(aestuosa) Calabria.-6. Indicum. The ivory is called Indian, because part of it came from India. The rest came from Africa, from the countries above Egypt. --7. The sense is: I do not ask of thee lands in the most fertile district of Italy; namely, Campania. The Liris (now Garigliano) flows between Campania and Latium.-8. As to mordet, compare Carm. i. 22, 8.-9. Calena falce. The neighbourhood of Cales, in Latium, was celebrated for its wine. See Carm. i. 20, 9. Hence: 'to prune the vine with the Calenian hook,' means 'to own a vineyard at Cales.' Instead of premant, we should expect the technical term putent.-10. The sense is: Neither do I wish for much money, to live sumptuously and splendidly like a merchant.-11. Exsiccet =ebibat: cululli are a kind of large cups with handles, jugs. ·12. Syra reparata merce, 'gained-in return for Syrian wares;' that is, for spices, incense, and other articles of traffic. which came from or through Syria and the East. These the merchant sells in Rome, and purchases with the money fine wines. -14. Aequor Atlanticum. He sails along the Mediterranean as far as the Straits of Gades, where he sees the Atlantic.-17. The wishes of the poet are now stated. They are, first, peaceful enjoyment of his possessions (parata for the more common parta, 'that which has been gained'); secondly, good health; and lastly, an old age, in which his mind shall remain unimpaired, and which shall consequently not be burdensome (turpis) either to himself or others, and in which he shall still be able to cultivate poetry. Construe thus: precor, dones mihi frui (ut fruar) paratis et valido (that is, ut validus sim, ut valeam) et degere (ut degam) senectam cum integra mente nec turpem nec cithara carentem. Latoë, a Greek form, son of Latona;' that is, Apollo. CARMEN XXXII. AD LYRAM. An ode calling upon his lyre and himself to sing or compose in Latin such songs as once Alcaeus, a native of the island of Lesbos, had sung in the Greek language. The poem was written on some occasion when his friends were urging him to write and publish lyrics. POSCIMUR. Si quid vacui sub umbra Lusimus tecum, quod et hunc in annum Barbite, carmen, Lesbio primum modulate civi, Qui ferox bello, tamen inter arma, Sive jactatam religarat udo Litore navim, 5 Liberum et Musas Veneremque et illi 10 Semper haerentem puerum canebat O decus Phoebi et dapibus supremi 1. Poscimur refers to the request of his friends: 1 am called upon;' namely, to write lyric poems. Vacui, scil. negotiis, 'in my hours of leisure.'-2. Lusimus. The song of the poets is often compared to a game or play. Here Horace's object in using this word is to indicate that he had composed merely light jocular poems.-3. Latinum carmen. The poet fancies he has the very same lyre on which Alcaeus had discoursed most excellent music; hence he calls upon it, as having previously sung Greek strains, now to attempt a Latin song.-5. Modulate. The participle is here used passively, 'tuned, played,' though the verb is properly a deponent.-6. Ferox bello. Alcaeus was not merely a poet, but also a warrior, for he is said to have fought against the Athenians, and against Myrsilus and Pittacus, the tyrants of his native city.-7. Sive-vel si. Whether he was among arms-that is, actively engaged in war-or had returned to his home, an island, to which of course as here mentioned, he had to proceed by sea, he was always writing poetry.-10. Semper haerentem puerum; that is, Cupid, who, in Ode 30, line 5, is called fervidus puer.-11. Lycus was a youth whom Alcaeus admired for his beauty, and celebrated in his poetry.-14. Testudo, lyre,' this instrument being originally made of the shell of a tortoise. See Carm. i. 10, 6. Horace imagines that the lyre is played at the banquets of the gods for their Dulce lenimen, mihi cunque salve 15 entertainment.-15. Connect cunque with vocantiquandocunque te voco, as often as I call upon thee rite, in due form,' as poets use to do. CARMEN XXXIV. A SOMEWHAT remarkable poem, in which Horace shows the insuf ficiency of philosophy to supply in man the place of a religious faith. Horace was a follower of Epicurus, who held that the gods exercised no superintendence over human affairs, but that chance regulated all things. A prodigy-namely, thunder in a clear sky-had astonished and frightened the poet: he makes his observations on this, and comes to the conclusion that the gods do rule the world. PARCUS deorum cultor et infrequens Quo bruta tellus et vaga flumina, 5 1. A sparing and infrequent worshipper of the gods.' He calls himself sparing or niggardly (parcus), because he did not make rich offerings to the gods; not merely from the smallness of his fortune, but from his belief that careful and zealous worship was unnecessary. 2. Sapientiae consultus. A very common Latin phrase is juris consultus; properly, one who is consulted about law matters;' hence learned in the law.' So here sapientiae consultus is philosophiae peritus. The philosophy is called insaniens, because it forsakes nature, and forms artificial and baseless systems.-3. Erro, 'I wander about, range on the mountains of vanity, can come to no firm belief.'—4. Iterare cursus relictos; properly said of ships, to enter anew upon a course which has been forsaken.' Horace had at first been a believer in the government of the gods; then he had forsaken this, and philosophy had made him an unbeliever: now he comes back to his first faith.-5. Diespiter, an older form for Jupiter. Its composition is dies (for diei) pater, the father of the day'-a fine expression.-6. Igni corusco fulmine, with his lightning.'-7. Per purum, scil. coelum, through the clear sky,' whereas commonly thunderstorms occur only when the heaven is covered with clouds. Quo Styx et in visi horrida Taenari Concutitur. Valet ima summis Mutare, et insignem attenuat deus Sustulit, hic posuisse gaudet. 10 15 Tonantes egit equos=intonuit. Comp. Carm. i. 12, 58.-10. Taenari. Taenaron (now Cape Matapan), a promontory of Laconia. There was a temple of Poseidon upon it, near which there was believed to be an entrance into the lower world. Hence Taenaron is used for the lower world' itself. 11. Atlanteusque finis, and Atlas, which lies at the end of the world.' According to the belief of the ancients, the heavens rested on the mountain-range of Atlas, in the north-west of Africa, which was the extremity of the world.13. Insignem, the lofty one,' singular used for the class. The sense is this: God overthrows the lofty, and raises the humble. But the poet changes a little, using afterwards the neuter obscura.-14. Apicem, herediadema, the sign of kingly dignity, or of high authority generally.-15. Cum stridore acuto. The goddess Fortune is represented with wings, to indicate her inconstancy; and as she hastily (rapax) snatches off the diadem, the noise of her pinions is heard: hence with a shrill whizzing.'-16. Sustulit contains the notion of 'has taken, can take, and often takes.' In Greek the aorist, and in Latin poetry the perfect, is frequently used to express what commonly happens. Gram. § 333, 2, note 3. CARMEN XXXV. AD FORTUNAM. A PRAYER to the goddess Fortune, that she may protect Octavianus and the Roman army, who, in the year 27 B. C., meditated an expedition to Britain. Julius Caesar, during his Gallic wars, had been twice in the island, and had subdued the tribes residing on and near the coast. But after his departure these had not paid the tribute imposed upon them, and Octavianus meant to punish them for this neglect. The Britons, however, averted the stroke by submitting, in form at least, to the Romans, and acknowledging their supremacy. O DIVA, gratum quae regis Antium, 1. Antium, the old capital of the Volsci, and situated on the seacoast to the south of Rome, was celebrated for its temple of For. une.2. Praesens = potens, tanta vi praedita, ut, so powerful as Mortale corpus vel superbos Te pauper ambit sollicita prece Te Dacus asper, te profugi Scythae, Injurioso ne pede proruas Stantem columnam, neu populus frequens Ad arma cessantes, ad arma Concitet imperiumque frangat. Te semper anteit saeva Necessitas, 5 10 15 to,' &c. Praesentia is often used of the power of the gods, because their mere presence, their appearance, brings assistance. 4. Superbos triumphos vertere funeribus; that is, evertere triumphos, to overthrow, bring to an end, triumphs, by putting funerals, death, in their place' translate thus: to turn the highest honour and greatest exultation into the deepest sorrow.'-5. Supplicates thy favour with anxious prayer,' entreating, namely, that thou wilt vouchsafe to him a bountiful harvest.-7. Bithyna, because in Bithynia, as in Pontus (Ode, 14, 11), there were extensive forests, from which the Romans obtained much wood for shipbuilding. Lacessit, because the sea was struck by the oars, and cut by the keel. The Carpathian Sea is that round the island of Carpathus (now Scarpanto) between Rhodes and Cyprus.-9. Horace, in going over a number of those who fear Fortune, mentions first the barbarians, the Dacians, whom, because they lived in the wild north, he calls 'rough' (asper), and the Scythians, who led a nomadic life, unsettled, wandering' (profugi); then the civilised nations, which have cities, especially bold' (ferox) Latium (alluding particularly to Rome); and lastly, kings.-11. Regum matres barbarorum. Among the barbarians-that is, the Orientals-a king's mother has in all ages been, and still is, a person of great estima. tion, and exercises no little influence on the government.-13. Ne depends on metuunt. The foot of Fortune is called injuriosus, because its spurn inflicts injury.-14. Columnam; namely, felicitatis. We may use the same figure, the pillar of prosperity or good fortune.' Populus frequens, a throng of people, who summon the quiet and ease-loving persons (cessantes) to arms. Ad arma is repeated twice, in imitation of the cry, To arms, to arms!'-17. Anteit, here used as a dissyllable, the vowels ei being contracted. Necessitas, the goddess of necessity, is represented as bearing in her hands large nails (clavos trabales), wedges (cuneos), hooks, and molten lead, wherewith, at her pleasure, she strengthens, severs, or unites what has been severed; for by the ancients, as well as by us, molten lead was used for this last purpose. The appearance of the goddess is intentionally made fearful, in order that it may be seen what power |