Some time after Horace had published his three books of Odes, and had, as it appears, laid aside that sort of writing, it seems that Mæcenas, and probably his other friends, begged him to return to it. That is the obvious meaning of the remonstrance with which the Epistle opens. He expresses an earnest wish to retire into privacy, to abandon poetry, and to devote himself to the study of philosophy and virtue, which he recommends as the only true wisdom.
1. Prima dicte mihi,] This is an affectionate way of speaking. It has no particular reference to anything Horace had written. It is like Virgil’s address to Pollio (Ec. viii. 11): “A te principium, tibi desinet”; or Nestor’s to Agamemnon (Il. ix. 96):
Ἀτρείδη κύδιστε, ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγάμεμνον,
Ἐν σοὶ μὲν λήξω, σέο δ᾽ ἄρξομαι.
2. Spectatum satis et donatum jam rude] When gladiators received their discharge, they were presented by the ‘lanista,’ or the ‘editor spectaculorum,’ who owned or hired them, with a ‘rudis,’ which was a blunt wooden instrument, some say a sword, others a cudgel. The name may have belonged to any weapon used in the ‘praelusio,’ or sham fight that generally preceded the real battle with sharp swords. The gladiators thus discharged were called ‘rudiarii,’ and, if they were freemen, ‘exauctorati.’ ‘Spectatum’ is a technical term. Tickets, with the letters SP upon them, were given to gladiators who had distinguished themselves. ‘Ludus’ means the place where the training took place, and the gladiators were kept. (See A. P. 32, n.)
4. Veianius armis Herculis ad postem] Veianius was a ‘rudiarius,’ and when he was discharged, he hung up his weapons in the temple of Hercules, just as the man is made to hang up the arms of love in the temple of Venus, when they had ceased to profit him, in C. iii. 26. 3; or as the slave hung up his chain to the Lares (see S. i. 5. 65, n.), to whom also boys dedicated their ‘bulla’ when they assumed the ‘toga virilis’; and, generally, those who gave up any trade or calling dedicated the instruments with which they had followed it to the gods, and to that god, in particular, under whose patronage they had placed themselves. Hercules would naturally be chosen by a gladiator, or by a soldier.
6. Ne populum extrema] The gladiatorial shows at this time were exhibited in the Circus. The arena was separated from the seats, which went round the building, by a wall called the ‘podium,’ near which a gladiator would station himself to appeal to the compassion of the people, at whose request it usually was that they got their freedom and the ‘rudis.’ We learn from Juvenal, that the persons of highest condition sat by the ‘podium,’ and to their influence the appeal would be more immediately made. Veianius, Horace says, retired into the country to escape the temptation to engage himself again, and to place himself in the position he had so often occupied, of a suppliant for the people’s favor. When they liked a man, they were not easily persuaded to ask for his discharge.
7. Est mihi purgatam] He has a voice within him, he says, the office of which is to whisper in his attentive ear the precept that follows, the idea of which is taken from Ennius, who takes it from the Circus. His words in Cicero de Senect. (c. 5) are:
“Sicut fortis equus spatio qui saepe supremo
Vicit Olympia, nunc senio confectu’ quiescit.”
‘Purgatam aurem’ means an ear purged from all that could obstruct the entrance of the truth.
9. ilia ducat.] ‘Ilia trahere’ and ‘ducere’ are ordinary expressions for panting; they mean to contract the flanks, as is done in the act of recovering the breath. The reverse is ‘ilia tendere.’ See Virg. Georg. iii. 536, “imaque longo Ilia singultu tendunt.” ‘Ilia ducere’ here means to become broken-winded.
10. et versus et cetera ludicra pono,] He did not keep his word, for he wrote much of the fourth Book of Odes, and the Carmen Saeculare, after this; so that he says of himself (Epp. ii. 1. 111):
“Ipse ego qui nullos me affirmo scribere versus
Invenior Parthis mendacior.”
‘Ludicra’ means the follies of light poetry, jokes, amours, &c. See Epp. ii. 2. 55.
13. quo lare tuter,] This is equivalent to ‘qua in domo,’ respecting which see C. i. 29. 14, n.; and as to ‘jurare in verba,’ see note on Epod. xv. 4. The metaphor is taken from the oath of the gladiator (‘auctoramentum’), by which he bound himself to the ‘lanista’ to whom he hired himself, which was a very stringent oath indeed.
16. Quo me cunque rapit] Horace says he follows no school and knows no master, but, like a traveller always changing his abode, he follows the breeze that carries him hither and thither, just as his temper happens to be, or his judgment chances to be influenced; “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine,” as St. Paul says, using the same sort of language.
16. Nunc agilis fio] That is, he agrees with the Stoics, whose virtue was essentially a Roman virtue (see C. S. 58, n.), and lay in action. With them, the perfection of virtue was the perfection of happiness, utility, wealth, power (see below, v. 106, n.).
18. Nunc in Aristippi] After holding for a time to the rigid school of virtue and the Stoics, he insensibly went over to the lax doctrines of the Cyrenaics, whose founder was Aristippus of Cyrene, one of the least worthy disciples of Socrates. He held that every man should control circumstances, and not be controlled by them. Hence he did not hesitate to expose himself to the greatest temptations. An instance of his indifference in another way is given above (S. ii. 3. 100). See Epp. 17. 23.
19. Et mihi res] ‘I try to bend circumstances to myself, not myself to circumstances.’ But Aristippus departed from his own theory, when he departed from the rule of his teacher, and took money from his pupils. He was the first of the Socratics that did so, and Xenophon is supposed to refer to him when he says that some of the disciples of Socrates got for nothing a little of his wisdom, and sold it at a high price to others (Mem. i. 2, § 60). Those that took money from their disciples, Socrates said, sold themselves into slavery, and he must therefore have held this opinion of Aristippus (Ib. § 6). His dialogue with Socrates (in Xen. Mem. ii. 1) throws light upon his opinions as here stated by Horace. The word ‘subjungere’ is taken from putting the neck of beasts of burden under the yoke.
21. ut piger annus Pupillis] Every boy who had lost his father was under a ‘tutor’ or guardian in respect of his property, while the care of his person belonged to his mother, or, in the case of her death, to his nearest relation, provided he was not a ‘pupillus’ himself. This lasted till the age of puberty (fourteen). The boy was a ‘pupillus,’ not in relation to his mother, but to his tutor. Thus ‘tutela’ and ‘custodia’ were different things. ‘Tutela’ was a technical term, ‘custodia’ was not.
25. locupletibus aeque,] ‘Aeque’ is repeated, though not wanted, just as ‘inter’ is repeated in S. i. 7, and elsewhere (see note). The Greek writers used ὁμοίως in the same way.
27. Restat ut his] Horace says he is impatient, till he shall have reached the perfection of active virtue and wisdom. But as he has not done so, it only remains that he shall regulate and comfort his mind with such elementary knowledge of truth as he possesses, and be content with that; for, if he cannot reach perfection, he may make some steps towards it. ‘His’ means, that which he has at his command.
28. Non possis oculo] The keen sight of Lynceus, one of the Argonauts, who, as the story goes, could from Lilybæum count the number of vessels in a fleet coming out of the harbor of Carthage, has been proverbial in all ages.
30. invicti membra Glyconis,] This person is said to have been an athlete of prodigious strength.
31. Nodosa — prohibere cheragra.] The gout in the hand is called ‘nodosa’ from its twisting the joints of the fingers (S. ii. 7. 15). As to the construction of ‘prohibere,’ see C. i. 27. 4.
32. Est quadam prodire tenus] Horace is probably indulging a little irony at the expense of the philosophers, in the implied comparison of their perceptions and powers with those of Lynceus and Glycon, and in the humble tone he takes towards them. ‘Tenus,’ as a general rule, takes the ablative of the singular, and is so used in the compound words ‘hactenus,’ ‘eatenus,’ &c. The form ‘quadamtenus’ is used occasionally by Pliny; and the feminine gender appears in all the combinations of ‘tenus’ with pronouns.
34. Sunt verba et voces] Compare Euripides (Hippol. 478):
εἰσὶν δ᾽ ἐπῳδαὶ καὶ λόγοι θελκτήριοι·
φανήσεταί τι τῆσδε φάρμακον νόσου.
Philosophy, Horace says, has remedies for every disease of the mind. The remedies he means are the precepts of the wise, to be derived from books (37). He also calls them ‘piacula’ (36), which is equivalent to ‘medicamenta,’ because, disease being attributed to the wrath of the gods, that which should remove their wrath (‘piaculum’) was the means of removing disease. ‘Ter’ is used by way of keeping up the religious notion (that number being common in all religious ceremonies, see C. i. 28. 36, n.): ‘pure’ is used in the same connection. The book must be read with a pure mind, as the body must be washed before sacrifice or libation can be offered. By ‘libello’ I understand Horace to mean any book that instructs the mind in virtue.
41. Virtus est vitium fugere] If you cannot all at once attain perfection, you may at least begin to learn, and the first step towards virtue is to put away vice. What follows is an illustration of this. ‘You see what trouble you take to escape from poverty, which you count the worst of all evils; but if you will only give heed to instruction, you shall learn well to care about it.’ This is the sense. As to ‘repulsa,’ see C. iii. 2. 17. He who would secure an election, must have a command of money.
44. capitisque labore.] ‘Caput’ is here put for the whole body. We do not use it so, but for the seat of intelligence, which the Romans placed in the heart, not in the brain. On ‘per saxa, per ignes,’ see C. iv. 14. 24; S. ii. 3. 56.
47. Ne cures ea] ‘In order that you may cease to care for those things which you now so foolishly admire and long for, will you not learn and listen, and trust the experience of a better man than yourself?’ As to this position of ‘ne,’ see C. iv. 9. 1.
49. Quis circum pagos] These were boxers, who went about the streets and the country villages, and fought for the amusement of the inhabitants, and for what they could pick up. ‘Coronari Olympia’ is a Greek way of speaking. Horace says, What boxer who goes about the country towns exhibiting, would despise the Olympic prizes, if he had a hope, still more a promise, that he should be crowned without a struggle? By this he means, men strive after happiness in the shape of riches, &c.; but if they will learn wisdom, that shall give them all they can desire without trouble or pain. The world may judge otherwise, he proceeds to say, and make wealth the standard of worth, but the world is not to be listened to,—it is foolish and inconsistent. ‘Sine pulvere’ seems to be taken from the Greek ἀκονιτί, and means without a struggle.
54. Janus summus ab imo] See S. ii. 3. 18. ‘Perdocet’ means it persists in teaching, it enforces. Horace breaks out into the praises of virtue, and says, that, as gold is more precious than silver, virtue is more precious than gold, whereas, from one end of the Forum to the other, the opposite doctrine is insisted upon, and old and young go there to learn it, as boys go to school, and repeat it as schoolboys repeat their tasks dictated to them by the master. Verse 56 is repeated from S. i. 6. 74. As to ‘dictata,’ see S. i. 10. 75, n.
58. Sed quadringentis sex septem] ‘Suppose you lack six or seven thousand out of 400,000 sesterces (which make an equestrian property), whatever your genius, character, eloquence, and uprightness may be, you are put down for one of the common sort, and will not be allowed, under Otho’s law, to sit in the front rows.’ (See Epod. iv. 15, n.) ‘Plebs’ is not used in its regular sense, but contemptuously, ‘a common fellow.’ The equestrian order consisted of all citizens who had the above income and were not senators; for when a man became a senator, he ceased to be an ‘eques.’
59. At pueri ludentes, Rex eris, aiunt,] See note on C. i. 36. 8. At Athens, it appears, the boys had a game, at which they who threw or caught the ball best were called kings, while they who were beaten were called asses. Some such game must have been in use among the Roman boys, and their king-making had become a proverb. The world may despise you, he says, because you are poor, but, according to the boys’ rule, which makes the best man king, you shall be a king if you do well. As to ‘murus aëneus,’ see C. iii. 3. 65, n. For the different senses in which Horace uses ‘nenia,’ see Epod. xvii. 29, n. Here it signifies a sort of song of triumph.
64. Et maribus Curiis et decantata Camillis?] On this plural, see S. i. 7. 8. The persons referred to are M. Curius Dentatus, the conqueror of Pyrrhus, and M. Furius Camillus, the man who saved Rome from the Gauls. The contempt of money displayed by Curius is especially related by Cicero (De Senect. c. 16), in terms which account for Horace’s selecting him for an illustration here. The boys’ strain was ever in the mouths of these noble soldiers, giving honor to none but the worthy. ‘Mares’ is used in this sense in A. P. 402. We use ‘masculine’ in the same way.
67. lacrimosa poëmata Pupi,] Pupius appears to have been a writer of tragedies, which Horace says were pathetic, but he says it with some contempt. We know nothing more of him than this. ‘Lacrimosa’ is used ironically. As to ‘responsare,’ see S. ii. 7. 85. ‘Praesens’ means stands by you and urges you on, and teaches you to meet the insults of fortune with an independent heart and erect bearing. ‘Aptat’ is explained by “pectus praeceptis format amicis” (Epp. ii. 1. 128), which province belongs, Horace says, to the poet.
71. Non ut porticibus sic judiciis] As to ‘porticus,’ see S. i. 4. 134. He has said that the world are not fit guides, and he goes on to prove this by the inconsistencies of men, both rich and poor (71-93). He says, if people ask him why he mixes with them in the ordinary way of society, in the promenades, etc., but does not form his judgment of things as they do, he answers them as the fox answered the lion in Æsop’s fable; and the meaning of the answer here is, that he found that, of all those who joined the world and made money their chief pursuit, none had survived or recovered their right judgment.
76. Bellua multorum es capitum.] ‘The avarice of the world is like the hydra with many heads; if you check it in one form, it springs up in another; whom, then, or what, is one to take for one’s guide?’ On the use of ‘nam’ in this verse, see S. ii. 3. 41, n. As to ‘conducere,’ see C. ii. 18. 17, n. On the subject of will-hunting, see S. ii. 5, and compare with ‘quos in vivaria mittant’ v. 44 of that Satire: “Plures adnabunt thunni et vivaria crescent.” There the ‘captator’ appears as a catcher of fish; here as a hunter of game. ‘Vivaria’ are preserves. ‘Excipere’ is the word used for catching the wild boar in C. iii. 12. 12. ‘Occulto fenore’ means interest which was greater than the law allowed (see S. i. 2. 14, n.), and therefore privately agreed upon. Of all the classes of money seekers in Rome, Horace fixes as the most prominent upon three, the ‘publicani,’ those who ingratiate themselves with old people in the hope of becoming their heirs, and extortionate usurers. ‘Publica’ may refer to public buildings and works.
80. Verum Esto aliis alios] But allow different men their different tastes, yet even this is of no use; for the same men, when they get rich, get capricious, and are always changing their minds.
83. Nullus in orbe sinus] If the rich man has set his heart upon building a house at Baiæ, he does not brook a moment’s delay; the waters of the Lacus Lucrinus on one side and the sea on the other, are disturbed with the eager preparations with which he begins to satisfy his desire. The allusion is the same as in C. ii. 18. 19, sqq., and iii. 1. 33, sqq., 24. 3, where see notes. Baiæ was for several generations a favorite resort of the wealthy Romans. Julius Cæsar had a house there, and also Cn. Pompeius.
84. lacus et mare] The Lucrinus lacus was an arm of the sea. Its basin was filled up by the rising of the volcanic hill called Monte Nuovo, in the middle of the sixteenth century.
85. vitiosa libido] This means a corrupt, capricious will, which is said ‘facere auspicium,’ to stand in the place of birds and other omens usually consulted before new enterprises were undertaken.
86. Cras ferramenta Teanum] Teanum (now Teano) was a town belonging to the Sidicini, an ancient people of Campania. It was situated on the Via Latina, and about thirty miles from Baiæ. The whim for the coast having vanished, and a desire to live inland, in a country town, having seized upon the man of money, he sends off the workmen with their tools to Teanum, at a day’s notice.
87. Lectus genialis in aula est,] ‘Aula’ means the ‘atrium,’ the entrance-room; and ‘lectus genialis,’ also called ‘adversus,’ because it was opposite the door, was the marriage-bed which was dedicated to the genii of the bride and bridegroom. The bed was a symbol of domestic love and peace, and was placed at the entrance of the house for a good omen. Respecting the genii, see below, Epp. i. 7. 94; ii. 2. 187.
90. Protea] See S. ii. 3. 71.
91. coenacula,] All the rooms above the ground floor were called ‘coenacula.’ While the rich lived in their own houses, poorer persons (and it must be remembered that ‘paupertas’ is comparative poverty, not want) took single rooms in the upper story of houses which went by the name of ‘insulae,’ the inhabitants of which were called ‘coenacularii,’ and they who kept them were said ‘coenaculariam exercere.’ Horace speaks of persons changing from caprice and aping the ways of the rich.
92. conducto navigio] ‘Navigium’ expresses the vulgar craft which the poor man hires in imitation of the private yacht, as smartly built and well found as a trireme belonging to the rich man. He hires his boat, which he cannot afford to do, and goes through the horrors of sea sickness, that he may have the honor of serving as a foil to the elegance of his wealthy neighbor.
94. Si curatus inaequali tonsore] He goes on to tax Mæcenas, good-humoredly, with the prevailing inconsistency (94-105). ‘Capillos curare’ was a common expression. Domitian wrote a book ‘de cura capillorum,’ according to Suetonius (c. 18), which he addressed to a friend who was bald, like himself. ‘Subucula’ was a second tunic worn under the ‘intusium,’ which was the upper tunic. ‘Pexae’ signifies a cloth of which the nap was not closely shorn, and was still fresh. The upper tunic, therefore, would be new, while the under one was old and shabby. The ‘subucula’ had sleeves, which the ‘intusium’ had not. Any difference in the cloth, therefore, would be very perceptible. Out of doors the toga would conceal both, but in doors the toga was not worn. ‘Intusium’ is from ‘induo.’ ‘Subucula’ is connected with ‘duo’ (that is, ‘do’) likewise. ‘Disconvenit’ is a word only found in Horace. It occurs again, Epp. 14. 18.
100. mutat quadrata rotundis?] Orelli says this looks like a proverbial expression for one who did not know his own mind. It may be so, or it may have reference to alterations Horace was making on his estate, in which case the whole would be only a joke against himself or truth in jest, which Mæcenas would understand. He appears to have begun building as soon as he entered on his new property, if there is any meaning in the scolding he gets from Damasippus (S. ii. 3. 307).
102. nec curatoris egere] See S. ii. 3. 217, n. ‘Tutela’ was the guardianship of a ‘tutor,’ the protector of an orphan’s property till he came to the age of puberty. ‘Curatela’ was the office of ‘curator,’ who had the same relation to the orphan, in a modified form, till he was twenty five (see above, v. 22, n.). It was also that of the protector of insane persons. ‘Tutela,’ therefore, is not the precise word to keep up the previous notion. Horace means that Mæcenas looks after him anxiously, as if he was his ‘tutor,’ and he looks up to him as if he was his ‘pupillus,’ but that his guardian had better look to his greater faults, and correct those, than be put out by trifling defects such as negligence of dress, and so forth. What Horace says, is a repetition in a different form of “O et praesidium et dulce decus meum” (C. i. 1. 2).
105. respicientis] This word is much stronger than our term ‘respect,’ which is derived from it.
106. Ad summam:] This is an ordinary formula, ‘to come to the point,’ ‘to conclude.’ The pursuit of virtue and wisdom is the point from which he started, and, having digressed a little, he returns suddenly, and concludes with a definition of the sage, which is a repetition of S. i. 3. 124, sqq. Here it is added that he is the only freeman, and inferior to Jove alone.
108. Praecipue sanus,] Horace says jocularly, that the Stoic above all his other attributes is of course ‘sanus,’ except when his digestion is disturbed and the phlegm troublesome, ‘sanus’ bearing a double application to the body (from the pains of which no exemption was claimed for the Stoic sage, though he did not allow them to affect his will) and to the mind, the sanity of which no one could lay claim to but the sage himself (see S. ii. 3. 44, n.). As to ‘pituita,’ see S. ii. 2. 73, n.
The person to whom this Epistle and the eighteenth are written, was probably the son of M. Lollius, the consul, addressed in the ninth Ode of the fourth Book. He was young, but had been with Augustus to the wars, as we learn from the other Epistle (v. 55). When this Epistle was written, he was at Rome, continuing his education, and Horace was at Præneste. He had lately been reading Homer, and from the examples of the Iliad and Odyssey he takes occasion to derive some advice for Lollius, whom he urges to the study of philosophy.
1. maxime Lolli,] This is probably no more than a familiar and good-humored way of addressing the young man, ‘most noble Lollius.’
2. Dum tu declamas Romae] Horace writes to Lollius as to one familiar with Homer’s poems. He says of himself, referring to his early education at Rome (Epp. ii. 2. 41):
“Romae nutriri mihi contigit atque doceri
Iratus Graiis quantum nocuisset Achilles.”
After the Romans had begun to expand the course of their sons’ education, (as mentioned in the note on S. i. 6. 77,) Homer was one of the first authors a boy studied. Boys attended the schools of the rhetorical masters before they put on the ‘toga virilis,’ and there they learnt to declaim upon subjects given them from history. This practice was not introduced till the later years of the republic. Young men continued studying declamation long after they left school. They had teachers at home, who taught them the higher principles of oratory.
Praeneste relegi;] Præneste (Palestrina) was in Latium, about twenty three miles due east of Rome on the edge of the Apennines. It was a cool retreat, to which Horace appears sometimes to have gone in summer, even when he had a place of his own elsewhere. See C. iii. 4. 21, sqq.
4. Chrysippo et Crantore] As to Chrysippus the Stoic, see S. i. 3. 126, n. Both he and Crantor were born at the Cilician town Soli. Crantor studied philosophy in the Academia, under Xenocrates and with Polemo. (See S. ii. 3. 254, n.) They were both voluminous writers. But Horace says there is more instruction in the poems of Homer than in all they ever wrote, and that it is more clearly conveyed. Horace takes a wrong view of Homer’s poems, which are not philosophical, nor meant to be so, but noble specimens of art and poetical conception.
7. Barbariae] That is, Phrygia. (See Epod. ix. 6.) ‘Aestus’ is a metaphor from the ebbing and flowing of the tide, and represents the passions and variableness of the princes and people.
9. Antenor censet] At a meeting of the Trojan chiefs after the combat of Hector and Ajax, Antenor proposes to restore Helen to the Greeks, which Paris flatly refuses, ἀντικρὺ δ᾽ ἀπόφημι γυναῖκα μὲν οὐκ ἀποδώσω (Il. vii. 362, sqq.).
12. Inter Peliden — inter Atriden;] See S. i. 7. 11, n; Epp. 1. 25, n.
13. Hunc amor,] From its position this seems to belong to ‘Atriden.’ The allusion is to Nestor’s attempt to mediate between Agamemnon and Achilles, when the former angrily consents to restore Chryseis, whom he loved above Clytemnestra his wife (Il. i. 113, sqq.)
19. domitor Trojae] The epithet πτολίπορθος is frequently applied to Ulysses by Homer. The three first verses of the Odyssey are almost translated in these lines.
22. immersabilis] Compare C. iv. 4. 65: “Merses profundo pulchrior evenit.”
23. Sirenum voces] How by the directions of Circe Ulysses eluded the charming voice of the Sirens, is related in the twelfth book of the Odyssey, 165, sqq.; and the way in which Circe poisoned his companions and changed them into swine, will be found in the tenth book, 230, sqq. The Sirens were as proverbial with the ancients as with us.
27. Nos numerus sumus] This expression is not uncommon in the Greek dramatists. It means, a mere undistinguished heap, and ‘fruges consumere nati’ is an adaptation of Homer’s οἳ ἀρούρης καρπὸν ἔδουσι (Il. vi. 142). ‘Nos’ means the common sort of men, among whom Horace places himself, and all but the sage, who is like Ulysses, while the rest are no better than his wife’s suitors, gluttons, wine-drinkers, and lazy; or the subjects of Alcinous, king of Phæacia or Scheria (an island of which, if it had any existence, the position is unknown), the host of Ulysses, to whom he relates his adventures (Odyss. lib. ix. sqq.). The king describes his people thus:
αἰεὶ δ᾽ ἡμῖν δαίς τε φίλη, κίθαρίς τε, χοροί τε,
εἵματά τ᾽ ἐξημοιβὰ, λοετρά τε θερμὰ, καὶ εὐναί.
(Odyss. viii. 248.)
The Phæacians were proverbial in respect to good living. See Epp. i. 15. 24. On ‘cute curanda,’ see S. ii. 5. 38, n.
31. cessatum ducere curam.] ‘Duco,’ as a verb of motion, takes the accusative of the verbal substantive to denote the object, just as ‘venio’ and ‘mitto’ do. “The accusative of the verbal in ‘tu’ is often called the supine active, and the ablative of the same the supine passive; but there is nothing passive in the latter, and therefore the distinction is inappropriate.” ‘Factu’ is ‘in the doing,’ as ‘factum’ is ‘to the doing’; so neither is passive.
32. Ut jugulent homines] From the above examples of virtue, especially Ulysses, Horace urges his friend to the pursuit of it, and asks whether, if the robber can rise before daylight to take away other men’s lives, he will not wake up to save his own (32-43).
34. Si noles sanus curres hydropicus;] It appears that active exercise was recommended by the ancient physicians for dropsical patients. Horace means, that, if he will not learn wisdom while he is unharmed by the world, he will have to do so when it has spoilt him.
39. in annum?] So he says below (Epp. 11. 23), “neu dulcia differ in annum.” It is the habit of procrastinators to put off the work of to-day till to-morrow, of this week till next week, of this year till next year, and this is Horace’s meaning. ‘In annum’ is till next year. ‘Dimidium facti qui coepit habet’ is an adaptation of the Greek saying ἀρχὴ δὲ τοι ἥμισυ παντός, attributed variously to Hesiod and Pythagoras.
44. Quaeritur argentum] This is advanced as a reason why men put off the day of reformation, that they are anxious to make themselves comfortable and rich (44-54).
47. Non domus et fundus,] See S. ii. 5. 108, n. ‘Deduxit,’ in the next line, is used like the aorist.
52. fomenta podagram,] As to ‘fomenta’ in a derived sense, see Epod. xi. 17, n. Horace means to say, that fomentations go a small way towards curing the gout. Perhaps he means that they aggravate the pain.
55. Sperne voluptates,] This is part of the same subject. The pursuit of sensual pleasure is connected with the pursuit of money, which is wanted for it. The pursuit of money leads on to envy, and envy to wrath, so that all these pithy sayings hang together.
58. Invidia Siculi] Horace probably alludes to the bull of Phalaris, tyrant of Agrigentum in Sicily. It was made of bronze. Persons were put inside, and the metal was gradually heated till they were roasted to death. But the tyrants of Sicily were proverbial.
60. et mens,] ‘Mens’ signifies passion, μένος.
61. poenas — festinat] ‘hurries after its revenge.’ So Horace uses ‘properare,’ in C. iii. 24. 62, “pecuniam Heredi properet”; and in the next Epistle (v. 28), “Hoc studium parvi properemus et ampli.” It is like the Greek σπεύδειν, which takes an accusative.
63. hunc tu compesce] In general precepts, emphasis is sometimes given by the insertion of the pronoun ‘tu.’ See C. i. 9. 16.
64. Fingit equum] Here he goes back to v. 40, “sapere aude; Incipe.” For to be wise, he must learn, and put himself in the hands of those who can teach him.
65. venaticus, ex quo] ‘Catulus’ is awkwardly placed at the end of the sentence. The practice of training dogs by means of stuffed animals was perhaps common. ‘Latro’ governs an accusative here and in Epod. v. 58. On ‘militat,’ see S. ii. 2. 10, n.
69. Quo semel est imbuta recens] ‘The testa keeps long the odor it imbibed when new.’ So, he means, the good or evil imbibed in youth clings to the mind for many years.
70. Quodsi cessas aut strenuus anteis,] Horace says he cannot wait for the dilatory, or trouble himself to keep up with those who are in a great hurry to get on. He means he shall go his own way in the pursuit of wisdom. At the same time, he hints that young persons are apt to get on a little too fast, and to mistake their own powers and attainments. The conclusion is abrupt, as Horace’s conclusions often are.
In B. C. 20 an embassy came from Armenia to Rome, expressing the dissatisfaction of the people with their king, Artaxias, and praying that Augustus would place upon the throne that king’s younger brother, Tigranes, who was then living in exile at Rome. Augustus assented, and sent Tiberius with Tigranes to dethrone Artaxias. This Tiberius did, and with his own hand crowned Tigranes. (See Epp. 12. 27, n.)
About his person Tiberius appears to have had a number of young men, such as Titius, Celsus, and Munatius, mentioned in this Epistle, and Julius Florus, to whom it is addressed. What little can be said about the first three will be found in the notes. Florus, it appears from this Epistle (v. 23), was practising to become an orator or a jurisconsultus, and wrote verses of the softer sort; in the second Epistle of the second Book (v. 59) we have the same information.
Quintilian (Inst. Orat. x. 3) tells an anecdote of one Julius Florus, whom he calls the first man in Gaul for eloquence. This may be the person Horace addresses, and if so, he carried out successfully in Gallia the pursuit of which Horace here supposes him to be beginning the practice. Horace had a great regard for him, as appears not only from this, but from the other Epistle, in which he makes his excuses to him for not having sent him any poetry.
Florus was evidently a young man at this time, and all the persons named were young. One of them (Celsus) was secretary to Tiberius. Whether the others had any definite occupation, or were merely travelling to enlarge their experience, and see the world, is not stated. Horace assumes that they are not wasting their time, but pursuing their studies and practising their pens. He inquires after his young friends in a way that shows his interest in them, offers them such advice and encouragement as he thinks they need, and especially begs Florus to be reconciled to Munatius, with whom he had for some reason quarrelled. This was probably Horace’s chief design in writing this Epistle.
3. Thracane vos Hebrusque] The first of these is the Latin form of the Greek Θρῄκη. It has been observed before, that Horace generally uses the Latin terminations in the Satires and Epistles, and the Greek in the Odes. The Hebrus he elsewhere calls “hiemis sodalem” (C. i. 25. 19). Tiberius passed through Macedonia and Thrace on his way to Armenia. (See Introduction.)
4. vicinas inter currentia turres,] ‘Turris’ may mean a castle or fortified place, and one of these that Horace mentions is probably Abydos, on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont. The other may have been Sestos, on the European side. The strait takes a bend to the northeast between the two towns, and Abydos stood directly south of Sestos, at the distance of thirty stadia. The current runs very strong between them, and this is expressed in the text; notwithstanding which, there is a popular story that Leander, a youth of Abydos, swam across repeatedly by night, to visit Hero, the priestess of Venus, at Sestos. Ovid has two Epistles, supposed to have passed between the lovers (Heroid. 18, 19); and Virgil (Georg. iii. 258, sqq.) refers to the story. The same adventure was accomplished by Lord Byron and a companion, in the year 1810, in the month of May.
6. Quid studiosa cohors operum] As to ‘cohors,’ see S. i. 7. 23, n. ‘Operum’ belongs to ‘quid,’ and signifies ‘writings,’ either prose or poetry.
7. scribere sumit?] Compare C. i. 12. 2, “sumis celebrare.” ‘Sumere’ is sometimes used in a bad sense, as we use ‘assume,’ ‘presume’; but it is not so here. It is the word Horace generally uses in this connection. See A. P. 38. With ‘diffundit in aevum,’ compare C. iv. 14, init.
9. Quid Titius Romana] Of Titius the Scholiasts say, that he was a tragic and lyric poet. According to Horace, he was not afraid to imitate Pindar. This young man was more rash than Horace himself (C. iv. 2. 1). There is no one upon record with whom the person in the text can be identified, though some suppose he may be the person Tibullus mentions (i. 4. 73), “Haec mihi quae canerem Titio Deus edidit ore.”
venturus in ora?] This expression may have taken its rise from Ennius’s “volito vivu’ per ora virum,” which Virgil has imitated once or twice.
10. expalluit] This is used as in C. iii. 27. 27, “mediasque fraudes Palluit audax.”
11. lacus et rivos ausus apertos.] These are opposed to the deep and hidden springs of Pindar’s genius.
14. An tragica desaevit et ampullatur] The first of these words refers to the passions represented in tragedy, the other to the pompous words employed by inferior writers to express them. ‘Ampulla’ signifies a sort of bottle with a big round belly, and corresponds to the Greek λήκυθος, which was used to signify great, swelling words. Horace appears to have been the first to substitute the Latin words ‘ampullari’ and ‘ampulla’ (the first of which he probably coined) for ληκυθίζειν and λήκυθος. See A. P. 97.
15. Quid mihi Celsus agit?] ‘Quid agis’ is the common formula for ‘How d’ ye do?’ See S. i. 9. 4; Epp. i. 8. 3. Celsus is most probably Celsus Albinovanus, to whom the eighth Epistle is addressed. We know nothing of him, except that he was one of the staff of Tiberius, and his secretary (“comiti scribaeque Neronis,” 8. 2). The advice Horace here sends him is, to write something original, and not confine himself to the ideas of other authors, either in the way of translation or imitation. It has been mentioned before (C. i. 31, Introduction) that Augustus attached a library to the temple he built for Apollo on the Mons Palatinus. Æsop’s fable of the jackdaw, who dressed himself in the peacock’s cast-off feathers, is told by Phædrus (i. 3). Αἰσώπιος κολοιός was a proverb.
21. Quae circumvolitas] This similitude of a bee gathering honey from thyme, Horace applies to himself (C. iv. 2. 27, sqq.). As to ‘orator’ and ‘respondere,’ see S. i. 1. 9, n., and on ‘hederae praemia,’ see C. i. 1. 29.
23. seu civica jura Respondere] This is a singular expression for the usual ‘jus respondere,’ or ‘de jure respondere,’ which was said of the jurisconsultus. (See S. i. 1. 9.)
26. Frigida curarum fomenta] ‘Fomenta’ here seems to mean honor, riches, &c., by which care is sought to be alleviated, but which, after all, are but cold remedies, and ineffectual; “fomenta vulnus nil malum levantia,” as Horace says (Epod. 11. 17, where see note).
28. parvi properemus et ampli] As to ‘properemus,’ see Epp. 2. 61, n., and with the sentiment compare Epp. 1. 25, “Aeque pauperibus prodest, locupletibus aeque.”
30. si tibi curae] Horace says, “You must write me back word whether you make as much of Munatius as he deserves, or whether your mutual regard, like a wound ill-sewn, refuses to unite, and is torn open again.” Munatius has been mentioned before (C. i. 7, Introduction) as the son of Munatius Plancus, the consul of B. C. 42. We know nothing more about him, except that he was consul in A. D. 13, and that he was afterwards sent as one of the commissioners from the senate to the mutinous German legions (Tac. Ann. i. 39). It appears he and Florus had quarrelled; we are not told what it was about; but Horace attributes it to youthful heat and ignorance of the world. He likens them to unbroke horses, and tells them that they ought to make it up, and that when they come home they will find the fatted calf ready for sacrifice. Compare C. i. 36 written on the return of Numida. It is impossible to put the different parts of the sentence together so as to make the construction regular and natural, but the sense is clear enough. Horace frequently uses ‘dignus’ with the infinitive. See C. iii. 21. 6, n. ‘Indignus’ he uses in the same way here, and in A. P. 231, but in the usual prose construction with ‘qui’ and the subjunctive in S. ii. 3. 236. By ‘fraternum foedus’ Horace only means that they were or had been and ought to be, “paene gemelli Fraternis animis,” as he says below, Epp. 10. 3.
This Epistle is addressed to Albius Tibullus, the poet, to whom also C. i. 33 is written. The letter only professes to be one to inquire after Tibullus; but occasion is taken to commend his fortunes and himself, and to bid him live every day as if it were the last. Horace writes to his friend (probably from Rome) at his place near Pedum, a town of Latium, not far from Præneste. There Tibullus had a good estate, inherited from his father, which before his death, he appears by some means to have diminished. That his losses must have occurred after this Epistle was written, we may perhaps infer from v. 7. He lived chiefly on his estate, in the quiet pursuits Horace here supposes him to be engaged in; though immediately after the battle of Actium he accompanied Messalla into Gaul and was absent about a year, which, as far as we know, comprised all his active life. Horace, among other blessings, assigns him good health; nevertheless he died young. It appears that, while many disparaged Horace’s writings, Tibullus judged them kindly, and the affection the two poets bore one another cannot be mistaken. Tibullus was probably ten or twelve years younger than Horace. Tibullus died the same year with Virgil (B. C. 20) or very soon after.
1. sermonum candide judex] See Introduction. The Satires must have been published some time, and some of the Epistles may have been written and made known to Horace’s intimate friends. The word ‘sermones’ therefore applies probably (whether Horace published them with that title or not) to the Epistles as well as the Satires, and whatever Tibullus had seen he approved.
2. regione Pedana?] See Introduction.
3. Cassi Parmensis opuscula] Parma (Parma) was a town belonging to the Boii, at the edge of the Macri Campi, in Cisalpine Gaul, on a river of the same name, which runs into the Po about twelve miles north of the town. The Via Æmilia passed through Parma. Cassius of Parma was one of the murderers of Julius Cæsar, and a ‘tribunus militum’ in the army of Brutus and Cassius. He was therefore, in all probability, well known to Horace. After following the fortunes of Sextus Pompeius, he joined M. Antonius, on whose side he fought at the battle of Actium. After that battle he retired to Athens, and there he was put to death by order of Augustus. What the ‘opuscula’ Horace refers to were, we do not know, but it is clear that he thought well of them.
4. silvas inter reptare salubres] ‘Repto’ (frequentative of ‘repo’), which contains the same root as ἕρπω, signifies to saunter, or go about quietly; and Lucretius applies it to flocks of sheep grazing on downs (ii. 317). The woods are called ‘salubres,’ because their shade protects from the heat of the sun, as Cicero says (Cat. M. c. 16): “Ubi enim potest illa aetas (senectus) aut calescere vel apricatione melius vel igni, aut vicissim umbris aquisve refrigerari salubrius?”
6. Non tu corpus eras sine pectore.] ‘Sine pectore’ is used twice by Ovid (Met. xiii. 290), “rudis et sine pectore miles.” Heroid. xvi. 305:
“Hunccine tu speres hominem sine pectore dotes
Posse satis formae, Tyndari, nosse tuae?”
It means ‘intellect,’ of which the ancients held the heart to be the seat. There is a difficulty in ‘eras.’ Terence uses ‘Tune eras?’ for ‘Is it you?’ The idiom is unlike anything of our own. The imperfect is used irregularly in C. i. 27. 19, and 31. 4.
6. formam,] In an old biography of Tibullus he is called “Eques Romanus insignis forma cultuque corporis observabilis.”
7. dederunt] The poets not uncommonly shorten the penult of the third plural of this tense.
10. Gratia,] Tibullus was generally popular, and ‘gratia’ means popularity.
11. mundus] This is explained by S. ii. 2. 65: “Mundus erit qui non offendat sordibus.”
15. Me pinguem et nitidum] This corresponds to Suetonius’s description of Horace’s person, “Habitu corporis brevis fuit atque obesus.” On ‘bene curata cute,’ see S. ii. 5. 38. Horace indulges his friend with a joke at his own expense. He was getting sleek and in good keeping.
As to Torquatus, the person whom Horace in this Epistle invites to dine with him, see C. iv. 7, Introduction. The occasion was the evening before the birthday of Augustus, which was the 23d of September. The Epistle contains a good-tempered invitation to dinner, nothing more.
1. Si potes Archiacis] These are said to be couches, named after their maker, Archias.
2. olus omne] The fare Horace offers would not be very inviting to a modern diner-out; but he seems to have lived chiefly on the produce of the garden himself, and ‘olus omne’ may have been a sort of salad, or other dish, compounded of different vegetables. The dinner is fixed at a rather late hour for the time of year, to give Torquatus time to finish his business. (See S. ii. 7. 33, n.) ‘Patella’ is the diminutive of ‘patina,’ as ‘catillum’ of ‘catinum’ (S. i. 3. 90).
4. Vina bibes iterum Tauro diffusa] T. Statilius Taurus was consul for the second time B. C. 26. The age of the wine was usually noted by the consulship in which it was bottled. See C. iii. 8. 12, n., and as to ‘diffusa,’ see C. iv. 5. 34, n., and S. ii. 2. 58. As to Minturnae and Sinuessa, see S. i. 5. 40, n. Petrinus was a hill overhanging Sinuessa, or a tract of land in its neighbourhood. The overflowings of the Garigliano (Liris), on which Minturnæ stood, still render the surrounding country damp, and it is very thinly inhabited. The Falernus ager and Mons Massicus, with their celebrated vineyards, were in the neighbourhood of Sinuessa. It does not appear that Horace’s wine was of the best, but two vineyards close to each other may produce wines of very different quality.
6. arcesse vel imperium fer.] “Fetch it, or else put yourself under my ‘imperium,’” as if he as master had the ‘imperium’ at his own table. ‘Arcesso’ is compounded of ‘ar’ (which is equivalent to ‘ad’) and ‘cesso,’ which involves the same root (‘ci-’) as ‘cieo.’
7. Jamdudum splendet focus] See Epod. ii. 43, n. As it was summer, he does not mean that the fire was burning, but that the ‘focus,’ by which he means that which stood in the Atrium, near the images of the Lares, and which was probably of bronze, had been burnished and made gay for the occasion. ‘Supellex’ legally included all household furniture but such as was of gold or silver, gilded or plated; that is, it included tables of all sorts, chairs, benches, couches (even when they were ornamented with silver), with their drapery, footstools, napkins, candelabra, lamps, and all sorts of vessels of earthenware, glass, bronze, whether for eating or drinking. Wearing-apparel was not included, nor perhaps ivory ornaments.
9. Et Moschi causam:] If we can trust the Scholiasts, Moschus was a famous rhetorician of Pergamum, who was charged with the crime of poisoning, and his cause was undertaken by Torquatus, and also by Asinius Pollio (“insigne maestis praesidium reis,” C. ii. 1. 13).
cras nato Caesare] See Introduction. It happened that the 23d of September, Augustus’s birthday, was one of those days in which the early part was ‘nefastus’, that is, the prætor could not hold his court till a later hour than usual. Hence it is marked in the Calendar N. P. (‘Nefastus Prior’). So that it was doubly a holiday for Torquatus, and he could lie in bed without damaging his cause, and therefore might sit up late with his friend.
11. Aestivam] This word does not accurately apply, for the summer ended and the autumn began on the Ides of September. But in that month the nights are particularly oppressive in hot climates.
12. Quo mihi fortunam] This is an elliptical way of speaking, which must be filled up according to the context. ‘Quo mihi fortunam dedit Deus’ may do here. ‘Quo’ is ‘to what,’ that is, ‘to what purpose,’ as in C. ii. 3. 9, sqq., where there is an ellipse. Ovid has “Quo mihi fortunam quae nunquam fallere curet?” (Am. ii. 19. 7).
14. Assidet insano:] As ‘dissidet’ is used to signify difference, Horace uses ‘assidet’ to signify resemblance. It is not so used elsewhere. The guests not uncommonly wore wreaths of flowers on their heads, and carried them in their hands; and we can understand their scattering them about the table and floor, especially when they were merry. But it appears that the slaves scattered flowers about, for the sake of their perfume. Horace says: “Parcentes ego dexteras Odi: sparge rosas” (C. iii. 19. 21). Fresh flowers were probably scattered at intervals during the dinner.
15. patiarque vel inconsultus haberi.] See C. ii. 7. 28; iii. 19. 18.
16. Quid non ebrietas designat?] ‘Designat’ is to do anything out of the way, as in Terence (Adelph. i. 2. 6):
“quae facta sunt
Omitto: modo quid designavit. Mi. Quidnam id est?
De. Fores effregit atque in aedes irruit.”
Horace says, ‘What strange things will not ebriety do?’ As to ‘operta recludit,’ compare C. i. 18. 16; iii. 21. 16; Epod. 11. 14; and the places quoted in the note on S. i. 4. 87.
18. addocet artes.] That is, more particularly, the art of speech mentioned in the next line. ‘Addocet’ is an uncommon word, and is like the Greek προσδιδάσκει. ‘Fecundi calices’ are full cups. ‘Contracta paupertas’ corresponds to ‘angustam pauperiem’ (C. iii. 2. 1).
21. Haec ego procurare] The ‘procurator’ was one of the chief slaves, and general steward. But the ‘promus’ was also called ‘procurator peni’ (see S. ii. 2. 16), and Horace says he has undertaken or ordered himself to arrange everything for the dinner. ‘Haec’ refers to what follows. He says he is ‘idoneus,’ competent to the duty, and ‘non invitus,’ he likes it. ‘Imperor’ is nowhere else used as it is here. The proper construction is ‘imperatur mihi.’ So Horace alone uses ‘invideor’ (A. P. 56). As to ‘toral’ and ‘mappa,’ see S. ii. 4. 81. 84. ‘Corruget nares’ means to make the guests turn up their noses in disgust.
25. eliminet,] This is an old word for ‘to turn out of doors.’ Horace applies it to telling tales out of doors. Of the guests nothing at all is known. ‘Potior puella’ means one who has more attractions than Horace’s dinner.
28. locus est et pluribus umbris:] Horace says there is room for several ‘umbrae’ (S. ii. 8. 22, n.), that is, four; for a full ‘triclinium’ held nine persons. But, considering the heat of the weather, he thinks it as well not to have the full number. ‘Capra,’ ‘caper,’ ‘hircus,’ are all used to signify the smell from the arm-pits when they perspire.
30. Tu quotus esse velis] He had only to say how many persons he wished to have, and leave the rest to the host. Horace advises his friend not to come out at the front door, ‘ostium,’ or ‘janua atriensis,’ for fear he should find a client waiting to catch him, but at the back door, ‘posticum ostium,’ which the Greeks called ψευδόθυρον, a false door.
Who Numicius was, nobody can tell, and it is of no importance. Any other name would have done as well. Nothing turns upon the character or circumstances of the person nominally addressed.
As to the design of the Epistle, it is to support virtue, under the aspect of a calm self-content as the chief good. The ordinary standards of happiness are treated with contempt, and there is a strong vein of irony running through the greater part of the Epistle.
1. Nil admirari] It is self control, or the power of keeping the mind in an equable frame, that Horace says is the only means of making a man happy and keeping him so. ‘Nil admirari’ can only be said to be necessary to this rule when admiration amounts to a stupid wonder, excessive fear, excitement, or other effects by which the judgment is misled and the passions roused injuriously. As to ‘prope,’ see S. ii. 3. 32, n.
4. sunt qui formidine nulla] ‘Formido’ is here equivalent to δεισιδαιμονία, a superstitious dread of the influences of the heavenly bodies, which acts upon vulgar minds. As to ‘sunt qui spectent,’ see C. i. 1. 3, n.
6. Arabas ditantis et Indos,] Comp. C. iii. 24. 1. The treasures of the sea, brought from the East, were chiefly pearls and coral.
7. Ludicra quid, plausus] This refers to the exhibition of gladiatorial and other shows, by which the favour of the people, and such rewards as they could bestow, were sought. As to the singular ‘Quiritis,’ see C. ii. 7. 3.
9. fere] This is used much as ‘prope’ is above. Horace says that fear and desire are much on a par, both indicating the want of that equanimity which he commends at starting. ‘Miratur’ expresses the astonishment of fear, as well as of admiration, and so does ‘stupet’ frequently, and ‘exterret’ applies, like ἐκπλήσσειν, to either state of mind. ‘Torpet’ does the same. (See S. ii. 7. 95.)
15. Insani sapiens] Whether ironically, or carried away by an unusual fit of enthusiasm, Horace maintains that a man may seek virtue itself “ultra quam satis est.” What he means, or should mean, is, that excitement is to be avoided in the pursuit of the chief good as well as of subordinate goods. But, by saying that virtue itself may be admired inordinately, he is able to introduce with more contemptuous force the vulgar objects of admiration that follow, respecting which see C. iv. 8. 2; S. i. 4. 28; ii. 3. 118; and other places in the Satires.
17. I nunc,] The general meaning is, ‘Now then, if you choose, go and run after fine things and wealth, after what I have said about excitement and excess.’
21. dotalibus emetat agris] This is equivalent to ‘metat ex agris dotalibus,’ as in S. ii. 2. 105 he says ‘emetiris acervo.’ ‘Emeto’ is not used elsewhere. Who is meant by Mutus, if anybody, is not known; probably no one in particular is alluded to. The name, though it occurs in inscriptions, and therefore is a Roman name, is perhaps adopted here by way of opposition to the eloquent man, who by his own exertions was running an unequal race with the other man’s luck.
24. Quidquid sub terra est] This is like Sophocles (Aj. 646):
ἅπανθ᾽ ὁ μακρὸς κἀναρίθμητος χρόνος
φύει τ᾽ ἄδηλα καὶ φανέντα κρύπτεται.
‘In apricum’ means ‘to the rays of the sun,’ ‘to the light of day.’ Horace means by this reflection, that the man need not be in such a hurry to make himself a name, since time would swallow it up, while it brought forward the obscure.
26. Porticus Agrippae] In B. C. 25, Agrippa built the Pantheon near the Campus Martius, to which a ‘porticus’ was attached. He also built in the same year, in commemoration of the naval victories of Augustus, a porticus, to which he gave the name Porticus Argonautarum. Which of the two is referred to, it is impossible to say; perhaps the second is more likely to have been called ‘Porticus Agrippae.’
As to the Via Appia, see Epod. iv. 14; S. i. 5. Most of the towns on this road as far as Capua had country-houses belonging to wealthy Romans. Their equipages, therefore, would frequently be seen on the Via Appia.
27. Numa quo devenit et Ancus.] This is a proverbial way of speaking, differing little from C. iv. 7. 15, where see note.
28. Si latus aut renes] ‘If you are sick, take medicine; if you want to live properly, seek the proper means, virtue if you think virtue is the way, or riches, or honours, or good eating.’ This is the connection of the parts that follow, this advice being given ironically, as observed in the Introduction.
30. fortis omissis] ‘Be resolute, abandon all self-indulgences, and set about this work,’ that is, the pursuit of virtue. On ‘fortis,’ see C. S. 58, n. ‘Hoc age’ means ‘set about this’; that is, the pursuit of virtue.
31. Virtutem verba putas] Comp. “Aut virtus nomen inane est,” etc. (Epp. 17. 41). ‘Lucus’ is usually a grove dedicated to some divinity, and Horace may mean that the man had no regard for what others held sacred, but counted a consecrated grove no better than any other wood. Or, since ‘lucus’ was sometimes used indifferently for any wood, Horace may mean, ‘if you think virtue consists only of words, as a grove does of trees.’
32. cave ne portus occupet alter,] As to ‘occupo,’ see C. ii. 12. 27, n. Horace says, “If you think lightly of virtue as the means of happiness, be active and make money: see no one gets into harbour before you, to carry off the business before you arrive.” He supposes him a ‘negociator,’ the business of which class was chiefly that of banking and money-lending, but they also engaged in mercantile transactions, the difference between them and ‘mercatores’ being, that the latter travelled with their own wares, while the ‘negociatores’ did business in a general way.
33. Ne Cibyratica,] ‘Cibyra Major’ was situated on a branch of the Indus, on the northwest borders of Lycia. It was called ‘major,’ to distinguish it from a smaller town on the coast of Pamphylia. Twenty-five towns belonged to the conventus of Cibyra, and its commercial transactions were probably large. As to ‘Bithyna negotia,’ see C. iii. 7. 3, n. ‘Negotia’ is commonly used for the business transactions of a ‘negociator,’ as Cicero, in his letter introducing Manlius Sosis to Acilius, proconsul of Sicily (Ad Fam. xiii. 20), says, “habet negotia vetera in Sicilia sua.” He had debts to get in, and accounts of old standing to settle.
34. Mille talenta rotundentur] On ‘talenta,’ see S. ii. 7. 89, n. ‘Rotundo’ is not used in this sense elsewhere. The meaning is the same as ours when we talk of a round number: it is a complete number, leaving out fractions. ‘Porro’ means ‘farther.’ ‘Quadrat acervum,’ ‘makes the fourth side of the square,’ as it were. In the next verse ‘fidem’ signifies ‘credit.’
37. regina Pecunia] ‘Pecunia’ is here personified and made a loyal lady, and Juvenal apostrophises her thus:
“Funesta Pecunia, templo
Nondum habitas, nullas nummorum ereximus aras.” (i. 113.)
Horace here repeats in effect what he said in S. ii. 3. 94:
“Omnis enim res,
Virtus, fama, decus, divina humanaque pulchris
Divitiis parent.”
38. Suadela Venusque.] ‘Suadela’ is another form of Suada, who represented the Greek divinity Πειθώ, Persuasion. The name, Cicero tells us, was Latinized by Ennius (Brut. 15). Πειθώ was usually associated with Ἀφροδίτη, and their statues stood together at Athens, where it is pretty certain Horace must have seen them. I cannot find that Suada had any temple or separate worship at Rome. She was supposed to assist Venus in presiding at marriages, and she, the Graces, and Mercury were the acknowledged companions of that goddess. Therefore Horace associates them here. Cicero tells us (Cat. Maj. xiv. 50) that Ennius called the eloquent M. Cethegus “Suadae medullam,” ‘the marrow of persuasion.’ (See Epp. ii. 2. 117, n.)
39. Mancipiis locuples] See S. ii. 7. 3, n. Cappadocia was governed by its own kings from a very early period. The last was Archelaus, who was appointed by M. Antonius, B. C. 36; Ariarathes VII., who represented the lineal kings of Cappadocia, having been deposed and put to death. Archelaus was king at the time this Epistle was written, and he reigned fifty years. At his death (A. D. 17) Cappadocia was reduced to the form of a Roman province, in the third year of Tiberius (Tacitus, Ann. ii. 42). He had lands and slaves on them, and property of that sort, but wanted the precious metal. Ariobarzanes, who was king of Cappadocia when Cicero was governor of Cilicia, is described by him as “rex perpauper” (Ad Att. vi. 3). “Nullum aerarium, nullum vectigal habet. Nihil illo regno spoliatius, nihil rege egentius” (vi. 1). M. Brutus had advanced him large sums of money at exorbitant interest, which he was unable to pay, and Cicero, though he got 100 talents from him, was unable to extract all the debt. Cn. Pompeius too was his creditor, and all he could get was a promissory bond for 200 talents, payable in six months (vi. 3). Horace advises his man not to let himself be as poor as this king. ‘Hic’ is an adverb, like ἐνταῦθα: it means ‘in this position.’ (See Epp. 15. 42.)
40. Chlamydes Lucullus, ut aiunt,] L. Licinius Lucullus, being proconsul in Cilicia, conducted the war against Mithridates and Tigranes, king of Armenia, as related by Plutarch in his life, but being superseded in his command by Cn. Pompeius, he returned to Rome with great wealth accumulated by himself in Asia, which he devoted to every sort of costly self-indulgence. Plutarch relates this anecdote of Horace’s, with a little variation. A prætor who wished to get up a public spectacle on an ambitious scale (φιλοτιμουμένου περὶ θέας) applied to Lucullus to lend him some purple cloaks for a chorus. Lucullus said he would inquire, and if he had any he would let him have them. The next day he asked him how many he wanted, and when the prætor said a hundred, Lucullus bade him take twice that number.
The ‘chlamys’ was an upper garment worn by the Greeks, a light sort of shawl thrown loosely over the person in a variety of ways. The Romans did not wear it till the time of the empire, and it was never more than an occasional garment at Rome. Lucullus, it seems, had brought with him a large number of a costly kind from Asia, where they were worn in the Greek cities. What the representation may have been for which the praetor wanted these ‘chlamydes’ is not certain, but Greek characters must have been introduced.
45. Exilis domus est] This is said ironically.
50. Mercemur servum] There was a class of slaves called ‘nomenclatores’ or ‘fartores’ (crammers), ὀνοματολόγοι, whose office it was to accompany their master when walking, or attend him at home at the hour of ‘salutatio’ (when, if he was a person of consequence, people of all sorts came to pay him their respects), and to remind him of the names and circumstances of his visitors, and anything else that it might be necessary for the master to remember. If he was aiming at any office, he had to be particularly polite to the citizens of all classes, and his ‘nomenclator,’ if he were clever, would be of good service to him in this matter. Horace’s advice to the man who thinks happiness depends on such things as show and popularity (‘species et gratia’) is, that he should hire a clever ‘nomenclator,’ if he had not one of his own, to go with him through the streets and nudge him whenever he came to any one of influence, and remind him to shake hands and say something civil to him, calling him affectionately ‘my brother,’ ‘my father,’ according to his age. ‘Nomenclatores’ were also employed to explain to the guests the names and qualities of the dishes, and parasites sometimes took this office upon themselves, as we have seen in S. ii. 8.
laevum Qui fodicet latus] As to ‘laevum latus,’ see S. ii. 5. 17, n.
51. cogat trans pondera dextram Porrigere.] ‘Cogat’ merely expresses the energy of the nomenclator. ‘Pondera’ means obstructions of various kinds, which were common in the narrow streets of Rome, as Horace describes, Epp. ii. 2. 72, sqq., and Juvenal (iii. 245). He was to stretch out his hand to shake hands with the voters. Cicero (Pro Planc.) speaks of P. Scipio Nasica, when a candidate for the ædileship, shaking hands with some rough voter, and asking him good humoredly “if he walked on his hands,” they were so hard.
52. Hic multum in Fabia valet,] Servius Tullius divided the Plebes into thirty tribes, of which four were of the city and twenty-six were of the country. Of these twenty-six, ten appear to have been swallowed up by the conquests of Porsenna (see Epod. 16. 4), and of the remaining sixteen the Fabia was one. The number was gradually increased from sixteen to thirty-one; but it was not till B. C. 243, towards the end of the first Punic War, that the Quirina and Velina were added, being composed of persons belonging to Cures and Velinus in the Sabine territory. (Liv. Epit. xxx.) These were the last tribes that were formed.
53. his fasces dabit] On the ‘fasces’ and curule chair, see S. i. 6. 97. ‘Importunus’ means ‘obstinate’ or ‘ill-natured’; ‘facetus,’ ‘polite.’
56. lucet, eamus Quo ducit gula;] ‘The day has dawned, let us be off and lay in our supplies; let us hunt and fish, as Gargilius hunted when he bought a boar, and pretended he had caught it himself’; that is to say, let us go to market. Who is meant by Gargilius, we have no means of knowing. The name is Roman. It occurs in inscriptions. He wanted to establish his reputation as a huntsman: got up before daybreak and returned to the city before the morning was over, and passed through the Forum while it was full of people, with nets, spears, and men, and a mule carrying a boar, which he had not caught, but purchased.
58. plagas, venabula,] As to ‘plagae,’ see C. i. 1. 28, n. They were too large to be carried by men, and were laden on mules. (See Epp. 18. 46.) They were sometimes of enormous extent, as stated in Epod. ii. 32. The ‘venabulum’ was a long hunting-spear, with a barbed point. Virgil (Aen. iv. 131), describing the hunting-party of Æneas and Dido, says:
“Retia rara, plagae, lato venabula ferro,
Massylique ruunt equites et odora canum vis.”
They were used, not for throwing, but thrusting.
61. Crudi tumidique lavemur,] It would seem that some gluttons, with the idea of renewing their appetite, went to bathe immediately after dinner, as well as (which was the general practice) immediately before. Sudden death was sometimes the effect of this folly. See Juvenal i. 142.
62. Caerite cera Digni,] Cære (Cervetri) was a very ancient town of Etruria, about twenty-seven miles north of Rome. About B. C. 354, the people of Tarquinii having taken up arms against the Romans, the Cærites were accused of aiding them, and were threatened with punishment; but having asked pardon, they obtained it at the expense of half their territory. They were also granted the Roman franchise, without the ‘suffragium’ or right of voting for magistrates. ‘Caeritum cerae,’ or ‘tabulae,’ would mean properly a register of the inhabitants of Cære, who would be registered when they came into the above relation to Rome. But it seems probable that, at this time, the name applied to the registers of all those who were in the position of ‘aerarii,’ that is, of the citizens of such towns as had not the perfect franchise, and of those citizens who had for any cause been degraded from their tribes. Thus Horace means, that they who took such a low view of life were not worthy of being Roman citizens, being more on an equality with the crew of Ulysses, whom Circe turned to swine (Epp. 2. 23, n.), and who slew and ate the kine sacred to the Sun, though they swore they would not, and their return home depended on their oath being kept. See Odyss. xi. 105, sqq.; xii. 303, sq.; 340, sqq. ‘Remigium’ is used for the rowers, as ‘mancipium,’ ‘servitium,’ are used for a slave, and many other words are used in the same way.
65. Si, Mimnermus uti censet,] Horace was familiar, we may be sure, with the writings of Mimnermus, the elegiac poet of Smyrna. He preferred him to Callimachus, as appears from Epp. ii. 2. 99, sqq. His poetry is of a melancholy cast, as far as we can judge from the few fragments that have come down to us: though love was their principal theme and the only remedy he recognizes for the ills of life, it does not seem as if he was very happy in his experience of it. One fragment that has been preserved bears out what Horace says. He may have had many such passages in his mind. It begins: