nection with the infernal deities and their rites. From the same root Festus derives 'furiae,' 'fuligo,' and other words of the same kind. The first syllable in Proserpina is usually long in other writers.

23. Sedesque discretas piorum] According to the notions of the ancient poets, the great divisions of Orcus were three: 1st, Erebus, the region of darkness and mourning, but not of torment, which lay on the banks of the Styx, and extended thence over a considerable tract towards the other two; 2d, Tartarus, the place of punishment; and 3d, Elysium, the place of happiness. In the first of these Minos presided, in the second, Rhadamanthus, and in the third, acus. In the Homeric times Elysium was upon earth in the μakápwv vñσoι. See Odyss. iv. 563, and the Schol. thereon, and C. iv. 8. 25.

24. querentem Sappho puellis de popularibus,] Some of Sappho's poetry, of which fragments remain, is addressed to her young female friends, and complains with jealousy of their transferring their affections to others. Horace alludes to this. The Eolians settled in Lesbos, Sappho's native island (C. i. 1. 34), wherefore her lyre is called Eolian.

26. plenius] in grander strains.'

27. Alcaee, plectro dura navis,] See C. i. 32. 6, n. The 'plectrum' (λκтроv) was a small stick (gilt or ivory or plain wood) with which the strings of the lyre were sometimes struck, instead of with the fingers.

29. sacro- silentio] Strains worthy of profound (religious) silence.' 30. Mirantur-dicere;] 'Admire them both, as they sing'; a Grecism for 'mirantur dicentes.' 'Magis' modifies 'bibit.'

32. Densum humeris] This is rather an unusual expression for 'crowded together.'

33. carminibus] This is the ablative case, as (S. i. 4. 28) "Stupet Albius aere"; (S. ii. 7. 95) “Vel quum Pausiaca torpes, insane, tabella."

34. centiceps] Elsewhere Horace represents Cerberus with three heads, C. ii. 19. 31, and C. iii. 11. 20; in the latter of which places, which greatly resembles this and should be compared with it, he describes him with a hundred snakes guarding his head. Hesiod represents him with fifty heads, but three is the more usual account.

35. intorti] 'Anguis' is more commonly feminine than masculine.

36. Eumenidum] This name was given to the Erinnyes, as one of better omen than the other names which they bore. It signifies the kind-hearted' (ev μévos, mens'). From Eschylus downwards they were represented in horrid forms and with snakes in their hair, as here. The Romans called them 'Furiae,' and, like the later Greeks, confined their number to three, whose names were Alecto, Megæra, and Tisiphone. See C. i. 28. 17, n.

37. Quin et] moreover,' or 'nay, even.' 'Quin' represents 'qui' with a negative particle affixed, and is strictly an interrogative, why not?' or 'how should it not be so?' but like ouκouv it is used in direct affirmations, as here and in many other places. As to the punishments of Prometheus and Tantalus, see Epod. xvii. 65, sq. Orion the hunter is mentioned below, C. iii. 4. 71.

38. laborum decipitur] See ii. 9. 17, n. 'Is beguiled of his sufferings.' 40. lyncas.] Elsewhere this word is only used in the feminine gender. Homer represents the heroes as following in Elysium the favorite pursuits of their lives on the earth. See Odyss. xi. 571, sqq. and Virgil, Aen. vi. 651, sqq.

ODE XIV.

WHO Postumus was, or whether it is a real name, is uncertain. The subject of the Ode is the certainty of death, and it ends with a hint upon the folly of hoarding.

ARGUMENT.-Time is slipping away, Postumus, and piety will not retard the approach of age or death. No sacrifices will propitiate Pluto, who keeps even the giants Geryon and Tityos beyond that stream which all must cross, even though we expose not ourselves to the dangers of war, the sea, and climate. Thou must leave home, wife, and all thou hast, and thine heir will squander what thou hast hoarded.

1. fugaces] 'flecting.'

4. indomitae] The Greek adápaσTOS.

5. trecenis quotquot eunt dies] 'three hundred every day.'

6. illacrimabilem] Here this word is used in an active sense. It is used passively in C. iv. 9. 26: "Omnes illacrimabiles urgentur." See note on C. i. 3. 32. Compare "Orcus- - non exorabilis auro" (Epp. ii. 2. 178).

7. ter amplum] 'Ter' expresses the triple form of the monster, "forma tricorporis umbrae" (Aen. vi. 289). He was a mythical king of the island Erytheia (Gades), slain by Hercules (C. iii. 14. 1). Tityos was a giant who, for attempting to violate the goddess Artemis, was killed by Apollo and cast into Tartarus, where vultures devoured his liver (C. iii. 4. 77; iv. 6. 2). 8. tristi Compescit unda,] This is Virgil's description (Aen. vi. 438), — Tristique palus inamabilis unda

Alligat et novies Styx interfusa coercet,"

which is repeated from Georg. iv. 479. Sophocles (Electra, 137) calls it πάγκοινον λίμναν.

9. scilicet] This is in reality a verb, 'you may know,' 'you may be sure.' It is used as an adverb, assuredly,' sometimes in a serious sense (as here), sometimes in an ironical.

10. Quicunque terrae munere vescimur,] This expresses the words of Homer, ὃς θνητός τ' εἴη καὶ ἔδοι Δημήτερος ακτήν (Il. xiii. 322), οἱ ἀρούρης καρπὸν ἔδουσι (Il. vi. 142).

11. reges] This is Horace's usual word for the rich, as observed on C. i. 4. 14. Colonus' was the lessee of a farm, the owner of which was called 'dominus' in respect to that property. 'Reges,' therefore, are 'domini.' A 'colonus' might be rich and the tenant of a large farm; but Horace refers to the poorer sort here and in C. i. 35. 6. Inops' he uses sometimes in an extreme, sometimes in a qualified sense of want, but more generally the latter, as he does pauper,' C. i. 1. 18, n. The opposition is between high and low, and the difference is one of position, as in the third Ode of this book (v. 21, sqq.). "The small and great are there, and the servant is free from his master." (Job iii. 19.) This seems to express Horace's meaning.

15. Frustra per auctumnos nocentem] See S. ii. 6. 18, n. With 'nocentem' connect Corporibus.'

18. Corytos This was the name of a tributary of the river Acheron in Thesprotia, a part of Epirus. For some reason, these rivers came to be placed in Tartarus, and the Styx was added to them as a third. The language of the text expresses very well the character an infernal stream might be expected to wear.

Danai genus] the family (or children) of Danaus.' The punishment of the fifty daughters of Danaus is referred to in C. iii. 11.

19. damnatusque longi] 'condemned to an endless task.' This follows the Greek construction, κaтayνwσbeis Tóvov, as observed C. ii. 9. 17, n.

20. Sisyphus Aeolides] Homer too calls him lovpos Aloλions, and says he was Képotoros ȧvôpŵv, 'the most gain-seeking of men' (Il. vi. 153), and Horace calls him 'vafer,' S. ii. 3. 21. His punishment (longus labor') was to roll a stone up a hill, down which it always rolled again when it was near the top. (See Epod. xvii. 68.) The cause of this punishment was variously stated in different legends.

23. invisas cupressos] He calls them 'funebres' in Epod. v. 18. The cypress was commonly planted by tombs.

24. brevem] 'Brevis is nowhere else used in this sense of 'short-lived.' It corresponds to ὀλιγοχρόνιος and μινυνθάδιος. With this passage compare C. ii. 3. 17, sqq.

25. Caecuba] See C. i. 20. 9, n.

dignior] This is ironical: the heir would at least know that wealth was made to spend, and so would be a worthier possessor than the man who had hoarded it.

27. superbo] The pride of the heir is transferred to the wine. Cicero (Phil. ii. 41) says, "natabant pavimenta mero, madebant parietes." On the pontifical feastings, see C. i. 37. 2, n. As to 'pavimenta,' see notes on S. ii. 4. 83. Epp. i. 10. 19.

ODE XV.

WHEN Augustus had brought the civil wars to an end, B. C. 29, he applied himself to the reformation of manners, and Horace probably wrote this and other Odes (ii. 18, iii. 1-6) to promote the reforms of Augustus; perhaps by his desire, or that of Maecenas. They should be read together, and with C. i. 2. From the reference to the temples in the last stanza, it may be assumed perhaps that this Ode and the sixth of the third book were written about the same time, that is, B. c. 28, when Augustus set himself particularly to restore the public buildings, which had fallen into neglect during the civil wars.

Augustus passed several sumptuary laws to keep down the expensive habits of the rich citizens, regulating in particular the cost of festivals and banquets. But they soon fell into disuse and contempt, as Tiberius, writing to the Senate fifty years afterwards, declared: "Tot a majoribus refertae leges, tot quas divus Augustus tulit, illae oblivione, hae, quod flagitiosius est, contemptu abolitae securiorem luxum fecere" (Tac. Ann. iii. 54). Horace in this Ode complains that the rich are wasting their means on fine houses and luxurious living, contrary to the example of their forefathers, who were content to live in huts while they built handsome temples for the gods.

ARGUMENT. The rich man's palaces and flower-gardens and ponds are occupying all our once fertile land. This was not the way of our ancestors, who had but little, while the state was rich; who dwelt in no spacious houses; whom the law bade content themselves with a turf-roofed cottage, and beautify the towns and temples with marble.

1. Jam pauca aratro] Tiberius (see Introduction) complained to the Senate that Rome was entirely dependent on the provinces for her corn, and was at the mercy of the winds and waves, which might at any time cut off the supply and reduce the citizens to live on their ornamental woods and countryhouses. (Compare Sall. Bell. Cat. 13.) 'Regiae' is used in the same way

as 'rex' elsewhere (see C. i. 4. 14). 'Regal piles' are the enormous villas of the rich. 'Jam' means 'soon."

2. undique latius] Cicero (ad Att. i. 18, 19, 20) complains that some of his contemporaries ('piscinarii' he calls them) were so devoted to their fishponds ('stagna'), that they cared more for them than for all the interests of the state, as if this might fall and they still keep their playthings: "Ita sunt stulti ut amissa republica piscinas suas fore salvas sperare videantur" (18). Elsewhere he calls them piscinarum Tritones' (ii. 9). As to the 'lacus Lucrinus,' see A. P. 63, n.

5. tum violaria] This is opposed to 'tum laurea' (v. 9).

6. Myrtus] This word is of two declensions. So likewise are 'quercus,' 'laurus,' 'pinus,' 'cornus,' 'ficus.'

omnis copia narium] Every abundance of sweet smells.' 'Narium' is put for the perfumes of flowers. It is not so used elsewhere.

10. ictus. 'Ictus' is used by other poets besides Horace for the fierce rays of the sun. See Ovid, Met. v. 389. Lucretius, ii. 808. 11. intonsi] This is equivalent to 'antiqui.' 'Catonis' is M. Porcius Cato, called the Censor from the stern way in which he executed the duties of that office, B. c. 184, doing all he could to put down luxurious and expensive habits.

12. Auspiciis] 'Example.'

13. census] A man's property was called his 'census' because it was rated by the censors once in five years; and the period was called a 'lustrum,' because, when this duty was finished, the censors performed a lustration, or sacrifice of atonement for the city.

14. nulla decempedis] Privatis' agrees with 'decempedis.' Horace complains that the private houses of his day had verandahs (porticus') so large as to be measured by a ten-foot rule. Here they dined in the hot weather, and caught the cool breezes of the north. This practice was called 'coenatio ad Boream.' 'Opacam excipiebat Arcton' is like Virgil's 'Frigus captabis opacum' (Ec. i. 53), where the shady coolness' means 'the coolness caused by the shade'; and 'opacam Arcton' combines the notions of the north-wind and the coolness of the shady side of the house, which was the north side. 'Metata' is again used passively in S. ii. 2. 114, but no other writer so uses the word.

17. Fortuitum caespitem] The turf that lies at hand,' and so, 'cheap.' This means cottages roofed with turf, as Virgil says (Ec. i. 69), “tuguri congestum culmine caespes." 'Fortuitum' is equivalent to ToV TUXÓνTA. Horace alludes to the ruined state of the temples in C. ii. 18. 2.

ODE XVI.

THE person to whom this Ode is addressed, Pompeius Grosphus, is said to have been of the equestrian order. He was possessed of large property in Sicily, of which island he was probably a native. On his return, Horace gave him a letter of introduction to his friend Iccius (Epp. i. 12), in which he speaks highly of his worth. He is not to be confounded with the Pompeius of C. ii. 7 (Introduction). He appears, from the latter part of the Ode, to have been in Sicily when it was written. Perhaps he had written Horace a letter which called up the particular train of thought that runs through the Ode, or had qualities which made it applicable to him. The object of the Ode is to reprove the craving for happiness which has been bestowed upon others.

ARGUMENT.

The sailor and the savage warrior alike pray for rest, but wealth cannot buy it. Riches and power cannot remove care from the dwelling. The humble alone are free. Why do we aim at so much happiness in this short life, and run away from home? We cannot fly from ourselves and care. We should be cheerful for the present, and not expect perfect happiness. One man lives many days, another has few. I may have opportunities of happiness which are denied to thee; and yet thou hast ample possessions, and I but a humble farm, a breath of the Grecian Muse, and a contempt for the vulgar.

2. Prensus Aegaeo,] 'Deprensus' ('overtaken,' 'caught') was a nautical term for a ship overtaken by a storm. The storms of the Egean are mentioned C. iii. 29. 63. Simul' is the same as simul ac.'

3. certa fulgent] shine distinctly.'

5. Thrace] For Thracia.' See C. iii. 15. 2, n.

10. Summovet] This is the proper word to express the lictor's duty of clearing the way. The lictor is called 'consularis,' because the consuls were attended by these officers, as were other high magistrates. As to 'laqueata,' see S. ii. 3. 273, n.

14. salinum,] See note on S. i. 3. 13. 'Cupido,' when it refers to the love of money, is always masculine in Horace.

17. jaculamur] See C. i. 2. 3, n.

18, 19. Quid-mutamus] 'Why do we seek in exchange' for our own? Patriae exsul] This is another Grecism, Tarpidos pvyás. Ovid uses the same construction (Met. ix. 409): "Exsul mentisque domusque."

21. Scandit aeratas] See C. iii. 1. 37, n. "Vitiosa' may be rendered 'morbid,' arising from a diseased state of mind. 'ratas' is 'brazenbeaked. Like sentiments are found in S. ii. 7. 111-115. Epp. i. 11. 25, sqq.; 14. 12, sq.

25. quod ultra est] 'what lies beyond'; that is, 'the future.'

26. Oderit] This is a strong way of expressing 'nolit,' 'refuse,' 'avoid.' 29. cita mors] See C. iv. 6. 4, n. He was destined to an early death, and therefore calls himself μινυνθάδιος (Il. i. 352).

30. Tithonum] Eos (Aurora) obtained for her husband Tithonus the gift of immortality, of which, when old age became too great a burden, he repented, and was taken by her to heaven (see C. i. 28. 8).

31. Et mihi] and perhaps to me Time shall give some blessing he denies to thee.' He then goes on to compare their respective gifts, and means to say that he is as satisfied with his humble condition as Grosphus should be with his riches.

33. Siculae] See Introduction.

35. equa,] Mares rather than horses were used for racing. Virg. Georg. i. 59: Eliadum palmas Epiros equarum." As to 'quadriga,' see Epp. i. 11. 29, n.

bis Afro Murice tinctae] These garments were called dißapa; compare Epod. xii. 21: "Muricibus Tyriis iteratae vellera lanae." The purple dyes most prized were the Tyrian, the Sidonian (Epp. i. 10. 26), the Laconian (C. ii. 18. 8), and African (Epp. ii. 2. 181). The garment dyed with this color was the lacerna, an outer cloak worn over the toga. It was very costly. What these garments gained in appearance by their dye, they lost in savor; for Martial reckons among the worst smelling objects "bis murice vellus inquinatum."

38. Spiritum Graiae tenuem Camenae] A slight breath of the Grecian Muse,' which is a modest way of describing his talents as a follower of the lyric poets of Greece.

39. Parca non mendax] Elsewhere he addresses the Parcae as 'veraces'