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 HORACE: 
 
 THE EPISTLES. 
 
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 HORACE: 
 
 THE ^PI4TLES. 
 
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 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK. 
 
 
 Part T. contains («) Introduction, (b) Text, (c) Notes. 
 Part IT. contains {a) Test Papers, and (6) Vocabulary. 
 Part III. consists of a Translation. 
 
 Before beginning the Text read the Introduction, in 
 order to obtain a general idea of the subject-matter, 
 referring to it subsequent!;^ as occasion requires. In a 
 final reading, immediately before the Examination, all 
 important points in it should be carefully committed to 
 memory. 
 
 In reading the Text the chief object should be to arrive 
 at the meaning with as little helj) as possible, but nevertheless 
 to ensure perfect accuracy. There will probably occur, even 
 in the first sentence, {a) some words which you do not 
 know, and (5) some difliculty in seeing the exact construc- 
 tion. For the first, turn to the Vocabulary ; for the second, 
 to the Notes. If there occur any words which you do not 
 know and which do not appear in the Vocabulary, write 
 them neatly down, with their meaning, in two columns 
 upon the blank pages left for the purpose, adding genitive 
 cases or principal parts, etc., exactly as has been done in 
 the case of the printed words. 
 
 After doing your utmost to make out the passage in this 
 way, turn to the Translation, and see how far you were 
 right. The Translation is not intended to save you the 
 trouble of making out the meaning, but to serve as a test 
 of your accuracy and to correct your errors. 
 
 Beginners may find such a method as this somewhat slow 
 
b HOW TO USE THIS BOOK. 
 
 at first, but speed will soon be gained, while the memory 
 will be strengthened to a degree otherwise unattainable. 
 
 Variant readings are not noticed in the Notes, except- 
 ing when they differ from the University Correspondence 
 College Text sufficiently to perplex the student if adopted 
 by the Examiners. Write all such variant readings in the 
 margin of the text, and try to master the meaning and 
 syntax of both readings equally. 
 
 The subject- mattei', except in so far as it is explained in the 
 Introduction, may, as a rule, be neglected on first reading 
 the book ; more thorough attention can thus be given to 
 the language. 
 
 You are strongly advised to master the section of the 
 Introduction that deals with metre. Until you have done 
 so you will be unable to distinguish words which are spelt 
 alike, but differ in meaning according to the quantity of 
 one or more of their vowels. 
 
 When reading the book for the fiist time, work through 
 t\\e first series of Test Papers, leaving the second series for 
 the second and subsequent perusals. 
 
 On reading the Text through for the last time previous 
 to the examination, mark in Text, Notes, and Vocabulary 
 such points as still require a final revision, and go carefully 
 through the Index of Proper Names. 
 
UBPA^y"^ >•• » * 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 • a ^ « 
 
 
 § 1. Life of Horace. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, born 
 December 8th, B.C. 65, was the son of a freedman, a coactor, 
 or collector of moneys, occupying a small farm at Yeniisia 
 in Apulia. The birth of Horace occurred after the en- 
 franchisement of his father, so that he. was ingenious, i.e. 
 the son of free parents ; but nevertheless he incurred some 
 cavil on the score of his parentage. At the age of 12 or 
 thereabouts he was brought to Eome to receive the best 
 education the city could give, and thus, instead of attending 
 the country school whither many of his superiors in station 
 went, he became a pupil of some of the leading teachers of 
 the senatorial and equestrian youth. In particular he 
 records his school days with one OrbiHus, whose cane was 
 always in his hand. He went to Athens at the age of 18, 
 that being to Rome what the Enghsh Universities are to 
 us ; and there he studied the Epicurean philosophy, which 
 he afterwards professed. While there, he heard of the 
 assassination of Caesar (b.c. 44), and the flight of the 
 murderers, one of whom, Brutus, met Horace at Athens, 
 and appointed him to the command of a legion in the army 
 of the republican party. That army was routed at Philippi 
 B.C. 42, and amongst the rest Horace left his shield behind 
 him and fled for his life. When the victorious party of 
 Octa\ianus (Augustus) shortly afterwards issued free pardon 
 to the mass of the republicans, Horace immediately re- 
 turned to Italy. He found himself ruined, — his father 
 dead, his farm confiscated, and himself without influence 
 or property. He took the post of a clerk to the Quaestors, 
 and turned to composing Satires, the only field of literature 
 not already occupied by some contemporary writer. His 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ^ ■ 
 
 vevsfes caiiglifc -tile attention of Vergil and Variiis, who 
 introduced him to Maecenas. The latter was, with Agrippa 
 and M^ssala: hi ('•n/ie a leading political figure and a warm 
 patron of literature. He introduced Horace to the society 
 of Tibullus and Propertius, the elegiac poets, of Ovid, their 
 successor, and finally to that of Augustus himself; and 
 presented him with a small estate amongst the Sabine Hills, 
 about fifteen miles from Tibur. At the latter place also the 
 poet had a small villa ; and between his farm, his villa, and 
 Rome, he spent the remaining years of his life, dymg on 
 27th November, B.C. 8, a few weeks after Maecenas. 
 
 § 2. His Writings. In giving his son so liberal an 
 education the father of Horace must have trusted that he 
 would one day turn it to good account. Unfortunately, 
 the death of Caesar and the subsequent civil w^ar occurred 
 just at the period when the worth of that education w^ould 
 under happier circumstances have shown itself ; and, as we 
 have seen, Horace was compelled to the merest drudgery 
 for a living. His own disgust may have led him to indulge 
 in the Satires, of which the first book probably appeared 
 about B.C. 35. The second book followed in B.C. 32, and in 
 B.C. 31^the year in wdiich Augustus overthrew his last 
 opponent, Antonius, at Actium — appeared the first of 
 Horace' lyric compositions, the Epodes. The poet no 
 longer had any excuse for writing satire, as he was already 
 able to address Maecenas as amice, and was on the high 
 road to fortune. The first three books of the Odes appeared 
 before the end of B.C. 23, and were probably all written 
 between that date and the publication of the Epodes. 
 
 In B.C. 17 was written the Carmen Saecidat'e, an Ode to 
 be sung at the celebration of the Licdi Saeculares, or Cen- 
 tennial Games; and between B.C. 17 and 13 Avas composed 
 the fourth and last book of the Odes. 
 
 The Epistles — letters to various friends in the form 
 of verse — were written between B.C. 23 and 13. (See § 3, 
 Note.) The date of the A^s Poetica (sometimes called the 
 Third Epistle of the Second Book, or the Epistle to the 
 Pisos) is uncertain, but it probably belongs to the last few 
 years of the author's life. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 § 3. Chronological Summary of Horace' Life and 
 Writings. 
 
 B.C. 65. Birth of Horace, near Yeniisia, December 8th. 
 
 53. Arrival of Horace at Rome. 
 
 44. Horace at Athens. 
 
 42. Battle of Philippi : Horace fights on the side of 
 Brutus. 
 
 41. Horace a Quaestorian scribe at Kome. 
 
 35. Satires X,— _ 
 
 32 — 31. Satires II. and Ej^odes. 
 
 23. OcZesI.— III. 
 
 23 — 20. Eijistles I., and possibly Ejnstle II. ii. 
 
 17. Carrtien Saeculare. 
 
 14. OdeslY. 
 
 13. Epistle II. i. 
 8. Death of Horace, November 27th. 
 
 Note on the Date of the ''^ Epistles.'^ — The evidence for the 
 date of the Epistles is wholly internal. None of them 
 could well have been written before about B.C. 23 as 
 Horace aUudes to the reception met by his Odes and Epodes 
 (T. xiii., xix.). The date of Ep. I. iii. is B.C. 20, when 
 Julius Florus was in the suite of Tiberius during his stay 
 in Armenia. Both Ep. I. xviii. and I. xii. allude to the 
 restoration, in B.C. 20, of the standards captured by the 
 Parthians from Crassus and Antonius. In I. xii. Horace 
 alludes to the conquest of the Cantabrians by Agrippa, 
 which took place in B.C. 20 — 19, and he gives us more precise 
 evidence in his statement at the end of Book I. that he was 
 forty-four years of age in the December of the year marked 
 by the consulship of Lepidus and Lolhus. Lollius was consul 
 B.C. 21. From these indications it may be inferred that the 
 First Book was wT:-itten between B.C. 23 and B.C. 20. The 
 date of Book II. is doubtful, but Epistle II. i. certainly 
 belongs to the later years of Horace' life, and is generally 
 dated B.C. 13. The Epistle to Florus comes probably five 
 or six years earlier. 
 
 § 4. Scope of the Epistles. Horace includes the Epistles 
 as well as the Satires under the general name of sermones 
 
10 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ("Table Talk"), to distinguish them from his more am- 
 bitious poetry in the Odes. In every respect they much 
 resemble the Satires, and may be called a continuation of 
 them in epistolary form. They are didactic pieces in a 
 light and lively style, and \vritten from the first with a 
 view to publication. Some of them have much of the ring 
 of genuine private letters, such as the letter of introduction 
 to Claudius Nero (I. ix.) and the chatty note to Julius 
 Florus (I. iii.) ; but as a whole they form a collection of 
 essays on moral and literary topics. Each of them is 
 addressed to some person, one of whose characteristics often 
 serves as a peg whereon to hang a few remarks about the 
 art of life chosen from Horace' Avide experience. So in 
 the letters toiFuscus (I. x.) and tliat to his bailift" (I. xiv.) 
 Horace fixes upon his correspondents' dislike for the country 
 and makes it serve as an occasion for a brief essay on dis- 
 content. In a letter to Lollius (I. xviii.) we have a Tuft- 
 hunter's vade mecuiii in miniature. In another to Quintius 
 (i. xvi.) Horace gives a pleasant description of his rustic 
 paradise by the banks of the Digentia and then turns off 
 quite naturally to a discussion on the " truly good man." 
 Very often he takes us into his confidence and unbosoms 
 the failings that trouble him in spite of all his efforts ; in 
 fact it is the strong personahty pervading the Epistles 
 that lends them half their power. 
 
 The main interest of Book I. is personal and moral ; that 
 of Book II. is rather personal and literary. Horace up- 
 holds his own Uterary views with considerable warmth, 
 crying out against the blind worship of the older Latin 
 poets simply because they are old, and demanding adherence 
 to a more rational canon of criticism. He contends that 
 the Romans ought to endeavour to imitate the perfect 
 models of Greece and copy their grace and finish rather 
 than blindly follow the ruggedness of the early Roman 
 poets then so much in vogue. The last Epistle forms a 
 fitting close. It gives us Horace' reasons for taking up with 
 poetry — a kind of Apologia pro poesi sua — and • his reasons 
 for laying it down betimes ; but he cannot refrain from a 
 little moralising towards the end ; once more he repeats his 
 credo — " Enjoy in moderation : live aright or die." 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 1 
 
 § 5. Allusions to Poetry and Philosophy. Horace wrote 
 for educated readers, and his Epistles teem with literary 
 allusions. A short account of the several philosophers and 
 poets mentioned will be found in the Notes or in the Index 
 of Proper Names ; a more general survey is given here for 
 the sake of those who are unacquainted with the history of 
 classical literature. 
 
 [a) Poetry. The Homeric poems are frequently referred 
 to by Horace ; some account of their contents is prefixed to 
 the Notes on the second Epistle of Book I. Next in anti- 
 quity among the poets mentioned comes Archilochus of Paros 
 (714 — 676), who was one of the first writers of what has 
 been termed " personal " poetry, as distinguished from epic 
 narratives and didactive treatises. 
 
 Mimnermus of Colophon (fl. 620) made the elegiac couplet 
 the vehicle of plaintive love-poems ; a little later Alcaeus 
 and Sappho used for the same purpose the stanzas which 
 are after them named respectively Alcaic and Sapphic. 
 
 Pindar (522 — 442), the most famous writer of odes of a 
 public or religious nature, was a native of Thebes in Boeotia ; 
 his extant works celebrate victories in the public games. 
 
 After Pindar's time the only Greek poetry of importance 
 was dramatic, until we reach the age of the Alexandrian 
 writers (3rd cent. B.C.). Among these was Callimachus, a 
 learned and painstaking writer with little poetic genius, whose 
 voluminous works enjoyed considerable celebrity. 
 
 As in Greece, so in Rome, the earliest poetry (if we except 
 a few rude hjTuns to the gods) was epic ; Livius Andronicus 
 and Naevius in the 3rd century B.C. used the indigenous 
 Saturnian metre for this purpose (Ep. II. i. 158, note), but 
 Ennius (b. 239, d. 169) adopted the Greek hexameter, which 
 w^as also used by Lucilius (b. 148, d. 103), the first writer 
 of satire, — the one form of literature which" the Romans 
 originated. These were the writers whose poems Horace 
 learnt at school, and for whom it was the fashion of his day 
 to affect a great admiration ; it remained for Horace himself 
 and other poets of the Augustan age to achieve the master- 
 pieces of Roman poetry. 
 
 (b) The Drama. This, though strictly speaking a branch 
 of poetry, may be conveniently treated separately. In Greece 
 
12 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 dramatic performances are said to have originated in songs 
 relating the adventures of the wine-god Dionysus or Bacchus ; 
 these were sung by a chorus of fifty men dancing round the 
 altar of the god. From these rude beginnings Thespis, 
 Aeschylus and Sophocles (all mentioned by Horace) succes- 
 sively developed tragedy at Athens ; Thespis introduced 
 (b.c. 535) an actor to speak independently of the chorus, 
 Aeschylus adding a second actor and Sophocles a third. 
 Though the drama was still regarded as especially connected 
 with the worship of Bacchus, the subject of the odes and 
 dialogues was no longer confined to that god's adventures, 
 but the plots were drawn from the whole range of mytho- 
 logy and history. 
 
 Greek comedy grew up contemporaneously with tragedy. 
 In Sicily Epicharmus began about B.C. 480 to write plays 
 w^hich seem to have been mainly burlesques of the ancient 
 mythological stories, plentifully intermixed \\'itli moral 
 maxims. At Athens we find the " Old Comedy" becoming, 
 in the hands of Cratinus, who exhibited his first play in 
 B.C. 454, a means of attacking political and moral offenders. 
 Aristophanes, the best-known writer of the Old Comedy, 
 lived long enough to see its freedom in this respect re- 
 stricted ; from 404 to 338 is the period assigned to the 
 " Middle Comedy," which caricatured the manners of the 
 time, and from which the chorus entirely disappeared. 
 This was succeeded by the " New Comedy " '(340—260), of 
 which the greatest ornament was Menander, a poet highly 
 skilled in the delineation of character. 
 
 Of the origin of Roman comedy Horace himself gives us 
 an account (Ep. II. i. 139 — 155) ; subsequently nearly all 
 dramatic perfoimances at Eome consisted of imitations or 
 adaptations of Greek plays. The first writer who intro- 
 duced jjieces of this desciiption was Livius Andronlcus 
 (B.C. 240), who composed both tragedies and comedies, as 
 also did Naevius (235), Pacuvius (b. 219, d. 130), Ennius, 
 and Accius (b. 170). Five dramatists mentioned by Horace 
 devoted themselves to comedy alone : Plautus, Caocilius, 
 Terence, Afranius, and Atta, the period covered by their 
 works being from B.C. 225 to B.C. 80 ; their models were 
 mainly the writers of the New Comedy. Sometimes they 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 followed their originals in laying their scenes in Greek 
 towns, and dressed the actors in the Greek imllium, ; in 
 other plays the scenes were Roman and the actors wore the 
 toga. Comedies of the former class were known as ijalliatae., 
 and of the latter as togatae. 
 
 (c) Philosophy. Though the Romans of the first cen- 
 tury B.C. thought, talked and wrote to a considerable 
 extent about philosophy, they attained to no originality 
 in it, but adopted so much as they chose of the existing 
 Greek systems. To understand Horace' philosophical 
 allusions, some knowledge is therefore required of the chief 
 schools of Greek thought. 
 
 The earliest philosophers (7th and 6th cent. B.C.) 
 engaged themselves for the most part in speculations and 
 theories with regard to the elements of which the universe 
 is composed and the method of its structure, water, air 
 and fire being respectively regarded by successive philo- 
 sophers as the origin of all things. Pythagoras of Samos 
 (B.C. 580 — 500), who settled at Crotona in Italy, made 
 several arithmetical and geometrical discoveries ; the theory, 
 however, for which he is most famous is his doctrine of 
 metempsychosis, or the transmigration of the souls of 
 men and animals. Empedocles of Agrigentum in Sicily 
 (fl. B.C. 440) regarded the universe as composed of what 
 are still called " the four elements," viz. earth, air, fire and 
 water. Democritus of Abdera in Thrace (fl. B.C. 400) held 
 that all matter consists of minute atoms of different forms, 
 the nature of the matter varying according to the com- 
 binations and positions of the atoms. Democritus was 
 known as " the laughing philosopher," because he laughed 
 at the follies of mankind. 
 
 From the time of Socrates (b. 470, d. 399) the chief 
 interest of philosophy lay in moral, rather than in physical, 
 science. Socrates devoted himself to discussing abstract or 
 general words, his main tenet being that virtue is know- 
 ledge, i.e. knowledge as to what is practically best. This 
 theory rests on the assumption that every man will do what 
 he considers to be best. Two sects of philosophers, the 
 Cynics and the Cyrenaics, founded by pupils of Socrates, 
 caricatured rather than followed his teaching. The Cynics 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 affected to despise what to most men are the objects of 
 ambition, while the Cyrenaics, whose founder was Aristippus 
 of Cyrene in Africa (fl. B.C. 370), held that the wise man 
 will choose no line of action which is not conducive to 
 pleasure. The easy-going temper of Aristippus evidently 
 won warm admiration from Horace. 
 
 By far the greatest of Socrates' pupils was Plato, an 
 Athenian (428 — 347). His most prominent theory was 
 that of the existence of " ideas," i.e. general or ideal forms 
 or archetypes of which, respectively, all created things were 
 the anti-types or representations; hence, by extending 
 Socrates' doctrine that virtue is knowledge, Plato held 
 that virtue consists in the knowledge of '' ideas," and 
 demands a contemplative life. From the fact that Plato 
 taught in a gymnasium named (after the hero Academus) 
 the Academia, his school of philosophy is called the Academic. 
 Grantor (fl. B.C. 300), who first wrote commentaries on 
 Plato's works, is mentioned by Horace as a typical 
 Academician. 
 
 Of the great philosopher and scientist Aristotle (b. 385, 
 d. 322), Horace mentions one famous doctrine, that of 
 the " golden mean," or the definition of virtue as the mean 
 between opposite vices. 
 
 Next in chronological order among the philosophical 
 schools referred to in the Epistles is the Stoic, so called 
 from the stoa, or portico, in which its founder Zeno taught 
 at Athens (b.c. 320). Virtue was by the Stoics held to 
 consist in bringing one's actions into harmony with the 
 general order of the world. Chrysippus of Soli in Cilicia 
 (b. 280, d. 206) greatly developed and systematised Stoic 
 philosophy; while another Stoic mentioned by Horace — 
 Stertinius — is said to have written 220 books on the 
 subject. 
 
 The last school which calls for notice here is the Epicurean, 
 a school of which Horace professes himself a follower. Its 
 founder was Epicurus, who began to teach at Athens 
 B.C. 306. The Epicureans studied physics, but only with 
 the purpose of freeing themselves from superstitious fears, 
 their object being the pursuit of pleasure — or rather, 
 lepose of mind — which was to be attained by a virtuous life. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 § 6. Metre. The metre of th© Epistles is the Dactylic 
 Hexameter, in which each verse consists of six feet, and 
 each foot is a dactyl (_ ^ v^) or its equivalent, a spondee 
 
 (- -)• 
 
 
 
 
 To this the last (sixth) foot is an exception, admitting 
 only of two syllables, of which the last is common (-). 
 
 The fifth foot is regularly a dactyl. A spondee only 
 occurs in this foot for the sake of special rhythmic effect. 
 
 The following is a regular Hexameter Kne (I. i. 1) : — 
 
 Prima | dicte mi- 1 hi, || sum- 1 ma di- 1 cende Ca- 1 mena. 
 
 In each verse should occur a Caesura {i.e., "cutting") — 
 that is, a pause in the sound, due to the ending of one 
 word and the commencement of the next in the middle of 
 a metrical foot : e.g. , in the example quoted above there is 
 a caesura between the words iJiihi and summa. 
 
 ^Yhen occurring, as it usually does, at the end of the first 
 syllable of the foot (as in the line above), the caesura is 
 known as strong or male. When occurring at the end of 
 the second syllable in a dactylic foot, it is known as loeak 
 ov female, as in 1. ii. 65 : — 
 
 Ire vi- 1 am qua | monstret [j e- 1 ques ; ve- 1 naticus, | ex quo. 
 
 Sometimes a caesura is found in the fourth foot : e.g. 
 I. ii. 26 :-^ 
 
 H« « W^H M * WW ■■WW<>» 
 
 Yixis- 1 set canis | inmun- 1 dus || vel a- 1 mica lu- 1 to sus. 
 
 § 7. Prosody. With regard to rules for the quantity 
 of syllables, the following are the most important, but they 
 are nearly all subject to exceptions : — 
 
 (1) A diphthong or contracted syllable is long; e.g., 
 
 mensce, nil (= nihil). 
 
 (2) The former of two vowels not forming a diphthong is 
 short ; e.g., piler. 
 
 (3) A syllable is long when its vowel is follow^ed in the 
 same word by two consonants (other than ^), by a^ or z, or 
 by semi-consonant i (sometimes printed J). 
 
 (4) A final syllable ending in a consonant counts as 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 long before a word beginning with semi-conisonant i or a 
 consonant (other than h). 
 
 ^ (5) A syllable containing a vowel naturally short is 
 either long or short when the vowel is followed by two 
 mfferent consonants of which the second is I or r ; e.g., 
 pdtris or pdtris, gen. sing, of pdte7\ This does not apply 
 to nl or 717; which always make the syllable long. (A 
 vowel by nature long remains long ; e.g., mdtris, gen. sing, 
 of mdter.) 
 
 (6) Final syllables of words ending in a, ^, o, u, as, es, os, 
 and c, are long. Final a, however, in nom., voc, and ace. 
 is short. Final es is short in such nominatives singular as 
 miles. 
 
 (7) Final e is short, except in the 1st (Greek) and Stli"* 
 declen^ons, in 2nd sing, imper. act. of verbs of the 2nd 
 conjugation, and in adverbs. 
 
 (8) Final is is short, except in the ace, dat., and abl. 
 plural, and in the 2nd sing. pres. ind. act. of verbs of the 
 4th conjugation. 
 
 (9) Final us is short, except in the nom., voc, and ace. 
 plural and in the gen. sing, of the 4th declension, and in 
 f em. substantives like pdlus. 
 
 (10) Final syllables of words ending in the liquids I, n, r, 
 and in the dentals d, t, are short. 
 
 (11) Monosyllables are generally long, except those 
 ending inh, d, t. 
 
 Elision. — Before a word beginning with a vowel or h 
 a final vowel or diphthong is elided, as also is a final in 
 together with the vowel preceding it ; e.g., Maecenas iterum 
 antiquo me includere ludo scans as 
 
 Maece- 1 nas iter' | anti- j quo m' in- 1 cludere | ludo. 
 
 * 
 

 
 
 Q. HORATI FLACCI 
 
 EPISTULARUM 
 
 LIBER PRIMUS. ^^ 
 
 I. 
 
 TDRIMA dicte mihi, siimma dicende Camena, 
 
 Spectatum satis et donatum iam rude quaeris, 
 Maecenas, iterum antiqno me includere ludo ? 
 Non eademst aetas, non mens. Veianius armis 
 Herculis ad postern fixis latet abditus agro, 5 
 
 Ne populiim extrema totiens exoret arena. 
 Est mihi purgatam crebro qui persopet aurem : 
 " Solve senescentem mature sanus ^quum, ne 
 Peccet ad extremum ridendus et ilia ducat." 
 Nunc itaque e1> versus et cetera ludicra pono ; 10 
 
 Quid verum atque decens, euro et rogo, et omnis in hoc sum ; 
 Condo et conpono quae mox depromere possim. 
 Ac ne forte roges, quo me duce, quo Lare tuter : 
 Nullius addictus iurare in verba magistri, 
 Quo me cumque rapit tempestas, deferor hospes. 15 
 
 Nunc agilis fio et mersor civilibus undis, 
 Yirtutis verae custos rigidusque satelles ; 
 Nunc in Aristippi furtim praecepta relabor, ^.J^c^'^-^'^^^ 
 Et mihi res, non me rebus subiungere conor. 
 Ut nox longa quibus mentitur arnica, diesque 20 
 
 H. Ep. 2 
 
18 HORACfi. [l. 
 
 Longa videtur opus clebentibiis, \\t piger annus 
 
 Pupillis, quos dura premit custodia matriim : 
 
 Sic milii tarda flunnt ingrataque tempora, quae spom 
 
 Consiliumque morantur agendi naviter id quod ^-^^^'♦^* / 
 
 Aeque pauperibus prodest, locupletibus aeque, 25 
 
 Aeque neglectum pueris senibusque nocebit. 
 
 Restat, ut his ego me ipse regam solerque elementis. 
 
 Non possis oculo quantum contendere Lynceus : 
 
 Non tamen idcirco contemnas lippus inungui ; 
 
 Nee, quia desperes invicti membra Glyconis, 30 
 
 Nodosa cor23Us nolis prohibere cheragra. 
 
 Est qiiadam prodire tenus, si non datur ultra. 
 
 Fervet avaritia miseroque cupidine pectus : 
 
 Sunt verba et voces, quibus hunc lenire dolorem 
 
 Possis et magnam morbi deponere partem. 35 
 
 Laudis amore tumes : sunt certa piacula, quae te 
 
 Ter pure lecto poterunt recreare libello. 
 
 Invidus, iracundus, iners, vinosus, amator, 
 
 Nemo adeo ferus est, ut non mitescere possit, 
 
 Si modo culturae patientem commodet aurem. 40 
 
 Virtus est vitium fugere et sapientia prima 
 
 Stultitia caruisse. Vides, quae maxima credis 
 
 Esse mala, exiguum censum turpemque repulsam, 
 
 Quanto devites animi capitisque labore ; 
 
 Inpiger extremos curris mercator ad Indos, 45 
 
 Per mare pauperiem fugiens, per saxa, per ignes : 
 
 Ne cures ea, quae stulte miraris et optas, 
 
 Discere et audire et meliori credere non vis ? 
 
 Quis circum pagos et circum compita pugnax 
 
 Magna coronari contemnat Olympia, cui spes, 50 
 
 Cui sit condicio dulcis sine pulvere palmae ? 
 
 Villus argentumst auro, virtutibus aurum : 
 
 " cives, cives, quaerenda pecunia primumst ; 
 
 Virtus post nummos " ; haec lanus summus ab imo 
 
 Prodocet, haec recinunt iuvenes dictata senesque, 55 
 
I.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 19 
 
 Laevo suspensi lociilos tabulamque lacerto. 
 
 Est animus tibi, sunt mores, est lingua fidesque, 
 
 Sed quadringentis sex septem milia desunt : 
 
 Plebs eris. At pueri ludentes " Rex eris " aiunt, 
 
 *' Si recte fades." Hie murus aheneus esto : 60 
 
 Nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa. 
 
 Eoscia, die sodes, melior lex an puerorumst 
 
 Nenia, quae regnum recte facientibus ofFert, 
 
 Et maribus Curiis et decantata Camillis 1 
 
 Isne tibi melius suadet, qui "Rem facias, rem, 65 
 
 Si possis, recte, si non, quocumque mode rem, 
 
 XJt propius spectes lacrimosa poemata Pupi " ; 
 
 An qui Fortunae te responsare superbae 
 
 Liberum et erectum praesens hortatur et aptat ? 
 
 Quodsi me populus Romanus forte roget, cur 70 
 
 Non ut porticibus sic iudiciis fruar Isdem, 
 
 Nee sequar aut f ugiam quae diligit ipse vel odit : 
 
 Olim quod volpes aegroto cauta leoni 
 
 Respondit, referam : " Quia me vestigia terrent, 
 
 Omnia te adversum spectantia, nulla retrorsum." 75 
 
 Belua multorum es capitum. Nam quid sequar aut quem ? 
 
 Pars hominum gestit conducere publica ; sunt qui 
 
 Crustis et pomis viduas venentur avaras, 
 
 Excipiantque senes, quos in vivaria mittant ; 
 
 Multis occijlto crescit res fenore. Verum 80 
 
 Esto aliis alios rebus studiisque teneri : 
 
 Idem eadem possunt horam durare probantes ? 
 
 "Nullus in orbe sinus Bais praelucet amoenis" 
 
 Si dixit dives : lacus et mare sentit amorem 
 
 Festinantk eri ; cui si vitiosa libido 85 
 
 Fecerit auspicium, " Cras ferramenta Teanum 
 
 Tolletis, fabri." Lectus genialis in aulast : 
 
 Nil ait esse prius, melius nil caelibe vita ; 
 
 Si non est, iurat bene solis esse maritis. 
 
 Quo teneam voltus mutantem Protea nodo 1 rsrr- 9° 
 
20 HORACE. [l., II. 
 
 Quid pauper ? Kide : mutat cenacula, lectos, 
 
 Balnea, tonsores, conducto navigio aeque 
 
 Nauseat ac locuples, quern ducit priva triremis. 
 
 Si curatus inaequali tonsore capillos 
 
 Occurri, rides; si forte subucula pexae 95 
 
 Trita subest tunicae, vel si toga dissidet inpar, 
 
 Rides : quid ? mea cum pugnat sententia secum, 
 
 Quod petiit spernit, repetit quod nuper omisit, 
 
 Aestuat et vitae disconvenit ordine toto, 
 
 Diruit, aedificat, mutat quadrata rotundis; 100 
 
 Insanire putas sollemnia me neque rides, 
 
 Nee medici credis nee curatoris egere 
 
 A praetore dati, rerum tutela mearum 
 
 Cum sis et prave sectum stomacheris ob unguem 
 
 De te pendentis, te respicientis amici ? 105 
 
 Ad sum mam : sapiens uno minor est love, dives, 
 
 Liber, honoratus, puleher, rex denique regum, 
 
 Praecipue sanus, nisi cum pituita molestast. 
 
 II. 
 
 Troiani belli scriptorem, Maxime Lolli, 
 
 Dum tu declamas Romae, Praeneste relegi. 
 
 Qui, quid sit pulclirum, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non, 
 
 Planius ac melius Chrysippo et Crantore dicit. 
 
 Cur ita crediderim, nisi quid te detinet, audi. • 5 
 
 Fabula, qua Paridis propter narratur amorem 
 
 Graecia barbariae lento collisQ, duello, 
 
 Stultorum regum et populorum continet aestus. 
 
 Antenor censet belli praecidere causam : 
 
 Quid Paris? ut salvus regnet vivatque beatus, 10 
 
 Cogi posse negat. Nestor conponei-e lites 
 
 Inter Peliden festinat et inter Atriden. 
 
 Hunc amor, ira quidem communiter urit utrumque. 
 
II.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 21 
 
 Quidquid delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi. 
 
 Seditione, dolis, scelere atque libidine et ira 1 5 
 
 Iliacos intra muros peccatur et extra. 
 
 Rursus, quid virtus et quid sapientia possit, 
 
 Utile proposuit nobis exemplar Ulixem, 
 
 Qui domitor Troiae multoram providus urbes 
 
 Et mores hominum inspexit, latum que per aequor, 20 
 
 Dum sibi, dum sociis reditum parat, aspera multa 
 
 Pertulit, adversis rerum immersabilis undis. 
 
 Sirenum voces et Circae pocula nosti ; 
 
 Quae si cum sociis stultus cupidusque bibisset, 
 
 Sub domina meretrice fuisset turpis et excors, 25 
 
 yixisset canis inmundus vel amica luto sus. 
 
 Nos numerus sumus et fruges consumere nati, 
 
 Sponsi Penelopae nebulones Alcinoique 
 
 In cute curanda plus aequo operata inventus, 
 
 Cui pulchrum fuit in medios dormire dies et 30 
 
 Ad strepitum citharae cessantem ducere somnum. 
 
 XJt iugulent hominem, surgunt de nocte latrones : 
 
 Ut te ipsum serves, non expergisceris ? Atqui 
 
 Si noles sanus, curres hydropicus ; et ni 
 
 Posces ante diem librum cum lumine, si non 35 
 
 Intendes animum studiis et rebus honestis, 
 
 In\T.dia vel amore vigil torquebere. Nam cur, 
 
 (^uae laedunt oculum, festinas demere ; siquid 
 
 lEst animum, differs curandi tempus in annum ? 
 
 Dimidium facti, qui coepit, habet : sapere aude ; 40 
 
 Incipe. Qui recte vivendi prorogat horam, 
 
 Kusticus exspectat, dum delluat amnis ; at ille. 
 
 Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis aevum. 
 
 Quaeritur argentum puerisque beata creandis 
 
 Uxor, et incultae pacantur vomere silvae : 45 
 
 Quod satis est cui contingit, nihil amplius optet. 
 
 Non domus et fundus, non aeris acervus et auri 
 
 Aegroto domini deduxit corpore febres, 
 
22 HORACE. [ii., III. 
 
 Non animo curas : valeat possessor oportet, 
 
 Si conportatis rebus bene cogitat uti. 50 
 
 Qui cupit aut metuit, iuvat ilium sic domus et res, 
 
 Ut lippum pictae tabulae, fomenta poclagrum, 
 
 Auriculas citharae collecta sorde dolentes. 
 
 Sincerumst nisi;vas, quodcumque infundis acescit. 
 
 Sperne voluptates : nocet empta dolore voluptas. 55 
 
 Semper avarus eget : certum voto pete fin em. 
 
 Invidus alterius macrescit rebus opimis ; 
 
 Invidia Siculi non invenere tyranni 
 
 Mains tormentum. Qui non moderabitur irae, 
 
 Infectum volet esse, dolor quod suaserit et mens, 60 
 
 Dum poenas odio per vim festinat inulto. 
 
 Ira furor brevis est : animum rege ; qui nisi paret, 
 
 Imperat : hunc frenis, hunc tu conpesce catena, 
 
 Fingit equum tenera docilem cervice magister 
 
 Ire viam qua monstret eques ; venaticus, ex (juo 65 
 
 Tempore cervinam pellem latravit in aula, 
 
 Militat in silvis catulus. Nunc adbibe puro 
 
 Pectore verba, puer, nunc te melioribus offer. 
 
 Quo semel est imbuta recens servabit odorem 
 
 Testa diu. Quodsi cessas aut strenuus antis, 70 
 
 Nee tardum opperior nee praecedentibus insto. 
 
 III. 
 
 luLi Flore, quibus terrarum militet oris 
 
 Claudius Augusti privignus, scire laboro. 
 
 Thracane vos Hebrusque nivali compede vinctus. 
 
 An freta vicinas inter currentia turres, 
 
 An pingues Asiae campi collesque morantur 1 
 
 Quid studiosa cohoi*s operum struit ? hoc quoque euro. 
 
 Quis sibi res gestas Augusti scribere sumit 1 
 
 Bella quis et paces longum difrniiclit in nevuni ? 
 
III., IV.] EPISTLES, BOOK T. 23 
 
 Quid Titius Romana brevi ventiirus in era ? 
 
 Pindarici fontis qui non expalluit haustiis, lo 
 
 Fastidire lacus et rivos ausus apertos. 
 
 Ut valet ? lit meminit nostri ? Fidibiisne Latinis 
 
 Thebanos aptare modes studet auspice Musa, 
 
 An tragica desaevit et ampullatur in arte ? 
 
 Quid mihi Celsas agit ? monitus multumque monendus 1 5 
 
 Privatas ut quaerat opes et tangere vitet 
 
 Scripta, Palatinus quaecumque recepit Apollo, 
 
 Ne, si forte suas repetitum venerit olini 
 
 Grex avium plumas, moveat cornicula risum 
 
 Furtiv^is nudata coloribus. Ipse quid audes? 20 
 
 Quae circumvolitas agilis thyma ? Non tibi parvum 
 
 Ingenium, non incultumst et turpiter hirtum : 
 
 Seu linguam causis acuis sen civica iura 
 
 Respondere paras seu condis amabile carmen, 
 
 Prima feres hederae victricLs praemia. Quod^si 25 
 
 Frigida curarum f omenta relinquere posses : 
 
 Quo te caelestis sapientia duceret, ires. 
 
 Hoc opus, hoc studium parvi properemus et ampli, 
 
 Si patriae volumus, si nobis "\"ivere cari. 
 
 Debes hoc etiam rescribere, sit tibi curae, 30 
 
 Quantae conveniat, Munatius. An male sarta 
 
 Gratia nequiquam coit et rescinditur, ac vos 
 
 Seu calidus sanguis seu rerum inscitia vexat 
 
 Indomita cervice feros ? Ubicumque locorum 
 
 Yivitis, indigni fraternum rumpere foedus, 35 
 
 Pascitur in vestrum reditum votiva iuvenca. 
 
 lY. 
 
 Albi, nostrorum sermonum candide index, 
 Quid nunc te dicam facere in regione Pedana ? 
 Scribere quod Cassi Parmensis opuscula vincat, 
 
^-i HORACE." Fiv., V. 
 
 An taciturn silvas inter reptare sahibres, 
 
 Curantem quidquid dignum sapiente bonoquest ? 5 
 
 Non til corpus eras sine pectore. Di tibi formam, 
 
 Di tibi divitias dederunt artemque fruendi. 
 
 Quid voveat dulci nutricula maius alumno, 
 
 Qui sapere et fari possit quae sentiat, et cui 
 
 Gratia, fama, valetudo contina^at abunde, -7^- — - ^ . to 
 
 Et mundus victus non deficiente crumena ? • 
 
 Inter spem curamque, timores inter et iras " ' ^ 
 
 Omnem crcde diem tibi diluxisse supremum : 
 
 Grata superveniet, quae non sperabitur bora. 
 
 Me pinguem et nitidum bene curata cute vises, 15 
 
 Cum ridere voles Epicuri de grege porcum. 
 
 Y. 
 
 81 potes Archiacis conviva recumbere lectis 
 
 Nee modica cenare times obis omne patella, 
 
 Supremo te sole domi, Torquate, manebo. 
 
 Vina bibes iterum Tauro diffusa palustres 
 
 Inter Minturnas Sinuessanumque Petrinum. t 
 
 Si melius quid babes, arcesse vel imperium fer. 
 
 lamdudum splendet focus et tibi munda sui^ellex. 
 
 Mitte leves spes et certamina divitiarum 
 
 Et Moschi causam : eras nato Caesare f est us 
 
 Dat veniam somnumque dies ; inpune licebit 10 
 
 Aestivam sermone benigno tendere noctem. 
 
 Quo mibi fortunam, si non conceditur uti 1 
 
 Parous ob heredis curam nimiuuKjue severus 
 
 Adsidet insano : potai-e et spargere ilores 
 
 Incipiam patiarque vel inconsultus liaberi. j r 
 
 Quid non ebrietas dissignat ? operta recludit, 
 
 Spes iubet esse ratas, ad proelia trudit inertem, 
 
 Sollicitis animis onus eximit, addocet artes. 
 
v., VI.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 25 
 
 Fecundi calices quern non fecere disertum, 
 
 Contracta quern non in paupertate solutum ? 20 
 
 Haec ego procurare et idoneus imperor et non 
 
 Invitus, ne turpe toral, ne sordida mappa 
 
 Corruget nares, ne non et cantharus et lanx 
 
 Ostendat tibi te, ne fidos inter amicos 
 
 Sit qui dicta foras eliminet, ut coeat par 25 
 
 lungaturque pari. Butram tibi Septiciumque, 
 
 Et nisi cena prior potiorque puella Sabinum, 
 
 Detinet adsumam ; locus est et pluribus umbris, 
 
 Sed nimis arta premunt olidae convivia caprae. 
 
 Tu quotus esse velis rescribe et rebus omissis 30 
 
 Atria servantem postico falle clientem. 
 
 > 
 
 /" 
 
 
 YI. (K^^ 
 
 Nil admirari prope res est una, Numici, ^ . 
 
 Solaque, quae possit facere et seryare beatum. 
 
 Hunc solem et stellas et decedentia certis 
 
 Tempora momentis sunt qui formidine nulla 
 
 Imbuti spectent : quid censes munera terrae ? 5 
 
 Quid maris extremos Arabas ditantis et Indos, 
 
 Ludicra quid, plausus et ajnici dona Quiritis ? ^^r-^' 
 
 Quo spectanda modo, quo sensu credis et ore ? ^ 
 
 Qui timet Lis adversa, fere miratur eodem, aa/t^"'"' 
 
 Quo cupiens, pacto ; pavor e^utrobique molestus, 10 
 
 Inprovisa simul species exterret utrumque. 
 
 Gaudeat an doleat, cupiat metuatne, quid ad rem, 
 
 Si, quidquid vidit melius peiusve sua spe, -C^v-V"^*^ 
 
 Defixis oculis animoque et corpoije torpet 1 -^ 
 
 Tnsani sapiens nomen ferat, aequus iniqui," 15 
 
 Ultra quam satis est virtutem si petat ipsam. 
 
 I nunc, argentum et marmor vetus aeraque et artes 
 
 Suspice, cum gemmis Tyrios mirare colores ; 
 
 J^As- 
 
26 HORACE. [VI. 
 
 Gaude quod spectant oculi te mille loquentem ; 
 ^^(! Navus mane forum et vespertinus pete tectum, 20 
 
 Ne plus frumenti dotalibus emetat agris ^^^ -^ 
 ^_.- V-- Mutus et (indignum, quod sit peioribus ortus) »jl.c^ 
 
 Hie tibi sit potius quam tu mirabilis illi. c^.d-y*-*^'-'^'"^ 
 Quidquid sub terrast, in apricum proferet aetas ; ^ 
 Defodiet condetque nitentia. Cum bene notum 25 
 
 Porticus Agrippae et via te conspexerit Appi, , ^ 
 
 Iro tamen restat, Numa quo devenit et Ancus. 
 Si latus aut renes morbo temptantur acuto, »vP . 
 
 Quaere fugam morbi. Vis recte vivere : quLs non ? \ 
 Si virtus hoc una potest-dare, fortis omissis . 30 
 
 Hoc age deliciis. Yirtutem verba putas et^ .--'' 
 Lucum ligna : cave ne portus occupet alter, 
 Ne Cibyratica, ne Bitbyna negotia perdas ;^^ ^^^ 
 Mille talenta rotundentur, totidem altera, pbrro et 
 Tertia succedant, et quae pars quadret acervum, 35 
 
 Scilicet uxorem cum dote fidemque et amicos 
 Et genus et formam regina Pecunia donat, 
 Ac bene nummatum decorat Suadela Yenusque. 
 Mancipiis locuples eget aeris Cappadocum rex : 
 Ne f ueris hie tu. Chlamydes Lucullus, ut aiunt, 40 
 
 Si posset centum scaenae praebere rogatus, 
 " Qui possum tot ? " ait : " tamen et quaeram, et quot habebo 
 Mittam " ; post paulo scribit, sibi miHa quinque 
 Esse domi chlamydum, partem vel toUeret omnes. 
 .? '"'Exilis domus est, ubi non et multa supersunt 45 
 
 Et dominum fallunt et prosunt furibus! Ergo 
 Si res sola potest fncere et servare beatum, 
 Hoc primus repetas opus, hoc postremus omittaSj. 
 Si fortunatum species et gratia praestat, v "^ 
 Mercemur servum, qui dictet nomina, laevum 50 
 
 Qui fodicet latus et cogat trans pondera dextram 
 Porrigere " Hie multum in Fabia valet, ille Yelina ; 
 Cui libet hie fasces dabit, eripietque curule 
 
VI., VII.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 27 
 
 Cui volet inportimiis ebiir." *' Frater " " Pater " adde ; 
 
 Ut cuiquest aetas, ita quemque facetus adopta. 55 
 
 Si bene qui cenat bene vivit, lucet, eamiis 
 
 Quo ducit gula ; piscemur, venemur, ut olim 
 
 Gargilius, qui mane plagas, venabula, servos, 
 
 Differtum transire forum populumque iubebat, 
 
 Unus ut e multis populo spectante referret 60 
 
 Emptum mulus aprum. Crudi tumidique lavemur, ^y'-^ ,i , 
 
 Quid deceat, quid non obliti, Caerite cera ^'"'' ^^'•y*'^^^ 
 
 Digni, remigium vitiosum Ithacensis Ulixi, 
 
 Cui potior patria fuit interdicta voluptas. 
 
 Si, Mimnermus uti censet, sine amore iocisque 65 
 
 Nil est iucundum, vivas in amore iocisque. 
 
 Vive, vale. Siquid novisti rectius istis, 
 
 Candidus inperti ; si non, liis utere mecum. 
 
 a-^ 
 
 X ^ V Yll. 
 
 QuiNQUE dies tibi pollicitus me rure futurum, 
 
 Sextilem totum mendax desideror. Atqui 
 
 Si me vivere vis sanum recteque valentem, 
 
 Quam mihi das aegro, dabis aegrotare timenti, 
 
 Maecenas, veniam, dum ficus. prima calorque 5 
 
 Dissignatorem decorat lictoribus atris, 
 
 Dum pueris omnis pater et matercula pallet, 
 
 Officiosaque sedulitas et opella forensis 
 
 Adducit febres et testamenta resignat. 
 
 Quodsi bruma nives Albanis inlinet agris, ' 10 
 
 Ad mare descendet vates tuus et sibi parcet 
 
 Contractusque leget ; te, dulcis amice, reviset 
 
 Cum Zephyris, si concedes, et hirundine prima. 
 
 Non quo more piris vesci Calaber iubet hospes 
 
 Tu me fecisti locupletem. " Yescere, sodes." 15 
 
 " lam satis est." " At tu, quantum vis, telle." " Benigne." 
 
28 HORACE. [VII. 
 
 *' Non in visa feres pueris muniiscula parvis." 
 
 " Tarn teneor dono, quam si dimittar onustiis," 
 
 " Ut libet : haec porcis hodie comedenda relinques." 
 
 Prodigus et stultiis donat quae spernit et odit : 20 
 
 Haec seges ingratos tulit et feret omnibus annis. 
 
 Vir bonus et sapiens dignis ait esse paratus, 
 
 Nee tamen ignorat quid distent aera lupin is. 
 
 Dignum praestabo me etiam pro laude merentis. 
 
 Quodsi me noles usquam discedere, reddes 25 
 
 Forte latus, nigros angusta fronte capillos, 
 
 Keddes dulce loqui, reddes ridere decorum et 
 
 Inter vina fugam Cinarae maerere protervae. 
 
 Forte per angustam tenuis nitedula rimam 
 
 Repserat in cumeram f rumen ti, pastaque rursus 30 
 
 Ire foras pleno tendebat corpore frustra ; 
 
 Cui mustela procul " Si vis " ait '' efFugere istinc, 
 
 Macra cavum repetes artum, quem macra subisti." 
 
 Hac ego si conpellor imagine, cuncta resigno : 
 
 Nee somnum plebis laudo satur altilium nee 35 
 
 Otia divitiis Arabum Uberrima muto.. 
 
 Saepe verecundum laudasti, rexque paterque 
 
 Audisti coram, nee verbo parcius absens : 
 
 Inspice si possum donata reponere laetus. 
 
 Hand male Telemaclius, proles patientis Ulixi : 40 
 
 " Non est aptus equis Ithace locus, ut neque planis 
 
 Porrectus spatiis nee multae prodigus herbae ; 
 
 Atride, magis apta tibi tua dona relinquam." 
 
 Parvum parva decent : mihi iam non regia Eoma, 
 
 Sed vacuum Tibur placet aut inbelle Tarentum. 45 
 
 Strenuus et fortis causisque Pliilippus agendis 
 
 Clarus, ab ofiiciis octavam circiter lioram 
 
 Dum redit atque Foro nimium distare Carinas 
 
 lam grandis natu queritur, conspexit, ut aiunt, 
 
 Adrasum quondam vacua tonsoris in umbra 50 
 
 Cultello proprios purgantem leniter ungues. 
 
VII.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 29 
 
 " Demetri," (puer hie non laeve iussa Philippi 
 
 Accipiebat) " Abi, quaere et refer, uncle clomo, quis, 
 
 Cuius fortunae, quo sit patre quove patrono." 
 
 It, redit et narrat, Vulteium nomine Menain, 5 5 
 
 Praeconem, tenui censu, sine crimine, notum 
 
 Et properare loco et cessare et quaerere et uti, 
 
 Gaudentem par\nsque sodalibus et lare curto 
 
 Et ludis et post decisa negotia Campo. 
 
 " Scitari libet ex ipso quodcumque refers : die, 60 
 
 Ad eenam veniat." Non sane eredere Mena, 
 
 Mirari seeum tacitus. Quid multa 1 " Benigne " 
 
 Kespondet. " Neget ille mihi ? " " Negat inprobus et te 
 
 Negligit aut horret." Yulteium mane Philippus 
 
 Yilia vendentem tunieato seruta popello 65 
 
 Oceupat et salvere iubet prior ; ille Philippo 
 
 Excusare laborem et mercennaria vincla, 
 
 Quod non mane domum venisset, denique quod non 
 
 Providisset eum. " Sie ignovisse putato 
 
 Me tibi, si cenas hodie meeum." " Ut libet." " Ergo — 70 
 
 Post nonam venies ; nune i, rem strenuus auge." 
 
 Ut ventum ad cenamst, dicenda tacenda locutus 
 
 Tandem dormitum dimittitur. Hie ubi saepe 
 
 Occultum visus deeurrere piseis ad hamum, 
 
 Mane cliens et iam certus con viva, iubetur 75 
 
 Pura suburbana indictis comes ire Latinis : 
 
 Inpositus mannis arvum eaelumque Sabinum 
 
 Non cessat laudare. Videt ridetque Philippus, 
 
 Et sibi dum requiem, dum risus undique quaerit, 
 
 Dum septem donat sestertia, mutua septem 80 
 
 Promittit, persuadet uti mercetur agellum. 
 
 Mereatiu". Ne te longis ambagibus ultra 
 
 Quam satis est morer : ex nitido fit rusticus atque 
 
 Suleos et vineta erepat mera, praeparat ulmos, 
 
 Inmoritur studiis et amore senescit habendi. 85 
 
 Yerum ubi oves furto, morbo periere capellae. 
 
30 HORACE. [VII., VIII. 
 
 Spem mentita seges, bos est enectus arando ; 
 
 Offensus damiiis media de nocte caballam 
 
 Arripit iratusque Pliilippi tendit ad aedes. 
 
 Quem simul adspexit scabrum intonsumque Pbillppus, 90 
 
 " Durus," ait, " Viiltei, nimis attentusque videris 
 
 Esse mihi." " Pol, me miserum, patrone, vocares. 
 
 Si velles " inquit " verum mibi ponere nomen. 
 
 Quod te per Genium dextramque deosque Penates 
 
 Obsecro et obtestor, vitae me redde priori ! " 95 
 
 Qui semel adspexit, quantum dimissa petitis 
 
 Praestent, mature redeat repetatque relicta. 1 
 
 Metiri se quemque suo modulo ac pede verumst. 
 
 A VIII.'^ 
 
 Celso gaudere et bene rem gerere Albinovano 
 
 Musa rogata refer, comiti scribaeque Neronis. 
 
 Si quaeret quid agam, die multa et pulchra minantem 
 
 Vivere nee recte nee suaviter, baud quia grando 
 
 Contuderit vites oleamve momorderit aestus, 5 
 
 Nee quia longinquis armentum aegrotet in agris ; 
 
 Sed quia mente minus validus quam corpore toto 
 
 Nil audire velim, nil diseere, quod levet aegrum ; 
 
 Fidis offendar medicis, irasear amicis, 
 
 Cur me f unesto properent arcere veterno ; 1 o 
 
 Quae nocuere sequar, fugiam quae prof ore credam ; 
 
 Komae Tibur amem ventosus, Tibure Komam. 
 
 Post haec, ut valeat, quo pacto rem gerat et se, 
 
 TJt placeat iuveni, percontare, utque cohorti. 
 
 Si dicet " Ptecte," primum gaudere, subinde 15 
 
 Praeceptum auriculis hoc instillare memento : 
 
 Ut tu fortunam, sic nos te, Celse, feremus., 
 
IX 
 
 J X.] EPISTLES, BOOK 1. 31 
 
 ^ / IX. 
 
 Septimius, Claucli, nimirum intellegit uniis, 
 
 Quanti me facias : nam cum rogat et prece cogit, 
 
 Scilicet ut tibi se lauclare et tradere coner, 
 
 Dio-num mente domoque legentis honesta Neronis, 
 
 Munere cum fungi propioris censet amici,'^ 5 
 
 Quid possim videt ac novit me valdius ipso. 
 
 Multa quidem dixi, cur excusatus abirem ; 
 
 Sed timui, mea ne finxisse minora putarer, 
 
 Dissimulator opis propriae, milii commodus uni. 
 
 Sic ego, maioris f ugiens opprobria culpae, i o 
 
 Frontis ad urbanae descendi praemia. Quodsi 
 
 Depositum laudas ob amici iussa pudorem, 
 
 Scribe tui gregis hunc, et fortem crede bonumque. 
 
 X. 
 
 XJrbis amatorem Fuscum salvere iubemus 
 
 Ruris amatores, hac in re scilicet una 
 
 Multum dissimiles, at cetera paene gemelli 
 
 Fraternis animis ; quidquid negat alter, et alter : 
 
 Adnuimus pariter vetuli notique columbi. . 5 
 
 Tu nidum servas, ego laudo ruris amoeni 
 
 Rivos et mused circumlita saxa nemusque. 
 
 Qmd quaeris ? Vivo et regno, simul ista reliqui v-aJ>V*^ 
 
 Quae vos ad caelum effertis rumore secundo,^.,,*.-^ ^ ^v^^ 
 
 Utque sacerdotis fugitivus liba recuso : lo 
 
 Pane egeo iam mellitis potiore placentis. 
 
 Vivere naturae si convenienter oportet, 
 
 Ponendaeque domo quarerendast area primum ; 
 
 Novistine locum potiorem rure beato ] 
 
 Est ubi plus tepeant hiemes, ubi gratior aura 15 
 
 Leniat et rabiem Canis et momenta Leonis, 
 
32 HORACE. "^ [x. 
 
 Cum semel accepit Solem furibimdus acutum 1 
 
 Est ubi divellat somnos minus invida cura ? 
 
 Deterius Libycis olet aiit nitet herba lapillis? 
 
 Purior in vicis aqua tendit rumpere plumbum, 20 
 
 Quam quae per pronum trepidat cum murmure rivum ? 
 
 Nempe inter varias nutritur silva columnas, 
 
 Laudaturque domus, longos quae prospicit agros. 
 
 Naturam expelles furca, tamen usque recurret, 
 
 Et mala perrumpet furtim fastidia victrix. 25 
 
 Non qui Sidonio contendere callidus ostro -^ 
 
 Nescit Aquinatem potantia vellera f ucum *^- 
 
 Certius accipiet damnum propiusve medullis, -^V-^*^^ 
 
 Quam qui non poterit vero distinguere falsum. 
 
 Quem res plus nimio delectavere secundae, 30 
 
 Mutatae quatient. Siquid mirabere, pones 
 
 Invitus. Fuge magna : licet sub paupere tecto 
 Reges et regum vita praeeurrere amicos. 
 
 Cervus equum pugna melior communibus herbis 
 
 Pellebat, donee minor in certamine longo -ir 
 
 Inploravit opes hominis frenumque recepit ; 
 
 Sed postquam victo ridens discessit ab hoste, 
 
 Non equitem dorso, non frenum depulit ore. 
 
 Sic qui pauperiem veritus potiore metallis 
 
 Libertate caret, dominum veliit inprobus atque 40 
 
 Serviet aeternum, quia parvo nesciet uti. 
 
 Cui non conveniet sua res, ut calceus olim, 
 
 Si pede maior erit, subvertet, si minor, uret. 
 
 Laetus sorte tua vivos sapienter, Aristi, 
 
 Nee me dimittes incastigatum, ubi plura 45 
 
 Cogere, quam satis est, ac non cessare videbor. 
 
 Tmperat aut servit collecta pecunia cuique, 
 
 Tortum digna sequi potius quam ducere funem. 
 
 llaec tibi dictabam post fanum putre Vacunae, 
 
 Excepto quod non simul esses, cetera laetus. ro 
 
XI.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 33 
 
 XI. 
 
 Quid tibi visa Chios, Bullati, notaque Lesbos, 
 
 Quid concinna Samos, quid Croesi regia Sardis, 
 
 Zmyrna quid et Colophon 1 maiora minorane f ama ? 
 
 Cunctane prae Campo et Tiberino flumine sordent. 
 
 An venit in votum Attalicis ex urbibns una, e 
 
 An Lebedum laudas odio maris atque viarum ? 
 
 " Scis, Lebedus quid sit : Gabiis desertior atque 
 
 Fidenis vicus ; tamen iUic vivere vellem, 
 
 Oblitusque meorum obliviscendus et ilhs 
 
 Neptunum procul e terra spectare furentem." lo 
 
 Sed neque, qui Capua Eomam petit, imbre lutoque 
 
 Adspersus volet in caupona vivere ; nee qui 
 
 Frigus collegit, f urnos et balnea laudat 
 
 Ut fortunatam plene praestantia vitam ; 
 
 Nee, si te validus iaetaverit Auster in alto, i q 
 
 Tdeireo navim trans Aegaeum mare vendas. 
 
 Incolumi Rhodos et Mytilene pulchra facit, quod 
 
 Paenula solstitio, campestre nivalibus auris, 
 
 Per brumam Tiberis, Sextili mense caminus. 
 
 Dum licet ac vol turn servat Fortuna benignum, 20 
 
 Romae laudetur Samos et Chios et Rhodos absens. 
 
 Tu quamcumque deus tibi fortuna verit horam 
 
 Grata sume manu neu dulcia differ in annum, 
 
 Ut quocumque loeo fu'eris vixisse libenter 
 
 Te dieas : nam si ratio et prudentia euras, 25 
 
 Non locus effusi late maris arbiter aufert. 
 
 Caelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare eurrunt. 
 
 Strenua nos exercet inertia : navibus atque 
 
 Quadrigis petimus bene vivere. Quod petis, hie est, 
 
 Est Ulubris, animus si te non deficit aequus. 30 
 
 H. Ep. 
 
 BHAP^ 
 
34 HORACE. [XII. 
 
 / 
 
 XII. ^ 
 
 Fructibus AgripjDae Siculis, quos colligis, Icci, 
 
 Si recte frueris, non est ut copia maior 
 
 Ab love donari possit tibi. Tolle querellas : 
 
 Pauper enim non est, cui reriim siippetit usus. 
 
 Si ventri bene, si laterist pedibusque tuis, nil 5 
 
 Divitiae poterunt regales addere mains. 
 
 Si forte in medio positorum abstemius herbis 
 
 Vivis et urtica, sic vives protinus, ut te 
 
 Confestim liquidus Fortunae rivus inauret, 
 
 Vel quia naturam mutare pecunia nescit, ^ '^^'lo 
 
 Vel quia cuncta putas una virtute minora. , 
 
 Miramur, si Democriti pecus edit agellos ' 
 
 Cultaque, dum peregrest animus sine eorpore velox, 
 
 Cum tu inter scabiem tantam et contagia lucri 
 
 Nil parvum sapias et adhuc sublimia cures : 15 
 
 Quae mare conpescant causae, quid temperet annum, 
 
 Stellae sponte sua iussaene vagentur et errent, 
 
 Quid premat obscurum Lunae, quid proferat orbem, 
 
 Quid velit et possit rerum concordia discors, 
 
 Empedocles an Stertinium deliret acumen ? 20 
 
 Verum seu pisces seu porrum et caepe trucidas, 
 
 XJtere Pompeio Grospho et siquid petet ultro 
 
 Defer : nil Grosphus nisi verum orabit et aequum. 
 
 Vilis amicorumst annona, bonis ubi quid dest. 
 
 Ne tamen ignores, quo sit Romana loco res : 25 
 
 Cantaber Agrippae, Claudi virtute Neronis 
 
 Armenius cecidit ; ius imperiumque Phrahates 
 
 Caesaris accepit genibas minor \ a.urea fruges 
 
 Italiae pleno defundit Copia cornu. 
 
 '>w^>^ ,^ ^^jf Ax-^-^U^ li!o ^. 
 
r 
 
 XIII., XIV.] 
 
 EPISTLES, BOOK I. 
 
 35 
 
 'V, 
 
 XIIT. 
 
 CU 
 
 r^ 1 
 
 ioM -^^^ 
 
 Ut proficiscentem docui te saepe diuque, 
 Augusto reddes signata volumina, Vini, 
 Si validus, si laetus erit, si denique poscet ; 
 Ke studio nostri pecces odiumque libellis ' '^'' 
 
 Sedulus inportes opera vemente minister. 
 Si te forte meae gravis uret sarcina chartae, 
 Abicito potius, quam quo perferre iuberis 
 Clitellas ferus inpingas, Asinaeque paternum ^^^^^ 
 Cognomen vertas in risum et fabula fias. 
 Viribus uteris per clivos, flumina, lamas ; 
 Victor propositi simul ac perveneris>illuc, 
 Sic positum servabis onus, ne forte sub ala 
 Fasciculum portes librorum'ut rusticus agnum, 
 Ut vinosa glomus furtivae Pyrrhia lanae, 
 Ut cum pileolo soleas conviva tribulis. ^^ 
 Neu volgo narres, te sudavisse ferendo ,_ j 
 Carmina, quae possint oculos auresque mqrari 
 Caesaris ; oratus multa prece, nitere : porro ' 
 Yade, vale, cave ne titubes mandataque frangas. 
 
 fr"..- r 
 
 XIY. 
 
 L^ 
 
 ViLiCE sil varum et mihi me reddentis agelli, 
 Quem tu fastidis, habitatum quinque focis et 
 Quinque bonos solitum Yariam dimittere patres, 
 Certemus, spinas animone ego fortius an tu 
 Evellas agro, et melior sit Horatius an res. 
 Me quam\is Lamiae pietas et cura moratur, 
 Fratrem maerentis, rapto de fratre dolentis 
 Insolabiliter ; tamen istuc mens animusque 
 Fert et amat spatiis obstantia rumpere claustra 
 Hure ego viventem, tu dicis in urbe beatum : 
 
 lO 
 
 
 15 
 
 TO 
 
36 HORACE. [XIV. 
 
 Cui placet alterius, sua nimirnmst odio sors. 
 
 Stultus uterque locum imneritum causatur iiiif{iie : 
 
 In culpast animus, qui se non efFugit umquam. 
 
 Tu mediastinus tacita prece rui-a petebas, 
 
 Nunc urbem et ludos et balnea vilicus optas ; 15 
 
 ]Me constare mihi scis et discedere tristem, 
 
 Quandocumque trahunt in visa negotia Romam. 
 
 Non eadem miramur ; eo disconvenit inter 
 
 Meque et te : nam quae deserta et inliospita tesqua 
 
 Credis, amoena vocat mecum qui sentit, et odit 20 
 
 Quae tu pulchra putas. Fornix tibi et uncta popina 
 
 ]ncutiunt urbis desiderium, video, et quod 
 
 Angulus iste feret piper et tus ocius uva, 
 
 Nee vicina subest vinum praebere taberna 
 
 Quae possit tibi, nee meretrix tibicina, cuius 25 
 
 Ad strepitum salias terrae gravis : et tanien urgues 
 
 lampridem non tacta ligonibus arva, bovemquo 
 
 Disiunctum curas et strictis f rondibus exples ; 
 
 Addit opus pigro rivus, si decidit imber, 
 
 Multa mole dccendus aprico parcere prato. 30 
 
 Nunc age, quid nostrum concentum dividat, audi. 
 
 Quem tenues decuere togae nitidique capilli, 
 
 Qaem scis inmunem Cinarae placuisse rapaci, 
 
 Quem bibulum liquidi media de luce Falerni, 
 
 Cena brevis iuvat et prope rivum somnus in herba. 35 
 
 Nee lusisse pudet, sed non incidere ludum. 
 
 Non istic obliquo oculo mea commoda quisquam 
 
 Limat, non odio obscuro morsuque venenat ; 
 
 Rident vicini glaebas et saxa moventem 
 
 Cum servis. Urbana diaria rodei-e mavis, ^o 
 
 Horum tu in numerum voto ruis ; invidet usum 
 
 IJgnorum et pecorLs tibi calo argutus et liorti. 
 
 Optat ephippia bos pigei-, optat arare caballus ; 
 
 Quam scit uterque, libens, censebo, exerceat artem. 
 
XV.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 37 
 
 XV. J( 
 
 Quae sit hiemps Veliae, qiiotl caelum, Yala, SaJerni, 
 
 Quorum hominum regio et qualis via (nam mihi Baias 
 
 Musa supervacuas Antonius, et tamen illis 
 
 Me facit in visum, gelida cum perluor uncla 
 
 Per medium frigus. Sane miirteta relinqui 5 
 
 Dictaque cessantem nervis elidere morbum 
 
 Sulfura contemni vicus gemit, invidus aegris. 
 
 Qui caput et stomachum supponere frontibus audent 
 
 Clusinis, Gabiosque petunt et frigida rura. 
 
 Mutandus locus est et deversoria nota to 
 
 Praeteragendus equus. " Quo tendis ? Non mihi Cumas 
 
 Est iter aut Baias " laeva stomachosus habena 
 
 Dicet eques ; sed equis frenatost auris in ore) ; 
 
 Maior utrum populum frumenti copia pascat, 
 
 Collectosne bibant imbres j)uteosne perennes 15 
 
 lugLS aquae (nam vina nihil moror illius orae. 
 
 Pure meo possum quidvis perferre patique ; 
 
 Ad mare cum veni, generosum et lene requiro, 
 
 Quod curas abigat, quod cum spe divite ma net 
 
 In venas animumque meum, quod verba ministret, 20 
 
 Quod me Lucanae iuvenem commendet amicae) ; 
 
 Tractus uter plures lepores, uter educet apros ; 
 
 Utra magis pisces et echinos aequora celent, 
 
 Pinguis ut inde domum possim Phaeaxque reverti, 
 
 Scribere te nobis, tibi nos adcredere par est. 25 
 
 Maenius, ut rebus maternis atque paternis 
 
 Fortiter absumptis urbanus coepit haberi, 
 
 Scurra vagus, non qui certum praesepe teneret, 
 
 Inpransus non qui civem dignosceret hoste, 
 
 Quaelibet in quemvis opprobria fingere saevus, 30 
 
 Pernicies et tempestas barathrumque macelli, 
 
 Quidquid quaesierat ventri donabat avaro. 
 
 Hie, ubi nequitiae fautoribus et timidis nil 
 
38 HORACE. [XV., XVI. 
 
 Aut paullum abstulerat, patinas cenabat omasi 
 
 "Vilis et agninae, tribiis ursis quod satis esset ; 35 
 
 Scilicet ut ventres lamna candente nepotiim 
 
 Diceret urendos corrector Bestiiis. Idem, 
 
 Quidquid erat nactus praedae maioris, iibi omne 
 
 Verterat in fumum et cinerem, " Non hercule miror," 
 
 Aiebat, " siqui comedunt bona, cum sit obeso 40 
 
 Nil melius turdo, nil volva pulchrius ampla." 
 
 Nimirum hie ego sum ; nam tuta et parvola laudo, 
 
 Cum res deficiunt, satis inter vilia fortis : 
 
 Verum ubi quid melius contingit et unctius, idem 
 
 Vos sajDere et solos aio bene vivere, quorum 45 
 
 Conspicitur nitidis fundata pecunia villis. 
 
 C XYI. '^ 
 
 Ne pcrconteris, fundus mens, optime Quinti, 
 
 Arvo pascat erum an bacis opulentet olivao 
 
 Pomisne an pratis an amicta vitibus ulmo : 
 
 Scribetur tibi forma loquaciter et situs agri. 
 
 Continui montes, ni dissocientur opaca 5 
 
 Valle, sed ut veniens dextrum latus adspiciat Sol, 
 
 Laevum decedens curru fugiente vajDoret. 
 
 Temperiem laudes. Quid si rubicunda benigni 
 
 Coma vepres et pruna ferant, si quercus et ilex 
 
 Multa fruge pecus, multa dominum iuvet umbra ? 10 
 
 Dicas adductum propius frondere Tarentum. 
 
 Fons etiam rivo dare nomen idoneus, ut nee 
 
 Frigidior Thracam nee pui-ior ambiat Hebrus, 
 
 Infirmo capiti fluit utilis, utilis alvo. 
 
 Hae latebrae dulces et, iam si credis, amoenae, 1 5 
 
 Incolumem tibi me praestant Septembribus horis. 
 
 Tu recte vivis, si curas esse quod audis. 
 
 lactamus iam pridem omnis te Roma beatum ; 
 
XVI.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 39 
 
 Sed vereor, necui de le plus qiiam tibi credas, 
 
 Neve putes alium sapiente bonoqiie beatum, 20 
 
 Neil, si te populus sanum recteque valentem 
 
 Dictitet, occultam febrem sub tempus edendi 
 
 Dissimules, donee manibus tremor incidat unctis. 
 
 Stultorum incurata pudor malus ulcera celat. 
 
 Siquis bella tibi terra pugnata marique _ 25 
 
 Dicat, et his verbis vacuas permulceat aures : 
 
 " Tene magis salvum populus velit, an populum tu, 
 
 Servet in ambiguo, qui consulit et tibi et urbi, 
 
 luppiter," Augusti laudes agnoscere possis ; 
 
 Cum pateris sapiens emendatusque vocari : 30 
 
 Respondesne tuo, die, sodes, nomine ? " Nempe 
 
 Vir bonus et prudens dici delector ego ac tu." 
 
 Qui dedit hoc hodie, eras si volet aufei^et, ut si 
 
 Detulerit fasces indigno, detrahet idem. 
 
 " Pone, meumst," inquit : pono tristisque recedo. 35 
 
 Idem si clamet furem, neget esse pudicum, 
 
 Contendat laqueo collum presslsse paternum : 
 
 Mordear opprobriis falsis mutemque colores ? 
 
 Falsus honor iuvat et mendax infamia terret 
 
 Quem nisi mendosum et medicandum? Yir bonus est quis? 
 
 " Qui consulta patrum, qui leges iuraque servat, 41 
 
 Quo multae magnaeque secantur iudice lites, 
 
 Quo res sponsore et quo causae teste tenentur." 
 
 Sed \idet hunc omnis domus et vicinia tota 
 
 Introrsum turpem, speciosum pelle decora. 45 
 
 " Nee furtum feci nee fugi," si mihi dicat 
 
 Servus : " Habes pretium, loris non ureris," aio. 
 
 " Non hominem occidi." " Non pasces in cruce corvos." 
 
 " Sum bonus et frugi." Renuit negitatque Sabellus. 
 
 Cautus enim metuit foveam lupus accipiterque 50 
 
 Suspectos laqueos et opertum miluus hamum. 
 
 Oderunt peccare boni virtutis araore : 
 
 Tu nihil admittes in te formidine poenae. 
 
 iv,^-' — 
 
40 HORACE. [XVI., XVII. 
 
 Sit spes fallendi, miscebis sacra profanis : 
 
 Nam de mille fabae modiis cum siirripis uniim, 55 
 
 Damnumst, non faciniis, mihi pacto lenius isto. 
 
 Vir bonus, omiie forum quem spectat et omne tribunal, 
 
 Quandocumque deos vel porco vel bove placat, 
 
 " lane pater " clare, clare cum dixit " Apollo," 
 
 Labra mo vet metuens audiri : " Pulchra Laverna, 6 c 
 
 Da mihi fallere, da iusto sanctoque videri, 
 
 Noctem peccatis et fraudibus obice nubem." 
 
 Qui melior servo, qui liberior sit avarus, 
 
 In triviis fixum cum se demittit ob assem, 
 
 Non video : nam qui cupiet, metuet quoque ; porro 65 
 
 Qui metuens vivet, liber mihi non erit umquam. 
 
 Perdidit arma, locum virtutis deseruit, qui 
 
 Semper in augenda festinat et obruitur re, 
 
 Vendere cum possis captivum, occidere noli : 
 
 Serviet utiliter : sine pascat durus aretque, 70 
 
 Naviget ac mediis liiemet mercator in undis, 
 
 Annonae prosit, portet frumenta penusque. 
 
 Vir bonus et sapiens audebit dicere : " Pentheu 
 
 Hector Thebarum, quid me perferre patique 
 
 Indignum coges ? " " Adimam bona." '' Nempe pecus, rem, 
 
 Lectos, argentum : toUas licet." " In manicis et 76 
 
 Compedibus saevo te sub custode tenebo." 
 
 " Ipse deus, simulatque volam, me solvet." Opinor, 
 
 Hoc sentit " moriar." Mors ultima Unea rerumst. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 QuAMVis, Scaeva, satis per te tibi consulis et scis, 
 Quo tandem pacto deceat maioribus uti ; 
 Disco, docendus adhuc quae censet amiculus, ut si 
 Caecus iter monstrare velit ; tamen adspicc, siquid 
 Et nos, quod cures proprium fecisse, loquamur. 
 
XVII.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 41 
 
 Si te grata quies et primam somnus in horam 
 
 Delectat, si te pulvis strepitusque rotarum, 
 
 Si laedit caupona, Ferentinum ire iubebo : 
 
 Nam neque divitibus contingunt gaudia solis, 
 
 Kec vixit male, qui natus moriensque fefellit. lo 
 
 Si prodesse tuis paulloque benignius ipsum 
 
 Te tractare voles, accedes siccus ad unctum. 
 
 " Si pranderet olus patienter, regibus uti 
 
 Nollet Aristippus." " Si sciret regibus uti, 
 
 Fastidiret olus, qui me notat." Utrias horum 15 
 
 Verba probes et facta doce, vel ianior audi, 
 
 Cur sit Aristippi potior sententia. ISTamque 
 
 Mordacem Cynicum sic eludebat, ut aiunt : 
 
 " Scurror ego ipse mihi, populo tu : rectius hoc et 
 
 Splendidius multost. Equus ut me portet, alat rex, 20 
 
 Oificium facio : tu poscis vilia, verum 
 
 Dante minor, quamvis fers te nullius egentem." 
 
 Omnis Aristippum decuit color et status et res, 
 
 Temptantem maiora, fere praesentibus aequum. 
 
 Contra, quem duplici panno patientia velat, 25 
 
 Mirabor, vitae via si conversa decebit. 
 
 Alter purpureum non exspectabit amictum, 
 
 Quidlibet indutus celeberrima per loca vadet, 
 
 Personamque feret non inconcinnus utramque ; 
 
 Alter Mileti textam cane peius et angui 30 
 
 Vitabit chlamydem, morietur frigore, si non 
 
 Rettuleris pannum. Refer et sine vivat ineptus ! 
 
 Res gerere et captos ostendere civibus hostes, 
 
 Attingit solium Io\is et caelestia temptat : 
 
 Principibus placuisse vii'is non ultima laus est. 35 
 
 Non cuivis homini contingit adire Corinthum. 
 
 Sedit qui timuit, ne non succederet : esto. 
 
 Quid 1 qui pervenit fecitne viriliter ? Atqui 
 
 Hie est aut nusquam, quod quaerimus. Hie onus horret, 
 
 Ut parvis animis et parvo corpore mains; ^^^-r - 4° 
 
42 HORACE. [XVII., XVIII. 
 
 Hie subit, et perfert. Aut virtus nomen inanest, 
 
 Aut decus et pretium recte petit experiens vir. 
 
 Coram rege sua de panpertate tacentes 
 
 Plus poseente fereiit : distat, sumasne pudenter 
 
 An rapias ; atqui rerum caput hoc erat, hie fons. 45 
 
 *' Indotata mihi soror est, j^aupercula mater, 
 
 Et fundus nee vendibilis nee paseere firmus " 
 
 Qui dieit, clamat " Victum date." Sueeinit alter 
 
 " Et mihi dividuo findetur munere quadra." 
 
 Sed tacit us pasei si posset corvus, haberet 50 
 
 Plus dapis, et rixae multo minus invidiaeque. 
 
 Brundisium comes aut Surrentum ductus amoenum, 
 
 Qui queritur salebras et acerbum frigus et imbres, 
 
 Aut cistam effraetam et subducta viatica plorat, 
 
 Nota refert meretricis acumina, saepe catellam, 55 
 
 Saepe periscelidem raptam sibi fientis, uti mox 
 
 Nulla tides damnis verisque doloiibus adsit. 
 
 Nee semel inrisus triviis attollere curat 
 
 Fracto crure planum, licet illi plurima manet 
 
 Lacrima, per sanctum iuratus dicat Osirim : 60 
 
 *' Credite, non ludo ; crudeles, toUite claudum." 
 
 " Quaere peregrinum " vicinia rauca reclamat. 
 
 XVIIT. 
 
 Si bene te novi, metues, liberrime Lolli, 
 Scuriantis speeiem praebere, professus amieum. 
 Ut matrona mereti-ici dispar erit atque 
 Discolor, infido scurrae distabit amicus. 
 Est huic diversum vitio vitium prope mains, 
 Asperitas agrestis et inconcinna gravisque, 
 Quae se eommendat tonsa cute, dentibus atris, 
 Dum vult libertas dici mera veraque virtus. 
 Virtus est medium vitiorum et utrimque reductum. 
 
XVIII.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 43 
 
 Alter in obsequium plus aequo pronus et imi lo 
 
 Derisor lecti sic nutum divitis horr.et, 
 
 Sic iterat voces et verba cadentia tollit, 
 
 Ut puerum saevo credas dictata magistro 
 
 Reddere vel partes mimum tractare secundi>s; •- 
 
 Alter rixatur db lana saepe caprina, f ^^ f^^"" 15 
 
 Propugnat nugis armatus : " Scilicet ut non 
 
 Sit mihi prima fides et, vere quod placet, ut non 
 
 Acriter elatrem ! Pretium aetas altera sordet." 
 
 Ambigitur quid enim ? Castor sciat an Dolichos plus ; 
 
 Brundisium Minuci melius via ducat an Appi. 20 
 
 Quern damnosa venus, quern praeceps alea nudat, 
 
 Gloria quern supra vires et vestit et unguit, 
 
 Quern tenet argenti sitis inportuna famesque, 
 
 Quern paupertatis pudor et fuga, dives amicus, 
 
 Saepe decern ^'itiis instructior, odit et horret, 25 
 
 Ant, si non odit, regit ac veluti pia mater 
 
 Plus quam se sapere et virtutibus esse priorem 
 
 Yolt et ait prope vera : " Meae (contendere noli) 
 
 Stultitiam patiuntur opes ; tibi parvola res est : 
 
 Arta decet sanum comitem toga ; desine mecum 30 
 
 Certare." Eutrapelus, cuicumque nocere volebat, 
 
 Yestimenta dabat pretiosa : beatus enim iam 
 
 Cum pulchris tunicis sumet nova consilia et spes, 
 
 Dormiet in lucem, scorto postponet honestum 
 
 Ofiicium, nummos alienos pascet, ad imum 35 
 
 Thi'ax erit aut olitoris aget mercede caballum. 
 
 Arcanum neque tu scrutaberis illius umquam, 
 
 Conmissumque teges et vino tortus et ira. 
 
 Nee tua laudabis studia aut aliena reprendes, 
 
 Nee, cum venari volet ille, poemata panges. 40 
 
 Gratia sic fratrum geminorum, Amphionis atque 
 
 Zethi, dissiluit, donee suspecta severo 
 
 Conticuit lyra. Fraternis cessisse putatur 
 
 Moribus Amphion : tu cede potentis amici 
 
44 HORACE. [XVIII. 
 
 Lenibus imperils, quotiensque educet in agros 45 
 
 Aeoliis onerata plagis iiimenta canesque, ' r A^ 
 
 Surge et inliumanae senium depone Camenae, 
 
 Cenes ut pariter pulmenta laboribus empta : 
 
 Romanis sollemne viris opus, utile famae 
 
 Vitaeque et membris, praesertim cum valeas et 50 
 
 Vel cursu superare canem vel vii'ibus aprum 
 
 Possis. Adde virilia quod speciosius arma 
 
 Non est qui tractet : scis, quo clamore coronae 
 
 Proelia sustineas campestria ; denique saevam 
 
 Militiam puer et Cantabrica bella tulisti 55 
 
 Sub duce, qui templis Parthorum signa refigit 
 
 Nunc et, siquid abest, Italis adiudicat armis. 
 
 Ac ne te retrahas et inexcusabilis absis, 
 
 Quamvis nil extra numerum fecisse modumque 
 
 Curas, interdum nugaris rure paterno : 60 
 
 Partitur lintres exercitus, Actia pugna 
 
 Te duce per pueros hostili more refertur, 
 
 Adversarius est frater, lacus Hadria, donee 
 
 Alterutrum velox victoria fronde coronet. 
 
 Consentire suis studiis qui crediderit te, 65 
 
 Fautor utroque tuum laudabit pollice ludum. 
 
 Protinus ut moneam, siquid monitoris eges tu : 
 
 Quid de quoque viro et cui dicas, saepe videto. 
 
 Percontatorem f ugito : nam garrulus idemst. 
 
 Nee retinent patulae conmissa fideliter aures, 70 
 
 Et semel emissum volat inrevocabile verbum. 
 
 Non ancilla tuum iecur ulceret ulla puerve 
 
 Intra marmoreum venerandi limen amici, 
 
 Ne dominus pueri pulchri caraeve puellae 
 
 Munere te parvo beet aut incommodus angat. 75 
 
 Qualem commendes, etiam atque etiam aspice, ne mox 
 
 Incutiant aliena tibi peccata pudorem. 
 
 Fallimur et quondam non dignuni tradimus : ei'go 
 
 Quern sua culpa premet, deceptus omitte tueri ; 
 
XVIII.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 45 
 
 Ut penitus notum, si temptent crimina, serves 80 
 
 Tuterisque tuo fidentem praesidio : qui 
 
 Dente Theonino cum circumroditur, ecquid 
 
 Ad te post paullo ventura pericula sentis ? 
 
 Nam tua res agitur, paries cum proximus ardet, 
 
 Et neglecta solent incendia sumere vires. 85 
 
 Dulcis inexpertis cultura potentis amici ; 
 
 Expertus metuit. Tu, dum tua navis in altost, 
 
 Hoc age, ne mutata retrorsum te ferat aura. 
 
 Oderunt hilarem tristes tristemque iocosi, 
 
 Sedatum celeres, agilem navumque remissi ; 90 
 
 Potores bibuli media de nocte Falerni 
 
 Oderunt porrecta negantem pocula, quamvis 
 
 Nocturnos iures te formidare tepores. 
 
 Deme supercilio nubem : plerumque modestus 
 
 Occupat obscuri speciem, taciturnus acerbi. 95 
 
 Inter cuncta leges et percontabere doctos, 
 
 Qua ratione queas traducere leniter aevum, 
 
 Num te semper inops agitet vexetque cupido, 
 
 Num pavor et rerum mediocriter utilium spes, 
 
 Virtutem doctrina paret naturane donet, 100 
 
 Quid minuat curas, quid te tibi reddat amicum, 
 
 Quid pure tranquillet, honos an dulce lucellum, 
 
 An secretum iter et fallentis semita \T.tae. 
 
 Me quotiens reficit gelidus Digentia rivus, 
 
 Quem Mandela bibit, rugosus frigore pagus, 105 
 
 Quid sentire putas ? quid credis, amice, precari 1 
 
 " Sit mihi, quod nunc est, etiam minus, et mihi vivam ' ^ ^j. 
 
 Quod superest aevi, siquid superesse volunt di ; '^~. 
 
 Sit bona librorum et provisae frugis in annum 
 
 Copia, neu fiuitem dubiae spe pendulus horae." iic 
 
 Sed satis est orare lovem, quae ponit et aufert : 
 
 Det vitam, det opes ; aequum mi animum ipse parabo. 
 
46 
 
 
 iK-^ 
 
 "^ 
 
 HORACE. / 
 
 XIX. 
 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Fiasco si credis, Maecenas docte, Cratino 
 
 Nulla placere diu nee v^vere carmina possunt, ^ « 
 
 Quae scribuntur aquae potoribus. Ut^male sanos 
 
 Adscripsit Liber Satyris Faunisque poetas, 
 
 Vina fere dulces oluerunt mane Camenae. 5 
 
 Laudibus arguitur vini vinosus Homerus ; 
 
 Ennius ipse pater numquam nisi potus ad arm a 
 
 Frosiluit dicenda. " Forum putealque Libonis 
 
 Mandabo siccis, adimam cantare severis : " 
 
 Hoc simul edixi, non cessavere poetae 10 
 
 Nocturne certare mero, putere diurno. 
 
 Quid 1 siquis voltu torvo ferus et pede nudo 
 
 Exiguaeque togae simulet textore Catonem, , 
 
 Virtutemne repraesentet moresque Catonis ? 
 
 Kupit larbitam Timagenis aemula lingua, 15 
 
 Dum studet urbanus tenditque disertus haberi. 
 
 Decipit exemplar vitiis imitabile : quod- si 
 
 Pallerem casu, biberent exsangue cuminum. 
 
 O imitatores, servum pecus, ut mihi saepe 
 
 Bilem, saepe iocum vestri movere tumultus ! 20 
 
 Libera per vacuum posui vestigia princeps, 
 
 Non aliena meo pressi pede. Qui sibi fidit, 
 
 Dux regit examen. Farios ego primus iambos 
 
 Ostendi Latio, numeros animosque secutus 
 
 Archilochi, non res et agentia verba Lycamben. 25 
 
 Ac ne me foliis ideo brevioribus ornes, 
 
 Quod timui mutare modes et carmini.s artem : 
 
 Temperat Archilochi musam pede mascula Sappho, 
 
 Temperat Alcaeus, sed rebus et ordine dispar, r~^J^ 
 
 Nee socerum quaerit, quem versibus oblinat atris, 30 
 
 Nee sponsae laqueum famoso carmine nectit. 
 
 Hunc ego, non alio dictum pi'ius ore, Latnius 
 
 Volga vi fidicen ; luvat inmemorata ferentem 
 
XIX., XX.] EPISTLES, BOOK I. 47 
 
 Ingenilis oculisque legi manibusque teneri. 
 
 Scire velis, mea cur ingratiis opuscula lector 35 
 
 Laudet ametqiie domi, premat extra limen iniquus. 
 
 Non ego ventosae plebis suifragia venor 
 
 Inpensis cenarum et tritae munere vestis ; 
 
 Non ego, nobilium scriptorum auditor et ultor, 
 
 Grammaticas ambire tribus et pulpita dignor : 40 
 
 Hinc illae lacrimae. '" Spissis indigna theatris 
 
 Scripta pudet recitare et nugis addere pondus " 
 
 Si dixi, " Rides" ait, '-'et lovis auribus ista 
 
 Servas : fidis enim manare poetica mella 
 
 Te solum, tibi pulcher." Ad haec ego naribus uti 45 
 
 Formido et, luctantis acuto ne secer ungui, 
 
 " Displicet iste locus " clamo et diludia posco. 
 
 Ludus enim genuit trepidum certamen et iram, 
 
 Ira truces inimicitias et funebre bellum. 
 
 Vertumnum lanumque, liber, spectare videris, 
 
 Scilicet ut prostes Sosiorum pumice mundus. 
 
 Odisti claves et grata sigilla pudico ; ^ 
 
 Faucis ostendi gemis et communia laudas, ^ 
 
 Non ita nutritus. Fuge quo descendere gestis : 5 
 
 Non erit emisso reditus tibi. "Quid miser egi? 
 
 Quid volui ? " dices, ubi C[uid te laeserit ; et scis 
 
 In breve te cogi, cum plenus languet amator. 
 
 Quod si non odio peccantis desipit augur, 
 
 Carus eris Homae, donee te deserat aetas ; ^ 10 
 
 Contrectatus ubi manibus sordescere volgi 
 
 Coeperis, aut tineas pasces taciturnus inertes 
 
 Aut fugies Uticam aut vinctus mitteris Ilerdam. 
 
 Kidebit monitor non exauditus, ut ille, 
 
 Qui male parentem in rupes protrusit asellum 15 
 
1 
 
 48 HORACE. [XX. 
 
 Iratus ; quis enim invitum servare laboret ? 
 
 Hoc quoque te manet, ut piieros elementa docentem 
 
 Occupet extremis in vicis balba senectus. 
 
 Cum tibi sol tepidus plures admoverit aures, 
 
 Me libertino natum patre et in teniii re ? 20 
 
 Maiores pinnas nidoextendisse loqueris, 
 
 Ut quantum generi cfemas, virtutibus addas; 
 
 Me primis urbis belli placuisse domique, 
 
 Corporis exigui, praecanum, solibus aptum, 
 
 Irasei celerem, tamen ut placabilis essem. 25 
 
 Forte meum siquis te percontabitur aevum : 
 
 Me quater undenos sciat inplevisse Decembres, 
 
 Collegam Lepidum quo dixit LoUius anno. 
 
Q. HOEATI FLACCI 
 
 EPISTULARUM 
 
 LIBER SECUNDUS. 
 
 I. 
 
 /^UM tot sustineas et tanta negotia solus, 
 
 Res Italas armis tuteris, moribus ornes, 
 Legibus emendes : in publica commoda peccem, 
 Si longo sermone morer tua tempora, Caesar. 
 Romulus et Liber pater et cum Castore Pollux, 5 
 
 Post ingentia facta deorum in templa recepti, 
 Dum terras hominumque colunt genus, aspera bella 
 Conponunt, agros adsiguant, oppida condunt, 
 Ploravere suis non respondere favorem • 
 
 Speratum meritis. Diram qui contudit hydram 10 
 
 Notaque fatali portenta labore subegit, 
 Comperit invidiam supremo fine domari. 
 Urit enim fulgore suo, qui praegravat artes 
 Infra se positas ; exstinctus amabitur idem. 
 Praesenti tibi maturos largimur honores, 15 
 
 lurandasque tuum per numen ponimus aras, 
 Nil oriturum alias, nil ortum tale fatentes. 
 Sed tuus hie populus, sapiens et iustus in uno, 
 Te nostris ducibus, te Grais anteferendo. 
 
 Cetera nequaquam simili ratione m.odoc[\ie^^j&' ^^ \^K^ 
 
 
 
50 HORx\CE. [l. 
 
 Aestimat et, nisi quae terris semota suisque 
 
 Temporibus def uncta videt, fastidit et odit, 
 
 Sic fautor veterum, ut tabulas peccare vetantes 
 
 Quas bis qiiinque viri sanxerunt, foedera regum 
 
 Vel Gabiis vel cum rigidis aequata Sabinis, 25 
 
 Pontificum libros, annosa volumina vatum 
 
 Dictitet Albano Musas in monte locutas. 
 
 Si, quia Graiorum sunt antiquissima quaeque 
 
 Scripta vel optima, Romani pensantur eadem 
 
 Scriptores trutina ; non est quod multa loquamur : 30 
 
 Nil intrast olea, nil extrast in nuce duri ; 
 
 Yenimus ad summum fortunae, pingimus atque 
 
 Psallimus et luctamur Achivis doctius unctis. 
 
 Si meliora dies, ut vina,.poemata reddit, , 
 
 Scire velim, cbartis pretium quotus arroget annus. 35 
 
 Scriptor abbinc annos centum qui decidit, inter 
 
 Perfectos veteresque referri debet an inter 
 
 Viles atque novos? Excludat iurgia finis ! 
 
 " Est vetus atque probus, centum qui perficit annos." 
 
 Quid ? qui deperiit minor uno mense vel anno, 40 
 
 Inter quos ref erendus erit ? veteresne poetas. 
 
 An quos et praesens et postera respuat aetas 1 
 
 "■ Iste quidem veteres inter ponetur honeste. 
 
 Qui vel mense brevi vel totost iunior anno." 
 
 Utor permisso, caudaeque pilos ut equinae 45 
 
 Paullatim vello, et demo unum, demo et item iinum, 
 
 Dum cadat elusus ratio ne mentis acervi. 
 
 Qui redit in fastos et virtutem aestimat annis 
 
 Miraturque nihil, nisi quod Libitina sacravit. 
 
 Ennius, et sapiens et fortis et alter Homerus, 50 
 
 Ut critici dicunt, leviter curare videtur. 
 
 Quo promissa cadant et somnia Pythagorea. 
 
 Naevius in manibus non est et mentibus haeret 
 
 Paene recens ] adeo sanctumst vetus omne poema. 
 
 Ambigitur quotiens, uter utro sit prior, aufert 55 
 
I.] EPISTLES, BOOK IT. 51 
 
 Pacuvius docti famam senis, Accius alti, 
 
 Dicitur Afrani toga convenisse Menandro, 
 
 Plautus ad exemplar Siculi properare Epicharmi, 
 
 Vincere Caecilius gravitate, Terentius arte. 
 
 Hos ediscit et hos arto stipata theatro 60 
 
 Spectat Roma potens, habet hos numeratque poetas 
 
 Ad nostrum tempus Livi scriptoris ab aevo. 
 
 Interdum volgus rectum videt ; est ubi peccat. 
 
 Si veteres ita miratur laudatque poetas, 
 
 Ut nihil anteferat, nihil illis conparet : errat ; 65 
 
 Si quaedam nimis antique, si pleraque dure 
 
 Dicere credit eos, ignave multa fatetur, 
 
 Et sapit et mecum facit et love iudicat aequo. 
 
 Non equidem insector delendave carmina Livi 
 
 Esse reor, memini quae plagosum mihi parvo 70 
 
 Orbilium dictare ; sed emendata videri 
 
 Pulchraque et exactis minimum distantia miror. 
 
 Inter quae verbum emicuit si forte decorum, 
 
 Si versus paullo concinnior unus et alter : 
 
 Iniuste totum ducit venditque poema. 75 
 
 Indignor quicquam reprehendi, non quia crasse 
 
 Conpositum inlepideve putetur, sed quia nuper, 
 
 Nee veniam antiquis, sed honorem et praemia posci. 
 
 Recte necne crocum floresque perambulet Attae 
 
 Fabula si dubitem, clament periisse pudorem 80 
 
 Cuncti paene patres, ea cum reprehendere coner, 
 
 Quae gravis Aesopus, quae doctus Roscius egit : 
 
 Vel quia nil rectum, nisi quod placuit sibi, ducunt, 
 
 Vel quia turpe putant par ere minor ibus, et quae 
 
 Inberbi didicere, senes perdenda fateri. 85 
 
 lam Saliare Numae carmen qui laudat et illud. 
 
 Quod mecum ignorat, solus volt scire videri, 
 
 Ingeiiiis non ille favet plauditque sepultis, 
 
 Nostra sed inpugnat, nos nostraque lividus odit. 
 
 Quod si tarn Graiis novitas invisa fuisset 90 
 
f 
 
 52 HORACE. [l. 
 
 Quam nobis, quid nunc esset vetus ? aut quid haberet, 
 Quod legeret tereretque viritim publicus usus ? 
 Ut primum positis nugari Graecia bellis 
 Coepit et in vitium fortuna labier aequa, 
 Nunc athletarum studiis nunc arsit equorum, 95 
 
 Marmoris aut eboris fabros aut aeris amavit, 
 Suspendit picta voltum mentemque tabella, 
 Nunc tibicinibus, nunc est gavisa tragoedis ;- — ^ 
 Sub nutrice puella velut si luderet infans, 
 Quod cupide petiit, mature plena reliquit. 100 
 
 Hoc paces habuere bonae ventique secundi. 
 <^ Romae dulce diu fuit et sollemne reclusa 
 Mane domo vigilare, clienti piomere iura, 
 Cautos nominibus rectis expendere nummos, 
 Maiores audire, minori dicere per quae 105 
 
 Crescere res posset, minui damnosa libido. 
 Quid placet aut odiost, quod non mutabile crtdas ? 
 Mutavit mentem populus levis, et calet uno 
 Scribendi studio : j)ueri patresque severi 
 Fronde comas vincti cenant et carmina dictant. 110 
 
 Ipse ego, qui nullos me adfirmo scribere versus, 
 Invenior Parthis mendacior, et prius orto 
 Sole vigil calamum et chartas et scrinia posco. 
 Navim agere ignarus navis timet, abrotonum aegro 
 Non audet nisi qui didicit dare, quod medicorumst, 115 
 
 Promittunt medici, tractant fabrilia fabri ; 
 Scribimus indocti doctique poemata passim. 
 Hie error tamen et levis haec insania quantas 
 Virtutes habeat, sic collige-: vatis avarus 
 Non temerest animus ; versus amat, hoc studet unum ; 120 
 Detrimenta, fugas servorum, incendia ridet, 
 Non fraudem socio puerove incogitat ullam 
 Pupillo ; vivit siliquis et pane secundo ; 
 Militiae quamquam piger et mains, vitilis urbi. 
 Si das hoc, parvis quoque rebus magna iuvari. 125 
 
I.l EPISTLES, BOOK II. 53 
 
 Os tenerum pueri balbumque poeta figurat, 
 
 Torquet ab obscaenis iam nunc sermonibus aiirem, 
 
 Mox etiam pectus praeceptis format amicis, 
 
 Asperitatis et invidiae corrector et irae, 
 
 Recte facta refert, orientia tempora notis 130 
 
 Instruit exemplis, inopem solatur et aegrum. 
 
 Castis cum pueris ignara puella mariti 
 
 Disceret unde preces, vatem ni Musa dedisset ? 
 
 Poscit opem chorus et praesentia numina sentit, 
 
 Caelestes inplorat aquas docta prece blandiis, 135 
 
 Avertit morbos, metuenda pericula pellit, 
 
 Inpetrat et pacem et locupletem frugibus annum. 
 
 Carmine di superi placantur, carmine Manes. 
 
 Agricolae prisci, fortes parvoque beati, 
 
 Condita post frumenta levantes tempore festo 140 
 
 Corpus et ipsum animum spe finis dura ferentem, 
 
 Cum sociis operum, pueris et coniuge fida, 
 
 Tellurem porco, Silvanum lacte piabant, 
 
 Floribus et vino Genium memorem brevis aevi. 
 
 Fescennina per hunc invecta licentia morem 145 
 
 Versibus alternis opprobria rustica fudit, 
 
 Libertasque recurrentes accepta per annos 
 
 Lusit amabiliter, donee iam saevus apertam 
 
 In rabiem coepit verti iocus et per honestas 
 
 Ire domos inpune minax. Doluere cruento 150 
 
 Dente lacessiti, f uit intactis quoque cura 
 
 Condicione super communi, quin etiam lex 
 
 Poenaque lata, malo quae nollet carmine quemquam 
 
 Describi ; vertere modum formidine fustis 
 
 Ad bene dicendum delectandumque redacti. 155 
 
 Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit, et artes 
 
 Intulit agresti Latio : sic horridus ille 
 
 Defluxit numerus Saturnius, et grave virus 
 
 Munditiae pepulere ; sed in longum tamen aevum 
 
 Manserunt hodieque manent vestigia ruris. 160 
 
54 HORACE. [l. 
 
 Serus enim Graecis adinovit acumina chartis, 
 
 Et post Punica bella quietus quaerere coepit, 
 
 Quid Sophocles et Tliespis et Aeschylus utile ferrent. 
 
 Temptfbvit quoque rem si digue vertere posset, 
 
 Et placuit sibi, natura sublimis et acer : 165 
 
 Nam spirat tragicum satis et feliciter audet, 
 
 Sed turpem putat inscite metuitque lituram. 
 
 Creditur, ex medio quia res arcessit, habere 
 
 Sudoris minimum, sed habet comoedia tanto 
 
 Plus oneris, quanto veniae minus. Adspice, Plautus 170 
 
 Quo pacto partes tutetur amantis ephebi, 
 
 TJt patris attenti, lenonis ut insidiosi, 
 
 Quantus sit Dossennus edacibus in parasitis, 
 
 Quam non adstricto percurrat pulpita socco : 
 
 Gestit enim nummum in loculos demittere, post hoc 175 
 
 Securus, cadat an recto stet fabula talo. 
 
 Quem tulit ad scaenam ventoso Gloria curru, 
 
 Exanimat lent us spectator, sedulus in flat : 
 
 Sic leve, sic parvumst, animum quod laudis avarum 
 
 Submit aut reficit. Valeat res ludici-a : si me iSo 
 
 Palma negata macrum, donata reducit opimum. 
 
 Saepe etiam audacem fugat hoc terretque poetam, 
 
 Quod numero plures, virtute et honore minores, 
 
 Indocti stolidique et depugnare parati, 
 
 Si discordet eques, media inter carmina poscunt 185 
 
 Aut ursum aut pugiles : his nam plebecula gaudet. 
 
 Yerum equitis quoque iam migravit ab aure voluptas 
 
 Omnis ad incertos oculos et gaudia vana. 
 
 Quattuor aut pluros aulaea premuntur in horas, 
 
 Dam fugiunt equitum turmae peditumque catervae ; 190 
 
 Mox trahitur manibus regum fortuna retortis, 
 
 Esseda festinant, pilenta, petorrita, naves, 
 
 Captivum portatur ebur, captiva Corinthus. 
 
 Si foret in terris, rideret Democritus, seu 
 
 Diversum confusa genus panthera camelo 195 
 
I.] EPISTLES, BOOK II. 
 
 55 
 
 Sive elephas albus volgi converteret era ; 
 
 Spectaret populum ludis attentius ipsis, 
 
 Ut sibi praebentem nimio spectacula plura, 
 
 Scriptores aiitem narrare putaret asello 
 
 Fabellam siirdo. Nam quae pervincere voces 200 
 
 Evaluere sonum, ref erunt quern nostra tbeatra 1 
 
 Garganum mugire putes nemus aut mare Tuscum, 
 
 Tanto cum strepitu ludi spectantur et artes 
 
 Divitiaeque peregrinae, quibus oblitus actor 
 
 Cum stetit in scaena, concurrit dextera laevae. 205 
 
 Dixit adhuc aliquicl ? Nil sane. Quid placet ergo 1 
 
 Lana Tarentino violas imitata veneno. 
 
 Ac ne forte putes me, quae facere ipse recusem, 
 
 Cum recte tractent alii, laudare maligne : 
 
 Ille per extentum funem mihi posse videtur 210 
 
 Ire poeta, meum qui pectus inaniter angit, 
 
 Inritat, mulcet, falsis terroribus inplet, 
 
 Ut magus, et modo me Thebis modo ponit Athenis. 
 
 Verum age et his, qui se lectori credere malunt 
 
 Quam spectatoris fastidia ferre superbi, 215 
 
 Curam redde brevem, si munus Apolline dignum 
 
 Vis conplere libris et vatibus addere calcar, 
 
 Ut studio maiore petant Helicona virentem. 
 
 Multa quidem nobis facimus mala saepe poetae, 
 
 Ut vineta egomet caedam mea, cum tibi librum 220 
 
 Sollicito damns aut f esso ; cum laedimur, unum 
 
 Siquis amicorumst ausus reprehendere versum ; 
 
 Cum loca iam recitata revolvimus inrevocati ; 
 
 Cum lamentamur, non adparere labores 
 
 Nostros et tenui deducta poemata filo ; 225 
 
 Cum speramus eo rem venturam, ut simul atque 
 
 Carmina rescieris nos fingere, commodus ultro 
 
 Arcessas et egere vetes et scribere cogas. 
 
 Sed tamen est operae pretium cognoscere, quales 
 
 Aedituos habeat belli spectata domique 230 
 
56 HORACE. [l. 
 
 Virtus, indigno non conmittenda poetae. 
 
 Gratus Alexandre regi Magno fait ille 
 
 Clioeriliis, incultis qui versibus et male natis 
 
 Ilettulit acceptos, regale nomisma, Philippos. 
 
 Sed veluti tractata notam labemque remittunt 235 
 
 Atramenta, fere scriptores carmine foedo 
 
 Splendida facta linunt. Idem rex ille, poema 
 
 Qui tam ridiculum tarn care prodigus emit, 
 
 Edicto vetuit, nequis se praeter Apellem 
 
 Pingeret, aut alius Lysippo duceret aera 240 
 
 Fortis Alexandri voltum simulantia. Qiiod.si 
 
 Judicium subtile videndis artibus illud 
 
 Ad libros et ad haec Musarum dona vocares : 
 
 Boeotum in crasso iurares aei-e natum. 
 
 At neque dedecorant tua de se indicia atque 245 
 
 Munera, quae multa dantis cum laude tulerunt 
 
 Dilecti tibi Vergilius Variusque poetae, 
 
 Nee magis expressi voltus per ahenea signa, 
 
 Quam per vatis opus mores animique virorum 
 
 Clarorum adparent. Nee sermones ego mallem 250 
 
 Repentes per liumum quam res conponere gestas 
 
 Terrarumque situs et flumina dicere et arces 
 
 Montibus inpositas et barbara regna, tuisque 
 
 Auspiciis totum confecta duella per orbem, 
 
 Claustraque custodem pacis cohibentia lanum, 255 
 
 Et formidatam Partbis te principe Pomam, 
 
 Si quantum cuperem possem quoque ; sed neque parvum 
 
 Carmen maiestas recipit tua, nee mens audet 
 
 Pem temptaio piulor quam vires ferre recusent. 
 
 Sedulitas autem stulte, quem diligit, urguet, 260 
 
 Praecipue cum se numeris commendat et arte : 
 
 Discit enim citius meminitque libentius illud 
 
 Quod quis deridet, quam quod probat et veneratur. 
 
 Nil moror oilicium, quod me gravat, ac neque ficto 
 
 In peius voltu proponi cereus usquam 265 
 
I., II.] EPISTLES, BOOK II. 
 
 57 
 
 Nec prave factis decorari versibus opto, 
 
 Ne rubeam pingui donatiis mimere, et una 
 
 Cum scriptore meo capsa porrectus operta 
 
 Deferar in vicum vendentem tus et odorcs 
 
 Et piper et quidquid chartis amicitur ineptis. 270 
 
 II. 
 
 Flore, bono claroque fidelis amice Neroni, 
 
 Siquis forte velit puerum tibi vendere natum 
 
 Tibure vel Gabiis, et tecum sic a gat " Hie et 
 
 Candidus et talos a vertice pulcher ad imos 
 
 Fiet eritque tuus nummorum milibus octo, 5 
 
 Verna ministeriis ad nutus aptus eriles, 
 
 Literulis Graecis imbutus, idoneus arti 
 
 Cuilibet : argilla quidvis imitaberis uda : 
 
 Quin etiam canet indoctum sed dulce bibenti. 
 
 Multa fidem promLssa levant, ubi plenius aequo 10 
 
 Laudat venales qui volt extrudere merces. 
 
 Res urguet me nulla : meo sum pauper in aere. 
 
 Nemo hoc mangonum faceret tibi ; non temere a me 
 
 Qui vis ferret idem. Semel hie cessavit et, ut fit, 
 
 In scalis latuit metuens pendentis habenae ; 15 
 
 Des nummos, excepta nihil te si f uga laedit " : 
 
 Ille ferat pretium poenae securus opinor. 
 
 Prudens emisti vitiosum, dicta tibist lex : 
 
 Insequeris tamen hunc et lite moraris iniqua ? 
 
 Dixi me pigrum proficiscenti tibi, dixi 20 
 
 Talibus officiis prope mancum, ne mea saevus 
 
 lurgares ad te quod epistola nulla rediret. 
 
 Quid turn profeci, mecum facientia iura 
 
 Si tamen attemptas 1 QuererLs super hoc etiam, quod 
 
 Exspectata tibi non mittam carmina mendax. 25 
 
 Luculli miles collecta viatica multis 
 
58 
 
 HORACE. 
 
 [II. 
 
 Aeriimnis, lassus dum noctu stertit, ad asseni 
 
 Perdiderat : post hoc vemens lupus et sibi et hosti 
 
 Iratus pariter, ieiunis dentibus acer, 
 
 Praesidium regale loco deiecit, ut aiunt, 30 
 
 Sum me muni to et multariim divite rerum. 
 
 Clarus ob id factum, donis ornatur honestis, 
 
 Accipit et bis dena super sestertia nummum. 
 
 Porte sub hoc tempus castellum evertere praetor 
 
 Nescio quod cupiens, hortari coepit eundem 35 
 
 Verbis, quae timido quoque possent addere mentem : 
 
 " I bone, quo virtus tua te vocat, i pede fausto, 
 
 Grandia laturus meritorum pr^emia. Quid stas 1 " 
 
 Post haec ille catus, quantum vis rusticus " Ibit, 
 
 Ibit eo, quo vis, qui zonam perdidit " inquit. 40 
 
 Ptomae nutriri mihi contigit atque doceri, 
 
 Iratus Grais quantum nocuisset Achilles. 
 
 Adiecere bonae paulo plus artis Athenae, 
 
 Scilicet ut possem curvo dignoscere rectum 
 
 Atque inter silvas Academi quaerere verum. 45 
 
 Dura sed emovere loco me tempora grato, 
 
 Givilisque rudem belli tulit aestus in arma, 
 
 Caesaris Augusti non responsura lacertis. 
 
 Undo simul primum me dimisere Philippi, 
 
 Decisis humilem pinnis inopemque paterni 50 
 
 Et laris et fundi paupertas inpulit audax, 
 
 Ut versus facerem. Sed quod non desit habentem 
 
 Quae poterunt umquam satis expurgare cicutae, 
 
 Ni melius dormire putem quam scribere versus ? 
 
 Singula de nobis anni praedantur euntes : 55 
 
 Eripuere iocos, venerem, convivia, ludum ; 
 
 Tendunt extorquere poemata : quid faciam vis ? 
 
 Denique non omnes eadem mirantur amantque : 
 
 Carmine tu gaudes, hie delectatur iambis, 
 
 Ille Bioneis sermonibus et sale nigro. 60 
 
 Tres mihi convivae prope dissentire videntur, 
 
II.] EPISTLES, BOOK II. 59 
 
 Poscentes vario multum diversa palato. 
 
 Quid dem ? quid non dem ? renuis tu, quod iubet alter ; 
 
 Quod petis, id sanest invisum acidumque duobus. 
 
 Praeter cetera me Romaene poemata censes 65 
 
 Scribere posse inter tot curas totque labores ? 
 
 Hie sponsum vocat, hie auditum scripta relictis 
 
 Omnibus officiis ; cubat hie in colle Quirini, 
 
 Hie extreme in Aventino, \isendus uterque : 
 
 Intervalla \TLdes humane commoda. " Yerum 70 
 
 Purae sunt plateae, nihil ut meditantibus obstet." 
 
 Festinat calidus mulis gerulisque redemptor, 
 
 Torquet nunc lapidem, nunc ingens machina tignum, 
 
 Tristia robustis luctantur funera plaustris, 
 
 Hac rabiosa fugit canis, hac lutulenta ruit sus : 75 
 
 I nunc et versus tecum meditare canoros. 
 
 Scriptorum chorus omnis amat nemus et fugit urbes, 
 
 E,ite cliens Bacchi somno gaudentis et umbra : 
 
 Tu me inter strepitus nocturnes atque diurnos 
 
 Vls canere et contracta sequi vestigia vatum ? 80 
 
 Ingenium, sibi quod vacuas desumsit Athenas 
 
 Et studiis annos septem dedit insenuitque 
 
 Libris et curis, statua taciturnius exit 
 
 Plerumque et risu populum quatit : hie ego rerum 
 
 Fluctibus in mediis et tempestatibus urbis 85 
 
 Verba lyrae motura sonum conectere digner ? 
 
 Prater erat Romae consulti rhetor, ut alter 
 
 Alterius sermone meros audiret honores, 
 
 Gracchus ut hie illi, foret huic ut Mucius ille. 
 
 Qui minus argutos vexat furor iste poetas ? 90 
 
 Carmina conpono, hie elegos. Mirabile visu 
 
 Caelatumque novem Musis opus ! Adspice primum, 
 
 Quanto cum fastu, quanto molimine circum 
 
 Spectemus vacuam Roman is vatibus aedem ; 
 
 Mox etiam, si forte vacas, sequere et procul audi, 95 
 
 Quid ferat et quaresjMiie^fcat uterque coronam. 
 
r)0 HORACE. [ll, 
 
 Caedimur et totidem plagis consumimus hostem 
 
 Lento Samnites ad lumina prima duello. 
 
 Discedo Alcaeus puncto illius ; ille meo quis ? 
 
 Quis nisi Callimachus ? si plus adposcere visus, loo 
 
 Fit IMimnermus et optivo cognomine crescit. 
 
 Multa fero, ut placem genus inritabile vatum, 
 
 Cum scribo et supplex populi sufFragia capto ; 
 
 Idem finitis studiis et mente recejDta 
 
 Obturem patulas inpune legentibus aures. 105 
 
 Ridentur mala qui conponunt carmina ; verum 
 
 Gaudent seribentes et se venerantur et ultro, 
 
 Si taceas, laudant quidquid scripsere beati. 
 
 At qui legitimum cupiet fecisse poema, 
 
 Cum tabulis animum censoris sumet lionesti. no 
 
 Audebit, quaecumque parum splendoris habebunt 
 
 Et sine pondere erunt et honore indigna ferentur, 
 
 Verba movere loco, quamvis invita recedant 
 
 Et versentur adhuc intra penetralia Vestae ; 
 
 Obscurata din populo bonus eruet atque 1 15 
 
 Proferet in lucem speciosa vocabula rerum, 
 
 Quae priscis memorata Catonibus atque Cethegia 
 
 Nunc situs informis premit et deserta vetustas; 
 
 Adsciscet nova, quae genitor produxerit usus. 
 
 Yemens et liquidus puroque simillimus amni 1 20 
 
 Fundet opes Latiumque beabit divite lingua ; 
 
 Luxuriantia conpescet, nimis aspera sano 
 
 Levabit cultu, virtute carentia toilet, 
 
 Ludentis speciem dabit et torquebitur, ut qui 
 
 Nunc Satyrum, nunc agrestem Cyclopa movetur. 125 
 
 Praetulerim scriptor delirus inersque videri, 
 
 Dum mea delectent mala me vel denique fallant, 
 
 Qiiam sapore et ringi 1 Fuit baud ignobilis Argis, 
 
 Qui se credebat miros audire tragoedos 
 
 In vacuo laetus sessor plau.sorque tbeatro, 130 
 
 Cetera qui vitae sei-varet munia recto 
 
II.] EPISTLES, BOOK II. 61 
 
 More, bonus sane vicinus, amabilis hospes, 
 
 Comis in uxorem, posset qui ignoscere servis 
 
 Et signo laeso non insanire lagoenae, 
 
 Posset qui rupem et puteuin vitare paten tern : 135 
 
 Hie ubi cognatorum opibus curisque refectus 
 
 Expulit elleboro morbum bilemque meraco, 
 
 Et redit ad sese " Pol, me occidistis, amici, 
 
 Non servastis " ait, " cui sic extorta voluptas 
 
 Et demptus per vim mentis gratissimus error." 140 
 
 Nimirum saperest abiectis utile nugls, 
 
 Et tempestivum pueris concedere ludum, 
 
 Ac non verba sequi fidibus modulanda Latinis, 
 
 Sed verae numerosque modosque ediscere vitae. 
 
 Quocirca mecum loquor haec tacitusque recorder : 145 
 
 Si tibi nulla sitim finiret copia lymphae, 
 
 Narrares medicis : quod, quanto plura parasti, 
 
 Tanto plura cupis, nuUine faterier audes ? 
 
 Si volnus tibi monstrata radice vel herba 
 
 Non fieret levius, fugeres radice vel herba 150 
 
 Proficiente nihil curarier : audieras, cui 
 
 Pern di donarent, illi decedere pravam 
 
 Stultitiam ; et, cum sis nihilo sapientior, ex quo 
 
 Plenior es, tamen uteris monitoribus isdem ? 
 
 At si divitiae prudentem reddere possent, 155 
 
 Si cupidum timidumque minus te : nempe ruberes, 
 
 Viveret in terris te siquis avarior uno. 
 
 Si propriumst, quod quis libra mercatur et aere, 
 
 Quaedam, si credis consultis, mancipat usus : 
 
 Qui te pascit ager, tuus est, et villous Orbi, 160 
 
 Cum segetes occat tibi mox frumenta daturas, 
 
 Te dominum sentit. Das nummos, accipis uvam, 
 
 Pullos, ova, cadum temeti : nempe modo isto 
 
 Paullatim mercaris agrum, fortasse trecentis 
 
 Aut etiam supra nummorum milibus emptum. 165 
 
 Quid ref ert, vivas numerato nuper an olim ? 
 
62 ■ HORACE. . [ll. 
 
 Emptor Aricini quondam Veientis et arvi 
 
 Emptum cenat olus, quamvis aliter putat : emptis 
 
 Sub noctem gelidam lignis calefactat ahenum ; 
 
 Sed vocat usque suum, qua populus adsita certis 170 
 
 Limitibus vicina refugit iurgia ; tamquam 
 
 Sit proprium quicquam, puncto quod mobilis horae 
 
 Nunc prece, nunc pretio, nunc vi, nunc morte suprema 
 
 Permutet dominos et cedat in altera iura. 
 
 Sic quia perpetuus nulli datur usus, et heres 1 7 5 
 
 Heredem alternis velut unda super venit undam, 
 
 Quid vici prosunt aut horrea ? quidve Calabris 
 
 Saltibus adiecti Lucani, si metit Orcus 
 
 Grandia cum parvis, non exorabilis auio ? 
 
 Gemmas, marmor, ebur, Tyrrhena sigilla, tabellas, 180 
 
 Argentum, vestes Gaetulo murice tinctas 
 
 Sunt qui non habeant, est qui non curat habere. 
 
 Cur alter fratrum cessare et ludere et ungui 
 
 Praeferat Herodis palmetis pinguibus, alter 
 
 Dives et inportunus ad umbram lucis ab ortu 185 
 
 Silvestrem flammis et ferro mitiget agrum, 
 
 Scit Genius, natale comes qui temperat astrum, 
 
 Naturae deus humanae, mortalis in unum 
 
 Quodque caput, voltu mutabilis, albus et ater. 
 
 Utar et ex modico, quantum res poscet, acervo 190 
 
 ToUam nee metuam, quid de me iudicet heres. 
 
 Quod non plura datis invenerit ; et tamen idem 
 
 Scire volam, quantum simplex hilarisque nepoti 
 
 Discrepet et quantum discordet parcus avaro. 
 
 Distat enim, spargas tua prodigus, an neque sumptum 195 
 
 Invitus facias neqae plura parare labores, 
 
 Ac potius, puer ut testis Quinquatribus olim, 
 
 Exiguo gratoque f maris tempore raptim. 
 
 Pauperies inmunda tamen procul absit : ego utrum 
 
 Nave ferar magna an parva, ferar unus et idem. 200 
 
 Non agimur tumidis velis Aquilone secundo : 
 
II.] EPISTLES, BOOK II. 63 
 
 Non tamen adversis aetatem ducimiis Austris, 
 
 Viribus, ingenio, specie, virtute, loco, re 
 
 Extremi primorum, extremis usque priores. 
 
 Non es avarus : abi. Quid ? Cetera iam simul isto 205 
 
 Cum vitio f ugere ? Caret tibi pectus inani 
 
 Ambitione ? caret mortis formidine et ira ? 
 
 Somnia, terrores, magicos, miracula, sagas, 
 
 Nocturnos lemures portentaque Thessala rides ? 
 
 Natales grate numeras ? ignoscis amicis ? 210 
 
 Lenior et melior fis accedente senecta ? 
 
 Quid te exempta levat spinis de pluribus una ? 
 
 Vivere si recte nescis, decede peritis. 
 
 Lusisti satis, edisti satis atque bibisti : 
 
 Tempus abire tibist, ne potum largius aequo 215 
 
 Rideat et pulset lasciva decentius aetas. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 Note.— Proper names of importance which are not mentioned in the Notes will be 
 found in the Index. An obelus (t) indicates that the reading is doubtful. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 EPISTLE I. 
 
 Argument. — You, Maecenas^ would call me hack again to the 
 lighter poetry of my earlier days, hut I am iiutting away trifling 
 and turning to the study of life. I am striving after virtue, and if 
 I cannot attain to perfection, I can put into practice the elementary 
 rules of a virtuous life. At Home ice see every man making Mammon 
 his god. Self-seeking, characterised hy strange inconsistency, is the 
 ruling principle of the ivorld. To ivhoni then shall ice turn for 
 guidance'/ To the Stoics, with their paradox that the virtuous man 
 is the happy man. 
 
 [See Index for Aristippus, Baiae, Maecenas.] 
 
 1. prima : supply Camcna from the following clause. The ablative 
 is one denoting vaguely the means by which, dicte : voc. with Maecenas 
 (v. 3). mihi : dative of the agent. This dative is regularly used with 
 the gerundive, and occasionally with the passive participle and adjec- 
 tives in -hilis. It rarely occurs after the present, imperfect, or future. 
 summa : " last," equivalent to ultima ; in this sense suprenius is 
 more common. Camena : the Camenae were the Italian goddesses 
 of song corresponding to the Greek Muses (^Movarai). Here Camena 
 is used as the personification of song Qcarmen). Translate "ray 
 earliest Muse." 
 
 2. spectatum : "approved." The metaphor in this and the following 
 clause is from the life of a gladiator, donatum . . . rude : lit. " pre- 
 sented with the foil." Rudis was a wooden swoni, used by the 
 gladiator in practice, and presented to him on his discharge as a 
 token that he was no longer to take part in mortjil combats, liude 
 is ablative of means after dono, which takes two constructions : dono 
 tihi aliquid, " I present something to you " ; (2) dono te alirjua re, '• I 
 present you with something." 
 
 3. antique . . . ludo : " in my old training school." The omission 
 
 61 
 
I.J KOTES. G5 
 
 of the preposition in before the ablative of a common noun, expressing 
 place where, is in ordinary prose almost confined to special words (e.g. 
 loco'), and to expressions with totus or medius as attribute, includere, 
 the inf. with qiiaero is not found in good prose. 
 
 4. eademst : = cadem eat, a poetic elision, mens : '' humour," '' in- 
 clination." Veianius : a veteran gladiator of the class mentioned in 
 r. 2. armis : with Jixis (r. 5), ablative of attendant circumstances 
 (abl. abs.). 
 
 5. Herculis ad postern : on his retirement the gladiator had hung 
 his armour upon a pillar in some temple of Hercules, the patron god 
 of gladiators and athletes, agro : ablative of place where, without 
 a preposition ; see v. 3, n. 
 
 6. totiens : i.e. as often as before his retirement, extrema arena : 
 " at or from the edge of the arena," ablative either of place where or 
 place from which, without a preposition ; cp. v. 3, n. 
 
 7. mihi : dative of advantage, purgatam : •* well cleansed." i.e. 
 " listening." personet : consecutive or generic subjunctive (a variety 
 of the consecutive use) after qui ; cp. r. 77, n. 
 
 8. mature sanus : these should be taken together = '• timely wise." 
 
 9. ilia ducat: lit. "strain his flanks," i.e. "become broken- winded." 
 
 10. ludicra : "playthings," "trifles," such as the iocos, convlvia, 
 etc., mentioned in II. ii. 56 ; versus refers to the lyric poems (the 
 Odes, etc.) of Horace's earlier days. See Introduction, § 3. pono : =« 
 depono, " put aside." 
 
 11. quid verum : supply 5^^. euro: by study, rogo : by inquiry 
 from others. 
 
 12. possim : final subjunctive after quae, the relative representing 
 talia ut ea. 
 
 13. ne . . . roges : this final clause expresses the purpose, not of 
 the principal action itself {defevor. v. 15), but of the mention of that 
 action, quo , . . duce, quo Lare : ablative of attendant circum- 
 stances, '• with whom as my leader, with what house as my home." 
 Bnce denotes the leader of a philosophical school. The Zar was the 
 tutelaiy spirit of the family, and is here nsed poetically for the house 
 (^i.e. philosophical school). 
 
 1-4. addictus : technically used of an insolvent debtor, assigned to 
 his creditor as a slave, here = " sentenced." iurare in verba magistri : 
 Jit. "to swear after a set formula of words dictated by a trainer," 
 hence '-to swear allegiance to a trainer." The infinitive here is 
 usually explained as complementary, i.e. completing the sense. The 
 infinitive both in Greek and Latin was originally a case — usually a 
 dative — of a verbal noun. As a dative it may denote an action to 
 which that of the main verb is directed, or for which it exists, e.g. 
 nee vieina suhe.^t vinnm praehere tahcrna, "and there is no tavern 
 near to furnish wine " (I. xiv. 24). As an accusative it is used in 
 q%iaeris includere (?•?•. 2, 3), 2a\&fe.%tinas demere, " you hasten to take 
 away" (I. ii. 38). In fact, the infinitive is used as an indeclinable 
 noun in any case relation. Particularly irotta^^i^hy in Horace is the 
 frequent use of the infinitive in-vaiiotts case rela^ns with adjectival 
 
66 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK 1. [l. 
 
 words, e.g. add ictus iurare, "sentenced to swear" ; fmges consumere 
 natl, "born to devour the fruits of the ground" (I. ii. 27); dare 
 idojicvs, " fit to give" (I. xvi. 12) ; and further instances in I, iii. B5, 
 I. X. 2G, T. xvii. 47. This so-called complementary infinitive is not 
 to be imitated in prose, where we should require adfmges conswnendaii 
 vati, for fniges consumcrf nati. 
 
 15. quo : closely with cuviqiw. '• whithersoever." This separation 
 is called Tmesis ("cutting"), deferor : the regular term to express 
 '* come to land." 
 
 IG. agilis : "a man of action." mersor : used reflexively, " I plunge 
 myself." 
 
 17, virtutis : objective genitive with mistos and satelles. 
 
 20. dies : dies is often feminine in poetry for metrical reasons, 
 as here ; dies is nearly always masculine in classical prose in the 
 singular, except when it denotes an indefinite period, or the set day 
 appointed for a transaction, in which cases it is usually feminine. 
 
 21. opus dehentibus : = opcrariis, "labourers," "those who are 
 bound to perform some task." 
 
 22. custodia : " control" generally, though not legally, as a^woman 
 could not be a legal guardian (tvtor^. 
 
 23. tarda . . . ingrata: " slowly and unpleasantly." An adjectival 
 attribute is often thus used in Latin, where the English idiom usually 
 requires an adverb or an adverbial phrase, spem consiliumque : = 
 the fulfilment of my hope and the carrying out of my plan. 
 
 2-1. id : the stiidy of moral philosophy, 
 
 26. neglectum : the participle here serves for the protasis of the 
 conditional sentence, being equivalent to si neglectum. fucrit. 
 
 27. ut : here explanatory, a development of the consecutive use : the 
 clause introduced by ut is virtually the subject of restat. elementis 
 " rudiments," " principles," 
 
 28. possis : concessive subjunctive, coming under the use of the 
 subjunctive called jussive. Construe : Non jwssis oculo contendere 
 quantum Lynceus {contendere jwtvit). Quantnm, is an accusative of 
 extent of space used adverbially. Lynceus : one of the Argonauts, 
 famous for the keenness of his sight. 
 
 29. contemnas : hypothetical subjunctive, taking inungni as accusa- 
 tive of the direct object; lit. " do not neglect anointment'" (see nolo 
 on v. 14). Lippus forms the protasis of the conditional sentence, 
 and is equivalent to .si Hjjjjus sis ; cp. r. 26 ; j)ossis in r. 28 is also 
 logically a protasis to contemnas. 
 
 'SO. desperes : subjunctive indicating the reason which it is assiimed 
 Maecenas might urge. Glyconis : a celebrated athlete, contemporary 
 with Horace. 
 
 31. nolis : potential subjunctive; this is reall}^ a conditional sub- 
 junctive, the omitted protasis being easily supplied, or .v/ lieeat, " if 
 you had the chance," Prohihere here takes the ablative of the thing 
 kept off ; it also takes the accusative of the thing kept olf , e.g. jir oh Here 
 aliquo aliquid, " to keep something away from some one," 
 
 32, est : = lieet^ "it is possible." Quadam goes closely with tenus 
 
'■] 
 
 NOTES. 67 
 
 (always placed after its case), and is an adverbial ablative feminine 
 like hactemis, aliqnatenus, and ultra. 
 
 33. fervet .... sunt : this is virtually a conditional sentence 
 without si ; cp. vv. 36, 37 . . . tumes : sunt . . . cupidine : always 
 masculine in Horace. 
 
 34. verba : "magic words," "spells." voces: '"incantations." 
 
 35. possis : generic subjunctive (a variety of the consecutive use) 
 with quihas. 
 
 36. piacula : properly " propitiatory sacrifices," here put meta- 
 phorically for "remedies." 
 
 37. ter pure lecto . . . libello : three is the magic number. Pure 
 means "after purification," "with pure heart." Lihello refers to 
 the precepts in some philosophical work which were to be road 
 through thrice, just as magic formulae might be thrice repeated. The 
 ablative is one of attendant circumstance (abl. abs.). 
 
 40. culturae : dative of the indirect object with commodet. 
 
 41. virtus : supply ^jr/;«rt from the following clause. 
 
 42. caruisse : careo here, as often, means •' to get rid of." The 
 tense is a present perfect, and is used of an action already completed 
 before the present time, so that the result, rather than the action 
 itself, is present to the mind, — " to have got rid of." 
 
 44. devites : subjunctive in dependent question after y?/fl?i^f> labore. 
 capitis : = corjjoris. Caput is often used to denote " oneself," " one's 
 life." 
 
 46. per mare, per saxa, per ignes : the English proverbial ex- 
 pression corresponding to this is " Through, fire and water." 
 
 48. meliori : = a better and a wiser man. 
 
 50. magna coronari . . . Olympia: cognate accusative retained 
 after the passive verb, being an imitation of a construction common 
 in Greek. This " retained accusative " should be carefully dis- 
 tinguished from the accusative after a passive verb used reflexively, 
 e.g. suspensi loculos, v. 56. The Olympic games were the chief 
 national festival of the Greeks, celebrated in honour of Zeus (Jupiter) 
 at Olympia, in Elis. 
 
 51. sit : conditional subjunctive with cui = si ei, thus it forms a 
 protasis to the preceding question, Quis . . . contemnat? condicio : 
 " terms," " prospect." sine pulvere : a metaphor from the dusty 
 arena. 
 
 54. lanus summus ab imo : the reference is probably to certain 
 archways which stood along the N.E. side of the Forum at Rome ; 
 the phrase would then mean " all the lani, or archways, from first 
 to last," Zzf. "the highest irtWM.s starting from the lowest." In and 
 around these lani bankers and mon^y-lenders did their business. 
 Bentley and others suppose lanus to have been the name of a street, 
 possibly a covered way or arcade near the Forum ; the phrase then 
 means "the whole lamis fi-om top to bottom," lit. "the top of the 
 lanus starting from the bottom"; cp. Satires II. iii. 18, 19, lanuvi 
 ad medium, which may mean either (i) "at the Middle Arcade," or 
 (ii) " at the middle of the Arcade." 
 
GS HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK 1. [l. 
 
 55. prodocet: "teaches openly." recinunt : '-repeat in sing-song 
 
 tone." 
 
 56. loculos : accusative of the direct object, governed by snapcnfti, 
 the participle having a " middle" force, and meaning "having slung 
 upon themselves." 
 
 57. The conditional clause from rs-t down to desnnt forms a protasis 
 which is answered by jylchs cris (v. 59). lingua : " eloquence." fides : 
 " honourable position," " credit" in the financial world. 
 
 58. quadringentis : snpiAj viiUbus sestertium, i.e. 4:00,000 sesterces. 
 By the law of L. Roscius Otho (B.C. 67) the fortune required for a 
 member of the equeater ordo {cemns cqneMer) was 400,000 sesterces. 
 They had the right of sitting in the first fourteen rows immediately 
 behind the Senate, who sat in the Orchestra, sex septem : "six or 
 seven " ; this omission of the conjunction is termed asyndeton. 
 
 59. plebs : " one of the meaner sort." The word is not here used 
 in its technical sense of plebeian. At has its usual force, introducing 
 something counter to the previous line of thought : the boys in their 
 game use a maxim at variance with the judgment of the world, 
 rex eris : the reference is to some ancient game in which the boys 
 used to say, " Rex eHs si recte fades, si nan fades, no/i eris.'" 
 
 60. Mc : the pronoun refers to the infinitive clause, which is 
 neuter ; but it is, as usual, attracted to the gender of the defining 
 noun mnrus. So Vergil has Set revocare gradnm . . . , Hoc opus, 
 hie lahor est. "But to recall one's steps, . . . this is the task and 
 this the toil." 
 
 (11. nil conscire sibi : " that one should be conscious of no guilt." 
 62. Roscia . . . lex : see note on v. 58. sodes : a contraction for 
 .n audes, and amies is a contraction for airides (cp. avidns), originally 
 almost equivalent to vis (volo). The other word for " if you please" 
 is sis (= si vis), an : an frequently stands alone between two alterna- 
 tives, the particle with the first alternative being omitted : here, as 
 in V. 68, the an introduces the alternative to which the writer 
 inclines, and is equivalent to "or rather." 
 
 64. maribus: "spirited," Z/^. " male" from ?;m.9,w?rtW,?. Curiis : like 
 ^V/w/ZZis this is the general plural, and means "men such as Curius 
 and Camillus." M' Curius Dentatus defeated Pyrrhus at Beneventum, 
 B.C. 275. Camillus was the famous deliverer of Rome from the Gauls. 
 The dative is one of the agent, for which sec r. 1, n. decantata: " oft 
 repeated by." Be- in compound verbs often denotes intensity (as 
 here) or completeness ; cp. deamo, " to love exceedingly " ; dejfeo, 
 " to weep intensely " ; dehello, " to finish a war." 
 
 65. facias: jussive subjunctive, logically, though not grammati- 
 cally, dependent on suadet, to be supplied after qui. Such subjunc- 
 tives are usually classified as semi-dependent jussive subjunctives. 
 
 67. propius : i.e. from the equestrian benches. See v. 58, n. 
 Pupi : I'lipius is not otherwise known. 
 
 68. responsare : infinitive after both hortatur and ajytat. In prose 
 hortatvr generally takes lit and subjunctive, while a2)to takes ad and 
 gerund or gerundive. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 69 
 
 I.] 
 
 69. praesens : the word is often used of the gods ; " with present 
 help," and hence almost = " a friend in need," 
 
 70. quodsi : quod is here really an adverbial accusative of extent. 
 Quod si = " but if," lit. "as to which, if." 
 
 71. porticibus : iong colonnades used as promenades at Rome, c.ff. 
 j)ortk'vs Ar/ripjme. iudiciis : " tastes," "' opinions." 
 
 73. olim': from the same root as olle (old form of ille), an instru- 
 mental case = "at that time" ; (i) past, "formerly" ; (ii) present, 
 indefinite, of a custom, •' sometimes " ; (iii) future, "one day." The 
 second meaning is not found in classical prose. The reference is to 
 Aesop's fable of the Sick Lion. 
 
 76. belua : Horace compares the " World " to the many-headed 
 Lernaean Hydra, multorum capitum : genitive of quality, which, like 
 the ablative of quality, cannot stand without an epithet. Scquar \s 
 deliberative subjunctive. 
 
 77. conducere publica: "to take public contracts," Le. to contract 
 for farming the revenues, or for public works generally, sunt qui : 
 est qui, like sunt qui, takes a consecutive conjunctive when meaning 
 " there is a (sort of) man who," etc., denoting a class whose character 
 naturally induces certain actions (indefinite antecedent). This is 
 sometimes called the generic subjunctive, since it states the charac- 
 teristic actions of a genus, or class. But est qui and sunt qui take 
 the indicative when merely stating the existence of the man or 
 men with the attribute described in the adjectival clause (definite 
 antecedent). 
 
 78. viduas : = unmarried ladies generally, whether widows or not. 
 
 79. excipiant : a hunting term, like vcmentur. vivaria: "pre- 
 serves ■' for living animals, in which they were k«pt and fattened. 
 
 80. multis : dative of advanta<j:e. occulto : " secret," i.e. either 
 (i) "unlawful" or (ii) "imperceptible." 
 
 82. durare : "to continue," A-^mM being the accusative of extent 
 of time. 
 
 84. lacus : the Lucrine lake, near Baiae. mare : the Tuscan Sea, 
 which washes the shores of Baiae. The wealthy Komans of the day 
 had a fancy for building palaces out into the Lake, or the Bay of 
 
 Baiae. 
 
 86. auspicium : (avis and -sjMcio) lit. "observation of birds, "hence 
 " watching of signs given by birds," and so " observation of signs of 
 divine approval or disapproval " generally. Here it means " sanction." 
 Teanum : here the Sidicine Teanum in Campania, thirty miles from 
 Baiae. 
 
 87. tolletis : the second person of the future sometimes indicates 
 a strong command ; the words are those of the dives, lectus genialis : 
 " the marriage bed," which was dedicated to the all-protecting genius 
 of the family, whence the name, aula ;■ usually=" the front court " ; 
 here it denotes the atrium, "hall," in which the marriage-bed was 
 placed opposite the door. 
 
 89. bene solis esse maritis : " married men alone enjoy themselves." 
 
 90, teneam; deliberative subjunctive. Protea : a sea-god who 
 
70 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [l. 
 
 possessed prophetic power, but only gave his answers when caught 
 and bound. To avoid capture he had the power of changing into all 
 sorts of forms. 
 
 91. quid pauper : Bc.facit? cenacula : "garrets." 
 
 92. conducto navigio : ablative absolute, equivalent to a concessive 
 sentence, " though he has to pay hire for the boat." 
 
 94. inaequali tonsore : this cannot be ablative of the agent, which 
 always requires a, ah ; it is an ablative absolute, " when the barber 
 has cut unevenly," so "by a barber's uneven cutting." capillos: 
 retained accusative. See v. 50, n. 
 
 95. subucula : an under-garment, made of linen or cotton, worn 
 beneath the tunic, pexae : lit. " combed " ; hence, " with the nap 
 on," " new." 
 
 96. inpar : adjective requiring to be translated by an adverb in 
 English. See v. 23, n. 
 
 99. aestuat : a metaphor from the tide ; cp. Eng. " fluctuate." 
 ordine toto : ablative of respect with duconvejiit. 
 
 100. mutat quadrata rotundis : a proverbial expression for capricious 
 changes ; the same meaning would be denoted by miitat quadratis 
 rotunda, the ablative in each case being instrumental. 
 
 101. insanire . . . soUemnia me : "that I suffer from the common 
 madness." SoUemnia comes from sollus, an old word = " whole," 
 and annns, "year"; hence it means "things that happen once a 
 year," "customary," "religious," "solemn." The accusative is 
 cognate ; cp. coronarl Olympia, v. 50. 
 
 102. curatoris : the praetor could by an injunction (intej'dicto') 
 take away property from a madman's or a prodigal's control, and 
 place it and its possessor under the control of some person, usually 
 selected from the nearest relatives. 
 
 103. tutela : the abstract is used for concrete here — " guardian." 
 
 104. sis: concessive, "though you are." prave sectum . . . ob 
 unguem : the Komans paid great attention to the trimming of their 
 nails. The meaning is " though you, Maecenas, arc very particular 
 about small details of personal appearance." 
 
 105. Horace here gives the well-known Stoic paradox that the 
 ideal wise man is perfect in everything. 
 
 108. praecipue : " beyond all other men." sanus : the word bears 
 a double entente: (i) "morally sound," (ii) "physically sound." 
 Horace playfully draws out the last sense by the objection, nisi cum 
 pituita vwlestast, " except when he has a troublesome cold." pituita : 
 scanned as a trisyllable — ^j^i-^ri-^a. 
 
 EPISTLE IT. 
 
 Argument. — I have beeti reading my Homer again, Lolliusy and 
 
 find hia living r.ianij?h'.s' far better teachers than all the j}?'ecej}ts of 
 
 the /Schools. Jlonirr brings on the stage philosojfhers aiid fools^ and 
 
 it is to the latter class that ive belong, AicaUc, shake off your 
 
"•] 
 
 NOTES. 71 
 
 lethargy. Procrastination is the thief of time. Aicay with excuses : 
 wealth without health is a vtockertj ; j)leasure mostly hrings jyain ; 
 the miser is always iyi need ; the enviovs man in torment; anger is 
 temporary insanity. Train your mind ichile it is yaung and teach- 
 able. Still, go to extremes if you like; I shall Tieej) on my steady 
 jog-trot. 
 
 [See Index for Chrysippus, Grantor, Penelope, Ulixes.] 
 
 The Trojan "War, of which Homer told the story in his Iliad, arose 
 from the carrying off the Lacedemonian king Menelaus' peerless 
 wife Helen by Paris, son of Priam the king of Troy. The two sons 
 of Atreus, Menelaus and his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, 
 visited all the chieftains of Greece, and persuaded them to join in an 
 expedition to avenge the wrong, and bring back Helen. Agamemnon 
 was chosen commander-in-chief, and among the most celebrated of 
 the Greek heroes Avere Achilles, the son of Pelens ; Nestor, king of 
 Pylos ; and Ulysses, " of the many wiles," the king of Ithaca, whose 
 subsequent wanderings Homer narrates in the Odyssey. When they 
 arrived in the Troad an embassy was sent to Troy to demand the 
 suiTender of Helen, and Antenor, one of the wisest elders of Troy, 
 urged the Trojans to comply ; but they listened rather to Paris and 
 made up their minds to fight. For nine years the Greeks could do 
 nothing against the lofty walls and towers of Troy, defended by the 
 brave Trojans and their heroic leader, Hector. In the tenth year 
 Agamemnon enraged Achilles by taking from him a fair captive 
 named Briseis. Achilles withdrew from the conflict with his men, 
 and thus the Trojans were emboldened to press hard upon the Greeks. 
 At last Achilles came to the rescue, slew Hector, and drove the 
 Trojans back within their walls. He himself subsequently fell while 
 attempting to force his way into the town, but Troy was at last 
 captured by Ulysses' stratagem of the Wooden Horse, and was then 
 utterly destroyed. After the fall of Troy, Ulysses set out on his 
 voyage home, but was driven out of his course by storms ; and for 
 many years wandered from land to land, visiting among other places 
 the isle of Aeaea, where lived Circe the sorceress. Here all his 
 comrades but one were turned into swine, but he succeeded in 
 rescuing them at last. Later on he- passed without harm the isle of 
 the Sirens, and visited the earthly paradise where Alcinous was king. 
 After many more adventures he came home to Ithaca. Here he 
 found his faithful vrde Penelope beset by many wooers, whose 
 importunity she had year after year resisted. 
 
 1. Maxima Lolli: JIaximus is probably a cognomen of the gens 
 Lollia, and would usually follow the nomen Lollius. The full name 
 of a Eoman citizen consisted of a distinctive 7^;'«<?/d^'?«^vi {e.g. Puhlius 
 written P.), a, 7i07nen (^gentilicium designtding his gens, e.g. Cornelivs), 
 and the name of his paterfamilias, if any (e.g. Puhli Filius, written 
 P. F.). To these were later added a hereditary cognomen (e.g. Scipio'), 
 and in some cases a distinctive title, agnomen (e.g. Africanus). In 
 
72 HOEACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I, [ll. 
 
 classical times the full name, as usually quoted, would be P. Cornelius 
 Scipio Africanus. 
 
 2. duni . . . declamas : when dum means " in the time that " it is 
 usually followed by the historic present, as here ; when it means 
 *' all the time that " it is usually followed by the same tense as that 
 of the principal clause. Romae : locative case. The orip^inal locative 
 case has left many traces in Latin : (i) in names of towns — Corinthi, 
 Jiomac, Lcpti (''at Leptis ") ; (ii) in other words, e.g. po-stri-dic,^ 
 cotti-dit', dovii, humi, rvri, belli, niilitlae. Praeneste : (^Pale.^trina) 
 about twenty miles S.E. of Kome, a summer retreat of wealthy 
 Komans. 
 
 '6. pulchrum : here —the Greek KoXbu, i.e. "honourable," " morally 
 right." 
 
 5. crediderim: subjunctive in dependent question. Construe: — 
 audi cur ita evediderim. The force of the perfect is, •' why 1 have 
 come to believe." 
 
 7. barbariae : i.e. the Trojans. The term harharus was applied by 
 the Greeks to all races other than Greek, collisa : sc. esse. 
 
 8. aestus : "stormy passions" ; cp. ae.stuat, I. i. 99. 
 
 9. Antenor : according to Homer one of the wisest among the 
 Trojans. He advised them to deliver Helen up to Menelaus, and so 
 cut olf the cause of the war (belli praecidere cau.mm'). Before the 
 taking of Troy he made treacherous overtures to Agamemnon for 
 delivering the city into his hands. 
 
 10. fquid : v. 1. quod (relative), which must be taken as retained 
 accusative with cogi, and is further explained by ut . . . Quid Paris 
 (dicit) ? gives the best sense. 
 
 11. Construe: — negat (se') yosse eogi ut . . . regnet. Nestor: king 
 of Pylus, son of Neleus, a distinguished warrior in his early youth, 
 who, after ruling three generations of men, went to join in the 
 Trojan War, and became the most venerated counsellor of the Greeks. 
 
 12. Peliden . . . Atriden : Greek accusatives. Pelides, " the son 
 of Peleus," i.e. Achilles, the greatest of the Greek heroes who fought 
 at Troy. Atrides = " the son of Atreus," i.e. Agamemnon, the leader 
 of the Greek host at Troy. 
 
 13. hunc : sc. Agamcmnonem. Horace refers to Agamemnon's 
 love for Chryseis, a fair captive, daughter of Chryses, priest of 
 Apollo. 
 
 14. quidquid : accusative with delirant, expressing the extent of 
 action of the verb. The reference in the line is to the plague sent 
 upon the Greek host because Agamemnon did not restore Chrj^seis to 
 her father. 
 
 15. seditione : e.g. that of Thersites (Iliad, ii. 115 ff.). dolls : e.g. 
 that of Pandarus (^Iliad, iv. 131 If.). 
 
 18. TJlixem: Ulysses (the Greek Odysseus), king of Ithaca, one of 
 the foremost of the Greeks at Troy, and especially distinguished for 
 his skill in counsel (sapientia) and courage in action (virti(s). The 
 story of his adventures after the Fall of Troy is told by Homer iu 
 the Odyssey. 
 
II.] NOTE?. 73 
 
 21. parat : historic present with dum : cp. note on v. 2. The tense 
 here has a conative force. " tries to secure." 
 
 28. Sirenum : according to Homer the Sirenes (Sirens) were sea- 
 nymphs who dwelt on an island near the S.W. coast of Italy. Thej'- 
 had the power of charming by their singing all who listened. 
 Circae : Circe, the daughter of Helios (the Sun), was a sorceress 
 who dwelt in the isle Aeaea. Ulysses remained with her for a year. 
 By her potions {pocida) she changed all but one of his companions 
 into swine. 
 
 24. Ulysses did drink the draught, but \x\Wx no "foolish greed" 
 (.stultus cnpidusque), for he had previously taken an antidote given 
 him by Hermes (Mercury). 
 
 2o. turpis : " hideous." like the swine into which his comrades had 
 been transformed, excors " without reason," the cor being regarded 
 as the seat of intelligence. 
 
 27. numerus : '• a mere number," " mere ciphers," " mere drops in 
 the sea of humanity." consumere nati : the infinitive here denotes 
 the purpose of nati, and is analogous to the dative of work contem- 
 plated, e.g. decemviri Icgibus scrihundis, "decemvirs appointed to 
 draw up a code of laws." It is usually called •• complementary." 
 See note on I. i. 14. 
 
 28. nebulones : in apposition with sjjonsi. Alcinoi : according to 
 Homer, Alcinous was the ruler of the luxm'ious Phaeacians in Scheria, 
 
 29. cute curanda : a common phrase for " looking after the 
 personal appearance." operata : " occupied," " busied." 
 
 30. cui pulchrum : the dative expresses the person whose jjohit 
 of view the writer assumes— "in whose eyes it was glorious." For 
 the meaning see r. 3, ;;. 
 
 31. fcessantem ducere somnum : "to lure on lingering slumber." 
 There is a variant cesmtum ducere curam, "to lure theii' cares to 
 rest," cessatum being the supine. 
 
 32. nt : final. This line really forms the protasis (without .s-v), 
 which is answered by the following query by way of apodosis. de 
 nocte : "in the course of the night," lit. "from night," i.e. taking 
 some time from night for the purpose. 
 
 33. expergisceris : the present tense is sometimes used as here to 
 express vividly an action about to be commenced, "are you not 
 going to awake?" atqui : = at + qui. Qui is the old ablative of 
 the indefinite pronoun and means "in some way;'' hence atqui = " but 
 in some way," "however." 
 
 34. noles : sc. currere. The meaning is: — Just as if one does not 
 exercise the body when well, he will be compelled to do so when ill, 
 so, if one does not exercise the soul when morally sound, he will be 
 compelled to do so, with great pain, when the soul is racked with 
 evil passions. 
 
 36. studiis et rehus honestis : a dative of the indirect object after 
 intendere. 
 
 37. nam : here merely a particle of emphasis, and not introducing 
 a reason ; nam ciir = curnain, " why, indeed .' " 
 
74 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [ll. 
 
 38. demere : the infinitive is here the direct object of festinas. 
 See note on I. i. 14. 
 
 39. est: =Mit, "eats," so esse for Mere, in annum: "till next 
 year." 
 
 40. dimidium facti : lit. " half of the deed," partitive genitive. 
 English, •• Well begun is half done." 
 
 42. rusticus : " clownishl3%" "like a clown." For the use of the 
 adjective where English prefers an adverb, or its equivalent, see I. i. 
 23, n. defluat : the subjunctive is used with dum when it implies 
 some idea of purpose, but the indicative when nothing more than a 
 temporal relation is denoted. 
 
 43. It should be noticed bow admirably the sound of the line 
 corresponds to the sense. 
 
 44. pueris creandis : " for bearing children," dative of work con- 
 templated, frequently used with the gerundival construction, beata : 
 '' rich." 
 
 45. pacantur : " are being reclaimed," lit. "are being tamed." 
 
 4(5. Construe niltil . . . ojJtet (is) cut conthigit quod satis est, 
 contingit : contingo is generally, but not always, used in a good 
 sense ; accido, like our word "accident," usually denotes misfortune ; 
 eveiiio is a neutral word, it presupposes ex})ectation and preparation. 
 optet : is the independent jussive subjunctive. 
 
 48. deduxit : the perfect is sometimes used in Augustan poets and 
 later writers to denote repeated actions without reference to time. 
 This is called the gnomic perfect (or aorist), being frequent in 
 proverbs and maxims (jyvQ/jLai). 
 
 49. valeat: jussive subjunctive in quasi-dcpendence on ojyortet. 
 
 50. bene . . . uti go together, the infinitive being the direct object 
 of oogitat. Cogitat = "means." 
 
 52. fomenta : warm wrappings for the feet. 
 
 57. rebus : ablative of cause. 
 
 58. Siculi tyranni : proverbial for their cruelty, e.g. Phalaris of 
 Agrigentum, who baked his victims in a brazen bull. 
 
 GO. dolor : " anger," " indignation." mens : " wrath ; " cp. the use 
 in English of the Latin word animus. 
 
 Gl. odio . . . inulto : dative of advantage, "for liis unappeased or 
 insatiable malice." festinat : the accusative of the object (poenas) 
 is not found in Cicero, an infinitive as object being the normal 
 construction, as in vv. 11 and 38. 
 
 64. tenera cervice : ablative of cause explaining docilem, " while 
 easy to teach because its neck is tender." magister : the trainer, or 
 horse-breaker. 
 
 65. ire : infinitive expressing the aim of, and forming a second 
 accusative after fingit,, which is here equivalent to docet. raonstret : 
 consecutive subjunctive after qua = talcni. vt ea. 
 
 ^lo. latravit : liere used in the sense of allatrare, " to bark at." 
 Latrare is generally intransitive, " to bark." aula : "the court-yard " 
 where the cattle, etc., were kept. 
 
 69. recens : ("new") closely with i/nbuta, "with which it was 
 
III. J NOTES. 75 
 
 tainted, when new, for the first time." Imhuo means (i) " to tinge," 
 (ii) '• to initiate," (iii) " to do anything for the first time." 
 
 70. quodsi : for the explanation of this see I. i. 70, n, antis : 
 contracted form of aiiteu. 
 
 71. tardum: this word and 2}'>'(f'€eedentihus are equivalent to sub- 
 stantives. 
 
 EPISTLE III. 
 
 Aegument. — I leant to knoic, Julius Flor us, all about the literary 
 jnirsults of Tiherius' sttite. Who is going to icrite an Epic 07i 
 Augustus^ Wliat of Titus, the icould-he Pindar, and Celsns, not 
 too origiJial, and you yourself? You have many talents ; ivhich are 
 you using? Are you reconciled to Munatixis? I am eager to 
 welcome you hack. 
 
 [See Index for Augustus, Pindarus, Tiberius.] 
 
 1 . lull Flore : Julius Florus had in his youth published some 
 modernised selections from Ennius and Lucilius. In. B.C. 20 he is 
 in the suite of Tiberius Claudius Nero, the future emperor, who 
 had been sent on a mission to place Tigranes upon the throne of 
 Armenia. 
 
 2. Claudius Augusti privignus : see Index s.v. Tiberius. 
 
 3. Thraca : a poetical form of Thracia {Thrace^. Hebrus : (^Jlaritza) 
 the principal river of Thrace. Its coldness was proverbial. 
 
 4. freta : the Hellespont, turres : the tower of Hero at Sestos, 
 and that of Leander at Abydos. 
 
 5. Asiae : the Roman province of Asia. 
 
 6. cohors : " suite." A Roman commander-in-chi ef was usually 
 accompanied by a suite or staff (eoho)'s), consisting of young men 
 of rank, who went partly as his friends and partly to learn the art 
 of war. operum : " literary works." The genitive is partitive with 
 qnid. 
 
 7. scribere : infinitive forming the direct object after suniit. 
 
 8. paces : (i) "times of peace," or (ii) "deeds of peace." 
 
 9. quid : sc. agit ? Titius : nothing further is known of him. 
 venturus in ora : i.e. whose name is soon to be on the tongue of every 
 man. 
 
 10. haustus : accusative after exjialluit used transitively in the 
 sense of " feared." 
 
 11. apertos : sc. mnnibus, "open to all." 
 
 12. nostri : objective genitive after meminit. JVostri, vestri (pi.) 
 are always objective ; nostr^im, testrum (pi.) always partitive. The 
 use of first person plural for the first person singular gives an air of 
 modesty to the expression. 
 
 13. Thebanos : = Pindaricos. This implies that Titius was 
 ambitious of writing Latin lyrics in the style of Pindar, auspice 
 Musa : " under the guidance of the Muse." Every commander 
 before going to war had to take the auspices (as auspex) under the 
 
76 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [ill. 
 
 walls of Rome ; and the war was said to be carried on under his 
 auspices (illo misjnci'^ or guidance. Hence the phrase is often used 
 metaphorically, as here. 
 
 14. desaevit : dc- = "completely," "vehemently" ; cp. dchellarr, 
 "to brin^j; the war to an end." ampuUatur : the verb amjiullari 
 comes from amj)ulla, " a paint pot,'' and means, " to lay the colours 
 on with a free hand," " to compose in florid style." 
 
 15. mihi : the stock example of the dative of the person interested 
 or ethic dative. Celsus : Celsus Albinovanus to whom Epistle 1. viii. 
 is addressed. 
 
 17. Palatinus . . . Apollo : i.e. the Temple of Apollo on the 
 Palatine Hill built by Augustus B.C. 28. It contained a famous 
 library, and was situated close to Augustus' palace. Horace is 
 warning Celsus against plagiarising the works kept in the Palatine 
 Librar3^ 
 
 19. This is a modification of Aesop's Fable of the Jay in the 
 Peacock's feathers. 
 
 21. The.meaning is: — *' From what fields of poesy are you gathering 
 stores of sweetness ? " 
 
 23. causis : dative of work contemplated, " for pleading." The 
 tongue is compared to a sword which is whetted (acnu) for the fray. 
 civica iura respondere: "to give advice on questions of civil law," 
 lit. " to put forward civil law in reply." 
 
 25. hederae victricis : genitive of material or definition with 
 praeiiiia. 
 
 2(). frigida curarum fomenta : probably cur arum is genitive of 
 material — '• chilling appliances that consist of cares," i.e. worries 
 about earthly comforts that chill the soul and deaden its aspirations 
 for higher things. 
 
 27. duceret : subjunctive in a clause depending on a subjunctive, 
 i.e. subjunctive by attraction. 
 
 2.S. properemus : jussive subjunctive ; the verb may not be used 
 trai sitivcly in good prose; cp. vim festinat, I. ii. 61, n. 
 
 80. sit : subjunctive in simple indirect question rei)resenting e.'tt of 
 the direct ({uestion. curae : predicative dative or dative of the 
 complement indicating that for which Muuatius serves. Qvantue 
 (v. 31) IS attracted for quanta (tantae quanta). 
 
 31. Munatius : nothing further is known of him. an : here an begins 
 a direct question ; it does not really introduce a simple (piestion, for 
 the alternative question is sit tihi curae dependent on rescriberc. 
 sarta : the metaphor is from the sewing up of a wound. 
 
 34. indomita cervice : descriptive ablative, locorum : partitive 
 genitive with nhiruinqve. , 
 
 35. rumpere : the infinitive is the so-called complementary infinitive, 
 being equivalent to an ablative of a verbal noun with indtgni. See 
 note on I. i. 14. The meaning is quihus indi(jnum est {i.e. quos non 
 decct) rnmpere. 
 
IV., v.] 
 
 NOTES, T7 
 
 EPISTLE IV. 
 
 Argument. — Alhius, my iinhiassed critic, are you busy tcriting 
 verses, or leading a pldlosojjJwr's quiet life in tlie country ? You 
 have every hlessi'ng. Live ever ready to leave life, and come and see 
 me token you want a laugh. 
 
 [See Index for Cassias, Epicurus, Tibullus.] 
 
 1. Albi: Albius Tib alius ; see Index, «. v. TiBULLUS. sermonum : 
 here the reference is to the " Satires." For the term see Introduction, 
 § 4. candide : " unbiassed." 
 
 2. Pedana : "of Pedum." The town of VediVLva (^Gallic aiio^ was 
 situated in Latium, between Tibur and Praeneste. 
 
 3. Cassi Parmensis : this Cassius must be distinguished from the 
 other conspirator, Cassius Longinus, who fell at Philippi, B.C. 42. See 
 Index, s. v. vincat : consecutive subjunctive after quod = tale id id. 
 
 6. eras : " you used not to be," i.e. during our former acquaintance, 
 pectore : "soul," "feeling." 
 
 7. dederunt : the quantity is a licence sometimes used by poets in 
 3rd plural perfect. 
 
 8. voveat : this word means (i) "to vow," (ii) "to pray for," just 
 as vofum comes to mean the "prayer" accompanying the "vow." 
 maius : sc. qnam formam. et dicitias, artevique fvuendi. 
 
 9. possit : subjunctive by attraction to the subjunctive in the main 
 clause ivoveat) — "who can think aright," etc. possit: subjunctive 
 by attraction, as also contingat (y. 10). 
 
 10. contingat : in a good sense. Bee I. ii. 46, n. 
 
 12. timores . . . iras : the plural of abstract nouns is often used, 
 as here, to denote the exhibition of the quality at several times or in 
 several forms. 
 
 13. supremum : this word has a predicative force, — " believe that 
 every day which breaks is your last." 
 
 15. bene curata cute : lit. " with skin well cared for," so, " in sleek 
 condition." vises : the future here, as in I. i. 87, bears the force of an 
 imperative. 
 
 16. grege : grex, "herd," being the usual term for a philosophical 
 school, prepares the way for the word porcitm with which Horace 
 playfully and unexpectedly closes the Epistle, alluding to the sensual 
 indulgence with which the name of Epicurean became associated 
 after the death of Epicurus. See Index, s. v. EpicUEUS. 
 
 EPISTLE V. 
 
 Argument. — If you do not mind a frugal meal, Tor quatus, come 
 and heep Caesar's hirthday along ivith me. What is the good of 
 wealth ivithout enjoyment? Come and taste the joys of wine and 
 sweet companions. 
 
 1. Archiacis lectis : Archias was a famous uphols*-erer at Rome. 
 
78 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [v. 
 
 The case is ablative of place where, which is not regular in prose 
 without a preposition. 
 
 2. cenare times: " fear to dine, object to dine." Distinguish this 
 from ne cenes times, '-fear that j'ou will dine." olus omne : any 
 kind of vegetables the cook may choose to serve up. Others render 
 it, " nothing but vegetables," 07nne and ohs being in apposition — 
 " vegetables as everything." 
 
 3. supremo sole: " at the end of the day," "at sunset " ; so primo 
 soh = '' At dawn." Torquate : this Torquatus is also addressed in 
 Odes IV. vii. 23, but which of the family of Torquati he was cannot 
 now be determined. 
 
 4. iterum Tauro : 9>c. consul e. T. Statilius Taurus was consul the 
 second time in B.C. 26. He was a man of great distinction ; he had 
 received a triumph for his achievements in Africa, B.C. 34, and in 
 B.C. 31 held command of Augustus' land forces at Actium. 
 
 5. Minturnas : {Trajetta^ a Eoman colony of Latium. In the 
 neighbourhood were large marshes. Sinuessanumque Petrinum : 
 Slmieasa {Roca di Mandragonc') was a Roman colony on the borders 
 of Latium towards Campania. Petrimis is either the name of a 
 mountain or a town near Sinuessa. 
 
 6. arcesse : '- send and fetch it." imperium fer : " put up with my 
 orders." 
 
 7. iamdudum splendet : ianulht, iamijr'ulem, iamdudnm regularly 
 take a present in Latin where the English uses the present perfect ; 
 an imperfect where the English uses the pluperfect. 
 
 8. certamina divitiarum : " the struggle for wealth " ; the genitive 
 is objective, 
 
 9. Moschi : probably a rhetorician of Pergamum tried for poisoning, 
 eras : modifies nato, or illo die may be supplied mentally, nato 
 Caesare : sc. Augiisto, i.e. September 23. Some would take it of 
 Julius Caesar whose birthday was July 12, 
 
 11. faestivam : this seems to favour the view that Caesare {v. 9) 
 refers to Julius Caesar ; but it ma}'- refer to Augustus, though it is 
 rather harsh to speak of September 23 as a summer's night. There is 
 an ill-supported \?iv\?a-\t fcstivam. 
 
 12. ffortunam: accusative governed by some verb understood, 
 tliough that verb was probably not distinctly conceived. The 
 variant fortuna (abl.) also requires a verb to be supplied, such 
 as ferov. 
 
 ] 3. At this period in Rome childlessness was very prevalent, and 
 consequently wealthy men thought it a foolish thing to save for heirs 
 who were not of their own flesh and blood. 
 
 15. vel : originally vels (an old imperative from velle') = " if you 
 like," " even." Afterwards it came to bear the force of a contrasting 
 particle meaning " or." 
 
 18. addocet: ad- means "in addition," — "teaches new arts." 
 
 19. fecundi: " fruitful," " enlivening." 
 
 20. contracta . . . solutum : poverty is in a sense personified 
 and described as having the character which it induces ; poverty 
 
VI.] 
 
 NOTES. 79 
 
 *' cramps " (contrahW) the emotions and faculties : wine " expands " 
 them {solvit). 
 
 21. imperor : a reflexive use of the passive, "I order myself." 
 Since impero takes the dative and tit in good prose, the regular con- 
 struction would be imjycratur mi/ii nt j^i'ot'^D'en). 
 
 23. cantharus . . . ostendat : the bowl and salver will l)e so 
 Ijrightly polished as to reflect the countenance. 
 
 25. eliminet : " carry forth from the threshold " (e limine), " carry 
 abroad." The subjunctive is consecutive. 
 
 26. Butram . . . Septiciumque . . . Sabinum (v. 27) : otherwise 
 unknown. 
 
 27. cena prior : either (i) " a dinner at an earlier hour," or (ii) 
 " a dinner for which he had a previous engagement " 
 
 28. umbris : uninvited guests, whom some distinguished guest 
 might bring with him as parasites. 
 
 30. quotus ; " which (in numerical order) ? " Quotus is correlative 
 to the ordinal numbers, and the question would be answered by an 
 ordinal ; e.g. volo esse nonns, '• I wish to be the ninth," i.e. one of a 
 party of nine. 
 
 31. postico : sc. o.sfi^>, ablative of means, lit. "by means of the 
 back door." falle : " escape the notice of," " elude." 
 
 EPISTLE VI. 
 
 Argument. — Numicins, if you choose for your ideal the " wise 
 indifference " of the Epicureans, remeniher all that follows from this 
 — remember the transitory nature of human things. When in pain 
 you work hard to find a remedy. Apjdy this 2Jrinciple to life: if 
 virtue he your ideal ivork for it ; if wealth, 2)ursue it eagerly ; if 
 place and poicer, canvass diligently ; if good living, do it loell. 
 
 [See Index for Agrippa, LucuUus, Ulixes.] 
 
 1. nil admirari: this is the Latin expression for the Greek drapa^ia, 
 the ideal of the Epicureans. It means "philosophic calm," "impjr- 
 turbability." Numici : otherwise unknown. 
 
 2. possit : generic subjunctive, a variety of the consecutive use. 
 
 3. hunc : deictic, " yonder." 
 
 4. momentis : the original form of the word is movimentis, and 
 here it bears its original force of " movements." 
 
 5. quid : adverbial accusative, meaning " how," " in what way " 
 so in English, " What do you think of the gifts ? " 
 
 7, fludicra quid : sc. censes. As punctuated in the text, ludicra = 
 " games," being the plural of ludicrum. If the comma be placed 
 after jJ^^^usus, and not after quid, ludicra plausus = " the vanities 
 of applause," Le. " empty applause," ^^/«ws«s being partitive genitive. 
 Quiritis : a collective singular. The word was generally used of the 
 Pioman people in home affairs, and to indicate civilians as opposed 
 to soldiers. 
 
80 HORACE, EPlSTLESj BOOK I. [vl, 
 
 9. fere : with eodcm — " almost the same." 
 
 10. pavor : "bewilderment," "excitement." 
 
 11. simul : = simul ac, a not uncommon usage, exterret : 
 " startles," " amazes." The word is used both of joy and fear. 
 
 12. The particles of dependent interrogation are used loosely here, as 
 often in Horace. Construe: — Quid ad rem (pertifiet) utrnm (laudeat 
 an dolcat iitrnm cvpiat mi'tvatne. This fourfold classification of 
 the emotions originated with the Stoics. 
 
 13. vidit : the perfect is used in a frequentative sense with qnidquid, 
 si quid, cum. spa : here with a neutral force, " expectation." 
 
 17. i nunc : the usual formula for introducing an ironical piece of 
 advice. Cp. the English, " Go to now . . ." argentum : " silver 
 plate." marmor vetus : "ancient marble statues." aera : "bronze 
 vessels." artes : " works of art." 
 
 IH. Tyrios : i.e. of tlie famous Tyrian purple. 
 
 20. navus : like rciijiertinns, is to be translated by an adverb or 
 adverbial phrase. Seel. i. 23, n. forum: the business centre of Rome. 
 
 22. Mutus : the name of a person otherwise unknown, indignum : 
 an exclamation like ncfas, vialnm, etc. sit : subjunctive of the 
 alleged reason, peioribus : ablative of origin. 
 
 23. tibi . . . illi : regular dative of agent with the adjective in 
 •hilis (jnirahilis!). 
 
 24. apricum : (for aj)er-i-C7i-m, akin to aperio', " I open") = "the 
 light of day." 
 
 26. porticus Agrippae : a favourite colonnade, erected by M. Vip- 
 sanius Agrippa, in honour of Neptune, after the battle of Actium, 
 B.C. 31, and thrown open for public use in B.C. 25. via Appi : the 
 Appian Way was constructed by the great Censor Ai)pius Claudius 
 Caecus, B.C. 312. In his time it led from Rome to Capua, but at a 
 later date it was extended to Brundisium. 
 
 27. Numa . . . Ancus : two of Rome's early kings. 
 
 29. vis recte vivere : a condition assumed as true, recta : "aright," 
 " as you ought," i.e. judging by the ideal you adopt, 
 
 31. hoc age : " let this be your care " ; " give your full attention 
 to this"; a ceremonial formula used by the herald to command 
 attention and silence at the offering of sacrifice, verba : " mere 
 Avords," a meaning seen in the phrase rerha dare, "to give words" 
 instead of facts, " to cheat." 
 
 32. occupet : " reach before you," a common meaning of the word. 
 
 33. Cibyratica : adjective of Cibyra, an important city in the south 
 of Phrygia, on the borders of Lycia. Bithyna : " of Bithynia," a 
 district of Asia Minor bordering on the Euxine Sea, and containing 
 many important seaports. 
 
 34. rotundentur : jussive subjunctive. 
 
 35. -j-quadret : consecutive subjunctive. The v. 1. quadrat simply 
 adds a fact about the ])ar.^ without introducing any idea of result. 
 
 3(5. scilicet: ironical, "of course." fidem : " credit," alike in money 
 matters ami society generally. 
 
 38. Suadela : the goddess of persuasion. 
 
vi.l 
 
 NOTES. 81 
 
 39. Cappadoeum rex : Archelaus. Cappadocian slaves were a drug 
 in the market. 
 
 ■iu. hie : " such as he." Lucullus : see Index, s. v. 
 
 41. si posset : the thing to be ascertained is expressed as the 
 condition, instead of being expressed as the object of the verb, — ymni 
 2J asset. 
 
 42. qui : the archaic ablative (really locative) of quLs, quae, 
 quid. 
 
 44. chlamydum : a cloak introduced from Greece. toUeret ; sub- 
 junctive in Oratio Obliqua, representing tolle of Oratio Eecta; the 
 tense is historic, scrihit, historic present, being treated as other 
 historic tenses. 
 
 48. repetas : jussive subjunctive. I?e- = "again," '•repeatedly." 
 
 49. species : '• pomp," " display." gratia : •• (private) influence." 
 
 50. qui dictet nomina : i.e. the ywmenclator, who went with the 
 candidate to canvass, and reminded him of the names of constituents 
 they met. laevum : i.e., in this case, the side nearest the carriage 
 way : the master would, of course, walk inside near the wall. 
 
 .51. trans pondera : probably (i) "across the stepping-stones," the 
 reference being to high stepping-stones placed in the road. Across 
 these the nomenclator would press his master to hurry, and offer his 
 hand to an approaching voter, (ii) Others translate * across the 
 counter," taking ^jo/wZ^rrt = "shop-weights." (iii) Others regard the 
 word as referring merely to obstacles generally. 
 
 52. Fabia . . . Velina : sc. trihu. Two of the Roman tribes that 
 voted in the Comitia Tributa. 
 
 53. hie : the slave points to a third man, fasces : a bundle con- 
 sisting of rods and an axe, with which criminals were scourged and 
 beheadetl. They were carried by lictors before the highest magis- 
 trates, curule . . . ebur : the sella eurvlis, used by the curule 
 magistrates and by the emperors. It was made of ivory, and shaped 
 like a camp-stool. 
 
 54. inportunus : "' pitilessly," " ruthlessly." 
 
 58. Gargilius : not otherwise known. 
 
 59. differtum forum populumque : lit. " the thronged forum and 
 people," i.e. by a kind of Hendiadys, " the forum thronged with 
 people." iubebat : " used to order," iterative imperfect. 
 
 Gl. crudi: lit. "undigested," used both of food and persons who 
 have taken food, here, " before finishing digestion." 
 
 62. deceat : subjunctive in dependent question, obliti : this should 
 be distinguished from obliti, from ohlino, " I smear over." Caeiite 
 cera : eera, lit. " wax covered tablet," is here used for tabulis, " the 
 register or roll of citizens " ; Caere ( Cervetri) was a city in Etruria 
 The civitas sine suffrayio (without the light of voting) was given to 
 the Caerites for taking care of the sacred vessels of Eome during 
 the Gallic invasion, B.C. 390 : afterwards this Caerite franchise 
 without the right of voting was looked upon as a dishonour. 
 
 64. voluptas : the. reference is to their feasting on the cattle of th« 
 Sun, of which the story is told in the Odyssey of Homer, xii. 340. 
 
 H. Ep. 6 
 
82 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [vil. 
 
 65. Mimnermus : an elegiac poet of Colophon, who lived about the 
 time of Solon. 
 
 G7. istis : " than what I have spoken to you," iste denoting what 
 nearly concerns the person addressed. 
 
 08." Candidas inperti : = " be fair and bestow " ; cp. I. iv. 1, n. 
 
 EPISTLE VII. 
 
 Aegument.— 7/;;'^W7,wrZ to i^jtpnd only, n fnv clays in the rovntry, 
 Maecenas, and Aitgvst has gone hy. But Home is a deadly jjlace in 
 autumn, and, if the icinter is very cold, I must go to the coast ; so I 
 cannot come till spring. Ymt do not give me ivhat you do not need 
 yourself; yours is a true generosity, and I hope 1 am not unworthy 
 of it. If one should reproach me with selling my independence,! am 
 ready to surrender all your gifts and go bach to my simple country 
 life. Injudicious lyatronage 'often leads to disastrous results, as in 
 the story of Philipjfus and Volteius. 
 
 [See Index for Tarentum, Telemachus (.-?. v. Ulixes),] 
 
 1. quinque dies : colloquially used for any short time. English, 
 " a day or two," '• a week." rure : this is a form of the locative of 
 rus, but it is very rare even in poetry unless accompanied by an 
 adjective, when it is always used. Otherwise ruri is used. 
 
 2. Sextilem : after B.C. '8, this month was called August in honour 
 of Augustus, desideror : the present is here used where the English 
 idiom requires a present- perfect ; see note on iamdudum, I. v. 7. 
 atqui : " but yet." The qui is the locative of the indefinite pronoun, 
 and means " in some way." 
 
 5. ficus prima : the fig ripens August— September. The autumn 
 was a very unhealthy season at Rome. 
 
 6. dissignatorem : the man who arranged the funeral procession. 
 His attendants {apparitores) Horace here calls "sable lictors," from 
 their mourning apparel. 
 
 8. officiosaque sedulitas : diligence in performing social obligations 
 
 {pfficia). 
 
 9. testamenta resignat : i.e. by the death of the testator. 
 
 10. Albanis agris : the fields upon the hill-sides of the Alban 
 range, the name of the hills near Rome on which stood Alba 
 Longa. 
 
 12. contractus: either (i) '-huddled up" near the fire, or (li) 
 " living like a poor man " ; cp. I. v, 20, contracta paupertas. 
 
 14. Calaber: "of Calabria," the "heel" of Italy. It is not very 
 clear why Horace chose this epithet ; perhaps the inhabitants of this 
 district, so far from the capital, were notorious for want of tact and 
 refinement. 
 
 15. sodes : " if you please " ; a contracted form of si audes ( = avides, 
 cp. avidus) ; see note on I. i. 62. 
 
 16. benigne : sc. facis, " you are very good." The word forms a 
 polite refusal ; cp. v. 62. 
 
VII.] 
 
 NOTES. 8.' 
 
 o 
 
 22. dignis : dative of advantage after jiaratus = ready to help, 
 ait esse paratus : the regular coustruction would be se esse j^;«7'flf ?rw 
 (accusative and infinitive). Horace here imitates a Greek construc- 
 tion Avhich omits the subject of the infinitive, when it is the same 
 a"^ the subject of the main verb; words quab'fying the suppressed 
 subject are put in the nominative case. 
 
 23. quid : adverbial accusative of extent, " how far." lupinis : 
 "lupine seeds," " counters," used for money on the sta^e and in games. 
 
 24. merentis : = bene de me mereiitis '• the man deserving well of 
 me," " behaxing well towards me " ; the pailiciple is used absolutely 
 as a substantive, lit. '' of the one deserving, the deserver " ; see note 
 on I. ii. 71. 
 
 25. reddes : equivalent to an imperative. 
 
 27. dulce . . . decorum : adverbial accusative, an extension of the 
 cognate accusative, loqui : the infinitive here forms the direct 
 object of reddes ; so ridere and maerere, r. 28 ; see I. i. 14, n. 
 
 28. Cinarae : a lady acquaintance mentioned also in the Odes. 
 
 29. f nitedula : this is a conjecture for the older reading volpeada, 
 " a little fox," which is still commonly read, in spite of the apparent 
 absurdity of a fox eating corn in this way. 
 
 31. pleno . . . corpore : ablative of attendant circumstance, here 
 explaining /r?^?^ ra . 
 
 32. procul : " hard by." 
 
 34. conpellor: here the word bears a notion of reproach," assailed." 
 resigno : most frequently the word means to '• unseal " (as in v. 9), 
 
 •• cancel," "rescind " ; here to " pay back," " restore." 
 
 35. altilium : objective genitive with satvr. Altilis, lit. = " fat- 
 tened," hence altilia, " dainties." 
 
 36. Arabum : proverbial for their wealth. 
 
 38. audisti : " you have been called so by me," a common idiom 
 in Greek ; cp. Milton, Paradise Lost, iii. 7, "hear'st thou rather pure 
 ethereal stream." verbo : " by a word," ablative of measure. 
 
 39. si possum : the thing to be ascertained is expressed as a con- 
 dition, instead of being expressed as the object of insjnce. In good 
 prose we should have ninn possim ; cp. I. vi. 41, n. 
 
 41. Ithaca : see Index, s. v. Ulixes. 
 
 40-43. The allusion is to the occasion when Telemachus, son of 
 Ulixes, declined a gift of horses offered by Menelaus. 
 
 '<42. herbae : genitive of the thing in point of which the epithet 
 2). odigiis is applied. 
 
 43. Atride : Menelaus, brother of Agamemnon ; see I. ii. 12. 
 
 45. vacuum Tibur: "quiet Tibur" is the modern Tivoli, sixteen 
 miles N.E. of Eome. inbelle Tarentnm: Tarentum {Taranto), in the 
 bay between the heel and toe of Italy, is called molle, " soft," in the 
 Satires (II. iv. 34). 
 
 46. Philippus : L. Marcius Philippus, consul B.C. 91, well known 
 as an orator ; he was tribune of the plebs B.C. 104 ; after B.C. 90 he 
 passed over to the senatorial party. 
 
 47. octavam circiter horam : somewhere between 1 and 2 p.m. As 
 
84 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [Vll. 
 
 an hour in the Roman sense was one-twelfth part of the time between 
 sunrise and sunset, tlie meaning of the eighth hour varies with the 
 time of the year. 
 
 48. Foro : ablative of separation ; in prose a with the ablative 
 would be used. Carinas : a quarter (cicH)^) situated in the fourth 
 of the fourteen districts {rcyioncs) of Kome. It lay on the Esquiline 
 hill. 
 
 50. umbra : " booth." 
 
 51. proprios : paring " his own " nails, instead of letting the barber 
 do it. 
 
 52. puer : a term for " slave" ; op. gargon, " waiter." 
 
 58. unde domo : a condensed expression (Brachylogy) for umlc et 
 qiio doiNO. English, " where he lives." 
 
 56. notum properare : the infinitive is called complementary or 
 epexegetic {i.e. explanatory) ; it serves as an ablative of cause here, 
 as also do cessare, quaercre, iitl. See note on I. i. 1-4. 
 
 57. loco : " at the right moment," " in season." 
 
 58. lare : the " lord " or tutelary spirit of the family, whose image, 
 clad in a toga, stood in a shrine, between the two Penates, beside the 
 household hearth. Hence it is commonly used = " household," " home." 
 
 59. ludis : the public shows and games. Campo : i.e. the Campus 
 Martins, a plain lying to the north of Rome, between the Tiber, the 
 Quirinal, and the Capitol. The part near the river served as a public 
 exercise ground, that near the city as a meeting-place for the Comitia 
 Centuriata. 
 
 60. libet : sc. mihi, "it is my pleasure,""! should like." Qnod- 
 cnvique is not indefinite, but signifies omnia quae. 
 
 61. veniat : jussive subjunctive, in quasi-dependence on die. non 
 sane: " not altogether," " scarcely." The words might mean " alto- 
 gether not," " not at all." credere . . . mirari {v. 62) : historic 
 infinitive, a construction which is used in vivid descriptions. Only 
 the present infinitive is used thus, and it forms a primary predicate 
 to a subject in the nominative case {e.g. Mena) if the subject is 
 expressed. Thus the infinitive here serves as a dative, " Mena (is) 
 for believing" = " Mena believes." [It is, however, more probable 
 that the infinitive in this usage was originally an imperative use. 
 Tliis force it sometimes bears in old Latin and in Greek. Hence in 
 vivid description it came to be used as a finite mood of indefinite 
 tense. Thus Caemr dicere would mean (1) Caesar is to say, (2) Caesar 
 will say, (8) Caesar certainly says.] 
 
 62. quid multa ? a regular phrase for cutting a story short, equiva- 
 lent to "in brief " ; it is a substitute for the tie . . . morer of ?t. 
 82, 88. 
 
 65. tunicate : the toga was rarely worn by the poorer classes at 
 Rome except on public occasions. Their usual dress was the simi)le 
 tvnica. 
 
 &\. occupat : "surprises," "comes upon suddenl)'." salvere iabet : 
 "bids him be well," " bids him good-day " ; the direct salutation was 
 salve. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 85 
 
 VII.] 
 
 67. excusare : " plead in excuse. " This verb takes the accusative 
 of the thing one pleads in excuse, as well as the accusative of the 
 person excused. • 
 
 68. venisset : like providU^rt (r. 69) this is subjunctive in a rela- 
 tive clause in Oratio Obliqua. The Oratio Recta would be cpiod noii 
 ve/ti, lahovaham, '-as for ray not coruing, I was busy." Quod here 
 means " with regard to the fact that." 
 
 69. sic . . . si : " only on condition that." 
 
 72. ventum est : verbs of motion are often used impersonally in 
 the passive to accentuate the action without reference to the doers, 
 dicenda tacenda : a colloquial phrase, •• things wise and otherwise " ; 
 for the asvndeton cp. I. i. 58, n. 
 
 73. dorimitum : the so-called supine, being really a verbal noun in 
 -tus, the accusative of which is used to denote the goal of motion, 
 and sometimes merely the aim of an action. 
 
 71. piscis : '"like a fish" ; cp. usticus, '• like a clown," I. ii. 42, n. 
 
 75. mane cliens : making the morning call, which was customary 
 for dependants. 
 
 76. rura : the preposition ad is omitted, as it is before the singular 
 rus. indictis Latinis : " on the proclamation of the Latin festival," 
 i. e. the fcriae Latinae, which were held at a time fixed by the consuls, 
 who could not leave Rome till after they had baen celebrated. The 
 festival Avas the occasion of a public holiday {institunn). 
 
 77. mannis : Gallic horses, small but useful in harness. The plural 
 is used, as equi often is, to denote a cart drawn by horses—" pony- 
 cart." 
 
 79. dum . . . quaerit: <Z?/w, " while," here = "in consequence of, 
 so dum qiHurit = vt qnl quacrcret, "inasmuch as he sought." In 
 V. 80 dnnt donat = dnnando, an ablative of means. 
 
 80. septem sestertia: i.e. about £60. 
 
 82. ne : this ne gives the purpose, not of the thing stated, but of 
 the stating of it ; " Not to detain you," etc. (cp. note on I. i. 13). 
 
 81. praeparat ulmos : i.e. for the vines, which were then as now 
 trained to grow on elms in Italy. 
 
 85. studiis : dative after the "^ compound verb immorltur.^'hQ ([\e^ 
 upon his tasks," i.e. '' he half kills himself with hard work." 
 
 87. enectus : e- = '•' out and out," '• completely." 
 
 88. media de nocte : de = •' in the course of " ; lit. •' from mid- 
 night," i.e. taking time from this period. 
 
 91. durus : •• enduring," "hard-working." 
 
 94. quod: "but." an adverbial accusative of the relative. See 
 I. i. 70, n. Genium : {= - the creator," cp. genm) the " double," or 
 accompanying deity of each individual, which assisted at his birth 
 and influenced his" whole life. Penates : lit. the guardians of the 
 storeroom (j^enus) ; hence the two guardian deities of the house and 
 its prosperity. Their figures were sculptured cm the hearth of the 
 house each side of that of the Lar. 
 
 98. pede : "foot-rule." verumst : = r.-ctum, iv.^tiim est; from a 
 moral point of view truth is right, 
 
86 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [vUI., IX. 
 
 EPISTLE VIII. 
 
 Argument. — O Mu^e, carry my greetings to CfiUuft, and tell him 
 it is loell enough loith me in health and icealth, but the old faults in- 
 my temper and my disj}ositiofi still trouble me. Tell him, too, if 
 things go well ivith him, to bear his fortune loisely if he ivould have 
 us hear ivith him. 
 
 1. Celso : see I. iii. 15. gaudere et rem bene gerere : the two 
 infinitival clauses form the direct objects of refer — " carry back 
 greeting and good wishes " ; the direct form would be gaude et . . . 
 gere. 
 
 2. Neronis : see Index, s. v. Tiberius. 
 
 4. vivere : so. me, which in prose could not be omitted, recte : 
 " as I ought." suaviter : " as I should like to." The meaning is 
 " neither as duty bids nor as pleasure prompts." 
 
 5. contuderit . , . momorderit . . . aegrotet : even in Oratio Recta 
 these would, according to Ciceronian usage, be subjunctive since 
 the reasons are false ; the vines, etc., were not in the condition 
 referred to. 
 
 7. mente . . . corpore toto : ablative of respect with validus. 
 
 8. velim : the mood is due to Oratio Obliqua, as is that of 
 offendar, sequar, amem, in vv. 9, 11, 12. levet : consecutive sub- 
 junctive. 
 
 10. cur . . . properent : this would be in Oratio Recta cur . . . 
 j)roperatis ? Tlie construction is rather compressed ; rogitam, 
 "asking," should be supplied, 
 
 13. ut : "how." Construe: — •j'^^rcow^are ?//. 
 
 14. iuveni : i.e. Tiberius, who was at this time tv/enty-two years 
 of age. 
 
 15. gaudere : supply iube eum. subinde : "next," "then." 
 
 EPISTLE IX. 
 
 Argument. — Sept i mius knoios best the influence I have with you, 
 Claudius. I could have icished to excuse viyself, but I must either 
 appear to di,^.wmble my power for selflsh ends, or else show forward- 
 ness in introducing him. I prefer the latter course, and recommend 
 him as a suitable friend for you. 
 
 1. Septimius : a friend of Horace, also mentioned in Odes II. vi. 
 Claudi : see Index, s.v. Tiberius, unus : " as no one else." 
 
 2. quanti : locative of price (generally called gen. of price), ex- 
 pressing the point in the imaginary scale of prices at which the given 
 price stands. 
 
 3. scilicet: "only think of it," "actually," expressing a slightly 
 ironical surprise at the boldness of such a request, tradere : 
 " introduce." 
 
 4. Neronis: '• of a Nero," refen'ing lo the greatness of his family. 
 
 5. munere : the al»lativc nUev fungor (///. "1 busy myself") is 
 
IX., X.] • NOTES. 87 
 
 an ablative of means. Similarly the ablative with vescor, fruor^ utor, 
 etc., is explained. 
 
 6. quid possim : the accusative indicates the extent of action of 
 the verb, and is an extension of the cognate accusative, possim : 
 subjunctive in indirect question. 
 
 7. multa : with ciir, '• many reasons why." 
 
 8. mea : i.e. " my influence." This is explained by the next verse. 
 
 11. frontis urbanae : "town-bred assui-ance." The genitive is 
 possessive. 
 
 12. depositum . . . pudorem : '' the laying aside of my modesty." 
 Constructed attributively with a noun the past passive participle 
 denotes the action that brought about the state described by the 
 participle ; e.g. MoHuus Caesar, " the death of Caesar." 
 
 13. gregis : "company," "train," — the cohor.^ of I. viii. 14. The 
 genitive is possessive, and being a predicate is often termed predica- 
 tive genitive. 
 
 o^ 
 
 EPISTLE X. 
 
 Argument. — Greeting, good Fuscus ! Twi/i souls are we, but I 
 like the country, you the town. Take- ive Nature as our standard, 
 and then can town imitations vie icith genuine country delights/ 
 Turn Nature out of doors, yet .she always comes hack again. Wealth 
 does not b)'ing real happiness: a lowly life can far surjjass that of 
 the rich, for by increasing our desires ice make them our masters. 
 JJiscontent galls us like an ill-fitting shoe. Be contented then,aiul 
 make wealth your servant, not your master, 
 
 1. Fuscum : Aristius Fuscus, an old acquaintance of Horace, 
 iubemus : plural for singular, not uncommon in the 1st person. 
 
 3. multum : adverbial accusative of extent, cetera : accusative of 
 respect. 
 
 4. et alter : sc. negat. 
 
 5. noti : sc. ?n^e;" .^t', "acquaintances." 
 
 8. quid quaeris : sc. plus, " what more do you ask ? " " in short " ; 
 cp. quid multa ? I. vii. 62. 
 
 9. secundo : by derivation secundus is an active participle of 
 sequor and means " following," and so " favourable." Translate 
 " with loud applause." 
 
 10. fugitivus liba recuso : the priest's slave would be fed chiefly on 
 the sacrificial cakes, which were the favourite offering of the lower 
 classes. 
 
 13. domo : an archaic form of the dative. Ponendac domo is dative 
 of work contemplated, common in such gerundival phrases. 
 
 15. tepeant: generic subjunctive. 
 
 16. Canis : also called Slrius and Canicula, was first visible" on 
 July 26. momenta Leonis : " the motions of the Lion." See L vi. 4, n. 
 The Sun enters the constellation of the Lion on July 23. 
 
 19. Libycis lapillis : " Libyan mosaics," i.e. of Numidian marble. 
 
88 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [x. 
 
 20. vicis : " districts " of the city, plumbum : water was brought 
 to city by several aqueducts and distributed from reserv'oirs by means 
 of leaden pipes, etc. 
 
 22. nempe : " of course." Horace here gives a slightly ironical 
 reply. 
 
 24. f expelles : conditional without si. The variant expellas would 
 be concessive subjunctive " though you turn out." U.rjMllere furea 
 is a proverbial expression. 
 
 25. mala fastidia : "unnatural caprice." The plural indicates 
 caprice whenever it disi)la3^s itself. 
 
 26. contendere callidus : " skilled in comparing" ;■ with the dative 
 ostro. The infinitive is complementary or epexegetic ; here 
 equivalent to an ablative of respect. See note on I. i. 14. 
 
 27. Aquinatem fucum ; Aquinum (Agui/w) in the Volscian territory 
 appeal's to have l)een celebrated for the manufacture of purple in 
 imitation of that from Tjve and Sidon. 
 
 oO. plus nimio : lit. '■ more than too much," i.e. ''overmuch." 
 
 HI. mutatae : sc. res, "a change of fortune"; cp. dejjosiUim 
 jjvdorem, I. ix. 12, n. pones : = dejjones. 
 
 33. vita : ablative of means or of respect. 
 
 85. pellebat : " used to drive." minor : the opposite of melior ; 
 minor = *' worsted." 
 
 3(». opes: '-help." Usually ry^f s = " power," "wealth," <wcm = 
 " help." 
 
 37. fvicto ridens : the variant victor violcns is difficult to translate ; 
 vioUm means "impetuous," "forceful," and goes closely with 
 d'lsce-ssit. 
 
 40. caret : careo means (i) "to be without" a thing, (ii) "to be 
 without from free-will," " to forego," — the meaning here, inprobus : 
 lit, " not according to the standard," hence " for his covetousness" ; 
 the meaning " morally bad " is derived from the literal meaning. 
 
 42. olim : denotes " at some time," past, present, or futui-e ; see note 
 on I. i. 73. Here translate "in the story." 
 
 44. laetus : really forms a protasis and = si laetus eris. sorte 
 tua : causal ablative with laetus. 
 
 4(5. cogere : (from co-agd) "get together," "hoard." 
 
 48. The meaning is clear but the reference is disputed. Some 
 take it of an animal pulled by a rope, others of a windlass, which 
 ought to pull up the weight and not be pulled down by it. 
 
 49. dictabam : epistolary imperfect. The writer regards his act 
 from the recipient's point of view, post fanum putre Vacunae : 
 Vac una was a Sabine goddess, and was by some identified with 
 Victoria, by some regarded as the goddess of " vacations " (vacuus) 
 or '• idleness." ThG/anum was close to Horace's Sabine form. 
 
 50. excepto : forms with the quofl-c\a,use a kind of ablative absolute, 
 esses : subjunctive because the writer's own reason is here reported, 
 cetera : accusative of part concerned (also called accusative of respect 
 or reference). The full meaning is — "blest in till else, except that 
 (as I then j-eflected) you were not with mQ." 
 
XI.] 
 
 NOTES. 89 
 
 EPISTLE XI. 
 
 Argument. — Bvllatins, ivJiat do you think of all the famous cities 
 you have heeti visiting in Asia'.^ Do you think any of them better 
 or ivorse than Rome? Travelling soon loses its novelty. Let those 
 travel ivhose health demands it: hvt the best way is to enjoy the 
 gifts of fortune with a contented and tranquil heart. 
 
 1. Chios: (Grk. Khio, Ital. Scio) a large island off the coast of 
 louia between Lesbos in the north and Samos in the south, opposite 
 Clazomenae. Bullati : nothing further is known of him. Lesbos : 
 (Jlytilene, Metelin) a large island off the coast of Mysia, opposite 
 the' Gulf of Adramyttium. 
 
 2. Samos : (Samo) off the coast of Ionia, close to the promontory 
 of Posidiuni (C. Colonna'). It is called concinna, " graceful," from its 
 fine buildings. Croesi : Croesus -was the last king of Lydia, and pro- 
 verbial for his great wealth. Sardis : (Sart) the capital of the 
 Lydian monarchy, on the river Pactolus, at the foot of Mt. Tmolus. 
 
 3. Zmyrna: (Smyrna) the great trading mart in the centre of the 
 west coast of Asia Minor. Colophon : (^Zille') an Ionian colony 
 between Lebedus and Ephesus in Asia Minor. 
 
 5. Attalicis : the Attali were kings of Pergamus ; the las*t left his 
 kingdom and possessions to the Romans, B.C. 133. 
 
 6. Lebedum : Lebedos was on the coast of Asia Minor between 
 Colophon and Teos. 
 
 7. Gabiis : Gahii (Castiylione) was a town in Latium between Piome 
 and Praeneste. In Horace' day it lay in ruins. 
 
 8. Fidenis : a Sabine town between the Tiber and the Anio. 
 vellem : potential subjunctive, really forming the apodosis to an 
 unfulfilled protasis which must be supplied, e.g. '"if I had the 
 chance." 
 
 11. Capua : {Capna') originally Q,?i\\e&V}iltiirnum, once an important 
 and independent city of Campania, but in Horace' time a Eoman 
 ])refectura. 
 
 13. frigus collegit : frigus colligere = "to get a serious chill." 
 
 16. vendas : properly vendes should follow the future perfect, 
 iaetaverit. Yendas is potential subjunctive, the suppressed protasis 
 being some such idea as si tihi liceat, "if you were to have the 
 chance." 
 
 17. incolumi : "for a man in sound health," dative of advantage. 
 Rhodes : the modern Ilhodes. Mytilene : {Mytileue or Jletclin) the 
 chief city of Lesbos. 
 
 18. campestre : a short apron worn in the exercises of the Campus 
 Martins. 
 
 23. in annum: "till next year," a colloquial phrase denoting an 
 indefinite period. 
 
 26. arbiter : from ar- dialectic form of ad, and a verb baetere = 
 " to go," hence •* a witness," " umpire," " judge "' ; so here — '• that 
 commands a view of," 
 
90 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [xil. 
 
 28. strenua . . . inertia : an Oxymoron, i.e. a juxtaposition of 
 words conveying opposite ideas. 
 
 29. bene vivere : the infinitive here forms the direct object of the 
 verb. 
 
 30. TJlubris : a solitary town in Latium near the Pomptine 
 marshes. 
 
 EPISTLE XII. 
 
 Argument. — You ought not to complain, Iccius. You have a fair 
 income ; were it qreater a wise matir like you ivould not change his 
 frugal hahits. Your studies do not interfere with your business, 
 wide-reaching though theg are. But ivhaterer your conclusions are, 
 ■make Ponijjeius Grosphus your friend. For news — success in Sjmin 
 and Armenia, and a good harvest in Italy. 
 
 [See Index for Agrippa, Democritus, Empedocles, Phrahates, 
 Tiberius Claudius Nero.] 
 
 1. Icci: Iccius is mentioned in the Odes (I. xxix.) as abandoning 
 philosophy for a military life. Here we find him manager of 
 Agrippa's Sicilian estates. 
 
 2. recte : " in a right way," virtually = " as you have a right to do." 
 non est ut : " it is not possible that." 
 
 4. rerum usus : " the right of enjoying property." 
 
 7. in medio positorum : •■ in respect of luxuries within your reach " ; 
 the genitive is one of the thing in point of which ahstemius is 
 appHed. 
 
 8. protinus: (j}ro and tcnus) '-right on."' ut: used concessively, 
 " even though." 
 
 14. cum : " though," with the regular subjunctive sapias and cures 
 (v. 15). scabiem et contagia : " contagious itching for gain," a 
 Hendiadys (" one by two ") like Vergil's jjateris et auro, '• golden 
 cups." 
 
 15. nil parvum: adverbial accusative, really an accusative of 
 extent, modifying sapias. adhuc : " still, as in days gone by." 
 
 1(3. conpescant : subjunctive in dependent question, and so the 
 following subjunctives to v. 20. 
 
 : 18. obscurum: the adjective is used proleptically, i.e. what isj 
 intended, or expected to take place, is spoken of, by anticipation! 
 (prolej)sis'), as having already taken place. Translate : — " What' 
 shrouds the moon's orb in darkness." 
 
 19. quid velit et possit : "what is the purpose and the effect of" 
 . . . Concordia discors : "inharmonious liarnKmy." This figure is 
 called Oxymoron ; cj). strenua inertia, I. xi. 28. 
 
 20. Stertinium acumen : = Stertinius acutus. He was a Stoic of 
 some note. 
 
 21. verum: "however." pisces : regarded as a luxury by, and for- 
 biddni to Pytliagoreans, wlio were vegetarians, porrum et caepe 
 trucidas : this is a jest on the tenet held by Empedocles and the 
 
NOTES. 
 
 91 
 
 XIII.] 
 
 Pythagoreans that even vegetables have souls. Horace means 
 " whether you live luxuriously or f ragally," with especial reference 
 to his mode of life as determined by his philosophical convictions. 
 
 22. Pompeio Grospho : a friend of Horace. He was a knight, and 
 possessed estates in Sicily, ultro : this is an instrumental neuter 
 case, corresponding to the ablative feminine iiltra, and means 
 " beyond," " beyond what is expected," '• unasked," " readily." 
 
 23. verum : " right," " fair." See I. vii. 98, n. 
 
 24. dest : a contracted form of decst. 
 
 25. ne . . . ignores : for this use of the final clause see I. i. 13, n. 
 quo ioco : in prose, as well as in poetry, the preposition (m) is 
 omitted with looo, locis. 
 
 26. Cantaber : the Cantabrians, a people of Northern Spain, were 
 subdued by an expedition under Agrippa (for whom see Index, s, t-.), 
 
 B.C. 20. 
 
 27. Armenius : the Armenians, in B.C. 20, submitted to Tibernis, 
 and accepted as their monarch Augustus' nominee, Tigranes. 
 
 28. genibus minor : = "on humbly bended knee" ; lit. " humbler 
 with his knees," the ablative, as denoting the external expression of 
 humility, may be regarded as one of manner and means. 
 
 29. Copia : here regarded as a goddess, cornu : the horn of plenty 
 (^cormi eo2)iae^ is fabled to have been the goat's horn which Amalthea 
 filled with fruits for the infant Zeus (Jupiter), w^ho placed it among 
 the stars. 
 
 EPISTLE XIII. 
 
 Argument.—/ want you, Vinius, to present my volumes to 
 Augustus just at the right moment, not with the clumsiness your 
 imme of Asina hetohens. Carry them gracefully, don't tell everyone 
 your errand, and now, away ! 
 
 2. reddes : future, with imperative force. Vini : C. Vinius Asina, 
 or Asella, of whom nothing further is known. 
 
 4. ne pecces: either (i) a negative piu'pose, or (ii) a prohibition ; 
 the present is occasionally {e.g. neu narres, v. 16) used in prohibitions 
 addressed to a definite person, though the regular tense is the perfect. 
 
 5. opera vemente : ablative of means with iiiportes. 
 
 7. perferre : sc. eani .sarcinam. 
 
 8. ferus: "savagely," like an ill-tempered ass. inpingas : jussive., 
 When one action is enjoined to the exclusion of another, the rejected 
 alternative is naturally put in the subjunctive, being very similar to 
 a prohibition. 
 
 9. fabula : " a bye-word," " a proverb." 
 
 11. propositi: objective genitive with victor, "having achieved 
 your purpose." 
 
 14. Pyrrhia: said to have been a character in a play of Titinius. 
 
 15. soleas : "slippers," which he wore in the house, but took off 
 before reclining on the couch at meals, tribulis : properly " one of 
 
92 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [xiV. 
 
 the same tribe," hence " a man of humble estate." Trihus, like j^^^bs, 
 is sometimes opposed to cfjvrs and .senatus. 
 
 18. f Others punctuate nitere jjorro, taking ^;('/'?'(> with mtere. 
 
 EPISTLE XIV. 
 
 Argument. — You, my haillff, like the toivn ; I like tJw country. 
 Weave both fooU to Ji ml fault tvith our cnvirotimoit : the fault is 
 nuthiii us; hut I, at any rate, am consi.stmt. You are always 
 hankeriny after the jjleufiures of town, and are diseontented at your 
 constant labottrs. I once laved the yay life of the city, hut I am 
 oldrr now. and have changed to a quieter mood. You would ylve up 
 a place others covet. It is the old falliny of discontent. My advice 
 is, let each do well the task for which he is Jit ted. 
 
 1. mihi me redden tis: "which makes me my own master," no 
 longer at the beck and call of friends in town. 
 
 2. habitatum : " though inhabited." focis : " hearths," " families," 
 consisting of free coloni, each of the five houses sending its house- 
 father to the neighbouring town of Varia on market-days. Besides 
 these five tenants, Horace employed on his estate eight slaves. 
 
 6. res : " his estate." 
 
 6. Lamiae pietas : " Lamia's love," as manifested by his mourning : 
 the genitive is subjective. The person referred to was probably L. 
 Aelius Lamia, consul A.D. 3. moratur : quamvis, wdiich takes the 
 subjunctive in good prose, frequently takes the indicative in Horace. 
 
 8. insolabiliter : emphatic by its position at the beginning of the 
 line, " and will not be comforted." istuc : " to where you are." 
 
 <). rumpere : direct object of amat. claustra : " barriers," also 
 called carceres. Behind these the chariots stood ready before being 
 let go on the course {sqjatiis). 
 
 10. rure : locative; cp. I. vii. 1, n. viventem : this is sub- 
 stantival, equivalent to eum qui vivit, a common use of the present 
 participle. 
 
 11. odio : predicative dative ; esse odio supplies a passive to odisse. 
 14. mediastinus : positus in medio, '* open to every one's bidding," 
 
 " a common drudge." 
 
 1(). me constare mihi: "that I am consistent with myself." 
 18, eo : ablative of the measure of the difference. 
 11). tesqua: a Saljine word, " wilds." 
 
 22. et quod : " and the fact that." This quod-clause forms a second 
 subject to ineutiunt. 
 
 23. uva: ablative of the standard of comparison, "sooner than 
 grapes." 
 
 24. praebere : the infinitive is here equivalent to a dative of work 
 contemplated ; see note on I. i. 14. 
 
 2(5. terras: dative of disadvantage after gravis^ lit. "a burden to 
 the earth," hence, '• with lumbering tread." 
 
XV.] 
 
 KOTES. 93 
 
 28. strictis : "stripped from the boughs." The ablative is one of 
 means, regi;lar after verbs of filling. 
 
 29. pigro : "if the rain brings enforced idleness from farm work, 
 the river can be banked." rivus : the Digentia, which watered 
 Horace's estate. 
 
 32. tenues : " thin," " finely woven." 
 
 83. inmunem : without a present " (^mnnvs). 
 
 M. media de luce : "at noon"; cp. note on I, vii. 88. Falerni : 
 objective genitive after bihuhim. The Falernian was one of the 
 better class of Italian wines. It was grown in the Falernus Ager, 
 to the north of Campania. 
 
 36. incidere : '• to cut short " ; the quantity distinguishes this from 
 incidere, '' to fall in." 
 
 37. istic : = isti + <"00> ^ locative case. 
 
 40. urbana diaria : "a city slave's daily rations." 
 
 43. ephippia : Greek ecpiirinov ; eVt, '• on," and tVTros, " a horse." 
 
 44, libens : closely with eocerceat, which is jussive subjunctive. 
 censebo : parenthetical. Horace is quoting an old proverb. Cp. 
 *' Let the cobbler stick to his last." 
 
 EPISTLE XY. 
 
 Argument. — I icisJi to hioic, Vala, the relative merits of Villa 
 and Salernnm as liealth resorts, for my j^Jiysieian says Baiae is not 
 the ])lace for me in icinter. The fact is, I am like Maenins ; I 
 appreciate a good dinner ivlien I can get it, I live like a philosopher 
 ivhe?i I must. 
 
 [See Index for Baiae, Cumae.] 
 
 L quae sit : this, and the indirect questions in vv. 2, 14, 1.5, 22, 23, all 
 depend on scrihere in v. 25. It will be convenient, in the translation, 
 to supply " tell me " before each of these questions, and to break the 
 whole passage up into a number of short sentences. Veliae : Velia, 
 or Elea, was a town of Greek origin on the west coast of Lucania. 
 In its early days it was celebrated as the home of the Eleatic school 
 of philosophers. The Romans seem to have visited it as a health 
 resort. The case is locative. Vala : probably C. Numonius Vala, 
 a friend of Horace, of whom nothing further is known. Salami : 
 (Salerno') a town at the north corner of the Sinus Paestanus (Gulf 
 of SalL-rno). 
 
 2. quorum hominum : genitive of quality, or description. 
 
 3. Musa Antonius : sc. dicit esse. This Antonius Musa was a 
 freedman physician, who had cured Augustus of a serious illness by 
 cold-water treatment, B.C. 23. tamen : = though it is his fault. 
 illis : I.e. the people at Baiae. 
 
 5. relinqui : infinitive of the object with gemit, a construction only 
 found in poets with this verb ; the accusative of a noun occurs in 
 prose. _^ --«^ 
 
 
94 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [xV. 
 
 0. Clusinis : ''of Clusium "' ( Chinsl), ahont the centre of Etruria, 
 on the river Clanis. Gabios : see I. xi. 7, /?. 
 
 11. Cumas : see Index, s. v. Cumae. The accusative is one of goal 
 of motion, without a preposition, because it is the name of a town. 
 
 12. stomachosus habena: ablative of means, "showing his anger 
 by means of the rein," '* pulling angrily with the rein." 
 
 13. sed : closely following dicct — " but the horse does not hear, 
 he only feels the rein." 
 
 14. utrum : " which of the two," i.r. Velia or Salernum. 
 
 15. collectos imbres : i.e. in cisterns. 
 
 16. iHgis : '* everllowing," "fresh." The quantity distinguishes 
 this from iug/ft, "on the hills." nihil moror : " I do not at all care 
 for." 
 
 18. cum veni : " when I have come," i.e. " whenever I come." For 
 frequentative sentences in past time, see vv. 32 — 34. ??. 
 
 19. manet : "may flow," but ww/^cf, "remains." 
 21. Lucanae : I.e. of Velia, in Lucania. 
 
 24. Phaeax : Homer's Phaeacians were proverbial for their luxury. 
 They lived in Scheria, and their king was Alcinous. 
 2(i. Maenius : a notorious spendtlu-ift. 
 
 27. urbanus : "a wit." 
 
 28. teneret : consecutive subjunctive like digyiosccret (i\ 29). 
 
 29. inpransus : emphatic, " if he had not broken his fast." 
 
 30. fingere saevus : the infinitive is complementary. 8ee T. i. 
 14, n. 
 
 32. quaesierat . . . donabat: the pluperfect in the subordinate 
 clause, and imperfect in the principal, is the regular construction in 
 Caesar and Cicero for the frequentative sentences of past time ; Livy 
 and Tacitus use the subjunctive in the subordinate clause {qnae.msnet') ; 
 cp. nbi . . . ahstulerat . . . cenahat in the next sentence, and erat 
 nactus . . . verterat . . . aiehat in vv. 38, 39. f donabat : v. 1. 
 (lonaret, W'hich must be taken as consecutive with qui supplied from 
 von qm {v. 28) : this requires a colon at avaro, the principal verb being 
 cenahat, Mc (r. 33) resuming the distant subject Maenhis (v. 26). 
 
 36. scilicet ut : ironical ; though still a glutton, the result of his 
 living on plain fare was that he inveighed against nc2)ote.<t, " spend- 
 thrifts," who could afford delicacies like tardus and volva (v. 41), 
 The subjunctive is consecutive. 
 
 37. fcorrector : "reformer"; v.l.correotus, '^Teiovmed." Bestius : 
 nothing further is known of him ; corrector Bestins^ " after the 
 manner of Bestius," has an adverbial force like rusticvs, "clownishly," 
 I. ii. 42, 71. idem : " and yet he." Idem in this adversative sense is 
 c[uite common. 
 
 39. The metaphor is from a victorious general committing a 
 captured city to the flames. 
 
 40. bona: " goods," " substance." cum: causal. 
 
 41. volva: sow's matrix was considered a great delicacy by the 
 Romans. 
 
 42. Mc: "such an one." Cp. I. vi. 40. 
 
XVI.] NOTES. 95 
 
 44. contingit : the present here has a frequentative force, 
 unctins : '"fatter," "richer." idem: "I nevertheless"; see r. 37, n. 
 46. fundata : " founded upon,'" " well invested in." 
 
 EPISTLE XVI. 
 
 Argument. — Ton asl: after my farm, Qnhitins? Well, to we 
 it is a rvstic 2>(i'>'f((lisC' And now I ash after yon. Are yon tndij 
 happy? Are yon icise and yood, not as the world thinhs, hvt truly 
 leise and good'.' And wliat i-v a ^r/ood man'? Jfore than the 
 resjjeetahle laic-abrdi?ir/ citizen, whose only motive may he fear of 
 jynnishment : the truly good man must he inspired hy a love of good- 
 ness for its oicn sahe ; he must not timidly make a shoiv of goodness 
 for keeping 7/p his credit and increasing his gains ; lihe Dionysns in 
 the 2)1 ay he mnst he vndantited to the end. 
 
 [See Index for Apollo, Tarentum.] 
 
 1. ne : "'lest," giving the negative purpose of scrihetur (v. 4). 
 Quinti : this Quintius cannot be identified. 
 
 2. pascat: the interrogative particle (utrnm, ~ne) is frequently 
 omitted in the first alternative, as here hetore fundus. 
 
 3. amicta vitibus ulmo : for the training of the vine on elms see 
 I. vii. 84, n. 
 
 5. continui : sc. sunt, " are in an unbroken line." ni : ■' excepting 
 that." The statement that the line of mountains is unbroken is 
 here substituted for the normal hypothesis " would be unbroken." 
 This construction is found when the statement is one of a general 
 truth. 
 
 6. sed ut : limiting opaca ; '•' still in such a way that." The valley 
 evidently ran north and south. 
 
 7. vaporet: not "covers with mist," but " warms," 
 
 8. quid : sc. dicas. The question is answered by dicas (y. 11) = 
 " you would say." 
 
 12. dare . . . idoneiis : complementary infinitive, here equivalent 
 to a dative of work contemplated ; see I. i. 14, n. ut : "to such a 
 degree that," vaguely qualifying idonevs. 
 
 13, frigidior: this word, and j^^'^'^or, are secondary predicates ; cp. 
 snpremum, I. iv. 13, n. Thracam . . . Hebrus : see I, iii. 3, n. 
 
 15. iam : i.e. now that 1 have told you its charms. 
 
 16. tibi : -'to your delight" ; ethic dative ; see I. iii. 15, n. Septem- 
 bribus horis : autumn was a very unhealthy season at Eome ; see 
 I. vii. 6, 71. 
 
 17. audis : used as the passive of dicis ; see I. vii. 38, n. 
 
 18. iactamus iam pridem : for the use of the present where English 
 uses a present perfect see iamdvdnm splendet, I. v, 7. omnis Homa : 
 nominative in apposition to (jios') the subject of iactamus. 
 
 19. necui : also written ap?,rt ne cui. The indefinite pronoun quis 
 is used after ne, si, nisi, num, and quando. 
 
90 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [xVI. 
 
 20. sapiente : the ablative of the standard of comparison after 
 alhta is a lare constrnction. 
 
 22. snb : with the accusative, means " up to," and hence of time 
 " close up to," Le. '' just before '* or " just after." Here it means " till 
 just before." 
 
 23. incidat : subjunctive by attraction, dependent on the sub- 
 junctives disshmdcs and dictltet. 
 
 25. tibi : dative of the agent with pngnata. See I. i. 64, n. 
 
 26. vacuas : "empty," then "unoccupied," and so "listening." 
 
 ?>\. tuo nomine: al)lative of manner, " (m your own account,*' 
 I.e. "as if the name were yours." sodes : see I. i. 62, n. nempe : 
 " of course," with *some irony. 
 
 32. dici : this infinitive (equivalent to the al)lative of a noun) 
 would not be allowable in prose, where we must Vv'rite (inoil d'tcor, 
 or dici VIC delcetat. 
 
 34. detulerit : sc. ^^^'j;?/??/.?. idem: "it nevertheless"; see I. xv. 
 37, n. 
 
 35. pone : equivalent to depone, sc. nomcn viri honi et prudentis. 
 
 36. idem : sc. j^opulus. esse : sc. we. 
 
 38. mordear . . . mutem : deliberative subjunctives. The question 
 is rhetorical and equivalent to a strong negative. colores : the 
 plural expresses the going and coming of the colour of the face. 
 
 41. consulta: the technical term for decrees of the senate {aenatus 
 consiilta). leges iuraque : "statutes and laws." Lex denotes a 
 particular enactment, ??m includes the whole body of the law. 
 
 42. quo iudice : ablative of attendant circumstance, " with whom 
 as judge " ; so also qno spon.wre and quo teste, 
 
 43. causae tenentur : tenere and ohtmere eavmm = ^^io win the 
 day," as opposed to eaiisd (abl.) cadere, "to lose the day." 
 
 45. There is an allusion to the fable of the Ass in the Lion's skin, 
 or the Fox (or Wolf) and the Sheep's skin. 
 
 49. frugi : originally a predicative dative, which afterwards 
 became crystallised into an indeclinable adjective, = " an honest 
 man." Sabellus : the Sabines had a reputation for old-fashioned 
 plain speaking. It may mean Horace himself, as the owner of a 
 Sabine estate. 
 
 50. Such men, Horace means, are only deterred from evil by fear. 
 54. sit : concessive subjunctive, " let there only be." 
 
 57. omne forum : "the whole forum." tribunal: the platform of 
 wood or stone in the forum on which magistrates sat, in their chair 
 of office, when performing their piiblic duties. Here it is used for 
 the nssembly round the trihunal. 
 
 51>. lane: Janus, the two-faced deitj^ tlio indigenous god of the 
 Romans, who presided over all goings out and comings in. 
 
 60. Laverna : the Roman goddess of thieves. 
 
 61. da: h(!re takes the following infiidtive as direct object, fiusto 
 sanctoque videri : the adjectival complements here regularly agree 
 with mihi. The variant inatiim sanctumqne is an example of a con- 
 struction occasionally fonnd even in Cicero, but not to be imitated. 
 
XYII.] 
 
 NOTES. 97 
 
 63. qui : archaic ablative (really a locative) = '• how." 
 
 66. mihi : dative of person judg-ino: ; cp. I. ii. 30, h. 
 
 67. perdidit arma : like a coward he has tlung away his arms, and 
 deserted his post in the army of the virtuoiis. 
 
 69. captivum : refers to the avarus of r. 68. 
 
 70. pascat : sc. pecora, jussive subjunctive in quasi-dependence on 
 sine. The same construction is continued in the following subjunc- 
 tives to V. 72. durus : " patiently " ; see I. vii. 91, n. 
 
 T2. annonae prosit: "let him be serviceable to the market," «'.«. 
 bring down prices by increasing the supply. 
 
 73. Pentheu : the successor of Cadmus as king of Thebes, in Boeotia. 
 For resisting the introduction of the worship of Bacchus (Dionysus), 
 he was driven mad, and was torn to pieces by his own mother. Horace 
 paraphrases a scene from the Baccliae of Euripides {vv. 492, ff.) in 
 which Dionysus, disguised as a Lydian, is charged before Pentheus 
 with having introduced Bacchic orgies. 
 
 75. nempe : i.e. '■ of course yon mean," ironical. 
 
 76. argentum: "plate." toUas : jussive subjunctive in quasi- 
 dependence on licet. 
 
 79. linea : the calx or chalk line which served as the winning line 
 in the racecourse. 
 
 EPISTLE XVII. 
 
 Aegument. — I send you some advice, Scaeva, though you are as 
 covipetent to give it me. The simple life of Aristippus brings hap- 
 piness and self-sufficiency whatever a man's position in life, and it is 
 no disgrace to him that he does not luin the highest honours. But 
 the viHuous man icill not give np from faint heart, and ivhe7i he has 
 icon his icay and found his patron, he must not ash for favours or he 
 icill get fewer than hy patient silence; nor must he mahe feigned 
 complaiyits, or his real wants icill not gain credit. 
 
 [See Index for Aristippus, Brundisium.] 
 
 1. quamvis: here, as frequently in Horace, takes the indicative. 
 See I. xiv. 6. n. 
 
 2. tandem : this particle is retained from the direct question, quo 
 tandem decet ? " in what manner pray is it fitting ? " maioribus uti : 
 " to associate or live with the great." Malores = *• greater than your- 
 self," "great men." 
 
 5. fecisse : the perfect emphasises the state brought about by 
 cures. The perfect infinitive is seldom used as the direct object, 
 except after a few verbs like volo. 
 
 6. primam in horam : '• till daybreak." An hour in the Roman 
 sense was one-twelfth part of the time between sunrise and sunset, 
 and so varied in length with the season of the year. The client 
 would have to be up before sunrise to pay his call. 
 
 8. Ferentinum : (^Ferento) a lonely town of the Hernici in Latium. 
 
 H. Ep. 7 
 
98 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [XVII. 
 
 10. fefellit : " has escaped the notice of men"; cp. h&ne qni latent 
 henc, vi.cit (Ovid), '• he who has been ill known has lived well." The 
 construction and meaning of /alio are an imitation of the Greek 
 \avd6.vo3 with the participle. 
 
 12. siccus : " hungr}'." unctum : either (i) '■ a rich man," or (ii) 
 " a rich meal."' 
 
 13. olus : a kind of cognate accusative with i)randeret, " to make 
 a vegetable dinner." 
 
 14. si sciret : the mood and tense denote a condition contrary to 
 fact, regibus uti: "to associate with princes." Aristippus lived for 
 some time with the younger Dionysius of Syracuse. 
 
 18. mordacem Cynicum : the " snarling Cynic " was Diogenes of 
 Sinope, who was a pupil at Athens of Antisthenes, the founder of 
 the Cynics, eludebat : a fencing term used metaphorically, " tried 
 to pany," the tense having a conative force. 
 
 19. mihi, populo : datives of advantage, hoc: "my conduct"; 
 lioc generally denotes the latter of two alternatives, but here it is 
 naturally used for " this of mine," since istiid would here have been 
 used to denote the other alternative, " that of yours." 
 
 21. officium : " social duty," ejf. calling, etc. fvili^,, veruni : this 
 is undoubtedly the correct reading. There is a variant villa rerum 
 = viles res, by a well-knoAvn use of the partitive genitive. 
 
 22. nullius : masculine ; genitive with egentem, which also takes 
 the ablative. 
 
 23. color : " complexion " of fortune, whether bright or gloomy. 
 res : " fortune." 
 
 24. temptantem : "aiming at." fere praesentibus aequum : lit. 
 "generally equal to the circumstances of the hour," i.e. " submitting 
 to," "content with." Praesentibus is best taken as dative with 
 aeqmim . 
 
 25. duplici panno : this was also called aholla. It was a large 
 cloak worn doubled in the place of a separate tunic and cloak ; 
 jyannus especially denotes a torn or shabby garment. 
 
 28. quidlibet indutus : indiior is used reflexively and consequently 
 can be followed by an accusative, " putting on himself anything j'ou 
 like." See the note on I. i. 56. 
 
 29. non inconcinnus : " quite gracefully." utramque : i.e. the 
 character of the fine gentleman or of the poor man. 
 
 30. Mileti textam : "woven at Miletus." For the locative case 
 see I. ii. 2, n. Miletus was formerly a great city on the N.W. coast 
 of Caria, in Asia Minor. It was celebrated for its woollen stuffs, 
 from w^hich were made fine purple garments. 
 
 32. vivat : jussive subjunctive in quasi-dependence on sine. 
 
 33. res gerere : the regular phrase for warlike achievements, 
 ostendere : i.e. in the procession of the Triumph. 
 
 35. ultima : " last " and so " highest," " greatest." 
 
 36. contingit : in its usual good sense here, as in r. 9, eontingunt 
 f/audia. The meaning is " every one has not the good fortune to be 
 able to afford the expensive pleasures of Corinth." This is a Greek 
 
XVIII.] 
 
 NOTES. 99 
 
 proverb, Corinth among the Greeks corresponding to the modern 
 Paris as a centre of pleasure. 
 
 37. sedit : this tense probably has a gnomic force, as also timuit, 
 jpervenit, fecit, succederet : impersonal. Suecedere is not used 
 personally with the sense of the English '•' succeed." 
 
 42. recte : = mcrito, " as his right." 
 
 43. rege : " patron " ; cp. I. vii. 37. 
 
 45. hoc erat : hoc refers \o lilns i)o$icente feront ^ and crat carries us 
 back to vv. 11, 12, in which a man is advised to "sponge" on his 
 wealthy acquaintances. 
 
 46. indotata : it was looked upon as a disgrace for a Roman not to 
 provide his sister with a dowry. 
 
 47. pascere : (with jirmus) a complementary infinitive, equivalent 
 to a dative of work contemplated. See note on I. i. 14. F'irmns = 
 " sure." The meaning is " not to be relied upon to give me food." 
 
 49. tmihi: dative of the agent, dividuo munere : ablative of 
 attendant circumstances; lit. "the gift being divided." The meaning 
 is, " I shall divide the cake, and you will get your share." There 
 is a variant '" ^^ miJiH' Dividuo findetur,'' etc., "'To me also !' 
 The cake will be divided," etc. 
 
 50. There is no story exactly analogous to the situation here 
 described, but very possibly the allusion is to the familiar fable of 
 the Fox and the Raven, since in both cases something is lost by 
 foolish speech ; and so corvus, " the raven," easily suggests the idea 
 of " silly chatterer " to one who detects the allusion. 
 
 51. rixae . . . invidiae : partitive genitives with minv.'i. 
 
 52. Surrentum: (Sorrento) a town in Campania on the Promun- 
 turium Minervae, and opposite Capreae. It was a well-known health 
 resort, famous for its wines. 
 
 56. sibi : dative of disadvantage after raptam. uti : consecutive. 
 
 57. veris : goes with both damnis and doloribns. 
 
 58. inrisus : •■ laughed at" for being taken in by the imposture. 
 
 59. illi : the dative of reference equivalent to the English genitive 
 of possession, plurima : 7mdtns and more rarelj plurimus are used 
 in poetry instead of the plural ; thus plurima lacrima instead of 
 plurimae lacrimae, " many, ay many a tear." 
 
 60. iuratus : active in meaning, " having sworn." dicat : semi- 
 dependent on licet as is mdnet, the conjunction et being omitted ; 
 the subjunctive is jussive with concessive force. Osirim, the husband 
 of Isis, was an Egyptian deity. Both of these deities were now 
 worshipped extensively in Rome. 
 
 62. rauca : " with harsh, discordant cries." 
 
 EPISTLE XVIII. 
 
 Argument. — I hiow, my outspoken Lollius, that your great friend 
 will never find you a parasite, hut do not go to the other extreme, I 
 mean rudeness. I give you a few rules: — Do not offend your patron 
 
100 
 
 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. 
 
 [xviii. 
 
 hy immoral conduct, dicing or ostentation. Do not pry into secretx, 
 hut Itei'p them if confided. Accommodate yourself to Ids ta<;tes as, for 
 example, in hunting and sports. Be careful what you say of others. 
 Avoid inquisitiveness. Avoid intrigv^s in his hoiisehold. Be careful 
 whom you introduce to him. After all it is a difficult task to heej) 
 yo^t^'sclf in favour loith a wealthy patron. Ymimust bend to all his 
 inclinations and yet mnst not be too retiring. And in the midst of 
 all this remember ichat true happiness means, and strive to attain to 
 it. Think of me and the hajjpiness of my life. 
 
 1. liberrime : " most outspoken." LoUi : see I. ii. 1. 
 
 2. professus amicum : so. te esse. 
 
 4. discolor: "of different hue," a picturesque equivalent for 
 differeus ; similarly color is ascribed to fortune in I. xvii. 23. 
 distabit : with the dative ; in prose it vrould be a scurra. 
 
 5. Construe : — diversum huic vitio est vitium jyropte viaius. This is 
 explained by the following line. 
 
 7. tonsa cute : " closely cropped " as opposed to the fashionable 
 mode of cutting to a moderate degree of shortness. 
 
 8. dum vult : this denotes the motive, as dum quaerit, I, vii. 79, n. 
 
 9. Tliis is Aristotle's doctrine, vitiorum : the genitive is one of 
 reference denoting that in respect of which the adjective is applicable. 
 
 10. imi derisor lecti : the following is a plaa of the arrangement 
 of a Roman dining table. 
 
 II. Medius lectus. 
 
 
 pi 
 3 
 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 Mensa. 
 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 CO 
 
 B 
 B 
 
 at 
 
 t— ■ 
 
 CD 
 
 o 
 at 
 
 I. Summus lectus. 
 
 1. summus. 
 
 2. medius. 
 
 3. imus. 
 
 II. Medius lectus. 
 4. summus. 
 6. medius. 
 6. imus. 
 
 III. Imus lectus. 
 
 7. summus. 
 
 8. medius. 
 
 9. imus. 
 
 The scvrra would recline on the imus lectus next to the host. 
 
 11. divitis : his rich host. 
 
 12. verba cadentia tollit : "picks up his chance remarks," i.e. he 
 l^resscs into the notice of the party anything and everytliing bis 
 patron says. 
 
 13. dictata reddere : " repeating his lesson." 
 
XVIII.] 
 
 NOTES. ' • , > , ,' lOl' 
 
 14. partes secundas : the second actor in •the mime qrj^jce^ hafKo--, » 
 " play second fiddle " to the first and chiei; actor;, ; '.l^\\'_^',^ 
 
 15. de lana caprina : proverbial for somdihiiig nonieiJstent. 
 
 16. nugis : dative governed by j^ropugnat. scilicet ut : the ut 
 is consecutive, and is explained by the following clause -.—Pretium 
 actus altera sordet, lit. '• What ! on the condition that I should not 
 be believed ? etc. A second life would be worthless on that condition." 
 Scilicet nt introduces an indignant question with some irony and 
 may be translated :— " To think that," etc. 
 
 18. pretium aetas altera sordet : lit. "my life over again as a 
 reward (for silence) would be worthless." 
 
 19. Castor . . . Dolichos : the names of two gladiators. 
 
 20. Minuci via ... an A'ppi : from this and other passages it is 
 inferred that the Minucian was a branch of the Appian Way leading 
 fi-om Beneventum to Canusium and along the coast to Brundisium, 
 whereas the Appian Way went round by Tarentum. The Via Appia, 
 begun bv Appius Claudius Caecus, the Censor B.C. 312, originally 
 extended from Eome to Capua, but was continued at a later date to 
 Brundisium. 
 
 22. gloria: "vain-glory," " vanity." vires: " means," " income." 
 
 23. inportuna: Horace uses this word, which properly means 
 " unsuitable," sometimes in the sense of " cruel," " merciless," some- 
 times in the sense of " insatiate " ; here the meaning is " insatiate." 
 
 25. decern vitiis : ablative of measure of difference. Decern is 
 chosen as a round number. 
 
 26. regit : " directs his conduct." pia : " affectionate." Pius 
 denotes affection towards one's family, one's country, or the gods of 
 one's country. 
 
 28. contendere : sc. mecum. 
 
 30 arta . . . toga: "a toga of narrow width." A broad toga 
 trailing at the heels was a mark of display, comitem : i.e. clientem, 
 " a dependant." 
 
 31. Eutrapelus : the word is from the Greek and means " versatile," 
 " ^^'itty." It was a name given to P. Yolumnius, a Eoman knight 
 contemporary with Cicero. 
 
 32. beatus enim : Horace quotes the words of Eutrapelus. 
 
 34. dormiet in lucem : a poor client would have had to be up 
 before daybreak to pay his call. See I. xvii. 6, n. 
 
 35. officium : the duty of calling upon his patron. See I. xvii. 21, w, 
 nummos alienos : lit. " other people's monies," i.e. " debts" pascet : 
 
 "increase." 
 
 86. Thrax : the name for a gladiator with a Thracian round shield 
 and short sword, like a Highlander with a dirk and target. For 
 a Roman to turn gladiator was as discreditable as for an English 
 gentleman to enlist in the ranks, mercede : ablative of price. 
 
 37. illius : i.e. of the wealthy patron, scrutaberis : future with 
 imperative force. 
 
 38. tortus : a metaphor from examination under torture. 
 
 39. aliena : i.e. the patron's. 
 
D2 , HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [XYIII. 
 
 41, gratia .*' good- will,'' ''friendship." Amphionis atque Zethi : 
 Araplnoq -aud-Zetkus. were the twin sons of Jupiter and Antiope of 
 Thebes. Amphion was skilled in playing the lyre. After a quarrel 
 as to the use of music with Zethus, the shepherd, he yielded to his 
 sterner brother s wishes and ceased to play. 
 
 42. suspecta : " regarded with suspicion," as tending to effeminacy. 
 severe : sc.fratri. The dative denotes the agent. 
 
 46. f Aeoliis : said to refer to fine but strong nets made of flax 
 from the neighbourhood of Cumae, a colony from the Aeolian town 
 of Cyme. A more widely accepted reading is Aefolis, an epithet 
 used to recall the famous boar-hunt of Meleager in Calvdon. an 
 ancient town of Aetolia. 
 
 48. pariter : sc. cum jmtrotio tuo. 
 
 49. sollemne : (.wllus, " whole," annua, " year ") " what occurs 
 once in a whole year," " annual," ••' customary." opus : best ex- 
 plained as accusative in apposition, not to any particular word, but 
 to the whole preceding clause, as far as it refers to hunting. This 
 construction is commoner in Greek than in Latin. 
 
 53. tractet : consecutive subjunctive, quo clamore : ablative of 
 attendant circumstance, coronae : not infrequently = " the ring of 
 spectators." 
 
 54. campestria : in the Campus Martins. 
 
 55. Cantabrica bella : the campaign against the Cantabrians directed 
 by Augustus in person B.C. 25. 
 
 56. templis Parthorum signa refigit : " is taking down the standards 
 from the Parthian temples." The standards which had been taken 
 from Crassus at Carrhae, B.C. 53, by the Parthians were restored by 
 Phrahates B.C. 20. 
 
 58. ne : for nc introducing the negative purpose, not of the action 
 mentioned, but of the mentioning of it, see I. i. 18, n. 
 
 59. quamvis here takes the indicative, as often in Horace, extra 
 numerum . . . modumque : " out of time and tune," i.e. beyond the 
 bounds of propriety, fecisse : " to prove to have done." See I. xvii. 
 5, n. The perfect infinitive is seldom used as the direct object, except 
 after a few verbs like i\do. 
 
 60. rure paterno : this form of the locative, and not rui'i, is used 
 when an attiibute accompanies the word. 
 
 61. Actia pugna : the battle of Actium, in Acarnania, ended in the 
 total defeat of Antony and Cleopatra by Augustus B.C. 31. 
 
 62. pueros : the slaves of the wealthy patron. 
 
 64. velox : Victoria (the Greek Nik6) was represented in works of 
 art with wings ; hence this epithet, coronet : this is a final sub- 
 junctive ; but donee, in v. 42, is followed by the indicative as de- 
 noting a relation merely temporal. 
 
 66. utroque . . . laudabit pollice : the exact nature of the gesture 
 referred to is unknown. It was customary in the amphitheatre for 
 the audience to signify their wish that a fallen gladiator should be 
 allowed to live by turning their thumbs downwards, Horace probably 
 refers to this. 
 
XYIIT.] NOTES. 103 
 
 67, ut moneam : like Tie retrahas^v. 58, ■«. — "this I say in order 
 that." 
 
 68. quoque : either (i) ablative of qnisque, " each," or (ii) = et quo. 
 72. non . . . ulceret . . . ulla : the subjunctive is jussive. Kon 
 
 is sometimes used by poets and late prose writers with the subjunctive 
 in prohibitions, where, according to the ordinary rule, nc would be 
 expected, (i) if a particular part of the sentence is to be emphasised, 
 (ii) if there is especial emphasis on the negative, as here, iecur : 
 regarded by the ancients as the seat of the emotions and affections. 
 
 75. incommodus : "disobliging," "churlish." English requires an 
 adverb. 
 
 78. quondam: lit. "at a certain time," hence (i) "sometimes," 
 as here, (ii) " formerly," (iii) in poetiy, " at some time " (in the 
 future), " one day." Olim has the same variation of meaning. 
 
 82. dente Theonino : the meaning is "a slanderer's tongue," but 
 nothing certain is known of the person referred to. ecquid : the 
 accusative of ecquh, used as an impassioned interrogative, " don't 
 you in some way ? " 
 
 84. tua res agitur : " your interests are at stake," " you are in 
 jeopardy." 
 
 88. hoc age : "let this be your care." See note on I. vi. 31. 
 
 91. fbibuli . . . oderunt : this passage is probably an interpolation. 
 For the Falernian wine see I. xiv. 34. 
 
 93. tepores : " heats," "feverishness." 
 
 95. obscuri : " deep," " designing." acerbi : "bitter-tempered." 
 
 97. qua ratione : explaining the purpose of Ze^e^ aud2yercontahere, 
 and introducing a dependent question, which is further explained by 
 the following questions. 
 
 98. agitet : deliberative subjunctive, " whether desire ever needy 
 is to trouble you." 
 
 99. pavor : " fear lest you lose." mediocriter utilium : lit, " things 
 moderately advantageous," i.e. what the Stoics call indljferentia 
 (^ddidcpopa), " things indifferent," a term applied by them to all things 
 called good except virtue, the ideal good, spes : " hope that you 
 may win." 
 
 100. This was a very common question with the ancient philosophers. 
 
 102. pure : i.e. so that all clouds of trouble are dispersed from the 
 soul, honos : "office." lucellum : a diminutive of Zwcr^wi, " gain." 
 
 103. fallentis : " escaping notice," "noticed by none." 
 
 104. Digentia : (^Licenza) a small stream, which flowed through 
 Horace's Sabine farm and passed into the Anio. 
 
 105. Mandela : (^Cantalvj^o Barddla) a village on an eminence 
 close to Horace's farm. 
 
 107. fet mihi vivam :• " and may I live to myself," i.e. in inde- 
 pendence. The subjunctives express wish. The v. 1. ut would mean 
 " provided that," being used concessively. 
 
 109. in annum : " till next year." 
 
 111. jquae ponit: v. 1. quae donate "for the things which he gives " ; 
 qui donaty " who gives." Ponit = " sets before us." 
 
104 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [XIX. 
 
 EPISTLE XIX. 
 
 Argument. — Crat'mns long ago declared, Maecenas^, that real poesy 
 WIS ivi?ie-in.y}ired. I repeated his dictum, and every pi e'as'^er icas 
 inelloio by night and fragrant by day ; but more is needed to mahe 
 a poet than mere 'imitation of external 2>eculiarities. I, i/ideed, 
 have imitated, but not ivithoi/t fnding ample room to display my 
 originality. Some jjeople read my bool'S at home, and take me 
 down in public. Why? Because I icill not stoop to mean arts for 
 securing popularity. They say I despise them and am orerproud, 
 but I iciil not quarrel. 
 
 [See Index for Alcaeus, Archilochus, Ennius, Homerus, Maecenas, 
 Sappho {s. V. Alcaeus.)] 
 
 1. Cratino : a famous Greek poet, of the school called the Old 
 Comedy, which flourished in the fifth century, B.C. It was charac- 
 terised by unsparing attacks on public men. Cratinus was notoriously 
 intern ])erate in the use of wine. 
 
 '6. potoribus : dative of the agent, for which see I. i. 1. n. ut : 
 = ex quo (te7npore), " since the time when" ; a rare use. male sanos : 
 = insan<)s; so inalejidns = injidu.i. ; v^^-v-i/^^ Ji-''' H,ii'^.'. 
 
 4. Liber : an old Italian god, afterwards identinea with the Crreek' 
 Bacchus. Satyris Faunisque : the Roman Fauns corresponded to the 
 Greek Satyrs, who were sylvan deities attendant upon Bacchus. 
 
 5. Camenae : the Italian goddesses of song. The Cameuae are 
 here put for their servants, the poets. 
 
 6. vinosus : used predicatively, "to be fond of wine." 
 
 8. putealque Libonis : also called Scribonianum. Puteal first 
 meant a wall put round a well {puteus) ; \.\\q puteal built by Scribo- 
 nius Libo was a structure of similar shape put round a spot once 
 struck by lightning. About this puteal Roman business-men assem- 
 bled, so that it came to be a khid of " Exchange." 
 
 9. cantare : direct objective of adimam, "I will take away singing, 
 the power to sing." 
 
 10. edixi : Horace uses a strong word : the praetor's cdirta had 
 the force of law in the provinces. 
 
 13. textore : "the weaver," here used graphically for "the style." 
 The ablative is instrumental, not ablative of the agent which would 
 require a, ah. Catonem : ]\I. Porcius Cato Uticeusis, a rigid Stoic. 
 He was a prominent leader in the Senatorial army, and soon after 
 their defeat at Thapsus, B.C. 4G, died by his own hand at Utica. 
 
 15. rupit : = corrupit, "brought to ruin." larbitam : larbita 
 seems to have been the nickname of a Mauretanian named Codrus. 
 Timagenis : Timagenes was a rhetorician of Alexandria, who was 
 at this time well known in Rome. The genitive is objective after 
 aemula. 
 
 17. vitiis imitabile : "which can be imitated in its defects" — 
 ablative of respect. 
 
XIX.] NOTES. 105 
 
 18. exsangue cuminum : cummin is in a manner personified, and 
 spoken of as having the quality which it induces. 
 
 19. servum : probably the adjective, possibly genitive plural for 
 servornm. 
 
 20. bilem: here "wrath," which was thought to depend upon 
 particular conditiors of the bile and liver. 
 
 21. vacuum : " virgin soil," where none has gone before me. 
 
 23. regit examen : will be like the king-bee, and rule the swarm 
 in the busy hive of the world. It should be remembered that the 
 Komans thought what we call the queen-bee was a male. Parios : 
 " of Paros" {Paro). an island in the S. of the Aegean Sea. It was 
 the birthplace of Archilochus, the great iambic poet, primus : Horace 
 passes over earlier writers in the same field. ^^ 
 
 25. res : " subjects," " themes." agentia : "pursued," " drove mad.' 
 Lycamben : see Index, s. i\ Archilochus. 
 
 26. foliis brevioribus : i.e. minore corona, " a humbler chaplet." 
 
 28. temperat: has an object in the accusative when it means 
 " directs," " models." pede : " foot," " measure " (in poetry). Sappho: 
 see Index, s. v. Alcaeus. 
 
 29. ordine : " arrangement " possibly of the lines, but the reference 
 is not certain. 
 
 30. The meaning is, he did not attack with the virulence of 
 
 Archilochus. „ . 
 
 31. famoso : in classical prose this word means "infamous; m 
 later prose and in poetry it means " defamatory," and sometimes 
 " famous " in a good sense. 
 
 32. hunc : Alcaeus, whom no one had imitated before Horace. 
 31. ingenuis : " of gentle birth," "gentle." 
 
 3.5. veils : " you may wish," potential subjunctive. 
 
 39. auditor et ultor : i.e. listening while they recite, and afterwards 
 retaliating upon them. ^^ 
 
 40. grammaticas . . . tribus : " the tribes of teachers.' The 
 metaphor is from canvassing the tribes at a Roman election, pulpita: 
 " platforms." The poet would have to win the teachers' favourable 
 criticism before his poems were popular enough to be taught in 
 schools. 
 
 41. Line illae lacrimae : a proverbial expression coming originally 
 from the Andria of Terence. The meaning is, " there lies the cause 
 of the trouble." 
 
 43. ait : " says one." The pronoun is sometimes thus omitted with 
 inquit and ait. lovis : i.e. Augustus. 
 
 45. tibi pulcher : " beautiful in your owti esteem." The dative is 
 one of reference, naribus uti : " to sneer openly." 
 
 46. luctantis : the participle used as a substantive. 
 48. genuit : gnomic aorist ; see I. ii- 48, n. 
 
106 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK I. [XX. 
 
 EPISTLE XX. 
 
 Argument. — You are longing to go forth to the world, my hook, 
 hut you loill repent it. The j^ublic at home icill soon get tired of 
 you, and then you will he sent abroad, and in old age heeome a poetry 
 hook for schools. When you can get people to listen, tell them a word 
 or two ahout the poet. 
 
 1. Vertumnum : in origin this word is a participle (cp. al-u-mnus 
 and the Greek termination -menos), and means "changing"; so 
 Vertumnus was the god of the changing year, who could assume 
 any shape he pleased. The temple of Vertumnus was in the Vicv.^ 
 Tuscus, a street leading S. from the Forum Romannm, and lined with 
 shops. lanum : i.e. the temple of Janus in the Argiletum, a district 
 full of bookshops. 
 
 2. scilicet: ironical, prostes : "be put up for sale." Sosiorum : 
 the brothers Sosii were well-known booksellers, pumice : pumice- 
 stone was used for smoothing off the ends of the rolls {volumina). 
 
 3. claves . . . sigilla :' valuables were often kept under lock and 
 seal. 
 
 5. descendere : the usual word for going to the Forum, which lay 
 in the valley. 
 
 6. emisso : emittere is elsewhere used for " publishing " a book. 
 
 8. in breve te cogi : " you are squeezed up tightly," i.e. in the case. 
 plenus : "sated." 
 
 9. odio : ablative of cause, augur : Horace himself. 
 
 10. deserat : in prose this would certainly be deseret, since the 
 relation between the clauses is purely temporal ; see I. xviii. 64, n. 
 aetas : " prime of life." This meaning is rare ; the word usually 
 means simply " time of life." 
 
 12. taciturnus: "voiceless," i.e. "unread." inertes : {in-, "not," 
 'ars, '• art "), lit. " without skill," hence " barbai-ous." 
 
 13. Uticam : on the coast of Africa, 25 miles N.W. of Carthage. 
 Ilerdam : {Lerida) a town in Hispania Tarraconensis. What could 
 not be sold at Rome would be sent off to the provinces. 
 
 18. extremis in vicis : "in out-of-the-way places." balba : "stam- 
 mering," with some allusion to the stammering of the boys, as they 
 repeat their lesson from the poet's verses. 
 
 19. sol tepidus : i.e. the evening sun. In the evening, when the 
 noontide heat of the Italian sun was over, the streets would be fuller, 
 and there would be more people to scan the books exposed for sale ; 
 so Horace says, " he would have a larger audience," aures being 
 equivalent to "readers," whom the l)ook is enjoined to address 
 Qoqurrix') ; so in r. 12 it is spoken of as being taeiturnus. 
 
 20. libertino natum patre : see Introduction, § 1. 
 
 21. nido: goes with »uiio)'r.s as ablative of standard of comp;iiiw»ii 
 and with extendisse as ablative of the place from which. . loqueris : 
 jussive. 
 
 22. ut : consecutive, demas : subjunctive by attraction. 
 
XX.] 
 
 NOTES. 1 07 
 
 23. belli . . . domique : with primis urhis. Horace refers to 
 Agrippa, the great general, and Maecenas his patron. Others join 
 belli domique with iJlacrdsse^ and refer to Satire I. vi. 46, If., 
 where Horace refers to his position as tribune under Brutus (belli) 
 and the goodwill of Maecenas (domi). This view is supported by 
 the order, and by grammatical usage, since adverbial phrases in 
 Latin are not frequently used attributively with substantives, 
 especially in good prose. 
 
 24. solibus : the plural means *' the rays of the sun," " the sun- 
 shine." 
 
 25. irasci: complementary infinitive. See I. i. 14, /«., and I. ii. 
 27, n. ut : consecutive with essem ; the historic tense shows that 
 with celerem we must supply /wis^'*?, the perfect being the tense of the 
 infinitive used to denote time prior to that of the principal verb 
 (loqueris). 
 
 28. fcollegam Lepidum : Q. Aemilius Lepidus was consul with 
 M. Lollius for the latter part of B.C. 21. During the first part of 
 the year Lollius was sole consul, the other consulship having been 
 kept open for Augustus, who declined to accept it. dixit : '' nomi- 
 nated." The v. 1. duxit = "took as his companion." 
 
BOOK II. 
 
 EPISTLE I. 
 
 Argument. — I must not ti'csjjass on your time too much, AnguHuft. 
 Men have done you justioe in you?- lifetime; but as a rule the good 
 old days are always hejfraised. Beeatise the older Greek jJoets ivere 
 tlw best it does not follow that the oldest Latin poets are. And rohere 
 are we to drarv the line between old and new ? J However, the ancients 
 are the ^rage in these days, and sound criticism is out of court. 
 Moderns are cried down by envious contemporaries, simply because 
 they are modern. The Greeks never showed a dislike of new forms 
 of art ; they were full of versatility and freshness, while we Romans 
 icere staid and slow to move. But noiu we are all turned poetasters. 
 \Vell,2)oetry has its uses— in teaching and in worship. Roman poetry 
 owes its birth to the rude effusions at harvest feasts. These iccre 
 softened by the inflAiencc of Greece ; but it ivas not till far on in 
 Rome's history that Greek Tragedy and Comedy were adapted by 
 Roman 2>^^^ts- In both sjiheres they fall fur short of perfection. 
 Tills is due largely to the uncxdtured tastes of their public. Not that 
 I would cry down the drama ; yet other poets should have a share of 
 your patronage. If ice do not get it, we have mostly ourselves to 
 blame. Great deeds, however, need great poets to ivrite of them. 
 You have proved a better judge of merit than Ale.rander in your 
 choice of Vergil and Varius to immortalise your exploits. I ivould 
 sing of them myself had I the ptower. 
 
 [See Index for Democritus, Ennius, Hercules, Menander, Pytha- 
 goras, Thespis, Varius, Vergilius.] 
 
 1. cum: causal, solus : i.e. as sole monarch. 
 
 2. moribus ornes : lit. " equip it with morals." This refers to 
 Augustus' social reforms. 
 
 4. Caesar : i.e. Augustus. See Index, s.v. Augustus, 
 
 5. Romulus : the first king of the newly built city of Eome. Liber : 
 i.e. Bacchus, cum Castore Pollux: Castor and Pollux were called 
 Dioscuri (Aios Kovpoi), as being the sons of Zeus and Leda. They 
 had been worshipped from a very early date at Rome. 
 
 6. templa : templuvi literally denotes " a sacred precinct, region." 
 Here templa means "the heavenly dwellings" of the gods. 
 
•] 
 
 NOTES. 109 
 
 7. dum . . . colunt : when dum means " while," '■ in the time that," 
 and denotes a time during part of which another event occurred, it 
 takes the present indicative even when the verb of the principal 
 clause is in a past tense ; this present indicative is retained even in 
 Oratio Obliqua. 
 
 10. qui contudit hydram : i.e. Hercules, who, as one of his twelve 
 labours, slew the nine-headed hydra of the Lernean marsh, near 
 Argos. 
 
 11. fatali: "fate-imposed," i.e. through the oath which Juno won 
 from Jupiter. See Index, .s. v. Hercules. 
 
 12. supremo fine : ablative of means, " by his death at last." 
 
 13. urit : sc. eos, i.e. the possessors of the qualities mentioned in 
 the foil o^^-ing clause, artes : "qualities." 
 
 14. idem : " and yet he," a common meaning of the word. 
 
 15. praesenti : " still among us," "not yet dead." 
 
 16. t numen : v. 1. nomen. They both give the required meaning. 
 
 18. f in uno : if we place a comma after it, as in the text, means 
 "in one point" ; without the comma it goes with te, with which the 
 gerundive antefcrendo agrees. 
 
 19. nostris ducibus . . . Grais : regular dative with the com- 
 pound verb anteferendo. 
 
 21. suisque temporibus: " their allotted span of life." The ablative 
 is governed by defungor, being in origin an instrumental ablative. 
 
 23. veterum: neuter, obj. gen. \\\i\i fa ut or. ut: consecutive ex- 
 plaining sic and followed by dictitet, v. 27. tabulas: the XII 
 Tables formulated by the Decemviri (hi.'i qninqne viri) B.C. 450. 
 
 24. foedera regum : i.e. the treaties, of the early Roman kings. 
 Gabiis : supply cum, from the following clause. Gabii ( Castiglione) 
 was in early times a powerful city of Latium. 
 
 25. aequata : "made on equal terms." 
 
 26. pontificum libros : books of ritual kept by the pontijices. 
 volumina vatum : " tomes of soothsayers." The reference is to verses 
 like the carmina Marciana, a prophetic book written in Saturnian 
 verse. 
 
 27. Albano in monte : fifteen miles S.E. of Rome. To Romans it 
 would serve, Horace means, as a home of the Muses, like Parnassus in 
 Greece. 
 
 28. antiquissima quaeque : "all the oldest." Th.\s \x?,q oi quisque 
 is more common with the singular of the superlative. 
 
 30. loquamur : consecutive subjunctive after non est qjuul = nihil 
 est tale lit oh id. Quod is really an adverbial accusative. 
 
 31. The meaning is, "We may as well argue that there is nothing 
 hard," etc. olea : supply in from the following clause ; cp. note on 
 Gahiis (?•. 24). duri : partitive genitive with nil. 
 
 34. si reddit . . . velim : the conditional sentence has a simple 
 assumption in the protasis, hence the indicative, and a potential 
 mood in the apodosis, to which a second protasis may be supplied, 
 ut vina : sc. reddit. 
 
 35. quotus : the word is correlative to the ordinal number^, and 
 
110 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK II. [l. 
 
 the answer to it should be an ordinal number, e.g. centesimus annus 
 arrogat pretiuvi. 
 
 45. caudae : an allusion to a logical puzzle called by the Greeks 
 (paXaKpds, " bald-headed," the problem being, "How many hairs must 
 a man have if he is not to be called bald ? " or " How manj^ hairs 
 make a tail ? " 
 
 47. dum cadat : the subjunctive is used because it was i\\c jmr}) one 
 of Horace that his opponent should ''fall.'' elusus : "baffled," a 
 fencing term, ratione ruentis acervi : also called by the Greek 
 name Sorites, a method of reasoning by adding or taking away little 
 by little. Sorites is derived from aOipos, " a heaji," the problem being 
 *• How many particles make a heap ? " 
 
 48. fastos : fa.Hi. lit. " days on which judgment could be pro- 
 nounced (fa?-/)," "court-days" ; hence " a list of all the days of the 
 year, with their festivals, magistrates, events," etc., "a calendar." 
 
 49. Libitina : (akin to libet, "it pleases") originally the Italian 
 goddess of pleasure. Venus Libitina was afterwards worshipped as 
 the goddess who presided over funerals. 
 
 52. promissa et somnia Pythagorea: the allusion is to Pythagoras' 
 floctrine of metempsychosis, in accordance with which Ennius 
 believed that his soul was the soul of Homer. 
 
 53. Naevius : Cn. Naevius (died B.C. 202) wrote dramas adapted 
 from the Greek. His lampoons on the Metelli brought upon him 
 imprisonment and exile, non : for nonne. 
 
 56. Pacuvius : M. Pacuvius (b.c. 220-130), son of Ennius' sister, 
 was a writer of tragedies adapted from the Greek. Accius: L. Accins 
 (B.C. 170 to about 87) was another writer of tragedies imitated from 
 the Greek. 
 
 57. Afrani : L. Afranius {Jloridt, B.C. 100) was the great writer 
 of national comedy in which Roman characters figured {comoedlae 
 togatac). So the toga is very appropriately used here. 
 
 58. Plautus : Titiis Maccius Plautus (B.C. 254-184), the celebrated 
 writer of comedy, was born in Umbria. He came to Rome, and was 
 driven by poverty to write comedies. His success was great, and the 
 number of his productions extraordinary, though only twenty have 
 come down to us. Epicharmi : a writer of Dorian comedy, born in 
 Cos, B.C. 540 ; he spent most of his life at Syracuse under the 
 patronage of Hiero. 
 
 59. Caecilius : Statins Caecilius (died B.C. 168) was an Insubrian 
 Gaul who came to Rome and enjoyed great popularity as a comic poet. 
 Terentius : P. Terentius Afer (B.C. 195-159) was born at Carthage, 
 and came to Rome to find liberal patrons in Laelius and Scipio the 
 Younger. He wrote six comedies, which remain to us. arte : liteiary 
 skill. 
 
 62. Livi : M. Livius Andronicus who, in B.C. 240, first brought npon 
 the stage at Rome a drama with a regular plot. Beside other works 
 he left an adaptation of the Odyssey in Saturnian metre. He may 
 be looked upon as the first Roman poet. 
 
 63. est ubi peccat : esit nbi is usually followed by the generic or 
 
I.] NOTES. Ill 
 
 consecutive subjunctive ; but here definite instances are refeiTed 
 to, and hence the indicative is used ; it is in fact a synonym for 
 inter (him. 
 
 Q>&. pleraque : " very many things." This is the usual meaning in 
 classical prose, 
 
 68. love iudicat aequo: ablative of attendant circumstance — "its 
 judgment has the favour of Jupiter." 
 
 70. plagosum Orbilium : a schoolmaster at Rome, and an older 
 contemporary of Horace, notorious for his use of the rod. 
 
 71. dictare : the present infinitive is used with viemiiii of events 
 witnessed by the subject himself, the perfect infinitive of events not 
 so witnessed. 
 
 73. emicuit si : the perfect, with a present tense in the principal 
 clause Cducit, v. 75), is used in general conditions with a frequenta- 
 tive sense. " whenever a word shines forth," etc. 
 
 75. ducit : " takes with it," " sells with it." 
 
 76. quicquam: used because z7i^7^«o;' implies "I think that nothing 
 should be censured." 
 
 77. putetur : subjunctive of alleged reason with mm cpila. 
 
 79. crocum floresque : i.e. the stage, which was sprinkled with 
 saffron essence and strewn with flowers. Attae : T. Quintius Atta, a 
 writer of comoediae togatae (died about B.C. 78). 
 
 81, patres : " our older citizens." 
 
 82. gravis : " weighty," " impressive," i.e. as a tragic actor. 
 Aesopus , . , Eoscius : famous actors contemporary with Cicero. 
 
 86, iam : '■ furthermore," •' again," Saliare Numae carmen : i.e. 
 the chant of the Salii, dancing priests of Mars Gradivus, who were 
 instituted by Numa, the second king of early Rome, Its language 
 was very archaic and difficult to understand. 
 
 87. solus : with scire. 
 
 89. lividus : " enviously," An adjectival attribute is often thus 
 used in Latin where the English idiom requires an adverb or adverbial 
 phrase, 
 
 90. quod si: "but if," lit. ''as to which, if . . . ," quod being 
 adverbial accusative. 
 
 92. legeret tereretque : consecutive subjunctives after quod = tale 
 nt id. publicus usus : " general use," abstract for concrete, so " the 
 public by their use of it." 
 
 93. positis , , . bellis : i.e. at the end of the Persian Wars. Horace 
 is probably thinking of the age of Pericles at Athens. 
 
 94. fortuna labier aequa : the ablative is one of cause. LaVwr is 
 formed from lali + er, -er being a form of ar, a dialectical fornrt)f 
 ad., " to," seen also in ar-Mter. 
 
 95. Horace refers to the Panhellenic games, the Olympian, Isthmian, 
 Pythian, and Nemean, 
 
 98. tibicinibus : particular for general — "music." 
 
 99. velut si luderet : the apodosis to this is suppressed (viz. 
 mature . . . relinqueret}. 
 
 100. reliquit : so, Graecia. 
 
112 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK II. [l. 
 
 101. paces: "times of peace." venti secundi : lit. "following 
 winds," sccundus being an old participle of .sequor, '•' I follow." 
 
 102. Romae : " at Rome," locative case. The original locative has 
 left many traces in Latin : (i) in names of towns — Coriiithi, Bomae, 
 Lepti ("at Leptis") ; (ii.) in other words, e.g. postri-die, cotti-die, 
 doini, hu}ni, ruri, belli, m'tlitiae. In the 1st and 2ijd declension the 
 locative became confused with the genitive, hence such forms as 
 Ihmiae, "at Rome." reclusa : with domo, abl. abs. 
 
 103. prpmere iura : " to give legal opinions." 
 
 104. cautos : "guaranteed," "secured." nominibus rectis : "by 
 good names," i.e. reliable debtors and sureties. The ablative is one 
 of manner with cautos. 
 
 107. odiost : odio is predicative dative, credas : consecutive after 
 qtiod = ut id. 
 
 110. comas: accusative of the direct object v/ ith. vincti. Passive 
 verbs often have, especially in the perfect participle, a reflexive or 
 " middle " force ; so here vificti = " having bound upon themselves." 
 dictant : " dictate " to a slave ready to copy them down. 
 
 112. Parthis : ablative of the standard of comparison. To the 
 Romans the Parthians were, like the Carthaginians, "faithless." 
 
 114. agere . . . timet: "fears to handle"; but ne agat tiinet, 
 " fears that he will handle." 
 
 115. medicorumst : the genitive is predicative, i.e. a possessive 
 genitive used as a secondary predicate. 
 
 120. non temere : " non without due cause," " not lightly." hoc 
 studet : studco and similar intransitive verbs can take an accu- 
 sative of the neuter pronoun, defining the extent of action of the 
 verb. 
 
 121. incendia ridet : by an extension of the conception, many 
 intransitive verbs are used transitively, chiefly in poetry. 
 
 122. incogitat : not found elsewhere. 
 
 123. siliquis : lit. " husks," hence " pulse." pane secundo : 
 "second-rate bread," i.e. "of poorer quality." The ablatives are 
 instrumental. 
 
 124. militiae : locative ; cp. v. 102, n. Others take it as a genitive 
 of reference. 
 
 127. iam nunc : " at once," i.e. " in his tender years." 
 130. orientia tempora : either (i) "the rising age" or (ii) "the 
 generations that rise one after another." 
 
 134, praesentia : "present to help." Praesens is frequently used 
 of the gods \vith this meaning. 
 
 135. docta : i.e. by the poet. 
 
 138. Manes : Ut. " the good" ; hence those who have good influence 
 upon men, i.e. the spirits of the dead. From this meaning the woixl 
 acquired a general sense— "the inhabitants of the lower world" — 
 and so here, as opposed to di snpei% it means dl in/eri, " the gods of 
 the lower w^orld." 
 
 140. condita post frumenta : "after the garnering of the corn." 
 Constructed attributively with a noun, the past participle often 
 
•] 
 
 NOTES. 113 
 
 denotes, as here, the action that brought about the state described 
 by the participle. 
 
 143. Tellurem : a divinity who presided over agriculture. Silvanum : 
 the god of woods, plantations, and protector of flocks. 
 
 144. Genium: ('-the creator," cp. genu.^), the "double," or ac- 
 companying deity of each individual, virhich assisted at his birth and 
 influenced his whole life. 
 
 145. Fescennina licentia: Livy the historian tells us that Fescennine 
 verses consisted of rude jests and repartees, the name being derived 
 from Fescennia or Fescennium, a town in Etruria. More probably 
 the word is derived imm fas&iyium, "evil eye," then "an obscene 
 symbol for averting the evil eye." The Fescennine verses were thus 
 originally obscene chants sung to avert the evil eye at marriage ; 
 and so the term came to be applied to abusive songs generally. 
 
 150. cruento : " blood-stained," i.e. with the blood which it drew 
 from its victims. 
 
 152. lex poenaque : there was a law against libellous compositions 
 {mala carmina) in the XII Tables. The two words form a Hendiadys 
 — "a penal law." 
 
 153. quae nollet : this applies to the lex— talis nt ea nollet. 
 quemquam : the correct pronoun here because of the negative in 
 nollet. 
 
 154. fustis : referring to an old method of punishment called 
 fustuarinm = " cudgelling to death." 
 
 155. bene dicendum : the opposite of malo carmine, v. 153. 
 
 156. Graecia capta; i.e. "despite her captivity." Horace is not 
 thinking of any precise date, but referring to the gradual influx of 
 Greek ideas that followed the rising star of Rome. 
 
 158. numerus Saturnius : the indigenous metre of Rome. It was 
 very rugged and full of irregularities. The following is an example 
 free from irregularities :—Dabunt malum Metelli | Naevio poetae ; 
 cp.:— " The qu^en was in her parlour | eating bread and honey." In 
 this metre Livius Andronicus -uTote his paraphrase of the Odyssey, 
 and Naevius his Epic on the First Punic War. 
 
 159. munditiae : " elegance " i.e. of the Greek style, e.g. of Ennius. 
 
 160. vestigia ruris : " traces of rusticity." The reference is to the 
 Fescennine verses, the Mimes and the Atellane plays. 
 
 161. serus : sc.ferus victorXv. 156). 
 
 162. post Punica bella quietus : i.e. when at peace after the First 
 (B.C. 264—241) and-Second (B.C. 218—201) Punic Wars. 
 
 163. Sophocles . . . Aeschylus : the great tragic poets of Athens. 
 
 164. temptavit . . . rem : " he essayed the attempt," i.e. of trans- 
 lating Sophocles, etc. si posset : there is no apodosis expressed, and 
 si may be translated " to see if," " whether." 
 
 166. spirat tragicum : the neuter adjective is here used to denote 
 the extent of action of the verb ; it has an adverbial force, and is 
 therefore called the adverbial accusative. 
 
 168. creditur: i.e. comoedia. ex medio: " fi-om daily life." res: 
 "its themes, subjects." 
 
 H.Ep. 8 
 
114 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK II. [l. 
 
 169. tanto : ablative of the measure of difference. 
 171. quo pacto : Horace uses this in a depreciatory sense, partes : 
 "the role." 
 
 173. Dossennus: a standing character in the Atellane plays. 
 Horace is blaming Plautus for reproducing in his voracious parasites 
 the greedy Dossennus of Atellane plays. Some old authorities 
 say with less probability that Dossennus was a writer of Atellane 
 
 plays. 
 
 174. non adstricto . . . socco : "with sock unfastened," i.e. "in 
 slipshod style." The soecus, "sock," "slipper," was worn by the 
 actors in comedy ; the cothvrnus, " buskin," by those in tragedy. 
 
 175. nummum : plays were sold to the Aediles or Praetors to be 
 acted on the occasion of a public entertainment (Indi). 
 
 176. cadat an stet : " fails or succeeds." Utrum is here, as often, 
 omitted with the first alternative. 
 
 177. ventoso Gloria curru : the epithet " airy," i.e. " fickle," pro- 
 perly belongs to Gloria, and so is poetically applied to her chariot. 
 This construction is called Hypallage, a Greek word meaning 
 "exchange." 
 
 178. inflat : •' inspirits " ; " makes proud " is the usual meaning. 
 
 180. valeat res ludicra: "farewell, then, to the stage." 
 
 181. reducit : sc. domum, as from a field of battle. 
 
 182. hoc : explained by quod (y. 183)—" this fact, namely that." 
 18.5. eques : the knights, i.e. the wealthier and more cultured. 
 
 The equestcr ordo held a middle rank between the Senate and the 
 Plebs, and included those who possessed the property qualification of 
 400,000 sesterces (£3400). 
 
 188. incertos : " restless," " inattentive." 
 
 189. aulaea premuntur : on the Roman stage the curtain was 
 drawn up from below, not let down fi'om above, at the end of the 
 performance ; at the beginning it was drawn down. 
 
 191. regum fortuna: a poetical variation for reges fortunati. 
 " (once) heaven-blessed kings." 
 
 192. esseda : open two-wheeled cars of Celtic origin. _ pilenta : 
 covered two-wheeled carriages, used by ladies, petorrita : four- 
 wheeled waggons. 
 
 193. captiva Corinthus : i.e. "the spoils of a fallen Corinth," i^. 
 spoils as rich as ever Mummius (B.C. 146) brought from Corinth ; 
 perhaps some picture or model of the city was also exhibited, 
 
 194. Democritus : traditionally " the laughing philosopher." 
 
 195. genus : retained accusative with confusa ; cp. I. i. 50, n. 
 Lit. " a panther with its unlike species confused with that of the 
 camei," *.p. "acamelopard or giraffe." This creature was first seen 
 in Rome on the occasion of the ludi circenses given by Julius Caesar 
 
 in B.C. 46. 
 
 199. asello . . . surdo : two proverbial expressions are combined, 
 viz. " to talk to the deaf " and " to talk to a donkey." 
 
 202. Garganum nemus : the oak forests of Mt. Garganus, in Apulia, 
 putes : potential subjunctive. 
 
!•] 
 
 NOTES. 115 
 
 203. artes : " works of art." 
 
 204. divitiae : i.e. " costly garments." oblitus : lit, " smeared " ; 
 hence "bedizened." The quantity distinguishes this from oblitus^ 
 " having forgotten." 
 
 207. Tarentino . . . veneno : the pui-ple dye of Tarentum was the 
 most famous of those produced in Italy. 
 
 208. ne: here, as often, ne expresses the purpose, not of the principal 
 action itself (videtvr ire, v. 210), but of the mention of that action. 
 recusem: either (i) subjunctive by attraction to jndes, or (ii) 
 potential. 
 
 210. per eKtentum funem ... ire : proverbial for something of 
 extraordinary difficulty. 
 
 211. inaniter : " by empty appearances," •'• by illusions." 
 
 216. redde : •• render." as their due ; a common meaning of r^'/f^/fr^. 
 munus Apolline dignum : i.e. the library in the Temple of Apollo, 
 built on the Palatine Hill by Augustus, B.C. 28. 
 
 218. Helicona : Helicon was a mountain range in Boeotia, the 
 haunt of the Muses, and so regarded as the home of poesy. 
 
 220. ut vineta egomet caedam mea : a proverbial expression for 
 doing oneself an injury ; the ?/ ^-clause accounts for the mention of 
 the statement in r. 219 ; cp. ne inites in v. 208. 
 
 223. loca : " passages." Good prose u.ses locos in this sense, 
 inrevocati : " not encored." revolvimus : lit. "unroll again," \.e. the 
 roll of papyrus. 
 
 22.5. tenui : " fine." deducta : a term literally applicable to 
 weaving, to which poetry is compared. 
 
 227. commodus : " obligingly."' ultro : is an instrumental case 
 from the same stem as ultra^ and means (i) "beyond," (ii) " beyond 
 what is expected," (iii) " of one's own accord." 
 
 229. est operas pretium : operae is genitive with inetium, " it is 
 the worth of one's trouble," "it is worth while." 
 
 230. belli . . . domi : for the locatives, cp. v. 102. 
 
 233. Choerilus : of the three poets of this name the one referred to 
 is Choerilus of lasos, an inferior epic poet of Alexander's court. 
 
 234. rettulit acceptos : a commercial phrase meaning, lit. " set 
 down as received " ; hence " set dov\Ti to the credit of," with the 
 dative of advantage versihvs. regale nomisma : " royal currency," 
 accusative in apposition to Philippos. Philippos : the Philippus was 
 a gold coin introduced by Philip II. of Macedon, worth about £.1 
 sterling, 
 
 239. Apellem : Apelles, a friend of Alexander the Great, was the 
 greatest of Greek painters. 
 
 240. Lysippo : Lysippus of Sicyon was a celebrated sculptor in 
 bronze, contemporary with Alexander the Great. The ablative of 
 the standard of comparison after alius is a rare construction. 
 
 242. videndis artibus : dative of work contemplated, explaining 
 suitile. 
 
 244. Boeotum: genitive plural. The form is archaic, but com- 
 monly occurs in names of peoples in poetry. The stupidity of 
 
116 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK II. [ll. 
 
 .the Boeotians was proverbial. It was attributed to the thick 
 heavy atmosphere caused by vapours arising from the lakes and 
 valleys. 
 
 250. sermones: this includes both the Satires and Epistles. See 
 
 Introduction, § 4. 
 
 251. res conponere gestas : "to write of glorious achievements," 
 i.e. to wTite an epic poem ; e.c/. Vergil's Aeneid. 
 
 253. tuisque auspiciis : '* under thine auspices." Every commander 
 before going to war had to take the auspices (as avupex) under the 
 walls of Home ; and the war was said to be carried on under his 
 auspices. As Augustus held the jn'oconsnlare imjJeritim over the 
 whole empire, the generals were regarded merely as his lieutenants, 
 and the war was really carried on under his auspices. 
 
 254. duella : old form of hellay akin to duo. 
 
 255. claustra . . . cohibentia lanum : it was customary to close 
 the gates of Janus' temple in time of peace. It was so closed three 
 times during Augustus' reign, viz.— B.C. 29, 25, and probably 10. 
 
 256. Parthis : dative of the agent, which is sometimes used after 
 a perfect tense of a passive verb and regularly after a gerund or 
 gerundive, and adjectives in -Ulis. Occasionally in poets and later 
 
 ■ prose writers, the dative is used to express the agent after other 
 tenses than the perfect. For the historical allusion, see Index, s. v. 
 Phrahates. 
 
 267. cuperem : attracted into the mood and tense of possein, for 
 quatitu))! ci/pio. 
 
 259. recusent : consecutive after quam = talem ut earn. 
 
 260. stulte . . . urguet : these go closely together. The meaning 
 is "zeal acts foolishly if it offends him whom it loves."' Others 
 connect stulte with dillgit. 
 
 261. numeris: "measures," "verses." arte : "the art of poetry" 
 generally. 
 
 263. quis : indefinite pronoun. Quis is generally so used in rela- 
 tive clauses and after ne, si, nisi, num.. and qiiando. 
 
 265. proponi cereus : lit. " to be set up for sale in wax," i.e " to 
 have a waxen image of myself offered for sale." 
 
 268. capsa : lit. " a bookcase " ; here a " coffin." porrectus : like 
 a corpse. The poem and the bust are supposed to be carried off to 
 be buried in oblivion. 
 
 269. vicum : the Vicus Tuscvs, also called turarius^ a busy street 
 leading from the S. from the Forum Romanum. 
 
 EPISTLE II. 
 
 Argument. — Were you to l>uy a slave, Florus, after due icarninff 
 of his faults you ivonld leave 7io one but yourself to blame: so do not 
 blame me for my di'lay in lorltiny the lyrics you are e.rpeeting. It 
 teas need tltat first drove me to icriting poetry. After the Civil War 
 
"•] 
 
 NOTES. 117 
 
 I had lost my all, and poetry icaa my o)ily change. And now I have 
 10071 a viodeat income, shall I retvrn to poetry ? Then aqain I am 
 not what I loas. And ivhieli shall it be — Odes, Epodes, or Satires? 
 Besides,! am so busy, and how do you thitik I can tvrite in the midst 
 of Homers ceaseless din? Heal poetry requires deep thovf/ht and 
 close communion with Nature. Should I pursue such thotir/hts at 
 Home, it would only briyig me into ridicule. In fact I can only win. 
 popularity by flattering those who will flatter me. However, bad 
 poets find enjoyment in their oiun worhs. True, btit tJte writing of 
 good poetry requires that a poet should sternly criticize his thought 
 and diction : only by laborio^is training can he secure ease in tvriting. 
 It is not always a satisfaction to have one's illusions disjjelled. And 
 surely it is time I turned from trifling toith poetry to the study of life, 
 and so I am study iiig and thinking of some cu re for avarice. Some 
 people advise money -getting, but if you find this brings no cure, ivhy not 
 give it up? The real remedy is to remember we are only temporary 
 owners of the wealth we enjoy ; death will rob us of our all. Tastes 
 differ strangely ; my oum inclination is to otjoy in due moderation. 
 And besides avai'ice all other faults must be eradicated if one ivould 
 live aright : if one cannot live aright, it were better he should die. 
 
 [See Index for Alcaeus, Tiberius Claudius Nero.] 
 
 1. Flore: Julius Florus, who at this time (probably B.C. 13) was 
 in the suite of Tiberius Claudius Nero, the future emperor. In his 
 youth Florus had dabbled in literature, and had published some 
 modernised selections from Ennius and Lucilius. Neroni : Tiberius 
 Claudius Nero. See Index, s. v. Tibeeius. 
 
 2. siquis velit . . . et . . . agat : the apodosis to this protasis 
 comes in v. \l,ferat. 
 
 3. Tibure: the modern Tivoli, sixteen miles N.E. of Rome. Gabiis: 
 Gabii was a small town twelve miles E. of Eome. 
 
 4. candidus : " fair," referring to the complexion. 
 
 5. fiat eritque : the tautology is used in imitation of legal verbiage. 
 nummorum milibus octo : ablative of price, really an ablative of 
 instrument. Eeckoning one thousand sesterces = £8 lO^,, this would 
 be £68, the normal price for a slave for agricultural use, but a low 
 price for a slave of this sort. 
 
 6. ministeriis : closely with aptus. ad nutus : "at the beck of." 
 
 7. literulis . . . imbutus : both the diminutive literuUs and the 
 word imbutus "tinged" have a depreciatory force — " with a smattering 
 of the rudiments of Greek." 
 
 9. indoctum sed dulce : the adjectives are used adverbially denoting 
 the extent of the action of the verb, an extension of the cognate 
 accusative. 
 
 10. levant : " make lighter," " lessen." 
 
 12. meo sum pauper in aere : '• I am poor but live within my 
 means." Meo s^im in aere is the opposite of in aere alieno sum, '• I 
 am in debt." 
 
118 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK II. [ll. 
 
 13. faceret : like ferret, r. 14, this is potential, to be explained bj-- 
 the suppression of a protasis — " if he had the chance." non temere : 
 " not without due cause," " not lightly." 
 
 14. cessavit : " ])layed the truant." 
 
 15. in scalis latuit : i.e. he hid in the dark room under the stairs. 
 pendentis habenae : hung up in some conspicuous place. The genitive 
 vnth. mt'tncn.s is objective, and permitted because mctvens is used as 
 an adjective. 
 
 16. f des : jussive subjunctive forming the apodosis to si . . . laedit. 
 Others end the quotation at hahtnae, and make des hypothetical 
 subjunctive, forming along with ferat (r. 17) the apodosis to siqnis 
 relit, etc. {v. 2). 
 
 17. poenae: genitive of the thing in point of which secnrvs is 
 applicable to the subject ille. 
 
 18. prudens : {=2Jrovidens) "knowingly." lex: "the conditions 
 of sale." 
 
 19. moraris : "hamper," "annoy." 
 
 21. mancum : "disabled for the performance of." The dative 
 talihns qffieiis denotes the work contemplated, mea : " from me." 
 
 22. rediret : subjunctive of reported reason, denoting, not a fact, 
 but the complaint which Florus might make, similar to mittam 
 (t\ 25). 
 
 23. turn : i.e. cum jn'ojiciseebaris. mecum facientia : " which are 
 on my side." 
 
 24. super hoc : either (i) " besides this," accusative ; or (ii) "about 
 this," ablative. 
 
 26. Luculli : best known as commander against Mithridates in the 
 Avar which began in B.C. 74. He succeeded in driving Mithridates 
 from his kingdom of Pontus, but was superseded by Pompeius in 66. 
 
 27. ad assem : " to a penny " ; cp. ad wium, " to a man." 
 
 30. deiecit : technical term for " expelling " a garrison from a 
 fortified place. 
 
 31. divite rerum : the genitive is one of the thing in point of 
 which the epithet dirite is applied to loco. 
 
 33. bis dena sestertia : taking one thousand sesterces as equivalent 
 to £8 10-?., this is equivalent to £170. nummum : genitive plural, 
 lit. " of coins," i.e. " in hard cash." 
 
 34. sub hoc tempus: snh with accusative means ''up to," and 
 hence, of time, "close uj) to," i.e. " j ust before " or "just after." 
 Here it means " just after." 
 
 36. possent : consecutive with (piae = tnlia vt ea. mentem : 
 " courage." In good prose anhnvs would be used in this sense. 
 
 40. zonam : the belt in which money was carried. 
 
 41. contigit : "it was my good fortune." Contingo is generally, 
 l)ut not always, used in a good sense; aecido, like our word "acci- 
 dent," usually denotes misfortune ; erenio is a neutral word, " it 
 presupposes expectation and preparation." 
 
 42. iratus . . . Achilles : " the wrath of Achilles," or " Achilles in 
 his wrath." Adjectives in Latin are scarcely ever otiose or unem- 
 
II.] 
 
 NOTES. 119 
 
 phatic ; they frequently modify the predicate and may be translated 
 by an adverb or adverbial phrase : Achilles harmed the Greeks " by 
 his anger." 
 
 48. bonae . . . Athenae : Horace had studied at Athens. See 
 Introduction, § 1. artis : partitive genitive %\ithj!?Z//,?. 
 
 44. curvo dignoscere rectum : in a moral sense, i.e. " to distinguish 
 the crooked from the straight way of life." There is a punning 
 reminiscence of the mathematical meaning of these terms, rectum 
 being a " right line." Curvo is ablative of separation. 
 
 45. inter silvas Academi : " the groves of Academus." The 
 A cad em ia wsis an enclosure neRT the Cephissus, just outside Athens, 
 originally sacred to the hero Academus, then a gymnasium, in the 
 midst of charming groves of plane and olive trees. Plato taught 
 there, and it became the headquarters of his school, the Academic 
 philosophers. 
 
 47. civilis . . . aestus : lit. '• the surge of wrath amongst citizens," 
 i.^. "the surge of civil war." belli: objective genitive with rndem. 
 For the historical allusion, see Introduction, § 1. 
 
 >^ 48. lacertis : dative of the indirect object with rcstj^ojimra, lit, 
 " arms " ; hence " strength." 
 
 49. simul : = sinivl ac, as often. Philippi : in Macedonia, the 
 scene of the defeat of Brutus and Cassius by Octavianus, B.C. 42. 
 
 51. laris : '• home." Originally each household had a Lar (" a 
 lord "), who was the tutelary spixnt of the family, and his image, 
 clad in a toga, stood between the two Penates in the shrine of the 
 Lares {lararhim') beside the family hearth. Lar and lares are often 
 used for '• home." 
 
 52. sed quod non desit habentem : " having what does not run 
 short, an unfailing supply " ; noil deesse is equivalent to sufficere, 
 " to suflSce." 
 
 53. quae . . . poterunt . . . ni . . . putem : this rhetorical ques- 
 tion is equivalent to non . . . poterunt . . . ni putem, i.e. an 
 unconditional prophecy in the apodosis with a general condition in 
 the protasis, cicutae : '- draughts of hemlock." Bubstantives de- 
 noting natural objects which are weighed or measured and not 
 numbered are mostly used in the singular only, but when they are 
 used in the plural they denote distinct parts or Icinds of the object. 
 
 57. faciam : jussive subjunctive in quasi-dependence on vis. 
 
 59. carmine : lyric poetry, e.g. Horace' Odes, iambis : e.g. Horace' 
 Epodes. 
 
 60. Bioneis : i.e. '• pungent," " caustic." Bion, of Borysthenes 
 (flourished B.C. 250), pupil of Theophrastus' (Academic) School, and 
 of Theodorus, the Cyrenaic, was well known for his pungent wit. 
 sermonibus: here "satires." sale nigro : sal and sales (pi.) are 
 frequently used of '• wit," " .sarcasm." Sal niger would be lit. 
 *• black or coarse salt" ; hence "coarse wit." 
 
 61. prope : modifies the whole sentence — " I could almost say 
 that." 
 
 62. multum : here an adverb modifying dlversa. 
 
 l^^^ 
 
120 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK II. [ll. 
 
 63. dem : deliberative subj anctive. 
 
 67. sponsum . . . auditum : the so-called supine, which is really 
 a verbal noun used in the ablative and the accusative. The latter 
 denotes regularly an action regarded as the goal of motion, but is 
 occasionally used after other verbs than verbs of motion, auditum 
 scripta : i.e. to hear his compositions publicly recited. These recita- 
 tions had become quite a nuisance at Rome. 
 
 68. cubat : lit. " lies " (in bed), so " lies sick " ; cp. the English, 
 " is laid up.'* in colle Quirini : the Quirinal Hill lay in the N.E. of the 
 city, the Aventine in the S.W., so that to go from one to the other he 
 w^ould have to go right across the city. 
 
 70. humane : lit. " becomingly" ; so here ironically " delightfully." 
 verum : this Ijegins an objection of some second person. 
 
 72. calidus : '■ vehemently," '• in hot haste." mulls gerulisque : 
 a])lative of means or manner \w\\.\ifestinat. 
 
 78. torquet : t\iQ H\x\)]QQ,i\^ in gens ma china. 
 
 76. i nunc : the usual formula for introducing an ironical piece of 
 advice ; cp. the English, " Go to now." 
 
 80, contracta : '• narrow," i.e. difficult to follow. 
 
 81. vacuas: " free from disturbance,"' "quiet." 
 
 83. curis : '" brown studies," " meditations." exit : i.e. evadit, 
 " turns out." 
 
 Si. hie : "at Rome." rerum : "life" generally. 
 
 86. digner : "am 1 to think myself worthy (of such a fate)?" 
 " am I to deign to ? " 
 
 87. f frater : emphatic by position, and explained by nt — " of so 
 brotherly a spirit that." The construction is so strange that various 
 emendations have been proposed, e.g. jiactns erat, " had bargained" ; 
 ^nAfantor erat, which may be followed by consecutive vt. 
 
 88. meros honores : " nothing but praises." 
 
 81). Gracchus : Gaius Gracchus, who was a more famous speaker 
 than his brother Tiberius. After his celebrated Tribunate of B.C. 123, 
 Gains lost his life in B.C. 121. Mucins: several members of this 
 family were famous lawyers, particularly P. Mucins Scaevola, consul 
 B.C. 133. It is possible to take the words in a generic sense- -" a 
 Gracchus," " a Mucins." 
 
 90. qui : old ablative ; here ablative of the measure of difference. 
 
 1)1. carmina : "lyrics," tf.<y. the Odes of Horace, hie elegos : who 
 is the elegiac poet referred to 1 Probably Propertius, the Roman 
 Callimachus (cp. v. 100). visu : ablative of respect (the so-called 
 supine). 
 
 92. Musis : dative of the agent. See note on II. i. 256. 
 
 94. Romanis vatibus : dative of advantage exi)laining racnam. 
 aedem : i.e. the temple of Apollo on the Palatine Hill, built by 
 Augustus, B.C. 28. It contained a famous library, and was situated 
 close to Augustus' palace. 
 
 95. procul audi : " stand close by and listen." Some, however, 
 render prtx^nl, " at a distance." 
 
 96. quid ferat : i.e. what composition he brings for recitation. 
 
II 
 
 .] NOTES. 121 
 
 98. Sanmites : i.e. gladiators with Samnite weapons, ad lumina 
 prima : i.e. " till the lamps are lit." duello : referring to the 
 exchange of sarcasm indoors. 
 
 99. Alcaeus : see Index, s.v. puncto : '* vote." In taking the 
 votes at Roman elections it was customary to mark each vote by a 
 point on a wax tablet against the name of the person voted for. 8o 
 pnnctum came to be used as equivalent to suffragium. 
 
 100. Callimaclius : a grammarian and poet of Alexandria. From 
 about B.C. 260-240 he was chief librarian of the great Alexandrian 
 Library. His works were very voluminous, but only a few sm-vive. 
 Many of his elegiac poems were imitated by Roman writers. 
 
 101. Mimnermus : an elegiac poet of Colophon, who lived about 
 the time of Solon ; many of his poems were about love, optivo 
 cognomine : ablative of means. 
 
 104. finitis studiis : i.e. since I have given up the study of the 
 poetic art. 
 
 10.5. obturem : potential subjunctive (.sc. "if occasion arose"), 
 inpune legentibus : i.e. those who recite their poems without fear of 
 retaliation. The dative is one of disadvantage. 
 
 107. scribentes : the present participle is rarely used thus as a 
 substantive in the nominative case. 
 
 108. sitaceas,: conditional subjunctive, the real apodosis (Jaudent) 
 being suppressed, beati : emphatic — ■■ in their fooFs paradise." 
 
 109. legitimum : lit. "according to law" ; here the meaning is 
 " following the rules of poetic art." fecisse: Zii. '• to have written," 
 so " to bring to completion." The perfect has its full force here. 
 
 111. splendoris : this word is commonly used of the senatorial and 
 equestrian order. Horace is keeping up the figure suggested by 
 eensoris (f. 110), as also in r. 112, honore, and v. 113, viowre loco, 
 the latter being technical (= •• to degrade from one's rank "). 
 
 112. fferentur: v. 1. feruntnr. Ferre here denotes "to judge," 
 " esteem." 
 
 111. versentur intra penetralia Vestae : this was supposed to 
 mean " in the poet's own house," since there was generally an altar 
 erected to Vesta, the hearth-goddess, upon the hearth of the h^use. 
 More probably the expression is figurative. Vesta was the national 
 goddess of Roman family life ; hence " within the sanctuary of 
 Roman life," " endeared by long association," " in familiar use." 
 
 115. populo : dative of disadvantage with obscurata. 
 
 117. Catonibus atque Cethegis : generic plural — "men like Cato 
 and Cethegus." M. Porcius Cato, the famous censor (B.C. 231-149). 
 M. Cornelius Cethegus (censor, B.C. 209) was celebrated for his 
 eloquence. The dative denotes the agent. See II. i. 256, ii. 
 
 119. usus : either (i) "usage," or (ii) "the practical needs of the 
 language." 
 
 122. luxuriantia : neuter plural of the adjective used as a substan- 
 tive — "he will prune all luxuriance." 
 
 123. virtute carentia : " things {i.e. lines) without energy." toilet : 
 " he will remove." 
 
122 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK II. [ll. 
 
 124. torquebitur : lit. "he will twist, or strain, himself"; hence, 
 " he will use every effort." 
 
 125. Satyrum . . . Cyclopa : cognate accusative after movetvr, used 
 reflexively, lit. ••moves himself," i.r. "dances the Satyr's or the Cyclops' 
 dance." 
 
 126. praetulerim : potential (sc. "if occasion arose"). 
 
 128. Argis: "at Argos" (or Argi), an ancient town of Argolis in 
 the Peloponnesus. 
 
 131. servaret : consecutive subjunctive after qui = talis nt is. In 
 ?'. 129 the indicative crcdehat merely states a fact a1)out the man, 
 without any notion of that fact being the natural result of his 
 character, which is implied by the use of servaret. 
 
 134, signo laeso : ablative absolute equivalent to a causal or 
 conditional clause explaining insanire. 
 
 137. elleboro : the usual specific for mental diseases ; the best 
 grew at Anticyra, on the Crisaean Gulf, in Phocis. bilem : the bile 
 was regarded as a cause of madness, particularly when black. Hence 
 the English melancholy ("black bile "). 
 
 139. cui : dative of disadvantage after extorta, with which either 
 est or sit must be supplied ; qui introducing a causal clause takes a 
 subjunctive. 
 
 141. sapere: z.^. "to turn philosopher." nugis : ?>. verse-making 
 and such like things. 
 
 142. tempestivum pueris : go together as well as pucris eoncedere, 
 jnteris being dative of advantage after tcmj^estivum and dative of the 
 indirect object after eoncedere. 
 
 144. numerosque modosque : a metaphor from musical phraseology 
 — " rhythms and harmonies." 
 
 146. tibi : i.e. Horace, who is now soliloquising, si . . . finiret . . . 
 narrares : a conditional sentence, denoting an unrealised supposi- 
 tion. 
 
 147. quod : " the fact that," introducing tanto plura cnpis. This 
 «7?fo^-clause is the object oifaterier. 
 
 148. faterier : for the origin of this archaic infinitive see II. i. 
 94, n. 
 
 149. monstrata radice : technical, " prescribed." The ablative is 
 instrumental. 
 
 151. curarier : the direct object of fugeres. audieras : equivalent 
 to a conditional clause, " suppose it had been told you." 
 
 152. illi: dative after the compound verb fZ^'C^vZ^'?*^. 
 
 156. ruberes : the apodosis to jjossent, a supposition contrary to 
 fact; viveret (v. 157), a second protasis to ruberes, is put in the same 
 mood and tense, it being implied, " you would take good care that 
 no one was more avaricious." 
 
 158. libra et aere: the reference is to the formal method of 
 conveying property called wajieijyatio (cp. maneijMt, v. 159). In 
 the presence of at least five witnesses and the so-called Uhripens, 
 "weigher," the buyer claimed the property with a set form of words. 
 He then touched the scales {libra) with a bronze coin (aere) and 
 
II.] 
 
 NOTES. 123 
 
 gave it to the seller, and the conveyance was so completed. The 
 custom was a relic of the old days when the bronze money was 
 weighed out by the buyer, 
 
 159. mancipat usus : "use makes your property." A person who 
 had enjoyed property without interruption for a certain period had 
 a legal title to its permanent possession (usueapio). 
 
 160. Orbi : otherwise unknown. 
 
 162. das nummos : a condition without .<??. 
 
 164. trecentis . . . nummorum milibus : reckoning 1000 sesterces 
 = £8 10^., this sum will be £2550. The ablative is instrumental. 
 
 166. numerate : instrumental ablative (with vivas') of 7ivmeratiim, 
 used as a neuter substantive — " money you have paid down." 
 
 167. Aricini : •• of Aricia" (Ariccia or Hiccia), a town of Latium. 
 on the Appian Way, sixteen miles from Rome. Veientis : the town 
 of Veii {Isola Farnese) was an ancient city of Etruria, twelve miles 
 from Rome. 
 
 168. putat : the indicative with quamxis is common in Horace. 
 
 169. sub noctem : .5i/Z> = " up to," hence "close up to"; of time 
 (i) " just before," as here, or (ii) " just after," 
 
 170. usque . . . qua: go together — "right up to the spot where." 
 popiilus : '- poplar." The gender and quantity distinguish it from 
 ■popuhis^ m., " people." certis limitibus : dative with the compound 
 verb adsita. 
 
 171. refugit : the tense may be the perfect of instantaneous act or 
 a gnomic use of the tense. In the latter case the meaning would 
 be "has shunned in the past and does shun now," i.e. "always 
 shuns." 
 
 171. tamquam ; the si is omitted as it sometimes is with tamquam 
 and velut. 
 
 172. puncto . . . horae : the ablative is one of time. 
 
 174. cedat in altera iura : "passes into another's possession." 
 
 177. vici : sc. rustici, "country estates." 
 
 178. Lucani : sc. saltns. The Lucanian hills were the summer 
 pastures, the plains of Calabria those for the winter. Orcus : 
 synonymous with Hades or Pluto, the god of the nether world. 
 
 180. Tyrrhena sigilla : small bronze images of the gods made by 
 Tuscan artists ; the word is a diminutive of signnm. 
 
 181. Gaetulo : Gaetulia, in the modern Morocco, was a country of 
 N.W. Africa, S. of Mauretania and Numidia, The Gaetulian viiwex 
 furnished a good purple dye. 
 
 182. sunt qui non habeant : est qui and su)n qui take the subjunc- 
 tive when meaning there is a (sort of) man who, etc. (indefinite 
 antecedent). This is sometimes called the generic subjunctive. 
 But est qui and sv.nt qui take the indicative when merely stating the 
 existence of the man or men with the attribute mentioned : so — est 
 qui non curat. 
 
 184. Herodis palmetis : i.e. of Herod the Great. Near Jericho 
 there were famous groves of palm trees. Horace uses this as a 
 particular example for the general idea of " a rich estate." 
 
124 HORACE, EPISTLES, BOOK II, [ll. 
 
 186. mitiget : literally mitiff are = ^' to tame" so of woods "to 
 reclaim from wildness." 
 
 187. Genius: see II. i. 144, n. natale . . . astrum: the star 
 under which, according to the astrologers, one is born, and which 
 controls one's destiny. 
 
 188. mortalis in unum quodque caput : in = " with regard to," 
 '■'for." The Genius of each individual departed at his death, 
 
 189. albus et ater : "bright or dark," i.e. "joyful or sad," according 
 to the individual's circumstances, all of which affected the Genius as 
 well as the individual himself. 
 
 192. datis : sc. a me : the ablative is that of the standard of 
 comparison, invenerit : subjunctive of the alleged reason. 
 
 195. spargas : subjunctive in dependent question with the utrum 
 omitted. 
 
 197. ac potius : " but rather." festis Quinquatribus : the Qiim- 
 quatrtis or Quincpiatria was a feast in honour of Minerva, lasting five 
 days from March 19th. It was so called because it commenced on 
 the fifth day, reckoning from the Ides inclusively. The feast was 
 the occasion of the "spring holidays" at the schools, olim : denotes 
 (i) "at some past time" ; (ii) as here, "at times" ; (iii) "at some 
 future time " ; the second meaning is rare. 
 
 199. ftamen : v. l.dovn/s, defining genitive with. 2Ja^ij)&7'ies. Others 
 read jJ7'0cnl, giving a rhetorical repetition, utrum ... an : instead of 
 the particles of dependent question we should expect conditional 
 particles, sive . . . seu ; but ivova. ferar unus et idem may be supplied 
 Qiil differt. 
 
 201. Aquilone secundo : " with a north wind favouring our voyage." 
 Secundiis is an old participle active of sequor, " I follow." The 
 ablative is absolute and explains tumidis as well as aginmr. 
 
 202. Austris : the south winds in the Mediterranean are often 
 spoken of as stormy. 
 
 203. specie : " external appearance," " grace of person. " loco : 
 " rank," " station." 
 
 205. non es : Horace is still speaking to himself, abi : a colloquial 
 formula of dismissal also used to express approval generally — " very 
 good." 
 
 207. mortis formidine et ira : " fear and anger at death." The 
 genitive is objective after both formidine and ira. 
 
 209. lemures : the spirits of those dead men, who having on 
 account of their misdeeds failed to find a resting place below, came 
 up again to roam about the earth at night, portentaque Tbessala : 
 Thessaly was celebrated as the land of witchcraft. 
 
 212. spinis : Horace means "moral blemishes." 
 
 218. peritis : I.e. skilled in the art of living aright. 
 
 21G. lasciva decentius aetas : ^.6^ younger men in whom jollity is 
 more becoming. 
 
INDEX 
 
 OF PROPER NAMES 
 
 N.B. — Infonuation regarding important Proper Names not given here will be 
 found in the Notes. 
 
 A. 
 
 Agrippa, -ae, m. : M. Vipsanius Agrippa was born B.C. 03, and 
 was a fellow-student of the young Octarianus. He took an active 
 part in the civil war which followed Caesars murder, and commanded 
 the fleet of Octavianus at Actium, B.C. 31. He had before this won 
 popularity by the munificence he displayed during his aedileship, 
 B.C. 33. He erected many public works, and remained commander- 
 in-chief till his death in B.C. 12 (I. vi. 26 ; xii. 1). 
 
 Alcaeus, -i, m. : a famous lyric poet, who lived about B.C. 600 at 
 Mytilene in Lesbos, a large island ofiE Ephesus. He was a friend of 
 Sappho (I. xix. 28), the lyric poetess, and each invented a particular 
 metre, called after them Alcaic and Sapj^hic. He fought against 
 the Athenians at the battle of Sigeum, B.C. 606, and threw away his 
 shield in flight, and he was nearly shipwrecked once. Most of his 
 poems were about love and wine, or about his favourites, Lvcvs, etc. 
 (I. xix. 29 ; II. ii. 99). 
 
 Apollo, -inis, m. : god of music, healing, hunting, medicine, and 
 prophecy. His oracle was the famous Delphi, and his symbol was 
 the bow and quiver. Diana, goddess of hunting, of the moon, and of 
 Hell, was his twin-sister, and their mother was Latona. He was 
 called Palatinus from his temple on the Palatine Hill (I. iii. 17; 
 xvi. 59; II. i. 216). 
 
 ArcMlochus, -i, m. : a native of Paros (B.C. 714-676), celebrated as 
 the first extensive writer of satirical Iambic verse which Horace 
 imitates in his Epodes. He had been a suitor to Xeobule, one of 
 Lycambes' daughters, and, after being accepted, was refused by her 
 father. He thereupon attacked the family in iambics with such 
 effect that Lycambes' daughters hung themselves. He led a colony 
 to Thasos, but returned to Paros, and fell in battle against the 
 Naxians (I. xix. 25, 28). 
 
126 HORACE, EPISTLES. 
 
 Aristippus, -i, m. : {floruit circa B.C. 370) boru at Cyrene, the 
 founder of the Cyrenaic school of Philosophy. He came to Athens 
 and was a pupil of Socrates. His principle was to find happiness 
 in all circumstances of life (I. i. 18 ; xvii. 14, 23). 
 
 Augustus, -i, m. : C. lulius Caesar Octavianus Augustus was born 
 in B.C. 63. His original name was Cn. Octavius, and he was grand- 
 nephew to the great Dictator Caesar, who adopted him as heir B.C. 45, 
 and sent him to learn the art of war in Hlyria. On the assassination 
 of Julius Caesar, B.C. 44, Octavianus came over to Italy to make good 
 his claim to the imperial power. He conciliated the people by paying 
 them the legacies left them by his adoptive father, and by remarkable 
 tact and skill won the support of the Senate against Antonius. But 
 not long afterwards he became reconciled to Antonius, and they with 
 Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate, B.C. 43. In the following 
 year they defeated Brutus and Cassius at Philippi, and thereupon 
 made a new division of the provinces. But war soon broke out again. 
 Lepidus was deprived of his province in B.C. 36, and in B.C. 31 
 Octavianus inflicted a decisive defeat on Antonius and his supporter 
 Cleopatra at Actium. Being now master of the Roman world he set 
 about reducing his empire to order. All his opponents fell before 
 him, and his empire gradually spread from the Euphrates to the 
 Rhine, and fi'om the Sahara to the Elbe. By a determined enforce- 
 ment of law and order, and the example of his own modest life, he 
 exercised a great and good influence upon Rome and the Roman 
 Empire, which was gratefully remembered by posterity in their 
 lavish praises of the Augustan age. Horace constantly mentions him 
 as a patron and benefactor, but owned himself unequal to writing 
 an Epic on his exploits. After holding power for fifty-eight yeare, 
 he died A.D. 14, and was succeeded by his stepson Tiberius (I. iii. 2, 7 ; 
 xvi. 29 ; II. ii. 48). 
 
 B. 
 
 Baiae, -arum, f . : a favourite watering place of the Romans on the 
 northern inlet of the Gulf of Naples, opposite to Puteoli and a little 
 S.E. of Cumae (I. i. 83 ; xv. 2). 
 
 Brundisium, -i, n. : (Bri?idisi^ a town in Calabria on a small bay 
 of the Adriatic, which forms an excellent harbour. The Appia Via 
 ended at Brundisium, and it was the usual place of embarkation for 
 Greece and the East (I. xvii. 52). 
 
 C. 
 
 Cassius, -ii, m. : (called Parmensis) one of the murderers of Cacsnr. 
 He fought on the side of Antonius at Actium. and was put to death 
 at Athens, B.C. 30, by the order of Octavianus (I. iv. 3). 
 
 Chrysippus, -i, m. : the successor of Cleanthes as head of the Stoics 
 during the third century B.C. Horace speaks of him as a representative 
 of the whole school (I. ii. 4). 
 
 Grantor, -oris, m. : (floruit B.C. 300), a native of Soli in Cilicia, 
 
INDEX OF PROPER NAMES. 127 
 
 who came to Athens and joined the Academic school. He left several 
 works on moral subjects (I. ii. 4). 
 
 Cumae, -arum, f. : a town of Campania, somewhat N. of the 
 promontory of Misenum, founded by a joint colony from Cumae 
 in Aeolis and Chalcis and Eretria in Euboea. It early attained 
 great powers but fell before the rising star of Rome (I. xv. 11). 
 
 D. 
 
 Democritus, -i, m. : (B.C. 460 — 361) born at Abdera in Thrace, 
 Democritus spent his patrimony in extensive travels which he under- 
 took to increase his knowledge. He became one of the most learned 
 philosophers of Greece, and was one of the founders of the atomic 
 theory which is worked out by Lucretius in his Be Rerum Xatura. 
 His disposition was very amiable, but his cheerful way of looking at 
 the circumstances of life was interpreted by later writers as meaning 
 that he laughed at the follies of mankind (I. xii. 12 ; II. i. 194). 
 
 E. 
 
 Empedocles, -is, m.: (^floruit B.C. 444) a philosopher of Agrigentum 
 in Sicily. His brilliant rhetorical powers and extensive knowledge 
 won him a wide reputation. His chief work was an epic poem upon 
 Nature, in which he assumes four elements o^ things, viz. — fire, air, 
 earth, and water, and two opposing forces, viz. — love and hate 
 (I. xii. 20). 
 
 Ennius, -i, m, : (B.C. 239 — 169) QuintusEnnius was born at Eudiae 
 in Calabria. By birth a Greek, he was a subject of Rome, and served 
 in the legions. He was patronised by Cato and M. Fulvius Nobilior, 
 and lived on terms of close intimacy with the elder Scipio Africanus. 
 He was regarded in antiquity as the Father of Roman poetry, but in 
 spite of his fame there remain only a few fragments of his works 
 (I. xix. 7 ; II. i. 50). 
 
 Epiciirus, -i, m. : (B.C. 342 — 268) the celebrated founder of the 
 Epicurean school of philosophy. He spent his early years in Samos, 
 but came to study at Athens in B.C. 324. About B.C. 305 he began 
 to teach in Athens, and lived there in a simple modest way until his 
 death in B.C. 268. His ideal of happiness consisted in the enduring 
 condition of pleasure, which really means fi'eedom from the greatest 
 of evils, pain (I. iv. 16). 
 
 H. 
 
 Hercules, -is, m. : the god of travel and strength, son of Alcmona, 
 the wife of Amphitryon, son of Alcaeus, He was compelled by 
 Eurystheus, King of Tii-yns, to perform twelve labours, one of which 
 was the slaying of the Hydra (II. i. 11). 
 
 Homems, -i, m, : the famous Epic poet, Homer, the oldest and 
 greatest of the Greek writers ia verse, and the '' Father of Epic 
 
128 HORACE, EPISTLES. 
 
 poetry." His reputed works are the Iliad — twenty-four books 
 concerning the siege of Troy, and the Odyssey— i\\e,niy-io\xv books 
 of the Wanderings of Odysseus (Ulysses). From internal evidence 
 it is probable that the Homeric poems are of Thessalian origin, the 
 date being roughly the eleventh century B.C. The poems were 
 brought by emigration to Asia Minor, where they were lonicised, 
 and where the addition of further books and passages took place. 
 Some account of their contents is given in the introductory note to 
 I. ii. (I. xix. 6 ; II. i. 50). 
 
 L. 
 
 Lucullus, -i, m. : Lucius Licinius Lucullus, in B.C. 73, being then 
 Consul, was entrusted with the conduct of the second war against 
 Mithridates, king of Pontus. That monarch had organised a great 
 empire along the south shore of the Black Sea, and in B.C. 88 he 
 attacked the Roman Province of Asia, massacring 80,000 Romans 
 and Italians at one coup, but was reduced to seek peace in B.C. 81 
 by Sulla. After a trifling war in B.C. 83, 82, he busied himself in 
 collecting his energies, and especially in extending his Empire over 
 Southern Russia and the Crimea. At last, in B.C. 7-i, he commenced 
 the Third or Great Mithridatic War by overrunning Bithynia, a 
 Roman possession, and laying siege to Cyzicus. Lucullus raised the 
 siege, forced Mithridates back upon Pontus, and in two years drove 
 him into exile at the court of his son-in-law, Tigranes, sovereign 
 of Armenia. Lucullus next invaded Armenia, and twice defeated 
 Tigranes and Mithridates combined, B.C. 69, 68, but was forced to 
 resign the command to Pompeius in B.C. 66. Pompeius completed 
 the war, forcing Mithridates to suicide in B.C. 63, and Lucullus 
 returned to Rome where he triumphed in B.C. 63. In his later years 
 he was a proverb for luxury with refinement. He died about B.C. 56 
 (I. vi. 40). 
 
 M. 
 
 Maecenas, -atis, m. : C. Cilnius Maecenas was a wcaltl\y knight, 
 descended from the old Etruscan kings. He attached himself to the 
 party of Augustus, whose chief diplomatic minister he became, 
 arranging several treaties with Antonius, and conducting much of 
 home affairs when the emperor was absent. After the year B.C. 20, 
 he retired into private life, amusing himself with the society of 
 literary men, chief amongst whom were Horace and Vergil and 
 Tibullus. Maecenas and Horace died within a few months of each 
 other, B.C. 8. Horace addresses to Maecenas the following three 
 Epistles in Book I. — i., vii., xix. 
 
 Menander, -ri, m. : (B.C. 342—290) an Athenian of good family, 
 celebrated as the chief representative of later Attic Comedy ("New 
 Comedy "), which depicted private life and character. Antiquity is 
 unanimous as to the excellence of his work. But all that remains 
 of his many plays is a few fragments, besides the adaptations made 
 by Plautus and Terence in their comedies (II. i. 57). 
 
INDEX OF PROPER NAMES. 129 
 
 Penelope, es, f. : see Ulixes (1. ii. 28). 
 
 Phrahates, -is, m. (or Phraates) : a King of Parthia, driven out 
 by his own people for his cruelty. He engaged in a civil war with 
 the other claimant, Tiridates. The Scythians supported Phrahates 
 and Tiridates fled with Phrahates' youngest son to Augustus. The 
 son Augustus restored to his father on condition that the Roman 
 standards captured in the war with Crassus and Antonius should be 
 given up, and Phrahates submitted to these terms (I. xii. 27). 
 
 Pindarus, -i, m. (adj. Pindaricus, -a, -urn) : the famous poet of 
 Boeotia, who was bom at Cynoscephalae, in that country B.C. 522. 
 He spent most of his life at the courts of Amyntas, king of Macedon^ 
 Archelaus of Cyrene, Thero of Agrigentum, and Hiero of Syracuse. 
 Of his various poems only the BiJinicia — songs in praise of victories 
 at the great Greek games — have come down to us, in four books. 
 He died B.C. U2 (I. iii. 10). 
 
 Pythagoras, ae, m.: {floruit B.C. 550—510) a celebrated philosopher 
 of Samos. He devoted his early years to study and travel, visiting 
 Egypt and many countries of the East for the purpose of acquiring 
 knowledge. Settling down at last in Croton, he founded a brotherhood, 
 and preached his doctrines, the chief of which was metempsychosis, 
 which Horace ridicules. He is said to have given great prominence 
 to number in his theories, and was credited with many mathematical 
 inventions (II. i. 52). 
 
 Tarentum, -i, n. (adj. Tarentinus, -a, -um) : {Taranto) a city 
 standing upon the gulf of the same name, on the southern coast of 
 Italy. It was a colony from Sparta, and was one of the most 
 important maritime towns in Italy (I. vii. 45 ; II. i. 207). 
 
 Thespis, -is, m. : the traditional founder of Greek tragedy, born 
 B.C. 5i0, in Icarus a deme in Attica, a chief seat of the worship of 
 Dionysus. His pieces consisted of a prologue, choruses, and recitations 
 between, the choruses. These recitations were partly monologues 
 spoken by the leader of the chorus, and partly dialogues with the 
 chorus. He also devised masks. From these rude performances 
 Greek tragedy was developed (II. i. 163). 
 
 Tiberius, -i, m. : Tiberius Claudius Xero, elder brother of Drusus, 
 and stepson of Augustus, by whom he was adopted son and heir. 
 In B.C. 20 he undertook some movements in Asia which resulted in 
 the recovery of the standards lost at Carrhae by Crassus, B.C. 53. 
 He succeeded to the empire on the death of Augustus (a.d. 14). and 
 reigned until a.d. 37 (I. iii. 2 ; viii. 2 ; ix. 1 ; xii. 26). 
 
 TibuUus, -i, m. : (B.C. 55-19) Albius TibuUus, an elegiac poet of 
 Rome. His estate at Pedum had been much reduced by the Civil 
 Wars, but he was able to live an easy life. His poems were amatory, 
 being addressed to Delia and Nemesis, both of whom he found faith- 
 less (I. iv. 1). 
 
 H. Ep. 9 
 
130 HORACE, EPISTLES. 
 
 u. 
 
 TJlixes, -is, m. : (wrongly written Ulysses ; Greek. Odys^^ens)^ 
 king of Ithaca (Thial'l), a rocky island off the coast of Kpirus. He 
 Avas the son of Laertes, and by his wife Penelope had a son named 
 Telemachus. During the absence of Ulysses at Tro}', and during his 
 wanderings, Penelope was beset with suitors, l^y baffling whom for 
 so many years she became a type for all time of wifely faithfulness 
 (I. ii. 18 ; vi. 03 ; vii. 40). 
 
 V. 
 
 Varius, -i, m. : L. Varius Piufus, an epic poet of the first rank in 
 the Augustan age, enjoyed the friendship of Maecenas, Horace, and 
 Vergil, He and Plotius Tucca were Vergil's literary executors, and 
 they revised the Aeneid (II. i. 247), 
 
 Vergilius, -i, m, : (B.C. 70-19) P, Vergilius Maro was born at 
 Andes, near Mantua, in Cisalpine Gaul. After Philippi (b,C. ■12) his 
 small estate was assigned to some of Octavianus' veterans, but was 
 restored to him through Pollio"s influence. The first Eclogue com- 
 memorates his gratitude. His most finished work, the Georglcs, 
 was undertaken at the suggestion of Maecenas. The Aeneid was 
 the work of his later years, and was left without the finishing 
 touches he had meant to give it. In his youth he had written the 
 Cvlex and* some minor poems, and there are still extant ten short 
 poems, called Biieolics or Eclogues, which alone would go far to 
 support Vergil's claim to the first place among the poets of Eome 
 (II, i. 247). 
 

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