208. Postquam coepit agros] That is, “post Punica bella” (see Epp. ii. 1. 162, n.) if we take the Romans, and the Persian war if we suppose the Greeks to be meant. (See v. 93 of the same Epistle.) As to ‘placari Genius,’ see Epp. ii. 1. 144, and i. 7. 94, n.

211. numerisque modisque] This combination occurs above, Epp. ii. 2. 144. ‘Liber laborum’ is a poetical construction like “operum solutis” (C. iii. 17. 16) and “operum vacuo” (S. ii. 2. 119).

215. traxitque vagus per pulpita vestem:] The ‘palla’ worn by tragic actors had a train called ‘syrma,’ from σύρειν, because it swept the stage. This is what Horace alludes to. The Roman dress was probably not so splendid as the Greek. As to ‘pulpita,’ see Epp. ii. 1. 174.

216. Sic etiam fidibus voces crevere severis,] See above, v. 83, n. The sedate and serious Doric style would be expressed by ‘fidibus severis’; but Horace is speaking generally, and probably from his own imagination, when he says that in the course of time the grave style of music to which the choruses were once sung gave way to a more vehement style, as the eloquence of the chorus grew more impetuous, and it began to speak in language obscure, prophetic, and oracular. There is no historical accuracy in this account, though in respect to the obscurity of some of the Greek choruses Horace wrote from what he knew of them.

220. Carmine qui tragico] Horace here passes on to the Satyric Drama of the Greeks. A goat was the prize contended for in the composition of the choral songs or dithyrambs to which the name τραγῳδία first belonged. The name may have been derived from the prize. (See below, v. 275, n.) The chorus appeared in the character of Satyrs as attendants on Dionysus, at whose festival they performed. Their subjects were originally confined to the adventures, serious and sportive, of that god, and therefore were a mixture of mirth and gravity. Chœrilus, an older contemporary of Æschylus, seems to have laid the foundation of an independent Satyric Drama, the entire separation of which from tragedy, as we now understand the word, was effected a few years later by Pratinas of Phlius in Argolis, about B. C. 500; thenceforward it was usual for the tragic poets to exhibit four plays at a time (tetralogies), of which the fourth was a Satyric Drama, such as the Cyclops of Euripides.

224. potus et exlex.] This expresses the freedom which attended the Dionysiac festivals after the sacrifices were over.

228. auro nuper et ostro,] ‘He who but now came forward in gold and purple (which ornaments gods and heroes wore), let him not pass into low language, as if he were a frequenter of taverns,’—which were commonly vaults under ground, and are therefore called ‘obscuras.’

230. nubes et inania captet.] As to the construction with ‘indigna’ in the next verse, see C. iii. 21. 6, n., and Epp. i. 3. 35, n.

234. dominantia nomina solum Verbaque,] As to ‘nomina verbaque,’ see S. i. 3. 103, n. ‘Dominantia nomina’ is an adaptation of the Greek κύρια ὀνόματα; that is, literal words as opposed to figurative. Horace says he shall not confine himself to these if he ever takes to writing Satyric Dramas.

236. tragico differre colori] As to ‘differre’ with the dative, see S. i. 4. 48, n.

238. Pythias emuncto] This seems to be the name of a slave-girl who got money out of her master, Simo. As to ‘emuncto,’ see S. i. 4. 8, n.

239. Silenus] This god is said to have educated Bacchus. He represented the ‘crassa Minerva’ of the ancients, ‘wisdom under a rough exterior,’ and it is in his graver character that Horace here views him. All ancient representations of Silenus exhibit him as a gross impersonation of sensuality and low fun, usually drunk, and riding upon an ass, with Fauns dancing about him. Modern ideas have confounded him with Bacchus, his foster-child.

240. Ex noto fictum carmen sequar,] ‘Ex noto’ perhaps means that the subject must be familiar.

244. Fauni,] See C. ii. 19. 4, n. Horace says that these rough beings introduced from the woods should not talk as if they had been born in the city and were loungers in the Forum, or languish in love-verses like a silly youth; but neither should low language be put into their mouth, for this is sure to offend the refined part of the audience, even if the vulgar applaud it. ‘Juvenor’ is a word not found elsewhere: it is adapted from the Greek νεανιεύεσθαι.

248. et pater] ‘Those who had a father’ means ‘ingenui,’ those who were born free and of lawful wedlock, since none others were ‘in patria potestate.’ As to ‘cicer,’ see S. i. 6. 115, n.

251. Syllaba longa brevi] As to the ‘iambus,’ see above, v. 79, sq. Horace here calls it ‘pes citus,’ a rapid foot, as elsewhere (C. i. 16. 24) he speaks of ‘celeres iambos.’ He says the rapidity of the foot caused the division of the verse into the form of a trimeter, whereas it was a ‘senarius,’ having six distinct iambic feet. The admission of a spondee in the odd feet, he says, was an after invention, in order to give more weight to the measure. ‘Non ita pridem’ means comparatively lately; but the verses of Archilochus had spondees in them. The history is not very accurate. Horace has himself imitated the pure iambic measure in the alternate verses of Epod. 16. ‘In jura paterna recepit’ is to be rendered ‘gave a share of its patrimony.’ The meaning is clear enough from the context. The politeness of the ‘iambus’ in making way for the spondee, and giving up some of its just rights, but not disposed to be so accommodating as to give up the even places in the verse, seems rather a heavy joke. ‘Socialiter,’ ‘in a friendly way,’ does not occur elsewhere.

258. Hic et in Acci] See Epp. ii. 1. 50. 56. The iambus, Horace says, is not commonly used in the verses of Accius and Ennius. Those of the former he calls noble trimeters, by which he means famed. He was no great admirer of them himself. The great weight he attributes to the verses of Ennius arose from the gravity of the measure, consisting, as v. 260 does, chiefly of spondees. But the absence of the iambus, in the opinion of Horace, convicts him either of slovenly writing, or of ignorance of his art. ‘Hic’ governs ‘premit’ (v. 262), as it does ‘apparet.’ ‘This,’ that is, ‘the absence of this.’

265. an omnes] Horace says it is not every critic that can tell a rhythmical verse from an unrhythmical, and so an indulgence they do not deserve is accorded to our poets. ‘But am I on this account to take all manner of liberties? Or, on the other hand, am I to suppose that every one will see my faults, and keep safely and cautiously within the limits of forgiveness? Why, if I do this, I may have avoided a fault, but I shall have earned no praise.’

270. Plautinos et numeros et Laudavere sales:] See Epp. ii. 1. 170, n. ‘But, you will say, your fathers praised Plautus both for his numbers and his wit. Yes, they admired too patiently, not to say stupidly, both the one and the other.’ Horace never has a good word to say for Plautus, and he here depreciates his wit as well as his versification. Both no doubt wanted polish; and Horace does not scruple to insinuate (in the above place) that it was only through haste to get paid that he turned out his works so unfinished. But his style and his defects were incidental to the period and manner of his life; his simplicity and drollery were given him by nature. If Horace did not admire Plautus, more learned men did, and Varro was one of them, and Cicero another.

275. Ignotum tragicae] The first representation of a play at Thespis was in B. C. 535. The name τραγῳδία belonged, as observed above (on v. 220), to the dithyrambic songs of the Bacchic festivals, and these are of uncertain origin, but of great antiquity. The extent to which Thespis can be considered the author of tragedy is, that he introduced an actor independent of the chorus, who sustained various parts under the disguise of a linen mask. (See v. 192, n.) This account, therefore, of the invention of tragedy at the vintage, the faces smeared with lees of wine, the wagon with which Thespis went round Attica, and so forth, may be rejected.

278. Post hunc personae pallaeque] Horace makes Æschylus the inventor of the mask and tragic dress (v. 215, n.). But there can be no doubt that he who first put an actor upon the stage, if he, as most suppose, gave him various parts to sustain, must have employed masks suited to the different characters. There were symbolical masks for different ages and classes and there were descriptive masks for different persons, representing peculiarities by which they would be known. The derivation of ‘persona’ is unknown. Roscius first introduced masks on the Roman stage about B. C. 100. The garment Horace means by ‘palla’ was an upper dress, which had a train to it (see v. 215, n.). For the proper meaning of ‘palla,’ see S. i. 8. 23, n. As to ‘pulpita’ and ‘cothurnus,’ see Epp. ii. 1. 174, n. Æschylus may have made improvements in what is called among us the property of a theatre, but there is no reason to suppose that he invented any of the above things. ‘Magnum loqui’ means that he taught the actor how to articulate loudly.

281. Successit vetus his comoedia,] Horace takes no account of the earliest form of comedy, from which its name is derived, the song of the revellers (κῶμος) at the Dionysia; or of the labors of Susarion, who as early at least as Thespis, at Icaria, a village in Attica, contended with a comic chorus for a prize. That which was before composed of jests and obscenities connected with the worship of Bacchus had now added to it personal ribaldry and political jokes, the former levelled at the spectators or against public men. Between Susarion and the period of the old comedy there were several distinguished writers, as Chionides, Magnes, Ecphantines, and others. The earliest writer of the old comedy was Cratinus. See S. i. 4. 1, n.

288. Vel qui praetextas] ‘Fabulae praetextae,’ or ‘praetextatae,’ were tragedies, as ‘togatae’ were comedies, with plots connected with Roman stories and manners. (See Epp. ii. 1. 57, sqq.) The Greek tragedies to which ‘praetextae’ were opposed, were called by the Romans ‘crepidatae.’ ‘Docere’ is used as the Greeks used διδάσκειν, for exhibiting a play, because the poet also trained the chorus as χοροδιδάσκαλος.

292. Pompilius sanguis,] The ‘Calpurnia gens,’ to which the Pisones belonged, claimed descent from Calpus, son of Numa Pompilius.

294. ad unguem] See S. i. 5. 32, n.

295. Ingenium misera] The following verses to 308 have little connection with what goes before. Horace says, because genius is above art, and all poets, according to Democritus, are mad, many neglect their persons and let their nails and their beards grow, affecting insanity. The question about education and nature in connection with poetry is taken up again at v. 408. We are accustomed to subscribe to the doctrine “poeta nascitur, non fit.” The ancients were divided on that point, some assigning more to education, others to natural gifts. Cicero more than once alludes to the opinion of Democritus, that no man could be a poet without inspiration.

300. Si tribus Anticyris] There were three places of this name, each of which is assumed from this passage to have produced hellebore, a very improbable coincidence. Horace puts ‘tribus’ as we might say a dozen, or any other indefinite number. (See S. ii. 3. 83.)

301. Tonsori Licino commiserit.] This name was probably that of a well-known barber of the day. (See S. ii. 3. 16, 35, n.)

302. Qui purgor bilem] The hellebore which the ancients used in cases of madness is a violent purgative, and they tried to act on the brain by relieving the stomach. Horace says he must be a fool, since madness is essential to poetry, for taking medicines to keep his stomach in order.

304. fungar vice cotis,] As to ‘vice,’ see above, v. 86, and S. i. 10. 12. Horace says if he only kept the bile from escaping, he would beat them all at poetry. However, it does not matter, he goes on; he will act as the grind-stone which whets the iron, though its own office is not to cut (exsors ipsa secandi). This is said to be a proverbial way of speaking.

310. Rem tibi Socraticae — chartae,] The writings of Socrates’s disciples, such as Plato, Xenophon, Æschines, Antisthenes, Aristippus, will supply matter for the true (dramatic) poet, by teaching him the science and duties of human life.

314. Quod sit conscripti,] After the expulsion of the kings, the senate having lost many of its number under the last of them, the vacancies were filled up from the ‘equites,’ who were called ‘conscripti senatores.’ The others were ‘patres’; and the whole body thus constituted was called collectively ‘patres et conscripti,’ or shortly ‘patres conscripti.’ Horace here uses ‘conscriptus’ as equivalent to ‘senator.’ It is nowhere else so used. As to ‘judicis,’ see S. i. 4. 123, n.

318. vivas hinc ducere voces.] Living words are those that represent nature to the life, or which convey a vivid sense to the understanding.

319. speciosa locis] Full of telling commonplaces, sentiments, examples, and so on.

323. Graiis ingenium,] He says the Greeks had a natural taste for poetry, and cultivated it from an ambition to excel and thirst for praise. But this comparison of the Greeks and Romans does not appear to be connected with the subject that goes before, or the rules that follow from v. 333.

325. Romani pueri] See S. i. 6. 72, 77, n. The ‘as’ was divided into twelve parts, ‘unciae,’ of which the ‘quincunx’ contained five, and the ‘triens’ four, being one third of the whole, whence the name. The ‘semis’ (semi-as) contained six, being half an as. Albinus is said to have been the name of a usurer. Horace is representing a scene in a boys’ school. “Master: Let the son of Albinus tell me: if you take an uncia from a quincunx, how much remains? (The boy hesitates.) You used to know. Boy: A triens. Master: Very well. You will know how to take care of your money. Now add an uncia: what is the sum? Boy: A semis.”

332. linenda cedro] Books were smeared with oil of cedar to keep them from the insects. ‘Capsae cupressinae,’ ‘book-cases of cypress-wood,’ were costly, and would only be used for valuable books.

333. Aut prodesse volunt] ‘Poets wish either to profit or to please, or to join both these together,’ on which assumption several miscellaneous rules are founded.

337. Omne supervacuum] ‘All that is superfluous flows away from a mind that is full,’ that is, when the mind is full, it discards all superfluous words, it has no room for superfluities; as in a vessel that is full, if you pour more, it runs over and escapes. As to ‘supervacuus,’ see C. ii. 20. 24, n.

340. Neu pransae Lamiae] ‘Lamiae’ were hags, ogresses, who had the reputation of devouring children.

341. Centuriae seniorum] This language is taken from the ‘classes’ or ‘centuriae’ of Servius Tullius. Those who were more than forty-five were classed with the ‘seniores.’ The grave seniors like no poetry that has not something profitable and instructive in it. The Ramnes were the highest of the three centuries of equites which Romulus is said to have formed. They were patricians, and Horace calls them ‘celsi,’ ‘proud.’ The distinction of the original tribes had ceased to exist; the Ramnes are mentioned in opposition to the ‘centuriae seniorum,’ as young men to old, the reason of which is not plain.

343. Omne tulit punctum] ‘He carries every vote.’ See Epp. ii. 2. 99, n.; and as to the Sosii, see Epp. i. 20. 2, n.

347. Sunt delicta tamen] He means perfection must not be looked for, and allowance must be made for occasional blots.

353. Quid ergo est?] ‘What are we to say then?’ The expression occurs in Cicero sometimes, as in the speech Pro P. Quintio, c. 18.

354. scriptor — librarius] ‘Scriptor’ is the ‘scriba.’ See Epp. ii. 2. 5, n.

357. fit Choerilus ille,] See Epp. ii. 1. 231, n.

361. erit quae] See C. i. 1. 3, n.

366. O major juvenum,] There were two sons, and both ‘juvenes’; both must have taken the ‘toga virilis.’ Horace goes on to tell them, that mediocrity, though tolerable in some things, is intolerable in poetry.

369. Consultus juris et actor Causarum] See S. i. 1. 9, n. As to Messalla, see C. iii. 21. A. Cascellius was a jurisconsultus. Little is known of him. He must have been alive when this poem was written, but very old. The names are inverted.

373. non concessare columnae.] That is, the booksellers’ stalls. See S. i. 4. 71, n.

375. Sardo cum melle] Sardinian and Corsican honeys appear to have been of inferior quality. See S. ii. 2. 15, n. Poppy-seeds roasted and mixed with honey were served in early times at the second course.

377. Sic animis] ‘So poetry, which was born and invented only to give pleasure to the soul, if it fail but a little of the highest point, inclines to the lowest.’ He says, as at a pleasant supper, bad music, bad ointment, and bad honey are worse than none at all, (for the meal can go on very well without them,) so a poem must either be extremely good, or it will be very bad, and had better not be written.

380. pilae discive trochive] See S. ii. 9, n. ‘Coronae’ are the crowds of spectators standing round to watch the games.

382. Quidni?] This is ironical. ‘Why not?’ He is a free man, and born free, and has a good property, and is a good man; why then should he not write?

383. census equestrem Summam] ‘Census’ is a participle. His property was not less than 400,000 sesterces. See Epod. 4. 15, n.; Epp. i. 1. 57, n.

385. Tu nihil invita — Minerva;] See S. ii. 2. 3. The expression is proverbial. Cicero explains it: “Invita ut aiunt Minerva; id est adversante et repugnante natura” (De Off. i. 31). ‘Tu’ is emphatic. “You are too sensible to judge thus, or to try and write against the grain.”

387. in Maeci descendat judicis aures] As to Sp. Mæcius Tarpa, see S. i. 10. 38, n.

391. Silvestres homines] Horace goes on to ascribe the noblest results to the cultivation of true poetry, the civilization of mankind (represented under the legend of Orpheus taming wild beasts), the building of cities, the enactment of laws, and the ordering of society. Of Orpheus, the Thracian poet, the traditions are vague, and though there are fragments still extant that bear his name, he must be looked upon more as the representative of the earliest poetry and music of Greece, than in the light of an historical personage. Compare C. i. 12. 7, sqq.

394. Amphion, Thebanae conditor arcis,] This legend is mentioned in C. iii. 11. 2: “Movit Amphion lapides canendo.” It is not noticed by Homer, who only knew Cadmus as the founder of Thebes. See Epp. i. 18. 41, n.

397. Publica privatis — sacra profanis,] This is a fundamental division of things (‘res’) in the Roman law.

399. leges incidere ligno:] Plutarch says of Solon’s laws, that they were inscribed on wooden tables, called ἄξονες or κύρβεις, and that fragments were in existence in his day in the Prytaneum (Vit. Sol. c. 25).

400. divinis vatibus] Eumolpus, Orpheus, Musæus, Pamphus, Thamyris, are the principal names associated with the origin of Grecian poetry, and they are all called Thracian (see below, v. 405, n.). They are called ‘divine,’ not merely from the quality of their art, but from their connection with the worship of Apollo, Demeter, and Dionysus, whence above (v. 391) Orpheus is called “sacer interpresque deorum.”

402. Tyrtaeusque mares animos] Tyrtæus, as mentioned before (v. 75, n.), was a native of Attica, and wrote in the elegiac measure. He left Attica and took up his abode at Sparta during the second war between the Spartans and Messenians, which began B. C. 685. His verses were chiefly exhortations to bravery addressed to the Spartans. There are three fragments, amounting in the aggregate to upwards of a hundred verses, which have a great deal of vigor and feeling in them, corresponding to Horace’s description.

405. Pieriis tentata modis;] The country of Pieria lay between Macedonia and Thessalia, north of the range of Olympus, and on the coast of the Sinus Thermaicus. This accounts for the Muses being both Pierian and Olympian; and as by the southern Greeks all the north went by the name of Thrace, this may account for the traditions which assigned the birth of poetry to bards of Thrace (v. 400, n.), a country of which the language was pronounced barbarous by the civilized Greeks.

406. Et longorum operum finis:] The rural Dionysia (v. 275, n.), called τὰ κατ᾽ ἀγρούς, or τὰ μικρά, took place at the end of the year, in the month Ποσειδέων, when the labors of the vintage were over.

408. Natura fieret laudabile] See v. 295, n.

413. Multa tulit fecitque puer,] ‘He takes great pains when he is young,’ ‘puer’ being emphatic, as in C. i. 9. 16.

414. qui Pythia cantat Tibicen] At the Pythian games there was a musical contest in which flute-players and harp-players took part, the subject being the contest of Apollo with the serpent Pytho. The name given to this music was νόμος Πυθικός.

417. Occupet extremum scabies;] The Scholiasts say this expression was used by boys in their races.

419. Ut praeco,] See S. i. 6. 86, n. The rich poet, he goes on, purchases flattery.

422. unctum qui recte ponere possit] ‘Who can put a good dinner before one handsomely.’ As to ‘spondere,’ see S. ii. 6. 23, n. ‘Levi paupere’ is ‘a poor man without weight,’ whose name has as little weight as his purse. ‘Atris’ is ‘melancholy,’ as “minuentur atrae Carmine curae” (C. iv. 11. 35). As to ‘beatus,’ see C. i. 4. 14, n.

431. Ut qui conducti] See S. i. 6. 43, n.

434. culullis] This the Scholiasts (on C. i. 31. 11) say was the name of earthen-ware cups, used by the pontifices and Vestal Virgins. It was afterwards used generally for drinking-cups. With ‘torquere mero’ compare Epp. i. 18. 38, “et vino tortus et ira.”

437. animi sub vulpe latentes] ‘If you ever write poetry, do not be taken in by flatterers, who have a bad heart under a cunning face.’

438. Quintilio] See C. i. 24, Introduction.

441. Et male tornatos incudi reddere] The metaphors of the turning-lathe and the anvil are common enough for the composition of verses. The lathe was used by the ancients in the polishing and turning of metals, as well as of wood and ivory.

450. Fiet Aristarchus;] Aristarchus, whose name was proverbial among the ancients as a critic, was born in Samothracia about B. C. 230. He passed the greater part of his life at Alexandria, under the patronage of Ptolemæus Philopator, Epiphanes, and Philometor, the second of whom he educated.

453. morbus regius] This, which is otherwise called ‘arquatus morbus,’ ‘aurugo,’ and by the Greeks ἴκτερος, is the jaundice. Celsus says it is so called because the remedies resorted to were chiefly amusements and indulgences to keep up the spirits, such as none but the rich could afford. No disorder depresses the spirits more than jaundice. Here it is supposed to be infectious, which it is not.

454. Aut fanaticus error] ‘Fanaticus’ (from ‘fanum’) was properly applied to the priests of Bellona. See S. ii. 3. 223, n., and Juvenal iv. 123, “fanaticus oestro Percussus, Bellona, tuo.” Juvenal also applies it to the priests of Cybele (ii. 112), “crine senex fanaticus albo, Sacrorum antistes.” The influence of the moon (‘iracunda Diana’) in producing mental derangement is one of the earliest fallacies in medicine. The Greeks called persons supposed to be so affected σεληνιακοί.

455. tetigisse timent] ‘The wise avoid him, as if he were infectious; fools run after him, like children after a crazy man in the streets.’

459. longum Clamet,] This is like Homer’s μακρὸν ἄϋσε (Il. iii. 81).

464. Deus immortalis haberi] See Epp. i. 12. 20. There are various marvellous stories told of the death of Empedocles, suited to the character he bore in his life, of a magician, a controller of the elements, &c. This story of his throwing himself into Ætna is supported by very insufficient authority.

467. Invitum qui servat] See Epp. i. 20. 15, n. This is apparently a proverb. The construction of ‘idem occidenti’ is Greek, ταὐτὸ τῷ ἀποκτείνοντι. Orelli observes that this is the only spondaic hexameter in Horace.

469. Fiet homo] He keeps up the allusion to Empedocles, saying that the frenzied poet is as resolved to rush to his fate (that is, into verse) as the philosopher was, and if you save him he will not drop his pretension to inspiration.

470. Nec satis apparet] The crime for which he has been thus sent mad does not appear; whether it be for fouling his father’s grave, or setting foot upon polluted ground. ‘Bidental’ was a spot struck by lightning, so called from the sacrifice offered upon it for expiation. I agree with Orelli in taking ‘moverit’ in the sense of ‘violaverit,’ as in “Dianae non movenda numina” (Epod. xvii. 3). Some take it to mean the removal of the mark placed on the spot.

The metre of the Satires, Epistles, and Ars Poetica of Horace is the heroic or dactylic hexameter. The only spondaic verse is the 467th of the Ars Poetica.

The Odes are written in various metres, the verses of which are usually combined into stanzas. To these verses and stanzas names have been given in honor of ancient personages, and these names are generally retained.

A large part of the metres of the Odes belong to the class known as logaoedic. This name, derived from λόγος [speech] and ἀοιδή [song], is intended to show that the verses having the appearance of metrical irregularity, partake of the nature of ordinary conversational prose. Logaoedic verse may be defined as a variety of trochaic verse in which the irrational, or cyclic, dactyl is assigned a place: besides this, in most cases, the irrational spondee is also allowed. The cyclic dactyl is a dactyl compressed into the time of a trochee and is represented by the symbol cyclic dactyl ; in like manner, the irrational spondee is a spondee compressed into the time of a trochee and is represented by the symbol irrational spondee . Each foot of logaoedic verse is, therefore, to be read as having the time of a trochee, or of three short syllables. If a verse is catalectic the place of the last syllable is supplied by a pause, which is indicated thus: pause .

[Note.—Instead of writing the long syllable of a trochee followed by a pause trochee and pause , we may consider the long syllable as protracted by half its length and may write it thus, long trochee ; the former method is adopted in what follows. The student may need to be reminded that the last syllable of a verse may be either long or short, though in writing the scheme it is assumed that it conforms to the law of the verse.]

In trochaic and iambic verse the unit of measure is two feet: thus the trochaic or iambic dimeter contains four feet, and the trimeter six feet. But in logaoedic verse, it is customary to reckon by the single foot; thus, a logaoedic verse of two feet is called a dipody; of three feet, a tripody; of four feet a tetrapody; and of five feet, a pentapody.

The logaoedic dipody, having the cyclic dactyl in the first foot, is called the Adonic verse; it is written thus: logaoedic dipody: Adonic verse .

The logaoedic tripody is called the Pherecratic verse. If the cyclic dactyl is in the first foot, the verse is called the First Pherecratic, First Pherecratic First Pherecratic ; if the cyclic dactyl is in the second foot, it is called the Second Pherecratic, Second Pherecratic .

The ordinary logaoedic tetrapody is called the Glyconic verse. If the cyclic dactyl is in the first place, it is called the First Glyconic, First Glyconic ; if in the second place, the Second Glyconic, Second Glyconic ; if in the third place, the Third Glyconic, Third Glyconic .

There is also a logaoedic tetrapody, having cyclic dactyls in both the first and the second feet, which is called the Lesser Alcaic; it has the following scheme: Lesser Alcaic .

Horace uses two forms of the logaoedic pentapody. One, called the Lesser Sapphic, has the cyclic dactyl in the third foot, and an irrational spondee in the second foot, thus: Lesser Sapphic .

The other, called the Greater Alcaic, differs from the former in being catalectic and having an anacrusis, or unaccented syllable, prefixed, thus: Greater Alcaic . In the Lesser Sapphic, there is always a caesura in the cyclic dactyl; in the Greater Alcaic, the cyclic dactyl always begins with the beginning of a word.

Five of the stanzas employed by Horace in his Odes are known as Asclepiadic; they consist of logaoedic verses in different combinations, the first foot in each complete verse being changed to an irrational spondee.

1. The First Asclepiadic stanza is composed of Lesser Asclepiadics, each of which is a Second Pherecratic followed by a First Pherecratic, both being catalectic, thus:—

This is found in three Odes: i. 1; iii. 30; iv. 8.

2. The Second Asclepiadic stanza is composed of three Lesser Asclepiadics and one Second Glyconic catalectic, sometimes called simply a Glyconic, thus:—

This is found in nine Odes: i. 6, 15, 24, 33; ii. 12; iii. 10, 16; iv. 5, 12.

3. In the Third Asclepiadic stanza, the first and third verses are Second Glyconics catalectic, and the second and fourth are Lesser Asclepiadics, thus:—

This is found in twelve Odes: i. 3, 13, 19, 36; iii. 9, 15, 19, 24, 25, 28; iv. 1, 3.

4. In the Fourth Asclepiadic stanza, the first and second verses are Lesser Asclepiadics, the third is a Second Pherecratic, and the fourth is a Second Glyconic catalectic, thus:—

This is found in seven Odes: i. 5, 14, 21, 23; iii. 7, 13; iv. 13.

5. The Fifth Asclepiadic stanza is composed of Greater Asclepiadic verses, each of which consists of a Second Pherecratic, an Adonic, and a First Pherecratic, all catalectic, thus:—

This is found in three Odes: i. 11, 18; iv. 10.

Two Sapphic stanzas are found in the Odes.

6. The Lesser Sapphic, or Sapphic and Adonic, stanza is composed of three Lesser Sapphic verses and one Adonic verse, thus:—

This is found in twenty-five Odes: i. 2, 10, 12, 20, 22, 25, 30, 32, 38; ii. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 16; iii. 8, 11, 14, 18, 20, 22, 27; iv. 2, 6, 11. It is also the metre of the Carmen Saeculare.

7. The Greater Sapphic stanza is composed of the First Pherecratic (known as Aristophanic) alternating with the Greater Sapphic verse, which latter consists of a Third Glyconic catalectic with an irrational spondee in the second foot followed by a First Pherecratic, thus:—

This is found only in Ode i. 8.

8. The stanza most frequently used by Horace in his Odes is known as the Alcaic or Horatian. It is composed of two Greater Alcaics, one Archilochian or trochaic dimeter with anacrusis (the second foot being an irrational spondee), and a Lesser Alcaic, thus:—

This is found in thirty-seven Odes: i. 9, 16, 17, 26, 27, 29, 31, 34, 35, 37; ii. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20; iii. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 17, 21, 23, 26, 29; iv. 4, 9, 14, 15.

Horace also uses in his Odes, though rarely, five other metres.

9. The Alcmanian is composed of dactylic hexameters alternating with dactylic tetrameters. It is found in Odes i. 7 and 28.

10. The First Archilochian is found in iv. 7. It is composed of the dactylic hexameter alternating with the dactylic penthemim. (A penthemim is two feet and a half.)

11. The Fourth Archilochian is found in i. 4. It is composed of the Greater Archilochian (which is a dactylic tetrameter followed by a trochaic tripody) alternating with the iambic trimeter catalectic (which allows irrational spondees in the first and third feet).

12. The Hipponactean is found in ii. 18. It is composed of the trochaic dimeter catalectic alternating with the iambic trimeter catalectic.

13. The Lesser Ionic stanza is found in iii. 12. It is composed of ten Lesser Ionics ( Lesser Ionic stanza ), which are variously arranged into verses by different editors.

In the Epodes, Horace uses once (Epode 12) the Alcmanian metre; once (Epode 17) the Iambic trimeter; ten times (Epodes 1-10) the Iambic strophe, composed of iambic trimeters alternating with iambic dimeters, in both which irrational spondees may stand in the odd-numbered feet; and also the following:—

In Epode 13, the Second Archilochian, in which the dactylic hexameter alternates with the iambelic verse, the latter being an iambic dimeter followed by a dactylic penthemim.

In Epode 11, the Third Archilochian, in which the iambic trimeter alternates with the elegiambic verse, the latter being a dactylic penthemim followed by an iambic dimeter.

In Epodes 14 and 15, the First Pythiambic, in which the dactylic hexameter alternates with the iambic dimeter.

In Epode 16, the Second Pythiambic, in which the dactylic hexameter alternates with the iambic trimeter.

It is sometimes convenient for those familiar with musical notation to write the scheme of verses and stanzas in musical notes. In such cases a long syllable is represented by a quarter-note, quarter note , and a short syllable by an eighth-note, eighth note ; a spondee is written spondee note ; a dactyl, dactyl note ; and a trochee, trochee note . Dactylic verse is therefore written in two-four time time, and trochaic or logaoedic verse in three-eight time time. The cyclic dactyl may be written with sufficient accuracy cyclic dactyl note , and the irrational spondee irrational spondee note .

From the examples which follow, the student will see how the scheme of any metre may be expressed in musical notation.

Lesser Sapphic stanza:—

Alcaic stanza:—

[The number placed after the opening words of each ode refers to the full-faced numeral prefixed to the description of its metre in the preceding pages.]

Book I.

1. Maecenas atavis, 1.
2. Iam satis terris, 6.
3. Sic te diva, 3.
4. Solvitur acris hiems, 11.
5. Quis multa gracilis, 4.
6. Scriberis Vario, 2.
7. Laudabunt alii, 9.
8. Lydia dic per omnes, 7.
9. Vides ut alta, 8.
10. Mercuri facunde, 6.
11. Tu ne quaesieris, 5.
12. Quem virum, 6.
13. Cum tu Lydia, 3.
14. O navis referent, 4.
15. Pastor cum traheret, 2.
16. O matre pulchra, 8.
17. Velox amoenum, 8.
18. Nullam Vare sacra, 5.
19. Mater saeva, 3.
20. Vile potabis, 6.
21. Dianam tenerae, 4.
22. Integer vitae, 6.
23. Vitas hinnuleo, 4.
24. Quis desiderio, 2.
25. Parcius iunctas, 6.
26. Musis amicus, 8.
27. Natis in usum, 8.
28. Te maris et terrae, 9.
29. Icci beatis, 8.
30. O Venus regina, 6.
31. Quid dedicatum, 8.
32. Poscimur si quid, 6.
33. Albi ne doleas, 2.
34. Parcus deorum, 8.
35. O diva gratum, 8.
36. Et thure et fidibus, 3.
37. Nunc est bibendum, 8.
38. Persicos odi, 6.


Book II.

1. Motum ex Metello, 8.
2. Nullus argento, 6.
3. Aequam memento, 8.
4. Ne sit ancillae, 6.
5. Nondum subacta, 8.
6. Septimi Gades, 6.
7. O saepe mecum, 8.
8. Ulla si iuris, 6.
9. Non semper imbres, 8.
10. Rectius vives, 6.
11. Quid bellicosus, 8.
12. Nolis longa, 2.
13. Ille et nefasto, 8.
14. Eheu fugaces, 8.
15. Iam pauca aratro, 8.
16. Otium divos, 6.
17. Cur me querelis, 8.
18. Non ebur, 12.
19. Bacchum in remotis, 8.
20. Non usitata, 8.


Book III.

1. Odi profanum, 8.
2. Angustam amice, 8.
3. Iustum et tenacem, 8.
4. Descende caelo, 8.
5. Caelo tonantem, 8.
6. Delicta maiorum, 8.
7. Quid fles, 4.
8. Martiis caelebs, 6.
9. Donec gratus eram, 3.
10. Extremum Tanain, 2.
11. Mercuri nam te, 6.
12. Miserarum est, 13.
13. O fons Bandusiae, 4.
14. Herculis ritu, 6.
15. Uxor pauperis, 3.
16. Inclusam Danaen, 2.
17. Aeli vetusto, 8.
18. Faune nympharum, 6.
19. Quantum distet, 3.
20. Non vides, 6.
21. O nata mecum, 8.
22. Montium custos, 6.
23. Caelo supinas, 8.
24. Intactis opulentior, 3.
25. Quo me Bacche, 3.
26. Vixi puellis, 8.
27. Impios parrae, 6.
28. Festo quid potius, 3.
29. Tyrrhena regum, 8.
30. Exegi monumentum, 1.


Book IV.

1. Intermissa Venus, 3.
2. Pindarum quisquis, 6.
3. Quem tu Melpomene, 3.
4. Qualem ministrum, 8.
5. Divis orte bonis, 2.
6. Dive quem proles, 6.
7. Diffugere nives, 10.
8. Donarem pateras, 1.
9. Ne forte credas, 8.
10. O crudelis adhuc, 5.
11. Est mihi nonum, 6.
12. Iam veris comites, 2.
13. Audivere Lyce, 4.
14. Quae cura patrum, 8.
15. Phoebus volentem, 8.