upon a column is probably meant. The marble from Mount Hymettus in Attica was white. The Numidian, referred to in the next verse, was yellowish.

5. Attali] See C. i. 1. 12, n. 'I have not, a stranger heir, taken posses sion of the palace of Attalus.' The meaning is, 'I have not had the luck to come to an unexpected estate, as the Romans came in for the property of Attalus.'

7. Laconicas] See C. 16. 35, n.

,

8. honestae— clientae:] 'respectable dependants,' which may mean the rustic women on a man's farms, the wives of the coloni.' This is not the technical sense of cliens' or 'clienta,' for which see Smith's Dict. Ant.

10. Benigna vena] a productive vein.' This metaphor is from a mine. 11. Me petitseeks my company.'

14. unicis Sabinis] my single Sabine estate.' Supply 'praediis.' The farm which Mæcenas gave him in the valley of the Digentia, among the Sabine hills.

16. interire] This word seems to be an adaptation of livew, by which the Greek expressed the latter days of the month.

17. Tu secanda marmora Locas] You-i. e. any luxurious old man You enter into contracts for the hewing of marble,' to ornament your houses, in the way of pillars, wall-coating, and floors. 'Locare' may be said either of one who receives or of one who pays money: 'locare rem faciendam' or ' utendam,' to let out work to be done, or to let a thing (as a house, &c:) to be used. In the former case the 'locator' pays, in the latter he receives payment. Here the former is meant. The correlative terms are 'redemptor' and 'conductor.' See C. iii. 1. 35, n.

20. urges Summovere littora,]

tracta pisces acquora sentiunt."

Compare with this C. iii. 1. 33, sqq.: "Con'Summovere' is to push up or push out farther into the sea by artificial means, and so increase your grounds on which to build. As to 'Baiae,' see Epp. i. 1. 83, n.

22. ripa.] Ripa' is not used for littus,' the shore of the sea' (as here), so often as 'littus' is used for 'ripa,' 'the bank of a river.'

23. Quid, quod usque] Quid' and 'quid enim' are commonly used to introduce a fresh instance or illustration of what has been said before, or else they carry on the flow of an argument, or something of that sort. It has been usual to insert a note of interrogation after it in these cases, which only makes an intelligible formula unintelligible.

24. Revellis agri terminos] A law of the twelve tables provided against this wrong. "Patronus si clienti fraudem fecerit, sacer esto." Solomon thus exhorts the rich (Prov. xxiii. 10, 11): "Remove not the old landmark, and enter not into the fields of the fatherless; for their Redeemer is mighty, he shall plead with thee."

29. Nulla certior tamen] There is no dwelling marked out (or defined) which more certainly awaits the wealthy landlord than the bounds of greedy Orcus.' Horace means to say, 'Though you think you may push the boundary of your estate farther and farther, you must go to a home marked out for you, and which you can neither expand nor escape from.' In 'destinata (agreeing with 'aula ') and in 'finis' is contained the notion of prescribed and fixed limits, in which the force of the passage lies.

34. Regumque pueris,] C. i. 4. 14, n.

35. Callidum Promethea] This story of Prometheus trying to bribe Charon is not found elsewhere.

37. Tantali Genus] See C. i. 6. 8, n.

38. coërcet] confines.'

40. Vocatus atque non vocatus audit.] Horace's language is bold, coupling

'audit' with 'non vocatus.' 'Functum laboribus,' 'when he has finished his labors,' is derived from the Greek кekμŋkóтa.

ODE XIX.

THIS Ode was perhaps composed at the time of the Liberalia, like the third elegy of the fifth book of Ovid's Tristia. The scene is laid in the woods, and the poet is supposed to come suddenly upon the party, consisting of Bacchus, with his attendant nymphs and the wild creatures of the woods, all attending with admiration to the god as he sings his own achievements. The poet is smitten with terror, which gives place (v. 9) to the inspiration of the divinity, in virtue of which he breaks out into echoes of all he had heard.

ARGUMENT. Among the far hills I saw Bacchus-0 wonderful! reciting, and the Nymphs learning, and the Satyrs all attention. Awe is fresh in my heart; the god is within me, and I am troubled with joy. O spare me, dread Liber! It is past, and I am free to sing of the Bacchanals; of fountains of wine and milk and honey; of Ariadne; of Pentheus and Lycurgus; how thou tamedst the waters of the East, and dost sport with the Thracian nymphs; how thou hurledst the giant from heaven, and how Cerberus did crouch to thee, and lick thy feet.

1. Bacchum] The legends and attributes of Bacchus contained in this Ode are entirely of Greek origin. The Romans had no independent notions of this divinity, whose name Báκxos, 'the shouter,' is properly no more than an adjunct of Διόνυσος.

2. docentem discentes] These correspond to the terms didáσkeiv and paveável, as applied to the choragus who trained, and the chorus who learnt their parts in the Greek plays.

These

3. Nymphasque The Naiades and Dryades (see C. iii. 25. 14). nymphs were the nurses of Bacchus in his infancy, and are always represented as his companions.

4. Capripedum Satyrorum] The Satyrs are usually confounded with the Fauns, Faunus again being confounded with Pan, who was represented with goat's feet like the Satyrs. Lucian describes the Satyrs as being ỏέeîs rà ra, but only describes Pan as having the lower extremities like a goat, rà Káτw alyi éοLKάs. It is vain, therefore, trying to trace any consistency in the poet's conceptions of these uncouth divinities.

6, 7. turbidum Laetatur] 'beats wildly.'

9. Fas est] the god permits me.' Here the poet is supposed to recover from the terror inspired by the god, and to feel that he is at liberty to repeat what he has heard. 'Fas est' is equivalent to dvvaróv éori. The power as well as the permission of the god is given. C. i. 11. 1, n.

Thyiadas] The attendants of Bacchus were so called, from the Greek word Ovew, 'to rave.'

10. lactis -mella;] The same attribute that made Dionysus the god of wine also gave him milk and honey as his types. He represented the exuberance of nature, and was therein closely connected with Demeter. Any traveller in the East can tell of honeycombs on the trees as curiously wrought as any in garden-hives. Virgil says (Ec. iv. 30): "Et durae quercus sudabunt roscida mella."

12. iterare] This means 'to repeat' what the poet had heard from the god, as he taught the nymphs to praise him.

13. Fas et] Et' is used by the poets as an enclitic, and put after the word it belongs to, which is not done by the prose-writers.

beatae conjugis] i. e. Ariadne, whose crown is one of the constellations, corona,' placed in heaven by Bacchus, according to the story recorded in his happy manner by Ovid (Fast. iii. 459-516).

14. tectuque Penthei] Pentheus, king of Thebes (Epp. i. 16. 74), having gone out to see the secret orgies of Bacchus, was torn to pieces by the Bacchanals, with his mother Agave at the head of them.

16. Lycurgi.] See C. i. 18. 8, n.

17. Tu flectis amnes,] The Hydaspes and Orontes, which Bacchus is said to have walked over dry-shod.

19. Nodo coërces] This is a variation of nodo cohibere crinem' (C. iii. 14. 22). Bistonidum' means the women of the Bistones, a Thracian tribe. 'Fraus,' in this sense of 'harm,' occurs again, C. S. 41.

21. Tu, cum parentis] Horace followed some legend not found by us elsewhere in this description of Bacchus changed into a lion and fighting with the giant Rhoetus. As to the wars of the Giants, see notes on C. ii. 12. 6, and iii. 4. 43, 50.

28. Pacis eras mediusque belli.] You were the same, whether engaged in (in the midst of) peace or war'; the same, i. e. as vigorous in war as in the dance or jest.

30. Cornu decorum,] Dionysus was called by the Greeks xpuσokepws, because he was the son of Jupiter Ammon, called the Horned. This symbol of power, common to the Greeks as well as to all the nations of the East (see the Hebrew Scriptures passim), was adopted from this divinity by Alexander the Great (who professed to be the brother of Bacchus and son of Ammon) and his successors, who have it represented on their coins. Compare C. iii. 21. 18: "Vires et addis cornua pauperi."

leniter atterens Caudam,] There is a notion of tameness and pleasure in this action. As you came he gently wagged his tail, as you departed he licked your feet.' Ter-' is to turn or wag, and 'adter-' is to wag at or towards.

31. trilingui Ore] three mouths, as ἑκατομπόδων Νηρηΐδων signifies the hundred Nereids (Soph. Oed. Col. v. 717). See note on ii. 13. 34.

ODE XX.

THIS Ode appears to have been written impromptu, in a mock-heroic or but half serious style, in reply to an invitation of Mæcenas (v. 6). The poet says that he whom Mæcenas delights to honor cannot fail to live for ever, and that he already feels his immortality, and that wings have been given him with which he shall soar to heaven, and fly to the farthest corners of the earth.

ARGUMENT. On a fresh, strong wing shall I soar to heaven, far above envy and the world. Whom thou, dear Mæcenas, delightest to honor, Styx hath no power to detain. Even now my plumage is springing, and I am ready to fly away and sing in distant places, and to teach barbarous nations. No wailings for me; away with the empty honors of a tomb.

4. invidia major] Horace was not too good to be maligned, but he could rise above it, which is the meaning of 'major,' κpeiσowv. His birth drew contempt upon him while he held a command in Brutus's army, and afterwards when he became intimate with Mæcenas (see Sat. i. 6. 46, sqq.); but those who envied tried as usual to make use of him (see Sat. ii. 6. 47, sqq.). He appears in some measure to have outlived detraction, according to his own words (C. iv. 3. 16): "Jam dente minus mordeor invido."

6. quem vocas,] 'whom thou honored by an invitation.' See Introduction. It was on the strength of such invitations that he affirmed,

Pauperemque dives

Me petit." (C. ii. 18. 10.)

9, 10. asperae Pelles] Like the skin on a swan's legs.

11. Superne, As this is formed from supernus,' the last syllable would naturally be long; but it is short in Lucretius twice, and the same with 'inferne.'

13. Daedaleo ocior] Orelli has collected many examples of hiatus like this from Horace, Virgil, and Ovid. See C. i. 28. 24.

15. canorus Ales] The swan.

has,

See C. iv. 2. 25, 3. 20. Virgil (Ec. ix. 27)

"Vare tuum nomen

Cantantes sublime ferent ad sidera cycni."

16. Hyperboreosque campos.] There was a mystery attached to the distant regions of the north, to which Pindar (Pyth. x.) says no man ever found the way by land or sea. They did not however neglect the Muses. They were a happy race, ἀνδρῶν μακάρων ὅμιλος ; a sacred family, ἱερὰ γενεά, free from old age, disease, and war. These considerations will explain Horace's meaning.

18. Marsae cohortis] The Marsi were one of the hardiest of the Italian tribes, and supplied the best foot-soldiers for the Roman army, which is hence called Marsa cohors' (see C. iii. 5. 9).

Dacus-Geloni,] See C. i. 19. 10, n. The Daci were not finally subdued till the reign of Trajan.

19. peritus] Here the meaning is 'instructed,' as 'juris peritus' is one instructed and skilled in the law. Horace means that barbarous nations will become versed in his writings: 'mei peritus me discet' is perhaps the full sentence. But why he should class those who drank of the waters of the Rhone (of which many Romans drank) with the barbarians mentioned, is not easy to understand.

20. Hiber] By Hiber is probably meant the Caucasian people of that

name.

Rhodanique potor.] This mode of expression for the inhabitants of a country, as those who drink of their national river, is repeated twice, C. iii. 10. 1, and C. iv. 15. 21.

21. inani funere] That is, a funeral without a corpse. The poet says he shall have taken flight and shall not die. The idea is like that of Ennius in those verses (quoted by Cicero de Senect. c. 20),

"Nemo me lacrimis decoret nec funera fletu
Faxit. Cur? Volito vivu' per ora virum."

22. Luctusque turpes] 'disfiguring grief.'

24. supervacuos] The prose-writers before Pliny used the form 'super

vacaneus.'

ODES.-BOOK III.

ODE I.

THIS and the five following Odes are generally admitted to be among the finest specimens of Horace's manner. It has been already said (C. ii. 15, Introduction) that they appear all to have been written about the same time with one another and with other Odes, namely, that time when Augustus set himself the task of social reformation, after the close of the civil wars.

The general purport of this Ode is an exhortation to moderate living and desires.

The first stanza is generally understood to have been added as an introduétion to the six Odes, viewed as a whole.

ARGUMENT.-The worldly I despise, but have new precepts for the young. Kings rule over their people, but are themselves the subjects of Jove. One may be richer, another nobler than his fellows, but all alike must die. No indulgence can get sleep for him who has a sword ever hanging over him, while it disdains not the dwellings of the poor. He who is content with a little, fears not storm or drought. The rich man builds him houses on the very waters, but anxiety follows him, go where he will. If, then, the luxuries of the wealthy cure not grief, why should I build me great houses, or seek to change my lot?

1. Odi profanum vulgus] The first stanza is an imitation of the language used by the priests at the mysteries, requiring "the multitude profane," that is, all but the initiated, or those who were to be initiated, to stand aloof. 'Favere linguis,' like evnμeiv, in its first meaning signifies the speaking words of good omen. But it came as commonly to signify total silence, as here. Horace speaks as if he despaired of impressing his precepts on any but the young, and bids the rest stand aside, as incapable of being initiated in the true wisdom of life.

3. Musarum sacerdos] Ovid calls himself the same (Amor. iii. 8. 23): — "Ille ego Musarum purus Phoebique sacerdos."

5. Regum timendorum] He begins by saying that even kings, though they are above their people, are themselves inferior to Jove, and goes on to say that, though one man may be richer or nobler than another, all must die; that the rich have no exemption from care, but much more of it than the humble.

7. triumpho, Cuncta] There is some abruptness in this, from the absence of 'et.' But it is not wanted. As to the Giants' wars, see C. ii. 12. 6, n., 19. 21; iii. 4. 43, 50.

9. Est ut This is equivalent to eσriv ås, it may be.' 'Esto' without 'ut' occurs in Sat. i. 6. 19. The meaning of the sentence is, that one man possesses more lands than another.

10. hic generosior] 'Generosior' is more noble by birth, as another is more distinguished for his character and deeds, and a third for the number of his clients, of whom it was the pride of the wealthy Romans to have a large body depending on them.