31. Chartis] See S. ii. 3. 2.
silebo,] So C. i. 12. 21: “Neque te silebo, Liber.”
32. Totve tuos patiar labores] These lines seem to have reference to the unpopularity of Lollius in connection with his defeat, which appears to be alluded to in the word ‘dubiis’ below. He may also have been the object of slander in respect to his personal character, which Horace here warmly defends, but which in after years was much blackened. There seems to be no other way of accounting for the earnestness with which Horace declares his friend’s innocence of the vice of avarice, for instance, than to suppose that fault had been laid to his charge, as it was so freely after his death (see Introduction).
33. carpere lividas] The plural ‘obliviones’ is nowhere else used. ‘Carpere’ is used in the sense of gradually consuming, and has something like that meaning here. ‘Lividus’ is akin to the Greek πελιδνός, and to the Latin ‘luridus’ (C. iii. 4. 74, n.). It means ‘dark,’ and is commonly associated with envy, which connects it with oblivion caused by envy. Horace says dark oblivion shall not swallow up the labors of Lollius with impunity; as if he were his champion, ready to defend him against the attacks of oblivion, his enemy.
34. Est animus tibi] ‘Rerum prudentia’ is a knowledge of the world. “Cato multarum rerum usum habebat” (Cic. de Am. ii. 6) expresses the same kind of experience. ‘Rectus’ means ‘erect,’ not stooping or bowed down, as “Fana deos habuere rectos” (C. iv. 4. 48). See also Ennius, quoted by Cicero (De Senect. c. 6): “Quo vobis mentes, rectae quae stare solebant Antehac, dementes sese flexere viai?”
37. abstinens — pecuniae,] For similar Grecisms, see C. ii. 9. 17, n.
39. Consulque non unius anni] Compare C. iii. 2. 19. Lollius was consul, B. C. 21, but Horace says that an upright ‘judex’ is always on a level with the highest magistrates, and such ever was Lollius, besieged like others with temptations to corruption, but resisting them all, and so overcoming the enemies who encompassed him, and delivering himself by his virtue from their calumnies.
41. Judex honestum] That it should be a matter of great merit and difficulty to maintain the character of an uncorrupt judex, does not say much for the honesty of those who exercised the functions of jurors. The corruption of the senatorian body led to the judicial power being transferred from them to the equites, but they in their turn were found so corrupt that it was given back to the senatores, and afterwards the judices were selected from both orders. See S. i. 4. 123, n.
44. Explicuit] ‘Through hostile crowds hath carried safe his arms victorious.’ ‘Explicare’ seems to correspond with ‘expedire’ in C. iv. 4. 76.
52. Non ille — timidus] ‘He fears disgrace worse than death,—not fearful he to die for his country,’ i.e. but he is not fearful. See C. iii. 19. 2. “Codrus pro patria non timidus mori.” See also C. iii. 2. 13, n.
Ligurinus is a merely poetical personage, and probably Horace composed this Ode with a Greek original before him or in his mind.
Argument.—Cruel and lovely boy; when the down shall have passed upon thy cheek, and thy flowing locks have fallen, and thy soft complexion vanished, thou shalt look in the glass, and say, “Why did I not, as a boy, feel as I do now; or why, with these feelings, have I not the beauty I had then?”
2. pluma] This word corresponds to the Greek πτίλον, used in the sense of the early down upon a boy’s cheek. The word is nowhere else used in this sense. Ἄπτιλος was a name given by the Greeks to beardless boys. Boys’ hair was allowed to grow till they assumed the ‘toga virilis,’ when it was cut off, as observed on C. ii. 5. 24. The feathers of a bird are as good a likeness to the down on a young cheek as wool, from which ‘lanugo,’ the usual word in this sense, is derived.
6. te speculo videris] ‘Speculo’ here, without ‘in,’ is the ablative of the instrument. ‘Alterum’ is nowhere else used exactly in this sense, ‘mutatum,’ and, though the word admits of that use, it is so like the Greek ἕτερον, which is frequently so used, that I think it is a translation of that word. ‘Heu’ is an exclamation of the poet, not of Ligurinus. What follows is like two lines in Terence (Hec. i. 1. 17, sq.):—
“Eheu me miseram! cur non aut istaec mihi
Aetas et forma est aut tibi haec sententia?”
The mirrors of the Romans at this time were only of metal, glass mirrors having been introduced later, and then of an inferior quality.
This Ode professes to be an invitation to Phyllis to come and sup with Horace on the 15th of April, Mæcenas’s birthday. It is possible that the Ode was sent to Mæcenas himself, and was only thrown into the form of an address to Phyllis for poetical convenience.
Argument.—I have a good old amphora of Alban, with parsley and ivy to make thee a crown, Phyllis; silver on my board, and an altar that waits for the sacrifice; the slaves are busy, the fire is burning; come and celebrate the Ides of April, for it is Mæcenas’s birthday, more sacred to me than my own. Telephus is matched already, and is no match for thee. The fates of Phaëthon and Bellerophon teach thee to beware of ambition. Come, my last love, with thy sweet voice sing the song I shall teach thee; song shall drive care away.
2. Albani cadus;] The wine of the Alban hills was of the better kind; and at Nassidienus’s supper it was offered to the chief guest with Falernian (Sat. ii. 8. 16). Pliny (N. H. xiv. 6) places it third among the wines of Italy. Juvenal (v. 33) speaks of Albanian wine, and classes it with Setian, both of great age. The rich glutton drank it, he says, as a corrective of yesterday’s debauch.
5. qua crines religata fulges;] ‘Crowned with which thou art beautiful.’
7. verbenis] See C. i. 19. 14, n.
8. Spargier agno;] It has been questioned whether the Romans shed blood on birthdays. In the earliest times, perhaps they did not, but the practice was different in Horace’s time, as this passage shows. See also Juv. xi. 84.
10. Cursitant mixtae pueris puellae;] ‘Puellae’ is most rarely used for female slaves. The word in use was ‘ancillae.’
12. Vertice fumum.] ‘Vertice’ is the top of the flame, which ‘flickers as it whirls the dark smoke on its crest’; a spiral flame, terminating in a column of smoke. It seems as if Horace were writing with a fire burning before him, and caught the idea as he wrote.
15. marinae] C. i. 3. 1. Venus (Ἀφροδίτη) was said to have risen from the sea in the month of April, which was therefore her month, the name of which Macrobius derives from ἀφρός: Varro, more probably, from ‘aperio,’ as the month that opens the year. The word ‘idus’ is derived from ‘iduare,’ which signifies to divide, and this explains ‘findit.’
19. adfluentes Ordinat annos.] ‘Reckons each year as it succeeds.’
21. Telephum,] Telephus is a favorite name with Horace. For what reason this is the name he chooses for youths whom maidens vainly love, does not appear; but such is the fact. ‘Occupavit’ signifies ‘has preoccupied’ (C. ii. 12. 28).
22. Non tuae sortis] This belongs to ‘juvenem,’ not to ‘puella.’ ‘A youth not of thy condition.’ “Si qua voles apte nubere, nube pari” (Ovid, Heroid. ix. 32).
23. grata Compede] This is repeated from C. i. 33. 14.
25. Phaëthon] The story of Phaëthon getting permission to drive the horses of his father Helios (the sun), setting fire to the earth, and finally killed by lightning and falling into the Eridanus, is told at much length by Ovid (Met. ii. 1-324).
27. Pegasus] The story was, that the winged horse of Zeus was given by Athene or Poseidon to Bellerophon (C. i. 27. 24) to help him to kill the Chimæra, and that afterwards Bellerophon tried, with the help of Pegasus, to rise to heaven; but for his presumption he was thrown off.
29. et ultra] ‘And counting it impious to hope beyond what is allowed, avoid one who is not thy match.’
32. Finis] Compare Propert. i. 12. 19:—
“Mi neque amare aliam neque ab hac discedere fas est;
Cynthia prima fuit, Cynthia finis erit.”
It is not necessary to infer from this, as some do, that Horace was old. However literally the words may be taken, they only mean that he intended to be constant to Phyllis.
34. condisce modos] These words correspond very closely to those of C. iv. 6. 43:
“Reddidi carmen docilis modorum Vatis Horati.”
This is written in the form of an invitation to Virgil the poet (though this has been much disputed) to sup with him.
Argument.—The spring is come, the frost is fled, the stream flows gently, the swallow has built her nest, the shepherds are piping to Pan in the fields, and the days of drought have returned, Virgil. Bring me a box of nard, and I will bring thee in return some generous Calenian from Sulpicius’s cellar. If my bargain please thee, make haste; lay aside business; and, remembering that thou must die, relax while thou mayest into folly for a time.
1. temperant] This is explained by C. i. 3. 16 (see note). The Thracian winds are here the northeast winds of spring.
3. nec fluvii strepunt] This explains C. iv. 7. 3. The time is not quite the beginning of spring, when the snows melt and the rivers are swollen, but after they have subsided, which soon takes place.
5. Nidum ponit,] The story of Procne, daughter of Pandion, king of Attica (Cecropia), turned into a swallow, is gracefully introduced here to give ornament to a common fact and sign of spring. Horace elsewhere introduces the swallow with the west wind (Epp. i. 7. 13). One version of the story changes Philomela into the swallow, and Procne, the mother of Itys, into the nightingale. Virgil makes Philomela the mother and slayer of Itys (Ecl. vi. 79):—
“Quas illi Philomela dapes, quae dona pararit?
Quo cursu deserta petiverit, et quibus ante
Infelix sua tecta supervolitaverit alis?”
In short, the legend is more varied than almost any other.
7. male] This may go with ‘barbaras’ to strengthen it, as “rauci male” (S. i. 4. 66), or with ‘ulta.’
8. Regum] The lust of kings, as exemplified in one of them, Tereus, the Thracian king, who, having married one of the above sisters, concealed her, and married the other, under the pretence that she was dead. The fraud was discovered, and the first wife, whichever of the two it was (see above), murdered her son Itys, and put his limbs before his father as a banquet. The sisters then ran away, and Tereus pursuing them, they were all changed into birds.
9. Dicunt] C. iii. 4. 1.
11. deum] Pan, who was chiefly worshipped in Arcadia.
14. Calibus] See C. i. 20. 9. As to ‘ducere,’ see C. iii. 3. 34, n.
15. juvenum nobilium cliens,] These are said by the Scholiasts to be Augustus and Mæcenas. ‘Juvenis’ is applied to the former in C. i. 2. 41 (see note).
17. Nardi parvus onyx] A pound of ‘nard’ was worth upwards of 300 denarii, which sum was equivalent to more than 10l. sterling. The ‘onyx’ was another name for alabaster, of which, as we find in the New Testament, as well as here and elsewhere, boxes were made for ointments.
18. Sulpiciis — horreis,] These were famous wine-cellars, which originally belonged to one of the Sulpician family, and, according to the Scholiasts, continued to bear the name of Galba, the cognomen of a branch of that gens, in their day. There are inscriptions extant in which mention is made of the ‘horrea Galbiana.’ Horace, professing to have no good wine of his own, says he will buy a cadus of Calenian. (C. i. 20. 10, n.)
19. amaraque Curarum] This is a Greek construction, but not uncommon in Horace, as “acuta belli” (C. iv. 4. 76); “corruptus vanis rerum” (S. ii. 2. 25), “fictis rerum” (S. ii. 8. 83); “vilia rerum” (Epp. i. 17. 21); “abdita rerum” (A. P. 49).
23. Immunem] ‘for nothing,’ as we say. It is equivalent to ‘asymbolus’ in Terence (Phorm. ii. 2. 25). “Ten’ asymbolum venire!” The drone is represented as “immunis sedens aliena ad pabula” (Virg. Georg. iv. 244), and Horace says of himself, “quem scis immunem Cinarae placuisse rapaci” (Ep. i. 14. 33).
25. studium lucri,] This looks like a joke, but the point of it is lost.
26. Nigrorum — ignium] This epithet is commonly applied to the funeral fires, as (Aen. xi. 186), “subjectis ignibus atris.”
This Ode has been noticed in the introduction to C. iii. 10. It is not unlike the fifteenth of the same book. It is professedly addressed to an old woman, Lyce, who is trying to keep up her charms. The poet writes as if the gods had answered his prayers by taking away her beauty for the cruelty she had shown him. It is most probably an imitation.
Argument.—My prayers are answered, Lyce. Thou art old, and would captivate still; but love abides only on the fresh cheek, and runs away from the withered trunk, and from thee, with thy black teeth, and wrinkles, and gray hairs. Try and hide thy years with purple and jewels, but the telltale records betray thee. Where is the girl that I loved only next to Cinara?—whom Fate carried off too soon, while it left Lyce to grow old, that her lovers might laugh at her decline.
7. Chiae] ‘Chia’ is a proper name. ‘Delia’ and ‘Lesbia’ are formed in the same way.
8. excubat in genis.] This is a close imitation of Sophocles (Antig. 782):—
Ἔρως ὃς ἐν κτήμασι πίπτεις
ὃς ἐν μαλακαῖς παρειαῖς
νεάνιδος ἐννυχεύεις.
9. aridas Quercus,] This corresponds to C. i. 25. 19, “aridas frondes”; as to ‘luridi,’ see C. iii. 4. 74, n.
13. Coae] These are thin, transparent textures of some sort, from the island of Cos in the Ægean.
14. clari lapides] The precious stones of the costlier sort most in use by Roman women were pearls (‘margaritae’) and emeralds (‘smaragdi’). They were chiefly worn in necklaces, and as ear drops and rings; and libertinae distinguished for their beauty could make a great display of jewels received as presents from their admirers.
15. Notis condita fastis] ‘Buried in the public annals.’ Horace means to say, that the days she has seen are all buried, as it were, in the grave of the public annals, and there any one may find them, but she cannot get them back. It is a graphic way of identifying the years, and marking their decease, to point to the record in which each is distinguished by its consuls and its leading events. ‘Notis’ merely expresses the publicity and notoriety of the record by which the lapse of time is marked. As to ‘fasti,’ see Epp. ii. 1. 48, n.
18. illius, illius,] This word is very emphatic, as in “quantum mutatus ab illo Hectare” (Aen. ii. 274). On ‘surpuerat’ compare “unum me surpite morti” (Sat. ii. 3. 283); C. i. 36. 8, n; S. i. 5. 79, n. Regarding Cinara, see C. iv. 1. 3, n; and for the form ‘nota artium gratarum’ compare “notus in fratres animi paterni” (C. ii. 2. 6). ‘Et’ is redundant, and the sentence is a little irregular: ‘What hast thou left of her, of her who breathed but love, who stole me from myself, blest next to Cinara, that fate, too, so familiar in its lovely charms?’
24. parem — temporibus] This means that Lyce and the crow go on together getting old and never dying. ‘Vetulae’ is a contemptuous form of ‘annosa,’ used elsewhere (C. iii. 17. 13). Martial speaks of an old woman who had survived all the crows (x. 67). She was the daughter (he says) of Pyrrha, and Nestor’s step-mother, an old woman when Niobe was a girl, grandmother of Laertes, nurse of Priam, and mother-in-law of Thyestes.
28. Dilapsam] This expresses well the crumbling of a burnt-out torch. The idea is very original. There is an intentional contrast in ‘fervidi.’ ‘That burning youths might see with loud laughter the torch’s flame crumbling away to ashes.’
The circumstances under which this Ode was written, and its probable date, are given in the Introduction to C. 4 of this book, to which the student is referred. The common inscriptions, which make it an address in honor of Augustus, sufficiently describe the spirit of it, though its professed purpose is to celebrate the part that Tiberius took, with Drusus, in the victories over the German tribes. It is probable that, whereas the Ode for Drusus was written soon after his victory, this was not written till Augustus returned from Gaul, two years afterwards.
Argument.—With what honors shall we perpetuate thy virtues, O mightiest of princes, whose strength the insolent Vindelici have felt? With great slaughter Drusus cast them down from their heights, and Tiberius drove them before him, as the south wind drives the waves, or the swollen Aufidus lays waste the corn,—a scathless victory; and thou didst lend thine armies, thy counsels, and thine auspices. ’T was fifteen years from that day when Alexandria opened her gates to thee, that Fortune brought this glory to thine arms. All nations bow down to thee, from the east to the west, from the north to the south, O thou guardian of Italy and Rome!
4. fastos Aeternet,] As to ‘titulos,’ see S. i. 6. 17, n., and for ‘fastos,’ see Epp. ii. 1. 48, n. ‘Aeternare’ is a word which had probably become almost obsolete in Horace’s time. It is not found in any other author, except in a fragment of Varro. Many words used by Horace, and by no other extant writer, were probably common enough before the age of Cicero. ‘Habitabiles oras,’ like ἡ οἰκουμένη, so commonly used by Plutarch and the writers of the New Testament, signifies the Roman world.
7. Quem — didicere — Quid Marte posses.] This construction is not uncommon in Plautus, as (Asin. i. 1. 45), “verum meam uxorem, Libane, scis qualis siet”; and Terence, as (Eun. iv. 3. 15), “Ego illum nescio qui fuerit,” and other places. With the Greek poets nothing is more common, as in Sophocles (Trachin. 429):—
πρὸς θεῶν φράσον, φίλη
δέσποινα, τόνδε τίς ποτ᾽ ἐστὶν ὁ ξένος;
10. Genaunos,] The Genauni were one of the southern tribes of Rætia, lying between the lakes Verbanus (Maggiore) and Larius (Como), in the modern Val d’Agno. The Breuni were a small but warlike tribe, also occupying part of Raetia. The character Horace gives of these tribes is that which is given by all writers of the time. ‘Implacidum’ is a word not found in any writer earlier than Horace. It is as likely that he made as that he found it: either may be true.
13. plus vice simplici;] The literal version would thus be, ‘with more than an even exchange,’ i.e. of blood, he being ‘sine clade victor’ (v. 32). As to the construction ‘plus vice,’ see C. i. 13. 20.
14. Major Neronum] Tiberius. See C. iv. 4. 28, n.
17. Spectandus — Quantis] This seems imitated from the Greek idiom θαυμαστὸς ὅσοις. ‘A noble sight, how in the strife of war he drove with mighty slaughter those hearts devoted to a freeman’s death.’
20. Indomitas prope qualis] It may be observed, that the fourth verse of the Alcaic stanza is frequently constructed with a noun and its adjective in the first and last place, and corresponding in their last syllables. In this Ode we have vv. 12, 16, 20, 36, 52, answering to this rule or habit. ‘Prope’ has no particular force. Horace, whose ear was familiar with the language of the Greek tragedians, copied their σχεδόν τι (a common phrase in comparisons) here and in other places. The setting of the Pleiades, at the beginning of November, was reckoned as the commencement of winter; they therefore are said to burst the clouds (‘scindere nubes’), which poured down rain upon the earth.
24. medios per ignes.] ‘Ignes’ means the flames of war.
25. tauriformis] This is taken from the Greek ταυρόμορφος, applied to the Cephissus by Eurip. (Ion, 1261). The only other Italian river that was represented under this form was the Eridanus, of which Virgil says (Georg. iv. 371, sqq.):—
“Et gemina auratus taurino cornua vultu
Eridanus, quo non alius per pinguia culta
In mare purpureum violentior effluit amnis.”
He was therefore represented not only with horns, but with gilded horns. Horace has probably invented this description of his native river, by way of magnifying its importance, and ranking it with the greater streams. Whence this conception of a bull, as representing the form of a river-god, may have arisen, it is not easy to say, but probably from the branching of so many large streams at their mouths, though that would not apply to the Aufidus.
26. Dauni] See C. i. 22. 14, n.
28. meditatur] See C. iii. 25. 5, n.
31. metendo] ‘And, mowing down first and hindmost, strewed the earth, a scathless victor.’ Horace (like Virgil, Aen. x. 513, “Proxima quaeque metit gladio”) gets his word from Homer (II. xi. 67), οἱ δ᾽ ὥστ᾽ ἀμητῆρες ἐναντίοι ἀλλήλοισιν Ὄγμον ἐλαύνωσιν.
32. sine clade] See note on v. 13.
33. te — Praebente divos.] See C. i. 7. 27, n. Augustus had the ‘auspicium,’ and his step-sons were his ‘legati.’
34. quo die] See C. i. 37, Introduction, iv. 4, Introduction.
40. Imperiis decus arrogavit.] ‘Claimed for the wars carried on under thy imperium the glory thou didst desire.’ What follows is a compendious review of the successes of Augustus, all of which have been noticed in these Odes. Before the present Ode was written, the Cantabri had been finally subdued by Agrippa; the Parthians had restored the standards of Crassus and M. Antonius; the Scythians had sent to ask to be taken into alliance; the distant nations of Asia had done the same (see C. S. 55, sq.); the successes of Lentulus had checked the inroads of the tribes of the Danube (ii. 9. 23); Egypt had long been a tributary province; Armenia (Tigris) had been ceded by the Parthians; Britain, though only threatened, had sent tokens of submission. Augustus was just returned from Gaul and Spain, where he had put down the last efforts of rebellion, having also driven back the German tribes (Sigambri), whose success against Lollius had thrown a stain upon the arms of Rome (see C. 2 of this book, Introduction).
45. Te fontium qui celat origines] This applies only to Nilus. The ancient representations of the Nile exhibit him as covering his head with his robe, or with the waters flowing from under his robe; while the Ister is exhibited with his urn in a medal of Trajan, on whose column he is represented as rising out of his stream to do homage to Rome.
47. belluosus] This word does not occur elsewhere in any classical writer. It reduces to the form of an adjective ‘scatentem belluis’ (C. iii. 27. 26). It corresponds to πολυθρέμμων of Æschylus, πολυκήτης of Theocritus, and Homer’s μεγακήτης.
49. Te non paventis funera Galliae] Caes. de B. G. vi. 14: “In primis hoc volunt persuadere (Druidae) non interire animos sed ab aliis post mortem transire ad alios, atque hoc maxime ad virtutem excitari putant, metu mortis neglecto.”
This Ode appears in early times to have been read as part of the fourteenth; but there can be little doubt the Odes were written separately, though probably about the same time, on the return of Augustus to Rome, B. C. 13. All that is here said of the subjection of the world and the universal peace was said in effect at the close of the fourteenth Ode; but it was natural that if Horace had received the emperor’s commands to publish another book of Odes, he should conclude it with one addressed to Augustus himself, reviewing the blessings of his reign, which at this time had been crowned by a series of successes by which universal peace was established.
Argument.—When I would sing of wars, Phœbus checked me with his lyre. Thy reign, O Cæsar, hath brought back our lost honor, with plenty and peace and order, and the means by which our name and strength have become great. Under thy protection we fear no wars at home or abroad; the North and the East obey thy laws, and we with our wives and children will sing of the heroes of old, of Troy, and Anchises, and of Venus’s son.
2. increpuit lyra,] This is explained by Ovid (A. A. ii. 493):—
“Haec ego cum canerem subito manifestus Apollo
Movit inauratae pollice fila lyrae.”
‘Increpuit lyra’ therefore signifies ‘checked me by touching the strings of his lyre, and leading me to a strain more fitted to my muse.’ The other metaphor is common enough. See Virgil (Georg. ii. 41): “Pelagoque volans da vela patenti.”
4. Tua, Caesar, aetas] The abruptness with which this is introduced is worth remarking. A longer preface would have weakened the Ode.
5. Fruges et agris] This is a repetition of C. iv. 5. 17, sq.
6. nostro — Jovi] To the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus.
7. Derepta] As the standards were quietly and voluntarily sent to Augustus by Phraates, Horace’s language is somewhat exaggerated. The recovery (see C. iii. 5, Introd.) of the standards lost by Crassus was one of the greatest causes of rejoicing that ever happened at Rome. Without it, the restoration effected by Augustus, and of which Horace here gives a compendious picture, would have been wanting in one of its chief features; the honor, as well as the peace, of Rome was restored. These praises are repeated from or in (for we cannot say which was written first) Epp. ii. 1. 251, sqq. See also Epp. i. 18. 56.
9. Janum Quirini] If ‘Janum Quirini’ and not ‘Janum Quirinum’ be the true reading, Horace assigns to Romulus the building of the temple of Janus, which is usually assigned to Numa. The other would mean ‘Janus called Quirinus,’ a name given him as Janus of the Quirites. As to the shutting of the temple, see Epp. ii. 1. 255, n.
10. evaganti] This nowhere else appears with an accusative case, but ‘evadere’ and ‘exire’ are used with an accusative repeatedly. (Compare C. iii. 24. 29.) ‘Artes’ means those virtues in which the discipline of life is placed, as prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
17. furor Civilis aut vis] ‘Civilis’ belongs to ‘furor,’ and ‘vis,’ which is a technical word, means here ‘personal violence.’ ‘Ira’ applies to foreign quarrels. See C. iii. 14. 14, n.
20. inimicat] This is another word which Horace probably found in use by writers of a former day. Later writers have taken it from him. It means ‘sets at enmity.’ ‘Apprecati’ (v. 28), ‘remixto’ (v. 30), are also words first found in Horace.
21. qui profundum Danubium bibunt] The German tribes, particularly the Vindelici lately subdued. ‘Edicta Julia’ can only mean here the laws of Augustus, laid upon them at their conquest, though in its technical sense the word ‘edicta’ would not apply. The rules of a governor published in his province were his ‘edictum,’ and these people were not in a province. Horace therefore does not use the word in its legal sense. The Getæ lay towards the mouths of the Danube, while the Daci were situated to the west of them, on the same or south side of the river.
23. Seres — Tanaïn] See C. iii. 29. 27, n. The Seres and Indi are not much distinguished by Horace (see C. i. 12. 56), and, when he is referring to the East, their names are generally associated with the Parthians, more for the sake of amplification than with historical or geographical accuracy. The Roman armies had not yet even crossed the Tigris. But when Augustus was in Syria, we are informed by Suetonius, ambassadors came from the far East to ask his protection and alliance.
25. lucibus] This word is used for ‘diebus’ by Ovid (Fast. iii. 397):—
“His etiam conjux apicati cincta Dialis
Lucibus impexas debet habere comas.”
The singular is more common.
29. Virtute functos] This is a concise way of expressing ‘virtutis munere functos,’ as in Cicero (Tusc. i. 45): “Nemo parum diu vixit qui virtutis perfectae perfecto functus est munere.”
more patrum] Cic. (Tusc. i. 2) tells us that in the Origines of Cato it is stated that it was the custom of old to sing songs at meals upon the virtues of great men. The practice may have been partially revived in Horace’s day. The conclusion of this Ode recalls C. iv. 5. 31, sq.
30. Lydis] Plato tells us that the Lydian and Ionian melodies were best suited to delicacy and feasting, the Dorian and Phrygian to war; and Aristotle that the Lydian were most suitable to the tender age of boyhood, as harmonizing the mind and training it to good. There is no particular force, however, here in the word ‘Lydis.’ As to ‘tibiis,’ see C. i. 1. 32, n. The pipes used by the Lydians themselves are called by Herodotus (i. 17) αὐλὸς ἀνδρήϊος and αὐλὸς γυναικήϊος, probably as representing the voices of a man and a woman respectively.
31. Anchisen] The family of Anchises, the grandfather of Iulus, are mentioned here, because Augustus belonged by adoption to the Julian family, of which Iulus was the reputed founder.
When Augustus had completed the period of ten years for which the imperial power was at first placed in his hands (B. C. 27-17), he determined to celebrate his successes at home and abroad by an extraordinary festival, and he took as his model the Ludi Tarentini or Taurii, which had in former times been observed as a means of propitiating the infernal deities, Dis and Proserpina, on occasions of great public calamities. It does not appear that this festival ever was held at regular intervals. How, therefore, the name Ludi Seculares arose, is not clear, but, as it was now for the first time given, it was probably convenient to have it believed that the games were no more than the observance of a periodical solemnity. The Quindecimviri were ordered to consult the Sibylline books, and they reported, no doubt as they were desired, that the time was come when this great national festival should be repeated, and the details of it were laid down as from the commands of the oracle in a set of hexameter Greek verses, composed of course for the occasion, and which have been preserved to us by the historian Zosimus.
Horace appears to have been much pleased at being chosen poet-laureate of the occasion (see C. iv. 6, Introd.). The Ode was sung at the most solemn part of the festival, while the emperor was in person offering sacrifice at the second hour of the night, on the river-side, upon three altars, attended by the fifteen men who presided over religious affairs. The chorus consisted of twenty-seven boys and twenty-seven girls of noble birth, well trained no doubt for the occasion (C. iv. 6). The effect must have been very beautiful, and no wonder that the impression on Horace’s feelings (for in all probability he was present) was strong and lasting.
Argument.
Apollo and Diana, hear the prayers we offer you in obedience to the Sibyl’s commands (1-8).
O Sun, that rulest the day, thou lookest upon nothing mightier than Rome (9-12).
Ilithyia, protect our mothers and children, and prosper our marriage-law that so, in the cycle of years, this our festival may come again (13-24).
And ye, Parcæ, who do prophesy truly, let our future destiny be as the past. Let the earth and air give strength to our flocks and fruits (25-32).
Hide thy weapon, Apollo, and hear thy suppliant boys (33, 34).
Queen of the stars, O Moon, hear thy maidens (35, 36).
Since Rome is your handiwork, and at your bidding Æneas brought his remnant to these shores (37-44).
Ye gods, give virtue to the young and peace to the old, and power and sons and glory to the family of Romulus (45-48).
Grant the prayers of the noble son of Anchises, for his victories shall be tempered with mercy (49-52).
Humbled are the Mede, the proud Scythian, and the Indian (53-56).
Peace, plenty, and all the virtues have returned to our land (57-60).
May Phœbus, the augur, the prince of the bow and of song, the physician who favorably regardeth his Palatine temple and the fortunes of Rome and Latium, ever extend our blessings to another and still happier lustrum (61-68).
May Diana, who inhabiteth the Palatine and Algidus, hear our prayers (69-72).
We, the choir of Phœbus and Diana, will go home believing that our prayers are heard (73-76).
1. silvarumque potens] Compare C. iii. 22. 1. ‘Lucidum caeli decus’ applies to both deities.
5. Sibyllini] See Introd. These were oracular books written, it is conjectured, on palm-leaves, in Greek verse, which were kept in the Capitol and consulted on extraordinary occasions. The leaves taken at random were supposed to give the directions required. They were under the care of certain persons, at this time fifteen in number (‘quindecimviri,’ v. 70), who alone had power to consult them. The books were said originally to have been sold to Tarquinius Superbus by an old woman, and to have been three in number. They were burnt with the Capitol, B. C. 82, but collections of these verses having accumulated in various towns of Italy, they were got together and deposited in the same building, and used as before.
6. Virgines lectas] See Introd.
7. septem placuere colles] The seven hills of Rome, which were Cœlius, Esquilinus, Viminalis, Quirinalis, Capitolinus, Palatinus, Aventinus.
9. Alme] This epithet is to be taken in its proper sense as derived from ‘alo.’ ‘Sun the nurturer.’ This stanza is addressed to Phœbus, and was sung perhaps by the boys. The two next, addressed to Diana, may have been taken up by the girls, but this is uncertain.
13. Rite maturos] ‘O thou whose office it is gently to bring babes to the birth in due season.’ ‘Rite’ means ‘according to thy province and functions.’ Εἰλειθυία, the Greek name for Hero and Artemis, or more properly in the plural number for their attendants, when presiding at the delivery of women, (which name is said to contain the root of ἐλθεῖν, but that seems doubtful,) is represented by the Latin ‘Lucina,’ “quae in lucem profert,” which title also was given indiscriminately to Juno and Diana. The title ‘Genitalis’ does not occur elsewhere in this sense, but appears to be a version of the Greek Γενετυλλίς, which was applied to Aphrodite as well as Artemis and her attendants.
17. producas] This signifies ‘to rear,’ as in C. ii. 13. 3.
18. Prosperes decreta] In B. C. 18, the year before this Ode was written, a law was passed which, after Augustus, was called “Lex Julia de Maritandis Ordinibus,” its object being the regulation and promotion of marriages. It is referred to in the note on C. i. 2. 24.
21. Certus undenos] The notion that the Secular Games were celebrated every 110 years, which seems to have been the length of a seculum as measured by the Etruscans, was a fiction invented probably at this time. There is no trace or probability of their having been so celebrated either before or after Augustus. They lasted three days and nights. They were celebrated by Claudius, A. D. 47, and again by Domitian, A. D. 88.
25. Vosque veraces cecinisse,] ‘Ye too who are true to declare, O Parcæ, that which hath been once decreed, and which the steadfast order of events is confirming’ (that is, the power of Rome). The orders of the oracle (see Introduction) directed a special sacrifice of lambs and goats, ποντογόνοις Μοίραις, which was the Greek name of the Parcæ (some writers derived their birth from Oceanus and Ge, the earth). ‘Semel’ in the sense of ‘once for all’ (καθάπαξ), is common enough. The Parcæ could not but be true exponents of the decrees (‘fata’) of Jove, since to them their execution was intrusted. That was their province (see C. ii. 16. 39). There may be some inconsistency in asking them to give good fates to Rome, since they could only execute ministerially ‘quod semel dictum est.’ But such confusion is common.
33. Condito mitis placidusque telo] The boys take up the song for two lines, the girls for two more, and after that they probably join their voices.
On the promontory near Actium there was a statue of Apollo with his bow bent and a fierce aspect, which was an object of terror to the sailors who approached the coast. (See Virg. Aen. iii. 274, sq.) And again on the shield of Æneas (viii. 704) the same figure is represented. To this god Augustus paid his devotions before his battle with M. Antonius, and to him he attributed his success. Accordingly, on his return to Rome, he built a temple to Apollo of Actium on Mons Palatinus (v. 65; C. i. 31; Epp. i. 3. 17), and set up a statue (executed by Scopas, see C. iv. 8. 6, n.) of that god, but in a different character, the bow being laid aside and a lyre substituted for it in one hand, and a plectrum in the other. He was clad also in a long flowing robe. Propertius was present at the dedication of the temple, and gives a description of it (ii. 31); the last object he mentions being the statue of Apollo, as above described. This change of character is what Horace alludes to.
35. regina bicornis] In a rilievo on Constantine’s arch, Diana, as the moon, is represented in her chariot drawn by two horses, and with a small crescent on her forehead, which is a common way of representing her on gems and medals. In the above group Hesperus is flying in front of her.
37. Roma si vestrum est opus,] Æneas tells Dido (Virg. Aen. iv. 345) that it was the oracle of Apollo that bade him seek Italy, and Horace introduces this with good effect, associating Diana with her brother for the occasion. See C. iv. 6. 21, n.
41. fraude] C. ii. 19. 20.
42. Castus] C. iii. 2. 30, where the correlative term is used: “Neglectus incesto addidit integrum.” Aen. vi. 661: “Quique sacerdotes casti.”
43. Liberum munivit iter,] ‘Made a free course,’ ‘opened the way.’ ‘Munire’ is used commonly in this sense both literally and figuratively. See Livy (xxi. 37, where he is describing Hannibal’s passage of the Alps): “Inde ad rupem muniendam per quam unam via esse poterat milites ducti,” etc. Cicero (In Verrem, ii. 3. 68), “Existimat easdem vias ad omnium familiaritatem esse munitas.”
49. Quaeque vos bobus veneratur] ‘Veneratur’ is equivalent to ‘venerando precatur,’ and is used transitively here and in S. ii. 2. 124; 6. 8, as well as in other authors. The oracle required that milk-white bulls should be offered by day to Zeus.
51. bellante prior,] ‘Bellante’ is opposed to ‘jacentem,’ and ‘prior’ to ‘lenis.’ ‘Mightier than his enemy in the fight, but merciful when he is fallen.’ The chorus pray rather for the blessings of peace than the triumphs of war, and therefore praise Augustus’s clemency to his conquered enemies, which accorded with the warning of Anchises (Aen. vi. 852, where Virgil plainly had reference to Augustus):—
“Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento;
Hae tibi erunt artes, pacisque imponere morem,
Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos.”
54. Albanas — secures,] The Roman fasces, as “Albanique patres” (Aen. i. 7). Ascanius or Iulus, the son of Æneas, according to the legends from which the Romans had their notions of their own history, transferred the seat of his father’s kingdom to Alba Longa, and there it continued till Romulus, his descendant, founded a kingdom on the banks of the Tiber, about ten miles from Alba.
55. responsa] Replies to their offers of submission and petitions for friendship. This word is used for the replies of the gods, and here perhaps expresses the majesty of Augustus delivering his will as that of a god, like Virgil (Ecl. i. 45): “Hic mihi responsum primus dedit ille petenti.” But ‘responsum’ is also a technical term for the answer of a jurisconsult to a client, or a superior to an inferior, as of the emperor to the governor of a province.
57. Jam Fides et Pax] This group occurs nearly in the same combination in C. i. 24. 6. The figures are variously represented on medals, &c. ‘Fides’ represents honesty, good faith, and is called in the above place ‘justitiae soror.’ ‘Honos’ has nothing to do with what we call honor in the sense of honesty (‘fides’), but represents Gloria in her good character (for she had a bad, as vainglory, C. i. 18. 15). ‘Virtus’ is most usually represented in a military character, as Fortitudo; but the name embraced all moral courage and steadfastness in well-doing, with which military courage was closely associated in the mind of a Roman. ‘Pudor,’ or ‘pudicitia,’ represents conjugal fidelity. Juvenal speaks of her especially as having left the earth at the close of the reign of Saturn. But all these virtues are said to have left the earth with Astræa at the close of the golden age, and their return is intended to represent the return of that age.
60. Copia cornu.] Copia, whose horn was most properly the symbol of Fortune (C. i. 17. 14, n.), but was also given to many other divinities, as Fides, Felicitas, Concordia, Honos, &c., was herself represented under the forms of Abundantia and Annona, the latter signifying the supply of corn for consumption in the city.
61. Augur] All prophets and augurs were held to be servants of Apollo, and to derive their knowledge from him.
et fulgente decorus arcu] This seems to contradict the prayer in v. 33; but the bow of Apollo did not always inspire dread. He is sometimes represented with this unstrung at his back, and the lyre and plectrum in his hands (C. ii. 10. 19); and it is uncertain whether he did not so appear in the statue above referred to.
62. acceptusque novem Camenis,] See C. iv. 6. 25, n. In some ancient rilievi and paintings Apollo is represented as seated in the midst of the nine Muses, who are all paying attention to him.
63. Qui salutari] Apollo’s attribute as the healer is one of the oldest that was attached to him, and is most commonly exhibited in his statues and other representations. It is symbolized by the serpent which always attends the figures of Salus, Æsculapius, and others connected with the healing art. Ovid makes him say:—
“Inventum medicina meum est, opiferque per orbem
Dicor, et herbarum subjecta potentia nobis.” (Met. i. 521.)
65. Si Palatinas videt aequus arces,] See above, v. 33, n. ‘Felix’ agrees with ‘aevum,’ and ‘videt’ governs ‘arces,’ ‘rem,’ and ‘Latium.’ ‘May he prolong this happy age to another and another lustrum, and ever to a happier.’ It is common with Horace to put an adjective and its substantive at the two extremes of a period.
69. Quaeque Aventinum] Diana had a temple on Mons Aventinus and on Algidus (C. i. 21. 6). From this stanza it has been assumed by some that the sacred commissioners (the ‘quindecimviri,’ see Introd. and v. 5, n.) took part in the singing, which is not very probable. Their number, which was originally two, and was increased to ten about 150 years after the establishment of the Republic, was raised to fifteen either by Sulla or Julius Cæsar.
71. puerorum] This includes the whole choir of boys and girls.
74. reporto,] The whole choir take up this last stanza, or else the leader does so for them, declaring their confidence that the prayers they have offered have been heard by Jove and all the gods.
75. Doctus] C. iv. 6. 43: “docilis modorum Vatis Horati.”