common. Tacitus seems to have had Horace's words in his mind, when he wrote of the public funeral given to Flavius Sabinus, and the overthrow of Vitellius, that they were magna documenta instabilis fortunae summaque et ima miscentis" (Hist. iv. 47).

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14. hinc apicem] Apex' signifies properly the tuft (composed of wool wrapped round a stick) or the top of the Flamen's cap. It appears to stand for any covering of the head, and Horace applies it to the royal crown, here and in C. iii. 21. 20. Valere' with an infinitive is not used by prose-writers till after the Augustan age.

ODE XXXV.

WHEN Augustus was meditating an expedition against the Britons, and another for the East, Horace commended him to the care of Fortune the Preserver, to whom this Ode is addressed. The design of invading Britain was interrupted by an insurrection of the Salassians, an Alpine people. The goddess Fortuna, under different characters, had many temples at Rome; but her worship was most solemnly maintained, when Horace wrote, at Præneste and at Antium, where she had an oracle, and was worshipped under a double form, as 'prospera' and 'adversa.' Tacitus mentions a temple belonging to an Equestris Fortuna, in which the Equites set up a statue they had vowed for the recovery of Augusta (Ann. iii. 71). She was represented on Roman coins with a double ship's rudder in one hand and a cornucopiæ in the other, which may furnish a clew to the allusions in the second stanza. There are passages which may have been drawn from paintings in the temple at Antium.

ARGUMENT.

Queen of Antium, all-powerful to exalt or to debase, the poor tenant cultivator worships thee, and the mariner on the deep. Thou art feared by the savage Dacian and nomad Scythian, by all cities and nations; yea, by proud Latium herself; by royal mothers trembling for their sons, and kings fearing for their crowns. Necessity, with her stern emblems, goes before thee. Hope and Fidelity go with thee, when thou leavest the house of prosperity, while false friends fall away. Preserve Cæsar as he goeth to conquer Britain; preserve the fresh levies destined for the East. It repenteth us of our civil strife and impious crimes. Let the sword be recast, and whetted for the Scythian and the Arab.

1. Antium,] A maritime town of Latium, now called Porto d' Anzo. (Sce Introduction.)

2. Praesens] There is no other instance of 'praesens' with an infinitive. 'Praesens' is often used with the signification of potens.' In its application to the gods, it expresses their presence as shown by their power. "God is a very present help in trouble." Ps. xlvi. 1. Cicero (Tusc. Disp. i. 12. 28) says of Hercules, "apud Graecos indeque prolapsus ad nos et usque ad Oceanum tantus et tam praesens habetur deus."

4. funeribus] The same as in funera.'

6. colonus,] See C. ii. 14. 12, n.

7, 8. Bithyna-carina] A vessel built of the timber of Bithynia.

9. profugi Scythae] This is to be explained by the wandering habits of the Scythians. It explains campestres Scythae' (C. iii. 24. 9), and corresponds το Σκύθας δ' ἀφίξει νομάδας οἱ πλεκτάς στέγας Πεδάρσιοι ναίουσ ̓ ἐπ ̓ εὐκύ Kλous oxois (Aesch. P. V. 709). Profugus' is repeated in C. iv. 14. 42. 11. Regumque matres barbarorum] Orelli quotes the description in the fifth

chapter of Judges, ver. 28: "The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariot?" There are four objects in respect of which Fortune is here said to be invoked, the seasons, the winds, war, and faction. (See Introduction.) She is said to be an object of reverence to the distant and barbarous nations, as well as the cities and provinces of the Roman world, and Eastern mothers and tyrants fearing for their crowns.

14. Stantem columnam,] The figures of Peace, Security, Happiness, and others, are each represented on old monuments as resting on a column. What Horace means is, that tyrants are afraid lest Fortune should overthrow their power, represented figuratively by a standing column.

15. Ad arma- ad arma] The repetition of these words suggests the cry of the thronging people' ('frequens populus '). Cessantes' means the peacea bly disposed.

17. Te semper anteit saeva Necessitas] The several things that Necessity is here represented as holding, are emblems of tenacity and fixedness of purpose, the nail, the clamp, and the molten lead: they have nothing to do with torture, as many have supposed. 'Anteit' is to be scanned as a dissyllable. 18. Clavos trabales] These were nails of the largest sort, for fastening beams in large houses. There is said to be one in the Museum of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, at Florence, weighing fifty pounds, made of bronze. 'Clavi trabales' had passed into a proverb with the Romans. Compare Cicero (in Verr. Act. ii. 5. 21): "ut hoc beneficium, quemadmodum dicitur, trabali clavo figeret." Cunei' were also nails wedge-shaped. On the nails of Fate, see C. iii. 24. 7. The metaphor of molten lead, used for strengthening buildings, is used by Euripides (Androm. 267), kaì yàp ei tépiέ o' ëxeɩ tηkTÒS μόλυβδος.

21. Te Spes et albo] The picture represented in this and the following stanzas, apart from the allegory, is that of a rich man in adversity, going forth from his home, with hope in his breast, and accompanied by a few faithful friends, but deserted by those who only cared for his wealth. In the person of Fortune, therefore, is represented the man who is suffering from her reverses; and in that of Fidelity, the small ('rara') company of his true friends. Fortune is represented in the garments of mourning (mutata veste '), and Fides in a white veil, emblematic of her purity. With such a veil on their heads, men offered sacrifice to her. She is called by Virgil (Aen. i. 292), 'Cana Fides,' but there it probably means 'aged.' According to Livy (i. 21), Numa established religious rites for Fides.

22. nec comitem abnegat,] nor refuses herself for thy companion,' as if 'se were understood.

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28. Ferre jugum pariter dolosi.] Too faithless to bear the yoke together with him.' This metaphor is taken from beasts unequally yoked. 29. Serves iturum] See Introduction.

ultimos Orbis Britannos] "Et penitus toto divisos orbe Britannos" (Virg. Ec. i. 67), "Extremique hominum Morini " (Aen. viii. 727), are like Horace's phrase.

32. Oceanoque rubro.] The force that was to conquer Arabia (see C. i. 29) was probably at this time preparing.

36. unde] From what?'

39. diffingas retusum] Diffingas' is a word met with in no author but Horace, who uses it here and in C. iii. 29. 47: “ neque Diffinget infectumque reddet." It means here to break up or unmake, with the purpose of forging it again. OI pray thee on new anvil recast the blunted sword, for the Scythian and the Arab.' It had been blunted in civil war, and was to be whetted again for the destruction of the barbarians.

40. Massagetas] These people are said by Herodotus (i. 204) to have in

habited the great plain east of the Caspian; but the Romans had no distinct knowledge of them, and the name is used for the unknown regions of Northern Asia, like the name of the Scythians.

ODE XXXVI.

WHO Numida was, we have no means of knowing. That he was an intimate friend of Horace's appears from this Ode. He was also a great friend of Lamia's (see C. 26 of this book). He appears to have lately returned from the army in Spain, and Horace writes this Ode for the occasion, calling upon Numida's friends to celebrate his return with sacrifice, music, and wine.

ARGUMENT. Let us sacrifice to the guardian gods of Numida, on his safe return from Spain; he is come to embrace his dear friends, but none more heartily than Lamia, in remembrance of their early days. Mark the fair day with a white mark; bring out the wine without stint; cease not the dance; let Bassus out-drink Damalis the drunken; bring the rose, the parsley, the lily, for our feast. Though all eyes shall languish for Damalis, she will cleave only to Numida.

4. Hesperia] In the year B. C. 26, Augustus went into Spain to put down an insurrection of the Cantabri. He returned to Rome two years afterwards, and Numida returned with him, or perhaps a little before, since Augustus was detained by sickness (C. iii. 14).

7. Lamiae,] See Introduction.

8. Actae non alio rege puertiae] 'Rege' may perhaps be put in a familiar way for their schoolmaster; if so, it was Orbilius Pupillus (Epp. ii. 1. 71). But the meaning is not quite certain.

puertiae] For pueritiae. Other instances of syncope are 'lamnae,' 'surpuerat,' 'surpite,' 'soldo,' 'caldior,' etc.

9. Mutataeque simul togae.] They were of the same age, and therefore had taken the toga virilis' together. See Epod. v. 7, n.

10. Cressa ne careat pulchra dies nota,] The custom of marking fair days with a white stone or mark, and unlucky ones with a black, had passed, if not into practice, into a proverb with the Romans. Hence Persius (ii. 1, sqq.), writing to his friend on his birthday, says:

"Hunc, Macrine, diem numera meliore lapillo, Qui tibi labentes apponit candidus annos.' 'Cressa' is the adjective formed from 'creta,' chalk, so called as coming from Cimolus, a small island near Crete.

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11. Neu-amphorae] And let there be no measured use of the wine-jar brought out.'

12. Neu morem in Salium] 'Salium' is an adjective like 'Saliaris' in the next Ode. It occurs again in C. iv. 1. 28, where see note.

13. multi Damalis meri] 'Damalis, great drinker (as she is).' Such is the expression Multi Lydia nominis' (C. iii. 9. 7). Ovid (Met. xiv. 252) has nearly the same words: "Eurylocumque simul, multique Elpenora vini." Who Bassus was, we cannot tell, without knowing more of his friend Numida. Damalis may be anybody, - a woman like Lyde (C. ii. 11. 22), brought into the Ode to make up a scene. The name was common among freedwomen, 14. Threicia vincat amystide,] Amystis' was a deep draught, taken without drawing breath or closing the lips (a, μve). For Threicia see i. 27. 2. 17. putres Deponent oculos,] 'will fix their languishing eyes.' The Greeks expressed 'putres' by τηkóμevoL.

20. ambitiosior.] This is the only passage in which the word occurs in this sense of clinging,' the nearest to ambire' in its primitive meaning.

ODE XXXVII.

THE occasion that gave rise to this Ode, and the time therefore of its composition, are sufficiently clear. Intelligence of the deaths of M. Antonius and Cleopatra was brought to Rome in the autumn of B. C. 30, and on this occasion Horace wrote the following Ode, which is directed chiefly against Cleopatra. Horace appears to have started with an ode of Alcæus on the death of Myrsilus in his head. It began,

νῦν χρὴ μεθύσθην καί τινα πρὸς βίαν
πίνην ἐπειδὴ κάτθανε Μύρσιλος.

The historical facts referred to may be gathered from Plutarch's Life of M. Antonius.

ARGUMENT. 'Tis time to drink, to smite the earth, and set out a feast for the gods, my friends. We might not bring down the Cæcuban, while that mad queen with her foul herd was threatening Rome with destruction. But her fury is humbled, her fleet in flames, her drunken heart shook with fear when Cæsar hunted her from Italy, as the hawk pursues the dove or the hunter the hare, to chain the accursed monster; who feared not the sword nor fled to secret hiding-places, but chose to die, rather than submit to be led in triumph by the conqueror.

2. nunc Saliaribus] A Saliaric banquet is a rich banquet, fit for the Salii, the priests of Mars. The feasts of the Pontifices were proverbial for profusion. On great occasions, a banquet was set out, in place of a sacrifice, and images of the gods were placed upon couches, as for the purpose of eating. This sort of banquet was called a "lectisternium.'

3. pulvinar] Properly, the cushion of the couch, and so put here for the couch itself.

4. Tempus erat] This imperfect tense seems to mean that this was the time that the Fates had intended for such festivities. Ovid (Tr. iv. 8. 24, sq.) has it twice over in this unusual way:

"Sic igitur tarda vires minuente senecta

Me quoque donari jam rude tempus erat;
Tempus erat nec me peregrinum ducere caelum
Nec siccam Getico fonte levare sitim."

The Greeks used the imperfect expηv in the same undefined way. See note

on i. 27. 19.

6. Cellis] The cella' was, properly speaking, a chamber, partly above and partly under ground, in which the dolia' were kept. That in which the 'amphorae' were stored was called apotheca,' and was in the upper part of the house hence the terms, depromere,' 'deripere,' 'descendere.' Capitolio' is equivalent to 'urbi.' See C. iii. 3. 42; iii. 30. 8. 'Imperio' is used for the sovereign power of Rome, as in C. iii. 5 4.

7. Regina dementes ruinas] Dementes' is transferred from 'regina' to 'ruinas' as in Virg. (Aen ii. 576): Ulcisci patriam et sceleratas sumere poenas," where 'sceleratas' expresses the guilt of Helen

9. Contaminato cum grege turpium Morbo virorum,] with her filthy herd of men (forsooth) foul with disease.' The corrupt lusts of that class of persons who were most about an Eastern queen, are properly called a disease. 'Virorum' is used ironically. In Epod. ix. 11, Horace complains :

"Romanus eheu! posteri negabitis

Emancipatus foeminae

Fert vallum et arma miles, et spadonibus
Servire rugosis potest."

10. impotens Sperare] wild enough to expect anything.' This is a common construction, noticed at C. i. 1. 18. Impotens' corresponds to ȧkpatýs, and signifies violence, want of self-control. See Epod. xvi. 62.

13. Vix una sospes navis] Cleopatra's fleet escaped from the battle of Actium, but M. Antonius saved no more than his own ship, in which he fled to Egypt. From motives of delicacy no allusion is made to M. Antonius throughout the Ode.

14. Mentemque lymphatam Mareotico] Lymphatus' is equivalent to vvupóATTоs, lympha and nympha' being the same word. Mareotic wine was from the shores of the Lake Mareotis in the neighborhood of Alexandria. ‘In veros timoresis opposed to what the Greeks called τὰ κενὰ τοῦ πολέμου. Cleopatra's fleet fled from Actium, before a blow was struck, under the influence of a panic; but Horace chooses to say it was a verus timor.' The historical facts are not accurately represented in this Ode. Though it is said that Cleopatra meditated a descent upon Italy, in the event of M. Antonius and herself proving successful at Actium, she fled from that place to Egypt, and never went near Italy, whither Augustus returned after the battle; and it was not till the next year, A. U. c. 724, that he went to Alexandria, and the deaths of M. Antonius and Cleopatra occurred.

20. Haemoniae,] This is an ancient name for Thessaly.

24. reparavit] Literally, took in exchange for her own kingdom shores out of the sight of men.' It is said that Cleopatra contemplated quitting Egypt, to escape from Augustus, and that she transported vessels across the desert to the Red Sea; but they were destroyed by the Arabs, and she abandoned her design. Plut. Ant. c. 69. On the word 'reparavit,' see C. i. 31. 12, n.

25. jacentem] On Cleopatra's death, etc., see Plut. Ant. c. 84. 26, 27. asperas · - serpentes] venomous asps.' 'Atrum' is ' 'deadly.' 29. Deliberata morte ferocior] 'Growing bolder, when she had resolved to die.'

30. Liburnis] See Epod. i. 1, n.

ODE XXXVIII.

THIS Ode was probably written as a song, and set to music. There is not much to remark upon it. No great pains are usually bestowed on such matters. Some suppose it to be a translation, others an original composition. It is probably only a good imitation of Anacreon. The time is supposed to be Autumn (v. 4).

ARGUMENT.-I hate your Persian finery. Hunt not for the rose, boy; I care only for the myrtle, which equally becomes thee, the servant, and me, thy master.

2. philyra] The linden-tree was so called by the Greeks; and its thin inner bark was used for a lining, on which flowers were sewed to form the richer kind of chaplets, called 'sutiles.'

3. Mitte] 'forbear,' equivalent to 'omitte.'

5. allabores] This is a coined word, and signifies to labor for something