Laurea donandus Apollinari, Seu per audaces nova dithyrambos Seu deos regesve canit, deorum Sive quos Elea domum reducit Flebili sponsae juvenemve raptum Multa Dircaeum levat aura cycnum, Grata carpentis thyma per laborem Concines majore poëta plectro Quo nihil majus meliusve terris Fata donavere bonique divi, Nec dabunt, quamvis redeant in aurum Tempora priscum. Concines laetosque dies, et Urbis Tum meae (si quid loquar audiendum) Teque, dum procedit, ‘Io triumphe !' Te decem tauri totidemque vaccae, 45 50 Matre qui largis juvenescit herbis 55 Fronte curvatos imitatus ignes XXIII. [II. 6.] 60 Septimius would appear from this Ode to have been one of Horace's intimate friends-he was a Roman knight. Horace gave him a letter of introduction to Tiberius (see Epp. i. 9). In the present Ode he dwells on the attractions of Tibur and Tarentum, and expresses a hope that he may end his days at one of those two places. Horace was particularly fond of Tibur, and it has been supposed that he had a small property there. Tarentum too, with its long spring and mild winter, and the vineyards on Mount Aulon, was a place where he would be content to pass his old age. The allusion to the Cantabri, a tribe in the north of Spain, who were conquered B.C. 29, and again rose in arms B.C. 26, and were finally subjugated in the following year, would seem to indicate that the Ode was written about B.C. 26 or 25. SEPTIMI, Gadis aditure mecum et Cantabrum indoctum juga ferre nostra, et Tibur Argeo positum colono Sit meae sedes utinam senectae, Unde si Parcae prohibent iniquae, Ille terrarum mihi praeter omnes Ver ubi longum tepidasque praebet Ille te mecum locus et beatae 1 Bacca. XXIV. [II. 2.] This Ode is addressed to Sallustius Crispus, of whose life and character Tacitus gives a brief sketch. (Ann. iii. 30.) He was great nephew of the historian, and inherited his vast wealth. Tacitus says that he aspired to be like Maecenas, that he was a man of great position and influence, and was remarkable for the elegance and refinement of his tastes. He stood high in the favour of Augustus and Tiberius, and was not merely a wealthy dilettante, but a man of real energy and ability. Horace in this Ode commends the reasonable desire and use of riches, and seems to imply that Sallustius was what a rich man ought to be. He who controls the spirit of avarice is greater than the most powerful king and conqueror. From the allusion to Phraates' return to his throne (which took place B.C. 25), it would seem that the Ode was written about B.C. 24. NULLUS argento color est avaris Vivet extento Proculeius aevo Latius regnes avidum domando Serviat uni. Crescit indulgens sibi dirus hydrops, Corpore languor. Redditum Cyri solio Phraaten Vocibus, regnum et diadema tutum ΙΟ 15 20 5 Grosphus, to whom this Ode is addressed, was a rich Sicilian landowner. Horace reminds him that neither wealth nor public honours can secure repose and tranquillity of mind. We cannot escape care by running away from home into foreign lands. Let us be cheerful for the present, and not look too far forward. The poet says he can find happiness in his little farm, his love of the Grecian muse, and his contempt for the pursuits of the vulgar. OTIUM divos rogat in patenti Prensus Aegaeo, simul atra nubes Otium bello furiosa Thrace, Otium Medi pharetra decori, Grosphe, non gemmis neque purpura ve- Non enim gazae neque consularis Vivitur parvo bene, cui paternum Quid brevi fortes jaculamur aevo Scandit aeratas vitiosa navis Cura, nec turmas equitum relinquit, Ocior cervis, et agente nimbos Ocior Euro. Laetus in praesens animus quod ultra est 25 Oderit curare, et amara lento Temperet risu; nihil est ab omni Parte beatum. |