Harbor; and among the latter, the Pantheon, which he erected in his third consulship, and which still stands, to bear witness to his taste and public spirit. 6-8. Pelidae stomachum, the subject of the Iliad; cursus duplicis Ulixei, that of the Odyssey. The poet means to profess himself unequal to an epic task. Saevam Pelopis domum illustrates tragic poetry, as the calamities and cruelties of the family of Pelops formed a fruitful and common theme for ancient tragedies. For instance, the murder of Agamemnon; the murder of the children of Thyestes by Atreus, referred to by Horace, Ars. P. 91, coena Thyestae; and others like these. -7. Ulixei; gen. of second declension. See Z. § 52, 4. 9. Grandia. Lofty themes; i. e. in general, those of epic and tragic poetry. - 13. Tunica-adamantina; the Homeric xaλKоXiTWV. -15. Merionen. Meriones was the charioteer of Idomeneus, described in Il. xiii., 528. - 16. Tydiden. The Homeric hero Diomed, who wounded Venus and Mars, as it is related in Iliad v., 335, and 858.· 18. Sectis, etc. Join the words thus: virginum in juvenes acrium sectis (tamen) unguibus.—Orelli. In contrast with the martial names and scenes of the preceding stanza, the poet playfully mentions these bloodless, harmless frays, as the fit themes of lyric verse.-On the adverbial use of quid, see Z. ◊ 385.- 20. Non praeter solitum leves.

more inconstant than is our wont."-Osborne.

"No

ODE VII.

L. Munatius Plaucus, who had abandoned Antony for Octavianus, had now incurre the suspicion and displeasure of the latter, and therefore deemed it prudent to retire fron Italy. Horace addresses to him this ode, to lighten his sadness, at the prospect of an exile from home and country.

Dillenburger divides the ode into three parts. In the first (1-10) the poet cheerfully concedes to others the honor of celebrating the charms of their favorite foreign cities; in the second (11-21), to dissuade Plancus from leaving Italy, he expresses his own preference for the banks of the Anio and the groves of Tibur as a far more charming retreat than any of the cities and islands of Greece; and finally (22 to end) exhorts his friend to a cheerful endurance of his ill-fortune, by setting before him the example of the exile Teucer.

1. Laudabunt. The future here seems to have a concessive force. May praise. Claram; renowned; for its commerce, as well as for the cultivation of philosophy and the liberal arts, and especially of eloquence; and no less celebrated for its delicious climate.. - Mitylenen. A city on the island of Lesbos, which Cicero thus describes: et natura et situ et descriptione aedificiorum et pulchritudine in primis nobilis; De Lege Agr. 2, 16. – 2. Bimaris; the Sinus Corinthiacus and Sinus Saronicus, the modern Gulf of Lepanto, and Gulf of Engia. -7. Undi

que-olivam. The olive was sacred to Minerva, and Athens was her cherished city. Fronti praeponere means caput redimire, to crown the brow. The translation of the line, by preserving the metaphor, is as follows: and to crown the brow with the olive plucked from every spot, that Minerva loves; apart from the figure, the poet means: the praise of Minerva and her cherished city Athens mingles itself with all they sing; and in doing her honor, they find their best reward. 8. Plurimus. Used collectively, many a one, very many. In illustration, Orelli refers to Virg. Georg. 2, 182,―oleaster-Plurimus, and Juv. 3, 332, Plurimus hic aeger moritur. 9. Aptum-equis. The Homeric ἱπποτρόφον, ἱππόβοτον: and dites Mycenas, πολυχρύσος. - Dicet. Fut. has the same force as above, laudabunt. 10. Patiens. In allusion to the strict legislation of Lycurgus, and the severe manners and discipline of life for which Sparta was so distinguished. 11. Larissae. The most fertile city of Thessaly. Preserve in translation the Latin order, which is no less forcible in English: Me, neither Lacedaemon-nor the plain of rich Larissa has so struck, etc. - 12. Domus Albuneae resonantis. Albunea was the name of a Sibyl, worshipped at Tibur. Her home and honors seem yet to survive the lapse of ages, in the beautiful ruin at Tivoli, which, in spite of all the controversies of the antiquarians, still goes by the name of the Temple of the Sibyl. As the traveller stands on the cliff, by the side of this ruined temple, and gazes down into the deep valley, into which the Anio falls, the roar of the rushing waters tells him better than all commentaries, the meaning of the word resonantis. Some, however, refer this expression of Horace to a grotto, below the temple, which is now called the Grotta di Nettuno. - 13. Tiburni. The settlement of Tibur was ascribed to Tiburnus or Tiburtus, a son of Amphiaraus, who came thither from Greece, with his brothers Catillus and Cora, and an Argive colony. Comp. O. i., 18, 2; and Virg. Aen. 7, 671.—Tibur, more than any other spot, has been consecrated by the muse of Horace; and the picturesque position of the modern town, the falls of the Anio (le Cascadelle di Tivoli), the ruins of the temples and villas, with all the beautiful adjacent scenery, fully justify the poet's fond attachment to the place. Comp. Odes, ii., 6, 5; iii., 4, 23; iv., 3, 10.. 15. Albus-Notus. Albus means here clear, as the south wind chases away the clouds, and makes a clear, serene sky. Comp. O. iii., 27, 19, albus Iapyx; and Virg. Georg. 1, 460, clarus Aquilo. - Deterget, an older form than detergit. 17. Sapiens. Wisely; as the adj. has the force of an adverb. So above, O. i., 2, 45, Serus; at which place Dillenb. refers to numerous passages, showing how common is this usage in Horace. - -21. Tui; because Plancus probably had a villa there. - Teucer. Teucer and Ajax, the sons of Telamon of Salamis, were sent to the Trojan war by their father, with this injunction, that neither should return without the other. Teucer, coming back

without Ajax, was banished by his stern father; and, leaving his native Salamis, the island in the Sinus Saronicus, he founded another Salamis, on the island of Cyprus.. 22. Lyaeus. Avaîos, from λów, an epithet of Bacchus, like the Latin Liber. - - 25. Quo—cunque. See note, O. i., 6, 3. -27. Teucro. The repetition of the word, and its position at the end of the line, give emphasis and also a beautiful turn to the line. The expression auspice Teucro, for the more common auspicio, auspiciis Teucri, is to be traced to the augural system of the Romans. In military affairs, the commander-in-chief of an army took the auspices; hence, in the time of the commonwealth, a victory, for instance, was gained auspiciis consulis; under the empire, auspiciis Caesaris. -29. Ambiguam. So that when Salamis was mentioned, it would be doubtful whether was meant the Salamis in the Saronic Gulf, or on the island of Cyprus. 30. Pejoraque passi. Comp. Virgil, Aen. 1, 198; and Homer, Odys. 12, 108; and Cic. Tusc. 5, 37.

ODE VIII.

Under the veil of Grecian names, the poet presents the picture of a Roman youth, abandoning for the fascinations of love the manly sports of the Campus Martius.

4. Patiens-solis. Once patient of its dust and heat. The sunny and ever-verdant Campus Martius, an ample area extending along the left bank of the Tiber, was the favorite resort of all the Romans, when the cares and toils of the day were over. It was the play-ground of the Roman youth, where they daily practised their warlike and athletic exercises. Horace here touches upon some of the sports which made up part of the busy, merry scene, that every day went on there at certain hours. -6. Lupatis-frenis. Biting curbs. Called lupata, from lupus, because the bits looked like the teeth of a wolf.-The swift and spirited Gallic horse was in great request with the Romans. 8. Tiberim. The vicinity of the river, of course, invited to swimming.— Olivum; with which the wrestlers anointed themselves. 10. Armis. The arma are here the quoit and javelins, which made the arms livid by their weight. See a description of the discus in Dict. Antiqq. 14. Filium-Thetidis, etc.; Achilles, who was sent by Thetis to the court of Lycomedes at Scyros, disguised in female apparel, but was detected by Ulysses (who was there selling wares as a pedler), from the fact of Achilles selecting arms for purchase.

ODE IX.

To enter into the spirit of this ode, we must summon before us the occasion which probably suggested it. We may fancy the poet, with some of his friends, reclining on the festive couch. It is a stern winter's day. The Tiber has stopped in its course, the woods bend under the weight of the snow, and Mt. Soracte (perhaps visible from the Triclinium), capped with ice, glitters in the distance. The thoughts and conversation of the guests, chilled, as it were, by the wintry scene without, have taken a gloomy turn, when Horace, addressing the Thaliarchus, or master of the feast, bids his friends turn their thoughts rather to the cheerful scene before them, thankfully to enjoy the blessings within their reach, and leave the rest to the wise disposal of the gods.

This view of the ode, first proposed, I believe, by Dillenburger, I prefer to the ordinary one which makes Thaliarchus a proper name, used by the poet, in addressing one of his friends.

1. Candidum, See n. O. i., 4, 4. - -2. Soracte. A mountain, about 2000 feet high, to the north of Rome, and distant nearly 25 miles. The modern name is Monte di Santo Silvestro, or, as it is sometimes called, San Oreste. -3. Silvae laborantes. Osborne aptly compares, from Thomson's Winter:

"low the woods

Bow their hoar head."

4. Constiterint; from consistere, to stand still; have stopped in their course, i. e. from freezing. These images of winter would never be used by a modern poet, of any place in southern Italy; and it is well known that the climate of Italy is much milder than it was in the time of Horace. Such quantities of snow as are here described are now never seen in the vicinity of Rome; in the streets of the city it seldom remains more than a day or two; and "ice in the Tiber is now as unknown a phenomenon as it would be between the tropics." (Bunsen, quoted by Dr. Arnold in Hist. c. xxiii.) The change of climate is generally ascribed to the felling of the woods and forests, and the consequent diminution of water in the low grounds in the country, and to the clearing and cultivation of the soil.-See, on this point, Dr. Arnold, as above cited; also Hume's Essay on the Populousness of Ancient Nations; and Gibbon's Decline, etc., ch. ix., and Miscell. Works, vol. iii., 9. Simul;=simulac, as soon as.· 10. Stravere. p. 246.. Have laid. 14. Quem-cunque. See n. O. i., 6, 3.-Dierum depends upon quemcunque; the expression=quemcunque diem. squares, or promenades of the city. 21. Nunc et, etc. The poet describes a sort of game of forfeits. A girl hides herself, but betrays the place of concealment by a loud laugh, and loses the bracelet or ring, which is the forfeit. Dillenburger points to the select order of the words in lines 21, 22; the three pairs of words, latentis puellae, proditor

-18. Areae. The

risus, intimo angulo, are so put, that the first words have the same place in 21, as the last in 22. -24. Male pertinaci. Male=non admodum. The resistance is only feigned. Here Osborne quotes again from Thomson's Winter:

"Snatched hasty from the sidelong maid,

On purpose guardless, or affecting sleep."

ODE X.

Mercury is addressed as the god of eloquence, and the promoter of the civilization of man (1-4), as the messenger of the gods and the inventor of the lyre (5, 6); skilled withal in craft and cunning (7-16); and the conductor of the souls of men to the abodes of the blest (17-end). It will be observed, that this conception of Mercury is for the most part the same as that of the Greek Hermes; it is only the qualities mentioned and illustrated in 7-16, that are peculiar to the Roman view of this god.-Comp. n. Sat. ii., 3, 25.

2. Recentum; i. e. of early times, rude men, whom Horace calls, in Sat. i., 3, 100, mutum et turpe pecus. Comp. also Ars. P. 391, seqq.-The regular form of this word is recentium.· 3. Decorae. Grace-giving; in allusion to the influence of the exercises of the gymnasia. The ancients attached immense importance to physical education. See Dict. Antiqq. under Gymnasium.· 6. Lyrae-parentem. According to the poets, Mercury invented the lyre, by stretching strings across the shell of a tortoise. Hence the name testudo, as in O. iii., 11, 3. The ancient lyre was open on both sides; but testudo is properly the later lyre, which had a sounding-board. See illustration of lyra on p. 68, and of testudo on p. 168.-9. Boves; the cattle of Admetus, kept, as the story was, by Apollo, which Mercury drove away and hid. See Class. Dict.14. Ilio-relicto; when Priam went, under Mercury's guidance, to the camp of the Greeks, to ransom the body of Hector. So Homer in Il. 24, 336. - 15. Thessalos ignes; i. e. the watch-fires of Achilles's troops, who were Thessalians.-Trojae is in the dative case. 17. Reponis. Lay to rest." Osborne.. 18. Levem-turbam. Press on the light throng, i. e. the disembodied spirits. Coercere is in like manner used of a shepherd driving his flocks.

ODE XI.

The poet seeks to dissuade Leuconoe from giving heed to the false arts of astrologers and diviners.

1. Tu ne quaesieris. Do not inquire. Quaesieris is used here abso