A
Poetical Tranflation
O F T H E
WORKS
O F
HORACE:
WITH THE
ORIGINAL TEXT,
AND
CRITICAL NOTES
Collefted from his beft
LATIN and FRENCH COMMENTATORS.
By the Rev d Mr. PHILIP FRANCIS.
IN FOUR VOLUMES.
THE FIFTH EDITION,
REVISED AND CORRECTED.
LONDON:
Printed for A. MILLAR in the Strand.
M DCC LIU.
o
C A O ^
FX3 'V
)
KT1I
THE
O D E S *
O F
HORACE.
In LATIN and ENGLISH.
WITH
CRITICAL NOTES collected from his beft
Latin and French COMMENTATORS.
Mufa deditfidibus divas , puerofqite Deorum,
Etpugikm viftorem, 6f equum certamlne primum,
Etjuvenum cur as > & lib era vina referre.
Arte Poetica.
VOL. I.
A 2
* f~"-^ 'J IT* .
8 a a
,K ? i J o ?r ,
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URr^^5i*t5V tK'.:- : j; j c c C ;;V,TS
.YV^V: iu;7 r^V.'. 13 t iy
TO HIS EXCELLENCY
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
LORD NEWPORT,
ONE OF THE LORDS JUSTICES,
AND
LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF IRELAND,
THIS WORK
IS HUMBLY INSCRIBED
B Y
HIS MOST OBEDIENT SERVANT
PHILIP FRANCIS.
K D.I 51
'u'C 2GJIOJ JliT HO
10 ;io.uajKAH'.: i
i ^ o w.a i IT
(vii)
THE
PREFACE.
. i'.Sfi iJ i * * '"?) 25*AlGllSi - : 3.'.i--3i -J...3 . - !. -'*i w
TH E firft and principal Defign of this
Work was to explain, perhaps, the
moft difficult Author in the Latin
Tongue ; an Author, who will always be
more admired in Proportion to his being bet-
ter underftood. Such a Defign, if tolerably
well executed, feemed to deferve fome En-
couragement 5 but to preferve his ^ original
Spirit in a punctual, regular Tranflation hath
been fo long confidered as defperate, that it
were hardly modeft to attempt it.
Every Reader is a Critic in Proportion to
his Abilities and his Judgement. He propofes
whatever he thinks difficult, and expects an
Explaination fuited to his Tafte and Under-
ftanding. Thefe are too numerous to be
gratified by the prefent Work, which endea-
vours to explain thofe Paflages only, which
are of real, acknowledged Obfcurity.
In our Inquiries after Truth, it is ufelefs
to know the Miftakes of others ; and, befides
the difagreeable Employment of tranfcribing
A 4 &&
viii The P R E F A C .
the Language of Critics in their very un-
clafiical Treatment of each other, a Warmth
of Aflertion, a Specioufnefs of Arguments, a
Weight of Quotations, an Authority of
Names, and an Appearance of Probability,
might well perplex a Reader's Judgement, or
throw a Darknefs and Confufion into what
was originally clear and open. Therefore,
to avoid being engaged in the various Con-
jectures and learned Difputes of Commen-
tators, the difficult PafTages of our Aathor
are explained in that Scnfe alone, which
feemed mofl poetical and moil; natural. In
fome Inftances however, when the Senfe hath
been really doubtful, the different Opinions
are fairly {hewn, and a tacit Appeal made to
the Reader to determine for himfelf, even
againft the prefent Tranflator.
While we read with Pleafure many beauti-
ful Imitations of this Author in his own Lan-
guage, and are at the fame Time obliged to
confeis how unequal to their Original allTran-
flations of him have proved, even when the
whole Strength feems to have been employed
upon fingle and favourite Odes, we fliall be
apt to conclude . that his Beauties are almoft
peculiar to the Latin Tongue. But if we con-
fider the Boldnefs and Copioufnefs of Expref-
fion, the Diverfity and Harmony of Numbers
in Englifh, we mail impute the Failure of
his Translators tofomewhat injudicious in their
Defign, or carelefs in their Execution, rather
than to any perfonal Want of their Abilities,
or
The PREFACE. LK
or any- Weakness in their Language ; to the
real Difficulty of the Work, not an ImpofH-
bility of executing it with Succefs.
Indeed it is hardly to be cxpeded that any-
one Tranilator ihail ever be capable of fol-
lowing this great Poet with equal Spirit
through all his 'Odes. Many of them are va-
ried with Irony and Satire ; with Delicacy
and. Humour; with Eafe and Pleafantry.
Some, though leis fpirited, were written
(when Circumftances of Time, Places, and
Perfons were flrong upon him) in the firft
Heat of Imagination, and afterwards correct-
ed, through a Length of Years, in the Cool-
nefs of Judgement. In others, he riles in
full, poetical Dignity; fublime in Sentiments,
bold in Allufions, and profufe of Figures; fru-
gal of Words, curious in his Choice, and hap-
pily venturous in his Ufe of them : pure in his.
Diction, animated in hisExpreflions, and har-
monious in his Numbers ; artful in the Plans
of his Poems, regular in their Conduct, and
happy in their Execution. Surely the beft
Attempts to tranilate fo various an Author,
will require great Indulgence, and any to-
lerable Succefs may deferve it.
It would be a tedious and an ill-natured
Labour to point out the Faults of former
Verfions of this Poet. Let us rather ac-
knowledge, that there are excellent Lines in
them, of which the prefent Tranilator hath
as many^is he could ufe upon his Plan,
and
x' ThePREFACE.
and wiflies, for the fake of the Public, that
they could be found to exceed an hundred.
In the Collection of Odes, ufually called the
Wit's Horace, there are many fine, but very
diftant Imitations of our Author, perhaps not
inferiour to their Originals. If any of them
were intended for Tran-flations, the Writers,
however juflly eminent in other Parts of their
Characters, have indulged injudicioufly a
Wantonefs of Imagination, and an AffeCta-
tion of Wit, as oppofite to the natural Sim-
plicity of their Author, as to the Genius of
Lyric Poetry.
In the firft Ages of Greece, the Lyric Mufc
was particularly appointed to celebrate the
Praiies of the Gods in their Feftivals, where
the nobleft Precepts of Philofophy were en-
livened by Mufic, and animated by the Lan-
guage of Poetry, while Reafon governed the
Raptures, which a religious Enthufiafm in-
fpired. When we therefore conflder its Ori-
gin and Inftitution, we may believe, that no-
thing could enter into its Compofitions, but
what was chafte and correct, awful and fub-
lime, while it was employed in fmging the
Praifes of Gods, and immortalifing the Ac-
tions of Men j in fupporting the facredTruths
of Religion, and encouraging the Practice of
moral Virtue. Such was its proper, natural
Character. But it foon loft this original
Grcatnefs, and became debafed to every light
Defcription of Love, Dances, Feafts, Gal-
lantry and Wine. In this View i: may be
2 compared
The P R E F A C E. Lx
compared to one of its firft Matters, who
descended (according to an Exprcffion of
Quintilian) into Sports and Loves, although
naturally formed for nobler Subjects.
Yet this Alteration, although it leffened-
its natural Dignity, feems to have added to
that pleafing Variety, to which no other
Poetry can pretend. For when the Skill and
Experience of the Perfons, who firft cul-
tivated the different Kinds of Poems, gave to
each Kind thofe Numbers, which feemed
mofl proper for it ; as Lyric Poetry had given
Birth to all Sorts of Verfe, fo it preferved to
itfelf all the Meafures of which they arc
compofed, the Pentameter alone excepted.
Thus a Variety of Subjects is agreeably main-
tained by a Variety of Numbers, and they
have both contributed to that free, unbound-
ed Spirit, which forms the peculiar Character
of Lyric Poetry.
In this Freedom of Spirit it difdains to
mark the Tranfitions, which preferve a Con-
nexion in all other Writings, and which natu-
rally conduct the Mind from one Thought to
another. From whence it muft often happen,
that while a Tranflator is grammatically ex-
plaining his Author, and opening his Reafon-
ing, that Genius and Manner, and Boldnefs
of Thinking, which are Effects of an im-
mediate, poetical Enthufiafm, fhall be difli-
pated and enfeebled.
It is remarkable, that this Kind of Poetry-
fhould be the firft that appeared in Rome, as
it
xii The P R E F A C E.
it was the firft known in Greece, and that it
fhould be ufed in the fame Subjects by the
Romans, while they had not yet any Cor-
rcfpondence with Greece and her Learning.
However, it continued in almofl its firft
Rudenefs until the Auguftan Age, when Ho-'
race, improved by reading and imitating the
Grecian Poets, carried it at once to its Per*
fe&ion, and, in the Judgement of Quintilian,
is almoft the only Latin Lyric Poet, worthy
of being read.
If we mould enquire into the State of Ly-
ric Poetry among Englifh Writers, we fhall
be obliged to confefs, that their Tafte was
early vitiated, and their Judgement unhappily
mifguided, by the too great Succefs of one
Man of Wit, who firft gave Pindar's Name
to a wild, irregular Kind of Verification, of
which there is not one Inftance in Pindar.
All hisNumbers are exacl:, and all his Strophes
regular. But from the Authority of Mr.
Cowley, fupported by an inconfiderate Imi-
tation of fome other eminent Writers, every
Idler in Poetry, who hath not Strength or
Jnduftry fufHcient to confine his Rhimes and
Numbers to fome conftant Form, (which
can alone give them real Harmony) makes
an Art of wandering, and then calls his
Work a Pindaric Ode j in which, by the
fame Juftnefs of Criticifm, his Imagination
is as wild and licentious, as his Numbers
are. k>ofe and irregular.
To
The PREFACE. xlii
To avoid this Fault, all the Meafures in
the following Tranflation are conftantly main-
tained through each Ode, except in the Car-
msn Seculare. But it may be ufelefs to ex-
cufe Particulars, when poffibly the whole
Poem, in its prefent Form, may be con-
demned. Yet by Foreigners it has been
called Mr. Sanadon's Matter-piece ; and fince
the Odes of Horace are certainly not in that
Order at prefent, in which they were written,
it has been efteemed an uncommon Proof
of his critical Sagacity, to have reconciled in
one Whole, fo many broken Parts, that have
fo long perplexed the bed Commentators.
Yet the Reader will find fome Alterations of
Mr. Sanadcn's Plan, for which the Tranfla-
*or is obliged to the learned and reverend
Mr. Jones, who late y published a very va-
luable Edition of Horace.
Although it was inipoffible to preferve our
Author's Meafures, yet the Form of his
Strophes hath been often imitated, and, in
general, there will be found a greater Num-
ber of different Stanzas in the Tranflation,
than in the Original. One Advantage there
is peculiar to Englim Stanzas, that fome of
them have a natural Eafe and Fluency ;
others feem formed for Humour and Plea-
fantry ; while a third Kind hath a Tone of
Dignity and Solemnity proper for fublimcr
Subjects. Thus the Meafures and Form of
the Stanza will often ihew the Ddfcn and
Cart of the Ode.
*>'% In
xlv The PR E FA C E.
In the Trantlation it hath not only been
endeavoured to give the Poet's general Mean-
ing, but to preferve that Force of Expreffion,
in which his peculiar Happinefs confifts, and
that Boldnefs of Epithets, for which one of
his Commentators calls him Wonderful, and
almoft Divine. Many Odes, efpecially in the
iirft Book, have little more than Choice of
Words and Harmony of Numbers to make
them not unworthy of their Author ; and
although thefe were really the moft difficult
Parts of the Transition, yet they will be
certainly leaft entertaining to an Englifli
Reader. In the ufual Manner of Paraphrafe
it had not been impoffible to have given them
more Spirit by enlarging the Poet's Defign,
and adding to his Thoughts ; but, however
hardy the Tranflator may feem by his prefent
adventurous Undertaking, this was a Pre-
fumption ofr which he was very little capable.
The Difficulties of Horace in his Satires
and Epiftlcs arife, in general, from his fre-
quent Tranflations of Lines in Grecian Wri-
ters, and Parodies on thole of his Cotempo-
raries ; from his introducing new Characters
on the Scene, and changing the Speakers of
his Dialogues ; from his not marking his
Tranfitions front-Thought to Thought, but
giving them as they lay in his Mind. Thefe
unconnected Trsm'fitions are of great Life
and Spirit, nor fhould a Tranflator be too
coldly regular in fupplying the Connexion,
iince it will Joe a tame Performance, that
gives
The PREFACE. xv
gives us the Senfe of Horace, if it be not
given in his peculiar Manner.
As his Editors have often perplexed the
Text, by altering the Meafures of our Au-
thor for the Sake of a more mufical Cadence,
fo they, who have imitated or tranflated him
with moft Succefs in Englim, feem to have
forgotten, that a Careleflhefs of Numbers is
a peculiar Part of his Character, which ought
to be preferved almoft as faithfully as his
Sentiments.
Style is Genius, and juftly numbered
amongftthe Fountains of the Sublime. Ex-
preflion in Poetry is that Colouring in Paint-
ing, which diftinguimes a Maftcr's Hand.
But the Misfortune of our Tranflators is, that
they have only one Style, and that confe-
quently all their Authors, Homer, Virgil,
Horace, Ovid, are compelled to fpeak in the
fame Numbers, and the fame unvaried Ex-
preflion. The freeborn Spirit of Poetry is
confined in twenty conftant Syllables, and the
Senfe regularly ends with every fecond Line,
as if the Writer had not Strength enough to
fupport himfelf, or Courage enough to ven-
ture into a third.
This unclaffical Kind of Verification
would be particularly moft unnatural in a
Tranflation of Horace. It would make him
argue in Couplets, and the Perfons of his-
Dialogues converfe ajmoft in Epigrams. The
Tranflator has therefore followed the Senfe
in
xvi The PREFACE.
jo one unbroken Period. He hath often en-
deavoured to imitate the profaic Cadence of
his Author, when he could with much more
Eafe have made him appear like a modern
Original. He hath run the Lines into each
other, as he believed it the bed Manner of
preferving that loofe, profaic Poetry, that
Negligence of Numbers, which hath ever
been efteemed one of his peculiar Beauties.
If we cbnfider tke poetical Spirit and nu-
merous Variety of Meafures in his Odes, we
may believe this carelefs Verification in his
Satires was not an EfFed of Neceffity, but
of Judgement. His frequent life of Pro-
verbs and common Phrafesj his different
:Manner of exprefling the fame Sentiments in
his Odes and Satires, will convince us, that
he really thought a Satyrift and a Poet were
extremely different Characters j that the Lari-
guage of Poetry was as unnatural to the Mo-
rality of Satire, as a low, familiar Style to the
Majefty of Epic Poem ; or, as he himfelf
expreffes it, that the Mufe of Satire walks
on Foot, while all her Sifters foar into the
Skies.
If this Criticifm be juft, the Difpute be-
tween Juvenal and Horace, with Regard to
Style, may with Eafe be decided. In Juve-
nal the Vices of his Age are fliewn in all their
natural Horrours. He commands his Readers
in the Language of Authority, and terrifies
them with Images drawn in the Boldnefs of
a truly
The PREFACE, xvii
a truly poetical Spirit. He (lands like a Prieft
at an Altar facrificing to his Gods 5 but even
a Prieft, in his warmed Zeal of Religion,
might be forgiven, if he confefled fo much
Humanity, as not to take Pleafure in hear-
ing the Groans, and fearching into the En-
trails of the Viclim.
There is a Kind of Satire of fuch Malig-
nity, as too furely proceeds from a Defire of
gratifying a conftitutional Cruelty of Tem-
per. The Satirift does not appear like a Ma-
giftrate to give Sentence on the Vices of Man-
kind, but like an Executioner to daughter ,
the Criminal. It was the Saying of a great
Man, that he, who hated Vice, hated Man-
kind ; but certainly he docs not love them
as he ought, who indulges to his natural
Sagacity in a Difcernment of their Faults,
and an ill-natured Pleafure of expofing them
to public View.
Our Author was of another Spirit ; of a
natural Chearfulnefs of Temper ; an Eafmefs
of Manners, falhioned by the Politenefs of
Courts; a good Underftanding, improved
by converfing with Mankind j a quick Dif-
cernment of their Frailties, but, in general,
fo happy an Art of correcting them, that he
reproves without offending, and inftructs
without an Affectation of Superiority. He
prefer ves a Strength of Reafoning neceffary
to perfuade, without that dogmatical Seriouf-
nefs, which is apt to difguft or difoblige.
VOL. I. a He
xviii The P R E F A C E.
He has this Advantage over the rigid Satirift,
that we receive him into our Bofoms, while
he reafons with Good-humour, and corrects
in the Language of Friendfliip. Nor will
his Satires be lefs ufeful to the prefent Age,
than to that in which they were written,
fince he does not draw his Characters from
particular Perfons, but from human Nature
itfelf, which is invariably the fame in all
Ages and Countries.
As the Morals of Horace are drawn from
the two pureft Fountains of human Wif-
dom, a good Heart, and a well-improved
Understanding, fo when the Reflexions of
his Commentators feemed naturally to rife
from their Author, the Tranfiator hath been
careful to preferve them, and hopes they will
not be thought lefs entertaining, than ufeful.
Let him be permitted to hope, that the Notes,
in general, muft be really valuable, if they
have been chofen with Judgement in any
Degree proportioned to the Labour of col-
lecting them. Some original Notes there
are, but the Number is not confiderable. The
reft are given with all pofTible Exactnefs to
their different Authors j but, fince Collec-
tkms of this Kind are ufually tedious and
heavy, the Geography ol Countries, Hiftory
of Perfons and Mythology of Gods, which
every common Dictionary can fupply, are
here omitted. i
Ic
The P R E F A C E. xix
It 'was efteemed a neceflary Labour to
confider the Text with the Criticifm of a
Grammarian in View to the Purity of the
Latin Tongue, and with the Care of an
Editor in comparing the various Readings of
Manufcripts and Editions. Such a Study is
very little entertaining, but it often clears up
Difficulties, that have perplexed the beft In-
terpreters. It preferves us from authorifing
unknown Words ; receiving defective Con-
ductions for Elegancies, and Barbarifms for
Beauties. All the Corrections in this Edition,
excepting fome few that are purely conjectural,
are to be found in Manufcripts of the beft
Authority, collated by the moft accurate
Editors, particularly Doctor Bentley, and
Mr. Cuningham. To the firft of thefe Gen-
tlemen we are obliged, not only for many Re-
marks of an uncommon Erudition, but for
fome conjectural Emendations, which no
Critic of a lefs daring Spirit could have at-
tempted. To Mr. Cuningham we arc in-
debted for many valuable Inftances of Saga-
city, yet with a Criticifm fo fevere, as if it
were intended rather to correct Doctor Bent-
ley than Horace. Where they agree, we
may be almoft aflured that there is no Poffi-
bility of doubting.
Another Care of fome Importance was to
correct the Stops, which arc therefore altered
in numberlefs Places ; for although every
Reader hath a Right to point an ancient
a 2 Author
*x The PREFACE.
Author as he pleafes, fince the Art of Punc-
tuation, if it may be fo called, is of modern
Invention, yet great Exadlnefs is required,
when it is intended for public Ufe.
The Method of explaining the Claffics by
fimilar Paflages from each other hath been
generally efteemed, if it be not ufed too fre-
quently, or with an Affectation of Learning.
But as the Quotations would have been ufe-
lefs in their original Languages to an Engliih
Reader, He is obliged for all the Tranflations,
marked with the Letter D, to the Reverend
Dr. Dunkin.
While the Tranflator with Pleafure ac-
knowledges much kind Afliflance given him
in the Courfe of this Work, he thinks him?-
felf obliged particularly to mention theFriend-
mip of this Gentleman. His uncommon
Genius, and extenlive Abilities in all Parts of
polite Literature do not need a Character here ;
but his chearful and ready Affiftance in all
difficult PafTages ; his free and manly Spirit
of correcting; his early giving the Reputa-
tion of his Name to this almoft defperate
Undertaking, by owning a large Number of
Odes tranflated by Him, even common Gra-
titude ought to acknowledge. But it is not
a common Happinefs to have many Years
enjoyed the Friendship of an honeft and a
good Man. May no Misfortune ever inter r
rupt the Continuance pf it,
la
The P R E F A C E. xxj
In Juftice to his Reputation, it mould be
acknowledged, that whatever Alterations in
.this Edition are made in his Parts of the
Work, have been made without his Know-
ledge. They were hazarded in the Spirit of
Affe&ion, and Friendship.
The general Indulgence, with which this
Work hath been received by the Public,
made the Tranflator think himfelf obliged in
Gratitude to correct the prefent Edition with
his beft Care and Abilities. Yet it were un-
wife to let the Reader know how much Time
and Labour hath been laid out upon it, left
his Expectation fhould be raifed too high,
and confequently difappointed. Many are
the Faults, which through human Weak-
nefs, or natural Self- Partiality, the Tranflator
may be fuppofed incapable of feeing ; and
many, very many more, which he had not
Strength enough to correct.
Let him not be thought fond of making
Innovations in the received and eftablifhed
Forms of Writing, although he hath been
bold enough to print all the Words of his
Tranflation, fuch as generous, temperate,
powerful, at full Length. Agood Reader will
pronounce them in the fame metrical Time,
as gen'rous, temp'rate, pow'rful : Perhaps in
lefs Time ; as a Dactyle is fhorter than a
Spondee, Let us add, that a Sweetnefs of
Sounds in reading can only be preferved by a
, articulate Pronunciation of the Vow-
xxii The PREFACE,
els ; that a Croud of Confonants, and a
frequent breaking the Words really hurts the
Eye ; and that we have already too many
unavoidable Contractions in our Language.
Let us not multiply them unnecefTarily. To
print this Line,
Monftrum horrendum informe ingens cui
lumen aderntum
in the Contractions of Profody, would be per-
fedt Barbarifm.
For any other Alterations in this Edition,
the Tranfiator expects and depends on the
Candour of his Readers j yet he neither de?-
fires, nor hopes, that the Tranflation fhould
be received without a fair and manly Cor-
redtion. This was his firft Attempt in any
Kind of Writing ; and if he hath offered his
Opinion on the difficult PafTages of his Au-
thor with that Modefty, which is due to the
Public, let him expert fuch Tendernefs for
his Miftakes, as he hath {hewn to thofe of
others, while he confeiles, without AfFeda-
tion, that he hath much Need of it. , If he
hath made no impertinent Difplay of his
Learning, let him not be thought ignorant - 9
and if in the Courfe of five Years he hath
fometimes (lumbered over his Work, let him
not be too rudely wakened -,
*- A kind indulgent Sleep
O'er Works of Length, allowably may creep.
HORACE: ARJ of POETRY.
On
The P R E F A C E. xxiii
On thefe Terms he chearfully fubmits to
the Judgement of the Public, and acknow-
ledges, as a Maxim, an Obfervation of Ari-
ftotle, That the Public judge better in Mufic
and Poetry than particular Perfons, for every
one remarks fomething, and all remark the
Whole.
Horatii Flacri
C A R M I N A.
THE
O D E S
O F
HO R ^ C E.
VOL. I.
^ HORATII FLACCI
C A R M I N U M
LIBER PRIMUS.
CARMEN I.
MAECENAS, atavis edite regibus,
O & praefidium & dulce decus meum :
Sunt, quos curriculo pulverem Olympium
Collegifle juvat, metaque fervidis
Evitata rotis, palmaque nobilis 5
Terrarum dominos evehit ad Deos.
Hunc,
The Word Ode was not introduced into the Latin Tongue
until the third or fourth Century, and was then firft ufed to
fignify any Pieces of Lyric Poetry. The Grammarians, per-
ceiving that Horace hath more than once ufed the Word Carmen
to fignify this kind of Poetry, have not fcrupled to place it at
the Head of his Odes, although there be not any Probability,
that he defigned to make it their general Title. SAN A DON.
There is nothing in this Ode, that can afcertain the Time
in which it was written. It ftands as a Dedication of the
Poet's Works to his Patron Maecenas. The principal Beauty
of it confifts in the Variety of the Style ; yet Mr. Sanadon
thinks the fame Thought returns too often in almoft the fame
Expreffion Evehit ad Deos D'u mi/cent fuperls Feriam
fidera -vert'ice.
Verf. i . Mtfcfnas.] Caius Cilnius Maecenas is diftinguimed
in the Roman Hiftory, by being fo many Years the Favou-
rite of Auguftus ; yet is he more famous by that Protection
and Encouragement, which he gave to Men of Genius and
Letters. To him the prefent World is in a great meafure
indebted for all the Wit and Learning of the Auguftan Age ;
and
(3)
THE FIRST
pB O O K |
O F T H E
ODES of HORACE.
ODE I. To MAECENAS.
OThou, whofe Birth illuftrious fprihgs
From fair Etruria's ancient Kings,
Maecenas, to whofe Guardian Name
I owe my Fortune and my Fame ;
In Clouds th' Olympic Duft to roll,
To turn with kindling Wheels the Goal,
And gain the Palm, victorious Prize !
Exalts a Mortal to the Skies.
This
and even at this Day the Name of Maecenas is a Title not
unworthy of Pcrfons of the nobleft Character, who know,
like him, to animate, by their Favour and Generofity, the
Spirit of Emulation amongft Writers. SAN.
His Character is thus finely drawn by Veil. Paterculus ;
rir } ubi res mlgiliam exigent, Jane exjomnis, profit/ens atqxt
agendi fcient . Simul vero aliquid ex negotio remitti pa/fet, ctio
ac mollitiii paene ultra f&minam fluens When Bufmefs re-
quired his Attention, he was perfe&ly fleeplefs, provident
and fkilful in all its Forms. But, as foon as he could dif-
engage himfelf, he diflblved in Luxury and Idlenefs, almoft
beyond the Softnefs of Women.
The learned Reader may fee the Proofs of his Defcent
from the Kings of Etruriain the following Quotations. M<?-
cenas eques Etrufco de fanguine Regum. Proper. -ALecenas ata<vzs
regibus ortus eques. Martial. Cut fceptris celtbratum nomtn
Etrufds, Sil. Italicus.
B 2
4 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Hunc, fi mobilium turba Quiritium
Certat tergeminis tollere honoribus ;
Ilium, il proprio condidit horreo
Quidquid de Libycis verritur areis i I O
Gaudentem patrios findere farculo
Agros ; Attalicis conditionibus
Nunquam dimoveas, ut trabe Cyprla
Myrtoum, pavidus nauta, fecet mare.
Lu&antem Icariis flu&ibus Africum 15
Mercator metuens, otium & oppidi
Laudat rura fui : mox reficit rates
Quaflas, indocilis pauperiem pati.
Eft, qui nee veleris pocula Maffici,
Nee
7. Hunc, fi mobilium.'] In the fix following Lines, if we
underftand three different Characters of Ambition, Avarice,
and a Country-Life, we ihall find a beautiful Variety in the
Senfe of the Poet. On the contrary, if we make Ilium agree
vntbGmJetitfm, we mall not only give two Paffions to the
fame Perfon, but two Paffions not frequently found together:
An Avarice of Hoarding, and a Chearfulnefs of Labour. It
is hardly conceivable, that the Covetoufnefs, which would
colled all the Corn of Africa, can be united with the Mo-
deration of Him, whofe whole Pleafure is the Cultivation of
his Eftate.
Hunc ft & c . reprefents a Man, whofe Ambition aims at
the higheft Employments in the State ; Ilium ft, gives us an
Image of a rich and covetous Corn-Fader ; wAGaudentem
is the Fidlure of a Country-Farmer, who neither defires
Riches, nor Honours, but is chearfully employed in the
Cultivation of his Lands
' The Poet here defcribes the various Conditions of Life,
'Ut without any Intention of comparing them, or determin-
ing which is really moft eligible. It is fufficient, to the
efign of the Ode, to prove that Men have very different
Choi ' fi T Cernin S Happinefs, but when once their
-e is nxed, t were in vain to propofe to them a Change
of
Od. i. THE ODES OF HORACE. f
This Man, to Honours rais'd fupreme,
By Rome's inconftant, loud Acclaim ;
Another, if from Lybia's Plain
He ftores his private Barn with Grain ;
A Third, who with unceafing Toil
Plows chearful his paternal Soil ;
While in their feveral Wifhes bleft,
Not all the Wealth by Kings pofieft,
Shall tempt, with fearful Souls, to brave
The Terrors of the foamy Wave.
When loud the Winds and Waters wage
Wild War with elemental Rage,
The Merchant praifes the Retreat,
"T'he Quiet of his rural Seat ;
Yet, Want untutor'd to fuftain,
Soon rigs his ftiatter'd Bark again.
No mean Delights poflefs his Soul,
With good old Wine who crowns his Bowl ;
Whofe
of the prevailing Pafllon, or the Ufe of other Means for the
Gratification of it, than what they have already embraced.
GLAREANUS DACIER.
That this* is the whole Intention of the Ode will farther
appear, if we confider it as an Imitation of Pindar, in the
following beautiful Paflage :
Tipot
qXt^v
tfTrrrai 06 x^ TIJ \ir olo)*' aA*e
The Crowns, whofe blooming Honours grace
The Courfcrs in th' Olympic Race,
Tempeftuous ruling to the Goal,
With Rapture fill the Vigor's Soul.
B 3 Son*
Q HQRATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Nee partem fplido demere de die 20
Spernit, nunc viridi membra Tub arbuto
Stratus, nunc ad aquae lene caput facrse.
Multos caftra juvant, & lituo tubae
Permiftus fonitus, bellaque matribus
Deteftata. Manet fub Jove frigido 25
Venator, tenerae conjugis immemor ;
Seu vifa eft catulis cerva fidelibus,
Seu rupit teretes Marfus aper plagas.
Te do&arum ederae praemia frontium
Some with luxurious Joy behold
The feftal Bed emblaz'd with Gold,
While Others triumph, fafe to guide
Their Gallies bounding through the foamy Tide. D.
This Ode hath been differently explained according to the
different Genius, Learning, and Taiie of its Commentators.
Let one Attempt more, to throw it into a new Light, be
forgiven.
The Poet hath fet the Characters of it in fb ftrong a Cotf-
trafte, as that each of them gives and receives a Force and
Colouring from the other. Fame and Ambition ; Sunt quos
curricula Hunc Jimobilium. An infatiable Defire of Riches,
and Contentment with a moderate Fortune ; Ilium Ji proprio
-Gaudentem patriot. Induftry and Luxury; Lu&antem Ica-
rus Eft qui nee veteris. War and Hunting ; Multos caftra
jvivant Manet fub Jove frigido. And laftly, a Reputation
acquired by Learning and a poetical Tafte, is fet in Oppofi-
tion to a Reputation hoped for from Succefs in Lyric Poetry
alone. Te doclarum ederte Me gelidum nemus. In the Be-
ginning of the Ode he compliments his Patron on the Dignity
of his Birth, and in the laft Lines on his general Learning,
and his particular Judgement in that Kind of Poetry, in which
he himfelf would wifh to excel.
20. Nee partem.] The folid Day was an entire Day of
twelve Hours. The Romans feldom eat (at leaft they had
no regular Meal) until Evening, and the Voluptuary is here
faid to take away from the folid Day (perhaps from the Bu-
fmefs
Od. i. THE ODES OF HORACE. y
Whofe early Revels are begun,
Ere half the Courfe of Day be run,
Now, by fome facred Fountain laid,
Now, ftretch'd beneath fome bowering Shade.
Others in tented Fields rejoice,
The Trumpet-Sound, the Clarion-Voice :
With Joy the Sounds of War they hear,
Of War, which tender Mothers fear.
The Sportfman, chill'd by midnight Jove,
Forgets his tender, wedded Love,
Whether his faithful Hounds purfue,
And hold the bounding Hind in View ;
Whether the Boar, fierce-foaming, foils
The Chace, and breaks the fpreading Toils.
An Ivy-wreath, fair Learning's Prize,
Raifes Maecenas to the Skies i
Be
finefs and Sobriety of it,) by beginning his Feafts before
Sun-fat. CR.UQUIUS.
25. Sub Jovefrigido^ In the Language of Poetry, among
the Greeks and Romans, Jupiter often fignifies the Air, and
the Tranflator hath here ventured the Expreffion in Englifti.
29. Te do}arutn.~\ We are obliged for this Correction to
Rutgerfius. It feems neceflary, even in the Conduct of the
Ode, that Horace, after having marked the prevailing In-
clinations of Mankind in general, mould particularly men-
tion the peculiar Paflion or Maecenas, before hefpeaks of his
own. In the common Reading, me, the Poet fays, the crown
of ivy raifes him to converfe with Gods, Dis mifcent fuperis,
yet in the laft Lines he wifhes for the Judgement and Appro-
bation of Maecenas to raife him to Hea\'en. The Correction
is not lefs probable, than it is necefiary, fince the firft Letter
of the Line does not appear in fome Manufcripts. The
Copyifts probably wrote many Lines without the firft Let-
ters, intending afterwards to blazon them, and fometimes,
as perhaps in this Inltance, they forgot them entirely.
B 4- 31-
$ Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINTJM Lib. i."
Dis mifcent fuperis ; me gelidum nemus, 30
Nympharumque leves cum Satyris chort
Secernunt populo ; fi neque tibias
Euterpe 'cbhibet, nee Polyhymnia
Lefboum refugit tendere barbiton.
Quod fi me lyricis vatibus inferes, 35
Sublimi feriam fidera vertice.
C AR-
31. Satyris chori^\ The Satyrs are always ' reprefented
dancing. They were mefe .Creatures of Imagination, and
although extremely deformed, are always found in the molt
amiable, poetical Societies, perhaps, to fhe\v us how effen-
tial aftrong Imagination is to form the Character of a Poet.
The Ancients were perfuaded, that they had a profound,
univerfal Knowledge, and that even their Sports and Jefls
had fomething myfterious in them. DAC
32. Secernunt populo."] That eafy Solitude, which Poetry
and the Mufes love, far from the Bufmefs and Impertinence
of the Croud.
35. Quod ft.] This Conclusion is wrought with a very bold,
yet delicate Flattery. The Poet, feparated from the Vul -
gar by the Favour of the Mufes ; equalled to the great Al-
cseus ; introduced into the facred Groves, and admitted to
the AfTemblies of the rural Gods and Goddeffes, yet afpires
to fomething more elevated. He ftill wifhes for the Judge-
ment of Maecenas to rank him with the Grecian Lyric Poets,
and to fix the Seal of Immortality to his Glory. Although
Poets are ufually thought Flatterers by Profeflion, yet here
the Flattery is much foftned by the Character, which Maece-
nas had in the learned World, by his Writings both in Verfe
and Profe. SAW.
Od. i. THE ODES OF HORACE.
Be mine, amid the breezy Grove,
In facred Solitude to rove ;
To fee the Nymphs and Satyrs bound,
. Light-dancing, through the mazy Round,
While all the tuneful Sifters join
Their various Harmony divine.
But if You rank me with the Choir,
Who tun'd with Art the Grecian Lyre,
Swift to the nobleft Heights of Fame,
Shall rife thy POET'S deathlefs Name.
ODI
CABMEN II. ^/ AUGUSTPM.
JAM fatis terris nivis, atque dirae
Grandinis mifit Pater, & rubente
Dextera facras jaculatus arce$ " /cra
Terruitvrbem;
Terruit gentes, grave n<? rediret 5
Saeculum Pyrrha^, : nova mpnftra queflsp j
Omne quum Proteus pecus egit altos
Vifere montes j Pifcium
All our elder Commentators agree, that this Ode was
written in Compliment to Auguftus, upon the Prodigies,
which appeared immediately after the Death of Julius Cjefar.
But they did not confider, that Horace was then at Athens,
and that he afterwards engaged himfelf in the Party of Bru-
tus, in whofe Camp, it is very little probable he mould ad-
drefs the Gods for the Prefervation of Oclavius, and for
Vengeance upon the Perfons, who killed the Dictator.
Senfible of thefe and other Difficulties, Mr.Dacier would
Perfuade us, that Horace wrote this Ode fifteen Years after
the Dictator's Death ; that he formed it in manner of a Pro-
phecy, as it is eafy to write in the prophetic Spirit upon paft
f&&* ' and that he placed it thus early in his Works to
infi nuate to Auguftus, that it was really written at the Time
twhen Casfar was put to Death. Thus He might endeavour
o conv mce that Prince, how foon he acknowledged the Juf-
tice of his Caufe, and efface any dangerous Impreffions,
uch might yet remain upon his Mind, from a Remem-
orance, that he had been once engaged in the Republican
maft fu PP fe fuc Weaknefs in Auguftus,
eCe r d ' and fuchM eannefs in Horace, in
atternpnngfo J OW an Artifice, that it is equally injurious to
wkh th V S ft t0t f e ? et ' Wh had the Honour of living
dear frl f v, ? f T the T W rld in a Familiarity, which wa!
clear from all little Jealoufies and Sufpicions.
C nea
iecHon w ne n- a tcm Hes P en to -
^ tOMr " Sa adonf or a Piece of Hif-
orv whiri K " ece o -
tory, which very ha ppl ly explains many particular Paflagc.
ODE II. To AUGUSTUS.
ENough of Snow, and Hail, th' immortal Sire
Hath pour'd tempeftuous ; whilft his Thunders dire,
With red right Arm at his own Temples hurPd,
With Fear and Horrour fhook the guilty World,
Left Pyrrha's Age return, with plaintive Cries
Who faw the Deep with new-born Wonders rife ;
When to the Mountain-Summit Proteus drove
His Sea-born Herd, and where the Wood-land Dove
Late
in the Ode, irreconcileable by any other Scheme, and more
naturally accounts for the Defign and Intention of the whole.
O&avius received the Surname of Auguftus the 1 7th of
January, in the Year of Rome 727, and the Night following
happened an uncommon Inundation of the Tiber. >uum
Augujii cognomen accepijjet ed ipfd nofle Tiberis exvndans if a
omnia qu<? in piano jacerent Rom^e /oca replevit, ut navignbilis
effet. DION. He had, fome Time before, made an Offer
of refigning the Government to the Senate, and told them,
in his Speech on that Occafion, that he never intended to
hold the fovereign Authority, nor had received it with any
other View, than to revenge the Murder of Cxfar, and to
deliver Rome from the continual Calamities to which it was
cxpofed : Re ipfd perfpicitis, me ab initio nequaquam potentiam
aliquant animo propofetam habutffe ; fecT hoc were eupiviffe, ut
patris met mifere interfefti c&dem ulcifctrer, Urbemque magnis
ff ccntincntibus mails liber or em. DION. 1. 53. Thefe two
Events gave Rife to this Ode, in which the Poet intends no-
thing lefs than to engage Auguftus to refign the fovereign
Power, and at the fame Time pays no mean Compliment to
his Patron Maecenas, by whofe Advice he held it. SAN.
Verf. i. Jam fa t ii\ Thefe four Strophes are wrought with
a great deal of natural Terrour, and although Dion doth
not mention the Circumftances of Haii and Snow in his Ac-
count of the Inundation, yet are they not improbable, at
leaft they are very poetical Ornaments of it SAN.
2. Rubente dexterd.] Horace alludes to a fuperftitious Opi-
14 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Pifcium & fumma genus haefit ulmo,
Nota qtue fedes fuerat palumbis, I O
Et fuperjecto pavidae natarunt
./Equore damas.
Vidimus flavum Tiberim, retortis
Littore Etrufco violenter undis,
Ire dejetum monumenta regis, 15
Templaque Veftas ;
Iliae dum fe nimiurn querenti
2O
Jatat ultorem, vagus & flniftra
Labitur ripa, Jovenonprobante, u-
. . ;;../ H; ,.^;i- *..-
xonus amnis :
Audiet cives acuifle ferrum,
Quo graves Perfae melius perirent :
Audiet pugnas, vitio parentum
Rarajuvewtus.
Quem
nion of the Ancients, who believed that Thunders, which
portended any Revolution in a State, were more enflamed
than any other, as they fancied that the Lightnings of Ju-
piter were red and fiery ; thofe of the other Gods pale and
dark. CRUO^
13. Retortis littore Etrufco.'] The Tiber difcharges itfelf into
the Tufcan Sea, which being fwollen by Tempefts and a
prodigious Fall of Snow and Hail, (the Wind at the fame
Time blowing up the Channel) made the River flow back-
ward, retcrquere, againft its natural Courfe. The LittusEtrufcum
means the Shores of the Tufcan Sea, into which the Tiber
mould regularly flow, and from whence it turned upward to
its Fountain-Head. CRUQ^SAN.
17. //i>.] Ilia was Mother of Romulus by Mars, and be-
ing buried on the Banks of theAnio, herAfhes were carried
away into the Tiber, from whence the Poets feigned, that
fhe was married to that River. ANCIENT COMMENTATOR.
Nimium querentij] Auguftus had told the Senate, that he
accepted the fovereign Power only to revenge the Murder of
Casfar ; but the Tiber, fays the Poet, feemed willing to
continue that Vengeance, nor thought he could accomplifh
it,
Od. 2. THE ODES OF HORACE.
Late perch'd, his wonted Seat, the fcaly Brood
Entangl 'd hung upon the, topmoft Wood,
And every timorous Native .of the Plain
High -floating fwam amid tjie houndlefs Main.
We faw, pufh'd backward to his native Source,
The yellow Tiber roll his rapid Courfe,
With impious Ruin threatnihg Vefta's Fane,
And the great Monuments of Numa's Reign ;
With Grief and Rage while Ilia's Bofom glows,
Boaftful, for her Revenge, his Waters rofe,
But now, th' uxorious River glides away,
So Jove commauds, fmooth -winding to the Sea :
And yet, lefs numerous by their Parents' Crimes,
Our Sons fhall hear, mall hear to lateft Times,
Of Roman Arms with civil Gore embru'd,
Which better had the Perfian Foe fubdu'd.
Whom
it, but by the total Deftru&ion of Rome. This he attempted
in Compliance with his Wife's Refentments ; but as there
was an equal Excefs in his Uxorioufnefs, and in her Com-
plaints, Jupiter equally disapproves of them, nor will fuffer
him to partake of that Glory, which he referved for Auguf-
tus in revenging the Death of Caefar. SAN.
1 8. Sinijird ripa.~\ Rome was fituated on the left Side of
the Tiber, and as that Shore was lower than the Tufcan, it
was more expoled to an Inundation. SAN.
19. Labitur.~\ After the Poet hath painted the Tiber in all
the Terrours and Rapidity of an Inundation, he makes ufe
of a Word, which exprefles a fmooth and imperceptible Mo-
tion. By this Oppofition, and by the Feeblenefs of the Words
Vagus and Labitur, he would infmuate how weak the Efforts
ven of a God mult prove, when he attempts to rob Auguf-
tus of that Glory, which Jupiter had referved for him, in
appointing him to be the fole Avenger of Caefar. SAN.
21. Audiet cives.] Some Commentators have ib'uck out
this
14 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Quern vocet Divum populus mentis 25
Imperi rebus ? prece qua fatigent
Virgines fanclae minus audientem
Carmina Veftam?
Cui dabit partes fcelus expiandi
Jupiter? tandem venias, precamur, 30
Nube candentes humeros ami&us,
Augur Apollo :
this Strophe, as a kind of of irregular, poetical Rapture,
and others have laboured (although very unfuccefsfully) to
find its Connexion with the reft of the Ode.
The Poet tells us, that the Death of Caefar is fully re-
venged ; that Jupiter is fatisfied ; that he will not permit the
Tiber to commit any other Mifchiefs ; but that ftill the
Common-wealth lies in Ruins, and requires fome great Re-
ftorer. Thus he would inlinuate, that Auguflus ought not
to refign the fovereign Authority, until the Republic had
recovered from the Miferies of the civil War, and particu-
larly until he had reftored the Number of her Citizens, which
was greatly leffened by a War of thirty Years. This he
afterwards did by many Laws, particularly the Julian Law
for the Encouragement of Matrimony.
22. Graves Perf<t.~\ The Romans had always the ftrong-
eft Refentments of the Defeat of Craflus and Antony by the
Parthians, who are therefore mentioned here with this Epi-
thet of Terrour. TORRENTIUS.
25. Ruentis impenJ] This relates to the Remarks on the
21 ft Line. The Empire is in a ruinous Condition, and re-
quires fome great Supporter. SAN.
27. Minus audientem.] Julius Casfar was not only Ponti-
fex Maximus, but particularly the Prieft of Vefta, when he
was killed.
Metis illefuit, mem ilk facer dot,
Sacrilega tells mepetiere manus.
Caefar was mine, my facred Prieft was He;
Through him your impious Weapons wounded me, D.
OVID. 3. Faft.
Th
Od. 2 THE ODES QF HORACE. . , ^
Whom of her Guardian Gods, what pitying Powe^
To raife her finking State (hall Rome implore ? . MJ Q
Shall her own hallow'd Virgins' eajrneft Prayer
Harmonious charm offended Vefta's Ear ?
To whom fhall Jove aflign to purge away ft j JJ3 ^
The guilty Deed ? Appear, thouGod ofDay fj , ; m ,,r>
But gracious veil thy Shoulders beamy-bright,
Oh ! veil in Clouds th' unfufferabfc Light :
C*
The more therefore thit Vefta interefte3 herfelf in rereng;
ing the Death of Csefar, the more ought She to be angry
with the Romans, if they permitted Auguftus (the great
Avenger of that Death) to relign his Government of the Re-
public. SAN.
29. Cut dablt partes.'] This is a new Reafon, which ought
to engage Auguftus to retain the fupreme Power, as if he
alone were capable of appeafmg the Wrath of Jupiter for
the impious Murder of C<efar, which is ftrongly exprefled
by the Word fcehtt. SAN.
31. Nube candentes J] The Gods, when they were plcafed
to manifeft themfelves to Mortals, were always, in poetical
Imagery, clothed with Clouds ; but the Defcription is here
of peculiar Beauty, where the Poet intreats the God of
Light to hide the exceffive Splendours of his Prefence; and
he is introduced by a Flattery very pleafing to Auguftus,
who was willing to be thought his Son, which his Mother
Attia very conftandy affirmed.
There are fome antient Medals and Statues, which mew
a kind of floating Veftment thrown over the Shoulders of
this God. Publius Syrus, defcribing a fine filken Robe,
boldly calls it, a woven Wind, textilem ventum, and a lin-
en cloud, nebulam lineam.
Our Poet hath here literally tranflated an Expreffion of
Homer, in his Defcription of this God, <piXa f .7
i6 Q^ HORATIT FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. I.
Sive tu mavis, Erycina ridens,
Quam locus circumvolat, & Cupido :
Sive negle&um genus, & nepotes 35
Refpicis auclor,
Heu ! nimis longo fatiate ludo,
Quern juvat clamor, galeaeque leves,
Acer & Marfi peditis cruentum
Vultus in hoftem : 4
Sive mutata juvenem figura,
Ales in terris imitaris, almae
Filius Maiae, patiens vocari
Csefaris ultor.
Serus
33. Erycina.] The Poet addrefleth himfelf to Venus, be-
caufe fhe was Mother of ^neas, from whom Csfar was
defcended ; yet there is a particular Delicacy in calling her
Erycina, becaufe ^Eneas had -brought a Statue of that God-
defs from Sicily to Italy, She had a Number of Women
confecrated to her in her Temple upon Mount Eryx in Sicily,
who enriched her Treafury by public Proftitution. SAN.
36. Re/fids.'] When the Gods turned their Eyes towards
their Worlhippers, it was a Sign of their Favour and Pro-
teftion, as the contrary, of their Anger and Difpleafure.
Thus Mercury was called Malevolus, or Malign, becaufe
two Statues, which were erected to him in the Merchant's
Street at Rome, were placed in fuch a manner, as that they
did not look towards any of the Shops. CRUQ^ DAC*
Aulor.~\ Romulus, the Founder of the Roman Empire,
was the Son of Mars, from whence the God is here called
Auftor. Thefe two Pi&ures of Mars and Venus are per-
fectly beautiful, if we view them feparately ; yet their Beau-
ties will appear more ftrongly, when they are fet in Oppo-
fition to each other. SAN.
37. Ludo.~\ The civil Wars between Casfar and Pompey
are called in another Ode, The Sport of Fortune, Ludumfor-
tunx. Lycophron improving upon this Image of Horace,
defcribes Mars, cruentis paftum prceUis. Carnage and Blood
are the Diverfion and Food of the God of War. SAN.
39. Marji peditis. ~] The ufual Reading has been Mauri,
but the Africans were never remarkable for their Courage.
On the contrary, the Marfi were the beil Infantry in the
Roman
Od. 2. THE ODES OF HORACE. \f
Or may we rather thy Prote&ion claim,
Sicilian Venus, Laughter-loving Dame,
Round whom gay Jocus, and the God of Love,
Wave the light Wing, and hovering playful rove ?
Or whom the polim'd Helm, the Noife of Arms,
And the ftern Soldier's Frown with Tranfport warmsj
Parent of Rome, amid the Rage of Fight
Sated with Scenes of Blood, thy fierce Delight !
Hither at length thine Afpe& gracious bend,
And, powerful, thy negleited Race defend :
Or Thou, fair Maia's winged Son, appear,
And mortal Shape, in Prime of Manhood, wear j
Declar'd the Guardian of th' imperial State,
Divine Avenger of great Csefar's Fate :
Oh!
Roman Armies. From whence came the Proverb, Neque de
Mar/is, nequejtne Marjjs triutnfb::m agi poffe. We can neither
triumph over the JVIarfi, nor without them.
LE EVRE, BENTLEY, SAN,
41. Jtrvenem.'] Salluft calls Julius Cxfar, Adolefcentulus^
when he was thirty fix Years old ; the fame Age in which
Horace here calls Auguftus Ju<venem. In a Medal of the
Emperor Commodus, he is ftilcd Ju<venh at the Age of
thirty -five ; and Varro divides the Age of Man in almoft
the fame manner. Puer to fifteen, Adolefcens to thirty, and
Juvenis to five-and-forty. He tells us, this laft Word is de-
rived from Juvare, as if this Age were capable of rendering
the rnoft confiderable Services to the Republic. SAN.
As the Word Youth has a very different Acceptation, the
Tranflator was obliged to change it for a Phrafe, which
may perhaps better exprefs the Age of Auguftus, and the
Seufe of Horace.
44. Claris ultorJ] This rifes very naturally from the
Speech of Auguihis to the Senate ; bdides, he loved to
be called the Revenger of Csefar, $AS.
VOL. I. C
18 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. f,
Serus in coelum redeas, diuque 45
L^tus interlis populo Quirini j
Neve te noftris vitiis iniquum
Ocyor aura
Tollat. Hie magnos potius triumphos,
Hie ames dici pater, atque princeps j 50
Neu finas Medos equitare inultos,
Teduce, Cxfar.
CARMEN
45. Serus in calim redeas ^\ This Expreffion is tender arid
noble. It is particularly happy, iince it may be equally ap-
plied to Mercury, who was to return to Heaven, $ to his
native Country, and to Auguilus, who being a Descendant
of Venus, might be iuppofed to have come from Heaven.
DAC.
49. Magnos triumphos."} Auguftus, in the Month of Au-
guft 725, had triumphed three Days. The firft for the De-
feat of the Pannoniaus and Dalmatii ; the fecond for the
Battle of AcHum ; the laft for the Reduction of Egypt.
DAG.
50. Pater."] Some Medals of Auguftus call him Pater, and
fome Pater Patria-, and probably thefe were Very different
Titles. Perhaps Pater alone, might fignify Pater Imperil
Roman;, or Pater Orbis, as Ovid calls Augullus. SAN.
Primepi.'] Ten Days before Oclavius obtained the Sur-
name of Auguftus, the Senate had given him the Title of
Prince, and with it the Government of the Republic for ten
Years. Many before Him had been called Princes of the
Senate, but no Perfon had ever been ftyled Prince, as if he
alone were Prince of the Republic and the Roman People ;
or, as Phny exprefleth it, Priuceps Terranim. SAN,
51. Medos.'] The Parthians are called Medes and Perfi-
ans, as thefe three Monarchies were united. The Poet men-
tions them a fecond time, not only to animate Auguftus to
revenge the Death of Craffus, but alfo as a Reafon to en-
gage him to hold the Government of the Republic, which
iuraciently appears to be the Defsgn of the Ode.
,_,, ^.
1 he Art, with which the laft Strophes of this Ode are
Brought, is very remarkable. When the Poet hath intro-
duced Mercury under the Character of Auguftus, he has
made it fo difficult to diftinguilh them, that all the Flattery
and
Ode 2. THE ODES OF HORACE. 19
Oh ! late return to Heav'n, and may thy Reign
With lengthen'd Bleffings fill thy wide Demaine }
Nor let thy People's Crimes provoke thy Flight,
On Air fwift-rifmg to the Realms of Light.
Great Prince and Father of the State, receive
The nobleft Triumphs, which thy Rome can give ;
Nor let the Parthian, with unpunifti'd Pride,
Beyond his Bounds, O Caefar, dare to ride.
and Adoration are equally applied to the Prince, as to the
God, until he openly names Casfar in the laft Line He
has chofen Mercury to reprefent Auguilus, as that God was,
by his whole Character, a Lover of Mankind, and willing-
ly employed on all MefTages to them of Mercy and Bene-
ficence. Nor does he lefs refemble Auguftus in the Arts of
Perfuafion, by which that Prince had reconciled all the va-
rious Factions of Rome, and equally endeared himfelf to
all Parties. Super is eftorum gratits & imis.
C 2 OD*
( 20 f C
5H. c i*i t ^tJiil
ODE III. AdNavem qua VIRGILIUS wheba-
tur.ATHEKASfrofiafcens. .^
* ~VT- -'* 4*v* //
SIC te Diva potens Cypri,
Sic fratres Helena, lucida fidera,
Ventorumque regat pater,
Obftri&is aliis, praeter lapyga,
Navis, quze tibi creditum 5
Debes Virgilium j finibus Atticis
Reddas incolumem, precor,
Et ferves animae dimidium meae.
.' ^ ' HJi
We may look upon this Ode as the laft Farewel of Horace
to Virgil, when that Poet went to finifh his ^Eneid at Athens.
The firft eight Lines are extremely foft and tender. From
thence the Poet, infpired by his Affedion for his Friend,
itarts away, with a truly Pindaric Spirit, to aDefcription of
all the Terrors and Dangers of the Ocean, as if he were
alarmed at Sight of the Veflel, in which he fancies Vireil
was expofed to all the Hazards of the Deep. He detefts
Navigation ; He thinks it a Violation of the Laws of Na-
ture ; an impious Defiance of the Will and Power of the
Mods. In the Remainder of the Ode, with a noble moral
bpirit, He condemns in genera! the daring Impiety of Man-
kind as if he. faw it rife from the fame Principle, which in-
fpired their firft Attempts upon the Ocean. Thus we fee
' COnneaed were the ancient Pinda -
Virgil went to Athens in the Year of Rome 735, which
fixes the Date of this Ode. LE fij; SAN>
^ p ' J Itwas ^ftomary among the Poets, when they
feed aFavour to add their belt Wimes for a Bleffing on the
Perfon, whofe Fnendmip they folicited. The Poet, in the
and Se 6 >f 7' Here addreffes his Vows to the Veffel -
n ppy Voyae ' as if fte were fenflble of
Diva
ODE III To $e. Ship in which VIRGIL
Jailed to ATHENS.
SO may the Cyprian Queen divine,
And the Twin-Stars with faving Luftre mine ;
So may the Father of the Wind
All but the Weftern Gales propitious bind,
As you, deaf Veflel, fafe reftore
Th' intrufted Pledge to the Athenian Shore,
. .And of my Soul the Partner fave,
My much-lov'd Virgil from the raging Wave.
Or
Diva potens Cypri.~\ Venus was invoked by Mariners, not
only becaufe fhe fprung from the Ocean, but becaufe her Star
was ufcful to Navigation. CRUQ^
2. Lufidafidera.~\ Liicida here fignifies falutaria ; for Lig;ht,
among the Greeks arid-Latins, is frequently taken for Safety.
DAC,
3. Ventortim pater.'] The Winds appear in the Mythology
as a kind of little winged Genii, mutinous and unquiet, who
take Pleafure in difturbing the Univerfe. They firft opened
a Paflage for the Seas into the Middle of the Earth ; they di-
vided a Number of Iflands from the Continent, and caufed
a thoufand other Ravages, in Nature. To prevent thefe Dif-
orders for the future, they were confined, and had a King
appointed to govern them, who had ever afterwards a large
Share in all poetical Adventures, either by raifingor calming
the Ocean. Even the Queen of the Gods did not difdain to
implore his Affiftance, and we may fay, that this Monarch
had the Honour of opening the great A&ion of the ^Eneid.
SAS.
7. ReJJas incolumem.~\ Virgil is here confidered as a Pledge
intrufted to the Ship, and there is an eafy, beautiful Exadi-
pgfs in the Terms crt3itum\ deles, reddas t incolumem.
22 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. j.
Jlli robur & aes triplex
: Circa pe&us erat, qui fragilem truci JO
Commifit p4ago ratem
primus, nee timuit praecipitem Africum
Decertantem Aquilonibus,
Nee trifles Hyadas, nee rabiem Noti ;
Quo non arbiter Adriae $5
Major, tollere, feu ponere vult freta.
Quern mortis timuit gradum,
Qui fixis oculis monftra natantia,
Qui vidit mare turgid um, &
Infames fcopulos Acroceraunia ?
Nequicquarji
. 9. Robur. ,] The Poet here paffes to the fecond Part of the
Ode, and his Tranfition is lirongly marked by the Difference
of his Stile, which becomes more bold and elevated, as the
Cadences are more fpnorpus and magnificent. SAN.
112. Primus.] It is an idle Curiofity to enquire, who was
the firft Sailor, fince it is very probable, Navigation was
known in the earjicft Ages of the World. Jafpn has been
thought the Inventor of it, becaufe before his Time the
rGreeks and Phoenicians failed in round Ships. He built the
Argo, which, in the Phoenician ^Language, fignifies a long
Veffel. DAC.
The learned Editor of Virgil's Georgics believes, that an
Alder-Tree, grown hollow with Age, and falling into the
Kiver on which it was, planted (for this Tree delights in 9,
moift Soil, ami Banks of Rivers) gave the firft Hint tpwaids,
Navigation;
Tmcahosjrimumjtu'viifenfere cavatas. Gcprg. Lib. I .
14. Hyafu.} Are a Conftellation, in the Head of the
Bull, whofe Rifing and Setting is frequently attended by
Ram, from whence the Poet calls them Trifles.
15. Quonon arbiter Adria^ The Adriatic is here put for
< ?A e *f * ^ nera1 ' fmce ^^ Sea lies Pen, not to the
South- Weft Wmd, but to the Eaft-South-Eaft, called by the
f atms Vulturnus, ToRR
Od. 3. THE ODES OF HORACE. 23
Or Oak, or Brafs, with triple Fold,
That hardy Mortal's daring Breaft enroll'd,
Who firft, to the wild Ocean's Rage,
Launch'd the frail Bark, and heard the Winds engage
Tempeftuous, when the South defcends
Precipitate, and with the North contends j
Nor fear'd the Stars portending Rain,
Nor the loud Tyrant of the Weftern Main,
Of Power fupreme the Storm to raife,
Or calmer fmooth the Surface of the Seas.
What various Forms of Death could fright
The Man, who view'd with fix'd, unfhaken Sight,
The floating Monflcrs, Waves enflam'd,
And Rocks, for fhipwreck'd Fleets, ill-fam'd ?
Jove
18. Fixts oculiiJ] This feems to have been the Reading of
the great Dryden, when he tranflated it with Jledfajl Sight.
Doftor Bentley hath fufiiciently expofed the ufual Reading
ficcii oculii ; Mr. Cunningham propofedttye Correction, and
Mr. Sanadon has received it into his Edition.
A learned Editor of Horace, the Reverend Mr. Jones,
hath chofen the common Reading, Jiccis oculis ; and happily
fupports it by a PaiTage in Milton :
Sight fo deform, what Heart of Rock could long
Dry-eyed behold ?
23. AcrQcerawia.~\ The Poet, with a very delicate Flatte-
ry calls thefe Rocks Infamous, becaufe Auguftus very nar-
rowly efcaped being fhipwrecked on them, when he returned
from the Battle of Adlium. Repetit Italian tempejiate in tra-
jedu bit confliflatui : primo inter prontontwia Pehponnefe atqut
jtoli<e : rurfui circa mantes Ceraunioina c vis in qua <veheba-
tur, fufis armament is & gubernaculo ajfratfo.Sueton. in Vita
ti.
C4
24 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Kequicquam Deus abfcjdit
Prudens Qceano diflbciabili
Terras, fi tanien impiae
Non tangenda rates tranfiliunt vada.
Audax omnia perpeti 25
Gens humana ruit per vetitum & nefas,
Audax lapeti genus
Ignem fraude mala 1 gentibus intulit.
Poft ignem setherea domo
Subdudum, macies, & nova febrium 30
Terris incubuit Conors,
Semotique prius tarda neceflitas
Lethi corripuit gradum.
Expertus vacuum Daedalus aera
Pennis non homini datis. 3
Perrupit Acheronta Herculeus labor.
22. DiJJociabili ] Rude, unfociable, unfit for Commerce
or the Life of Man. In vain has God divided the Realms
of Earth, by this untraftable Element, if, &c. Livy has
ufed infociabilis in almoft the fame Senfe. SAN.
25. Audax] Here the third Part of the Ode begins, and
rifes naturally from the fecond, as accounting for the Bold-
nefs and Impiety of Navigation by the Daring of Mankind in
genera). SAN.
26. Vetitum (ff nefas] Hamelius and Mr. Sanadon have
added the Conjunftion ff upon Authority of an antient Ma-
nufcript. They, who vtz&<vetitum nefas, give a cold and
ufelefs Epithet to nefas, fmce all Wickednefs is forbidden.
The Poet divides into two Clafles all Sorts of Crimes ; thofe
forbidden by human Laws, vetitum, and {hofe by the Laws
pf Nature, nefas.
28. Fraude mala] The Romans ufed the Expreffion Joins
lonus, and ma/us ; Fraas bona and mala, efpecially when
ufed
Od. 3. THE ODES OF HORACE. 25
Jove has the Realms of Earth in vain
Divided by th' inhabitable Main, -># *
If Ships profane, with fearlefs Pride,
Bound o'er th' inviolable Tide.
No Laws, or human or divine,
Can the prefumptuous Race of Man confine.
Thus from the Sun's ethereal Beam
When bold Prometheus ftole th' enlivening Flame,
Of Fevers dire a ghaftly Brood,
Till then unknown, th' unhappy Fraud purfued ;
On Earth their Horrours baleful fpread,
And the pale Monarch of the Dead,
'Till then flow-moving to his Prey,
Precipitately rapid fwept his Way.
Thus did the venturous Cretan dare
To tempt, with impious Wings, the Void of Air 5
Through Hell Alcides urg'd his Courfe ;
No Work too high for Man's audacious Force.
Our
ufed againft an Enemy, or a Robber. Yet perhaps unhappy
Fraud may fufficiently exprefs the Senfe of the Poet. A
Fraud, which in its Confequences (hall prove ruinous antj
deftru&ive. Thus Hefiod makes Jupiter fay to Prometheus,
Youfeem -very happy in having jlolen this Fire from Heaven, but
this 'I heft fljall prove fatal to You and to your Pofterity;
32. Semotique prius.] Mr. Dacier obferves, that the Poet
feems to have made the Motion of Death more flow in this
Line, that he might give him Swiftnefs and Rapidity in the
next ; a Beauty which the Tranflator hath endeavoured to
preferve.
*6 Q. HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i,
Nil mortalibus arduum eft.
Ccelum ipfum petimus ftultitia ; nequc nQ
Per noftrum patjmur fcelus
Iracunda Jovem ponere fulmina.
CA R M E K
38. Ccelum ipfum petimus.] In Alluiion to the Fable of the
Giants.
rifi ni -M,
f- > nl vij
C; -V^fL'OV.
Od. 3. THE ODES OF HORACI.
Our Folly would attempt the Skies,
And with gigantic Boldnefs impious rife ;
Nor Jove, provok'd by mortal Pride,
an lay bis angry Thunderbolts afide. .
OPE
( 23 )
CARMEN IV. Ad SESTIUM.
SOLV I T U R acris hyems grata vice Veris, &Favom,
Trahuntque ficcas machinae carinas ;
Ac neque jam ftabulis gaudet pecus, aut arator igni ;
Nee prata canis albicant pruinis.
Jam Cytherea chores ducit Venus, imminente Luna,
Jun&aeque Nymphis Gratiae decentes 6
Alterno terram quatiunt pede, dum graves Cyclopum
Vulcanus ardens urit officinas.
Nunc
Although the Subject of this Ode be very common, yet
there is nothing common in the Manner, in which Horace
hath treated it. A certain Gaiety of Spirit, under an Air
of Serioufnefs, forms its peculiar Character. Even the
View of Death at the End of it, is a ftrong, Epicurean
Reafon for living as chearfully as we can. By the Defcrip-*
tions of Flowers, Groves, and the Feftivals of Venus, Fau-
nas, and Death, which were celebrated in Spring, the Ode
Appears to have been written in the Beginning of April,
but in what Year is uncertain. It is the only one of this
Form remaining to us. DAC. SAN.
Verf. z. Trahuntque Jtccas."] This Line has an unufual
Hardnefs of Expreffion, nor indeed is the Image very agree-
able to the joyous Company of Venus, Zephyrs, Nymphs,
and Graces. However, we know by it, that the Antients
ofed to draw their Ships on Shore during Winter, SAN.
5. Jam Cytherea cboros.] The Poet here defcribes the
Feafts of Venus, which were celebrated by young Women
with Dances and Hymns in Honour of the Goddefs. They
began on the firft of April, at the Rifmg of the Moon, im-
minente luna, and continued three Nights fucceffively. An
nknown, ancient Author has thus defcribed them,
Jam tribus chores viderfs
Feriatos noftibus
Congreges inter caterwas
Ire perfaltus tuos,
F/oreas inter coronas,
Myrttas inter ca/as, SAN.
Full
ODE IV. 70 SESTIUS.
NOW Winter melts in vernal Gales,
And grateful Zephyrs fill the fpreacling Saife y
No more the Plowman loves his Fire,
No more the lowing Herds their Stalls defire,
While Earth her richeft Verdure yields,
Nor hoary Frofts now whiten o'er the Fields.
Now joyous through the verdant Meads,
Beneath the riling Moon, fair Yen us leads
Her various Dance, and with her Train
Of Nymphs and modeft Graces treads the Plain,
While Vulcan's glowing Breath inipires
The toilfome Forge, and blows up all its Fires.
Now
Full three Nights, in joyous Vein,
Might you fee the choral Train,
Hand in Hand pronarcuous rove
Through thy Love devoted Grove,
Crown'd with rofy-breathing Flowers,
Under Myrtle-woven Bowers. D
6. Gratice decentes.~\ The Graces were the moft amiable
Divinities of the Heathen Mythology, and the Source of all
that is pleafing in Nature. The Poet calls them decentes for
that Modefty and Referve, with which they behaved them-
felves in theie Aflemblies. SAX.
The Nymphs are thus numbered by the Author already
quoted :
Rurii fjic erunt }ue!l<r t
Et pucllrr fontium,
ft/was, qurtque lucos t
monies incolunt.
Here (hall meet the blooming Maids
Of the Valleys and the Glades;
And the Nymphs, who haunt the Fountains,
And the Forefts, and the Mountains. D.
30 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i,
Nunc decet aut viridi nitidum caput impedire myrto,
" Aut flore, terrae quern ferunt folutae. 10
Nunc & in umbrofis Faurto decet immolare lucis,
Seu pofcat agna> five malit hoedo.
Pallida mors aequo pulfat pede pauperurn taberriasi
Regumque turres. O beate Sefti,
Vita; fumma brevis fperh nos vetat inchoare longam. 15
Jam te premet nox, fabulaeque Manes,
Et domus exilis Plutonia ; quo fimul mearis,
Nee regna vini fortiere tails,
Nee tenerum Lycidam mirabere, quo calet juventus
Nune omnis, & mox virgines tepebunt.
CARMEN
7. Graves ojpdnas^ We have here a very pretty Oppo-
litibn between the Characters of Venus and Vulcan ; the
gay Delights of the Wife, and the laborious Employment of
the Huffeand -, who is here defcribed working in Spring, that
He might forge Thunder-bolts enough for Jupiter to throw
in Summen RODELLIUS. DAC.
9. Nunc decet.'] Thefe two Verfes continue the Defcrip-
tion of the Feafts of Venus ; for Flowers, and particularly
Myrtle, were confecrated to that Goddefs.
Cras Amorum copulatrix
Inter umbras arborum
Implicat cafas *virentts
E flagello tnyrteo.
Ipfa Nympbas Diva lucos
JuJJit ire myrteos. SAH.
Lo ! the Queen of pleafing Pains
Linking Loves in mutual Chains,
Wreathes, the Myrtle Bowers between,
Cottages of living Green,
And commands her Virgins gay
Through the mazy Groves to ftray. D.
II. Nunc &f in umbrofts.] The Feafts of Faunus were ce-
lebrated the eleventh, thirteenth, and fifteenth of February,
when the Cattle were turned out of their Winter-Stables,
and Sacrifices were offered to this God for their Preferva-
ti a- DAC.
13.
Od. 4. THE O>ES OF HORACE. 3*
Now crown'd with Myrtle, or the Flowers,
Which the glad Earth from her free Bofom pours,
We'll offer, in the fliady Grove,
Or Lamb, or Kid, as Pan (hall beft approve*
With equal Pace$ impartial Fate
Knocks -at the Palace, as the Cottage- Gate,
Nor fhould our Sum of Life extend
Our growing Hopes beyond their deftin'd End.'
When funk to Pluto's fhadowy Coafts,
Opprefs'd with Darknefs, and the fabled Ghofts,
No more the Dice mail there aflign
To thee, the jovial Monarchy of Wine.
No more (hall you the Fair admire,
7'he Virgin's Envy, and the Youth's Deflre.
ODE
i 3. Pallida mors.~\ This Defcription of Death, immediate-
ly after the Gaiety of the Spring, and the Feafts of Pan,
may feem, at firlt View, a little too ferious, if not unnatu-
ral ; yet ic will appear perfectly beautiful and eafy, when we
confider, that the mortuary Feftivals, in which Sacrifices
were offered to Death, were celebrated immediately after
thofe of Pan. They continued five Days, and are men-
tioned here by the I'oet, to convince us, in Epicurean Spi-
rit, that the near Approach of Death ought to engage us
to purfue the Pleafures of Life. As, in the Roman Calen-
der, the Mortuary Feftival followed the Feafts of Faunus,
fo fhall Death our Days of Mirth. DAC.
15. fitfefumma brews.] A Metaphor taken from Num-
bers. Let us reckon the Moments, Hours, Days, Months,
and Years of Life, and how inconfiderable is the Sum to-
tal ? DAC.
1 8. Nee rtgna 'vini.'] The Reader may find a large Ac-
count of the Cuftoms obferved by the Romans at their En-
tertainments, in the Notes on the feventh Ode of the fe-
cond Book.
(3*)
CARMEN V. ^/PYRRHAM.
QUIS multa gracilis te puer in rofd
Perfufus liquid is urget odoribus
Grato, Pyrrha, fub antro ?
Cui flavam religas comam,
Simplex munditiis ? Heu, quoties fidem 5
Mutatofque Deos flebit, & afpera
Nigris aequora ventis
Emirabitur infolens,
Qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea;
Qui femper vacuam, Temper amabilem 10
Sperat, nefcius aurae
Fallacis ! miferi, quibus
Intentata
In the two firft Editions of this Work, the Translation of
this Ode was taken from Milton. The Merit of it hath
been much difputed ; but furely Milton only could pre-
ferve the Spirit of Horace in almofl a verbal Tranflation.
The Defign of this Work does not require fo much Exact -
nefs, becaufe the Notes may explain the Difficulties, or
more largely endeavour to exprefs the Beauties of the Ori-
ginal, where the Tranflation fails.
Thefe little Odes are better Proofs of the Manner and
Genius of our Author, than thofe, which have a real
Greatnefs in the oubjeft, capable of raifmg the Soul of a
Poet. There is in this Ode only one Thought, and that
extremely fimple and natural ; yet the Expreffions are fo
beautiful, and the Words fo happily chofen, that we may
be bold to fay there is not a more finilhed Piece among his
Works. DAC.
Ver. i. PtterJ] The Romans ufed this Word, without
regard to any particular Age. It was only a Word of
of Tendernefs, as in Virgil, Ne pueri ! ne tanta animis /-
eftitt bell*, where he fpeaks of Csefar and Pompey. DAC,
12. Miferi
( 33 )
ODE V. To PYRRHA.
WHILE liquid Odours round him breathe,
What Youth, the rofy Bower beneath,
Now courts thee to be kind ?
Pyrrha, for whofe unwary Heart
Do you, thus dreft with carelefs Art,
Your yellow Trefles bind ?
How often fhall th' unpraftis'd Youth
Of alter'd Gods, and injur'd Truth
With Tears, alas ! -complain ?
How foon behold with wondering Eyes
The blackning Winds tempeftuous rife,
And fcowl along the Main ?
While by his eafy Faith betray'd,
He now enjoys thee, golden Maid,
Thus amiable and kind ;
He fondly hopes that you fhall prove
Thus ever vacant to his Love,
Nor heeds the faithlefs Wind.
Unhappy
1 2. Miferi quibus intentata m'fes.] This Paflage muft be ex-
plained in View to the Metaphor, which Horace continues
to the End of the Ode, and nitere is to be applied squally
to the Beauty of Pyrrha, and to the Ocean. DAC
VOL. I. D
34 Q^HORATII FtAcci CARMINUM Lib.i.
Intentata nites. Me tabula facer
Votiva paries indicat uvida
Sufpendifle potent! 15
Veftimenta maris Deo.
CARMEN
13. Me tabula facer.'] When the Poet tells us, that he
was ftiipwrecked in his Paflion for Pyrrha, he alludes to a
Cuftom among the Romans of offering fome votive Tablet
or Picture to the God, by whofe Power they thought jhem-
felves preferred. In thefe Pi&ures the Storm, and Circum-
ftances of their Efcape, were reprefented ; and ruined Ma-
riners frequently carried them to excite Compaflion and
Charity, at the fame time defcribing in Songs the Particu-
lars of their Story. TORR.
15. Potenti Deo.] Powerful to fave. Tranflated by Mil-
ton, thcyfrrs God of Sea.
Od. V. THE ODES OF HORACE. 35
Unhappy They, to whom, untry'd,
You fhine, alas ! in Beauty's Pride ;
While I, now fafe on Shore,
Will confecrate the pi&ur'd Storm,
And all my grateful Vows perform
To Neptune's faving Power.
D 2 ODE
CARMEN VI. Ad MARCUM VIPSANIUM
AGRIPPAM.
OCRIBERIS Vario fortis & hoftium
O Vi&or, Maeonii carminis alite,
Quam rem cumque ferox navibus, aut equis '.
Miles te duce gefTerit.
Nos, Agrippa, neque haec dicere, nee gravem 5
Pelidae flomachum cedere nefcii,
Nee curfus duplicis per mare Ulyflei',
NecfaevamPelopis domum
Conamur,
Agrippa probably had reproached our Poet for never men-
tioning him in his Verfes, and his Excufes are made in fuch a
manner, as to become a bold and delicate Flattery. Mr.
Sanadon thinks, that he defigned to juftify his Silence with
regard to other great Men, who had diftinguifhed themfelves
in the late Wars ; that O&avius is only named, as if, through
profound Refpeft, he only dared to name him ; that we have
but the Out-L'ines of Agrippa's Character, for it demands
nothing lefs than a fecond Homer to paint him in his full
Dignity ; that the other Generals are reprefented, as it were,
in a Groupe, under allegorical Perfonages, chofen among
the Heroes of the Trojan War ; and that except we view
the Ode in this Light, it will appear a confufed Medley of
Praifes, without Coherence or Beauty. Thus the Panegyric
of Agrippa is followed by that of Achilles and Ulylies ;
next is reprefented the Ruin of the Houfe of Pelops : O&a-
vius then makes his Appearance : Agrippa returns a fecond
Time, and Mars, Merion and Diomed clofe the military
Proceffion. Allegory alone, fays this ingenious Critic, can
colled into one Point of View fo many different and diftant
Parts. However, we mall find, that he has pufhed his alle-
gorical Scheme a little too far, and that it is not necefiary to
hazard all his Conjectures, and Applications of Hiftory.
Oftavius having fhut the Temple of Janus, and triumphed
three Days, received divine Honours by a Decree of the
Senate, from whence we may fix the Date of this Ode in
the Year 725.
Verf,
( 37 )
ODE VI. To AGRIPPA.
VARIUS, who foars with Homer's Wing,
Shall brave Agrippa's Conquefts fmg,
Whate'er, infpir'd by his Command,
The Soldier dar'd on Sea or Land.
But we nor tempt with feeble Art
Achilles' unrelenting Heart,
Nor fage Ulyfles in our Lays
Purfues his wandring through the Seas,
Nor ours in Tragic Strains to tell
How Pelops' cruel Offspring fell.
The
Verf. 2. M<eonii carmlnis alite.'] Poets were "frequently
compared to Swans, from their being facred to Apollo, and
from a vulgar Errour of their fmging. Horace often ufes
the Companfon. Multa Dlrc&um levat aura cycnum. Album
mutor in alite,n. It may be worth obferving, that the learned
and ingenious Dr. Atterbury reads temulo.
3. Na--uil>xs.~] Agrippa gained the Viftory in two Sea-
fights. The firft ngainft Pompey's Lieutenants, the fecond
agamfl Pompey himletf, befides the Share he had in the Bat-
tle of A&ium.
6. Fetidse.] Afinius Pollio, according to Mr. Sanadon's
Allegory, is reprefented under the Perfon of the inexorable
Achilles. He had rendered himfelf formidable to Oftavius,
by ftcrnly refufmg to join with him in the 'Civil Wars, and
by that Refufal had probably fufpended the Fate of Antony
The Reader may find his Charafter in the Notes on the
fifteenth Ode of this Book, and in the firft Ode of the fecond
7- Dap/ids.] This Epithet has been ufually underftood, as
if Horace defigned to exprefs the TO^'T^K* and ^^^ ia
Homer s Character of Ulyfles, which Words, according to
Mr. Sanadon, fignify a Man who hath proved a Variety of
Adventures. %/ verfatus eji per multiplicem dffimilemque
Fonunam. But duplex will hardly bear the Interpretation
D 3
38 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Conamur, tenues grandia : dum pudor,
Imbellifque lyrae Mufa potens vetat 10
Laudes egregii Caefaris, & tuas
Culpa deterere ingeni.
Quis Martem tunica te&um adamantina
Digne fcripferit ? aut pulvere Troico
Nigrum Merionen ? aut ope PaUadis 15
Tydiden fuperis parem ?
Nos convivia, nos przelia virginum
Se&is injuvenesunguibus acrium
Cantamus, vacui, five quid urimur,
Non prseter folitum leves. 2,0
CARMEN
'Job/us orfallax ; nor have the Latin Authors ever ufed it in
that Senfe. Duplex pro dolofo non <videtur fatis Laiinum Vo s -
sius. Perhaps the Poet intended his appearing through the
whole Odyfiey in two Charaders ; or, if the Expreflion may
be allowed, in a double Charafter, fuch as a Prince and a
Beggar, &c.
Mr. Sanadon, in Support of his allegorical Scheme, ap-
plies duplids UMTa to Agrippa and Mefiala, who had com-
manded the Fleets of Odtavius in the Wars of Sicily and
Adium. But, although we mould allow duplex UlyJJes to
fignify two Ulyfles, Agrippa feems to be, not without Con-
fuiion, introduced in an allegorical Character, when the
Poet fpeaks to him perfonally in the fame Strophe.
8. Pelopis domum^ Ancient dramatic Writers were much
obliged to the Family of Pelops for the many Fables, with
which it fupplied them ; but Horace particularly feems to
mean the Tragedy of Thyeftes written by Varius, which
Quintilian fays, might be compared to any of the Grecian
Stage. In the firft Strophe Varins is called the Rival of
Homer, in the fecond he alone is reprefented capable of
defcribing the Anger of Achilles, or the wandering of
Ulyffes, in Proof of this Rivalihip, and of his Succels in
Epic Poetry. Thus far Mr. Sanadon's Allegory feems un-;
neceflary, by which he hazardously applies the criminal
Paffion of Jigyfthus and Clytemneftra to the Story of Antony
and Cleopatra.
1 1 . 'Egregii Crt/aris.] Egregious was a Word always ufed
Od. 6. THE ODES OF HORACE. 39
The Mufe, who rules the peaceful Lyre,
Forbids me boldly to afpire
To thine or facred Caefar's Fame,
And hurt with feeble Song the Theme.
Who can defcribe the God of Fight
In Adamantine Armour bright,
Or Merion on the Trojan Shore
With Duft, how glorious ! cover'd o'er,
Or Diomed, by Pallas' Aid,
To warring Gods an Equal made ?
But whether loving, whether free,
With all our ufual Levity,
Untaught to raife the martial String,
Of Feafts, and Virgin Fights we fmg ;
Of Maids, who when bold Love aflails,
Fierce in their Anger pare their Nails.
ODE
in a religious Senfe, and applied to Things fet apart and
confecrated to the Gods ; from thence the Title was given to
Kings, as if they were in a peculiar manner the Favourites
of Heaven. j\
i $. Mortem."] Mr. Sanadon believes that the three Perfons!
dengned here under the Characters of Mars, Merion and
Diomed, are Statilius Taurus, Marcus Titius, and Maecenas.
But the Poet, by comparing Statilius Taurus to the God of
War, has given him fuch a Superiority, as muft have been
equally difagreeable and injurious both to Maecenas and
Agrrppa. Horace might better have proportioned his poetical
Flattery, by acknowledging the Divinity of A uguftusTtha
ieCfcir! r mg the milkar y Glo5 T of Agrippa under
of Wifdom, by comparing him To" DiomedTanlJuluven
to the Gods by the Favour of Minerva. Thus the Seeory
appears juit, and is well maintained. megory
A I 8 ' Jff ? ;V">r"-] While the Poet, with his ufual Mo-
defty diiclaims the warlike Mufe, yet he pleafantly alludes
to the Actions of Heroes in the Virgin-Battles, which he
sr in **
fcratch her Lover too feverelv
CRUO.
D 4
( 40 )
n4jWrt^w -A. '- "
. : .!<f-..l,ifo!w njrf hnA
CARMEN VII. ^MUNATIITM PLA-NCO^/
LAudabunt alii claram Rhodon, aut Mitylenen,
Aut Ephefum, bimarifve Corinthi
Mcenia, vel Baccho Thebas, vel Apolline Delphos,
Infignes, aut Theflala Tempe.
Sunt, quibus unum opus eft inta&ae Palladis arceS 5
Carmine perpetuo celebrare, &
Undique
Tranflated by Dr. DUN KIN.
This Ode is properly only a Fragment, and Mr. Dacier
fufpefted with Reason, that it wanted fome Lines to render
it perfeft. After a long and pompous Defcription of all the
fineft Cities and Countries of Greece, we could little expect
to fee the Poet give the Preference to his Seat at Tibur, in a
light imperfeft Defcription of three Lines ; or that he mould
leave his Subjeft at once, when really he was only beginning
it. The antient Grammarians, fenfible of this Defect, have
very unhappily endeavoured to find a Remedy for it, by join-
ing, to this Fragment, another Ode. Albus ut obfcuro, C5V.
merely becaufe Tibur is mentioned in it, and the Meafures
are the fame.
In the firft Ode, the Poet prefers a Village of Italy to all
the Countries of Greece, and it was probably written in
Gratitude to Maecenas, who had given him a Piece of Land
there. In the fecond he writes to a Friend, who was under
Apprehenfion of fome public Difgrace, which he advifes
him
ODE VII. To MUNATIUS PLANCUS.
LET other Poets, in harmonious I/ays,
Immortal Rhodes or Mitylene praife,
Or Ephefus, or Corinth's towery Pride,
Girt by the rolling Main on either Side ;
Or Thebes or Delphos, for their Gods renown'd,
Or Tempe's Plains with flowery Honours crown'd.
There are, who fmg in everlafting Strains
The Towers, where Wifdom's Virgin-Goddefs reigns,
And
him to bear with a true Epicurean Spirit. There are fome
very antient Manufcripts which divide them, with this Title
to the fecond, Exhort atio ad bene vi^vendum ad Plancum ; be-
fides, by uniting them, there will be fome Repetitions,
which are not ufual to Horace. Perpetuo carmine and perpetuo,
uda pomaria and uda tempora, SAN.
5. Palladis arces.'] This Reading, inftead of urlem, is au-
thorifed by an excellent Manufcript at Oxford, befides fe-
veral others confulted by Lambinus. The Exprefiion is in
itfelf perfectly j uft ; for although there were many Deities
worfhipped at Athens, yet the Citadel was folely under the
Protection of Minerva. Urbent colantes Deos, pftejidemquear-
cisMinervam. Liv. L. 31. .30. SAN.
We may add to this Criticifm, that almoft all Citadels were
facred to this Goddefs, according to Catullus, Diva tenens
infemmis urbibus arces. Euftathius makes the fame Remark
upon a Line of Homer, which fays, that Minerva's Temple
was in the Trojan Citadel.
42 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Undique decerptam front! praeponere olivam.
Plurimus in Junonis honorem
Aptum dicit equis Argos, ditefque Mycenas.
Me nee tam patiens Lacedaemon, !
Nee tam Lariflae percuflit campus opimae,
Quam domus Albuneae refonantis,
Et prseceps Anio, & Tiburni lucus, & uda
Mobilibus ; pomaria rivis.
k ,, ^'-ti.r/v.i "o ,'iL^r
Albus
7. Undique tfec'et'ptatnfronlipr<rporicre olivam.'] This Read-
ipg is found in all antient Manufcripts and Impreflions, until
the Time of Erafmus, who, on his own fingle Authority,
Ventured to alter the Text. The Senfe of Horace is, that
the Poets, who wrote in Praife of Minerva, endeavoured to
gain the poetical Crown of Olive, even on a Subjedl, which
every Writer had attempted. Ex argumento undiquaque *-
haufo coronam Jibi poeticam quvrere. Nor is this Expreffion,
praponere olwamfronti, either hard or uncommon. Horace
himfelf fays in the fame Senfe, pr^texere frondes ; and Lu-
cretius, Injjgntrnque meo c apiti pet ere inde coronam ^ tSc. BENT.
Befides, Poets had different Crowns, according to the dif-
ferent Subjecls, on which they wrote. A Crown of Olive
was particularly given to thofe, who wrote in Honour of
Pallas, or the Citadel of Athens.
10. Patiens Laced<cmonl\ The Poet gives this Epithet to
Lacedsemon for the Severity of her Laws and Difcipline.
Thus Petronius pleafantly fays, Et egu qaidem tresplagas Spar-
tana nobilitate concoxi ; and Plautus, Laconas imi fubjellii virus
Plagipatidas .
i\. Percujfit.'] The Antients exprefled the Aftions and
Effefts of ourPaffions by Words, which fignified ftriking, as
percutere, ferire, and modern Language* have many Expref-
fion s of the fame kind. DAC.
12. uatn domus Albunete.] The Source of Rivers and
Fountains was properly the Houfe of the Divinity, who pre-
flded there. Befides, the Towns and Hoafes, that had the
fame Name as the Rivers ot Fountains, on which they were
fituated,
Od. 7. THE ODES OF HORACE. 43
And ceafelefs toiling court the trite Reward
Of Olive, pi uck'd by every vulgar Bard.
For Juno's Fame, th' urmumberM, tuneful Throng
With rich Mycenas grace their favourite Song,
And Argos boaft, of pregnant Glebe to feed
The warlike Horfe, and animate the Breed :
But me, nor patient Lacedaemon charms,
Nor fair Lariffa with fuch Tranfport warms,
As pure Albunea's far-refounding Source,
And rapid Anio, headlong in his Courfe,
Or Tibur, fenc'd by Groves from folar Beams,
And fruitful Orchats bath'd by ductile Streams.
********
********
As
fituated, were called by the Antients, The Houfes of the Ri-
vers, Thus Horace calls his Houfe at Tibur, The Houfe of
Allunea, from its Situation near that Fountain. Thefe Re-
marks may make us underftand a Line in Virgil, which has
given much Trouble to the Interpreters. The River Tiber
fays of Rome,
Hie mibi magna damns celjls caput urbibus exit.
I will have an Houfe here, which /hall be the Capital of the
World. DAC.
The Lake of Albunea is much vifited for the fmall Ifiands,
that float on its Surface. The fame Sort of fulphureous
Concretions, that form thefe little Iflands, add from Time
to Time to the folid Concretions on the Sides ; fo that but a
fmall Part of the Lake appears at prefent, and probably in
Time it will be wholly hid. A great Way round it, the
Earth founds hollow under your Feet, which fliews, that
you tread only on the Cruft, that covers the Lake. This is
probably what Horace alludes to, in calling it Domus Al-
Duneterefonantis. Had it been fpoken of a running Stream,
refonantis might have had another Senfe, but as it is faid of
a ftill Lake, I think it can be accounted for no other Way
than this, and this accounts for it very ftrongly and fully.
Mr. SPENCE'S Polymetis.
6
44 Q., HOR-ATH FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Albus ut obfcuro deterget nubila coelo 15
Saepe notus ; neque parturit imbres
Perpetuo ; fie tu fapiens finire memento
Triftitiam, vitseque labores
Molli, Plance, mero j feu te fulgentia fignis
Caftra terient : feu denfa tenebit 2
Tiburis umbra tui. Teucer Salamina patremque
Quum fugeret, tamen uda Lyaco
Tempora populea fertur vinxuTe corona,
Sic trifles affatus amicos.
Quo nos cumque feret melior fortuna parente, 25
Ibimas, 6 focii, comitefque :
Nil
l h *1 Ut ^ curo '} The fect >nd Ode, which begins here,
is addreffed to Munatius Plancus, who from his natural In-
conftancy, and having, in an unhandfome Manner, quitted
arty of Antony, was very juflly fufpefted by Auguftus,
nor ftras employed by him in the Battle of Adium. In this
Apprenenfion of Difgrace, the Poet advifes him to allay his
Anxiety with the Chearfulnefs of Wine.
The Phtfofophy of Epicurus in the Hand of Horace is an
1 Remedy, J t fortifies the Mind in Difgrace it dif
the Pams of Sicknefs, and the Terrors of Death.
Greek 'r ^A^r^' ^ Sou ^-South-Eaft Wind. The
-ailed th W,n^ ,.,..^ and ^ Ladns ^^ be _
without Clouds. The
s, fo
K^'vT'"" "" ~ iie ' He a S ain ul
Ude to Valgms upon a HkeOccafion. v, AN
magnq
Od. 7. THE ODES OF HORACE. - - , 45
As Notus often, when the Welkin lowers,
Sweeps off the Clouds, nor teems perpetual Showers^
So let thy Wifdom, free from anxious Strife,. j^kfrnA
In mellow Wine diflblve the Cares of Life, . >r ,,;j Q
Whether the Camp with Banners bright difplay'd, .
Or Tibur holds thee in its thick-wrought Shade. ...3 -
When Teucer from his Sire and Country fled,
With Poplar Wreaths the Hero crown'd his Head,
Reeking with Wine, and thus his Friends addrefs'd, '
Deep Sorrow brooding in each anxious Breaft j
Bold let us follow through the foamy Tides,
Where Fortune, better than a Father, guides j
A vaunt
magno conglario donatus a Ceffare, nee leatus, nee bene hiftruc*
tus eft. He was a Man of great Abilities, and had enjoyed
all the Triumphs, Honours and Employments in the Re-
public : yet his moral Character is infamous and odious. Af-
ter the Death of Casfar, he followed the Caufe of Liberty
and Brutus. He afterwards engaged himielf, more than
once, both to Oftavius and Antony. And when he lafl
quitted the Party of Antony, he fpoke of him in the Senate
with fo much Cruelty, that Coponius, with an honeft In-
dignation, Multa me here ule fee it Antonius pridie quam tu Ilium
relinqueres. I dare fay, that Anthony did many villainous,
infamous Things the Day before you left him/ SAN.
Seu te fulgentia JtgnisJ] By thefe Words it appears, that
Plancus was not yet determined, whether he fhould follow
Auguftus, or retire to his Country- Seat: and as we do not
find his Name among the Commanders at the Battle of Ac-
tium, it is probable he was left in Italy. SAN.
23. 'TemporapopuledJ] As Horace feems to be the Inventor
of this little Piece of Hiftory, he might name the Poplar in-
differently for any Tree, fince in their Feafts the Antients
formed their Crowns of the firft Branches they found. But
perhaps the Poet names the Poplar particularly, becaufe they,
who facrificed to Bacchus, and celebrated the Bacchanalia,
were ufually crowned with Leaves of that Tree. DAC.
46 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Nil defperandum Teucro duce, & aufpice Teucro ;
Certus enim promifit Apollo
Ambiguam tellure nova Salamina futuram.
O fortes pejoraque paffi 30
Mecum fepe viri, nunc vino pellite curas :
Cras ingens iterabimus aequor.
CAR-
27. Aufpice Teucro.'] Although the Greeks confulted the
Flight of Birds, yet they did not ufe their Aufpicia in the Ro-
man Manner. Teucer fpeaks here according to the Cuftorn
of the Romans, who never undertook any confiderable De-
fign without confulting the Gods. DAC.
Dodtor Bently affirms that the Latins never fay Aufpice
ilia* Au/pice C&fare, and that the Word Aufpex is always ap-
plied to a God. He therefore boldly alters the Text, and
reads Aufpice Phaebo. Mr. Cuningham, with an equal Spi-
rit of Critkifm, and equally againft the Faith of Manu-
feripts, changes Aufpice for Qbfide, which indeed feems to
have bsenthc Reading of the Scholiaft, who renders itSpon-
fire. Mr. Sanadon follows Mr. Cuningham, and gives him
abundant Honour for the Correction ; yet in his Preface he
acknowledges that Mr. Dacier has well proved againft Doc-
tor Bentley (and indeed againft his own Notes upon this
Ode) that the Latins have applied Aufpex to a Perfon, who
might be neither God nor Augur, as in this Inftance, where
Ovid fpeaks to Germanicus Casfar,
Aufpice te fdix totus ut eat annus,
Yet he afferts, that they never apply Dux and Aufpex to the
fame Perfon, m the fame Action. But this is little better
than trifling.
29. Ambiguam.'} Which mall be fo like the Salamis
we have left, in Glory and Grandeur, that it {hall be diffi-
cult to diftinguifh them. Thus in another Place, Solutls
crivibus, cunbigiioque i:iiltu. Teucer afterwards built the City
Salamis in Cyprus. SAW.
Od. 7. THE ODES OF HORACE. 47
Avaunt Defpair, when Teucer calls toFame,
The fame your Augur, and your Guide the fame.
Another Salamis, in foreign Clime,
With rival Pride ftiall raife her Head fublime ;
So Phoebus nods ; ye Sons of Valour true,
Full often try'd in Deeds of deadlier Hue,
To-day with Wine drive every Care away,
To-morrow tempt again the boundlefs Sea.
ODI
CARMEN VIII.
LY D I A, die, per omnes
Te Deos oro, Sybarin
Cur properas amando
Perdere ? cur apricum
Oderit campum, patiens
Pulveris atque folis ?
Cur neque militaris
Inter aequales equitat,
Gallica nee lupatis
Temperat
Some People, prejudiced in Favour of the Ufages wherein
they were educated, will certainly think, fays Mr. Sanadcn,
that I have made here an unpardonable Innovation. I have
broken the Diftichs, which compofe this Ode, and diftri-
feuted them into Strophes, in which the third Verfe is per-
fedlly equal to the firft ; Cur properas amando containing ex-
aclly the fame Number and the fame Quality of Meafures
with Lydia, die, per omnes. As to the fecond Verfe, I lhall
only quote this Example of Terentianus Maurus, fyllalam
fex poffe dari, which is in nothing different from te Deos oro
Sybarin. Horace and Terentianus have imitated the Grecian
Poets, Eupolis, Ariftophanes, and Euphorion, who have
left us many Pieces of this Form. Thus the Alteration is
authorifed by both Greek and Latin Poetry, whereas it is
impoffible to find an Inftance of any Ode like what is printed
in the common Editions.
The Defign of this Ode is not to reproach Sybaris with
Effeminacy, or his Love of Pleafure ; but it feems to be
written either in Refentment or Jealoufy with Regard to Ly-
dia, who kept him difguifed in a female Drefs. DAC.
Verf. 3. Amando. ,] May have a paflive Signification. By
being
(49)
TELL me, Lydia, prithee tell,
Ah ! why, by loving him too well,
Why you haften to deftroy
Young Sybaris, too amorous Boy ?
Why does he hate the funny Plain, ,!f, **
While he can Sun or Duft fuftain ?
Why no more, with martial Pride,
Amidft the youthful Battle ride,
And the Gallic Steed command
With bitted Curb and forming Hand ?
/\D More
Asm Virgil; Urltque -videndofamina. In-'
fiances of this Kind are frequent in the beft Authors, yet the
Antithefis is ftronger by taking amando in an aftive Senfe. She
aejiroys by loving him.
7. Cur neque m/itaru.'] The Poet here means the Mock-
hghts on Horfeback, which were brought from Troy to Italy
by Afcamus, and revived by Auguilus. froj* ludum edUit
Jrequentij^ime, majorum mmorumque puerorum deleftu,
* f ' J "/*^MP >I*C,I Uf It/ff. UKltCtUy PflJCl) tlC-
corique mcris exijtimans clar* Jlirph inJolemfic notefcere. Suet
de Auguf.
\. Gallica temper
DAC,
9. Gallica tempernt ora.] This Exprefiion is extremely bold
and requires the Word eqmrum to be underftood. The
Horfes-ofGaul were much efteemed by the Romans, arid
their Bits are here called lupata, a iupinis dentwus, oui in-
aqualesfunt, unds etiam eorummorfusvehementer obejl. CRUO^.
5<> 0^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Temperat ora fraenis ? 10
Cur timet flavum Tiberim
Tangere ? Cur olivum
Sanguine viperino
Cautius vitat, neque jam
Livida geftat armis 15
Brachia, faspe difco,
Saepe trans finem jaculo
Nobilis expedite ?
Quid latct, ut marinae
Filium dicunt Thetidos 2t
Sub lacrymofa Trojae
Funera ; ne virilis
Cultus in caedem & Lycias
Proriperet catervas ?
CARMEN
ft. Tiberim tangere.~\ The Roman Youth threw themfelves
into the Tiber after their Exerciles in the Campus Martius,
and thought that fuch hardy Difcipline would ftrengthen
them to bear the Fatigues of War. ANCJENT SCHOL.
12. Cur olivum.'] When the Tarquins were expelled by
Brutus, their Lands between the Tiber and Rome were con-
fecrated to Mars, and called by his Name. Here the Ro-
man Citizens aflembled for their Eledion of Magiftrates ;
the Youth performed their Exercifes ; and young People of
both Sexes ufed to walk in an Evening. Catullus with great
Beauty, and Boldnefs of Expreffion, fays of himfelf Ego
Gymnajiifuifoi, fcf decus olei.
'5- Amis] Inftruments, which were proper for the Ex-
ercifes in the Campus Martius, fuch as Quoits, Javelins, &V.
are by the Poet called Arma. Thus Virgil calls Inftruments
of Husbandry by the fame Name. DAC.
Livida gejtat brachia] However fmgular this Expreffion
may feem, yet it means no more than gerere or habere brachia.
To have his Arms foiled and livid with the Weight of In-
ftruments ufed in their Exercifes. SAN.
1 6.
Od. 8. THE ODES OF HORACE. 51
More than Viper's baleful Blood
Why does he fear the yellow Flood,
Why deteft the Wreftler's Oil,
While firm to bear the manly Toil ?
Where are now the livid Scars
Of fportive, nor inglorious, Wars,
When for the Quoit, with Vigour thrown
Beyond the Mark, his Fame was known ?
Tell us, why this fond Difguife,
In which like Thetis' Son he lies,
Ere unhappy Troy had fhed
Her funeral Sorrows for the Dead,
Left a manly Drefs fliould fire
His Soul to War, and Carnage dire.
ODE
\6.Difeo.~\ The Difcus was a kind of Quoit very large
and heavy, made of Wood or Stone, but more commonly of
Iron or Brafs. It was almoft round, and fomewhat thicker
in the Middle than at the Edges. It was thrown by the fole
Force of the Arm. SAN.
23. In c&dem & Lycias."] In c<tdem Lyciarum catervarum*
A Manner of fpeaking very ufual among the Poets, when
they divide in Exprefiion, what is united in Idea, Thus in
the firrt Ode, Otium S3 offit/i laudat rurafui, SAN.
E ^
CARMEN IX. ^THALIARCHUM^
VIDES ut alta ftet nive candidum
Soracte, nee jam fuftmeant pnus
Sylvse labor antes ,. geluque
Flumiiia conftiterint acuto.
DIflblve frigus, ligna fiiper foco ' 5^
Large reponens j atque benigni.us .
Deprome quadrimum Sabina,
O Thaliarche, merum diota.
Permitte Divis caetera ; qui fimul
Stravere ventos aequore fervida 10
Deprzeli antes, nee cupreffi,
Necveteres agkantur orni.
Qind
Horace in this Ode fets forth all his Epicurean Philofophy,
an4 fo cqnflant is he to his Principles, that the different
Ages of Man, and the various Seafons of the Year ; the
Frejhnefs of Spring, and Heat of Summer ; the Ripenefs of
Autumn and Coldnels of Winter, have their feveral En- '
gagemsnts to Pleafure. This Ode was probably written at a
Country-Seat of Thaliarchus near the Mountain Sorafte in.
Tufcany, fix and twenty Miles from Rome. DAC.
Verf. i. Stet ni^ve candidum.~\ Conjlet ni<ve as if the whole-
Mountain were an Heap of Snow. When Virgil fays, Stat
pul'vere c&lum, andjlanf lumina fiamma , He would reprefent
to us, A Sky of Duft, and Eyes of Fire. DAC.
6. Benignius deprome quadrimumJ] Mr. Dacier affirms very
confidently, that Horace, in Purity of Stile, mould have
written largius after large ; and although the Critic might be
contradifted by the Ufage of the belt Authors, yet Mr,
Cuningham, probably from this Affertion, has altered the
Text, and reads kenignior. Perhaps benignius fhould agree
with merum, and fignify Wine grown mellower with Age, and
kinder to the Toper.
9. Per-
ODE IX. 70 THALIARCHUS.
BEHOLD Soracle's airy Height,
See how it ftands an Heap of Snow ;
Behold the Winter's hoary Weight
Opprefs the labouring Woods below j
And, by the Seafon's icy Hand
Congeal 'd, the lazy Rivers ftancL
Now melt away the Winter's Cold,
And larger pile the chearful Fire ;
Bring down the Vintage four-year-old,
v ^,. , Whofe mellow'd Heat can Mirth infpire;
Then to the Guardian Powers divine
Gsrelefr-lhe reft of Life refign :
For when the warring Winds arife,
And o'er the fervid Ocean fweep,
They fpeak and lo ! the Tempeft dies
On the fmooth Boforri of the Deep ;
Unfhaken ftands the aged Grove,
And feels the Providence of Jove.
To-
Q. Permiffe Divis cetera.] Some Commentators have fonrid
in thefe Lines an Air of Epicurean Ridicule upon the Doc-
trine of the Stoics, who ailerted a divine Providence even in
Events moil inconsiderable. They think the Poet has raifed
his Stile with an affected Pomp of Expreffion, to render his
Ridicule more- ftrong. That when the Gods have commanded
Jbe Raging of the Wind$ t* ceafe, all the ponderous Sfefi of
their Power fo all be, that tbeWoods jballftand unfiaken. On
the contrary, there feems to be fomething juft and noble in
the Thought, \vhentaken in amoral Senfe, and which might
naturally raifc this Greatnefs of Expreffion ; That when the
Gods have appeafed the Winds, not a Leaf fi all fall to the
Ground ; and e<ven Trees decayed an'dfapiefs <untk Age, Jhall
Jiaad unfljaken. Such is the Care and Power of Providence.
54 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. I.
Quid fit futurum eras, fuge quaerere ; &
Quern fors dierum cumque dabit, lucro
Appone j nee dukes amores 1 5
Sperne, puer, neque tu choreas,
Donee virenti canities abeft
Morofa. Nunc & campus, & areas,
Lenefque fub no&em fufurri
Compofita repetantur hora : 20
Nunc & latentis proditor intimo
Gratus puellae rifus ab angulo,
Pignufque dereptum lacertis,
Aut digito male pertinaci.
CARMEN
15. dppone,'] Ponere and dpponere were Terms ufed in
Arithmetic by the Romans. DAC.
19. SufurriJ] This Word is formed from an Imitation of
the Sound in whifpering, as in Greek >|/$wpi{v, in Italian
Bijbiglio, in French Chucbeter, and in Englifh Whifyer.
21. Nunc.] Nunc in this Strophe muft refer to donee ; while
Thaliarchus was yet in the Vigour of Youth ; for thefe En-
tertainments were very little proper for the Seafon of the
Year, in which the Ode was written. SAN.
22. Gratus puellee rifus.] There is a beautiful Defcription
cf this Kind in Corn. Gallus, which may be the beft Note
upon Horace.
Erubult niultus ipfapuella meos ;
Et nunc fubridens latebras fugiti<vapetelat,
Non tamen effugiens tot a latere iiolens :
Sed magis ex aliqua cupiebat parte <videri t
Latior hoc multb quod male teftaforet.
At Sight of Me, deep-blum'd the lovely Maid,
Then fide-long laugh d, and flying fought the Shade j
The Shade me fought, yet luring in her Flight
Wou'd fain be loft not wholly to my Sight j
But rather wim'd to have fome Part reveal'd,
Nor meanly joy'd to lie fo ill-conceal'd. D.
Od. 9. THE ODES OF HORACE. 55
To-morrow with its Cares defpife,
And make the prefent Hour your own,
Be fwift to catch it as it flies,
And fcore it up as clearly won ;
Nor let your Youth difdain to prove
The Joys of Dancing, and of Love.
Beneath the grateful Evening-Shade,
The public Walks, the public Park,
An Affignation fweetly made
With gentle Whifpers iii the Dark,
While Age morofe thy Vigour fpares,
Be thefe thy Pleafures, thefe thy Cares.
The Laugh, that from the Corner flies,
The fportive Fair-one mail betray ; "" "
Then boldly fnatch the joyful Prize ;
A Ring or Bracelet tear away,
While She, not too feverely coy,
Struggling mall yield the willing Toy.
4 Ooe
(56) .
CARMEN X. ^/MERCURIUM
MERCURI, facunde nepos Atlantis,:' ' .
Qui feros cult.us hominum recentum *
Voce formafti catus, & d/scorse 1o ^.
More palceftrae :
Te canam magni Jovis, & Deorum 'notf
Nuntium, cufvzeque 'lyrae parentem j
CaUidum, quidquid placuit, jqcofo
Condei-6 'furto "'
'-"'
_ -.'' c
This Ode was probably written for a Feaft of^Terctv -
y nothi !
y ?V ^ nothi !\S ^^dinaryin it, excepting an Elegance
of Expreffion , a Flowing and Harmony of NamJ>rs- We
' a "
prfed f U " CS 7' s
prefented as fafhioniffg. the nrft Race of Men, and' cultivat-
ing their Underfandingvby the Study of Sciences moft pro.
Fod es bv F n f ^ tUral NW^ while h. forms their
Grace \ E clk , s >*' ^pable of giving Strength and
" ' ? Wer f Elo< l uen > & the fifed* of
Wreftlng
f the Antients have i
COndemns this Explication, and
oi - d ' which fignifies gating.
ercf 3 &#* ce calls the Cuft ms and Ex,
Peaks f Merau 7 as G od of the Pa-
Shell
,i.di.; (57) 3 5
. .
, ~ (
ODE X. Hymn to MERCURY.
THOU God of Wit (from Atlas fpriing)., f
Who by perfuafive 1 Power, of Tongue,
A e i r- ' f r ,,
And graceful Lxercife renn d
fTi_ r -n ' r \_ ''' ' tr' "3 t&"
The favage Race of human Kind ;
Hail, winged Meflenger of Jove, , _
And all th' immortal Powers above^
Sweet Parent of the bending Lyre,
Thy Praife Ihall all its Sounds infpire.
Artful and cunning to conceal
Whate'er in fportive Theft you fteal ;
When
AA,:-
Shell of a Tortoife, and fitted Strings to it, he firft formed
an Idea of that Kind of Mufic. From hence Teftudo figni-
fied a Lyre, and Lyric Poets were particularly ftiled Virl
Mercuriale;, as living under the peculiar Protection of this
-Deity. SAN.
7. Jocofo condere furto.~] Mr. Dacier unluckily remarks,
that as Mercury was the God of Merchants, he became,
from thence, the God of Thieves. True it is, that the
Phoenicians, the greateft Merchants of the Heathen World,
were always remarkable for a Dexterity in Trade beyond
the Simplicity of fair Dealing. But that this Deity might
not be fatigued with Bufmefs, he was affifted by aGoddefs,
called Laverna, to whom Prayers were addreft for'Succefs in
Thefts and Cheating.
-^-Pulchra Laverna,
Da mlbl fallere , dajujlumfanftumque <vlderi.
l>o rj Beauteous Laverna, my Petition/hear,
iljw;. .Let me with Truth and San&ity appear ;
Oh! give me to deceive. .; jli
8. Condere. 'furtoj] This Character of Mercury, which feems
only a Matter of Diverfion, yet is beneficial to Mankind,
by teaching them a proper Vigilance in the Care of their
Goods, SAK.
_ .. ^;r:s ta < ...ii.-i^w ; ;:..> v.>- ; ,jovr,v I
58 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Te, boves olim nifi reddidifles
Per dolum amotas, puerum minaci IO
Voce dum terret, viduus pharetra
Rifit Apollo.
Quin & Atridas, duce te, fuperbos
Ilio dives Priamus relicta,
Theffalofque ignes, & iniqua Trojae 15
Caftra fefellit.
Tu pias laetis animas reponis
Sedibus, virgaque levem coerces
Aurea turbam, fuperis Deorum
Gratus, & imis.
CARMEN
9. Te loves.] Thefe Jnftances of innocent Theft, which
the Poet calls jocofum fur turn, were performed at different
Times, but by uniting them, he has given his Subjeft an
Air of Pleafantry and Vivacity, which extremely enlivens it.
SAN.
13. Quin &f 4tridas.~\ The Poet here prefents us a Scene
for War, which has a very agreeable Effecl after the Gaiety
of the firft Strophes. .To make the Oppofition more ftrong,
the Lines are raifed with a good deal of Pomp. SAN.
14. Ilio relitd.~\ The Latins ufe Ilium in the neuter, and
llios in the feminine Gender. Horace in another Ode fays,
Ilios vexata, where the Copyifts could not change the Ter-
mination of the Epithet, without altering the Meafure of
the Verfe, and were therefore obliged not to miftake. This
Corre&ion is taken from Mr. Cunningham, and it has been
received by Mr. Sanadon.
Diws Priamus.] There is a particular Beauty in this Epi-
thet, as it mews Priam going with all his Wealth to ranfom
the Body .of Heftor. DAC.
17. 1 u pias.'] The Ode could not end more happily, than
by mewing Mercury in his religious Miniftry. This God
feems to have been particularly invented for the Happinefs
of human Kind. He forms both their Minds and Bodies ;
he raifes them to the Knowledge of the Gods ; he invents
the innocent Pleafures of Life ; he aflifts them in their Dif-
trefles, and continues his Benefits to them, even after Death,
by conducting the Souls of the Good to the Happinefs of
Heaven. For this Reafon, we fometimes find his Name in
ancient Epitaphs. SAN.
Od. 10. THE ODES OF HORACE. 59
When from the God, who gilds the Pole,
Even yet a Boy his Herds you ftole,
With angry Voice the threatning Power
Bad thee thy fraudful Prey reftore,
But of his Quiver too beguil 'd,
Pleas'd with the Theft Apollo fmil'd.
You were the wealthy Priam's Guide
When fafe from Agamemnon's Pride,
Through hoftile Camps, which round him fprcad
Their watchful Fires, his Way he fped.
Unfpotted Spirits you confign
To blifsful Seats and Joys divine,
And powerful with thy golden Wand
The light, unbodied Croud command ;
Thus grateful does thy Office prove
To Gods below and Gods above.
ODE
an"
,:...:.
'
CARMEN XI. Ad LEUCONOEN.
TU ne quasfieris (fcire nefas) qu.em-mihi, quern tibi
Finem Di ded'yHur, Leuconos, neu Babylonios
Tentaris mimeses, . Ut melius, quidquid erit, pati-f
Seuplures hyemes, feu tribuit Jupiter ultimam,
Quae ^iunc oppofiti^ debilkat pumicibus mare -fj'fS
Tyrrhenum ; fapias, vina liques, & fpatio brevi
Spem longam refeces. Dum loquimur, fugerit invida
.ffitas. Carpediem, quam. miniraiirti credula poftercv
'
This Ode has mucH good Serii'c (rt'ie : r<y I ^f-fuadc us, that
all the Arts of FortuR^fc*i>ng--'d& ial-Vidlfii^tos, v'ahilm-
pofture, and that true Wii'dom confifts in our Enjoyment of
the prefent Hour, without too much Anxiety for the future.
SAN.
Verf. i. S are nefas. 1 All the Sciences of Aftrology and
Fortune-telling were forbidden, and confidered as impious
by the Heathens ; but the Words mean alfo that Imp Disabi-
lity of knowing the future Events of Life, and the Folly of
tormenting ourfelves to dilcover what is impenetrable to all
our Inquiries. CRUQ^
z. Leuconoe.'] In fome Manufcripts this Ode is addreffed Ad
Leuconaen meretricem, and it is much dilputed whether it be a
heu Babylonias.] The Babylonians were infatuated with ju-
dicial Aftrology, and made ufe of aftronornical Tables to
calculate the fortunate or unfortunate Days of Life. Thefe
Tables the Poet calls Numerot.
3. Utmelius.'} The Conitrudtion is remarkable, ut melius
ejl, quanta melius eft pati quidquid erit ! How much better is it
to bear whatfoever mall happen, than to depend upon the
idle Productions of Aitrologers ! SAN.
5. Qua nunc.~] A Member of the Academy of Belles Let-
ires has an ingenious Criticifm on this Paffage. He imagines
that Leuconoe had a Country-Seat among' the Villas on the
Coafts of Campania, where we know how expenfive the
wealthy Citizens of Rome were in their Buildings. From
hence this Defcription of Winter will appear wicii greater
Strength
ODE XI
STRIVE not, Leuconoe, to pry
Into the facred Will .of Fate*.
Nor impious Magic vainly try,
To know our Lives' uncertain Date.
Whether th' indulgent Powe^divine
Hath many Seafons yet in Store,
Or this the lateft Winter thine,
Which breaks its Waves againft the Shore,
'Thy Life with wifer Arts be crown'd,
Thy philter'd Wines abundant pour ;
The lengthen'd Hope with Prudence bound
Proportion'd to the flying Hour :
Even while we talk in carlefs Eafe,
Our envious Minutes wing their Flight 5
Inftant the fleeting Pieafure feize,
Nor truft to-morrow's doubtful Light.
Strength and Beauty, when the Poet tells Leuconoe, that
this, perhaps, may be the- laft Year me (hall enjoy in an
Houfe, which Ihe hath built for Pieafure ' and for Vanity.
This Criticifm is ftrongly fupportcd by the Word oppofitis,
which feems to mean lome artificial Mounds to break the
Force and Violence of the Sea. However the Lines are of
no mean Beauty, although this ingenious Conjecture mould
noJj appear perfectly juft.
6. Vina liques. ] The Antients ufed to philtrate their Wines
to render them more foft and fmooth. CRUO^
8. Carpe diem.~\ The Days of Life are here compared to
Flowers, which are as ihort in their Duration, as they are
pkafmg to the Senfe. The poetical Advice is to pluck them,
before, their Beauty and their Bloom be withered.
ODE
CARMEN XII. Hymnus ad JOVEM.
QU E M virum, aut heroa, lyra, vel acri
Tibia fumes celebrare Clio ?
Quern Deum ? cujus recinet jocofa
Nomen imago,
Au
The Images of this Ode are great and noble, the Expref-
Jions bold and fublime, the Verification chafte and harmo-
nious. The principal Beauty of it confifts in the Boldnefs
Of the Defigning, and the Art with which it is fupported.
The Poem opens with the Praifes of Jupiter, and the Gods
who were defcended from him. The Heroes (who are all
Romans) are next introduced with the particular Strokes,
which diftinguifti their Characters, and the Praife of Auguf-
tus concludes the Ode.
We may here obferve two great Excellencies, which are
not frequently found together : An Exaclnefs of Method,
and an animated Variety. There appears, at firft View, only
a fimple Account of Gods and Heroes ; but there is fuch an
Abundance of Apoltrophes, Interrogations, Sufpenfions,
Metaphors, Companions, Defcriptions, and Images; in-
deed all the richeil Figures of Eloquence and Poetry, that
the cold, methodical Account of Perfons and Things dif-
appears uiv er the Pomp of Ornaments, with which it is
clothed. Nor does the Poet only openly rank Auguftus next
to the greateft Characters of Antiquity, but feems to point
out the Gods and Heroes as Examples worthy of his Imita-
tion in the Wifdom and Juftice of governing ; in Fortitude
and Firmrit-fs of Soul ; in Courage and Temperance ; in Se-
verity of Manners, and Love of our Country. If we do
ODE XII. Hymn to JOVE.
WH AT Man, what Hero, on the tuneful Lyre,
Or fharp-ton'd Flute, will Clio chufe to raife
Deathlefs to Fame ? What God? whofe hallowM Name
The fportive Image of the Voice
Shall
not confider the Ode in this View, it becomes a lefs affeft-
ing Piece of Flattery, and an artlefs numbering the greateft
Gods of Heaven, and the molt mining Characters among
Men. SAN.
Verf. I . S>uem wirum.} The Poet in the Execution hath
changed the Order, which he propofed in the Invocation.
He begins with the Praifes of the Gods, as more Unking
and affefting, that He may regularly proceed to thofe of
Auguftus, which are more intereiting, and for which the Ode
was principally written. Horace hath imitated the fecond
Olympic of Pindar, which begins thus :
Tin* EW, TH "Hauat,
What God, ye Hymns, that rule the Lyre,
What Hero, warm'd with heavenly Fire,
Or on the many-founding String
What matchlefs Mortal mall we fing ? D.
The Order in Horace is more beautiful, as it is more na-
tural.
4. Imago.] The Greeks and Latins called Echo, The
, and the Hebrews, the Daughter of the Voice. DAC;.
64 Q^HORATII FtACtii CARMINUM Lib. r.
Aut in umbrofis Heliconis oris, c
Aut fuper Pindo, gelidove in Hasrno ;
Uncrevocalem temere infecutae
Orphea fylvas,
Arte materna rapidos morantem
FJuminum lapfus, celerefque ventos, I o
Blandum & auritas fidibus canoris
Ducere quercus.
Quid prius dicam .folitis Parentis
Laudibus ; qui res hominum, ac Deorura,
Quimare, ac terras, variifque mundum 15
Temperat horis ?
Unde nil majus generatur ipfo ;
Nee viget quidquam fimile, aut fecundum ;
Proximos illi tamen occupavit
Pallas honores. 20
Praeliis audax neque te filebo
Liber ; & fasvis inimica virgo
Belluis ; nee te, metuende certa
Phoebe fagitti.
Dicam
- 7. V oca/em.] Thefe Lines are a beautiful Inftance, how
happily a Defcriptioit may be introduced,, when with afeem-
ing Irregularity and poetical Wildnefs it relieves' the Heavi-
neis of a Narration, and awakens the Attention of the
Reader. g AN
^ 17. Unde nil ma jus generatur.'] The Poet is not here reafon-
ing, m a philofophical Manner, on the Nature of the God-
head, but m the Language of Poetry afferts, that Minerva
is juftly poffeffed of the next Honours to her Father. Nor
s fhe compared to Juno, or to her Uncle Neptune (who
were certainly her Superiors in the Mythology of the An-
cients) but to all the Children of Jupiter, to Bacchus, Apol-
lo, Diana, Hercules, Caftor and Pollux, who. are the only
Gods mentioned in the Ode;
The Poet thinks it raifes the Glory of Jupiter, that H<i
* had
Od. 12. THE ODES OF HORACE. 65
Shall through the Shades of Helicon refound,
On Pindus, or on Haemus, ever cool,
From whence the Forefts in Confufion wild
To vocal Orpheus urg'd their Way j
Who by his Mother's Art, harmonious Mufe,
With foft Delay could flop the falling Streams,
And winged Winds ; with Strings of Concert fweet
Powerful the liftening Oaks to lead.
Claims not th' eternal Sire his wonted Praife ?
Awful who reigns o'er Gods and Men fupreme,
Who Sea and Earth this univerfal Globe
With grateful Change of Seafons rules j
From whom no Being of fuperiour Power,
Nothing of equal, fecond Glory, fprings,
Yet firft of all his Progeny divine
Immortal Honours Pallas claims :
God of the Vine in Deeds of Valour bold,
Fair Virgin-Huntrefs of the favage Race,
And Phoebus, dreadful with unerring Dart,
Nor will I not your Praife proclaim.
Alcides'
had never produced any Being, equal to his own Power, be-
caufe the Fates had declared, if he indulged his Paffion for
the Goddefs Thetis, he fhould beget a Son. who Ihould turn
him out of Heaven, as he had dethroned his Father Saturn.
Namquefenex Thetidi Proteus, Dea, dixerat, undx,
Concipe : mater en's juveni, quifortibus actis
Aflapatris wincet, majorque -videbltur illo.
ErgOy ne quidquam mur.dus 'Jove majus baberet,
Quatnvis baud tepidos fub pettore fenferat ignes,
Jupiter tequorea: Thetidis connubia vitut, Ovzo. BENT.
VOL. I. F For
66 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i,
Dicam & Alciden, puerofque Ledae, 25
Hunc equis, ilium fuperare pugnis
Nobilem ; quorum fimul alba nautis
Stella refulfit,
Defluit faxis agitatus humor ;
Concidunt venti, fugiuntque nubes ; 30
Et minax (fie Di voluere) ponto
Unda recumbit.
Romulum poft hos prius, an quietum
Pompili regnum memorem, an fuperbos
Tarquini fafces, dubito, an Catonis ' 35
Nobile lethum.
Regulum, & Scauros, animaeque magnae
Prodigum, Poeno fuperante, Paulum,
Gratus iniignl referam Camena,
Fabriciumque. ' 40
Hunc,
For hoary Proteus raptur'd fung Conceive
A Son, bright Goddefs of the briny Wave ;
In dauntlefs Deeds thine Offspring fhall afpire,
In dauntlefe Deeds fuperiour to his Sire :
Then, left the World a better Choice approve,
A greater Monarch than Imperial Jove,
The God, though glowing with no feeble Flame,
Avoids the Nuptials of the Sea-born Dame. D.
33. Romulum poft bos."] We have in the following Lines
the moil diftinguilhed Characters of the Roman Story. The
Poet is doubtful whether he (hall give the Preference in Fame
to Romulus, who founded the Monarchy of Rome ; to Nu-
ma,^ who confirmed it by the Arts of Peace; to Tarquinius
Pnfcus, who having conquered the People of Etruria, intro-
duced the Ufageof the Faices, which added fuch Luitre and
Majefty to the Empire ; or to Cato, who died in Defence of
Liberty, m Cppofidon to a fmgle Magiftrate. Nor Ihould
we beiurpriild, that Horace mentions the Defenders of Li-
beity
Od. i2. THE ODES OF HORACE. 67
Alcides' Labours, and fair Leda's Twins,
Fam'd for the rapid Race, for Wreftlin?; fam'd,
Shall grace my Song ; foon as whofe Star benign
Through the fierce Tempeft fliines ferene, .
Swift from the Rocks down foams the broken Surge,
Hufh'd fall the Winds, the driving Clouds difperfe,
And all the threatening Waves, fo will the Gods,
Smooth fink upon the peaceful Deep.
Here flops the Song, doubtful whom next to praife,
Or Romulus, or Numa's peaceful Reign,
The haughty Enfigns of Tarquinius' Throne,
Or Cato, glorious in his Fall.
Grateful in higher Tone the Mufe (hall fing
The Fate of Regulus, the Scaurian Race,
And Paulus, 'midil the Wafte of Cannae's Field,
How greatly ! prodigal of Life.
Form'd
berty with fo much Honour : Virgil hath done the fame in
the fixth Book of his JEneid ; and Cremutius Cordus, re-
citing his Works to Auguftus, called Brutus andL'affius. The
laft of the Romans. It feems to have been an eilablifhed
Maxim of that Emperor, to indulge to the People a Fri-edom
of expre/Tmg in general their Sentiments concerning Liberty,
that they might be lefs fenfible of the Slavery, which was
falling upon them. SAN.
If we could venture with Mr. Cuningham and Sanadon to
read Junii fafces, inftead of Tarquini jafces, the Oppolition of
Characters in this Strophe would appear with greater Strength
and Beauty. We Ihould then fee the two great Founders of
the Roman Monarchy oppoied to the two moft zealous Af-
fertors of Republican Government : Brutus, who opened the
Age of Liberty, by the Expullion of the Kings ; and Cato,
who by a voluntary Death determined not to furvive that Li-
berty, which he faw was on the Point of expiring under the
Ufurpation of Cxfar.
F z
68 Q^HORATII FLACXCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Hunc, & incomtis Curium capillis
Utilem bello tulit, & Camillum
Saeva paupertas, & avitus apto
Cum lare fund us.
Crefcit occulto velut arbor aevo 45
Fama Marcelli. Micat inter omnes
Julium fidus, velut inter ignes
Luna minores.
Gentis
41. Incomit!s(apillii.~] With Hair uncombed. The ancient
Romans did not cut their Hair, as appears by their Statues.
Ticinus Menas in the Year 454 introduced the firtt Barbers
from Sicily, who carried with them all the Refinements of
their Art, fuch as perfuming the Hair, and curling it with
hot Irons, called calamiftrte. But thefe were Arts, which
Curius difdained, as proper only to infpire Sentiments of
Luxury -and Effeminacy. DAC.
42. Tulit.'] It was a Ctfftom among the Romans to lay
their new-born Infants on the Ground, and if the Father
took them up, he was engaged to maintain and educate them.
From this Culrom, and the Phrafe ufed in it, Tollerepuerutn,
the Poet hath taken this Expreffion, as if Poverty had edu-
cated Cnrius and Camillus as her Children. DAC.
dpto cum Lare.~\ It was a frequent Saying of Curius, that
He was a pernicious Citizen, who was not contented with
feven Acres of Land. From Hence the Poet fays, his Houfe
was proportioned to the Extent of his Lands, nor larger
than his Eftate. DAC.
46. Fair.a Marcel!i.~\ Marcellus had been five Times Con-
ful, and at the Battle of Nola convinced the Romans, that
if Hannibal were not yet conquered, at leaft he was not in-
vincible. He was called the Sword of the Roman People, but
nothing raifes his Character fo much as that Exclamation of
Hannibal ; Pap& f quid hoc homine facias, qul nee bonam nee
malam fortuna: ferre pot eft. Solus nee <vic?or Jinit nos ouiefcere,
nee quiefcit iffe <victus. Lav. Lib- 27. C. 14.
If we uncicrfiand thefc Words to have been applied to
Marcellus (who was Nephew, Son-in-law, and adopted Son
to Auguftus) we frail find a very beautiful Opposition of
Characters. The Praifes of Marcellus are indeed finely
imagined, but they are thrown into the Shade, and dif-
2 guiied
Od. 12. THE ODES OF HORACE. 69
Form'd by the Hand of Penury fevere
In Dwellings, fuited to their fmall Demaine,
Fabricius, Curius, and Camillus rofe ;
To Deeds of martial Glory rofe.
Marcellus, like a youthful Tree, of Growth
Infenfible, high fhoots his fpreading Fame,
And like the Moon, the feebler Fires among,
Confpicuous fhines the Julian Star.
Saturnian
gulfed under Figures and Comparifons. They are only
Hopes and Promifes of his future Glory. On the contrary,
thofe of Auguftus appear in their ilrongefl Light, and are
already real and perfeft. Marcellus is compared to a young
Tree, and to a Star in the Night, but Auguftus is aimoit
equalled to Jove himfelf.
Horace fays that the Glory of the firft Marcellus, which
was almoft loil in a Length of Time, now began to take
new Life, and to increafe in his Defcendant. Young Mar-
cellus is compared to a Tree, arifing from the illullrious
Stock of the Perfon who routed Hannibal, and from thence
tranfpl anted into the Julian Family. There, by another
beautiful Image, he becomes a Star, whofe Luflre outfhines
the Brightness of all the Roman Houfes, as the Moon is fu-
perior to all the Lights of Heaven. He inherits the Name
and Glory of the great Marcellus ; He fupports the Repu-
tation and Honour of his Anceftor, while at the fame Time
He {hews himfelf worthy of being the Succefibr of Auguf-
tus. Thus the Poem rifes from the Dead to the Living, from
Marcellus to Auguftus, with an eafy and fpirited Tranfition.
In a Profe Tranflation, the Senfe and Connexion will lie
thus. The Glory of the ancient Marcellus, far from being
darkened by a Length of Time, gains new Luftre in one of
his Defcendants, as a young Tree,rifes by infenfible Degrees
to its full Strength and Proportion. This new Light of the
Julian Family mines among the nobleft Houfes of Rome, as
does the Moon among the Stars. SAN.
Although the Critic hath wrote thefe Notes with a great
deal of Art, yet there feems a Refinement in them, not very
natural to the Simplicity of Horace ; befides, that two
Images fo very different in Kind cannot eafily be applied to
the lame Perfon. Marcellus was indeed the Delight of the
F 3 Roman
70 Q^HORATII FLACCI CAR.MINITM Lib. i,
Gentis humanae pater atque cuftos,
Ort'; Saturno, tibi cura magni 5<>
Cxi?.n^ fatis data : tu fecundo
C^efare regnes.
Ille feu Parthos Latio imminentes
Eprerit jufto doinitos triumpho :
Sive lubjectos Orientis orae 55
Seras Si Indps ;
Te minor latum reget aequus orbem :
Tu gravi curru quaties Giympum,
Tu parum caftis inimica mittes
Fulmina lucis.
CARMEN
Roman People, and the Favourite of Auguftus, yet we might
juilly expert to find the Character of Julius Caefar, among
the Heroes of the Roman Story . and the "juliumjldus may
naturally mean that Emperor, whether we confider the Ex-
preffion in a poetical or an hiltorical Light. Thus he rifes
jn ; u^, real Glory, and fliines, without a Metaphor, in the
Appearance of his own Star, which was feen during feven
N;gh's aftey his Death, and was believed to have been ap-
pointed for his Dwelling, as fopn as he was received into
tkc Number of the Gods. Thus the Poem rifes more na-
ta.ally from the Dead to the Living, and with no lefs Corn-r
piimeiit to Auguilus.
53. Parthos Latio imminentes .] It hath been already ob-
fcrved, that our Poet takes all Opportunities pf animating
Auguilus to revenge the Death of CraiTuf, and to recover
the Glory of the Ronian Arms by fubduing the Parthians,
\vuo wore continually making Incurnons into the Provinces of
: ...uolic.
$$.-Orifntis orss.~\ It is not eafy to fay how oris hath taken
FoiiciliOii of almoft all Editions of our Author. It does not
a] -;.ear in the i'vlanufcrirts ; it multiplies the Letter s, of
which the Repetition is already too frequent, and caufes a
difagrecable Hilling
^6. ~!e r/ih.or.] The Poem ends, as it began, with the
Praifes of Jupiter. The Conclufion is finely imagined, and
all the Decencies of Character are preferved in it. The
. Pott, ia the Epicurean 1- hiiofophy, makes the Gods thcm-
fctrea
Od. 12. THE ODES OF HORACE. 71
Saturnian Jove, Parent and Guardian God
Of human Race, to Thee the Fates affign
The Care of Caefar's Reign ; to thine alone
Inferiour let his Empire rife j
Whether the Parthian's formidable Powers,
Or fartheft India's oriental Sons ^
With fuppliant Pride, beneath his Triumph fall,
Wide o'er a willing World fhall He
Contented reign, and to thy Throne mail bend
Submiflive. Thou in thy tremendous Car
Shalt make Olympus' Head, and at our Groves,
Polluted, hurl thy dreadful Bolts.
(elves depend upon the Deftlnies ; by which the Antients
vmderftood a kind of mechanical Neceffity, producing fuc-
ceffively all the Changes of the Univerfe. Thefe DelUnies
had commiflioned Jupiter to be the Tutelary God of Auguf-
tus, but when that Prince fhall have fubdued all the Nations
of 'the Earth, yet he (hall ftill acknowledge the Superiority
of Jupiter, and contented with the Government of the World
ihall leave to Jove the Power of Thunder. SAN.
F 4
CARMEN XIII.
QUUM tu, Lydia, Telephi
Cervicem rofeam, & cerea Telephi
X/audas brachia, vae, meum
Fervens difEciJi bile tumet jecur.
Tune nee mens mihi, nee color 5
Certa fede manet ; humor & in genas
Furtim labitur, arguens
Quam lends penitus macerer ignjbus. *
Uror, feu tibi candidos
Turparunt humeros immodicae mero IO
Rixae i five puer furens
Impreflit memorem dente labris notam.
Non, fi me fatis audias,
Speres perpetuum, dulcia barbare
Laedentem ofcuh, quae Venus j^
Quinta parte fui ne<ftaris imbuit.
Felices ter, & amplius,
Quos irrupta tenet copula j nee malis
Divulfus querimoniis,
Suprema citius folvet amor die. 2 o
CARMEN
1S ,? ro r bable b X this Ode that Horace had quarrelled
r COmmen ? n S H S *> val Tele Pbus, nor do we
at he was very fuccefifcl in his Defire of
^l^ d ^ >
2. Cervice* nfeom^ We find this Epithet in Virgil
kind of
race all 'th Ut ^ Re S ard to the C ^- Ho-
" eV/ ' ' and Albino.
ODE X. To LYDIA.
AH ! when on Telephus his Charms,
His rofy Neck, and waxen Arms,
My Lydia's Praife unceafing dwells,
What gloomy Spleen my Bofom fwells ?
On my pale Cheek the Colour dies,
My Reafon in Confufion flies,
And the down-ftealing Tear betrays
The lingering Flame that inward preys.
I burn, when in Excefs of Wine
He foils thofe fnowy Arms of thine,
Or on thy Lips the fierce-fond Boy
Marks with his Teeth the furious Joy.
If yet my Voice can reach your Ear,
Hope not to find the Youth fincere,
Cruel who hurts the fragrant Kifs,
Which Venus bathes with nectar'd Blifs.
Thrice happy They, in pure Delights
Whom Love with mutual Bonds unites,
Unbroken by Complaints or Strife
Even to the lateft Hours of Life.
ODE
( 74 )
CARMEN XIV. Ad REMPUBLICAM.
ONavis ! referent in mare te novi
Fluftus ? O ! quid agis ? fortiter occupa
Portum. Nonne vides, ut
Nudum remigio latus,
Et malus celeri faucius Africo, 5
Antennaeque gemunt j ac fine funibus
Vix durare carinae
Poflint imperiofms
,/Equor ?
In the Year 725 Auguftus confulted his Favourites Msece-
nas and Agrippa, whether he fhould rengn the Sovereign
Authority. We have in Dion a Speech of Maecenas upon
that Occalion, in which the Allegory of a Ship and the Re-
public is fo ftrongly maintained, and hath fo:;:ething fo ex-
tremely like this Ode, that prcbaWy the Poet took his De-
fign from thence as a Compliment to his illuftrious Patron.
In the Year 727 Auguftus began his feventh Confulfhip,
with a Requeft to the Senate, that they would difcharge him
from an Office, which his Infirmities could no longer fup-
j>ort. This Bifcourfe was formed with a great deal of Ar-
tifice, and that Artifice made it fucceed. The Senators
granted every thing he wifhed for, by denying every thing
Ee had propofed ; fo that Auguftus law himfelf agreeably
forced to hold that Power, which he was fo much afraid of
lofing, and thus more ftrongly enflaved the Republic by a
fpecious Offer of Liberty. In the Interval of thefe two
Events (the Confultation of Odavius with his Favourites,
and his Declaration to the Senate) Horace wrote this Ode,
& which he endeavours to perfuade the Romans not to fuf-
(75)
ODE XIV, TLO the REPUBLIC.
ILL-fated VefTel ! (hall the Waves ?gain
Tempeftuous bear thee to the faithlels Main f
What would thyMadnefs, thus with Storms to fport ?
Ah ! yet with Caution keep the friendly Port.
Behold thy naked Decks ; the Southern Blaft,
Hark ! how it whittles through thy rending Mail !
Nor without Ropes thy Keel can longer brave
The ruining Fury of th' imperious Wav* :
Torn
fer that Prince to abandon the Government of the Empire.
However, fevcral Senators (either Deceived by the feenJng
Inclination of Qftavius, or yelling to believe Hini) bein^
very earned to eftabiifh the Republican Government, He
was obliged to chufe men Perfons as he knew would ibpport
his Defigns before he made this pretended Refignation. Yet
the Hillorian remarks, that although clr ufrages were
unanimous, there was a great Diveruty of Sentiments. SAN.
Verf. I . Ntvijltithu^ The continual and dangerous Agi-
tation of the Waves is finely compared to the violent Move-
ments of a civil War, which was at that Time but a Year
and half ended. SAN.
2. Quid *gis ?"] Several of the Senators would gladly have
the Republican Government reftored, while others thought
the Good of the State required afingle Matter. The Choice
was difficult and delicate. SAN.
Fortiter occupa per turn. ~\ This Port was the Tranquillity,
which was rifmg under the Government of O&avius.
8. Imptriojius a^uor?'} The Beauty of this Epithet part-
cularly
76 Q^HORATII FtAcci CARMINUM Lib. i.
JEquor ? Non tibi font Integra lintea ;
Non Di, quos iterum prefla voces malo. ro
Quamvis Pontica pinus,
Sylvae filia nobilis,
Jaftes & germ's, & nonieri inutile j
Nil pictis timidus navita puppibus
Fidit. Tu, nifi ventiS 15
Debes ludibrium, cave.
h 5io c.; .i-.-.Q&dir--
Nuper
otoT
calarly confifts in its being a very natural Image of the
Ambition of the Great, who would certainly have over-
turned the Republic, if not reftrained by the Authority of
Odavius. SAN.
10. Non Di.'] In the plain Senfe of the Words, thefe
Deities were the Gods, whofe Statues were placed on the
Stern of the Ship, which, being broken by the Tempefts,
had loft its Tutelary Divinities. But in the figurative Senfe
of the Words, we may underftand Oftavius himfelf, or the
Guardian Gods of Rome, who had fupported him in all his
Enterprizes, and who would be offended if he were fuffered
to quit the Government, SAN.
ji. Pontica pinus.] The Timber of the Pontic Wood was
extremely hard and durable ; yet the Poet fays, that the
Veffel had been fo (haken by the late Tempeft, that {he ought
not to be too confident of her Strength, although fhe once
grew in the Forefts of Pontus. Thus he infmuates to the
Romans, that although the Republic feemed firm and un-
ftiaken to thofe, who inclined to a popular Government, yet
this pretended Strength could not prelerve her from the Mis-
fortune which threatened her, if Oftavius abandoned her to
their Guidance SAN.
14. ri&ufttffSfas.'] Befides the Statues of the Gods, the
Sterns
Ode 14. THE ODES OF HORACE.
Torn are thy Sails, thy Guardian Gods are loft,
Whom you might call in future Tempefts toft.
What though majeftic in your Pride you flood
A noble Daughter of the Pontic Wood,
You now may vainly boaft an empty Name,
Or Birth confpicuous in the Rolls of Fame.
The Mariner, when Storms around him rife,
No longer on a painted Stern relies.
Ah ! yet take heed, left thefe new Tempefts fweep,
In fportive Rage, thy Glories to the Deep.
TJwt
Sterns of their Ships were adorned with Paintings, and
other Ornaments, which the Greeks called in general Aero-
Jlofia, and the Latins dplujlria. DAC.
Thefc Words leem to have fomewhat an Air of a moral
Sentiment ; That the Paintings, with which a Ship is adorned,
are 'very little Security againji a Storm, or very little Encourage-
ment to a frighted Mariner. Horace hath already told the
Romans, that they ought not to be too confident of their
Strength, and he adds, that they mould have but little De-
pendence upon the Opulence of the Republic. Luxury
and Extravagance are in a State, what Paintings and Statues
are in a Ship. Thefe vain Ornaments are as little Security
to a State, when threatned with War, as to a Veffel, when
menaced with Tempefts, or as to a Mariner, who fails in
ter. SAM.
Timidus na<vita.~] Dion tells us, that fome of the Senators
thought themfelv.es happy under the Government of Oc-
tavius, and were afraid of a Republican Government, as
fubjed to popular Diforders and Tumults.
FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. I.
Nuper folicitum quae mihi taedium,
Nunc defiderium, curaque non levis,
Interfufa nitentes
Vites aequora Cycladas; 26
CARMEN
17. Nuper folicitum. ~\ The Poet expreffes by foltcitum t,-e-
dium, that Sorrow and Anxiety, which he felt when he
was engaged in the Party of Brutus. This Anxiety arofe
not only from an Uncertainty of the Event, but from the
Fatigues of the War, the Mifunderftanding of the Command-
ers, the Weaknefs of the Troops, and Inexperience of the
Officers. But as foon as he had enjoyed the Security and
Happinefs of the Government of Auguftus, he regrets, with
the utmoft Tendernefs and Affedlion, thofe Bleffings, which
the Republic was in Danger of lofing by another civil War.
This he expreffes by the Words, Dejiderium, curaque non le-
ws. TORR.
19. Interfufa nltentesJ] The Poet ftill purfues the Allegory,
and under the Idea of a tempeftuous Sea reprefents the
Dangers, which the Republic might juftly fear, if Oftavius
were fuffered to refign the Government. Nitentes means
quam<vis nitentes, and figures to us the flattering Hopes, which
the Senate conceived, if they could get the Government in-
to their Hands. The Cyclades are a Number of Iflands in
the-^Egean Sea, bounded with white Rocks, that make an
agreeable Appearance at a Diftance. Horace in another
Place calls ihemfutgentes Cycladas. TORR. SAN.
It was neceffary to enlarge thefe Notes, becaufe many
learned Commentators underftand the Ode in a plain, hifto-
rical Manner. Bat if an Authority of Names ought to have
any Weight, the Judgement of Quiritilian is equal to the
greateft. Allegoria, quam iwerjionem interpretamur, aliud
verbis, aliud fenfu ojiendit ; ac etiam interim contrarium. Prius,
ut O navis ! referent in mare te novi fludus ? O ! quid agis f
Fortiter occupa portum. Totufque etiam ille Horatii locus, quo
tiavim pro republica, fufius & tetnpejiates pro bellis cwilibus*
portum pro pace & concordia didt. %uin. L. 8. C. 6.
Od. 14. THE ODES OP HORACE. 79
Thou late my deep Anxiety and Fear, ,
And now my fond Defire and tender Care,
Ah ! yet take heed, avoid thofe fatal Seas,
Which roll among the fhining Cyclades.
ODE
CARMEN XV. NEREI Vatidmum.
PASTOR quum traheret per freta navibus
Idseis Helenen perfidus hofpitam ;
Ingrato celeres obruit otio
Ventos, ut caneret fera
Nereus
In the Year 722 Antony fet Sail with a a numerous Fleet,
from ^Egypt to Peloponnefus, intending to pafs over into
Italy with Cleopatra, and make his Country the Scene of a
fecond civil War. Enflamed with a violent Paffion for that
Princefs, afpiring to nothing lefs than making her Miftrefs
of the Univerfe, and iupported by the Forces of the Eaft,
he declared War againlt Oclavius. Horace therefore in a
noble, and poetical Allegory, reprefents to Antony the fatal
Effe&s of fuch a Conduft, by propofmg to him the Ex-
ample of Paris, and the ruinous Confequences, which at-
tended his Paffion for Helen.
We are afiured by Torrentius, that the beft and moft an-
cient Manufcript he had feen, gave this Title to the Ode,
Ad Alexandrum Paridem, fub cujus Perfona exponit imminentia
betta, from whence it appears, that the allegorical Manner
of explaining it is at leaft of ancient Date. Nor indeed
could there be a more exaft Refemblance of Characters, than
between Antony and Pa/is ; Cleopatra and Helen. Anto-
ny and Paris were both famous for Luxury and Effeminacy,
and by a fatal Paffion for two foreign Queens brought a
bloody and deftruftive War on their Country, which ended
not but with their own Ruin.
Dion tells us, that in the Year 722, there was an open
Rupture between O&avius and Antony, who had repudiated
Odavia : that Oflavius reproached him with his Amour with
Cleopatra, and his giving to Her and to her Family the
richeft Countries in the Eait : that many illuftrious Romans
had deferted the Party of Antony, becaufe they were per-
fuaded, he intended to beftow the City of Rome to Cleopa-
tra, and remove the Seat of the Empire to ^Egypt.The Hiflo-
ODE XV. The Prophecy of
WHEN the perfidious Shepherd bore
The Spartan Dame to Afia's Shore,
Nereus the rapid Winds opprefs'd,
And calm'd them to unwilling Reft,
That
. B Odavius were determined
decide War agamft Cleopatra, yet he was unwilling to
mention Antony by Name, that he might not exafpefate-
thofe who were engaged in his Party, Ir that he might
make him the Aggreflor, by thus obliging him to take Arms
igamft his Country m Defence of an Egyptian Woman.
Verf. i.Pafior.] The Exadnefs of the Comparifon^ap*
pears even in the firft Word. Paris was by the Greeks S
J-iatins called thr ,9/^A/^.-v K^^.,r L. >
he w ^s educated a
Shenh ' aue e w ^s eucate amon,
Shepherds on Mount Ida. Antony was one of the Lunercf
the Pnefts of Pan, the God of Shepherds. P N '
Traheretl Paris did not go diredly from Laceda.mon
Troy, but m an Apprehenfion of being purfued failed to
Cyprus Phomicia and ^gypt. Thus Antony in his Paflk
from Alexandna to Peloponnefus carried another HelfS
through^e fame Seas. This Criticifm gives us all the
Force of the Word ^erct, which fignifes lentil
tione clrcu?i'.ducerci . T
2. P"JMs.] I This Epithet agrees equally with the natural"
and allegoncal Senfe. Paris had perfidiouily ftolen a foreign
Pnncefs fi om the Court of her Hulband, who had receivfd
n \l?M h h \ R ^ a t f Hof P italit /- Antony ^
equal Perfidv broke h ls Faith to Odavia by his Encraee
ments to a foreign Queen. SAN
3. Ingraft.] Jt is cuftomary among the Poets ihttt *ll'
Namre keeps Silence, whea tWoiJof a God i hlrd ,
* - * * "
82 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Nereus fata. Mala ducis avi domum, 5
Quam multo repetet Gnecia milite
Conjurata tuas rumpere nuptias,
Et regnum Priami vetus.
Eheu, quantus equis, quantus ad eft viris
Sudor ! Quanta moves funera Dardanae 10
Genti ! Jam galeam Pallas, & zegida,
Currufque, & rabiem parat.
Nequicquam, Veneris praefidio ferox,
Pe&es caefariem, grataque foeminis
Imbelli cithara carmina divides : 1 5
Nequicquam, thalamo graves
Haftas,
and here the Winds are filent in Refpedt to Nereus, although
that God had no particular Power over them. As this Calm
w as contrary to the Defigns and Inclination of the Ravifher,
&ir. Sanadon thinks ingrato ought to be applied to Paris, not
to the Winds. The two Words obruit otio give us an Image
of the late Agitation of the Waves, and the Calm which
fucceeded ; the fail fhews the Power of Nereus, the other
the Obedience of the Winds. HEINSIUS. SAN.
5. Mala out.] There is a remarkable Beauty in the Tran-
fition, by which the Poet pafies at once from the Narration
to the Speech of Nereus. It would have been languid and
feeble to have it introduced with -1'bus hefpoke. DAC.
Ducis domum.'] Antony intended to carry Cleopatra to
Rome, as Paris carried Helen to Troy. SAN.
7. Conjurata.'} The Grecian Princes affembled at Aulis,
where th ey formed the Defign of the Siege of Troy to re-
venge th e Rape of Helen . T'he Words miftite aud nubere are
fometimes equivocally underftood, and are here ufed (at
leaft by a God) in a very improper Senfe for the criminal
Loves of Paris and Helen. An ancient Author, quoted by
Cicero, pleafantly calls them nuptias ittnuptas. SAN.
^ 8. Regnum Priami.'] The Empire of the Trojans, and the
Nuptials of Paris, reprefent the Marriage of Antony in
./Egypt, while Rome, like Greece, is rifmg to revenge the
Dilhonour. SAN.
_ \\.Jam galeam Pallas.'] In the Spirit of Poetry, the future
Kum of Tioy is here defcribed, as if it were already prefent.
The
Od. 15. THE ODES OF HORACE. 8/
That he might fing the dreadful Fate,
Which fhould the guilty Lovers wait.
Fatal to Priam's antierit Sway
You bear th' ill-omen'd Fair away,
For foon fhall Greece in Arms arife
Deep-fworn to break thy nuptial Ties.
What Toils do Men and Horfe fuftain !
What Carnage loads the Dardan Plain !
Pallas prepares the bounding Car,
The Shield and Helm and Rage of War.
Though proud of Venus' guardian Care,
In vain you comb your flowing Hair;
In vain you fweep th' unwarlike String
And tender Airs to Females fing ;
For though the Dart may harmlefs prove
(The Dart, that frights the Bed of Love)
Though
The Goddefs of Wifdom and War is very happily intro-
duced. Odavia had given fufficient Proof of her Wifdom
in the Negotiations of the Triumvirate, and (he now ap-
pears in all the Terrours of War, while the whole Weflern
World is arming in her Quarrel. SAN.
13. VauntpMio.] Cleopatra is here reprefented under
the Character of Venus. The Court of that Princefs was
the very Dwelling of Luxury and Pleafure, where Antony
plunged himielf into the moft infamous Excefles. From
hence the Poet raifes a juft and natural Allufion without do-
ing Violence to Hiftory. Pallas was the Guardian of Mene-
laus, as Venus was the ProteSrefs of Paris. sEqua Venus
7eucris, Pallas iniquafwt. Thus Oftavia fuppprted Cxfar,
as Cleopatra appeared in Defence of Antony. SA N.
15. Imbelli cithara.'] There is here a Itrong Refemblance
of Charaders. Plutarch tells us, that Antony lived at Sa-
mos m the laft Excefles of Luxury, amidft the Delights of
Songs andMufic, while the World around him was terrified
with Apprehenfions of a civil War. >uum unwerfus orbis
gemitibus lamentifyue creparet, una per multns dies infula tibils
CS 3 cantu perfonabat, ubi referta erar.t tbeatra certantibus charts.
G 2
8 4 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Haftas, & calami fpicula Cnoflii
Vitabis, ftrepitumque, & celerem fequi
Ajacem ; tamen, heu ferus ! adulteros
Crines pulvere collines.
Non Laertiaden, exitium tuae
Gentis, non Pylium Neftora refpicis ?
Urgent impavidi te Salaminius
Teucer, te Sthenelus fciens
Pugnae ; five opus eft imperitare equis, *5
Non auriga piger. Merionen quoque
Nofces. Ecce furit te reperire atrox
Tydides melior patre ;
Quern tu, cervus uti vallis in altera
Vifum parte lupum graminis immemor 3
Sublimi fugies mollis anhelitu,
Non hoc pollicitus tuae.
Iracunda
Jlinc nwuiga'vit Atbenas, ubi de Integra ejfudit fe in ludos &
fpeSacula.
Carmina divides.'] This Manner of fpeaking hath given
^reat Pain to the Interpreters, and Mr. Dacier confefles he
is not fatisfied with any of their Conjedlures. Whether it
means any particular Divifions in Mufic, or that a fine Voice,
and an Inftrument fkilfully touched, can equally charm a
whole Company as well as the Performers, is yet uncertain
among the Commentators.
17. Calami fpicula Cnojfii.'] It is probable, from this Ex-
preffion, that the Cretans, who were excellent Archers, in.
ftead of Arrows made ufe of a kind of hard, flender, pointed
Reeds, which grew in the Sands of their Ifland. Thus
Ovid ; Ace Gortiniaco calamus le<vis exit ab arcu. SAN,
28. Tydides melior patre. ~\ The Grecian Princes, who are
named in thefe Lines, reprefent Oftavius and the Com-
manders of his Army. Perhaps Tydeus and Diomed were
defigned for Julius Caefar and Oftavius, who was his adopted
Son. The Comparifon indeed doth not want Flattery, but
it is th Flattery of a Poet to the Mafter of the World.
Od. 12. THE ODES OF HORACE.
Though you efcape the Noife of Fight,
Nor Ajax can o'ertake thy Flight,
Yet (halt Thou, infamous of Luft,
Soil thofe adulterous Hairs in Duft.
Look back and fee, with furious Pace
That Ruin of the Trojan Race
Ulyfles comes ; and fage in Years
Fain'd Neftor, hoary Chief, appears :
Intrepid Teucer fweeps the Field,
And Sthenelus, in Battle flail 'd j
Or fkill'd to guide with fteady Rein,
And pour his Chariot o'er the Plain.
Undaunted Merion {halt Thou feel,
While Diomed with furious Steel,
In Arms fuperiour to his Sire,
Burns after Thee with martial Fire.
As when a Stag at Diftance fpies
A prowling Wolf, aghatt he flies,
Of Pafture heedlefs, fo fhall you
High-panting fly when they purfue.
Not fuch the Promifes you made,
Which Helen's eafy Heart betray'd.
Achilles'
31. Sublimi anbe/itu.] They, who are panting for Breath,
are apt to raife their HeaUs, that they may breathe more
freely. SAN.
32. Non hoc pollicititf /*.] Ovid has preferred thele fro
miles in his piftle of Paris to Helen,
Tinge tatnen, Ji vis, ingem cor^furgere bellum,
Et mihi funt vires, & mea tela notent.
Nee plus Atrides animi Menelam babebit,
>uam Paris, aut armis anteferendus erit.
But grant the Trumpet Ihould to Battle found,
I too have Courage, and my Weapons wound.
A greater Soul not Menelaus warms,
Noj fhines he more amid the Rage of Arms, D.
$6 Q^HQRATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Iracunda diem proferet Ilio
Matronlfque Phrygum claffis Achillei',
Poft certas hyemes uret Achai'us 35
Ignis Pergameas domes,
C A R-
33- Iracunda clajfis.~\ Afinius Pollio was not only a.Man of
Letters, but pofleHed, in an eminent Degree, the Arts of
Policy and War. When the Dictator was killed, he com-
manded the Legions in Gaul, and after the Battle of Phar-
falia carried on the War againft Sextus Pompeius. Antony
took pains to gain to his Party a Perfon of fuch Importance,
who afterwards became one of his nrmeft Supports. He in-
trufted him intirely with his Interefts at the Conference of
Brundufium in the Year 7 14, in which he difplayed all his
Talents for Negotiation. In the following Year he had the
Honours of a Triumph for his Dalmatian Expedition, and
afterwards continued in Italy, afFeding a Kind of Neutrality
between the contending Parties As this Conducl gave Oc-
tavius great Uneafmefs, he made him feveral advantageous
Offers, and defired that he would accompany him to Adium.
Pollio fiercely returned this Anfwer; I have rendered fome
confiderable Services to Antony, and my Obligations to him
are well known. Let me not be engaged in your Quarrel
the yiclory mail determine who muft be my future Matter
Mea in Antonium mo.jora meritafunt, illius in me benefda notiora
itaque difcrimini vejlro me fubtrabam, & ero prada <vitorii
VELL. PATERCULUS. This Anfwer was very little fatisfac-
tory to Odavius, who was apprehenfive, that Pollio defigned,
when the two Fleets were at Sea, to put himfelf at the Head
of Antony's Party in Italy, and to raife a powerful Diverfion
in his Favour. This indeed never happened, but Appear-
ances were ftrong enough to form the Allegory, in which,
under the Charader of Achilles, Pollio far fome Time de-
layed the Fate of Antony, by the Apprehenfions, which he
raifed m Auguftus. SAN
36. Ignis Pergameas domes.-] This Reading is found in fome
very ancient Manufcnpts ; the Meafure of the Verfe requires
It; Mr. Luninffham and Sanarlrm ko,,o ~.,UKA.~J -~ \i
Od. 15. THE ODES OF- HORACE. 87
Achilles' Fleet with Ihort Delay
Vengeful protrats the fatal Day,
But when ten rolling Years expire,
Thy Troy (hall blaze in Grecian Fire.
G 4
(88 )
CARMEN XVT, ^/TYNDARIDEM.
OMatre pulcra filia pulcrior,
Quern criminofis cumque voles modum
Pones i'ambis ; five flamma,
Sive mari libet Adriano.
Non Liber aeque, non adytis quatit K
Mentem facerdotum incola Pythius,
Non Dindymene, non acuta
Si geminant Corybantes aera
Trifles ut irae ; quas neque Noricus
Deterret enfis, nee mare naufragum, 10
Nee faevus ignis, nee tremendo
Jupiter ipfe ruens tumuJtu,
Fertur Prometheus addere principi
L-imo coa&us particulam undique
Defeaam, & infani leonis ! 5
Vim ftomacho appofuifle -noftro,
Iraa
This Ode m fome ancient Manufcripts has this Infcrip-
tion, Pahnodia Gratidi* ad Tyndar idem ami cam. Horace had
written, when he was young, fome fevere Verfes on Gratidia
her RSr W , in ^ ?? ^ Dau g hter ' he givs them to
her Refentmen twith a Sub mi ffion, which has perhaps more
fi S T mC u nt ^ Jt is f fmed in Ver 7 ^ fuper-
icial rerms with a Common- Place upon the Effeds of An-
But' wtd, l em p t0 bC ralfed Wkh an affeded Pom P of Stile -
Th t epentanCe WaS fdfe Orreal > wefindin ^
' " T-fy unfuccefsful. DAC. SAN.
"T^IP*** in the beft Au ^ ors frequently
oach and Slander. * j^J
f Cre r " a V6iy fenflble C nfufion in the
fe Lines, by dividing Cybele from the
Coryban&es,
(
ODE XVI. To TYNDARIS.
S~\ Tyndaris, whofe blooming Beauty warms
VV The kindling Soul beyond thy Mother's Charms,
Give to my bold Lampoons what Fate you pleafe,
To wafting Flames condemn'd, or angry Seas.
Yet oh! remember, nor the God of Wine,
Nor Pythian Phoebus from his inmoft Shrine,
Nor Dindymene, nor her Priefts pofleft,
Can with their founding Cymbals make the Breaft,
Like furious Anger in its gloomy Vein,
Which neither temper'd Sword, nor raging Main,
Nor Fire wide-wafting, nor tumultuous Jove,
Rufhing in baleful Thunders from above,
Can tame to Fear. Thus fings the Poet's Lay,
Prometheus to inform his nobler Clay
Their various Paffions chofe from every Beaft,
And fir'd with Lyon-Rage the human Breaft.
From
Corybantes, and twice mentioning her Priefts. The Tranf-
pofition of the Word Dindymene corrects the Biforders in
the Language and Senfe of the Poet, which probably arofe
from a Miitake of the firft Tranfcribers. SAN.
8. &'pw*4/.] Nor Bacchus, nor Apollo, nor Cybele!
nor her Priefts, although they doubly beat their founding
Cymbals, can fcake the Soul, as does the Power of Anger.
[f we read 5iV gcii*ant, with the common Editions, the
Conftruftion muft iadly break the Senfe. Corylantes non
fee geminant acuta <sra, ut trijies ira geminant acuta *ra. The
fcxpreffion gtmtnart *ra, is the fame with *ra retercutere, or
as Lucretius exprefleth it, <fra aribus pulfare, and St*tiu$
gemma *ra fenant. The Glory of this Corredlion, in Mr.
banadon s Language, is due to Rodellius.
tjo Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Irae Thyeften exitio gravi
Stravere j & altis urbibus ultimse
Stetere caufae, cur perirent
Fundirus, imprimeretque muris 2O
Hoftile aratrum exercitus infolens.
Compefce mentcm : me quoque pe&oris
Tentavit in dulci juventa
Fervor, & in celeres i'ambos '
Mifit furentem : nunc ego mitibus 25
Mutare quaero triftia, dum mihi
Fias recantatis arnica
Opprobriis, animumque redctas,
CARMEN
20. Imprimerltque muris .] It was a Cuftom among the Ro-
mans to drive a How over the Walls of a City, which they
deflroyed, to fignify that the Ground, upon which it flood,
fhould be forever employed in Agriculture. TORR.
24. Cclcm jambos.~} The Poet calls this Kind of Verfe
fwift* or rapid* becaafe the firft Syllable of each Foot was
ft.o-rt, by which tke Cadence was quicker. From thisRapi-
dity it feemed moft natural to exprefs the violent Spirit of
Satire, SAN.
Od. 16. THE ODES OF HORACE.
From Anger dire the Tragic Horrours rofe,
Which crufli'd Thyeftes with a Weight of Wpes_i._
From hence proud Cities date their utter Falls,
When, infolent in Ruin, o'er their Walls
The wrathful Soldier drags the hoftile Plow,
That haughty Mark of total Overthrow.
Me too the Heat of Youth to Madnefs fir'd,
And with Iambic rapid Rage infpir'd:
But now repentant fhall the Mufe again
To fofter Numbers tune her melting Strain,
So Thou recall thy Taunts, thy Wrath controiil^
Re-fume thy Love, and give me back my Soul.
OD t
(9* )
CARMEN XVII.
VEL OX anicenum faepe Lucretilem
Mutat Lycseo Faunus, & ignearn
Defendit aeftatem capellis
Ufque meis, pluviofque ventos.
Impune tutum per nemus arbutos 5
Quaerunt latentes, & thyma deviae
Olentis uxores mariti j
Nee virides mctuunt colubras
Nee Martiales hoeduleae lupos ;
Utcumque dulci, Tyndari, fiftula 10
Valles, & Ufticse cubantis
Levia perfonuere faxa.
Di me tuentur : Dis pietas mea,
JEt mufa cordi eft. Hie tibi copia
Manabit ad plenum benigno 15
Ruris honorum opulenta cornu.
Hie
The Beauties of Language in this Ode are of no mean
Character. Igneam defendit eeftatem capellis, pluviofque *ventos.
Olentis uxores mariti. Martiales lupos* Ujlicte cubantis. Ru-
ris honorum. Labcrantes in uno. Male difpari. Vitreamque
Circen. Some of thefe Expreffions are too bold for our Lan-
guage. The reft the Tranflator hath endeavoured to
freferve.
. Horace having by the laftOde made his Peace with Tyn-
daris, now invites her to his Country-Seat, and offers her a
Retirement and Security from the Brutality of Cyrus, who
had treated her with an unmanly Rudenefs and Cruelty.
7. Olentii
( 93 )
* ODE XVII. 70 TYNDARIS.
PA N from Arcadia's Heights defcend*
To vifit oft my rural Seat,
And here my tender Goats defends
From rainy Winds, and Summer's fiery Heat \
For when the Vales, wide-fpreading round,
The doping Hills, and polifh'd Rocks
With his harmonious Pipe refound,
In fearlefs Safety graze my wandering Flocks ;
In Safety, through the woody Brake,
The latent Shrubs and Thyme explore,
Nor longer dread the fpeckled Snake,
And tremble at the martial Wolf no more.
Their Poet to the Gods is dear,
They love my Piety and Mufe,
And all our rural Honours here
Their flowery Wealth around Thee mail difFufe.
Here
7 Olentis uxores mariti.] This is one of the Beauties pe-
culiar to the Greek and Latin Tongues, which can never be
preferved in a Tranflation. The Wives of the fetid Eujb and
were an Expreffion, perhaps, hardly decent in Engli/h
Poetry. Such is the Genius of Languages.
9. Martlales Ivpos.] Wolves were confecrated to Mars, and
under his Protection, becaufe they lived upon Spoil and Ra-
pine, TORR.
94 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Hk in. redu&a valle, Caniculas
Vitabis sftus, & fide Teia
Dices laborantes in uno
Penelopen, vitreamque Circen. 20
Hie innocentis pocula Lefbii
Duces fub umbra i nee Semelei'us
Cum Marte confundet Thyoneus
Praelia ; nee metues protervum
Sufpe&a Cyrum, ne male- difpari 25
Incontinentes injiciat manus,
, : .ESisY 3aJ rt3i1w &/*!
Et fcindat hasrentem coronam
Crinibus, immeritamque veftem.
CARMEN
1 8. fide Teia.] As Tyndaris is diitinguiflied by her Love
of Mufic and Poetry, this Ode muft have been extremely
fuited to her Tafte. There is not only a natural Elegance
in it; the Images and Exprefiions are not only lively, and
beautiful, but the Poetfeems to point out the Story of Ulyfies,
as a Subjecl proper to infpire her with the tendereft Senti-
ments. He feems to direft her in the Manner of compofing
a Song, by an Oppofition' of Penelope's Chaftity to the Frailty
of Circe. Such is the Meaning of the Word vifrea. by -
which the glafly Frailty of the Miftrefs is compared (if we
may ufe the Expreffion) to the adamantine Conftancy of the
Wife. In another Place Horace writes, Vitrea forma, and
Pub. Sirus, Vitrea fortune, ROUEL. SAN.
Mr. Barnes, in his Edition of Anacreon, fancies that
Tyndaris was famous for fmging an Ode of that Poet upon
this Subjeft, of which he laments the Loft.
UlyfTes is thus defcribed by Ovid :
Nonformofus erat, fed erat facundus Ulj/es,
Et tamen arjuoreas tor/it amore Deas.
For Eloquence, not Beauty, was he fam'd,
And yet with Love the fea-born Nymphs enflam'd.
21. Innocentis Le/Hi.] In Athenasus this Wine is called
<vinulum, the little Wine, ta which Bacchus gave
an Innocence and Immunity from. Drunkenneis.
LAMB.
Od. 17. THE ODES OF HORACE.
Here fhall You tune Anacreon's Lyre
Beneath a fhady Mountain's Brow,
To fing frail Circe's guilty Fire,
And chafte Penelope's unbroken Vow.
Far from the burning Dog-Star's Rage
Here lhall You quaff our harmlefs Wine ;
Nor here (hall Mars intemperate wage
Rude War with Him, who rules the jovial Vin
Nor Cyrus* bold Sufpicions fear ;
Not on thy Softnefs fliall he lay
His defperate Hand, thy Clothes to tear,
Or brutal match thy feftal Crown away.
ODE
CARMEN XVIII. Ad VARUM.
NU L L A M, Vare, facra vite prius feveris arborom
Circa mite folum Tiburis, & moenia Catili ;
Siccis omnia nam dura Deus propofuit ; neque
Mordaces aliter diffugiurit folicitudines.
Quis poft vina gravem milidam, aut pauperiem crepat ? 5
Quis non te potius, Bacche pater, teque decens Venus ?
At ne quis modici tranfiliat munera Liberi,
Centaurea monet cum Lapithis rixa fuper mero
Debellata : monet Sithoniis non levis Evius,
Q^ium fas atque nefas, exiguo fine, libidinum 10
Difcernunt avidi. Non ego te, candide Baflareu,
Invitum quatiam , nee variis obfita frondibus
Sub
This Ode is an Imitation of one written by Alcams upon
the fame Subjeft, and in the fame Kind of Verfe. The firft
Line is almoft an exad Tranflation.
It is remarkable, that the Poet begins with great Calmnefs
to defcribe the fatal Confequences, which attend our ExcefTes
in Wine. He then fuddenly falls into a poetical Diforder,
which feenas almoft natural to his Subjecl,and which breaks
forth into ftronger Ideas, figurative Expreflions, and a Style
broken and unconneaed. Thus the Difference of the two
Characters, which divide this Ode, is not the meaneft of its
Beauties; and the Tranfition from one to the other is natu-
ral and well -conduced. DA ^ SAN
A V i er I' T 3 ' Pr #tf a ' f l The God propofeth to us a Choice of
Ae aft Importance. We mufi drink, or refohe to bear all the
Anvetzes of Life. Or, B^ 0? eV&fl, ^^ , When
Bacchus enters, our Cares are aileep. ANACREON.
A "nu I I f moderate ^ ifatiabk. The Thracians in
ir Debauches know not any other Bounds to their Defires,
than their Paffions, which ufually make little Difference be-
tween
(97)
:sv
ODE- XVIII. ToVARvs
ROUND Catilus* Walls, or in Tibur's rich Soi
To plant the glad Vine be my Varus r firft Toil j
For God hath propos'd to the Wretch, who's athirft,
To drink, or with Heart-gnawing Cares to be curft*
Of War, or of Want, who e'er prates o'er his Wine>
For 'tis thine, Father Bacchus 3 bright Venus, 'tis thine,
To charm all his Cares j yet that no one may pafs
The Freedom and Mirth of a temperate Glafs,
Let us think on the Lapiths's Quarrels fo dire,
And the Thracians, whom Wine can to Madnefs infpire 1
Infatiate of Liquor when glow their full Veins,
No Diftindion of Vice, or of Virtue remains.
Great God of the Vine, who doft Candour approve,
I ne'er will thy Statues profanely remove ;
'I ne'er will thy Rites, fo myfterious, betray
To, the broad-glaring Eye of the Tale-telling Day.
Ohf
tween Good and Evil. Quiafunt auidi, idea fas atoue nef at
tijcernunt exiguo fine libidinum. SAN
NOH ego te Baffanu, &c.J This poetical Sallv is admir-
able ; yet, fudden as it is, does not tranfport the Poet out o
his Subjeft. He proposes to pradlife that Moderation, which
he recommends to others, and intreats the God not to
abandon him to the Vices, with which he afflids them, who
profane his Benefits by a facrilegious Abufe of them SAN
12. QrAtiam.] This Word is metaphorically taken from a
Luflom of the Ancients, who in their feftival Days removed
the Statues of their Gods from the Place, in which they
JfuaJly flood, and carried them in Proceliion. This they
called common e re faa'a.
ranis otftafrondibu^ This Expreffion is likewife taken
Jj om a Cuftom, obferved in the Feafts of Bacchus and Ceres
When they carried the Statues of thefs Deities in Procei?on
VoL - L H
98 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. r.
Sub divum rapiam. Saeva tene cum Berecynthio
Cornu tympana, quae fubfequitur caecus amor fui,
Et tollens vacuum plus nimio gloria verticem, 15
Arcanique fides prodiga, pellucidior vitro.
CARMEN
they carried Bafkets alfo covered with Vine-Leaves and Ivy.
The following Words fub divum rapere do not mean to dif-
cover or open thefe Balkets, but to take them out of their
Chappels, and carry them in Proceflion. This will appear
to be the Senfe by explaining the Allegory. They, <wb
Jrink with Moderation, are like the Perfons, who celebrate,
without Trouble or Noife, fame little Feajl of Bacchus ; on the
contrary, They, who drink to Excefs, may be compared to ths
Bacchanals, luho celebrate the grand triennial Fejiwal, and at
thefrji Sound of the Timbrels and Cornets hurry envoy the facred
Ba/kets and Statues of the Gods out of their Temples, and as if
thty were infpired carry them to the Mountains, 'where they com-
mit a! I Kinds of Extravagance. DAC.
1 3 . Sati-a tene.} Horace in a Kind of poetical Rapture
fancies he beholds the God ready to give the Signal, whofe
Sound fhould infpire his Votaries with Madnefs.
TJbl audito Jlimulant Triet erica Baccha
Orgia. VIRC.
As the Timbrels and Cornets, which were founded in the
Feftivals of Bacchus, were likewife ufed in the Feafts of Cy-
bele, Horace calls them Berecynthian, from the Name of a
Mountain in Phrygia, where that Goddefs was worlhipped.
SAN.
It may not perhaps be difagreeable to (hew how two other
great Poets, Lucretius and Catullus, have written upon the
fame Subject, and defcribed thefe Feafts of Bacchus.
Tympana tentafonant palmis, ff cymbala circum
Concaiia, raucifonoque minantur cornua cantu,
Et Phrygio Jlimulat numero ca-va tibia mentes,
Telaque pr&portant <violentijignafurvris+ Luc R K T. *
The Timbrels beaten by their Hands refound,
And hollow Cymbals nil the Void around ;
The threatning Horn its hoarfer Mufic winds,
The Pipe with Phrygian Meafure ftings their Minds j
And now the Rout with Violence engage,
Protend their Weapons, and exprefs their Rage, D.
Lympbatf
Od. 18. THE OtfES OF HORACE. 99
Oh ! flop the loud Cymbal, the Cornet's Alarms,
Whofe Sound, when the Bacchanal's Bofom it warms,
Aroufes Self-love, by Blindnefs milled,
And Vanity, lifting aloft the light Headj
And Honour, of prodigal Spirit, that fliows,
Tranfparent as Glafs, all the Secrets it knows.
Lympbata mente fore bant,
-'joe bacchantes, Emoe capita it
-Pars teffa quatiebant cufpidtTbyrfos,
Pars obfcurd cavis cetebrabant Qrgia /?/;,
Orgia, quee fruftra cupiunt avdire profani*
Plargebant alii proce ris -tympana palmis,
jlut tereti tenues tinnitus cert ciebatit,
JMu'lti raucifcnis efflabant ccrmia bombis,
Burbaraque horribilijlrukbat tibia cantu.
CATUI.
The fprightly Train in frantic Mirth incline
Their Heads infpir'd, and hail the Power divine.
The Rites begun, fome fhook the mylHc Rod
And Ivy Wreath, dread Enfign of the God.
Some far, far diflant from the Croud profane
In dark Retreats renew'd their Orgic Strain.
Others the Timbrels beat in Peals profound,
Or gently breathe the fhiiller Trumpet- Sound,
While Horns in hoarfe refounding Blafts confpire,
And barbarous Pipes affright the jarring Quire. D,
1 6. Pellutidior 'uitrs.] In Allufion to the white, tranfparent
Robe with which the Statues of this Goddefs were clothed;
{hus in another Ode albo velata panno.
H 2 ODE
CARMEN XIX. De GLYCERA.
MATER faeva Cupidinum,
Thebanaeque jubet me Semeles puer,
Et lafciva Licentia
Finitis animum reddere amoribus.
Urit me Glycerae nitor
Splendentis Pario marmore purius :
Urit grata protervitas,
Et vultus nimium lubricus afpici.
In me tota ruens Venus
Cyprum deferuit j nee patitur Scythas, JO
Et verfis animofum equis
Parthum dicere - 3 nee quae nihil attinent,
Hk
There is fomething very pretty in the Manner with which
the Poet renews his Addreffes to a forfaken Miftrefs, by tell-
ing Her that three Deities, Venus, Bacchus, and Licentia,
had commanded him to love her again.
Verf. i. Mater feeva Cupidinum.~] The Cruel Mother of the
Loves. The Heathens were very little exa& in the Genea-
logy and Fables of their Gods. Plato fays there were two
Goddefies called Venus, one Old, the other Young. Ovid
calls Venus geminorum mater Amorum. Paufanias gives her
three Sons, Love, Pleafure, and Defire ; and in Lucian, (he
tells Paris, that fhe has two fine Children, Pleafure and Love.
6. Splendentis Pario.'} This Idea feems to have been taken
from fome ancient Statue, fo bright, as that the Eye could
not look upon it long and fteadily. Pliny mentions a He-
cate in the Temple of Diana at Ephefus, and fays, the Priefts
advifed the People to be cautious of looking at it too ear-
neftly ; fo ftrong was the Luftre of the Marble, tanta mar-
merit radiatio eft. SPENCE POLYMETIS.
7. Urit
I 101 )
ODE XIX. On GLYCERA.
VENUS, who gave the Cupids Birth,
And the refiftlefs God of Wine,
With the gay Power of wanton Mirth,
Now bid my Heart its Peace refign j
Again for Glycera I burn,
And all my long-forgotten Flames return.
As Parian Marble pure and bright
The mining Maid my Bofom warms ;
Her Face, too dazzling for the Sight,
Her fweet coquetting--- how it charms I
Whole Venus, ruming through my Veins,
No longer in her favourite Cyprus reigns ;
No longer fufFers me to write
Of Scythian, fierce in martial Deed,
Or Parthian urging in his Flight
The Battle with reverted Steed ;
Such Themes me will no more approve,
Nor aught that founds impertinent to Love.
Here
7. Urit grata proteryitas.] Perhaps there are not Words in
the Englifli Tongue, which can give the full Beauty of this
Expreiiion. There is a faffage not unlike it in Petronius
Arbiter ; Ocuhrum yuojuo mobi
H 3
102 Q. HORATII Fj,ACCjCARMINUM Lib. I.
Hie vivum mihi cefpitem, hie
Verbenas, pueri, ponite, thuraque
-Bimi cum paterS, meri : J$
Ma&ata veniet lenior hoftia.
CARMEH
1 5. Bim meri.'] When the Poet determines to drink a fober,
che'arful Bottle with Thaliarchus, He calls for four-year-old
Wine, that was mellowed with Age ; but in a Sacrifice to
Venus, the Wine hiuft be of newer and more heady Spirit,
as more fuitable to the Temper of the Goddefs.
' 1 6. Maffata.~\ In the firft and pureft Ages of the World,
Fruits, Flowers, and Herbs were'offerjed in Sacrifices to the
Gods. 'The Romans preferved this innocent Piety only" in
Regard to Venus, whom they worfhipped as the God'defs
and Parent of Life^ Genitrix, and therefore thought it im*
pious to offer" her any living Vidtim. Other Nations facri-
ficed to her a Pidgeon, a Sow, and an Heifer.
1 Lenior.] The Commentators are much divided in their
Conjectures, whether this Epithet mould be applied to Venus
or Glycera. In the Beginning of 'the Ode Horace feems to
complain of the wanton Cruelty prutervitas of. Glycera, and
it is perhaps a Wifti fitter "for a Peet, that his Miftrefs mould,
grow kind and gratify his Paffion, than that the Gcddefs'
fhould coldly teach him to get the better of it.
Od. ip* THE OPES OF HORACE.
Here lef the living Altar rife,
Adorn'd with every Herb and Flower j
Here flame the Incenfe to the Skies,
And pureft Wine's Libation pour;
Due Honours to the Goddefs paid,
Soft finks to willing Love the yielding Maid,
( J<H)
CARMEN XX.
VILE potabis rnodicis Sabinum
Gantharis, Graeca quod ego jpfe tefti
Conditum levi ; datus in theatre
Quum tibi plaufus,
>Clare Maecenas eques, ut paternj ^
pluminis rjpae, fimul & jocofa
Redderet laudes tibi Vatican;
Montis imago,
Caecubam,
Whatever Pleasures Horace found in his Country-Seat, it
was very ill fituated for a Poet, who was by no means an
Enemy to a Glafs of good Wine. He therefore tells his il-
luftrious Gueft, who was ufed to the richeft Wines of Greece
and Italy, that he had none but of the Sabine Growth, and
feems to make the frank Confeffion, that Maecenas might
either be contented with what he fpund, or rather that he
ifteuW bring better from Jfcome. SAN
Vprf. i.Modici: cantharis.-} The Poet doth not mean, that
Maecenas fhalj drink out of fmall Cups, but rather that he
jhal] drink but kttle mediae potabit although his Cups be large.
Ihe Cantharus was properly the Cup of Bacchus, from
Whence we may believe it was not a fmall one ; and Virgil
pails that of Silenus gra-vis. We muft explain the Words
mvticn cantbaris by the <uile Sabinum, to which the beft'ln-
vuation was that of drinking i t foberly. Bibes cantharis ftd
v r - T} * Ancients put their Wine into earthn
Veffels and as they fent f r om Greece to Italy none but of
fl >n quifite Kinds, the Poet fays, he had racked his
a ^SS pn* Gredan Caflc ' ** h? ^^^
^ 3 ' ^'L WlK n. ths Antients f'ed their Cafes, they clofcd'
them wnh Wax, Pitch, Gum, or Plaifter, and a though the
Sa.ine \\ me was by np means worthy of fo much Cafe y t
ODE XX. MAECENAS.
A Poet's Beverage, humbly cheap
(Should great Maecenas be my Gueft)
The Vintage of the Sabine Grape,
But yet in fober Cups, fhall crown the Feaft :
'Twas rack'd into a Grecian Cafk,
Its rougher Juice to melt away,
I feal 'd it too a pleafmg Tafk !
With annual Joy to mark the glorious Day,
When in applatifive Shouts thy Name
Spread from the Theatre around,
Floating on thy own Tiber's Stream,
And Echo, playful Nymph, return'd the Sound,
From
as Maecenas at that Time had received fome remarkable
Applaufe in the Theatre, the Poet preferved on his VefTels
the Remembrance of a Day fo glorious to his Patron. This
little Circumilance hath in it fomething extremely delicate
and artful. SAN.
5. dare eques.~\ This Reading is authorifed by an antient
]VIanufcript, and by one of the mil Editions. TheExpref-
fion is ftronger than the ufual chare eqties, and more fuitable
to the Pomp, with which the Poet mentions this Applaufe of
the Roman People. BJ-NT.
Paternifuminis.'] It feems as if Horace could not find a
more glorious Epithet for the Tiber than this, which calls it,
t.he River of Maecenas his Anceflors. They came originally
from Etruria, where the Tiber hath jts Source. SAN.
io6 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. iJ
Czecubam, & praelo domitam Caleno
Tu bibes uvam : mea nee Falemae 18
Temperant vites, neque Formiani
Pocula colles.
CARMEN"
9. Ctecubam.'] Martial has given us a Character of the
Caecubian Wine, and a beautiful Defcription of the Vintage:
Ceecuba Fundanis generofa coquuntur j4myclis t
fitis Cff in nu^Ra nata falude <viret.
Lib. 13. Epigram. 115.
Caecubian Wine in fam'd Amyclae flows,
Amidft a Lake the blooming Vintage glows.
10. Tu biles uvam.'] The Senfe of thefe Lines, as far as
the Poet hath exprefled it, lies thus, My Wine is very lad,
however you Jkall drink the richeft Juice of the Grape, hut re-
member I have it not. Is not this indirectly to tell Maecenas,
if he intended to drink good Wine he muft bring it with
him ? There is the fame poetical Invitation to Torquatus in
the-Epiftles. SAM*
Od. 20. THE ODES OF HORACE;
From the Caecubian Vintage preft
For you fhall flow the racy Wine ;
But ah ! my meagre Cup's unbleft
With the rich Formian, or Falernian Vine.
108 )
CARMEN XXII. Ad ARISTIUM FUSCUM.
T N T E G E R vitae, fcelerifque purus
A Non eget Mauri jaculis, neque arcu,.
Nee venenatis gravida fagittis,
Fufce, pharetra ;
Sive per Syrtes iter aefluofas, 5
Sive fa&urus per inhofpitalem
Caucafum, vel quae loca fabulofus
Lambit Hydafpes :
Namqueme fylva lupus in Sabina,
Dum meara canto Lalagen, & ultra f
Terminum curis vagor expeditis,
Fugit inermem :
Quale portentum neque militaris
Daunia in latis alit aefculetis ;
Nee Jubae tellus generat, leonum 15
Arida nutrix.
Pone
The Reader may find the Twenty-firft Ode in the Carmen
Seculare.
Although the Poet feems to have been in Love with La-
lage, yet he had too much Friendship for Ariftius to be his
Rival. He therefore begins this Ode with a Profeflion of
his Innocence, and Integrity of Manners, to convince Arif-
tius that he ought not to be jealous even while He is praifing
his Miftrefs. DAC.
Verf. i . Integer wt^.] The firft Caufe, to which the Poet
attributes his Preferva^ion, is the Innocence and Integrity
of his Life ; and he is of too carelefs and unaffefted a Cha-
rafter to be fufpe&ed of Infmcerity, whatever were his Epi-
curean Principles , With the worft fpeculative Opinions a
Man may be morally honeft and virtuous.
3 3. Venenatii
( 109 )
ODE XXII. To ARISTIUS Fuscus.
TH E Man, who knows not guilty Fear,
Nor wants the Bow nor pointed Spear,
Nor needs, while innocent of Heart,
The Quiver teeming with the poifon'd Dart,
Whether through Lybia's burning Sands
His Journey leads, or Scythia's Lands,
Inhofpitable Wafte of Snows !
Or where the fabulous Hydafpes flows :
For muling on my lovely Maid
While carelefs in the Woods I ftray'd,
A Wolf how dreadful crofs'd my Way,
Yet fled he fled from his defencelefs Prey :
No Beaft of fuch portentous Size
In warlike Daunia's Forefts lies,
Nor fuch the tawny Lion reigns
Fierce on his native Afric's thirfty Plains.
Place
3. Fenenatisfagittis.~\ The Africans were obliged to poifon
their Arrows, to defend them from the wild Beafts, with
which their Country was infefted. This Poifon was a Mix-
ture of Viper's and human Blood, and Pliny tslls us it was
incurable. DAC.
n. Curis expeditis] Lambinus fays he has taken this
Reading upon the Faith and Authority of all the ancient
Copies, except the Faernian. Torrentius, Cuningham, and
Sanadon have received it as a more poetical and elegant
Expreffion than the ufual curit exfeditus. O Quid folutis eft
t. CATULL,
no Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINVM Lib. I,
Pone me pigris ubi nulla campis
Arbor aeftiva recreatur aura ;
Quod latus mundi nebulae, maluTque
Jupiter urget : 2<J
Pone fub curru nimium propinqul
Soils, in terra domibus negata $
Dulce ridentem Lalagen amabo>
Dulce loquentem.
CARMEM
...z^.DuIce riJcntem, dulce loquenteml} Thefe Words are a
Tranflation of two very beautiful Lines in an Ode of Sap-
J)ho, which is rendered into Englifh by Mr. Philips with all
the Spirit of the Original.
Od. 22. THE ODES OF HORACE* iij
Place me, where never Summer Breeze
Unbinds the Glebe, or warms the Trees j
Where ever-lowering Clouds appear,
And angry Jove deforms th* inclement Year :
Place me beneath the burning Ray,.
Where rolls the rapid Car of Day j
Love and the Nymph mall charm my Toils,
The Nymph 3 who fweetly fpeaks, and fweetly fmilcs.
Onr
CARMEN XXIII.
VITAS hinnuelo me fimilisi Chloe,
Qujerenti pavidam montibus aviis
Matrem, nonfine vano
Aurarum & fyliia2 metu :
Nam, feu mobilibus vepris inhorruit
Ad ventum foliis, feu virides rubum
Dimovere lacertae,
Et cordeg & genibus tt emit *
Atqui non ego te> tigris ut afpera*
Gaetulufve leo, frangere perfequor. 10
Tandem define matrem
Tempeftiva fequi viro
CARMEN
Tranflated by Dr. D u w K i N.;
Verf. 5, Vtpris inhorruit.'] The Trembling of the Leave*
is prettily exprefled by the Word Horrour, tnborruit ; an Ex-
prefiion however too bold for a Tranflation.
We have a very pretty Imitation of thefe Lines in Spencer i
Like as a Hind '
Yet flies away of her own Feet affear'd ;
And every Leaf, that fhaketh with the leaf!
Murmur of Wind, her Terrour hath encreaft.
1 1 . Matrem feqiiiJ] In Greece and Italy the young Wo'meii
lived in the Houfe with their Mothers, nor appeared abroad
Until they wer married,
ODE XXIII.
CH L O E flies me like a Fawn,
Which through fome fequefter'd Lawn
Panting feek's the Mother-Deer,
Not without a Panic Fear
Of the gentle-breathing Breeze,
And the Motion of the Trees.
If the curling Leaves but (hake,
If a Lizard ftir the Brake,
Frighted it begins to freeze
Trembling both at Heart and Knees.
But not like a Tyger dire,
Nor a Lion fraught with Ire,
I purfue my lovely Game
To deftroy thy tender Frame.
Hafte thee, leave thy Mother's Arms,
Ripe for Love are all thy Charms.
( H4)
CARMEN XXIV.
QU I S defiderio fit pudor, aut modus
Tarn chari capitis ? Prsecipe lugubres
Cantus, Melpomene, cut liquidam pater
Vocem cum cithara dedit.
Ergo Qum&ilium perpetuus fopor 5
Urget ! cui Pudor & Juftitiae foror
Incorrupta Fides, nudaque Veritas,
Quando ullum inveniet parem ?
Multis ille quidem flebilis occidit :
Nulli flebilior quam tibi, Virgili. IQ
Sed fruftra pius, heu ! non ita creditum,
Pofcis Quin&ilium Decs,,
; Quid*
There is fomething very artful, and yet very natural, in
the Opening of this Ode. The Defign of the Poet is to
comfort Virgil for the Death of their common Friend ; but
inftead of dire&ly oppofmg his Grief he encourages him to
indulge it even to Excefs. He fets the Virtues of Quin&ilius
in their ftrongeil Light, and joins with Virgil in his Sor-
rows for the JLofs of a Perfon fo extraordinary. A direft
Qppojition of Reafon and Comfort is an Infult to the
Affli&ed. We muft feem to feel their Sorrow, and make it
our own, before we pretend to find a Remedy for it.
Verf. 5. Ergo Quinttilium.'] Quinftilius, to whom this
amiable Character is given, is mentioned in the Art of Poetry
with all the Honour that can be given to a Critic of Sincerity
and Candour ; and as Virgil was in a particular manner
anxious for his poetical Reputation, he muft have been fen-
bly affiifted by the Lofs of fo valuable and ufeful a Friend.
This-
ODE XXIV. fo VIRGIL.
WH Y fliould we flop the tender Tear !
Why blufh to weep for one fb dear ?
Thou Mufe of melting Voice and Lyre,
Do thou the mournful Song infpire.
Quinailius funk to endlefs Reft,
With Death's eternal Sleep oppreft !
Oh ! when fliall Faith, of Soul fmcere,
Of Juftice pure the Sifter fair,
And Modefty, unfpotted Maid,
And Truth in artleis Guife array'd,
Among the Race of human Kind
An Equal to Quinclilius find ?
How did the good, the virtuous mourn.
And pour their Sorrows o'er his Urn ?
But, Virgil, thine the loudeft Strain,
Yet all thy pious Grief is vain.
In vain do you the Gods implore
Thy lov'd Quinclilius to reftore,
Whom on far other Terms they gave,
By Nature fated to the Grave.
What
This Concern, this Tendernefs, the Poet hath expreffed by
the Word Pius, and furely our Piety may very juftly be ap-
plied to a fincere and tender Friendfhip, than which this
World hath not a greater Bleffing. Amicum ferdere eft dam*
norum maximum. DAC. S^N*
I 2
n6 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. I.
Quid ? fi Threicio blandiiis Orpheo
Auditam modcrere arboribus fidem ;
Non vanas redeat fanguis imagini, 15
Quam virga femel horrida,
Non lenis preeibus fata recludere,
Nigro compulerit Mercurius gregi.
Durum : fed levius fit paticntia,
Quidquid corrigere eft nei'as. 20
CARMEN
15. Non van*.'] The Theology of the Ancients taught,
that when a Man. was dead, his Soul or the fpiritual Part of
him went to Heaven ; that his Body continued in the Earth ;
and his Imaj;e, or Shadow went to Hell. The Image was
a corporeal Part of the Soul, a Kind-of fubde Body, with
which it wrts clothed. Species corf area qua non poteft tangi,
Ji at vent us \ ir^i'i hath exprefied it, Tenuemjine corpore'vi-
t&n c&vafuh itiifloine fcrpxe. SAN.
19. Leviusf't.] PubiiusSirus calls Patience the Afylum of
AffltcUoo. Mr/eriarum ftrt'us eft patietttia,
'
Od. 24. THE ODES OF HORACE. 117
What though you can the Lyre command,
And fweep its Tones with fofter Hand
Than Orpheus, whofe harmonious Song
Once drew the liftening Trees along,
Yet ne'er returns the vital Heat
The fhadowy Form to animate ;
For when the Ghoft-compelling God , -
Forms his black Troops with horrid Rod,
He will not, lenient to the Breath
Of Prayer, unbar the Gates of Death*
*Tis hard : but Patience muft endure,
Andfooth the Woes it cannot cure.
OPI
CARMEN XXV.
PA R C I U S junclas quatiunt feneflras
I&ibus crebris juvenes protervi ;
Nee tibi fomnos adimunt, amatque
Janua limen,
Quse prius multum faciles movebat 5
Cardines. Audis minus, & minus jam,
ME TUO longas pereunte nocle's,
Lydia dormis ?
Invicem moechos anus arrogant
Flebis, in folo levis angiportu, 10
Thracio bacchante magis fub inter-.
lunia vento j
Quum
Translated by Dr. D u N K j N.
Verf. I . Parciuj juntas.] In Italy, as in Greece, the
young People, who went to fee their Miftreffes at Night,
carried with them Torches to burn their Doors, or Bars to
break them open, and in this Senfe the Poet hath ufed the
Word ^uatiunt, which was a Term for battering a Town.
In the 26th Ode of the third Book he confecrates to Venus
this Kind of midnight Arms :
Nuftc arma, defunfiumque bella
Barbiton hie paries habeb'it t
Ltsvum marin<e qui Feneris latus
Cujiodit. Hie, h}c fonite lucida
Funalia, & secies, & arcuj
foribus minaces.
But
ODE XXV.
TH E wanton Herd of Rakes profeft,
Thy Windows rarely now moleft
With midnight Raps, or break thy Reft
With Riot.
The Door, that kindly once could move
The plyant Hinge, begins to love
Its Threfhold, and no more mail prove
Unquiet,
Now lefs and lefs aflail thine Ear
Thefe Plaints, " Ah fleepeft thou my Dear,
" While I whole'Nights thy True-love here
"Am dying?"
You in your Turn mall weep the Taunts
Of young and infolent Gallants,
In fome dark Alley's Midnight Haunts
1/ate plying :
While
But now crown'd with Conqueft I hang up my Arms,
And Harp, that campaign'd it in midnight Alarms ;
Here fix on this Wall, here my Enfigns of Wars,
By the Statue of Venus, my Torches and Bars,
And Arrows, that threaten'd, by Cupid their Liege
War, War on all Doors, that dare hold out a Siege.
7. ME TUO.j The Songs in thefe Serenades were by
the Greeks called vetfct&etwr$vf, becaufe they were fung
before Doors that were ftwt.
10. Le*uis.~\ Loofely and lightly drefled.
li.Thracio bacchante magis.] Vehement lus furente, flante.
Between an old and new Moon the Wind is ufually moft
I 4 tempeftuou*.
120 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Quum tibi flagrans amor, & libido,
Quz foler matres furiare equorum,
Soviet circa jecur ulcerofum, 15
Non fine quefki,
Lzeta quod pubes hedera ylrenti
Gaudeat, pulla magis atque myrto ;
Aridas frondes hyemis fodali
Dcdicet Hebro. 20
CARMEN
tempeftuous. Interlttniorum dies tempeftatilius plenos, & na*vi-
gantibus quam tr.axime metuendos, non folun\ perititp rafrc, fed
etium I'u/gi ufus intelligtt. DAC. BENT.
19. Aridas frondes kie.tnis fodali dedicet^\ The Senie and
Interpretation of thefe Words depends on the two former
Lines. Young Men, fays the Poet, are more pleafed 'magis
gauder.t with -Trees which are always green, fuch as Myrtle
and Ivy ; but defpiie dry and withered Leaves. Myrtle is of
two Colours, white and black. This laft Kind is equally
an Emblem of Youth, as it is black when in its greatcil Vi-
gour, and preferveth its Colour through the Winter. BENT.
ZQ.D&dicet 'Hebro. ~\ Heber is a River of Thrace, which
the Antients confidered as the Habitation of Winter. From
thence the Crowns, which were worn in Honour of a Mif-.
trefs, who is now in the Winter of her Age, are here dedi-
cated to the Companion of that cold and cliearleir?ealon.
Od. 25. THE ODES OF HORACE. 121
While raging Tempefts chill the Skies,
And burning Luft (fucli Luft as tries
The madding Dams of Horfes j fries
Thy Liver,
Our Youth, regardlefs of thy Frown,
Their Heads with frefher Wreaths fhall crown,
And fling thy wither d Garlands down
The River.
ODE
( 122 )
CARMEN XXVL Ad MUSAM.
MUSIS amicus, triftitiam & metus
Tradam protervia in mare Creticum
Portare ventis ; quis fub Ar&o
Rex gelidze metuatur eras,
Quid Tiridaten terreat, unice 5
Securus. O quae fontibus integris
Gaudes, apricos nede flores,
Nec~te meo Lamiae coronam,
Pimplei
Vcrf. i. Mujts amiatsJ] When Poets talk with fo much
Rapture of their Conversation with the Mufes, none but a
Poet can underftand them. But we may believe (at leaft if
we were allowed to judge from the poetical Manner of
living) that Poetry can efface the Remembrance of pafl
Misfortunes ; foften the Anguifh of prefent Evils, and dif-
perfe all Appreheafion and Terrours of Futurity ; or, as
Horace expreffeth it, give them to the Winds and Waves.
^uid Tiridaten.'] In the Year 719 the Parthians expelled
Phraates for his Cruelty, and fetTiridates upon the Throne.
In 724 Phraates was reftored by the Scythians; and Tiri-
dates, being obliged to fly, carried with him the Son of
Phraates to Oftavius, who was then in Syria. That Prince,
delighted with having the Son of the greateft Enemy of the
Republic in his Power, carried him to Rome, and permitted
Tiridates to remain in Syria ; who being impatient to re-
cover his Throne folicited Auguftus for Succours. In 731
Phraates fent an Embaffy to Rome with an Offer of reftoring
the Roman Eagles, which were taken in the Defeat of
Craffus, to Auguftus, if he would fend his Son and Tiridates
to him. Auguftus made the Report to the Senate, who re^
mitted to Him the Decifion of the Affair. He granted the
Ambaffadors the firft Part of their Demand, but kept Tiri-
dates at Rome, and promifed to entertain him in a Manner
Suitable to his Dignity.
This Ode was written when the Affair was depending, and
judge how Tiridates muft have been alarmed, while
he
ODE XXVI. To his MUSE.
WHILE in the Mufe's Friendihip bleft,
Nor Fears nor Grief difturb my Breaft ;
Bear them, ye vagrant Winds,, away,
And drown them in the Cretan Sea.
Carelefs am I, or who fhall reign
The Tyrant of the frozen Plain,
Or with what anxious Fear oppreft
Heaves Tiridates' panting Breaft.
Sweet Mufe, who lov'ft the Virgin Spring,
Hither thy funny Flowrets bring,
And let thy richeft Chaplet fhed
Its Fragrance round my Lamia's Head,
For
Jie was afraid of being fent to Phraates, from whom he
could expedl nothing but Tortures and Death. SAN.
6. O queefontibus integrisJ] There feems to be fomething
here imperfect in the Sentiment. Fountains and Crowns of
Flowers are very diftant Images, and the Poet with more
Juftice, both in Regard to the Senfe and Expreffion, might
have faid, O ye Mufes, who delight in Meadows, whofe Flower}
were never yet gathered, weave a Crown for my Lamia s Head.
.Lucretius hath ufed thefe Images with more Exadlnefs :
. Jtwat integros accederefontes
dtque haurire, juvatquejtoiios decerfere fores.
DAC. SAN.
My Mufe, tranfported while me fmgs,
3 Delights to quaff the yet untafted Springs,
And pluck the virgin Flowers. D.
Lami^fJ] TElius Lamia was a Roman Knight, whofe Cha-
rafter is thus drawn by Cicero : Vir fummo fplendore, fumma
gratia; nullo prorfus plus ho?nine delefior. DAC.
Coronam.~\ The Poets frequently call their Works Crowns,
which they put on the Heads of them whom they praife ;
and in the next Line Horace calls them Honores. This laft
is an Expreffion of Pindar. MURETIUS.
124 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Pimplei dulcis : nil fine te mei
PofTunt honores. Hunc fidibus novis, 10
Hunc Lefbio facrare plecTro
Teque, tu^fque decet forores.
CARMEN
10. Fidibus no<vis.~] When the Poets intended to fmg any
Thing extraordinary they ufed to change the Strings of their
Lyres. DAC.
AN A C .
Then the lovefome Lyre I ftrung,
And Herculean Labours fung.
However, this Changing the Strings of the Lyre feems ra-
ther a poetical, metaphorical Expreffion for the Change o
theSubjea.
Pollio y ipfefacit nova carmina.
Od. 26. THE ODES OF HORACE. 125
For nought avails the Poet's Praife,
Unlefe the- Mufe inspire his Lays;
Now firing the tuneful Lyre again,
Let all thy Sifters raife the Strain,
And confecrate to deathlefs Fame
My lov'd, my Lamia's honour'd Name,
ODE
CARMEN XXVII. ^/SODALES.
NA T I S in ufum Isetitiae fcyphis
Pugnare, Thracum eft. Tollite barbarurrt
Morem, verecundumque Bacchum
Sanguineis prohibete rixis.
Vino & lucernis Medus acinaces 5
Immane quantum difcrepat ! Impium,
Lenite clamorem, fodales,
Et cubito remanete preflb.
Vultis feveri me quoque fumere
Partem Falerni ? Dicat Opuntiae 13
Frater Megillse, quo beatus
Vulnere, qua pereat fagitta.
CefTat
Horace was at an Entertainment where aDifpute began to
enrlame fome of the Company already heated with Wine.
Inltead of endeavouring to reftore Peace by grave Advice
and fober Reafoning, he makes them a gay Propofal of
drowning all Quarrels in a Bumper. It was chearfully re-
ceived, and probably the Succefs of it made the Poet think
it worthy of being the Subjed of an Ode. SAN.
Verf. 3. Ferecundumque.'] The Commentators are greatly
divided about the Reading and Senfe of this Epithet, be-
caufe Bacchus in another Ode is called in-verecundus. But
we may fay, that this God feemed to have two different
Characters, and to be either an Encourager or an Enerny to
Excefs, according to the different Temper of his Worfhippers.
In the eighteenth Ode he is called modicus temperate, and a
Lover of Candour ; and as in that Ode he is offended by
the Intemperance of his Votaries ; as all the Vices of Wine
feem to be the Effe&s of his Anger, fo He is reprefented
here with the lame Character of Modefty and Temperance,
2 and
( 127 )'
ODE XXVII. fo his COMPANIONS.
WITH Glafles, made for gay Delight,
'Tis Thracian, favage Rage to fight.
With fuch intemperate, bloody Fray
Fright not the modeft God away.
Monftrous ! to fee the Dagger mine
Amid the chearful Joys of Wine.
Here bid this impious Clamour ceafe,
And prefs the focial Couch in Peace.
Say, mall I drink this heady Wine
Preft from the rough Falernian Vine?
Inftant, let yonder Youth impart
Th tender Story of his Heart,
By what dear Wound he blifsful dies,
And whence the gentle Arrow flies.
What
and it is impious to affront him with Noife and Quarrels.
In the eleventh Epode he is called inverecundus, becaufe he
there encourages the Poet to tell a Secret, which his Modefly
would have concealed. Mr. Cuningham and Mr. Sanadon
read wrecundi, but furely the Text leems to have been very
caufelefsly altered.
9. Severi Falerni'] Athenaeus tells us there were two Kinds
of Falernian Wine ; one, ftrong and heady ; the other,
fmooth and fvveet. The Poet therefore offers to drink a
Cup of the ftronger Kind, though he knew the Strength of
it, to mew at what Expence he would recover the Good-
humour of the Company.
ii. Megill<e, quobeatus.'] The Antients ufed to caft Lots
to determine the Order, in which the Guefts mould give
their Toafts. But Horace, that he may divert the Com-
pany, calls to Megilla's Brother with an Air of Pleafantry,
and bids him name his Miftrefs without the ufaal Forms.
BOND.
128 Q.I-10RATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i*
Cefiat voluntas ? non alia bibam
Mercede. Quae te cunque dom at Venus*
Non erubefcendis adurit 15
Ignibus, ingenuoque feiripcr
Amorc pcccas. Quidquid habes, age,
Depone tutis auribus- Ah mifer,
Quant^ laboras in Charybdi !
Dignepuer meliore fiamma. 20
Qure faga, quis te folvere TheJTalis
Magus venenis, quis poterit Deus ?
Vix illigatum te triformi
Pegafus expediat Chimaera.
CARMEN
I ~ . Ingeiiuoque atnore peccas.~\ You ne<ver are in love but with
a Woman of Family. They, who had an Intrigue with a
Slave, were branded with the Name of Ancillarioli, as Men
of fordid and infamous Paffions. Such Paflions as the Poet
here calls erubefcejidi ignes . L A M B . B E N'T .
: 22. fbejjalis vMMMKi/] Venenum does not always ngnify
Pot/ox, and it is here ufed for the Juice of magical Herbs,
proper to correct the Malignity of Poifon. It is a figurative
Manner of Exprefiion to infmuate to Megilla's Brother, that
he had need of extraordinary Virtue to refift the fatal Paffion
in which he was engaged. SAN,
Od.a;. THE ODES OF-HORACE. 129
What ! does the bafhful Boy deny ?
Then if I drink it let me die. T"~
Who-e'er flie be, -a generous Flame
Can never know the Blum of Shame.
Thy Breaft no flavim Venus fires,
But fair, ingenuous Love infpires.
Then fafely whifper in my Ear,
For all fuch Trufts are facred here.
Ah ! worthy of a better Flame !
Unhappy Youth ! is She the Dame ?
Ah lucklefs Youth ! how art Thou loft,
In what a Sea of Troubles toft !
What Drugs, what Witchcraft, or what Charms,
What God can free thee from her Arms ?
Scarce Pegafus can difengage
Thy Heart from this Chimaera's Rage.
V... I.
( ISO )
CARMEN XXVIII. NAUTA. ARCHYTA
UMBRA.
NAUTA.
T marls & terrae, numeroque carentis arenas
Menforem cohibent, Archyta,
Pulveris exigui prope litus parva Matinum
Munera ; nee quidquam tibi prodeft
Aerias tentafle domos, animoque rotundum 5
PercurrifTe polum, morituro.
ARCHYTJE UMBRA.
Occidit & Pelopis genitor, conviva Deorum,
Tithonufque remotus in auras,
t Jovis arcanis Minos admiflus.
NAUTA.
It might, perhaps, be an Amufement to read the various
Cor.jettures of the Commentatprs on the Occafion of this
Ode. Each of them advancing his own Opinion, and ex-
poiing that of others, in the true Spirit of gueffing, while
all are equally doubtful and uncertain. What appears in
the Ode itfelf is, that the Poet in a Dialogue between a
Mariner and Archytas (a great Philofopher, Aftronomer,
and Geometrician of Tarentum) ridicules the Doftrine of
Pythagoras in the Tranfmigration of Souls, and recommends
the Care of burying the Dead.
i Verf. z.Me-Kjbretri.'] There is a fine Ridicule in faying
Archytas could number the Sands of the Sea, becaufe the
Pythagoreans aflerted, that all Things confifted of Num-
bers. TORR.
. They called the Number Ten facred, becaufe it included
all other Numbers.
3. Pu/veris exigui n:unera^\ The Antients believed that the
Souls, whofe Bodies were left unburied, were not permitted
to pals over the River Styx, but wandered an hundred Years
on its Banks. In allufion to this Opinion, Horace fays,
Par-ija manera pufaeris exigui cobibent te, retinent tuam umb,-am
b Efyjiis campit. A little -Prelcjit of Duft detains You ; that
is,
I
ODE XXVIII. A MARINER and the GHOST
cfARCHYTAS.
MARINER^
AR C H Y T A S, what avails thy nice Survey
Of Ocean's countlefs Sands, of Earth and Sea ?
In vain thy mighty Spirit once could foar
To Orbs celeftial, and their Courfe explore :
If here, upon the tempeft-beaten Strand,
You lie confin'd, 'till fome more liberal Hand
Shall ftrow the pious Duft in funeral Rite,
And wing Thee to the boundlefs Realms of Light.
*' GHOST. .
Even He, who did with Gods the Banquet mare,
Tithonus, rais'd to breathe celeftial Air,
And Minos, Jove's own Counfellor of State,
All Thefe have yielded to the Power of Fate.
MARI-
is, You are detained from the Elyfian Fields for Want of a
little Prefent of Duft. We muft underftand Munera tibi def.-
cientia, tibi negata, quibus indiges. However fingular this
Manner of Expreffion may appear, yet there are Examples
of it in all Languages. DAC.
8. Tithonufque remotus in auras J] Archytas fays, that all
Mankind muft follow the common Lot of their Mortality ;
that Tantalus and Minos are dead, although one had enter-
tained the Gods at his Table, and the other had been Con-
fident of Jupiter. As he mentions Tithonus between them,
and fays, that He is dead (for occidit is equally applied tp
each of them) the Juftnefs of Thought requires, that fome
Prerogative, fome Title, which might naturally defend him
from the Power of Death, mould be given to Him, as well
as to the Others. If then we underftand remotus in auras,
that Tithonus had been carried by Aurora into Heaven,
according to the Fable, it will form fuch a Chara&er of
Him, as that we might expeft He fliould have been preferved
from Deaih, by the Favour of the Goddefs. "BsN r.
X 2
132 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. il
NAUTA.
Habentque
Tartara Pantho'iden, iterum Oreo 10
DemifTum ; quamvis clypeo Trojana refixo
Tempora teftatus, nihil ultra
Nervos, atque cutem morti conceflerat atrae ;
ARCHYTJE UMBRA.
Judice te, non fordidus au&or
Naturae, verique. Sed omnes una manet nox, 15
Et calcanda femel via lethi.
Dant alios Furiae torvo fpe&acula Marti ;
Exitio eft avidum mare nautis.
Mifta fenum ac juvenum denfantur funera : nullum
Saeva caput Proferpina fugit. 2*
Me
9. Habentque.~\ By dividing the Dialogue to the proper
Speakers, we have a new Stroke of Pleafantry in the Cha-
radter of the Mariner. He begins infulting Archytas with
his unbounded Knowledge, fince all that Knowledge was to
end in Death. The Philofopher comforts himfelf with a
Refle&ion, that not only Mortals were fubjeft to the Power
of Fate, but even Heroes and Demi-gods, Tantalus, Ti-
thonus, Minos. The Mariner with much Vivacity inter-
rupts him, Even your (nun Pythagoras is dead, iterum orco de r
liujfum. Senfible of this cruel Pleafantry, and jealous, even,
in Death, of his great Matter's Honour, Archytas gravely
replies, It is true, Pythagoras was deceived in his Dodtrine
of Tranfmigration, yet even yon muft acknowledge him a
great moral and natural Philofopher.
10. IterumOrco demi//um.~\ Euphorbus was killed by Mene-
laus, and Pythagoras by his Fellow-Citizens, fo that Ar-
chytas ought now to be perfectly undeceived in his Opinion,
that our Bodies alone are fubjecr. to Death.
11. Clypeo refixo.~\ Figere and refigere are Terms borrowed
from the Roman Law. When a Law was publickly fet up,
and propofed to the People, They made ufe of the Word
Jigere; when it was taken down, They ufed the Terms
rtjigere legem. DAC.
14. Judice
Od. 28. , THE ODES OF HORACE." 133
MARINER.
Even your own Sage, whofe monumental Shield,
Borne through the Terrours of the Trojan Field,
Prov'd that alone the mouldering Body dies,
And Souls immortal from our Ames rife,
Even he a fecond Time refign'd his Breath
Sent headlong to the gloomy Realms of Death,
GHOST.
Not meanly fldll'd, even by your own Applaufe,
In moral Truth, and Nature's fecret Laws.
One endlefs Night for whole Mankind remains,
And once we all muft tread the fhadowy Plains.
In horrid Pomp of War the Soldier dies j
The Sailor in the greedy Ocean lies ;
Thus Age and Youth promifcuous crowd the Tomb ;
No mortal Head can fhun th' impending Doom.
When
1 4. Judice te.~] As the Do&rine of Pythagoras was the
reigning Philofophy of Greece (which is 'the Scene of this
* Ode) Archytas appeals to the Judgement of this Voyager,
and fuppofes, that He could not be ignorant how great an
Author Pythagoras was both in natural and moral Philofophy.
Horace gives to Morality the Name of True, becaufe they,
who ftudy the Nature of moral Actions, and the Diilinftions
between Vice and Virtue, have no other Aim than Truth.
LE FEVRE.
1 8. Avidum mare.'] The common Editions, that read
avidis, make Archytas, againft all Rules of Decency, caufe-
lefsly affront this Mariner, even while he is aflcing a Favqur
of him. Befides, avidum appears in all the Manufcripts of
Torrentius and Doclor Bentley, and in fome very ancie.nt
Editions. It is the Reading of the Scholiaft, and a com-,
mon, poetical Epithet for the Sea.
20. Proferpinafugit.'] In Allufion to a Superftition of the
Ancients, who believed that no Perfon could die, until Pro-
ferpine, or Atropos had cut off a Lock of their Hair. This
Ceremony was confidered as a Kind of Firfi-fruits con.
fecrated to Pluto. TORR,
j'34 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARM^UM Lib, I.
Me quoque devexi rapidus comes Orionis
Illyrrcis Notus obruit undis.
At tu, nauta, vag ne parce malignus arenae
Offibus, .& capiti inhumato
Particulam dare. Sic, quodcumque minabitur Eurus 25
Fluaibus Jiefperiis* V'enufmae
Pleclantjif fytvae, te fofpite ; multaque merces,
Unde poteft, tibi defluat aequo
Ab Jove, Neptunoque 'facri cuftode Tarentu
Ne^lieis i'mmeritis nocituram 36
Poftmodo te natis fraudem committere forfan.
Debitajura, vicefque fuperbae
Te maneant ipfum : precibus non linquar intiltis,
Teque piaciila nulla refolvent.
Quanquam feftinas, non eft mora longa, licebit 35
jnjeilo ter pulvere curras.
CARMEN
21. DevexL"] Which declines to itsfetting. The rifing and .
fettingof this Conftellation are ufually attended with Storms.
Virgil calls it aquofum and mmbofum. TORR.
24. Offibus & capiti.'] It does not appear, that any Earth
had been already thrown on the Body of Archytas j there-
fore Scaliger has without Reafon criticifed this Paflage, as
fome of the Comn entators have without Neceflitv en-
deavoured to juftify the Poet, upon a falfe Suppofttion. SAN.
27. Pleftanturjylvre.] The Ancients believed, that the
Guilt and Impiety of Mankind certainly brought down the
Vengeance of the Gods, in Storms and Tempefts ; but that
their Courfe might be altered, and directed, where *:hey
fhould be leaft mifchevious.
30. Negligis.~] Tou do not fear to commit. Teu are carelefs in
tommittjng. The Manner of Expreffion is remarkable. DAC.
34. 1'cque piacula.~] PiacuJum fignifies both the Crime, and
the Sacrifice by which it was expiated. The Antients were
perfuaded, that nothing could turn away the Effects of an
, |mprecatlon made by a Perfon unjuftly treated. Defgi dirts
fktejlationibus -nemo non metuit. PUN. SAN,
Od. 2$. THE ODES OF HORACE; 135
When fets Orion's Star, the Winds, that fweep
"The raging Waves, o'erwhelm'd me in the Deep :
Nor Thou, my Friend, refufe with impious Hand
A little' Portion of this wandering Sand
To thefe my poor Remains ; fo may the Storm
Rage o'er the Woods, nor Ocean's Face deform :
May gracious Jove with Wealth thy Toils repay,
And Neptune guard Thee through the watry Way.
Thy guiltlefs Race this bold Neglect mall mourn,
'And Thou malt feel the juft Returns of Scorn.
My Curfes mail purfue. the guilty Deed,
And all, in vain, thy richeft Victims bleed.
Whate'er thy Hafte, oh ! let my Prayer prevail,
Thrice ftrow the Sand, then hoift the flying Sail.
36. Injefto terpul<vere.~\ It was fufficient for all the Rites
of Sepulture, that Duft fhould be thrice thrown upon an
unburied Body. This Kind of Burial is by Quintilian called
tollalitiafepultura. It was an Aft of Religion fo indifpenfible,
that no Perfon could be excufed, and even the Pontifices,
who were forbidden to approach or look upon a dead Body,
yet were obliged to perform this Duty. Quum Pontificibus
nefas effet cadaver -videre, tamen magis nefas <vifum fuerit, Jt
infepultum relinqiterent. Servius on the fixth Book of the
jffineid. Thus among the Jews the High Prieft was forbidden
to approach the Corps even of his Father or Mother, and
yet he was obliged to inter any dead Body, which he found
in the Road. TORR. DAC,
K 4 ODE
, CARMEN XXIX. Ad ICCIUM.
1C C I, beatis nunc Arabum invides
Gazis, & acrem militiam paras
Non ante devi&is Sabaeae
Regibus, horribilique Medo
Neftis catenas ? Quae tibi virginum, * !>;;/
Sponfo necato, barbara ferviet ?
Puer quis ex aula capillis
Ad cyathum ftatuetur untis,
Do&us fagittas tendere Sericas '
Arcu paterno ? quis neget arduis j'O
Pronos relabi pofTe rivo9
Montibus, ac Tiberim reverti $
Quurn
In the Year 729 Auguftus fent an Army againft the Ara-
bians. The Expedition was ynfuccefsful by an unufual Sick-
nefs among the Soldiers. Horace, with a good deal of
Pleaiantry, ridicules iccius for leaving the quiet and eafy
Study of Philoiophy to purfue the Dangers and Fatigues of
War, while he fuppcfes him to ireditate fome mighty Proofs
of his Courage, and to fubdue ail Arabia in his firft Cam-
F T> SAN '
mr ^ l n ls ^ rabum "*"'] Strabo, who accompanied
^lius Callus in this Expedition, fays he was fent by Auguftus
againft the Sabsans, becaufe that Prince had heard they
were a People rich in Gold, Silver, and Spices. Perhaps
the Poet intended this Strojce of Satire on the Avarice of
Auguftus, which was his fole Motive to undertake that War,
although he hath artfully and Ids dangeroufly applied it to
Iccius. JugufiutMliumGallurninSa&ot^ \uod au^ret
tx mm tenure dititfmos efe, q ui & aur0 , & argento, &
jretiofis lapdus aromata permutarent. SAN.
f ( 137 )
ODE XXIX. To Ice i us.
GA N S T Thou with envious Eye behold -
The bleft Arabia's treafur'd Gold ?
Will kcius boldly take- the Field;
And teach Sabaea's Kings to yidd ?
Or meditate the dreadful Mede
In Chains triumphantly to lead ?
Should You her haplefs Lover flay,
What captive Maid lhall own thy Sway ?
What courtly Youth with effenc'd Hair-
Shall at thy Board the Goblet bear,
Skilful with his great Father's Art
To wing with Death ihe pointed Dart ?
Who fhall deny, that Streams afcend,
And Tiber's Currents backward bend,
While
3. Nan ante deviflis.] We can underftand thefe Words only
of that Part of Arabia called Sab<ea, for the Romans had
carried their Arms into other Parts of that Country under
feveral different Generals. DAC.
5. Neflis catenis.~] The Poet alludes to a Cuftom among
the Roman Soldiers of carrying with them to Battle, Chains
and Ropes, to tie their Prifoners. He hath railed the Ter-
rour of the Medes by this Epithet of Horribilis, while he
laughs at the Vanity of Iccius, who propofed to conquer thole
Enemies of the Republic, although all his Warfare feems to
end in getting fome young Maiden to wait on Him (as
Heroes of old had Princeffes) or fome young Man to be
his Cup-bearer. DAC. SAN.
10. >uis neget.'] Erafmus thinks this a proverbial Ex-
preflion, taken from the Greeks, who faid that the Stream
rofe againft its Fountain, when any Thing feemed to con-
tradict the common Courfe of Nature.
138 Q^HORATII JFtAcci CARMINUM Lib. j;
Quum tu coemtos undique nobiles
Libros Panasti, Socraticam & domum
Mutate -loricis Iberis,
PoUicitus meliora, tendis ? .
CARMEN
13. Quumtu coemtos.'} For a laft Stroke of Pleafantry,
Horace reprefents the Metamorphoiis of this Scholar into a
Warrior, and brings him out of his philofophical Cabinet
in the terrible Equipage of a Soldier. SAK.
14. Socraticam domum] Horace calls the Sect of Socrates
Socraticam domum ; thus the Schools of ajl the Philofophers,
fuch as Plato, "Xenophon, and other Academicians, were
called />//*>. DAC.
bjj;ji : : ,. :di iiispU rfJr/r gniw oT
Od. 29. THE ODES OF HORACE. 139
While you have all our Hopes betray'd 5
You, that far other Promife made j
When all thy Volumes, learned Store !
The Treafures of Socratlc Lore,
Once bought at mighty Price, in vain,
Are fent to purchafe Arms in Spain ?
OD*
CARMEN XXX. Ad VENEREM.
O VENUS, regina Cnidi, Paphfque,
Sperne dile&am Cypron, & vocantis
Thure te multo Glycerae decoram
Transfer in aedem.
Fervidus tecum Puer, & folutis 5
Gratiae zonis, properentque Nymphae,
t parum comis fine te Juventas,
Mercuriufoue.
CARMEN
The Verification and Images of this little Ode are beautiful
and harmonious ; nor is it poflible to have given Venus a
more gallant, as well as modeft Retinue. We may con-
je&ure, not without Probability, that it was written when
Horace was about fix and forty Years of Age. SAN.
Verf. 4. In <fd;m.~] The Commentators difpute with a
great deal of Learning, whether Glycera invites theGoddefs
to her own Houfe. or to a Chapel particularly dedicated to
her ; and although the Debate be of fuch Importance, it is
not yet decided.
5. Solutis Gratis zonis.] The Graces were the moft amiable
Divinities of the Heathen Mythology. They prefided over
Benefits, and the Gratitude due to them ; they beftowed Li-
berality, Wifdom and Eloquence ; they difpenfed that Gaiety
of Humour, that Eafmefs of Manners, and all thofe amiable
Qualities, which render Society delightful and pleafurable.
They alone could give that certain Happinefs of Manner,
which we all can underftand, yet no one is able to exprefs ;
which often fupplies the Place of real Merit, and without
which Merit itfelf is imperfecl. To temper the Vivacity of
Cupid, the Graces are here made his Companions, and ap-
pear with their Garments flowing and ungirded, to mow
that the Feftival mould be celebrated with the greateft Mo-
defty and Difcretion. SAN.
7. Juvenfas.
ODE XXX. To VENUS.
QUEEN of Beauty, Queen of Smiles,
' Leave, oh ! leave thy favourite Ifles :
A Temple" rifes to thy Fame,
Where Glycera invokes thy Name,
And bids the fragrant Incenfe flame.
With Thee bring thy love-warm Son,
The Graces bring with flowing Zone,
' /he Nymphs, and jocund Mercury, v *1
And fmiling Youth, who without Thee >
Is nought but favage Liberty. J
ODE
7. Juventas."] Young People, who behaved themfelves
indecently, were turned out of this Feftival ; but the Poet
means, in general, that Youth is favage and rude, if it be
aotfoftned and refined by Love. SAN.
8. Mercurii'tfque.'] As Mercury was the God of Eloquence
and Wit, he was a Companion very fit to enliven the Gaiety
of fuch a Converfation. DAC.
Plutarch tells us Mercury was ufually placed next to Ve-
.jws, becaufe the Pleafures of Love confift chiefly in Con*
verfation.
( '42 )
CARMEN XXXI. ^/ APOLLINEM.
QUID dedicatum pofcit Apollinem
Vates ? quid orat, de patera novum
Fundens liquorem ? non opimas
Sardiniae fegetes feracis :
Non zeftuofae grata Calabriae
Armenta : non aurum, aut ebur Indicum :
Non rura, quae Liris quieta
Mordet aqua, taciturnus amnis.
Premant Calenam fake, quibus dedit
Fortuna, vitem ; dives & aureis IO
Mercator exficcet culullis
Vina Syra reparata merce,
Di$
We have in this Ode a Fund of Morality fufficient to prove
the Vanity of our Defires, and the Worthleffnefs of what
we ufually call Bufmefs. Reafon and Nature know but few
Neceffities, while Avarice and Ambition are for ever find-
ig out imaginary Wants.
In the Year 726 Odlj
tavius dedicated to Apollo a Library
and Temple in his Palace on Mount Palatine, which having
been ftruck with Lightning the Augurs faid the God de-
manded, that it mould be confecrated to him. Horace was
then thirty-nine Years old. SAN.
Verf. i. Dedicatunt Apollinem.'] Mr Dacier fancies there
is fomething particularly noble in the Opening of this Ode,
by
143 )
' ' -
ODE XXXI. fo APOLLO.
WHEN at Apollo's hallow'd Shrine
The Poet hails the Power divine,
What is the Bleffing he implores
While he the firft Libation pours ?
He nor defires the fwelling Grain,
That yellows o'er Sardinia's Plain ;
Nor the fair Herds that lowing feed
On warm Calabria's flowery Mead ;
Nor Ivory of fpotlefs Shine,
Nor Gold forth-flaming from its Mine ;
Nor the rich Fields, that Liris laves,
And eats away with filent Waves.
Let others quaff the racy Wine
To whom kind Fortune gives the Vine ;
The
by fuppofmg that Apollo fpeaks to the Poet, and afks him
what Requeit he hath to make to Him on this iblemn Oc-
cafion.
z. Novum liquorem.] Wine, which was now the firft Time
poured out in Libations made in this new Temple. Vinum,
per quod nova injlaurabatur precatio. ANCIENT SCHOLIAST.
9. Calenam fake I'item.] Dr. Bentley hath lufficiently
fhewed the Neceffity of this Correaion, and Mr. Cuninghain
has received it into the Text. The Expreffion ii more na-
tural, and the Epithet better placed.
144 Q^HORATII FLACCI CAR.MINUM Lib. I.
Dis carus ipfis, quippe ter, & quater
Anno revifens aequor Atlanticum
Impune. Me pafcunt olivas, 15
Me cichorea, levefque malvae.
Frui paratis & valido mihi,
Latoe, dones; ac, precor, Integra
Cum mente, nee turpem feneclam
Degere, nee cithara carentem.
CARMEN
15. Me pafcunt.] When the Poet hath defcribed a Croud
of V'otaries, who fatigue the God with their Petitions, he
now prefers his own Prayer, in which his- Wifhes are bounded
by good Senfe and Modefty. He leaves to others the Views
of an imaginary Happinefs, and wifely afks for the real
Bleflings, which he is capable of enjoying. O ye Gods,
fays a wife Heathen, deny us what we afk, if it mall be
hurtful to us, and grant us whatever ftiall be profitable for us,
even though we do not afk it.
1 6. Lews Mal--v#.'] Eafy of Digeftion, and which lighten
the Stomach. BOND.
19. Nee turfemfeneftam .] An honourable old Age is a
Proof that our Youth was fpent in the Praftice of Virtue.
The Conftruftion of the Words is remarkable, degere fe-
tieclam non turpem. As in Virsil, where he fpeaks of the
Horfe,
Aide domo, nee turpi ignofce fene8<g ; ^.
We muft conftrue it,
Abde domo, & ignofce ftnctttf non turpi. DAC.
fed. qt. THE ODE* er HORACE.
The Golden Goblet let Him drain,
Who venturous plows th' Atlantic Main,
Bleft with thret fafe Returns a Year,
For He to every God is dear.
To me boon Nature frankly yields
Her wholefome Sallad from the Fields >
Nor aflc I more than Senfe and Health
Still to enjoy my prefent Wealth.
From Age and all its Weaknefs free,
O Son of Jove, preferv'd by Thee,
Give me to ftrike the tuneful Lyre,
And Thou my lateft Sonj infpire.
VOL. I.
( 146 )
CARMEN XXXII. Ad LYRAM.
POSCIMUR. Si quid vacui fub umbra
Lufimus tecum, quod & hunc in annum
Vivat, & plures, age, die Latinum,
Barbite, carmen ;
Lefbio primum modulate civi ; 5
Qui ferox bello, tamen inter arma,
Sive jaclatam religarat udo
Litore navim \
Liberum,
Auguftus commanded Horace to write the Carmen Seculara.
Horatio feat/are carmen componcndum Augujlus injunxit. SUET.
The Poet, juftly fenfible of an Honour, which declared him
the firft Lyric Poet of his Age, in this Ode invokes his Lyre
to infpire him with fomething worthy of fuch a Mark of
Diftindion, and which might deferve the Care and Regard
of Pofterity, >u(id & bunc in annum vi-vat & plures,
HAMELIUS. SAN.
Tt is true, this is only a Conjecture, and incapable of
Proof j yet it throws a particular Beauty over the Ode ; and
we mail find, in the following Remarks, that it does not-
want Probability.
Verf. i . Pofcim:ir.~\ Lambinus fays, that this Reading ap-
pears in almoft all the Manufcripts. Doctor Bentley affirms
the contrary. IVIr. Dacier afiiires us, although we read
Pofamur we muft conftrue it in an Active Senfe, and that all
Authors have Initances of this Kind. This Aflertion re-
quires fome Proof. Mr. Sanadon has taken fome Quotations
from Doftor Bentley, in which the Verb pofcor nuift necefTarily
be underftood in a Paffive Senfe. and then concludes that
Horace might have ufed it in the fame Manner. Torren-
tius thinks pofdmus too bold for a poetical Petition to his
Lyre.
Such are too frequently the Differences among Commen-
tators, not in Opinion only, but in their Aflertion of FaK
If we receive the prefcnt Reading, we may obferve a Viva-
city
( 147 )
XXXII. '--ft &
IF beneath the carelefs Shade,
Harmonious Lyre, with Thee IVe play'd,
: : Cefar's Voice obedient hear
And for more than many a Year
Now the Roman Mureinfpire,
And Warm the Song with Grecian Fife }
Such as when Alosus fung,
Who fierce in War thy Mufic ftrung-,
When he heard the Battle roar,
Or almoft fliipwredc'd reach'd th^ Shore*
Wine
tity .and Quicknefs in the Expreffion, that (hews with how
much Pleaftire the Poet obeys the Command of Auguftus.
2. Quod y bunt in dnnt<m^\ There is a pretty Oppofition
between the folemn fivfpiration, which the Poet now de-
mands for a Work that is to jive to Pofterity, and all thofe
idle Songs, which were only an Amufeinent of his gayer
Hours. SAN.
The Ancirnts ufed the Words ludere and lufiis for V erics
-made upon little, trilling, or amorous Subjects ; and the
Greeks c;d!jd inch kind of Writers 7r<wj*i>fapsj, Writers of
Sports or Plays.
5. LtflHo primum.] In this great Defign of the Carmen fe-
fu/are Horace proposes to liiniielf an imitation of Alcasus,
and feern;; to give Him the Glory of inventing Lyric Poetry,
becauft: he excelled all his PrcdecefTon, in that Kind of Com-
pofttion. SAN.
The Fragments which we ftill have of Alca^us, are ani-
mated with a Spirit of Grand(,M;r and -Courage that mews
him equally formed for War and Poetry. He was the,
Ten our of Tyrants, and all Opprefibrs of public Liberty - f
from whence his minaces Cat/iena.' in the fourth Book. His
Superiority to Sappho, when they are represented iinging to
tLe Ghoih of th Departed, is finely imagined.
L 2
148 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Liberum, & Mufas, Veneremque, & illi
Semper hasrentem Puerum canebat, IO
EtLycum, nigris oculis, nigroque
Crine decorum.
O decus Phoebi, & dapibus fupremi
Grata teftudo Jovis, 6 laborum
Dulce lenimen, mihi cunque falve 15
Rite vocanti.
C A R-
Utrumque facro digna filentio
Mirantur umbr<e dicere ; fed maglt
Pugnas, Cff exaflo; tyrannos
Denfum humeris bibitaure vulgui. Lib. 2. Ode 1 3.
Thus when They ftrike the golden Lyre
The Ghofts the folemn Sounds admire ;
But when Alcseus lifts the Strain
To Kings expell 'd, and Tyrants flain,
In thicker Crouds the fhadowy Throng
Drink deeper down the martial Song.
7. Religarat.~\ This Verb has two Significations entirely
oppofite, and which may be conftrued either to fet Sail, or
to cajl Anchor. The Senfe here muft determine us to the
latter Meaning of the Word, as the Poet oppoles the Noife
and Tumult of Battle to the Calm and Repofe after a Storm.
SAN.
1 1 . Lycum nigris oculis."] Black Eyes and black Hair were
Beauties among the Greeks and Romans. Anacreon de-
fires, that his favourite Miftrefs may be painted with black
Hair, and Catullus tells a Girl {he is nothandlbme, becaufc
Ihe has not black Eyes.
13.0 decus Pha:bi.~] The Hymn fung at the fecular Games,
tyas confecrated to the tutelar Divinities of the Roman Em-
pire, from whence the Poet invokes a Lyre that was the
Glory of Apollo, and the Delight of Jupiter in his Feafts.
SAN.
Ode 32. THE ODES OF HORACE, 149
Wine and the Mufes were his Theme,
And Venus, Laughter-loving Dame,
With Cupid, ever by her Side,
And Lycus, form'd in Beauty's Pride,
With his Hair of jetty Dye,
And the black Luftre of his Eye.
Charming Shell, Apollo's Love,
How pleafing to the Feafts of Jove !
Hear thy Poet's folemn Prayer,
Thou Softner of each anxious Care.
1 6. Rife.'] This was a religious Term, which marked the
Ceremonies prefcribed for all exterior Wormip of the Gods.
The ufmg it here in a folemn Invocation of the Lyre may
open to us the Defign of the Ode, and we may find it twice
ufed in the Carmen teculuie in the fume Senle. SAN.
L 3 ODE
( i0) '
CARMEN XXXIII. ^/ALBIUM TIBULLUM.
AL B I, nc doleas plus nimio, memor
Immitis (plycerae, neu miferabileg
Decantes elegos, cur tibl junior
Laesa praeniteat fide.
Infignem tenui fronte Lycoricfa 5
Cyri torret amor : Cyrus in afperaiH
Declinat Pholocn ; fed priiis Appulis
Jungentur capreze lupis,
Quara
Mr_. Dacier, by a Mi'lake, which runs through his whole
Tranflation, aflbrts that Tibullus was but twenty four Years
pf Age when this Ode WKS written, and that confequently
the Epithet ^junior muft be understood a ne*w Lower, not a.
younger. Frprn the fame Mi Irak e He tells us, that Tibullus,
having ruined his Fortune in 'idle and vicious Pleafures, was
obliged to retire to his Country-Seat, to avoid the Purfuit-
of his' Creditors.
That amiable Character, which Horace gives him in the
Rpiftle, Albi, fermonum no finnan candidc judcx, might at leaft
have taught the Critic a little more Caution: And although
it may hot be eafy to fix the Year of the Poet's Birth, yet we
jnay conjecture, with great Probability, that He was born.
about fix hundred and ninety. An ancient Life of this Poet
fays He was honoured with fome military Rewards for his
Merit in the War of Aqu.itains, when by Mr. Dacier's Ac-
count He could be only fifteen Years of Age ; as, by the
(ame Account, He was only twelve Years old at the Battle
of
J ODE XXXIII. 70 ALBIUS TIBULLUS,
NO more in Elegiac Strain
Of cruel Glycera complain,
Though flie refign her faithlefs Charms
To a new Lover's younger Arms.
The Maid, for lovely Forehead fam'd,
With Cyrus* Beauties is enflam'd ;
While Pholoe, of haughty Charms,
The panting Breaft of Cyrus warms ;
But Wolves and Goats (hall fooner prove
The Pleafures of forbidden Love,
Than
of Aclium. He had early engaged Himfclf in the Canfe of
Liberty, and continued in that unfortunate Party with great
Hrmnefs, for which hjs Fortune wa,, by Auguttus divided
among his Soldiers. Thus the Critic, by a Train of Mil-
takes, not only mifleads his Readers, bat has injurioufiy
treated an amiable and virtuous Character.
Verf. 5. Tenui front '*.] The Greeks and Latins thought a
low Forehead a great Beauty. From /-rei'is atque modus bre-
viterjit varibus uncis. MART. And Petronius in the Defcrip-
tion of Circe Front minima. This Taite \vas fo general, as
that thtr Ladies ufed to hide Part of their Foreheads with
Bandages, which Arnobius calls nimlos. linminnercnt frames
nimbis, JP-^<^
152 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i,
Quam turpi Pholoe peccet adultero.
Sic vifum Veneri, cui placet impare^ ip
Fbrmas, atque animos fub juga aenea
Saevp mittere cum joco.
Ipfum me melior quum pqteret VcnuSj
Grata detinuit compede Myrtale
Libertina, freds acrior Adriae
Cun'antis Calabros (inus.
CARMJSN
lo. Sic vifum Ver.eriJ] Sen'ius remarks upon a PafTa^e in
Vifgil, that when the Ancients could not perceive the Reafon
pr Juffice of any extraordinary Action, They u fed to account
'for it, by faying it was the Will of the Gods. This Accp-
fation or" the Gods has a kind cif Refpeft in it, which can
lone preferve it from being blafphemous.
Od. 33. THE ODES OF HORACE. 155
Than (he her Virgin Honour ftain,
"And not the filthy Rake difdain.
So Venus wills, whofe Power controujs
The fpnd Affe&jons of our Souls j
With fportive Cruelty fhe binds
Unequal Fprrns, unequal Minds.
Thus, when a better Miftrefs firove
To warm my youthful Breaft to Love,
Yet could a Slave-born Maid detain
My willing Heart in pleafing Chain,
Though fiercer She, than Waves that roar
Winding the rpugh Calabrian Shore.
ODE
( 154 )
CARMEN XXXIV.
PARCUS Deorum cultor, & infrequent,
Infanientis dum fapientire
Confultus erro ; nunc retrorfum
Vela dare, atque iterare curfus
Cogor
Tranflated by Dr. D u N K i N.
The Commentators are much divided about the Defign
and Intention of this Ode ; whether the Poet hath made a
fmcere Recantation of the Epicurean Philosophy, or whether
He laughs at the Stoics by a pretended Converfion to their
Doclrine. The lait Opinion is fupported by the following
Reafons.
If Horace really abjured the Seel: of Epicurus, it muft have
been in the lait ten Years of,, his Life, as appears by the
fourth Epiftle of the firft Book ; and as it was a frequent
Argument againlt Atheifts, that although Clouds are naturally
the Caufe of Thunder, yet it is fometim.es heard in a clear
Sky, Horace muft have early known an Inftance of this
Kind of Reafoning, as well as the btoical Conclusion drawn
from it. But, befides the Weaknefs of the Reafon which
he gives for changing his religious Principles, it is a little
extraordinary, that we mould not have any other the leait
Proof of this Converfion in hi;; whole Works.
Verf. i. Parcus Deorum cultor.'] The Epicureans only con-
formed to the outward Ceremonies of. religious Worfhip,
which They thought the Credulity of the People had efta-
blifhed. This Superficial kind of Devotion the Poet hath
exprefled by the Word parcus. S
Infrequent^ There is in this Epithet a remarkable Beauty,
which the Tranflation hath endeavoured to preferve. It is a
Metaphor taken from a Soldier, who deferts from his Co-
lours. Infrequent appellabatur miles qui abeft, abfuitve a
fignii.
3 2. la
( 155 )
-
ODE XXXIV,
A Fugitive from Heaven and Prayeiy
.x"~Y- I mocjc'd at all religious Fear,
Deep-fcienced in the mazy Lore
Of mad Philofophy ; but now
Hoift Sail, and back my Voyage plow
To that bleft Harbpur, which I left before.
For
2. Infan'ientls fapitnti<e.~\ Wifiom in the very Ati of running
mnd. According to the Stoics the Syftem. of Epicurus was
Folly and Madnefs : According to the Epicureans it deferred
the Title of Wifdom. Horace hath pleafantly put thcfe two
Words together, which fcem naturally to deftroy each other,
and, with an Equivocation, that keeps the Reader in Suf-
pence, makes ufe of the Word Safrientite, which either
fignines Wifdom or Philofophy. An Epicurean may under-
Itand it in the nrft Senfe, and a Stoic in the fecond. SA:J.
4. Iterare turfus rekcioi.~\ This metaphorical Expreffion is
taken from a Traveller, who hath miftaken one Road for
another, and returns immediately to the Spot from whence
his Wandering began. Rslefios curfut iff rare, is, relsgendo
curfus iterare.
Utque ope I'irgitiea niiili$ iterate priorunt
Janua difficilis filo e/I inventa releclo. OVID. METAM.
Curfus rditlus is not Latin ; Heinfms, Dr. Bentley and Mr.
Sanadon aflure us, that \ve may fay curfum intennitiere, curfum
dcjinere, but never curfum relinquere; that it is a manner of
fpeaking abfolutely improper and without Example ; and
that if we receive the ufual Reading, we are obliged to
prove that Horace had been once a Stoic, and had foilaken
the Doctrines of that Philofophy. to which He now returns.
156 Q^HORATII FLACClCARMINUM Lib. I.
Cogor rele&os ; namque Diefpiter $
Igni corufco nubila dividens
Plerumque, per purum tonantes
Egit equos, volucremque currum ;
Quo bruta tellus, & vaga flumina,
Quo Styx, & invifi horrida Tsenari " ^ IO
Sedes, Atlanteufque finis,
Concutitur. Valet ima fummis
Mutare, & infignem attenuat Deus,
Obfcura promens : hinc apicem rapax
Fortuna cum ftridore acuto *5
Suftulit, hie pofuiffe gaudet. .
CARMEN
c. Namque Diefpiter.'] A Stoic might fuppofe, that the
Strength of his Convidlion furnimed the Poet with Images
fo noble, with Cadences fo pompous, and Expreffions fo
animated. Yet the Weaknefs of the fingle Reafon, which
he gives for his Converfion, may juftly make us fufpeft, that
He hath raifed thefe Strophes with fo much Magnificence,
only to impofe upon the Stoics by an affeded Recantation
of his Epicurean Errours.
Diefpiter fignifies Die* pate); as Jupiter is put for TON*
pater, and Marjpiter for Mars pater. SAN.
7. Plerumqueper purum] I who was formerly an Epicurean,
am now obliged to ccnfefs the Being of a God; for 7 lately heard
the Thunder rolling in a clear, unclouded Sky, per purum, which
itfually, plerumque, proceeds from natural Caufes, when the
Firmament is covered with Clouds. By placing a Comma after
thrumciuc, the ienfe and Connexion are plain.
BANGIUS. BENT.
12. Valet ima fummis. ] The Poet here throws off theMaflc
of Stoicifm, and appears an open, undifguifed Epicurean.
He acknowledges the Being of the Gods, and owns their
Power, but for fear of giving too much Trouble to their
Indolence, He abandons all Events to Fortune, whofe good
Plcafure and fovereign Authority govern all things here be-
low. DAC. SAN.
A Writer of critical Obfervations on Shakefpear write*
thus : When Horace was at Athens he imbibed the Principles
of the Stoic Philofophy : At the breaking out of the Civil
Wars hejoinedhimielf to Brutus, who gave him the Com-
mand
Od. 34. THE ODES OF HORACE. 157
For lo ! that awful heavenly Sire,
Who frequent cleaves the Clouds with Fire,
Parent of Day, immortal Jove !
Late through the floating Fields of Air,
The Face of Heaven ferene and fair,
His thundering Steeds and winged Chariot droVe 5
When, at the burfting of his Flames,
The ponderous Earth and vagrant Streams,
Infernal Styx, the dire Abode
Of hateful Tznarus profound,
And Adas to his utrnoft Bound,
Trembled beneath the Terrours of the God.
The Hand of Jove can crufh the Proud
Down to the meaneft of the Croud,
And raife the loweft in his ftead ;
But rapid Fortune pulls him down,
And fnatches his imperial Crown,
To place, not fix it, on another's Head.
ODE
mand of a Roman Legion. His Fortune being ruined, he
went to the Court of Auguftus, turned Rake, Atheift, and
Poet. Afterwards he grew fober, and a Stoic Philofopher
again.
Where this Gentleman's critical Sagacity hath found thefe
curious Anecdotes of our Poet's Religion, is perhaps im-
poffible to know. The World hath long enjoyed the good-
natured Opinion, that he was an honeft Man, and, as he
exprefles it, a Friend to Virtue and her Friends. With
regard to his Religion, it is little lefs than an Outrage to
human Reafon to think him an Atheift.
1 4. Obfcura.~\ The Critics agree that Horace, in Purity of
Style, fhould have written obfcurum after inftgnem. Doftor
Bentley reads injigne, and Mr. Sanadon thinks it one of the
happiefl Corrections in Mr. Cuningham, that he hath fet
inJigniLi in grammatical Opposition to obfcura. If the Reader
appiove of this laft Correction, he muft allow the poetical
Licence of making Injignia three Syllables, of which there
axe fcveral Inftances in the Poets.
(
I ,;ini t \&*.':
CARMEN XXXV* ./&/ FORTUNAM.
.
Diva, gratttm quae regis Antium/
Praefens vel imo tollere de gradu
Mortale corpus, vel fuperbos
Vertere funeribus triumphos :
Te pauper ambit folicita prece |
Ruris colonus : te dominam aequorbj
Quicumqtie Bithyna laceflit
Carpathium pelagus carina :
Te Dacus afper, te profugi Scythaej
Urbefque^ gentefque, & Latium feroXj 10
Regumque matres barbarorumj &
Purpurei metuunt tyranni.
Injuriofo ne pede proruas
Stantem columnam j heu populus fremeris
Ad arm a ceffantes, ad arma i5
Concitet, imperiumque frangat*.
Te
The Subjcft of this Ode is perfectly noble, well defigned^
and well executed. Its V'erfification is flowing and harmo-
nious, its Expreflion bold and fublime.
In the Year 7 1 9 Auguftus was on his March to Britai'n,
but was recalled by a Revolt of the Dalmatians. In 727,
having ended the civil Wars by the Defeat of Antony, He
again refolved to turn his Arms againft that Ifland, but was
farished with an Embafly from thence, and a Promife of
Obedience to any Conditions, which He pleafed to impofe
upon Them. Thefe Conditions not being well obisrvcd.
He was determined to make the Britons feel the Effects of
159 )
ODE XXXV. <fo FORTUNE.
r:fc8W*u? -cfrVr
GODDESS,whom Antium, beauteous Town, obeys,
Whofe various Will with inftant Power, can raife
Frail Mortals from the Depths of low Defpair,
Or change proud Triumphs to the funeral Tear ;
. Thee the poor Farmer, who with ceafelefs Pain
Labours the Soil ; Thee, Miftrefs of the Main,
The Sailor, who with fearlefs Spirit dares
The rifing Tempefr, courts with anxious Prayers :
Thee the rough Dacian, Thee the vagrant Band
Of field-born Scythians, Latium's warlike Land,
Cities and Nations, Mother- Queens revere,
And purple Tyranny beholds with Fear.
Nor in thy Rage with Foot deftrucYive fpurn
This {landing Pillar and its Strength o'erturn ;
Nor let the Nations rife in bold Uproar,
From Peace arife to break th' imperial Power.
With
His Difpieafure, yet was again obliged to employ the Forces
of the Republic in luppreiiing an InfurrtiCtion of the Salalfi,
Cantabri and Aihirii. SAX.
It is indifferent upon which of thefe Occanons this Ode
was written, and It is impoiHble to determine with any Ex-
actneis.
13. Injurio/o.] Thefe two Strophes will appear with a very
different
i6o Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib.*.
Te Temper anteit faeva neteifitas,
Clavos trabales, & ctmeos mami
Geftans ahena } nee feverus
Uncus abeft, liquidumve plumbum. ib
Te fpes, & albo rara fides colit
Velata panno } nee comitem abnegatj
Utcumque mutata potentes
Vefte domos inimica linquis.
AJ
different Senfe according to the Manner of Pointing. If \ve
make a full Stop at metuunt, the firft Strophe can only ex-
prefs the Fears, with which Kings and Nations regard tire
Power of Fortune ; and the fecond will be turned into a
Prayer for the Roman State, which is naturally reprefented
by a Column, raifed and ftrengthened by the Victories of
Auguftus, yet liable to be fhaken and overturned by Revolts
and Infurredlions in the Abfence of that Prince. If we
read the PafTage with the ufual Pointing, the Word metuunt
muft refer to the Column and Empire of each particular
King, Nation, and Country. But, befides that it would
be more elegant, Horatian Latin, to fay metumt ne proruas,
rather than metuunt te, ne proruas, there feems to be fome
Hardnefs in the Expreflion, if we apply the ftanding Pillar
to fo many different Nations, particularly to the vagrant
Scythians, who can very hardly be faid to fear, that the
Nations fhoald rife to break their Empire.
If the Tranflator could have ventured fo bold an Alteration,
he would have printed this Strophe after Partibus, Oceanoque
rubro. We fhould then have the Character and Defcription
of Fortune in one, unbroken Length, and each Strophe
would begin with fome new Inftance of her Power. The
Prayer to the Goddefs would then be regularly continued,
and end very happily with a Petition for con firming the Gran-
deur of the Roman State, and its Prefervation from any fu-
ture Infurredions of the Nations, which it had fubdued,
and which were now at Peace, ad arma cejjemtes.
This
Od. 35. THE DOES OF HORACE* 161
With folemn Pace and firm, in awful State
Before Thee ftalks inexorable Fate,
And grafps impailing Nails and Wedges dread,
The Hook tormentous, and the melted Lead ;
Thee Hope and Honour, now, alas, how rare !
With white enrob'd, attend with duteous Care,
When from the Palace of the Great you fly
In angry Mood, and Garb of Mifery.
Not
This laft Reflexion would better introduce the Remem-
brance of the Civil War, the Miferies and Crimes, which
it produced, and the Prayer which concludes the Ode.
1 7. Stg<va necejfitas.'] Mr. Dacier imagines that thefe Lines
are a Defcription of a Picture in Antium, or rather of one
tawn by the Hand of the Poet, whom he doth not doubt to
an excellent Painter. The Conjecture is indeed a Com-
pliment to pur favourite Author, yet a little difficult of Proof.
The Retinue of Fortune is well chofen. Neceffity goes
before Her, becaufe there is nothing capable of refilling her
Power. Hope is made her Companion, becaufe Fortune is
the Refuge of the Mifcrable, and Fidelity never leaves Her,
becaufe a true r riend is equally conftant to bad, as to good
Fortune. SAN.
22. Neccomitemabmgat.'] This Pa/Tage hath fame Difficulty.
Fortunes never leaves any Perfon. When me is favourable,
the Poet reprefents her under the Idea of a Woman finely
drefied, who fills her Houfe with Happinefs and Abundance;
but when me changes her Temper, ihe is reprefented as
changing her Drefs, and leaving the Houfe to Deftruction
and Mikry. Thus me ftill continues a Companion, even to
them whom fhe hath rendered milcrable. DAC.
This feems to be rather a literal Conftrudtion of the
Words, than the poetical Meaning of the Author, who, by
Fortune's changing her Drefs, alludes to the Habits of
Mourning worn by People in Affliction.
VOL. I. Kl^' M fti.Dif*
i $2 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. t.
At vulgus infidum, & meretrix retro 2$
Perjura cedit : diffugiunt cadis
Cum faece ficcatis amici,
Ferre jugum pariter dolofi.
Serves iturum Caefarem in ultimos
Orbis Britannos, & juvenum recens 3
Examen, Eois timendum
Partibus, Oceanoque rubro.
Eheu ! cicatricum & fceleris pudet,
Fratrumque. Quid nos dura refugimus
JEtas ? .Quid intalum nefafti 35
Liquimus? Unde manumjuventus
Metu Deorum continuit ? Quibus
Pepercit aris ? O utinam nova
Incude diffingas retufum in
Maflagetas, Arabafquc ferrum.
CARMEN
26. Diffugiunt cadis."] This Image, taken from the Lees
of Wine, hath fomething extremely below the Dignity of
this Ode ; and however beautiful the next Idea may be, in
which a falfe Friend is faid to refufe to bear the Yoke of
Life, yet there feems to be fomething faulty in joining two
Comparifons together fo very different in kind. The bcft
Latin Authors, efpecially the Poets, are but too carelefs in
this refpeft. Multi quitm initium a, tftnpeftate /umferint, in-,
cendio aut rtilna finiunt '. QUIN. DAC. SAN.
3t. Eois timendum.'} In the End of the Year 727, Elius
Callus marched with an Army to fucceed Cornelius in the
Government of Egypt, and as He wanted a Fleet for his
Expedition againft the Arabians, he ordered a Number of
Ships to be built in the Ports of the Red Sea. As this Army
alarmed all the Countries of the Eaft, fo the Romans had
the greateft Expectations that it would revenge all the Infults,
which the Republic had received from the Parthians.
There are a great many wife Conjeftures which attempt
to acqpunt for the Name of the Red Sea, and probably thofc
f greateft Learning hve leaft Truth. Thus of the White
Sea,
Od. 35. THE ODES OF HORACE." 16$
Not fuch the Croud of light Companions prove,
toor the falfe Miftrefs of a wanton Love,
Faithlefs who wait the loweft Dregs to drain,
Nor Friendftiip's equal Yoke with Strength fuft^rt,
Propitious guard the Prince, who bold
His venturous Way to fartheft Britain's SHof*!
Our new-rais'd Troops be thy peculiar Cafe,
Who dreadful to the Eaft our Banners bear.
Alas ! the fhamelefs Scars ! the guilty Deed*,
When by a Brother's Hand a Brother bleeds !
What Crimes have we, an iron Age, not dar'd ?
Through Reverence of Gods what Altar fpar'd r
Oh ! that our Swords with civil Gore diftain'd,
And in the Sight of Gods and Men profan'd
Oh forge again, dread Queen, the temper'd Steel,
And let our Foes the pointed Vengeance feel.
ODE
Sea, the Blue Sea, the Black Sea, the Green Sea, &c. where
Chance or Fancy, or fome particular Event hath produced
thefe Names, which have furnifhed iuch abundant Matter of
Erudition to Critics. SAN.
33. Eheu .' cicafricum.'} The Poet artfully laments the Ca-
lamities of the Civil War, from which Auguftus had relieved
the Commonwealth, and to which it might be again expofcd
by his Abfence. SAN.
38. O utinam.] Horace prays to Fortune, that fhe would
forge again the Swords, which had been ftaincd with the
Blood of the Romans in the Civil War, that they might be
employed againft the Enemies of the Republic. While they
were polluted with Civil Blood, they muft be Objefts of
Hatred ar.d Averfion to the Gods. DAC.
!( 1*4 )
CARMEN XXXVI.
ET thure, & fidibus juvat
Placare, & vituli fanguine debito
Cuftodes Numidae Decs ;
Qui nunc, Hefperia fofpes ab ultima,
Caris inulta fodalibus, 5
Nulli plura tamen dividit ofcula,
Quam dulci Lamiae, memor
A&ze non alio rege puertias,
Mutataeque fimul toga?.
Crefsa ne careat pulchra dies nota j 10
Neu prompts modus amphorae,
Neu morem in Salium fit rcquies pedum ;
Neu
It is probable that this Ode was written in the Year 730,
whenNumida returned with Auguftus from the War of Spain ;
and we may judge with how much Tendernefs Horace loved
his Friends, when he celebrated their Return with Sacrifices,
Dances and Songs. . SAN.
Verf. 2. Placare.'] Although Numida was returned, yet
his Friends ought ftill to fear the Anger of the Gods until
they had performed their Vows, and offered the Sacrifice
they had promifed. DAC.
9. Mutataque fimul tog*.'} The Greeks and Latins called
the Tutors of their Children Kings, or Governors. At the
Age of feventeen their Youth put on the Toga, and were no
longer under a Tutor's Power. The Toga was a large
Mantle, worn over the Tunica, and different in Length,
Colour and Ornaments, according to the Fortune or Profef-
iion of the Wearer. SAN.
10. Crefsa
ODE XXXVI.
WITH Incenfe heap the facred Fire,
And bolder ftrike the willing Lyre.
Now let the Heifer's votive Blood
Pour to the Gods its purple Flood j
Thofe guardian Gods, from fartheft Spain
Who fend our Numida again.
A thoufand Kifles now He gives,
A thoufand Kifles He receives,
But Lamia moft his Friendfhip proves,
jLamia with Tendernefs he loves.
At School their youthful Love began,
Where they together rofe to Man.
With happieft Marks the Day (hall fhine,
Nor want th' abundant Joy of Wine;
Like Salian Priefts the Dance we '11 lead,
And many a mazy Meafure tread.
Now
10. Crefsa ne careat.'] As Chalk was found in great Abun-
dance in Crete, the Ancients ufed to fay proverbially a Cre-
tan Mark for any Mark of Joy and Happinefs ; on the con-
trary, their unlucky Days were faid to be marked with black.
Creta, em earlone notandi. Hor.
Illaprius Creta, max btec carlone notofti. Perf.
LAMB.
M 3
i66 Q! HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i.
Neu multi Damalis meri
BafTum Threicia vincat amyftide ;
Neu delint epulis rofae* 15
Neu vivax apium, neu breve lilium.
Omnes in Damalin putres
Deponent oculos ; nee Damalis npvq
Divelletur adultero,
Lafcivis hederis arrjbitiofior. 20
CARMEN
13. Multi Damalii msri.~] The ancient Romans had fuch
an Abhorrence of a Woman's drinking to Excefs, that the
kaws of the twelve Tables permitted an Hulband to punifh
Jus Wife with Death, who was guilty of that Crime. Vxorem
temulentam marlto puniendi oecidenji'vtjuspote/iafqueejlo. SAN.
Torrentius thinks that Damalis intended ut mulierum eft
mas to fpare her Lover Nurnida in this drinking Match, and
that therefore the Challenge is formed between her and
Baffus, who is encouraged to attack this Miftrefs of the Feaft.
14. Tbreicia-'atnxftidc.~\ This Term is Greek, and fignifies
i Cuftom among the Thracians of drinking a certain Meafure
of Wine without clofing the Lips or taking Breath. LAMB.
1 6. Vi-vax apium.] A kind of wild Parfley, of a beautiful
Verdure, which preferve,s its Frefhnefs a long Time, from
whence the Poet calls it vivax. SAN.
17. Putres oculos.'] The Eye by Excefs of Wine is loofe
and flowing, or almoil diffolved and~broken. As Love has
the fame Eflfeft, Anacreon deiires a Painter to draw the Eyes
of his Miftrefs, like thofepf Venqs^m^ in Moifiure. llle
ejl inVenertmfutris* Perf. TURNEB.
Od. 36. THE ODES OF HORACE. 167
Now let the Thracian Goblet foam,
Nor in the breathlefs Draught o'ercome
Shall Baflus yield his boafted Name
To Damalis of tipling Fame.
Here let the Rofe and Lilly flied
Their fhort-liv'd Bloom ; let Parfley fpread
Its living Verdure o'er the Feaft,
And crown with mingled Sweets the Gueft :
On Damalis each amorous Boy
Shall gaze with Eyes that flow with Joy,
While (he, as curls the Ivy-Plant,
Shall twine luxuriant round her new Gallant.
Co*
( i68 ) ;
: "
CARMEN XXXVII. Ad SODALES.
UNO eftbibendum, nunc pede libero
It f f -T
Pulfanda tellus ; nunc Salianbus
Ornare pulvinar Deoruni ,, .
Tempus e'rat dapibus, fodales.
N
Antehac nefas depromere Caecubam $
Cellis avitis, dum Capitolio
Regina dementes ruinas,
Funus & imperio parabat,
Contaminato
Tranfla^ed by Dr. D v N K i N.
The Death of Cleopatra put an End to the War between
Oftavius and Antony. Horace compofed fix Odes upon
this Subject, and although this be the lalt, yet it is not the
leaft beautiful. As if the Succefs of Oftavius had given him
new Strength, the Poet and Hero are equally triumphant.
The Character of Cleopatra is perfectly finiftied, and her
Death reprefented in very natural and lively Colours. All
her Paffions are in violent Motion ; her Ambition is Drun-
kennefs ; her Love is Madnefs; and her Courage isDefpair;
while the Soul of the Poet feems to be animated with all her
Tranfports, which break forth into a Grandeur of Senti-
ments, a Boldnefs of Figures, aad an Energy of Exprellion.
We may obierve in this Ode (as in all the others which
were written qn the Subjeft of the Civil Wars) a conflaat
Tendernefs and Care for the Perfon of Antony. He raifed
the whole Eaft in Arms againft Oftavius, and his Death had
now delivered that Prince from a dangerous Rival, and put
fin End to a War, which had laid wafte the Republic fa
jnany Years. Yet all the Indignation of the Poet falls upoi>
Cleopatra,
( 169 )
ODE XXXVII. Ti? his COMPANIONS.
NO W let the Bowl with Wine be crown'd,
Now lighter dance the mazy Round,
And let the facred Couch he ftor'd
With the rich Dainties of a Salian Board.
Sooner to draw the mellow* d Wine
Preft from the rich Caecubian Vine'
Were impious Mirth, while yet elate
The Queen breath'd Ruin to the Roman State.
Surrounded
Cleopatra, and her Death alone is propofed as an Objeft of
thepublic Joy. TORR. SAN.
Befides the prudential Reafons of not offending the Party
of Antony, which 'muft have been ftill very powerful in
Rome, Horace might poffibly have known that unhappy
Roman, and was too generous to infult his Reputation after
his Death.
Verf. i . Nunc eft l>ibenJum.~\ Inilead of lofing himfelf in
puerile Defcriptions of the public Joy, the Poet paffeth at
pnce to the Caufes from whence it rofe. The boundlefs
Proje&s of Cleopatra j thofe Alarms, which {he caufed
through the whole Empire ; the Ruin of her Fortune, and
the melancholly Cataftrophe of her Death, are theObje&s,
fhat animate the Scene, and fix our Attention. SAN.
2. Nunc Saliaribus.~} Upon any Event advantageous to the
State, the Romans ordered public Prayers in the Temples,
and invited the Gods to Banquets of the greateft Magnificence.
*The Expreffion of Horace is perfectly exaft ; all the Orna-
ments of the Entertainment were a Compliment to the Gods,
|>ut the Profit belonged to their Priefts. SAN.
FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. i7
Contaminato cum grege turpium
Morbo virorum ; quidlibet impotens 10
Sperare, fortunaque dulci
Ebria ; fed minuit furorem
Vix una fofpes navis ab ignibus ;
Mentemque lymphatam Mareotico
Redegit in veros timores 15
. ' Caefar, ab Italia volantem
Remis adurgens (accipiter velut
Molles columbas, aut leporem citus
Venator in campis nivalis
./Emoniae) daret ut catenis 2(5
Fatale monftrum ; quae generofius
Perire quaerens, nee muliebriter
Expavit enfem, nee latentes
Clafle citae reparavit oras.
. ,
Aufa
13. Ab ignibus.] The Fleet of Antony, even after his
Flight, made fuch an obftinate Refiftance, as obliged Au-
guftus to fend for Fire from his Camp to deftroy it. DAC.
15. Vent timores.] Horace fays, that continual feafting
and drinking, had difordered Cleopatra's Underftanding
even to Madnefs, and thefe veros timores are put in ftrong
Oppofition to quidlibet impotent fperare. Her Hopes were
vain, but all her Fears were real. SAN.
16. Ab Italia volantem.'] Cleopatra left Egypt with a nu-
merous and formidable Fleet, and failed, as tq a certain
Conqueft, towards Italy, which, from 'being an Object of
her Hopes, was now become a Scene of Terrour, from which
She fled, in the greatefl Diforder, with all the Speed of
Sails and Oars. SAN.
20. Baret ut catenis.'] Oftavius had given particular Di-
reftions to Proculeius and Epaphroditus to take Cleopatra
alive, that He might make Himfelf Mafter of her Treafures,
and have the Glory of leading her in Triumph. Juftly fen-
fible
Od.37- THE GDIS OF HORACE. 1/1
Surrounded by a tainted Train
Of Men effeminate, obfcene,
She rav'd of Empire nothing lefs
Vaft in her Hopes, and giddy with Succefs.
But, hardly refcu'd from the Flames,
One lonely Ship her Fury tames j
While Caefar with impelling Oar
Purfued her flying from the Latian Shore :
Her, with /Egyptian Wine infpir'd,
With the full Draught to Madnefs fir'd,
Auguftus fober'd into Tears,
And turn'd her Vifions into real Fears,
As darting fudden from above
The Hawk attacks a tender Dove :
Or fweeping Huntfman drives the Hare
O'er wide ,/Emonia's icyDefarts drear j
So Caefar through the Billows preft
To lead in Chains the fatal Peft :
But Ihe a nobler Fate explor'd,
Nor Woman-like beheld the deathful Sword.
UnmovM
fible of this Ignominy, She had referred a Dagger for her
Jaft Extremities, and when She faw Proculeius enter, Ihe
raifed it to ftab herfelf, but He dexteroufly wrenched it from
her. LAMB.
21. Monftrum; ques.] This manner of fpeaking is not
without Examples in the beft Authors. Ubi eftfcelus, qui me
ferdidit? TERENT. Duo importuna pro Jig ia, quoi egeftas, &c.
CICERO, where the Adjective is applied to the Perfon, ra-
ther than to the Subftantive, SAN.
Q.HORAYII FLACCI CARMWUM Lib; i.
& jacentcm vifere regiam 25
Vttuferenofortis, & afperas
Tra&are ferpentes, ut atrum
Corpore corabiberet veneniun,
Deliberata morte ferocior ;
Szvis Liburnis fcilicet invidens, 30
Privata deduci fuperbo
Non hmnilis mulier triumpho.
CARMEN
25. Jatentem regiam.'] It would contradift the Faith of
Htftory to con&ruejaeentem lying in Ruins, dirutam or defiru-
gam. In Purity of Style it may fignify mcejiam, defolatam,
iefyeratam. SAN.
26. dfperas.'] This Word, taken in the Senfe of exacer-
latas t afperatas, forms a very beautiful Image, and exadly
agreeable to Hiftory.j.Jbr Plutarch tells , us, that She pro-
voked the Afp to greater Fury by pricking it with a golden
Spindle, djpitttm pe'rhlbent fufo aureo ifjam lateffentis &Jii-
mufantis arripuifle Ctf6patr<c bnz<hmm.
Thus died the moft beautiful and moft ambitious Princefs
fa the World, at the Age of: thirty eight Years, of which
She reigned feventeen. With her fell the ^Egyptian Mo-
narchy, which had fubfifted two hundred, fourfcore, and
fourteen Years, under, thirteca KJcgs of the Faniily of the
Lagidas. ^ . ^ SAN.
50. S&Vrs ti&umis:] The Poet mentions thefe Veflils, not
.waly becaufe they were particularly ferviceable in gaining
the Viftory, but in Compliment to his Patron Maecenas,
tth.o commanded that Squadron. SAN.
1
1
$ lo izn
Od. 37. THE ODES OF HORACE*
Unmov'd fhe faw her State deftroy'tL
Her Palace now a lonely Void,
Nor with her profligated Hofty vy- ' { ^
For Succour fled to fome far diftant Coair.
: ^.if.-> :: ,-.zi:s .rho 2U'Jl%R'A*~f
With fearlefs Hand fhe dar'd to grafp
The Writhings of the wrathful Afp,
And fuck the Poifon through her Veins^
Refolv'd on Death, and fiercer from its Pains }
Then fcorning to be led die Boaft
Of mighty Czfar's naval Hoft,
And arm'd with more than mortal Spleen,
Defrauds a Triumph, and expires a Queen.
r! erbu-g-j-l rffc* *^, i.. v <.; .'.>p::Vo ra . -^rj'iav. ri->u
iffr ?:iyi-j J : sd ^rssV
( 174)
CARMEN XXXVIII. Ad PUERUM.
PERSICOS odi, puer, apparatus:
DifpHcent nexae philyra corona :
Mitte fe&ari, rofa quo locorum
Sera moretur.
Simplici myrto nihil allabores 5
Sedulus curse : neque te miniftrum
Dedecet myrtus, neque me fub arda
Vite bibentem.
Q..HORATII
This little Piece hath nothing remarkable either in the
Subjeft or the Compofition. It is rather a Song, than an
Ode and yet the Genius and Manner of a great Matter
appears in the foialleft Works. We find here an Expreflion
cafy and natural, Verfes flowing and harmonious, and a
little Stroke of Pleafantry, which very happily ends the
Song. Horace had probably invited fome of his Friends to
Supper, and his Slave was making an extraordinary Pre-
paration for their Entertainment. But our Poet, in his Epi-
curean Wifdom, declares that Plcafures morefimplc and lefs
extravagant were better fuited to his Tafte. SAN.
Verf. 3. Rofafera.] They, who were more foft and deli-
cate, thought themfelves very little elegant, unlefs their
Luxury changed the whole Year ; unlefs they had Winter-
Rofes floating in their Cups. Delicati illi & fuentes farum
fe lautos putabant, nifi luxuria 'verti/et annum, nifi bybern<r
"poculis rof<e innataffent. P A c A T .
6. Sedulus car*.] The Elegance of this Reading, which
Mr. Cuningham hath rcftored from an antient Manufcript,
had efcaped the common Grammarians and Copyiils. They
believed they were obliged to read euro with Regard to Ho-
race, or cura with Relation to his Slave. SAW.
7. Dtelecetmyrtus.] The Ancients ufed to crown their Heads
with Myrtle in their Feafts, not only becaufe it wa facred to
Venus, but tecaufe they thonght it difpelled the Vapours of
their Wine. LAM*.
( '75)
ODE XXXVIII. f bis SLAVE,
TTELL thee, Boy, thatldeteft
* The Grandeur of a Perfian Feaft, '
Nor for Me the Linden's Rind
Shall the flowery Chaplet bind ;
Then fearch not where the curious Rofe
Beyond his Seafon loitering grows,
But beneath the mantling Vine
While I quaff the flowing Wine,
The Myrtle's Wreath fhall crown our Brows,
While You fliall wait and I carouze.
THE
HORATII FLACCI
C A R M I N U M
LIBER SECUNDUS.
CARMEN I. Ad ASINIUM POLLIONEM*
MO T U ^ ex Metello confule civictim,
Bellique Wufas, & vitia & modos,
Ludumque Fortuna^ gravefque
Principum amicitias, & arma
Nonduth
Tranflated by Dr. D u N K i N.
Pollio fmce the Year 715 lived in a private Manner at
Rome, and in his Retirement had written feveral Tragedies
which, in the Judgement of Horace and Virgil, had equalled
the Stage of Rome to that of Athens. But a Work better
meriting his whole Strength and Attention was an Hiitory
of the Civil Wars. It was already far advanced when the
Poet wrote this Ode, and being apprehenfive left that Ap-
plaufe, which Pollio received from the Stage, might i
'terrupt an Hiftory fo interefting to the Republic, He urges
him in the ftrongeft Manner to continue it, yet tells him at
the fame Time, how delicate and dangerous a Work he had
undertaken. Mr. Dacier believes that this Ode was written
in the Year 714, two Years after the Battle of Philippi, when
Pollio was Conful. Yet it is very little reafonable that He
fliould have Leifure in the very Adion of the Perufian W ar,
the Treaty of Brundufium, and the Bufmefs of his <~onlul-
fhip, to write either Hiilories or Tragedies. And as Pollio
was aftually then in Arms againft Oftavius to hinder hi
Paffage over the Alps, it muft have been a very poetical Ii
difcredon in Horace to write to Him with fo much Friend-
fhip and Efteem. Befides, Oaavius was the Year before lo
powerful in Rome, that he obliged Lucius Antonms thj
THE SECOND
BOO
O F T H E
ODES of HORACE.
ODE I. To ASINIUS POLLIO.
F warm Commotions, wrathful Jars,
The growing Seeds of civil Wars j
Of double Fortune's cruel Games,
The fpecious Means, the private Aims,
And fatal Friendfbips of the guilty Great*
Alas !. how fatal to the Roman State ! Of
Conful, and Brother of the Triumvir, to leave it ; nor is it
probable, that he would have fuffered Pdllio to exercife an
Office of fo much Power, while he was openly engaged in
the Party of Antony. The War of Perufinm ended in Spring
714, and Dion writes that Antony, whomPollio had joined,
did not return to Italy until the Month of July the fame
Year; and as the Peace of Brundufmm; concluded by the
Interpofition of Coccius, Maecenas, and Pollio, was not
perfected, until September, Pollio's Confullhip could have
continued but a fliort Time, and confequently he could have
but little Leifure for writing. If then we fix the Date of
this Ode m the Y^ar 725, when the civil War was ended by
the Death of Antony, we (hall allow Pollio a fufiicient ' im<5
for his Hiilory, and we may with more Probability fuppofe,
that he undertook fuch a Work as an Amufement in his Re-
tirement from public Affairs. SAN
^ Verf. 2 Vitia & modos] Thefe two Words bear a very
different Senfe. The frit mews the Confequences and Ef-
fects of the civil War; The fecond explains the CdnduA
and Circumflances of it. SAN.
4. Gravefqiie Pritidpum amicifias.] Velleius, fpeaking of
Vot. I. N the
178 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Nondum expiatis uncla cruoribus, 5
Periculofae plenum opus aleae
Traclas, & incedis per ignes
Suppofitos'cineri dolofo :
Paulum feveras Mufa tragcedias
Defit theatris : mox, ubi publicas IO
Res ordinaris, grande munus
Cecropio repetes cothurno,
Infigne
the firfl Triumvirate, gives the full Idea of this Epithet
graves. Inter C<?farem, Pompeium, & CraJJum inita Potently
focietas, ques Urbi, Orbique terrarum, nee minus di--verfoque
tempore ipfis cxitiabilisfiierit. The fame might be faid of the
fecond Triumvirate, according to an Expreffion of Cato ;
It <was not their Enmity, but their Friend/hip , that was fatal to
the Republic. SAN.
5. Nondum expiatis. ~\ Horace here means the- Ceremonies
of Expiation with which the Pontiff ufed to purify the People
when polluted with the Blood of their Fellow-Citizens.
They appeared in Arms in the Campus Martius ; The Ce-
remony was called Armiluftrium, and the Sacrifice Solitaurilia.
TURNEB.
6. Pericu/offf opus."] This and the two following Lines re-
prefent to Pollio his Danger in attempting a Work of fo
much Importance in the Subjeft, and fo much Delicacy in
the Manner of treating it. The Faith of Hiltory was to be
preferved, yet without offending Augultus, or difobliging
the many Families, who had been deeply engaged in the
civil War. Thefe two Expreffions. by which the Poet would
reprefent this political Danger, a Work of dangerous Dye, and
walking through Fires, feem to have been proverbially ufed
in the Roman Language. Jaffa eft aha. Ultimam experiri
ttleam.
Infalix, pr -operas ultima nojfe mala,
Et mifer ignotos wjligia ferre pr igr.es. Propert.
SAN. DAC
Od. f. THE ODES OF HORACE.
Of mighty Legions late fubdu'd,
And Arms with Latian Blood imbru'd,
Yet unaton'd (a Labour vaft !
Doubtful the Dye, and dire the Caft !)
You treat adventurous, and incautious tread
On Fires, with faithlefs Embers overfpread :
Retard a while thy glowing Vein,
Nor fwell the folemn, tragic Scene ;
And when thy fage, historic Cares
Have form'd the Train of Rome's Affairs,
With lofty Rapture re-inflam'd, infufe
Heroic Thoughts, and wake the bufkin'd Mufe :
9. Sever* Mufa tragceeli<e.~\ Befides the political Danger
of writing fuch an Hiftory, the real Difficulty of executing
it happily required Pollio's whole Art and Penetration ; his
utmoft Diligence and Care. The Poet therefore advifes
Him to quit all other Studies ; to forget the Mufe who pre-
fides over Tragedy, and to give himfclf entirely to this
grande munus. But when he mall have ordered; when he
fhall have formed the public Affairs by finilhing their Hiftory,
let him then return to the Applaufe of the Theatre ; to that
Kind of Writing in which he had fo much Succefs. SAN.
to. Publicas res ordindris.] The ancient Scholiafts under-
ftand ordinaris for fcripferis, and although the Word be not
very common in this Acceptation, yet Horace, a great Imi-
tator of the Greeks, hath taken from them an Expreffion,
that dignifies the Compofition and Order of the different
Matters which enter into a learned Work. SwraTTHv iignifies
to write a Book, as owrayt**, a Book or Volume. BENT.
Another Argument, of great Authority to confirm this
Senfe of the Ode, is an ancient Manafcript, quoted by Tur-
nebus and Scaliger, with this Title : Ad Afinium PoUionem,
virum confularan, ui i:itermij/is tragadiis, belli ci-viJis dcfcribat
kijlgriam.
N 2
180 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
tnfigne mceftis prsefidium reis,
Et confulenti Pollio curiae ;
Cui laurus seternos honoris 15
Dalmatio peperit triumpho.
Jam nunc minaci murmure cornuum
Perftringis aures : jam litui ftrepunt :
Jam fulgor armorum fugaces
Terretequos, equitumque vultus. 20
Videre magnos jam videor duces
Non indecoro pulvere fordidos,
Et cun&a terrarum fuba&a,
Praeter atrocem animum Catonis. Juno,
16. Dalmatio triumpho^ Appian tells us, that ^Antony
fent an Army againlt the P'arthinaeahs, a People of Illyria,
who made frequent Incurfions into Macedonia. Exercitum
mifet in Part/jin^os, gentem I/fyricam, Macedonian incur/are
folitos. Dion writes, that Pollio by ibme Battles appeafed an
Infurreflion in Epidaurus, a City of the Parthinaeans. Eodem
tempore apud Epidaurios (Parthin^eorum urbs eft Epidaurus}
tumult urn coortum Pollio, fa fits aliquot presliis, compefcuit. The
Marble Tables, upon which the^Romans preferred the Me-
mory of their Triumphs, have this Infcription j Pollio, the
Proconful, in the Year triumphed the twenty-fifth Day
of October for his Conqueft of the Parthinseans. Caius Jiji-
nius Cncij Pcllio procoxful anno ex Part bin ft'is oftavo ca-
lendar Novetnbt'es .
Thefe three PafTages naturally give Light to each other,
and the laft fays exprefsly, that Pollio was Proconful when
he triumphed for this Expedition. It is true that the Year
of this Triumph is effaced in the Infcription ; but it is clearly
marked in the Lines which immediately precede, where it is
faid, that Lucius Marcius Cenforinus was Conful. His
Confulmip fell upon the Year 715, which Dion has marked
for the Year of Pollio's Triumph, and confequently an Ode,
which mentions his Triumph, could not have been compofed
while he was Conful. SAN.
It was neceffary to afcertain the Time of Pollio's Triumph,
and to prove it was after his Confulmip, becaufe fome Com-
mentators fay, the Ode wal written during his Continuance
jn that Office, and from thence conclude, that the Expreffions
Ordinare
Od. i. THE OPES OF HORACE.
O Pollio, Thou the great Defence
Of fad, impleaded Innocence,
On whom, to weigh the grand Debate,
In deep Confult the Father's -wait ;
For whom the Triumphs o'er Dalmatia fpread
Unfading Honours round thy laurel 'd Head.
Lo ! now the Clarion's Voice I hear,
Its threatning Murmurs pierce mine Ear ;
And in thy Lines with brazen Breath
The Trumpet founds the Charge of Death j
Now, now the Flam of brandifh'd Arms affright
The flying Steed, and marrs the Rider's Sight !
Panting with Terrour I furvey
The martial Hoft in dread Array,
The Chiefs, how valiant and how juft !
Defil 'd with not inglorious Duft,
And all the World in Chains but Cato fee
Of Soul unfhock'd, and favage to be free.
Imperial
Qrdinare res pullicas, and confident! cttritf prsefidium, mean
his ordering the Affairs of the Republic as her chief Ma-
giftrate, and direding the Counfels of the Senate as her
Conful. The firft of thefe Exprcffion* hath been already
explained ; the other might have been a Compliment to any
Senator of Eloquence and Dignity.
21. Videre magnos.~\ The Authority of the Manufcripts
appears in Favour of the ufual Reading audire, but Reafon
requires itidere Horace is not here fpeaking of any Orders
given by the Generals, nor of any Harangues made to the
Soldiers, but with a bold, poetical Spirit defcribing their
Aflions, and Adlions are the proper Obj efts of Sight, not
of Hearing. The Correction was made by Beroaldus, and
appeared fo neceffary, that Dr. Bentley, Mr. Cuningham,
and Sanadon, have received it.
24. Atrocem animum.} All the Praifes, which this Repub-
N 3 lican
182 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Juno, & Deerum quifquis amicior 25
Afris, inulta ceflerat impotens
Tellure, vi&orum nepotes
Rettulit inferias Jugurthae.
Quis non Latino fanguine pinguior
Campus fepulcris impia proelia 3 Q
Teftatur, auditumque Medis
Hefperiae fonitum ruinae ?
Qui gurges ? Ecquae flumina lugubris
Ignara belli ? Quod mare Dauniae
Non decoloravere csedes ? 35
Ouae caret ora cruore noftro ?
Sed
Hcan Hero hath received from different Authors, are not equal
to this fingle Charafter, that Caefar found it eafier to fubdue
the whole World, than the inflexible Spirit of Cato. Virgil,
in the fame Senfe, fays virtus ferox, and Silius Italicus atrox
2C. Tfljw, far Deorum.] Horace here leaves the Hiftory of
Pollio, and without any Connexion with the former Part of
the Ode, throws himfelf into fuch Refkaions as he knew
could not be difagreeable to Auguilus. With his ufual
Addrefs upon this delicate Subjeft, he avoids the true Caufes
of the civil Wars, and afcribes them, not to the Ambition of
Czefar, but to the Vengeance of the Gods. DAC.
28. Rettulit inferias.] The Word rettulit is here taken in
the fame Senfe as in the Proverb par pari referre, and infe-
rias alludes to a Cuftom of the Antients, who facrificed a
Number of Prifoners upon the Tombs of their Generals.
This Cuftom at length appeared fo barbarous to the Roman
People, that they were contented with the lefs cruel Fights
of their Gladiators, who were called Sujiuarij, from their
fighting before the Sepulchres of the Dead. TORR.
29. 4>ij non Latino fanguine^ The Poe{ no longer con-j
fines himfelf to the Quarrel between Caefar and Pompey,'
Od. i. THE ODES OF HORACE. 183
Imperial Juno, fraught with Ire,
And all the partial Gods of Tyre,
Who, feeble to revenge her Cries,
Retreated to their native Skies,
Have in the Vigor's bleeding Race repaid
Jugurtha's Ruin, and appeas'd his Shade.
What Plain, by Mortals travers'd o'er,
Is not enrich'd with Roman Gore ?
Unnumbered Sepulchres record
The deathful Harveft of the Sword,
And proud Hefperia rufhing into Thrall,
While diftant Parthia heard the cumberous Fall.
What Gulph, what rapid River flows
Unconfcious of our wafteful Woes ?
What rolling Sea's unfathom'd Tide
Have not the Daunian Slaughters dy'd ?
What Coaft, encircled by the briny Flood,
Boafts not thefhameful Tribute of our Blood?
But
but expofes in general the melancholy Effefts of the whole
civil War. The Images of thefe two Strophes are very no-
bly fpirited ; Rivers and Gulphs appear animated and en-
livened ; and Italy is reprefented as a vaft Body, the Fall of
which is heard to Nations moft diftant. SAN. DAC.
30. Impia pra;IiaJ\ All Wars among Fellow-Citizens are
impious, as they tend to the Deftrudlion of their Country $
but the Poet has been careful that the Epithet mould not
offend O&avius, iince he has not marked upon which Party
this Impiety lay, and hath been particularly cautious not to
name the fecond Triumvirate. SAN,
N 4
1 84 C^ HQRATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib/2."
Sed ne reli&is, Mufa procax, jocis,
Ceae retraces munera naeniae :
Mecum Dionaeo fub antro
Quaere modos leviore plectro. 40
CARMEW
37. $eJ tie rdi fl is.] The Poet flops here very happily. He
could not enter into a Detail of the Aftions of the fecond
Triumvirate, without touching upon Things, which might
difpleafe Auguftus ; and perhaps he would thus infmuate to
Pollio, how much Caution was neceffary in writing theHiftory
he had undertaken. SAN.
38. Cete retraft.es munera n/fni<eJ\ Nani<e is an Hebrew or
Syriac Word, which properly fignifies the Song that was
fung at Funerals by the Mourners. But, by N<ni<z in this
Pallage, the Poet intends the Goddefs Nseriia, who prefided
over Tears, Lamentations, and Funerals. He bids the
Mufe be cautious not to attempt the Office of the melan-
choly Cean Goddefs, and by this Goddefs he means the
Mufe, who infpired Simonides with Verfes fo tender aud
affecling, that Catullus calls them^tf Tears of Simonides.
Maftius /aery mis Simonideis. DAC.
39. Dionaro fub atro.~\ Although Dione were the Mother
of Venus, yet Venus herfelf is called by that Name. The
Poet therefore invites his Mufe into the Cave of Venus, there
to fing of Love and Gallantry in a Tone lefs elevated, leviore
pletiro, and forbids her to imitate the plaintive Strains of
Simonides. LAMB.
Od. i." THE ODES OF HORACE. 185
But Thou, my Mufe, to whom belong
The fportive Jeft, and jocund Song,
Beyond thy Province ceafe to ftray,
Nor vain revive the plaintive Lay :
Seek humbler Meafures, indolently laid
With Me beneath fome Love-fequefler'd Shade.
ORE
( 186 ) -
' ..- .-.--- - -
CARMEN II. Ad CRISPUM SALLUSTIUM.
NULLUS argento color eft avaris
Abdito terris j inimice lamnae,
Crifpe Sallufti, nifi temperato
Splendeat ufu.
Vivet extento Proculeius aevo, 5
Notus in fratres animi paterni :
Ilium aget penna metuente folvi
Fama fuperftes.
Latius
The mention of Phraates in this Ode might have dire&ed
us to the Date of it, but Dion and Juftin differ in their Ac-
counts in what Year that Tyrant was reftored to the Throne
of Parthia. Juftin fixes his Reiteration in the Year 728,
when Auguftus was in Spain. >uum magno tempore jinitimas
civitates Phraates fatigajjet, Scytharum maxime auxilio in reg-
num reftituitur, & Tiridates ad Ctefarem in Hifpania lellum
tune temporis gerentem profugit. This Account makes the
Banimment of Phraates to have continued ten Years, fmce
.he was driven out of Parthia foon after his Victory over An-
tony, the Glory of which had infpired him with infupport-
able Cruelty and Pride. Qua vifloria infolenticr reddiius^
quant multa crudelitcr confuleret, in exilium a Copula fuo pellitur.
Dion tells the Story differently. When Auguftus was in
his Eaftern Expedition in the Year 724, Tiridates fled to
him for Succours againft Phraates, who at the fame time
fent an Emba/ly to him. Tiri dates <vifius in Sy riant confugit,
Phraates viScr legates ad Cafarem mifit. It is true, Juftin
fpeaks upon the Faith of Trogus Pompeius, who was Co-
temporary with Auguftus ; but Juftin hath only abridged
his Hiftory, and is, in general, Sufficiently perplexed in his
Accounts of Parthia. On the contrary, Dion hath digefted
his Fads according to their Years from the public Ads ; a
Method in which he could not eafily miftake. We can there-
fore only conclude with Certainty, that this Ode was writ-
ten between the Years feven hundred and twenty-four, and
thirty-two. All beyond this is gueffinw.
Mr. Dacier gives this Ode an Air of Satire, as if Horace
intended to cure Salluft of his Prodigality, by difengaging
him
ODE II. 70 CRISPUS SALLUSTIUS.
GOLD hath no Luftre of its own,
It fhines by temperate Ufe alone,
And when in Earth it hoarded lies
My Salluft can the Mafs defpife.
With never -failing Wing fhall Fame
To lateft Ages bear the Name
Of Proculeius, who could prove
A Father, in a Brother's Love.
By
him from his exceffive Expences, and to fortify him, by the
Power of Examples, agaimt Avarice and Ambition. No-
thing appears in the Ode to fupport this Criticifm j Hiftory
formally contradicts it ; and Horace had too much Art to
treat the fecond Favourite of Auguftus in fo familiar a man-
ner.
Salluft was a Courtier of a philofophical Character. Con-
tented with the Rank in which he was born, like a faithful
Follower of Epicurus, he knew how to join an open, un-
bounded Luxury to a laborious Care of the public Affairs ;
and the Poet, in fetting forth the Maxims of Epicurean
Philofophy, feems indirectly to applaud the Perfon, who
could thus bound his Defires, and enjoy with Honour the
considerable Fortune his Uncle had raifed. SAN.
Verf. 5. Proculeius] Had two Brothers, Terentius and Li-
cinius. Terentius was defigned Conful in the Year feven
hundred and thirty, but died before he could enter upon his
Office. Licinius unfortunately engaged himfelf in a Con-
fpiracy againft Auguftus, nor could all the Intereft of his
Brother Proculeius and Maecenas, who had married their
Sifter Terentia, preferve him from Banifhment. An old
Commentator relates a particular Story, which greatly en-
lightens this Paffage. He fays, that Proculeius divided his
Patrimony with his Brothers, whofe Fortunes were ruined
in the civil Wars.
But befides this noble Inftance of Generofity, the Cha-
racter of Proculeius is perfectly amiable. He was a great
Lover of Men of Letters, whom he fupported by his Credit,
and animated by his Bounty.
Nor
1 88 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Latius regnes avidum domanda
Spiritum, quam ft Libyam remotis IO
Gadibus jungas, & uterque Pcenus
Serviat uni.
Crefcit indulgens fibi dirus hydrops,
Nee fitim pellit, nifi caufa morbi
Fugerit venis, & aquofus albo l$
Corpora languor,
Redditum Cyri folio Phraaten,
Diflidens plebi, numero beatorum
Eximit Virtus ; populumque falfis.
Dedocet uti 20
Vocibus, regnum, & diadema tutum
Deferens uni, propriamque laurum,
Quifquis ingentes oculo irretortq
Spe&at acervos.
CARMEN
Nor was he lefs remarkable for his conftant fidelity to
Auguftus, who had one* fome Intentions of making him
his Son-in-Law ; yet the Poet thinks it more glorious for
him to be recommended co Pofterity by this noble Inftance of
Brother's Love, than by being a Favourite and Confident
of the Mailer of the World. DAC. SAN.
i^.Cre/cit indulgens.~\ The A ntients frequently compared
the covetous and ambitious to Perfons afflicted with a Dropfy.
Water only irritates the Thirft of the one, as Honours and
Riches provoke the infatiable Appetite of the other. Indeed
great Fortunes rather enlarge, than fill our Defires. DAC.
18. Numero beatorum.~\ Horace alludes to an Exprefiion
very frequent among the People, who ufually called thofe
Perfons happy, who were greatly rich. Beattu eji qui multa.
lona pojjidet . VARRO. Virtue, fays the Poet, never talks the
Language of the Vulgar, and gives the Title of happy to
him alone, who can defpife the Wealth, which others
poffefs. D AC .
Od. 2. THE ODES OF HORACE.'
By Virtue's Precepts to controul
The thirfry Cravings of the SOIL
Is over wider Realms to reign,
Unenvied Monarch, than if Spain .
You could to diftant Lybia join,
And both the Carthages were thine.
The Dropfy, by Indulgence nurs'd,
Purfues us with increafmg Thirft,
Till Art expels the Caufe, and drains
The watry Languor from our Veins.
True Virtue can the Croud unteach
Their falfe, miftaken Forms of Speech ;
Virtue, to Crouds a Foe profeft,
Difdains to number with the Bleft
Phraates, by his Slaves ador'd,
And to the Parthian Crown reftor'd,
But gives the Diadem, the Throne,
And laurel Wreath to Him alone,
Who can a treafur'd Mafs of Gold
With firm, undazzled Eye behold. *
ODE
19- * rtus.-] Philofophy, which is here called Virtue in-
ftucts us to reconcile our Paffions with Reafon, and our
P eafure with Duty ; but the Croud, in a falfe Ufeof Words
dnguife the real Nature of Things by miftaken Names
Fraudare, rapere, falf> s nominibus inperL appellant. Tat
23. Oculo irrctorto.-} The Man, who can look direc^y"
upon an Heap of Gold, without being obliged to turn awav
kisEyes, or being dazzled with its%len dour! s in The
Language of Vmue the only King. P S uch is an Eagle's
Jiye, which can look direftly oculo irretorto at the
>un.
LAMB.
CARMN III. Ad
QUAM memento rebus in arduis
' Servare mentem, non fecus in bonis
Ab infolenti temperatam
Lsetitiaj moriture Delli,
Seu moeftus omni tempore vixens^ S
Seu te in remote gramine per dies
Feftos reclinatum bearis
Interiore nota Falerni ;
Qua
Dellius was a true Piaure of Inconftancy. After Csfar s
Death he changed his Party four Times in the Space of
T^lve Years, from whence Meflala ufed pleafantly to call
Kmdefulttrtm lellorum ciwiium, in Allufton to a Cuftom ot
the ancient Cavalry, who had two Horfes, and vaulted from
one to the other, as they were tired. The Peace that fuc-
ceeded the civil Wars, gave him an Opportunity of eftablifli-
ine his Affairs, which muft naturally have been greatly dii-
ordered by fo many Changes. At this time Horace wrote
this Ode, in which he inftruOs him in the pureft Maxims of
Epicurean Philofophy.
The Soul and Body, in the Opinion of Epicurus, were
two Parts, compofed of the fame Matter, which ought to
unite in the Harmony and Agreement of their Pleaiures,
for the Happinefs of Man. Horace therefore, after advifmg
Dellius to pofiefs his Soul in Tranquillity by the Moderation
of his Paflions, allows him to indulge his Senfes with inno-
cent Diverfions. This is all that an Epicurean can reafon-
ably fay, according to his own Principles.
Verf.
ODE III. To DELLIUS.
TN arduous Hours an equal Mind maintain,
-*- Nor let your Spirit rife too high,
Though Fortune kindly change the Scene,
Alas ! my Dellius, Thou wert born to die,
Whether your Life in Sadnefs pafs,
Or wing'd with Pleafure glide away;
Whether, reclining on the Grafs,
You blefs with choicer Wine thefeftal Day,
Where
.
in
' ^w-] Virtue finds Dangers and Difficulties
extremes of Life. Profperity exalteth us too hi ? h -
Adverfity deprefleth us too low. The laft Effort therefore
of Reaion is to fupport us equally between Preemption and
Defpan-j nor is any Refledion more capable of producing
tms Equality of Soul, than the Thought of Dea?h S
fhall one Day put an End to all the Changes of Fortune
o" Affl o efleai n , m '7/ urnifh us with Mot^es of Patiencein
oa, Afflid.on, and of Moderation in our Pleafures SAN
4- MoritureDelli.-} The whole Beauty and Force of thU
Strophe confifts in the fingle Word monture, which is not
only^an Epithet, but aReaibn to confirm the Poet's Advice.
8 Ignore not a Falerni.] The Romans marked upon e^y*
Caik the Growth and Vintage of their Wines, and as they
iTth r I?" CVe ^ Year ' the Ideft muft haVe been dee ? e ft
mthe Cellar. We may likewife underftand fome choicer
Wine, kept for a particular Occafion of Mirth and Pleafure.
OLD COM. LAME.
I9 fc Q^ HORATII FLACCI CAR.MINUM Lib. 2.
Qua pinus ingens, albaque populus
Umbram hofpitalem confociare amant i
Ramis, & obliquo laborat
Lympha fugax trepidare rivo :
Hue vina, & unguenta, & nimium brevis
Floras amcenos ferre jube rofae j
Dumres, &ietas, & fororum 15
Fila trium patiuntuf atra.
Cedes coemtis faltibus, & domes
Villaque, flavus quam Tiberis lavit,
Cedes j & extru&is in altum
Divitiis potietur hseres. 2
Divefne
9. Allaque populus.'] The poplar Leaf is white below, andl
of a deep green above, whence Virgil calls it hicolor. The
Mythologifts give a pleafant Reafon for it. Hercules hav-
ing defcended to Hell crowned with Poplar, his Sweat wither-
ed the Leaves on one Side, and the Smoke blackened the
other. . SAN .-
12. Lymphafugax."] Here Lambinus cries out, Horace is
wonderful, I had almoft faid divine, in his Epithets. How
happy is the Word trepidare to fignify the Courie of a Ri-
vulet, which flows tremule iff trepide, which laborat trepidare,
flows with Pain and Labour, and Murmuring !
13. Et nimium brevis fores rafte.] The following beautiful
Epigram has been tranflated as the beft Comment upon our
Author :
Quam longa una dies, tetas tarn longa rofarum,
<$uat pubefcentesjuntfafenetfa premit.
Quam mddo nafcentem rutilus conjpexit Eons,
Hanc rtdiensfero vefpere I'idit anum.
Mark
Od. 3. THE ODES OF HORA^Z. 19
Where the pale Poplar and the Pihe
Expel th' inhofpitable Beam ;
Where in kind Shades their Branches twine,
And toils, obliquely fwift, the purling Stream*
jTtu'j iuo numi&yj ir,*l&3 Z5n.fr.*'J
There pour your Wines, your Odours fhed,
Bring forth the rofy, fhort-liv'd Flower, ^ ejs y
While Fate yet fpins thy mortal Thread, .. L iiixjl
While Youth and Fortune give th' indulgent Hour.
Your purchas'd Woods, your Houfe of State,
Your Villa, wafh'd by Tiber's Wave,
You muft, my Dellius, yield to Fate,
And to your Heir thefe high-pil 'd Treafures leave.
Though
Mark one Day's Reign, fo long the lovely Rofe,
In Virgin Pride, with living Purple glows,
And, as it triumphs, haftens to its Doom,
While Age united nips the blufhing Bloom :
That, which the Sun beheld in rich Array,
Breathing frefh Fragrance to the new-born Day,
At his Return declines the haggard Head,
Its Beauties blafted, and its Glories dead. D.
15.] Res.] Three Things invite Dellius to purfue the
Poet's Advice ; Res, his prefent State of Fortune, which,
was happily improved iince his fnbmitting to Auguftus after
the Battle of A&ium ; JStas, his Age, which was now ia
its greateft Vigour ; Fila trium forsrum, his Health, which
promifed him a Number of Years, while the Fates yet fpin
the black and fatal Thread of Life. SAN.
VCL. I. Q
194 Qi HofcATii FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Divefne, prifco & natus ab Inacho,
Nil intereft, an pauper, & infima
De gente fub dio moreris,
Viitima nil miferantis Orci.
Omnes eodem cogimur : omnium 25
Veufatur urna, ferius, ocius
Sors exitura, & nos in aternum
Kxilium impofitura cymtae.
CARMEM
25. Omnium verfatur urna.'] As it was cuftomary among
the Ancients to decide Affairs of utmoft confequence by
Lot, they feigned, that the Names of all Mankind were
written upon Billets, and thrown into an Urn, which was
perpetually in Motion ; and that they, whofc Billets were
tirit drawn, fhould die firil. DAC.
Od. 3. THE ODES OF HORACE. 195'
Though you could boaft a Monarch's Birth,
Though Wealth unbounded round Thee flows,
Though poor, and fprung from vulgar Earth,
No Pity for his Victim Pluto knows,
For all muft tread the Paths of Fate,
And ever fhakes the mortal Urn,
Whofe Lot embarks us, foon or late,
On Charon's Boat, ah ! never to return,
Q % Qes
CARMEN IV. Ad XANTHIAM PHOCEUM.
NE fit ancillae tibi amor pudori,
Xanthia Phoceu : prius infolentem
Serva Brifeis niveo colore
Movit AchilJem.
Movit Ajacem Telamone natum 5
Forma captivae dommum Tecmelfe :
Arfit Atrides medio in triumpho
Vifgine rapta j
Barbarae poftquam cecidere turmae
ThefTalo viftore, & ademptus Hector ro
Tradidit feflls leviora tolli
Pergama Graiis.
Nefcias an te generum bcati
Phyllidis flavae decorent parentes :
Regium certe genus, ac Penates
Moeret iniquos.
Cede
Horace, with an Air of Irony and Pleafantry, encourages
Phoceus to indulge his Paffion for his ->lave. It hath been
already remarked, that Lovers of this kind were called. An-
cillarioli ; We have the Term in Martial, with anotker of
the fame Character.
Ancillariolum tua te I'ocaf uxer, ff ipfa
Ledicariola eft ; e/iis, Alauda, pares.
Verf. 3. Ni<veo colore. ~\ Dares Phrygius hath left us the
following Pifture of Brifeis. BrifeiJarnformofam, altajiatura f
candidam^ capillo Jitrvo, & molli, Juperci lit rj unfits, oculis i't-
nlijlis, carport tcnuali ', blantiam, ajfabilem, <verecundam, anirr.9
Jimplici,piam. Brifeis was beautiful, tall, fair-complexioned ;
her Hair yellow and delicate ; her Eye-brows joined ; her
Eyes modeitly fweet ; and her whole Perfon exaclly propor-
tioned. She was gentle, affable, modeft, limple of Man-
ners,
QDE IV. To XANTHIAS PHOCEUS.
BLUSH not, my Phoceus, though a Dame
Of fervile State thy Breaft enflame ;
A Slave could ftern Achilles move,
And bend his haughty 'Soul to Love :
Ajax, invincible in Arms,
Was captiv'd by his Captive's Charms :
Atrides, midft his Triumphs mourn'd,
And for a ravifh'd Virgin burn'd,
What Time, the fierce Barbarian Bands
Fell by Peleides' conquering Hands,
And Troy (her Hector fwept away)
Became to Greece an eaiier Prey.
Who knows, when Phyllis is your Bride,
To what fine Folk you'll be allied ?
Her Parents dear, of gentle Race,
Shall not their Son-in-law difgrace.
She fprung from Kings, or nothing lefs,
And weeps the Family's Diftrefs.
Think
ners, and pious. He hath alfo given this Defcription of
Caffandra : Mediocri jiatura, ore rotunda, rufam, oculis mi-
cantibus. Caflandra was of middle Stature, 'Her Mouth
little and round, Her Complexion ruddy, Her Eyes
iparkling.
-13. Nefdas.~\ Horace here anfwers an Obje&ion, that all
the Slaves he had named were Daughters of Kings ; that the
greateft Princes might therefore have loved them without
bhame, and that thefe Examples could not authorife Phoceus
in his Love for Phyllis, who was probably of an obfcure
Family. DAC.
15. Regium genus.] Thefe Words muft be conftrued in the
Nominative Cafe, and do not depend upon maeret. As the
O 3 Romans
198 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Crcde uon illam tibi de fcelefta
Plebe deleAam ; neque fie fidelem,
Sic lucre avcrfam, potuifle nafci
Matre pudenda. 2O
Brachiaj & vultum, teretefque furas
Integer laudo : fuge fufpicari,
Cujus o&avum trepidavit aetas
Clauderc luftrum.
Romans had fubdued all the Kingdoms of the World, Ho-
race would infmuate that Phyllis might poffibly be fome con-
quered Monarch's Daughter. When Nero had refolved to
marry Adle, he fuborned two Confular Perfons to fwear,
that {he was of a Family Royal. ABen libertam pau/um ab-
fuit quinjufa jnatrimonio jibi tmjungeiret, fubmlflu Confular ibiu
tins qui regie gentre ortam ptjerartnt. SUIT.
17. Scelefia p!ebe*~] SeeJeJlus litre Signifies miferaile, talaml-
tous. Seeleftiorem ego annum argento f amort nullum unquam
viJi. PLAUT. One of tke Gates of Rome was calledyk/(f-
tata, or unftrtu*att. HUMS. DAC.
Od. 4. THE ODES OF HORACE. 199
Think not that fuch a charming She
Can of the fordid Vulgar be ;
To fliamelefs, proftituted Earth,
Think not that Bhyllis owes her Birth,
Who with fuch Firmnefs could difdaiu
The Force and Flattery of Gain.
Yet, after all, believe me, Friend,
I can with Innocence commend
Her blooming Face, her fnowy Arms,
Her taper Leg, and all her Charms,
For trembling on to forty Years
My Age forbids all jealous Fears.
OBI
( 200 )
NO N D U M fubacli ferre jugum valet
Cervice ; nondum munia comparis
rr-
Square, nee taun ruentis
In Venerem ^tolerare pondus.
Circa virentes eft animus tUse c
Campos juvencae, nunc fluviis gravem '
Solantis oeftum, nurtc in udo
Ludere cum vitulis faliclo
Prasgeftientis. Tolle cupidinem
Immitis uvae : jam tibi lividos 10
Diftinguet Autumnus racemos
JPurpureo varius colore.
Jam
The twenty-fecond Ode of the foil Boqk to Fufcus Arif-
{fcl ccimmends the Beauties -of alage, and if we believe
with Mr. Dacier, that this is the fame Lalage, it will be a
Proof, that the Odes of Horace, in general, are not ranged
in that Order, in which they were written. She is here re-
prefented as too young for Marriage, and her Lover is ad-
yifed to wait until he may with more Decency pay his Ad-
drefies to her.
Verf. 5. Circa wirenfes eft.] Horace hath again given us
the fame Image in the eleventh Ode of the third Book.
J^K/Z', velut latis equa trima campis,
Ludit exultim, metuitque taxgi,
fruptiarum expers, & adhuc proterva
Cruda marito.
Who, like a Filley o'er the Field
With playful Spirit bounds, and fears to yield,
To Hand of gentled Touch, or prove,
Wild as me is, the Joys of wedded Love.
9. Prat-,
( 201 )
ODE V.
SE E, thy Heifer's yet unbroke
To the Labours of the Yoke,
Nor hath Strength enough to prove
'Such impetuous Weight of Love.
Round the Fields her Fancy ftrays,
O'er the Mead fhe fportive plays,
Or beneath the fultry Beam
Cools her in the paffing Stream,
Or with frifking Steerlings young 1
Sports the fallow Groves among.
Do not then commit a Rape
On the crude, unmellow'd Grape :
Autumn foon, of various Dyes,
Shall with kinder Warmth arife,
Bid the livid Clufters glow,
And a riper purple (how.
Time
9. Preegeftientis^ The Word geftio is properly applied to
Animals, that express their Deftres by their Motions ; Pr<f-
gefiire is aftronger Expreffion of the Paffions. LAMB.
}O. yam tibi li<vidos dijliiiguet Autumnus.~\ It may be ne-
cefiary to put thefe Words into their grammatical Order.
Autumnus iiariusjam difiinguet tibi limidos racemes colors pur-
pureo. The various Autumn lhall foqn paint for you thofe
'Clufters, which are yet green and livid. Autumn is called
from the Variety of its Fruits. TORR.
'202 T^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Jam te fequetur (currit enim ferox
./Etas, & illi, quos tibi demferit,
Apponet annos) jam proterva 15
Fronte petet Lalage maritum ;
Dile&a, quantum non Pholoe fugax,
Non Chloris, albo fie humero nitens,
Ut pura no6turno renidet
Luna mari, Cnidiufve Gyges ; 2*
Quern fi puellarum infereres chore,
Mire fagaces falleret hofpites
Difcrimen obfcurum, folutis
Crinibus, ambiguoque vultu.
CARMEN
1 8. Albo fie kumero nitens.~\ Ladies in Rome, of more than
nfual Gallantry, ufed to drefs themfelves in fuch a Manner,
that their Shoulders appeared. The Tranflator hath ven-
tured to change the Expreffion, as it could not eafily be un-
derftood by an Englifh Reader.
24. Difcrimtn ok/curum, mmbiguoque vultu.] The three fol-
lowing beautiful Pafiages do Honour to our Author, at they
feem to be Imitations of this Line.
.
, cujus manantta Jtttit
Ora puellara faciunt ineerta tapilli. JVVIN.
^Beneath whofe Virgin Locks, while flowing Tears
Bedew his Cheek, a doubtful Face appears.
Talis frat cultu fades, quam Jitert vert
Virgineam in puero, puerilem in virgine pojfei . OVID.
Of either Sex, each various Grace
You might behold with Joy,
And well might i'eem the lovely Face
Boyiih in Girl, or girlim in a Boy.
J)um dubltat Natura marem, facer etne puellam,
Fafius ti , o pule her, peene putlla puer . A U 5 o N .
While Nature doubtful ftands
A Male, or Female to compofe,
Baneath her forming Hands
Almoft a Girl the beauteous Boy arofe.
Od. 5. THE ODES OF HORACE. 203
Time to Her mall count each Day,
Which from You it takes awayj
Lalage, with forward Charms,
Soon fhail ruih into your Arms ;
Pholoe, the flying Fair,
Shall not then with Her compare $
Nor the Maid of Bofom bright,
Like the Moon's unfpotted Light,
O'er the Waves, with filver Rays,
When the floating Luftre plays :
Nor the Cnidian fair and young,
Who, the Virgin Choir among,
Might deceive, in female Guife,
Strangers, though extremely wife,
With the Difference between
Sexes hardly to be feen,
And his Hair of flowing Grace,
And his boyifli, girlifh Face.
ODE
C 204 )
CARMEN VI. V/SEPTIMIUM.
Gades aditure Tnecum, &
*J Cantabrura indo&uin juga ferre noftra, &
Barbaras Syrtes, ubi Maura Temper
,/Eftuat unda ;
TibUr
Septimius, in his Profeffions of Friendfhip to Horace, af-
fured him, that he would run all future Hazards of his For-
tune, and that nothing mould ever feparate them again. The
Poet declares to Him, that tired of the Fatigues of War, he
now only wifhed topafs the Remainder of his Days in Tran-
quillity, either at his own Seat near Tibur, or with Septimius
atTarentum. SAN.
Verf. I. Septimi, Gades aditure mecum.} Septimius, ac-
cording to the old Scholiaft, was a Roman Knight. He
attended Tiberius in his Eaftcrn Expedition in 731, and we
may believe he was well efteemed by Auguilus, fmce he is
mentioned with Regard by Him in a Letter to Horace. Tut
qualem habeam inemoriam poteris ex Septimio nojlro audire ; nam
inddit ut coram illo fierct a me mentlo tui. This ExprelTion
Gades aditure, is only a warm, poetical Manner of laying,
no Toils or Dangers mould divide their Friendship. Catullus,
Ovid and Propertins have Jnftances of this Language ; and
Horace in the fame Style promiies to attend Ma:cenas, when
he went with O&avius to the War againit Antony.
If
ODE VI. TiSEpfiMius. :
rjfoCI
-.ynrji*.
QEPTIMIUS, who haft vow'd to go
O With Horace even to fartheft Spain,
Or fee the fierce Cantabrian Foe,
Untaught to bear the Roman Chain, -,^1;
Or the barbaric Syrts, with mad Recoil >3Bi :
Where Mauritanian Billows ceafelefs. boil ;
.^rtu^ r:>^
May
: . ;
If the Poet had written this Ode with a real Intention of
going with Septimius to Spain, and following Auguflus in
his Expedition againft the Cantabrians, why does he men-
tion Cales, and the Syrts of Afric ? This was a very indirect
Road from Rome to Cantabria, which is diftant from Cales
the whole Length of Spain, and yet more diftant from the
Quick-Sands of Africa. Mr. Dacier, who appears iniingle
Oppofition to all the Commentators, fays, that Horace fpeaks
here upon the Faith ofHiftory, which informs us, that
Auguftus was obliged to fend a Fleet againft the Cantabrians,
from whence the Poet very juftly mentions Cales. Yet
when Auguftus left Rome, he did not propofe going to
Spain, ut was recalled, from his intended Expedition againft
the Britons, by a Revolt of the Cantabrians. Horace there-
fore could not poffibly fuppofe he mould be obliged to go m
Perfon to fubdue that Pedple, or even to fend a Fleet againft
them. SAN.
2o6 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2!
Tibur Argeo pofitum colono 5
Sit me* fedes utinam fencbe j
Sit modus laflb maris, & viarum,
Militiaeque :
Unde f Pare* prohibent iniquac,
Duke pellitis ovibus Galefi 10
Flumen, & regnata petam Laconi
Rura Phalanto.
Ille tcrrarum mihi prater omnes
Angulus ridet j ubi non Hymetto
Mella decedunt, viridique certat j
Bacca Venafro ;
Ver ubi longum, tepidafque praebet
Jupiter brumas, & amicus Aulon
FertiJi Baccho minimum Falernii
Invidet uvis. 29
Hie
f. Sit modus laJ/To marts."] The Poet fays in general, that
whether he fhould be obliged to travel by Sea or Land, or
to bear Arms again, he wifhes that Tibur may be the Re-
treat of his old Age. He had not only ferved under Brutus,
but attended Maecenas to the fecond Congrefs atBrundufium,
and through all the War of Sicily. Thefe violent Motions
were by no means agreeable to his Humour and Complexion.
He was a Poet, a Philofopher, and of a Conftitutkm too de-
licate to bear fuch Fatigues. SAN.
10. Pellitis miibus.} The Sheep ofTarentum and Attica
had a Wool fo fine, that they were covered with Skins to
prcferve it from the Inclemency of the Weather. Pliny
fays, thefe Coverings were brought from Arabia. CRUQ^
1 8. Ferfi/i Baccho.] It is probable that Aulon was a little.
Hill, nearTarentum, famous for its Vines. I? is mentioned
by Martial as equally remarkable for its Wool.
Od. 6. THE ODES OF HORACE. 207
May Tibur to my lateft Hours
Afford a kind and calm Retreat ;
Tibur, beneath whofe lofty Towers
The-Grecians fix'd their blifsful Seat ;
There may my Labours end, my Wandering ceafe,
There all my Toils of Warfare reft in Peace.
But mould the partial Fates refufe
That purer Air to let me breathe,
Galefus, gentle Stream, I'll chufe,
Where Flocks of richeft Fleeces bathe :
Phalantus there his rural Sceptre fway'd,
Uncertain Offspring of a Spartan Maid.
Jtfo Spot fo joyous fmiles to Me
Of this wide Globe's extended Shores ;
Where nor the Labours of the Bee
Yield to Hymettus* golden Stores,
Nor the green Berry of Venafran Soil
Swells with a riper Flood of fragrant Oil.
There Jove his kindeft Gifts beftows,
There joys to crown the fertile Plains,
With genial Warmth the Winter glows,
And Spring with lengthen'd Honours reigns,
Nor Aulon, friendly to the clufter'd Vine,
Envies the Vintage of Falernian Wine.
That
Nobilif & lanii & felix <uitibus Aulon
Det pretiofa tibi vellera, vina miki.
Fam'd for its Wool, and happy in its Vines,
Yours be its Fleeces, and be mine its Wines.
Horace
208 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2*
Ille te mecum locus, & beatae . .
Poftulant arces : ibi tu calentem
Debita fparges lacryma favillam
Vatis amici.
CARMEN
Horace {yysfertiliBaccko, Tibullus Baccbi c ura Fa/ernus ager,
and Propertius Baccbe, foles Phcebofertilif effe tuo. TORR.
23. Debita fparges. 1 The Poet here requires the laft Of-
fice of Friendfhip from Septimius, that He would fprinkle his
Afties with a Tear. Thefe Words CUM LACRYMIS POSUIT
are frequently found in ancient Epitaphs, and in the Urn a
little Bottle filled with Tears.
Nos wiles anitfiff) inhutnata infletaqueturba. TORR.
Fa'villam.'] Horace, more ftrongly to mark the Friendlhip
of Septimius, fays, that he (hall perform this laft pious Of-
fice, before his Afties mall be cold ; while they mail be yet
glowing from the funeral Pile. DAC.
2
Jfj-tci j-jidYr
, H oJ LtsiY
* io>T
laqii s rfjiv/ ilbw2
o'; ;K>IT
Od. 6. THE ODES OF HORACE. 209
That happy Place, that fweet Retreat,
The charming Hills that round it rife,
Your lateft Hours and mine await>
And when at length your Horace diesj
There the deep Sigh thy Poet-Friend fhall mourri,
And pious Tears bedew his glowing Urn,
( 210 )
CARMEN VII. Ad POMPEIUM VARUM.
OSaepe mecum tempus in ultimum
Deduce, Bruto militias duce,
Quis te redonavit Quiritem
Dis patriis, Italoque coelo,
Pompe'i, meorum prime fodalium ? 5
Cum quo morantem faepe diem mero
Fregi, coronatus nitentes
Malobathro Syrio capillos.
Tecum Philippos, & celerem fugam
Senfi, relifta non bene parmula ; I O
Quum frala virtus, & minaces
Turpe ! folum tetigere mento.
Sed
When a Peace was concluded in the Year 7 1 5 between
Sextus Pompeius and the Triumvirate, a general Amnefty
was granted to all, who had followed the Party of Pompey.
TThis feemed to Varus a favourable Occafion of quitting the
Profeffion of Arms, and returning to Rome, when probably
this Ode was written. Horace was then twenty-fix Years,
of Age. MASSON.
Verf. i. S<ffe.] This Paffage is of Importance, with re-
gard to the Life of Horace. Brutus took with him from
Athens, eight or nine Months after Caefar's Death, a Num-
ber of young Gentlemen, who were willing to follow his
Fortunes in the Caufe of Liberty. Our Poet then began his
Warfare. He continued two Years under the Command of
that great Man, and we may believe with fome Merit, fince
he was railed to the Tribunefhip of a Legion.
3. Quis te redonavit. ,] This is not an Interrogation proceed-
ing from Ignorance or Uncertainty. It is a kind of Excla-
mation ; an Expreffion vivid and natural, arifmg from the
ioy, which Horace feels at Sight of a Friend from whom
e had been many Years feparated by the Misfortunes of
the
ODE VII. 70 POMPEIUS VARUS.
VA R U S, in early Youth belov'd,
In War's extremeft Dangers prov'd,
Our daring Hoft when Brutus led,
And in the Caufe of Freedom bled,
To Rome, and all her Guardian Powers,
What happy Chance my Friend reftores,
With whom I've cheer'd the tedious Day,
And drank its loitering Hours away,
Profufe of Sweets while Syria fhed
Her liquid Odours on my Head ?
With Thee I faw Philippi's Plain,
Its fatal Rout, a fearful Scene !
And dropp'd, alas ! th' inglorious Shield,
Where Valour's felf was forc'd to yield,
Where foil'd in Duft the vanquifh'd lay,
And breath'd th' indignant Soul away.
But
the Times. Quis te redonavit, quis te cafus reftitvit ! quam
ft lid tandem fato rejiitutus fuijli! SAN.
5. Pompei.~] We do not find, that the Family of Pompey
ever took the Surname of Varus. Mr. Sanadon therefore
believes the Ode ought to be infcribed to Pompeius Grofphus,
to whom Horace writes another Ode, Qtium Divos, Sec. and
whom he mentions in his Epiftle to Iccius.
7. Fregi diem.'] See the Notes on nee partemfolido demere de
die. Firft Ode.
Coronatus intent es malobatbro capillosJ] The Ufe of Crowns
and EfTencss was firft introduced into the Roman Entertain-
ments by the Ladies. DAC.
10. Parmula.} There is fomething ingenuous in the Poet's
recording this Initance of his own Cowardice, which poflibly
might never have been known to Poftcrity. Archjiocnus,
Alcasus, and Demoiihene>, are Examples of the fame In-
P 2 genuity
212 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Sed me per hoftes Mercurius celer
Dcnfo paventem fuftulit acre :
Te rurfus in bellum reforbens 15
Unda fretis tulit aeftuoiis.
Ergo obligatam redde Jovi dapem ;
Longaque feflum militia latus
Depone fub lauru mea ; neu
Parce cadis tibi deftinatis. 20
Obliviofo
genuity of Spirit. Next to true Courage, fays a French
Commander, nothing u more brave than a Confefiion of
Cowardice. SAN.
When the Athenians routed the Lefbians, they found the
Arms of Alcams on the Field of Battle, and dedicated them
to Minerva, as a glorious Monument of their Victory. A
Circumftance, which Alcasus took care not to forget in the
Verfes, which he made on his Misfortune.
ii. Fi-atfa <v}rtus.~\ The Poet, by doing Juftice to the
Vanquifhed, pays the higheft Compliment to their Conquer-
ors; and in reality the better Troops were on the Side of
Brutus and Caffius, although Fortune declared for Oclavius
and Antony. Florus fpeaking of this Battle Scd quanta
ejficacior eji For tun a quatn P'irtus ! DAC.
Virtue among the ancient Romans ufually fignified Valour,
as, among the modern Romans it means a Knowledge of the
politer Arts, Poetry, fvlufic, Painting, and Statuary. Some
Commentators would here apply the Word to the moral
.Character of Brutus, but perhaps the Poet dare not thus de-
fcribe the Perfon, whom he was obliged to call the Murderer
of Ca;far. Befides, Valour may be overcome, but Virtue
never can.
MinacesJ] After the Battle of Philippi, in which Brutus
routed the Forces of Oftavius, his Soldiers demanded, in a
mutinous Manner, to be led againft the Enemy. They
complained, that They were confined within their Camp,
when the Forces of Odavius, broken by their kte Defeat,
and opprefled by Famine, might eafily be conquered. Bru-
Od. 7. THE ODES OF HORACE. 213
But me, when dying with my Fear,
Through warring Hofts, enwrap'd in Air.
Swift did the God of Wit convey ;
While Thee, wild War's tempeftuous Sea,
Reforbing, hurried far from Shore,
And to new Scenes of Slaughter bore.
To Jove thy votive Offering pay,
And here beneath my Laurels lay
Thy Limbs, from Toils of Warfare free,
Nor fpare the Cafks referv'd for Thee,
But
tus at laft fatally gave way to their Impatience and Temerity,
for which the Poet gives them the Epithet mlnaccs.
12. Turpe!~\ By dividing turpe from folum, to which it is
ufually joined as an Epithet, and by a different Manner of
Pointing, we give it the Force of an Exclamation. Et mi-
naces turpe > folum tetigere mento. SAN.
13. Seel me per ho/les, fcrV.J Horace here alludes to the Bat-
tles of Homer, where Heroes are frequently carried off from
Danger by their guardian Gods ; and as Mercury prefided
over Arts and Sciences, particularly over Lyric Poetry, the
Poet hath here chofen him for his Protelor. CRUQ^ LAMB.
i$.Terurfus.~\ The French Critics imagine that Varus,
after the Battle of Philippi, embarked on board the Fleets
either of Domitius or Murcus, who continued the War under
the younger Pompey againft O&avius and Anthony. Thus
by a conjectural Piece of Hiftory, incapable of Proof, they
deftroy the Beauty of a Metaphor, which very naturally re-
prefents Pompey carried out by the Tide into thq main Ocean
of War.
ij.Dapem.'] Dapis was properly a Sacrifice which was
yearly offered to Jupiter, from thence called Dapatis. It was
afterwards underftood of all Kinds of Sacrifices andFeftivals.
DAC.
1 8. FeJJiim longa militia.'] Five Years, in a Party always
unfortunate, might well feem a tedious and fatiguing War-
fare ; at leaft fuch an Expreffion is very natural in a Poet of
an indolent, una&ive Complexion. SAN.
P3
214 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib.2.
Obliviofo levia MafTico
Ciboria exple : funde capacibus
Unguenta de conchis. Quis udo
Deproperare apio coronas,
Curatve myrto ? Quern Venus arbitrum 25
Dicet bibendi ? Non ego fanius
Bacchabor Edonis : recepto
Duke mihi furcre eft amico.
CARMEN
25. Arlntmm bibendi. ~] Cicero fays with a good deal of
Pleafantry of Verres, f l his Praetor, fa fevere of Manners, Jb
diligent in his Office, ivbo never obeyed the Laws of the Roman
People, yet never violated the La<ws of Drinking.
The Romans in their Entertainments ufually appointed a
Perfon, whom they called King, with a Power to regulate
the Feaft, and govern the Guefts. His Office was decided
by the beft Caft on the Dice, which was called Venus or Ve-
nerius Jafius, or Bafilicus, The Games of this Kind were
the Ludi talorwn and Ludi tejferarutn, for the Ale<s were for-
bidden by Law. Venus was the fortunate Caft in both
Games, but with this Difference, that with the Tali all the
Dice were to rife in different Numbers, but with the TeJ/er<e
the Winner was to throw three Sixes. If we enquire why
the Cait of Sixes was called Venus, the fkilful in theological
Arithmetic, fays Mr. Dacier, inform us, that the World
having been perfectly finifhed the Sixth Day, the Number
Six was from thence efteemed fortunate and happy, and was
even called no<r^o<;, or World.
Lipfms hath collected fifteen Laws of the Roman Enter-
tainments, of which the following are moft remarkable :
Vinum pur urn pututn ftter infundito.
A fummo adimum moremajorum bibunto.
Dec em cyatbifiimma foi-.c/unto.
Mufis nonum, decumum Apollini libantc.
Dominamji quis babe/fit indicium fact to .
R:x<c, clamor, content to adTkracas
Ablegantor ; eorum vicent carmen,
Jlliud-Tje quid Mujeeumfroferunio.
Od. 7. THE ODES OF HORACE. 215
But joyous fill the polifh'd Bowl,
With Wine oblivious chear thy Soul,
And from the breathing Phials pour
Of eflenc'd Sweets a larger Shower.
But who the Wreath unfading weaves
Of Parfly or of Myrtle- Leaves ?
To whom (hall Beauty's Queen affign
To reign the Monarch of our Wine ?
For Thracian-like I'll drink to day,
And deeply Bacchus it away.
Our Tranfports for a Friend reftor'd,
Should even to Madnefs make the Board.
Unmix'd be our Wine, and pure let it flow,
As our Fathers ordain'd, from the High to the Low.
Let our Bumpers, while jovial we give out the Toaft
In gay Compotation,' be ten at the molt ;
The Ninth to the Mufes in Orderlnuft follow,
The Tenth a Libation be made to Apollo.
If any one harbours a Nymph in his Breaft ;
Let him name the fair Tyrant, who robs him of Reft;
Let Quarrels, and Clamour, and vile Difputation
In Banimment endlefs be fent to the Thracian ;
While here in their Stead, in our Good-fellow Matches
Caroufing melodious, we fing merry Catches. D.
27. EacchaborJ] The Greeks have many Examples of Verbs
formed from proper Names, 'Aiytrcr]<7 to grow black like
an ^Egyptian, <j>otj3aiv and Ba%%iiH', to" be infpired by
Phcebus, and Bacchus ; thus the Latins have formed the
Verbs Grascari and Bacchari. But if the Translation hath
been too bold in imitating Beauties not natural to the Englifh
Tongue, the Fault may be correcled by reading riot or revel
inftead of Bacchus.
P 4 ODE
( 216 )
CARMEN VIII.
ULLA fi juris tibi pejerati
Poena, Barine, nocuilTet unquam ;
Dente fi nigro fieres, vel uno
Turpior ungui j
Crederem : fed tu, fimul obligafti 5
Perfidum votis caput, enitefcis
Pukhrior multo, juvenumque prodis
Publica cura.
Expedit matris cineres opertos
Fallere, ac toto taciturna no6tj$ I &
Signa cum coelo, gelidaque divos
Morte carentes.
Ridet
The Gallantry of this Ode is of a very particular Kind.
The Poet pays fuch Compliments to Barine'i Beauty, as are
almoft worth a Wo,;nan's Perjury to deferve : efpeciaily when
every new Inftanqe of deceiving giyes a new Charm.
Vcrf. i. Utta Jt juris.'] The Ancients believed that a Lj;e
was always attended with fome immediate Punifliment, the
Lofs of a Tooth, a Blif^er on the Tongue, C5"r.
EJJe Dees c;-cdamne ? fidem juratafefellit,
Et fades illi, qiurfuit ante, ir.Qnct..
fduatti longos habuit, nontiutn ferjura, caf!llos %
"tarn longcs, pojlqiium Numitialf/jit, habet. Qvip.
DAC.
Can there be Gpos ? The perjured Fair-one fwore,
Yet looks as" lovely, uShe'low'd before.
Long flow'd the carelefs Trelfes of her Hair,
While yet me (hone as innocent as fair ;
Long flow the Treifes of the Wanton now,
And Iport as Trophies of her broken Vow. li.
ODE VIII. To BARINE.
IF e'er th' infulted Powers had fhed
The flighted Vengeance on thy Head,
If but a Nail or Tooth of Thee
Were blacken'd by thy Perjury,
Again thy Fallhood might deceive,
And I the faithlefs Vow believe.
But when, Perfidious, you engage
To meet high Heaven's vindi&ive Rage,
You rife, with heighten'd Luftre fair,
Of all our Youth the public Care.
It thrives with Thee to be forfworn
By thy dead Mother's hallow'd Urn :
By Heaven, and all the Stars, that roll
In filent Circuit round the Pole ;
By Heaven, and every nightly Sign,
By every deathlefs Power divine j
For
5-. Sed tit, Jimulobllgajii.'] They, who made either Oaths
or Promifes, fubmitted themfelves tacitly to the Pains and
Curfes, which ought to fall upon their Heads if They fwore
falfely, or did not perform their Promifes. They were
called 'voti ret, or <voto dann"ti, and their Heads,' in the
Language of Horace, were devoted to the Vengeance of the
Gods, if they did not perform their Vows. DAC.
9. Expedit.] Perhaps thefe four Lines are an Explanation
of Barine's Oath, and we find in Propertius almoft the Form
OJfa tibijuro per matris, Cff ejfa farentis j
' Si folio, cinis hew ! Jit mihi uttrque growls. DAC.
218 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Ridet hoc, inquam, Venus ipfa; rident
Simplices Nymphx ; ferus & Cupido,
Semper ardentes acuens fagittas 15
Cote cruenta.
Adde, quod pubes tibi crefcit omnis j
Servitus crefcit nova ; nee priores
Impiae tedium dominze relinquunt
Ssepe minati. 2O
Te fuis matres metuunt juvencis ;
Te fenes parci, miferzeque nuper
Virgines nuptae, tua ne retardet
Aura maritos.
CARMEN
13. RidetJ] Venus, Cupid, and the Nymphs, are not the
only Deities, who laugh at the Perjuries of Lovers. Jupiter
himfelf is equally good-natur'd, and Plato gives a very
whirafical Reafon for it. The Pleafures, fays he, are In-
fants incapable of Underftanding and Judgement, therefore
not liable to Punifliment for Perjury or Breach of Promife.
From hence came the Proverb dpbrodijium Juramentttm, a
Lover's Oath.
16. Cote cruenta. ,] Anacreon fays, when Vulcan forges the
Arrows of Love, Venus dips their Points into Honey, but
that Cupid afterwards tempers and hardens them with Gall.
This Image of the God Iharpening his Arrows on a Whet-
flone wet with Blood, inftead of Oil or Water, hath fome-
thing very pleafantly terrible. There is a very fine Picture
of it at Chantilli, a Seat of the great Prince of Conde.
The Tranflation hath endeavoured to open the Thought
of Horace by carrying it a little farther than he hath expretfed
it. Cupid wets his Whetftone with the Blood of fome Un-
fortunate, who was flain by Barine's Cruelty, and fharpen?
hie Arrows for the Death of fome future Lovers.
Od. 8, THE ODES OF HORACE.
Fr Venus laughs at all thy Wiles,
The gentle Nymphs behold with Smiles,
And, with the Blood pf fome poor Swain,
By thy perfidious Beauty (lain,
Fierce Cupid whets his burning Darts,
For Thee to wound new Lovers' Hearts.
Thy Train of Slaves grows every Day,
Infants are rifing to thy Sway,
And They, who fwore to break thy Chain,
Yet haunt thofe impious Doors again.
Thee Mothers for their Striplings fear.
The Father trembles for his Heir,
And weeping ftands the Virgin-Bride,
In Hymen's Fetters newly tied,
Left you detain, with brighter Charms,
Her perjur'd Hufband from her Arms.
Or.
( 22O )
CARMEN IX.
NON Temper imbres nubibus hifpidos
Manant in agros ; aut mare Cafpiurn
Vexant inaequales procellae
Ufque ; nee Armeniis in oris,
Amice Valgi, flat glacies iners 5
Menfes per omnes ; aut Aquilonibus
Querceta Gargani laborant,
Et foliis viduantur orni.
Tu Temper urges flebilibus modis
Myften ademptum ; nee tibi Vefpero j o
Surgente decedunt amores,
Nee rapidum fugiente folem.
At
To know how to comfort the Afflifted is a Talent which
few People poffefs, while every one is willing to make Trial
of his Skill. But indeed it were better, in LofTes that ar&
without Remedy, to talk to the Heart than to the Under-
ftanding ; for Motives of Confolation, which are moft na .
tural and obvious, are frequently more fuccefsful, than the
graved Maxims of Morality, and the moft curious Refine-
ments of Reafon. Such is the Method of Horace in com-
forting a Father, afflidted for the Death of a Son whom he
tenderly loved. He does not condemn his Grief, but pro-
pofes to him to flop the Continuance of it, or at leait to luf-
pend its Courfe.
It is not difficult to afcertain the Date of this Ode. The
two laft Strophes ihew that it was writtan in 734, the Year
after Auguftus his Armenian Expedition. SAN.
Verf. 3. Inrequales procell&.~\ Our lateft Accounts of this
Sea defcribe it as extremely tempeftuous andinconftant ; ex-
poled on every Side to Storms, without Harbours for Ship-
ing ; and navigable only from the End of April to the Begin-r
ning of Oftober. Horace therefore fpeaks with his ufual
Exaftnefs, and charaderifes the Cafpian Sea. SAN.
4. Armeniis in oris.] Armenia is furrounded with Moun-
tains continually covered with Snow. The Nature of the
Soil,
( 221 )
ODE IX.
NOR everlafting Rain deforms
The fqualid Fields, nor endlefs Storms,
Inconftant, vex the Cafpian Main,
Nor on Armenia's frozen Plain
The loitering Snow unmelting lies,
Nor, loud when Northern Winds arife,
The labouring Forefts bend the Head,
Nor yet their leafy Honours fhed ;
But you in ceafelefs Tears complain^
And ftill indulge this weeping Strain.
When Vefper lifts his Evening Ray,
Or flies the rapid Beam of Day,
The Death of Myftes fills your Eyes,
And bids the tender Paffion rife.
Not
Soil, which is impregnated with Salt, contributes to the
Coldnefs of the Climate, nor is it uncommon to fee Froft
and Snow there in the Month of June. SAN
5. Glacies iatfft} Mr. Sanadon frequently blames Horace
for an inharmonious flowing of his Lines, and a difagreeable
chiming of his Words. He quarrels with him in this Ode
for a Length of Confonants, Glades iners menfes per omnes
which he would not forgive even in a Poet of thefe Days '
Such Remarks very often mew a manly and fpirited Care-
leflhefs m a Writer, and perhaps a cold and delicate Exa<Tt-
nefs in a Critic. Will it be too bold to fay, that Horace
might have intended by this very Length of Confonants to
image to us a dull, unaftive, lifelefs Weight of Snow for
iuch is the Meaning of the Word iuers? There is in Terence
a beautiful Inftance of this kind, which it is impoffible to
read without feeling a fort of Tedjoufnefs in the Words.
T&det barum quotidianarumformarum.
9- Urges JtebiMas modis Myjlen] Valgius continually pur-
fues (fuchis the Force of the Verb ufyre) with lamentable
Elegies the Death of Myftc-s ; a Name, which fignifies con-
fecrated
222 Q^HORATII FLACClCARMINUM Lib. 2.
At non ter zevo fun&us amabilem
Ploravit omnes Antilochum fenex
Annos ; nee impubem parentes i 5
Troi'lon, aut Phrygiae forores
Flevere Temper. Define mollium
Tandem querelarum ; ac potius nova
Cantemus Augufti tropaea
Csefaris ; & rigidum Niphaten, 24
Medumque flumen gentibus additum
Vi&is, minores volvere vortices,
Intraque praefcriptum Gelonos
Exiguis equitare campis.
CARMEN
fecrated or initiated, for probably the Son of Valgius was de-
dicated to fome God, and this was his domelHc Name.
i o. Nee tili VefperoJ] This Star hath different Names, ac-
cording to its different Employments. It is called Lucifer in
the Morning, and is reprefented as a Boy fitting on a white
Horfe, albo Lucifer exit clarus equo. His Employment was
to awake Aurora, Lucifer ignes e<vocet Aurone, and as he was
the brighteft of all the heavenly Hoft of Stars, fo he was the
laft that left the Skies, caeloque novijfimus exit.
In the Evening he is mounted on an Horfe of a darker
Colour, fufeo equo, and is reprefented with a melancholy,
gloomy Afpeft, 'vultum ferrugine Lucifer fparfus erat. He
now changes his Name, and is generally called Hefperus.
If better Thou belong not to the Dawn,
Sure Pledge of rifmg Day. MILTON.
SPENCE'S Polymetis.
18. Ac potius nova.] This Expedition of Auguftus was the
moft glorious of his whole Life. He not only made the Roman
Name revered to the utmoft Bounds of Afia and Africa, by
impofmg Conditions of Peace upon the Indians and ^Ethio-
pians : He not only confirmed the Repofe of the Empire, by
eftablifhing in Greece, Sicily, and Afia Minor, a liable and
uniform Government, by dividing Armenia, Cilicia, and
Arabia, in Favour of Princes attached to the Intereft of the
Republic,
Ode 9. THE ODES OF HORACE. 223
Not for his Son the Grecian Sage,
Renown'd for thrice the mortal Age :
Not for their youthful Brother dead
Such Sorrows Priam's Daughter's flied.
At length thefe weak Complaints give o'er,
Indulge th' unmanly Grief no more,
But let us bolder fweep the String,
And Caefar's new-rais'd Trophies ling j
Or fmg Niphates' freezing Flood,
And Medus, with his Realms, fubdued ;
Whofe Waves are taught with humbler Pride
Smoother to roll their lefTening Tide,
And Scythians, who reludtant yield,
Nor pour their Squadrons o'er the Field.
Republic, but humbled the Pride of the Parthians, by oblig-
ing Phraates to reitore the Roman Eagles and Prifoners
taken thirty Years before, and to pull down the Trophies
that Orodes had erected for the Defeat of Craffus. To per-
petuate the Memory of this Succefs, he ftruck a Medal with
this Infcription PRO SIGN IS RECEPTIS. SAN.
21. Medumqueflumen.'] By the River Medus Horace means
the Parthians, as he would diftinguiih the Armenians by
Niphates. The firft of thefe Rivers divided the Empires of
the Romans and Parthians, and it appears by Plutarch, that
Horace in calling it Medus hath only given us its ancient
Name. Euphrates diSus eft primum Medus. Probably the Tigris
is here called Niphates, as it rifes out of a Mountain of that
Name. SAN.
ODE
CARMEN X. ^/LICINIUM MURENAM;
RECTIUS vlves, Licini, neque ahum
Semper urgendo ; neque, dum procellas
Cautus horrefcis, nimium premendo
Litus iniquum.
Auream quifquis mediocritateni 5
Diligit, tutus caret obfoleti
Sordibus teti, ,caret invidenda
Sobrius aula.
Ssevius ventis agitatur ingeris
Pinus : excelfas graviore cafu *o
Decidunt turres ; feriuntque fummos
Fulgura montes.
Sperat
Licinius was a young Man of an ardent, reftlefs, and am-
bitious Spirit. He had ruined his Fortune in the Civil Warsj
when his Brother Proculeius, with an uncommon Generdfity,
divided his Patrimony with him and Terentius. But a State
of Dependance and Mediocrity was by no means fuited to
his Humour, and having engaged himielf in a Confpiracy
againft Auguftus, he was banimed, and afterwards put to
Death, notwithflanding all the Intereil of Proculeius, and
Maecenas, who had married his Sifter Terentia.
Horace, who knew his Temper, lays down fome general
Rules for his Conduct, but without any Application, which
could either difoblige or injure him. The Sentiments of
this Ode are entirely moral, but enlivened by different Me-
taphors, and animated by different Comparifons ; for if Mo-
rality be not treated with Art and Spirit, it will difguft by its
Drynefs, or grow tedious by its Length. SAN.
Verf. 9. &CVMW.] Thiy Correction, which con'iifts in a
fmglc
ODE X. 70 LICINIUS MURENA.
LICINIUS, would You live with Eafe,
Tempt not too far the boundlefs Seas,
And when You hear the Tempeft roar>
Prefs not too near th' unequal Shore.
The Man, within the golden Mean,
Who can his boldeft Wifh contain,
Securely views the ruin'd Cell
Where fordid Want and Sorrow dwell,
And in himfelf fcrenely great,
Declines an envied Room of State.
When high in Air the Pine afcends
To every ruder Blaft it bends :
The Palace from its airy Height
Falls tumbling down with heavier Weight,
And when from Heaven the Lightning flies,
It blafts the Hills, which proudeit rife.
Who
ngle Letter, is taken from an Edition publifhed in the Year
1701, and Mr. Cuningliam hath propofed it in his Notes
without condemning it. The Poet both in Juftnefs of Sen-
timent and Expreffion fhould fay, Sffuius <vsntis agitaturpinus,
after having faid, exceljle gravius turre s decidunt, a.ndfu/gura
fummos ferlunt monies. SAN.
1 2. FulguraJ] This Reading is found in almoft all the an-
cient Manufcripts, and St. Jerom has thrice quoted this Paf-
fage, and always with the Word Fulgura. From Fulgur is
formed Fiilguritum, Thunder -fir uck. LAMB. BENT. CUN.
VOL. I. Q_
226 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Sperat infefti:;, metuit fecundis
Alteram fortem bene praeparatum
Peftus. Informes hyemes reducit 15
Jupiter ; idem.
Summovet. Non, fi male mine, & dim
Sic erit. Quondam citharas tacentem
Sufcitat Mufam, neque Temper arcum
Tenclit Apollo. 2
Rebus anguftis animofus, atquc
Fortis appare : fapienter idem
Contrahes vento minium fccundo
Turgida vela.
CARMEN
I-;. Metuit fecundis. ] Good Fortune, fays Publius Sirus, is
of a glafiy Nature, bright and brittle. Fortuua vilrea eji ;
luuCf qidtm jpierulct, franyitur.
15. Informs* h\>c;>;i>s.~\ This Epithet is bold and uncommon.
Winter makes the Face of Nature ugly and deformed. SAN.
19. Sufcitat fifu/ato.] Horace is not here {peaking of any
particular Mufe, or of the Mufes in general. He rcprefents
Apollo holding in one Hand the Infirument of his Dif-
pleafure, in the other the Symbol of his Good-humour.
Mufa citbarrt'is a poetical Expreffion for the Lyre itfelf, as
Alufa tmgaditc figmfies Tragedy. BENT.
21. Animofm c.tquefcrtis.'] The Poet very juftly joins thefe
Kpithets "together. The firft marks only the Difpofition of
the Soul ; the lecond means thofe Actions, which ariie from
that Difpofition ; or in other Words, Couraec and Fortitude.
DAC.
Od. 10. THE ODSS OF HORACE.
Who e'er enjoys th' untroubled Breaft,
With Virtue's tranquil Wifdom bleft,
With Hope the gloomy Hour can chear,
And temper Happinefs with Fear.
If Jove the Winter's Horrours bring,
Great Jove reftores the genial Spring j
Then let us not of Fate complain,
For foon fhall change the gloomy Scene,
Apollo fometimes can inipire
The filent Mufe, and wake the Lyre :
The deathful Bow not always plies,
Th' unerring Dart not always flies.
When Fortune, various Goddefs, lowers,
Collecl: your Strength, exert your Powers^
But, when me breathes a kinder Gale,
Wifely contrail your f welling Sail.
( 228 )
CARMEN XI. ./^/QUINTIUM HIRPINUM.
QUID bellicofus Cantaber, & Scythes,
Hirpine Quinti, cogitet, Adria
Divifus obje&o, remittas
Quaerere ; neu trepides in ufum
Pofccntis aevi pauca. Fugit retro 5
Levis juventas & decor, arida
Pellente lafcivcs Amores
Canitie, facilcmque Somnum.
Non Temper idem floribus eft honor
Vernis : neque uno Luna rubens nitet I O
Vultu. Quid ieternis minorem
Confiliis animum fatigas ?
Cur
The Defign of this Ode is well fupported. The Opening
is ferious, but the Scene grows lively by Degrees, and the
two.Aftors at the End are feated in a rural Arbour near a
River's Side calling for Wine and Mufic. SAN.
Verf. i . Cantaber, & Scythes.] The Commentators have
thrown away a great deal of Learning to fix the Date of
this Ode. They firft fuppofe it was written when the Can-
tabrians and Scythians were actually in Arms againftthe Re-
public, and then labour to prove it by Hiftory, and to re-
concile the different Revolts of thofe Nations to the fame
Time.
The Words of Horace do not neceflarily mean, that the
War was yet begun. The Word cogitet rather implies the
Defigns of thefe People, than their being really in Aftion.
The Poet only advifes his Friend not to torment himfelf with
diftant or vifionary Terrours either for his own, or for the
public Welfare. .i/V bellicojut Can taker & Scythes cogitet,
remittas qu<?rere : mil trepiJcs in ufum pofcentis (twi pauca;
This Language doth not neceflarily mean, that thefe People
were adlually in Arms, but that their Fidelity could be little
depended upon, and that fume new Revolt might be foon
expeded.
We
( 229 )
ODE XI. To QIHNTIUS HIRPINUS,
BE not anxious, Friend, to know
What the fierce Cantabrian Foe,
What intends the Scythian's Pride,
Far from Us whom Seas divide.
Tremble not with vain Defires,
Few the Things which Life requires
Youth with rapid Swiftnefs flies,
Beauty's Luftre quickly dies,
Wither'd Age drives far away
Gentle Sleep, and amorous Play.
When in vernal Bloom they glow
Flowers their gayeft Honours {how,
Nor the Moon with equal Grace
Always lifts her ruddy Face.
Thus while Nature's Works decay,
Bufy Mortal, prithee fay,
Why do you fatigue the Mind,
Not for endlefs Schemes defign'd ?
Thus
We can only pronounce with Certainty, from the eighth
and fifteenth Lines, that the Ode was written when Horace
and Quintius were largely part their Youth. SAN.
5. Fugit retro levisju<ventas.~\ This general Refleaion ferves
to prove the Senfe of the Ode, as it appears in the laft Note.
Life, for its real Happinefs, requires very little more than
Neceflaries, and the Shortnefs of it breaks all our Schemes.
The Pifturc of dry and withered Age chacing away Youth,
the Loves, and Sleep, is delicate and natural Imagery. SAN.
9. Nonfemper ictemf.oribus.'] Nothing is lefs durable than
Flowers in Spring; nothing more changeable than the Moon;
yet thefe are the beft Images of human Life. Why t'.icn
fhould Creatures, by Nature formed to Mortality, fatigue
O them-
23 Q^HORATII FJ.ACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Cur non fub alta vel platanq, vcl hac
firm jacentes fie tcmere, & rofa
Canosodorati capillos, je
Dum licet, Aflyriaque nardo
Potamus uncli ? Diffipat Evius
Curas edaces. Quis puer ocius
Reftinguet ardentis Falerni
Pocula praetcreunte lympha ? 20
Quis devjum fcortum eliciet domp
Lyden ? eburqa, die age, cum lyra
Maturet, incomtam Lacaenae
More comam religata nodum.
CARMEN
themfelves with endlefs and uncertain Projects ? From thefe
grand Principles a chearful Enjoyment of" the prefent Hour
is a. Conclufion not unworthy oi an Epicurean MoralilK
TOR. SAN.
58. Quis puer. ~] The Poet's Invitation inftantly paffes into
Aftion. Thefe Vivacities are ui"ual to him, ef{>ecialiy when
lie propofes a Party of Pleafure.
21. '3>uis de<viuj>i.~] There are almoft as many different
OpiniQns upon this Strophe, as there are different Commen-
tators. They have enquired, with very grave and learned
Curjofity, into the Meaning pf almoft every Word, and yet
have left the Senfe uncertain, although not undetermined.
Torrcntius, for the Honour of Horace, afTerts, from the
Word elicct (which fhews that lome Art was necefiary to the
Invitation) that Lyde was no common Proftitute. To which
Remark, her being at home adds no inconfiderable Strength.
Swtum is a coarfe Name for a Woman of themoft infamous
Charader, and Lyde feems tp be fent for to the prefent En-
^ertainment more for her Mufic, than her Beauty.
JJut a DifHcultv of more Moment arifes with regard to
Lydc's Drpfs- Horace deiires Her to tie her Hair c'arelefly
like the Lacedaemonian Ladies, whom Virgil defcribcs with
Hair loofe and flowing in the Wind.
Mr. J)acier reconciles the two Poets by afTuring us, that
Virgil defcribes a Spartan Maid, and Horace means a Spar-
('fir ^Matron ; that in Greece, and particularly in Lacedrcmon,
the
Od. IT. THE ODES OF HORACE. 231
Thus beneath this lofty Shade,
Thus in carelefs Freedom laid,
While Aflyrian EfTence fheds
Liquid Fragrance on our Heads,
W^hile we lie with Rofes crown'd,
Let the chearful Bowl go round :
Bacchus can our Cares controul,
Cares that prey upon the Soul.
Who fhall from the patting Stream
Quench our Wine's Falernian Flame ;
Who the vagrant Wanton bring,
Miilrefs of the Lyric String,
With her flowing Trefies tied,
Carelefs like a Spartan Bride.
the young Women had their Hair loofe, and their Heads
uncovered ; which were Faihions forbidden to the Spartan
Matrons. Flato thus accounts for tlic Cuiioni ; that the
young Maidens of Laced:cinon were taught all the manly
Exercifes of hunting, wreftling,-crV. but die Wives were con-
fined to their domeilic Affairs. Yet there was probably foir.e
better Reafon for a Cuftom, which not only prevailed in
Greece in general, but was received by the Rcnians. Their
common Women were obliged to tie their Hair, when they
appeared in public, to diiiinguifli tliein from Women of
Virtue.
ODE
CARMEN XII. ./&/MJECENATEM.
NO L I S longa ferae bell a Numantiae
Nec durum Aunibalern, nec Siculum mare,
Poeno purpureum fanguine, mollibus
Aptari citharae modis ;
Nec faevos Lapithas, & nimium mero j|
HyLxum ; domitofque Herculea manu
Tellqrisjuvenes, unde periculurn
Fulgens contremuit domus
Satumi
The Subject of this Ode is almoft the fame as that of two.
Others, Scrib?ris Vario and Pir.darum ijui/'quis, but the Conduct
is different. There is not here any Allegory, and the Rea-
fons, with which the Poet excufcs Himfelf for not writing
of Wars and Conquefts, are more natural and more enlarged.
Jt appears by the eleventh Yerfe, that the Ode was written
before the Year 725, and they, who are fond of guefling,
may naturally affign any following Year. SAN.
Verf. i. Fer<e Numtdtti*.'] Nuniantia is here called ftra
for the Fiercenefs of its Inhabitant!;, who chofe to dcftroy
themfelves by Sword, and Fire, and Foifon, rather than
yield to the Roman People. DAC.
2. Durum.} Dodtor B'entley. Mr. Cuningham, and Sana-
don, have received this Epithet jnfteadof dirum. Jt is found
in the greater Number of Copies, and in fome of the firtl
Editions. It makes an Opposition to mollibus, that is not
difagreeable, and Virgil uics the Expreffion Scipiadat duros
bello.
3. Mollibiis mod:s.~\ The Poet does not mean, as fome
Commentators underftand him, that grave or tragic Subjects ,
do not agree with Lyric Poetry. This Aflertion were abfo-
lutely falfe, and the Odes of Pindar and Horace are a Proof
pf the contrary. " He only fays, that his own Lyre has no
other Sound?, but what are proper for Love, and that it re-
fufes all Subjects of Grandeur and Sublimity.
Mr. Dacier and fome other Commentators believe, that
this Ode was written upon the Marriage of Mascenas with
If this were true, the Poet very ill excufes him-
fclf
( 233 )
ODE XII. 1o MAECENAS.
NUMANTIA's Wars, for Years maintain'd,
Or Hannibal's vindictive Ire,
Or Seas with Punic Gore diftainM,
Suit not the Softnefs of my feeble Lyre ;
f*Jor the fierce Broils and favage Mirth
Of Centaurs deep with Wine imbru'd ;
Nor the gigantic Sons of Earth
By Force Herculean glorioufly fubdu'd :
That Earth-born Race, with dire Alarms
Who fhook the ftarry Spheres above,
And impious dar'd with horrid Arms
Boldly defy th' Omnipotence of Jove.
You
felf upon Account of his Amours, for not attempting an
Ode upon the Conquefts and Triumphs of Oftavius, when
at the fame Time he preiles Mrecenas to write an Hittory of
them. Terentia was at leaft as good an Excufe, as any of
fhe Poet's Miftreffes. SAN.
5. Necfffvos Lapifnas.] Mr. Dacierisaftonimed, that none
of the Commentators have difcovered the Allegory, under
which Horace compares the civil War, in which Brutus and
Cafiius were conquered by Auguftus, to the War in which
{he Giants were fubdued by Hercules ; and again to the
Quarrel of the Lapithai, in which Hylreas fo naturally rc-
prefents Antony in his Excefies of Wine and Luxury with
Cleopatra. But, befides the Confufion of comparing thefe
Generals firfttothe Lapithse, and immediately afterwards to
the Giants, the Poet always treats them with more Refpedl
and Decency. He had ferved under Brutus, and he lived
in too much Friendmip with the Son of Antony, who was
now well efleemed by Augultus, to compare his Father with
the drunken Hylaus. SAN.
8. Contrtinuit.] The Confl^uclion c cntreir.ifcere fericulvm is
very
234 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Saturni veteris : tuque pedeftribus
Dices hifloriis proelia Caefaris, 1 o
Maecenas, melius, du&aque per vias
Regum colla minantium.
Me dulces domince Mufa Licymniae
Cantus, me voluit dicere lucidum
Fulgentes oculos, & bene mutuis 15
Fidum pe&us amoribus j
Quam
very unufual. Virgil hath an Expreflion of the fame Kind,
fonitmnque pedum, <uocetnque tremifco. SAN.
9. Tuque pedeftribusJ] It appears, by the Teftimony of Ser-
vius, that Maecenas wrote the Life of Auguftus, and Pliny
quotes fome Paflages from it. But, whether he were then
engaged in the Work, or only defigning it, Horace hath ta-
ken, a very delicate Manner of flattering both Auguftus and
Mxcenas. I am only capable of finging the Wars of Nttman-
tium, of Hannibal, or the fabulous Battles of the Giants, if
Leve would permit me to attempt fuch Kinds of Subjefis ; but no-
thing left than Maecenas can hope to celebrate the Conquefls of
Anguftiis ; as if they were fuperiour to all the If'onders of Hiftory
or Fable. We may again obferve, that while Horace excufes
himfelf, upon Account of his Amours, from attempting fuch
a Work, he mult with a very bad Grace have propofeu it to
Maecenas at the Time of his Engagements with Terentia.
SAN,
Pedeftribus hiftoriis.'} Horace ufes the Exprefiions Mufa pe-
dejlrii and Sermo pedeftris for a Style fimple and natural. Here
he oppoleth Poetry to Hiftory, which, if we may be allowed
fuch an Exprefiion, walks on Foot, and never rifes above
the Earth. The Style of Hiftory ought to be ftrong, yet
common ; its Di&ion chafte and flowing ; modeft even in
its Ornaments, it avoids whatever hath an Appearance of
Afreftation. But Poetry, and efpecially Lyric Poetry, foars
into the Clouds ; its Sentiments are noble, its Turns bold,
its Expreffions figurative j Nature is always feen, but Nature
in her richeftDvefs. TORR. SAN.
12. Mi-
Od. 1 2. THE ODIS OF HORACE. 235
You in hiftoric Profe mall tell
The mighty Power of Casfar's War ;
How Kings beneath his Battle fell,
And drag'd indignant his triumphal Car.
Licymnia's Voice, Licymnia's Eye,
Bright-darting its refplendent Ray,
Her Breaft, where Love and Friendmip lie,
The Mufe commands me fing in fofter Lay ;
12. Minantiitm.~] This Epithet, which reprefents the Kings,
whom Augultus had fubdued, ftill preferring the Terrours
and Threats of Liberty even in Chains, is no mean Honour
to their Conqueror. TORR.
13. Licymnite.'] Deep and learned are the Difpute's of the
Commentators, whether we ought to read Licinia or.Li<ym-
nia, whether it be a real or a feigned Name, and laftly
whether She was Miftrefs to Maecenas or the Poet. Mr.
Dacier, who declares for Licinia, tells us, that the Grecian
Hiftorians read either Licinius, or Lichmius, from whence
Horace hath taken the Liberty of lengthening the fecond
Syllable. But the Manner of the Greeks and Romans in
writing and pronouncing their Words was vaftly different ;
nor can the Grecians be fufficient Directors for meafuring and
writing a Language to which they were Strangers ; and
although They frequently fpell the fame Word differently,
yet the Latin Poets very feldom alter their Quantities. Be-
fides, the two Hiftorians, in whofe Works alone we find the
Name in Difpute, before the Auguftan Age, always write
Licinnios, not Licinios. It is true it appears differently JQ
Writers fmce that Time, but they cannot be of any
Authority.
Whether it be a real or feigned Name, is difficult to de-
termine; but the Scholiaft Acron is furelymiftaken when he
fays, that Horace always ufes uncertain, for certain Namec,
as me dukes dominie M*Ja Licinice, pro Terentite. It muft either
be
236 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Quam nee ferre pedem dedecuit choris,
Nee certare joco, nee dare brachia
Ludentem nitidis virginibus, facro
Dianae Celebris die. 23
Num tu, quae tenuit dives Achaemenes,
Aut pinguis Phrygiae Mygdonias opes
Permutare veils crine Licymmae,
Plenas aut Arabum dornos ?
bum
be an Errour of the Tranfcribers, or Acron. muft contradift
hh'ifelf, in faying Licinia was an uncertain Name forTe-
rcntia, when indeed it was her adopted, Family-Name. It
was not unufual among the Lati$ Poets to difguife the Names
of the Perfons, whom they described, under Words of the
fame Syllables and Meafures, by which, and by the Chara-
fter in general, They might eaiily be known. But Dodlor
Bentley fufiiciently proves, that the Scholiaft is miflaken in
another Inllance of this Kind, and at the fame Time allures
HS, that the greateft Number and oldeft Manufcripts read
Licymnite.
The Reafoning of the Poet, the Conduct and Decencies
of the Ode, alone determine whether Licymnia was the
Mrftrefs of Horace or Maecenas. If we fuppofe her Maece-
nas's Miftrefs, the Poet's Reafoning lies thus : You alone, O
Mftcenas, are capable of writing the ViElories of Augujlus. You
lo-ve Terentia j / lave her alfo, The PoJfeJJion of her Beauties
appears to You more valuable, than all the Riches of the Vl'orlii ;
ivki/g the Mufe commands tat to Ji'ig thoje Beauties, and forfake
c.11 other Subjefis.
In good Truth, if we fuppofe Maecenas in Love with Te-
rentia, and ready to marry her, die Poet could, with very
little Decency, lay upon 'him the Labour of writing the
Conquefts of Auguftus, while he holds himfelf excufed for
his own lighter Amours ; and furely it was a very carelefs
Indifcretion to talk of his Patron's Miftrefs, in fuch tender,
paffionate Language, as makes it difficult to diilinguifh the
Poet from the Lover. SAN.
Od. 12. THE ODES OF HORACE. 237
In Raillery the fportive Jeft,
Graceful her Step in dancing charms,
When playful at Diana's Feaft
To the bright Virgin Choir fhe winds her Arms.
Say, fliall the Wealth by Kings pofleft,
Or the rich Diadems They wear,
Or all the Treafures of the Eaft,
Purchafe one Lock of my Licymnia's Hair ?
While
17. Quam nee ferre pedemJ] Licymnia was perhaps a Wo-
man of Diftinction, whofe Birth and Fortune might entitle
her to the Honour of dancing at Diana's Feftival ; or, if
Licymnia were a real Name, She was perhaps a Daughter
of Julius Licymnius, who was a Freedman of Julius Csefar,
and by Auguitus made Governor of Gaul. SAN.
1 8. Cert are jocoJ] By the Word certare the Poet alludes to
a Cuftom among the Greeks and Romans of difputing the
Prize of Raillery on their feftival Days. It appears by a
Paffiige in Ariftophanes, that the Vidtors in thefe Difputes
were publickly crowned by the Greeks.
Nee dare bracbia ludentemJ] The Verb ludere is by the bell
Authors ufed for dancing, and the Exprefilon dare bracbia
may in general fignify the Motion and winding of their
Arms, or joining their Hands in dancing round the Altar of
the Goddefs. TORR. DAC. SAN.
The Commentators pafs lightly over this Stanza, without
confidering, that if their Signification of ludentem be juft,
Licymnia is twice in the fame Sentence reprefented dancing.
What this Play was, in which She is defcribed giving her
Arms to the Virgins at Diana's Feftival, is not eafy to know.
The Tranflator acknowledges, he does not underftand the
PafTage, and has therefore tranflated it very loofely.
23. Permutare velis crine Licymnise.~\ Did vou, Meffffias,
knoruj like me the Beauties of Licymnia, furely You nuould be
cbanned like me, nor exchange one Lock of her Hair for all t'je
Treafures of Kings. Thus in the Tranllition of the laft Line,
ar.d
238 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Dum flagrantia detorquet ad oicula 25
Cervicem, aut facili fsevitia negat,
Quae pofcente magis gaudeat eripi,
Iiiterdum rapere occupet.
CARMEN
You nuouliifnatch, &C. Such is the Language of
Lovers in all Ages, who believe, that if others could dif-
cover the fame Charms as they imagined in their Miltrelfes,
they mult feel them with the fame Tranfport. The Poets
are full of fuch Expreflions, which do not neceffarily mean,
as Mr. Dacier underftands them, that Licymnia was the
Miftrefs of Maecenas. SAN.
25. Dum flagrantia detorquft.~\ However warm this De -
fcription may appear, yet there is nothing in it indecent or
immodeft : and if Mr. Sanadon had thought fit to tr.inflate
the Strophe, he would have found another Argument to
prove that Licymnia was the Poet's Miftrefs. For it muft
have been as indecent in Maecenas to have admitted Horace
to be Witnefs of fuch Inftances of his Paffion for Terentia,
as it would have been impertinent in the Poet to break in
upon the Privacies of his Patron.
Od. 12. THE ODES OF HORACE. 239
While now her bending Neck fhe plies
Backward to meet the burning Kifs,
Then with an eafy Cruelty denies,
And wifhes you would fnatch, not afk the Blifs.
ODE
( 240 )
CARMEN XIII.
'L L E & nefafto te pofuit die,
(Quicunque) primum, & facrilegd manu
Produxit, arbos, in nepotum
Perniciem, opprobriumque pagi j
Ilium
It may be worth obferving, that there is no Subjeft, how-
ever trivial or inconfiderable, which Poetry cannot raife into
Grandeur and Dignity. The Fall of a Tree might have
alarmed a Writer of Profe, who would coldly have defcribed
his Danger ; but the Terrors of a poetical Imagination have
tranfported Horace to the very Regions of Death, where he
fings the Power of Mufic and Poetry.
Verf. i . Ille &? nefajlol} AU the Commentators are agreed
in acknowledging the Difficulty of this Sentence. Some
endeavour to explain it, fome to excufe the Poet, others
would alter the Text, and one bolder Critic cuts out the
whole Pafiage without condefccnding to give a Reafon for it.
Torrentius imagines, that Horace threw this Perplexity into
the Beginning of the Ode, more ftrongly to exprefs the Dif-
order and Confufion of the Danger he had efcaped ; while
Dr. Bentley amends the Text, and afferts, that it is impofiible
to find any Senfe in the PaJl'age according to its prefent Form.
Mr. Sanadon, who hath found all Explanations faulty, all
J uftilications of the Poet insufficient, and all Corrections
ufelefs, hath not perhaps fucceeded more happily than Others.
Mr. Dacier forms the Sentence in this Manner : O arbor,
guicunque te pofuit , & prodxxit, ilk te & pofuit nefafto die, ff
Jacrihga manu in nepotum perniciem ; te, inquam, trifle lignum,
te caducum in domini capict. Here Dr. Bentley cries out, Hcnu
*iuould Horace curje fitch fenfelejs Stuff, if he *vucre to rife from
the Dead! Rut wherefore do we delay to 'vindicate the Poet from
fuch Barbarifm of Language? Then read, accordir.g to our
Edition,
ILLUM, 6, nefafto te pofuit die
Quicuiume primuru, &c.
ILLUM
C 241 )
ODE XIII.
"VT^HOEVER rais'd and planted Thee,
Unlucky and pernicious Tree^
In Hour accurs'd with impious Hand
(Thou Bane and Scandal of my Land)
Well
ILLUM parentis fui
Fregifle cervicem.
You mujl here acknowledge fays the Critic, the Genius of
jv'criT* CM b m re C/ear > more harmonious, more fa
rtted? ^Repetition of l^VM.ar gues Indignation, r *J^
adds Force and Acnmony to the Sentence. Mr. Sanadon, with
very little lefs Warmth, afks his Reader, Is there *yS
more natural than bis Conxion? Is there any ThL her?
\ wT"^ ? ^reformed, explained, orexcufed? Hefanges
he Words in the following Manner : jfcfcjj- ''/*, S s
to fay, qujfquzs die & p ofuit te p r!mum f afg &>
manuproduxit ---- ilium vedidcrim, &c
But if we take away the full Stops, and open the Sentence
down to the twelfth Line perhaps ?he Con&uafen may "o?
appear fo perplexed. Arbos, yd te Jtatuit agro , ille (gull
a<n<?uef utt ) ^ nef a flo te pofuit die primum, ^ facrileJ^
product ,n ncpotumperniciem, ilium &T parentis credidtrim fre-
gijje cervtcem ; die <venena Colcha, Sec.
Nefafiofa.-] The Romans divided their Days into Fafil
jndAfe^.. On the A W /, all Kinds of Work d I at
Bofineft of the Forum were forbidden, as appears by a Line
in Qvrf. WeneMusent, per^uemtria verbafdentl ^
three Words, that Ovid means, were the Form with which
, wc
\ \ h r T, Pe r d h l S C Urt : D ' Dlco ' Aonrco By
firft he declared that he adminiftered Juftice ; by the fecond
he pronounced Sentence ; and by the third, he gave Portion
t ! Dl
,
? t r P S ty ! K Dlf ? Ute ' But P rivate S Peritition added
to thefe a Number of black, ill-omen'd Days Dies atri
upon which any public Calamity had happened 7 Cauo!
VOL. I, R TT
** Horacg
242 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Ilium & parentis crediderim fui 5
Eregifle cervicem & penetralia
SparfuTe nodurno cruore
Hofpitis : ille venena Colcha,
Et quidquid ufquam concipitur ncfas,
Tra&avit ; agro qui ftatuit meo 10
Te trifle lignum, te caducum
In domini caput immerentis.
Quid quifque vitet, nunquam homini fatis
Cautum eft in horas. Navita Bofporum
Poenus perhorrefcit, neque ultra 15
Cseca timet aliunde fata.
Horace may either mean, that the Perfon, who planted this
accurfed Tree, had violated a religious Holiday, by working
upon it ; or, that he had planted it upon fome unfortunate
Day.
i-ofnlt.'] Mr. Sanadon would perfuade us, that Horace
hath made ufe of three Verbs ponere, producerc and Jlatuere,
which rife above each other, and fignify the planting, raif-
ing, and tranfplanting this unfortunate Tree ; that it was
planted and raifed among the Sabines, and from thence
tranfplanted to the Country-Seat, which Maecenas had given
to Horace ; that in its firft Situation it ought to have been
the Dlfgrace of the Village, and was fated to be the Death
of fome Defendants from him, who planted it ; but in the
fecond, particularly threatened the Life of its Mailer.
This unlucky Inftance of the Critic's Refinement may
teach us not to be too curious in finding out Beauties even in
a favourite Author ; for, befides the Meanefs of the Climax,
Hiftory hath not been fufiiciently careful to inform us of the
planting, and tranfplanting this fatal Tree j nor is it pro-
bable, that the fame Perfon mould be deitined to the con-
tinued Prefervation of it, until it was large enough to kill
the
Od. 13. THE ODES OF HORACE. 243
Well may I think the Parricide
In Father's Blood his Soul had dyed,
Or plung'd his Dagger in the Breaft
Of his deep-flumbering, midnight Gueft,
Or temper'd every baleful Juice,
Which poifonous Colchian Glebes produce,
Or if a blacker Crime be known,
That Crime the Wretch had made his own,
Who on my harmlefs Grounds and me
Beftow'd Thee, lucklefs, falling Tree.
While Dangers hourly round us rife
No Caution guards us from Surprife.
All other Deaths the Sailor dares,
Who yet the raging Ocean fears ;
The
the Poet with its Fall ; or if we fhould extend his Curfes to
three Perfons, the Climax becomes very little lefs than Bur-
lefque.
1 1. Caducum.~\ Is here ufed for cafurum, which fhould fall
upon its Matter's Head, as if it had been planted with that
Deiign. Thus Virgil fays juvenis caducus forcafitrus, or mo~
riturus, a Youth, fated to die. This Accident happened
the firft of March> as appears by the eighth Ode of the
third Book. SAN.
13. ^uid-qulfque <vitet.~\ The fecond Part of the Ode,
which begins here, pafTes very naturally to the ufelefs Pre-
cautions of Mankind to avoid Death. The third Part rifes
from an imaginary View of Pluto's Kingdom, and the Elyfian
Fields, fur-vse regna Proferpinte, and difcretas piorum Jedes, in
which the Poet defcribes the Ghofts with Admiration and
Transport liftening to the Songs of Sappho and Alcasus.
DAC. SAX.
R 2
244 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Miles fagittas, & celerem fugam
Parthi ; catenas Parthus, & Italum
Robur ; fed improvifa lethi
Vis rapuit, rapietque gentcs. 2C
Quam pene furvae regna Proferpinas,
Et judicantem vidimus ./Eacum,
Sedefque difcretas piorum, &
JEoliis fidibus querentem
Sappho puellis de popularibus ; 25
Et te fonantem plenius aureo,
Alczee, ple&ro dura navis,
Dura fugas mala, dura belli ?
Utrumque facro digna filentio
Mirantur umbrae dicere ; fed magis 30
Pugnas, & exa&os tyrannos
Denfum humeris bibit aure vulgus.
Quid
23; SeJefquc piorum.'] The Poet begins to think how near
he was vifiting the Regions below, and feeing his Lyric
Friends ; at the very mentioning of whom he ftarts out into
an enthufiaftic Rapture, and forgets every Misfortune of
human Life. This is the true Spirit and Genius of Lyric
Poetry. UPTON on SHAKESPEARE.
25. Querentem puellis de popularibus. ~\ Madam Dacier, for
the Honour of her Sex, undertakes the Defence of Sappho
agiinft the Calumnies with which Pofterity had treated her.
bue believes that the Songs, which the Ghofts heard with
fo much Pleafure, were thofe, which Sappho had really
compofcd againft the unreafonable Jealoufies of her Country-
women, from which fome Writers have treated her Memory
with fo much Cruelty. But the Manner in which me declares
herfeif publicly and conitantly againlt her Brother Caraxus,
who diflionoured himfelf by his Engagements with the Pro-
ftitute Doricaj and that Veneration, which the Mitylenians
preferved fox her, even after her Death engraving her Image
on their Money, may juftly make us fuipeft that Scandal
and Calumny have treated her with their ufual Juftice, in
their Defcriptions of the Licentioufnefs of her Manners.
He*
Od. 13. THE ODES OF HORACE. 245
The Parthian views with deep Difmay,
The Roman Chains, and firm Array ;
The Roman dreads the Parthian Speed,
His flying War, and backward Reed ;
While Death, unheeded, fweeps away
The World, his everlafting Prey.
How near was I thofe dreary Plains,
Where Pluto's auburn Confort reigns,
Where awful fits the Judge of Hell,
Where pious Spirits blifsful dwell,
Where Sappho in melodious Strains
Of cruel Calumny complains,
Alcasus ftrikes the golden Strings,
And Seas, and Wars, and Exile fmgs ?
Thus while they tune the various Lyre
The Chores the facred Sounds admire ;
But when Alcaeus lifts the Strain
To Deeds of War, and Tyrants flain,
In thicker Crouds the lhadowy Throng
Drink deeper down the martial Song.
What
Her Pafllon forPhaon, extravagant and violent as it was,
may be no mean Proof of the Fallhood of the monfhous
Vices, with which fhe is charged.
zj. Ak&e^ Alcseus was Cotemporary, Countryman, and
Friend of Sappho ; he is jultly rewarded with a golden
Pleftrum (an Inftrument with which they ftruck the Strings
of the Lyre) for that Part of his Works, in which he pur-
fues the Tyrants of his Country. His Style was clofe, mag-
nificent, and chafte. He is frequently like to Komer, but
he defcends into Sports and Love, although naturally form-
ed to more exalted Subjedls. Such is the Character given
him by Quintilian, which confirms the Paffage in Horace :
Aktzus in parte opens aureo pleflro merito donatur, qua Tyrannos
infeclaiur. Multum etiam moribus confert, in eloquent bre*uis,
& magnifcus, & diligent, plerumque Homero Jimilis, fed in lufus
& amores defcendit, majoribus tamen aptior.
R 3 Cruquius
246 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. a.
Quid minim ? ubi illis cai'minibus ftupens
Demittit atras bellua centiceps
Aures, & intorti capillis 35
Eumenidum recreantur angues ?
Quin & Prometheus, & Pelopis parens
Dulci laborem decipitur fono ;
Nee curat Orion leones,
Aut timidos agitare lyncas. 4$
CARMEN
Cruquius underftands by the golden Ple&rum, that golden
Liberty which Alczeus had purchafed for his Countrymen by
expelling their Tyrants.
Na<vis.] The Poet ufes navls for navigatio, and under-
ftands by it all Dangers of the Sea, which Alcasus had ex-
perienced. SAN.
38. Laborem decipitur.'] Doctor Bentley afiures us, that
this Reading appears in the greater Number of Copies. Mr.
Cuningham and Sanadon have received it into the Text.
Decipitur is ufed in the fame Senfe as decipit, fallit. Thus
we find expleri mentem in Virgil, and pingitur alvum in Ovid,
and in Horace himfelf Qui purgor bilem, which muft all be
conftrued in an aftive Senfe.
39. Nfc curat Orion leones.~\ Orion, who had loved hunting
when he lived, is here defcribed purfuing the fame Sport,
when he died. The Antients believed, that the Ghofts of
the departed retained the fame Paffions, as thofe with which
they were animated upon Earth.
Od. 13. THE ODES OF HORACE. 247
What Wonder ? When with bending Ears
The Dog of Hell aftonifh'd hears,
And, in the Furies' Hair entwin'd,
The Snakes with chearful Horrour wind,
While charm'd by the melodious Strain
The tortur'd Ghofts forget their Pain,
Nor Lyon's Rage, nor Lynx's Flight,
Orion's raptur'd Soul delight.
R 4 ODE
( 2 4 8)
CARMEN XIV, .// POSTUMUM.
EHEU! fiigaces, Poftume, Poftume,
Labuntur anni ; nee pietas moram
Rugis, & inftanti fenec"be
AfFeret, indomitasque inorti.
Non fi trecenis, quotquot eunt dies,
Amice, places illacrymabilem
Plutona tauris ; qui ter amplum
Geryonen, Tityonque trifti
Compefcit unda, fcilicet omnibus,
Quicunque terrae munere vefcimur, JO
Enaviganda j five reges,
Sive inopes erimus colon! .
Fruftra
In fome Manufcripts this Ode appears with the Tide DE
SUPERSTITIONE, againft SuperfHtion. Yet Horace endea-
vours not only to fortify Poftumus againft the Fvars of Death
but exhorts him to enjoy the good Things of Life with
Chearfulnefs and Tranquility. fnftead of cold Advice, and
formal Arguments, all his Refleftions upon the Shortnefs of
Life, and Certainty of Death, are taken from a Philofophy
very conformable to the Sentiments of Nature, and animated
with a Variety, which makes it appear ever new. DAC. SAN.
Veri. i . Pojfume.] Grammarians have long difputed whe
ther we ought to write Pofi ttMtt or Pofhu, Voflius a/lures
us, that the ; Ancients always wrote Poftumus, which is con-
firmed by all Infcnptions on Medals without Exception It
is equally uncertain to whom this Ode is addreffed, as at
yhat Time it was written. SAN
2. Labuntur
( 249 )
ODE XIV. 70 POSTUMUS.
TTQW fwiftiy glide our flying Years !
J- -*- Alas ! nor Piety, nor Tears
Can ftop the fleeting Day 5
Deep-furrow'd Wrinkles, pofting Age,
And Death's unconquerable Rage,
Are Strangers to Delay.
Though every Day a Bull fhould bleed
To Pluto, bootlefs were the Deed,
The Monarch tearlels reigns,
Where Vultur-tortur'd Tityos lies,
And triple Geryon's monftrous Size
The gloomy Wave detains.
Whoever taftes of earthly Food
Is doom'd to pafs the joylefs Flood,
And hear the Stygian Roar ;
The fceptred King, who rules the Earth,
The labouring Hind of humbler Birth
Muft reach the diftant Shore.
The
z.Labunturfugaces ami.] The Poet very happily exprefles
the Motion of Time, which paffeth away without being per-
ceived. The Epithet marks the Rapidity of its Flight, and
the Verb fhews how imperceptible that Rapidity. The
Word
2 5 Qi HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2,
Fruflra cruento Marte carebimus, '
Fractifque rauci fluclibus Adria; :
Fruftra per Autumnos nocentem 1 5
Corporibus metuemus Auftrum.
Vifendus ater flumine languido
Cocytus errans, & Dana'i genus
Infame, damnatufque longi
Sifyphus bolides laboris. 2O
Linquenda tellus, & domus, & placens
Uxor : neque harum, quas colis, arborum
Te, praster invifas cupreflbs,
Ulla brevem dominum fequetur.
Abfumet
Word labuntur is properly applied to Rivers, whofe Courfe,
however flow it may appear, yet is really fwift ; as Time is
really flying away, even when it feems to flop,
f lt &* f uumjtare <videtur. DAC. SAN.
22. <%uas colis arbores.] The Romans were paffionately
fond of Trees, and fo curious in their Culture of them, that
they often watered them, if fuch an Expreflion may be al-
lowed, with Wine. The Cyprefs was facred to Pluto and
Proferpine, and various are the Reafons why it was ufed in
Funerals. Either from a vulgar Errour, that it dies if it be
pruned ; or becaufe it was ufeful in preserving a dead Body
from Corruption ; or, being thrown into the Pile, it corrected
the offenfive Stench of the burning Carcafe. A Branch of
it was placed over the Door of the Houfe where any Perfon
died, that the Pontiff might not be polluted by entering into
it. LAMB.
24. Brevem
Od. 14. THE ODES or HORACE. 25 f
The broken Surge of Adria's Main,
Hoarfe-founding, we avoid in vain,
And Mars in Blood-ftain'd Arms ;
The Southern Blaft in vain we fear,
And Autumn's Life-annoying Air
With idle Fears alarms ;
For all muft fee Cocytus flow,
Whofe gloomy Water fadly flow,
Strays through the dreary Soil,
The guilty Maids, an ill-fam'd Train !
And, Sifyphus, thy Labours vain
Condemn'd to endlefs Toil.
Thy pleafmg Confort muft be left,
And You of Villa's, Lands, bereft,
Muft to the Shades defcend ;
The Cyprefs only, hated Tree !
, Of all thy much-lov'd Groves, fhall Thee,
Its fliort-liv'd Lord attend.
Then
24. Brevcm dominum.~\ Some of the Commentators, know-
ing that bre-vis hath two Significations, with very learned
Subtlety have conftrued brevem dominum, <wbo is confined to a
fmall Space, as if Horace alluded to his Urn. Perhaps, his
Expreffion is not perfectly exaft, but, one would think, it
required fome Art to miftake his Meaning.
252 CX HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Abfumet heres Caecuba dignior 25
Servata centum clavibus, & mero
Tinget pavimentum fuperbus,
Pontificum potiore Ccenis.
CARMEN
27. Mero tinget pavimentum fuperbus. ~\ In this Strophe the
Poet recommends to Poftumus a chearful and open Manner
of living, by afiuring him, that his Heir, more worthy of
his Fortune by knowing how to enjoy it, ftiall in his Pride
and Prodigality proftifely ftain the Floor with his richeft
Wines. Doclor Bentley would approve of our Reading pa-
'vimentum fuperbum Pontifcum, for He thinks it a noble Ex-
preffion to fay, a Floor proud of being ftained with Liquor fo
excellent, although he allows, that the Weight of Confonants
is harlh and difagreeable. And yet this very Expreffion feems
to have fomething hard, That a Floor Jh*uld be proud of the
Wine which jiains it ; and the Dodlor himfelf rejefts it for
fuperbo, which is fomewhat faulty, as it gives two Epithets
to mero without railing the Senfe. Mr. Sanadon, from a
Conjefture of Mr. Cuningham, re&ds/uperbfs, which indeed
is not liable to either of thefe Objections, and yet the Senfe
is ftrong, and perfecl without it, fince nothing can add to
the Luxury or Pride of a Pontiff's Feaft. If then we read
fuperbus, which was firft propofed by Barthius, we (hall have
a new Thought added to the Stanza, and behold the very
Aftion of Pride and Infolence, with which this extravagant
Heir lavifheth away his Wine, while the Epithet, thrown to
the End of the Period, keeps up the Force and Spirit of the
Senfe ; a Manner of Writing very ufual in Horace.
28. Pontificum potiore caenisJ] Mr. Dacier is extremely well
reconciled to the French Tongue, for not being liable to the
Doubts, that perplex the Reader in thefe Words, which may
bear three different Conftrudlions ; that this Wine was of
greater Price than whole Feafts of the Pontiffs ; that it might
be better employed in thofe Feafts j or thirdly, that it was
more excellent, than what was drunk at fuch Entertainments.
Mr. Dacier declares for the fecond, which feems to him to
have the Turn of a religious Sentiment, as if this Wine
ought to be referved for the Pontiff's Feftival. Mr. Sanadon
hath chofen the firft Conftruftion ; and this Tranflation takes
the laft, as it appears molt natural and eafy. The Words
may
Od. 14. THE ODES OF HORACE. 253
Then (hall your worthier Heir difcharge,
And fet th' imprifon'd Cafks at large,
And dye the Floor with Wine,
So rich and precious, not the Feafts
Of Pontiffs chear their ravifh'd Guefts
With Liquor more divine.
may indeed bear a fourth Meaning ; potiore caems by an El-
lipfis potiore in ccenit may fignify the beft Wine even at a
Pontiff's Feaft.
Upon Admiffion of a new Member into their College, a
Feaft was prepared for the Pontiffe, Augurs, and Veftal
Virgins, with moil religious Luxury.
ODE
254
CARMEN XV.
JAM pauca aratro jugera regise
Moles relinquent ; undique latius
Extenta vifentur Lucrino
Stagna lacu j platanufque coelebs
Evincet ulmos : turn violaria, & 5
Myrtus, & omnis copia narium,
Spargent olivetis odorem,
Fertilibus domino priori.
Turn fpifla ramis laurea fervidos
Excludet ius. Non ita Romuli 10
Praefcriptum, & intonfi Catonis
Aufpiciis, veterumque norma.
Privatus
The Poet, in this Ode, oppofes the Magnificence and
Expence of the prefent Romans, in their Buildings, Plan-
tations and Gardens, to the Simplicity and Frugality of their
Anceftors, by whom the Public Edifices, and Temples of
the Gods, were thought the npbleft Monuments of true
Grandeur, as well as of Piety.,
The Wealth, brought, into Rome by ravaging and plun-
dering the World, was employed, with a Wantonneis aimoft
incredible, in the laft Excefles of Extravagance and Luxury.
Thefe Excefies vitiated the Minds, corrupted the Underftand-
ing, and broke the Reiblution of a People, notlefs glorious
for their Spirit of Liberty, than for their Conqueft of the
World. Thus at length they were debafed to a Vilenefs of
Slavery unknown to the Nations, whom they had conquered,
and infamous to all Pofterity.
Verf. 6. Copia iiar'nim.} Mr. Sanadon hath very well de-
fended the Beauty of this Expreffion againft Mr. Dacier, who
thinks
255
ODE XV.
IN royal Pride our Buildings rife,
The ufelefs Plough neglected lies j
Ponds, broad as Lakes, our Fields, o'er-fpread,
And barren Planes high wave the Head
Above the Elm, while all around,
Wafting their Fragrance o'er the Ground
Where flourifli'd once the Olive Shade,
And its rich Matter's Cares repaid,
The Violet and Myrtle greets
The Senfe a Luxury of Sweets !
While vainly would Apollo's Ray
Through our thick Laurels pour the Day.
Not fuch were Cato's ftern Decrees,
Nor Romulus by Arts like thefe
In Wifdom form'd th' imperial Sway,
And bid th' unwilling World obey.
Though
thinks it too bold, although he approves of an Expreffion of
Herodotus, who calls beautiful Women, the Dijlempers of the
Eye ; and of another Greek Writer, who fays, Wknoen are
the Feajl of the Sight. In Cicero we find copia agri for the
Riches of the Country ; and Catullus calls a Goat, the
Poifon of the Nofe, Crudelem naforum interfile peftem.
10. FerviJos iclus.~] Other Poets have faid, idus Ph&bi,
foils, luminis; but Lyric Poetry permits a greater Boldnefs.
They, who would read fejlus or ignes, enfeeble the Language,
and hazard a Correction, which the Text neither authorifes,
nor requires. SA^T.
256 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Privatus illis cenfus erat brevis,
Commune magnum : nulla decempedis
Metata privatis opacam !^
Porticus excipiebat Arten :
Nee fortuitum fpernere cefpitem
Leges fmebant, oppida publico
Sumtu jubentes, & Deorum
Templa novo decorare faxo. 20
CARMEN
13. Privatus illis cenfus.] Valerius Maximus hath given
us this glorious Character of the ancient Romans, that every
one was earneft to increafe the Wealth of his Country, not
his own private Fortune ; and chofe rather to be poor in a
rich State, than to be rich when the Commonwealth was
poor. They aimed, fays Cicero, at the Praifes of Frugality
in their domeftic Affairs, and of Dignity in all that con-
cerned the Public.
17. Nee fortuitum cefpitem.~\ This Expreffion hath fome
Difficulty. The Commentators in general underftand by
it either an hereditary Farm, or the cafual Allotment of
the conquered Lands. But in this Senfe, the Oppofition be-
tween the Buildings of the modern and ancient Romans,
which forms the Beauty of the Ode, is loft. The Tranflator
hopes he hath exprefled the natural and unforced Meaning
of his Author ; that thefrft Romans built their Houfes of Earth
or Brick, nor ivere they curious in their Situation, <vubile they
raifed the Temples and public Edifices with Stone.
1 8. Oppida publico fumtu.~\ In thefe laft Lines we fee the
principal Defign of the Poem, and Horace reflects upon
Augultus all the Praifes, which he had given to the Laws of
the ancient Romans. That Prince had not only rebuilt the
public Edifices, which had decayed by Time, or been de-
llroyed by Fire, but raifed feveral Temples to the Gods ;
fuch as thofe to Mars, the Avenger, to Apollo, to Jupiter,
the Thunderer. DA c .
20. Novo faxo.'] The Antients called anything new, which
was ornamental and elegant. TORR.
Od. 15. THE ODES OF HORACE. 257
Though fmall each perfonal Eftate,
The public Revenues were great ;
Arcaydes were then by Law confin'd,
Nor open'd to the Northern Wind :
The cafual Turf, where Fortune pleas'd,
The private Dwelling humbly rais'd,
While awful to the Powers divine
Grateful They built the facred Shrine,
And high their public Structures fhone,
Enrich'd with ornamental Stone.
Vot. I. S ODK
CARMEN XVI. ^/POMPEIUM GROSPHUM.
/^\TIUM divos rogat impotenti
^^ Prenfus -/Ega:o, iimul atra nubes
Condidit Lunam, neque certa fulgent
Sidera nautis :
Otium bcllo furiofa Thrace, r
Otium Medi pharetra decori,
Grofphe, non gemmis, neque purpura, ve-
nale, nee auro.
Nonenim gazae, neque confularis
Summovet li&or miferos tumultus 10
Mentis, & Curas laqueata circum
Te<5ta volantes.
Vivitur
When Horace draws the Morals of Epicurus at their Source,
it mail be confefled, that human Wifdom never produced
any Syftem more reafonable. The Pleafure of that Philofo-
puer, a Pleafure abufed by Libertinifm, and condemned by
Jgnorance, confuted in a Tranquility of Mind, refuhing
from the Practice of Virtue. From this Principle are de-
rived all the fe beautiful Maxims, which our Poet hath dif-
perfed through his whole Works, and which appear parti-
cularly in this Ode, where he gives fuch Counfel to his
Friend, as feems to be dictated by Reafon itfelf. After
hax-Ing fpoken of the Repofe 'of the Body in the firft fix
Lines,^ he propofeth, as an Object more worthy of our De-
fires, the Rapoie of the Soul ; but the Tranfition is fo lightly
marked, that it hath efcaped the Commentators. SAN.
Verf. i. Otium.] It were impertinent to defire the Reader
to mark the Beauty of this Repetition, by which the Poet
would prove, that Repofe and- Retirement is the general
Wim of Mankind, even when they are engaged in their molt
aftive, mod ambitious Purfuits. Yet it may be worth ob-
faring, that other Poets have made ufe of the fame Repe-
( 259)
ODE XVI. 7i POMPEIUS GROSPHUS.
WHEN Clouds the Moon's fair Luftre hide,
No Stars the doubtful Helm to guide ;
The Sailor mid the raging Seas
Suppliant implores the Gods for Eafe 5
For Eafej the warlike Sons of Thrace,
The Medes, whom mining Quivers grace,
For Eafe, that never can be fold
For Gems, for Purple, or for Gold.
For neither Wealth, nor Power controul
The fickly Tumults of the Soul,
Or bid the Cares to ftand aloof,
That hover round the vaulted Roof.
Happy
titions, and fpoken the fame Language. Thus Tibullus
live Times repeats the Word Hope, to mew that it is the
common Blefhng of the Unfortunate : thus he ufes the Word
Peace as often, to convince us, that it is the moft defirable
and valuable Enjoyment of human Life. When Ovid
would (hew the Power of Time, he repeats it not lefs than
fix Times ; and Catullus, whom perhaps our Poet imitated,
hath ufed otium as often in one Strophe.
JmpotentiJ] The W r ord impatenti appears in fome excellent
Manufcripts, and we are obliged to Mr. Sanadon for this
very happy Alteration of a fingle Letter. They, who read
in patetiti, gi\ r e to the -#igean Sea an Epithet, which by no
means agrees to it. Far from being open, it is divided and
broken by a Number of IQands, variisfreta conjita fern's, be-
iides Rocks and Banks of Sand. The Latins ufe the Word
impyf?is in two oppoiite Senfes, as incantts, inf*-aflus, &c.
Mart impotent is a Sea violently agitated, and Catullus calls
this very Sea by the fame Epithet Impotenti# freta.
10, Suwnovet.] One Part of the Liftor's Office, was to
z remove
260 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Vivitur parvo bene, cui paternum
Splendet in mensa tenui falinum ;
Nee leves fomnos timor, aut cupido 15
Sordidus aufert.
Quid brevi fortes jaculamur aevo
Multa ? quid terris alio calentes
Sole mutamus ? patrise quis exul
Se quoque fugit ? 2O
Scandit aeratas vitiofa naves
Cura; necturmas equitum relinquit,
Ocior cervis, & agente nimbos
Ocior Euro.
Laetus in praefens animus, quod ultra eft, 25
Oderit curare, & amara leni
Temperet rifu. Nihil eft ab omni
Parte beatum.
Abftulit
remove the Croud, and open a Way for the Magiftrates ;
from whence the Poet hath taken this beautiful Image. The
Litior may oblige the People, to retire, but cannot drive away the
Cares and Troubles of the Soul. The Matrons and Veftal
Virgins were not obliged to give way to the Magiitrates, left,
.under that Pretext, they might be injured or itflulted by the
Lifters. DAC-
14. Splettdet falinum.~\ Happy the Man, ivbo beholds ivjtb
Pkffure tlv plain and Jiniple Furniture which his Father left
Him. Salt is by Homer called Divine, and by Plato Bt'loveJ
by the Gods; fo holy was itefteemed that the Ancients thought
an Entertainment impious and profane, if it were forgotten,
as they believed that fome Misfortune would happen to the
Perfon who flept while it was on the Table. DAC.
17. Quid brevi fortes.] This is happily expreHed. Our
Defires are the Arrows of our Heart*, which we are always
aiming beyond the Mark of Life, and, as it were, {hooting
ut of Sight. SAN.
^ 1 8. Terris.
Od. 1 6. THE ODES OF HORACE. 261
Happy the Man, whofe frugal Board
His Father's Plenty can afford ;
His gentle Sleep nor anxious Fear
Shall drive away, nor fordid Care.
Why do we aim with eager Strife
At Things beyond the Mark of Life ?
Creatures, alas ! whofe boafted Power
Is but the Blefiing of an Hour !
To Climates, warm'd by other Suns,
In vain the wretched Exile runs >
Confuming Cares incetiant charge
His Flight, and climb his armed Barge ;
Or, though he mount the rapid Steed,
Care follows with unerring Speed,
Far fleeter than the timorous Hind,
Far fleeter than the driving Wind.
He, who can tafte without Allay
The prefent Pleafures of the Day,
Should with an eafy, chearful Smile
The Bitternefs of Life beguile ;
Should all of future Care deteft,
For nothing is completely bleft.
Achilles
1 8 Terns.] Mr. Cuningham hath given us this Altera-
tion of the uiual Reading terras, and it is received by Mr.
Sanadon. It is more agreeable to the Style of Horace, and
renders the Phrafe .complete, by expreflmg both 1 erms o
the Change. Terras muft be underftood.
26. Lenitemperatrifu.-} We are obliged for this Correduon
to Doftor Bentley ; all Editions before him read /^,wmc
gives a difagreeable Repetition of the fame Epithet in two
Lines, without adding to the Strength or Beauty of the Sen-
262 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Abftulit clarum cita mors Achillem :
Longa Tithonum minuit ferie&us : 3P
Et mihi forfan, tibi quod negarit,
Porriget hora.
Te greges centum, Siculaeque circum,
Mugiunt vaccse ; tibi tollit hinnitum
Apta quadrigis equa ; te bis Afro 35
Murice tin&ae
Veftiunt lanae : mihi parva rura, &
Spiritum Graiae tenuem Camoenae
Parca non mendax dedit, ac malignum
Spernere vulgus. 40
CARMEN
tence. Some Manufcripts read lento, which is an Expreffion
without Example, nor eafily underftood ; befides lent! makes
a pretty Opposition to amarus. SAN .
29. Abjlulit clarum.'] Achilles was famed for his military
Glories ; yet he died in Prime of Life. Tithonus was the
Favourite of a Goddefs, but even her Prefent of Immortality
became a Burthen to him, and after lingering in a miferable
old Age, he was changed into a Grafshopper. Such are the
Jnftances, by which Horace would prove, that Mortals never
can be completely happy.
Od. 1 6. THE ODES OF HORACE. 263
Achilles perifh'd in his Prime,
Tithon was worn away by Time,
And Fate, with lavifh Hand, to Me
May grant what it denies to Thee.
An hundred bleating Flocks are thine,
Around Thee graze thy lowing Kine ;
Neighing thy Mares invite the Reins,
Thy Robes the double Purple flams ;
To Me, not unindulgent Fate
Beftow'd a rural, calm Retreat,
With Art to tune the Roman Lyre,
To warm the Song with Grecian Fire,
And fcorn, in confcious Virtu6 proud,
The worthlefs Malice of the Croud,
84 ODE
CARMEN XVII.
CUR me querelis exanimas tuis ?
Nee Dis amicum eft, nee mihi, te prius
Obire, Maecenas, mearum
Grande decus, columenque rerum.
Ah ! te meae fi partem animae rapit 5
Maturior vis, quid moror alter am,
Nee carus aeque, nee fuperftes
Integer ? Ille dies utramque
Ducet ruinam : non ego perfidum
Dixi facramentum : ibimus, ibimus, JO
Utcunque praecedes, fupremum
Carpere itercomites parati.
Me
Maecenas, as we are informed by Puny, laboured from his
Infancy under a perpetual Fever, which mull neceiTarily have
changed the natural Gaiety of his Temper, efpeciaily to-
wards the latter End of his Life. It is probable, that he
frequently, and with fome Impatience, lamented to his fa-
vourite Poet his approaching Death. Horace, juftly fenfible
to his Complainings, in this Ode intreats him to talk no
more in fuch affefting Language ; He tells him, that he is
determined not to furvive him, and proves it to be impoffible
by the Conformity of their Deftinies, particularly thole Ac-
cidents, by which their Lives had been endangered ; from
whence He propofes, that They mould perform their Sacri-
fices in Gratitude to the Gods, who had preserved them.
SAN.
Verf. 6. Maturior vis.'] This Expreffion feems to mean,
that
( 265 )
ODE XVII. To MAECENAS.
WH Y will Maecenas thus complain,
Why kill me with th' unkindly Strain ?
Nor can the Gods, nor I confent
That You, my Life's great Ornament,
Should fmk untimely to the Tomb,
While I furvive the fatal Doom.
Should You, alas ! be match 'd away,
Wherefore, ah ! wherefore mould I ftay,
My Value loft, no longer whole,
And but pofieffing half my Soul ?
One Day, believe the facred Oath,
$hall lead the funeral Pomp of Both;
Chearful to Pluto's dark Abode,
With Thee I'll tread the dreary Road,
Nor
that Maecenas might naturally live many Years, which could
not be juilly faid of his laft Illnefs, as fome Commentators
underftand it. lince he was pafled Sixty, when he died. SAN.
9. Ducet.] This Word is ufed to exprefs the Proceflions
either of Triumphs or Funerals. DAC.
10. Perfidum Sacramcntum.~\ Horace alludes here to an
Oath of Fidelity taken by Soldiers, when they were enlifted,
and although there be not a formal Oath exprefled, yet it is
included in
Ille dies utram^ue
Ducet ruinam.
266 Q-^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lilr. 2.
Me nee Chimaerae fpiritus igneae,
Nee, fi refurgat, centimanus Gyas,
Divellet unquam ; fie potent! 15
Juftithe, placitumque Parcis.
Seu Libra, feu me Scorpius afpicit
Formidolofus, pars violentior
Natalis horae, feu tyrannus
Hefperiae Capricornus undae : 29
Utrumque noftrum incredibili moda
Confentit aftrum. Te Jovis impio
Tutela Saturno refulgens
Eripuit, volucrifque fati
Tardavit
tg. Pars violentior natalis hor<z.] Pats here fignifies, what
the Greeks call ^a.v, that Part of the Sign, which appears
above the Horizon at the Moment of Birth ; for every Sign
is divided into feveral Parts, which make as many Horo-
fcopes, by the Poet called Natafes hor#. We find in other
Places of this Author, that he was not over-credulous in the
Science of judicial Aftrology, and what he fays here feems
rather an Effect of his Compliance with the Weaknefs of
MiEcenas. DAC.
21. U trumque nojlrum incredilili wodo.~\ To render the Lives
and Fortunes of two Perfons perfectly equal, and to form
an exaft Correfpondence between them, it was neceflary
that they fhould be born at the fame Inftant. But as Horace
was not of the fame Age as Maecenas, he can only fay, that
there was a great Refemblance, a great Conformity between
their Stars ; and that by the moft remarkable Events of their
Lives, one might be apt to think They were born under the
fame Conftellation. But as it was impoflible, that two dif-
ferent Horofcopes could have the fame EfFeci, the Poet ex-
prdfes that Impoflibility by incredibili modo. DAC.
Mr.
Od. 17. THE ODES OF HORACE. 267
Nor fell Chimaera's Breath of Fire,
Nor hundred-handed Gyas dire,
Shall ever tear my Friend from Me ;
So Juftice nd the Fates decree.
Whether fair Libra's kinder Sign,
Pr Scorpius with an Eye malign
Beheld my Birth (his gloomy Power
Rules dreadful o'er the natal Hour)
Or Capricorn, with angry Rays
"Who mines the Tyrant of the Seas,
With equal Beams our Stars unite,
And ftrangely flied their mingled Light.
Thee, Jove's bright Influence fnatch'd away
From baleful Saturn's impious Ray,
And
Mr. Sanadon remarks, that the Expreflion in this Line is
profaic and difagreeable.
^^. Implo Saturno refulgens.~\ Saturn maybe called impious,
from that Influence which he was fuppofed to have upoa
Perfons born under his Conftellation, by his inclining them
to Vice and Wickednefs ; or becaufe, when he fhone direct
upon the Hour of Nativity, the Child was threatened with a
fudden Death. From whence perhaps arofe the Fable of
his devouring his Children : Refulgens is a Term in Aftrology
lignifyingy/P//?/^ in direft Oppo/ttion. TORR.
24. yducrifquefati.'] If we fuppofe, that Horace reafons
with any Regularity upon the Reiemblance between his own
and his Patron's Nativity, We muft believe that this Danger
of Maecenas was like that of the Poet, fudden, violent, and
which muft have been mortal, without the Interpolation of
a God. Cruquius conjectures, that it was either fome dan-
gerous Confpiracy, or an Accident in the public Shows.
268 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Tardavit alas j quum populus frequens 25
Fauftum theatris ter crepuit fonum :
Me truncus illapfus cerebro
Suftulerat, nifi Faunus iclum
Dextra levaflet, Mercurialium
Cuftos virorum. Reddere vicYimas, 30
JEdemquc votivam memento :
Nos humilem feriemus agnam.
CARMEK
26. Faitftum.'] All our Editions read la-turn, andtheManu-
fcripts are divided betAveen latum zndfcjhim, which feems to
be an Alteration of faujium. In this Epithet we have not
only the full Meaning of leetum, but a new Beauty added to
the Strophe. We are indebted to Mr. Cuningham for the
Correction, and Mr. Sanadon hath taken it into his Text.
28. Niji Faunus iflum.~\ Faunus, or Pan, is here com-
iniffioned by the Fates to proteft our Poet, who in the eighth
Ode of the third Book attributes his Prefervation to Bacchus.
But, befides that his Gratitude might think he was indebted
for his Safety to thefe two Deities, we find by ancient Mar-
bles, and Infcriptions, that Faunus, and Bacchus, were
really the fame God, who had different Names, according
to the different Sacrifices offered to Him. In this Ode Ho-
race propofes to facrifice a Lamb to Faunus, who might na-
turally be thought to prefide over the Country- Seat, where
this Accident happened. In the third Book he offers a Goat
to Bacchus, who was in all Times the Guardian cf Poets.
DAC.
30. VifiimasJ] Vifiima, properly fpeaking, means a Sa-
crifice of larger Beafts, fuch as Bulls, and by'lia the lefs
Kind, fuch as Sheep and Lambs. The Difference between
the Sacrifices of Maecenas and Horace m?.y rife from the Dif-
ference between the Patron and the Poet, or that between
the Gods to whom they are offered. DAC. SAN.
r
Od. 17. THE ODES OF HORACE. 269
And ftop'd the rapid Wings of Fate,
When the full Theatre, elate,
With joyful Tranfports hail'd thy Name,
And thrice uprais'd the loud Acclaim.
A Tree, when falling on my Head,
Had furely crum'd me to the Dead,
But Pan, the Poet's Guardian, broke,
With faving Hand, the deftin'd Stroke.
For Thee, let the rich VicTim's Blood
Pour forth to Jove its purple Flood j
For Thee, the votive Temple rife ;
For Me an humble Lambkin dies.
ODE
CARMEN XVIIL
NON ebur, neque aureum
Mea renidet in domo lacunar :
Non trabes Hymettias
Premunt columnas ultima reci&e
Africa : neque Attali
Ignotus heres regiam occupavi :
Nee Laconias mihi
Trahunt honeftae purpuras clientae :
At
In fome Manufcripts this Ode appears with a Title, VARO,
from whence Torrentius conjectured, that it was addrefled t
Quintilius Varus. It is probable, that as Avarice is the
Subject of it, fome of the Learned might have written, at
the Beginning of it, the Word AVARO, the firft Letter of
which being effaced by Time or Accident, there remained
only VARO. DAC.
Verf. 3. Non trabes Hymettias. ~\ This Correction, which is
a Conjecture of the learned Mr. Gale, is approved of by
Doctor Bentley, and received into the Text by Mr. Cuning-
ham and Sanadon. Thefe Critics remark againft the ufual
Reading trabes Hymettiee, that Hymettian Marble was in
^reat Efteem among the Romans, but it does not appear
that the Wood of this Mountain was ever thought valuable.
Befides, Beams of Marble is an extraordinary Expreflion in
the Language of Architecture, nor do the Latins ever fay,
trabes loptA* Or trabes marmorear. This African Wood was
probably the Citron-Tree, of which the firft Table, that
appeared in Rome, was bought by Cicero for twelve hundred
Crowns. This Wood was afterwards ufcd in Building, and
Horace in the firft Ode of the fourth Book promifes, that
Maximus
ODE XVIII.
NO Walls with Ivory inlaid
Adorn my Houfe ; no Colonade
Proudly fupports the Citron Beams,
Nor rich with Gold my Cielings flames ;
Nor have I, like an Heir unknown,
Seiz'd upon Attalus his Throne ;
Nor Dames, to happier Fortune's bred,
Draw down for Me the purple Thread ;
Vet
Maximus fhall ereft a Marble Statue to Venus in a Citron
Temple.
Ponet marine re am fub trait titrea.
Thou in a Citron Dome fhah iland,
Forrrf d by the Sculptor's animating Hand.
5. Neque Attali ignotv.s he;~ss,~} The old Commentators and
Cruquius imagine, there is a Stroke of Satire here, by which
the Poet would infmuate, that the Roman People had fraudu-
lently obtained the Will, in which Attalus made them his
Heirs. But this unknanvn Heir wa^ undoubtedly Ariftoriicus,
who, after the Death of" Attalus, feized upon the Throne,
defeated Licinius Craflus, and bcnng conquered by Perpenna,
was carried to Rome, and ftrangled in Prifoa by Order of
the Senate. TORR.
8. Homjl* client te.~\ This Epithet hath fomething of Sa-
tire in it againfl the Pride and Iniblence of Patrons, wha
compelled their Clients, of better Condition and Birth^ to
make Robes for them. The ExprefTion of fpinning Purple,
inftead of Thread, which Was dyed with Purple, is remark-
ably bold. SAX.
2 7 2 Qc.J RATI1 FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
At fides, & ingeni
Benigna vena eft ; pauperemque dives 10
Me petit : nihil fupra
Deos laceflb, nee potentem amicum
Largiora flagito,
Satis beatus unicis Sabinis.
Truditur dies die, . *5
Novseque pergunt interire Lunae :
Tu fecanda marmora
Locas fub ipfum funus, & fepulcri
Immemor, ftruis domos ;
Marifque Baiis obftrepentis urges
Summovere litora,
Parum locuples continente ripa.
Quid, quod ufque proximos
Revellis agri terminos, & ultra
Limites clientium 2 5
Salis avarus ? Pellitur paternos
In
10. Dives me petit.] Dives not only fignifies the Rich, but
Men of Quality, iuch as the Poet afterwards calls Maecenas,
^""* DAC
potentem amicum.
15. Truditur dies die.] The Poet begins here, although the
Tranfition and Connexion be not very ftrongly marked, di-
rectly to attack the Manners of his Age, and unites, in the
lame Subject, both their Avarice and Prodigality ; for thefe
two Paflions, however oppofite they may feeu., are frequently
tound in the fame Charafter. Mimi afrtMs, jui profit.
OAN.
24. Proximo! revellis agri t ermines] It was one of the
Laws of Numa, &ui tcrminum exarajfit, ipfes & bows facri
junto If any Man drive his Plow into his Neighbours Ground,
let Him and his Oxen be accurfed. The Greeks and Romans
worlhipped a God, whom They called Ai MJCV, jon/ea Ter-
minulem or Terminum. There was a. Kind of Adoration paid
by
Od. 1 8. THE ODES OF HORACE. 273
Yet with a firm and honeft Heart,
Unknowing or of Fraud or Art,
A liberal Vein of Genius bleft,
I'm by the Rich and Great careft.
My Patron's Gift, my Sabine Field
Shall all its rural Plenty yield,
And happy in that rural Storey
Of Heaven and Him I afk no more.
Day prefTes on the Heels of Day^
And Moons increafe to their Decay j
But You, with thoughtlefs Pride elate^
Unconfcious of impending Fate,
Command the pillar'd Dome to rife,
When lo ! thy Tomb forgotten lies ;
And, though the Waves indignant roai'j
Forward you urge the Baian Shore,
While Earth's too narrow Bounds in vairi
Thy guilty Progrefs would reftrain.
What can this impious Avarice ftay ?
Their facred Landmarks torn away,
You plunge into your Neighbour's Grounds,
And overleap your Client's Bounds.
Helplefs
by the Romans to the Stone, or Trunk of a Tree, which
divided their Lariis. They perfumed it with Eflences,
crowned it with. Flowers, and madt Sacrifices round it in
the Month of February. Yet all thefe religious and facred
Rites, the covetous Man profanely and lawlefly violates.
DAC.
, 26. Pellitur pRternosJ] There is not a.Word in thefe three
Lines, which doth not carry a double Sentiment of Compaf-
fion for this injured Family, and Indignation againlt their
VOL. I. T ' Patron's
274 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
In finu ferens Deos
Et uxor, & vir, fordidofque natos.
Nulla certior tamen
Rapacis Orel fede deftinata 30
Aula divitem manet
Herum. Quid ultra tendis ? ^Equa tellus
Pauperi recluditur,
Regumque pueris ; nee fatelles Orel
Callidum Promethea 35
Revexit auro captus. Hie fuperbum
Tantalum, atqueTantali
Genus coercet : hie levare fun&um
Pauperem laboribus,
Vocatus, atque non vocatus audit. 40
CARMEN
Patron's impious Cruelty. If the Lands of a Neighbour
were facred, much more were thofe of a Client, whofe In-
tereft was by the Roman People elleemed more dear, than
that of the neareft Relations. SAN.
29. Nulla certior tamer , ,] The Poet oppofes, to the Rapine
of this Invader, the total Ruin, which Death mall caufe, in
leaving him no more, than he leaves to them he hath plun-
dered. SAN.
34. Safeties OrciJ] Some Commentators think, that Ho-
race means either Charon or Cerberus by this Guard or Cen-
tinel of the invifible World. Others believe, the Description
better agrees with Death, who, as Cruquius expreffes it, is
the Terrour of the Living, and who fights for the Grave.
36. duro captit!.'] The Poet, by Allu/ion to fome Fable
of Prometheus, no longer known, infmuates to this avaricious
Lord, how uielefs the Wealth, which he hath purchafed by
Violence and Rapine, (hall prove after Death ; for Death to
the Poor is the Beginning of their Repofe ; to the Rich an
End of their Pleafures. SAN.
Od. 18. THE ODES OF'HORACE. 275
Helplefs the Wife and Hufband flee,
And in their Arms expell'd by Thee,
Their Houfhold Gods, ador'd in vain,
Their Infants too, a fordid Train.
Yet, deftin'd by unerring Fate,
Shall Hell's rapacious Courts await
This wealthy Lord
Then whither tend thy wide Demaines ?
For Earth impartial entertains
Her various Sons, and in her Breaft
Monarchs and Beggars equal reft.
Nor Gold could bribe, nor Art deceive
The gloomy Life-guard of the Grave,
Backward to tread the fhadowy Way,
And waft Prometheus into Day.
Yet He, who Tantalus detains,
With all his haughty Race in Chains,
Invok'd or not, the Wretch receives
And from the Toils of Life relieves.
QBE
CARMEN XIX. In BACCHUM.
BACCHUM in remotis carmina rupibus
Vidi doccntcm (crcditc, pofteri)
Nymphafque difccntcs, & aurcs
Capripedum Satyrorum acutas.
Evoe ! recent! mens trepidat metu ; 5
Plenoque Bacchi pe&ore turbidum
Laetatur. EVOE ! parce, Liber,
Parce, gravi metuende thyrfo.
Fa*
This Ode probably was written for fome Feftival of Bac-
chus, and the Poet, with a kind of Bacchanalian Enthufiafm,
hath impreffed the Marks of his Divinity upon all Parts of
this vaft Univerfe. Earth, Sea, Hell and Heaven have felt
the Effefts of his Power. SAN.
Mr. Sanadon calls this Ode a Dithyrambic, which is
eflentially a drinking Song, or Hymn in Honour of Bacchus.
There are, fays this Critic, two Kinds of Dithyrambics, the
Regular, formed of a certain Number of Strophes, in which
the fame Verfes conflantly return in the fame Order,; and
the Irregular, compofed of Verfes of different Forms, with-
out any Diilinaion and Order of Strophes. The Word Di-
thyrambic, according to Bochart, is formed from a Syriac
Word, fignifying a Pe>fin twice t>oru, in Alliifion to the Birth
of Bacchus, from whence the Latins call him bimater.
Verf. l. Remotis rupibus.'] This Beginning is truly fublime.
It is aPifture capable of alarming and filling the Imagina-
tion, by a natural Mixture of the Rural and Majeftic. The
Scene is happily choien ; for the Myfteries of Gods ought
to be performed in Places diftaut from the Commerce of
profane Mortals. SAN.
This
277
ODE XIX. 'To BACCHUS.
I Saw (let future Times believe)
The God of Wine his Lectures give,
Midft Rocks far diftant was the Scene ;
With Ears erect the Satyrs flood,
And every Goddefs of the Wood,
Liftening th' inftru&ive, folemn Strain.
The recent Terrour heaves my Breaft,
Yet with th' infpiring Power pofleft,
Tumultuous Joys my Soul have warni'd j
Dreadful, who fhak'ft the Ivy-fpear,
Thy Votary thus proftrate hear,
And be thy Rage, thy Rage difarrn'd.
Give
This Expreflion lijlen'mg the Strain, is authorifed by Shake-
fpeare in Julius^Caefar; And noiv, Oclaitius, lift en great things.
And in Macbeth, As they bad feen me with thefe Hangman s
Hands lijlening their Fear, Thus Milton in his Comus : And
lijlened them a-ivbjlf,
7. Parce.] The Poet imagines, that he beholds the God
raifing his Ivy-Spear to ftrike him, for daring to reveal his
awful Myfteries without his Permiffion. He begs Pardon for
his Temerity, and calms his Anger by the moft artful Praifes.
The Ode is divided into three Parts ; the firft includes the
Benefits, which the God hath beftowed upon Human Kind <
the fecond mews fome Inftances of his Vengeance ; and the
third defcribes his Exploits. BENT. JAN.
278 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Fas pervicaces fit mihi Thyiadas,
Vinique fontem, lacYis & uberes IO
Cantare rivos, atque trunris
Lapfa cavis iterare mella :
Fas & beatae conjugis additum
Stellis honorem, te&aquc Penthei
Disjecta non leni ruina, 15
Thracis & exitium Lycurgi.
Tu fle&is amnes, tu mare barbarum ;
Tu feparatis uvidus in jugis
Nodo coerces viperino
Biftonidum fine fraude crines. 20
Tu, quum parentis regna per arduum
Cohors Gigantum fcanderet impia,
Rhcetum retorfifti leonis
Unguibus, horribilique mala :
Quanquam,
9. Sit mibij] This conjectural Reading of Dr. Bentley
feems necefiary to maintain the Regularity of the Ode, and
the Reafoning of the Poet, who from the iixth Line addrefles
liimiclf to Bacchus to the End of the Poem. Fas eft would
therefore make a difagreeable Interruption ; nor is it the
Language either of Adoration or Fear. Befides, it does not
appear natural, that the very Moment, in which the Poet
alks Pardon of the God for his Imprudence, he mould dare
to affront him again by his Prefumption. Decency obliges
him not to coiumue his Subject, until he hath afked Leave.
17. 'Tttfieciifamnts.'] This Apoitrophe was abfolutely ne-
cofl'ary to enliven the Narration of the laft eight hiftorical
Lines, which muft have grown languifhing and tedious if
longer continued. DAC.
Od. 19. THE ODES OF HORACE. 279
Give Me to fing, by Thee infpir'd,
Thy Prieftefles to Madnefs fir'd :
Fountains of Wine (hall pour along,
And, melting from the hollow Tree,
The golden Treafures of the Bee,
And Streams of Milk (hall fill the Song.
Fair Ariadne's Crown (hall rife,
And add new Glories to the Skies ;
While I to liftening Nations tell,
How impious Pentheus' Palace burn'd,
With hideous Ruin overturn 'd,
And how the mad Lycurgus fell.
Indus and Ganges own thy Sway,
Barbaric Seas thy Power obey,
And o'er the pathlefs Mountain's Height,
(Her Head with horrid Snakes enroll'd,
Which harmlefs writhe their angry Fold)
Thy raptur'd Prieftefs fpeeds her Flight.
When rifing fierce in impious Arms,
The Giant-Race with dire Alarms
Aflail 'd the facred Realms of Light,
With Lion -Wrath, and dreadful Paw,
With Blood-befmear'd, and foaming Jaw
You put their horrid Chief to flight.
For
280 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. *.
Quanquam, choreis aptior & jocis 25
Ludoque di&us, non fat idoneus
Pugnae ferebaris ; fed idem
Pacis eras, mediufque belli.
Te vidit infons Cerberus aureo
Cornu decorum ; leniter atterens 30
Caudanv; & reccdentis trilingui
Ore pedes, tetigitque crura.
CARMEN
29. Aureo cornu decorum^\ Various are the Opinions why
Bacchus is thus pictured with Horns ; whether they were
imagined a Mark of Power and Divinity; whether they
rofe from the Cuftom of drinking out of Horns, or from his"
having firft ploughed with Bullocks. Mr. Dacier thinks it
plain, that the Character of this God is draw'n from the
Hirtory of Mofes ; and his Notes qn the Ode are a continual
Parallel between the facred and profane Hiftory. He afiures
us, that the Pifture of Bacchus, teaching the Nymphs and
Satyrs, is manifeftly taken from Mofes, who delivered his
Laws on Mount oinai ; that when this God is faid to fubdue
Rivers, and particularly the Indian Ocean, we are to ac-
knowledge the Paiiage of Mofes through the Red Sea; that
the Bacchanalians and Bacchus himfelf are crowned with
Serpents, from the Serpent in the Wildernefs ; and that the
golden Horn of this God, is taken from the Horns, cornuta
fades, of Mofes.
This laft Remark might convince the Critic how weak is
the Parallel in general, fmce the Word, which hath been
tranflated Horns, and from which Mofes hath been mon-
ftroufly painted with Horns, in the Original fignifles, that
Erightnefs, or Splendour, which fhone around his Head,
v/hen he defcended from the Mountain. But, indeed, thefe
Parallels between the Fables of Heathenifm and the Truth
of the facred Writings, whether they be formed from the
Likenefs of Names, or fome Refemblance of Characters,
are often indulged in a Wantonnefs of Imagination, or a
Vanity of an odd Kind of Learning. Idolatry had over-
ipread the Face of the Earth from Abraham to Mofes, that
K, for four hundred Years, the Hebrews alone excepted,
when the Fables of Heathenifm could not pofiibly be taken
from
Od. 19. THE O#ES OF HORACE. 281
For Dancing form'd, for Love and Wit,
You feem'd for War's rude Toils unfit,
And polifh'd to each fofter Grace :
But dreadful when in Arms You fhone,
You made the fatal Art your own,
In War excelling as in Peace.
With golden Horn fupremely bright,
You darted round the bending Light,
Far-beaming through the Gloom of Hell :
When Cerberus, with Fear amaz'd,
Forgot his Rage, and fawning gaz'cl,
And at thy Feet adoring fell.
from the Books of Mofes, fince that Lawgiver was not yet
in Being. Cadmus and Danaus tranfported a Phoenician
Colony into Greece before the Departure of the Ifraelites
out of Egypt, and furely the Gods, whom they carried with
them, could not have been Symbols of Mofes. Laftly, as
the Jews were a People feparated by their Laws from all
other Nations, and always defpifed or hated in proportion as
they were known, it is little probable that the Greeks and
Romans mould take from them the folemneft Myfteries of
their Religion. One fatal Confequence may rife from thefe
Kinds of Allufions, as Mr. Sanadon well pbferves upon an-
other Ode, in which Mr. Dacier again difcovers Mofes under
the Charafler of Mercury : An Unbeliever may reverfe this
Reafoning, and fay, that our Myfteries have been imagined
upon the Superftitions of the Heathens, fince we have many
Ceremonies, which They ufed. Thus from the Abfurdity
of the fabulous Syftem, he may conclude the Falfhood of
the Christian Religion.
ODE
( 282 )
CARMEN XX. Ad M^CENATEM.
NO N ufitata , non tenui ferar
Penna, biformis per liquidum sethera
Vates ; neque in terris morabor
Longius ; invidiaque major
Urbes relinquam. Non ego pauperum 5
Sanguis parentum, non ego, (quern vocant) \
Dilefte Maecenas, obibo,
Nee Stygia cohibebor unda.
Jam
Some modern Critics are much offended with the Ancients,
for boafting Ib frequently of having rendered themfelves
immortal by their Writings. It is acknowledged, that the
Manner of praifing ourfelves requires great Art and Deli-
cacy ; nor would it perhaps fucceed with modern Poets. But
why mould they not be allowed to render the fame Juftice to
themfelves, as they do to others ? As it is a Littlenefs in the
Mind, not to know itfelf, fo it is a reputable Courage to
Ihow a Confcioufnefs of thofe Excellencies, which we are
fure we poffefs. Longinus thinks it neceflary, that They,
who would rife to the Sublime in Writing, mould be filled
with a noble Pride, and believe themfelves really capable of
great Things. For when a Poet reprefents to Himfelf the
Judgment, which Poflerity will form of his Works, and, in
the Moments of compofing, apprehends that his Performance
may not be able to furvive him, the Productions of a Soul,
whofe Views are fo fhort and confined, as that it cannot
promife itfelf the Applaufe and Eiteem of fucceeding Ages,
muft
ODE XX. To MAECENAS.
WITH ftrong, unwonted, Wing I rife,
A two-form'd Poet through the Skies.
Far above Envy will I foar,
And tread this worthlefs Earth no more.
For know, ye Rivals of my Fame,
Though lowly born, a vulgar Name,
I will not condefcend to die,
Nor in the Stygian Waters lie.
muft neceflarily prove abortive and imperfeft. To fay more
in Vindication of this, and the laft Ode of the next Book,
would be really injurious to Horace. DAC.
Verf. i . Non ujitatd.~] A Poet, without Wings, is a Poet
without Genius. This unufual Flight of Horace alludes to
his Imitation of the Grecian Lyric Writers, and the next
Line reprefents him in the Beginning of his MetamorphoJis,
half Man and half Bird. SAN.
6. >uem vacant. ~\ Ut vacant, quern ita vacant, an Expref-
fion in which rivalcs or inimici muft be underftood. They,
who read quern vocas, find it difficult to prove any reafonable
Meaning in the Words. To fuppofe an Invitation from
Maecenas is ridiculous, and Mr. Dacier's Conftrudlion, S>uem
vocas a'ileffum, quern compel/as dilefti nomine, does very little
Honour to the Poet's Reafoning. I am poor, I am your Fa-
vourite, however I jhall never die : As if the Favour of Mae-
cenas were an Hinderance to his Immortality. There is yet
a third Manner of conftruing the Paffage, DtftSt Maecenas,
non ego obibo, quern vocas fanguis pauperum farentum. This
Conflru&ion
284 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Jam jam refidunt cruribus afperse
Pelles; & album jmutor in alitem ip
Superne j nafcunturque leves
Per digitos, humerofque plumae.
Jam Daedaleo ocior Icaro,
Vifam gementis litora Bofpori,
Syrtefque Gietulas, canorus 15
Ales, Hyperboreofque campos.
Me Colchus, & qui diflimulat metum
Marfae eohortis j Dacus, & ultimi
Nofcent Geloni : me peritus
Difcet Iber, Rhodanique potor. 2O
Abfint
Conftruftion does not indeed feparate the Words dileEie M<f~
ena>, which cannot naturally be divided, but nothing can
be more foreign to the Character of Maecenas, than to re-
proach them, whom he honoured with his Friendlhip, with
Bafeneis of Extraction ; a Remark, which Horace makes
more than once. The Correction is therefore neceffary,
iince the ufual Reading cannot poffibly be fupported. BENT.
13. Ocior Icarc. J Doctor Bentley propofes here another
conjectural Reading, tutior Icaro, which Mr. Sanadon hath
received into the Text, and which, although it appear not
abfolutely neceliary, may well defcrve to be mentioned with
the Reafons, that fupport it.
The Wings of Icarus wanted not Swiftnefs, yet that Swift-
nefs could not preferve him from falling ; nor could the
Flight of Horace be more fecure, whether he flew more
fwiftly or flowly than Icarus. Beftdes, it is difficult to ima-
gine, that the Poet mould propofe, without any Corrective,
inch an ill-omened Example, and which his Enemies could
fo ftrongly turn againft him. A Manuscript of more than
eight
Od. 20. THE ODES OF HORACE/ 385
A rougher Skin now clothes my Thighs,
Into a Swan's fair Form I rife,
And feel the feather'd Plumage fhed
Its Down, and o'er my Shoulders fpread.
Swift as with Daedalean Wing,
Harmonious Bird, I'll fearing fing,
And in my Flight, the foamy Shores,
Where Bofphorus tremendous roars,
The Regions, bound by Northern Cold,
And Lybia's burning Sands, behold.
Then to the learned Sons of Spain.
To him, who ploughs the Scythian Main,
To him, who with diffembled Fears,
Confcious, the Roman Arms reveres,
To him, who drinks the rapid Rhone,
Shall Horace, deathlefs Bard, be known.
My
eight hundred Years, reads noiior, which'fhews that the ufual
Epithet hath been long fufpe&ed.
1 7. Qui dijjimulat tnetnm.] Mr. Dacier happily remark?,
that the i'oet here means the Parthians, and thus regularly
names fix different Nations, as it were, in Oppofition to each
other ; Cholchians and Parthians ; Dacians and Scythians ;
Spaniards and Gauls. It did not feem neceflary to load the
Tranflation with proper Names, which would be ufelefs to
an Englifh Reader, and which are mentioned in the Original
without any Chara&ers or Epithets.
20. Peritus Iber.~] In the time of Auguftus, Learning and the
Sciences flourifhed in Spain, whither they were carried from
Afia, and where the Roman Colonies contributed greatly to
their Encouragement. DAC.
286 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 2.
Abfmt inani funere naeniae,
Lu&ufque turpes ; & querimoniae
Compefce clamorem, ac fepulchri
Mitte fupervacuos honores.
22. Querimoniep clamor cm. ~\ Thefe two Words are joined by
correcting the Punctuation. Compefce clamorem is an Expref-
fion too general and uncertain, and by feparating qxerimoni<e
from clamorem, the Poet fays the fame thing twice. He
collects, in this Strophe, the principal Ceremonies, which
the Romans ufed in their Funerals. _ A Perfon played on the
Flute fome melancholy Airs in the Phrygian Meafure, and
fung the Praifes of the Deceafed. The Mourners filled the
Air with Sighs and Groans ; They frequently called upon
the Dead by Name, and gave him their laft Farewel. They
made Afperfions, burned Odours, and concluded the Cere-
mony with an Entertainment. SA^.
Od. 20. THE ODES OF HORACE. 287
My Friends, the funeral Sorrow fpare,
The plaintive Song, and tender Tear 5
Nor let the Voice of Grief profane,
With loud Laments, the folemn Scene ;
Nor o'er your Poet's empty Urn
With ufelefs, idle Sorrows mourn.
END OF THE SECOND BOOK.
C 288 )
^ HORATII FLACCI
CARMINUM
LIBER TERTIUS.
CARMEN I.
RE G U M timendorum in proprios grebes ;
Reges in ipfos imperium eft Jovis,
Clari giganteo triumpho,
Cuncta fupercilio moventis;
Eft, ut viro vir latius ordinet j
Arbufta fulcis ; hie generofior
Defcendat in campum petitor ;
Moribus hie, meliorque famd
Contendat
The Reader may find in the Notes on the Carmen Seculare,
for what Reafons, and upon what Authority, the Strophe is
difplaced, which appears in all Editions, except Mr. Sana-
don's, at the Beginning of this Ode.
Horace in this and the next Book (hews forth all his poeti-
cal Abilities. Poetry itfelf appears in its native, original
Character, employed in celebrating the Power of the Gods,
and the Praifes of Men ; in fupporting the facred Truths of
Religion, and encouraging the Praftice of moral Virtue. In
this Ode the Poet aflerts the Sovereignty of Jupiter, and de-
fcending from Him, upon whom they all depend, through
the various Degrees of Life, He teaches us, that true Hap-
pinefs can only be found in a contented and frugal Enjoy-
ment of the Bleffings we pofTcfs.
Verf.
THE THIRD
1 B O O K
O F T H E
ODES of HORACE.
ODE!.
MONARCHS on Earth their Power extend,
Monarchs to Jove fubmiflive bend,
And own the fovereign God,
With glorious Triumph who fubdued
The Titan Race, gigantic Brood !
And (hakes whole Nature with his Nod.
When rival Candidates contend,
And to the Field of Mars defcend,
To urge th' ambitious Claim,
Some of illuftrious Birth are proud,
Some of their CHeHts' vaflal Croud,
And fome of Virtue's Fame.
Others
Verf. i. In proprios greges.~\ Mr. Dacier very well remarks,
that Kings are properly Shepherds, and the People their
Flocks ; but however juft this Idea may be, it feems not very
happily fuited with the Grandeur of the Sentiments and
Expreflions, which raiie the Beginning of this Ode. The
Word greges hath fomething too low for the Pomp of the
Strophe, and by being placed next to reges, forms a Same-
nefs of Sound, difagreeab'e to the Ear. SAN.
5. Eft, ut.] HoraCe here defcends to the Conditions of
Life, which are moll exalted next to that of Kings. Among
VOL. I. U the
290 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. .
Contendat j illi turba clicntium
Sit major ; aequa lege NecelKtas 10
Sortitur infignes, & imos ;
Omne capax movet urna noinen.
Diftritus enfis cui fupcr impia
Cervice pendet, non Siculae dapes
Dulcem elaborabunt faporem j 15
Non avium, citharasque cantus
Somnum reducent. Somnus agreftium
Lenis virorum non humiles domos
Faftklrt, umbrofamque ripam,
Non Zephyris agitata Tcmpe. 20
Defiderantem
the Romans there was nothing above their firft Magiftracies ;
and the Poet makes a fhort and jult Enumeration of the
Qualities, which ought to be confidered in the Candidates.
Virtue alone mould decide in all Elections j but Riches, Po-
pularity, and Birth, irfall Ages and Countries, too frequently
corrupt the Suffrages.
Eft ut is an Ellipfis, in which we mull underftand negotium.
Eft negotium ut ; it a fe res babet ut ; evenit, quotidie accidit ;
and the Manner of fpeaking is perfectly pure, and poetical.
SAN. DAC.
7. Defcendat in campum. ] The Field of Mars, where the
popular Affemblies were held for Eleftions, was in the loweil
Ground of Rome, from whence the Poet ufes the Word
defctndat. CRUQ^
13. Impia cervice.} The Commentators underftand thefe
Words of Damocles, yet, as he is charged with no other
Crime than that of praifmg the Happinefs of Dionyfms,
they feem more juftly to be applied to the Tyrant Himfelf,
whom
Od. i. THE ODES OF HORACE. 291
Others the rural Labour love, .
And joy to plant the fpreading Grovej
The furrow'd Glebe to turn ;
Yet with impartial Hand {hall Fate
Both of the Lowly and the Great
Shake the capacious Urn.
Behold the Wretch, with confcious Dread,
In pointed Vengeance o'er his Head
Who views th' impending Sword ;
Nor Dainties force his pall 'd Defire,
Nor Ghaunt of Birds, nor vocal Lyre
To Him -can Sleep afford - t
Heart-foothing Sleep, which not difdains
The rural Cot, and humble Swains,
And fhady River fair ;
Or Tempe's ever-blooming Spring,
Where Zephyrs wave the balmy Wing,
And fan the buxom Air.
Who
whom Horace confiders in the fame Danger to which Da-
mocles was expofed, and under whofe Perfon he defcribes
the dangerous and wretched Situation of all Tyrants, amidft
their Pomp and Appearances of Happinefs. DAC.
22. Tumultuofum mare.] Tumultus properly fignifies a Se-
dition, or civil War, from whence the Poet metaphorically
calls the Sea tumultuous, or mutinous. DAC,
U 2
292 Q^HokAf ii FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 3.
Defiderantem quod fatis eft, neqvie
Tumultuofum folicitat mare,
Nee faevus Ar&uri cadentis
Impetus, aut orientis Hcedi :
Non verberatse grandine vinese, 25
Fundufque mendax j arbore nunc aquas
Culpante y nunc torrentia agros
Sidera, nunc hyemes iniquas.
Contra&a pifces aequora fentiunt,
Jatis in altum molfbiis. Hue frequens 30
Caementa demittit redemtor
Cum famulis, dominufque terrae
Faftidiofus : fed Timor & Minae
Scandunt eodem quo dominus ; neque
Decedit aerata triremi, & 35
Poft equitem fedet atra Cura.
Quod
30. "JaSils in altum molil>u}.~\ Mules are the mafly Piles, or
Stones, which thefe numerous Undertakers, frtquetis rutemptor,
throw into the Sea for a Foundation. The Poet in the next
Line calls them ctementa. TORR.
35. Trirem'i^ WasaVefiel, which had on each Side three
Men to each Oar, whatever might be the Number of Oars.
Mr. Dacier declares for the Opinion, that the Rowers were
placed above each other, and many of the Learned have
tried to prove, by mathematical Computations, that fuch a
Form is not abfolutely itnpoilible. Rut whatever Efforts
they have made, or in whatever Manner they have difpofed
the Benches of thefe Rowers, whether in perpendicular or
oblique Ranks, they can never demonftrate a practical Pof-
fibility, which may be conftant, uniform, and eafy ; and
without which the whole Syftem is a vain and ufelefs Spe-
culation. SAN.
Od. i. THE ODJ-S OF HORACE.
Who Nature's frugal Dilates hears,
He nor the raging Ocean fears,
Nor Stars of Power malign,
Whether in gloomy Storms they rife,
Or, fwift defending through the Skies,
With angry Luftre mine :
Whether his Vines be imit with Hail,
Whether his promis'd Harvefts fail,
Perfidious to his Toil ;
Whether his drooping Trees complain
Of angry Winters, chilling Rain,
Or Stars, that burn the Soil.
r .: H:-it jKiiftDar-.-j. > - f ".rr
Not fuch the haughty Lord, who lays
His deep Foundations in the Seas,
And fcorns Earth's narrow Bound ;
TheFifh affrighted feel their Waves
Contracted by his numerous Slaves,
Even in the vaft Profound.
High though his Structures rife in Air,
Threatning Remorfe, and black Defpair
This haughty Lord fhall find ;
O'ertake his armed Galley's Speed,
And when he mounts the flying Steed,
Sits gloomy Care behind.
U 3 If
294 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 3.
Quod fi dolentem nee Phrygius lapis,
Nee purpurarum fidere clarior
Delenit ufus, nee Falerna
Vitis, Achaemeniumve coftum ; 4
Cur invidendis poftibus, & novo
Sublime ritu moliar atrium ?
Cur valle permutem Sabina
Divitias operofcores ?
CARMEN
38. Purpurarum fdere clarior ufis.'] The French Commen-
tators think this Manner of Expreffion, the Ufe of Purple,
brighter than a Star, hath a Boldnefs inexcufable even in
Lyric Poetry. The Tranflation hath a little changed the
Companion by applying the Image to the Purple of the
42. Atrium."] Was properly a great Hall in which the
Romans placed the Statues of their Anceftors, received their
Clients, and performed all their domeftic Bufmefs, It is
here ufed for the whole Dwelling.
Od. i. THE OOES OF HORACE. 295
if Purple, which the Morn outfhines,
Or Marble, from the Phrygian Mines,
Though labour'd high with Art,
If Eflence, breathing Sweets divine,
Or flowing Bowls of generous Wine,
111 footh an anxious Heart,
On Columns, rais'd in modern Style,
Why fliould I plan the lofty Pile
To rife with envied State ?
Why, for a vain, fuperfluous Store,
Which would encumber me the more,
JRefign my Sabine Seat ?
U 4
CARMEN II. Ad AMICOS.
ANGUSTAM, amici, pauperiem pati
Robuftus acri militia puer
Condifcat, & Parthos feroces
Vexet eques metuendus hafta ;
Vitamque fub dio & trepidis agat 5
In >ebus. Ilium ex moenibus hofticis
Matrona bellantis tyranni
Profpiciens, & adulta virgo,
Sufpiret, eheu ! ne rudis agminum
Sponfus laceflat regius afperiim 10
Ta&u leonem ; quern cruenta
Per medias rapit ira caedes.
Dulce
The Defign of Horace in this Ode is to recommend For-
titude in bearing the DiftrefTes of War; Virtue in the Purfuit
of the Honours of Peace ; and Silence in preferring the
Myfteries of Religion. Thus the Ode is compofed of three
Parts, regularly and naturally connected. We may believe,
by the tlrrd Line, that it was written before the Conqueft of
Parthia, but in what particular Year is uncertain. DAC.
Verf. I. Anguftam pauferiem.] The Poet is not contented
with faying, that Youth fhouid be taught to fuffer Want,
but ftiengthens it with an Epithet, fe-verc Want. Such was
the Dilcipline of the Romans by which they fubdued the
World ; but We follow ether Maxims, for Luxury and good
Cheer dwell in the Camps of our Soldiery. DAC.
297
ODE II. T0 bis FRIENDS.
R hardy Youth mould learn to bear
Sharp Want, to rein the warlike Steed,
To hurl the well-direded Spear
With pointed Force, and bid the Parthian bleed.
Thus form'd in War's tumultuous Trade
Through Summer's Heat, or Winter's Cold,
Some Tyrant's Queen, or blooming Maid,
Shall from her Walls the martial Youth behold,
Deep-fighing left her royal Spoufe,
Untaught the deathful Sword to wield,
That Lion, in his Wrath, mould roufe,
Whom furious Rage drives through th' enfanguin'd
Field.
What
6. Ilium ex m&nibus bo/licis."] This Defcription is perfedly
beautiful, and finely imagined to animate a young Warrior
to bear the Fatigues of his Profeffion. His rifmg Valour
could not appear in a nobler Theatre. It is probable? that
the Tyrant here mentioned was the Parthian King, whofe
Daughter was betrothed to fome Prince of that Country ;
and the Image feems to have been taken from the PafTage of
Homer, where Helen and the Trojan Dames appear upon
the Walls, and view the Grecian Camp. DAC. SAN.
298 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib.
Dulce & decorum eft pro patria mori.
Mors '& fugacem perfequitur virum j
Nee parcit imbellis juventae
Poplitibus, timidove tergo.
Virtus, repulfae nelcia fordidae, in-
contaminatis fulget honoribus ;
Nee fumit, aut ponit fecurcs
Arbitrio popularis aurae*
Virtus, recludens immeritis mori
Ccelum, negata tentat iter via ;
Coetufque vulgares, & udam
Spernit hurnum fugiente penna.
Eft
17. Virtus. .] Horace begins here the fecond Part of the
Ode, with the Praifes of political or moral Virtue, which is
ever independent of a capricious, inconftant People, and by
its own Strength rifes to Places of greateft Eminence. Rex
eris, fi reGe feceris, was a Maxim among the Children of
Rome in one of their Plays. DAC.
18. Incontammath.~} This Reading appears ia feveralMa-
rmfcripts. The Copyifts, or perhaps the old Grammarians,
furprifed to find this Word at the Beginning of an Alcaic
Verfe, retrenched a Syllable, which they thought too much,
and wrote intaminatis. Yet they might have fpared thcin-
felves fo rafh an Alteration, if they had confidered, that the
firft Syllable of incontaminatis muft make an Elifion with the
Jaft of the preceding Verfe, which is not without Example,
even in Horace ; and that in the Place of a Word, which is
pure Latin, they have introduced one, which even contradicts
the Senfe of this PafTage. Intaminatus is only to be found in
the GlofTary of Cyrillus, where it fignifies dijlaineti, polluted,
which is dire&ly contrary to the Poet's Thought. CUN. SAN.
Od. 2. THE ODES OF HORACE. 299
What Joys, what Glories round Him wait,
Who bravely for his Country dies !
While, with difhoneft Wounds, fliall Fate
Relentlefs ftab the Coward as he flies.
With flainlefs Luftre Virtue fhines,
A bafe Repulfe nor knows, nor fears j
Aflerts her Honours, nor declines,
As the light Air of Crouds uncertain veers j
To him, who not deferves to die,
She {hews the Paths, which Heroes trod,
Then bids Him boldly tempt the Sky,
Spurn off his mortal Clay, and rife a God.
22. Negata tent at iter 'via.'] Virtue opens a Way to Heaven
for them, who deferve Immortality, which to others is in-
acceffible. Mr. Dacier underftands it of a Paflage through
the Air, which Nature hath denied to Man, Pennis non ho~
mini datis, and the Certainty, with which he gives his Opi-
nion, is at leaft a Reafon for mentioning it.
24. Udam fpernit humum.~\ Horace calls the Earth, humid
or ntoift, to mew how Mankind, as it were, fink into it by
their Follies and their Pafiions, from whence they can orJy
hope to rife by fome extraordinary Efforts of Virtue. He
fcems to have had in View a Paflage in Plato's Phaedon,
where Socrates fays, that this Earth, into which we are
plunged, is but a Sediment of that where the BleiTed inhabit.
DAC.
The Tranflator, defpairing of being able to make this
Epithet intelligible to an Englifli Reader, hath altered the
Expreffion to preferve the Senfe. Spurn off his mortal Clay.
300 Q^HORATII FtACCi CARMINUM Lib. 3.
Eft & fideli tuta filentio 25
Merces : vetabo, qui Cereris facrum
Vulgarit arcanze, fub iifdem
Sit trabibus, fragilemque mecum
Solvat phafelum. Sacpe Diefpiter
Negle&us incefto addidit integrum : 30
Rare antecedentem fceleftum
Deferuit pede poena claudo.
CARMEN
25. Eft & fideli tuta Jilentio merces,~\ Since the Poet here
fays, that Silence alfo fnall be rewarded, he ought nece/Tarily
to have mentioned fome Recompence for the other Virtues,
which he has recommended to us. We find, therefore, that
the Clory of dying for our Country is the Reward of Valour ;
and Immortality the Recompence of political or moral Vir-
tue. Thus we may believe, that there is a Connection in all
the Odes of this Poet, although perhaps not eafily marked.
DAC.
26. Cereris facrum .] He, who difcovered the Myfteries of
Ceres, was driven out from the Society of human Kind, and
detefted as a Wretch unworthy of the common Offices of
Humanity . It was thought dangerous to converfe with him,
left Jupiter in his Anger mould confound the Innocent with
the Guilty. The Greeks not only punimed with Death the
Perfons who revealed thefe Myfteries, but even thofe who
liftened to them. DAC.
Od. 2. THE ODES OF HORACE. 301
To Silence due Rewards we give,
And they, who Myfteries reveal
Beneath my Roof (hall never live,
Shall never hoift with me the doubtful Sail.
When Jove in Anger ftrikes the Blow,
Oft with the Bad the Righteous bleed :
Yet with fure Steps, though lame and flow,
Vengeance o'ertakes the trembling Villain's Speed.
ODE
CARMEN III.
JUSTUM, ac tenacem propofiti virum,
Non civium ardor prava jubentium,
Non vultus inftantis tyranni,
Mente quatit folida, neque Aufter
Dux inquieti turbidus Adriae, 5
Nee fulminantis magna manus Jovis :
Si fractus illabatur orbis,
Impavidum ferient ruinae.
The Eoldnefs of Defsgning, and Singularity of Invention ;
the Sublimity of Poetry, and Artifice of Condua ; the Force
of Exprellion, and Richnefs of Figures ; the Choice of Sen-
timents, and Swectnefs of Numbers, in this Poem, have
compelled the Critics to agree, that it is one of the nobleft
Odes of Horace. Mr. Sanadon fays, that without Contra-
diction it deferves the firft Place in his Works, and the pe-
culiar Characler of it is, that it rifcs above all Expreflion.
Yet we are obliged to Tanaquil Faber alone, for a Know-
ledge of the Subjeft of it, without which its Art is loft, its
Beauties appear wild and confufed, its Conduft is broken
and irregular. From whence it is difficult, in Mr. Dacier's
Opinion^ to fay, whether the Poet deferves greater Glory
for having written this Ode, or the Critic for having difco-
vered the Beauties of it.
Julius Cxfar, according to Suetonius, had formed a De-
fifji of tranfporting the Seat of Empire to Troy, or Alex-
andria, after having e.xhaufted Italy of its Treafures and
Inhabitants. This was ftrongiy reported a little before the-
Dictator was put to Death, and as Auguftus teemed willing
to enter into all the Schemes of his Prcdeceflbr, and as Troy
was ufually efteemed the Seat of the Julian Family, the Ro-
mans were apprehenfive, that he had refolved to carry this
Proiea into Execution. It is certain, that both Julius Caefar
a-d Auguftus, on many Occafions, {hewed a very remarkable
Inclination in favour of Troy. The firft ordered it to be
rebuilt ; the fecond fettled a Colony there, and they both
granted it considerable Privileges. Thus the Report con-
cerning
( 303 )
ODE III.
THE Man, in confcious Virtue bold,
Who dares his fecret Purpofe hold,
Unfhaken hears the Croud's tumultuous Cries,
And the impetuous Tyrant's angry Brow defies.
Let the loud Winds, that rule the Seas,
Tempeftuous their wild Horrours raife ;
Let Jove's dread Arm with Thunders rend the Spheres,.
Beneath the Crufh of Worlds undaunted he appears.
Thus
earning the Dictator's Intention might naturally make the
People attentive to the Adtions of his Succeffor, and their
Apprehenfions might have engaged the Poet to write this
Ode, in which he boldly attempts to difluade Auguftus from
his Defign, by reprefenting Juno, in a full Aflembly of the
Gods, threatening the Romans with her Refentment, if they
fhould dare to rebuild the Walls of a City, which had been
always an Objeft of herDifpleafure and Revenge.
It is not pofiible to determine with Certainty, but we may
reafonably conjecture, that this Piece was compofed when
Auguftus was in Syria, and confequently not far from Troy,
where his Prefence might have encouraged the Scheme, and
made it more eafy of Execution.
Verf. I. 'Jujlum ac tenacem.~\ The very firft Words, which
open the Ode with this magnificent Character of Juftice and
Coaftancy of Resolution, diredlly tend, although in a diftant
Manner, to difluade Auguftus from his intended Purpofe.
The Change of the imperial Seat muft have been made in
Violation of both thefe Virtues ; nor was he compelled to
it by the Threats of the People, or by the Power of the
Gods. SAN.
5. Adri<e] The Adriatic is here ufed for the Ocean in
general, fince that Sea is not expofed to the South Wind,
but to the Eaft-South-EafL DAC.
8. Ferient.~\ Mr. Dacier, in his firft Edition of Horace,
imagined this Word too weak and feebk to exprefs the Ruins
of
304 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 3.
Hac arte Pollux, hac vagus Hercules
Enifus arces attigit igneas : 19
Quos inter Auguftus recumbens
Purpureo bibit ore ne&ar.
Hac te merentem, Bacche pater, tuac
Vexere tigres, indocili jugum
Collo trahentes : hac Quiriiius 15
Martis equis Acheronta fugit ;
Gratum elocuta confiliantibus
Junone divis : Ilion, Ilion
Fatalis inceftufque judex,
Et mulier peregrina vertit 20
of a falling World ; but afterwards he changed his Opinion,
and believed that the Poet might have ufed it, better to ex-
prefs the Fearleflhefs and unalterable Tranquility of the juil
Man. Sanadon agrees with him in this Criticifm, and thinks
we may more realonably blame the Verb illabatur, which
fiiews rather a fmooth and imperceptible Motion, than a
rapid and violent Fall. But the Weaknefs of this Word is
fupported by the Strength of the whole Strophe, and even
the Length of it difpofes the Imagination, and gives it time
to figure to itfeif this Crufh of Worlds.
10. Enijus.'] This Reading appears in feveral Manufcripts,
and all the late Commentators have received it. Innixut
fignifies a Perfon who fullains a great Weight, and hath
need of fomewhat to fupport him ; but enijus is applied to
thofe, who endeavour to rife by their own Strength.
11. <j>uos inter Stugujius.'] Divine Honours were decreed
to Auguftus in the Year 725, and the Poet here appoints
him a Seat in Heaven among the Heroes, who were deified
for their Refolution and Conitancy, to (hew that his Statue
was placed in Rome with thofe of Pollux, Hercules, and
Bacchus. The Romans painted the Faces of thefe Statues
with Vermilion, from whence Mr. Dacier thinks, that Horace
hath taken this Exprefiion, purpureo ore. Others underftand
the Rays of Light, with which the Gods are reprefented ; yet
more
Od. 3; THE ODES OF HORACE.
Thus to the flamy Towers above,
The vagrant Hero, Son of Jove,
Upfoar'd with Strength his own, where Czefar lies,
And quaffs,with glowing Lips, the Bowls immortal Joys.
Lyasus thus his Tigers broke,
Fierce and indocile to the Yoke ;
Thus from the gloomy Regions of the Dead,
On his paternal Steeds, Rome's mighty Founder fled ;
XVhen Heaven's great Queen, with Words benign
Addrefs'd th' aflembled Powers divine
Troy, hated Troy ; an Umpire lewd, unjuft,
And a proud foreign Dame, have funk thee to the Duft,
To
more naturally it feems to mean a Glowing or Brightnefs,
without regard to any particular Colour, for the Word pur-
pureus is often thus ufed by the beit Authors ; purpureum mare,
purpureos olores, lumine purpureo, lumenque juventtf pitrpureu-m.
17. Gratum elocuta.] The Defign of the Ode opens itfe!f
in this Strophe. Whether Romulus was killed in Battle, er
in the Senate-Houfe, is uncertain ; but he is here fuppofed
to be carried to Heaven by his Father Mars, and the Fable,
in Mr. Dacier's Opinion, feems to be taken from the Story
of Elias. An AfTembly of the Gods is called to receive this
Founder of the Roman Empire, when Juno rifes in Oppo-
fuion to his A potheen's, in Appreheniion that his Dependents
might dare to reftore the City of Troy to its ancient Splen-
dour. Her two firft Words are a Repetition of the Name
of Troy, and a noble Inftance of a fpirited Indignation,
while me difdains to mention either Paris or Helen. One is
a foreign Woman ; the ether a lewd and fatal Judge ; in
Allufion to his giving the Prize of Beauty to Venus. The
Trojans are a perfidious, perju/ed Race, condemned to the
Vengeance of the Gods, from the very Time in which Lao-
medon brokd Faith with Apollo and Neptune, who raifed
the W alls of Troy. The Fable probably arofe from his
taking the Treasures out of the Temples oi thofs Gods with
a Promife of reUoring them ; a Promife which he facrilegiouHy
Vot.J. X
306 Q^HORATH FLAGCI CARMINUM Lib. 3.
In pulverem, ex quo deftituit Deos
Mcrcede pa&a Laomedon, mihi
Caftseque damnatum Minervae,
Cum populo, & duce fraudulento.
Jam nee Lacasnae fplendet adulterae 25
Famofus hofpes ; nee Priami domus
Perjura pugnaces Achivos
Hedtoreis opibus rcfringit :
Noftrifque du6tum feditionibus
Bellum refedit. Protinus & graves 30
Iras, & invilum nepotem,
Troica quern pepcrit facerdos,
Marti redonabo. Ilium ego lucidas
Inirc fedes, ducere neclaris
Succos, & adfcribi quietis 35
Ordinibus patiar Deorum.
Dum longus inter faeviat Ilion
Romamque pontus ; qualibet exulcs
In parte regnanto bead.
Dum Priami, Paridifque bufto 4
Infultet
23. Damaatam.'] DamKiitus was a Term of the Roman
Law, which adjudged an infolvent Debtor to his Creditors ;
in which Senfe, it is here ufed to exprefs the Condemnation
of the Trojans to the Refentment of Juno and Minerva. DAC %
31 . Invifum nfpotemJ] Romulus was the Grandfon of Juno
by her Son Mars, and deterted by the Goddefs, becaufe a
Trojan Prieftefs was his Mother. Nepof in the time of pure
Latinity always fignified a Grandfon, and Quintilian firft
tifed it for a Nephew. S A . N
37. Dum IOH'SUS inter f.fviat.] Juno is not contented with
faying, that a Length of Ocean mall roll between Troy and
Romt, but. ihall b<* ever enraged with Storui* to hinder all
Commerce
Od. 3. THE ODES OF HORACE. 307
Tome, and Wifdom's Queen decreed,
With all thy guilty Race to bleed,
What Time thy haughty Monarch's perjur'd Sire
Mock'd the defrauded Gods, and robb'd them of their
Hire.
The gaudy Gueft, of impious Fame,
No more enjoys th' adulterous Dame ;
Hector no more his faithlefs Brothers leads
To break the Grecian Force; no more the Victim bleeds.
Since the long War now finks to Peace,
And all our heavenly Factions ceafe ;
Inftant to Mars my Vengeance I refign,
And here receive his Son, though born of Trojan Line.
Here, with encircling Glories bright,
Free let him tread the Paths of Light,
And rank'd among the tranquil Powers divine,
Drink deep the nedtar'd Bowl, and quaff celeftial Wine,
From Rome to Troy's detefted Shores
While loud a Length of Ocean roars,
Unenvied let th' illuftrious Exiles reign,
Where Fate directs their Courfe, and fpreads their wide
Domain.
On
Commerce between the two Nations : Hpvvever it is re-
markable, that all her Threats are confined to the Trojans,
nor ever fall on their Defcendants. DAC. SAN.
38. Qualibet exn/es regnantoJ] The Queen of the Gods, in
fign of Reconciliation, begins to foretel ;he i^pmaj.s the moft
X 2 glorious
308 Q^HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 3.
Infultet armentum, & catulos ferse
Celent inultae j ftet Capitolium
Fulgens, triumphatifque poflit
Roma ferox dare jura Medis.
Horrenda late nomen in ultimas 45
Extendat oras, qua medius liquor
Secernit Europen ab Afro,
Qua ttimidus rigat arva Nilus :
Aurum irrepertum, & fie melius fitum,
Quum terra eel at, fpernere fortior, $Q
Quam cogere humanos in ufus,
Omne facrum rapiente dextra'.
Quicunque mundo terminus obftitit,
Hunc tangat armis : vifere geiliens
Qua parte debacchentur igncs, 55
Qua nebulae, pluviique rores.
Sed
glorious Ages of their Empire, in repeating the Conditions
exprefled in the former Verfes, as if all their Glory depended
abfolutely on thofe Conditions. This Turn hath fomething
fo truly fublime, that perhaps the Marvellous of Poetry can-
not rife higher. Regnant o is the Style of Laws, and fhews
the Authority of the Speaker. SAN.
40. Aurum irrepertum.'] Juno here praifes, in a manner
perfectly noble, the Virtue of the ancient Romans, who were
more truly great by their Contempt of Riches, than by their
' Conqueft of the World. Gold, by Pliny's Account, was
not coined in Rome until the Year 647, fixty-two Years after
their firft Silver Money, from which Time the Republic
grew weaker, in Proportion as Avarice banimed the ancient
Severity of Manners. Aurum irrepertum, in the Opinion of
- Dacier and Sanadon, fignifies Gold, which was not origi-
nally by Nature intended for the Ufe of Man, but by the
facrilegiaus Hand of Avarice compelled into his Service.
Od. 3. THE ODES OF HORACE. 309
On Priam's and th' Adulterer's Urn
While Herds the Dult infulting fpurn,
Let the proud Capitol in Glory ftancl,
And Rome, to triumph'd Medes, give forth her ftern
Command.
Let the vi&orious Voice of Fame
Wide fpread the Terrours of her Name,
Where Seas the Continents of Earth divide,
And Nilus bathes the Plain with his prolific Tide.
Let her the golden Mine defpife ;
For deep in Earth it better lies,
Than when by Hands profane, from Nature's Store
To human Ufe compelled, flows forth the facred Ore.
Where Nature's utmoft Limits end,
Let her triumphant Arts extend ;
Or where the Sun pours down his madding Beams,
Or where the Clouds are dark, and Rain perpetual
ftr earns.
Thus
and with impious Hands
Rifled the Bowels of their Mother- Earth
For Treafures, better hid.
54.. Hunc tangat armis.~\ This Verb happily {hews the Fa-
cility with which the Romans conquered the World, and
juftifies the Criticifm upon the Word ^feriext. DAC.
55. Qua parte debacchentur.] It is not in the Power of
Language to find a Word more ftrbngly expreffive of the
raging Heats of the Torrid Zone, andexceffive Coldnefs of
the Northern Zone, both which the Ancients believed to be
uninhabitable. DAC.
310 Q^ HORATII FLACCI CARMINUM Lib. 3.
Sect bellicofis fata Quiritibus
Hac lege dice, ne nimium pii,
Rebufque fidentes, avitae
Tedla velint reparare Trojae. 60
Trojae renafcens alitc lugubri
Fortuna trifti cladc iterabitur,
Ducente vidrices catervas
Conjuge me Jovis, & forore.
Ter fi refurgat murus aencus, 65
Au&ore Phoebo ; ter pereat meis
Excifus Argivis; ter uxor
Capta virum, pueroique ploret.
Non haec jocofoe conveniunt lyrae.
Quo Mufa tendis ? define pervicax 70
Referre fermones Deorum, &
Magna modis tenuare pan 1 !?.
58. Hac lege.] This is the third Time, in two and twenty
Linci, that Juno mentions theie Conditions, and the Repe-
tition was neceffavy to fhew the real Defign of the Poem,
without which it might perhaps appear vicious. Yet the
Poet hath varied it with great Art, and the laft always adds
Strength to the former. SAN.
Ne niwiiiiK ii.~] The two principal Motives, which made
the Romans apprehensive, that Auguftus intended to make
Troy the Capital of the World, were his Piety and the
Confidence of his Power. He was defcended from the
Trojans by tineas, and the natural Tendernefs for his An-
ceftors, joined to the flattering Idea of fuch an ancient Ori-
gin, feemed to call him to Troy. The prefent Conjuncture
gave him an Opportunity of executing this Change with the
greateft Eafe. Hib Power was raifed to its higheft Pitch, and
confirmed by almoft a continual Peace of nine Years, in
which he had twice fhut the Temple of Janus ; and he had;
ow enrered the Baft with two numerous Armies, one of
which he commanded in Perfon, the other was marching
towafds Afia Minor uiider die Conduct of Tiberius. SAN,
Od. 3. THE ODES OF HORACE. 511
Thus let the warlike Romans reign
(So Juno and the Fates ordain)
But on thefe Terms alone, no more to dare,
Through Piety or Pride, their parent Troy repair j
For Troy rebuilt, ill-omen'd State !
Shall feel the fame avenging Fate ;
Again my Grecians fhall victorious prove,
By me led on to War, the Sifter-Wife of Jove.
Thrice fhould Apollo raife her Wall,
Thrice fhall her brazen Bulwarks fall,
Thrice fhall her Matrons feel the Victor's Chain,
Deplore their flaughter'd Sons, deplore their Hufbands
flain.
But whither would the Mufe afpire ?
Such Themes nor fuit the fportive Lyre,
Nor fhould the Wanton, thus in feeble Strain,
The Councils of the Gods, immortal Themes, profane.
69. NOH htecjocofre."] Horace could not pufh the Subject
farther, without difpleafmg Auguftus ; for it is dangerous to
let the Great perceive that we have difcovered what they
are willing to conceal. He therefore Hops fhort, and ends
with a kind of artificial Vanity, which is always pardonable
in a Poet. DAC. SAN.
The END of the FIRST VOLUME.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY
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