THE

WORKS

OF

HORACE,

Tranflated Literally into

ENGLISH PROSE;

For the USE of those who are defirous of acquiring
or recovering a competent Knowledge of the
LATIN LANGUAGE.

By C. SMART, A. M.
Of PEMBROKE-COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

The THIRD EDITION.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I'

LONDON,

Printed for CARNAN and NEWBERY, at N° 65.
in St. Paul's Church-Yard.

MDCCLXX.

PREFACE.

HE following verfion being the work
of a man who
has made poetry, per-

haps, too much the business of his life, fome account of his motives for undertaking it may feem neceffary. In the first place, then, there was reafon to believe that a thing of this kind, properly executed, would be very useful to those who are defirous of acquiring or recovering a competent knowledge of the Latin tongue. Secondly, the extraordinary fuccefs which attempts of this kind have met with, though by men who manifeftly did not understand the author any otherwise than through a French medium, and tho' printed in large volumes, and fold at a proportionable price, gave fufficient reafon for the tranflator to hope, that his labour would not be in vain; I fay labour, for genius, if he had VOL. I. any

a

TH

any pretenfions to it, could not have been exerted in the work before us.

The purchafer will herein find, that cheapness and convenience have been confulted for his fervice; not to mention the elegance of the paper and print, which, perhaps, may vie with any thing extant.

Though every line is conftrued almost verbatim, yet absolute baldness has been, as much as poffible, avoided.

The learned reader need not be informed that this verfion was not intended for him; though fome of the most eminent of that character have condefcended to examine the manufcript, and given it the fanction of their approbation.

With regard to the Latin text, the best editions have been diligently confulted; and it is prefumed the judicious will find in the following fheets fome emendations and improvements, which have escaped former editors. What errors there may be, either of the prefs or otherwife, will be found, perhaps,

perhaps, of fuch a nature, and fo feldom to occur, that they may be rather of service, by giving the young student some opportunities of fhewing his fagacity in the dif covery of them.

I shall take leave of my reader in the words of an old poet, which are applicable enough to this undertaking:

Dumos inter et afpera
Scrupofis fequimur vadis
Fronte exile negotium
Et dignum pueris putes:
Aggreffis labor arduus
Nec tractabile pondus eft.
Par exanimis æftus eft.
Ceu fublimia differas
Par eft judicii mora
Pompæ gloria vilis eft.

TERENT. MAURUS.

N. B. This work will be particularly useful
to fuch Foreign Gentlemen as are already
acquainted with the Latin, and are de-
firous of being mafters of the English
tongue.
6

Lecto