5.nemus] Shrubs and flowers were sometimes planted round the impluvium of a Roman house, but more largely in the peristylium, which was an open space at the back part of the house, surrounded by colonnades, and, like the impluvium, usually having a cistern or fountain in the middle. ‘Remugiat ventis,’ ‘echoes back to the winds their howling.’
7.ut glaciet] It is easy to supply ‘vides,’ or ‘sentis,’ or any other word more appropriate than ‘audis’ to the freezing of the snow. One verb of sense is often made to serve for two or three. ‘How Jove with his bright power freezeth the snow as it lies.’ ‘Jove’ is the atmosphere (see C. i. 1. 25, n.). ‘Puro’ is a good epithet to express a clear frosty night.
10.Ne currente retro funis eat rota] ‘Lest the wheel turn back and the rope with it,’ ‘retro’ applying to both ‘currente’ and ‘eat.’ The metaphor is taken from a rope wound round a cylinder, which being allowed to run back, the rope runs down and the weight or thing attached goes with it. Theproverb is applied to a coquette who continues her pride till she loses her power.
12.Tyrrhenus genuit parens.] Lyce is represented as an Etruscan woman, and being such, her lover says she need not think to imitate the chaste Penelope, to whom it appears the women of Etruria did not in general bear any resemblance.
14.tinctus viola] See Argument.
15.Nec vir] He says she is not bent from her stubbornness even by her husband’s faithlessness, he being engaged with another woman, who is represented as a Pierian, just as Chloe, in the last Ode, was a Thracian, and on the same principle. Nearly all Horace’s women of this character are represented as Greeks. ‘Curvat’ is nowhere else used in this sense.
19.aquae Caelestis] He repeats the phrase Epp. ii. 1. 135. ‘Hoc latus’ is equivalent to ‘ego’; the part suffering from the threshold put for the whole person.
ODE XI.
Thisis an address to the lyre, calling upon it for a song to win the heart of Lyde. The principal subject is the story of the Danaides, who murdered their husbands, but more particularly of the one who spared hers. The punishment of the sisters for their cruelty, and the tenderness of Hypermnestra, are the warning and example by which Lyde is to be won.
The common inscriptionAd Mercuriumis wrong, and calculated to mislead. The inscription should beAd Testudinem, if anything; for Mercury disappears after the first two verses. The miracles alluded to, except Amphion’s, were those of Orpheus, and of the lyre in his hands, not Mercury’s, who is only introduced because he invented the lyre and taught Amphion. The Ode is of the same class as the two last. We have no means of tracing the original, if it is a copy.
Argument.—Mercury, who didst teach Amphion to move stones, and thou, lyre, once dumb, now welcome at feast and festival, tune me a strain to which even Lyde, though she be free as the young colt, must attend. Thou charmest tigers, woods, streams, and hell’s bloody sentinel, and Ixion, and Tityos, and the daughters of Danaus. Let Lyde hear of their crime and punishment, and how one was merciful and spared her young husband’s life, saying, “Rise up; begone, lest the sleep of death overtake thee. They have sprung upon their prey. My heart is not as their heart. I will do thee no harm. Let my father do with me as he will, yet go thou, while night and love protect thee. Farewell, and when I am gone, engrave a word of sorrow on my tomb.”
2.Amphion] See Epp. i. 18. 41. A. P. 394, n.
3.Tuque testudo] See C. i. 10. 6, n. The ‘testudo’ or ‘cithara’ had originally but four strings. Terpander added to it three more, aboutB. C.676. The tetrachord was not however banished, though the heptachord was better adapted to more elaborate music (see S. i. 3. 8, n.).
4.Callida] ‘skilled.’
5.Nec loquax olim neque grata] ‘Formerly dumb, and powerless to give pleasure.’
10.exsultim] This word is not found elsewhere. Other words found in Horace and not elsewhere are ‘allaborare,’ ‘tentator,’ ‘inaudax,’ ‘immetata,’ ‘faustitas,’ ‘belluosus,’ ‘applorans,’ ‘inemori,’ ‘emetere,’ ‘laeve,’ ‘insolabiliter,’‘defingere,’ ‘vepallidus,’ ‘emiror,’ ‘irruptus,’ ‘aesculetum,’ ‘ambitiosus,’ ‘depugis,’ ‘uvescere,’ ‘disconvenire,’ ‘diludium,’ ‘impariter,’ ‘delitigo,’ ‘juvenari,’ ‘socialiter,’ ‘iambeus,’ ‘abstare.’ It does not follow, because we have no other examples of these words, that Horace had none.
13.Tu potes] See C. i. 12. 7, sqq.
17.Cerberus, quamvis] This passage may be compared with C. ii. 13. 33, sqq. ‘Furiale,’ ‘fury-like,’ having snakes for hair.
21.Quin et Ixion] He was king of the Lapithæ. Having treacherously murdered his father-in-law, Deioneus, he returned the goodness of Zeus, who purified him, by trying to seduce Here, for which Horace calls him rightly ‘perfidus Ixion’ (A. P. 124), and he was punished by being bound to a wheel perpetually revolving, in Hades. As to Tityos, see C. ii. 14. 8, n. For ‘quin et,’ see C. ii. 13. 37, n. ‘Vultu risit invito’ is a happy description. (S. ii. 3. 72, n.)
23.Danai puellas] The daughters of Danaus (see C. ii. 14. 18) were punished by having to fill a vessel with a hole in the bottom. They were fifty in number, and married the fifty sons of Ægyptus, their uncle. At the bidding of their father, who was afraid of his nephews, they all murdered their husbands but Hypermnestra, who spared Lynceus. Horace puts a touching speech into her mouth, bidding her young husband rise and fly for his life.
27.fundo pereuntis imo] ‘escaping by (through) the bottom.’
28.Seraque fata] ὑστεροφθόρον δίκην. See note on C. iii. 2. 32.
31.potuere] ‘they had the heart.’ This would be expressed by ἕτλησαν in Greek. In a more familiar passage ‘possum’ occurs with the same kind of meaning (Epp. i. 5. 1): “Si potes Archiacis conviva recumbere lectis,” ‘if you can make up your mind.’
37.Surge, quae dixit] Ovid has borrowed all but the words of Horace in Hypermnestra’s letter to Lynceus, one of the most touching of his poems,—
“Surge age, Belida, de tot modo fratribus unus:Nox tibi ni properas ista perennis erit.” (Her. xiv. 73, sq.)
ODE XII.
ThisOde represents a girl lamenting to herself over a love she must not indulge. Her name is Neobule, and that of the man she loves is Hebrus, whom she represents as the perfection of beauty and manliness. The Ode appears to have been imitated, if not translated, from one of Alcæus, of which one verse in the same metre is extant.
Argument.—Poor women! we must not love, we must not drown care in wine, or a cruel guardian scolds us to death. Alas, Neobule! thou canst not spin nor work, for love of Hebrus, so beautiful as he bathes in the waters of Tiber, a horseman like Belerophon, unsurpassed in the combat and the race, in piercing the flying deer or catching the lurking boar.
1.Miserarum est] ‘It is the fate of unhappy women.’
2.aut] ‘or, if we do.’
3.Patruae] Compare (Sat. ii. 3. 88) “ne sis patruus mihi.” On the form ‘lavere,’ see C. ii. 3. 18, n.
4.qualum] ‘my wool-basket.’ The name Neobule is found in a fragment of Archilochus. Hebrus’s birthplace is mentioned to give more reality to the person. Lipara, it must be admitted, was an odd place to choose. It was one of the Vulcaniae Insulae, and is still called Lipari.
7.Simul] ‘Soon as’ is an early English equivalent for ‘whenever,’ and ‘simul’ bears that sense here. The last syllable of ‘Bellerophonte’ is long, as from the Greek. Bellerophon was usually represented as leading or riding the winged horse Pegasus, on whose back he conquered Chimæra. See C. i. 27. 24, n.
9.Neque segni] The epithet belongs to both substantives: ‘never beaten for slothfulness of hand (in boxing) or foot (in running).’
11.jaculari] C. i. 2. 3, n.
12.excipere] This seems to be a hunting word. See Epp. i. 1. 79.
ODE XIII.
TheOde is an address to a fountain about six miles from Venusia, which has been identified with one still existing, but in a very different state, bare of trees and choked up with dirt. We need only suppose that the name was suggested to Horace by the recollections of his childhood, without imagining him really on the point of offering sacrifice, or being in the neighborhood of his birthplace when he wrote. It has something of the nature of an epigramma or inscription, and is among the choicest of Horace’s small pieces.
Argument.—Fair fountain of Bandusia, thou art worthy of my libation and of the kid that shall fall for thee to-morrow, and dye thy cold stream with his blood. Thee the summer’s heat pierceth not; cool is thy water to flocks and herds. Thou, too, shalt be placed among the fountains of fame, when I sing of the oak that hangs from the rock whence thy babbling waters spring.
1.splendidior vitro,] The use of glass by the ancients was long a matter of dispute, but it is now generally allowed to have been brought by them to great perfection.
6.Frustra:] See above (C. iii. 7. 21, n.).
9.atrox hora Caniculae] ‘the burning season of the dog star.’ Canicula is another name for the well-known star of the first magnitude in the head of Canis Major, called by the Greeks Σείριος. It rises in July.
13.Fies nobilium] This is a Greek construction, ‘unus’ having to be supplied. ‘Tu quoque,’ ‘thou too,’ as well as the fountains celebrated by the Greek poets.
ODE XIV.
ThisOde was composed at the close of the Cantabrian war,B. C.25, when Augustus’s return was expected, or on his return the following year. He was detained by illness at Tarracona. The poet calls upon the citizens to rejoice, and bids the conqueror’s wife and sister go forth to offer sacrifice, declaring that he too will keep holiday.
Argument.—Cæsar is returning a conqueror from Spain, O ye people, he who but just went forth like Hercules to the field. Let his chaste wife and sister go forth to offer sacrifice with the matrons, while the young soldiers and their brides stand reverently by. I too will keep holiday; for I am safe while Augustus is lord of the world. Bring flowers, boy, and ointment, and my best old wine, and go bid Neæra come: if the churlish porter refusethee, come away; I have no mind for strife, though I might not have borne as much in the heyday of my youth.
1.Herculis ritu] As Hercules braved death, so did Augustus, and like Hercules he is returning from Spain victorious. Hercules went to Spain to get the oxen of Geryones for Eurystheus, his tenth labor. See C. ii. 14. 7, n.
o plebs,] ‘Plebs’ and ‘populus’ are used synonymously (C. ii. 2. 18, sq.), and either word stands for the common formula ‘populus plebsque Romana.’
2.Morte venalem] ‘whose price is death.’
5.Unico gaudens — marito] A poetical periphrasis for ‘chaste.’
6.justis operata sacris,] There are other examples of ‘operor’ in this sense of sacrificing. Ladies of birth appear to have been distinguished on these occasions from freedwomen by a wreath. The persons forming the procession are supposed to be the wife (Livia) and sister (Octavia) of Augustus, and the mothers of the soldiers who had returned and of their young wives, who are represented as looking on reverentially at the thanksgiving sacrifice.
9.juvenum] This and ‘pueri’ both mean the soldiers, as ‘virginum’ and ‘puellae’ both mean their wives.
11.virum expertae,] This is equivalent to ‘nuper virgines nuptae’ (C. ii. 8. 22). ‘Male ominatis’ may be pronounced as one word, as ‘maleolens,’ ‘suaveolens,’ &c. The phrase is expressed by εὐφημεῖτε in Greek.
14.tumultum Nec mori per vim] ‘Tumultus’ and ‘vis’ are well-distinguished terms. ‘Tumultus’ was a public affair, a sudden outbreak. ‘Vis,’ ‘violence,’ was either ‘publica’ or ‘privata,’ and the distinction between the two will be found on referring to the article ‘Vis’ in Smith’s Dict. Ant. Horace says he is not afraid of losing his life by any popular insurrection, and so forth, or by the hand of an assassin or private malice.
18.Marsi memorem duelli,] The Marsic or Social War continued fromB. C.91 to 89. It was a rising of the Socii, the states of Italy, for the purpose of getting the Roman franchise. The Marsi took a prominent part in the war, which was sometimes called by their name. The Servile War lasted fromB. C.73 to 71. It was an outbreak of the slaves of Italy, who, under Spartacus, himself a slave and gladiator, were formed into a vast army, and traversed the whole country from Rhegium to the Po. Horace speaks contemptuously of Spartacus, but the Romans never had a more able or more successful enemy. The wine Horace wanted would have been at least sixty-five years old. There seems to have been something remarkable in the vintage of that period so as to make it proverbial; for Juvenal, one hundred years afterwards, speaking of the selfish gentleman who keeps his best wine for his own drinking, says,—
“Ipse capillato diffusum consule potatCalcatamque tenet bellis socialibus uvam.” (S. v. 30, sq.).
The ‘cadus,’ ‘testa,’ and ‘amphora,’ were all names for the same vessel.
19.si qua] ‘if in any way.’ Supply ‘ratione.’
21.argutae] ‘the sweet singer.’
22.Myrrheum] ‘perfumed.’
27.ferrem] For ‘tulissem.’
28.Consule Planco.] L. Munatius Plancus was consul with M. Aemilius Lepidus,B. C.42, at which time Horace was in his twenty-third year. He was now forty.
ODE XV.
ThisOde combines with the lyric something of the spirit of the Epodes. It professes to address an old woman, Chloris, telling her it is time to put an end to her intrigues, for she is poor and ready to drop into her grave.
Argument.—Put a stop to thy intrigues, for thou art old and poor. What becometh thy daughter becometh not thee, Chloris. She may go and besiege the young men’s doors: she is in love, and cannot help it. But do thou go spin; music and flowers and wine are not for thee.
1.pauperis] He means to say that a poor man’s wife should be thrifty and mind her work, especially if she be old.
6.Et stellis nebulam] ‘To spread a cloud over those fair stars.’ An old woman in a company of girls would be like a cloud in a starry sky.
10.tympano.] The ‘tympanum’ was a tambourine, played in all respects as now, and usually by women, who danced as they beat it. As to Thyias, see C. ii. 19. 9.
13.Te lanae] See Argument.
14.Luceriam,] This was a town of Apulia, now called Lucera, in the neighborhood of which was one of the largest tracts of public pasture-land.
ODE XVI.
Horacehere dwells on his favorite theme,—contentment and moderation,—which he is able to illustrate by the example of Mæcenas (v. 20), as well as his own. The mischievous influence of gold is illustrated by the stories of Danae and others, and Horace describes his own contentment with his humble but independent condition.
Argument.—A stout prison and savage watch-dogs might have kept Danae from harm; but Jove and Venus smiled, for they knew that the god need but change himself to gold, and the way would be clear before him. Gold penetrates through guards; gold shall burst rocks; thereby fell the house of Amphiaraus; thereby the Macedonian won cities; thereby stern admirals are ensnared. And as it grows, the desire for more grows too. A high estate I dread. Mæcenas, thou good knight, the more a man denies himself, the more the gods will give him. I fly from the rich to the contented, and am more independent than any poor rich man in the world. My stream, and my little wood, and my trusty field, are a happier portion than all Africa. I have no honey of Calabria, nor wine of Formiæ, nor Gaulish fleece, yet poverty doth not pinch me; and if I wanted more, thou art ready to give it.
My small income will go further by the restricting of my wants, than if I had all Lydia and Phrygia for my own. Who ask much, lack much. It is well with him who has enough.
1.Inclusam Danaën] Acrisius, king of Argos, being informed by an oracle that his daughter Danae would bear a son who would kill him, shut her up. But Jupiter found his way to her in a shower of gold, and she became the mother of Perseus who, as predicted, killed his grandfather. The fable of the shower of gold has here its simplest explanation. ‘Tristes excubiae’is like Ovid’s “tristis custodia servi” (A. A. iii. 601). On the construction with ‘munierant’ see C. ii. 17. 28, n.
4.adulteris] ‘lovers.’
7.fore enim] This is an elliptical form of the oratio obliqua, in translating which, ‘they said,’ or ‘they knew,’ must be supplied. ‘Pretium’ has reference to the corruption of the guards, the price at which they were bought.
10.amat] Used as φιλεῖ, like “consociare amant” (C. ii. 3. 10), and “amet quavis adspergere” (S. i. 4. 87).
11.concidit auguris Argivi domus] The story is that of Amphiaraus, who
ὄλετ᾽ ἐν Θήβαισι γυναίων εἵνεκα δώρων (Odyss. xv. 247),
and of his wife Eriphyle,
ἣ χρυσὸν φίλου ἀνδρὸς ἐδέξατο τιμήεντα (Odyss. xi. 327).
Eriphyle, bribed by her brother Polyneices, induced her husband to join the expedition against Thebes, where he fell, leaving an injunction with his sons to put their mother to death, which Alcmæon did, and, like Orestes, was pursued by the Erinnyes of his mother, and was finally put to death in attempting to get possession of the gold necklace with which she had been bribed.
14.Portas vir Macedo] Plutarch, in his life of Paulus Æmilius (c. xiii.), says it was Philip’s gold, not Philip, that won the cities of Greece. And Cicero (Ad Att. i. 16) repeats a saying attributed to Philip, that he could take any town into which an ass could climb laden with gold. Juvenal, following the general report, calls Philip “callidus emptor Olynthi” (xii. 47).
15.munera navium Saevos illaqueant duces.] This is supposed to refer to Menas, otherwise called Menodorus, the commander of Sex. Pompeius’s fleet, who deserted from him to Augustus, and back to Pompeius, and then to Augustus again. He was rewarded beyond his merits. He was a freedman of Cn. Pompeius, and Suetonius (Octav. 74) states that Augustus made him ‘ingenuus.’ He is said to be alluded to by Virgil (Aen. vi. 612, sqq.):—
“Quique arma secutiImpia nec veriti dominorum fallere dextras,Inclusi poenam expectant.”
See Introduction to Epod. iv. Forcellini quotes only one other instance of ‘illaqueo’ from Prudentius, and one of the passive participle from Cicero. ‘Irretio,’ as Orelli says, is the more common word of the same meaning.
18.Majorumque fames] ‘Majorum’ is of the neuter gender, dependent on ‘fames,’ as in Theocritus (xvi. 65), αἰεὶ δὲ πλεόνων ἔχει ἵμερος αὐτόν. With ‘tollere verticem’ compare C. i. 18.15; and on ‘equitum decus’ see C. i. 20. 5, n.
21.Quanto quisque sibi] This sentiment approaches as near as possible to the fundamental rule of Christian morals. The accuracy of the picture in the next verses must not be insisted on too closely. It would imply that Horace, a wealthy Epicurean, had thrown up his riches in contempt, and gone over to the ranks of the Stoics. But as Horace never was rich, he could not have acted the deserter on these terms, though he changed his opinions. Horace may sometimes be supposed to put general maxims in the first person, without strict application to himself. ‘Nudus’ signifies one who has left everything he had behind him. By ‘contemptae’ he means that the rich man with fine houses had a contempt for his little property.
26.arat impiger] Apulia, with the exception of a comparatively small tract which was productive, was occupied with forests or pasture lands, or tracts of barren hills. But Horace likes to speak of his own country with respect (see above, C. 5. 9, n.). The license by which the first syllable in ‘arat’ is lengthened may be admitted in the cæsural place. ‘Occultare,’‘to hoard,’ which was commonly done to raise the price. ‘Meis’ is emphatic, as ‘proprio horreo’ (i. 1. 9).
29.Purae rivus aquae] The small river Digentia is that which Horace alludes to (see Epp. i. 16). On ‘certa fides’ see C. iii. 1. 30, n. ‘Fallit beatior’ is a Greek construction, λανθάνει ὀλβιώτερον ὄν. Horace says, ‘Mine is a happier lot than his who has all Africa for his possession, though he knows not that it is so.’ The construction is like “sensit medios delapsus in hostes” (Aen. ii. 377), for ‘se delapsum esse.’
33.Calabrae — apes] See C. ii. 6. 14, n.
34.Laestrygonia — amphora] This is used like ‘Sabina diota,’ which was the same sort of vessel (C. i. 9. 7), ‘an amphora of Formian wine.’ The inhabitants of Formiæ in Latium supposed it to be the same as the Læstrygonia mentioned by Homer (Odyss. x. 81),—
ἑβδομάτῃ δ᾽ ἱκόμεσθα Λάμου αἰπὺ πτολίεθρον,τηλέπυλον Λαιστρυγονίην.
See Introduction to the next Ode, and Ovid (Met. xiv. 233):—
“Inde Lami veterem Laestrygonis, inquit, in urbemVenimus.”
‘Languescere’ means ‘to lose its strength by keeping.’ The Formian wine is mentioned, C. i. 20. 11. The pasture lands in the basin of the Po (‘Gallica pascua’) were very extensive and rich.
38.Nec si plura velim] Compare Epod. i. 31: “Satis superque me benignitas tua Ditavit.” There was a Mygdonia in Mesopotamia, and Bithynia is said to have been called by that name of old. The Mygdonia of Asia Minor (part of Macedonia was also so called) was not very clearly defined. That Horace identifies it with Phrygia appears from C. ii. 12. 22. ‘Alyattei’ is the genitive of ‘Alyatteus,’ another form of ‘Alyattes’ (king of Lydia), as Achilleus -ei of Achilles, Ulixeus -ei of Ulixes. ‘Vectigalia’ means properly the public revenue, but is here used for a private fortune, not without reason, as he is comparing himself with kings. See S. ii. 2. 100, n.
42.Multa petentibus] The same sentiment in different words appears below (C. iii. 24. 63). ‘Bene est’ occurs again in S. ii. 6. 4, 8. 4. Epp. i. 1. 89. It is familiarly known in the formulasS. V. B. E. V.(‘si valeas bene est, valeo’), which the Romans prefixed to their letters.
ODE XVII.
Theshort Ode, C. i. 26, and this Ode, were addressed to the same person, L. Aelius Lamia (see Introduction to C. i. 26). He was a young man of good birth, being of the Aelia gens, who were plebeians, but of old standing. Like other families, the Lamiæ were, perhaps, glad to trace their origin to a fabulous hero, and believed their founder to be Lamus, mythical king of the Læstrygonians, and builder of Formiæ, whence they must have migrated to Rome (see last Ode, v. 33, n.). Horace had an affection for the young man, Lamia, whose father was a friend of Cicero’s, and died rich. It is not improbable that the Ode was written at his house in the country, whether at Formiæ or elsewhere. It is an exhortation to Lamia to make preparations for enjoying a holiday on the next day. The verses have no particular merit, and could have cost Horace little labor. He must have written many such that have never been published, and these two Odes were probably included in the collection out of compliment to Lamia. Lamia had a brother Quintus, who died early, to the great grief of Lucius (seeEpp. i. 14. 6). In two passages Juvenal alludes to the Lamiæ as a family of distinction (S. iv. 154, and vi. 385). Tacitus (Ann. vi. 27), mentioning the death of this Lamia, says his ‘genus’ was ‘decorum.’
Argument.—Ælius, ennobled with the blood of Lamus,—for like all the Lamias thou derivest thy birth from him who founded Formiæ and ruled on the banks of the Liris,—a storm is coming; get in the wood while it is dry: to-morrow the servants shall have holiday, and thou wilt do sacrifice to thy genius.
2.Quando] The same as ‘quoniam,’ ‘since.’
4.memores — fastos,] These were the family records and genealogies, not the Fasti Consulares, in which only this Lamia would appear, and that after Horace wrote. He was consulA. D.3. The words occur again in C. iv. 14. 4: “Per titulos memoresque fastos.” ‘Fastos’ and ‘fastus’ (2d and 4th declension) are both found. See Epp. ii. 1. 48, n.
5.ducis] What Horace says is nearly as follows: ‘Since it is reported the first Lamiæ had their name from Lamus, and the same tradition has come down through their successors in the annals of the family, no doubt you draw your origin from that noble source’;—in which there is nothing more than a little jocular irony, which would amuse Lamia, whether it pleased his family pride or not. The poets, both Latin and Greek, often omit the personal pronoun, even when it is wanted for emphasis, as here and in C. i. 1. 35, “Quod si me lyricis vatibus inseris,” where Mæcenas is emphatically addressed; and in C. iv. 2. 33.
6.Formiarum] See Introduction.
7.Maricae Litoribus] This means the coast of Minturnæ on the borders of Latium and Campania, where the nymph Marica, the mother of Latinus, first king of Latium, was worshipped.
8.Lirim] See C. i. 31. 7.
9.Late tyrannus] ‘lord of a wide domain.’
12.aquae — augur] See below, C. iii. 27. 10, “Imbrium divina avis imminentum”; and Ovid (Am. ii. 6. 34), “pluviae graculus auctor aquae.”
14.cras Genium mero Curabis] ‘Genium curare’ is a phrase not found elsewhere. ‘Placare’ and ‘indulgere’ are the usual words. Lamia was going to keep holiday next day, on what occasion does not appear, but as it was usual to offer sacrifice to the Genius on birthdays, it may have been his birthday Lamia was going to keep. As to ‘Genius,’ see Epp. i. 7. 94.
16.operum solutis.] This construction, like “desine querelarum” (C. ii. 9. 17), and other expressions there quoted, is similar to the Greek, πόνου λελυμένοις. On these constructions Prof. Key says (L. G. § 940, and note): “Occasionally verbs of removal or separation have a genitive of the ‘whence’ in old writers and in poetry.” “The legal language here, as in so many cases, retained traces of the old construction, as in ‘liberare tutelae.’” “Me omnium jam laborum levas” is a like construction quoted by Mr. Key from Plautus.
ODE XVIII.
Itwas usual to offer sacrifice to Faunus at the beginning of spring, though the Faunalia did not take place till the Nones of December. (See C. i. 4. 11, and i. 17.) This Ode is an invocation to that deity, and is very elegant, especially the picture of rustic security and cheerfulness in the last two stanzas. The confusion of the Greek Pan with the Latin god Faunus has been noticed before.
Argument.—Faunus, come with mercy to my fields, and depart gentle to my young lambs, for I sacrifice and pour libations to thee at the fall of the year. When thy Nones come round, the old altar smokes with incense; the flocks sport in safety, the oxen are at rest, and the village is gay; the wood sheds its leaves, and the clown smites his enemy, the earth, in the dance.
3.incedas abeasque] Faunus was not a stationary divinity. He was supposed to come in the spring, and depart after the celebration of his festival in December. From ‘parvis alumnis’ we may suppose this Ode was written in spring. The word occurs below (C. iii. 23. 7).
5.Si tener pleno cadit haedus anno,] ‘If a young kid is offered in sacrifice at the end of the year’; when the Faunalia took place. Horace claims the protection of Faunus for his lambs in the spring, on the ground of his due observance of the rites of December, which he then goes on to describe. Horace here makes the wine-cup the companion of Venus, as he made ‘Jocus’ in C. i. 2. 34. See also C. i. 30. 5, sqq. He uses both forms, ‘crater’ and ‘cratera.’ ‘Vetus ara’ may be an old altar Horace found on his farm when he came into possession of it.
13.audaces] ‘fearless,’ on account of the presence of Faunus.
14.Spargit — frondes;] It does not quite appear why the wood should be said to shed its leaves in honor of Faunus: it may be in sorrow for his departure, or as a carpet for him to tread upon, or for his worshippers to dance upon.
16.Ter] ‘Ter’ expresses the triple time of the dance, from which is derived the verb ‘tripudiare.’ ‘Fossor’ is put generally, I imagine, for a laboring husbandman, who may be supposed to have no love for the earth that he digs for another.
ODE XIX.
Theimpetuosity and liveliness of this Ode are remarkable. The occasion for which it was composed was a supper in honor of Murena’s installation in the college of augurs. In regard to this person see C. ii. 2 and 10. Telephus is no doubt a fictitious name. It occurs in two other Odes (i. 13 and iv. 11. 21), and efforts have been made to prove the person to be the same in each case. But there is no resemblance. All the names at the end are fictitious.
Argument.—Talk not of Codrus, and Inachus, and Trojan wars: tell us what we may get a cask of Chian for, who will give us bath and house-room, and at what hour we may dine to-day. A cup, boy, to the new moon, another to midnight, and a third to Murena the augur; three and nine, or nine and three; the rapt poet loves the nine; pure, the Graces forbid. Let us be mad: bring music, scatter roses, let old neighbor Lycus and his young ill-sorted partner hear our noise and envy us. Rhode runs after thee, Telephus, with thy beautiful hair and bright face: as for me, I am wasting with love of Glycera.
1.Quantum distet ab Inacho,&c.] The number of years between Inachus, first king of Argos, and Codrus, the last king of Athens, is said to be eight hundred.
3.genus Aeaci] The sons of Æacus, king of Ægina, were Telamon, the father of Ajax and Teucer, and Peleus, the father of Achilles.
4.sacro — sub Ilio:] This is Homer’s epithet, Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον.
5.Chium — cadum] This is the same form of expression as “Laestrygonia amphora,” “Sabina diota”; and the vessels were all the same. On the Chian wine see Sat. ii. 8. 15. The best foreign wines were Thasian, Lesbian, Chian, Sicyonian, Cyprian, and Clazomenian. Only the second and third are mentioned by Horace, who puts them together in Epod. ix. 34. They were mild wines. Lesbian he speaks of as ‘innocens’ (C. i. 17. 21).
6.quis aquam temperet ignibus,] This is equivalent to ‘who can give us a bath?’ So Cicero, writing to Pætus, with whom he was going to dine (ad Fam. ix. 16, sub fin.), says, “ego tibi unum sumptum afferam quod balneum calfacias oportebit.”
8.Pelignis — frigoribus] Cold as severe as the Peligni know, who inhabited a high part of the Apennines in the Samnite territory. ‘Quota’ means at what hour we may sup.
9.Da lunae propere novae,] The scene is suddenly shifted to the supper table. On the construction with the genitive, see above (C. iii. 8. 13). ‘Lunae novae’ means the Kalends, which was a feast day. (Compare iii. 23. 2, “nascente luna.”) The months of Numa’s calendar being lunar, the association of the new moon with the first day of the month remained after the calendar was altered. A cup for midnight does not appear to have any other meaning than an excuse for another toast. “Dicetur merita Nox quoque naenia,” he says below (C. iii. 28. 16).
10.auguris Murenae:] See Introduction.
11.tribus aut novem Miscentur cyathis] The ‘cyathus’ was a ladle with which the drink was passed from the mixing bowl to the drinking cup. The ladle was of certain capacity, and twelve ‘cyathi’ went to the sextarius. Horace therefore says in effect, “Let the wine be mixed in the proportion of three cyathi of wine to nine of water, or of nine of wine to three of water.” He says, also, the poet under the inspiration of the Muses likes the stronger proportion, but the Graces (in other words, good breeding and good temper) forbid the wine to be drunk pure, lest it lead to intoxication and strife. ‘Tres supra’ means the ‘three over’ the largest proportion of nine, which if added, would make the drink ‘merum.’ ‘Commodis,’ fit and proper ‘cyathi,’ that is, bumpers. ‘A proper man’ is ‘totus teres atque rotundus,’ in whom nothing is wanting.
13.Qui Musas amat] The Muses are ‘impares’ as being nine in number. ‘Attonitus’ is equivalent to ἐμβρόντητος, ‘struck from heaven,’ that is, inspired.
17.Nudis] See C. i. 30. 5.
18.Insanire juvat:] This is a repetition of C. ii. 7. 28. Berecyntus was a mountain in Phrygia, where Semele was worshipped. Compare C. iv. 1. 22, sqq.
22.sparge rosas;] See Epp. i. 5. 14.
ODE XX.
Therecan be very little doubt that this Ode is imitated from the Greek. It represents in heroic language a contest between Pyrrhus and a girl not named, for the affections of the handsome Nearchus. The last two stanzas furnish a striking group for a picture. The passion of the jealous girl, as of a lioness robbed of her whelps, and the conscious pride of the beautiful boy are happily painted.
Argument.—As well rob the lioness of her whelps, Pyrrhus. That girl will rush to the rescue of her lover, and, like a coward and thief, thou shaltquit the field after a hard fought battle, in which he shall stand like Nireus or Ganymede, the umpire of the fight.
3.inaudax] This word, which is not found elsewhere, is a direct translation of ἄτολμος, ‘cowardly.’
5.per obstantes] i.e. ‘when, like the lioness bursting through a host of huntsmen, she shall rush to the rescue of Nearchus, more beautiful than all (insignem).’
8.Major an illi.] ‘A mighty struggle, whether the prize shall rather come to thee or to her.’ If this were expressed in Greek it might run πότερα ἡ λεῖα σοὶ μείζων ἥξει ἢ ἐκείνῃ, where μείζων would be equivalent, not to λείας μεῖζον μέρος, but to μᾶλλον. Probably Horace found μείζων, in the original he copied from, in some such combination as I have supposed. ‘Certamen’ has no regular government. The construction, however, is quite intelligible without supplying ‘est’ or ‘erit,’ as some propose.
11.Arbiter pugnae] Nearchus is represented as standing in doubt to which of the combatants he shall yield himself, with bare shoulder, his long perfumed hair floating in the wind, and his naked foot upon the palm of victory, looking like Nireus,
ὃς κάλλιστος ἀνὴρ ὑπὸ Ἴλιον ἦλθεντῶν ἄλλων Δαναῶν μετ᾽ ἀμύμονα Πηλείωνα (Il. ii. 673),
or like Ganymede. The difference between the perfect ‘posuisse’ and the present ‘recreare,’ the one as representing a complete, and the other a continuing action, is here clearly marked. (See C. i. 1. 4, n.) Of ‘fertur’ it is difficult to fix the exact meaning. It looks like a literal copy, and indicates a composition not flowing from the mind of the writer, and therefore liable to some confusion, though to him it was plain enough.
15.aquosa Raptus ab Ida] Ganymede was said to have been the son of Tros, but the legends respecting him differ in every particular. Horace adopts that which supposes Jupiter to have sent his eagle to carry him away from Ida, which range was the source of most of the rivers of Troas, and is therefore called ‘aquosa.’
ODE XXI.
M. Valerius Messalla Corvinuswas an acquaintance of Horace, probably as early as his residence at Athens, and they were together during the campaigns of Brutus and at the battle of Philippi, after which Messalla took part with M. Antonius, till, in consequence of his proceedings with Cleopatra, he left him and joined Augustus, for whom he fought at Actium, and who always held him in high esteem. After the peace, he took up literary pursuits and oratory, and having a large fortune, he patronized literary men, and Horace, it would seem, in particular. By Horace he is called indiscriminately Messalla (which means ‘of Messana’) and Corvinus, which name was given to a distinguished member of the Valeria gens three hundred years before Messalla was born.
This Ode is addressed to the ‘testa’ containing the wine intended to be drunk at a supper to which Messalla had invited himself.
Argument.—Thou amphora, who was filled at my birth, whether thy mission be one of sorrow or joy, of strife or love or sleep, come down, for Corvinus would have my better wine. Learned though he be, he will not despise thee, for neither did old Cato. Thou dost soften the inflexible, and open the heart, and bring back hope, and give strength and courage to thehumble. Liber, Venus, and the Graces shall keep thee company till the dawn of day.
1.O nata mecum] Horace was bornB. C.65, when L. Manlius Torquatus and L. Aurelius Cotta were consuls, in which year the amphora addressed is here said to have been filled. (See above, C. iii. 8. 12, n.) ‘Testa,’ which signifies properly any earthen vessel, was used to express the ‘dolium’ as well as the ‘amphora.’ Here it means the latter. In Epod. xiii. 6, Horace had before referred to this wine. The force of the epithet ‘pia’ is more easily felt than rendered. ‘Gentle’ is Francis’s translation, and I know no better, for the meaning is to be derived from its connection with ‘facilem somnum.’
5.Quocunque — nomine] ‘on whatever account.’ ‘Nomen’ signifies an entry in an account (see Epp. ii. 1. 105, n.). The derived sense of the word as used here is better illustrated by Cic. de Am. c. 25: “Multis nominibus est hoc vitium notandum,” i.e. on many accounts, or in many particulars. ‘Lectum’ applies to the gathering of the grape from which the wine was made. The word ‘descende’ is used because the apotheca was in the upper part of the house. (See above, C. iii. 8. 11, n.) For the same cause ‘deripe’ is used (C. iii. 28. 7). ‘Dignus’ is used sometimes by the later prose-writers with an infinitive. In Horace’s day and by Cicero it was used only with the relative pronoun in construction with a verb. ‘Languidiora’ corresponds to ‘languescit mihi’ above (C. iii. 16. 35).
9.madet] ‘is steeped in.’ This word would hardly have been used for ‘imbuitur’ in this sense on any other occasion.
11.Narratur et prisci Catonis] This is the Cato mentioned on C. ii. 15. 11. His being fond of wine is most likely an invention of Horace’s.
13.Tu lene tormentum ingenio] ‘Thou appliest a gentle spur to the usually ungenial temper.’ ‘Duro ingenio’ means the reserved temper whose sympathies and purposes are not easily drawn out, as in Terence (Phorm. iii. 2. 12), “Adeon’ ingenio esse duro te atque inexorabili.”
14.sapientium] This applies to the philosophical and thoughtful (as ‘sapientia’ is put for philosophy, C. i. 34. 2), who have little to do with mirth till they are brought out of themselves by cheerful company. It is said that in his Odes Horace always uses the termination ‘ium’ for the genitive plural of nouns ending in ‘ens,’ and for participles the termination ‘tum.’ But the instances of either are not numerous enough to determine a rule, and the so-called nouns are usually participles, as ‘sapiens’ is.
18.cornua] That is, strength, and confidence, of which horns were the symbol. See C. ii. 19. 30, n.
19.Post te] “Quis post vina gravem militiam aut pauperiem crepat?” (C. i. 18. 5.) As to ‘apices,’ see C. i. 34. 14.
21.Te Liber] He says, ‘Thee, Liber, and Venus (if she will be cheerful and come), and the Graces slow to loose the bond that binds them, and the burning lamps, shall protract even until Phœbus on his return puts the stars to flight.’ The meaning is, the wine shall go round and the lamps shall burn, with jollity and love (women commonly were of the company on these occasions) and good humor for our companions, till sunrise.
22.Segnesque nodum solvere] ‘unwilling to be separated.’ As Horace represents the Graces, naked, or with loose robes (C. i. 30. 5, n.), ‘nodum’ cannot signify the zone, as some commentators say. It seems to mean the bond that unites them. They are usually grouped with their arms intertwined. Here they represent good humor, as opposed to brawling.
23.Vivaeque producent lucernae,] See C. iii. 8. 14.
ODE XXII.
Horaceon some occasion thought fit to dedicate a pine in his garden to Diana, and wrote these two stanzas as an inscription perhaps. The dedication of trees to particular divinities was not uncommon.
Argument.—Diana, who protectest the mountains and woods, and deliverest women in childbirth, to thee I dedicate this pine, and will offer thee the sacrifice of a boar.
1.Montium — nemorumque,] See C. i. 21. 5, and C. S. 1. Diana shared with Juno the attributes of Lucina, the divinity that brings children to the birth, as explained on C. S. 13. Diana was ‘Diva triformis,’ as being Luna in Heaven, Diana on Earth, and Hecate in Hell; whence Virgil speaks of “Tergeminamque Hecaten tria virginis ora Dianae” (Aen. iv. 511), alluding (as Horace does) to the statues of the goddess, with three faces, set up where three roads met, so that she could look down all three at once, from which she was called Trivia.
2.laborantes utero] For ‘parturientes.’
5.tua — esto] ‘be sacred to thee.’
6.Quam per exactos ego laetus annos] The antecedent to ‘quam’ is implied in ‘tua.’ ‘Per exactos annos’ means ‘every year,’ as each year is finished.
7.obliquum meditantis ictum] This expresses the way in which a boar strikes at an object with one of its projecting tusks, with which a wild hog has not rarely been known, when incautiously pursued, to rip open a horse’s belly. See Ovid, Met. viii. 344: “obliquo latrantes dissipat ictu.”
ODE XXIII.
Horace, wishing to embody the principle that any offering to heaven is acceptable according to a man’s means (see note on v. 20), put it into the form of an address to the plain and pious Phidyle, a person of his own creation, bringing a humble offering to her Lares with doubts as to its acceptance, or lamenting that she could not, for her poverty, offer a worthier sacrifice.
Argument.—My humble Phidyle, lift thy hands to heaven, and bring the Lares but incense, fresh corn, and a sucking-pig, and they shall protect thy vines and fields and lambs. Herds and flocks, fed on Algidus or Alba, are for the pontifices: do thou but crown thy gods with rosemary and myrtle, for it is the clean hand and not the costly sacrifice that comes with acceptance to the altar.
1.supinas] The clasping of the hands in prayer does not seem to have been usual with the ancients. ‘Supinus’ and ὕπτιος contain the same element, and both signify ‘upturned.’ The ‘s’ in the Latin word corresponds to the aspirate of the Greek, as in ‘silva’ and ὕλη. As to ‘nascente Luna,’ see C. iii. 19. 9, n. Phidyle is derived from φείδεσθαι, and means ‘thrifty.’ The prose form of ‘hornus’ is ‘hornotinus.’
4.Lares] These were the Manes or spirits of deceased members of a family, who were worshipped as Penates or household gods (see below, v. 19, and Epp. ii. 2. 209, n.). Their altar was usually in the atrium or entrance-hall. They had libations and prayers offered to them daily at the principal meal, and had especial sacrifices on the Kalends, Nones, and Ides.
5.Africum] See C. i. 1. 15.
7.dulces alumni] ‘Alumnus,’ for a lamb, occurs above (C. iii. 18. 4).
8.Pomifero grave tempus] ‘The deadly time when the year brings round the fruit,’ i.e. Autumn (S. ii. 6. 18).
10.Devota] In the oak woods of Mount Algidus (in Latium) and the pastures of Alba were fed swine and cattle, especially for sacrifice.
15.marino Rore] ‘Rosmarinus’ is the name of a plant which grows wild in warmer climates than ours. We call it rosemary, after the Latin name, which the ancients supposed to be composed of ‘ros’ and ‘marinum,’ ‘sea-dew.’ It is rather sea-rose, ‘rosa marina.’
17.Immunis aram] ‘If the hand be innocent that touches the altar (not more welcome with sumptuous victim), it appeaseth the angry Penates with pious meal and crackling salt.’ ‘Immunis’ signifies ‘pure.’ It does not occur elsewhere in this sense without a genitive.
19.Penates] The Penates of a family included the Lares, to whom Phidyle is supposed to be sacrificing. But other gods who were supposed to protect households and to promote the peace of families were counted Penates, and among them Jupiter, Juno, and Vesta.
20.Farre pro et saliente mica] This means the salted meal offered in sacrifice. The Roman practice and the Greek were different. The οὐλαί and οὐλοχύται were the entire grain of barley mixed with salt. The grain was not pounded by the Greeks; by the Romans it was, and the salt mixed with it. So “Dant fruges manibus salsas” (Aen. xii. 173). Socrates was the first among the ancients, as far as is known, who took the view here given of the gods and their offerings. His opinions are related by Xenophon (Memor. i. 3. 3), and they are confirmed by the highest authority, which tells us, that “if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, not according to that he hath not” (2 Cor. viii. 12).
ODE XXIV.
ThisOde is of the same class, and was probably written about the same time as the early ones of the third book, i.e. aboutA. U. C.728. It deals with the licentious abuses of the times, and points indirectly to Augustus as the real reformer of them, as in the second Ode of the first book. The variety of images and illustrations in this Ode is very remarkable, and they are particularly well chosen and original. There is none that exhibits Horace’s peculiar style more completely than this does.
Argument.—Let a man be as rich and extravagant as he may, yet, when Fate overtakes him, fear and death will seize him. The wandering tribes of the North—with their free plains and toils equally shared, where step-mothers are kind and wives are obedient and chaste, and where crime meets with its reward—are happier than we are. He who would gain a name for future times (for merit is only recognized after death), let him put a check upon the licentiousness of the age. Of what use is it to complain, if crime goes unpunished? Of what use are laws without morals? We are running everywhere in quest of money, urged on by the shame of poverty. If we really repent, let us give our gold to the gods, or cast it into the sea, eradicate the seeds of avarice, and strengthen our minds with nobler pursuits. Our youth are idle: their fathers lay up wealth by fraud: for, let riches increase as they will, they always fall short of men’s desires.
1.Intactis] Cn. Pompeius, Marcellus, and others, had entered ArabiaPetræa; but Arabia Felix, which is here referred to, had not yet been invaded. The disastrous expedition under Ælius Gallus did not take place tillB. C.25, which was probably after the composition of this Ode. See C. i. 29, Int. India and Arabia are again coupled, Epp. i. 6. 6.
3.Caementis licet occupes] This is explained by C. ii. 18. 20; iii. 1. 35.
4.mare Apulicum,] This would apply to the bay on which Tarentum is situated, and there the Romans had handsome villas. Horace, however, had the other sea more in mind, perhaps with reference to Baiæ in particular, that place being situated on the northern projection of the Sinus Cumanus.
6.Summis verticibus] This has been variously explained. It probably means, ‘when stern Fate has driven her adamantine nails into thy head’ (that is, to kill thee).
8.Non mortis laqueis] Death entangling men in his net is not an uncommon idea with the poets. The same occurs in the Psalms: “The snares of death compassed me round about” (cxvi. 3).
9.Campestres melius Scythae] See C. i. 19. 10, n.; 35. 9, n. Herod. iv. 46.
12.Immetata] This does not occur elsewhere. Virgil assigns to the golden age this freedom from enclosures (Georg. i. 125, 126). ‘Liberas’ means ‘common property.’
14.Nec cultura placet] The habits of the Suevi, as described by Cæsar (Bell. Gall. iv. 1), are here assigned to the Getæ, who are included with the Scythians. “They had 100 districts (‘pagi’),” says he, “each of which supplied annually 1,000 soldiers, who served a year and were then relieved by others, who in their turn served a year and were relieved. Those who stayed at home cultivated the fields. They had no enclosures, and occupied the same ground only for one year.”
15.Defunctumque laboribus] This phrase is applied to death above (C. ii. 18. 38); here it is, ‘and when one has finished his work, a substitute relieves him with an equal share of the toil.’
18.temperat] ‘holds her hands from,’ ‘parcit.’
19.Nec dotata] The wife who brought a large ‘dos’ with her might have a tendency to rule her husband. ‘Nec fidit’ means she does not trust her rich paramour (‘nitido,’ ‘sleek’) to shield her with his influence from her husband’s anger.
21.Dos est magna parentium] ‘An ample portion for wives is their virtue and that chastity which, living in unbroken bonds, shrinks from any other man (than the husband).’
27.Pater urbium] This is not a title found elsewhere, but is analogous to ‘Pater patriae’ (C. i. 2. 50, n.). With ‘refrenare licentiam’ compare C. iv. 15. 9, sqq. ‘Post-genitis’ does not occur elsewhere.
30.quatenus] Forcellini gives other instances of this sense, ‘quandoquidem,’ ‘since.’ See S. i. 1. 64, 3. 76. The sentiment is repeated and illustrated in the first epistle of the second book, vv. 10, sqq.
33.Quid tristes querimoniae] ‘What is the use of complaining so sadly, if crime is to go unpunished?’ There were many perhaps who complained, as Horace did, of the state of society, but he says active measures are wanted for the suppression of crime, and these Augustus resorted to, by the enactment of laws regulating expense, marriage, etc. See Epp. ii. 1. 3, n.
35.Quid leges sine moribus] ‘But then,’ he goes on, ‘laws are of little use, unless the character of the age supports them, for there are vices which the law cannot reach, such as the spirit of avarice,’ which he goes on to speak of. Tacitus has echoed Horace’s words: “Bonae leges minus valent quam boni mores” (Germ. 19). See C. iv. 5. 22, n.
40.Mercatorem] On the ‘mercatores,’ see C. i. 31. 12, n. The enterprise of these men, and the effects their visits had on uncivilized people, are illustrated by the passing notice they get from Cæsar (B. G. i. 1). Speaking ofthe Belgæ, he says, “Of all these the bravest are the Belgæ, because they are farthest removed from the civilization and refinement of the Provincia (Gallia), and to them the ‘mercatores’ make less frequent visits than to others, importing those things which tend to make the mind effeminate.”
45.Vel nos in Capitolium] He recommends that the rich should take their wealth and offer it to the gods in the Capitol, or throw it into the sea.
46.Quo clamor vocat] Multitudes, he says, would applaud such a sacrifice, and accompany those who made it to the temple.
54.Formandae] ‘Formo’ occurs in the same sense, C. i. 10. 2. S. i. 4. 121. Epp. ii. 1. 128. A. P. 307.
Nescit equo rudis] The young are brought up in idle, dissipated habits, and instead of manly exercises they amuse themselves with the childish Greek sports and gambling (see S. ii. 2. 11, n.), while their fathers are employed in making money by fraud.
57.Seu Graeco jubeas trocho] The ‘trochus’ was a hoop of metal, and it was guided by a rod with a hook at the end, such as boys use now.
58.vetita legibus alea,] There were laws at Rome, as there are with us, against gaming, which practice was nevertheless very prevalent among all classes, in the degenerate times of the republic and the empire. Juvenal complains that young children learnt it from their fathers (xiv. 4).
60.Consortem socium] This means the partner whose capital (‘sors’) was embarked with his own. The Romans held it to be a very serious offence for a man to cheat his partner. Cicero (pro Rosc. Am. c. 40) says “in rebus minoribus fallere socium turpissimum est.” Horace couples the crimes of cheating a partner and a ward in Epp. ii. 1. 123.
62.improbae] This is one of the most difficult words to which to assign its proper meaning. Forcellini gives three or four separate heads with quotations illustrative of each, under any one of which most of the examples in the others might be classed. Orelli has quoted instances (on C. iii. 9. 22) in which it is applied to labor, a jackdaw, a man, a mountain, a tiger, winter, and the Hadriatic Sea. He might have added others, as self-love (S. i. 3. 24), an old woman (S. ii. 5. 84), an angry man (S. ii. 6. 29), etc. It implies ‘excess,’ and that excess must be expressed according to the subject described. ‘Of course, vile wealth increases; still the store falls short, and something’s lacking ever.’
ODE XXV.
ThisOde reads at first like an introduction to one on a larger scale in honor of Augustus; but we need not suppose that such a sequel ever was composed. The occasion, to judge by the enthusiasm of the language, may have been the announcement of the taking of Alexandria,B. C.30.
Argument.—Bacchus, whither dost thou hurry me? In what woods or caves shall I sing of Cæsar added to the gods, a new and noble strain unheard before?
As the sleepless Euiad looks out from the heights upon the sacred hills and rivers of Thrace, so do I love to wander by the river-side and in the silent grove. O thou lord of the Nymphs, no vulgar strain will I sing. I will follow thee, for the danger of thy company is sweet.
2.quae nemora] The preposition before ‘specus’ governs both nouns. ‘Spec-us’ seems to contain the same root as σπέ-ος, the original meaning of which is unknown. The derivation of ἄντρον is equally uncertain. If, therefore,there is any distinction between them, etymology does not help us to determine it.
5.meditans] ‘Inserere’ may be governed by ‘audiar,’ or ‘meditans,’ or both. ‘Meditari,’ which is akin to μελετᾶν, signifies ‘to revolve in the mind,’ and often expresses the giving utterance to that which the mind has conceived. Here it has the same meaning as Virgil’s “musam meditaris avena,” “meditaris arundine musam.”
7.Dicam insigne] ‘Aliquid’ or ‘carmen’ must be supplied.
9.Exsomnis stupet Euias] This name for the attendants on Bacchus, like Euius, his own name (C. i. 18. 9; ii. 11. 17), is derived from εὐοῖ (Euoe, C. ii. 19. 7), the bacchanal cry. The Euiad catches inspiration by looking out from the hill-tops upon the haunts of the god, and so the poet turns aside from his wonted path to the river-banks and groves where Bacchus is found. The picture of the Euiad looking out with silent awe, through a moonlight winter’s night, upon the quiet plains of Thrace, and drawing inspiration from contemplating the scenes that her deity frequents, is very beautiful.
11.pede barbaro] This refers to the troops of Mænads (Μαινάδες from μαίνομαι, as Θυιάδες from θύειν, C. i. 17. 23, n.) celebrating the orgies of Bacchus.
12.Rhodopen,] This was a lofty chain which formed the western boundary of Thrace proper, and in which the Hebrus took its rise.
ut mihi] The word that usually follows ‘aeque’ is ‘ac.’ But Horace has ‘aeque ut’ (C. i. 16. 7-9), and other writers have ‘pariter ut,’ ‘non minus ut’ (Prop. i. 15. 7), ‘perinde ut,’ which are analogous to ‘non secus ut.’ Of this there seems to be no other instance, but perhaps ‘ut’ is used in preference to ‘ac,’ because that word occurs in the line before.
14.Naïadum potens Baccharumque] These are the Nymphs mentioned, C. ii. 19. 3. The Bacchæ, as distinguished from the Naïades, are the wood-nymphs (Dryades).
19.Lenaee,] This is a name of Bacchus derived from ληνός, a wine-press.
20.tempora pampino.] Compare C. iv. 8. 33: “Ornatus viridi tempora pampino Liber.”
ODE XXVI.
ThisOde represents a successful gallant’s first refusal, and his mortification and wrath at his defeat. It is a purely fanciful composition.
Argument.—Till now I have fought and won. Now I hang up my arms to Venus. Here, here hang my torches, my bars, and my bow. O thou queen of Cyprus and of Memphis, do but once lay thy rod upon the proud Chloe.
1.idoneus] He means ‘till now the women liked me, and my conquests were great and glorious.’ The words would be suitable to a youthful lover under the chagrin of a first disappointment. Ovid says love is a warfare, “Militiae species amor est, discedite segnes” (A. A. ii. 233); “Militat omnis amans et habet sua castra Cupido” (Am. i. 9. 1). The arms this lover proposes to hang up in the temple of Venus on the left wall, as being most propitious (but see next Ode, v. 15, n.), are the torch that lighted him to his mistress, the crowbar that broke open her door, and the bow and arrows which he carried as emblems of his passion perhaps. For what other purpose he could use them it is not easy to see.
5.marinae] See C. i. 3. 1, n.
9.beatam — Cyprum] See C. 29. 60.
10.Memphin] Herodotus (ii. 112) speaks of a temple at Memphis to Ξείνη Ἀφροδίτη, built by Proteus on the occasion of Paris and Helen being driven upon the coast of Egypt, according to a local legend, which makes Herodotus think that Helen herself was the Ἀφροδίτη in question. As to Sithonia, see C. i. 18. 9.
11.sublimi] ‘lifted high,’ that the blow might be the sharper.
ODE XXVII.
Thesubject of this Ode appears to be a journey to Greece (v. 19), proposed by a lady of Horace’s acquaintance, whom he pretends to deter from her purpose, by reciting the dangers she will have to encounter, and the fate that waits upon female obstinacy, as illustrated by the story of Europa, which story occupies two thirds of the Ode, and puts aside Galatea and her journey. The length of the digression is a way with Horace (as in the story of Regulus, C. iii. 5, and of Hypermnestra, iii. 11), and Pindar took the same liberty with greater freedom.
Argument.—Let the wicked go on their way with evil omens. I do but pray for thee that the storm may be averted. Be happy, go where thou wilt, and remember me, Galatea. Fear not those idle omens: but see the rising storm: I know the dangers it portends. May they fall upon my enemy rather than on thee. It was thus Europa left her girlish task, and crossed the sea by night, but feared not, till she stood on the shore of Crete. Then she cried out in anguish: “Alas! my father, a daughter’s name I have abandoned; love is swallowed up in madness. What an exchange is here! Many deaths do I deserve to die. Am I awake, or is it a dream? Was it better to cross the sea than to gather young flowers at home? O that I might avenge myself on that monster, once too dearly loved! Shame on me that I left my home; shame that I delay to die. Let me go naked among lions and perish by tigers, rather than waste away in a lingering death. ‘Vile girl!’ my father cries, ‘why dost thou not die? Here thou mayest hang by thy girdle, or dash thee on the rocks, or into the stormy waves, unless thou wouldst yield thyself a barbarian’s slave.’” Then came Venus and her son, and laughed mischievously, and said: “Cease thy wrath, when the monster shall come back to give thee thy revenge. What, knowest thou not that thou art the spouse of Jove? Away with sighs. Bear thy noble destiny, for one half the world shall take its name from thee.”
1.parrae] What this bird was is not determined.
3.Rava decurrens] The meaning of ‘ravus’ is not certain. Horace applies it to a wolf or a lion (Epod. xvi. 33), in the latter case imitating perhaps Homer’s χαροποὶ λέοντες (Odyss. xi. 611), for ‘ravus’ is said to be akin to χαροπός. The wolf is represented as running down from the hills of Lanuvium, because that town was near the Appia Via leading to Brundisium, where Galatea would embark.