ODE XVII. THIS professes to be an invitation to a woman named Tyndaris to visit Horace at his farm. He promises her peace and plenty, and security from the jealousy of her husband or lover, Cyrus. ARGUMENT. - Tyndaris, often doth Pan leave Lycæus to visit Lucretilis, protecting my flocks from sun and wind; my goats go unharmed, and fear not snake or wolf, when his sweet pipe sounds in the vale of Ustica. The gods love me for my piety and my muse. Here Plenty awaits thee; here shalt thou retire from the heat, and sing of the loves of Penelope and Circe for Ulysses. Here shalt thou quaff mild Lesbian wine in the shade, nor shall strife be mingled with the cup, nor shalt thou fear lest the jealous Cyrus lay his violent hand upon thee. 1. Lucretilem] 'Mons Lucretilis' is identified with the lofty mountain (or range) called Monte Gennaro, that overhangs the valley of the Licenza, Horace's Digentia (Epp. i. 18. 104), - in which his estate lay. Ustica was probably the name of a spot on the slope of the hills, and 'cubantis' in that case means 'sloping.' 2. Mutat Lycaeo Faunus] Faunus is put for Pan (C. i. iv. 11, n.), who had his principal temple on Mount Lycæus in Arcadia. - The construction with 'muto,' 'permuto,' by which the remoter object becomes the nearer, is not peculiar to Horace, but it will be found to occur several times in his works. Virg. Georg. i. 8: "Chaoniam pingui glandem mutavit arista." ̓Αλλάσσειν, ἀμείβειν also admit of this double construction, sometimes the thing given in exchange being in the accusative, sometimes the thing taken. 3. capellis] The dative. 7. Olentis uxores mariti,] 'the she-goats.' See Georg. iii. 125, “Quem legere ducem et pecori dixere maritum." 9. Nec Martiales Haediliae lupos,] 'Haediliae' was perhaps the name of one of the Sabine hills. 10. fistula] This instrument corresponded nearly to the Greek syrinx, and to what we call the Pandean pipe. 14. Hic tibi copia] The order of the words is 'hic copia opulenta ruris honorum manabit ad plenum tibi benigno cornu.' 'Here Plenty, rich in the glories of the country, shall pour herself out for thee abundantly from her generous horn.' 'Ad plenum' occurs in the same sense, Georg. ii. 244. The 'cornu copiae,' so common in ancient works of art as a horn filled with fruit and flowers, was a symbol belonging properly to the goddess Fortuna, to whom it is said to have been presented by Hercules, who won it from the river-god, Achelous. It was the horn of Amalthea, the goat-nurse of Zeus, who gave it such virtue that it was always filled with anything the owner wished. (See C. S. 60.) 18. fide Tera] The lyre of Anacreon, who was born at Teos on the coast of Ionia. Laborantes in uno' means in love with the same person, that is, Ulysses. Circe was the daughter of a sea-nymph, Perse, and was herself reckoned among the sea-goddesses. Hence, perhaps, the epithet 'vitrea,' 'glassy,' which applies properly to the sea, is given to Circe, just as 'caerula' is applied to Thetis in Epod. xiii. 16, and 'virides' to the sea-gods in Ov. Tr. i. 2. 59: “Pro superi viridesque Dei quibus aequora curae.” 21. Lesbii] This is one of three Aegean wines mentioned by Horace, the others being from Cos and Chios. Lesbian was a mild wine. 22. Semeleïus Thyoneus] Bacchus is here called by both the names of his mother, Semele, who was also named Thyone, from θύειν, ' to be frenzied,' from which the Bacchanals were called Thyades. 25. male dispari] 'By no means his match.' 'Male' is sometimes used as a negative, as S. ii. 3. 137, "male tutae mentis," and sometimes to strengthen a word, as here and S. i. 3. 31, "male laxus calceus." 28. immeritam vestem.] 'your innocent robe.' ODE XVIII. THIS is a translation or close imitation of an ode of Alcæus in the same metre, one verse of which is almost literally translated in the first verse of this Ode, μηθὲν ἄλλο φυτεύσῃς πρότερον δένδρεον ἀμπέλω. It professes to be addressed to a friend who is making a plantation near his house at Tibur The friend's name is Varus, and that was the cognomen of Quinctilius, whose death is lamented in C. 24 of this book. But whether this is the person intended or not it is impossible to say, and it does not signify, since the scene is most probably imaginary Varus is advised to plant the vine before all other trees, since wine, if used in moderation, drives care away, though if abused its attendants are strife, self-love, vainglory, and broken faith. ARGUMENT. - The vine is the first tree thou shouldst plant, Varus, by the walls of Tibur. Hardships are only for the sober; wine drives away all cares. Who speaks of battles and poverty, rather than of Bacchus and Venus, when he is under the influence of wine But that no man exceed, let him think of the bloody frays of the Centaurs and Lapithæ, and of the Thracians, over their cups, when the appetite confounds right and wrong. I'll not rouse thee unbidden, beautiful Bassareus, nor drag thy mysteries from their secret places. Silence the horn and drum, whose followers are vainglory and broken faith. 2. Tiburis et moenia Catili.] See C. i. 7. 13, n. Horace shortens the penultimate syllable of Catillus's name for the sake of the metre, and the same liberty is taken with the name of Porsenna, Epod. xvi 4 4. aliter] By any other means than wine, which is not expressed, but sufficiently implied in 'siccis.' 6. te potius, A verb must be understood more suitable than 'crepat,' which is equivalent to 'croaks, or something of that sort 'Laudat' or 'canit' may be supplied. 8 super mero 'over their wine,' that is, while they were drinking. Super' with the ablative generally means 'about,' ' on behalf of,' or 'concerning,' a thing; but it is also used to express time, as in Aen. ix. 61 we have 'nocte super media. The story is, that at the marriage-feast of Peirithous, king of the Lapithæ, the Centaurs, being guests, attempted in their drunkenness to carry off the bride, Hippodamia, and the other women present, which led to a battle, in which the Centaurs were beaten. 9. Sithonus non levis Euius,] The Sithonians were a people of Thrace, on the borders of the Euxine. Bacchus was angry with the Thracians, and visited habitual drunkenness upon them, because their king, Lycurgus, forbade the cultivation of the vine. See C. i. 27. 1, sq. 'When the 10. Cum fas atque nefas] 'Cum' refers to 'super mero.' greedy of wine distinguish between right and wrong by the slender line of their lusts, that is, the slender distinction that lust so inflamed can draw. 'Avidus' is used absolutely for 'avidus pugnae,' C. iii. 4. 58, as here it means 'avidi vini.' 12. quatiam,] This is explained by Aen. iv. 301 : "Qualis commotis excita sacris Thyas ubi audito stimulant trieterica Baccho Orgia nocturnusque vocat clamore Cithaeron,” 'I will not rouse thee against thy will, nor drag to light thy mysteries, hidden in leaves.' There were sacred things contained in small chests, 'cistae,' which were carried in the processions at the Dionysia, covered with the leaves of vine and ivy. Bassareus was a title of Bacchus, of which the origin is uncertain. It is said to be derived from βασσαρίs, the fox-skin worn by the Bacchanals. 16. Arcanique Fides prodiga,] 'The faith which betrays secrets.' See C. iii. 21. 16. Epod. xi. 14. S. i. 4. 89. Epp. i. 5. 16. ODE XIX. THE hero of this Ode, whoever he may be, says that, though he had meant to put away love from his heart, Glycera's charms have taken such hold upon him, that he can no longer sing of grave subjects, which are nothing to him, but must build an altar, and offer sacrifice to propitiate the goddess of love. ARGUMENT. - The mother of love, Semele's son, and wantonness recall my heart to love, which I thought I had put away for ever. I burn for Glycera, fairer than marble, and the mischievous face so dangerous to look upon. With all her strength hath Venus come upon me, and bids me sing no more of idle themes, - the Scythian and the Parthian. Build me an altar, slaves; bring boughs and incense and wine, for I would soften the goddess with a victim. 1. Mater saeva Cupidinum] This verse occurs again C. iv. 1. 5. The multiplication of the forms of ἔρως was derived from the Grecks by the Romans. 3. Licentia] This is the same impersonation as the Greek Ὕβρις. 8. lubricus Forcellini derives this from the verb 'labor.' or. Vultus lubricus adspici' is face dangerous to look upon, as slippery ground is dangerous to tread upon. a 10. Scythas Under this name Horace, with the historians of this period, understood all nations on and beyond the Tanais, as well as those on the north of the Danube, as the Geloni, Getæ, Daci, with one or more of whom the Romans were at this time perpetually at war. See Virg. Georg. iii. 31 : Fidentemque fuga Parthum versisque sagittis"; and C. ii. 13.17: "Miles sagittas et celerem fugam Parthi.” 11. versis equis] is) The Parthians are described as in the habit of pretending to fly in battle, and, as the enemy pursued, shooting their arrows or throwing their darts at them from horseback. 12. quae nihil attinent.) They were nothing to a man in love. 13. vivum - caespitem, This rude sort of altar was enjoined upon the Israelites in the wilderness in preference to any other (Exod. xx. 24). The word 'verbena' was used for any boughs employed for crowning the altar or for sacred purposes. Verb,' and 'herb' in 'herba,' are the same root. ، 16. veniet] That is, Venus will come. When sacrifice was offered to Venus, the blood of the victim was not allowed to stain the altar (Tac. Hist. ii. 3). ODE XX. THIS Ode informs Mæcenas of the wine he will get when he comes to sup with Horace, who had it appears invited him ARGUMENT. - You shall have some poor Sabine, Mæcenas, bottled at that time when the echoes of the Vatican resounded your praises. You drink Cæcuban and Calenian, but the vines of Falernum and Formiæ are not for me. 1. Vile potabis modicis Sabinum Cantharis] It has been said before (C. 9. 7, n.) that Sabine wine was none of the worst; but it was cheap and poor compared with the best, to which Mæcenas was used, and this probably had not had the benefit of keeping. Horace commends it, therefore, by referri erring to the circumstances under which it was bottled (as we should say). - The most ordinary kind of earthen-ware jug was called 'cantharus,' supposed to be the name of its inventor. Horace had tried to improve his wine by putting it into a 'testa' or 'amphora,' which had contained some of the rich wine of the Ægean. 3. levi,] The cork of the 'testa' was covered with pitch or gypsum after the wine was put into it, and this Horace says he did with his own hand. He would at the same time seal it with his own seal, and attach to it a label with the date, and he could so vouch for its being the wine he speaks of. And when he says he did it with his own hand, he means also to show the pains he had taken to celebrate Mæcenas's recovery. 'Condere' and 'diffundere' were the words used for putting the wine into the 'amphora.' (C. 9. 7, n.) 5. Care Maecenas eques,] Mæcenas was content with the equestrian rank, and would take no higher: hence the frequent repetition of the title 'eques ' by Horace and others. (See C. iii. 16. 20.) It appears that Mæcenas recovered from a bad attack of fever the same year that Horace was nearly killed by the falling of a tree, and the first time he went to the theatre after his recovery the people received him with applause. The circumstance is referred to again in C. ii. 17. 22, sqq 7. Vaticani Montis imago.] The theatre must have been that of Pompeius, which was opposite to the Vatican hill, on the left bank of the river, the hill being on the right or Etruscan bank, which gives propriety to the words 'paterni fluminis ripae.' The second syllable of Vaticanus is long in Martial and Juvenal. On 'imago' see above, C. 12. 3, n. 10. Tu bibes] The future has here the same signification as above, C. 6 1, 7.1. You may drink, if you please, the richer wines. I have none such.' 'Caecubum' was the finest sort of wine in Horace's time. It was grown in the 'Caecubus ager,' in Latium, at the head of the bay of Amycle. The Calenian was from Cales (now Calvi) in Campania. Close by Cales was the 'Falernus ager,' which produced several varieties of the best quality. The hills about Formiæ on the Appia Via (see S. i. 5. 37, n.) produced a good wine. ODE XXI. THE year after Augustus returned to Rome from the taking of Alexandria, that is, B. с. 28, he dedicated a temple to Apollo on the Palatine hill (C. i. 31), and instituted quinquennial games in honor of Apollo and Diana, and called them the 'Ludi Actiaci.' This or some like festival seems to have suggested these verses, in which a chorus of boys and girls are called upon to sing the praises of Diana and Apollo, and Latona, their mother. ARGUMENT. - Sing, ye damsels, of Diana; sing, ye youths, of Apollo, and Latona, dear to Jove; of Diana, who rejoices in the streams and woods of Algidus, or Erymanthus, or Cragus. Praise ye no less Témpe and Delos, Apollo's birthplace, and the shoulder that is graced with the quiver and the lyre, - that in answer to your prayer he may turn the griefs of war, famine, and plague from Rome and her prince upon the heads of her enemies. 2. Intonsum] 'Ever-youthful, the Greek ἀκερσεκόμης. 6. Algido] Algidus was the name of a mountain in Latium, sacred to Diana (C. S. 69), so called from its cold temperature. It is elsewhere called 'nivalis' (iii. 23. 9). Cragus in Lycia and Erymanthus in Arcadia were mountains on which the goddess was supposed to hunt. 9. Vos Tempe] Tempe is mentioned because there Apollo purified himself after slaying the serpent Pytho. 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 XXΧΙΙ. 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); |