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THE ODES OF HORACE 



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ODES AND SECULAR HYMN 
OF HORACE 



Englished into Rimed Verse 
Corresponding to the Original Meters 



WARREN H. CUDWORTH 



PRIVATELY PRINTED 
MCMXV+I 



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878 
H5 



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i 

-.5 



TO THE MEMORY OF 
MY MOTHER 



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TO HORACE 

DEAR was the nook where pines and poplars blend 
Their branches, dear the nard and blossoms gay 
And Cinara's kindly presence, dear the play, 
The mellow cups, and care-free hours they lend; 
Dearer to thee the uplifts that attend 
The moral reign of law, and dearest they. 
Mm who were half thy soul, thy prop and stay. 
Who, greatest of their time, could call thee Friend. 
So while spring flowerets clothe the unfettered plain, 
While summer's shaded brooks cool plow-worn steers, 
And fruitful autumn's harvests broadcast lie, 
While winter locks the streams and whips the main. 
Thro* the long lapse of immemorial years 
Thy fame shall spread: thou shalt not wholly die. 



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PREFACE 

IN worldng over this translation of the Odes of Horace 
I have been increasingly impressed by the cimvicdon that 
any version of the poet, in order to convey, even in a 
shadowy manner, the general effect of the original, must 
maintain in its verse-structure an approximate equivalence 
to the Latin. Each translated ode must confonn in general 
appearance, division into strO[^es, and length and number 
of verses to its prototype, and each instance of any given 
Horatian meter must invariably be rendered into its English 
analogue as selected by the translator. Types of odes 
should be rigidly adhered to, and the fact that Horace uses 
a given measure to sing such varying themes as the duties 
of patriotism and the lure of wine, the ctHnpanionship of 
friends and the praises of the gods, should excuse no devia- 
tion from the principle. Then, too, some degree of the 
compactness of thought and brevity of expression that 
characterize the original must be attempted — some of 
Horace's own terseness must be brought into play if he is 
at all adequately to be reproduced. That 1 should employ 
rime is inevitable, for if has been well said that while one 
or two rare soub during the course of a generation may write 
readable blank verse, most men, if they hope to be endured, 
must resort to the aid of rime. It will thus be seen that 1 
have striven to follow, though necessarily at a distance, the 
rules laid down by John Conington, a man whose aptitude 
ior Horatian translation fell but little short of genius, and 
of whom it may truthfully be said. 

Nee viget quicguam simile aut secundum. 

Most of the meters 1 have used have been much em- 
ployed by my predecessors, several have be^ utilized more 



XII PREFACE 

rarely, while a few others are. so far as [ know, now pre- 
sented ft«" the first time. The selection of suitable stanzas 
is a puzzling matter and difficulties are sure to attend any 
decision. A strophe-for-strophe version, like the present, is 
a veritable bed of Procrustes, and in such it is [jerhaps hu- 
manly impossible to attain the ideal of translation, which 
has been said to be "the original, the whole original, and 
nothing but the original, and, withal, good readable Eng- 
lish." The man of ordinary attainments will be compelled 
sometimes to curtail and sometimes to expand the original, 
and fortunate indeed will he be if he does not occasionally 
find himself confronted by insuperable difficulties in the 
handling of his mother-tongue. 

The thirty-seven Alcaics (the odes agreeing in structure 
with 1, 9) have been put into alternately riming iambic 
tetrameter, a meter which has come to be looked upon as 
the English measure best suited to this stanza. It offers a 
rapid and mobile, yet dignified, vehicle of expression, and it 
has generally been possible to compress the forty-one syllables 
of Latin into thirty-two syllables of English without doit^ 
great injustice to either tongue. 

The twenty-six Sapphic poems (odes metrically like i, 2) 
I have put into stanzas consisting of three iambic pen- 
tameters and one iambic trimeter, disposing the rimes 
alternately. This selection cannot but be considered as 
unfortunate, for the superior brevity of our tongue here 
becomes readily manifest when the compass of thirty-six 
^llables of English is used to translate thirty-eight syl- 
lables of Latin. In not a few odes 1 have been painfully 
conscious of having to use more "padding" than I could 
desire, yet, on the other hand, when 1 tried to use a stanza 
each verse of which was a foot shorter, I found that it neces- 
sitated a curtailment still more to be condemned. 

The twelve odes known as the Second Asclepiads (the 
type of which i. 3 is an instance) have been put into con- 
secutively riming iambic tetrameters and pentameters, 
following the metrical scheme used in one of these odes three 
centuries ago by Ben Jonson. 

The nine Third Asclepiads (odes after the pattern of i, 6) 



PREFACE Xiii 

have been cast into stanzas Iik« those used in the Sapphic 
odes, save that the first and third verses have been given 
feminine endings. The measure adopted in translating the 
Sapphics was probably best fitted for the Third Asclepiads, 
but [ found a shorter verse unworl<able for the Sai^hic 
poems; so, therefore, in englishing the Asclqiiads I have 
added an extra syllable to two verses for purposes of differ- 
entiation. 

TTie seven Fourth Asclepiads (odes written in the measure 
of i, 5) have been arranged in iambic stanzas consisting of 
two pentameters followed by two tetrameters, disposing the 
rimes alternately. 

The three Flret Asclepiads (odes like i, 1) have been put 
into rimed heroic couplets, the three Fifth Asclqjiads (odes 
written in the measure of 1. 11) have been cast into con- 
secutively riming iambic heptameters, and the two Alcmanlc 
Odes (i, 7 and i, 28) have been englished into iambic stan- 
zas made up of two heptameter and two pentameter verses, 
alternately disposed and altn'nately riming. 

Most of the odes, then, as was but natural, employ 
iambic measures, but in a few instances I have made use 
of other forms. The two spring-songs (i, 4 and iv, 7) 
seemed from their very content to call for the lightness of 
treatment that anapests alone can impart and the Ode to 
a Miser (ii. 18). with the few solemn chords suggestive of 
Longfellow's "Psalm of Life," appeared ready to fall natu- 
rally into trochees. In allotting trochees to the Ode to 
Lydia (i, 8) and dactyls to the Neobule Ode (iii, 12} perhaps 
1 have been led quite as much through a desire for variety 
as through any feeling of individual fitness. 

In making this translation, 1 have availed myself of the 
comment of a number of the best-known editors and I have 
not hesitated freely to use wealth drawn from the great 
stores collected by many generations of Horatian scholars. 

There is, however, one matter that I wish to mention 
with a note of extenuation. Since this version has rrached 
what is practically its present form I have carefully ex- 
amined the works of a half dozen of the most celebrated 
metrical translators, and [ find that not infrequently 1 have 



xiv PREFACE 

used rimes that are not new, and in at least three cases I 
have used lines that are precise duplicates of those of prede- 
cessors. These last I have allowed to stand unchanged, for 
they are, in each instance, literal renderings of the Latin, 
and similar modes of expression naturally suggest them- 
selves occasionally to different worked in the same field. 
In the matter of idaitlty of rime now and then, 1 can only 
say that Horace has been translated into English a great 
many times, and, as a given thought or strtqjhe can be et- 
pressed in but a limited number of ways, it follows that the 
supply of original rimes must ultimately give out and that 
each new translator must find himself in increasingly dif- 
ficult straits to avoid the phraseolc^y of his predecessors. 
[f, as a whole, my work shows originality, I shall hope to 
be acquitted of the charge of indolently and unfairly profit- 
ing by the labors of others. 

For this addition to the many attempts "to translate the 
untranslatable" 1 shall find, pCThaps, in the minds of many, 
but scant excuse, yet it has been with me a labor of love. 
and T have been supported by the hope that it may bring 
some knowledge of the poet to a few who before were un- 
acquainted with him and that it may be not without inter- 
est to some who are familiar with the original. Perhaps the 
following sentence may prove my best justification: "No 
words can express the impossibility of any adequate trans- 
lation of the poet, yel the lure will always prone irresistible." ' 

The text followed is, with but two exceptions, that of 
Professor Charles E. Bennett of Cornell University,' and I 
am indebted to his notes for useful hints regarding the 
interpretation of certain moot points. 

In closing, 1 wish thankfully to express my hearty ac- 
knowledgments to FYofessor Bennett for the kindliness that 
prompted him to examine my work and for the shrewd 
scholarship that furnished many helpful criticisms. 



> From a letter from Professor Bennett of November 25, 
1913. Italics mine. 

'"HtM-ace: Odes and Epodes," by Charles E, Bainett, 
Allyn and Bacon, Boston, Massachusetts, 1901. 



PREFACE XV 

Finally, I desire gratefully to record my debt to my father, 
to Miss Marion E. Gray of Boston, Massachusetts, to Mr, 
Calvin L. Ashley of Saint Johnsville, New York, and to 
Mr. Robert E. Brigss of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. To 
the ^rmpathy, encouragnnent, and invaluable suggestions of 
my father and these three friends is due no small portion 
of whatever of merit the worl< may possess. 

Fbr any inaccuracies trf rendering or infelicities of phrase 
I alone am reqx)nsible. 

WARREN H. CUDWORTH 

NOBWOOD, MASSACmrSBTTS, 

March 30, 1917. 



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CONTENTS 



BOOK ONE 

1. To Maecenas 

II. To Augustus Caesar 

III. To the Ship in which Virgil Embarked . 

IV. To Sestius 

V. To Pyrrha 

VI, To Agrippa 

VII. To Plancus 

VIII. To Lydia 

IX. To Thaliarchus 

X. To Mercury 

XL To Leuconoe 

XII. In Praise of Augustus 

XIII. To Lydia 

XIV. To the Ship of State 

XV. The Prophecy of Nereus 

XVI. A Palinode 

XVII. ToTyndaris 

XVIII. To Varus 

XIX. The Beauty of Glycera 

XX. To Maecenas 

XXI. The Praises of Latona and her Children . 
XXII. To Fuscus 

XXIII. To Chloe 

XXIV. To Virgil 

XXV. To Lydia 

XXVl. In Praise of Lamia 

XXVII. To my Companions 

XXVIII. Archytas 



XVIII CONTENTS 

XXIX. To Iccius 38 

XXX. To Venus 39 

XXXI. My Prayer to Apollo M 

XXX[[. To my Lyre 41 

XXXIII. To AlWus Tibulius 42 

XXXIV. My Renunciation of False Phil05(^)hy . . 43 
XXXV. To Fortune 44 

XXXVI. The Return of Numida 46 

XXXVII. The Death of Cleopatra 47 

XXXVIII. To my Cupbearer 49 

BOOK TWO 

I. To Pollio S3 

II. To Sallustius Crispus 55 

III. To EJellius 56 

IV. To Xanthias 57 

V. To a Friend 58 

VI. To Septimius 59 

VII, To Pompey 60 

VIII. To Barine 61 

IX. To Valgius 62 

X. To Licinius 63 

XI. To Quinctius Hirpinus 64 

XII. To Maecenas 65 

XIII. To a Fallen Tree 66 

XIV. To Postumus 68 

XV. Against Luxury 69 

- XVI. To Grosphus 70 

XVll. To Maecenas 72 

XVIII. To a Mis«- 74 

XIX. A Kthyramb 76 

XX. To Maecenas 78 

BOOK THREE 

I. On QMitentment 81 

II, Cm Patriotism -. . . . 83 

III. On Integrity 85 



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CONTENTS XIX 

IV. On Wisdom 88 

V. On Valor 91 

VI. On Home I^rity 93 

VII. To Asterie 95 

VIII. To MaecCTias 97 

IX. The Reconciliation 98 

X. To Lyce 99 

XI. To Mercury and the Lute 100 

XII. Neobule's Soliloquy 102 

XIII. To the Fountain Bandusia 103 

XIV. The Return of Augustus 104 

XV. To Chloris . IDS 

XVI. To Maecenas 106 

XVII. To Aellus Lamia 108 

XVIII. To Faunus 109 

XIX. In Honor of Muraena 110 

XX. To Pyrrhus Ill 

XXI. In Praise of Wine 112 

XXII. To Diana 113 

XXIII. To Phidyle 114 

XXIV. The Bane of Wealth 115 

XXV. A Dithyramb 118 

XXVI. To Venus 119 

XXVn. To Galatea 120 

XXVIII. To Lyde 123 

XXIX. To Maecenas 124 

XXX. To Melpomene 127 

BOOK FOUR 

I. To Venus . . ■ 131 

II. To lulus Antonius 133 

III. To Melpomene 135 

IV. In Praise of Drusus 136 

V. To Augustus 139 

VI. To Apcrflo 141 

VII, To Torquatus 143 

VIII. To Censorinus 144 

IX. To Ldlius 145 



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CONTENTS 

X. To Lipjrinus 1*7 

XI. To Phyllis 148 

XII. To Virgil ISO 

Xni. To Lyce ISl 

XIV. In Praise of the Neros 152 

XV. In Praise of Augustus 154 

The Secular Hymn 159 



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BOOK ONE 



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To Maecenas 

MAECENAS, sprung from forbears who wwe Idngs, 
Both pride and prop to which my fortune clings. 
Some like to see Olympic dust uproll 
WhKi smoking axles deftly graze the goal, 
While victor car and palm of noble worth 
Exalt among the gods the lords of earth. 
This joys if the Ouirites' fickle crowd 
Promote his rule to triple honws proud. 
That takes delight if in his barn he store 
The product of the Lybian threshing floor. 
Who loves to hoe his small ancestral field, 
Not all the wealth an Attalus could yield 
Can tempt the sailor's fearful life to brave, 
And shear with Cyprian prow the Myrtoan wave.. 
"Hie trader, dreading rough Icarian seas 
Lashed by the West, extols his rural ease 
And village calm, but soon, as ill hebears 
His straitened means, his shattered ships repairs. 
Some crave old Massic's rare convivial powers 
And blocks of leisure cut from business hours. 
Stretched now where arbutes green their shadows fling, 
Now near some hallowed river's bubbling spring. 
Some love the mingled horns' and trumpets' bray. 
The duties of the camp, and battled fray 
Abhorred by moth«^. 'Neath Jove's nipping skies. 
Heedless of gentle wife, the huntsman hies 
Where'er his trusty hounds the deer beset. 
Or Marsian boar bursts thro' the twisted net. 
Me ivy. the reward of cultured brows. 



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4 THE ODES OF HORACE 

Makes peer of gods above; me cool, thick boughs 
And lissom Nymphs with Satyrs dancing free 
Distinguish from the vulgar; if for me 
EutCTpe deign to breathe upon h«- flute, 
And Polyhymnia thrill her Lesbian lute. 
If ranked by thee mid lyric bards I tread. 
Then will [ strike the stars with lofty head. 



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To Augustus Caesar 

AT length enough of direful hail and snow 
TTie Sire has sent and, hurling lightnings down 
With red right hand 'gainst Sacred Heights below, 
Has terrified the Town, 

Yea, terrified the nations, filled with dread 

Lest P^rrha's time return with patents strange. 
When Proteus all his herd of seab upled 
On mountain peaks to range, 

And fish were caught in elm limbs' tcqimost height. 

Where erst the doves were wont to build their home. 
While here and there hinds swam in sore affright 
Across the swelling foam. 

We saw the yellow Tiber, strongly rolled 

Back from the Etruscan shore in turbid sheets, 
Upsurge to flood the King's Memorial old 
And Vesta's templed seats. 

Bragging too stoutly that he would redress 

Lorn Ilia and, tho' Jove withheld his nod. 
Presuming past his leftward bank to press, 
Uxorious river god. 

Our youth, their number thinned by parent stain, 

'Shall hear of Romans whetting well the knife 
By which dread Persians better had been slain. 
Shall hear of civil strife. 

What god to buttress our declining realm 

Shall we implore? With what fond prayer shall throngs 
Of holy virgins Vesta's ear o'erwhelm, 
R^ardless of their songs? 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 

To whcmi shall Jupiter assign the task 

Of freeing us from guiltt* With shoulders clear 
Mantled in cloud, O come at length, we ask, 
Apollo, prescient seer; 

Or, lauding Erycina, if thou will. 

Around whom always hover Mirth and Love; 
Or, if thy siig^ted sons thou i»ty still. 
Our Founder, frmi above, 

Cloyed with thy game, too long, alasl pursued, 

Pleased with the polished helms, the battle shout. 
And scowl of Marsian foot, their charge renewed 
The bloody foe to rout; 

Or if in altered semblance, Ritting free 

To earth, benignant Maia's winged child. 
Thou bear the guise of youth and deign to be 
Caesar's avenger styled: 

Late to the sides be thy return deferred. 

Long with Quirinus* folk be pleased to dwdl. 
Nor, by our heinous ^ns to anger stirred. 
By any whirlwind fell 

Be banished. Here be mighty triumphs paid. 
Here be both Sire and Prince for our relief. 
Nor let the foraying Medes unpunished raid 
While, Caesar, thou art chief. 



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To the Ship in which Virgil Embarked 

So may the Cyprian queen of might, 
So Helen's tu^hren. stars of lucid light. 
And, toor the father of the gales — 
Ali save Eapyx pent within their paies — 

, Guide thee. ^ip, who owest me 
Virgil, to thee intrusted; hear my plea 

And safely to the Attic shore ^ * ^t I 

Conagn the idol of my bosom's core. **^*'»*^ 

With triple bronze and rugged oak -i-4*i -fi^*- * 
His breast was fortified, who dared provoke 

Wild ocean with the first frail bark. 
Nor feared mad Africus with Boreas dark. 

At strife, nor tristful Hyades. 
Nor Notus raging o'er the darkling seas. 

The mightiest lord of Hadria's tide, 
Wliether he bid it roughen or subside. 

What form of death coukl chill his blood 
Who viewed the wallowing monsters of the ikxtd. 

Who kenned, dry-eyed, the rocking deep. 
And (hated difkl) the Acroceraunian steep? 

In vain has God so wisely planned 
By ocean's waste to sever land from land, 

If, mauger this, men yet will brave. 
In ships profane, the inviolable wave. 

Rashly desirous all to win. 
The human race ramps thro' forbidden sin; 

Rashly lapetus' boM son ** 

By guilty craft heaven's fire for mortals wm. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 

When from the ethereal pole the flame 
Was filched, Decay and hosts of Fevers came 

And brooded on earth's sickening face. 
Till fat^ul Death his former laggard pace 

Gave o'er, and strode with foot more fleet 
Next Daedalus the empty air durst beat 

With «dngs denied to man: the toil 
Of Hercules gave Acheron the foil. 

Bdore no task mankind wU quail; 
High heaven itself in folly we assail. 

Nor will our sacrileges dire 
Let Jove lay down the thundo^ of his ire. 



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To Sestius 

STERN winter gives way to blithe springtide and zephyr, 
Dry keels are roiled down to the shore. 
The hind leaves the hearth, from the stall comes the hdfer. 
Meads glisten with hoarfrost no more. 

Lo, now, Cytherea by moonshine trips lightly 

With Graces and Nymphs on the green, 
Their merry feet wink, heavy forges glow brightly 

When Vulcan with Cyclops is seen. 

Our sleek brows now bind we with green myrtle fillet. 

Or flowerets that burst from the plain; 
To Faun now a lamb, or a kid, if he will it. 

His own bosky grove shall see slain. 

Pale Death knocks alike at the cot of the peasant 

And halls of the wealthy. My friend. 
The brief span of life bids us trust but the present; 

Rich Sestius, in night must thou wend. 

Mid shadowy Manes, to Pluto's drear dwelling. 

No more to preside at the board, 
No more to see Lycidas, fair beyond telling, 

By youths and by maidens adored. 



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w 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Pyrrha 

HAT Stripling boy, with fragrant dews besprent, 
Clasps thee mid many a rose in pleasant grot? 
For whom. O Pyrrha, art thou bent 
Thy yellow tresses now to knot 



In studied artlessness? How oft, alackl 
Will he deplore changed faith and gods untrue. 
And, while downswoop the tempests black, 
The roughened seas appalled will view. 

Who now, bewitched beneath thy golden ^lell, 
Hopes thee for aye his own, lovely for aye, 
Unweeting of the stwrnwind fell 
So soon to blowl Most wretched they 

Who trust, unjMVved, thy dazzling lovelinessl 
/ know; yon sacred wall my [»cture keeps 
In witness that my brine-soaked dt«ss 
Is vowed to Him who rules the deeps. 



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To Agrippa 

LET Varius, songster of Maeonian feather, 
J Proclaim thy prowess and the foes" edipse 
Achieved by warriors 'neath thy guidance, whether 
With cavalry or ships. 

I cannot sing, Agrippa, of thy daring. 
Of pitiless Pelides' quenchless wrath, 
Pelops' grim house, or shrewd Ulysses fiuing 
O'er ocean's devious path. 

Too slight for massive themes, my modest phrases 

And Muse that thrills the peaceful lyre decree 
That my dull wit dim not the lofty praises 
Of Caesar and of thee. 

For who of Mars in adamant hauba*!! striding. 
Or Merion grimed with dust of Trojan plain. 
Or Diomed, match for gods thro' Pallas' guiding, 
Can sing in w(»thy strain? 

I, whether fancy-free or passion-laden, , 

In lightsome mood, as is my wont, must sing 
The harmless quarrel of the youth and maiden. 
The banquet's mirthful ring. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Plancus 

LET others sing of Ephesus or Mytilene's lure, 
J Famed Rhodes, or walls of Corinth 'twixt two seas, 
Or Bacchic Thebes, or Delphi where Apollo's word is sure. 
Or Tempe shady with Thessalian trees. 

There are whose only task it is to rhapsodize the town 

Of virgin Pallas with an epic song. 
And thus with olive garnered far and wide th«r brows they 
crown; 

In Juno's honor many yet will long 

To ang horse-pasturing Argos and Mycenae rich in gold. 
Me sturdy Sparta not so much imprest, 

Nor yet Larissa's fruitful glebe my fancy so could hold. 
As deep Albunea's cave where never rest 

The echoes, tumbling Anio's stream, and old Tibumus' 
wood 
And orchards watered by meandering rills. 
As Notus often clears the sky, when clouds the welkin hood. 

Nor sluicy rains incessantly distills. 

So, Plancus, soothed with mellow wine, strive wisely to 
forget 
The sorrows and the weary toils of life. 
And this, too, whether Tibur's umbrose woodlands hold thee 
yet, 
Or, bright with ensigns gay, the camp of strife. 

Thus Teucer, when from Salamis and from his sire he fled, 
Despite his grief, his temples bathed with wine. 

Then, as a wreath of poplar leaves he wove about hb head, 
His downcast friends bespoke in words benign: 



BOOK ONE 13 

"Wherever Fortune, kinder than my fath^, bids US fare, 
O comrades and allies, we now shall go; 
E>espair not under Teucer's guidance, under Teucer's care, 
For Phoebus- gives his promise there shall grow 

"In other lands a Salamis to bear the name anew. 

Brave men, who oft with me have dared sustain 
Severer ills than this, quaff wine and cease your toils to rue; 
Tomorrow we resail the boundless main." 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Lydia 

LYDIA, tdl me. 1 im[^ore thee 
if By all gods, why wilt thou so young Sybaris unman? 
Why, since low in love before thee, 
Hates he sunny Field, tho' wdl inured to dust and tati? 

Why no more with martial bearing, 
Mounted on hb Gallic charter, rides he with his friends, 

Rein and galling bit not sparing? 
Why in yellow Tiber swms no longer? For what ends 

Shuns he now the oil as duly 
As 'twere blood of vipers? Why no more does he appear — 

Anns with contests glowing bluely — 
Often victor with the discus, often with the spear? 

Wherefore ^Iks he as, says story, 
Skulked the scmi of sea-bom Thetis ere Troy's tearful down, 

Lest hb m^ily garb mid gory 
Slaughter and mid Lycian squadrons speed him to his ton^? 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



To Thaliarckus 

SEE how Swacte's jutting crown 
Looms white and deep with drifted snow; 
Ice sags the laboring forests down; 
Keen frost arrests the rivers' flow. 

Heap high the hearth with lo^ to bar 
The coldness out and, Thaliarch, pour 

From out the twy-eared Sabine jar 
The melbwer wine of seasons four. 

Leave all with Cod: tho' first he lash 
The yeasty seas with battling shock, 

He lays his winds, and aged a^ 
And cypress tree no longer rock. 

Seek not to-morrow's hap to learn. 
Each shift of fortune count for gain. 

And, while a youngstn*, neither spurn 
Nor sweets of love nor choral train 

While hoary Age with testy air 

Shuns thy green youth: in park and bower 
Wth whispered words accost the fair 

By twilight at the trysting hour; 

Esi^, concealed in secret nook. 
The laughing maiden, nearly missed. 

Who yields, while feigning angry look. 
The forfeit snatched from hand or wrist 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Mercury 

MERCURY, Atlas' grandchild suave of tongue, 
Whose forewifcourd primeval men reclaim 
From savagery by speech, by graces wrung 
From gymnasts' wrestling game; 

Herald of mighty Jove and his compeers, 

Thee, father of the curving lyre, I hymn, 
Oevw to hide thy thefts, with pranksome leers. 
Whenever comes the whim. 

Thee, yet a twy, while chiding for the slight 

By which his lifted beeves he needs must rue, 
Apollo laughed at in his own des]»te — 
His quiver pilfered, too! 

So, led by thee, and 'neath a ransom bowed, 

Priam his stealthy steps from llion bent, 
And passed Thessalian Tires, the Atridae proud. 
And every hostile tent. 

Thy duty 'tis with pious souls to rdy 

"To blissful seats and guide with golden wand 
Light phantoms, thou of whom both gods on high 
And gods below are fond. 



i,z^iit>,Goot^lc 



To LeuconoB 

INQUIRE thou not — 'twere sin to ask — what days to 
thee and me 
The gods will give, nor search Chaldaic lore. Leuconog, 
'Tb better, whatsoe'er may come, with patience to abide 
If Jove ordain more winters yet, or this our last betide 
That shivers now the Tyrrhene sea against the wave- 
carved ledge. 
' Learn wisdom, strain thy liquors, and, since life holds naught 
in pledge, 
Repress far-reaching hopes: e'en while we speak, time 

flits apace 
On envious wings; clutch fast to-day nor give the future 
grace. 



i.z.iit,,Cooglc 



THE ODES OF HOtUCE 



In Praise of Augustus 

WHAT man, what hero, on thy vocal lute 
Or shrilling pipe, O Clio, wilt thou praise? 
What god? Whose name shall sportive echo bruit 
Amid the wooded ways 

That ^irt umbrageous Helicoq, or where 

Soars PJndus' peak or Haemus' frigid crest. 
Whence groves were urged confusedly to fare 
At tuneful Orpheus' hest. 

Who, tutored by his mother, learned to stay 

The streams' sWift currents and the breezes strong. 
And, conquering by his strings' mekx^ous sway. 
Drew listening oaks along? 

Who but the Parent first demands my strain. 

Who governs gods above and men bdow, 
Who rules the skies, the earth, and heaving main. 
As seasons ebb and fkiw? 

Naught great«' than himself from him has Inrth, 

Nor like him, nor that holds a second place; 
Yet cUgnittes possessing nei^bor worth 
The brows of Pallas grace. 

Dauntless in battle; nor may 1 withhoM 

From Liber praise, nor. Virgin, thee, whose craft 
Slays savage beasts, nor thee, O Hioebus, bold 
With thine unerring shaft. 

Alcides, next, and Leda's twins 'tis mine 

To ^ng: this reins the steed, that featly spars: 
But when on seamen thro' the vapors shine 
Thdr lambent-twinkling stars, 



i.Cooglc 



BOOK ONE 19 

Down from the rocks the storm-tost water flows. 
The clouds di^)erse, and whist is every breeze. 
While, such Their will, the threatening waves repose 
Upon the untroubled seas. 

Shall Romulus or Numa's peaceful time. 

Of mortal subjects, first command my breathi* 
Shall Tarquin's glorious fasces ask my rime, 
Or Cato's noble death? 

Fain in emblazoning verse would 1 make known 

Fabricius, Regulus, the Scauri's fame. 
And Paulus, he whose high-souled conduct shone 
When Carthage overcame. 

Stem poverty, a small ancestral field. 

And humble cottage hardened to the shocks 
Of war Camillus, yea, and Curius steeled, 
Stanch with his shaggy locks. 

Marcellus* glory, tree-like, thro" the years 

Grows imperceptibly: mid ail shines bright 
The star of Julius, as the moon at^>ears 
Mid lesser fires of nig^t. 

GuanUan and Sire to whom mankind must bow, 

O Saturn's son, the Destinies decree 
Great Caesar to thy care; supreme r^gn thou 
With Caesar next to thee. 

Whether 'gainst Medes that menace Rome he pour 

His armies till the foe for mercy sue. 
Whether the Seres of the Eastwn shore 
And Indians he subdue, 

Thy regent, he shall justly rule the world: 

Thine 'tis to shake high heaven with ponderous car. 
Thine to blast guilty groves with lightnings hurled 
In anger frcMn afar. 



L)^i.z.iii™Goog[c 



I THE ODES OF HORACE 

xin 
To Lydia 

WHEN thou, Lydia, sing'st the charms 
Of Telephus' pink neck, the waxen amis 
Of Telephus, oh fiel my soul 
With jealous spleen is goaded past control. 

Strong flaws of passion rack my mind. 
My fleeting color leaves no trace behind. 

My cheeks, distained with furtive tears. 
Prove how the secret fire my vitals sears. 

1 blaze with wrath when made to know 
His drunken brawling mars thy shoulders' snow, 

Or that, to frenzy as he slips. 
His teeth leave telltale marks upon thy lips. 

Nay, hearken, thou wilt surely lose 
His faithless love who roughly dares to bruise 

Those dulcet lips, by Venus stained 
With quintessential nectar she has strained. 

O trebly happy th^ and more 
Whom ties unbroken hold, who ne'er deplore 

Domestic strife and jarring fray. 
But k>ve till parted by the final dayl 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



o 



XIV 

To the Ship of Slate 

SHIP, new waves upon the open main 
Again will sweep thee! Whither drivest thou? 
The harbor stoutly strive to gain; 
Thy bulwarks, seel are naked now 

Of oars, swift Africus thy mast has sprung. 
Thy rigging hangs in shreds, thy yard-arms creak. 
Thy hull, the imperious seas among, 
To bide the stress is all too weak; 

Thine every sail is rent, no gods are thine 
To call upon when storms are ill withstood. 
Tho' builded well of Pontic pine — 
The daughter of a noble wood — 

The magic of thy name and race to court 
Were vain, for cautious sailors never d^^ 
To trust their gaudy sterns: the sport 
Of winds lest thou wouldst tie, bewarel 

Thou art my fond desire, my foremost pride, 
Tho' once distrust usurped the place of these. 
Fort)ear to navigate the tide 
That laves the gleaming Cyclades. 



i,z.iit>,Coogle 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



The Prophecy of Nereus 

WHEN the fabe swain was bearing o'er the ocean 
His hostess Helen in the Idean fleet. 
An hateful calm lulled rapid winds from motion 
That Nereus might repeat 

His dreadful prophecies. "With luckless omen 

Thou lead'st het home. Mark serried Greece elatel 
See thy wrecl{ed nuptials when the leaguii^ foemen 
Rend Priams ancient state! 

"Alasl what sweating steedsl what warriors' dangorl 
What balefires threat the Dardan race from farl 
Lol Palias takes her aegis and her anger. 
Her helmet and her car. 

'"Twere vain, tho' brave while Venus' help b present. 
To comb thy curls and wake the unwarlike shell 
With madrigals that women find so pleasant; 
'Twere vain in bower to dwelt 

"And hide from heavy spears, light Cnossian lances, 
Swift-footed Ajax, and war's clamor wild. 
Thy guilty locks — alas, the day advancesi — 
Shall soon be dust^d^iled. 

"See Laertiades, who hates thy nation. 

And Pylian Nestor see; to urge thy flight 
Bold Salaminian Teuco* takes his station. 
And Sthenelus, skilled in fight, 

"Adept at need with car and coursers, hurries; 
Thou shalt know Merion; greater than his sire. 
Cruel Tydides, searching for thee, scurries 
With battle lust on Are. 



i.,Coot^[c 



BOOK ONE 22 

"Whom, as the hart, his pasturage forsaking, 
Flees when a wolf within the glade has stept, 
Thou, coward-like, shalt flee, all breathless, quaking — 
Boasts to thy love unk^. 

"Achilles' wrathful fleet may stay disaster 

A sfxice from Phrygia's dames and Ilion's domes: 
Few winters yet and Danaan fires shall master 
The Pergamean homes." 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



XVI 

A Palinode 

O FAIRER than thy mother fair. 
Let naught my scurril epodes save; 
Either to bum them be thy care, 
Or cast them in the Hadrian wave. 

Not he whose Pythian priestess pants. 

Or Dindymene mazes so, 
Not Liber thus, or Corybants, 

Who clash shrill cymbab blow on How, 

As gusts of anger: Noric brand. 
Nor cruel Tire, nor wrecking seas, 

Nor Jove himself with thundering hand 
Descending, e'er suppresses these. 

Prometheus for our primal clay 
Some trait from every creature drew, 

And hence, 'tis said, the madding sway 
Of lions in our bosoms grew. 

'Twas anger struck lliyestes down 
With frightful doom; such. too. the source 

Of wrack to many a lofty town 
Whose haughty enemy could force 

The hostile plowshare thro' their walls. . 

Calm, then, thy mind; my frenzied fire 
Of restive youth both frequent brawls 

And swift iambics could inspire. 

More cordially 1 now would act; 

Wrath shall su^Jlant good will no more; 
My biting insults I retract — 

So be my friend, thy love restore. 



...Coot^lc 



XVII 

To Tyndaris 

SWl FT from Lycaeus Faun retreats 
On fair Lucretilis to stray. 
And frcsn my goats the summer heats 
And rainy winds he drives away. 

These partners of a fetid spouse 
Thro' arbute grove and thymy brake 

May roam at large and safely browse; 
My kidlets fear nor virid snake 

Nor wolves of Mars, my Tyndaris, 
When Faun his tuneful syrinx sounds 

Until from vale and precipice 
Usttca's echoed strain rebounds. 

God bves my muse and blameless life, 
God shiekls me well; here Plenty pours 

From brimming horn, with bounties rife. 
For thee her most abundant stores. 

Shun Sirian heats in questered dale 

And carol to the Teian chord 
Penetope and Circe frail. 

Both lovelorn for the sel^ame lord. 

Here 'neath my arbor's shade with me 
Mild cups of Lesbian shall thou drink; 

Thyoneus, son of Semele, 
And Mars shall harm us not; ne'er shrink 

Lest Cyrus, under jealous stress. 
With hands profane should rudely dare 

Maltreat thy weakness, rend thy Aress, 
And strip the crownal from thy hair. 



i.,Coot^[c 



N° 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



XVIII 

To Varus 

JO tree before the sacred vine to thee for planting calls, 
Either in Tibur's meliow loam or near Catillus' walls, 
O Varus: sad the life of than whom God denies its use, 
Whose biting sorrows never fled before the g^ial juice. 
Who harps on poverty or hard campaigns when warm with 

wine? 
Who ^ngs not thee, thai, Venus fair, thee, Bacchus, sire 

benign? 
Yet, lest abuses come when temperate Liber's gifts are rife, 
The Centaurs warn us in their cups with Lapithae at strife. 
And warn us, too, the Sithoni, whom Evius oft embroils 
When, muddling right and wrong, they lie enmeshed in 

lustful toils. 
O youthful Bassareus, I rouse thee not against thy will, 
Nor drag to light thy mysteries with pied leaves hidden still; 
Hush thou the savage kettledrum and Berecyntian horn, 
Behind which, holding far too high her «npty head, trails 

And Selfishness, with blinded eyes, and, ever prompt to 

fleer 
At keeping secrets. Faithlessness, her wiles than glass more 

clear. 



L)^i.z.iii™Goog[c 



XIX 

The Beauty of Glycera 

THE son of Theban Semele, 
The ruthless mother of the Loves, and she 
Called frolic Wantonness, Implore 
My heart to seek forgotten flames once more. 

I bum for Glycera. beauteous lass, 
Whose dazzling charms the Parian stone surpass, 

1 bum to see each saucy grace. 
The gramarye of that too-seductive face. 

Venus o'erwhelms me with her might, 
Quits Cyprus, and forbids me ^ng the fight 

By Parthiaiis waged from flying steeds. 
The Scythian troops, or aught but lovers" deeds. 

Here bring live turf, fresh greenery here. 
Bum incense, boys, and wine of yesteryear. 

Spilled from the basin, earth shall stain: 
In kindlier mood she comes, a victim slain. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Maecenas 

CHEAP Sabine, served in common mugs, my board 
Dispenses, wine that by myself was sealed 
In Grecian jar, what time the theater roared 
And with such shouting pealed, 

E)ear knight Maecenas, that thy plaudits rung 

From thy paternal river's bante, and then 
Mount Vatican's vivacious echo (lung 
Thy praises back again. 

Caecubum's vat for thee its must distills. 

For thee the lush Calenian grape is prest, 
But nor Falemian vines nor Formian hills 
Add to my cups their zest. 



'i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



XXI 

The Praises of Latona and her Children 

YE tender virgins, sing Diana chaste. 
Ye boys, sing Cynthius with his unshorn hair. 
And dark Latona, highly graced 
In mighty Jove's most loving care. 

Extol her, maids, who loves the groves that loom. 
The brooks that purl, where Algidus stands chill. 
Where Erymanthian forests gloom. 
And Cragus lifts its greener hill. 

Ye males, laud Tempe with an equal lay. 
And Delos, as Apollo's birthplace known. 
And shoulder, decked with quiver gay 
And lute his brother used to own. 

He tearful war, he plague and famine gaunt 
Shall drive from Caesar and the Comrtwnweal, 
Jhe Britons and the Medes to haunt, 
Moved )yy your suppliant appeal. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



XXII 

To Fuscus 

THE man of upright life and conduct clean 
Needs neither Moorish javelin nor bow, 
Nor quiver, Fuscus, stuffed with arrows keen 
Whose tips with poison flow, 

Across the sultry Syrtes tho' he fare. 

Or thro' those distant lands where slowly wends 
Hydaspes' stream, in story famed, or where 
Bleak Caucasus ascends. 

For, singing Lalage, as late 1 led 

My truant footsteps thro' the Sabine wood. 
Devoid of care, 1 met a wolf that fled. 
Unarmed altho' I stood; 

A monster such as never yet appeared 

Where warlike Daunla's oak woods wide expand. 
Nor such the nurse of lions yet has reared — 
King Juba's arid land. 

Tho' I be placed among those t)arTen plains 
Wh«% summer airs awake no tree to life, 
That quarter of the world wh«e winter reigns, 
And fog and sleet are rife; 

Tho' I be placed in houseless climes that bum, 

Wh«% day's bright chariot glows with trtq^ic heat, 
Yet evo" I for Lalage will yearn, 

Sweet smiling, prattling sweet. 



L)ji.z^iii,,Goot^lc 



XXI 11 

To Chloe 

THOU shun'st me, Chloe, like a tender fawn 
That seeks o'er pathless hills the timid doe, 
To viaonary terrors drawn 
If thickets gkioin or zephyrs blow. 

Whether the advent of the spring awake 
The leaves' susurrus, or green lizards start 
A rustling in the Iwambly brake. 
She trembles in her knees and heart 

Yet am 1 no Gaetulian lion wild. 
No tiger fierce that seeks to crush thy charms; 
Thy mother leave, no more a chiki. 
And bless a husband's longing arms. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



32 THE ODES OF HORACE 

XXIV 

To Virgil 

WHY fed ashamed because of boundless sorrow 
For loss of one so dear? Melpomene, 
Blest by the Sire with song and lute, [ borrow 
A mournful strain from thee, 

Quintilius rests in everlasting slumbn-l 

Can Modesty and Truth unfettered, th«i. 
And stainless Honor, Justice' sister, numb«- ^ 

His peer on earth again? v. 

He died and many worthy men lament him; - 

Than thou, O Virgil, none laments him more. 
Ah, vain the thought that Heaven, who merely lent him, 
Quintilius will restarel 



Than Thracian Orpheus' listening forests knew, 
Fresh life the hollow shade will nevo- quicken 
Mid the dim spectral crew 

Once Mercury extends, to prayers unheedful. 

His awesome rod and alt return dmies. 
Hard this; but in endurance of the needful 

Our surest comfort lies. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK ONE 



To Lydia 

LESS oft with frequent blows loud youngsters shake 
t Thy casement shutters than in days of yore; 
Fe* from thy slumbers call thee to awake; 
Thy threshold binds the door 

That freely once upon its hinges swur^: 
Now less and less thou hearest lover weep: 
"While thro' the livel<mg night my heart is wrung, 
Ah, Lydia, wilt thou sleep?" 

In turn shalt thou, a slighted hag, bewail 
_That roistering rakes avoid thine alley lone, 
While thro' the moonless night the Thracian gale 
Makes bacchanalian moan. 

While raging lust and passion's stinging smart. 

Like those that make the dams of stallions bum. 
Shall glow like fire about thy cankered heart. 
And sadly shalt thou leam 

■'That gamesome youth with ecstasy perceives 

Green ivy and the dusky myrtle blend. 
But dedicates the sear and withered [eaves 
To Eurus. winter's friend. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIc: 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



In Praise of Lamia 

THE Muse befriends me: gloom and care, 
Be buried by the tempests' roar 
In Cretic seas; beneath the Bear 
What monarch mles the frozen shore, 

Or wherefore Tiridafes cowers, 

I little reck. Pimplea sweet, 
Nymph of pure springs, weave sunny flowers 

For Lamia, weave him garlands neat. 

1 cannot waft his praise abroad 

Without thee. Him with new-learned strain. 
Him with the Lesbian quill to laud. 

Befits thee and thy sister train. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



XXVil 

To my Companions 

T^ fight with tankards wrought for glee 
I Is Thracian coarseness; be restrained 
Brute mirth, lest blushing Bacchus see 
His rites t)y bloody brawls profaned. 

The Median dirlt with lamps and wne 

Is dissonantly out of place; 
On cushioned elbows, friends, recline. 

And banish riot low and base. 

Shall I with you Falemian drain 

In heady drafts? Then let us know, 
Megyila's brother, art thou slain? 

Whose dart drove home the hapfy blow? 

What, sil«it? Speak; I drink not else. 

Whatevw mistress rules thy heart. 
No vulgar fire thy bostmi melts; 

Seme gentle love inflicts the smart. 

Whate'er thy tot, come, name the giri 
In trusty ears. — Alas, for shame! 

What, trapped in that Charybdis' swirl. 
Youth, worthy of a better flame? 

What wizard with Thessalian drench. 
That witch, what god can blast her diarmsP 

Thee scarcely Pegasus could wrench 
From this three-formed Chimera's harms. 



i,z^iit>,Coot^le 



'TH 



THE ODES OF HORACE 
XXVIII 

Archyias 

PHE earth, the ocean, and the countless sands that strew 
its shore, 

Archytas, thou couldst measure in thy skill; 
Matinum's beach with scanty dust now sees thee cov»-ed 
o'er. 
And nothing steads it thee that 'twas thy will, 

Etoomed as thou wert to die, the West abodes to scale in 
thought. 
Or thro' the curving vault of heaven to fly. 
For Pelops' father, though the guest of gods, to death was 
brought, 
Tithonus, too, was wafted to the sky, 

Minos, Jove's confidant, is gone, while Tartarus enthralls 

The son of Panthus, back to Hades sent. 
Who proved, by taking down his target from the temple 

That t)ack to Trojan times his memory went. 

And that to gloomy death he yielded up but thews and skin ; 

He, thinkest thou, a student deeply versed 
In nature's lore. One common night each several soul will 
win, 

And all must tread the road of death accurst. 

The Furies some devote to Mars, a sight to glut his rage. 

Devouring seas the mariner entomb. 
The funwal trains congested stand and youth crowds hard 
on age. 

Grim Proserpine exempts no soul from doom. 

Me, too, oblique Orion's mate, swift-whirling Notus, low 
Beneath Illyrian waves in death has sped: 



i.Coot^le 



BOOK ONE 37 

But, sailor, grudge thou not a fleck of shifting sand to throw 
Uptm my naked bones and weltering head. 

So shall it hap when Bums chums the rough He^jerian 

Venusian woods before the blast shall reel 
While thou shalt snugly lie; for thee a rich reward I crave. 
Come from what port it may, and may thy keel 

Be loved of Jove and Neptune, lord of blest Tarentum's 
height. 
Wilt thou, then, venture to commit a wrong 
Which may hereafter to thy guiltless children bring its 
blight? 
Perhaps due justice and requital strong 

Await thyself. At)andoned now, for vwigeance I shall pray; 

Naught from my curses shall avert their force; 
Give heed, whate'er thine urgence, for I ask no long delay; 
Thrice scatter sand, then lask along thy course. 



I i 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



XXIX 

To Iccius 

SINCE, Iccius, Arab wealth has held 
Thy fancy, wouldst thou fight indeed 
Sabaean kings, as yet unquelled, 
, And bind with chains the frightful Mede? 

Who of the fair barbarian girls. 
Her lover slain, will be thy thrall? 

What page from court with scented curls 
Wilt thou to bear thy cup install — 

A youth who from his father's bow 
Shoots Seric diafts? Who now denies 

That Tiber's flood may backward flow, 
Back to their hills that streams may rise. 

Since thou Panaetius' tomes wilt trade. 
Ay, and the whole Socratic school. 

For steely corselets ^MUiish-made? 
1 thought thy brain knew wiser rule! 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



XXX 

To Venus 

O VENUS, queen of Paphos and of Cnide, 
Quit Cyprus dear and seek the temple fair 
Of Glycera, who calls thee to her side 
With clouds of incense rare. 

May Nymphs and glowing Cupid with thee wend. 

Let kxisely-girdled Graces hither throng, 
Bring Youth, wfto lacking thee no joy can lend, 
And Mercury along. ' 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 
XXX[ 

My Prayer to Apollo 

WHAT from enshrined Apollo may 
His poet ask? For what, while drops 
Wine from his chalice, shall he pray? 
Not blest Sardinia's teeming crops, 

Nw parched Calabria's goodly kine, 

Not Indian ivory and Eold, 
Nor meads where Liris' still streams twine 

And silently wear down the mold. 

Let Cales' favored sons produce 
The grape, that some rich lord of trade 

May drain from golden cups the juice 
For which his Syrian wares have paid — 

The gods' own charge, since more than thrice 
He yearly sails the Atlantic seas 

Unscathed: me olives will suffice, 
Me endive and light mallows please. 

&ant me, [ pray, Latona's son, 
A mind undimmed, a healthy frame, 

CCKitentment with posses^ns won. 
A tuneful age. and spotless name. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



XXXd 

To my Lyre 

THEY call me. [f 1 idly 'neath the shade 
With thee trolled strains to live the whole year long. 
Yea, all the years, come, be my touch obeyed. 
And yield a Latian song. 

Thou lyre whom erst the Lesbian patriot knew. 

Who, bold in war, yet when the fight waxed sore. 
Or when his stonn-tost ship he safely drew 
Upon the spray-drenched shore, 

Still sang of Liber and the Muses fair. 

Of Venus with her fondly -clinging child. 
And Lycus handsome with his jetty hair 
And jetty glances mild. 

ornament of Phoebus, pleasing shell. 

Whene'er I duly hail thee, be thou near, 
For, loved at Jove's high feast, thy soothing swell 
Kds sorrow disappear. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



XXXI n 

To Albius Tibullus 

ALBIUS, grieve not too much the' thou discover 
That Glycera is false, nor breathe thy sighs 
In elegies because some younger lover 
Outshines thee in her ^es. 

For fair law-browed Lycoris glows with pas^on 

For Cyrus: Cyrus fondly seeks in turn 
Harsh Pholofi; but roes in monstrous fashion 
For Daunian wolves shall yearn 

Ere PholoS shall yield to rakish suitor: 

So Venus wills, who sets her brazen yoke 
On forms and minds ill-matched, and loves to tutor 
Her thralls with some ^m joke. 

And 1? The love a worthier mistress urges 

Gives way to Myrtale's dear fettering band; 

A freedgirl she more wild than Hadrian ^rges 

That gnaw Cal^^ia's strand. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



XXXIV 

My Renunciation of False Philosophy 

SCANT homage to the gods I gave 
While senseless sapience was my creed; 
Now back I sail across the wave 
And of my former course take heed. 

For tho' full often Father Jove 
Rives clouds with flashing bolts from far. 

Just now athwart the blue he drove 
His thundering steeds and rapid car. 

The stable land, the gliding streams, 
Styx, Atlas, earth's ettremest bound. 

And hated Taenarus' grisly seams. 
Still shudder at the fearsome sound. 

God lifts the low, casts down the high. 
Abases pride, makes rich the poor; 

Oft Fate on whirring vans will fly. 
Depose the king, and crown the boor. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HOE^CE 



XXXV 

To Fortune 

O GODDESS, que«i of Antium fair. 
Strong to exalt from low estate 
Our mortal clay, and prompt to bear 
Funereal gloom mid triumphs great; 

The needy hind his anxious vow 
Prefers to thee, to thee they kneel 

As ocean's mistress, they who plow 
Carpathian waves with Thynian keel. 

Thee E)acians rude, fleet Scythian bands. 
Towns, tribes, and martial Rome obey. 

Mothers of kings of Eastern lands 
And purple despots own thy sway. 

Lest with thy foot in wanton might 
The standing pillar thou o'erwhelm. 

Lest mobs urge on each laggard wight 
To arms, to arms, and sink the realm. 

Before thee walks with sullen tread 
Necessity, whose brazen grasp 

Holds wedge and spikes, while molten lead 
Is wanting not, nor rigid hasp. 

Rare Faith, in shining raiment clothed. 
And Hope love thee, and fondly cleave 

Tho' thou enraged, in vestments loathed. 
Of stately dwellings take thy leave. 

But veering herd and perjured trull 
Sneak back; when with its lees each jar 

Is emptied, friend^ip's oaths are null 
As false companions scatter far. 



i,Coot^[c 



BOOK ONE 

Guard Caesar, who will soon have steered 
For Britain, at the globe's far rim, 

And guard our youthful levies, feared 
In Red sea lands and Orient dim. 

Atas, the shame of civil strife, 

Its scare, its crimes! Our haniened age 
What vnce avoids? Our impious life 

Leaves what unsullied? Does our rage 

Fear gods themselves no more? What fane 
Is spared? On anvil forge anew 

Our blunted swcwd whose lethal bane 
Arab and Massagete may rue. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



W", 



THE ODES OF HORACE 
XXXVI 

The Return of Numida 

/H[LE votive bullocks bleed 'tb ouis 

To appease with ^ce and lutes the guardian powers 
Of Numida, who, now at hand 
In safety from Hesp«ia's distant strand, 

Brin^ store of losses to his host 
Of cherished friends but gives loved Lamia most. 

Because with him in schoolboy days 
He worked beneath the selfsame master's gaze. 

And with him dtmned the manly gown. 
With Cretan mark the festal day jot down. 

Let generous [»tchers freely flow. 
No rest the foot from Salian dances know. 

In Thradan bout with frequent draft 
By Damalis be Battus not outquaft, 

And on the board, by roses graced. 
Be parsley green and short-lived lilies placed. 

The swimming ^es of all will turn 
To Damalis, but IDamalis will yearn 

For her new love, and to him cling 
Closdier than wanton ivies oaks enring. 



i,z^iit>,Goot^le 



N° 



XXXVI 1 

The Death of Cleopatra 

^|0W drain the genial bowl, my mates, 

Now strike the earth with gyveless feet, 
- Now heap the couch with Salian cates. 
That gods may have their honors meet. 

Ere this it were a crime to tgp 
The Caecuban our grand^res stored, 

While yet the Queen intrigued to sap 
The Capitol and with her hwde 

Subvert the empire. She among 
Her base, vile pack hopes rashly held 

By Fortune's sweets to madness stung: 
But soon her ardor was dispelled 

Wh«i scarce one ship the flames escaped. 
And Caesar banished from her mind 

Fears Mareotic wine had shaped. 
But truer terrors left behind 

When from our land each bendiiw oar 
He strained in hot pursuit — as hawk 

Seeks doves or hunter skims the frore 
Haemonian fields the hare to stalk — 

To lead in chains that fatal pest. 

Nobly to die she rather planned, 
Cringed not at daggers, no, nor prest 

In her swift prores to some far strand. 

Her prostrate palaces she viewed 
With gaze semie; the deadly asp. 

Until h«" body was imbued 
With venom black, she dared to grasp 



i.Cooglc 



THE ODES OF HOEMCE 

More boldly, now on death intent. 

Unqueened, she scorned, a dame uncowed, 
To be in grim Liburnians sent 

To deck a Roman triumirfi proud. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



XXXVII 1 

To my Cupbearer 

THIS Persian luxury, my boy, I hate, 
N(M- care for chaplets bound with linden bast; 
Inquire not in what covert, blooming late. 
The roses linger last. 

To beautify plain myrtle never think, 

I pray thee; meet are m^les that we twine 
For thee who servest and for me who drink 
Beneath my close-pleached vine. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK TWO 



L)^i.z.iii™Goog[c 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



To Pollio 

THE civil strife whose rising force 
Dates from Metellus* consulship. 
The war's mistakes, its plans, its source, 
The sleights of Fortune, arms that drip 

With blood unexpiated yet, 

And chiefs coUeagued — biehold thy theme! 
A parlous taski Thy step b set 

On slag that crusts the lava's gleam. 

Thy Tragic Muse in solemn stole 
May quit the stage awhile; first pen 

Thine annais and then play thy role 
In Cecrops' buskin once again, 

Pollio, famed prop wh«i senates weigh 
Thdr counsels, when defendants sigh. 

Thou leader whom Dalmatia's bay 
Has dowered with fame that cannot die. 

E'en now my ears are stunned by blast 
Of strident horns, now clarions blare. 

Now steeds with riders gallop past. 
Both wiklered by the weapons" glare. 

Now of great chiefs 1 seem to learn, 
With no inglorious dust imbrued, 

The mighty earth and all in turn, 
Save Cato's stubborn soul, subdued. 



i.,Coot^[c 



THE ODES OF HORACE 

Juno and Afric's friendly train. 
Who weakly left unvenged its coast. 

Have now the victors' grandsons slain 
And pacified Jugurtha's ghost 

What plain, enriched with Latin gore. 
But by its barrows well recalls 

Curst frays that to Hesperia bcwe 
A downfall heard in Medic halls? 

Our wretched wars are rumored wide. 

What river knows them not? what fkxxl? 
What sea has Daunian rage not dyed? 

What shore is guiltless of our bkx>d? 

Pert Muse, sweet themes abandon not; 

For thee no dirge of Ceos moans; 
With me, beneath Dione's grot, 

Attune thy lyre to lighter tones. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



To SallusHus Crispus 

SALLUSTIUS CRISPUS, foe to bullion dross 
Unless thro' moderate use it win its sheen, 
SilvCT, while buried in earth's sordid foss. 
Is valueless and mean. 

A lengthy Span shall Proculeius live 

For love paternal to his brethren shown; 
To him shall Fame, stronged-winged and deathless, give 
An honor his alone. 

Mcffe wide thy sway, if avarice be supprest, 

Than if each Carthage bowed beneath thy yoke. 
And thine were Cades in the distant west 
Added to Lybia's folic. 

pFom self-indulgence direful dropsy spreads; 

Thirst rages while the cause whence illness c^me 
Flows thro' the vans, and watery languor sheds 
A pallor o'er the frame. 

EMscemmCTit differs from the rabble horde. 

Bids mobs from fine misleading terms refrain. 
Rules from the blest PhraStes, tho' restored 
To Cyrus' throne he reign; 

F[eely bestows the diadem, the bay. 

And sovereignty on him and only him 
Whose eye can kx* on treasure's vast display 
And ne'er with greed grow dim. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Dellius 

IN trials bear a mind serene, 
And when prosperity is nigh 
Let no exultant pride be seen. 
Since, Dellius, thou art doomed to die, 

Tho' thou the time in sadness pass. 

Tho" thou thro' happy days recline 
In nook retired upon the grass 

With jars of choice Falemian wine. 

Why do tall pines and poplars white 
Weave with their limbs a pleasing shade? 

Why do pellucid streams take flight 
In sinuous windings down the glade? 

Send perfumes here, the vintage red. 
And rose whose blossoms fade too soon, 

While the Three Sisters' saWe Oiread, 
Fortune, and Youth permit the boon. 

Thou soon must quit thy home, thy lands. 

Thy villa yellow Tiber laves, 
Quit these, and leave thine heir whose hands 

Itch for the hoarded wealth he craves. 

From ancient Inachus tho' bom 
And rich, tho' of the baser host, 

Poor, shelterless, thou live forlorn — 
Still ruthless EHs will claim thy ghost 

We all are mustered; soon or late 
Our lots leap forth the shaken urn. 

And Charon's boat conveys us straight 
To exile whence is no return. 



...Coot^lc 



To Xanihias 

THAT passion for thy handmaid sways thee now 
Blu^ not, O Phocian Xanthias. Long ago 
The thrall Brisas with her snowy brow 
Made proud Achilles glow. 

Glowed Telamonian Ajax, forced to crave 

Tecmessa's charms — the captive ruled her lord! — 
Burned, too, Atrides for a maiden slave, 
In triumph as he warred, 

What time the thinned barbarian hosts were slain 

By Rithia's victor chief, and Hector died, 
Till Pergama, now easier to gain, 
Fell to the Greeks well tried. 

Mayhap thine auburn Phyllis' sire designs 

For thee, his son. both riches and renown: 
Her race is doubtless royal and she pines 
Because her home-gods frown. 

Thy mistress springs from no plebeian breed: 

Such stock would ne'er beget — make no demursi — 
A maid so loyal and averse to greed; 
No vulgar mother hers! 

Her arms, her features, and her ankles trim, ' 

I praise them heartwhole; have no jealous fears 
Of one whose hurrying life has brought to him 
Full tale of forty years. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To a Friend • 

NOT yet her subject neck may wear 
The ytAe, not yet may she fulfill 
The duties of a mate, or bear 
The amorous bull's impetuous will. 

In verdant meads at will to graze 
Absort)s thy heifer's tr^iquil mind. 

The heat of summer she allays 
In streams, and seeks her yeariing kind 

In willow copses wet. Ne'er yearn 
For unripe grapes: with garish reign 

Cwnes crimson autumn, soon to turn 
Each darkling bunch to purpler stain. 

Soon she will come: time's mad career 
Draws years from thee to give to her; 

Soon boldly, when she needs a fere. 
For thee will Lalage bestir. 

For her shalt thou more deeply pine 
Than a^t for bagful Pholoe, 

Or Chloris, she whose shoulders shine 
Like moonbeams on the nightly sea. 

Or Cnidian Gyges — scarce is read 
His sex when mid the bevied girls, 

And strangers well may be misled 
By blooming cheeks and flowing curls. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



To Septimius 



SEPTEMIUS, who for love wouldst go with me 
To Cades and where Cantabri rebel, 
And cruel Syrtes where the Moorish sea 
Seethes with its ceaseless swell; 

May Tibur, by the Argive settler reared, 

Becwne my home when near the close of life. 
Become my refuge from the hardships feared 
By sea, by land, by strifel 

Whence, if the dour Fates bar me out betimes. 

Meads by Galesus' stream will 1 invade. 
Most sweet to skin-clad ewes, and those fair climes 
Spartan Philanthus swayed. 

That spot charms more than all the rest of earth; 

No clearer honey can Hymettus yield, 
No olive ever grew of goodlier worth 
In green Venafrum's field. 

There Jove vouchsafes mild winters, lingering springs. 

There, dear to fruitful Bacchus, Aulon shapes 
The clusters fair, and feels no jealous stings 
For sweet Falernian grapes. 

That sunny nook, those heights that know no storm, 

Call thee and me; there shalt thou, at the end. 
Bedew with votive tears the ashes warm 
Of me, thy poet-friend. 



b, Google 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Pompey 

OOFT with me in gravest plights 
When Brutus led his hosts of yore. 
Who now, restored to civic rights, 
Recalls thee to thy native shore 

And home-gods, Pompey, friend the best. 
With whom with wine [ used to fleet 

The lagging days, my wreathed locks drest 
With tar Assyria's ointments sweet? 

With thee in panic I forsook 

Philippi, where, as recreant must, 
1 left my targe, w^iie Valor shook 

And warriors basely bit the dust. 

Me in my terror Mercury swift 

Wrapt in thick cloud and saved from foes; 
Thee refluent tides again bade drift 

Amid war's billows' boisterous blows. 

Come, spread for Jove the banquet due; 

Stretch out beneath my laurel tree 
Those limbs with warfare wearied thro", 

Nor spare the casks reserved for thee. 

Since Massic every care dispels. 

Fill burnished beakers to the brim. 
Pour unguents from the generous shelb; 

From supple parsley, myrtle limb. 

Quick, who will plait the wreaths? Whom, pray. 

As k)rd of cups will Venus send? 
Sweet is Edonian mirth; 'tis gay. 

This tippling with a long-lost friend. 



i.Coot^lc 



VIII 

To Barine 

BARINE, were thy charms one whit the less 
in retribution for thy perjured truth, 
Hadst thou one blemish to thy loveliness, 
A blackened nail or tooth, 

I might believe thee: but thy radiance rare 

Draws glamour from thy violated word; 
For thee alone, when tripping thro' the Square, 
Our giddy youth are stirred. 

It boots thee to invoke with lying tH^ath 

Thy mother's dust, the slent signs of night, 
Yes, heaven's expanse, and gods whom gelid Death 
Has never power to smite. 

Laughs Venus' self, methinks, when this is known, 

Laugh the good-ruitured Nymphs and, filled with Ire, 
Cupid who whets upon a gory stone 
His arrows barbed with fire. 

Then, last and worsti our growing manhood falls 
Beneath thy lure; new slaves are growir^, yet 
The old quit not their impious mistress' halls, 
Tho' oft th^ vainly threat. 

Thee mothers for their hulking youngsters fear, 
Thee thrifty sires, thee damseb wed but now, 
In downright misery lest their husbands dear 
Forsake for thee their vow. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



N° 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To yalgius 

JOT always from the storm cloud falb 
The shower upon the sodden plain, 
Not ever rise the gusty squalb 
To grapple with the Caspian main. 

Friend Vaigius, nor Armenia's shore 
The twelvemonth thro' is Stiff with frost, 

Garganian oaks dread Boreas' roar 
Not aye, nor ash weeps foliage lost. 

But still the burden of thy teen 
Is Mystes dead; thou art not done 

When Vespw's rising ray is seen, 
Or when he flees the circling sun. 

He who saw three descents expire 
lived not thro' all his years forlorn 

For loved Antilochus; his sire 
And Phrygian sisters ceased to nxnim 

Young Troilus at last. Beshrew 
Thy weak complainings! Sing we now 

Augustus Caesar's trophies new, 
Niphates stark, the folk that bow 

Where old Euphrates* tides advance 
Thdr humbled currents thro' the mead, 

Gelonian tribes that tamdy prance, 
Nor dare their narrowed bounds exceed. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



To Licinius 

LICINIUS, that thy life be safelier led, 
* Steer not too boldly for the open main. 
Nor hug too closely treacherous Stores, thro' dread 
Of stormwinds' Watant reign. 

What man soever loves the golden mean 
Safely avoids a squalid, tottering cell, 
Sanely avoids the proud palatial scene 
Where Envy's minions dwell. 

More oft it b the hugest pine that creaks 

When winds are wild, with weightier ruin crash 
The topless towers, and on the mountain peaks 
Descends the levin flash. 

The mind well schooled when days are bright will fear, 

When d^o^ are dark will hope for, fortune's shift. 
For Jove, who brings the wintry tempests drear. 
Will likewise make them lift 

And vanish. Tho' our lot be ill to-day. 

It dures not ever: oft with harpings low 
Apollo wakes the Muse, and not for aye 
He bends his angry bow. 

In times of stress approve thyself a man 

Both brave and patient; but when ^>anking gales 
Too freely blow around thee, wisely plan 
To reef thy bellying sails. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Quindius Hirpinus 

WHAT warlike Cantabri may plan, 
And Scyths whom barrier seas repel, 
Quinctius Hirpinus, prithee, ban 
As vain alarms; no further dwell 

On fleeting life whose needs are few. 
Fresh youth and beauty backward creep 

As sapless eld bids long adieu 
To frolic loves and restful sleep. 

The vernal flower that mildly beams 
Must fade, the ruddy moon must wane; 

Why then, unfit for endless sdiemes. 
Wilt thou for naught fatigue thy brain? 

Why drink we not, while time allows, 
Stretched 'neath this pine or sycamore. 

In careless guise, our grizzled brows 
With Syrian nard besprinkled o'er 

And wreathed with roses? Evius stills 
Our carking cares. What slave of mine 

Will temper from the wimpling rills 
Our cups of brisk Falemian wine? 

Come, who will coax from home that jade. 
The tricksy Lyde? Bid her haste 

With ivory lute, like Spartan maid. 
Her hair with simple knot engraced. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



N" 



To Maecenas 

JUMANTIA'S tedious wars, where hosts were pitted. 
Stem Hannibal, and wide Sicilia's main 
With Punic gore empurpled, are unfitted 
For gentle lyric strain. 

Fell Lapiths and Hylaeus drunk and bestial 
Suit not my song, nor, by Alcides quelled. 
The sons erf Earth who shook the domes celestial 
Of Saturn hoar with eld 

From cope to base. Do thou, Maecenas, rather 

Narrate our Caesar's wars in ordered prose. 
And tell of streets where shackled monarchs gather. 
Our late intrepid foes. 

To me the Muse commends Licymnia's singing, 

Thy lady's dulcet voice, and bids me praise 
Her sparkling eyes and, from her heart upspringing. 
Her faithful, loving ways. 

None sprightlier show, no lighter foot advances 

Mid choral bands, nor whiter arms entwine 
With fair-garbed virgins in the festal dances 
On Dian's day divine. 

Wouk]st take for one of dear Licymnia's tresses 
The wealth of Mygdon, fertile Phrygia's king. 
What coffered store Achaemenes possesses. 
Or Araby can bring. 

When yields the loved one to thy burning Idsses, 

Or when withholds her sweets, unkindly coy. 
Yet hopes them rapt by force, or when the blisses 
Snatches herself in joy? 



L)^i.z.iii™Goog[c 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



XHI 

To a Fallen Tree 

ON lucJdess day he set thee out, 
Whoe'er he was, O tree, and reared 
With impious hand, to towns about 
A shame to be in future feared. 

That man, I think, by strangling sped 
His father, and his hearth would stain 

With midnight blood of guest abed: 
All evil deeds, each Colchian bane. 

Wherever loiown, were known to him 
Who planted thee, disastrous bole. 

Thee, in my croft, with toppling limb 
To threat thy blameless master's poll. 

What fate to flee from hour to hour 
We know not: Punic seamen mark 

The Bosporus where tempests lower. 
But heed no other perils dark. 

We dread the Mede that fights and flies. 
The Mede fears chains and Latian oak; 

Yet death in un^pected guise 
Has harried and will harry folk. 

How nearly 'twas my lot to know 
Swart Proserpine's domain in hell. 

Judge Aeacus, blest seats below, 
With Sappho keening o'er her shell 

F(H- k>veless Lesbian girls, and thee 
Whose golden quill woke louder lays, 

Alcaeus, of the grievous sea. 
Most grievous exile, grievous fraysl 



i.Coot^Ic 



BOOK TWO 61 

The marveling shades in sil^Ke hear 

Rapt strains from both, but more they yeam, 

With shoulder prest and listening ear, 
Of wars and banished chiefs to learn. 

What wonderl Cerberus, crouching there. 
Droops his dun ears, by warbling blest 

Subdued, and in the Furies' hair 
The writhing snakes are lulled to rest. 

Prometheus, yes, and Pelops' sire 
List the sweet sound till anguish sinks. 

Nor does Oion care to tire 
The lion and the wary lynx. 



i.z.iit,,Cooglc 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



XIV. 

To Poslumus 

AH, Postumus, my Postumus, 
Fast glide the years, nor pious breath 
Wards wrinkles and old age from us. 
Nor yet indomitable death: 

No, friend, tho' thrice a hundred kine 

To tearless Pluto daily bled, 
Whose ambient, gruesome waves confine. 

Vast Geryon, the triple dread, 

And Tityos — the waves that ai! 

Whom bounteous earth [«)vides with food 
Must voyage o'er nor hope recall, 

Tho" men of wealth, tho' delvers rude. 

In vain from gory Mars we shrink, 
And booming Hadria's chop^^ surge. 

In vain thro' autumn days we think 
To shield our frames from Auster's scourge; 

For we must see Cocytus coil 
His sluggish current dark and dun. 

Curst E)anaids, and the endless toil 
Of Sisyphus, rough Aeolus' son. 

Thou soon must leave earth, winsome wfe. 
And home, while cypresses abhorred. 

Of trees that know thy pruning knife. 
Alone will mourn thdr short-lived lord. 

Thy worthier heir the wine will pour, 
Now guarded with a hundred keys. 

And prcHider juice shall tinge thy floor 
Than that the pontiffs supper sees. 



i.,Coot^[c 



Against Luxury 

FEW acres for the plow to break 
Our regal fnles will leave; dispread 
Around, more broad than Lucrine lake, 
Are seen the fishponds; planes unwed 

Will oust the elms; soon pansied sward. 
And myrtle brake, and all sweet scents, 

Where olives for their former lord 
Once teemed, will fragrant airs dispense. 

Thick laurels soon a screen will form 
To bar the fervid rays. Not thus 

Of old was bearded Cato's norm. 
Nor that prescribed by Romulus. 

Each common's wealth was small, but vast 
The State's: then stretched no porticoes 

In far-flung pomp, where murmured past 
Cool north winds thro" their columned rows. 

For private use no man could slight 
The ready sod; but proudly shone 

Halls and the fanes of gods, bedight 
At public cost, in new-style stone. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 

XV [ 

To Grosphus 

FOR peace the sailor begs the gods on high, 
Benighted on the broad Aegean wave. 
When dark clouds hide the moon and from the sky 
No stars shine forth to save; 

For peace frenetic Thrace the battle stems, 

For peace the Mede his painted quiver t)ears. 
But, Grosphus, neither purple, gold, nor gems 
Can buy relief from cares. 

Not treasure nor the consul's lictor band 

Can from the mind hold wretched ills aloof, 
Not banish griefs that flit on every hand 
About the fretted roof. 

He lives on little happily who sees 

The heirloom salt-dish glisten at his board; 
His g«itle sleep thro' fear of theft ne'«- flees. 
Nor thro' desire to hoard. 

Since short our span why are rash aims \r\bredt 

For climes 'neath other suns our course why ^lape? 
What exile, from his native country fled. 
Can from himself escape? 

EXiU Care outstrips trooped horsemen flying fast 
And climbs the sides of galleys brazen-prowed. 
More fleet than stags, more fleet than Eurus' blast 
That drives the scudding cloud. 

In present joy the happy heart abides, 

Nor dreads the future; with calm smile it still 
Endures life's bitter things. No good betides 
Without its chastening ill. 



...Coot^lc 



BOOK TWO 

An early death laid famed Achilles low, 

Tithonus withered thro' protracted eld; 

On me, pertiaps, will hurrying time bestow 

The goods from thee withheld. 

Round thee a hundred flocks bleat wide and far 

And Sikel kine are lowing; for thy use 
The whinnying mare is harnessed to the car; 
For thee the Afric juice 

Deep dyes thy garments; me unswerving Doom 

Has blest with Grecian songs, tho' slight and few, 
A rural cot, and temper to assume 
Scorn for the carping crew. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIc 



W", 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



XVH 

To Maecenas 

/HY must these tiresMne bodings be? 
Earlier for thee in death to wend 
Suits not, Maecenas, gods nor nte, 
My fortune's prop, my worthiest friend. 

Of thee, my soul's best part, bereft. 

Shall I, the other half, delay. 
With all ties gone and nothing left 

Save cheerless life? That fatal day 

Shall wreck us both. No idle vow 
1 utter; we shall go, shall go. 

Whene'er thou journey, I and thou. 
Companions on the road below. 

Tho' rose Chimera belching fires. 
Or Gyas with his hundred hands, 

Twould part us not; so Fate requires. 
And powerful Justice so commands. 

Tho' Libra ruled when 1 was bom, 
Tho' baleful Scorpio held his reign 

With aspect fell, or Capricorn, 
The tyrant of the western main. 

Our horoscopes in wondrous style 
Agree, Thee Jove, thy guardian blest. 

Rescued from Saturn's wicked wile, 
And brought death's rapid wings to rest 

When from the theater densely filled 
Thy glad ovation thrice outbroke; 

I. badly stunned, was all but killed 
When fell the tree, but Faun the stroke 



i.CoQt^lc 



BOOK TWO 

With right hand brushed aside; the god 
Of poets he. A fane must tell 

Thy thanks while victims dye the sod; 
Blood from my humble lamb must well. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To a Miser 

O'ER my modest rooms no blended 
Gold and ivory gleam confest, 
No Hymettian marbles splendid 

Cap tall shafts in Afric drest, 

Attalus has never lad«i 

Me with realms, his unknown heir. 
In my halls no high-bom madden 

Traib Laconian purples rare. 

Truth is mine and inspiration, 
Me, tho" poor, the rich attend. 

Never, to exalt my station. 
Shall I tease my powerful friend 

Or the gods for further gaining, 
Pleased with Sabine farm most dear. 

Moons that lately waxed are waning. 
Day speeds day in swift careo'. 

Marble slabs thou still art sawing, 
Flouting death tho' near the grave; 

Thou art building mansions, drawing 
Out the shoreline where the wave 

Beats at Baiae, still unsated. 
Since the beach thy wealth confines. 

Shame! thy neighbor, desolated, 
For his farmstead's bound-stones pines. 

Greed thy tenants' fields has harried, 
Man and wife are reft of home. 

Hearth-gods in thdr bosoms carried 
Forth with ragged babes must roam. 



BOOK TWO 

Destined boum more sure and ^>eedy 
Ne'er awaits thee, wealthy lord. 

Than the halls of Orcus greedy. 
Why strive further? 'Neath the sward 

Opes the realm of prince and pauper, 

Nor OMjld sly Prometheus" gold 
Bribe the unrelenting torpor 
Of Dis' boatman. He can hold 

Both Tantalides and vainful 

Tantalus; he frees from woe 
Hinds dismissed from labors painful. 

Whether he be called or no. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HOEIACE 



A Dithyramb 

BACCHUS mid crags remote 1 found. 
Whose hymns — give credence, future yearsl — 
He taught to listening Nymphs around 
While goat-hooved Fauns [K-icked up thar ears. 

Evoet new fears my bosom tear; 

My pulses, filled with Bacchus, quake; 
Evoel O spare me. Liber, spare; 

No more thy pot«it thyrsus shalce. 

Sing we the Thyiads, tireless still, 
Rich brooks of milk that thread the leas. 

The founts of wine, the honeyed rill 
That oozes from the hollow trees; 

Sing, too, thy consort's blissful state 
And starry crown, the wack abhorred 

Of Pentheus" palace, and the fate 
Of mad Lycurgus, Thracia's lord. 

Thou swervest streams, thou ocean wide, 
Thou, flu^ied with wine, in lonely spots 

Estonian Maenads' hair hast tied 
With vipos wreathed in harmless knots. 

By thee, when impious Giant throng 

Thy father's lofty kingdom scaled. 
Was Rhoetus backward dashed along. 

By lion's claws and fangs assailed. 

Best known in dance and quip and game, 

Tho' thought unequal to the might 
Of battle, still thou wert the same, 

Wheth^- mid scenes of peace or fight. 



i.Coot^lc 



BOOK TWO 

Thee Cerberus, when he saw thee tricked 
With golden hom, was pleased to greet 

By wag of tail, at parting licked 
With triple tongue thy legs and feet. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Maecenas 

ON neither weak nor vulgar wing 
Shall I be borne thro' liquid air 
A two-formed bard, nor shall I clir^ 
To earth, but, proof 'gainst envy, fare 

From towns. Not E, the lowly-bom. 
Not I, thine intimate, shall die, 

Maecenas dear, and dwell forlorn 
Wh^e melancholy Styx flows by. 

E'en now rough scales invest each shin, 
My frame a bird's white form assumes 

Above, and back and arms begin 
To be arrayed in flufiy plumes, 

A tuneful swan, on safer vanes 
Than Icarus', I soon shall soar 

O'er Lybian deserts, ArcUc plains. 
And Bosporus' tumultuous ^ore. 

Colchian and Goth that masks his dread 
Of Marfan troops my spell shall own; 

Far Scyths shall Imow me, scholars tn-ed 
In Spain, and he that drinks the Rhone. 

Around my empty bier suppress 
Unseemly grief, the moan, the dirge; 

Give o'er the final call; no less 
A tomb's vain honors cease to urge. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK THREE 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



On Contentment 

1HATE you! hence, unhallowed throngs! 
Be hushed! the Muses' priest, I bring. 
Till now unheard, a sheaf of scHigs: 
To maid«is and to youths E »ng. 

Kings o'er their flocks exert thar sway. 
Yet Icings themselves hold Jove in awe; 

A conqueror in the Giant fray, 
His nod is nature's steadfast law. 

This man plants vines in ampler rows; 

That, seeking office, trusts to birth 
When down upon the Field he goes; 

A third takes pride in manly worth; 

In client throngs a fourth finds fame; 

Yet equitable Fate in turn 
Dooms great and small, and every name 

Is shaken in the spacious um. 

Sicilian cates give no sweet zest 
To jaded taste, while notes of harp 

And birds will ne'er to him bring rest 
Above whose impious neck a sharp 

I>awn saber hangs; but gentle sleep 
Shuns not the catxn of the hind. 

Nor marge embowered in boskage deep. 
Nor Tempe fanned by zephyrs kind. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 

The man who seeks but just enough 
Recks not tumultuous stcHnis amid 

The ocean, nor Arcturus rough 
At setting, nor the rising Kid, 

Nor vines by hailstones beaten down, 
Nor farm grown faithless, tho' the trees 

Oiide now the rains, now winter's frown. 
Now planets dire that parch the leas. 

In straitened seas the fishes glide 
Since ruhble chokes the deep; there toil 

Contractors with their workmen tried, 
And, too, their lord, who scorns the soil. 

To lay foundations. Threats and Fears 
To dog the rich man urge their pace, 

Black Care the bronze-beaked trireme steers. 
And hounds the horseman in the chase. 

Since grief yields not to Phrygian stone. 
Nor purples than a star more fair. 

Nor vintage, tho' Falemum's own. 
Nor Achaemenian spikenard rare. 

Why, envied, should I seek regale 
In new halls reared at much expense? 

Why should I truck my Sabine dale 
For scenes of onerous opulCTicft* 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK THREE 



On Pairiotism 

THE youth inured in war's stern trade 
Should study patiently to bear 
Privations dire, with horseman's blade 
Should vex the cruel Mede, and dare 

To bivouac 'neath the open skies 

Mid hard campaigns. From hostile tower 
When such by ripening daughter's eyes . 

And consort of the warring power 

Is seen, they agh: "Ah, ne'er engage, 
Our trothplight prince, to war unbred, 

That lion fierce whom bloody rage 
Incites to deeds of carnage dread." 

Sweet, glorious 'tis for native land 
To die. Death follows him that flees. 

Nor spares the youths that trembling stand. 
But bruises coward loins and knees. 

True Virtue wards all base attacks 
While her untarnished honors glow. 

Nor drops nor reassumes the ax 
As favor's fickle breezes blow. 

True Virtue dowers Desert with gift 
Of heaven, she treads paths not allowed 

To others, and with pinion swift 
She spurns dank earth and vulgar crowd. 

Leal silence, too, has sure reward. 

Tattlers of Ceres' mysteries dark 
Shall house not 'neath my rooftree broad. 

Nor shall they e'er with me embark 



i..Goog[e 



THE ODES OF HORACE 

In fragile skiff. The outraged Sire 
With bad men oft makes just ones bleed; 

Lame Vengeance seldom fails to tire 
The fledng wretch, the' long his lead. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK THREE 



On Inlegriiy 

THE righteous man of steadfast mind 
From firm resolve is never tlirust 
By civil tumult rash and blind, 
Nor tyrant's frown, nor Auster's gust, 

Rough lord of Hadria's restless swell, 
Nor Jove's great hand whence lightning flies: 

Undaunted such would stand tho' fell 
With awful cra^ the very skies. 

This \drtue dowered with thrones divine 

Pollux and roving Hercules, 
Mid whom Augustus shall recline 

In roseate youth at nectared ease. 

This, father Bacchus, brought reward 
When harnessed tigers safely sped 

Thee skyward; so from death abhorred 
With steeds of Mars Quirinus fled. 

When OHiclaved gods heard Juno speak 

Right gladly: "Ilion, llion sank 
In ashes thro' a woman weak 

And lecherous judge of princely rank; 

"Was doomed by me and Pallas chaste 

With pc^Kilace and fraudful chief, 
What time Laomedon outfaced 
The gods with guile beyond belief, 

"The shameless guest no longer charms 
His Spartan leman; Hector's spear 
No mwe repels the Greeks in arms 
Whom Priam's fdthless people fear. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HOtUCE 

"Tlie war our factious strife prolor^ed 
Has died away: 1 nurse no ware 
Fierce anger, and my grandson wronged. 
Whom erst a Trojan priestess bore, 

"For Mars 1 pardon; let him hold 
A seat among our sheaiy bowers. 
Sip nectar sweet, and be enrolled 
Mid jjeatific heavenly powers. 

"While vasty oceans rage between 
llion and Rome, as exiles brave 
His sons may rule some blest demesne; 
O'er Priam's and o'er Paris' grave -> 

"While cattle fri^ and beasts conceal 
Their young, resplendent let it stand. 
The Capitol, and Roman steel 
Give laws to each quelled Median band. 

"To far shores Rome's feared name may post. 
From where the midland strait divides 
Our Europe from the Afric coast 
To where the Nile with swollen tides 

■"O'erflows the wheat-fields: may she shun 
The gold unfound, best locked in earth. 
Nor squander wealth, by rapine won, 
On arts and crafts of paltry worth, 

"Where stands earth's limitary bound 
May Rome bear arms and gladly gaze 
Where mists and drizzly rains are found, 
Where glows the sweltering solar blaze. 

"These fates to martial Rome I swear 
With this reserve: tho' courage buoy 
e urge, she must not dare 
r ancestral Trey. 



i.Coot^Ic 



BOOK THREE 

"Troy, bom to ill if brought to life, 

Would see dire wrack r«iew its course. 
For I myself, Jove's sister-wife, 

Would marshal on the conquering force. 

"Tho' thrice should rise a wall of brass . 
By Phoebus built, it thrice would fail 
Before my Argives; thrice, alasl 

Thralled wives would mates and babes bewail." 

Such songs fit not my playful lute. 

Bold Muse, where wilt thou? Cease to prate 
The speech of gods, nor strive to bruit 

From strings so slight a theme so great 



i,Caot^lc 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



IV 

On Wisdom 

O QUEEN Calliope, descend 
From heaven, come, play upon thy flute 
Full strains or, if it please thee, blatd 
Thy trilling vrace with Phoebus' lute. 

Listl hear ye her? or does it rove, 

My idle fancy? Now meseems 
I hear and stroll thro' hallowed grove 

Where zephyrs stray and pleasant streams. 

Play-worn and sunk in slumber sound. 
On me a child. In Vultur's waste 

Beyond my nurse Apulia's bound. 
The storied doves a covering placed 

Of fresh green leaves: much marveled all 

That hold high Acherontia's nest. 
The Dantine woodlands fair and tall, 

And low Farentum's tillage blest. 

That [ from bears and deadly snakes 
Slept safe, that, strewn with holy bay 

And branches culled from myrtle brakes. 
Protected l^ the gods 1 lay. 

Yours, dear Camenae, yours am I, 
Tho" Sabine peaks exert their ^)ell, 

Tho' pleased by Baiae's liquid sky, 
Praeneste cool, or Tibur's dell. 



Philippi's rout, and Palinure 
That overlooks SicJlia's sea. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK THREE 

With you at hand I fain shall spread 
My sail and steer amid the roar 

Of Bosporus, and safely tread 
Hot sands on far Assyria's shore, 

Concani quaffing horses' blood, 
The Britons hareh to stranger folk, 

The quivered Goth, the Scythian flood. 
Shall [ behold nor fear death's stroke. 

You cheer within Pierian grots 
Great Caesar, respiting from toil. 

When settled on their landed plots 
His cohorts cease from civil broil. 

You, Muses siveet, give counsel fair 
And love to give it, too. We know 

How He with hurtling lightning's glare 
The impious Titan brood laid low — 

He who o'er earth inert presides. 
Towns, realms of death, and gusty main; 

Both gods and mortal throngs he guides 
Alike with sole impartial reign. 

To Jove himself came deadly fear 

Frmn crew accurst with arms of might, 

From brothers twain who strove to rear 
On dark Olympus Pelion's height. 

But what could Rhoetus, Mimas do, 
Or what Porphyrion's mien of ire, 

EiKetadus who boldly threw 
Uprooted trunks, Typhoeus dire. 

Tho' all 'gainst' Pallas' clanging shield 
Together rushed? Here Vulcan bums. 

There matron Juno takes the fidd, 
From Patara and Delos turns 



i.,Coot^[c 



THE ODES OF HORACE 

Phoebus, his bow upon his back, 
Who laves in pure Castalia's fount 

His locks unshorn, and loves to track 
His Lycian groves and native mount. 

Force lacking rede by its own weight 
Collapses; force earns due reward, 

When ruled by mind, from gods who hate 
Those forces bent on things abhorred. 

Gyas with hundred-handed strength 

Attests me, and Orion known 
As Dian's tempter who at length 

Was by her vii^n shaft o'erthrown. 

Earth, piled above them, weeps and wails 
Her monstrous brood by lightning whirled 

To pallid Orcus; swift fire fails 
To burn thro' Aetna o'er them hurled. 

A guard to Tityos assigned, 
The vulture tears his liver lewd. 

And thrice a hundred fetters bind 
Pirithous who basely wooed. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK THREE 



On VcUor 

JOVE'S thunder proves high heaven his home; 
Caesar a present god indeed 
We hold, since he annexed to Rome 
The Briton and the furious Mede. 

Has Crassus' soldier, basely wed 
To foreign dame, in arms grown gray 

(O Senate's shamel O times long deadi) 
For hostile kin 'neath Medic sway, 

Tho' Marsian or Apuiian bom, 

Eternal Vesta, name, and gown. 
And Mayors' bucklers held in scorn, 
While Jove yet stands and Rome's fair town? 

This prudent Regulus foreknew; 

He waived each ignominious term. 
Lest thence ill precedent accrue 

To future time, stood they not firm 

That captive youth die unredeemed. 

"In Punic fanes our standards bright. 
With pride displayed, and arms that gleamed, 

Tom from our troops in bloodless fight." 

Said he, "I saw; yes, I have seen 
Free Romans, hands behind them bound. 

The open gates, and harvests green 
Where late our war laid waste the ground. 

"Troops ransomed are, forsooth, more full 

Of zeal for fight! To honor's stain 

You add but loss; the tinct-dipped wool 

Will ne'er its pristine hue regain. 



i.,Coot^[c 



THE ODES OF HORACE 

"And valor, once rejected, cares 

No more to dwell with coward scum. 
If does, released from tangled snares. 
Will fight, to him may courage come 

"Who to the faithless foeman lists; 
Carthage again he may invade 
Who felt the lash with corded wrists 
And basely drooped, of death afraid. 

"Scarce knowing how to save his life, 

War he mistook for peace. O shamel 
Shall mighty Carthage in this strife 
Soar high o'er Latium's ruined name?" 

As if all civil rights from him 

Were reft, men said, his virtuous spouse 
And babes he spumed, then, sternly grim. 

Bent on the ground his manly brows 

The wavering Fathers while he steeled 
With counsel neva- dsewhere known. 

Past friends whose tears their grief revealed 
The glorious exile strode alone, 

Tho' well he knew the torturing wrath 
His foes would mete. He, calmly stem, 

Brushed friends and kindred from his path 
Who fain would stay his pledged return. 

As if some client's tedious suit. 
Just settled, left him free to fare 

To green Venafrum. or recruit 
His health in Greek Tarentum's air. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK THREE 



On Home Purity 

ON thee will rest thy fathers' stain 
Tho' guiltless, Roman, till thou put 
In order shrine and moldering fane 
And statue grimed with dingy soot. 

When feared, the gods permit thy rule. 
Launch ventures, and decree success; 

When scorned, they rigorously school 
Hesperia's land with sore dbtress. 

Twice Pacorus and Monaeses checked 
The unhallowed onslaughts of our powers. 

And, faces all aglow, have decked 
Their tawdry torques with spoil of ours. 

Dacian and Aethiop nearly razed 
Our town by faction torn apart: 

This for his dreaded fleet is praised. 
That better shoots the flying dart. 

These iron times have tainted first 
Our children, homes, and nuptial band. 

Till ruin evay bound has burst 
And deluged folk and fatherland. 

Precociously the maiden trips 
Ionian measures and, the' young. 

Thrills to her very finger tips. 
By wanton arts and fancies stung; 

Anon she seeks for youthful rakes. 
The while her spouse is swilling wine. 

Nor cares which blade his pleasure takes 
The first, when candles cease to shine; 



...Coot^lc 



THE ODES OF HOEUCE 

Before her conscious husband's Qfes 

She rises if a peddler come, 
Or Spanish skipper, one who buys 

Her favors for a good round sum. 

No sons of parents such as these 
ENre Hannibal and Pyrrhus foiled, 

Distained with Punic gore the seas. 
And great Antiochus despcrfled. 

Of hardy stock were those who fought, 
Yetmten who with Sabellian q>ade 

Turned up the stubborn clod, then brought 
Trimmed fagots home, and thus obeyed 

StoT) mothers, when from distant rocks 
The sinidng sun threw shadows wide. 

Removed the yoke from wearied ox. 
And ushered in calm eventide. 

What age but brings a woghtler ill? 

Our fathers, than our grandsires worse. 
Begat us, of&pring baser still. 

Whose sons diall prove a vilo- curse. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK THREE 



To Asteri'e 



Who, when Favonius cleats the springtime skies. 
Will, leal and fond, return to thee 
Enriched with Thynian merchandise? 

At Oricum he lies, by winds embayed 
That freshened when the blustering Goat Star rose. 
And by tempestuous grief is swayed 
While each chill night brings no repose. 

Yet from his lovelorn hostess, Chloe, speeds 
Her envoy, telling how to sighs the blaze 
Of passion, strong as thine, succeeds. 
And tempts him in a thousand ways: 

Tells how with charges false the wicked wife 
Of Proetus swayed her credulous husband's mind 
Hastily to deprive of life 
Bdlerophon, more chaste than kind; 

Qtes Peleus nearly sent to Dis because 
Magnes^an-bred Hippolyte felt scorn; 
Baits him to scoff at virtue's laws 
And would with specious tales suborn. 

But vainly: deafer than Icarian difts. 
Unscathed as yet, her flattering words he hears. 
But thou, beware Enipeus' shifts. 
Nor let a neighbor win thine ears. 

TIk)' ne'er so deft a horseman rein his stud 
O'er Mars' own turf before the assembled folk. 
And tho' there breast the Tuscan flood 
No swimmer with so swift a stroke, 



i.,Coot^[c 



96 THE ODES OF HORACE 

Yet close thy bouse at dusk and gaze not down 
Upon the street when wails the plaintive flute, 
And, tho' he call thee cruel, frown 
Unyieldingly upon his suit. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK THREE 



VIII 

To Maecenas 



A 



BACHELOR. March Kalmds see me fill 
My thurible with incense, pluck bouquets, 



Tho' in the Icre of both our tongues well read. 

A toothsome feast and snowy goat in fee 
To Uber erst [ vowed, w^ien nearly sped 
By blow of fallir^ tree. 

Each rolling year this day with mirth and joke 

Shall draw the pitch-smeared cork from out the lip 
Of flagon set to mellow mid the smoke 
in Tullus' consulship. 

Drink, dear Maecenas, to thy friend's escape 

A hundred toasts; till morning's sunbeams fall 
Let watchful cressets flare; far hence the shape 
Of strife and angry brawl I 

No longw worry over weal of state. 

The force of Dacian Cotiso is quelled; 
The noxious Medes, embroiled at home of late, 
In mortal feuds are held; 

The Cantabri upon the Spanish coast. 

Our ancient foes, late fettered, humbly bow; 
Within thdr steppes the Scyths withdraw thar host 
And slack their bowstrings now. 

Reck not tho' danger o'& the city lower; 
Lay public care aside with all its stings; 
Enjoy the blessings of the present hour 
And drop all weightier things. 



i.,Coot^[c 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



Tke Reconciliation 

St 'VkjmiB 1 in thee affection stirred, 

VV And round thy snowy neck no youth preferred 

Was ever wont his arms to fling, 
I flourished wealthi^ than the Persians' king. 

Sht While for none else thou more hast burned. 
And Lydia was not yet for Chloe spumed, 

I, Lydia, of illustrious name. 
Flourished more fair than Roman Ilia's fame. 

H» Me now the Thracian Chloe sways, 
A mistress of the lute, soft strains she plays, 

E'en death for her I fain would meet 
If kindly Fate will only ^>are my sweet. 

Sht Me Calais bums with mutual fire — 
From Thurii he and Omytus his are — 

For him [ twice would die, in sooth. 
If kindly Fate will only spare my youth. 

Ht What if old love again shall reign. 

And bind with brazen bonds us parted twain, 

[f flaxen Chloe be denied. 
And jilted Lydia see the door ope wide? 

She Tho' fairer he than any Star, 

Tho' lighter thou than cork and wilder far 

Than is the stormy Hadrian wave. 
With thee 1 fain would live, would seek the grave. 



L)^i.z.iii™Goog[c 



BOOK THREE 



To Lyce 

THO', Lyce, wont to quaff far Tanais' river, 
Some brute thy spouse, before thy cruel door 
Stretched out at length, thou wouldst not bid me shiver 
While native northers roar. 

Hearest thou not the creaking of the gateway. 

The howl of blasts that bend thy courtyard trees? 
Jove's clear, crisp air grows sharper now and straightway 
The drifted snow will freeze. 

Since Venus frowns on pride, be not disdainful. 

Lest back slip wheel and rope together geared; 
Thee no Penelope, to suitors baneful, 
Thy Tyrrhene father reared. 

Tho' sallow hues on cheeks of lovers written 

Unbend thee not at all, nor gift, nor prayer. 
Nor yet thy man by frail Pierian smitten — 
Prithee, thy votaries spare. 

Thou, not more pliant than the oak tree knurly. 

Less mild of mood than Mauretanian snake; 
Low on thy doorsill mid the tempests surly 
My ade not aye will ache. 



i,z.iit>,Goog[c 
-I 



M^ 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Mercury and the Lute 

\ ERCURY — for by thine instruction taught 

Amnion moved thro' song huge blocks of stone — 
And thou, O shell, to whom the seven strings brought 
Sweet strains till then unknown; 

Not loquent once nor pleasing, now a source 

Of joy at wealthy banquet or in fane, 

Breathe music forth for Lyde that perforce 

Her stubborn ear may gain. 

Wide o'er the field, like filly three years old. 

She skips and bounds, unwilling to be curtKd, 
Too young to wed and by no longings bold 
For ardent mate disturtied. 

The tigers and their native ^Ivan lairs 

Thou leadest, rushing streams by thee are stayed. 
Sometimes thy blandishment the gateman snares 
In Pluto's halls of shade. 

Huge Cerberus, altho' a hundred snakes 
Protect the Fury-likeness of his head. 
While from his three-tongued mouth black venom breaks 
And noisome fumes di^>read. 

Ixk>n, too, and Tityos de^te 

Their anguish smiled; each empty ewer stood stJII 
A ^>ace, while to the Danaids came delight. 
Lulled by thy welcome thrill. 

Let Lyde know the cnme, the well-known woes 
Those virgins feel; how from each lealdng um 
The stream of water thro* the bottom ftows; 
How Fate, tho' slow, will turn 



i.,Coot^[c 



BOOK THREE 101 

And chase to Dis itself each guilty deed. 

Most foul! (what crime more impious could they brave?) 
Most fouM who dared to bid thdr brid^rooms bleed 
Beneath the ruthless glaive. 

One only, of the nuptial torch's flame 

Eleservlng, brooked her perjured father's rage, 
And, glCMiously false, her honored name 
Survives to every age. 

"Arise," she whispered to her husband young, 
"Arise, lest thou in endless slumber dwell. 
Sent from a source unfeared; death lurks among 
My sire and sisters fell, 

"Who seize and rend, like lionesses fierce. 

Each one her steer, alasl More kind than they, 
I will not mew thee close nor yet transpierce 
An unsuspecting prey. 

"Me let my father load with cruel chains 
Because my hapless spouse [ chose to spare. 
Me in his navy to Numidia's plains 
Far distant let him t>ear. 

"Haste, whither feet and winds may take thee, haste 
[n ha;f>y hour, while Venus and night's gloom 
Lend aid, and be my mournful story traced 
By thee upon my tomb." 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



H 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



Neobule's Soliloquy 

APLESS the maidens to whom are forbidden 
Love and the winecup, but ever are chidden 
uncles whose tongues sting like lashesl 



See, Neobule, how Cypris' boy, Cupid, 
Steals web and wool basket; weaving is stupid 
Since fair to thy sight Hebrus fla^esl 

Smrns he in Tiber and far gleams his shoulder. 
Rides like Bellerophon, no one is bolder 
At boxing, none fleeter in running; 

E)eft to spear stags mid the startled herd flying. 
And to rouse boars in the dense thicket lying 
None can appH-oach him in cunning. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



BOOK THREE 



Xlll 

To the Fountain Bandusia 

BANDUSIA'S fountain, more than crystal bright, 
Worthy of mellow wine and wreaths of flowers. 
For thee to-morrow I shall smite 
A kid whose swelling fwehead lowers 

Wth budding htMns, portending, tho' in vain, 
Sweet love and battles: he thy runnels cold 
With crimson blood shall deeply stain, 
The offepring of the wanton fold. 

Thee the hot season of the SIrian star 
Can never touch: thou to the plow-worn ste^. 
And to the cattle ranging far, 

Dost proffer coot, refreshing cheer. 

Thou Shalt be reckoned mid the storied wells 
When I have sung the ilex tree that grows 
Beside the hollow, rocky cdls 
Whence swift thy babbling water fbws. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



10+ THE ODES OF HORACE 

XIV 

The Return of Augustus 

O COMMONS, just as Hercules of yore, 
Tbo' death should be the price, sought crowns of bay. 
So conquering Caesar from the Spanish shore 
Comes home again to-day. 

Since thou to righteous heav^ hast proffered thanks, 

Come forth, O matron, faithful to thy spouse. 
Our famous leader's aster, too, and ranks 
Of dames whose suppliant brows 

Are drcleted in gratitude to learn 

Of sons' and daughters' safety. I t)eseech 
Ye, youths and maidens yet unwed, to spurn 
All unpropitious speech. 

This truly festal day shall banish all 

My somber cares; while Caesar's mandates bend 
The empire, [ shall fear nor dvil brawl 
Nor death by \dolent end. 

Haste, boy, both balms and wreaths this day demands. 
Wine, too, whose date harks back to Marfan strife. 
If aujht, perchance, escaped when roving bands 
Of Spartacus were rife. 

Then bid clear-voiced Neaera haste to tie 

In comely knot her wealth of diestnut hair, 
But if her porter churi thy knock deny. 
Begone, nor tany there. 

A whitening head subdues the soul that long 

Inclined to spleen and quarrels' headstrmg grip; 
My fiery youth would not have brooked such wrong 
In Plancus' consulship. 



BOOK THREE 



To Ckloris 

WIFE of poor Il^cus, 'tis time 
To fix a limit to thy course of crime, 
Thine infamy, and wantonness. 
Since thou art ripe for death, amid the ^esi 

Of graceful virgins cease to play 
And cloud the starry luster of their day. 

What Pholoe may fitly dare. 
Chloris, becomes thee not; thy daughter fair 

Rapping gallants' closed doors may come. 
Like Thyiad crazed when rolls the kettledrum, 

For Nothus' love has made her dote 
And caper madly as a wanton goat. 

Wool shorn near famed Luceria's seat 
Bese«ns thee now, not citterns' crooning sweet, 

Nor scarlet roses' bloom, nor kegs, 
Thou wizened beldam, emptied to the dregs. 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



XVI 

To Maecenas 

THE brazen turret and the portals oaken 
And sentry mastiffs, guards that grimly growled. 
Had mured fair Danae in thrall unbroken, 
Tho" midnight lovers prowled, 

Had not the prisoned virgin's anxious warder, 

Acrisius, been by Jove and Venus mocked. 

For when a god with gifts became marauder. 

No door could bng be locked. 

Gold wins its way where courtier bands assemble. 

And, stronger than the levin bolt, thro' stone 
It rives a pathway; lucre caused to tremble 
And sink in ruin prone 

The Argive augur's house; towns' gates were crumbled 

Before the man of Macedon, who beat 
His rival kings thro' bribes; bribes' snares have humbled 
Bluff admirals Of the fleet 

Sorrow and thirst for greater gains are faring 

Behind increasing riches; high to tower 
With haughty head is past my prudent daring, 
Maecenas, knighthood's flower. 

So far as man shuns affluence' attraction. 

So far shall heaven enrich him; 1, unclad. 

Camp with the frugal and desert the faction 

Of pelf, at heart right glad, 

More famed a lord of wealth men value li^tly 
Than if — while crops the stout Apulian reaps 
My granaries are said to gamer tightly — 
Poor amid treasured heaps. 



i.,Coot^[c 



BOOK THREE 10 

My happier portion — limind waters welling, 

My grove's scant acreage, a harvest sure — 
No praetor knows in fertile Afric dwelling 
Mid empire's golden lure. 

For me Calabrian bees distill no honey. 

Nor crocks with mellowing Laestrygonian flow, 
Altho" for me where Gallic meads are sunny 
No heavy fleeces grow. 

Yet distant still is poverty's dull fetter; 

Thou sure wilt give if more my needs require; 
I shall increase my slender assets better 
By curbing each desire 

Than if Alyattes' kingdom I united 

To Mygdon's plains. Those seeking much lack much. 
Blest he whom God with little has requited. 
Yet lives cwitent with such. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 



XVH 

To Aelius Lamia 

AELIUS, from ancient Lamus sprung 
Most nobly — for from him arose 
Lamiae of days both old and young, 
As written record clearly dfows — 

He vAva was founder of thy stem 
Held Formiae's walls and ruled, they say. 

Where Liris' brimming waters hem 
Marica's shores, lord of wide sway. 

To-morrow eastern winds will roar. 
Shake down thick leaves in eddying flight. 

And strew with useless kelp the shore. 
If rain's old seer foretold aright. 

The crow. While skies are warm, heap up 
Dry logs. Thy soul to-morrow please 

With suckling pig and cheering cup. 
And with thy slaves enjoy thine ease. 



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BOOK THREE 



xvm 
To Faunus 

O LOVER of the Nymphs that flee thee. Faun. 
Bless, walking thro' my farm, each sunny dell. 
And ere thy kindly presence be withdrawn 
Bless yeanling flocks as well. 

Fw thee each year shall bleed a tender kid; 

From Venus' mate, the bowl, shall deeply flow 
Ubatkins; and my ancient altar mid 
Thick odorous fumes shall glow. 

When come again E)ecember's Nones to thee, 

The cattle gambol o'er the grassy soil; 
The festive hamlet sports upon the lea 
With oxen freed from toil; 

The wolves mid fearless lambkins saunter round; 
For thee the trees their woodland foliage shed; 
In triple time upon the hated ^^xind 
The ditcher's dance is led. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 

XIX 

In Honor of Muraena 

FROM Inachus how lor^ the tide 
To Codrus. who for country bravely died, 
What sons had Aeacus, how great 
The wars 'neath sacred Troy, thou canst relate; 

But when from this Paelignian cold 
1 shall be free, where best our revel hold. 

The cost of Chian by the cask. 
Or who wU heat our lymph, 'twere vain to aski 

Quick, boy, a toast. "New Moon". the wMd, 
Next, "Mklnight." and "Muraena. augur," third. 

And let our brimming cups of wine 
Be mixed, as suits us best, three parts or nine. 

The Muses, odd in number, see 
Their frenzied poet call for three times three. 

But more than three the sister train 
Of naked Graces grant not, lest the stain 

Of tipsy brawling mar our feast. 
Nay, madly will I rollick. Why are c e as e d 

The notes of Berecyntian flute? 
Why hangs the pipe beside the alent lute? 

I hate skimped handsl Heaped roses strowl 
Our antic mirth let envious Lycus know. 

And let her hear, our neighbor sweet, 
A match for oldster Lycus all unmeet. 

To thee with clustering ringlets gay 
And, Telephus, nwre bright than Vesper's ray. 

Mature for wedlock, Rhode turns: 
For Glycera my bosom skiwly bums. 



i.Coot^Ic 



BOOK THREE 



To Pyrrhus 

PYRRHUS, how gteat the risk canst thou not see, 
Who from GaetulJan lioness hast sought 
Her cubs? Soon, timorous robber, shalt thou flee 
The doughty battle fought. 

When thro' the youths that jostle o'er the field 

Kearchus fair she sedcs to steal away: 
A mighty conflict, whose result must yield 
To thee or her the pr^l 

When 'gainst the string thy whizzing shafts are put. 

And while she whets her teeth to do thee harm. 
The arbiter of fight his naked foot 
Has set upon the palm, 

'Tis rumored, vtliile, by gentle breezes lapt. 
His scented tresses wanton o'er his breast. 
As Nireus fair, or he who erst was rapt 
From [da's fountained crest. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 
XXI 

In Praise of Wine 

OBORN with me in Manlius' day. 
Whether, good jar, for us thou keep 
^Love plaints, or jests, ot drunken fray. 
Or madding loves, or easeful sleep — ) 

Whiche'er of these, with sovereign power. 

Thy generous Massic conjure up. 
Come down, be broached in happy hour, 

Corvinus asks a niellow»' cup. 

Cprom thee none sourly stands alotrfj 

Tho' saturate with Socratic lore, 
Nor was old Cato's virtue proof 

'Gainst heartening wine, th^ say, of yore. 
f 
'Where'er thy gentle ^xir is brought. 

E'en dullard brains some wit must yield^ 
(The sage's cares and secret thought .^ V 

To arch Lyaeus stand revealed.' J 

Thou placest hope in minds distrest, X!* 

Thy power and horns become the churl's,^ 

Who then at monarchs' ireful crest 
And soldiers' mail d^ance hurls. 

Thee Venus, if she i<«n our throng, 

Liber, the Graces bonded tight. 
And wakeful tapers shall prolong 

Till PJwebus put the stars to fl«hL 



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BOOK THREE 



XXII 

To Diana 

O MAIDEN, guardian of the grove and hill, 
Thrice called, thou hearest in her travail pain 
The youthful wife and wardest death at will. 
Goddess of threefold reign. 

Thine be the pine that shades my country seat. 

And on it every year will I bestow. 
With gladsome heart, the blood of tusker fleet 
That deals the sidelong blow. 



Dgilizedt^COOglC 



THE ODES OF HORACE 
XXI 11 

To Phidyle 

AT new moon, rustic Phidyle, 
Thine upturned palms to heaven prefer. 
And to the Lars thine offerir^ be 
Fresh grain, a greedy sow, and myrrh. 

So rfiall thy fertile vineyard fear 

No hot sirocco, nor thy crop 
The blighting smut, nor lambkins dear 

Foul airs when ripening apples drop. 

Mid oaks and holms sleek porkers feed 
On Al^dus where snows are rife, 

Kine batten in the Alban mead. 
But these must dye the pontifTs knife. 

No need to weary heavMi with vows 
And hecatombs of full-grown beeves 

If thou but wreathe thy godlings' brows 
With mint and brittle myrtle leaves. 

When altars know thy pure intent, 

Tho" ne'er a costjy victim reel. 
Estranged Penates shall be bent 

By crackling salt and holy meal. 



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BOOK THREE 



The Bane of Wealth 

THO' richer than Arabia's hoard 
Unrifled yet and wealth in India stored, 
With lOTdly structures tho' thou fill 
The Tyrrhene and Apulian seas at will. 

If dire Necessity but strike 
In thy tali roof her adamantine spike. 

Naught shall thy soul from terror save. 
Or snatch thy corse from fetta^ of the grave. 

Better the Scyths live on the plains, 
Who haul their vagrant homes about on wains, 

Bettw the hardy Getae live. 
Whose meteless roods to all in common give 

Rich fnjitery and harvests: here 
Men cultivate their gardens but a year, 

And then, their lalx>rs done, allot. 
To other hands the tillage of their plot. 

Here orphaned innocents are used 
With kindness by their stepdames, not abused; 

The matron by her lord is swayed. 
Despite her dower, nor trusts the dashing blade; 

The bride a i»iceless dowry brings — 
Her parents' worth and chastity that clings 

Until her husband's latest breath. 
To sin b shame and frailty's wage is death. 

Whoe'er woukl banish from our s<»I 
Fraternal slau^ter and intestine broil. 
And on his statue fain woukl see 
"Father of Qties" graven, by him be 



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L6 THE ODES OF HORACE 

Restrained our license loose and slack. 
So men unbom shall hail him, for, alackl 

Live virtues meet our envious hate; 
Bome from our eaze, we seek them when too late. 

Of what avail is sad complaint 
If punishment prune not our vicious taint? 

Of what avail is futile law 
If morals flee? if love of lucre draw 

Our merchants to the stifling clime 
That girds one part of earth, or whov the rime 

Congeals the ground, the world's far verge 
Where Boreas reigns? if daring sailors urge 

Their vessels o'er the guify deep? 
Lo, straitened means, a great reproach, will keep 

Men nerved to do and suffer all. 
While arduous virtue's pathways vainly call. 

Now in the Capitol bestow. 
While clamorous crowds applaud us as we go. 

Now in the nearest ocean toes 
Our jewels, gMns, and gold, all baneful dross. 

If consdence truly be not numb, 
For from thb source our chiefest evils come. 

The roots of our insatiate greed 
Must be plucked up, our aim must be to breed 

In weakling hearts desire for worth 
By means of rougher schooling. Lads of tnrth 

Cannot on horseback keep their sea\ 
And dare not hunt; at naught will they compete 

But trundling Grecian hoops along 
And throwing dice, which statute rules as wrong. 

Meantime their cheating fath«^ steal 
Alike from trusting friends and partners leal. 



...Coot^lc 



BOOK THREE 

In order that a treasure vast 
May for their worthless heirs be soon amassed. 

In fine, tho' ill-got gains Increase. 
Desires to swell our fortunes nev«- cease. 



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Cw" 



THE ODES OF HORACE 
XXV 

A Dithyramb 

/HERE, Bacchus, wilt thou nish me, then. 

Replete with thee? What groves m- cavemed glen 
Will shelter me, to frenzy stirred? 
From irtiat wld grotto shall my songs be heaid^ 

Whence Caesar's deathless name shall rise. 
Glorious mid stars and senate of the skiesP 

Themes worthy, new, are those I sedc. 
By other lips unsung. As from some peak 

The sleepless Eviad in amaze 
O'er Thracia, white with snow, extends her gaze. 

O'er Rhodope, where stranger feet 
Have trodden, and o'er Hebrus, so 'tis sweet 

To me to view, while wandering awed. 
The streamlet's marge and empty grove. O l«d 

Of Naiads and of Bacchic bands. 
Strong to uproot tail a^ trees with their hands, 

No motta\ strain is mine, nor slight, 
Nw humbly trilled. Tho' danger, 'tis delight, 

Lenaeus, in thy steps to tread. 
The vine's green tendrils wreathed about my head. 



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BOOK THREE 



XXVI 

To yenus 

1 LATELY lived in fighting trim. 
Not without glory my campaigns; 
Now lute b war-wom. arms are dim, 
And these, where sea-btnn Venus re^ns. 

Must hang upon her leftward wall. 

Here, here be flaming flambeaus placed. 
With bows and levers, too, for all 

Have barricaded doorways faced. 

queoi of Cyimjs' blissful seat. 
And Memphis, free from Thradan snow. 

Goddess, witii lash uplifted beat 
Proud Chloe wth one single blow. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 



XXVii 

To Galatea 

LET pregnant bitch, the owl with omened cry, 
J The vixen latdy whelped, or she-wolf dun 
That lopes from fields that fringe Lanuvium high. 
Pursue the godless one; 

Let snakes that scare his ponies quickly end 

His journey at its outset, when athwart 
His road they dart like arrows; for my friend 
1, like a seer well-taught. 

Before the prophet of impending rain 

Reseeks his stagnant marshes, will invoke 
From out the dawning east, good luck to gain, 
The raven's raucous croak. 

God speed thee, and where'er thy steps IrKline 

Still keep my image, Galatea, at heart; 
No flitting crow or woodpecker malign 
Forbids thee to depart. 

But see, Orion hastes with {Hx>ne career 

Mid gathering storms: for me, 1 know too wdl 
E)ark Hadria's bight and how, tho' skies be clear, 
lapyx chums the swell. 

Let none but wives and children of ourfoes 

Know the blind rage of Auster's rising blast. 

And roar of glowering surge whose buffet blows 

'Gainst quivering reefs are massed. 

So, too, Europa to the wily bull 

Consigned her snowy form, but as she sailed 
Thro' monstrous tide and ocean dangerful. 
Brave tho' she was, she paled. 



I , Coot^lc 



BOOK THREE 121 

Lately on weaving coronals intent, 

Vowed to the Nymphs, she roamed the flowery leas; 
At glimmering night her troubled gaze was bent 
On naught but stars and seas. 

But when at last on mighty Crete she stept, 

The hundred-citied, "Sire, O filial fame 

Now gonel O sense of duty, too," she w^t, 

"Quite lost thro' frenzy's flamel 

"Whence, whither came 1? Maiden fault like this 
Deserves more deaths than one. Am I awake. 
Weeing my sin, or, free from aught amiss. 
Does some false ptiantom make 

"A mock of me and bring thro' ivory port 

A guileful dream? Across long waves that lower. 
Say, was it best to go, the billows' sport. 
Or pluck the new-blown flower? 

"Were this vile bull delivered to my hate. 

How would I hack him with the griding steel. 
And lop the horns from off that brute, so late 
The object of my zeal I 

"Shameless I left my father's hearth-fire glow. 
Shameless my debt to Orcus still I waive; 
O if some god but hear me, let me go. 
Naked, where lions ravel 

"Ere from my dainty form my bloom has fled. 

And comely cheeks are marred by foul decay. 
While still alluring, let the tigers shred 
My body for their prey, 

"I seem to hear my abs«it sire's command. 
'Ah, base Europa, compass now thy death; 
This ash invites and — luckily at hand — 
Thy zone will check thy breath. 






122 THE ODES OF HORACE 

"Or, if rocks sharp with <loo(n and crags of flint 
Entice, come, cast thee mid the tempest's shock, 
Ebe, as a txxidmaid, thou must card thy stint 
And, tho' of royal stock, 

'"Must serve some foreign dame and live defiled 
As concubine.'" To her, with sorrow stung. 
Came archly-snuling Venus and her child 
Bearing his bow unstrung. 

The goddess first indulged in laughter: "Leave," 

Quoth she. "all bootless wrath and withering scom; 
This bull again shall come to bid thee cleave 
And tear each hated horn. 

"As puissant Jove's dear consort know thy worth. 
Give o'er thy sobs, thy great good fortune own. 
And proudly wear it; half the q>acious earth 
Shall t^ thy name be known." 



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BOOK THREE 

XXVIII 

To Lyde 

How better Neptune's festal day 
Can I observe? Quick, Lyde, twoach, I pray, 
The Caecuban that mellowed long. 
And leaguer wisdom hemmed with bastions strong. 

The westering sun descends his hill. 
And yet, as if the hurrying day stood still. 

Thou bear'st not down the loitering cheer 
That dates from Bibulus the consul's year. 

To raise the chant ^lall be my care 
To Neptune and the Nereids' sea-green hair, 

While thou with curving shell shalt greet 
Latona and the shafts of Cynthia fleet. 

Next sing we ha who governs Cnide 
Arxl shining Cyclades, and loves to ride 

To P^hos, hy linlced swans conveyed: 
Meet lullabies to Night ^lall last be paid. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 



XXIX 

To Maecenas 

SCION of kingliest Tyrrhene stocks, 
A virgin jar of mellow juice, 
Roses, and balsam for thy locks, 
I long have treasured for thy use. 

Maecenas. Haste thee; seek a chai^ 
From Aefula's sloped uplands wide, 

MCHSt Tibur, and the hilly range 
Of Telegon the parricide. 

Forsake the elegance that ckjys 
Within thy cloud-aspiring dome, 

Admire no mwe the smoke, the noise. 
And opulence of wealthy Rome. 

Change to the rich man oft brings rest; 

The poor man's roof and frugal fare, 
Tho' purple hangings lend no zest. 

Have smoothed the furrowed front of care. 

Andromeda's bright sire now shows 
His hidden fire, now Procyon bums. 

The star of furious Leo glows 
As summer's scwching heat returns. 

Tired shepherds with their drooping sheep 
Now seek rough Silvan's copse, the pool. 

And shade, while, hu^ied in silence deep. 
The banks are reft of breezes cool. 

Yet State and Town still tax thy brain; 

Thine anxious thoughts are bent to scan 
What Bactra, Cyrus' oki domain. 

Seres, and factious Scythians plan. 



i.,Coot^[c 



BOOK THREE 

God wisely shrouds in murkiest night 
Events to come, and smiles to learn 

How mortal man. in heaven's de^ite, 
His propo: bounds will often spurn. 

Face ta^ at hand without a dread. 

All else flows like a river free, 
Now smoothly down its midmost bed 

Ongliding toward the Etruscan sea. 

Now whirling onward trees uptom, 
Cots, herds, and bowlders, while from hills 

And neighboring woods hoarse sounds are borne 
When freshets chafe the peaceful rills. 

Lord of himself, true joys inspire 
The man who, as each day is done. 

Says, "I have lived: now let the Sire 
Vdl with black clouds to-morrow's sun 

"Or bid it shine; but what is past 
He may not lessen or augment. 
Nor will he alter and recast 
What once the flying hour has sent 

"Fortune, to cruel work inclined. 

And bent upon caprices grim, 

Transfa^ her fickle favors, kind 

Awhile to me, awhile to him. 

" 1 praise her while ^e stays, but when 
She flits. [ yield her ev«y gift. 
Enwrap me in my worth, and then 
Woo honest tho' undowried Thrift. 

"'Tis not my wont, when Afric storms 

Have sprung the mast, to bargain aught. 
By abject prayers and votive forms. 
That wares from Tyre and Cyprus brought 



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16 THE ODES OF HORACE 

"ShtH\ not enrich the hungry surge. 
Me then twin Pollux and the breeze 
Shall in n^ two-oared shallop urge 
Safe thro' the vexed Aegean seas." 



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BOOK THREE 



To Melpomene 

OUTLASTING bronze, a monument I rear 
That o'er the reeal pyramids towers sheer. 
Which gnawing rains, nor blustering Aquilo, 
NcK* ceas^ess lapse of years, nor ages' flow 
Shall ever from its sure foundation start. 
1 shall not wholly die. My better part 
Shall 'scape from Libitina, and my fame 
^lall ^ow more bright thro* aftertime's acclaim. 
While priest with silent Vestal climbs the Hill. 
So long shall AuTidus' resounding rill 
And those parched lands where Daunus ruled his hinds 
Rdate how I, enrolled mid greatest minds, 
Tho' humUy reared, first tuned Aeolian lays 
To Latin verse. Accept thy meed of praise 
By merit won, Melpomene, and now 
With Delphic laurel gladly wreathe my brow. 



b, Google 



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BOOK FOUR 



L)^i.z.iii™Goog[c 



i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



To Venus 

THO', Venus, iong is hushed the fray, 
Wilt thou revive it? Spare me, ^jare, I prayl 
Not now, as once, my youthful gkw. 
When thralled by kindly Cinara. Fon^p. 

The sweet Loves' mother, stem of brow. 
Urging a man nigh Tifty, callous now 

Toward lures, to list thy mandates: flee 
Where suasive prayers of striplings call fW thee. 

With revel haste, 'twere better far. 
Borne by thy purple swans on rapid car. 

Where Paulus Maximus abides. 
If questing heart mcx% meet for pas^on's tides. 

Handsome is he, of birth the best. 
Prompt pleader when defmdants stand distrest, 

A youth accompli^ied past compare. 
Who far the banners of thy war ^lall bear. 

He, with a smile, shall soon behold 

Hb worth outweigh some lavi^ rival's gold. 
And, grateful, by the Alban mere, 

'Neath cedam roof thy marble bust shall rear- 
There fragrant sc«its shalt thou inhale. 

Thy ravished ear shall hearken to the wail 
Of f^rinx wedded to the lute. 

Nor shall the Berecyntian pipe be mute. 



■,,ii,Goog[c 



132 THE ODES OF HORACE 

There twice each day shall youths combine 
With tender maids to laud thy pow«- divine, 

While their white feet shall lightly bound 
In Salian mode and triply beat the ground. 

Me woman charms not, no. ncM" lad. 
Nor idle dream of mutual hearts made glad, 

Nor jar that bodes the deep carouse. 
Nor wreath of opwiing buds to bind my brows. 

But why, ah, Ligurinus, why 
Rows now and then the teardrop from mine eye? 

Why halt the accents on my tongue, 
Once free but now to awkward silence stung? 

In airy visions of the night 
I clasp thee now, now track thee in thy flight 

Across the Campus Martius' turf. 
Now, crud that thou arti thro' boiling surf. 



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w 



BOOK. FOUR 



To lulus Antottius 

HOEVER seeks with Pindar to contend, 

On wax-knit pinions of Daedalian frame 
irs, lulus, surely doomed to lend 
Some hyaline sea his name. 



As. from the hills, a stream in headlong flight, 

Surcharged with rains, o'erflows its wonted shores. 
So, with deep utterance and sonorous might, 
Great Pindar seethes and roars. 

Worthy that Phoebus' bay by him be worn. 
Whether thro' daring dithyrambs he weave 
His new-coined words and, by his numbers borne. 
All rule discard and leave; 

Whether he sing of gods or monarchs bred 

From gods, thro' whom succumbed the Centaurs dire 
To death deserved, thro' whom succumbed the dread 
Chimera, spewing fire; 

Whether he hymn the boxer and the steed 
Whom palms of Elis to the skies uplift. 
Who hold a hundred statues poorer meed 
Than is the poet's gift; 

Or mourn the stripling torn from tearful bride, 

And raise amid the stars his golden worth. 
His strength, his mettle, grudging lest they bide 
Beneath the gloomy earth. 

The swan of IMrce by the breezes free 

Was borne, Antonius. wh«i sublime he rode 
Amid the ck)uds: [, like the Matine bee. 
In manner and in mode, 



L)^i.z.iii™Goog[c 



134 THE ODES OF HORACE 

That culls with patient toil the savory thyme 

Thro' humid Tibur's dells and woodlands fair, 
A humble poet, mold my lowly rime 
By dint of utmost care. ^ 

Thyself shalt sing, a bard of loftier song, 

Augustus crowned with bay, his well-earned due, 
Wh«i up the Sacred Slope he hales along 
The fierce Sygambrian crew: 

Caesar, than whcon no greater, better thing 

The Fates and kindly gods have given to men. 
Nor shall they give, ttio' fleeting caituries bring 
The Gold«) Age again. 

Thyself shalt sing the city's festal joys 

And gala days, the public contests stem, 
And Forum, freed awhile from lawsuits' noise 
At Caesar's wished return. 

If worthy to be heard my sc»igs appear. 

My tongue's best powers with thine wll join: "O day 
Most fair, be honored long," with Caesar here 
&iraptured 1 shall say. 

Then as thy car, triumph, passes l^, 
We citizens, not once alone, shall skirl 
"Ho Triumi^," while to gracious gods on !ugh 

Shall sfncy fumes upcurl. 

Ten goodly bullocks and as many cows 

Shall quite absolve thee while a tender calf. 
That, latdy weaned, on lush grass loves to browse. 
Shall die in my behalf. 

As shines the crescent moon when three days old, 

So gleam the horns arising from its head; 
A spot it carries snowy to brfiold, 
Tho' elsewhere dusky red. 



i.,Coot^[c 



BOOK FOUR 



To Melpomene 

HIM, O Melpomene, whom thou 
Hast looked upon at birth with placid brow. 
In Isthmian strife the boxer's meed 
Shall ne'er ennoble, him no fiery steed 

Shall in Achaean chariot bear 
A victor, strenuous toils of battle ne'er 

Shall lead him up the Sacred Way, 
A captain crowned with sprigs of Delian bay. 

For quashing swelling threats of kings; 
But fertile Tibur's murmurous-fiowing springs 

And groves, with leafage thick and long. 
Shall make him famous for Aeolian song. 

Rome, queenliest city of the earth. 
Enrolls me now, acknowledging my worth, 

Among her poets* honored choirs, 
And Envy 'gainst me seldom now conspires. 

Herian Maid, who rulest well 
The dulcet warbling of the golden shell. 

Who, if it please thee, cygnet's strain 
Canst give to voiceless fishes of the main, 

Such are my gifts, derived from thee. 
That, pointed out for passers-by to see, 

I stand Rome's bard of verse divine: 
Both voice and charm, if charm I have, are thine. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 



In Praise of Drusus 

As lightning's wingSd servant whom 
Jove, king of gods, o'er birds of air 
Made sovereign, since his faithful plume 
Blond Ganymede to heaven upbare, — 

First, urged by youth and native strength. 
Leaves venturously his aerie's height. 

And, wintry clouds dispelled at l»igth. 
On spring gales tries ambitious flight. 

Fearful at first; next, on the fold 
Swoops swiftly down, with power endued; 

Last, writhing serpents strives to hold. 
Impelled by love of fight and food: 

Or like a lion, weaned of late 
From tawny nKith«"'s milky breast. 

Whose tooth, as yet unfleshed, brings fate 
To roes that in rich pastures rest: 

Drusus, "neath Rhaetian Alps at war. 

Such to Vindelic clansmen seemed. 
(Why, ages long, by tribal law. 
The Amazonian ax has gleamed 

In their right hands, I never tried 
To know; not all things are revealed.) 

These hordes that conquered far and wide, 
To our wise prince now forced to yield. 

Have learned the power of heart and soul 
Reared round a hearth whose base is truth. 

How Caesar's fatherly control 
Nurtured the Neros from their youth. 



i.Coot^lc 



BOOK FOUR 

From brave and good are born the brave; 

Both steers and steeds their sires" physique 
Inherit; eagles fierce ne'er gave 

Their bring to the stockdoves meek. 

But training innate worth improves. 

And righteousness makes hearts more strong; 
WhCT high morality removes. 

E'en men rf birth are dimmed ere loi^. 

What, Rome, thou ow'st the Neros, erst 
Was proved by Hasdrubal's cold clay, 

Metaurus' stream, and gloom dispersed 
From Latium on that glorious day. 

The first triumphantly to shine 

Since thro" Italia's citied plain 
Swept Afric"s fiend, like fire thro' pine 

Or Eurus o'er Sicilia's main. 

The Roman youth thereafter toiled 
'Neath Fortune's smile, and temples then. 

By impious Punic foes despoiled. 
Beheld their gods set up again. 

Till faithless Hannibal begun: 

"Mere hinds, doomed ravening wolves to feed. 
We harass whom to dupe and shun 

Were in itself illustrious deed. 

"'A race that, brave from Ilion's flame. 

Brought home-gods, sons, and fathers hoar. 
Till, tost by Tuscan seas, they came 
To cities on Auscsila's shore, 

"Like oak trees, lopped by heavy ax 

When Algidus' dark forests reel. 
Despite their loss and wounds, they wax 
In vigor from the very steel. 



L)^i.z.iii™Goog[c 



i THE ODES OF HOt^CE 

"Tho' gashed, not stronger Hydra grew 
When Hercules disdained defeat, 
No greater marvel Colchis knew. 
Or Thebes, Echion's sceptered seat. 

"Plunged in the deep, more fair it glows; 
When wrestled with, its pride prevails, 
Altho' till then unquelled its foes. 
And wages ware for old wives' tales. 

"No more to Carthage may I send 

Proud couriers: hope has fled, has fled; 
Successes on our name attend 

No more, since Hasdrubal is dead." 

From naught the Claudian hands will shrink, 
For Jove assists with favoring power; 

Wise counsels snatch them from the brink 
When war's acutest crises lower. 



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BOOK FOUR 



To Augustus 

BORN from kind gods, too long art thou delaying; 
For thee, Rome's guardian best, her children yearn; 
Haste, see augustly conclaved Fathers praying 
For thy pledged quick return I 

Again, good chief, light to thy country render: 
When on the people beams thy gracious gaze 
Like springtide's warmth, suns glow with greater splendor 
And blithelier pass the days. 

As for her son, whom Notus' gusty rancor 

Beyond Carpathian ocean's level brine 
For longer than a year has held at anchor. 
Do(Hiied for sweet home to pine, 

A mother calls with omen, prayer, oblation. 

And ceases not to scan the winding shores. 
So, smitten with a longing love, our nation 

Thine absence still deplores. 

TTwo' meadows safely roams the ox, our tillage 

Ceres and bland Fecundity have blest. 
The sailors skim o'er seas now freed from pillage. 
Leal Honor meets each test, 

The virtuous home is ne'er by lust defrauded. 

Custom and law have stamped out taint and Stain, 
For children like her spouse the wife is lauded. 
Vengeance dogs guilt amain. 

Who fears the Medes, who Scyths from icy regions, 
Or who the swarms that rough Germania breeds. 
While Caesar prospers? Who the warrior legions 
Of fierce Iberia heeds? 



i.CoogIc 



140 THE ODES OF HORACE 

Each swain his vines to widowed elm trees marries. 

And moib till sunset on his hillside tilth. 
Then cheedy seeks his cups and, mid-meal, tarries 
To pledge thee o'er the spilth. 

Thee with pure wine from goblets poured as master 

He worships, thee with prayer he haib, and sees 

Thy godhead 'midst his Lars, as Greece graced Castor 

And stalwart Hercules. 

"Long be Hesperia's feasts, of thy bestowing, 
Good chiefl" we shout to greet the day begun 
In sober mood, we shout with bumpers Rowing 
When ocean hides the sun. 



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BOOK FOUR 



To Apollo 

GOD, scourge of boastful tongues, who dared destroy 
Lewd Tityos, the race of Niobe, 
And, almost victor over lofty Tr<v, 
Phthian Achilles, he 

More great than others, not thy peer in might, 

Altho' as son of sea-bom Thetis fair 
He shook the DanJan spires when, bold in fight. 
His dreadful lance he bare. 

He, like a pine by trenchant steel hewn Sown 

Or cypress overthrown by Eurus" blast. 
Fell huge in length and bowed his haughty crown 
In Teucrian dust at last 

From out Minerva's horse, so subtly reared, 

He would have scorned on Trojan foes to fall 
While th^, in luckless hour, with dance were cheered 
In Priam's joyous hall, 

But <H>enly (woe, woe. how crime-defiled I) 

Severe to captives, woukl have thrust to doom 
In Danaan flames the lispng babe, yea, child 
Within its mother's womb. 

Had not the Sire of gods, by thy request 

And that of darling Venus urged, decreed 
That to Aeneas, under fates more blest. 
New rampires should succeed. 

Minstrel, vrtiom sweet Thalia's art pursues, 

Phoebus, whose locks are slaked in Xanthus* wave. 
The pride and honor of the Daunian Muse, 
Beardless Agyieus, savel 



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142 THE ODES OF HORACE 

From Phoebus came my pure poetic fires, 

From Phoebus genius and my lyric power; 
So, therefore, youths, born of illustrious ares, 
And ^reins, girlhood's flower. 

Wards of the E)elian A^id who loves to wend 
With bow in chase of bucks and lynxes fleet. 
Keep time in Lesbian measure and attend 

My finger's rhythmic beat, 

While duly singing dark Latona's son. 
And duly Noctiluca's crescent glow. 
Who speeds the headlong seasons as they run 
And bids the harvests grow. 

Thou, soon a bride, shalt say, "It was my part. 
When dawned the Secular Festal, to rehearse 
The song to gods most dear, knowing by heart 
Horace the poet's verse." 



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N° 



BOOK FOUR 



To Torquatus 

JOW fled are the snows and the grass clothes the mead. 
The trees are renewing their frondage, 
Earth's seasons are changed, and the shrunken streams speed 
Past banlo that now keep them in bondage. 

The Grace with twain sisters and Nymphs from their bower 
Dares, nude, to tread featly a measure. 
" Hope not deathless life," warn the year and the hour 
That fleets on the day fraught with pleasure. 

The frosts yield to zephyr, then routed is spring 

By summer, whose death will be early, 
For fruit-laden fall soon its harvests will fling; 

Last, winter conies, sluggish and surly. 

Swift moons repair quickly their loss in the skies, 

But we, when we once have descended 
To Ancus, rich TuUus, Aeneas the wise. 

With shadow and ashes are blended. 

Who knows if the gods to the sum of to-day 

Have planned to apportion to-morrow? 
Thy wealth from thine heir's greedy hand wouldst thou stay? 

From self, for thy much-loved soul, borrow. 

When once thou art dead and a glorimis doom 
By Minos has been pronounced o'er thee. 

Birth, goodness, nor eloquence out from the tomb, 
Torquatus, m\\ ever restore thee. 

For Dian herself could not free from hell's reign 

Hippolytus chaste v^ien he perished, 
And Theseus could sunder not Lethe's strict chain 

From limbs of Pirithous cherished. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 



VIU 

To Censorinus 

1FA1N would give rare plate and bronzes bright, 
O Censorinus, for my friends' delight. 
Yes, I would give fair tripods, meeds that fall 
To striving Greeks, nor should thy gift be small 
If I were rich, that is, in works of art 
Where Scopas or Parrhasius could impart, 
In marble that and this in colors gay, 
A form to man or god in skillful way. 
Such wealth I have not, and thy fortune sees 
Thy taste ne'er want for baubles such as these. 
Thou lovest songs, and songs I can bestow, 
A gift whose priceless value well I know. 
Not eulogies by State on marbles traced. 
Whence, aftw death, the breath of life is placed 
In valiant chiefs; not threats recoiling dread 
On Hannibal, when hastily he fled; 
Not impious Carthage, wrapt in sheets of flame, 
More clearly tells his praise, who took his name 
And won renown from Africa subdued, 
Than do the Muses of Calabria's brood. 
If poet's scroll were hushed, thai high emprise 
Would know no guerdon. What of fame would rise 
To Romulus, of Mars and Ilia bom. 
If envious silence heW his worth in scorn? 
The gifted bard's voice, grace, and merit save 
Good Aeacus from oozy Stygian wave 
And shrine him mid the Islands of the Blest 
The Muse from death the worthy man will wrest; 
She grants him heaven. So Hercules untired 
Partakes the feast of Jove, so long desired; 
E'en so those stars, the bright Tyndaridae, 
Snatch battered vessels from the unplumbed sea; 
So Liber, with green vine-shoots round his brow. 
To happy issue guides the suppliant's vow. 



To Loilius 

THINK not my songs wilt e'er be mute. 
Which, born where Aufidus around 
Reechoes, to the according lute 
] sing with arts but lately found. 

Maeonian Homer sits most high, 
But grave Stesichorus stands near. 

While Pindar and the Cean vie 
With fierce Alcaeus* uttCTance clear. 

Time has not blotted out as yet 
The blithesome strains Anacreon played; 

Still breathe the love and warm regret 
Awakened by the Lesbian Maid. 

Not only Spartan Helen glowed 

To see a ieman's glossy hair, 
His robe with golden spangles sewed. 

His retinue and princely air. 

Not Teucer from Cydonian bow 
Shot arrows first; nor Troy was stormed 

But once; not only 'gainst the foe 
Idomeneus and Sthendus swarmed 

In battles worth the Muses' meed; 

His arm not first bold Hector braced. 
Nor stem Deij^bus dared bleed 

For love of child and conswt chaste. 

Ere Agamemnon men of might 
Were born, a host; but all, unknown, 

Unw^t, lie plunged in endless night. 
Since no blest bard their worth has shown. 



: , Coot^lc 



i THE ODES OF HORACE 

Small odds betwixt desert unhymned 
And baseness in the tombi My page 

Shall, Lollius, never leave thee dimmed. 
Nor let oblivion's envious rage 

Unpunished gnaw each glorious feat. 

A soul is thine in action wise. 
Upright when prosperous seasons fleet 

And when more doubtful times arise. 

Avenger on purloining thief, 
And proof 'gainst all-absorbing gold. 

And consul, not a one-year-chief, 
But oft as judgment true and bold 

Expedience to the right subdues, 

Waives bad men's bribes with haughty glance. 
And thro' reform's obstructing crews 

Beholds its conquering arms advance. 

Not truly blest we call the man 

Of vast possessions; blest is he. 
And truly so, whose wiser plan 

Enjoys what goods the gods decree, 

To pinching want who cheerly bends. 
And fears disgrace as worse than death: 

Such man for home and cherished friends 
Stands ready to resign his breath. 



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BOOK FOUR 



To Ligurinus 

O STILL in cruelty arrayed, while Venus' fffts abide, 
When unexpectedly the down shall come to veil thy 
pride. 
When hair is shorn that mantling now about thy shoulders 

flows, 
And hues m<»-e fair than tints that now bedeck the damask 

rose 
Fade, Ligurinus, and a shaggy visage takes their place. 
Then, oft as in the minw thou Shalt view thine altered face, 
"Ah," Shalt thou say, "why, when a boy, was not my mood 
as now. 
Or why. since pas^on glows, will not fresh bloom my cheats 
endow?" 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 



To Phyllis 

HERE, Phyllis, is a cask of Alban juice 
O'er nine years mellowed; here my garth supplies. 
For twining chaplets, parsley leaves profuse: 
Here ivies lushly rise 

Which, twisted in thy locks, become thee so; 

My house with silver gleams: the altar, hung 
With holy vervain, longs for blood to fktw 
From votive lambkin young. 

The household all is busy; here and there 

Maids grouped with pages haste thdr help to lend; 
And, swirling from the bickering hearth-fire's glare, 
The sooty fumes ascend. 

Yet wouldst thou know what joys invite thee hereP 

We celebrate the Ides, whose day in twain 
Cuts Aiwii, nwnth to Venus ever dear. 
The daughter of the main. 

'Tis rightly festal and I scarcely deem 

My own birthday more blest, since from this day 
My friend Maecenas counts his years that stream 
In lapsing flight away. 

For Telephus, whose rank o'ertops thine own. 

Thou pinest; but a girl, a rich coquette, 
Allured him, and her pleasing fetters, thrown 
About him, hold him yet. 

Scorched Phaethon from vaunting aims should frigiit. 

And Pegasus taught lesson grave anew, 
When, irked by earth-bom rider in his flight. 
Bellerc^ihon he threw. 



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BOOK FOUR 

Ever to seek what fits thee and allow, 

Since hopes beyond thy ^here conduce to shame, 
No thought of ill-matched nuptials. Therefore, now. 
Come, last and dearest flame 

(For ne'er another woman shall consume 

My heart), and ieam my cadences; erelong 
Thy lovely voice shall lilt them: cares and gloom 
Ree the approach of song. 



L)^i.z.iii™GoogIe 



N°' 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



To yirgil 

JOW spring's attendants. Thracian gales, assua^ng 
The ruffled seas, on bulging canvas blow. 
No meads are frost-bound nor are torrents raging, 
Tui^id with winter's snow. 

She who, foul stain of Cecrops' house, dared follow 
The barbarous monarch's lust with doom unblest. 
Bemoaning Itys' loss, the ill-starred swallow. 
Is building now her nest. 

Stretched on soft turf the shepherd pipes a measure. 

Watching his fatling fold his fife be thrills, 
And charms that god to whom the herds give pleasure 
And Arcady's dark hills. 

Thirst comes, O Virgil, with this warmer weather. 

But if Calenian vintage thou wouldst try. 
Tho' oft the guest where nobles dine together. 
Now nard thy drinks must buy. 

Nard in a tiny box of alabaster 

Will coax a flagon from Sulpician vaults 
Replete with freshest hopes and strong to master 
Care's bitterest assaults. 

Bestir thee, come, if few such joyance eager. 

And bring the price: scot-free 1 do not mean 
To steep thee in my cups, for wealth but meager 
Within my home is seen. 

Make thy delays and greed submit to reason. 

Heed death's black pyres, and mingle, while 'tb meet. 
Flashes of fun with wisdom, for in season 
To play the fool is sweet. 



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T' 



BOOK FOUR 1. 

XIII 

To Lyce 

H E gods have hearkened, Lyce, to my prayer. 

The gods have hearkened, Lyce: tho' a crone 
And sot, thou still wouldst pass for fair, 
And shameless wiles are all thine own. 



When, in thy cups, thy maudlin song bespeaks 
Ungracious Cupid's favor. Guard he stands 
In lovely Chia's pretty cheeks 
And hears the lute otjey her hands. 

Past knarry oaks he flits with scornful pace 
And, startled at thy foulness, he has fled 
The wrinkles grooved upon thy face. 
Thy blackened teeth, and snowy head. 

Nor precious stones nor Coan purple's weft 
Will e'er to thee those happier hours recall 

Which fleeting time from thee has reft , 

And locked in archives scanned by all. 

Where fled thy lure? ahl where thy bloom? thy gait 
So graceful, where? What lives of her, of her 
Who once breathed love, whose every trait 
Me from my VMy self could stir, 

Loved after Cinara, thy fame once rife 
For charm and winsome ways? But Fate could give 
To Qnara few years of life, 
While planning Lyce long should live 

To be the ancient raven's peer in age. 
That youthful sparks, whom now their passions scorch. 
May see, while smiles their mirth presage, 
The smoldH-ing ashes of thy torch. 



L)^i.z.iii™GoogIe 



THE ODES OF HORACE 



In Praise of the Neros 

CAN Fathers' or Quirites' zeal 
Meet tribute to thy fame engage. 
Thy deeds to aftertime reveal 
Thro' tablet and memorial page, 

Augustus, mightiest chieftain named 
Where'er the sun lights peopled shores? 

The' long by Latian law untamed. 
The stout Vindelic kern d^lores 

Thy prowess. For brave Drusus beat 
With troops of thine a ruthless horde, 

Genauni and the Brueni fleet. 
When from their Alpine keeps they poured. 

And amply paid them back thar due: 
The elder Nero next waged fight 

Most fierce and Rhaetia's savage crew 
With happy omens put to flight. 

Twas wondrous, on the sanguine field. 

To see what havoc there befell 
Those hearts that died but would not yield. 

As tameless AustM- whips the swell 

When dancing Pleiads rive the dark. 
So keen was he to smite the foe, 

Urge on his snorting steed, and mark 
Where hottest blazed the battle glow. 

As bull-shaped Aufidus amain 

Flows thro' Apulian Daunus' realms 

And, raging, all the well-tilled plain 
With desolating deluge whelms. 



i.,Coot^[c 



BOOK POUR 

So Claudius, with resistless brunt, 
Whelmed mailed barbarian battle line, 

And, scatheless victor, rear and front 
Mowed down and stretched on earth supine. 

Since 'twas thy troops, thy plans that coped 
With them, thy gods. It so befalls 

That suppliant Alexandria oped 
To thee her port and empty halls 

This very day fifteen years past. 

Kind Fortune now gives prosperous end 
To war, campaigns are closed at last. 

And glories on thy name attend. 

Thee Cantabri, unquelled till now. 

Indian, nomadic Scyth, and Mede 
Admire, for potent lord art thou 

Of queenly Rome and Latium's breed. 

Thee Nile, that hides his fountains' source. 
Thee Tigris swift and Ister's wave. 

Thee monstrous seas whose breakers hoaree 
Around the distant Britons rave. 

Thee Gaul, unawed tho' death should pierce. 

And harsh Iberia's lartd, obey; 
And, slaughter-crazed, Sygambri fierce 

Lay down their arms and own thy sway. 



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THE ODES OF HORACE 



In Praise of /4uiustus 

SIEGES and wars I wished to sing. 
But Phoebus smote his lyre amain 
To warn lest scanty sails I fling 
O'er Tyrrhene seas. Caesar, thy reign 

Back to our fields rich crops has borne. 

Back to Jove's shrine our flags has brought. 
From Parthians' gorgeous temples torn. 

Has closed, ^nce warfare shrunk to naught, 

Quirinian Janus' gate, has urged 

Bold license to regain the track 
Of law and order, guilt has scourged. 

And brought the ancient virtues back 

Thro' which Italian fame and strength 
And Latian power have widely grown, 

Until our sway extends at length 
To dayspring e'en from Hesper's throne. 

While Caesar rules, no civil strife 

Or violence shall mar our peace. 
And pas^on, wont to forge the knife 

And broil our hapless towns, shall cease. 

Not they that drink deep Danube's tide 
Shall break the Julian edicts' rede. 

Not they by Tanais' stream that bide. 
Nor Serian, Gete, nor faithless Mede. 

And we on feast and wor1<ing day. 
While jocund Liber's gifts are ours. 

First with our babes and wives shall pray 
With reverence to the heavenly powers. 



L)ji.z^iii,,Goot^lc 



BOOK FOUR 

Then sing, as was our fathers' joy. 
While Lydian fifes support the stave, 

Our manly dead, Anchises. Troy. 
And kindly Venus' scion brave. 



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THE SECULAR HYMN 



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i,z.iit>,GoogIe 



The Secular Hymn 

PHOEBUS and chaste Diana, forest-queen, 
Heaven's lucent orbs, always adored and aye 
To be revered, look down with gracious mien 
Upon this sacred day, 

On which the Sibyl's versicles have willed 

That, by pure youths and virgins nobly sprung, 
To those high gods that love our town seven-hilled 
A lofty hymn be sung. 

O fostering sun, thro' whom, in car of gold. 
Days come and go. another yet the same 
At every dawning, naught mayst thou behold 
Greater than Rome's proud name, 

O liythia, laboring mothers spare; 

Without a throe let ripened births ^>pear; 
Lucina. Genitalis, howsoe'er 

Thou wouldst be known, be near. 

Goddess, train up our children, so shalt thou 
Prosper the Fathers' laws, by whose behest 
The wedded wife shall see her marriage vow 
With numerous offspring blest, 

That, rolling on thro' years eleven times ten. 

The cycle may with songs and games delight 
The crowds thrice thro' the cloudless day. and then 
As oft at pleasant night. 



i.,Coot^[c 



160 THE ODES OF HORACE 

And you, ye Parcae, faithful to narrate 
Decrees ottce uttered — O forevCT last 
The stablished course of things! — a future great 
Weld to our glorious past. 

Let goldm Ceres wear a corn-spray crown 

Bestowed by earth that teems with herds and fruits. 
Let gales of Jove and healthful showers sent down 
Nourish our tender shoots. 

C^tle and mild Apollo, lay aside 

Thy darts and to the suppliant youth give aid. 
And, crescent Moon, the constellations' pride 
And queen, assist the maid. 

If truly of your handiwork be Rome 

And Ilian exiles made the Etruscan shore, 
A remnant they that, leaving town and home. 
On prospwous courses bore, 

Remnant for whom, unscathed thro' blazing Troy, 

Surviving home, Aeneas, pure in mind. 

Paved ample passage, that they might enjoy 

More fame than that behind: 

Cods, give our earnest children moral health. 

Gods, give calm age to wear a tranquil face. 
And to the sons of Romulus give wealth, 
Offepring, and every grace. 

What Venus' and Anchises' glorious child 

Entreats of you, while snowy bullocks reel. 
Grant ye, for first in fight b he, but mild 
When vanqubhed foemen kneel. 

The Alban ax and Rome's unconquered troops 

The Mede now fears on land and on the wave, 
The Indian, yea, the haughty Scyth now stoops 
A friendly pact to crave. 



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