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THE

WORKS OF HORACE.

VOL. I.

Printed by S. Hamilton, Weybridge.

THE

WORKS OF HORACE,

TRANSLATED INTO

ENGLISH PROSE,

AS NEAR THE ORIGINAL AS THE DIFFERENT IDIOMS OF THE LATIN
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WITH

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AND

CRITICAL, HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, AND
CLASSICAL, NOTES IN ENGLISH,

FROM THE

BEST COMMENTATORS BOTH ANCIENT AND MODERN;

AND

A PREFACE TO EACH POEM,

ILLUSTRATING ITS DIFFICULTIES, AND SHOWING ITS SEVERAL ORNAMENTS AND DESIGN:

Also the Method of scanning the several Sorts of Verse used by Horace, and a
Table showing at one View of what Sort of Verse each Ode consists ;

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1811.

Stack
Annex

. fi

PREFACE.

LYRIC Poetry being the designed subject of this pre-
face, I shall here only premise a few observations on
poetry in general, which, as those who are in the least
acquainted with it know, chiefly consists in that enthu-
siasm so much boasted of, which, seizing a poet, quite
transports him. When sufficiently warmed with it, he
triumphs over every thing that stands in his way:
rhyme and measure are to him no obstacles at all, for
he discourses with as much ease and energy as if he
were tied down neither to the rigid rules of rhyme nor
of measure ; which has made the ablest masters recom-
mend the reading of the poets as the best method to
learn the art of thinking. Aristotle proposes Homer
in particular, as the pattern to be imitated by every
one who would write well, as he excels all the ancients
both in sentiment and expression ; and Quintilian says
yet more of him ; " Homer," says he, " extended
" the limits of human genius to their utmost stretch,
" and possessed such complete ideas of all the different
VOL. i. a

u PREFACE.

" kinds of writing, that he alone is a perfect model of
" all the different beauties that can enter into any com-
* position." And where indeed can we find such pat-
terns for writing as in Homer, Pindar, Horace, and
Virgil ? Can we read their works without discovering
all that human invention can conceive of the truly grand,
sublime, and heroic? Can we read their noble senti-
ments, their daring and happy strokes, without being
animated by their fire ? But if we look into the sacred
poets, the beauty and excellency of poetry will be still
more manifest ; for w-ho can read the song of Moses,
the psalms of David, or the book of Job, without ad-
miring the artful images and inimitable beauties where-
with they abound? Rivers flow back to their sources,
hills tremble, mountains dissolve like wax, seas meet and
retire, at the voice of their Creator: these are expressions
so lofty and sublime, as plainly show their author ; nor
can such ideas fail of awakening the soul, and expand-
ing its thoughts to the utmost extent and elevation.

We cannot, therefore, be at too much pains to ac-
quire a thorough knowledge of the ancient poets, whose
primary design w-as to instruct men; and it is well
known how greatly they contributed, in the first ages,
towards polishing mankind, forming them into states
and societies, and uniting them in one common interest ;
which gave rise to the fables of Amphion raising the
walls of Thebes by the sound of his lyre, and Orpheus
softening rocks and taming wild beasts by the exquisite
sweetness of his song. Of the very laws that Solon made
for the wisest state in the world, he put the greater part

PREFACE. iii

into verse ; and the descendants of the first poets seem
to have inherited their humane, social disposition. Ho-
race and Virgil were the delights of the court of Au-
gustus.

The nature and true object of each kind of poetry,
are to make us wiser and better. The Epic conveys
instructions to us, couched under the allegory of one
important heroic action. The Lyric celebrates the
virtues and noble achievements of great men, in order
to engage us to imitate their example. Tragedy regu-
lates our pity and fear, by familiarizing us to these
passions, which, when they surpass certain bounds,
create so much trouble and disquiet. Comedy and
Satire correct our vices in a pleasing and diverting
manner, and wage an implacable war against whatever
is absurd or ridiculous in conduct. Elegy laments
the death of those persons who deserve to be mourned
and regretted. The Eclogue sings the innocent plea-
sures of a country life. Hence it is evident, that the
intent of poetry is not so much to please the imagination,
as to inform and enlighten the understanding. It only
makes use of the imagination as a canal to convey
truth to the mind and heart ; for which purpose it uses
figures, fables, allegories, energy, and richness of ex-
pression, and harmony of numbers. Accordingly we
see that all the great men, poets, orators, historians,
and philosophers, of every age and every country, have
not scrupled to make use of the same innocent artifices
for the same end.

Poetry, with all its charms, would be of very little

iv PREFACE.

value, were amusement its only aim. A poet proposes
to be really useful :

Lectorcm dekctando, pariterque moncndo. HOR.

And whatever subject he treats of, his view is still

Jucunda et idonea dicere vitas :
" To say what's pleasant and instructive too."
But as our happiness depends chiefly on providing
for the necessary demands of nature, and obeying the
dictates of our serious affections towards our family,
friends, and country, such pursuits demand the greater
part of our time ; and all other personal gratifications
ought to give place to them, as these necessarily en-
. gage us in a course of very laborious application.
Without intervals of relaxation and pleasing diversions,
it would be difficult to support that cheerfulness of
mind which is requisite towards success in our most
important concerns ; wherefore even that poetry which
only amuses us, and gives a relief from the fatigues
of business, is far from being unprofitable ; but the
ends' of poetry are far more noble, as has been already
hinted, and will be more fully shown in the following
treatise on lyric poetry, for a great part of which I am
indebted to the best critics who have illustrated our
author.

LYRIC POETRY is allowed to be of all others the
most ancient. It made its first appearance at the feasts
which the first men made as a relief from their labours,
and to return thanks to God for his blessings. But it

may be said to owe its origin more particularly to the

PREFACE. v

Hebrews ; and as they were influenced by a spirit of
quite a different sort from that of the Gentiles, their
poetry had a more noble origin, and was presently
carried to the greatest perfection in the song of Moses
and the children of Israel, on Pharaoh and his host
being drowned in the Red Sea ; which is so very grand
and sublime, I may say so divine, that wisdom itself
seems to have dictated it. The same sublime spirit of
poetry reigns throughout the prophetic books and the
psalms. There shines, in all its majesty, that true
poetry which excites virtuous affections only, which leads
us to the true God, which pleases without seducing
us, which instructs without . disgusting us, which is
always agreeable yet always useful, ennobled by its
sublime expressions, by its animated figures, and yet
more so by the truth it announces, which makes it alone
merit the name of divine language ; nor do any odes of
Horace or of Pindar come near it, nor any human
composition whatever ; whence it appears how far di-
vine inspiration is above that poetic fury and enthusiasm
which the poets endeavour to excite in themselves by
every thing that can heat their imagination. The Greeks
could not profit by the example of this grand lyric poem,
nor by the sublime songs of David and Solomon, which
were to them unknown, because of the little commerce
they had with the Hebrews before the thirtieth olym-
piad ; and, as they were left to their own natural
genius, many years intervened before they produced
their first essays in poetry, which were no other than

vi PREFACE.

unpremeditated praises of their gods and heroes. And
these praises, says Aristotle, were sometimes mixed
with a little satire : but it soon changed its form, ac-
cording to the different talents of the poets ; for those
who had the most elevated genius chose the most diffi-
cult subjects, the praises of the gods and panegyrics
on the heroes ; whereas those of a lower genius chose
more easy subjects, raillery and satire ; for, in poetry
as in painting, it is easier to show the defects of nature
than to imitate her perfections.

Those who sang the praises of the gods or heroes
made use of heroic verse, and those who made raillery
their subject chose iambic verse. After experience had
taught them to give each kind of poetry the verse most
proper for it, lyric poetry changed its tone, and assumed
a greater freedom than any other, by admitting all kinds
of verse, the pentameter alone excepted.

What poets were the authors of these changes we
know not ; but lyric poetry first appeared in its true
form in the works of Alcman, who is the oldest lyric
poet of whom we have any fragments. He lived long
before Crossus, about the twenty-seventh olympiad,
six hundred years before our Saviour.

From this time lyric poetry began to debase itself by
descending from those sublime subjects, the praises
of the gods and heroes, to subjects less grave and
serious ; such as describing games, amours, dances,
feasts, and every kind of diversion and gallantry. This
change plainly appears in the poems of Sappho and

PREFACE. vii

Alcaeus, who lived four or five hundred years after
Alcman ; but we cannot persuade ourselves that they
were the authors of it.

In the space of fifty-five Olympiads, or 220 years,
there appeared in Greece nine great lyric poets, whose
names I here give in the order in which they lived : Alc-
man, Stesichorus, Sappho, Alcaeus, Simonides, Ibicus,
Anacreon, Pindar, Bacchylides.

In the same space of time there appeared three iambic
poets, Archilochus, Simonides, and Hipponax.

We have no collection of the works of any lyric poets
except Anacreon and Pindar; nor do there remain
above two odes of Sappho : of the other six of her odes
we have only fragments. Among the lyric poets, Pin-
dar bears the pre-eminence ; and of the iambic poets,
Archilochus is esteemed the first.

To the nine lyric poets whom we have mentioned may
be justly added Corinna of Thebes, Praxilla of Sicyon,
and Telesilla of Argos.

Thus have we given the state of lyric poetry during
fifty-five olympiads, or two hundred and twenty years.

After this we are not to look for the least vestige of
lyric poetry among the Greeks, it having suddenly
stopped, like certain rivers, which, after having watered
several countries, and in their long course beautified
and enriched the fields with their moisture, disappear
without any body knowing what becomes of them.

The Romans, like the Greeks, owed to nothing else
but their own natural genius the origin of all kinds of
poetry ; and their first essays were also nothing but the

viii PREFACE.

efforts of pure nature. Among them likewise, poetry
was soon divided into two kinds. The first they con-
secrated to the praises of gods and heroes, and the
other they employed in raillery and satire. But it
would seem that the former was the more ancient, the
great care of this warlike people being to excite a love
to arms and religion.

From the year of Rome 57, the Salian verses were
in vogue, which were a collection of songs chanted by
the priests of Mars to the honour of the gods at the time
they were making sacrifices to Hercules, when they
mentioned the names of those who had distinguished
themselves by any heroic action.

Soon after this they introduced the custom of sing-
ing at public feasts and at table, either with the voice
alone, or in concert with the flute or lyre. These
songs, in all appearance, were much the same with
those which Achilles played on his harp to celebrate
the heroes.

But we do not find that for more than seven hundred
years one lyric poet appeared in Italy, viz. from the first
Punic war to the time of Augustus, when Horace sud-
denly rose into fame. Born with a happy genius for
poetry, assisted by his knowledge of the Greek lyrics,
he was the first Roman poet that imitated Alcaeus,
Stesichorus, Anacreon, and Sappho.

It is true, that some years before Horace, in the
dictatorship of Caesar, Catullus wrote some verses, for
which, some think, the Romans ranked him among the
lyric poets ; seemingly with little reason ; fpr, in all

PREFACE. ix

the works of Catullus, there are but three pieces that
can be called lyric poems ; and, of these, one is only
a translation of an ode of Sappho, and the other two
are of a different sort from Horace's odes. All his
other pieces entitle him rather to the name of an
iambic poet : now iambic poetry and lyric poetry
are quite different ; not but that a lyric poet may be
also an iambic, as Horace is, and the Romans had as
many iambic poets as the Greeks, but the lyric genius
was far more rare at Rome than in Greece.

Under the first kings of Rome there appeared only
the poems of the Salii, and some indigested songs.
Thus it continued under the commonwealth, because
of the little regard they had for poetry, till Augustus's
reign, when, as I have said, Horace appeared, who
was the first and only poet that disputed the prize of
lyric poetry with the Greeks he imitated. It was about
this time, also, that Titius Septimius wrote, to whom
Horace himself gives this great encomium, " that he
was not afraid to drink in Pindar's fountain :"

Pindarici fonlis qui non expalluit hmislui.

But we do not find that his works were ever published.
In Tiberius's reign there was not one lyric poet ; and
under Nero there appeared only Cassius Bassus, to
whom Persius addresses his sixth satire. In the reigns
of Vespasian and Domitian we find only Salleius Bassus
and Passienus, the latter of whom, after having written
a few essays after the example of Propertius, tried his
skill at lyric poetry, and attempted to imitate Horace.

x PREFACE.

These five or six are the only lyric poets that ap-
peared among the Romans, a small number indeed
of a people, who, for extensiveness of genius and
greatness of soul, excelled all the other nations upon
earth, and whose language, if it was not quite so rich
and pompous as the Greek, yet had grandeur, variety,
harmony, and graces, sufficient for any kind of poetry ;
which shows that the great difficulty of lyric poetry
was the only reason of its scarcity.

However, it is a great happiness to mankind, that
the only two lyric poets saved entire out of the ruins
of Greece and Rome, are precisely the two that are
most valuable, Pindar and Horace.

It is certain that Horace has neither the sublimity,
depth, nor rapidity of Pindar; nor has he herein imitated
him ; he even cautions any one from attempting it, and
warns all writers of their fate if they should be so pre-
sumptuous, in these beautiful lines of the second ode
of the fourth book :

Pindarum quisquis studet amulari, 1-
ule, ceratis ope Dizdalea
Nititur pennis, vitreo daturus
Nomina ponto.

* Whoever, lulus, attempts to vie with Pindar, soars
" on wings joined with wax, in imitation of Daedalus,
" and will certainly, like Icarus, leave his name to the
" azure sea, into which he falls."

Horace, in his lyric poetry, follows Alcseus, Stesi-
chorus, Simonides, and Anacreon ; and in his iambic
poetry he follows Archilochus : not but that his flight

PREFACE. xi

is often very high, and that he supports himself in that
height ; but then his flight is different from that of Pin-
dar, who raises himself above the clouds, and whose
efforts are always favoured with a prosperous gale.

Beside, if Horace has not imitated Pindar in the
form and character of his odes, which are continued,
and not divided by strophes, antistrophes, and epodes,
as Pindar's are ; we must not blame his language,
which is rich enough to furnish out this variety, but we
must impute it to the fault of the Roman music, which,
being far inferior to the Greek, and quite different from
it, did not suit this sort of poetry. Nor do I at all
doubt that, if Horace had derived the same assistance
from music which Pindar had, he would have imitated
him in his secular poem, which, being so solemn as to
require two choirs of young gentlemen and young
ladies, gave him a fair opportunity so to do.

But if Horace does not come up to Pindar in en-
thusiasm and poetic rapture, he makes up this loss
another way ; for I am persuaded that, of all the gifts
of the Muses, Horace's poems are the most useful.
He is a great poet, a great philosopher, and a great
critic. And in none of his pieces do we find the dicta-
torial author, but every where the accomplished gen-
tleman, who, while he instructs us, always pleases,
amuses, and diverts himself with us. There is nothing
laboured, nothing pedantic; every thing flows easy,
every thing seems noble, every thing grand.

He is a great poet, even in his philosophy, notwith-
standing his dialogue*tyle : he is a philosopher in his

xii PREFACE.

poetry and in his criticism ; and through the whole we
perceive a happy and fruitful genius, an exquisite judge-
ment and wonderful solidity. Of all the poets he is
the only one that can form the gentleman, as he alone
lays before us the duties of a civil life, and teaches men
to live happily with themselves, with their equals, and
with their superiors. The public man, the private man,
the magistrate, the warrior, subjects, kings, in fine, men
of all ranks and ages, may here find precepts and rules,
the most important and the most necessary for their
conduct in life.

Horace's poems being then so excellent and so use-
ful, they deserve the utmost care and pains to explain
them as clearly as possible; and whoever attempts to
do this, ought to show wherein consist the charms and
beauties of his poetry ; set in a clear light the excellency
of his fables, the strength and boldness of his figures,
the loftiness and majesty of his ideas and images, the
harmony and magnificence of his expressions, and make
a just distinction between the natural, the graceful, and
the sublime. For they greatly deceive themselves who
think, that to understand the poets perfectly, and have
a true taste of them, it is sufficient to know the terms
they make use of ; neither is it strange that such per-
sons should fail to discover the concealed niceties and
secret delicacies that make the greatest excellencies of
poetry, and take for beauties and ornaments the extra-
vagancies of an irregular and wild fancy, \vhich they
might easily avoid by observing the rules Horace has
given, who demonstrates that the epic poem, the ode,

PREFACE. xiii

and all other species of poetry, have their fixed orna-
ments and peculiar characteristics ; which if a poet
knows not how to maintain, he deserves not the name
of poet, as our author says of himself:

Descriptas servare vices operumque colores,
Cur ego, si nequeo ignoroque, Poeta salutor ?

" If I know not how to observe all the different characters, and
" give every piece its proper ornaments, why am I honoured with
" the name of a poet ?"

This shows what great care ought to be taken in form-
ing the taste of youth in the course of their studies ; for
it is a great defect not to have a true judgement of the
beauties of poetry, and not to be acquainted with them,
so far at least as to be able to distinguish the true from
the false.

If it is necessary to form the taste of youth, it is
much more so to form their manners ; wherefore he that
explains an author, ought to teach and maintain what-
ever may contribute to improve them, and refute and
amend what may have the least tendency to debase or
corrupt them : and this is more particularly necessary
in explaining poets ; for young people are not so ready
to give attention to serious discourses as to those which
are delivered in a pleasant jocose manner, and with a
design rather to divert than instruct ; hence comes the
taste they generally have for fables.

Poetry also, by its allurements and charms, slides in-
sensibly into their very souls ; and when it has once
gained possession of the fancy, it quickly persuades the

xiv PREFACE.

heart ; and surely no pieces of poetry can strike the
fancy sooner than Horace's odes, which offer us the
fruits of wisdom curiously set off with the most charm-
ing flowers of Parnassus.

In them Horace teaches all to be content with their
station, and not disturb their own peace with ground-
less ambition ; to obey the laws, submit to their supe-
riors, shun avarice, be moderate in every thing, and
reckon none happy but those who know how to make
a right use of the gifts of heaven, and who are more
afraid of infamy than of death itself :

Non possidentem multu t-ocaveris
Recte beatum : red ids occupat
Nomen benli, qui Deorum
Muneribus sapienter uti
Diiramque collet pauperism pad,
Pejusque Ictho flagitium timet.

He teaches the magistrate to keep his passions under
entire subjection, and to administer justice with steadi-
ness, resolution, and the utmost impartiality.

He lays down most useful rules for young warriors ;
he shows them that, to succeed in a profession attend-
ed with so much glory, and at the same time with very
great toil, they must renounce all indolence and sloth,
expose themselves to dangers, bear up under the great-
est fatigues, and, far from carrying the 'effeminacy and
luxury of the city into the camp with them, must learn
to suffer cold, hunger, and every other hardship to
which a soldier is exposed.

To generals he gives this excellent precept, which he

PREFACE. x?

enforces by a noble example ; that to the protection of
heaven, they, on their part, ought to join vigilance and
foresight, which are the surest resources of armies in all
the operations of war, and which promise and ascer-
tain a happy success to the most hazardous undertak-
ings. His words are very remarkable :

Nil daudict non perficient manus,
Suas et benigno numine Jupiter
Defendit, et euro, sagaces
Expediunt per acuta belli.

" No enterprise is too hard for the Neros, whom Jupiter favours
" so remarkably with his protection, and who, by their great pru-
" dence and conduct, are able happily to extricate themselves from
" the most threatening dangers they are exposed to in battle."

Without this prudence and conduct, the greatest
force destroys itself, and sinks under its own weight :

Vis consili expert mole ruit sud.

For it is not on strength or force, but on wisdom and
prudence, that states depend for safety. Sallust has an
expression very much to this purpose :

Ego ita comperio omnia regna, civitates, nationes, usque eo prosperum
imperium habuisse, dum apud eos vera consilia valuerunt;

" For me, I find that kingdoms, cities, and nations, continue to
" flourish so long as good counsels prevail, and are put in execu-
" tion."

In fine, we may justly say of Horace, that of all the
poets he has extracted the most from philosophy, and
amassed in his odes more maxims of morality and phi-
losophical truths than any Roman poet whatever. I

xvi PREFACE.

must transcribe the greater part of Horace, were I to
collect all the momentous principles of morality dif-
fused through his works, in which his chief intention is
to improve reason, and purify the heart from every
vicious passion ; to give us useful rules for our beha-
viour, not only under adversity, but likewise in pro-
sperous circumstances, which are more dangerous to
virtue than afflictions ; and to establish a perfect tran-
quillity in our minds, by rescuing us from the tyranny
of ambition and of fear.

Horace is not only a great poet and a great philoso-
pher, but a great critic : nor is his Art of Poetry his only
critical piece ; the fourth and tenth satires of his first
book, and the second book of his epistles, are full of
useful precepts.

It is to be wished, that Horace had explained him-
self as fully on lyric poetry, as he has on other kinds of
it, and taught poets what to follow and what to shun ;
but he has contented himself with pointing out its cha-
racter without giving one precept ; whether he found
it too difficult to lay down rules for this poem, or
thought that a natural genius was sufficient to improve
in it. Hence he says, Musa dedit, " The Muse hath
"given, hath taught;" and so he thinks he maybe
excused from saying any more : and indeed those to
whom the Muse hath given this genius, have no occa-
sion for rules relative to a poem so short ; they are led,
or rather drawn, by a genius stronger and surer than
any rules whatever. However, as none have yet given
rules for the Ode, to assist in some sort those who read

PREFACE. xvii

the lyric poets, I shall give, from Dacier, some obser-
vations that he made on the practice of Pindar and
Horace, by which they may be enabled to judge more
readily and more surely of the works of those who have
courage to imitate them.

The Ode is a poem that is generally short, made to
be played on the harp, or in imitation of such as are
played upon it, and which, at its pleasure, employs in
its different compositions every kind of verse, and often
admits several in the same piece ; and suiting itself to
all sorts of subjects, treats the smaller in a florid man-
ner, yet always noble, and the greater, with an eleva-
tion that seems rather the effect of inspiration and en-
thusiasm, than of a solid judgement.

Grand lyric poetry being then the effect of enthu-
siasm, my first observation is, that it may begin with
transport and poetical fury; for inspiration has its ready
and sudden motions; of which sort we see many in
Pindar and in Horace. It is quite contrary in the epic
poem, which being very long, the poet is obliged to pre-
pare an exordium, to show its subject and pray to be
inspired ; and this exordium is simple, as it is the poet
that speaks when not yet inspired. This is the prac-
tice of Homer and Virgil. There is then a great dif-
ference between the beginning of the ode and the exor-
dium of the epic poem; not but that the ode some-
times makes use of this kind of exordium.

The second is, that the poet ought to speak of things
VOL. r. b

xviii PREFACE.

remarkable, entirely new, and that have not been sung
by any other. This is Horace's own direction :

Dicam insigne, recens, adhuc
Indicium ore alto.

And of consequence the poet ought to reject every thing
that is mean or low, and that savours of mortality, as
he else-where explains himself :

Nil parvum, out humili mo do,
Nil mortals loquar.

It is in grand lyric poetry as it is in grand painting. In
subjects grand and heroic, the painter does not amuse
himself with searching into the little niceties ; he minds
what is noble, what is grand, what is heroic, and dis-
dains every thing that is frivolous, mean, or low. The
lyric poet does the same, and when he descends to
inferior subjects, gay or tender, which require not such
majesty and loftiness, he never departs from this cha-
racter. He searches for what is new and noble, and
is particularly nice in his choice.

As a painter does not make use of the utmost per-
fection of his art, unless it be to imitate the most grand
subjects, neither does the lyric poet make use of the
whole of his, unless it be to set the grandest subjects in
a just light. Both the one and the other must vary
their manner, that they may imitate the tender, the
light, the graceful, and the delicate, that true nature
may be represented in all its different shapes.

PREFACE. xix

Tlie third, that the lyric poet observes neither order
nor strict method ; so that his pieces are not a continued
syllogism or chain of reasoning. Inspiration allows not
motions so exact and so regular; it has allurements

more ready and more free. But we are not thence to
infer, that the judgement ought to be banished from its
composition; no; the judgement lies concealed under
this beautiful disorder. There is somewhat divine in a
lyric poet, which makes him excel other men in judge-
ment.

The fourth, that its strophes, its stanzas, its couplets,
are not sharpened into epigrams or madrigals : there is
nothing farther from the ode, nor what savours less of
inspiration. In a poet truly inspired, we perceive not
his spirit but his genius only, which are quite different,
as might be easily shown.

The fifth, that its morals, which are the very soul of
poetry, must not be trivial and cold ; but, on the con-
trary, solid, and ought to have all the fire of poetry ;
nor must they appear different from the work, like
gold inlaid, but should be incorporated into its very
body.

The sixth (or last) is, that in all its lines there must
be such number and harmony as will charm the ear ; I
say, number and harmony different from feet and
rhyme, and which result from nice choice and magni-
ficence of the terms, from their connexion and arrange-
ment, that give them something musical, which won-
derfully transports and ravishes the very soul. It is

b2 '

xx PREFACE.

this harmony that Homer first taught, and which reigns
with sovereignty in the odes of Pindar and Horace.
Neither is there music more perfect, or that gives
greater pleasure.

This is lyric poetry ; and every poem in which this
is not found is not lyric, but counterfeit. This is the
reason why genuine lyric poetry has been so scarce in all
ages ; for a poet, to succeed in it, must have a happy
genius, and that alone is not sufficient, if not improved
by reading and meditating on the works of the ancients,
and by a thorough knowledge and admiration of the
beauties wherewith they shine. This made Horace
recommend, with so much earnestness, to the poets of
his time, the careful and diligent perusal of the Greek
poets :

Vos exemplaria Grctca

Nocturna versate manu, versate diurna,

This is the method to improve that sound reason has
always taught ; by pursuing which, some of our best
modern poets have gained a solid and lasting reputa-
tion, and to it posterity will certainly put their last
seal.

As to this Translation of the Odes of Horace, which
has met with so great encouragement from the public,
all care has been taken to keep free of a paraphrase,
and to give the full and true sense of the author, as near
the original as the different idioms of the Latin and En-

PREFACE. xxi

glish languages will allow, without falling into a flat
verbal translation.

To this method our author himself directs in his Art
of Poetry, when he says ;

Nee verbum verbo curabis redderefidus
Interpres ;

" Nor like a servile interpreter study to follow your author too
" closely, translating word for word."

And Cicero says, in his book De Optimo genere ora-
torum, when speaking of the two orations of ^Eschines
and Demosthenes, which he had translated,

Nan verbum pro verbo necessc habui reddere, sed genus omnium ver*
borum vimque servavi.

tf l did not think it necessary to translate word for word, but
" only to express the whole force and propriety of the terms."

St. Jerome also observes, " that Homer himself,
" who is so judicious, harmonious, and sublime, be-
" comes childish, insipid, and insupportably low, when
" literally translated."

All which shows the great absurdity of some transla-
tions, which are so wretchedly servile, that they debase
the very language in which they are written, and create
in youth a distaste and aversion to the author they are
reading.

To avoid this evil, I have, in those passages which
would not admit a close translation on account of the

xxfi PREFACE.

different idioms of the two languages, chosen rather
to give the literal meaning of the words below the ver-
sion, than debase the sense of the author by a mean
servile translation.

And here I must take notice of an objection some
make against all translations, viz. That they encour-
age slothfulness ; whereas the contrary has, by frequent
experience, been found to be true ; for, as there is no-
thing so discouraging to youth as the dry study of
words, which has marred many a fine genius, whatever
tends to make this study easy and agreeable, must en-
courage youth in the progress of their studies, and en-
tice them to proceed w ith alacrity and cheerfulness ;
and what tends more to make study easy and agree-
able than translations, by the use of which a youth will
make a greater progress in the Latin tongue in one year
than he can by the use of a dictionary in two or three ?
A great deal of time is lost in searching; for words in a

o o

dictionary ; besides, few can distinguish, among the se-
veral significations many words have, which is proper
for their purpose ; and if they can, the very best dic-
tionaries will often fail them, after all the pains they
have taken : nor can the use of translations make them
idle ; for, if they get their lessons soon, they ought to
be increased in proportion, translations being only to
be used in preparing their lessons, and not in rendering
them to the master.

The necessity of English translations to attain the
Latin tongue expeditiously, still farther appears by the

PREFACE. xxiii

great use Latin translations have for many years been
found to be of, for attaining the Greek tongue expedi-
tiously ; and why should not English translations be of
the same use for attaining the Latin tongue ?

Having plainly shown the necessity and usefulness
of English translations, I shall here only observe, that
a translator in prose is more likely to give the true
sense and meaning of an author than a translator in
verse ; for if a translator in prose, who is at full liberty
to make his choice, is often straitened to find words in
one language, that convey the same idea and precise
meaning of the words in another language, what must a
translator in verse be, who is confined to number and
measure ? though both the one and the other are in
some sense confined; which is curiously described by
the earl of Roscommon, in these inimitable lines :

"Tis true, composing is the nobler part ;

But good translation is no easy art ;

For, though materials have long since been found,

Yet both your fancy and your hands are bound j

And by improving what was writ before,

Inyention labours less, but judgement more.

However, a translator in prose is not near so much
confined as a translator in verse, especially if he is fetter-
ed with rhyme, which forces him often to sacrifice the
sense of his author, to preserve his exact numbers and
the graces of his versification.

xxiv PREFACE.

What I have to add, as to this translation of the
Odes of Horace, is, that the reader will find nothing
translated contrary to the rules of decency or good
manners, or that can offend the chastest ear. This is
the reason why no version is made of the Eighth and
Twelfth Odes of the Book of Epodes ; for whoever
gives a translation of what may tend to corrupt the
minds of youth, or debase their manners, manifestly
transgresses that excellent rule of Juvenal;

Nil dictu fcedum visuque hate Urnina tangut
Intra (JUG puer est.

Suffer no lewdness or indecent speech

The apartment of the tender youth to reach;

And also that of the judicious earl of Rosoommon;

Immodest words admit of no defence ;
For want of decency is want of sense.

The ellipses necessary to connect the sense of the
author are very few, and printed in Italics.

As to the Latin text, all imaginable care and pains
have been taken to make it correct, by comparing it
with the best editions of Horace ; and on the same page
with the text are the author's words put into the order
of construction ; which, with the translation, and notes
that are extracted from the best commentators both
ancient and modern, and interspersed with several of

PREFACE. xxv

the translator's own, will, it is hoped, be of great use,
not only to schools, but to young gentlemen who have
only a superficial knowledge of the Latin tongue, in
assisting them thoroughly to understand these inesti-
mable poems.

THE

LIFE OF HORACE.

HORACE was born at Venusium, a town of Apulia, on
the eighth of December, in the year of Rome 688, two
years before Catiline's conspiracy, in the consulship of
L. Manlius Torquatus and L. Aurelius Cotta*.

His father was only the son of a freedman and a tax-
gathererf ; with which mean descent Horace was some-
times reproached. When about ten years of age, he
was brought to town by his father, who gave him a
very liberal education, as he himself tells us in Book I.
Satire VI.

'Puerum est ausus Romam portare, docendum
Artes, quas doceat quii-is eques atque senator
Semet prognatos.

He boldly brought me up a child to town,

To s^e those ways, and make those arts my own,

Which every knight and noble taught his son.

* See Book III. Ode xxi. and Book V. Ode xiii.
. f Book I. Sat. vi.

THE LIFE OF HORACE. xxvii

%
At the age of eighteen, he was sent to Athens to

learn philosophy, and finish his studies.

Romce nutriri mihi contigit, atque doceri,
Iratus Gratis quantum nocuisset Achilles.
Adjecere bonce paulo plus art is Athence ;
Scilicet tit possem curco dignoscere rectum,
Atque inter tylva's Academi (ju&rere verum.

LIB. II. EPIST. II.

Rome bred me first, she taught me grammar-rule;?,

And all the little authors read in schools;

A little more than this learn'd Athens show'd,

And taught me how to separate bad from good.

The Academic sect possess' d my youth,

And 'midst their pleasant shades I sought for truth.

In the twenty-third year of his age, he, with several
others, joined Brutus then at Athens, and went into
Macedonia with him, who made him a tribune* ; but
Brutus and his party being defeated at the battle of
Philippi, Horace, and many others, forfeited their
estates.

After this battle he left the army}", and set about writ-
ing poetry, wherein he acquitted himself so well, that
both Virgil and Varius took notice of him, and intro-
duced him to Mascenas^, who was not only a great
statesman, but a man of great learning, and a generous
patron of all learned men, more especially so to Ho-
race, who forgets not to mention it in several places of
his poems, but particularly in the first Epode.

* Lib. I. Sat. vi. f Lib- II. Ode vii. + Lib. I. Sat. vi.

xxviii THE LIFE OF HORACE.

Satis superque me benignitas tua,
Ditavit.

Your bounty gave my present store :
'Tis all I want, nor will I ask for more.

In the progress of friendship^ Maecenas introduced
our poet to Augustus, and procured for him a restitu-
tion of his estate. Horace was at length so highly in
favour at court, that the emperor offered to appoint
him his secretary ; but he had the great address to re-
fuse that high and honourable office without offending
his prince.

His taste for polite literature was very great : he was
so fond of study, that he thought books as necessary to
life as the things which support it.

Sit bona librorum et provisa frugis in annum
Copia.

LIB. I. EPIST. XVIII.

Born a poet, he composed verses rather like a gentle
man than a poet by profession, indifferent about the
approbation of the vulgar, and solicitous only to please
a small number of select readers.

Neque te ut miretur turba labores,
Contentus paucis lectoribus.

LIB. I. SAT. X.

He liked retirement, and had an aversion to the hurry

THE LIFE OF HORACE. xxix

and trouble that attend a court-life, though no one was
better qualified for it.

He was very moderate in his diet, and contented
with his condition, as appears by Ode XXXI. Book I.

Me pascunt olivce,

Me cichorea levesque malvce;
Frui paiatis et valido mihi,
Latoe, dones, et precor integrd

Cum mtntc.

Olives and mallows deck my board,

The wholesome vegetable kind ;
O ! let me thus alone be stor'd,

With health of body, health of mind.

It is thought he was never married, as he makes no
mention of his wife or family in any of his poems.

He was of a cheerful facetious temper, of an amorous
disposition, and somewhat passionate and hasty ; but
his anger was never of long continuance. He was
short, but corpulent ; whence Augustus, in a letter to
him, compared him to a thick little book he sent him.
He was soon grey-haired, and could bear heat better
than cold.

Me primis urbis belli placuisse domique,
Corporis exigui, prftcunum, solibus aptum,
Irasci celerem, tamen ut placabilis essem.

LIB. I. EPIST. XX.

Tell them I the greatest please,
A little man, and studious of my ease ;

xxx THE LIFE OF HORACE.

And pettish too, I can be angry soon,
My passion's quickly rais'd, but quickly gone.
Grown grey before my time, I hate the cold,
And seek the warmth.

His love of retirement increased with his age, which
induced him to live very much at Tivoli*, near the grove
of which his house is shown to this day.

Here he desired to live, and here he desired to die,
as in Ode VI. of Book II.

Tibur Argeo positnin colono
Sit niece sedes utinam scnecta ;
Sit modus lasso maris, et cianim
MUitiaqut.

Quite tir'd of foreign lands and mains,
Of journeys great, and dire campaigns ;
My age at Tibur let me spend,
At Tibur all my labours end.

But if the Fates denied him this request, he wished
that they would allow him to retire to Tarentum, and
end his days there. Next to Tivoli, Tarentum seems
indeed to have been his favourite seat and theme ; for
never was a more beautiful description given of a villa
than of this, in the following inimitable lines of the
same Ode :

Unde si Pares prohibent i/riquce,
Duke pelliti-s oribus Galesi

* Tivoli is the Italian name of 'i'ibur.

THE LIFE OF HORACE. xxxi

Flutnen, et regnata petam Laconi

Rum Phalanto.

Ille terrarum mild prater omnes
Angulus ridet ; ubi non Hymetto
Mella decedunt, viridique certut

Bacca Venafro;

f Ver ubi longum, tepidasque pr&bet

Jupiter brumas, et amicus Avion
Fertili Baccho minimum Falcrnis

Invidct uvis.

Ille te mecum locus et beatae
Postulant arces : ibi tu calentem
Debita sparges lacryma favillam

Vatis amid.

But if the Fates this wish refuse,
Then fair Tarentum will I choose,
Where sweet Galesus softly glides,
And downy flocks adorn his sides.

O'er all I prize that spot of ground,
With honey and with olives crown'd ;
This good as Attica can show,
And these as at Venafrum grow ;

Where Jove a lasting spring bestows,
And winters free from frost and snows ;
Where Aulon pours his generous wine,
Nor envies the Falernian vine.

To these fair plains, this happy seat,
Will you and I, my friend, retreat ;
Here shall you lay your poet, here
On his warm embers drop a tear.

Horace, being taken suddenly ill, was not able to sign
his will ; but, declaring Augustus his heir with his last
words, expired in the fifty-seventh year of his age. Some

xxxii THE LIFE OF HORACE.

think that he died a few days before his great and good
friend Maecenas ; because, say they, Horace, who was
one of the most grateful men upon earth to his bene-
factors, would certainly have shown his gratitude, by
expressing his sorrow in an elegy for Maecenas, to whom
he owed his all.

But the more common and received opinion is, that
Maecenas died before his friend, and that Maecenas'
death accelerated the decease of Horace. If so, could
the poet have foreseen the time of Maecenas' death, and
of his own, he could scarcely have spoken of them with
more exactness than he does in Ode XVII., Book II.,
written twelve years before :

Ah, te niece si partcm anirncE rapit

Maturior vis, quid moror altera,

Nee earns ceque, nee super stes

Integer ? Ille dies ulra?nquc
Ducet ruinam,

Think not, since you and I are one,

That Horace can himself desert,
Or live when half his soul is gone,

Or stay behind his better part.
Thus hand in hand we'll greet the shades ;

'Tis so resolv'd and fix'd by fate :
I'll follow where Maecenas leads;

Our lives shall have one common date.

He was buried in the Esquiline hill, near the tomb of
Maecenas. And as he expected immortal fame from
his works, it is supposed that his funeral was attended

THE LIFE OF HORACE. xxxiii

with no pomp, according to his own directions in the
twentieth Ode of the second Book :

Absint inanifunere ncenia,
Luctusque turpes, et querimonice :
Compesce clamorem, ac sepulcri
Mitte supemacuos honorcs.

Say not I died, nor shed a tear,
Nor round my ashes mourn,

Nor of my needless obsequies take care j
The glare of pomp is lost upon an empty urn.

VOL. I.

XXXIV

THE DIFFERENT SORTS OF VERSE USED BY HORACE, IN HIS ODES
AND EPODES, ARE NINETEEN IN NUMBER.

THE First is the Asclepiad, called so from Asclepias, the inven-
tor, and consists of four feet *, viz. a Spondee, two Choriambic
feet, and a Pyrrhichius, or Iambus, as Ode I. of Book I.

Mcsce - nas atavis- - edits re - gibus.

Others measure this sort of verse by putting a Caesura after the
second foot ; and then a Spondee and a Dactyl go before it, and
two Dactyls follow it ; thus,

M&ce - nas ata - vis - cdite - rcgibus.

The Second is the Sapphic, so called from Sappho the inven-
tress ; and consists of a Trochee, Spondee, Dactyl, and two Tro-
cheesj or Spondee for the last, as Ode II. Book I.

Jam sa its ter - ris nivis - atque - dirte
Grendi - nis mi - sit paler - et ru - bente
Dexle - ra sa - crasjacu - latus - arces.

But every fourth verse is Adonic, consisting of a Dactyl and Spon-
dee, as

Terruit - urbem.

* A foot consists of two, three, or four syllables, of which there
are ten mostly in use, viz.
Pyrrhichius,
Spondseus,
Rambus,
Trochaeus,
Dactylus,
Anapaestus,
Tribrachys,
Proceleusmaticus,
Choriambus,
Bacchius,

f two short syllables,

as deus

two long ones,

omnes

"Vi

a short and long one,

pios

a long and short one,

servat

a long and two short ones,

carmina

r.2 i
en

two short ones and a long one,

animos

three short ones,

melius

four short ones,

hominibus

one long, two short, and one Ion

&, nobilitas

short and two long ones,

dolor as.

OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. XXXV

The Third is the Glyconic, so called from Glycon, the inven-
tor, and consists of a Spondee, a Choriambus, and Pyrrhichius,
or Iambus, as Ode III. Book I.

Sic te - diva potens - Cypri.

But every second verse is of the first sort of verse, viz. an Ascle-
piad, as

Sicfra - tres Helena; - lucida si - dera,

The Fourth is the Dactylic Archilochic, and consists of Spon-
dees or Dactyls indifferently in the four first feet, as in a heroic
verse, then of three Trochees, or a Spondee for the last, as Ode
IV. Book I.

Solvitur - acris hy - ems gra - ta vice - veris - et Fa -'voni.

But every second verse is an Iambic Archilochic, consisting of an
Iambus or a Spondee, a Trochee, a Caesura, and three Trochees
or a Spondee for the last, as

Truhunt - que sic - cas - machi - nee ca - rinas. .

The Fifth is the Pherecratian, the first two verses of which are
Asclepiad, viz. of the first sort of verse, as Ode V. Book I.

Quis mul - ta gracilis - te puer in - rosa
Perfu - sus liquidis - urget odo - ribus.

The third verse consists of a Spondee, Dactyl, and Spondee, aS

Grata *- Pj/rrha sub - antro.

But every fourth line is Glyconic, viz. of the third sort of verse,
thus,

Cuifla - vam religas - comam.

The Sixth is the Asclepiad Glyconic, the three first verses being
all Asclepiad, as Ode VI. Book I.

Scribe - ris Vario -fortis et ho - stium

XXXVI OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.

Victor - Mtfonii - carminis a - lite

Quam rem - cunqueferox - navibus out - equis.

But every fourth verse is Glyconic, as
Miles - le duce ges - serif.

The Seventh is the Heroic Hexameter, and consists of six feet,
a Dactyl and Spondee being used indifferently in all places ;
though a Dactyl is very seldom used as the sixth foot, or a Spon-
dee as the fifth, but is almost always the last foot, and sometimes
a Trochee, as Ode VII. Book I.

Lauda - bunt all - i da - ram Rhodon - out Mity - lenen.

But every second verse is Dactylic Alcmanic, consisting of the
four last feet of an heroic verse, as,

Aut Ephe ' sum bima - riste Co - rinthi.

The Eighth is the Aristophanic, and consists of a Choriambus
.and a Bacchius, as Ode VIII. Book I.

Lydia die - per omnes.

But every second line is Choriambic Alcaic, consisting of an Epi-
trit, which is composed of four syllables, commonly the second
short, and the other three long ; after the Epitrit follow two Cho-
riambic feet and a Bacchius, as

Te Deos o - ro Sybarin - cur properas - amando.

The Ninth is the Dactylic Alcaic, or Horatian, as some call it,
because Horace seems to have taken great delight in this kind of
verse. It consists of two Iambic feet, or a Spondee for the last,
then a Caesura and two Dactyls, as Ode IX. Book I.

Vides - ut al - ta - stet nive - candidum.
Sora - cte nee -jam - siistine - ant onus.

But every third verse is Iambic Archilochic, consisting of four feet,

OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. XXXV11

the first and third an Iambus or Spondee, the second and fourth
an Iambus only, and a Caesura, thus,

Sylva - labo - rantes - gelu - que.

And every fourth verse is Dactylic Pindaric, consisting of two
Dactyls and two Trochees, or a Spondee for the last Trochee, thws,

Flumina - constite - rint a - cuto.

The Tenth is the Choriambic Alcaic Pentameter, and con-
sists of a Spondee, three Choriambic feet, and a Pyrrhichius or
Iambus, as Ode XI. Book I.

Tu ne - qucEsieris - scire nefus - quern mild quern - tibi.

The Eleventh is the Iambic Archilochic, and consists of a long,
a short, and a long syllable, and two Iambic feet, or the last Pyr-
rhichius, as Ode XVIII. Book II., thus,

Non ebur - ncqu' au - reum.

But every second verse is Iambic Archilochic, and consists of five
Iambic feet and a Caesura, thus,

Mea - reni - del in - domo - lacu - nar.

The Twelfth is the Ionic, and consists of three Ionics, which
are respectively composed of two short and two long syllables, as
Ode XII. Book III.

Miserar' est - nequ' amori - dare ludum.
Neque dnlci - mala vino - laver' out ex -

But every third verse consists of four Ionics, thus,
animari - metuentes - palnue ver - bera lingua.

The Thirteenth is the Heroic Hexameter, as Ode VII Book
IV.

$u - jrerc ni - ves rede - untjam - gramina - campis.

XXXV111 OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.

But every second verse is Dactylic ArchilochiCj consisting of two
Dactyls and a Ceesura, thus,

Arbori - busque co - mce.

The Fourteenth is the Iambic Hipponactic, so called from
Hipponax the inventor, consisting of six Iambic feet, admitting
sometimes a Spondee for the first, third, and fifth, as Ode I. Book
V.

Ibis - Libur - nis in - ter al - ta na - mum.

But every second verse is Iambic Archilochic, consisting of four
Iambic feet, admitting sometimes a Spondee for the first and
third feet, as,

Ami - ce pro - pugna - cula.

The Fifteenth is also the Iambic Hipponactic, as consisting of
six Iambic feet, Ode XI. Book V.

Petti - nihil - me sic - ut an - tea -juvat.

But then every second verse is Sapphic, consisting of two Dac-
tyls, a Caesura, and four Iambic feet, admitting also a Spondee for
the first, third, and fifth feet :

Scribere - version - los -amo - re per - cuhum - grari.

The Sixteenth is the Heroic Hexameter, as Ode XIII. Book V.

Horrida - tempe - stas cce - lum con - traxit et - imbres.

But every second verse is Archilochic, and consists of four Iam-
bic feet, with sometimes a Spondee for the first and third feet j
then follow two Dactyls and a Caesura, thus,

Rives - que de - ducunt - Jovetn - nunc mare - nunc silii - a.

The Seventeenth is the Heroic Hexameter, as Ode XIV.
Book V.

OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE. XXXIX

Molli$ in - ertia - cur tan - tarn dif.-fuderit - imis.

But every second verse is Iambic Archilochic, and consists of
four Iambic feet, admitting sometimes a Spondee for the first and
third feet, as,

Obli - vio - nem sen - sibus.

The Eighteenth is the Heroic Hexameter, as Ode XVI. Book
V.

Altera -jam teri - tur bel - Us ci - vilibus - (Etas.
But every second is Iambic Hipponactic, as,
Suis - et ip - sa Ro - ma vi - ribus - ruit.

The Nineteenth is the Iambic Hipponactic throughout, each
rerse consisting of six feet, as Ode XVII. Book V.

Jamf ef - fica - ci do - manus - scien - tice.

A VERSE is called, 1. Acatalecticus, when it is every way
complete, and has no syllable deficient or superfluous, as in this
Iambic,

Musce Jovis sunt filicE.

2. Catalecticus, when it wants a syllable at the end, as,

Musce Jovem canebant.

3. Brachycatalecticus, when it wants a foot at the end, as,

Muscc Jovis gnatcc.

4 Hypercatalecticus, or Hypermeter, when it has one or
two syllables beyond its just measure, as,

Musee sorores sunt Minerva ; and,
Muscc sorores Palladia lugcnt.

xl OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF VERSE.

WHEN an Ode consists of one sort of verse only, It is called
Monocolos, as Ode I. Book I.

When of two sorts of verse, it Is styled Dicolos, as Ode II.
Book I. And,

When of three sorts of verse, it is called Tricolos, as Ode V.
Book I.

ACCORDING to the number of verses in a Strophe or Stanza *,
an Ode takes its name.

If the same sort of verse return after the second line, it is called
Distrophos, as Ode III. Book I.

If after the third line, it is called Tristrophos, as Ode XII.
Book III. And,

If after the fourth line, it is called Tetrastrophos, as Ode II.
Book I.

* The Ode originally had but one strophe or stanza, but was at
last divided into three parts ; the strophe, antistrophe, and epode.
For the priests went round the altar singing the praises of Jupiter
and Juno in verse : so they called their first entrance to the left
Strophe, or turning to ; the second returning to the right they de-
nominated Antistrophe, or the returning ; and the songs they styled
Ode or Antode, as they called their entrance and return strophe and
antistrophe. At last, standing still before the altar, they sang the
rest, and that they called the Epode.

xli

THE READER MAY HERE SEE AT ONE VIEW, OF WHAT SORT
VERSE EACH ODE IS COMPOSED.

Book I.
Ode

Sort of
Verse.

Book 1.
Ode

Sort of
Verse.

Book II.
Ode

Sort of
Verse.

XX.

II.

XXI.

II.

III.

XXII.

III.

IV.

XXIII.

IV.

XXIV.

VI.

XXV.

VI.

VII.

XXVI.

VII.

VIII.

XXVII.

VIII.

IX.

XXVIII.

IX.

XXIX.

XI.

XXX.

XI.

XII.

XXXI.

XII.

XIII.

XXXII.

XIII.

XIV.

XXXIII.

XIV.

XV.

XXXIV.

XV.

XVI.

XXXV.

XVI.

XVII.

XXXVI.

XVII,

XVIII.

XXXVII.

XVIII.

XIX.

XXXVIII.

XIX.

XX.

xlii

THE READER MAY HERE SEE AT ONE VIEW, OF WHAT SORT OF
VERSE EACH ODE IS COMPOSED.

Book III.
Ode

Sort of
Verse.

Book III.
Ode

Son of
Verse.

Book IV.
Ode

Sort of
Verse.

Book V.
Ode

Sort of
Verse.

XVI.

II.

v a

XVII.

11.

II.

III.

XVIII.

III.

IV.

XIX.

IV.

XX.

VI.

XXI.

VI.

VII.

XXII.

VII.

VIII.

XXIII.

VIII.

IX.

XXIV.

IX.

XXV.

XXVI.

XII.

XXVII.

XII.

XIII.

XXVIII.

XIII.

XIV.

XXIX.

XIV.

XV.

XXX.

XV.

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

ODARUM TABULA ALPHABETICA.

^LI, vetusto nobilis ab Lamo, ........ . ........................... iii. 17

.^Equam memento rebus in arduis, .................................. ii. 3

Albi, ne doleas plus nimio, memor, ......... . ................... ... i. 33

Altera jam teritur bellis civilibus aetas, ........................... v. 16

Angustam amice pauperiem pati, ............ . ................. ... iii. 2

At 6 Deorum quisquis in coelo regis, ..................... , ........ , v. 5

Audivere, Lyce, Di mea vota, Di, ................................. iv. 13

Bacchum in remotis carmina rupibus, ............................ ii. 19

Beatus ille qui procul negotiis, ..... .............. . .................. v. 2

c '

Coelo supinas si tuleris manus, .............................. ; ..... iii. 23

Coelo tonantem credidimus Jovem, ................................. iii. 5

Cum tu, Lydia, Telephi, ............................ v ............... i. 13

Cur me querelis exanimas tuis, .................................... ii. 17

Delicta majorum immeritus lues, ................................... iii. 6

Descende crelo, et die age tibia, ..................... . .............. iii. 4

Dianam tenerae dicite virgines, .................. ..... .............. i. 21

Diffugere nives : redeunt jam gramina campis, .................. iv. 7

Dive, quern proles Niobaea magnae, ................................. iv. 6

Divis orte Ijonis, optime Romulae, ................................. iv. 5

Donarem pateras, grataque commodus, ........................... iv. 8

Donee gratus eram tibi, .,.., ........................................ iii. 9

xliv ODARUM TABULA ALPHABETICA.

LIB. ODE.

Eheu, fugaces, Posthume, Posthume, ." ii. 14

Est mihi nonum superantis annum, iv. 11

Et thure et fidibus juvat, i. 36

Exegi monumentum aere perennius, iii. SO

Extremuni Tanaim si biberes, Lyce, ,. t iii. 10

Faune, Nympharum fugientum amator, iii. 18

Festo quid potius die, iii. 28

Herculis ritu modo dictus, 6 plebs, iii. 14

Horvida tempest as coelum contraxitj et inibres, v. 13

Ibis Liburnis inter alta navium, v. 1

Icci, beatis nunc Arabum invides, i. 20

Ille et nefasto te posuit die, , ii. 13

Impios parrae recinentis omen, iii. 27

Inclusam Danaen turris ahenea, iii. 16

Intactis opulentior, iii. 24

Integer vitas scelerisque purus, i. 22

Intermissa Venus diu, iv. 1

Jam jam efficaci do manue scientise, v. 17

Jam pauca aratro jugera regise, ii. 15

Jam satis terris nivis atque diree, i. 2.

Jam veris comites qua? mare temperant, iv. 12

Justuin et tenaccm propo&iti virum^ , "..., iii. 3

ODARUM TABULA ALPHABETICA. xlv

LIB. ODE.

Laudabunt alii claram Rhodon aut Mitylenen, i. 7

Lupis et agnis quanta sortito obtigit, v. 4

Lydia, die, per omnes, i. 8

Maecenas, atavis edite regibus, i. 1

Mala soluta navis exit alite, v. 1O

Martiis coelebs quid agam calendis, iii. 8

Mater sseva cupidinum, i. 19

Mercuri facunde, nepos Atlantis, i. 10

Mercuri, nam te docilis magistro, iii. 11

Miserarum est neque amori dare ludum, iii. 12

MolUs inertia cur tantam diffuderit imis, v. 14

Montium custos nemorumque virgo, iii. 22

Motura ex Metello consule civicum, ii. I

Musis amicus tristitiam et metus, i. 26

Natis in usum laetitiae scyphis, i. 27

Ne forte credas interitura, quae, iv. 9

Ne sit ancillffi tibi amor pudori, ;.... ii. 4

Nolis longa ferae bella Numantise, ii. 12

Non ebur neque aureum, ii. 18

Non semper imbres nubibus hispidos, : ii. 9

Non vicles quanto moveas periclo, iii. 2O

Non usitata nee tcnui ferar, ii. 20

Nondum subacta ferre jugum valet, iir5

Nox erat, et coelo fulgebat luna sereno, v. 15

Nullam, Vare, sacra vite prius severis arborem, f i. 18

Nullus argento color est avarls, ii. 2

L-A bibendum, mine pede libero, i. 37

xlvi ODARUM TABULA ALPHABETICA.

Llfi. ODE.

O Diva, gratum quae regis Antium, < i. 35

O fons Blandusiae, splendidior vitro, iii. 13

O cmdelis adhuc, et Veneris muneribus potens, iv. 1O

O matre pulchra filia pulchrior, v i. 16

O nata irecum consule Manlio, iii. 21

O navis, referent in mare te novi, i. 14

O ssepe mecum tempus in ultimum, ii. 7

O Venus, regina Cnidi Paphiqoe, i. 3O

Odi profanum vulgus, et arceo, , iii. I

Otium Divos rogat in patent!, ii. 10

Parcius junctas quatiunt fenestras, i. 25

Parcus Deorum cultor et infrequens, i. 34

Parentis olim si quis impia manu, v. 3

Pastor cum traheret per freta navibus, , i. 15

Persicos odi, puer, apparatus, i. 38

Petti, nihil me, sicut antea, jurat, v. 11

Phoebe, sylvarumque potens Diana, Carmen Seculare

Phoebus volentem proelia me loqui, iv. 15

Pindarum quisquis studet aemulari, iv. 2

Poscimus, si quid vacui sub umbra, i. 32

jguae cura patrum, quaeve Quiritium, iv. 14

Qualem ministrum fulminis alitem, iv. 4

Quando repostum Csecubum ad festas dapes, v. 9

Quantum distet ab Inacho, iii. 19

Quern tu, Melpomene, semel, iv. 3

Quern virum aut heroa lyra vel acri, i. 12

ODARUM TABULA ALPHABETICA. xlvii

T.1B. ODE.

.Quid bellicosus Cantaber et Scythes, ii. 11

Quid dedicatum poscit Apollinem, i. 31

Quid fles, Asterie, quern tibi candidi, \. , Hi. 7

Quid immerentes hospites vexas, canis, v. 6

Quid obseratis auribus fundis preces, v. 17

Quid tibi vis, mulier, nigris dignissima barris, v, 12

Quis desiderio sit pudor aut modus, ....,., i. 24

Quis multa gracilis te puer in rosa, i. 5

Quo me, Bacche, rapis tui, ,... iii. 25

Quo, quo scelesti ruitis ? aut cur dexteris, *. v. 7

Rectius vives, Licini, neque altum, li. 10

Rogare longo putidam te seculo, v. 8

Scriberis Vario fortis, et hostium, , i.

Septimi, Gades aditure mecum, et, ii.

Sic te Diva potens Cypri, i. 3

Solvitur acris hiems grata vice veris et Favoni, i. 4

Te maris et terrjE numeroque carentis arenas, x i. 28

Tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quern mihi, quern tibi, i. H

Tyrrhena regum progenies, tibi, iii. 29

Velox amoenum saepe Lucretilem, i. 17

Vides ut alta stet nive candidum, , i. 9

Vile potabis modicis Sabinum, i. 2O

xlviii ODARUM TABULA ALPHABETICA.

LIB. ODE.

Vitas hinnuleo me similis, Chloe, i. 23

Vixi puellis nuper idoneus, iii. 26

Ulla si juris tibi pejerati, ii. 8

Uxor pauperis Ibyci, iii. 15

THE

TRANSLATED INTO

ENGLISH PROSE,

QUINTI HORATII FLACCI

CARMINUM
LIBER PRIMUS.

ODE I.

Horace, in this beautiful Ode, shows the different inclinations of men in gene-
ral, and his own in particular. It is placed first, as a dedication of the
poet's works to his great patron Maecenas, though composed after a great
number of those that follow ; but when it was written is uncertain. It is
curious in all its parts, the characters being natural and lively; but it*

AD M^ICENATEM.

MAECENAS, atavis edite regibus,

O et praesidium et dulce decus meum,

Sunt quos curriculo pulverem Olympicum

Collegisse juvat ; metaque fervidis,

Evitata rotis, palmaque nobilis 5

Terrarum dominos evehit ad Deos.

ORDO.

O Maecenas, edite atavis regibus, O et picum curriculo; metaque evitata fervidU

praesidium et meum dulce decus, sunt plu- rotis, nobilisque palma evehit ad deos do-

rimi quos juvat collegisse pulverem Olym- minos terrarum.

NOTES.

1. M&cenas.'] This great favourite of of these two eminent poets.-
Augustus was distinguished by the regard 1. Regibits.~] Propertius, Peilo Albino-

he alwavs paid to men of learning; inso- vanus, Silius Italicus, and Manial, agret

much that his name is, even at this day, with Horace, that Maecenas was descended

a title of honour bestowed upon all such as of a royal family; and Marcus Portius Cato

encourage learning, and patronise the pro- confirms the account in some fragments ;

fessors of it. This great man showed a very hi which he says, that Elbius Volturenus,

particular regard for Horace and Virgil ; and who was killed near the Lake of Vadiraon,

it was by his means they were first recom- in the year of Rome 445, was the last of

mended to Augustus, who proved a great the kings of Tuscany, whose descendants

benefactor to them both. This is the rea- he names from father to son, till he comes

son why Maecenas is so often addressed, to Maecenas, who had no children,
and so honourably mentioned, in the work*

HORACE'S ODES.

BOOK FIRST.

ODE I.

principal beauty consists in the fine turn given by the poet to his expres-
sions, which he manages so artfully, that thoujzh he is obliged often to
mention the same thing, in running over the different employments of
nen, yet he never falls into a tautology, nor makes use of a low term.

TO MAECENAS.

M/ECENAS, descended from the princes of Tuscany, your royal
ancestors, my generous patron, whose favour I esteem my greatest
honour, some take pleasure* in being covered with dust in the
chariot-races at the Olympic games; and, if they gain the glorious
prize for dexterously turning their glowing wheels round the dan-
gerous goal, they think they are as great as gods, the rulers of the
earth.

* To have gathered Olympic dust.

NOTES.

3. Sunt quos curricula.'] How expressive of his father Jupiter Olvmpios. They were

of the sense is the sound of these charm- celebrated every fourth year with great pomp

ing verses'. We can scarcely read them and solemnity, and continued for five days

without thinking that we are carried along together, consisting of five several kinds of

with the chariots, and see the dust flying- exercises. The conquerors had the greatest

There are many instances of this kind in honours paid them, being carried in a tri-

our author and Lucretius, but more espe- umphant manner back int6 their own city,

daily in Virgil. See the preface to the prose and had an annual allowance granted them

translation of Virgil. by the republic ; so that nothing was es-

3. Olympicum.] The Olympic games teemed more honourable than to return
were at first instituted by Pelops; and after victorious from these warlike exercises,
they had been discontinued for some time, 4. Meta."\ A goal or mark set up to de-
were r-8tbUhtd by Herculet, in honour ttrnjine the extent of the race, The gmt

B 3

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. I.

Hunc, si mobilium turba Quiritium
Certat tergennnis tollerc honoribus j
Ilium, si proprio condidit horreo
Quidquid de Libycis verritur areisj
Gaudentein patrios findere sarculo
Agros, Attalicis conditionibus
Nunquam dimoveas, ut trabe Cypria
Myrtoum pavidus nauta secet mare.
Luctantem Icariis fluctibus Africum
Mercator metuens, otium et oppidi
'Laudat rura sui ; mox reficit rates
Quassas, indocilis pauperiem pati.
Est qui nee veteris pocula Massiei,
Nee partem solido demere de die
Spernit, nunc viridi membra sub arbuto
Stratus, nuuc ad aquae lene caput sacrae.

OR DO.

Si turba inobilium Quirkium cerlat tollere
hunc tergeminis honoribus, nuuquam euin di-
moveas eiiam Attalicis conditionibus, ut pa-
vidus nauta secet Myrtoum mare Cyprii
trabe; ntque ilium, si condidit quidquid ver-
rirur de Libycis arcis in proprio horreo; nee
alium gaudentem findere patrios agros sar-

culo. Mercator, metuens.Africum luctantem
Icariis fluctibus, laudat otium et rura sui op-
pidi ; mox tamen reficit rates quassas, indoci-
lis pati pauperiem. Est alius qui nee spernit
pocula vini Massiei veteris, nee demere par-
tem de solido die, stratus membra nunc sub
viridi arbuto, nunc ad lent caput aquae sacrae.

NOTES. .

art, in these chariot-races, consisted in
turning swiftly round die goal, and yet so
rietir as to seem to touch it ; by which the
charioteers were often in danger of being
dashed to pieces against it.

10. Lil-ycif.'] Libya was a part of nor-
thern Africa, bounded on the east by Egypt,
and on the west by the kingdom of Tripoli.
The abundance of corn it yielded, made it
one of the granaries of Italy. It supplied
Rome yearly with forty millions of bushels,
on which it subsisted for eight mouths. The
poets often give the name of Libya to all
that part of Africa which lies along the Me-
diterranean.

11. Gaudaitem.'] Commentators refer
this word to ilium, and maintain that Ho-
race speaks only of one individual person.
But I am persuaded our author meant other-
wise ; and that by this word he introduces a
character distinct from the former. By
hiuic he represents to us one whose sole am-
bition b to be advanced to the highest pre-

ferments. By ilium he points at a rich but
avaricious citizen, who thinks of nothing
but of enriching himself by the corn-trade
of Africa, without exposing his person to
any danger on that account. And by gau-
dertlem, he describes to us one who is so fond
of the tranquillity of a country life, that he
neither covets riches nor honour?, but
chooses above all things, as the greatest
pleasure in life, to cultivate his estate with
his own hands. Horace says, that none of
these three men can ever be prevailed on to
run the risk of going to sea, though the
riches of Attalus, with all the gain in the
world, were proposed to them. This sense
has doubtless more of beauty and strength
than the other ; and (wh;it is still more re-
markable) it perfectly agrees with the like
expressions our poet uses, which is done by
the ether explication in a forced and im-
proper manner. To contend that gauden-
tem refers to ilium, is contending that
Horace has given two such different passion*

ODE I.

HORACE'S ODES.

If one finds the giddy mob bent on raising him to offices of the
highest trust and honour ; if another has stored his granarie^ with
vast quantities of corn from Africa ; and if a third places his sole
delight in cultivating his paternal estate himself; were you to offer
them the immense riches of Attains to commence traders and brave
the seas, you would not prevail.

The merchant, alarmed when the stormy south-west wind swells
the Icarian sea, praises the sweet retreat and pleasant fields of his
country-seat; yet the danger is no sooner over, than he refits his
shattered vessels, hating the thought of being reduced to poverty.

The toper takes pleasure in spending the greater part of the day
at his bottle, stretched at his ease, sometimes under a shade, and
sometimes near the pleasant source of a sacred fountain.

NOTES.

to one man, as never were found yet in one
person together. Fot it is inconceivable how
the avarice of him who hoards up in store-
houses the corn of Africa, can consist with
the moderate desires of that man whose de-
light is in cultivating the lands of his fore-
fathers. What has led commentators into
this mistake, is the admirable change of the
terms hunc, ilium, and gaudentem. To use
alter for a third, would be too low ; and
therefore, to express a third character, he
uses the participle, according to the oc-
casional practice of the Greeks and Latins.

12. Attalicis c<mditio?iil<us.~] So called
from Attalus king of Pergamus, who had
amassed such immense riches, that he made
the Roman people his heir, judging none so
proper to come to the possession of so great
wealth.

14. Mare MyrtoumJ] The Archipel igo,
a branch of the Mediterranean, is so inter-
spersed with islands and rocks, that it is
liable to great storms. It is divided into
several parts, that go under the particular
names of the Cretan, Icarian, Carpathian,
Myrtoan seas, &c. A part of this obtained
the last name from the small island Myrtos,
which lies on the south point of Negropont.
Ancient fables give it this name from one
Myi tilus, whom Pelops threw into this sea.

15. latrifejluctibus.] The Icarian sea is

a part of the jgean, lying near Samos.
The poets fancy it is so called from Icarus,
the son of Daedalus, who fell headlong into
it ; because, flying from Crete, he ap-
proached too near the sun ; by which means
the wax, which held together the feathers
of his wings, melted. But it is certain,
that the true origio of the name is from the
island Icaros, now Nicaria.

1 9- t'eteris pocula Massici.] This wine
was once very much esteemed, being made
of grapes which grew upon a mountain of
Campania of the same name.

20. Nee parlem solido demtre de die Sper-
nit.~] Demere partem de snlido die, is to
spend one half of the whole or entire day.
Thus Lucretius, in his 2d book, v. 200, says,
plus ut parleforas emergant, instead of plus
dimidia parte. And our author himself uses
in another place, alternately, par tern anim.ce
mea, and dimidinm ammo: me<e. Amongst
the Romans, sober and regular persons liad
but one meal a day ; and if it happened that
they did eat before this stated meal, it was
no more than a very light breakfast, at which
there was no occasion to sit down, or to
wash their hands after it, as Seneca (who
with a great deal of pleasantry calls it a
dinner) expresses it, sine menm pr.andium,
pan quod non sint manus lac and a, Epist. 83.

Q. HORATII CARM1NA.

IT*. I.

Multos castra juvant, et lituo tubae
Permistus sonitus, bellaque matribus
Detestata. Manet sub Jove frigido
Venator, tenerae conjugis immemor;
Seu visa est catulis cerva fideljbus,
Seu rupit teretes Marsus aper plagas.
Me doctarum ederae praemia frontium
Dis miscent superis : me gelidum nemus,
Nympharumque leves cum Satyris chori,
Secernunt populo ; si neque tibias
Euterpe cohibet, nee Polyhymnia
Lesboum refugit tendere barbiton.
Quod si me lyricis vatibus inseres,
Sublirni feriam sidera vertice.

ORDO.

Castra juvant multos, et sonitus tubse lituo me Diis superis: nemug gelidum, et levcs
permistus, bellaque detestata matribus. Ve- chori Nympharum cum Satyris, secernunt

:.._:. . _..v me a populo; si neque Euterpe cohibet

tibias, nee Polyhymnia refugit tendere bar-

nator, immemor tenertE conjugis, manet sub
Jove frigido ; -seu cerva est visa catulis fide-
libus, seu aper Marsus rupit plagas teretes.

biton Lesboum. Quod si tu inseres me

Edcroe, pnemiadoctarum frontium, miscent vatibus lyricis, feriam sidera sulliim vertice.

NOTES.

23. Lituo tid'ts.'] The sound of the ck-
rion was shi ill ; that of the trumpet was
grave. The first was used by the cavalry ;
they were both of brass, but the first was
bent as French-horns are, and the other was
straight like our trumpet.'; and flutrs.

25. Sub Jove JrigidoJ] In the cold nir; for
the ancients called all that space which our
atmosphere takes up, Jupiter.

29. Me doctarum.] Some critics substi-
tute Te here in place of MK, and assert that
it is a compliment to Maecenas. It is true,
Maecenas composed some verses ; but it docs
not appear that he was so considerable a
lyric poet, as to merit this piece of pane-
gyric ; so that I cannot think Horace was
such a gross flatterer, or that Maecenas
would allow him to be so. No, Horace com-
pliments his patron in a more polite manner
in the two last lines of this ode. See the
note on them.

29. Ederee."] All the celebrated poets
were crowned with the branches of the ivy-

tree, as being the crown of Bacchus and the
Muses.

JJO. Dis miscent superis.'] Class me among
the gods, i. e. render me happy. For the
Romans, and Greeks too, called those gods
who enjoyed a perfect happiness. If this
passage is not thus explained, there will
follow a manifest contradiction when Horace
says, that M;ecenas' sole approbation will
advance him to heaven.

31. Nympharumque.'] Nymphs were god-
desses, supposed by the ancients to preside
over rivers, springs, woods, and hills.

U . Cum Satyru chori.] The ancients
always represent the Satyrs dancing. Thus
Virgil, in his 5th edognie, ver. 7.3, says,

Saltantes Sutyros imitalitur Alphesibteus.
" Alphesibteus will imitate the dances of the

" Satyrs." And even the sacred author

Isaiah confirms this in his representation of
the desolation of Babylon, when, among
other things, he says in the 21st verse of
the 13th chapter, " And Satyrs shall dance

ODE I.

HORACE'S ODES.

Many take pleasure in the camp and in the warlike gound of
trumpets and clarions, and in battles, the aversion of fond mothers.

The keen sportsman, unmindful of his young spouse at home,.
exposes himself to the most stormy weather in chase of a hind
roused by his staunch hounds, or of a huge boar that hath broken
his toils.

Ah ivy-crown, the reward of the poets, would make me as
happy as the gods themselves. To sing the shady groves and
nimble dances of the Nymphs with the Satyrs, advances me above
the crowd, provided Euterpe deign to join in concert with her
ilute, and Polyhymnia with her Lesbian lute.

But if you rank me* among the lyric poets, I shall be exalted
to the skies.

NOTES.

*' there." Satyrs were reputed half men,
half goats. From the waist upwards tliey were
men, with this difference, that they had two
little horns sprouting from their heads ; and
from the waist downwards they were in the
shape of goats. Horace represents himself
in company with them, to signii'y that ima-
gination is an essential qualification for a
poet, and because all the ancients firmly
believed that the Satyrs were profoundly
learned, and had a groat knowledge of
every thing, and that their very sports and
diversions had somethingmysterious in them;
from this persuasion, they used to paint and
draw the Graces, Cupids, and Venus, round
the most ugly Satyrs ; hence Horace asso-
ciates them with the Nymphs ; ami even the
sculptors at Athens made the statues of
their Satyrs hollow, so as to shut and open ;
and in opening them there appeared to the
spectator little images of Venus, the Graces,
Cupids, and the like deities. For this
reason Alcibiades compares Socrates to one
of these statues.

3-2. Si neque til-ias.] Our author with

food reason interposes this condition .
'or let a poet do what he can, and let him
heat his imagination to the highest pitch, if
the Muses do not assist him and produce
enthusiasm, he will always grovel, and never
become a sublime and distinguished genius.
33. Euterpe.] One of the Muses, the in-
ventress of the flute. She had her name
from the sweetness of her voice.

III. Polyhymnia."] Her distinguishing
employment among the Muses, was to sing
many hymns, and preside over the enco-
miums bestowed on great men ; whence she
had her name.

35. Qitiid si, SJV.] This sentence, with
which he concludes, is a polite compliment.
Horace, selected from the vulgar by the
favour of the Muses, not inferior to the
great Ale;eus, introduced into the consecrated
groves, and admitted into the company of
the rural deities, still aspires at something
more noble and glorious, viz. he wants
Maecenas' approbation to crown his jrlory
with immortality. This is passing, in two
words, a finished encomium on his patron,
and in one turn including the whole design
of the ode. In fine, this encomium is not
without some foundation. For M-Ecenas,
besides several pieces in piose, composed a
great number of verses. They quote two of
his tragedies, and ten books of his poesy.
Those lyric poe'.s whom Horace here men-
tions are Greeks;- himself had the honour
of being the first among the Latins who de-
served the name of lyric poet. Catullufc
was the only one before him who attempted
this kind of poetry, of whose essays we have
but a few, and even those itv the Grecian
strain and measure. Horace has used them
more discreetly : he has borrowed tbeir mat-
ter, but has given it quite a Latin air; or
(so to speak) has clothed a Grecian Uric in
a Roman dress.

8 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE II.

This is one of the finest odes . of Horace; as the subject is very grand, the
verse very nohle, and the turn extremely ingenious. Nothing can be more
sublime, and at the same time more curious, than the manner in which
Horace makes his court to Augustus, by first enumerating all the prodigies
that happened on the death of Caesar, as if all nature had been interested
in it ; and afterwards insinuating, that, to revenge it, Jupiter sent a god
from heaven under the form of Augustus, as if he had there but one
god, and one of the greatest gods, who could appease nature that was
so highly irritated, and make expiation for a crime that would have
proved so fatal to the Romans. Some take this to be the subject of the ode ;
others conjecture that the two following events, recorded by Dio, gave

AD AUGUSTUM CLESAREM.

JAM satis terris nivis atque dirse
Grandinis misit Pater, et, rubente
Dextera sacras jaculatus arces,

Terruit urbem :

Terruit gentes, grave ne rediret 5

Seculum Pyrrhae, nova monstra questse j
Omne cum Proteus pecus egit altos

Visere montes ;

Piscium et summa genus hsesit ulmo,

Nota quae sedes fuerat columbis ; 10

Et superjecto pavidee natarunt

^Equore daraae.

OR DO.

Pater Jujiiter jam misit terris satis nivis smim pecus visere montes aitos ; et genus

atque (Tiro grandinis, et jaculatus arces sacras piscium haesit summa ulmo, quae sedes fue-

dextera rubente terruit urbcm : terruit gen- rat nota columbis; et dainae pavidae natarunt

tes, ne grave seculum Pyrrha quests mon- in aequore superjecto.
stra nova redirei; cum Proteus egit omne

NOTES.

1. Jam satis lerris nivis, fee.] I do not civil wars, prodigies so extraordinary, that

remember anv historian that mentions snow the whole of religion was employed to avert

and hail amongst the prodigies that follow- and expiate them. But Horace may well

ed the death of Julius Caesar. And seem- be defended from this censure, since it is easy

jn<rly Horace gives us, here, some reason to prove, that the ancients took that hail,

for" censuring him, in making such natural which they called stones, for a manifest

and common occurrences as snow and hail declaration of the indignation of heaven,

marks of heaven's displeasure, and in join- and concluded that they must appease the

; ng to diese the .inundation of rivers, gods, under a judgement of this kind, by

the burning of temples by lightning, and religious services. Hence they celebrated

ODE II. HORACE'S ODES.

ODE II.

rise to it. " Octavius received the surname of Augustus on the 17th day
of January, in the year of Rome 727, and the following night there
happened a prodigious inundation of the Tiber." The other is that,
he had some time Before offered to resign the government to the senate,
and told them in his speech at that time that he did not intend to con-
tinue sovereign longer than he had avenged Caesar's murder, and de-
livered Rome from all its troubles." From these events the ode took
its rise, in which the poet artfully advises Augustus to continue in the
sovereignty, to which fortune and his own merit had raised him ; whereby
Horace not only flatters Augustus, but Maecenas, who gave him the same
advice.

TO AUGUSTUS C^SAR.

JUPITER hath already showered down so many prodigious storms
of hail and snow on the earth, and his avenging arm hath with
dreadful thunderbolts so shattered our sacred buildings, that the
city is stricken with terror.

Tlie waters also are swollen to so great a height, that not Rome
only, hit the neighbouring nations are in great fear of such a de-
luge as happened in the fatal days of Pyrrha, who lamented to see
such unheard-of prodigies, as Proteus driving his scaly herd to the
tops of the highest mountains, and shoals of fishes caught in the
boughs of the tallest trees, on which pigeons used to perch, and the
timorous deer swimming in the waters that overflowed both the
woods and mountains.

NOTES.

the festival Novemdialia, the origin of which This single word conveys to us the idea of a

you may find in Festus, on the word No- dreadful storm.

vemdiales. Horace, by joining snow with 6. Seculum Pyrrhtv.'] Pyrrha was the

hail, by no means intends a distinct, but daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, and

one and' the same prodigy; as it commonly wife of Deucalion, king of Thessaly; in whose

happens that great hail is attended with some time happened a deluge that drowned the

snow which had not time for being of the whole country, he and his wife only escap-

former's figure and consistency. This is ing.

doubtless the true meaning of the passage, 7- P'oto.] The son of Jupiter; or, ac-

which has not been well understood, and is cording to others, of Neptune. During the

for that reason unjustly censured by Scaliger fore-mentioned deluge, he brought the sea-

thr. father. calves, committed to him by his father, as

2,3. Rubente dextera.'] This expression far as the highest mountains ; who formerly

rulaitc, with his hand blazing with fire, vised to live, in rivers, and on their hank*,

carries in it an inexpressible force. It is He was remarkable for the power he had of

as much as if he had said, that all heaven changing hunstlf into any shape whatever,
was set oil fire with thunder and lightning.

10 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Vidimus flavum Tiberim, retortis

JLitore Etrusco violenter undis,

Ire dejectum monumenta regis, 15

Templaqne Vestae;
Iliae dum se niniium querenti
Jactat ultorem, vagus et sinistra
Labitur ripa, Jove non probante, u-

xorius amn is. 20

Audiet cives acuisse ferrum,
Quo graves Persre nielius perirent ;
Audiet pugnas, vitio parentum

Kara juventus.

' Quem vocet divum populus mentis 25

Imperf rebus ? prece qua fatigent
Virgines sanctae minus audientem

Carmina Vestam ?
Cui dabit partes scelus expiandi

Jupiter? tandem vei tias, precamur, 30

Nube candentes humeros amictus,

Augur Apollo.

Sive tu mavis, Erycina ridens,
Quam Jocus circumvolat, et Cupido :
Sive neglectum genus et nepotes 85

Respicis auctor,

ORDO.

Vidimus flavum Tiberim ire dejectum Quem divAm populus vowt rebus imperil

monumenta regis Numee templaque Vestae, ruentis? QuH prece virgines sanctae fati-

undis violenter retortis a litore Etrusco; gent Vestam minus audientem carmina?

dum hie amnis wxorius Iliae niniium que- Cui Jupiter dabit panes expiandi scelus?
renti jactat se fore ultorem neris Ciesaris, O augur Apollo, precamur ut tandem ve-

et vagus labitur sinistra ripa, Jove non nias, amictus candentes humeros nube. Sive

probante. tu mavis venire, O Erycina ridens, quam

Juvemus rara vitio parentum andiet pug- Jocus et Cupido circumvolat ; sive tu, Mars,

nas, audiet<?;<e cives Roma?ios acuisse ferrum gentis nottree auctor, respicis geuus tuum

i?i se, quo graves Persat mtlius perirent. ' neglectum et nepotes,

NOTES.

15. Mmiumenia regis."] Among the an- 17. Jli<e.~\ Ilia was the mother of Rom u-
cieut m'onumrnts of the kings -there were lus ; and being thrown headlong into the
two in particular, viz. Numa'* palace and Tiber, by the command of Amulius, as
mausoleum ; the first lay on the left of the some report, was thence said to be married
Tiber, at the foot of mount Palatine, and to that river. She was related to Julius
the other to the right on mount Jani- Caesar, who descended from her; whence
culum. Horace feigns, that her complaints to her

16. Templaque Vestas.] Vesta is the same husband had moved him to revenge the death
with the earth : and Jler temple was round, of that great man too severely.

in allusion to the spherical figure of the 19- Uxorius amnis.'] The Tiber, says
earth. Horace, seems to pursue the revenge which

ODE II. HORACE'S ODES. 11

We have also seen the troubled Tiber, when his waves have been
with violence thrown back from the Tuscan shore, * threaten ruin
and destruction both to Numa's palace and Vesta's temple. And
excessively fond of his beloved Ilia, who deeply bewailed the death
of Ctesar, he declares that he will be the avenger of it ; and accord-
ingly, f leaving his usual channel, he overflows his banks on the
J city-side ; at which Jupiter was much displeased, having reserved
the glory of that revenge for Augustus.

The Roman youth, reduced to a small number through our fault,
will be astonished to hear, some years hence, of our bloody civil
war, in which we turned our arms against one another, which had
been better employed in conquering our formidable enemies the
Persians.

What god's protection shall we invoke to save this tottering
empire ? With what prayers shall our holy vestals importune the
goddess who refuses at present to hear their sacred songs? Whom
will Jupiter commission to make an atonement for so great a
crime ?

We pray thee, Apollo, thou god of auguries, come at length
to our assistance; but let thy radiant shoulders be veiled in a
cloud. Or if you, charming Venus, deign, whom love and joy
always attend ; or if you, great Mars, our father, whose sole
pleasure is the noise of war, the flashing of armour, and stern
irown of our infantry on their inveterate enemy, vouchsafe to

* Go to overthrow. ( Wandering. Left bank. Regard us.

NOTES.

August\is had taken, and imagines that the poets and Sibyls ; and his oracles were al-

utter destruction of the city <>f Rome is the ways in the greatest esteem,

only atonement that can expiate so great 33. Erycina riilens.'] All the deities here

a crime. Besides, Ilia's resentment in this mentioned; patronised Rome. And the poet

case must be satisfied. But the coin- takes care to give Venus a designation that

plaints and condescension of both are ex- must raise a sensible pleasure in Augustus.

cessive. Jupiter equally disapproves the /Eneas, from whom Augustus descended,

one and the other, and will admit of none had brought from Sicily into Italy a statue

with Augustus to share in the glory of re- of Erycine Venus, to whom afterwards a

venging Caesar's death. So, you se <, it is temple with a magnificent portico was built

indifferent whether you refer nimium to at Rome without the gate Collina. The

qurrenti or jactat, though I choose to join goddess received this name from the moim-

it with the first. ' tain Eryx in Sicily, on which she was wor-

27- Firgines sanclae] The Vestal virgins, shipped. Its modern name is SanJuliano,

the chief part of whose office was the pre- in the valley of Massara, near Trepano. Or

servatkm of the eternal fire. They were rather i he goddess and mountain were so

sacred to Vesta ; and, of consequence, their called (mm Eryx, the son of Venus and Butes.

prayers, it might be supposed, would be 36. Respids auctar.] The Romans were

the more powerful with her. . descended of Mars by Ilia, on whom he be-

32. Augur Apftllo.] Apollo presided over got Romulus and Rsmus.
iivlnation and soothsaying. He inspired ther

12 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. I.

Heu, nimis longo satiate ludo ;
Quern juvat clamor, galeeeque leves,
/ Acer et Mauri peditis cruentum

Vultus in hostem. 40

Sive mutatR juvenem figur&
Ales in terris imitaris, almse
.-Filius Maise, patiens vocari

Csesaris ultor :

Serus in coelum redeas, diuque 45

Lfetus intersis populo Quirint j
Neve te nostris vitiis iniquum

Ocior aura

Tollat. Hie magnos petius triumphos,

Hie ames dici pater atque princeps j 50

Neu sinas Medos equitare irmltos,

Te duce, Ceesar.

ORDO.

satiate ludo heu nimis longo; quern clamor diuque laetus intersis populo Quirini; neve

juvat, galeajque leves, et vultus Mauri pedi- ocior aura tollat te iniquum nostris vitiis.

tis acer in hostem cruentum : sive, tu ales Ames hie potius magnos triumplios, ames hie

filius almae Maiae, patiens vocari ultor Cae- dici pater atque priuceps ; neu sinas, O

saris, imitaris in terris juvenem Avgustum, Caesar, Medos equitare inultos, te duce.
mutata figura : redeas serus in coelum ; ,

NOTES.

41. SivemutaJa.] There can be nothing when Caesar was killed. Dio too calls him

more exquisite than this is. The poet Ntov. It was from no regard to his age

would persuade the Romans that Augustus that the poets gave him the names of

was no other than Mercury come down to Jurenis and Puer ; for Horace, Virgil, and

avenge Caesar's death. Ovidj addressed him thus when he could

41. Juvenem.] Augustus is here meant, not be said to be a young man.
who was at most but nineteen years of age

ODE III.

We may look on this ode as the last farewell of Horace to Virgil, when he
embarked for Greece ; and they never saw one another more. Had Horace
foreseen what was to happen, he could scarcely have expressed his grief in
a more affectionate manner than he does in this ode ; the first eightlines of
which have something in them admirably tender, and the rest something
very grand ; for nothing can be more finished in its kind than this ode,
Horace being about forty-seven years of age when he composed it. This
is one of those odes wherein he is censured for his Pindaric excur-
sions and sallies, but without reason ; for lyric enthusiasm is not only

ODE III. HORACE'S ODES. 15

come touched with compassion for your offspring, which you seem
to have forgotten, ice shall be highly pleased ; for you are surely
fully surfeited, by this time, with the cruel diversion which our civil
wars have so long given you.

Or, if it be you, * Mercury, chaste Maia's son, who appear here
on earth in the form of our young prince, ready to avenge Caesar's
murder, may your return to heaven be late, that the Romans may
long be blessed with your desirable presence ; and let not, we beg,
the abhorrence you have of our late crimes make you leave us soon.
Stay rather and enjoy the glorious triumphs prepared for you.
Vouchsafe to bear the amiable titles of prince and father of our
countiy ; nor suffer, great Csesar, in your happy reign, the Par-
thian cavalry to insult us unrevenged.

* Winged Mecrury,

NOTES.

42. dies,] Mercury obtained this appella- 51. Medox.'] Horace means the Parthians,

tion from the wings he had on his head and whom he before calls Persians. These three

heels. different people have been undistinguished

45. Serus in cesium redtas.] This is a by some authors, because their kingdoms

noble, delicate, and happy turn; and the have been so too. The Persians subdued the

more so, as it agrees with Mercury, whose Medes, and rhe Parthians became masters to

natural habitation was heaven, and with Au- the first.

gustus, who was, as the descendant of Venus 51. Equitare.~\ Our author uses this term,

by ./Eneas, of heavenly origin. because the greatest strength of the Persians

49. Magnos tmunphos,~\ A year and a and Parthians consisted in their cavalry:
half elapsed between these triumphs and the and inultos, because of the signal defeat
date of this ode. The time of their cele- given by the latter to Crassus.
bration was for three days of the month tliat 52. Te dncc.] This is an honourable epi-
goes under O.'tavius' name, in the year of thet, and is equivalent to imperator. Ho-
Kome 7'2l- His first triumph was for de- race uses it often when speakingof Augustus,
feating the Pannonians and Dalmatians, his In the fifth Ode of the 4th Book, he ad-
second for the victory at Actium, and his dresses him twice with the title of Dux
third for the reduction of Egypt. lone.

ODE III.

an enemy to grammatical connexion and methodical transitions, but like-
wise gives a licence to pass from one subject to another that has some
affinity with the principal. After fulfilling the duties which the sepa-
ration of a great and intimate friend required of him, the idea of the
vessel in which Virgil had embarked, and the hazards that he might
incur, had thrown our poet into a bad humour. He abhors naviga-
tion, and looks on it as a wicked attempt against the laws of nature,
and an open defiance to heaven, and ascribes all the bold adventures of
this kind to an ungovernable and precipitant disposition in man after

14 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I,

things forbidden ; and from this source he draws all the miseries with
which human life is chequered. From this account one may venture to
say that there is no great disagreement in the progress of this piece, and
that all the three parts of which it consists naturally arise the one from

AD NAVEM VIRGILIUM ATHENAS VEHENTEM,

Sic te Diva potens Cypri,

Sic fratres Helena, lucida sidera,
Ventorumque regat pater,

Obstrictis aliis, prater lapyga,
Navis, quae tibi creditum 5

Debes Virgllium ; finibus Atticis
Reddas incolumem, precor,

Et serves animae dimidium meae.
111! robur et aes triplex

Circa pectus erat, qui fragilem truci 10

Commisit pelago ratem

Primus, nee timuit praecipitem Africum
Decertaritem Aquilonibus,

Nee tristes Hyadas, nee rabiem Noti,
Quo non arbiter Adriae 15

Major, tollere seu ponere vult freta.
Quem mortis timuit gradum,

Qui siccis oculis monstra natantia,
Qui vidit mare turgidum, et

Infames scopulos Acroceraunia ? 20

ORDO.

O navis, quae debes Yirgilium creditum truci, nee timuit Africum pracipitem cvm

tibi, precor ut sic potens diva Cypri, sic fra- aquilonibus decertantem, nee tristes Hyadas,

tres Helena lucida sidera, et pater ventorum, nee rabiem Noti, quo non est major arbiter

obstrictis aliis venth prater lapyga, regat te, Adriap, *eu vult tolleje seu ponere freta.
ut reddas cum incolumem finibus Atticis, et Quem gradum mortis timuit ille, qui vidit

serves dimidium animae meae.. monstra natantia siccis oculis, qui i-idit mare

Robur et aes triplex erat illi circa pectus, turgidum, et infames scopulos Acroceraunia ?
qui primus commisit fragilem ratem pelago

NOTES.

1. Diva potens Cypri.'] Veirus is invoked sea of the rovers and pirates that infesttd
here, probably, because that planet is of it.

great use to seamen, in directing their 3. fentarum pater.] Ancient mythology

course. represents the wine's as volatile, restless,'

2. Fratres Helena] Castor and Pollux and turbulent deities, taking pleasure in
were feigned by the ancients to have been throwing the universe into confusion,
transformed into those stars which are called They forced a passage for the sea into
Gemini, or the Twin-stars. In their life- the main land, tore numbers of inlands
time, they were remarkable for clearing the from the continent, and committed num-

ODE III. HORACE'S ODES. 15

the other. Either all kinds of digressions must be discarded from lyric
poetry, which would be absurd, or it must be owned that this piece has
nothing extravagant in it. Virgil's voyage happened in the year of Rome
735, probably in the beginning of spring : the date of this ode, therefore,
cannot be doubtful.

TO THE VESSEL THAT WAS CARRYING VIRGIL TO ATHENS.

DEAR ship, as the life of Virgil, my beloved Virgil, is intrusted to
you, take care, I conjure you, to keep the half of my very soul
from all danger, and land him safe on the coast of Attica ; on
this condition may the goddess Venus, who reigns in Cyprus, and
Helen's two brothers, those auspicious stars, direct your course ; on
this condition, may * ^Eolus, putting all the winds under confine-
ment except the west, favour your voyage.

His heart must surely have been cased in oak or three plates of
brass, who first had the courage to expose himself to the raging sea
in a slender bark, and defied the violent south-west wind beating
against the north, nor feared the stormy Hyades, or south wind's
rage, which swells or smooths the waves of the Adriatick sea at
pleasure. What form of death would frighten him, who could
f unconcerned behold the huge sea-monsters rolling in the deep,
who could without terror look on the tempestuous sea, and those
notoriously dangerous rocks of Epirus ?

* The father of the winds. ( With dry eyes.

NOTES.

Lerless devastations. To prevent the like showing that Horace, who was five yean

dismal catastrophes, they confined them younger than Virgil, was in the 47th year of

to a certain country, and imposed a king nis age when he composed it.

on them, by name .Solus. This new mon- 7. Reddas incolitmrm.'] The propriety of

arch, or rather new god, has always had the terms debes, credit urn, reddas, incolu-

a great part to act in every poem, either % to inem, ought by no means to be passe* I over

raise or calm a storm. Ulysses prajs to unobserved. They are borrowed from the

him for a happy voyaee; Juno, the queen notion of debit and credit, or from the ob-

of the gods, stoops to implore his aid for legations arising from having a trust, which

defeating the establishment of the Trojans have a peculiar and singular beauty in this

in Italy; and it may be said, that /Eolus has place.

the honour of beginning the broil of that 14. Hyadas.~] The seven stars. The poets

great subject in the yEneiH of Virgil, for feign them to be the daughters of Atlas and

which see the Prose Translation, Book I. yEthra; who, greatly lamenting the death

6. Finibus Atticis."} Virgil, in the 52d of their brother Hyas, were translated into

year of his age, resolved to go to Athens, heaven, where they are supposed still to

to give the last polished turn to his jEneid. continue weeping ; it being observed, that

And it is to this voyage that Monsieur le their rising and setting are frequently at-

Fevre, with good reason, refers this ale ; tended with storms of win.

16 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Nequicquam Deus abscidit

Prudens Oceano dissociabili
Terras, si tamen impiae

Non tangenda rates transiliunt vada.
Audax omnia perpeti, 25

Gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas.
Audax lapeti genus

Ignem fraude mala gentibus intulit :
Post ignem aetherea domo

Subductum, macies, et nova febrium 30

Terris incubuit cohors,

Semotique prius tarda necessitas
Lethi corripuit gradum.

Expertus vacuum Daedalus aera
Pennis non homini datis : 35

Perrupit Acberonta Herculeus labor.
Nil mortalibus arduum est.

Crelum ipsum petimus stultitia ; neque
Per nostrum patimur scelus

Iracunda Jovem ponere fulmina. 40

ORDO.

Deus prudens nequicquam abscidit terras cessitasque prius tarda corripuit gradum lethi

Oceano dissociabili, si tamen rates impiae semoti. Daedalus expertus est vacuum aera

transiliunt vada non tangenda. pennis non datis homini : labor Herculeus

Gens humana, audax perpeti omnia, ruit perrupit Acheronta.

per vetitum nefas. Audax Prometheus genus Nil est arduum mortalibus. Petimus coe-

lapeti intulit ignem gentibus fraude mala: lum ipsum stultitia; neque patimur Jovem

macies et nova cohors febrium incubuit terris ponere fulmina iracunda per scelus nostrum,
post ignem subductum setlierea domo : fle-

NOTES.

24. Nan tangenda.'] As the ancients were metheus, with a box to her husband, from

persuaded that God had set the ocean as a which, as soon as he opened it, there flew

boundary to the land, so they firmly believed out sundry sorts of diseases, and spread

that the man who first broke through these themselves up and down the earth,

bounds was punished for his bold attempt : 30. Macies, et nova febrium,] Consump-
tion and fevers represent all the infirmi-

Exitu dim temerata ponti ties of the body. The poet alludes to the

Jurapiavit. above story of Pandora. Jupiter, to punish

the audacious Prometheus, dispatched this

27. lapeti genus.'] Prometheus, the son woman to him with a box which contained

of lapetus, first made a man of clay, and the seeds of all kinds of diseases. Prome-

afterwards, by fire stolen from heaven, put theus suspected the present, and refused

life in his image. In revenge for this free- it : but his brother incautiously received

dom, Jupiter sent Pandora, the wife of Epi- and opened it. Hence arose that inundation

ODE III.

HORACE'S ODES.

In vain hath God divided the several kingdoms of the earth by
wisely placing the ocean between them*, if profane men will, in
small vessels, cross those seas on which they ought not to venture.
But what is it bold man will not attempt, furiously bent on every
thing that is wicked and forbidden ? Thus Prometheu-*, the aspir-
ing son of Japhet, stole fire from heaven for the use of man, by an
artifice fatal to his posterity; for thisf piece of sacrilege was followed
by famine, and a frightful swarm of diseases entirely new to us,
which over-ran the whole earth ; and death, sure before, though
slow, began from that time to double his pace

Daedalus also dared to soar in the air with wings not intended for
man, and Hercules forced his way to hell; in fine, nothing seems
impossible to men ; we are even so mad as to attempt to storm
heaven itself;^ hence it is, that Jupiter, provoked at our repeated
crimes, still finds use for his thunderbolts.

* If impious ships cross. -f- Fire stolen from the heavenly house.

J Nor, through our wickedness, do we suffer Jupiter to lay aside his angry thunderbolts.

NOTES.

of calamities that pursue and embitter all our
pleasures.

31. Inculuif, This word has been ad-
mirably chosen to point out to us that every
part of this our earth was seized with the
corruption. Virgil has used it with the same
meaning in his first /Eneid :

"' ponto nox inculat atra.
" Sable night covers the sea."

32. Semotique priits tar da necessitas^
Never were there two more beautiful verses.
And Horace has infinitely surpassed in this
the original which he had in his eye. I do
not dwell upon ihe terms, than which no-
thing can be more proper. But I cannot
help remarking the happy art observed in the
lowness of the first verse. Horace seems to
make death move heavily, and with a slow
pace in the first, with a view to hasten his
pace in the second, and as it were gives him
wings by the swiftness of that one expression,
corripuit.

34. Expcrtus vacuum Dtedalus.'] Dedalus
was a famous architect. He lived in Crete
at Minos' court, a little before the Trojan
war, and there built, by his order, the famous
labyrinth, into which himself was shut, for
having discovered the secret of his way to
Theseus. His friends, and even the queen
herself, who was under some obligations
to him for having favoured her amorous ad-
ventures, bribed his guards, procured his
escape, and put him in a vessel, which sailed
so well, that those who pursued him reported
that she had wings. This was genera!]) be-
lieved among the people, as if in fact she had
flown; whereas those people spoke only of
the wings of his ship, as all the ancients have
given that name to the sails of a ship.

36. Perrupit Acheronta.~] This earth
furnishing no more monsters for the exercise
of Hercules' valour, he goes down to hell,
thence takes Theseus, and drags Cerberjs
himself to the very foot of Pluto's throne.

38. Ccelum ipsum petimus.] The poet
here alludes to the story of the giants.

13 Q. HORAT1I CARM1NA. LIB. 1.

ODE IV.

Though the subject of this ode is common, Horace's manner of treating it is
far from being so. A gaiety of spirit, under an air of seriousness, appear*
through the whole. The prospect of approaching death at the end of it,
was, according to the principles of the Epicureans, a strong reason for
spending life agreeably ; but to let us into a thorough knowledge of this
ode, and into our author's ingenuity, it will be necessary to lay before the
reader's eye a sketch of the Roman calendar. In it the fifth day after the
nones of February, that is to say, the tenth day of the month, was reckoned
the spring's commencement. The very next day began Faunus' festivals,
which were no sooner ended, than immediately succeeded the Feralia or
Ferioe of the dead. Thus Ovid says, in his second book of Fasti :

En etiam si quis Boream horrere solebat,

Gaudeat : a Zephyris mitior aura venit.
Quintus ab aequoreis nitidum jubar extulitundis

Lucifer, et primi tempora veris erant.

" Now if there be any who used to shrink at the cold northern wind, let
" him be glad, since a kinder breeze blows in the Zephyrs ; and from the com-
" mencement of the early spring, the great luminary of the day has now the
" fifth time raised his refulgent beam from the watery main." And afterwards :

AD L. SEXTIUM CONSULAREM.

SOLVITUR acris hiems grata vice veris et Favoni,

Trahuntque siccas machinae carinas;
Ac neque jam stabulis gaudet pecus, aut arator igni,

Nee prata canis albicant pruinis.
Jam Cytherea chores duck Venus, imminente Luua;

Junctseque Nymphis Gratiae decentes

OR DO.

Hiems acris solvitur grata vice veris et canis.

Favoni, macbinacque trahunt carinas siccas ; Venus Cytherea jaifa duck chores Luna im-

ac qenue pecus jam gaudet stabulis, aut ara- mineme; Gratiaecniedeceiites-jimctiE nympliis
lor g&uUt igni, uec prata albicant pruinis

NOTES.

1. Soh'itur, *c.] This introduction is bare words, that they are expressive of the

beautiful; there is poetry in the sense itself, rigour and mildness of the two seasons here

and propriety in the expression. These two mentioned,
words acris aud grata are so far from being 5. Cytherea feniw.J Cythera, now Cerigp,

ODE IV. HORACE'S ODES. ID

ODE IV.

Idibxis agrestis fumant altaria Fauni,
Hie ubi discretas insula rumpit aquas.

" Upon the ides (that is, on the 13th of the month), the altars of rural
" Faunus smoke in the island which separates the waters of the Tiber." Five
days afterwards, the last of which was the last too, and grandest holiday of
the fast instituted for the dead,

Hanc quia justa ferunt dixere Feralia lucem,
Ultima placandis manibus ilia dies.

" They call this day the holiday of the dead, because they sacrifice to them,
" and the last day of the solemnity is destined for appeasing the Manes." All
this serves to give us a good insight into this ode, in letting us see that the very
subject of it was taken from the festivals of the calendar, which was a kind of
remembrancer to them, of making the best use of every moment of their time;
because scarcely has the spring begun, and carried with it the agreeable and de-
lightful festival of Faunus, when immediately follows the dismal and mournful
festival of the dead, to put us in mind of our exit or departure out of this
life. This appears to me highly ingenious, and well deserving an explication.
The very first line of the ode shows that it was written in the spring, but in
what year is uncertain.

TO L. SEXTIUS.J

THE spring, with its warm, refreshing breezes, comes at length to
free us from the extreme cold of winter; and they now begin to
haul with engines the ships out of the docks. The cattle * now
forsake their stalls, and the ploughman takes no pleasure in sitting
by the fire, nor are the fields any longer covered with nipping hoar-
frost, f Venus now leads her joyful choirs by moon-light j the

* Do not rejoice in. f Cytherean Venus.

NOTES.

was an island of the ^Egean sea, on the coast and divided themselves into three companies,

of Peloponnesus. In this island there was a out of which they formed several choruses,

most ancient temple belonging to Venus j They passed all this time in dancing, and

whence she was called Cytherea. in singing hymns to the honour or their

5. Chores ducit. Venus.] Horace here goddess.

speaks of the festival of Venus, which began 6. Gratia;.'] The Graces were doubtless

on the first of April. Then the young the most amiable divinities in the ancient

ladie walked for three nights successively, mythology. They were looked upon as the

20 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Alterno terrain quatiunt pede, dum graves Cyclopum

Vulcanus ardens urit officinas.
Nunc decet aut viridi nitidum caput impedire myrto,

Aut flore, terrae quem ferunt solutae : 10

Nunc et in umbrosis Fauno decet immolare lucis,

Seu poscat agnam, sive rnalit hoedum.
Pallida mors sequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas,

Regumque turres. O beate Sexti,
Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam. 15

Jam te premet nox, fabulaeque Manes,
Et domus exilis Plutonia ; quo simul mearis,

Nee regna vini sortiere talis,
Nee tenerum Lycidam mirabere, quo calet juventus

Nunc omnis, et mox virgines tepebunt. 20

ORDO.

quatiunt terrain pede alterno, dum Vulcanus turresque regum pede sequo. O beate Sextt,

ardens urit graves officinas Cyclopum. brevis summa vine vetat nos inchoare spem

Nunc decet impedire caput nitidum aut longam. Nox jam premet te, fabulaeque

viridi myrto, aut flore quem terrae solutae fe- Manes, et domus exilis Plutonia ; quo simul

runt. Nunc et decet immolare Fauno in lu- mearis, nee sortiere regna vini tails, nee

cis umbrosis, seu poscat agnam, sive malit mirabere tenerum Lycidam, quo juveutus

hoedum. omnis nunc calet, et virgines rcox tepebuut.

Pallida mors pulsat tabernas pauperum

NOTES.

source of all that is agreeable and cheerful out their modesty and reservedness at these

in nature. They are generally thought to festivals.

be the daughters of Bacchus and Venus: 7- Cyclopum.] The Cyclops wereapeo-

some make Eurynome their mother. The ma- pie of Sicily : it is said that Vulcan employed

jority of poets determine their number to be them at his forges. Virgil names three of

three, viz. Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, them, viz. Brontes, Steropes, and Pyrac-

Horace calls them Gratia decentes, to point mon ; they were the first inhabitants of that

ODE V.

Horace, in this ode, ridicules, in a very handsome manner, the weakness of
those youths who are deluded by intriguing women, such as Pyrrha was,
and exposes the arts by which they seduce the unwary ; and, at the same

AD PYRRHAM.

Quis multa gracilis te puer in rosa
Perfusus liquidis urget odoribus

ORDO.

O Pvrrha, quis gracilU puer, perfusus odoribus liquidis, urget te in ros multa, sut

ODE V. HORACE'S ODES. 21

Nymphs and lovely Graces dance hand in hand, while glowing
Vulcan blows the fire to his labouring Cyclops in the stifling forge.
Now is the time to perfume our hair, and to crown our heads with
garlands of verdant myrtle, or flowers just sprung from the preg-
nant earth. Now is the time to offer in the shady groves, to
Faunus, a lamb or a kid, whichever he may best approve. Grim
death, with equal freedom, attacks the palaces of kings, and cot-
tages of peasants. Our life, dear friend, at its greatest extent, is so
short, that it suffers us not to form great designs, which cannot soon
be put in execution, or entertain any hopes which are too remote.
You yourself will be soon buried in eternal darkness, among the
Manes so much talked of, in Pluto's melancholy abode; where
once arrived, you shall no more cast lots who is to be master of the
feast, nor shall you any more admire young Lycidas, with whom
all of his age are now charmed, and of wJtom the ladies will soon be
enamoured.

NOTES.

island, and possessed the western coast of it destroy what follows ; and Monsieur le_Fe-

round Tvapani and cape Lilybeum. . vre has observed, that fabnla is not always.

8. Vulcanus.] The god of fire, and son taken in a bad sense, but often, on the con-

of Jupiter and Juno. He was employed In Vrary, for reality and matters of fact ; and so

making his father's thunderbolts, in which is fiuBo; among the Greeks. Therefore the

work he was assisted by the Cyclops. phrase Jahdce manes is the same with manes

11. Fauno.] Faunas is the same with (he de quilus mullee simt Jabulte, i. e. " the

god Pan. to whom they usually sacrificed in Manes who are much talked of." And su

the beginning of the spring, that he might when he says " the fabulous Hydaspes," he

be propitious to the flocks, which were then does not mean the Hydaspes is a pure fable,

broughs forth to feed in ihe fields. but that it is much talked of either by poets

1 6. Fal.-uUeque Manxes.] Some learned or historians.

men have grossly mistaken this epithet 18. Nee regna vim sorliere toZr's.] The

fabula, in thinking that Horace calls the ancients ordinarily made choice of a master

Maaes groundless fie- ions. But it is rer- at theii feasts, and the election was deter-

tain, that an admission of this meaning would mined by the cast of the dice.

ODE V.

time, shows what they must expect who are caught in their snares. He
chooses such fine expressions, and words so well adapted to the subject,
that there are few or none of his odes more finished than this.

TO PYRRHA.

WHO, Pyrrha, is this slender young gallant perfumed with rich
odours, that caresses you on a bed of roses in a pleasant grotto ?

22 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. I.

Grato, Pyrrha, sub antro ?

Cui flavam religas comam,

Simplex munditiis ? heu, quolies fidem 5

Mutatosque Decs flebit, et aspera.
Nigris sequora ventis

Emirabitur insolens,
Qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea;

Qui semper vacuam, semper amabilem 10

Sperat, nescius aurse

Fallacis ! Miseri, quibus
Intentata nites. Me tabula sacer
Votiva paries indicat uvida

Suspendisse potenti 1 5

Vestimenta maiis Deo.

ORDO.

tntro grato ? Cui religas comam flavam, sira- aure& ; qui, nescius aurae fallacis, sperat te

plex munditiis ? fare semper vacuam, et semper amabilt m !

Heu, quoties ills flebit fidem, Deosque Miseri sunt illi quibus nites inientata. Pa-

rnutatos, et insolens emirabituraequora aspera ries sacer indicat ex tabula votiva me suspen-

ventis nigris, qui cretiulus uunc fruitur te disse uvida vestimenla potenti Deo mails.

[NOTES.

4. Cm _flavam religas comam.] Horace from aura, which is as much as to say, splen-
ic pc-iuting at the careless manner of the dour, brightness.

'>;>>. tan ladies in dressing their hads, who 13. Me talula. sacer votivti paries.] Th

contented themselves with tying their hair construction must run thus; Paries sacer

behind, in a knot, with a bunch of flowers, indicat tabulavoti-ca me su<<pendisse vestimen-

And to this he refers in the eleventh Ode of ta uvida Deopoten/i maris. Horace, to in-

his second Book, when he says, timate to us that he had been shipwrecked

in a passion he had for Pynha, with great

- - incomptam Laceejue propriety applies to his case a certain custom

Mure comam religata nodo. that prevailed among sailors who had been

saved from shipwreck, of representing in a

9. Aurea.] This word sometimes signi- picture all tliat befell them. Some of them

firs pretty, beautiful. Thus, Virgil says, made use of this picture to raise the com-

aurea I r enus. For the word aurum is derived passion pf those whom they met, that, by

ODE VI.

Aerippa bad probably upbraided Horace for never making him tbe subject of
his muse. The poet satisfies him on that head by the excuse he makes for
not doing it. He even says more than was required of him; for he justifies
his silence with respect to other great men who had served in the last wars.
His very apologies may be considered as panegyrics. Octavius only is named
here, as if, out of respect to him, be dared to do no more. Agrippa's praise*

ODE VI.

HORACE'S ODES.

For whom, pray, do you bind up your golden locks*, and dress so
neatly? Poor inexperienced youth! how oft will he have cause to
complain of your treachery, and lament his own hard fate ! How
will he stand amazed to see tyour smooth temper suddenly ruffled
as the sea is with stormy winds? He, who now thinks you so di-
vinely charming, who now thinks you are wholly his, and that you
will be always the same, little dreams how 'soon the wind will
change. Thrice- wretched are they, who, strangers to your arts, are
allured with your beauty. I, alas ! know them too well ; and, as
a memorial of my narrow escape from shipwreck, have, according
to my vow, hung up my tablet and dripping clothes on the | wall
of Neptune's temple, in testimony of my gratitude to the powerful
god of the sea.

* Plain in your neatness.

f- Those seas ruffled.

Holy wall.

NOTES.

their charity, they might recover what losses
they sustained at sea. Tims Juvenal, in
his fourteenth satire, says,

Mersa rate naufragus assem

Dum rogat, etpicta se tempestate tuetur.

" While the shipwrecked man hegs a far-
" thing, and pleads for aid, by showing a
" painted storm." With this design they
hung those pictures round their necks, and
explained the subject of them by songs ac-
commodated to thfiir case, resembling our
modern pilgrims. Thus Persius, in his first
satire, observes,

Caniet si nmtfragiis, assem

Protulerimf cantas cum fracla te irale
pictum,

Ex humero portes ?

" Though the shipwrecked sailor should sing
" hi song, shall 1 give him charity ? What!
" do you sing, when you cany on your shoul-
" der the sad pic.ure of your being cast away
" at sea ?" Others dedicated this tablet or
representation to the ten^ple of that god
whom they in their distress invoked, and to
whom they, as they imagined, owed their
preservation. This custom even went far-
ther: for the very lawyers used to wear things
of this nature at the bar, to affect the judges
with the* hardships of their clients and the
cruelty of their prosecutors; as Quintilian
informs us in the first chapter of his sixth
book.

ODE VI.

are no more than the outlines of his character, which would be a fit subject
for an epic poem, and require a second" Homer to do him justice. The other
generals are represented as it were in a groupe, under allegorical persons
chosen from the most famous heroes of the Trojan war. All this is expressed
in a few words, but ennobled with the embellishments of the most sublime
poetry.

24 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

1 shall in the remarks unriddle the allegory that runs through this ode, to
show that my conjecture is far from being groundless. \\ hen I call it a
conjecture, I do not say too much : it wants no probability in it. The whole
piece seems to prove it by forcing its conviction on the mind. Let one read
it from one end to the other, he shall find no beauty or connexion in it
but in the sense I take itj and unless this be done, he will find it to be
no other than a confused medley of encomiums. Agrippa's eulogium is
followed by that of Ulysses and Achilles. Afterwards he presents us with

AD AGRIPPAM.

SCRIBERIS Vario fortis, et hostium

Victor, Maeonii carminis alite,

Quam rem cunque ferox navibus aut equis

Miles te duce gesserit.

Nos, Agrippa, neque haec dicere, nee gravem 5

Pelidae stomachum cedere nescii,
Nee cursus duplicis per mare Ulyssei,

Nee seevain Pelopis domum
Conamur, tenues grandia ; dum pudor,
Imbellisque lyrae Musa potens vetat 10

Laudes egregii Caesaris, et tuas,

Culpa tleterere ingenl.
Quis Martem tunica tectum adamantini

ORDO.

O Agrippa, lu scribcris fortis et victor hos- plicis per mare, nee saevam domum Pelopis ;

tium a Vario alite curminis Maeonii, quam- dum pudor, musaque potens imbellis lyrae,

cui\que rem miles ferox geseerit twvibus aut vetat deterere laudes egregii Caesaris, et

equis te duce. NOJ tenues nmi conamur gran- tuas, culpa ingenii. Quis dicne scripserit

dia, neque dicere haec, nee gravem stomachum Martem tectum tunica adamanlina? aut
Pelidae nescii cedere, uec cursus Ulyssei du-

NOTES.

1. Scriberis Torio.] Varius was a great Dfgwa.
poet; he had surprising success in tragic and

epic compositions; but nothing of his has ' The shepherds call me a poet; tut I am

come down to us except some fragments. He "far from believing them in this, since I

was in great esteem at Augustus's court : " have done nothing hitherto worthy of

and one may judge of the t;reat character he " Varius or Cinna."

had acquired, by the manner in which Horace Horace, Virgil, Quiritilian, and Martial,

writes of him here, and Virgil in his ninth agree in making Varius one of the first and

Eclogue : greatest poets of his age. He was of great

sen ice to our author in procuring him the

__ me yunqne diamt interest and friendship of Maecenas ; and

Valem pastores; xed nnn ego creduhis Mis : after Virgil's death he was ordered by Augus-

Nam neqM adhuc fano videor, nee dicert tus to revise the ^neid.

Cinnd. ' a * Mteonii carminis able.] This, ren-

ODE VI. HORACE'S ODES. 25

the destruction of Pelops' family. Agrippa advances a second lime. Oc-
tavius then makes his appearance, arid last of all Mars, Mevion, and Dio-
mede, close the procession and finish the ode. Nothing but allegory could
bring so many distinct personages into one point of view. The subject of
this ode being once established, it is no difficult matter to find almost the
year in which it was composed. I believe it was that of Rome 725, the year
in which CK'tavius shut the temple of J amis, triumphed for three days, and
received divine honours by a decree of the senate.

TO AGRIPPA.

ILLUSTRIOUS Agrippa, your valour, your victories, and the gallant
actions which our soldiers have done both on sea and land, under
your command, will be celebrated by Varius, the prince of epic
poets. Alas ! my genius is unequal to so great a work ; neither
can I describe the destructive anger of the inexorable Achilles, the
long voyage of the crafty Ulysses, nor the tragical actions of Pelops'
house. My muse, accustomed to softer airs, is afraid of soaring
beyond her strength, afraid to celebrate Caesar's triumphs, or to
sing your praises, lest she should lessen or debase them.

Who can give a just and lively description of Mars in his impe-
netrable armour of adamant, or paint Merion covered over with

NOTES.

tiered word or word, is The swan of the this conduct he rendered himself formidable,
Wscoiiian Terse. Horace makes Varius to and forced his very enemies to court him.
rival Homer, the most ancient epic poet that This account tolerably explains the expres-
we have. He was the son ot Maeon. Hence sions gravis stomachus and cedere ncsrius,
Horace calls him in another place Maeonides. which answer to the term iracundus in the
6. Gracem PeliiLe sti,machuw.] Here he ode Pastor cum traheret. But some will say,
begins the recital of his generals. It is not Why is Pollio included among so many great
possible to make an exact and precise appli- captains who had signalised themselves in
cation of all these- allegories. History is too the last two wars, when he had no share in
lark to satisfy our curiosity in tins particu- them ? To which I answer, that the alle-
lar. It is well if we can resolve some of gory turns only on his inaction during thfcse
them, so as to carry a hio,h degree of pro- wars. His neutrality, with reason suspected,
bability with them. The first then that buoyed up Antony's hopes, while it must
offers to be unmasked is the inexorable create uneasiness to Octavius. Besides, from
Achilles, whose resentment against Aga- the ode Motum ex Metello one may see he
memnon kept the fortune of the Greeks and was in great esteem in Rome, and that Ho-
Trojans a long time in suspense. In the race courted his friendship, as did all the
ode Pastor cum traheret we see Pollio dis- great wits of that age.
guised under the name of Achilles, and with 7- Uly/iseL] Ulysses was king of Ithaca,
the same name and for the same reasons he and very serviceable to the Greeks at 'the
re-appears here. His disaffection to Orca- siege of Troy, by his good counsel. After
vius was the occasion of his dissatisfaction the destruction of that city, he wandered for
and uneasiness : his inaction during the bat- the space of ten years through strange coun-
ties of Actium and A iexandria, and his inflexi- tries, and by his wisdom and dissimulation
ble obstinacy to the pressing solicitations of escaped many dangers, and at fast returned
that prince, were the pure effects of it. By safe into his own country.

26 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Digne scripserit ? aut pulvere Troico

Nigrum Merionen? aut ope Palladis 15

Tydiden Superis parem ?
Nos convivia, nos praelia virginum,
Sectis in j uvenes unguibus acrium,
Cantamus, vacui, sive quid urimur,

Non preeter solitum leves. 20

ORDO.

Merionen Digram pulvere Troico, aut Tydi- litum, nos cantamus convivia, nos cantamus
den parem Superis ope Palladis ? Sive va- proelia virginum acrium in juveues unguibus
oui, sive quid urimur, leves non praeter so- sectis.

NOTES.

15. Nigncm jWmwtf?!.] Meriones was so ter to Adrastus, and was one of J he bravest

famous among the Greeks for his noble among the Greeks. Homer sounds his praise

achievements in war, that they scrupled not in several places of hi poem. But I find

to boast he was no way inferior to Mars Virgil has left nothing to be, said or thought

himself. of him after what himself has written of

15. Aut ope Palladis Tydiden."] Diomede him, when speaking of the Trojans :
was the son of Tydeus and Deiphyle, daugh-

ODE VII.

In this ode, the verses of which are very fine, and not less excellent than
any of the former odes, Horace, after a long and pompous enumera-
tion of the finest cities, and most agreeable countries of Greece, prefers
his seat at Tivoli to all of them. Then he advises Plancus to drown his
cares in wine, after the example of Teucer, who cheered both himself
nd his companions with a hearty glass, the very night before he left his

AD * MUNATIUM PLANCUM.

LAUDABUNT alii claram Rhodon, aut Mitylenen>

Aut Ephesum, bimarisve Corinthi
Moenia, vel Baccho Thebas, vel Apolline Delphos

Insignes, aut Thessala Tempe.

ORDO.

Alii laudtibunt claram Rhodon, aut Mity- marls, vel Thebas insignes Baccho, vel Del-
leuen, aut Ephesum moeniave Coriuthi bi- phos insignes Apolline, aut Tempe Thessala.

NOTES.

* Munatium Plancum."] This is the same Cicero, which we have. He was engaged
person who wrote those admirable letters to in Mark Antony's party, but left it, and

ODE VII. HORACE'S ODES. 2/

dust in the Trojan fields ? Who can represent *Diomede, the valiant
Diomede, who by Pallas' favour was made equal to tlie gods? For
me, in whatever state I am, free or amorous, and always given to
change, I think of nothing but singing love-feasts, and the mock-
fights of our young ladies, who cut their nails cl-jse, lest they should
scratch their lovers.

* The son of Tydeus.

i NOTES.

Quos ntque Tydides, nee Larissteus Achilles, presses the natural temper of the young

Non anni domuere decem. fair, who only make a soft resistance, and

never fight but with a view to yield. It is

" A people whom neither Diomede, nor this natural turn of mind which Horace so

" Achilles, nor a siege of ten years, cguld curiously describes in the ninth Ode of this

" vanquish." Book:

18. Sectis in juvenes va^iibus acrium.]

Horace intimates, that young ladies would Pignusqite dereptum lacertis,

willingly be on the defensive, but not in Aut digito malt pertinaci.
uch a manner as to offer violence to their

opponents by a passionate and rude resist- And in the twelfth Ode of the second

ance; and for this reason they take care Book:
to have their nails well pared. From this

play and contrariety in the terms, acrium Autfacili stzvitia neganti }

sectis unginbus, arises the chief beauty of Qua poscente magis gaudeat eripi,

the expression. Besides, it admirably ex- Interdum Tupcu'e occupet.

ODE VII.

country, whence he was banished by his father for not revenging the af-
front put on his brother Ajax by the Grecian princes in giving Achilles'
armour to Ulysses ; a decision which so incensed Ajax, that he destroyed
himself. Much more reason had Plancus to be cheerful, who had left
Mark Antony's party, and had come over to Augustus, under whom he
needed fear nothing. It would seem that Horace composed this ode a
little after Maecenas had made him a present of a country-seat.

TO MUNATIUS PLANCUS.

SOME will praise famous Rhodes or Mitylene, Ephesus, or Co-
rinth situate between two seas, Thebes noted for * Bacchus' birth,
or Delphos so renowned for f Apollo's oracle; or, in fine, the sa-
cred valley of Tempe, the ornament of Thessaly. Others employ

* Bacchus. , } Apollo.

NOTES.

went over to Caesar's, which was called af- 1. Claram Rhodan.] Rhodes was an island

terwards by the name of his successor Au- of Asia the Less, and in great repute even

gustus. Besides several honourable places before the Trojan war.
Ji had enjoyed, he was twice cotsul.

2* Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Sunt quibus unum opus est, intactae Palladia urbem 5

Carmine perpetuo celebrare, et
Undique decerptae frondi pneponere olivam.

Plurimus, in Junonis honorem,
Aptum dicit equis Argos, ditesque Mycenas.

Me nee tam patiens Lacedaemon, 10

Nee tam Larissae percussit campus opimae,

Quam domus Albuneae resonantis,
Et praeceps Anio, et Tiburni lucus, et uda

Mobilibus pomaria rivis.
Albus ut obscure deterget nubila coelo 15

Saepe Notus, neque parturit imbres
Perpetuos, sic tu sapiens finire memento

Tristitiam vitaeque labores
Molli, Plance, mero, seu te fulgentia signis

Castra tenent, seu densa ; tenebit . 20

Tiburis umbra tui. Teucer, Salamina patremque

Cura tugeret, tamen uda Lvseo
Tempora populea fertur vinxisse corona,

Sic tristes affatus amicos :
Quo nos cunque ierat melior fortuna parente, 25

ORDO.

tsuntjtod* quibus est opus unum cele- obsruro, neque parturit imbres perpetuos, sic,

urare urbem intactae Palladis carmine perpe- O Plance, tu sapiens n.ememo finire tristi-

tuo, et praeponere olivam frondi uiidiqne tiam iaboresque vitse molli mero, sen castra

dccerptae. fulgentia signis tenent te, seu densa umbra

Plurimus, in honorem Junonis, dicit Ar- Tiburis tui tenebit te.
gos aptum equis, ditesque Mycenas. Cum Teucer iugeret Salamina patremque,

Nee patiens Lacedxmon, nee campus La- fertur tamen vinxisse temjx)ra iwaudaLyteo,

rissse opimae, tam percussit me, quam domus corona populea, sic afflatus tristes amicos :
Albuneae resouantis, et famo praeceps, et " O socii, eomitesque, ibimus quocunque

lucu* Tiburni, et pomaria uda rivis mobilibus. " fortuna melior parente feret nos.

Ut albus Notus sacpe deterget nubila coelo

NOTES.

1. Mityknen.'] The isle of Lesbos, one Bimaris. Some derive its name from one
of the chief in the Archipelago, and towards Corinthus, the son of Sisyphus.

the western coast of Natolia, has for its 3. Barcho Theias.] Thebes, a city in

capital the city of Mitylene, which has given Bceotia, built by Cadmus. It was famous

to the island the name it bears even at this on account of Bacchus, who was born there

day. of Stmeie, the daughter of Cadmus.

2. Ephesum.'] Ephesus, once a famous 3. Apoltine Delphos.] Delphos was built
city of Asia Minor in Ionia, now only a ujxw mount Parnassus, by a grandson of
miserable village, on the coast of the Archi- Lycorus, en the ruins of a village named Par-
pelago. nas^us, which had been destroyed in the flood

2. Bimarisve Corinthi.] Corinth, now Co- of Deurtlion. It was chiefly remarkable for

ranto, a city of Peloponnesus, situated in the the temple and oracles of Apollo in it.
middle of the isthmus between the Ionian 4. Terrpe.'] A very pleasant place in Thes-

and ^Egean seas, whence Horace calls it saly, enriched with a variety of mountains,

ODE VII. HORACE'S ODES. 29

themselves wholly in composing an entire poem in praise of
the city of chnste Pallas, and in giving the preference to the sacred
olive before all other trees. Many, in honour of Juno, sing of Ar-
gos as a fine place for breeding horses, and of the opulent city My-
cene. As for me, I am not so much charmed with Lacedemon,
whose inhabitants are so renowned for their patience, or with the
fertile fields of Larissa, as with my house and my fountain of Albunea,
who^e current makes a pleasant noise, or with Anio that falls like
a cascade upon the rocks ; or with my sacred grove of Tiburnus,
and orchards that are watered with a thousand ductile springs.

As the south wind brings not always rain, but often dissipates the
clouds, that darken the air, do you also, sage Plancus, banish your
cares with a cheerful glass, whether you are in the camp that is
brilliant with standards, or in the thick shade of your Tivoli.

Teucer, in greater distress than you, being forced to leave his
father and his country, * yet crowned himself with poplar ; and,
with his glass in his hand, thus addressed himself to his deject-
ed friends : " My fellow-sufferers and companions, to whatever

* Is said to have bound with a poplar crown his temples moistened with wine.

NOTES.

rivers, valleys; insomuch, that in giving a 11. Larissa campus opimcc.] There have

description of any fine country, it was said to been many cities of this name; but that

be as beautiful as Tempe. which Horace hints at here, was in Thessaly,

5. Palladia urlem.] Athens, the seat of situated in an airy fruitful toil,

learning, where art? and sciences flourished 12. Albunetf.] This was a fountain in

in their utmost perfection. No wonder then, the mountains of Tibur, not far from a wood

if it be spoken of as belonging properly to of the same name. They were both so

Pallas, she being the goddess of wisdom, and called from the Sibyl Albunea, although

patroness of learning and arts. Servius derives the name from the clearness

9. Aflinn (licit equis Argos.] Argos was of the water.

a city of Peloponnesus, situated in a fertile 13. Et jrreeceps Anio."] This river takes

soil, not far from the rivers Phrixus and its rise also in the same mountains; its cur-

Inachus, being surrounded with plains that rent is very strong, until it empties itself

produced fine pasturage for horses. into the Tiber, a little above Rome, with

9. Ditesque Mycenas.] Mycene was a great rapidity.

city of Pelcpounesus, famous for the history 13. Tilurni lucus.'] The wood Albunea;

of Agamemnon. Horace calls it rich, after so called from the neighbouring city Tibur,

Homer and Sophocles, who have given it the built by one Tiburnus. In this place, Ho-

ame epithet. race had a small country-seat.

10. Patiens Lacedcemon.'] Lacedaemon, 19. Plance.] Plancus was a person of
otherwise Sparta, was situated in Laconia, a distinction in the Roman republic. He
province of Peloponnesus, on the river Euro- governed Gaul about the time that Julius
tas. Horace styles it patient, because it was Caesar was slain. He had the honour of a
the constant practice of the Lacedemonians triumph, and was afterwards consul and
to accustom their children to all manner of censor.

hardships, that so they might be inured to 21. Teucer] Teucer and Ajax were the

fatigue and labour, and trained up in a con- sons of Telamon, born of different mo-

tempj of the greatest danger*. ihers. They went together to the siege o

SO Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. I.

Ibimus, 6 socii, comitesque.
Nil desperandum, Teucro duce, et auspice Teucro :

Certus enrm promisit Apollo
Ambiguam tellure nova Salamina futuram.

O fortes, pejoraqiie passi 30

Mecum s.epe viri, nunc, vino pellite ctiras :

Cras ingens iterabimus aequor.

ORDO.

" Nil est desperandam Teucro duce, et au- " nova. O" viri fortes, passique saepe pejor*
*' spice Teucro ; Apollo enim certus promisit " mecum, nunc pellite curas vino. Cras
" Salamina ambiguam futuram in tellure " iterabimus aequor ingens."

NOTES.

Troy, when Ajax having slain himself, be- without his brother, he landed in Cyprus,

cause the arms of Achilles were given to awl built a city, which he named Salamis,

Ulvsses rather than to him, Teucer returned from that which existed in his own country,
to Salamis. But being driven thence by Te- 25. Meliorfortuna parente.] It is true,

lamon, who was offended to see him return thai Teucer received worse treatment from his

ODE VIII.

The real design of Horace, in this ode, is to reproach Lydia for suffering
Sybaris, who had distinguished himself in manly exercises, to live with
her in softness and effeminacy, disguised in woman's apparel ; and this he
does in a very beautiful manner. We cannot precisely tell at what time

AD LYDIAM.

LYDIA, die, per omnes

Te Deos oro, Sybarin cur properas amando
Perdere ? cur apricum

Oderit campum, patiens pulveris atque solis ?
Cur neque militaris 5

Inter aequales equitat, Gallica nee lupatis
Temperat ora frsenis ?

ORDO.

O Lydia, oro te pr omnes Deos, die cur qne solis ? cur neque militaris equitat inter
properas perdere Sybarin amando ? cur ille sequales, nee temperat ora Gallica froenis lu-
oderit campum apricum, patiens pulveris at- patis ?

NOTES.

3,4. Apricum campum.'] After the ex- Martius. It was so large, as not only to be

pulsion of Tarquin, his estate and his whole sufficient for training up the youth in all

property being confiscated, the field which he warlike exercise*, but also for holding the

possessed betwixt Rome and the Tiber, was public assemblies of the people,
consecrated to Mars, and called the Campus

ODE VIII. HORACE'S ODES. SI

" place fortune, much kinder than my father^ shall think proper to
" conduct us, we will follow her. Ye need despair of nothing
" under the conduct and auspices of Teucer ; for Apollo, whose
" oracles arc infallible, hath promised that we shall be settled in
<( a new and better country, and build another Salamis scarcely
" to be distinguished from that out of which we have all been ex-
" pelled. Come then, my friends, ye who have given so many
" proofs oj your courage, and often gone through greater hard-
" ships with me than these, drown all your cares in wine to-day ;
" to-morrow we shall put to sea again."

NOTES.

father than from fortune, who was so kind of whom we have a panegyric in Isocrates.

as to conduct h'rn to Cyprus, where he built 29. Aniliguam] That is to say, that it

the celebrated Salamis, and where his pos.- should so far resemble his native Salamis,

te-ity flourished on the throne for above that one would be at a loss to distinguish

700 years, till the days of that Evagoras, between them.

ODE VIII.

this ode was composed. It is certain that the 13th, 23d, 25th of this Book,
and the gth of the third Book, were written a considerable time after-
wards ; and that he composed the 25th, which was the last of those that
he wrote, before he reached the advanced part of his age.

TOLYDIA.

IN the name of all the gods, tell me, dear Lydia, I conjure you
tell me, why do you take so much pains to ruin young Sybaris by
captivating his affections ? Why does he hate the * Campus Mar-
tius, he who was bred to arms, and is so much accustomed to sun
and dust ? Why does not he appear in our tournaments among the
youth of his age in shining armour, managing the swift courser ?

* Sunny field.

NOTES.

5. Cur neque militaris.] This passage has gustus' age, as Suetonius informs us : Trojte

not been thoroughly understood : Militaris ludum tdiditjreqnentissime, rnqjorttm minor-

tquifat, is here put for militat inequis." For umve puerorumdelertUsprisddecvriquemoris

Horace is speaking of that noble exercise existimaru clarte shrpis indolent sic rutescere,

which Ascanius introduced into Italy, under " He often celebrated the Trojan game

its native name Ludus Troj&, of which we " with the chiefs of the eldest and youngest

have a most beautiful description in the 5th " of the youth, thisking that, from so an-

Book of the /Eneid. See the prose trans- " cient and laudable a custom, the minds

lation of Virgi!. This game was used at " of the youth might be inspired with

Rome, till die days of Claudius Caesar, but " glory." And for this reason Horace speaks

never was in such vogue w it was in Au- of it in thisodr,

32 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Cur timet flavuin Tiberim tangere ? cur olivum
Sanguine vipcrino

Cautius vitat ? neque jam livida gestat armis 10

Brachia, saepe disco,

S<epe trans finem jaculo nobilis expedite?
Quid latet, ut marinae

Filium dicunt Thetidis sub lacrymosa Trojae
Funera, ne virilis 15

Cultus in caedem et Lycias proriperet icatervas ?

ORDO.

Cur timet tangere Tiberim flavum? Cur Quid Sybaris latet, ut dicunt filiumTheti-

vitat olivum cautitis sanguine viperino ? ne- dis marinae latuisse sub lacrymosa funera

que jam gestat brachia livida armis; nobilis Trojae; ne cultus virilis proriperet turn in

saepe disco, saepe jaculo expedito trans finem. catdein et catervas Lycias ?

NOTES:

8. Tiberim tangcrc.] It was likewise cus- 11. Disco.] The discus, or quoit, was

tomary with the Romans, after their exer- made of stone, iron, or copper, five or six

else in the Campus Martius, to throw them- fingers broad, and more than a foot long,

selves into the Tiber, though in a state of inclining to an oval figure. They threw this

perspiration. to a vast distance, by the help of a leathern

ODE IX.

^Horace, in this ode, shows us, that all the seasons have their charms and
allurements to induce us to pleasure and mirth ; the Winter, because it is
cold; the Summer, because it is hot ; and the Spring and Autumn, because
they are agreeable ; and he advises Thaliarchus to live cheerfully, and leave
every thing else to the gods. Of this you will see more in Ode 17th,
Ode igth of the third Book, and the 12th of the fourth Book,

AD THALIARCHUM.

VIDES, ut alta stet nive candidum
Soracte, nee jam sustineant onus
Silvae laborantes, geluque

Flumina constiterint acuto ?
Dissolve frigus, ligna super foco 5

ORDO.

O Thaliarche, videsne ut Soracte stet can- acuto ?

didum aha nive ; nee jam silvae laborantes Tu vero dissolve frigus, large reponem
ustineantonus ; fluiniiaque constiterint gelu ligna supr foco,

ODE IX. HORACE'S ODES. 33

why is he afraid to * swim in the yellow Tiber ? Why does he
shun, with so much care, the oil of wrestlers, as if it were the blood
of a. viper? Why are his arms now so seldom discoloured with
wielding the lance and quoit, the arms of him who acquired so
much reputatipn, by the force wherewith he threw both the one and
the other beyond the mark ? In fine, why does he conceal himself,
as they say f Achilles did some time before the fatal catastrophe of
Troy, that the habit of a man might not oblige him to go and attack
the Lycian troops ?
i

* Touch. ,f The son of Thetis.

NOTES.

thong tied round the hand. Trojan war; it being foretold that 'he should

8. OUvum."] He speaks here of wret- be slaiu there. But it being also p rdicted,

lers, who fought naked, and vised to rub that Troy could not be taken unless he should

themselves over with oil, that their antago-' be present, Ulysses artfully discovered him

nists might catch the less hold of them. by the fondness he showed for warlike instru-

14. Filiurn dicitnt Thetidis.] Thetis, a ments.

goddess of the sea, espoused Peleus, by whom 16. Lynai.~\ The Lycians here are put

she had Achilles. She disguised her son instead of the Trojans. They came to the

xinder the habit of a woman, among the assistance of king Priam, under the conduct

daughters of Lycomedes, calling him by the of Glaucus and Sarpedon.
name of Pyrrha, lest he should be led to the

ODE IX.

The poet borrowed the subject of this ode from Alcseus, who says, " You see
" the rivers are bound: banish then the winter by making a large fire, and
" in not sparing your wine." This ode is very pretty, and well conducted,
and the expressions are very proper. As to its elate, that is uncertain j but
it seems to have been composed at Thaliarchus' villa near Soracte.

TO THALIARCHUS.

Do not you see how mount Soracte is all white with snow, that the
over-loaded forests are not able to bear so great a weight, and that
the rivers are also stopped by the severe frost? Expel then, dear

NOTES.

2. Soractc."] This mountain, now Monte- cold is to contract and consolidate the body,

tristo, is in Tuscany, in the country of the contrahere, astrhigere. Hence the Latin*

Fitlisci, and not far from Rome. said, dissolvcrefrigus, to soften or banish the

5. Dissolve fngus.] The proper effect of cold. See the fourth Ode of this Book.

S4 a HORATII CARMKA. LIB. 1,

Largfc reponens ; atque benlgnlus
Deprome quadrimum Sabina,
O Thaliarche, merum diota.
Permitte Divts caetera ; qui simul

Stravere i r entos aaquore fervida 10

Depraeliantes, nee eupressi,'

Nee veteres agitantur oral.
Quid sit futurum eras, fuge quasrere; ct
Quern fors dierum eunque dabit, lucro

Appotie ; nee dulces amores ]

Speme, puer, neque tu choreas,
Donee virenti canities abest
Morosa. Nunc et Campus, et area,
. Lenesque sub noctem susurri,

Composite repetantur hor& ; 20

Nunc et latentis proditor intimo
Gratus puellae risus ab angulo,
Pignusque dereptum lacertis,
Aut digito male pertinacL

ORDO.

atque bmgnius dcprome merum quadrimum nee tu, puer, syme dulc anaorcs, nequc cho-

diota Sabini. Permitte caetera Divis ; qui reas, donee canities roorosa abest tibi virenti.
simul stravere ventos deprceliantes sequore Nunc etCampusMartius, et areae, lenesqu*

fervido, nee cupressi, nee veteres oini agi- susurri, sub noctem repetantur horacompositS.

tantur. Nunc et repetatur gratus risus ab angulo inti-

Fuge qucBrere, quid sit fiiturum eras, et mo, proditor puellae latentis ; pignusque de-

appone lucro quemcunque dierum fors dabit; rcptvun lacertis, aut digito male pcninaci.

NOTES.

J. SaMiiA diot&.] Diota was a vessel cureans, on the other hand, made all event*

for holding wine, with two handles, from depend on chance and fortune. Horace ex-

nhich it borrowed its name. poses both their sentiments in the two fol-

9. Permitte Dims c&tera.'] The Stoics lowing stanzas.

-attributed the most minute incidents in lift' 18. Campus.] Horace uses here a gene-

to the providence of the gods. The Epi- ral word, applicable to all that ground lying

ODE IX. HORACE'S ODES. 35

Thaliarchus, the cold, by piling faggots on your hearth; and be not
sparing of your wine kept for four years in Sabine casks.

Leave the rest to the gods, who have no sooner appeased the
winds wrestling against the foaming waves of the sea, than the
cypresses and * ash-trees of the highest mountains are in profound
rest. Inquire not what may happen to-morrow ; but reckon what
days fortune may farther allow you, as so many gained. Indulge
yourself in love and pleasure while young, and peevish old age is
yet at a distance. Appear in the Campus Martins, and in the pub-
lic places ; and repair at the appointed hour to those agreeable
meetings in the dusk of the evening, where lovers impart their
secrets to each other in gentle whispers; and lose not the opportu-
nity of those assemblies where the wanton young ladies hide them-
selves in a corner ; then discover by their tittering where they are,
and with an affected resistance part with a bracelet from their
or a ring from their finger.

* Old ash-trees are not tossed.

NOTES.

between tha Tiber, Collis Hortulorum, This is the ordinary language of lovers. Nor

Mount Quirinal, and Mount Capitoline. has Ovid forgotten that it was so, when

This plot of ground was divided into two writing of Pyramus and Thisbe,

parts. One was named the Great Field, or

Campus Martius, running all along the river. In solitum coiere locum cum murmurs parvo

The other part was called the Little Field : it Multaprius questi.

lay nearer the town; in it were Apollo's

Circus and the Flaminian Meadows. Both " They met at their usual place, and first

parts were used as the public walking-places " uttered piteous plaints to one another iu

of the city. " low murmurs.' 1

19. Susum.] This word has been formed 21. Nuncet latentis prodilw.'] Virgil ha*

in imitation of the soft murmuring sound pro- said of a young girl something like this j
duced by speaking low. There is almost in

all languages a correspondence between the Etfugit adsalices, et se cupit antevideri.
thing signified and the word used to express

it, as -4/(9ug/?6(v with the Greeks, lisbiglio " And she flies behind the willows, but

among the Italians, chucheter among the " wishe* to be discovered before she does to"
French, and our own English word whisper.

36 a HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE X.

This ode has nothing in it very remarkable. It is an eulogium on Mercury,
in which the poet describes to us some choice attributes of that god. The
style rises above an ordinary strain, the expression is simple and elegant, and

HYMNUS IN MERCURIUM.

MERCURI facunde, nepos Atlantis,
Qui feros cultus hominum recentum
Voce formasti catus, et decorae

More palaestrae !

Te canam, magni Jovis et Deorum 5

Nuncium, curvaeque lyrae parentem,
Callidum, quidquid placuit, jocoso

Condere furto.

Te, boves olim nisi reddidisses

Per dolum amotas, puerum minaci 10

Voce dum terret, viduus pharetrft

Risit Apollo.

Quin et Atridas, duce te, superbos,
Ilio dives Priamus relicto,
Thessalosque ignes, et iniqua Trojae 15

Castra fefellit.

Tu pias laetis animas reponis
Sedibus, virgaque levem coerces
Aurea turbam, superis Deorum

Gratus, et imis. 20

ORDO.

Facunde Mercuri, nepos Atlantis, qui ipse viduus pharetii risit.
catus formasti feros cultus hominum recen- Quin et rriamus dives relicto Ilio, te duce,

turn voce et more decorae palaestrae, canam te, fefellit superbos Atridas, Thessalosque ignes,

nuncium magni Jovis et Deorum, parentem- et iniqua castra Trojae. Tu reponis pias ani-

que curvae lyrae, nee nan callidum condere mas laetis sedibus, coercesque levem turbam

jocoso furto quidquid placuit. virga aurea, aqne gratus superis et iro'u

Olim dum Apollo terret te puerum minaci Deorum.
voce, nisi reddidisses boves amotas per dolum,

NOTES.

1. Atlantis.] Mercury was son of Jupi- rally attributed to Apollo. The story is this t

ter and Maia, and grandson to Adas, by his Mercury having stolen away some of Apollo't

mother. This Atlas was king of Mauritania cattle, and being discovered, was obliged, in

in Africa. order to obtain his pardon, to allow that

6. Lyrte parentem^ It may seem strange, Apollo should be esteemed the inventor of

that Horace here ascribes the invention of that musical instrument,
the \barp to Mercury, when it is more gene- 7. Callidum condcre.] Here we hare an-

HORACE'S ODES.

ODE X

Jthe versification is smooth and harmonious. There is no certainty on what
occasion this ode or hymn was composed ; but there is reason to believe, that
it was sung at one of the feasts of Mercury.

A HYMN TO MERCURY.

GRANDSON of Atlas, eloquent Mercury, who by your precepts, and
by the order of your exercises, have curiously softened the savage
customs of the first men ! of you I now sing, you who are the inter-
preter and ambassador of the gods, the inventor of the harp, and so
dexterous at pilfering for your diversion whatever you please. One
day when you were but a boy, and Apollo threatened in an angry
tone, that if you did not bring back the cows you had slyly carried
off from him, he would the god laughed heartily to find him-
self stripped of his quiver. But you have done what is of greater
consequence than this ; for it was under your conduct that Priam,
loaded with rich presents, left Troy, escaped the haughty sons of
Atreus, passed through the middle of the Greek sentinels, and,
without being observed, crossed the enemy's camp. In fine, you
put pious souls in possession of eternal bliss, and with your golden
rod assemble that fluttering company, and make your ministry
equally agreeable to all the heavenly and infernal deities.

NOTES.

other branch of his business, which proceed- Mercury a religious employment. This god

cd purely from diversion and game ; and even seems to have been contrived particularly for

this had its advantages, in teaching men to the good of mankind ; for he cultivated their

he vigilant and circumspect. minds, formed their bodies, led them to the

13. Quin et Atritias, &cJ] Priam, at- knowledge of the gods, supplied them with
tended with a chariot loaded with rich pre- innocent pastimes, and succoured them in
sents, passed through the Grecian army, in their misfortunes : in short, he made them
order to beg the body of his son Hector from feel his goodness and benevolence after death
Achilles. Mercury, to favour the piety and itself. For Mercury was one of the infernal
affection of a father in distress, facilitates his deities, and for that reason his name is to be
passage, by escorting him through the midst found in some ancient epitaphs,
of the hostile camp. It is observable, that the ] 8. Pirgd aurea.] Apollo, they say,
poet elevates his style hi proportion to the made a present of this rod to his brother
sublimity of the subject. This stanza is in- Mercury. They add, that travelling to
disputably one of the most beautiful in the Thessaly, -he met in his way two serpents en-
whole piece. Those sons of Atreus were countering one another; but that, when he
Agamemnon and Menelaus ; and the Thessa- touched them with his rod, their fury ceased,
lians were Achilles' troops. and they immediately separated. Hence the

17. Tu pias lads, JV.] This ode could caduceus, which they make Mercury bear in

not conclude better, than in atsigning to his hand, is a symbol of peace,

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. I.

ODE XL

Men in all ages have been the dupes of superstition ; but one of the most
foolish and ridiculous kinds of it is, to consult judicial astrologers and for-
tune-tellers with regard to the period of our lives, and what occurrences are
to befall us. Leuconoe had this weakness in common with many others.
Horace, according to the principles of his philosophy, ridicules this practicej

AD LEUCONOEN.

Tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quern mihi, quern tibi,
Finem Dl dederint, Leuconoe; nee Babylonios
Tentaris numeros. Ut melius, quidquid erit, pati!
Seu plures hiemes, seu tribuit Jupiter ultimam,
Qure nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare
Tyrrhenum. Sapias, vina liques, et spatio brevi
Spem longam reseces : dum loquimur, fugerit invida
./Etas : carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

ORDO.

Leuconoe, tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas estj
quern finem Pii dederint mihi, quern tibi ;

nee tentaris Babylonios numeros. Ut melius

est pati quicquid erit, seu Jupiter tribuit

plures hiemes, seu hanc ultimam, quae nunc mum credula postero.

debilitat naare Tyrrhenum oppositis pumici-

bus !

Sapias, liques vina, et reseces spem longsm
spatio brevi : invida aetas fugerit, dum lo-
quimur : carpe diem hodiernum, quam mini-

NOTES.

2. Batylonios tentaris mimcros."] Babylon,
was a great city of Asia, upon the borders
of the Euphrates, and metropolis of the pro-
Vmce of Babylonia. The people of that
country had a great inclination to astrology.
Horace, here, calls the astronomical calcula-
tions used by them in their reckonings,
Numeri Batylonici.

5. Mare Tyrrhenum.'] The Tuscan
a. It lies betwixt Italy and the isles of

Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily.

5. Pttmicibus.] Pumex properly signifies
a pumice-stone. Here it is taken for those
. rocks on the sea-shore which the waves gra-
dually excavate. Lucretius too, in his first
book, v. 329, has said, with a force of ex-
pression peculiar to himself,

Pisco sale saxa peresa.

ODE XI.

HORACE'S ODES.

ODE XL

in showing this pretended art to be no more than a downright imposture,
and that true wisdom consists rather in enjoying the delights and pleasures
of life, than in knowing the hour of our death. The whole piece is ex-
tremely good, and contains a fund of good sense within the compass of a few
verses, it was composed in the winter; but in what year w know not.

TO LEUCONOE.

SEEK not, Leuconoe, to inform yourself *of the day and hour of
your death or mine, (this curiosity is forbidden,) and consult not the
calculations of the Babylonians. How much more wisely you will
act, in disposing your mind to bear whatever happens with patience
and contentment., whether Jupiter grants you f a longer course of
years, or has resolved that this shall be the last of your winters, in
which the contending rocks break the violence of the Tuscan waves.
Live contented, take your glass freely, and entertain no hopes of,
things too distant for so short a life: envious time retires from ui
the very moment we are speaking: enjoy therefore the present hour,
and do not depend upon the morrow.

* What end the gods have given me or you.

More wiutew.

NOTES

6. Vina lyues^] The ancients used to
strain their wines : aud for that purpose, had
bags like our modern straining-cloths, for
most wines. In the summer-time they put
ice and snow into them, to cool the wine that
they strained.

8. Carpe diem.'] Horace has happily ex-
plained the xapiri%irj of Epicurus. This
word not only imports our enjoying some
pleasures, but likewise our exhausting them
f what is valuable in them ; in alkikieii to

the bees, who suck from flowers and h erbs
their finest juices.

Carpere, is applied to the action of gather-
ing fnuts or fiowers>4sone goes a ong, with-
out stopping. Every 5aj is as a delieate
flower, that flour/she* bat a short time, and
that decays and wastes while on delays to
take it up. Horace concludes with advice
which he pould wish that aB men would
follow.

40 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE XII:

All the learned have bestowed magnificent praises on this ode, and have justly
considered it as one of the finest odes of Horace, as the ideas are grand,
the expressions noble, and the versification chaste and well supported.
Horace, in this curious ode, undertakes to sing of gods, heroes, and men.
The gods are Jupiter and his offspring. After this pompous beginning, he
comes to the heroes, whom he places in due order, and confines himself to
those of the Roman nation : he mentions the kings first, after them the
great juien of the republic, each distinguished by particular strokes ; then a
panegyric on the living heroes closes the piece. We see here two things that
we seldom meet with together, an exact method and a great variety. This
is only a plain enumeration ; but the execution of it is so well set off, that it
has nothing tedious in it. Apostrophes, interrogations, metaphors, com-
parisons, suspensions, descriptions, images, in fine, all the rich ornaments
of eloquence and poetry, are intermixed with so much art, that the methodi-
cal connexion of persons and of facts disappears under these fine ornaments
with which it is clothed. But that which shows particularly the great skill
of the poet, and gives the greatest beauty to his poem, is the manner in which
he has conducted the whole to answer his design, which is to praise a young
prince, who is the darling of the emperor, and hope of the whole empire.
He could not find in him, as yet, either those warlike achievements that sur-
prise by their magnitude, or those shining actions the brightness whereof
dazzles the eyes ; indeed the fine qualities with which he was adorned, gave
ground to hope all this; but are conjectures sufficient of themselves tofurniih
out handsomely an heroic ode? What does Horace then? He borrows,
from fable and from history, shining strokes to embellish his subject, and

HYMNUS DE LAUDIBUS DEORUM ET HOMINUM.

OUEM virum aut heroa lyr& vel acri
Tibi& sumes celebrare, Clio ?
Quern Deum ? cujus recinet jocosa

Nomen imago,

Aut in umbrosis Helicdnis oris, j

Aut super Pindo, gelidove in Haemo?

ORDO.

O Clio, quern Tirum aut heroa, qum Deum, . nomen imagojocosa recinet autin umbrosis ori* '
sumes celebrare lyra, vel acri tibia, ? Cujus Heliconis,autsuperPindo,ge]iioveinHaemo?

NOTES.

1. Gvem mrurn, &JV.] The first three whole piece: and the gradation observed
stanzas contain the invocation and divii icn ; in it makes a noble introduction. The
and these serve as an exordium to the poet alters the order, i executing the dc-

ODE XII. HORACE'S ODES. 41

ODE XII.

raise it to the majesty of lyric poetry. He does more: he is obliged at the
same time to flatter Augustus, and not offend his nice taste ; and, to do
this, he takes a method he knew would give Augustus the utmost pleasure,
which was, praising young M ;rcellus ; but that this might come naturally
in, he makes Marcellus the Great appear in the number of his heroes, and
him he brings in last: this name gives rise to the eulogium of the young
prince, and this eulogium leads naturally to that of Augustus, in the last
three stanzas. Virgil found this word have so good an effect, that some
months after he made use of it to enrich his JEneid, and it is well known
how much Augustas and Octavia were affected therewith: nor can one to
this day rea-1 taat passage, which is at the end of the sixth Book of the
JEneid, without being moved.

Some will perhaps say, that the panegyric on the gods is far-fetched, and takes
up too great a part of the ode. Not at all, as it contains the counsel he
gives to two princes in a noble method, and the more ingenious the more
it is concealed, consisting of a model of all the virtues, which he sets be-
fore their eyes Prudence in governing, courage, resolution, temperance,
and love of our country, are there enforced by the examples of the gods, and
the great men of the republic. In fine, to omit nothing that can enhance
the value of this ode, Horace hath joined to the panegyric on the gods, and
the heroes already dead, two persons living, Marcelius and Augustus. The
former, in an age yet tender, had already trodden in the footsteps of he-
roes ; the second had merited divine honours even in this life. Ihus, no-
thing is here foreign to his subject, and the whole ode hath a perfect har-
mony. Considering it in this view, we may justly say it is worthy of its
author, and highly deserves our admiration.

This ode is thought to have been composed in the year of Rome 731. Fixing
it here makes it later than the battle of Actium, and prior to the death of
young Marcellus, and Augustus" expedition for the reduction of the Par-
thians and Indians. This is the most exact account that can be given on
this point, with this farther addition, that it was composed in one or other
of the first six months of that year; that is, before Augustus' sickness,
which happened in the month of August.

WHAT man, * my muse, what hero, or what god, will you choose
to praise on the harp, or shrill flute ? Whose name shall mimic
Echo resound, and on ichat mountain ? Shall it be on the shady
tops of Helicon, on Pindus, or cold Haemus, whence the woods in

Clio.

NOTES.

sign he proposed. He begins with what 1. Clio.] One of the nine Muses. See

is most striking, I mean, with an eulo- the ode Vilx potalis.

ium of the gods, and has reserved that 5. HeliconuJ] Helicon is a mountain sacred

of Augustus to the conclusion. A regard to the Muses, in Boeotia, near Parnassus.

to every particular would have escaped, 6. Pindo, H<smo.~\ Haemus and Pindus are

and would, indeed, have embarrassed, an or- in like manner two mountains sacred to

dinary poet. Apollo and the Muses ; the fir*t in Thrace,

42 Q. HOHATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Uncle vocalem temere insecutae

Orphea silvte,

Arte maternS rapidos morantem

Fluminum lapsus, celeresque vcntos, lO

Blandum et aviritas iidibus canoris

Dueere quercus.

Quid prius dicam solitis Parentis
Laudibus ; qin res hommum ac Deorum,
Qui mare et terras, variisque mundurn 1 5

Temperat horis ?
Unde nil majus generator ipso,
Nee viget quidqnam simile, aut secundum :
Proximos illi tarnen occupavit

Pallas honores. 20

Praeliis audax, neque te silebo,
Liber, et ssevis inimica virgo
Belluis ; nee te, metuende cert&

Phoebe sagitta.

Dicani et Alciden, puerosque Leda, 2 5

Hunc equis, ilium superare pugnis
Nnbilem ; quorum simul alba nautis

Stella refulsit,

Defluit saxis agitatus humor ;

Coneidunt venti, fugiuntque nubes, 80

Et minax (quod sic voluere) ponto

Unda recumbit.

Romulum post hos prius, an quietum
Pompill regnum memorem, an superbos
Tarquini fasces, dubito, an Catonis 3$

Nobile lethum.

OR DO.

nnde silvae temerfe insccntae snnl vocalem neque te, o virgo inimica belluls saevis j nee
Orphea, arte uiaterna morantem rapidos lap- te, o Phbe, metuende sagitta cert4.
us fluuiinum, celeresque ventos, et blandum Dicam et Alciden, puerosque Ledse; hun^
ncere quercus auritas fidibus canons. nobilem superare equ^s, ilium pugnis; quo-
Quid zero prius dicam sol'uis laudibus pa- rum alba stf lla simul refulsit nautis, statim
retitis Jovis, qni temperat res hominun: ac agitatus humor defltih saxis, venti concidunt,
Deoi-um, qui temperat mare et terras, mun- mibesque fugkint, et minax unda (quod si*'
dumque variis horis? unde nil generatur voluere) recumbit ponto,
majus ipso; nee quidquam simile aut se- Dubito an post hos prvus memorem Romu-
undum viget : tamen Pallas occupavit ho- lum, an quietum regnum Pompilii, an super-
nores proxiinos illi. bos fasces Tarquimi, an nobile letlium Ca-
O Liljer, audax pneHis, neque silebo te, tonis,

NOTES.

and tlie other in Thessaly. The mention of 8. OrpkeaJ] The story of Orpheus is a-

HcBinus brings to the poet's mind the story bundantly well known ; he was of Thrace,

of Orpheus, which he prosecutes in the six and so well skilled in music and poetry, thai

terses that follow. he passed for the sou of Apollo and CalK-

ODE XII.

HORACE'S ODES.

a crowd followed the melodious voice of Orpheus, who, Instructed
by his mother Calliope, touched his lute with such inexpressible
sweetness, that he stopped the rapid course of the rivers, stilled
the violent winds, and led the trees wherever he, pleased, listening
with admiration to his harmony ? But what can 1 begin with bet-
ter than the * praises of Jupiter, who by his providence governs
the affairs of men and gods, land and sea, and rules the world by
different seasons ? Of his issue there is no one so great as he, no-
thing that resembles him, nothing that comes near him: yet Pallas
enjoys honours and privileges, though inferior to his. Nor shall I
forget thee, Bacchus, courageous in battle, nor thee, f chaste Diana,
ever an enemy to savage beasts ; nor thee, Apollo, so formidable
for thy imerring arrows. I will also sing of Hercules, and the
sons of Leda, the one famous for his victories on horseback, the
other for his in wrestling, whose bright star no sooner appears to
sailors, than the foamy billow runs down from the rocks, the winds
are hushed, the clouds are scattered ; and by whose order, the
wave that seemed to threaten heaven, fails back into the sea. Shall
J next sing of Romulus, or the peaceful reign of Numa, the proud
reign of Tarquin, or the noble death of Cato ? My muse shall take

* Usual praises of our parent. -f Virgin.

NOTES.

It is reported of him, that his music foot. The star which went by their names.

if it appeared single to the mariners, always
portended an approaching storm ; but, if
double, presaged a calm.

33. Romvhim post has, V.] The three
following stanzas include a history of those
great men, who by their achievements had
done the greatest honour to the state. The
poet is at a loss to whom he ought to give
the precedency, first with respect to Romn-
lus and Numa Pompilius, and then with re-
gard to Junius Brutus and C'ato ef Utica.
tie draws a kind of contrast between the two
first founders of the Roman monarchy, and

the daughter of Jupiter and Laiona, and two of the most zealous partisans of the
goddess of the woods and groves. She em- republican government. Brutus, (so to
ployed herself much in destroying wild beasts speak) in expelling the kings, opened the
with her bow and arrows. gates of Rome, that liberty might enter;

23. Certa Phvsle sagitta.] Phoebus, so and Cato, who lived 473 years afterwards,
called, quasi <f>~; ,8>iu, lux vitte, was the chose to die, rather than to survive the
same with Apollo, and the Sun. He excelled dismal scene of seeing her either expiring
very much in the management of the bow in their streets, or excluded out of their

ope

was so enchanting, as to tame even the most

savage beasts, and set the woods and rocks in

motion.

22. Liler.~\ Bacchus, so called, quod ru-
n's lile>-at ammum, because he frees the
_mind from cares; or because, having van-
quished all his enemies, he vindicated his
own liberty, as also that of his followers.
His actions are related at large by Diodorus
SiculUs.

22. Inimica virgo Minis.] Diana, who
was remarkably fond of hunting. She was
born at the same time with Apollo, being

and arrow.

25. dlcidfn.'] Hercules, so called from
Alceus, the father of Amphitryon, who was
the husband of Alcmena, the mother of
Hercules.

25. Puerosque Led&.~\ Castor and Pollux,

who were the sous of Jupiter, by Leda the happiness was this to prince and people !
wife of Tyndarus. The one excelled in the 34. Superlos Tarquimfasces.'] Horace un-
fombat on horseback, the other iii that on doubtedly speaks of Tarquin ths elder, the

gates.

33. Quictum Pompili regnum.'] Numa*
reign was as peaceable, as that of his pre-
decessor was full of the toil, noise, and
hum-, of war. In Numa's life, Janus' tem-
ple continued shut for 43 years. What a

t* Q. HO&ATII CARMINA. LIB. 't,

Regulum, et Scauros, animeeqne magnfe
Prodigum Paulum, superante Poeno,
Gratus insigni referam cameuS,

Fabriciumque. 40

Hunc, et incomtis Curium capillls
Utilem bello tulit, et Camilhim
Sseva paupertas, et avitus apto

Cum lave fundus.

Crescit, occulto velut arbor sevo, 46

Fama Marcelli : micat inter omnes
Julium sidus, velut inter ignes

Luna minores.

Gentis hunmnae pater atque custos,

Orte Saturno, tibi cura magni 50

Caesaris fatis data : tu secundo

Csesare regnes.

Ille seu Parthos Latio imminentes
Egerit justo domitos triumpho,
Sivc subjectos orientis orae 55

Seras et Indos,
Te minor latunv reget aequus orbem :

ORDO.

Gratus rcferam insigni cameni Rpgulum, velut luna inter ignes n.inores.

et Scaaros, PauUimq\ie prodigum animse mag- pater atque cusios gentis Imman.T, orte

na, superam*, 1 Poeno, Fabriciumque. Sstva Saturno, cura magni- Caesaris data est tibi

paupertas, et avitus fundus cum apto lare, fatis : tu rrgnes, Ca-sare secundo. Seu ille

tulit hunc, et Curium incoruptis capillis uti- egerit Parthos irnminentes Latio domitos justo

lem bello, et Camillum. triumpho, sive Seras et Indos subjmos irt

Fama Alarcelli crescit, velut arbor occulto oris orientis, minor quidcm te a-qnus reget

vo : Julium sidus micat inter omnes ignes, hunc latum orbem :

NOTES.

fifth ling of Rome, who conquered the who, being taken prisoner by the Carthagl-
Tuscans, and who first, in imitation of that nians, and sent to Rome upon his parole, to
people, introduced into Rome the use of the persuade the Romans to exchange prisoner*,
fasces, rings, ivory chairs, the purple was the first that hindered them, and so re-
robes, and several other usages, borrowed turned to Africa, where the Carthaginians
from the same people, which added to the put him to a m^st cruel death,
splendour, dignity, and majesty, of their 37- Srtnn ew.] He puts iSozwros in the plu-
government. And it is for this reason that ral number, because there were two fa-
Horace speaks of these fascts, because in his milies of this name, viz. one of the Va-
time they were the badges of the sovereign Irrii, another of the /Emilii ; Marcus J-
power. milius Scaurus, and Marcus Valerius Scau-

35. Calonis.^ He means Cato of tltica, rus.

who, hearing that Caesar had defeated the rest 38. Prodigum.] He chooses this epithet,

of Pompey's party, after having embraced because, when he could have escaped as his

his children and friend?, chose rather to die, colleague did, he could not bear the thought

than see the kingly government take place of surviving the death of his troops.
again. 38. Paulum.'] He spraks of Paulus :m\-

37. Regulum."] Marcus Attilius Regulus, flus, who was consul with Varro, and fought

ODE XII.

HORACE'S ODES.

particular pleasure to make Regulus famous, the Scaurl, and Para-
lus Emilius, who was too lavish of his * blood at tfie battle of Can-
n&, when the Carthaginian defeated us ; she will also sing of Fa-
bricius, of Curius with his shaggy hair, and of Camillus, those
three great men, whom, for the safety of the state in time of war,
pinching poverty took care to train up in a little house proportion-
ed to a small estate which they held of their ancestors.

The fame of old Marcellus, far from being obscured by time,
grows and spreads Insensibly like a tree : but, the young Marcel'
lus, the star of Caesar, out-shines all the rest as much as the moon
does the smaller lights of the night. Father and preserver of men,
son of Saturn, it is to thee the fates have committed the care of great
Augustus. Reign, but allow Augustus to reign under thee. For
whether he shall drive in triumph before his chariot the Parthians
that threaten Italy, or the people of the eastern coast, the Indians
and Seres, he will still acknowledge thee above him, and be satis-
fied with the government .of the spacious world, while with the

* Great soul.
NOTES,

*gainst Hannibal near Cannes, a town in A-
pulia, where forty thousand Romans fell.

40. Fabriciumque^\ Fabricius being sent
against Pyrrhus, he could not bribe him even
with the fourth part of his kingdom, nor vrould
he give ear to Pyrrhus' physician, who offered
to poison him, but sent him back to Pyrrhus
in chains; which made ^that prince SHY, it
would be more difficult to make Fabricius
do any thing dishonourable, than to make
the sun change his course.

41. Jncomtis capillisJ] By the ancient
tatues it appears, that the primitive Romans

' did not cut their hair. Therefore Grid calls
those that were shaved intonsos. _No such
thing as a barber was known at Rome before
the time of Curius.

43. PaupertasJ] Horace represents po-
verty as descriptive of the personages of Fa-
oricius, Curius, and Camillus, who were poor.
Yet the first rejected all thf proffers made by
Pyrrhus; the second despised all the silver
offered to him bv the Samnites; and the last
consecrated to Jupiter's temple all the gold
he had taken from the Gauls.

45. Crescit, occulto vflut arbor tfvoJj This
is a noble comparison. A tree, when first
it sprouts, is but a tender plant, but in-
sensibly it extends its roots, spreads ita
branches, and gathers firmness and strength,
&c. The same may be said of Marcellus'
(lory. Horace has, in this allusion, imitated

Pindar, in his 8th Nemean ode, wTjo
expresses himself thus: " As the trees
" watered by the dew of heaven grow in-
" sensibly, so does virtue when watered,
" i.e. cherished by tlie applause of th
" wise."

46. Mar eel! L] The great Marcelltts, who
was five times consul. He defeated the
Gauls and Germans, took Sy'racuse,-and kill-
ed Hannibal the terror of the Romans,
whose ashes he sent to his son in a silver
urn, embellished with a golden coronet.

47. Julium sidus.] This new constella-
tion was Marcellus, the son of Octavius ;
he died the same year, and a few months
after this piece was composed. Seneca
speaks of him as a yonng prince endowed
v.-ith every virtue. Augustus was extremely
affected with his immature death, as were
the Romans in general, whose darling he
was. See the Prose Translation of Virgil, at
the end of the sixth Book of the ZEneid.

50. Orle Saturn'!."] This ode concludes
with what i" had begun, that is, the praises of
Jupiter. This-conclusion is possibly one of
the best-laboured turns in the whole piece.
The poet divides the government of the
world between Jupiter and Augustus, with-
out making the authority of the prince to
encroach upon the sovereignty of the king of
the gods. Here let it l>e remembered, that
the senate granted Augustus divine honour*

46 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. I.

Tu gravi curru quaties Olympum ;
Tu parum castis inimica mittes

Fulmina lucis. CO

ORDO.

f n vero quaties Olympum gravi curru, tu mittes fulmina inimica lucis parum castis.

NOTES.

in the year 725, as has been more than once has in the beginning of this ode said, that

observed already. there is nothing equal to Jupiter; or so

51. Tu secundo Ceesare regnts.~\ Horace like him, as to claim the next place to

ODE XIII.

It appears, by the conclusion of this ode, that Horace had some difference
with Lydia, who, out of revenge, spoke continually of Telephus, to
show the respect she had for him. Horace, at the same time, being very
jealous, endeavours to recover her favour, by giving her an aversion to the

AD LYDIAM.

CUM tu, Lydia, Telephi

Cervicem roseam, cerea Telephi
Laudas brachia, vae, meum

Fervens difficili bile tumet jecur.
Tune nee mens mihi, nee color, 5

Certa" sede manent ; humor et in genas
Furtim labitur, arguens

Quam lentis penitus macerer ignibus.
Uror, seu tibi candidos

Turparunt humeros immodicae mero 19

Rixae, sive puer furens

Impressit memorem dente labris notam.

"
ORDO.

Lydia, cum tu laudas cervicem roseam Te- argnens quam penitus macerer ignibus lentil.
Jephi, et cerea brachia Telphi, vae, meum Uror, seu rixae immodicre ex mero turpfc-

jecur tumet fen-ens difficili bile. runt tibi candidos humeros, sive puer furerw

Tune nee mens nee color manent mihi dente impressit tuis labris notam memorem.
certa sede ; et humor furtim labitur in genas,

NOTES.

1 . TeJeptd.'] Some think that this Tele- without any foundation, and rather think h*

phus was the nomenclator of Livia, the was a person of qualify.
wife of Augustus; but the most judicious 2. Ceivicem roseam.] The younger Scali-

ommen'ators reject this as a conjecture ger had no reason to censure Horace for th

OUE XIII. HORACE'S ODES. 4?

weight of thy chariot thou shalt shake Olympus, and discharge thy
destructive thunderbolts on our sacred groves that hare been pro-
faned.

NOTES.

him. And yet he here begs of Jupiter, that his autlwrity and power.

Augustus may be ranked next to him. I have

only two words to offer to solve this diffi- Divisum impen'ium cum Jocc Ciesar habet.

culty. Horace, in the beginning, speaks of

the very nature of the god, but here of " Caesar rules in concert with great Jove,"

ODE XIII.

whole behaviour of his rival ; but all his efforts are fruitless, till, by a new
engagement with Chloe, he, in his turn, makes Lydia jealous, and by this
stratagem effects a reconciliation with her.

TO LYDIA.

LYDIA, when I hear you praise with such transport Telephus*
rosy neck and your Telephus' * taper arms, ah ! my bosom
burns with rage, and swells with rankest spleen. My mind
knows then no quiet ; my colour comes and goes ; and the tears,
that in spite of me steal down my cheeks, betray with what slovr
fires I am inwardly consumed. I burn when the rake quarrels
with you through excess of wine, and stains your snowy shoulders, or
when the fiercely-fond boy impresses with his teeth a mark on your
lips, that will not soon wear off. Believe me, Lydia, you have

NOTES.

application of rosea to cervix, since rosea 2. Tdephi.'] This repetition lias a good

does not import the colour of roses here, deal of gracefulness ; and Horace by it in-

o much as it does beautiful. Virgil uses sinuates, tliat Telephus was Lydia's eternal

the same expression, when speaking of Ve- topic,

nus, 5. Tune nee metis mihi.] Horace here

unites the three characteristics of love an<i

Et. avertens rosea cervice refidsit. spite; namely, distraction, change of colour,

and weeping.

" And turning round, a lustre shone from 12. Memorem nolam.] This is a bold and
" her beauteous neck. beautiful expression ; a mindful mark, 5. e.
Q. Cerea brachia.] Servius making men- an impression that she would remember for
tion of this passage, explains it, " waxen a long time. Virgil, in imitation of ^Eschy-
" arms, i. e. as delicate and white as lus, has said the same :
*' wax." But I cannot admit this explana-
tion. Surely Horace meant well made, well Memorem Junonis ob tram.
turned, wail wrought arms, like those of
wax. " Through th lasting wrath of Juuo."

48 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIP. L

Non, si me satis audias,

Speres perpetuum, dulcia barbar6
Laedentem oscula, quae Venus 15

QuintS. parte sui nectaris imbuit.
Felices ter, et amplius,

Quos irrupta tenet copula, nee, malis
Divulsus querimoniis,

Suprema citius sol vet amor die. 20

ORDO.

Si satis audias me, non speres sum fore Ter et amplius Felices sunt illi, quos irrupta
perpetuum, barbare laedentem oscula dulcia, copula tenet ; quos nee amor divulsus malis
Huie Venus imbuit quintal parte sui ucctaris. querimoniis solvet citius die suprerna.

ODE XIV.

For more than 1500 years it was generally thought that this ode was alle-
gorical, and that Horace addressed himself to the republic, under the
figurative name of a ship. Quintilian was the first author of this opinion.
But, uninfluenced by so great an authority, Mr. Le Fevre maintains,
that Horace never intended any such thing ; and this is his principal
reason : If it had been an allegory, says that learned man, it would
have been too scrupulously pursued, and artfully wrought up to an im-
pertinence. For when one takes a ship for the republic, the waves and
storms for the warlike motions, and an narbour for peace and tranquillity,
this, I must own, is no uncommon thing ; but to force an allegory so far
as the most minute things can reach, and to drive it to that length which
makes it either trifling or dark, is what one cannot think that Horace or
any other author, except a bad or a silly writer, would do. For one does not
only see here a vessel, but likewise her sides, sail-yards, keel, mast, poop,
paintings, the wood she was built of, and the place where it grew, &c.
The rest of this may be seen in the 54th Epistle of his first Book. A piece
all over allegory is shocking, and still more so If it descends into a par-
ticular enumeration of things that can never correspond to what they
would represent. Mr. Le Fevre, (whom Dacier joins) has solidly proved
that this ode is purely historical, and that the poet addresses himself to

AD NAVEM QUA REVEHEBANTUR AMICI IN MARE ^G^EUM.

O NAVIS, referent in mare te novi

Fluctus. O quid agis ? fortiter occupa
Portum. Nonne vides, ut

ORDO.
O navic, novi fluctus referent te in marc. O quid agis? fortiter occnpa portuna. Nonne

ODE XIV. HORACE'S ODES. 49

no reason to expect that he will prove constant, who could so
brutally wound a mouth which Venus Inth perfumed with the
quintessence of her nectar. Thrice-happy they, who are united
by ties that nothing can break, and whose love continues to the
last day of life, without being interrupted or cooled with reproaches
and complaints.

NOTES.

16. Qtdnta parte sui nectaris.'] Horace the true meaning of the passage; by which

has said the fifth part of nectar, as we say lie signifies the sweet smell that Lydia

the quintessence of a thing, instead of that breathed ; as, upon another occasion, he

which is the finest and purest of it. This is says, fragrantia oscula, a perfumed mouth.

ODE XIV.

ihe vessel which brought him to Italy from Philippi, after the defeat of
Brutus, and which returned by the same course with those on board of her,
who accompanied him on his voyage home. These not having that interest
at court that Horace had, were afterwards obliged to look out for. a retreat and
asylum to screen them from the resentment of Augustus. Horace therefore
accompanies with his vows and prayers the departure of that vessel, as he had
done that of Virgil, Ode 3d, with this difference, that in this, for fear of
offending Augustus, he names no person, but addresses himself solely to the
vessel. Horace was twenty-four years of age when he wrote this ode.
However, for the satisfaction of my readers, I shall here show the sentiments
of those who take this ode in an allegorical sense. By the ship, say they,
Horace means the commonwealth ; by the waves, civil discords and tumults ;
by the harbour, peace ; by its side wanting a bank of oars, Cassius' defeat
with the left wing which he commanded ; by its being much broken with
the wind, Pompey the Great unjustly beheaded by Ptolemy king of Egypt ;
by sail-yards cracking, the senators and generals of Pompey lamenting their
fate ; by a ship without ropes, a treasury without money ; by sails rent, the
legions dispersed, and their standards shattered ; by the seas that flow between
the shining Cyclades, the secret ambition of some great men, and the envy of
ethers.

To THE VESSEL THAT CARRIED HIS FRIENDS BACK TO THE

SEA.

UNHAPPY ship ! new storms will force you back into the sea.
What are you doing ? Resolutely continue in port, and endeavour
to ride safe at anchor: do not you see yourself destitute of oars, your

NOTES!

1.0 Navh.] Virgil and Catullus address more common with orators than addresses to
themselves in like manner to a ship as Ho- walls, and every other kind of inanimate
mar and Callimachu* do. Them k nothing object*.

50 Q. HORATII CARMINA.

Nudum remlgio latus,
Et malus celeri saucius Africo, ,

Antennaeque gemant ; ac sine fuuibus
Vix durare carinae

Possint imperiosius
-^quor ? non tibi sunt Integra lintea ;
Non D!, quos iterum pressa voces malo.
Quamvis Pontica pinus,

Sylvae filia nobilis,
Jactes et genus, et nomen inutile :
Nil pictis timidus navita puppibus
Fidit. Tu, nisi ventis

Debes ludibrium, cave.
Nuper solicitum quae mihi taedium,
Nunc desiderium, curaque non levis,
Interfusa nitentes

Vites sequora Cycladas.

LIB. I.
i

1ft
IS

ORDO.

Tides, ut latus midum remigio, et malus jactes et genus et tionien inutile : tirnidr.s

saucius celeri Africo, antennarque gemant ; navita nil fidit pictis puppibus.

ac carinae sine funibus ix possint durare Tu cave, nisi debes ludibrium ventis. Tu

- quor imperiosius ? quae nuper eras inihi solicitum tedium, nunc

Lintea non sunt tibi Integra ; uon sunt desiderium, curaque non levis, vites seqviura

ril-i Dii, quos voces iterum pressa malo. fusa inter Cycladas niteotes.
Quamvii sit Pontica pinui, filia nobilis sjlvaei.

NOTES.

1. Referent in mare it novi.] Among
those who returned in the same vessel with
Horace, there was one Pompeius Varus, hi
intimate, to whom he writes afterwards on
the like occasion in the seventh od* of his
second Book, thus :

Te rursus in lellum venorltns
Undafretis tulit eestuosis.

As for myself, says Horace, I have procured
my pardon by the interest of my patron.
But, " you are Still kept on the raging sea,
" going in quest of the rest of our party."
Every body mly see the congruity bttwen
these passage*.

6. Gemant.} This word nobly expresses
the whizzing and crackling of the sail-yards,
during a storm, and whilst the violent winds
tear and rend the sails.

10. Non DL] The reason was, because
the poop, on which die statues of the gods
were placed, was broken off by a storift.
Thus OvKl ays,

Accipit et fictos puppis adunca Deos.

" The bending poop sustains the painted
" gods." Hence the ^oop was called
tUeta.

1 1 . Pontica pinus.} From ancient geo-
grapher*, and the accounts of traveller!,

ODE XIV.

HORACE'S ODES.

masts broken down by the tempest, your sail-yards miserably
shattered, and that your keel must give way to the fury of a raging
sea when all your tackle is thus gone to ruin ? You have no sails
entire to carry you through, nor any gods whose aid you may invoke
in a new distress. * Nor will it avail you that you are built of the
finest wood from one of the forests df Pontus. In vain will you boast
of your name and origin : the frightened sailor places no confidence
in new-painted sterns. Take care tfien, dear vessel, that you make
not yourself the sport of the winds. It is but lately that the care 1
had for you made me very uneasy, and now I am no less concerned
for your safety. Pray therefore avoid those seas which run between
t the Cyelades, how beautiful soever these islands may appear.

* Though once a Pontic pine, the daughter, of a nobl wood,
f Th jhining Cycladss.

NOTES.

it appears, that Pontus abounded with tim-
ber fit for ship-building : vide Catullus' 4th
Book. Mr. Le Fevre has justly observed,
that if Horace had meant the republic by a
vessel, instead of saying that she was built
out of the forests of Pontus, he would have
said, that she was made of the wood that
grew on the top of Mount Ida. For from
Ida, i. e. Troy, the Romans by jEneas had
their original ; and, besides, it was a noble
and renowned place; whereas Poutus was
but a barbarous and wild country.

14. Nil pictis timidus navitapappilus
fidit] I humbly differ from M. Dacier in
his commentary on these words, whereby he
contradicts all he has said against the ode be-
ing an allegory, and rather think that when
Horace wrote this ode they were going to
refit and new-paint the ship : and indeed how
<ould she go to sea without such reparation,
according to the description Horace gives of
her ? This makes no opposition between nan.
Di and this sentence : Horace speaking there
of what she was before she wai repaired,
while here he supposes her to be refitted,
and her stern new-painted.

1?. Nuper seiidfurr^] These two verses

might suffice to prove what I have advanced
iti the preface to this ode. For they cannot
be meant of the republic, without making
Horace speak after a strange manner. Cer-
tainly in his own sense this nuper and nunc t
this teediicm and desiderium, are opposite
terms ; but all their opposition is lost if they
are to be allegorically explained. What,
Horace means is this, as Mr. Le Fevre has
very well observed : O ship, who not long
ago gaves* me so much pain, while I was on
board, when tossed in the storm and in
danger of being taken ; and who also now
makest me so uneasy for the departure of
my affectionate companions, and fillest my
soul with anxiety and fear, through the
risk of being either shipwrecked or taken
by enemies.

20." Cycladas.'] The Cyelades are a nu-
merous crowd of islands in the /Egean Sea,
being reckoned almost fifty. The hanks of
sand, and rocks which are scattered up and
down among them, make tliat sea very dan-
gerous to sail through ; nor can it be done
without many windings and turnings, whence
arose the name of Cyelades.

52 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE XV.

Mark Antony, after he had divorced Octavia, the sister of Augustus, married
Cleopatra queen of Egypt, and aspiring at nothing less man the sove-
reignty of the civilised world, declared war against Augustus. Supported by
the whole power of the East, he fitted out a numerous fleet, and continued
himself with Cleopatra in Peloponnesus, where his army increased every
day. Thence he made a descent in the following spring upon Italy, whick

NEREI VATICINIUM DE RU1NA TROJ.E.

PASTOR cum traheret per freta navibus
Idseis Helenam perfidus hospitam,
Ingrato celeres obruit otio

Ventos, ut caneret fera

Nereus fata. Malft duels avi domum, i

Quam multo repetet Graecia milite,
Conjurata tuas rumpere nuptias,

Et regnum Priami vetus.
Eheu, quantus equis, quantus adest viris
Sudor ! quanta moves funera Dardanw 10

Genti ! jam galeam Pallas et aegida

Currusque et rabiem parat.
Nequicquam, Veneris presidio ferox,

O R D O.

Cum pastor perfidus traheret per freta " tin, ft vetiu regnum Priami, repetet

Helenam hospitam navibus Idaeis, Nereus ' multo milite. Eheu, quamus sudor adest

obruit ventos celeres ingrato otio, ut caneret ' equis, quantus etiam viris ! Quanta funert

fata fera. ' moves Dardante genti ! Jam Pallas parat

" Pan, tu mala avi ducis earn domum, ' guleam et aegida, currusque, et rabtera.

" quam Graecia conjurata rumpere tuas nup- * Necquicquam tu, ftrox prsesidio Veneris,

NOTES.

1 . Pastor.] Paris, otherwise called Alex- Troy, and final destruction of ihat flourishing

ander ; who being exposed on Mount Ida, city.

because it had been foretold that he should 2. Id<eis\ Trojan vessels, being built of

occasion the ruin of his country, was edu- timber taken from Mount Ida, belonging to

cated by a shepherd, and followed that em- Troy.

pioyment himself for some time, though he 2. Helenam.'] Helena, the wife of Me-

was the sou of Priam king of Troy. He nelaus, bjr whom Paris being hospitably

ailed some time after into Greece, and stole entertained, perfidiously defiled his be<C

thence Helen the wife of Menekus, which being therein assisted by Venus, who had

*is the occasion of the ten-years' war against promised to betow upon him tL mott be-

ODE XV. HORACE'S DDES- 53

ODE XV.

was to be the theatre of the most bloody war that had ever been in the
Roman empire. Horace,' under a noble and poetic allegory, makes
Antony sensible of his foolish and base conduct. He sets before him the
example of Paris, and leaves it to him to make the application, which is
very manifest.

Every thing in this ode is excellent, the invention and execution, &c. the
subject also allows nothing of the mean.

NEREUS'S PROPHECY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF TROY.

WHILE the perfidious shepherd was carrying Helen, his fair
hostess, over the seas in Trojan ships, Nereus suddenly imposed an
ungrateful calm on the violent winds, that he might foretell the
dreadful miseries which would assuredly befall both him and
his country.

".Unhappy youth, you carry home your prize in an unlucky
" hour ; the princes of Greece will demand her with a powerful
" army; they have already sworn to dissolve your impious marriage,
" and 'overturn the ancient kingdom of your father Priam. What
" fatigue, what toil, are the troops like to undergo! what a dreadful
" catastrophe do you bring on the Trojan state ! Pallas prepares
"her chariot; sJie is arming herself with her shield and helmet,
" and is determined to pour forth all her rage. In vain, trusting
"to the protection of Venus, you amuse yourself in combing

NOTES.

tiful woman in the world, in reward of that by an oath, to revenge the injury done to

determination by which he had preferred Menelaus.

her to Juno and Pallas, in giving her the 10. Dardante genti.] Dardanus was the

golden apple. son of Jupiter and Electra, who, coining

5. Nereus.'] The son of Oceanus and into Asia, built the city of Dardania, which
Thetis, husband to Doris, and father of the was afterwards called Troy, from Tros, the
Nereides. Some think it should be read third king of Phrygia.
Proteus; but Horace seems rather to have 11. Pallas.'] Juno and Pallas. both fa-
chosen Nereus, as being an ancient and voured the Grecians; Juno, because she
known deity, whose predictions were all resented the affront offered her by Paris,
certain, and of very great authority. in preferring Venus ; Pallas, upon the same

5. Mala duds avi.~] This is a metaphor account, and because she was also offended
taken from the common practice of the at Paris for his criminal behaviour.
Greeks and Romans, who used to draw con- 13. Fenfris preesidio.] Venus here re-
elusions respecting the good and bad success presents Cleopatra. That queen's court was
of any enterprise, from the flight of birds. the seat of effeminacy and voluptuousness;

7. Conjurato.] After Helen was violently and Antony, while he remained there,

tnken away by Paris, the Grecian princes plunged himself into the most infamous dr-

met at Aulis, and there bound themselves' baucheries. Horace, without forcing the

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. I.

Pectes caesariem, grataque feminis
Imbelli citharfi. carmina divides.

Nequicquam thalamo graves
Hastas, et calami spicula Gnossii,
Vitabis, strepitumque, et celerem sequi
Ajacem. Tamen, heu, serus adulteros

Crines puhere collines.
Non Laertiaden, exitium tuae
Gentis, non Pylium Nestora respicis ?
Urgent impavidi te Salaminius

Teucerque, et Sthenelus sciens
Pugnae, sive opus est imperitare equis,
Non auriga piger. Merionen quoque
Nosces. Ecce furit te reperire atrox

Tydides melior patre ;
Quern tu, cer\ us uti vallis in alter
Visinn parte lupum graminis immemor,
Sublimi fugies niollis anhelitu,

Non hoc pollicitus tuae !
Iracunda diem proferet Ilio,
Matronisque Phrygum, classis Acliillei :
Post certas hiemes uret Acha'icus

Ignis Iliacas domos.

ORDO.

" pcctes caesariem, dividesque cithara irn-
" belli carmina grata feminis. Tu nequic-
' quam thalamo vitabis hastes graves, et
' spicula calami Gnossii, strepitumque, et
' Ajacem celerem sequi. Tamen, hru, serus
' collines pu'vere crines adulteros. Non re-
' spicis Laertiaden exitium tuae-gentis, non
' Pylium Nestora ? Teucerque Salaminius,
et Sthenelus sciens pugnse, sive opus est
imperitare equis, auriga nen piger, im-

pavidi urgent te. Noscei quoque Merio-
nen. Ecce, Tydides melior patre furit
atrox reperire le, quern tu mollis fugies
snblinii anhelitu, uti cervus fugit lupum
visum in altera parte rallis, immemor
graminis, non pollicitus hoc ma; canjugi !
' Iracunda classis Achillei proferet diem Ilio,
matronisque Phrygum : at, post certas
hiemes, ignis Achaicus uret Iliacas do-
mos."

NOTES.

liistory, has art enough to find out just and
natural allusions. Pallas favoured Menelaus
as Venus did Paris.

Mqua Venus Teucris, Pallas iniqua fuit.

19. Ajacem celerem sequi.] Ajax, the
eon of Telamon, who is reported to have
been so swift of foot, that none could escape
when lie pursued. He is said to have over-
taken and killed Paris, when he was flying.

21. Laertiaden.'] Ulysses, son of Laertes,
Thus Octavia favoured the young Caesar's and king of Ithaca, famous for his prudence
interest ; but Cleopatra adhered to Antony's, and subtilty. It was he that discovered
17. Gnossii.] Gnossus was a city of Crete, Achilles, and brought him to the Trojan
the inhabitants whereof were famous for war, without whom that city could not have
their dexterity in the management of the been overthrown,
how and arrow.

ODE XV. HORACE'S ODES. 55

" your hair, or take pleasure in entertaining the ladies with
" your harp, so fit for tender and amorous airs. In vain you
" think, that, by lying on your couch, you can shun the spears and
" darts of the skilful Cretans, the noise of war, and the hot pursuit
< of swift Ajax. Perish you shall, infamous adulterer, though,
" alas ! too late to prevent the ruin of your country ; and those
" beautiful locks of yours shall be stained with dust. Do not you
<( see Ulysses, the son of Laertes, who is doomed to be the destroyer
" of your father's kingdom, or the sage and experienced Nestor ?
" The intrepid Teucer, the son of Telamon, pursues thee hard, as
" does Sthenelus, equally skilled either to fight or manage the
" chariot ; and who with uncommon dexterity can tame the fury
" of the most ungovernable coursers. You shall also * feel the rage
" of Merion. Behold ! the son of Tydeus, the valiant Diomede, in
" war even superior to his father, burns with a desire to engage you ;
" from him you will flee like a coward, and run off panting like a
" timorous stag that leaves his pasture at the sight of a prowling
" wolf on the other side of the valley : that, alas ! was not the
" object of thy promise to thy mistress. And though f the resent-
" ment of Achilles, restraining his fleet from action, will for some
" time defer the ruin of Troy, and suspend the alarms of the Phry-
" gian matrons ; yet, after J a certain term of years, the Grecian
" torches shall put Troy's palaces in a flame, and reduce them to a
tf heap of ashes."

* Know. }- The angry fleet of Achilles. J Certain winters.

NOTES.

22. Pylium Afo/ora.] Nestor was re- being offended that Agamemnon had taken
markable for his prudence and great age. B'iseis from him, detained his troops from
He was educated at Pylos, a city of Peio- the war ; by which means the ruin of Troy
ponnesus ; and though, at that time, of a was retarded. But hearing that PatrcvUis,
very advanced age, accompanied the other his friend, who had been clad in his aru.our,
( Jrecian generals in their expedition to Troy, was slain by Hector, he immediately re-
Of him Agamemnon said, that had he but solved to revenge his death, and recover his
ten Nestors in his army, it was impossible own armour ; nor was his anger appeased till
Troy could hold out long. he had slain Hector, the only defender of

23. Salaminius Teucer.] This Teucer was Troy.

the brother of Ajax. . See Ode 7th, ver. 27, 34. Phrygian."] Phrygia was a region of

of this book. Asia Minor, of which Troy was the me-

24. Sthenelus sciens pngnte^] Sthenelu-i, tropolis.

the son of Campaneus, was great warrior, 35. Post certas hiemes.] In a determined

and the particular friend of Diomede, who number of years ; foj Chalcas, the augur,

had so great a confidence in him, that one had predicted, that after the space of ten

day he is reported to have said, should all years Troy should be taken and entirely de-

the Greeks leave vhe siege of Troy, he would molishrd.

remain alone with Sthenelus, till tliat city S!>. Achaicus.~\ Achaia was a part of

should fall. Greece ; whence the Greeks in general are

03. Iracimda dassis Achillei] Achilles, often mentioned under die name of Achaians.

Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE XVI.

Of all the performances of Horace that hare come down to us, there is not
one that gives us any light upon the occasion of this ode, in which our poet
begs pardon for certain verses he had composed when young. But I shall
offer a very probable account of it, grounded on the inscription that this
ode has in two ancient manuscripts, viz.

Palinodia Gratidia? ad Tyndaridem amicam.

" A Palinodia for Gratidia, to my mistress Tyndaris."

PALINODIA.

O MATRE pulchr& filia pulcbrior,
Quem criminosis cunque voles' modum
Pones iambis, si\ 7 e flamma,
Sive mari libet Adriano.

Non Dindymene, non adytis quatit 5

Mentem sacerdotum incola Pythius,
Non Liber aeque ; non acuta

Sic geminant Corybantes aera,
Tristes ut irse ; quas neque Noricus

Deterret ensis, nee mare naufragunv 10

Nee ssevus ignis, nee tremendo

Jupiter ipse ruen? tumultu.
Fertur Prometheus addere principi
Lirao coactus paiticulam undique

ORDO.

O Filia pulchrior matre pulchra, pones acuta, ut tristes irze; quas neque Noricu*
quemcunque modum voles meu criminosis ensis, nee mare naufiagum, nee soevus ignis,
iambis, sive libet flamma, sive mari Adriano. nee Jupiter ipse, ruens tremendo tumultu,

Non Dindymene, non incola Puhius in . dettrret. Fertur Prometheus coactus addere
arlytis, non Liber uequfe quatit mentem sacer- principi limo particulam undique
dotum j non Corybantes sic geminant sera

NOTES.

1 . Matre pulchra.] This first address oracles at Delplios ; called Pythius, from the

must flatter Gratidia and Tyndaris. serpent Pytho, which he killed.

3. Inml-if.'] Horace had written a poem 5. DliidymeM.} Among others, 'there

against Gratidi*, Tyndaris' mother, in iambic we:e three mountains in Phrygia, sacred to

verse, as being the most proper for satire ; Cyl ele, vi/.. Dindymus, Ida, and Bere-

but that satire is amongst the number of cynthus. Hence that goddess is to often

Horace's pieces that are lost. calk J Diidjrnne, Idaea, Berecynthia.

i. Pythins.] Apollo, who rend*r*<l h'u

ODE XVI. HORACE'S ODES. 57

ODE XVI.

Horace, in his youth, had composed some iambics against Gratidia. But,
a considerable time afterward, falling passionately in love with Tyndaris,
the daughter of the same Gratidia, and finding her very sensible of the
affront offered to her mother, he wrote this ode to pacify her, assuring her
of the suppression of his iambics, and protesting that he would wish to un-
say all he had written His submissions met with a gracious reception, as
appears from the following ode.

A RECANTATION.

AMIABLE Tyndaris, who are so charming that you excel even your
mother, who was a celebrated beauty, take your revenge of my bitter
iambics in what manner you please ; you are at liberty either to
throw them into the Adriatic sea, or condemn them to the flames..
But, / would have you consider to what an extravagant height
passion may carry us ; neither Cybele, nor Apollo, nor Bacchus,
raise such commotions in the souls of their priests when they are in-
spired by them ; nor do the Corybantes themselves in their frantic
processions, though they redouble their strokes, beat their cymbals
with such violence, as passion, which fears ^either storms nor tem-
pests, the keen sword, nor consuming fire, nor Jupiter himself, though
armed with his tremendous thunder. Prometheus, after choosing
the finest clay, of which he formed his man, is said to have endued
him with qualities from all the different kinds of animals, and

NOTES.

8. Caryl-antes.'] The priests of Cybele. tried, and used all the properties of nature i
We meet with them also under the names of the formation of animals, he was at a loss
Curetes, Idyei, Dactyli, See. They were all what to impart to man, and borrowed know-
eunuchs, and, by nation, Phrygians. In ledge of Minerva, fire of Vulcan, while Mer-
their solemn processions, they danced in cury supplied him with shame and justice,
armour, making a confused noise with tim- But it is still more probable, that Horace
brels, pipes, and cymbals, howling all the had in his eye the story of Simonides, who
while as if mad, and cutting themselves as tells us, that after God had formed all ani-
they went along. mals, and finished man, nothing being left

9. Naricus crisis.'] The mst excellent for women, there were qualities, of them bor-
kind of swords, such as were made in Noi i- rowed from the several kinds of animals. To
cum, a province of Assyria, which abounded some he gave the disposition of a hog, to
in iron-mines. others those of the fox ; to another the stupi-

13. Fertur Prometheus."] It is probable dity of the ass; the humour of a weasel to &

that Horace founded this piece of fabulous fourth. Others were formed with the qua-

history on what h had read in Plato's. Pro- lities of an ape. And those whom he would

tagovts, who iuvs, tbt after Prometheus had favour, were blwssd with the laudable

58 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Desectam, et insani leonis 15

Vim stomacho apposuisse nostro.
Ine Thyesten exitio gravi
Stravere, et altis urbibus ultimae
Stetere causa? cur perirent

Funditus, imprimeretque muris 20

Hostile aratrum exercitus insolens.
Compesqe mentem : me quoque pectoris
Tentavit in dulci juventa
. Fervor, et in celeres iambos

Misit furentem : nunc ego mitibus 25

Mutare quaero tristia, dum mihi
Fias recantatis arnica

Opprobriis, aniniumque reddas.

ORDO.

desectam, et apposuisse rim insani leonis sto- Compesce mentem : fervor pectoris me

macho nostro. quoque tcntavit in dulci juventa, et misit

Irat stravere Thyesten gravi exitio, et furentem in celeres iambos : nunc ego quaero

stetcre ultimae causa; altis urbibus, cur fundi- mutare tristhi mitihus, dum recantatis op-

tus perirent, exercitusque insoleus imprime- probriis tu fias arnica mihi, reddasque ani-

ret hostile aratrum muris. mum.

ODE XVII.

He describes the happiness he enjoys in his retirement at his country-seat ; in-
vites Tyndaris to share in the pleasures of it ; and tells her, that she will
there find the most innocent amusements, and be freed from ever)' thing
that might give her any trouble or uneasiness, especially the insults of Cyrus.

This ode is composed in such a taste, as must have highly pleased Tyndaris, not
only because it is very natural, elegant, and full ot easy flowing images and ex-

AD TYNDARIDEM.

VELOX amoenum saepe Lucretilem
Mutat Lyceeo Faunus, et igneam
Defendit aestatem capellis

ORDO.

Velox Faunu* saepe mutat amoenum Lucretilem Lycaeo, et usque defendit igneam

NOTES.

1. Velox Faunus.] The same with Pan, 1. Lucretilem.] A mountain in the
a rural deity, and expert in running and danc- country of the Sabines, on which Horace
ing, had a country-seat, very pleasant and agree-

ODE XVII. HORACE'S ODES. . 59

planted in his heart the fury of the lion. It was passion that plunged
Thyestes into so dreadful an abyss of miseries. To this it is owing,
that so many lofty cities have been overthrown, and that the inso-
lent soldiers have ploughed up the very foundation of their walls.
Let such examples prevail with you to moderate your resentment ;
for I likewise, hurried by my youthful heat, gave too much way to
passion, venting it in those reviling verses, the occasion of your
anger. But now, dear Tyndaris, there is nothing I desire more
than to change my bitter invectives into soft strains ; and I shall
think myself perfectly happy, if, when I recant my harsh reflections,
you restore me to your good graces, and not leave me to despair.

NOTES.

qualifications, that do so much honour to the the badge of sovereignty. Atreus, to re-
bees, venge those heinous affronts, killed Thyestes'
17. Irce Thyesten.'] Thyestes and Atreus, sous, and set them before him to eat, at the
two brothers, after their father's death, horror of which fact the sun went back,
agreed to reign alternately ; but when it came -21. Hosf e aratrum.] It was a custom
to be the turn of Thyestes, Atreus, being ac- among the Romans, to drive a plough over
rustomed to reign, would not give place to the wall of a city which they destroyed,
him, which enraged the former so much, that to signify that the ground on which it
he debauched Atreus' wife, and carried off stood should for ever be employed in agricul-
the fatal ram which had die golden fleece, ture.

ODE XVII.

pressions, but likewise because the lady is praised for her polite and elegant
education in so particular a manner, as must distinguish her among her sex.
We have observed, that our poet was not young when he composed the
ode, () matre pulchra, and that Gratidia was then alive, and celebrated for
her beauty. Here he makes no mention of the mother, who probably was
dead. Hence I am induced to think that this is one of the last perform-
ances of our author.

TO TYNDARIS.

FAUNUS often quits his Lycseus, to enjoy the sweets of my pleasant
Lucretile j all the summer-season he defends my goats from scorch-

NOTES.

ble, of which he speaks in the beginning of 2. Lyceeo.] Lycseus was a mountain of

the 16th Epistle of Book I. He here ex- Arcadia sacred to Pan, on which he chiefly

presses his fondness for it, by making it the resided,
delight even of P*n himself.

CO Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Usque meis, pluviosque ventos.

Jmpune tutum per nemus arbutos 5

Quaerunt latentes et thyma devise
Olentis uxores mariti ;

Nee virides metuunt colubros,
Nee Martiales hoedilia lupos ;

Utcunque dulci, Tyndari, fistula 10

Valles, et Usticee cubantis
Levia personuere saxa.
Dl me tuentur ; Dls pietas mea
Et musa cordi est. Hinc tibi copia

Manabit ad plenum benigno 15

Runs honorum opulenta cornu.
Hlc in reducta valle Caniculse
Vitabis aestus, et fide Tei&
Dices laborantes in uno

Penelopen vitreamque Circen. 20

Hlc innocentis pocula Lesbii
Duces sub umbra: nee Semeleius
Cum Marte confundet Thyoneus
Proelia, nee metues protervuni

Suspecta Cyrum, ne male dispari 2

Incontinentes injiciat manus,
Et scindat hserentem coronam
Crinibus, immeritamque vestem.

ORDO.

jMtatem pluviosque ventos a capellis meis. in valle reducta, vitabis aestus Canieulae; et

Ceviae uxores mariti olentis impune quas- dices fide Teia Penelopen, vitreamque Circcr,

runt arbutos latentes et thyma per tutum laborantes in uno Ulysse.

nemus : hcedilia nee metuunt viride* colubros, Hie duces pocula innocentis Lesbii vim

Bee martiales lupos; utcunque, o Tyndari, sub umbra : nee Semeleius Thyoneus con-

valles et levia saxa Usticae cubantis perso- fundet praelia cum Marte, nee suspecta me-

nuere dulci fistull Fauni. tues Cyrum protervum, ne injiciat manus in-

Dii tuentur me ; pietas mea, et musa cordi continentes tiki male dispari, et scindat

est Diis. Hinc copia opulenta honorum ruins coronam haerentem crinibus, immeritamque

manabit tibi ad plenum benigno coruu. Hie, veitem..

ODE XVII. HORACE'S ODES. 61

ing heat and rainy winds. Tyndaris, ever since our valleys and
steep Ustica's smooth rocks resounded with his sweet pipe, *my
she-goats securely wander through the whole wood in quest of
thyme and strawberry-leaves ; nor^are the kids in fear of speckled
snakes or ravenous wolves. The gods honour me with their protec-
tion, and favourably accept my piety and poetry. Plenty from her
store-horn will pour out unto you liberally the riches of the country:
here, in a deep vale, you may be shaded from the sultry heat,
while with the harp of Anacreon you may amuse yourself, in sing-
ing the anxiety that the love of Ulysses gave at once to Penelope,
and the enchantress Circe. Here, under a shade, you may safely
drink my pleasant Lesbian wines; where Bacchus will not put him-
self in a rage, nor enter into combat with the god of war. In fine,
you need not fear the jealousy of Cyrus, nor apprehend, that, taking
advantage of your weakness, he will lay his rude hands on you, who
are not a match for him, and pull either the garland off your head,
or tear your inoffensive gown.

The wires of my fetid he-goat.

NOTES.

9- Martiales lupos.] The wolves were By the charms of her voice, she allured

taered to Mars, the god of war ; being rapa- mariners, as they passed by the rocks which

eious and destructive animals. she inhabited, to turn towards her, and, when

11. UstictB cubantisJ] Ustica was a Sa- she had them in her power, converted them

bine mountain, probably the same with Lu- into beasts.

eretilis, on which Horace had his country- 22. Nee Semdeius aem Marie.] The

eat - meaning of this is, You may indulge yourself

18. Fife Teid.] On the harp of Ana- moderately in wine, without fear that any

reon, who was born at Teios, a city of Pa- harm will ensue, or our drinking-match end

phlagonia, a province in Asia Minor. See in quarrels and dissensions.
Book IV. Ode 9th. 25. Cyrum.-] . This Cyrus must have been

20. Penelopen.] The wife of Ulysses, and the rival of Horace, one of Tyndaris' gallants,
cueen of Ithaca, who, during the absence of 25. Male dispari.] Male is here put for

her husband after the Trojan war, preserved valde. We shall find other instances of ihii.

her chastity pure and uncorrupted, amidst a It would be savage, and brutal to the

numerous crowd of lovers, and resisted all last degree, to make reprisals with blows on

their solicitations till the return of Ulysses. lady for her modesty and reservedness, when,

20. Circen.] Circe, a noted enchantress, by such conduct, h merit! our wteem and

the daughter of Sol, and the nymph Pere. praise.

Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE XVIII.

The moral is the very soul of this piece. In it the poet recommends the mo-
derate use of wine. But what is most remarkable, is, that when he be^int
to mention the disorders which excess in drinking occasions, on a sudden
his poetic rage fires him, and throws him into a fit of poetic disorder. Hence

AD QUINTIL1UM VARUM.

NULLAM, Vare, sacra vite prius severis arborem,

Circa mite solum Tiburis et moenia Catili j

Siccis omnia nam dura Deus proposuit, neque

Mordaces aliter diffugiunt solicitudines.

Quis, post vina, gravem militiam aut pauperiem crepat ?

Quis non te potius, Bacche pater, teque, decens Venus?

At ne quis modici transiliat munera Liberi,

Centaurea monet cum Lapithis rixa super mero

Debellata; rnonet Sithonits non levis Evius;

Cum fas atque nefas exiguo fine libidtnum 10

Discernunt avidi. Non ego te, candide Bassareu,

Invitum quatiam, nee variis obsita froudibus

ORDO.

O Vare, severis nullam arborem circa mite At rixa Centaurea, cum Lapithis debellam
solum Tiburis et moenia Catili, prius vite sa- super mero, monet ne quis transiliat munera
era ; nam Deus Bacchus proposuit omnia Liberi modici ; monet et Evius non levis Si-
dura siccis, neque mordaces solicitudines thoniis; cum avidi libidinum disi-emunt fas
aliter diffugiunt. atque neta* exiguo fine.

Quis crej^at gravem militiam aut paupe- O candide Bassareu, ego non quatiam te

riem post vina? O Bucche pater, quis non invitum, nee rapiam sub divum obsitt vtriis:

potius crepat te, teque, O deceiis Venus ? frondibus :

NOTES.

1. f^are."] This is thought to be Quin- mentioned, as being built by the three sons

tilius Varus the poet, whose death Horace of Amphiaraus, Catilus, Tibunus, and Coras,

laments in Ode 24. of this Book. . taking its name from the eldest brother.

1. Sacra vite.'] The vine was sacred to 8. Centaurea.~\ The Centauri were a
Bacchus, who first cultivated, and taught the people of Thessaly, inhabiting the neigh-
use of it. bourhood of mount Pelion. The reason of

3. Mite solum Tiburis.'] A Sabine city, their name seems to be this ; that they were

situated in a fine soil ; it is now called Tivoli. the first who broke horses for war : other peo-

See what is said of it, Ode 7 . pie, who saw them on horseback at a distance,

2. Maerna Catili] This is generally sup- concluded them to be but one creature,
posed to be the same with the city before which had the upper pan of the body like

ODE XVIII. HORACE'S ODES.

ODE XVIII.

flowed those strong ideas, figurative expressions, and incoherent style, which
are observable in it. Those two distinct characters which make the piece
quite different, 3 re none of the least of its beauties; the transition from
the one to the other is natural, and managed with skill.

TO QU1NTILIUS VARUS.

DEAR Varus, in planting your trees in the fruitful country of
Tivoli, and round the walls oi Catilus, neglect not to give the pre-
ference to the vine; for they must expect nothing but the hardest
treatment from Bacchus, who love not wine, the only remedy against
the corroding cares of life. Who, after a hearty glass, ever com-
plains of the fatigues of war, or the hardships of poverty? Who is
he, that does not rather take a pleasure to dwell on the praises of
Bacchus, and of thee, beautiful Venus ? But yet, the contention be-
tween the Lapithae and Centaurs over their bottle, should teach us to
take care that we make not a bad use of the gifts of Bacchus. We
are farther warned to guard against this immoderation, by the re-
sentment Bacchus showed against the. people of Thrace; who,
plunging themselves in debauchery, broke through all the bounds of
right and wrong, and would be governed by no other rule than
their own exorbitant passions. Candid Bacchus, I will never offer
you any violence, nor expose to view your sacred mysteries conceal-
ed under various leaves; but keep at a distance from me, I entreat

NOTES.

man, and the other like a horse. Being in- name from the clamours made by the Bac-

vited to the wedding of Pirithous, king of the chantes, lvo~. But the more general opi-

Lapithae, and having indulged themselves too nion is, that in the war which Jupiter main-

freely in wine, they began to create a great tamed against the giants, he praised greatly

deal of disturbance ; upon this, Theseus and the valour of Baccuus, and frequently ani-

the Lapithae, taking up arms, routed them, mated him to the combat by these words,

and cut them in pieces. cv vie, that is, courage, my sun.

9. Sithoniis.] The Sithonians were a 11. Bassareu.] Another name for Bac-

people of Thrace, inhabiting thai part of it chus, of which we have several derivations,

whicli went under the name of Sithonia. Some deduce it from the name of a habit

They are put here for the whole Thracians; which the Thracians call Bassaris; others

among whom U was customary to run voiun- from a city of Libya, called Bassara ; and a

tarily to excess in the use of wine, and their third sort from the fierce animals which drew

debaucheries frequently terminated in quar- his chariot, called Basscaia, according te

rels and bloodshed. Herodotus,

9. Ei'ius.] Bacchus; some derive this

61 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Sub divum rapiam : saeva tene cum Berecynthio

Cornu tympana, quse subsequitur ceecus amor sui,

Et tollens vacuum plus nimio gloria verticem, 15

Arcanique fides prodiga, perlucidior vitro.

ORDO.

tene ava tympana cum Berecynthio cornu, plus nimio tollens vacuum verticem, fidesque
quae csecus amor sui subsequitur, et gloria prodiga arcani, perlucidior vitro.

NOTES.

13. Berecynthio eornu.~\ The Berecyn- where this instrument was used in performing
thian horn, so called either from a ir.oun- the rites of Bacchus and Cybele.
tain or city in Phrygia of the same name,

ODE XIX.

In the firt Ode of the fourth Book Horace intimates, that he had long since
renounced his gallantries ; and in this, which is much of the same nature,
and the same kind of verse with that, he positively affirms that his amouri
were all over. Hence we may reasonably conclude, that he was oU

DE GLYCERA.

MATER saeva Cupidinum,

Thebanaeque jubet me Semeles puer,
Et lasciva licentia,

Finitis animum reddere amoribus.
Urit me Glyceree nitor, 5

Splendentis Pario marmore purius ;
Urit grata protervitas,

Et vultus nimium lubricus aspici.
In me tota ruens Venus

Cyprum deseruit; nee patitur Scythas, 10

Et versis animosum equis

Parthum dicere, nee quae nihil attinent.
Hlc vivum mihi cespitem, hlc

ORDO.

Saera mater Cupidinum, puerque Semeles Venus tota ruens in me deseruit Cyprum ;

. Thebanse, et lasciva liceniia jubet me reddere nee patitur me dicere Scythas, et Parthum

animum finals amoribus. animosum equis versia, nee quae nihil attinent

Urit me nitor Glycerse tplcndentis purius adipsam,

marmore Pario ; grata ejus prdtervitas urit O pueri, hie pvtate mihi cespitem viruro,

me, et vultus nimium lubricus aspici. hie

NOTES.

1. Mater stsva Cvptdinum.'] It is Venus, of the mutual inclinations and properwitiw
the goddess of love, whom he addresses in between the sexes,
this manner, she being accounted the cause Q. Thd-an* Semtles puer.] Baccb, who

ODE XIX.

HORACE'S ODES.

you, the sound of your tabret and Berecynthian horn, which are so
apt to raise in men a blind love of themselves, a vanity that exalts
their empty heads above measure, and an indiscretion more trans-
parent than glass, incapable of retaining the least secret.

NOTES.

15. Et tollens vacuum plusnimw.] The corn, the taller and more straight they are,

poet presents to us here a beautiful picture the poorer they prove. Gloria is used in-

of vanity; glory that raises too high the differently either tor praise or dispraise; but

empty head. The more a man wants brains, her? with the latter meaning,
the higher he soars; like ears of standing

ODE XIX.

when he was enamoured of Glycera ; but that his passion for her was of
.no long duration, and that for some time he had no mistress ; that about
the age of fifty, when Venus seemed to have no influence over him, he was
captivated with the beauty of a Li^urian. This ode, then, was perhaps
composed three or four years before that of the fourth book.

OF GLYCERA.

THE cruel queen of love, and Bacchus, son of the Thehan Semele,
assisted by licentious desire, conspire to rekindle in me the passion
of love, which I thought had been entirely extinguished. I am ra-
vished with the beauty of Glycera, which far excels the finest Pa-
rian marble. I am charmed with her 'agreeable humour and fine
complexion, which cannot be looked on without manifest danger.
Venus hath entirely abandoned Cyprus to reign in my heart, and
will not permit me to sing either of the warlike Scythians, or of
the Parthians, who fight so boldly while they are flying ; or of any
thing but wha^t relates to her. Bring me then, boys, some green

NOTES.

is reported to have been born of Semele, the
daughter of Cadmus, king of the Thebans.

6. Pario marmore^ The whitest marble
came from Paros, one of the islands of the
Cyclades, in the /Egean Sea. To this day
it goes under the name of Pario.

10. Cyprum.] Cyprus, an island of the
JEgem Sea, where Venus was supposed to
have the greatest power. See Book I.
Ode 3.

10. Scythas."] The Scythians were a very
VOL. I.

warlike nation, in the northern parts of Asia,
of whom ancient geographers treat largely.
See Strabo.

12. Parlhum..'] The Parthians were also
a very valiant people, who had frequent wars
with the Romans, and sometimes proved toe
itrong and brave for them. They were re-
markable for the dexterity wherewith they
fought in flying.

18. Cespitem.'] Turf, of which they rnJ<s
their altars.

6 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LID. I.

Verbenas, pueri, ponite, thuraque,

Bimi cum pater meri. 1 5

Mactata veniet lenior hostii.

ORDO.

ponite verbenas, thuraque, cum patera meri bimi. Deo. veniet lenior, bostia maclaia.

ODE XX.

Horace here invites Maecenas to such an entertainment as he could afford,
which, he tells him, would be far inferior to what he might enjoy at home;
but the principal design of this ode, is to remind Maecenas with what

AD M/ECENATEM.

VILE potabis modicis Sabinum
Cantharis, Graeca quod ego ipse testA
Conditum levi, datus ia theatro

Cum tibi plausus,

Care Maecenas eques ; ut paterni 5

Fluminis ripas, simul et jocosa
Redderet laudes tibi Vaticani

Montis imago.

Caecubum, et prselo domitam Caleno

Tu bibes uvam : mea nee Falernae 10

Temperant vites, neque Formiani

Pocula colics.

ORDO.

O tare M.'peenas equcSi apud in? gjiidem mentis Vaticani reddevet laudes tibi.
potabis vile Sabinum in modicis cantharis, Tu domi bibes Caecubum, et uvara domi-

quod ego ipse ItticondltumGrseca testa, cum tarn praelo Caleno; scd nee Falernae vites,

plausus datus est tibi in theatro ; adeo ut iieque Formiani colics, temperant mea pocula.
tipae paterni fluminis, simul et imago jocosa

NOTES.

0. LetJ.J The ancients sealed their casks Mcecenas the joy he had in putting on his
Or vessels either with wax or pitch, and called casks the marks of so happy a day.
this Linire doba, and the contrary Relinire; 5'. Paterni jlumiwf ; ip<c .] Horace denomi-
as Terenee has it, Rdeti omnia dolia, I have nates it in this manner, to do honour to Mae-
unsealed all my casks. Horace says, that he cenas, who sprang from the Tuscan*, IB
did the same, with a View of signifying to whose country that river had its rise.

ODE XX. HORACE'S ODES. 6?

turf, vervain, incense, and a cup of wine that is two years old.
When my sacrifice is performed, the goddess will be more propi-

tious to me.

ODE XX.

applause and acclamations of joy he was received by the people at his first
appearance in the theatre, after a long and dangerous illness.

TO MAECENAS.

DEAR Maecenas, thou ornament of the Roman knights, condescend
to drink with me a moderate glass of my small Sabine wine, that I
put into Grecian casks the very day the theatre rang with such
loud applause, that the banks of the Tiber *, and all the echoes of
the Vatican, resounded your praises. I know you have always the
richest Csecubian and Calenian wines, which you may drink when
you please ; but I have neither string Falernian nor Formian to
mix with my small wines.

* Your paternal river.

NOTES.

6. Jocosa imago.] focis must be here pope's palace, and one of the noblest li-
understood, as Virgil has expressed it; the braries in the world.

echo is certainly a resemblance of the voice, 9. Ccecubum.'] Caecubus was a mountain
since it imitates and represents it. In an- of Latium not far from the Caietan Gulph.
cient mythology she was a country nymph, Its wine was of great repute,
remarkable for loquacity, who, for having 9. Caleno.] Calis or Calenum, a city of
often illuded Juno by her prating with a Campania, built, say some, by Cala the
view to favour Jupiter's amours, was punish- Argonaut, son of Boreas. It is placed in
ed by that goddess, who left her no other the midst of a fertile soil, very fit for pro-
faculty of speaking but that of repeating the ducing the best wine,
last words of what she had heard. 10. Falernts.] The Falernt were a people

7. Valicani montis.] Mons Falicnnus was of Campania. The wine that came from
one of the hills on which Rome was built, their country was strong, and holden in the
It had its name from the god Vaticanus, or highest esteem.

Vagilanus, or from the answers of the vates 1 1 . Formiani.'] This was likewise a very
or prophets that used to be given here. It pleasant wine. The vines grew in the terri-
still retains the old name, and is celebrated tories of the Formiani, a people also of Cam-
on account of St. Peter's church, and the pania, not far from Caieta.

63 Q. HORATII CARMINA, LIB. 1.

ODE XXI.

This ode, in which Horace exhorts the Romans to celebrate the praises of
Apollo and Diana, and informs them that Apollo, moved by their prayers,

IN DIANAM ET APOLLINEM.

Chorus Puerorum.
DIANAM tenerae dicite virgines ;

Chorus Pnellarum.
Intonsum, pueri, dicite Cynthium ;

Chorus Puerorum et Puellarum.
Latonamque supremo
Dilectam penitus Jovi.

Chorus Puerorum.

Vos laetam fluviis, et nemorum coma, 5

Qua?cunque aut gelido prominet Algido,
Nigris aut Erymanthi
Sylvis, aut viridis Cragi ;

Chorus Puellarum.
Vos Tempe totidem tollite laudibus,

Natalemque, mares, Delon Apollinis, j0

Insigncmque pharetra

Fraternaque humerum lyra,

ORDO.

Chorus Piierorum. fluviie, rt com5 nemonim, qnopcunque aut

O tener virgines, dicite Dianam ; prominet gelido Algido, aut nigris sylvis Ery-

Chnrus Puellarum. manthi, aut viy'ulis Cragi ;

Pueri, dicite Cynthiura intonsum; Chorus Pttelltrum.

Chorus Puerorum et PutUarum. Vos mares, tollite Tempe totidem laudibus,

Latonamque peniius dilectam supremoJovi. Delonquc natalem Apollinis, huraerumquc in-

Charus Pnerorum. signem pharetrS, fraternaque lyra.
Vos virgines, celebrate Dianam lietam

NOTES.

1. Dianam.'] Diana, the daughter of Ju- hair. So infonsus is not of the same im-
piier by Latona, born at the same moment port with levis in the sixth Ode of the fourth
with Apollo. She was remarkable for her Book. Both terms point to us Apollo's youth,
chastity. See Ode XII. ver. 22. but in a quite different manuer. Ovid says

2. Intonsum.'] The ancients always de- of this god, ft'fri inconsumfta juvcntus, tit
scribe Apollo, as well as Bacchus, with long puer ateriuis.

ODE XXL HORACE'S ODES, 69

ODE XXI,

would be prevailed upon to avert the calamities that threatened them, may
be reckoned an introduction to the Csurmen Seculare at the end of the fifth
Book,

IN PRAISE OK DIANA AND APOLLO.

TJie Chorus of Youths.
SING, ye virgins, the praises of Diana ;

The Chorus of Virgins.
Celebrate, ye youths, the never-fading besuty * of Apollo;

Tlie Chorus of Youths and Virgins.

Let us unite our voices in honour of Latona, the darling of al-
mighty Jove.

The CJtorus of Youths.

Consecrate, ye virgins, your songs to that goddess who fakes
pleasure in gliding rivers, in the forests of cool Algidus, the black
shades of Erymanthus, or of verdant Cragus.
The Chorus of Virgin's.

Come, ye boys, raise your voices in praise of delicious Tempe,
and Delos so famed for the birth of Apollo, who carries his quiver
on his beautiful shoulder, and the harp presented to him by his
brother Mercury.

* See Note ad.

NOTES.

3.Latanam.'] The mother of Apollo and nine name.

Diana. Being impregnated by Jupiter, she 9. Tempe.] See Ode VII. It was here that

was obliged*) hide herself, in order to aroid Apollo retired, after having sla'm the serpent

the fury of Juno, whence she was called Python, and purified himself, and was crown-

Latona, from lateo. eel with laurel.

6. Algido, &c.] Algidus was a mountain 10. Natalemque Delon ^polUnis.] Delos

ofLatium, covered with trees, about twelve was not only the birth-place of Apollo, but

miles from Rome, and lying on the Appian was also consecrated to him.

way. Erymanthus, a mountain of Arcadia, 12. Fraterna lyra.] We have before taken

in which country there were also a city and notice, Ode X. that Mercury was the in-

river of the same name. Cragus and An- ventor of the harp. He made a present of

ticragus, are two mountains of Lycia. The it to his brother Apo'lo, who gave him th

Cragus especially is remarkable, OB ac- rod with two serpent* twitted round it, in

4ount of eight sxuBHiifs, aad a city of the exchange.

70 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Chorus Puerorum et Puellarum.
Hie bellum lacrymosum, hie miseiam famem
Pestemquc, a populo et principe Caesare, In

Persas atque Britannos, 15

Vestrti motus aget prece.

ORDO.

Chorus Puerofumft Puellarum. populo et principe Caesare, in Persas atque

Hie motus vestra prece aget bellum lacry- Britannos.
mosum, hie aget rniseram famem pestemque a

ODE XXII.

Fuscus Aristius, to whom this ode is direct-*.- 1 , was enamoured of Lalage.
Horace, who was in strict friendship with him. and who loved also Lalage
rather as a friend of Aristius than as his rival, relates to him a sylvan ad-
venture, and tells him of a great danger from which his Lalage had pre-
served him, because he sang her praises. He attributes his safety to this

AD ARISTIUM FUSCUM.

INTEGER vitse, soelerisque purus,
Non eget Mauris jaculis, neque arcu,
Nee venenatis gravida sagittis,

Fusee, pharetra,

Sive per Syrtes iter aestuosas, 5

Sive facturus per inhospitalem
Caucasum, vel (jure loea labulosus

Lambit Hydaspes.

ORDO.

O Fusee, integer vitae purusque sceleris tunis iter per Syrtes aestuosas, sive per in-
non eget jaculis Mauris, neque arru, nee pha- hospitalem Caucasum, yel loca quae fabu-
retra gravid& venenatis sagittis, sive fac- lo&us Hydaspes lambit.

NOTES.

2. Mauris.'] The Moors were the in- 4. Fusee.] Aristius Fuscus was known in

habitants of Mauritania, a retrion of A- Rome in quality of a grammarian, a poet,

fiica. They were famous for tfieir dexte- and a rhetorician. His good character, more

rity in the management of the bow, and than his wit or learning, recommended him

scarcely ever ventured abroad without it, to the esteem of Horace; as appears not

being so liable to attacks from wild beasts, only by this ode, but by the Satire, Ham

of which there were great numbers in those fort" via sacra ; and the Epistle, Url-is

parts. amaturcm.

ODE XXII. HORACE'S ODES. fl

Tlie Chorus oj Youths and Virgins.

It is he who, moved by your pious addresses, will remove from
both prince and people the lamentable war, the raging pestilence,
and destructive famine, and pour them upon the heads of our ene-
mies, the Persians and Britons.

NOTES.

14. In Persas atque Bri'annos.] That is, empire toward the east and toward the
to a great distance from Italy, these two west,
people marking out the bounds of the

ODE XXIL

lady, whom he looks upon as a goddess that had protected him, on account
of the great respect he had for her , this is the reason why he begins with
a description of his innocence and strict virtue, which does great honour
to Lalage, and very much encourages a rival, in preventing his jealousy.
This ode is written with such politeness and address, as cannot be too
much admired.

TO ARISTIUS PUSCUS.

THE man, dear Fuscus, that leads an upright life, and is conscious
of no crime wherewith he can reproach himself, has no need of
Moorish darts, or bow, or quiver stuffed with poisoned arrows, even"
though he should travel through the scorching sands of Libya, the
uninhabited mountain Caucasus, or the countries washed by the
famed Hydaspes. For the other day, amusing myself with a song

NOTES.

S.Syrtes&stuojsas.] Most interpreters take of Asia, betwixt the Caspian and Euxine

this to be meant of the deserts of Libya, Seas. It is reported to be so prodigiously

where Prudentius places the temple of Jupi- high, as to be illuminated with the solar

ter Ammon. These, from the excessive rajs when almost three parts of the rfWht

heat of the sun and dryness of the land, have elapsed. It is celebrated for the story

were intolerably scorching. The way of tra- of Prometheus, who was said to have been

veiling through them was, by taking obser- bound he:e', whilst the eagle preyed upon

vation of the stars. Passengers were in his liver, which continually grew again, that

great danger, sometimes of being devoured his torment might be prolongedf It wai

by fierce and ravenous animals ; at other rendered uninhabitable by perpetual snows.

times, of being buried in sand. and by the steepness of the rocks,

6. Inhospitalem Caucasum.] A mountain

72 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. 1.

Namque me sylva lupus in Sabina,

Dum meam canto Lalagen, et ultra 10

Terminura curis vagor expedites,

Fugit inermem ;

Quale portentum neque militaris
Daunia in latis alit esculetis,
Nee Jubae tellus generat, leonum 1 5

Arida uutrix.

Poue me pigris ubi nulla campis
Arbor eestivft recreatur aura ;
Quod latus mundi nebulae malusque

Jupiter urget ; 20

Pone sub curru nimium propinqui
Solis, in terra domibus negata;
Dulce ridentem Lalagen amabo,

Dolce loquentem.

ORDO.

Namque miper in syrva Sab'ma, dura canto Pone me in pigris campis, ubi nulla arbor

mearn Lalagen, et expeditis curis vagor ul- recreatur aestiva. aura 1 ; quod latus mundi ne-

tra tCTrninum, lupus fugit me inermem ; tale buloe, rnalusque Jupiter urgct ; pone me sub

portentum quale neque militaris Dauuia alit curru soils niminm propinqui, in terra negata

in latis esculetis, nee tellus Jubsej arida domibus ; amabo ul'ique Lalagen dulce ridon-

notrix leonum, generat. teni, dulce loquentem.

NOTES.

8. Hy/fa'-pes."] There are two rivers in called Rauvey ; which was the boundary of

Asia named H-.daspes : the one waters the conquests of Alexander the Great. It

Media, called hence by Virgil, Medus falls into the Indian sa not far from the

Hydaspff, Georg. 4. But Horace here cityofNys*.
refers to that which waters India, now

ODE XXII.

HORACE'S ODES.

in praise of my Lalage, I strayed too far into the Sabine woods, and
met a ravenous wolf, which fled before me, though unarmed; a
monster so hideous, as was not bred either in the spacious forests of
warlike Apulia, or in scorching Numidia,* that gives birth to so
many lions. Place me in a country covered with snow, where the
trees never feel the influence of the gentle zephyrs, in a corner of
the world that is never free from thick fogs, on which angry Jove
never bestowed one breath of wholesome air; place me in a land
that borders on the chariot of the sun, where never house was built ;
yet I will still admire my Lalage, whose smiles are so sweet, and
whose conversation is so agreeable.f

* Land of Juba.

f- Sweetly smiling, sweetly speaking.

NOTES.

9. Salina."] This was a region of Italy,
formerly Latium, between Umbria and Etru-
ria. It still retains its ancient name, lying
within the territories of the pope.

13. Militaris DauniaJ] It was so called
from Daunus, one of its kings, commonly
thought to be the father-in-law of Diomede.
It was a region of Italy, in the province of
Apulia, now la Capitanata. It borders upon
the Adriatic sea, and is a part of the king-
dom of Naples. It was formerly famous for
producing a great number of warlike men.

15. Juba; tellits.] Mauritania (a part of
Africa, here put for the whole), in which Juba
reigned. See above, yer. 2.

17. Pone me pigris, &?c.] Either under
the frigid zone, intolerably cold; or, under
the torrid zone, where the earth is burned up
with excessive heat.

19. Malusquc Jupiter urgcl.") This is a,
rery poetical expression; he considers these
places as disgraced by Jupiter, who makes
them feel the effects of his indignation. No-
thing describes to us better the inclemency of
a climate.

23. Dulce ridentem, dalce loquentem.']
Horace has united here two of the most con-
siderable pleasures, that of laughing and that
of speaking, and has borrowed this beautiful
passage word for word from Sappho.

74 Q. HORATII CARMINA. Ln$. I.

ODE XXIIL

He complains of Chloe's shyness, and advises her, as she is now fit for marriage,

AD CHLOEN.

VITAS hinnuleo me similis, Chloe,
Quaerenti pavidam montibus aviis
Matrem, non sine vano

Aurarum et syliise metu.

Nam, seu mobilibus veris inhorruit 5

Adventus foliis, seu virides rubum
Dirnovere lacei tee,

Et corde et genibus tremit.
Atqui non ego te, tigris ut aspera,
Getulusve leo, frangere persequor. 10

Tandem desine matrem
Tempestiva sequi viro

ORDO.

O Chloe, vitas me similis hinnuleo, qvrae- diniovere rubum.

rent! pavidam matrem in montibus aviis, non Atqui ego non persequor frangere te, ut

sine vano metu aurarum et sylvae. Nam tre- tigris asgera Getulusve leo. Tandem tem*

mil et corde et genibua, seu adventus veris pcttiva viro, desine sequi matrem.
iahorruit foKis mobilibus, seu virides lacertae

NOTES.
8. Et corde et genilus tremit.'] This verse cannot be fully extolled j one cannot paint

ODE XXIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

ODE XXIII.

to relinquish the constant society of her mother. This ode was written
some time before the ninth of the third Book, when Horace was young.

TO CHLOE.

You fly me, Chloe, like a fawn in search of her timorous dam,
through the icild pathless mountains, who starts at the noise of
the winds, and the rustling of the trees ; for, on the arrival of the
spring, should the zephyrs shake the leaves, or a lizard, by moving,
stir a bush, its Heart beats and knees tremble. But, dear Chloe, I
do not pursue you as a ravenous tiger, or a lion of Getulia, with an
intention of tearing you to pieces: cease therefore to hang upon
your mother, at an age in which you are fit for a husband.

NOTES.

the timiditv of any one more strongly, than
by saying, that the very motion of the leaves
of trees will frighten him : thus the Scrip-
ture has it, Levit. 26th chap. 36th verse,
The noise of the waving leaves shall frighten
them. And thus Lucan speaks of Pompey,
when flying, Pavet ille fragorem motorum
ventis nemorum. " He starts at the rustling
" of the forests agitated by the winds."
9. Tigris aspera.] The tiger is an ani-

mal of so fierce and ravenous a nature, that
his reported of him, he lies in wait for men,
whom most beasts shun of their own accord,
unless when urged by hunger or rage.

10. Gctulusve le'i.] Getulia is a part of
Mauritania, not far from mount Atlas ; but
as the natives often change the r habitation,
and never continue long in one place, Getulia
is made to stand for all Africa,

Q. HOKATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE XXIV.

There are some persons whose loss cannot be too much regretted. Bat when
that loss is irreparable, we are under a necessity of having recourse to pa-
tience. Prudence demands of us with resignation to part with a blessing
which we can no longer possess. These are the reflections which Horac*

AD VIRGILIUM.

QTJIS desiderio sit piidor aut modus
Tam cari capitis r prfficipe lugubres
Cantus, Melpomene, cui liquidam pater

Vocem cum cithara dedit.

Ergo Quintilium perpetuus sopcr 5

Urget ? cui Pudor, et Justitiae sqror
Incorrupta Fides, nudaque Veritas,

Quando utlum invenient parem ?
Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit ;

Nulli flebilior quam tibi, Virgili. 10

Tu frustra pius, heu, non ita creditum

Poscis Quintilium Deos.
Quod si Threicio blandius Orpheo
Auditam moderere arboribus fidem,
Non vanae redeat sanguis imagini, 15

Quam virga semel horridd,

ORDO.
\

Quis pudor aut modus sit desiderio capitis parem ?

tarn cari ? O Melpomene, cui pater dedit li- Ille occidit flebilis multis bonis: at, O Vir-

quidam vocem cum cithai'a, praecipe lugubres gili, flebilior nulli quam tibi. Tu pius frus-

cantus. tra, beu, poscis Deos Qnintilium non ita cre-

Perpetuus ergo sopor urget Quintilium ? diturn.

Cui, quando Pudor, et incorrupta Fides soror Quod si moderere fidem auditam arboribus

Juitiixae, Veritasque nuda, invenient ullum blandius Threicio Orpheo, tamen sanguis non

NOTES.

I. Quis desidrrio, fife.] Tliis introduc- the grief of his friend, before be applies

tion is managed with great skill. H orace, any remedy to it ; and ttrengthens, before

designing to wipe off Virgil's tears, first he attempts to diminish it. This is seem-

begins to weq? with him. He encourages ingly to act a contradictory part ; but

CtouXXIV. HORACE'S ODES. 77

ODE XXIV.

makes to Virgil on the death of a common friend. They are both natural
and reasonable, and are expressed in such a manner as makes the mind feel
them to be the genuine sentiments of the soul. The ode is written in an ex-
cellent taste ; the style is simple and easy ; the poetry is sweet and flowing;
the sentiments are lively, soft, and full of variety.

TO VIRGIL.

WHAT shame can there be in lamenting the loss of so dear a friend?
what bounds can be set to grief so just ? O Melpomene, to whom
Jove has given such a fine voice with the art of playing so sweetly
on the lute, inspire me with mournful strains.

And does an eternal slumber seize the eyes of dear Quintilius?
When will modesty, unshaken fidelity the sister of justice, and
naked truth, find an equal to him ? What a loss will all good men
feel in him! But you, my dear Virgil, have greater cause than
others to lament his death. In vain, alas ! with prayers and tears
do you beseech the gods to restore Quintilius, whom they* did not
lend you on such conditions. Even if you could touch your lyre
with more sweetness than Orpheus, who commanded the attention
of the very trees, the blood cannot return to animate a spectre

NOTES.

it agrees to admiration with the effect for lie the Quintiiius of Cremona, the friend of

which the comforter wishes. It is an in- Horace and Virgil, of whom Eusebius makes

fallible method to cure those who are under mention in his chronicle. Others will have

any anguish of soul. One must fall in at once him to be Publius Quintilius -Varus, who

with the snntin;eiits of others, in order to slew himself in Germany after the defeat of

bring them into ours. his troops. But the roost probable conjec-

3. Mdpom&ie.] 'Horace here ioTokes the ture is, that it is the same QuiutiHus whom

aid of this muse instead of all the rest, be- Horace celebrates in his Art of Poetry, as a

cause she was the inventress of tragedy ; and faithful friend, and an excellent critic,
it was assigned to her, as her peculiar pro- 13. Threicio llandius Orpheo.'] The story

vince, to preside over all funeral songs. She of Orpheus, and his great skill in music, hava

derives her name from the sweetness of her been several times mentioned before. See

voice, [/.frwefjicu, cano liquidam, suavent, duL- Ode xii. ver. 8.
dterjlufntem. 16. firga horrida.] This rod, Mercury

5r Quintilium] Commentators differ with received from Apollo, upon granting him thi

ragtrd to this Quiatilim. &>me take him to harp. See Ode x,

73 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. L

Non lenis precibus fata recludere,
Nigro compulerit Mercurius gregi.
Durum ; sed levins fit patientia,

Quidquid corrigere est nefas. 20

ORDO.

redeat vana imcsrint, quani Mercurius, non Durum quiilem illud er-t : sed quicquid est
lenis recludere fata pvecibus, semel nigro ncfas corrigere, fit levius patientia.
gregi compulerit virga horriua.

NOTES.

18. Compulerit^] This term is borrowed or collect into one place flocks of the same
from the shepherds. It signifies to drive or different kinds. Thus Virgil, in his Tih

ODE XXV.

Lydia being now old, and forsaken by her lovers, he takes occasion to insult
her for her former rude and haughty behaviour to him j and tells her, that

AD LYDIAM.

PARCIUS junctas quatiunt fenestras
Ictibus crebris juvenes protervi,
Nee tibi somnos adimunt ; amatque

Janua limen,

Quse priiis multum faciles movebat 5

Cardines. Audi's minus et minus jam,
u Me tuo longas pereunte noctes,

" Lydia, dorm is ?"
Invicem moechos anus arrogantes
Flebis in solo levisangiportu, 10

Thracio baecbante magis sub inter-

lunia vento;

ORDO.

Juvenes protervi parclus quatiunt junctas Mintu et minus jam audis: " O Lydi*,

fenestras ictibus crebris, nee adimunt somnos " dormis, m tuo perennte longas noctes ?"

tibi; jaiuiaque quae prius movebat cardines Jam anus invicem flebis mcechos arrogan-

multum faciles, HUHC amat limcn. tes, levis in angiportu solo, vento Tiuracio

NOTES.

1. Parcins junctas quathtnt fenestras.'] and axes, to set fire to their windows ar.d gates,

Among the ancients in Greece and Italy or to pull them to pieces, in case of a refu-

their youths, in their nocturnal visits to their sal of admittance. This train of snillery

n/iiUesses, carried fiambtaux, batous, bows which _lhe yoxuig gaUants made use of to

ODE XXV. HORACE'S ODES. 79

which inexorable Mercury, who never breaks the decrees of fate, has
once ranged, with his dreadful rod, among the black subjects of
Pluto*. This is hard indeed ; but patience makes supportable what
we can neither remedy nor prevent.

* In the black company,

NOTES.

Eclogue, sap, 19. Levins Jit patienlia.] Patience, says

Publius Syrus, is the asylum of the afflicted:
Compttlerantqiie greges Cory don et Tkyrsis in Miserorum portus est patientia.

ODE XXV.

whatever art she might use to gain a crowd of admirers, all would be to-no
purpose.

TO LYDIA.

THE rude young rakes are not now so frequently battering your wln-
dowsf with redoubled strokes ; nor do they now disturb your rest;
and your gate, which formerly opened so easily and so often, is now
almost continually shutt. From day to day you are more rarely ad-
dressed after this manner, once so familiar to you : " Ah ! cruel
" Lydia, while I your lover languish at your gate the live-long night,
<f can you enjoy your soft repose?" The time shall come when, in
an advanced age, you shall in your turn lament the insolence of
your gallants, and in loose attire wander in some solitary alley, ex-
posing yourself to the fury of the Thracian winds, which rage with
the greatest violence about the time of the new-moon, while burning

f Shut windows. J Loves its threshold.

NOTES.

storm the lodgings of their mistresses, is what song which the admirers of Lydia sang at her

Horace calls the lover's arms. For after our gate while they were refused admittance. The

author had told us in Ode 23 of his third Greeks affixed the term 7rpaxXay<7i&tipa to it,

Book, that he renounced his amours, and because it was sung before a shut gate. We

that the walls cf the temple of Venus should have a complete copy of such a song in Theo-

have his anns and lyre, lie addresses his critus's3d Idyllium.'and in the 1 3th Ode of

companions thus : Horace's 3d Book.

Hie ponite lurida 11. Thr&do vento.] Thrace was a very

Funalia, et vrctes, et arcus cold country, lying to the north of Greece,

Oppositisforilusminaces. whence the Berth-wind was suid to rei^n
7. Metuo.'] This is the beginning of the

50 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB- I.

Cum tibi flagrans amor, et libido

Quae solct matres furiare equorum>

Sceviet circa jecur ulcerosum ; 15

Non sine questu,
Laeta quod pubes edera virenti
Gaudeaf, pulla magis atquc myrto;
Aridas frondes byemis sodali

Dedicet Hebro. 20-

ORDO.

bacchante magis sub interlunia : cum flagrans non sine questu ; quod pubes laeta hedera vi-
amor, et libido quoe solet furiare matres e- renti atque myrto pulla magis gaudeat ; de
quorum, saeviet tibi circa jecur ulcerosum, dicet verij frondcs aridas Hebro sodiiii hyemb.

NOTES,
in. it; and tlierefcre the Thracian wind always signifies the north among the Grecian

ODE XXVI.

Being free from all fears and apprehensions, which were removed at a great
distance from him, he invites his Muse to celebrate the praises of Lamias,
a* his attempts, unless seconded by her, would be of no effect. Tiridates

DE ^ELIO LAMIA.

Musis amicus, tristitiam et metiw
Tradam protervis in mare Creticum
Portare ventis ; quis sub Arcto
Rex gelidae metuatur oras,

Quid Tiridatem terreat, unice 5

Securus. O quae fontibus integris

ORDO.

Ego amioua masis, tradam tristitiam et me- uniee securus quis rex metuatur sub Arclo
tn protervis ventis poriare iu mare Creticum ; gelidae orae, quidve terreat Tiridatem.

NOTES.

1. Musis emioAS.] What a charming pleasures. Hence it is, that all those who

amusement is poetry ! I mean, properly con- have been great poets have boasted of the

sidered ; when it neither retards our duties in great sweetness they have tasted from their

life, nor is set up as a trade. To be able to imercourse with the Muses. But one must

regulate so valuable a talent, is to enjoy in be a poet, before he finds their expressions to

ae's self a source of th most innocent be true.

ODE XXVI. HORACE'S ODES. 81

love and brutal lust * shall seize your wounded heart. In fine,
you shall observe, to your sorrow, that the youth take pleasure
only in the verdant ivy, and the growing myrtle, but consecrate
the withered and decayed leaves to Hebrus, the companion of
winter.

* Lust, which uses to infuriate the dams of horses, shall rage around your ulcerated liver.

NOTES.

poets, though improperly; for the north the winds cold, and very violent,

wind does not at all blow into Italy from 19. Hyemis sodali Helro.~\ This was a river

Thrace. that, taking its rise on mount Hemus, wa-

11. Bacchante magi's svl interlunia.~\ Du- tered Thrace, and emptied itself into the

ring the time that intercedes betwixt the old Adriatic sea. He denominates it the com-

and new moon, or while the sun and moon are pankm of winter, from the coldness of the

in conjunction, tempests are frequent, and region through which it took its course.

ODE XXVI.

rebelled against Phraates, and made himself master of the kingdom of the
Parthians, in the year of Rome 723, in Augustus' fourth consulate, whilst
he laid siege to Alexandria. And here we must fix the date of this ode,
according to Mr. Le Fevre, Horace being then 36 years of age.

OF .ELIUS LAMIAS.

WHILE the Muses vouchsafe to smile upon me, I will give
care and fears to the" wanton winds to transport them to the
sea f, indifferent what king of the cold northern regions may
make himself the terror of all the nations round him, or why
Tiridates especially is so greatly alarmed. O thou, my Muse, my

} Cretan sea.

NOTES.

2. Mare Creticum.] Crete, now Candia, one the greater, the other the smaller ; whenre
was one of the greatest islands in the jEgean the word is here made to stand for the north
*ea, lying south, towards Africa. It was in general.

famous of old for its hundred cities, and be- 5. Tiridaten.] This Tiridates having ba-
cause there was situated the celebrated nished Phraates, king of the Parthians,
mount Ida, where Jupiter received his edu- was, by the unanimous consent of the no-
cation, bility, chosen in his place. But hearing

3. Arcto.'] Arctos, from the Greek word that Phraates approached with a great body
ofx-roj, which signifies a bear. This name of Scythians to recover his kingdom, he
is applied to two constellations in the northern was so overcome with fear, that, forsaking
hemisphere, called by the Latins, Bears ; the Parthia, he fled to Augustus j to whom

VOL. I. G

32 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Gaudes, apricos necte floics,

Necte meo Lamiae coronani,
Pimplea dulcis : nil sine te mei

Prosunt honores. Hunc fidibus novis, 10

Hunc Lesbio sacrare plcctro,
Teque tuasque decet sorores.

ORDO.

O Pimplea dulcis, quae gaudes fontibus in- cet teque tuasque sorores sacrare hunc novis
tegris, necte apricos flores, necte coronam meo fidibus, sacrare hunc plectro Lesbio.
Lam'ue. Mei honores nil prosunt sine te. De-

NOTES.

Phraates sent ambassadors, demanding that Lamiae took their name and rise from one

he should be delivered up into his hands. Laruus, the son of Neptune, and king of

See Justin, lib. 42. the Lestrigons ; he reigned in the maritime
8. Lamite.] The noble family of the

ODE XXVII.

Horace was at an entertainment, where a dispute began to warm the guests,
who were already heated by the fumes of wine. The reflecting part of the
company had doubtless employed the most reasonable remarks to make up
the difference. The poet at last gave it an artful turn, by a merry, tart, and
unexpected proposition. This occurrence appeared to him as a proper oc-
casion for an ode, which he probably composed after supper, without giv-
ing time to his imagination to cool. The character of it is singular. Vi-
vacity shines through the whole ; but the sallies are different : sometimes
sudden, sometimes witty and humorous, sometimes moral, but still so skil-
fully managed, that the natural turn makes them appear quite destitute of
art. The whole concludes with a little sketch of satire, which falls upon
two persons. They laugh at the expense of what is obvious and plain, and
endeavour to guess at what they cannot see or understand. Thus the quar-

AD SODALES.

NATIS in usum ketitise scyphis

Pugnare, Thracum est. Tollite barbarum

ORDO.

Thracum est pugnare scvphis natis in usum lattitiae. Tollite barbaium

ODE XXVII. HORACE'S ODES. 83

only darling, who takest such a pleasure in pure and untouched
fountains, collect the choicest flowers, and make a coronet to
adorn the head of ray dear Lamias : my noblest productions 'can-
not do him sufficient honour, unless you contribute your assistance.
It belongs to you and your sacred sisters, to make him immortal by
some new strains after the manner of Sappho and Alcaeus.

NOTES.

parts of Italy, where he built the city of 11. Leslio.] Lesbos was an island of the
Formire. jfigean'sea; see Ode I. ver. 34. It was famous
9. Pimplea."] Pimpla was a mountain of tor the birth of Alcaeus and Sappho, who ex-
Macedonia, at the foot of which there was celled in lyric poetry.

a fountain of the same name, sacred to the 11. Pleclro.] The plectrum is an instru-

Muses ; whence they often obtain the name ment for touching the strings of the harp,

of Pimplece and Pimplcides among the and mny be said to resemble the bow where-

poets. with we strike the violin.

ODE XXVII.

rel vanishes by an agreeable diversion, and good humour succeeds wrang-
ling. When I say that this ode is an extemporary one, composed at table,
I am under no apprehension of being contradicted. The case of Bernnrdin
Perfetti, a gentleman of Sienna, and who lately resided at Rome, makes
this very probable. They tell us, that he composed extempore, and upon
whatever subject v/as proposed to him, the most beautiful Italian verses, and
\vith such rapidity that the hand of the readiest writer could not follow him.
And they add, that he was not the first whom they have seen improvisare,
as Italians call this practice. It is to no purpose to inquire into the date of
this ode, or to whom it was addressed, since there is nothing handed
down to us that can supply us with any conjectures on these two points.

TO HIS COMPANIONS.

IT is the custom of the Thracians, to quarrel at entertainments,
which were designed for the indulging of innocent mirth and

NOTES.

2. Tkracum.~\ The Tbracians, who inhabit- in drinking, but also for the animosities and
ed Thrace, now Romania, a country near the contentions that prevailed among them at
.rtigean sea, lying to the north of Macedo- their entertainments.
nia, were not only infamous for (heir excess

84 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Morem, verecundumque Bacchum

Sanguineis prohibete rixis.

Vino et lucernis Medus acinaces 5

Immane quantum discrepat ! impium
Lenite clamorem, sodales,

Et cubito remanete presso.
Vultis seven me quoque sum ere

Partem Falerni ? dicat Opuntise 10

Frater Megillae, quo beatus

Vulnere, qua pereat sagitta.
Cessat voluntas ? non alia bibam
tVtercede. Quae te cunque domat Venus,

Non erubescendis adurit 15

Ignibus, ingenuoque semper
Amore peccas : quidquid habes, age,
Depone tutis auribusi Ah miser,
Quanta laboras in Charybdi,

Digne puer meliore flamm& ! 20

Quse saga, quis te solvere Thessalis
Magus venenis, quis poterit Deus ?
Vix illigatum te triformi
Pegasus expediet Chimaera.

ORDO.

rnorem, prohibeteque verecundum Bacchum Quaecanque Veuui domat te, adurit igni-

sanguineis rixis. Quantum immane Medus bus non erubescendis, seinperqije peccas

acinaces discrepat vino et lucernis ! amore higenuo : age, quicquid nabes, de-

O sodales, lenite clamorem impium, etre- pone tutis auribus,

manete cubito presso. Vultis me quoque Ah raiser, in quanta Charybdi laboras, O

smnere pariem Falerni vini seveii ? Frater puer digr.e meliore flamma ! Qute saga,

Opunti<e PJegillae dicat, quo vu'.nere, qua quis magus venenis Thessalis, quir. Deus,

sagitta beatus perent. Voluntas cessat ? At poterit s:.lvere tc ? Pegasus vix expediet te

*g-o non bibam alia mercede. illi.uum triformi Chimaera'.

NOTES.

3 . yerecundum.'] Bacchus was usually a custom practised at their carousals, name-
painted in the form of a young man, of ly, of obliging every one to tell the name of
whom modesty ought to be the distinguish- his mistress. The person who demanded it
ing ornament. The poet also seems to in- bound himself to drink as many bumpers as
timate to us, that we ought to observe mo- there were letters in her name; accordingly
deration in drinking. he who would have his mistress honoured,

8. Cubito remanete presso.] It is well contented himself with saying, that he had

known that the Romans of that age used to taken as many bumpers as there were letters

eat si retched on couches round their tables, in her name; and, by the number of the

the left hand supporting the head. former compared with the latter, they guessed

10. Diiat Opim/itr fraler.] These ver- the name. To prove this, Martial savs, in

ses furnish us with a remarkable instance of his first book of Epigrams,

ODE XXVII. HORACE'S ODES. 85

pleasure. Banish,, my friends, tliis barbarous practice, and abstain
from such bloody contentions, while you partake of the blessings
of peaceable Bacchus. Swords and scymeters have no affinity with
feasts, or with the illuminations used on these occasions. Put an
end to such a shameful noise, and let every one take his place again
at the table. Are you desirous that I should drink my share of your
strong Falernian wine ? let the brother of Megilla inform me, by
what arrow he has been so happily wounded. Do you refuse
to name her ? I assure you, I will drink on no other terms.
Whoever she may be, who has made you her captive, it is
an honourable captivity. Your mistress is worthy of the passion
you have for her. But come, who is she ? you may safely
trust your secret with one who will faithfully keep it. Ah,
unhappy youth ! what do you tell me ? Into what an abyss
of misery are you plunged ! Surely you deserved a better fate !
What enchantress, what magician with all the power of his
charms, or what deity, can give you assistance in this unhappy
situation? Scarcely is it in the power of Pegasus himself to
rescue you from this frightful chimeera, who keeps you in her
chains.

NOTES.

Nctvia sex cyathis, stptem Justina lila- inhabited by the Gorgons. This horse, as

tur, toon as he came into being, flew to mount

Quinque Lycas, Lyde qualuor, Ida tribus ; Helicon; where striking a slone with his

Omnis ab infuso numeretur arnica Falerno. hoof, he opened a fountain, which thence

was called Hippocrene, that is, The horse's

19. Charyldi.] Charybdis is a dreadful fountain, quasi "i-rrTiov Kyjvn. Afterwards he

whirlpool in the streights of Sicily, which was found by Bellerophon, who, at that

drew in with a vast force the water for a time, was preparing for an expedition a-

great way round it, and swallowed up such gainst the Chimaera. Last of all, he was

ships as came within its reach. Opposite translated into heaven, and there became a

to it, on the same streights, there was an- constellation.

other vortex named Scylla; and mariners, 24. Chimtera.] The Chimaera, according

while they endeavoured to avoid one, were to mythologists, was a monster that had the

often in danger of being devoured by the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a

other. serpent's tail. Bellerophon, the son of

21. Thessalis.'] Thessaly was a region of Glaucus king of Corinth, had the task of

Greece, lying eastward, and bounded by Ma- delivering the country from her. The en-

cedonia, Albania, Achaia, and the jEgean terprise was dangerous and above his strength,

sea. It afforded great plenty of poisonous Nevertheless he subdued this monster, by

herbs, fit for the [ urpose here spoken of. the aid of Neptune, who gave him Pegasus,

24. Pegasus.] This was a horse with wings the winged horse. Horace mentions here

who sprang from the blood of Medusa, when only Pegasus, who was no more than the in-

her head was cut off by Perseus. He was strument of this achievement ; but both the

called Pegasus, from 7rwyti,fons, because he god and the hero must be considered, who

came into life near a fountain, in the place were the performers, without which the rea-

86 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE XXVIII.

The poet in this ode uses the form of a dialogue, in which he ridicules Py-
thagoras' doctrine of the transmigration of souls, and recommends the care
of burying the dead. He introduces a mariner observing, that Archytas,
notwithstanding his extraordinary progress in natural knowledge, was yet
cut off by death, and his body destitute of the honour of sepulture. Ar-

INTER NAUTAM ET UMBHAM ARCHYTJE DIALOGUS.

TE maris et terrse, numeroque carentis arenae

Mensorem eohibent, Archyta,
Pulveris exigui prope litus parva Matinum

Munera ; nee quidquam tibi prodest
Aerias tentasse domos, animoque rotundum 5

Percurrisse polum, morituro.
Occidit et Pelopis genitor, conviva Deorum,

Tithonusque remotus in auras,
Et Jovis arcanis Minos admissus ; habentque

Tartara Panthoiden, iterum Oreo 10

ORDO.

O Arefeytt, parva muuera exigui pulveris ARCHYTAS.

prepe litvis Matinum, cohibent te mensorem Sic etoccidit Tantalus genitor Pelopi?, eon-

ntaris et tense, arnaeque carentis numero ; viva Deorum, Tithonusque remotus in auras,

nee quidquam prodest tibi morituro tentasse et Minos admissus arcanis Jovis; Tartaraque

donnos aejfias, animoque percurrisse polum habent Panthoiden itenim
jotundum.

NOTES.

soning must appear defective. When Ho- tie of the celebrated Plato directed to him.

race wrote, these fables were so well known, 3. Matinutm.\ The IVlatim were a people

tliat one circumstance only brought to view of Apulia, in the confines of Lucania, whose

all die rest. country abounded with {lowers fit for bees to

2. Archyta.'] He was bom at Tarentum, a feed upon.

city of Italy, being an excellent philosopher 7- Pelopis gewVor.]] Tantahis, king of

and geometer. There is still extant an epis- Phtygia, who, entertaining the gods at a

ODE XXVIII. HORACE'S ODES.

ODE XXVIII.

chytas answers, that the stroke of death is what none can avoid ; even the
greatest have been conquered by it, and all must submit to it one time or
other. He therefore recommends to him the care of his interment, ac-
quaints him with the blessings Jupiter will bestow upon him for so pious
an action, and the evils that will overtake him if he should neglect it.

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN A MARINER AND THE GHOST OF
ARCHYTAS.

Mariner. ARCHYTAS, thou who didst once measure the earth
and the sea, and could'st reckon the grains of sand that are infi-
nite in number, now liest extended near the Matinian shore, co-
vered only with a small quantity of earth ; nor is it of any service
to thee, who wast soon to die, that thou didst penetrate into the
heavenly mansions, and by a vast and comprehensive genius ex-
tend thy views from one pole to the other.

Ar chytas. What tlien ? did not the father of Pelops die,
notwithstanding his admission to the table of the gods ?
Even Tithon was translated into the aerial mansions, and
Minos also, who had been privy to the secret designs of Jupiter :

NOTES.

banquet, that he might make experiment of 8. Tilhonusque."] The son of Laomedon,
"their divinity, placed before them the body king of the Trojans; whom the enamoured
of his son Pelops, not doubling that they Aurora carried away by force, and conveyed
would recall him to life, were they really in her chariot into jEthiopia. Having de-
gods. All the other gods disdaining to mamled of Aurora a very long life, he is
partake of this horrid banquet, Ceres only feigned, by some, to have been transformed
ate his right shoulder ; wherefore Jupiter, into a' grasshopper ; and by others, to hatfe
when he restored him to life,^ gave him a worn away by continual old age, till at last
shoulder of ivory in the place of it, and he vanished as smoke.

thrust his father, the author of so barbar- 10. Panthuiden.] Pythagoras, a philoso-

ous an action, into hell, where being placed pher of Samos, and son to Minesarchus ;

up to the chin in water, and having apples who, having traveled through several coun-

hung before his lips, he w..s yet tortured tries from a desire of knowledge, and, up-

with perpetual thirst and hunger,- the waters on his return, finding the government of

subsiding as soon as he attempted to drink, Samos usurped by the tyrant Polycrates, de-

and the apples flying off when he endea- parted into Italy, and taught philosophy

voured to catch them. there, about the time that Tullus Hostilius

Q. HORATIi CARMINA. LIB. 1.

Demissum, quamvis, clypeo Trojana refixo

Tempera testatus, nihil ultra
Nervos atque cutem morti concesserat atrse ;

Judice te, non sordidus auctor
Naturae verique. Sed omnes una manet nox, 15

Et calcanda semcl via lethi.
Dant alios Furiae torvo spectacula Marti :

Exitio est avidum mare nautis :
Mista senum ac juvenum densantur funera : nullum

Sifiva caput Proserpina fugit. 20

Me quoque, devexi rapidus comes Orionis,

JHyricis Notus 'obruit undis.
At tu, nauta, vagae ne parce malignus arenae

Ossibus et capjti inhumato
Particulam dare : sic, quodcunque minabitur Eurus 25

Fluctibus Hesperiis, Venusinae
Plectantur sylvae, te sospite ; multaque merces,

Unde potest, tibi defluat aequo
Ab Jove, Neptunoque sacri custode Tarenti.

Negligis, immeritis nocituram 30

Postmodo te natis, fraudem committere forsan :

Debita jura vicesque superbae
Te maneant ipsum : precibus non linquar inultis,

Teque piacula nulla resolvent.
Quanquam festinas, non est mora longa j licebit 35

Injecto ter pulvere curras.

ORDO.

demissum Oreo, quamvis, testatus terapora meo inhumato : sic, quodcunque Eurus mi-

Trojana ex dypeo refixo, concesserat atrae nabitur fluctibus Hesperiis, sylvae Venus'inse

morti nihil ultra nervos atque cutem ; te plectantur, te sospite : multaque merces, unde

judice, auctor nou sordidus nature verique. potest, defluat tibi ab Jove sequo, Neptuno-

Sed una. nox manet omnes, et via lethi semel que custode sacri Tarenti.

calcanda est. Forsan tu negligis committere fraudem no-

Furiae dant alios spectacula torvo Marti : rituram postmodo te natis immeritis: debita

mare est exitio avidis nautis : mista funera jnra vicesque superbae maneant te ipsum.

Benum ac juvenum densantur: saeva Proser- Non linquar precibus inuhis, piaculaque nulla

pina fugit nullum caput. Notus, rapidus co- resolvent te. Quanquam festinas, mora non

mes tlevexi Orionis, obruit me quoque Illyri- est longa; licebit ui curras pulvere ter in me

cis undis. At tu, O nauta, ne malignus parce injecto.
dare particulam vagae arenae ossibus et capiti

NOTES.

reigned in Rome. He was the first who phorbus, the son of Panthous.

taught the transmigration of souls; and, 10. Iterum Oreo Demissi/m.] First,

to persuade his followers of the truth of when he was Euphorbus, and afterward when

it, affirmed that he remembered himself he was Pythagoras, which are the only two

to have inhabited several human bodies, that Horace mentions here.

?s that of jEiiialies, Hermotimus, and Eu- 20. Proserpina.'] The daughter of Ju-

ODE XXVIII. HORACE'S ODES. 98

Pythagoras is also in the infernal regions, into which he has again
been precipitated, though by his shield, taken from the temple, he
proved himself to be Euphorbus, who served at the siege of Troy,
and that he had yielded nothing to death but his nerves and skin :
evfn this Pythagoras is no more, who, even in your judgement, was
no mean proficient in the knowledge of nature and morality. In
fine, one eternal night awaits us all, and we must once tread the
path of death. The Furies make use of some to give diversion to
the stern god of war : the insatiable sea proves the destruction of
mariners ; neither old nor young are exempt from the grave, whose
funerals increase every day ; nor shall so much as one escape falling
into the hands of inexorable Proserpine. A 7 o wonder then that I
have fallen as well as others ; the rapid south-wind, that accom-
panies the setting of Orion, hath buried me in the lllyrian waves.
But you, mariner, be not so cruel as to refuse to cover, with a
small quantity of earth, my bones and head, which lie thus exposed
without burial. On this condition may the east-wind, which
threatens such destruction to the Hesperian waves, discharge all its
fury on the Venusian forests without doing you any harm ; and may
great riches from all quarters flow in upon you by the favour of
Jupiter, and of Neptune the guardian of Tarentum. But if you think
lightly of the commission of such a crime, and presume that the
punishment of your impiety will only reach your innocent children ;
may due vengeance and the same disdainful treatment come home
upon yourself ! Nor shall my imprecations be in vain : no sacrifices
will save you from the fury of the avenging gods. Once more,
whatever haste you are in, consider it will not detain you long to
throw three handfuls of earth upon me j and then you may proceed
on your voyage.

. NOTES.

piter and Ceres, and wife of Pluto, whom he wind.

stole, and carried away with him out of Sicily. 26. fenusince^ Venusium was a city of

She was thought to cut the hair from off Apulia, where Horace was born, not far

those who were about to die ; till that was from the territories ol Lucania in Italy,

done, the soul could not be separated from 29. Custode Tarenli.] Tarentum was built

the body. by Neptune's son, when he was regarded as

3 ! . Orionis.'] He was a famous hunter, the tutelar deity of that city, and was re-

and, being wounded by Diana, was at last ligiously worshiped in it.

translated into heaven, and placed not far 36. Injecto ter pulvere.'] Among the Ro-

from the constellation Taurus. Its rising mans, passengers were obliged to throw three

and setting are attended with dangerous tern- handfuls of earth upon any corpse they saw

pests, whence it is called by Virgil, nim- unburied; and all who neglected this re-

Ijosus Orion , and here it is given for a com- ligious act, were obliged to expiate their

panion to the south, a stormy and boisterous crime, by offering a sow every year to Ceres.

90 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE XXIX.

Horace here speaks of an expedition of JElius Largus, who, in the tenth
consulate of Augustus, in the year of the city 729, headed an army against
the Arabs. Hence we see, that this ode was composed about the end of
the forty-first or beginning of the forty-second year of our poet's age, some
months before the 24th ode. The expedition here mentioned, was far from
being successful ; for no sooner was it undertaken, than abandoned. Largus
at iirst met with no great opposition. But the heats and dews produced an

AD ICCIILM.

Icci, beatis nunc Arabum invides
Gazis, et acrcni militiam paras
Non ante dcvictis Sabeeae

Rcgibus; horribilique Medo

Nectis catenas. Quae tibi virginum, 5

Sponso necato, barbara serviet ?
Puer quis ex aula capillis

Ad cyathum statuetur unctis,
Doctus sagittas tendere Sericas

Arcu paterno ? quis neget arduis 10

Pronos relabi posse rivos

Montibus, et Tiberim reverti,
Cum tu coemtos undique nobiles

ORDO.

O Icci, nunc invides beatis gazis Ara- ministrandum. tili cyathum, dcctus tendere

"bum; et paras acretn militiam regibus sagittas Sericas arcu paterno? Quis nget

Sabaeae non ante devictis, nectisque catenas rivos prouos posse relabi arduis montibus, et

Medo horribili. Quae barbara virginum, Tiberim posse reveiti, cum tu pollicitus me-

sponso suo necato, serviet tibi ? Quis puer liora ttiidis mutare nobiles
ex aula regia unctis capillis statuetur s-d

NOTES.

1. Ifd.] Tliis Icrius was a philosopher, 1. dralnm."] Arabi* is a region of a very

and tbe friend of Horace. He went in the large extent in Asia. It is bounded on the

army sent by Augustus against the Arabians, west by ./Egypt and the Red-sea, on the east

uiuier the conduct of jEiius Largus. by Persia; to the south it has the Ocean,

ODE XXIX. HORACE'S ODES. 91

ODE XXIX.

extraordinary malady which seized the men in the head, and dried it up to
such a degree, that in a little time most of them died of it. And in those
whose constitutions were strongest^ the malady fell down from the head to
the thighs, for which there was no remedy but drinking of wine and oil,
and then rubbing with each the parts affected. But as the country afforded
neither the one nor the other, and the troops were in want of provisions,
the distemper swept off vast numbers of them. The enemy, attacking them
in this distress, soon repulsed them.

TO ICCIUS.

My dear Iccius, you seem desirous of possessing the riches of the
happy Arabia, and are preparing to carry on a bloody war against
the kings of the Sabaeans, who have never yet been conquered ;
you are even projecting nothing less than to reduce the formidable
Medes to a state of slavery. What young lady of that barbarous
nation will you retain as your slave, after having put her husband
to death ? What youth of quality, with bJs perfumed hair, and
instructed in the dexterous management of the bow, will wait
- on you at table* ? Who will henceforth deny that the rivers, de-
scending from the highest mountains, may rise up thither again,
and the Tiber run back towards his source, when he hears that
you intend to change for arms the fine works of the learned Pa-
naetius, which you had collected from all quarters with so much care

* Will be appointed to the cup.

NOTES.

and to the north Judaea. It is divided into losopher, born in the isle of Rhodes. He

three parts, called Arabia Deserta, Petrca, wrote several books de Officiis, which were

and Felix. imitated by Cicero. He had a very great share

2. Gazis.] Gaza was a Persian word sig- of the esteem of Scipio Africanus.

nifying a treasure, properly a great one. 14. Socraticam domum.] The philoso-

3. SaltBteJ} The Sabeans were a people phers who were educated in the school of So-
of Arabia Felix. Although several other crates. This great man was the son of a sta-
parts of Arabia had been conquered by the tuary at Athens, and applied himself chiefly
Romans, yet they had never penetrated so to the study of moral philosophy. Being ac-
far as Sabaea, it being a very remote region, cused of want of regard to the gods, he

9. Sericas.'] The Seres were a people of was condemned to drink a cup of poison ;

India, whose chief weapon was the bow. which, conscious of his own innocence, he

14. Panaeti.] - Pansetius was a Stoic phi- did with the greatest intrepidity and reso-

92 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. I.

Libros Panaeti, Socraticam et domum,

Mutare loricis Iberis, 15

Pollicitus meliora, tendis ?

ORDO.

libros Panaeti undique coemptos, et Socraucum domuni, loricis Iberis ?

ODE XXX.

This ode, notwithstanding its brevity, has merit. The second stanza has a
great flow of images and poetry : nor is it possible to give to Venus finer or
more modest attendants man the poet has here assigned to her. It is con-

AD VENEREM.

O VENUS, regina Cnidi Paphique,
Sperne dilectam Cypron, et vocantis
Thure te multo Glycerae decoram

Transfer in sedem.
Fervidus tecum puer, et solutis
Gratiae zonis, properentque Nymphae,
Et parum comis sine te Juventas,

Mercuriusque.

ORDO.

O Venus, regina Cnidi Paphique, sperne vidus puer, et Gratise zonis solutis, Nym-
dilectam Cypron, et transfer te in decoram phaeque properent tecum, et Juventas parum
sedem Glycerse vocantis te multo thure. Fer- comis sine te, Mercuriusque.

NOTES.

1. Cnidi."] Cnidus is a city of Asia island Cyprus, lying between Cilicia and

Minor, sacred to Venus, in that region which Syria. In this city, Venus had the greatest

goes under the name of Caria. honours paid to her, and was in a manner

1. Paphique.] Paphos was a city of the queen of it.

ODE XXX. HORACE'S, ODES. 93

and cost, and to quit the school of Socrates for that of Mars * ?
How contrary is this to your promises, and our hopes of you f !

* Change the house of Socrates for Spanish coats of mail.
}- Having promised better things.

NOTES.

lution. running through Catalonia, empties itself

15. Meris.j The Spaniards ar called into the Mediterranean sea. The Spaniards i a

Iberi, from the river Iberus, now Ebro ; those days were very dexterous in tempering

which, taking its rise in Old Castile, and metal and polishing armour.

ODE XXX.

jectured, with some probability, that this ode was composed in the year of
the city 734, or in 735. We have already spoken of raphos and Cyprus.
Who this Glycera was, is uncertain.

TO VENUS.

VENUS, queen of Cnidus and Paphos, abandon for a moment your
beloved Cyprus, and transport yourself into the chapel of Glycera,
which she has adorned for the celebration of your solemnities, and
where she invokes you by a sacrifice of incense ; come attended with
the wanton god of love, and the Graces with their zones untied ; let
the Nymphs and Mercury make a part of your train, with Youth,
\vho is seldom agreeable but when in your company.

NOTES.

7. Juventas.'] The goddess of youth, of the same import with Gratia decentes, in

Hebe was likewise named by the Greeks 55>j, the ode Soluitur acris hyems. In represent-

pulertas : she is feigned to have been the ing the Graces dressed, they described them

wife of Hercides. neither with belts nor clasps, but left their

6. Gratite.] To moderate the passionate dress to flow at the pleasure of the winds. I

and quick sallies of the little winged god, have spoken of these deities in annotating

they associate the Graces with him, and upon the ode Quantum distet ab Inacko.

must have him make his appearance even in 8. Mercuriusque.'] H e who first taught man-

their dress : that is, the festival must be kind the use of speech. He is here added

kept with a great deal of decorum and mo- as one of the companions of Venus, because

desty. Soiutis Gratia zonis, must then be love usually inspires us with eloquence.

>4 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE XXXI.

This ode would appear somewhat considerable from the nature and im-
portance of the subject. In the year 726, Octavius dedicated to Apollo
the temple and library which he had built in his palace on Mount Palatine.
The same year he concluded the lustrum, or survey of the Roman citizen s,
and receive'd the honourable title of Prince of the Senate. These three events
afforded a noble theme for a poem. I know not if Horace composed on
that occasion any other piece besides those which are handed down to us.
Be that as it will, he restricts himself in this ode to prayers and wishes con-

AD APOLLINEM.

QUID dedicatum poscit Apollinem
Vates ? quid orat, de patera novum
Fundens liquorem ? non opimas

Sardinia segetes feracis ;

Non gestuoste grata Calabriae 5

Armenta ; non aurum, aut ebur Indicum ;
Non rura, quse Liris quieta

Mordet aqua, tacitarnus amnis.
Premant Calena falce, quibus dedit

Fortuna vitem : dives et aureis 10

Mercator exsiccet culullis

Vina Syra reparata merce,
Pis carus ipsis ; quippe ter et quater
Anno revisens aequor Atlanticum

Impun. Me pascunt olivae, 13

Me cichorea, levesque raalvee.

ORDO.

Quid vates poscit dedicatum Apollinem ? li quibus fortuna dedit vitem, premant

quid orat, fundens novum liquorein de pa- earn Calena falce; et dives rnercator, carus

tera ? Non poscit segetes opimas Sardinix Diis ipsis, quippe ter et quater anno iropune

feracis ; non grata armenta sestuosse Cala- revisens aequor Atlanticum, exsiccet vina re-

briae ; non aurum, aut ebur Indicum ; non parata Syra merce culullis aureis.

rura, qua Liris uciturnus amnis mordet aqul Olivse pascunt me, cicborea quoque, leves-

quieta. que malvoe pascunt me.

NOTES.

1 . Dedicatum.] In the year of the city by the assistance of Apollo, erected and de-
726, Augustus Caesar, having overcome An- dicated a temple to him on Mount Palatine,
tony and Cleopatra, chiefly, as he thought, 4. Sardinite.] Sardinia is an island on

ODE XXXI. HORACE'S ODES.

ODE XXXI.

nected with his particular interest ; and one may venture to say, that when
the ode is considered in this view, it is far from being unworthy of our es-
teem. In it we find abundance of morality and criticism, serving to dis-
cover to us the vanity of our wishes, and the unprofitableness of our hurry
and bustle in business. The avaricious and the ambitious cannot satisfy
themselves with that which our poet here prays for ; but reason and nature
have few wants, whereas avarice never ceases creating new ones.

TO APOLLO.

WHAT does the poet ask of Apollo on the day of the dedication of
his temple ? What does he expect from his libation of new wine on
this extraordinary occasion ? He does not covet either the corn of
Sardinia, so justly famous for plentiful crops, or the fine cattle
ichich feed on the plains of the scorching Calabria. He has no
desire to possess the gold or ivory of India; nor has he set his heart
upon the fields which Liris, a silent gentle river, saps with its
waters, that glide insensibly along. Let those on whom fortune has
bestowed the vines that grow round the city of Cales, take care to
cultivate them *. Let the rich merchant, who by heaven's indul-
gence makes every year three or four voyages to the Atlantic sea,
and returns in safety, drink out of his golden cups the wine which
he has received in exchange for the goods he brings from Syria. As
forme, I canlive with pleasure upon olives, cichory, f and wholesome

* Prune them with a Calenian hook. -f- Called also succory.

NOTES.

the coast of Italy, separated from Corsica 7. Lirij.] A river in Italy remarkable

by a narrow streight. The soil of it is very for its smooth and gentle current. It sepa-

fertile. rated Latium from Campania, and the coun-

5. Calalrritel] This is a region situated try of the Samnites. At this day it obtains
near the extremity of Italy, and pact of the the name of Garigliano.

present kingdom of Naples. It abounds in 9. Cnlena.] From Gale's, a town in Cam-
pasture, pania, now Calvi.

6. Indicum.] India was a kingdom of very 14. Mqvor Atlanticum^] The African sea
large extent in Asia, lying about the rivers along the coast of Mauritania, where Mount
Indus and Ganges. It was rich in gold, Atlas stands.

ivory, gems, and spices.

96 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. I.

Frui paratis et valido mihi,
Latoe, dones, et, precor, Integra
Cum mente ; nee turpem senectam

Degere, nee cithari carentem. 20

ORDO.

O Latoe, precor ut dones mihi valido, et senectam nee turpem, nee carentem cithara.
frui paratis cum Integra raente, et degere

NOTE'S.

I?. Frui paratu."] Most men are so in- to be hoarding. Horace, who knew how to
satiable as to make it their great business be contented with a little, was only concerned

ODE XXXII.

Augustus does Horace the honour to cast his eyes on him to make the
secular hymn ; this was in some sort declaring him the best lyric poet
of the age. Horace, very sensible of the great honour conferred upon

AD LYRAM.

POSCIMUS ; si quid vacui sub umbr
, Lusimus tecum ; quod et hunc in annum
Vivat et plures, age, die Latinum,

Barbite, carmen,

Lesbio primum modulate civi ; 5

Qui ferox bello, tamen inter arma,
Sive jactatam religftrat udo

Litore navim,

Liberum, et Musas, Veneremque, et illi
Semper haerentem puerum canebat, 10

Et Lycum nigris oculis nigroque

Crine decorum.

ORDO.

O barbite, poscimiu; si vacui lusimus arma, sive religarat navim jactatam in udo

quid tecum sub umbra, age, die Latinum litore, canebat Liberum, et Musas, Vene-

carmen, quod vivat et in hunc annum, et remque, et puerum semper hierentem illi;

plures; larbite, inquam, primum modulate et Lycum decorum nigris oculis, nigroque

Lesbio civi, qui ferox bello, tamen inter crine.

NOTES.

3. Quod hunc in annum.'] This with lu$imus makes a pretty contrast. Horace looks

ODE XXXII. HORACE'S ODES. I>7

mallows. All therefore that I ask of thee, Apollo, is, that I may
enjoy the little that I have in perfect health 5 let me be sound in body,
and in mind; let me live with honour when old, and enjoy the in-
nocent pleasures of poetry and music as long as I live.

NOTES.

how to enjoy it ; he immediately grasped at tobe pitied;ashe has happiness in hishands,

the present happiness, and allowed others to but will not enjoy it.

run all their life after an imaginary bliss. 20. Nrc cithara carentem. To preserve
Nothing is more rational than this which our in old age a taste and inclination for 'music
poet here demands. Every man who knows and poetry, is a very great, but raie bless-
not to be happy with a competency, is not ing.

ODE XXXII.

him, and that he might the better answer the choice of so great a prince,
addresses himself here to his harp, and desires the assistance he wanted on
this occasion.

TO HIS HARP.

IF ever, at my leisure hours, under a sweet delightful shade I have
sung any odes in concert with you, I pray, my harp, you will now
assist me in composing one in Latin, that may be worthy of immor-
tality. You first had the honour of being tuned and touched by the
Lesbian citizen, renowned for arms ; who, whether he was in the
camp, or at his moorings on the briny shore, never ceased after a
storm to sing of Bacchus, the Muses, Venus, and Cupid her insepar-
able companion, and Lycus with his charming black eyes, and lovely

NOTES.

on what he has already done, as nothing in not the beauty or force of the former,

comparison to what Augustus demands of 5. Letbio.] AIcwus was a Greek poet, and

him. Hitherto, says he, we have produced said to be the first inventor of lyric poetry,

nothing but some inerry songs, which are at- which from him was called Alcaic. He was

tended with little or no other effect, than that born at M'nylene, the metropolis of the isle of

of amusing us for a short time : now we Lesbos, in the /Egean sea. He carried on a

must set about some more important perform- very considerable war with the Athenians-

ance, that will deserve to be transmitted to and expelled Pittacus, the tyrant of Mitylene;

latest posterity. Quod refers to carmen, and excelling HO less in military discipline than

not to quid, as some great commentators in poetry,
would Have it ; for, in the latter case, it has

VOL. I. H

g Q. HORATII CARM1NA. Lin. I.

O decus Phoebi, et dapibus supremi
Grata testudo Jovis, 6 laborum

Dulce lenimen, mihi cunque salve 15

Rite vocanti.

ORDO.

O testudo, decus Phoebi, et grata dapibus salve mihi quando cunque it rite vocanti.
supremi Jovis, O dulce lenimen laborum,

NOTES.

14. Testudo.'] A kind offish that derives its name from the large shell with which it is

ODE XXXIII.

He comforts Albius, who, being in love with Glycera, had no reciprocal re- ,
gard shown him by her ; he shows him that this was not his fate alone, but

AD ALBIUM TIBULLUM.

ALBI, ne doleas plus nimio, memor
Immitis Glycerae ; neu miserabiles
Decantes elegos, cur tibi junior

Lsesa praeniteat fide.

Insignem teniu fronte Lycorida 5

Cyri torret amor: Cyrus in asperam
Declinat Pholoen : sed prills Appulis

Jungentur caprepe lupis,
Quam turpi Pholoe peccet adultero.
Sic visum Veneri, cui placet impares 10

Formas ..tque aniinos sub juga ahenea

Saevo mittere cum joco.
Ipsum me, melior cum peteret Venus,

ORDO.

O Albi, ne doleas plus nimio, memor im- loen : sed capreoe Jungentur lupis Appulis,

mitis Glycerse ; neu dccantes miserabiles ele- priusquam Pholoe peccet turpi adultero. Sic

gos, cur junior, lassa illius fide, praeniteat tibi. visum est Veneri, cui placet mittere impares

Amor Cyri torret Lycorida insigucm fronte formas atque animos sub juga ahenea cum

tenui: Cyrus autem declinat in asperam Pho- saevojoco.

NOTES.

1 . Alli^\ This is the same with the poet Elegies still remaining, which are of an ex-
Tilmlhis, of whom we have four books of quisite tastt. He died much about the same

ODE XXXIII. HORACE'S ODES. 99

black hair. O thou, my dear lyre, who art the ornament of Apollo,
and so acceptable at the table of Jove, who so agreeably sweetenest
the most painful toils, be propitious to me whenever I invoke your
kind assistance, but especially on this great and solemn occasion.

NOTES.

covered; in Latin, testa. Of the shell of shell, when struck, sent forth a very pleasant

the tortoise, Mercury is reported to have sound.

made a harp, having added strings to it, 15. Salve.'] i.e. Fave mihi te vocanti quo-

which, by reason of the concavity of the tiescunque te rite vocabo.

ODE XXXIII.

that of many others; Venus taking a pleasure sometimes to inspire us with
the love of those who already have their hearts otherwise engaged.

TO ALBIUS TIBULLUS.

BE not too much dejected with grief, Albius, when you reflect upon
the harsh treatment you meet withjrom cruel Glycera; nor repeat
mournful elegies, because that treacherous woman has broken her
promise, and preferred the addresses of a younger lover. The
charming Lycoris, so distinguished for her lovely forehead, is pas-
sionately in love with Cyrus, while Cyrus burns for the inexorable
Pholoe; but sooner shall the goats join with the ravenous wolves of
Apulia, than Pholoe yield to so vile an adulterer. Such is the will
of Venus, who sometimes takes a cruel pleasure in bringing, under
her brazen yoke, persons and hearts of different inclinations. I my-
self, though beloved by a kinder mistress, yet could not shake off

NOTES.

time with the poet Virgil. of Tihullus to this Pholoe, we may ttnder-

2. Immiti.'i Glycerte.] This was no doubt stand, that she was of a humour not at all

the same Glycera who was beloved by Horace, agreeable to hor gallants : for, in speaking of

who, however, was no rival to Tihullus, he her to one of his friends, whom she had

being in love with some other person when treated with such rigour and disdain as oc-

Horace was engaged in that amour. From casioned his death, he tells her,
this we may learn, that many of Tibullus' Oderunt, PhoRe, moneo faslidia divi;
works must be lost, as, in the pieces of his Nee prodest sanctis tliura dedissejbcis.

that still remain, he makes no mention of ' Pholoe,! warn you, that the disdain where-

Glycera, or of the strict amity that subsisted with you treat your lovers displeases the gods;

between him and the poet Horace. arid so long as you continue to be cruel, it is

7. Phol'Jen.] By an elegy which we have vain for you to offer incense.'

100 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Gratft detinuit compede Myrtale
Libertina, fretis acrior Adriae 1

Curvantis Calabros sinus.

ORDO.

Myrtale libertina, acrior fretis Adrize cur- pede, cum melior Venus me peteret.
vantis sinus Calabros, detinuit mcipsum com-

ODE XXXIV.

He accuses himself, that, led aside by the Epicurean philosophy, he had ne-
glected the worship of the deity ; takes notice of those amazing instances of
power that evidence his superintendence of the universe j and acknowledges

AD SEIPSUM.

PARCUS Deorum cultor et infrequens,
Insanientis dum sapientiae

Consultus erro; nunc retrorsum
Vela dare, atque iterare cursus

Cogor relictos : namque Diespiter, i

Igni corusco nubila dividens,
Plerumque per purum tonantes

Egit equos volucremque currum ;
Quo bruta tellus, et vaga flumina,
Quo Styx, et invisi horrida Taenari 10

Secies, Atlanteusque finis

Concutitur. Valet ima summit

ORDO.

Parcus equidem et. infrequens fui cultor egit equos tonantes Tolticremque currum pet

Deorum, cum consultus iusanientis sapientice purum : quo bruta tellus, et vaga flnmini,

erro; nunc vere cogor retrorsun dare vela, quo Styx et horrida sedes invisi Tsenari,

atque iterare cursus reliotos. Namque Dies- AUauteusque finis concutitur. Deus valet
piter dividens nubila igni corusco, plerumque

NOTES.

1. Parcus t/ infrequent.] The Epicu- or at lealt rarely, that is, infrequent er.
reans denied the existence of the gods, and 2. Insanientis sapieiitite.] The Stoic*
only conformed externally and with grimace pronounced the sentiments of Epicurus mad-
to religion, which, as they pretended, the ness, while the Epicureans thought therm
credulity of the people only had established, wise. Horace hath very facetiously johied
This is what gave occasion to the words both the terms, which seemingly destroy one
Parcus et iitfrequens. Wliatever one does another. Let me observe one thing more,
contrary to his sentiments, or what is purely which at the same time serves for an equi-
ceremony, is done but superficially, parce, vocation and ambiguity; it is this, that

ODE XXXIV. HORACE'S ODES. 101

the pleasing chains of that freed slave Myrtale, whose temper is more
stormy than the Adriatic sea, where it winds itself into gulfs on
the coast of Calabria.

ODE XXXIV.

that he is possessed of an absolute and uncontrolled dominion, to exalt or
depress whomsoever he will. When this ode was composed is uncertain ;
some have thought of the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, but that is
doubtful.

TO HIMSELF.

WHILE I gave myself up to the errors of a frantic philosophy, I ne-
glected to render to the gods the worship due to them : but now I
am obliged to turn my sails, and pursue the course 1 lately forsook ;
for Jupiter, dividing the clouds with his rapid lightning, drove his
thundering coursers and impetuous chariot through a clear and
serene air; at which this sluggish mass of earth shook ; at which the
flowing rivers ware troubled; even hell itself was astonished; and
Atlas trembling from one end to the other confessed his omnipotence.
God, at his pleasure, can make high what is low ; can depress the

NOTES.

Mpienties signifies both wisdom and philoso- 11. Atlanleiis f.nis.~\ The ancients were

phy ; the Epicureans might have taken it in of opinion, that the world did not extend

the former sense, and the Stoics in the latter, westward beyond the Atlantic Ocean.
Thus both might find their account in it. 12. Vakt ima summis, &c.] Here begins

5. Diespiler.] Jupiter, quasi, diet pater, the unriddling of the whole piece. The poet,

10. <9/J/.r.] A celebrated river in hell, after he had for some time performed the

An oath by this was counted so sacred, that actor, quits the mask of Stoicism, and shows

the gods themselves would not violate it; and himself in his native colours, i. e. an ortho-

when th<?y intended to mata any of their de- dox Epicurean. He acknowledges the gods;

terminations irrevocable, they visually swore he had no mind to speak otherwise; he

by this river. allows them a power of doing everything,

1 0. Ttsnari^] Taenarus was a promontory provided they did not disturb their own tran-

of Laconia in Peloponnesus, where was to be quillity, and left all events to fortune. It

seen a spacious cave, through which Hercu- deserves to be further observed, that there is

les is suppised to have .returned from hell, a palpable ambiguity in the word Deus here

and to liave brought Cerberus bound 10 the used. The Stoics must naturally refer this

upper regions of light. This was commonly to Diespiter; but the only god capable of

thought to be the jaws and entrance of hell, action in the Epicurean poet's idea of such a

and therefore it is often made by the poets to being, is nature herself, who, by her fortut-

stand for hell itself. tous motion of atoms, produces all the oc-

102 Q. HORATII CARMINA. Life. I-

Mutare, et insignem attcnuat Deu?,
Obscdra promens : hinc apicem rapax

Fortuna cum stridore acuto 15

Sustulit; hie posuisse gaudet.

ORDO.

mutare ima summis, et attenuat insignem, lit' apicem stridore acuto; hie vero gaudet
promens obscura. Rapax fortun.': hinc sustu- posuisse.

NOTES.

currences in the universe. This expression dre, since it contains this meaning, mutare
Ima siimmis mutare, admits a doulie entcn- imis summa. See the remarks on ode Ibis

ODE XXXV.

He acknowledges the great power of Fortune, and that she is deservedly had in
the highest veneration by all nations; prays to her for the, preservation of
Caesar, who at that time was forming a design of making an expedition
against the Britons. He then breaks forth into a lamentation, on account

AD FORTUNAM.

O DIVA, gratum quae regis Antium,
Preesens vel imo tollere de gradu
Mortale corpus, vel superbos

Vcrtere funeribus triumphos!

Te pauper ambit solicita prece 5

Ruris colonus : te dominam aequoris,
Quicunque Bithyna lacessit

Carpathium pelagus caring.
Te Dacus aspcr, te profugi Scythse,

ORDO.

O Diva, qnae regis gratum Antium, prne- pauper colonus runs ambit te solicita prece :
sens vel tollere mortale corpus de imo gradu, quicumque lacessit pelagus Carpathium carini
vel vertere supeibos triumphos funeribus ! Bithyna, ambit te dominam aequeris. Asper

NOTES.

1. Diva-'] Fortune is a great divinity 1. Antium^] Antium was a city belong-

fca 1 an Epicurean. Paganism never forged rng to the Volsci, situated on the sea-coast,

so fantastical, so absolute, and so universal a in the same place where is now the city of

deity. She is the spring of all events. She Nettunio. It was sacred to Fortune, who

unites all men at her aliar ; the happy by fear, had a famous temple in it.
and the unhappy by hope.

ODE XXXV. HORACE'S ODES. 103

great, and bring the meanest out of their obscurity; but fortune,
guided by caprice, removes with a mighty pother the crown from
the head of one king, and puts it on the head of another.

NOTES.

Libimiis. Ausonius has explained both 16. Gaiidet.] The whole design and force
these thoughts in the following verse of his of the ode are included in this one word ; and
103d epigram : it gives the last blow to Stoicism. Fortune

sovereignly determines all tilings, and her
Et summa in imum vertit, et versa erigit. pleasure is the sole director of all the actions

in the universe.

ODE XXXV.

of the miseries occasioned by the late civil war, and again addresses Fortune
that she would extinguish all the remaining seeds of it, and stir up the
Romans to employ their swords no longer^ against each other, but only
against their common enemies.

TO FORTUNE.

O GODDESS! thou who takest such a pleasure to reign in the agree-
able city of Antium; who canst either raise a man from the lowest
station to the highest honours, or change the most splendid triumplis
of the greatest princes into a mournjul' funeral ! the poor country
swain, with repeated prayers, courts your favour and assistance ;
#nd the sailor, who cuts the Carpathian sea with a Bithynian keel,
acknowledges thee mistress of the main. The stern Dacians, tiie
wandering Scythians, all cities and nations, the warlike Latins, arid

NOTES.

6. Te dominant <equoris.~\ Horace makes ships.

Fortune here sovereign of the sea, as Pindar 8. Carpathium.'] An island of the Me-

does in one of his odes; this is the reason diteiraiiean sea, at the extremity of the Ar-

they give her a helm, to show her power over chipelago, lying between Rhodes and Crete,

navigation and commerce. 9. Dacus.'j The Daci inliabited those

7. Bitlujna.\ Bithynia was a part of Asia places which now go b the names of Wai-
Minor, and almost answers to that part of lachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia. They
Natolia which borders on the canal ot the were a fierce and barbarous people.

Black Sea. The forests of Bithynia and 9. Scytfue.] A people inhabiting t] ie

Pontus furnished excellent wood for building north of Asia, now called TarUnians.

104 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. I.

Urbesque, gcntesquc, et Latium ferox, 1

Rcgumque matres barbarorum, et

Puvpurei metuunt tyranni.
Injurioso ne'pede proruas
Stantem columnam; neu populus frequens

Adarma cessantes, ad arma 15

Concitet, imperiun)que frangat.
Te semper anteit saeva Necessitas,
Clavos trabales et cuneos inanu
Gestans ahena ; nee severus

Uncus abest, liquidumque plumbum. 20

Te Spes, et albo rara Fides colit
Velata panno, nee comitem abnegat,
Utcunque mutata poterites

Vcste domes inimica linqnis.

At vulgus 'infidum, et meretrix retro 25

Perjura cedit ; diffugiunt cadis
Cum fece siccatis amici,

Ferre jugum pariter dolosi.
Serves iturum Cfesarem in ultimos
Orbis Britannos, et juvenum recens 30

Elxamen Edis timendum

Partibus, oceanoque rubro.
Ebeu, cicatricum et sceleris pudet,
Fratrumque ! Quid nos dura refugimus

./Etas? quid intaetum nefasti 35

Liquimus? unde manum juvcntus

O R D O.

Dacus me'uit te ; profugi Scythse, urbesque tata. At vulgus infidnm, ct meretrix per-

gentesque, etLatiura ferox, matresque regum jura retro cedit ; amiei diffugiunt, cadis sic-

barbaioruin, ct tyranni pin pur i inctuiini te. catis cum fece, dolosi ferrc jugiimpariicr.

Ne proruas pedc tnjuriosu columnam sun- Furtnnn, serves Caesa;era iturum in Bri-
tem; neu populus frequens concitct ctssantes tantios uliimos terravum ; e 'serves recens ex-
ad arma, ad arma, frangatque impeiinm. amerr juvenum timcncium Eois partibus o-
Saeva Necessitas, gestans clavos tiabales et ctanoque rubro.,

cuneos inanu aheiia', semper anteii te ; ne Eheu, pudet ciratricum et sceleris, fra-

severus uncus abes!, liquidumque plumbum, trumque. Quid nos, duiasetas, refugimus ?

Spes colit te, et rara Fides velata albo panno Quid 1103 iief^sti liquitnus iutactum? uude

colit te, nee abnegat comitem, utcuuque ini- juveritus
mica liuquis domos potentes vestc tua mu-

NOTES.

14. Slanlem columiiamJ] This column shaken in his absence.

naturally iepre:>eMts the Kpu .-lie raiseu by 17. Te semper an/cit.] This is a de-

Augustus' vii tories; ami, a,, it <stablish- scription of a picture of For line which was

ment was recent, Horace here insinuaics to ut Antium, or perhaps a picture of her drawn

Augustus that it was the more liable to be by Horace's own hand, than wiunn I questic*

ODE XXXV. HORACE'S ODES. 105

mothers of barbarian kings, and even the most exalted monarchs
clothed in purple, are in fear of thee.

Do not in thy wrath overturn the Roman empire, which is
now so firmly established ; nor suffer a set of factious men to stir
up the people to arms, who are now quiet o.nd peaceable, and
thereby ruin the empire. Cruel Necessity gors always before thee,
carrying in her brazen hands great nails and wedges, the torment-
ing hook and plummet*. Hope and fidelity, so seldom to be
met with in this corrupt age, clothed in a robe of white, make a
part of thy n-tinue, nor refuse to appear as your companions, even
though you change your gaudy robe, and in wrath abandon the ha-
bitations of the great. But the perfidious people and the faithless
courtezans retire. No sooner are our casks empty, than our false f
friends disappear, without giving themselves the least trouble to
assist us to bear the weight of the disgraces that oppress us. I
pray, O goddess, that thou would' st take Csesar into thy protection,
who is designing an expedition against the Britons, who inhabit
the utmost corners of the earth. Take care also of our new-
levied troops, consisting of trie flower of our youth, which are to
carry the terror of the Roman name as far as the extremities of
the east, and all along the borders of the Red Sea. Alas ! we are
ashamed of our crimes, and that we should have shed the blood
of our fellow-citizens. Unhappy age of iron that we are ! what
cruelties have we forborne ? What wickedness have we not com-
mitted ? In what instance has the fear of the gods restrained

* Melted lead. f See Note -27.

NOTES.

whether there was a better painter in his day. 25- At vulgus infidum, et meretrix.]

Nothing can be more ingenious, and at the These are they who forsake Fortune wheu

same time more judicious. In this picture she is adverse, the vulgar, the courtezans,

you see Necessity marching before Fortune, and the false friends ; for such persons love

as the Ik-tors march before the consuls, cur- only for interest, and follow only the fa-

rying in her hands gieat spikes, wedjres, vour of Fortune, but p:iy no respect to Sin-

hooks, and a plummet, of which Fortune cerity and Virtue. How natural is this

makes the same uce as the consuls do of picture !

their rods that are carried before them, to -27. 4mic>,ferrcjugi<m writer (lotosi.] All

enforce the execution of th:ir orders. For- friends do not draw back, only the false.

tune makes the same use of Necessity; for The frirnds who will not bear irte yoke e-

all her sentences are irrevocable, nor can any Dually, is the literal meaning of the words;

thing ward off her blows. Fidelity and a metaphor taken from oxen tilling the

Hope foHo\v her, and accompany her every ground under the same yoke.

:where, even where she changes her gay up- 29. In ultimos nrbis Rritannot.'] In the

parelmtoinournitigrob.es. year of Rome 727, the British ambassa-

106 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. I.

Metu Deorum continuit ? quibus
Pepercit aris ? 6 utinarn nova
Incude diffingas retusum in

Massagetas Arabasque ferruni. 40

ORDO.

TOntimiit manum metu Dcornm ? Qnibus aris incude ferrum retusum in Massagetas Ara-
pepercit ? O Fortuna, utinam diffingas nova basque.

NOTES.

dors met Augustus at Rimini on his march of peace as he thought fit to impose.
agaii.st them, and received such conditions 38. G utinam.] Horace prajs Fortune that

ODE XXXVI.

Horace appears in all hts works to be a true friend, as well as a good poet, and
the former quality makes him as valuable as the second. With what
transports of joy is he aftecttd on, the return of Numida, who, in the year

AD POMFONIUM NUMIDAM.

ET thure et fidibus juvat

PlacarCj et vituli sanguine debito,
Custodes iNumidae Deos j

Qui nunc Hesperia sospes ab ultima,
Caris multa sodalibus, 5

Nulli plura tamen dividit oscula,
Quam dulci Lainife, memor

Aet&e non alio rege puertiae,
Mutateque simul togee.

Cressa ne careat pulchra dies not& : 10

proinptte modus amphorae,

ORDO.

Juvnt placare, et thure et fidihus, et debito nulli quam dulci Lamiop, roemor pueritise

anguine vituli, Dcot cnstodesNutnidae; qui, actae non alio rege, togaeqw simul mutatae,
nunc sospes revcrsus alj ultima Hesperii, di- Ne pulchra dies careat Ciess4 noti 1 neu

vidit ruultaoscula caris sodalibus, plura tamen mcxlus sit proinptse aniphorae,

NOTES.

S.'Numidte.'] Tins surname belonged to probably given them on account of some no-
the families of Ploiius and Emilius. It was ble achievements, the knowledge of which

ODE XXXVI. HORACE'S ODES. 107

our youth from sacrilege ? What altars have they spared r Do
thou, O goddess, new-temper our blunted .swords, that we may use
them n-ith success against the Massagetes and Arabians, oi<r cruel
and implacable enemies.

NOTES.

she would new-forge those swords which had aversion of the gods.

been staineil with the blood of the Romans 40. Massagetas.] The Massagetae were a

in the civil war, that they might he of use Scythian nation, of which we have mail*

against the commonwealth ; for while they mention before.

were polluted, they must be thought the

ODE XXXVI.

of Rome 730, returned from Spain, after an absence of three years ! Sacri-
fices, songs, and dances, are all introduced at an entertainment in which
friendship presides.

TO POMPONIUS NUMIDA.

I WILL now with pleasure sacrifice the victim which I lately
vowed, with incense and music, to the tutelar gods of Numida,
who, having returned in safety from bpain, shares his embraces
among his dear friends, but shows a greater respect * to none than
to his dearest friend Lamias, with whom he remembers he passed
his younger years under the same tutor, and that both assumed
the toga virilis f on the same day. Let us reckon this one

* Gives more kisses. -f Manlygown.

NOTES.

has escaped us. in our poet's time, before they were fifteen

4. Hesperia ab ultima.'] The name of yars of age. Under the emperors, it was

Hesperia was given to all the western part of customary to dispense with one year of this

Europe ; and seems to be derived from the period. The ordinary loga, according to

star Hesperus, which always accompanies the Dionysius, was a great cloak of woollen -stuff

setting sun; or from a certain person of that in the form of a -semicircle, woni over the

name, the son of Atlas, who reigned in tunic. There were different kinds of them

those parts. The simple name OKtpefia, for length, colour, and other ornaments, to

or Hesperia proximo, seems to have been ap- distinguish the several ranks and prei'essious

propriated to Italy ; and Hesperia ultima, to of men.

Spain, as lying more to the west. 10. Cressa.] The Cretans were the first

9. Mntalai toga;.] The Romans were not who distinguished their unlucky days by

admitted to the toga virilis, or manly gown, black marks, and dicir fortunate by white.

108 Q. HORAT1I CARMLNA. LIB. I.

Neu morem in Salium sit requies pedum :
Neu multi Damalis ineri

Bassum Threicia vincat amystide :
Neu desint epulis rosse, 15

Neu vivax apium, neu breve lilium.
Omnes in Damalin putres

Deponent oculos ; nee Damalis novo
Divellctur adultero,

Lascivis ederis ambitiosior. 20

ORDO.

*ew sit requws pcdum in morem Saliuvn : nent cculos putres in Damalin ; ncc Damaiis

neu Damalis Lilax multi men vincat Bas^um uivelletur novo adultero, ambitiosior lascivk<

amyslide Threicia: neu rosaedesint epulis, neu ederis.
vivax apium, neu breve lilium. Omues depo-

NOTES.

Tht Grecians imitated this custom ; whence arose the proverb, to raaik a day with white,

ODE XXXVII.

The death of Cleopatra put an end to the war between Augustus and Mark
Antony. Of six odes which Horace coni|X>sed on this subject, this is
the last, but not the less beautiful on that account. ' His genius is not weak-
ened by its productions, but maintains its force to the very last. The
great success of Augustus gives him new strength and vigour ; the poet and
hero triumph equally. The character of the queen of Egypt is a finished
piece, and her tragical death is here represented in the most lively and na-
tural colours.

In the month of August, from the building of the city 724, Octavius made
himself master of Alexandria, subdued all Egypt, and drove Antony and
Cleopatra to the sad necessity of laying violent hands on themselves. This
catastrophe was not known at Rome before the middle of September ; and
this is the nearest date at which the ode can be put. Horace was then in
the thirty-fifth year of his age.

Here we bave a palpable proof of what I have asserted in a preceding
ode I mean our poet's constant regard for the person of Antony. It was
he that put Egypt and all the East under arms against Octavius ; and his
death delivered this prince from a dangerous rival, and put an end to the
civil wars which for several years had convulsed the republic. All
ur poet's indignation then should in all probability have fallen on Antony,

ODE XXXVII. HORACE'S ODES. 109

of our happy days; let us take a hearty glass, dance, and be merry.
Let not that toper Dainalis triumph over Bassus, by drinking more
large bumpers than he. Let us neither want roses, parsley, nor
lilies, to make us garlands at this agreeable entertainment. The
whole company shall show they have a great affection for Da-
malis ; but none shall be able to prevail with her to forsake her
new lover Numida, to whom she will be as constant as the ivy to
the oak.

NOTES.

the same as to testify some great cause of 14. Threida amysHde.'] The term here

rejoicing. vised is Greek, and denote* a manner of

12. Morem in SaHum.] The Salii were drinking usual with the Thracians in their

the priests of Mars, who made their proces- debauches ; which was, to dihik off a large

sions by singing ami dancing. full cup at one draught.

ODE XXXVII.

who was no longer to be regarded, since he was in no capacity of resent-
ing it ; yet he does not speak a syllable of him. The death of Cleopatra
wholly engrosses the poet ; this is the only object that he proposes for the
public joy. What could be the motive of such a procedure? That which
naturally offers itself to the reader in perusing this ode, but what none of
the commentators have thoroughly examined. To canvass the reasons of
our poet, we must show the circumstances of that period in which he
wrote. I have already hinted at some of them, which agree as well to this
piece as they do to others. Besides, Julius Antonius, son of the triumvir,
had obtained his pardon of Octavius, who endeavoured to win him over,
and afterwards conferred on him several favours. And possibly Octavius
was very glad of having the treacherous Antony's memory tenderly dealt
with, that all the odium might be turned on Cleopatra his rival. What
induces me to think thus, is, that Octavius being on the point of undertak-
ing a war against Antony, that princess, having more of the Roman in her
sentiments than what her birth entitled her to, begged her brother to for-
get the ill-treatment which he had received from her vinworthy husband.
In short, the senate,., as I have observed elsewhere, had given Horace the
precedent for the moderation which he has observed, and the glory of Oc-
tavius could suffer nothing by it. Propertius, in the sixth elegy of his
fourth book, has treated the same subject nearly in the same manner.

110

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. L

AD SODALES.

NUNS est bibendum, nunc pede libero
Pulsanda tellus : nunc Saliaribus
Ornare pulvinar Deorum

Tempus erat dapibus, sodales.
Anteliac net'as depromere Caecubura
Cellis avitis, dum Capitolio
Regina deincntes ruinas,

Funus et imperio parabat,
Contaminate cum grege turpium
Morbo virorum, quidlibet impotens
Sperare, fortunaque dulci

Ebria : sed minuit furorem
Vix una sospes navis ab ignibus ;
Mentemque lymphatam Mareotico
Redegit in veros timores

Caesar, ab Italia volantem
Remis adurgens (accipiter velut
Molles columbas, aut leporem citus
Venator in campis nivalis
/Emonifie), daret ut catenis

ORDO.

O soJales, nunc est bifeendun, nunc tellus impotens sperare quidlibet, ebriaque fortuna
est pulsanda pede libero : nunc tempus erat dulci.
ornare pulvinar Deorum dapibus Saliari-

Antehac nefas erat depromere Caecuhum

Sed una navis vix sospes ab ignibus mi-
nuit furorein ejus ; Caesarque redegit men-
tern ejus, lymphatam vino Mareotico, in ve-

rhium cellis aviiis ; dum regina, cum gvege TOS timores, adurgens remis illam volantem ab
virorum turpium contaminate morbo, parabat Italia (velut accipiter aclurget molles colum-
<jementes ruinas Capitolio, et funus imperio; bas, aut citus venator leporem in campis /E-

1. Nunc est lilcndum.J This intro'hic-
lion is truly triumphant. The poet, in few
words, expresses tke transporting joy which
so happy an event ought to raise in the
breast of every citizen, as all were interested
in it. An ordinary poet could not fail of
giving us a minute relation of the effcts
of so general a joy. But Horace, far from
entertaining us with puerile descriptions,
that were now thread-bare, proceeds at once
to the causes of this public joy. Cleopa-
tva's horrible schemes, the dread and appre-
hensions she caused throughoat the empire,
the ruin of her fortune, her tragic end, are
striking objects which enliven the scene,
ad fix the attention of every individual,

Thus, what would have been as mere dra-
pery with some, becomes, in the hands of an
able master of his pencil, a source of exquisite
beauty.

2. Saliaribus^] We have in, the former
ode mentioned who these Salii were ; we have
only to add, that their feasts, on occasion
of the solemn processions which they made,
were so magnificent, that Dapes Saliares
became a proverb for sumptuous and grand
entertainments.

3. Ornarf jjtdi-huar Deorum.] Whenever
the state obtained any considerable advan-
tage, a public* festival was ordained as a day
of thanksgiving to the gods ; whose statues
they placed on little couches, fitted up in

OI>E XXXVII.

HORACE'S ODES.

Ill

TO HIS FRIENDS.

Now, my dear friends, we may drink heartily, and indulge our-
selves in mirth and dancing: now is the time, were it in our
power, to make our feasts equal in magnificence and delicacy to
the repasts that were served up to the priests of Mars in their
solemn processions *. Till now it was a crime, even to hring out
of our vaults our most delicious wine, while, with an infamous
troop of vile miscreants, & furious queen, flushed with her good
fortune, and blindly promising herself success in all her attempts,
was threatening the ruin of the Capitol, and utter subversion of
our empire. But her whole fleet being burned, except a single
vessel, that with great difficulty escaped the flames, her fury began
to abate ; and her mind, already disordered by the fumes of Mare-
otic wine, was put into a real consternation, when she in her
flight from Italy heard, that she was closely pursued by Augustus,
who, burning with desire to put this monster in chains, that was
so fatal to the Roman empire, followed her as a hawk does the ti-
morous doves, or a swift huntsman runs down a hare in the plains of
f. She, in the mean time, desiring nothing more than to

* See Notes 2 and 3 .

f- Snowy jEmonia.

NOTES.

their temples, and offered to them the most
exquisite repasts. The expression ornare
is most correct and just ; for the gods had
no more than the show of this rich repast,
while the priests had all the substance.

6. Capitolin.] The capitol was the temple
of Jupiter, built upon the Tarpeian rock.
It was so called, because, while they were
digging the foundations of it, they kmnd
the head of a man.

7. Regina.] Cleopatra, queen of Egypt,
with whom Antony was violently in love, and
divorced CVesar's sister Octavia ; which Caesar
resenting, declared war against him, and de-
feated him in a sta-dght at Actium. Anto-
ny upon this killed himself, whose example
Cleopatra following, ended her life by ap-
plying two poisonous asps to he* breast,
choosing death rather than to be taken pri-
soner, and made to adorn the triumphs of
Augustus.

13. Ab igmhisJ] After Antony had fled,.
Augustus, tired with the obstinate resistance
of his enemies, ordered fire to be brought
from his camp on shore. This soon changed
the face of affairs : in a moment they pour-

ed into tlifi hostile fleet red-hot darts and
torches, and, by the help of machines, drove
earthen vessels, full of boiling pilch and
burning coals, which soon set the ships on
fire. But Augustus's men endeavoured to
extinguish the flames, to save the riches they
expected to find on board.

14. Marcotito.] Wine, so called because
it grew near a marsh in /Egypt, called Ma-
reotis. Horace would here insinuate, that
Cleopatra had so disordered her mind, as
to entertain such foolish and vain hopes as
those do who are intoxicated.

16. Ab Italia vvlantem.~] The ambitious
queen had left Egypt with a numerous and
formidable fleet, to invade Italy as a secure
and unavoidable prey. This prey which was
the object f her views, soon became the ob-
ject of her dread ; hi disorder she quits her
course for Itily, and crowds all the sails pos-
sible, and plies all her oars to make good
her retreat into Egypt. What a reverse of
fortune '.

20. JEmonLs.'] This is by some inter-
preted of Thrace, so called from mount Hae-
inus. But it seems rather u> be a region of

112 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

Fatale monstrum ; quae gcnerosius
Peri re quaerens, nee muliebiiter
Expa\ it ensem, nee latentes
C'lasse cita reparavit oras ;

Ausa et jacentem visere regiam 25

Vuitu sereno, fortSs et asperas
Tractare serpentes, ut atrum

Corpore combiberet venenum;
Deliberate raorte ferocior;

Saovis Liburnis scilicet invidens 30

Privata deduci superbo

Non humilis mulier triumpho.

ORDO.

mouiw nivalis) ut daret fatale monstrum cate- asperas serpentes, ut combiberet atrum ve-

nis ; qnce quaerens generosius perire, nee mu- nenum corpora ; ferocior morte deliberate ;

liebriter expavit ensem, nee reparavit laten- invidens deduci triumpho superbo ut privata

tes oras cita classe ; et ausa est sereno vultu in Liburnis saevis, nou liumilis scilicet mu-

visere regiam jacentem, etfortiserof tractare Her.

NOTES.

Thessaly, bordering upon Macedonia, and so ways wore a dagger, with which she was go-
called from one of the sons of Deucalion ing to s:ab herself, as soon as she saw Pro-
named jEmon. culeius coming up to her. But Procule-
23. Expavit fnsem.'] Cleopatra, of all ius soon stopped her intention, by snatching
things, dreaded most the falling into the it out of her hands.
hands of Octavius. For that reason she al-

ODE XXXVII.

HORACE'S ODES.

113

die gloriously, was not, like other women, at all terrified at the
point of a spear, nor attempted with her' fleet to make all the sail she
could for a country unknown to the enemy ; on the contrary, be-
coming more haughty after she was fully resolved to die, she liad
the courage to hehold with a serene countenance her palace all in.
ashes, and to take hissing snakes into her hands, and make them
pour all their poison into her veins, disdaining to be carried in
Augustus' fleet as an ordinaiy captive, to be an ornament to his
triumph ; she, whose greatness of soul was equal to her birth.*

* Being not a mean woman.

NOTES.

26. Asperas.~\ This word bears the same
meaning here with asperatas, exacsrbatas,
i. e. exasperated; which gives us a beautiful
idea, and in every respect corresponds to the
history. Cleopatra, unable to execute the
. design of murdering herself by her dagger,
got a snake to bite her in the arm ; and to
make the wound more incurable, she exas-
perated the noxious animal (with a golden,
spindle, as Plutarch tells us: Aspidem per-
luic/it, aureofaso ipxam lacessentis etstimu-
lantis adripuisse Cleopalne bracliium..} Thus
died one of the most beautiful and ambitious
princesses in the universe, at the age of
thirty-eight years, of which she had reigned
seventeen. With her fell the Egyptian mo-

narchy, after it had subsisted 294 years un-
der the government of thirteen of the family
of the Lagidae.

30. Liburnis.'] A sort of vessel of great
use to Augustus in the sea-fight at Actium,
built by the Liburni, a people of Illyricum.
They were very light, easily managed, and
remarkable for their celerity.

9-2. No7i humilis mulicr,~\ Our author
probably used this term in imitation of the
conversation that passed between this princess
and Augustus, who addressed Cleopatra with
no oil;. lit than Mulier, woman.

Woman, says Augustus to her, take courage,
you h.ive nothing to fear: Bono aitimo esio,
as Dio has it in his 5 1st Book.

Voi. I.

114 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. I.

ODE XXXVIII.

There is nothing remarkable in this ode, either for its subject or composition.
It is more like an extemporary roundelay than an ode. However, a great
connoisseur will discover himself in his meanest performances. For here
ate to be found an easy and natural expression, a smooth verse, and fine ca-
dency, with a little air of gaiety, with which the ode agreeably conclude?.

AD PUERUM.

PERSICOS odi, puer, apparatus ;
Displicent nexse philyra coron* :
Mitte sectari, rosa quo loeorum

Sera moretur.

Simplici myrto nihil allabores
Sedulus euro : neque te ministrum
Dedecet myrtus, neque me sub arcta

Vite bibentem.

OR DO.

Puer, odi Persicos apparatus ; coronae euro, ut allabores nihil simplici myrto :
nexae philyra uisplicent mihi : mitte sectari, neque vero myrtus dedecet te ministnim,
qno tocorum sera rosa moretur. Sedulus neque me bibentem sub arcta vite.

NOTES.

1. Persicos."] The Persians were a pecple you need only read the first two chapters of

remarkable for the magnificence and luxury Esther, and the first Alcibiad of Plato, where

they showed in their entertainments, dress, Socrates tells Alcibiades, that if he will ob-

&c. : to form a true judgement of which, serve the riches of the Persians, the maj-

GDI; XXXVIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

115

ODE XXXVIII.

It appears, that Horace had a mind to* have a carousal with some of his
friends. ( His servant concluded with himself to make great preparations.
But his master, like a true son of Epicurus, tells him, that the simplest
and cheapest pleasures were those that would please him most. This hap-
pened during autumn, or about the beginning of winter, in what year
is uncertain.

TO HIS BOY.

POMP and Persian magnificence are my aversion; garlands adorned
with too much art, and platted with the bark of trees, give me no
pleasure : never trouble yourself, boy, to seek roses of the later
season ; a garland of myrtle without any ornaments, will fit my
head. While you serve me with my glass, in an arbour made of
vines, the simple plain myrtle will equally become both you and
me.

NOTES.

nificence of their habits, their prodigious
expense in perfumes and essences, the great
number of their slaves, and extravagancy in
every thing, he will perhaps be ashamed to
find himself so inconsiderable.

2. Philyra.] The inner bark of trees,
which they platted in garlands.

3. Rosa sera.] The nice people were
fond of nothing so much as they weve of
roses, when their season was uv<-r ; as
Pacat. informs us : Delicati illi ac ftuentes,
parum se lautos putabant, nisi luxuria ver-
tisset annum, nisi hylemts poadis rosce inna-

tassent. " Nice and affluent men never
" thought that they had tared sumptuously,
" unless the seasons had been inverted by
" their luxury, unless roses had graced their
" bowls in the very middle of winter."

The Romans gave the name of tardus to
all those vegetables that v/rre late.

7- Sub arctd vitc.] The scene destined
for the party of pleasure-, was a vine-arbour
in Horace's garden, which was sufficiently
thick to keep off the sun-beams from the
company it contained ; this is the meaning
of the word arcta.

J16

QUINTI HO&ATII FLACCI

CARMINUM
LIBER SECUNDUS.

ODE I.

Catus Asinius Pollio, after he had enjoyed very considerable places under
k Caesar, was one of the first rank at the court of Augustus. He commanded
armies, subdued the Dalmatians, triumphed, and was consul. But he was
not less esteemed for his fine genius and his works, than for his valour and
conduct. He wrote against Cicero and Sallust, and was the first that dis-
covered the Faduan in the style of Titus Livius. His chief works were some
tragedies, and the history of the civil wars.

Virgil means these tragedies in his third Eclogue,
Pollio et ipse facit nova carmina.

" Pollio himself makes admirable verses." And Horace, in the sixteenth
Satire of the first Book, says :

Pollio regwn
Facia canit pede ter percusso.

" Poilio, in iambics, sings of the actions of kings." His history of the
civil war is particularly noticed in this ode ; and it was from this history
that Suetonius took that expression of Cassar, who, viewing the great num-
ber of Romans that were killed at the battle of Pharsalia, said,

Hoc voluerunt. Tantls relus gestis, C. Caesar condemnatus essem, nisi al
excrcitu auxilium petiissem.

" This they would have. After so many brave actions, I Caesar had been
" condemned, had not I demanded succour from the troops I commanded."

HORACE'S ODES,

BOOK THE SECOND.

ODE I.

There can be nothin-j more grand than the praises Horace gives here to that
history ; yet I dare affirm, that these praises are not the real subject of this
ode. Horace has another design, which interpreters have not perceived.
There are some who believe he thought of nothing but to solicit Pollio
to quit tragedy, and apply himself entirely to the history he had begun; and
others pretend, that he presses him to quit both tragedy and history ; but
they all mistake his design : wherefore, to give great light to this ode,
and to discover all its finesse, it is necessary to fix the time of its being
composed to be under the consulate of Pollio ; that is, in the year of Rome
713, and about two years after the battle of Philippi. This being granted,
we need only represent the state in which Horace then found himself.

He came from carrying arms against Augustus in Brutus' s army ; he had, with
great difficulty, obtained his pardon, through the favour of Maecenas ; and
he experienced every day, how difficult it was to obtain the good graces
of a prince, after a fault of this nature. Besides, he had many friends
in the same state with himself. Pollio's history could not but renew several
things that might prove very prejudicial both to him and his friends, es-
pecially in its first parts. To prevent this misfortune, he earnestly desires
Pollio to interrupt, for some time, the course of his history : but he does it
in such a manner that, though Pollio should continue it, he had nothing
to fear, in praising this history, in lamenting the civil wars, and in throw-
ing the cause of all these deplorable events on circumstances in which
neither he nor his friends were in the least concerned, and upon times that
could not be imputed to them.

It may be also, that Horace was not so much afraid for himself, or his friends,
as for Pollio. In that conjuncture, it was a delicate task to write the
history of the civil wars ; and it would be very difficult for Pollio, consider-
ing how much he had been attached to Mark Antony, to observe all the
precaution necessary not to offend Augustus.

1 13 Q. HORAHI CARMINA. LIB. II.

AD ASINIUM POLLIONEM.

MOTUM ex Metello consule civicum,
Bellique causas, et vitia, et modos,
Ludumque Fortunse, gravesque
Principum amicitias, et arma

Nondum expiatis uncta cruoribus, 5

Periculosae plenum opus alese,
Tractas, et incedis per ignes

Suppositos cineri doloso.
Paulum severse Musa tragoedias

Desit theatris : mox, ubi publicas 10

Res ordinaris, grande munus
Cecropio repetes cothurno,
Insigne mcestis presidium reis,
Et consulenti, Pollio, curiae ;

Cui laurus seternos honores 15

Dalmatico peperit triumpho.

ORDO.

Pollio, trsctas motum civicum ex' Me- PoWo, insigne presidium mrtstis reis

tello consule, causasque belli, et vitia, et et corsiilnvi curiae, cui laurus peperit aeter-

modos, ludumque Fortur.ce, gravesque ami- n&s honores Dalmatico triumpho, Musa se-

citias principum reipuHiccs, el arma uncta verae trago?diae, ubi ordinaris res publicas,

cruoribus nendum expiatis, opus plenum paulum desit theatris ; mox repetes grande

periculosae aleae ; et inceJi? per ignes sup- munus Cecrcpio cothurno.
positos doloso cineri.

NOTES.

1. Ex Metello consule.] There were se- Poir,pr:anis tl;<?atris Roma cautaret; nimia

veral of this name who had been consuls ; Pompeii pot?ntia apud otiosoj, ut solet, cives

but it is generally allowed by interpreters, that movit invidkm. Metellus ob imminutum

thepersonofwhomHore.ee speaks is Metellus Cretae triumphum ; Caio adversus potentes

Celer, who had L. Afranius, in the year of semper obliquus, detractare Pompeium, actis-

Rome 69:J, for his colleague in his consu- que ejus obstrepere. Hinc dolor transversum

late, in which, Pollio sa^s, the civil war cgit; ad pracsidia dignitati paranda impulit,

began ; because in this very year, Caesar, &.C. Sic igitur Coesare dignitatem comparare,

Crassus, and Pompey, entered into a con- Crasso aiigere, Pompeio retinere cupicntibus,

federacy that proved very fatal to the Ro- omnibuscjue pariter potentiae cupidis, de inva-

mans. Florus has also followed Pollio in dendfi republic! facile convenit.

this, for he begins without controversy ' ' The cause of so great a calamity was the

the war betwixt Caesar and Pompey, under ' same as that of all others, too great pro-

the consulate of Afranius and Metellus ; the ' speritv ; for under the consulate of Metellus

passage is very remarkable u ' and Afranius, when the Roman power pre-

Causa tantae calamhatis eadem quae om- ' vailed all over the world, and Rome sang

ritim, nimia faelicitas. Siquidem Q. Me- ' nothing in Pompey's theatre but his new

tello, L. Afranio, consulibus, quum Romana ' victories and triumphs in Pontns and Ar-

majestas toto orbe polleret, recentesque * menia, the over-grown power of Pompey

victorias, Ponticos et Arraenios triumphos in ' drew, as it is usual, the jealousy of the idle

ODE!. HORACE'S ODES. 119

TO ASINIUS POLLIO.

POLLIO, while you write the history of our civil war, which broke
out in the consulate of Metellus; while you show the causes of it,
its disorders, its particular circumstances, and the various turns of
fortune ; while you discover to us the sewet of the fatal confederacy
of our chiefs, and set before oar eyes arms stained with blood not
yet expiated ; you undertake a work that may be of dangerous con-
sequence, and tread on live coals hidden under deceitful ashes.

Illustrious Pollio, who art the sole refuge of the distressed, the
oracle of the senate in all their doubts, and to whom the laurel
crown brought immortal honours in the Dalmatian triumph, for-
bear awhile to bring these bloody tragedies upon the stage *; and,
after you have put the affairs of the public in order, return to this
great work, and resume the Athenian buskin.

* Let the muse of severe tragedy be absent a little wlule from our theatres.

NOTES.

* citizens upon him. Metellus and Cato the people appeared all in arms in the Cam-
' bejjau to vilify him, and oppose his designs; pus Martius, of which D. Haliearn. gives us
' the first, because Pompey lessened his a particular account in his fifth Book,
'triumph of Crete; the other, by his na- 6. Alets^\ The Z.IMTW Alete was much the
' tural disposition, which inclined him always same as our game at dice, in which hazard
' to oppose those who assumed too much and chance prevailed very much ; whence
' power. Pompey being troubled to the very any thing dangerous and hazardous came to
' heart, minded nothing but to maintain his be signified by the ALete.

'power and dignity, &c. Thus Caesar de- 12. Cecropio.] Tragedy had been carried

' siring to acquire a new power, Crassus to to its utmost perfection at Athens, where

* augment that which he had, and Pompey Sophocles, Euripides, and ^Eschylus,
' to retain his, and all three being equally flourished. And Cecrops having been the
' ambitious to govern, they easily agreed to first king of that city, they were thence fre-
' make themselves masters of the republic.' quently called Cecropii and CetropitLe.

3. Gravesque principum amicitias.] The 12. Cothurno.] The cothurnus is sup-
triumvirate that proved so fatal to the com- posed to have been a sort of boot, or buskin,
monwealth. worn usually by the, actors in tragedy, which

It was not their enmity, says Cato, but made them appear above the ordinary size of

their friendship, that was so fatal to the re- men, such as the old heroes, whom they repre-

jmblic. sented, were supposed to have been. This was

5. Nondam expiatis uncta cruoribus.] He so peculiar to tragedy, that it was afterwards

means the ceremony of expiation, of which the brought to signify not only that species of

pontiff made use to purify the people when poetry, butjiiso to express the sublimity of

defiled with the blood of their fellow-citizens, style in any composition.

The ceremony was called Armilustrium, and 16. Dalmatico.] Dalmatia is a province

the sacrifice, Solitaurilia. And to this md of Sclavonia, beyond the Adriatic sea.

120 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Jam nunc minaci rnurmure cornuum
Perstringis aures; jam litui strepunt j
Jam fulgor armorum fugaces

Terret equos, equiturnque vultus. 20

Audire magnos jam videor duces
Non indecoro pulvere sordidos,
Et cuncta terrarum subacta,

Preeter atrocem animum Catonis.

Juno, et Deorum quisquis amicior 25

Afris, inulta cesserat impotens
Tellure, victorum nepotes

Rettulit inferias Jugurthse.
Quis non Latino sanguine pinguior

Campus sepulcris impia proelia 30

Testatur, auditumque Medis
Hesperise sonittim minse ?
Qui gurges, aut quse flumina lugubris
Ignara belli ? quod mare Daunias

Non decoloravere caedes ? 35

Qua2 caret ora cruore nostro ?
Sed ne, relictis, Musa procax, jocis,'
Cere retractcs ir.untra naenia; j
Mecum Dionaeo sub antro

Quasre modos leviore plectro. 40

O R D O.

Jam nunc perstnr>r;is mires mincci mur- Quis campus, pinpuior Latino sanguine,

mure ccrnuum : jam litui strcpunt ; jam ful- r.(-;i 'e- tatur ex sepulchris impia pr<i-lia, soni-

gor armoruin terret fugaces equos, vukusque tuir.qne ruinae Hfsj'riae auditura Medis ?

etjnitum. Q'^ti gurgjes, aut qiue flumina ignava sunl

Jam vit)eor audire none;ncs dnc?s ?ordii!os li:i;t;i)rii belli ? Quod mare Dauniae cades

pulvere non indecoro, et cuncta terreruin sub- i.on d'^coioravere ? Qua; ora rarct no?tro
at'ta, praeter afrocem animum Catonis.

Juno, et quisqnis Deorum est amicicr Sed, Musa procax, ne, reHctis jccis, re-

Afris, impotens cesstrat teJlure inulta; ret- traetrs munera Ceae nseniae; mecnm quiere

tulit /amen napotes victorum inferias Ju- mode's plectro leviore sub antro Dionseo.
gurtha.

N O T S.

24. Pra-ter alrocem cmirmim Catonis.'] Caesar could not subdue, aftrr he had sub-

What a tioble character does Horace tjive of dued the greater part of the civilised world !

that illustrious patriot, whose inflexible soul 25. Junv,et Deorum^] Horace, we observe,

ODE!. HORACE'S ODES. 121

Wldle I read your history, I think I hear the alarming sound of
the trumpet, with the shrill noise of the clarion , the brightness of
the armour seems to frighten the horses, making them retire, and
strikes their riders with terror and confusion. I think I now hear
our great generals giving orders, covered with glorious dust, and
see the world entirely subdued, except the inflexible soul of Cato.
Surely Juno, and the gods who had the greatest regard for the
Carthaginians, obliged to abandon a country they were unable to
protect, in revenge offer the children of the conquerors as an atone-
ment to Jugurtha's ghost.

Is there any land that is not fattened with Roman blood, and
which, by the graves wherewith it is filled, does not bear the marks
of our detestable commotions, and of the fall of Italy, the report
whereof has already reached the IVledes ? What lake, what rivers,
are not dyed with the blood spilt in our intestine wars ? What sea
is not stained with the terrible slaughter, and what country is free
from Roman blood ?

But hold, rash Muse, do not quit your cheerful strains, to revive
the mournful songs of Simonides ; rather come with me into Ve-
nus' grotto, and pray the goddess to inspire you with airs more soft
and agreeable.

NOTES.

still avoids touching the true causes of the son, he there dierl.

civil wars. He either says nothing of them, 31. Medis. See Book I. Ode 5.

or substitutes what is foreign from them. 34. Dauniee.] The part is here put for

Hero he brings forward Juno and the gods, the whole, Daunia for all Italy, because this

who were, protectors of Carthage, revenging province furnished excellent soldiers. He

Jugurtha's de:ith by offering to his manes the says elsewhere, militaris Daunia,

descendants of those who conquered him. 38. Ci:<e nrEni<e.~\ Simonides, a lyric poet,

28. Jitgurthte.] Jiigurtha had been king born in Cea, an island of the /Egean sea,

of Nuoudialn Africa, and maintained a long was the inventor of a certain kind of funeral

and bloody war against Metellns and Marius. song, called ncenia, which is a Hebrew word

He was at length betrayed by Bocchus king signifying a funeral song,

of Mauritania; and being brought by Ma- 39. Dionceo.~] Dionc was the mother of

riu? to Rome, served to adorn the victor's Venus ; yet Venus herself is often called by

triumph. Afterwards, being cast into pri- that name.

122 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

O D E II.

Crispus Sallustius, the noble person to whom Horace addresses this fine ode,
was the son of a Roir.^n knight, and grand-nephew to Sallust, the re-
nowned author of the Roman history ,-who adopted him. In imitation of
Maecenas, he had no ambition to be a senator, nor did he nspire at ho-
nours, to which the way lay open to him ; yet he surpassed in credit and
authority a great number of those who had been consuls, or had been
honoured with a triumph. Diiiering from his ancestors, he lived in
pomp and affluence, so that by his profusion he approached very near
to luxury. He had a spirit capable of affairs of the greatest consequence,
and applied himstlf to them with so much the greater vigour, as he mndc
a show of sloth and indolence. After Maecenas' death, he became prime

AD CRISPUM SALLUSTIUM.

NULLUS argento color est, avuris
Abditae terris inimice lamnee,
Crispe Sallusti, nisi tempcrato

Splendeaf usu.

Vivet extento Proculeius aevo, 5

Notus in fratres auimi patcrni :
Ilium aget pcnna metuente solvi

Fama superstes.

ORDO.

O Criipe Sallubti, inimice laminse abditae aniini pa'enii in fratres, \ivet estento apvo:
terris avaris, uullus color est argeuto, nisi fama superstes aget ilium pci*na metuente
splendes-.t usu tejnpcrato. Proculeius, notus solvi.

NOTES.

1. Avuris aldit<e terris inimice.'] Horace, cultum et mundilias, copiaque et affluentia

by this manner of expressing himself, lets luxui propior.

us perfectly into the character of Sallust. 5. IVwMfcttB.] A Roman knight distin-

He was one of those who fancied that mines guished for his wit, his generosity, and,

of gold were discovered only to administer to above all, for his strict attachment to his

their luxury and prodigality. For he was prince. He never left Augustus all the

a lover of pomp arvl magnificence, so far as time he carried on the war against Pom-

c'vt-n to border upon profusion. This is pey and Antony. Though he was so very

perfectly agreeable to what Taciu-.s the hi.-- assiduous to make hi* court, yet he natu-

torian says of him in the third Book of his rally loved a quiet life retired from the

Annais. Dii-etsiis a icterwn institute, per liuiry of business. Augustus, who knew

ODE II.

HORACE'S ODES.

12S

ODE II.

minister to Augustus (being, before that time, only second in favour to
Maecenas), and had such confidence with two emperors, viz. Tiberius after
Augustus, that they trusted him with their most secret counsels.

Sallust was a strict Epicurean; yet well knew how to mingle luxury with great
affairs. This ode must have been therefore very agreeable to his taste j
the beauty of expression runs along with the greatness of the sentiments.
But what is most observable is, the great address of Horace, that while he
exposes two maxims of the Epicurean philosophy, he indirectly makes a pa-
negyric on Sallust, who, setting bounds to nis desires, enjoyed with ho-
nour the great revenues his grand-uncle had amassed for him.

Some date this ode in the year of Home 724, others in 728.

TO CRISPUS SALLUSTIUS.

SALLUST, who hast the greatest aversion to gold hidden in the
insatiable mines of the earth, the whole excellency of wealth con-
sists in the moderate use of it *. The affection of a father which
Proculeius showed to his brothers, will make his name dear to pos-
terity, and fame shall bear it on never-failing wings. You will

* There is no beauty in silver, unless it shine by a moderate use of it.

NOTES.

his character exactly, gave him, on many
occasions, marks of his confidence. He
committed to him the care of securing the
person of Cleopatra, after he had taken
Alexandria. He even cast his eyes upon
him to make him his son-in-law, before
he thought of marrying his daughter Ju-
lia to young Marcellus. Antony knew that
he was in so great favour with Augustus,
that, when on the point of death, he ad-
vised Cleopatra to apply to r.o other than
Proculeius to obtain her pardon. He was,
moreover, so great a lover of learned men,
that he supported them wi'h his credit,
while he encouraged them by his liberality;
and Juvenal makes no scruple, ou this ac-

count, to rank him with Maecenas, Fabius,
Cotta, and Lentulus. But what does him
the greatest honour, is what Horace praises
particularly ; that is, the tender regard he
showed for his brothers, Teremius and Li-
cinius, in dividing bis patrimony with them,
to make up the losses they sustained during
the civil war; and likewise, in using all his
interest, though in vain, with Augustus,
for his brother Licinius, who had entered
into a conspiracy against Augustus. Pliny
says, that " Ootavius, after the defeat of
" his fleet by Pompey's lieutenants, de-
" sired Proculeius to put him to death, that
" he might not fall into the bauds of the
" enemy."

124

Q. HORATII CARM1NA.

LIB. II.

Latius regnes avidurn domando
Spiritum, quam si Libyam remotis
Gadibus jungas, et uterque Poenus

Serviat uni.

Crescit indulgens sibi dims hydrops ;
Nee sitim pellit, nisi causa niorbi
Fugerit venis, ct aquosus albo

Corjx)re languor.
Redd it um Cyri solio Phraaten,
Dissidens plebi, numero beatorum
Eximit virtus, populumque falsis

Dedocet uti

V T oeibus, regnum et diadema tutum
Deferens uni, proprianique laimim.
Quisquis ingentes oeulo irretorto

Spectat acervos.

ORDO.

Domando aviclum spiritum regnes laiius Virt-r oximit. num^ro bea-

quam si jungas Libyam remotis Gadibus, et tovum Phi.iuini rertdinitn solio Cyri, popu-

quam si uterque Prenus serviat libi uni. luiijqiu. 1 ijeilocet uti folsis voribus, deierens

Dirus hydrops sibi icdul^eits crescit, nee rejriium et distienia tir. ue it-u-

pellit sitim nioi causa morbi lugerii veni.-,, tt

nisi aquosus languor Jugerit corpore i-.lLo. oe irreiorlo oculo.

NOTES.

11. Gadibus.'] Gades, now Cadiz, desig-
nated both a peninsula and a city in the
south of Spain, near that narrow sea, which
ivas thence called Fretum Gaditanum, now
the streights of Gibraltar.

1 ] . Uterque Panus.'] The nation of that
name in Africa, and that in Spain. The
Carthaginians were long in possession of a
great pan of Spain, and had built a city on
the southern coast of it, which they called
Carthago Nova,

13. Crcscil indulgens sili dirus hydrops.']
The ancients always compared ambition
and avarice to the dropsy ; for as there is
nothing drier than a man in a dropsy, so
there is nothing poorer than a covetous or
an ambitions man. Water only irritates
the thirst of the one, and riches and ho-
nours only sharpen the insatiable appetite of
the other. There is a passage in Bion very
much to this purpose, on the comparison of
riches and poverty. ' If,' says he, ' any one

ODE II.

HORACE'S ODES.

125

show your power greater in curbing your ambitious spirit, than
if you were monarch from Libya to Cadiz *, and brought both the
Cartilages under your subjection. Ambition, like that dreadful dis-
temper the dropsy, increases the more it is indulged ; nor can you
carry off the thirst, till you remove the cause of the disease from
the veins, and expel the wateiy humour out of the tabid body.
Virtue, that follows not the sentiments of the crowd, ranks not
Phraates among the number of the blessed, though he was re-in-
stated in the throne of Cyrus. She teaches the vulgar to give spe-
cious names to things no more, and bestows the sceptre, the diadem,
and the laurel crown, on him only who can look on immense heaps
of gold with an unconcerned eye.

* Should join Libya to remote Cadiz.

NOTES.

would deliver himself from poverty and
indigence, or deliver any other, he must
not have recourse to riches ; as this would
answer no better purpose than if one at-
tempted to cure a person in a dropsy, without
first carrying off the dropsy itself, by giving
him a great quantity of water to drink,
which would only serve to increase, and not
lessen, his swelling : nor would the case of
a man insatiably covetous be at all differ-
ent from his.'

17. Phraaten.} Phraates, the son of Orodes,
and king of the Parthiaus, having slain his
father, brothers, and son, was driven from
his kingdom, and afterwards restored by the
assistance of the Scythians.

19. Virtus.] Virtue teaches us to recon-
cile our passions with reason, and our ph;a-
tures with dutv.

19. Falsis uocibus.'] By fdlse names the

stoics meant such as did not agree properly
to the things they were used to express ;
as bcatus, happy, which the vulgar com-
monly apply to the rich, who are indeed
often the unhappiest of men. In reality,
nothing is more common with men thin
this fallacious language, by which they en-
deavour to disguise what is most invidious
n a character, as Tacitus very justly observes
his life of Agricola. Fraudare, rapere,
faliis rjn-minibus impcrium appellant. ' To
defraud or carry off by violence, they co-
ver with the specious name of rule and
dominion.'

23. Ondo iVriftorfo.] That is, nrm retar-
qitens ocidos, for irreiortus properly signifies
turn retro flexus; who beholds riches with ai>
eye that betrays no concern, no eagprness to-
possess them.

12G Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

ODE III.

Dellius, to whom this most beautiful ode is addressed, was a true picture of
inconstancy. After Caesar's death, he changed sides four times in the
space of twelve years. First he took part with Dolabella, then with
Cassius, then with Antony, and at last went over to Csesar ; or rather,
he never was but for himself; that is, for his own interest. The peace
that succeeded the civil wars, gave him an opportunity of retriev-
ing his affairs, which could not but be in very great disorder by so
many changes. It was probably after all this that Horace addressed

AD Q. DELLIUM.

memento rebus in arduis
Servare mentem, non secus in bonis
Ab insjplenti terriperatam

Laetitift, moriture Deili,

Seu mcestus omni tempore vixeris, 5

Seu te in remoto gramme per dies
Festos reclinatum bearis

Interfere not Falcrni ;
Quo pinus ingens albaque populus

Umbram hospitalem consociare amant 10

llamis, et obliquo laborat

Lympha fagax trepidare rivo.
Hue vina, et unguenta, et minium breves
Flores amoense ferre jube rosee,

ORDO.

O Delli, memento servarc aequam mentem pulus amant consociare umbram hospitalem

in arduis rebus ; non secus in bonis, mfntc.m ramis ; et quo Ijnapha fugax laborat trepi-

temperatam ab insolenti la?titia: Delli in- dare cbliquo rivo.

quam moriture, seu bearis te reclinatum in Jube ferre hue vina, et unguenta, et

remoto gramine, per dies festos, interiore nota flores nimium breves amoenae rosze ; dum re
vini Falerni : quo ingens pinus albaque po-

NOTES.

1. JEquam memento."] Virtue has diffi- it the highest perfection of reason, to sup-

fulties to struggle with in every situation of port us against presumption in the one,

life. Prosperity elevates, adversity de- or dejection in the other ; or, in the

presses us : and therefore we may justly call poet's words, to give us the equality of

ODE III. HORACE'S ODES. 127

ODE III.

this ode to him ; in which he sets before him the purest maxims of the
Epicurean philosophy. The soul and body, in the opinion of Epicurus,
were two parts composed of the same matter, which ought to contribute to
the happiness of nian by the agreement and union of tiieir pleasures. The
poet, after having proposed to Dellius to keep his soul in tranquillity by
keeping his passions under, allows him to indulge his sense with virtuous
diversions. This is all that an Epicurean can do, according to his principles.

TO Q. DELLIUS.

REMEMBER, Dellius, in adversity * always to maintain a sedate
mind ; and in prosperity f a moderation free from all excess of joy :
for you must die, whether you lead a melancholy life, or regale
yourself on festival days with a glass of the best Falernian wine, re-
clining at your ease on the verdant bank, where the stately pine
and tall J poplar seem to take pleasure in forming a hospitable
shade by interweaving their branches, and where a purling stream
hastens its course along a winding channel. While your affairs, your
age, and your health allow, hither order wines, odours, and the
blooming rose's short-lived flowers, to be brought ; for you must

* Adverse affairs. } Not otherwise in prosperous affairs, % White.

NOTES.

mind here recommended. Nor, indeed, note any thing cross, difficult, or hard to be

is any thing more likely to maintain this borne.

equal balance in our minds, than the con- 8. Inf.eriore nola Falernil\ That is, old
sideration of death, which will one day put wine ; for, as the Romans used to mark
an end to all those vicissitudes of fortune, every vintage on their casks when they put
This reflection furnishes motives to patience them into their vaults, the oldest must be
in the severest shocks of life, and teaches farthest in the vault; or it may be inter-
moderation in the use of prosperity. It is preted, wine reserved, or set apart for it*
with great judgement, therefore, that Ho- goodness.

race, when he recommends this equality of 9. Allaque populus.] The leaf of the

mind to Dellius, adds as a motive to it the poplar-tree is of a deep green above, and

consideration of death. jEqitam memento white below, which induced Virgil to call it

servare mentem, moriture Detti. lieolor. The reason is, say the poets, that

1. Rebus in ardiris.~\ Horace here oppo- when Hercules descended to hell crowned

'es arduis to bmis. Arduum properly sigtii- with poplar, the smoke blackened the leaves

fies a place of difficult access because of its on one sicle, and his perspiration withered

beight : heuce it has been employed to de- the other.

123 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Dum res, et seta?, et sororum 15

Fila trium patiuntur atra.
Cedes coerntis saltibus, et domo,
Villaque, fiavus quam Tiberis lavit ;
Cedes ; et exstructis in altum

Divitiis potietur hseres. 20

Divesne, prisco natus ab Inacho,
Nil interest, an pauper, et infimd
De gente, sub dio moreris,

Victima nil miserantis Orci.

Omnes eodem cogimur; omnium 25

Versatur urna serius ocius

Sors exitura, et nos in aeternum
Exsilium impositura cymbae.

ORDO.

et Betas, et atra fila triv.m sororum patiuntur. rls sub dio, victims futurus Orci nil mis* 1 -

Cedes sdtibus coi : mptis, et domo, villaque rantis. Nos omnes cogimur eodem ; sor*

quam flams Tiberis lavit ; cedes, et haeres omnium versatur urna, exitura serius ocius,

potietur divitiis tv.ii exstructis in altum. ct irai'Gsitura nos cymbse in exsilium ietcr-

Nil interest divesne sis, natus ab prisco uum.
Inacho., an pauper, et do iafima gente, more-

NOTES.

15. Sororum triwn.] The Parcce, or over tlie !ife of man. One held the thread,
three sisters, Clothe, Lachesis, aiul Atropos, the second lerethened it out, and the third
were supposed, by the ancients, to preside cut it, by which life was brought to a period.

ODE III.

HORACE'S ODES.

129

one day leave your beautiful groves which cost you so dear, your fine
house in Rome, and your charming country-seat on the brink of the
pleasant Tiber* ; you shall leave them, and your gaping heir shall
enjoy the riches you have amassed. Whether rich, and descended
from the ancient family of Inacbusj or poor, and born so very mean,
that you lie In the fieldsf, it matters not ; you must fall a sacrifice
to Pluto. We are all hurried to the same place ; and out of the
urn, which is in continual motion, shall come, sooner or later, the
fatal lot, that will force us into the bark which wafts us over to our
eternal abode.

* Which the yellow Tiber washes. ' -f- Under the open air.

NOTES.

16. Fila atra.~\ The ancients feigned,
that the sisters, in forming the thread of life,
made use of two kinds of wool, the one white,
the other black ; employing the first to draw
out the thread of a long and happy life, and
the other for one short and unfortunate.
But Dacier thinks that the sentiment of
Horace may be better explained by suppos-
ing a mixture of wool in the same thread,
the white denoting the prosperous part of
life, the black the unhappy, while, says the
poet, the sisters dispense the white thread,
and our days are not embittered with misfor-
tune and the infirmities of old age.

21. Inacko.'] Inachus was king of the
Argives in Greece. He flourished about the
time of Abraham and Isaac, and is the
first mentioned in the Greek history who
founded a kingdom at Argos in Pelopon-
nesus.

25. Omnium versatur urnA.] As it was a
custom among the ancients to decide affairs
of the greatest importance by lot; they
feigned also that the names of all men were
written on billets, and thrown into an urn
that was continually in motion ; and that the
persons whose names were diawu out of it
first, died first.

VOL, I.

130 Q. HORATI1 CARMINA. tie. II.

ODE IV.

This ode, which Horace wrote in the forty-fifth year of his age, is full of gal-
lantry, and very well pursued. The |>oet, with an air of irony and pleasantry,
encourages Phoceus in his passion for his slave, though the Romans deemed
it such a scandalous thing for a man to fall in love with his servant, that

AD XANTHIAM PHOCEUM.

NE sit ancillee tibi amor puclori,
Xanthia Phoceu : prius insolentem
Serva Briscis niveo colore

Movit Achillem.

Movit Ajacem Telamone natum 5

Forma captivifi dominum Tecmessae:
Arsit Atrides medio in triumpho

Virgine raptft,

Barbaras postquam cecidere turmae
Thessalo victore, ct ademtus Hector 10

Tradidit fessis leviora tolli

Pergama Graiis.
Nescias an te generum beati
Phyllidis flavee decorent parentes :

ORDO.

O Xanthia Phoceu, amor ancillse ne sit plio arsit virgiue rapta, postquam barbarae

tibi pudori: serva Briseis niveo colore prius tunnee cecidere victore Tliessalo, et postquam

inovit insolentem Achillem. Forma Tec- Hector ademptus tradidit Pergama leviora

inessae captivae movit suum dominum Ajacem tolli fessis Graiis. Nescias an beati pareutes

natum T elamoue : Atrides in medio trinm- flavee Phyllidis decorent te generuia. Certe

NOTES.

3. Briseis.'] Hippodamia, so called from hair was yellow and delicate, her eye-brows

Ker father Brises. Upon the reduction of were joined, her eyes bright, and her body

the city of Lyrnessus, she Ciime into the well-proportioned. She was gentle, affable,

hands of Achilles, as his share of the spoils, modest, unaffected, and pious.

Agamemnon afterwards taking her from him 6. Tccmesste.'] Tecmessa was the daugh-

by force, gave rise to such a dissension be- ter of Teuthrantes king of Phrygia. Ajax,

tween them, as retarded the fate of Troy a having entered that country, slew the king

long time. Dares Phrygius says, Briseis was in single combat ; and, when he took their

beautiful, tall, and of a fair complexion, her chief city, Tecinessa (aroonj other captiyet)

ODE IV. HORACE'S ODES. 131

ODE IV.

those who so degraded themselves had the name of Ancillarioli given them
by way of contempt.

Ancillariolum tua te vocat uxor, et ipsa
Lecticariola est: estis, Alauda, pares. Mart.

TO XANTHIAS PHOCEUS.

BLUSH not, Phoceus, to own the love you have for your slave. The
haughty Achilles was moved before your time, with his most beau-
tiful slave Briseis. Stern Ajax, the son of Telamon, was captivated
with the great beauty of his lovely captive Tecmessa; and Aga-
memnon himself, in the midst of his triumph, could not avoid
being inflamed with the irresistible charms of a fair prisoner, after
the Phrygian troops were cut to pieces by the Thessalians, and the
death of Hector* had made Troy an easy prey to the weary Greeks.
How do you know, but that the parents of your lovely Phyllis are
persons of such quality, that it would be an honour to you to be

* Hector carried off.

NOTES.

fell into his hands; she was assigned to him was afterwards in use at Rome, but denote*
by the. other Greeks, because of the valour merely in the midst of victory and conquest,
he showed in this enterprise. 8. Ptrgine rapta.] Agamemnon, who
7. Arsit Atrides^\ Agamemnon was so was general of the Greeks in iheir expedition
called from his being the son of Atretis. against Troy, on the taking of the city, in
Horace here greatly improves upon the- two the midst of the victory, was seized with love
preceding examples, both by the quality of for Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, and
the prince whom he represents in love, the demanded her as his part of the booty : yet
degree of passion, and the circumstance _of she was forcibly seized by Ajax Oileus, and
time. By the quality, I say, of the person ; ravished in the very temple of Minerva,
for Agamemnon was captain-general over all Cassandra, says Dares Phrygius, was of a
the other princes : by the degree of passion ; middle stature, her mouth little and round,
arsit, he burned ; whereas of the- others he her complexion ruddy, and her eyes spark-
says only movit, beauty moved, affected them : ling.

and, lastly, by the circumstance of time, 10. Thessalo ' victore."] Although Paris

media in triumpho, when glory alone ought had slain Achilles before Troy was taken, yet

to have taken possession of his soul : where it he is deservedly accounted the conqueror of

is to be observed, that the triumph here it, fate decreeing that it should never fall ia

spoken of, is not of the nature of that which his absence.

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

Regium certe genus, ct Penates

Mceret iniquos.

Crede non illam tibi de scelesta
Plebe delectam ; neque sic fidelem,
Sic lucro aversam, potuisse nasci

Matre pudenda.

Brachia, et vultum, teretesque suras
Integer laudo : fuge suspicari,
Cujus octavum trepidavit se.tas

Claudere lustrum.

LIB. II.
15

ORDO.

penus fst ei regium, et tnceret iniquos Penates.
Crede illam non esse clelectarn tibi de scelesta
plebe; neque sic fidelem, sic i
potuisae nasci pudenda matre.

Ego integer kudo iljiiix brachia, et vul-
fum, surasque teretos. Fuire suspicari me,
-plebe; neque sic fidelem, sic aversam lucro, t-ujus aetas nvpidivit ; Jamie re octc-vum lu-

NOTES.

15. Regium certc genus.] We are not here sinuate-, is founded" upon the Tlonans having

to apply the verb mceret to both parts of the subdued many kingdofns; wbfi.;-' it was not

sentence, as if Horace had said Phyllis impossible that daughters or n \". fliu' es of

mceret regivm genus ; for regiitm genus is kings might liave Wn slaves at Rome vvith-

herc a uominative. What Horace herein- out its being generally known.

ODE IV.

HORACE'S ODES.

called their son*? She is certainly of royal bloodf, and in her ad-
versity complains only of her household gods. Be persuaded, at
least, that the object of your choice did not spring from the dregs
of the people; and that one so virtuous and disinterested as she is,
cannot owe her birth to a prostitute. And though, my friend, I
praise her snowy arms, her blooming face, and well-made legs, it is
without any sinister design; you have no reason to be jealous of
your friend Horace, who is now above forty years of age.

They would honour their son-iu-laiv.

f Extraction.

NOTES.

17. De scelesta plele.] Scd es (a, the per-
fidious, treacherous; as he says in the 35th
Ode of Book I. vulgus injidam, and in the
1 6th of this Book malignum vulgus. The
Latins, in imitation of the Greeks, Irequciitly
used -multi for mail. Thus Accius says,
probis prolalum pntius quam multisfvre, 'I
' would rather be approved by the worthy
' and honest, than by the many.' And
Cicero in his fourth Bock de Kepullica : Nc-

que in JMC disseiuione su.sc.cbi populi causam,
sed lonoruin. 'Nor did 1 on this occasion
' side with the multitude, but with the
' honest."

24. Lustrum."] A space of five years, at
the end of which, .the censors made an esti-
mate of the number, estates, &c. of the
Romans, and then performed a solemn sacrU
ficc, which was called Lustrum condere :
whence the word cajae to denote that space.

134 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II,

ODE V.

We know neither when, nor for whom, this ode was composed ; it is only cer-
tain that itwas written before the 22d Ode of the first Book, Lalage being re-
presented much younger in this than in that ; however, I conjecture that this
was addressed to the same Aristius Fuscus that the 22d of the first Book was,
who was very much taken with the beauty of Lalage, and inclined to marry

NONDUM subact ferre jugum valet
Cervice, nondum munia comparis
Square, nee tauri ruentis

In venerem tolerare pondus.

Circa virentes est animus tuae 5

Campos juvencee, nunc fluviis gravem
Solantis sestum, nunc in udo
Ludere cum vitulis salicto
Praegestientis. Tolle cupidinem
Immitis uvae: jam tibi lividos 10

Distinguet Autumnus racemos

Purpureo varius colore.
Jam te sequetur ; currit enim ferox
./Etas, et illi, quos tibi demserit,

Apponet annos: jam proterva 15

Fronte petet Lalage maritum;

ORDO.

Juvenca ft/a. nondum valet ferre jugum sub- licio. Tolle eupidineru immitis uvae : jam

acta cervice ; nondum valet aequare munia var'nis autumnus distinguet libi racemos livi-

comparis, nee tolerare pondus tauri ruentis in dos purpureo colore.
venerem. J am Lalage te sequetur ; aetas enim ferox

Animus juvencoe tuae est circa virentes cam- currit, et apponet illi annos quos demserit

pos, nunc solantis gravem aestum fluviis, nunc tibi: jam Lalage petet maritum proterva

praegestientis ludere cvun vitulis iu udo sa- froutej Lalage tantum dilecta, quantum

NOTES.

1 . Ferre jugum.'] This is a metaphor street where was an altar dedicated to Juno,,

taken from a heifer that has never yet sub- who presided over marriage, mi wncla ju-

mitted to the yoke. Hence jugare, among gaha cur<e, was called vicusjugarivs.
the Latins, signifies to marry, and the cun- 10. Immitis ma;.'] Horace here makes

jvges are the married pair ; r'ir being under- use of another metaphor; and compares a girl

stood to be the husband, and i/.ror the wife, not yet of age to marry, to an unripe grape.

for conjux by itself properly signifies no more Plutarch makes use of the same comparison

than coupled together. Hence, at Rome, the in his precepts relating to marriage ; and from

ODE V. HORACE'S ODES. 135

ODE V.

her ; but she, being too young for marriage, received his addresses very coldly,
of which Aristius was continually complaining. Horace, upon this, writes
to him, to comfort him, and quiet his impatience, and tells him, a few more
years will make her more sensible of Cupid's arrows.

YOUR heifer is not yet either strong or tractable enough to hear the
yoke ; unfit yet for a mate, and too weak for a vigorous steer. Her
sole delight is in the flowery meads, where she either quenches her vio-
lent thirst in the cool stream, or frisks about with young heifers among
the green willows. Forbear longing for a grape not yet ripe. The
autumn, pleasant for its variety, will soon turn those clusters ruddy
that are now green. Lalage will, ere long, follow you ; for impatient
time flies s\yiftly on, and will add those years to her it takes from you.
Then shall charming Lalage pertly challenge your addresses* ; a

* Demand a husband.

NOTES.

this figure have several very common forms Hence their years are far from proceeding In

ef speech been drawn, as, Virgo matura, tern- the same tenor ; for they retrench from the

pestiva, immatura, cruda, acerba. For life of the one, and add to that of the other.

acerla is of like import with immilis, atrox. That is, the years of the one proceed in the

Varro ; Virgo de convivio abducatur, idea quod way of diminution or subtraction, of the other

majores nostri virginis acerbce awes Veneris by addition. Thus if we state the age of man

vocabulis imlui noluerunt. ' Young virgins at sixty, when he comes to be thirty, one

ought not to be admitted to entertainments year more leaves him only 29 years of life

* and treats, for our ancestors were very care- remaining ; and if we add that to a girl of
' ful to guard the ears of unripe girls from tei\, she will now become eleven, which is
' the poison of unchaste conversation.' approaching a year nearer to the perfection of

14. Et Mi ijuos titi demseril, apponet an- age. This manner of computing was fami-
rtos.] In order to comprehend perfectly the liar to the Romans, as might easily be proved,
beauty and delicacy of this passage, let us It is upon this very foundation that Horace
suppose a man who has already half finished says in his Art of Poetry,
his course, and a girl not yet arrived at matu-
rity. The life of one is upon the decline, Malta ferunt anni venientes commoda secum,
and the other ripening towards perfection. Mulla recedentes adimunt.

136 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Dilecta, quantum non Pholoe fugax,
Non Chloris; albosic humero nitens,
Ut pura nocturne renidet

Luna marl, Cnidiusve Gyges ; 20

Quern si puellarum insereres choro,
Mire sagaces falleret hospites
Discrimen obscurum, solutis
CrinibuSj ambiguoque vultu.

ORDO.

non fugaxPhcloe, non Chloris; sic nitens albo puellarum, discrimen obscurum mire' falleret
humero, ut pura luna renidet nocturno mari, sagaces hospites, solutis crinibus, ambiguo-
Cnidiusve Gygee; quern si insereres choro que vultu.

NOTES.

18. Allo sic humero miens."] The ladies 23. Discrimen olsctmim.'] Juvenal ha

of gallantry in Rome dressed themselves in imitated this in his loth satire,

such a manner, that their shoulders appeared ^.^ mmantia j ktu

naked. Ora puellaresfuciuntincertacapilli.

20. Cmdutsve] Cmdus is a maritime

town of Caria, lying between Rhodes and The poet seems here to praise Gygee more

Coos, now called Chio. than he has done Lalage ; for it is comrilon

ODE V.

HORACE'S ODES.

137

lady who has more admirers than either coy Pholoe, or lovely
Chloris, and whose shoulders cast a lustre as great as the bright
moon glistening on the sea in a fine calm night ; or beautiful
Gyges*, who, in a company of young ladies, with his flowing hair,
and delicate face, would easily impose on the most quick-sighted
strangers ; so difficult it is to know himf .

* Cnidian Gyges. f- The unobservable difference.

NOTES.

even with us to say a boy is beautiful as a
girl, but we never use the contrary form, and
the Romans, in all probability, had the same
delicacy. This seems therefore to be an
essential error in the comparison ; but Ho-
race did not fall into it through ignorance ;
for there is no doubt of his preferring in his
own mind Gyges to Lalage, and that what he
says here was by design, and the effect of
inclination.

24. Amliiguoque vultu."] This single word
amliguus, gave rise lo these incomparable

lines of Ausonius :

Dum dubitat nalura maremfacereine puellam,

Factus es, O pulcher, pcene puella, puer.

' While nature doubts whether she would
' make a male or a female, beautiful boy,
' thou wast made almost a girl.'

Ovid says also to the same purpose :
Tails erat cultu/acies, quam dicere vere
Virgineum inpitero, puerilem in virgine posses,

' His face was so formed, that one might
' easily take the boy for the girl, or the girl
* for the boy.'

138 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

ODE VI.

When Horace was preparing to follow Augustus into Spain, Septimius, his
old friend, agreed to accompany him thither, and formed a resolution
never- to leave him on any account whatever. Horace declares to Septimius,
that he was free from all ambition, that he had reduced all his projects to the

AD SEPTIMIUM.

SEPTIMI, Gades aditure mecum, et
Cantabrum indocrum juga ferre nostra, et
Barbaras Syrtes, ubi Maura semper

^Estuat unda ;

Tibur Argeo positum colono 5

Sit meae sedes utinam senectae;
Sit modus lasso maris, et viarum,

Militiseque.

Unde si Parcae prohibent iniquae,

Dulce pellitis ovibus Galesi ^ 10

Flumen, et regnata petam Laconi

Rura Phalanto.

ORDO.

O Septimi, aditure mecutn Gades, et dus -mihi lasso maris, et viarum, militiaeque.

Cantabrum indoctum fcrre nostra juga, et Unde si Pareae iniqua* me probihent, petam

barbaras Syrtes, ubi Maura unda semper flumen Galesi dulce pellhis ovibus, et rura

aestuat ; utinam Tibur positum ab Argeo regnata Lacoui Fhalauto.
colono sit sedes meae senectse ; utinam sit mo-

NOTES.

1 . Septimi.] Septimius was a Roman obstinate resistance.

knight, beloved by Augustus, and a friend 0. Maura iinda.] The wares of the Mau-

of Horace ; he was at the same time no con- ritanian sea. Mauritania is a northern re-

temptible poet. gion of Africa.

1. Gades.] See the second ode of this 5. Tibur. ,] A town of Italy, (nowTivoli),
book. watered with plenty of springs, and blessed

2. Canlabrvm.'] The Cantabri were a with a temperate air. it was built by the
people inhabiting the northern regions of three sons of Amphiaraus ; from the oldest
Spain, now called Biscay, &c. They were of whom, who was named Tiburtus, it had
the last who submitted to the Roman yoke, the appellation of Tibur.

and could not be conquered but after an 5. Argeo.'] Argivo, Grecian. The

ODE VL HORACE'S ODES, 139

ODE VI.

leading an easy life, and would be well satisfied to spend quietly the rest
of his days at his seat at Tivoli, or at that of Septimius, near Tarentum.
The ode is of a taste so very natural, that it is sufficient to understand it, to see
its beauties.

TO SEPTIMIUS.

SEPTIMIUS, who art on the point of setting out with me for Cadiz,
to accompany me into Spain, not yet subject to the Roman power*,
and to bi-ave the Syrtes,those dangerous quicksands where the Mau-
ritanian billows ever boil; if it be the will &f heaven, may Tivoli,
that pleasant Grecian colony, be the retreat of my old age; may
this be the place of my rest, after I have gone through so many
dangerous voyages, journeys, and campaigns. But if the cruel
fates deny me access there, I will repair to that fine country of the
Tarentines, where the pleasant river Galesus runs, the banks of
which are covered with most beautiful flocks, and where Phalanthus
the Lacedemonian once reigned. That sweet spot is, to -me, the

* And the Cantabrian untaught to bear our yokes.

NOTES.

Greeks were called Argivi, from Argos a city ral changes and removals were by no means

of Peloponnesus. suitable either to the poet's temper or con-

7. Sit modus lasso mam.] This passage stitution ; and therefore we are not to woiv-

may be very well explained without having der if he speaks of them as irksome, and

recourse either to irony or pleasantry. Ho- what he was impatient to be released from,

race says, in general, that whatsoever may be 10. Pellitis ovilus^] At Tarentum the

his destiny, whether in the course of his life sheep had wool so very fine, and so excellent,

he be doomed to struggle with fortune, en- th:it, to preserve it, they covered all their

counter the fatigue of voyages, or bear arms, sheep with skins, which were thence called

it is his wish, when disengaged from these, pcllittK.

to enjoy the agreeable retreat of Tivoli. Be- 10. Galcsi flumen.'] The river Galesus,

sides, his past life was not wholly free from now Gulaso, runs through Calabria, a region

hardships of this kind. He had served under in the south of Italy, near Tarentum ; which

Brutus, and accompanied Maecenas at the city was built by Phalanthus a Greek, from

congress of Brundusium, and in all his cam- Laconia in Peloponnesus.
paigus during the Sicilian war. These seve-

140 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIE. II.

Ille terravum mihi prseter omnes
Angulus ridet, ubi non Hymetto
Mclla deeedunt, viridique certat 15

Bacca Venafro;

Ver ubi longum tepidasque praebet
Jupiter bruiruis, et amicus Aulon
Fertili Baccho minimum Falernis

Invidet uvis. 2O

Ille te mecum locus et beatse
Postulant arces ; ibi tu calentem
Debita sparges lacrymu favillam

Vatis amici.

OR DO.

Ille angulus riclet mihi prater omnes angw- mum invidet Falernis uvis. Ille locus et ilia-

Jos terrarum : ubi niella non decedunt Hy- beat* arces postulant te mecum ; ibi tu

roetto, baccaque certat viridi Venafro; ubi sparges debita lacrynw calentem favillam

Jupiter praebet ver longum brumasque tcpi- amici vatis.
ess, et Aulon, amicus leniii Baccho, mini-

NOTES.

13. Prosier omnes.'] That is, next to it was only in case of being excluded from i'ic

Tiveli; otherwise we shall make the poet one, that he would vi h for the other. lu-

eontradict Jiimself, as he has just before been deed he frequently joins them together, so

preferring Tivoli to Taientum, and declares that they stem to have been nearly upou it

ODE VII.

Three years after the battle of Philippi, Augustus and Antony made a peace
with young Pompey, and granted an amnesty to all those who, after the
defeat of Brutus, retired into Sicily, where Pompey received them. This
being a fair opportunity for Horace s friend to quit his amis, he returned to

AD POMPE1UM VARUM.

O S/EPE mecum tempus in ultimum
Deducte, Bruto milities duce,
Quis te redonavit Quiritem
Dis patriis, Italoque cotlo,

ORDO.

O Porr.pi, prime rrtcn;m sOiialium, s^pe duce militiae; quis redonavit te Quirium
ncducte ruccuia in ultimum tempus, Bruio Uiis patiiis, Italoque ccelo! cum quo (go

NOTES.

a. SrvtoJ] Brutus and Cassius were tvro who conspired to assassinate Caesar in the
of Rome, and the chief of tLcse senate-bouse. Augustus, carrjir.g t/n v.ar

ODE VII. HORACE'S ODES. 141

most agreeable place upon earth ; where the honey does not fall
short of that of Hymettus, and the olives are not inferior to those
of verdant Venafrum ; where Jupiter grants a long spring and mild
winters, and where Aulon, the seat of Bacchus, produces also
plenty of grapes not inferior to those of Falernurn. That charm-
ing place, and those pleasant little hills, invite both of us thither ;
there shall you pay your last kind office to me, and sprinkle with
your tears* the glowing ashes of your friend the poet.

* A deserved tear.

NOTES.

level in his esteem. Thus Book I. Ep. 7. ' May Aulon, so renowned for its fine

Sed vacuum Tilur placet, aid imlelle 'wool and fruitful vines, give its fleeces to

Tarenhtm. ' you, and its wine to me.'

14. Hymetto.'] Hymettus, a mountain of 23. Favillam.'] Favilla signifies properly

Attica in Greece, abounded with the finest those sparks that remain upon the ashes for

flowers, and afforded excellent nourishment a short time after the fire is consumed. Ho-

for bees. race adds ralentem, the better to show the

16. Ftnafro.~\ Venafrum was a city of piety of his friend, who was desired to do

Italy in the territories of the Samnites, round him this last kind office before the ashes

which grew the most excellent olive-trees. were entirely cold, or even all extinguished.

1 8. AulonJ] A mountain in the territory It is well known, the Romans had a custom

ofTarentum. Martial thus speaks of it in of burning their dead, and that the parents

the 125th Epigram of his 13th Book: and nearest relatives gathered the ashes or

Nolilis et toil's, et felix vilibus Aulou, bones, and put them into urns.

Del prel'msa tili vdlera, vina milii.

ODE VII.

Rome. At the sight of an old friend, absent for many years, of whose re-
turn Horace had almost despaired, he could not retain his joy, but breaks
out into raptures, and, with great address, enumerates the several occasions
in which they shared the same pleasures and the same dangers, and makes
an elegant entertainment on this joyful occasion.

TO POMPEIUS VARUS.

O POMPEY, the oldest of my friendly associates, often exposed
with me to the utmost danger in the army of Brutus, who has
restored you in safety to Rome, to your native country, and to your

NOTES.

against them, defeated them in a battle near -3. Qnis te redanavit.] These words are

Philippi. Horace in this engagement, siding not a question proceeding from ignorance,

with Brutus and Cassius, bore the office of but an exclamation arising from the-joy felt

military tribune ; but throwing away his by Horace at the sight of a friend whom he

shield, betook himself to flight. Brutus and had not seen for many years.

Cassius were both killed in the battle. 3. QumUm^ A citizen of Rome. The

H2 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. II.

Poinpei, meorum prime sodalium ! 5

Cum quo morantem saspe diem mero
Fregi, coronatus nitentes

Malobathro Syrio capillos.
Tecum Philippos et celerem fugam

Sensi, relicta non bene parmula, 10

Cum iracta virtus, et minaces
T urpe solum tetigere mento.
Sed me per hostes Mercurius celer
Denso paventem sustulit acre :

Te rursus in be! him resorbens 15

Unda fretis tulit aestuosis.
Ergo obligatam redde Jo\i dapem ;
Longaque fessum militia latus
Depone sub lauru mea ; nee

Parce cadis tibi destinatis. 20

Oblivioso levia Massico
Ciboiia exple ; funde capacibus
Unguenta de conchis. Quis udo

Deproperare apio coronas

Curatve myrto ? quern Venus arbitrum 25

Dicet bibendi ? non ego sanius
Bacchabor Edonis : recepto
Dulce mini furere est amico.

ORDO.

szepe fregi morantem diem mero r coronatus deponeque tuum latus fessum longa militia

nitentes capillos malobathro Syrio. sub lauru mea; nee parce cadis destinalis

Tecum sens! Philippos et celerem fugam, tibi.

parmula mea non bene relicta; cum virtus Exple ciborialc via fine Massico oblivioso;

fracta, et homines minaces tetigere turpe funde unguenta de capacibus conchis. Quis

solum memo. Sed Mercurius celer sustulit curat deproperare coronas udo apio myrtove ?

me paventem per hostes denso o.ere : unda Quern Venus dicet arbitrum bibendi ? Ejro

resorbens fretis aestuosis tiilit te nirsus in bacchabor non sanius Edonis ; dulce aiim

bellum. Ergo redde Jovi dapem obligatam j eit mihi furere amico .meo recepto.

NOTES.

Sabines, being engaged in frequent wars with they could not stand their ground against the

the Romans during the infancy of that re- enemy ; this soldier threw himself into the

public, at last agreed to unite into one morass, made a brave and admirable attack,

people, and take the name of Quirites. and at last rescued the officers ; but, in re-

8. Maloiathro.'] Malclalhrum was a fine passing the morass, being last, he lost his
kind of ointment, which came from a plant buckler in the mud, out of which he ex-
growing in Syria, a region of Asia between tricated himself with great difficulty. Caesar,
Egypt and Asia Minor. who had seen the engagement, went with

10. Rdicta non lene parmitla.'] What shouts of joy to receive and caress the sol-
infamy they were branded with who threw dier; but the youth, with tears in his eyes,
away the buckler that they might escape and filled with shame, begged Caesar's par-
the more easily, appears by what happened don that he had not brought back his buck-
to one of Caesar's soldiers in England. Some ler. Whatever cowardice it showed for one
officers were engaged in a morass, wheie to throw away his buckler, yet here Horace

ODE VIT. HORACE'S ODES. 143

gods? With you I have often passed a great part of the day agree-
ably ovter a glass of wine, crowned with flowers, and perfumed
with the finest essences of Syria. I still remember our precipitate
flight at the battle of Philippi, where I shamefully left my shield,
valour itself being forced to give way, and our most daring cham-
pions obliged with shame to bite the very -ground : but Mercury in
a thick cloud carried me safe through the midst of my enemies.
As for you, embarking on a troubled sea, you again exposed your-
self to the hazards of war. Now that you are restored to M.V in
safety, he not unmindful to make the sacrifice you vowed to Jupiter;
and as you are almost worn out with the fatigues of war, come, and
repose yourself under my laurel. Spare not the wine that is des-
tined for you. Indulge yourself in drinking freely of my generous
Massic wine, which you find to be a sovereign remedy for dispelling
anxiety ; nor spare the fine perfumes that are in the costly shells.
Who takes care to provide us with crowns of green parsley or
myrtle ? Whom will Venus name master of the feast ? I intend to
be as merry to-day as any Thracian ; it gives me infinite pleasure
*to play the Bacchanal on the safe arrival of my friend.

* To be mad.

NOTES.

.owns it, to extol Augustus' glory the more, is purely historical. Many that had escaped
by mentioning the circumstances of his vie- from the battle of Philippi, embarked for
tory, and the terror wherewith he struck his Italy to make up their peace. The ship in
enemies. Alcaeus also threw away his shield which they were, was driven on shore by a
in a battle ; so that in this, as in other things, tempest, near Cape Palinurus. Horace ob-
there is a conformity between him and Ho- tained his pardon by the intercession of Mae-
race, in whose life it ought to be particularly cenas ; but Pompeius Varus and others, not
remarked. proving so fortunate, returned to Sicily,- and

11. Fractavirtus.'] The poet does justice joined young Pompey. For this reason the

to the conquered, and at the same time pays poet says, in lellum resorbens undo, fretis

the highest compliment to the conquerors, titlit testuosis,

Brutus and Cassius had the better troops ; 23. Conchis.~] Vessels made of shell, or

but victory declared for Octavius and Antony, after the similitude of shells.

The braver an enemy is, the greater is the -25. Quern Fenus.] The Romans at their

glory of victory. entertainments generally chose a king by &

13. Sed me per hastes Mdrcurius celerJ] cast of the dice, which cast was called Venus,

The poet here alludes to the battles of Ho- Venerius Jactus, or Basilicus; and for thi

mer, where the gods are often represented purpose they made use of either the Tali or

as carrying off some one of the combatants, Tessera ; for the Alece were forbidden by

and encompassing him with thick clouds, to law. Venus was the fortunate throw in both ;

snatch him from the violence of his enemy, but with this difference, that with the Tali

And this province, with regard to himself, he all the dice were to rise of different numbers ;

here assigns to Mercury, as being the father but, with the Tessera:, the conqueror was to

of eloquence, and the protector of learned throw' three sixes.

men : he means also to intimate, that his 27. Edmris.'] The Edonians were for-
poetry, and the patronage of Maecenas, had merly a people of Thrace, afterwards of Ma-
procured him his pardon. cedoiiia, of which they inhabited the eastern

15. Tt runus in iiellum resoTlms.'] This part.

144 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

. ODE VIII.

This ode is very curious, and full of gallantry. There is nothing in it by
which we can ascertain when it was composedjbut it is sufficient to remark,

IN BARINEN.

ULLA si juris tibi pejerati

Pcena, Barine, nocuisset unquam,

Dente si nigro fieres, vel uno

Turpior ungui,

Crederem : .sed tu, simul obligasti 5

Pcrfidum votis caput, enitescis
Pulclirior multo, juvenumquc prodis

Publica cura.

Expedit matris cineres opertos

Fallere, et toto tacjturna noctis 10

Signa cum coelo, gelidaque Divos

Morte carentes.

Ridet hoc, inquam, Venus ipsa ; rident
Simj)lices Nymph.se, ferus et Cupido,
Semper ardentes acuens sagittas 15

Cote cruentft.

O R D o.

O Barine, si ulla poena pejerati juris un- neres matris, et tachurna signa coctis cum

ijuam nocuisset tibi, si fieres turpior nigro tolo ccelo, divosque carentes geliJa inorte.

dente vel uno ungui, crederem : sed tu si- Ipsa Venus, inquam, ridet hoc ; simplices

mul obligasti tiwm perfidum caput votis, Nympbae rident hoc, et ferus Cupidn, semper

enitescis muho pulcbrior, prodisque publica acuens ardentes suas sagittas crueuta cote,
cura juveniun. Expedit fallere opertos ci-

NOTES.

1. Ulla si juris tili prjerali.~\ TTie sense E.-sc Dmscredfimne?Jldemj>irntnfefeUit,

of these fourlines depends on a superstition Et facia illi qiicefuit ante, manet.

of the ancients, who believed that a lie was Quam lwi"ns haltiit nondum perjura capillos,

always followed with some pain, and that, as Tarn tangos, Jtoslquam numina Itesit, habet.
soon' as it was uttered, one of the offender's

teeth assumed ablaik hue, a nail was masked, ' Can I believe there are any gods ? She

or a blister appeared o the end of his tongue, 'hath \iolated the faith she gave me with

or on his nose, or some mark upon his face ; ' so many oaths, and yet she continues as

his foot became deformed, or his shape was ' beautiful as ever. *fhe fine hair she had

marred, or he lost some hair. It is on the ' before bhe perjured herself, she still has, a*

same subject that Ovid composed the third ' long, and as fine, even since she offended

Elegy of the third Book : ' the gods.'

ODE VIII. HORACE'S ODES 145

ODE VIII.

that Horace wrote the greatest part of his amorous odes before he was forty
years of age.

TO BAR1NE.

BARINE, if you had ever suffered the slightest punisliment for your
false oaths, if one of your teeth, or a nail of your hand,, had been
affected with the least blemish, I would believe you ; but you are
no sooner perjured, than you appear more beautiful, aud become
the desirable object of all our youth. It seems only to set you off
to the greater advantage, that you have violated the a. '. es of your
mother, deceived the heavens, and the stars that shine during the
silence of the night, and mocked the immortal gods themselves.
Venus, I say, only smiles at this, and the gentle Nymphs seem well
pleased, as does cruel Cupid, who always whets his new-forged ar-
rows on a stone wet with blood. Add to this, that the rising youth

NOTES.

The Latins took this from the Greeks ; if they hroke their engagements, their head?
for Theocritus writes in his ninth id)'ll, were in some sense devoted, and subject tc

all those maledictions. In allusion to this,

MUXST" svl yt.tavaas eiy.au.!; oAmft/yJovfi ipi;<7;. Horace says of Barine, sed tu simul obli-

gasti perfidum votis caput. Votis is here

' Take particular care not to make a blis- therefore an ablative; and what Horace here
' ter grow on the end of your tongue ;' that describes by olligare votis caput, Plautus
is, take particular care not to lie. And in simply expresses by alligarc caput. Such as
the twelfth idyll, he calls very pleasantly the were in this manner bound, were said to be
marks, -^/t'tita,, lies. voti rei, voli damuati, and after the accom-

plishment, voti absoluti.

Eyui $s at TOV jtaXov aivujy 9. Expedit.] As if Horace had said, Since

Tsu&a pi'voj uTTEsSsv aortttjf oux wmtyvaui. your perjuries serve only to render you

more beautiful, it is for your advantage to

' You are so very beautiful, that, in prais- yiolate the ashes of your mother, and de-

' ing you, I shall make no lies grow on the ride the gods. Perhaps these four lines

' end of my nose.* And the same has come contain only a description of the manner in

in some manner down to us ; for I have which Bariae was wont to swear : by the

heard many call vulgarly lies, the little white soul of her mother, by the stars, and by

or black marks that appear sometimes upon all the gods. We meet in Propertius with

the nails. an instance of this kind of oath ; Lib. 2.

5. Sed tu, simul olligasti perfidum votis Eleg. 20. '

caput.'} There is some little difficulty ia Ossa tibijuro per matris, et ossa parcnlis.
this passage. As they who bound themselves Sijallo, cinis, lieu ! sit mihi uterqurgravis.
by oat'hs or promises, tacitly subjected them- 1 6. Cote cruenta.] The cruelty of Cupid

selves to certain penalties and maledictions, could not be more naturally represented than
VOL. 1, L

146 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Aclde, quod pubes tibi crescit omnis,
Servitus crescit nova ; nee priores
ImpifE tectum dominae relinquunt,

Seepe minati. 2&

Te suis matres metuunt juvencis,
Te senes parci, miseraeque nuper
Virgines nuptse, tua ne retardet

Aura maritos.

ORDO.

Ackle, quod pubes omnis crescit tibi, nova piae. Matres metuunt te juvencls, senes
servitus crescit till; nee priores, licet saepe parci te etiam metuunt, miseraeque virgines
minati sunl, relinquunt tectum dominae im- nuper nuptae, ne tua aura retardet maritos.

NOTES.

rt is here by Horace; who, to sharpen \\'A rows of love, Venus dips their, points in

arrows upon a stone, makes this little god honey, but Cupid takes them afterwards and

use blood in place of water or oil. Anacreon dips them in gall,
says, that when Vulcan has forged the ar-

ODE IX.

To know how to comfort the afflicted, is a talent that does not fall to every
man's share ; it is even hazardous to undertake it. The greater and
juster the affliction, the harder it is to find reasons strong enough to sur-
mount it. After all, in losses that cannot be remedied, address must be
made to the heart rather than to the fancy, or to the judgement rather than
to the affections. Care must be taken to blunt the keenness of thought, and
leave it to time to do the rest. The more natural and unaffected the motives
ofcomfort are, they will then be of greater use than the grave maxims of mo-
rality and studied reasoning. This is the method which Horace,, in this

NON semper imbres nubibus Iiispidos
Manant in agros, aut mare Caspium
Vexant iruequales procellae

ORDO.

O amice Valgi, imbres non semper manant cellse usque rexant mare Caspium ; nee stat
nubibus in agros hispidos, aut iuaequales pro-

NOTES.

Q. Mare Cespium.'] The Caspian sea is to the north, Armenia to the west, and
in Asia, having Persia to the south, Tartary . India tg tlie east. Horace makes ; !

ODE IX.

HORACE'S ODES.

147

become all your admirers, your slaves are daily multiplying, and
your first lovers, who often threatened to abandon you on account
of your perjuries, still continue to follow you. The careful mo-
thers and frugal sires are afraid of you for their sons ; and the new-
married ladies are in great pain, lest your powerful charms should
detain their husbands.

NOTES.

17- Adde, tfubd '.pule : s.~\ Commentators have
not seen all the delicacy and beauty of this
passage. Horace says, that the youth grow
up only for her. This is very gallant and
polite ; and there is also something grand and
noble in the compliment, as making Barine
a kind of divinity, to whom all the future
services of the youth were destined and
devoted.

22. Te sencs parci.] Cofetousness is com-
mon to old men, who, for this reason, are

always called parri. Horace says, in his Art
of Poetry,

Multa senem circumveniunt incommoda; vel

quod
Quterit, et. inveniis miser alstimt, ac timet

uti.

' Old age is accompanied with many in-
' conveniences; for instance, it desires always
' to heap up, and is afraid to make use of
f what it hath.'

ODE IX.

beautiful ode, takes with an affectionate father, under great affliction for
the death of his son, whom he loved most tenderly. . He does not con-
demn his grief; he only proposes to hinder its continuance, or to stop its
career.

There is no great difficulty in fixing the time when this ode was composed.
It appears plainly, by the last four lines, that it was after Augustus had
undertaken an expedition into Armenia Minor, whence he sent Tiberius
into Armenia Major, there to fix Tigranes upon the throne. This hap-
pened in the year of Rome 733 ; and this ode was undoubtedly composed
the year after, Horace being then forty-seven years of age.

TO VALGIUS.

THE clouds do not always pour down rain upon the fields, nor do
the furious tempests perpetually agitate the Caspian sea. Armenia

NOTES.

this sea, because it is more dangerous than ' The Caspian sea, altogether fierce,

others. Pomponius Mela describes it thus: ' raging, without harbours, on all sides ex-

Mare Ca-sjAitm nmne atrox, sanxtm, sine ( posed ts storms, and more full of monsters

porlulut, prncdlis uiidique expositum, ac lei- ' than any other, and for that reason less

iuis magis quam cetera Tffertum, et idw mi-
mu itavigatilt.

navigable.'

It is sun'ounded with land, without an/

143 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Usque ; nee Armeniis in oris,

Amice Valgi, stat glacies iners 5

Menses per omnes, aut Aquilonibus
Querceta Gargani laborant,
Et foliis viduantur orni :
Tu semper urges flebilibus modis

Mysten ademtum ; nee tibi Vespero 10

Surgente decedunt amores,

Nee rapidum fugiente Solem.
At non ter aevo functus amabilem
Ploravit omnes Antilochum senex

Annos ; nee impubem parentes 15

Troilon, aut Phrygiae sorores
Flevcre semper. Desine mollium
Tandem querelarum ; et potius nova
Cantemus Augusti trop;;ea

Cfesaris ; et rigidum Niphaten, 20

' Medumque flumen gentibus additum
Victis, minores volvere vortices ;
Intraque prsescriptum Gelonos
Exiguis equitare cainpis.

ORDO.

inera glacies in Armeniis oris per omnes nee parentes aut Phrygiae sorores semper fle-

nienses, aut querceta Gargani laborant Aqui- vere impubem Troilon. Tandem desine mol-

lonibus, et orni semper viduantur foliis : tu Hum querelarum, et potius cantemus nova

zero semper urges ademptum Mysten flebi- troprea Augusti Czesaris, et Niphaten rigi-

libus modis ; nee amores decedunt tibi Ves- dum, flumenque Medum additum victis gen-

pcro surgente, nee fugiente rapidum solem. tibus, volvere minores vortices ; Gelonosque

At senex Nestor functus ter aevo non plo- equitare exiguis campis intra spatium prae-

ravit amabilem Antilochum omnes anuos; scriptum.

NOTES.

visible communication with the ocean. Its 5, Falgi.] This is the "poet Titus Valgius,

circumference is five hundred leagues, and of whom Horace speaks in the tenth Satire

its length three hundred and sixty-five. of the first Book ; and of whom Tibullus

4. Armeniis in oris stat glacies.'] The ice of hath said, that no poet ever came so near

Armenia here mentioned, is not an imagin- Homer as he:
ation of Horace; it is very well vouched,

and his words are found to be agreeable lo Pidgins tsicrno propior iiati alter Homero.
truth. The latest accounts we ha\ e of Ar-
menia import, that this country is almost 7. Gargani.] Garganus, a mountain of
environed with mountains, viz. Taurus, Pa- Apulia in Italv.

riades, Anti-Taurus, Niphates, and Ararat; 13. At non ter cev ofunciust] Nestor, who

that these mountains being continually co- lived three entire ages; that is, three times

vered with snow and ice, are extremely cold ; thirty years, and not three hundred yers, as

that the nature of the soil, which is im- some have asserted ; thirty years being reck-

pregnated with salt, contributes to increase oned a natural age, to distinguish it from *

the coldness of the air; and therefore it is no civil age, which is arbitrary, and depends on

uncommon thing to see it snow and hail the will of men.

there in the month of June. 14. Antilochum^ Antilochus, seeing his fa-

ODE IX.

HORACE'S ODES.

143

is not covered with ice throughout the year, nor for that whole time
are the forests of Garganus beaten upon by the north winds, nor
are the trees continually naked of leaves : but you, my dear Val-
gius, give no respite to your grief ; you are always lamenting, in
mournful strains, the death of your dear 1 Mystes ; nor is your anx-
iety abated either when the evening star arises, or when it dis-
appears upon the approach of the sun*. Consider, the aged Nestor
did not always mourn for his darling son Antilochus. Hecuba,
Priam f, and the princesses of Troy %, at last gave over their lamen-
tation for young Troilus. Relinquish, therefore, these soft mourn-
ful strains, and let us rather sing the late victories of Augustus, the
Niphates covered with snow, or the river Medus, which is now be-
come a part of our conquest, and rolls its billows with a gentler
course. Let us, in fine, sing of the Scythians, who, now confined
within their own narrow country, dare not pass the bounds that
are prescribed to them.

* Flies the rapid sun.

The parents.

J Phrygian sisters.

NOTES.

ther Nestor wounded, and ready to fall under
the violent efforts of Memnoti, threw him-
self between , the two combatants, and thus
received a wound, of which he died.

16. Troilon.] Troilus was one of Priam's
sons. His life was precious to his country,
because the fate of Troy depended upon it.
He was killed by Achilles in the flower of
his age.

16. Phrygi<t sorores.'] The sisters of Troi-
lus were, Creusa, Laodicea, Polyxena, and
Cassandra.

18. Et. potius nova, c.] Valgitis could
scarcely withstand an argument so strong as
this. The expedition of Augustus to the
ast, was more glorious than any of his most
successful campaigns.' This prince had not
only made the Roman name respected over
all Asia and Africa, and imposed his own
terms of peace upon the Indians, Ethio-
pians, Sec. but, what the Romans had most
at heart, he had humbled the insolence of
the Parthians ; he had obliged Phraates their
king to draw his troops from Armenia, to
return the Roman standards, and the pri-
soners that had been detained for thirty years,
and to pull down the trophies Orodes had
raised on the defeat of Crassus. So many
prpdigies performed in less than two years,
were the more agreeable to the Romans, as
the success had not cost th republic the loss

of one man. In these circumstances, Ho-
race could not but be in the right to ask
Valgius to give some respite to his grief, and
partake, for some time, of the common joy.

20. Niphaten.] The Niphates is a great
mountain in Armenia ; Horace calls it rigi-
dum, cold, because it is covered with snow.
Virgil, speaking of this victory of Augustus
in his third Book of Georgics, says,

Addam urles Asice domitas, pulsumque Ni-

phaten,
Fulentemquc fuga Parthum, versisque sa-

giltis,
El duo rapta manu diverso ex hoste tropcea.

' Here I shall add the cities he subdued
in Asia, the people that he conquered,
those of Niphaies, and the Parthians, who
trust to the arrows they shoot in flying, and
the two victories he gained over two ene-
mies at a great distance from one another."

21. Medium flumen.~] Plutarch writes,
that the Euphrates was formerly called Me-
dus, by which Horace means the Parthians,
as he did the Armenians by the Niphates.

23. Gdonos.'] By the Geloni we must
understand the Scythians, who made incur-
sions into Armenia, to whom Augustus set
bounds that they should not pass, as he had
done to the Parthian;.

150 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. II.

ODE X.

Horace addresses this incomparable ode to Licinius Varro Mtirena, brother
of Proculeius, and of Terentia, the wife of Maecenas; who is the same
Licinius that conspired against Augustus with Fannius Cappio in the year
of Rome 73 1 ; for which offence he was banished, and afterwards put to
death, notwithstanding all the interest that Maecenas and Proculeius could
make for him.

This ode was composed before Licinius was engaged in the conspiracy, but
after his goods were confiscated for carrying arms against Augustus. Ho-

AD LICINIUM MURENAM.

RECTIUS vivesj Licini, neque altum
Semper urgendo, neque, dum procellas
Cautus horrescis, nimium premendo

Litus iniquum.

Auream quisquis mediocritatem 5

Diligit, tutus, caret obsoleti
Sordibus tecti, caret invidenda

Sf -brius aula.

Sfevius ventis agitatur ingens
Pinus; excelsae gvaviore casu JO

ORDO.

O Liini, vives rrctiv.s neque semper ur- caret sordibus obsoleti tecti, sobrius caret au-

gendo altum, neque, dum cautus horreseis II invidenda. Ihgens pinus saevius agita-

procelias, nimium premendo iniquum linis. tur ventis, excelsse turres decidunt graviore
Quisquis diligit auream mediccritatem, tutus,

NOTES.

1. Neque allum semper urgendo, neqve, tented with that station of life to which this
dum, &c.] To understand the true mean- kind office of his broihf r raised him again,
ing of Hi )i ace in these words, ivc 1 1: ust con- IIP h;id not fallen into those misfortunes
sickr the conformity thf-y have with the hi?h he incurred in the sequel. To bring
state in which Licinius Mun-na then was, Licinius INIurena to this, Horace endeavours,
Jjicinius having all his goods confiscated in this ode, to cure him of ambition and cie-
for bearing ;:r:,i. icr-.iinst Csesar, lii, brother spair, the t>vo rocks on which he afterwards
Procjlcii't. endeavoured to n>.ake this great split. He makes use of a very familiar corn-
loss easy to him, by giving him the half rarisan of those who make voyages, whereby
of his fortune. If he would have been cou- ue lays before kirn aa exact picture of two

QIXE X.

HORACE'S ODES.

151

ODE X.

race, who knew his restless and ambitious spirit, and that he was as unfit
.to bear prosperity as adversity, designs, by this ode, to point out the way
of avoiding those misfortunes into which he .fell afterwards, by not follow-
ing the good advice of his friend. The great address of the poet is, in
making no application that could prejudice Licinius. The rules of conduct
he gives are general, and almost all covered under different figures ; and the
ode itself is short, easy to be understood, and beautified with many com-
parisons.

TO LICINIUS MURENA.

DEAR Licinius, you will steer your course more safely
through the sea of life *, if ypu launch not always out into
the deep ; provided, on the other hand, that, being ouer-caur
tious, and afraid of a storm, you bear not too near the shore,
which is equally dangerous. He who loves the golden mean,
is quite secure ; as he does not choose to live in a sordid little
house, he is not ambitious to live in a magnificent palace that at-
tracts envy. The lofty pine is most beaten upon by the winds ;

* Will live more safely.

NOTES.

extremes. By those who are always for ad-
vancing into the high seas, he admirably re-
presents the ambitious, who never think
themselves sufficiently exalted in the world ;
and by these who, 'upon the appearance of a
storm, are seized with fear, and coast it al-
xvays along the shore, and thus lose their
lives by too great precaution, he gives a fine
description of suck as, upon the least dis-
grace, lse their judgement, and in their de-
spair take dangerous resolutions.

6, Tutus, caret olsoleti.'} Horace says
tutus caret, he is secure against the neces-
sity of an indigent dwelling; and sobrius
caret, he is too discreet and prudent to lodge
in a sumptuous palace that might expose
him to envy. Or perhaps these two words
tut us and sobrius, ought to be detached en-
tiraly from the verb caret, and considered as
belonging to the person who is here said to

love mediocrity of condition, always accom-
panied with security and temperance. He
is not exposed to the inconveniences of want,
or to the envy of an exalted rank.

7 . Invidenda.~\ Magnificent, splendid, and
of consequence subject to envy; as he says,
Ode first, Book third, Invidendi pastes. Lu-
cretius (V. 1130.) has excellently explained
this :

Invidia quomuun, seufulmine, summa vapo-

rant,
Plerumiflie, et qiite sunt aKis magis editA

cumque. ,

' All things that are magnificent, and
' rise in grandeur and height above others,
' are subject to envy, as well as to thunder.'

9. Stsvius.] Sfsvius is proposed to the read-
er instead of s&pius ; and indeed this reading

152 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Decidunt turres ; feriuntque Summos

Fulmina montes.
Sperat infestis, metuit secundis
Alteram sortem bene praeparatum
Pectus. Informes hyemes reducit J5

Jupiter; idem

Summovet : non, si male nunc, et olim
Sic erit : quondam cithar<i tacentem
Suscitat Musam, nequc semper arcum

Tendit Apollo. 20

Rebus angustis animosus atque
Fortis appare : sapienter idem
Contrahes vento riimium secundo

Turgida vela.

ORD O.

casu, fulminaque feriunt summos montes. quondam suscitat citharaswamusamtacentero,
Pectus bene prreparatum sperat alteram sor- neque semper tendit suum arcum. Appare for-
tem in rebus iufestis, metuit v ero alteram sor- tis atque animosus in angustis rebus : idem
tern in reins secundis. Jupiter reducit infer- sapienter contrahes vela tua turgida vento ri-
mes hyemes; idem Jupiter summovet eas : si mium secundo.
nunc male est, non et olim sic erit: Apollo

NOTES.

seems to add a greater justness to the senti- phrase, he would have putfreqnentiore ccsw,

raent of the poet : for, s<rvins rentis agi- or something like it, in the other.

tatur ingens pinus, agrees better with what 13. Metuit secundis.] Prosperity is more

follows, excelsec turres gravius decidunt to be dreaded than every one thinks ; the

(which also is a preferable reading to etcelsee), higher it rises, the more are we liable to

e.f. fulmina. gravius feriunt summos -monies, some fatal reverse of fortune. It was on

If he had used th word seepius in the first tliis account that the ancients were wont

ODEX.

HORACE'S ODES.

153

high towers have the most terrible downfall, and thunder falls with
the greatest force upon the highest mountains. A heart prepared
for all events, never loses hope in adversity, and yet retains some
fear in prosperity. Jupiter sends us stormy winters, and he also re-
moves them ; if we are unfortunate now, we shall not be always so.
Apollo sometimes tunes his lyre*, and does not always bend his
bow. Show, therefore, that you have resolution and courage in ad-
versity, and conduct yourself with prudence in the height of pro-
sperityf.

* Wakes his silent muse with the harp.

{ Prudently furl your sails swelled with too prosperous a gale.

NOTES.

to appease the gods by sacrifices after some
very signal success. Had Licinius, in pro-
sperity, retained some fear and apprehension,
be would have avoided all the misfortunes
that hefell him.

15. Informes hy ernes.'] This epithet is
very singular and bold, and also very happy
and well-chosen. Winter quite changes the
face of the universe; it disfigures and de-
forms nature.

'19. Neque semper arcum tendit Apollo.]
The ancients represent Apollo as the cause
Of a great number of the evils that affect
kingdoms, armies, &c. as the plague, famine,
&c. It is for this reason that Horace ad-
dresses him in his secular poera with prayers
to retain his arrows in his quiver, and be ap-

Condito mitis pladdusque telo.
Homer says, that the arrows of this god
brought the plague into the Grecian camp ;

the reason of which is evident. In like man-
ner, when Horace says here, that Apollo ha
not always his bow bent, he means that
Apollo does not always afflict mankind with
the above-mentioned calamities ; it is there-
fore a wrong application of these words, which
many make, when they use them to exprest
that the mind ought not always to be upon
the stretch, but should now and then be al-
lowed some relaxation.

2 1 . Animosus atque fortis.] Horace had
good reason for making use of both the
words animosus and fortis on this occation.
The first marks only -the disposition of the
soul; the other the effects of that disposition,
the actions that spring from it. The one it
the cause, the other the effect. Animosus is
properly one that fears nothing ; fortis is ap-
plicable to a person who struggles through all
hardships with patience. This passage well
merited a particular explanation.

154 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB.

ODE XL

There are many who know not how to be happy, or at least will not allow
themselves to be so : ihey disquiet themselves with a thousand apprehen-
sions of danger, which exists no where but in their own imagination, and
dread the approach of evils of which there is not the least appearance. This
was the character of Hirpinus. Although he resided at Rome in a quiet
house, far from the alarms of war, yet his fate, and that of the empire, ap-
peared to him very uncertain. He was continually providing against acci-
dents which were never likely to happen, and brought upon himself a rcs.1

AD QUINTIUM HIRPINUM.

QUID bellicosus Cantaber, et Scythes,
Hirpirie Quinti, cogttet, Adria
Divisus objecto, remittas

Quserere; nee trepides in usum

Poscentis sevi pauea. Fugit retro 5

JLevis juventas et decor, arida
Pellente lascivos amores

Canitie, facilemque somnum.
Non semper idem floribus est honos
Veinis; neque uno Luna rubens nitet JO

Vultu. Quid seternis minorem
Consiliis animum fatigas ?

ORDO.

O Hlrpine Qiiintij rem!tt*3 qtnerere quid amores faeileraque somnum. Non semper

beliicosus Cantaber cogitet, et, Scythes divi- est idem bonos fioribus vernis ; neque rubeng

sus Aclria objecto ; nee trepides in usum aevi luna nitet semper no vultu. Quid f'atigas

poscentis pauca. Levis juventas et decor animum tuum minorftcn seteniU cousiliis ?
fugit retro, arhk canitie pellente L

NOTES.

1. Scythes Adria iKvisus objecto.'] The sea ; that is, by the Scythians he understands

ancients comprehended under' the name Scy- the people of Illyria, Daimaua, Pannonia,

thians all the people inhabiting northward; Dacia, &c. all which Suetonius comprehends

and we see clearly by this passage, that under the general name of Illyria.

Horace gives that name to the people who 2. Hirpine Quinti.] The house of Quin-

*cre separated irom Italy by tne Adriatic this was one of th most ancient and consi-

XI. HORACE'S ODES. 155

ODE XL

evil, by his cares and endeavours to avoid a chimerical one. Horace, in this
ode, advises his friend to lay aside this anxious and foreboding temper. He
tells him, that all things are liable to change and variation; that the know-
ledge of futurity altogether exceeds our comprehension ; and therefore
wisdom requires that we should give ourselves no uneasiness on that head.
If anxious thoughts will sometimes force themselves upon us, we should ba-
' pish them by a cheerful glass, which is the best antidote to such attacks. '

TO QUINTIUS HIRPINUS.

TROUBLE not yourself, dear Hirpinus, about inquiring into the de-
signs of the warlike Cantabrian and Scythian, separated from us by
the Adriatic sea ; nor be so very anxious about the necessaries of
life, that requires but a little to satisfy it.

Youth, with all its gaieties and beauties, flies from us apace, and
is succeeded by old age, which banishes all the levities of love and
soft slumbers. The flowers of the spring do not always retain the
same bloom ; nor does the moon shine at all times with the same
lustre. Why then do you disquiet your mind about the future
events of providence, which are beyond its reach? Why do we not

NOTES.

irable in Rome, of which it became a fa- Rome 744 ; but this is contrary to all the
...ily after the destruction of Alba, and was manuscripts, in which we read Hirpinc.
ranked in the patrician order by TullusHos- 11. -Quid ceternis.~] As if he had said:
tilius. It was divided into four branches, Since youth passes so swiftly away, and no-
which are distinguished by the surnames of thing in nature is durable and lasting, why
Capitoihms, 'Cinciunauis, Flamiiuus, and do you not now in old age give some relaxa-
Crispipus. The person here addressed by tion to the mind ? why do you oppress your-
Horace, is the same whom he addresses self with endless cares and projects ? Such
Epist. 16. Bjok 1. but cannot be distinguished commentators as fancy that by ceternis con-
front others of the same name, which is the ailiis we are to understand the counsels and
reason that some interpreters have thought designs of the gods, because they are eter-
Horace wrote Crisping Quincti, and that this nal, little comprehend the design of the
is the same Quint-tins Crisp'mus who was poet, who means only to insinuate' to Hir-
cousul with Cl. Drusus Nero in the year of pinus, that liis mind would not be ablfl to

156 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Cur non sub alta vel platano, vel hac
Pinu, jacentes sic temere, et rosa

Canos odorati capillos, 15

Dum licet, Assyriaque nardo
Potamus uncti ? dissipat Evius
Curas edaces. Quis puer ocius
Restinguet ardentis Falerni

Pocula praetereunte lympha? 20

Quis devium scortum eliciet domo
Lyden? eburna, die age, cum lyra
Maturet, incomtam Lacaenae
More comam religata nodo.

ORDO.

Cur non sic temere racentes vel sul> hac cula ardentis vini Falerni lympha pnetere-

alta platano, vel sub hac pimi, et odorati unte? Quis eliciet domo Lyden devium

cauos noslros capillos rosa, unctique Assyria scortum ? Age, die ut maturet cum lyra

narrto, potamus dum licet? Evius dissipat sua eburna, religata swam comam incomtam

curts edaces. Quis puer ocius restinguet po- nodo, more mulieris Lacsense.

NOTES.

Lear up under that perpetual succession of Cilicia, not far from Syria, seem to have for-

new cares, and variety of different schemes, gotten that this was a savage kind of nardus,

with which he oppressed it. which never entered into the composition of

a 6. Assyriaque nardo.] Nardus is pro- these exquisite perfumes and odours,
perly a plant which grows in India. Horace 19. Restinguet ardentis Falerni poculaJ]
calls it Assyrian, because the European mer- Some interpreters have explained this pas-
chants bought it in Syria. Those who think sage, as if Horace desired his servant to bring
that he means a kind of nardus growing in some water to mix with the wine ; whereas,

ODE XI.

HORACE'S ODES.

157

rather place ourselves without ceremony under this lofty plane-tree,
or this pine, put on rose-garlands, anoint our grey hairs with the
finest perfumes, and solace ourselves, while we may, with a hearty
glass ? It is wine that dispels the cares that prey upon us. Which
of you, boys, will soonest cool for us a bottle of this hot Falernian in
the rivulet that runs by us? Who will go for Lyde? Be sure you
desire her to bring her ivory harp with her, and 'not mind her dress,
but come with her uncombed hair tied in a knot, like the Lacede-
monian ladies.

NOTES.

he plainly wanted It to be cooled in the
neighbouring stream. There is indeed a
fragment of one of the odes of Anacreon still
extant, which seems to favour the sentiment
of these commentators : for he commands
his boy to put ten measures of water among
five measures of wine, to moderate the insup-
portable strength of that liquor; but, not-
withstanding this, the other method of ex-
plaining seems more just, and more agreeable
to the words of Horace. The epithet pra-
tereimte seems necessarily to demand it. It
is very well known, that the aneients made
use of ice and snow to cool their wine ; and
when these could not be had, they had re-
course to fountains and streams.

21. Quis devium scortum."] By dcvium
scortum commentators understand a courtezan
that was not public ; such an one as the an-
cients strictly understood by the word mere-
trix, when opposed to prostibula and vaga.
Propert. Lib. I. El. 5,7.

Nonest ilia vagis similis conlata puellis.

23. Incomtam Lac<e?ue more.'] This pas-
sage has very much embarrassed interpreters,
perhaps without cause. It is proper that we
should read incomtam as one word, and re-
fer it to comarn, as is evident from what fol-
lows, viz. more Laccenee : for it is evident
from the records of antiquity, that the La-
cedemonian ladies were very negligent aud
careless in their dress.

158 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

ODE XII.

As this is one of the finest odes of Horace, it has more of gallantry in it than
any of his other compositions. Maecenas very much importuned the pott to
write of the wars* of Italy; Horace, unwilling to'undertake such a task,
pleads for his excuse, on the one hand, that he thought himself incapable
of executing so great a design j, and, on the other, that Ma;cenas himself
had undertaken to write the history of Augustus, in which he would, with-
out doubt, succeed much better than he ; and to make his excuses more pre-
valent, he tells him, that his muse wou^d only permit him to sing of the

AD MCENATEM.

NOLIS longa ferae bella Numantiae,

Nee dirum Annibalem, nee Siculum mare

Panic purpureum sanguine, mollibus]

Aptari citharae modis ;
Nee ssevos Lapithas, et nimium mero
Hyleeum ; domitosque Herculea manu.
Telluris juvenes, unde periculum

Fulgens contremuit domus

ORDO.

O Mcecenaf, nolis longa bella ferae Numan- modis citharae ; nee szevos Lapitlias, et Hy~
tiae,nec dirum Annibalem, nee Siculum mare kcum nimium mero; juvenesque Telluris do-
pirpureum Poeno sanguine, aptari mollibus mitos Herculea mauu, unde fulgeu* donnis

NOTES.

1. Bella Numantiis.'] Numantia was a maintained a war asjainst the Romans fop

city of Spain, near the river Durius, in the seventeen years. Horace here calls him

same place where Soria is now situated. It dints, because be had almost proved fatal to

held out against the Romans eight years, the Romans, having vanquished several of

They laid siege to it in the year of the city their generals, destroyed in battle the greatest

6-2-2, under the command of PompeiusRufus, part of the citizens, and put Rome itself into

and remained before it till the year 6.JO, the highest consternation, having carried his

when, at last, it was taken by the second victorious arms within three miles tf it.
Scipio Africanus. Horace gives it the epithet 2 . Nee Siculum mare.] This must be

off era, to denote the undaunted valour of understood of the first Punic war, in which

the inhabitants, who chose rather to destroy the Romans obtained three signal victories

themselves by poison, fire and sword, than over the Carthaginians on the Sicilian sey,

fall into the hands of the conqueror. the first under the conduct of Ca'tus Duilius,

3. Nee dirum Aimibalem..~] Hannibal the second by AttiiiusRegu! us, and the third

ODE XII. HORACE'S ODES. 159

ODE XII.

beauty and charms of Licinia, of whom his patron was Jeeply enamoured.
Then he takes occasion to enumerate some of those amiable qualities which
she so eminently possessed, and which could not fail to attract Maecenas'
esteem, and render her, to one of his discernment, more valuable than all
the treasures of the world. In fine, Horace, to flatter the passion of his
friend, and praise Licinia's beauty, makes use of such finesse as Ovid and
Tibullus were entire strangers- to.

TO MAECENAS.

Do not command me, M&cenas, to set to the soft notes of my harp,
jit only for love, the long wars of cruel Numantia, the defeat of
terrible Hannibal, or the sea-fights that dyed the Sicilian sea with
the blood of the Carthaginians. Do not command me to sing of
the cruel Lapithse, or of the drunken Centaur Hylaeus, or of the
giants, those terrible sons of the earth, who made the magnificent
palace of old Saturn shake, till they were subdued by the powerful

NOTES.

by Lutatius Catulus. In the second, the understood by the resemblance and confor-

Carthaginian fleet, though it consisted of mity they had to the history of ihose whose

three hundred and fifty vessels, was yet put to names he had borrowed. This conformity

flight, ami two thousand seven hundred men was very visible ; and it was an easy matter

were made prisoners. to discern, that by the LapithaR and giants

5. Lapithas.'] The Lapithx were a peo- who were subdued by Hercules in the plains
pie of Thessaly, who associated themselves of Thcs*aly, Horace means the troops of
with the giants, in order to make war against Brutus and Cassius, which wove defeated by
the gods. Augustus almost in the same place at the

6. Plyltsum."] Hylaeus was a Centaur who battle of Philippi. In like manner, under
was slain by Atlanta, because he attempted Hylacus, Horace gives us the exact portrai-
to ravish her. It may not perhaps be im- ture of Antony, who rained himself by hi*
proper to state here the conjecture of Dacier intemperance, and his extravagant passion,
upon these four lines. It may seem strange, for Cleopatra. Almost every one' knows the
says he, that the poet should introduce the excessive debauches he was guilty yf with
giants and Laphlue here, since Maecenasdoes that princess ; that he ordered himself to be
not demand of Horace to write a description called Bacchus, and imitated that god in his
of the fabulous wars. We must necessarily habit, equipage, and pomp. Thus far Dacier,
therefore conclude, that the poet makes use whose opinion seems to be pretty well
of these expressions to explain events that founded.

are already past ; and which, though in this J. Tdluris juvenes] The giants, ac-

wanner concealed, could not fail of being cording to ancient fable, were the sons of

160

Q. HORATII CAKMINA.

LIB, II.

Saturni veteris: tuque pedestribus
Dices historiis proelia Ceesaris,
Maecenas, melius, ductaque per vias

Regum colla minantium.
Me dulces dominee musa Licinue
Cantus, me voluit dicere lucidum
Fulgentes oculos, et bene mutuis

Fidum pectus amoribus;
Quam nee ferre pedem dedecuit choris,
Nee certare joco, nee dare brachia
Ludentem nitidis virginibus, sacro

Dianae Celebris die.

Xum tu, qua tenuit dives Achaemenes,
Aut pinguis Phrygise Mygdonias opes,
Perrriutare velis crine Liciniae,

Plenas aut Arabum domos ?
Dum flagrantia detorquet ad oscula
Cervicem, aut facili saevitia negat,
Quse poscentc inagis gaudeat eripi,

Interdum rapere occupet.

ORDO.

Tetevis Saturni contre mult periculum : tuque,
Maecenas, in pedestribus historiis melius
dices proelia Caesaris, collaque minantium
regum ducta per vias. Musa voluit me dicere
dulces cantus dominae tuts Liciniae, oculos
e/T lucidum fulgentes, et pectus ejus bene
fidum mutuis amoribus : quain nee dedecuit
ferre pedem choris, nee certare joco, nee lu-
dentem dare iwa brachia nitidis virginibus,

sacro die Celebris Dianae. Nura tu velis
permutarc ea quae dives Achoemenes tenuit,
aut Mygdonias opes pinguis Phrygiae, aut
plenas domos Arabum, crine Licinhe ? Dum
detorquet cervicem &uam ad tua flagrantia
oscula, aut facili saevitia negat oscula quae
magis gaudeat eripi a te poscente, intenlum
occupet rapere.

NOTES.

Titan and Terra. They were of an enormous
size, and had feet resembling those of a dra-
gon. They were sent into the world to de-
stroy the gods, and dethrone Jupitc r himself,
against whom their mother had been pro-
voked. Apollo, Diana, Bacchus, and Her-
cules, came to the assistance of Jupiter, who
overthrew these monsters, buried some of
them under the mountains, and precipitated
the rest to the bottom of Tartarus.

8. Fulgens d'mius Saturni veieris.] As
the giants and Lapithae made the palace of
old Saturn shake, in like manner did Brutus,
Cassius, and Antony, make Rome and Italy
tremble. And it is Rome itself and Italy,
that Horace understands here by the magni-
ficent palace of old baturn. This allusion is
the more just, as that part of Italy where

Rome is, was called Saturnia, because it u-as
the abode of Saturn after he was banish-
ed from heaven. This shows clearly the
great address cf Horace, aud the justness of
his comparison, He has made the same allu-
sion in the fourth Ode of the third Book :

Magnum ilia lerrorem itiiulerat Jovi

Fiden jmei'his horrida brachiis.

' Tho.e teirible youths, trusting to the
' strength of their arms, struck Jupiter with
' great terror.'

9- Pedestribus historiis.'] Horace has else-
where said, Musa pedrstris, Sermo pedestris,
to denote a plain natural style ; and here he
opposes poetry to history : the latter, so to
speak, goes on foot, it never quits the
earth, its style ought to be smooth, its
diction plain and easy ; modest even in its

ODE XII.

HORACE'S ODES.

161

arm of Hercules. Msecenas, you will describe far better in prose,
than I can in verse, the battles of Augustus, and his glorious
1/iumplis, in which kings, murmuring revenge, were led in pro-
cession through the streets before his car. My muse allows me
to sing of nothing but the sweet voice of your charming mis-
tress Licinia, her bright sparkling eyes, and the unfeigned return
she makes to your love : with what a becoming air she joins the
dance in an assembly ; what a fine spirit of raillery she has, and
with how good a grace she offers her fine arms to dance with
the gay ladies on Diana's festival. Would not you exchange
wealth equal to the possessions of the opulent Achaemenes, the
immense riches of the king of fertile Phrygia, and all the trea-
sures of the Arabians, for one ringlet of charming Licinia's hair ?
especially in the moment when she turns her neck to meet your
ardent kisses, or when, with a cruelty easy to be conquered, she
refuses you one, which she wishes you would rather take by force,
and sometimes snatches a kiss from you first, whilst s}ie seemingly
defends herself.

NOTES.

ornaments, it avoids every thing that savours
of affectation. Poetry, on the contrary, e-
specially lyric poetry, soars high ; its thoughts
are noble, its turns bold, its expressions fi-
gurative, nature itself appears here dressed
in its richest attire.

13. Dominee Licinice^ This Licinia was
mistress to Maecenas ; and not to Horace,
as some interpreters have imagined, and
especially Torrentius ; for the sequel of the
ode incontestiibly proves, that Horace speaks
here of Maecenas' mistress. Licinia is the
same with Terentia, and the sister of Pro-
culeius and Murena. Terentia was the pro-
per name of the family, and Lidnia an ad-
opted name ; for Terentius Varro was adopt-
ed into the family of Murena, which was
named Licinian.

18. Certarejoco.] By joco, Horace un-
derstands here raillery, or smart repartees ;
and by rertare, he explains the Roman cus-
tom of disputing for the prize of raillery on
festival days. This, Spanheim says, was also
a custom among the Greeks ; and they even
crowned those who conquered; as appears
from a passage of Aristophanes, who, speak-
ing of the rejoicings on Ceres' festival, says
in his comedy of the Frogs, Act V. Scene
VII.:

VOL. I.

vixneruvr* raivteu-

" Grant, O goddess, that I may act my
" part so well in jesting and raillery, that
" I may overcome, and, at last be crpwn-
" ed."

This shows with what cave and applica-
tion Horace ought to be read ; because in
one single word, that at first sight appears
not worth notice, he implies what is very
curious and remarkable.

18. Nee dare brackia.] Because the la-
dies joined their arms to dance in a circle
round Diana's altar, according to an ancient
custom.

2 1 . Dives Achtemenes.~] Achsemenes was a
king of Persia; his descendants, to the lime
of Darius the son of Hystas-pes, bore his
name, and were called Achaemenides. It is
for this reason that Plato, in his first Alcibi-
ades, says, the kings of Parsia derived their
origin ffoin Achaemenes. ,

22. Aid pinguis Phrygiee Mygdonias.']
He mean's trie riches of Midas king of Myg-
donia, which was a part of Phrygia, and
took its name from the Mygdones, a people
of Thrace, or Macedonia, who had settled
themselves in those parts,

162 Q. HORAT1I CARMJNA. LIB. II.

ODE X11L

No subject is too mean for a great poet. The smallest circumstance will
afford him matter enough to expatiate upon, and lead him into a course
of reflections that will highly please and delight a judicious reader.
The fall of a tree seems to furnish only a trifling subject for poetry;
but Horace employs that circumstance to introduce Sappho and Alcaeus,
without seeming to have sought an occasion for it, and to speak in
praise of poetry, which he does with great address. These lyric excursions'

IN ARBOREM,

CUJUS CASU IN AGRO SABINO PENE OPPRESSUS EST,

ILLE et nefasto te posuit die,
Quicunque primum, et sacrilegft manu
Produxit, arbos, in nepotum

Perniciem, opprobriumque pagi.

Ilium et parentis crediderim sui 5

Fregisse eervicem, et penetralia
Sparsisse nocturne cruore

Hospitis : ille venena Colclrica,
Et quidquid usquam concipitur nefas,

Tractavit, agro qui statuit meo 10

Te, triste lignum, te caducum
In domini caput immerentis.

OR DO.

O arbos! quicunque primum posuit te, ille sua nccrurno cruove hosp'uis. O triste Hg-

et posuit te nefasto die, et produxit te sacri- num, ill tractavit venena CokLica, et quic-

lega manu in perniciem nepotum opprobri- quid nefas usquam concipitur, qui statuit te

umque pagi. Crediderim ilium et i'regisse in meo agro, te caducum in caput dom'uu

mvicerri sui parentis, et sparsisse penetralia tui imaierentis.

NOTES.

I. lUe et nefasto."\ In the first part of this Interdsi. The Diesfesti were consecrated to

ode, Horace shows his resentment against the gods, and appropriated to the celebration

those who had planted this unlucky tree, of religious rites and solemnities. The

as if they had been guilty of the death Profcsti, allotted for the civil business of men,

which he so narrowly escaped. In order to were again divided into Fasti, Comitiales,

understand the phrase here used, it will &c. Dies fasti were the same as our comt

be necessary to observe, that the Romans days ; upon which it was lawful for the

divided the'u days into Fesli, Profesti, and praetor to sit in judgement, and consequent l.y

ODB XHt. HORACE'S ODES. 1*3

ODE XIIL

are not at all to the taste of some methodical geniuses, who would have
the poet always to follow a continued course of reasoning, without ever
losing sight of the first proposition. This humour arises from their igno-
rance of the genius of poetry, and especially of the ode. Both the one
and the other permit, and sometimes even require, these overflowings of
fancy, to supply the place of agreeable episodes, which exalt and enrich the
subject.

AGAINST A TREE,

BY THE FALL OF WHICH HE WAS ALMOST CRUSHED TO PIECES
AT SABINUM.

THOU execrable tree, whoever he was that first planted thee, did
it surely on an unlucky day, and with a sacrilegious hand, for
the destruction of those who should be born after him, and
for a reproach to the place in which he lived. I should make
no scruple to believe that the wretch strangled his own father,
and stained his domestic gods in the night with the blood of
his guest. Thou unlucky tree, that hadst nearly fallen on the
head of thy innocent master, he that planted you in my field,
certainly made use of the Colchic poison, and was guilty of
every villany that can be imagined* No man can, by the

NOTES.

fari trio, verla, to say these three solemn ?. Nodurrto cruoreJ] This is an address
words, Do, dico, addico, I sit here to give peculiar to Horace, who, instead of saying
laws, to declare right, and judge losses. All sparsisse cruoreper noctem, or nocturno tort-
other days (except the Intercisr) were called pore, makes an adjective of the circumstance
Nefasti, because it was not lawful to pro- of time, and joins it with cruofe. He says
nounce these three words upon them ; that in the same manner, Ode V. of this Book,
is, the courts were not open. The Dies Nucturiio mdri. These ave very happy turn*
poitridiani, or next day after the Calends, of expression, of which Horace frequently
Nones, and Ides, were of this last number, and makes use.

were deemed unfortunate, whence they had 8. Venena. Cclchica.} Ancient Colchis,

thenameofZ)io/n,- it having been observed now Mingrelia, wii a country on the Black

that these days had proved unlucky to the sea, between Crrcassis. Georgia, and Ala*

state in the loss of battles and towns, and clulia. Both it and Iberia were fertile ia

other casualties; so that these days being poisons.

t>f the number of those which were called 11. Caducum.] This tree did not fall

Wffa'iti, that term ivas used to signify an tin- upon Horace, as he escaped the stroke;

lucky day. therefore ligninn caducum in dommi caput,

164

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

Lir. II.

Quid quisque vitet v nunquam homini satis
Cautum est in horas. Navita Bosphorum
Poenus perhorrescit, neque ultra

Cseca timet aliunde fata ;
Miles sagittas.et celerem fugam
Parthi ; catenas Parthus et Italum
Robur ; sed improvisa lethi

Vis rapuit rapietque gentes.
Quam penfc furvae regna Proserpinae,
Et judicantem vidimus ^Eacum,
Sedesque discretas piorum, et
^Eoliis fidibus querentem

ORDO.

Nunquam atis cautum eit homim quid perhorrescit catenas et Italum robur: sed

quisque vitet in horas. Pcenus navita per- improvisa vis lethi rapuit rapietque gentes.
horrescit Bosphorum, neque ultra timet caeca Quam pene jua vidimus regna furv;e Pro-

fata aliunde: miles Romanus perhorrescit serpinae, et /Eacum judicantem, rTiscretasque

sagittas et celerem fugam Parthi; Parthus sedes piorum, et Sappho querentem

NOTES.

cannot here signify a tree which has already
fallen upon the head of its master, as M.
Dacier explains it ; caducum is here put for
casuntm, in the same-manner as Virgil says,
juvenis caducus, for casurus, moritiirus; so
that the manner in which we ought to con-
strue the word is plainly this, Staiuit te eo
consilio ut caderes , as if the gardener had
planted it with that very design, that by its
fall it might crush its master.

14. Bospharum.] The Thracian Bosphorus
is the same which we call the canal of the
Black sea, viz. that narrow sea which joins
the Propontis to the Pontus Euxinus.
There is also another streight, called an-
ciently Sosfjhorus Cimmerius. It separates
Crimea from Circassia, and serves as a com-
munication between the Black sea and the
sea o" A soph, or Palus Maeotis. The name
it bears, 's ttie Streight of Caffa.

15. Pfsniis.] Horace here represents a
Carthaginian as dreading the dangers that
attend sailing through the Bosphorus ; be-
cause Carthage was a city of extensive com-
merce, which sent its ships to a very great
distance, and whose inhabitants were conse-
quently often exposed to perils of this kind.

16. Caeca fata.] The blind destiaies;

cteca. for occulla, ignota, unknown, concealed,
lying beyond our reach. Lucretius often
uses the word in this sense, vi-nli caeca po-
testas, the undiscerniile or wiknou-n power
of the u-ind; for we cannot tell \vhcnce it
cometh or whither it goeth.

17. Sagiltas et celerem fugam Parthi.']
That is, Sagiltas Parthi celeriter fugientis.
As to this way of speaking, see Note on
ver. 7. of this ode. It is further worth while
to take notice here of the opposition between
timet and celerem fugam. An enemy, one
would think, is no longer to be feared after
he betakes himself to flight : but in this
case it happened quite otherwise ; the more
violent and rapid was the flight of the Par-
thians, the more dangerous did it prove to
those who pursued them ; because, without
interrupting their course, they had the art
of shooting over their shoulders a prodigious
quantity of arrows, by which means they
very much annoyed and weakened the
enemy.

21. Furvce regiia ProserpintsJ] Furvits
signifies black, dismal, gloomy; and Horace
here says, the realms of dismal Proserpine,
fur the dismal realms of Proserpine. See
the above note.

ODE XIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

165

greatest precaution, shun fill the misfortunes to which he is every
moment exposed. The Carthaginian merchant is only afraid of the
Bosphorus, but is not aware of what the secret fates may surprise
him with from another quarter. The Roman soldier fears nothing
but the arrows and expeditious flight of the Parthiaris. On the
other hand,, the Parthians are afraid only of the irresistible force
and chains of the Romans. But men have often been, and will
still be, carried off by a kind of death they least expect. By this
terrible accident, how near was I seeing the dismal realms of
Proserpine, and /Eacus sitting in judgement, and the happy
destined for the just ! How near was I hearing Sap-

NOTES.

2-2. Judicantem JEatum^\ ./Eicus was the
son of Jupiter and jEgina, and father of
Peleus and Telamon. After his death, he
was appointed one of the infernal judges
with Minos and Rhadamanthus. The juris-
diction of the two last extended over all
Asia, that of ^Eacus over Europe ; for the
earth was as yet divided only into two parts.
Plato writes, that ./Eacus and Rhadamanthus
gave judgement in a meadow, where two
ways met, one of which led to Tartarus, and
the other to the Elysian Fields ; that Rha-
damanthus judged the Asiatics, and ./Eacus
the Europeans; and that Minos was seated
with a sceptre of gold to pronounce sove-
reignly when any difficulties occurred which
the other two were incapable of resolving.
And this seems to be the reason why Horace,
who was an European, makes mention only
of /Eacus, which otherwise might have ap-
peared strange.

23. Sedesque discretas piorwn.~\ The pas-
sage I have already cited from Plato, serves
to give light to this. After having passed
ihe meadow where sentence was pronounced
upon departed souls by jEacus and Rhada-
manthus, on one side might be seen Tartarus,
and on the other the Elysian Fields. The
word descriptor may signify determined, as-
signed; and the reading may well enough
support itself. But' Dacier is of opinion,
that it ought to be read discretas, di-
vided, separated from, as it is in many edi-
tions, and some of the best manuscripts:
for the Elysian Fields were separated by a
great interval from Tartarus ; whence Ho-
race, Ode 16th, Book 5th, says,

Jupiter ilia pice secrevit littora genii,

' Jupiter has set apart these happy re-
' gions for the just.' And Virgil, Secrelosque
.pios. ' And the just separated.'

24. JEoliis Jidibut querentem Sappho.']
The jEolia^ were a people of Greece. After
the Trojan war, they sent out a colony which
went into Mysit, and possessed all the roast
of the ^Egean sea from Cyzicum to Phocis,
or even to Smyrna, which Herodotus adds
to the eleven cities belonging to the jEolians
on the continent. But as this afterward fell
into the hands of the lonians, Herodotus
enumerates only eleven cities that properly
belonged to ihe jEolians. They had besides
five or six cities in the isle of Lesbos; imong
others Mitylene the capital, where Sappho
was born. Hence we have the reason why
Horace says here, JEoliis fidil-us, on her
/Eolian lute, instead of Lesbian. We have
still remaining several fragments of Sappho,
by which it appears that she was dispensed
with the 'adies of her own country; but I
question whether Horace i heie sptaks of
these complaints ; he in this place moans,
without doiilit, that the Lesbian ladies id not
show the same regard to her as she did to
them, but, on the contrary, aspersed and
ruined her refutation. This is confirmed by
what .she herself says in Ovid :

LesL'idts, bifamrm qua me fcislis, amaLe,
Definite ad i it haras turl-a venire mea--.

' You ladies of Lesbos, who have mined
* my character, notwithstanding ihe love I
' bore you, desist from coming in crowds to
' hear my songs.'

166

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. 11.

Sappho puellis de popularibus ;

Et te sonantem plenius aureo,

Alcaee, plectro dura navis,

Dura fugae !iala, dura belli !
Utrumque s aov- digna silentio
Mirantur umbrae dicere : sed magls
Fugnas et exacios tyrannos

Densum huiii-jris bibit aure vulgus.
Quid mirum, ubi illis carminibus stupens
Demittit atras bellua centiceps
Aures, et intorti capillis

Kumenidum recieautur angues ?
Quin et Prometheus, et Pelopis parens,
Dulci laborum decipitur sono ;
Nee curat Orion leones
Aut timidos agitare lyncas.

ORDO.

.35

fidibus de popularibus puellis ; et te, O Al- Quid mirum est, ubi Ctrbmis centicept

csee, plenius sonantem aureo tuo pletro Hie bellua stupens illis carminibus demittit

durn mala navis, dura mala fugae, dura atras suas aurcs, et angues intorti capillis

mala belli ! Umbrae mirantur utrumque Eumenidum recreantur, ? Quin et Prorne-

dicere digna sacro silentio : sed vulgus den- theus, et Tantalus parens Pelopis decipitur

sum hurueris magis bibit aure puguas et Jaborum dulci sono ; nee Orion curat agit*r

tyramios exactos. leones, aut timidos lyncas.

NOTES.

26. Et te sananiem plenius.'] We have
plready spoken of Alcaeus, Ode 32d, Book
Jst. Horace here names him with Sappho,
because he lived nearly about the same time,
was a native of Mityleue, and excelled c'.iief-
ly in lyric poetry. He here adds snnaiitem
plenius, because his style was noble and
elevated, and he wrote on subjects of a
higher nature than Sappho, who says of her-
self in Ovid,

Jfecplus Alc<eus, consort patriceqm lyr
Laudis habet, quamvii grandius iUe sonat.

* Aleaeus himself, who is of the same
' country, and a brother lyric poet, has
' not raised hirnsel r to a reputation greater
' ^han mine, although his poetry be of a
' sublirner nature, and he treats of more
* elevated subjects.'

32. Bibit.'j The ilomans made use of the
verb bilo to express hearing with great
care and attention. Propertius, Jileg. 5th,
Book 3d.

Jncipe, suspensis aitribus ista tilam.

' Begin, and I will with an attentive ear

' take in all you say.' The word drink t
which in our language answers to lilo, i
often used by us in the same sense; as, to
drink in instruction, to drink in a discourse.

34. Demittit atras aures.] This descrip*
tion of Cerlierus, who was so well pleased
hli hearing the verses of Alcaeus, as to let
fall his ears, is admirable : for it is peculiar
to beasts to liang their ear when any thing
agreeable strikes their imagination.

34. Bellua ce/;ceps.] Orberus, accord-
ing to the ancient mythology, is represented
as having sometimes fifty, heads, sometime!
a hundred, on account of the great number
of snakes which formed, as it were, the hair
of his three heads.

36. Eumenidum.'] The Furies, Alecto,
Tisiphone, and Megtera, were daughters, as
the poets feign, to Acheron and Nox, all
brought forth at OIK.- birth". Some think
they were so called hy an antiphrasis. Bt
TEschylus, in the tragedy of the Eumeuides,
gi\<.s us to understand, that Orestes imposed
this name upon them, after lie had ba

ODE XIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

167

pho complaining of the Lesbian virgins in mournful strains on
her ^Eolian lute ! and you, Alcseus, with your golden quill sound-
ing, in bolder and more elevated strains, the hardships men un-
dergo at sea, the great evils of banishment, and the still greater
calamities of war ! The spirits hear, with admiration, both of
theni singing what commanded religious silence : but when
Alcaeus sings of battles and of banished tyrants, then the vulgar
phantoms crowd about him, and are all attention. No wonder,
since Cerberus, that monster with a hundred heads, hangs down
his black ears, and is astonished to hear them, and the very snakes
in the heads of the Furies are delighted with their airs. Even
Prometheus, and Tantalus, Pelops' father, forget their pain, so
much are they charmed with the sweetness of their notes; nor
does Orion, whose sole delight was in hunting, trouble himself
any more about .pursuing lions, or giving chase to the timorous
lynxes.

NOTES.

absolved from the crime of which he was
accused in killing his mother ; and he called
them Eumenides, because they suffered them-
selves to be appeased by Minerva, and con-
sented to his absolution.

36. Recreantur angues.] The poets have
feigned that the Furies had snakes entangled
in their hair. And Pausanias relates, that
yfischylus was the first who gave rise to this
notion. j3v,chylus, says he, is the first who
represents snakes twisted among the hair of
the Eumenides. The passage which Jie had
in view, is where Orestes says,

irvKVOt;

' They resemble the Gorgons, are clothed
' in long black habits ; and frightful snakes,
* twisted in their hair, hiss upon their heads.'

37. Prometheus.'] Prometheus, the son of
lapetus, and father of Deucalion, formed a
statue of clay in the likeness of man. In
order to give it life, he ascended into heaven,
that he might procure the assistance of Pal-
las. He stole the celestial fire, by means
of a flambeau which he kindled at the rays of
the san, and by the help of it animated his
statue. By way of punishment for this sa-
crilege, the gods bound him to mount Cau-
casus, where an eagle constantly preyed upon
his liver, which grew again as fast as it was
destroyed, to perpetuate his torment. It is
to be rcma ked here, that Horace places him

in hell; and in this he follows Aristotle,
chap. 17. of his Poetics.

37. Pelopis parens.] Tantalus was king
of Lydia and Phrygia; or of Paphlagonia, ac-
cording to some. See Ode 28th, Book 1st.

36. Duld laborum decipitur sono.] We
must not here join laborum with sono, as
some interpreters have thought, who ima-
gine that Horace here speaks of die labours
of Alcoeus. This is quite insupportable.
Horace says, that the harmonious notes of
Alcseus made Tantalus and Prometheus to
forget their torments. Decipititr laborum.,
is a way of speaking used by the Greeks,
l7rXavSavera< TTOVOJV.

39. Orimi.~\ The ancients were of opi-
nion, that after death men have the same
inclinations, and the same occupations, a&-
signed to them, in which they delighted most
when alive. It is for this reason that Ho-
race represents Orion as a great hunter, he
having really been so during his life. Homejr
relates in the Odyssey, that Ulysses saw
Orion in hell, running after those beasts
which he had wounded in the woods when
alive; and it is after this prince of poets
that Horace places Orion in hell, as he had
before done Prometheus. M. Zurk deviates
very much from die sense of Horace, when
he explains this passage as if the poet had
said, ' Orion is no more afraid of the lion
or lynx.' The word agitare etidentry proves
the contrary.

168 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. II.

ODE XIV.

Some manuscripts have, for the title of this ode, T)fsuperstitione, Upon or
against superstition ; and a learned commentator is of opinion, that this
is the true and only subject of it ; but it is certain that Horace has some-
thing more in view than simply to guard Posthumus against the fear
of death. He also advises him to aim at tranquillity of life, and to in-
dulge himself a little more freely in the innocent pleasures and gratifications
of it ; and this he does with great address : for it is worth our notice,

AD POSTHUMUM.

KHEU, fugaces, Posthume, Posthume,
Labuntur anni ; nee pietas moram
Rugis et instanli senectae

Afferet:, indomiteeque morti ;

Non, si trecenis, quotquot eunt dies, 5

Amice, places illacrymabilem
Plutona tauris, qui ter amplura
Geryonen Tityonque tristi

OR DO.

Eheu, Posthume, Posthume, anni fugaces afferet moram, O amice, si quotquot dies eunt,
labuntur; nee tita pietas afferet moram rugis, trecenis taui is places illacryinabitem Plu ona,
et seuectoe instanti mortique indomitae : non qui compescit ter amplum Geryouen Tityon-

NOTES.

1. Posthuirfe.'] Tliere is great uncertainty are clearly hinted at in these lines of Epist.

among commentators who this Post humus third, Buck first, where the poet says to

was. Dacier is ot opinion that he must be Florus,

the same with Julius Florus, to whom Ho- Quod 4

race addresses two epistles. This conjecture Frigida cirrarumjomenta relimjncre po'ses.
is founded upon the two following rea-.on<s; ' If you could only divest yourself of am-

First, that rosthun-us was a surname very ' bition and avarice, which serve but to

common to the family of ihe Julii : second- ' nourish care and 'anxiety-' But they are

ly, that the sume character is here given of yet more evidently noticed in Epist. second,

rosthumus as, in tho;-e two epistles, is Book second,

given of Julius Florus, This conformity Non e- avarus? ali. Quid? c&tera jam
of charac.ers he thinks so remarkable, that simul isto

any one who will take the pains to ex- Cum vitiofugere? Caret tili pectvs inani

aniine it, must assent to hi.s conjecture. Amlitione? caret mortis for ntidant et ir& ?
Horace here tacitly reproaches Posthu- ' Are you not covetous ? Well. But

cms with avarice, ambition, and a slavish ' moreover, have you, at the same time,

fear of death. The two first of thase laid aside o'her views ? Are you no long-

ODE XIV.

HORACE'S ODES.

169

ODE XIV.

that in order to bring him to a right way of thinking, he neither proposes
precepts nor counsels, but only offers some general reflections on the short-
ness and uncertainty of human life. The piece is admirable for the justness
of the reasoning on the Epicurean system, and beautified with such an
agreeable variety as highly pleases the reader; and never did Horace excel
more than in the versification of this ode- It is not easy to determine pre-
cisely in what year it was composed ; but we have reason to think it was
when the poet was not very young.

TO POSTHUMUS.

AH Posthumus, my worthy friend Posthumus, the years run on
apace ; nor can all your piety retard for one moment wrinkles, old
age that approaches, and death that is inevitable. Even if you
should offer every clay to Pluto a sacrifice of three hundred bullocks,
you cannot appease that inexorable god, who detains the huge
Geryon and the mighty Tityus, surrounded with that black river we

NOTES.

* er the slave of a vain ambition ? Have you
' armed yourself against the fear of death?
' Can you restrain yourself from unreasonable
' and immoderate anger ?'

But Sanadon rejects this conjecture as
groundless, and thinks, that, instead of a
conformity of character between Julius
Florus and Posthumus, the description given
of them by the poet represents them as of
a very opposite temper. For Julius Florus
accompanied Tiberius huo Spain, Gaul,
Thrace, Pannonia, &c. whereas Horace gives
us to understand, that Postlnimus was no
friend to expeditions and the tumults of war:

Frit stra per aufumnos nucenlem
Carporibiis meluemus Atnlrum,

That he took a pleasure in cultivating (he
earth :

Neque harum qua': colis arltmam.
He concludes with givin;: it as his judgement,
,thai this Posthumus is the same with him
whom Propertius a<td> esses, B(X)k third,
Elegy ninth. This alsi. Durier has hnued,
making them both the same with Julius
Florus.

5. Irecenis.] Thai is, with three heca-

tombs. This number appearing incredible
to some intei prefers, as well as to some of
the ancient grammarians, they thought we
should read iricenis, and reduce three hun-
dred to thirty. They might have avoided
this mi.->take, if they had merely recollected,
that the first syllable of triicnis is long, and
would have destroyed the measure of the
verse.

6. Places illarryma.Mlem.'] This word
naturally signifies unpitied, or, that does not
deserve pity ; and it is in this sense that
Horace uses it, O.le ninth, Book fourth: '

sed omnex illairymabiits

Urgmtur, ignotique longa
Nude.

( But they are all plunged into eternal
' night, none lament their death, and the
' memory of them is no more.'

Bu.t here is an active signification, Illacry-
mabiletn PLutona; Pluto, -who is incapable of
pity, who cannot be moved by tears.

7. Ter aiupliim Geryonen.] Geryon
was the son of Chrysao es and Callirrhoe.
From the middle upwards he had three hu-
man bodies united. It is upon this account

170 a HORATil CARMIXA. LIB. II.

Compescit unda, scilicet omnibus,
Quicunque terrse rnunere vescimur, 10

Enavigandi, sive rege*,

Sive inopes erimus coloni.
Frustra cruento Marte carebimu?,
Fracti>que rauci fluctibus Adrwe ;

Frustra per aulumnos nocentem 15

Corporibus metuemus Austrura.
Visendus ater fhimine languido
Cocytus errans, et Danai genus
Infarae, damnatusque longi

Sisyphus .-Eolides laboris, CO

Linquenda tellus, et domus, et placens
Uxor; neque harum, quas colis, ar!x>rum
Te, prseter invisas cupressos,

Ulla brevem dotninum sequetur.
Absumet baeres Caecuba dignior 1'5

Servata centum clavibus, et mero
Tinget pavimentum superbo,
Pontifkum potiore cueriis.

OR DO.

qtie trie li va&f enaviganHa scilicet nil-is am- laboris. <

nibus quirunqne vesciccur mcnae terrde, tive Teilas eU Ucquenda, et dotnus, et piacerw

ninjus regrs, sive mop's coloni. uxor ; neque ulla harum arborum quas tolls,

Frastra carehirc us Marte cruento, fracti- praeter in visas cupirssos.sequerurtedcjiuinim

que fludibcs Atlriae reccl; frostn per aa- breven). Hae.ej (nts cignicr absumetCsecubm

tumncs DTCtuerans Austrum nocentem cor- vina servata centum clavibus, et tinget pa-

pcrib-^. Ater Cocrtus enans fiuirane ]tn- viiteTituin superbo meropcticre ccenis j.-onti-

giilio vkeodas eU notis, et in&rae genus Scum.
i, SbjpLusqoe bolides damnatoj tor gi

NOTES.

that he called by Horace, tor ampka, and 17. Aterjlvmine tangvido Cofyfas.] The

by Viigil, Ar gcnnmu. This fiction, accord- Cocjrtns, a rirer of the infernal regions, is &

ing to some, took its rise from Geryon's branch of tfae S'jx. It derives its name

5 of three islands on the coasts of from the Greek word tazj-'i.r, to lament, be-

Spata : but wfcers derjre it from three bro- cause there the lamentations of the unhappj

there of the same name, among whom the may be heard, &c. Horace calU its course

strictest amitjr prevailed. languishing, as Virgil sars of its waters, that

8. TilyoH.] Titrus, th son of Juprter, they are slow.

was skin by Apollo for attempting to ravish 18. Dcnai genus infame.] Danaus aad

Latooa. The poets hare fe^r.ed that he was ^grptcs were the sons of BelTis king of

eoweyed into hetl, where a rultore continually Eg}"pt. Danaus had fifty caji^hters, who

preyed wpon his liver; which, to perpetuate were married to the same number of sons cf

his torment, grew again as fast as h was am- ;Egjptus; and who ail, by the command of

:-ur. -.cri. their fether, nroideied their huibi:

ODE XIV.

HORACE'S ODES.

171

must all pass who subsist upon the fruits of the earth, whether rich
or poor, kings or peasants. In vain do we avoid bloody battles, and
the raging waves of the blustering Adriatic sea : in vain do we shun
in autumn the south-wind so injurious to our health; for we must,
at last, visit the slow and winding course of the black Cocytus, the
infamous race of Daniius, and Sisyphus, the son of .'Eolus, con-
demned to eternal toil. In fine, you must quit your country, your
house, your wife the agreeable object of your love; and not one of
all these trees you note cultivate with so much care, will follow you
their short-lived master, except the cypress. Your heir, more libe-
ral, will lavish away the C*cubian wines, now kept under a hun-
dred keys, and stain the floors with more generous liquor than that
which is used at the sumptuous entertainments of our priests them-
selves.

NOTES.

very first night after the marriage, except Hy-
|>errunestra alone. By way of punishment
for their impiety, they were condemned in
hell to fill a leaky cask with water.

20. Sisyphus JEolidt?s.~\ Sisyphus wag the
son of ^Eolus, and slain by Theseus, because
he infested all Attica with his robberies. He
was condemned to roll a great stone to the
'.top of a very high mountain, which came al-
ways tumbling down upon him again ; and
thus his labour was perpetually renewed.

25. Dignior.] This word serves very hap-
pily to express Horace's meaning, that those
who do not freely use their wealth, are un-
worthy to possess it. It indirectly exhorts
Posthumus to a more generous way of life.

26. Etmero linget pavimcntum suprrlo.]
Some interpreters have believed, that Horace
here speaks of a custom usually practised by
the Greeks at their feasts, and which they
derived from the Sicilians. After drinking,
they threw the wine that remained in the
cup to the ground, and endeavoured to do it
in such a manner, that it came to the pave-
pient, and struck against it all at once.
There were sometimes prizes brstowed upon
those who did it with, the greatest ert and

dexterity ; but this does not appear to me to
be the sense of the poet. He only would in-
timate, that a more worthy heir would be
lavish of that w]ne which Posthumus had
preserved with so much care.

28. Pontifit-um potiare ccenis.'] Dacier
enumerates three different ways of explain-
ing this line : first, that this wine was more
costly than the entire feasts of the priests:
secondly, that it would have been better to
employ it at the feasts of the priests : thirdly,
that it was more excellent than what was
used at these feasts. That which he most
approves is the second, as it gives a beauti-
ful turn to the sense. Thus Horace equally
blames the too great avarice of the first ma-
ster, and the too great prodigality of the se-
cond, and concludes with a religious turn ;
This wine ought not to have been guarded
with so much care, nor spent in so lavish a
manner ; it should rather have been presented
to the priests, to serve at their entertain-
ments. Sanadon, on the contrary, thinks
that Dacier has pitched up:>n that sense
which ii least capable of being supported,
and that either of the other two would lw*
done much better.

172 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. II

ODE XV.

Horace MTOte this with a view of opposing the luxury and prodigality of the age
in which he lived. The tranquillity which reigned at Rome after the con-
clusion of the civil wars, invited the opulent to build magnificent houses in
town and country ; and to employ great tracts of land for gardens, avenues,
ponds, &c. all which, though they served very much to adorn Italy, yet were

JAM pauca ara-tro jugera regiae
Moles relinquent : undique latiiis
Extenta visentur Lucrino .

Stagna lacu; platanusque coelebs
Evincet ulmos : turn violaria, et 5

Myrtus, et omnis copia narium,
Spargent olivetis odorem,

Fertilibus domino priori :
Turn spissa ramis laurea fervidos
Exclude! ictus. Non ita Romuli 10

Praescriptum, et iutonsi Catonis

Auspiciis, veterumque normS.
Privatus illis census erat brevis,
Commune magnum : nulla decempedis .

OR DO.

Regiae moles jam relinquent pauca jugera vetis fertilibus priori domino: turn spissa

aratro: stagna undique visentur exter.ta la- laurea ramis excludet fervidos ictu* solis.
tius Lucrino lacu : ccelebsqueplatanus eviticet Non ita praescriptum erat auspiciis Romuli

ulmos : turn vioUria, et myrtus, et omnis et iutonsi Catonis, normaque veterum. Cen-

copia narium, spargent'swttwz. odorem in oli- sus privatus erat illis brevis, commune erat

NOTES.

3. Lucrino lam.'] This was a lake of but pleasure, because it makes a very thick
Campania, not far from tbe lake Avernus, shade, as Virgil says in his fourth Book of
and joined to it afterward by Augustus, x\ho Georgics :

made a harbour of it, which went by the Janioue ministrantem platimum potanii-
r.ame of the Julian port. bus undvam.

4. Platanmque (celebs.] He cal's the See the prose translation of Virgil, p. 196.
plane-tree rakbf, in opposition to the elm, 9- Sjjissa ramis laurea.] Hor.ice here uses
which, like the poplar, is often joined wiih laurea instead of laimis, and b'ames the
the vine; hut the plane serves tor nothing luxury and delicacy of the Romans, who had

ODE XV. HORACE'S ODES. 173

ODE XV.

evident proofs of the corruption of manners, and decay of the ancient
simplicity. Horace declaims against this. excessive prodigality ; declares
that it was expressly contrary to the maxims and laws of the ancient Romans,
who were magnificent only in the public edifices; and thus makes a beau-
tiful contrast between the luxury of the present Romans and the frugality of
their ancestors.

THE magnificent structures which are in our days erected, will, in a
little time, scarcely leave asufficiency of ground to be tilled*. Weshall
soon see ponds on all sides, or a greater extent than theLucrine lake,
and the barren plane will be preferred to the elms. The beds of vio-
lets, myrtles, and the whole species of odoriferous plants, will soon
perfume those fields that were formerly planted with olives, which
brought a considerable revenue to their former master. The bushy
laurel with its branches will soon ward off the scorching rays of the
sun. This is expressly contrary to the decrees of Romulus, the laws
of the virtuous Cato, and the regulations of our first wise legislators.
In the time of those great men, the estates of private persons were
but small; but the treasury of the republic was rich. None of the
citizens possessed spacious galleries for the reception of the north

* To the plough.

NOTES.

found the secret of making the laurel grow of Cato, which descended to his posterity : to

and shoot out its branches in such a manner distinguish him from others of the same

that it afforded a very ample shade. name, le is usually called Cato the'Censor,

9. Fervidos excludet ictus .] The figure having discharged that office with great repu-

here used is beautiful and bold. Other poets tation. Horace calls him Intansus, because

have said, Ictus soli*, Phctbi, luminis. But the ancient Romans had not the custom of

lyric poetry allows something still stronger, cutting off their hair, as appears from several

They who read teslus, or ignes, instead of consular medals yet extant.
ictus, weaken the expression greatly, and in- 13. Privatus ill.is census erat brevis.] For

jure Horace, by obtruding a correction for Romulus, in the distribution of the Roman

which there is no foundation. land, assigned only two acres to every man.

11. InLoiisi Catonif..] Marcus Portius Cato the Censor had a very small inheritance

was of Tusculum, in the country of the La- in the country of the Sabines; and, among

lias. His wisdom obtained him the surname the ancient Romans, the most considerable

Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Metata privatis opacam 15

Porticus excipiebat Arcton :
Nee fortuitum spernere cespitem
Leges sinebant, oppida publico
Sumtu jubentes, et Deorura
Templa novo decorate saxo. 20

ORDO.

rrogrmm: nulla porticu* metafa decempedis tes decorare oppida publico suratu, et tempU
excipiebat opacum Arcton privatis : nee leges Deorum novo saxo.
*inebant spernere fortuitum cespitem. juben-

NOTES.

did not leave a sufficiency for their inter- poor one. Patriec enim rem unusctnisrjttf,

ment ; the expense of which, in consequence non siiam, augerc properal-at ; pauperque m

of individual poveity, fell upon the public, divite, quam'dives in panpere imperio, ver-

In those days, says Valerius Maximus, every sari malebat.

mau endeavoured to increase the revenue of 15. Opacam. excipiebat j4rcton.~] In

his country, not his own; aud preferred being the time of Romulus, and even in that of

poor in a rich empire, to being rich in a Cato, it was not usual for private men to raise

ODE XVI.

Horace, in this ode, proceeds upon the principles of the Epicurean philosophy,
and represents tranquillity of mind, and an exemption from irregular pas-
sions, as the highest degree of happiness that a man can attain. And indeed
jit must be acknowledged, that when Horace treats of the system of Epicurus,
human wisdom is incapable of producing any more just or reasonable. The
pleasure of that philosopher, a pleasure abused by libertinism, and condemn-
ed by ignorance, was nothing but a happy and agreeable life, consisting in
that tranquillity of mind which results from the practice of every thing that
is commendable and praise-worthy, and a careful endeavour to avoid the con-
trary. From this principle are derived all those beautiful maxims that are

AD GROSPHUM.

OTIUM Divos rogat in patent!
Preiisus JEgsto, simul atra nubes

ORDO.

ftnia in patent! men ^Egeo rogat Divos otium, s'unul atra nubes condidit lur.aiu,

Q. y^gtEO.] The .-Egean sea is that p;:rt Archipelago, and which extends between
of tils Mediterranean which we call the tatOfem fvfbf] and Asia Miner, from the

ODE XVI. HORACE'S ODES. 175

wind, that they might enjoy the coolness of it in the summer-season.
The laws did not permit any one to contemn the small portion of
land that was assigned to him by lot; nor did they encourage the
erection of magnificent buildings at the public expense, except the
walls of cities and temples of the gods.

NOTES.

magnificent porticoes towards the north, assigned to every private rnanln the divisiou

where they might taste a refreshing coolness of the conquered lands by lot. They were

during the summer. But, by degrees, when obliged to dwell in the house which they

luxury and effeminacy began to take place of there found already built to their hands,

the ancient austerity, this custom became which Juvenal calls glebam, and Horace ces-

prevalent. pitf.tn. The Greeks and Romans derived

16. Arcton,~\ The Bear is a northern from the Jews this custom of dividing the
constellation, not far from the pole. It is conquered lands.

called the L'utle Bear, to distinguish it from 18. Opnida piMico sumtn jubentes.^ I

another of the same name, which appears these last lines, we see die principal subject

more towards the south. of ihis ode. Horace commends the laws of

17. Nee fortuitum spernere cespilem.] the ancient Romans, to make these praises
Commentators have been very much deceived fall on Augustus, who had not only repaired
upon this passage. By fortuitum cespitem, old edifices, but built temples.

Horace here means the moderate proportion

ODE XVI.

scattered up and down in the works of this poet, and which appear in a par-
ticular manner in this ode, where he offers to his friend some counsels and
directions which seem to be the very dictates of reason itself. After having
spoken of bodily rest and ease, he proposes tranquillity of mind, as an object
yet more worthy of our pursuit. The expression and versification corre-
spond exactly with the design of the ode; and the whole conducted in such
a manner, as to do honour to the precepts of Epicurus, and establish the re+
putation of the poet.

TO GROSPHUS.
(

HE that is surprised with a storm on the vast vEgean sea, when a
black cloud has overshadowed the moon, and he cannot see a

NOTES.

streights of the Dardanelles to the isle of skip and dance about like goats ; for the

Candia. This sea has been named Mare Greeks called aiya; [goats] those foaming

Mgaum, that is, fluctuosum, procellosum, billows wherewith the Archipelago is almost

because with the least gale of wind its waves wholly covered during a violent storm.

176 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. II.

Condidit lunam, neque certa fulgent

Sidera nautis ;

Otium hello furiosa Thrace, 5

,Or.iuni Medi pharetra decori,
Grosphe, non gernmis, neque purpura ve-

nale, nee auro.

Non enim gazae, neque consularis
Summovet lictor miseros tuniultus 10

Mentis, et curas laqueata circum

Tecta volantes.

Vivitur parvo bene, cui paternum
Splendet in mensa teriui salinum;
Nee leves somnos timor aut cupido ] j

Sordidus aufert.

Quid brevi fortes jaculamur gevo
Multa ? quid terras alio calentes
Sole mutamus? patriae quis exsul

Se quoque fugit ? 20

Scandit aeratas vitiosa naves
Cura ; nee turmas equitum relinquit,
Ocior cervis, et agente nimbos

Ocior Euro.

Laetus in proesens animus, quod ultra est . 25

Oderit curare, et amara lento
Temperct rfsu : nihil est ab omni

Parte beatum.

Abstulit clarum cita mors Achillem;
Longa Tithonum minuit senectufc; 30

Et mihi forsan, tibi quod negarit,

Porriget bora.

ORDO.

neque sidera fulgent nautis certa. O Gros- Quid mutamus terras calentes alio sole ?

phe, Thrace furiosa bello rogat otium, Medi Quis exsul patriae fugit se quoque ? Cura vi-

decori pharetra rogant otium, non venale tiosa scandit naves teratas ; nee relinquit tur-

geinmis, neque purpura, nee auro. mas equitum, ocior cervis, et otior Euro

Non enim gazae, neque consularis lictor agente nimbos.

summovet mieeros tumultus mentis, et <uras Animus laetus in prsesens oderit curare id

X'olantes rircum 1, queata tecta. Bene vivitur quod est ultra ; et temperet amara lento risu:

parvo ab illo, cui paternum salinum splendet nibil est beatum ab omni pane. Cita mors

in mensa tenui ; cui nee titnor aut soididus absrulit clarum Achillem ; longa senectus mi-

cupi Jo aufert leves somnos. nuit Tithonuni ; et forsan hora porriget mihi

Quid nos fortes jaculamur multa brevi aevo? j'tiquod negarit tibi.

NOTES.

7. Grotphc.] This is a foreign name, with Pompeius Grosphus, of whom the poet
and signifies, in the Greek, a dart. It is speaks, Epirt. twelfth, Book fust,
highly probable, that he is the same person

ODE XVI. HORACE'S ODES. 17?

known star to steer his course by, asks nothing so much of the
gods as repose and tranquillity. It is repose, dear Grosphus,
that is wished for by warlike Thrace, and by the Medes who
look so graceful with a quiver ; repose, that cannot be pur-
chased with jewels, purple, or gold : for riches and the consul's
officers cannot remove the uneasy troubles of the mind, or cares
that fly about gilded cielings. He alone lives happy who is
satisfied with a competency, and takes pleasure to see his fa-
ther's plate on his frugal table, and whom fear and sordid ava-
rice prevent not from sleeping. Why do we form so many and
great designs, we who live so short a time ? Why do we go to
climates wanned by another sun ? Who is the man that, by fly-
ing his country, can also fly himself? Care that preys upon us,
goes in a ship with us ; it keeps pace with the troops, is more fleet
than the deers, and swifter than the east-wind that disperses the
clouds. A mind contented with its present state will not vex
itself about what is to come, but will sweeten the bitters of life
with pleasure and joy : for no one can be entirely happy in this
world. A sudden death carried off the famous Achilles ; a tedious
old age wasted the excellent Tithonus ; and time will, perhaps,
grant to me what it will deny to you. You have a hundred flocks

NOTES.

9. Gaza.'] This word is derived from the may be said to be the arrows of our hearts,

Persian language, and originally signified the which we are still endeavouring to shoot be-

treasures of the Persian monarch. The yond the mark of life.

Romans made use of it to express great 25. Lcetus in preesens.~\ To set bounds to

riches. our desires, and bear witli patience the

9. Necfue consularis .mmmovet Zzdor.] troubles we cannot possibly shun, is the

The lictors were twelve officers who marched .only way to keep our passions in subjection,

before the consul, and carried his ensigns of and render them subservient to our happi-

honour. It was also their office to clear the ness.

way for the consul, and remove the crowd; ' 3l.Etmihifrjrsan,tibi<juodnegarit,&c.]

which furnished Horace with this fine idea. As if Horace had said, Although I cannot

The lictor can remove the people, and make boast of being equal to you in riches, or the

them retire; but he. cannot remove the trou- other advantages of fortune, she may not-

bles of the mind, &c. At Rome, the offi- withstanding grant me some favours which

cers had no power to compel the ladies to she has denied to you, and lengthen out my

retire, or give place to the magistrates, lest, life considerably beyond the measure of yours,

under that pretence, the officers should push But the poet expresses himself in a dark and

them, or hurt them. ambiguous manner, to cover and soften the

17. Quid brevi fortes jaculamur eevo.'] harshness of the supposition.
How happily is this expressed ! Our desires

VOL.! ' N

1/8 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. II.

Te greges centum, Siculaeque circum
Mugiunt vaccte ; tibi tollit hinnitum
Apta quadrigis equa ; te bis Afro 35

Murice tinctse

Vestiunt lanae : mihi parva rura, et
Spiritum Graia tenuem Camenae,
Parca non mendax dedit, et malignum

Spernere vulgiis. 40

ORDO.

Centum greges, Siculaeque vaccae mugiunt tiunt te : Parca non mendax dedit mihi par-
rircum te ; equa apta quadrigis tollil hinni- va rura, et tenuem spiritum Graiae Camenae,
turn tibi ; lanse bis tincue Afro murice ves- et sj>ernere malignum vulgus.

NOTES.

35. Bis Afro murice tincta?.] Murcx was shell a certain juice or blood, of which they
a kind of oyster, now unknown. It had in its made the finest purple. As this was very

ODE XVII.

Maecenas had, in his infancy, contracted a disorder which continued to
affect him for the remainder of his life, and attended him to his very grave,
of which I very much question whether physicians can produce another
such example. This was an habitual fever, which gradually weakened him.
Quibusdam, says Pliny, pcrpetua felris est, ut Cilnio M-eecenati. This
internal fire could not fail in time quite to alter his complexion ; and the
continuance of it must naturally throw him into an extreme melancholy,
especially during the latter part of his life. It is probable that he sometimes
discovered this misfortune to his friend, and expressed a tender and pas-
MOnate regret at parting with life, notwithstanding all the evils and

AD M^CENATEM jEGROTUM.

CUR me querelis exanimas tuis ?
Nee Dis amicum est, nee mihi, te prius
Obire, Maecenas, mearum

Grande decus columenque rerum.

Ah, te mese si partem animse rapit 5

Maturior vis, quid moror altera,
Nee carus seque, nee superstes
Integer ? Ille dies utramque

ORDO.

O Maecenas, grande decus coliimenque mere animoe, quid ego altera pars moror, nee
mearum renim, cur exanimas me tuis quere- futurus aeqtie charus, nee integer si sim su-
its ? nee amicum est Diis, nee mihi, te obire perstes ? Ille dies ducet utramque ruinam :
prius. Ah ! si m&turior vis rapit te partem

ODE XVII. HORACE'S ODES. 179

of sheep that feed on your hills, and Sicilian kine that low around
you ; mares fit to draw the chariots at tJie Olympic races, make all
your pastures ring with their neighings ; and you are clothed in
purple of the deepest dye. ~To me the indulgent Fates have given
a little country-seat, the fine spirit of the Sapphic muse, and a soul
to despise the malignant vulgar.

NOTES.

dear, those who wished to distinguish them- duration, but also the lot of human life ;

selves had their wool or cloth twice dipped and it was also believed, that whatever they

in it, as Horace observes here. had once decreed, was fixed and Immutable.

39. Parca non mendax.] It was a pre- Hence the expressions Parca mm mendax,

vailing notion among the ancients, that the Parca tenax veri, Posque veraces cecinisse

Parcce or Destinies regulated not only the Parae.

ODE XVII.

calamities that attended it. Horace, moved by these complaints, composed
this ode, where he prays Maecenas no more to dispirit him by such mourn-
ful and afflicting discourses, declares that it would be impossible for him to
survive him, which he proves by the conformity of their destinies, especially
the danger they were both equally in of losing their lives ; and, lastly, to
remove those gloomy apprehensions, he proposes, that they shall renew
their sacrifices to the gods, in return for their care and goodness. The
whole performance is of an exquisite taste ; the design is well laid, and very
happily conducted ; and the tenderness of sentiment which reigns through-
out, does no less honour to Maecenas than to Horace.

TO MAECENAS WHEN SICK.

WHY do you kill me with your repeated complaints ? It is neither
agreeable to the gods nor to me that you should die first, Maecenas,
my greatest glory and most generous patron *. Alas ! should an un-
timely death carry off you, and thus deprive me of the better part
of myself, why should the other continue here? I who, without
you, am not so dear to the people of Rome, and cannot survive you
entire. On the same fatal day shall both our deaths happen.

* Support of my affairs.

NOTES.

8. Ille dies vtramque ducet ruinam.'] This company Maecenas even to the grave; and
h an expression full of tenderness and af- there is little reason to doubt his sincerity,
lection. Horace wishes that he may ac- When we lose the person in the world who

ISO Q. HORATII CARMINA.

Ducet ruinam : non ego perfidum
Dixi sacramentum : ibinius, ibimus,
Utcunque prsecedes, suprcmum

Carpere iter comites parati.
Me nee Chimaerje spiritus ignese,
Nee, si resurgat, centimanus gigas
Divellet uriquam : sic potcnti

Justitise placitumque Parcis.
Seu Libra, seu me Seorpius aspicit
Formidolosus, pars violentior
Natalis horse, seu tyrannus

Hesperus Capricornus undie ;
Utrumque nostrum incredibili modo

LIB. If.
10

15
20

ORDO.

;
nostrum astrum consentit modo incredibil

ti resurgat, unquam divellet me

MOTES.

i> dearest to us, and who merits most of
our esteem, the most desirable happiness is
not to survive him, but to accompany him
even hi death, and be interred with him in
the same tomb.

10. Perfidum dixi sacramcntnm.] Sacra-
mentum is properly the oath of fidelity
which the soldiers took when they were en-
rolled ; and it is to this custom that Horace
alludes here. It is only proper to take no-
tice that, although there is no formal oath
taken in the preceding lines, it is included
in this protestation ;

. Hie dies utrcunqite

Ducet rtdnam.

11. Preecedfs.] Horace kept his word, this
happening as he said; for Maecenas died in
October, and Horace on the 27th of No-
vember, in the same year.

13. CMrruerie.] Ctiunaera was a mountain
in Lycia, which emitted fire and smoke,
after the manner of /Etna. On the top of
the mountain were kept lions, the middle
afforded pasture tor goats, and in the lower
5irt of it might be seen the dens of dragons.
This gave occasion for the poets to feigu

a monster, the upper part of which resem-
bled a lion, the middle a goat, and th<; low-
est a dragon.

14. Gigas.] Caeus, Briareus, and Gyas,
were three giants, the sons of Heaven and
Earth. They had each fifty heads and a
hundred hands, and, imagining themselves
invincible, entered upon a design of de-
throning Jupiter, by whom they were over-
come and destroyed.

17. Seu Libra, Sfc.] Whatever con-
stellation he was born under, he affirm! that
it agrees perfectly with that of Maecenas,
and consequently, that it is impossible he can
survive him . for the ancients were of opi-
nion, that the lives of men were, in a great
measure, regulated by the stars which pre-
sided at their nativity; that is, which rose,
or appeared above the horizon, the mo-
ment they came into the world. The con-
stellations here mentioned, are the seventh,
eighth, and tenth signs of the zodiac.

18. Pars violentior natal is hor<z.~\ Pars
here signifies the same that the Greeks called
jMoi<*, viz. that part of the sign which ap-
pears above the horizon at the very moment

ODE XVII.

HORACE'S ODES.

181

I have not sworn in vain ; we shall go, we shall go together : the
moment you go before me, 1 am ready to follow, or rather accom-
pany you in the last journey. Neither the terrible Chimaera who
breathes nothing hut fire ; nor, were he to rise again, that gigantic
monster with a hundred hands, shall ever tear me from you ; for
thus it hath seemed good to powerful Themis and the Fates.
Whether I was horn under the sign Libra *, or under the formi-
dable sign Scorpion, that most dangerous place of the horoscope, or
under Capricorn, that tyrant of the western sea, I know not; but our
stars agree in an incredible manner. .For, an the bright star of

* Whether Libra behold? me.

NQTES.

of birth ; for every sign is divided into se-
veral parts, which make as many horoscopes,
and arc therefore called nalales horce. This
passage is somewhat difficult; and those who
think Horace spe.iks of the whole sign Scor-
pio, have certainly fallen into a mistake.

19. Sen tijrannua Hesperits Capricornus
undo?.] Capricorn, as we observed before,
is tin; tenth sign of the zodiac. Astrologers
have attributed to~ every one of the?e signs
their particular virtues, and assigned to them
their several parts of the earth over which
they rule. Capricorn had all the west, which
Horace here understands by Hesperia. Thus
:Manilius, Bonk third, savs,

Tu, Capricunif, regis quidquid sub sole
<a:lc:ite.

" Thou, Capricorn, rulest all the coun-
tries under the setting sun."
And Propertrus, Elegy first, Book fourth,

Lr/tas rt. Hesperia quid Capricornus aqua?

" And Capricorn, which washes itself in

the western ocean."

Horace here calls it the tyrant of that sea,
in the same manner as elsewhere he says,
the south-nine! is the governor and arbiter
of (he Adriatic; for it is observable, that
it excites frequent tempests in this sea, as
Servius remarks on the first Book of the
Georgics: Saturnusin Capricorno facit gra-
;;IASZWOS pluvias, pr<fdpitc in Italia : ur.de
Hwalius ait, Seit tyrannus, &c. " When
" Saturn is in Capricorn, he raises dreadful
"*' tempests, especially in Italy; for which
.V reason Horace calls Capricorn the tyrant

" of the Hesperian ocean." But Servius
here falls into an error, when he takes Hes-
peria for Italy instead of the west; for Italy
was not attributed to Capricorn, but to Li-
bra or Sagittarius.

21. Utrumque nostrum incrediliili modo
consenlit astrum ,~\ In order to understand
this passage rightly, we must observe, that
to render the lives and fortunes of two per-
sons equal, and that there might be a per-
fect correspondence between them, it was
necessary that their horoscope had been the
same; in other words, that they were born
under the same part of a sign, and at the
same time. But, as Horace was not of the
same age with Maecenas, he contents him-
self with saying, that there was a great con-
formity between their stars, and that, to judge
by the events of their lives, one would be
apt to think they had been born under the
same constellation. It is for this reason that
Horace says incredibili modo, in an incredi-
ble manner, because it was impossible that
two different horoscopes should have that
effect. Thus Pereius, in imitation of thU
passage, says,

Nun equidem hoc dubiles, amlontmfoedere
certo

Consentire dies, el tb uno sidere duct.

" There is not the least ground for doubt,
" that our lives have a perfect resemblance
" to each other : they are regulated by the
" same stars, they are under the influence
" of the same horoscope."

182 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Consentit astrum. Te Jovis impio
Tutela Saturno refulgens

Eripuit, volucrisque fati

Tardavit alas, cum populus frequens 25

Laetum theatris ter crepuit sonum :
Me truncus illapsus cerebro

Sustulerat, nisi Faunus ictum
DextrS lev&sset, JNIercurialium

Gustos virorum. Reddere victimas 30

yEdemque votivam memento :
Nos humilem feriemus agnam.

ORDO.

Refulgens tutela Jovis eripuit te impio me, nisi Faunus custos Mercurialiurn viro-

Saturno, tardavitque alas volucris fati, cum rum levasset ictum sua dextra.
popuhis frequens ter crepuit laetum sonum in Tu memento reddere victimas, eedemque

theatris : truncus illapsus cerebro sustulerat votivam : nos feriemus humilem agnam,

NOTES.

These words, There is no ground for 22. Te Jm-is impio tutela.] It is pro-
doul-t, are frequently used when we are about bable that Maecenas had consulted astro-
to express something impossible or incredible, logers about his horoscope, who had found

ODE XVIII.

This ode is purely moral, and was intended as condemnatory of the luxury
and avarice of his countrymen. The sentiments are grave and just, the style
nervous, and the versification correct and harmonious. In some manuscripts
it has for its title Varo ; whence Torrentius has conjectured that it was ad-
dressed to Quint. Varus, spoken of in Ode XVIII. Book I But if we

NON ebur, neque aureum

Mea renidet in domo lacunar ;
Non trabes Hymettise

Premunt columnas ultim& recisas

ORDO.

Non ebur, neque aureum lacunar renidet columnas meas recisas in ultima AfricS; neque
in mea dorao ; Hymettise trabes non premunt

ODE XVIII. HORACE'S ODES. 183

Jupiter rescued you from cruel Saturn, and stopped the precipitate
flight of fate, when the people, assembled in Pompey's theatre, re-
ceived you with repeated acclamations of joy ; in like manner, a fatal
tree would assuredly have fallen on my head and killed me, had
not the god Faunus, the protector of poets, averted the blow with
his hand. Remember then, Macenas, to offer the sacrifices you
promised to Jupiter, and consecrate the temple which you vowed :
for my part, I shall offer him an humble lamb.

NOTES.

that Jupiter, a good and benign planet, reeled the malignity of Saturn, he pro-
had corrected the bad influences of Saturn, ceeds to confirm the likeness of their fates,
Horace calls Saturn impious, either because by mentioning a similar occurrence in his
he devoured his own chiULen, or rendered own life; he being almost crushed to pieces
men impious. by the fall of a tree, when some favourable

25. Cum jjnpidus frequent.] Mtecenas, power prevented his destruction,

after his recovery from a dangerous sickness, 29. Mercurialium virorum.] That is,

the first time he appeared in the theatre, men of learning, poets, because Mercury

was received bv the people with the greatest is the father of letters and eloquence,

acclamations. See Ode XX. Book I. Horace here represents Faunus as the pro-

28. Ni*i Faunus ictum.] The design of tector of poets and men of learning, because

Horace is to show a great conformity be- he was a rustic god, who inhabited the woods

tween his destiny and that of Maecenas, and forests, the delight of studious men,

Therefore, after having taken notice, with where they often love to retire,
regard to his friend, that Jupiter had cor-

ODE XVIII.

consider the matter narrowly, we shall find that it is general, and without
inscription. It is probable that the following circumstance gave occasion
to this false title. Avarice is the principal subject of the ode ; and possibly
some of the literati might have written at the head of it Avaro, the first
letter of which being effaced by time or some other accident, there re-
mained nothing but Varo, This, it is probable, gave rise to Torrentius*
opinion.

NEITHER ivory, nor gilded cielings, dazzle the eye in my house ; you
see no cedar beams from mount Hymettus, supported with columns
of marble cut in the remotest parts of Africa : 1 do not possess the

NOTES.

3. Trales Hymettue.] Beams of wood mountain of Attica.
from trees which grew upon Hymettus, a

184 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Afric& ; neque Attali 5

Ignotus hseres regiam occupavi ;
Nee Laconicas mihi

Tralmnt honestee purpuras clientae :
At fides et iugent

Benigna vena est ; pauperemque dives 10

Me petit : niliil supra

Deos lacesso, nee potentem aniicum
Largiora flagito,

Satis beatui unicis Sabinis.
Truditur dies die, ] 5

Novseque pergunt interire Lunae.
Tu secanda marmora

Loeas sub ipsum funus, et, sepulcri
Immemor, struis dornos;

Maiisque Bails obstrepentis urges 20

Sum move re litora,

Parum locuples eontinente ripS.
Quid, quod usque proximos

Revellis agri terminos, et ultra
Limites elieutium 25

Salis avarus ? pellitur paternos

ORDO.

tgo ignotus haeres occupavi regiam Attali; Dies truditur die, Lunwque novrepergunt

nee honestse clientae trahunt purpuras La- intei-re. Tu, sub ipsum f unus, locas marmora

conicas mihi. At fides est mihi, et bcnigna sfcanda, et, immemorsepulchri.strim dow ?;

vena ingenii; divesque petit me paupercm. parumque locuples eontinente ripa, urges sum-

Efrn, satis beatus unicis Sabinis, lacesso mo\ ere litora maris obstrepentis Baiis.
Deos uihil supra, ncc flagito ineum potentem Quid dicam, quod usque reveHis proximos

ainkum largiora. tenniuos agri, et a\arus sails ultra limites

NOTES.

b.Atlali iyriot:,!, r><fres.'] Somehavr (liought to Rome, and strangled in prison,
that this was a stroke of i-ntire in Horace, who 7. Lacrmicas purpuras.'] I^aconia was a
hereby insinuates, that the people of Rome region of Peloponnesus, and famous on ac-
had that testament by which AttalusPhilo- count of its purple, which was the finest in
metor had declared the nation his heir. But Europe ; it was worn chiefly by persons of the
it is not at all credible, that Horace would patrician order, or such as were in some em-
have called the people of Rome ignniits lucres, ployment of dignity.

after the many alliances they made with At- 8. Honcstee dimta:^\ The distinction of
talus and Eumenes the second; it is more Patroni and Clientesvtas first established by
probable that he means Aristonicus, who, Romulus. His design, in this institution,
after the death of Attains, gave cut that he was to settle a firm union and connexion he-
was the son of Eumenes, took possession of tween the patricians and plebeians ; for
the kingdom, defeated Licinius Crassus, and which purpose he recommended some of the
was at last conquered bv Perpenna, brought plebeians as objects of protection to the pa-

ODE XVIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

185

palace of Attalus as his pretended heir; nor do ladies, as my clients,
spin purple robes for me. But I have sincerity, and a genius
for poetry ; in consequence of which, though poor, I am courted
by the great. I importune not the gods for any thing beyond my
present possessions ; and, being abundantly happy in the enjoy-
ment of my seat at Sabinum, I ask my friend for no more dona-
tions. One day makes way for another, and every new moon
hastens to its end ; but you, though you have one foot in the
grave, give out marble to be cut ; and, without once thinking of
your monument, you build houses : not satisfied with the conti-
nent, you are at great pains and expense to extend the shore of
the sea that beats with great violence against the walls of Baiae.
But what shall I say of your avarice in removing your neighbour's
land-mark, and encroaching on the limits of your vassals ? We

NOTES.

tricians, and imposed on both certain con-
ditions, which they were bound to observe.
In time, this custom extended itself in such
a manner, that entire foreign provinces fol
lowed the example. Tims Lacedemon was
under the protection cf the Livian family,
and Sicily under that of Marcellus. It is
probable that Horace here means the clients'
wives of some foreign province, and that the
epithet, honesty, does not signify beautiful,
as some have imagined, but of noble rank or
birth : therefore the sense of Horace seems
to be this, that he had no clients of distin-
guished birth in Laconia, to prepare clothes
for him of that fine purple which their coun-
try produced : for we are to remark, that the
condition of a client was only a more honour-
able kind of slavery.

10. Pole/item amicum.'] Maecenas, I pre-
sume, is the person whom Horace calls his
jxiwerful friend. He knew he would re-
fuse him nothing that he demanded. Thus,
Ode XVI. Book III.

ATcc, .npltira veiim, tn dare denege<;.
But, as he had a competency, he was desir-
ous of nothing more.

15. Tniditwr dies die.'] He begins to at-
tack directly, through in general terms, the
manners of his sge. He does it with great
freedom and zeal ; and it is worthy of notice,

that he unites avarice and profusion in the
same person, which, though at first view
eemingly a contradiction, is yet allowed by
all to be a just stroke in the character of
men. Alieni appetcns, sui profusus, is not
a way of thinking peculiar to Sallust alone.

20. Bans.'] Baiae was a city of Campania
on the sea-coast, famed for iis pleasant situ-
ation, and the wholesome water round it.
This invited many of the opulent to build
houses for their pleasure near it.

24. Ultra limites clientiinnJ] Horace, the
more effectually to oppose the luxury of his
countrymen, represents here the unjust prac-
tices to which it urged men, to encroach upon
the bounds of their neighbours, and, what
was yet an instance of greater iniquity, to
depiive clients of what in equity belonged
to them.

26. PfVitur paternos, &c.~\ Horace gives
here a lively description of the calamities and
disasters which are hi ought u;:on a people by
the ambition and irregular passions of the
great men. They stick at nothing to com-
pass their ends. The poor are unjustly
driven from their possessions, and they and
their innocent infants exposed to the greatest
hardships, only to give their rich and power-
ful masters an opportunity of enlarging their
enclosure*.

186 Q. HORATU CARMINA. LIB. H.

In sinu ferens Deos

Et uxor, et vir, sordidosque natos.
Nulla certior tamen,

Rapacis Orel sede destinata, 30

Aula divitem manet

im. Quid ultra tendis? aequa tellua
Pauperi recluditur

Rt gumque pueris ; nee satelles Orci
Callidum Promethea 35

Revexit auro captus. Hie superbum
Tantalum atque Tantali

Genus coercet : hie levare functum
Paupcrem laboribus,

Voeatus atque non vocatu?, audit. 40

ORDO.

elientium ? Et uxor, et vir, ferens paternos pauperi puerisque'regum ; nee Charon satel-

Ueos in sinu, natosque sordidos, pellitur. les Orci, auro captus, revexit callidum Prome-

Nulla tamen -uila inanet divitem herum cer- thea. Hie coevoet superbum Tantalum atque

tior destinata scJe npacis Orci. genus Tantali : hie vocatus, atque non voca-

Quid tendis ultra ? tellus aequa recluditur tus, audit levare pauperem functum laboribus.

NOTES.

28. Sordidnsqite natos.] That is, Sord'iKs mestic gods.

vf stilus indutos. And Horace adds this 29. A r w/te certior lament] This passage is
circumstance, to represent the rnore strongly somewhat obscure, but may be rendered
the avarice and wretchedness of those mere intelligible by ordering the words
whom he here describes, who suffered their thus : Nn'la tamen aula inanet divitem he-
servants and clients to carry off nothing rum ctrtidr destinata sederapacis Orci. Sa-
but their old thread-bare clothes, and do- i.adon fancies, that Horace meant to oppose

ODE XIX.

This is one of the finest odes of Horace; it is full of that noble enthusiasm
known only to great poets. We cannot determine the time of its composi-
tion ; we know^only that it was designed for some of the feasts of Bacchus.
The eulogium of the god is complete, and is carried to the highest per-

IN BACCHUM.

BACCHTJM in remotis carmina rupibus
Vidi docentem, (credite, poster!)

ORDO.

O poster!, credite, ego vidi Bacchum in remotis rupibus docentem carmina, Njmphasjut

ODE XIX. HORACE'S ODES. 187

even see wife and husband driven from their home by your orders,
carrying their domestick gods and their poor children in their
arms. Yet their rich and cruel lord will surely have that place in
hell that is destined for him. Why then do you still go on to in-
crease your power and riches ? The impartial earth is ready to re-
ceive the peasant and the sons of kings ; nor could Charon * ever
yet be bribed by gold to bring back subtile Prometheus. He con-
fines in his territories proud Tantalus and all his race ; and, whe-
ther invoked or not, he is ever ready to relieve the poor man from
all his miseries in this life.

* The porter of hell.

NOTES.

this idea to the brutal avarice of the usurpers, the souls of the dead. He was the son of

whom drath would equally despoil of all Erebus and Nox.

their possessions, as th<y had despoiled 36. S uper bum Tantalum J] He calls Tail-
others. Agreeab'y to this notion, he dis- talus proud, haughty, either on account
poses the words in the following manner: of his riches, which were so considerable as
Divitem herum teqve ac pauperem clientem to pass into a proverb ; or for his insolence,
non certior manet aula qi/am raparis Orci, in presenting his own son to the gods for a
sede* vmnilus deslinata. I h;ive proposed the repast.

sentiments both of Sanadon and Dacier, that 38. Hie levarf functum.'] Horace had be-

the reader may be able to determine for him- fore said, that death would overtake every

self; but Dacier's seems more natural. man ; neither rich nor poor are exempt from

34. Safeties Orci.] Charon, the god so the grave. Here he shows the distinction

well kr.-.wn in mythology. His name, in th;it will be made between them; death, to

the /Egyptian language, signifies a water- the poor, is the beginning of their repose

man. The employment assigned to him, and happiness, to the rich it is the end of

was to convey to hell over the Stygian lake all their pleasures.

ODE XIX.

fection. The marks of his divinity are stamped on all the parts of this
vast universe. Heaven, earth, the sea, and hell, have felt the effects of
his power. Horace has collected all these monuments, to furnish out an
immortal trophy to Bacchus.

IN PRAISE OF BACCHUS.

I SAW Bacchus (believe me, posterity) teaching amidst solitary
rocks the nymphs to make verses ; who received with pleasure his

NOTES.

1 . Remolis tormina rupibus vidi docentem.] racters ; to love the mountains, and to in-
The ancient* ascribed to Bacchus two cha- struct. Thus both Greeks and Latins attri-

188 Q. HORAT1I CARM1NA. LIB. H.

Nymphasquc discentes, et aures

Capripedum Satyrorum acutas.

Evoe ! recenti mens trepidat metu, 5

Plenoque Bacchi pectore turbiduni
Lfetatur. Evoe ! parce, Liber,
Parce, gravi mctuende thyrso.
Fas pervicaces sit mihi Thyadas,

Vinicjue fontcm, lactis et uberes 10

Cantare rivos, afque truncis

Lapsa cavis iterare mella :
Fas et beat?e conjugii additum
Stellis honorem, tectaque Penthei

a non leni ruina, 15

Thru-, is et cxitiuui Lycurgi.
Tu flfctis amnes, tu ruare barbarian :
Tu separntis nvidus in jugis
Noclo coerces viper! no

onidum sine fraude crines. -0

Tu, rum parentis regna per arduuin
Conors gigantum s-canderct impia,
Kl oecuni retoisisti leonis

Unguibus horribilique mala ;

Quanquarr:, choreis aptior et jocis 25

Ludoque dictus, non sat idoneus
Pugnae ferebaris ; sed idem
Pads eras mediusque belli.

ORDO.

discentes, et ac-utas aures capripctlum Saty- exiiiiim Thracis Lycurgi.

rurutn. Tu flectis amnes, tnflcctif mare barbanira :

Evce! mens men trepiHat recenti metu, tu uviclus in separatis jugis coerces crines

kttamrque turbidum peclore plena Bacclii. Bisionidura no<!o viperino siiie fraude. Cum

Evoe! O Liber metuende gra\i thvrso, impia cohors uigantum scandi-ret regna tui

parce mihi, parce. Fas sit tnihi can tare parentis per arduum, tu retoisisti Rhoecum

peiricace? Tlivada=, fontemque vini, ct ube- ungnibus horribilique mala Iconis ; quan-

iudis, atque iterare mella lapsa ca- quam, dictus aptior choreis et jocis ludoque,

vis truacis arboriim. Y,-.s sit et couture ho- f< rebaris non sat idoneus pugiiae; sed tu idem

jinrem tuee biatae conjugis additum steliis, eras niedius pacis bcllique.
tectaque Penthei disjecta iion leni ,uina, et

NOTES.

buted to him the origin of all their feasts chus with his ivy spear lifted up ready to

and public sports, aiwi even of tiagcdy and strike him for presuming to reveal his

comedy. mysteries without permission, and begs

5. Rfcenti mens trrfjidut me/:/.] Horace pardon for his temerity in a most aitful

rcy'mg he had sti-n Bacchus, as if the god manner.

actually stood before his eyes, falls into the 7. Liter.] The Latins called Bacchus,

enthusiasm which the presence of that deity Li/ieu-; and Liber; they are both one and

naturally inspired, and represents himself as the same name differently expressed. The

really moved and actuated by him. one is derived from the Latin verb lils-

1. Puree.] Horace imagines he sees Bac- rare, and the other from the Greek Xuw,

ODK XIX. HORACE'S ODES. 189

instruction?, at which the Satyrs also pricked up their ears. Ah !
1 still tremble when I think what awful dread I was under; and my
heart, full of the divinity of that god, now feels the sallies of a con-
fused joy. Ah !' pardon me, Bacchus, pardon me, thou who art
so formidable when armed with thy powerful spear. Allow, me
to sing the furious transports of thy priestesses, the fountain of
wine, and overflowing rivulets of milk, and to describe the deli-
clous honey dropping from the trunks of trees. Permit me also to
sing the bright crown of Ariadne thy happy consort, that new star
the ornament of heaven, the dreadful overthrow of Pentheus*
palace, and the terrible death of Lycurgus the Thracian. Thou
changest the course of rivers, and hast the sea under thy com-
mand. Heated with thy divine liquor upon the wild mountains,
thou twistest in the hair of the Bacchanals frightful snakes that
do them no harm. When the impious band of giants attempted
to scale heaven, with a design to dethrone thy fatlier, thou alone,
under the form of an enraged lion, didst, .with dreadful paws and
devouring jaw repel bold Rhgecus their lender , and though thou
wert considered by them as fitter for dancing, drollery, and plea-
sure, than fighting, thou soon madest them feel that thou wast
as well skilled in the achievements of war as in the diversions of

NOTES.

solrcre. Pinum enim mentem liberal et solvit. prevent it, ordered the vines all over his

Wine frres the soul from care and anxiety. kingdom to be cut down. This brought

8. Thyrso.] The thyrsus with which the tipon him the aiiger of Bacchus, who reti-

poetsjhave armed Bacchus, was a kind of dered him so furious, that he killed his own

half-pike adorned with ivy-leaves and vine- son Dryas; alter which his subjects, miry

branches. in rebellion, caused him to be devoured bv

13. Beattc cmijitgis, V.] He speaks here his own horses.

of the crown of Ariadne, which Bacchus 17- Tu flectis armies, in mare barbarum.]
placed among the stars. She was the daugh- By rivers here interpreters understand the
ter of Minos king of Crete. By her advice Ganges and Indus ; we may also take in the
chiefly it was, that Theseus was enabled to Hydaspes, e. which he passed over dry-
extricate himself out of the labyrinth. He footed, after having struck it with his rod.
carried her away with him from Crete, but The Barbarian Sea here must be the Indian,
perfidiously Ifift her in the isle of Naxos, .(Ethiopian, or Red Sea, Bacchus having
where she was afterwards married to Bacchus, travelled as far as India. This is plainly the

14. Pcnthci.] He was king of the The- story of Moses* passage through th^/Red
bans. Contemning the rites of Bacchus, Sea and Jordan, applied to Bacchus.

he excited the anger of that deity, and was 20. Bulomdum.] The Bistones were a

torn in pieces by his own mother Agare jpeopie of Thrace, so called from a lake of

and the rest of the Bacchantes, and his that name. The women also in Thrace,

house reduced to rubbish. who performed the rites of Bacchus, were

16. Lycurgi] This Lycurgus was king of called Bistonides.

Thrace, who, seeing his subjects go to the 23. Leanis v/ngniius.~\ The ancients re-

highest cxces in drinking, that he might port, that in (hi* war against the giants,

190 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. II.

Te vidit insons Cerberus aureo

Cornu decorum, leniter atterens 30

Caudam ; et recedentis trilingui
Ore pedes tetigitque crura.

OR DO.

Cerberus insons vidit te decorum aureo cor- trilingui pedes cruraque tui recedentis.
nu, leniter atterens caudam; ct tetigit ore

NOTES.

Bacchus assumed the shape of a lion. lodorus writes, that it was to recover his mo-

29- Te vulit insons Cerfarus.] The an- ther Semele. Horace here represents that

cients feigned that Bacclms descended into horrible monster Cerberus as so sensible of

hell to bring thence Ariadne ; though Apol- the divinity of this god, that, far from

ODE XX.

The great men of antiquity are very much blamed by modern critics for
boasting so freely, that by their writings they had rendered themselves im-
mortal. They look upon it as contrary to the rules of modesty, and think
that posterity would not have judged less favourably of them had they abs-
tained from this excessive self-praise. It must be acknowledged, that this
manner of praising one's self requires great art and nicety in order to
avoid the imputation of vanity ; but we ought not under this pretext to be
forward in condemning Horace, Virgil, Ovid, and other great poets.
Why should they not be allowed to render the same justice to themselves as
they do to others ; and to think, that as it is an indication of a little
mind not to know itself, so it is a commendable courage to show a conscious-
ness of those excellences which we are sure we possess ? Longinus thinks

AD M^CENATEM.

NON usitata nee tenui ferar
Penna biformis per liquidum aethera
Vates ; neque in terris morabor

Longius; invidiaque major
Urbes relinquam. Non ego, pauperum 5

ORDO.

Ego vates biformis ferar per liquidum major invidia.

aetliera penna non usitati nee tenui; neque O Maecenas ! non ego, licet sanguis paupe-
longiu* morabor in terris; urbesque relinquam rum parentum, ego quern vocas Dilecte, no

ODE XX. HORACE'S ODES. 1IU

peace. Wlien tliou descended 'st to hell, Cerberus, at the sight of
thee decked in thy golden horns, forgot his rage, and drew his
tail gently to him ; and when thou offered' st to withdraw, he licked
thy legs and feet with his three tongues.

NOTES.

offering violence to him, he paid him marks ing whose descent from die mountain, after
of adoration. he had been there forty days (which he also
29. Aureo coniu.~\ The ancients always thinks gave rise to the story of Bacchus' de-
attributed horns to Bacchus ; and Dacier is scending into hell), there were seen on his
of opinion, that the reason of this is to be head rays of light which appeared in the
sought only in the history of Moses, dur- form of horns.

ODE XX.

it necessary, that all those who would arrive at the excellency of good writ-
ing, should be filled with a noble pride, and believe themselves capable of
great things. When a poet represents to himself the judgement which
posterity will form of his writings, and, upon examination, finds that he
has a genius capable of such productions as will render him immortal, this
thought will add inconceivable force to his imagination, and there will ap-
pear in his compositions a fire infinitely above what was to have been ex-
pected had he been destitute of these hopes. To say any more in vindica-
tion of this ode, and the last of the following book, would be only to do
Horace an injury. They are such finished pieces, that we ought rather to
admire their beauties, than dwell upon their imperfections. None but
Horace knew so well how to change himself into a swan, that he might
fly to the east, west, north, and south.

TO MAECENAS.

MAECENAS, thy poet will soon be carried through the air upon
uncommon wings, and which shall never fail, being partly changed
into a bird. I shall not stay much longer on the earth ; and, being
now above envy, I shall soon bid adieu to the world. No, I shall
riot die, though born of mean parents ; I, whom you are pleased

NOTES.

2. Biformis.] This word presents to our which Horace excelled, have quite mistaken

imagination the metamorphosis of the poet the thought.

begun, but not altogether finished. He was 5. Pauperum sanguis parentumJ] For his

already in part a swan, but still retained father was one of those who were called

something of the man. Those who under- Lilertlni, being the son of a freed man, a^

stand by bifwrmis the two kinds of poetry in his office was that of a collector of the tav.

192

Q. HORATJI CARMINA.

LIB. II.

Sanguis parentum, non ego, quern vocas
Dilecte, Maecenas, obibo,

Nee Stygia cohibebor unda.
Jam jam residunt cruribus asperte
Pelles, et album mutor in alitem
Superne, nascunturque leves

Per digitos humerosque plunge.
Jam, Daedaleo ocior Icaro,
Visam gementis litora Bospori,
Syrtesque Gttiulas, eanorus

Ales, Hyperboreosque campos.
Me Colcbus, et qui dissimulat metum
Marsae cohortis Dacus, et ultimi
Noscent Geloni : me peritus

Discet Iber, Rhodauiquc potor.
Absint inani funere nseniae,
Luctusque turpes, et querimoni;e :
Compesce clamorem, ac sepulehri
Mitte supervacuos honores.

ORDO.

obibo, nee cobibebor Stygia unda. Colchus, et Dacus qui dissimulat mum me-

Jain jam asperae pelle?. residunt meis cru- tuiuMarsaecohortis, et ultimiGeloni, noscent

films, et supcrne mutor in alitem album, le- me; peritus Iber discet me, potorque Rho-

vosque pluiniE nastuntur per digitos bumeros- daui.

que. Jam ego eanorus ales ocior Icaro Doe- Nffiniae, turpesque luctus, et querimoniye

daleo visani litora gementis Bospori, Syrtes- absint a meo funere inuni : compesce clamo-

que Gsetulas, camposcjue Hypeiboreos. rem, ac mitte supervacuos honoves sepulehri.

NOTES.

6. Non ego, quern vocas Dilecte, Ma?ce-
iias.~] All the difficulty of this passage, is
,,) know whether we should ,pin dilecte with
Maecenas or vocas; i.e. whether Maecenas
calls Horace dilccle, or if it be Horace that
calls Maecenas so. It is plain, that the first
corresponds more with the design of the
ode, and that we ought to put a comma
after dilecte :

Non ego quern vocas Dilecte, M<eccnasi

Horace hereby insinuates, that he was not
unworthy of the kindness which Maecenas
had for him, and which he testified bj call-
ing him Dilecte, his darling, his delight.

8. C(i)iil't-l'>rJ] Cohikere is here used in
the same sense as coercere'in Ode 18. He
expresses himself in the same manner in the
4th Ode of the following Book:

Amatorem ireceiilee

Pirithoum cohilent catenae.

ODE XX.

HORACE'S ODES.

193

to call your dear Horace, shall never die, nor shall I ever be shut up
in those abodes that are surrounded with the river Styx. Lo ! a
black rough skin begins already to grow over my legs, and the upper
part of my body is changed into a swan. Downy white feathers
grow all over my ringers and shoulders. Being thus changed into
a tuneful bird, I shall, with a flight more rapid than that of Icarus,
visit the banks of the roaring Bosporus, the Syrtes of Getulia, and
the lands under the north pole.

The people ef Colchis, he who conceals his dread of the battalions
of the Marsi, the Dacian, the remote GelonS, the wise Spaniard, and
those who drink the water of the Rhone, shall all know me. Let
therefore no mournful hymns be sung at my funeral, let no doleful
lamentations or shameful groans be heard ; suppress your crying,
and forbear all funeral honours that are but superfluous.

NOTES.

1 o. Album mutoT in alitem.'] The swan
was sacred to Apollo, and the ancients attri-
buted to him not only a sweetness of voice,
but also an ability to foresee what was to
come. This was the reason why poets were
supposed to be changed into swans.

14. Gementis litora BosporiJ] He calls
the Bosporus murmuring, on account of the
noise which its waters make, when agitated
by the wind in that narrow strait. It is for
the same reason that our poet calls it insa-
nzewtem, raging, turbulent, in the fourth Ode
of v the next Book.

16. Hyperloreosque compos.] He here
means the people that are the nearest to the
northern pole, those beyond whom nothing
is to be found but the pole.

18. Dacus.'] This some refer to the pre-
ceding line ; but it is probable that it ought
rather to be understood of the Parthians ;
the Daci are another set of people, who will
be acquainted with his fame.

1 9. Me peiitus discet Iber.] In the time
of Augustus, the sciences flourished greatly

in Spain and Gaul, chiefly in consequence of
the zeal of the Roman colonies settled in
those parts. Many learned men of those
countries came to Rome, and appeared there
with great reputation.

20. Rhodanique polar.'] The Rhodanus,
now the Rhone, was a river in Gaul, which
was the boundary of the Helvetii, on the side
next the Roman province.

22. Luciusqiie lurpes.'] He calls these la-
mentations shameful and dishonourable, as
they made it be believed that he was really
dead. In these last four verses Horace has
happily imitated a distich of Ennius:

Nemo me lacrymis decnret, nefunerajletu
Faxit. Cur ? volito vivus per ora virum,

" Let none lament my death with tears, or
" complain at my funeral. I still live, and
" fly through the mouths of men, or in the
" sight of men." In these last words he
alludes to the metamorphosis of poets into
swans.

Vot. I.

QUINTI HORATII FLACCI
CARMINUM

LIBER TERTIUS.

ODE I.

We find in this Book and the fourth a far greater number of beautiful odes
than are tp be met with in the two preceding and the fifth, which is ordi-
narily called the Book of Epodes ; it is highly probable, therefore, that they
are the productions of a more advanced age. This is the reason why they
abound so much in precepts of morality, that being the language of men in
years. This first ode is wholly of the moral kind ; and if no other circum-
stance could denote the time of its composition, yet this alone is suf-

AD ASINIUM POLLIONEM.

ODI profanum vulgus, et arceo.
Favete linguis : carmina non prius
Audita, Musarum sacerdos,

Virginibus puerisque canto.

Regum timendorum in proprios greges, 5

Reges in ipsos imperium est Jovis,

ORDO.

Odi profanum vulgus, et arceo. Favete audita.

linguis ; dum ego sacerdos Musarum canto Imperium regum timendorum est in pro
virginibus puerisque Carmina non prius prios greges, imperium autem Jovis, claii

NOTES.

2. Favete lingiiis.] To understand the heard on tLese occasions might have some

force of this expression, it is necessary to take influence in producing a good or a bad omen,

notice, th&tfavere linguis properly signified the priests were themselves careful (and also

lona ovrla.fa.fi-> and was used on occasion of warned others) to pronounce nothing but

sacrifices. For the people being very super- favourable words. This care, to speak no-

stitious, and believing that the words they thing that might have a bad effect, kept the

195

HORACE'S ODES,

BOOK THIRD.

ODE I.

ficient to make us believ.e that Horace by this time began to grow old; yet
it must be acknowledged, that age had not yet in the least diminished the
fire of his imagination, or deprived him of that vigour and liveliness which
appeared in his more youthful productions. His design is to show that true
happiness does not depend either on honours or riches; but on a certain
equanimity and contentedness of mind,- which render a man superior to the

inpnnst/inpv and attanks of fortune.

inconstancy and attacks of fortune.

TO ASINIUS POLLIO.

I HATE the profane vulgar, and command them to keep at a dis-
tance. Give ear with religious attention; while I, the priest of the
Muses, sing to pare virgins and unspotted youths sacred songs never
heard before.

Kings, though powerful, exercise only a dominion over their own
people ; but kings themselves are subject to the sovereign dominion

NOTES. -

people in continual fear of uttering any word they were designed for the youth, who were

thit might disturb the sacrifice, so that a still less capable of comprehending their

profound religious silence was the usual effect meaning and importance. B^ way of an-

of the injunction. Hence the same phrase swer to this difficulty, we are to observe, that

came into ordinary use, when the strictest Horace intended these verses to instruct the

silence was required. youth in the knowledge of virtue. For as

4. Pirginibus ]ruerisqne canto."] It may they consist chiefly of moral precepts, they

stem here somewhat surprising, that when are best calculated to make an impression on

Horace had before declared his verses unfit tender and docile minds; whereas grown peo

for vulgar readers, he should here tell us, pie are ordinarily confirmed in vice, and it is

O 2

196 Q. HORATI1 CARMINA. LIB. III.

Clari giganteo triumpho,

Cuncta supercilio moventis.
Est ut viro vir latius ordinet

Arbusta sulcis; hie generosior 10

Descendat in campum petitor;
Moribus hie meliorque fama
Contendat ; iili turba clientium
Sit major. /Equa lege necessitas

Sortitur insignes et imos: 15

Omne capax movet urna nomen.
Districtus ensis cui super impi
Cervice pendet, non Siculee dapes
Dulcem elaborabunt saporem ;

Non avium citharaeque cantus 20

Somnum reducent. Somnus agrestium
Lenis virorum non humiles domos
Fastidit, umbrosamque ripam,

Non Zephyris agitata Tempe.

Desideraritem quod satis est, neque 25

Tumultuosum solicitat mare,

ORDO.

Siculae dapes non elaborabunt dulce

giganteo triumpho, moventis cuncta suo su-

percilio, est in reges ipsos.

puyns.

Neque tuniultuosum mare solicitat deside-

sequa lege urna cpax rnovet omne noiuen.

no easy matter to prevail with them to relin- enumeration of the qualities which are most

quish their bad habits. considered in the persons who offered theni-

5. Region timendoriim.] As the design of selves. Virtue alone ought to decide in these

Horace is to show, that happiness does not elections : but nobility, riches, and popu-

depend on any station or condition of life, he larity, were too often such powerful recom-

begins with man in the highest rank, kings, mendations as to carry all before them ; an

These, though in appearance above others, evil that all ages and countries have found

and accountable to none, yet are not exempt cause to complain of. Est ut does not here

from the jurisdiction of Jupiter, who is lord signify fieri palest, as some have absurdly

of the universe, and commands all nature by conjectured, but /t/, (tenit, ( t uo(idie aicidit.

his nod. M. Dacier has evidently shown, that est ut is

9. Est ur.] Horace, after having spoken an ellipsis where tiegotium is understood,

of kings, descends to thoje stations of life This way of speaking is not only very poet-

which are next in honour and dignity, ical, but at the same time perfectly agree-

Among the Romans* the highest rank was to able to the Latin idiom. Lucretius uses it

he one of the chief magistrates. The can- very elegantly in his fourth Book, where he

didates for the places left nothing unattempt- says,

ed to carry off the honour from the other Hie odor ipse igitur, nares quicii

competitors. The poet gives a brief and just Eii illo ut possit promitti Iwgius ULe,

ODE I.

HORACE'S ODES.

197

of Jupiter, who is renowned for his triumph over the giants, and
who with his imperial nod makes the whole world to tremble.

When candidates for the magistracy appear in the Campus Mar-
tius, it often happens, that one values himself on his planting vine-
yards of greater extent, another that he is of a more noble family, a
third that he has more integrity and a better reputation, and a fourth
that he has a greater number of vassals ; but death, whose capacious
urn shakes every name, draws out by an impartial law the high and
low. Should a wretch observe a naked sword hanging by a hair
over his head, he could not relish the most delicious Sicilian dishes,
nor could the sweetest harmony of birds and lute compose him to
sleep. Sound sleep disdains not the cottages* of peasants, nor the
shady bank, or agreeable valleys fanned by the cooling Zephyrs.
Neither the raging sea, nor the violent storm of Arcturus setting or

* Humble houses.

NOTE S.

14. /Equa lege necessitas.'] Whatever
distinctions there may be among men in this
work!, yet, after death, these shall all vanish,
and mankind shall then be reduced to a level.
There will be no difference in the grave be-
tween the ashes of a magistrate or a king,
and those of an artisan.

15. Insignes et imosJ] Insignia signifies
properly, distinguished, remarkable; and as
no man can be called remarkable, who is not
in some elevated station, Horace, with great
propriety, opposes insignis to irmis in the
same manner as he has elsewhere opposed it
to olscurus ; because no man can be called
obscure and concealed, but from being in a
low and undistinguished station of life.

17. Districtus ensis ad super.'] Horace
here alludes to the story of Dionysius tyrant
of Syracuse, and Damocles, related by Cicero
in his fifth Book of Tusculan Questions. Da-
mocles was a great admirer of the riches and
magnificence of the court of Dionysius, and
assured the tyrant that never was any one so
happy as he. Upon which Dionysius ordered
him to be placed upon a chair of state, with
a magnificent canopy over his head ; all his
gold and silver vessels were set before him,
and the flower of the youth of his court were
commanded to serve him. Great quantities
of the finest perfumes were burned, and the
tables were furnished with the most rare and
exquisite dishes. Damocles imagined, that
never 'any man enjoyed a happiness equal to
his : but, in the midst of the pomp, he cast

his eyes upon a naked sword, supported only
by a hair, the very point of which threatened
his head. No sooner was the philosopher
sensible of his danger, than, disregarding the
pomp and magnificence wherewith he was
surrounded, he fixed his thoughts only upon
the sword which hung directly over him, and
every moment seemed to menace his ruin ;
so that he had not the courage to put out his
hand to help himself, and thus in an instant
did he find himself deprived of all his felicity.

18. Siadi-e dopes.] Sicilian repasts were
so remarkably fine, as to pass into a pro-
verb, to express the most delicate food.

21. Somnus agrestium.] We ought to
construe this passage in the following man-
ner. Somnus lenis non faslidit humiles
domos agrestium virorum. This remark is of
no great importance, and was only designed to
correct the mistake of 'the old interpreter,
who has given it a wrong turn. It must be
acknowledged that these four lines are ex-
tremely beautiful; that great repose which
may be enjoyed in low life, makes an agree-
able contrast, when opposed to the anxieties
and inquietudes attending high stations.
- Men despise this happiness, only because
they know not what it is ; having never tasted
the pleasures of a virtuous solitude, they have
no desire for them, and therefore are apt to
overlook and slight them.

25. Desiderantem quod satis est.] This
is the maxim of Epicurus, recorded by
Seneca: Si ad naturam vives, numqitam

198 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB, III.

Nee ssevus Arcturi cadentis

Impetus, aut orientis Hoedi :
Non verberatae grandine vinese,

Fundusque mendax ; arbore nunc aquas 30

Culpante, nunc torrentia agros

Sidera, nunc hyemes iniquas.
Contracta pisces eequora sentiunt,
Jactis in altum molibus ; hue frequens

Ceementa demittit redemtor 35

Cum famulis, dominusque terrae
Fastidiosus : sed timor et minae
Scandunt eodem quo dominus j neque
Decedit aerata triremi, et

Post equitem sedet atra cura. 40

Quod si dolentem nee Phrygius lapis,
Nee purpurarum sidere clarior
Delenit usus, nee Falerna

Vitis, Achaemeniumque costum ;

Cur invidendis postibus, et novo 45

Sublime ritu moliar atrium ?
Cur valle permutem Sabin
Divitias operosiores ?

ORDO.

lantern quod satis cst, nee SKVUS impetus hue caementa : sed timor et minae srandunt

Arcturi ca;lentis, aut Hoedi orientis : vineae eodem quo doininus scandit ; neque atra cura

verberatae grandine, fundusque mendax, non decedit aerata triremi, et sedet post equitem.

soliritant eum- ; arbore culpante nunc aquas Quod si nee Phrygius lapis delenit dolen-

nunc sidera torrentia agros, nunc hyemes ini- tem, ilec usus purpurarum clarior sidere ; nee

quas. Falerna vitis Achaemeniumque costum; cur

Pisces sentiunt Eequora contracta, molibus moliar sublime atrium invidendis postibus, et

jactis in altum. Redemtor cum famulis, do- novo ritu ? Cur permutem divitias opero-

minusque fastidiosus terrae, frequens demittit siores mea valle Sabina?

NOTES.

eris pauper; si ad opinions*, numquam eris so easy a method to arrive at felicity, cannot

dives. From how many cares and anxieties be said seriously to desire happiness; nor,

might mankind deliver themselves, if they indeed, do they really deserve it.

merely knew how to moderate and restrain 26. Tumultuosum solicitat ware.] A

their desires ! This is, in one word, the foun- man who can content himself with a mode-

dation of that amiable tranquillity which con- rate subsistence, will not be apt to carry his

stitutes the true and real happiness of life, desires beyond sea. If he be under a neces-

O.nod milt habet, says Publius Syrus, qui sity of engaging in commerce, that he may

veUe quod satis est potest. Those who peglect prevent poverty, and procure an honest

ODE I. HORACE'S ODES. 199

of Hosdus rising, give him the least anxiety who desires no more
than what is just enough. Nor is his peace disturbed if his vines
are battered by the hail, or. his grounds deceive his expectation, his
barren trees blaming" now excessive rains, now stars parching the
soi.1, now winters hard and rigorous. But how few are so moderate
in their desires ! The very fishes are sensible that the sea is con-
tracted- by the vast heaps of stones that are thrown into the deep ;
for, disdaining the firm ground, hither a lord repairs with great
numbers of undertakers and their workmen to sink foundations for
high structures : yet fear and terror climb as high as he, nor does
black Care leave him on board of his armed galley; and, when he is -
on horseback, she seats herself behind him. Since then the most
curious Phrygian marble, the very finest purple robes whose colour
outshines the stars, fruitful Falernian vines, and the richest Persian
perfumes, cannot compose a troubled mind ; why should I desire to
build a magnificent palace after a new model, with./iwe saloons and
grand gates to attract the envy of the public ?- Why should I ex-
change my sweet retreat at Sabinum for riches that are attended
with so much care and trouble ?

NOTES.

maintenance for his family, his virtue will takes to finish any piece of work at his own

support him under the frowns of fortune. hazard, for a certain sum" of money.

27. Arcturi cadenti?.] Areturus is a con- 41. Quod si.] Horace, after having shown
stellation consisting of fourteen stars. Its that all the 7nagnificence and splendid ap-
risingis always dangerous; hut its setting is pearances which were then so much in rogue,
still more so. were not sufficient to relieve the mind from

28. Orientis I/ivdi.] Hosdi for Ilmlorum, trouble and cares, concludes with a piece of
for there are two stars of this name ; their reasoning the most simple, and at the same
rising, which is about the end of September, time the most convincing imaginable: I am
is always attended with rain and tempest, happy with my small possessions ; why then
whence Virgil calls them pluviales. should I be anxious after more, since riches

33. Conlrac/a pifces ceqwtra, sentiunt.~\ are so far from allaying our cares, that they

Horace, after bavins' shown that a contented serve only to multiply them ?
mind is in a manner proof against all the ca- 47. Cur valle permutem Salina^] The

lamities of life, proceeds to take notice, that most natural way of expressing this would

men in his time were so f;ir from aiming at have been, cur vallem permutem Sabinam

this calm and submissive temper, which alone divitiis, &c. For we always give what we

could render them happy, that they were not have, in exchange for what we have not.

satisfied with the firm land, but were contviv- But Horace chooses rather to invert the

ing how, by throwing ponderous stones into order of the words, as in Ode 1?. Book 1st.

the sea, they might raise a mole to serve; as Lucretilem mutat Lyceeo Faunus : the god

a foundation for building mansion-houses Faunus changes Lucrelilis with Lyc<eia t that

and houses of pleasure on that element. is, quits Lycaeus for L,ucretitis,' '

35. Rcdcmtor.] This is one who under-

200 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

ODE II.

The design of Horace in this ode is to recommend valour, virtue, and secrecy.
The first is proper for a military person, the second for a civil, and the third
for all conditions of lite. Thus the ode consists of three parts, which follow
naturally one after another. Those commentators are very much deceived,

AD AMICOS.

ANGUSTAM, amice, pauperiem pati.
Robustus acri militia puer
Condiscat, et Parthos feroces

Vexet eques metuendus hasta;

Vitamque sub dio, et trepidis agat 5

In rebus. Ilium ex moenibus hosticis
Matrona bellantis tyranni

Prospiciens, et adulta virgo,
Suspiret : Eheu, ne rudis agminum

Sponsus lacessat regius asperum 10

Tactu leonem, quern cruenta
Per medias rapit ira caedes.
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori :
Mors et fugacem persequitur virum ;

Nee parcit imbellis juventae 15

Poplitibus, timidoque tergo.
Virtus, repulsae nescia sordidae,
Intaminatis fulget honoribusj

ORDO.

O amice, puer robustus condiscat pati an- rudis agminam lacessat ilium leonem asperum

gustam pauperiem cum acri militia, et eques, tactu, quern cruenta ira rapit per medias cae-

rnetuendus hasta, vexet Parthos feroces; des.
agatque vitam sub dio, et in trepidis rebus. Dulceet decorum est mori pro patria. Mors

Matrona tyranni bellantis, et adulta virgo persequitur et virum rugacem ; nee parch po-

prospiciens ilium ex moenibus hosticis, suspi- plitibus timidoque tergo imbellis juventae.
retdtces: Eheu, ne sponsus meus regius Virtus, nescia repulsae sordidse, fulget inta-

NOTES.

1. Aitguslam, amice."] Horace does not enabled them to gain so many celebrated vic-

content himself with saying, that young men tories, and extend their conquests over all

should learn in the camp to bear up under the nations of the then known world. While

poverty, but adds, severe poverty. This is a they continued to maintain this discipline,

great precept, and exactly answerable to the they were invincible.
discipline of the Romans. It was this that

ODE II. HORACE'S ODES. 201

ODE II.

who think that Horace in the third part departs from the subject. They could
not have fallen into this mistake, had they thoroughly understood his design.
The versification is admirable ; and we observe through/the whole a certain
vivacity and nobleness of sentiment, by which Horace's compositions are
usually characterised.

TO HIS FRIENDS.

MY friend, a robust youth fit to undergo the fatigues of war should
learn also to bear the hardships of poverty, and, with his lance in
his handy to harass and strike the warlike Parthians with terror :
he ought also to pass the greatest part of his time in the open
fields, exposed to continual danger. The consort of the king at
war with us, or the princess his daughter, now marriageable, de-
scrying him from the walls of their palace, heaving a deep sigh, will
say, " God forbid that my young prince, as yet unskilled in the art of
" war, should encounter that savage young lion, who with blood
" and fury cuts his way through our slaughtered troops." It is
glorious and honourable for a man to die in defence of his country.
Death pursues the coward ; nor does it spare the inactive, or one
who shamefully turns his back upon the enemy.

Virtue which neither knows nor fears a shameful repulse, ar-
rives at the highest pitch of honour without any base means ; nor

NOTES.

6. Ilium ex mcEnihts kosticis.'] These lines eminence and distinction. We ought to call

are extremely beautiful ; nor could any thing to our remembrance here the maxim of the

have been more finely imagined, to flatter Stoics,
the Roman youth, and inspire them with a

resolution to undergo, with intrepidity, all Numquam privatum esse sapientem.

the hardships and fatigues of the camp. It

is probable that Horace had in his eye that Repulsa signifies a refusal when one stands

fine passage of Homer, where Helen and the for an office. Horace calls it mean or dis~

Trojan ladies appear upon the walls, and graceful, as in the first Epistle of Book 1st.
take a view of the Grecian camp.

1 7 firtus, repulste nescia sordid .] This Turpemque repulsam.
is the second part of the ode. Horace, af-
ter having in the first part spoken of valour, Virtue is incapable of a repulse, because
speaks here of virtue, which is always hide- the honours it aims at do not depend up-
pendent of the caprices of the multitude, and on the arbitrary humours of factions and
which, in spite of all opposition, never parties; it is its own recompense; the
Ms to support itself in places of the greatest highest preferments are due to it ; it meets

Q, HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. HI.

Nee sumit aut ponit secures

Arbitrio popularis aurae. 20

Virtus, recludens immeritis mori
Coelum, negatfi tentat iter via ;
Ccetusque vulgares, et udam

Spernit humum fugiente pennii.

Est et fideli tuta silentio 25

Merces. Vetabo, qui Cereris sacrum
Vulgarit arcanee, sub iisdem

Sit trabibus, fragilemque mecum
Solvat phaselum. Saepe Diespiter
Neglectus incesto addidit integrum : 30

ORDO.

minatis honoribus ; nee stimit, aut ponit se- Est et tuta merces fideli silentio. Vetabo

cures arbitrio popularis aurae. Virtus, re- vt ille, qui vulgarit sacrum Cereris arcanae,

cludens crelum imnieritis mori, tentat iter via sit sub iisdem trabibus, solvatque eundem

aliis ncgata ; spernitque coetus vulgares et fiagilem phaselum inecum. Diespiter ne-

udam humum pcnna fugiente. glectus satpe addidit integrum incesto : pcena

NOTES.

with universal respect, and honours those
who submit to its direction with an immortal
crown. Pliny, in his Preface, gives us a
shining instance of this virtue in one of the
most professed Stoics. Yatinius being pie-
ferred to Cato of Utica in the choice of a
praetor, the latter, says he, far from think-
ing himsell d.sbonourecl by his repulse, re-
joiced as much as if lie had succeeded in his
desires :

Jtepulsus tanquam honorilus indeptis gaudet.

20. Popularis aura;.'] The voice of the
people is compared to the wind, because of
its inconstancy ; which should not be passed
over here without notice. For the phrase,
popularis mm, relates to the two words sumit
and ponit, and of consequence is to be con-
sidered as common ; that is, may be taken
either in a good or bad sense, although or-
dinarily it serves to denote rather the favour
than the hatred of the people, by a metaphor
taken from a calm or favourable wind, whk-h
is properly called Aura. This is evident
from the following verses of Virgil :

Quern ju.rtfi senititurjactanlior /Incus,
JVwic qvoquejam nimium gaudens populari-
bus auris.

See the Prose Translation of Virgil.

22i Nega/d tentat iter via,'] Horace here
gives a most amiable idea of virtue, as it
carries a man with undaunted bravery through
the most difficult and hazardous attempts,
and entitles him to an everlasting happiness,
at which none can arrive but those who are
steady in the practice of it.

23. Udam sj.'crnit kumum.] Horace never
uses epithets in vain; and it is impossible
to make their beauty and propriety be tho-
roughly perceived, unless a reason be given
for those he employs; but interpreters have
never taken such pains. We may venture to
say, that the greatest part of the graces and
beauties of this incomparable poet have e-
scaped them ; for as they have not seen the
reason of Horace's calling the earth fn/mid,
they of consequence have been insensible of
the finesse and elegance of this passage. He
calls the earth humid, to denote that men
are sunk and retained in it, as in mire and
clay, and that they cannot disengage them-
selves but by the most extraordinary efforts of
virtue. Doubtless he had in view a passage
of Plato in his Phaedo, where Socrates says,
that the earth which we inhabit, and in
which we are sunk, is merely the sediment of
that pure earth which the blessed inhabit.

25. Ext etjideli.] This is the third and
last part of the ode. After having set b-r
fore us maxims proper for the conduct both
of a military and civil life, he cocluds ja

ODE II.

HORACE'S ODES.

sea

does she accept or quit places of trust and dignity at the caprice of
the vulgar. Virtue carries those to heax'en who deserve immor-
tality ; she opens a way to them inaccessible to others ; and soaring
aloft with an inexpressible rapidity, looks down with disdain ou
the tumultuous assemblies of the crowd, and scorns this vile earth.
There is also a sure reward to him that inviolably keeps the se-
crets of religion. I will never allow the- man who hath divulged
the mysteries of Ceres, either to lodge under the same roof, or em-
bark in the same vessel wixh me ; for Jupiter, highly provoked with
the great contempt offered to his law, hath often punished the

NOTES.

praise of discretion and prudence, a virtue
common to every state and condition. Those
commentators who have imagined that Ho-
race departs from his subject, have neither
rightly understood the connexion of the ode,
Bor the design of 'the poet. -

25. Tula merces.] As Horace here says,
that there is also a recompense for secrecy,
he must necessarily, in the first part of the
ode, have proposed one for the military vir-
tues. This reward is expressed in the I3t!i
rerse:

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.

" It is glorious and honourable to die in
" defence of our country." He must at the
same time have proposed one in the second
part of the ode, for the political or moral
virtue. It is contained in these lines,

Virtus, rerhiilens immcritis mori
Cceluw, negatd tentat ilef via.

' Virtue, procuring an entrance into hea-
'' ven to those who are worthy of iimnor-
" tality, treads in a path unknown to the
" generality of mankind." This remark

Till

was necessary to give a light to the ode,
and to discover that justness and symmetry,
which Horace and other great masters of
correct writinjr never failed t6 observe iu all
^eir compositions.

26. Cereris sacrum.] He who revealed
these mysteries was regarded as one who had
drawn upon himself the anger of the gods.
Every one avoided his presence, and he was
denied the very necessary enjoyments of life.
Lucian ridicules with a great deal of hurootir
these secret mysteries. Of whatever kind,

says he, these ceremonies at the'fcast of Ce-
res may be, it is the highest folly imaginable
to conceal them ; if they are unbecoming,
then ought they to be made public, that
every one may be inspired with a horror and
aversion at them j if they are holy and reli-
gious, the knowledge of them may be use-
ful and edifying. These feasts were cele-
brated at Eleusis in Attica, whence they were
called Eleusinia.

29. Phaselum.] Phaselus was p. small ves-
sel built after the manner of a Venetian boat.

29. Saye Diespiter neglectus.] Horace
here gives the reason of what he had before
said, that he would not either lodge or travel
with him who had divulged the mysteries of
Ceres : for Jupiter, when his laws are violat-
ed, often involves the innocent with the
guilty. This opinion, that the impiety of
one person may often prove fatal to all those
who are in company with him, is very an-
cient. The Grecian history informs us," that
those who embarked with Diagoras, being
overtaken by a violent tempest, referred the
cause ot it to him alone, because his im-
piety was generally known. The Holy Scrip-
ture farther furnishes us with a beautiful
instance of this general persuasion in the
history of Jonas. He embarked in order to
fly from the presence of his Maker, and
avoid the execution of his commands. God
raised a dreadful tempest; all the mariners
were astonished, and wanted to know who
the criminal w~s that had drawn down upon
them the wrath of heaven. They cast lots ;
and the lot fell upon Jonas, who, conscious of
hit impiety, sa ' cl Take me, and throw me
into the sea, a-.id the sea will be calm ; for
it is on my account that God hath sent this
tempest against >ou.

204 a HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Rar6 antecedentem scelestum
Deseruit pede poena claudo.

ORDO.

pede claudo raro deseruit antecedentem scelestum.

NOTES.

31. Raro an'ecfdentem seelestvm.'] Ho- all hope* of escape. Jupiter often involves
race adds this to cut off from the wicked the innocent with the guilty ; but it never

ODE III.

This is, without contradiction, one of the finest odes of Horace. There is
not amongst all his compositions any thing that can be preferred to it, whe-
ther we consider the greatness truly sublime that reigns through the whole,
the harmony of the numbers, its easy turn, and the beauty of the figures.
But, notwithstanding all this, these advantages have not prevented it from
appearing as very injudicious and very imperfect ; for it has been said, that
Horace does not give us the least insight into his design, and that, if we
peruse the ode attentively, we shall find that the sense is entirely suspended.
But Horace, it may be supposed, had too much judgement to fall into an
oversight of this nature. It was this that prevailed with M. le Fevre to
examine this piece with greater attention than had ever been paid to it
before j the pains he took on this head were not without effect, and after
we have delivered his opinion of the matter, it will evidently appear, that
this ode, so beautiful by all the embellishments of poetry, with which
Horace has taken care to adorn it, is yet more admirable for the design,
the address, and the judicious conduct of the poet. The numerous beauties
which shine in this ode, are evident marks of Horace's elevation of soul,
and natural happy genius. But after all, it will appear strange to some that
we so much approve this ode, and commend it as a finished piece, when it
is plain that the design of it is in a great measure hidden, and that the poet
has left unexplained the chief part of his subject. This is a truth that no
one can doubt, if he peruses the following abridgement of this ode, which
includes all the essential parts of it. " A man who is upright and steady,
is not moved by the clamours and tumults of his fellow-citizens, or by the
menacing presence of a tjrant, the raging fury of a tempestuous ocean, or
the tremendous thunder even of Jupiter himself. These are the virtues
which procured an entrance into heaven to Pollux, Hercules, and also to
Romulus, after Juno had pronounced in an assembly of the gods a long
speech, in which she had no other design than to prevent the rebuilding of
Troy." Is it not evident, that the sense here is interrupted, and that the
conclusion of the ode has no relation to, or connexion with, the beginning?

ODE III. HORACE'S ODES. 205

innocent with the guilty ; and, though Vengeance seems to halt and
advance slowly, she seldom fails to overtake a villain.

NOTES.

happens that impious men can shun divine provement. Whoever expect* punishment,

vengeance, which, however slow, yet sooner already suffers it, and whoever has deserved

01- later is sure to overtake them. This is it, expects it.
fine morality and yet it is capable of iru-

ODE III.

We must suppose, therefore, that there is in this poem some secret which
Horace was unwilling to make known ; and this is the secret which 1 in-
tend, if possible, to bring out of that obscurity under which it is hidden,
and thus make the design and address of Horace appear in their true
light. Above all things we must remark, that there was nothing Juno
dreaded more than to see Troy rebuilt. This is what she herself declares,
not only once, but several times, when she repeats her command that it be
not done. And indeed this alone might have opened the eyes of interpret-
ers. Thus, verse 37 :

Dum longus inter saeviat Ilion
llomamque pontus.

Again, verse 40 :

Dum Priami Paridisque busto
Insultet armentum. /

And, lastly, verse 58, which is still more strong and express than the fore-
going passages :

ne nimmm pn,

Rebusque fidentes,~ avitse

Tecta velint reparare Trojae.

Now, in order to penetrate exactly into the meaning of the ode, and clear
up this seemingly great difficulty, the following circumstance will be of
considerable moment.

After the murder of Julius Csesar, a report was spread at Rome, that
he had resolved to drain Italy of men and money, and to transport the seat
of the empire to Troy or Alexandria. This is^ what Suetonius relates in
express terms in his 7Qth chapter of. the life of that emperor. " Qum
" etiam valida fama percrebuit migraturum Alexandriam vel Ilium,
" translatis simul opibus imperii, exhaustaque defcctibus Italia." And we

206 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

may readily believe that he would have preferred Ilion to Alexandria, on
account of the origin of the Caesars, who boasted they were descended from
./Eneas. Nothing was more to be feared by the Romans than this change,
which must infallibly have proved the ruin of their empire. This is plain
from what happened under Constantine ; for New Rome, that is, Con-
stantinople, was the chief cause of die ruin of Old Rome. As Augustus
therefore had been declared Caesar's heir, and as it is usual with heirs to
pursue the purposes and resolutions of those by whom they are so appointed,
there was ground to fear that Augustus might entertain some thoughts of
putting his uncle's design in execution. This kept Rome in continual
alarm ; and it was on this very account that Horace composed the follow-
ing ode, that he might quite root out of the mind of Augustus so destruc-
tive and pernicious a resolution ; but because it is always a dangerous thing;
to dive into the secrets of princes, he was afraid to speak too plainly, and
cho;e rather to leave his ode imperfect, than give Augustus ground to
blame him for having spoken too much. This conjecture of M. Le Fevre,
is oue of the finest that could be made in this kind of criticism ; and it ii

VIRTUTE PR/EDITUS VIII NIHIL EXT1MESCIT.

JUSTUM et tenacem propositi virum
Non civium ardor prava jubentium,
Non vultus in?tantis tyranni

Mente quatit solida, neque Auster

Dux inquieti turbidus Adriae, 5

Nee fulminantis magna Jovis manus.
Si fractus illabatur orbis,

Impavidum ferient ruinae.
Hac arte Pollux, et vagus Hercules,

Innixus, arces attigit igneas ; 10

Quos inter Augustus recumbens

Purpureo bibit ore nectar.
Hac te merentem,-Bacche pater, tuae
Yexere tigres, indocili jugum

ORDO.

Non ardor civium jubentium prava, non rient ilium irnpavidum.

vultus tyranni iusuntis quoiit virum justum Pollux, et vagus Hercules, innixushac arte,

et tenacem propositi a solida sita mente, ne- attigit arccs igneas ; inter quos Augustus re-

que Auster turbidus dux inquieti Adriae. cumbens l)iblt nectar ore purpureo.
iiec magna manus Jovis fulminantis yuatii Bacche pater, tigres tuse, trabentes jugum

eum. Si orbis fractus illabatur, ruiiuu fe- indocili collo, vexcre te merentera hac artt :

NOTES.

1. Justum et tenacem propotiti.~\ Horace perpetua voluntas jus suum cvique trilnendi.

hed reason to join st.eadineii of mind or Constancy is here proposed to Augustus, as

constancy with justice, they having been al- the virtue of the gods and heroes; and the

wavs looked upon as inseparable companions ; design of Horace in so doing was, to dis-

tthence justice has been defined, Constant ft suade him from the change that was appre-

ODE III. HORACE'S ODES. 207

hard to determine which deserves the greatest praise, Horace for writing the
ode, or M. Le Fevre for having discovered its secret import, after it had re-
mained concealed for about sixteen hundred years. There is nothing requi-
site for the completion of his remarks, but to have fixed the time in which
this ode must have been composed. But this was a subject in which he
was unwilling to engage, because all the particularities of the court of
Augustus are not so well known to us. All that I can say of it is, in a
general view, that after the death of Julius Cassar, the war, which was
kindled on all hands, did not give Augustus time to think of transferring
the seat of the empire, which as yet was not very well established ; it is
highly probable, therefore, that he never took up this resolution, or, at
least, that there was no ground to apprehend any such design till after the
death of Marc Antony ; that is, till after he had shut, for the first time,
the temple of Janus ; and that of consequence Horace could not have writ-
ten this ode till after that time, viz. about the year of the city 626, or 627-
Horace was then about thirty-seven years old.

THE VIRTUOUS MAN FEARS NOTHING.

THE man who is just and steady in his resolution cannot be moved
from his fixed principle by the party-heat and violence of his fel-
low-citizens pressing him to act contraiy to his judgement, by
the presence of a threatening tyrant, by the violent south-wind, that
blustering ruler of the Adriatic sea, nor by Jupiter himself, though
armed with his tremendous thunder. Even if the whole world
should be hurled into confusion, he could sustain the dreadful shock
with an undaunted soul.

Supported by such virtue as this, Pollux, and Hercules who car-
ried his victories through so many countries, arrived at the heavenly
mansions; with whom "Augustus having-also taken his place, now
drinks ihe heavenly nectar with his ruby lips. As,a reward of thy
virtue, father 'Bacchus, tigers, naturally intractable, submitted

NOTES.

hended, and which would have been a great stidden and involuntary emotions, would

mark of inconstancy. condemn all ideas of danger, as phantoms

2. Pravn julentium.~\ Horace, speaking of the mind, and recollect tlwt he had no
of a sedition, uses the word julentium with ground of feir, in as much as nothing was
great propriety : forjubere was the word used capable of doing him the least barm,
by the people, when they strictly command- 11. Quos inter Augustas reaimlens^] Ho-
ed any thing to be done, or wished to enact race here places Augustus with Hercules,
some new law. The tribune demanded with Castor, and Bacchus. Quintus Curtius,
a loud voice, Pelilit, jul-catis, Quiritcs ? And. speaking of Alexander^ whose flatterers at-
the people said, Fbhtmus iiibemusque. tributed to him the title of g6d, writes in

8. Impai'idum.'] An intrepid man, ae- the same manner. Hi turn cesium illi

cording to the Stoics, was one, who might aperiel-ant, Heraikmqite et Patrem Libermrt %

at first be surprised at the dreadful noise of el cumPollucfCa^torcin^Knonumini eessuros

a hurricane or tempest, a peal of thunder, esse jactabant.

or the fury of an enraged populace, and 12. Purpureo 1-it-lt ore nectar.'] Some -

might even show this surprise in his counte- ditions have bibet, but l-iiit may be allowed ;

uauce; but who, after having calmed these and it seems to add a peculiar beauty to the

208

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. III.

Collo tralientes : hac Quirinus

Martis equis Acheronta fugk ;
Gratum elocuta consiliantibus
Junone Divis : Ilion, Ilion,
Fatalis incestusque judex,

Et nmlier peregrina vertit
In pulverem, ex quo destituit Deos
Mercede pacta Laomedon, mihi
Castaeque damnatum Minervfe,

Cum populo et duce fraudulento.
Jam nee Lacaente splendet adulterse
Famosus hospes ; nee Priami domus
Perjura pugnaces Acliivos

Heetoreis opibus refringit ;
Nostrisque ductum seditionibus
Bellum resedit. Protinus et graves
Iras, et invisum nepotem,

Troica quern peperit sacerdos,

ORDO.

hac Quirinus fugit Acheronta equis Martis ;

" Ilion inquam damnatum mihi castaeque Mi- " opibus ; bellumque, ductum nostris sediti-
" nervse cum populo et duce fraudulento, ex " onibus, resedit. Piotiuus redonabo Marti,

NOTES.

passage. For Augustus received divine ho-
nours, even during his life, as Horace writes,
Ode fifth, Prtesens^Divus halcbilur Augustus.
See Epistle 1. Book II. It is for the same
reason that he adds here, purpureo ore, to
denote that the statue of Augustus was already
placed with those of Hercules, Bacchus, and
Castor, and that they painted his statue
in the same manner as they painted the
figures of these deities.

15. Quirinus.'] Here we may properly
find the key to explain the whole ode. Ho-
race, to dissuade Augustus from transferring
the seat of the empire to Troy, presents to
him Romulus as the last example of con-
stancy. But he raises an opposition to his
deification, and it is Juno herself that forms
it. That goddess, says he, fearing that the
Romans, descended from Troy, might, some
time or other, dream of restoring to its for-
mer lustre an ancient city which she had
destroyed, will consent to the reception of
Romulus into heaven only upon this condi-
tion, that no mention shall ever be made of

rebuilding Troy. The poet could not Lave
devised a more artful way of delivering his
judgement, than by putting that into the
mouth of Juno, which no other person durst
have mentioned to the prince. This is an
admirable stroke of poetry and politics. It
is plainly telling Augustus, that he hazarded
nothing less than drawing upon himself the
hatred of Juno, who had established that
condition, and of the other gods who weie
the guarantees of it.

16. Martis equis Achcronla fitgit.] This
is both a great and a l>eautiful idea, as if no
sooner had Romulus disappeared, than his
father Mars took him to heaven in his cha-
riot. Ovid has the same thought in the se-
cond Book of his Fasti :

Fitfuga : Rex patriis astra petelat eyuis.

" The multitude dispersed on all hands :
" in the mean time Romulus was raised to
" heaven in his father's chariot."

ODE ill.

HORACE'S ODES.

209

their necks to the yoke of thy car, and wafted thee to heaven. In
fine, it was by this that our great founder Romulus escaped the in-
fernal regions*, with the assistance of the coursers of Mars, and was
exalted to the dignity of a god ; upon which Juno, in these agree-
able words, addressed the gods in full assembly : " Troy, detested
" Troy, lias been reduced to ashes for the crimes of a fatal and in-
" cestuous judge and of a foreign woman, being with its perfidious
" prince and people abandoned to chaste Minerva's fury and mine,
" ever since Laomedon defrauded the gods of the recompense he
" promised them. The sight of that infamous guest of the Lacede-
" monian adulteress now no more offends mine eyes; nor can
" Priam's perjured house any more oppose my warlike Greeks by
" Hector's valour: and the WAT, for many years prolonged by our
" dissensions, is now at an end. From this time then I lay aside
" my just resentment, and restore to Mars his son Romulus, once

* Acheron.

NOTES.

IS. Ilion, Rion.'] The repetition
marks strongly Juno's hatred of this city,
and the joy she felt at having destroyed it.
The citadel was at the foot of mount Ida ; it
derived its name from king Ilus, who either
built or fortified it.

19. Fatalis bicestusque judex."] The his-
tory of Paris is well known. That prince
drew upon himself the resentment of Juno
and Pal!as,by the judgement lie gave in favour
of Venus, to the disadvantage of those two
goddesses. Juno avoids naming him out of
contempt, as if his name would have defiled
her discourse.

20. Mnlier peregrina.] Helen. Juno
avoids naming her also. She only calls her a
foreign woman, to denote the greater cun-
tempt.

21. Ex quo dcstituit Deos.] The ancients
have related th.it Neptune and Apollo assist-
ed in building the walls of Troy, upon a pro-
mise from Laornedon of a reward for their
labour, which, after they had finished the
work, he refused to give. The true history
which lies hidden under this fable is as fol-
lows. Laomedon wanting money to carry on
the building of the walls of Troy which he
had begun, took the treasures out of the
temples of Apollo and Neptune, and engaged
himself by a vow to restore them after the
walls were finished. Bnt afterwards not find-
ing it convenient to fulfill his vow, he neg-
lected to restore to the gods the treasures
that belonged to them, and was thus guilty
both of perjury and sacrilege.

VOL.- I.

2-2. Miki railecqite damnatum Minerva/."]
Commentators have not understood the force
of this expression when they imagined, that
damnatum rnitn signified the same withrfam-
nafum a me. Nothing can be conceived
more unreasonable. Horace tells us, that we
ought to consider Troy as overthrown and
sacked from the very time that Laomedon
deceived the gods : for from that moment it
was adjudged to Juno and Minerva, and a-
bandoned to their fury; that is, the gods at
that time resolved, that Juno ar.d Minerva,
enraged at the affronts which Paris had of-
fered to their beauty, should one day be tbft
principal cause of the ruin of that city.

28. Hcctoreis ojrikus] Juno here makes
particular mention of the valour of Hector,
because it was he alone that disputed so long
the victory with the Grecians.

29. Nbstrisque ductnm stditionilnisJ] The
Trojan war was very much prolonged by the
seditions of the gods: for Apollo, Mars,
Latona, Diana, and Venus, favoured the
Trojans, while Neptune, Minerva, Juno,
Mercury, and Vulcan, promoted the interest
of the Greeks.

30. Proliuus ct graves.] The twelve fore-
going verses are, as it were^the exordium of's.
Juno's speech; this is the proposition, which
includes at the same time the unraveling of
the whole piece. After having vindicated
her resentment against the Trojans, the god-
dess declares she is willing to lay it aside*
and receive into favour the posterity of that
hated people, and consent to the reception

210

Q. HORATII CARM1NA.

LIB. III.

Marti redonabo. Ilium ego lucidas
laire sedes, ducere nectaris
Succcs, et ascribi quietis

Ordinibus patiar Deorum,
Dum longus inter saeviat llion
Komamque pontus. Qualibet exsules
In parte regnanto beati,

Dum Priami Paridisque busto
Insultet armentum, et catulos ferte
Celent inultae ; stet Capitolium
Fulgens, triumphatisque possit
Roma ferox dare jura Medis.
Horrenda late nomen in ultimas
Extendat oras, qua medius liquor
Secernit Europen ab Afro,

Qua tumidus rigat arva Nilus;
Aurum irrepertum (et sic melius situm,
Cum terra celat) spernere fortior,
Quam cogere humanos in usus,

Omne sacrum rapiente dextra.
Quicunque mundi terminus obstitit,
Hunc tangat armis, visere gestiens
Qua parte debacclientur ignes,
Qua nebulae pluviique rores.

ORDO.

" es graves meas iras, et invisum nepotera, . '
quern Troica saeerdos peperit. Ego patiar '
ilium mire lucidas sedes, ducere succos nec-
taris, et adscribi quietis ordinibusDeorcm,
dum longus pontus steviat inter llion Ro-
rnamque. Exsules regnanto beati in quali-
bet parte, dum armentum insultet busto
Priami Paridisque, et fene Hi. celent suos
catulos inultae ; Capitolium stet fulgens,
Romaque ferox possit dare jura triumpha-

tis Medis. Ilia hofrenda fete extendat
suum nomen in ultimas oras, qua medius
liquor secernit Europen ab Afro, qua tu-
midus Nilus rigat arva; fortior spernere
aurum irrepertum, (et sic melius situm,
cum terra celat) quam cogere in humanos
usus, dextra rapiente omne sacrum. Qui-
cunque terminus mundi obstitit ei, tangat
hunc armis, gestiens visere, qua parte
ignes, qua nebula pluviique rores debas-

NOTES.

of Romulus into heaven, provided they never her Ilia, others Rhea Sylvia; she was superior

dream of restoring Troy to its former glory of the Vestal virgins.

and lustre. There is scarcely a phrase in the 37. Dum Icnigtis inter.] This is the whole

whole ode, frc-un which Augustus may not design of the piece : therefore the poet makes

draw this hint. Juno repeat it very often.

32. Troica qnem pf peril saeerdos.'] This 38. QudHl-et exsules] The queen of the

verse gives a reason for the word invisum, gods, in token of hex reconciliation, begins

used in the preceding. Juno calls Romulus to foretell some of the most flourishing ages

the son cf the Trojan priestess, to reproach of the Roman empire ; but at the same time

him with hi* base and criminal birth. This reiterates the demand expressed a few lines

priesU-ss was the daughter of Numitor, one before, as if all their glory depended upon

>..:'mhnt c . : orae name their compliaucc witt that condition. Ail

ODE III. HORACE'S ODES. 211

tl the object of my hatred, because bom of a Trojan priestess. I
" allow him admittance into these bright regions, to drink the juice
" of nectar, and have a place among the gods, where nothing can
" molest him, provided Rome be ever disjoined from Troy by a
" wide stormy sea. Let these exiles go and live happily in any
tf other country whatever, provided cattle ever insult the tombs of
" Priam and Paris, and the wild beasts conceal their young there
" unmolested. / consent that the Capitol may continue in all its
" glory, and that invincible Rome may give laws to the conquered
" Medes; that her name may carry terror to the utmost parts of the
" earth, even beyond the seas that separate Europe from Africa, and
" to those lands which the Nile waters by overflowing its banks ;
" that she may become more virtuous, and despise gold never
" designed for men*, and therefore hidden in the bowels of the
" earthf, rather than apply what is sacred to human use with a sa-
K crilegious hand. In fine, if any corner of the earth should refuse
" to submit to her obedience, to reduce it let her merely show her
" arms before itj, and make it her diversion to conquer that part of
" the earth burned up by the sultry heat of the sun, that darkened
" with clouds, or that overflowed with constant rains. But I pro-

* Not found. (- And so better placed as the earth hides it.

Touch it with her arms.

NOTES.

this appears to me so sublime, thut I ques- 46. Qua medius liquor.] Liquor and hu-

tion whether the marvellous in poetry can go mor, though they seem to be words that

beyond it. Here the poet rises to the highest agree only 40 small collections of water, yet

pitch. when used by poets* give a great deal of

39. Rcgnanto] Is a word which marks strength and nobleness to the expression,

the authority of the person who speaks. She whence they are often made to stand for the

is about to pronounce oracles, and declare to ocean itself,

the universe the destiny of Rome. 48. Qua turnidus rigat arva Nilus."] The

41. Fene.] What impression must this Nile annually overflows vEgypt, and thereby
make upon the mind of a prince, who was renders the ground fertile, and fit to receive
capable of discerning better than any other the seed that is to be thrown into it. Upoa
person, the sense contained under this fiction! this account Horace calls it tumidus.

42. Capititlntm.'] This was a fortress 49. durum inrepertum (el sic melius xitum,]
built upon mount Tarpeius. Beside a great Juno here praises, in a very noble and hand-
number of edifices that were raised on this some manner, the virtue of the ancient Ro-
mountain, there were especially several tern- mans, who preferred poverty to all the riches
pies, among which the most famous was that of the world. He means by aurum irreper-
dedicated to Jupiter, under the title of Jupi- turn, not gold wholly undiscovered ; for where
ter Optimus Maximus. is the virtue of despising what we know no-

45. Hurrenda late.] It is impossible to thing of? but gold which was never designed

praise or admire too much these four verses, for the use of man from the beginning, and

Jstud dc Roma ([ids satis pro dignitate lauda- which remained undiscovered for several a-es

verit ? says M. Le Fevre. Harrenda is a and was at last brought into use only by ava-

wofd full of dignity ; for horror signifies pro- rice.

perly those sentiments of fear and respect 53. Quicurifjiie mundi terminus olntitit.l

which we have for the gods. These four verses are admirable : Quh k<ec

P'.'

HORAT1I CARMINA.

LIB. III.

Sed bellicosis fata Quiritibus
Hac lege dico, ne nimium pii,
Rebusque fidentes, avitss

Tecta velint reparare Trojae. 60

Trojae renascens alite lugubri
Fortuna tristi clade iterabitur,
Ducente victrices catervas

Conjuge me Jovis et sorore.

Ter si resurgat murus aheneus, 65

Auctore Phoebo ; ter pereat meis
Excisus Argivis ; ter uxor

Capta virum puerosque ploret.
Non baec joeosae conveniunt lyrae.

Quo, Musa, tendis ? desine pervicax 7^

Referre serrnqnes Deorum, et
Magna modis tenuare parvis.

ORDO.

" ehentur. Sed dico fata bellicosis Quiriti- " auctore Phcebo ; ter pereat excisus meis

" bus hac lege, ne nimium pii, fidentesque " Argivis ; uxor capta ter ploret suum virum

" svis rebus, velint reparare tecta avitse " puerosque."

" Trojae. Fortuna enim Trojae, renascens Haec autem non conveniunt JOCOSE lyrse.

*' lugubri alite, iterabitur clade tristi, me Musa, quo tendis ? desine pervicax referre

" conjuge et sorore Jovis ducente victrices sermones Deorum, ct tenuare magna parvif

" catervas. Si murus aheneus ter resurgat, modis.

NOTES.

Ifgerit nisi admirations defirus ? says M. Le
Fevre. By mundi terminus, the poet refers
particularly to the poles.

55. Qua parte del-acchentur ignesl] These
two lines are incomparable. Horace here
takes in three parts of the world, which were
almost unknown to the ancients, because they

delacclientur ignes : this serves to exprew
the torrid zone ; Qua. nebula pluviique rorcs,
to express the two frigid zones.

68. Ne nimium pii.] We have here ex-
pressed the principal motives which might in-
duce Augustus to think of transferring the
capital of the empire to Troy, pietas et re-

believed them uninhabitable. Qwi parte mm canfidcntia. The Caesars gave out that

ODE III. HORACE'S ODES. 213

" nounce these decrees to the warlike Romans on this condition,
" that, from an excess of piety and trusting too much to their good
" success, they never presume to rebuild Troy, where their ances-
'* tors once reigned; but, if they should, it will be under disastrous
" auspices, and Troy will be again plunged into its former calami-
" ties ; for I myself will head my invincible troops and lead them
" against it, I who am the wife and sister of Jupiter. Even if it
" should be thrice fortified by a brazen wall under the direction of
" Apollo himself, thrice should that wall be razed to the ground by
" my irresistible Greeks ; thrice should the captive Trojan ladies
" lament the loss of their husbands and children."

But hold, my muse, whither do you soar ? These subjects are
too sublime fora sportive lyre ; forbear thinking that you are quali-
fied to rehearse the eloquence of the gods, nor dare by your low
strains to debase the majesty of so grand a subject.

NOTES.

they were descended from jEneas. The regard lucky auspices. See the remarks on that

we naturally have for our ancestors, joined to ode.

the flattering idea of an ancient origin, might 69. 'Nan heec jocosa conveniunt lyree.]
serve very much to increase that prince's ve- Horace could not push this matter any far-
neration for Troy, pietas. The situation of ther, without speaking in a manner too open
affairs at that time gave him a better oppor- and undisguised. This is the reason why
tunity of executing such a resolution than he quits it, under a pretence that his verses
ever had offered before. His power was were not equal to the greatness of the sub-
raised to the highest pitch. The civil wars ject; but we see clearly that this is only a
were terminated about nine years before. He counterfeit modesty. Horace knew very well
had twice shut the temple of Janus in that that h'.s verses were noble, sublime, and wor-
interval, and he had moreover entered the thy ot-the attention of the gods ; nor has he
east with two very numerous and powerful scrupled to tell us as much himself. It was
armies : one headed by himself was in Syria, not therefore out of fear of displeasing the
and the other advanced towards Asia Minor gods that he has left this ode imperfect ; but
under the conduct of Tiberius. . from a fear of Augustus, whose anger he

6 1 . Alite htgubri.'] Ales lugubris is the dreaded a* much as that of the gods,
same with mala avis, Ode 15. Book 1., un-

214 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. Ul,

ODE IV.

This again is one of Horace's beautiful odes, and is consecrated wholly to piety
and religion. The first part of it demonstrates the happiness of those who
are submissive to the gods ; and the last, the rigorous punishments of such
as neglect and contemn them. Some modern critics, who find so many
digressions in the odes of Horace, will be surprised to see, that, in a piece of

AD CALL10PEN.

DESCENDS coelo, et die age tibia

Regina longum Calliope rnelos,

Seu voce nunc mavis acutfi,

Sen fidibus, citharave Phoebi.

Amlitis ? an me ludit amabilis 5

Insania? aud;re, et videor pios
Errare per lucos, amcenae

Quos et aquae subeunt, et aurte.
Me fabulosae Vulture in Appulo,

Altricis extra limen Apulise, 10

Ludo fatigatumque somno,
Fronde nova pucrum palumbes

ORDO.

O regina Calliope, descencle coelo, et age per pios lucos, quos et amcenae aquoe et auree

die longum melos tibia, sen mint- mavis voce subtuiit.
acuta, sen fidibus eitharave Phcebi. Fabulosap palumbes texere nova froncle me

Auditis ? an amabilis insania ludit me ? puerum fatigatum ludo somnoque in Vulture

Videor audire Calliuprn, et errare cum ilia Appulo, extra limen altricis Apulia ; quod

NOTES.

1. Dcsccnde rn>Zf>.] As Hor.ice in this ticular manner, the invention of poetry,

ode was about to handle a pious and religious 5. jtnabHis vuama^\ If portry be aspe-

subjeet, he begins by imoking his muse, cies of madness, it must be allowed to be the

1 liis was the most proper way to excite the most pleasant kind of madness in the world,

attention of his readers, who, after so solemn Horace is not the only person who has fallen

an introduction, would naturallv expect that into this way of thinking : a celebrated poet

something of moment was to follow. For of our own time has expressed himself in

the same reason, he desires her to descend much the same manner:
from heaven, and addresses her under the title

of queen. All his expressions on this occasion Great iviia to madness nearly ire allied,

are founded on ancient mythology. Cal- And thin partitions do their bounds divide.
Hope v.-as regarded as the queen of the mu?es,

she being the oldest of them all, according 9. Meful-ulos<f.~\ Horace, after having

to Hesiod ; to whom was attributed, in a par- demanded of his friends whether the objects

ElV. HORACE'S ODES. 215

ODE IV.

such length, not one sentence has escaped him but what has some relation
to his subject. He has handled it with so much art and dexterity, as to find
the means of fixing the attention of the reader in proportion as he advances.
The nobleness of the design is equaled by the beauty of the style and versifi-
cation, where every thing is set off with all the ornaments of poetry.

TO CALLIOPE.

DIVINE Calliope, queen ofllie muses, quit for a moment the ce-
lestial mansions, come, sing some sublime air with your enchanting
voice, or play it-, if you please, on your flute or lyre, or Apollo's har-
monious lute. Do not ye hear, my friends^ or is it an agree-
able delusion that imposes on my senses? I certainly hear the
goddess, and think I walk with her in these charming sacred groves
fanned by the refreshing Zephyrs, and where the purling streams
make an agreeable murmur. Formerly I felt the good effects of her
protection ; for, when 1 was a boy, fatigued with diverting myself
on mount Vultur, on that side of it which is beyond the limits of
Apulia my native country, being overtaken with sleep, the pigeons,
of which they tell so many strange things, covered me with verdant
leaves. The people who inhabit the top of lofty Acherontia, the

NOTES.

which his imagination presented to him were lia ? To solve this difficulty, some 'have

real, or only pleasant reveries, endeavours to given it as their opinion, that Apulia here is

persuade them that they were real, by the not the name of a province, but of a woman,

miracles which the muses had wrought for and that Horace's nurse was so called. But

him while he was yet an infant. Upon this this is altogether without foundation. The

he begins to recount all the favours he had following explication seems more reasonable,

received from them, and is led insensibly to Vultur was situated upon the frontiers of

speak of the pardon which by their means he Apulia and Lucania, in such a manner, tha.t

had obtained. it might be called - indifferently Mons Luca-

9. failure in Appulo, extra limen 4pu* nus or Appulus. The one half of it was in

lia."] Commentators are much embarrassed Apulia, the other in Lucania. It is for the

to think how Horace, after having called same reason that Horace, who was of Venu-

Viiltur a mountain of Apulia, Culture in slum, tells us, Book J2d, Sat. 1. that it was

dppulo, should immediately add that it was doubtful whether he WU born in Lucania or

cjtra iuncn Apulite ; for if it be without Apulia, because Venusium wassituated on the

the limits of Apulia, how can it be in Apu- frontiers of these two provinces :

216 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. HI.

Texere ; minim quod foret omnibus,
Quicunque celsae nidum Acherontife,

Saltusque Bantinos, et arvum 1.5

Pingue tenant humilis Ferenti ;
Ut tuto ab atris corpore viperis
Dormirem et ursis ; ut premcrer sacra
Lauroque, collataque myrto,

Non sine Dls animosus infans. 20

Vester, Camenae, vester in arduos
Tollor Sabinos, seu mi hi i'rigidum
Prsenestc, seu Tibur supinum,
Seu liquidae placuere Baiae.

Vestris amicum fontibus et choris, 25

Norume Philippis versa acies retro,
Devota non extinxit arbos,

Nee Sicula Palinurus unda.
Utcunque mecuni vos eritis, libens

Insanientem navita Bosporum 30

Tentabo, et urentes arenas

Litoris Assyrii viator.
Visam Britannos hospitibus feros,
Et IfEtum equjno sanguine Concanum ;

Visam pharetratos Gelonos, 35

Et Scythieum inviolatus amnem.
Vos Ceesarem altum, militia simul
Fessas eohortes abdidit oppidis,

O R D O.

foret minim omnibus, quicunque (enent ni- amicum vestris fontibus et choris, devota ar-
dum celsee Acherontiae saltusque Bantinos, bos non extinxit me, nee Palimims in Sicula
etpingue arvum humilis Ferenti; uttgfiatr unda. Utcunque vos eritis mecum, ego na-
mirem corpore tuto ab atris viperis et ursis,' vita libens tentabo insanientem JBcfepornm,
utque premerer sacra lauro, collataque myrto, et viator taitaio tirentes aienas litoris As-
infans animosus non sine Diis. syrii ; visam Britanuos feros hospitibus, et

O Camenae, vester, vester sum, seu tollor Concanum laetum sanguine equino ; inviola-
in arduos Sabinos, seu frig'uhnn Priieneste, tus visam Gelonos pharetratos, et Scythieum
seu Tibur supinum, seu liquicke Baku p!a- ainnem.

cuere mihi. Vos ctiam, Musae, recrcatis antro Pierio

Acies versa retro Philippis non extinxit me altumCaesaiem quuerentem fiiiirc laboi es,siriuil

NOTES.

Lucamis an Jlppulus anceps, btdo et somno can never signify, fatigued after

Nam Venusinus aratfuiem sul- utmrrque co- play a;id sleep, l>ut fatigued "with play and 4

lonus, desire of sleep; for romm/s is equivalent to
The same thing may be said of Vultnr, our sleepiness, and fatigatii* somno, is the
which was very near Venusium ; so that we same as, oppressed with drowsiness. The ex-
may easily suppose this happened to Horace pression is copied from Homer, Book 11. of
when he was upon Vultur, a mountain of the Iliad, wheie Agamemnon says to Nesior,
Apulia> reposing himself on that side of it Let us go and visit the guards, to see whe-
which was towards Lucania, and without the ther, overcome with fatigue and watchful-
limits of Apulia. ness, they have rot fallen asleep.

11. Ludofatigatumque somno.] Fatigatus

ODE IV. HORACE'S ODES. 217

Bantine forests, and the fruitful valleys of Ferentum, were filled with
astonishment, to see me sleep secure amidst poisonous vipers and
wild bears, and covered with sacred laurels interwoven with myr-
tles ; nor could they imagine how a boy could have so much cou-
rage, if not from the gods. Divine muses, whether I go to the
high Sabine mountains, to cool Preneste. to Tivoli, situate on the
declivity of a hill, or Buiae celebrated- for its fine waters, I am still
under your care and protection. It is owing to the great regard 1
have for your sacred fountains and agreeable concerts, that I es-
caped in safety when we were routed at Philippi,that I was not crush-
ed to pieces by the fall of a cursed tree, nor swallowed up by the Si-
cilian waves near Cape Palimmis. So long as I am favoured with
your protection, I can cheerfully brave the raging Bosporus, and
travel over the scorching sands of the Assyrian shore. I can ha-
zard myself among the inhospitable Britons, and the savage Scy-
thians, who take great pleasure in drinking the blood of horses. I
can visit the Geloni, who go always armed with a quiver, and can
with safety cross the Caspian sea *. Ye refreshed the great Au-
gustus, who has been always your care, in your Pierian cave, when,
desirous of terminating his conquests, he put his troops into garri-
sons fatigued with so many battles. Ye, great goddesses, inspired

* Scythian river. See note on ver. 36.

NOTES.

1 4 . Celsts nidum Acherontice^\ Acherontia manner in his preservation ; his escape at
was a city bordering upon Venusium in the the battle of Philippi^Jiis narrow delivery
confines of Lucania and Apulia. Horace from being crushed to pieces by the fall of
here uses the word nidum, because it was a tree, and his preservation from shipwreck,
situated on the top of a rock, in the same 28. Nee Simla Palinurus unda.] When
manner as Ithaca, of which Cicero, in his Horace returned into Italy, after the battle
first Book de Oratore, says : Tanta vis pa- of Philippi, the ship in which he was carried-
trite est, ut Ithacamillam in asperrimis saxu- was roughly handled by a tempest not far
Us, tanquam nidulum, affuram, sapientissi- from Cape Palinurus.

mus vir immortalitati anteponerel. " So 34. Leelum equino sanguine Concanum^]

" strong is the love of our country, that the Ptolemy makes mention of a city in Spain

" wisest of all the Greeks preferred his called Concana. But Torrentius thinks, with

" Ithaca, a petty place, hing among bar- greater appearance of probability, that by

" ren rocks, to immortality." Concanum Horace understands some peo-

15. Salt usque Bantinos.~\ Bantia was a pie of Scythia, as the Bisaltes, whom Vir-
city on a line with Acheiontia, whence some gil joins with the Geloni, of whom he says,
have attributed it to Apulia, others to

Lucania. Ferentum was a neighbouring Et lac concretum cum sanguine potat equino,
city.

22. Frigidum Pmmeste.] Horace here The inhabitants of Little Tartarv, at this

gives Prceneste. the epithet otfrigidum, be- dtiy, do the same thing,
cause it was built on a mountain in Latium, 36. Scythicum amnemJ] Many com-

about eighteen miles distant from Rome, memators explain this of the Tanais- but

Virgil calls it altum Prameste. it is most probable, that Horace here speaks

26. Non me Philippis.] Horace here re- of the Hyrcanian or Caspian sea, which

counts three facts to demonstrate that the is also sometimes called Scythici/s sinus,

gods interested themselves in a particular the Scythian sea, the Romans usin- the

Q. HORATI1 CARMINA.

LIB. III.

Finire quaer^ntem laborcs,

Picrio recreatis aijtro.
Vos lene cousiliinn et datis, et dato
Gaiidetis alma?. Scirnus ut impios
Titanas, immancmque turmam,

Fulmine sustulerit caduco,
Qm terra m inertcm, qui mare temperat
Ventosum, et urbes, regnaque iristia,
Divosque, mortalesque turbas,

Imperio regit unus sequo.
Magnum ilia tc-rrorem intulerat Jovi
Fidens juventus horrida brachiis,
Fratresque tendentcs opaco

Pelion imposuisse Olympo.
Sed quid Typhceus, et validus Mimas,
Aut quid minaci Porpliyrion statu,
Quid Rhoecus, evulsisque truncis
Enceladus jaculator audax,

ORDO.

oppidis cohortes fessos militia. Vos tanas, immanemque turmam.
t datis ci lee consilium, ct alma; gaudetis Horrida ilia juventus, fidens brachiis, in-

mnsilio dato. tuleral magnum terrorem Jovi, fratresque ten-

Scimus ut Hie qui temperat terrain inertem, denies imposuisse Pelion opaco Olympo, in-

qui temperat mare vcntosum et urbes regna- tv.lerant magnum terrorem Jovi. Sed quid

Eie tristia, quique unus regit imperio aequo possent Typhceus et validus Mimas, aut quid

ivesque, mortalesque turbas; 'ut ille, iti- rorphyrion minaci statu, quid Rhoecus Ence-

, sustulerit caduco fulmine impios Ti- ladusque audax jaculator, evulsis tiuncis,

NOTES.

word amnis with the same latitude as the
Creeks did 7roT<tfx.e?, to express the sea.

37. Vos Ctesarem.] Horace here fixes him-
self in a more particular manner to his sub-
ject, and after having thanked the muses for
the eare they had taken of him, and pro-
fessed his entire confidence in their protec-
tion, he explains what he had before said :

Non me Pliilippis versa acies retro :

and 1 lets us see in what manner they procured
Mm. the pardon which he obtained from
Augustus.

S8. Fcsfas cbharles abdidit oppidis.] Tor-
rcntius is of opinion that Horace speaks here
of the time when Augustus, after having

E'ut an end to the civil wars, distributed
is veteran soldiers into colonies, and had
5C-rae thoughts of resigning the government,
shat he might pass his latter days in qxiiet
*ml peace. But, besides that this ode was

written several years after the time referred
to by this conjecture, it is evident that Ho-
race speaks here of the custom which Au-
gustus always followed, of applying to study
and poetry, after he had put his troops into
winter-quarters.

40. Pierio recrea/is antro."] In the Pierian
cave, that is, in the cave of the muses,
which was in Macedonia. Augustus was a
man of great learning, and had made a
considerable proficiency in the study both of
the Greek and Latin rhetoric. He was
deeply skilled in philosophy ; and so great
was his passion for letters, that at -table he
always discoursed on some subject that had a
relation to learning. He was a great lover
and encourager or poetry, and was him-
self the author of several poetical works,
which are particularly mentioned by Sueto-
nius. There is still extant in Suetonius a
fragment of one of his letters to Tiberius, ir.
which lie strongly expresses his fondness for

ODE IV.

HORACE'S ODES.

219

your royal pupil with sentiments of clemency and moderation, of
which ye see the Jiappy fruits with great pleasure. We still re-
member how Jupiter, who supports the inactive earth, who rules the
raging sea, cities, and the dreary infernal realms, and who alone
governs with just sway both gods and men, ro.ited the frightful
troops of impious Titans with his tremendous thunder. This mon-
strous race, trusting to the great number and strength of their arms,
and attempting to roll mount Pelion on shady Olympus, gave great
alarm to Jove. But what efforts could Typhceus, stout Mimas, the gi-
gantic Porphyrion, brave Rhoecus, or boldEnceladus, with the trunks

NOTES.

the muses, and which shows the justness of
this sentiment of Horace.

41. Pea lene cont&vm.] This passage is
extremely beautiful. Horace says, .that the
routes inspired Augustus with sentiments of
sweetness and moderation. Suetonius, speak-
ing of him, says : dementias civiUUitisqiie
ejus multaetmagnadicume/itasunt. He par-
doned Quintus Gailus, convicted of having a
design upon his life, opposed for three days
the edict of proscription, and rescued several
of his enemies from the fury of his colleagues.
He received Messala into favour, and made him
augur and lieutenant to Agrippa in the war
of Sicily. He showed yet a greater regard
to Antonius lulus, son of the triumvir :
not content with honouring him with the
offices of priest, praetor, and consul, he
received him into an alliance with himself,
by making him espouse Maicella, one of the
daughters of his sister Octavia. In fine,
VelleiiB Paterculus says of him, that he
never put to death any of those who had taken
up arms against him : Fuit etfortuna ct de-
mentia Claris dignum, quod nemo ex his
q:ii centra eum or ma tulerunt, ab cojussiive
ejus inleremptus.

42. Scimus ut impios Titanas.'] Although
commentators have been of opinion that
Horace here observes no connexion, yft if
we consider the matter thoroughly, we shall
find that there is a very manifest one. The
poet would have us believe, that the cle-
mency which Augustus showed to those who
had taken up arms against him, proceeded
entirely from his affection for the muses,
and not from any inability to punish his
enemies, if he had been inclined so to do ;
as if he had sirid : " Yes, powerful deities,
" it is you without doubt who have inspired
" Augustus with this clemency; for had he
" Ucen willing to arm all his forces against
<( them, it had been impossible for his ene-

" mies to resist him. We have not as yet
" forgotten that dreadful encounter in\which
" the Titans were overthrown by his tre-
" rnerxlous thunder." By the Titans he
understands manifestly the troops of Brutus
and Cassius, and by Jupiter who overthrew
them, Augustus. The passage is exceed-
ingly beautiful, the connexion evident, and
the address of Horace incomparable.

48. Imperio regit umis tequo.] This pas-
sage is singular, and furnishes us with a very
important and edifying remark. According
to the heathen theology, there were three
gods equal in dignity, who respectively pos-
sessed their proper territory, over which they
reigned as sovereigns, and which had fallen to
them by lot. The empire of the sea fell to
the share of Neptune ; that of hell to Pluto ;
Jupiter exercised his dominion throughout
the vast extent of heaven, the clouds, and
regions of air. The earth and Olympus were
in common. This is the opinion explained
at large in the 15th Book of the Iliad.
Horace here declares against this senseless
theology, and openly refutes it. He ac-
knowledges that there is but one God, sove-
reign Lord of the universe, who rules with
equity and justice. He governs this earth,
cities and nations, terram inertem et itrtes.
He exercises dominion over the sea, mare
temperat ventosum. His power extends to
hell, regnaque tristia. And, in fine, he reigns
superior of gods and men, Divosque morta-
Icaqite turbas. Add to all this, that he reigns
alone, ' Unus. Horace, combating the vul-
gar theology, enters into the true'sentlment
of Homer, who has also acknowledged a
supreme God, governor of the world, and
sovereign of men and gods.

5-2. Pelion impftsuisse 0/ympo.'] Pelion
and Olympus are two mountains of Thessaly.
Apellodorus writes, that the Titans put Ossa
upon Olympus, and Pelion upon Oas*. Vlr-

220 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Contra sonantem Palladis aegida
Possent ruentes ? Hinc avidus stetit
Vulcanus, hinc matrona Juno, et

Nunquam humcris poshurus arcum, 63

Qui rore puro Castaliae lavit
Crines solutos, qui Lyciae tenet
Dumeta, natalemque sylvam,
Delius et Patareus Apollo.

Vis consill expers mole ruit sua : 55

Vim temperatam D'i quoque provehunt

In majus : iidem odere vires
Ls Omne nefas animo moventes.
^Testis meanim centimanus Gyas

Sententiarum nottis, et integrae fQ

Tentator Orion Dianae,

Virginea domitus sagitta.
Injecta monstris Terra dolet suis ;
Moeretque partus fulmine luridum

Missos ad Orcum ; nee peredit 75

Impositaiu celer ignis /Etnam ;
Incontinentis nee Tityi jecur
Reliuquit ales, nequitiae additus

OEDO.

ricntes contra sonantem aegida FaTUdis ? iidem odere viics moventes flmne nefas anlrao.

Hinc avidus Vulcanus su-tit ; hinc matrona Gyas centimanus fj/ notus testis sententi-

Jiino, et Delius Patareus Apollo, nunquam arum nicarum, et Orion tentator integrae

jositurus arcum ex humeris, qui lavit crines Dianae, domitus virginea sagitta. Terra in-

solutos puro rore Castaliae; qui tenet dumeta jccta suis monstris dolet; moeretque parnsa

lyciae natalemque sylvmra. /o.< misses fulmine ad luvidurn Orcum ; nee

Vis expers consilii ruit mole sua : Dii quo- celr-r ignis peredit /Etnam impositam; nee

que provehunt vim teniperatam in inajus, ales, additus custos nequitlae, relinquit jecur

NOTES.

giT, on the contrary says that they put Ossa against the giants, as it i* written by Apollo-
apon Pelion, and Olvmpus upon Ossa : dorus, who says, that Minerva, Juno, A-

pollo, and Vulcan, sided with Jupiter. But
stint corah i-nponerc Pcho OoBm J we w ht , M meang w ^^J the ad _

Qtx* frondosum i ress o t _

Uhjntpum. by to llndel , sland> tnat a ]j the p. ods f avoure d

ee the Prose Translation of Virgil, voL 1. the cause of Augustus in opposition to Bru-

Aj.l!odorus, in the account he gives, has tus and Cassius.

fcllo-.'.-(:i! Homer, who, according to Stra';o, 61. Castali<E.] This was a fountain of

S'ves the most natural description of the mount Parnassus, consecrated to the muses.

ing, b<?ra\ise Olympus, being the greatest, 65. Fis con-ill expers, &c.] Pewer and

ought to be the foundation and basis of the strensrth, according to the sentiment ot many,

Other two. give a weight to undertake every thing.

57. Contra fonantem Paliadis ajgida.~\ IIo- The giants experienced, that strength, de-

xace follows here the history of the war stitute of prudence, may well serve to in-

ODE IV.

HORACE'S ODES.

221

of trees which he threw entire, make against the impregnable * shield
of Pallas ? Vulcan supported the party of Jupiter with great ar-
dour, as did the great goddess Juno, and Delius Patareus Apollo, who
never appears without his bow on his shoulder, who often bathes
his flowing locks in pure Castalia's spring, and takes great pleasure
in Lycia's brakes and his native wood. Force, without conduct,
sinks under its own weight ; the gods promote it when regulated
with prudence, but detest it when it is used for the commission of the
most heinous crimes. Gyas, that giant with a hundred hands, is
a famous instance of this truth, as is also Orion, killed with an ar-
row by Diana, whose chastity he impiously attempted to violate.
The earth is grieved to depress, by her weight, these monsters her
sons; nor can she forbear lamenting the lot of her children that
were precipitated to hell by thunder ; and she sees, with sorrow, that
the fire, which gradually wastes mount yEtna, has not force enough
to consume it entirely. The voracious vulture, which Jupiter lias
fixed to the liver of unchaste Tityus, leaves not his prey for one mo-

* Sounding.
NOTES.

spire with temerity, but can never give as-
surance of the success of any enterprise ;
whereas force, when conducted by prudence,
generally renders those victorious who pos-
sess it.

7 1 . Tentator Orion.] Orion was the son of
Terra, or of Neptune and Euryale. Horace
says, that Diana killed him with her ar-
rows, because he attempted to ravish hrr.
Lucan writes, that she made use of a scor-
pion for this purpose. It is probable that
Lucan may have imagined this, because the
constellation Orion sets when Scorpio rises.

73. Injeda monstris Terra dalet suis.] Ho-
race here introduces the earth as a person
lamenting the overthrow of her own children,
and that she herself was become the princi-
pal instrument, because in this war of the
giants Minerva threw Sicily upon Encrla-
dus, Neptune cast a part of the isle of Cos
upon Polybates, and Othus was overwhelmed
by the isle of Crete. In a word, the anci-
ents believed that in all those places whence
fire and smoke issued, some giant was in
terred.

75. Nee pcrtdit imposifam.'] Mount jEtna
is not lessened or consumed by the fire it has
thrown out during so many ages ; by which
he would have us to understand, that Encela-
dus, who was buried under that mountain,
can obtain no respite from his torments. It
is plain that this fable of the war of the
gianti aud Titans against Jupiter* and of

their being precipitated into Tartarus, or an
abyss of sulphur and fire, is drawn from the
sacred writings, and is only a corruption of
the story of the fallen angels : for, according
to the remark of Bochart, Enceiadus is a
Phoenician word, signifying crooked, which
is an epithet of the serpent and Satan.
Briareus is equivalent to Belial in the,
Hebrew language, and Belial signifies pro-
perly a dragon or serpent ; Hesychius,

76. jElnam.] jEtna is a mountain of Si-
cily, terrible on account of the flames which
it vomits up. Horace, by thus showing the
continuation of the punishments inflicted
upon the giants, Titans, and others, shows
how dreadful a thing it w to draw down upon
ourselves the wrath of the gods.

77. IncontinentisnecTityijecuT.] Tityus,
attempting to ravish Latona, was slain by A-
pollo. Two vultures were said to be perpe-
tually gnawing his liver in hell. The an-
cients feigned this story with a design to re-
present, in the most lively manner, the tor-
ments occasioned by those passions which
have their se there. Lucretius, Book 3.

Sed Tityus r.obis hie at, in amore jactntem*
Quern vulucres laccrant, atque txtst anxius

angor,
Aut alia; qua*vis scindiuit torpednx atrtt.

" Tityus is lie whose heart n wounded

222 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. III.

Gustos : amatorem trecento

Pirithoum cohibent catenae. 80

ORDO.

Tityi incontineutis : trecentse catenae cohibent Pirithoum amatorem Proserpina;.

NOTES.

" by love, or tormented with groundless puts atst<>s for torlor, and ailditus for atijxi-

" apprehensions." situs, adfixus. We may further say, mat

78- Neq>iiti<e atMilus aistos.'] That is. Ad- ntqmtice is here substituted for homini ne-

ililur Tilyo custospropter nequitiam. The poet quam, as it is usual to s&yscelus for sceleratus.

ODE V.

Some are of opinion, that this ode was composed when Augustus formed
the first intention of carrying his arms into Britain, in the year of the city
719. Others think that it w:is not written before the Parthians had re-
stored to Augustus the ensigns taken in the battJe against Crassus. On this
supposition the design of Horace seems to have been, to praise Augustus

AUGUST! LAUDES.

CCELO tonantem credidimus Jovem
Regnare : pnesens Divus habebitur
Augustus, adjectis Britannis
Imperio, gravibusque Persis.

ORDO.

CrediJimus Jovem tonantem regnare ccelo : gravibusque Persis adjectis imperio. Mileinc
Augustus habebitur praesens Divus, Britannis

NOTES.

1. Cteln ttmantem rredidimus Jovem. ~] This flattered Alexander after the same manner
comparison between Jupiter and Augustus is when they said to him, Patrem Lil'erwn alqiie
exceedingly beautiful. The first, by his thuu- Heradem fama cognitos cste, ipsitm coram
der, convinces us that he is the sovereign of adesse cernique. " That they knew nothing
heaven; the second, by his -victories, makes " of Bacchus and Hercules but by common
it evident that he reigns supreme on earth. " fame; but, as for him, he was before

2. Prassens divvs~ halelit;ir.~\ Pr&sens \* " their eyes, and they rejoiced at his pre-
opposed to ccelo, as halwbitur to credidimus. " sence." In Horace's time, the most re-
\Ve believe that the one reigns supreme god fined flattery had been brought into use, and it
in heaven, and we see that the other rules as was no easy matter to say any thing- new in
agod on earth This is to celebrate Augustus that way. A king whom we see and comer?. 1
at the expense of Jupiter; a flattery but with, takes, without any difficulty, the
too common. The petty kings of "India place of a god, whom we do not see, m

ODE V.

HORACE'S ODES.

223

ment ; and Pirithous is still loaded with heavy chains, for presum-
ing to make his criminal addresses to Proserpine.

NOTES.

Horace himself has put sitperlia for superlus sens accompanied him toliell, to assist Him

in the ode, Oformosus ailhiic, c. in forcing thence Proserpine, of whom be

79. Amalorem trecenta Pirithoum.] The was enamoured: but Pluto, forewarned of

word amatorem makes all the beauty of their scheme, retained them prisoners, awl

these last two verses. That single epithet put them in chains. Theseus was afterwards

includes the whole history of this prince, delivered by Hercules.
He was the son of Ixion ; his friend The-

OD E V.

for having subdued the Britons and Parthians by the mere terror of his
arms. This he does with a great deal of art, by barely mentioning the
former, and insisting chiefly on the latter ; and raising the merit of the
emperor's success, by a lively and ingenious description of the advantage
which the same Parthians had over the Roman troops in the defeat of
Crassus.

THE PRAISES OF AUGUSTUS.

THE thunder which roars over our heads makes us firmly believe
that Jupiter reigns in heaven ; and the victories which Augustus
has obtained over the Britons and formidable Parthians, will
make that prince acknowledged as the sovereign of the whole

NOTES.

the soul of an interested adorer.

2. Habfbitur.'] The great difficulty of
this passage arises from the word habelitur ; -
for it is certain, that the Romans had paid
divine honours to Augustus before he thought
of making an expedition against Britain;
whence comes it then that Horace says, that
Augustus shall be esteemed a god, now he
had subdued the Britons and Parthians ? The
following observation, in my opinion, may
tend to solve this difficulty. Augustus would
not allow that they shoul'd raise temples to
his honour in Rome ; he permitted only that
they might be built in the provinces; but
upon this condition, that Rome should par-
take with him of that honour, and that
these temples were consecrated Romce et Au.-
gusto, Ii nulia previncia nisi communi suo

Rom&que nomine templa recepit, says Sueto-
nius, chapter 52. This was the expedietw:
which a false modesty made him devise, that
he might not lose the whole ; and that he
might, by degrees, arrive, at what was already
offered him, but what he durst not yet ac-
cept ; for he suffered a considerable interval
to elapse before he allowed temples to be
raised in honour of him at Perganyus ani
Nicomedia, as is related by Dio. I am of
opinion therefore, that by the word kabebitwr,
Horace alludes to this modesty of Augustas;
as if he had sai'd, Hitherto Augustus has re-
fused to be acknowledged a god at Rome ; bat
now, as he has added to his empire the Par-
thians and Britons, it will not be in hi*
power to hinder it. His divinity will b?
acknowledged through the whole empire.

224 Q. HORATII CARMINA.

Milesne Crassi conjuge barbarii
Turpis maritus vixit ? et hostium,
Proh curia inversique mores !

Consenuit soccrorum in armis
Sub rege Medo, Marsus et Appulus,
Anciliorum, nominis, et togae
Oblitus, seterngeque Vcstae,

Incolumi Jove et urbe Roma :
Hoc caverat mens provida Reguli
Dissentientis conditionibus
Fcedis, et exemplo trahenti

Pernicicm veniens in aevum,
Si non periret immiserabilis
Captiva pubes. Signa ego Punicis
Affix a delubris, et arm a

Militibus sine csede, dixit,
Derepla vidi : vidi ego civium
Retorta tergo brachia libero,

O R D 0.

Lit. III.
5

10
15
20

Crassi vixit turpis maritus cum conjuge bar- sentientis conditionibus foedis, et exemplo tra-
bara ? Et proh curia moresque inversi ! henti pernieiem in veniens aevum, si captiva

,
?jen Reguli caverat hoc, Rfguli,inquam, ciis-

NOTES.

Temples will be raised to him at Rome as well
as in the provinces, and the Romans will paj
him those divine honours in public, which
they already offer him in private.

3. Adjettis Britannia'] This expression
may admit two different interpretations.
The first is ; after Augustus shall have sub-
dued the Britons, and added them to his
empire; the other, Augustus having subdu-
ed the Britons, &c. This diversity is so con-
siderable, as entirely to change ihe face of the
ode, according as one or other of these two
senses may be fixed upon. In the first sense
il can only be taken as un indirect exhorta-
tion to Augustus, to excite him to under-
take a war against thesr- two nations ; ami in
the second it is an eulogium, a true pane-
gyric upon him for having already vanquished
them. Several commentators favour thf first
interpretation, bec-ause in the time of Horace
the Romans had not subdued Britain, but left

it to enjoy a profound peace, from the time
of Julius Cae5.nr to the emperor Claudius,
who was the first tliat triumphed over it. But
this argument is of no force ; for although,
in the urne of Horace, Augustus had not
triumphed over Britain, yet he was consi-
dered as the lord and conqueror of it, because
the people had sent to him to demand peace
by their ambassadors. This is an undeniable
truth founded upon a passage of Strabo, who
in his fourth Book siiys, " But in my time
' the principal rucn, having gained by their
' ambassadors and submission the fjriend-
' ship of Augustus, offered gifts in the
' capito!, and made the Romans masters
' of almost the whole island." This ac-
count of the matter is the more probable,
because Augustus had subdued the Par-
thians iir-arly in the tame manner.

9. Marsus et /Ipptiiu*.] The Marsi,
Apuh'ajis, aucl Samnites, were the flower of

ODEV. HORACE'S ODES. 225

earth. Did the Roman soldiers who fought under the conduct of
Crassus, blush to become the husbands of strange women ? Have
the Marsi and Apulians been ashamed to grow old in the service or!
their fathers-in-law, our enemies ? Where is now the grandeur of
the Roman senate ! What is become of the strict virtue of our an-
cestors ! W]iai ! while Rome and the Capitol continue in their
splendor, could they bear to live in subjection to- the king of the
Medes, forgetful of the sacred shields, of the Roman name and
habit, and of the eternal fire of Vesta? This the wise and brave
Regulus foresaw, and endeavoured to prevent, by refusing to submit
to the dishonourable terms offered him by the Carthaginians, or to
authorise by his example what would prove the ruin of the Roman
empire, if he did not suffer the cowardly youth taken prisoners by
the Carthaginians to perish, being unworthy of his* compassion.
" I have seen," said he to the senate, "the Roman standards hung up
" in the temples of Carthage ! I have seen the arms that our sol-
" diers allowed to be taken from them without losing one drop of.
(e blood in their defence ! I have seen our Roman citizens, once-

NOTES.

the Roman troops. He had before mention- from the first. They exactly fitted the el-

ed the Marsi, Book 2. Ode last, bow. by their figure, and were thence called

Ancilia, from "-yjtaiv, that part of the arm

Qui dissimidat metum between the wrist and the elbow, upon which

Mars.s cohorlis > they carried the Ancilia.

11. Mternteque Fcslie.] Ancient mytho-

in such a manner as shows that their courage logy acknowledges two goddesses of that

made them terrible to their enemies. nanve, the one the mother, the other the

10. Andliorum^} In the reign of Numa daughter of Saturn. The first was the same

a terrible pestilence spread itself over Italy, with the Earth, and is sometimes called Cy-

and at the same time made great havock in bele, and sometimes Pales; the second was

Rome. The citi/.ens being overwhelmed Fire. It is of this last that Horace speaks

with despair, Numa gave out that a brazen here. She had a temple at Rome : her

target had fallen into his Viands from heaven, priestesses were all under a vow to preserve

which, he was. assured by tlu.- nymph Egeria, their virginity, and were called Wstal vir-

with whom he had a conference, was sent for gins; they had the care of the sacred fire,

the cure and safety of the city ; and this was which they were obliged to keep perpetually

soon verified by the miraculous cessation of burning, to denote that Vesta vigilantly at-

the sickness. He was advised to make eleven tended to the preservation of the empire,

other targets, so like in their dimensions and 13. Hoc iai-erut.~\ Horace here celebrates

form to the original, that in case there should in a very noble manner the gallant behaviour

be a design of stealing it away, the true one of Attilius Regulus, who, being taken priao-

might not be distinguished or known from ner by the Carthaginians, was sent to Rome,

those which were counterfeited ; by which upon his parole, to treat of an exchange of

means it would be more difficult to defeat the prisoners. But knowing how disadvanta-

counsels of fate, in which it had been deter- geous this would be to th'eRomans.he earnestly

mined that, while this was preserved, the dissuaded the senate from it, and, with an

city should prove happy and victorious. This unparalleled greatness of soul, withstood the

difficult work was veiy happily executed by importunity of his nearest relatives, and re*-

one Veturius Mamurius, who made eleven turned to Carthage, though he was not igno-

others which Numa himself could not know rant of the tortures which awaited him.

Vpi.. I. Q

226

Q. HORAT1I GARMINA.

LIB. III.

Portasque non clausas, et arva
Marte coli populata nostro.
Auro repensus scilicet acrior
Miles redi bit? flagitio additis

Damnum. Neque amissos colorcs

Lana refert inedicata 1'uco ;
Nee vera virtu?, cum semel excidit,
Curat reponi doterioribus.
Si pugnat cxtricata densis

Cerva plagis, erit ille rortis,
Qtii perfidis se credidit hostibus ;
Et Marte Puenos proteret altero,
Qui lora restrictis lacertis

Sensit iuers, timuitque mortem.
Hie, unde vitam sumeret inscius,
Pacem duello miscuit : 6 pudor !
O niagna Carthago, probrosis
Altior Italiae ruinis !

OR DO.

" tasque non clawsas, et arva populata nostro
<f Marte coli. Allies scilicet repefisus anro
w redibit acrior ? Additis daronum flagitio.
** Neque lana medicata fuco refert colores a-
" missos; nee vera rirtus, cum semel exci-
" dit, curat reponi deterioribus. Si cerva ex-
" tricata densis plagis pugnat, ille erit eliam

" forlis, qni oredidit se Iiostibus perfidis ; et

" tarn, miscuit pacein due'le : O pudor ! O
" magna Carthago, altior probroiis mini*
" Italiae!"

NOTES.

1 B. Signa ezo Pt'wcis.'] Horace is here
in such a violent transport, that he suddenly
gtnps himself, and introduces Rcgulus as
speaking. Nothing adds a greater grace and
strength to poetry than transitions of this
kind, when made with judgement and pro-
priety. Horace, hy making Regulus liarangv.e
the fccnatc, and dissuade them from an
*xcl>ar!gc of ]i;i3O!!e;>, admaaUy preserves
the character of thr.t gr.i..t man, and gives a.
very instructive model 10 those v.-ho at this
day put spcc.-hcs into the moudis of die great
Bleu of antiquity.

:3-2. Erit- iUe fortis."] E^-wi before the
t'i.-ne of Rfgu'us, the Romans had declared
all those infamous who suffered themselves to
be taken prisoners with their amis in their
hands. Eutropius, Lib. II. Turn Romaiii
jusserunt canlivos omnex, qitos Pyrrhus rcd-
t!idcrat,infamcf, h(iitri,<;id se armis defender?
pvtuistent, nee ante ens ad vcterfm slatian ?<-
verli, quam nUorusn koitiifaoctisoru'm

retuli'smt. " Tlien the Romans decreed,
" tlidt the prisoners sent back by Pyrrhus
" should be declared Kifamous, because they.
" had sufFered themselves to be taken sword
" in hand; and that they should not be re-
" .stored to their former privileges, until they
" had slain those enemies who were so wefl
" known to them, and could produce the
" spoils which they had taken from thtu:."
Livy, speaking of those Romans who had
chosen rather to remain in the camp, and be
made prisoners, than follow the fortune of
their fcHow-soldiers who bravely attempted to
open a passage to themselves through the
army of their enemies, says in the same
o AS Horace d'jes, Nunc autem quern*
(ulm'i(li:m li; ''? Jidelesqtif (ham fortes n?
ipsi quidcm dixfririt) rires espe possunt f
" How is it possible that ihpse soldiers shoukL
" become good and raithrnl citizens ? For,
" as to bravery, they themselves cannot liave
" the confidence to lay claim to it."

ODE V. HORACE'S ODES. 227

K tenacious of th^ir liberty, loaded with chains, an 1 their hands

" tied fast behind them ! I have seen the gates of our enemies'

" cities open, and those fields cultivated, which our troops had laid

" waste. Our soldiers, when ransomed with money, will, no doubt,

" return more courageous : Not at all. Ye would only add a fruit-

" less expense to infamy. Wool, when once stained, can never

" recover its former colour and brightness; nor does true valour,

" when once foiled, care to be restored to Us former glory by

" cowards. You will as soon see a timorous hind that has escaped

" Tier toils, return and attack the huntsmen, as see a soldier become

" brave who has once surrendered himself a slave to his treacherous

" enemies : just so will the wretch who was afraid of death, and

" still carries the shameful marks of his chains in his arms, tread

11 on our enemies the Carthaginians in a second battle. This coward,

" not knowing how to save his life otherwise, shamefully asked

" quarter with his ar-ms in his hands*. What a reproach was this

" to Rome ! Wliat glory to Carthage ! O great Gmhage, who

" hast raised thy power on the disgraceful ruins of Italy !"

* Mixed peace with war.

NOTES.

37. Hie, ttnde vitamJ] This is a very man's station and condition in life. Of these

hitter invective against all those soldiers w,ho the chief was when he lost his liberty, toge-

yielded themselves to the enemy, as if they ther with his light of being a citizen. This

had not known that life was to be defended was properly the condition of those who were

by the sword, and not by prayers and entrea- taken by the enemy. Regulus, being in this

ties; not by a cowardly submission, but by a situation, was considered as diminuius cdpite;

brave resistance. he was no more a citizen, but a slave ; no

08. Pacern duello miscuif.'] Not observ- more a husband, because marriage was valid

ing the difference between these, they con- only between citizens; -he could not be said

founded them both ; for in the very field of to have any children, because the paternal

battle they threw away their arms, which authority was part of his right as a citizen;

ought to be laid aside only in time of peace, he had lost the dignity of senator, and it is

In the heat of the fight 'they wtf-.- inactive, for the same reason that he refuses to ac-

and surrendered themselves to the enemy at knowlege his wife and children ; all winch is

that very time when they ought to have made cle irly explained by a passage of Eutropius :

the stoutest resistance. Hie Rorham cum venisset, inductus in sena-

39 magua Carthago.} It is apiece turn, nihit quasi Roman/is egit, dwitque se
of great art in the poet, to make Regulus con- ex ilia die qua in poteslatem Aftorum re-
elude his speech with this strong and pathe- iiisset, Rnmanum esse desiisse : itacjtie et
tie apostrophe. uxi.rem e uimpkxu rernovit, et R-mtanis t-ua-

41. Ferfitr pndirae r<mjugis.~\ The poet sit ne pax Pcenis fieret. " After he arrived

here resumes the discourse ; but in order " at Rome, arid was introduced to the e-

' rightly to comprehend his meaning in these " nate, he did not consider himself as a Rft-

four li: es, it will be nece: s:ny to remark, ". man, but declared, that from the day of

that by Canilis dimimttio the Romans un- " his being taken by the Carthaginians, he

derstood any considerable alteration in a " had ceased to be a citizen ; upon that ac-

Q a

223

Q. HtORATII CARMINA.

LIB. III.

Fertur pudioe conjugis osculum,
Parvosque natos, ut capitis minor,
A se reraovisse, et virilem

Torvus humi posuisse vultum;
Donee labantes consilio Patres
Firmaret auctor nunquam alias dato,
Interque moerentes amicos

Egregius properaret exsul.
Atqui sciebat quae sibi barbarus
Tortor pararet : non aliter tamen
Dimovit obstantes propinquos,

Et populum reditus morantem,
Quam si clientum longa negotia,
Dijudicata lite, relinqueret,
Tendens Venafranos in agros,
Aut Lacedfemonium Tarentum.

ORDO.

Regidus, ut minor capitis, fertur removisse a Atqui sciebat ,quae barbarus tortor pararet

se osculum conjugis pudicse, natosque pan'os, sihi : tanien dimovit propinquos obstantes, et

et torvus posuisse virilem vultum humi; donee populum morantem reditus, non aliter quam

aucior firmaret labantes patres consilio nun- si relinqueret longa negotia clientium, lite

quam alias dato, exsulque egregius properaret dijudicata, tendens in agros Venafranos aut

inter amicos mcereutes. Lacedaemomum. Tarentum.

NOTES.

" count he refused the caresses of his wife,
" and dissuaded the Romans from making
" peace."

42. Capi'is minor. ~\ The construction is
ininnr raiione capilii, and cajntl is here \ised
for status, vilae londitin. Regulus had not
only ion his liberty, but also the rights and
privileges of a Roman citizen.

43. Et virilm torvus humi pnsuisse vul-
tum .] Inte-preters have very much mis-
taken the sense of this passage. While the
senators were deliberating upon what Regulus
had said, Hor-ice represents him as keeping
his eves fixfd upon the ground, and regard-
ing himself us one who was no longer a sena-
tor, but a slave ; this is the reason why Eu-
tropius says, Wihil quasi Romamttegit. And
Cicero, in the third Book of his Oinces, Sen-
ttntiam in senatu dicere recusavil, quod di-
ceret, quamdiujurejurando hnstium tcneretur,
non esse se t.enatarfm.

46. Nunquam alien dato.] For no Ro-

man ever gave so severe an advice againn
himself. There ara two things to be consi-
dered in this action of Regulus ; the counsel
he gave, not to .exchange the Carthaginian
prisoners for the Roman, and his return to
Carthage. Horace contents himself with
making a beautiful description, and giving us
a Ene image of his return, but insists very
much upon the advice he gave; and, no
doubt, he had seen ihe following reflection
of Cicero, who, in the third Book of his
Offices, says, Scd ex tola hue laude Reguh\
unum Mud est admiratione dignum, quod
capta-os rclineiidos censnml; nam quodrcdht
nolis nunc miralile videtur, Mis quidem tern-
poril-us aliler facere non potuit : itaque isla
tans non est hominis, sed temporum , nidlum
enim vmcidum ad astringmdam Jidem jure-
jurando majores arctius esse voluerunt.
" What seems most worthy of our admira-
" tion in the behaviour of Regulus, is the
" advice he gave to retain the prisoners ; for.

OflE V.

HORACE'S ODES.

229

Tims spoke this great hero, who, looking on himself as no longer
a Roman citizen, refused* to his chaste wife one parting kiss, and
put his little sons away from him, keeping his countenance fixed
upon the earth with a noble pride, until by his counsel, to, which
history cannot afford a parallelf,he brought the wavering senators to
a fixed resolution; and then, without being in the least moved
with the tears]: and lamentations of his friends, he made haste to
return into an exile tire most glorious that ever was known. Thia
great man well knew what cruel tortures his barbarous enemies were
preparing for him ; yet, deaf to all intreaties, he forced his way
through his relations, and through crowds of people who endeavoured
to retard his departure, and embarked for Carthage with the same
serenity of countenance, alfif, after having brought the tedious af-
fairs of his clients to a happy issue, he was going to retire for a few
days into the agreeable plains of Venafrum or Tarentum||.

* Is suid to have refused. f- Never given on another occasion. J Amidst his

lamenting friends. The glorious exile made haste. || Lacedaemonian Tarentum.

NOTES.

as to his return to Carthage, it does indeed
appear to us a surprising thing, but at
that time he could not have acted other-
wise. The praise therefore of this is not
properly due to Regulus, but to the times
in which he lived ; for our ancestors look-
ed upon an oath as the strongest tie to
bind men to fulfill their engagements."
49. dtqiti sciebal qiue sibi.] He again
follows Cicero, who says, Neqite vero turn
igii<>ral-at se ad crudelissimum hostem, et ad
exquisita -sitpplicia projidsci.

51. Dimovit ol-stantes propinquos.~\ Bent-
Icy has very well confirmed this reading pro-
pinquos, by citing a passage from Cicero's
first Book of Offices, which, it is probable,
Horace had in his eye : Primum ut. venit
(Regulus) captivos reddendos non esse in
senalu censuit. Drinde cum relineretur al>
amicis et propinquis, ad supplicium reilire
maluit, quam fuleni hosti datam fallcre.
The relatives of Regulus, and the great crowd
of people that opposed his return, form a
beautiful picture. Horace omits none of the
remarkable circumstances which might serve
to raise and beautify his subject; and this,
according to Longinus, is almost an infalli-

ble way to arrive at die great and sublime.

54. Dijudlcata lite.~\ For Regulus was a
senator. Horace could not hare given a more
agreeable and pleasing idea of the tranquil-
lity and cheerfulness which appeared, in the
countenance of Regulus, when he left the
senate, to return to Carthage, than in th
way he has taken to express himself here.
He did not appear like a man who was going
to put himserf into the hands of cruel and
merciless enemies, but like a senator, who,
after having decided the affairs of his clients,
went to pass some time at a country seat, that
he might have some relaxation from political
and juridical pursuits.

56. Laccdremonium Tarentum.'] He calls
the city of Tarentum Lacedanno?iium, be-
cause it was a colony of Lacedaemon. It was
once a very powerful and opulent city, main-
tained a considerable fleet, and an army of
30,000 foot, and 3000 horse. But its pro-
speriiy was of.no long duration; for in the
second Punic war it lost its liberty, and be-
came a Roman colony; it then enjoyed a
tranquillity it had never known before, and
was happier in this than it had been in its
most flourishing condition.

230 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. III.

ODE VI.

This ode is full of morality. Horace endeavours to persuade the Romans,
that the contempt of religion and corruption of manners which at that
time prevailed, were the sole cause of the calamities which affected Rome.

AD ROMANOS.

DELICTA majorum immeritus lues,
"Romane, donee templa reieceris,
^desque labentes Deorum, et
Foeda nigro simulacra fumo.

Dls te minorem quod geris, imperas : 5

Hinc omne principium, hue refer exitum.
Dl multa neglecti dederunt
Hesperiae mala luctuosae.
Jam bis Monseses, et Pacori manus,
Nori auspicatos contudit impetus 10

Nostros, et adjecisse praedam
Torquibus exiguis renidet.
Pene oceupatam seditionibus
Dele\ it urbein Dacus et Jithiops ;

Hie classe formidatus, ille 15

Missilibus melior sagittis.

ORDO.

O Romane, tu immeritus lues dplicta ma- Hesperiae. Jam Monjeses, et manus Pacori,

jorum, donee refeceris templa adesque la- his contudit impetus nostros non auspicatos,

bentesDeoium,et simulacra fcedafumonigro. et renidet adjecisse praedam torquibus suis

Impera?i quod geris te minoiem Dis. Hinc exiguis. Dacus et /Ethicps pene delevit ur-

re?er omne principium, hue refer exitum. bem oceupatam seditionibws; hie formidatu&

Di neglect! dederunt multa mala luctuosae classe, ille meliormissilibus sagittis.

NOTES.

1 . Delicta 'majtsntm.'] Tlie wisest among because in all religions the disposal of hu-

ffee heathens have acknowledged this truth, man events is icferred to the gods,
that children may suffer, for crimes of their 3. jEdesqite laltntes Dcurum.~] The dif-

parents, and that always, till reparation is ferenee between templa and eedcs sacrtevi'ss,

made, the posterity of the criminals ave liable that the first ivtre places which had not only

to the punishment due to the ofTence of been dedicated to some deity, but were also

their fathers. It is worthy ot observation, consecrated by the augurs. JEdcs sacrce

that all religions eein to unite in this point, were such as wanted that consecration.

ODE VI. HORACE'S ODES. 231

ODE VI.

Few of the odes of Horace excel this for strength of thought, fine images,
and beautiful expressions. It was composed after the defeat of Antony,
about the year of the city 725.

TO THE ROMANS.

REMEMBER, Romans, that though you had no concern in the
sacrilege of your ancestors, ye shall be punished for their crimes, if
ye do not take care to repair the public edifices, rebidkl the temples
of the gods, and restore their statues, sullied with smoke, to their for-
mer beauty, 7jfye are the lords of the universe, it is because ye ac-
knowledge your subjection to the gods. It is in a dependence on
them that ye ought always to begin your enterprises ; and Jo
them ye should ascribe the success. It is in consequence of your
contempt of the gods that unhappy Italy has so often felt the effects
of their displeasure. Twice have the troops of Monseses and Pacorus
baffled our inauspicious efforts, and glory that they have enriched
their little collars with the Roman spoils. The Dacian, dexterous
at throwing the pointed dart, and the ./Ethiopian, formidable for his
numerous fleet, had almost destroyed Rome embroiled in civil fac-

NOTES.

4. Fceda nigro simulacra fitmo.~\ This the other under the command of Pacorus.
is an extremely beautiful passage. Horace, The difficulty is to know whether Crassus was
after having spoken of the temples that were vanquished by Monaeses, who ivas one of the
burned down, next represents to the view of leading men of the court of Orodes. Histo-
liis countrymen the statues of the gods, as rians are agreed that it was Surena who de-
yet black and sordid with the smoke of the fc-ated Crassus. Ii is true that Surena is hot
flames which had reduced their temples to a proper name, but a title of dignity ; and
ashes. therefore his proper name might have

5. Dis te minorem^] These two lines been Monaeses. What strves to render this
contain an excellent moral; nothing is more conjecture more probable is, that it agrees
likely to induce sovereigns to make a good best with the general design of Horace, which
use of their authority, tliau the consideration was to show that the calamities of the Romans
of a Superior Being, upon whom they have proceeded from a contempt oi religion, for
a mere immediate dependence than their Crassus marched against the Parthians, not-
subjects have upon them. withstanding the great number of bad pre-

9. Jam bis Morueses.] Horace her.e with- sages both in the city and campj which, por-

out doubt speaks of the two victories which tended his ruin.

the Parthians had obtained over the Romans, 14. Daru.s ct . Mthi'tps.'] The army of

the cue under the conduct of Monreses, and Antony and Cleopatra, the /Ethiopians and

232 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Fecunda oulpae secula nuptias
Primum inquinavere, et genus, et aomos:
Hoc fonte derivata clades

In patriam populuraque fluxit. 20

Motus doceri gaudet lonicos
Matura virgo, et fingitur artubus
Jam nunc, et incestos amores

De tenero rneditatur ungui:

Mox juniores quserit adulteros 25

Inter raariti vina ; neque eligit
Cui donet impermissa raptim
Gaudia, luminibus remotis;
Sed jussa coram, nori sine conscio

Surgit marito, seu vocat institor, 30

Seu navis Hispanic magister,

Dedecorum pretiosus emtor.
Non his juventus orta parentibus
Infecit sequor sanguine Punieo,

Pyrrhumque, et ingentem cecidit 35

Antiochum, Annibalemque dirumj
Sed rustlcorum mascula militum

ORDO.

Secula nostra, fecunda culpae, prinaum in- lumirlbns r^moiis ; srr) jussa surgit coran, -t

qu'mavere nuptias, et genus, et domos : chides non sine conscio marito, seu insfitor vocat,

rtcrivata hoc fonte fluxit in patriam popiilum- seu magister navis Hispaine, pretiosus cmtot

qiie. dedecomm.

Virgo matura gaudet doceri motus lonicos, Juventus orta non his parentibus, infecit

et jam nxmc fingitur artubus, et meditatvtr in- sequor sanguine Punieo ; ceciditque Pji-rhuni,

cestos amores de tenero ungui: mox quaerit etingentena Antiochum, Annibalemque diruinj

juniores adulteros inter vina mariti ; naque sed mascula proles rusticorura militum, docta
eligit cui raptim donet gaudia impermissa,

NOTES.

/Egvptians ; for /Egvpt was comprised under ttnguicidis, from their infancy- Cicero, writ-

the 'general name of jEthiopia. ing to Lentulus, says: Prtesta te aim ijui

19. Hoc fonte derivata ciades.] It is very mild a lencris, nt Gr<cd dicunt, ungmculiscs

femavkable, that Horace ascribes all the cala- cognitus. " Approve yourself the same per-

inities which had befallen Rome, and all its " son that I have known you to be from

civil wars, to the great prevalence of adul- " your infancy."

tery. In this he follows exactly the doctrine SO. bistilar.'] _ Properly a merchant's fac-

of Pythagoras, who demonstrates that nothing tor.

is more capable of drawing down innumerable 3 1 . Navis Hispa.no; magister^\ Magislcr

calamities upon a state, than the confound- navis signifies sometimes the commander,

ing of families by adultery. sometimes the pilot. But Horace here uses

21. Motus louicos.] The lonians were it for the merchant who trades with the ship,
reputed the most voluptuous people of Asia. There was a great commerce maintained be-
Their music, their dances, and poetry, were tween Italy and Spain. The Spaniards car-
evident marks of their effeminacy and luxury, ried to Rome a great supply of wine 9 and

24. De tenero meditatur imgui.] This is brought thence other merchandise,
a Greek proverb, de tenei'o wigui, de teneris

ODE VI.

HORACE'S ODES.

233

tions. The present age, so very fruitful in vice, first stained our
marriages bi/Jrequent adulteries, which corrupted our offspring and
families ; and from this, as from a poisoned fountain, sprang that
deluge of vice which nearly overflowed not only Rome, but' all
Italy.

A virgin, fit for marriage, places her chief delight in learning the
dances of thelonians, arid in imitating their gestures. Even from her
VeYy infancy she indulges herself hi criminal amours, and is no
sooner married, than she looks out for new gallants at the very table
of her husband. And si) far is she from being nice to whom she
grants her favours privately, that she is not ashamed publicly to go
alone with strangers, even with the consent of her wicked husband;
whether a rich factor desires her, or the master of a Spanish vessel,
who buys this infamy at a very great price. Such parents did not
give birth to the brave youth who dyed the seas with Carthaginian
blood, cut to pieces the troops of Pyrrhus, defeated the great An-
tiochus, and triumphed over dreadful Hannibal. No ; they were the
manly offspring of robust soldiers, inured to till the ground with

NOTES.

32. Dedecorum pretiosits ewitor.] The
word pretiosus is here exceedingly beautiful ;
for it signifies one who buys at a dear rate,
who spares no cost, which the Romans pro*
perly called damnutits.

33. A r o?2 his juventus, &c.] He proves
liere what he had advanced in the 17th verse,
that families were corrupted by the frequency
of adultery; and for that end, he gives us a
view of the vast difference between the Ro-
mans of his time and the ancient citizens,
who had stained the sea .with the blood of the
Carthaginians, and vanquished Pyrrhus, An-
tiochus, and Hannibal.

35. Pyrrhum.'] The Tarentines, hav-
ing entered into a war with the Romans,
called to their assistance Pyrrhus king of E-
pirus, one of the descendants of Achilles,
and the most celebrated commander of his
time. He overcame iti battle the consul
Laevinus, but some time after was totally de-
feated by Fabrieius and Curius, and forced
to retire into Greece. He was afterwards
killed by the blow of a tile, while he besieg-
ed Antigonus in Argos.

35. Ingmtem dniiochuiA.'] Antiochus was
king of S\ria and a great part of Asia Mi-
nor. When he had been iiuportilticu by
Hannibal and the jEtolians to take up arms
against the Romans, all his grandeur came to
nothing Lu less than three years. He was

overcome in a sea-fight by .^Emilius Regillus;
his land-forces were defeated by Acilius Gla-
brio, and afterwards by Cornelius Scipio.
In fine, he was reduced to the necessity of
concluding a peace upon the shameful con-
ditions of abandoning Asia Minor, and de-
livering up Hannibal to the Romans.

37. Scd rnsticorum masculamilitum.'j^rhc
Roman troops were chiefly composed of pea-
sants, taken for tha most part from the coun-
tries of the Marsi,the Apulians,and the Sam-
mies. There is a beautiful passage of Varro
upon this subject, in the beginning of his third
Book upon Agriculture : f^iri mag?ii iiostri
majores non sine causa pra;ponelant rustitos
Romanos urlanis ; ut ntre enim qui in villa vi-
vunt igimviorcsquamquiinagroversantur, in
aliquo nperefadimdo, sic qui in oppido sede-
rent, quam qui rura colerent, desidiores puta-
lant. " It was not without reason that
' those great men, our ancestors, preferred
such Romans as lived in the country, to
those who dwelt in the city. For as it is
observable in the country itself, that those
who keep to their houses are more given
to sloth, than such as accustom thern-
" selves to labour in the fields; they were
" also of opinion that they who inhabited
" the city were less fit for service and fa-
" tigue, than such as lived in the country."
He has a passage yet more express in the be-

234 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. 111.

Proles, Sabellis docta ligonibus
Versare glebas, et severse

Matris ad arbitrium recisos 40

Portare fustes, sol ubi montium
Mutaret umbras, et juga demcret
Bobus fatigatis, ami cum

Tempus agens abeunte cxirru.

Damnosa quid non imminuit dies ? 45

yEtas parentum, pejor avis, tulit ^
Nos nequiores, mox daturos
Progeniem vitiosiorem.

ORDO.

Tersare glebas Sabellis ligonibns, et portare abennte curru.

fustes rccisos ad avl;itrium severe mains; ubi Quid dies damnosa noil imminuit? JEt&a

sol mutaret umbras rnontium, et demeret parentum pejor avis tulit nos nequiores, mox

juga bobus fatigatis, agcnfc amicivm tempus daturos progenieni vitiosiorem.

ODE VII.

This ode is full of gallantry, and appears to have been written upon a real,
not a feigned subject, whatever the learned Torrentius may say to the con-
trary. Horace does indeed write to a lady. It seems moreover to be with
a view of comforting her for the absence of her husband or lover, whose
coming was retarded by contrary winds ; but, towards the conclusion of the
ode, we may discover, that this is only a pretext which the poet makes use

AD ASTERIEN.

QUID fles, Asterie, quern tibi candid!
Primo restituent vere Favonii,
. Thyna merce beatum,
Constantis juvenem fide

ORDO.

O Asterie, quid fles Gygen juvenem constan- primovere, beatum Thyna merce? Ille, actus
tis fiilci, quern candidi Favouii restituent tibi

NOTES.

I. jfjfarie.] This is a Greek name- form- wirj. Horace gives it the epithet of candi-

ed from the word afr.s, a star. dus, because it introduces the spring, and

1. Candidi rcsiitueni vere Favortii.'] Favo- renders navigable the sea ; as, on the other

rrius is the ame with the zephyr or weit hand, be give* the contrary epidiet to those

ODE VII. HORACE'S ODES. 235

Sabine spades, employed in cutting wood all day, and carrying it
home in great loads under the inspection of their rigorous mo-
thers, when the sun, finishing his course, altered the shadows of the
mountains, relieved the weary oxen of their heavy yoke, and gave
repose to labourers. What alterations does. riot time * produce?
Our fathers were worse than their ancestors ; we are more wicked
than our fathers ; and our posterity will probably be yet more wicked
than we are.

* Wasting time.

NOTES.

ginning of the third Book. He says, Itaque " peasants served to nourish them in time

nan fine causa majares nostri ex url-e in " of peace, and defend them in time of

agros redigel-ant cives suos, quod et in pace a ff war."

itistidx Romanis alelantur, ct in lello ab his 38. Saldlis ligonilusJ] This phrase serves

tutalantur. " It was therefore an argument to show that the soldiers themselves were of

" of great wisdom and judgement in our an- the country of the Samnites. Sabellus is a

" cestors, that they dispersed their citizens diminutive of Samnis t as stalellum of scam-

le about the country, because the Roman num.

ODE VII.

of, and that his chief purpose is, to exhort her to continue faithfifl and
constant to Gyges, and to oppose the attempts of her neighbour Enipeus,
as her lover resisted the passion of his hostess Chloe. Horace here per-
forms an act of friendship to Gyges. It is uncertain at what time this ode
was composed.

TO ASTERIE.

WHY, Asterie, do you lament the absence of young Gyges your
faithful lover, whom the western gales will early in the spring
restore to your embraces, loaded with the riches he has gained by
his commerce to Bithynia ? In his voyage home he was driven,

NOTES.

wind* which occasion rain and tempests, introduce the spring. He speaks after the
Torrentius has excellently remarked that we same manner in one of his epistles :
ought not to interpret this passage of Ho-
race, as if he meant that the zephyr would Te, dulcis amice, revistt

serve to bring Gyges into Italy from the east ; Cum zephyris.

for the zephyr would rather have detained

him from it, as it was directly against him. " My dear friend, Horace shall again see

Horace simply says, that the zephyrs will re- " you with the zephyrs ;" that is, in the

store Gyges, because they calm the seas and beginning of the spring. Those who think

236 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Gygen ? Ille, Notis actus ad Oricum 5

Post insana Caprae sidera, frigidas
Noctes, non sine multis

Insomnis lacrymis, agit.
Atqui solicitae nuricius hospitae,

Suspirare Chloen, et mkeram tuis 10

Dicens ignibus uri,

Tentat mille vafer modis.
Ut Proetum mulier perfida credulum
Falsis impulerit criminibus, nimis

Casto Bellerophonti 15

Maturare necem, refert :
Narrat pene datum Pelea Tartaro,
Magnessam Hippolyten dum fugit abstinens j
Et peccare docentes

Fallax historias monet ; 20

Frustra ; nam scopulis surdior Icari
Voces audit, adhuc integer. At, tibl
Ne vicinus Enipeus

Plus justo placeat, cave ;

Quamvis non alius flectere equum sciens 25

./Eque conspicitur gramine Martio,
Nee quisquam citus aeque
Tusco denatat alveo.

ORDO.

Notis ad Oricum post insana sidera Caprae, in- Hippolyten Magncssam ; et fallax monet

somnis agit frigidas noctes, non sine multis historias docentes peccare ; cZ frustra ; ruim

lacrymis. Me adhuc integer, audit illius voces svrdior

Atqui nuncius hospitae solicitae, dicens scopulis Icarii marts.

Chloen suspirare, et miseram uri tuis igni- At tu cave ne vicinus Enipeus placeat tibi

bus, vafer tentat ilium mille modis. Refert plus justo ; quamvis non alius conspicitur in

ut mulier perfida impulerit credulum Proetum gramine Martio ceque sciens flectere equum,

maturare necem Bellerophonti nimis casto nee quisquam seque citus denatat Tusco

falsis criminibus; narrat Pelea pene da- alveo.
turn fuisse Tartaro, dum abstinens fugit

NOTES.

that Horace says candidi Faronii for all-its 5. Oricum.'] A maritime town in the north

A'oto, Leucanotus, are greatly deceived ; for of Epirus.

Faronius is never taken for the south wind. 6. Post insana Caprte sidera.'] According

3. Tkyna wierrf.] That is, merce Bitkynu. to ancient fable, the goat which nourished

This country was very proper, on account of Jupiter, was transplanted into heaven, and

its situation, for the commerce of Asia and became a star. The same name is also given

Europe ; being upon the Thracian Bospho- to the two smaller stars very near this. Ho-

rus, between the Pontus Euxinus and the race calls them insana, furious, violent, be-

.Sgean sea. cause their rising is ordinarily followed by

6. Gygen.] This Gyges was a young Greek, dreadful tempests.

tad rich trader, who, according to some, 10. ChloenJ] This Chloe of Oricum, with
had espoused Asterie a little before, and was whom Gygcs lodged, had apparently the re-
gone to trade in Bithyuia. putation'of not being very prudent. This

ODE VII. HORACE'S ODES. 237

by a strong south wind, raised by the stormy Goat-star, to Oricum ;
where, bathed in tears, he passes the cold winter nights without
sleep, because at a distance from you. In the mean time, the busy
confident of his love-sick hostess fails not daily to inform him of
Chloe's passion for him, and of the violent flame your lover's
beauty has kindled in her breast, trying by a thousand little arti-
fices to seduce him. He represents to him how the perfidious
Antea instigated the credulous Proetus to hasten the death of over-
chaste Bellerophon, by laying false crimes to his charge. He tells
him, that Peleus was almost precipitated into Tartarus, for refusing
to gratify the passion of Hippolyte the wife of Acastus. In short,
this fiend recounts all the little stories he can think of to tempt
him to vice, but in vain ; for, more immoveable than the rocks of
the Icarian sea, he hears his artifices, and continues proof against
all of them. Be you also upon your guard, that your neighbour
Enipeus may not have too great a place in your affections, though,
in the field of Mars, there does not appear one who is so dexterous
as he in the managing of the race-horse, or can. swim with greater
celerity across the Tiber *. Be sure to shut your gates early in

* The Tuscan river.

NOTES.

was what probably might occasion the fears 19. Peccare docmtes historias.] Horace

of Asterie, and at the same time makes the ingeniously feigns, that this confident of

fiction of the poet the more likely, who Chloe tried two ways to prevail with Gyges to

thereby intended to represent, in the stroug- yield to. this, lady's desire. First, he endea-

est light, the fidelity of her husband. Tuis voured to alarm Vim with the fate of Bolle-

igiiibus is for tnis amorilus, tuo conjuge. rophon and Peleus, who were exposed to the

13. Prtelum.] Bellerophon and Peleus, the greatest dangers by their obstinate refusal in

one the son of Glaucus and the other the a like case. This method not answering his

father of Achilles, were both the victims expectation, he next proposes to him the

of calumny. They had the misfortune to in- example of those who sacrificed their honour

spire two queens with love, and the virtue to pleasure. And these are what Horace calls

to resist their importunities. Antea, the histories which entire a man to the commis-

wife of Prcetus, king of Argos, and Hippo- sion of what is criminal ; as that of Paris and

lyte, the wife of Acastus, king of Magnesia, Helen, of Jupiter and Alemene.

accused, the one Bellerophon, and the other 21. Sropiilis surdior Icari.l The Icarian

Peleus, of attempting to" seduce them. Proe- sea (of which we have already spoken upon

tus was satisfied with removing Bellerophon the ode, Maecenas atavisj is that parr of the

.to some distance from him, and sending him Archipelago, which lies between the islands

to JoLates, his son-in-law, king of Lycia, of Nicaeria, Samos, Cos, and the continent

who ordered him to combat the Chimaera. of Natolia. The great number of little isles

Peleus was delivered to the Centaurs to be and rocks wherewith it is filled, make it verv

devoured by them ; but he had the good dangerous to sail in it

fortune to overcome them by means of a 2-2. At, tibi.] This address to Asterie is

sword he had received from Vulcan. very natural. He demands nothinff of her

18. Magnesyan Hippolytm.] See the but what is just aud equitable- and there is

ground to believe that she stood in need

233

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. III.

Prima nocte domum claude ; rieque in vias
Sub cantu querulae despice tibife ;
Et te saepe vocanti

D.uram, difficilis mane.

ORDO.

Claude domurn tuam prima nocte ; neque mane difficilis illi ssepe vocanti te duram.
despice in vias sub cantu tibiae queruke ; et

NOTES.

of hi?, advice. Enipeus was a young strati- passing in the street, without being pereei'-ed

ger, of whom at this time we know very themselves ; and this w,as what courtezans

little. did when they listened to their lovers. Ari-

29. Prima nocteJ] The Latins made use of stophancs has admirably expressed this cus-

primus and postremus, to mark the bejjin- torn in one of his comedies, when he says;

iiing and the end of the same thing. Virgil
says, primus mensi.i, for the beginning of
the month; prima nrl^, the entrance of the
city; prima node signifies, therefore, in the
beginning of the night.

00. Despice^\ This word serves very well

Act not like the courtezans, who look
from their windows, and, if any one
perceives them, immediately retire; hut
look down again, as soon as they think
they are no more observed."
30. QuerultB tibieel\ This passage is very

to express what the Greeks meant by vaga- remarkable, because it serves to show, that
junrrEiy, which was properly to look from a the ancients made use of the flute at
window in such a manner as to see what was their serenades, when in the night they

ODE VIII.

Maecenas, going to visit Horace, was surprised to find him busied in making
preparations for a domestic entertainment. The poet here mentions the
reasons, and invites him to share in it. It is not very difficult to decide

AD M^CENATEM.

MARTIIS coelebs quid agam Calendis,
Quid velint floras, et acerra thuris
Plena, miraris, positusque carbo in
Cespite vivo,

ORDO.

Mcecmas, docte sennones utrlusque lin- calendit, quid flores velint, ct ae*rra plen*
guae, Eoii-aiis quid ege coelebs agam Martiis thuris, carboque positus in cespite vivo.

ODE VIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

239

the evening ; and if you hear at your window the sound of his
warbling flute, beware you look not down into the street : should
he reproach you with your insensibility, ami call you cruel, let not
that move you ; but continue to treat him with an inflexible seve-
rity.

NOTES.

uttered their complaints before their mis-
tresses' gates ; and this is the reason of his
calling it querula, complaining.

32. Duram, difficilis mane.] M. LeFevre
has very judiciously remarked, that Horace
hould have said 'duram, dura mane: for
this change of the word destroys entirely
the figure, which he ought to have follow-
ed exactly. This is an 'error in propriety,
which in all languages ought to be the rule
of expression. Virgil has fallen into a mis-
take of the same nature, in the 4th Book t>f
the JEne'id :

Litora liloribus contraria, Jluctibus -umlas,
Imvecffr, arm a armis.

To maintain the opposition, he ought,
without question, to have written Jluctibus
Jlnctus, as in Ennius and Lucretius ; for
umlas cannot be opposed to Jluctibus, as
litora to LUoril-uf, or anna to armis. " May
" their banks be always at war with our banks,
" their surges with our surges, aud arms
" with our arms." All the beauty of this
passage would be lost, if I should say,
their surges with our waves. Those who
are not sensible of the necessity or the
justness of this expression, will give but
a very mean idea of their taste for com-
position.

ODE VIII.

the time of its composition ; for Horace himself informs us of it, where he
speaks of the Cantabji and Parthians being overcome : it seems therefore
with great probability to have been about the year of the city 730.

TO MAECENAS.

M^CENAS, who art nqt only master of the Latin, but also of the
Greek language *, and acquainted \vith the ceremonies -of both nw-
tions, you seem to be at a loss to determine what I, who am un

* Learned, in both languages.

NOTES.

1. Martiis cask-Is quid agum Calciidis,'] On
the first day of March die matronal festival
was solemnised by the Roman ladies, in
memory of the Sabine virgins, who, being
forcibly detained by the Romans, made peace
on that dav between their fathers and hus-

bands, when the \vro armies were on the
point of engaging. The day was' celebrated
with great pomp and solemnity. Tiie ma-
trons sacrificed on the EiquHine hill, and the
husbands offered up particular sa'-riuces to
Janu. Mxcenas therefore, ,going to see Ho-

240

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. III.

Docte sermones utriusque linguae.
Voveram dulces epulas, et album
Libero caprum, prope funeratus

Arboris ictu.

Hie dies, anno redeunte, festus
Corticem astrictum pice dimovebit
Amphoree, i'umum bibere institutes

Consule Tullo.

Sume, Maecenas, cyathos amici
Sospitis centum, et vigiles lucernas
Prefer in lucem : procul omnis esto

Clamor et ira.

Mitte civiles super urbe curas.
Oceidit Daci Cotisonis agmen :
Medus in festus sibi luctuosis

Dissidet annis :

Servit Hispanse vetus hostis oite
Cantaber, sera domitus catena. :

ORDO.

Ego, prope funeratus ictu arboris, voveram lucernas in luoem : omnis clamor et ira pro-

dulces epulas, et album caprum Libero. Hie cul esto.

die* festus, anno redeunte, dimovebit corti- Mitte curas civiles super urbe. Agmen Co-

cem pice astrictum amphorae, institute bibere tisonisDacioccidit : Medus infestus sibi dissklet

fiunum consule Tullo. Maecenas, sume cen- annis luctuosis: Cantaber incola orae Hispanae

turn cyathos sospitis amici, et profer vigiles vetus ?io.s/er hostis servitj domitus sera catena:

NOTES.

race, wondered what might be the cause of
his preparations, he not being a husband.
This is the foundation of the ode.

5. Docte sermones utriusquc Ihiguce.'] Ho-
race here praises Maecenas on account of his
understanding both the Greek and the Latin ;
for though the Latin was the natural lan-
guage of the Romans, yet it was taught in
the public schools as well as the Greek.

6. Fbveram.] There is ground (o believe
that this was the first time that Horace of-
fered up this sacrifice ; that is, it was pro-
bably the first March that followed that in
which he was in so great danger of being
crushed by the fall of a tree. Unless this be
allowed, we shall find it difficult to account
for the surprise of Maecenas upon seeing the
preparations.

7. Caprum.'] The ancients usually sacri-
ficed to the gods animals which they hated.
Thus they sacrificed a goat to Bacchus, be-
cause it destroy ej the vines. The victims

to the celestial gods were white; those to
the infernal, black.

11. Amphora, fumum Inhere institute.]
They exposed their wine to the smoke, in
order to ripen it, and remove that harsh and
unpleasant taste which new wine ordinarily
has.

12. Connde Tullo.'] L. Volcatius Tullus
was consul with Augustus in the year of the
city 720. But assuredly Horace does not
spr-ak of this consulship ; for at that rate
the wine would have been only of ten years,
and of consequence could not have been said
to be very old. M. Le Fevre has well re-
marked, that Horace speaks here of L. VoU
catius Tullus, who was consul with M. Lo
pidus, a year before the birth of Horace, in
the year of Rome 68?. On this supposi-
tion, Horace might with reason boast, that
the wine he invited Maecenas to share of WPS
very old, it being about 43 year.'-

ODE VIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

241

married intend by these preparations on the first of March ; what
these flowers mean, these censers full of incense, and these coals
burning on the verdant turf. Know that having narrowly escaped
the danger of being crushed to death by the fall of a cursed tree, I
vowed to give my friends a handsome entertainment annually, and
sacrifice a white goat to Bacchus. This agreeable anniversary is
to me a day of feasting and rejoicing ; atid I. design to broach a
hogshead of wine that has been mellowing ever since Tullus was
consul*. Dear Maecenas, come and drink with us on this occasion
a hearty glass f to the health of your friend Horace ; let us continue
our mirth with the light of flambeaux till the rising of the sun, and
suffer no clamour or wrangling to be heard among us. Disengage
yourself for a time from the cares which attend the government of
Rome, as the causes of our fears are removed. The troops of Coti-
son, king of the Daci, are cut to pieces. Our foes the Medes, di-
vided among themselves, turn their arms against one another. The
Cantabrians, our old enemies on the Spanish coast, are at length
forced to submit ; and the Scythians, with their bows unstrung,

* This holy day with the revolving year shall sever the cork, fixed with pitch, from a cask
that began to drink in smoke, Tullus being consul. -f- A hundred cups.

NOTES.

13. Cyathos amid so.yritis rew/wm.] By
Cyathos amid sospilis, Horace evidently
means Cyathos qui propler amicttm sospitem
lilerenl ur ; " which they ought to drink for
" the safety of their friend, rejoicing that
" he has escaped so threatening a danger."
He says after the same manner, Ode 19.

Da Lunae propere novas,

Da noctis mediae, da, piter, auguris

Murence.

In like manner Theocritus calls the wine
he was to drink to the health of his mis-
tress, ttxoa-rov tfouToc, l*mum amorif, the
wine of love.

15. Profer in lucem.] Drinking all night
the Romans called Grcecari, because it was
from the Greeks they had that custom. Hence
1'ropertius says,

Sic noctem patera, sicncctem carmine, dvntc

Injidat radios in mea vina dies.
VOL. I.

" With wine and songs the jovial nio-ht

" I'll pass,
" Till morning dart its rays into my

" glass."

15. Procul omnis esto clamor el zra.] Mae-
cenas was of a mild and sweet disposition ;
he was very fond of company and conversa-
tion, and the innocent pleasures of the ta-
hle, and at the same time a great enemy to
noise and tumult; he could not bear those
excesses and extravagances which were too
common on these occasions. Horace here
promises that he shall meet with not lung of
this kind at his table, and that their mirth
shall be interrupted by nothing that may be
disagreeable to him. This is the true de-
sign of Horace ; and as for the other in--
terpretations that have been given of this
passage, whatever may be said in defence of
them, they are manifestly forced, and will
appear at best to be no more than ingenious
conjectures.

242 Q. HORATI1 CARMINA. LIB. III.

Jam Scythae laxo meditantur arcu

Cedere campis.

Negligens ne qua populus laboret, 25

Parce privatus nSmium cavere ; et
Dona praesentis rape laetus horae, ac

Linque severa.

ORDO.

jam Scythae meditantur cedere campis laxo vere, negligens ne qua parte populus laboret;
arcu. et la>tus rape dona praesentis horae, ac linque

Tu in pr<esen$ privatus parce nimium ca- severa.

NOTES.

18. Occidit Daci Cotisomis agmen.] Ho- amount to the same thing, because both
race here calls Cotison a Dacian, and Sue- these people are often comprised under either
tonius calls him king of the Getes; both name. Cotison had sided with Antony against

ODE IX.

This ode is a master-piece in its kind ; and Horace has found out the secret of
uniting the politeness of the courtier with the simplicity of the rural swain.

AD LYDIAM.

HORATIUS:
DONEC gratus eram tibi,

Nee quisquam potior brachia Candidas
Cervici juvenis dabat,

Persarum vigui rege beatior.
LYD. Donee non alia magis

Arsisti, neque erat Lydia post Cliloen,
Multi Lydia norainis

Romunfi vigui clarior IliS.

ORDO.

HORATIUS. LYMA.

Donee ego eram gratus tibi, nee quisquam Donee tu non magis arsisti alia, neque Ly-

potior juvenis dabat brachia tiue candid* cer- dia erat post Chloen, ego Lydia raulti nomini?

ici, vigui beatior rege Persarum. vigui clarior Rornana Ilia.

NOTES.

i. Donee.] The better to enter into all it will be necessary to take notice of two
the delicacy and finesse of thig little poem, laws that were inviolably observed in dia-

ODE IX,

HORACE'SJODES.

245

think of nothing but to retire from our frontiers. Look on yourself
at present as a private person, and be not too uneasy about the
safety and well-being of the people, but chearfully embrace those
hours of pleasure which at present offer*, and disengage yourself for
a time from the weighty affairs of state.

* The gifts of the present hour.

NOTES.

Augustus. But it is impossible to determine
precisely the event to which Horace refers :
for it cannot be understood of the defeat of
the Daci'by Lentulus, that happening se-
reral years after this ode was composed.

23. Laxo arcu.] When the Scythians of-
fered proposals for peace, or retired from the
field of battle, they held their bows unstrung.

26. Privates.] This single word occasions
nil the difficulty of this passage ; for as Mae-

cenas was at that time governor of Rome,
why should Horace call him a private man ?
M. Le Fevra has solved this difficulty, by
observing, that the poet here makes use of
a figure very common to him, and that he
says privatus, understandingyacfcts, or quasi
esses privatus : Lay aside your public cha-
racter, and the cares attending it, for some
time, and consider yourself as only a private
man.

ODE IX.

The precise time when he wrote it is not known ; but it is certain that it
was composed before the 25th, and after the 8th, 13th, and 23d of the
first Book.

TO LYDIA.

HORACE.

WHILE I was agreeable to you, and no rival, more in your favouf,
was allowed to throw his arms round your snowy neck, I thought
myself more happy than the king of the Persians.

L. While you had not a greater affection for another, and Chloe
was not preferred to Lydia, Lydia's name was famous, nor did Ilia,
the foundress of our empire, ever live in so great glory.

NOTES.

logues of this kind, which by the Greeks
and Latins were called Amaibea Carmina.
He that spoke last was bound to answer in
the same number and sort of verse, and at
the same time to speak quite the contrary,
or rise upon what the other had said. It is
evident that Horace has observed both these
rules with great delicacy.

2. Nee quisquam. potior.] Potiar, more
happy, better received, as in Ode 15. Book 5.

Nonfcrct tititktat fotton te dare noctss.

" He will not bear that you should spend
" whole nights with a more happy rival.**
In the same manner Tibullus says, 'Eleg. 6.
Book l.

At tu qui potior mine ef.

4. Persarum vigui rege beatior.'] In the
time of Horace the Persians had kings of
their own, but they were subject to the kin
pf the Parthians ; and (properly speaking)
were a particular kind of governors, honours^
Bz

244 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. HI.

HOR. Me nunc Thressa Cliloe regit,

Dulces docta modos, et citharae sciens j 10

Pro qua non metuam mori,

Si parcent animae fata superstiti.
LYD. Me torret face mutual

Thurini Calais films Ornithi ;
Pro quo bis patiar mori, 15

Si parcent puero fata superstiti.
HOR. Quid si prisca redit Venus,

Diductosque jugo cogit aheneo ?
Si flava excutitur Chloe,

Rejectseque patet janua Lydiae ? 20

LYD. Quanquam sidere pulchrior

Ille est, tu levior cortice, et improbo
Iracundior Adria,

Tecum vivere amem, tecum obeam libens.

ORDO.

HORATIUS.

Chloe Thressa nunc regit me, docta dulces
modos et sciens ciiharae ; pro qua non me-
tuam mori, si fata parcent animas superstiti.
LYDIA.

Calais films Ornithi Thurini torret me mu-

HORATR'S.

Quid si prisca Venus redit, cogitque jngo
aheneo 7ios diductos ? Quid si flava Chloe
excutitur, patetque janua Lydiie rejects ?
LYDIA.

Quanquam ille est pulchrior sidere, tu es

tua face ; pro quo patiar bis mori, si fata par- levior cortice, et iracundior Adria improbo,
cent puero superstiti. amem vivere tecum, libens obeam tecum.

NOTES.

with the royal title. It is not of them that
Horace speaks here, but of the ancient kings
of Persia, us of Cyrus and Darius, who were
called King of kings ; and it was a very or-
dinary proverb, Happier than the king of
Persia, because no kings had ever been richer
and more powerful than they were.

6. Neque erat Lydia post Chloen.'] Lydia
here outdoes Horace : he had said grains eram,
she says arsisti ; he, nee quisquampotior; she,
neque erat Lydia post Chloen. It is only ne-
cessary to compare these expressions, to see
that Lydia was very ill used.

6. Post.] The use of these two preposi-
tions post and ante merits our notice j for die

Latins employed them very elegantly, to ex-
press preference or superiority, and the con-
trary ; for example, Lydia post Chloen, to
signify that Chloe was preferred to Lydia.
Sallust expresses himself much after the sam
manner in his history of Catiline: Facundia
Grtecos, gloria belli Gallos ante Romanos
fuisse. " I acknowledge that the Greeks
" have surpassed the Romans in eloquence,
" and that the Gauls have excelled them in
" valour."

8. Romano vigui clarior Ilia.'] In answer
to what Horace had said, Persarum vigui rege
leatior, " I was happier than the king of
" the Persians;" Lydia says,

ODE IX.

HORACE'S ODES.

245

H. But noxv I am Chloe's * slave, who sings so sweetly, and plays
so admirably on the harp ; for whom I would not refuse to die, if
the fates would spare her precious life.

JL Young Calais' f breast and mine glow with mutual fires ; for
whom I would suffer death twice, if the fates would spare the
charming boy J.

H. What if our first love should once more return, and we be
bound a second time with stronger ties than ever || if fair Chloe
should be cast off, and dear Lydia taken home again ?

L. Though Calais is more beautiful than the sun, and you lighter
than cork itself, and more passionate than the Adriatic sea is stormy,
yet with you I would choose to live, with you I would choose to die.

J The boy alive.

* Thracian Chloe.
II A brazen yoke.

f- Calais the son of Ornithus of Thurium.
And the door be opened to rejected Lydia.

NOTES.

Romano, vigui clarior Ilia.

" I have lived in greater glory than ever
" Roman Ilia did."

In reality, the felicity of the Persian kings
was greatly inferior to the glory of Ilia, who
had been the wife of Mars, mother of Ro-
mulus, and the foundress of the Roman
empire. On this account Horace calls her
Roman.

14. Thurini Calais JUius Ornitki.'] This
Calais would at first sight seem to be dif-
ferent from Sybaris of Ode 8. and Tele-
phus of Ode 13. Book I. Yet if we ex-
amine the matter attentively, there is pretty
good ground to think that Sybaris is the
same who is here called Calais, and that the
last is the proper name, and the other a
patronymic. What very much favours this
conjecture is, that Sybaris and Thurinus sig-
nify the same thing ; this last being an ad-
jective derived from the name of a city in
the extremity of Lucania, on the gulf of
Tarentum, and which was anciently called
Sybaris.

1 8. Diduclosque jitgo cogit aliened.] There
is some difficulty in finding out the true
meaning of these -words ; for if Venus had
formerly joined them by indissoluble ties, it
is evident that they would have still continued
to love each other, and thus the demand of
Horace appears quite useless. This is what
has made some people think that we ought to
read diducturnque. But upon examining the
words more closely, it appears that there is
no necessity to make any alteration in the
reading, and that the real meaning of Ho-
race is this: "If our former love should
" revive, and Venus unite us by ties more
" lasting than the first ; would you still re-
" gret this Calais, for whose sake you say
" you would cheerfully suffer death?" This
sense is confirmed by the answer which
Lydia herself returns to Horace, who does not
simply say, " If that were the case, I would
" live and die with you ;" but, " I would live
" and die with you the most contented and
" happy creature in the world." It is
the single word lilens which points out this
beautiful meaning, and discovers the delicacy
of Horace, and the justness of his expression.

24C Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

ODE X.

Hitherto we have seen but a fragment of one of those songs which
lovers repeated at the gate of the fair, when admittance was refused. That
fragment is in the 25th Ode of the first Book. But here we have an
entire song, which Horace repeated at the gate of Lyce ; and what ren-
ders it the more valuable is, that it is the only Latin one we have re-
maining of all antiquity. We are not very much enriched by the
Greek antiquity ; for all the entire remains of this kind are, two in the

AD LYCEN.

EXTREMUM Tanaim si biberes, Lyce,
Saevo nupta viro, me tamen, asperas
Porrectum ante fores, objicere incolis

Plorares Aquilonibus.

Audis quo strepitu janua, quo nemus, 5

Inter pulchra situm tecta, remugiat
Vends ? et positas ut glaciet nives

Puro numine Jupiter ?
Ingratam Veneri pone superbiam,
Ne currente retro funis eat rota. 10

ORDO.

O Lyce, s'pmipta saevo viro biberes extrcm- Nonne audls quo strepitu janua, quo sfre-

um Tanaim, tamen plorares objicere aquilonv- pitu nemus, situin inter pulchra tecta, remu-

bus incolis me, porrectum, ante tuas asperas giat vemis? et ut Jupiter glaciet nives posi-

forea. tas numine puro ?

NOTES.

1. Extremvm Tanaim.] This is to express verse 12. It is against the ame Lyce that

that part of the Tanais which was at the Horace writes the 13th Ode of ihe fourth

greatest distance from Rome, and of conse- Book.

quence the place of its source. The Tanais 2. S<svo nvpta. viro.'] One would be apt

empties itself into the Palus Mcotis ; but to think at first sight, that these three words

the ancients were ignorant whence it derived were contrary to ihe intention of Horace; in

its origin. Some thought it was from as much as a lady, who is married to a

Mount Caucasus, others from the Riphean cruel and b: rbarous husband, is usually very

mountains ; the opinioh which prevails most much disposed to hearken to the addresses

lit present is, that it takes its rise from a of a lover : but we must regard this pas-

Seat lake; and this was the sentiment of sage in quite another light. Horace would

erodotus.' have us to know that Lyce's fear of a bar-

1 . Lyce.~] This was a Tuscan lady ; or at barous husband, could not prevent her from

Jeast the daughter of a Tuscan, as appears by being touched with pity, and from lament-

ODB X. HORACE'S ODES.

works of Theocritus (Idyll. 3. and 24.), and one in Aristophanes. It is
true that these two are sufficient to give a very clear idea of this custom,
and make us sensible of the beauty of these songs, which were called ir*pa,-
nxatxn&uga, because they were sung before a gate that was shut. It is
worth while to take notice that in singing them they made use of both
the flute and the voice.

TO LYCE.

IF you lived, Lyce, at the source * of the Tanais, and were married
to a cruel and barbarous husband, you could not surely, without
weeping, see me lying at your gate, exposed to the severity of the
north winds. Do not you hear how your gate creaks with the high
winds, how the groye planted round your beautiful villa rebellows
the sound ? Do not you feel how the pure and serene air congeals
the snow that covers the earth ? Lay aside therefore this disdain
so disagreeable to Venus, lest you provoke that goddess to pu-
nish you for your obstinacy f. Remember that you were bom of

* Drank at the source. f Lest the cord go backward while the wheel runs round

NOTES.

ing even in his presence, to see him stretched necessity for reading projectute.
before her gate, during the severest nights 8. Puro numine Jupiter.} Jupiter is often
of the winter. taken for the air, and in this idea of him
3. Porrectum ante fores."] It is impos- Horace should have written pun lumine;
sible but many of the graces of Horace but he preferred numine) because of the
must be lost to those who are unacquaint- word Jupiter , for as Jupiter and the air are
ed with the customs and modes of speak- synonymous terms, so numen and lumen
ing in use among the Greeks. For ex- may be used as such likewise,
ample, in this passage there is a beauty 1 0. Ne currente retro funis eat rota.] Some
which yields a real pleasure, when once' it are of opinion that Horace here means that
comes to be known. There were two WJLVS kind of wheel which die ancients made use
of singing these poems, the one to sing them of, iu order to enable their vessels to over-
while they lay stretched on the ground, and come the force of a current, and that we
the other to stretch themselves upon the ought to translate the passage after this man*
ground after they had ceased to sing. Ho- ner : Lay aside therefore this severity so dis-
race follows the first custom, and Theocritus, agreeable to Venus, lest, if the card should
Idyll 3, the last ; as does also Aristophanes, break, you may be carried away by the
Porrectus ante fores therefore in Horace, strength of the current. But my explica-
is the same with the wwv utifofAm of Ari- tion is more agreeable to our way of speak-
tophanes and Theocritus ; and there is no ing.

248

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. HI

Non te Penelopen difficilem procis
Tyrrhenus genuit parens.

O, quamvis neque te munera, nee pieces,

Nee tinctus viola pallor amantium,

Nee vir Pieria pellice saucius

Curvat ; supplicibus tuis

Parcas, nee rigida mollior esculo,

Nee Mauris animo mitior anguibus.

Non hoc semper erit liminis aut aquae
Coelestis patiens latus.

ORDO.

Pone superbiam ingratam Veneri, r.e funis viola, nee vir saucius Pieria pellice eurrat te,

eat retro rota currente. Tyrrhenus parens et haclcnusfuuti nee mollior rigida esculo, nee

non genuit te Penelopen difficilem procis. mitior aniino anguibus Mauris, jam tcmdem

Quamvis, O Lyce, neque munera nee pre- parcas tuis supplicibus. Latus hoc non erit

ces currant te, nee pallor ainautium tinctus semper patiens liminis aut aquae ccelestis.

NOTES.

11. Non te Penelopen.'] Horace does not
here say to Lyce, that she was not a Pene-
lope ; for, besides that this would not be at
all to speak like a man of gallantry, it would
moreover be entirely contrary to what fol-
lows. But he tells her, that, having sprung
from Tuscan parents, she was not born to be
a Penelope; for the Tuscans were a voluptu-
ous race.

11. Difficilem prods.'] The history of
Penelope is well known. She frustrated all
the attempts of her lovers, and maintained
her virtue and chastity to the last, notwith-
atanding the absence of her husband.

14. Pallor amantium.'] Paleness is one
great mark of love, whence Ovid says,

Palleat omnis amans, color est hie aptus
amantiy

" Every lover should be pale, for this
" colour suits lovers exceedingly well."
Sappho has not been forgetful of this cir-
cumstance, in the beautiful draught she ha
given us of "that passion :

}(XOTfe!

ODE X.

HORACE'S ODES.

249

Tuscan parents, not to be another Penelope, who was so very dif-
ficult of access to her lovers. O though neither the presents nor
prayers, nor paleness* of your admirers, nor the affront your hus-
band gave you in being captivated with the charms of a Pierian girl,
can move you to pity ; O you who are not softer than a rigid old
oak, nor milder in temper than Mauritanian serpents, show a little
more favour to your suitors. This bodyf of mine cannot always bear
lying on your hard threshold, or being exposed to the rain pouring
doivn from' heaven upon it.

* Paleness dyed with a violet.

f Side.

NOTES.

14. Fiola^\ Thus Virgil says, pallentes
violas, which Servius interprets, amantium
tinctas colors.

15. Nee vir Pieria pellice saucius.'] Pieria
might possibly be the proper name of the
courtezan with whom Lyce's husband had
fallen in love ; but it is more probable that
Pieria is a patronymic, to denote that she
was of Pieria, that is, of Thrace or Mace-
donia.

16. Supplicil-us tuis parcas.] This pas-
sage is not without difficulty ; for, as Horace
had before said that this Lyce would not be
influenced either by the presents or prayers
of her lovers, and that she seemed even in-
sensible to the affront her husband offered
her in preferring another's charms, why
should he say here, suppliribus tuis parcas f
Torrentius is of opinion, that by preceslie un-
derstands simple prayers and entreaties, and

by supplirilus those lovers who addressed her
on their knees ; but this is far from being
the true sense. Horace would make Lyce
sensible that although neither the prayers nor
presents of her lovers made any impression
on her mind, and she still continued obsti-
nate and inflexible, yet out of love to herself
she ought to manage them with a little more
lenity and gentleness, and not make them al-
together desperate ; that, as for himself, he
would not be always of the humor to pass
the night at her gate, and expose himself to
the rigour of the season.

19. Non liac semper erit liminis.'] What
Horace here denounces against Lyce actually
came to pass some years after ; for he wrote
the 13th Ode of the fourth Book against her.
From this it evidently appears that Horace
could not have "been very old when the pre-
sent ode was written.

250 Q. HORATII CARMINA. Lt*. III.

ODE XI.

The subject of this ode is common j but it must be acknowledged, that the poet
knew how to give it an air of grandeur. The bad treatment he met with
from Lyde was carried so far, that she would not even hear his verses sung.
He endeavou-ed to vanquish her obstinacy by this poem, the sublimity of
which almost equals that of Pindar. It consists of two parts ; the first con-

AD MERCURIUM.

MERCURI, (nam te docilis magistro
Movit Amphion lapides canendo)
Tuque, testudo, resonare septem

Callida nervis,

Nee loquax olim neque grata, nunc et 5

Divitura mensis et arnica templis ;
Die modes, Lyde quibus obstinatas

Applicet aures;

Quae, velut latis equa trima carapis,
Ludit exsultim, metuitque tangi, 10

Nuptiarum expers, et adhuc protervo

Cruda marito.

Tu potes tigres comitesque syivas
Ducere, et rivos celeres morari.
Cessit immanis tibi blandienti 15

Janitor aulae

ORDO.

O Mercuri, (nam docilis Amphion movit equa trima, ludit exsultim in latis campis,

lapides canendo, te magistro) tuque, o tes- metuitque tangi, expers nuptiarum, et adhuc

tudo, callida resonare septem nervis, olim nee cruda protervo marito.

loquax neque grata, nunc arnica et mensis Tu potes ducere tigres comitesque syivas,

divitum et templis ; die ruodos, quibus Lyde et morari celeres rivos. Cerberus, janitor

pplicet obstinatas aurcs; Lyde quae, velut immanis aulae, cessit tibi blandienti, quamvi*

NOTES.

2. Amphion.'] The poet, requesting Mer- and turbulent dispositions of mankind

cury to assist him in softening the insolence by the charms of poetry and music, that by

of Lvde, puts him very opportunely in mind his persuasion they were induced to build

of the story of Amphion, who was instructed cities, and establish themselves into societies,

by that god in the management of the harp, governed by the same laws. On this founda-

This Amphion was the son of Jupiter and tion the poets have feigned that the very

Antiope. He so far soothed the savage stones, moved by his harmonious accents,

ODB XL HORACE'S ODES. 251

ODE XL

tains the invocation, and the praises of Mercury and the harp : the other
comprehends the song which Mercury dictates to Horace ; this song is no
other than the fable of the Danaides, which the poet makes use of to put
Lyde in mind that cruelty is punished even in hell ; and thus he softens her
insolence.

TO MERCURY.

O MERCURY, who didst by thy divine precepts Instruct the docile
Amphion in the secret of giving motion to stones by the force of
his music ; and thou, my harp, that makest such a charming sound
with seven strings, thou that formerly hadst neither harmony nor
agreeableness, but art now much irt request both at the tables of
the great and in the temples of the gods, teach me such agreeable
airs as may command the attention of the obstinate Lyde, who, like
a wild young colt, frisks about the verdant meads, having never ex-
perienced the sweets of love, and, being as yet unfit for marriage,
shuns the company of her lovers. Thou canst tame the most savage
tigers, and make the very woods and forests to follow you; and thou
canst suspend the current of the most impetuous rivers. Cerberus,

NOTES.

met together and ranged themselves in such for the son of Apollo and Calliope, one of th

a manner as to form the walls of Thebes, a rmjses, and were the occasion of attributing

city in Boeotia. to him all those prodigies which are related

13. Tu poles tigresJ] In the twelve fol- of him.

lowing lines, which are extremely beautiful, 15. Cessit im.man.is tili Mandienti.'] He

the poet addresses his harp only. After the has said the same of Bacchus, Ode 1 9.

story of Amphion he brings in that of Or- Book II.
pheus, which is equally powerful to conquer

the obstinacy of Lyde. The one animated Te vidit insons Cerberus.
rocks, the other rendered tigers and the most

savage beasts tame and tractable ; and both of Here he speaks of the story of Orpheus'
them performed these prodigies by the charms descent into hell; where, by the fascination
of music and poetry. Orpheus, of whom of his music, he so charmed the hard-heart-
Horace here speaks without naming him, was ed Pluto, as to obtain from him his dear Eu-
of Thrace, and excelled equally in poetry and rydice, whom, however, by his impttience h
musk. These talents made him be taken sovn lost again.

252 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Cerberus, quamvis furiale centum
Muniarit angues caput ejus, atque
Spiritus teter, saniesque manet

Ore trilingui. 20

Quin et Ixion, Tityosque vultu
Risk invito : stetit urna pauliim
Sicca, dum grato Danai puellas

Carmine mulces.

Audiat Lyde scelus atque notas 25

Virginum pcenas, et inane lymphae
Dolium fundo pereuntis imo,

Seraque fata,

Quae rnanent culpas etiam sub Oreo.
Impiae, (nam quid potuere majus?) 30

. Impiae sponsos potuere duro

Perdere ferro.

Una de multis, face nuptiali
Digna, perjuriun fuit in parenteni
Splendide mendax, et in onme virgo 35

Nobilis sgvum :

ORDO.

centum angues muniant ejus caput furiale, inio funclo, seraque fata, quae manent culpa*

atque teter spiritus saniesque manet ex ore etiam sub Oreo. Impiae virgines (nam quid

trilingui. Quin et Ixion, Tityosque risit vultu majus potuere?) imniae potuere perdere

invito: urna steiit paulum sicca,dum mulces sponsos duro ferro. Una de multis, digna

puellas Danai grato carmine. face nuptiali, fuit splendide mendax in pa-

Lyde audiat scelus atque uotas pcenas vir- rentem perjurum, et virgo nobilis in omne

ginum, et dolium inane lymphae pereuntis aevuin; quae dixit juveni marito, " Surge,

NOTES.

17. Furiale.'] Commentators have not wards cast him into liell, where, as a punish-

observed either the beauty or force of this ment of his impiety, lie was tied fast to a wheel

word. Furiale signifies here, after the man- which perpetxially turned round,
ner of the Furies. Floras uses the same 21. Tityosque.] See the remark upon

word, and in the same sense, in the 12th the fourth Ode of this Book, verse 77.
chapter of his first book. F idcrue, quiapares 2-2. Risit.~\ A certain commentator is of

non erant ferro, ad terrortm moveiidum fa- opinion that this metaphor is by far too

cil-us annatte, et discolorilits serpentum in strong, and inconsistent even with probabi-

modum vittis, furiali more processercmt. And lity and good sense. But there is reason to

chap. 12. Book III. Atqui h<e c CtEsarem at- think he lias not thoroughly examined the

que Pompeium furialibus in cxitium Reipub- passage, or understood what Horace intended

lictsfacil'us armavit. to express by the word risit. The complaint*

21. Ixion.] This prince was the son of and lamentations of Orpheus might be so

Phlegias, king of the Lapithae, a people of tender and affecting as to render these un-

Thessaly. Jupiter took him into heaven, happy wretches for some time insensible of

where he would have ravished Juno, if Jupiter torments, who might then discover in their

had not introduced a cloud of the shape of countenances those marks of attention and

Juno, upon which he begot the Centaurs, joy, which are forward enough to show them-

This is a true image of the vain and empty selves in those who are lovers of music, and

enjoyments of ambitious men. Jupiter after- liave a taste for mournful and passionate airs ;

ODE XI.

HORACE'S ODES.

253

the frightful porter of the infernal palace, (whose head is surrounded,
like those of the Furies, with a hundred serpents, and from whose
terrible mouth flows a pestilential steam, and sometimes blood,) was
forced to submit to the sweetness of thy notes. Even Ijdon and
Tityos, notwithstanding their torments, could not help discovering
in their countenances marks of pleasure and joy, while they attend-
ed to thy song. The Danaides also, ravished with its sweetness, laid
aside their urns, which, for some time, remained dry. Let Lyde ob-
serve the crime and remarkable punishment of these virgins, who
are condemned to fill a leaky cask with water, which runs out at the
bottom as fast as they pour it in at the top. Let her also know that
the fates, though slow, have decreed to punish the guilty even in
hell. Those impious wretches, (for what greater impiety could they
commit ?) / say, those impious wretches were so cruel as to plunge
their daggers into the breasts of their innocent bridegrooms. One
only of all that numerous race, who alone was worthy of the name
of a bride*, gloriously deceived her perjured father, and thereby ac-
quired immortal honour. " Arise, (said she to her young husband)

* Nuptial torch.

NOTES.

nd it is upon these marks of joy, tenderness,
and pity, that Horace has with so much pro-
priety bestowed the epithet of laughter.

23. Danai puellas.] Danaus, the son of
Belus, and king of Argos, had fifty daugh-
ters, whom he married on the same day to as
many sons of his brother /Egyptus. See the
story at length, Book II. Ode 14. v. 18.

25. Audiat Lyde.] In the beginning of
"his song he repeats the name of Lyde, to let
her know that it was on her account chiefly
that he sang what Mercury "and his harp in-
spired.

29. Qua; manent culpas.'] Interpreters
have been in doubt whether the pronoun re-
lates to fata, or ought to be joined to virgincs.
But they might easily decide this matter, did
they but carefully examine the ode. It can
relate only to fata ; the invocation ends at
this verse, and the song, which Horace de-
mands of Mercury and his harp, begins at
Impi(g. These transitions are very frequent.

31. Impiee.] Beside* that this repetition

is extremely beautiful, the word is here taken
in its proper signification. Impijis is said
of one who is destitute of those sentiments
of tenderness and respect which we ought to
have for our prince, our parents, our friends,
and our country.

33. Una de multis.'] Hypermnestra.
Some authors relate that she was not the only
one, but that Bibrice also saved her husband.

35. Splendide mendax,~\ This is both a
happy and noble expression. It is known
that Damans had made his daughters promise
to slay their husbands the first night after
their marriage.

35. Et in omne virgo.] The word virgo
is used here, as elsewhere, to signify a mar-
ried woman. But perhaps Horace intro-
duces this word here, to explain a very re-
markable circumstance in the history of Hy-
permnestra, who spared her husband Lyn-
ceus, only because he had spared her in not
forcing her to break the vow by which she
had bound herself to preserve her virginity.

254 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. Ill-

Surge, quse dixit juveni marito,
Surge, ne longus tibi somnus, unde
Non times, detur; socemm et scelestas

Falle sorores, 40

Quae, velut nactae vitulos leaense,
Singulos (eheu) lacerant : ego, illis
Mollior, nee te feriam, nee intra

Claustra tenebo.

Me pater ssevis oneret catenis, 45

Quod viro clemens misero peperci ;
Me vel extremos Numidarura in agros

Classe releget.

I, pedes quo te rapiunt et aurse,

Dum favet nox et Venus : i secundo, 50

Omine, et nostri memorem sepulchre

Sculpe querelam.

ORDO.

" surge, ne longus somnui detur tibi, unde
' non times; falle socerum et scelestas
' meas sorores, quae (eheu !) lacerant spon-
' sos singulos velut leaenae nactse vitmlos:
' ego mollior illis, nee feriam te, nee tenebo
' tt inter heec claustra. Pater oneret me sae-

vis catenis, quod ego clemens peperci mi-
sero viro; vel releget me classe in extre-
mos agros Numidarum. I, quo pedes et
aurae rapiunt te, dam nox et Venus favet
till : i, secundo oraine, et culpe quere-
lam memorem nostri sepulchro meo."

NOTES.

97- Surge."] The following verses to the permnestra to Lynoeus. It is impossible to
end of tht ode, contain the speech of Hy- include, in fcn-er word! 1 , sentiments more

ODE XL

HORACE'S ODES.

25S

" arise quickly, that you may not be plunged into a long sleep by a

" hand you least suspect ; fly from the fury of my inhuman father

" and cruel sisters, who now, alas, tear their husbands to pieces as

" hungry lionesses do young heifers. But I, more merciful than

" they are, will neither make the least attempt on your life, nor de-

" tain you here. Let my barbarous father load me with chains,

" because I spared the life of my unfortunate husband : let him

" banish me to the remotest parts of Numidia ; yet do you go, save

" yourself and fly, whether by land or sea*, while Venus and the

" night favour your retreat : go under fortunate auspices, and forget

" not to engrave on my tomb an epitaph in memory of your great

" regret, and my sincere affectionf."

* Where your feet or the winds carry you. f A complaint in remembrance of m*,

NOTES.

lively and tender. Our poet excels in speeches
of this kind, as we have formerly remarked.
Ovid, in his fourteenth epistle, writes much
after the same manner :

Surge age, Belide, de tot modo jratnhts

urtus:
Nox tibi, niproperas, istaperenrds erit.

But Horace knew how to give his senti-
ments a more heroic and passionate turn, to
make them agree with the lyric style.

43, Me pater aevis.] And it actually

happened as she apprehended ; for her fa-
ther shut her up in close prison, as is related
by Apollodorus 5 thus in Ovid she writes to
Lynceus in the following manner :

Clausa domo tenevr, gravil"usque coercita
vinclis.

Pausanias adds, that Danaus had even the
confidence to accuse her before the judges,
and ndeavoured to procure her condemna-
tion.

256

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. IIL

ODE XII.

Horace wrote this to Neobule to encourage her against the troublesome and
peevish humour of an uncle, to advise her to take proper measures to al-
lay her anxieties, and to justify her in the love she bore to Hebrus, \vh

AD NEOBULEN.

MISERARUM est, neque amori dare ludum,
Neque dulci mala vino lavere; aut ex-
animari, metuentes patruae verbera linguae.

Tibi qualum Cythereae puer ales,

Tibi telas, operoseeque Minervae 5

Studium auiert, Neobule, Lipareei nitor Hebri ;

Eques ipso melior Bellerophonte,

Neque pugno, neque segni pede victus,
Simul unctos Tiberinis humeros lavit in undisj

ORDO.

Est miserarum neque dare ludum amori,
neque lavere mala dulci vino; aut exaninmri
metuentes verbera patruae lingua?.

O Neobule, ales puer Cythereae aufert tibi

studiumque operosae Minervae ; Helri,inquam,
(jui esteques melior ipso Bellerophonte, rictus
.jieque pugno, neque segni pede, simul lavit
unctos humeros in undis Tiberinis: idem etiam

qualuui; uitor Hebri Liparaei, az//ert libitelas catus jaculari cervos fugientes per apertum,

NOTES.

1. Miserarum /.] Horace has not in-
vented this expression. It is a common
phrase: a mode of speaking which took place

O T > L.

even in at. Jerome s tune, who mentions it
as the reproach of the ladies of that age ; Et
quum vtdcrint paHentem atque tristem, mise-
ram vacant. " And when they see a woman
" pale and disconsolate, i. e. modest and re-
" served, they call her miserable." This in-~
deed \v-.s been the language of every corrupt
age. Plato tells us it was a common saving
at Athens, that they who were regardless of
sensual pleasures, were unhappy niul unwor-
thy of life.

1. Neyue arnnri (Lire ludum.'] This is a
way of speaking somewhat remarkable, dare
ludum instead of indulgere, rtliemperarc, to
abandon one's self, to yield to. Plautus
uses nearly the same way of speaking in his
Bacch. Act v. Sc. 10.

Ego dare inc ludum meo gnalo i?islilui, ut
unimo obscqidum sumere possit. Mquum esse
puto ; sed ?iimis nola desidice ei dare ludum.

" I will have some indulgence for my son ;
it is reasonable that he should now and
then take a little pleasure. But I will
not at all allow thai he should abandon
himself to that indolence and sloth which
love usually inspires."

In Titus Livius, Scipio calls love, Indus
a^latis : Si frui liceret ludo cclatis. Lib.
XXVI. 50.

3. PalTv.ce verla'a llngitts.'] Among the
RomaTis tlie uncles had great authority over
their nephews; and as it was very rarely
that they treated them with the indulgence
of a parent, their cross and peevish humour
passed into a proverb, ia such a manner,

ODE XII.

HORACE'S ODES.

257

ODE XII.

was a youth of a very graceful appearance, and, at the same time, excelled in
all manly and warlike exercises.

TO NEOBULE.

IT is only for the unhappy to deny themselves the pleasures of love,
and refuse to allay their anxieties with wine ; or to live in continual
fear of the lashes of a peevish uncle's tongue.

O Neobule, Cupid, the winged son of Cytherea, has made you
throw aside your basket and your web : the arts of the industrious
Minerva are no longer agreeable to you since you were charmed
with the beauty of young Hebrus, who is a better horseman than
Bellerophon himself, is always victorious in the public exercises,
and, when he has anointed himself with oil, shows his great dexte-
rity in swimming. How expert is he at rousing and then wounding

NOTES.

tliat the word uncle came to signify a cen-
sor, a rigorous overseer. Thus Horace him-
self, (Sat. 3. Book II.) says,

Ne sis pairuus mihi

'" Do not act the part of a rigid censor,
" or behave like an uncle to me."

4. QualumJ] Quoins is a basket, or ham-
per, in which the ladies kept their spindles,
&c. .

5. Till Idas, vpcrosceque Minenee^] Ho-
race here tells us, that Neobule was incapable
of applying her mind any more to work, on
account ot the love she had for young He-
bras. Sappho, addressing herself to her mo-
ther, speaks in the tame strain : " Dear mo-
*' ther, I am no longer capable of applying to
" work ; a youth has kindli-d in my breast a
" fl ime that gradually consumes me."

6. Liparn'i ' -nitor Hebri.~\ Niter Helri, the
beauty of Hebrus, for the beautiful Hebrus.

VOL. I.

Lipara is one of the $!olian islands near
Sicily.

7 . Eques ipso mtlior Bdhmplivnte^ Tor-
rentius lias very well remarked, that this way
of speaking, Nitor Hebri eques melior Bellero-
pho/tle, is without example; and M. le Fevre
has gone so far as to pronounce it vicious and
inexcusable. For although the Greeks some-
times say, Vis Hsradis, Pis Priami, for Her-
cules or Priam ; yet they never took the li-
berty to say, fis Htrcuhs tral melior impera-
tor ijuam Theseus; and this is almost the same
thing, or rather somewhat more bold, to say,
Nilor Helri eques if so melior Belhrophante. A
famous critic has endeavoured to amend this
by transposing die lines ; but the remedy is
worse than the disease; for Horace, in de-
scribing the address of Hebrus, in the exer-
cises of the Campus Martius, follows the or-
der of the exercises themselves; as they ne-
ver threw themselves into the Tiber but af-
ter running, wrestling, mounting the horse,
or some such violent exercise.
8

258 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Catus idem per apertum fugientes 10

Agitato grege cervos jaculari, et
Celer alto latitantem fruticeto ^xcipere aprum.

ORDO.

agitato grege, et celer cxcipere aprum latitantem alto fruticeto.

QBE XIII.

Those who have thoroughly examined the turn and inimitable simplicity of
this description which Horace gives us of the fountain of Blandusia, have
acknowleged that it is one of the prettiest of its kind. Great poets have a
power of conferring immortality on what they please, and raising in their
successors a curiosity about -things that, had it not been for them, would
have been quite overlooked. As long as Horace's reputation lasts, that is,

AD FONTEM BLANDUSLE.

O FONS Blandusiae, splendidior vitro,
Dulci digne mero, non sine floribus,

Cras donaberis hredo,

Cui frons turgida cornibus

Primis, et Yenerem et proelia destinat, 5

Frustra ; nara gelidos inficiet tibi

Rubro sanguine rivos

Lascivi soboles gregis.
Te flagrantis atrox hora Caniculae
Nescit tangere : tu frigus amabile 10

ORDO.

O fons Blandusire sp'endidior vitro, digne boles lascivi gregis inficiet tibi gelidos rivos

dulci mero, non sine floribus, eras donaberis rubro suo sanguine,

hoedo, cui frons turgida primis cornibus, de- Atrox hora flagrantis Caniculae nescit tan-
rtinat et Venerem et proelia frustra ; nam so-

NOTES.

1. Fons BlandusieeJ] Blandusia was pro- connected with mero, or relate to the fol-
, pedy a. small extent of land in the country lowing verse ; Cras dmidberis hoedo, non sine

of the Sabines. This fountain was situated florilnis. The first seems to be most natural

at the foot of mount Lucretilis, now mount and likely ; Horace hereby explains to us a

Libretti. It was usually called Digentia. very solemn custom of the ancients, which

2. Dulci digne mero, non sine floribus.] was, when they intended to make libations,
The difficulty of this passage is to know, whe- to fill the cup entirely, and crown it with
tkrr the words non sine florHits, are properly flowers. Swvius, upon the fin>t Book of tht

ODE XIII. . HORACE'S ODES. 259

the stags as they fly along the open plain ! nor does he want cither
activity or courage to surprise the furious wild boar as he lies con-
cealed in his shady thicket.

ODE XIII.

as long as poetry shall be had in honour, the memory of this fountain shall
remain ; and it shall be named with those which the descriptions of antiquity
have rendered most famous. One thing which serves very much to height-
en the value of this ode, is, that it furnishes us with a very curious example
ef the sacrifices that were usually offered to fountains.

TO THE FOUNTAIN OF BLANDUSIA.

FOUNTAIN of Blandusia, clearer than crystal, and who art so wor-
thy to have libations of sweet wine made to you in cups adorned
with flowers ; to-morrow I intend to sacrifice a kid to thee, which,
being proud to feel its horns already budding, thinks only of love,
and how to fight its rivals, but in vain ; for the salacious animal
shall dye thy transparent waters with its vermilion blood. The
burning heat of the dog-star shall not affect thee ; and when it is

NOTES.

neid, says, Antiqui coronalant pocula, et sembles this, except that he sacrifices a

sic lilabant : " The ancients crowned their sheep, instead of which Horace here pro-

" cups, and then made libations." In like mises a goat :
manner Virgil himself, speaking of An-

ehises. who was preparing to make a libation, _ .

. Fonti rex Numa mactat mxm

Plenaque odorati disponit pocula Bacchi.

Magnum cratera corona

Indult, implevitque mero: Plena poada odvrati Bacchi, can signify

nothing else but pocula Jioribus corona/a,

" He crowned a great vessel with flowers, merum cum ftoril'us. The passage of Ovid
" and filled it with wine." should therefore be translated thits : " King

3. Donaleris licedo,'] We have here the Numa sacrificed a sheep to this fountain,
description of a sacrifice which Horace pro- " and ranged along the borders of it cups
mised to make to this fountain, that is, to " full of wine, crowned with flowers."
the divinity that presided there, and rendered Hence we may understand a custom of
that spring sacred. In the third Book of which Horace does not make any mention ;
Ovid's Fasti, Numa offers a sacrifice to a and that is, that after having sacrificed a
fountain, in a manner that very much re- sheep or a goat, and pourd out a

S 2

2r>0 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB III.

Fessis vomere tauris

Prsebes, et pecori vago.
Fies nobilium tu quoque fontium,
Me dicente cavis impositam ilicem

Saxis, unde loquaces 15

Lymphse desiliuut tuae.

OR DO.

gere te ; tu preebes amabile frigns tauris fessis dicente ilicem impositam cavis saxis, unde
vomere, et pecori vago. lymphae tua loquaces dcsiliunt.

Tu quoque fies umis nobilium fontium, me

NOTES.

wine, to make libations, they ranged along that fountain to come and drink of it.
the edpes oi" the fountain the cup with the 9. Atrox hora Canicular.'] Nothing can ex-
wine that remained, to invite the god of press more liappily the insupportable heat of

ODE XIV.

Augustus set out from Rome in the month of June, and in the year of the
city 727, intending to make an expedition against the British isles. The
natives, foreseeing the storm that was ready to break upon them, entreat-
ed him by their ambassadors to desist from his purpose. The prince suf-
fered himself to be overcome by their submission, and then turned his arms
against Spain. - He defeated the Cantabrians and Asturians, and returned
to Rome about 730, after an absence of three years. Horace in this

DE REDITU AUGUST!.

HERCULIS ritu modo dictus, 6 plebs,
Morte venalem petiisse laurum,
Caesar Hispanft repetit penates

Victor ab or&.

Unico gaudens mulier marito 5

Prodeat, justis operata Divis ;

ORDO.

O plebs, Caesar mod6 dictus petiisse lau- repetit penates ab Hispani ora.
rum venalem mcrte, ritu Herculis, jam victor Mulier gaudens unico marito prodeat, ops-

NOTES.

1. Herculis rilu modo dictus, 6 pleh.] understood than at first sight they seem.
These tint four vevses we more difficult to be This comparison of Augustus with Hercule*

ODE XIV.

HORACE'S ODES,

26 J

most sultry and scorching, thou wilt always afford an agreeable
shade and refreshing coolness to our weaned oxen, and to the cat-
tle that feed in our valleys. Thou shalt be ranked among the most
celebrated fountains, when I have once sung the groves that cover
the hollow rocks from which thy waters flow with a sweet and
agreeable murmur.

NOTES.

the dog-star, which Horace elsewhere calls numero niHlium fontium. This ellipsis is

eesttiosa impotentia. A late commentator has very elegant, and agreeable to the genius of

taken the liberty to substitute aura instead of lyric poetry.

hora. It is an easy matter to make his own 15. Loquaces, lympfue.] Murmuring wa-

words militate against him : Qui legimt aura ters, that made an agreeable noise, by reason

non satis memincre textus Horatiani, Fariis- of their fall from a higher to a lower place.

que mundum temperat horis. Desilil answers to the Greek word >ttTXXTj,

13. Fics nol-ilium.] That is, Jles itnus e dearsum cadit, it falls downward.

ODE XIV.

ode celebrates the emperor's return, as he had before done his departure in
the ode, O Diva gratum. It would seem as if this ode had been composed
the very day that the prince made his entry into Rome The poet, after
having given a description of the ptiblic ceremonies of that festivity, retires
to his domestic entertainment, that he may rejoice with his friends j and
declares he will enjoy himself with the utmost tranquillity.

ON THE RETURN OF AUGUSTUS FROM SPAIN.

ROMANS, our august prince, who we lately said was gone, like ano-
ther Hercules, in quest of laurels which he could only obtain at the
price of his blood, has on this day returned to his palace from Spain,
crowned with victory. Let Livia, to whom her husband only is
dear, now make her appearance, and, having sacrificed to her do-

NOTES.

is not barely an effect of the poet's enthu- fortune was the same with that hero's, who

iasm, but is drawn from some remarkable by his death only had obtained the recom-

resemblance in the lives of those two heroes, pense and honours due to his virtue. It Is

For a dangerous illness which befell Augustus upon this account that he calls these ho

in Spain, some months before his return, gave nours laurum mwle. vena/em.

occasion to the people of Rome, who were 2. Morle venale.m.] It is not till after

very much alarmed at this sickness, to com- death, that great men obtain the recom-

parehhn to Hercules, and to say, that his pense due to their labours j the envy iuse-

262

Q. HORATH CARMINA.

LIB. III.

Et soror clari ducis, et decorse

Supplice vittA.

Virginum matres, juvenumque nuper
Sospitum. Vos 6 pueri, et puellse
Jam virum expertse, male ominatis

Parcite verbis.

Hie dies vere mihi festus atras
Eximet euras : ego nee tumultum,
Nee mori per vim metuam, tenente

Caesare terras.

I, pete unguentum, puer, et coronas,
Et cadum Marsi memorem duelli,
Spartacum si qua potuit vagantem

Fallere testa.

ORDO.

rata justis Divis; et soror clari duels, et ma- vere festiis mihi eximet atras curas : eo nee

tres virginum juvenumque nuper sospitum, metuam tumultum, nee mori per vim, Caesare

decora supplice vitta. tenente terras.

O pueri, et puellae jam expertae virum, I, puer, pete unguentum, et coronas, et ca-

parcite vos male ominatis verbis. Hie dies dura memorem Marsi duelii, si qua testa potuit

NOTES.

parable from their high station and exalted
merit, often prevents them from enjoying it
while on earth. The word here used has
been already explained in the first remark ;
and I believe what is there said will make it
sufficiently evident, that those who think we
ought to read, Marte venalem, have quite
mistaken the thought of Horace, and been
insensible of the beauty of the expression.

b. Unico gattdens mulier maritn.] If the
word mulier is supportable in this ode, it is
without doubt only as it introduces the praise
of the chastitv and virtue of a wife who loved
her husband only. It is in this manner that
Horace here points cutLivia without naming
her. Although' she was one of the most
beautiful women in the world, her wisdom
was yet far superior to her beauty.

6." Justis operata Divis.'] After having
made those domestic sacrifices, which it was
her duty to offer up before appearing in pub-
lic. This passage is very remarkable, and
few commentators have understood the true
meaning of it. The Latins made use of the
words opcrari and facere (as the Greeks of
ffiv) instead of sacrijicare. But the greatest
difficulty is to know what we are to under-
stand by justis Divis. A learned interpreter

is of opinion that it signifies those who
have been acknowledged as gods by common
consent ; but Torrentius has clearly shown
that this explication is by no means to be ad-
mitted ; for Horace would never have been so
imprudent as to tell Livia, that she must not
sacrifice to strange gods. By justis therefore
we may understand, just, equitable, as the old
scholiast has very well observed. Justis,
says he, tjida vicloriam et reditum Ctesari
merenti dederint.

7. Soror clari duds.'] Octavia, the sister
of Augustus, was married first to Caius Mar-
cellus, and afterwards to Marc Antony. By
her first husband she had Marcus Marcellus,
and by Antony two daughters named Anto-
nia. Octavia at this time had been about
six years the widow of Antony her second
husband. We mus>t take care not to con-
found this princess with another of the same
name, who was also the sister of Augustus,
she being as well as this the daughter of
Caius Octavius, but by a former wife, whose
name was Ancaria.

8. Et decora; svpplice villa.] After Horace
had addressed Livia and Octavia, he next
turns to the laciies of quality that were pro-
perly 'Called matrons, and advises them to

ODE XIV.

HORACE'S ODES.

263

mestic gods, shmv he)' gratitude publicly, accompanied by Octavia
the sister of our renowned conqueror, and the Roman ladies with
sacred fillets round their heads, whose sons have escaped the fury
of the war. Ye young men, and ladies who have been lately mar-
ried, beware of uttering any thing that may obstruct our joy. This
day, which is truly a day of rejoicing to me, will dispel all gloomy
cares. While Caesar reigns, I neither fear a civil nor a foreign
war *. Go, boy, bring me perfumes and garlands ; and let me have
a bottle of the wine that was put in casks during the Marsian
war, if there be a cask that has escaped the plunder of Spartacus.

* A tumult nor to die by force.

NOTES.

follow these two princesses to the procession
which they were to make in gratitude to the
gods for the care they had taken of Augustus.
10. Sospitum.'] He here addresses himself
to the mothers of those young Romans who
had followed Augustus into Spain, and had
escaped all the dangers of that bloody war.
Marcus Loll'ms, Plotius Numida, and Julius
Florus, were of that number, not to mention
Marcellus and Tiberius. This campaign

Kwed very unfortunate to many : whence
orace, after having spoken of those fami-
lies whose children had escaped the dangers
of that war, makes mention of those who re-
gretted the losses they had sustained by id.
He requires of the first that they should pay
due acknowledgements to the gods, and prays
the latter to smother for a time their just
griefs, that they might give no interruption to
the festivity.

10. Fos 6 pueri, et pudles.] Torrentius
tells us, that he^cannot comprehend why
Horace here joins the young women newly
married with the boys; that it was more
common and more reasonable to join them
with the young girls, and that therefore there
must be some error in the reading, which he
thinks ought to be corrected in the following

Vos pueri et pudlae et
Jam vintm expertee.

But this is exceedingly harsh. Perhaps
Horace joins here the ladies newly married
with the boys, because, having neither the
age nor authority of mothers, they could
not be joined with Livia and Octavia.
And he names them preferably to the girls,

because they had a greater concern in that
feast, as their husbands had returned in safety
with Augustus, or remained in the army se-
cure from all danger.

11. Male ominatis.] Some manuscripts
have male nominatis. The sense, even ac-
cording to this reading, is still the same ;
for male nomi?iata verla, are verla infelicia,
infausta, unlucky words, which the Greeks
called ovx. evofjict^a,.

12. Par cite verbis,] Par cere vcrlis male
ominalis is precisely favere linguis. The
reader may consult the remark on the second
verse of the first ode of this book.

13. Hie dies vere mihifestus.] Of all the
feasts that are celebrated in honour of our
prince, those only are truly such, which are
the effect of our love and gratitude.

13. Atras curas.] The fears and inquie-
tudes with which they had been tormented
during the absence and indisposition of Au-
gustus, and the anxieties which had been oc-
casioned by hearing that so many enemies
were in arms against him.

14. Egonectumultum.] By tumnltus Ho-
race properly understands the civil wars.
One cannot better understand this passage,
than by the following one of ode 15th, book
4th.

Custode rerum Ccesare, non furor
Civilfe, non vis eximet otium.

Furor civilis is the same with what he
here calls tumultus; and ws, in eacli of the
passages, signifies war with foreign enemies.
18. Marsi duelli.~] Marsi for Marsici.
Horace here speaks of the war which was
commonly called lellum sociale, the war

264 Q. HORATII CARMINA, LIB. III.

Die et argutte properet Neaerse
Myrrheum nodo cohibere crinem :
Si per invisum mora janitorem

Fiet, abito.

Lenit albescens animos capillus, 25

.Litium et rixae cupidos protervse.
Non ego hoc ferrem calidus juveata,

Consule Planco.

ORDO.

fallere Spartacum vagantem. EtdicNeaenear- dam cupidos 11 ti urn et rixae protervae. Ego

gutae ut properet cohibere crinem myrrheum calidus juventa, Planco consule, non fenem

nodo : si mora fiet per invisum janitorem, abito. hoc.
Albescens capillus lenit meos animos, quon-

NOTES.

with the confederates, and leUum. Italicum, the Romans were obliged to sustain that of

the war of Italy. He calls it the war with Spartacus, born m Thrace, who, putting him-

the Marsi, because it was begun by that peo- self at the head of a small number of gla-

ple, who were headed by one Popedius. This diators, and having increased his party by the

war occurred about 26 years before the birth adjunction of many slaves, who flocked to him

of Horace; and joining these 26 years to from all quarters, furiously ravaged Italy.

the 42 years of his age, we shall find that Horace could not better describe the desola-

this wine was about 68 years old when he tion he made, than in seeming "to question

wrote this ode. whether so much as a single vessel of wine

19. Spartacum.'] Sixteen or seventeen had escaped the pillage of that gladiator.

years after the war with, the confederates, But we ought not nere to overlook the. ad-

ODE XIV. HORACE'S ODES. 265

Desire alsoNesera, who sings so charmingly, to hasten hither as soon
as she has bound up her hair and perfumed it*. If her surly porter
should refuse you immediate access, make no noise, but returnf.
My hairs begin now to grow grey through age, which has extin-
guishf'-l that heat of youth which some time ago was ready to resent
the least affront; but in the consulate of Plancus, when my blood
ran warm, I would not have borne it.

* Perfumed hair. f Go away.

NOTES.

dress and dexterity of Horace, who, in simply Myrrheus oinis he means, hair perfumed

making mention of old wine, finds means to with essence of myrrh. Virgil says, Crines

give so strong a representation of the dis- myrrha madentes, hair perfumed with- myrrh,

orders occasioned hy these two wars, in order Tibullus uses a similar mode of expression in

to make his countrymen sensible of the threat his fourth elegy, Myrrhea cmna.

difference between the commotions which 28. Consul*. Plnnco.'j Horace was bora

then prevailed, and the tranquillity which under the consulship of L. Manlius Torqua-

they enjoyed under the sway of Augustus. tus, about the year of the city 688 ; and this

21. Argute Necera^ This was apparent- L. Munatius rlancus, whom he mentions
Iv some stranger, as we may easily collect here, and who is the same with him to whom
from her name. She was remarkable for her he addresses the seventh ode of the first book,
fine and clear voice; for this is the force of was consul in the year of the city 7H> so
the epithet argutce, it signifying the same that Horace at this time was not quite 23
with canora;, years of age.

22. Mynheum nodo cohilere ainem] By

266 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

ODE XV.

This ode is wholly satirical. Horace designed it against Chlorls, the mother of
Pholoe. It is impossible to determine the time of its composition. There

IN CHLORIM.

UXOR pauperis Ibyci,

Tandem nequitiae fige modum tuse,
Famosisque laboribus:

Mature propior desine funeri
Inter ludere virgines, 5

Et stellis nebulam spargere candidls.
Non, si quid Pholoen satis,

Et te, Chlori, decet : filia rectius
Expugnat j uvenum domos,

Pulso Thyas utl concita tympano. 10

111 am cogit amor Nothi

Lascivae similem ludere caprese :
Te lanae prope nobilem

Tonsae Luceriam, non citharae, decent,

ORDO.

Uxor pauperis Ibyci, tandem fige modum et dece t te . filia tua rectius expugnat domo

tuse nequiticE, famosisque laboribus: jam pro- juvenum, uti Thyas concita tvmpano pulso.

pior mature funeri, desine ludere inUr virgi- Amor Nothi cogil illam ludere similem las-

nes, et spargere nebulam stellis candidis. civae capreae : lanae tor.ste prope nobilcm

O Chlori, si quid satis decet Pholoen, non Luceriam decent te vetulam, non vero ci-

NOTES.

1. Uxor pauperis /tyri.] Courtezans, us an idea of her debaucheries, and points

when they began to grow old, that they might her out by her profession,

continue their infamous commerce with ihe x 8. Filia rectiits.] As young men often

greater impunity, usually wedded themselves disguised themselves in th'e night to go and

to some sordid wretches, as this Ibycus, who visit the courtezans, and to force open their

were not so proptrly their husbands as their houses, if they refused fbem entrance ; the

slaves. Pavperes eligvnt, (says St. Jcron.e) courtezans, on the other hand, sometimes

ut nomeji tantum virontm hal-ere videantur, did the same, that they might he admitted

qui patienler rirales fitstincant, si imtssila- into the houses of the young men ; and this,

verint, iUco prejiriendi. Thus the very first in all probability, is what Horace means here,

line of this ode is as satirical as any thing when he says that Pholoe stormed the young

can be imagined to be ; and Horace, in calling men's houses. For it is impossible to find

Chloris the wife of the wretche^ Ibycus, gives either good sense or justness in this passage,

ODE XV. HORACE'S ODES. 26f

ODE XV.

is, however, reason to think that it was written after the 33d of the first
Book, and the 5th of the second.

; TO CHLORIS.

O CHLORIS, the wife of poor Ibycus, at length set bounds to your
lewdness, and give overyour infamous intrigues. Since you are fit only
for the grave, forbear to dance in company with young ladies, and
to mix with these bright' stars so dark and black a cloud. Every
thing that becomes Pholoe, does not now, Chloris, become you. It
is more suitable for your daughter to force her way into young gen-
tlemen's chambers*, like a bacchanal roused, by the sound of the
timbrel. The love she has for Nothus makes her play like a wanton
kid : but, as for you, you are fit for nothing but the spindle and
distafff: in such an advanced age, it does not become you to play on

* Houses. -f The wool clipped near noble Luceria becomes you.

NOTES.

if we explain it figuratively. Bentley has " hand a rod environed with verdant flowers."

confirmed this explication by two citations, It is well known that the Bacchantes had or-

which plainly prove that the women some- dinarily no other arms than the thyrsus,

times were so bold, as to force the gates Horace therefore compares Pheloe to one of

of their lovers, if they refused to open the Bacchantes, because perhaps in some

them. The first is from Seneca, who says, masquerade she had appeared in the same

in the preface to his fourth Book of Natural equipage with the young lady described by

Questions, Crispus Passifnus stepe dicelat, Anacreon.

adulatiord nos opponere, non claudere ostium, 1 1 . Iltam cngit amor Nothi."] In Book

et quide.m sic, qucmadmodum arnica solet, first, Ode 33, and Book second, Ode 5,

qua; si impulit grata, est, gratiar si effregerit. Horace speaks of this Pholoe as a young girl

The other is from Plautua, Mil. Glor. Act. as yet unacquainted with the force of love.

4. Sc. 6. The courtezan Acroteleutium says, This proves evidently that the ode now be-
fore us followed the two others in point of

. Durare nequeo composition.

Quineamintro. Mi. Occlusee sunt fores. 13. Te lanee.'] Horace tells Chloris that

Ac. EffnHgam. Mi. Sana non es. . she ought now to employ herself in works of

labour and industry, that being the ordinary

10. Pulso Thyas u(l cnncita iymparw.~\ fate of courte/.ans; when they grew old, they

Anacreon, describing a young girl who dis- were reduced to the necessity of gaining a

guised herself, says : " A young lady who livelihood by their hands. Tibullus, in the

" had the finest feet in the world, danced to sixth Elegy of his first Book, says,
" the sound of the guitar, and held in her

26S Q. HORATII CARMINA, LIB. HI.

Nee flos purpureus rosse, 35

Nee poti vetulam faece terms cadr.

ORDO.

*Larce, ncc purpureus fios rosze, nee cadi poti teiius feet,

NOTES.

JVttTTi qua? fidit full mittiypost victa senccta " to the necessity of supporting nerseM~t>y
Duc'd inojis tremula stamina torta manu. " her industry, and yet was incapable of

" avoiding the severest poverty."

" For she who during her youth had 14. Luceriam.] Luceria was an ancient
" proved faiihbess to all her lovers, being and considerable city in Daunian Apulia. Its
" at last overtaken with old age, was reduced pasturage was excellent. Strabo remarks,

ODE XVI.

This ode is a mixture of satire and morality. The first part of the ode is
against avarice, where Horace represents "the mischiefs that usually arise
from riches. But this does not seem to he his principal design : he only seeks,
by that reference, anoccasion to thank Maecenas for the small country-seat he

AD JM^ECENATEM.

INCLUSAM Danaen turris ahenea,
Robustfeque fores, et vigilum canum
Tristes excubiae, rminierant satis

Nocturnis ab adulteris,

Si non Acrisiitm, virginis abditee 5

Custodem pavidum, Jupiter et Venus
. Risissent ; fore enim tutum iter et patens.
Converse in pretium Deo.

ORDO.

Turris ahtnea, robustseque fores, et tristes piter et Venus non risissent Arrisiumpavidhna
ij-- vigilum cunum, satis numierant Da- custodem virginis abdilae; sritkant enim iiei
inclusam ab nocturnis adultcris, si Ju- fore tutum et patens Deo converse in pretium.

NOTES

7. Indtisam Danaeri.'] Acrisius, the last the accomplishment of what the oracle had

king of Argos, being warned by an oracle foretold. The better to effect this, and cut

lLafhe should be deprived of Ins kingdom, her off from all commerce with men, he or-

and put 10 death by his grandson, resolved, dered her to be shut up in a strong tower,

if possible, to hinder his daughter Danae ail the avenues whereof were guarded with

from having any children, and thus prevent the greatest care. But his precautions proved

ODE XVT.

HORACE'S ODES,

the lute, to wear a garland of roses, or drink your glass in turn till
you see the bottle out*.

* To the dregs of the cast.

NOTES.

;hat the wool which grew upon the sheep of ing of Horace, who here speaks of those de

this country, was much finer than that of bauehes of which courtezans were usually

Tarentum, though not altogether so white. guilty, and of which we have an example,

16. Nee poti vetulam.] There is no rea- Ode 06, Book first,
son to make any alteration in these words ;

for such as are of opinion that we should Neil multi Damalis meri
read sed poti, have not entered into the mean- J3&ssum Threicia vincat amy slide.

ODE XVI.

was pleased to make him a present of, and to assure him, that he esteemed
himself more happy in the possession of that small territory, than if he had
bestowed upon him the government of one of the most opulent provinces.

TO MAECENAS.

A TOWER of brass, and ironf gates, with surly mastiffs before them-
continually upon the watch, were surebj guard sufficient to keep
Daniie secure from her midnight gallants, had not Jupiter and Venus
smiled at Acrisius, the timorous guardian of the secreted virgin, well
knowing that the way would be plain and easy to a god changed into
a shower of gold. Gold makes its way through the midst of guards

f- Strong.

NOTES.

ineffectual. His brother Proteus, In a short
time, found means to gain admittance into the
tower, and pay his addresses to Danae, who
even suffered voluntarily the caresses of her
uncle, in hopes of being delivered from the
tyranny of her fuller. The child that sprang
from this commerce was named Perseus, who,
after going through a great variety of adven-
tures, at last punished the cruelty of Acrisius,
and converted him into a stone, by present-
ijig to him the head of Medusa; and because

Proteus had corrupted the keepers of the
tower with gold, this gave rise to the fable
that Jupiter, descending in the form of <
shower of gold, fell into Danae' s lap, and that
Perseu was the son of that god.

6. Pavidum.] This epithet explains die
whole history of Acrisius, and tire reason
which induced him to shut up his daughter ;
he was apprehensive of being slain by hit
grandson.

270

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. IIL

Aurum per medics ire satellites,

Et perrumpere amat saxa, potentius 10

Ictu fulmineo. Concidit auguris

Argivi domuS; ob lucrum
Demersa excidio. Diffidit urbium
Portas vir Macedo, et subruit semulos

Reges muneribus. Munera navium 15

Saevos illaqueant duces.
Crescentem sequitur cura pecuniam,
Majorumque fames. Jure perhorrui
Late conspicuum tollere verticem,

Mascenas, equitum decus. 20

Quanto quisque sibi plura negaverit,
A Dis plura feret. Nil cupientium

ORDO.

Aurum am*t Ire per medios satellites, et, vium. Cura famesque majorum sequitur cres-

Citius ictu fulmineo, perrumpere saxa. centem pecuniam.

us auguris Argivi, demersa excidio, O Maecenas, decus equitum, jure perhor-

concidit ob luc/urn. Vir Macedo diffidit rui tollere meum verticem late conspicuum.

portas urbium rnuneribus, et subruit reges Quanto plura quisque negaverit sibi, lantt

semulos. Munera illaqueant saevos duces na- plura feret a Diis.

NOTES.

6. Jupiter et Venus.~\ This contrast is ex-
ceedinaly beautiful. On the one side, Acri-
sius, diffident, anxious, vigilant, takes what he
thinks the most effectual measures to prevent
all access to his daughter ; on the other side,
Jupiter and Venus, calm, serene, and sure
of success, smile at his fruitless precautions.

8. Converso in pretium Deo.] Horace
follows here the most common and ancient
opinion, that Jupiter changed himself into a
shower of gold. Those who have been of
opinion that he onlv made a shower of gold
to fall, to procure him a more ready admis-
sion, and that he afterwards entered in the
form of a man, have grounded their belief
upon a passage of Terence, and an explica-
tion of it by Donatus.

10. Potenlius ictufulmnieo.l Horace tells
us, that gold is more powerful than thunder;
and perhaps he might in this have a regard
to what philosophers have written, that thun-
der penetrates but a very smsll way into the
earth, whereas gold will level the laftiest
mountains. One may read upon this the be-
ginning of the 33d Book of Pliny.

11. Concidit auguris Argivi dvmus.~] He
here speaks of Auiphiaraus, who had espoused

Eriphyle, the sister of Adrastus, king of
Argos. This Amphiaraus was an excellent
soothsayer ; and, as he knew he must die if
he should engage in the war of Thebes, he
refused to follow Adrastus and Polynices thi-
ther, who used all their endeavours to per-
suade him to it. Polynices, thinking that
the most probable way to accomplish his de-
sign, would be to gain the wife of Amphia-
i raus by presents, made an attempt, and met
with success. For she by her persuasions
prevailed with her husband to go to the war,
who was swallowed up the very first day, to-
gether with his chariot, by an earthquake.
Alcmeon his son revenged his death, bj
killing his mother Eriphyle; and he again
was slain by his uncles in rrvenge of their
sister. In fine, bis brother Amphilochus
perished before Thebes. Thus Horace had
good reason to say, that the avarice of one
woman proved the entire ruin of that house.
13. Diffidit urlium portas vir Macedo.']
Philip, the son of Atnyntas, and king of
Macedon, was one of the greatest captains of
Greece. He learned the art of war under
the famous Epaminondas, and engaged in it
afterwards with great success against die Pbo-

ODE XVI.

HORACE'S ODES.

271-

and sentinels, and, more powerful than thunder, breaks through the
hardest rocks. The love of gold* was the occasion of all the mis-
chiefs that befel the house of the augur Amphiaraus. The kingf of
Macedon, by means of his presents, found an entrance into the most
impregnable cities, and defeated the most powerful monarchs his ri-
vals. Presents soften even the savage tempers of commanders of
ships. Every day's experience demonstrates that the increase of
wealth serves only to increase our cares, and nourish our ambition
and avarice J. It is for this reason, dear Maecenas, who art the honour
and glory of the equestrian order, that I have always dreaded the
consequences of pomp and grandeur^. The more one moderates his
desires||, the greater riches shall he obtain of heaven^f . My great am-

* Gain. f The man. t Care, and a desire of more, follow increasing money.

To lift ray head to be seen afar. j|{ Denies to himself. a ^f The gods.

NOTES.*]

censes, the Thracians, Peonians, Illyrians,
Boeotians, and Athenians. But he was not
more remarkable for his conquest by the sword,
than for the success of his negotiations, and
for carrying all before him by means of his
pensioners ; of which he always maintained a
great number in the seteral states of Greece;
and this is what gave rise to the expression
which Horace here makes use of. The ora-
cle of Apollo had advised him to fight with
weapons of gold, if he intended to prevail
effectually over his enemies; which direction
that politic prince ever after made his rule,
and followed faithfully. Hence it was his
usual maxim, as related by Cicero, that no
fortress was impregnable in which there was
an entrance large enough to admit a mule
laden with gold: Philippus omnia casletla
expugnari posse dice/tat, in qu& modu asdlus
vn'ustus auro posset ascendere.

15. Munera navium .] A learned inter-
preter, in rendering this passage, joins munera
with navium, as if Horace had said that the
profits of the vessels, that is, the advantages
arising from commerce with foreign" coun-
tries, usually gain the captains. Nothing
can be more remote from the intention of the
poet, who here finds fault with such captains
as had, in several instances, been negligent
of their duty, because they had suffered them-
selves to be corrupted.

17. Crescentem sequitur,] Hitherto the
poet has proved, by examples drawn from
ancient fablt and history, that honour and

fidelity are not proof againt the charms of
gold. He adds here two other evils which
riches usually occasion ; they augment our
anxieties, and increase our desires. Mqjo-
rum, in the following verse, relates to bono-
rum, which is understood ; otherwise Horace
ought either to have .said pecunias in the pre-
ceding verse, or mqjoris in this.

19. Late conspicuum tollerc verticem.~]
Horace was not naturally inclined to aspire at
high things, although the regard Maecena*
had for him, might easily have procured him
the most considerable advantages. He took
a wiser course, by imitating his illustrious
protector; who, although he might easily have
attained the highest dignities of the republic,
satisfied himself with the rank of a Roman
knight.

20. Maecenas, equitiim decus.~\ Horace
calls Maecenas the ornament and glory of the
equestrian order, on account of those great
qualifications which distinguished him from
others, and because, being the favourite of
Augustus, he was satisfied with that honour,
and made his friends reap all the advantage
of it.

2 1 . Quanta quisque sill.] The latter part
of this ode is not the least beautiful ; it is
properly an explanation of the celebrated
maxim of Epicurus reported by Seneca,
Magnes divitice sunt, lege natures, composiia
paupertas. When one has wherewith to
supply the necessary wants and exigencies of
life, other things may easily be dispensed

272

Q. HORATII CARMIXA.

LIB. III.

Nudus castra peto, et transfuga divitum

Partes linquere gestio,
Contcmtae dominus splendidior rei,
Quam si quidquid arat non piger Appulus
Occultare njeis dicerer horreis,

Magnas inter opes inops.
Purse rivus aqua?, sylvaque jugerum
Pauconim, et segetis certa fides mese,
Fulgentem imperio for tills Africw

Fallit. sorte beat'u.r.

Quanquam nee Calabne mella ferunt apes,
INiee Lsestrygonia Bacchus in amphora
Languescit mihi, nee pinguia Gallicis

Crescunt vellera pascuis;
Importuna tamen pauperies abest;
Nee, si plura velim, tu dare deneges.
Contracto melius parva Cupidine
Vectigalia porrigam,

ORDO.

Ego nudus peto castra cupieutium nil, ct tern imperio fertilis Africae, ut sim beatior

transfuga gestio linquere partes divitum, sorte quam ille. Quanquam nee Calabrae

splendulior dominus rei coutemtae, quam si apes ferunt mella mihi, nee Bacchus langues-

dicerer occultare meis horreis qtiidquid non cit mihi in amphora Laestrygonii, nee vellera

piger Appulus arat, ego interim inops inter pinguia crescunt mihi in Gallicis pascuis ;

inagnas opes. tamen importuna pauperiea abest ; nee, si

Rivus aqua; puree, sylvaque paucorum jugc- velim plura, tu deneges dare,
rum, et certa fides segetis meae, fallit fulgen- Melius porrigam parva inca vectigalia con-

NOTES.

with ; sound reason allows no other demands,
and every thing we aim at beyond this, is only
to gratify an inordinate df sire. Siln therefore
liere stands for cupiditali, avaritite.

22. Nil ritpientium.'] Any one may easily
discover, that Horace, by opposing such as
moderate their desires, ml cupientiitm, to the
rich, divitum, gives in a very few words a
stroke of praise to Maecenas, and of satire to
those who made their court to liim. This
favourite of his prince, this dispenser of his
graces, contented himself through his whole
lire with the honour of being a Roman knight,
and employed all his interest and credit with
Augustus to satisfy the desires of the great,
and procure, thtra the most honourable offices
and employments. When the poet tells us
that he rauks himself an.

derate and restrain their desires, he gives us
to understand, that he follows the example
of Maecenas; and when he adds, that he quits
the part of the rich, it is as much as if he
had said, that he would not resemble those
insatiable courtiers, who, though already
loaded with honours and preferments, yet do
not cease to importune the prince and his
minister, that they may obtain still more.

2j. Ci>ntemtee dnminus splendidior rti.~\
I am surprised that this passage hath appear-
ed so difficult to interpreters. Horace calls
his small possessions rts crmtemta,*i\oi with
reference to himself, for that would be a ridi-
culous supposition, but in regard of others, .
who despised them, and did not envy him the
enjoyment of them.

J6. QiiiJqv.id aret non piger Apjndus-]

ODE XVI.

HORACE'S ODES.

2/3

bition at present is to quit the party of the great, and to range myself
among those who are at due pains to restrain all immoderate de-
sires, more content and more rich in the possession of a small inhe-
ritance, which I never solicited, than if 1 should treasure up in my
granaries all the corn of Apulia collected by its industrious inha-
bitants, and yet, tike most courtiers, be poor in the midst of so great
plenty. The splendid monarch of fertile Africa would have dif-
ficulty to conceive, how, with a fountain of clear water, a wood
of a few acres, and a small field of corn which always answers my
expectation, I should enjoy more real happiness than he. Though
I have no Calabrian bees making honey for me, no rich Formian
wines mellowing in my casks, nor flocks feeding in the fertile plains
of Gaul to enrich me with their fleeces, yet am I preserved from
the inconveniencies of poverty; and were I not content with what
at present I enjoy, but desirous of more, / know, Maecenas, you
would not deny it me. But, moderating my desires, I am able to
pay my small taxes with greater ease than if, reigning over both

NOTES.

Apulia was very fertile, and the inhabitants
were a laborious people ; whence he else-
where says of them, Perusta solibus pmd-
cis uxor Appuli.

3 1 . Fulgentem imperiofertilis Africeefallill\
This is a way of speaking used frequently
among the Greeks, fallit, Xavtavsi, latet.
The rich and powerful monarch of fertile
Libya can hardly conceive. The principal
difficulty of this passage consists in these two
words, sarte leatior. But this difficulty dis-
appears, if you compare the translation with
the order of construction, which clears the
sentence of that confusion into which Dacier,
Sanadon, and most of the commentators,
have thrown it.

34. Nee Lcestrygorda Bacchus in amphora."]
The Lestrygons were an ancient people of
Sicily, who, coming thence into Italy, settled
themselves in Campania, and built the city
Formia, which was also from them called L<e-
strygonia. By Lceslrygonia amphora there-
fore, Horace means Formian wine, which was
the finest in Italy.

39- Contracto melius, &c.] A man who
has but small possessions to draw his subsist-
ence froin, and who is satisfied with them,
without eagerly grasping after move, is more
careful to improve them, and draw a greater
value from them in proportion, than thobe

VOL. I.

who possess large estates, and are always
seeking to acquire new ones. The one may
be said to enjoy his small revenue, because
he knows how to set bounds to his desires ;
the other continually aims at more, and can
never be satisfied.

40. Pectigalia parrigam.'] Among the
Romans there were two kinds of tribute ; the
one called properly Tribulum. This was the
money paid by every citizen according to hU
abilities ; and this tribute was either ordi-
nary or extraordinary. The last was called
Temerarium tiibutum, and was levied only
in pressing exigencies. The other kind,
which was called the uncertain tribute,
and fectigal, consisted of what they called
Portorium, Scriptura, and Decuma. . The
Porturium was a duty imposed upon all
goods and wares imported and exported.
The Scriptura was a tax laid upon pastures
and cattle. The Decuma was the quantity
of corn which the farmers were obliged to
pay to the Roman state, commonly the tenth
part of their crop. But, besides this, which
they properly iennedFrumentum derumanum,
and which ws farmed by the publicans, hence
called Decumnni, we read of the Frumentum
einptum, ami fmmentum testimatum, both
taken up in the provinces. The Frumentum
emptum was of two sorts, either decumanum
T

Q. HORATII CARMIXA . Li B . III.

Quam si Mygdoniis rognum Halyattici
Campis continuem. Multa petentibus

Desunt multa. Bene est, cui Deus obtulit
Parca, quod satis est, manu.

ORDO.

tracto cupidine, quam si continuem regnum prtentibus multa. Dene est ei cui Deus ob-
Halyattici Mygdoniis campis. Multa desunt tulit, quod satis est, parca maim.

NOTES.

or imperalum; the former was another tenth, tity of corn equally exacted of the provin-
paiduponthe consideration of such a sum as cial fanners after the two-tenths at such a
the senate had determined to Ue the price of price as the chief magistrate pleased to give,
it, who rated it so much a bushel at their plea- Frumeiitum cestimaticin was a corn-tax re-
sure. TheFrumentumimpfratum was aquan- quired by the chief magistrate of the pro-

ODE XVII.

Horace writes this ode to JElius Lamia, to exhort him to sweeten and
avoid the rigour of the season by a liberal indulgence, which was the
course he himself always followed. The ode is very simple, but at the

AD /ELIUM LAMIAM.

./ELI, vctusto nobilis ab Lamo,
(Quando et priores hinc Lamias ferunt
Denominates, et nepotum

Per memores erenus omne fastos)

Auctore ab illo duels originem, 5

Qui Formiarum moenia dicitur

ORDO.

^Eli, nobilis abvetusto Lamo fquaii^fb et fe- omne rr-nus nepotum per me mores fastos) du-
rnnt priores Lamias denoruiuatos essf hinc, et cis originem ab illo auctore, qui priuccps di-

NOTES.

1. JEli^\ This is the same /Elius Tjimia but very ancient and illustrious, on account of

of whom mention is made in the 06th ode the great offices which they had enjoyed. The

of tlip first Book. The .^Elii were divided person here addressed had commanded in the

into seven or eight families, all plebeian; army of Augustus against the Cantabrians, and

ODE XVII.

HORACE'S ODES.

275

Lydia and Phrygia, I were bound to pay a great tribute. Those
who are desirous of possessing much,}ind their wants still multiply
upon them. Happy is he to whom God has given what is just
sufficient * to pass through life with honour.

* God has given with a sparing hand.

NOTES.

vince for his private use, and the occasions
of his family. This was commonly com-
pounded for in money, and on that account
took its name al testimando, from rating it
at such a sum of money. After Augustus
had made a division of the provinces between
himself and the people, the annual taxes
paid hy the provinces under the emperor
were called Slipeiulia; and those which were
gathered in the people's provinces, Tnhila.
41. Regnum nalyattici.] By Halyatticus,
Horace here means Croesus, who was the son

of Halyattes, and king of Lydia in Asia Mi-
nor, a great and powerful kingdom. He was
at last overcome by Cyrus, himself taken cap-
tive, and his kingdom made a part of the
Persian empire. <

4 ). Oltidit.] This word expresses Ho-
race's meaning much better than dedit t which
seems to imply prayers and importunities,
whereas oltulit marks a benefit granted with-
out solicitation ; which highly augments the
merit of it. Horace in this again makes his
court to Maecenas.

ODE XVII.

same time very natural. It is probable that Lamia was at this time remov-
ed from the city to some one of his country-seats. It is impossible to deter-
mine the precise time of its composition, but it seems to have been writ-
ten after the 26th and 3Gth of book first.

TO .ELIUS LAMIA.

jEuus, illustrious descendant of ancient Lamus (for it appears hy
our chronicles, that from him your ancestors had this name, which
has descended to all their posterity), from that prince you derive
your origin, who, having established at Formia the seat of a great
empire, reigned over tlie country bordering on the Liris, which flows

NOTES.

was also one of the tmtmviri monetales, or
masters of the mint, as appears from some
ancient medals yet extant. From the fa-
mily of the J.l\i sprang also that of the An-
tonines.

1. Lamo.'] This Lamus was, according to
some, the son of Neptune, and king of the
Lestrygons in Latium, who, as Hesychius re-
ports, gave hit name to that country.

5. Aurtore al) illo duds nrigincm.'] Hein-
sius was the first who corrected this passage,
by reading drtcit instead of duds. And Bent-
ley is the first who said that genus is not
an accusative, but the nominative with which
dudt agreed ; and that the parenthesis ought
to br continued to (ate tyrannus. '1 his remark
of Bentley is very ingenious, and does htm a
great deal of honour. However, duds i 1 *
T2

276

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. III.

Princeps, et innantem Maricae

Litoribus tenuisse Lirin,
Late tyranmis. Cras foliis nemus
Multis, et alga litus inutili,
Demissa tempestas ab Euro

Sternet, aquae nisi fallit augur
Annosa cornix. Dum potes, aridum
Compone lignum. Cras genium mero
Curabis, et porco bimestri,
Cum famulis operum solutis.

ORDO.

citur tenuisse mania Formiarum, et late ty- nisi annosa cornix augur aquae fallit me.

rannus temrisse Lirin innantem litoribus Ma- Compone igiiur aridum lignum, dum potes.

ricse. Tempestas demissa ab Euro eras ster- Cras curabis genium mero et porco bimestri,

net nemus multis foliis et litus alga inutili, cum famulis solutis operum.

NOTES.

continued here, and consequently the paren-
thesis as formerly, the sense being the same.
6. Qui Formiarum tnamia diciturJ] Horace
here manifestly follows Homer, who calls For-
mia the city of Lamus, giving us by this to
understand, that Lamus had formerly reigned
there. Strabo seems to be of a contrary opi-
nion, when he says that it was built by the
Lacedemonians : but he only means it was re-
built and re-peopled by the Lacedemonians,
who changed its name of Laestrygonia into
that of Formia.
7. Etinnanlem Maricte lituriliis teriuisse Li-

rin.'] The river Liris, descending from the
Apennines, separates Latium from Campa-
nia, and takes its course towards Minturnae,
a city at a small distance from Formia. After
it passes by Minturnae, it runs on to Marica.
Lamus built a mole in this part of it, and
rendered it navigable. This is the plain
meaning of a passage which has not hitherto
been explained.

7. Maricte.'] Marica was not far from the
mouth of the Liris; and here it was that
Marius was found concealed. It was also
near a little wood, which Strabo represents

ODE XVII.

HORACE'S ODES.

277

along the shores of Marica. / warn you that, unless the crow, that
always foretells the approach of rain, deceive me, to-morrow a vio-
lent tempest, excited by a raging east wind, will strew the earth
with the leaves of trees, and cover the coast with weeds. Make
the best use therefore of this advice, and gather in your wood while
it is yet dry. To-morrow, surrounded with your domestics, who
will not then have an opportunity of working, you may regale
yourself with zjine young pig *, and a glass of good wine.

* A pig two months old.

NOTES.

as situated below Minturnae. This grove was
worshiped by all the country round about,
and there is good ground to think that it was
consecrated to Circe, who after her death
was called Marica.

12. Aqua: nisifallit augur.'] The crow
presages rain when it sings, or flies alone by
the edge of the sea, or banks of a river.
Thus Virgil says,

Turn comix rauca pluviam vocal improla

voce,
Et sola in sicca secum spatiatur arena.

14. Cras genium mero curolis.] This ex-
pression signifies no more than, yoft shall in-
dulge yourself, you shall irake merry. Plau-

tus, speaking of a miser, says very pleasantly
in a contrary sense, Cum gcniis suis IteUige-
rare. The ancient mythology which made
gods of every thing, -Kir-ed in a manner all
mankind from the vti-y moment of their
birth, by ascribing to tvevy one a particular
genius. They were of opinion that this
god, which is nothing but the sou!, was
born and died with us, governed our horo-
scope, and was different according to our in-
clination and tempers.

16. Operum solutis.'] We ought not to
conclude from this that the day following was
to be a festival. Horace only means that the
badness of the weather would prevent the
people from applying themselves to work.

1378 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. Ill-

ODE XVIII.

The Romans believed that the god Faunus passed from Arcadia into Italy on
the 13th of February, and that he did not return thither before the 5th of
December. They offered sacrifices to him at his departure, as well as on
his arrival. Horace, being at his country-seat, composed this hymn to
be sung at the feasts of December, which were particularly called Faunalia.

AD FAUNUM.

FAUNE, Nympharum fugientum amatar,
Per meos tines et aprica rura
Lenis incedas, abeasque parvis

vEquus alumnis ;

Si tener pleno cadit hoedus anno, 5

Larga nee desunt Veneris sodali
Vina craterae ; vetus ara multo

Finn at odore.

Ludit herboso pecus omne campo,

Cum tibi Non* redeurit Decembres ; 10

Festus in pratis vacat otioso

Cum bove pagus ;
Inter audaces lupus errat agnos ;
Spargit agrestes tibi sylva frondes ;

ORDO.

Faune, amator Nympharum fugientnm, in- dali Veneris ; si vetus ara fumat mu'to ndore,

cedas lenis per meos fines et aprica nua, abeas- Cum Nome Decembres recieunt tibi, onrmf.

que aequtis parvis alumnis; si tener hoedus cadit pecus ludit herboso campo, festus pagus va-

pleno anno, nee larga vina desuut craterae so- cat in pratis cum oticso bove. Lupus errat

NOTES.

1. Faune."] 'Hie same with Pan. and setting sun, and that the mountains

1. Nympharum fugienlum amator. ] Fan- served as a fence to it from the north and
nus wa9 a wry amorous god, whence he south.

hath been culled Inuus and Incubus. The 3. Lenis.] Thfocritus has represented

ancients designed by this to express the fer- the god Pan as a very passionate and wrath-

tility of the earth. ful deity, Idyl. i. Horace here prays him to

2. Et aprica ntra.] Horace calls his JWLSS over his lands with a spirit of mefk-
dwelling-house among the Sabines aprica ness. It was always usual, when a god Itft
rura, because it was open to the rising any country, city, or house, to pray that

ODE XVIII. HORACE'S ODES.

ODE XVIII.

It consists of two parts : the first contains the prayers of the poet ; the c e-
cond, the blessings conferred by the god, and the public rejoicing of the peo-
ple. Perhaps, there is nothing in it sublime ; but the whole is of an ex-
quisite taste, the design \vell laid and equally well executed, the versifi-
cation sweet and flow ing, the thoughts are natural, the images pleasant,
and the expression easy and elegant.

TO FAUNUS.

FAUNUS, who takest so great pleasure in chasing the nymphs who
fly from you, as I have never tailed sacrificing a kid to you at the
end of every year, nor spared offering large quantities of wine so
friendly to Venus, and burning much incense on your venerable
altar ; the favour I beg is, that you will pass gently over my fields,
and that your retreat may prove no way hurtful to my tender flocks.
On the Nones of December, which are consecrated to you, our
cattle wanton on the verdant plain, the oxen enjoy repose in the
flowery meads ; and your festival is celebrated by the whole popu-
lation of the village. The lambs, secure of your protection, wander
without fear through the midst of the wolves ; the forests drop their
leaves to strew the way for you, and the swains take a pleasure to

NOTES.

he would not depart in anger, or leave behind monly believed, that Faunus was the cause

him marks of his hatred and displeasure in of -the phantoms and spectres which disturbed

those places which he forsook. the repose of infants during the night; and

d. Al-tanjue^ In order rightly to under- on this foundation interpreters have been
stand this ode, and especially the passage now of opinion, that Horace here entreats Faunus
before us, we must cull to mind that the to be favourable to the children of his do-
ancients feigned, that a great number of mestics. Nothing could have been worse con-
their gods passed the winter in one place, ceived than this; for, by alttmnis, Horace
and the summer in another. Faunus was one evidently understands the young of his flocks,
of these; he came into Italy in February, They now more than ever stood in need of
and returned to Arcadia in December; a the protection of Faunus, on account of the
sacrifice was offered to him upon his ar- approach of the winter, which is always very
rival, and another at his departure. It is dangerous.

easy to discern that this fiction is founded 6. f^rnaia sodali] Horace calls the cup

upon a natural reason, vi/. ttiat in Italy, sodalis /'meri.i, the companion of Venus, be-

the earth begins to open in February, and cause there is great ath'nity between Ve-

ihuts jn December. nus and Bacchus, and onr stands in need

3. Purvis cr;<jitui> alumnis.] It wa corn- of the assistance of the other. Horace dots

2SO Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. III.

Gaudet invisam pepulisse fossor 15

Ter pede terram.

ORDO.

inter andaces agnos ; sylva spars'it agrestes visam terram pede.
frondes tibi; fossor gaudet ter jejailisse in-

NOTES.

not adopt this expression merely as an nidi- it recurred.

nary epithet ; bathe employs it by design, IS. Inter andaces atpios.] This phrase

as ii could noi but be pleasing to a god who is inexpressibly beautiful. Horace intended

was na.ur; '!y \ery amorouf. to acquaint Faunus, ;hat they had so great

10. AVu*? Dcctmlrfs.] The Ncnes of De- a confidence in his pro r ection, that they suf-

cember, tliat is, the fifth of the month, fered their Hocks even to veuture amidst the

Tliis day was sacied to Faunus, in whose ho- wolves, vHboul fear of harm. One of the

nour a solemn festival took place whenever distinguishing marks of the power of any

ODE XIX.

When Licinius Murena was chosen angur, Tclephus, being in company with
Horace, would discourse of nothing but the ancient history of Greece ;
but Horace interrupts him by singing this ode, in which he tells him,
that he ought rather to think of procuring some excellent wine, and of

AD TELEPHUM.

QUANTUM distet ab Inacho

Codrus, pro patria non timidus mori,
Namis, et genus .Eaci,

Et pugnata sacro bella sub Ilio :
Quo Chium pretio cadum 5

Mercemur, quis aquam temperet ignibus,
Quo praebente domum, et quota

Pelignis caream frigoribus, taces.

ORDO.

O Telephe, narras quantum Codrus, non cadum Chium, quis temperet aquam igni-

timidus mori pro patria, distet ab Inacho, et bus, quo praebente domum, et quota hor&

narras genus ^Eaci, et bella pugnata sub sa- caream. frigoribus Pelignis.
ero Ilio: taces aulem quo pretio mercemur

NOTES.

1. Ab Inacho Codnis.'] Inachus founded in the time of Saul, and about a hundred

the real;n of Ar^os in the year of the world years after the Trojan wtr. It is easy to see

2093, abou: the tune of the patriarch A- from this computation, that from Inachus to

B , and Codrus, who was me last king Codrus there are 789 years.

of Athens, devoted himst-lf for the service of 2. Pro patria non timidus mori.'] Codrus

his. country iu the )ear of the world 28S-.2, was die son of Melanthus, who was de-

ODE XIX.

HORACE'S ODES.

281

dance and beat the earth, which they esteem their greatest enemy*,
as it creates them SQ much fatigue and labour.

* Hated earth.

NOTES.

god, was to make the lambs dwrll in safety
with the wolves. Hence thp prophet Isaiah,
to denote the power of the Messiah, and the
peace and happiness wl.ich his coinis;g would
introduce imong mankind, uiukes use of this
circums^nce : Halitabit lupus cum figno,
" Thi w ">lf shall dwrll witli the lamb :"
fit liipvs et agnus pasffntur simul, " And
" tie wol ''and the lamb shall feed together."

14. Spargit agrestes til-isylva.] In Italy,
the trees becan to d op their leaves about
the month of Dece-iiber, and Horace manage*
that circumstance with gre-'t art, in repre-
senting the woods themselves as touched
with the divinif" of Faunus, and despoiling
themselves of their leaves, that they might
strew the way under his feet.

ODE XIX.

giving orders at whose house, and at what hour, they should meet together
to drink to the health of the new augur, and express their joy for the honour
which had so lately been done to one of their best friends. This is the
true subject of the ode.

TO TELEPHUS.

TELEPHUS, you amuse yourself in inquiring what space of time
intervened betwixt Inachus and Codrus, the prince who had the
courage to lay down his life for his country; you set before our
view the whole race of vEacus, and give us an account of the battles
fought before the sacred walls of Troy; but you do not inform us at
what rate we may purchase a cask of Chian wine j who will heat
the bath* for us; in whose house we shall meet together; and in
*"what manner we may guard ourselves from the present violent cold.

* The water with fire.

NOTES.

scended from Neleus king of Pylos, and the
first of that race who had reigned at Athens
in place of Thymetes, the natural son of De-
mophoon the son of '''heseus. In the time of
this Codrus, the Athenians were at war with
the Dorians ; and Codrus, understanding that
the oracle had predicted that the Dorians
could not conquer if they should slay the
Athenian king, disguised himself, and enter-
ing into the hostile camp, wounded one of
the soldiers, who, having no apprehension

that he was the king of Athens, in revenge
slew him. Thus did Codrus nobly die for
the honour and safety of his country.

4. Sacro sub llio.'] Some interpreters
have been of opinion, that Horace calls Ilion
sacred, instead of great, after the manjier of
the Hebrews, who used >osuy a sae,ed moun-
tain, a mountain of God, instead of a great
mountain, and also in imita'ion of the Greeks,
who have used the word hp; in the same
sense ; but this does not seem very probable.

282 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. Ill,

Da Lunae propere novae,

Da noctis mediae, da, puer, auguris 10

Murense : tribus aut novem

Miscentur cyathis pocula commodis.
Qui musas amat impares,

Ternos ter cyathos attoiiitus petct
Vates : tres prohibet supra 15

Hixarum metuens tangere Gratia,
Nudis juncta sororibus.

Insanire juvat: cur Berecynthiae
Cessant tiamina tibiae ?

Cur pendet tacita fistula cum lyr ? 20

Parcentes ego dexteras

Odi : sparge rosas ; audiat invidus
Dementem strepitum Lycus,

Et vicina seni non liabilis Lyco.
Spiss& te nitidum coma, 25

Puro te similenij Telephe 3 vespero,

ORDO.

Puer, da propere poct/htm novrc Lunre, da Juvat me insanire : Cur flamina tibiae Be-

sltcrwn medize noctis, et da terttum auguris recynthue cessant? Cur fistula pendet cum

Murense : pocula miscentur tribus aut novern tacita Ivra? Kgo odi dexteras parcentes :

cyuthis commodis. Vates qui amat nnisas pve r, sparge rosas ; invidus Lycus, et vicina

impares attonitus petet ter ternos cyathos. nostra non habilis seni Lyco audiat nostrum

Gratia, juncta nudis sororibus, metuens rixa- dementem strepitum.

rum prohibet tangere supra trts. Telephe, tenipcstiva Chloe petit te nitidum

NOTES.

There is better reason to think that Horace
calls it sacred after Homer, because its walls
were built by the gods, and it was filled with
a great number of temples, in which many
sacrifices were daily offered.

8. Pelignis careamfrigoribus.] The Pe-
figni were a people of Italy, whose country
was mountainous, and of consequence ex-
ceedingly cold. Hence Horace uses the ex-
pression, Pelifrnwnjrigus.

9. Da Llft^c propere noi-<e.~] It would seem
s if this ode had been composed at table.
Horace continues his discourse, and, without
taking notice of the answer of Telephus,
proposes a drinking-bout, meaning that they
ought not any longer to defer the celebration
of that feast. The ode has that natural and
easy turn which men of a polite taste and
krjottlege of die world usually give to all they
say. Da Lunte notiee, viz. pocidum. Horace

drinks to the new-moon, because without
doubt Murena had been appointed augur in
the time of it.

10. Auguris Murenie.] The college of
augurs, instituted at Rome by Numa, con-
sisted at first of four augurs, "all patricians :
hut this honour being afterwards irranted to
the plebeians, five others were added, and at
last, Sylla increased their number to fifteen.
They were in great reputation and vaithority,
and their function was looked upon as one of
the most important in the commonwealth,
because it was in their power to render fruit-
less all the resolutions and designs of die
senate and people. There is therefore no
reason to wuuder that Horace expresses so
great joy at the election of his friend j\lurcu
to this office.

11. Murena'.] This Murena v.-;^s the
brother of 1'ioeulcius, and brother-in-law of

ODE XIX.

HORACE'S ODES.

Come, boy, give me a glass that I may drink to the new moon, a
second to the night, and a third to the Jiealth of our new augur
Mureria. Let every man's cup contain no more glasses than nine,
and not less than three. The poet who makes his court to the muses,
will wot at all hesitate in his enthusiasm to drink a cup containing
nine glasses to their honour; but the sister-graces, fearful of quar-
rels, will not allow their favourites to exceed three. As for me, I
am resolved to be merry to-day. Why cease the breathings of the
Phrygian flute? Why will not some one or other give us a tune
on that harp and flute that hang there*.? I cannot bear to see any
body idle. Boy, strew the room with roses ; let jealous Lycus and
his mistress, our neighbour, who hates the company of that old
dotard, burst with spite to hear how merry we aref. We know,
Telephus, that your long hair, and transcendent beauty, shining

Why does that flute hang there with the silent harp ?

J- Our mad noise.

NOTES.

Maecenas. Probably he was advanced to the
dignity of augur when Augustus was taken
ill in Spain, about, the end of the year 7-29,
or the beginning of 730. Perhaps he might
be raised to it by the choice of Augustus.
It is well known that such strokes of gene-
rosity tvt-re very common in this prince. He
made Plancus censor who hail borne arms
against him, and saw without the least chagrin
one of his enemies nominated to the praetor-
ship by a senator; and he himself appointed
Lucius Sestius to succeed him in the consul-
ship, although he had been one of the most
zealous partisans of Brutus.

J3. Qui musas amat imparcs.] The poets
might drink nine cups at a time, because
they followed the number of the muses;'
but those who designed to follow the
graces must drink only three at a time, be-
cause that was their number. The passage
is extremely beautiful; and it is easy to dis-
cover she whole mystery of it. It also con-
tains a very delicate praise of Murena. In
drinking either three or nine cups to that
augur, they made their conrt both to the
muses and the graces, who had joined in
concert to advance him, he being a favourite
^f them both.

16. Bertcyntia.ee tibi& .] The Berecynthian

flute is the same with the Phrygian, which
was employed in the feasts of Cybele. Ho-
race, at this time, demands the Phrygian flute
rather than any other, because it was more
proper for those occasions of joy in which re-
ligion was somewhat concerned.

24. Et vicina seni HOW habilis Lyco^]
There is no mention made any where else of
this JLycus ; so that it is impossible to deter-
mine who he was. As for the other person
here mentioned, ancient interpreters seem to
think it was his wife ; but it is more probable
that it was his mistress, and the sequel seems
to confirm this conjecture.

25. Spissa te nitidum coma.] These four
last verses arise from the love which Lytus
had to his neighbour. But Horace does not
connect them with what precedes; for, he-
sides that he ordinarily despised these con-
nexions, such unforeseen transitions are ex-
tremely graceful, especially in songs mtide at
table, where a gaiety and sprigUtliness usually
prevail that cannot he confined to the exact
rules of method, and a continued train of
reasoning.

26. TelepJie.] This is the same Telephus
of whom mention is made in the 13th Ode
of the first Book, and the llth of the
fourth.

28i Q. HORATH CARM1NA. LIB. III.

Tempestiva petit Chloe :

Me lentus Glycerae torret amor mete.

ORDO.

spissi coma, te similem puro vespero : lentus amor meae Glyceras torret me.

NOTES;

27. Tempestiva pe.lit Chloe."] This is the as appears from the 23dOdeof the firstBook,
same Chloe of whom Horace was enamoured, where Horace also calls her tempestiva ; by

ODE XX.

The beauty of this ode consists in the justness of the expression, and in the na-
tural image which Horace exhibits of a woman whose young lover was in
danger of being taken from her, and whom he compares to a lioness that had

AD PYRRHUM.

NON vides quanto moveas periclo,
Pyrrhe, Geetulse catulos lexeme?
Dura post paulo fugies inaudax

Proelia raptor,

Cum per obstantes juvenum catervas 5

Ibit insignem repetens Nearchum;
Grande certamen, tibi preeda cedat

Major, an illi.

Interim dum tu celeres sagittas

Promis, haec dentes acuit timeudos, 10

Arbiter pugnae posuisse nudo

Sub pede palmam
Fertur, et leni recreare vento
Sparsum odoratis humerum capillis;
Qualis aut Nireus fuit, aut aquosa 15

Raptus ab Ida.

ORDO.

Pyrrhe, non vides quanto periculo movea Interim, dum tu promis celeres sagittas, et
catulos Get ulae leaenae? Tu, inaudax raptor, haec acuit dentes timendos, arbiter pugnw
paulo ^>ost fugies dura proelia, cum iUa repe- fenur posuisse ]<ahnain sub nudo pede, et re-
tens insignem Nearchum ibit per obstantes creare leni vento humerum spaisum capillis
cater\-as juvenum : granue certamen, utrum odoratis ; qualts aut Nireus fuit, nut Gtcny-
niajor prxda cedat tibi, an illi. medcs, raptus ab Ida aquosa.

NOTES.

1. Non vides quanlo mnveas periclo.] The sensible of the danger to which,- you expose
poet begins with an allegory : you are not yourself, by tearing from a lioness her young .

ODE XX. HORACE'S ODES. 285

with greater brightness than the stars in the night, have touched
the heart of young Chloe ; as for me, I burn, / own, with the love
which 1 still retain for Glycera.

NOTES.

which we may conclude, that that ode was 28. Glycerts."] This is the same Glycera
composed but a little time before this. whom Tibullus loved.

ODE XX.

lost her young. It is not easy to determine the time when it was written ;
but there is reason to think that he was not, at the time, very much ad.
vanced in years.

TO PYRRHUS.

PYRRHUS, do not you see that you expose yourself to as much dan-
ger, by taking away young Nearchus from his mistress, as you
would by robbing a lioness of her whelps ? In a little time, like a
cowardly ravisher, you will decline the engagement, when you see
her pressing through crowds of youths in quest of her pretty Near-
chus. But while you are preparing your nimble arrows, and she is
collecting all her strength*, Nearchus, the judge of the combat, in-
different which of you may prove victorious, is said to have put
under his naked foot the palm which he had in his hand, and re-
freshed in the fanning wind his shoulders, that were adorned with
his perfumed locks, when he appeared not inferior in beauty even to
Nireus, or Ganymede, whom Jupiter carried off from mount Ida that
abounds with springs.

* Whetting her terrible teeth.

NOTES.

and, immediately afterwards, he proceeds to difficult than this for the expression. It is

the story itself, and speaks of the lady who certain that very few have seen the beauty

passes through the crowd of her lovers to run and delicacy of it. Horace says, tibine prce-

after the beautiful Nearchus. da major cedat an illi, for tibine potius pr&da

5. Cum per olstantes juvenum catervas."] cedat an illi, Tune potius preedam adipiscare,
When Horace says that this lady shull run &c. Instead of putting the comparative ad-
after her Nearchus through crowds of young verbs magis or potius, he lias used the corn-
men that shall oppose her course, he would parative major, which he makes the adjective
have us to understand that she would neglect of pr&da. This is an exceedingly happy
all her other lovers for the sake of Nearchus turn.

alone. This sense appears to me incompa- 10. Hcec denies acuit timendos.] Through

rably more beautiful than what the genera- the whole of the ode Horace presents thi?

lily of interpreters have put upon it. woman under the image of a lioness : it w

7. TiUprceda cedat major, an illi.] There for this reason that he sspeaks of her teeth,
i* not perhaps in all Horace a passage more

286 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

ODE XXI.

Messala was included in the proscription ordered in the firstyear of the trium-
virate, that is, in the year of the city 711 ; but the triumvirs, dreading his
courage, erased his name from the list of the proscribed. After the defeat
of Brutus and Cassius, the troops that remained of their party demanded the
young Messala for their general. He refused the command, and joined
himself to Octavius, who immediately created him au^ur, and lieutenant
to Agrippa in the war against Pompey. In fine, he was colleague with
Octavius in the consulship in the year 723; and in that quality he officiated
at the battle of Actium. Horace was acquainted with Messuln from the
time they had been both together in the army of Brutus and Cassius ; and,

AD AMPHORAM.

O NATA meciim consule Manlio,
Seu tu querolas, sive geris jocos,

Seu rixam et insanos amores,

Seu facilem, pia testa, somnum ;

Quocunque lectum nomine Massicum 5

Servas, moved digna bono die ;

Descende, Corvino jubente,
Promere languidiora vina.
Non ille, quanquam Socraticis madet
Sermonibus, te negliget horridus. 1

OR DO.

O pia testa, nata mecum consule Manlio, cum, digna mover! bono dir, desrende, Cor-

seu tu geris qucrelas, sive jocos, seu rixam et vino jubente, promere vina languidiora. Ille,

insanos amores, seu facilem somnum ; quo- quanqnam madet Socraticis scnnonibus, non

cunquc nomine servos lectum vinum Massi- horridus negliget te. Virtus prisci Catoui

NOTES.

1. Nata.] For impleta, to denote that conjectures, it will be sufficient to give a bare
the wine it contained was put into it during explication of the terms. Massiatm lectum
that consulate. signifies tlie finest Massic wine. Among the

2. Seu tu qucrelas, fefc.] The different best writers, nomen is often taken for the
effects which are here ascribed to wine, arise reason, the cause, the effect, as it would lie
from the different temperament and constitu- an easy matter to prove. Horace therefore,
tion of those who drink it. after having spoken in general of the good

5. Quocuntjue lectum nomine."] In order and bad effects of wine, prays his cask to

to determine the true meaning of this pas- produce nothing hut what was good. This

sage, which bas produced such a variety of i the meaning of tlie epithet leclum ; an4

ODE XXL HORACE'S ODES.

ODE XXI.

upon his return to Rome, was desirous of renewing an acquaintance which
might be so advantageous to him. Messala telling Horace one day, that he
intended to sup with him, the poet, to show how sensible he was of the in-
tended honour, wrote this ode, in which, bya poetical and ingenious fiction,
he desires his cask to furnish him with the most excellent wine, that he
might entertain handsomely a person of such consequence. The effects of
this liquor are described in a very agreeable manner ; the versification is ex-
tremely fine; and the expressions are chosen with a justness and propriety of
taste, that discover the excellency of Horace's genius.

TO HIS CASK.

DEAR cask, filled under the consulship of Manlius, the same year I
was born*, whether you are pregnant with sadness or joy, quarrels
and the most furious transports of love, or soft and sweet repose ; on
whatever account it is that you preserve this choice Massic wine, you
must be broached on this joyful day; come then, since Corvinus
commands, let us taste of your most exquisite liquor. Although he
hath imbibed the philosophy of Socrates, he is no enemy to thee.
Catof, that rigid censor, often warmed and excited his virtue by

* Born with me, Manlius being consul.

f- Even the virtue of ancient Cato is said to have been often warmed with wine.

NOTES.

what tends to confirm it, is the passage in quent pleader, but also a thorough master of

the following verse, moueri digna lono die. this philosophy.

A bottle of Massic wine chosen from among 9. Madet.]' For knowledge and wisdom

the best, is proper to appear on a day of re- are considered as rivers which water the mind

joicing. and render it fruitful. The ancients often

7. Descended] The Romans had their employed the word madere in this sense,

wine-cellars at the top of the house, that their But it is here more happily used than in

winrs might ripen sooner by the smoke. other places, because he speaks of drinking

9. Socraticis serinomL-us.'] The philosophy 10. Horridus.'] Those sciences which 're-
ef Socrates, the academic philosophy. This quire profound study, usually inspire with a
was that philosophy which served most toopen distant and forbidding air. Epicurus was the
the mind, and form the judgement. On this only person among the ancients, who had the
account Horace has elsewhere put it for the secret to refine and humanize philosophic
basis and foundation of good sense and rea- virtue : I say, Epicurus, and not Epicureans
son. Messak Corvinus was not only an lo- in general, the greatest part of whom dege-

283 Q. HORATII CAHMINA. LIB. III.

Narratur et prisci Catonis

Sgepe mero caluisse virtus.
Tu lene tormentum ingenio admoves
Plerumque duro : tu sapientium

Curas et arcanum jocoso 15

Consilium retegis Lyaeo :

Tu spem reducis mentibus anxiis,

Viresque ; et addis cornua pauperi,

Post te neque iratos trementi

Regum apices, neque militum arma.

Te Liber, et, si Iffita aderit, Venus,
Segnesque nodum solvere Gratise,
Vivaeque producent lucernse,

Dum rediens fugat astra Phoebus.

ORDO.

aarratur ct ssepe caluisse mero. pauperi, post te neque trementi iratos apices

Tu plerumque admoves lene tormentum reeum, neque arma militum.
ingenio duro : tu retegis curas et arcanum Liber, et Venus si Ueta aderit, Gratiaeque

consilium sapientium jccoso Lyaeo: tu reducis segnes solvere nodum, vivasque lucernae pro-

pem viresque mentibus anxiis;et addis cornua ducent te, dum Phcebus rediens fugat astra.

NOTES.

Derated rery much from the precepts of their 11. Narratur et prisci Catori:-.'] Some
muter. think this is meant of C'ato of Utica, because

ODE XXI.

HORACE'S ODES.

wine. You know how to tame the most intractable disposition by
an agreeable violence ; you alone have the art to make our wise
and grave senators discover their anxieties, and reveal their most
secret thoughts after a cheerful glass : you restore hope and life to
the most disconsolate soul, and give courage to the poor, who, after
your favours, are not afraid either of the formidable power of kings,
or of their guards. Dear cask, may Bacchus, and Venus, provided
she be in good humour, together with the Graces, those inseparable
sisters, prolong our pleasures at the light of these flambeaux, until
Phoebus return and make the stars disappear.

NOTES.

it is reported of him, that he often spent the
evening in drinking ; but it is not probable,
that in that case Horace would have used the
word narratur, because he himself might
have been an evidence of that point, Horace
being twenty years old when Cato of Utica
slew himself. It is yet less likely that lie
would have employed the word priscus. As-
suredly Horace designed Cato the censor,
who was called Prisons before he obtained
the name of Cato. For although he was the
jnost sober man of his time, and drank no-
thing but water at the wars, and at home the
same wine with his slaves, yet toward the end

of his life, especially when he was in the
country, he loved to be merry in the compa-
ny of his friends, who were frequently invit-
ed to pass the evening with him.

13. Tormentum ingenio admovesJ] This
expression, admovere tormentum, is of the
same import with adhibere vim, used by him
in another place, and is a metaphor taken
from war, when they advanced all the batter-
ies and all the machines to give an assault.

21. Silieta fenus.] Horace invites Venus,
provided she come in good humour ; for she
often occasions quarrels.

Vol. I.

290 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. HI.

ODE XXII.

This whole ode has the air of a thanksgiving, which Horace offers to
Diana, for the assistance which one of his mistresses had received from
that goddess in some very pressing necessity. The verses are flowing,

IN DIANAM.

MONTIUM custos nemorumque virgo,
Quse laborantes utero puellas
Ter vocata audis, adirnisque letho,

Diva triformis !

Imminens villae tua pinus esto, 5

Quam, per exactos ego laetus annos,
Verris obliquum meditantis ictum

Sanguine donem.

OR DO.

O virgo o.ustos nfomium nemorumque, immlnens villas esto tua, quam ego, per ex-
Diva triformis, quae ter vocata audis puellas actos anrios, laetus donem sanguine verris ine-
lborantes utero, adimisque eas letho ; pinus ditantis ictum obliquum.

NOTES.

1 . Mmitium custos ne.morumque.'] The be forgotten that custos very often signifies

woods, mountains, and rivers, properly be- an inhabitant.

longed to Diana, whence Horace here calls 2. QIHE lalorantes utero pudlas.'] Diana,

her the guardian of them. Yet it must not among the ancients, presided over women IB

OJDE XXII.

HORACE'S ODES.

ODE XXII.

and the cadence remarkably fine j but the time of its composition is
unknown.

TO DIANA.

CHASTE Diana, guardian of the groves and mountains, thou triple
divinity, who, being invoked under thy three mysterious names,
givest assistance to those that are in labour, and preservest them
from death ; I dedicate to thee the lofty pine that shades my coun-
try-seat, and promise to sprinkle thy altar yearly with the blood
of a young boar, who already whets his tusks ready for an engage-
ment.

NOTES.

child-bed, under the names of Juno, Lu-
cina, Ilithyia, and Genitalis. This fiction
was designed to mark the powerful influence
of the moon.

3. Ter vocala.] Horace mentions the
number three, either because that number
was mysterious, or on account of the princi-
pal names under which the women invoked
Diana in child-bed, of which we shall speak
more fully on the secular poem.

4. Diva triformisJ] Diana was called by
J!IL- Latins Tiiformis, and by the Greeks rgj-
jA^paj, on account of the three different ap-
pearances of the moon, the increase, the full,

and the decrease of the moon.

5. Imminens viltat tttapinusesto.'] Horace,
without question, took a great pleasure in
calling to mind tlv favour he had received
from Diana. This is evident from bis con-
secrating to her a tree which shaded his
house, and which he might see from his
windows. The pine was commonly made
sacred to Cybele and Isis. Horace here con-
secrates it to Diana; for Diana, Isis, Cybele,
Venus, Ceres, &c. are only different names
of the several attributes of the same divi-
nity.

T.'a

292 Q. HORATII CARMINA, LIB. HI

ODE XXIII.

Interpreters are generally of opinion that Horace wrote this ode to his
housekeeper in the country, because she complained that she had not the
liberty of offering great and splendid sacrifices. In order to remove this
discontent, he tells her, that the most simple sacrifices, when offered with

AD PHIDYLEN.

CCELO supinas si tuleris manus
Nascente Luna, rustica Phidyle ;
Si thure placaris et horna

Fruge Lares, avidaque porca ;

Nee pestilentem sentiet Africum 5

Fecunda vitis, nee sterilem seges
Rubiginem, aut dulees alumni

Pomifero grave tempus anno.
Nam, qufce nivali pascitur Algido

Devota, quercus inter et ilices, 10

Aut crescit Albanis in herbis

Vietima, pontificum seeures
Cerviee tinget. Te nihil attinet
Tentare multa csede bidentium,

ORDO.

O rustics Phidyle, si tii, nascente Luna, tu- alumni sentient tempus grave pomifero anno,

leris manus supinas coelo ; si placaris Lares Nam victims dcvota Diis, qua pascitur in

thure et horna fnige, avidaque porca ; nee fe- Algido nivali inter queVcus et ilices, aut qucs

cundavitii sentiet Africum pestilentem, nee se- crescit in herbis Albanis, tinget secures pontifi-

ge sentiet sterilem rubiginem, aut dulees tui cum cervice. Nihil attinet te coronanteln par-

NOTES.

1. Ctelo supinas si tuleris maims.] This prophet David calls this expandcre manus, Si
was the ordinary gesture of those who pray- expandimus manus nostras addcum alierutm ;
ed. If they aaddr*s$ed the heavenly gocl, and Tertullian, erpandere manus, Expansis
they raised their hands in such a manner that manilus orabas, and manus aptrire. Lucrc-
the palms were turned towards heaven ; and tins calls it panders palmas. jJur, when they
this is the proper signification of manus su- addressed the infernal gods, the palm of the
pinns* Virgil says, hand was turned towards the earth, as if to-

avert an evil.

Multa Jovem manilus supplex orasse supinis ; /. Ruiiginem.] Huet ingeniously ac-
counts for blight or mildew in corn thus :

which is equivalent to what he says else- The drops of dew, says he, being collected,
where, duplfcestendensadsiderapalmaj. The are like so many convex burning-glasscf^

ODE XXIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

ODE XXIII.

pure hands and an upright heart, are as effectual to bring down the
blessing of the gods-, as the most magnificent offerings. This conjecture,
if not exactly the truth, has at least a great air of probability, and serves
to throw light upon the wliole piece.

TO PHIDYLE.

INDUSTRIOUS Phiclyle, if at every new-moon you are not unmindful
with uplifted hands to make your addresses to heaven ; if you offer
up incense, and a portion of the fruits of the season to your household
gods, and sacrifice a pig unto them, your fertile vines shall not be.
destroyed by the pernicious south-west wind, nor shall your crop be
blasted ; and the tender offspring of your flocks shall escape all the
dangers of the autumn. The victims that feed in the forests of
mount Algidus, or those that are nourished in the pasture-grounds
of Alba, are reserved for public sacrifices to be slain by the priests*.
It does not at all belong to you to solicit your domestic deities by

* Shall stain the axes of the priests with the blood of their necks.

NOTES.

which, when heated by the rays of the sun,
contract a caustic quality that burns the
grain, fruits, flowers or leaves, on which they
lie.

8. Grave tempits.'] The autumn is here
called a dangerous season, on account of the
maladies which usually reign during lhat
time, especially in the south parts of Italy,
where the great summer-heats are succeeded
by the south wind, which is very moist and
humid. Horace here uses a>i:ms pmrifer for
the autumn, as he has used annus hylcrmis
for the winter in the ode, Bcatus ille, &C.

9. Algid<>.~\ Mount Algidus was so called
al algorc, from the coldness of the air on the
top of it, occasioned by its height.

12. Pontificum secures.] He means that
such victims as these were reserved for the
public sacrifices made by the priests, which
ought to be more magnificent than those of-
fered by private persons, who should always
proportion their expense to their circum-

stances. Cato says, Per eosdem dies Larifa-
miliari pro cnpia supplices.

13. Te nihil atliiiet tentare.] Some inter-
preters have taken this passage, as if Horace
had said, that we ought to proportion the sa-
crifices to the greatness of the gods, and that
these domestic gods being of a lower rank,
the sacrifices offered to them ought to be so
likewise. But this would have been an impious
sentiment. Horace says to Pliidyle, that it
did not belong to her, who was an inconsi-
derable housekeeper, to offer up victims that
were reserved for the axes of the pontiffs, that
is, that wore destined for public sacrifices ;
but that less splendid offerings would be
equally acceptable frm her.

14. Bidentium.'] Fes 'us says that I'idens
signifies properly a sheep that lias 'two teeth
longer than the rest ; and this is confirmed
b.Y Hyginus, who writes that the sacrifice
called bidens, should have eight teeth, and
that it ought to have two of these longer

234 Q. HORATII CARMIXA.

Pan r os coronantem marine

Rore Deos, fragilique myrto.
Immunis aram si tetigit manus,
Non sumtuosa blandior hostia
Mollibit aversos Penates
Farre pio, et saliente mica.

LIB. III.
15

ORDO.

vos Deos rore mar i no fragilique myrto, tentare
illos multa caede bidentium.

Si manus tua immunis tetigit aram, hostia

suratuosa non mollibit aversos Penates blan-
dior farre pio et mica saliente.

NOTES.

than the rest, tlrat thereby it may appear
to be already in an advanced age. This
conjecture seems to me more probable than
thiji mentioned by Gellius, who says, he had
read in some work upon religious subjects,
that they anciently used lidennes for iiennes,
and that in process of time the word had been
corrupted, and instead of lidennes they had
taken lidentes. It is farther to be observed,
that iidens was not confined to sheep, but
was extended to all other kinds of beasts,
and that it is in this last sense Horace here
uses it.

15. Parvoi Deoi."] This is said in opposi-
tion to what precedes. The pontiffs sacrificed
to the tutelar gods of Rome, of their coun-
try, of the etnpire^victims that were nourish-
ed in the finest pasture-grounds; as for you
who sacrifice only to deities of a lower rank,
to rural or domestic gods, who preside only
over a small country-seat, they are satisfied
with your humble offerings, if made with a
pure and upright heart.

15. Carontaitem marine rare.'] These
crowns were very much in use in the sacri-
fices offered to domestic gods. They not
only crowned the gods themselves, as we
see it expressed here, but offered the sacri-

fice of these crowns, wherewith they also
adorned the baskets used on these occasions,
Tibullus, Eleg. 10. Book l.

Hone pvra cum ctsle seqitar, myrtoque ca-

nislra
Vincta geram, myrto rinctus et ipse caput,

" I will follow the sacrifice in a habit free
" from the least stain : I will bring with me
" baskets crowned with myrtle, wherewith
" I will also adorn my own head.

17 Immunis aram si.] This passage has
very mucli perplexed interpreters. Immunis
cannot signify empty, but innocent, pure; for
how can those hands be said to be empty
that otter to the gods barley, salt, &c.? It
was a kind of proverb, Mola. salsa lilare ytti-
lus victima nun est: -Tho^e who cannot offer
victims, will not fail to obtain of the gods
what they desire, if they make them onlv arf
offering of barley mixed with salt; for there
was no person so poor but might afford this,
which they called properly mola salsa. Up-
on this is founded the following passage of
Pliny, in the preface which he addresses to
the emperor Vespasian: Din lactc rustic i mul-
tteque genies supplicant, et mola saisa tanttim

ODE XXIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

295

a great number of victims ; present them with crowns of myrtle
and rosemary*, and they will be abundantly pleased with your offer-
ing. If you approach their altar with pure hands, though you offer
but a homely cake, and a few grains of salt, this will be more effec-
tual to appease their anger, than if they were presented with the
most costly sacrifices.

* Crowning them with rosemary and tender myrtle.

NOTES.

titant qui no?i habent thura ; nee nllijuit vitio
Deos colere quoquo modo posset: " Those who
" live in the country, and many whole na-
tions, make offerings of milk unto the
gods; and such as cannot afford victims
are not rejected, though they present them
only with barley and salt ; nor was it ever
imputed to any as a crime that they ho-
noured the gods in the way their circum-
stances would admit." Hierocles, xipon
the first verse of Pythagoras, relates a very
remarkable answer of Apollo. A man who
had sacrificed a whole hecatomb, but at the
same tinse was destitute of all sentiments of
piety and religion, wanted to know of the
god hoiv his sacrifice had been received :
the god answered ; " The humble offering
" of barley made by the celebrated Hermione,
" has been acceptable' in my sight." On
this subject Epictetus has given a very wise
precept; " In libations, sacrifices, and of-
f< ferings, every one ought to follow the
" usage of his country, and make them
" with a pure and sincere heart, without
" carelessness, indifference, irreverence, or
" parsimony, and, at the same time, without
* ' a sumptuousness beyond what a man's cir-
" cumstances will bear."

19. Aversos Penates.] The provoked
household gods who turn away their eyes ;
for the countenances of the gods are a mark

of their protection.

20. Farrepio, et saliente mica.] Thus Ti-
bullus says,

-Omina noclis

Farre pio placant et saliente sale.

" They expiated the dreams of the night
" with barley and salt."

The Latin* called this mola salsa, and the
Greeks ovXa^vnt;.

Pio.] PI'KJ here is not to be considered
simply as an epithet ; it is a reason to prove
ivliat the poet says : for Horace would inti-
mate that this humble offering when made
with piety, was better received by the god
than the most magnificent sacrifices with-
out it. Socrates speaks nearly in the same
manner, in his second Alcibiades, that the
gods regard only the disposition of our minds,
and not our processions and sacrifices ; and
tliat nothing is more pleasing to them than
wisdom and piety. This Persius has ad-
mirably expressed in the following lines of
the second satire :

Quin damns superis

Composition jus fasque animi, sanctosque re-

cessus *

Mentis, et incoctum generoso pectus hanesto f
Hoc cedo ut admoveam templii, etfarre litalo.

296 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

ODE XXIV.

It is the prerogative of lyric poets to instruct agreeably, and at the same
time with -dignity. The ode usually begets a respect to moral truths
by the sublimity of its sentiments, the majesty of the numbers, the bold-
ness of the figures, and the force of the expression ; and prevents a dis-
taste by its brevity, the variety of turns, and the choice of ornaments,
which a skilful poet knows how to employ with propriety. Among a

IN AVAROS.

JNTACTIS opulentior

Thesauris Arabum et divitis Indise,
Csementis licet occupes

Tyrrhenian omne tuis, et mare Apulicum ;
Si figit adamantines 5

Summis vertieibus dira Necessitas
Clavos, non animum metu,

Non mortis laqueis expedies caput.
Campestres melius Scythae

(Quorum plaustra vagas rite trahunt domos) 10

ORDO.

Licet occupes tuis csementis omne Tyr- surnmis tuis vertieibus, non expedies animum

rhenum et Apulicum mare, opulentior intactis metu, nun eipidies caput kiqucis mortis.
thesauris Arabum et divitis Indiae ; tamen si Campestres Scytliae, quorum vagas domos

dira Necessitas figit suos clavos adamant! nos plaustra rite trahunt, vivunt melius teet rigid!

1. Intactis.'] For this ode was written be- might thereby know the number of their
fore ^Elius Largus had marched with an army years. But I think it is rather an allusion
against the Arabians, which happened in the to the method soldiers take in pitching their
tenth consulship of Augustus. tents, which they do by driving long hard

2. Itidue.] This is a region of Asia, which spikes into the earth.

takes its name from the Indus, whose source C. Summis rerticilus.'] By sumrnis rer-

is in mount Taurus. This river runs from tidl-us the poet here means those magnificent

north to south along Persia and India, and edifices, those splendid buildings, which the

empties itself into the gulph of Indus by five Romans raised along the Adriatic and Tuscan

channels. seas. He says, that if once cruel Necessity

3. CtEmentis] See the remarks upon the fixes her residence in these august structures,
first Ode of this Book. nothing^will strengthen the minds of the in-

5, 7. Figit adamantines clacos^\ Most habitants against fear, or secure them from

commentators esteem this to be a metaphor the attacks of death. In this way of conceiv-

taken from the custom of fixing a nail every ing the matter, die idea is both just and

year iu the walls of their temples, that they beautiful.

ODfiXXiV. HORACE'S ODES. * 297

ODE XXIV.

great number of performances of this kind which Horace has left behind
him, the present ode is riot the least valuable. It consists of three parts.
In the first he exposes the vices of the age, in the second he discovers their
causes, and in the third he prescribes the remedies which were to be applied
in order to remove them.

AGAINST THE COVETOUS.

WERE you master of greater treasures than are to be found in Arabia
and rich India, whither the Roman arms have not yet reached ; were
the coast of the Tuscan and Adriatic sea, covered with magnificent
buildings, all belonging to you, if the cruel Fates once determine
the ruin of you and of these lofty edifices*, you will not be able to
deliver your mind from fear, or rescue yourself from the snares of
death. The wild Scythians, who often carry their moveable houses
on waggons, and the Gets, though rude and unpolished, are far more

If cruel Necessity fixes her hard spikes In these lofty roofs.

NOTES.

8. Non mortis laqiteiti] Horace here re- net frequently express what a man cannot

presents Death as armed with a net, which avoid. Thus in the prophecy of Ezekiel

slie throw* over the head of those whom she God says, that he would stretch his net over

attacks. This idea was without doubt bor- the king of Jerusalem : Exlendam rete meum

rowed from the gladiators who were called super eitm, et capdelur in sagena niea. Chap.

reliarii, who were armed with -a not, in xii. 13. and, in Hosea, Expandam super cos

which they endeavoured to entangle the head rd'e meum, tanqiiam aves caeli descmdere

of their adversary, and then with their/ws- faciam cos, vii. 12. It is thus that Solomon

ci?ia, or trident might easily dispatch him. speaks of the nets of death, Prov. xxi. 6.

The secutor was aimed with a buckler and a Qiti congregat thesauros lingua memlacii,

helmet, whereon was the picture of a fish in vanus et excors est, et imptngehar ad laqueor

allusion to the net. His weapon was a scy- mortis.

inetar, or falx supina. He was called se- 9. Campe<fres Scyt.hee^] These people

cutor, because if the retiarmf, against whom had neither cities nor villages ; they lived al-

he was always matched, should happen to fail ways in the country ,and contented themselves

in catching with his net, his only safety lay w'uh a kind of moveable houses that could be

inflight, so that in this case he plied his easily transported with them, when they in-

heels as fast as lie could about the place of tended to change their habitation. Horace,

combat, till he had put his net in order for a in the line immediately following, calls them

second throw : in the mean time this secular vagas domos. Justin says of these wandering

or follower pursued htm, and endeavoured to tribes, Sine tecto munimentoqiie, pecorti el

prevent his design. Possibly after all, Horace urmfnta halent. Aurum et argenlum perinde

in this may have only made use of a figure aspernantur ac rcliqui mortules adpeiunt*
common in all languages, which by the word

298 Q. HORATII CARMlNA. LIB, III.

Vivunt, et rigid! Getse,

Immetata quibus jugera liberas
Fruges et Cererem ferunt ;

Nee cultura placet longior annua;
Defunctumque laboribus 15

^Equali recreat sorte vicarius.
Illic matre carentibus

Privignis mulier temperat innocens ;
Nee dotata regit virum

1 Conjux, nee nitido fidit adultero. 20

Dos est magna parentium

Virtus, et metuens alterius viri
Certo fuedere castitas :

Et peccare nefas, aut pretium est mori.
O quisquis volet impias 25

Caedes, et rabiem tollere civicam ;
Si quaeret pater urbium

Subscribi statuis, indomitam audeat
Refrenare licentiam,

Clarus postgenitis ; quatenus, heii nefas ! SO

Virtutem incolumem odimus,

Sublatam ex oculis quaerimus invidi.
Quid tristes querimoniae,

Si non supplicio cnlpa reciditur ?
Quid leges, sine mori bus 35

Vanae, proficiunt? si neque fervidis
Pars inclusa caloribus

Mundij nee Boreae finitimum latus,

O R D O.

Getae, qullrus immetata jugera ferunt liberas " O quisquis volet tollere impias caedes, et

frugcs et Cererem; quiliis nee cultura Ion- rabiem civicam ; si quteret subscribi statuis

gior annua placet, et apud quos vicarius re- paler urbium; audeat refrenare indomitam li-

creat aequali sorte allerum defunctum labori- centiam, clarus postgenitis; quatenus (heu

bus. nefas '.) odimus virtutein incolumetn, invidi

Illic mulier innocens temperat privignis quierimus earn sublatam ex oculis.

carentibus matre: nee conjux dotata regit Quid tristes querimoniae proficiunt, si culpa

virum, nee fidit nitido adultero. Illic virtus non reciditur supplicio? Quid proficiunt

parentum est magna dos, et casiitas certo leges, vanae sine moribus ?

foedere metuens alterius viri : illic et peccare Si neque pars mur.di inclusa fervidis calori-

est nefas, aut pretium est mori. bus, nee latus mundi finitimum Boreae, nives-

NOTES.

12. JmmttaLa qiaius jugera.'] As these guish the lands by boundaries or limits. VL'-
penple lived in common, they did not distin- gil, speaking of the age of Satvurn, says :

ODE XXIV. HORACE'S ODES.

happy than you. The earth, without being marked out by boun-
daries, affords them, in great plenty, the gifts of Ceres. Their toil
never continues longer than one year ; and he who has once accom-
plished his time, never fails of being relieved by a successor, who
comes in his turn to undergo the same fatigue and cares Among
them, step-mothers, by an innocence of manners 16 ickich we are'
entire tlrangris, never attempt to injure the children o f ' a former
marriage. The wives do not attempt to domineer over their hus-
bands because of their superior fortunes, and are always on their
guard against the arts and allurements of lovers. The best fortune
their daughters can have, is to inherit the virtue of their parents, to
be strictly chaste, and inviolably attached to their husbands, and to
esteem infidelity to them a crime so heinous, as to deserve to be pun-
ished with death. Ah ! where is the man that will put an end to
our frequent impious murders, and stop the fury of our civil war?
Is he desirous of having statues erected with this glorious inscription,
THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY ? He must have the courage to op-
pose that unbounded licentiousness which at present so much pre-
vails. By this conduct only can he expect to procure the esteem of
future ages. As for us, alas ! we are so envious and wicked, that
we bear an implacable hatred to great and good men while living,
and yet, so unaccountable is our conduct, that no sooner are they
dead, than we, without ceasing, regret and lament them. To what
purpose are our heavy complaints, unless we check vice by an ade-
quate punishment ? What good end can our laws answer, if we
neglect to regulate our lives by them ? Though the merchant,
always greedy of gain, is riot discouraged by the scorching heat of
the torrid zone, or by the coldness of the north, where the snow is

NOTES.

Nccsignarequidem,autparlirilimitecampum they did not scruple to marry the daughters

Fas erat ; in medium quaerelant. of vicious parents, if they could procure a

good dowry. This U an uuhappiness attend-

21. Dos est magtia, fi5"c.] There are four ing all those who place their sovereign good

things that demonstrate the great happiness in riches.

of the matrimonial state among the Scy- 25. quisquis volet impias.] These two

thians; the virtuous education which chil- verses manifestly prove, that this ode was

dren received from their parents, the woman's written during the civil wars. Augustus,

great attachment and regard to her husband, very soon after this, merited the honours of

the horror they had of conjugal infidelity, and which Horace here speaks. Bentley makes

the rigor of the laws that punished that crime a very good remark upon this, that quisquis

with death. ought to be divided, O quis quis. This re-

2 1 . Parentium virtus.] The virtue of petition of quis has a great force and energy,

parents must probably have a good effect upon atid makes us sensible, that the thing here

their children. Hesiod laments, that in his spoken of is very difficult, and what can be

time men were solicitous to have a set of effected by no less than a hero,
dogs and horses of a good breed, but that

300 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Duratseque solo nives

Mercatorem abigunt ; horrida callidi 40

Vincunt aequora navitae ;

Magnum pauperies opprobrium, jubet
Quidvis et facere ef pati,

Vh tutisque viam deserit ardute :
Vel nos in Capitolium, 45

Quo clamor vocat et turba faventium,
Vel nos in mare proxhnum

Gemmas, et lapides, aurum et inutile,
Sumini materiam mali,

Mittamus. Scelerum si l>ene poenitet, 50

Eradenda eupidiuis

Fravi sunt elementa, et tenerae nimis
Mentes asperioribus

Formandae studiis. Neseit equo rudis
Haerere ingenuus puer, 55

Venarique timet; ludere doctior,
Seu Greece jubeas trochp,

Seu malis vetita legibus ale/i ;
Cum perjura patris fides

Consortem socium fallat et hospitem, 60

ORDO.

^ue duratac solo, abigunt mercatorerr.; si callidi Si bene poenkct nos scelerum, elemenla

navitae vincunt horrida aequora; fi pauperies pravi cupidinis er&clenda sunt, ct mentes nos-

nrmc magnum opprobrium .jubet et facere ct tr<e nimis teneue formaiidae sunt asperioribus

pati quidvis, deseritque riam virtutis ardua: : studiis.

nos mittamus vel in Capitolium, quo clamor Ingenuus puer rudis nescit haerere equo,

et turba fiiveiitium vocat, vel nos mittar.ius timetcjue vcnari, doctior ludere, seu jubeas

in mare proximum gemrnas, et lapides, et . Grceco trocho, seu malis alea veiii& legibus ;

inutile aurum, materiaw summi raali. cum perjura fides patris fallat consortun

NOTES.

35. Quid leges, fine morihts.'] HR joins fected his country, ti~. Avarice and a dread

these, because laws without manners are of of poverty, he next points out die remedies

no effect, and manners are not durable or of that ought to be applied in order to redress

continuance, but when they are strengthened them. But this passage has not been well

and confirmed by the laws. It is for the same understood by commentators when they iiua-

reason that in another place he says, Mos et gined, that Horace, in exhorting them to

lex mactdr/sum edomvit nefas. There is a bring all their riches into the capitol, h^d in

remarkable passage in the 34th Book of his eye what the Roman ladies had done once

Livv : Adi moriius out legilus wjuncta. before, when they brought all their jetvels to

45. Vel nos in Capitolium^] After having the capitol, to supply the pressing cxigen-

<Iiscoverd the causes of those evils that ai- cies of the republic; or that he speaks iu this

ODE XXIV.

HORACE'S ODES.

301

frozen to the earth ; though our skilful mariners, for gain, dare
brave the stormy main; though poverty is esteemed by some the
greatest reproach, and, rather than be poor, they will do or suffer
any thing, and forsake the arduous paths of virtue itself; shall we
therefore do so ? No ; let us rather carry our gold, jewels, and pre-
cious stones, the source of all our evils, to the Capitol, where we are
invited by the acclamations of the people, and there offer them to
Jupiter ; or let us throw them to the bottom of the sea. If we are
really touched witli a sense of our crimes, we ought quite to root
out the cause of avarice to which we are so prone, and accustom our
youth betimes to laborious exercises, pur young quality are better
skilled in the mean diversions oj turning an iron hoop stuck with
rings, as the Greeks do, or throwing the dice, though forbidden by
law, than in the manly exercises of riding or hunting, while their
perfidious fathers deceive their friends and acquaintances, and

NOTES.

manner, because it was customary with the
citizens to commit their treasures for security
to the temples. The first opinion is insup-
portable. Horace by thut would destroy
what he intended to establish. And the second
is not less so, because the advice redlly given
is to divest themselves entirely of the riches,
and not to lay them up in places of^ security.
Theodorus Mmeilius is the only person who
has given the true sense of this passage ; for
he has very well remarked that Horace coun-
sels the Romans to consecrate to Jupiter all
their gold and other riches. It was a very
ordinary thing to consecrate gold and valuable
jewels to the gods : this was often prni-tised
by private persons, by the senate, and by the
emperors, as Suetonius relates of Augustus.
Utpote (jui in cellam Capitolini Jovis sedecim
milli'i pond'i aim, gumntasque ac margaiitas
qitingenties FI. S. una. dona/ione contulerit.

51. Eradenda Cupidinis praui.] He calls
riches elementa cupidiiiis, because they are
the principle and cause of avarice.

52. Ett&icrai nimis asperioribus.] ft was
not sufficient to eradicate avarice. Horace
forther advises his countrymen to be more
careful in en'ucating their children ; not to
breed them up in idleness which is the mo-
ther of all vices, but to accustom them to la-
borious exercises, to inure them to all kinds

of fatigue, and to teach them not to look
upon poverty as a reproach,

57. Scu Gr&cojuleas trocho.~\ The tro-
elms h;is been often thought to be the same
with thr top, or eise of a like nature with
our billiards: but both these opinions are
now exploded. The trochus was properly a
hoop of iron stuck with rings. The boys
and young men used to whirl this aloug, as
Oiir children do wooden hoops, directing it
with a-rod of iron having a wooden handle ;
which rod was railed by the Grecians tXamg,
and by the Romans, Radius, There was
need of great dexterity to guide the hoop
right. In the mean time, the rings, by the
noise which they made, not only gave the
people notice to keep out of the way, but
contributed very much to the diversion of the
boys.

58. Ftlila, legiius aled.~\ All games of
hazard were forbidden at Rome by the laws,
especially the game of dice. Such as gave
themselves up to it, and were discovered,
were very often imprisoned. Yet there was
one exception from these I:uvs ; and that was,
tliat every one was permitted to play at them
during the Saturnalia. But these laws were
not sufficient to restrain this practice at other
times, nor is this much to be wondered a(,
since the emperors themselves were com-

302 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Indignoqne pecuniam

Haeredi properet. Scilicet improbae
Crescunt divitiaej tamen

Curtae nescio quid semper abcst rei.

ORDO.

soeinm et hosphcm, properetque pecuniam crescunt; tamen nescio quid semper abcst
haeredi iudigno. Scilicet improbae divitise curtee eorum rei.

NOTES.

monly professed admirers of it. Augustus regard to the time of the year. But the
himself played unreasonably, without any great master of this art was Claudius, who,

ODE XXIV. HORACE'S ODES. 303

break through the laws of hospitality to enrich their unworthy heirs.
Indeed, ill-gotten or unnecessary wealth seems to accumulate
rapidly; but its possessors have still some wants which they wish to
gratify, and still complain of their scanty means of indulgence.

NOTES.

by his constant practice, gained so much ex- him (as the most proper punishment in the

perience as to compose a book on the sub- world) to play continually at dice with a box

ject. Hence Seneca, in his sarcastical rela- that had the bottom out; which kept him

tion of that emperor's apotheosis, when always in hopes, aud yet every time balked

after many adventures he has brought him his expectations,
to hell, makes the infernal judges condemn

304

Q. MORATII CARMINA.

LIB, III.

ODE XXV.

It was not the design of Horace, in this ode, to praise Augustus; he only wished
to intimate that he intended to employ the happy moments of his entmjsiasm
in celebrating that prince, and transmitting to posterity an account*) f those
renowned and truly heroic actions, which had already raised him to an

AD BACCHUM.

Quo me, Bacche, rapis tui

Plenum ? qyae in nemora, aut quos agor in speciis,
Velox mente nova? quibus

Antris, egregii Ceesaris audiar
./Eternum meditans decus 5

Stellis inserere, et concilio Jovis?
Dicam insigne, recens, adhuc

Indictum ore alio. Non sccus in jugis
Exsomnis stupet Evias,

Hebrum prospiciens, et nive candidam 10

OR DO.

O Bacche, quo rapis me plenum tui ? In stellis et concilio Jovis?

quae nemora, aut in quos specus, velox agor Dicam insigne recens, rt adhuc indicium ore

roente nova ? Ex quibus antris audiar medi- alio. Evias exsomnis in jugis non secus stupet
tans inserere aeternum decus egregii Caesaris

NOTES.

3. Velox mrnte ?iw</.] As if Bacchus
had suddenly changed the genius of the poet,
and rendered it, in some measure, divine,
that it might be equal to the majesty of the
subject.

4. Egregii C(Esmris.~\ Torrentius is of
opinion that this maybe understood of Gesar ;
hut I cannot bring myself to be of this mind.
Without doubt he speaks of Augustus, whom
he calls rgreghu C<p?ar, Ode 0. Book I.
Cicero, speaking of Augustus, gives him the
game title, Epist. -25. Book 12. Piter eiiim
tgregius presidium sibi primum, el nol-is, de-
inde summte ifipublicte comparavit. And in-
deed this epithet is both very beautiful and
noble; for it signifies properly what is sepa-
rated from the rest on account of its excel-

lence. Thus the fattest lambs are, in Scrip-
ture, called Agnl. e grege , that is, agni
egregii.

6. Slellis Miserere.] Very few have observed
the fcrce and beauty of this word iiisererc.
For it does not signify what Catullus calls ad
ccelum vncare ; he floes not mean that he
would raise Augustus to the skies by his
veres. That prince had been already con-
secrated ; and Horace says, that he would
sjjeak of that consecration, that he would de-
scribe it in such a manner that they might
believe Augustus already-ascended to heaven.
Insert-re is here put for insertiim dicere, ila ut
insert rideatur. It is thus that he says, Ode
19th, Book II. Iterare mella for ita descri-
lere ut itcrum lali vidctntur^ This figure is

ODE XXV. HORACE'S ODES. 305

ODE XXV.

equality with the gods, although he yet dwelt among men. We ought
therefore to consider this ode as a prelude to the praises of Augustus, and
the preparative to them : it is full of an enthusiasm truly poetic.

TO BACCHUS.

BACCHUS, whither do you hurry me thus full of your divinity?
Into what caves, into what woods, am I transported, by the im-
petuous sallies of a new enthusiasm ? What echoes shall resound
the songs I compose to the immortal glory of great Caesar, ce-
lebrating his reception into heaven, and his admission to the
supreme council of Jupiter ? I design to sing of actions great in
themselves, and such as have never been performed or sung by any
other person. My soul is seized with the same admiration and
astonishment that a Bacchanal feels when, just awakened from a
deep sleep on the top of a mountain, she discovers around her the

NOTES.

both beautiful and sublime. Virgil u?es it Jupiter, the one being manifestly a conse-

in his sixth eclogue': quence of the other. A council is convoked

for the purpose of taking counsel.

Turn Phaetontiadas musco circumdat amara 7. Dicam.] Sure of the protection and

Corticis, atque solo proceras erigit alms. favour of the god who inspired him, he pro-
mises himself nothing but what is sublime

That is, circumdatas Phaetontiadas et erectas and marvellous. The poet frequently uses

atnos descrilere : and he does it in such a dicere for canere:
manner as would make one believe that they

saw the miracle take place, as Servius has Ennius ipse pater nunyuam nisi potus ad

remarked: Mira autem canentis laus, ut quasi arma

nonfadam rein cantare, sed ipse earn can- Prosiluit dicenda.

lando facere videatur. 7 . Insigne, recent, adhuc indicium ore alio.'l

6. Et concilia Jovis.] Concilium signifies This is not to be understood only of the new

an assembly. In some editions it is consilio. manner in which these things were to be

I know very well that these two words con- celebrated, but of the things themselves. It

silium and concilium, have been often mis- would seem as if the words' indictum ore alia

taken the one for the other ; but it is a matter served only to explain recens; but this is not

of indifference which of the readings should at all the case ; for Horace might have spoken

be preftned ; for Augustus could not be ad- of things that would have appeared new to

mitted into the assembly of the gods, with- the Romans, which yet had been celebrated

eut being at the same time of the counsel of by the Greeks; this is the reason that, after

VOL. 1, X

306

Q. HORATIl CARMINA.

LIB. HI.

Thracen, ac pede barbaro

Lustratam Rhodopen. Ut mihi devio
Ripas et vacuum nemus

Mirari libet ! 6 Na'iadum potens,
Baccharumque valentium

Proceras manibus vertere fraxinos ;
Nil parvum, ant humili modo,

Nil mortale loquar. Dulce periculum est,
O Lenaee, sequi Deum

Cingentem viridi tempora pampino.

ORDO.

prospiclens Hebrum, et Thracen candidam tium manibus vertere proceras fraxinos ; lo-

nive, a.c Rhodopen lustratam pede barbaro. quar nil parvum, aut humili modo, loqiiar

Ut libet mihi devio mirari ripas et vacuum nil mortale. O Lenaee, periculum est dulce

nemus! sequi Deum cingentem sua tempera viridi

O potens Naiadum, Baccharumque valen- pampino.

NOTES.

having promised he would speak of things
entirely new, he adds, ' and which have never
yet been mentioned by any other;' that is,
the Greeks themselves have never said any
thing that resembles them. Horace, without
doubt, here alludes to the verses sung by
those who followed the statue of Bacchus.

8. Non seats injugis.] This gives the rea-
son of the promise he had made, ' I will speak
of things marvellous and extraordinary.' For,
says he, I am sensible of the same move-
ments of admiration and fear which the
Bacchantes feel, when, in their precessions,

they have reached the summits of the moun-
taias, and discover thence Hebrus, Thrace,
and mount Rhodope. Does not Horace in
some measure disconnect his thoughts, that
he may the better imitate the style, and main-
tain the character, of a man inspired by the
gods?

11. Ac pede larlaro lustratam Rhodopen.']
Rhodope was a mountain of Thrace, and tha
most ordinary place of rendezvous for the
Thraciau Bacchantes ; whence Horace writes
pede larlaro lustratam.
^18. Dulce periculum est.} There was some

ODE XXV.

HORACE'S ODES.

307

river Hebrus, the snows of Thrace, and mount Rhodope, the
place of rendezvous of all the barbarians when they celebrate their
solemn feasts. What inconceivable pleasure do I enjoy while I
am in these unfrequented paths, admiring the steep rocks and
solitary groves ! Powerful being, who rulest over the Naiads, and
Bacchanals, who, with their nervous arms, can tear up by the
roots the loftiest pines, aid me with ymtr protection, that I may
utter nothing low or mean, but, on tlie contrary, what is great and
worthy of immortality. My enterprise may appear rash and danger-
ous, but it is a pleasant kind of danger, great Bacchus, to follow
the steps of a god whose temples are always crowned with a ver-
dant vine-branch.

NOTES.

kind or pricle in the promise which Horace
had made, to say nothing but what was mar-
vellous and sublime, nothing that should be
subject to death. And as the ancients were
persuaded that all bold words, to use their
own terms, all words of vanity, were usually
followed by some degree of punishment,
they took care to soften them. This is
what Horace does here with a fine address ;
for he says to Bacchus : " I know it is dan-
*' gerous to promise such great things ; but
" the danger is pleasant, when we follow a
" god whose head is always adorned with a
" vine-branch." By this he would liave
us to understand, that he was not afraid of
any bad consequences from his great pro-
mises, as he had made them only in a de-
pendence on his protection.

19. Lenase.] Len&us is an ordinary sur-
name of Bacchus. It is derived from the
Greek word xvf, which signifies a press :

from this word the Bacchantes have beea
called Lentece ; the feasts of Bacchus, Lencea ;
and the month in which they are cele-
brated, Lerueon, which answers in part to
our October.

20. Cingentem viridi tempora pampino.]
Commentators explain this passage two dif-
ferent ways; either ' who is himself crowned
with a vine-branch,' or ' who crowns his fol-
lowers with it.' The first explication seems
to roe most likely ; for Horace always de-
signs Bacchus in this manner, as in Ode
Stn, Book fourth :

Ornatus viridi tempora pampino
Liber, vota IOTIOS ducit ad exitus.

" It is Bacchus who, adorned with a ver-
" dant vine-branch, crowns all our wishes
" with a happy success."

308 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

ODE XXVI.

Horace had been too long a slave to the most foolish of all the passions.
He here takes a resolution of breaking his chains. The ode is short, but
is full of vivacity and sentiment.

AD VENEREM.

Vixi puellis nuper idoneus,
Et militavi non sine gloria :
Nunc arma defunctumque bello

Barbiton hie paries habebit,

Laevum marinse qui Veneris latus 5

Custodit. Hie, hie ponite lucida
Funalia, et vectes, et arcus

Oppositis foribus minaces.
. O, quse beatam, Diva, tenes Cyprum, et
Memphim carentem Sithonia nive, 10

ORDO.

Ego vixi nuper idoneus puellis, et militavi ponit funalia lucida, et vectes, et arcus mi-

non sine gloria : nunc hie paries qui custo- naces foribus oppositis.

dit laevum latus Veneris marinae, habehit mea ODiva, quae tenes beatamCyprum, et Mem-

arraa barbitonque dcfiinctum bello. Hie, hie phim carentem nive Sithonia, O regina, semel

NOTES.

1. Vixi puellis miper.'] Nuper, that is, the south; thus the eastern, which was ac-
before the age of forty ; for at that age Ho- counted the happiest side of the temple, was
race gave over his amours and gallantry. upon their left hand.

2. Et miliiavi.'] For love is carrying on 5. Marin<e Generis."] Augustus placed in
a kind of war; Ovid says, the temple of Julius Caesar the Venus of A-

l/upiao. temple and picture that Horace speaks here.
4. Hie paries habelit.] The ancients were 7. Et vectes, et arcus.'] Dr. Bentley raises

accustomed, when they quitted the pro- here a very considerable difficulty. He asks

fession of war, to consecrate their arms to why Horace, in this place, makes mention of

Mars. The like practice was observed in bows. Did the youth make use of them to

other professions. Horace makes choice of force open a gate when shut against them ?

the altar of Venus for this ceremony, and This is the reason why he thinks this verse

hangs up his armour on the left side of the stands in need of correction, and that we

goddess, that is, on the eastern wall of the ought to read,
temple. The statues of the gods were placed
iu such ft manner, that they looked towards Et vectes securcsque;

ODE XXVI. HORACE'S ODES. 309

ODE XXVI.

When it was composed is uncertain ; but it seems to have been written
after the 23d of the first Book, and the th of this ; about the forty-
second year of Horace's age.

TO VENUS.

NOT long ago I acquitted myself with honour in the service of
the ladies, and fought not without glory under Cupid's banner.
Now on that wall of the temple which covers the left side of
Venus emerging out of the sea, will I hang up my arms and my
harp discharged from that war. Boys, here place the flambeaux,
here the levers and bows wherewith I used to force the gates that
opposed my entrance. O goddess, who art adored at Cyprus, and
at Memphis, where the serene air is never obscured with snow,
great queen, the favour I beg of you is, that you would for once

NOTES.

for these axes were very proper to break ever from the object of his passion, he only
open a gate, and were commonly employed complains of Chloe's obstinacy, and prays the
for this purpose, as is evident from Tneocri- goddess to punish her.
tus, Plautus, and Virgil. Nothing can prove 10. Memphim.'] Venus was adored in se-
more strongly that the received reading is veral cities of Egypt, but especially at Mem-
authentic, than this supposed restitution, phis, where there was a very beautiful tem-
These bows are not mentioned herewith- pie consecrated to her. Strabo, in his 1 7th
out reason : the flambeaux and levers were book, says : There is at Memphis a temple
to burn and force open the gates, and the belonging to Venus, a Grecian goddess,
bows were intended to repulse those who Some say it is the temple of the moon. It
should attempt to defend them. Thus when is no difficult matter to reconcile these two
soldiers lay siege to a city, they have not only opinions, as Venus and the Moon were but
engines to assault the walls, but also wea- one and the same divinity,
pons to annoy those who are upon the ram- lo. Carentem Sithonia nive.~\ The moun-
partfe. Horace follows the same idea here. tains of Thrace are covered with snow during
9. 0, quce l-catam.'] The four following the greatest part of the year, which renders
verses consist of the prayer which Horace that climate extremely cold. Our poet there-
offers up to Venus, and have nothing com- fore had good reason to say, nix Sithonia, for
men with what precedes. The thought is nix perfrigida ; this is a poetical expression
very natural and delicate j but it makes one where the species is taken for the genus,
apt to suspect that Horace was no true con- which Horace does very often. It is probable
vert. After having declared that he had re- that the reason why the poet mentions par-
nounced love and gallantry, after having ticularly the cold of Thrace, is, because Chloe
consecrated his arms to Venus, he addresses was of that country. He calls her, in another
his prayer to her ; and instead of a solemn place, Thressa Chloe,
and irrevocable oath to absent himself for

310 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Regina, sublimi flagello

Tange Chloen semel arrogantem.

ORDO.

tange arrogantem Chloen sublimi flagello.

NOTES
11. Sullimi flagello. Horace here gives Venus a whip, which is something very re-

ODE XXVII.

Laelia Galla, a lady of distinction in Rome, had married Postumus. The
happiness of this union was interrupted, in the year 731, by the departure
of Tiberius for the east, whence he did not return before the year 735.
Postumus was fixed upon by the emperor to attend him while he visited the
provinces of Asia, and in his expedition into Armenia, where that young
prince had it in his charge to replace Tigranes upon the throne. Pro-
pertius reproached Postumus for having so soon abandoned his new
spouse, and addressed to him upon that subject the eleventh Elegy of the
third Book. Some time after, the same poet wrote a second piece in fa-
vour of Galla, which is the third of the fourth Book. It is an epistle which
that lady writes to her husband. This made an impression upon the mind
of Postumus, who gave Galla liberty to come and accompany him. As
she was upon the point of departing in order to embark, Horace, who had
no other conncxirn with her than that of an honest and respectful friend-
ship, takes occasion to address this ode to her ; where, after having wished
her favourable auspices, he represents to her the danger of the sea to which

ODE XXVII. HORACE'S ODES. 311

chastise the haughty and disdainful Chloe, with a severity that
may revenge all the affronts I have received from her *.

* yVith a whip lifted high.

NOTES.

markable ; he prays that goddess to raise her Hanc fenus ex olio flentem sultimis Olympo

whip high to strike Chloe, that the blow Special.

may be the more violent. Perhaps he only

says, sullimi fla^elln tange, instead of subli- " Venus, from the top of Olympus, saw

mis tange jiagello ; as Tibullus in the 8th her drowned in tears."

Elegy of his first Book, ^

ODE XXVII.

she was going to expose herself. Afterwards he launches forth into the
history of Europa, to intimate that it was not the business of ladies to ven-
ture themselves upon the sea, but that the adventure of that princess turned
to her advantage, and that in such a case she ought not to give herself up to
the same sentiments of despair as Europa, who very unseasonably lament-
ed an event which made her mistress to the sovereign of the gods. This
explication is only founded on conjecture ; but these conjectures are so na-
tural, so well connected, and throw so great a light upon this whole
piece (the most difficult perhaps of all the odes of Horace), that I am
easily induced to believe, that this representation of the matter bears a
very great resemblance to truth. Hereby this ode is not only freed from
the obscurity wherewith it hath been covered hitherto ; but also does ho-
nour to the poet, and seems to equal some of his best performances. The
history of Europa, although a little too long, is nevertheless well con-
ducted ; and the speech of that unfortunate princess is full of the most
passionate and lively eloquence.

312 Q. HORATil CARMINA. LIB. III.

AD GALATEAM NAV1GATRUAM.

IMPIOS parrae recinentis omen

Ducat, et preegnans canis, aut ab agro

Rava decurrens lupa Lanuvino,

Fetaque vulpes ;

Rumpat et serpens her instltutum, 5

Si per obliquum sirailis sagittse
Terruit mannos. Ego cui timebo

Providus auspex,
Antequam stantes repetat paludes

Imbrium divina avis imminentum, 10

Oscinem corvum prece suscitabo

Solis ab ortu.

Sis licet felix ubicunque mavis,
Et memor nostri, Galatea, vivas ;
Teque nee Isevus vetet ire picus, 15

Nee vaga comix.

Sed vides quanto trepidet tumultu
Pronus Orion : ego quid sit ater
Adriae novi sinus, et quid albus

Peccet lapyx. 20

Hostium uxores puerique csecos
Sentiunt motus orientis Austri, et
/Equoris nigri fremitum, et trementes

Verbere ripas.

OR DO.

Omen parrse recinentis ducat impios, et Galatea, sis licet fcltx ubicunque mavis

{negnans canis-, aut rava lupa decurrens ab e&ie, et vivas mcnior nostri, neque picus lae-

agro Lanuvino, fetaque vulpes ; ct serpens vus, nee vaga comix vetet te ire.

rumpat torum iter institutum, si similis sa- Sed vides quanto tumultu pronus Orion

gitue per obliquum terruit mannos. trepidet : ego novi, quid sit ater sinus A-

Ego auspex providus ei cui timebo, susci- driae, et quid albus lapyx peccet. Uxores

tabo prece ab ortu solis oscinem rorvum, an- puerique hostium sentiant eaecos motus Aus-

tequam avis divina iinbrium iraminentum re- tri orientis, et fremitum nigri aequoris, et

petat stautes paludes. ripas trementes verbere.

NOTES.

1. Imp parree recinentis.] Horace, in they had, the name of aiupices, from avis,
this ode, makes mention of three sorts of and specie, the root of conspicio. Some birds
auspices, which (beside many others) were furnished them with observations from their
in use among the Romans ; ex avibus, from chattering or singing, others from their fly-
birds ; e.r quadrupediha, from four-focted ing. The former they called oscaies, the latter
beasts ; and ex atiguitus, from serpents, prtrpetes : of the first son were crows, pyes,
He begins with those from birds, whence owls, &c. of the other, eagles, vultures,

HORACE'S ODES. 313

To GALATEA, WHO WAS PREPARING FOR A VOYAGE.

MAY voyages of impious men "be always accompanied with unlucky
presages ; may they hear the voice of an ill-boding bird, or be met
by a pregnant bitch, by a tawny wolf descending from the moun-
tains*, or a fox just ready to bring forth her young ; may a serpent
also, springing like an arrow across the road, frighten their horses,
and stop their journey ! As for me, when any person is dear to me,
and, by reason of my skill in augury, I have ground to be appre-
hensive about him ; before the crow that forebodes an approaching
storm betakes herself to the marshes, I pray the gods to send a
raven from the east, to make him alter his resolution. But, as
you have so great a desire to go, Galatea, may you prosper where-
ever you go, and be sure always to preserve a remembrance of
your friend Horacef ; may no unlucky pye, or strolling crow, pre-
vent your voyage. But do not you see the setting Orion portends a
dreadful tempest ? believe me, I know by melancholy experience the
sudden storms that often swell the Adriatic sea, and have felt the
treachery of the Apulian winds. May the wives and children of
our enemies feel the violent and dreadful commotions^; occasioned
by the south-wind when it rises ; let thejn be exposed to the fury of
the sea when it rages most, and dashes its tumultuous waves against

* Territory of Lanuvium. _ } And live mindful of me. J Dark commotions.

NOTES.

buzzards, and the like. What bird it was 3. Lanuvino.'] Lanuvium was a small

that the ancients called Parra, is yet a point town on the Appiau way ; Horace mentions

of dispute; Dacier acknowledges himself it rather than any other place, because Ga-

unable to determine it ; he only takes notice latea must pass through it as she went to em-

that different commentators give different ac- bark.

counts of it, some taking it for a wren, 6. Similis sagitt<e.~\ Horace refers to a

others for a lark ; but that, for the under- kind of serpent mentioned by Pliny in the

standing of the passage, it is sufficient to twenty-third chapter of his eighth book :

know, that it was an unlucky bird. Jaculum ex arlxmtm ramis vilrari, uec pedi-

2. Pnegncms fanw.j These three verses liis tantum cavendos serpenles, sed el missili

speak- of auguries drawn from quadrupeds, volare tormenlo.

which were usually called pedestria auspicia. 11. Oscinem coruum.] For the raven was

tt was counted an unlucky presage to meet of the number of birds called oscines, that

on the way a bitch big with young. I am furnished observations from their croaking,

of opinion we ought not to seek a reason for especially to discover the alterations in the

a thing which was founded on some casual atmosphere ; whence Pliny, Book XVIII.

and very uncertain accident ; for such was the chap. 35, says : Corvi siiigultu quodam la-

fouudation of all the auguries and auspices trantes, seque concutientes, si continualunt,

of the ancients, who carried their superstition ventos; si vero carptim vocfm resorlelunt t

'.his way to an incredible length. ventosttm imbrem*

Q. HORAT1I CARMINA.

LIB. HI,

Sic et Europe niveum doloso
Credidit tauro latus, et scatentern
Belluis pontum, mediasque fraudes

Palluit audax :

Nuper in pratis studiosa florum, ct
Debitre nymphis opifex coronse,
Nocte sublustri nihil astra praeter

Vidit et undas :

Quee simul centum tetigit potentem
Oppidis Creten ; Pater, 6 relictum
Filiae nomen, pietasque ! dixit

Victa furore.

Unde ? quo veni ? levis una mors cst
Virginum culpae. Vigilansne ploro
Turpe commissum ? an vitiis carentem

Ludit imago

Vana, quae porta fugiens eburnft
Somnium ducit ? meliusne fluctus
Ire per longos fuit, an recentes

Carpere flores ?

ORDO.

Sic et Europe crcdidit latus suum niveum
tauro doloso, et ante audax, palluit pontum
scatentem belluis, mediasque fraudes : uuper
studiosa florum in pratis, et opifex coronse
debitae nymphis, vidit nihil prseter astra et
undas nocte sublustri: quae simul tetigit
Creten potentem centum oppidis, victa
furore^ dixit, " O pater, nomen relictum

filise, pietasque relicta! Unde? quo
veni ? Una mors est levis culpae virginum.
Vigilansne ploro turpe commissum? An
vaiia imago ludit me carentem vitiis, quse
fugiens porta eburna ducit somnium ?
Meliusne fuit ire per longos fluctus, an
carpere recentes flores ? Si quis nunc
dedat mihi iratse juvencum infamem,

NOTES.

20. lapyx.] The west-north-west wind.
This wind was favourable to those who in-
tended to sail from Italy into Greece or
Egypt ; and this was what encouraged Gala-
tea in her resolution to embark. On this
account Horace was desirous of making her
apprehend some treachery in that wind;
and h is in this sense that we are to under-
stand the word peccet, which is exceedingly
expressive and well chosen. The Romans
made use of the verb peccare, to express any
alteration from better to worse. The Greeks
have done the same with their [jLuply.vii>.

21. Ctscos motus oriaitis Austin.] He
says, ctscos mains, for ignotos ,- for the mo-
tions of the winds are bejond our knowledge.
It is possible also that Horace may here have
put caicos, instead of nocturnes, because the
south winds rage with greater violence in the

night than in the day. Pliny says, Noctu
Aitster, interdiu siquilo rehemcntior.

25. Sic et Europe.] Galatea was prepar-
ing to embark, because the weather appeared
to be settled, and the sea calm and serene ,
for at that time the wind was west-north-
west, which was the most favourable she
could desire for her voyage. And Horace
tells her that Europa was deceived in the
same manner by her bull. The sea was calm
and smooth, and the bull so tame and fa-
miliar, that the princess imagined she had
not the least cause to fear, and that she
might with the greatest security venture her-
self upon his back, to take the air and divert
herself. But it was not long before she
found that she had great cause to repent of
her boldness, when she lost si^ht of the land,
and sould sec nothing but the s ,a and the

ODE XXVII. HORACE'S ODES. 315

the trembling shores*. Remember, Galatea, tJie fate of Europa,
who was so credulous as to trust her charming personf to a deceit-
ful bull ; but the rash princess soon grew pale on seeing the ocean
crowded with monsters, and herself so grossly imposed on. Lately
she was gathering flowers in the pleasant meads, and was employed
in composing garlands for her companion-nymphs ; but now, in-
volved in frightful silence and a gloomy night, she could discover
nothing but the glimmering stars, and surface of the deep!. When
she arrived in the isle of Crete, famous^ for its hundred cities : " O
" father," cried she, transported with rage, " a name by which I can
" no longer justly address you, as I, . once your beloved daughter,
" have violated my duty towards you ! Good gods ! whence came I,
" or where am I ? One death is too slight a punishment for such
" a crime as mine. But after all, am I really awake ? Have I
" really done an infamous action to occasion these tears ? or is it
" only a phantom escaped through the ivory gate, that sports with
" my innocence, and inspires me with a delusive dream ? Js it
" possible that I have preferred the danger of crossing such a vast
" extent of sea, to the pleasure of gathering the new-blown flowers ?

* The banks trembling with the lash of its waves. -f- Thus also did Europa trust her

snowy side. J The waters. Powerful.

NOTES.

heave.ns. This is the only true sense of this but it is necessary to remark, that in the

comparison, the justness whereof has not Iliad Homer speaks of Crete, as it was in his

hitherto been sufficiently understood. own time, and that -in the Odyssey he in-

25. Europe.'] Europa was the daughter troduces Ulysses speaking of it as it was at

of Agenor king of Phrenicia, and sister of the time of the Trojan war " for at that time

Cadmus. Herodotus relates, that the Cretans it had only ninety cities, the other ten,

having heard great boasts of the beauty of which were in the time of Homer, being

that princess, carried her away by force, to built by the Dorians who followed Althe-

marry her to their king ; and conducted her mencs.

to Crete in a vessel that was named the Bull, 34. relictum Jilue nomen.~\ Namen, in

and which was adorned with the figure of that this passage, refers to pater. Europa inti-

animal. On this foundation the, poets have mates that she had forfeited, by her miscon-

changed Jupiter into a bull, and made him duct, all right to call Agenor by the name

carry off Europa by that stratagem. of father. Torrentius has remarked, that

33. Centum patent cm oppidis Creten.'] Ariadne speaks much after the same manner

Virgil, in the third book of the sE<ne\d, says, in Ovid:

Centum uilvs habitant magnas, ulerrima Nam pater et tellus justo regnata Tonanti,
regna, Prodita sunt. facto nomina cara ineo.

" The people of Crete inhabit a hundred " For my father and my country, these

" cities, which are so many powerful and " dear names, have I betrayed by this cri-

" opulent kingdoms." See our prose trans- " minal action."

lation of Virgil. 37. Unde ? quo veni ?] It is worth while

to take notice of the manner in which Ho-

Homer calls it in the Odyssey, ivvsaitovlaiw- race treats this subject. The first ideas which

Xiv, an island that had ninety cities ; and in the he makes to arise in the mind of Europa,

Iliad, <tTovjroXv, that had a hundred cities ; are those of a father whom she has aban-

316

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. III.

Si quis infamem mihi nunc juvencum
Declat iratae, lacerare ferro, et
Frangere enitar modo multum amati

Cornua monstri.
Impudens liqui patrios Penates :
Impudens Orcum moror. O Deorum
Si quis heec audis, utinam inter errem

Nuda leones !

Antequam turpis macies decentes
Occupet malas, teneraeque succus
Defluat prasdas, speciosa quaero

Pascere tigres.

Vilis Europe, pater urget absens ;
Quid mori cessas ? potes hac ab orno
Pendulum zon& bene te secut

Lsedere collum.
Sive te rupes et acuta letho
Saxa delectant ; age, te procellae
Crede veloci, nisi herile mavis

Carpere pensum,

ORDO.

<e enitar lacerare ferro, et frangere cornua
" monstri modo muhum amati. Impudens
" liqui patrios penates : impudens moror
'* Orcum. O si quis Deorum audis haec,
" utinam errem nuda inter leones ! Quaero
" pascere tigres dum sim speciosa, ante-
" quam turpis macies occupet decentes

malas, succusque defluat tenerae pradae.
O vilis Europe, absens pater urgetjte;
quid cessas mori ? Potes laedere collum
pendulum ab Lac orno, zona bene secuta
te. Sive rupes et saxa acuta letho delec-
tant te; age, crede te veloci procellse,
nisi tu, regius sanguis, mavis carpere he-

NOTES.

doned, and her duty which she hath violated.
The next arise from the places which she has
left, and those wherein she now finds her-
self; and this last reflection brings her to
the remembrance' of the infamous action she
had committed with Jupiter ; but though she
thought of this action with horror, yet she
takes care not to mention it ; she contents
herself with giving a frightful representation
of it by asserting, that death itself was not
sufficient to expiate her crime.

38. yrrginum culpcB.~\ The expression is
general and modest, Virginum culpa, for
cidpa i-iolatts virginitatis. Culpa, pecca-
tum, and vitium, are synonymous terms to
express the loss of chastity, and a criminal
commerce; he calls it turpe ccmmissum in
the following verses. Catullus says of Juno,

Conjugis in culpa flagravit quotidiana.

It is remarkable that through the whole nar-
rative of this history, Horace speaks with
the utmost discretion ; not a word escapes
him that can in the least offend chastity.
Europa herself draws a veil over the infa-
mous action she had committed, and is con-
tent with giving a frightful image of it. The
respect due to the wisdom and quality of
Laelia Galla, demanded this care.

41. Porta . fugitns eburna.'] Horace here
follows Homer, who in the 19th Book of
the Odyssey writes, ' that the^e are two
gates of sleep, the one of ivory, and the
other of horn ; that false dreams pass
through the first, and ihose which repre-
sent nothing but the truth, through the
second.' This is also imitated by Virgil,
towards the end of his 6th book, Sunt ge-
minee somni partts. See the note in the
prose-translation of Virgil on these words.
45. Si quit infamem.] The passions re

ODE XXVII. HORACE'S ODES. 317

" Ah ! I find my misfortunes are too real. Would but any one
({ deliver that infamous bull to me amidst the rage which I now
" feel, I would either with sharp steel cut his horns to pieces, or
" tear them from the head of that monster I just now loved so
t{ much. I have had the impudence to forsake the house of my
" father, and, though a victim to the infernal gods, I have still
" greater impudence to sully the earth, and not go instantly to the
" realms of Pluto. Ye gods, if any of you should listen to these
" my complaints, grant that I may be left to wander naked and de-
" fenceless among savage lions. May this beauty, which has
" been tJie cause of my ruin, become the prey of tigers*, before a
" frightful leanness diffuse itself over my lovely cheeks, and rifle
" me of all my charmsf. But what adds greatly to my sorrow, I
" think I hear my absent father saying, Europa, vile Europa !
" why do you delay dispatching yourself J ? This tree, and your
" own girdle, which you have luckily brought with you, offer you
" their assistance to be the instruments of your punishment. Or
" if you choose rather to throw yourself from these rocks, the points
" of which promise you a more ready death, go, precipitate your-
" self into the midst of the raging sea without farther hesitation,

* I beautiful desire to feed tigers, f And the moisture leave the tender prey. J To die.
You may bruise your neck hanging on this ash-tree by your belt which has luckily

followed you.

NOTES.

here very naturally described. The princess easily believe that Europa does not speak

finding herself equally blameable and un- thus from any attachment she had to her

happy, knows not where to betake herself, beauty, or because she wished to die before

The deceitful bull, that had abused her, be- it was gone; but it was better to punish

comes the first object of her fury. He is that beauty which was the cause of her mis-

a monster; could she but have him, she finds fortune and crime.

herself vigorous enough to attack him, and 57. Pater urget alsens.'] This passage

tear him to pieces. Afterwards she falls will admit two interpretations ; Your father

upon herself, she reproaches herself with her sends out his people in pursuit of you;

crime, and thinks of nothing but of expiating or, Your father, though not present,

it by a speedy death. yet haunts you. Absent as he is, you do

47 . Modo mullum amali comua monstri.] not cease to have him always before your

Europa showed herself exceedingly fond of eyes, reproaching you with your crime,

the bull, while she was upon the bank ; for 60. Ltedere collum.'] Bentley assures us,

she presented him with flowers, she crowned that luedere collum was never "in use, but

him with them, and gently stroked his sides that they always said clidere or frangere,

with her hands, &c. and brings several examples to confirm it*

50. Tmpudens Orcum moror.'] This de- Therefore he thinks we ought either to read

pends upon the preceding verse ; ' I have frangere collum, or,
' had the impudence to forsake the house of

' my father, I have farther had the impu- - -Zona lene te secuta

' dence to make Pluto wait for me.' This Elidere collum ;
is extremely beautiful.

53. Antequam turpis.] Horace paints here as Heinsius had corrected it in the margin of
very prettily the natural disposition of wo- his copy. But before we condemn an ex-
men, who are less afraid of death itself, than pression, we ought to examine the reasons
of the loss of their beauty. Yet we may which may induce a writer to prefer it to

S18

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. HI.

Regius sanguis, dominaeque tradi
Barbaras pellex. Aderat querenti
Perfidum ridens Venus, et remisso

Filius arcu.

Mox, ubi lusit satis, Abstineto,
Dixit, irarum calid&eque rixfe,
Cum tibi invisus laceranda reddet

Cornua taurus.

Uxor invicti Jovis esse nescis ?
Mitte singultus ; bene ferre magnam
Disce fortunam : tua sectus orbis

Nomina ducet.

ORDO.

" rile pensum, et tradi pellex dom'mae bar-
baree."

Venus perfidum ridens, et filius, arcu re-
misso, aderat ei querenti. Mox, ubi satis
lusit, dixit, " Abstineto irarum, calideeque

rix; ; cum taurus invisus reddet tibi cor-
nua laceranda. Tu, qu& es uxor in-
victi Jovis, nescis te esse ? Mitte tuos
singultus : disce ferre bene magnam tiiam
fortunam : sectus orbis ducet tua noraina."

NOTES.

others that are more common. Horace here who explain the whole adventure to Europa.

lays lifdere collum ; and if the learned critic Nothing can be more ingenious ; and in my

had weighed the matter thoroughly, he might opinion this ode might give one the idea of a

easily have found out the reason of it. But picture of a most excellent taste,
he does not consider it is a princess that 69. Abstineto, dixit, irarum.'] Every one

speaks ; and in order to render the image of cannot see fall the beauty of this passage.

death to which she intended to deliver herself Europa had said, that if she could come at

more agreeable, she avoids all severe and that deceitful bull, she would use all her

shocking expressions, and instead of/rangere efforts to tear off his horns ; and Venus

chooses rather to say Itedere, which is a word with a smile prays her to moderate her

kss terrifying and frightful. wrath and transports, because that bull

66. Aderat querenti.'] Horace here in- would offer his norns to be torn off. It

troduces very opportunely Venus and Cupid, is an ironical discourse, so graceful, that it

ODE XXVIII.

Horace was a great enemy to noise and tumult ; for that reason, sumptuous
and splendid feasts were not at all agreeable to him. It was his ordinary cus-
tom to invite a few select friends to a frugal repast, that he might enjoy the
pleasure of feasting without feeling the inconveniences of it. This of
Neptune brought to Rome a great number of strangers, by which means

AD LYDEN.

FESTO quid potius die
Neptuni faciam ? prome reconditum,

ORDO.

Quid ego potius faciam festodie Neptuni?

ODE XXVIII. HORACE'S ODES. 319

"unless you, who are the daughter of a king*, choose to be the
" rival of a strange mistress, and to stoop like a slave to spin
" her vvoolf." While the unfortunate princess thus vented her
grief in va'm complaints, malicious-smiling Venus heard herj, Cupid
standing by her side, diverting himself with his bow unbent. At
length, when the goddess had glutted herself with this pleasure,
she said, " Moderate your rage, Europa, suppress your tears, and
" forbear those heavy complaints ; for this hated bull will himself
" soon offer you his horns to be broken in pieces. Europa," con-
tinued she, with a serious air, " you are ignorant of your own hap
" piness. Do not you yet know that you are the wife of Jupiter,
" whose power is irresistible ? Suppress then these deep sighs,
" and show yourself truly worthy ot that high dignity to which the
" sovereign of the gods hath raised youjj : in a short time the chief
" part of the world shall do itself 'the honour to bear your name."

* Royal blood. -f- Spin the task of your mistress. J Was present.
Invincible Jupiter. || Learn to bear your great fortune well.

NOTES.

can never be sufficiently praised ; we should sovereign of the gods : or it may be better
therefore beware of reading with some com- explained, I think, with a point of interro-
mentators, Non till invisus laceranda reddet. gation : ' Do you not know yourself to be
This would fee to lose the whole beauty of ' the wife of Jupiter ?'
the passage. 75. Sectus orbis.] Divided into two parts;
73. lfxr>rinvictiJovisessenestisf~\ This one part of the world. Horace here follows
verse will admit two explications; for it poetical tradition. It is more probable, how-
may signify, ' You do not know that you ever, that Europe took its name from a pro-
' are the wife of Jupiter ;' you do not know vince called Europia, and a city named
that the bull, against whom yon vent your Europus, north of Macedonia,
rage with so much violence, is Jupiter, the

ODE XXVIII

the streets and public houses were full and crowded. The poet at this time
was inclined to retire with some of his friends, and pass a part of the day in
the pleasures of music and good cheer. This was wnat gave occasion to this
sh rt ode, which is written with a very lively and natural turn.

TO LYDE.

How shall I pass the time of this great festival of Neptune most
agreeably ? Come, Lyde, bring us quickly some of the best* Cecu-

* HWden,

320 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. III.

Lyde, strenua Caecubum,

Munitaeque adhibe vim sapientiae.
Inclinare meridiem

Sentis ; ac, veluti stet volucris dies,
Parcis deripere horreo

Cessantem Bibuli consulis amphoram.
Nos cantabimus invicem

Neptunum, et virides Nereidum comas : 10

Tu curval recines lyra

Latonam, et celeris spicula Cynthiae ;
Summo carmine, quse Cnidon

Fulgentesque tenet Cycladas, et Paphon
Junctis visit oloribus.

Dicetur merit& Nox quoque naenia. 1 5

ORDO.

Lyde, strenua prome vfrnim Caecubum recon- virides comae Nereidum: tu recines curva

ditum, adhibeque vim sapientiae munitae. Sen- lyra Latonam, et spicula celeris Cynthi;e ;

tis meridiem inclinare ; ac parcis deripere recines etiam summo .carmine yenerem quae

horreo cessantem amphoram Bibuli consulis, tenet Cnidon fulgentesque Cycladas, et qiue

veluti volucris dies stet. visit Paphon junctis oloribus. Nox quoque

Nos invicem cantabimus Neptunum, et dicetur merita naenia.

NOTES.

8. Biluli consults.] Marcus Bibulus had Horace by this designs to express wine that
been consul with Caesar in the year 695. was very old.

ODE XXIX.

What is said of the orations of Demosthenes, the iambics of Archilochus,
and the letters of Atticus, is equally true of the odes of Horace : Those
that are longest are not the least beautiful. To keep up the spirit of a work
when it is long, reauires a superior genius. He does something more in this
ode j for, the farther he proceeds, the higher he rises, and fresh beau-

AD MJiCENATEM.

TYRRHENA regum progenies, tibi
Non ante verso lene merum cado,
Cum flore, Maecenas, rosarum, et

Pressa tuis balanus capillis
Jamdudum apud me est. Eripe te morae j 5

ORDO.

O Maecenas, Tyrrhena progenies regum, non ante verso, cum flore rosarum, et bala-
jamdudum est tibi apud me merum lene cado mis pressa tuis capillis.

E XXIX. HORACE'S ODES. 321

bian wine, and for once lay aside* your obstinate sobriety. You
see the day begins to decline ; yet, as if it waited your leisure, you
delay bringing from the cellar a bottle of the wine that has been
mellowing- ever since the consulate of Bibulus. We will sing in
turn the praises- of Neptune and the Nereidsf ; and you shall cele-
brate on your harp the praises ofLatona, and of Diana the goddess
of hunting. Our concert shall end with a song in praise of the
goddess who presides over Cnidos and the shining Cyclades, and
who, in a chariot, drawn by swans, frequently visits the island of
Paphos. The night too, which affords us so much pleasure, shall
not be forgotten.

* Apply violence to. -f- The green hairs of the Nereids.

NOTES.

10. Ncrc'idum."] For these goddesses of both ; and the Cnidians of Caria were pos-

the sea ought to have a part in the feast of sessed of the beautiful Venus of Praxiteles,

Neptune. They were the daughters of Ne- for which Nieomedes offered to give as much

reus and Doris. To these divinities the poet as would pay all the debts of the city, which

joins Latona, Diana, and Venus, who were at that time were very considerable.
particularly honoured by person* of the sex, 1 6. Dicetur merit u Nor quri'iitc nomia.]

and were the ordinary subject of tlieir songs. What the poet means here is^ that the feast

12. Cy/ithLcJ] Diana has Ueeti called was not to end with the dav, but that some
Cynthia, and Ap-'llo Cynthius, from a moun- part of the night was also to be employed in
tain of that name which runs across Delos. it. For although mewn signifies properly a

13. Qua; Cnidon.] Venus presided over mourning sons, yet the ancients have not
Cnidos, of which there was one in Cyprus, scrupled to make use of it to signify a sort of
and another in Caria. She was adored in lively sportive song.

ODE XXIX.

ties appear in every line, until at last he mounts to a pitch of sublimity that
no other was capable of reaching. Julius Scaligcr gives it this commenda-
tion : " Vicesima. nona incipit lenissime; turn vero semper assurgit eo us-
" que, quo nemo aliorum pervenire possit."

TO MAECENAS.

O MAECENAS, descended from the kings of Tuscany, I have long
reserved for you a cask of excellent mellow wine*, which has not
yet been pierced. I have moreover crowns of roses, and store of
essence, which I have prepared on purpo-e to perfume your hair.
Disengage yourself therefore speedily from any thing that may re-
tard your comirigf, and do not always amuse yourself in contem-

* Wine in a cask. -J- Delay.

1. Tyrrhrna regnm progenies.] Ode 1. regilus, descended of ancient kin-s ; and he
Book i. Horace writes, Marcenas atavis edite here informs us who these kings were, by say-
Vm.. I. V

322 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Ne semper udum Tibur et jEsulae
Declive contempleris arvum, et

Telegoni juga parricidae.
Fastidiosam clesere copiam, et

Molem propinquam nubibus arduis: 10

Omitte mirari beatas

Fumum et opes strepitumque Romre.
Plerumque gratae divitibus vices,
Mundseque parvo sub lare pauperum

Coenje, sine aulaeis et ostro, !,">

Solicitam explicuere frontem.
Jam clartis occultum Andromedes pater
Ostendit ignem ; jam Procyon furir,
Et stella vesani Leonis,

Sole dies referente siccos. 20

Jam pastor umbras cum grege languido
Rivumque fessus queerit, et horridi
Dumeta Sylvani ; caretque

Ripa vagis taciturna ventis.

Tu civitatem quis deceat status 2.j

Curas, et urbi solicitus times,
Quid Seres et regnata Cyro

Bactra parent, Tanaisque discors.
Prudens futuri temporis exitum

Caliginosa nocte premit Deus ; 3t)

Ridetque, si mortal is ultra

Fas trepidat. Quod adest, memento

ORDO.

Eripe te rnorae; ne semper contemplcris Procyon, et stella vesani Leonis, sole re-

vkim Tibur, et declivearvum -ilsuke, et juga fereute dies siccos. Jam pastor fessus aslu

, ,i parricidae. Desere fastidiosam cum grege languido qncerit umbras rivuni-

tuam copiarn, et molem propinqur.rn nubibus que, et durueta horridi Sylvani; ripaque taci-

arduis: omitte mirari fumum et opes stre- turna caret vaffisveiv is.
pitumque bcatae Romae. Vices plerumque Tu euros quis status deceat civitatem, et

gratse divitibus, mundrpque coenae pauperum sdidtus urbi times quid Seres et Bactra reg-

*ub parvo lare sine aulaeis et ostro, explicuere natn Cyro Tanaisque discors parent. Deu*

fror.tem solicitam. prr;lens premit caliainosa nocte exitum iiituri

Jam Cephcus clarus pater Andromedos os- temporis; ridetque, si mortalis trepidat ultra

tendit ignam suum occultum; jam furit fas.

NOTES.

ing that bis friend sprang from the kings of rJieni for Tyrserd, from the word rujo-ti;,

Tuscany. See the remarks on that ode. The turres, towers, because they were thp first

Tuscans were called Tyrrheni, not from a Li- who found out the an of building lyalls, and

byan prince whose name was Tyrrher.us, as fortifying cities.

some would have it, but from certain people 4. Bnlanus.~\ By L-aiamis Horace under-
go called, who inhabited some islands in the stands l-alanrtsitngiicniariiis, which theGretks
JEsea.n sea, which they abandoned to go and Latins called Myrolalanus : of it they
These people were called Tyr- made au excellent perfume.

ODE XXIX. HORACE'S ODES. 323

plating the valleys of Tivoli*, the charming eminences of the moun-
tain Esula, and the agreeable little hills that surround Tusculum,
built by the parricide Telegonus-f-. Drop, for this day, that over-
Jjowing plenty which usually creates a surfeit : descend from your
turret that almost reaches the clouds, and leave off admiring thence
the smoke, the riches, and the noise of Rome, a city that is now
more magnificent than ever. Variety is sometimes pleasing to the
rich; and a plain supper in a neat though mean cottage, without
tapestry or beds of purple, has made them often forget their cares,
and hecome gay and cheerful. The bright constellation Cepheus,
the father of Andromeda, discovers already his hidden fires; Procyon
and the constellation of furious Leo, tJmt foretell the approach of
the dog-star, begin to exert all their rage; the sun also parches the
earth with its scorching heat. The weary shepherd retires with his
fainting flock to the shade of the forests, to the cooling streams,
and the groves of the sylvan god*: not the least breath of wind can
be felt on the river-side^; every thing is in profound repose; bat
you are always busy and solicitous how to' support the grandeur of
the city, and, watching over its safety, are apprehensive what pro-
jects the Seres, the Bactrians||, and the restless Scythians, who live
on the borders of the Tanais, may be forming against it. God, in
his infinite wisdom, has thought fit to conceal what is future in im-
penetrable obscurity, and laughs at men who carry their anxiety be-
yond the bounds he has prescribed to themff. Be you careful to

* Moist Tivoli. f Hills of the parricide Telegonus. J Rough Sylvanus. The
silent bank wants the restless wiuds. \\ Bactra governed by Cyrus. ^[ What is lawful.

NOTES.

8. Telcgoni juga.] Telegonus was the , 27. Quid Seres.] Horace here tells Ma-
son of Ulysses and Circe. He slew his own cenas, that he was over-solicitous to protect
father without knowing him, and after- Rome from evils wherewith it was not in the
wards retiring to Italy, on a small mountain, least threatened ; for at this time Rome had
not far from Rome, built Tusculum. Strabo nothing to fear either from the Seres who in-
writes that this mountain was divided into habited the borders of the eastern ocean, or
several summits covered with tree 1 -, watered the Parthians or Scythians. He thus cndea-
with a great number of rivulets, and adorned vours to prevail with Maecenas to case his
with several magnificent structures. mind a little from those anxieties he felt for

17- Aadrijinedes pater. ~\ Cepheus, king the safety of Rome.

of Ethiopia, or, according to others, of Phoe- '28. Tanaisque discors.] Bythe Tanais we

nicia, was placed in the number of the stars, are to understand the Scythians, who lived

together wit li Cassiope his wife, and Andro- along that river and the Danube. This river

mcda his daughter. is the same with the Don, which takes its

18. Procyjn.] Procyon is a Greek word rise in Russia, and empties itself into the

whichCtcero has translated ante-canem,W\\\ch Black Sea near Asof. Horace calls it discors,

precedes the dog, that is, which rises be- because the Scythians and Sarmatians, who

fore Canieulus, called otherwise Sirius or the inhabited along the banks of it, were often at

dog-star. ]t is a constellation of throe stars, war with each other,
near the milk wuv.

324 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. III.

Componere sequus : caetera flu minis
Ritu feruntur, nunc mcdio alveo

Cum pace delabentis Etruscum 35

In mare, nunc lapides adesos,
Stirpesquc raptas, et pecus, et domos,
Volventis una, non sine montium
Clamore, vicinsgque sylvge,

Cum fera diluvies quietos 40

Irritat anmes. Ille potens sui
Laetusque deget, cui licet in diem
Dixisse, Vixi : eras vel atra

Nube polum Pater occupato,

Vel sole puro; non tamen irritum, 45

Quodcunque retro est, efficiet, neque
Diffinget, infectumque reddet,

Quod fugicns semel hora vexit.
Fortuna saeyo laeta negotio, et

Ludum insolentem ludere pertinax,

Transmutat incertos honores,

Nunc mini, nunc alii benigna.
Laudo manentem : si celeres quatit
Pennas, resigno quae dedit, et mea

Virtute me involve, probamque 55

Pauperiem sine dote qusero.
Non est meum, si mugiat Africis
Malus procellis, ad miseras preces
Decurrere, et votis pacisci,

Ne Cypriae Tyriseque merces CO

Addant avaro divitias mari.

ORDO,

Memento xquus componece quod adest : neque diffinget, reddetque infectum, quod fu-

caetera feruntur rku fluminis, nunc in medio giens hora semel vexit.

alveo delabentis cum pace in mare Etruscum, Fortuna laeta saevo negotio, et pertinax lu-

iiunc una volventis lapides adesos, stirpesque dere insolentem luduin, transmutat incertos

raptas, et pccus, et domos, non sine clamore honores, nunc benigna mihi, mine alii. Lau-

rnontium, sylvaeque vicinae, cum fcra diluvies do earn manentem : si quatit celeres pennas,

irritat amnes quietos. resigno ea quae dedit, et involve me mea vir-

Ille deget potens sui laqtusque, cui licet in tute, quaeroque probam pauperism sine dote,

diem dixisse, Vixi : eras pater Jupiter occu- Si malus mugiat Africis procellis, non est

pato polum vel atra nube vel sole puro ; non meum decurrere ad miseras preces, et pacisci

tamen efficiet irritum, quodcumque retro est, votis, ne mete Cypriae TjTiaeque merces ad-

NOTES.

01. Ridet.~\ As this moral sentiment is torment ourselves to no purpose, and expose;

very just, so it is represented by Horace in a us to the ridicule of the gods. Maecenas

manner capable of making a deep impression, might very naturally i'pply to himself, what

To attempt penetrating into futurity, is to seems to be here said only in the general.

ODE XXIX. HORACE'S ODES. 325

order with prudence what is present : what is future is like the
Tiber*, that sometimes confining itself to the middle of its channel,
runs gently along into the Tuscan sea; but which, at other times,
when the rivulets that empty themselves into it are swelled by
heavy rainsf-, carries along with it huge ragged stones, uprooted
trees, cattle, and even houses, with a noise which makes the moun-
tains and neighbouring wood to resound*. He only can be said to
live always happy, and to be absolutely master of himseir, who, at
the end of every day, can say, I have lived. Jupiter may cover the
heaven to-morrow, with thick clouds, or brighten it with the serene
rays of the sun ; yet he cannot render void what has already come
to pass, nor undo and recall what time, that flies swiftly along, hath
once carried icith it. Fortune, which takes great pleasure in cruel
diversions, and the more cruel the more highly pleased, is continu-
aily"transferring her unsteady honours, liberal to me of those to-
day which she will perhaps bestow on another to-morrow. If she is
willing to stay with me, I am content; if she flutters her wings to
le'ai-e me, I resign all her gifts without uneasiness, wrap myself in my
virtue, and desire no more than honest poverty without a dower.
Should my ship's mast crack with stormy winds, I would not have
recourse to whining prayers, and, by a horrible kind oj traffic, strive
to obtain of the godx, by my vows, that the cargo / have brought
from Cyprus and Tyre may riot enrich the insatiable sea ; for then
in my little two-oared skiff?}, to which I fly directly, a fair wind, and

* River. -f- When a violent shower raises the quiet rivers. J Not without the

noise of the mourun'uis and the neighbouring wood. By the help of my two-oared skiff.

NOTES.

Trepidare equally marks, both the ridiculous race, when he caused to be engraven upon a

fear which a too foreboding temper usually medal, Forlunce manenti.
occasions, and the superfluous trouble we of- 54. Meu virlule me involvo.] The man

ten give ourselves, to prevent imaginary evils, who lias the wisdom to place his supreme

which perhaps might never come to pass. happiness in virtue, is not afraid of the at-

33. Caelcra /luininis.} What a beautiful tacks of Fortune. She may despoil us of our

image of the vicissitude of human affairs ! external possessions ; but our probity is more

This is a finished stroke. It is a new sight than a recompense for all these losses, and

which the poet gives to a reader. A moral enables us to sustain them with patiertce and

so judiciously varied can never cloy ; the courage.

agrecableness wherewith it is seasoned, makes 57- Nan est meum, si.] This is a natural

us hearicen vhh pleasure to the persuasion, consequence of what precedes. TLie poet,

53. Laudomanentcm.} This is a necessary to show that lie wa= disposed to encounter

consequence of the disposition which every with equanimity all the accidents of life,

man ought to aim at, of being contented places himself in circumstances the most

with the present. A wise man never shuts proper to put his virtue to this trial. Sup-

the gate against Fortune when .-lie favours pose, says lie, that, enriched with the com-

liini; but he never strives to retain her when merce of tiie Levant, 1 was sailing along

she begins to frown. The emperor Adrian the .Egean Sea, and that, a violent, tempest

might have had in view this passage of Ho- arising, I betook myself to my skiff, andsatr

326 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. III.

Tune me biremis pr&sidio scaphfe
Tutum per /Egdeos tumultus
Aura i'cret, geminusque Pollux.

ORDO.

dant divitias man avaro. Tune aura, gemi- tutnm prcesidio scaphfe birerais.
nusque Pollux feret me per j*Eg-jeos tumaitus,

NOTES.

the ship, the cargo, and all my hopes, swal- 59. Miseras preces.'] These conditional
lowed up by the ocean ; I would lock upon prayers which virtue blushes at, and the
this loss with a calm and undisturbed mind, gods disregard, are called by Persius, Preces
and would regard it as aslgnal instance of the emaces, prayers of purchase.
protection and favour of the gods, to escape 62. Time me liremif^\ These three lines
the fury of the waves, though stripped of my have not been thoroughly understood by corn-
all, ratntators. Horace represents himself as a

ODE XXX.

Horace wrote this ode upon his heing the first v. ho in the Latin language had
imitated the poetry of the Greeks. I have already endeavoured to justify the
advantageous sentiments which Horace seems to have had of his own per-

EXEGI monumentum aere perennius,

Regalique situ pyramidum altius ;

Quod nou imLer edax, non Aquilo impotens

Possit diruere, aut iunumerabilis

Annorum series, et fuga temporum. 5

Non omnis moriar; multaque pars mei

Vitabit Libitinam. Usque ego postera

Crescam laude recens, dum Capitoliurn

Scandet cum tacita virgine pontifex.

Dicar, qua violens obstrepit Aufidus, 10

Et qua pauper aquse Daunus agrestium

Regnavit populorum, ex humili potens,

Princeps folium carmen ad Italos

Deduxisse modes. Sume superbiam

Quaesitam meritis, et mibi Delphica 15

Lauro cinge volens, Melpomene, comam.

ORDO.

Exec' 1 iv,o;iamen!um perennius cere, altius- pitolium cum tacita virgine. Qua violens

que situ reirali pyramidum ; quod non irnber Aufidus ob:trepit, ct qua Daunus pauper

edax, non Aqiulo impotens possit diruere, aqure rex poputormn agrestium regnavir, ego

aut innumeraliiis series annoruna, et fuga potens ex humili, dicar princeps deduxisse

temporuin. ^Eolium carmen ad Italos luodos.

Ego non moriar onmis; multaque pars mei Melpomene, surae tuperbiam quaesitam
vitabit Libiiiuam. Ego usque recens cres- mentis, et voleus ciuge nalii comam Del-
cam laude postera, dura pontiitx scandet Ca- phica lauro.

ODE XXX. HORACE'S ODES. 327

Pollux the twin brother of Castor, will waft me safe over the terrible
/Egean waves.

NOTES.

man who was always satisfied with his con- crees of heaven, and could behold the rage
dition. If Fortune was favourable, he was and fury of the waves with the same Iran-
pleased ; if she frowned upon him, he ae- quilliiy of mind, and with the same confi-
quiesced, and restored, without murmuring, dence, as if the wind were favourable, and
whatever he had received from her, being as Castor and Pollux conducted the vessel. In
well contented with his poverty as he hud this way of explaining it the passage is ex-
ibrmeily been with his riches. To render tremely beautiful ; Horace, though a fol-
this of more easy conception by a famili.-.r lower of Epicurus, had drawn his steadiness
example, he tells us, that he is noae of those of mind from the stoical philosophy: for
who, in the miJst of a tempest, have re- he took from every sect what he thought
course to prayers, and make vows for their useful and agreeable to the dictates of
safety; but that he submitted to the de- reason.

ODE XXX.

formances, in the remark on the last ode of the preceding book, which is of
the same nature with thisj and therefore I shall here say nothing more upon
that topic.

I HAVE now raised to myself a monument more durable than brass,
and higher far than the royal pyramids of Egypt* ; a monument
which neither storms nor tempests can deface, nor the most violent
winds beat down ; nor a succession of innumerable ages-f-, or the
rapid flight of time, destroy. 1 shall not entirely die. The far
more noble part of me shall escape cruel Proserpine. So long as
the capital stands, and the pontiff, with the silent virgin, shall
ascend thither to offer the public sacrifices, my reputation, ever
new, shall increase from age to age*. In those places through
vvhich the rapid Aufidus rolls with a violent noise, and in those dry
and barren countries where Daunus reigned over the warlike inha-
bitants, I shall be renowned, notwithstanding my obscure birth, for
being the first who adapted the Greek || poetry to the Roman
measures. Assume then, my muse^, that noble pride which thy
merits have so justly gained, and cheerfully crown me with laurels
bestowed only on tlie favourites of the god of Delphos.

* Higher than the royal situation of the pyramids. -j- Years. J I still new shall

increase with future praise. Where. H /Eolian. ^[ Melpomene.

NOTES.

1 . Exegi mmiumenlum.'] This monu- to Horace, had it been raised by any other
laeut would have done much greater honour hands than his own. But I have already ob-

328

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. III.

NOTES.

serve;!, that we ought not to be too rigorous Romans ; for he introduces Jupiter saying to

with the poets upon the article of vanity. Venus,

Ovid speaks of his wurls in yet stronger

terms : His ego ncc mclas rerum, ncc tempora pono :

Jamqtie opus excgi, quod ncc Jovis ira, nee

ignis,
Nee poterilferrum, ncc edax alolere vetustas.

0, Regtttique silu pyramidumJ] He here
savs the roy.d situation of the pyramids, in-
stead of the towering pyramids bnilt by se-
veral princes. Tlu-se pyramids were twenty
in number, three whereof were remarkably
large. See Amni. Mareell. Bo<-k22d.

7. Libil;:iam.~\ Libitina was the goddess
who presided over funerals, whom I take 10
be the same wi;h Proserpine mentioned in
Bookl.OdeXXVlII.

millnm

Steva capul Proserpina fogit,

8. Crescam laitde rercns.'] This is a most
beautiful expression, vvhi; !i comprehends in
ihree words two magnificent eu/ogirt ; to
grew always in fame, and to preserve through
all ag;es the graces of novelt;, ; these are the
richest gifts of the muses. Horace does not
promise himself this in vain ; for we see that
his works preserve even to this day an air of
novelty, as if they were possessed of a spirit
of youth, and a soul exempt from old age.

8. Dum Capiloliiim tcn/'dt't.] I am cf opi-
nion, that Horace speaks here, in general, of
all the public sacii Bees that were offered in
the e.pitol; for in all the eeremo* 'es the
high Driest ws followed by some vestal.
Horace here promises himself an eternal re-
putation. Rome had risen to such an cxahed
pitch of gram', ur, that no doubt was tirade of
its remaining for ever mistress of the universe.
Virgil feigns, that even before the foundation
of Rome this eternity was promised to the

whence came the common use of such in-
scriptions as these, Roma; Mttrnee, Imperil
/F.i .'mi fa : Bat the poems of Horace have sur-
vived the capitol, the vestals, and that empire
so flourishing. Only the produciions of the
muses, and what they celebrate, can with
justice promise themselves eternity.

9. Cum tacitu ircrgtne.] By virgine he
understands die vestal who accompanied the
high-priest; and he adds the epithet lai ita,
because they !;K<avs kept silence, the high-
priest alone hav'ng the right to pronounce
those won'is which concerned religion.

11. Efattu pauper aquts DaurmsJ] Some
think iliat Dannus, the son of Pilumnus and
Danae, reigne.1 in Daunia, and tliat thence
it had its name. Jiy the Atijidu.!,, Horace
means Peucetian Apulia, and hy Daunus^
Daiiniisn.

11. dgrestium regnavit populonan.~\ Tliis
is an ellipsis, where we must supply the word
rex, and construe in the following manner ;
Qua. reg/tarit Damns rex popular urn agres-
tium: or, perhaps, the poet intended regna-
rit to govern the noun pupulonim. He puts
agrestitt for bellir.ofus, as in a fciiner ode he
says, ruslicorum masaila mili turn proles.

13. Princepx JEolium ccnnen.j Saj5pl\o
and Alcaeus, the two poetic writers whom
Horace proposed to himself as models, were
of M'ltylcne, a city of /!<>! ia in the isle of
Lesbos. It is probable that he would not
have boasted so often of his being the first
who imitated the Greek poetry, had not the
public before done him the justice to acknow-
ledge it.

16. Melpomene.] Melpomene is here put
for the muses in general, although she presi-
ded otily over tragedy and rhetoric.

HORACE'S ODES.
BOOK IV.

350

QUINTI HORATII FLACCI

CARMINUM
LIBER QUARTUS.

ODE I.

Of all the books of the odes of Horace, this is allowed to be the most beau-
tiful, the greatest part of which he composed during the five or six last
years of Lis life. Commentators have no sufficient ground to imagine, that
this book, as it now appears, was produced by the command of Augustus,
some years after the third. This is absolutely false, as will appear from the
sequel. It is true that Suetonius, in his life of Horace, says, " Scripta
quidem ejus usque adeo probavit, mansuraque perpetuo credidit, ut non
modo sa?culare carmen componenduai injunxerit, sed etVindelicam \ ictoriam
Tiberii Drusique privignorum, eutnque coegit propter hoc tribus carminum
libris ex longo inten : allo quartum addere." " Augustus so highly approved
the poems of Horace, and was so persuaded that they would reach to the
latest posterity, that he not only desired him to compose the Carmen Secu-

AD VENEREM.

iNTEfftMissA, Venus, diu,

Rursus bella moves ? parce precor, precor.
Non sum qualis eram bonae

hub regno Cynaree. Desine, dulcium

ORDO.

O Venus, diu tntermi-sa, rursus moves bel- cram sub regno bonae Cynarae. O saeva roa-
la ? Parce precor, prrt jr. Non sum qualis ter dulcium Cupidinum, desine fiectere me jam

NOTES.

1. Inlermis.<<a,I r eni'f,diii.'] We have seen, ported by lientley, who construes the whole

in the first and ircond Books, that ut the age passage thus :
of forty, Horace had renounced all gallantry,

and that three or four years afterwards he Jniermisxa, Vcnm y diu

fell in love with Glycrra; and that, in fine, Rursus bdla motes.

towards his fiftieth year he was touched

with the beauty of Ligurin. Some separate This construction seems harsh, and not

intermiisa from Venus, and join it to Mia at all agreeable to the turn of Horace,

of the following verse. This opinion is suj- But, s^-.-s the above-mentioned learned man,

331

HORACE'S ODES.

BOOK THE FOURTH.

ODE I.

lare, but also to celebrate the victory of Drusus and Tiberius ; and for that
reason obliged him to add a fourth book to the three he had written a long
time before." But all that can be inferred from this is, that the fourth
book, as we now have it, is not wholly the same with that which was
extant in the time of this historian. For there are many odes in it, which
evidently show themselves to have been written before several others in the
preceding books. Or perhaps Suetonius only means, that he published
them at that time by the command of Augustus. And in this case we must
suppose that the poet joined some odes which he had composed long
before, and which had never yet appeared in the world, to those which he
published by the command of Augustus. One of tliese two things must
be allowed 5 but the latter supposition seems to have the greater probability.

TO VENUS.

VENUS, thou amiable goddess, after the solemn farewell I took
of you a long time ago, do you now begin to raise new tumults in
my breast ? Spare me, I beseech you, spare me. I am not the
same I was when I wore the chains of lovely Cynara. Cruel
mother of soft and amorous desires, cease to exercise your domi-

NOTES.

intermissa cannot, with any propriety, be said young, inasmuch as the love which Cynara

of a person, but of a thing. I auswer, that had for him, proceeded from no views of in-

Horace appears to use it so here. We are terest, as he himself boasts in the fourteenth

not sufficiently acquainted with the extent of epistle of the first Book:
the Latin language, to he capable of limiting

all its words. Intermissa may agree perfectly Q.uem$cisinimunem.Cyna,rte placuisserapaci.
well to Penus, who is taken sometimes for

the passion of love. As for the epithet lonm here added, in-

3. Non sum ijualis from bmue sub regno terpreters are very much divided about the

Cynara;.] It is impossible to determine pie- signification of it. ^omc think that Horace

cisely at what time Horace was in love with calls Cytiara good, instead of kind and

C> iwiii. He roust certainly have beeu very obliging, because her regard for him did not

Q. HORATII'CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Mater sseva Cupidinum, 5

Circa lustra decem flectere mollibus
Jam durum imperils : abi

Quo blandffi juvenuin te revocant preces.
Tempestivius in domo

Pauli, purpureis ales oloribus, 10

Comessabere Maximi,

Si torrere jecur queeris idoneum :
Namque et nobilis, et decens,

Et pro solicitis non tacitus reis,
Et centum puer artium, 15

Late signa feret militiae tusej
Et, quandoque potentior

Largis muneribus riserit eemuli,
Albanos prope te lacus

Ponet marmoream sub trabe citrca. 20

Ulic pluiima naribus

Puces thura, lyraeque et Berecynthiae

ORDO.

rirr.'uleoern lustra,?/ datum moliibus knperiis : citis reis,et pv.fr centum artium ,late ferct signa

abi quo blandae preces juvenum revocant te. rnilltice tux; f-t quandoque riserit potentior

Tempestiviiis eomessabere in domo Pauli largis muneribus amuli, ponet te marmoream

iNIaximi, i.'iuc ales aH purpureis oloribue, si sub trabe citrea prope Albanos lacus. Illic

quaeris torrere jecuridjmeum: namquePoM/w* duces plurima ihr.ra ruiribus, et deli-.ctabere

et nojilis ct decens est, et non tacitus pro soli- raistis carminibus tibiae Berecymhiae lyraque,

NOTES.

rise from sr'^sh views. Others pretend
that good signifies here the same with sweet,
agreeable. But good often signifies no more
th/m beautiful. It was a word also very often
.Lea mention was made of a person'
thbr was dead ; and perhaps Horace takes it
jn the same sense here ; for Cvnara was dead
long before this, as he acquaints us himself
in the thirteenth cde,

set! Cynara: irrres

Annas fata dedtruitl;

whic-b is of a date much prior to this.

6. Circa lustra df.cem.] Ten lustra, that
, fifty years. A lustrum was a space of
five years complete, in which it differed
from the Olympiads, which consisted only
of four years.

6. Mollilits imperiis.'] He means, that far
from being able tu execute the more fatit;uin<;
and difficult attempts that were to be jnudc

under the ensigns of that goddess, he was
incapable of undertaking those which were
easy ami agreeable. This, in my judgement,
is the true meaning of this passage, which
has so much puz/.led the commentators. It is
probable also, that Horace, by mollia impniu.,
means all the commands of love, and all
the duties required in that kind of warfare.
Although he was unable any longer to fol-
low Venus, he still found her yoke ea>y and
agreeable.

9. In domo Pauli.] This is the true read-
ing, and not in domum. This is the same
Patilus Fabius Maximus, who was consul
with yEIius Tubero in the year of the citj
742.

10. Purpureis ales olonhis.] This is a very
remarkable expression, famis ales purpureis
oloriitis, for fanus ques purpureis oloril-us
recta e.. It appears to be an imitation of
the Greeks, who sometimes used the same
liberty of speaking. As for pvrpureis, it is

ODE I,

HORACE'S ODES.

nion over me, now arrived at my fiftieth year, find unfit to obey
your orders, or taste of your pleasures. Go whither you arc called
by the importunate prayers of youthful lovers.

You will do better to repair to the house of Paulus ; fly thi-
ther with your shining swans, if you wic.li to kindle a Hanie in a
breast worthy of you : for he is not only descended of a noble
family, but is also young and graceful, and has a hundred fine
qualities beside, and always employs his eloquence to support the
cause of the oppressed, which may give you ground to hope that
lie will carry the glory of your ensigns to a great distance ; and
as soon as he finds he has nothing to fear from the rich presents of
his rival, he will erect a marble statue in hptiour of you in a
temple of citron, near the lake of Alba. There you shall al-
ways smell the sweet incense that he will burn upon your altar, and.
with pleasure hear an agreeable concert made by the lyre, the flute,

NOTES.

to be observed that the ancients used the
word purpureum to express any lively shining
colour. Thus Albinovanus applies it to snow :

Purpurea suit nive terra latct.
And in another place,

Brachia purpurea candidiora nive.

We often find purpura among the ancienls
taken for whiteness, brightness, and purpu-
rare for, to whiten.

14. El pro sulidtis nontadtusreia~\ Those
who imagine that this Maximus is the same
with him to whom Ovid writes, apparently
found their opinion upon these verses of the
second ele^y of the first book de Ponto,

Voxprecor Augustas pro me tua molliat aims,
Auxilio tnpidis qu.<E so let essc reis :

" I pray Heaven that ycur eloquence, which
" is the common resource of the unfortu-
" nate, may mollify Augustus." But they
ought to remember that the same Ovid speaks
also of the eloquence of the father of this
Maximus, and that of his brother. A thing
vague arid indeterminate should not be taken
as a sure mark, it being customary for all
young men to exercise themselves in defend-
ing those who were oppressed. The word
reits, signifies properly on who was pursued

and accused in judgement ; but it was used*
to express both plaintiff and defendant.

16. Late signa feret -militite tu<e.] Ho-
race tells Venus that Maximus will carry to a
great distance her ensigns and standards, in-
stead of saying that he will enlarge the bounds
of her empire; because nothing was inure
proper to demonstrate the power of love, than
the example of such sTperson as Maximus ;
at the same time it was a very handsome com-
pliment paid to that Roman to call him Ve-
nus's standard-bearer, because* among the
troops they usually chose for that office men
of the finest appearance.

20. Sub trabe citrea.'] Trabs for the
temple, a part for the whole. This wood was
very rare, and in great esteem at Rome. The
citizens must be extremely rich who could
afford to have beds of it ; whence Pliny savs
with reason, Inter pauca nitidioris vila: i'n-
strumenta lusc arbor est. Cicero had a table
of it, which cost him a prodigious sum.

21. lllic plurima naribus.] It was not
enough to promise Venus a statue and a
temple : it was farther necessary to assure her,
that the temple should be frequented, and
that a great number of sacrifices should be
offered in it. That was a point about which
the gods were particularly anxious.

2-2. Berecynthia? tiLies.'] The Berecynthhn
flute was the same with the Phrygian : he
elsewhere calls it Berecyuikium cwnu. Varro
also speaks of the Phrygian horn.

334 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Delectabere tibiae

Mistis carminibus, non sine fistula^
Illic bis pueri die 25

Numen cum teneris virginibus tuum
Laudantes, pede candido

In morem Salium ter quatient humum.
Me nee femina, nee puer

Jam, nee spes animi credula mutui, 3O

Nee certare juvat mero,

Nee vineire novis tempera floribus.
Sed cur, hen, Ligurine, cur

Manat rara meas lacryma per genas ?
Cur facunda paTum decoro 35

Inter verba cadit lingua silentio ?
Nocturnis te ego somniis

Jam captum teneo ; jam volucrem sequor
Te per gramina Martii

Cainpi, te per aquas, dure, volubiles. 40

ORDO.

non sine fistula. Illic bis die, pueri, cum te- Sed cur, heu, Ligurirm, cur rara lacrym*

neris virginibus, laudantes nuroen tuura, ter manat per meas gen as ? Cur lingua facunda

quatient hutnum pede candido in morem Sa- caJit inter verba silentio parum decoro ? Ah !

liorum. Ligurine, ego jam teneo te captum nocturnis

Nee femina jam juvat me, nee puer, nee somniis, jam sequor te volucrem per gramina

spes credula animi mutui, nee juvat certare Campi Martii, dure, jam sequor te per volu-

mero, nee vineire tempora novis floribus. biles aquas Tiltris.

NOTES.

25. Illic bis die."] It was common to sing rowed the custom from the Greeks, and the
the praises of the gods in the temples every Greeks, in all probability, took the hint fro
morning and evening. The Romans bor- the law of Moses.

ODE!.

HORACE'S ODES.

335

the voice, and hautboy. There, twice a clay, the youths and vir-
gins shall sing hymns in your praise, dancing, at the same time,
after the manner of the Salii.

As for me, I am past the pleasures of love, nor do I now flatter
myself with the hopes of a return to my passion : I make no pre-
tensions now to strive who can drink most bumpers, or to adorn
my head with garlands of new-blown flowers.

But why, Ligurin, why do the tears run trickling down my
cheeks ? Why falters my eloquent tongue at sight of ?/o?/, as if
it were deprived of the power of speech ? Ah, Ligurin, still with
love possessed, now I clasp you in my dreams, now J follow you,
cruel as you are, through the field of Mars, and Tiber's rolling
waves.

NOTES.

25. Pueri aim teneris vHrgmmu."] The
undents had no children trained up expressly
for singing in the temple ; nor did they em-
ploy the public musicians who sang upon the
theatres ; but they chose out of the best fa-
milies a certain number of boys and girls,
who san^ till others were chosen in their
stead. These places were very much coveted,
and it was a great honour to be of the number.

28. In morem Salium ter,~\ The Salii were
priests of Mars, instituted by Venus. Every
year they made a procession with the sacred
shields through all the quarters of the city.
These processions were made with great so-
lemnity, and abundance of singing and
dancing.

3-2. Nec vincire ?iovis iempora jtoribus.]
By this it is likely Horace means new crowns
of flowers, which were a sign of new engage-
ments in love. For when a person became
a lover, it was a custom to take crowns, and

not to part with them while that passion con-
tinued. Horace therefore, who had quitted
all his crowns, i. c. who had given over all
gallantry, tells us it was not proper for him
to take others, or enter into new engage-
ments. This explication gives a very fine
turn to the passage.

34. Manat rarameas lacryma per genas.~]
This is one of the surest characteristics of
love. It is true that Sappho, who has ad-
mirably collected all the marks of that pas-
sion, does not expressly mention tears ; but
Dacier thinks she comprises them under per-
spiration, and that those smsll drops of wa-
ter, which are excited by the fire of love,
and distil insensibly from the eyes, are not
really tears, but, properly speaking, a kind of
sweat. And perhaps it may be for tins rea-
son, that Horace in another place calls them
humares.

336 Q. HORATII CARMINA. Lre. IV.

ODE II.

Because this ode is addressed to Antonius lulus, who was consul with Quin-
tus Fabius Maximus, imnu-di.'Ulv after the consulship of Paulus Fabius
Maximus, of whom we have spoken in the remarks upon the preceding
ode, the generality of interpreters have been of opinion that these two odes
were composed during th > two consul-hips in question ; the first in the
year of the city 742, and this in 743. But it is certain that they are
equally deceived in both these conjectures ; for tru-re is no reason to sup-
pose that lulus was consul when Horace inscribed this ode to him. It
seems to me probable, that it was written about the year 738, or 73Q, about

AD ANTONIUM IULUM.

PINDARUM quisquis studet aemulari, I-
ule, ceratis ope Djjedalca
Nititur pennis, vitreo daturus

Nomina ponto.

Monte decurrens velut amnis, imbres 5

Quern super notas aluere ripas,
Fervet, immensusque ruit profundo

Pindarus ore ;

Laurea donandus Apollinari,
Seu per audaces nova dithyrambos 10

ORDO.

O lule, quisquis studet aemulari P:nd?.rum, decurrens monte, quern imbres aluere super

nititur pennis ceratis ope Daeclalea, daturus notas ripas ; donandus laurea Apollinari, seu

noinina vitreo ponto. Pindarus fervet irn- devolvii verba nova per audaces dithyrambos,
roensusque ruit ore profundo, velut amnis

NOTES.

1. Pinilartim.'] Pindar was of Thebes in of his first book, speaking of Titius, he

Bceotia, and lived akout the time of Xerxes, says,
in the seventy-fifth Olympiad, anJ 476 years

before Christ. There are remaining; at this Pindaridfonth qui non expalluit haustus :
time very few of those works which Horace

speaks of; but what we have are sufficient to " who was not afraid to drink in the fotin-
justity the praises here given him, and to " tain of Pindar." And Q'Tmtilian had, no
make us sensible that antiquity has not doubt, this ode in view, when in the first
judged amiss, in accounting him, by common chapter of his tenth book he says : " Pin-
consent, the chief of lyric poets. " dar is v.-ithout contradiction the first of the

]. Studet a-mularL] The judgement " nine lyric poets, whether we consider the

which Horace here passes upon Pindar is " greatness of his genius, the beauty of his

just and unexceptionable. There is nothing " sentences and figures, the varieiy and

more difficult or dangerous than to imitate " copiousness of his thoughts and expres-

this poet. For this reason, in die third epistle " sion, and tlt lively eloquence which car-

ODE I.

HORACE'S ODES.

33;

ODE II.

a year or eighteen months after the preceding. The subject is as follows :
Antonius lulus had written to Horace, and compared him to Pindar.
Horace answers him, and endeavours to make him sensible of the great ad-
vantages, which the Greek poet had over him. -It is worth while, as we
go along, to take notice of the modesty of Horace. It is very well known
what a favourable opinion he entertained of his own performances, and in
how lofty a strain he speaks of them. Nevertheless, wh^n he mentions
himself at the same time with Pindar, he not only acknowledges himself
unequal, but altogether inferior.

TO ANTONIUS IULUS.

WHOEVER, lulus, attempts to vie with Pindar, soars on wings
joined with wax in imitation of Daedalus, and will certainly, like
Icarus, leave his name to the azure sea into which lie fails. As an
impetuous torrent runs thundering down the mountains, and,
swelled by immoderate rains, overflows its banks ; such is Pindar's
profound eloquence, the force whereof is irresistible.

This divine poet justly deserves the laurel*, whether he introduces
new terms into his bold dithyrambs, and flies along in unfettered

* Of Apollo.

NOTES.

" ries all before it as a torrent; whence
" Horace with reason judged that he was
" imitable by none."

1 . Me.] This Antonius lulus, the friend
of Horace, was the son of Marc Antony
and Fulvia. Augustus, after the defeat of
the father, pardoned the son ; and not con-
tent to honour him with the priesthood,
pretorship, and consulate, and the .govern-
ment of several provinces, he also gave him
in marriage Marcella, the daughter of his
sister Octavia, by her first husband Mar-
cellus. AH these favours could not hinder
this ungrateful wretch from dishonouring the
house of his benefactor ; he was one of the
first who debauched Julia, the daughter of
Augustus, and was found engaged in a con-
spiracy against his person. That he might
avoid the punishment due to his crimes, he
laid violent hands on himself.

2. Ceratis ope D&datea.] The history of
Daedalus and Icarus has been explained in the
remarks on the third Ode of the first Book.

VOL. I.

3. Vitreol\ When this epithet is given
to the sea, it does not signify clear or trans-
parent, but of the colour of glass.

5. Monle decurrens.] This comparison
is admirable. Horace, in the account which
he gives of Pindar, becomes, if we may so
say, Pindar himself. He is inspired with
his genius, and speaks his very language.
Solomon speaks much to the same purpose,
in the 18tn chapter of the Proverbs : "elo-
quence is a deep river in the mouth of man ;
it is an impetuous torrent, and a source of
life." From this passage of Horace, Quin-
tilian has drawn that admirable expression ;
Vdut quodam eloquentice flumine.

1O. Sen per audaces nova dithyrambos.']
These were hymns in praise of Bacchus.
The same name was also given to the verses
of these hymns, and it is in this sense that.
H orace uses the word here ; and as it i.
compounded of &;, twice, and 3fit*Co?, a
triumph, Ji9^iajU.fof, in transposing the vowe!
t, and changing it into v, becomes hBu**;/,-

Q. HORATII CARM1NA.

LIB. IV.

Verba devolvit, numerisque fertur

Lege solutis ;

Seu Decs, regesque can it, Deorum
Sanguinem, per quos cecidere justa
Morte Centauri, cecidit tremendae 15

Flamma Chimserae ;
Sive quos Elea domum reducit
Palma coelestes ; pugilemve equumve
Dicit, et centum potiore signis

Munere donat j 20

Flebili sponsae juvenemve raptum
Plorat, et vires, animumque, moresque
Aureos educit in astra, nigroque

Invidet Oreo.

Multa Dircaeuni levat aura cycnum, 25

Tendit, Antoni, quoties in altos

ORDO.

fertur que nuuieris solutis lege ; seu canit et donat eos munere potiore centum signis ;

Deos, regesque sanguinem Deorum, per ploratve juvenem raptum sponsae flebili, et

quos Centauri cecidere justa morte, per quos educit vires, aniinumque, moresque aiireos

ilainma Chimaerae tremendae cecidit ; sive in astra, iuvidetque nigro Oreo.
canit fir/ores, quos Elea palma reducit Multa aura levat Dircaeum cycnum, quo-

ccdestes domum ; dicitve pugilem equumve, ties, Antoni, tendit in altos tractus nubium :

NOTES.

Cot, Dithyraml-us, that is, one who lias had
two triumphs. This name was given to Bac-
chus on account of his triumphs : for it was
said of him, that he had subdued the whole
world, which, at that time, was divided only
into two parts, as we elsewhere observed.

1 1 . Numerisque fertur lege solutis.'] This
passage has perplexed the commentators.
The most learned are of opinion, that Ho-
race calls dithyrambics numeros lege solutos,
because they have neither strophe nor an-
tistrophe, nor epode, as the other works of
lyric poets have : but it is more probable
that he calls them so, because the verses
were so unequal, and divided in such dif-
ferent manners, that it was impossible to ap-
propriate any certain measure to them to
sing them regularly.

13. Seu Deos, regesque canit.'] After the
dhhvrambics of Pindar, Horace mentions
his hymns and panegyrics ; the hymns were
made 'for the gods, and the panegyrics upon
heroes.

13. Deorum sanguinem.'] Kings have
been always called the sons of God. But
Horace here speaks particularly of Hercules,

who was the son of Jupiter, of Theseus the
son of Neptune, and Pirithous descended of
Man.

15. Centauri.] The Centaurs, according
to the fable, were partly men, and partly
horses. But as it is impossible that two
such different natures should unite together
to compose a body endowed with life, some
obscure piece of history must certainly have
given rise to this fiction. The ancients have
given the following account of it : Under
the reign of Ixion in Tiiessaly, a troop of
mad bulls having rendered mount Pelion in-
accessible, and ravaged the surrounding
country, the king offered a great reward to
such as should slay these bulls. At the
foot of this mountain there was a small town
named Nephele. In it there were found
some young men bold enough to undertake
this war. In order to fit themselves for
tills attempt, they exercised themselves for
some time in riding on horseback, being
before accustomed to ride about in a chariot.
When they thought themselves strong e-
nougb, and had attained great dexterity in
the flaanagement of their horsf s, they went

ODE II.

HORACE'S ODES.

339

numbers, or sings of the gods, or of tho sevaliant kings their off-
spring, who so justly destroyed the Centaurs^r their insolence, atid
slew that monster Chimaera, who, breathing nothing but fire, struck
all around it with terror ; or celebrates the triumphant return of
those who, by gaining the prize in the Olympic games celebrated at
Elis, raise themselves to an equality with the gods ; or praises the
wrestler or swift horse and 1m rider, and bestows on ,them enco-
miums more glorious and permanent than a hundred statues; or
laments the sudden death of a blooming youth, snatched from his
disconsolate spouse, and renders his strength, his courage, and all
his fine qualities immortal, and thus rescues them from eternal
oblivion.

Although, Antony, the Dircean swan soars out of our sight, and
is lost among the clouds, he still maintains his flight with equal

NOTES.

in pursuit of these bulls, which they slew
with their darts. And this is what gave them
the name of Centaurs, from the Greek xsv-
reiv ravpou;, to slay the bulls. Their success
in this having raised their courage, they in
a little time became insolent, and were re-
solved to profit by the advantage which the
address they had so lately displayed gave
them. They possessed themselves of the
mountain, and in the night descended into
the country below, pillaging all the inha-
bitants. These having never before seen a
man on horseback, and not clearly discern-
ing objects during the night, mistook those
men for monsters, partly men, and partly
horses. As they were all of a town called
Nephele, and that word signifies the same
with nubes, a cloud, this by degrees gave
rise to the fable, that the Centaurs were be-
gotten of Ixion and a cloud.

17. Elea palma.] That is, the crown
that was bestowed upon those who obtained
the prize in the Olympic games, which were
celebrated in Elis, a province of Pelo-
ponnesus.

18. Pugilemvc.] The pvgiLes were those
who combated with the cestus. It was one
of those combats which were in use in the

four principal games of Greece, the Olym-
pian, Isthmian, Nemean, and Pythian games.
Here Horace had in his eye the seventh ode

of Pindar upon the victors at the Olympic
games, where he praises Diagoras the Rho-
dian, for the victory he had obtained in the
sorabat of the cestus, and die 10th aud 1 1 th

odes, where he praises Agesidamus the Lo-
crian on the same account.

19. Et centum potiore signis munere do-
nat.~\ By munere we are to understand the
praises which Pindar gave the victors, &c. in
his odes ; and when he says that these pre-
sents are more valuable than a hundred
statues, he alludes to a piece of history
which is preserved to us by a scholiast upon
that Greek poet. He tells us, that Pythias
having carried off the prize at the Nemean
games, in the combat of the cestus and
wrestling, his friends addressed Pindar to
write an ode upon that victory. That poet
demanding three minse as a recompense,
they answered, that for such a sura they
could raise to him a statue of brass ; but
some time after, acknowledging their error,
they granted "him all he demanded; upon
which Pindar began his ode as follows : " I
" am not a sculptor to raise statues which
" always stand upon their pedestals, but I
" make verses which fly over all the world,
" and which make known in all places the
" glories of those whom I celebrate. Fly
" therefore, my verses, quit ^5gina in every
" ship, and tell over all the world, that
" Pythias, by his strength and address,
" having gained the victory in wrestling,
" and the combat of the cestus, has been
" crowned at the Nemean games."

25. Dirc(Biim cymum.~] The Dircaean

swan, that is, Pindar, who was of Thobesin

Boeotia, where was the celebrated Dircaean

fountain. Some think that this fountain

340 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Nubium tractus : ego, apis Matinee

More modoque,

Grata carpentis thyma per laborem

Plurimum, circa nenius uvidique 30

Tiburis ripas, operosa parvus

Carmina fingo.

Concines majore poeta plectro
Cffisarem, quandoque trahet feroccs
Per sacrum clivum, merita decorus 35

Fronde, Sicambros j
Quo nihil majus meliusve terris
Fata donavere, bonique Divi,
Nee dabunt, quamvis redeant in auruin

Tempora priscum. 40

Concines leetosque dies, et urbis
Publicum ludum, super impetralo
Fortis August! reditu, forumque

Litibus orbum.

Turn mete (si quid loquar audiendum) 45

Vocis accedet bona pars ; et 6 sol
Pulcher, 6 laudande, canam, recepto

Cgcsarefelix.

Tumque dum procedit, lo triumphe,
Non semel dicemus, lo triumphe, 50

ORDO.

ego parvus fingo carmina operosa, more mo- tempora redeant in priscum anrum. Con-

doque apis Matinee, carpentis grata thyma "cines laetosquedies, etpublicuin ludum urbis,

per laborem plurimum, circa nemus ripasque forumque orbum litibus super impetrato re-

uvidi Tiburis. dim fortis Augusti.

O poeta, tu concines Caesarem majore Turn (si loquar quid audiendum) bona

plectro, quandoque, decorus merita fronde, pars mese vocis accedet ; et felix canam, O

trahet feroces Sicambros per sacrum clivum ; sol pulcher, O laudande, recepto Csesare.

quo, fata Divique boni donavere nihil Tumque dum procedit, non semel dicemus,

majus meliusve terris, nee dabunt, quamvis lo triumphe, ft omnis civitas dice/, lo trium-

NOTES.

obtained its name from Dirce, the wife of which thev make the best honey. Columella,

with Caeruleus, and which is an epithet that And Palladius, in the 27th chapter of his

properly belongs to those fountains whose first book, Primi saporis mtlla Thynri suctus

waters are clear : thvis Statins calls it c.-crulea effundit. Virgil, in the fourth Book of the

Pirce. Georgics, is of the same opinion :

29. Grata carptnlis thyma.~\ Tliyme is
an herb \ery agreeable to the bee, and from Redolentque thymofragrmitia mtlla ;

OBE II.

HORACE'S ODES,

341

force : as for me, sir, like a Matinian bee, that with great pains
and care sucks the sweets of the most exquisite flowers, I compose
my humble strains with much labour in the groves, and on the
banks of the pleasant rivulets that wash Tivoli.

But you, Antony, shall in a more elevated strain sing the praises
of Caesar, when, crowned with laurels, his just desert, he shall lead
the fierce Sicambri in triumph up the sacred hill, /te, than whom the
fates and gracious gods have given nothing greater or better to
the world, nor could they, even though the golden age should
again begin its course. You shall sing the festivals celebrated by
the Romans, the public rejoicings of the city, and the suspension
of causes in the forum, for the joy of the safe return of brave Au-
gustus.

Then (if I can sing any thing worthy of Caesar's attention) my
voice shall bear a part with yours, and in transports of joy I will
thus begin : O glorious day, O day that we cannot praise too much,
O happy day for Rome, which restores to us great Caesar ; and, as
he rides in procession, we will with united acclamations of joy cry
repeatedly, lo triumphe, lo triumphe, and afterwards go and offer

NOTES.

and that the bees retire at night with their
burthen of thyme,

Crura thymo plena.

31. Opcrosa carmina.'] Difficult verses
that require a great deal of labour and study.
The Latins had much more trouble in mak-
ing verses than the Greeks, and this, no
doubt, was partly owing to the defect of
their language, which was far from being so
copious as the Greek. Those who read
Pindar, may easily observe a happy facility,
which is never to be met with in the same
degree among the Latin poets.

33. Majnre poeta plectra.] Antony was a
poet. He had published several works in
verse ; and, among others, a poem consist-
ing of twelve books, iutitled Diotnedea. It
was an heroic; poem, whence Horace says,
majore plectro. ( Antony had, without doubt,
requested Horace to celebrate the exploits of
Augustus, and Horace referred that work to
him, as a poet more capable of so noble an
attempt.

35. Per sacrum clivum.] By the sacred
way, along which all the triumphs passed,
because it led directly from the amphitheatre
to the capitol.

36. Sicamlros.'] These are at this day
the people of GuelJres. This war against

the Sicambri commenced about the end
of the 738th year of the City, Eve whole
years before the consulate of Antony, and
was entirely finished a year before the said
consulship. All this proves manifestly that
this ode w.is written during the above-men-
tioned war, and while Augustus was among
the Gauls, that is, about the time that!
have fixed upon in the argument.

37. Quo nihil majus meliusve.'] The
same thought is expressed in a few words in
his epistles ; Nil oriturum alias, nil ortum
tale. This eulogium, magnificent as it
is, has nothing in it beyond the truth. * Au-
gustus was always a great prince ; but, after
he became sole master of the Roman empire,
every year of his reign was distinguished by
some signal marks of his bounty and cle-
mency. It is not therefore at all surprising,
that the people of Rome waited his return
with so great impatience.

43. Forumque lilibus orbum.'] Horace
does not here mean, as some learned men
have conjectured, that Augustus abolished
all prosecutions ; that would be false ; but
he would intimate, that the joy for his re-
turn was so great, that pleas for some time
ceased, and the forum was shut up.

49. Tumque dum procedit.] Some manu-
scripts have tuque dum procedis; but there
never was an amendment more necessary

342 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Civitas omnis, dabimusque Divis

Thura benighis.

Te decem tauri, totidemque vaccas ;
Me tener solvet vitulus, relicta
Matre qui largis juvenescit herbis 55

In mea vota,

Fronte curvatos imitatus ignes
Tertium lunae referentis ortnm,
Qua notam duxit, niveus videri,

Caetera fulvus. 60

ORDO.

phe, dabirausque tlmra Divis benignis. me; vitulus imitatus curvatcs ignes lunae re-

IitlC) decem tauri totidemque vaccae ferentis tertium ortum fronte, qua duxit

solvent te; tener vitulus, qui, relicta matre, notam, niveus videri, quoad cuetera vero

juvenescit largis herbis in mea vota, solvet fulvus.

NOTES.

than here, nor more justly made, in which naturally follows the turn which begins the
I only imitate Mr. Cunningham ; for tumqne four-preceding lines.

ODE III.

This is one of the finest odes of Horace : in my opinion nothing can be found
so finished either among the Latins or the Greeks. Scaliger says, that he
would rather have been the author of this small poem, than king of Arra-
gon. Such as are duly sensible of its delicacy, the just and natural thoughts
with which it abounds, its fine turn, and the vivacity of the expressions,
will not be greatly surprised at this hyperbole. Horace thanks the Muses

AD MELPOMENEN. -

QUEM tu, Melpomene, semel

Nascentem placido lumine videris,
Ilium non labor Isthmius

Clarabit pugilem ; non equus impiger
Curru ducet Achaico 5

Victorera ; neque res bellica Deliis

ORDO.

O Melpomene, qtiem tu serael videris non clarabit ilium pugilem ; equus impiger
nascemeni plucido lumine, labor Isthmius non ducet ilium victorem curru Achaico ;

NOTES.

1. Melpomene.'] The muse here men- siasm which art and study may serve to re-
tioued designates that harmony and enthu- gulate, but which nature only can bestow,

ODE III. HORACE'S ODES. 345

sacrifices of incense to the gods for their care of our august em-
peror.

As for you, lulus, ten bulls, and as many kine, shall acquit you
of your generous vow ; and I will pay mine, by offering a calf
just weaned, now frisking about in rich pastures for that purpose ;
his budding horns resemble the crescent of the moon three days
old, and he has a beautiful white star on his forehead, but every
where else he is red.

NOTEvS.

55. Jtivenescit.'] The understanding of- vumnovetlorum, (jitartavetidonim. Horace
this word depends upon a passage ofVarvo, therefore hfre says juvenesdt, for er vituli
who .writes in the fifth chapter of his second cetaic in jnvenci celalem, adolescit, juvencus
book de Vila Ru.stica ; Primum in Bubido Jit. This place deserved an explication, a
genere cetatis gradus dicuntiir tniatuar, prima translation not being sufficient to make it
vitulorum, secunda juvencorum, tertia lo- understood.

ODE III.

for the favours they had shown him from his birth ; he declares it was in
that first moment that he received from them what distinguished him from
others. Indeed, it was his opinion, that no one could be a poet, who had
not, by a happy influence, received from heaven, at his birth, that spirit of
poetry, which cunriot be acquired by art and study. This ode seems to me
to have been written before the last of the second Book.

TO MELPOMENE.

MELPOMENE, he on whom you vouchsafe to look with a favourable
eye at the time of his birth, has no occasion to signalise himself as %
skilful wrestler at the Isthmian games, or endeavour to carry off the
prize, and return conqueror by his dexterity in driving a Grecian
car drawn by swift horses, or to be crowned, by Mars with laurels,

NOTES.

and without which no person can merit the set a, great value. Horace marks these ad-
name of poet. Melpomene presided par- vantages by the crowns of Greece and tri-
tlcularly over tragedy ; she is here put for umphs of Rome. The Isthmian games were*
the muses in general, as in the ode, Exegi instituted by Sisyphus, king of Corinth, in
monumcntum. honour of Ivlelicertes, one of the gods of the
3. Labor hthmius.] A man possessed with sea, in the" isthmus of Coiinth, near the
the genius of poetry, becomes insensible to temple of Neptune, about 1350 years before
all those other excellences upon which the birth of Christ. They differed from the
people of a different character may perhaps Olympic games only in this, that they were

344

Q. HORAT1I CARMINA.

LIB. IV.

Ornatum foliis ducem,

Quod regum tumidas contuderit minas ? ,
Ostendet Capitolio :

Sed quae Tibur aquae fertile perfluunt ? 10

Et spissse nemonim comae,

Fingent Jolio carmine nobilem.
Romse, principis urbium,

Digrmtur soboles inter amabiles
Vatum ponere me chores; 1

Et jam dente minus mordeor invido.
O testudinis aureae

Dulcem quae strepitum, Fieri, temperas;
O mutis quoque piscibus

Donatura cycni, si libeat, sonum ! 20

Totum muneris hoc tui est,

Quod monstror digito praetereuntium.
Romanae fidicen lyrae :

Quod spiro, et placeo, si placeo, tuum est.

ORDO.

neque res bellica ostendet ilium ducem or- O Fieri, quae temperas dulcem strepitum

natumDeliis foliis Cai>itolio, quod contuderit mete aureae testudinis; O, si libeat, donatura

tumiilas mir.as regum; sed aquae quae per- sonum cycni quoque mutis piscibus! hoc

fluunt fertile Tibur, et spissae comae nemo- totum est tui muneiis, quod digito praeter-

ruin, fingeni cum nobilem /Eolio carmine. euntium monstror fidicen Romanae lyrae :

Soboles Romae, principis urbium, digna- tuum est quod spiro, et quod placeo, si

tur ponere me inter amabiles chores vatum ; placeo.
et jam minus mordeor dente invido.

NOTES.

celebrated in each of the three years, and dedicate to him the most precious spoils of

that the victors were crowned with branches the enemv, and they did not descend before

of pine-.ree. a magnificent entertainment had. been fur-

4. Noli e quits impiger curru.'] Those who nished at the expense of the republic,
came ofT victorious in these Isthmian gamf s, 1 1. Molio carmine nolilem.'} In this

or in any of ihe other games of Greece, re- picture Horace had an eye to himself; for,

turned from them to their own country, in a as he boasts in another place, lie was the

chariot drawn by four horses. first among the Romans who mutated the

6. Ncque res lellica.'] As the Greeks j3olian poetry. He calls his verses /Eolian,

reckoned nothing more glorious or honour- _ because he copied from Aleeus ^nd Sappho,

able than to be victorious in their public who were of Mitylene, a city of ^Eolia, arid

games, so the Romans aimed at nothing capital of Lesbos. Pindar also calls his harp

higher than to obtain the honour of a tri- and verses jEolian, because he wrote iu

umj;h ; which is the reason of Horace's Doric, the ancient language of /Eolia.
joining these two together. 1&. Dulcem <]ie strepititm.~] Slrepiius

C>. Df-tiisjbliis.~] Branches of laurel ; for . signifies properly a harsh noise; and as that

the laurel was sacred to Apollo, who \vas word was not so fit to express the pleasing

born at Dtlos. sound which a goddess made with her harp,

9. Qslendet Cttpilolio.'} Those who tri- Horace adds the epithet dulcem, to correct
umphed ascended to the o.ipitol by the via and soften it. He does not use the same
sacra, as has been remarked on the pre- method when he is not speaking of a god-
reding ode : they went th'uhcr to return des ; for, iu the second epistle of the first
thanks to Jupiter for their victory, and to book, he says,

ODE III.

HORACE'S ODES.

345

and carried in triumph to the Capitol for baffling the haughty me-
naces of insolent tyrants : no, the murmuring streams and shady
groves of fruitful Tivoli will inspire him with such sublime thoughts
as will make him famous for lyric poetry.

-The sons of Rome, the mistress of the world*, deign to give me a
place in the agreeable company of poets, whose approbation makes
me already less sensible of the shafts of envy.

Divine Muse, who regu latest the harmonious accents of my lyre,
who, at thy pleasure, canst give even to mute fishes the melodious
voice of the swan ! it is to thee I owe the honour of being pointed
out by the Romans as their lyric poet : it is owing to thee that I
still live, and living please, if / can flatter myself that I do really
please.

*'ities. .

NOTES.

^d strepilum cithara; cessatum ducere curani;
And in the fourteenth epistle,

A T ec meretrix tibicina, cujus
Ad strepitum salias terra gravis.

La .these two places he wished to express a
harsh grating sound ; and it is by this oppo-
sition that we are made sensible of his deli-
cacy. One of the most learned interpreters
of Aristotle's rhetoric had no reason to ac-
cuse him of having used this word in a wrong
place.

18. Pirn.] The Pierians, a people of
Thrace, having abandoned their own country,
settled in a part of .Macedonia, where they
consecrated two fountains to the muses, one
of which they named Pimplea, and the other
Pieria, which were names derived from cer-
tain places of their own country ; and it is on
account of these fountains that the muses
themselves have been called Pierides and
Pimpleides.

20. Cycni sonurn.~\ The voice of the
swan. I cannot imagine what could be the
reason of the credulity of the ancients about
the singing of the swan ; for there is not the
least foundation for all that they have said
upon that subject.

21. Totum muneris hoc tui est.] Horace
could not give a greater evidence of his mo-
desty, tlvm by saying, that all the share of
merit he had was the gift of the muses, who
tould, if they pleased, give speech to a fish.

22. Quud monstrorr digito pratereuntium.']
This is what the Greeks called SciJcma-fiai Tu>
StatTuAoi, to be pointed at with the finger.
Persius imitates it in that verse

At fulchrum est digito monstrari, et dicier,
Hie est.

" It is a fine thing to be pointed at with
" the finger, and hear it said, There he is."

24. Quod spiro.] The generality of in-
terpreters have mistaken this passage, and
been far from conceiving aright on what ac-
count Horace says that he owes his life to
the muses ; yet he himself explains the matter
very clearly in the fourth ode of the third
book, where he says to these goddesses ;

Festris amicum fontibus et choris,
Non me Pkilippis versa acies retr.o,
Devota non extinjc.it arlos,
Nee Siculd Palinurus unda.

" It was my regard for you that saved me
' in the terrible defeat at PUilippi. It was
' this that guarded me from being cruslied
' by the fall of an unlucky tree, and pre-
' vented my being overwhelmed by the
' waves near cape Palinurus." The muses
saved him from the defeat at Philippi, be-
cause his poetry recommended him to the
friendship and protection of Maecenas, and
influenced Augustus to pardon him; and this
is the precise thing he refers to here.

346 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

ODE IV.

We have here an ode which was written by the order of Augustus ; and it is
evident, from the grandeur and nobleness of the verse, that Horace does all
in his power not lo fall short of the honour which that great prince had done
him, in laying this command upon him. In none of his compositions has
he made a nearer approach to the height and majesty of Pindar. " Quarta
" nee Pindaro ced^t." These are the words of Scaliger, who also affirms,
that in this ode Horace has not only surpassed himself, but has outdone all

DRUSI LAUDES.

QUALEM ministrum fulminis alitem
(Cui rex Deorum regnum in aves vagas
Permisit, expertus fidekm

Jupiter in Ganymede flavo)

Olim juventas, et patrius vigor, 5

Nidolaborum propulit inscium;
Vernisque jam nimbis remotis,

Insolitos docuere nisus
Venti paventem; mox in ovilia
Demisit hostem vividus impetus ; 10

ORDO.

Qualem juventas et patrius vigor olim pro- flavo) adhtic inscium laborum, vernisque

Sulit nido alitem minUtrum fulncinis (cui nimbis jam remotis, venti docuere paventem

upiter*rex Deorum permisit reguum in va- insolitos nisus ; mox vividus impetus demisit

gas aves, expertus udelcm in Ganymede eum hostem in ovilia ; nunc amor dapis at-

NOTES.

1. Qualem ministrum.] The beginning nimatam ; idea armigcr um Jot-is consuetude

of this ode appears a little confused and in- indicant. But that experience appears to

tricate, on account of the long parenthesis, me very doubtful ; and I am persuaded that

which breaks the sense of it as far as the in this they had no other view than to mark

seventeenth verse. The manner in which it the vigour and swiftness of that bird,
may be construed is this ; Rheeti et Pinddici 3. E.rpertus fidclem.] I cannot rleter-

videre Drusum sub Alpibus lella. gerentem, mine whether Horace feigned, or whether he

qualem, &c. might not somewhere have read, that Jupiter

1. Miniftntm fulminis.'] The ancients gave to the eaj>le ihe empire over the other

looked upon the eagle as the king of birds, birds, 'as a reward for the fidelity which he

and minister of Jupiter's thunder; and Pliny experienced from him when he made use of

writes, that this fiction is founded upon ob- his services"to carry off Ganymede,
servation and experience, as the eagle is the 4. In Ganymede flato.'] Ganymede was

only bird that thunder does not touch . Ne- the son of Tros. Homer writes that he was

gent unquam solam hanc alitem fulmine exa- the most beautiful of men, and that the gods

ODE IV.

HORACE'S ODES.

347

ODE IV.

Greece. " Tota vero cantione hac et seipsum et omnem Grseciam supera-
" vit." Commentators approve the title which they have found in some
manuscripts ; " Ad urbem Romam de indole ducum ;" but it is certain that
this title is wrong, and that the ode can admit no other than " Drusi Laudes,"
the praises of Drusus, or " De Victoriis Drusi," of the victories of Urusus.
It was written about the year of the city 740, which was the fifty-third year
of Horace's age.

THE PRAISES OF DRUSUS.

JUST as the eagle, Jupiter's thunder-bearer, (to whom the sovereign
of the gods gave the empire over all the birds that rove through the
having experienced his fidelity in the rape of beautiful Gariy-

air

mede) incited by the courage which his birth and youthful vigour
inspire, but not yet inured to hardships, springs from his nest, the
vernal storms being now over, and, assisted by the winds, trembling
first flutters and attempts to soar; soon, growing bolder, darts
with impetuous flight amidst the sheepfolds, where he spreads terror
and slaughter ; then, prompted by love of prey, and a violent de-

NOTES.

stole him away on account of his beauty.
This rape has been explained in different
manners by the ancients ; but the true his-
tory is, that this young Trojan was carried
off by Tantalus, king of Lydia, whose troops
had an eagle on their ensigns.

9. Mox in ovilia."] It is worthy of our
notice, with what judgement and conduct
Horace treats this matter. The eagle, by a
forwardness natural to its kind, very soon
leaves its nest; but it dares not as yet at-
tempt to wander far, and is very watchful
that the clouds be entirely dissipated ; and
then, being no longer afraid of a tempest, it
gradually abandons itself to the winds', which
teach it to fly; and no sooner doe? it find it-
self in a capacity of cutting the air with rapi-
dity and force, than it begins to try its
strength against the sheep ; and, when it has
arr'iTed at its utmost vigour, it attacks ani-
mals of the most formidable kind.

7, yernisqiiejamnimbisremoliSf for ver-

nique, &c.] This passage is of considerable
importance. Julius Scvliger, in his exami-
nation of it, raises a very great difficulty.
Horace (says he) gives the description of the
full-grown eagle, udulta, although he ascribes
to him youth, juventas. Afterwards he sends
him against the lambs and dragons. FOE
this reason he cannot here speak of the
spring the eagle hatches her young in, which
are scarcely in condition to fly at the end of
six mouths, about August, ami are veiy weak
till September. To defend Horace here,
Torrentius conjectures, that ninths remotis
ought not to be understood of the beginning
of the spring, but of the end, when the ar-
rival of summer has dissipated the clouds,
which in Italy render the spring always rainy.
But the learned Bentley has very well observ-
ed, that, at the arrival of the summer, these
winds cannot with propriety be called verni,
the winds of the spring; for which reason,
he judges that we ought to re-establish the

348

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. IV.

Nunc in reluctantes dracones

Egit amor dapis atque pugnae :
Qualerave laetis caprea pascuis
Intenta, fulvae matiis ab ubere
Jam lacte depulsum leonem,
Dente novo peritura, vidit;
Videre Rhseti bella sub Alpibus
Drusum gerentem et Vindelici ; quibus
Mos unde deductus per omne

Tempus Amazonia securi
Dextras obarmet, queerere distuli :
Nee scire fas est omnia : sed diu
Lateque victrices catervae,
Consiliisjuvenis revictae,
Sensere quid mens rite, quid indoles,
Nutrita faustis sub penetralibus,
Posset, quid August! paternus
In pueros animus Nerones.

ORDO.

que ptignae ejjit in dracones reluctantes : met securi Amazonia, ego distuli quwrere ;

Qualemve caprea, intenta pascuis ketis, uec fas est scire omnia: sed diu lateque

et peritura dente novo, vidit leonem jam de- victrices cateme, revictce consiliis juvenis,

pulsum lacte ab ubere matris fulvae : sensere, quid mens, quid indoles, rite nu-

Talem Rhseti et Vindelici videre Dru- tiita sub faustis pt-netralibus, quid pater-

um gerentem bella sub Alpibus, quibus nus animus August! iu pueros Nerones,

uiide rnos, deductus per omne tempus, obar- posset.

NOTES.

reading, which is to be found in several
manuscripts ;

Vernisquejam idmlii remotis.

This remark is very judicious, and removes
all the difficulty.

11. In reluctantes dracones.] Pliny de-
scribes the combat of the eagle with the
dragon in the fourth chapter of his tenth
book thus : " His combat," says he, " with
** the dragon is fierce and doubtful, although

they engage in the air. The dragon, with
a malicious greediness, hunts after the
eggs of the eagle; for which reason the
eagle attacks him wherever he sees him ;
but the dragon winding himself about his
wings, renders them useless, so that they
both fall together upon the ground."

12. Egit.] It is worth while to remark

the difference and propriety of the word*
which Horace here uses, propulit, dimhit,
egit. He joins the first with patrius vigor,
the second with vividus impetus, and the
third with amor dapis atque pugnte. The
choice could not have been more happy, or
the gradation more just.

1 5. Jam lacte depulsvm.] Virgil uses
fhe same form of expression ;

Depuhos a lacte domi qid dauderet agnos.

And Suetonius says, in reference to chil-
dren ;

Inf antes Jirmiores, necdum tamen lacte de-
pulsos.

Virgil has depulsus al ubere, and Vane, de-
puki a matrii-us ayni.

ODE IV.

HORACE'S ODES.

349

sire to fight, attacks the most furious dragons : or, like a ravenous
young lion, driven from the teat of its tawny mother, which a timo-
rous goat, intent on her luxuriant food, discovers at a distance, and
trembles at his approaches, knowing she must inevitably be devour-
ed by his sharp teeth : in such a manner, and with such an appear-*
once, did our enemies the Rhteti and Vindelici see Drusus advan-
cing towards them with his army near the Alps. Whence these bar-
barous people had the custom of arming themselves with axes, I
know not ; nor is it possible for a man to know every thing ; but
this we know, that their troops, which had for a long time widely
extended their conquests, were defeated in their turn by the good
conduct and bravery of this young prince, and were made sensible
what a happy genius, properly cultivated by paternal care, and
tutored in the auspicious court of Augustus, could do, and what
might be expected from the young Neros.

NOTES.

1 7 . RhtBli.~\ These people Inhabited the
southern parts of the Alps, and are at this
day called the Orisons.

18. Drusum,~] Claudius Drusus, the son
cf Tiberius Nero and of Livia Drusilla. This
young prince made war against the Rhuetians
about the year of the city 7 38, while he was
as yet only twenty-three years old. Velleius
Paterculus gives a character of him in the
ninety-seventh and ninety-eighth chanters of
his second book, where he says, that he was
possessed of all the virtues which human na-
ture is capable of receiving, or study and
education render complete. This confirms
wl^t Horace is about to say of his natural
disposition, and happy and advantageous edu-
cation .

18. Et Findelici.'] Some are for taking
away the copulative particle et, under this
pretence, that the Rlujeti went also under
the name of Vindelici. This criticism not
only renders the poet's vrrse less noble and
majestic, but is also injurious to the memory
of Drusus. It robs him of a part of his
glory, by making but one and the same peo-
ple of fhese two warlike nations which he
conquered. Geographers and historians re-
present them as distinct. Pliny, speaking of
these people, does not say, Rhceli Vimltiid,
but Rhceti et Vindelici , as Strabo says, Patroi
xi OuivJsXixof. And Velleius Paterculus, in
the account which he gives us of this same

expedition of Drusus and Tiberius, says,
Utcrque divisis partibus, Rfuetas Findelicos-
que aggressi.

20. AmazmtzA secitriJ] He gives to the
axe the epithet of Amazonian, because the
Amazons armed themselves with it, and were
the first inventors of it. They called it in
their Scythian language Sngaris.

27. Quid Augvsti patermis.~] Tiberius
Nero died the same year that he resigned his
wife Livia to Augustus, and by his will named
that prince tutor, not only to Tiberius, who
was by this time almost four yea,rs old, but
also to Drusus, to whom Livia gave birth in
the palace of Augustus/ three months after
her marriage with this prince. Augustus
therefore was a second father to the two
Neros, having married their mother, and
being nominated their tutor. It is for this
reason that Horace uses the expression, pa-
ternus animus, which signifies one who has
the feelings and tenderness of a father, as, in
Ode second, Book second;

y ivfl extento Prociileim yo,
Notus infralres animi paterrd.

It ought not to be passed by without notice
here, that it was believed at Rome, that there
had been some intimacy between Livia and
Augustus, while she lived with her first hus-
band, and that Drusus sprang from that

350 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Fortes creantur fortibus et bonis:

Est in juvencis, est in equis patrum 30

Virtus ; nee irnbellem feroces

Progenerant aquilae columbam.
Doctrina sed vim promovet insitam,
Rectique cultus pectora roborant :

Utcunque defecere mores, 35

Dedecorant bene nata culpae.
Quid debeas, 6 Roma, Neronibus,
Testis Metaurum flumen, et Asdrubal
Devictus, et pulcher fugatis

Ille dies Latio tenebris, 40

Qui primus alma risit adored;
Dirus per urbes Afer ut Italas,
Ceu flam ma per tedas, vel Eurus

Per Siculas equitavit undas.

Post hoc, secundis usque laboribus 45

Romans pubes crevit, et, impio
Vastata Poenorum tumultu,

Fana Deos habuere rectos ;
Dixitque tandem perfidus Annibal ;

ORDO.

Fortes creantur fortibus et bonis : Virtus t dies ille pulcher qui primus risit alma ado-

patrum est in juvencis, est in equis, nee fero- rea, tenebris fugatis Latio; ut dirus Afer

ces aquiloe progenerant columbam imbellem. equitavit per Italas urbes, ceu flamma per

Sed doctrina promovet vim insitam, culius- tedas, vel Eurus per Siculas undas.

2ue recti roborant pectora : utcunque mores Post hoc, Romana pubes usque crevit se-
efecere, culpae dedecorant bene nata. cundis laboribus, et fana, vastata impio tu-
O Roma, quid debeas Neronibus, Metau- multu Poenorum, habuere Deos rectos ; tan-
rum flumen est testis, et Asdrubal devictus, demque perfidus Hannibal dixit :

NOTES.

commerce; and Li via being delivered of him gustus ; and, to do this in a manner that

*o soon after she had espoused Augustus, might be no wise injurious to the ancestors of

gave rise, among other jokes, to this, that these princes, he allows that virtue and cou-

among fortunate men like Augustus, every rage are qualities which we really inherit

thing prospered ; for they could have chil- from our forefathers ; but that education

dren at the end of three months, which passed ought to come to the assistance of nature, in

afterwards into a proverb. If Horace there- order to bring to maturity and perfection

fore had continued only to speak of Drusus, these happy seeds, which otherwise would

the expression, animus patemus, had been prove very often useless, and without effect,
capable of a sense which would have very 33. Doctrina sed vim promovet insilam.]

much displeased Augustus. And this wis Hence we may see how much Horace differed

the reason which obliged him to speak at from those wjio maintain, that virtue comes

once of the two Neros, that none might from na'ure, and that education serves only

misinterpret his meaning. to polish it- without rendering it better.

29. Fortes creantvr fortil'u.s.'] The design Quid enim doctrina prqficit ? says Valerius

of Horace is, to ascribe all the glorious ac- Maximus : ut. politiora, sed non ut meliora

tions of Drusus and Tiberius to the good Jiant ittgenia, yuomam qtiidem sola virtus

education which they had received from Au- nascitur magis quamfngitur. Says Horace,

ODE IV.

HORACE'S ODES.

351

Great souls, it is true, spring generally from the brave and good :
even heifers and horses inherit the vigour and fire of their sires ; nor
do we ever see fierce eagles bring forth a timorous dove. But it is
education that assists the natural genius, and good instruction that
improves the mind; wherever these afe wanting, vice insensibly
corrupts the most promising dispositions.

O Rome, what do you not owe to the Neros ? Witness the river
Metaurus, witness the defeat of Asdrubal, and that glorious day,
whose dawn dispersed the gloom that had so long invested Italy, and
gave us the promising hopes of a signal victory, after the fierce and
formidable Hannibal had over-run and laid waste our cities with
the same fury as fire does a forest, or an east-wind sweeps along the
Sicilian sea.

From this time our soldiers succeeded in all their efforts ; and the
gods appeared again in the temples which the Carthaginian mob had
plundered and destroyed, as avengers of so great impiety; and the
perfidious Hannibal was at last constrained to say :

NOTES.

Virtue comes from nature, that is incontest-
able ; but education strengtliens and per-
fects it.

37. Quid deleas, 6 Roma, Neronilus.~\
This apostrophe, whatever some critics may
say of it, is certainly one of the greatest
evidences of the excellency of Horace's ge-
nius, and will be approved by every man of
just taste and discernment. Neronibus, to
the ancient Neros. Horace speaks here of
the consul Claudius Nero, who being en-
camped in Lucania, within sight of Hanni-
bal, retired with six thousand foot, and a
thousand horse, and in a few days arrived in
Ombria, and joined Salinator, his colleague,
to oppose the passage t)f Asdrubal, who was
leading a considerable body of men to the
assistance of his brother. His diligence in
this instance saved Italy ; for Asdrubal was
defeated near the river Metaurus, and Nero,
returning to his camp before the Carthagi-
nians were apprised of his departure, threw
the head of Asdrubal into the camp of Han-
nibal his brother, who, from that moment,
thought of nothing else but how to make the
best of his way out of Italy. This liappen-
ed in the year of the city 546, almost two
hundred years before this was written ; a,nd
Horace, amidst many other illustrious actions
of the ancient Neros, has fixed upon this in
particular, not only because it was one of the
most important, but also because Drususand
Tiberius were descended from those two con-
suls.

39. Fugatis Latio tenelris.'] That day
truly dissipated the darkness in which Italy
was involved. The Roman armies had been
worsted in several encounters, and Rome it-
self was upon the brink of ruin, had Asdru-
bal joined his forces with those of Hannibal.
The darkness in which Italy was involved, is
a poetical expression, admirably representing
the deplorable condition to which the Ro-
mans were reduced at that time. In the
sacred books, as well as the profane, the
word darkness is often taken for misfortune,
destruction, ruin; and the word light, for
happiness, victory, prosperity.

41. Qui primus alma risit aforea.] Atln-
rea was properly a distribution of corn, which '
was made to the soldiers after a victory ; and
hence the word has been taken to signify the
victory itself, or the glory acquired by it.
Festus says, Adoream, laudem, sive gloriam,
dicebant; and Pliny, Chapter third, Book
eighteenth, Gloriam denique ipsam afarris
honor e adoream appellttbant.

46. Et impio vastataJ] For Hannibal
did not spare so much as the temples : wit-
ness that of Teronia, which he destroyed,
and carried away all its riches. This Livy
mentions in Book 26th, Chapter 2d.

47- Panorum fumultu.'] It has been ob-
served in some of the preceding Books, that
the Romans often made use of the word lu-
multus to express the civil wars : but Horace
here uses it for a war made upon the Romans
by strangers. The reason perhaps may be,

352 Q. HORAT1I CARMlNA. LIB. IV.

Cervi, luporum praeda rapacium, 50

Sectamur ultro, quos opimus

Fallere et effugere est triumphus.
Gens, quse cremate fortis ab Ilio,
Jactata Tuscis aequoribus, sacra,

Natosque, maturosque patres, 55

Pertulit Ausonias ad urbes;
Duris ut ilex tonsa bipennibus
Nigrae feraci frondis in Algido,
Per damna, per caedes, ab ipso

Ducit opes animumque ferro. GO

" Non Hydra secto corpore firmior
Vinci dolentera crevit in Herculcm,
Monstrumve summisere Colchi

Majus, Ecbionifeve Thebae.

Merses profundo, pulchrior evenit j 65

Luctere, multa proruet integrum
Cum laude victorem, geretque
Proelia conjugibus loquenda.
Carthagini jam non ego nuncios

Mittam superbos : occidit, occidit J'O

Spes omnis, et fortuna nostri

Nominis, Asdrubale interemto.
Nil Claudiae non perficient manus;
Quas etbenigno numine Jupiter

JDefendit, et curae sagaces 75

Expediunt per acuta belli.

ORDO.

" Nos, velut cervi pneda rapacinm lupo- oniaeve Thebae, summisere majus mon-

" rum, ultro sectamur Romanes, quos fallere strum. Etiamsi merses profundo, evenit

et effugere esl triumphus opimus. Gens, pulchrior; luctere, proruet victorem in-

quae fortis, ab cremato Ilio, jactata Tuscis tegrum cum laude multa, geretque proelia

atquoribus, pertulit sacra, naiosque, ma- loquenda conjugibus. ligo non jam mit-

turosque patres ail Ausonias uvbes ; ut ilex tain superbos nuncios Carthagini : omnis

tonsa duris bipennibus, in Algido feraeis spos et fortuna nostri nominis occidit, oc-

nigr^? frondis, ducit opes animumque, per cidit, Asdrubale interemto."

damna, per caedes, ab ipso fcrro. I^dra Nil non efficient Clau^ios manus; quas et

corpore secto, non crevit firmior in Her- Jupiter defendit benigno numine, et sagaces

culetn dolentem vinci j non Colchi, Echi- curae expediunt per acuta belli.

NOTES.

because that war was carried on in the heart ner in which Horace makes his court to the

of Italy itself, and Hannibal had brought over Romans ; nothing can be more grand than

entire cities and provinces to his party. what Horace makes Hannibal say of them.

50. Cervi hnjorumpra.-da.J This discourse 61. Hydra.'] Amidst the famous labours

is exceedingly beautiful ; but what is mostwor- of Hercules, one is the defeat of the Hydra, a

thy of notice, is the noble and delicate man- monstrous serpent, which had retreated to the

ODE IV. HORACE'S ODES. 353

" As deer destined for a prey to ravenous wolves, we are come to
" attack these Romans ; but the most glorious triumph we can
" hope for, is, to avoid fighting them, and make our escape. These
" are the people risen with new strength out of the ashes of Troy,
" who, after being tossed by so many storms on our seas, have
" settled their children, their sires, and their gods, in the cities of
" Ausonia. Like an oak hewn and cut with hatchets in the shady
" forest of Algidus, they gain new force by their scars and wounds.
" The Hydra, appearing with more heads after it had one cut off,
" never arose with more fury against Hercules, when he was in
" the utmost dread of seeing himself overcome. Neither Thebes
" nor Colchis ever produced a greater prodigy. Plunge them in
" the deep, they rise with greater lustre. Attack them sword in*
" hand, they regain their" honour by defeating your fresh troops,
" though hitherto victorious, and make such furious attacks as' will
" furnish their wives, for a long time after, with matter of discourse.
" I shall never have occasion to send any more proud couriers to
" Carthage icith thejoiijul news offresli victories ; Asdrubal is no
" more ; all our hopes, our fortune, our name, are buried with
Asdrubal."

No enterprise is too hard for the Neros, whom Jupiter favours
so remarkably with his protection, and who, by their great prudence
and conduct, are able happily to extricate themselves from the
most threatening dangers to which they are exposed in battle.

NOTES.

Lernian lake. The poets have feigned that Horace writes Echlanite Thelae.

it had a great number of heads, and that no 69. Carthaghn jam non ego.} After tha

sooner was one cut off, than several others battle of C'ann;e, Hannibal sent his brother

appeared in its place. IMugo to Carthago, to acquaint them with

03. Mwistrumre fttmmisn'c Golrhi.'] Mnn- the victory; and tiiis African, not satisfied

strum here signifies the same with a 'proJigy ; with representing to the senate, in the lofti-

and Horace is not speaking cither of the hull est terms, the happy success of his brother,

which vomited up flame, or of the dragons exposed, at the gate of the house where the

that guarded the Golden Fleece ; but, as assembly met, all the rings which had been

Torrentius has excellently remarked, lie speaks taken from the Romans, hv which they might

of the two armies which sprang Iron, the judge of the number of mew who lud been

teeth sown hv Jason. One may read the slain in the fight. Historians relate tlwt

history at full length in the seventh book of there were about three bushels and a half

the Metamorphose*. of them.

(it. EchiijHtii've Tlid\r.] Cadmus did the ?;'i. Nil Claudia; non perficient mcntus.]

same at Thebes, that Jason had done about The speech of Hannibal ends at /Isdrnlale

r..ci hundred years before at Colchis ; he had intcrumpto. Horace afterwards resumes his

sown the teeth of a dragon, and thence thc-re subject, and foretells the happy success that

sprang up a great body of men, who sepa- would attend all the attempts of Drusus, of

rated themselves into two bunds, and at lacked whose safety Providence was in a particular

each other; there remained onlv four with manner careful.

Echion after the engagement. This warrior 76. Amla btlK.] Not the stratagems of

became afterwards the son-in-law of Ca.lmus, war, but the danger; as in Livy and Tacitus,

and assisted him in builii'n:" Thel^ : wliciiee sii'-ita Mil, irtctrta hUt.

VOL. I. i A

354 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. IV.

OD E V.

M. le Fevre is of opinion that this ode was written about the seven hundred
and thirty-fourth year of the city, and forty-seventh of Horace's age, a little
before the return of Augustus from Asia. But if that were true, the de-
scription which Horace here gives of the happy condition of the Roman
people, would savour too much of flattery ; forKonae, at that time, was very
much agitated with disorders and seditions. As for me, I am persuaded
that it was composed on occasion of the long stay of Augustus in Gaul,

AD AUGUSTUM.

DIVIS orte bonis, optimc Romulse
Gustos gcntis, abes jam nimium diu.
Maturum reditum pollicitus patrum

Sancto concilio, redi :

Lucem redde tute, dux bone, patrise ; &

Instar veris enim, vultus ubi tuus
Affulsit populo, gratior it dies,

Et soles melius nitent.
Ut mater juvenem, queni Notus invido
Flatu, Carpathii trans maris aequora 10

Cunctantem spatio longius annuo,

Dulci distinct a domo,
Votis, ominibusque, et pvecibus vocat,
Curvo nee faciem litore demovet;
Sic, desideriis icta fidelibus, 15

Quaerit patria Csesarem.
Tutus bos etenim prata perambulat :
Nutrit rura Ceres, almaque Faustitas :

ORDO.

O Auguste, orte Divis bonis, optime cus- que, et precibus, quern Notus distinct invido

tos Romulae gentis, abes jam minium diu. flatu a dulci domo, cunctantem longius spa-

Redi, pollicitus mauirum reditum sanctocon- tio annuo trans tequora iviaiis Girpathii, nee

cilio patrum: bone dux, redde lucem tuze demovet faciem cuivo littore; sic patria, icta

patriae; ubi cnim tuus vultus, instar veris, fidelibus desideriis, qiuerit Caesarem.

affulsit populo, dies it gratior, et soles melius Eteuim, le regiumle, bos tutus perambulat

nitent. prata: Ceres almaque Fauttitas nutrii rura :

Ut mater vocat juvenem, votis ominibus-

NOTES.

2. Ales jam nimium diu.'] For Augustus 740. Horace wrote this ode the year bo-
depaned for Gaul in the year 73" ; he did fore. We see therefore that the Romans
not return till three years after, that is, in had some reason to complain of his absenre.

HORACE'S ODES. 355

O D E V.

which oupht to be referred to the 739th year of Rome. Nothing can be
imagined more tender than what Horace writes to this prince : he is not
content with simply taking notice of the love and veneration that every one
had for him, and the impatience wherewith they expected his return; he
farther explains the reasons they had to value and esteem him, and thence
takes occasion to give us a beautiful picture of the felicity which reigned
throughout the empire under his government.

TO AUGUSTUS.

GREAT prince, whom the kind gods have given the world as the
best guardian of the Roman state, you have now been too long ab-
sent from us. Please to hasten your return according to your gra-
cious promise to the venerable senate : restore life and light to
your dominions ; for your presence, like the spring, makes every
thing agreeable ; our days pass witli more pleasure, and the sun
shines with greater lustre.

As a fond mother, impatient for the return of her only son, de-
tained beyond sen longer than his year from his dear home by con-
trary winds, never ceases to hasten his return by all the methods her
affection can suggest, whether by vow?, omens, or prayers, and
turns not her wishful eye one moment off the winding shore; thus
do your people long with the utmost impatience and affection for
the return of their prince.

Under your happy reign our oxen graze in the meads with safety;
Ceres and kind Plenty make our lands fruit 'ul ; our traders cross the

NOTES.

13. Omuubu&que?\ Omt.n is an augury 17. Prata pfi'amlulat.'] The word nif.i

taken from the voices of men, or the singing is repeated in the vers.i following; and as

of birds. In the first^sense it is properly H that repetition is neither a figure, nor in ny

word which another speaks by chance, and way graceful, M. 1ft Fcvre i.s oi opinion, that

of which one makes application to himself, we ought to read pratu peramlulat. In the

as in what happened to Paulus Emilius re- first verse, Horace speaks of the security

turning one day from the senate: hisdaugh- wherewith the flocks wander in the fields,

u-r, a young girl, hung about his nock, cry- and, in the second, of tho fertility and abund-

ing, O father, Perses is dead. This was the ance of the fruits of the earth,

name of her little favourite dog. But Pau- 19. Pacaliimvolitantpcr mare.] At that

lus Erail'ms took it as P.I\ augury. I accept, time the empire was not disturbed either with

says he, this presage. Perses, king of Mace- civil or foreign wars, as is evident from the

rt'mia, against whom I am sent by the se- testimony of all historians. And Suetonius

nate to make war, will he vanquished. Ho- tells us, that a ship of Alexandria entrin-

race here allows to the word its full significa- the harbour, and passing hy one in which Au

tion. gustus was, the mariners loaded him with bt-

2 A 2

356 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Pacatum volitant per mare navitae :

Culpari metuit fides : 20

Nullis polluitur casta domus stupris :
Mos et lex maculosum edomuit nefas :
Laudantur simili prole puerperae :

Culpam poena premit comes.

Quis Parthum paveat ? quis gelidum Scythen s 23

Quis, Germania quos horrida parturit
Fetus, incolumi Csesare ? quis ferae

Bellum curet Iberias ?
Condit quisque diem collibus in suis,
Et vitem viduas clucit ad arbores ; 30

Hinc ad vina redit laetus, et alteris

Te'mensis adhibet Deum :
Te multa prece, te prosequitur mere
Defuso pateris j et Laribus tuum
Miscet numen, uti Graecia Castoris 83

Et magni memor Herculis.
Longas 6 utinam, dux bone, ferias
Prasstes Hesperiae, dicimus integro
Sicci mane die, dicimus uvidi,

Cum sol Oceano subest. 40

ORDO.

navitae volitant per mare pacatum : fides me- arbores; hinc redit laetus ad vina, et adhihet

tuit culpari : casta domus polluitur nullis stu- te Deum alteris mensis : prosequitur te multa

pris : mos et lex edomuit maculosum nefas : prece, prosequitur te mero defuso pateris ;

puerpene laudantur simili prole: poena co- et miscet tuum numen laribus, uti Graecia

mes premit culpara. memor miscet Diis nomen Castoris et magni

Incolumi Csesare, quis paveat Parthuiu ? Herculis.

Quis paveat gelidum Scythen ? Quis paveat Dux bone, O utinam praestes longas ferias

foetus quos horrida Germania parturit ? Quis Hesperire ! hoc dicimus sicci mane integro

curet helium fene Iber'ue ? Quisque condit die, hoc dicimus uvidi, cum sol subest oceano.
Uicjn in collibus suis, et ducit vitem ad viduas

NOTES.

nedictions, crying wit, that to him they owed cients had a great opinion of the virtue ami

their lives, their property, and their free- chastity of those wives, whose children re-

Jom. sembled their husbands, and they pretended to

23. Laudantur simili prt/le.] The an- be capable of distinguuhing the true father*

ODE V.

HORACE'S ODES.

357

peaceful seas with security: no man dares now be false to his
promise : our virtuous houses are no more sullied with adulteries :
your good example and the laws have banished this foul vice :
mothers are respected for having children like their husbands ^
and every crime is sure to meet with a speedy and deserved punish-
ment.

While Ceesar reigns, who fears the Parthians, cold Scythians, or
the fierce offspring of rugged Germany ? Who minds what the
cruel Spaniards can do ? Every swain spends whole days securely
on his own hills, and weds the tender vines to the lonely poplars * ',
thence returns in the evening, and regales himself with a cheer-
ful glass f, and at the second course pays his vows to you as to a god.
He addresses himself to you ; he offers you libations, and pays
you the same worship as to his household gods, venerating you as
Castor and Hercules are adored by grateful Greece.

That you may long live, great prince, to bless Italy with peace
and prosperity '|, is our first prayer in the morning, when we are
sober; and our last in the evening, when mellow.

* Trees.

-} Returns joyful to wine.

J Give Italy long holidays.

NOTES.

l>y this resemblance, in sxich a manner as tq
pronounce those illegitimate in whom no si-
militude could be observed. And this sen-
timent seems to have been very ancient ; for
Hesiod represents it as one of the great feli-
cities of a people, that their wives had child-
ren who resembled them. And this was
what made Theocritus say, that the heart of
a woman who did not regard her husband,
ran perpetually after her lover, and that her
children might be easily known, for that they
did not in the least resemble her husband.

2.5. Qttis Part/mm . pctveat.] Augustus had
either pacified, or brought into subjection,
the east, the north, and the west. The east
is marked by the Parthians, the north by the
Scythians and Germans, and the west by
Spun.

20. Condit quisque diem.'} Comlerc diem,
f &s in Virgil, roiulcre solenj is properly to
bury the day; that is, to finish it, to pass
it wholly ; and is a metaphor taken from
the burial of human bodies. PLmtus savs,
in a similar manner, mmbitrere diem, be-
cause bodies were burnt; and a finished cl;iy
is sometimes called dies martinis.

5 . UCi Greecia Casloris, ct magni mcmor.]
This passage is commonly misunderstood.
We ought not to join mcnwr with Hcrculis ;
on the contrary, they should be separated,
and the construction run thus : Uti Gr&cia.
manor miscet Diis 7ioinen Castoris el Hcrcu-
lis. Castor and Hercules held the same rank
among the Greeks as the Lares among the
Romans. They were tailed CQiiservalorcs t
and Dii communes.

358 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV".

ODE VI.

Some commentators have thought that this was a secular poem ; but they are
certainly very much deceived ; and they might easily have avoided this mis-
take, if they had observed that the poet himself never speaks in the secular
poem. This is a rule without any exception. This ode therefore is a kind
of preparation to the secular poem which finishes the fifth book, and const-

AD APOLLINEM.

DIVE, quern proles Niobea magnfe
Vindicem linguae, Tityosque raptor
Sensit, et Trojae prope victor altse

Phthius Achilles,

Caeteris major, tibi miles impar; 5

Filius quamvis Thetidos marinae
Dardanas turres quateret tremenda"

Cuspide pugnax.
]lle, mordaci vclut icta ferro

Pinus, aut impulsa cupressus Euro, 10

Procidit late, posuitque collum in

Pulvere Teucro.

Ille non, inclusus equo Minervas
Sacra mentito, male feriatos
Troas, et Isetam Priami choreis 15

Falleret aulam ;

ORDO.

O Dive, quern proles Niobea, Tityosque mordaoi ferro, aut cupressus impulsa Euro,

raptor, et Phthius Achilles prope victor alue late procidit, posuitque collum in jnilvere

Trojfe, sensit vindicem nwgnae lingua, major Teucro.

ciEteris, miles impar tibi ; quamvis filiusThe- Ille non inclusus equo mentito sacra Mi-

tidos marinae quateret Dardanas turres pug- nervae, falleret male feriatos Troas, et aulam

jiax tremenda cuspide. Ille, velut pinus icta Priami loetam choreis ; sed palam gravis

NOTES.

1. Prniff Niolea.] Niobe was the daugh- all the children of Niobe. This unfortunate
ter of Tantalus and Euriar-assf, the wife of mother discovered as much weakness in her
Amphion. The number and beauty of her adversity, as she had shown arrogance in her
children were the occasion of her misfor- prosperity. Overwhelmed with grief, the
tunes. She had the vanity to prrftr herself drowned herself in tears, and at last obtained
to Latonu, who had only two. The goddess of the gods to be changed into a rock. Da-
bad recourse to Apollo and Diana, who slew cier is of opinion that the transformation of

ODE VI. HORACE'S ODES. 359

ODE VI.

quently is on the same subject as the twenty-first ode of the first book, but
has more of majesty and strength in it. Horace requests Apollo to hear fa-
vourably the prayers that were to be offered up to him by the choirs of
young boys and young girls, and exhorts these to sing well, and observe ex-
actly the measure and cadence.

TO APOLLO.

GREAT god, who mad'st the children of Niobe feel that thouwasta
severe avenger of the affront given thee by their mother's opprobrious
tongue, who punished'st the great presumption of the ravisher Tityus,
and humbled'st haughty Achilles himself, on the point of taking
Troy, for his insolence ; this hero, though the most valiant of the
Greeks, the son of Thetis goddess of the sea, lie who made such
a furious attack on Troy, as to make its very towers to shake, \vas
yet an unequal match for thec : for, like a pine cut down by a
keen axe, or a cypress rooted up by the east-wind, thus fell his
huge body, which lay extended in Trojan dust.

This great warrior would have disdained to be shut up in the fa-
mous horse that was feigned to be a sacrifice to Minerva, or to sur-
prise the unhappy Trojans and court of Priam in the midst of their

NOTES.

Niobe had its rise from the history of Lot's effect the destruction of Troy; they would

wife, who was changed into a pillar of salt. have taken the city in broad clay-light, and

3. Tnijee props victor uLtne^] Horace here reduced it to ashes, without sparing either

accuses Achilles of having spoken insolently women or children. There is a great deal of

to Apollo ; am! he had, without doubt, in majesty in this passage, but what more espe-

view, that passage of the Iliad, where Achilles cially merits our attention is, that Horace

says ; does not here speak what was barely suggest-

" Thou hast deceived me, Apollo, who art ed to him by an enthusiastic imagination;

" the most wicked of all the gods; but thou he speaks according to the truth of history;

" shalt not go unpunished, if I have it in for he had in view that celebrated dispute be-

" my power to take revenge." This is one tween Achilles and Ulysses at the table of

of the places 'of Homer, which Plato blames Agamemnon, after the death of Hector,

in the third book of his Republic. They were deliberating upon the means to be

13. Itle non, indurus cquo.~\ Never was used for the taking of Troy, whether they
there a greater encomium made upon Achil- should attempt it by cunning, or should con-
ies than Horace has given him in the eight tinue to employ force. Ulysses was of opi-
folloiving verses. If that hero had lived, the nion they should have recourse to stratagem .
Greeks had not been reduced to the shame- but Achilles opposed it, and, speaking of
ful necessity of employing artifice in order to stratagem wijh contempt, declared it to be"

360 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Sed palam captis gravis, heu nefas, heu !
Nescios fari pueros Achivis
Ureret flammis, etiam latentes

Matris in alvo; 20

Ni, tuis victus Venerisque grate
Vocibus, Divum pater annuisset
Rebus ynere potiore ductos

Alite muros.

Doctor argutfie fidicen Thaliae, 25

Phoebe, qui Xantho lavis amne crines,
Daunue defende decus Camenae,

Levis Agyieu.

Spiritum Phuebus milii, Phoebus artem
Cavminis, nomenque dedit poetae. 30

Virginum prima>, puerique claris

Patribus orti,

Deliae tutela Deee, fugaces
Lyncas et cervos coliibentis arcu,
Lesbium servate pedem, meique 35

Pollicis ictum ;

Rite Latonae puerum canentes,
Rite crescentem face Noctilucam,
Prosperam frugum, celcremque pronos

Volvere menses. 40

ORDO.

raptis, heu ncfas, heu! ureret pueros nescios dit artem c.irmims nonicnquc poeUe.

fari Achivis flammis, etiam latentes in alvo "us i^itur primue virginum, puerique orti

matris ; ni pater Dixfim, victus vocibus gra- Claris patrilms, tutela Delia: J)eze cohibentis

t;e Veneris tuisque, annu'uset rebus .Ehcce fu '.races lyncas ;t cenos arcu, servatr Les-

anaros ductos poiiore alite. bium pejeni ictumque mei pollieis, rite ca-

O Phoebe, dwtor fidicen argutze Tlialiae, nentes pueruiu Latotia-, rite canentes Dia~

qui lavis crines amne Xantho, levis Agyieu, raim Noctilncam crescentem face, prosperam

defende decus Dannie camena. frugum, celeremque \olverc menses pronos.

Phoebus dcdit spiritual milii, Phoebus de-

NOTES.

his opinion and advice, that they should go the ancients look upon this as no more than

on with open force, and in broad day attack a fiction, whk-h they have differently emlea-

Troy by continual assaults, until it should be vourrd to account for. Some say that the

constrained to surrender. horns v.as a warlike machine, used in battrr-

13. BqVO JUmerv* saera tttenttto.'] The in? the nails. Others think that the gate

flveeks, weaiied out with the length of the which Antrm.r op-nr-d lo tht Gre-k, bail

sk'.j, caused to be huilt a xvooden horse, ai.ove it the figure of a Lurse. Sec the prose

which they filled with the flower of their translation of Virgil, note on the 15th line

array, and pretended to consecrate it to Mi- of book -J<!.

nerva. Our readers probably know the man- 21. Ni, tuis viclitf, fenerisyuegratif^ Ho-

ner ia which tliat horse v.as receiver! into the race here says, that Jupiter, suffering hiin-

!>v -A-hif ;. means it was takeu. Mi.i'v of soil' to be prevailed upon by the entreaties of

ODE VI. HORACE'S ODES. 361

dances and ill-timed rejoicings ; but would have openly attacked and
defeated the enemy, and (what cannot be mentioned without the
utmost horror) would have committed the innocent children to the
flames, even those in their mothers' wombs, had not Jupiter *, pre-
vailed on by your prayers, and those of charming Venus, favoured
./Eneas' designs, and consented that the adventurers should go else-
where, and build another city under more lucky auspices.

Divine Apollo, who presidest over the concerts of the Muses, who
takest great pleasure to bathe thy golden locks in the Xanthus, and
to whom so many altars are consecrated, please to support the ho-
nour of a Latin muse.

To Phoebus I owe any genius I have for poetry, any art I have in
composing a poem, and that I ever deserved the name of a poet.

Do ye then, select virgins, and ye youths descended from the
most illustrious families of Rome, who are under the protection of
Diana, whose arrows overtake the swiftest lynxes and the fleetest
deers, carefully observe the cadence of my Sapphic verse, and with
your voices keep time with my lyre, singing wich solemnity the son
of Latona, and also Diana, who makes her crescent to shine, who is
so favourable to the fruits of the earth, and regulates the course of
the revolving months.

* The father of the gods.

NOTES.

Apollo and Venus, resolved upon the death fore the doors of their houses.

of Achilles, that /Eneas might have a better 31. Virginian pnnits.'] The two chonisc .

chance of escaping, and might have it in his consisted of twenty-seven hoys and as many

power to go and build, in some other part of girls, who were chosen from the most eini-

the world, a city that should have u happier iient families in Rome, and eacli of whom

fate than Troy. This nice and delicate piece had a father and mother livin-j.

of praise could not hut be very agreeable to 3-3. Ddix tutela Dc<p.] Diana presided

the Romans. at the birth, and over the education, of child-

26. Qui Xantho lauis amne crincs."] The ren; and they continued under her protec-

ancients usually washed their hair in the tion till marriage; whence in Catullus they

rivers and fountains, no doubt because tljey are represented as saying,
imagined that such ablution served to p-. "'it

a more beautiful ;;nd shining colour. This Diana: sumitx in fith

gave rise to the phrase, He washes his hair Pudlee et jmcri i/ttezri.
in such a river, instead of, He inhabits the

country watered by that river; as, To drink of Delia, because Diana was horn at Delos.
the water of the Rhone, was used in the- same

sense. 35. Lesliitm senate pedem."] He calls

28. jlgi/ieu.] Agy'ui is a Greek word sig- Peg f.cd-iiis the measure of the verses of his

nifytng the streets ot cities. Apollo was call- secular poem, which are Sapphic, as arc also

fd Agyicus, that is, via- prtppusitits ; and, on those of thu ode, and which were invented

this account, the Greeks erected altars and by Alcreus and Sappho, who were of 3Jity-

ttatuts to his honour in their streets, and be- leno, the capital of Lesbos.

332 Q. HORAT1I CAHMINA. LIB. IV.

Nupta jam dices ; Ego Dis amicum,
Seculo festas referente luces,
Reddicli carmen, docilis modorum
Vatis Horati.

ORDO.

Jam Rnpta dices, " Eco, docilis modorum vatis Horatii, reddidi carmen amicum Dis, s<>
" culo referente luces festas."

NOTES.

41. Nupta jam dices.] The Romans be- nour of singing the secular poem, would be
Keved that the young girls who had the ho- the sooner married upon that account ; and

ODE VII.

The subject of this ode is very natural and simple, and almost the same with
that of Ode Fourth, Book First; but that does not prevent it from being
treated here in a manner very noble, and altogether new. The comparison
of these two odes may be of great sen-ice to those who would form them-
selves to imitation; at least we may be convinced, that the same subject can

AD TORQUATUM.

DIFFUGERE nives ; redeunt jam gramma campis,

Arboribusque comae :
Mutat terra vices ; et dccrescentia ripas

Flumina praetereunt.
Gratia cum Nymphis geminisque sororibus audet 5

Ducere nuda chores.
Immortalia ne speres, monet annus, et almum

Quse rapit bora diem.
Frigora mitescunt Zephyris : ver preterit aestas,

Interitura, simul 10

Pomifer autumnus fruges cffuderit ; et mox

Bruma recurrit iners.
Damna tamen ccleres reparant coelestia lunae :

Nos ubj decidinms

ORDO.

Nives diffugere; gramina jsum redeunt cam- mortalia.

pis, comaeque arboribus : terra mutat vices; Frigort Hlitesrunt Zephyris : testas proterit

et decrescentia fiumina pr.eteieunt ripas. ver, iiueritura siruul poinitcr autumnus effu-

Gratia nuda audet dutere chores cum nym- derit fruges, et mox iners bruma recurrit.
phis geminisque snroribus. Annus et hora Tamen ccleres lunse reparant coelestia dam-

^ua rapit almum diem mnet ne speres im- na: ubi nosro-o decidinus, quo

ODE VII.

HORACE'S ODES.

363

Soon, when married, each of you will with pleasure say ; " I had
" the honour, at the solemn annual festival, to bear a part in the
" sacred hymn composed by Horace, to which the gods were
" pleased to lend a favourable ear."

NOTES.

this superstition they had derived from the Apollo, says, " When Apollo arrives, the

theology of the Greeks, who imagined that the " youth must not allow either their harp or

children who did not sing and dance at the " feet to remain at rest, if they desire ever

arrival of Apollo were never married, but died " to he married, or to arrive at an extreme

very young. Callimachus, in the hymn to " old age."

ODE VII.

furnish a great variety of thoughts and expressions, and that a genius so
fruitful as that of Horace, may continually draw new treasures from funds
that seem already exhausted. It is impossible to determine at what time it
was written.

TO TORQUATUS.

THE snows are gone ; the fields begin to look green again, and
leaves appear upon the trees : the earth changes its face ; and the
rivers, shrinking to their ordinary channel, glide gently along their
banks.

The Graces, in a negligent dress, begin now to dance in com-
pany with the Nymphs. The vicissitudes of the year, and the hours
which by their rapid course bring the smiling day soon to a period,
warn us that we are not to expect immortality here.

The cold of winter is softened by the mild spring-winds ; sum-
mer follows close on the spring, but the summer must give place in
its turn as soon as the autumn appears, which loads us with its
fruits ; and then the winter, however slow it may seem, succeeds
the autumn.

Yet the fleet moons repair the loss of the agreeable seasons, by
renewing them every year : but we. when once arrived at the me-

NOTES.

1 . Diffugere raves.] Horace does not in- ture, and the vicissitudes of the seasons, in

tend here to give a description of the spring, which lie follows the principles of Anacrcon,

but to make Torquatus sensible that every and the philosophers of that sect, who ima-

th'mg we see puts us in mind that one time or gined that the remembrance of death was the

other we must undergo death. He lays before most urgent motive to engage men in the pwr-

him the manifest changes that happen in na- suit of pleasure.

364 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Quo pius ^neas, quo Tullus dives, et Ancus, 15

Pulvis et umbra sumus.
Quis scit an adjiciant hodierna? crastina summ&e

Teinpora Dl super! ?
Cuncta manus avidas fugient heredis, amico

Quse dederis animo. 20

Cum semel occideris, et de te splendida Minos

Fecerit arbitria,
Non, Torquate, genus, non te facundia, non te

Restituet pietas :
Infernis neque enim tenebris Diana pudicum 25

Liberat Hippolytum,
Lethaea valet Theseus abrumpere caro

yincula Pirithoo.

ORDO.

Jives Tullus, ct Ancus deriderunt, sumus pul- fecerit splendidft arbiiria de te, non genus,

vis et umbra. Quis scit an Di super! ailji- non facundia te, non pietas te restituet. Ne-

fiant crastina tempo ra summoe hodiernye ? que enim Diana liberal pudicum Hippoly-

Cuncta quae dederis amico animo fugient avi- turn, nee Theseus valet dirumpere Lethoea

das manus haeredis. vincula caro Pirithoo.
Torquate, cum semel occidcris, et Minos

NOTES.

13. Danuia ccelestia.] A beautiful expres-
sion, but so difficult that the greater part of
commentators have avoided to explain the
passage. Horace calls the seasons Daiiiua,
becaute, by a constant succession, they seem
to destroy each other ; and he adds the epi-
thet caslestia, because, in proportion as the
heaven changes, it seems to sustain some
los, and time robs it of that which it de-
stroys. The moon repairs these losses, be-
cause, by renewing the months it hastens the
return of the seasons, and thus restores what
it had taken away.

}4. Nos uli dectfi mus."] The seasons re-<

turn, an.l are renexvcd ; but men, when they

once die, never return. Moschus says in hit

third id) Hi urn upon the death of Bion :

' Alas! we see that the flowers of our gar-

' <1< us yow and shoot up again every year;

' but we, the master-piece of Heaven, who,

' alone are endowed with wisdom and pru-

' dence,are soon laid in our graves, and have

' no farther concern with what passes upon

' earth, but are buried in an eternal sleep."

15. Qw> Tidlus direx.'] Tullus Hostilius,

the third king of Rome, was so rich, that he

divided among those who had no property in

land, a large field, which was the inheritance

ODE VII.

HORACE'S ODES.

S65

luncholy abode of pious ./Eneas, rich Tullus, and brave Ancus, be-
come dust and shade, and appear no more.

Who knows if the gods will add another day to this we now en-
joy ? Of all the good things you possess, dear Torquatus, nothing
shall escape the hands of your covetous heir, but what you now lay
out upon your pleasures.

When death once seizes you, and Minos has, by his solemn sen-
tence, publicly assigned you your abode, neither your quality, your
eloquence, nor your piety, shall rescue you from the grave ; for
Diana herself could not bring her chaste and beloved Hippolytus to
life again, nor was Theseus ever able to break the chains where-
with his dear Pirithous is bound.

NOTES.

f the crown, saying, that his patrimony
was sufficient to furnish the sacrifices, and
the expenses of his own house.

17. Quit scit."] This is another motive to
induce Torquatus to neglect nothing that
might contribute to the pleasure and happi-
ness of life. It is even stronger than the
foregoing; for, to tell a man that he must
some time or other die, is not so effectual to
make him seize the present opportunity, as to
tell him, that he is not sure of a day.

21. Sfilcudida. arbitria.] Very few com-
mentators have given a right explication of
these words. . Heinsius thinks that they are
the same with judgements full of majesty
and gravity; but the true meaning is solemn
judgements, decrees pronounced in full as-
sembly, from which there lies no appe.il.
Horace here regards the character of Minos
as sovereign judge, who pronounced final sen-
tence.

23. Terquate. This Torquatus was the
on of L. Manlius Torquatus, who was consul
during the year in which Horace was born,
and whose marring'' is celebrated bv Catul-

lus in an epitlnlamium which still remains.

25. Infernis neque enirn tenebris.'] In the
time of Horace the Romans offered sacrifices
that were common to Diana and Hippolytus,
whom they believed to have been restored to
life by ^Escuiapius at the entreaty of that
goddess ; but our poet, who was not naturally
too credulous, laughs at that superstition.

2". Nee Lethcea valet Tkf. setts.'] What
Horace says here of Hippolytus contradicts
the fable, and what he adds concerning The-
seus and Pirithous, seems to destroy his own
reasoning ; because, if Theseus was not able to
rescue I'irithous, yet Hercules delivered The-
seus: but one sentence is sufficient to make
this difficulty vanish, and I wonder that no
one has hitherto thought of it. Horace
speaks throughout this whole ode as an Epi-
curean ; for according to Epicurus a resur-
rection was impossible ; and of consequence
all the popular opinions concerning Theseus,
Hippolytus, and many others, who were said
to have returned from the regions below,
were looked upou by his followers as mer
chimeras.

3GG Q. HORATII CARM1NA. Liu. IV.

ODE VIII.

A good poet possesses a talent that always enables him to return the good
offices he receives from his generous friends. Horace had apparently received
sonic present from Censorinus. In return he addresses tnis ode to him,

AD MARCIUM CENSORINUM.

DONAREM pateras, grataque cornmodus,

Censorine, meis aera sodalibus ;

Donarem tripodas, pnemia fortium

Graiorum ; neque tu pessima inunerum

Ferres, divite me scilicet artitim 5

Q.uas aut Parrliasius protulit, aut Scopas ;

Hie saxo, liquidis ille coloribus,

Solers nunc hominem ponere, mine Deum.

Sed non hxc mini vis ; non tibi talium

Res est aut animus deliciarum egens. 10

Gaudes carminibus : carmina possumus

Donare, et pretium dicere muneri.

Non incisa notis marmora publieis,

Per quee spiritus et vita redit bonis

Post mortem ducibus; non celeres fug?e, 15

ORDO.

O Censorine, eg o commodus donnrem pa- Deum. Serl haec vis non est rnihi. Non tibi

teras, grutaque cera meis sodalibus; donarem res aut auimusest egena talium deliciarum.
ctiam tripodas praeniia fortium Graiorum; Gaudes carminibus, possumus dare carmiiia

neque tu ferres pessima inunerum, scilicet et dicere pretium muneri. Non marmora in-

me divite artitim quas aut Parrliasius aut Sco- cisa notis publieis, per quae spiritus et vita

pas protulit; hie solers saxo, ille solers liqui- redit bonis ducibus post mortem; non ce-

dis coloribus, nunc ponere hominem, nunc leres fugce, min^eque Annibalis rejectae rc-

NOTES.

1. Donarem.'] We are to regard this ode Plaut. act. 1. v. 104. Post ob virtittem he-

as a present which the poet makes to Censo- ro Amphitryoni patera iloiiata HUTCH est, <jua

rinus on one of the days of the festival of the Pterelas poiitare rex solitits est.

Saturnalia; during which time it was com- " Afterwards they made 'a present to my

inon among the Romans to send some pre- " master of a cup of s^old, out of which king

sent to their friends. It is in this sense that " Pterelas used to drink." Scipio, in like

vre are to understand the word donarem. manner, gave one of them to Masinissa,

1. Pateras.] A cup was a present usually Liv. I. 30. Masinissam primum Regem ap-

made to some great commander of an army; pellatum, eximiisque ornatum laudikus, aurea

witness that which was given to Amphitryon, corona, aurca patera, &c. donat.

OL>E VIIL

HORACE'S ODES.

ODE VIII.

\vhieh W.TJ all the ackriowlegeruent in his power to make; and Censoring
*\ ;:- wrll satisfied with it. It is written in a very noble and majestic style,
ant! runs entirely on the praises of poetry.

TO MARCIUS CENSORINUS.

CK \SORINUS, I would cheerfully present rny friends with cups, and
curious vases of brass,; I would give them tripods, the usual re-
ward of the valiant Greeks ; nor should the presents I would make
you be the least in point of value, had I a cabinet enriched with
the master-pieces either of Parrhasius or Seopas \ the one a cele-
brated statuary, the other a curious painter, equally inimitable in
representing sometimes a man, sometimes a god.

But I am not so rich, an<t il is fortunate for me that you are so
well provided with such curiosities that you wish for no more.

You love poetry, / know: with that I can gratify you, and show
its worth and uxe : for neither marble statues, witfi pompous in-
scriptions, which t/cem to restore breath and life to illustrious gene-
rals some years after their death, nor the precipitate flight of llau-

NOTE3.

1. Commodus.] This wtord should be join-
ed with donareni, donarem coinnwdus, 1 would
give willingly, cheerfully.

2. Ceiisorine.] This is C. Marcius Censo-
linus, who WHS consul with Asinius Gallus in
the 745th year of the city. He died about
fijht years after Horace. Velleius Patercu-
lus speaks ut' the regret occasioned by his
death in very strong terms; Obiisse Censo-
/inum graciler tulit civitas, virum demcrendis
homitiilnis genittim.

6. Pturhasius.] He was a celebrated
painter, born at lv,<liesus, cotcmporary with
Zeuxis, who lived about four hundred years
before Christ. Pliny says of him : Primus
symmetriam pictura; didit, primus argutias
vitltus, el.cgant.iam capilli, venustatem oris,
ainfcsiioTU urtificum in tineis extremis paiam
adefjttu. H<ec dt in pictura summa suL-tili-
tju.

8. /V r f haminem ponere, ?iunc Deum.}
Parihasius liad painted a Theseus. He hai
also painted in the same picttire Meleager,
Hercules, and Per-e\H j and in anotht-r, JE,-
neas, Castor, and Pollux. Seopas had made
a statue of a Venus, a Phaeton, an Apollo, a
Vesta, &c. and the greatest part of these
statues and pictures were at Home. To these
representations the poet happify alludes.

1O. Ant. animus.] Horace does not here
say to Censorinus that he has no taste for
statues or pictures ; that would have been a
reproach which had but ill agreed with what
he says immediately before, that he was well
provided with them, Nee tiki est animus egens
taiittm ddiciarum. You are not covetous of
these possessions, you are content with what
you have, and desire no more. For the in-
satiable covetousness to which Horace here
refers is a great defect of the mind.

363 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. IV.

Rcjectseque retrorsum Annibalis mhiiB;

Non iinpendia Carthagiriis impife,

Ejus, qui domita nomen ab Africa

Lucratus rediit, clarius indicant

.Laudes, quam Calabrae Pierides : neque, 20

Si charttfi sileant quod bene feceris,

Mercedem tuleris. Quid foret Iliaj

Mavortisque pucr, si taciturnitas

Obstaret mentis invida Romuli ?

Ereptum Stygiis fluctibus ^Eacum 125

Virtus, et favor, et lingua potentium

Vatum, divitibus consecrat insulis.

Dignum laude viium Musa vetat mori ;

Coelo Musa beat. Sic Jovis interest

Optatis epulis impiger Hercules ; 30

Clarum Tyndaridw sidus ab infimis

Quassas eripiunt aequoribus rates ;

Ornatus viridi tempora pampino,

Liber vota bonos ducit ad exitus.

ORDO.

irorsum ; non iinpendia Carthaginia impiae, diTitil)us /Eacum ercptum Stygiis fluctibub.
clarius indicant laudes ejus, qui rediit lucra- Musa vetat virum dignum laude mori ;

tus nomen ah Africa domita, quam Calabrae eumr/iic musa beat coelo. Sic impiger Her-

Pierides: neque, si chnvtie sileant, tu tuleris rules interest optatis epulis Jovis ; SH: Tyn-

mercedem quod bene feceris. Quid foret daridae, clarum sidus, eripiunt quas&as rates ab

puer Ilia? Mavortisque, si invida taeiiunatis infimis ;equoribus; sic Liber, ornatus tem-

obstaret meritis Romuli ? Virtus et favor, ot pnra viridi pampino, ducit vota supplicantium

lingua potentium vatum, consecrat iusulis ad Lonos cxilus.

NOTES.

16. RejccUeque rettvfjxm.] Ancici;t in- where Hannibal sr.ys to Scipio, Hie cent's

terpreters take miiur- rgictte retrorsum siiiiply ante mnnia prup,' (jUes.ia: j,ai.,itf, quJ-us tcr-

for rcmolae, pro nihilv dm /,/-, but Hcrati; rui vcstram itrJ-cm, ea pro mea dfprecanlem.
had in view tliat, Scipio passing into Afiica, 17. Non itnpendta Ccri.'-:a^iii.is impite.\

Hannibal u-as obliged to follow him, and em- Many manuscripts and editions have innmdia.

ploy in the defence of his own coir.itry all the Now it is certain, that the Scipio of whom

forces wherewith he hud threatened Italy; Ennius sang was jiot he nio destroyed and),

hence Horace s^ys rrjertir relrvritMi, Pos- bun^fCaithage, but he that laid it uiiftcrtri-

sibly he had in his eye that passage of Livy, bute ; w'aich iiistoiki.! fact is attested by the

ODE VIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

369

nibal, forced to return whence he came after all his menaces, nor
impious Carthage made tributary to Rome, so loudly proclaim the
praises of that hero who, by conquering Africa, acquired the glo-
rious surname of Africanus, as the Calabrian muses; nor would
your virtue ever meet with its just reward, were it not for poetry.
What would, by this time, have become of the very name df Romu-
lus, the son of Ilia and Mars, if silence, jealous of his glory, 'had
buried all his brave actions in oblivion ? It was the strength of
numbers, the credit of great poets, and the harmony and merit of
their verses, that rescued <Kacus from the Stygian lake, and placed
him in the blessed islands, where he is adored as a god.

The muses forbid the man to die who truly merits praise, and
give him a place among the happy in heaven. Thus laborious
Hercules has a seat at Jupiter's table, which he much longed for ;
thus Castor and Pollux*, those bright constellations, rescue the ships
shattered by a storm from the bosom of the deep ; and thus Bacchus,
always adorned with a vine-branch, brings the desires of those who
own his power, to a happy issue.

* The sons of Tyndarus.

NOTES.

tribune Titus Sempronius Gracchus, though
an enemy of Scipio. See Tit. Liv. L. 38..
C. 53 : so that those who read incendia,
make Horace confound not only time in re-
ferring to the second Punic war what did not
happen Itefore the third, but also confound
persons, in referring to the great Scipio what
was done fifty years afterwards by Scipio
^Emilianug,

25. Ereplum Stygiis fiuctilus JEacum.']
He says that the poets have a power to rescue
men from oblivion, and enrol them among
the gods; that by their credit jEacus holds a
very honourable place in the Elysian fields ;
that Hercules is, by them, seated at the table
of Jupiter; Castor and Pollut are appointed
to guard from shipwreck vessels when attacked
by a storm ; and Bacchus hears the vows of
those who invoke him. Thus he gives us to

understand, what kind of assent people of
good sense gave to those fables, of which
their theology was full.

26. Firtus.~\ He does not here mean
virtus Mud, the virtue of yacus, but virtus
valum.

34. fota. lonosduritadexitus] We ought
to take particular notice of this expression.
Instead of saying simply, Bacchus deus est,
he says, Ditcit vo!a hominum adbonos exitus:
for vows were addressed only to the gods.
This is what Virgil says to t)aphnis in hi
fifth eclogue ;

Damnalis tu quoque votis.

The meaning is, " You shall hear the vows
" of men, and thereby oblige them to make
" acknowledgement, and acquit themselves
" of their wows,"

VOL. I.

370 Q. HORATI1 CARMINA. LIB. IV

ODE IX.

Horace raises his voice to the highest pitch, in 'order to sing the praises of a
hero, wise, upright, disinterested, and faithful to his country. Yet, who
would believe it ? the subject of all this praise was a base, covetous, effemi-
nate traitor. Is this therefore a downright flattery in the poet, or is it by
way of irony ? Neither the one, nor the other, is the case. Lollius was a
double deceitful man, and had hitherto appeared only in a favourable light.
No wonder then that Horace was deceived; Augustus himself was so at the
same time. Those who are acquainted with courts, are not ignorant that
characters of this kind are very common. Deceived by an appearance of

AD LOLLIUM.

NE forte credas interitura, quse
Longe sonantem natus ad Aufidum,
Non ante vulgatas per artes

Verba loquor socianda chordis.

Non, si priores Mseonius tenet 5

Sedes Homerus, Pindaricae latent,
Cepeque, et Alcaei minaces,
Stesichorique graves Camenae :

ORDO.

O Lolli, ne forte credas verba interitura Si Maeonius Homerus tenet priores sedes,

quse ego natus ad Aufidum longe sonantem Pindaricae, Ceaeque, et Cameiite Alcaei mi-

loquor socianda chordis, per artes non ante naces, gravesque Camenae Stesichori non ideo

tulgatas. latent : nee setas delerit, si quid Anacreon

^PP

NOTES.

1. Ne forte credos.] This first part con- by this river, now called Offanto. As it
sists of twelve verses. In it he combats two was a very savage and unpolished country,
prejudices equally unjust and disadvantageous quite a stranger to poetry and poets, Horace
to authors : the first is, when judgement is makes express mention of it, to destroy the
made of the merit of a poet from the coun- disadvantageous prejudices which the plact of
try in which he was born ; the second, when his nativity might raise agaiust his works,
a poet is undervalued who has not arrived at and, at the same time, procure the greater
the utmost perfection of his art. It is very honour to himself: for it was very wonderful,
improper to determine in this manner. There that such a country as this, unknown to Apollo
is no country but what may produce excel- and the muses, should give birth to a poet,
lent geniuses ;and, among the unequal talents whose verses have been judged worthy of im-
that poets are possessed of, a candid judjre mortality, and will, in all probability, find it.
will find different degrees of merit, all worthy This, in my opinion, is the true sense of the
of esteem. passage.

2. Longe sonantem natus ad Aufidum.] 5. Non, si primes Meeonius tenet,"] Although
Horace was of Apulia, which was watered Homer was the greatest of all poets, and most

ODE IX. HORACE'S ODES. 371

ODE IX.

probity, we offer up our incense to them ; yet can we not be said to be im-
posed upon. The virtue, whose mask they carry, is the only object of our
regard and homage. This ode consists of three eulogiums ; the first in fa-
vour of his verse ; the second of poetry in general ; and the third of LolHus.
All these are valuable, though some may think that the poet is too long in
coming to his hero. We must necessarily fix the date of this ode between
the year 738, when Lollius defeated the Germans, and 746, which was
the last of Horace.

TO LOLLIUS.

Do not imagine, Lollius, because I was born near the river Aufidus,
whose rolling streams are heard at a great distance, that the poems
I compose and sing on my lyre, an art which I first taught the Ro-
mans, will be sunk in oblivion.

Though Homer is the prince of poets, yet Pindar and Simonides,
the threatening strains of Alcaeus, and the grave and majestic lines
of Stesichorus, are still read with pleasure j nor has time been able to

NOTES.

worthy of a serious perusal ; we may read would be admired, were they but rightly un-

also, with great pleasure, Alceeus, Simonides, derstood.

Anacreon, Pindar, and Sappho. Horace 7. Cete Camente.} The muses of Ceos,

means, that though these last had not attain- that is, the works of Simonides, who was of

ed the utmost perfection of their art, their Ceos, an island in the ;Egean sea.

verses were worthy of being transmitted to "]. Alctei tninacea.^ He calls the muses

the latest posterity. of Alraeus, minaces, because he wrote against

5. Mteonius.] Horace always calls Homer the tyrants, of whom he was a great enemy.
Mteanian, that is, Lydian ; by which we His style is noble and strong, and marks ad-
learn, that he followed the opinion of those mirably the qualities of his soul and courage,
who thought he was of Smyrna. (.Theocritus 8 . Stesichori graves Camaiee.] Stcsichorus
and Simonides, whose testimony is yet more was of Himera, a city of Sicily ; his style wag
considerable, say, that he was of Chios, majestic and copiwis, whence Horace calls
Theocritus calls him the Chian Bard, and his verses gram , which agrees very well with
Simonides, the Man of Chios. the character Quintilian has given of him,

6. Pindaricfs latent.'] The great idea Ho- cap. 10. lib. 1. Stesichnru* c/uam sit ingniio
race had of Pindar, does not prevent him talidus, materice qitoque ostmdnnt, -maxima
from doing justice to Homer, and allowing lella et daritsimos canrntem duces ft Efrici
him the superiority ; nor does his veneration car-minis onera li/ra sustinrntem : redd't enim
of Homer preclude nis acknowledging Pindar's personis in agenda fimiil loq <tendnque delitam
merit, and giving him the praises which he dignitatem, ac, si lenuifset muditm, cidftur
deserved. It is to he wished, that mankind amulari proximus Homerum potuitse, sed
would now judge with the same equity both redundat atque effundiftir, quod ut est repre*
of the one ud the other. It a certain they h&idendum, ila copies vitium est.

sBa

372 Q. HORAT1I CARMINA.

Nee, si quid olim lusit Anacreon,

Delevit setas : spirat adhuc amor,

Vivuntque commissi calores

^Eoliae fidibus puellae.
Non sola comtos arsit adulteri
Crines, et aurum vestibus illitum
Mirata, regalesque cultus,

Et comites, Helene Lacsena ;
Primusve Teucer tela Cydonio
Direxit arcu : non semel Ilios
Vexata : non pugnavit ingens

Idomeneus Sthenelusque solus
Dicenda Musis proelia : non terox
Hector, vel.acer Deiphobus, graves
Excepit ictus pro pudicis

Conjugibus puerisque primus.

LIB. IV,
10

15
20

ORDO.

lusit olim : amor .fEoliae puellae adhuc spirat, semel vexatacst : non solus ingens Idomeneuf

caloresque commissi fidibus vivunt. Sthenelusve pugnavit proelia dicenda musis :

Helene Lacaena non sola arsit mirata ferox Hector vel acer Deiphobus non prim u*

comptos crines adulteri, et aurum illitum ves- excepit graves ictus pro pudicis conjugibus

tibus, regalesque cultus, et comites ; Teucerve puerisque.
primus direxit tela Cydonio arcu : Ilios non

NOTES.

" Tlie force of Stesichorus' genius appears
" from the subject he treats ; for he sings of
" dreadful wars, and the most celebrated
" commanders, and sustains with his harp
" all the weight and majesty of an epic
" poem. He makes the heroes act and speak
" with a dignity becoming their character ;
" and had he known how to moderate his
" genius and vivacity, none would havr ap-
" proached nearer to Homer; but he is too
" diffusive and incapable to sustain himself,
" which is really a fault, but a fault proceed-
" ing from too great an abundance."

10. Spirat adhuc amor.] Tin's passage
ought to be construed in the following man-
ner; Amor JEolite fudlfe spirat adhuc, et
ejus caiores cmnmtssi fulibus. There are only
two odes of Sappho which have escaped the
ruins of time; but they are sufficient to
make us sensible of this truth, that her love
till survives in her verse. This turn of
Horace seems to me charming, and the eulo-
ghirn he bestows on her works great and no-

ble. She was of Mitylene, a city of the
^Eolians.

14. Et aurum vestibus illitum.'] The
Phrygians were the first inventors of embroi-
dery, whence embroiderers were called Phry-
giones, the art of embroidery, ars Phrygionia f
and embroidered habits, vet,les acupictte, ves-
ta, PhrygicK. Ovid, in his epistle of Laoda-
mia, thus speaks of the magnificence of Paris :

Pcnerat, utfama est, multo spectalnlis auro,
Quique suo Phryguu corpore ferret opes.

16. Comites.'] When Paris sailed for La-
cedemon, he had not only a great number of
vassals, but was accompanied by several
princes, who each brought along with them
a numerous train. Ovid, in the same epistle,
observes,

Classe virisyue potcns, per quee fera bella

geruntur,
Et sequitur regni pars quota quemquc stw.

ODE IX.

HORACE'S ODES.

373

destroy the wanton airs that Anacreon sang many years ago.
Sappho's amorous songs still breathe her soft passion, and her ar-
dent love seems even now to move the strings of her lute.

Helen, that charming Lacedemonian princess, is not the only
lady that has been captivated with the beautiful locks, the magnifi-
cent dress, royal equipage and splendor of the court of an adulter-
ous prince ; nor was Teucer the first that sent unerring shafts from
a Cydonian bow : Troy has been besieged more than once ; there
are others besides brave Idomeneus and Sthenelus that have fought
battles worthy of being celebrated by the muses. Bold Hector and
stern Deiphobns are not the first who have received mortal wounds
in fighting for their country *.

* Chaste wives and children.
NOTES.

17. Cydonio arcu.~] The Cydonian bow,
that is, the Cretan ; for Cydon was one of
the principal cities of that isle, which was
ttored with the hest canes for arrows, and
the best wood for bows; which is the reason
that the bows and arrows of Crete were so
much spoken of by the ancients.

16. Helene Lactena.'] This word Lacaena,
Lacedemonian, makes all the beauty of these
four lines ; for by means of this single epi-
thet, Horace gives a reason for the sui prise
and admiration raised in Helen upon seeing
the magnificence and pompous equipage of
Paris; for the Lacedaemonians were very
simple in their habits, and great enemies to
all expense. Ovid, in the letter of Paris to
Helen, says,

Parca sed est Sparte ; tu cultu dii-ite digjia :
Ad lalem jormam nonjacit isle locus.

Hancfaciem largis sinejine paratiius uti,
Deliriisque dccet luxuriare novis.

Cum videos cffttus noslra de gmte vircrum,
Qualern Dardanidas credit habcre nurus f

See the prose-translation of Ovid's epistles.

" At Sparta they are too simple in their
' hibit, whereas you ought always to be
' magnificently clothed. That place is far
' from being advantageous to your beauty ;
' for as your form and, appearance are so
'graceful, yon --should be - continually em-
' ployed in adorning yourself, and setting off
' your person by change of habit. When you
' see the rich and magnificent dress of the
' male part of our nation, what do you ima-
' gine must that of the ladies be?"

18. Nan semel Ilios vexata.] Troy had
been twice besieged before the reign of
Priam, first by Hercules, and then by the A-
mazons.

19. Ingens.] This epithet was commonly
used to denote the size and stature of the
body; but here it is employed to express the
qualities of the soul, and greatness of the
mind. Thus Horace says of Antiochus,

ct ingentcm Antiochum. Ode 6. Lib. 3.

And Ovid addressing Livia, cleg. 3. b. 2, de
Panto ;

Tu qitoqiie convenient ingenli nvpta marilo.

Idomeneus was the son of Deucalion, and
grandson cf Minos king or Crete. He was
one of the bravest generals in the Grecian
army.

22. Graves excepit ictus.] By these words,
graves ictus, Horace explains the history of
the death of Hector and Deiphobns. The
former, after having received numberless
wounds, was drawn thrice round the walls of
Troy; and Deiphobus was cruelly handled
by Menelaus, who ordered his nose, ears, and
hands, to be cut off. He had married Helen
after the death of his brother Paris, and she
perfidiously gave him up 'to Menelaus her
first husband, that she might thereby obtain
the pardon of her crimes.

23. Pro pudids cmjugilus puerisqiie.'] If
Horace had expressed himself in this manner
with regard to the wife of Deiphobus, he had
been guilty of a very considerable error ; lor
Deiphobu* never had any wife but Helen,

S74

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. IV.

Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona

Multi ; sed omnes illacrymabiles

Urgentur, ignotique, longi

Nocte, carent quia vate sacro.
Paulum sepulta; distat inertiae
Celata virtus. Non ego te meis
Chartis inornatum sileri,

Totve tuos patiar labores
Impune, Lolli, carpere lividas
Obliviones. Est animus tibi
Rerumque prudens, et secundis
Temporibus dubiisque rectus ;
Vindex avarae fraudis, et abstinens
Ducentis ad se cuncta pecuniae ;
Consulque non unius anni,

Sed quoties bonus atque fidus
Judex honestum proetulit utili, et
Rejecit alto dona nocentium

OR DO.

Multi fortes vixere ante Agamemnona;
sed omnes illachrymabiles ignotique urgentur
longa nocte, quia carent vate sacro. Virtus
celata paulum (iistat inertise sepultae.

Lolli, ego non patiar te sileri inornatum
ehartis meis, lividasque obliviones impune
carpere tuos tot labores.

Animus est tibi, prudensqrie rerum, et

rectus, secundis dubiisque temporibus ; vin-
dex es avane fraudis et abstinens pecunisp du-
centis cuncta ad se; consulque non unius
anni, sed quoties judex bonus atque fidus
praetulit honestum utili, et rejecit dona no-
centium alto vultu, et victor explicuit arma
sua per catervas obstantes.

NOTES.

whom he espoused after the death of his bro-
ther Paris. Almost every one knows that
Helen could not, with justice, have been call-
ed pudex canjux, chaste, faithful, as she was
tfee cause of her husband's death, and opened
the door to Menelaus, who slew him in his
bed. Besides, Deiphobus had not been long
enough married to Helen to have any child-
ren by her. Conjuges therefore is here a
general word signifying the ladies, as in the
fourth ode of this book.

25. Pixere fortes cmte Agamemnona.'] Ho-
mer speaks very often of the exploits of Aga-
memnon ; he extols to the skies his valour
and prudence, and in one single verse gives
him the highest eulogium that can be given
to a king. He was at the same time a good
king, and an excellent warrior.

33. LoHi.] We have already given the
character of Lollius in the introduction to
this ode, and therefore it will not be neces-
sary to insist upon it here. Horace wrote

this eulogium before he discovered what he
really was.

37. Vindex avetrte fraudis' et abstinent.}
When we are too lavish of our praises of great
men before their death, we are often exposed
to the danger of being afterwards ashamed of
those praises we have so liberally given them.
Lollius so little deserved those which Horace
here gives him, that he was one of the most
covetous and vicious men in the world. But
his covetousness and other vices were not
known at the time when Horace wrote to
him ; he had taken care to conceal them un-
der the mask of virtue, and had succeeded so
well, that Augustus himself was deceived, and
intrusted him with the education of his grand-
son. His true character was not known at
Rome, till about eight years after the death
of Horace. This appears manifestly by a
passage of Velleius, who ought to be credited
in an afiair of which he had been witness.
Speaking of the year in which Cains Ceesar

ODE IX.

HORACE'S ODES.

375

There were many brave generals before Agamemnon; but as
they had no poet to immortalise their names, they are all gone un-
lamented, and buried in eternal oblivion. Valour, that lies con-
cealed unsung, differs very little from cowardice that is lost to
fame.

As for you, dear Lollius, I design to transmit your great charac-
ter to posterity by my verses, nor will I suffer so glorious a succes-
sion of shining actions, as yours have been, to fall a prey to oblivion
for want of being celebrated.

You are distinguished for your greatness of soul and consum-
mate prudence in all your affairs, and for your steadiness of mind
in adversity as well as prosperity. You are a mortal enemy to
fraud and avarice, and proof against the charms of all-attracting
gold. You did not hold the consulate once, and for the ordinary term
of a year only, but have executed that great office as often as, acting
the part of an impartial and incorrupt judge, you have sacrificed
your interest to your duty, and rejected, with the utmost disdain,

NOTES.

had an interview with the king of the Par-
thians in an island of the Euphrates, viz. the
year of the city 7 5 -3, he says: Quo tempore
M. Lollii, qtiem veluti moderatorem juvmtte
filii sui Augustus essc volucrat, perfida et
plena subdoli ac versuti animi consilia, per
Partkum indicala Cessari, fama iwlgavit.
" At that time the Parthian king discovered
" to Caesar the artful and perfidious designs
<( of Lollius, to whom Augustus had in-
" trusted the education of his ji'randson."
He adds, that Lollius died a few days after,
not without some suspicion of suicide. This
may serve to justify Horace.

3 9. Consulque non unius anni.~\ Lollius
was consul in the year of the city 732. As
his consulate lasted but one year, and as, ac-
cording to the maxims of the Stoics, the
wise and virtuous have always the most emi-
nent charges, it not being in the power of
the people to make them quit the marks of
their dignity ; Horace takes thence occasion
to say, that Lollius had not been the consul
of a single year, but all the time that he ex-
ercised his virtue. This passage evidently
proves, that the ode was not written the very
year that Lollius was consul, as the greater
part of interpreters have thought, but a long
time after. It now only remains that we ex-
amine the expression ;

i Est animus tibi, &c.

Consulque non unius anni.

Torrentius thinks it admirable, because, says
he, it is the mind which contributes to out
true value, and makes us to be what we are.
Dacier, on the contrary, thinks it highly
blameable, and cannot endure animus consul,
animus rejecit alto vultu dona : it is, accord-
ing to him, a vicious affectation, which ought
not to be excused. Bentley undertakes to
defend it, and collects several examples,
where all is ascribed to the mind that can be
said of the person. Animus contemtor,
animus rex, animus rector, animus Libe-
rator, tsstimatnr, deprecator, contemplatar,
admirator, speculator, censor, &c. In an-
swer to this, Dacier observes, that none of
all these examples come up to animus consul-
all these terms, whether proper or figurative,
may very well be applied to the mind ; but
we can never, with any propriety, apply it to
the names of offices and dignities, and animus
consul can never be looH upon but as an
expression very much out of the way.

40. Sed quoties bonus atquejtdus judex.]
Commentators are very much at a loss to
know what could oblige Horace here to call
the same person a judge, whom in another
verse he had called consul, and at last have
agreed upon this as the reason, because it
was the duty of the consul to consult the good
of the commonwealth, and to judge. Who
doubts this ? But they have very much mis-
understood the passage. For Horace does
not here speak of a person who is invested

376 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Vultu, et per obstantes catervas

Explicuit sua victor arma.

Non possidentem multa voeaveris 45

Recte beatum : rectius occupat
Nomen beati, qui Deorum
Muneribus sapienter uti,
Duramque callet pauperieni pati,

Pejusque letho flagitium timet : 50

Non ille pro caris amicis
Aut patria thnidus perire.

ORDO.

Non rccte voeaveris beatum possidentem letho.

multa : rectids occupat tuimr n beati, qui cal- Ille non tAt tirnidu* perire pro caris sirn-

let sapienter uti muneribus Deorum, patique cis aut patria.
duram pauperiem, t'auetque flagitium pejus

NOTES.

with any public office ; on the contrary, he successfully uses the means which \irtue af-

spcaks of one who is out of charge, but who fords for combating the passions. This is

yet judges m the same manner as if lie were the same maxim which Horace exj. lairs in

a chief magi -irate. Horace tells Lcllins, that the second ode t>f the second book, and yet

although the year of his consulship be ex- more precisely in the second ode of the third

pired, yet be 'still continues to exetcise that book, where he saj s of virtue,

office so long as he judges equitably, and

preft rs the honestvm to the ut/le. And in 'Nee simit aut p nnit secures

this he follows the sentiments of the Stoics, Arbitrio pupuluria aura:.

who maintained that v'ntue never conferred

the sceptre, the diadem, or the crown of lau- It is in the same sen?e that Plutarch says,

rel, but upon him who could regard heaps of " Nature has designed m:;n for rule, for a

gold with an unconcerned eye ; and explains "perpetual rule." It is ilius that Cicero

this great truth, that the wise man is not only proves, fiom the example of Sripio Na^ica,

then consul when the people are pleased to that one endowed with true wisdom can never

clothe him with that dignity, but that he ex- be a private man.

ercises the high charge every time that he

ODE IX.

HORACE'S ODES.

377

the offers of those who would have bribed you, triumphing over
the crowd of opposers of justice, without displaying any other
than your own virtues.

He that possesses great wealth is not, on that account, to be pro-
nounced happy ; he m.iy, with more justice, be said to be so who
makes a prudent use of the good things the gods have given him ;
who can patiently hear the difficulties of poverty, and is more afraid
of doing a dishonourable action, than of death itself. '

A man of this character will be always ready to sacrifice his life
for his friends and his country.

NOTES.

43. Per o^^tantex catervas.~\ Through the
midst of that crowd of enemies so he calls
our passions and the temptations that sur-
round us.

44. Sna arma.~] Reason, integrity, ab-
stinence, disinterestedness, courage, and
magnanimity. This is the true meaning,
and nothing can he more evidently absurd
than the explication of some, who t ke ihese
expressions in a literal sense, and explain nb-
stanles caferva*, of the Spaniards, and sua
arma, of the arms of ihe Romans, the
army of Lo'lius, who knew so well how to
disengage himself from his enemies.

45. :Vo/f pnssid'iilem mu I la i-nt averts rccte
leainm.] This is founded upon the er-
roneous use of the word Ivoliis among the
Romans, who common'.v applied it to a rich
man whereas the Stoics used it only to sig-
nify a man who was au entire master of hi*

passions, and enjoyed a perfect liberty.

50. Pejvsque itthdjldgiftuni time."] Fla-
gilium ; the shame which arises from th
consciousness of having done a bad action.
Horace had drawn this sentiment not only
fn,m the philosophy of the Stoics, but also
from the precepts of Socrates, who, when
dying, discovered evidently the strong per-
suasion he had, that the sh tine of having
done any thins indecent or unjust, was mor
to be feared than deaih.

5 1 . NOH Me pro car is amids.'] This is a
necessary consequence -f the temper of mind
before mentioned by Horace. A man who
is less afraid of death than doing a shameful
action, is always re^dy to lose his life for the
sake of his country and friends, because it
would be accounted base to refuse to dit for
their service.

378 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

ODE X.

Horace endeavours to soften the cruelty of young Ligurin, of whom he had
been for some time enamoured ; and, to come to his point, he does not
amuse himself with making either complaints or reproaches, or even so
much as speaking of his passion ; he only tells us, by this example, that

AD LIGURINUM.

O CRUDELIS adhuc, et Veneris muneribus potens,

Insperata tuae cum vcniet pluma superbiae,

Et, quae nunc humeris involitant, deciderint comae,

Nunc et qui color est puniceae flore prior rosae,

Mutatus Ligurinum in faciem verterit hispidam ; 5

Dices, Heu, (quoties te speculo videris alterum)

Quae mens est hodie, cur eadem non puero fuit ?

Vel cur his animis incolumes non redeunt genae ?

ORDO.

O Ligvrine, adhuc crudelis et potens mu- rinum in faciem hispidam , dices (quoties vi-

neribus Veneris, cum insperata pluma veniet deris te alternm in speculo), " Heu, cur non

tuae superbiae, et conix, quae nunc involitant " eadem mens fuit mihi puero, quae est ho-

humeris, deciderint, et color, qui nunc prior " die ? Vel cur bis animis nou redeunt geuas

tet flore punicece rosa, mutatus verterit Ligu- " incolumes ?"

NOTES.

2. Insperata iua turn veniet pluma ftijjer- him, signifies the same with wings, Horace

lite."] Dacier is of opinion, that the inter- imitating in this the st)lc of the Greeks and

preters of Horace have quite mistaken the eastern nations, who used to express them-

mfaning of this line. Pluma, according to selves in this manner, when thej wanted t

ODE X. HORACE'S ODES. 37$

ODE X.

one day we may repent of having made so bad an use of our youth. The
ode is very simple and natural, yet has a great delicacy and nobleness in the
expressions. It was written some time after the first of the same book.

TO LIGURIN.

LIGURIN, still cruel, and proud of those graces wherewith Venus
has favoured you, when that which makes you now so haughty and
disdainful, shall unexpectedly leave you, when those beautiful
locks, that now flow upon your shoulders, shall fall off, and, instead
of that charming bloom on your cheeks, that outdoes the colour of
the damask rose, there shall appear nothing but wrinkles, then will
you be ready to cry out, as often as you view in your glass how
much you are altered, " Ah, why was not I of the same mind when
" young, that I am now ? or why, with my present sentiments,
" have not I the beauty I had when young ?"

NOTES.

tay that any thing was gone, or had disap- read, Ligurine, infaciemverterithispidam;
peared. In this way of conceiving it, the verterit for verterit se; which is not incon-
passage is extremely beautiful : When your sistent with the Latin idiom. But we can-
pride shall have taken wings, that is, when not say color verlit se in faciem hispidam ;
you shall have lost that which gave occasion whereas, color mutalus Ligurinum vertit in
to your pride, &c. which is very natural. faciem hispidam, is a very elegant way of

5. Ligurinum in faciem verterit hispidam.] speaking.
Torreuuus is of opinion that we ought to

380 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

ODE XL

Horace prays Phyllis to come and celebrate with him the birth-day of Mae-
cenas ; and that nothing might disturb the joys of this happy day, he

AD PHYLLIDEM.

EST mihi nonum superantis annum
Plenus Albani cadus ; est in horto,
Phylli, nectendis apium coronis j

Est ederae vis

Multa, qua crines religata fulges : 5

Ridet argento domus ; ara, castis
Vincta verbenis, avet immolato

Spargier agno.

Cuncta festinat manus : hue et illuc

CursitaQt mistae pueris puellae : 10

Sordidum flammfs trepidant rotantes

Vertice fumum.

Ut tamen noris quibus advoceris
Gaudiis; Idus tibi sunt agendas,

ORDO.

O Phylli, est mihi catlus plemis vini Al- festinat : puellae mista ptteris hue et illue

bani superantis annum nonum ; est in horto cursitant : arnraa> trepidant rotantes sor-

apium nectendis coronis; est multa vis ederse, didum fumum vertice.

qua religata crines fulges; c!on;us ridet ar- Ut tamen noris quibus gatuliis advoceris ;

gento ; ara, vincta verbenis castis, avet Idus sunt tibi agenda, qui dies findit Apri-

tpargier agno immo'ato. Cuncta n>anus lem mensem uiurina; Veueris; dies jure

NOTES.

a. j^llani.'] We have formerly spoken of made, Book second, Ode fourth, which wa

the city of Aiba. The adjacent territory was written some years before this. If it be the

in great reputation on account of its excellent same, she followed the advice of Horace,

vine-trees. Dionysius Halicamassensis says overcame the passion she had for Telephus,

in his first Book, that the wine of Alba was and about two years after married a young

of in exquisite taste and pleasing colour, and stranger, whose name was Xanthias Phoceus.

that, Falernian excrpted, it surpassed in 6. P.idrt argento domus.] In Horace't

goodness" all others. Pliny, however, gives it time the Romans were very magnificent in

only the third place among the wines of their household-furniture, and expended a

Italy. great deal of money on plate. They had

0. Phylli."] I cannot determine whether tables, candlesticks, bowls, c. all of silver,

this be the same Phyllis of whom mention is and usually adorned with the most curious

ODE XL HORACE'S ODES. 381

ODE XI.

endeavours to guard her from the passion she had for Telephus, who was
beloved by another. The whole is very natural and pleasing.

TO PHYLLIS.

DEAR Phyllis, I have in my cellar a cask untouched of fine Alban
wine, full nine years old or more, and in my garden parsley for gar-
lands, and plenty of ivy, which makes you look so charming when
you bind up your hair with it. My house shines with plate ; my
altar is crowned with, sacred vervain, and waits for nothing but to
be sprinkled with the blood of a lamb. All hands are at work to
prepare the feast. My boys and girls fly from place to place. The
quivering flames throw circling clouds of smoke into the air.

But that you may not be unacquainted to what feast I invite you,
know, Phyllis, that it is to soleninise the ides which divide the

NOTES.

workmanship. It appears, by a passage in nify the same as sacriftcare, in which sense
Virgil, that Augustus had the whole history it is here used by the poet,
of his family engraven upon his plate. Horace 10. Cursitant mistat pueris puella;.'] To
says, that he will spare nothing to render the give a view of the magnificence wherewith h
feast as grand as possible, and that all his intended to celebrate the birth-day of Mae-
best plate and furniture shall be employed. cenas, he does not content himself with

6. Castis vincta varbenis.] All kinds of describing the great preparations he was

herbs that were used by the Romans in their making : he farther gives an account of the

sacrifices, were called by the common name persons that were to assist and serve ; for it

ofverbenee: the altar was environed with was the custom, on these occasions of show

them ; and Donatus very well remarks upon and ostentation, to be serVed by an equal

that passage of Terence ; Ex ara hinc sume number of boys and girls.
verbenas tili. Ferben<e (says he) redimicula 14. Idus.~\ This word comes from the

suntararum. Tuscan Iduare, which signifies to divide-

8. Spftrgier agno,~] Agno immolato, for and the Ides, which were about the middle

sanguine ugni immolati. It is here to be ob- of the month, were always the ninth day

served, that the immolatio was properly from the Nones ; when these were on the

nothing more than the throwing some sort of fifth of the month, the ides were on the

corn and frankincense, together with the thirteenth, and when they were on the

mola, bran or meal, mixed with salt, upon seventh, which happened only in March,

the head of the beast : but, as this immedi- May, July, and October, the ides were on

ately preceded the act of sacrificing, the the fifteenth,
word immolare came by a synecdoche to sig-

382 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Qui dies mensem Veneris marinas 15

Findit Aprilem ;
Jure solennis mihi, sanctiorque
Pene natali proprio, quod ex hac
Luce Maecenas meus affluentes

Ordinat annos. 20

Telephum, quern tu petis, occupavit,
Non tuae sortisjuvenem, puella
Dives et lasciva, tenetque grata

Compede vinctum.

Terret ambustus Phaethon avaras 25

Spes ; et exemplum grave praebet ales
Pegasus, terrenum equitem gravatus

Bellerophontem ;

Semper ut te digna sequare, et, ultra

Quam licet sperare, nefas putando, 30

Disparem vites. Age jam, meorum

Finis amorum,

(Non enim posthac alift calebo
Femina) condisce modos, amanda
Voce quos reddas : minuentur atrs& 35

Carmine curas.

ORDO.

solennis mihi, sanctiorque pene natali pro- praebet exemplum grave, ut semper sequar*

prio, quod ex hac luce Maecenas meus ordi- digna te, et vites disparem, putando nefas

nat annos affluentes. sperare ultra quatn licet.

Puella dives et lasciva occupavit Telephum, Age jam, finis meorum amorum (non enira

quern tu petis, juvenem non tuae sortis, te- posthac calebo alia femina), condisce modos

netque vinctum grata compede. Ambustus quos reddas voce amanda : atrae curae minu-

Phaethon terret spes avaras ; et ales Pegasus, entur carmine,
gravatus Bellerophontem equitem terrenum,

NOTES.

If. feneris marinae] There is still ex- Tune cruore de superno ac

tant a fragment of some unknown ancient Spumeo Pontus globo,

poet, where this birth of Venus is described Caerulas inter catervas,

in these terms : Inter et bipedes equos,

Fecit undantem Dionen
In marinis fluctibus.

ODE XI.

HORACE'S ODES.

383

month of April consecrated to sea-born Venus, a day which I have
just cause to celebrate every year ; a birth-day almost to me more
sacred than my own ; for on this happy mom my dear Maecenas
began his life.

Do not fail to come ; for a rich and engaging young lady has
gained the heart of Telephus (whom you in vain admire, as he is
above your rank), and holds him fast in pleasing chains. The fall
of flaming Phaethon warns you not to soar too high ; and Bellero-
phon, whom Pegasus threw because a mortal, affords another
striking instance why you should set bounds to your ambition, and
shows you the folly of attempting to gain the affections of one so far
above you.

Come, dear Phyllis, the last of all my mistresses, for after you I
shall never love another ; come, learn of me some agreeable air to
sing to us with that voice which charms every one who hears it ; a
song will dissipate our gloomy cares.

NOTES.

18. PenenataliproprioJ] Censorinus, ad-
dressing himself to Cerealis, dwells on this
thought in a manner that may serve as an
explication of Horace ; Quum ex te Unique
amiritia honorem, dignitatem, decus, atque
presidium, cuncta deniqite vitce prtsmia re-
cipiam, nefas arlitrar si diem tiutm, qui te
mihi in hanc lurem edidit, meo illo proprio
TUgligtntiiis celdravero ; itle enim mihiviram,
hie Jructtim vita atque ornamentum peperit.

1 9. Affluentes ordinal annos.~] Maecenas
x hoc luce ordinal annos afftuentes : Mae-
cenas from this day reckons his flowing years ;
that is, his years begin from this day ; af-
fluentes, which succeed one another.

21. Tel.ephum.] The same of whom he
speaks, Ode thirteenth, Book first, and Ode
nineteenth, Book third.

25. Terret ambus tut Pharthon.] Almost all
waders know the story of Phaethon, who, as
a certain pledge that he was the son of Phfls-
bus, demanded the liberty of conducting his
chariot. The horses, sensible that they
were not guided by the same hand that used
to manage them, observed no certain path ;
the heaven and the earth began to take Pre,
and all nature was on the point of being re-
duced to its primitive chaoi, if Jupiter, by a

stroke of his thunder, had not precipitated
this rash youth, who fell into the river Po.
The Pythagoreans first invented this fable,
and the followers of Plato afterwards made
use of it to explain the catastrophe of the
world.

26. Ales Pe.zasus, tertfnumeqidtemgrava-
tus.] Horace here says, that Pegasus dis-
dained to carry Bcllerophon, because he was
mortal. But I find that he abuses here the
liberty which poets have taken to accom-
modate ancient fable to their subject : for
it was not for that reason that Pegasus threw
his rider to the ground. Bellerophon, after
he had cleared himself from the calumnies
ofAntea, and defeated the Chimaera, would
farther make use of Pegasus to see what
passed in heaven ; but Jupiter, to punish
his curiosity, sent a brizzle or fly, which so
tormented Pegasus, that he threw his rider
to the earth.

28. Bellernphimtem.'] His first name was
Hipponns ; he culled himself Bellerophon
after he had slain Bellerus kins: of Corinth.
His story is related at full length in the sixth
book of the Iliad ; it fell out about sixteen
hundred and fifty years before the birth of
Christ,

384

Q. HORAT1I CARMINA.

LIB. IV.

ODE XII.

This is the second piece which Horace addresses to Virgil. In the first he
endeavoured to comfort hiai upon the death of a friend ; here he pro-
poses to him a party of pleasure. The spring, which gave occasion to it,
is here represented with all its graces, and makes one of the most beautiful

AD VIRGIL1UM.

JAM veris comites, quae mare temperant,

Impellunt animae lintea Thractee :

Jam nee prata rigent, 'uec fiuvii strepunt

Hiberna nive turgidi.

Nidum ponit, Ityn flebiliter gemens, 5

Infelix avis, et Cecropiee domds

ORDO.

Jam animae Thraciae, comites veris, quac- prata rigent, nee fluvii turgidi nive hibern*
temperant mare, hnpelluut lintea : nee jam strepunt. Hirundo infelix avis, et aeternutn

NOTES.

1. Jam veris comites.] The sequel proves
that Horace does not here speak of the be-
ginning of the spring, but of the spring far
advanced. This icmark is of importance for
the understanding of the ode. By the com-
panions of the spring, he means the zephyrs,
or western winds, which always blow during
that season.

2. Thraciee.~\ This epithet which Horace
gives to the zephyrs, has so great'y puzzled
ome interpreters, that thev have been forced
to think he speaks of the Ete-ian o: north
winds, which he also calls vent urn Tkraciwn,
in the twenty-fifth cde of the first book.
But as these winds can never, with propriety,
be called the companions of the spring,
Torrentins has evidentlv seen the weakness
of that opinion, and has asserted that Horace
speaks only of the zephyrs. But this is all
that is good in the remark of that learned
commentator; for he deceives himself, in
imagining that all the winds may Le called
Thracian, because Thrace was considered as
their habitation. At this rate the south
wind might be called the wind of Thrace ;

that indeed would be very surprising. The
pas^.age is important ; and there is need
only of one sentence to remove the whole
difficulty. Horace had in hi- < e the fo.low-
ing line of the ninth Book of the Iliad :

Bo:s>!j KO.I ZiZu:4<;, Tare wr,6tv a,inoj.

" The north wind and i he zephyr, which blow
" from Thrace." Yet, as -M. Le Fevre ha
admirably remarked, this imitation is to be
looked upon as vicious. Homer, who was of
Cliio, or of Lydia, had reason to call tha
zephyr Thracian, because it came from
Thrace, as the situation of the place de-~
monstraies ; whereas Horace, who was, of
Italy, and wrote in Rome, c;:r,'ht not to have
given it that epithet. !r he an-

cients, we ought carefully to distinguish the
general epithets fix-m those which have^een
given onlyon account of the situation of the
place they were in when they wrote. This
is the only way to avoid the fault into which
Horace has here fallen by not making that
reflection.

ODE XII.

HORACE'S ODES.

385

ODE XII.

parts of this ode. All that can be said about the time of its composition is,
that it was written before the year 735, in which Virgil ventured upon a
voyage into Greece, a little before his death.

TO VIRGIL.

Now the soft gales that accompany the spring smooth the rough
sea, and swell the sails; the meads are no longer covered with hoar-
frost ; nor do the rivers, swelled with winter's snow, make so great a
noise, but flow gently in their channels. The swallow, that un-
happy bird, the eternal reproach of the house of Cecrop?, for reveng-
ing with too much cruelty. the unnatural passion of a barbarous

NOTES.

3. Nee fluvii strepunt, hilerna nive tur-
gidi.] Some commentators have given a
very odd interpretation of this passage. They
explain it as if Horace had said, that the
rivers, increased by the melted snow, did not
any longer murmur in their channels, mak-
ing the swelling of the rivers by the sno'.v the
cause why that murmur ceased, as if the one
were an infallible and necc5sary consequence
of the other. Who does not see that Horace
means quite the contrary; that the rivers
ceased to make a noise, because they were no
more swelled with torrents of melted snow ?
It has been observed already, that in Italy the
spring begins w'th the overflowing of the
river, caused by the torrents of melted snow
that fall down from the mountains at that
season, and, swelling the rivers, hurry them
on with great impetuosity,

- Non sine montium
Clamors vicin&quc

" With a noise that makes the neighbour-
" ing wood and mountains resound." But
soon after, when these torrent? cease, and
the snow is all melted, the rivers run smoothly
in their channels. This is what Horace means,
and which proves that he does not speak here
of the beginning of the. spring, but of ihe
spring already far advauccd.
VOL. I.

5. Niditm ponit, Ityn fieliliter gemms.']
Horace here speaks of the swallow, which
makes its nest in the spring. But in order
thoroughly to understand tne passage, it is ne-
cessary to know the different sentiments of
the ancients upon the fable of the swallow
and the nightingale. Pandion, king of
Athens, h.ul two daughters, Progne and Phi-
lomela ; he gave the elder to Terc us, king of
Thrace-, who conducted her into his own
country. Some years after Tereus, solicited
by his wife, returned to Athens, to request
that Pandion would allow Philomela to go
with him into Thrace, and stay some time
with her sis'.er, who was extremely desirous to
see her. Pandion suffering himself to be
prevailed with, Tereus departed with Philo-
mela. He. had no sooner arrived in Thrace,
than, instead of bringing her to his wife, he
shut her up in a place surrounded with woods,
debauched her, and, to prevent discovery, cut
out her tongue. The unhappy princess con-
tinued in this condition, until, having de-
scribed her misfortune upon a web, she found
means to send it to her sister, who, touched
to the soul at the outrage done to Philomela
and herself, dreamed of nothing but revenge.
The feast of Bacchus, which the Thracians
celebrated with givat pomp and magnificence,
in a short time furnished her with an oppor-
tunity of completing her desire. She went
2C

38G Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Sternum opprobrium, quod male barbaras

Regum est ulta libidines.
Dicunt in tenero gramine pinguium
Custodes ovium carmina fistula ; 10

Delcctantque Deum cui pecus et nigri

Colles Arcadife placent.
Adduxerc sitim tempora, Vii'gili:
Sed, pressum Calibus ducere Liberum
Si gestis, juvenum nobilium cliens, 15

Nardo vina merebere :
Nardi parvus onyx eliciet cadum,
Qui nunc Sulpiciis accubat horreis,
Spes donare novas largus, amaraque

Curarum duere efficax: 20

Ad quae si properas gaudia, cum tuS
Velox merce veni ; non ego te meis
Immunem meditor tingere poculis,

Plena dives ut in domo.

OR DO.

opprobrium Cecropiae domus, quod male ulta berarn pressum Calibus, merebere vina nardo.
est barbaras libidine

es regum, ponit nidum Parvus onyx nardi eliciet cadum, qui nune

flebiliter gemens Ityn. Custodes ovium pin- accubat Sulpiciis horreis, largus donare nova*

uimn hi tenero gramine dicunt carmina spes, efficaxque eluere amara curarum. Ad

stu'a ; delectantque Deum cui pecus et nigri quae gaudia si properas, velox veni cum tua

colles Arcadite placent. merce ; ego nnn meditor tingere te immu-

O Virgili, cliens juvenum nobilium, tern- nem meis poculis, ut dives in plena domo.
pora adduxere sitim ; sed, si gestis ducere Li-

g
fi

NOTES.

out in the night with a troop of Bacchantes, other writers, have affirmed, that Philomel*
delivered Philomela from her confinement, was changed into a swallow, and Prognc into
conducted her to the palace, slew before her a nightingale. I cannot tell what has given
eyes the son she had by Tereus, cut him in rise to this difference of opinion ; but it is
pieces, made him be dressed, and served him not the only one to be met with on this sub-
up to her husband. Philomela, presenting ject ; it is matter of dispute which sister was
herself at the end of the repast, threw upon the wife of Tercus ; there are who pretend it
the table the head of the young Itys. Tereus, was Philomela, and not Progne, as most au-
inad with rage and fury, pursued them with thors have . asserted. The reader may con-
his drawn sword; and in that very moment suit the remarks of Eustathius upon the nine-
Progne was changed into a swallow, Philomela teenth book of the Odyssey. This much we
into a nightingale, Tereus into alapwing, and say, that in order to preserve a resemblance
Itys into a goldfinch. This is the. opinion of of tnith in the fable, we ought to suppose the
the greatest part of the Latins, who have fol- wife changed into a swallow, and the sister
lowed Ovid in the sixth book of hisMetamor- into a nightingale; for by this a reason may
phoses. But the ancient Greeks, Homer, be given whv swallows love the houses, and
Anacreon, Gorgias, Apollodorus, and many search for their young ones there ; whereas

ODE XII.

HORACE'S ODES.

387

king, builds her nest, while she mournfully laments the death of her
beloved Itys. Our shepherds, tending their sleek sheep on the new-
sprung grass, tune their reeds ; and Pa/?, the god who loves the care
of flocks and Arcadia's shady groves, takes great pleasure to hear
their airs.

Dear Virgil, who art a constant companion of our young nobi-
lity, the scorching season must make you thirsty : wherefore, if you
desire to refresh yourself with a glass of Calenian wine at my house,
you.may; but you must bring perfumes for your wine. A small
box of fine essence will command a cask of the best wine Sulpicius
has in his vault, of that wine which inspires us with fresh hopes, and
never fails to dispel all anxious thoughts.

If you wish to be a partner in our mirth, make haste and come,
but bring the essence with you; for I do not pretend to regale you
at free cost, as if I were immensely rich, and had every thing in

NOTES.

the nightingale is fond of the woods, where
she was shut up by Tereus, and whither she
yet loves to repair, to conceal her shame and
lament her misfortunes.

6. Crcropiie domus <tternum opprobrium-]
Pandion, the father of Philomela and Prognc,
was not of the family of Ccerops, the first
king of Athens, who left no successor, Vis
only son Erisicthon dying before him. Horace
therefore here puts the house of Cecrops in
general for the kings of Athens, as it was
usual to say the Ptolemies for the kings of
Egypt, and the Caesars for the Roman em-
perors.

11. Cut peats etnigri colles.'] That is,
who is the god of the flocks, and of Arcadia.
The Greeks and Romans borrowed this man-
ner of speech from the eastern nations, who
used to say, that such a thing pleased a god,
instead of saying, that he had made choice of
it to be its protector. Pan was adored in
Arcadia, whence his worship passed to the
Romans by Evander.

)6. Nardo vino, merel-ere.] Laterally,
" You will merit wine by the nard," that is,
if you bring nard, you shall have wine. This
is one of the passages that induced Torrcn-
tius to conjecture, that the Virgil to whom
this ode is addressed, was not Virgil the
poet, but & perfumer th.u bore that came :

otherwise how should Horace demand nard
of him ? But is it not easy to conceive, that
they were to pay their shares in such a man-
ner, that the one should furnish essence, and
the other wine ? Why may we not (unless
this be allowed) with equal reason suppose
Catullus to be a perfumer, since, in his
thirteenth ode, he invites Tibullus to sup, on
condition that he bring along with him a good
repast, and that he for his part would furnish
the most exquisite essence ?

17. Nardi paruus cmyx.'] By onyx com-
mentators generally understand a phial of a
certain kind of marble which bore that name ;
but it is more reasonable to think, that it
was a shell of a fine scent, which was foord
about the lakes of India. It was properly the
shell of a kind of oyster which was nourished
by the plant nardus, and grew in the same
lake, whence it derived its fine smell. For
this reason the ancients made use of it as we
do now of boxes, to keep their essence and
perfumes :

, Funde caparibus

Unguenta de conchis.

The same custom, of keeping their essence in
little shells, was common in the time of Mar-
tial, who SLiys in one of his epigrams,
2C a

388 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. IV.

Verum pone moras et studium lucri ; 25

ISligrorumque memor, dum licet, igniurn,
Misce stultitiam consiliis brevem :
Dulce est desipere in loco.

ORDO;

Verum pone moras et studium lucri; memor- vem stultitiam consiliis : est dulce desipere
que nigrorum ignium, dum licet, misce bre- in loco.

NOTES.

Ungueniumfuerat quod onyx modo portage- that Horace should here accuse Virgil of co-

relat : vetousness ; but, if we enter into the senti-

Olferit postqnam Papiltit, eccegarnm est. ment of the poet, we shall find it to be no

more than this; that knowing Virgil to be a
25. Sludium lucri."] It may seem strange laborious and diligent man, who would not

ODE XIII.

We have seen, in the tenth ode of the third book, that Horace was deeply
enamoured of Lvce; and here, to revenge himself for her obstinacy in re-
fusing to regard his passion, he insults her in a most cruel manner, by re-
proaching her with old age and decay. This evidently proves that the pre-
sent ode is much later than the other ; yet it is certain that Horace at this
time was not very old, and we may assuredly rank it among the odes that
were composed before his fortieth year. It is to be wished that this had been
a work of his younger years, when his blood boiled with impetuosity in his
reins; for although the piece be exceedingly well written and full of spirit,

IN LYCEN.

AUDI VERB, Lyce, DI mea vota, Di
Audivere, Lyce : fis anus, et tamen
Vis formosa videri ;

Ludisque et bibis impudens ;

Et cantu tremulo pota Cupidinem 5

Lentum solicitas. Hie virentis ct

ORDO.

O Lyee, Di audivere mea vota, Di au- formosa ; ludisque et bibis impudens ; et pott
divere, Lyce : fi anus, et tamen vis videri solicitas lentum Cupidinem cantu trerfiulo. Ille

NOTES.

1. Lyce."] We have already taken notice maxkable for her wisdom than beauty. Thi
that this Lyce wai a Tuscan lady, no less re- gives ground to suspect that Horace

ODE XIII. HORACE'S ODES. 389

plenty. Pray make no delay; lay aside all thoughts of gain for once;
and, remembering that death will put an end to all our pleasures*,
mix a little diversion with your more serious studies. It is very
agreeable to be merry on a proper occasion.

* And being mindful, while you may, of the dismal fires.

NOTES.

be induced to quit his studies without great man, which had been confiscated, and offered

difficulty, he desires him in a rallying way to him by Augustus.

to lay aside for some time his desire of gain ; 27. Misce stultitiam consiliis lrevem,~\

and this he might do the rather, because his Horace does not here advise Virgil.to under-

verses were very advantageous to him ; for he take sometimes a foolish attempt ; miscere

had received several presents of considerable Irevem stultitiam. consiliis, is to quit his grave

value from Augustus and his other friends, and serious studies for a few moments, and

Yet so far was he removed from all covetous- indulge himself a little in mirth and jollity,
ness, that he refused the estate of a very rich

ODE XIII.

yet it seems to be against the rules of decency and good breeding thus to re-
vile a person he had once loved. I am of opinion further, that Horace
would have consulted his reputation much better in stifling his resentment,
than in thus acquainting all the world, that he had been in love with a lady
from whom he could not obtain the least favour ; but we must make some
allowances for an age, in which the most refined gallantry was not yet
wholly freed from a certain tincture of brutality and rudeness, because of
the small commerce that men had with women of honour and virtue.

TO LYCE.

LYCE, the gods have at last heard my prayers, they have, Lyce :
you are now grown old, and yet you would still be thought a beauty.
You wanton, and are not ashamed to drink to excess ; and, when
elevated with liquor, you attempt, with a lascivious song, to decoy
Cupid, who disdains you; for he takes more pleasure to bask on the

NOTES.

rates the matter here, and that his resent- vious ; for this is the meaning of ca)Uns tre-

mmt lias carried him far beyond the truth. nmlus. Thus Pers. Sat. I. says,

5. Et cantu trcmulo.] Horace does not _ Eitrer)llllo sca lp un tuT uli intima verm,
employ this epithet trcmulo with a design to

make us understand that Lyce was old, and And Terentianus Maunis,
that on account of her great age her voice was

become weak and trembling, but to repre- Nomcnque Galliambis memomturhincdalum,

sent the nature of her voice, that it \vas lasci- TremulusquodcsseGallishal'ilesputantmodos.

390

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. IV.

Doctae psallere Chise

Pulchris excubat in genis.
Importunus enim traiisvolat aridas

Qucrcus, et refugit te, quia luridi 10

Dentcs, te quia rugae

Turpant, et capitis nives.
Nee Cose referunt jam tibi purpurae,
Nee clari lapides tempora, quae semel

Notis condita fastis 1 5

Inclusit volucris dies.

Quo fugit Venus ? lieu ! quove color decens }
Quo motus ? quid habes illius, illius,
Quae spirabat amores,

Qute me surpuerat mihi, 20

Felix post Cynaram, notaque, et artium
Gratarum facies ? sed Cynarae breves
Annos fata dederunt,
Servatura diu parem

ORDO.

excubat in pulchris genis Chise vireniis et inclusit condita notis fastis,
doctce psallere. Importunus enim transvolat Quo Venus fugit ? lieu ! quovc color dc-

quercus aridas, ct refugit te, quia denies luri- cens ? Quo motus ? Quid habes illius, illius

di, q\iia rugae turpant te, et nives capitis tur- Lyces, qu;c spirabat amcres, qu* surripuerat

pant te.

me mihi, felix post Cynaram, notaque ct facie*

Nee Coe purpurse, nee clari lapides, jam arthim gratarum ? Sed fata dederunt breves
referunt tibi tempora qvue volucris dies semel annos Cynarse, diu servatura Lycen parem

NOTES.

9. Transvolat aridas quercm."] This arises
from the word vircntis in the sixth verse.
Horace cc-isiders love as a bird, and says very
preully, tiiut this bird never perches upon
the old caks. but that he flies over them,and
fix.: 'a the flourishing young trees. He
compares old women to old oaks, as (in Ode
twenty-fifth, Book fust) he had likened ;i:tm
to dry leaves.

12. Ci'pitis rates.] A Greek author has
called white hairs " the snow of old age," and
this may be allowed; but the expression here
xised by Horace, when he makes the snow of
the head to stand for white hair, awl signify
old age, is altogether insupportable, because
t is forced, und the metaphor diawr: from too
distant a sin/:!hude. This is the judgement
of QuintiHan Book third, Chapter sixth;
Sunt et dur . tran Sciti'mes, idest, a longitif/r/a
simti ludine ducUe, id " capitis nives." Some
liberty, however, may in this case be allowed
to poets.

13. Nee Cote purpurte.J Cos is an island
of the /Egean sea, not far from Halicarnassns,
and famous for its purple. Horace intends
here to ridicule Lyce, for still affecting to
appear young, and dressing herself in gay and
shining attire.

11. Qitte sc mel riotis cnndita fastif.'] The
Romans in thefasii marked the years by their
consuls, and at the same tisue noted down what-
ever had happened remarkable during their
consulship; and as these fault wVre kept in
places wliere everyone had the liberty of con-
them, it was always easy to kno-.v the
precise age of any j;er.-on, their name, family,
&c. It is on this account that Horace says
to l-yce, that her rich habits, and the pre-
cious stones wherewith she adorned herself,
could not recall any of the years that had been
once marked in the public fasti '; that is, let
her do what she would, these would render a
faithful account of her age, and it was im-
possible for her to take them thence, and

ODE XIII.

HORACE'S ODES.

391

blooming cheeks of the young beautiful Chian, who sings and plays
with so great art and skill.

This restless little god passes the old and hagard without taking
the least notice of them*, and starts back on the sight of you, because
your yellow teeth, your deep wrinkles and grey hairs, have so much
disfigured you.

Neither your costly robes, though of the finest purple, nor your
brilliant diamonds, can recall those years that have passed since the
day of your birthf, which is very .well known.

Ah! what is become of all your endearing charms, and your
fine complexion ? .What is become of your engaging mien? What
have you remaining of Lyce, that charming Lyce, who breathed so
much love, who robbed me of my heart J ? There was a time, when,
next to Cynara, Lyce was an assemblage of all the graces requisite
to make a perfect beauty j but the fates granted Cynara only a few

* Flies over the dry oaks.

f- That swift time hath once inserted in the public registers.

* Stole me from myself.

NOTES.

live them over again. This custom of mark-
ing in the public registers or temples the
names of those who were born or died, is very
ancient. Plato ordains it in the sixth book
of his laws.

17- Quo fugit Penus f] The ancients made
MSC of the word Venus, to express all that be-
longed to beauty.

18. Motus.] The old scholiast explains
motus only of dancing; but I imagine it ought
here to be taken in a more general sense,
and that it signifies that easy and unconstrain-
ed art, which appears not only in dancing,
but in all the actions of the body.

20. Qiue me surpicciat mihi.] For the
heart of a lover U always in the possession of
his mistress; on this is founded that beauti-
ful epigram which Q. Catullus has so finely
imitated from Caliimuchus ;

Aufugit mi animus : credo, ut solct, ad Thco-

timum

Dei-ant. Stc est : perftigium ill ,d I'.abet.
Quid ;i non interckxem, tie iLtani fngiiivum
Mitterct ad se in/ro, sed magis ejiceretf
Jbimu eiutdiitum. Verwm n<: ipd tmcamur
Fornddo. Quid ago ? Da fenu.' consilium.

'< My heart is lost ; it has left me : I sup-
" pose it has fled as usual to Thcotimus.

" There is no doubt of It, this is its ordinary
" retreat. What might have been the con-
" sequence, had not I begged that the fugi-
" live might be discouraged and rejected ?
" I would go in quest of it, but am very ap-
" prehensive of being retained myself. What
" can I do in this case? Venus, help me
" with your counsel." Surpuerat is here put
for surripiural, as in Satire third, Book se-
cond, UHUHI me s.irpi/t: mufti.

21. Notaqtte, et urtitim gratarum facies.]
Commentators think that they have suffi-
ciently acquitted themselves of their duty, by
explaining Janes gratarum artiuin, " a face
" that has every thing necesiary to form a
" complete beauty." But besides that the
expression taken in tins sense is not very
agiecable to the Latin idiom, we can never
suppose that Horace would have written,
Ja^itsfelix jjost Cymiram. Besides, it would
I.e nothing more t!wu an useless repetition,
because he i;as spoken enough of the beauty
of Lyie in th- ;/;. i\-.:i .^ verses. There is,
without doubt, a inisu.ke in ,hc reading, which
I imagine it will be no difficult matter to cor-
rect. Jt is otily requisite to take away one
letter, and to lead,

Nataque et artium
Gratarum fade.

392 Q. HORATII CARMINA. LIB. IV.

Cornicis vetulae temporibus Lycen ; 25

Possent ut j uvenes visere fervidi,
Multo non sine risu,

Dilapsam in cineres facem.

ORDO.

temporibus cornicis vetula ; ut juvenes fen-.di sine multo risu.
possent visere iacem dilapsam in cineres, non

NOTES.

Of fade sed transcribers have made facies, manners, which constitute true beauty, and
by taking in the first letter of the following ren !-; the person possessed of them so ami-
word. This is a verv common mistake among able T;;is I take to be the real sense of
copiers ; and it would be easy to gise a thou- the passage.

sand instances of it. Horace says "hat Lyce 25. Cornicis veluUe.] Crows are said
was inferior in beauty only to Cynara, and to live a great number of yt-ars. Hesiod
that she owed her reputation solely to ihe de- gives them nine times the age of man, that
licacv ana fineness of her features : Notarjue is, two hundred and seventy years.
et arlium gratarum forie, instead of notaqne 26. Possenl ut juvenes visere.'] Horace
et arlibus gratis, and for etiain artis grates; could not have devised any thing more gall-
that fineness of features, and delicacy of ing than to say, that the destinies had pre-

ODE XIV.

Augustus had given orders to Horace to celebrate the victories of Drusus and
Tiberius over the Rhaeti and Vindelici ; and as Horace, in the fourth ode of
this book, had made mention only of Drusus, because Drusus was at first
sent alone, commander in chief against that people, he here finishes what
he had begun, and celebrates the victory which Tiberius, in conjunction
with Drusus, had obtained over the Grisons, whom they had defeated in a
pitched battle. The poet has managed matters with so much art as to^please
both parties ; for though he praises Tiberius after Drusus, yet he recom-
penses the former in a glorious manner. The praises of Drusus had been

AD AUGUSTUM.

QUJE cura Patrum, quaeve Quiritium,
Plenit honorum muneribus tuns,
Auguste, virtutes in aevum
Per titulos memoresque fastos

ORDO.

O Auguste, qua cura patrum, quwve tura net virtutes tuas in sevttm per titulos fastos-
Quiriuum, muneribus plenis honorum, seter- que memores ?

NOTES.

1. Q.UCK cura patrum. ~\ When Horace conferred upon Augustus all the honours
wrote this ode, die senate and people had which they had itin their power to decree, not

ODE XIV. HORACE'S ODES. 393

years, intending to prolong Lyce's existence till she is quite super-
annuated*, that our young rakes may have the pleasure ot'seeing that
torch, which once shone so bright, and kindled so many flames, turned
to ashes.

* Till equal in years to an old crow.

NOTES.

served LVCP, that the youth might have the

pleasure of s ( >e:ni^ her in a sra e so different Aut in aquas teiiues dilapsus abilit,

from wha< slit- otice ppearr-d in. li does

not much differ from wnathe says of Lydia, " Or vaniiLas, assuming the appearance of

Ode 25. B. 1. " waters." Delapsa has quite another sig-
nification. It signifies a thing which falls

Invicem machos ann* crro^antes from a high ~o a low place, without under-

Flebis in soh levis angijturtu. going any cha.;<. ;e or variation.

:'S. Farem.] He calls the beauty of Lyes

"You at last in your old-a?e shall run a fhmbea . or torch, in the same manner as

" thro'irrh the streets and by ways, lament- T Tence can that ot Thais a fire, in the

" ing in your turn the cruelty of your gal- second seene-of the first act of the Eunuch;

" lants."

28. Dilapsam.'] So we ought to read, Acceil adignem hunc, jam calesces plus satis.

and not delapsam. Dilapsa is properly said

of a thing which changes, is dissipated, or " Apprsach this fire, and you will soon fiud

assumes another forin. In this sense it is " that it will make you too warm."

used by Virgil, when speaking of Proteus :

ODE XIV.

mingled with those of the heroes of the house of Clodia ; but Tiberius has
the honour of seeing himself associated with Augustus. The address of
Horace through the whole is admirable ; for, in obeying the orders which
he had received, he takes occasion to make his court to Augustus, and
praises him in a very noble and delicate manner, by making the encomiums
he bestows upon Tiberius reflect honour upon him. Both this ode and the
fourth are of the same character for the nobleness of the sentiments, the
richness of the figures and comparisons, the sublimity of the style, and all
the other beauties of poetry. This begins and ends with the eulogium of the
emperor, and the middle is filled with that of Tiberius.

TO AUGUSTUS.

GREAT Augustus, by what care, by what puhlic monuments erected
to your honour, by what shining titles and solemn days, shall thy
grateful senate and people eternise your virtues ?

NOTES.

only to a m;in but even to a god. Nevertheless, marks of their respect, by what new honouri
as if all they had hitherto dene was nothing, the Romans should endeavour to immortalis
Horace does not ceast to demand by what new the virtues of that great prince, and to assui

394 Q. HORATII CARMINA,

^Eternet ? 6, qua sol habitabiles
lllustrat eras, maxime principum,
Quern legis expertes Latinae
Vindelici diciicere nuper,
Quid Marte posses : r.iilke nam tuo
Drusus Genaunos, implacidum genus,
Breunosque velcccs, et arces

Alpibus impositas treincndis
Dejecit accr plus vice simplici.
Major Ncronum mox grave prfelium
Commisit, immanesque Rhsetos

Auspiciis pepulit secundis.
Speetandus in ccrtamine Martio,
Devota morti pectora libene
Quantis fatigaret ruinis ;

Indomitas prope qualis undas
Exercet Auster, Plciadum chore
Scindente r.ubes, impiger hostium
Vexare turmas, et frementem

Mittere equura medios per ignes !

ORDO.

LIB. IV.
5

10
15
20

TICCj utjci_ii \jciiauin, juipiaiiuuiii gciju:>, lib nusitri rxtic l limuiimas

Breunosque veloces, et arces impositas tre- Pleiadum scindente nubes, impiger vfxare

nendis Alpihus. turmas hostium, et mittcre equuin fremeiitcnar

Mox rriajor Neronura commibit praelium per medios ignes 1

NOTES.

him of that eternity which he merited by hi*
gloriocs achievements. There is an infinite
grandtur in this demand ; and I find Horace
is the only person who could add all that was
yet wanting to the glory of Augustus, after
the sreat honours that had been conferred
on nim.

2. Pleiiis honornm muneril-us."] By mti-
Utra Horace here understands the public
monuments, the statues, the inscriptions, the
decrees ; in fine, all that a grateiul ptpple
can do in honour of a prince, who, t.-y his
pruder.ce and virtue, makes them enjoy a
perfect happiress.

4. Per tilulof.} By the words tilulos and
fasttjs Hor. te understands the honours he
mentions afterwards, and which he comprises
iu the second ver^c, under the general word

munera, titles; that is, all kinds of in
scriptious, stutues, &e. '[hej'asii take in the
public records of all the actions or exploits of
Augustus ; the days in which he gained his
victories, or on which he returned to Rome ;
those which were to be kept to his honour ;
the decrees which ordered altars to be erected
to him, and hymns to be sung in his praise.

8. Nttper.] About two years before ; for
Drusus hid vanquished them in the year of
the city 738, and th's ode was written after
the return of Augustus from Gaul, in the
year 740.

1 0. GenoMncs, Breunosqin.] This is the
true reading, and not Tenaunus, or Gerau-
ttas, and Breiuias. Stiabo calls them Bgtwct
X'n nvzuvci, and savs, that they inhabited
the exterior pail of the Alps with the Norici

ODE XIV.

HORACE'S ODES.

395

Thou greatest of all the princes of the earth, wherever the sun
displays his beams, by whose conduct tlteprottd Vindelici, who had
never submitted to our laws, felt the force of our arms ; for the
brave Drusus, at the head ot" your troops, more than once defeated
the Genauni, that barbaious people, subdued the swift Breuni, and
leveled with the ground the forts which they had built on the for-
midable summits of the Alps.

A short time after, Tiberius*, under your lucky auspices, in a
pitched battle, attacked the formidable llhsetians, and cut them to
pieces. What a glorious sight to behold the young hero, in this
bloody engagement, with repeated slaughter bear down our foes,
resolved to lose their lives rather than their liberty ! As the stormy
south-wind plies the raging billows when the Pleiades arise, thus
did this active warrior gall the troops of our enemies, and forced
his foaming horse through the middle of the flames.

* The elder of the Neros.

NOTES.

and Vindelici. He relates of them, that
when they had taken a. city, they were not
contented with putting to the sword all who
were capable of bearing arms, but also slew all
the male children, and did not spare the very
women, if the augurs assured them (hat they
would be brought to bed of _a son. Dio re-
latc's the same thing. For this reason also
Velleius calls them feritate truces.

1 ] . Et arces Al'pibus impositas tremendis.]
This agrees exactly with what Villeins writes
of these people, that ihey had fortified them-
selves upon the Alps, in places which were
almost inaccessible ; and that Drusus and
Tiberius took from them several cities and
forts.

13. Plus vice si/nplici.'] Horace here
points ut the two actions of Drusus in the
sume campaign. First, he defeated the Vin-
delici, and secured Italy against their incur-
sions. Tiberius, who remained at that time
with Augustus, was sent to second his bro-
ther, and attack the RliKti, who made de-
predations in Gaul. In the mean time Dru-
sus continued to push his conquests over the
Vindelici, fell upon the Breuni ami Genau-
ni ; and the two princes, joining the'n forces
together, finished -their defeat, and utterly
ruined ih m. Velleius relates the affair in
quite a different manner. If we will believe
him, Druses was only sent to assist in that
war, of which he makes all the honour fall

upon Tiberius. But that historian had his
reasons. As Drusus was dead, and Tiberius
emperor, ought we to be suq>rised if flatterj
usurped the place of truth? Horace, who
wrote at the very time the thing was done, and
under the eye of the two princes interested in
it, is an authority that can admit no con-
tradiction.

18. Devota morti peclora liberte."] This
verse can never be sufficiently commended,
and Horace is perhaps the only poet, who, in
four words, has painted in so noble and ani-
mated a manner men engaged in close fight,
and determined rather to part with their live*
than their liberty.

21. Pleiadum <~/ioro.] The Pleiades, or
seven stars, were feigned to be the daughters
of Atlas, and sisters of the Hyades ; they are
ranged in such a manner as if they were en-
gaged in a dance. Hyginus says, Alii diciint
Elfi Iram 7ion apparcri'. ex eo quod Plciade$
exislimenlur chortam ducere sttllis. This is
the reason why Horace makes use of the word
churns; as Propertius has done, Book third,
Eleg. third :

Pleiadum spisso cur coif igne chorus.

2-3. 'FrementemmiUereequum.] Fremilus
is properly the noise which horses make with
the mouth and nostrils ; and, on occasions of
this kind, it is looked upon as a mark of their

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

Sic tauriformis volvitur Aufidus,
Qui regna Dauni priefluit Appuli,
Cum seevit, horrendamque cultis

Diluviem meditatur agris ;
Ut barbarorum Claudius agmina
Ferrata vasto diruit impetu,

Primosque et extremes metendo,

Stravit humum, sine clade victor;
Te copias, te consilium, et tuos
Pnebente Divos. Nam tibi, quo die
Portus Alexandrea supplex

Et vacuam patefecit aulam,
Fortuna lustro prospera tertio
Belli secundos reddidit exitus,
Laudemque et optatum peractis
Imperiis decus arrogavit.

LIB. IV.
25

30
35
40

ORDO.

Sic tauriformis Aufidus, qui praefluit reg- suorum ; te praebentc eopias, te prielente

na. Dauni Appuli, volvitur cum saevit, medi- consilium, et tuos Divos. Nam quo die

taturque horrendam diluviern agris cultis ; ut Alexandrea supplex patefecit portus et vacu-

C'laudius diruit vasto impetu ferrata agmina am aulam tibi ; tertio lustro, fortuna prospera

barbarorum, stravitque humum hostibus, me- reddidit secundos exitus belli, et arrojravit

tendo primes et extremos, victor sine clade laudena optatumque decus peractis imperiis.

NOTES.

courage ; Virgil, Geor. B. 3. See the prose
translation.

Turn si rjna sannm proad arma dedere,
Stare loconescit, micat aurilnis, et tremit artus,
Collectitmque fremens volvit sub narilus
ignem.

" If f.t any time he hears the noise of arms
** from far, he cannot any longer contain
" himself; he pricks up his ears, and pants
" in evtry vein, breathing t : .ery heats from his
" glowing nostrils." No where do we find
a more beautiful description ofthe horse than
in the thirty-ninth chapter of Job; " His
" neck is clothed with thunder, and the glory
" of his nostrils is terrible," kc.

24. Medins peY-iffnesI\ The Greeks and
Latins commonly made use of the word fire
to express the greatest dangers. But it is
not perhaps necessary to have recourse to
such an explication here; and Horace, in
saying that Tiberius pushed his horse through
the inklst of the flames, speaks of the flames

which the Romans had lighted in the enemy's
entrenchments, or of those which the enemy
made use of to stop the progress of the
Romans.

25. Sic tauriformis.'] The ancients usu-
ally iwinted the livers with horns; Festus
says, Taurorum specie simulacra fluminum ;
id e.'it, cum tornibus, quud sunt alrocia ut
taiiri. " Rivers were painted under the
" figures of bulls; that is, with horns, be-
" cause they ;ire very dangerous." There is,
in the second book of /Elian, an entire chap-
ter, where he speaks of the different modes
in which rivers were represented ; some
gave them the figure of a bull, others repre-
sented them under the figure of a man with
horns, and this was the most common way.
Virgil, in the fourth Book of the Georgics,
thus speaks of the Po :

Et gemi;ia auratus laiiritio rornua vulta
Erulanus.

Festus was ignorant of the true reason of this

ODE XIV.

HORACE'S ODES.

597

Or, as the impetuous Aufidus, that waters the kingdom of Apulia,
where Daunus reigned, rolls his boisterous waves, and, when im-
moderately swelled, threatens to overflow the neighbouring fields,
thus did Tiberius overthrow our enemies' best battalions though
clothed in armour, and with incredible force cutting his way through
their army from the front to the rear, covered the field of battle with
the dead, and, without any considerable loss on his side, gained a
complete victory. What does he not owe to your brave troops, to
your sage counsel, and to the favour of your gods ? For on the day
that Alexandria submitted to your power, and opened her harbours
to you, and the gates of her palace deserted by Cleopatra ; fifteen
years after, on the same day, fortune, your constant friend, gave*
success to your arms, and by this fresh victory crowned your for-
mer with all the glory and honour you could wish or desire.

NOTES.

custom. Rivers were painted with horns, had granted Tiberius the victory over the

either because of the noise and murmurs of Grisons ; and that he might do it in a gen-

their waters, or on account of the inequality teel, handsome manner, lie does not satisfy

of their banks ; or in fine, because all rivers himself with the general reason, that Tiberius

were called xtfitia, fixiaviv, The horns of the was the lieutenant to that prince ; but he

ocean. says that the Grisons were defeated the same

23. Diluviem meditatur.'] The word me- day Augustus entered victorious into Alex-

ditatin' gives this passage a wonderful subli- andria, about fifteen years before ; whence

mity ; for by it Horace endows the river with he concludes that each instance of success was

tentiment, and represents it as a god capable produced by the favour of the same god. It

of forming designs, and executing them at is impossible to imagine any thing more deli-

his pleasure. cate, or better conducted. Horace knew ad-

32. Sine dade victor.] The poet adheres mirably well how to profit by the circum-
to history on this occasion. Velleius says, stances that accompanied the subjects he
Tiberius, et Drusus, gentes locis tutissimas, treated of; and it is a very happy stroke to
aditu difficillimas, numerofrequentes, feritate have found so fine an occasion of puttin^
truces, majore cum periculo quam damno Ro- Augustus in remembrance of that fortunate
mani exerdtus, plurimo cum earum sanguine day, in which he liad seen an end put to the
perdomuerunt. bloodiest of all the civil wars, by the death

33. Te copias, tc consilium, et tuos pros- of Antony, and surrender of Alexandria.
lente Divos.] When the general did not 30. Vacuam patefecit aidam.~\ Horace
conduct his army in person, he was said to here calls the palace of Alexandria vacuum,
give his gods and his troops to his lieutenant, void, deserted, because Augustus found
as Horace here says that Augustus gave his neither Antony nor Cleopatra in it. Antony,
to Tiberius, because the latter fought under a little before his death, ordered himself to be
the auspices of Augustus. Ovid uses an ex- carried into the mausoleum built by Cleopa-
pression of the same kind, of Tiberius ad- tra, whither she herself had retired,
dressing himseli to Augustus ; 37- Lustro tbrtio.] Tiberius defeated the

Grisons in the year of the city 733, fifteen

Auspidum cui dasgrande Deosque tuos. years after the taking of Alexandria, which

Augustus entered in August, 723. It is a

34. Nam tili, quo die.] This passage has wonder that any should mistake here, after
not hitherto been rightly explained; for this the remark of the old scholiast, who note*
nam relate* to tuos pnzlxnle Divos. Horace this so distinctly : Quod post armos quitide-
wants here to prove that the gods of Augustus cm quod ceptrat Augustus Alexandrian,

39S

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LTB. IV.

Te Cantaber non ante domabilis,
Medusque, et Indus, te profugus Scythes
Miratur, 6 tutela prsesens

Italire, dominaeque Romae.
Te, fontium qui eclat origines
Nilusque, et Ister, te rapidus Tigris,
Te beliuosus qui remotis

Obstrepit Oceanus Britannis,
Te non paventis iunera Galliae,
Duraeque tellus audit Iberia? :
Te csede gaudentes Sicambri
Compositis venerantur armis.

ORDO.

O tuteh praessns Italioe, Roinaequc domi- qui obstrepit remotis Britannis, te teltus Gat-

nae, te Cantaber, non ante domabilis, Me- li;e non paventis fur-era, durjeque tellus Ibe-

dusque, et Indus, te profugus Scythes miratur. riae audit : ti'.etiam Sicambri gaudentes ciede,

Te Nilu c que qui celat origines fontium, et compositis armis, venerantur.
Istcr, te rapidus Tigris, te beliuosus occanus

NOTES.

eodem die Tiltrius siiperarit Pindeliros. And
after what Eusebius says in his Chronicon,
who places the death of Antony and Cleo-
patra, and the taking of Alexandria, in the
fourteenth year of the reign of Augustus,
which was the 723d of Rome, and the defeat
of the Vindelici in the 29th year of the same
reign, which was the 7 3 8th of the city.
There were just three lustra, that is, fifteen
years, from the one to the other.

41. Te Cantalcr nan ante domalHis.'] The
Cantahrians had been very often vanquished
before this, but not entirely subdued ; they
had always shaken off the yoke. They were
at last finally subjected by Agrippa in the
year of the city "34, four years before the
defeat of the Grisons.

43. Miraiur.'] Mirari docs not hero sig-
nify to admire ; it would be no great praise
to Augustus to say that ho was admired by
the Scythians. Mirari is '.he same with co-

lere, vcnerari, to adore any one, to acknow-
ledge his power, to submit to his command.-.
Virgil uses admirari in the same sense, speak-
ing of the respect and submission which the
bees pay to their king;

ilium admiranlnr, et omnes
Cifiumstant Jremilu dmso.

45. Fontium qui celat origines
Herodotus says, that he never yet met with
an Egyptian, Greek, or Afiican, who h;:d any
knowledge of the sources of the Nile ; and
relates, that Etearchus, king of the Am-
moniaus, told some Cyrenian Greeks, that
no person ever yet discovered them. The
Romans were equally ignorant of them. Ti-
bullus, Eleg. 8. Book 1, says,

Nile Pater, quanam possum te diccre raiaa,
Aid (jttilus in ttrris occuluitse cnpul ?

ODE XIV.

HORACE'S ODES.

399

Thou powerful protector of Italy, and of Rome the mistress of the
world, the Cantabrian, who could never be subdued before, the
Mede, Indian, and roving Scythian, pay homage to thee.

The Nile, whose sources are unknown, the Ister, rapid Tigris,
and the monster-breeding Ocean, that beats against remote Britain's
coasts, all own their subjection to thee.

The desperate Gauls, who are not afraid of death, and the hardy
Iberians, hear and obey thy commands : even the Sicambrians, who
take pleasure in blood and slaughter, throw their arms peaceably at
thy feet, and with the greatest submission receive what terms of
peace thoa art pleased to grant them.

NOTES.

This might, no doubt, arise from the inac-
essible deserts which it was necessary to pass
through in order to come at them.

46. /xter.] The Danube, one of the most
considerable rivers in .Europe, which empties
itself into the Black sea.

46. Te rapidu* Tigris.] In Horace's time
the Euphrates, and not the Tigris, was the
boundary of the Roman empire; but here he
has an eye to the victory which Augustus
obtained over the Parihians, in his obliging
them to quit Armenia, and send back the en-
signs which they had taken from Crassus and
Antony.

47. Belluoms qui remotis olstrepit Oceanus
Britannis.] Horace speaks here of the Bri-
tish sea, the sea that washes the coast of
Britain, instead of Britain itself. Although
Augustus had not subdued that island by force
of arms, yet was he looked upon as the con-
queror and the master of it, because the
Britons had sent ambassadors to demand
peace of him, and to put the island under his
power and protection. The epithet bdlunsus
is applicable and even beautiful ; for the
ocean gives birth to innumerable monsters ;
and Pliny, C. v. B. 9. says that the sea left
in one day above three hundred of them on
the coast of Britain.

49. Non pfiven tin f micro GnU'itC.] When
Horace wrote this ode, the Gauls were
brought under subjection afier many wars,
and as many revolts. Ail ancient historian*
speak of tile courage and Intrepidity of the
Gauls. /Elian (in the eighteenth chapter of
the twelfth book of his miscellaneous history)
says, that they would not retire from a house
that was ready to fall upon them, or which
the fire was about tn reduce to ashes ; that
they would not fly before the waves of the sea,
when they were on the point of being over-
taken by the tide.

51. Te circle gaudentes Sirambri compo-
.'.] The Sicambri were defeated by Dru-
sus in the year of the city 74'2 ; but that can-
not be what Horace speaks of here, because
that happened not till two years after the
writing of this ode. This passage therefore
ought, without doubt, to be understood of
the first insurrection of the Sicambri, who,
joining with the Usipetes in the year of the
city 7ii7 defeated the army of Lollius. The
arrival of Augustus in Gaul filled them with
terror ; they laid down their arms, and ac-
cepted the conditions of peace which he was
willing to grant. It is for this reason that
Horace says, composite ventrantur armis.

400

Q. HORATII CARMINA.

LIB. IV.

ODE XV.

This is another extremely fine ode, and was composed immediately after the
preceding. Horace, having complied with the orders he had rec/ived to
celebrate the victories of jJrusu- and Tiberius, an I not satisfied with the
praises he bestowed on Augustus, acquaints that prince witrt the design
which he had entertained of celebrating also his victories and battles
in a particular work by itse& if Apollo had not prevented it by intimating

AUGUSTI LAUDES.

PHCEBUS volentem prcelia me loqui,
Victas et urbes, increpuit lyra,
Ne parva Tyrrhenum per aequor

Vela darem. Tua, Caesar, aetas

Fruges et agris retulit uberes ; 5

Et signa nostro restituit Jovi,
Derepta Parthorum superbis
Postibus 3 et vacuum duellis

ORDO.

Phoebus increpuit me lyra, volentem loqui O Caesar, tua aetas et retulit uberes fruge
proelia et victas urbes, ne darem parva vela agris; et restituit nostro Jovi signa derepta su-
per sequor Tyrrhenum. perbis postibus Parthorum ; et clausit Janum

NOTES.

1. Phallus volentem.'] These verses in-
clude a very fine and delicate piece of praise ;
nor could Horace have flattered Augustus in a
more acceptable manner, than by represent-
ing Apollo as go careful of his glory, that he
would not suffer any one to undertake to ce-
lebrate his exploits, whom he thought un-
\ qualified for so great and noble an attempt.
The address of Horace will yet appear in a
better light, if we call to mind the pains taken
by Augustus to propagate an opinion that
Apollo was either his protector or father, and
that he had fought for him at the battle of
Actium ; which circumstance Virgil has not
omitted to take noticu of in his jEneid, where
he says,

Actius htsc cement arcum intendd-at /Ipollo
Desuper.

" Apollo, seeing these things, bent his bow,
" and made his arrows fly from the promon-
" tory of Actium."

1. Prtelia victas et urles.] The battles of
Augustus, and the cities which he had taken.
This passage has deceived many, who take the
sense to be, that as Horace was attempting
to celebrate other exploits than those of Au-
gustus, Apollo was displeased, and com-
manded him to employ himself in nothing
but the praises of that great prince. This,
however, cannot be made to agree with what
we find in the third verse.

2. Increpuit lira.] Almost all commen-
tators separate the word lyra from die verb
ir.crepuit, to join it with loqui. But Jaunt
Douza has very well remarked that this
transposition is too forced, and that we ought
to join bicrepuit with lyra, as Ovid has writ-

ODE XV.

HORACE'S ODES.

401

ODE XV.

to him that he had not a capacity and genius fit for so great an attempt;
and he thence takes occasion to mention the admirable regulations ordained
by the emperor during the peace, and the happiness which the people of
Rome enjoyed under his administration. This is the true subject of the
ode, which the generality of interpreters have misunderstood.

THE PRAISES OF AUGUSTUS.

As I was preparing to sing of the battles you had gained, and the
cities you had besieged and taken, Apollo checked me by a gentle
blow with his lyre, and cautioned me against launching into the
ocean * in a small galley.

Your peaceful reign, great prince, hath restored to our fields their
plentiful crops? and the pleasure of seeing the Roman standards
forced from the lofty Parthian temples, and hung up again in the
temple of Jupiter.

To your happy reign it is owing that the temple of Janus is shut,

* T

uscan sea.

NOTES.

ten in the last verse of the sixth book of
his Fasti:

Anmtit /llcides, incre.pidtque lyra.

Horace here says that Apollo gave him a blow
with his harp, to rentier him attentive to
what he was to say to liim. For it was
the custom, when one wished to be heard, to
give the person to whom he spoke a blow or
squee/.e, or to pinch him by the ear, as Vir-
gil savs in his sixth ecloguo :

Ci/nihius aurein
admonuil.

<3. Ne parva Tyrrhe num.] We ought to
supply, et me averlit, as in Virgil d admo-
nuit ; for Horace here repeats what Apollo
said to dissuade him from the design he had
formed of describing the victories of Augus-
tus. " It was like embarking upon the Tus-

VOL. I.

" can sea in a small vessel ; " that is, with an
inconsiderable genius, to engage in a vast and
hazardous project.

4. Tua, C<esar,eEtas.~\ Horace explains his
sentiments only by halves. He here says to
Augustus, that his administration, duriug
peace, can furnish as much matter for poetfy,
as his reign has restored plenty and fertility
to the lands. Horace commonly neglects
close connexion, to give his verse a free and
noble air.

5. Fruges el agris retulit ulere*.] Rome
and Italy had laboured for some time under a
famine in the reign of Augustus ; but, far
from ascribing this misfortune to him, the
Romans, according to Dio, attributed that of
the year 731 to his not being consul. It is
certain that Augustus, after having put an
end to the civil wars, restored peace and
plenty throughout the empire. The reader
may consult what has been remarked on these
lines of the fifth ode;

402 Q. HORAT11 CARMIXA. LIB. IV

Janum Quirini clausit ; et ordinem

Rectum et <vaganti frena licentiae 10

Injecit, emovitque culpas,

Et veteres revocavit artes,
Per quas Latinum nomen et Itahe
Crevere vires, famaque, et impert

Porrecta majestas ad ortum 15

Soils ab Hesperio cubili.
Custode rerum Caesare, non furor
Civilis, aut vis exiget otium ;

Non ira, quse procudit enses,

Et miseras inimicat urbes. 20

Non qui profundum Danubium bibunt,
Edicta rumpent Julia ; non Getae,

Non Seres, infidive Persae,

Non Tanaim prope flumen orti.

Nosque et profestis lucibus et sacris, 25

Inter jocosi munera Liberi,

Cum prole matronisque nostris,
Rite Deos prius apprecati,

ORDO.

Quirini vacuum duellis, et injecit rectum or- cat miseras urbes, exiget otium.
dinew, et frena vaganti licentiae, emovitque Qui bibunt profundumDannbium non rum-

culpas, et denique revocavit veteres artes, per pent edicta Julia; non Getae, non Seres, Per-

quas Latinum nomen et vires ItaUe crevere, saeve infidi, non homines orti prope flumen

famaque et majestas imperil porrecta erf ad Tanaim rumpent edicta Julia. Nosque cum

ortum soils, ab Hesperio cubili. prole matronisque nostris, et profestis luci-

Csesare custode rerum, nou furor civilis, bus et sacris, pvios rite apprecati Deos, more
aujt vis, non ira, qure procudit enses et immi-

NOTES.

Tutus l-os etenim mra peramlulat : might there place these ensigns, and raise a

Nutrit rura Ceres almaquejaustitas. monument to his ranity. Whence comes it

then that Horace speaks only of Jupiter, and

6. Et signa nostro restiluit Joti.] Au- does not make the least mention of Mars ?

gustus had vowed a temple to Mars the a- It is, because this temple vowed in 7 1 1 , and

renger, so soon as he had taken revenge of the begun in 7 33 , was not finished and dedicated

murderers of Csesar. But the multiplicity of till eighteen years after ; that is, in the year

iflairs in which he was afterwards involved, of Rome 7 51, under the thirteenth consul-

or perhaps his great prosperity, ruade him ship of that prince, who performed the dedi-

forget his promise ; and he did not think of cation of it with great pomp, entertaining

it before the year 733 , when Phraates, king" of the Romans with a magnificent combat of

the Parthians, sent back the military ensigns gladiators, and exhibiting to them a naval

which had been taken from Crassus and An- fi"ht in the Circus, as we learn from VeHeius,

tony. This unexpected good fortune induced who had assisted at the sports. During the

him to give orders for building the temple erection of this temple, the ensigns were

upon the Capitol, not so much tor the pur- carried into that of Jupiter Capitolimi?.

pose of accomplishing bis rowsj as that lie Horace wou!4 not here *j-eak of the temple

ODE XV.

HORACE'S ODES.

as there is now peace over all the earth ; that licentiousness is re-
strained which would otherwise know no bounds ; that vice is ex-
tirpated; thatj in fine, our ancient virtue is restored*, which car- 1
ried the Roman name to such a height, increased the power of
Italy, and extended the fame and glory of the Roman empire from
the rising to the setting of the sun.

While Ciesar reigns, we have no occasion to fear that either a
civil or a foreign war, or wrath that whets the swords and sows dis-
cord between one city and another, will disturb our peace.

The inhabitants of the countries near the Danube and the Tanais,
the Seres, and perfidious Persians, shall not dare to violate the Ju-
lian laws. And let us, with our wives and children, on common a*
well as festival days, after invoking the gods^or your safety, in iirii-

* Your reigii has restored (fie ancient art-s. See the note upon yer. 1-2.

NOTES,

of Mars the avenger, because that was not
finished or consecrated till six years after his
death. Nostro Jovi, to Jupiter the protec-
tor of Rome.

7. Dcrepta Parthorum siipcrbis postibus.]
Some rea.l direpla, but -without reason. The
first signifies taken away by force; whereas
the other means pulled in pieces, which is
quite improper here. By the word dercpta
Horace makes his court to Augustus, as if
he had really recovered those ensigns by the
force of his arms ; an idea which the empe-
ror studiously encouraged. It is possible, af-
ter all, that Horace meant no more than to
express the great concert/ of the Parthians at
the surrender of these ensigns, which were a
glorious evidence of the victory they had ob-
tained over the Romans.

9. Janum Quirini dcutsit.] There were
three or four temples belonging to Janus in
Rome; but he here speaks of the temple of
Janus Bifrons, or Janus Geminus, built by
Romulus, whence Horace calls it Janum Qui-
rini. This temple was open in time of war,
and shut in time of peace. From Romulus to
Augustus it had been shut only twice ; and
Augustus shut it ihvice in his reign. Suetou.
caj). 2-2. Janum Quiruium, semd atque ilc-
rum a rondita uric memoriam ante siiam
dansum, in mullo l.rcvwn spatio tcmporis,
terra marique pace parta, ter clausit. Horace
sw it shut on)}' twice it was about three <

four years after his death, that Augustus shut
it the third time.

12. Et veteres rcvocavit artes.] This pas-
sage is commonly misunderstood. By veteres
artes, Horace means the ancient customs and
manners, the religion, virtue, temperance,
fidelity, discipline, patience, frugality, and all
the other great qualities which had appeared
with so much lustre in the first Romans, and
to which the conquest of the world was al-
most entirely owing.

15. Majestas.'] The Romans were so jea-
lous of their liberty, that they would not suf-
fer the name of majesty to be applied in any
other manner than to the dignity of the
people. Majestas est in Imperio atque in
omni pomdi Roman i dignitafe. Cicero.

21. Nbn qui profundum Danubium li-'
lu,nt,~] Tliis prophecy of Horace was not
entirely fulfilled. The people of whom he
here speaks revolted the same year, but were
again brought under the yoke. Drusus van-
quished the Sicambri, &c. passed the Rhine,
pushed his conquests as far as the Elbe, and
built upon the banks of the rivers several
fons, in which he left garrisons. Tiberius,
on his side, defeated the Pannonians and Dal-*
roatiaiis.

22. Edicta Julia."] Augustus was not sa-
tisfied with re-touching and re-establishing
the laws that were already received, but he
moreover made many new ones, which werfc

a'Da

454 Q. HORATII CARM1NA. LIB. IV.

Virtute functcs, more patrum, duces,

Lydis remisto carmine tibiis, 30

Trojamque, et Anchisen, et almae
Progeniem Veneris canemus.

ORDO.

majorum,inter munera jocosi Liberi, canemus virtute, Trojamque, et Anchisen, et progeni-
carmine remisto tibiis Lydis, duces functos em alma; Veneris.

NOTES.

called leges Julia ; as Julia sumptuaria, to the words edicta Julia, Horace means all the

regulate the expense of living ; lex Julia de commands which Augustus had imposed

maritandis ordinUms, Julia de adidteriis et upon the nations he had subjected.
pudicitia, Julia majestatis, Jidia de vi pul- 31. Trojamque, et Anchisen.] After hav-

lica, et privata) and many others. But, by ing said that the Roman* should sing at their

ODE XV.

HORACE'S ODES.

405

tation of our ancestors, over a glass of generous wine, sing, in con-
cert with the Lydian flutes, the praises of our late brave generals.
Let us sing of Troy, Anchises, and the descendants of gracious
Venus.

NOTES.

31.

tables the great actions of heroes, Horace
confines these praises to the single family of given to Venus.
Augustus, by saying that the common sub-
ject of their song would be Troy, Anchises,
and the descendants of Venus ; that i, 'Au-
gustus, Julius Caesar, and all their ancestors
up to Venus and ^Eneas, whence the Julian
family flattered themselves that they were
descended. There is in this a great deal of
spirit and politeness. It must, at the same
time, have been very pleasing to Augustus.

This is an epithet commonly

JShieadum genetrixj hominurn f divumqut

vohtptas,
Alma yenus.

Alma,\ha.t is, gracious, bountiful: this agreei
very well to Venus, who animates all things,
and makes a great part of the pleasure both
of men and gods.

406

QUINTI HORATII FLACCI

EPODON LIBER.

ODE I.

Before we proceed to the odes themselves, it will be necessary to explain the
title of this book, which is ordinarily called the Book of Kpodes. The learn-
ed cannot agree among themselves about the explication which ought to be
given of it. Some pretend that it derived its name from the inequality of the
verses, which are ranged in such a manner, that every long verse is followed
by a short, which is called Epodus or Clausula. Others are of opinion that
it was called Liler F.podon, as if one should say ~i tw *!}, after the odes,
to denote that this book was written some time after the first four books. In
fine, Torrentius imagined, that the true title is not l.ilcr Epodon, the Book
of Epodes ; but Liber Epodos, that is, the Wizard-book ; and that it was so
called on account of the enchantments mentioned in the 5th ode against
Canidia. This last opinion is insupportable; for there is not the least pro-
bability that a single ode should give so extravagant a title to the whole book.
The second opinion is no less so ; for this book was so far from being com-
posed after the preceding four, that the greatest part of the odes were written
before any of the others ; so that were we to regard the order of time, this
book would obtain rather the first than the last place. There remains only
the first opinion to be examined, and indeed it is the only true one ; but that
we may thoroughly understand it, it will be necessary to carry the matter
a little higher. Epode, in the lyric poetry of the Greeks, signifies the third,
or concluding, part of the ode, that is, of the song that is divided into
Strophe, Antistrophe, and Eppde. This word Epode signifies properly the
end of the song ; for ivrnhn is, in Latin, super canere. As, in the odes,
what was called Epode concluded the song, so the name was afterwards
given to a short verse, which being put after a long one, closed the period,
and concluded the whole sense, which was left imperfect in the first verse.
Hence this book has been entitled Liler Epodon; that is, Liber versuum
Epodon, the Book of Epode Verses; the book where every long verse of the
ode is followed by a short one, which finishes and takes in the sense. Marius
Yictorinus, who lived in the fourth century, writes at the end of the first

407

HORACE'S

BOOK OF EPODES.

ODE I.

hook; " Epodos est tertia pars aut periodus Lyrkae odes. Igitur quae post
strophen et antistrophen Epodon dicebant ; iva,tw quidem est super
canere : hinc sumptutn vocabulum in has Epodos, quae binos versus im-
pares habent; nam, ut ilia canticum finiebat, sic has sensum versu inse-
quenti." " The Epode is the third part, or conclusion, of the lyric ode.
Hence what followed the strophe and antistrophe were called Epodes, from
the Greek tTtaSuv, which signifies to sing after ; and on the same account
this name has been given to these odes which have two unequal verses;
for as in lyric poetry the ode finishes the song, so in these odes the sense
' is finished by the short verse, which is for this reason called Epode."
The same Victorinus compares the epode to the pentameter verse in the
elegiac; " Nam neque per se versus hexameter sine sequente pentametro
" Elegiacum metrum implebit, neque in epodis singuli versus sine clausulis
" suis et assequelis audin poterunt." After this explication of the nature
of the epode verses, it is easy to see that only the first ten odes of this
book can properly be called by this name, and that the last eight are not
all of this character. The first ten odes, therefore, must have given the
name to this whole book ; for although in the other odes there is also a short
verse after a long, yet they are not of that kind which constitutes the charac-
ter of the epode, as Dacier shows at large in his remarks at the beginning of
this book. I have only one thing to add before I conclude this short disser-
tation. Horace himself could not be the author of this title, because it was
not he that disposed his works in the order in which we now have them.
Assuredly the grammarians who made this collection of them, gave also the
name of Epodes to this fifth book, after having put together the ten odes
which they found written in the same kind of verse ; and this happened, no
doubt, in the second or third century ; for in the beginning of the fourth
this title had been universally received, and all the works of Horace were
divided in the same manner as they are at this day. I believe, after what

408 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE I.

has been said, that there will remain no other difficulty on this head. We
shall therefore only remark, farther, that, if the odes were ranked in their
natural order, this, and the ninth of the same book, would immediately pre-

AD JVLECENATEM.

IBIS Liburnis inter alta navium,

Amice, propugnacula,
Paratus omne Ctesaris periculum

Subire, Maecenas, tuo.
Quid nos, quibus te vita sit superstite 5

Jucunda ; si contra, gravis ?
Utrumne jussi persequemur otium

Non dulce, ni tecum simul?
/ An hunc laborem mente laturi, decet

Qua ferre non molles viros ? 10

Feremus; et te, vel per Alpiumjuga,

Inhospitalem et Caucasum,
Vel occidentis usque ad ultimum sinum,

Forti sequemur pectore.
Roges, tuum labore quid juvem meo, 15

Imbellis ac h'rmus parum.

ORDO.

O amice Maecenas, ibis Liburnis navihu cum ? An laturi svmits hunc laborcm mcntt,

intrralta propugnacula navium, paratus subire qua dcci-t viros non molles frire ? Fcrenms ;

omne periculum Csesaris periatlo tuo. Quid ct sequemur te forii pectore, vcl per juga

nos faciemus, quibus vita sit jucunda, te Alpium, et Caucasum inhospiialein,vel usque

suporitite; si contra, gravis? Utruume jussi ad ultimum sinum occidentis.

prosequemur otiuiu, non dulce ni s'uuul te- Rogcs, quid ego imbellis ac parum firmus

NOTES.

1. Ibis.] When Augustus departed with present : but this reason is of no force ; Yiigil,

cenas, though at that time governor of Rome, is not necessary, for the understanding of thi*

accompanied him also in his voyage. Ho- ode, to know whether Maecenas went or not,

race, as well acquainted as any with the state it is however a point of history that deserves

of affairs, gives us to understand, that he was to be investigated.

at least named. Torrentius, however, is of 1. Liburnis] The Liburni were a people

opinion that he did not go; nor is it at all of Illyria. As they were properly a kind of

probable, he thinks, that he was at the battle corsairs, who subsisted by piracy, they made

of Actiuin, because Virgil, speaking of that use of light and expedite vessels; whence all

battle, makes mention only of Agrippa ; light vessels were called Liburnian.

whereas it is not at all likely he would have 1. Inter alta navium propngnr.rula.'] We

passed Miecenas over in silence had he been may refer on this occasion to Florus, who

ODE I.

HORACE'S EPODES.

409

cede the thirty-seventh of the first ; for this was written some months before
the battle of Actium, when Maecenas was preparing to follow Augustus,
who intended an expedition against Antony.

TO MAECENAS.

You are resolved then, my illustrious friend, in defence of Caesar,
to hazard yourself in a fleet of small Liburnian galleys, amidst An-
tony's ships, which are like so many floating castles ; but what shall
I do, to whom, while I enjoy you, life is agreeable, but, if I should
Jose you, would be insupportable ? Must I obey you, and content
myself with repose, which 1 cannot relish without you, or encoun-
ter the toils of war with that resolution that becomes a hardy war-
rior ? 1 will encounter them, and follow you with undaunted cou-
rage over the stupendous summits of the Alps, and frightful deserts
of Caucasus, or even to the utmost bounds of the west.

You will ask me, perhaps, of what service can I be to you^ as I
am so infirm and unfit for war. I grant, that I can give you little

NOTES.

says, Chapter 1 1th, Book 4th (Antonii naves)
a senis in ?iovenos remorum ardinibus, ad hoc
turribus alque taiulatis aLLevatte, castdlorum
tt urbium specie, no?i sine gemitu maris et
labore vmtarumferelantur: " The ships of
" Antony had from six to nine banks of oars ;
" they had besides a great number of towers
" and bridges, which gave them a prodigious
" height, and made them look like so many
" castles and cities. The sea groaned under
" the weight of those dreadful machines,
" which could not be removed but by the
" strongest efforts of the winds." Plutarch
speaks of these towers and castles of Antony,
and says, that when one such ship was sur-
rounded by four or five of Augustus's galleys,
the combat resembled rather the assault of a
city than the attack of a vessel. It is on this
account that Horace calls these ships navium
propitgnacida,

3. Paratus omne Ctesaris^ This is a
very happy turn. Horace, by saying to Ma;-
cenas, that he was always ready to put him-
self before Augustus, to guard him from the
blows of his enemies, pays at the same time
a handsome compliment to that prince, by
insinuating, that during the heat of the battle

he was regardless of himself, and exposed him-
self to the greatest dangers.

6. Si contra, grtJW5.J Horace, in another
place, tells Maecenas, in yet stronger terms,
that he could not live without him, Ode se-
venteenth, Book second ;

Ah, te mete si partem animce rapit
Maturior vis, quid moror altera,
Nee cams teque, nee superstes
Integer ?

1 Ah! if the destinies hasten to carry you
' off, and wrest from me the 'better part of
' myself, why should the other remain?
' Why should I tariy any longer, I who am
' neither so dear to the Romans, nor can be
' called entire when you are gone ?"

1 1 . Pel per Aipium jiiga.] The meaning
is, I would follow you not only to Tarentum,
&c. where Augustus made the rendezvous of
his fleet ; but I would follow you over the
Alps, over Caucasus, and to the utmost bor-
ders of the west.

15. Roges, tuum.~] Two things rendered
Horace very improper for war, his want of
courage, and bad state ^of health. After

410 Q. HORATI1 EPOPON LIBER. ODE 1.

Comes minore sum futurus in metu,

Qui major absentes habet ;
Ut assidens implumibus pullis avis

Serpentium allapsus timet, 2

Magis relictis ; non, ut adsit, auxili

Latura plus praesentibus.
Libenter hoc et omne militabitur

Bellum in tuse spem gratiee ;
Non ut juvencis illigata pluribus 25

Aratra nitantur meis,
Pecusve Calabris ante sidus fervidum

Lucana mutet pascua,
Nee ut superni villa candens Tusculi

Circeea tangat moenia. 30

Satis superque me benignitas tua

Ditavit : haud paravero
Quod aut, avarus ut Chremes, terra premam,

Discinctus aut perdam ut nepos.

ORDO.

juvem tuum lalorem meo labore ? Comes illigata nitantur pluribus meis juvencis, pe-

futurus sum in minore metu, qui major bar cusve mutet pascua Lucana Calabris ante

bet absntes ; ut avis assidens pullis implumi- sidus fervidum, riec ut villa candens tangat

bus timet ailapsus serpentium, magis vero Circaea mcenia Tusculi superni. Benignita*

relictis, non latura plus auxilii praesentibus, tua ditavit me satis superque. Haud para-

ut adsit. Hoc et omne bellum libenter mi- vero quod aut premam terra, ut avarus Chre-

Htabitur in spem tuae gratiiE ; non ut aratra mes, ant perdam, ut nepos discinctus.

NOTES.

having answered the first in the four pre- firmed when I have no inquietude about

ceding verses, he proceeds to answer the se- yours. All this is said with such an air of fa-

cond. I acknowledge, says he to Maecenas, miliarity, as makes it evident that Horace

that I can afford you no help ; but it will be was sure of the friendship and esteem of

a great advantage for me to be in your com- Maecenas.
panj. My own health will be the more con-

ODE I.

HORACE'S EPODES.

411

assistance in the field of battle; but I shall be much more free from
those anxious fears which disquiet me in your absence ; as a bird,
when at a distance from her new-hatched young, is more afraid of
serpents springing upon them, than when she is by them, not that
her presence could save them from being devoured. 1 will with
pleasure make this campaign, and a hundred more, to keep and
merit your esteem ; not with a view of increasing the number of
my cattle to till my grounds, or of having pastures, that I may re-
move my flocks from Calabria to cool Lucania, before the violent
heats of the dog-star, or of extending the inclomres of my glitter-
ing villa to the walls of Tusculum. No, I am already rich beyond
my utmost wants, in consequence of your generosity ; nor have I
the least desire, like Chremes in the play, to amass vast treasures
that 1 may bury them in the earth, or, like a rake, squander them
in luxury.

NOTES,

25. Non ut juvends illigata plurihis.']
Horace was one of the most disinterested men
in the world , this appears every where in
his works; it is known that he contented
himself w'jth the small house given him by
Maecenas, in the country of the Sabines. See
Ode eighteenth, Book second. Princes and
greati men would be much happier, if those
who attached themselves to their fortune,
were influenced rather by sentiments of
esteem and amity, than by a view of acquir-
ing riches, and gratifying their ambition.

34. Disrinctus nepos.] In all ages it has
been observed, that children whose father
and grandfather were still living, being free
from all domestic concerns, have dreamed

rather of spending than amassing and heap-
ing up riches. Add to this, that they are or-
dinarily spoiled by the blind indulgence of
their grandfathers. Hence the Latins some-
times employed the word nepos to signify a
young debauchee. Horace joins an epirbr.t
with it, which plainly determines its signifi-
cation. It is known that the Romans tucked
up their robes with a belt on occasions that
demanded action, and above all when they
went to the army, it being impossible to
fight otherwise. Hence it came to be looked
upon as a mark of effeminacy and softness
not to make use of a beh, but to let their
gown hang dragging after them.

412 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE II.

ODE II.

This ode is a master-piece in its kind. The poet, to show how unwilling the co-
vetous man is to detach himself from his riches, supposes an usurer, who, con-
vinced of the happiness and tranquillity of a country life, forms an intention
of renouncing his unworthy traffic, and retiring into the country, there to
spend the remainder of his days in a pleasant agreeable manner. He gathers
together his riches, breaks all his connexion with others, and prepares to be
gone. The passion awakes again, and opposes his design ; at the very first
assault he is lost. Those reflections so natural, those projects so reasonable,
those so nattering ideas of a pure and constant felicity, suddenly vanish ; and
the usurer remains, as formerly, the prey of his unhappy avarice. The ad-

VIT^E RUSTICS LAUDES.

BEATUS ille, qui procul negotiis,

Ut prisca gens mortalium,
Paterna rura bobus exercet suis,

Solutus omni fenore ;
Nee excitatur classico miles truci, 5

Nee horret iratum mare ;
Forum que vitat, et superba civium

Potentiorum limina.
Ergo aut adulta vitium propagine

Altas maritat populos, 10

Inutilesque falce ramos amputans,

Feliciores inserit j

ORDO.

Beatus est ille, qui procul negotiis, et so- mare iratum ; vitatque forum et superba 11-

lutus fenore omni, exercet rura paterna bo- mina civium potentiorum. Ergo aut maritat

bus suis, ut prisca gens mortalium ; nec,ut populos alias adulta propagine vitium, am-

miles, excitatur classico truci, nee horret putansque inutiles ramos falce, inserit felici-

NOTES.

2. Ut prisca gem mortalium.] We ought own hands, as Quintus Cincinnatus, Fabri-

to connect this second verse with the third, cius, Curius Dentatus, &c. The greatest

The first men were either labourers or shep- praise that could be given in those days to a

herds. Perhaps, however, Horace doe* not Roman, was to call him a good labourer :

refer to so distant n antiquity, but means Cato says, virum lonum cum laudalcmt, ila

this of the ancient Romans, who lived in the laudalant agricolam, lonumque colonum.
country, and laboured their fields with their 4. Solutus onmi fenore.'] This not only

ODE II. HORACE'S EPODES. 4 1 3

O D E II.

dress of the poet is admirable. He leaves it to his readers to draw the moral
which naturally flows from an event he had been relating; and he does not
make known to him the person that speaks, till towards the end of the piece.
A train of pleasing scenes amuse the imagination, and lead insensibly to an
unexpected solution, that furnishes useful reflections, by which every one
may profit. If this ode cannot be called the master-piece of Horace, at least
it may dispute the prize with whatever he has left us most beautiful in lyric
poetry. Never was Horace more pleasant in his style, more elegant in his
expressions, or more harmonious in his versification. The constructions are
so easy, that it is difficult to find one that stands in need of explication.

THE PRAISES OF A COUNTRY LIFE.

THRICE happy he, who, at a distance from the noise and hurry of
business, and free from every species of usury, lives like bur ances-
tors, and cultivates his paternal lands with his own oxen ; who is
not roused from his rest, as the- soldier, with the alarming sound
of trumpets ; who does not expose himself, as the merchant, to the
mercy of a raging sea; who is unconcerned in tedious law-suits,
and attends not the levees of the great*, but amuses himself with
binding the overgrown tendrils of his vines to the tall poplars, and
with lopping off decayed branches to graft others more kindly.

* Nor fears a raging ea; and shuns the bar, and proud tliresholds of powerful citizens.

NOTES

signifies one who owes nothing to any per- tice, and danger of trades and professions, in
son; but who lends nothing to any person, comparison of agriculture. War, says he, un-
one that is clear of all kind of usury, who has justly gives to some what it takes by violence
no debt either active or passive; and this in- from others ; commerce and navigation ex-
deed is very pleasant in the mouth of an ceed the bounds of nature, and expose the
usurer, out of conceit fora little while with a merchant to a thousand dangers:, usury is
commerce which by the first Romans was odious even to the person whom it relieves,
looked upon as infamous, and punished with The lawyer's trade is a villany licensed bv
greater severity than even death itself. Majores law; and a courtier is a lying, flattering, ser-
enim nostri sic haluerunt, et ita in legibus vile mercenary.

posuerunt, furem dupli coTidemnari, Jcenera- 6. Nee horret iratum mare.] The mean-

torem qnadrupli, quanta pcjorem civem existi- ing of the passage is, that such a one never

maruntfitneratorem quam furem. CATO. ventures upon the sea, or exposes himself to

4. Fenare.~] Columella says the same that its rage, either as a soldier or a merchant.

Horace does in showing the vileness, injus- Bias, speaking of those who go to sea, says

414 Q. HORAT1I EPODON LIBER. ODK it.

Aut in reducta valle niugientium

Prospectat errantes greges ;
Aut pressa puris raella conuit amphoris ; 13

Aut tonclet inflrmas oves :
Vel, cum decorum nxitibus pomis caput

Autumnus arvis extulit 3
Ut gaudet insitiva decerpens pyra,

Certantem et uvum purpurae, 'JT>

Qua muneretur te, Priape, et te, pater

Sylvane, tutor finium }
Libet jacere mod6 sub antiqua ilice,

Mode in tenaci gramine :
Labuntur altis interim ripis aquae ; 23

Queruntur in sylvis aves ;
Fontesque lymphis obstrepunt manantibus,

Somnos quod invitet leves.
At cum tonantis annus hibernus Jovis

Imbres nivesque comparat, 30

Aut trudit acres hinc et nine multa cane

Apros in obstantes plagas,
Aut amite levi rara tendit retia,

Turdis edacibus dolos ;
Pavidumque leporem, et advenam laqueo gruem,

Jucunda captat prsemia.

ORDO.

r; aut prospectat errantes greges mug'ren- interim labuntur ripis altis; aves.querunturiii
tium in valle red ucta; autcondit pressa mella sylvis; fontesque obstrepuut manantibus lym-
puris amphoris; aut tondet oves infirmas: phis, quod invitet somnos leves.
vel cam Autumnus extulit arvis caput deco- At cum annus hibernus Jovis tonantU corn-
rum pomis mitibus, ut gaudet decerpens insi- parat inibres nivesque, aut tr.nl ta cane tnulit
tiva pyra, et uvam certantem purpurtr, qua, nine et hinc apro.s acres in plagas obstantcs,
O Priape, muneretur tc, ct te, O paler Syl- aut amite levi tendit retia rara dolos turdis
vane, tutor finium 1 Modo libet jnrerr sub edtcibus; aut captut laqueo pavidum leporem,
ilice antiqua, modo in gramine tenaei. Aqua; gruemque advenam, jucunda prxmia.

N O T E S.

very ingeniously, that they rannoi be reckon- of tlie highest poplars, that his wine m'ght

d either among the living or ;he dead. br good. Cato says, Qi/am altlsxirnum-

10. Altos nutritat //)/.] .Soisic com- rineam focint; ' Raise your vine as high as

mentators pretend that Horace must hare " possible." AH, I Va>ro gives us the reason

written h-re //,;, but they mistake the of the precept ; Altlus vilis toilcnda, quoi' in

point. They must ceriainly have overlooked pnrlu ct ulnnonio cinvm, turn, ut in cali/f

that passage of Pliny, in the tweiitv-thiidchap- ijt/,r-;tt aijuam, sed >o/i?7)!.
ter of his seventeenth book, where he says, 21. Priape^] Sylvanus and Priapns \\cr<'

that experience teaches us that the hisrh trees jods in the aiu-ient mythology, in whom such

make the goodness <if the wine, and the low as lived in the country were very nearly in-

trees the quantity. Horace therefore here terested. The one had the care of the gar-

am alias, to mark that this jftan mad clwice dnt*, and the oth provided for the prescrs a-

ODE II. HORACE'S EPODES. 415

Sometimes he takes pleasure to view at a distance his cattle graz-
ing in a winding valley, which resounds with their lowings ;
sometimes he fills his well-seasoned jars with honey expressed from
the combs, or shears his over-burthened sheep ; or when the plea-
sant autumn shows itself crowned with ripe fruits, ohl how he is
pleased to gather the pears which he himself gfcafted, or the grapes
that vie in colour with purple, of which he makes an offering to
thee, Priapus, and to thee, father Sylvamis, the guardian of his
grounds. Then he takes pleasure to rest himself sometimes undeF
the shade of an old bushy oak, at other times on the matted grass,
whilst the fall of waters from the mountains, the warbling of birds
in the woods, and the murmur of streams flowing from their bub-
bling fountains, make an agreeable concert, and lull him asleep.

But when the wintry tempests begin to sound, and cover the
ground with snow*, he diverts himself with closely pursuing wild
boars, and forcing them with his pack of hounds into the toils, or
stretches his nets on a polished hunting-staff to insnare voracious
thrushes, and catches in his springes the timorous hare, and the
crane that is seldom seen, which he reckons a sufficient recompense
for his toil.

* But when the wintry stason. of thundering Jupiter brings rains and snows.

NOTES.

tion of the boundaries which separated and " of two or three inheritances." The first is

distinguished the lands. Fable says, that the same with the god Lar, whence he i

Priapus, the son of Bacchus and Venus, was called Sylvanus Lamm. The second was die

born in Lampsacus, a city of Troas, where he same as Pun, or Faunus :
was abandoned by his mother. This god was

o late, that Hesiod makes no mention of Agresti Fauna supposuisse penis.

him. Svlvanus is yet less known ; some make Ovre.
him the son of Saturn, others of Faunus. It

is not known in what place he was born. The third was the same with Mars. Horace'

The Pelasgi first brought the knowledge of speaks here of this last, to whom was ascribed

him from Greece into Italy. the fertility of the country, and who was con-

22. Tutor fiiium.'] The ancients acknow- sidered as the author of all the blessings it

led^-ed three gods, who all went by the name afforded; this was the reason of addre* ing

of Sylvanus. In the book of the boundaries their prayers to him, when they implored a

of the lands, we find this passage : Omnis blessing on the fields. Mars Pater, te precor,

possessio tres Sylvanos habet; tmus dicitur qucesorjite uti siesvolcnspropitiusmihi, domo,

domcsticiis, possession* consecratus ; alter did- Jamiliaque nostrce, uti tit morlos visas inri-

tur agrestis, pattorribus consecratus ; tertius sosque, viduitatem vastitudinemque, calami^

dicitur orientals, cui est in confmio lucus totes, intemperiasqne pnhibessis, dffemlat,

p!)situs. "Every heritage had three gods averruncesque, uti tujnises,frumenla,vitieta,

" under the name of Sylvanus; (he one called virgulla, grandire beneque evenire sinas,pas-

" domestic, who was the god of the heritage ; tores pecoraque salva seroassis, duisfue l-cmam

" the second had the rare of the shepherds j salutem valetudinemque mihi, domo,famiti<9-

** and the last, called oriental, had commonly que nostrts, &c.

" a grove dedicated tohim upon the confines 31. Mul^d cant.} Singulars are always

416 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. OtE II,

Quis non malarum, qtias amor curas habet,

Haec inter obliviscitur ?
Quod si pudica mulier in partem juvet

Domum utque cfulces liberos, 40

(Sabina qualis, aut pe'rusta solibus

Pcrnicis uxor Appuli)
Sacrum vetustis exstruat lignis focum,

L<assi sub adventum viri ;
Claudensque textis cratibus laetum pecus, 45

Distenta siccet ubera ;
Et horna dulci vina promens dolio,

Dapes inemtas apparet;
Non me Lucrina juverint conchylia,

Magisve rhombus, aut scari, . 50

Si quos Eois intonata fluctibus

Hiems ad hoc vertat mare ;
Non Afra avis descendat in ventrem meum,

Non attagen lonicus
Jucundior, quam lecta de pinguissimis 55

Oliva ramis arborum,
Aut herba lapathi prata amantis, et gravi

Malva? salubres corpori,
Vel agna festis caesa Terminalibus,

Vel hoedus ereptus lupo. 60

Has inter epulas, ut juvat pastas oves

Videre p rope rant es clomum !
Videre fessos vomerem inversum boves

Collo trahentes languido ;

ORDO.

Quis inter haec non obliviscitur curarttm ad lioc mare, non juverint me magis ; no

malarum quas curas amor habet ? avis Afra, non attagen lonicus, descendat

Quod si mulier pudica in partem juvet do- jucundior iu ventrem meum, quam oliva lecta

mum atque liberos dulccs (qualis Sabina, aut de pinguusimU ramis arborum, aut herba la-

uxor Apuli pernicis perusta solibusj et extruat path! amantis prata, ct niaivie snlubres cor-

locum sacrum lignis vetustis sub adventum p>ri gravi, vel apna ccesa festis Terminalibus,

viri l-is=i ; claudensque lanuin pecus cratibus vel hoedus ereptus lupo.
textis, siccet ubtra distenta, et, prouiens Inter has npulas, ut juvat videre pastas oves

horna vina dolio dulci, apparet. dupes iuem- properantes domuna ! Ut jurat videre fessos bo-

tas; Lucrina conchylia, rhombusve,aut scari, ves tralieutes vomerem inversum, collolangui-
ti quos hiems iutouata vertat Eois fluctibus

NOTES.

more noble than plurals. Multo milite for it was very rare to find a vvoinan who was

rnultis militibus. When the Liitins sj>cak of willing to live in the country, and take upou

hunting dcgs, they generally use canis in the lierself the care of her own family. Luxury

feminine gender. had entirely corrupted them ; and it was not

4K Saiina qualis.'] In th? time of Horace without difficulty that they could resolv*

ODE II.

HORACE'S EPODES,

417

Would not the most passionate lover, amidst these innocent di-
versions, forget the jealous and smarting pains of love ? (

But if, with all these pleasures, a chaste wife takes part with
him in the care of his house and children, like a virtuous Sabine
matron, or the frugal, though homely, wife of an industrious Apu-
lian, and in the evening when her husband returns fatigued with his
labour, makes a blazing fire for him of well-dried faggots, and
having pent up his well-pleased ewes, goes herself and drains their
extended udders of the rich milk, and drawing a bowl of this year's
wine from a sweet cask, sets before him a supper of unbought
dainties; I would prefer such a meal to the fine oysters of the Lucrine
lake, the choicest turbot, or the scar, forced sometimes by a storm
from the eastern seas to ours. No turkeys or heath-poults are so
delicious to my taste as sweet olives just pulled from the over-loaded
boughs, or sorrel, that is plentiful in meadows, or mallows so salu-
tary to our sickly bodies, or a lamb killed for a sacrifice at the feast
of Terminus, or a kid snatched from the jaws of a growling wolf.

Amidst these plain. repasts, what pleasure he has in seeing his
well-fed sheep hastening home, his weary oxen heavily dragging

NOTES.

to pass so much as a few days in the country,
unless they were going to some pleasant seat.
This was what gave rise to farmers. This
is alsa the reason that Horace takes his ex-
amples from the Sahines and Apulians, who
retained some remains of their ancient fru-
gality and laborious diligence. Columella
says, in the preface to his second book, Quam
ol- caitsam cum in totum nan solum exoleverit,
fed etiam Occident, fetus ilte matrum fami-
liarum mos Salinarum atijue Romanarum,
nfcessaria irr.pnl cillicfe cura, quce tuerrtur
officia matri.n<ff. " Wherefore as the prac-
" tice of the ancient Sabine and Roman
" ladies is not only become unfashionable,
" but entirely laid aside, it has been thought
" necessary to commit business to the care.
" and inspection of a farmer, who may dis-
" charge the duties that properly belong to
" the mistress of the family."

48. Dapes .inemtas apparel.] She does
not go to the neighbouring city to buy where-
with to furnish her table ; she makes her own
garden supply her with every thing necessary.
Virgil says the same of an old Corycian. Se

the prose translation of Virgil, Georg. 4th*
v. 132.

seraqui? revertens

Node dvntum dapilus mensas oneral-at in-
emtis.

" He returned home late in the evening, and
" loaded his table with meats which he was
" not under a necessity of buying." Colu-
mbia alludes to this passage of Virgil, when,
speaking of the culture of gardens, he says,
Hirlorum eequff ciiram sitsci/je re dehf bit ; ut et
quotidiani victus sui levet. sumpium, et adve-
nienti domino prcel:eat qund ait poeta, inemp-
tas runs dopes. " A man who has a small
" heritage to cultivate, and is a good ma-
" nager, ought to buy nothing for his sub-
" sistence."" And it is a precept of Cato,
Patrem-familias vendacem el nan emacem
esse opvTtere. " That the father of a family
" should io#e to sell and not to buy."

59. Pel agna festiti ceesa Tenninal&us,]
This is another evidence of the frugalitv of
these good people, who made a feast but once

Vot. I,

41S Q. HORATO EPODON LIBER. ODE III.

Positosqtie vernas, ditis examea domfts, 65

Circam renidentes Lares !
Hc- ubi locutus fenerator Alphius,

Jam jam futurus rtrsticias,
Omncm releg-it Tdibas pecuniam ;

Quierit Calendis ponere. 70

ORDO.

do ; vernasqne, exainen domos dids, positos jam futnros rmtiens, relegit omnem pe-
circum Lares renidentes ! cuniain Idibus, quaerit vero ponere Calcndit.

Ubi fenerator Alpldusiocutus essei hs&c, jam

NOTES.

a year, anslthv.t when they offered sacrifices called Terminalia; it was instituted by Nwna.

to the god who had the care of their boun- They usually sacrifice.-] a lamb. Plutarch

daries. We have elsewhere spokeu of ihe therefore 'as certainly in a mistake, when

great respect which the Romans had for ihis he assures us in the fifteenth of his Roman

deity. The festival they kept in honour of questions, iliat t'.i'-y never sacrificed any Least

him was on the twenty-first of February, and to the god of their borders. This is evident,

ODE III.

Horace, having supped with Maecenas, found himself disordered by eating of a
dish of herbs in which garlic had been put, and upon that occasion writes to

AD MdECENATEM.

PARENTIS olimsi quis impia raanu

Senile guttur fregerit,
Edat cicutis allium nocentius.

O dura messorum ilia !
Quid hoc veneni sasvit in praecordiis 1 5

Num viperinus his cruor
Incoctus herbis me fefellit 1 an malas

Canidia tractavit dapos ?

ORDO.

NOTES.

8. Caiiidia.l Tlie old sclioliut prc tends, that Horace speaks here of a celebrated prac-
it ihis Canfdia is factitious name, and titioner in poison, named Gratidia. who wu

ODE III. HORACE'S EPODES. 419

back the inverted plough,and crowds of servants, asure sign of riches,
sitting cheerful round his clean hearth.

The griping usurer Alphius had not well ended this harangue, but
he presently resolved to go and live in the country, calls in all his
money on the Ides, but he had scarcely got it in, when he wants to
put it out again on the following Calends.

NOTES.

not only from the present passage, but from till the beginning of the next. Calendis Ro-
many others which it would be needless to were therefore is to laid it out till the Calends,
quote. Horace says, that Alphius having gathered
70. Qiuerit Calerulis ponereJ] By ponere in his money on the Ides, endeavours the
here is meant putting out to interest; but, same day to put it out for another term, that
says M. Dacier, the greatest part of inter- is, to the Calends ; but P. Sanadon says, M.
prefers have misunderstood what Horace Dacier does violence to the text; for it' relegit
means by Calendis ponere , for it is ridiculous, Idilnis signifies he called it in on the Ides, a*
sajs he, to imagine, that Alphius, after M. Dacier himself interprets it, ponzre Ca-
having called in all his money the fifteenth of lendis must signify to put it out on the follow-
the month, was so bad a manager as to keep ingCalends, as it is translated in this version.
it the rest of the month, and not lay it out

ODE III.

his friend. This is the true subject of the ode, which does not contain any
particular whence we may draw a conjecture of the time of its composition.

TO MAECENAS.

IF there be such an unnatural impious wretch upon earth as has
strangled his aged father with his own hands, let him, by way of
punishment, eat garlic, which is a tJiousand times more poisonous
than hemlock. The reapers' stomachs must be strong indeed to di-
gest this nauseous plant. What poison is this that consumes my
entrails ? Was it the blood of vipers poured on these herbs that thus
deceived, me, or did Canidia touch the cursed dish, and impart
to it her magic V

NOTES.

of Naples. He founds his conjecture upon any one's reputation ; but both he and they

this, that it was forbidden by the laws to who follow him mistake the point. Horace

name any person to speak evil of them. There intimates that this law was made only against

was a law relating to this in the twelve tables, calumniators, against those who accused

and Augustus had, as it were, renewed it, people of things tiiey had never done, who

\)y ordering that information should be given reproached them with primes they were not

against those who, by their writings, wounded guilty of ; and maintains, that in writing

420

Q. HORATII EPODON LlBER. ODE III.

Ut Argonautas praeter omnes candidum

Medea mirata est ducem,
Ignota tauris illigatururn juga,

Perunxit hoc Jasonem :
Hoc delibutis ulta donis pellicem,

Serpente fugit alite.
Nee tantus unquam siderum insedit vapor

Siticulosse Apulise ;
Nee munus humeris efficacis Herculis

Inarsit acstuosius.
At, si quid unquam tale concupiveris,

Jocose Maecenas, precor
Manum puella suavio opponat tuo,

Extrema et in spondi cubet.

ORDO,

Ut Medea mirata est ducem candidum Apatite sitii-ulosae ; nee munus cestuosiun
prieter Argonautas omnes, perunxit Jasonem inarsit humeris Herculis efficacis.
hoc allio, illigaturnm juga ignota tauris : ulta At, o jocose Maecenas, si unquam concu-
pellicem donis delibutis hec fugit serpente piveris quid tale, precor ut puella opponat
alite. manum suavio tun, et cubet in sponda ex-
Nee tantus vapor siderua? nnquam insedit trema.

NOTES.

against those who merited censur;, far from
exposing himself to the penalty annexed to
the laws, he was, on the contrary, sure of
the protection and approbation of Augustus.
This is evident from the latter part of the
first satire of the second book ;

si quit

Opprol-riis dignum latraierit, integer ipse,
Soheiitur risu tabulte, iu missus alibis.

Thus Horace did not scruple to mark those
byjheir proper names whom he lashed in his

versM ; he never feigned one to them, as it
would be easy to show : he is not content
with mentioning Canidia by her own name,
but also poinis her oxit by that of her father,
Sat. first, Book second.

Canidia Albuti, quilus est mimica, venenum.

9. Ut dreonaittai.'] Ut here stands for
postqiiam ; the passage ought to he construed
in this manner; Potfrjttam Medea ir.iraia esl
ducem candidum pr<fter omnes Argonautas,
pefurait allio eum i/ligatiurum tauri

ODE ill.

HORACE'S EPODES.

421

When Medea became an admirer of Jason, that most comely
prince who headed the Argonauts, she surely anointed him with this
before he dared to engage the fiery bulls, or made them submit
tamely to the yoke. Rubbing her presents over with this, she
avenged herself of her rival, then mounted into the air in a chariot
drawn by winged dragons.

Never did the violent heat of the Dog-star thus scorch dry Apu-
lia ; nor could the gift sent to indefatigable Hercules kindle such a
fire in his body.

But, my jocose friend, should you ever entertain a desire to eat
garlic, may your mistress deny you a kiss, and lie at a distance
from you all night in the farthest part of the bed.

NOTES.

ignota. Every one knows the history of Jason,
who, in order to come at the golden fleece,
was obliged to bring under the yoke two
bulls who vomited up flame, whose feet were
of brass, and whose horns were of iron.

12. Perunxit Aoc.] Horace found the ef-
fects of the garlic so terrible, that he assures
us the drug wherewith Medea anointed Jason
was true garlic, and not a compound oil, as
Pindar would have it, or the juice of an en-
chanted herb, according to Ovid and some
others of the ancients. But how can this be
reconciled with what he says in the sequel,
that the robe which Medea sent to the
daughter of Creon was poisoned with garlic ?
Whence comes it that garlic produces such
contrary effects ? Here it is salutary to
Jason, and in the following verse destructive
to Glauca. This is a difficulty raised by Ju-
lius Scaliger, and indeed at first sight it ap-
pears plausible ; but it is easy to answer it;
Horace pretends that Medea gave Jason some
antidote, and that the garlic wherewith she
aooiuted him could not prevail against him,

but only against the bulls he wished to sub-
due.

13. Hoc delilutisulta (lonispetticem.~\ Ja-
son returning from Colchis with Medea, took
Corinth in his way, and there declared him-
self the lover of Glauca, the daughter of king
Creon. Mdea, provoked at this ingratitude,
resolved to takereveng-e on his mistress. That
she might the better effect her design, she
thought it prudent o dissemble her resent-
ment, and sent to that young princess a very
magnificent nuptial-robe and a crown of gold,
which she had poisoned. These presents pro-
duced the desired effect ; and Glauca no
sooner put them on, than she found herself
consumed by a fire which it was impossible to
extinguish. Euripides composed an excellent
tragedy on this subject, under the name of
Medea. Dona therefore here are the crown
of j^old and the marriage-robe which Euripides
calls TraixiXcyj TIETTXOV;, variam vestern,

17. Muuus.] This gift was the robe which
Deianira sent to Hercules, after she had
dipped it in hi Wood ut' iNessus, the centaur.

422 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE IV.

ODE IV.

Horace writes here against a slave whose name was Menas, whom Pompey
the Great had set at liberty, and who, after the death of his first master,
attached himself to the interest of the young Pompey, who loaded him with
favours, and made him lieutenant-general of his naval forces ; bat the civil
wars beginning; afresh between this last Pompey and Augustus in the year
of Rome 715, Menas forsook the party of his benefactor, and joined that of
Augustus, to whom he gave up Sardinia, and the army under his command.
This treachery was not unprofitable to him ; Augustus added new favours to
those he had already received ; he ennobled him ; gave him the privilege of
wearing a gold ring ; raised him to the dignity of a Roman knight, and for
some time did him the honour to make him eat at his own table. But all
these great favours were not able to fix this perfidious man, who, being ac-
customed to govern his masters, and to see no person above him, took it
ill that Augustus did not give him the command. For this reason he for-
sook him in the following year, and returned to Pompey, who, taking his

IN SEX. MENAM, POMPEII LIBERTUM.

LUPIS et agnis quanta sorth& obtigit,

Tecum mihi discordia est, /

Ibericis peruste funibus latus,

Et crura dura compede.
Licet superbus ambules pecunitl, 5

Fortuna non inutat genus.
Videsne, sacram metiente te viam

Cum bis ter ulnarum togA,
Ut ora vertat hue et buc euntium

Liberrima indignatio ? 10

ORDO.

Quanta discordia sortitb obtigit lupis et cnnia, fortuna non inutat genus.

gnis, ianlu est mihi tecum, O Mow, ]>er- Videsne ut liberrima indignatio euntium

uste quoad latus funibus Ibericis, et cruva vertat ora hue et hue, te metiente viam

dura compede. Licet ambules sitperbus pe- sacram cum toga bis ter ulnarum ? " Hie

NOTES.

5. Superbus ambules pecuni&.^\ Menas suffered himself to be entirely governed by

had amassed great wealth under Pompey the his slaves and freed-men. Velleius fays of

Great, under his son, and under Augustus, him, Lil-eitorum suorum liicrtus t servorum-

but more 'under the young Pompey than uu- que servus.
Her either of the others ; for that weak man

ODE IV. HORACE'S EPODES. 423

ODE IV.

return for a true repentance, pardoned him., restored, hi BI to bj$ eooaqnand,
and re-established him in his first fevour. This goodaess was one of the
principal causes of Pompey's ruin ; for Menas, who was destitute both of
integrity and respect, quitted him. a second tii<?, about the year of the city
717, and joined again the party of Augustus with the fleet untie* his com-
mand ; discovered to Augustus all the secrets he had been intrusted with, and
proved very serviceable to him in that war. Augustus, willing to profit by
the advice of this vile slave, and fearing to lose him a second time, made
him tribune of the soldiers, but nevertheless detested his perfidy and ingra-
titude ; and this was the very thing that gave Horace the boldness to. writ*
against him, and to handle him so, roughly in this ode ; which assuredly he
would not have done, if Menas had been as well with Augustus the seeoed
time as the first. It is certain therefore that this ode was written abowt tke
717th year of Rome, some months before the battle of Milazzo. The year
following Menas was slain at the siege of, Belgrade.

AGAINST SEXTUS MENAS, A FREED-MAN OF POMPEY.

NATURE has not implanted a greater antipathy between the wqfves,
and lambs, than I feel in myself against you, vile and odious, slave,
whose back still retains the scars of the Spanish whips, and whose
legs yet bear the marks of the slavish chain.

Though you are proud of your immense riches, and give yourself
airs of grandeur, yet fortune cannot change your mean extraction.

When you strut proudly up the sacred hill in your robe with a
train six yards long, do not you see the crowd and generous

NOTES.

6. Fortuna non mutat genus.'] All the a pas sion directly opposite to pitv. Pity is,

care and pains that the young Pompey and when one grieves at the misfortunes which

Augustus had taken to efface, by employ- befall a person that does not deserve them,

inents and dignities, the meanness of Me- Indignation is, when one is <lisplta;,ed to see

nas' birth, were fruitless and nugatory. It any thing happen well to a person who is

was not in the power of fortune to alter his unworthy of it. Lil:errimainfiignatio,anopcn

conditioVi, or hinder him that was a frced-man avowed indignation, which is at no pains to

from being a slave. conceal itself. Horace uses the epiihet li-

10. Liitrrima indignalio.] Indignation is lerrima, on account of what follows, scctus

424 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER.

Sectus flagellis hie triumviralibus,

Praeconis ad fastidium,
Arat Falerni mille fundi jugera,

Et Appiam mannis terit ;
Sedilibusque magnus in primis eques,

Othone contenito, sedet.
Quid attinet tot ora navium gravi

Rostrata duci pondere,
Contra latrones atque servilem manum,

Hoc, hoc tribune militum ?

ODE IV.

ORDO.

" sectus flagellis triumviralibus, ad fastidium " conternpto. Quid attinet tot rostrata ora

" praeconis, arat mille jugera fundi Falerni, " navium gravi pondere duci contra latrones

" et terit viam Appiam mannis, equesque " atque manura servilem, hoc, hoc tribuno

" magnus sedet in sedilibus prirais, Othone " militum ?"

NOTES.

Jtagellis ; for it is not the poet that speaks power to punish malefactors, whom they either

here, hut the people ; therefore the okl scho- chastised themselves, or ordered to be chas-

liast has very judiciously rerr.arked on this tised in their presence near a pillar called

passage, htec quasi indignantis populi verla Menia, which stood in the Comitium.

sunt in Meiiam. 12. Prteconis ad fastidium. ] At Rome,

11. Sectus Jlagellis hie lriumviralihis.~\ when any person was punished in public, the

There were at Rome three judges called tri- criminal was preceded by a public crier, who

vmviri, or Ires r-iri capitales. They were proclaimed with a loud voice the crime for

keepers of the public prison, and had the which he was led to punishment.

ODE IV.

HORACE'S EPODES.

425

mans sneer, and hear them with indignation say, " Mind that fellow
" who has so oft been scourged by order of the Triumvirs, that the
" common crier could hold out proclaiming his crime no longer;
" now he possesses a thousand acres of land in Campania, tears up
" the Appian way with his prancing nags, and in contempt of Otho's
11 laws, places himself in one of the first seats among those of eques-
" trian dignity at the public shows. What a shame is it to fit out
" such a great and powerful fleet against pirates and servile villains,
" while such a slave as this is made a military tribune !"

NOTES.

16. flume contemlo.'] Lucius Roscius
Otho, tribune of ihe people, had enacted a
law, which assigned the places where the
knights were to sit at the public shows in tlie
amphitheatre, upon fourteen seats behind the
senators, separate from those of the people.
This law also distinguished the knights who
\vere so by birth from all others, and allowed
them the liberty of placing themselves upon
the first of these fourteen seats preferably to
those who had been raised to that dignity by
favour, or for the services they had done the
commonwealth. This prerogative, due only
to birth, did not at all belong to the person
of whom Horace speaks here ; and he could
not lay claim to it, but in contempt of the
law enacted by Otho, Othone contemlo.

1 9- Contra la/rones atque servilem manum.~]
The young Pompey had received into his ser-
vice all the corsairs and slaves he could find,
and had made of them a considerable army.

O quam diversus a patref Ilk piratat
Cilicas extinxerat, hie secum piratas navales
agitul-at. " How different was the son from
" the father! Pompey the Great had done
" his utmost to extirpate the pirates, whereas
" the young Pompey put himself at their
" head." FLORUS.

20. Hoc, hoc tribuno militum.~\ Menai
himself had been a slave and a corsair. It
was therefore a very ridiculous thing to send,
against slaves and corsairs, an army under the
conduct of a leader who had been himself a
corsair and slave. When Horace wrole this
ode, it was, without doubt, believed at Rome,
that Augustus would intrust Menas with
some command in the fleet, as he had before
given him one of considerable importance,
after his first defection from Pompey; but
that prince, who put little confidence in him,
thought proper to send him with the degree
only of a simple tribune of the soldier*.

426 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE V.

ODE V.

Of all th remains of antiquity,, the following piece is one of the most bitter
and satirical. Horace writes against Canidia, and reproaches her for having
stripped a youth of quality of all his ornaments, and designing to make him
undergo a cruel death, that out of his marrow and liver she nii^ht compose
an amorous draught to be given to one of her lover?, named Varus, who had
abandoned her. He explains the preparatives to that death, and ail the
ceremonies which precede it. This ode is remarkable on account of its style,

IN CANIDIAM VENEF1CAM.

AT 6 Deorum quklquid in coelo regit

Terras et hurnarmm genus,
Quid iste fert tuinuhus } et quid omnium

Vultus in unura me truces ?
Per liberos te, si vocata partubus 5

Lucina veris adfuir,
Per hoe inane purpurse decus precor,

Per improbaturum hsec Jovem ;
Quid ut noverca me intueris, aut utl

Petita ferro bellua 1 10

Uf hc trementi questus ore, constitit

Inaignibus raptis puer,

ORDO.

At o quicquidDeorum in coelo regit terras vocata aclfuit partubus veris; precor te per

et genus humanum, quid iste tunmltus fert ? hoc inane decus purpurae, per Jovem impro-

et quid trr.ces hi vultus omnium in me unum baturum haee, quid intueris me ut noverca,

voiunt ? aut uti beilua petita ferro?

O Canidia, precor te per liberos, si Lucina Ut puer questus hiec ore trementi constitit,

NOTES.

1. j4t.~] This is a particle used with a ness of mothers towards their children, and
very good grace at the beginning of a perfor- the reverence and submission they owe to
mance; it gives, at the same time, a great the gods, the avengers of impiety and wicked-
force to the expression, and prepares the mind ness. It will he proper here to take notice
for the reception of something new and sur- cftbe admirable address of the poet. The
prising. The scene opens here in a manner reader, struck with the v'nacity that appears
very pathetic and affecting. A boy finds him- in the beginning of this discourse, is impa-
self surrounded by a troop of sorceresses who tient to know who it is that speaks: but the
breathe nothing but rage and fury. Here- suspension and delay serve only to increase
presents to them his birth, youth, and inno- this desire, and, whrn he comes afterwards
cence; he conjures them by all the tender- to know the actors, his indignation is raised

ODBV.

HORACE'S EPODES.

427

ODE V.

which is pure, and very compact ; of its turns, which are lively and in-
genious ; and the great number of particulars it makes us acquainted with.
But what appears to me most fine and delicate in the whole performance is,
that, without seeming to be sensible of it, Horace throws upon this Varus a
certain ridicule, which cannot but infinitely please the reader, as soon as he
fully perceives it.

AGAINST CANIDIA, A SORCERESS.

BUT, O ye heavenly powers, who govern the earth, and regulate the
affairs of men, what is the cause of this tumult, and what mean the
frightful looks of these old hags, all fixed on me alone ?

Canidia, I conjure you by your tender infants, if ever Lucina,
when invoked, was present and assisted at their birth; I conjure
you by this shining purple, the proof of my innocence ; and, injine,
by Jupiter himself, who cannot but detest such barbarous actions,
why do you look upon me with the fierceness of a step-mother, or
of a savage tigress wounded with a spear ?

After the innocent boy had in this manner with trembling lips
uttered his complaints, they stripped him of his robes, which were

NOTES.

to the greatest height. We have seen in the
ode, Bealus Me, the effect of a like suspen-
sion, but carried yet farther than this.

5. Si vocata parlubus Lucina veris ad-
fuit.] Torrenti us las given an erroneous
explication of this passage. Horace re-
proaches Canidia, not only because she had
neverhad any children, but because she some-
times counterfeited being brought to bed, as
was the custom of the sorceresses of that age.
They gave out that they were pregnant, that
they might have a pretence to claim the chil-
dren they stole as their own, and make their
own use of them upon occasion.

7. PvgpHffG decus.] By this Horace means
the robe which usually went under the name
of the toga praitexta, which had a border of

purple. Many are of opinion that the vouth
quitted the habit at the age of fourteen, to
put on the toga virilis ; but it is a mistake.
Observe in a few words the practice oi' the
Romans in this matter : to the age of twelve
they wore a kind of waistcoat called alicita.
chlamys; at that age they quitted this for the
tcga pruelexLa, a gown with a border of purple
round the edges; this they continued till they
came to the age of puberty, or the seven-
teenth year, when they put on the toga viri-
lis. This pnetexta was not onry a token of
the youth and quality of the wearer, but also
had the repute of a sacred habit ; and there-
fore, when they assigned it for the use of the
boys, they had this especial consideration,
that it might be a kind of guard or defence to.

423 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE V.

Impube corpus, quale posset impia

Mollire Thracum pectora ;
Canidia, brevibus implicata viperis 15

Crines et incomtum caput,
Jubet sepulcris caprificos erutas,

Jubet cupressus funebres,
Et uncta turpis ova ranie sanguine,

Plumamque nocturnes strigis, 20

Herbasque, quas lolcos, atque Iberia

Mittit venenorum ferax,
Et ossa ab ore rapta jejuna? canis,

Flammis aduri Colchicis.
At expedita Sagana, per totam domum 25

Spargens Avernales aquas,
Horret capillis, ut marinus, asperis,

Echinus, aut currens aper.
Abacta nulla Veia conscientia,

Ligonibus duris humum SO

Exhauriebat, ingemens laboribus j

Quo posset infossus puer
Longo die bis terve mutatae dapis

Inemori spectaculo;
Cum promineret ore, quantum exstant aquft 3.5

Suspensa men to corpora :
Exsucta utl medulla, et aridum jecur

Amoris esset poculum j

ORDO.

u.Mgnibus raptis, corpus impnbe quale pos- At expedita Sagana, spargens aquas Aver-

set molihe irapia pectora Thraeuro ; turn nales per totam domum, liorret capillis asperis,

GtnWia, implicata crines et incomptum ut echinus rnarinus, aut currens aper. Veia,

caput brevibxts viperis, jubet caprificos eru- abacta nulla conscientia, iiigcniens laboribus,

las sepulchris, jubet funrbres cupressus, exhauriebat humum li;;onibus duris, quo puer

pJumamc|iie et ova strigis noctunue uncta infossus posset ineinorispeftaculo dapis longo

sanguine ranie turpis, herhasque quas et lol- die bis terve mutatie ; cum promineret ore,

cos atque Iberia ferax veuenorum minit, et quantum corpora suspensamento exstant nqua:

ossa rapta ab ore jfjunie canis, aduri fiammis uti medulla exsucta, et jecur aridum esstt

Colchicis. poculuru uinoris, cum pupul^e semel fixie cibo

NOTES.

them against the injuries to which that age piece of gold in the shape of a heart, which,

was exposed. This is the reason why the according to some, was tlesigiied as an incite-

youth conjures Canidia by his habit. ment to courage, and to teach them that they

12. huignil'us raplis.] By w.viffiiia Ho- ought to apply themselves seriously to the

race here means the rol,e edged with purple, acquisition of sense and reason, that they

and the bulla -aurta, which was hung about might be able to govern themselves with wis-

the necks of children the same day tiicy were dom and prudence; and the purple of the

Kiad to assume the toga praetcxta. ii wts a 50 wn, ii is supposed, as imcmltci tt> ren:iid

ODE V. HORACE'S EPODES. 429

the marks of his quality, and exposed his naked body, a frame so
delicate, as would have touched the savage hearts even of Thracians
with pity. But the cruel Canidia, lost to all sense of prayers, with
disheveled hair twisted with small hissing snakes, persists; and such
were her commands:

" Take these wild fig-branches torn from gloomy sepulchres;
" these funeral cypresses, with these feathers and eggs of a screech
" owl, smeared with the gore of a venomous toad; to them add the
" deleterious herbs that grow in Spain, or in Sicily so fertile of
" poisons, and these bones snatched from a hungry bitch, and boil
" them all on a magic fire*."

Immediately Sagana tucks up her robe, and with her "bristled
hair, like a hedge-hog, or a wild boar pursued by the hunters, stares,
and sprinkles the house with water taken from the lake Avernus;
and Veia, on her part, without remorse of conscience Jor the heinous
sin, turns up the earth with a spade, groaning as she digs, and
makes a hole in which she fixes the innocent boy to starve, longing
for meat which was set before him and changed two or three times
a day, but which he could not touch, as nothing appeared but
his head, like swimmers who seeTn suspended in the water by the
chin : and thus, when his eye-balls were worn out with pain and

* In Colchian flames.

NOTES.

them of the modesty that became them at in Campania. This is the reason why s

that age. proat virtues were attributed to its waters, and

17. Julet sepulcris capri/icos erc/a.*.] that they made u-.e oi' them in their sacrifice*
Honce here gives an enumeration of the to propitiate the infernal deities,
greatest part of the ingredients generally used 29. Abacta nuLU'i Pan a>n<;cient:a.] Vela
by sorcerers in the composition of their is here the proper name of a sorceress, who,
philtres. The wild fig-tree enters among Horace tells us, was employed in digging iifr
them, because it bears neither blossom nor the earth, to make a hole wherein she mi' r ht
fruit, and was reckoned iu the number of the place the devoted child without the least re-
unlucky trees. morse.

19. Etuncta turpis ova ranee sanguine.] 03. Longn die.'] This phrase lus per-

Horace puts rcma, a frog, for ruleta, a toad, plexed interpreters. Muny explain it of a

The toad is of a ranch more venomous nature summer's day, as if a child, buried up to the

than the frog, which is the reason that sor- chin, would certainly die in the space of one

cerers made rae of the former hi almost all day. Lojigo dif, here, is the same as, by de-

their compositions. Sometimes they took grees, slowly; for the child, in this condition,

only the blood, at other times the lungs, might live three or four days.
Here Canidia orders the f.-athers and eggs of 37. Exsuctautl medulla, et aridumjecur.]

a screech-owl to be dipped in the blood of a The meat which was served up to tbU

toad; for it b thus that we ought to under- child, and which it was not in his power to

stand the p?jsage, Etplumam etova nocLurnee touch, served only to augment his desire and

strigis, umta sanguine turpis raiue. hunger, which dried up his marrow, and en-

26. S/iargens Avernales aquas.] The an- tirely consumed his liver; this is the reason

cients were of opinion, that one might de- why it was vulgarly believed, that the mar-

scend to hell by the lake Avernus, which was row and liver were in a pacnliar manner fit for

430 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE V.

Interrninato cum semel fixee cibo

Intabuissent pupulae. 40

Non defuisse masculae libidinis

Ariminensem Foliam,
Et otiosa credidit Neapolis,

Etomne vicinum oppidum;
Quae sidera excantata voce ThessalA, 45

Lunamque ccelo deripit.
Hie irresectum sseva dente livido

Canidia rodens pollicem,
Quid dixit? aut quid tacuit? O rebus meis

Non infideles arbitroe, 50

Nox, et Diana, quae silentium regis,

Arcana cum fiunt sacra,
Nunc, nunc adeste; nunc in hostiles domos

Irani atque numen vertite.
Formidolosis dum latent sylvis feras, 55

Dulcisopore languidae,
Senem, quod omnes rideant, adulterum

Latrent Suburanae canes,
Nardo perunctum, quale non perfectius

Meae laborarint manus. 60

ORDO.

interminsito intabuissent. " tium, cum arcana nostra sacra fiunt; vos

Et Neapolis otiosa ct omne oppidum vici- " arbitrae non infideles rebus meis, nunc

num credidit Fo'iara Ariminensem libidinis " nunc adeste; nunc vertite iram atque numen

inasculae non defuisse ; quae deripit sidera lu- " in domos hostiles. Dum ferae languidae so-

iiamque ccelo excantata voce Thessala. " pore dulci latent sylvis formidolosis, cane*

Hie saeva Canidia rodens pollicem irresec- " Suburanae lairent senem, quod omnes ri-

tum dente livido, quid dixit? aut quid ta- " deant, adultenun perunctum nardo, quale

cult ? " O Nox, et Diana, quae regis silen- " manus meae non laborarint perfectius."

NOTES.

the composition of the philtre ; and that they dim, and, from the heaviness and languor

gave to him who swallowed them, the same which they contract, they resemble the eye*

love and passion for the person who made the of one who is dying. It is thus that a shep-

philtre, as the child had felt for the provi- herd says toDaphnis inTheocritus, "And you,

sions in sight of which be had died, without when you see our young shepherdesses smile

being able to satisfy his hunger. Exsttcta and dance, are apt to languish, and your eyes

medulla is marrow dried up and consumed, a fade, because you cannot dance along with

common effect of violent desires. them." It is impossible to give a stronger

40. Jnlal-uissent.] This is a very proper idea of what Horace expresses in these two

word to express the effect produced in the lines, Interminato cum semel fucaf cilo, &c.

eyes of a person, who looks intently upon an than by the recital of a fact which the his-

object he is desirous to enjoy, and which yet tory of the seventeenth century furnishes us

he cannot come at. The crystalline humour with. After the storming or Geneva, the

U gradually consumed, the sight becomes magistrate* ordered til those to be escorted

HORACE'S EPODES.

431

gazing on the forbidden meat ; of his parched marrow, and dried
liver, they made an amorous draught.

Naples, notorious for idleness, and all the neighbouring towns,
believed that Folia was also there, that famous Ariminian sorceress
of rampant lust, who, by her enchantments, it was said, could force
the moon and stars from heaven.

When every thing was ready, the inexorable Canidia, now gnaw-
ing the unpared nail of her thumb for madness with her yellow
teeth, began her imprecations. Good gods, what did she say ? or
rather, what did she not say, and liow did she pray for vengeance ?

" Night and Diana, ye faithful witnesses of all my enterprises,
" who command silence when we are celebrating our most secret
" mysteries, come to my assistance, and turn all your power and
" wrath against my enemies. Now, while the most savage beasts,
" sunk in sleep, lie concealed in the frightixd obscurities of the
" woods, let all the dogs in the quarter of Subura pursue this old
" infamous lecher, ivhom I have anointed with the strongest oint-
" ment I ever composed, that he may be exposed to the ridicule of
" the whole city."

NOTES.

v,-ho were taken in the city, and exposed their
heads to public view upon the walls. The
wife of one of these unhappy officers went to
demand the head of her husl>and ; but the
magistrates refused to grunt her request.
This poor woman, in despair, seated herself
as near as possible to the place where his
head, so much desired, was exposed, and
kept her eyes continually fixed upon this me-
lancholy object of her love and despair, until
death deprived her of sight. It is impossible
to represent better the condition of this sor-
rowful and distressed woman, than by this ex-
pression of Horace, if we change only one
word, Intcrm'mato cum semeljixte capiti, in-
taluissent pitpul^-.

43. Neapolis.] .. Naples is an august,
beautiful, and ancient city of Italy. From the
advantage of its situation, and the temperate-
ness of the climate, it has been looked upon
in all ages as the seat of pleasure and idle-
ness; In alia natam Parthmnpen, says Ovid.
Its Latin name implies theNew City, to dis-
tinguish it from Palseopolis, that is, tlie An-
cient City, which was at a small distance from
it. Son\e are rather of opinion, that thi*

name was given it when it was rebuilt by
Hercules, or, according to others.by Phalaris,
tyrant of Agrigentum. Canidia had probably
retired to tlie neighbourhood of tins city',
that she might cany on witu the greater se-
curity and secrecy her Woody execution.

45. Quce sidera exca.nttita,.'} The sorce-
rers made the people, who are always given
to superstition and credulity, believe that
they had the power to bring the moon and
stars from heaven to earth by thir enchant-
ments. For this end they usually fixed upon
the time of eclipses, and made use of certain
transparent stones, which rhey fitted for their
purpose, and in which they made the credu-
lous people see either the sun or the moon.

45. Vote Thessala.] The Thessaliana
passed for the most expert sorcerers in the
world, whence those of other nations often
made use of their incantations, as Horace
here tells us of Canidia, Fore Thessala.

58. Latrent Sitlurante canes.] Suhtra
was a street in Rome, between Mons fcsi/ui-
linus and Mons Cclius. It was chiefly in-
habited by courtezans, and was the ordinary
place of rendezvous for all debauchees. Pei-

432 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER.

Quid accidit ? cur dira barbarae minus

V r enena Medeae valent,
Quibus superbam fugit ulta pellicera

INIagni Creontis filiam,
Cum palla, tabo munus imbutum, novam 65

Incendio nuptam abstulit ?
Atqui nee herba, nee latens in asperis

Radix fefellit me locis.
Indormit unctis omnium cubilibus

Oblivione pellicum. 7^

All, ah, solutus ambulat veneficee

Scientioris carmine.
Non usitatis, Vare, potionibus

(O multa fletujum caput !)
Ad me recurres; nee vocata mens tua 7^

Marsis rcdibit vocibus.
Majus parabo, majus infundam tibi

Fastidienti poculum :
Priusque ccelum sidet inferius marl,

Tellure porrecta super, SO

Quam non amore sic meo flagres, uti

Bitumen atris ignibus.
Sub hffic puer, jam non, ut ant&, mollibus

Lenire verbis impias ;
Sed dubius unde rumperet silentium, . 35

Mbit Thyesteas preces.

ORDO.

Quiil accidit ? cur venena mfa dira minus vocata vocibus Marsis rcdibit.

alent < Meilese barbarae, quibus ulta fugit Parabo pharmacum, rnujus, infundam po-

uperbam pellicem filiam Creontis magni, cutum majus tibi fastidienji me : coelumque

im palla, munus imbulum tabo, abstulit sidct inferius mari, tellure porrecta super,

ncendio novam nuptam ? prins quam non sic flagres amore meo, uti bi-

Atqui nrc Iverba, nee radix latPns in locis tumen /fogra/ ignibus atris.
*peris ft-fellit me. Indormit cubilibus pelli- Sub haec puer rion jam tentat, ut ante, lenire

um omnium unctis oblivione. Ah, ah, so- mulieres impias verbis mollibus, sed, dubius

lutus carmine veneficee scientioris ambulat. unde rumperet silentium, misit preces has

O Vare, fO caput fleiurum mulia!) recuires Thyesteas.
ad me potionibus now usitatis; nee mens tua

NOTES.

ius, in the fifth satire, says, thing more ingenious than this stroke of sa-

_ -or tire : and any one, who considers the matter

Cum llvidi corn**, totaque irnpmt Sulura ^ ^, fin ' d that Vams ^ no ^

Permit sparse oculosjam caudidus ambo. rongh , y - hand , ed <han ^^

It was on the same account that this street 59. North perimctum.] I have not met

was also calit-d Lupcaia. Canidia wishes that with any person who has thoroughly dived

the dogs cfSubura might bark at Varus, who into the meaning of this passage. Some

always went and spent the nights with cour- commentators imagine that nard:ts, in thi\

It is impossible to conceive any place, ut the same \cith the essence <M

ODE V. HORACE'S EPODES. 433

But what has happened that I cannot prevail ? Whence comes
it that my compositions are less efficacious than those which Me-
dea made use of to be revenged of her rival, the daughter of the
great Creon, whom she destroyed on the very day of her marriage,
by the horrible present of a poisoned robe ?

Surely I am acquainted with the virtues of the herbs, and of all
the roots that grow on the wild mountains ; yet Varus, forgetful of
me, sleeps with tranquillity in the anointed beds of my rivals. Alas !
I see that some more powerful sorceress has disengaged him from
my charms. Unhappy man, by an uncommon draught I will make
you return to me, whom you have forsaken ; nor shall all the en-
chantments of the Marsi be able to rescue you.

I will prepare a philtre infinitely stronger and more efficacious
than the former to vanquish your disdain. Sooner shall the heavens
sink below the sea, and the earth rise up above the heavens, than
you not burn in love with me, as this pitch does in these violent
flames.

After these dreadful words, the harmless'looy no more attempted,
as formerly, to soften the wicked hags with his prayers and tears,
but, struck for a long time with silent horror, broke out into these
bitter imprecations :

NOTES.

which we have spoken upon the eleventh ode tions she had made to the waxen figure re-
of the second hook. Nothing can he conceived ^presenting Varus, in order to break his new
more remote from the sense of Horace. Ca- chains, were without effect; she imagines
nidia was a sorceress and dealer in poison, she sees him going to visit her rivals without
and not a vender of perfumes and essences, any hinderance, and in contempt of her en-
The understanding of this ode depends en- chantments ; yet she flatters herself, that the
tirely on this single verse ; and, in order to philtre she was going to prepare, would brin 01
comprehend it rightly, we must suppose that him back to his former engagements.
Canidia had in her possession an image of 71. Ah, aft.] At last she finds out the
wax which represented Varus. This was the truth, and discovers that Varus had prevent-
custom in all enchantments; and people were ed or destroyed the effect of her enchant-
so foolish as to think, that wliatever was done ments by those of a more expert sorceress ;
to that figure, was felt by the person it re- for the simplicity and superstition of the hea-
presented. Here Canidia is willing to reco- thens were such, as to believe that the only
ver Varus, without coming to the decisive ex- way to resist the charms of magic, was by
tremity, which was, to put the child to death, opposing sorcery to sorcery, and that the
that out of his marrow and liver she might pre- most expert was always the strongest,
pare an amorous draught. She applies there- 73' ffon usitatis, Pare, potionibus.] Cani-
fore to this waxen figure the drug she was dia now prepares to make a draught of the
going to make up, and gives it the name of marrow and liver of the child, and this is
nardus by way of ridicule, and in allusion to what she calls mm usitatis potiones; either
the essence wherewith Varus was perfumed because recourse was had to these philtres
when he went to visit his mistresses. only in cases of extremity, or because Canidia

61. Quid accidit f] Canidia, in the ma- was the only person who had invented and

gical transport, perceives that the applica- made use of this detestable remedy.

VOL. I. 2 F

434

Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER.

ODEV

Venena, magnum fas nefasque, non valent

Convertere humanam vicem.
Diris agam vos : dira detestatio

Nulla expiatur victima.
Quin, ubi perire jussus exspiravero,

Nocturnus occurram furor ;
Petamque vultus umbra curvis unguibus ;

Quae vis Deorum est Manium j
Et, inquietis assidens prsecordiis,

Pavore somnos auferam.
Vos turba vicatim, hinc et hinc saxis petens,

Contundet obscoenas anus ;
Post, insepulta membra different lupi

Et Esquilinae alites ;
Neque hoc parentes (heu, mihi superstites,)

Effugerit speetaculum.

100

ORDO.

" Venena, etsi convert ant magnum fas ne-
fasque, non valent convertere vicein huma-
' nam. Agam vos diris : dira detestatio ex-
' piatur victima nulla. Quin ubi ego jussus
' perire exspiravero, occurram vobis velut
1 furor nocturnus ; umbraque petam vultus
' unguibus curvis, qua vis est Deorum Ma-

nium ; et, assiiiens praecordiis inquietis,
auferam somnos pavore. Turba, vicatim
petens vos saxis hinc et hinc, contundet
anus obscoenas ; post, lupi et alites Esqui-
linoe different membra insepulta; neque
hoc speetaculum effugerit parentes, heu
superstites mihi."

NOTES.

92. Nocturnus occurram furor.'] It was jects where they really are not. But it a

an opinion that prevailed very much among certain that historians have not understood

the ancients, that murderers were haunted the thing in this manner. They believed

and tormented with the ghosts of those they the very facts us they related them; and this

bad killed. Cicero, and many others, attri- their opinion was founded upon an article of

bute this to remorse of conscience, which their theology, by which they were taught,

make* wicked men apprehend they see ob- that the souls of those who died a violent

ODE V.

HORACE'S EPODES.

435

" Your charms may confound what is lawful and unlawful, yet
" they cannot alter the course of justice which the gods have fixed
" to govern men. I will load you with imprecations which cannot
" be expiated by victims. As soon as you shall have satisfied your
" rage, and I expire, my ghost shall haunt you every night. I will
" mangle your cheeks with my nails, for such is the power the
" Manes give to spectres ; every night I will wait round your beds,
f< and, incumbent on your troubled breasts, I will disturb your sleep
" by the most frightful appearances*. The mob, pursuing you from
*' street to street, shall pelt you ugly hags with showers of stones,
" till they dispatch you ; then wolves and vultures shall tear your
" unburied limbs ; and my disconsolate parents, who survive me
" contrary to their expectations, shall have the pleasure of witness-
" ing this agreeable spectacle."

* Terror.

NOTES.

death, were not received into the regions be-
low, till after they had wandered a long time
up and down the world, and revenged them-
selves of their enemies.

93. Petamque vultus umbra amis ungui-
lus.] The word umbra makes the whole
beauty of these verses. This boy tells the
sorceresses, that he would torment them after
his death, and that he would tear their faces
with his nails, though he was but a shade;
and herein is the miracle, that a shade should
have nails, which is the reason that he adds
afterwards,

Qua vis Deorum est Manium^

Nothing is impossible to these gods ; they
give, even to ghosts, nails, torches, whips,
chains, &c. This is the true sense of the
passage, which has been greatly misunder-
stood.

100. Et Esfjuilints aliles.] Es(uilian
birds ; that is, birds of prey, who usually flew
about the Esquiliae, because the poor people
were interred there, and there they threw
the bodies of such as had been made to suf-
fer death.

3F2

436 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE VI.

ODE VI.

Horace wrote this odte against the celebrated orator Cassius Severus, who made
a trade of accusing people in full senate. It was he who accused Nonius
Asprenas, a near relative of Augustus, of having poisoned a hundred and
thirty persons at one entertainment ; but his accusations were usually un-
successful, the accused being declared innocent, and absolved. Some his-
torians relate upon this a very smart saying of Augustus, who, tired out with
the tediousness and delays of an architect, to whom he had given it in charge
to finish the Forum, exclaimed, Vellem Forum etiam meum accusasset
Cassius. This turns upon the equivocal signification of the word aisolvere,
which may either be translated to finish, or to declare innocent. Cassius

IN CASSIUM SEVERUM.

QUID immerentes hospites vexas, canis,

Ignavus adversum lupos ?
Quin hue inanes, si potes, vertis minas,

Et me remorsurum petis ?
Kam, qualis aut Molossus, aut fulvus Lacon, 5

Arnica vis pastoribus,
Agam per altas aure sublata nives,

Quaecunque praecedet fera.
Tu, cum timenda voce complsti nemus,

Projertum odoraris cibum. 10

Cave, cave ; namque in males asperrimus

Parata tollo cornua ;
Qualis Lycambse spretus infido gener,

Aut acer hostis Bupalo.

ORDO.

O canis, ignavus adversum lupos, quid pastoribus. Tu cum comple'sti nemus voce

vexas hospites immerentes ? Quin vertis hue timenda, odoraris cibum projectum.
minas inanes, si potes, et petis me remorsu- Cave,- cave ; namque asperrimus in malos

rum? Nam, quoecunque fera praecedet, ego, tollo corn ua parata: qualis gener spretus iu-

aure sublata, agam earn per nives altas, qua- fido Lycambse, aut acer bostis Bupalo.
Us aut Molossus aut fulvus Lacon, vb arnica

NOTES.

5. Nam, quails aut Molossus.'] After most ferocious beasts ; for the dogs of Epi-

having compared Cassius to a cowardly ti- rus and Laconia were held in great esteem,

roorous dog, Horace likens himself to a dog and had the same reputation at that time as

of Epirus or Laconia ; that is, to a coura- the English dogs have now.
geous dog, who did not stick to pursue the 6, Arnica vis pastoribus.] Tills is very

QBE VJ. HORACE'S EPODES. 437

ODE VI.

not only rendered himself formidable by his accusations, but also by his writ-
ings, in which he attacked the reputationof all withoutdistinction,not sparing
people of the highest rank orof either sex. This abusive malignity drew upon
him the public hatred, and occasioned Augustus to make a law that informa-
tions should be given in against the authors of such libels. At length
Cassius was banished to the isle of Crete. This chastisement did nqt make
him wiser : he continued his defamatory writings ; and ten years after the
death of Augustus, Tiberius sent him to the isle of Seriphos, where he died.

AGAINST CASSIUS SEVERUS.

WHY, snarling cur, do you growl at strangers who do you no harm,
but only show cowardice when attacked by wolves ? Turn, if you
dare, your vain menaces against me, who can bite again with equal
force ; for, like a mastiff of Epirus, or dog of Laconia, the faithful
friend of shepherds, with my ears pricked up, I will pursue the jiiost
savage beast through the deep snow. You, when you have filled
the forest with the frightful sound of your voice, will stoop and
truckle for a crust of bread.

Take care, take care of yourself; for I am always ready to fall on
the wicked with tjie greatest fury, as Archilochus, who knew so
well how to revenge the perfidy of .Lycambe, or Hipponax the mor-
tal enemy of Bupalus.

-NOTES.

happily expressed; dogs are the best friends those cowardly, greedy dogs, to whom thieves

to shepherds, because they guard their flocks, threw a morsel of bread, that they might

9. Tu, cum timemla wee.] We ought cease to bark.

not to pass over without notice the artifice of 12. Parafa tollo cornua.~\ This is a me-

these lines, where Horace imitates the noise taphorical expression. Horns, among the

made by a great dog, who barks in a forest, ancients, were the symbols of strength and

It is impossible to make any one rightly sen- courage. Plautus has used the expression

sible of this in a remark : it is necessary in carnuta leslia, for a man who could not bear

this case to consult the ear. an injury, and who never was attacked with-

1 0. Proiectum odoraris cibum.] He re- out giving evident tokens of his resentment,
proaches Cassius for suffering himself to be 13. Qualis Lycambce spretus infido gener."]
corrupted by gold, which was offered him by Lycambe having promised his daughter Neo-
bad men to oblige him to hold his peace, like bale to the poet Archiiochus, and refusing

438 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE VII.

An, si quis atro dente me petiverit, 15

Inultus ut flebo puer ?

ORDO. 1

Si quis petiverit me dente atro, an flebo inultus ut pu$ r ?

NOTES.

afterwards to stand to his engagement, Ar- daughter, after he had agreed to the match,

chilochus wrote a poem against him in iam- This Archilochus was a Greek poet of Parc,

tie verse, so sarcastic and severe, that the and held in the greatest esteem at the court

father and daughter hanged themselves out of Candaules and Gvges, kings of Lydia,

of despair. This is the reason of Horace's about the thirty-eighth year of Rome. He

adding to Lycambe the epithet infido, perfi- was regarded as the inventor of iambic verse,

dious, who would not adhere to his promise ; Quintiliar. has given us, in few words, a very

and that he calls Archilochus gener spretus, magnificent eulogium of this poet; sum-

the despised son-in-law, because his pretend- ma in hoc vis elocutionis, quatn validce, turn

ed father-in-law had refused to give him his l-reves vibrantesque sententife, plurimum son-

ODE VII.

Brutus and Cassius perished at the battle of Philippi in 712. Sextus Pom-
peius was put to death in 7JQ- Lepidus was stripped of all power and au-
thority in 720. There remained only Octavius and Antony in a capacity
to dispute for supremacy. The jealousy, so natural between two persons of
equal authority, broke out at several times ; sometimes Octavia, the wife of
Antony, and sister of Octavius, and at other times the friends of both par-
ties, brought about a reconciliation ; but at last, in 722, they came to an
open rupture, and these two celebrated rivals were seen to arm all their
forces against each other, in order to give the last blow to the liberty of Rome.
During these commotions, (that is, for the space of three years) Horace
wrote upon this subject five or six odes, of which this is one in 724, about

Quo, qu6 scelesti ruitis ? aut cur dexteris

Aptantur enses conditi ?
Parumne campis atque Neptuno super

Fusum est Latini sanguinis ?

ORDO.

O scelesti, quo, quo ruitis ? Axit cur en- tini sanguinis est fusum super campis atque
jes conditi aptantur dexteris ? Parumne La-

NOTES.

1. Quo, quo scdesti.] Horace has several civil wars: thus Book first, Ode second,
times used the word sctlus to express the Cui daiiit paries scdus expiandi Jvpiler t

ODE VII. HORACE'S EPODES. 439

If any dog like you should dare to bite me, do you think that I
will sit down and weep like a child, who has not power to resent
the injury done him ?

NOTES.

guinis atque nervorum; adeo ut vuleatur qrti- poet called his art to his assistance in order to

busdam, quod quoquam minor est, materue revenge this cruel outrage, and wrote against

esse, nan ingenii vitium. them in so sharp a strain, as drove them to

14. Aut acer hostis Bupalo^] By acer despair. Some authors have assured us that

hostis Horace here means the poet Hippo- they kanged themselves ; but others maintain

nax, who flourished in Greece about the six- that they were content with quitting Ephe-

tieth Olympiad. Bupalus and Anthermus, sus. Pliny is of this last opinion, and pre-

two brothers, celebrated painters, seeing him tends, that after this satire of Hipponax,

one day, were struck with his figure. They these two painters produced several piece*

drew his portrait, and gave it an air the most that were held in very great esteem.,
comical and ridiculous in their power. The

ODE VII.

the end of the year, before the war had declared itself by an^r hostility on
either side. The style is animated and nervous throughout. The design of
the poet is to represent to both parties the horrors of their criminal dissen-
sions, which threatened their country with total ruin. The policy of Ho-
race is no less conspicuous than his eloquence. He was not ignorant that
the ambition of the two chiefs was the sole cause of these calamities j yet
he is very cautious in speaking of it. The uncertainty of success makes him
speak with a reserve, which he did not think it prudent to lay aside, so long
as he believed he could not declare himself without hazarding his fortune.
The reader will see further proofs of this wise conduct in some of the fol-
lowing odes.

TO THE PEOPLE OF ROME.

WHITHER are ye hurrying, seditious Romans, whether are ye hur-
rying ? Why are your swords now drawn again which were sheathed
so lately ? Has there not been .enough of Roman blood shed already

NOTES.

1. Aut cur dexteris aptantur ensesconditi?] agreement for power, between Augustus

This passage has not been rightly explained Antony, and Lepidus, which had been no w

by commentators. When Horace demands broken a second time, Lepidus having some

of the Romans why they again drew their time before been despoiled of his power by

swords, which they had some time before put Augustus.
up, he has an eye to the political contract, or

440 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE VII.

Non ut superbas invidse Carthaginis 5

Romanus arces ureret,
Intactus aut Britannus ut descenderet

Sacra catenatus-via :
Sed ut, secundum vota Parthorum, sua

Urbs hffic periret dextera. 10

Neque hie lupis mos, nee fuit leonibus

Unquam, nisi in dispar, feris.
Furorne cascus, an rapit vis acrior,

An culpa ? responsum date.
Tacent; et ora pallor albus inficit, 15

Mentesque perculsffi stupent.
Sic est : acerba fata Romanes agunt,

Scelusque fraternae necis,
Ut immerentis fluxit in terram Remi

Sacer nepotibus cruor. 20

ORDO.

Neptuno ? Non aptantur enses dexteris, ant
sanguisjamfunditur, ut Romanus miles ure-
ret superbas arCes Carthaginis invidae, aut
ut intactus Britannus descenderet catenatus
via sacra ; sed ut hsec urbs, secundum vota
Parthorum, periret dextera sua. Neque hie
mos unquam fuit lupis nee leonibus feris,

nisi in animal dispar. Furorne csecus, an
vis acrior, an culpa rapit vos f Date respon-
sum. Taceni; et pallor albus inficit era,
mentesque perculsae stupent.

Sic est. Fata acerba agunt Romanos, sce-
lusque necis fraternae, ut cruor Remi imrue-
reutis sacer nepotibus fluxit in terain.

NOTES.

5. Imidte Carthaginis.'] In the time of
Augustus, Carthage was subject to the Ro-
mans ; it was even a Roman colony. Why
therefore does Horace say, that it was
not for the destruction of Carthage that they
had shed their blood both by land and sea ?
It is to impress upon these madmen the
great difference between them and their an-
cestors, who had fought so many battles for
the conquest of Africa, and at last destroyed
Carthage under the conduct of Scipio. This
is the true meaning of the passage.

7. Intactus aut Britannus] Julius Coesar
was the first of the Romans that carried his

arms into Britain. Suetonius, chap. 24, says,
/fggnigsia est et Britannos, ignotos antea ;
siiptratisque pecunias et obsides impermit.
" He attacked the Britons, formerly un-
" known to the Romans ; and, being vicio-
" rious, he imposed a tribute upon them,
" and exacted hostages." But it may with
justice be said, that Caesar only showed the
way to the conquest of Britain, which was
not brought into actual subjection till long
after, the greatest part of it remaining un-
subdued to the time of Agricola, who may
be said to have given the finishing stroke to
the liberty of that island. Augustus had no

ODE VII.

HORACE'S EPODES.

441

both on sea and land ? Not to destroy the lofty towers of Carthage
the rival of Rome, or to lead in triumph along the sacred way the
Britons who have not yet been attacked, but to destroy Rome by
her own power, according to the very wishes of the Parthians.

Such cruelty is not to be seen even among wolves and lions ; they
never exert their rage but against animals of a different species.
Is it blind rage, or is it some superior force that urges you ? Is it
owing to your crimes ? Answer me instantly. They are silent :
See ! paleness covers their faces, and they are confounded.

There is no room for doubt ; it is the murder of Remus, it is his
innocent blood shed by the hands of a brother, that cries for venge-
ance, and hath brought upon his posterity the resentment of the
gods.

NOTES.

thought of reducing it to obedience when this
ode was written : he did not take that reso-
lution till some years after ; so that Horace
had good reason to call the British nation
intactus, which had r>ot hitherto been reduced,
which had not felt the weight of the Roman
arms ; as Ode twenty-fourth, Book third,

Intactis npulenlwr
Thesauris Aralimi, &c.

7. Descenderet.~\ From the top of the Sa-
cred Street they went downward to the Forum,
and the way thence ascended to the Capitol,
which ascent was called Clivus Capitolinus.

1 1 . Neque hie l.upis mas.] There is no wild
animal that makes war upon those of its own
kind. Man alone, as being the most furious
aud outrageous of all creatures, does not
spare his own likeness. It is common to see
men most animated against one another, and
entering into more cruel and bloody wars with

each other, than they do with the very beasts.
This, no doubt, arises from their being sub-
ject to more and stronger passions than any
other kind of animal.

18. Scelusquefraternaenecis.'] Virgil re-
fers all the calamities that befell Rome to the
perfidy of Laomedon ;

Jamprid&n sanguine nostro

Laomcdontete luimus peijuria Trojce.

But Horace, with a greater resemblance of
truth, attributes them to the death of Re-
mus, which touched the Romans far more
sensibly.

20. Saccr nepoiibus crwor.] This is a very
substantial proof of the opinion of the hea-
thens, that the crime of one single man might
bring down the anger of the gods upon his
posterity, and involve them in those punish-
ments which might seem to be merited only
by the original offender.

442

Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE VIII.

ODE VIII.

Some grammarians are of opinion that Horace wrote this ode against Gra-
tidia, of whom we have spoken in our remarks upon the sixteenth ode
of the first book. If it really be so, this is without doubt the poem which
he there promises to suppress ; but they have advanced this conjecture with-

IN ANUM

ROGARE longo putidam te seculo,

Vires quid enervet meas ?
Cum sit tibi dens ater, et rugis vetus

Frontem senectus exaret,
Hietque turpis inter aridas nates

Podex, velut crudae bovis.
Sed incitat me peetus, et mammae putre?,

Equina quales ubera,
Venterque mollis, et femur tumentibjis

Exile suris additum.

NOTES.

in the thirteenth ode of

Te quia luridi

Denies, te quia ruga:
Turpant .

jys the sarae to Lyce
the fourth book ;

11. Imagines ducant triumphalfs.'] At
Rome, both men and women, who numbered
among their ancestors, either generals of
armies, or those who had borne any civil
office, that is, such as had been advanced to
the highest dignities of the republic, had the
right of causing to be carried before their
coffin at their funeral solemnities the images

' Because your yellow teeth, your deep

" wrinkles, and grey hairs, do so much dis- of all their race ; which privilege was styled

" figure you." Jus imaginum.

ODE VIII.

HORACE'S EPODES.

443

ODE VIII.

.out foundation ; it is even highly probable that they are deceived. Gratidia
was not a woman of quality ; -vhereas the person here spoken of, numbered
consuls and praetors among her ancestors.

3LIBIDINOSAM.

J2sto beata : funus atque imagines

Ducant triumphales tuum ;
Nee sit marita quse rotundioribus

Qnusta baccis ambulet.
Quid, quod libelli Stoici inter Sericps

Jacere pulvillos amant ?
Illiterati num minus nervi rigent,

Minusve languet fascinum ?
Quod ut superbo provoces ab inguine ?

Ore allaborandum est tibi.

NOTES.

13. Rotundimlus onusta laccis.'] Baccts l<evare, -pondere, hand promptis rebus, in
are properly the small berries or fruit of the tantum ut nulli duo reperiuntur indiscreti,
laurel or myrtle; and this name they gave to unde nomen Unionum Romante scilicet imposu-
pearls, because of the great resemblance they eredeliriee. "All their value depends on their
Jbear to this fruit. Hence they say Monile
baccatum ; a pearl neck-lice. Rotwtdiorilus ;
for the rounder pearls are, the more valuable

.they are. Pliny describes all their qualities
Jn the xxxvth chapter of his IXth book.
Dos omnis in candore, magnitudine, orle,

whiteness, largeness, roundness, smooth-
ness, and weight ; qualities so rare, that it
is not very easy to find two pearls entirely
alike ; which induced the Romans to call
them Unimies."

444 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE IX.

ODE IX.

This ode is extremely beautiful ; it was written to celebrate the victory at
Actium in 722, and consequently, according to the order of time, should
immediately follow the first of this same book, and precede the thirty-
sixth of the first, Horace being at this time almost thirty-five years complete.
This date is evidently pointed out to us in several places of the ode ; yet
M. Masson asserts that it was composed before the battle of Actium, and
that Horace wrote it with a view of foretelling to Augustus the victory

AD &LECENATEM.

QUANDO repostum Csecubum ad festas dapes,

Victore ketus Caesare,
Tecum sub alta (sic Jovi gratum) domo,

Beate Maecenas, bibam,
Sonante mistum tibiis carmen lyra, 5

Hac Dorium, illis Barbarum ?
Ut nuper, actus cum freto Neptunius

Dux fugit ustis navibus,
Minatus urbi vincla, quee detraxerat

Servis amicus perfidis. 10

ORDO.

O beate Maecenas, quando ego, laetus vie- mistum tibiis, hac Dorium; illis Barbarum .'

tore Cwsare (sic Jovi gratum) bibam tecum Ut nuper fedmus cum Neptunius dux actus

vinum Caecubum repositum ad festas dapes, freto fugit, ustis navibus, minatus urbi vin-

sub domo tna aha, lyra sonante carmen cula, quae amicus detraxerat servis perfidis.

NOTES.

5. Smianle mislum.'] It would be a mat- 6. Hac Dorium, Mis Barlarum.'] The

ter of no small difficulty to speak at large of ancients had three principal kinds of music,

the variety of concerts among the ancients, the Dorian, the Lydian, and the Phrygian.

Horace alone furnishes us with several kinds, The first was grave and majestic, the second

as is evident from the foregoing books. This biisk and airy, and the third a mixture of

concert is produced by a harp and two the other two. The Romans made use of

flutes. these different kinds in their concerts, accord-

5. Mistum til-iis.] Tibiis here is in the ing to the nature of the subject and occasion,

dative. He says after the same manner in On grave and solemn occasions they used the

the first ode of the fourth book, Dorian, on gay and joyful the Lydian ; and,

where religion was concerned, and it was ne-

lyrceqw et Berecyrities cessary to excite strong and passionate emo-

Delectabere tiliee tions, the Phrygian. Sometimes, to render

Miitis carminitiif. the harmony more complete, they mixed

ODE IX. HORACE'S EPODES. 445

ODE IX.

which he should obtain soon after. The reasons by which he endeavours
to support this conjecture are not worthy of an ans%ver. They only serve
to make us sensible that there is nothing so remote from probability, which
some will not undertake to maintain. The very words of the oae are an
ample refutation, as will appear from the remarks.

TO MAECENAS.

WHEN, dear Maecenas, will the time come, that, abandoning my-
self to the joy which the victory of Augustus has occasioned, and in
obedience to the commands of Jupiter, I shall drink with you, in
your fine palace, of the choicest wine reserved for solemn feasts,
and hear the agreeable concert of the flutes and harp, this in the
Doric, and those in the Phrygian strain ? Such an one as you gave us
a few years ago, when the leader of the rebels, the pretended son of
Neptune, was driven from our seas, and his whole fleet burned,
notwithstanding all his threats to put Rome in those very chains,
from which he had freed a few perfidious slavrs, his followers.

NOTES.

them. For example, in the concert of a was entirely defeated in the straits of Sicily,

harp and flute, the harp might be of the and constrained to fly into Asia. Tola

Dorian kind, and the Qute of the Lydian ; mole belli penitus in "Siculo frefa juvenis

but as the concert which Horace speaks of oppressus est. FLORUS.

here is of two flutes with a single harp, the 7- Neptunius dux.] Horace does not here

flutes were Phrygian, and the harp Doric; speak of Antony, as Scaliger very judiciously

for had the flutes been Lydian, they had thinks, but of the younger Pompey, who,

overpowered the harp ; and, on the other glorying that his father had been sovereign

hand, had the harp been Phrygian, and the of the seas, would pass for the son of Nep-

flutes Doric, these last would have reigned tune, and wore a robe of the colour of mat

too much, the harmony would have been too element.

grave, and the concert not at all adapted to 10. Servis amicus perfidis."] The young

express the cheerfulness and gaiety which Pompey received among his troops all the

Maecenas and Horace wished to show on this slaves that offered themselves ; which occ.t-

occasion. sioned so great a desertion over all Italy, that

7. Ut miperJ] After the victory which the Vestals offered up prayers and sacrifices.
Augustus obtained over young Pompey, who

446

Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER.

ODE IX,

Romanus (eheu, posterl negabitis),

Emancipatus feminse,
Fert vallum et arma miles, et spadonibus

Servire rugosis potest ;
Interque signa turpe militaria -

Sol aspicit conopeum.
Ad hunc frementes verterunt bis mille equos

Galli, canentes Csesarem ;
Hostiliumque navium portu latent

Puppes sinistrorsum site,
lo Triumphe, tu moraris aureos

Currus, et intaetas boves ?
lo Triumphe ! nee Jugurthino parem

Bello reportasti ducem,

ORDO.

fifties Romanm (eheu poster! negabitis), puppesque navium hostiliura sitae sinistrorsum

emaneipatus feminse, fert vallum et arma, et latent portu.

potest servire spadonibus nigosis; solque lo triumphe, tu moraris currus aureos et

aspicit conopeum turpe inter signa militaria. intaetas boves ? lo triumphe '. nee reportavlsti

Ad hunc, scilicet Antonium, Galli frementes, ducem parem ex bello Jugurthino, neque, ex

verterunt equos bis mille, canentes Caesaresn ; lello Africano, Aiigusto parem ducem eum

NOTES.

15. Jnterque signa' turpe militaria.'] The
word turpe may be either joined >vith Cono-
peum, as Propertius, speaking of the same
subject, uses the expression fveda conopea ;
or one may very well separate them, and make
an exclamation of it, Turpe ! a shocking,
a shameful thing !

16. Sol aspicit conopejim.'] This was a
"kind of tent or pavilion, which the ladies

made use of in Egypt, to gtnrd them from
the gnats with which that country is infested,
by reason of the neighbourhood of the sea,
or the morasses of the Nile. Horace there-
fore says, that, to the everlasting shame of
the Romans, such a pavilion was to be seen
in the very middle of their camp, which
upplied the place of the general's tent, called
properly the Preetorium.

17. Ad hunc frementes.] Scaliger re-
marks, that this does not at all correspond
to a naval engagement ; but he ought to have
remembered, that, besides the two hostile
fleets, there were two armies by land, and
that two thousand Gallic horse, deserting the
army of Antony, ranged themselves under
the banners of Augustus. See Servius on
the sixth Book of the /Eneid.

IS. Galli.] Amyntas, king of Galatia,
who had come to the assistance of Antony
with two thousand cavalry, deserted him with
the forres under his command, and delivered
himself up to Octavius. Rex Amyntas, says
Velleius, maxima et pr<eripiti periculo traw-
misit ad CcKsarem. It is of ihese Galati that
Horace here speaks. Livy more frequently
calls them Galli than Gallogr&ci.

20. Sinistrarsum.'] To the left hand, that
is, towards Alexandria and the coast of
Egypt. For when one is in the port of Ac-
tium, and sets his face towards the sea, Italy
is on the right, and Egypt on the left hand.
Cleopatra therefore had so stationed her fleet,
that upon a signal given they might be ready
to row for Alexandria.

21. lo Triumphe.] Horace here makes a
person of Triumph, and addresses him as a.
god. The reader may consult the remark*
upon these words in the second ode of the
fourth book.

21. Tu moraris aureos currus ?] This
passage is very difficult, and in my way of
thinking has hitherto been greatly misin-
terpreted. I believe it even impossible to
make sense of it in the manner in which it u

ODB IX.

HORACE'S EPODES.

447

A Roman (future ages will be unwilling to believe it) bore arms
under the conduct of a woman. He was so mean as to submit to
the commands of withered eunuchs ; and the sun beheld an in-
famous Egyptian canopy spread in the midst of our standards.
Mutinying against him, two thousand Gallic horse went over to
Csesar, making the air to ring with his name ; and, in an instant,
the enemy's vessels that lay on the left retired, and steered their
course towards Egypt.

Divine Triumph, after so complete a victory, why do you delay
your gilded car, and defer offering the bullocks in sacrifice that
have never yet submitted their necks to the yoke ? Divine Triumph !
never did you conduct in pomp so great a general ; neither Marius,
so famous for defeating Jugurtha, nor even Scipio, who by the

NOTES.

vsually written : we ought rather to read it
with a note of interrogation :

to triumphe, tu moron's aureos
Currus, et intactas loves ?

Horace, after he had spoken of the defeat
and flight of Antony, addresses himself to
Triumph, and demand^ of him, if so great
and signal a victory, which delivered Rome
from the most shameful of all affronts, did not
merit that he should conduct Augustus in a
chariot of gold, &c. Word for word, " Tri-
" umph, what means this ? After so celebrated
" a victory, do you still keep back thechariots
" of gold", and the oxen that have never yet
" felt the yoke ?" After the first news brought
to Rome of the happy success of the battle of
Acti um, they werealso informed that Augustus
was making preparations to follow Antony
and Cleopatra, until they should be entirely
defeated, and, if possible, taken prisoners;
this is what Horace would have delayed from
a motive of love and tenderness for that
prince, whose return he expected with im-
patience. He would therefore have him to
understand that there was nothing wanting to
his victory to render it worthy of a triumph,
nd that he ought to come and enjoy the
glory he h\d so justly acquired, without
amusing himself in the pursuit of a fugitive.
The expression is inimitably happy, and the
sense extremely beautiful.

21. Aureos currus.] The triumphal cut
of irory. Oid says,

irrus special eburnos :
" He views the ivory chariot :
And Tibullus ;

Portdbit niveis currus eburnus equis.

" A chariot of ivory, drawn by milk-white
" horses, shall carry you." But the
upper part was of gold, which is the foun-
dation of the epithet used by Horace. Eutro-
pius in like manner, speaking of Paulus
Emilius, says, Aureo curru. triumphavit ;
" He triumphed in a chariot of gold." And
Floras in the fifth chapter of his first Book ;
Inde est quod aurato curru quatuor equis tri-
umphatur: " On this account it is that the
" general triumphs in a chariot of gold drawn
" by four horses."

23. Nee Jugurthino parent.'] The four or
five following verses prove beyond dispute the
justness of my remark upon these lines;

'Tu moraris cuire->f
Currus ?

Horace would prove to that god, that he
ought not any longer to keep back the cha-i
riots of gold ; and, to come to the point,
says, that never did he make these chariots
proceed on a more worthy account ; and that
neither Marius, after the defeat of Jugurtha,
nor Scipio, after the conquest of Africa, had
so just a title to triumph, as Augustus after
the defeat of Antony. Let one read the<e.

448 Q. HORATII EPODON UBER. ODE X.

Neque Africano, cui super Carthaginem 25

Virtus sepulcrum condidit.
Terra marique victus hostis, Punico

Lugubre mutavit sagum :
Aut ille centum nobilem Cretam urbibus

Ventis iturus non suis, 30

Exercitatas aut petit Syrtes Noto,

Aut fertur incerto mari.
Capaciores affer hue, puer, scyphos,

Et Chia vina aut Lesbia ;
Vel, quod fluentem nauseam coerceat, 35

Metire nobis Caecubum.
Curam metumque Caesaris rerum juvat

Dulci Lyseo solvere.

ORDO.

cui virtus condidit sepulcrum super Carthagi- mari incerto.

nem. Puer, affer hue scyphos capaciorcs, et vina

Hostis victus terra marique mutavit sagum Chia, aut Lesbia, vel metire vinum Caecubum

lugubre sago Punico : ille aut iturus est Cre- nobis, quod coerceat nauseam fluentem.

tarn nobilem centum urbibus vends non. suis, Juvat solvere curam metumque rerum Caesaris

aut petit Syrtes exercitatas Noto, aut fertur dulci vino Lyaeo.

NOTES.

passages as oft as he will, he will find that no 37. Curam metumque Cat -saris rerum.']
other sense can reasonably be put upon them. Torrentius is of opinion that Horace speaks

ODE X.

As Horace, in the third ode of the first book, offers up his prayers for Virgil,
and expresses his good wishes to that poet, who was going to Athens, in
this he throws out imprecations against Msevius, who was also preparing
for a voyage into Greece. Perhaps, this ode was written some time before

IN JVLEVIUM.

MALA soluta navis exit alite,

Ferens olentem Maevium.
Ut horridis utrumque verberes latus,

Auster, memento fluctibus :

u KLU.

Navis soluta exit alite mala, ferens Mae- res latus utrumque fluctibus horridis :
vium olentem. O Auster, memento ut verbe-

NOTES.

1. Fereris olentem Mt&vium .] The second first. The ship set sail under unlucky
verse contains the reason and proof of the auspices, because it carried the offensive Mae-

ODE X. HORACE'S EPODES. 449

destruction of Carthage raised an eternal monument to his valour,
can be compared with Caesar.

The enemies of Rome, conquered by land and sea, were obliged
to change their purple robes for mourning; and, though the winds
were contrary, were forced to hasten towards Crete, famous for its
hundred cities, or to the Libyan quicksands agitated by stormy
winds, or roam on the seas without observing any certain course.

Cbme, boy, bring us larger glasses, fill them with Chian or Les-
bian wine, or rather rich Csecubian, which strengthens the stomach.
I intend to drown in a hearty glass all the care and anxiety which I
have felt for Ceesar.

NOTES.

here of the fear and inquietude which they gustus had done enough, and that he ought

were yet under for Augustus, who was pre- not to think of pushing his victory ; he

paring to pursue Antony ; but he is certainly speaks of the apprehensions they were under

in an error. Horace was not so bad a cour- before the battle of Actium ; the news of

tier as to write to Moecenas that he ought to that victory had by this time begun to dissi-

drink and make merry while his prince was pate them, and it belonged to wine to do the

exposing himself to new dangers. I have al- rest. This is'very natural,
ready remarked, that Horace pretends Au-

ODE X.

that to which I have referred ; for, although Maevius was hated and despised
by all men of seuseand a just taste, and this alone was very capable of draw-
ing these maledictions upon him from Horace, he was moreover the bitter
enemy of Virgil, than which nothing was more likely to raise Horace's re-
sentment against him.

AGAINST 1VLEVIUS, A POET.

THE ship which carries the squalid and detested Meevius sets sail
with unlucky omens. Be mindful, south-wind, to lash both sides
of her with terrible waves : may the tempestuous east-wind raise

NOTES.

vius. By this Horace would have us to un- the third eclogue :

derstand, that Maevius was a wretch hated by

gods and men, and tliat of consequence he Qui Bavium non odit, amet lua carmii-a,

drew upon them the storm, and was the cause Maevi,

of the loss of the vessel. Atque idemjur.gat vidpes et mulgeat hircos.

2. Olentem Meevinm.'] Msevius was not

only the most contemptible poet of his tune, When Virgil says jungat wipes, &c. he

but also a disgusting loathsome creature, as would have us to understand, as Pomponius

appears from the following verses of Virgil in Mela lias very well explained it, that such a*

VOL. I. aG

450 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE X.

Niger rudentes Eurus, inverso mari, 5

Fractosque remos differat :
Insurgat Aquilo, quantus altis montibus

Frangit trementes ilices.
Nee sidus atrft nocte amicum appareat,

Qud tristis Orion cadit ; 1

Quietiore nee feratur aequore

Quam Graia victorum manus,
Cum Pallas usto vertit iram ab Ilia

In impiam Ajacis ratem.
O quantus instat navitis sudor tuis r 1 ,3

Tibique pallor luteus,
Et ilia non virilis ejulatio,

Preces et aversum ad Jovem,
lonius udo cum remugiens sinus

Noto carinam ruperit ! 20

Opima quod si praeda curvo litore

Porrecta merges juveris,
Libidinosus immolabitur caper,

Et agna Tempestatibus.

ORDO.

Eurus niger, mari inverso, differat rudentes O quantus sudor instat navitis tuis, pallor-

remosque fractos; et tantus Aquilo insurgat, que luteus tibi, et ejulatio ilia non virilis, et

quantus frangit ilices trementes montibus altis. preces ad Jovem aversum, cum sinus lonius

Nee sidus amicum appareat nocte atra, remugiens Noto udo ruperit carinam ! Quod

. qua tristis Orion cadit ; nee ea feratur aequore situ proeda opima porrecia litore curvo ju-

quietiore quam Graia manus victorum fere- veris mergos, libidinosus caper et agna immo-

latur, cum Pallas vertit iram ab usto Ilio in labitur Tempestatibus.
impiam ratem Ajacis.

NOTES.

loved these two poets, ought to tove also nas- goddess, not only against himself, but the

tiness itself, and be always among foxes and whole Grecian fleet.

goat=, who, though deemed the most loath- 17. Et ilia non virilis ejulatio.'] Horace

some of animals, wre less so than these two represents this Maevius as the most spiritless

poets. Hence we may see the reason why and cowardly of men ; for nothing was looked

Horace says olmtem Mtrvium ; olenlem, that upon as more infamous and unmanly than to

i*,fie!entem, offensive in point of smell. cry in the midst of dangers. Cicero, in the

5. Inverso mari.] This expression is very third book of his Tusculan questions, says,

strong, and serves admirably to mark the that it is sometimes allowable in a man to

violence of the east-south-east wind, which, complain and grieve over his misfortunes,

to use the words of Horace, turns the sea up- but to weep aloud is unworthy even of a

side down in such manner, that the waves woman. Ingemiscere nonnunquam viro con-

that threatened heaven fall into the deep, cessum est, idque raro ; tjulatus vero ne mu-

and those that were at the bottom of the lieri quidem.
deep, mount up to heaven. 18. Preces et aversum ad Jovem.] Horace

14. In impiam Ajacis ratem.] ThisAjax ranks among the marks of pusillanimity and

iv.is the son of Oileus, king of the Locrians. unmanliness the prayers that were addressed

He debauched Cassandra in the temple of to the gods in times of great danger; and

Pallas ; afd thereby raised '.he anger of tbat in this he follows the maxims of the Stojcs,

HORACE'S EPODES.

451

the seas, crack her cables, and break in pieces her oars ; and may
the impetuous north-wind rage against her witli the same fury as
when it rends the trembling oaks on the high mountains.

May no favourable star appear in that dreadful night in that
quarter where Orion sets. May the sea be as tempestuous as it
was at the return of the victorious Grecian fleet ; when Pallas, after
having reduced Troy to ashes, turned all her rage against the im-
pious ship in which Ajax was carried.

Unhappy icretch, when the tempest shall have shattered your ves-
sel in the middle of the Ionian sea, what vain efforts will the ma-
riners make ! What death-like paleness will seize you ! What effe-
minate complaints will you utter, and in vain make your addresses
to Jupiter, who will turn a deaf ear to all of them ! But should your
carcase, stretched upon the shore, become a rich prey to the sea-
fowls, I promise to sacrifice a lascivious goat and a lamb to the
Tempests.

NOTES.

who pretended that it was not upon occasions goddesses ; but there Is no example tliat they
of this nature, that recourse should be had to ever sacrificed a goat to them. Whence

that

prayers. Horace valued himself upon his
steadiness and magnanimity in this respect;
for in Ode twenty-ninth, Book third, he says,

Non est meum, si mugiat Africis
Mains procellis, ad miseras prer.es
Decurrere.

comes it therefore that Horace promises
them this victim ? It is, without doubt, be-
cause the goat is the most offensive of ani-
mals, as Maevius was the most loathsome of
men. He adds the epithet Ubidinnsus, as
being natural to the goat ; whence the Ro-
mans used to say hirquilaUi and liirquitallire
of those who entered the a^e of manhood,
and began to make love. The goat is of so
amorous a complexion, that Pliny wiites,
Hirci si casu aliquos coeuntes vidint, adco i)i-
dignantur lit in ens pene impetum faciant.

21. Opima quod si preeda."] The word
opima makes the whole beauty and humour
of this passage, by a happy allusion to the
spoils called by the ancients opima ; but we

must necessarily suppose, that Maevius was a From this it was that Virgil drew the image,
very fat corpulent man, that he might be as Transversa tumtilus hirds.

24. Tempeslaiibus.'] They had a temple
at Rome. Ovid says, in the sixth book of
his Fasti,

considerable a prey to the divers, as the opima
spolia were accounted by the Romans.

2.3 . Libidinostts immolal-iliir caper et agrta^]
The Greeks sacrificed a lamb entirely black to
the tempests. " Boys, bring speedily a black
lamb, that I may sacrifice to the tempests."
Aristooh. The Romans sacrificed a black ewe.
Virgil, in the third book of the jEneid, says,

Nigram hyemi pecudem ;
And Book fifth,

El lempestatiius agnam
Ctedere debute juiet.

The reason of this difference is, that the
Greeks made their tempests gods; whereas,
among the Romans, they were accounted

Te qitoque, tempeslas, meritam ddulra fate-

mur,
. Cum. pene est Cords olruta dassis aquis.

This happened in the year of Rome 494.
When the elder Scipio, who was again con-
sul, took that island, his fleet was in great
danger. Upon this he vowed, if it was pre-
served, to build a temple in Rome to the
Tempests. There is, in the two last verses, a
stroke of humour, which Theodoras Marci-
lius alone had the good fortune to discover.
The design of promising sacrifices to Tem-
pests, was to avert them, or make them
cease ; but Horace here does quite the con-

goddesses ; and it was customary to offer the trary, and promises with a view of exciting
males to the gods, and the females to the them.

i Ga

452 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE XL

O D E XL

Horace in this ode laments that he could never for a moment be free from the
passion of love ; he tells us that Cupid had so much the ascendency over
him, that his friends but lost time in giving him advice ; for he could no
otherwise extricate himself from one engagement than by entering into an-
other ; and upon this he recounts in a very facetious manner a few of the
follies he had been guilty of while he was in love with Inachia. This is the
true subject of the ode, which has appeared so difficult, and hitherto has
been so little understood ; for assuredly Scaliger has mistaken the design of
it, when he pronounces so boldly that it is rude, unmannerly, and unworthy
of a perusal. I hope the world will judge of it after a quite different man-
ner upon seeing my remarks. It was composed some years after the twelfth.
Before we proceed to the explication of the ode itself, it will be necessary to
take notice that Lambinus was the first who divided every second versa

AD PETTIUM.

PETTI, nihil me, sicut antea, juvat

Scribere versiculos, amore perculsum gravi j

Amore, qui me, praeter omnes, expetit

Mollibus in pueris aut in puellis urere.

Hie tertius December, ex quo destiti 5

Inachia furere, sylvis honorem decutit.

Heu me ! per urbem (nam pudet tanti mail)

Fabula quanta fui ! conviviorum et poenitet,

In queis amantem et languor et silentium

Arguit, et latere petitus imo spiritus. 10

Contrane lucrum nil valere candidum

Pauperis ingenium ? querebar, applorans tibi,

ORDO.

O Petti, nihil juvat me, sicut antea, scri- me, quanta fabula fui per urbem (na pu-

bere vereiculos perculsum araore gravi ; a- det me tanti mail) ! Poenitet et conviviorum,

more qui prseter omnes expetit urere me in in queis et languor et silentium et spiritus

mollibus pueris, aut in puellis. petiuis imo latere arguit amantem. Simul

Hie ttruus December decutit honorem Deus inverecundus fervidiore mero promfirat

fylvis, ex quo destiti furere Inachia. Heu loco arcana calentis, applorans tibi que-

ODE XL HORACE'S EPODES. 455

ODE XL

into two, led thereto by the authority of Buchanan, and some ancient ma-
nuscripts. But this is contrary to what the ancients have written who have
treated of the measure of verse. They make it apparent, that all the couplets
which Lambirius, and after him Torrentius, have divided into three verses,
consist only of two, in the following manner :

Petti, nihil me sicut antea juvat
Scribere versiculos amore perculsum gravi.

Bentley has a very learned remark upon this, where he restores to this ode
its true measure, as it is in the best editions, such as that which appeared
at Basle or Basil, in 1527, and that of Cruquius, 157Q.

TO PETTIUS.

PETTIUS, I do not take that pleasure I used to do in writing verse,
being persecuted by cruel Cupid, by Cupid, / say, who vents all
his malice against me, and rekindles soft and violent passions in my
breast.

This is the third December in which the woods have cast their
leaves since I freed myself of that violent passion I had for Inachia.
Ah, wretch that I am, how much have I been the subject of con-
versation all over the city, of which I am very much ashamed ! It
vexes me also to think of those entertainments, at which I could not
help discovering my passion by my languishing eye, my sullen
silence, and deep sighs. But as soon as Bacchus, who unfolds every
thing, warmed my breast with his cheering liqudr, I disclosed all

NOTES.

6. InachiA /wrerc.] This Inachia was one the nature of a lover's sighs. A they are

of the first of whom Horace became ena- the effect of a des're which possesses all the

moured : she is no where mentioned but in powers of the soul, they are drawn, as Virgil

this ode and the following. says, imo peciore, from the bottom of the

10. Et later e petitus imo spiritus."] It is heart,
impossible to paint in a more lively manner

^rt

454

Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER.

ODE XI.

Simul calentis inverecundus Deus
Fervidiore mero arcana promorat loco.
Quod si meis inaestuet praecordib
Libera bilis, ut haec ingrata vends dividat
Fomenta, vulnus nil inalum levantia,
Desinet imparibus certare summotus pudor.
Ubi haec severus te palam laudaveram,
Jussus abire domum, ferebar incerto pede
Ad non ainicos, heu, mihi postes, et heu,
Limina dura, quibus lumbos et infregi latus.
Nunc, gloriantis quamlibet mulierculam
Vincere mollitia, amor Lycisci me tenet ;
Unde expedire non amicorum queant
Libera consilia, nee contumeliae graves ;
Sed alius ardor, aut puellae candidae,
Aut teretis pueri, longam renodantis comam.

ORDO.

rebar " candidura ingenium pauperis nil va- postes, heu non amicos mihi, et limina heu

' lere contra lucrum. Quod si libera bilis dura, quibus infregi lumbos et latus.

' inaestuet przecordiis meis, ut dividat ventis Nunc amor Lyoisci, gloriantis vincere

' haec ingrata fomenta, nil levantia malum quamlibet mulierculam inollitia, tenet me,

c vulnus, protimis pudor summotus desiuet unde non libera consilia nee graves conturce-

certare imparibus." liae amicorum queant expedire, sed alius ar-

Ubi ego severus laudaveram hrec palam te, dor, aut puellse candidse, aut pueri teretis,

jussus abire domum, ferebar pede incerto ad renodautis comam longam.

NOTES.

14. Arcana promorat loco.] We ought
not to explain this passage in the sense of the
Arabian proverb, " When wine is in, wit is
out :" for it would be ridiculous to imagine
that Horace, intoxicated with wine, discover-
ed, even in spite of himself, his secrets to
Pettius. This is a silly, weak character, that
is far from agreeing to Horace. When he
says that Bacchus stole his secrets from him,
it ought to be explained from its relation to
the custom of which the poet speaks in these
verses of the twenty-seventh ode of the first
book;

dicat Opuntiee
Prater MegUlce, quo leatus
Fui^cre, quapereut. sagitta.

In these parties of pleasure, when they began
TO be a little heated with wine, every one
was made to tell the name of his mistress,

the favours he had received from her, or the
hardships she had made him undergo; and
this was sometimes spoken aloud, but most
commonly each whispered it to his neigh-
bour, which gave rise to a thousand little
pleasantries. This is pLiulv what Horace in-
tended to express here ; and nothing can ap-
pear to me more unreasonable than to take
his words in any other sense.

16. Ut h<ec ingrata ventis diuidat fomenta.]
This passage has very much puzzled the com-
mentators ; nor have any of them given a
natural explication of it. Horace by fomenta
understands the complaints, the tears, the
sighs, and sullen silence, which usually ac-
company love. A lover who takes pleasure
in this silence, who complains, who sighs,
thus only cherishes and entertains the passion
of love, and gives it new strength. It is
like the case of a man who abandons himself
to his discontent; the more he thinks of it,

ODE XL

HORACE'S EPODES.

455

my secrets, and complained to you, lamenting thus : " Is it so, that,
" with the ladies, virtue and merit, with poverty, stand no chance
" against the attractive charms of gold ? Wherefore, could I once
" entertain a just resentment of this affront, and suffer myself to be
" deceived no longer with vain amusements, which only sooth my
" passion, but do not relieve it, I would break my chains, ashamed
" to have contended so long with my rich rivals for such an un-
" worthy mistress."

After I had declared this my firm resolution in your presence,
being desired by you to go home, / had gotten but a little way from
you, when, without knowing whither I went, I was carried, in spite
of me, to that fatal gate, where I have often laid my wearied body
and aching limbs.

Now I am charmed with Lyciscus, who is a most engaging person,
from whose chains neither the serious advice nor severe reproofs of
my friends can disengage me, nor will any thing, till some more
lovely charmer does.

NOTES.

the more it grows upon him; whereas it
would gradually wear off, if he would think
no more of it.

18. Desimt imparibus certare summotns
pudor.] This is one of those passages that
nave greatly embarrassed commentators ; nor
is it possible to conceive the many ridiculous
explications that have been given of it. I
shall not spend time in giving an account of
them, but content myself with simply ex-
plaining the passage. Horace says, Pudor
mmmotus dednet certare imparilus, for pudor
'da. summovelitur ut desinat. This is the
first sentimtnt which rises in the breast of a
maltreated lover, who, shutting his eyes to
every thing that could nourish or inflame his
passion, clearly sees, that, far from being a
shameful thing to yield a^mistress to his
rival, whom she prefers on account of his
wealth, it would rather be so to dispute with
him. This is the only natural sense that

can be given to this passage. And this a-
grees also very well with what he moreover
says, that it is their opulence they are valued
for, and by which they are enabled to triumph
over his merit.

26. Nee contumelies graves."] Contume-
lies are properly reproaches and censures ac-
companied with contempt. The Romans
had not a stronger word than this; it was
even more expressive than injuria. When
any one used it against another, it was to
treat him with the highest disdain. Pacuvius
says, Patior facile injuriam, si est vacua a,
contumelia. " I can voluntarily bear inju-
" ries, if they do not proceed to censures
" accompanied with contempt." And Cae-
cilius, Etiam injuriam (ferre possum) nisi
contra constat contumelia. " I can bear in-
" juries, but not contempt." Hence you
learn the reason why Horace adds the epithet
grava.

456

Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER.

ODE XII.

This ode was written while Horace was in love with Inachia, and conse-
quently before the one that precedes ; for that was not composed till two
years after he had been delivered from that passion.

IN ANUM

QUID tibi vis, mulier nigris dignissima barris ?

Munera cur mihi, quidve tabellas
Mittis, nee firmo juveni, neque naris obesse ?

Namque sagacius unus odoror,
Polypus an gravis hirsutis cubet hircus in alls, 5

Quam canis acer, ubi lateat sus.
Quis siidor vietis, et quam malus undique membrisi

Crescit odor ! cum pene soluto
Indomitam properat rabiem sedare ; nee illi

Jam manet humida creta, colorque 10

Stercore fucatus crocodili; jamque subando

Tenta cubilia tectaque rumpit ;

NOTES.

2. Quidve ialeltat.] They commonly
wrote their love-letters on table-books ; and
the person to whom the letter \vas addressed
wrote his answer upon the same book, which
was then sent back again. It is upon this that
the forty-third ode of Catullus is founded :

Jorum neputat. mcecha turpis,
Et negat mihi vestra reddiiuram
Pugiliaria.

The pocket-books were almost of the same
make with those used at this day, txrept that
the leaves were of wood ; whence they had
the name of lalelte, that is, parvas takul*.

They consisted of two, three, or five leaves ;
and, according to the number of these leaves,
they were called diplycha, if they had two,
triply cha, if they had three, and penlaptycha
if they had five ; if the number of leaves
exceeded this, they were called plyptycha.

0. AVc/ue naris oleste^] Olesus signifies
properly fat; and as those who are very fat,
are seldom persons of quick parts or a ready
conception, obesiis and pinguis are frequently
referred to stupid and dull persons, and are
applied to all the senses, as Horace here
says naris oiesee, a nose that smells nothing,
and Calpurnius, oitsis aurilus, ears that do
not bear.

ODE XII. HORACE'S EPODES. 457

ODE XII.

This and the eighth ode of this book are of the same character; and though
some may say that Horace, in writing them, had a good intention, viz. to
paint vice in its most hideous colours ; yet I have omitted giving a transla-
tion of them for an obvious reason.

FCEDAM.

Vel mea cum saevis agitat fastidia verbis :

Inachia langues minus ac me ;
Inachiam ter nocte potes ; mihi semper ad unum 15

Mollis opus. Pereat male, quae te,
Lesbia, quserenti taurum, monstravit inertem !

Cum mihi Cous adesset Amyntas,
Cujus in indomito constantior inguine nervus,

Quam nova collibus arbor inhaeret. 20

Muricibus Tyriis iteratae vellera lanae

Cui properabantur ? tibi nempe,
Ne foret sequales inter conviva, magis quem

Diligeret mulier sua, quam te.
O ego non felix, quam tu fugis, ut pavet acres 25

Agna lupos, capreseque leones !

NOTES.

21. Muricibus TyrOs iterate.] As in the And in this the Latins imitated the Greeks,
sixteenth ode of the second book : who said iroxc; t(uai, Vellus lance.

25. O ego rwmfelix, quam tu fugis.] Ca-

Te Us Afro risius, who cites this passage, reads, O ego

Murice tinctos infelir, and the generality of commentators

Vestiunl lanae. have followed this reading, it being confirmed

by several manuscripts. But I much prefer

" You are clothed in Tyrian purple of the ego nonfelix; for nonfelix is far more ex-
deepest dye." pressive than infelix. It is as if she had said,

O ego infelicissimu. In Virgil non unquam

21. Iterates vellera lanre] It would have is more expressive than nunquam, and now
been sufficient to have said Pellera iterate, but ulla, than nuLla.
it is much more elegant to say Fellera larueite-
ralce. Silius hath said, after the same manner, Non uUa laborum,

O virgo, nova mi fades.
Nive<e splendtntia vellera lan<e.

458

Q. HORAT1I EPODON LIBER. ODE XIII.

ODE XIII.

The subject of this ode is unknown to us ; it only appears from the tenth verse
that Horace speaks to friends who were disturbed at some bad news which
had been brought to Rome, importing perhaps that the Romans had been
vanquished in cattle. Torrentius is ofopinionj that this ode was composed

AD AMICOS.

HORRIDA tempestas coelum contraxit, et imbres

Nivesque deducunt Jovem : nunc mare, nunc syliiae,
Threicio Aquilone sonant. Rapiamus, amici,

Occasionera de die ; dumque virent genua,
Et decet, obducta solvatur fronte senectus.

Tu vina Torquato move consule pressa meo.
Caetera mitte loqui: Deus haec fortasse benigna

Reducet in sedem vice. Nunc et AchsemeniA
Perfundi nardo juvat, et fide Cyllenea

Levare dirispectora solicitudinibus;

ORDO.

Tempestas horrida contraxit coelum, etim- sule. Mitte loqui caetera : Deus fortawe re-

bres nivesque deducunt Jovem : nunc mare, ducet haec in sedem benigna vice,

nunc syluse sonant Aquilone Threicio. O Nunc et juvat perfundi nardo Achaemenia,

amici, rapiamus occasionem de die ; dumque et levare pectora diris solicitudinibus fide

genua virent, et decet, senecrus solvatur ob- Cyllenea; ut Centaurus nobilis cecinit ahimno

dum fronte. grandi :

Tu move vina pressa Torquato meo con-

NOTES.

1. Cahtm cantrarit.'] The old scholiast ceal the heaven, and, as it were, snatch it

is of opinion that Horace here puts ceelum from our sight ; and when they dissipate,

for aer, and that the expression, tempcstas they really seem to open it, and expose it to

conlraxit ccelum, means nothing more than cur view, so that we see it entirely, as when

nules corgit, has assembled the clouds; but one unfolds a piece of tapestry-. This isth*

we do not agree with him. C'jiitraherc is a true force of the word cotilrahere, whi< h

term opposed to explicate, pandere. When makes here a very beautiful image, though

the clouds meet together and unite, they con- some have not perceived it.

ODE XIII. HORACE'S EPODES. 459

ODE XIII.

in the camp of Brutus ; but this has not the least degree of probability ; for
we believe it to be certain, that all the odes we have of Horace were written
after the battle of Philippi.

TO HIS FRIENDS.

A DREADFUL tempest obscures the heavens, and the whole air
seems converted into hail and snow ; the billows roar, and the
woods resound by the violence of the north-wind. Let us then, my
friends, embrace the present occasion : while we are young, and
pleasure is becoming, let us keep at a distance the troubles and
anxieties that old-age brings with it.

Let us have instantly a bottle of that excellent wine, which has
been kept since the consulship of Torquatus, in which I was born ;
and let us avoid all discourse that may be disagreeable. How do
we know that the gods, by a happy turn, will not bring every
thing to rights again ?

Let us think of nothing at present but to perfume ourselves with
essence, and divert all anxious thoughts with an agreeable tune

NOTES.

1. Imlres nivesqite deducunt Jovcm."] In conceal the heavens, or as darkness conceals

order rightly to understand this passage, we the earth. We find in Lucretius,

need only call to mind that Jupiter is the , . , .

. / , . , , , Tenelins vbdiuerc terras.
same with the air, and that the ancients con-
sidered rain as nothing but a certain modifi- Virgil uses the expression olductum dolorem,
cation of the air : aerenim in phurias soivi lur. for grief that was suppressed; and Luciliu*

3. Thrrido Aqmlone aonanL."\ Horace calls says,
th north-wind Thracian, because Thrace

was regarded as the habitation of the winds, yosinterealumenaffcrte^atqueaulisaoldudte.
and because it came directly from Thrace,

which was situated north or north-east of " In the mean time, bring a light, and draw

Rome. " the curtains."

5. Olductu snlvatur fronte senccttts.] This

passage is at first sight difficult; but two 6. Torqua/o consttlcJ] For Horace wa
words are sufficient to clear up the whole, horn under ihe consulate of L. Matilius Tor-
Senectus is here put for senium, the chagrin quatus and L. Aurelius Coita. We have al-
and peevishness of old-age ; and senectus <il- ready spoken of the Roman custom of mark-
du.cl& fronte, is the same as senectus quee ing wine with the name of one of the consul*
front em obdncit^ tegit ,- old-age, which covers who governed when it was put up.
the forehead, which conceals it as the clouds 7 Cattera mille loqui.] From this it i*

460 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. DDK XIV.

Nobilis ut grandi cecinit Centaurus alumno :

Invicte mortalis, Dea nate puer Thetide,
Te manet Assaraci tellus, quam frigida parvi

Findunt Scamandri flumina, lubricus et Simois;
Unde tibi reditum certo subtemine Parcse 1 5

Rupere; nee mater domum caerula te revehet.
Illic omne malum vino cantuque levato,

Deformis aegrimoniae dulcibus alloquiis.

OR DO.

" O invicte mortalis, puer nate Dea The- " tibi subtemine certo; nee mater caerula re-

" tide, tellu&Assaraci manet te, quam frigida " vehet te domum. Illic levato omne malum

" flumina Scamandri parvi et Simois lubri- " vino cantuque, dulcibus alloquiis aegrimo-

<l CMS fiadunt; uude Parcse rupere reditum " niae deformis."

NOTES.

evident, that the present ode was written upon 11. Nobilis vt grandi.'] Horace here make*
occasion of some misfortune that had be- Chiron speak to Achilles, as he had made
fallen the republic. Teucer speak to his friends in the seventh

ODE XIV.

Horace had promised to Maecenas a certain poem in iambic verse, and had
actually begun it ; but as he was of a very amorous disposition, he never
could find time to finish a work of any considerable length. Maecenas did
not cease to importune him, and reproach him with his indolence. Horace

AD IVLECENATEM.

MOLLIS inertia cur tantam diffuderit imis

Oblivionem sensibus,
Pocula Lethaeos ut si ducentia somnos

Arente fauce traxerim,
Candide Maecenas, occidis ssepe rogando. 5

Deus, Deus nam me vetat,

ORDO.

O candide Maecenas, occidis me, saepe ro- tantam sensibus imis, ut si traxerim porula
gando curmollis inertia diffuderit obliviouern ducentia somnosLethaees, fauce areiite. Deus,

ODE XIV. HORACE'S EPODES. 461

on the harp, which Mercury invented for our benefit. This is the
counsel which heretofore the famous Centaur gave to the great
Achilles :

" Invincible mortal," saidhe, "son of the goddess Thetis, you must
" appear in the kingdom of Assaracus, watered by the cold Scaman-
" der and impetuous Simois. There the fatal sisters have deter-
" mined you shall end your days; nor shall your mother have the
" consolation of conducting you home again. Be mindful, when
" you are there, to alleviate all your misfortunes by wine and music,
" the only remedies against grief and melancholy."

NOTES.

ode of the first book. Homer calls him the jEsculapius, Achilles, ^Eneas.

most just of the Centaurs. And the scholiast 17. Illic omnemalum vinol\ Horace has

is of opinion that the most just, in that taken this from the Iliad, where Achilles is

passage, signifies the only just among the represented solacing himself with wine, and

Centaurs. This high reputation for wisdom, singing the great actions of heroes ou his

justice, and knowledge, procured him a great harp.

many illustrious disciples, as Jason, Hercules,

ODE XIV.

answers, that it was not sloth, but the most powerful of all the gods, that ob-
structed the completion of his poem, and that, being one who was acquaint-
ed with love by experience, he could not be ignorant that the man who was
enslaved by that passion, was incapable of turning his thoughts to any other
object.

TO MAECENAS.

You kill me, dear Maecenas, with demanding so often whence it
comes that an effeminate indolence has thrown me into so deep a
lethargy, as if I had imbibed with greediness all the water in the
river of oblivion. It is a god, yea, a powerful god, that debars me

NOTES.

1. Mollis inertia] These are the very minate sloth, but it is a powerful cod that

words which Msecenus made use of in re- forbids, that hinders me from making good

preaching Horace. This was what the poet my promise,
could not bear. It is not, says he, an e8e-

462 Q. HORATI1 EPODON LIBER. ODE XV.

Inceptos, olim promissum carmen, iambos

Ad umbilicum adducere.
Non aliter Samio dicunt arsisse Bathyllo

Anacreonta Te'ium, 10

Qui persa?pe cava testudine flevit amorem

Non elaboratum ad pedem.
Ureris ipse miser : quod si lion pulchrior ignis

Accendit obsessam Ilion,
Gaude sorte tua. Me libertina, neque uno 15

Contenta, Phryne macerat.

ORDO.

nam Deus vetat me adducere ad umbilicum Tit, ipse miser ureris. Qu5d si non pulchrior

inceptos iambos, carmen olim promissum. ignis accendit Ilion obsessam, gaude sorte

Dicunt Anacreonta Teium, qui persaepe tul. Phryne libertina, neque contenta uno,

flevit amorem testudine cava ad pedem non macerat me.
elaboratum, non aliter arsisse Samio Bathyllo.

NOTES.

12. Non tialaratum adpedem.~\ Interpret- lables : without minding the regularity of

ers think that Horace calls the feet of Ana- feet, he made no scruple to put an iambus,

creon's verse non elal'orutos, not laboured, in- or a trochee, for a spondee, or a spondee for

stead of natural, which occurred to him with- an iambus. He also frequently joined toge-

out premeditation; but this is by no means ther verses of different kinds. This passage

what he designs. A 7 o?i elaboratum ad pedem is very remarkable ; for by it we may discover

is here said of Anacreon, because he gave that the learned who have commented on.

himself no trouble about the number of syl- that Greek poet, have not had sufficient reason

ODE XV.

This ode is very simple, and its simplicity is perhaps the reason why the gene-
rality of interpreters have not known the value of it ; for the natural is what
strikes them least in performances of this kind. As for myself, I for the
most part judge of things according to this rule, and acknowledge that I am

AD NE/ERAM.

Nox erat, et coelo fulgebat luna sereno

Inter minora sidera,
Cum tu, magnorum numen laesura Deorum,

In verba jurabas mea,

ORDO.

Nox erat, ct luna fulgebat inter sidera mi- Deorum maernorum, jurabas in mea vcrba,
nora, coelo sereno, cum tu, laesura numen adhaerens brachiis lentis arctius atque ilex

ODE XV. HORACE'S EPODES. 463

from finishing the poem I promised you, and which I had begun to
compose.

The amorous Anacreon, who lamented so tenderly his fate by
playing on his harp with a negligent air, never felt so violent a
passion for Bathyllus ; and even you yourself, Maecenas, are pas-
sionately in love as well as I; and if Helen, who set all Troy on
flames, was not more beautiful than the lady with whom you are
charmed, rejoice in your good fortune. As for me, I adore Phryne,
who is only a freed-woman, and cannot content herself with one
lover.

NOTES.

to condemn some odes, and assure us that 15. Me libertina, netjne uno contents.]

they are none of his, under pretence that the Horace here agreeably flatters Maecenas, by

feet are not exactly observed, and that the poet the difference which he acknowledges to exist

does not always follow the same measure. between his mistress and that of this favourite

13. Quod si non pulchrior ignis.'] Moece- minister of Augustus. Phryne was a freed-

nas might answer Horace, It is true, I am in woman, and Licinia was descended from one

love, but then it is with a person of quality, of the noblest families in Rome : Phryne was

and the most amiable woman in the world, not satisfied with one lover, and Licinia loved

whereas he was in love with a freed-woman. only Maecenas, as he has already told us in

Horace very dexterously prevents this reply, the 12th ode of the second book :
by making him understand, that the love one

had to a freed-woman, did not less possess Et bene muluis

and torment the soul, than that which might Fidum pcctus amoribus.

be conceived for a queen.

ODE XV.

very much affected with this short ode, which is full of passion, and where
the expressions are so natural, that it is easy to see it is truly the heart that
speaks.

TO NE^ERA.

IT was night, and the moon shone bright among the smaller stars
in a serene sky, when, embracing me in your tender arms, more
closely than die ivy twines round the tall oak, you took this
solemn oath wnich I dictated to you, though you intended at that

NOTES.

1. Nox erat, et caslo.] Lovers are always with pleasure; hut this is not the only rea-
circumstantial in the description of those son that moves Horace to be particular in tlie
iwppjr maments, which they look back upon description of these smaller matters; he is

464 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE XV.

Arctius atque edera" procera astringitur ilex, 5

Lentis adhserens brachiis ;
Dum pecori lupus, et nautis infestus Orion,

Turbaret hibernum mare,
Intonsosque agitaret Apollinis aura capillos,

Fore hunc amorem mutuum. 10

O dolitura meft multum virtute, Neaera ;

Nam si quid in Flacco viri est,
Non feret assiduas potiori te dare noctes,

Et quseret iratus parem ;
Nee semel offenses cedet constantia formae, 15

Si certus intrant dolor.
At tu, quicunque es felicior, atque meo nunc

Superbus incedis malo;

ORDO.

procera astringitur ederi : juraJbas amorem nam si quid viri est in Flacco, non feret te

hunc -nostrum fore mutuum, dum lupus in- dare noctes assiduas potiori, et iratus quaeret

Jestus pecori, et Orion infestus nautis, tur- parem; nee, si dolorjcertus intrant, constant!*

baret mare hybernum, auraque agitaret in- mea cedet formae semel offensae.

tonsos capillos Apollinis. At o tu quicunque es felicior, atque nunc
O Neaera! multum dolitura virtute mea;

NOTES.

moreover desirous of augmenting the confu-
sion of Neaera, by making her call to mind
that the night and moon were witnesses of
her oaths.

3. Magnorum numen l&sura Denrum.]
This is the severest reproach that can be cast
upon a iroman, to tell her, that the very mo-
ment she binds herself by oaths, she is con-
triving at the same time to violate and elude
them ; and that she takes an oath for this
very purpose, that she may have the pleasure
of being perjured. This is the true sense of
the passage, which the old scholiast has en-
deavoured to explain after a different manner.

4. In verba juralas mea.'] Jurarc in
verba alicujus, to swear after the words of
any one, is the same with what they meant
by conceptis verbis jurare, when the party
himself pronounced the form of the oath
which he required, and the person who bound
himself repeated it after him ; or very often
was satisfied with saying, at the end of. the
malediction which commonly accompanied
these oaths, Idem in me. He who spoke first
was sa.\dpradre verlis. There was no kind of
oath among the ancients more religious and
binding than this, the reason of which is

very evident : for when one gives another
the power of drawing up the form of the oath,
and the promises which he requires of us, we
establish his right, and cannot deceive him,
without violating all that is most sacred and
venerable.

5. Arctius atque edera.] Horace is not
contented with telling us that Neaera swore ;
he further describes the posture she was in
when she took these oaths. Tliis renders the
picture much more lively, and makes up a
very beautiful image ; for nothing can be
more pleasant than to take a view of this girl
hanging about the neck of Horace, and re-
peating after him all the oaths and promises
which he dictates.

6. Leiitis adht&rens brachiis.'] The dif-
ficulty of this passage consists in determining
whether Irachiis be in the dative or ablative,
that is, if Horace speaks of his own arms,
or those of Neaera, and if wi'ew or tuis be
understood. Commentators adhere mostly
to the first opinion ; but, in matters of gal-
lantry, I question how far the delicacy of
their taste is to be depended upon. Brachiis
is without doubt in the ablative; for it wti
Nesera that hung about the neck of Horace.

ODE XV.

HORACE'S EPODES.

465

very time to offend the majesty of the supreme gods, by break-
ing it.

" So long," said you, " as the Wolf shall continue an enemy to the
" sheep, and Orion, formidable to mariners, swell the winter sea ;
" while the beautiful locks of Apollo shall wanton in the wind, so
" long you may assure yourself, Horace, that the love you have for
" me will meet with an equal return."

Neaera, thou faithless jilt, the time will come, that you will
dearly repent of being false to me, when you reflect on my con-
stancy ; for if there is one spark of manhood left in Horace, he will
not bear to see you riot every night with his rival, whom you prefer,
without resenting it, by looking out for a mistress that will make
more equal returns to his passion. Nor imagine, though you should
sincerely repent of having used me ill, that, after so much provo-
cation", all your beauty will ever make me fall from my resentment.

And you, whoever you are, happy favourite, who now laugh and

NOTES.

This is no inconsiderable remark, for it is
what constitutes the chief beauty of this pas-
sage. In this meeting it belonged to Nesera
to testify the greatest forwardness, because it
was she that was to take an oath. They-only
who are acquainted with nature, are capable
of thoroughly discerning and feeling the
truth of this observation.

13. Potion..] Commentators have not right-
ly understood the meaning of this word, as
here used : polior signifies simply more happy,
better received, as in Ode ninth, Book third,

Nee quisquam potior Irachia Candidas
Cervidjuvcim dalat.

Potior is the same thing as felinor in the
fourth verse after this. Tibiillus, in like
manner, in the sixth elegy of his fourth book,
says,

At tit qui potior mine es.
)4. Et quarrel iralus parcm.] Parem, an

equal, that is, one who will return his love;
as, on the contrary, impar signifies a person
who makes no return to the passion which
another has for her. It is u metaphor taken
from coach-horses ; when they draw equally,
they are called pares ; but when one draws
better than the other, they are called impares.
18. Superlus incedis.~\ Inceikre is a word
full of majesty and dignity, and it was only
used when they spoke of those who discovered
by their gait a consciousness of their high
birth and superior station. Virgil, in the
first book of the JEneid, makes Juno say,

A.<t ego quce Divitm inccdo regina, Jovisque
Et soror et conjux.

See the Prose Translation of Virgil, Book
1st, p. 8. where Servius has very well re-
marked, Incedere est nolilium personarum ;
hoc est, cum aliqua dignitate nmbidare. Ho-
race is not contented with the force of this
term ; he adds superl-us, in order to paint more
strongly the pride of his rival.

VOL. I.

2 H

4C6 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE XVI.

Sis pecore et multa dives tellure licebit,

Tibique Pactolus fluat, 20

Nee te Pythagorae fallant arcana renati,

Formaque vincas Nirea ;
Eheu, translates alio mcerebis amores :

Ast ego vicissim risero.

ORDO.

*uperbus incedis meo malo ; licebit sis dives et vincas Nirea formtl ; eheu moerebis amorei
pecore et tellure multa, Pactolusque fluat translates alio ; ast ego vicissim risero.
tibi ; nee arcana Pythagorae renati fallant te,

NOTES.

20. Tibique Pactolua fiuat."] The Pacto- mount Tmolus, and running into the Her-
lus is a river of Lydia, which takes its rise in mils, empties itself along with it into the

ODE XVI.

This ode was produced in the time of the civil wars, and consequently is one
of the first of Horace's performances. M. le Fevre says it is the work of a
young man ; but that this does not preclude its being well written. Sca-
liger judges less favourably of it; for he says, except the verses, which are
all laboured, and of which the second or epode verses are all pure iambics,
which are very difficult to make, the ode is impertinent and ridiculous, and
that it is an unparalleled piece of impudence in the poet, to endeavour to
persuade three hundred thousand Roman citizens to quit their party. We
never fail to judge amiss when we allow ourselves to be prejudiced, and are
not at due pains to examine accurately the points of which we form a judge-
ment. When war arose between Antony and Augustus in the year of the
city 721,' Rome was full of disorders and dissensions ; the citizens preparing-,
some to follow the fortune of Antony, others to range themselves on the
side of Augustus. Horace, who was a witness of these divisions, and who
knew, from experience, the mischiefs that might attend them, expresses
his concern and trouble in this ode, and endeavours to persuade his coun-

AD POPULUM ROMANUM.

ALTER A jam teritur bellis civilibus aetas j
Suis et ipsa Roma viribus ruit ;

ORDO.

Altera aetas jam teritur belJis civilibus, et ipsa Roma ruit viribus suis ;

ODE XVI. HORACE'S EPODES. 46?

triumph over me, though you be rich in land and cattle, though all
tEe gold that flows down the Pactolus were yours*; even if the
mysteries of the philosophy of Pythagoras, who so often returned to
life, should be known to you, and you should exceed even Nireus in
beauty, soon shall you have the mortification to see this inconstant
fair one jilt you too, and transfer her love to another ; then I shall
have the pleasure to laugh and triumph over you in my turn.

NOTES.

jEgean Sea. In the time of Croesus this of Strabo, as he tells us himself in his thir-

river brought down with it from the moun- teenth book. Although this had ceased

tains a kind of gold sand, which was the long before the time of Augustus, yet they

chief cause of the prodigious riches of that still used the proverbial expression, tibi Pac-

mouarch. But it no more did so in the time tolusfluit, for, you are as rich as Creesits.

* And the Pactolus should flow only to you.

ODE XVI.

trymen, that these divisions which prevailed among them, did not pro-
ceed from the ambition and avarice of their chiefs, but from the wrath of
the gods, who raised these heats among them to revenge the murder of
Remus ; and that so long as they inhabited a city whose walls were ce-
mented with blood, it was in vain that they hoped to see an end of these
miseries : that the only wise course they could take, therefore, was to quit
Rome, and go inquest of more peaceful and happy habitations, in imitation
of the Phocaeans, who, to avoid the mischiefs of a war, voluntarily quitted
their native country. It was probably this history of the Phocaeans that
gave Horace the idea of this ode, where we have an admirable description
of the Fortunate Isles, in order the better to represent, by a sensible opposition,
the desolation and calamities of Italy and Rome. Let any one but
carefully peruse this ode, and I am persuaded he will be astonished at the
severe and injudicious criticism of Scaliger. Heinsius could not have more
condemned him, than by saying, " In Epodis decimam sextam, quae
antiquitatis universae excedit conatum, ineptam judicavit."

TO THE PEOPLE OF ROME.

A SECOND age is now almost worn out in our -destructive civil wars,
and Rome falls by her own strength ; that mistress of the world.

NOTES.

1. Alterajamteritur.'] Horace divides, the hends all the civil wars that afflicted Italy,
civil wars into, two ages; the first compre- from the dissension of Marius and Sylla, till

2H 2

468 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE XVI.

Quam neque finitimi valuerunt perdere Marsi,

Minacis aut Etrusca Porsense manus,
^Emula nee virtus Capuse, nee Spartacus acer, 5

Novisque rebus infidelis Allobrox,
Nee fera caerulea domuit Germania pube,

Parentibusque abominatus Annibal.
Impia perdemus devoti sanguinis aetas,

Ferisque rursus occupabitur solum ? 1O

Barbarus, heu, cineres insistet victor, et urbem

Eques sonante verberabit ungula ;
Quseque carent ventis et solibus, ossa Quirini

(Nefas videre) dissipabit insolens ?
Forte quid expediat, communiter, aut melior pars, 15

Malis carere quseritis laboribus.
Nulla sit hac potior sententia: (Phoceeorum ,

Velut profugit exseerata civitas,
Agros atque lares patrios, habitandaque fana,

Apris reliquit et rapacibus lupis) 20

Ire, pedes quocunque ferent, quocunque per undas

Notus vocabit, aut protervus Arricus.
Sic placet? amnelius quis habet suadere ? secunda

Ratem occupare quid moramur alite ?
Sed juremus in haec : Simul imis saxa renurint 25

Vadis levata, ne redire sit nefas ;

OR DO.

quam neqne Marsi finitimi valuerunt per- melior pars, quaeritis quid expediat carere mails

dere, aut .Etrusca manus Porsenae minacis, laboribus.

nee aemula virtus Capus, nee Spartacus acer, Sententia nulla potior bac ; Ire quocunque

Allobroxque infidelis student rebus novis, nee pedes ferent, quocunque Notus, aut proter-

Germatua fera pube caerulea doir\jiit, Anni- vus Africus, vocabit per undas, velut exseerata

balque abominatus parentibus. Nos impia civitas Phocaeorum profugit, atque reliquit

3>tas devoti sanguiiiis perdemus, soluuique agros, lares patrios, faiiaqu'e habitanda apris,

rursus occupabitur feris ? Heu, barbarusvic- et lupis rapacibus.

tor insistet cineres u?Z-w, et eques verberabit Sic placet? an quis habet melius suadere ?

urV>em sonante ungula, iusolensque dissipabit Quid moramur occupare ratem alite secunda ?

ossa Quirini, quae carent ventis et solibus ; Sed juremus in haec, ne redire sit nefas, simul

quod nefas est videre ? Forte communiter, aut saxa levata imis vadis renariiu ; neu pigeat

NOTES.

the death of Caesar, and the second compre- courage of the inhabitants, he entered into

bends those which occurred from the deuth an alliance with them, and raised the siege,

of Coes-ir to the battle of Acyum. 5. Spartaeiis.] Some have thought thai

4. Minacis aut Etrusca Porsente manus.] the Spartans are here alluded to : but this

Tarquin the Proud, being expelled from his is a false supposition; for the rebel gladiator

kingdom by the Romans, retired to the was obviously in the poet's eye.

court of Porsena king of Tuscany, who, in , Novisque rebus infidelis AUobrox.]

order to re-establish him on his throne, laid There is an ellipsis here, and we must supply

siege to Rome, and seemed to be on the studens : Relusnovis studensvifiMisAll'ibrox.

poiiit of reducing it : but, admiring the The Allobroges were properly the people in-

ODE XVI. HORACE'S EPODES. 4G!>

whom neither the Marsi her neighbours, nor the Tuscan army of
the menacing Porscria, nor all the power of Capua her rival, nor
the turbulent Spartacus, nor the perfidious Allobroges, lovers of
revolutions, nor fierce Germany with her azure-eyed youth, nor
all the fury of Hannibal, who was hated by our forefathers, were
able to conquer.

And shall we impious wretches destroy it, whose blood is devoted
to destruction for the expiation of our crimes, and the ground,
on ivhich the city stands, be again possessed by wild beasts ? Sha 1 /
the victorious barbarian^ in an insulting manner ride over the ruins
of ouc-city; and, what is dreadful to think of, shall these insolent
men scatter the bones of Romulus, which have lain concealed from
the injuries of the sun and winds for so many ages ? Perhaps all of
you, or at least the wiser part, will demand what expedient can be
found to avoid these great calamities.

Our best course, in my opinion, is to imitate the example of the
Phocaeans: after having engaged themselves by the most in-
violable oaths, to forsake for ever their native country, they aban-
doned to bears and wolves their houses, their -temples, and their
city. Let us likewise quit our dear country, and wander by land
as far as our feet will carry us, or roam on the ocean wherever the
violent south-west winds may blow us.

Does this advice please ? or has any one a better to offer ? Why
do we delay to embark under lucky auspices ? " But stop, let us
" first swear not to return till stones, rising from the bottom of the
" deep, swim on its surface ; and then, and not before, turn our

NOTES.

habiting about Savoy and Dauphine". Ho- 15. Forte quid expediat.] The construction

race calls them perfidious and lovers ofinno- of this passage is as follows; Fwtecommuniter,

vations, because they had embarked in the aut meliorpars, rjueeritis quidcTpcdiat carere,

conspiracy of Catiline, their ambassadors instead ef q uidjexpediat utfareatis: "What

being gained by Lentulus, The reader may " is proper to be done, in order to free our-

consull Sallust, and the first chapter of the " selves from these calamities."

fourth book of Florus. This is the expli- 17. Phocteorum velut proftigit extccrata.~]

cation which the generality of interpreters The Phocaeans, a people of Ionia, bung

give of this passage ; but as this conspiracy closely pressed by Harpagus, earnestly de-

of the Allobroges was discovered as soon as manded one day's truce, as if to delib rate

formed, and the danger was not so great, to upon the propositions he had made them,

be enumerated with those of which he here and begsed him to withdraw his army a little

speaks, I am of opinion, that by the Allo- from their walls : which he had no sooner

broges he means the Gauls, and that he had done, than they put in their ships all that

in his eye all the bloody wars which that they could carry along with them of their

people carried on with the Romans. goods, with their wives, their children, and

7. German ia.] It is probable that he the statues of their gods, and sailed to Chio.

here means the Tentones and Cimbri, who Afterwards they returned to Phocis, where,

would infallibly have sacked Rome, had they having put the garrison left by Harpagus

not been opposed by a Marius. to the sword, they re-embarked, and throw-

Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE XVI.

Neu conversa domum pigeat dare lintea, quando

Padus Matina laverit cacumina,
In mare seu celsus procurrerit Apenninus,

Novaque monstra junxerit libidine 30

Minis amor j juvet ut t igres subsidere cervis,

Adulteretur et columba miliio ;
Credula nee flavos timeant armenta leones ;

Ametque salsa levis hircus aequora.
Haec, et quse poterunt reditus abscindere dulces, 35

Eamus omnis exsecrata ci vitas,
Aut pars indocili melior grege : mollis et exspes

Inominata perprimat cubilia.
Vos quibus est virtus, muliebrem tollite luctum,

Etrusca praeter et volate litora. 40

Nos manet Oceanus circumvagus : arva, beata

Petamus arva, divites et insulas,
Reddit ubi Cererem tellus inarata quotannis,

Et imputata floret usque vinea ;
Germinat et nunquam fallentis termes olivae, 45

Suamque pulla ficus ornat arborem ;
Mella cava manant ex ilice ; montibus altis

Levis crepante lympha desilit pede.
Illic injussse reniunt ad mulctra capellae,

Refertque tcnta grex amicus ubera ; 50

Nee vespertinus circumgemit ursus ovile,

Nee intumescit alta viperis humus :
Pluraque felices mirabimur ; ut neque largis

Aquosus Eurus arva radat imbribus,

ORDO.

dare lintea conversa domum, quando Padus Oceanus circumvagus manet nos; pctamus

laverit cacumina Matina, seu Apenninus arva t insulas divites, ubi tellus inarata quot-

oelsiis procurrerk in mare, mirusque amor annis reddit Cererem, et vinea imputata usque

junxerit monstra nova libidine; ut juvet floret; et ubi termes olivae nunquam fallentis

tigres subsidere cervis, et columba adulteretur germinat, ficusque pulla ornat suam arborem ;

irjilvO ; nee armenta credula timeant leones ubi mella manant ex ilice cava, et lympha

flavos ; hircu c que levis amet salsa aequora. levis desilit montibus altis pede crepante.

Qut/m civitas omnis exsecrata sit haec, et Illic capellae injussa? veniunt ad mulctra,

quae poterunt abscindere reditus dulces,eamus, grexque araicus refert ubera tcnta; nee ursus

aut pars melior grege indocili : pars mollis et vespertinus circumgemit ovile, nee humus

exspes perprimat cubilia inominata. Vos, qui- aha intumescit viperis : felicesque mirabimur

bus virtus est, tollite luctum muliebrem, et plura; ut neque Eurus aquosus radat arva

volate praeter litora Etrusca. ynbribus largis, nee semina pinguia uran-

NOTES.

ing a mass of red-hot iron into the sea, swore country, till that mass of iron should swim
they would never return into their own upon the water.

ODE XVI. HORACE'S EPODES. 47 1

" sails homeward, when the Po shall flow up to the top of the Ma-
" tinian mountains, and the lofty Apennine throw itself into the
ie middle of the sea ; when a monstrous love shall join the tiger
" with the hind, and the dove with the kite ; when our flocks no
" more dread the tawny lions; and the goats, grown smooth, take
" pleasure in the briny ocean."

Having bound ourselves by this or any stricter oath, that may cut
off all hopes of a return which has so many charms in it, let us go
all together, or the chief part of us who are above the vulgar : let
him tnat has no bravery or resolution abide in these accursed places.
But you, who have courage, relinquish your effeminate complaints,
and fly speedily beyond the Etrurian coasts.

The wide ocean invites us ; let us be gone to those lands, those
happy lands, and rich islands, where the untilled earth produces
every year plenty of corn, the unpruned vines never miss to flourish
in their season, the olive-branches are loaded with fruit, and never
deceive the farmer's hope ; where the fig-trees look beautiful with
ripe figs, honey flows from the hollow oak, and the rivulets make
'an agreeable murmur, descending from the lofty mountains. There
the she-goats and ewes, with their distended udders, come to the
milk-pail of their own accord; no evening bear stalks growling
round the sheepfold, nor do poisonous vipers heave the swelling soil.
When we are there, we shall rejoice in our happiness, and find
innumerable subjects of admiration. The east-wind never brings
immoderate rains to overflow this country; nor do excessive heats

NOTES. ,

31. Juvet ut tigres, &c.] If there be any those isles and habitations of which the port
mark of youth in this ode, it is certainly in has left us so lovely a description. It is ge-
the great number of impossibilities which nerally thought they were two isles bordering
Horace here amasses. When one handles upon Andalusia, where the ancients placed
a subject of so dismal a nature as this, and their Elysian Fields, as has been already re-
treats of the execution of some very difficult marked on the first book,
enterprise, it is not at all likely that he will 53. Ut neque largis aquotus Eunts arvaJ]
take the liberty of ransacking nature to fur- There is a beautiful passage of Plutarch, in
iiish himself with images. And even though his life of Sertorius, that will serve as a corn-
lie had that liberty, he ought not to use it. mentary to this. That historian, speaking
True grief expresses itself after another of the Fortunate Isles, says, that there very
manner. seldom fall any showers, which, when they

35. Rcditiis abscindere dulces.] This epi- do, are always soft; and that commonly there

thct dulcis is in a manner the foundation of blows a mild and gentle gale, which brings a

all the oaths he requires of then) ; for, as our dew along with it, that moistens the earth

country has many charms, which naturally in such a manner as to render it fat and ler-

cxcite a desire of returning into it, the en- tile : that the winds blowing from the land,

gagements one is brought under never to re- soon lose all their force and violence ; and

turn, can never be too strong. t that those which come from the sea, bring

41. Bcata petamus araz.] The greatesr sometimes along with them a gentle shower,

difficulty of this passage is, to know what are but most commonly they serve only to refresh

472 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE XVI,

Pinguia nee siccis urantur semina glebis ; 55

Utrumque rege temperante ccelitum.
Non hue Argoo contendit remige pinus,

Neque impudica Colchis intulit pedem ;
Non hue Sidonii torserunt cornua nautae,

Laboriosa nee cohors Ulyssei. 60

Nulla nocent pecori contagia ; nullius astii

Gregem eestuosa torret impotentia.
Jupiter ilia pife secrevit litora genti,

Ut inquinavit aere tempus aureum :
fiLrea dehinc ferro duravit secula ; quorum 65

Piis secunda, vate me, datur fuga.

ORDO.

tur glebis sjccis ; rege ccelitum temperante nocent pecori ; sestuosa impotentia astri nul-

utrumque. lius torret gregem. Jupiter secrevit litora

Pinus, remige Argoo, non contendit hue, ilia genti piae, ut inquinarit aureum tempua

neque Colchis impudica intulit pedern hue: aere, dehinc duravit aerea secula ferro : quo-

nautae Sidonii non torserunt cornua hue, nee rum seculorum, fuga secunda datur piis, me

laboriosa cohors Ulyssei. Contagia nulla vate.

NOTES.

the air with a moisture and softness, that propose to himself to draw from this circum-

gfae nourishment to all things. stance, that Cadmus never landed in those

59. Non hue Sidonii torsenmL'] Com- isles, inasmuch as Cadmus did nothing but

mentators pretend that Horace speaks here good in all the places that he visited. This

of Cadmus and his companions ; but I can therefore cannot be the poet's meaning. Tyre

by no means see what advantage he could and Sidoa were the chief maritime towns in

ODE XVI. HORACE'S EPODES. 473

burn up the corn, the ruler of the skies always preserving a mild
and temperate air.

The plundering Argonauts never attempted to go near this coast,
nor was it ever known to dire Medea ; neither the Sidonian sailors,
nor the indefatigable companions of jamed Ulysses, ever landed
here. Here no contagious humour hurts the cattle, no fiery planet
injures the flocks. This happy land was set apart by Jove for pious
men, when he first changed the golden age into one of brass, and
afterwards that of brass into one of iron.

By following this my oracular advice, the pious may escape the
calamities of these corrupt and unhappy times.

NOTES.

the world, and consequently held the first Sub domina meretricefuisselturpis etexcars;

rank for commerce; and as merchandise and Vixisset canis immundtis, vel arnica luto sas.
deceit are too often joined together, Horace

tells us that the Sidonians never set their 64. Ut inquinavit cere tempus aureum.']
foot in these Fortunate-Isles, in order by this The golden age was not immediately follow-
to make us understand, that deceit and in- ed by that of brass ; there was, between these
justice are there unknown. two, an age of silver ; but as this last retain-
60. Laboriosa nee colwrs IJlyssei.'] Horace ed a great deal of the golden age, Horace
excludes from the Fortunate Isles the com- considers them as one.

panions of Ulysses, because they were im- 66. fate me.] For these migrations were

prudent, and altogether slaves to their pas- scarcely ever made, but by the command of

sions. It is for this reason that he says in an oracle. Horace therefore here clothes

the second epistle of his first book, himself with all that authority, and tells the

Romans, that they ought to follow his coun-

Sirenum voces et Circes pocula nosli : sel as an undoubted oracle, he having the

Qua: si cum soctis stidtus cupidufque lilisset, honour to be one of the priests of Apollo. .

474 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE XVIL

ODE XVII.

Horace, in this ode, disavows all that he had written against Canidia ; but
the manner in which he sings this recantation, renders it far more satiri-
cal and provoking than any thing he had thrown out against her. For in

AD CANIDIAM.

JAM jam efficaci clo manus scientiae ;

Supplex et oro regna per Proserpinse,

Per et Dianee non movenda numirm,

Per atque libros carminum valentium

Refixa coelo devocare sidera, 5

Canidia, parce vocibus tandem sacris,

Citumque retro solve, solve turbineni.

Movit nepotem Telephus Nereium,

In quern superbus ordin&rat agniina

Mysorum, et in quern tela acuta torserat. 10

Uuxere matres Hire addictum feris

Alitibus atque canibus homicidam Hectorem,

Postquam relictis moenibus rex procidit,

Heu, pervicacis ad pedes Achillei.

ORDO.

Jam jam do inanus scientiae efficaci, et quern srperbus ordinaverat agmina Mysorum,

sopplrx oro per regna Proserpina, et per nu- et in quein torserat tela acuia. Matres Ilise

mina Diante non movenda, atque per libros imxere Hectorem liomicidam addictum feris

carminura valentium devocare sidera refixa alitibus atque canibu*, postqviam rex, relictis

coelo; O Canidia, tandem parce vocibus sa- moenibus, procidit, lieu, ad pedes Achillei

ris, retroque solve, solve turbinem citum. pevvicacis.

Telephus rnovit nepotem Nereium, in

NOTES.

1. Efficaci do manus seientits] Dare " And if my reasons appear to you good and

inamis alicui, to give the hands to any onp, " valid, give the hands;" that is, yield, give,

is the same as to yield to him, to acknowledge up the point. Our poet gives to ir.agir the

his power ; and it is a metaphor taken from epithet ejficaa; but it is by way of irony,
the ancient manner of combating, where the 4. Per atque fciro.?.] Jn the time of Au-

inquished gave his hands to the conqueror gustus there were still extant the books of

Et, si tili vera videlur,
Dede manus,

ODE XVII. HORACE'S EPODES. 475

ODE XVII.

this way of satire and eulogium, there is a great deal more of poignancy,
and the impression made is much stronger, than by a professed slandering,
or a direct panegyric.

TO CANIDIA.

I SUBMIT, I submit, Canidia, to the power of your art, and humbly
pray you by the realms of Proserpine, the majesty of Diana, which
it is dangerous to violate, and by those your conjuring books which
teach to make the very stars descend, forbear pronouncing your
imprecations against me ; and turn, O backward turn your magic
wheel.

The grandson of Nereus suffered himself to be overcome by the
prayers of Telephus, though he proudly led his Mysian troops against
him, and charged him with a shower of arrows. After Priam
abandoned Troy, and threw himself at the feet of implacable Achil-
les, a piteous sight ! he gave the Trojan dames liberty to embalm
the body of Hector, who had killed his friend Patroclus, though he
had destined it for a prey to dogs and vultures. The enchantress
Circe at last consented that the bristles should fall off the skins of

NOTES.

?. Citumque retro solve lurbinem.'] Turbo Greeks landed in his kingdom, in their way to

is the same with what was otherwise called Troy, he attacked them vigorously, and slew

rhombus after the Greeks. In my judgement a great number of them; he was wounded by

it was a kind of wheel made of iron or wood, Achilles in the battle, and as he could find no

which sorcerers used in their enchantments, remedy for his wound, he went and consulted

They rolled it up in small leathern thongs, the oracle, who answered, he was to expect

and made it turn round, believing that the his cure from the same iron which had given

motion of this magical wheel had the virtue him the vvound. Upon this he applied to

of raising in men those passions and move- Achilles, who caused some of the filings of

ments which they wished to inspire. When his lance to be put into the wound, and thus

they had made this wheel turn round after a cft'ected his cure.

cenain manner, and wanted to correct the ef- 8. Ncpotcm, Nereium.] Achilles was the

feet which it had produced, and make it pro- son of Thetis, who was the daughter of Ne-r

duce the contrary, they were obliged to make reus.

it describe a circle in an opposite direction to 11. Uuxere mattes, &c.j The sense of

that in which it had moved bt fore. This is this passage is very clear, that the Trojan

the reason of Horace's saying, retro solve tur- ladies had the liberty to perfume the body of

linem. Hector, after Priam had thrown himself at

9. Movif ncpotem Telephus Nercium,] Te- the feet of Achilles, who had resolved to ex-

lephus was the son of Hercules, king of My- pose it to dogs and vultures. Some, instead

sin, and au ally of the Trojans. When the of w?acre, read htxere; cither word will do.

476 Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE XVII.

Setosa duris exuere pellibus 15

JLaboriosi remiges Ulyssei,

Volente Circe, membra : tune mens, et sonus

Relatus, atque notus" in vultus honor.

Dedi satis superque pcenarum tibi,

Amata nautis multum et institoribus. 20

Fugit juventas, et verecundus eolor

Reliquit ossa pelle amicta lurida :

Tuis capillus albus est odoribus.

Nullum a labore me reelinat otium :

Urget diem nox, et dies noctem ; neque est 25

Levare tenta spiritu praecordia.

Ergo negatum vincor ut credam miser,

Sabella pectus increpare carmina,

Caputque Marsa dissilire nsenia.

Quid amplius vis ? 6 mare et terra ! ardeo, 30

Quantum nequc atro delibutus Hercules

Nessi cruore, nee Sicana fervida

Virens in ^Etna flamma. Tu, donee cinis

Injuriosis aridus ventis ferar,

Cales venenis officina Colchicis. 35

Quae finis ? aut quod me manet stipendium ?

Effare : jussas cum fide pcenas luam,

Paratus expiare, seu poposceris.

Centum juvencos, sive mendaci lyr&

Voles sonari : tu pudica, tu proba, 40

Perambulabis astra sidus aureum.

Infamis Helenas Castor offensus vice,

ORDO.

Remiges laboriosi Ulyssei exuere membra se- Quid amplius vis? mare ct terra!

tosa pellibus duris, volente Circe : tune mens ardeo quantum neque Hercules delibutus

et sonus relatus est> atque honor notus in atro cruore Nessi, nee fervida flamma virens

vultus. in /Etna Sicana.

O Canidia, multum amata nautis etinstito- Tu cales officina venenis Colcbicis, donee
ribus, dedi satis superque pcenarum tibi. Ju- ego cinis aridus ferar, vends injuriosis. Quae
ventas fugit, et color verecundus reliquitossa finis? aut quod stipendium manet me? Ef-
amicta pelle lurida. Car/illus est albus odori- fare: cum fide luam pcenas jussas, paratus ex-
bus tuis. Otium nullum reelinat me a la- piare, seu poposceris centum juvencos, sive
bore j nox Tirget diem, et dies urget noctem ; voles sonari lyra mendaci : tu pudiea, tu
neque est levare tenta praecordia spiritu. proba, sidus aureum perambulabis astra.
Ergo ego miser vincor ut credam negatum, Castor offensus vice infamis Helenas, fraterque
earmina Sabella increpare pectus, caputque magni Castoris, ambo victi prece, reddidere
dissilire naenia Marsa.

NOTES.

15. Selosa duris exuere pellibus.'] When mer says, that they even appeared more beau-
Circe had transformed the companions of tiful, young, and handsome, than they had
Ulysses, she was prevailed upon by his prayers been before,
to restore them to their former shape. He

lo-

ODE XVII. HORACE'S EPODES. 477

indefatigable Ulysses' crew, whom she had changed into wild boars,
and that they should recover their reason, speech, and former fea-
tures.

Canidia, thou darling of the mariners and traders, much too
severely have I smarted for my insolence to thee 5 my youth has
vanished, my blooming colour is gone, and I have nothing left on
my brow but a pale withered skin ; my head is also covered with
grey hairs before the usual time by the power of your drugs. Nor
can 1 have the least ease or respite from my pain : neither by day
nor by night can I breathe with freedom, even for one moment, to
refresh my heaving lungs. Unhappy wretch that I am, I now know
too well from experience, what I could not formerly believe, that
the powerful charms of the Samnites and Marsi discompose the
heart and destroy our reason.

What more would you have ? O sea and earth ! I burn with a
fire more violent than that which was kindled in the body of Her-
cules by the blood of Nessus ; nor is the flame that is nourished in
the bosom of mount JEtna. more furious. Yet thou, forge of Col-
chic poisons, continuest to glow till I am reduced to ashes, and be-
come the sport of the winds. When will you put an end to my
tortures ? Or what penalty will you inflict upon me r Speak, I am
willing to submit to your determination, and ready to expiate my
crime in whatever manner you please..

Do you demand the sacrifice of a hundred oxen ? J will make an
offering of them to you. Or do you rather wish that on my harp,
which you call insincere, I should celebrate your virtue and your
probity? In a moment you shall have a place among the stars.
Castor, and Pollux the brother of the great Castor, though provoked

NOTES.

I?. Tune metis, el sonus relatusJ] In say- were distinguished only by their name, and

ing that the companions of Ulysses were re- the place of their abode. They possessed

stored to the use of their reason and under- the southern and western coasts of the island,

standing, Horace differs from Homer, who The historian Timeus, who was of Sicily, and

assures us, that notwithstanding their meta- lived under Agsuhocles, treats of the fable

morphosis, they continued to preserve their which Tlnicydides advances, that the Sica-

reason. nians came originally from the neighbour-

23. Tuis capillus albus est odoriius.'] Ho- hood of the river Sicanus, and a city called

race's hair was of a white colour, as he in- Sicana, in Spain.

forms us himself in the last epistle of his first 3'i. Cales venertis officina.] The expres-

book. And he attributes this very pleasantly sion, cnles officina, is in a peculiar manner

here to the drugs which Canidia had made worthy of our notice. It is the same as if he

use of in her enchantments, which magical had said, she was a shop of poisons. Por-

drugs he, by way of irony, calls odures. phyrion has very well remarked, Ipsam Cani-

3-2. Sirana.] The Sicanians were the na- diam offidnam venenorum diserte dixit.

tural inhabitants of Sicily, descended from 4-2. Infamis Hdcnce Castor offensus vice,^

the Lestrygones by Sicanus, whence they Stesichorus had satirisedHelcn in some verses;

had their name. They were originally the and afterwards losing his sight, imagined

same with the Sicilians, from whom tlx'y that Castor and Pollux had punished him iu

478

Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODE XVII.

Fraterque magni Castoris, victi prece,

Ademta vati reddidere lumina.

Et tu (potes nam) solve me dementia,

O nee paternis obsoleta sordibus,

Nee in sepuleris pauperum prudens anus

Novendiales dissipare pulvcres !

Tibi hospitale pectus, et pune manus ;

Tuusque venter partumeius; et tuo

Cruore rubros obstetrix pannos lavit,

Utcunque fortis exsilis puerpera.

ORDO.

vati lumina ademta. Et tu (nam potes) solve Pectus hospitale, et pune manus, snnt tibi;

me dementia, O Canidia, nee obsoleta sor- venterque tuus est partumeius ; et obstetrix

dibus paternis, nee anus prudens dissipare no- lavit pannos rubros tuo cruore, utcunque ex-

vendiales pulveres pauperum, iu sepuleris ! silis fortis puerpera.

NOTES.

this manner, to revenge the injury dome to
their sister; and indeed he was right in his
conjecture; for no sooner had he satisfied
Helen by singing a recantation, than those
two gods, being appeased, restored to him the
use of his sight. Plato has preserved this
piece of history to us ; and to him we are also
obliged for the beginning of this recantation.
46. O nee paternis obsoleta sordibus.'] The
old scholiast remarks, that they used the ex-
pression olsolelus sordibus paternis, of chil-
dren boVn in adultery. If this be so, Horace
here reproaches Canidia, that she owed her

birth to the most criminal kind of commerce.
47. A T cc in sepuleris pauperum,] The
old scholiast has very well remarked, that
Horace speaks here only of the sepulchres of
the poor, because those of the rich were com-
monly enclosed with walls, and guarded with
great cave ; by which means they were not
exposed to the insolence of the sorcerers.
Virgil says,

Quern circum lapidum laevi de marmoriformas
Consent*

ODE XVII.

HORACE'S EPODES.

47?

by the injury offered to their sister Helen, yet had the goodness to
pardon the poet who had defamed her, and, prevailed on hy his
prayers, restored him to his sight, of which he had been deprived.
Follow their example, and, as nothing is impossible to you, let me
soon recover the use of my reason. This I beg of you, Can! diet,
who art not stained by a mean and sordid birth, nor art one of those
wicked sorceresses who disturb the ashes of the poor nine days after
they are dead. You have a heart sensible to pity, and hands that
were never polluted with blood ; you are fruitful, and fill the world
with children, in bearing of which you suffer no diminution of your
strength.

NOTES.

And Suetonius, in the life of Nero, Denique
histum (jus consepiri, nisi htimili kvique
materia, neglexit.

48. Novendiales dissipare pulveres.~\ Ser-
vius has given an excellent explication of this
jtassage, in his remarks upon the verses of
the fifth hook of the .'Encid,

rea si nona diem mortalilus almum
Extulmt.

Apud. majores (says he) nl-i quis fuisset ex-
tinrlus,addomum sitam referebalur ; unde est,

Sedihis hwic refer ante suit, et conde se-
fulchro*

pt illic septem erat diehts, octavo inrendela-
tur, nono sepeliebaturj unde Horatius, no-
vcndiales dixipare puluercs : wide eliam ludi
ftti in honorem mortuorum celcbrantur, no-

vendiales dicimtur. " Among our forefathers,
tc when any one died, he was carried to his
" own house, where he was kept seven days ;
" on the eighth he was burned, and on die
' ninth interred. Tliis is the reason of Ho-
' race's using the expression, novcndiales
' disvpare -puloeres ; and the public shows,
' which were instituted in honour of the
' dead, were also called novendiales." Ho-
race, therefore, could not have "reproached
Canidia in a severer manner, than by telling
her that she had the insolence to go and dis-
turb the ashes of the dead the same day they
were interred, and at a time when it was cus-
tomary to pay them the highest respect.

52. Fortis.] Horace says that her ac-
couchemcns or deliveries had not in the least
diminished her strength, to make us under-
stand that they were but feigned. Every word
is full of satire and raillery.

4SO Q. HORAT1I EPODON LIBER. ODE XVII.

CANIDLE RESPONSIO.

The ridicule of this answer consists in this, that Canidia takes in a literal
sense all that Horace had said, and declares that her resentment against

QUID obseratis auribus fundis preces ?
Non saxa nudis surdiora navitis

Neptunus alto tundit hibernus salo. 55

Inultus ut tu riseris Cotyttia
Vulgata, sacrum liberi Cupidinis ?
Et Esquilini pontifex veneficl
Impune ut urbem nomine impleVis meo ?
Quid proderit ditasse Pelignas anus 60

Vclociusve miscuisse toxicum,
Si tardiora fata te votis mancnt ?
Ingrata misero vita ducenda est, in hoc,
Novis ut usque suppetas doloribus.

Optat quietem Pelopis infidus pater, 65

. Egens benignee Tantalus semper dapia ;
Optat Prometheus obligatus aliti ;
Optat supremo collocare Sisyphus
In monte saxum : sed vetant leges Jovis.
Voles modo altis desilire turribus, 70

Modo ense pectus Norico recludere ;
Frustraque vincla gutturi innectes tuo,
Fastidiosa tristis jjegrimoniA.

ORDO.

Quid fuudis preces auribus obseratis ? "Nep- Vita ingrata ducenda est tibi misero, in hoc,

tunus hibernus nou tundit saxa surdiora nu- ut usque suppetas doloribus novis. Tantalus

dis navitis alto salo. infidus pater Pelopis, semper egens benign*

Ut tu inulttis riseris Cotyttia vulgata, sa- dapis, optat quietem ; Prometheus obligatus

crum liberi, Cupidinis ? Et lanquam pontifex aliti optat quietem ; Sisyphus optat collo-

Esquilini veneficii, ut impuue impleveris ur- care saxum in supremo monte : sed leges

beni nomine meo ? Jovis vetant. Sic tu modo voles desilire tur-

Quid proderit dituvl&se anus Pelignas, mis- ribus altis; modo recludere pectus ense No-

ouisseve toxieum velocius, M fata tardiqra vo- rico; tristisque oegrimonia fastidiosa, frustra

tis manent te ? innectes vincula gutturi tuo.

NOTES.

55. Neptunus alia tundit liilernus.'] Here 50. Ut lu riseris Cotyttia.] Cotys, or

is another instance of an epithet taken from Cotytto, '.vas a goddess, whose worship first be-

ihe circumstance of time, and applied to the gan in Thrace, passed into Phrygia, and

person. Neptunus hibernus tundit, for Nep- thence into Greece. She was the goddess of

tunus tundit liilcifio ItmpA'e, impurity and debauchery. She did not pro-

ODE XVII. HORACE'S EPODES. 481

CANIDIA'S ANSWER.

him proceeded from his having divulged all her magical secrets, and the
ceremonies practised by sorcerers in their nocturnal meetings.

WHY do you lose time in making supplications to me who will not
hear them ? Rocks, battered by the stormy billows of a winter sea,
are not more insensible to the cries of the shipwrecked mariners.

Do you expect to escape unpunished, after having ridiculed and
divulged the ceremonies of Cotytto, and the mysteries sacred to
Cupid ? And, as if you were the grand pontiff, do you think to sit
judge of all the enchantments I exercise on the Esquiline mount,
and expose me as a jest to all Rome, and I not resent it ?

What will it avail you to have enriched all the Pelignian sorce-
resses, and to have composed the most ready and efficacious poisons,
if you cannot prevent my prolonging your days beyond what you
would wish?

Unhappy wretch ! you must live even against your will, to suffer
from day to day new torments. Tantalus, the perfidious father of
Pelops, who always pines with a desire after the provisions which
surround and fly from him, earnestly desires, as well as you, some
respite : Prometheus, given as a prey to the vulture, longs to be de-
livered from it; and Sisyphus is earnest to rest on the top of the
mountain the fatal stone which he has rolled for so many ages :
but the decrees of Jupiter forbid. You, in like manner, wasted by
an insupportable melancholy, shall sometimes attempt to throw your-
self headlong from a lofty tower, sometimes to plunge a dagger into
your breast, and sometimes to strangle yourself with a cord ; but
all in vain; for death will refuse to come to your assistance. Then

NOTES.

perly preside over the assemblies of the sor- ad sacra et religioncs pertment, judex '<,

cerers ; but as there were great irregularities vindexque contumadae privatorum m*gistra~

and much licentiousness committed in these tuumque. In this verse of Horace the word

meetings, Horace, by a very severe stroke of tanquam must be supplied,

satire, makes Cauidia herself give them die 60. Pelignas anus.] The Peligni were

name of Cotyttia. neighbours to the Marsi ; all that country

58. Et Esquilini pontifex vewfici.] This was full of sorcerers and sorceresses. Horace
verse is somewhat difficult; to understand it had made use of their aid to oppose their en-
properly, we must call to mind that the grand chantments to those of Canidia, and thus de-
pontiff was arbiter and judge of all that con- liver himself from them,
cerned religion. Festus says, Maximvs 65. Optat quietem.] In the prayers ad-
Pontifex dititur, quod maximus rerum, qua Aressed by Horace to Canidia, he endeavours

VOL. I. ^ *l

482

Q. HORATII EPODON LIBER. ODB XVII-

Vectabor humeris tune ego inimicis eques j
Meseque terra cedet insolentiae.
An quse movere cereas imagines,
(Ut ipse nosti curiosus) et polo
Deripere lunam vocibus possum meis,
Possum cremates excitare mortuos,
Desidertque temperare poculum ;
Plorem artis in te nil agentis exitum ?

ORDO.

Tune ego eques vectabor humeris inimicis ;
terraque cedet insolentiae meae.

(ut ipse curiosus ndsti), et vocibus meis deri-
pere lunam polo, qute possum excitare mor-

An ego plorem ergo artis nil agentis exitum tuos crematos, poculumque desiderii tempe-
ia te, quaj possum movere imagines cereas, rare ?

NOTES.

to move her by some examples of mildness
and good-nature which he lays before her ;
and in the answer Canidia makes, she shows
him, by some examples of a contrary nature,
that he is to expect no favour from her. For,
ays she, Tantalus, Prometheus, Sisyphus,
and many more unhappy wretches, wish, as
well as you, to be delivered from their tor-
ments; but this is a favour they can by no
means obtain from the gods.

7*. yectabor humeris tune g-o.] Veclan
humeris alicujus, was a phrase very familiar
to the Greeks and Romans, and meant the
same as to triumph over any one, to reduce
him to servitude; and in this they imi-
tated the Hebrews, who used, in the same
sense, inequitare cajati alicujus.

75. Me<eque terra cedet insolentits.] She
means, that she will render Horace so un-
happy, as to become a dreadful extmple to

ODE XVII.

HORACE'S EPODES.

483

shall I have the pleasure of avenging myself of my enemies, and tri-
umphing over them, and the whole earth shall submit to my irre-
sistible power.

Do you imagine, poor mortal, that I who (as you yourself, led by
your curiosity, have seen) can give motion to figures of wax, call
down the moon from heaven by the force of my incantations, and
re-animate the ashes of the dead ; that I, who know so well to com-
pose a potion of love from wlwse influence none can be exempt,
shall have the mortification to see my art baffled, and have no effect
upon you ?

NOTES.

all men, and that the whole earth shall be
thereby made to acknowledge her power. In-
solentia, here, is a power which nothing can
resist, which never had an equal.

79. Possum cremates txritare mortuos.']
She adds crematos, the better to show her
power and strength ; for, to raise up a dead
body was within the sphere of the meanest
Mffcercr, but to re-animate a body that had
been reduced to ashes, required an extraordi-
nary power, like that of Canidia.

Sl.Plorem artis in te nil agentis exitum?]
It would be almost an endless task to read
all that interpreters have (aid upon this verse,

who have changed it after twenty different
ways, without determining the true sense of
it. Plorem arlis, &c. word for word, " I
" should have cause to lament on account of
" my art, if it were not successful against
" thee." We must either supply causa or
ergo; as in Virgil,

Justiticene prius mirer, lelline lalorum f

" Shall I admire you most on account of
" your justice, or your glorious achieve-
" ments ?"

a la

4$ I

QUINTI HORATII FLACCI

CARMEN SECULARE.

This poem was produced by order of Augustus, in the year ofthe city ?36. It
is in all respects the master-piece of Horace, and I question whether anti-
quity can furnish us with any thing so finished and complete. Carmen
Seculars, says Julius Scaliger, doctum, plenum, tersum, laloratum. But in
order to understand it thoroughly, and read it with pleasure, it is absolutely
necessary to be acquainted with the origin, and all the ceremonies, of those
secular games for which it was composed. The Romans had a very great
veneration for the Sibylline oracles, of which the Decemviri, afterwards the
Ouindecimviri, were keepers. When any signal misfortune happened to
the republic, the senate commanded the Decemviri to consult these writings.
The Decemviri religiously executed the order, and made their report to
the senate, who decreed sacrifices and ceremonies.

In these sacred writings there was one famous prophecy to this effect :
that if the Romans, at the beginning of evervage, should hold solemn game*
in the Campus Martins, to the honour of Pluto, Proserpine, Juno, Apollo,
Diana, Ceres, and the Parcse, or Three Fatal Sisters, their city should ever
flourish, and all nations be subjected to their dominion. They were very
ready to obey the oracle, and in all ceremonies used on that occasion, con-
formed themselves to its direction. The whole manner of the solemnity was
as follows : In the first place the heralds received orders to make an invita-
tion to the whole world to come to a feast which they had never seen before,
and should never see again. Some few days before the beginning of the
games, the Quindecimviri, taking their seats in the Capitol, and in the Pa-
latine temple, distributed among the people purifying compositions, as flam-
beaux, brimstone, and sulphur. Hence the people passed on to Diana' i

485

SECULAR POEM.

temple on the Aventine mountain, carrying wheat, barley, and beans, as
offerings ; and after this they spent whole nights in devotion to the Destinies.
At length, when the time of the games actually arrived, which continued
three days and three nights, the people assembled in the Campus Martius,
and sacrificed to Jupiter, Juno, Apollo, Latona, Diana, the Parcae, Cere\
Pluto, and Proserpine. On the first night of the feast, the emperor, accom-
panied by the Quindecimviri, commanded three altars to be raised on the
bank of the Tiber, which they sprinkled with the blood of three lambs, and
then proceeded to burn the offerings and the victims. After this, they
marked out a space which served for a theatre, being illuminated with an
innumerable multitude of flambeaux and fires ; here they sang certain hymns
composed on this occasion, and celebrated all kinds of sports. On the day
after, when they had been at the Capitol to offer the victims, they returned
to the Campus Martius, and held sports to the honour of Apollo and Diana.
This lasted till the next day, when the noble matrons, at the hour appointed
by the oracle, went to the Capitol to sing hymns to Jupiter. On the third
day, twenty-seven young boys, and as many girls, sang, in the temple of
Palatine Apollo, hymns and verses in Greek and Latin, to recommend the
city to the protection of those deities, whom they designed particularly to
honour by their sacrifices. The present poem was written for this last day.
Before it was sung, Horace wrote two odes to exhort the choral ofnciators
to acquit themselves well in the part they were to act, and to entreat Apollo
to hear their prayers, and do honour to his verse. The first is the twelfth
of Book first, and the other the sixth of Book fourth. Horace was at this
time in the forty-ninth year of his age

486

Q. HORATII CARMEN SECULARE.

Chorus Puerorum et Puellarum.

PHCEBE, sylvarumque potens Diana,
Lucidum cueli decus, 6 colendi
Semper, et culti, date quse precamur

Tempore sacro;
Quo Sibyllini monuere versus,
Virgines lectas puerosque castos,
Dis, quibus septem placuere colles,

Dicere carmen.

Chorus Puerorum.

Alme Sol, curru nitido diem qui
Promis et celas, aliusque et idem
Nasceris, possis nihil urbe Roma
Visere majus.

OR DO.

Chorus Puerorum et Puellarum. tern colles placuere.

O Phoebe, Dianaque potens sylvarum, luci- Chorus Puerorum.
dum decus coeli, 6 semper colendi et culti,

date qua: precamur tempore sacro ; quo ver- O alme Sol, qui promts et celas diem

sus Sibyllini monuere virgines lectas, pueros- curru nitido, aliusque et idem uasceris, possis

que castos, dicere carmen Diis, quibus sep- visere nil majus urbe Roma.

NOTES.

1. Phcele, sylvarumque polens Diana.]
These hymns which were sung on the third
day, began always with an invocation of
Apollo and Diana, because they were sung
in their temple. Apollo and Diana were
dverrunci, gods who averted calamities,
whence they were addressed in these hymns.

4. Tempore sacro.] He calls this a sacred
time, not only on account of the feasts and
sacrifices which were made to the gods, but
chiefly because the Romans had a particular
veneration for the beginning of the age,
which always happened in the beginning of
the twenty-third lustrum, and of the sixth
Roman period, which consisted of twenty-two

years, at which time the year recommenced
with the sun, and the first day of the lustrum
was found to be the same with that on which
the lustra had been instituted. This time
was to them therefore truly sacred.

5. Quo Sibyllini mnnuere verms.] The
ancient books of the Sibyls, which were
bought by Tarquin the Proud, were burned
in the time of Sylla. Yet there were others
of their inspired writings, or at least copies o r
extracts of them, (collected in Greece and
other parts, upon a special search made by
order of the senate,) which were kept with
the same care as the former. The writing!
became so numerous, and were so filled with

HORACE'S SECULAR POEM.

487

TJie CJiorus of Youths and Virgins.

PHCEBUS, and them Diana, guardian of the woods, bright ornaments
of heaven, powerful deities, who always will be adored, and always
have been, grant us what we ask on this solemn occasion, when, by
the order of the Sibyls, two choirs of select virgins and chaste
youths sing new songs to the tutelar gods of our city erected on
seven hills.

The Chorus of Youths.

Gracious Sun, who, when you appear in your bright chariot,
give us day, and by your absence deprive us of it ; who, at your
rising, seem always different, and yet the same, may you no where in
your whole course behold a greater or morejlourishing city than Rome.

NOTES.

superstition and falsehood, that Augustus, to
put a stop to the folly and madness of the
people, who gave readily into all their novel-
ties, was obliged to make a select collection.
He ordered above two thousand volumes to
be burned, and retained only such as bore
the true character of the Sibyls. He enclosed
them in two coffers of gold, and placed them
under the pedestal of the statue of Palatine
Apollo. These are the books of which Ho-
race here speaks, and which he calls verses,
because they were written in hexameters.

6. Pirgines lectas puerosque castos.~\ They
were children of the first quality : and it was
required that they should have both father
and mother alive. For this reason they were
called, by the Romans, Patrimi Matrimi.
This scruple proceeded from the aversion
they had to every thing^hey thought un-
lucky, or a bad augury ; and as they were per-
suaded that Apollo and Diana were the causes
of all the deatlis which happened, they
thought it criminal to present a child whose
father or mother they liad killed.

9. Alme Sol.] The god whom he had be-

fore called Phffibus, here he calls Sol, and
Apollo in the thirty-fourth verse ; for Apollo,
Phoebus, and the Sun, have been alwayi
looked upon as the same god, although in
certain respects different functions are fre-
quently attributed to them ; but the reason of
Horace's changing the name is, that it was a
superstitious custom among the heathens, in
their hymns, to give the gods all their diffe-
rent names, for fear of omitting any thing
that might be more agreeable. In this piece
the boys call the son ofLatona, Phoebe, Alme
Sol, Apollo, Augur, decorus arm, acceplui
?wvem Cttmenis; and the girls cajl the sister
of this god llithyia, Lucina, Genitalis, Side-
rum Regina, Lhana, and Luna.

3 0. Aliusque et idem nasceris.'] It is im-
possible that any thing should be more
happily expressed, or serve more admirably
to denote the property of the day, which, in-
deed, is in appearance always the same, al-
thovtghjby the motion ofthe sun,days different
in number are constituted ; for the present day
is nol the same with the preceding ; and thtu
it is that months and years are made up.

483

Q. HORATII CARMEN SECULARE.

Chorus Puellanim.

Rite matures aperire partus
Lenis Ilithyia, tuere matres;
Sive tu Lucina probas vocari,

Seu Genital is.

Diva, producas sobolem : Patrumque
Prosperes decreta super jugandis
Feminis, prolisque nova; feraei

Lege marita.

Chonis Piierorum et Puellanim.

Certus undenos decies per annos
Orbis ut cantus referatque ludos,
Ter die claro, totiesque grata
Nocte frequentes.

OR DO.

Chorus PueUarum. minis jugandis, legeque marita feraci proll*

novae.

O Ilithyia, rite lenis aperire partus matu- ,,, D

3 ' . Chorus Piierorum et PueUarum,

ros, tuere tnatres, sive tu probas vocan Lu-

cina, seu Genitalis. O Diva, producas sobo- Ut orbis cri tus per decies undenos annos re-
lem, prosperesque decreta Patrura super fe- ferat cantus, ludosque fiequentes ter die claro,

NOTES.

13. Rite mahiros aperire partus lenis Ili-
thyia.] The goddess Ilithyia Is the same
with Diana, who presided over women in
childbed, and was adored under the names of
Lucina, Ilithyia, taid Genitalis. ^ee Ode
twenty-second, Book third. Ilithyia lenis
aperire, for Ilithyia quce leniter apeiis.

15. Sive tu Luivia pr- tas rocun.] This
is taken from the solemn custom of invoca-
tions, in which, out of fear that they might
not address the gods by the names they were
best pleased with, it was mual to say, " Or
" whether you rather choose to be addressed
" by such and such a name;" or, as Catullus
says to Diana, Sis ijuocunque fcnita nomine.

17. Patru]iie prosperes derrera] He
says decrela patrum, because, when the
prince wished to enact a law, he spoke of it to

the senate, and if the senate found the thin"
just, it was proposed to the people, whose
suffrages were indispensably requisite before
it could be established as a law.

18. Super jugandis feminis.] Horace
speaks here rather of women than men, be-
cause he addresses Ilithyia, or -the Moon,
who had a particular care of married women,
as Apollo had of the men. Moreover, the
law of which mention is here made, chiefly
favoured the women ; for, among other ar-
ticles, it was permitted, that not only the
commons, but even the patriciansj the
senators only excepted, might espouse freed-
women, or the daughters of freed- wo-
men.

19. Prolisque novae feraci lege maritd.']
Theodoras Marcili us, Torrent ius, andM. L?

HORACE'S SECULAR POEM.

489

TJie Choms of Virgins.

Good Ilithyia, who presidest over births, whether thou art pleased
to be called by the name of Lucina, or that of Genitalis, take care
of our teeming dames. Kind goddess, give a numerous offspring
to the Romans, and bless the decree of the senate in favour of mar-
riage, which we hope will prove a fruitful supply of subjects to the
state.

The Chorus of Youths and Virgins.

May the stated revolution of one hundred and ten years renew
these songs and these solemn games, which we celebrate with so
much pomp and devotion three bright days and three agreeable

NOTES.

Fevre, have very well remarked, that lex
marita is not here the same with lex Julia
Poppiea (Augustus not publishing this Uw
till towards the end of his reign, seventeen
years after Horace's death), but lex Julia de
maritandis onlinibus. This law was enacted
by Augustus a few months before Horace
composed this poem ; and the poet took care
not to omit a circumstance so proper to enter
into a hymn addressed to the gods for the
prosperity of the empire, as this law was
expressly made to promote and encourage
marriage, the source of life.

2 1 . Certus uiideiws decies per aimos.] This
is the true reading, and not certusul den/js, &c.
for the sr-cular games were not celebrated at
the end of every hundred years, as some
learned men have imagined, but at the end
of every hundred and ten years, undenos de-
cics per anno?. This appears by the law
itself, to which they owe their rise, I mean,
by the Sibylline oracle, which begins with
these words ; " When an age, which is the
" longest measure of the life of man, and
" which takes in the space of a hundred and

" ten years, " This may be farther

evinced by observing the different periods in
which these games were celebrated.

The first were held in the jear of the city

297j under the consulship of M. Valeria*
and Sp. Virginius; the second in 407, when
Valerius Corvinus and Petilius were consuls ;
the third in 517, under the consulship of
Lentulus and Varus ; the fourth in G27, in
the consulate of Einilius Lei ml us and Aure-
lius Orestes ; and the fifth, which were under
Augustus, were held in 736, Furnius and
Silanus being consuls.

Any one that will be at the trouble to com-
pute, will find that there have always been
about one hundred and ten years hetween every
two times of celebration; and this could
not happen otherwise, because it was always
at the beginning of the twenty-third lustrum,
as I have already taken notice on the fourth
verse. The successors of Augustus did not
observe this space of time in the celebration
of these games, which were entirely abolished
under Constantine and Constantius. And
Zosimus makes no scruple to attribute the
fall of the Roman empire to this omission.

23. Ter die claro, totiesque grata.] The
secular games continued three clays and three
nights. Besides that the number three was
mysterious, I farther imagine that this insti-
tution had an allusion to the triplicity of
Phoebus, of Diana, and the Destinies.

430

Q. HORATII CARMEN SECULARE.

Vosque veraces cecinisse Parcae,

Quod semel dictum est, stabilisque rerum

Terminus servet, bona jam peractis

Jungite fata.

Fertilis frugum pecorisque tellus
Spiced donet Cererem corona ;
Nutriant fetus et aquae salubres,

Et Jovis aurae.

Chorus Puerorum.

Condito mitis placidusque telo,
Supplices audi pueros, Apollo :

Chorus Puellarum.

Siderum regina bicornis audi,
Luna, puellas.

ORDO.

totiesque grata npcte. Vosque Parcae verace*
cecinisse quod semel dictum est, stabilisque
terminus rerum servet, jungite fata bon&falis
jam peractis. Tellus fertilis frugum peco-
risque donet Cererem corona spicea ; et aquse
wlubres et aurse Jovis nutriant fetus.

Chorus PueroTum.

O Apollo, mitis placidusque audi pueros
supplices, condito telo :

Chorus PueUarum.
O Luna bicornis, regina siderum, audi puellas.

NOTES.

25. Vosque veraces cecinisse Para*?.] After
Ilithyia, or Diana, who presides over wo-
men in childbed, Horace addresses the Des-
tinies, because they assisted Diana in this
office. The reason is evident. The Sibyls
had expressly ordered that sacrifices should
be offered to them the firt night. Nox
quando supervenrrit, sole abscondente suam
lucem, sacrificato omnium gencralririhis Par-
cis agnos et copras.

26. Quod semel dictum est, staL-ilisque.]
This passage is very difficult, nor is what
interpreters have said upon it at all satisfactory.
What appears to me most reasonable is this ;
Quod semel dictum est, is a periphrasis to
express truth itself 7 which is always unchange-
ably the s?/ne. Instead therefore of saying,
that the prophecies and decrees of the Desti-
nies are irrevocable, he *ays, " That they

" sing truly what is never said but once ;"
that is, what they sing is invariable, and sub-
ject to no change. Cicero says of Caesar in
much the same manner ; Eumjacile exoravi,
Ctesar, turn semel exarari soles ; that is, when
he once granted a pardon, there was no
ground to apprehend that lie would change
his mind ; and it was not necessary to apply
to hiip a second time for the same favour.
Quod semel dictum est, is properly the same
with fatum corn-tans irrerocaiile. For the
laws of Providence have been but once made
and proclaimed, nor are they capable of
change.

ti.9- Fertilis frugum.'] These four lines are
incomparable : and, in them the poet give*
an admirable description of what in Ode fifth,
Book fourth, he calls almafaustitas, which
is the bounty of the gods. The firtt two

HORACE'S SECULAR POEM. 491

nights. And ye fatal Sisters, whose prophecies are ever true, and
whose decrees, always irrevocable, never fail to have the effect that
ye designed, add happy times to those ye have had the goodness
already to grant us ; that the earth, abounding with fruits and cattle,
may present Ceres with a crown of golden ears of corn, and that
the tender brood of our herds may have wholesome water to drink,
and a temperate air to breathe in.

The Chorus of Youths.

Apollo, be so good and gracious as to sheathe your deadly arrows,
unbend your bow, arid vouchsafe to hear the desires of thy suppliant
youths.

The Chorus of Virgins.

Diana, queen of the stars, who appearest beautiful with thy
crescent, favourably hear the prayers of thy virgins.

NOTES.

rerses are to ward off famine, and the two Neque semper arcum

others to ward off the plague and mortality: Tendit Apollo ;

and this was what they usually desired of the

gods in the secular poems. It is for the same And those of Servius upon the 188th verse

reason that in Ode twenty-first, Book first, of the third book of the ./Eneid,

Horace says to the choral youths and virgins,

Corruplo cceli tractu.

HicMlum lacrymosum, hie miseramfamem,

Pestemrjue, a popt/lo et principe Ccesare, in The prayer of Horace to Apollo ought to he

Perxas atque Brilannos explained according to this sentiment ; for,

Vestru, mottis aget prece. in any other sense, the arrows of that god

are far from being dangerous ; on the con-

31. Nutriartt fetus.] The petitions Horace trary, they often bring safety and health
puts up here, that the earth may offer to Ce- into the places where they come ; which con-
res a crown of the ears of corn, that whole- trariety is owing to this, that a contagion
some waters and a salutary air may nourish the is sometimes occasioned by an excessive
young of the flocks, and make them grow,- moistness in the air, and this last is dissipated
put it beyond all question that these secular by the sun.

games of Augustus were celebrated according 35. Audi, Luna, puellas.'] Care has been

to ancient custom duriug the feasts called taken to distinguish the two choruses, and

Palilia, about the end of April. to mark when they speak together, and when

33. Condito mitis placidusque telo.] This they speak one after the other; for the cho-

is imitated from Homer, who says, that ruses were separated by tlie express command

when Apollo bends his bow, he sends a con- of the oracle ; " Let the virgins make a dis-

tagion. The reader may consult the remarks " tinct chorus by themselves, and the youth*

upon these lines of the tenth ode of Book "another." This distinction adds' great

second, li^htto the poem.

492 Q. HORATII CARMEN SECULARE.

Chorus Puerorwn et Puellarum.

Roma si vestrum est opus, Iliaeque
Litus Etruscum tenuere turmae,
Jussa pars mutare lares et urbem

Sospite cursu ; 4Q

Cui per ardentem sine fraude Trojam
Castus ^Eneas patriae superstes
Liberum munivit iter, daturus

Plura relictis ;

Dl probos mores docili juventae, 45

Dl senectuti placidae quietem,
Romulae genti date remque, prolemque,

Et decus omne.

Quique vos bobus veneratur albis,

Clarus Anchisae Venerisque sanguis, 50

Imperet bellante prior, jacentem

Lenis in liostem.

Jam mari terrftque manus potentes
Medus, Albanasque timet secures:
Jam Scythae responsa petunt, superbi 55

Nuper et Indi.

Jam fides, et pax, et honor, pudorque
Priscus, et neglecta redire virtus
Audet; apparetque beata pleno

Copia cornu. 60

ORDO.

Chants Puerorum et Puellarum. genti. Clarusque sanguis Anchisa Veneris-

que, qui veneratur voa albis bobus, imperet

Si Roma est vestrum opus, turmaeque Iliae prior hoste bellante, lenis in hostem jacentem.
tenuere litus Etruscum sospite cursu, pars Jam Medus marique terraque timet nianui
jussarnutare lares et urbem, cui castus yfineas, potentes, securesque Albatiiis : jam Scythse
superstes patriae, sine fraude munivit iter et Indi nuper superbi petunt responsa. Jam
liberum pe ardentem Trojam, daturus plura fides, et pax, et honor, pntlorque priscus,

relictis ; Dii date mores probos juventae do- et virtus neglecta audet redire ; Copiaque

cili, Dii dale quietem placidae senectuti, apparet beata pleno cornu.
remque, prolemque, et omne decus Romulae

NOTES.

37. Roma si vestrum est opus ^ Rome may upon the first book of the .^ineid, and snys,

be said to be the work of Apollo, because that Horace here adds the words sinefytude,

it was a colony ot'Troy, of which Apollo was to vindicate ./Eneas from the reproach cast

the founder, and because the Trojans settled upon him, of betraying his country to save

in Italy, and founded Rome, by his express himself. ' But that learned grammarian is

order. certainly very much deceived. Horace wag

41. Cui per ardtntem sine fraude Trojam.'] too wise and discreet to renew in the mind*

Serviui explains this passage in his remark* of hi* countrymen a suspicion of that nature

HORACE'S SECULAR POEM. 493

The Chorus of Youths and Virgins.

Powerful deities, as Rome is the work of your hands; as, in
obedience to your oracles, the Trojan troops landed on the Tuscan
shore, under the conduct of pious /Eneas, who brought them safely
through the flames of Troy, to put them In possession of an empire
more flourishing than that which they had left, inspire our docile
youth with virtuous principles. Grant to our aged a retired and
pleasing rest, and to the Romans in general a numerous offspring
with riches and honour.

Above all, ye gods, may our great prince, the illustrious descend-
ant of Venus and Anchises, who now offers on your altars a sacrifice
of white bulls, ever reign over us, triumphing over his enemies, and
pardoning those who submit to his mercy. The Mede is already
alarmed at our power by sea and land, and dreads the Roman arms.
The Scythians, and Indians, who were but lately so very haughty,
now obey our orders with entire submission. Now sincerity, and
peace, and honour, ancient modesty, and virtue long neglected,
dare show their heads again ; and rich Plenty pours on us her rich
store from her bountiful horn.

NOTES. ,

pon so solemn an occasion as this. He Diana, and Jupiter ; the ceremony concluded

knew very well that such an excuse would with the sacrifice and singing of this hymn,

have been far from satisfying Augustus, and The emperor was at the head of the Quinde-

that to please him he must seem ignorant cimviri who offered this sacrifice ; or we may

that any such crime had ever been imputed rather suppose that he was himself one of

to ^Eueas. Sine fraude is the same as sine the Quindecimviri, as is evident from a me-

noxa, sine damnoflammie, without sustaining dal, where may be seen the head of this

any injury from the flames, as in Ole nine- prince, with these words, Augustus Tr. Pot,

teemh, Book second, VII. and on the reverse a pillar, with this

inscription, Imp. Ctes. dug. Lud. Sac. on

Nodo coerces viperino the right and left of the pillar, XV, S. F.

Bistonidum sine fraude crines. that is, Quindecimviris sacris faciundis.

54. Allanas secures."} The Roman power.

45. Diprolos mores docilijuventts.'] These Rome," which was at first a colony of Alba,

four lines appear to me admirable, and full afterwards gave law to that city. Tullus

of a decorum and comeliness that can never Hostilius caused it to be destroyed, transferring

be enough commended. What we ought the inhabitants to Rome, and incorporating

chiefly to beg of heaven for the youth, is pro- the nobles with the senate,

bity and good manners; for old age, quiet 57. Pudor priscus.] The laws established

and repose ; but as for what we commonly by Augustus for the celebration of these

call glory and prosperity, or a flourishing secular games, furnished a striking example

tate, this should be asked for the people in of his attention to the regulation of manners,

general, and the whole empire. According to Suetonius, he forbade the youth

49. Qtrique vos lol'us veneratur alkis.'] It of either sex to appear at these nocturnal

appears, by this passage, that at the singing ceremonies, unless accompanied by one of

tills hymn the emperor was present in person, their parents, who might have a close ey

and oflVred a sacrifice of white bull* to Apollo, over them, and be responsible for their con-

434 Q. HORATII CARMEN SECULARE.

Chorus Puerorum.

Augur, et fulgente decorus arcu
Phoebus, acceptusque novem Camenis,
Qui salutari levat arte fessos

Corporis artus ;

Si Palatinas videt aequus arces, 65

Remque Romanam, Latiumque felix,
Alterum in lustrum, meliusque semper

Proroget eevum.

Chorus Puellarum.

Quaeque Aventinum tenet Algidumque,
Quindecim Diana preces virorum 70

Curet, et votis puerorum arnicas
Applicet aures.

Chorus Puerorum et Puellarum.

Hsec Jovem sentire, Deosque cunctos,
Spem bonam certamque domum reporto,
Doctus et Phoebi chorus et Dianas v 75

Dicere laudes.

ORDO.

Chorus Puerarum. dumque, curet preces quindecim virorum,

Oramus, ut Phoebus augur, et decorus et applicet aures arnicas voti, puerorum.
arcu fulgente, acceptusque novem Camenis, _ n .

qui arte e salumi letat fessos artus corporis, Chorus Puerorum et ?****-

,i *quus videt arces Palatinas proroget R ^ d ph

femque Romanam, Latiumque relix, 111 alte- 7-4.

L)ianae, repono domum spem bonam cer-
rum lustrum, eevumque semper melius. ,-

tamque, Jovem cunctosque Deos sentire

Chorus Puellarum. '

Dianaque, quse tenet Aventinum Algi-

NOTES.

<<uct. But the poet had moreover in his eye Alterum in lustrum, to the coming of another
the laws enacted by Augustus in the pre- age. For the age began with the twenty-
ceding year, de pudidtia, de maritandis or- third lustrum, which was the most solemn
dinikus, &c. of all. Martial for this reason calls it ingen$

65. Si Palatinas videt cequus orce*.] Ho- lustrum in the first epigram of his fourth

race says here Palatinas arces, because this book.

hymn was sung in the temple of Palatine 67. Meliusque semper proroget eevum.~\

Apollo, which had been consecrated to him This is taken from the form of prayer used

by Augustus. on these occasions, Ut Dii populi Romani

67 . Alterum in lustrum.'] Lustrum is here res majores amplioresque facerent.

tbe same with mum in the following verse. 69, Aventinum.] Aventinus, the third

HORACE'S SECULAR POEM. 495

Tlie CJiorus of Youths.

May Phoebus, the god of auguries, who, graced with a shining bow,
is so agreeable to the nine Muses, and, by his salutary art, raises the
languid, and renews their strength, if with a favourable eye he
views these stately buildings of mount Palatine, where we adore
his divinity, preserve the empire in this flourishing state to
another age, and, if it is possible, add from age to age something
to its grandeur !

The Chorus of Virgins.

And thou, Diana, who art adored on the sacred hills of Aventine
and Algidus, hear the prayers of the fifteen priests, and give a
gracious ear to the requests of these youths.

The Chorus of Youths and Virgins.

We, who have been chosen and taught thus to sing the praises
of Phoebus and Diana on this solemn festival, return home with
assured hope that Jupiter, and all the other gods whom we have in-
voked, will grant to tfie empire all the favours we have requested of
them.

NOTES.

khig of Alba, and successor of Romulus Sil- was to be done only by the express order

ius, gave his name to the mountain in which of the senate. In 388, eight more were

he was interred, and which was afterwards added to the first two, and afterwards the

enclosed within the walls of Rome. The number was increased by Sylla to fifteen.

Tiber watered the foot of this mountain, The Capitol being burnt in 67 1 , these book*

which was separated from the rest by a marsh, of the Sibyls perished in the flames. Sylla

Some pretend that, the Latin name of this rebuilt the Capitol, and the senate sent three

mountain came from the Sabines, who deputies into Ionia, to collect all that they

brought it with them to Rome, to preserve could of the writings of the Sibyls. These

the name of the province they had quitted, were preserved with the same veneration as

which was called Aventinus Pagus, from the the former till the time of Honorius, under

river Avens running through it. whom they were burnt by Stilico at the com-

70. Quindedm virorum.] The oracles of mand of that emperor.

the Sibyls which concerned the Roman em- 74- Spem banam certamque.'} The hope

pire, were anciently put in a coffer, deposited here spoken of was this, that these game*

under ground in the Capitol, and committed had been celebrated with great pomp and so-

to the care of two priests, who were called lemnity, and with formalities exactly agreeable

Duumviri Sacrorum. Their principal em- to the command of the oracle ; for it was on

ployment was to consult these books in the these conditions the Sibyl had promised that

prwsing exigencies of the state, which, the Roman empire should always flourish,

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

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