Tellure, victorum nepotes Quis non Latino sanguine pinguior Campus sepulcris impia proelia Testatur auditumque Medis Hesperiae sonitum ruinae? Qui gurges aut quae flumina lugubris Ignara belli? quod mare Dauniae Non decoloravere caedes? Quae caret ora cruore nostro? Sed ne relictis, Musa procax, jocis, 30 35 40 power of Fate, when the Romans destroyed Carthage, and conquered Jugurtha. 27. construe: retulit nepotes victorum (genit. of victores, i. e. Romanorum) (velut) inferias Jugurtha (dat.), offered up (in turn) the grandsons of the conquerors as sacrifices to the manes of Jugurtha.' The entire stanza may be thus paraphrased: On the capture of Jugurtha by the Romans, Juno, and the other deities who befriended the Africans, unable to resist the Fates, retired from a land which they were no longer able to defend. But they had their revenge. After a lapse of sixty years, A. D. 46, two Roman armies--the one headed by Julius Caesar, and the other by Metellus Scipioencountered each other at Thapsus, in Africa Propria, where 50,000 men, slain in battle, were offered up by the incensed deities, as a retributive sacrifice to appease the manes of Jugurtha. 29. Quis non Latino, &c. The poet might well put the question. The civil war, in a very few years, had extended its fury over Italy, Sicily, Macedonia, Thrace, Egypt, Africa, and Spainpinguior, poetic. = admodum pinguis. 30. sepulcris, by its sepulchres.' 31. Medis, active dative. 32. Hesperiae, adjective, Hesperian, poetic. for 'Italian.' 33. gurges, poetic. for 'waters' in general (rivers or sea). 34. ignara, sc. sunt-Dauniae, adjective, Daunian, poetic. for 'Roman.' 37. the poet recalls himself from this poetical flight as too high for his faculty-Musa, i. e. that of Horace--procar petulans, proterva, = too bold, wanton, saucy.' 38. munera Ceae neniae, the task of the mourning songs or dirges' (such as were sung by Simonides of Ceos)— retractes nunc renoves, imitando exprimas, resume, imitate.' 39. Dionaeo sub antro, in some grotto sacred to Venus.' Dione was the mother of Venus. 40. modos = carmina-leviore plecto, poetic. of lighter style.' CARMEN II. AD C. SALLUSTIUM CRISPUM. The poet shows that riches derive all their value from the proper use that is made of them; that the man who subdues his passions, has more real power than the ruler of the mightiest empire; and that true greatness belongs not to exalted station, but to that well-regulated disposition, or philosophic spirit, which enables us to look upon the treasures of others without feelings of envy. Caius Sallustius Crispus, to whom this ode is inscribed, was grandnephew of the historian by a sister, and the heir of his name and vast possessions. After the death of Maecenas, he held the chief place in the confidence of Augustus and Tiberius. According to Tacitus (III. 30), he was a man of considerable talents, but of an unambitious and self-indulgent disposition. NULLUS argento color est avaris Vivet extento Proculejus aevo, Latius regnes avidum domando CARM. 2.-7. agit, some Codd. Carm. 2.-1. sq. construe: nullus color est argento abdito avaris terris, Crispe Sallusti, inimice lamnae, nisi (lamna) splendeat temperato usu-the words nisi splendeat, &c. belong to inimice, thou who art foe of bullion unless it gain lustre, shine by moderate use '— avaris terris, ablat.: as long as it is concealed, buried in, not yet dug out of the pits of niggard earth' ('niggard,' poetic. of earth, which, like a miser, hides its treasures); the same idea is expressed by the Greek verse οὐκ ἔστ ̓ ἐν ἄντροις λευκός, ὦ ξέν', ἄργυρος avaris qualifies terris; the separation of these two words, and the rendering, 'hidden by misers in the earth,' cannot be defended. 5. C. Proculejus Varro Murena, a Ro 5 10 man knight, brother of Terentia, wife of Maecenas, and a friend of Augustus, famous for his love towards his brothers, with whom he divided his fortune after they had lost all their own by the civil wars-extento = producto longum in aevum, an extended age.' 6. notus, poetic. with the genit. animi, 'well-known for his fatherly affec tion.' 7. penná metuente (poetic. with the infin.) solvi numquam periturâ, 'with wings which never shall be dissolved;' the verb metuere, poetic. for nolle, 'to be unwilling, to avoid, to take care not to do,' &c. (comp. below C. 3, 11, 10: metuit tangi, and C. 4, 5, 20: culpari metuit fides). 10. spiritum, poetic. for animum, the The poet advises Dellius to preserve his equanimity in prosperity, as well as adversity; and, since all men-the happy and the miserable, the high and the low-alike are doomed to die, Horace urges his friend to enjoy those pleasures which are suited to his age and fortune. 13. durus, some Codd.-18. beatum, some Codd. Greek τὸ ἐπιθυμητικόν, the desiring part of the soul-remotis, sc. a Roma. 11. uterque Poenus, i. e. the inhabitants of Carthage in Africa, and of New Carthage in Spain. 13. avarice compared with dropsy. 18 and 19. construe: virtus, dissidens plebi, eximit Phraaten, redditum solio Cyri, numero beatorum, i. e. virtue, true wisdom, at variance with the common opinion, dissenting from the crowd, does not regard Phraates as happy, although he is restored to the throne of Cyrus (of Persia)-beatorum Eximit, to be scanned beator' leximit, verse 18 being a versus hypermeter. (thus below C. 2, 3, 27; 2, 16, 34; 4, 2, 22; 23, and Carm. Saec. 47). 21. falsis vocibus, i. e. said of those who believe Phraates and those like him to be happy. 22. propriam, i. e. 'lasting' (as his own, his property; comp. below S. 2, 6, 5: ut propria haec mihi munera faxis). 23. irretorto oculo, the Greek ȧμeтασтреTTί, 'without turning round' (i. e. not thinking them worth the trouble of turning the eyes to them). 24. acervos, sc. auri vel argenti. CARM. 3.-2. ac bonis, some Codd.-9. qua, some Codd.-11. Ramis, quo obliquo vel quoque, vel quid, vel quo et, Codd.; Ramosque et obliquo, Bentl. conj.-14. amoenos, some Codd.-18. lavat, some Codd. Carm. 3.-1. sq., construe: memento servare aequam mentem in arduis (= periculosis, adversis) rebus, non secus (= itidem, as well as ') in bonis (rebus servare mentem) temperatam ab insolenti laetitia aequam mentem = aequabilitatem, equanimity, calmness of mind' (comp. Cic. Off. 1, 26: ut adversas res sic secundas immoderate ferre levitatis est; praeclaraque est aequabilitas in omni vitâ et idem semper vultus eademque frons, ut de Socrate, item de C. Laelio accepimus) -rebus in arduis, in adversity.' 4. sq. moriture Delli, Seu, &c. are construed together, o Dellius, who must die, whether thou shalt have lived...or, &c. 6 and 7. seu beáris (= beatum reddideris) te, or shalt have blessed, i. e. regaled thyself'-remoto, retired.' 8. interiore notâ, poetic. for with an old sort' (of Falernian wine), see the Excurs. to C. 1, 20. 9. quo? quem in usum? for what purpose.' 11. laborat trepidare obliquo rico, poetic. strives to trickle along its winding channel' (comp. below Ep. 1, 10, 21: Aqua...quae per pronum trepidat cum murmure rivum). 13. huc, &c., i. e. to this beautiful spot. 15. sororum trium, i. e. Parcarum. 18. flavus, yellow,' see above C. 1, 2, 13-lavit, from lavere, the only form used by Horace for the prosaic lavāre. 5 Diveşne prisco natus ab Inacho, Omnes eodem cogimur, omnium Sors exitura et nos in aeternum 25 CARMEN VI. AD SEPTIMIUM. Horace expresses a wish to spend the remainder of his days with his friend Septimius at Tibur, or in the delightful neighbourhood of Tarentum. SEPTIMI, Gades aditure mecum et Tibur Argeo positum colono 23. dio, some Codd.-28. cumbae, some Codd. 21. Divesne, &c., construe: nil interest, divesne, natus ab prisco Inacho, an pauper et de infima gente morêris sub divo (= fruaris hac luce, versêris in terris, may stay, live on earth'). 26. sq. beautiful poetical metaphors of mortality-urna, i. e. the urns of the lots of life (comp. below C. 3, 1, 14 sq. aequâ lege necessitas Sortitur insignes et imos; Omne capax movet urna nomen)-aeternum exilium, scann: aetern' exilium (hypermetr. verse, see above C. 2, 2, 18)-cymbae (dat.) i. e. the boat of Charon. Carm. 6. 1. auditure, who art willing, ready (if necessary) to go with 5 me,' &c.; adire Gades, proverbially forto go to the world's end.' 2. Cantabrum, accus. (sc. aditure) = ad Cantabros indoctum, poetic. with the infin. ferre, 'still untaught to bear,' &c. 3. Maura, adject. (comp. above C. 1, 22, 2: Mauris jaculis). 5. Tibur, &c., see Excurs. to C. 1, 7Argeo colono, active dative. 6. meae senectae, dative, 'to my old age.' 7 and 8. the three genitives maris, viarum and militiae belong to modus as well as to lassus-viarum = itinerum militarium, ' of military marches' (made under Brutus). |