ODES.—BOOK I. (continued 2)

12. Fraterna] Invented by Mercury (C. 10. 6).

13. Hic bellum lacrimosum,] Apollo was especially ἀλεξίκακος, ‘the averter of evil,’ particularly in respect of Augustus, his reputed son. ‘Lacrimosum’ corresponds to the δακρυόεις πόλεμος of Homer, and ‘lacrimabile bellum’ of Virgil.

15. Persas] The Parthians. See C. 2. 21, n.

ODE XXII.

Aristius Fuscus was an intimate friend of Horace, and the wag whom he represents as playing him false on the Sacra Via (S. i. 9. 61). Horace and he were

“paene gemelli, Fraternis animis; quicquid negat alter, et alter; Adnuimus pariter; vetuli notique columbi” (Epp. i. 10).

We know nothing more of him except that he is said to have been a writer of plays and a grammarian.

Fuscus, as usual, has not much to do with the Ode, which relates how a wolf fled from the poet as he was walking in the woods on his own estate, making verses on Lalage; showing that an honest man is always safe.

Argument.—An honest man, Fuscus, may go unarmed along the burning shores of Africa, over the wild Caucasus, or to the fabulous East. As I wandered careless in the woods, singing of my Lalage, a wolf, such as Apulia and Africa rear not, met me and fled! Set me in the cold and stormy North, or in the burning and uninhabited tropic, still will I love my smiling, prattling Lalage.

1. Integer vitae scelerisque purus] These are Grecisms, but not peculiar to Horace. Virgil, for instance, has ‘animi maturus Aletes’ (Aen. ix. 246); ‘integer aevi’ (Aen. ix. 255); ‘amens animi’ (Aen. iv. 203); ‘praestans animi juvenis’ (Aen. xii. 19). Compare Ἁγνὰς μέν, ὦ παῖ, χεῖρας αἵματος φέρεις (Eurip. Hipp. 316). The more usual prose form with the ablative occurs S. ii. 3. 213: “purum est vitio tibi quum tumidum est cor?”

2. Mauris] The same as ‘Mauretanicis.’

5. per Syrtes iter aestuosas] That is, along the burning coast that borders on the Syrtes. ‘Aestuosus’ is used again in this sense in C. i. 31. 5.

6. inhospitalem] Caucasus has the same epithet applied to it again, Epod. i. 12, and Aesch. (P. V. 20) calls it ἁπάνθρωπον πάγον.

7. fabulosus] On the Hydaspes, one of the tributaries of the Indus, Alexander the Great gained his victory over Porus. India was known to the Greeks and Romans chiefly through the Greek historians of Alexander’s campaigns, and the stories of merchants, which were often marvellous and false. The Hydaspes is now the Vitasta, in the Punjab.

11. curis — expeditis,] Like ‘solvo,’ ‘expedio’ admits of two constructions. See Catull. 31. 7, “O quid solutis est beatius curis?” But there is also “solvite corde metum, Teucri,” Aen. i. 562. Horace says (C. iii. 24. 8): “non animum metu Non mortis laqueis expedies caput.” It is common in this measure for the middle and last syllables to have the same sound. Besides this verse there will be found six instances in this one Ode, vv. 3, 9, 14, 17, 18, 22.

14. Daunias] This is properly an adjective, but here a substantive ἡ Δαυνιάς. Daunia is the ancient name of Apulia, or more properly the northern part of that which the Romans called Apulia. It was said to have been derived from Daunus, a native king, the father-in-law of Diomed (C. ii. 1. 34; iii. 30. 11; iv. 14. 26). In C. iv. 6. 27, Daunia is put for the whole of Italy. ‘Militaris’ means ‘famous for soldiers.’ We do not hear that the Apulians were particularly warlike. They were Horace’s own countrymen.

aesculetis,] This word is not found elsewhere. The slopes of the Apennines which run down into the plain of Apulia were thickly wooded.

15. Jubae tellus] Juba, the son of Hiempsal, was king of Numidia. His son, by favor of Augustus, was restored to that kingdom, but afterwards received in exchange for it Mauritania and parts of Gætulia. It is uncertain which of the two kings Horace had in mind, or whether he means generally the northern parts of Africa, which were famous for lions. See next Ode, v. 10.

17. pigris] ‘dull,’ that is, unfruitful. ‘Piger’ is here equivalent to the Greek ἀργός.

20. urget] ‘lies heavily upon.’

22. domibus negata] ‘uninhabitable.’

ODE XXIII.

This appears to be imitated from a poem of Anacreon, of which a fragment has been preserved in Athenæus (ix. p. 396):—

ἀγανωστὶ ἅτε νεβρὸν νεοθηλέα γαλαθηνὸν ὅστ᾽ ἐν ὕλῃς κεροέσσης ἀπολειφθεὶς ὑπὸ μητρὸς ἐπτοήθη.

Argument.—Thou fliest from me, Chloe, as a fawn that has lost its dam, and trembles at every breeze. I follow not as a wild beast, to tear thee. O cease from following thy mother, for ’t is time to follow after man.

1. hinnuleo] The same as ‘hinnulo.’

4. Aurarum et silüae metu.] Virg. (Aen. ii. 728): “Nunc omnes terrent aurae, sonus excitat omnis Suspensum.” ‘Silüae’ = ‘silvae.’

12. Tempestiva — viro.] Aen. vii. 53: “Jam matura viro, jam plenis nubilis annis.” ‘Tempestiva’ means ‘of a suitable age,’ old enough.

ODE XXIV.

Quinctilius Varus was born at Cremona, and was a neighbor and friend of Virgil, through whom it is probable Horace made his acquaintance. He is referred to in the Epistle to the Pisones, v. 438, sqq., as a discerning critic. He died young, B. C. 24, and this Ode is intended to console Virgil for the loss of his friend.

Argument.—What bounds shall be set to our grief for one so dear? Teach us a mournful strain, Melpomene. Can it be that Quinctilius, whose like Modesty, Justice, Fidelity, and Truth shall not behold again, is gone to his everlasting rest? Many good men mourn for him, but none more truly than thou, Virgil. ’T was not for this thou didst commit him to the care of Heaven. But in vain thou dost ask him back. The lyre of Orpheus could not bring him to life again. ’T is hard to bear, but patience makes that lighter which no power can change.

2. capitis?] The Greek and Latin poets use the head for the whole person, especially when affection is meant to be expressed.

3. Melpomene,] See C. i. 12. 2, n.

5. Ergo] From the Greek ἔργῳ ‘indeed,’ ‘can it be?’

6. Pudor et Justitiae soror — Fides] These personages are associated again C. S. 57. Cicero (De Off. i. 7) says: “Fundamentum autem justitiae est fides, id est dictorum conventorumque constantia et veritas.”

8. inveniet.] It is Horace’s usual but not invariable practice to have the verb in the singular number after several substantives, as here.

11. Tu frustra pius heu non ita creditum] ‘It is vain, alas! that with pious prayers thou dost ask the gods to restore Quinctilius, whom thou didst intrust to their keeping, but not on these terms’ (i.e. that they should take him away).

13. Quodsi] Horace never uses ‘sin,’ which Virgil uses as often and in the same way as Horace uses ‘quodsi,’ ‘but if.’

15. imagini,] ‘Imago’ (‘spectre,’ ‘shade’) was that unsubstantial body in which the soul was supposed to dwell after death, called by the Greeks εἴδωλον. Such were the forms which Æneas saw:—

“Et ni docta comes tenues sine corpore vitas Admoneat volitare cava sub imagine formae, Irruat, et frustra ferro diverberet umbras.” —Aen. vi. 292, sqq.

16. virga] The caduceus.

17. Non lenis precibus fata recludere] This Greek construction has been noticed before (1. 18). The expression ‘fata recludere’ seems to mean ‘to open the door of hell when Fate has closed it.’

18. Nigro compulerit — gregi.] ‘Has gathered to the dark crowd.’ The dative is only admissible in poetry. It is like S. ii. 5. 49: “Si quis casus pueram egerit Orco,” for ‘ad Orcum.’ As to ‘virga,’ and ‘Mercurius’ as conductor of the dead, see C. 10. 17, n.

19. Durum: sed levius] Donatus says that Virgil was much in the habit of commending this virtue of patience, saying that the hardest fortunes might be overcome by a wise endurance of them. Therefore, says, Fabricius, Horace consoles Virgil with his own philosophy.

20. nefas.] ‘impossible.’ See C. 11. 1.

ODE XXV.

This Ode is addressed to a woman whose beauty has faded, and who, the poet says, must pay the penalty of her former pride, by seeing herself neglected in her old age.

Argument.—Thy windows are no longer assailed and thy slumbers broken by saucy youths; thy door turns no more on its hinges; the serenade is silent. Now ’t is thy turn, in some lone alley, on a dark night, with the winter wind blowing, and thy heart on fire with lust, to cry for lovers, and complain that young blood goes after the tender plant, and bids the old leaves go float upon the Hebrus.

2. Ictibus] Throwing of stones.

3. amat] ‘it cleaves to,’ as ‘littus ama’ (Aen. v. 163). ‘Multum’ in this sense is rather a favorite expression with Horace, as ‘multum demissus homo,’ S. i. 3. 57; ‘multum celer,’ S. ii. 3. 147.

7. Me tuo] ‘While I, thy lover, am pining through the tedious nights.’ The possessive pronoun is used thus abruptly once before (i. 15. 32), “non hoc pollicitus tuae”, and Ov. Remed. Am. 492: “Frigidior glacie fac videare tuae.” The words are supposed to be those of a serenade, or lover’s song, sung under her windows. Such a serenade is C. iii. 10.

10. angiportu,] An alley, or narrow passage. It is compounded of a root ‘ang-’, which appears in ‘angustus,’ and ‘portus,’ which word was not, according to Festus, confined to a harbor for ships, but also meant a house.

11. Thracio bacchante] While the north-wind blows more bitterly than ever, in the intervals of the moon, that is, in dark nights when the moon does not shine.

14. furiare] This word we do not meet with before Horace.

18. pulla] This word, which means ‘dark,’ belongs to ‘myrto.’ Young beauties are compared to the fresh ivy and dark myrtle, while the faded old woman is likened to withered leaves which are tossed to the winds, to carry if they please to the cold and distant waters of the Hebrus, in Thrace. This expression is like that at the beginning of the next Ode.

ODE XXVI.

This Ode is an invocation of the Muse, praying her to do honor to Lamia, respecting whom see C. iii. 17. It would appear that, at the time it was written, the affairs of the Parthians were occupying a good deal of attention at Rome, since Horace speaks of himself as the only one who gave no heed to them. The circumstances that may be supposed to be referred to are to be gathered from the following account. In the year B. C. 30, Phraates (Arsaces XV.) being on the Parthian throne, and having by his cruelties made himself obnoxious to his subjects, Tiridates, likewise one of the family of Arsacidæ, was set up as a rival to Phraates, but was defeated in his attempt to dethrone him, and fled for protection that same year to Augustus, who was then in Syria after the death of M. Antonius. Shortly afterwards, however, the Parthians succeeded in getting rid of their king, and Tiridates was called to the throne. In B. C. 25, Phraates, having obtained assistance from the Scythians, returned and recovered his kingdom, and Tiridates fled to Augustus once more for protection. He was then in Spain. The assembling of the Scythian force, and the alarm of Tiridates, are evidently referred to here, and the two seem to be associated. It is natural to infer, therefore, that it was just before Tiridates fled from his kingdom, in B. C. 25, that the Ode was composed.

Argument.—As the friend of the Muses should, I toss care to the winds, and mind not, as every one else does, the alarms of Tiridates. Sweet Muse, weave a garland for my Lamia. All my honors, without thee, are naught; him shouldst thou with thy sisters consecrate with the lyre.

1. Musis amicus] See C. iii. 4. 25: “Vestris amicum fontibus et choris.”

2. Tradam protervis] See the last note on C. 25.

3. quis] This is the dative case, and refers to the terror implied in Tiridates and his party by the approach of the Scythians. See Introduction.

6. integris] ‘pure.’

9. Pimplea] ‘Muse’; derived from Pimplea, a mountain of Thrace, in which was a fountain called by the same name, and sacred to the Muses.

10. fidibus novis,] ‘Lyric strains new’ to the Romans,—unknown, till introduced by Horace.

ODE XXVII.

This is a convivial Ode, in which the poet supposes himself at table with a noisy drinking party. He bids them put away brawls, and when they call upon him to join them, he makes it a condition that a young man of the party, whose looks betray that he is in love, shall tell him the name of his mistress. The youth whispers it in his ear, and the poet breaks out into compassion for his hopeless situation. The Ode is said to be imitated from Anacreon.

Argument.—Let barbarous Thracians fight over their wine. Stop your unhallowed noises, my friends, and let each lie quietly on his couch. What, am I to join you? Then let that boy tell me who has got his heart. Will he not? Then I drink not. Whoever it is, thou hast no cause to be ashamed. Here, whisper it in my ear.—Ah! poor boy, into what a Charybdis hast thou been drawn! What witch, what god, shall deliver thee! Pegasus himself could not do it.

1. Natis — laetitiae] ‘Intended by nature for purposes of merriment.’

2. Thracum] See C. 18. 9, n.

3. verecundum] In Epod. xi. 13 he is called ‘inverecundum,’ but the cases are different.

4. prohibete] ‘Prohibere’ and ‘arcere’ are used with the accusative of the person and the ablative of the thing or vice versa. The latter is the more usual construction. (See Epp. i. 1. 31; 8. 10. A. P. 64.)

5. Vino et lucernis] In prose these datives would be expressed by the ablative with ‘a.’ The same construction is found in ‘dissidens plebi,’ C. ii. 2. 18; “medio ne discrepet imum,” A. P. 152.

acinaces] This word, which signifies the Persian scymitar, or short sword, appears to have been introduced into Greece after the Persian wars. It is commonly used by Herodotus. Horace seems to have been the first Latin writer who employed it.—Horace says quarrelling is vastly unsuited to those jovial meetings which are kept up to a late hour,—‘vino et lucernis.’ The Romans sat down to table seldom later than three or four o’clock, and commonly continued there till past midnight.

6. Immane quantum] This form is imitated from the Greek: οὐράνιον ὅσον, θαυμαστὸν ὅσον, ἀμύθητον ὅσον, θαυμαστὰ ἡλίκα, ἀμήχανον ὅσον,—phrases commonly met with in the Greek writers. The same expression occurs in Tacitus and Sallust, and ‘mirum quantum,’ ‘nimium quantum,’ are used by Cicero, and Livy (ii. 1, fin.). The indicative mood is right, ‘immane quantum’ being merely an expletive.

8. cubito — presso] ‘with elbow rested’ on the cushion of the couch.

10. Opuntiae] The birthplace of Megilla (the Locrian Opus) is added, as Buttmann remarks, only “to give the poem a fresher look of individuality.” The same remark will apply in other instances, as, “Xanthia Phoceu,” C. ii. 4. 2.

13. Cessat voluntas?] ‘Are you reluctant’ to confess? The young man is shy, and will not tell at first; when he does, Horace is supposed to break out with ‘Ah miser,’ etc.

19. laborabas] Orelli may be right in saying the imperfect refers to the time when the question was put. But I am not sure that some finer sense of the imperfect tense is not to be traced in this word, as in “Tempus erat dapibus, sodales” (C. i. 37. 4, where see note).

Charybdi,] This whirlpool, which still exists near Messina, was the terror of ancient navigators. It is taken here to represent the dangerous position of the youth, through his love for some famous beauty and coquette.

21. Thessalis] The Thessalians were famous for witchcraft. See Epod. v. 45.

24. Pegasus expediet Chimaera.] Bellerophon, being ordered by the king of Lycia to destroy the monster Chimæra, is said to have done so with the help of the winged horse Pegasus. This part of the story is later than Homer (see Il. vi. 179, sqq.). Chimæra was a mountain in Lycia, from which flames were always issuing. The spot has been identified, and this phenomenon is still visible. The ancients described it, from some fanciful conception, as a female monster, with the head of a lion, the waist of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. (See Aen. vi. 288.)

ODE XXVIII.

Septimius, one of Horace’s most intimate friends, had a villa at Tarentum (C. ii. 6), where it is likely Horace on some occasion, if not often, paid him a visit. He may have seen a body cast on shore at that place, where the scene of this Ode appears to be laid. The spirit of a shipwrecked man is introduced, moralizing upon death and asking for burial. His reflections take the form, in the first instance, of an address to Archytas, the philosopher, whose name was associated with the place; and he joins with him other worthies, whose wisdom and greatness had not saved them from the common lot of all. Then, seeing a seafaring man passing by, he calls upon him to cast dust upon his unburied body, in order that he may have rest.

Argument.—Even thee, thou measurer of earth and sea, thou counter of the sands, Archytas, how small a portion of earth contains thee now! It profits thee not to have searched the air and traversed the heavens, since thou wert to die. So Tantalus, Tithonus, and Minos have died, and Pythagoras too, with all his learning, hath gone down once more to the grave. But so it is: all must die alike; some to make sport for Mars, some swallowed up in the deep: old and young go crowding to the grave: none escape: I, too, have perished in the waters. But grudge me not, thou mariner, a handful of earth: so may the storm spend itself on the woods, while thou art safe, and thy merchandise increases. Is it a small matter with thee to bring ruin on thy children? Yea, perhaps retribution awaits thyself: my curses will be heard, and then no atonement shall deliver thee. ’T is but the work of a moment,—thrice cast earth upon me, and hasten on.

1. Te maris et terrae] ‘Te’ is emphatic, ‘even thee,’ as the abruptness of the opening requires. ἄμμον μετρεῖν, κύματα μετρεῖν were proverbial expressions for lost labor. See Georg. ii. 104, sqq.:—

“Neque enim numero comprendere refert; Quem qui scire velit, Libyci velit aequoris idem Dicere quam multae Zephyro turbentur arenae.”

Archimedes wrote a work, ὁ ψαμμίτης, in which he computed the grains of sand on the shores of Sicily, and it may be alluded to here. There is no reason to suppose that Archytas ever attempted to solve any such problem.

2. Archyta,] Archytas was a native of Tarentum, born towards the end of the fifth century B. C. He was for a long time the leading man in that city, the power and consequence of which he was the means of extending. He was a celebrated philosopher and mathematician. It would seem, from this passage, that there was a legend to the effect that Archytas was buried on the shore under the promontory of Matinum, running out from the range called Mons Garganus, in Apulia. Possibly, a tomb was shown there as his. That Archytas was shipwrecked on a voyage down the Adriatic, (which is the general opinion,) cannot be proved from this Ode.

3. parva — Munera,] ‘a small portion.’ ‘Munus’ seems to contain the same element as μοῖρα. It is not properly equivalent to ‘donum.’

7. Pelopis genitor,] See C. 6. 8, n.

8. Tithonus] He was the husband of Aurora, carried by her into heaven, on her golden chariot (Eur. Tro. 852).

9. Minos] Called by Hom. (Odyss. xix. 149) Διὸς μεγάλου ὀαριστής, the grandson of him who became judge in Hades.

10. Panthoiden] The story alluded to is that of Pythagoras, who, to prove his doctrine of metempsychosis, declared that he had been Euphorbus, the son of Panthous, who fell in the Trojan war. In support of which he claimed as his own a shield hung up in the temple of Juno at Argos, which, when taken down, proved to have the name of Euphorbus engraved on it.

11. quamvis] “Tacitus and the later writers use ‘quamvis’ with an indicative, and, vice versa, ‘quanquam’ with a subjunctive.” (Key’s Gram. 1227, b. note.) The prose-writers of Horace’s time would not use ‘quamvis’ with an indicative; and he uses the subjunctive where the case is strictly hypothetical, as C. iv. 2. 39, or where it suits the metre, as C. iv. 6. 7.

quamvis clipeo] ‘although, by taking down the shield, and testifying to the season of the Trojan war, he proved that he had surrendered nothing but his sinews and his skin to death.’

14. Judice te] Archytas professed to follow the doctrines of Pythagoras.

non sordidus auctor Naturae verique.] i.e. ‘no mean teacher of truth, physical and moral,’ or, as we should say, ‘no mean authority’ on such subjects. ‘Auctor’ is one whose evidence may be relied upon.

17. Furiae] This name represents the Greek notion of the Erinnyes, as Ποῖναι, or Ἀραί, the divinities which executed vengeance on the guilty, and in that character stirred up strife, as here represented. So Virgil (Aen. iv. 610) calls them ‘Dirae ultrices.’ See also Aen. vii. 324, and xii. 845-852. ‘Spectacula’ corresponds to ‘ludo’ in C. i. 2. 37. ‘Avarum’ is repeated C. iii. 29. 61.

19. densentur] ‘Densere’ occurs in Lucretius, Virgil, and Tacitus. Livy has only ‘densare.’

20. Proserpina fugit.] The perfect has the aoristic sense here. The allusion is explained by Virg. Aen. iv. 698:—

“Nondum illi (Didoni) flavum Proserpina vertice crinem Abstulerat Stygioque caput damnaverat Orco.”

In Eurip. (Alc. 74) Death says in respect to his victim,

στείχω δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὴν ὡς κατάρξωμαι ξίφει ἱερὸς γὰρ οὗτος τῶν κατὰ χθονὸς θεῶν ὅτου τόδ᾽ ἔγχος κρατὸς ἁγνίσῃ τρίχα.

The general practice in commencing a sacrifice (κατάρχεσθαι τῶν ἱερῶν) was to cut off the forelock of the victim.

21. devexi — Orionis] Orion sets about the beginning of November, a bad time for sailors. C. iii. 27. 18. Epod. xv. 7. Virg. Aen. vii. 712.

22. Illyricis — undis.] The waters of the Hadriatic, which wash the coast of Illyricum.

23. At tu, nauta,] ‘Nauta’ is not properly a common sailor, but ‘navicularius,’ a shipmaster. Such a person may be supposed to be passing, and the shade to appeal to him.

24. capiti inhumato] Other hiatuses occur, C. ii. 20. 13; iii. 14. 11. Epod. v. 100; xiii. 3.

25. sic] See note on i. 3. 1.

26. Venusinae] See C. iii. 4. 9, n.; iv. 9. 2, n. The ghost prays that the east wind may spend its force on the forests of the Apennines, before it reaches the Etruscan Sea, where the sailor may be supposed to be voyaging.

29. custode Tarenti.] Taras, the founder of Tarentum, was a son of Neptune, who is represented on Tarentine coins as the tutelary deity of the place.

30. Negligis — fraudem committere?] ‘Art thou careless of doing a wrong which shall presently fall upon thine innocent sons?’ ‘Postmodo’ belongs to ‘nocituram,’ and ‘te’ is dependent on ‘natis.’ ‘Modo’ limits ‘post’ to a short time.

32. vicesque superbae] ‘stern retribution.’

33. precibus] ‘curses.’ See Epod. v. 86. S. ii. 6. 30.

36. Injecto ter pulvere] The number three is so familiar in all ceremonies of a religious nature, that we need not be surprised to find it here. The watchman, speaking of the corpse of Polyneices, says, λεπτὴ δ᾽ ἄγος φεύγοντος ὣς ἐπὴν κόνις (Sop. Ant. 256). The chief object in respect to the burial of the dead was that the face should be covered (Cic. de Legg. ii. 22). The expiation required by the Roman law for neglect of this duty to the dead, was a sow, and the person neglecting it was said ‘porcam contrahere.’

ODE XXIX.

In the year B. C. 24 an army was sent into Arabia Felix by Augustus, under Ælius Gallus, who was governor of Egypt. The force chiefly consisted of troops stationed in that province, but the prospect of wealth which the expedition held out, from the indefinite knowledge then possessed of the country, attracted young men at Rome, and induced, it would seem, Iccius, a man of studious habits, to join it. The expedition was attended with nothing but disaster, and the greater part of the force perished. But Iccius survived, and we find Horace writing to him a few years later as Agrippa’s steward in Sicily (Epp. i. 12). Beyond this, nothing is known of Iccius. The Ode is a piece of good-tempered, jocular irony, of which the point lies in the man of books going forth as a conqueror to subdue fierce nations, untamed before, and to return laden with the spoils of the East. Later times have seen young and chivalrous men hastening to an El Dorado in expectation of wealth and distinction, and finding nothing but disappointment, and such appears to have been the case on the occasion of this expedition into Arabia.

Argument.—What, Iccius, after all, dost thou grudge the Arabs their wealth, and prepare chains for the princes of Sabæa and the fierce Mede? Which of the fair barbarians dost thou mean to bring home for thy bed, or what royal page for thy table? Sure, rivers shall flow back to their mountains, and the Tiber turn again, if Iccius can desert his books to put on the breastplate.

1. nunc] This word expresses surprise: ‘what now, to belie all expectations, and abandon all your pursuits!’

3. Sabaeae] The Romans had possession of parts of Arabia Petræa, but not of Arabia Felix. Hence Horace says, “Intactis opulentior Thesauris Arabum” (C. iii. 24. 1). It may have been reported that the army would proceed against the Parthians, after the Arabs were conquered, or, as is more probable, the ‘horrible Mede’ is only introduced to heighten the coloring of the picture in a jocular way.

5. Quae — virginum — barbara] A very uncommon construction for ‘quae virgo barbara’ or ‘quae virginum barbararum.’ There is humor in the question, as if Iccius had only to choose for himself some royal damsel, whose betrothed he was to slay with his own hand, and an Eastern page of great beauty, brought from his native wilds to wait upon one of the princes of this happy land. If Horace mixes up Tartars (Sericas) and Parthians, it only makes the picture more absurd.

Puer — ex aula] ‘A royal page.’ Boys whose office it was to pour out the wine, are called in inscriptions ‘pueri a cyatho’ or ‘ad cyathum,’ or ‘ab argento potorio,’ ‘ad argentum potorium,’ ‘a potione,’ and so forth.

9. sagittas tendere] For ‘arcum tendere.’ Virgil also says (Aen. ix. 606), “spicula tendere cornu,” and (Aen. v. 508) “pariterque oculos telumque tetendit.”

11. Pronos relabi posse rivos] The phrase ἄνω ποταμῶν became a proverb from Euripides (Med. 410): ἄνω ποταμῶν ἱερῶν χωροῦσι παγαί.

12. Montibus] The dative.

14. Socraticam et domum] Socrates’s school, as Plato, Xenophon, &c. Cicero speaks of the “familia Peripateticorum” (Div. ii. 1); and Horace supposes himself to be asked “quo me duce, quo Lare tuter” (Epp. i. 1. 13). Panætius was a philosopher of Rhodes, from whom Cicero appears to have gathered the substance of his work De Officiis. He professed the doctrines of the Stoics, but seems to have qualified them with opinions derived from the writings of Plato, and others of the Socratic school, which accounts for their being mentioned in connection with his name. He flourished in the second century B. C., and was intimate with the younger Scipio.

15. loricis Hiberis] ‘Spanish mail.’ The steel of Hiberia (Spain) was celebrated.

ODE XXX.

It is not improbable that the main incident of this Ode, that of a lady sacrificing or dedicating a little chapel to Venus, is taken from life; but there is a fragment of one of Alcman’s poems, running Κύπρον ἱμερτὰν λιποῖσα καὶ Πάφον περίῤῥυτον, which appears to have been imitated in the first two verses.

Argument.—Royal Venus, leave thy beloved Cyprus, and come, dwell in Glycera’s temple. Let Love come with thee, and the Graces and Nymphs, and Youth, who is unlovely without thee, and Mercury too.

1. Cnidi Paphique,] See C. 3. 1, n.

4. aedem.] The humblest houses had their little chapel, set apart for an image.

5. solutis Gratiae zonis] The oldest painters and sculptors represented the Graces clothed; afterwards it became the fashion to represent them naked; but the latest practice lay between the two, and they were painted and sculptured with loose, transparent drapery. Horace varies in his descriptions. See C. i. 4. 6; iii. 19. 16; iv. 7. 6.

7. Et parum comis sine te Juventas] Cupid (‘fervidus puer’) or several Cupids (C. 19. 1), Youth (Ἥβη), Hermes, the god of eloquence, Persuasion (Πειθώ), and the Graces, were the principal companions of Venus, according to the notions of the Greeks. The nymphs of the woods, or of the hills, were likewise usually represented as her companions. (See C. iv. 6.)

ODE XXXI.

In B. C. 28 (25th October), Augustus dedicated a temple, with a library attached, which he had built in honor of Apollo, on the Palatine Hill, to commemorate his victory at Actium. After the ceremonies of the day of dedication were over, we may suppose Horace putting in his own claim to the god’s favor in this Ode, in which he represents himself as offering a libation (whether in private or at the temple is uncertain) and asking for that which, according to Juvenal (x. 356), should be the end of all prayer, ‘mens sana in corpore sano!’

Argument.—What asks the poet of Apollo? Not cups, or herbs, or gold and ivory, or rich fields. Let those who may prune Calenian vines, and rich merchants drink rich wine out of cups of gold, favorites of heaven, who traverse the deep in safety. My food is the olive, the chicory, and the mallow. Let me enjoy what I have, thou son of Lato, sound in body and mind, and let my age pass with honor and the lyre.

1. dedicatum] This word is applied to the god as well as his temple. So Cic. de N. D. ii. 33, says, “ut Fides ut Mens quas in Capitolio dedicatas vidimus proxime a M. Aemilio Scauro.”

2. novum] Libations were made with wine of the current year.

4. Sardiniae] This island supplied much of the corn consumed at Rome. ‘Ferax’ is properly applied to the soil which produces; here it is said of the produce itself, and means ‘abundant.’

5. Calabriae] Where flocks were pastured in the winter season. C. ii. 6. 10. Epod. i. 27, n.

7. Liris] This river, now called Garigliano, took its rise near the Lacus Fucinus, in the country of the Æqui, and, passing through the richest part of Latium, emptied itself below Minturnæ into the sea (S. i. 5. 40, n.). The upper part of the stream is much broken by waterfalls. Horace’s description applies only to the lower part, where, having left the Apennines and joined the Trerus (Sacco), it flows quietly through the cultivated lands of Latium.

9. Premant] Virgil uses this word in the same sense (Georg. i. 157): “et ruris opaci Falce premes umbras”; and Ovid (Met. xiv. 629). ‘Calena’ is transferred from the vine to the knife, as in ‘Sabina diota’ (9. 7), ‘Laestrygonia amphora’ (iii. 16. 34), ‘Graeca testa’ (i. 20. 2), where to the press that makes or the vessel which contains the wine is applied the name of the wine itself. As to Calenian wine, see C. 20. 10, n.

12. Vina Syra reparata merce,] Wine taken in exchange for Syrian goods, which includes all the costly merchandise of the East; elsewhere called ‘Tyriae merces.’ The seaports of Syria were entrepôts for goods from and for the East, and were frequented by a vast number of ships from all parts.—Horace uses many words compounded with ‘re’ without any perceptible difference of meaning from the simple words, as ‘retractare,’ ‘resecare,’ ‘resolvere,’ ‘revincere,’ ‘renare,’ ‘remittere.’ But there is the force of bartering in this word, as in ἀνταγοράζεσθαι. (See C. i. 37. 24, n.) ‘Mercator’ was a dealer in wares who generally sailed or travelled into foreign parts. The ‘mercatores’ were an enterprising class, and penetrated into barbarous and distant countries and dangerous seas. The mention of the Atlantic is a little out of place, immediately after ‘Syra merce’; but, as usual, Horace writes generally, and does not aim at strict accuracy. ‘Aequor Atlanticum’ suited his verse. The travelling merchants are often referred to by Horace. See C. i. 1. 15; iii. 24. 40; S. i. 1. 6, 4. 29. Epp. i. 1. 45, 16. 71, and elsewhere.

16. leves] ‘Setting lightly’ on the stomach.

17. Frui paratis, etc.] The order is, ‘Precor (ut) dones mihi, et valido .... et integra Cum mente, frui paratis.’ ‘Latoë’ (Λατῷε); ‘O son of Lato,’ or Latona.

ODE XXXII.

This is an address of the poet to his lyre, calling upon it to help him now and whenever he shall require its aid.

Argument.—I am asked to sing. If I have ever composed a song that shall not die, with thee, my lyre, come, help me to a Latin song,—thou whom Alcæus did first touch, who, in the field or on the deep, still sung of Liber, the Muses, Venus and her son and Lycus, with dark eyes and hair. Thou glory of Phœbus, welcome at the table of the gods, thou consoler of my toils, help me whenever I shall invoke thee.

1. Poscimur.] ‘Poscitur a nobis carmen.’ This may mean that the poetic afflatus is on him, and he feels called upon to sing.

2. Si quid vacui] ‘If ever, at my ease under the shade, with thee I have sung aught that shall live this year, yea more.’

4. Barbite,] Βάρβιτος is used as a feminine noun by the early Greek writers. The later make it masculine. Here it is masculine, and in C. 1. 34.

5. Lesbio — civi,] Alcæus of Mytilene (C. 1. 34, n.). He fought in the civil wars of his native country, and left his arms behind him on the field of battle, in a war with the Athenians in Troas. He was exiled by Pittacus, tyrant of Mytilene, and travelled in different countries, particularly Egypt. Horace says, that in the midst of his battles and wanderings he still found time to sing of wine and love. But he also sang of dangers by sea and land (C. ii. 13. 27), and inspired his countrymen with martial odes (‘minaces Camenae,’ C. iv. 9. 7).

modulate] See C. i. 1. 24, n.

6. qui ferox bello, etc.] ‘Who, though a fierce warrior, would yet, if he were in the camp, or had moored his sea-tossed bark on the wet shore, sing of Bacchus and the Muses, and Venus and her ever-attendant son.’

10. haerentem] This verb ‘haerere’ is taken by Horace with a dative, as here and S. i. 10. 49; or with an ablative with ‘in,’ as S. i. 3. 32; or without ‘in,’ as C. i. 2. 9. S. ii. 3. 205.

11. Et Lycum] A young friend of Alcæus, whose name appears in a fragment still extant, οὐκ ἐγὼ Λύκον ἐν Μοΐσαις ἀλέγω.

14. testudo] See C. 10. 6, n.

15. cumque] As ‘quandoque’ is put for ‘quandocumque,’ ‘cumque’ is put for ‘cumcumque’ or ‘quumquumque,’ which occurs in Lucret. ii. 113. ‘Cumque’ belongs to ‘vocanti,’ ‘whenever I shall invoke thee,’ as if it were ‘quandocumque vocem.’

ODE XXXIII.

Albius Tibullus, the poet, was a favorite with his contemporaries. To him was addressed the fourth Epistle of the first book, as well as this Ode. He appears on some occasion to have been in bad spirits, and crossed in love, and Horace sent him this little poem, to amuse and cheer him.

Argument.—Come, Albius, do not be drawling pitiful poetry upon Glycera, because she prefers a younger man to you. Pretty Lycoris loves Cyrus, Cyrus inclines to Pholoë, who admires the vulgar sinner as the she-goat loves the wolf. Such are Love’s diversions, bringing opposites under the yoke together. So it happened to me,—a tender heart was attached to me, while I could not free myself from the fetters of Myrtale, more impetuous than the waves of the Adriatic.

1. memor] ‘ever thinking of.’

2. neu miserabiles, etc.] ‘And do not (always) sing doleful strains, because,’ &c.

3. cur] ‘Cur’ or ‘quur’ is formed from ‘qui,’ and has the force of ‘quod’ here, as in Epp. i. 8. 10.

5. tenui fronte] A low forehead was considered a beauty, and the women braided their hair accordingly, as is seen in some statues. The same appears to have been considered an attraction in men. Epp. i. 7. 26: “reddes — nigros angusta fronte capillos.” Intellectual beauty, as we view it in men, is better described by Pliny, Epist. iii. 6. 2: “rari et cedentes capilli; lata frons.”

7. Cyrus in asperam Declinat Pholoën] All these are imaginary persons.

8. Jungentur capreae lupis] This is a common hyperbole. Epod. xvi. 30: “Novaque monstra junxerit libidine Mirus amor,” &c.

9. adultero.] ‘libertine.’

10, 11. impares — animos] ‘ill-matched persons and dispositions.’

12. Saevo cum joco] ‘In cruel sport.’

14. compede] This word is used twice again by Horace in the singular number: “grata compede vinctum” (C. iv. 11. 24); “nivali compede vinctus” (Epp. i. 3. 3); and once by Tibullus: “Spes etiam valida solatur compede vinctum” (ii. 6. 25). These are the only instances till after the Augustan age. Myrtale was a common name among freedwomen.

16. Curvantis Calabros sinus.] ‘Breaking into bays the coast of Calabria’; that is, indenting the coast of Calabria, and so forming bays. By Calabria, the Romans understood the whole of the peninsula which was called by the Greeks Iapygia or Messapia, washed by the Hadriatic on one side, and the Gulf of Tarentum on the other.

ODE XXXIV.

If we are to take Horace at his word, he was one day startled by the phenomenon of a thunder-clap, or other noise, when the sky was clear; and he appears to have been frightened into considering the error of his ways, which led him to abandon the loose doctrines of Epicurus, by which he had been guided before.

Argument.—Careless of Heaven, I have been wandering in the darkness of an insane creed; I now retrace my steps, awakened by the sign of Jove’s chariot dashing through an unclouded sky,—that chariot with which he shakes the earth, the waters, and hell, and the ends of the world. God is strong to bring down the mighty and exalt the low, to take the crown from one and place it on the head of another.

2. Insanientis sapientiae] ‘A wild philosophy,’ the Greek σοφία ἄσοφος. The doctrines of Epicurus are here alluded to. This creed Horace professed, writing in his twenty-eighth year, to hold,

“Deos didici securum agere aevum Nec si quid miri faciat natura, deos id Tristes ex alto caeli demittere tecto.”

(Sat. i. 5. 101.) On ‘consultus,’ which is used like ‘jurisconsultus,’ see Forcelli.

5. relictos:] ‘Iterare cursus relictos’ signifies to return to the paths he had left; ‘iterare’ being equivalent to ‘repetere.’

Diespiter,] It is said that this name was given to Jove as ‘diei pater.’ ‘Dies’ is an old form of the genitive. But probably the first two syllables are only a different form of ‘Jup-’ in ‘Juppiter,’ and from the same root as Ζεύς.

7. per purum tonantes] The phenomenon of thunder heard in a clear sky is frequently alluded to by the ancients, and was held especially ominous. See Virg. Georg. i. 487. Aen. vii. 141, etc.

10. Taenari] Taenarum (Matapan) was the most southern promontory of the Peloponnesus, where was a cave, supposed to lead down to Hades.

11. Atlanteusque finis] Apparently imitated from Eurip. (Hipp. 3), τερμόνων τ᾽ Ἀτλαντικῶν. The African range Atlas was supposed to be the boundary of the world in that direction.

12. Valet ima summis] This language is like the opening of the next Ode. It may be compared with various familiar passages of the sacred Scriptures; as, “He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and exalted them of low degree.” (Luke i. 52.) “Promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the Judge; he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” (Psalm lxxv. 6, 7.) The sentiment, however, is common. Tacitus seems to have had Horace’s words in his mind, when he wrote of the public funeral given to Flavius Sabinus, and the overthrow of Vitellius, that they were “magna documenta instabilis fortunae summaque et ima miscentis” (Hist. iv. 47).

14. hinc apicem] ‘Apex’ signifies properly the tuft (composed of wool wrapped round a stick) or the top of the Flamen’s cap. It appears to stand for any covering of the head, and Horace applies it to the royal crown, here and in C. iii. 21. 20. ‘Valere’ with an infinitive is not used by prose-writers till after the Augustan age.

ODE XXXV.

When Augustus was meditating an expedition against the Britons, and another for the East, Horace commended him to the care of Fortune the Preserver, to whom this Ode is addressed. The design of invading Britain was interrupted by an insurrection of the Salassians, an Alpine people. The goddess Fortuna, under different characters, had many temples at Rome; but her worship was most solemnly maintained, when Horace wrote, at Præneste and at Antium, where she had an oracle, and was worshipped under a double form, as ‘prospera’ and ‘adversa.’ Tacitus mentions a temple belonging to an Equestris Fortuna, in which the Equites set up a statue they had vowed for the recovery of Augusta (Ann. iii. 71). She was represented on Roman coins with a double ship’s rudder in one hand and a cornucopiæ in the other, which may furnish a clew to the allusions in the second stanza. There are passages which may have been drawn from paintings in the temple at Antium.

Argument.—Queen of Antium, all-powerful to exalt or to debase, the poor tenant cultivator worships thee, and the mariner on the deep. Thou art feared by the savage Dacian and nomad Scythian, by all cities and nations; yea, by proud Latium herself; by royal mothers trembling for their sons, and kings fearing for their crowns. Necessity, with her stern emblems, goes before thee. Hope and Fidelity go with thee, when thou leavest the house of prosperity, while false friends fall away. Preserve Cæsar as he goeth to conquer Britain; preserve the fresh levies destined for the East. It repenteth us of our civil strife and impious crimes. Let the sword be recast, and whetted for the Scythian and the Arab.

1. Antium,] A maritime town of Latium, now called Porto d’ Anzo. (See Introduction.)

2. Praesens] There is no other instance of ‘praesens’ with an infinitive. ‘Praesens’ is often used with the signification of ‘potens.’ In its application to the gods, it expresses their presence as shown by their power. “God is a very present help in trouble.” Ps. xlvi. 1. Cicero (Tusc. Disp. i. 12. 28) says of Hercules, “apud Graecos indeque prolapsus ad nos et usque ad Oceanum tantus et tam praesens habetur deus.”

4. funeribus] The same as ‘in funera.’

6. colonus,] See C. ii. 14. 12, n.

7, 8. Bithyna — carina] A vessel built of the timber of Bithynia.

9. profugi Scythae] This is to be explained by the wandering habits of the Scythians. It explains ‘campestres Scythae’ (C. iii. 24. 9), and corresponds to Σκύθας δ᾽ ἀφίξει νομάδας οἳ πλεκτὰς στέγας Πεδάρσιοι ναίους᾽ ἐπ᾽ εὐκύκλοις ὄχοις (Aesch. P. V. 709). ‘Profugus’ is repeated in C. iv. 14. 42.

11. Regumque matres barbarorum] Orelli quotes the description in the fifth chapter of Judges, ver. 28. “The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariot?” There are four objects in respect of which Fortune is here said to be invoked,—the seasons, the winds, war, and faction. (See Introduction.) She is said to be an object of reverence to the distant and barbarous nations, as well as the cities and provinces of the Roman world, and Eastern mothers and tyrants fearing for their crowns.

14. Stantem columnam,] The figures of Peace, Security, Happiness, and others, are each represented on old monuments as resting on a column. What Horace means is, that tyrants are afraid lest Fortune should overthrow their power, represented figuratively by a standing column.

15. Ad arma — ad arma] The repetition of these words suggests the cry of the ‘thronging people’ (‘frequens populus’). ‘Cessantes’ means the peaceably disposed.

17. Te semper anteit saeva Necessitas] The several things that Necessity is here represented as holding, are emblems of tenacity and fixedness of purpose,—the nail, the clamp, and the molten lead: they have nothing to do with torture, as many have supposed. ‘Anteit’ is to be scanned as a dissyllable.

18. Clavos trabales] These were nails of the largest sort, for fastening beams in large houses. There is said to be one in the Museum of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, at Florence, weighing fifty pounds, made of bronze. ‘Clavi trabales’ had passed into a proverb with the Romans. Compare Cicero (in Verr. Act. ii. 5. 21) “ut hoc beneficium, quemadmodum dicitui, trabali clavo figeret.” ‘Cunei’ were also nails wedge-shaped. On the nails of Fate, see C. iii. 24. 7. The metaphor of molten lead, used for strengthening buildings, is used by Euripides (Androm. 267), καὶ γὰρ εἰ πέριξ σ᾽ ἔχει τηκτὸς μόλυβδος.

21. Te Spes et albo] The picture represented in this and the following stanzas, apart from the allegory, is that of a rich man in adversity, going forth from his home, with hope in his breast, and accompanied by a few faithful friends, but deserted by those who only cared for his wealth. In the person of Fortune, therefore, is represented the man who is suffering from her reverses; and in that of Fidelity, the small (‘rara’) company of his true friends. Fortune is represented in the garments of mourning (‘mutata veste’), and Fides in a white veil, emblematic of her purity. With such a veil on their heads, men offered sacrifice to her. She is called by Virgil (Aen. i. 292), ‘Cana Fides,’ but there it probably means ‘aged.’ According to Livy (i. 21), Numa established religious rites for Fides.

22. nec comitem abnegat,] ‘nor refuses herself for thy companion,’ as if ‘se’ were understood.

28. Ferre jugum pariter dolosi.] ‘Too faithless to bear the yoke together with him.’ This metaphor is taken from beasts unequally yoked.

29. Serves iturum] See Introduction.

ultimas Orbis Britannos] “Et penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos” (Virg. Ec. i. 67), “Extremique hominum Morini” (Aen. viii. 727), are like Horace’s phrase.

32. Oceanoque rubro.] The force that was to conquer Arabia (see C. i. 29) was probably at this time preparing.

36. unde] ‘From what?’

39. diffingas retusum] ‘Diffingas’ is a word met with in no author but Horace, who uses it here and in C. iii. 29. 47: “neque Diffinget infectumque reddet.” It means here to break up or unmake, with the purpose of forging it again. ‘O I pray thee on new anvil recast the blunted sword for the Scythian and the Arab.’ It had been blunted in civil war, and was to be whetted again for the destruction of the barbarians.

40. Massagetas] These people are said by Herodotus (i. 204) to have inhabited the great plain east of the Caspian; but the Romans had no distinct knowledge of them, and the name is used for the unknown regions of Northern Asia, like the name of the Scythians.

ODE XXXVI.

Who Numida was, we have no means of knowing. That he was an intimate friend of Horace’s appears from this Ode. He was also a great friend of Lamia’s (see C. 26 of this book). He appears to have lately returned from the army in Spain, and Horace writes this Ode for the occasion, calling upon Numida’s friends to celebrate his return with sacrifice, music, and wine.

Argument.—Let us sacrifice to the guardian gods of Numida, on his safe return from Spain; he is come to embrace his dear friends, but none more heartily than Lamia, in remembrance of their early days. Mark the fair day with a white mark; bring out the wine without stint; cease not the dance; let Bassus out-drink Damalis the drunken; bring the rose, the parsley, the lily, for our feast. Though all eyes shall languish for Damalis, she will cleave only to Numida.

4. Hesperia] In the year B. C. 26, Augustus went into Spain to put down an insurrection of the Cantabri. He returned to Rome two years afterwards, and Numida returned with him, or perhaps a little before, since Augustus was detained by sickness (C. iii. 14).

7. Lamiae,] See Introduction.

8. Actae non alio rege puertiae] ‘Rege’ may perhaps be put in a familiar way for their schoolmaster; if so, it was Orbilius Pupillus (Epp. ii. 1. 71). But the meaning is not quite certain.

puertiae] For ‘pueritiae.’ Other instances of syncope are ‘lamnae,’ ‘surpuerat,’ ‘surpite,’ ‘soldo,’ ‘caldior,’ etc.

9. Mutataeque simul togae.] They were of the same age, and therefore had taken the ‘toga virilis’ together. See Epod. v. 7, n.

10. Cressa ne careat pulchra dies nota,] The custom of marking fair days with a white stone or mark, and unlucky ones with a black, had passed, if not into practice, into a proverb with the Romans. Hence Persius (ii. 1, sqq.), writing to his friend on his birthday, says:

“Hunc, Macrine, diem numera meliore lapillo, Qui tibi labentes apponit candidus annos.”

‘Cressa’ is the adjective formed from ‘creta,’ chalk, so called as coming from Cimolus, a small island near Crete.

11. Neu — amphorae] ‘And let there be no measured use of the wine-jar brought out.’

12. Neu morem in Salium] ‘Salium’ is an adjective like ‘Saliaris’ in the next Ode. It occurs again in C. iv. 1. 28, where see note.

13. multi Damalis meri] ‘Damalis, great drinker (as she is).’ Such is the expression ‘Multi Lydia nominis’ (C. iii. 9. 7). Ovid (Met. xiv. 252) has nearly the same words: “Eurylocumque simul, multique Elpenora vini.” Who Bassus was, we cannot tell, without knowing more of his friend Numida. Damalis may be anybody,—a woman like Lyde (C. ii. 11. 22), brought into the Ode to make up a scene. The name was common among freedwomen.

14. Threïcia vincat amystide,] ‘Amystis’ was a deep draught, taken without drawing breath or closing the lips (ἀ, μύειν). For Threïcia see i. 27. 2.

17. putres Deponent oculos,] ‘will fix their languishing eyes.’ The Greeks expressed ‘putres’ by τηκόμενοι.

20. ambitiosior.] This is the only passage in which the word occurs in this sense of ‘clinging,’ the nearest to ‘ambire’ in its primitive meaning.

ODE XXXVII.

The occasion that gave rise to this Ode, and the time therefore of its composition, are sufficiently clear. Intelligence of the deaths of M. Antonius and Cleopatra was brought to Rome in the autumn of B. C. 30, and on this occasion Horace wrote the following Ode, which is directed chiefly against Cleopatra. Horace appears to have started with an ode of Alcæus on the death of Myrsilus in his head. It began,

νῦν χρὴ μεθύσθην καί τινα πρὸς βίαν πίνην ἐπειδὴ κάτθανε Μύρσιλος.

The historical facts referred to may be gathered from Plutarch’s Life of M. Antonius.

Argument.—’T is time to drink, to smite the earth, and set out a feast for the gods, my friends. We might not bring down the Cæcuban, while that mad queen with her foul herd was threatening Rome with destruction. But her fury is humbled, her fleet in flames, her drunken heart shook with fear when Cæsar hunted her from Italy, as the hawk pursues the dove or the hunter the hare, to chain the accursed monster; who feared not the sword nor fled to secret hiding-places, but chose to die, rather than submit to be led in triumph by the conqueror.

2. nunc Saliaribus] A Saliaric banquet is a rich banquet, fit for the Salii, the priests of Mars. The feasts of the Pontifices were proverbial for profusion. On great occasions, a banquet was set out, in place of a sacrifice, and images of the gods were placed upon couches, as for the purpose of eating. This sort of banquet was called a ‘lectisternium.’

3. pulvinar] Properly, the cushion of the couch, and so put here for the couch itself.

4. Tempus erat] This imperfect tense seems to mean that this was the time that the Fates had intended for such festivities. Ovid (Tr. iv. 8. 24, sq.) has it twice over in this unusual way:—

“Sic igitur tarda vires minuente senecta Me quoque donari jam rude tempus erat; Tempus erat nec me peregrinum ducere caelum Nec siccam Getico fonte levare sitim.”

The Greeks used the imperfect ἐχρῆν in the same undefined way. See note on i. 27. 19.

6. Cellis] The ‘cella’ was, properly speaking, a chamber, partly above and partly under ground, in which the ‘dolia’ were kept. That in which the ‘amphorae’ were stored was called ‘apotheca,’ and was in the upper part of the house: hence the terms, ‘depromere,’ ‘deripere,’ ‘descendere.’ ‘Capitolio’ is equivalent to ‘urbi.’ See C. iii. 3. 42; iii. 30. 8. ‘Imperio’ is used for the sovereign power of Rome, as in C. iii. 5. 4.

7. Regina dementes ruinas] ‘Dementes’ is transferred from ‘regina’ to ‘ruinas’ as in Virg. (Aen. ii. 576): “Uleisci patriam et sceleratas sumere poenas,” where ‘sceleratas’ expresses the guilt of Helen.

9. Contaminato cum grege turpium Morbo virorum,] ‘with her filthy herd of men (forsooth) foul with disease.’ The corrupt lusts of that class of persons who were most about an Eastern queen, are properly called a disease. ‘Virorum’ is used ironically. In Epod. ix. 11, Horace complains:—

“Romanus eheu! posteri negabitis Emancipatus foeminae Fert vallum et arma miles, et spadonibus Servire rugosis potest.”

10. impotens Sperare] ‘wild enough to expect anything.’ This is a common construction, noticed at C. i. 1. 18. ‘Impotens’ corresponds to ἀκρατής, and signifies violence, want of self-control. See Epod. xvi. 62.

13. Vix una sospes navis] Cleopatra’s fleet escaped from the battle of Actium, but M. Antonius saved no more than his own ship, in which he fled to Egypt. From motives of delicacy no allusion is made to M. Antonius throughout the Ode.

14. Mentemque lymphatam Mareotico] ‘Lymphatus’ is equivalent to νυμφόληπτος, ‘lympha’ and ‘nympha’ being the same word. Mareotic wine was from the shores of the Lake Mareotis in the neighborhood of Alexandria. ‘In veros timores’ is opposed to what the Greeks called τὰ κενὰ τοῦ πολέμου. Cleopatra’s fleet fled from Actium, before a blow was struck, under the influence of a panic; but Horace chooses to say it was a ‘verus timor.’ The historical facts are not accurately represented in this Ode. Though it is said that Cleopatra meditated a descent upon Italy, in the event of M. Antonius and herself proving successful at Actium, she fled from that place to Egypt, and never went near Italy, whither Augustus returned after the battle; and it was not till the next year, A. U. C. 724, that he went to Alexandria, and the deaths of M. Antonius and Cleopatra occurred.

20. Haemoniae,] This is an ancient name for Thessaly.

24. reparavit] Literally, ‘took in exchange for her own kingdom shores out of the sight of men.’ It is said that Cleopatra contemplated quitting Egypt, to escape from Augustus, and that she transported vessels across the desert to the Red Sea; but they were destroyed by the Arabs, and she abandoned her design. Plut. Ant. c. 69. On the word ‘reparavit,’ see C. i. 31. 12, n.

25. jacentem] On Cleopatra’s death, etc., see Plut. Ant. c. 84.

26, 27. asperas — serpentes] ‘venomous asps.’ ‘Atrum’ is ‘deadly.’

29. Deliberata morte ferocior] ‘Growing bolder, when she had resolved to die.’

30. Liburnis] See Epod. i. 1, n.

ODE XXXVIII.

This Ode was probably written as a song, and set to music. There is not much to remark upon it. No great pains are usually bestowed on such matters. Some suppose it to be a translation, others an original composition. It is probably only a good imitation of Anacreon. The time is supposed to be Autumn (v. 4).

Argument.—I hate your Persian finery. Hunt not for the rose, boy; I care only for the myrtle, which equally becomes thee, the servant, and me, thy master.

2. philyra] The linden-tree was so called by the Greeks; and its thin inner bark was used for a lining, on which flowers were sewed to form the richer kind of chaplets, called ‘sutiles.’

3. Mitte] ‘forbear,’ equivalent to ‘omitte.’

5. allabores] This is a coined word, and signifies to labor for something more. It corresponds to προσπονεῖν, and occurs again, Epp. viii. 20. The order is, ‘curo nihil sedulus allabores simplici myrto,’ ‘I wish you to take no trouble to add anything,’ &c.

7. sub arta Vite] ‘Arta’ signifies ‘thick,’ ‘close-leaved.’