Translation Notes

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Translation Notes
Epistularum Liber Secundus
by Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace)
Epistula III (also known as Ars Poetica)
1. humano, etc.: the first canon is that a work should be consistent with itself. This point Horace approaches in his usual indirect way. It would seem that some one had claimed alike freedom of the imagination from the trammels of realism in poetry as was allowed in pictorial art. Hence he begins to answer this claim by giving absurd cases of the use of imagination in painting. Then he introduces the point made by the unrealist, applying it to both painting and poetry, and then proceeds to show its limitations. The whole means, "as you say, a poet is not tied down to absolute facts any more than a painter, but a painter must not attempt to represent the impossible, no more must the poet."
3. undique: i.e. from all sorts of animals. ut: introducing the result of collatis. turpiter: of appearance, its proper meaning. Cf. Greek aischr?.
9. reddatur: i.e. to correspond.
10. aequa: i.e. alike to both.
12. placidis: see examples in next verse.
13. geminentur, united, so as to make one creature.
14. inceptis, etc.: an example of the disregard of the canon. The poem starts out with a lofty design, but it is spoiled by incongruity of details.
19. sed: opposed to an implied concession, "very fine, but," etc. erat: imperfect for present time in the contrary-to-fact construction, of that which is not done. Cf. tempus erat, Od. I. 37. 4; see Grammar ㎣ 311 c and 308 c. et, and so, continuing the same principle applied to painting.
20. scis, etc.: i.e. you may be skilful in painting trees; but if you want to paint a sea-piece, it would only spoil it to put them in. fractis, etc.: the ancients were accustomed to hang up in temples votive tablets, representing in a very realistic fashion any narrow escape from death. Italian churches are full of pictures made in the same spirit. Cf. Sat. II. 1. 33 and note.
21. amphora, etc.: i.e. why, when you have a purpose, do you change it on the way, bringing out something else by the use of incongruous details?
24. maxima, etc.: i.e. this, like many other faults, comes from a desire for excellence carried too far.
29. prodigialiter: i.e. with an ornament of marvels to make it interesting.
31. in vitium, etc.: the formal statement of the idea in vv. 24-30.
32. Aemilium circa ludum, etc.: another aspect of the same idea. It is the want of skill in making the whole (implied in arte) that produces the unfortunate result. The most ordinary worker will excel in some details but will fail for want of skill in some other detail which is equally necessary. Aemilium ludum: doubtless a gladiatorial establishment, but otherwise unknown. The brass founders must have worked near by.
34. ponere: apparently technical. Cf. Od. IV. 8. 8, and the Greek hist?ai, drawn from the sculptor's art.
35. hunc, etc.: cf. ne fueris hic tu, I. 6. 40.
37. spectandum, etc.: i.e. with some beauties, marred, however, by flagrant defects.
38. sumite, etc.: the second canon, to choose a suitable subject. This division loosely corresponds to the rhetorical inventio.
40. potenter: apparently (according to your powers). res: cf. rem tene, verba sequentur, Cato.
41. facundia: power of expression‎; technically, elocutio (Greek phr?is). Cf. elocutio est idoneorum verborum et sententiarum ad inventionem accommodatio, Cic. de Inv. I. 7. 9. ordo, arrangement. Cf. dispositio est rerum inventarum in ordinem distributio, ibid.
42. ordinis, etc.: the excellences of arrangement are so simple that Horace dismisses the subject with a few words.
45. hoc amet, etc.: i.e. at any given time, each in its turn.
46. in verbis, etc.: a discussion of the elocutio. Cf. ornatus autem verborum duplex, unus simplicium alter conlocatorum, Cic. Orator, 24. 80. tenuis, simple, as opposed to a florid and turgid style. Cf. ac primum informandus est ille nobis quem solum quidam vocant Atticum; summissus est et humilis, consuetudinem imitans, ab indisertis re plus quam opinione differens (Cic. Orator, 23. 75); ergo ille tenuis [orator] modo sit elegans, etc. (ibid. 24. 81). So farther on hic subtilis; hic acutus; haec tenuitas; summissus orator, magnus tamen et germanus Atticus. This style is opposed to uberius aliud aliquantoque robustius quam hoc humile; and tertius ille amplus copiosus gravis ornatus in quo profecto vis maxima est (ibid. 28. 97). The whole passage is nearly parallel with Horace's canons. serendis: cf. sermo.
47. callida iunctura: a clever combination by which a familiar word is made to seem new, perhaps such expressions as rubente dextera, Attalicis condicionibus, pronos annos (v. 60); though Horace has in mind doubtless a less lofty flight than is generally found in his odes. Cf. Persius V. 14.
48. si forte, etc.: i.e. though in accordance with Horace's description, the author will rely upon ordinary words made fresh by combination, yet if occasion arises, he may coin new ones in moderation.
49. indiciis monstrare recentibus, etc., reveal by new signs thoughts hitherto unknown. The figure is from the investigation of crime, or the like. abdita rerum: cf. Sat. II. 8. 83.
50. cinctutis, half naked, or kilted, clad in the cinctus, a kind of kilt covering the middle of the body, used before the more civilized tunic. non exaudita: cf. II. 2. 117. Cethegis: M. Cornelius Cethegus (consul B.C. 204) was the first Roman orator (Cic. Brut. 15). A time far back is taken to make plain the necessity of new words on account of the great development of ideas since that time. Apparently such words are meant as new formations in -tas, -alis, or the like.
51. continget, occasion will arise. sumpta pudenter: i.e. if so used.
52. et: these too as well as new Latin formations. fidem: i.e. acceptance; properly, the words will gain confidence, and not be looked upon with suspicion. si Graeco fonte cadent; apparently new translations from the Greek like the old mundus, qualitas, exhibere negotium. Horace's own exclusion of Greek words proper, and his objection to Lucilius (Sat. I. 10. 20) seem to preclude the idea of such words as malacissare (Greek malak?ein), taken bodily into the language.
53. parce detorta: i.e. slightly varied in their use from their originals. Some editors take this to mean a slight variation in the inflexions[sic]. quid autem, etc.: i.e. this was allowed the earlier poets, and why not to the later as well?
55. ego, etc.: simply another example of the same kind as the preceding, only here is considered the effect on the language rather than the right of the poet.
56. invideor: probably a colloquial use instead of invidetur mihi, a popular corruption of grammar. Cf. imperor, I. 5. 21. lingua: i.e. their writings.
59. signatum: the figure drawn from money. A new coinage is always in order; as in coins, so in words. praesente nota, the modern stamp. producere: cf. produxerit, II. 2. 119.
60. ut silvae, etc.: i.e. for everything early passes away, words as well as things. in annos: cf. in dies, in horas (v. 160).
61. prima cadunt: a coordinate clause with mutantur, but containing a subordinate idea, "while, etc." vetus aetas, the aging life.
63. receptus, etc.: the allusion is apparently (a) to the Portus Iulius made by the union of the Lucrine Lake with the sea (Suet. Oct. 16); (b) the attempted draining of the Pomptine Marshes (Schol. ad locum); (c) improvements in the course of the Tiber (Suet. Oct. 30).
64. classis, etc.: for construction, cf. I. 1. 31 and note.
65. palus: with short u contrary to the usual prosody.
67. iniquum frugibus: i.e. on account of inundations.
68. facta: repeating nostra, but with emphasis on works as opposed to words (sermonum).
69. honos, dignity, the respect in which they are held. stet vivax, continues to live.
71. usus: cf. II. 2. 119.
73. res gestae, etc.: Horace, having finished the matter of diction, comes to the choice of metre. One can hardly see why this topic was inserted unless it was intended to be learned by heart by one the Pisos. Those enumerated are the Hexameter (vv. 73, 74), Elegiac (vv. 75-78), the Iambic metres (vv. 79-82), Lyric metres (vv. 83-85).
75. impariter: only found here. Cf. "unequally yoked together." querimonia, etc.: i.e. the elegy was originally the lament of hapless love, but afterwards used also for other amatory strains.
77. quis tamen, etc.: accounts vary between Archilochus, Mimnermus, and Callinus. exiguos, light, in matter, as opposed to the heroic strain.
79. proprio: i.e. his own invention, as it was supposed.
80. hunc, etc.: i.e. it was afterwards adopted by the drama, in Comedy (socci) and Tragedy (cothurni).
81. alternis, etc.: cf. qui [Aristoteles] indicat heroum numerum grandiorem quam desideret soluta oratio, iambum autem nimis e volgari esse sermone, Cic. Orator, 57. 192; and at comicorum senarii propter similitudinem sermonis sic saepe sunt abiecti, ut non numquam vix in eis numerus et versus intellegi possit, ibid. 55. 184.
82. rebus agendis: i.e. the imitated actual life of the stage.
83. fidibus: i.e. the lyric measures. divos puerosque, i.e. in hymns.
84. pugilem, etc.: i.e. odes such as Pindar's, in honor of victors at the games.
85. iuvenum curas: i.e. love-songs. libera: i.e. freeing from cares, as we should say, "the merry bowl." vina: i.e. drinking-songs.
86. descriptas, etc.: the fourth requisite is a style in harmony with the subject. vices, line, properly the part or function which the work has to perform. colores, tone, as in vitae color, Sat. II. 1. 60.
87. salutor: i.e. claim the name of, expect to be addressed as such.
88. cur nescire, etc.: i.e. one at least ought to admit the rule, and try to learn, not perversely ignore it.
89. versibus, etc.: just what is meant is seen best in the cases where the rule may be broken, given in vv. 93 seq. and 95 seq.
90. privatis: i.e. words of ordinary life. socco: cf. v. 80.
91. cena Thyestae: a proverbial expression‎, but here only used as an example of a tragic theme.
92. singula quaeque, each particular style. locum sortita: i.e. the place allotted to it.
93. interdum, etc.: cf. Sat. I. 4. 48 and note.
94. Chremes: cf. Ter. Heaut. 1035 seq.
96. Telephus et Peleus: examples of heroes in reduced circumstances, entreating favors, in which case they are made to adopt the simple language of pathos in order to touch the heart of the spectator.
97. ampullas: cf. I. 3. 14, and Greek l?uthos. No doubt the Greek word became proverbial from the jest in Aristoph. Frogs, 1200 seq. sesquipedalia verba: i.e. the sounding style which belongs to kings and heroes.
98. tetigisse: not different from the present.
99. pulchra, fine, merely commanding admiration for the art. dulcia: i.e. pathetic, which the language of common life only can be.
100. animum agunto: the idea is that it is only by sympathy, which does not respond to language too far removed from common life, that the audience can be moved.
102. voltus: of course the feelings are meant under the guise of their expression‎ in the face.
104. male mandata, words ill-assigned, i.e. language not adapted to their situation.
106. voltum: again the fact put for the feelings.
108. format, etc.: i.e. we are so made as to have a capacity for feeling every aspect of fortune in actual experience, and afterwards by sympathy we are brought to the same state of mind through language which is associated with these experiences. Mimic life produces the same sensations as real life.
113. equites peditesque: i.e. high and low in station.
114. intererit, etc.: besides the difference of situation, there is also the difference of character to be considered. The drawing of character is one of the most important parts of the art, and the shades mentioned are especially delicate.
119. aut famam, etc.: i.e. in characterization, one must follow conventional models, or in case one invents a new character he must make it consistent.
120. honoratum: probably only illustrious. reponis: cf. ponere, v. 34.
121. impiger, etc.: because these are his conventional characteristics, and so with the others.
125. si quid, etc.: a development of sibi convenientia, v. 119.
128. proprie, with originality, i.e. so as to make them one's own, as opposed to mere imitation.
129. Iliacum, etc.: i.e. it is better for you to keep to the conventional types than attempt anything unheard of. The precept has a personal air, as if one of the young men had composed plays on Homeric themes. Cf. the contrary-to-fact construction in v. 130.
131. publica, etc.: here, as elsewhere, the middle course is recommended, not to be a mere imitator through keeping strictly to the conventional. To the material, which belongs to all, you will have a right if you do not servilely follow your models.
133. curabis: best taken as a continuation of the protasis.
134. desilies: i.e. plunge without reflexion into a place where you will be hampered by your respect for your model, or by the laws of the composition.
136. incipies: in an imperative sense as a recommendation. Here begins a new canon, namely, that the plan of the work should have a modest beginning, and rise in interest to the end. cyclicus: one of the cyle of poets who imitated and tried to complete or englarge upon the Iliad and Odyssey. Tradition says Antimachus is meant.
138. hiatu: of the opening the mouth to speak.
141. dic, etc.: Od. I. 1.
146. nec reditum, etc.: i.e. he does not begin his subject with irrelevant details, so that the hearer would be tired out before he comes to the important point. Meleagri: he was the uncle of Diomedes, so that the stories would be remotely connected, but not forming one whole so as to be treated together.
147. ovo: i.e. from the birth of Helen, though she was the cause of the war.
151. ita mentitur: i.e. the fictions which the poet introduces are so united with the rest, that there is no want of harmony in the treatment.
153. tu quid ego, etc.: a recommendation to the study of life, and careful attention to the treatment of character. This is closely connected with v. 114 seq., but there the poet speaks first of diction as connected with character, and afterwards of conventional character, while here he is treating of naturalness as drawn from the study of real life.
155. cantor: in the manuscripts of the plays, the final words or "tag" are assigned to a separate character marked with the Greek omega. Hence it is supposed that the person here referred to was the vocalist who sang the arias or cantica; but cf. Cic. pro Sest. 55. 118, and de Sen. 19. 70.
157. mobilibus, etc.: i.e. the fitting charm must be given to each character as it changes with changing years, by observing carefully those changes in real life.
158. scit, signat: marking the age merely.
159. gestit, etc.: Horace now gives the appropriate conduct for each age.
161. tandem: i.e. he has long been impatient for this moment. custode: cf. Sat. I. 4. 118, and I. 6. 81.
162. equis canibusque: cf. Ter. Andria, 56, 57. campi: cf. I. 18. 53 and note.
164. utilium: i.e. of what is good for him.
165. pernix: a callida iunctura. Cf. Virg. ?. IV. 180. For the thought, cf. II. 1. 100.
166. studiis, tastes. Cf. Cic. de Am. 20. 74.
167. honori, ambition, i.e. the pursuit of office.
169. incommoda: i.e. unlovely features, d?agr?ents, disagreeable to other people as well as himself.
170. inventis, etc.: cf. Sat. II. 3. 110.
171. gelide: i.e. without enthusiasm. ministrat: a livelier term for agit.
172. spe longus: i.e. he looks far into the future, as opposed to the youth, who lives in the present. Cf. avidus futuri (i.e. eager for a long life in which to realize the hope whose fulfilment he does not, like the youth, expect at once).
173. difficilis: cf. Cic. de Sen. 18. 65.
174. castigator, etc.: cf. II. 1. 84.
175. venientes: the years up to the prime of life, the bona aetas, are regarded as coming, because there is an increase of pleasing characteristics, while the later years (mala aetas) are regarding as going because of a corresponding decrease. Cf. II. 2. 55.
176. ne forte, etc.: a summing up of the same general idea.
177. partes: i.e. the characteristic actions as expressed in a drama.
178. aevoque: cf. quidque, Sat. I. 4. 115 and note. morabimur: equivalent to a hortatory subjunctive.
179. aut agitur, etc.: a precept as to what is to be actually put on the stage, and what merely to be described. Here again a middle course is recommended.
182. tradit: as the narrator would communicate the action to the persons on the stage, so here the spectator is said to communicate it to himself, be his own witness.
184. praesens: i.e. of a person on the stage, as opposed to the action behind the scene.
185. pueros, etc.: favorite subjects for dramatic treatment, but in which the action is too painful or too preposterous to be represented.
188. odi: merely dislike; the imagination refuses to credit the acts when brought face to face with them, and so we find them disagreeable.
189. minor, etc.: a precept as to the received length of a play. The division of a play into acts seems to have been the work of the Alexandrine critics. It undoubtedly grew out of the Prologue, three Episodes, and Exodus of the Greek Play.
191. deus: in the Greek Tragedy not infrequently supernatural personages were introduced. We may suppose that this became more common, so that they were employed to work the d?ouement in cases where it was unnecessary, in order to save working out a plot by natural means. Hence the dictum of Horace. Cf. Eur. Andromache, v. 1227 seq.; Soph. Electra, v. 1233. vindice, such interference, properly, champion, one to whom a person has recourse in time of trouble. Here the difficulty in which the hero is (nodus) must be the one which seems naturally to require divine interposition. Cf. ut tragici poetae cum explicare argumenti exitum non potestis (Stoic philosophers) confugitis ad deum Cic. N. D. I. 20. 53.
192. quarta, etc.: the actors appearing on the Greek stage at one time, originally only one, were gradully increased to two (?chylus) and three (Sophocles). If a fourth appeared, he was almost always a mere silent person. The Comedy was a little less strict, but yet this was the rule.
193. actoris, etc.: i.e. the chorus should have a distinct character as a group of persons with a definite part in the action, and not be an excrescence coming in to amuse the audience between the acts, with something unconnected with the plot. Cf. the piper between the first and second act of the Pseudolus of Plautus. officiumque virile, its independent part (see above). chorus: for the presence of the chorus on the Latin stage, see Ribbeck, R?ische Trag?ie, p. 637.
194. defendat: cf. Sat. I. 10. 12.
196. ille bonis, etc.: i.e. let the chorus (as is usual in the Greek Tragedy) be the spokesman of the moral views and precepts of the poet.
198. brevis: cf. I. 14. 35.
200. tegat commissa: as the chorus is present during the action, it would be the depositary of secrets, and by keeping them faithfully it should enforce the duty of this form of good faith. Cf. I. 18. 38; Sat. I. 3. 95; Od. III. 2. 25.
202. tibia, etc.: the poet in his rambling way proceeds to give an account of the development of the musical part of the drama. orichalco vincta: the wood of the tibia was reinforced with metal to increase its resonance, but Horace here evidently is thinking of the double pipe and possibly only the binding of the two reeds. The particular metal only indicates luxury.
203. tenuis: i.e. of feeble tone. simplex: i.e. not blown in pairs, as it was later. foramine pauco: three or four holes only, from which the ancient scales were made out by the use of harmonics.
204. adspirare, etc., accompany and support. utilis, suitable, impliedly for the purpose mentioned, and no other.
205. nondum spissa nimis: of the small audience, the smallness of which is explained by the next line.
206. sane: this word in such connections gives a light tone, like our rather, pretty, not very (with haud), and the like. numerabilis: Ritter compares Greek euar?hmatos, making this an example of the choice of words mentioned in v. 53. parvus: indicating the reason for numerabilis.
207. frugi, etc.: the reason why the people were contented with the simple music; they were not prone to luxurious gratification of the senses.
208. postquam, etc.: i.e. when the population became greater, and at the same time luxury and wantonness increased, the taste for more complicated virtuoso music grew, and instead of being merely a support for the chorus, the music became a pleasure in itself.
209. diurno: cf. solido de die, Od. I. 1. 20. The whole gives a picture of license and festivity as opposed to the (supposed) earlier religious simplicity of the Greek Tragedy.
210. Genius: cf. II. 1. 144. impune: i.e. without restraint.
211. numeris modisque: cf. II. 2. 144.
212. saperet: i.e. have just ideas and good taste to hold in check the extravagant growth of sensuous music. liber laborum: the recoil from hard work would increase the wildness of dissipation.
213. confusus: the mingling of country and city would increase the evil tendencies; so also would the confusion of classes (turpis honesto).
214. sic: i.e. from these causes. motum, etc.: i.e. to the stately measures of the old music greater liveliness and more florid ornament were added.
215. traxit: alluding to the long tunic which the piper wore on the stage. vagus: i.e. he had full possession of the stage, instead of being merely a supporter of the voices.
216. fidibus: i.e. the lyre also went through the same development. voces crevere: alluding to the gradual increase of the number of strings of the lyre, but expressing also the more free development of the music. severis, earnest, or serious in the simplicity of its strains.
217. et tulit, etc.: i.e. the same change took place in the style of the choral song. This forms in a manner the connection of v. 202 seq. with v. 93 seq. tulit, brought in. facundia praeceps, fervid eloquence, as a quality of the writer, while eloquium refers to the result produced.
218. utilium rerum: i.e. moral precepts and wise saws, such as abound in Euripedes.
219. non discrepuit, etc.: i.e. it did not differ much from the style of the inspired oracles, doubtless in obscurity as well as wildness.
220. qui, etc.: i.e. the earliest tragedian. Cf. II. 1. 163. hircum: cf. the commonly received derivation of Greek pragoid?, from pr?os, considered as the prize of the rivalry in song. This view assumes that there were contests in the earlier times, as there were later.
221. mox etiam: i.e. the Satyr drama followed very early the invention of Tragedy. agrestis Satyros: it would appear from the directions given that the Satyric drama was also cultivated at Rome, at least by authors. Whether such plays were ever acted is uncertain. nudavit: the Satyrs as wild creatures naturally appeared with the upper and lower part of their bodies really or apparently naked. asper: i.e. rude and simple in art.
222. gravitate: i.e. the dignity of the occasion as one of worship, and one in which gods and heroes appeared.
223. morandus: i.e. after the tragedies and the completion of the serious part of the festival.
224. sacris: the festival of Dionysus, in whose honor the tragedy was performed. exlex: freed from restraint by the festival character of the day. The picture does not differ much from that in v. 210, though Horace assigns the two to different times. It would seem that Horace conceived the Satyric drama as an outlet for the merriment of the spectator, designed to keep him out of mischief in his riotous condition.
225. verum, etc.: but even in this riotous performance a middle course is recommended as the law of the work, so that the dignity of the higher characters should still be preserved, though the humorous aspects of the situation are to be brought out. risores: in accordance with their nature the Satyrs were a merry crew. dicacis: i.e. making sport of the humors of the situation, sarcastic and abusive.
226. seria: the Satyr drama was far removed from Comedy. In the only one preserved, the Cyclops of Euripedes, the characters are Ulysses, Silenus, the Cyclops, and a Chorus of Satyrs. The plot is treated as seriously as in a tragedy, only a comic myth is used instead of a tragic one, and the humorous aspects of the situation are brought out.
228. conspectus nuper: i.e. in the tragedy which had preceded.
230. nubes, etc.: i.e. the style should not, on the other hand, be too grandiloquent for the situation.
231. effutire, etc.: the caution against too undignified a style is further developed as far as v. 239. indigna, not deigning, too dignified for such dialogue.
232. matrona: i.e. as a respectable matron, though dancing at a festival, will still preserve a proper decorum.
233. pudibunda, with modesty, so as not to drop to a level with the Satyric characters proper.
234. dominantia, literal, a translation (probably in a wrong sense) of Greek k?ios, opposed to figurative expressions. nomina verbaque: cf. Sat. I. 3. 103.
236. differre: i.e. in order to avoid the majestic style of Tragedy, one must not descend to the level of Comedy.
237. Davus, etc.: three characters of Comedy.
238. emuncto: a word borrowed from Comedy.
239. Silenus: cf. note to v. 226. alumni: i.e. Bacchus.
240. noto: i.e. familiar words. quivis: cf. quotations from Cicero under v. 46.
243. accedit, is gained by; i.e. comes from the appropriate use.
244. Fauni: i.e. Satyrs.
245. innati triviis, etc.: like the sharp fellows of the city. paene forenses: almost like the rude gamins of the street.
246. teneris, effeminate, dissolute, as opposed to the healthy vigor of the rustic. Though these are merry rioters, yet they are to have the unspoiled virility of the country. They should be coarse, but not vicious. Cf. teneri saltatores, Cic. in Pis. XXXVI. 89, and the use of mollis, fluens, fluxus. iuvenentur: cf. Greek neanie?mai, frolic, wanton.
247. immunda, obscenities. crepent, roll out. ignominiosa, shameful (to the speaker, or possibly to the person addressed, like billingsgate).
248. equus: the allusion is to the equus publicus originally assigned to the equites.
249. ciceris, nucis: the food of the poorer classes; cf. Sat. II. 3. 182. These viands were sold in booths around the theatre; hence emptor.
250. aequis animis, with favor, or approval. corona: the idea is derived from Greek contests, and is here only figuratively used.
251. syllaba, etc.: apparently an unnecessary explanation. But as Horace is going to discuss the strict metre of the Greeks as opposed to the license of the early Roman dramatists, it is not so unnatural for him to begin with a definition, especially as it is precisely the syllaba brevis that makes the difference.
252. pes citus: the same general idea is expressed in, Sed sunt insignes percussiones eorum numerorum (Iambic and Trochaic) et minuti pedes, Cic. de Orat. III. 47. 182. unde: i.e. from the rapidity of the feet, and frequent occurrence of the ictus (cf. percussiones, above). trimetris: cf. nomen mihi Mercuriost. accrescere: become attached. iussit: i.e. pes citus.
254. iambeis: as a noun, after accrescere. senos: i.e. six feet with only three principal ictus, like music in 6/8 time as opposed to 3/8 time. primus, etc.: i.e. pure iambs, as in the alternate lines of Epode XVI. non ita pridem, etc.: Horace conceives the pure iambic as the original form of the verse, made more sonorous by the occasional spondee (so called) after the time of Archilochus; cf. v. 80.
256. stabilis, stately, steadygoing.
257. non ut, but not so as to.
258. socialiter: only here, and of uncertain meaning; (probably), as full allies, in equal partnership, inasmuch as spondees are not socii aequo iure, but are excluded from certain places. hic: the iambus. Acci: cf. Accius isdem aedilibus (B.C. 140) ait se et Pacuvium docuisse fabulam cum ille octoginta, ipse triginta annos natus esset, Cic. Brut. LXIV. 229. Horace probably refers to him as the most learned of the early dramatists.
259. Enni, etc.: i.e. his powerful lines are marred by carelessness or want of knowledge of art.
260. cum magno pondere: cf. sine pondere, II. 2. 112.
262. premit: i.e. the iambus, from its omission.
263. non quivis, etc.: i.e. but the Romans are not good judges of rhythm, and so the metrical faults of these early poets are pardoned.
264. indigna, undeserved, that ought not to have been granted.
265. idcircone: i.e. because others have been pardoned. vager, take liberties. an, or rather, the second alternative being preferred as usual.
267. vitavi, etc.: i.e. if I do exercise this care, I have after all deserved no credit, but only avoided blame, implying that it would a disgrace to him not to do so.
268. vos, etc.: i.e. I recommend you to study the true models, and aim at something higher than merely escaping censure.
270. at vestri, etc.: a loose chapter in which the poet, being reminded by the mention of careless metre of the faults of Plautus in that regard, criticises the taste of the ancients on account of their admiration of the careless writing of Plautus. This admiration extended both to the verse and the wit of Plautus, and on both these points Horace finds him unworthy as a model. Giving a brief account of the rise of the drama, Horace comes to his ever-present idea that careful composition is the one indispensable virtue.
271. patienter, with indulgence.
273. inurbanum: i.e. coarse, unpolished, the characteristic of Plautus.
276. Thespis: cf. II. 1. 163. plaustris: apparently an erroneous notion, to which Horace's words here have given currency.
277. peruncti, etc.: doubtless for the same purpose as the later masks, to prevent the recognition of the identity of the actor from destroying the illusion.
278. personae, etc.: ?chylus was supposed to be the inventor of the mask and other theatrical paraphernalia. The earlier performance was doubtless a mere merry-making, without special costume. Cf. Athenaeus I. 21.
279. modicis: as in a small theatre. pulpita: i.e. the raised stage, as opposed to the earlier Greek thum?a, or table of the single reciter. tignis: i.e. the first stage was a temporary structure of wood. Cf. M?ler, B?nenalterth?er, p. 128 seq.
280. magnum, etc.: i.e. he introduced the dignity and solemnity of Tragedy.
281. vetus: cf. Sat. I. 4. 1.
282. libertas: cf. Sat. I. 4. 5; 3. 52, note.
283. lex, etc.: i.e. the law was passed and obeyed.
285. nil, etc.: a brief statement, of the adoption of the Greek drama by the Romans, and its attempted development.
287. domestica facta: i.e. the choice of Roman subjects.
288. praetextas: i.e. plays answering to Tragedy, as representing the acts of consuls and the like, clothed in the toga praetexta. Titles preserved are Romulus (Naevius), Sabinae (Ennius), Aeneadae (Accius), and others. docuere: the regular word for producing a play. togatas: plays on themes from common life (of persons clad in the ordinary toga). They correspond to the Greek Comedy as represented in the palliatae of Plautus and Terence, but there are traces of a chorus, or at least of a number of persons speaking in concert. Titles are Augur, Libertus, Psaltria, Simulans, Brundisinae.
290. si non offenderet, etc.: this brings Horace to the kernel of the whole, the want of care in writing which has prevented the Romans from excelling in art.
291. limae: cf. limatior, Sat. I. 10. 65.
293. coercuit, castigavit: the figure is from pruning.
294. ad unguem: cf. Sat. I. 5. 32. perfectum: cf. v. 346. A reading praesectum has some authority, but seems to be ingeniously made out of unguem.
295. ingenium misera, etc.: a humorous development of v. 290. ingenium, genius, as inborn and not cultivable by art. fortunatius, more successful, as succeeding in literature better than study can.
296. excludit, etc.: cf. Plato, Phaedr. p. 245, and saepe enim audivi poetam bonum neminem, id quod a Democrito et Platone in scriptis relictum esse dicunt, sine inflammatione animorum existere posse et sine quodam adflatu quasi furoris. Cic. de Or. 46. 194; de Div. I. 37. Also Sat. I. 4. 34.
297. bona pars, etc.: i.e. poets put on the outward signs of madness, such as the neglect of their personal appearance, and the avoidance of society.
299. nanciscetur, etc.: as the poets think. pretium: i.e. the honor.
300. Anticyris: cf. Sat. II. 3. 83.
301. O ego, etc.: the poet jocosely shows the folly of the idea in words which give an easy transition to his proposed theme, the requirements of poetry.
302. bilem: see Grammar ?240 c, note; cf. II. 2. 137. verni: cf. Cels. II. 13.
303. faceret: i.e. if I omitted to take the anti-bilious treatment. verum, etc.: i.e. but there is nothing I think so much of as guarding against insanity.
304. ergo fungar, etc.: i.e. being obliged by this prejudice to forego being a poet, I will content myself with showing others how to write.
306. munus, function, what is necessary to give satisfaction to the hearer. officium, profession, what the work itself demands, emphasizing the responsibility of the author. These ideas are not different, but, as often, the two phases of the same idea.
307. unde parentur, etc.: cf. vv. 309-322. quid alat, etc.: cf. vv. 323-332.
308. quid deceat, etc.: cf. vv. 333-365. quo virtus, etc.: cf. vv. 366-452. quo error: cf. vv. 453-476.
309. sapere: with reference to v. 296.
310. rem: material, such as is described in v. 312 seq. Socraticae: i.e. philosophic, but chiefly with reference to Ethics (cf. v. 312 seq.); see Od. I. 29 14; III. 21. 9.
311. verba: etc.: cf. Cato's rem tene, verba sequentur.
315. partes: cf. I. 18. 14.
316. reddere, assign. The reference here, as for the most part throughout the epistle, is to dramatic poetry, in which characterization is of course the most important thing.
317. exemplar, etc.: in addition to philosophy the poet should study real life.
318. imitatorem: delineator; i.e. imitator of real life.
319. speciosa locis: i.e. with noble and pleasing sentiments (communes loci). morata recte: i.e. with sound moral precepts suited to each character.
320. sine pondere, without power; i.e. to move the feelings, tame in the action, dull.
321. moratur, holds.
322. rerum: i.e. sententiarum, the same as the loci above, thoughts, sentiments, moral truths. nugae: i.e. in so far as they have no moral purpose.
323. Graiis, etc.: the mention of sententiae leads Horace to account for the superiority of the Greeks in genius. For it is their devotion to liberal arts, more especially philosophy, as opposed to the more commercial education of the Romans, that has caused this difference.
324. avaris: an anticipation of what Horace has in his mind from the first, that is, the sordid character he is going to assign to the Romans in the next verse. Of this the Greeks had nothing, except in regard to fame.
325. longis, etc.: i.e. what we call Vulgar Fractions, which would be learned at a very early age; hence the simplicity of the example.
326. dicat, etc.: an example of the principal teaching at Rome.
327. Albini: as the name is not a common one, it is probably that of a usurer, as Acron says. quincunce: the calculation is in the complicated duodecimal system of the Romans.
328. poteras dixisse, come; you can tell. The teacher encourages the pupil who hesitates for a moment. This hesitation accounts for the use of the imperfect poteras, you could tell (if you chose, or the like). Cf. tempus erat, Od. I. 37. 4. dixisse: the perfect only for metrical reasons. triens: one third, i.e. four-twelfths. eu! rem, etc.: the approval of the teacher, induced by the correct answer of the pupil. But there is also a moral approval; for if the boy understands fully that taking away a twelfth actually reduces the sum to a third, he is likely to look sharply after his fractional currency.
329. redit: is added, a kind of passive of reddo. Cf. for red, also redigo, used of moneys.
330. aerugo, gangrene, properly rust; cf. Sat. I. 4. 101.
332. linenda cedro: i.e. to be preserved. The oil of cedar was used to keep off moths. cupresso: the elegant bookcase suggests the value of the work.
333. aut prodesse, etc.: the beginning of the topic quid deceat (v. 308). This Horace treats under two heads, as to instruction and as to amusement.
335. quicquid, etc.: in reference to the prodesse and idonea.
337. omne supervacuum, etc.: i.e. as everything additional overflows after a vessel is full, so if precepts are too long, they "go in at one ear and out at the other."
338. ficta, etc.: in reference to the delectare and iucunda. proxima veris: an exhortation to realism in art.
339. ne quodcumque, etc.: i.e. too wild an imagination must not be indulged. fabula, a play, which Horace has always in mind throughout, though not exclusively.
340. Lamiae, an ogress, a monster of Libya supposed to feed on children, and used as a bugbear. She was probably introduced on the stage in the Atellane farces, and perhaps in this very situation. Cf. Aristoph. Wasps, 1177. See Diod. Sic. XX. 41.
341. centuriae seniorum, etc.: a reason for combining the profitable and pleasing. seniorum, veterans, in allusion to the divisions of the Servian constitution, cf. II. 1. 81, 85. agitant: i.e. reject, cf. 456. expertia frugis: i.e. a play that has no edification in it.
342. celsi, high-spirited, as disdaining instruction with the arrogant spirit of youth. austera: i.e. containing only instruction. Ramnes, young nobles, as bent on pleasure only. The word is used in allusion to the earliest equites, who consisted of the juniors of the first families. One branch of these equites were Rhamnes. See Lange, R?. Alterth. I. 353. Also Livy, I. 13.
343. omne, etc.: i.e. by combining the two excellences, an author carries all the votes of both the parties mentioned. tulit: see Harpers' Dictionary, s.v. II. A. 4. punctum: cf. II. 2. 99 and note.
345. meret, etc.: i.e. it sells well. Sosiis: cf. I. 20 2 and note. mare transit: cf. I. 20. 13, but here the same idea has a different turn.
347. sunt delicta, etc.: as in Horace's mind every rule of conduct has its opposite phase, so here he warns against drawing the line of propriety too closely. Vitiis nemo sine nascitur, either in conduct or in art. Cf. Sat. I. 3. 68.
348. chorda, etc.: a figure drawn from the lyre.
350. minabitur: sc. ferire.
351. plura, etc.: cf. si modo plura mihi bona sunt, Sat. I. 3. 71.
353. humana: with emphasis; the necessary failings of human nature. quid ergo est: what shall we say then? (cf. Romans VI. 1), a correction of the inference which might be drawn from the above leniency.
357. multum cessat: i.e. is ever negligent. Choerilus: cf. II. 1. 233.
358. bis terve bonum: i.e. it is a matter of proportion. miror: i.e. I marvel that he should happen to succeed once or twice, and laugh at the odd accident.
359. indignor, feel pained, because I should have expected better of him. The two feelings thus contrasted show Horace's general estimate of the two poets; a good thing in Choerilus makes him laugh, it is so unexpected, and for the same reason a bad thing in Homer makes him indignant.
360. verum operi longo: i.e. there is an excuse for Homer in the length of his work. somnum, a sleepy moment.
361. ut pictura, etc.: i.e. a work of art should be judged like a picture, not by an immutable criterion, but in reference to its character and scope. Tintoretto and Holbein are not expected to have the same touch. All this applies also to poetry.
363. amat obscurum: i.e. needs a dim light.
365. semel, deciens: i.e. a picture, for instance, to be seen once at some festival would need a different treatment from a permanent work of art.
366. O maior iuvenum, etc.: a development of quo virtus, quo ferat error (308). First, a natural gift is necessary. We know too little of the persons addressed to say why the elder son is selected here, but one might almost suppose that Horace thought his vocation doubtful. It is possible, however, that the boy had only come to the age when it was necessary to determine his ability. This last supposition would account for quamvis et voce, etc., as well as for v. 385.
368. certis rebus: i.e. such as he enumerates in the next three verses. Cf. Cic. de Orat. I. 26. 118.
370. abest: i.e. may be, etc., a simple statement, as often in suppositions.
371. Messalae: cf. Sat. i. 10. 29; Od. III. 21. Cascellius: a famous jurisconsult; cf. Val. Max. VI. 2. 12.
372. mediocribus: cf. tribuno. Sat. I. 6. 25.
373. di: cf. dis hominibusque invitis, Cic. ad Q. Frat. III. 2, evidently a proverbial expression‎. columnae: i.e. the booksellers, whose wares were exposed for sale on pillars in front of their booths. Cf. pila, Sat. I. 4. 71.
374. symphonia, music, not a necessity, but a luxury.
375. crassum, coarse, and so not well prepared. Sardo: the honey of Sardinia was said to be bitter: cf. melle Corsico quod asperrimum habetur, Plin. H. N. XXX. 28. (10). papaver: cf. (Papaveris) semen tostum in secunda mensa cum melle apud antiquos dabatur, Plin. H. N. XIX. 168. (53).
376. duci: cf. producimus, Sat. I. 5. 70.
379. campestribus: cf. I. 18. 54.
380. pilae: cf. Sat. I. 5. 48 seq. disci, etc.: cf. Sat. II. 2. 13. trochi: cf. Od. III. 24. 57.
381. spissae: cf. v. 205. and I. 19. 41. impune, without restraint, which nobody would have a right to hinder. coronae: cf. I. 18. 53.
382. quidni, etc.: an ironical suggestion that any free citizen with a competence and a good moral character can write.
383. ingenuus, a gentleman; i.e. not only a free citizen, but the son of a free father. census, with a fortune of, or assessed for. equestrem: cf. I. 1. 58 and note.
384. summam: governed by census, used after the analogy of verbs taking a double accusative.
385. invita: cf. di, v. 373, and quia nihil decet invita (ut aiunt) Minerva, id est adversante et repugnante natura, Cic. Off. I. 31. 110.
386. iudicium: cf. v. 367. mens, purpose; i.e. you have the good judgment and (at present) a fixed purpose, etc.
387. Maeci: cf. Sat. I. 10. 38. in aures, etc.: i.e. seek the most rigid criticism.
388. nonum: not to be taken too literally, but there is perhaps an allusion to the Smyrna of Helvius Cinna, which was nine years in the making. See Catull. 95. 1. Wieland takes the words as intended to dissuade the young man from publishing. But this Horace would be likely to do privately, rather than in an open letter.
391. silvestris, etc.: a defence of the dignity of poetry. It must be remembered that the practical Roman regarded everything but war, statesmanship, and money-making as idle and unmanly employments, and hence even Cicero has to defend his interest in these leviores artes (as in pro Arch. 12 seq.). sacer: the early poets were regarded as inspired (cf. Virg. ?. VI. 662 and 645), and had in all literature a kind of superhuman character; cf. vate sacro, Od. IV. 9. 28.
392. victu foedo: i.e. the rude subsistence consisting of the natural growth of trees. Cf. Sat. I. 3. 100. Orpheus: cf. Virg. ?. VI. 645; Aristoph. Frogs, 1032.
393. ob hoc, etc.: i.e. Horace explains the myths about Orpheus as referring to his taming the savage hearts of men.
394. Amphion: cf. I. 18. 41.
395. testudinis: cf. Od. I. 32. 14. prece blanda: i.e. the persuasive accents of his song; cf. Od. I. 24. 13.
396. fuit haec sapientia: i.e. such acts as those of Orpheus and Amphion were regarded as wisdom, inasmuch as they gave civilization to mankind. Cf. Cic. de Am. 2. 6 and 7.
397. publica, etc.: cf. Horace's account of the origin of society. Sat. I. 3. 99.
399. ligno: alluding to the Greek ?ones, the wooden tablets of the laws at Athens. Cf. Plut. Solon, 25.
400. sic, etc.: i.e. imasmuch as the poets performed these services, they were regarded with reverence.
402. post hos, etc.: i.e. the next service to mankind was that of Homer and Tyrtaeus in inspiring men to warlike deeds by their poems.
403. sortes: i.e. oracles were in poetical form.
404. vitae via, etc.: referring to the didactic and gnomic poets, Hesiod and the like. gratia regum: alluding to lyric poets, who flourished at the courts of monarchs.
405. Pieriis: cf. Od. IV. 3. 18. ludus: i.e. dramatic poetry; cf. II. 1. 140.
406. finis: cf. II. 1. 141. ne forte: cf. I. 1. 13, note.
408. natura, etc.: cf. v. 295.
409. nec studium, etc.: cf. Cicero's view, in pro Archia, 15, so also Od. IV. 4. 33. vena: cf. Od. II. 18. 10.
410. rude, raw.
412. qui studet, etc.: a confirm‎atory parallel from gymnastic art.
414. qui. . .cantat, etc.: another parallel from music. Pythia: referring to the musical contests at the Greek games; cf. Olympia, I. 1. 50.
416. nunc, etc.: i.e. but now we have changed all that, and everybody enters the race and is ashamed to be left behind. ego mira, etc.: i.e. go to, I'll rhyme it with the best, and the Devil take the hindmost.
417. occupet, etc.: evidently a children's challenge in a game: cf. "Last in bed put out the light."
418. sane, at all, cf. I. 7. 61. The whole is a repetition of the theme in v. 382 seq.
419. ut praeco, etc.: a warning against flattery; cf. v. 387 seq.
420. ad lucrum ire: i.e. the auctioneer bids the people come and make their fortune by great bargains, and so the rich author tacitly says to his flattering hearers that it will be their gain.
421. dives agris, etc.: repeated from Sat. I. 2. 13.
422. si vero est: opposed to tu, etc.; i.e. such a man can hardly tell the difference between the true friend and the flatterer, so it isn't much use to warn him; but you must be on your guard. Cf. Cicero's picture of the assentator, de Am. 25. 94 seq. unctum: cf. Sat. II. 6. 64, and Ep. I. 14. 21, I. 15. 44. recte, in style. ponere: cf. Sat. II. 2. 23. possit: it is implied also that he can descend to such means.
423. spondere: i.e. become his security on one of the numerous occasions where that service was required; cf. II. 2. 67. levi: i.e. humble, irresponsible; cf. gravis auctor and the like. atris, dismal; i.e. harassing, worrying; cf. atra cura.
425. beatus, tickled with men's praise, but cf. II. 2. 108.
426. donaris (fut. perf.): i.e. if you have already a prot??/em>.
427. nolito, etc.: i.e. amid the pleasures of the table, when the poet is made happy by your entertainment.
429. pallescet: i.e. with interest in the poem. super his, besides; see Sat. II. 6. 3 (but cf. II. 1. 152).
430. saliet, etc.: of the guest's extreme enthusiasm over the work.
433. imi: cf. the table in Sat. II. 8. derisor: cf. the flattery of Balatro, Sat. II. 8. 65 seq.
434. reges, etc.: i.e. instead of using your wines and dainties to extract insincere praise, do as kings are wont, use the bowl to discover whether admirers are honest; cf. laetitiae, v. 428.
435. torquere: cf. I. 18 38; Sat. I. 4. 89. laborant: cf. I. 3. 2.
437. fallant: hortatory.
438. Quintilio: Quintilius Varus (cf. Od. I. 24. 5), an example of a sincere friend and critic, such as one ought to choose. recitares: general condition in the second person singular, thrown into past time.
439. negares: hortatory subjunctive used as a condition, thrown into past time.
440. bis terque, etc.: i.e. after trying several times.
441. incudi reddere: i.e. to forge them all over anew.
442. malles: cf. note to negares.
444. quin: on account of the idea of hindrance in the preceding verse. sine rivali: i.e. as Cicero says of Pompey, "in love with himself without a rival," ad Q. Frat. III. 8. 4.
445. vir bonus et prudens: i.e. a friend who is both honest and wise when applied to as a critic.
447. transverso: i.e. crossing out. calamo: the reference here is to writing with a pen, as above in delere to writing with a stilus. ambitiosa: not merely ambitious in our sense, but with the figure still alive, courting admiration by the use of forced expressions, ostentatious.
450. Aristarchus: the great Alexandrine critic of Homer, whose name had become proverbial. Cf. Cic. ad Att. I. 14. 3.
451. nugis: i.e. slight faults.
452. derisum semel, etc.: i.e. in his public appearance, inasmuch as these faults will hazard the poet's reputation.
453. ut mala, etc.: i.e. the faults will make men avoid the poet as if he had a contagious disease or a frenzy. morbus regius: i.e. the jaundice, regarded as contagious.
454. Diana: the Thracian Brauronia, identified with Artemis, and so with Diana, was supposed to cause madness in those who offended her; cf. Soph. Ajax, 172.
456. agitant, etc.: cf. Sat. II. 3. 130, and I. 3. 134. The worrying of a crazy man by the street Arabs seems to have been a common joke in all ages.
459. longum: i.e. so as to be heard afar. Cf. the Scotch "a far cry."
460. clamet: cf. I. 17. 60. non sit: amounting to an imperative, whether it is directly hortatory (as in I. 18. 72) or in the "potential" construction in accordance with timent, v. 455, implying "no wise man," etc.
461. si curet, etc.: i.e. the fellow is so foolish, the presumption is that he wished to destroy himself like Empedocles.
462. qui scis an, how do you know but? with the affirmative idea contained in nescio an, etc.
463. Siculique poetae: Empedocles who, according to the story which Horace gives, threw himself into the crater of ?na in order to disappear miraculously.
465. dum cupit, etc.: cf. I. 2. 21 and note. frigidus: a grim joke. Empedocles is called cold as opposed to the fire of ?na, implying that his act was done without excitement, in cold blood; cf. the uses of calidus.
467. idem: i.e. just as much, an equal outrage. occidenti, governed by idem, in imitation of a Greek construction. This is the only spondaic verse in Horace.
468. nec semel, etc.: i.e. this isn't the first time, and in a confirmed case there is no hope of his recovery; 'he is joined to his idols, let him alone.'
470. nec satis, etc.: i.e. we cannot account for his madness, it is true, but he is certainly raving, and is avoided by everybody just as if he were a wild animal. If, however, he catches anybody, he sticks to him like a leech. So with this jocose view of the poetic craze Horace closes the epistle.