Stack Annex PA 16393 |S2 S1916 THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES A Book of Satires Horace : a medal of about the Fourth Century, probably based on a portrait bust in existence at that time. A Book of Satires By Q. Horatius Flaccus Edited by Charles Loomis Dana and John Cotton Dana Elm Tree Press Woodstock Vermont 1916 \IU, CONTENTS Page To Maecenas 3 On Friendship 9 On the Art and Need of Writing Satires 2 1 Horace's Trip to Brindisium 37 A Walk and Talk in Rome B. C. 34 55 Horace's Friends 69 Route of Horace on his seventeen day trip across Italy, B. C. 37, showing the towns and villages at which he stopped. Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Quifit, Maecenas, ut nemo, quam sibi sortem Seu Ratio dederit, seu Fors objecerit, ilia Contentas vivat? laudet diversa sequentes? O ! fortunati mercatores, gravis armis Miles ait, multo jam fractus membra labors. TO MAECENAS THE FIRST SATIRE OF THE FIRST BOOK This first of Horace's Satires is highly esteemed as a literary composition, although it is mainly plain preaching. The subject is the discontent of man with his lot, which discontent he attributes to a desire to possess more money. The part of the satire in which this point is argued is not very interesting or convincing, so we omit it and publish only the first and last portions. Horace was only about thirty years of age when he wrote this poem. It is not the kind of thing young men compose at the present time, unless they are of the clergy. It contains some up-to-date senti- ments, however. In praise of a soldier's life he says : "A short life and a merry one ". " They only are happy who live in a city ", says the farmer of Roman times and of today. Jealousy has many proverbs and Horace gives one : " This man pines away because his neighbor's goat gives more milk than his own." The conclusion of the satire contains wisdom, poetry and truth. FABIUS in the Satire is the name of some tiresome and loquacious person. CRISPINUS was a voluminous writer of verse on the Stoic philosophy. How is it Maecenas that no one lives contented with his lot, whether his own judgment led him to choose it or chance threw it in his way ? He is always praising those following another pur- suit. " Happy merchant n , says the soldier, weighed down by his arms and exhausted by hard work. 4 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Contra mercator, navim jactantibus austris, Militia est potior : quid enim P concurritur : horae Momenta, cita mors venit, aut victoria laeta. Agricolam laudat juris legumque peritus, Sub galli cantum consultor ubi ostia pulsat Ille datis vadibus qui rure extractus in urbem est, Solos felices viventes clamat in urbe. Caetera de genere hoc ( ado sunt multa ) loquacem Delassare valent Fabium : ne te morer, audi Quo rem deducam. Si quis deus, En ego, dicat, Jam faciam quod vultis : eris tu, qui modo miles, Mercator : tu, consultus modo, rusticus : hinc vos, Vos hinc, mutatis discedite partibus. Eia, Quid statis? Nolint Atqui licet esse beatis. Quid causae est, merito quin illis Juppiter ambas Iratus buccas inflet P neque se fore posthac Tarn facilem dicat, votis ut praebeat aurem P Praeterea, ne sic, ut qui Jocularia, ridens Percurram ; ( quanquam ridentem dicere verum Quid vetat P ut pueris olim dant crustula blandi Doctores, elementa velint ut discere prima) Sed tamen amoto quaeramus seria ludo. The Satires for Modern Readers 5 But the merchant, whose ship is being tossed by stormy winds, cries : " The soldier's life is better : he is hurried into battle and at once meets a quick death or a joyful victory." The learned lawyer, when his clients come at cock- crow knocking at his door, praises the farmer. The farmer, having given bail for his appearance, is summoned to town from the country, and now declares only those are happy who live in the city. Examples of this kind are so many, that they would tire even the talkative Fabius, and so not to delay you more, observe how I shall end the case. Suppose a god should say, n Come, I'll do what you wish; you who are now a soldier shall be a mer- chant ; and you, now a lawyer, shall be a farmer. Be- gone, now, and take up your changed careers. What ! why do you stand still ? n They all refuse, though they are allowed to be made happy. What reason is there why Jupiter, now pro- voked, should not inflate his cheeks at them, and declare that he will never again be so gracious as to give ear to their prayers. But I will change the subject, lest 1 finish it smiling as though it were all a joke. Though what prevents one from telling the truth with a smile ; as good natur'd masters used sometimes to coax their boys with candies to learn their first lesson ? But, joking aside, let us look into serious things. [ Horace thereupon begins an argument to show the foolishness 6 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus I Hue, unde abii, redeo; nemon' ut avarus Se probet P at potius laudet diversa sequentes P Quodque aliena capella gerat distentius uber, Tabescat P neque se majori pauperiorum Turbae compare/ P hunc atque hunc superare laboret? Sic festinati semper locupletior obstat : Ut cum carceribus missos rapit ungula currus, Instat equis auriga suos vincentibus, ilium Praeteritum temnens extremes inter euntem. Inde fit, ut raro, qui se vixesse beatum Dicat, et exacto contentus tempore vitae Cedat, uti conviva satur, reperire queamus. Jam satis est : ne me Crispint scrinia lippi Compilasse pules, verbum non amplius addam. The Satires for Modern Readers 7 of saving money which one cannot use, and the discontent caused by its pursuit, arguing the matter with an imaginary defender of riches. He then ends his Satire with a return to the first topic ; discontent with one's lot. ] But I resume the subject which I left. No man, any more than the miser, approves of his own state ; but prefers to praise those who follow different pur- suits. He frets because his neighbor's goat gives more milk than his own. He does not compare his lot with that of the great mass of the poor ; but is always striving to surpass this or that rich man, and the rich man always impedes him, hurrying also to get richer. As in a race, the horse whirls along the chariot, as soon as it leaves the starting point.and the driver presses on to pass the horses ahead of his own, despising always those he has passed and left among the hindermost. Hence it is that we are rarely able to find one who can say he has lived entirely happy, and who, when his time comes, quits this stage of life with satisfaction like a sated guest. But this is enough, Maecenas, I will not add a word more, lest you imagine I have pirated the papers of blear-eyed Crispinus. 8 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Omnibus hoc vitium est cantoribus, inter amicos Ut nunquam inducant animum cantare rogati; Injussi nunquam desistant. Sardus habebat Ille Tigellius hoc. Caesar, qui cogere posset, Si peleret per amicitiam patris atque suam, non ON FRIENDSHIP AND HOW FRIENDS SHOULD TREAT EACH OTHER THE THIRD SATIRE OF THE FIRST BOOK A year or two before the present verses were written, when Horace was about twenty-six years old, he wrote a coarse and rather scurillous satire in fact he probably wrote several. He seems in the following discourse to be a little apologetic. People, he says, are often very queer ; he has some minor faults himself; friends ought to overlook or interpret kindly each other's defects. When faults are trivial, punishment should be light. He digresses for a time in order to discuss a doctrine of the Stoics, which he thinks academic and impractical, and he announces himself as an opportunist : " utiliias, justi prope mater et aequi " The person in the poem whose defects of character are set forth as introduction and text is a certain Tigellus, a famous Sardinian singer and a favorite of Caesar, Cleopatra and Antony. We know nothing more about him, but Horace's description shows that he had the artistic temperament very highly developed. Horace took his friendships much more seriously than he did his love affairs, and he now, while quite a young man, shows how friendships can be made and kept. It is the fault of all singers that they are never inclined to sing when they are invited ; but when not asked they will sing on forever. This was the case with Tigellus, the Sardinian. Caesar could have ordered him to sing, but if he ever asked him, on the / Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Quicquam proficeret: si collibuisset, ab 01)0 Usque ad mala citaret, lo Bacche ! modo summa Voce, modo hac, resonat quae chordis quatuor ima. Nil aequale hominifuit illi: saepe velut qui Currebat fugiens hostem ; persaepe velut qui Junonis sacra ferret ; habebat saepe ducentos, Saepe decem servos : modo reges atque tetrarchas, Omnia magna, loquens : modo, Sit mihi mensa tripes, et Concha salis puri, et toga quae defendere frigus, Quamvis crassa, queat. Decies centena dedisses Huic parco paucis contento, quinque diebus Nil erat in loculis : noctes vigilabat ad ipsum Mane, diem totum stertebat; nil fuit unquam Sic impar sibi. Nunc aliquis dicat mihi, Quid tu P Nullane habes vitia ? Imo alia, et fortasse minora. Maenius absentem Novium cum carperet ; Heus tu, Quidam ait, ignoras te P an ut ignotum dare nobis Verba putas P Egomet mi ignosco, Maenius inquit. The Satires for Modern Readers 1 1 ground of his own and his father's friendship, he would be refused. When Tigellus himself was so disposed, however, he would chant " lo Bacche ", from egg to apple,* now in his highest pitch, now in that which resounds to the deepest note of the tetrachord. There was, indeed, no one quite like this fellow. He would often rush along the streets as if flying from enemies ; more often he stalked along as if bearing the sacred emblems of Juno. He was followed sometimes by two hundred slaves sometimes by ten. Now he declaims of kings and tetrarchs and everything magnifi- cent ; now he cries : " Give me only a three-legged table, a shell of pure salt, and a toga which, though coarse, will protect me from the weather. " Yet should you give a million sesterces to this frugal gentleman, so content with modest things, in five days there would be nothing in his purse. He would sit up all night and snore through the whole day. There was never anyone quite equal to Tigellus. Now some one may say to me : " What about yourself, have you no faults ? " I admit faults, but of another kind, and perhaps less serious. WhenMaenius was beginning to say mean things about the absent Novius, " Wait ", says one, " are you so ignorant of your own defects that you think you can impose on us as though we did not know you ? " "1 can find an excuse for myself ", says Maenius. * From the first to the last course of dinner. 12 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Stultus et improbus hie amor est, dignusque notari. Cum tua pervideas oculis mala lippus inunctis, Cur in amicorum vitiis tarn cernis acutum, Quam out aquila, out serpens Epidaurius? At tibi contra Eventt, inquirant vitia ut tua rursus et illi. Iracundior est paulo ? minus aptus acutis Naribus horum hominum ? rideri possit, eo quod Rusticius tonso toga defluit, et male laxus In pede calceus haeret? At est bonus, ut melior vir Non alius quisquam: at tibi amicus: at ingenium ingens Inculto latet hoc sub corpore. Denique te ipsum Concute, num qua tibi vitiorum inseverit olim Natura, out etiam consuetudo mala; namque Neglectis urenda filix innascitur agris. Illuc praevertamur ; amatorem quod amicae Turpia decipiunt caecum vitia, out etiam ipsa haec Delectant ; veluti Balbinum polypus Hagnae. Vellem in amicitia sic erraremus, et isti Errori nomen virtus possuisset honestum. At, pater ut gnati, sic nos debemus, amid The Satires for Modern Readers 13 Such an attitude is foolish, unjust and deserves to be condemned. You overlook your own defects like a sore-eyed man with anointed lids, but you mark the defects of your friends as acutely as if you had the sharp sight of an eagle or an Epidaurian serpent. It may happen in turn that these people you criticise will inquire into your own shortcomings also. A friend may be a little hasty or not very amenable to the prodding [ sharp noses ] of others. He may be laughed at because his toga hangs awkwardly and his hair is cut clownishly, or because his shoes hang too loosely to his feet. But he is a good fellow, no one better, and your true friend ; and great talent lies con- cealed in his imperfections. Just try to see whether nature has ever implanted the seeds of any vices in you or whether they have not been developed by your evil habits. And remember that the fern, fit only to be burned, overruns neglected fields. You might bear in mind also how the blinded lover takes no notice of the disagreeable defects of his mistress ; they even give him pleasure ; as the wart on Agna's nose pleases her loving Balbinus. I wish that we might err in friendship in this way, so that morality would give to this weakness of our affec- tions an honorable name. And as a father does not find fault with his son if 14 Horace: Quintus Horatius Flaccus Si quod sit vitium, non fastidire : stragonem Appellat Puetum pater ; et Pullum, male parvus Si cut films est, ut abortivus fuit olim Sisyphus: hunc Varum, distortis cruribus; ilium Balbutit Scaurum, pravis fultum male talis. Parcius hie vivit ? frugi dicatur. Ineptus Et jactantior hie paulo est ? concinnus amicis Postulat ut videatur. At est truculentior, atque Plus aequo liber ? simplex fortisque habeatur. Caldior est? acres inter numeretur. Opinor, Haec res et jungit, junctos et servat amicos. At nos virtutes ipsas invertimus, atque Sincerum cupimus vas incrustare. Probus quis Nobiscum vivit? Multum est demissus homo: illi Tardo, cognomen pingui damus. Hie fugit omnes Insidias, nullique malo latus obdit apertum ? ( Cum genus hoc inter vitae versetur, ubi acris Invidia, atque vigent ubi crimina ) pro bene sano Ac non incauto, fictum astutumque vocamus. Simplicior quis, et est, qualem me saepe libenter Obtulerim tibi, Maecenas, ut forte legentem A ut taciturn impellat quovis sermone ? Molestus ! Communi sensu plane caret, inquimus. Eheu Quam temere in nosmet legem sancimus iniquam ! The Satires for Modern Readers 15 he has some imperfection, so we ought to treat our friends. The father calls his squint-eyed boy a Foetus [ ogle-eyed ]. If he has a badly dwarfed child like little Sisyphus, he calls him his " ducky " ; this one with distorted legs he called a Varus ; that one who is club- footed he fondly calls a Scaurus.* So if your friend lives too sparingly, call him frugal ; if he is untactful, impertinent ( impetus ) and a little too boastful, let this make him interesting to his friends. If he is somewhat rude and more free than is proper, just look upon him as a blunt, plain fellow and courageous. If he is too passionate, let him be esteemed as a man of spirit This plan, I think, both makes friends and keeps them as such. But we are inclined to the opposite and love to turn even virtues into defects and so soil a clean vessel. If any one lives with us in an upright and unassuming way, we call him dull and fat-headed. If a certain friend avoids all snares and lays himself open to no evil design ( as is needful in these days when bitterness, envy and crime so flourish ) we call him, not simply sensible and cautious, but hypocritical and shrewd. If any one is too unsophisticated ( as I often showed myself to you. not unpleasantly, Maecenas), so that he by chance stupidly interrupts one when reading or silent, we say that he has no sense. * Varus and Scaurus were the names of persons of noble family who had these deformities. / 6 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Nam rilus nemo sine nascitur : optimus ille est, Qui minimis urguetur. Amicus dulcis, ut aequum est, Cum mea compenset vitiis bona, pluribus hisce ( Si modo plura mihi bona sunt ) inclinet : amari Si volet hoc lege, in trutina ponetur eadem. Qui, ne tuberibus propriis offendat amicum Postulat, ignoscet verrucis illius. Aequum est, Peccatis veniam poscentem reddere rursus. Denique, quatenus excidi penitus vitium irae, Caetera item nequeunt stultis haerentia ; cur non Ponderibus modulisque suis ratio utitur? ac, res Ut quaeque est, ita suppliciis delicta coerce/ P Si quis eum servum, patinam qui tollere Jussus Semesos pisces tepidumque ligurrierit jus, In cruce suffigat, Labeone insanior inter Sanos dicatur. Quanto hoc furiosius atque Majus peccatum est ? Paulum deliquit amicus ; ( Quod nisi concedas, habeare insuavis, acerbus, ) Odisti etfugis, ut Rusonem debitor aeris P Qui, nisi, cum tristes misero venere Calendae, Mercedem out nummos unde extricat, amaras Porrecto Jugalo historias, captivus ut, audit. Comminxit lectum potus, mensave catillum Evandri maribus tritum dejecit; ob hanc rem, Aut positum ante mea quia pullum in parte catini Sustulit esuriens, minus hoc Jucundus amicus The Satires for Modern Readers 17 Alas, how rash we are to approve of a practice that works against ourselves. For no one is without defects, and he is best who has the least. When my dear friend sets off my good qualities against my defects, let him, if he wishes to be beloved, incline toward my more numerous good qualities ( if they are more numer- ous ). He will himself be treated after the same rule. Whoever expects not to disgust a friend with his own wens should not mind his friends' warts. It is only fair that one who asks pardon for his own faults should grant it to others. In fine, since faults of temper and character, innate in foolish mortals, can not be entirely eradicated, why not exercise our reason with independ- ence, and accord to each case punishment according to the real degree of the fault ? If any one should crucify his slave, who, while taking away a dish, gobbled up the half -eaten fish and tepid sauce, he would be called by sensible people crazier than Labea. But how much madder and more serious fault is this : a friend is guilty of a small error, which you ought to overlook unless you wish to be considered disagreeable and ill-natured. But as a matter of fact instead of ignoring it you hate and avoid him as a poor debtor does Ruso. As for me, if a friend when in liquor soil my couch or throw down from the table a vessel worn by the hands of Evander; or if, because he is hungry, he 18 Horace: Quintus Horatius Flaccus Sit mihi? Quid f adorn si furtum fecerit, aut si Prodiderit commissa fide sponsumve negarit ? Quis paria esse fere placuit peccata laborant Cum centum ad Verum est ; sensus moresque repug- nant Atque ipsa utilitas, justi prope mater et aequi. Ignocent si quid peccaro stultus amid, Inque vicem illorum patiar delicta libenter, Privatusque magis vivam te rege beatus. The Satires for Modern Readers 19 snatches chicken out of my part of the dish, he shall not by this be any less my jocund friend. Indeed if I punished him for this, what should I do if he committed a theft, or betrayed things committed to his trust, or repudiated his bond ? Those who are pleased to think that all faults are about alike are in difficulty when they come to practice ; in our feelings and our conduct we reject such a view, and expediency ( utilitas ), which is almost the mother of what is just and right, approves our judgment [ Horace continues this Satire ( II 98- 123) with further criticism on the Stoic's view that all faults are alike and argues that laws and human conduct should be so arranged that appropriate and different penalties be given according to the character of each offense. He adds also some criticism of the Stoic's teaching that the truly wise man has every quality in him from that of king to that of cobbler. As he presents the Stoic's case his criticism is so obvious that I am sure that his conception of the real doctrine was not a true one, though it was probably one emphasized by the rhetoricians. He concludes with a renewed exhortation to his friends to be forbearing and charitable.] My dear friends will forgive if I foolishly commit a fault and in turn I shall cheerfully put up with their faults, and, though only a private citizen, I shall live more happily than your Stoic king. ON THE ART AND NEED OF WRITING SATIRES; ALSO ON FRIENDSHIP; AND ON HIS EARLY TRAINING THE FOURTH SATIRE OF THE FIRST BOOK Persons of the Satire Lucilius ( B. C. 148-103 ). A Latin poet and writer of bitter and violent Satires, of which we have no remains. Eupolis, Cratinus and Aristophanes (B. C. 441-386), who were the leading writers of old Athenian comedy. In this form of drama the characters and subjects were representations from life. Crispinus, a poet. Sulcius , public informers Caprius Publius Capitolinus, a man who had been charged with theft. A Ibius, a collector of bronzes possibly the poet Albius Tibul- lus. Pomponeius, a dissipated youth. Caelius and Birrus, robbers. Tigellus, a professional singer. Rufillus and Gargonius, dandies. Patillius Capitolinus, formerly a governor of the Capitol. Trebonius, a person of low character. Horace criticizes the satires of Lucilius and defends his own work and methods, admitting that he is not in them poetical and that satire is hardly poetry. He denies that he is malicious and 22 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Eupolis atque Cratinus Aristophanesque poetae, Atque alii quorum comoedia prisca virorum est, Si quis erat dignus describi quod matus ac fur, Quod moechus /ore/ out sicarius out alioqui Famosus, multa cum libertate notabant. Hinc omnis pendet Lucilius, hosce secutus Mutatis tantum pedibus numerisque, facetus, Emunctae naris, durus, componere versus. Nam fuit hoc vitiosus : in hora saepe ducentos Ut magnum versus dictabat stans pede in uno. Cum flueret lutulentus, erat quod tollere velles ; Garrulus atque piger scriben diferre laborem, Scribendi recte : nam ut multum nil morror. Ecce, Crispinus minima me provocat: " Accipe, si vis, Accipiam tabulas; detur nobis locus, hora, Custodes; videamus uter plus scribere possit. " " Di bene fecerunt, inopis me quodque pusilli Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. At tu conclusas hircinis follibus auras, The Satires for Modern Readers 23 proceeds to show that satirical pieces are quite a justifiable type of composition. He asserts the claims of friendship, and he describes in an admirable and tender manner his father's wise method of educating him. Horace wrote this piece soon after his rather vulgar and dis- agreeable second Satire. A little later he wrote the Tenth, perhaps to appease the admirers of Lucilius. Eupolis, Cratinus and Aristophanes and other writers of ancient Comedy attacked with great freedom any one worth attacking if he were a rogue, a thief, a liber- tine, a murderer, or infamous on any other account. Lucilius took his methods from these writers, imitat- ing them and changing only the feet and measure. He was an amusing writer, a man of keen wit, but rapid in composition, and in this respect quite faulty. He would often dictate two hundred verses standing up on one foot as if it were a great thing. Sometimes he wrote vulgarly, and put in things one would wish omitted. He was a diffuse author, but too indolent to take the trouble to write correctly ; for as to quantity I do not count that a merit. I notice Crispinus here offers to bet me great odds on this point : " Come, if you please " , he says, " and take your tablets, give us a place, a timer and judge ; let us see which of us can write the more ! " The gods did well when they made me of a modest and retiring mind, speaking rarely and few words. But you, Fannius, imitate the wind that blows from the 24 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Usque laborantes dum ferrum molliat ignis, Ut mavis imitare. " Beatus Fannius ultro Delatis capsis et imagine; cum mea nemo Scripla legal volgo recitare timentis ob hanc rem, Quod sunt quos genus hoc minime juvat, utpote plures Culpari dignos. Quemvis media erue turba : Aut ob avaritiam out misera ambitione laborat Hie nuptarum insanit amoribus, hie puerorum ; Hunc capit argenti splendor; stupet Albius acre; Hie mutat merces surgente a sole ad eum quo Vesperlina tepet regio, quin per mala praeceps Ferti uti pulvis colleclus turbine, ne quid Summa deperdat metuens out ampliet ut Tern. Omnes hi metuunt versus, odere poelas. " Foenum habet in cornu; longe fuge: dummodo risum Excutiat sibi non hie cuiquam parcel amico ; Et quod cunque semel chartis illeverit omnes Qestiet a furno redeunles scire lacuque, El pueros el anus. " Agedum, pauca accipe contra. Primum ego me illorum, dederim quibus esse poe'tis, The Satires for Modern Readers 25 goatskin bellows and puffs away till the iron melts in the heat. You are happy, Fannius, in parading your works and your bust in the Town. Meanwhile no one reads my poems, for I am too timid to read them in public ; and there are as few people who like my style of writing, as there are many who deserve my criticism. Why shall I not criticize ? Take any crowd at random : You will find here a man who is grasping or unscrupulously ambitious; another who is mad over his love affairs or over his slaves. Another is taken with collecting old silver, or, like Albius, is enamored with his old bronzes. This merchant is forever trading from the regions of sunrise to those of sunset and is carried along through the troubles of his career like dust in the whirlwind, always afraid of losing his stock or hoping to increase his business. All such people dislike my verses ; they hate the satirical poet and say : " He has hay on his horns " " keep far away " . "So long as he can have his jest he will not spare his friend n . " Whatever he has once scribbled he will hurry to read publicly, even if it is to the boys and old women returning from the bakeries and the river bank." But come now and hear a few words on the other side. In the first place, I except myself from the list of those whom I would call poets ; for we do not say that 26 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Excerpam numero: neque enim concludere versum Dixeris esse satis ; neque si qui scribal uti nos Sermoni propiora : putes hunc esse poetam. Ingenium cui sit, cui mens divinior atque os Magna sonaturum, des nominis hujus honorem. Idcirco quidam, comoedia necne poema Esset, quoesivere, quod acer spiritus ac vis Nee verbis nee rebus inest. nisi quod pede certo Differt sermon/ sermo merus. At pater ardens Saevit, quod meretrice nepos insanus arnica Filius uxorem grandi cum dote recuset, Ebrius et, magnum quod dedecus, ambulet ante Noctem cum facibus. Numquid Pomponius istis Audiret leviora pater si viveret? Ergo Non satis est pun's versum perscribere verbis, Quern si dissohas, quivis stomachetur eodem Quo personatus pacto pater. His ego quae nunc, Olim quae scripsit Lucilius, eripias si Tempora certa modosque, et quod prius ordine ver- bum est Posterius facias, praeponens ultima primis, Non, ut si solvas " Postquam Discordia tetra Belli ferratos postes portasque refregit ", Invenias etiam disjecti membra poetae. The Satires for Modern Readers 27 to be one it is sufficient to compose verses ; and if any one write as I do things quite near to prose you will not consider him a poet. You give the honor of his name to one who has genius, a divine mind and a mouth that can sound forth great things. Some indeed have questioned whether or not comedy be poetry, for there is no sublimity of spirit or force either in its form or in its subjects. It is mere prose except that it has a certain measure. To be sure, one may say that comedy portrays the passion of an angry father raging because his dissolute son who has gone crazy over an unworthy mistress and refuses to marry a wife with a dower and who, disgracefully drunk, runs about with lighted torches before it is dark. But this, after all, is the portrayal of ordinary human experi- ence. The dissolute Pomponius would hear no less violent language if his father were alive. Therefore it is not sufficient to make verse with choice words, which on analysis you will find to contain only the expressions any excited person might use. If you take from my verses and those of Lucilius the measures and rhythm and transpose the words you will not get such a result as when you break up such lines of true poetry as " After black discord broke The iron bars and gates of war." Here you would find the disjected members of real poetry. 28 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Hactenus haec : alias justum sit necne poema, Nunc illud ionium quaeram, meritone tibi sit Suspectum genus hoc scribendi. Sulcius acer Ambulat et Caprius rauci male cumque libellis, Magnus uturque timor latronibus ; at bene si quis Et vivat puris manibus contemnat utrumque. Ut sis tu similis Caeli Birrique latronum, Non ego sum Capri neque Sulci: cur metuas me? Nulla taberna meos habeat neque pila libellos, Quis manus insudet volgi Hermogenisque Tigelli : Nee recito cuiquam nisi amicis, idque coactus, Non ubivis coramve quibuslibet In medio qui Scripta foro recitent sunt multi quique lavantes : Suave locus voci resonat conclusus. Inanes Hoc juvat, haud illud quaerentes, num sine sensu, Tempore num faciant alieno. " Laedere gaudes ", Inquit, " et hoc studio pravusfacis. " Unde petitum Hoc in me jacis P Est auctor quis denique eorum Vixi cum quibus? Absentem qui rodit amicum; Qui non defendit alio culpante ; solutos Qui captat risus hominum famamque dicacis ; The Satires for Modern Readers 29 So much for this at another time you will see fur- ther whether or not comedy may be poetry. Now I will ask again this : whether you are right to view this kind of writing with prejudice. Sulcius and Caprius walk along, hoarse from shout- ing their malevolent libels; each is a great terror to thieves, but if any one lives honestly and with clean hands he ignores them both. But if you are like the robbers Caelius and Birrus, I am not like the informers Caprius and Sulcius. You need not fear me, for I let no shop or stall hold my little books, nor over them do the hands of the common herd or of Hermogenes and Tigellus sweat. I do not recite to any one except my friends, and to them only when compelled, and not anywhere except before those who ask. There are many who recite their writings in the middle of the market place, others while bathing the vaulted ceiling re-echoes pleasantly the voice. This charms the vain who do not consider whether they do a thing without propriety and at an inoppor- tune time. But, you say, I delight to criticise and do it with malicious purpose. From whom did you get this idea you ascribe to me ? Is the author any one who is inti- mate with me? Whoever calumniates an absent friend, or who does not defend him when another attacks ; whoever raises groundless laughter about him, seeking the reputation of wit; whoever is willing to 30 Horace: Quintus Horatius Flaccus Fingere qui non visa potest ; commissa tacere Qui nequit; hie niger est, hunc tu, Romane, caveto. Saepe tribus lectis videos coenare quaternos, Equibus units amet quavis adspergere cunctos Procter eum qui praebet aquam ; post hunc quoque potus, Condita cum verax aperit praecordia Liber. Hie tibi comis et urbanus liberque videtur, Infesto nigris. Ego si risi quod ineptus Pastillos Rufillus olet. Gargonius hircum, Lividus et mordax videor tibi? Mentio si qua De Capitolini furtis injecta Petilli Te coram fuerit, defendas ut tuus est mos. "Me Capitolinus convictore usus amicoque A puero est causaque mea permulta rogatus Fecit, et incolumis laetor quod vivit in urbe ; Sed tamen admiror, quo pacto judicium illud Fugerit. " Hie nigrae succus loliginis, haec est Aerugo mera. Quod vitium procul afore chartis Atque animo prius, ut si quid promittere de me Possum aliud vere, promitto. Liberius si Dixero quid, si forte jocosius, hoc mihi juris The Satires for Modern Readers 31 fabricate a tale or even cannot keep silent over secrets committed to him he is black [ a dangerous man ]. Beware of him, Romans. You will often find at a banquet where twelve guests are resting on their three couches, someone who loves in his way to asperse all the rest except the host ( ne qui praebet aquam ) and him also after he has drunken and truth-telling Bacchus opens the secrets of his heart ( condita praecordia). Such a man as this may seem to you, who are so hostile to criticism ( nigris), courteous, wellbred and companionable. If I, however, tell the truth and say that the foolish Rufillus smells of perfumes and Gargonius of the goats I seem to you venomous and sarcastic ( lividus et mordax). If any mention should be made in your presence of the thefts of Capitolinus Pestillius, you defend him after your custom. " Capitolinus has been my host, and my friend from boyhood. He has done many kind- nesses at my request and I am glad he is able to live safely in the city. Nevertheless, I wonder by what scheme he escaped that judgment against him." This is the essence of black slander, this is the purest malice ( nigrae succus loliginis haec est aerugo mera). This is a crime which shall be always absent from my writings and still more from my heart, so long as I can promise anything about myself. If I ever speak of anything too freely, or perhaps too jocosely, you should grant me this freedom and forgive it. 32 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Cum venia dabis : insuevit pater optimus hoc me, Ut fugerem exemplis vitiorum quaeque notando. Cum me hortaretur, parce, frugaliter, atque Viverem uti contenlus eo quod mi ipse parasset : " Nonne vides Albi ut male vivat filius, utque Barrus inops? Magnum documentum ne patriam rem Perdere quis velit. " A turpi meretricis amore Cum deterreret: ff Scetani dissimilis sis." Ne sequerer moechas concessa cum venere uti Possem : " Deprensi non bella est fama Treboni, " AiebaL "Sapiens vitatu quidque petitu Sit melius causas reddet tibi: mi satis est si Traditum ab antiquis morem servare tuamque, Dum custodis eges, vitam famamque tueri Incolumem possum ; simul ac duraverit aetas Membra animumque tuum nabis sine cortice. " Sic me Formabat puerum dictis ; et sive jubebat Ut facer em quid: " Habes auctorem quo facias hoc; " Unum ex judicibus selectis objiciebat ; Sive vetabat: "An hoc inhonestum et inutile factu Necne sit addubites, flagret rumore malo cum Hie atque ille? Avidos vicinumfunus et aegros Exanimat, mortisque metu sibi parcere cogit ; ^Jirgilius flfcoeftnas ^lotius Introductory illustration to the fifth Satire, from the celebrated Gurninger Horace, Strasburg, 1498. Portraits of Maecenas and of the three friends who joined Horace at Sinuessa. The Satires for Modern Readers 33 My very good father brought me up to avoid vices by showing me examples when he would teach me to live modestly and frugally, and content with what he could himself supply me. " Do you not see ", he would say, n how wretchedly the son of Albius lives and the impoverished Barrus? " great warnings that one should not wish to waste the paternal estate. When he would deter me from the shameful love of a courtesan : n Do not become like Sectanus " , he said. That 1 might not follow dissolute women when I could indulge legitimate passion he would say : " The repu- tation of Trebonius caught in the act is not good. " " The philosopher " , he said, " may give you better reasons than I what things are to be avoided or sought after " . It is enough for me to inculcate the habits and traditions of our fathers and to preserve your life and reputation while you are yet in need of a guardian. When age has strengthened your body and mind you can swim without a cork ( nabis sine cortice). So he formed me a boy with his instructions ( sic me formabat puerum dictis). And if he bid me do some good action : " You have an example for doing this B , and instanced one of the select judges. Or if he for- bade me : " Do you hesitate whether or not this is a dishonest and useless thing to do, when this and that man are branded with evil reputation through doing it ? " As the funeral of a neighbor frightens the intem- perate invalid and obliges him to take care of himself 34 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Sic teneros animos aliena opprobria saepe Absterrent vitiis." Ex hoc ego sanus ab illis Pernidem quaecunque ferunt, mediocribus et quis Ignoscas vitiis teneor ; fortassis et istinc Largiter abstulerit longa aetas, liber amicus, Consilium proprium; neque enim cum lectulus out me Porticus excepit desum mihi. " Rectius hoc est: Hoc faciens vivam melius: Sic dulcis amicis Occurram : Hoc quidam non belle : numquid ego illi Imprudens olim faciam simile? " Haec ego mecum Compressis agito labris ; ubi quid datur oti Illudo chartis. Hoc est mediocribus illis Ex vitiis unum ; cut si concedere nolis, Multa poetarum Veniat manus, auxilio quae Sit mihi ( nam multo plures sumus ), ac veluti te Judaei cogemus in hanc concedere turbam The Satires for Modern Readers 35 through his fear of death, so the opprobrium that has fallen on others often deters tender minds from vices. By this kind of teaching I was kept free from those things which bring ruin to character, though I confess to petty faults and those which you will condone, and perhaps a longer experience or a candid friend and good counsel will largely free me from these. For in- deed when my couch or my house receives me I am not without these thoughts : This is the more commenda- ble act ; doing this I shall live more happily and in this I shall meet my friends agreeably. A certain man has done a thing not well. Shall I do like him? I agitate these things with myself with compressed lips. When I have any leisure I amuse myself with my writings. This is one of those lesser faults which if you will not forgive I will call a great band of poets to my help, for indeed we are more numerous than you think and like the Jews we will compel you to come over to our party. The Appian Way, along which the journey began. This road was constructed B. C. 312, and finally was extended as far as Brundisium. Horace followed it as far as Beneventum. " Minus eat sraois Appia lard is " L. 6 The Satires for Modern Readers 37 HORACE'S TRIP TO BRINDISIUM THE FIFTH SATIRE OF THE FIRST BOOK Horace's story of his trip to Brindisium has much interest as a description of the local conditions and methods of travel at this time. The Satire has no great literary or poetic merit, but it must have been good reading to his contemporaries, who understood the allusions and jests. It was written about B. C. 37, when Horace was twenty-eight years old. The trip was made in the Spring, and it took him seventeen days to cover the distance of about three hundred miles. He traveled by mule or horseback for the most part, but he spent one night on a canal boat and one day in a post-chaise. He started from Rome with one companion, Heliodorus, a Greek rhetorician ; three days later he met Maecenas, Varius, Virgil and other friends. The object of Horace's trip was no doubt to give compan- ionship to Maecenas, who was going with Cocceius and Fon- teius to try and arrange a reconciliation between Augustus and Anthony. Of this serious side to the excursion, Horace wisely says little. Maecenas took with him a retinue, including two scurrae or parasites. These men were allowed to sit at the table with the other guests, and in return were expected to amuse the com- pany with jokes and horse-play, of which a specimen is given. There is no doubt that Horace had a fine sense of humor. But how the performances of Sarmentus and Messius could be amus- ing it is impossible for one at the present day to understand. Nevertheless, he says : " Prorsus jucunde coenam produximus ///am." " We spun out that supper very pleasantly." 38 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus The special skill of the Satirist is shown to us in the ingenious way in which the author moves along from incident to incident day by day without making a monotonous chronicle. In two lines he is at Aricia in a modest inn, sixteen miles from Rome. Then he reaches the Forum Appii, twenty-three ii;iles further, where he has experiences with the canal and its boatmen, and after a bad night is at the temple of Feronia seventeen miles further on in three days, and only twenty-five lines. So he trips along with incident and comment, reaching Brindisium in one hundred and five lines, thus ending, he says, " his long paper and long journey." A great deal of patient study has been put upon the geogra- phy of his route, and we are enabled to map it out now with accuracy. The road from Rome to Brindisium was described by Sir R. Colt Hare in his " Classical Tour through Italy ", London, 1819. He was accompanied by an artist, Carlo Labruzzi, who made a series of two hundred and twenty-six drawings, most of which have not been published. The views here reproduced were taken from the copy of a folio work privately printed at Rome in 1 8 1 6 for the Duchess of Devonshire and presented to Lord John Townsend. The plates, eighteen in all, were made by Riepenhausen, P. Parboni, Morel, A. Testa, Balza, and C. Frommel. Some account of these engravings as well as of the painters has been kindly furnished me by Mr. A. E. M. Paff, of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. An introductory plate to this Satire gives the portraits of Virgil, Maecenas, Plotius and Varius, taken from an edition of Horace published in 1 498, with the commentary of Jacob Locher. It is an edition printed from a manuscript newly discov- ered in Germany and is widely known as the Gurninger Horace. The Satires for Modern Readers 39 Persons of the Satire Horace Heliodorus, a Greek rhetorician. Maecenas, agent and friend of Augustus, who entertained the travelers at Claudium. Cocceius Fonteius Capita, agent and friend of Antony. Anfidius Luseus, a silly praetor of the town of Fundi. Muraena, a friend later brother-in-law of Maecenas who entertained the party at his house in Formiae. Plotius } Varius > Literary friends of Horace Virgil j Sarmentus ,. i Parasites Messius 40 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Egressum magna me excepit Aricia Roma Hospitio modico ; rhetor comes Heliodorus, Graecorum longe doctissimus ; inde Forum Appi, Differtum nautis cauponibus atque malignis. Hoc Her ignavi divisimus, altius ac nos Praecinctis unum ; minus est gravis Appia tardis. Hie ego propter aquam, quod erat deterrima, ventri Indico bellum, coenantes haud animo aequo Exspectans comites. Jam nox inducere terris Umbras et caelo diffundere signa parabat; Turn pueri nautis, pueris convicia nautae Ingerere. Hue appelle ! Trecentos inserts : ohe Jam satis est! Dum aes exigitur, dum mula ligatur, The Forum of Appius, a town about forty-three miles from Rome, where Horace arrived on the second day. The Apos- tle Paul stopped here more than half a century later. (Acts, xxviii, 1 5 ) It was on the Pontine Marsh, and through this a canal had been cut to the temple of Feronia, a distance of nineteen miles. Here Horace boarded a canal boat and passed the mght much annoyed by the mosquitoes and frogs. ' ' Mali culices, ranaeque pulastres Avertunt somnos. " L. 13 The Satires for Modern Readers 41 Leaving magnificent Rome I reached Aricia, stop- ping at a fairly good inn. Heliodorus, the rhetorician, by far the most learned of the Greeks, went with me. From Aricia we went to the Appian Forum, a place crowded with sailors and surly inn-keepers. Being leisurely travelers, we divided this trip into two stages. It is only one day for those better tucked up for travel. We took the Appian way, which is the easier. At the Appian Forum, as the water was most execrable, I proclaimed war against my stomach and waited without much patience, while my companions dined. Soon the night began to open its shadows over the earth and to display the constellations in the sky. Then our servants started to quarrel with the boatmen, the boatmen with the servants. n Pull inhere" ! " You are overloading it a thousand times ". " Hold on you have enough already " . By the time the fare had been collected and the mule harnessed, a whole hour 42 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Tola abit hora. Mali culices ranaeque palustres Avertunt somnos, absentem ut cantat amicam Malta prolutus vappa nauta atque viator Certatim. Tandem fessus dormire viator Intipit, ac missae pastum retinacula mulae Nauta piger saxo religat stertitque supinus. Jamque dies aderat, nil cum procedere lintrem Sentimus, donee cerebrosus prosilit unus Ac mulae nautaeque caput lumbosque saligno Fuste dolat: quarto vix demum exponimur hora. Ora manusque tua lavimus, Feronia, lympha. Milia turn pransi tria repimus atque subimus Impositum saxis late candentibus Anxur. Hue venturus erat Maecenas optimus atque Cocceius, missi magnis de rebus uterque Legati, aversos soliti componere amicos. Hie oculis ego nigra meis collyria lippus Illinere. Interea Maecenas advenit atque Cocceius Capitoque simul Fonteius, ad unguem Factus homo, Antoni non ut magis alter amicus. The Satires for Modern Readers 43 was passed. The troublesome mosquitos [ mali culices] and the frogs in the meadows kept me from sleeping. Meanwhile, our boatman (who was soaked with much bad wine ) and one of the passengers, sang in turn of his absent sweetheart. The passenger finally grew weary and went to sleep ; then the lazy boatman fastened the tackle to a rock and sent his mule to feed while he lay down and snored supinely. When the day approached and we saw that the boat had made no progress, an angry passenger jumped ashore and with a willow cudgel whacked both mule and boat- man over the head and back. At last and with difficulty we reached the temple of Feronia at ten o'clock, where we washed our faces and hands in thy spring, O goddess. Then having dined, we crept along three miles and reached Anxur, a town built on rocks which shine brightly in the distance. Maecenas was to meet me here and the most worthy Cocceius, both being sent as ambassadors con- cerning important affairs, and both skilled in reconciling friends at variance. Here, on account of sore eyes, I was obliged to spread black ointment upon them. Meanwhile Maecenas arrived with Cocceius and Fon- teius Capito, a man of perfect accomplishments [ factus ad unguem and a friend of Anthony, no one more so. We then reached and quickly passed Fundus, where 44 Horace : Quintus Horaiius Flaccus Fundos Aufidio Lusco prae/ore libenter Linquimus, insani ridentes praemia scribae, Praetextam et latum clavum prunaeque batillum. In Mamurrarum lassi deinde urbe manemus, Murena praebente domum, Cap/tone culinam. Postera lux oritur multo gratissima ; namque Plotius et Varius Sinuessae Virgiliusque Occurrunt, animae quales neque candidiores Terra tulit neque quis me sit devinctior alter. O qui complexus et gaudia quanta fuerunt ! Nil ego contulerim jucundo sanus amico. Proximo Campano ponti quae villula, tectum Praebuit, et parochi quae debent ligna salemque. Hinc muli Capuae clilellas tempore ponunt. Lusum it Maecenas, dormitum ego Virgiliusque ; Namque pila lippis inimicum et ludere crudis. Hinc nos Cocceii recipit plenissima villa Quae super est Caudi cauponas. Nunc mihi paucis Sarmenti scurrae pugnam Messique Cicirrhi, Musa, Velim memores, et quo patre natus uterque Capua, where Maecenas played tennis while Horace and Virgil took a nap. ' ' Mali Capuac clitellas lempore fsonunt. L. 47 The Satires for Modern Readers 45 we smiled at the display of Aufidius Luscus, the " praetor ", a crazy clerk who put on all his insignia of office, his purple-bordered toga, the senatorial stripe, and burned a pan of incense. Then being weary, we stayed at the city of Mam- urrae, Murena giving us lodging and Capito entertain- ment. The next day came and was much the most delight- ful of our trip, for Plotius, Varius and Virgil met us at Sinuessa. The world never bore whiter souls than these ; nor was anyone ever more devoted to them than myself. How warm our embraces, and how deep our delight ! ! While 1 have my reason, I esteem nothing so much as a congenial friend. The little city near the bridge of Campania next offered us a roof and the Commissaries furnished us, as is their duty, with wood and salt. Hence our Mules bore us in good time to Capua where Maecenas went to play tennis, Virgil and 1 to take a nap, for playing ball is not good for sore eyes and a bad digestion. Thence we went to the magnificent villa of Coc- ceius lying just beyond the inns of Caudium. And now, O Muse, I beg you to relate in a few words, the story of the contest between the two buf- foons, Saramentus and Messius Cicirrus. And tell me from what fathers were these born who entered the lists P Messius was of the brilliant race of the Oscians ! 46 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Contulerit lites. Messi clarum genus Osci; Sarmenti domina exstat : ab his majoribus orti Ad pugnam venere. Prior Satmentus : " Equi te Esse feri similem dico. " Ridemus, et ipse Mess/us " Accipio, " caput et movet. " O, tua cornu Niforet exsecto frons, " inquit, " quid faceres, cum Sic mutilus miniteris? " At illi foeda cicatrix Setosam laevi frontem turpaverat oris. Campanum in morbum, infaciem permulta jocatus, Pastorem saltaret uti Cyclopa rogabat : Nil illi larva out tragicis opus esse cothurnis. Multa Cicirrhus ad haec : Donasset jamne catenam Ex voto Laribus, quarebat ; scriba quod esse/, Nihilo deterius dominae jus esse. Rogabat Denique cur unquam fugisset, cui satis una Farris libra foret gracili sic tamque pusillo. Prorsus jucunde coenam produximus illam. Tendimus hinc recta BeneVentum, ubi sedulsus hospes Paene macros arsit dum turdos versat in igni; The Satires for Modern Readers 47 Sarmentus was a slave and his mistress still lives and owns him. Sprung from such ancestry they began the contest. And first Sarmentus says : " I declare, Messius, you look like a wild horse'" " I admit it ", says Messius, and shakes his head. " What could you not do " , adds Sarmentus, n if you still had that horn on your forehead when you are so terrible without it?" For his hairy face was disfigured by an ugly scar due to a wen that had been removed. So Sarmentus joked him about this, asking him to do a Cyclopean dance, saying, " With such a face, you do not need a mask or tragic buskins." Messius retorted briskly to these merry jests : " Have you ", he asked, n yet offered your slave-chains to the household gods, according to your vow ? " " Although you are now a clerk, Sarmentus, the rights of your mistress over you are no less good." Finally he asks : n Why, Sarmentus, did you ever run away when to supply so slender and graceful a person as you a pound of bread a day would be enough?" On the whole we spun out that supper most agreeably. Thence we went straight to Beneventum, where our anxious host almost burned us up while he was roast- ing some lean thrushes before the fire. For the cinders, falling on the old kitchen floor, the wandering flames 48 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Nam vaga per veterem dilapso flamma culinam Volcano summum properabat lambere tectum. Convivas avidos coenam servosque timentes Turn rapere, atque omnes restinguere velle videres. Incipit ex illo monies Apulia notos Ostentare mihi, quos lorrel Atabulus et quos Nunquam erepsemus nisi nos vicina Trivici Villa recepisset, lacrimoso non sine fumo, Udos cum foliis ramos urenle camino. Hie ego mendacem stultissimus usque puellam Ad mediam noclem exspecto: somnus /amen aufert Intenlum veneri; turn immundo somnia visu Noclurnam Vestem maculant ventremque supinum. Quattuor hinc rapimur viginti el milia rhedis, Mansuri oppidulo quod versu dicere non est, Signis perfacile est : venit vilissima rerum Hie aqua ; sed panis longe pulcherrimus, ultra Callidus ut soleat humeris portare viator; Nam Canusi lapidosus, aquae non ditior urna Qui locus a forti Diomede est conditus olim. Flentibus hinc Varius discedit maestus amicis. Inde Rubos fessi pervenimus, utpote longum Carpentes Her et factum corruptius imbrl Postera tempestas melior, via pejor ad usque Bari moenia piscosi; dein Gnatia Lymphis Region of the City and Inns of Caudium. about twenty miles from Capua, where they were entertained in the Villa of Cocceius. ' ' Hinc nos Cocceii recipil plenissima villa, Quae super est Caudi cauponas. L. 50 The Satires for Modern Readers 49 quickly climbed to the top of the roof. You should have seen the hungry guests and frightened servants trying to save their supper and at the same time put out the fire. From here Apulia began to show me its well-known mountains which the Atabulus [ a hot wind ] scorches and through which we never could have gotten if we had not been refreshed at the neighboring village of Trevicum not without much tear-drawing smoke from a fire made out of wet brushes and leaves. Here I sat till midnight, and then wearied fell into a sleep full of exciting dreams. Hence we were taken along rapidly for twenty-four miles in post-chaises to stop at a little town whose name I can not put in verse [ Equotuticum ], but is easily known by description ; for here water is sold, though it is the worst in the world; but the bread is very fine, so that the wise traveler is accustomed to take some along for his journey ; for the bread of Can- usium is gritty, and there is rot a pitcherful of water more than in the previous town. The city was founded by the valiant Diomede. Here Varius sorrowfully left his weeping friends. Thence we arrived very tired at Rubi, for we had traveled a long journey, made more difficult by the rain. Next day the weather was better, but the road was worse, even as far as the walls of Barus, a town noted for its fish. 50 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Iratis exstructa dedit risusque jocosque, Dam flamma sine thura liquescere limine sacro Persuader e cup//. Credat Judaeus Apella, Non ego : namque deos didici securum agere aevum, Nee si quid miri facial natura deos id Tristes ex alto caeli demittere tecto. Brundusium longae finis chartaeque viaeque est. The Satires for Modern Readers 51 We came next to Gnatia, a town built amidst troubled waters, and a place which aroused our jests and laughter ; for they wanted to make us believe that incense placed on the sacred threshold liquified with- out flame. The Jew Apella may believe it not I. For I have learned that the gods live a tranquil life, and that if nature does any wonder, they do not bother to send it down from the roof of Heaven. Brindisium is the end of my long letter and journey. THE ILLUSTRATIONS The original work from which the illustrations here given were taken was a sumptuous one, and evidently involved much care, expense and knowledge of the artistic activities of the times at Rome. Mr. A. E. M. Paff, of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, at the request of Mr. Paul Sachs, was good enough to investi- gate the biographies of the artists concerned. He writes: " The biographical data confirm the conclusions formed from a glance at the style of the plates and the date and place of their publication ( Rome, 1816), namely that the painters and engravers who produced them were living in Rome at this time and were producing landscapes and historical pictures in the formal, conventional manner of Claude Lorrain and Poussin. Most of them were proficient in the art of their time and would scarcely copy their less distinguished contemporary, Labruzzi. " These anachronous illustrations do not, and perhaps do not pretend to, reproduce the scenes as they appeared to Horace, but without attempting historical accuracy simply depict the towns, the ruins, the landscape with its accessories, the houses, boats, and even the costumes of the people as they were in 1 800. Let us take the ' Arch of Trajan ", dedicated in 114, A. D,, as a case in point. Horace (65-8 B. C), travelling along the Appian Way, no doubt passed Benvenuto, but he came by some one hundred and twenty-five years too early to see this piece of architecture which the compiler has included as an illustration of his route. " Probably some of the drawings and paintings from which the engravings were taken, had been done without any idea of illustrating the Fifth Satire of Horace, but the Duchess of Dev- onshire found them suitable for use in her folio because they had Aricia and its small inn where Horace passed the first night. It was a small city about sixteen miles from Rome. " Egressum magna me except/ Aricia Roma. " L. 1 The Satires for Modern Readers 53 for subjects villages and bits of landscape along the road from Rome to Brindisium. She might then supplement these pictures with drawings commissioned for the particular purpose. " Perhaps they were all designed for this publicaton, the Duchess herself contributing the " View of Sinuessa ", but Her Grace would hardly lack other material, for there was hardly a village, a ruin, or a seaport round about Rome which the mul- titude of painters of classical landscapes had not drawn or painted again and again. " The introductory text of the folio does not contain definite information as to how and from whence the illustrations were collected, but there is no doubt that the designers of them drew their material directly from nature." A WALK AND TALK IN ROME B. C 34 THE NINTH SATIRE OF THE FIRST BOOK Horace's humor is at its best in this satire which is sometimes called The Story of the Bore. In it he tells of his meeting on the Sacred Way an importunate gentleman who insists on con- tinuing his society and presses our poet with personal questions. No one has told of experiences of this kind with so fine a touch or so much dramatic skill, though many in all ages have suffered under them. The story should be read aloud with good elocu- tion to get its values. Perhaps Howes's poetic version will sound better than this one. The satire is read easily and has been trans- lated and imitated by many. Horace is taking a stroll along the Sacred Way ; one of the most famous streets of Rome. It was not a long street, reaching from the Esquiline Hill, near where the Colosseum of Vespasian was later erected, entering the southeast side of the Forum and ending at the Capitol. ( See Map.) The distance was less than a mile. The street was lined with temples and public buildings and at this period with the booths of merchants. When Horace reached the Forum he passed the Temple of Vesta near which was the tribunal of the praetor upon whom his companion is obliged to attend. The Forum as it looked in Horace's time at this point is shown on another page. The Sacred Way was a kind of Fifth Avenue of Rome. It was in the Forum and along the Sacred Way that processions moved ( Sat. I, 6, 44 ) : 56 Horace : Quintus Horatus Flaccus At hie si plostra ducenta, Concurrantque foro tria funera magna, sonabit, Cornua quod, vincatque tubas. For in the Forum should two hundred wains Encounter with rude shock three funeral trains So strong so clear is his Stentorian bawl He'd silence hoof and horns and trumpets all. Poets recited verses in the middle of the Forum ( Sat. I , 4,75,76): In medio qui Scripta foro recitent, sunt multi. I grant that some, less delicate, there are, Who spout their poems in the public square. Citizens promenaded there ( Epod. IV, 7 ) : Sacram metiente te viam Cum bis trium ulnarum toga, Cneus Pompius Menas Pacing the Sacred Street with pompous stride Robed in a toga more than three yards wide. The only persons in the Satire are Horace and his bore ( who has been thought, probably wrongly, to have been the poet Propertius ) and Aristius Fuscus, an intimate friend to whom he addressed Ode I, 22 and Epistle I, 1 6. I bam forte via Sacra, sicut meus est mos, Nescio quid meditans nugarum, totus in illis : A ecu rr it quidam notus mihi nomine tantum, Arreptaque manu, " Quid agis, dulcissime rerum? " " Suaviter ut nunc est, " inquam, " et cupio omnia quae vis. The Bay of Sinuessa where Horace met Maecenas. ' ' Plotius et Varius Sinuessae occurrunt Virgiliusque. L. 40 The Satires for Modern Readers 57 As I was strolling along the Sacred Way, thinking as I usually do about some poetic trifle, and very much taken up therewith, a certain person whom I knew by by name ran up to me and seized me by the hand. " How are you, my dearest fellow, " he says. " Pretty well, " I reply, " as times go, and I wish for 58 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus Cum assectaretur : " Num quid vis?" occupo. At ille, " Noris nos," inquit; " docti sumus." Hie ego, "P/uris Hoc, " inquam, " mihi eris. " Miser e discedere quae- rens Ire modo ocius, interdum consistere, in aurem Dicere nescio quid puero, cum sudor ad imos Manaret talos. O te, Bolane, cerebri Felicem! aiebam tacitus; cum quidlibet file Garriret, vicos, urbem laudaret. Ut illi Nil respondebam, '' Miser e cupis," inquit, " abire ; Jamdudum video ; sed nil agis ; usque tenebo ; Persequar: hinc quo nunc iter est tibi?" "Nil opus est te Circumagi; quendam volo visere non tibi no/urn; Trans Tiberim longe cubat is prope Caesar is hortos. " " Nil habeo quod agam et non sum piger ; usque sequar te " Demitto auriculas ut iniquae mentis asellus, Cum gravius dorso subiit onus. Incipit ille : The Satires for Modern Readers 59 you everything you desire. " As he kept on beside me, I add, " Is there anything you want?" " Why," he says, " you surely know me. I am a man of letters like yourself. " To this I say, " You, of course, are the more to me on that account." Anxious to get rid of him, I begin to go faster, and then to stop and whisper something I know not what, in my boy's ear. Meanwhile I begin to fret, the sweat runs down to my ankles and I say to myself : " O Bo- lanus, if only I had your happy brain ! " But the fellow keeps chattering on about anything that comes to his mind, praising now the streets and now the city. I say nothing ; whereupon finally he breaks out. " I see you want very much to get away, but it is of no use. I really must keep by you, so where is your course ? n " There is no need for you to go out of your way, " I say ; " I am going to visit a friend whom you do not know. He is sick in bed, a long way across the Tiber near the Gardens of Caesar." " Well, I have nothing to do, I am not lazy, and I will follow you all the way." Then I just drop my ears, like a bad-tempered ass when he has had put on him a burden heavier than usual. He begins again : 60 Horace : Quintus Horatius Flaccus " Si bene me nod non Viscum pluris amicum, Non Varium fades ; nam quis me scribere plures Aut dtius possit versus? quis membra movere Mollius ? Invideat quod et Hermogenes ego canto. ' Interpellandi locus hie erat : " Est tibi mater, Cognati, quis te salvo estopus?" -"Haud mihi quisquam. Omnes composui." Felices! nunc ego resto. Confici; namque instat fatum mihi triste Sabella Quod puero cecinit divina mota anus urna : Hunc neque dira Venena nee hosticus auferet ensis Nee laterum dolor out tussis nee tarda podagra ; Garrulus hunc quando consumet cunque ; loquaces Si sapiat vitet simul atque adoleverit aetas. 'Uentum erat at Vestae quarta jam parte diei Praeterita, et casu tune respondere vadato Debebat, quod ni fecisset perdere litem. " Si me amas, " inquit, " paulum hie ades. " " Inter- com si Aut valeo stare aut novi civilia jura ; Et proper o quo scis. " " Dubius sum quid faciam, " inquit, Canusium, once a large city. Here the bread was gritty and the water scarce. Varius left in tears. The Satires for Modern Readers 61 " If I know myself well you will not make Viscus or Varius more of a friend to you than I. For really, who can write more verses, or in a quicker time ? Who can dance better than I, and I can sing in a way to make even Hermogenes envious." Here I found a chance to interrupt : n Have you not a mother or relations who can take an interest in these talents of yours ? " " Not a soul," he says, " I have buried them all." ( n They are lucky," I mutter.) " I alone remain." Well, dispatch me! Now I see the sad fate, predicted for me when I was a boy, by a Sabine fortune-teller after she had shaken the magic urn : ' No dreadful poison or hostile sword, shall carry you off, or pleurisy or cough, or the lingering gout ; but some day a fool talker shall destroy you. If wise, you will shun the loquacious as soon as you have grown up.' We reached at last the temple of Vesta, a quarter of the day having passed. By chance he was held in bail and was bound now to put in an appearance at court, or lose his case. " If you love me," he says, " give me here a little help." " May I die," says I, " if I am strong enough to stand through a trial, and besides, I know nothing of civil law. I am in a hurry, as you know, to pay my visit." 62 Horace : Quintm Horatius Flaccus " Tene relinquam an rem. ""Me sodes. " " Non faciam " ille; Et praecedere coepit. Ego ut contendere durum est Cum victore sequor. " Maecenas quomodo tecum ?" Hinc repetit ; " paucorum hominum et mentis bene sanae ; Nemo dexterius fortuna est usus. Haberes Magnum adjutorem posset quiferre secundas, Hunc hominem Velles si tradere ; dispeream ni Submosses omnes. " "Non isto vivimus illic Quo tu rere mo Jo; domus hac nee purior ulla est Nee magis his aliena mails ; nil mi officit unquam, Ditior hie out est quia doctior ; est locus uni Cuique suus." "Magnum narras, vix credibile!" "Atqui Sic habet. "