Ire viam, quâ monstret eques; venaticus, ex quo 65 70 EPISTOLA III. AD JULIUM FLORUM. In the year of the city 734, Tiberius was sent by Augustus to the East, to escort Tigranes into the kingdom of Armenia, which had then been restored to him. Among the companions of Tiberius on this occasion was Julius Florus, an intimate friend of Horace, and a distinguished lawyer, orator, and poet, to whom our author inscribes not only this epistle, but also the second epistle of the second book. In the present letter, Horace inquires what Florus himself, their common friends, and Tiberius, are then doing; exhorts him to the pursuit of philosophy, and concludes by urging him to be reconciled with Munatius, between whom and Florus a misunderstanding seems to have arisen. JULî FLORE, quibus terrarum militet oris An pingues Asiae campi collesque morantur? Quid studiosa cohors operum struit? hoc quoque curo. 5 65. quam monstret, some Codd.-ire viam quâ monstret, Bentl. EP. 3.-4. terras, some Codd., Bentl. 65. venaticus, to be joined with catulus (from v. 67) 68. puer, i. e. dum puer es (comp. above v. 34). 70. anteis, two syllables, by Synaeresis (comp. C. 1, 35, 17: anteit). 71. insto, strive to overtake.' Ep. 3.-2. Claudius, i. e. Claudius Tiberius Nero, afterwards emperor of Rome-laboro magnopere studeo, aveo, I am anxious' (to learn) (comp. S. 2, 8, 19: nôsse laboro). 3. Thraca, corresp. to the Greek pakn=Thracia, "Thrace' (comp. be low Ep. 1, 16, 13: Fons...ut nec Frigidior Thracam nec purior ambiat Hebrus.)-nivali, 'icy' (chains), (comp. C. 1, 37, 19: in campis nivalis Haemoniae). 4. freta, &c., i. e. the Hellespont, between Sestos and Abydos; where the opposite shores were nearest to one another, a tower was actually built on each side. 6. studiosa, absolutely = literata, 'studious' cohors, i. e. the young companions of Tiberius in this expedition (comp. S. 1, 7, 23: Laudat Bru Quis sibi res gestas Augusti scribere sumit? Ut valet? ut meminit nostri? Fidibusne Latinis Thebanos aptare modos studet auspice Musâ, An tragicâ desaevit et ampullatur in arte? 10 Quid mihi Celsus agit, monitus multumque monendus, 15 Privatas ut quaerat opes, et tangere vitet Scripta, Palatinus quaecumque recepit Apollo, Ne, si forte suas repetitum venerit olim Grex avium plumas, moveat cornicula risum Quodsi Hoc opus, hoc studium parvi properemus et ampli, 20 25 tum laudatque cohortem; and below Ep. 1, 8, 14: Ut placeat juveni percontare utque cohorti)-operum, belongs to quid. 7. sumit sibi, poetic. with the infin. scribere (comp. C. 1, 12, 1 sq.: quem virum...sumis celebrare?) 8. in aevum, i. e. to posterity,' 'to distant ages.' 9. quid Titius, sc. agit-venturus in ora (hominum), sc. by his poetical works (see the foll. lines). 11. ausus, sc. est. 12. Fidibus Latinis, to the Latin lyre,' see Excurs. III. to C. 1, 1. 13. Thebanos modos, i. e. Pindaric measures. 15. mihi, dativus ethicus in familiar language, what is my Celsus doing?' 16. sq. i. e. to use his own poetical treasures, his own poetical power. 17. Palatinus Apollo, i. e. the Pala tine library founded by Augustus. 18. repetitum, supine-olim, here of time future: at some future time.' 19. sq. allusion to the well-known fable of the daw in borrowed plumes. 20. coloribus = plumis variorum colorum. 21. circumvolitas, the image taken from the bee hovering about and gathering honey. 23. linguam causis acuis, i. e. praeparas te declamationibus ad eloquentiam judicialem-civica jura respondere ad jurisprudentiae studium se applicare. 24. amabile venustum, elegans, 'lovely.' 26. frigida (= inania) curarum fomenta, poetic. = nimium gloriae et honorum studium, the chilling causes of care.' At vos Debes hoc etiam rescribere, si tibi curae, 30 35 EPISTOLA IV. AD ALBIUM TIBULLUM. Variously dated from A. U. c. 728 to 734. This short epistle is inscribed to Albius Tibullus, the celebrated elegiac poet, who was an intimate and valued friend of Horace. Another memorial of our author's esteem and affection for Tibullus is to be found in the thirty-third ode of the first book. Albius Tibullus was born in A. U. C. 700, and died in 735 or 736. He was of equestrian rank, and inherited a large estate, but lost the greater part of it, according to some, in the partition of Italian lands among the soldiers of Augustus. He appears, however, to have retained possession of some property near Pedum, a town between Praeneste and Tibur, where he passed the greater part of his life. His chief patron was Valerius Messalla, who was appointed to conduct the war in Aquitania, whither Tibullus accompanied him, and where he remained with him till the close of the campaign, perhaps in B. C. 27. He afterwards set out with Messalla on a journey into Asia, which, however, he was destined never to reach, as he sickened, and, as some think, died at Corcyra, in the thirtysixth year of his age. Horace here styles him "nostrorum sermonum candide iudex," because, at a time when he had incurred much ill-will and obloquy by the composition of his satires, Tibullus had expressed to Messalla and his other friends an impartial and true opinion both of the poet and his works. Orellius, accordingly, dates this epistle immediately after the publication of the Satires, A. U. C. 728 or 729, and not so late as 733 or 734, the period fixed by other critics: as it is exceedingly improbable that Horace would have attached such importance to a favourable judgment of his satiric poetry, which was pronounced six years after the appearance of the compositions that elicited it. In the letter now before us, Horace asks his friend how he is employing his time in his rural retirement, whether in writing, or in roaming about the woods, pursuing some train of philosophical reflection connected with moral truth and duty. He then congratulates Tibullus on the rich gifts he had received 30. sit, some Codd.-curae est, Bentl. conj.-32. ac (inst. of at), some Codd., Bentl. 31. male sarta gratia, i. e. 'the illpatched reconciliation,' the simile taken from a wound which has closed badly, and which begins to bleed afresh. 35. indigni rumpere, poetic. = quos non decet rumpere-fraternum = intimum (comp. below Ep. 1, 10, 4: paene gemelli fraternis animis) 36. pascitur, i. e. as a victim, a thank-offering for your return. both from nature and from fortune, and concludes the poem with a practical suggestion as to the surest mode of allaying any undue excitement, whether of hope or fear; and this suggestion is, that if men choose to regard each successive day as the very last they are to live, they will obviate all anxiety or fear respecting the future, and accept every new day with gratitude, as an unexpected addition to their term of life. ALBî, nostrorum sermonum candide judex, Curantem quidquid dignum sapiente bonoque est? 5 10 15 EPISTOLA V. AD TORQUATUM. Dated by some chronologers A. U. C. 734. In this letter, Horace invites Manlius Torquatus to a frugal banquet, which he was then preparing in honour of the birth-day of Octavianus. In the year 734, to which the composition of this EP. 4.-7. dederant, some Codd.-9. cui (inst. of qui), some Codd.-11. et domus et victus, Bentl. conj. ode has been assigned, the birth-day of the emperor is said to have been celebrated with unusual solemnity and splendour. Critics are undecided as to the identity of this Torquatus, to whom Horace also inscribed the seventh ode of the fourth book. It is generally supposed, however, that he was the grandson of that Lucius Manlius Torquatus, during whose consulship the poet was born, A. U. C. 689. Si potes Archiacis conviva recumbere lectis, 5 10 15 20 EP. 5.-6. sin, some edd.-12. quo mihi fortuna and quid mihi fortuna, some Codd. -17. inermem, some Codd. Ep. 5.-1. Archiacis, see 'Proper Names.' 2. olus omne, any kind of herbs.' 3. supremo sole, i. e. sole ad occasum vergente, 'toward sunset." 4. sq. Vina, &c., see Excurs. to C. 1, 20-iterum, sc. consule, in the second consulship of (T. Statilius) Taurus,' i e. B. C. 26-diffusa, i. e. ex doliis in cados (different from defundere vinum ex cratere in pocula et pateras, see above S. 2, 2, 58). 6. arcesse per servulum ad me afferendum cura, send it to me '-imperium (sc. meum ut domini coenae) fer eo (vino) contentus esto, quod ego meâ ex apotheca depromendum |