Siluae'= 'silvae.' 4. Aurarum et siluae metu.] Virg. (Aen. ii. 728): "Nunc omnes terrent aurae, sonus excitat omnis Suspensum." 12. Tempestiva — viro.] nubilis annis." Aen. vii. 53: "Jam matura viro, jam plenis 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. 'Tis 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 py; 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 edwλov. 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.” 16. virga] The caduceus. - Aen. vi. 292, sqq 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 dative is only admissible in poetry. It is like S. ii. 5. 49: puerum egerit Orco," for ad Orcum.' As to 'virga,' and Mercurius' as conductor of the dead, see C. 10. 17, n. 19. Durum: sed levius] · crowd' The Si quis casus 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. nefus.] 'impossible.' See C. 11. i. 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 neg lected 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 Musc, 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 inspired 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 car, 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 cach 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 car. 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. ucinaces] 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: ovpávov 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.). Chimara 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 o 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. "Tis but the work of a moment, - thrice cast earth upon me, and hasten on. 1. Te maris et terrae] the opening requires. Te' is emphatic, 'even thee,' as the abruptness of ἄμμον μετρείν, κύματα μετρείν, were proverbial ex pressions for lost labor. See Georg. ii. 104, sqq. : Neque enim numero comprendere refert; Archimedes wrote a work, ó aμμíτns, 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 promonotory 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 poîpa. 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) Dios μeyádov dapiσtýs, 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 Hoivaι, or 'Apai, the divinities which executed vengeance on the guilty, and in that character stirred up strife, as here represented. So Virgil (Aen. iv |