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tered: but as many of these days were 'ill-omened days' (e.g. the anniversary of Cannae) nefastus dies was gradually used for 'a day of evil omen,' a usage which would be encouraged by the tendency to connect the word with nefas rather than ne-fari. Cf. 1. 35. 35 nefasti='guilt,' and see Dict. s. v.

5. et, 'even.' crediderim, 'I can well believe.' The perfect subj. of verbs of 'believing' or 'affirming' is elegantly used to express a certain diffidence in asserting a belief or making an affirmation. The Roman writers felt that for fallible men such words as credo, affirmo, dico, were not to be used lightly, and loved to modify them in such phrases as crediderim, pace tua dixerim, hoc pro certo affirmaverim. 6. penetralia, hospitis. Both words are emphatic: it is not only murder, but the murder of a guest, and it is in the inmost part of the house, the most sacred spot in it, specially under the guardianship of the Penates, or 'Gods of the interior.' The horror is increased by the addition of the epithet nocturnus. venena Colcha. Some MSS. read Colchica, but an open vowel at the end of one stanza before a vowel at the commencement of the next, though objectionable where there is no pause, is better than the very harsh elision which Colchica involves. Colchus is analogous in form to such adjectives as Medus, Maurus, Thynus, Dardanus, Romulus, cf. 1. 15. 10 n. Poisons are called 'Colchian' because Medea came from Colchis. 11. caducum, 'destined to fall.' 12. domini, 'thy owner'; the tree must have been on Horace's Sabine farm.

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13. quid quisque horas, 'no man has ever been sufficiently guarded, hour by hour, what he personally is to avoid.' cautum est is used impersonally, it has been guarded by a man.' quid vitet is the direct question quid vitem? put as a dependent clause; quisque is added because each individual carefully selects what he himself should avoid, though the result too often is that while A carefully avoids C, and B, D, yet D turns out to be what A, and C what B should have avoided, or some unregarded force E ruins both alike. Cf. lines 15-20. 14. Bosphorum. For the dangers of the Bosphorus cf. 3. 4. 30; at its entrance were the so-called Symplegades or Clashing Rocks. What the 'Carthaginian sailor' is doing there need not trouble us: Horace merely remembers that in the days when Carthage existed its seamen were bold and venturesome, and he mentions the Bosphorus quite vaguely as a type of any dangerous strait. Moreover, he is influenced in his choice of the word by the early reputation for seamanship of those Phoenicians from whom the Poeni or Carthaginians were descended. Thynus (cf. 3. 7. 3) is a conjecture accepted by many. 16. caeca, 'hidden,' 'obscure,' i.e. not obvious. timet: the last syllable lengthened by ictus, cf. S. 1. 5. 90 n. aliunde: emphatic, cf. inprovisa, line 19.

17. miles. Obviously from the next clause, 'the Italian soldier.' sagittas... Parthi. The soldier fears 'the arrows and swift flight of the Parthian' because the flight was only a manœuvre which enabled them to discharge their arrows without danger into masses of infantry who could not follow them, cf. 1. 19. 11 n. 19. robur. A dungeon in the Mamertine prison on the Capitol, made by Servius Tullius and called after him Tullianum, was frequently spoken of simply as Robur, 'the Strong Place.' Cf. Tac. Ann. 4. 29 robur et saxum aut parricidarum poenas minitari, Lucr. 3. 1030 verbera, carnifices, robur, pix. When the triumphator began to ascend from the Forum to the Capitol the chief prisoners were led away to be executed there. The connexion with catenas here makes it unlikely that

the word is simply 'strength,' 'power.' inprovisa: emphatic := 'But it is the unforeseen violence of death that ever has and ever will,' etc.

21. Proserpinae. The first syllable short, but 1. 28. 20 long, as usually. 22. Aeacum. Aeacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthus, having been righteous rulers during life, were appointed judges of the dead. 23. discriptas, 'marked off' (dis, scribo); wrongly spelt descriptas in some MSS. Others have discretas. Elysium was separated from Tartarus; Virg. Aen. 8. 670 secretosque pios. 24. Aeoliis: both Sappho and Alcaeus, though Lesbians, used the Aeolic dialect; cf. 4. 9.12 Aeolia puella. 25. Sappho: acc. = Σαπφώ.

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26. sonantem .. dura, 'chanting ... the hardships.' Many intransitive verbs are in poetry used transitively in a secondary sense: SO here sonare = 'describe sonorously,' ludere 1.32.2; lusit 4. 9.9= 'write sportively, deproperare 2. 7. 24 'make hastily,' contremuit 2. 12.8 'shook with fear of,' 3. 24. 61; palluit 3. 27. 28 'paled for fear of,' arsit 4. 9. 13 'was hotly in love with,' sileri 4.9.31 'pass over in silence'; Ер. 1. 2. 61 poenas festinat; 1.3.10 expalluit haustus. plenius, i.e. in comparison with Sappho's plaintive feminine laments; Alcaeus had a fuller, manlier ring. 27. dura navis | dura: see Notes on Metres, p. xviii. § 4. 28. fugae, belli: cf. 1. 32. 5 n.: fugae = 'exile.' 29. sacro digna silentio, 'things worthy of reverent silence.' sacro because the bard is 'the Muses' priest,' cf. 3. 1.2-4. 32. densum umeris, 'thick-packed, shoulder to shoulder.' bibit aure, 'drinks in with the ear,' i.e. listens eagerly to; cf. Ep. 1. 2. 67 adbibe verba; Ovid, Trist. 3. 5. 14 auribus ista bibi; Virg. Aen. 4. 359 auribus hausi.

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33. carminibus stupens, 'dazed by the strains.' aures. The effect produced on Cerberus is stupor (stupens); he does not listen, for to listen he would 'prick up his ears' (cf. aures acutas 2.19. 4), but is lulled into forgetfulness of his duties as a watch-dog, 'he lets his dark ears droop.' centiceps. Hesiod, Theog. 312, speaks of Cerberus as κύνα πεντηκοντακάρηνον ; Sophocles, Trach. 1098, as τρίκρανον, and he is generally so represented; cf. 2. 19. 31. 36. Eumenidum : Εὐμενίδες, 'the kindly' or 'gracious goddesses,' i.e. the Furies, so called euphemistically from a desire to avoid ill-omened expressions. Cf. such phrases as πόντος εὔξεινος, εὐφρονή (= night), etc. They are depicted with snaky tresses, cf. Virg. G. 4. 482 inplexae crinibus angues | Eumenides. recreantur, 'find rest' or 'relief.'

37. quin et ... 'nay even ...,' cf. 3. 11. 21 n. Prometheus. 'This form of the legend, which makes Prometheus still undergo punishment in Tartarus (cf. 2. 18. 35, Epod. 17. 67), is known to no other extant author.' -Wickham. Pelopis parens: Tantalus. 38. laborum decipitur, 'are cheated of their toils.' The gen. depends on the sense of 'forgetfulness' or 'freedom'contained in decipitur; the song makes them forgetful of their agonies. Good MSS. give laborem, an acc. of respect, which is less elegant. Prometheus et Pelopis parens. decipitur. The verb is singular in accordance with Horace's favourite practice of putting a singular verb after two nominatives, if the last one be singular. Cf. 2. 1. 28, 2. 11. 2 Cantaber et Scythes cogitet, 3. 11. 22 Ixion Tityosque risit, 2. 18. 26 pellitur et uxor et vir, 3. 2.7 matrona et virgo suspiret, 4.5.22 mos et lex edomuit ; but see 3. 16. 7 n. 39. Orion. The great hunter still follows the same pursuit in the under world.

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ODE XIV

'Alas, Postumus, life is fast slipping away: from death neither piety nor prayers nor costly hecatombs can win a respite; even the strongest and most daring of the sons of earth the river of death imprisons, yes, the river we must all cross, rich and poor alike: thither, for all our care and caution, we must all wend our way, quitting all that we hold most dear, leaving to a reckless heir the wealth of which we called ourselves the owners.'

1. Postume, Postume. Horace is very fond of this repetition of a word: its use is to give emphasis, reduplication being the earliest and most natural method of expressing intensity of feeling. The peculiar emphasis must be determined by the context in each case. Here the object is to intensify the idea of sadness; so too 3. 3. 18 Ilion, Ilion; 4. 4. 70 occidit, occidit. Cf. also such expressions as 'Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, all is vanity,' and for the repetition of a proper name, Matt. xxiii. 37 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets'; Luke x. 41 'Martha, Martha.' On the other hand cf. 2. 17. 10 ibimus, ibimus (strong resolution), 1. 13. 1 Telephi Telephi (fondness), 1. 35. 15 ad arma ad arma, 4. 2. 49 io Triumphe .. io Triumphe, 4. 13. 1 audivere Di... Di audivere (exultation), 4. 13. 10 te quia te quia (derision). 2. labuntur. This word, which is frequently used either of the motion of a stream (Ep. 1. 2. 43) or of the heavenly bodies (labentia signa Lucr. 1.2; Virg. G. 1. 6), expresses motion which, without being hurried, is unceasing (ohne Hast doch ohne Rast), and is constantly applied to the silent flight of time. Cf. Ov. Fast. 6. 771 Tempora labuntur tacitisque senescimus annis, and see Dict. s. v. 3. rugis senectae morti: note the advance. 4. indomitae, 'unconquerable'; cf. 1. 24.7 n.; Hom. Il. 9. 158 ̓Αίδης ἀδάμαστος.

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5. non...'no, not if with three hecatombs of bulls each day that passes you essay to appease tearless Pluto...' Most MSS. read tricenis, but this from triginta would have the first syllable long. 6. inlacrimabilem, 'who never weeps,' i.e. can never be moved to pity; cf. 1. 3. 22 n. 8. Geryonen. A Spanish giant with three bodies, whose oxen were carried off by Hercules. Tityon: Τιτύον; cf. 3. 4.77; 4.6.2. He was a son of Earth, and insulted Latona. Geryon and Tityos are selected as symbols of enormous strength subdued by death notwithstanding. tristi compescit unda, 'confines with melancholy stream'; cf. 2. 20.8 nec Stygia cohibebor unda. With its slow and weary windings nine times interposed the Styx formed the boundary of Tartarus; cf. Virg. G. 4. 478 tardaque palus inamabilis unda | alligat et noviens Styx interfusa coercet; Aen. 6. 438.

9. scilicet, from scire licet = 'surely,' 'doubtless,' is frequently used, as here, where an incontrovertible statement is repeated with fresh emphasis and particularity; 'with melancholy stream, yes, the stream that all must traverse-...' Cf. 1.37.30. 10. quicumque ... vescimur, 'whoever feed on the bounty of earth,' a reproduction of Hom. Il. 6. 142 βροτῶν οἱ ἀρούρης καρπὸν ἔδουσιν. 11. sive reges | sive : Notes on Metres p. xviii. § 4. reges, 'kings,' or possibly 'rich men'; cf. 1. 4. 14. 12. coloni (from colo), 'husbandmen.' 13. carebimus, 'we shall keep free from.' 14. fractis fluctibus, 'the breakers.' Note the sound of these two lines. 15. per autumnos Austrum. Autumn is the most unhealthy part of the year in Italy, owing partly to the prevalence of the Sirocco wind

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(Auster), that blows from Africa and the Sahara; cf. S. 2. 6. 18. 16. corporibus: governed partly by nocentem, partly by metuemus.

17. ater: a general epithet of things infernal; cf. atras aures 2. 13. 34. flumine languido: cf. palus used of the Styx by Virg. 1. c. 18. Cocytos = κωκυτός, 'wailing'; cf. Milton, P. L. 2. 579 'Cocytus named of lamentation loud.' Danai genus. For the daughters of Danaus, see Class. Dict. and 3. 11. 23 to end. 19. damnatus longi laboris. After verbs of condemning, acquitting, etc., a gen. of the charge (e.g. damnatus furti) is regular; but here longi laboris is not the charge but the sentence, 'condemned to endless toil.' So Livy has damnatus voti, 'condemned to pay the thing vowed'; Cic. Verr. 2. 3. 11 damnare octupli: Wickham considers it a gen. of estimation or valuing. longi: 2.16. 30 n. 20. Sisyphus: cf. Epod. 17. 68.

21. linquenda. By its pointed position in strong contrast with visendus at the commencement of the preceding stanza. placens: a perfect epithet. 23. invisas, 'hateful,' not because the cypress itself is ugly but as being sacred to Pluto, and constantly associated with death: it is called funebris Epod. 5. 18, feralis Virg. Aen. 6. 216. 24. brevem dominum, 'their short-lived lord. For brevem, cf. 2. 3. 13 breves flores rosae, and for a similar satire on the application of such terms as 'ownership' to men who are at best but tenants with short leases cf. Ep. 2.2.170-180. brevis dominus is in fact a sort of oxymoron: legally dominus is the possessor in perpetuity, as opposed to one who is only a tenant or holder under a lease; brevis dominus, 'an owner for a short time,' is therefore strictly a contradiction in terms.

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25. Caecuba, sc. vina, from a district in Latium near Fundi. dignior, i.e. because he uses and enjoys it, the epithet being added with 'a certain bitterness' (Wickham). Cf. Eccl. xi. 9 'Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.' centum: any indefinite number; cf. 2.16.33; 3.8.13. 27. superbo: hypallage, cf. 3. 1.42 p.: the epithet is transferred from the drinker to the wine: 'he will proudly or in his pride stain the pavement.' At the same time superbus may be applied to the wine itself, as we speak of a 'generous' wine. The phrase tinguet pavimentum implies that the banquet was riotous and reckless, much wine being spilt. 28. pontificum potiore cenis, 'superior to that of priestly banquets': for the use of comparatio compendiaria, see 2. 6. 14. The pontifices (see Dict. of Ant.) formed one of the collegia or 'guilds' at Rome, and, as such bodies often do, owed their chief reputation to the splendour of their banquets; cf. 1. 37. 2 Saliaribus dapibus.

ODE XV

'Soon little land will be left for agriculture, and huge villas with their fishponds, shrubberies, and gardens will take the place of vineyards and oliveyards. Far different were the principles of our ancestors, of Romulus and rugged Cato; in their days individuals were poor, the commonwealth rich, private dwellings modest, the public dwellings and temples alone magnificent.'

The Ode was probably written at the request of Augustus, who about 28 в.с. having accepted the functions of the censorship, made strenuous endeavours by legislative enactments to restore the rapidly fading virtues of early Rome (Merivale, c. 33), and naturally applied to Horace, as to a sort of Poet Laureate, in the hope that his verses might excite popular enthusiasm for his

measures.

In the present case however Horace found the theme uncongenial, the Ode bearing in its stiffness and constraint every mark of being 'made to order' (invita Minerva). On the other hand Odes 1-6 of Book 3 are brilliant examples of what he could do under similar circumstances.

1. iam... relinquent. The decline of the number of small holdings in Italy, and the almost total extinction of the yeoman class, which had formed the strength of the Roman legions, was at this time a most difficult political problem. Among the causes which brought it about are (1) the destruction of property and death or ruin of thousands of small proprietors during a century of civil war, (2) the increasing number of wealthy capitalists at Rome who purchased large estates which they turned into parks, preserves, pastures and the like, (3) the vast increase in the number of slaves, acquired by foreign conquest, which made it possible to work such vast estates, (4) the fact that owing to large imports of agricultural produce from all quarters of the world, much land in Italy could not be cultivated so as to leave a margin of profit. regiae moles, 'princely piles.' Roman 'villas' seem to have covered an incredible space of ground; cf. Pliny's account of his own two, Ep. 2. 17, and 5. 6; Tac. Ann. 3. 53 villarum infinita spatia. 3. Lucrino lacu. The Lucrine lake close to Baiae is selected as the best known instance of a large lake. 4. stagna, 'ponds,' i.e. fishponds, piscinae. The Roman epicures made a special study of fish; the literature of the empire teems with allusions to the subject; in Cicero's time even men of talent and position such as Crassus, Hortensius and Lucullus devoted their retirement to the rearing of mullet, etc.; cf. Cic. ad Att. 1. 19; 2.1. platanus caelebs, 'the unwedded plane.' caelebs: 4.5.30 n. platanus: 2.11. 13 n.

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5. evincet, 'will drive out,' cf. 4. 5. 22 edomuit. violaria narium: Horace selects the 'violet,' 'myrtle,' etc., because owing to their scent and fragrance they were used at banquets; they are typical of luxury as contrasted with usefulness. 6. copia narium: lit. 'wealth of the nostrils,' a bold expression = 'abundance of sweet-scented plants.' 8. domino priori. Ethic dative. 9. spissa ramis: because the laurel can be cut into any shape and when so cut grows very thick and compact. 10. ictus, 'darts,' i.e. of the sun's rays; the particular meaning to be given to the word is determined by the addition of fervidos. non ita, 'not so' = 'far differently'; litotes. 11. praescriptum, sc. est, 'was it ordained.' intonsi Catonis auspiciis, 'by the example of unshaven Cato.' It was the special duty of a general to take 'the auspices,' and the army was said to fight under his 'auspices'; hence auspicia = 'leading,' 'example.' Cato here is not the younger Cato (as 2. 1. 24), but Cato the Censor who died B.с. 149, after a long life spent in trying to stem the tendencies of the age. is called intonsus because as an outward sign of his conservative views he continued to wear a beard after the old Roman fashion, cf. 1. 12. 42; Juv. 4. 103 barbato regi 'a primitive monarch'; 5. 30 capillato consule 'an ancient consul.' Barbers were introduced at Rome в.с. 300.

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13. census, 'income." It was the duty of the censors to 'assess' (censere) the value of each citizen's property, partly with a view to taxation, partly that he might be registered in the proper 'class' for voting in the comitia centuriata. Hence census='wealth,' 'income.' 14. commune: a rare use of the neut. adj. =τὸ κοινόν ‘the public treasury.' decempedis: the regular instrument used by agrimensores in measuring land. Here the size of the rule suggests the size of the portico which required it, but

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