20 potamus uncti? Dissipat Euhius pocula praetereunte lympha? the same as the malobathro Syrio of 2, 7, 8. Cf. Tibull. 3, 6, 63 f. Syrio madefactus tempora nardo | debueram sertis implicuisse co mas. 17 f. dissipat: cf. Cypria Frg. 1ο Κ. οἶνόν τοι, Μενέλαε, θεοὶ ποίησαν ἄριστον | θνητοῖς ἀνθρώποισιν ἀποσκεδάσαι μελεδώνας. • Wine, Menelaus, the gods made the best means to scatter the cares of mortal men.'- Euhius: formed from the cry of the Bacchanals, evoî. Cf. 1, 18, 9.- edacis: gnawing, carking. Cf. 1, 18, 4 mordaces sollicitudines. 18 f. puer: cf. n. to Epod. 9, 33 and 1, 29, 7. —restinguet: temper (the fierceness of). — ardentis Falerni: cf. n. to 1, 27, 10. 12 21 ff. devium scortum: the coy wench, a zither player whose home, for the purpose of the ode, is supposed to be not far away. Yet the adjective devium, which apparently means here 'solitary,' ‘apart,' as in Livy 3, 13, 10 devio quodam tugurio (hut) vivere, implies that Lyde is one who does not bestow her favors on all; this implication is emphasized by eliciet, lure forth. dic age, etc. go bid her hasten. Cf. 1, 32, 3 age dic Latr num, barbite, carmen; and 3, 4, I. maturet: the subj. is independent, parallel to dic. -in comptum nodum: in a neat simple knot. No elaborate coiffure would be fitting for this extemporaneous carouse. religata: cf. n. to 1, 5, 4. Maecenas had apparently urged Horace to celebrate in verse Octavian's victory over Antony and his other successes in the East. This ode is the poet's reply. 'Not deeds of war long past (1-4), not ancient mythology (5-8), nor Caesar's present deeds and triumphs (9-12), but modest love, the charms of thy Licymnia, are alone fit subjects for my lyric muse (13-28).' The ode should be compared with 1, 6, Horace's answer to a similar request from Agrippa. Metre, 72. Nolis longa ferae bella Numantiae nec durum Hannibalem nec Siculum mare nec saevos Lapithas et nimium mero 1. nolis: emphatic, you certainly would not wish.-longa bella: nine years, 141-133 B.C. ferae: the war was ended with the suicide of the inhabitants and the burning of the city. Flor. 2, 18, 15 deplorato exitu in ultimam rabiem furoremque conversi postremo mori hoc genere destinarunt: Rhoecogene duce se suos patriam jerro et veneno subiectoque undique igne peremerunt. 2 ff. durum: since the defeat of Hannibal proved a hard task for the Romans. - purpureum sanguine in 260 B.C. when C. Duiljus won his famous naval victory at Mylae, and again in 242 B.C. at the battle of the Aegatian Islands. -mollibus in sharp contrast to ferae, durum, and the savage picture called up by mare. purpureum sanguine. Such fierce themes are not suited to the gentle strains of the lyre. 5 ff. The stock mythological themes of epic song. - saevos LapiHOR. CAR.- -13 193 thas, etc. i.e. the quarrel between the Centaurs and the Lapithae at the marriage of Peirithous and Hippodamia. Cf. n. to 1, 18, 8. -nimium mero: made insolent with wine. Cf. Tac. Hist. 1, 35 nimii verbis. Hylaeum: one of the Centaurs. Cf. Verg. G. 2, 457 et magno Hylaeum Lapithis cratere minantem. - domitos . . . iuvenes the giants who tried to storm the citadels of heaven. Cf. 3, 4, 42 ff. — Herculea manu: Hercules was summoned by the gods to aid them, for an oracle said that only a mortal could conquer the earth-born monsters. — unde : connect with contremuit: from whom. Cf. 1, 12, 7; 28, 28. 8. fulgens. domus: because of its place in the bright upper air. Cf. 1, 3, 29 aetheria domus; 3, 3, 33 lucidas sedes and the Homeric δώματα μαρμαίροντα. — contremuit: transitive, as the simple verb, Verg. A. 3, 648 sonitumque pedum vocemque tremesco. 10 15 Saturni veteris; tuque pedestribus dices historiis proelia Caesaris, Maecenas, melius ductaque per vias regum colla minacium. Me dulcis dominae Musa Licymniae cantus, me voluit dicere lucidum fulgentis oculos, et bene mutuis fidum pectus amoribus; quam nec ferre pedem dedecuit choris nec certare ioco nec dare bracchia 9 f. tuque emphatically introducing the specific reason why Horace cannot celebrate Caesar's deeds, And then you will tell,' etc. - pedestribus . . . historiis: prose, in contrast to poetry. Horace was the first to adopt this term, in imitation of the Greek TεÇÒS Aoyos. There is no evidence that Maecenas ever undertook such a work as Horace here suggests. II f. ducta: ie. in the triumphal procession. colla with chains about their necks.' Cf. Epod. 7, 7 f. intactus aut Britannus ut descenderet | sacra catenatus via, and Prop. 2, 1, 33 f. with reference likewise to Augustus' triumphs (canerem) regum auratis circumdata colla catenis | Actiaque in sacra currere rostra via. -minacium: but just now threatening. 13. me... me: My task is this.' Intr. 30. dominae: this became under the empire the regular title of address to a mar So ried woman, like Our Mrs.,' 'Madam,' the Italian 'donna.' Translate, my lady.- Licymniae: ancient critics agreed that under this name Terentia, Maecenas wife, is meant. The fact that the two names are metrically identical makes this very probable. Catullus calls Clodia, Lesbia; Tibullus employs Delia for Plania, etc. That Licymnia in any case was a free-born Roman lady is proved by v. 19 f. See note. cantus: modified by dulcis. bene connect with fidum. Cf. Cic. Tusc. 2, 44 bene magnus, and the French bien. The opposite is male; so I, 17, 25 male dispar; Verg. A. 2, 23 male fida. 17 f. ferre pedem: to move her feet in, etc. Cf. Verg. G. I, II ferte simul Faunique pedem. Dancing, except as part of a religious ceremony, was thought unbecoming a Roman woman although the severity of custom was 20 25 ludentem nitidis virginibus sacro Num tu quae tenuit dives Achaemenes cum flagrantia detorquet ad oscula relaxed enough at this time to allow 19 f. nitidis: ie. in holiday dress. - Dianae die the chorus which sang and danced in honor of a divinity was composed of free-born youths and maidens, so that it is evident that Licymnia was in any case ingenua. - celebris: thronged with celebrants. 21 ff. Not all the riches of the East could purchase from you one lock of her hair.' - Achaemenes : the founder of the royal house of Persia. Cf. 3, 1, 44. Mygdonias : Mygdon was an early king of Phrygia. The mention of Phrygia calls to mind Midas, whose touch turned all things to gold. —crine : a lock of hair. For the construction, see Intr. 98. - plenas Arabum domos: cf. 3, 24, 1 f. intacti . . . thesauri Arabum. overcome. 25 ff. detorquet: for the caesura, see Intr. 53. facili: because · her sternness (saevitia) is easily poscente: dependent on magis. 'Don't ask her for kisses, she would take more satisfaction in having them stolen from her than the one (i.e. you, Maecenas) who begs them would delight to get them; indeed she would sometimes begin by stealing them from you.' Cf. Tibul. 1, 4, 53 ff. rapias tum cara licebit | oscula: pugnabit, sed tamen apta dabit; rapta dabit primo, mox offeret ipse roganti, post etiam collo se implicuisse volet. — rapere occupet: equivalent to the Greek φθάνοι ἂν ἁρπάζουσα. Cf. 1, 14, 2. 13 Horace was nearly killed one day on his farm by a falling tree. The following ode was suggested by this event, which seems to have made a deep impression on him. (Cf. 2, 17, 27; 3, 4, 27.) Still here his very extravagance of earnestness gives the treatment a half jesting tone. After declaring that the man who planted the fatal tree could be guilty of any crime, Horace wanders into reflection on his favorite theme the uncertainty of human life and the proximity of death. On the first anniversary of the event, he wrote 3, 8, which fixes the date of his narrow escape as March 1, 30 B.C. This ode then was probably written within that month. Metre, 68. 5 Ille et nefasto te posuit die, quicumque primum, et sacrilega manu perniciem opprobriumque pagi; illum et parentis crediderim sui 1 ff. Cf. Ovid's amusing diatribe against his writing tablets, Am. 1, 12, 15 ff. illum etiam, qui vos (sc. tabellas) ex arbore vertit in usum, convincam puras non habuisse manus, | praebuit illa arbor misero suspendia collo, | carnifici diras praebuit illa cruces: illa dedit turpes ravis bubonibus umbras: | volturis in ramis et strigis ova tulit. nefasto . . . die technically the days on which the magistrates might not give judgment, i.e. utter the three words do, dico, addico. Cf. Ovid Fasti 1, 47 f. ille nefastus erit. per quem tria verba silentur | fastus erit, per quem lege licebit agi. Gradually extended, the word came to include all unlucky or ill-omened days. 2 ff. quicumque primum: parenthetical, sc. te posuit from the preceding verse. produxit in, etc.: reared to be. -pagi: district. 5. illum: emphatically repeating the initial ille above; itself repeated by ille v. 8 below. Intr. crediderim: potential. 28 c. 6 f. fregisse cervicem: strangled. Cf. Epod. 3, 2 si quis . . . senile guttur fregerit.-penetralia: the shrines of the household gods, the sacred hearthstone. Protection of one's guest was a holy obligation. - nocturno: giving an added touch of horror to the description,—with blood of his guest slain by night. |