158. Defluxit numerus Saturnius] The Saturnian verse, according to Niebuhr (i. 259, n.), continued in use till about B. C. 100. Horace says traces of the old rudeness remained in his day, probably in the less polished ‘mimes,’ and in the ‘Fescennina carmina,’ which were not extinct.
161. Serus enim] ‘Romanus’ must be understood here.
163. Quid Sophocles et Thespis et Aeschylus] Thespis is here introduced as being the reputed founder of Greek tragedy. It is doubtful whether any of his plays were translated by or known to the Roman tragedians, of whom Horace has mentioned Livius, Ennius, Nævius, Pacuvius, and Accius. We know of no others earlier than Accius, the last of these; and the number of tragedies by these writers, the titles of which have been preserved, is one hundred and nineteen. As to Thespis, see A. P. 275, n.
167. metuitque lituram.] ‘But ignorantly thinks an erasure discreditable, and shuns it.’ That is, they were bold enough in their style, and had the spirit of tragedy in them, but they did not look sufficiently to the correction and polishing of their language; they admitted words which were out of taste, and thought too much care in composition beneath them. This is pretty much what he says of Lucilius (S. i. 10. 56, sqq.).
168. arcessit] See Epp. i. 5. 6, n. ‘Ex medio’ is from common life. Horace says comedy is supposed to be very easy, because the matter is common; but, in fact, it gives more trouble in proportion to the readiness with which it is criticised and faults are detected and condemned. The following remarks on the stage grew out of the allusion to the Greek writers, but they are not closely connected with what is passed. They are introduced for the purpose of deprecating the excessive admiration and support bestowed on the drama at the expense of other poetry (168-213).
170. Plautus] It appears that Horace had no great opinion of Plautus, all whose greatness, he says, lay in the drawing of small parts. Niebuhr judges otherwise: he calls him one of the greatest poetical geniuses of antiquity. The language of Plautus would be rough to the ears of Horace, and his jokes and allusions, drawn principally from the lower orders, or taken from the Greek and adapted to the common sort of people, did not interest him.
173. Quantus sit Dossennus] This person, who is not mentioned elsewhere, must have been a comic writer of the day.
174. percurrat pulpita socco;] The front part of the stage where the actors spoke was called ‘pulpitum,’ by the Greeks λογεῖον. As to ‘soccus,’ see S. i. 3. 127, n. It was worn by comic actors, as being a less dignified order of covering for the feet than the ‘cothurnus.’ A good representation of it will be found in the Dictionary of Antiquities. Other shoes worn in comedy were ‘baxeae’ and ‘crepidae,’ for the same reason, each being a loose sort of slipper, and the latter not materially different from the ‘soccus.’ Horace means that Dossennus is careless in the composition of his plays, which he expresses by his running about the stage with loose slippers. His only care, he says, is to make money.
177. ventoso Gloria curru] See S. i. 6. 23, n.
185. Si discordet eques,] See S. i. 10. 76, n.
186. Aut ursum aut pugiles;] Augustus himself had a liking for boxers, as mentioned on Epp. i. 1. 49. The interruptions to the regular drama which Horace here mentions appear to have been of common occurrence. Though the acting of plays was in Horace’s time carried on in a theatre (v. 60, n.) erected for this special purpose, it appears the people insisted sometimes on having a bear-bait or a boxing match there to amuse them, in spite of the remonstrances of the equites in the front rows, who, however, Horace says, were themselves taken too much with processions and shows that appealed more to the eye than to the ear.
187. Verum equitis] ‘But with the eques, too, all his pleasure was shifted from the ear to the erring eye and vain delights.’ He means that the eye is easily dazzled and deluded. The ear takes in what it receives, and conveys it to the mind without error.
189. aulaea premuntur] At the back of the stage was the ‘scena,’ or wall on which was painted some scene suitable to the performance. Before this ‘scena’ was a curtain, which was let down below the stage when the acting began, and raised when it was over. This curtain was called ‘aulaeum.’ The raising of the curtain at the end of the play is referred to in A. P. 154, sq.
191. regum fortuna] This is equivalent to ‘fortunati reges.’ The expression is like those noticed at S. i. 2. 32; ii. 1. 72.
192. Esseda festinant,] The ‘essedum’ was originally the name of a British or Gaulish war-chariot, derived from a Celtic root. The name came to be applied to a travelling carriage on two wheels and drawn by two horses. The ‘pilentum’ was a carriage used in processions, and appears to have been usually of a luxurious kind, with well-stuffed cushions, and used by women. It was also a travelling carriage. As to ‘petorritum,’ see S. i. 6. 104, n., and Epp. i. 11. 28, n.
193. captiva Corinthus.] The taking of Corinth may have been represented by spoils of Corinthian bronze.
194. Democritus,] See Epp. i. 12. 12, n. Democritus had the character of a laughing philosopher, one who turned things habitually into ridicule.
196. Sive elephas albus] The king of Ava has for one of his many titles the Lord of the White Elephant; and it has been usual for the British government, when an elephant of this color was caught in their territories, to send it with due ceremony as a present to his Majesty. White elephants are merely lusus naturae; they are not a distinct species, as some have supposed. They have pink eyes, like other albinos, but do not differ from the brown animal in other respects. They are not common.
198. mimo] See S. i. 10. 6, n.
202. Garganum mugire putes] See C. ii. 9. 7.
207. Lana Tarentino] The different shades of the purple dye were obtained by different mixtures of the juice of the ‘murex’ with that of the ‘purpura,’ both of which were shell-fish, found in great abundance on both coasts of Italy. Those of Baiæ were most celebrated on the west coast (S. ii. 4. 32), and those of Tarentum on the east. The violet color was much in fashion at this time, together with the scarlet peculiar to Tarentum. The Tarentines imitated all the foreign varieties. But these imitations, whether made from the fish or the ‘fucus,’ never came up to the original dyes, and were easily detected. (See Epp. i. 10. 26, n.)
208. quae facere ipse recusem] That is, what his nature refuses to do, what he has no capacity for. Horace denies that he is disposed to detract from the merits of good dramatic poets; on the contrary, he considers that he who could succeed in exciting his feelings with fictitious griefs and fears, and transport him in imagination to distant places, could do anything he chose to try, dance on a tight rope if he pleased, in which there is a little jocular irony perhaps. Dancing on the tight rope was carried, it seems, to great perfection among the ancients. The Greek name for a rope dancer was σχοινοβάτης, the Latin ‘funambulus’; those who exhibited at Rome were usually Greeks.
216. Curam redde brevem,] ‘Reddere’ is ‘to pay,’ and ‘curam redde brevem’ is ‘pay a slight, passing attention.’ ‘Munus Apolline dignum,’ ‘an offering worthy of Apollo,’ means the library mentioned, C. i. 31, Introduction.
220. Ut vineta egomet caedam mea,] The man who damages his own vines hurts himself more than any one else, and this is the meaning of the proverb. Horace goes on jocularly to relate many offences of poets arising out of their want of tact and knowledge of the world.
223. revolvimus irrevocati;] The compounds of ‘volvo’ are used for reading from the shape of the books rolled up. ‘Revolvere’ is to read again. One of the ways that he says authors get themselves into trouble is by reading over again and again passages they think very fine, but which their patron has not taken the trouble to ask for again.
225. deducta poëmata filo;] See S. i. 10. 44, n.
230. Aedituos] This word means the keeper of a temple. Horace says, it is worth while to see what kind of persons should be intrusted with the keeping of the fame of Augustus, what poets should be allowed to tell of it,—and with this subject he concludes.
233. Choerilus,] Chœrilus of Iasos was a poet who accompanied Alexander and wrote verses on his battles. They were very poor, according to Horace. This poet has been confounded with a native of Samos, who was in the pay of Xerxes. He is mentioned again, A. P. 357. ‘Male natis versibus’ means verses made by a poet who was not born such, seeing that ‘poëta nascitur non fit.’
234. Rettulit acceptos,] See note on S. ii. 3. 69. ‘Philippi’ were gold coins with Philip’s head on them, the Macedonian ‘stater,’ of which many specimens are in existence. Its value is reckoned at £1 3s. 6d. of English money. (See Dict. Antt.)
236. Atramenta,] Ink was used by the ancients. The Greeks called it μέλαν, the Romans ‘atramentum scriptorium’ or ‘librarium,’ to distinguish it from shoemaker’s dye, also called ‘atramentum,’ and a paint which had the same name. See Dictionary of Antiquities. Horace says it is a common thing for poets to defile great deeds with bad verses, as the fingers are defiled when they handle ink.
239. ne quis se praeter Apellen] Apelles flourished during the latter half of the fourth century B. C., at the court of Philip and in the camp of Alexander. This story—that Alexander would not suffer himself to be painted by any but Apelles—is referred to by Cicero, Pliny, and Plutarch (Alex. c. 4). His reputation as a painter stood higher than any other of antiquity.
240. alius Lysippo] Lysippus was a younger contemporary of Apelles, and a native of Sicyon. He wrought almost entirely in bronze. He made several statues of Alexander, whom he appears, like Apelles, to have followed into Asia.
244. Boeotum in crasso] The dulness and sensuality of the Bœotians were proverbial. The cause it is not easy to assign. Polybius says it was unparalleled in Grecian history.
245. tua de se judicia atque Munera,] Respecting Virgil and Varius, see S. i. 5. 40, n. Augustus had an affection for them both, and a Scholiast says he made each of them a present of a million sesterces.
248. aënea signa,] The word ‘signum’ applies generally to all carved or cast figures, while ‘statua’ applies only to full length figures.
251. Repentes per humum] This is expressed by ‘pedestris.’ See C. ii. 12. 9, n.
252. arces Montibus impositas,] See C. iv. 14. 12, and 33, n. This description would especially apply to the conquest of the Cantabri, and the Illyrian and Alpine tribes.
254. Auspiciis] See C. i. 7. 27, n.
255. Claustraque custodem pacis cohibentia] That which is commonly called the Temple of Janus was a passage enclosed between two gates leading out of the city. A statue of Janus was placed there, and from this and the two gates the place was called Janus Geminus. It was built, according to tradition, by Numa (Livy i. 19). The gates were open in war and closed in peace. Horace’s explanation is, that the gates were shut during peace to prevent its guardian from leaving the city. The first time the gates were shut during the Republic was B. C. 235. By Augustus they were closed three times (see C. iv. 15. 9, n.), after the battle of Actium and taking of Alexandria, A. U. C. 725, and after the Cantabrian war, A. U. C. 729. The third occasion is not known.
256. Et formidatam Parthis] See Epp. i. 12. 27, n.
262. Discit enim citius] ‘Quis’ belongs both to ‘discit’ and to ‘deridet.’ Horace says men are more apt to remember what is ridiculous than that which is good and serious; and therefore it is not pleasant to have one’s name associated with silly verses or an ugly wax image, such as the admirers of public men might think to honor them with. Busts of literary and other distinguished men were put up in the public libraries (see S. i. 4. 21, n.), and were probably multiplied for sale. They were sometimes made of wax, of which material were made the family busts preserved in the atria of private houses.
268. capsa porrectus aperta,] As to ‘capsa,’ see the note last referred to. Horace speaks of being stretched out in an open box as if he were a corpse being carried on a ‘vilis arca’ (S. i. 8. 9, n.) to the common burial ground, that is, to the grocer’s shop. ‘Vicum’ may mean the ‘Vicus Thurarius,’ which was a part of the Vicus Tuscus mentioned S. ii. 3. 228. ‘Porrectus’ is used commonly for corpses. ‘Aperta’ keeps up the notion of a ‘sandapila,’ or common bier, on which the poor were carried out to burial. In plain language, Horace says he might expect his panegyrist’s verses to be carried to the grocer (to whom and the trunk-maker waste paper goes still), and himself to be held up to ridicule with the author.
This Epistle is addressed to Julius Florus, to whom also the third of the first Book was written. (See Introduction.) Its professed purpose is to excuse Horace for not having sent Florus any verses. He says he had warned him before he went that he should not be able to write, that he had grown lazy. He reminds him, too, that he had originally only written verses to bring himself into notice because he was poor, and now he had not the same stimulus. Besides, he was getting on in years, and people’s tastes were so various, and the noises and engagements of the town so distracting, and the trouble of giving and receiving compliments so great, that he had abandoned poetry in disgust. It was better to study philosophy, in respect to which he reasons with himself through nearly a hundred lines, the substance of which is that he had better be content with what he has got by his profession, set to work to purge his mind, and leave jests and wantonness to younger men.
This Epistle furnishes materials for a considerable part of Horace’s biography, and makes us acquainted with his poetical career in particular.
It is probable that Florus continued attached to Tiberius, and was with him when he was campaigning with Augustus some years after the Armenian expedition, on which they were engaged when the other Epistle was written.
1. Flore, bono claroque] See Introduction; and as to the character of Tiberius, see Epp. i. 9. 4, n. His name was that of his father, Tiberius Claudius Nero, till his adoption by Augustus, A. D. 4, when he became Tiberius Claudius Nero Cæsar.
2. natum Tibure vel Gabiis,] That is, ‘anywhere you please.’ The poets like to give reality to their illustrations by being specific. This is Dillenburger’s remark. As to Gabii, see Epp. i. 11. 7, n.
5. nummorum millibus octo,] 8,000 sesterces, ‘nummus’ being used as an equivalent for ‘sestertius.’ This sum was about 65l. sterling. Much larger sums were given for handsome slaves, and this boy’s accomplishments, if they were real, would make him worth a good price. There would be reason, therefore, to suspect, in such a case, that the owner was anxious to get rid of him. See S. ii. 7. 42, n.
7. Litterulis Graecis] The ‘literati’ were a separate class in the slave family, and were subdivided into ‘anagnostae’ or ‘lectores’ (who read to their masters, chiefly at their meals, or, if their masters were authors, they read their productions aloud for the benefit of the guests), and ‘librarii’ or ‘scribae,’ used for writing from dictation, taking care of the library, keeping accounts, etc., and hence called pueri or servi ‘a studiis,’ ‘ab epistolis,’ ‘a bibliotheca,’ ‘notarii,’ etc. There were also architects, sculptors, painters, engravers, and other artists, who all came under the same general head of ‘literati.’ The boy in this place might also be put among the ‘cantores’ or ‘symphoniaci,’ the choir or band who sang and played to their master at meals. In short, he was fit for any of the above employments, according to his owner’s estimate; which he professes to put in a modest way, for fear he should seem to be puffing his property, and so depreciate its value. The diminutive ‘litterulis’ is used with this design.
12. meo sum pauper in aere.] ‘Aes alienum’ is used for a debt, and ‘aes proprium,’ ‘suum,’ etc. is therefore money not borrowed. The man here says he is not rich, but what he has is his own. “I am poor, (but live) on my own means.”
13. Nemo hoc mangonum faceret tibi;] He professes to deal as a friend. The ‘mangones’ were slave-dealers, a class in no favor, but often very rich. The name is derived from the Greek μάγγανον, μαγγανεύω, to juggle, cheat. They were distinguished from ‘mercatores,’ being called ‘venaliciarii,’ ‘venales’ signifying slaves. The way of ‘raising’ slaves for the market and selling them differed but little from the practice in modern times.
14. Semel hic cessavit] He once was behind his time, and hid himself under or on the staircase for fear of a flogging. ‘Cessator’ and ‘erro’ were synonymous words. (See S. ii. 7. 100, 113, n.) The stairs may have been dark sometimes, and, as in most houses the principal accommodation was on the ground floor, it is probable that so much regard was not had to the lighting of the staircase as we pay now. It appears a whip was hung up in some conspicuous place.
17. poenae securus,] Among the faults the seller of a slave was bound to tell was running away. See S. ii. 3. 285.
21. ne mea saevus Jurgares] ‘Mea’ belongs to ‘epistola’. ‘Jurgo’ is intransitive. ‘Do not be cruel, and complain because I sent you no letter in reply’. Florus had written, probably, more than once, expostulating with him on his silence, and had got no answer.
24. Si tamen attentas?] ‘Attentare’ is to attack, or attempt to overthrow. ‘Mecum facientia’ means that they are on his side.
super hoc] It is doubtful whether this means ‘besides this,’ as in S. ii. 6. 3, “Et paulum silvae super his” (see note), or ‘about this,’ as “Pallescet super his” (A. P. 429). Orelli takes it the former way.
25. non mittam carmina] ‘Carmina’ means lyric verses, which Florus seems to have asked for.
26. Luculli miles collecta viatica] As to Lucullus, see Epp. i. 6. 40, n. Whatever groundwork of truth there may be in this story, Horace has evidently altered it to suit his purpose. ‘Viatica’ would include money as well as baggage. Cicero uses the word metaphorically for money (Cat. Maj. c. 18): “Avaritia senilis quid sibi velit non intelligo. Potest enim quidpiam esse absurdius quam quo minus viae restat eo plus viatici quaerere?”
30. Praesidium regale] This would be a fortress in which Mithridates kept some part of his treasures.
33. bis dena super sestertia] The ‘sestertium’ (1,000 sestertii) was a sum equal to about 8l. 17s. of English money, twenty of which (166l. 13s. 4d.) would not be a large sum for an officer of rank. But he must be supposed, from his exploits, to have held some command.
34. Forte sub hoc tempus] ‘Soon after this time’ (see Epod. 2. 44, n. in respect to ‘sub’ with an accusative in phrases of time). Lucullus had the title of ‘proconsul’ of Cilicia. But he is here called ‘praetor’. He had been ‘praetor urbanus,’ but went into Asia at the expiration of his consulship, and therefore with the title of ‘proconsul.’ A ‘praetor’ taking a province went with the title of ‘propraetor,’ as Brutus did into Macedonia. (See S. i. 7. 18.)
40. qui zonam perdidit,] The Romans wore a girdle when walking or actively occupied, to hold up the end of their tunic. Hence the expressions ‘praecinctus,’ ‘succinctus,’ for those who were hastening or engaged in active work. (See S. i. 5. 6, n.) In this girdle (‘zona’ or ‘cingulum’) they often carried their money. Hence ‘zona’ came to be used generally for a purse. The more common word ‘crumena’ was a bag, generally of leather, hung on the arm or round the neck, or sometimes perhaps to the ‘zona.’
42. Iratus Graiis] See Epp. i. 2. 2, n.
43. Adjecere bonae] The knowledge acquired at Athens was not only philosophy in all its branches, but Greek literature, with which Horace became familiar, especially with the lyric poets, whose works were probably never taught in the schools at Rome. But he here only refers to his dialectical studies, which he pursued in the school of the Academy, the head of which at this time was Theomnestus, whose lectures Brutus attended (Plut. Brut. c. 24). Academus was an Attic hero, and there was a spot of ground about three quarters of a mile from the city, on the banks of the Cephisus, which was dedicated to him and planted with olives, and called after his name, Academia. Here Plato taught, and hence his school was named.
44. curvo dignoscere rectum,] ‘Curvum’ is used here like ‘pravum,’ for ‘falsehood.’
48. non responsura lacertis.] Not destined to match the strength of Augustus. (See S. ii. 7. 85, n.) In the first engagement at Philippi (A. U. C. 712), Brutus defeated the forces of Augustus, and got possession of his camp, while M. Antonius on the other hand defeated Cassius, who destroyed himself. But twenty days afterwards a second engagement went against Brutus, and he likewise put an end to himself. Brutus attached to his cause the young Romans studying at Athens, and the battles and wanderings he led them through are related by Plutarch in his Life (c. 24, sqq.).
51. Et laris et fundi,] ‘Laris’ is equivalent to ‘domus’. As to the difference between ‘domus’ and ‘fundus,’ see S. ii. 5. 108, n. Horace’s patrimony was forfeited because he was of the republican party. He says nothing of the scribe’s place which Suetonius says he bought (with what means does not appear), nor does he mention how he got his pardon and permission to return to Rome. He only says he was driven by poverty to write verses, which therefore he first wrote for fame, that is, to bring himself into the notice of those who were able to relieve his wants, as Mæcenas did. It is impossible to tell what he wrote at first. It is probable that he suppressed much of his early poetry.
53. Quae poterunt unquam] The ‘cicuta,’ κώνειον, hemlock, was used as an antifebrile medicine. Horace asks what amount of ‘cicuta’ would be sufficient to cool his veins, if he were so feverishly bent upon writing as to do so when he could live without it.
60. Ille Bioneis sermonibus] Bion was born on the Borysthenes, and was hence called Borysthenites. He flourished about the middle of the third century B. C. He studied philosophy at Athens, and, after passing through various sects, became at last a Peripatetic. It is said he wrote certain books on the follies of mankind of a very bitter character. As ‘sal’ is put for wit (S. i. 10. 3), ‘sale nigro’ means coarse wit.
61. Tres mihi convivae] He treats his friends, all asking him for different sorts of verse, as guests at a dinner each liking different fare, so that he does not know what to give them.
67. Hic sponsum vocat,] This is a repetition of S. ii. 6. 23.
68. cubat hic in colle Quirini,] As to ‘cubat’ see S. i. 9. 18, n. Mons Quirinalis was in the sixth, or most northern division of the city; Mons Aventinus, in the opposite quarter, the thirteenth region.
70. Intervalla vides humane commoda.] ‘A pretty convenient distance, you see.’ ‘Humane’ is not used in this ironical way elsewhere.
71. Purae sunt plateae,] This is a supposed answer, the rejoinder to which is in v. 72. ‘Platea’ is a less general name than ‘vicus.’ It applies only to the broader streets. The word, being derived from the Greek πλατεῖα, would properly have its penult long. It suits Horace to shorten it. As to the obstructions in the streets of Rome, the best of which were but narrow, see Epp. i. 6. 51, n. ‘Purae’ means unobstructed.
72. redemptor,] See C. ii. 18. 18, n.; iii. 1. 35, n. ‘Calidus’ only strengthens ‘festinat,’ he is in hot haste: the substantives are in the ablative, ‘cum’ being omitted.
73. machina] Probably a pulley raising a large stone or beam for the upper part of a building, and swinging it over the heads of the passengers. As to ‘funera,’ see S. i. 6. 43, n.
77. amat nemus] See C. i. 1. 30, n. Compare Juvenal (vii. 53, sqq.).
80. contracta sequi vestigia] ‘To follow the confined steps of the poets,’ by which he means that the poets walk in a path narrowed by fixed rules; and that it requires thought and diligence to tread in their steps.
81. vacuas desumpsit Athenas,] See Epp. i. 7. 45, n. for ‘vacuas.’ Horace says the man who has retired to study, as he had done at Athens, and has shut himself up for several years, and got dull over his books and his meditations, cannot open his lips when he gets to Rome, and is only laughed at by the people for his sobriety. This is an odd defence for one who had written so much as he had done at Rome. It is meant for a joke. ‘Septem annis’ is not to be taken literally, as if Horace had been seven years at Athens, which is very improbable, but for any considerable number. He was only twenty-two when he joined Brutus, A. U. C. 711.
87. Frater erat Romae] Who these brothers were Horace does not tell us, and it does not matter. One was a jurisconsultus (see S. i. 1. 9, n.), and the other a teacher of rhetoric. The lawyer said the rhetorician was a perfect Gracchus for eloquence, and he returned the compliment by declaring that his brother was a second Scævola for legal learning. And this sort of mutual flattery goes on, Horace says, among poets, and he cannot keep pace with their passion for praise. Tiberius Gracchus and his brother Caius were both, in Cicero’s opinion, great orators. We need not therefore attempt to decide which Horace means us to understand here. Q. Mucius Scævola the augur, son-in-law of C. Lælius, and an early instructor of Cicero (Lael. c. 1), was learned in the law; but his namesake and younger contemporary, the Pontifex Maximus (mentioned in the same treatise), was more celebrated still. This name, therefore, like that of Gracchus for oratory, stands for a consummate jurist.
88. meros audiret honores,] Compare Epp. i. 7. 84, “vineta crepat mera.”
90. argutos] Compare iv. 6. 25: “Doctor argutae fidicen Thaliae.” It means melodious, and is a sort of mock compliment.
92. Caelatumque novem Musis opus] It is likened to a perfect piece of carved work, in which all the Muses had a hand.
93. quanto molimine] This expresses the pompous strut with which they pass the library of Apollo, in which they take it for granted a place is reserved for them. As to ‘aedem,’ see S. i. 10. 38.
95. procul] This word signifies any distance, great or small. Here it means hard by, as in S. ii. 6. 105; Epp. i. 7. ‘Quid ferat’ means what each has to say.
97. Caedimur et totidem plagis] They carry on such a contest of mutual flattery, that they are like two gladiators, each trying to get the better of the other. ‘Samnites’ were a particular class of gladiators, so called because they wore the same arms as that people, particularly an oblong shield. See S. ii. 6. 44, n. ‘Ad lumina prima’ would be usually till the second course, when the lights were brought in. Among the amusements that rich men had at their dinners were gladiators who fought with blunt weapons; and here the contest is said to be protracted (‘lento’) till the lights came in. It was a long trial of skill.
99. puncto illius;] In his judgment or by his vote. When an election took place, there were certain persons called ‘custodes’ appointed to take the votes and prick off the number given for each candidate. From this process votes came to be called ‘puncta.’ See A. P. 343, n.
101. Fit Mimnermus] See Epp. i. 6. 65, n. Horace seems to think him superior to Callimachus, who was a grammarian and voluminous prose-writer as well as a poet, a native of Cyrene, and established at Alexandria in the reigns of the Ptolemies, Philadelphus and Euergetes, in the third century B. C. ‘Optivo,’ signifying ‘desired,’ does not occur elsewhere.
105. impune legentibus] He says, when he has done writing and recovered his senses (which was the same thing), he should stop his ears, and they might recite without fear of reprisals. See Epp. i. 19. 39.
113. Verba movere loco,] The notion of the censor is kept up. See note on S. i. 6. 20.
114. Et versentur adhuc] This is a way of saying that the verses, though they may be expunged, still are kept in the author’s desk, because he has a regard for them, and cannot make up his mind to destroy them. The sanctuary of Vesta could only be entered by her own priestesses, and Horace calls his desk ‘penetralia Vestae’ because it was private.
116. speciosa vocabula rerum,] ‘Expressive terms’; words which make themselves intelligible at once. So in A. P. 319 a play is said to be ‘speciosa locis,’ that is, ‘plain in its points,’ its commonplaces or sentiments clearly put.
117. Catonibus atque Cethegis] As to the use of the plural number, see note on S. i. 7. 8. M. Porcius Cato Censorius was born about B. C. 234, and was therefore contemporary with Ennius, with whom he is associated, A. P. 56, as successfully importing new words into the language. Fragments remain of his treatise De Re Rustica, embracing a variety of instructions on husbandry and subjects connected with domestic economy; and of his Origines, an account of the early history of Italy. There are also fragments of his orations, which Cicero appears to have studied (Brutus, c. 17). He had the highest opinion of Cato, and complains that he was not studied enough even in his day. M. Cornelius Cethegus was older than Cato, since he was curule ædile when Cato was no more than twenty. His eloquence was such that Ennius called Cethegus “Suadae medulla, orator suaviloquenti ore.” (Cic. Brut. c. 15; Cat. Maj. c. 14; see Epp. i. 6. 36, n.) But it does not appear that any of his orations were extant in Cicero’s time, for he only mentions them on the authority of Ennius, who had heard him speak. His reputation was sufficient at the time Horace wrote, for him to name him twice as an authority on the language (see A. P. 50, n.).
119. quae genitor produxerit usus.] ‘Usus’ is ‘custom,’ which has always been the parent of novelties in language. Compare A. P. 70, sqq.
120. Vehemens] The first two syllables are pronounced as one. Compare S. i. 5. 67.
123. virtute carentia tollet,] ‘He will remove what lacks merit.’ He will work hard to produce a result which shall appear playful and easy, the turns being as easy as those of the ‘mimus,’ who dances either the light measure of the nimble Satyr, or the clumsy dance of the Cyclops (on which see S. i. 5. 63, n.). The poet’s art is to conceal his art, and to make that appear easy which has cost him a good deal of trouble.
126. Praetulerim scriptor] This is supposed to be the remark of one who would be a poet without the necessary trouble. He would rather be pleased with his own bad verses, even though he might be deceiving himself, than be so learned and be perpetually vexed with himself. ‘Ringi’ is properly applied to the grinning of a dog when it snarls.
128. Fuit haud iqnobilis Argis,] Sir Henry Halford furnishes a parallel story (Essays, p. 61): “One case, that of the gentleman of Argos, whose delusion led him to suppose that he was attending the representation of a play, as he sat in his bedchamber, is so exact, that I saw a person of exalted rank (George III.) under those very circumstances of delusion, and heard him call upon Mr. Garrick to exert himself in the performance of Hamlet.”
131. Caetera qui vitae servaret] “Though he observed all the other duties of life.”
134. Et signo laeso] The ‘amphorae’ or ‘lagenae’ were sealed with the owner’s seal when they were filled. Horace says that the man was not one who would get furious if he found the slaves had opened a ‘lagena,’ and drunk the contents. See C. iii. 8. 11. 12.
135. puteum vitare patentem.] Wells were usually surrounded with a wall (‘puteal’) two or three feet high. See Dict. Antt.
136. cognatorum opibus] See S. ii. 3. 217, n., and as to ‘elleborum,’ see v. 83 of that Satire. ‘Meracus’ is generally applied only to wine.
141. Nimirum sapere est] See Introduction.
158. quod quis libra mercatur et aere,] There was a mode of sale which was called ‘per aes et libram.’ A third person held a pair of scales (‘libra’), which the purchaser touched with a piece of money, at the same time laying his hand on the thing purchased. According to a set form of words he claimed the thing as his own, and handed the money to the seller as a token of the sum agreed upon. This form of purchase was called ‘mancipatio.’ The seller was said ‘mancipio dare’ (to which ‘mancipare’ in this place is equivalent), and the purchaser was said ‘mancipio accipere.’ A man might become owner of ‘res mancipii’ by having been in possession for a certain time, as much as if he had received it by ‘mancipatio.’ Hence ‘usus’ is said ‘mancipare,’ because the effect is the same whether a man got his ownership by ‘usus,’ that is, possession, or by ‘mancipatio.’ ‘Usus’ here means that sort of possession which consists in the enjoyment of the fruits by paying for them. Before ‘quaedam,’ ‘si’ must be supplied again.
160. villicus Orbi,] Who is meant by Orbius, if anybody, it is impossible to say. He had landed property and sold the produce. As to ‘villicus,’ see Epp. 1. 14. 1, n.
163. cadum temeti:] ‘Temetum’ is an old word signifying ‘wine.’ See Forcell.
164. trecentis — nummorum millibus] ‘Three hundred sestertia.’ Taking the value of the ‘sestertium’ at 8l. 17s. 1d., this sum would be 2,656l. 5s. of English money.
167. Emptor Aricini quondam] ‘Emptor quondam,’ as Orelli says, is equivalent to ‘is qui quondam emit,’ ‘he who buys at any time.’ As to Aricia, see S. i. 5. 1, n. The old Veii had long ceased to exist. It had been replaced (whether on the same site or not is uncertain) by a new city, which again fell into ruin in the civil wars. Julius Cæsar divided its lands among his soldiers. It appears, however, that Augustus restored it, and made it a municipium.
170. qua populus adsita certis Limitibus] ‘Usque’ in this verse is an adverb of place, not of time. It means ‘all the way up to where the poplar stands.’ There were many different kinds of private boundaries, as, for instance, a stone or an image of the god Terminus, with a tree or a clump planted near it, such as Horace alludes to. A ditch or a hedge, a stream or path, and many other marks, were sufficient to define the limits of property, and prevent neighbors from quarrelling (‘vicina refugit jurgia’).
177. Quid vici prosunt] ‘Vicus’ is used for any collection of houses. ‘Vicus urbanus’ was a street in the city; ‘vicus rusticus,’ a village. Here it appears to mean a villa with the adjoining cottages.
Calabris Saltibus adjecti Lucani,] ‘Saltus’ expresses ‘pastures,’ wooded or otherwise, on hills or in valleys and plains. Those of Calabria were low and without wood; those of Lucania were among the hills. See Epod. 1. 27, n.
180. Tyrrhena sigilla,] Small images of the gods, of Etrurian workmanship, in bronze.
181. Gaetulo murice] See C. ii. 16. 35, n.
182. Sunt qui non habeant,] See C. i. 1. 3, n.
184. Herodis palmetis pinguibus,] Herod the Great derived a large revenue from the woods of palm which abounded in Judæa. They were most thickly planted about Jericho and on the banks of the Jordan. The date-palm is that which most abounded there.
187. Scit Genius] See Epp. 1. 7. 94, n. ‘Albus et ater’ signifies ‘cheerful and gloomy.’
192. Quod non plura datis] ‘Because he finds that I have not left him more’; lit. ‘because he finds not more than what I have left him’; in short, he gets less than he expected.
193. simplex hilarisque] ‘A guileless cheerful man,’ and so liberal. He says he is anxious to learn the difference between such a one and a prodigal, and between the thrifty and covetous, and of course to act the part of the former of the two in either case. ‘Plura’ means ‘more than enough.’
197. festis Quinquatribus olim,] The Quinquatria was a festival in honor of Minerva, held on the 19th of March and four following days. Boys had holidays during this festival, that they might pay their devotions to Minerva, the goddess of learning.
199. domus] This word is omitted, and an imperfect verse given in some MSS. It has no meaning here. The best MSS. vary, and the commentators seem agreed to give it up without being able to find out what Horace really wrote. (See note on C. iv. 6. 17.)
205. Non es avarus: abi;] ‘You are no miser: go to; what, do all your faults vanish with that?’ See Forcell. for a variety of uses of ‘abi.’
209. Nocturnos lemures] The belief in ghosts was as common with the ancients as with the superstitious among ourselves. The spirits of the dead were worshipped as Manes, Lares, Lemures, and Larvæ. Under the two former names were recognized the spirits of the good (see Epp. ii. 1. 138, n.); the other two represented cruel spirits coming up to terrify and torment the living. The Thessalians had the credit of extraordinary power in magic and drugs. (See C. i. 27. 21; Epod. 5. 45.)
210. Natales grate numeras?] ‘Are you happy when you count up your birthdays?’ that is, ‘Are you content to see yourself advancing in life and drawing near the end of it?’ As to ‘natales,’ see S. ii. 2. 60, n.; C. iv. 11. 8, n.
213. decede peritis.] ‘If you do not know how to live properly, go off the stage and give place to those that do.’
216. lasciva decentius aetas.] ‘A time of life which may be wanton with less indecency’; that is, youth, to which it is more natural.
There are no internal evidences, at all fit to be trusted, of the time when this poem was written, or of the persons to whom it is addressed. They are three in number, a father and two sons.
The poem professes to contain a history of the progress of poetry, and rules for composition, with criticisms of different authors and different styles. The rules are miscellaneous, and have little or no method, and the history is more fanciful than real. It is impossible to look upon it as a finished poem.
1. Humano capiti] The picture supposed is monstrous enough; a woman’s head and a fish’s tail, with a horse’s neck, limbs from all manner of beasts, and feathers from all sorts of birds. This portentous medley (invented of course by himself, for we are not bound to suppose he had ever seen a pictorial monster of this kind), Horace considered a good illustration of some of the poetry of his day, in which figures and images were thrown together without order or purpose.
9. Pictoribus atque poëtis] This is a supposed reply, that painters and poets have always been privileged people, which Horace admits, but within certain limits. They must not outrage common sense, not should they patch their verses with images which, however pretty, have nothing to do with the matter in hand.
18. flumen Rhenum] This is the same form as “Metaurum flumen” (C. iv. 4. 38).
19. fortasse cupressum Scis simulare:] The Scholiasts all agree in saying this refers to a Greek proverb, μή τι καὶ κυπαρίσσου θέλεις; the origin of which was an answer given by a bad painter to a shipwrecked sailor, who asked him for a picture of his wreck (see C. i. 5. 13, n.). The man considered himself clever at drawing a cypress, and asked the sailor if he should introduce him one in his picture.
21. Amphora coepit Institui;] Of the ‘amphora,’ ‘diota,’ ‘cadus,’ ‘testa,’ ‘lagena,’ (all which names represent the same kind of vessel for keeping wine, oil, honey, &c.,) drawings will be found in the Dictionary of Antiquities. It was usually of clay, but sometimes of glass. ‘Urceus’ was the name for a jug of earthenware or glass, of which specimens of many different shapes have been found at Pompeii. As to the ‘rota figularis’ and other matters connected with the art of poetry as practised by the ancients, all necessary information will be found in the Dictionary of Antiquities.
24. pater et juvenes patre digni,] See Introduction. Horace passes on to say that there are those who are led into error by some standard of correctness that they have set themselves, some rule to which they adhere at all costs. One man thinks brevity the right thing, another smoothness of versification, another grandiloquence, another caution, another vanity, and to avoid the opposites of these they run into the excess of them.
29. Prodigialiter] ‘Monstrously.’ This belongs to ‘variare.’
32. Aemilium circa ludum] This illustrates the case of those who can invent details, but cannot compose an entire poem. The ‘Aemilius ludus,’ near which this artist lived, is said to have been a gladiator’s school, built by Æmilius Lepidus, but by which of those who bore that name is unknown. There were many celebrated persons so called. ‘Unus’ means ‘singular,’ surpassing all others, which sense it bears in S. i. 10. 42; ii. 3. 24; 6. 57 (where see note).
38. Sumite materiam] The next consideration is the choice of a subject, which should be well weighed with reference to the powers of the writer (‘potenter,’ κατὰ δύναμιν, v. 40).
42. Ordinis haec virtus] Having said that, if a man chooses his subject well, he will be at no loss to arrange his poem, Horace proceeds to explain what arrangement consists in, which is, saying everything in its right place and time.
45. promissi carminis] A poem he is known to have in hand, and which the public are expecting.
46. tenuis cautusque serendis,] ‘Judicious and careful in planting his words.’ ‘Tenuis’ signifies a nice discernment. The use of words is the next point noticed,—skill in giving by its connection new force to an old word, or in the introduction of new terms sometimes borrowed from the Greek, for the fashion of words is conventional and liable to change.
49. Indiciis] This means words, as being the signs by which things are made known. As to ‘abdita rerum,’ see C. iv. 12. 19, n.
50. Cethegis] See Epp. ii. 2. 117, n. ‘Cinctutus’ means one that is only girt about the lower part of his body, having the arms free from the encumbrance of the tunic-sleeves. The use of the tunic by the Romans was introduced, with other indulgences, from Greece and the Greek colonies, the ancients having worn only the toga.
54. Caecilio Plautoque] See Epp. ii. 1. 59. 170. As to ‘Romanus,’ see C. iii. 6. 2, n. ‘Virgilio Varioque,’ S. i. 5. 40, n. ‘Catonis et Enni,’ Epp. ii. 2. 117, n.
55. Ego cur] The words which Horace appears to have used for the first time have been observed in the course of these notes. Those which do not appear in any other author are mentioned on C. iii. 11. 10. The construction he here employs is unusual, and so illustrates what he is saying. ‘Ego invideor’ should, according to usage, be ‘mihi invidetur,’ as ‘ego imperor’ should be ‘mihi imperatur’ (Epp. i. 5. 21, where see note).
59. Signatum praesente nota producere] To give currency to a word stamped with a modern mark, a metaphor taken from the coinage of the mint, respecting which see Dict. Antt., art. ‘Moneta.’
60. Ut silvae foliis] ‘As woods in respect of their leaves at the close of the year are changed, yea they are the first to fall.’ There is a little irregularity in the construction, but the meaning is clear.
63. Debemur morti nos nostraque;] Horace probably remembered very well the verses of Simonides:
χαίρει τις Θεόδωρος ἐπεὶ θάνεν· ἄλλος ἐπ᾽ αὐτῷ
χαιρήσει· θανάτῳ πάντες ὀφειλόμεθα.
receptus Terra Neptunus] The ‘lacus Lucrinus’ was separated from the bay of Baiæ by a narrow causeway, the construction of which tradition attributed to Hercules. Beyond the Lucrinus lay the Avernus lacus (lago d’Averno), a basin without any outlet, about a mile and a half in circumference, and fed by streams from Mons Gaurus (Monte Barbaro). The space between the two lakes was covered with wood. In the war with Sextus Pompeius, B. C. 37, Augustus, advised by Agrippa, to whom he had entrusted the task of reforming his fleet, opened a communication between the lakes, and between lacus Avernus and the sea, whereby he made a harbor in which he was able to practise his ships. This he called ‘portus Julius.’ This is the work Virgil alludes to (Georg. ii. 161). The basin of the Lucrine lake has been filled up by the rising of a volcanic hill (Monte Nuovo), and is now a swamp.
65. Regis opus,] This (like ‘regiae moles,’ C. ii. 15. 1) means a work worthy of a king.
Sterilisve diu palus] What work Horace here alludes to is very doubtful. The Scholiasts say that Augustus drained the Pomptine marshes. That Julius Cæsar contemplated such a work we learn from Suetonius (Caes. 44), and Plutarch (Caes. 58). That Augustus may have contemplated it likewise, and made the canal mentioned on S. i. 5. 7, while that design was in his mind, is possible. The canal extended from Forum Appii to Terracina, which is said to have been the length of the marshes at that time. Horace appears to be speculating upon a work which, though often attempted, has never succeeded.
67. Seu cursum mutavit] Suetonius tells us that Augustus, to put an end to the inundations of the Tiber, cleared out its bed, which had got filled with rubbish. To some such work as this Horace probably refers, in language a little exaggerated.
68. Doctus iter melius,] So it is said of the river in Epp. i. 14. 29: “rivus si decidit imber Multa mole docendus aprico parcere prato.”
69. Nedum sermonum stet honos] This construction is explained by supposing the verb ‘existumes’ understood for the sake of brevity. ‘Nedum’ is ‘not for a moment’ or ‘not ever so little.’
71. si volet usus,] See Epp. ii. 2. 119, n. Horace uses the words in the next verse without reference to their technical distinction. ‘Arbitrium’ was the judgment of an arbitrator, as ‘judicium’ was that of a judex. ‘Jus,’ in one of its senses, was a rule of law (Epp. i. 16. 41). ‘Norma,’ a carpenter’s or mason’s square. The deciding, ordering, and shaping of words is all that Horace means.
73. Res gestae] Here Horace begins a sort of history of different kinds of poetry, which is dropped at v. 85, and taken up again at v. 202.
75. Versibus impariter junctis querimonia] ‘Impariter’ is not used elsewhere. What Horace here calls ‘querimonia’ is ἐλεγεία θρηνητική, mourning for the dead. The earliest writers of elegy were Callinus of Ephesus, Tyrtæus of Attica, Archilochus of Paros, and Asius of Samos, all in the seventh century B. C. It was therefore of Ionian origin, whichever of these poets first employed it. That question, which was not settled in Horace’s day, is not likely to be settled now.
78. Grammatici certant] See Epp. i. 19. 40, n.
79. Archilocum proprio rabies] See Epp. i. 19. 23, n.; Epod. vi. 13. The principal Iambic writers who followed Archilochus were Simonides of Amorgus, a younger contemporary of Solon, and Hipponax of Ephesus (B. C. 540).
80. Hunc socci cepere pedem] In respect to ‘soccus’ and ‘cothurnus,’ as the characteristics of comedy and tragedy, see Epp. ii. 1. 174, n. The metre most used in the dialogue of the earliest Greek tragedies was the trochaic tetrameter, which metre is used in many passages of the Persae of Æschylus. But the iambic trimeter appears to have been used by Phrynicus.
81. Alternis aptum sermonibus] By ‘alternis sermonibus’ Horace means dialogue generally; not those dialogues in which verse answers to verse, στιχομυθία.
82. Vincentem strepitus] When he says that the iambic overcomes the noise of the theatre, it may be that he refers to the clear intonation which that metre admits of, or to its engaging the popular attention from its adaptation to the understandings of all.
Natum rebus agendis] This means, that the metre suits the language of action.
83. Musa dedit fidibus] As to ‘fidibus,’ see C. iii. 11. 3. Though the flute (‘tibia’) came very early into use as an accompaniment to lyric poetry, it has always retained the name it originally derived from the lyre. The description of Horace includes the choral lyric of the Doric school, and the poetry of the Æolic school. The former was adapted to a choir, the latter only to a single voice. The former was so called, because it was cultivated by the Dorians of the Peloponnesus and Sicily; the latter flourished among the Æolians of Asia Minor, and particularly in the island of Lesbos. The one celebrated gods and heroes or renowned citizens, and was used at public festivals or at marriages and funerals; the other expressed individual thoughts and feelings. Alcæus and Sappho are the chief representatives of the latter school, of the former, Alcman and Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides, Bacchylides, and Pindar. Stesichorus and Ibycus were most celebrated for their poems on mythological subjects (‘divos puerosque deorum’), while Simonides and Pindar were the greatest in ἐπινίκια, hymns in honor of the victors at public games (‘et pugilem victorem et equum certamine primum’), and the poets of wine and passion (‘juvenum curas et libera vina’) were Alcæus, Sappho, Simonides, and Bacchylides. Horace does not mention one class of lyric poems, the threnes or dirges for the dead, of which Simonides was the greatest master.
As to ‘libra vina,’ see S. i. 4. 87, n.
86. Discriptas servare vices] He passes on to style (having alluded to various sorts of poetry), and says a man cannot be called a poet unless he can observe the characteristics of each style. This question involves the language, the characters, the plot, and the subjects handled. But the drama is the sort of poetry chiefly noticed henceforward. ‘Vices’ are the parts (S. i. 10. 12, ‘defendente vicem’), and with ‘discriptas’ it means the parts assigned to each class of poetry. ‘Operum colores,’ ‘the coloring of poems.’
88. pudens prave] ‘Through a false shame,’ ‘pudor malus’ (Epp. i. 16. 24).
90. privatis] ‘The language of common daily life.’
91. coena Thaestae] See C. i. 6. 8, n.
94. Iratusque Chremes] ‘Chremes’ is put generally for any father in a comedy. The intensive compound of ‘litigo’ does not occur elsewhere. As to ‘plerumque,’ in the sense of ‘interdum,’ see S. ii. 5. 55, n., and on ‘pedestri,’ see C. ii. 12. 9, n.
96. Telephus et Peleus,] These persons were the subjects of many tragedies. Each of the three tragedians wrote upon them, and fragments of their plays are extant. Telephus’s abject condition, when he went to seek for one to cure him of his wound (see Epod. xvii. 8, n.), and Peleus, driven from Ægina, and wandering in quest of a purifier for the murder of his brother Phocus, appear to have been the points in the history of these persons chiefly dwelt upon. As to ‘ampullas,’ see Epp. i. 3. 14, n. ‘Sesquipedalia’ (‘pes semisque’), ‘a foot and a half long.’
99. Non satis est pulchra esse] ‘Pulchra,’ as opposed to ‘dulcia,’ describes that sort of faultless beauty which fails to make an impression on the feelings. Of the accidental rhyme that occurs in these two verses, Orelli has collected several parallel instances from Virgil and Homer.
104. male si mandata loqueris] ‘Male’ belongs to ‘mandata’: ‘words improperly assigned you,’ that is, not suited to your character (see v. 177).
105. Tristia maestum] Horace says there is a voice of nature within us which adapts itself to every phase of our fortunes, and speaks out in language expressing the emotions that belong to each.
113. equites peditesque] This is a comprehensive way of expressing all the citizens of Rome, with reference to their division by Servius Tullius (Livy i. 43). When the census was completed, the king issued a proclamation, “Ut omnes cives Romani equites peditesque in suis quisque centuriis in Campo Martio prima luce adessent.”
114. divusne loquatur an heros,] The Scholiasts are divided between ‘divus’ and ‘Davus’; the MSS. are also at variance. ‘Deus’ and ‘heros’ are brought together below (v. 227): “Ne quicunque deus, quicunque adhibebitur heros.”
116. matrona potens] This epithet seems to have the same meaning as its kindred word πότνια, so common in Homer and the Tragedians. The officious nurse has always been a favorite character on the stage. We find it in Æschylus (Choëphoroe), in Sophocles (Trachiniae), and Euripides (Hippolytus). An ἔμπορος (‘mercator’) is introduced in the Philoctetes of Sophocles, and the prologue of the Electra (Euripides) is spoken by an αὐτουργός (‘cultor agelli’).
118. Colchus an Assyrius,] The Colchian may be put perhaps for any of the barbarous tribes on the shores of the Euxine, and the Assyrian for any of the Eastern nations. (See C. i. 2. 21, n., and C. ii. 11. 16, n.) The opposition between Thebes and Argos has reference partly perhaps to the play of Æschylus, Sept. c. Thebas, in which Polynices comes with an Argive army to get possession of the crown of Thebes, or to the Supplices of Euripides, which turns on the burial of the seven leaders who formed that expedition. But Horace may have had in mind many other plays of which the scene lay either at Argos or Thebes, in connection with Œdipus, the quarrel of his sons, the expedition of the Epigoni, etc.
119. Aut famam sequere] ‘Either you should follow tradition and common belief, or at least, if you invent, your inventions should be consistent with themselves.’
120. Scriptor honoratum si forte reponis] ‘Honoratus’ is only an ornamental epithet, corresponding to Homer’s κλυτός, etc. ‘Reponis’ means ‘put upon the stage again’. The word is used in a different sense, v. 190: “Fabula, quae posci vult et spectata reponi.”
122. nihil non arroget armis.] ‘Let him claim everything for arms,’ that is, let him make arms his one appeal.
123. flebilis Ino,] There are several fragments remaining of a play by Euripides bearing the name of Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, and wife of Athamas, who threw herself into the sea with her son Melicerta, and went through various sorrows through the wrath of Here, and the rivalry of her husband’s other wives, Nephele and Themisto. She was worshipped after her death as Leucothea, or Matuta Mater.
124. Perfidus Ixion, Io vaga,] Æschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides each wrote a tragedy entitled ‘Ixion,’ of which fragments remain. See C. iii. 11. 21. The wanderings of Io, the daughter of Inachus, king of Argos, in the form of a cow (whose passage across the strait that separates the Propontis from the Euxine gave it the name of Bosporus), are related in many ways. The most remarkable passage on this subject is contained in the Prometheus of Æschylus, in a scene in which she is herself introduced.
128. Difficile est proprie communia dicere:] ‘Communia’ means here what everybody knows, or what is common property, as opposed to fictions of one’s own creating, and ‘proprie dicere’ is to tell it so as to make it one’s own.
131. Publica materies privati juris erit,] ‘Public materials will become private property.’ Horace uses (without strict accuracy) terms which have distinct legal significations. ‘Proprie communia dicere,’ above, is the same as making that which is ‘publica materies’ ‘privati juris.’ ‘Communia’ is usual in the sense of partnership property, and is different from ‘publica’; but here they have the same meaning. Horace seems to have followed a Greek proverb, χαλεπὸν τὰ κοινὰ ἰδιῶσαι. As to ‘deducis,’ see S. i. 10. 44, n.
132. vilem patulumque moraberis orbem,] ‘If you linger not about the vulgar and wide round.’ What Horace means, is the hackneyed round of subjects, phrases, and illustrations, ground which anybody may tread, and many have trod already. ‘Patulus’ is opposed to ‘arctus’ (v. 133); the latter means difficult, narrow ground, in which it is not easy to move except by treading precisely in the steps of him whom you are following, ‘out of which diffidence or the plan of the work forbids you to advance,’ that is, hampers your steps, and prevents you from showing any originality.
136. ut scriptor cyclicus olim:] A class of Epic poets arose some time after Homer, who, perhaps from the habit of reciting as rhapsodists the Iliad and Odyssey, were led to adopting subjects akin to Homer’s, and connecting their poems with his; and their design appearing to have been to form their poems and Homer’s into one cycle, embracing the whole history of the Trojan times, they came to be called by the grammarians Cyclic poets. Of these the oldest was Arctinus of Miletus, whose poem was a continuation of the Iliad, and nearly as long. One of them, Lesches, a Lesbian contemporary with Archilochus, wrote a poem known as the Μικρὰ Ἰλιάς. It opened with these two lines, which Horace may or may not have had in mind:
Ἴλιον ἀείδω καὶ Δαρδανίην εὔπωλον,
ἧς πέρι πολλὰ πάθον Δαναοὶ θεράποντες Ἄρηος.
139. Parturiunt montes,] ‘Parturio’ has the same relation to ‘pario’ that ‘esurio’ has to ‘edo,’ meaning the effort or desire to bring forth, the being in labor. Porphyrion quotes the proverb on which this and the fable that Phædrus has imitated (iv. 22) of the mountain in labor, are founded: ὤδινεν οὖρος, εἶτα μῦν ἀπέκτεκεν, which in Athenæus (xiv. 6) is quoted a little differently: ὤδινεν ὄρος, Ζεὺς δ᾽ ἐφοβεῖτο, τὸ δ᾽ ἔτεκεν μῦν.
141. Dic mihi, Musa, virum] This is a version of the opening verses of the Odyssey. Compare Epp. i. 2. 19, sq.
143. Non fumum ex fulgore] Horace says of Homer, that he does not begin with a flash which ends in smoke, but with him out of smoke comes a bright light; that is, out of a modest beginning the reader is led on to beauties and objects of interest; and he is carried rapidly forward, instead of being detained over matters preliminary and irrelevant. It is obvious that ‘fumo’ in the second clause is out of place, and is only used to maintain a verbal antithesis; and the beauties selected (‘speciosa miracula,’ ‘striking marvels’) are not the most striking.
145. Antiphaten Scyllamque] These are all stories from the Odyssey. Antiphates was king of the Læstrygones, a gigantic race in Sicily, who devoured three of the companions of Ulysses, and destroyed his ships (x. 80, sqq.). The adventure with Polyphemus, the Cyclops, forms the leading event of the ninth book. The description of Scylla and Charybdis is contained in the twelfth book (vv. 85, sqq.).
146. Nec reditum Diomedis] This was related in a Cyclic poem called Νόστοι. Meleager, who was one of the Argonauts and was still more famous for the destruction of the boar sent by Diana to vex the inhabitants of Calydon in Ætolia, was uncle to Diomed, being brother to Tydeus. The cause of his death is variously related. According to Homer, he was cursed by his mother, Althæa, for the slaughter of her two brothers (Il. ix. 567, sqq.), and her Erinnys pursued him to his death. But as this was before the Trojan war, and had nothing to do with it, to begin an account of Diomed’s return with an account of his uncle’s death would be absurd enough. It would seem as if some poet had been guilty of this absurdity.
147. gemino — ab ovo;] That is, from the birth of Helen, who was born from one of the eggs brought forth by Leda, while Castor and Pollux issued from the other. (See S. ii. 1. 26, “ovo prognatus eodem.”) This introductory matter was handled in the poem Κύπρια of Stasinus, a Cyclic poet, of which the following fragment has been preserved:
τοῖς δὲ μετὰ τριτάτην Ἑλένην τέκε, θαῦμα βροτοῖσι.
τήν ποτε καλλίκομος Νέμεσις φιλότητι μιγεῖσα
Ζηνί, θεῶν βασιλῆι, τέκε κρατερῆς ὑπ᾽ ἀνάγκης.
148. in medias res] The ancients appear particularly to have remarked this quality of Homer’s poems. See Quintil. vii. 10. 11: “ubi ab initiis incipiendum, ubi more Homerico e mediis vel ultimis?”
151. Atque ita mentitur, sic veris] “‘Ita,’ ‘so,’ (the oldest form of the neuter pronoun ‘id,’) differs from ‘sic,’ ‘so,’ as the logical ‘i’ or ‘eo,’ ‘this,’ differs from the demonstrative ‘ho,’ ‘this’”. ‘Ita,’ therefore, is the usual word with ‘ut’ following. But the poets (and sometimes even the prose-writers) use ‘sic’ in the same construction, and in others in which ‘ita’ is more usual. Compare C. i. 3. 1, “Sic te Diva potens Cypri”; and Epp. i. 7. 69, “Sic ignovisse putato.”
154. aulaea manentis] See Epp. ii. 1. 189. In the next verse ‘canto’ is used for the actor. Cicero uses it in the same sense. (See Forcellini.) ‘Vos plaudite’ were the words with which a play usually concluded.
157. Mobilibusque decor naturis] Horace means that men’s characters shift and change with the different stages of life, and that these changes must be attended to. He goes on to explain them in a clear and elegant manner.
161. custode remoto] This means the ‘paedagogus,’ as in S. i. 6. 81, where see note. This person’s functions ceased when the boy assumed the ‘toga virilis.’ ‘Campi,’ as elsewhere means the Campus Martius.
165. Sublimis cupidusque] ‘Soaring and ambitious.’
172. spe longus,] ‘Slow to hope.’ ‘Avidus futuri’ means ‘eager to live longer,’ or ‘greedy of life.’ Both these expressions are unusual.
175. Multa ferunt anni] See C. ii. 5. 14, n., and Epp. ii. 2. 55. The remark seems to be drawn forth by the dark picture of old age contained in the preceding verses. It has not much otherwise to do with the subject.
178. adjunctis aevoque morabimur aptis.] Both ‘adjunctis’ and ‘aptis’ go with ‘aevo,’ ‘we shall dwell upon that which attaches and is fitted to the age we have in hand.’
180. Segnius irritant animos] When Candaules proposes to exhibit his wife’s beauty to Gyges, Herodotus (i. 8) makes him say ὦτα γὰρ τυγχάνει ἀνθρώποισι ἐόντα ἀπιστότερα ὀφθαλμῶν, and Seneca (Epp. vi.) has a like saying, “Homines amplius oculis quam auribus credunt.”
184. facundia praesens,] An eyewitness, who tells the spectators what he has seen, and does it in the flow of a long, set speech. This is the part of the messengers and heralds, of which one or more appears in every Greek tragedy. ‘Praesens’ means ‘before the audience.’
186. coquat exta nefarius Atreus,] See C. i. 6. 8, n.; and as to Procne, see C. iv. 12. 5, n. Short fragments of the Atreus of Sophocles and Cadmus of Euripides are extant. The story of Cadmus and his wife Harmonia changed into snakes is told by Ovid (Met. iv. 563, sqq.). Such barbarities and miraculous changes, Horace says, may answer in narration, but if represented on the stage are both incredible and disgusting. He may have had some instance of this kind in view. See C. i. 6. 8, n.; ii. 1. 10, n.; S. i. 10. 42, n.
191. nec deus intersit] It was a reproach against the tragedians, that, when they did not know how to bring their plot to a close, they had recourse to a god. The gods were introduced on a platform above. Hence the proverb, “Deus ex machina,” for any summary way of winding up a plot, or extricating one’s self from a difficulty. ‘Dignus vindice’ means worthy of such intervention.
192. nec quarta loqui persona laboret.] Thespis first introduced a single actor on the stage, who perhaps told a story and served to relieve the chorus. Æschylus introduced a second, and so brought regular dialogue into the drama. Sophocles added a third, and this number was rarely if ever exceeded. (See Epp. i. 18. 14, n.) The Romans observed no such restriction, but it must always be the case, if more than three actors are on the stage at once, that some of them can have but little to say.
193. Actoris partes chorus] The chorus should sustain in its place, and to the best of its power, the part of an actor; that is, instead of singing what is irrelevant to the plot, it ought to carry on the action. ‘Officiumque virile defendat’ is a way of expressing ‘it must sustain a strenuous part,’ or ‘do its duty strenuously.’ Horace uses the expression ‘defendente vicem’ in the same sense (S. i. 10. 12).
196. Ille bonis faveatque] The chorus is to utter sentiments showing favor to the good, and giving them friendly counsel, tempering the wrath of the passionate, and affectionate to the virtuous (which is in some degree a repetition of the first clause), commending temperance, justice, laws, and peace. The business of the chorus was to utter such reflections as any indifferent persons might conceive on the action before it, and to address those reflections to the characters represented, as one might address them to real persons under the same circumstances.
198. mensae brevis] Compare Epp. i. 14. 35, “coena brevis juvat”; and with “apertis otia portis,” compare C. iii. 5. 23, “portasque non clausas,” representing a picture of national security and peace. The chorus, to whom the principal persons communicated their intended crimes and deepest plots, were held to secrecy as a prime duty. Thus, Medea tells the chorus her intention to murder her children and her rival, and reckons upon their secrecy as a matter of course. Other instances are numerous.
202. Tibia non ut nunc orichalco vincta] The ‘tibia’ was an instrument originally made of a hollow reed (Pliny, xvi. 36. 66), or a boxwood pipe (Ovid, Fast. vi. 697), or the shin-bone of some animal, from which the name is derived. Afterwards it was brought to greater perfection, and was made of ivory sometimes. It resembled the flageolet or clarionet. It was usual to play two ‘tibiae’ together, as observed on C. i. 1. 32, where see note. Those in the British Museum have six holes. Probably in the days of Horace they had more. The metal which the ancients called ‘orichalcum’ is unknown. It was not to be found even in Pliny’s time. The probable derivation is from ὄρος and χαλκός, the meaning being ‘mountain-bronze.’ With this the parts of the ‘tibia,’ which took to pieces as our flutes do, were bound at the joinings. Horace says that in simpler days the ‘tibia’ served for an accompaniment to the chorus, but afterwards it came to drown it. In those days the population of the city was smaller, the theatres less crowded, and the audience more reverential and attentive. What times Horace alludes to, it is difficult to say. Orelli thinks his history of choral music is a fanciful account, fluctuating wonderfully between the practice of the Greeks, that of the Romans, and that which his own imagination has drawn; and this is perhaps the case.