to his imaginary Leuconoe. whose name is chosen for its pleasing sound. By the collocation, quem mihi, quem tibi, Horace represents her as dear to him. — ne quaesi- eris : archaic and colloquial for the ordinary noli with the infini- tive.— scire nefas: parenthetical. Cf. Epod. 16, \\ nefas videre: and for the thought as well, Stat. Theb. 3. 562 quid crastinavolveret aetas scire nefas hotnini.
2 f . nee : with temptaris, con- tinuing the prohibition, for the more common neve. — Babylonios . . . numeros : the calculations of the, etc., employed in casting horoscopes. After the conquests of Alexander, astrologers made their way to Greece from the east in large numbers and had established themselves in Rome as early as the second century B.C., where they did a thriving business among the superstitious.
They had become a nuisance as early as 139 B.C. when the prae- tor peregrinus, Cornelius Scipio, banished them ; but they still con- tinued to practice their art througli- out the republic and especially under the empire, in spite of many attempts to rid Italy of them. Cf. Tac. Hist. I, 22 genus hominuin potentibus infidmn sperantibus fallax, quod in civitate nostra et vetabitur setnper et retinebitur .
— ut: cf. Epod. 2. lout gaudct decerpens pira. — hiemes : of years, equivalent to annos ; cf. i, 15, 35 post certas hiemes.
5 f. oppositis debilitat pumici- bus mare Tyrrhenum : pumices is used of any rocks eaten by the waves; cf. Lucret. i, 326 vesco sale saxa peresa. Sidon. Apoll. 10, 27 prominet alte \ asper ab assiduo lyinpharum verbere pu- mex. The description given, how- ever, is hardly appropriate to the Tuscan Sea. in the region
90
CARMINA
[I, 12
Tyrrhenum. Sapias, vina liques, et spatio brevi spem longara reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit invida aetas ; carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
best known to Horace. — sapias : be se7isible, expanded in what fol- lows. With the sentiment, cf. i, 7, 17 sapiens fijiire memento tris- titiatn. — vina liques : to free the wine from sediment it was poured from the amphora through a cloth {saccus') or strainer {colimi) . — spatio brevi : ' for our life's span is brief; ' opposed to spemlongam. Intr. 26. — reseces : cut short.
7. dum loquimur . . . fugerit : note the force of the fut. perf. Cf. Lucret. 3, 914 f. brevis hie est fritctiis homullis; \ iam fuerit iiequepost umqitam 7-evocare licebit. Also luv. 9, 128 f. diim bibimus, . . . obrepit no?i intellect a senectus.
8. diem: the flitting day, equivalent to *■ primo qiioqite die
frtiere^ according to Porphyrio, who adds that the figure is taken from picking {car per e) fruit, '■quae carpimusut frtiamtir.'' Cf. Lucil. 39, 51 M. hiemem imam quajnque carpam ; Mart. 7, 47, 1 1 fugitiva gaudia carpe. The spirit of the last line is also expressed in Epist. I, 4, 12 f. inter spem curamque, timores inter et ir as \ omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse supremtitn ; likewise by Persius, 5, 151-53, who expands Horace's verse, in- dulge genio, carpamus dulcia, nos- trum est I quod vivis, cinis et manes et fabula fles, \ vive memor leti, fugit hora, hoc quod loquor inde est. — credula : of foolish confi- dence, cf. I, 5, 9 qui mine tefrui- tur credulus aurea.
12
' What hero, demigod, or god, dost thou prepare to sing, O Muse ? Whose name shall echo on Helicon, on Pindus, or on Haemus' height, where Orpheus charmed all nature with his strains? (1-12). Of gods first surely father Jove ; then his daughter Pallas, then Liber, Diana, and Phoebus (13-24). The demigod, Alceus' grandson, will I celebrate, and the twin brothers, who guard sailors from the angry sea (25-32). Then the great Romans, Romulus, Tarquin, Cato, and the long line of heroes after them (31-44). Marcellus" fame is growing; the Juhan star out- shines the rest (45-48). Father and guardian of men, in thy care is mighty Caesar, greatest of all the Roman line. May his rule be second to thine only ; may he conquer the Parthians and the remotest Eastern peo- ples, and rule the wide wide world ; still shall he be thy subject, for thou, thou only shalt ever be Lord of Olympus, the Punisher of crime (49-60) .'
91
1, 12, l]
HORATI
This ode, like the second of this book, is in honor of Augustus, who is celebrated as greatest of all the long line of Roman heroes, the vice- gerent_i)£-Jj3V€.~'The mention of Marcellus (46) makes it probable that the date of composition was either 25 B.C., when Marcellus was married to Augustus' daughter Julia and adopted as the Emperor's son. or in any case between that date and Marcellus' death in 23 B.C. The opening verses were suggested by Pindar's ode in honor of Theron ((?. 2) which begins di'a^t^opyu.iyye? vfxvoL, \ rtVa deov, riv rjpoM, rtVu 8' av8pa KeXaS-Qa-ofiev ; Horace proceeds, however, in very different fashion from Pindar, who answers his question at once : ' Of the Gods, Zeus : of demigods, Heracles ; of men, Theron the victor.' Metre, 69.
Quem virum aut heroa lyra vel acri tibia sumis celebrare, Clio, quem deum .-* Cuius recinet iocosa nomen imago
5 aut in umbrosis Heliconis oris
aut super Pindo gelidove in Haemo ?
I . heroa : demigod. — lyra . . . tibia : the Greek rhapsodist ac- companied his recital with the lyre, and it is said (Cic. Tusc. 4, 3) that in early times the Romans sang their songs in honor of their ancestors {laudationes) to the music of the tibia. — acri : Atyet'j;, XL-yvpa; of the high clear notes of the pipe. The epithet is praised by Quintilian 8, 2, 9 propria dic- tum est, id est, quo nihil inve- niri possit significantius . — sumis : choose, as subject of thy song; used with similar dependent infin. Epist. I, 3, 7 qtiis sibi res gestas August i scribere sumit ? — Clio : while Horace does not often dis- tinguish the Muses, it is possible that here Clio is invoked in her pe- culiar character as Muse of History.
3 f . iocosa . . . imsigo : sportive echo. Cf. I, 20, 6 iocosa ... Vaticani montis imago.
5 f. Three homes of the Muses : Helicon in Boeotia, Pindus in Thes- saly, Haemus in Thrace. At the foot of Helicon was the village of Ascra, in which there was a shrine of the Muses (/Aovo-eiov) and a guild of poets of which Hesiod (eighth centuryB.c.) was the most famous. The mountain was also famed for the springs of Hippocrene and Aganippe. Pindus was between Thessaly and Epirus ; likewise a haunt of the Muses. Haemus was the seat of an early cult of the Muses and the traditional home of a Thracian school of poetry. Cf. Verg. ^. 10, 1 1 f. nam neque Parnasi vobis iuga, nam neque
92
CARMINA
[i, 12, 14
Vnde vocalem temere insecutae Orphea silvae,
arte materna rapidos morantem 10 fluminum lapsus celerisque ventos,
blandum et auritas fidibus canoris ducere quercus.
Quid prius dicam solitis parentis laudibus, qui res hominum ac deorum, Pindi \ tilla morain fecere. neqiie i.e. of Calliope. — blandum
Aonie Aganippe. — oris : the bor- ders of.
7 f . temere : blindly., being spell- bound by Orpheus' music. For the story of Orpheus' power, cf. ApoU. Rhod. I. 28 ff. (^T/yot 8' dy/atciSes, /cetVi;? en crrnxaTa /jloXtt^'s. I d/CT^s 6pr]LKLr]<; Zu)vr}^ Itti rrjXe- $6(})(TaL I k^€L-q<i (TTL\6(aaiv i-rrrjTpL- fjiou as oy kinirpo \ 6ekyofx.h/a<; (fiopfiLyyi Karrjyaye YlLepirjOev. • But the wild oaks — even to-day memorials of that song — grow on Zone, the Thracian promontory, and stand there in rows dose to- gether ; the oaks that Orpheus charmed with his lyre and brought down from Pieria.' Also Shake- spere, Henry Eighth 3, i ' Orpheus with his lute made trees, | And the mountain tops that freeze, | Bow themselves when he did sing : I To his music, plants and flowers I Ever sprung ; as sun and showers | There had made a last- ing Spring.'
9 ff. Cf. 3, II, 13 f. tu pfltes tigris comitesque silvas \ ducere et rtvos ceteris morari. — materna :
ducere : for the dependent infinitive Porphyrio compares i, 10, 7 calli- dum condere. — auritas: prolepti- cal, ' with charm to give ears to the oaks and draw them after him.'
13-24. The Gods. Notice tliat Horace in taking up his exam- ples reverses the order of v. i ff. virum . . . heroa . . . deum.
13. solitis parentis laudibus: the customary beginning from the time of the Homeric rhapsodists. Cf. Pind. N. 2, I ff. oQiv ircp koi Ofji-qpihat I paTTTWv iiritov to. ttoXX' doiSoi I dp^ovTai. Atos €k irpooi- fiiov. And Aratus Phaen. i f. Ik ^u)<: dpxwfJLecrda .... rov yap koi yeVos e(Tfj.ev. Also Verg. E. 3, 60 ab love principiiun. The formula indicates the beginning of a loftier strain than usual, of a song that may be compared with that of Thracian Orpheus.
— parentis: cf. v. 49 pater atque custos, and i, 2. 2 pater.
14. qui res, etc. : cf. Venus' ad- dress. Verg. A. I, 229 f. o qui res ho;ninumque deumque \ aeternis regis iniperiis.
93
I, 12, 15]
HORATI
15 qui mare et terras variisque mundum
temperat horis ?
Vnde nil maius generatur ipso, nee viget quicquam simile aut secundum ; proximos illi tamen occupavit 20 Pallas honores,
proeliis audax; neque te silebo Liber, et saevis inimica virgo beluis, nee te, metuende certa Phoebe sagitta.
15 f . mundum : heavens, in con- trast with mare, terras. — horis : seasons. Cf. Epist. 2, 3, 302 sub verni te?nporis horam.
17. unde : equivalent to ex quo, referring to parens. Cf. Verg. A. I, 6 genus unde Latinum. This use of unde, referring to a person, is chiefly found in poetry, cf. 2, 12, 7 unde = a quibus, but occurs also in prose, e.g. Cic. de Or. i, 67 ille ipse, unde cogttovit.
18 f. quicquam simile : sc. ei. — secundum . . . proximos : the dis- tinction between these words is clearly shown by Vergil in his account of the boat race, A. 5, 320 proxinnis kick, longo sedproxi- mus intervallo, as earlier by Cice- ro, Brtit. 173 duobus summis {oratoribiis') L. Philippus proxi- mus accedebat, sed longo intervallo tamen proximus. Secundus is used properly of that which is ' next,' closely connected, while proximus may be used of that which is
' nearest ' although separated by a considerable distance.
21 f. proeliis audax : modify- ing Pallas. — et : continuing the negative neque . . . silebo. — virgo : Diana (Artemis), not sim- ply as the huntress, but also as the destroyer of fierce monsters (beluis) and a benefactress of mankind. Cf. Callim. Hytnn to Artemis 153 f. (Heracles speaks) fidWe KaKOV'i ctti drjpa^, iva OvrjTOi ere ^orjOov \ ws e/xe kikXt]-
(TKUXTLV.
23 f . metuende certa Phoebe sa- gitta : the list of beneficent divin- ities celebrated closes with Apollo. the slayer of the monster Python. He was the champion of Augustus at Actium. and afterward regarded by the emperor as his patron di- vinity. Cf. Prop. 5, 6, 27flf. cum Phoebus linquetis . . . Delon, adstitit Augusti piippivt super, . . . qualis flexos solvit Pythona per orbis ser- pentem. It should be also noticed
94
CARMINA
[i. 12, 34
25
3°
Dicam et Alciden puerosque Ledae, hunc equis, ilium superare pugnis nobilem ; quorum simul alba nautis Stella refulsit,
defluit saxis agitatus umor, concidunt venti fugiuntque riubes, et minax, quod sic volueje, ponto unda recumbit.
Romulum post hos prius an quietum Pompili regnum memorem an superbos
that the gods selected are those who had made the earth more ten- able for man by freeing it of mon- sters, but none of the divinities especially connected with the Ro- man people, as Mars, or with the Julian line, as Venus, are included.
25-32. The demigods. — Alci- den: Hercules. — hunc equis. ilium, etc. : cf. //. 3, 237 Kao-Topa ^' hnro- Oafiov Koi TTV^ ayaOov TToAvSeu/cea.
27 ff. quorum simul. etc.: cf. n. to I. 3. 2 and the passages there quoted. This graphic passage, as well as 4. 8, 33, reflects Theoc. 22, 1 7 ff- aA.X l/iATras Vjuet? ye /cat e/c fSvOov cAkctc vaas | avroiaiv vavrat- (Tiv 6LoiuvoL<i 9av€€adaL • I oiif/a 8' aTToX^yovr' avefiOL, Xnrapa Sk ya- Aava I d/xTTcAayos ' vet^eAai 8e Ste- Spa/xov (xAAdSi? dAAat. ' Yet even so do ye draw forth the ships from the abyss, with their sailors that looked immediately to die ; and in- stantly the winds are still, and there is an oily calm along the sea. and
the clouds flee apart, this way and that' (Lang). Cf. also Verg. A. i. 1 , 54 s/c cuncttis pelagi cecidit fra- gor. — refulsit : i.e. in answer to the sailors' prayers.
29 ff . defluit . . . concidunt . . . fu- giujit : observe the effective empha- sis given by position and rhythm.
33 f . Horace now turns to mor- tals— the noble Romans dead and gone. — quietum Pompili regnum : Numa's peaceful reign, during which tradition said religious ob- servances were established, is con- trasted with the warlike rule of Romulus. Livy describes the ser- vices of the two kings i, 21 duo deinceps reges, alms alia via, ille {Rojiiuh(s') bello, hie (^Nunia^ pace, civitatem aiixenitit. — superbos Tarquini fascis: the adjective be- longs logically to Tarquini. who served the state by his conquests of the neighboring peoples. Al- though the remembrance of his haughtiness remained, his memory
95
I. 12, 35]
HORATI
35 Tarquini fascis dubito, an Catonis
nobile letum.
Regulum et Scauros animaeque magnae prodigum Paullum superante Poeno
was not stained with any baseness. Cic Phil. 3. 9. Tarquinius . . . non crndelis, non inipiiis, sed superbits habitus est et diet its . . . nihil huinile de Tarquinio, nihil sordidum ae- cepimiis.
35! Catonis nobile letum: Hor- ace passes in his examples of Ro- man virtus from the last of the kings to the last great republican. Cato's choice of suicide at Utica (46 B.C.) rather than of submission to the new order of things, is fre- quently referred to by his con- temporaries and by writers of the following century in terms of the highest praise. Cf. C\c. ad fa»i. 9. 18 Ponipeius, Scipio, Afranitis in hello civile foede perierunt, ' at Cato praeclare.'' No question was raised as to Cato's honesty of pur- pose, and he became a kind of canonized hero. Augustus' policy of allowing praise of all that was noble in the champions of the re- public made it possible for Horace to do honor to Cato even in an ode glorifying the emperor. Indeed Augustus wisely forestalled his opponents by praising Cato him- self
37 ff . Horace here returns to the heroes of an earlier time. — Regu- lum : Regulus was a traditional
instance of that ancient Roman manhood {virtus) that preferred his country's honor to his own life. The fifth ode of the third book holds up his self-sacrifice as an example for the youth of Horace's own time. — Scauros: referring chiefly to M. Scaurus and his son. The father was called by Valerius Max. 5, 8, 4 lumen et decus patriae; the son was involved in the defeat on the Adige in loi B.C. and shared the panic-stricken flight under Ca- tulus. His father sent him a mes- sage saying that he should rather have found his dead body than see him alive after sharing in such a dis- grace, whereupon the young man killed himself. Valer. Max. I.e. ; Aur. Vict. 3,72 in conspectuin snuin vet nit accedere : ille ob hoc dedeciis inorteni sibi conscivit. — prodigum : cf. Ovid. Am. 3, 9, 64 sanguinis atque animae prodige Galle tuae. — Paullum: L. Aemilius Paullus, who chose to die at the battle of Can- nae (216 B.C.) rather than escape, as he might have done with honor, according to Livy's account (22.
49)-
39. gratus: either of Horace's own feeling of gratitude toward so noble a character, or simply 'pleas- ing,' ' in verse pleasing my readers.'
96
CARMINA
[I,- 12, 48
40
45
gratus insigni referam camena Fabriciuraque.
Hunc et intonsis Curium capillis utilem bello tulit et Camillum saeva paupertas et avitus apto cum lare fundus.
Crescit occulto velut arbor aevo fama Marcelli ; micat inter omnis lulium sidus velut inter ignis luna minores.
Cf. Mart. 4, 55, \ograto 7ion pudeat referre versn. — insigni . . . camena : • with the Muse that gives men fame."
40 ff. The following illustrations of ancient virtus and continentia are C. Fabricius Luscinus, whom Pyrrhus could neither frighten nor bribe ; M'. Curius Dentatus, who was equally incorruptible ; and M. Furius Camillus, who captured Veii (396 B.C.) and saved Rome from the Gauls (390 B.C.). All three, however, are chosen as ex- amples, not of great deeds, but of great characters. Their natures were proverbial.
— intonsis capillis: barbers were not employed at Rome until about 300 B.C. (Plin. N. H. 7, 211); and the custom of shaving the beard and wearing the hair short became general much later.
43 f . saeva : stern, as training men to hardihood. All three wor- thies were men of small estate, but
HOR. CAR. — 7
of great native worth. — apto cum lare : ' with humble house befitting their ancestral farms.'
45 ff. While the direct reference here is to the young Marcellus, Octavia's son, no doubt the name in this connection would call up to the Roman mind at once that M. Claudius Marcellus, who in 222 B.C. won the spolia oph/ia for the third and last time, captured Syra- cuse in 212 B.C., and was the first successful general against Hanni- bal. — occulto . . . aevo : with crescit, is growing with the unmarked lapse of time. Cf. 2. 2, 5 extento aevo.
47 f. lulium sidus: the star of the Julian house. This use of sidus (' fortune ') would doubtless call to mind the comet that appeared shortly after Julius Caesar's mur- der (Suet. /ul. 88). Cf. Verg. E. 9. 47 ecce Dionaei processit Caesar is astrum. — inter ignis luna minores : a reminiscence of his earlier phrase,
97
I. 12,49]
HORATI
5°
55
6o
Gentis humanae pater atque custos, orte Saturno, tibi cura magni Caesaris f atis data : tu secundo Caesare regnes.
Ille sen Parthos Latio imminentis egerit iusto domitos triumpho sive subiectos Orientis orae Seras et Indos,
te minor latum reget aequus orbem ; tu gravi curru quaties Olympum, tu parum castis inimica mittes fulmina lucis.
Epod. 15, 2 caelo ftdgebat I una se- re no inter minora sidera . I n both he may have had in mind Sapplio Frg. 3, I f. daTepe<; fxkv dfjiffn KaXav aeX.dvvav | at/^ dTTOKpvTTTOtdL (j>d€v- vov ciSos- ' The stars about the fair moon hide their bright face.'
49 ff. The climax of the ode. With the idea expressed, cf.. Ovid's more extravagant laudation MeL 1 5, 858 ff. I up pit er arces \ tern per at aetherias et miindi regna trifor- viis ; I terra sub Augusta : pater est et rector iderque.
51 f. secundo Caesare : logically part of the prayer, and Caesar be second to thee only.
53 f. The 'Eastern Question' was always an annoying one to the Romans. Cf. n. to i, 2, 22. — egerit: i.e. as captives before his car. Ci. Epod. "J , 7 i. — iusto . . .
triumpho : a technical term, im- plying that all the conditions on which a triumph depended had been fulfilled.
55 f. The Serae (' Silk-people.' the Chinese) were known to the Romans only through trade. They and the Indians stand for the great remote East.
57ff. te. . .tu. . .tu. ..: opposed to ille v. 53. Intr. 28c. — te minor: cf. 3, 6, 5 Romatie, quod dis 7ninore/n te geris, imperas. — reget aequus: rule in justice. For the tense, see Intr. 102.
59! A stroke of lightning was a most important omen to the Ro- mans ; if a sacred grove was struck, that fact was proof that the grove had been polluted, and required purification. — parum : cf n. to mi- nus I, 2, 27.
CARMINA
[I, 13. 10
13
To contrast with the serious tone of the preceding ode, Horace placed here these impetuous verses to (an imaginary) Lydia. 'When thou praisest Telephus' beauty, Lydia, I swell with rage ; my self-control all goes; pale and weeping I show my jealous love. The injuries done thy fair shoulders and sweet lips by that bold boy do not prove a lasting love. Happy they who love till death.' Metre, 71.
Cum tu, Lydia, Telephi
cervicem roseam, cerea Telephi laudas bracchia, vae meum
fervens difficili bile tumet iecur. 5 Turn nee mens mihi nee color
certa sede manet, umor et in genas furtim labitur, arguens
quam lentis penitus macerer ignibus. Vror, sen tibi candidos 10 turparimt umeros immodicae mero
I f . Telephi . . . Telephi : repro- ducing in jealousy Lydia's fond repetition of her lover's name. Cf the passionate delaration, Anacr. Frg. 3 KAev/ifouAou /xev «ywy epw. | KAcd^oijAov 8' iirifxatvoixai., | KAev- ftovkov 8e SiocTKeo). Note the allit- eration, cervicem . . . cerea.
3f. vae: da/t! in angry disgust. — tumet iecur: t'.e. in rage, iecur is to4)e taken literally as the seat of passion (S. i, 9, 66 weum ieair tirere bilis) that overflows with savage wrath. — bilis: equivalent to xo^os-
5 f. mens . . . color, etc. : for his self-control is lost, and his color comes and goes. Cf. Apoll. Rhod. 3, 297 f. aTTttXas 8e /xereTpajTraro
Trapetas | cs yX.6ov, aXXoT ^pevdos, aKTjSeirja-L vooio. ' Love turned her tender cheeks to pallor, again to blushing, for the weariness of her soul.' — certa sede: more closely connected with color than with mens, as its position shows. — ma- net: Intr. 35. — umor: cf. Plat. Z"/;//. 68 A. vSoip 0 BoLKpvov KoXov/xev.
8. quam lentis : modified by penitus ; s/ow. pervasive. Cf Verg. A. 5, 682 f. lentusque cari- nas I est vapor.
9 f . uror : the rudeness of my rival in his cups, and the passion of his love, alike inflame me. — turparunt : harmed with bhnus. — immodicae : modified by the causal abl. mero.
99
I, 13, II] HORATI
rixae, sive puer furens
impressit memorem dente labris notam. Non, si me satis audias,
speres perpetuum dulcia barbare IS laedentem oscula, quae Venus
quinta parte sui nectaris imbuit. Felices ter et amplius,
quos inrupta tenet copula nee nialis divolsus querimoniis 20 suprema citius solvet amor die.
13 f . non : emphatic, like the ever, succeeding in their attempts.
English ' No, you would not,' etc. We cannot be sure that Horace
— dulcia barbare: cf. n. to i, uses the phrase as equivalent to
5, 9. Intr. 26. the Pythagorean 17 irifJiTrT-q ovaua.
16. quinta parte : simply 'the to TreyuTTTovov, the mediaeval ^«/;/A?
best part.' Cf. Meleager Anth. essentia (quintessence), satisfac-
Pal. 12, 133 <f)L\r)fjia to veKxapcov tory as this explanation would be.
TawixrjSew; . . . i/'i'X^s lySv TrcTrcoKa 18 ff. inrupta: unbreakable.
fieXi. In their efforts to determine rather than ' unbroken ' ; used like
the degree of sweetness that Hor- invidus, etc., in the sense of an
ace means to indicate here, com- ?i6.].\n-ilis,-biHs. — divolsus amor:
mentators have spent an amusing cf. 2, 4, 10 adeinptus Hector. —
amount of energy without, how- suprema die : life''s last day.
lAV^f
' O Ship of State, beware ! avoid the open sea ; thou art shattered by the storm just past. Put into port.' Quintilian 8, 6, 44 uses this ode as an illustration of an allegory — at aXXrjyopta quain inversionem inter- pretantur, aid aliiid verbis aliud sensu ostendit ant etiam interim con- trarium. Prins fit genus plerunique continiiatis translationibus : id ' o navis . . . portum,^ totusqne ille Horatii locus, quo navein pro re publica., fluctiis et tempestates pro bellis civilibus, portuni pro pace atque concordia dicit.'' This figure is as old as Theognis, and occurs frequently in Greek literature. Horace took as his model a poem of Alcaeus of which the following verses have been preserved, Frg. 18 : —
100
p
CARMINA [i, 14, 4
aavvirrjixL twv dvifiwy arda-LV • | to fxkv ydp evOev KVfxxi KvXivhtTai \ TO 8' tvOtv dfx.fxe<; 8' dv to fJiiacTOv \ vat (fyoprjfjieda crvv /xeXxiiva, \\ ;(ei- fxwvi /JioxOevvTes /xeyaAw /AaAa • | Trep piv yap avxAos laToireSav «x^'' I Aut<^os Se Trav ^dBrjXov ^Br) \ kol AaKtSes p-eydXat kut avTO ■ | ^oAaKTi S" dyKvXai'l do not understand the winds' strife, for the wave rolls, now from this side, now from tliat. and we with our black ship are car- ried in the midst, struggling hard with the mighty storm. For the flood surrounds the mast step, the canvas is utterly destroyed, great rents are in it ; and the yard-ropes are loosened.'' The most familiar modern example of this allegory is Longfellow's The Building of the Ship. ' Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State ! ' etc.
Apart from other considerations the poem is interesting as a sign that Horace's attitude toward the new government had changed from that of his student days when he served in Brutus' army (cf. v. 17 f.). The date of composition is most probably between the battle of Actium, 31 B.c , and the reorganization of the empire in 27 B.C. ; in any case it was written at a time when civil war was lately past, but .serious men still had reason to be anxious for the public peace ; and we must remember that however lightly Horace treated many subjects, his attitude toward the state was that of earnest loyalty. See Sellar, pp. 29, 151 ff. H^re Horace expresses his feeling that the state can- not endure another civil war, and that peace must be preserved. Cf. with this ode Epod. 7 and 16. Metre, 73.
O navis, referent in mare te novi fluctLis ! O quid agis .-' Fortiter occupa portum ! Nonne vides ut nudum remig:io latus
I f . in mare : in antiquity sail- 4 ff. This passage is imitated
ors kept near the shore. Cf. 2, by Claudian de sexto cons. Honor.
10, I ff. — novi fluctus : the new 132 ff. qiialis piratica puppis
storms of (a possible) civil war. — ... vidtiataque caesis \ reinigibiis.
fortiter occupa : make a valiant scissis velorum debilis alis, | 07'ba
effort and gain the port before the gnbernaclis, antemnis saucia frac-
storm breaks. — occupare is fre- tis \ ludibriuni pelagi vento iacti-
quently used like the Greek ^Qd- latnr et nnda.
vuv: cf. Epist. I. 6. 32 cave ne — remigio : oars, not 'rowers.'
portus occupat alter. Cf. Ovid A. A. 2, 671 mare re- lax
1. 14» 5]
HORATI
et malus celeri saucius Africo antemnaeque gemant ac sine funibus vix durare carinae possint imperiosius
aequor ? Non tibi sunt Integra lintea, non di, quos iterum pressa voces malo. Quamvis Pontica pinus, silvae filia nobilis,
15
iactes et genus et nomen inutile, nil pictis timidus navita puppibus fidit. Tu nisi ventis debes ludibrium, cave.
migiis ant vomere fitidite terras. — malus : note the quantity ; cf. V. 10 malo. For the rigging of an ancient ship see Torr An- cient Ships, p. 78-98. — funibus: vTTO^wfjiaTa ; cables or girders passed about the ship horizon- tally to strengthen it against the force of the waves, or in the case of warships, the shock of ramming. Cf. Acts 27, 17 ; Torr A. S. p. 41-43.
7 f . carinae : plural, where we use the singular; cf. i, 2, 15 f. jHonumenta, temp I a . — imperi- osius : equivalent to saeviiis, in its stern tyrantiy.
10. di : i.e. the little images of the gods that were carried on the poop deck. Horace means that in the storm of civil war the ship of state lost her protecting divini-
ties ; cf. Ovid Her. 16, 114 accipit et picto^ puppis adunca deos, and Pers. 6, 29 f. iacet ipse in litore et una \ ingentes de puppe dei.
1 1 f . Pontica pinus : Pontus was famous for its ship timber. — filia: cf. Mart. 14, 90 silvae filia ^«///'(2^ of a citrus table. For the arrangement of words, see Intr. 19.
13. iactes: boast est ; emphatic by position. — ■ inutile: added predicatively — all in vain for thee. — pictis : cf. the Homeric v^c? fiLXToirdprjoi. — timidus: 'when he is frightened.''
15 f. tu: in direct address to the ship. — debes : cf. Greek 6(f>\icrKdveiv StK-qv, art bound., doomed to be the sport of the winds.
CARMINA [I, 15, 2
Nuper sollicitum quae mihi taedium, nunc desiderium curaque non levis, interfusa nitentis 20 vites aequora Cycladas.
17 f. nuper . . . nunc : the fulgentes Cycladas. The south- time of the civil wars in contrast ern Aegean, dotted with frequent to the present moment. — sollici- islands (Verg. A. 3, 126 sparsas- tum . . . taedium : anxiety and qtie per aequor Cycladas^ is sub- hcartsickness. — desiderium : ob- ject to many squalls, but the ject of my longing. particular sea has no significance
19 f. nitentis : cf. 3, 28, 14 in the allegory.
' When faithless Paris was carrying Helen home to Troy, Nereus be- calmed the sea that he might foretell the doom that was to follow Paris' crime.' Porphyrio says that the motive was taken from Bacchylides, who made Cassandra prophesy the coming war and disaster, as Horace here has Nereus (Porphyrio read Proteus) . If Porphyrio be right, Horace's model has been lost to us ; the extant fragment 14 Blass, in which Menelaus warns the Trojans to remember the justice of Zeus, cannot be that to which Porphyrio refers. The theme is essentially epic and does not properly fall within the province of lyric poetry; and Horace has not been very successful in his treatment of it. While some dramatic skill is shown, the episode chosen has no natural limits and therefore offered him little opportunity for a climax ; the length of the prophecy was determined solely by the poet's inclination. That Horace learned to handle narrative subjects later is proved by Book 3. Odes 1 1 and 27, with which this ode should be carefully compared. For Horace's view as to the proper field for lyric verse, see Book ?., Ode 12.
For the reasons given above and be.cause of the technical defect of v.36, we may regard this as one of Horace's earlier studies. Metre, 72.
Pastor cum traheret per freta navibus Idaeis Helenen perfidus hospitam,
I . pastor : Paris, whom Verg. es "iSav. — traheret : was carrying ■^- 7i 363 calls Phrygius pastor. away.
Cf. also Bion 2, 10 apnaae rav 2. Idaeis: /.^. their timber grew
EXtvav Tr69' 6 ^ovKoXos, aye 8' on Mt. Ida. — perfidus hospitam:
103
1. 15. 3]
HORATI
ingrato celeres obruit otio ventos ut caneret fera
Nereus fata : ' Mala ducis avi domum quam multo repetet Graecia milite, coniurata tuas rumpere nuptias et regnum Priami vetus.
Heu heu, quantus equis, quantus adest viris sudor ! Quanta moves funera Dardanae genti ! lam galeam Pallas et aegida currusque et rabiem parat.
cf. n. to I, 5, 9. Intr. 26. No greater crime was known to an- tiquity than violation of the rights and privileges of hospitality. With this epithet of Paris, cf. 3, 3, 26 faviosus hospes, and Prop. 2, 34, 7 hospes in hospitiiim Menelao venit adulter.
3 ff. ingrato . . . otio: as the winds favored the lovers in their flight. — caneret : the regular word of prophecy. Cf. Epod. 13, 11 nobilis ut grandi cecinit centaurus alumno.
5 ff. Note the dramatic force of the prophecy, and the many reminiscences of the Iliad. — Ne- reus : son of Pontus and Tellus, father of Thetis. Cf. Hesiod Theog. 233 ff. Nr;/oax 8' onf/evBia Kol aX-qOea yeivaro IIovtos, | TrptajivTaTov Tratowv • avrap KoXe- ovaL yepovTa, \ ovveKa vr]fitpTy}% re Ktti r]Tno<i. ovh\ ^e/xKTTi'wv | XrjdtTat, aXXa. StKaia koX rjirLi hrjvea oTSev. — mala . . . avi: cf. 3, 3, 61 alite lugubri. Cf. Catull. 6 1 , 20 bona alite.
7 f. coniurata : in solemn com- pact at Aulis. Cf. Verg. A. 4, 425 f. where Dido says, non ego cum Danais Troianavi exscindere gentem \ Aulide iura^i ; Kunpide?,, Iph. in Aul. 49 ff. makes Agamem- non tell of the earlier oath, by which the suitors bound them- selves to protect and avenge the one who should win Helen. — regnum : with rumpere as Sen. H. F. 79 Titanas ausos rumpere iin- perijim loins.
9 f . quantus equis . . . sudor : Horace had in mind //. 2, 388 ff. tSpwaei p.iv rtv TfAa/xwv d/x(^i arr}- $ecr<f>LV I ao-TTiScy; ap.<^L^p6Tr]<i. irepl 8' f-yx^i- X^'^P"- '^«/^£''■'■«•1 ■ I topoicrei. 8i rev tTTTTOS iv^oov apfw. TiTaivwv. — funera : disasters.
II. galeam Pallas, etc.: a reminiscence of //. 5, 738 ff. ap-ff)! 8' ap' to/Aoicrtv ^dXer alyCSa Ova- <Tav6f.(T(Tav I 8etVT/v, . . • Kpari o kiT a.p.(f>i(f)a\ov Kvvi-qv $€to rerpa- (ftdXrjpov I XP'^^^^V^- — aegida : the breastplate of Athena, which
104
CARMINA
[I, 15. 20
Nequiquam' Veneris praesidio f erox pectes caesariem grataque feminis 15 imbelli cithara carmina divides ;
nequiquam thalamo gravis
hastas et calami spicula Cnosii vitabis strepitumque et celerem sequi Aiacem : tamen, heu, serus adulteros 20 crinis pulvere collines.
is represented on statues and paintings as a mail corselet, fringed with snakes and adorned with the Medusa's head in the center. See Baumeister, nos. 166-170. — ra- biem parat : cf. Ovid Met, 13, 554 se arm at et itistritit ira.
13 ff. Cf. Hector's reproachful words //. 3, 54 f. ovK a.v tol ^paiCTflT) KiOapis TO. T€ ^wp' 'Afjtpo- 8tT7;s, I ^re Kop-r) to tc eioos, or iv KovLyai p.LyuT)%. — nequiquam : all in vain, emphatic. — ferox : in scorn, made so bold by. — grata feminis . . . imbelli cithara . . . thalamo : all said contemptuously.
15 f . carmina divides : appar- ently equivalent to /tteAt^eiv, ' to sing rhythmically.' — nequiquam : Intr. 28c — thalamo: cf. //. 3, 380 if. Tov 8' i$rjpTra$' 'AcfypoBiTrj | ptia /laA (lis re ^eds» €KaAvi/'e 8' ap rjipi TToXXfj, I KaS 8' eld' iv daXdp.w €vwSu KrjtatvTi.
17. calami spicula Cnosii: light arrows in contrast to the heavy spears (gravis, equivalent to the Homeric epithets fipidv, fitya. (TTL^apov). The adj. Cnosii, re-
ferring to Cnosus, the chief city of Crete, is here employed, since the Cretans were famous archers. Cf Verg. A. 5, 206 Cnosia spi- cula.
17 f. vitabis : try to avoid the din of battle (strepitum) and the forefighters of the Greeks. In the Iliad Paris is represented as shrink- ing from battle, only appearing occasionally on sudden impulse. Homer never opposes