Naa Naa Na Naa Naa :: Lupus et Agnis :: Epode IV

These nasty little epodes of Horace’s got me thinking. It is said that the iambic meter Horace used evoked in the Roman mind a kind of taunt. I wonder, was this a bit like our childish song that runs something like this?

naaa naaa na naaa naaa na na na na naaa naaa-aaaa

Surprisingly, you can almost fit this to today’s ode. Take the first line: lupis et agnis quanta sortito obtigit:

naaa  naaa na  naaa naaa    na  na na na  naaa   naaa-aaaa

luuu  piiis  et  aaag  niiis  quan ta sor ti  tooob  tiiigiiiiit

Of course, this is nonsense, since I have made a long syllable like quan short and a short syllable like ti in obtigit long. Be that as it may, I had fun sing-songing this ode as a childish taunt.

And taunt it is. Just read it. Obviously Horace can’t stand the guy for putting on airs when he is no better than a convict who is used to the triumvirate whip, that is, the magristrate’s whip. It galled Horace that this fellow had a Falernian farm, which was located in northern Campania, not far from Rome. (Falernum produced some of the best wines, which Horace has often mentioned). And it galled Horace that this lowlife would sit in the best theater seats in direct violation of a law laid down by Emperor Otho in 67 B.C.

Before I end this, I have a few nit-picky things to say about style. Suppose I were Horace’s Latin teacher and he had submitted this for homework. I guess I’d give him a B- (I’m pretty tough). Just look at the verb in line 16: sedet. It is too close in sound to sedilibus. Couldn’t he have chosen a verb that would further describe this fellow’s arrogance?  And in line 17, gravi does go with pondere, but aren’t all ponderous things heavy? Perhaps this is why in Niall Rudd’s translation, he gave pondere the meaning “ram.” I almost like the huc huc of line 9 and the hoc hoc of line 20, but doesn’t this seem a bit too high-schoolish? Besides, Horace doesn’t often repeat words like this. Is this repetition him sputtering? Maybe anger and disgust got the better of our poet. Better luck next epode, Flacce. 

  

translation ::

Like the wolf and the lamb, it is fated:

   you and I can’t get along,

with your sides scorched by Iberian ropes,

   your legs rough from shackles.

You presume to walk around money proud—

   wealth doesn’t change your type—

See yourself sailing down Via Sacra

   in a toga six ells long,

as the heads of passersby turn here and there

   in open indignation?

“That one, cut by the triumvirate whip

   till the crier was sickened,

plows a thousand acre farm and with horses  

   wears the Appian away;

a big knight, he sits on the first benches

   in contempt of Otho.

What’s the good of so many ships, with carved

   beaks, heavy rams, being led

against pirates and bands of slaves by this—

   this military tribune?”

translation © 2012 by James Rumford

in prose ::

Quanta lupis et agnis sortito obtigit,

   [tanta] discordia mihi tecum est,

latus funibus Hibericis peruste 

   et crura dura compede.

licet superbus pecunia ambules,

   fortuna genus non mutat.

videsne te Viam Sacram metiente

   cum toga bis trium ulnarum

ut ora huc vertat et indignatio

   liberrima huc euntium?

“hic, flagellis triumviralibus ad

   fastidium praeconis sectus,

mille iugera fundi Falerni arat

   et Appiam mannis terit,

equesque magnus in sedilibus primis,

   Othone contempto, sedet.

quid attinet tot ora rostrata navium

   pondere gravi duci

contra  latrones atque manum sevilem,

   hoc, hoc tribuno militum?” 

original ::

Lupis et agnis quanta sortito obtigit

   tecum mihi discordia est,

Hibericis peruste funibus latus

   et crura dura compede.

licet superbus ambules pecunia,

   fortuna non mutat genus.

videsne, Sacram metiente te Viam

   cum bis trium ulnarum toga,

ut ora vertat huc et huc euntium

   liberrimus indignatio?

“sectus flagellis hic triumviralibus

   praeconis ad fastidium

arat Falerni mille fermi iugera

   et Appiam mannis terit,

sedilibusque magnus in primis eques

   Othone contempto sedet.

quid attinet tot ora navium gravi

   rostrata duci pondere

contra latrones atque servilem manum,

   hoc, hoc tribuno militum?”

::

:: Latin books by James Rumford ::

For all 102 odes purchase Carpe Diem, Horace De-Poetized, for $11.50 at 

https://www.amazon.com/Carpe-Diem-Poetized-James-Rumford/dp/1891839179/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479932219&sr=8-1&keywords=Carpe+Diem+Rumford. 

For a Latin translation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at $12, click here: 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Pericla+Thomae+Sawyer

To find out more about Carpe Diem go to the blog of March 26, 2015; 

for more about Pericla Thomae Sawyer, go to the blog of November 22, 2016.

Sticks and Stones :: Quid Immerentis :: Epode 6

I suppose that words will never hurt, but Horace mentions two instances in Epode 6 where they do. 

The first is Lycambes, a Greek man, who betrothed his daughter to the poet Archilochus. When Lycambes refused to let his daughter go through with the marriage, Archilochus mocked him so viciously in his iambic poems that both Lycambes and his daughter hanged themselves. 

The second is Hipponax. He was so ugly that the sculptors Bupalus and Athenis made statues of him to mock and ridicule him publicly. Hipponax retaliated with a shower of invectives. The two sculptors hanged themselves, too.

Is Horace that serious? Is he that angry? Does he want his enemy to commit suicide? Does he want that on his conscience? In Epode 19, as we’ll see, he is against the kind of poetry that led to Lycambes’ suicide. So what does Horace want? What’s his beef? Who has wronged him? 

Surely something has happened, for Horace turns himself into a raging dog of the Molossus or Spartan (Lacon) kind.

[The Molossus, an extinct breed but very much like Mastiff-type dogs, sometimes called Molossers. This Roman statue, on display at the British Museum and known as the Jennings Dog, is believed to be a molossus.]

And if that is not enough, Horace sprouts a set of horns. He is ready for the black teeth of an enemy full of lies and malicious gossip. If the poem is directed against a particular person, we do not know who that is. If the poem is directed at Rome or the political situation, we cannot be sure. And if the poem is directed at the misfortunes of his own life, we can only make guesses.

I suppose, after two thousand years, we’ll just have to enjoy this epode for what it is, a bit of iambic steam Horace just had to let off.

translation :: 

What! You coward dog against he-wolves

do rile undeserving guests! Why not, 

if you can, turn your empty threats here

and come after me-who-bites-back? For I, 

Molossus-like or golden Spartan,

a friendly force to shepherds, through high snows,

ears up, will pursue any wild animal ahead: 

that’s you, filling the woods with your scaaaary 

voice, and sniffing at food thrown your way.

Watch out, watch out, for I, roughest of all,

horns ready for low lifes, will attack—

like the son-in-law despised by faithless

Lycambes or Bupalus’ bitter enemy.

If someone, black-toothed, chooses me out,

do I unavenged cry like a boy?

translation © 2012 by James Rumford 

in prose ::

Quid! [Tu] canis ignavis adversum lupos 

hospitēs immerentēs vexas?!

Quin huc, si potes, 

minas inan[ē]s vertis 

et me-remorsurum petis?

Nam qualis aut Molossus aut Lacon fulvus, 

vis amica pastoribus, 

per nivēs altās,

aure sublatā,

fera quaecumque praecedet

agam:

et cum tu nemus voce timendā complesti,

cibum proiectum odaris.

Cave, cave;

namque [ego] asperrimus 

cornua in malōs parata tollo,

qualis gener spretus Lycambae infidō

aut hostis acer Bupalō.

An siquis 

dente atrō

me petiverit,

[ego] inultus 

ut puer 

flebo?

Original ::

Quid immerentis hospites vexas canis

   ignavus adversum lupos?

quin huc inanis, si potes, vertis minas,

   et me remorsurum petis?

nam qualis aut Molossus aut fulvus Lacon,

   amica vis pastoribus,

agam per altas aure sublata nives,

   quaecumque praecedet fera:

tu cum timenda voce complesti nemus,

   proiectum odoraris cibum.

cave, cave: namque in malos asperrimus

   parata tollo cornua,

qualis Lycambae spretus infido gener

   aut acer hostis Bupalo.

an si quis atro dente me petiverit,

   inultus ut flebo puer?

:: Latin books by James Rumford ::

For all 102 odes purchase Carpe Diem, Horace De-Poetized, for $11.50 at 

https://www.amazon.com/Carpe-Diem-Poetized-James-Rumford/dp/1891839179/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479932219&sr=8-1&keywords=Carpe+Diem+Rumford. 

For a Latin translation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at $12, click here: 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Pericla+Thomae+Sawyer

To find out more about Carpe Diem go to the blog of March 26, 2015; 

for more about Pericla Thomae Sawyer, go to the blog of November 22, 2016.

Green Knees :: Horrida Tempestas :: Epode 13

Today, I will tackle one of the seventeen epodes that Horace wrote, this one about a “horrid tempest” that reminds the poet not only to seize the day but to accept it. Like the marvelous Hebrew word רפה in the Psalm 46:10, Horace’s ode tells us to relax, to cease striving, for, in Horace’s case, whatever cloth fate has woven us cannot be changed. To make his point, he recounts what Chiron, the Centaur, said to young Achilles, who must stay in Troy. Such a Greek ending to this Greek form of poetry!

The epode was first created by the Greek poet Archilochus in the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. It was originally the third part of a long song sung by a Greek chorus. First there was the strophe followed by the antistrophe and finally the “epi-ode”, the after-song (The word suffix epi- functions the same way in the word “epilogue” or “afterword.”) The epode usually was iambic in nature: the — Ø Ø beat of one long syllable followed by two short syllables. In fact, Horace called his epodes iambi.

Unfortunately, that tells us little about the meters he used in the individual odes. They seem to differ widely. If the choice of meter doesn’t tie this collection together what does? The only thing I can see is that each epode is a series of couplets. To reinforce this, some typographical genius in the Renaissance? decided to indent every other line and thus give some semblance of unity to these seventeen poems. 

As for Epode 13, its meter is the Second Archilochean, which, I believe, Horace used only once. Did this make Epode 13 stand out as odd to Roman ears? Did this meter echo the howling storm or did it play softly on the wine-soothed heart? I don’t know—mainly because I have absolutely no feeling for poetic meter so different from English meter. Latin meter is based on long and short syllables. English meter is based on stressed and unstressed syllables.

The problem with understanding a meter like the Second Archilochean is that there is a lot of variation within the meter. Sometimes two short syllables can become one long syllable and, oddly enough, a long syllable can change into a short one. This variation allows for flexibility.  What the variation does not allow is flexibility in the time it takes to say any one line. Think of music. In a waltz I can write down any notes I want as long as they fit within a 3/4 framework. So, too, with Latin poetry. The words Horace wrote down for Epode 13 had to fit within the framework of the Second Archilochean.

In the Second Archilochean, the first line of each couplet is based on six iambs. For variation all but the last Ø Ø can be changed into —. (The X, by the way, tells us that the last syllable can either be — or Ø.) Thus the six iambs 

 [A1]  — Ø Ø   — Ø Ø   — Ø Ø   — Ø Ø   — Ø Ø   — X

can conceivably be transformed into

[A2]  —    —   —    —   —     —   —    —   —  Ø Ø  — X

Even though [A1] has 17 syllables while [A2] has only 13, they both require the same amount of time to say. Both have 23~24 short beats. Thus, it looks as if time not the number of syllables is the key to understanding variation in Latin meter. For the most part, this is true. However, the variations given for the next line, which forms a couplet with the first, seem to violate what I’ve just said. 

[B1] Ø  —   Ø  —   Ø  —   Ø  —   —   Ø   Ø  —   Ø Ø X

can theoretically be changed into: 

[B2] —  —   Ø  —   —  —   Ø  Ø   —   Ø   Ø  —   Ø Ø X

[B1] has 21~22 short beats, but [B2] has 22~23 beats. What gives? Maybe the poet can’t take advantage of all of the possibilities. Maybe the second line has to have 21~22 beats no matter what. 

Here is the epode. The red indicates a long syllable. The || indicates a brief pause or caesura.  At the end of the line, I have written the number of syllables followed by the number of short beats. Let’s see what pattern emerges.

1  Horrida tempestās || caelum contraxit et imbrēs   14/24

2     nivēsque dēdūcunt Iovem; || nunc mare, nunc silvae  15/22 

3  Threiciō Aquilōne || sonant. rapiāmus, amīcī,  17/24  

4     Occāsiōnem dē die || dumque virent genua  15/22

5  et decet, obductā || solvātur fronte senectūs.  14/24

6     tū vīna Torquātō movē || consule pressa meō. 15/24 

7  cētera mitte loquī: || deus hae fortasse benigna  16/24

8     reducet in sēdem vice. || nunc et Achaemeniō  15/22

9  perfundī nardō || iuvat et fide Cylleneā   15/24 

10   lēvāre dīrīs pectora || sollicitūdinibus,   15/22 

11 nōbilis ut grandī || cecinit Centaurus alumnō:  15/24 

12   ‘invicte, mortālis dea || nāte puer Thetide,   15/22

13 tē manet Assaracī || tellus, quam frīgida parvī   15/24

14   findunt Scamandri flūmina || lūbricus et Simoīs,  15/22

15 unde tibī reditum || certō Subtēmine Parcae  15/23  

16   rūpere, nec māter domum || caerula tē revehet.  15/22

17 illic omne malum || vīnō cantūque levātō,   14/24  

18   dēformis aegrimōniae || dulcibus adloquiīs.’  15/22~23

If you have the patience to take a good look at the above, you’ll notice that there is a pattern. The couplet has 24 short beats for the first line and 22 for the second. There are exceptions, however. At least, with my imperfect scansion abilities, there are: 

Line 6 has 24 beats, unless the last long ō in meō can be counted short. If so, this would make the line 23 beats. 

Line 10 is also an anomaly. The only way I can give the line 22 beats is to make levare long: lēvare, which means ‘smooth, soften,’ not ‘lift’ as all of the scholars read it. Maybe I have it wrong, but iuvat et fide Cyllenea levare diris pectora sollicitudinibus might just mean: ‘and it’s a joy to soften with the lyre of Cyllenea the hearts with ill-omened care.’  

Line 15 only works, if I turn tibi into tibī, which is not correct. If I don’t do this, the line doesn’t fit the iambic pattern of  — Ø Ø — Ø Ø .

Line 17 only works, if I cheat a bit and make both syllables of illic long, which, of course, it incorrect.

Finally Line 18 works, if we discount the final long syllable in adloquiīs.

  

So, what have I learned? (1) Syllables don’t matter as much as I thought. (2) Vowel length is supremely important. (3) There is a pattern, and the poet makes definite choices. (4) Most of all, the poet gets to decide when he is going to break the rules.

* * *

Lots of people love Epode XIII. It is lyrical, easy to understand, and something quotable, if anyone quotes Latin anymore. For me, I found the phrase dumque virent genua, ‘while knees are green’ pretty amusing. Not only did I like the un-English-sounding metaphor of knees being like saplings or shoots, but I also liked how it related to my own life, for on the day I began this poem I had twisted my knee, causing me to limp around for several weeks. It was while waiting for the sap to fully return to my old knee that I wrote this blog.

translation ::

A bristling tempest has drawn in the sky; and rain and 

   snow are pulling Jove down; now sea, now woods 

noise with the north wind from Thrace. Let us, friends, 

   seize what comes this day, while knees are green, 

and it seems right to loosen old age from clouded brows. 

   Bring the wine pressed when my Torquatus reigned. 

No more talk: maybe God’ll put to rest the harmless 

   ups and downs. Now’s the joy: to be perfumed 

with Achaemenes nard and with the lyre of Cyllenea 

   to smooth our hearts of ill-omened care, 

as the noble Centaur did sing to his grown student: 

   “Boy invictus! Of the Goddess Thetis mortal born! 

Left for you the Land of Assarcus, which the cold 

   streams split, the little Scamander and slippery Simois. 

From there the fixed Threads of Fate cut off your return,

   nor will your sky-blue mother carry you back home. 

There, all the bad you’ll have to lift away with wine and song,

   with sweet consoling words for shapeless sorrow.”

notes :: 

Threïco : Thracian

Aquilone :  north wind

Occasionem : Opportunity, as a goddess

Torquato : Manlius Torquatus, consul 65 BC, when Horace was born.

Achaemenio : Achaemenes, ancestor of Persian kings

Cyllenea : Mercury, a mountain in Arcadia

Sollicitudinibus : uneasiness of mind, care, anxiety

Centaurus : half horse half man

Thetide : sea nymph Thetis, mother of Achilles

Assaraco : son of Tros, g. grandfather of Aeneas

Scamandri :  Scamander, one of the rivers in Troy

Simois [m] : a river near Troy 

Subtemine  [Subtemen] Parcae : thread of the Fates

the epode in prose ::

Tempestas horrida caelum contraxit et imbres

   nivesque Iovem deducunt; nunc mare, nunc silvae

Aquilone Threïco sonant. rapiamus, amici,

   Occasionem de die dumque genua virent

et decet, senectus fronte obducta solvatur.

   tu vina consule Torquato meo move.

mitte cetera loqui: deus fortasse vice in sedem

   hae benigna reducet. et nunc iuvat nardo

Achaemenio perfundi et pectora fide Cyllenea

   Sollicitudinibus diris levare,

ut Centaurus nobilis alumno grandi cecinit:

   ‘invicte, puer mortalis nate dea Thetide,

tellus Assaraci te manet, quam flumina frigida

   Scamandri parvi et Simois lubricus findunt,

unde tibi certo Subtemine Parcae reditum

   rupere, nec mater caerula domum te revehet.

illic omne malum vino cantuque levato,

   deformis aegrimoniae adloquiis dulcibus.’

:: Latin books by James Rumford ::

For all 102 odes purchase Carpe Diem, Horace De-Poetized, for $11.50 at 

https://www.amazon.com/Carpe-Diem-Poetized-James-Rumford/dp/1891839179/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479932219&sr=8-1&keywords=Carpe+Diem+Rumford. 

For a Latin translation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at $12, click here: 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Pericla+Thomae+Sawyer

To find out more about Carpe Diem go to the blog of March 26, 2015; 

for more about Pericla Thomae Sawyer, go to the blog of November 22, 2016.

Olympic Dust :: Maecenas Atavis Edite :: I:1

The Queen about to make a landing into Olympic Dust. Was she quoting Horace on the way down?

I’ve saved the first for last. It has taken me three years to read all of Horace’s carmina, but now in this year of the Olympic games in London, like some participant, I have finished the course. I don’t think there is a palma nobilis waiting for me (as Horace mentions in today’s ode), no Olympic gold. Rather, like some out of the way country with no chance of winning, I only came to participate.For two thousand years people have read Horace. Now I am one of them. 

I cannot say that I understood all of the odes to their fullest. I cannot say that now I remember them all. I doubt that I could quote any lines, although I did, as I worked on each one, memorize what Horace had written; but each new ode obliterated the lines of the old. I cannot say now whether I fell in love with his poetry. All I can say is that I enjoyed the challenges they presented.

Horace is difficult, almost impenetrable. He is like reading the Persian poet Nezami or the Chinese Wang Wei or perhaps Shakespeare for a non-native speaker of English.  The effort required is great, the rewards reaped under-appreciated. Under-appreciated? Yes, because there is so much more to reading a poet’s work than puzzling out the meaning. Just because you shine a bright light on a work by Monet doesn’t mean that you will understand it more. Just because you turn up the volume on a piece by Mozart doesn’t mean that you will get its full meaning. These are just first steps. So, after three years of Horace, this is all I can say: I have begun.

In the coming months, I will continue with Horace, but I hope to bring in other poets as well. That had been my intention at the start, but as his poems got longer and more difficult, I found I didn’t have the time to do poem pairings. I barely had the time to write these blogs.

Today’s ode, because it is the one Horace placed first, is a kind of introduction, a way of telling the reader what he hopes to accomplish (follow his bliss and become a great poet) and to thank his protector, Maecenas, who lived from 70 BC to 8 BC and who was a patron of a whole troop of poets: Virgil, Propertius, and Horace, to name but a few.

I have also decided with today’s ode not to make a literal translation. This is part of what I meant above. Instead of puzzling out the meaning, I think, after three years, I may be permitted to tell you what I feel it means.

At the end of today’s blog is a list of all of Horace’s carmina with references to the blogs in which they appeared.

Translation ::

Maecenas from a line of kings, 

my refuge, my sweet glory—

Joy finds those in chariots 

covered in Olympic dust, 

the goal post cleared, 

their wheels aflame, 

the famed palm lifting 

these lords of the world 

up to the gods;

it finds those elevated to 

the highest honors* 

by the fickle Roman crowd; 

it finds those hiding 

in their storehouses 

grain swept from 

Libyan threshing floors.

And the one content 

to hoe his father’s fields, 

even with the promise of gold*, 

you’ll never get to cleave, 

like a frightened sailor,

the Myrtoan* Sea 

in a Cyprus ship; 

the merchant, too, fears 

the African winds 

wrestling Icarian* tides;  

he praises the quiet country life, 

but not for long: 

not raised to be poor, 

he’ll repair his leaky boats. 

There’s the one who doesn’t 

refuse a cup of old Massico*, 

a break in a solid day’s work— 

see him, arms and legs spread out 

beneath the shade tree*, 

there by a spring of sacred water? 

Joy finds those who in army camps 

are surrounded by 

the jumbled sounds 

of bugles and horns and 

the battles so hated 

by our mothers. 

It finds the hunter out 

under cold Jupiter skies, 

with no thought 

of his tender wife, if, 

with his faithful hounds, 

he sights a deer, 

if a Marsian* boar rips through 

the firmly woven nets.

Me? Ivy, the rewards of learning 

upon my brow, put me 

among the gods on high. 

The icy woods, the fleeting bands 

of nymphs and satyrs set 

me apart from the rest, 

if only Euterpe* keeps 

playing her flute, 

if only Polyhymnia* keeps 

her Lesbian lyre in tune. 

Place me with the lyric poets 

and, head uplifted, 

I’ll reach the stars!  

_________

hightest honors: tergeminus/trigeminus: three of the highest honors: to be named consul, curule aedile (a kind of consulship), and praetor (magistrate).

promise of gold: Attalicis condicionibus: the ransom terms of the richest king in the world, which would be beyond all measure.

Myrtoan: Myrtous: a stormy part of the Aegean Sea off of Myrtos Island between the Peloponnesus and the Cyclades

Icarian: a stormy part of the Aegean Sea between Samos and Mykonos connected with the myth of Icarus.

Massico: a prized wine

shade tree: arbutus, the strawberry tree

Marsian: Marsi: a people in Latium

Euterpe: a muse of music

Polyhymnia: a muse

In Prose ::

[O] Maecenas, atavis regibus edite, et o praesidium et decus dulce meum, sunt [ii] quos iuvat pulverem Olympicum curriculo collegisse, [ubi] metaque rotis fervidis evitata [est], palmaque nobilis dominos terrarum ad deos evihit. 

[Iuvat] hunc si turba Quiritium mobilium certat [eum] honoribus tergeminis tollere. 

[Iuvat] illum si [in] horreo proprio condidit quidquid de areis Libycis verritur. 

Numquam [illum] gaudentem agros patrios sarculo condicionibus Attalicis findere demoveas, ut nauta pavidus [in] trabe Cypria mare Myrtoum secet. 

Mercator, Africum luctantem, fluctibus Icariis, et otium oppidi metuens, rura sui laudat. Mox ratıs quassas reficit, pauperiem pati indocilis. 

Est qui nec pocula Massici veteris spernit, nec partem de die solido demere, nunc membra sub arbuto viridi stratus, nunc ad caput lene aquae sacrae. 

Castra multos iuvant—et lituo tubae sonitus permixtus bellaque matribus detestata. 

Venator, coniugis tenerae immemor, sub Iove frigido manet, seu cerva [a] catulis fidelibus visa est, seu aper Marsus plagas teretes rupit. 

Praemia hederae frontium doctarum me [cum] dis superis miscent. Nemus gelidum chorique leves nympharum cum Satyris me populo secernunt, si neque Euterpe tibias cohibet nec Polyhymnia refugit barbiton Lesboum tendere. Quodsi me lyricis vatibus inseres, sidera vertice sublimi feriam.

Delphin Ordo ::

O Mæcenas, orte à mjoribus proceribus, ô et meum columen, et cara mea gloria; sunt plerique qui decurrentes gaudent conspergi pulvere Olympico, et quos meta non tacta rotis calidis, ac illustris victoria extollit ad Deos orbis moderatores. Hunc, si conventus Romanorum inconstantium certatim evehit ad maximas dignitates: illum, si congessit in suum granarium quicquid colligitur ex areis Libyæ: gestientem scindere arculo rura paterna, nunquam deducas de propositio, etiam promissione opum Attali, ut nauta timidus findat navi Cypriâ undas pelagi Myrtoi. Mercator timens Africum ventum pugnantem eum aquis maris Icarii, commendat quietem, et agros sui pagi: paulò post tamen resarcit naves laceras, paurpertatis impatiens. Est alius qui non contemnit cyathos vini Massici veteris, neque detrahere aliquot horas ex die integro, modò jacentes habens artus sub arbuto virenti, modò ad originem placidam fontis sacrati. Militia placet multis, sonusque buccinæ ac litui mixtus, et bella matribus execranda. Venator oblitus delicatæ uxoris moratur sub aëre frigenti, sive canes fidi conspexerunt cervam, sive aper Marsus fregit retia rotunda. Ederæ verò, merces doctorum capitum, me collocant inter summos Deos: me sylva frigida et celeres choreæ Nympharum cum Satyris segregant à vulgo, si neque Euterpe fistulas coërcet, neque Polyhymnia dedignatur intendere lyram Lesbiam. Quòd si me annumemeres Poëtis Lyricis, cœlum attigam excelso capite.

Original Ode ::

Maecēnās, atavīs ēdite rēgibus,

ō et praesidium et dulce decus meum,

sunt quōs curriculō pulverem Olympicum

collēgisse iuvat, mētaque fervidīs

ēvītāta rotīs palmaque nōbilis

terrārum dominōs ēvehit ad deōs;

hunc, sī mōbilium turba Quirītium

certat tergeminis tollere honōribus,

illum, sī propriō condidit horreō

quidquid dē Libycīs verritur āreīs.

gaudentem patriōs findere sarculō

agrōs Attalicīs condiciōnibus

numquam dēmoveās ut trabe Cȳpriā

Myrtōum pavidus nauta secet mare.

luctantem īcariīs fluctibus Africum

mercātor metuens ōtium et oppidī

laudat rūra suī; mox reficit ratıs

quassās, indocilis pauperiem patī.

est quī nec veteris pōcula Massicī

nec partem solidō dēmere dē diē

spernit, nunc viridī membra sub arbutō

strātus, nunc ad aquae lēne caput sǎcrae.

multōs castra iuvant et lituō tubae

permixtus sonitus bellaque mātribus

dētestāta. manet sub Iove frīgidō

vēnātor tenerae coniugis immemor,

seu vīsa est catulīs cerva fidēlibus,

seu rūpit teretēs Marsus aper plagās.

mē doctārum hederae praemia frontium

dīs miscent superīs, mē gelidum nemus

nymphārumque levēs cum Satyrīs chorī

sēcernunt populō, sī neque tībiās

Euterpē cohibet nec Polyhymnia

Lesbōum refugit tendere barbiton.

quodsī mē lyricīs vātibus inserēs,

sublīmī feriam sīdera vertice.

(revised March 26, 2015)

:: Latin books by James Rumford ::

For all 102 odes purchase Carpe Diem, Horace De-Poetized, for $11.50 at 

https://www.amazon.com/Carpe-Diem-Poetized-James-Rumford/dp/1891839179/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479932219&sr=8-1&keywords=Carpe+Diem+Rumford. 

For a Latin translation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at $12, click here: 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Pericla+Thomae+Sawyer

To find out more about Carpe Diem go to the blog of March 26, 2015; 

for more about Pericla Thomae Sawyer, go to the blog of November 22, 2016.

Index to My Blogs ::

LIBER I 

1  Mæcenas Atavis Aug 10 12

2 Iam Satis Terris Mar 13 11

3 Sic Te Diva Jan 24 11

4 Solvitur Acris Hiems Dec 21 10

5 Quis Multa Gracilis Sep 14 09

6 Scriberis Vario Aug 27 10

7 Laudabunt Alii Dec 4 10

8 Dic Lydia Sep 18 09

9 Vides ut Alta Dec 26 10

10 Mercuri, Facunde Nepos Jul 7 10

11 Tu Ne Quaesieris  Aug 28 09

12 Quem Virum aut Heroa Apr 23 11

13  Cum Tu, Lydia Jul 18  10

14 O Navis Nov 8 09

15 Pastor cum Traheret May 22 11

16 O Matre Pulchra Mar 25 11

17 Velox Amoenum Feb 14 11

18 Nullam Vare Sacra Aug 31 09

19 Mater Saeva Cupidinum Sep 20 09

20 Vile Potabis Modicis Sep 1 09

21 Dianam Tenerae Dicite Jul 23 10

22 Integer Vitae Jan 31 10

23 Vitas Inuleo Me Sep 2 09

24 Quis Desiderio Sep 27 09

25 Parcius Iunctas Aug 14 10

26 Musis Amicus Sep 3 09

27 Natis in Usum Aug 3 10

28 Te Maris et Terrae Jan 14 11

29 Icci, Beatis Nunc  Mar 15 10

30 O Venus Regina Dec 30 10

31 Quid Dedicatum Sep 29 09

32 Poscimus Feb 19 10

33 Albi, Ne Doleas Mar 20 10

34 Parcus Deorum Cultor Mar 1 10

35 O Diva Gratum Mar 11 10

36 Et Ture et Fidibus Jan 27 10

37 Nunc Est Bibendum Feb 24 10

38 Persicos Odi Sep 9 09

LIBER II

1 Motum ex Metulle Jul 3 10

2 Nullus Argento Feb 5 10

3 Æquam Memento May 24 10

4 Ne Sit Ancillæ May 30 10

5  Nondum Subacta May 20 10

6 Septimi Gadis Aditure Apr 30 10

7 O Saepe Mecum May 7 10

8  Ulla Si Iuris Jun 9 10

9 Non Semper Imbres Oct 27 09

10 Rectius Vives Sep 15 09

11 Quid Bellicosus Apr 26 10

12 Nolis Longa Apr 15 10

13 Ille et Nefasto Apr 11 10

14 Eheu Fugaces Mar 21 10

15 Iam Pauca Aratro Mar 25 10

16 Otium Divos Rogat Jun 15 10

17 Cur Me Querellis Jun 23 10

18 Non Ebur Feb 12 10

19 Bacchum in Remotis Nov 2 09

20 Non Usitata Oct 23 09

LIBER III

1 Odi Profanum Vulgus Sep 15 10

2 Puer Robustus Dec 3 09

3 Iustum et Tenacem Dec 18 11

4 Descende Caelo Jan 31 12

5 Caelo Tonantem  Sep 28 10

6 Delicta Maiorum  Aug 10, 11 

7 Quid Fles  Nov 27 10

8 Martiis Caelebs Oct 11 09

9 Donec Gratus Tibi Oct 8 09

10 Extremum Tanaïn Dec 18 09

11 Mercuri, Nam Te Aug 21, 11 

12 Miserarum Est Dec 15 09 

13 O Fons Bandusiae Sep 12 09

14 Herculis Ritu Modo Aug 12 10

15 Uxor Pauperis Ibyci Sep 24 09

16 Inclusam Danaen Jul 26 10

17 Aeli Vetusto Oct 5 09

18 Faune Nympharum Oct 22 11

19 Quantum Distet Dec 12 09

20 Non Vides Quanto Sep 23 09

21 O Nata Mecum Oct 3 09

22 Montium Custos Oct 1 09

23 Caelo Supinas Oct 21 09

24 Intactis Opulentior Sep 20 11

25 Quo Me Bacche Sep 5 10

26 Vixi Puellis Nuper Sep 10 09

27 Impios Parrae Apr 18 12

28 Festo Quid Potius Aug 19 10

29 Tyrrhena Regum Progenies Oct 12 11

30 Exegi Monumentum Aug 27 09

LIBER IV

1 Intermissa Diu Jan 17 10

2 Pindarum Quisquis Studet Nov 19 10

3 Quem Tu Melpomene Dec 6 09

4 Qualem Ministrum Jul 19 12

5 Divis Orte Bonis Oct 7 10

6 Dive, Quem Proles  Jun 17 11 

7 Diffugere Nives Nov 6 09

8 Donarem Pateras Jan 11 10

9 Ne Forte Credas Oct 25 10

10 O Crudelis Adhuc Aug 29 09

11 Est Mihi Nonum Jan 22 10

12 Iam Veris Comites Jan 3 10

13 Audivere Lyce Dec 23 09

14 Quae Cura Patrum Jul 10 11

15 Phoebus Volentem Nov 3 10