17. dissimulat, 'endeavours to hide.' 19. noscent, 'shall come to know'; nosco is inceptive like γιγνώσκω. peritus: proleptic, not as Orelli takes it, 'me the Spaniard shall study when he becomes learned,' but, as its position between me and discet shows, 'by the study of my writings shall the Spaniard become learned.' Considering, however, that during the next century Spain produced many great writers, e.g. the two Senecas, Lucan, Martial, Columella, Quintilian, perhaps even at this time the Spaniards were noted for literary zeal and Horace uses the adj. with strict accuracy. 20. Rhodanique potor: a periphrasis for 'dwellers by the Rhone.' Cf. 3. 10. 1 Tanain bibere, 4. 15. 21 qui Danuvium bibunt; Hom. II. 2. 825 πίνοντες ὕδωρ μέλαν Αἰσήποιο. 21. inani: line 24 supervacuos: because Horace will still survive, i.e. his fame will. How there could be a funus at all it is difficult to see, as his body had been changed into that of a swan at the beginning of the Ode: here however he speaks as if his spirit only had taken flight, leaving its tenement of clay behind, over which his friends will perform funeral rites, 'empty' rites however, because the real Horace will be still alive and immortal. Attempts to explain the discrepancy are idle: conventional poetry and conventional painting evade the ordinary rules of criticism and common sense, sometimes with success, usually without.

BOOK III

ODE I

THE first six Odes of this Book are remarkable for their sustained dignity of style and general unity of subject. They are all in the Alcaic metre and of considerable length, and all deal with subjects of public and political interest. It is probable that their composition was at any rate suggested by Augustus, whose object it was to appeal in support of his political system not merely to the interests but to the feelings of his subjects (see Merivale, c. 41). Lines 1-4 of Ode I are a stately exordium to the whole six Odes rather than a particular introduction to the first; indeed, as the introduction to a single Ode they would be exaggerated and unnatural.

'Kings rule over their subjects, but are in their turn the subjects of almighty Jupiter; one man may be wealthier, nobler, more famous than another, but all alike are the slaves of necessity. Then cease to be anxious: where anxiety exists, not all the luxuries of wealth can procure that sound sleep the poor often enjoy. To want but little is the great secret; the owner of huge estates is harassed by a hundred anxieties about them, the builder of vast villas by the sea often vainly flies from care. If this be so, why should I wish to change my modest home for wealth which is only a burden?'

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1. odi . arceo, 'I abhor the unhallowed throng and hold it aloof.' As before the celebration of the mysteries or any solemn rites the priests bade the uninitiated or unholy to depart (cf. Virg. Aen. 6. 258 procul o, procul este, profani), so here the poet, as the priest of the Muses, bids all who have never worshipped at their shrine to depart, while he chants his hymns (carmina) in their honour. profanus, 'outside the shrine,' is used of those who were not allowed to enter it. So in the Temple at Jerusalem none but Jews could pass beyond the outer court, 'the court of the Gentiles'; the Gentiles were profani. 2. favete linguis, εὐφημεῖτε. As ill-omened words vitiated any sacred rite, it was customary for the priest before commencing to ask the people 'to be favourable with their lips' (ore or linguis favere), i.e. to utter none but favourable words, and as the safest way of doing so was to be silent, the phrase is often = 'be silent.' Cf. 3.14.11; Prop. 4. 6. 1 sacra facit vates, sint ora faventia sacris; Virg. Aen. 5. 71 ore favete omnes. non prius audita : 2. 20. 1 n. 3. Musarum sacerdos: poets are 'priests of the Muses' as being their interpreters to men, and specially consecrated to their service. Cf. Theoc. 16. 29 Μουσάων ἱεροὺς ὑποφήτας, 'sacred interpreters of the Muses.' 4. virginibus puerisque: because the young are especially susceptible to the influence of poetry, and also because it is to them that those who wish to improve the character of a nation must chiefly look.

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5. in proprios greges. Nauck reasonably finds 'something objectionable' in this phrase, remarking that, though it is a kindly idea to call a king 'shepherd of the people' (Homer's ποιμένα λαῶν), it is not the same thing to call the people 'sheep of the king.' This is espechly so when proprios which implies absolute ownership (2. 2.22 n.) is added. Plüss solves the difficulty by observing that to a Roman rex='an Oriental despot,' and that the sense is, 'the despot to whom his subjects are but herds of slaves is none the less himself ...' In English the harshness of the phrase does not appear, owing to Scriptural associations connected with the words 'flock' and 'sheep,' e.g. 'fear not, little flock,' 'feed my sheep.'

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reges in ipsos For the antithesis cf. the prayers for the Queen in the Prayer-Book, and especially such phrases as 'thy chosen servant Victoria, our Queen and Governor, that she (knowing whose minister she is) 8. cuncta... 'that moves the world with his frown.' The phrase is from Hom. II. 1. 528 ἢ καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπ ̓ ὀφρύσι νεῦσε Κρονίων, | ἐλέλιξεν Ὄλυμπον ; cf. Virg. Aen. 9. 106 nutu tremefecit Olympum, and the connexion between nutus and numen.

μέγαν δ ̓

latius,

9. est ut, 'it is possible that,' 'it may be that'; cf. ἔστιν ὅπως. 'more widely,' i.e. over a wider extent of ground. ordinet arbusta sulcis, 'arranges his trees (in rows) in the furrows.' arbusta is the technical word for the trees upon which vines were trained (Virg. G. 2. 416), and ordines for the rows in which they were planted. Cf. Virg. G. 2. 276. 10. hic

descendat: dependent on est ut. hic='another,' and, in line 12, 'a third.' 11. in Campum, i.e. in Campum Martium, which, as the best known 'Field' at Rome, was constantly spoken of without any distinctive adj. descendere is used partly because most men of position lived on the hills, and hence it was necessary descendere in Forum, in Campит (v. Dict.), partly because the word is constantly used of combatants, e.g. descendere in aciem, in proelium, etc. 12. moribus ... meliorque fama. These words are opposed to generosior; one candidate has high birth, another high character. For position of que cf. 2. 19. 28 n.

14. aequa, 'impartial.' Necessitas: ̓Ανάγκη, the mysterious power who, more especially among the Greeks, is always described as ruling even over the gods. Cf. the picture of her 1. 35. 17-20. 16. movet, 'shakes,' cf. 2. 3. 26 n. 17. destrictus ensis... See Class. Dict. s.v. Damocles. cui=ei cui, or perhaps ei cuius, 'for him, over whose neck...' 18. Siculae dapes. The epithet is chosen partly because the feast of Damocles

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took place at Syracuse, partly because Syracusan luxury was noted. Plato, Rep. 404 D, uses Συρακοσία τράπεζα as an almost proverbial expression. 19. saporem, 'flavour'; the word is identical with 'savour.'

21. somnus. Notice the effect of the repetition of the word, and cf. with it that produced in Macbeth, II. ii. 35 'Methought I heard a voice cry, "Sleep no more ! | Macbeth does murder sleep." - The innocent sleep, | Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care...' agrestium virorum : after domos. 24. non, sc. fastidit. Temperat. plural, cf. τείχη. 27. saevus inpetus, 'the fierce onset of setting Arcturus.' When Arcturus ( ̓Αρκτούρος, the Bear Ward) sets at the end of October, the sea is tempestuous (tumultuosum) and merchant harassed (sollicitat) about his ships. orientis Haedi, i.e. early in October.

33. contracta

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non, sc. sollicitant desiderantem quod satis est. verberatae, 'lashed.' 50. mendax, 'lying,' because the crops which promised well turn out badly; cf. 3. 16. 30 segetis certa fides meae; Epod. 16. 45; Ep. 1. 7. 87 spem mentita seges. arbore .: the construction is arbore culpante nunc aquas, nunc sidera torrentia agros, nunc arbore, i.e. the tree par excellence, the olive. aquas, 'rains.' 32. sidera: especially the Dogstar. Cf. 3. 24. 3 and 2. 18.20. Horace refers to the practice of building villas projecting into the sea: the expression is of course hyperbolical. sentiunt: 2.7.10 n. 34. molibus, 'masses of stone' for foundations. frequens redemptor cum famulis, 'the contractor with crowds of workmen'; cf. Ter. Andria 1. 1. 81 cum illis qui amabant Chrysidem una aderat frequens; Plut. Them. 12 βασιλεὺς (Xerxes) μετὰ τοῦ πεζοῦ στρατοῦ καταβὰς ἐπὶ τὴν θάλατταν ἄθρους ; Soph. Oed. R. 750 ἐχώρει βαιός. Kiessling wrongly gives frequens = 'unceasingly.' caementa: from caedo, 'chippings,' 'rubble,' flung in (demitto) to fill up the spaces between the solid masonry. 36. terrae fastidiosus, 'sick and weary of the land.' fastidium expresses the feeling of dissatisfaction and discontent that inevitably results from indulgence in luxury; cf. 3. 29.9.

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35.

37. Minae, i.e. threatening forebodings of coming harm. 39. aerata triremi, 'the brazen-beaked trireme.' The vessel is here clearly a private one (cf. priva triremis, Ep. 1. 1. 93), used for purposes of pleasure or convenience, not a war-vessel. The words triremi and equitem are selected not merely because 'yachts' and 'horses' may be thought of as able to distance care by their speed, but also because they are appanages of wealth and luxury. Cf. 2. 16. 21. 41. Phrygius lapis: a marble from Synnada in Phrygia, celebrated for its bright blood-red spots, and much used for columns. 42. purpurarum sidere clarior usus, 'the wearing of purples (i.e. purple robes, cf. 2. 18. 7) more lustrous than the stars.' In strict grammar the adj. clarior ought to agree with purpurarum, but in poetry the transference or exchange (hypallage) of the adj. from one substantive to another in a closely connected expression is not uncommon. Cf. Virg. Aen. 8. 526 Tyrrhenusque tubae clangor =Tyrrhenae tubae clangor, and 2. 14. 27 superbo mero tinguet = superbus mero tinguet, see too 1. 12. 34 superbos Tarquini fasces, 1. 15. 33 iracunda classis Achillei, 1. 31. 9 Calena falce, 1. 37. 7 dementes ruinas, 3. 3. 61 Troiae renascens fortuna, 3. 21. 19 iratos regum apices, 3. 30. 2 regalis situs pyramidum, 4.7.21 splendida arbitria. Purple is spoken of as 'lustrous' because the true Tyrian dye possessed a peculiar sheen and varied in colour according to the light in which it was seen, cf. 3. 15. 15 n.

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44. Achaemeniumque costum. For Achaemenes as a type of wealth cf. 2. 12. 21 n. The adj. here conveys the idea that the perfume was of the rarest and most costly. 45. cur atrium, 'why should I rear a hall with portals that arouse envy and towering high in modern fashion?' The atrium or 'hall' was among the Romans-as in many old English mansions -the most important room in the house: in it were displayed the imagines, and it was used for the reception of clients and visitors; it was therefore natural to spend large sums on its decoration. invidendis: cf. 2. 10.7 invidenda aula. postibus: so Virg. G. 2. 463, in a passage which Horace clearly has in mind, describes how the clients, as they pour forth from a great man's levée, varios inhiant pulchra testudine postes. novo ritu suggests an antithesis with the simplicity of early Rome. Cf. 2. 15.14-20. 47. permutem, 'take in exchange.' 48. divitias operosiores, 'the greater burden of wealth.'

On true manliness.

ODE II

'Let the boy, who means to be a man, lead a simple and hardy life as the best training for a soldier's career; in the field let the foeman fear him, and let his courage be inspired by the thought that death is glorious indeed when encountered in his country's cause: the true man is independent of the honours the mob can give or withhold, he treads a path of his own, heaven and immortality are his reward, for rewarded his uprightness and true reverence shall surely be, as certainly as profanity and guilt shall be punished.'

1. amice pati, 'to endure gladly.' Not merely = 'to bear contentedly' (lente ferre, ἀγαπητῶς φέρειν) but almost an instance of oxymoron; not only should the young Roman 'endure poverty,' but such 'endurance' should be 'welcome as a friend' to him, seeing that in it he will find the best training for life. Observe the emphatic alliteration in this line, and in 13, 16, 32. pauperiem: not 'poverty' but 'humble circumstances,' e.g. the condition of a yeoman farmer, from which class the best soldiers had always come, cf. 1. 12. 42; 3. 16. 37 n. 2. robustus acri militia, 'hardened in war's sharp school.' puer: cf. virum line 14, iuventae 15, virtus 17, virtus 21. condiscat: stronger than discat; so 1. 37. 28 combiberet = 'drink deeply,' 4. 2. 33 concines, stronger than canes.

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5. sub divo, 'beneath the open sky,' cf. 1. 1. 25 n. and 2. 3. 23 n. trepidis in rebus, 'amid deeds of hazard'; found also Livy 4. 17; 34. 11. 6. illum 'him (i.e. such a youth as I have described) from the foeman's walls let the wife of a warring emperor behold and her full-grown daughter sighing, alas! for fear lest...' illum is thrown forward for emphasis, and though matrona and virgo both form the nom. to suspiret (2. 13. 38 n.), yet the clause eheu suspiret expresses only the feelings of the 'maiden. 9. eheu: dramatic and vivid after suspiret. rudis agminum sponsus, 'her betrothed unskilled in combats.' rudis takes a gen. of ignorance, cf. 1. 15. 24 n. 10. lacessat: constantly used of recklessly 'provoking' a dangerous enemy, who might easily have been avoided. asperum tactu, 'dangerous to touch.' The supine is here used more fully to define the meaning of the adjective, in place of Horace's favourite infinitive (1. 3. 25 n.) 12. per medias caedes, 'through the thickest of the carnage.'

for his country dies, | Since death pursues the coward as he flies; | The youth in vain would fly from fate's attack, | With trembling knees and terror at his back.' mori: mors. For this method of joining clauses, cf. 1. 2. 4 n. Cf. Tyrtaeus, fr. 10 τεθνάμεναι γὰρ καλὸν ἐνὶ προμάχοισι πεσόντα | ἄνδρ ̓ ἀγαθόν, περὶ ἡ πατρίδι μαρνάμενον.

17. virtus, from vir, 'manliness,' 'virtue,' is here distinct from 'courage' which has already been dealt with 1-16: it is that manly independence and determination which acts up to the principle 'That, because right is right, to follow right | Were wisdom in the scorn of consequence.' Such a character may well be described as 'ignorant of disgraceful defeat,' 'bright with unsullied dignities,' and independent of the shifting 'breeze of popular favour'; at the same time Horace is influenced in his description by a recollection of the well-known Stoic paradox that the perfectly virtuous man, however low his position in life, is nevertheless 'rich, 'noble,' and 'king of kings.' Cf. 4. 9.39; S. 1. 3. 136; Ep. 1. 1. 107. repulsae sordidae: cf. Ep. 1. 1. 43. 18. honoribus: honor is frequently used for 'an office of dignity,' 'a magistracy,' cf. 1. 1. 8 n. 19. secures. See Dict. Ant. s.v. fasces, and cf. C. S. 54 n. 20. arbitrio, 'at the decision,' i.e. in obedience to the decision. The expression popularis aurae explains itself; cf. Virg. Aen. 6. 816 gaudens popularibus auris; Cic. pro Clu. 47 ventus popularis.

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21. virtus.. 'virtue opening the gate of heaven for those who have not deserved to die essays her course along forbidden paths...' inmeritis mori, i.e. those who like Pollux, Hercules and Quirinus (see next Ode, lines 915) have by the nobility of their lives deserved to escape the common doom of death, and have won for themselves an immortality of renown. 22. caelum. Cf. Virg. Aen. 6. 130 quos ardens evexit ad aethera virtus. negata via. Although to mortals immortality is forbidden, virtue does notwithstanding discover the way which leads to it. The expression recalls Job xxviii. 7 'There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen.' 23. udam humum, 'the damp ground,' i.e., apart from metaphor, the ordinary mean and unworthy objects of human pursuit.

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25. est et The difficult connexion between these stanzas and the preceding ones is indicated in the summary (after Plüss). Opposed to uprightness (virtus) and true reverence for the mysteries of religion (fidele silentium), are profanity (cf. vulgarit) and crime (incesto, scelestum): the reward of the one is as sure as the punishment of the other. On the other hand Friedrich (Phil. Unt. 154), following Mommsen, considers that Horace is in this Ode describing the qualities required (1) in military (virtus) and (2) in civil service (fidele silentium) under the empire; and this line is a fragment of Simonides ἐστὶ καὶ σιγῆς ἀκίνδυνον γέρας which we know (Plut. Apophth. Aug. 7) to have been quoted by Augustus. 26. vetabo, 'I will forbid one who has made public the rites of mystic Ceres to be beneath the same roof-tree or to launch his bark with me.' Cereris sacrum. See Dict. Ant. s.v. Eleusinia. 28. sit: dependent on vetabo; cf. volo fiat, fac sis, etc.

29. solvat. Used of undoing the cable which fastened a ship to the shore. For the danger of embarking with guilty men cf. Aesch. S. c. Theb. 602 ἢ γὰρ συνεισβὰς πλοῖον εὐσεβὴς ἀνὴρ | ναύταισι θερμοῖς καὶ πανουργίᾳ τινὶ | ὄλωλεν ἀνδρῶν σὺν θεοπτύστῳ γένει ; Genesis xviii. 23-33 'Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?' Diespiter: an archaic word used to give an impression of solemnity, cf. 1. 34. 5 n. For derivation cf. 1. 1. 25 n. saepe raro: notice the emphatic position and antithesis of these words.

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