ARGUMENT. —I have built myself a monument which storms shall not destroy, nor Time himself. I shall not die, but live in freshness of fame so long as the world endures.

It will be said, on the banks of my native river, that I, a humble man made great, was the first to fit the Grecian strain to the lyre of Italy.

Put on the bay that thou hast earned, my Muse.

2. situ] This word is nowhere else used in this sense. It here signifies the building, and not the site.

3. impotens] This word is equivalent to 'impotens sui,' 'violent,' ' intemperate. See Epod. xvi. 62.

7. Libitinam:] See S. ii. 6. 19, n.

usque] In this sense of continually,' 'usque' only occurs in poetry, and is always joined to a verb. What follows means while the Pontifex Maximus shall, on the Ides of every month, go up to the Capitol to offer sacrifice, the Vestal virgins walking silently in the procession,' as they did, and the boys at the same time sang hymns. With a Roman this was equivalent to saying 'for ever.'

10. Dicar qua violens obstrepit Aufidus] See Introduction and C. iv. 9. 2, n. "Violens' is not a common form of 'violentus.' It occurs again Epp. i. 10. 37, and in Persius (Sat. v. 171), "nunc ferus et violens." 'Obstrepere' is used absolutely again, Epod. ii. 27.

11. Et qua pauper aquae] Pauper' takes a genitive in S. i. 1. 79; ii. 3. 142. As to Daunus, see C. i. 22 14, n. Apulia was badly watered. Horace calls it elsewhere Siticulosa' (Epod. iii. 16, n).

12. Regnavit] This word, though it is used in the passive voice (see last Ode, v. 27), here only has a noun after it. Horace gives it the genitive, in imitation of apxew. He wrote with his mind full of Greek constructions and words, and took the liberty of using them very freely.

ex humili potens,] Horace uses the expression potentium vatum' in the eighth Ode of the next book (v. 26). He considered Alcæus and Sappho as his chief models in lyric poetry, which he sums up in the formula Acolium carmen' here and in C. iv. 3. 12. Delphica lauro' is the same as 'laurea Apollinari' in the next book (C. iv. 2. 9).

ODES.-BOOK IV.

ODE I.

It is said that Augustus wished Horace to publish another book of Odes, in order that those he had written in honor of Drusus and Tiberius (4, 14) might appear in it. If so, he collected a few written since, and some perhaps before, the publication of the three books, among which was this. He tells us (v. 6) that he was about fifty, which age he attained 10th December, B. C. 15. He professes to deprecate the attacks of Love, now that he is old. The Ode is not unlike one he wrote when he was much younger (i. 19), and it is probable both are imitations from the Greek.

ARGUMENT.

Art thou at war with me again, Venus? Spare me, for I am old. Go to the young. Go to Paullus, for he is noble, handsome, clever.

Give him the victory, and he will give thee in return a marble statue in a shrine of citron, with incense, music, and dancing, in his home by the Alban lake. I have no longer a heart for love and wine, and yet, Ligurinus, why do I weep and dream of thee?

2. Rursus bella moves?] See Introduction.

3. Non sum qualis eram] Epp. i. 1. 4. He here calls Cinara good, because she is dead; elsewhere he calls her rapax' (Epp. i. 14. 33). It seems likely that this name represents a real person, whether she appears under another name elsewhere or not, and that Horace had an affection for her. • In the thirteenth Ode of this book (v. 22) her death is mentioned with feeling, and there is a reality in the references to her in all the places where she is alluded to, which cannot be connected with fiction. She was associated, in all probability with Horace's early days. Kvvápa signifies, some say, a wild rose-thorn (kuvóoßaros); Kivápa, an artichoke.

5. Mater saeva Cupidinum] Repeated from i. 19. 1. Horace here does not copy himself, I believe, but some Greek original. 'Flectere' is a metaphor taken from the breaking in of a horse.

6. lustra] C. ii. 15. 13, n.

See Introduction.

9. in domum] More seasonably shalt thou keep thy revels in the house of Paullus Maximus, drawn by thy beautiful swans.' So Livy (xl. 7), Quin comissatum ad fratrem imus." Here 'comissabere' is equivalent to 'comissatum ibis,' and therefore the reading in domum' is correct. Koμáodw ποτὶ τὴν ̓Αμαρύλλιδα is an expression of Theocritus just like this (iii. 1). Κώμῳ χρέεσθαι ἐς ἀλλήλους occurs in Herodotus (i. 21). Purpureis, (which signifies beauty without reference to color) savors of the Greek. Torrere jecur' is like Theocritus's onтeúμevos é§ 'Appodíτns (vii. 55). 14. sollicitis non tacitus reis] Compare C. ii. 1. 13, where he calls Pollio "Insigne moestis praesidium reis."

15. centum] This is a large definite number for an indefinite.

16. Late signa feret] The idea corresponds to "militavi non sine gloria" (iii. 26. 2).

17. Et quandoque] i. e. 'whenever, with thine aid, his smiles shall beat the rich presents of his rival, he shall set thee up in marble, under a citron roof, by the shore of the Alban lakes,' of which there were two close together, the Albanus (Albano) and Nemorensis (Nemi), and on one of these it appears Fabius had a house. As to Berecyntiæ, compare C. iii. 19. 18. rae' and 'tibiae ' are in the dative case after 'mixtis.'

Ly

22. Duces thura,] 'Ducere' is used for drinking, and here for inhaling. It has a great variety of meanings, which the context will generally explain. 28. ter quatient humum.] See C. iii. 18. 16. On the first few days of March, during the festival of Mars, the Salii, his priests, went in procession through the city singing and dancing, whence they are said to have derived their name. "Jam dederat Saliis (a saltu nomina ducunt)" (Ovid, F. iii. 387). The practice, according to Livy, was instituted by Numa (i. 20), “per urbem ire canentes carmina cum tripudiis sollennique saltatione jussi sunt." See Epp. ii. 1. 86.

30. spes animi] the fond trust of mutual love.'

35. The last syllable in this line is cut off.

40. per aquas,] C. i. 8. 8. He dreams he sees him swimming in the

Tiber.

ODE II.

IULUS ANTONIUS was son of M. Antonius the triumvir. He was a man

of letters and a poet In B. C. 17 the Sigambri, with two other German tribes, crossed the Rhine and laid waste part of the Roman territory in Gaul. They defeated the legate Lollius, and this disaster was sufficient to induce Augustus to go in person to Gaul, which he did, and at his approach the Germans withdrew into their own territories, and, giving hostages, obtained peace. The defeat of Lollius had caused great consternation at Rome, and the news of the barbarians' subjection was hailed with proportionate joy. Augustus did not return for two years to Rome, having meanwhile restored order in Germany, Gaul, and Spain; but it is probable this Ode was written in the expectation of his return, and while the news respecting the Sigambri was still fresh, that is to say, about the end of B. c. 16. Augustus's return to Rome was expected long before it took place (see C. 5 of this book). The general impression derived from the Ode is that Antonius had pressed Horace to write a poem in honor of Augustus's victory in the style of Pindar's enivikia, and that he very wisely declined. At the same time he pays Antonius the compliment of saying that he could celebrate Augustus's victory better than himself.

ARGUMENT. Whoso would rival Pindar must expect the fate of Icarus. His numbers roll like a swollen river. His is the bay, whether he tune the dithyramb or sing of gods and heroes, of victors or of women bereaved. The swan of Dirce soars to the clouds. I am but as a bee, sipping the flowers of Tibur.

Thou, Antonius, shalt sing of the triumphs of Cæsar, greatest and best, and of the holiday rejoicings that hail his return: and I will add my small voice to thine and we will all sing songs of triumph, and will sacrifice, thou with bulls and cows, I with a young heifer.

2. Iule,] Virgil makes this name trisyllabic, after the Greek. Antonius's grandmother on his father's side was Julia, one of the Cæsars, though how related to the dictator is not known.

ceratis ope Daedalea] Daedalus, to escape from Crete, is said to have made for himself and Icarus, his son, wings, fastened to their shoulders with wax. Those of Icarus melted, and he fell into the gean, part of which was called after him (see C. iii. 7. 21). As to the plural nomina,' see C. iii. 27.76.

10. nova — Verba] The 'dithyrambus,' of which word the etymology is uncertain, was a song in honor of Bacchus, and sung at his festivals. It was wild and enthusiastic in its character. Nova verba' signifies words coined for the occasion, as was common, and to be expected from the nature of the poetry, of which the metre seemed to a Roman irregular and arbitary (lege solutis'). A few fragments remain of dithyrambic poems by Pindar. All his entire poems extant are énirikia, odes of triumph for victors at the Olympic, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian games.

13. Seu deos regesve] Among Pindar's works were vμvoi, naιâves, Tаρθένια, προσόδια, in honor of the gods, and ἐγκώμια, in honor of illustrious men. He may have written on the subject of the victory of Peirithous over the Centaurs (C. i. 18. 8, n.), and that of Bellerophon over the Chimæra (C. i. 27. 24).

17. Elea] This applies to the émiviκia above mentioned. The plain of Olympia, on which the Olympic games were celebrated every fourth year, was in Elis, in the Peloponnesus. The chariot race and boxing (pugilemve

equumve') were the most prominent of these games. 'Equum' is put for the rider, as in A. P. 84.

21. Flebili sponsae] This has reference to another class of poems, called Opivo, dirges for the dead.'

23. Aurecs] See C. i. 5. 9, n.

6

25. Multa Dircaeum] A strong breeze lifts the swan of Dirce,' that is, Pindar who was born at Thebes, near which was the fountain Dirce. 27. apis Matinae]. See C. ii. 6. 15, n. Mons Matinus was in Apulia. The image here employed is very common. Ripas' signifies the banks of the Anio (see C. iii. 25. 13, n.). Operosa' describes, perhaps, the process by which nearly all Horace's Odes were produced. No great poet is more artificial, and few more skilled in concealing their art, and giving it the appearance of nature. Fingo' corresponds to πλáττw, which word the Greeks used especially with reference to the making of honey. Plurimum' belongs to laborem.'

33. Concines] The pronoun, though emphatic, is omitted, which is not uncommon. (See C. iii. 17. 5.) Concines' has particular force, expressing a chant in which many voices are joined.

34. feroces] The Sigambri had earned the epithet of 'cruel' by their treatment of the Roman officers, who, having gone to collect their tribute, were taken by them and hanged, which was the beginning of this revolt. See Introduction.

35. sacrum clivum] The 'clivus sacer' was a declivity between the Via Sacra and the Forum, down which the triumphal processions passed. A certain number of prisoners were usually kept to walk behind the victor, and when the procession reached a certain point in the Forum, they were carried off to prison and strangled. See Epod. vii. 8.

37. Quo nihil majus] This flattery is repeated Epp. ii. 1. 17. The unbounded kindness which Horace received from Augustus merited the word 'melius'; in majus' he was not far wrong. Divis bonis' is repeated below (C. iv. 5. 1).

43. Fortis Augusti reditu] Orelli mentions that there are coins of the year B. c. 16, with the inscription S.P.Q.R.V.S. PRO S. ET RED. AVG. (vota suscepta pro salute et reditu Augusti).

44. Litibus orbum.] A 'justitium' had been ordered by the senate; that is, a suspension of business, during which the prætor did not hold his courts. 48. felix] Whether ‘felix' refers to Horace himself, or to the sun, is doubtful.

49. Teque dum procedis,] Triumphus' is addressed as a divinity, as in Epod. ix. 21, and Horace says, As thou marchest, we will shout thus thy name, Io Triumphe! and again, Io Triumphe!'

53. Te decem tauri] Iulus was rich. Five or six years after this he was

consul.

54. Me tener solvet vitulus] So "nos humilem feriemus agnam" (C. ii. 17.32).

58. Tertium ortum,] Its young horns just bent to the form of the moon's crescent when she is three days old.'

59. duxit] that is, has contracted or received.

well, and appears in one MS.

Traxit' would do equally

ODE III.

THE impression produced by the publication of his three books of Odes, which had previously been known only to a few, was such as, no doubt, to

silence envy, and to establish Horace in the high position he here asserts as "Romanæ fidicen lyrae"; and when, after several years' silence, he produced the Carmen Saeculare in B. c. 17, it was received probably with so much favor as to draw forth this Ode. It has all the appearance of genuine feeling, and shows how much Horace had suffered from the vexatious detractions to which he was at one time subjected. It is an address to the Muse, gratefully attributing to her all his success.

ARGUMENT. He on whom thou lookest at his birth, Melpomene, derives his fame, not from the games, or from triumphs, but from the streams and woods of Tibur, inspiring him with Eolian song.

They have named me the tuner of the Roman lyre, and envy assaults me no longer as it did; and to thee I owe this gift of pleasing, O Muse, who rulest the shell, and art able to give the music of the swan to the voiceless fish, if thou wilt.

3. labor Isthmius] The Isthmian games were celebrated every third year, on the Isthmus of Corinth, and were attended, like the Olympian games, by all the Greek states. The games were the same generally at both.

4. Clarabit] This word occurs nowhere else in this sense.

6. Delus-folus] This is another way of expressing laurea Apollinari,' 'Delphica lauro' (C. iii. 30. 15).

9. Ostendet Capitolio:] The triumphal processions ended at the Capitol, whither the victors went to return thanks to Jove in his temple.

10. aquae] The river Anio. He says the waters that flow past Tibur and the leafy groves shall make him glorious with the song of Lesbos, which he practises by the stream and in the grove.

12. Aeolio carmine] See C. iii. 30. 13, n.

16. Et jam dente minus] See Introduction.

17. testudinis aureae] This is Pindar's xpvoréas pópшyyos (Pyth. i. 1). 18. Pieri,] This singular is not common. "Pieris orsa loqui."

Ovid uses it (Fast. iv. 222):

19. mutis - piscibus] The Greek lomas ixous is thus explained by some, but the meaning of that word is doubtful.

23. Romanae fidicen lyrae,] In Epp. i. 19. 32, he calls himself "Latinus fidicen." Quod spiro' means that I breathe the breath, not of life, but of poetry. Compare C. iv. 6. 29: "Spiritum Phoebus mihi-dedit."

ODE IV.

The Vindelici were a tribe

THE history of this Ode is easily made out. whose territories lay between the Danube and the Lake of Constanz, comprising the greater part of modern Bavaria and Suabia, and some part of the Tyrol. The Ræti lay to the south of the Vindelici, and reached to Lake Como on the south. These tribes, whom the historians describe as very fierce and warlike, commenced a system of predatory incursions into Cisalpine Gaul, in which they appear to have practised the greatest atrocities. Augustus was at this time (B. C. 16-15) in Transalpine Gaul, and Tiberius was with him. Drusus, his step-son, and younger brother of Tiberius, was Quæstor at Rome, and in his twenty-third year. He was required by Augustus to take the field against the offending tribes, whom he met under the Tridentine Alps and defeated signally. But, though driven from Italy, they continued their attacks upon Gaul, and Tiberius was accordingly sent by Augustus with more troops to his brother's assistance, and they between them effectually humbled the