Complete Works of Horace (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics)

by Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus

  Thracio bacchante magis sub

  interlunia uento,

  cum tibi flagrans amor et libido,

  quae solet matres furiare equorum,

  saeuiet circa iecur ulcerosum 15

  non sine questu,

  laeta quod pubes hedera uirenti

  gaudeat pulla magis atque myrto,

  aridas frondes hiemis sodali

  dedicet Euro. 20

  ODE XXV.

  TO LYDIA.

  The wanton youths less violently shake thy fastened windows with their redoubled knocks, nor do they rob you of your rest; and your door, which formerly moved its yielding hinges freely, now sticks lovingly to its threshold. Less and less often do you now hear: “My Lydia, dost thou sleep the live-long night, while I your lover am dying?” Now you are an old woman, it will be your turn to bewail the insolence of rakes, when you are neglected in a lonely alley, while the Thracian wind rages at the Interlunium: when that hot desire and lust, which is wont to render furious the dams of horses, shall rage about your ulcerous liver: not without complaint, that sprightly youth rejoice rather in the verdant ivy and growing myrtle, and dedicate sapless leaves to Eurus, the companion of winter.

  XXVI

  Musis amicus tristitiam et metus

  tradam proteruis in mare Creticum

  portare uentis, quis sub Arcto

  rex gelidae metuatur orae,

  quid Tiridaten terreat, unice 5

  securus. O quae fontibus integris

  gaudes, apricos necte flores,

  necte meo Lamiae coronam,

  Piplea dulcis. Nil sine te mei

  prosunt honores; hunc fidibus nouis, 10

  hunc Lesbio sacrare plectro

  teque tuasque decet sorores.

  ODE XXVI.

  TO AELIUS LAMIA.

  A friend to the Muses, I will deliver up grief and fears to the wanton winds, to waft into the Cretan Sea; singularly careless, what king of a frozen region is dreaded under the pole, or what terrifies Tiridates. O sweet muse, who art delighted with pure fountains, weave together the sunny flowers, weave a chaplet for my Lamia. Without thee, my praises profit nothing. To render him immortal by new strains, to render him immortal by the Lesbian lyre, becomes both thee and thy sisters.

  XXVII

  Natis in usum laetitiae scyphis

  pugnare Thracum est; tollite barbarum

  morem uerecundumque Bacchum

  sanguineis prohibete rixis.

  Vino et lucernis Medus acinaces 5

  immane quantum discrepat; impium

  lenite clamorem, sodales,

  et cubito remanete presso.

  Voltis seueri me quoque sumere

  partem Falerni? Dicat Opuntiae 10

  frater Megyllae quo beatus

  uolnere, qua pereat sagitta.

  Cessat uoluntas? Non alia bibam

  mercede. Quae te cumque domat Venus

  non erubescendis adurit

  ignibus ingenuoque semper 15

  amore peccas. Quicquid habes, age,

  depone tutis auribus. A! miser,

  quanta laborabas Charybdi,

  digne puer meliore flamma. 20

  Quae saga, quis te soluere Thessalis

  magus uenenis, quis poterit deus?

  uix inligatum te triformi

  Pegasus expediet Chimaera.

  ODE XXVII.

  TO HIS COMPANIONS.

  To quarrel over your cups, which were made for joy, is downright Thracian. Away with the barbarous custom, and protect modest Bacchus from bloody frays. How immensely disagreeable to wine and candles is the sabre of the Medes! O my companions, repress your wicked vociferations, and rest quietly on bended elbow. Would you have me also take my share of stout Falernian? Let the brother of Opuntian Megilla then declare, with what wound he is blessed, with what dart he is dying. — What, do you refuse? I will not drink upon any other condition. Whatever kind of passion rules you, it scorches you with the flames you need not be ashamed of, and you always indulge in an honorable, an ingenuous love. Come, whatever is your case, trust it to faithful ears. Ah, unhappy! in what a Charybdis art thou struggling, O youth, worthy of a better flame! What witch, what magician, with his Thessalian incantations, what deity can free you? Pegasus himself will scarcely deliver you, so entangled, from this three-fold chimera.

  XXVIII

  Te maris et terrae numeroque carentis harenae

  mensorem cohibent, Archyta,

  pulueris exigui prope latum parua Matinum

  munera nec quicquam tibi prodest

  aerias temptasse domos animoque rotundum 5

  percurrisse polum morituro.

  Occidit et Pelopis genitor, conuiua deorum,

  Tithonusque remotus in auras

  et Iouis arcanis Minos admissus habentque

  Tartara Panthoiden iterum Orco 10

  demissum, quamuis clipeo Troiana refixo

  tempora testatus nihil ultra

  neruos atque cutem morti concesserat atrae,

  iudice te non sordidus auctor

  naturae uerique. Sed omnis una manet nox 15

  et calcanda semel uia leti.

  Dant alios Furiae toruo spectacula Marti,

  exitio est auidum mare nautis;

  mixta senum ac iuuenum densentur funera, nullum

  saeua caput Proserpina fugit. 20

  Me quoque deuexi rapidus comes Orionis

  Illyricis Notus obruit undis.

  At tu, nauta, uagae ne parce malignus harenae

  ossibus et capiti inhumato

  particulam dare: sic, quodcumque minabitur Eurus 25

  fluctibus Hesperiis, Venusinae

  plectantur siluae te sospite multaque merces,

  unde potest, tibi defluat aequo

  ab Ioue Neptunoque sacri custode Tarenti.

  Neglegis inmeritis nocituram

  postmodo te natis fraudem committere? Fors et 30

  debita iura uicesque superbae

  te maneant ipsum: precibus non linquar inultis

  teque piacula nulla resoluent.

  Quamquam festinas, non est mora longa; licebit 35

  iniecto ter puluere curras.

  ODE XXVIII.

  ARCHYTAS.

  The [want of the] scanty present of a little sand near the Mantinian shore, confines thee, O Archytas, the surveyor of sea and earth, and of the innumerable sand: neither is it of any advantage to you, to have explored the celestial regions, and to have traversed the round world in your imagination, since thou wast to die. Thus also did the father of Pelops, the guest of the gods, die; and Tithonus likewise was translated to the skies, and Minos, though admitted to the secrets of Jupiter; and the Tartarean regions are possessed of the son of Panthous, once more sent down to the receptacle of the dead; notwithstanding, having retaken his shield from the temple, he gave evidence of the Trojan times, and that he had resigned to gloomy death nothing but his sinews and skin; in your opinion, no inconsiderable judge of truth and nature. But the game night awaits all, and the road of death must once be travelled. The Furies give up some to the sport of horrible Mars: the greedy ocean is destructive to sailors: the mingled funerals of young and old are crowded together: not a single person does the cruel Proserpine pass by. The south wind, the tempestuous attendant on the setting Orion, has sunk me also in the Illyrian waves. But do not thou, O sailor, malignantly grudge to give a portion of loose sand to my bones and unburied head. So, whatever the east wind shall threaten to the Italian sea, let the Venusinian woods suffer, while you are in safety; and manifold profit, from whatever port it may, come to you by favoring Jove, and Neptune, the defender of consecrated Tarentum. But if you, by chance, make light of committing a crime, which will be hurtful to your innocent posterity, may just laws and haughty retribution await you. I will not be deserted with fruitless prayers; and no expiations shall atone for you. Though you are in haste, you need not tarry long: after having thrice sprinkled the dust over me, you may proceed.

  XXIX

  Ic
ci, beatis nunc Arabum inuides

  gazis et acrem militiam paras

  non ante deuictis Sabaeae

  regibus horribilique Medo

  nectis catenas? Quae tibi uirginum 5

  sponso necato barbara seruiet?

  puer quis ex aula capillis

  ad cyathum statuetur unctis,

  doctus sagittas tendere Sericas

  arcu paterno? Quis neget arduis 10

  pronos relabi posse riuos

  montibus et Tiberim reuerti,

  cum tu coemptos undique nobilis

  libros Panaeti Socraticam et domum

  mutare loricis Hiberis,

  pollicitus meliora, tendis? 15

  ODE XXIX.

  TO ICCIUS.

  O Iccius, you now covet the opulent treasures of the Arabians, and are preparing vigorous for a war against the kings of Saba, hitherto unconquered, and are forming chains for the formidable Mede. What barbarian virgin shall be your slave, after you have killed her betrothed husband? What boy from the court shall be made your cup-bearer, with his perfumed locks, skilled to direct the Seric arrows with his father’s bow? Who will now deny that it is probable for precipitate rivers to flow back again to the high mountains, and for Tiber to change his course, since you are about to exchange the noble works of Panaetius, collected from all parts, together with the whole Socratic family, for Iberian armor, after you had promised better things?

  XXX

  O Venus regina Cnidi Paphique,

  sperne dilectam Cypron et uocantis

  ture te multo Glycerae decoram

  transfer in aedem.

  Feruidus tecum puer et solutis 5

  Gratiae zonis properentque Nymphae

  et parum comis sine te Iuuentas

  Mercuriusque.

  ODE XXX.

  TO VENUS.

  O Venus, queen of Gnidus and Paphos, neglect your favorite Cyprus, and transport yourself into the beautiful temple of Glycera, who is invoking you with abundance of frankincense. Let your glowing son hasten along with you, and the Graces with their zones loosed, and the Nymphs, and Youth possessed of little charm without you and Mercury.

  XXXI

  Quid dedicatum poscit Apollinem

  uates? Quid orat, de patera nouum

  fundens liquorem? Non opimae

  Sardiniae segetes feraces,

  non aestuosae grata Calabriae 5

  armenta, non aurum aut ebur Indicum,

  non rura, quae Liris quieta

  mordet aqua taciturnus amnis.

  Premant Calena falce quibus dedit

  Fortuna uitem, diues et aureis 10

  mercator exsiccet culillis

  uina Syra reparata merce,

  dis carus ipsis, quippe ter et quater

  anno reuisens aequor Atlanticum

  inpune: me pascust oliuae,

  me cichorea leuesque maluae. 15

  Frui paratis et ualido mihi,

  Latoe, dones, at, precor, integra

  cum mente, nec turpem senectam

  degere nec cithara carentem. 20

  ODE XXXI.

  TO APOLLO.

  What does the poet beg from Phoebus on the dedication of his temple? What does he pray for, while he pours from the flagon the first libation? Not the rich crops of fertile Sardinia: not the goodly flocks of scorched Calabria: not gold, or Indian ivory: not those countries, which the still river Liris eats away with its silent streams. Let those to whom fortune has given the Calenian vineyards, prune them with a hooked knife; and let the wealthy merchant drink out of golden cups the wines procured by his Syrian merchandize, favored by the gods themselves, inasmuch as without loss he visits three or four times a year the Atlantic Sea. Me olives support, me succories and soft mallows. O thou son of Latona, grant me to enjoy my acquisitions, and to possess my health, together with an unimpaired understanding, I beseech thee; and that I may not lead a dishonorable old age, nor one bereft of the lyre.

  XXXII

  Poscimur. Si quid uacui sub umbra

  lusimus tecum, quod et hunc in annum

  uiuat et pluris, age, dic Latinum,

  barbite, carmen,

  Lesbio primum modulate ciui, 5

  qui, ferox bello, tamen inter arma,

  siue iactatam religarat udo

  litore nauem,

  Liberum et Musas Veneremque et illi

  semper haerentem puerum canebat 10

  et Lycum nigris oculis nigroque

  crine decorum.

  O decus Phoebi et dapibus supremi

  grata testudo Iouis, o laborum

  dulce lenimen, mihi cumque salue 15

  rite uocanti.

  ODE XXXII.

  TO HIS LYRE.

  We are called upon. If ever, O lyre, in idle amusement in the shade with thee, we have played anything that may live for this year and many, come on, be responsive to a Latin ode, my dear lyre — first tuned by a Lesbian citizen, who, fierce in war, yet amid arms, or if he had made fast to the watery shore his tossed vessel, sung Bacchus, and the Muses, and Venus, and the boy, her ever-close attendant, and Lycus, lovely for his black eyes and jetty locks. O thou ornament of Apollo, charming shell, agreeable even at the banquets of supreme Jove! O thou sweet alleviator of anxious toils, be propitious to me, whenever duly invoking thee!

  XXXIII

  Albi, ne doleas plus nimio memor

  inmitis Glycerae neu miserabilis

  descantes elegos, cur tibi iunior

  laesa praeniteat fide.

  Insignem tenui fronte Lycorida 5

  Cyri torret amor, Cyrus in asperam

  declinat Pholoen: sed prius Apulis

  iungentur capreae lupis

  quam turpi Pholoe peccet adultero.

  Sic uisum Veneri, cui placet imparis 10

  formas atque animos sub iuga aenea

  saeuo mittere cum ioco.

  Ipsum me melior cum peteret Venus,

  grata detinuit compede Myrtale

  libertina, fretis acrior Hadriae 15

  curuantis Calabros sinus.

  ODE XXXIII.

  TO ALBIUS TIBULLUS.

  Grieve not too much, my Albius, thoughtful of cruel Glycera; nor chant your mournful elegies, because, as her faith being broken, a younger man is more agreeable, than you in her eyes. A love for Cyrus inflames Lycoris, distinguished for her little forehead: Cyrus follows the rough Pholoe; but she-goats shall sooner be united to the Apulian wolves, than Pholoe shall commit a crime with a base adulterer. Such is the will of Venus, who delights in cruel sport, to subject to her brazen yokes persons and tempers ill suited to each other. As for myself, the slave-born Myrtale, more untractable than the Adriatic Sea that forms the Calabrian gulfs, entangled me in a pleasing chain, at the very time that a more eligible love courted my embraces.

  XXXIV

  Parcus deorum cultor et infrequens,

  insanientis dum sapientiae

  consultus erro, nunc retrorsum

  uela dare atque iterare cursus

  cogor relictos: namque Diespiter 5

  igni corusco nubila diuidens

  plerumque, per purum tonantis

  egit equos uolucremque currum,

  quo bruta tellus et uaga flumina,

  quo Styx et inuisi horrida Taenari 10

  sedes Atlanteusque finis

  concutitur. Valet ima summis

  mutare et insignem attenuat deus,

  obscura promens; hinc apicem rapax

  Fortuna cum stridore acuto

  sustulit, hic posuisse gaudet. 15

  ODE XXXIV.

  AGAINST THE EPICURIANS.

  A remiss and irregular worshiper of the gods, while I professed the errors of a senseless philosophy, I am now obliged to set sail back again, and to renew the course that I had deserted. For Jupiter, who usually cleaves the clouds with his gleaming lightning, lately drove his thundering horses and rapid chariot through the clear serene; which the sluggish earth, and wandering rivers; at which Styx, and the horrid seat of detested Taenaru
s, and the utmost boundary of Atlas were shaken. The Deity is able to make exchange between the highest and the lowest, and diminishes the exalted, bringing to light the obscure; rapacious fortune, with a shrill whizzing, has borne off the plume from one head, and delights in having placed it on another.

  XXXV

  O diua, gratum quae regis Antium,

  praesens uel imo tollere de gradu

  mortale corpus uel superbos

  uertere funeribus triumphos,

  te pauper ambit sollicita prece 5

  ruris colonus, te dominam aequoris

  quicumque Bythyna lacessit

  Carpathium pelagus carina.

  Te Dacus asper, te profugi Scythae,

  urbesque gentesque et Latium ferox 10

  regumque matres barbarorum et

  purpurei metuunt tyranni,

  iniurioso ne pede proruas

  stantem columnam, neu populus frequens

  ad arma cessantis, ad arma

  concitet imperiumque frangat. 15

  Te semper anteit serua Necessitas,

  clauos trabalis et cuneos manu

  gestans aena nec seuerus

  uncus abest liquidumque plumbum; 20

  te Spes et albo rara Fides colit

  uelata panno nec comitem abnegat,