292. Pompilius sanguis,] The Calpurnia gens,' to which the Pisones belonged, claimed descent from Calpus, son of Numa Pompilius. 294. ad unguem] See S. i. 5. 32, n. 295. Ingenium misera] The following verses to 308 have little connection with what goes before. Horace says, because genius is above art, and all poets, according to Democritus, are mad, many neglect their persons and let their nails and their beards grow, affecting insanity. The question about education and nature in connection with poetry is taken up again at v. 408. We are accustomed to subscribe to the doctrine " poeta nascitur, non fit." The ancients were divided on that point, some assigning more to education, others to natural gifts.. Cicero more than once alludes to the opinion of Democritus, that no man could be a poet without inspiration. 300. Si tribus Anticyris] There were three places of this name, each of which is assumed from this passage to have produced hellebore, a very improbable coincidence. Horace puts tribus' as we might say a dozen, or any other indefinite number. (See S. ii. 3. 83.) 301. Tonsori Licino commiserit.] This name was probably that of a wellknown barber of the day. (See S. ii. 3. 16. 35, n.) 302. Qui purgor bilem] The hellebore which the ancients used in cases of madness is a violent purgative, and they tried to act on the brain by relieving the stomach. Horace says he must be a fool, since madness is essential to poetry, for taking medicines to keep his stomach in order. 304. fungar vice cotis,] As to vice,' see above, v. 86, and S. i. 10. 12. Horace says if he only kept the bile from escaping, he would beat them all at poetry. However, it does not matter, he goes on; he will act as the grindstone which whets the iron, though its own office is not to cut (exsors ipsa secandi). This is said to be a proverbial way of speaking. 310. Rem tibi Socraticae — chartae,] The writings of Socrates's disciples, such as Plato, Xenophon, Eschines, Antisthenes, Aristippus, will supply matter for the true (dramatic) poet, by teaching him the science and duties of human life. 314. Quod sit conscripti,] After the expulsion of the kings, the senate having lost many of its number under the last of them, the vacancies were filled up from the equites,' who were called 'conscripti senatores.' The others were 'patres'; and the whole body thus constituted was called collectively 'patres et conscripti,' or shortly 'patres conscripti.' Horace here uses 'conscriptus as equivalent to 'senator.' It is nowhere else so used. As to 'judicis,' see S. i. 4. 123, n. 318. vivas hinc ducere voces.] Living words are those that represent nature to the life, or which convey a vivid sense to the understanding. 319. speciosa locis] Full of telling commonplaces, sentiments, examples, and so on. 323. Graiis ingenium,] He says the Greeks had a natural taste for poetry, and cultivated it from an ambition to excel and thirst for praise. But this comparison of the Greeks and Romans does not appear to be connected with the subject that goes before, or the rules that follow from v. 333. 325. Romani pueri] See S. i. 6. 72, 77, n. The 'as Iwas divided into twelve parts, unciae,' of which the quincunx' contained five, and the 'triens' four, being one third of the whole, whence the name. The 'semis' (semi-as) contained six, being half an as. Albinus is said to have been the name of a usurer. Horace is representing a scene in a boys' school. "Master: Let the son of Albinus tell me if you take an uncia from a quincunx, how much remains? (The boy hesitates.) You used to know. Boy: A triens. Master: Very well. You will know how to take care of your money. Now add an uncia: what is the sum? Boy: A semis." 332. linendra cedro] Books were smeared with oil of cedar to keep them from the insects. Capsae cupressinac,' 'book-cases of cypress-wood,' were costly, and would only be used for valuable books. 333. Aut prodesse volunt] Poets wish either to profit or to please, or to join both these together,' on which assumption several miscellaneous rules are founded. 337. Omne supervacuum] All that is superfluous flows away from a mind that is full,' that is, when the mind is full, it discards all superfluous words, it has no room for superfluities; as in a vessel that is full, if you pour more, it runs over and escapes. As to 'supervacuus,' see C. ii. 20. 24, n. 340. Neu pransae Lamiae] 'Lamiae' were hags, ogresses, who had the reputation of devouring children. 341. Centuriae seniorum] This language is taken from the 'classes' or 'centuriae' of Servius Tullius. Those who were more than forty-five were classed with the 'seniores.' The grave seniors like no poetry that has not something profitable and instructive in it. The Ramnes were the highest of the three centuries of equites which Romulus is said to have formed. They were patricians, and Horace calls them 'celsi,''proud.' The distinction of the original tribes had ceased to exist; the Ramnes are mentioned in opposition to the centuriae seniorum,' as young men to old, the reason of which is not plain. 343. Omne tulit punctum] He carries every vote.' See Epp. ii. 2. 99, n.; and as to the Sosii, see Epp. i. 20. 2, n. 347. Sunt delicta tamen] He means perfection must not be looked for, and allowance must be made for occasional blots. 353. Quid ergo est ?] 'What are we to say then?' The expression occurs in Cicero sometimes, as in the speech Pro P. Quintio, c. 18. 354. scriptor-librarius] Scriptor' is the scriba.' See Epp. ii. 2. 5, n. 357. fit Choerilus ille,] See Epp. ii. 1. 231, n. 361. erit quae! See C. i. 1. 3, n. 366. O major juvenum,] There were two sons, and both juvenes'; both must have taken the toga virilis.' Horace goes on to tell them, that mediocrity, though tolerable in some things, is intolerable in poetry, 369. Consultus juris et actor Causarum] See S. i. 1. 9, n. As to Messalla, see C. iii. 21. A. Cascellius was a jurisconsultus. Little is known of him. He must have been alive when this poem was written, but very old. The names are inverted. 373. non concessare columnae.] That is, the booksellers' stalls. See S. i. 4. 71, n. 375. Sardo cum melle] Sardinian and Corsican honeys appear to have been of inferior quality. See S. ii. 2. 15, n. Poppy-seeds roasted and mixed with honey were served in early times at the second course. 377. Sic animis] 'So poetry, which was born and invented only to give pleasure to the soul, if it fail but a little of the highest point, inclines to the lowest.' He says, as at a pleasant supper, bad music, bad ointment, and bad honey are worse than none at all, (for the meal can go on very well without them,) so a poem must either be extremely good, or it will be very bad, and had better not be written. 380. pilae discive trochive] See S. ii. 9, n. spectators standing round to watch the games. 'Coronae' are the crowds of 382. Quidni?] This is ironical. Why not?' He is a free man, and born free, and has a good property, and is a good man; why then should he not write? 6 383. census equestrem Summam] Census' is a participle. His property was not less than 400,000 sesterces. See Epod. 4. 15, n.; Epp. i. 1. 57, n. 385. Tu nihil invita - Minerva ;] See S. ii. 2. 3. The expression is proverbial. Cicero explains it: "Invita ut aiunt Minerva; id est adversante et repugnante natura" (De Off. i. 31). Tu' is emphatic: "You are too sensible to judge thus, or to try and write against the grain." 387. in Maeci descendat judicis aures] As to Sp. Mæcius Tarpa, see S. i. 10. 38, n. 391. Silvestres homines] Horace goes on to ascribe the noblest results to the cultivation of true poetry; the civilization of mankind (represented under the legend of Orpheus taming wild beasts), the building of cities, the enactment of laws, and the ordering of society. Of Orpheus, the Thracian poet, the traditions are vague, and though there are fragments still extant that bear his name, he must be looked upon more as the representative of the earliest poetry and music of Greece, than in the light of an historical personage. Compare C. i. 12. 7, sqq. 394. Amphion, Thebanae conditor arcis,] This legend is mentioned in C. iii. 11. 2: "Movit Amphion lapides canendo." It is not noticed by Homer, who only knew Cadmus as the founder of Thebes. See Epp. i. 18. 41, n. 397. Publica privatis· sacra profanis,] This is a fundamental division of things (res) in the Roman law. 399. leges incidere ligno:] Plutarch says of Solon's laws, that they were inscribed on wooden tables, called äέoves or kúpßeis, and that fragments were in existence in his day in the Prytaneum (Vit. Sol. c. 25). 400. divinis vatibus] Eumolpus, Orpheus, Musæus, Pamphus, Thamyris, are the principal names associated with the origin of Grecian poetry, and they are all called Thracian (see below, v. 405, n.). They are called ‘divine,' not merely from the quality of their art, but from their connection with the worship of Apollo, Demeter, and Dionysus, whence above (v. 391) Orpheus is called sacer interpresque deorum." 402. Tyrtaeusque mares animos] Tyrtæus, as mentioned before (v. 75, n.), was a native of Attica, and wrote in the elegiac measure. He left Attica and took up his abode at Sparta during the second war between the Spartans and Messenians, which began B. c. 685. His verses were chiefly exhortations to bravery addressed to the Spartans. There are three fragments, amounting in the aggregate to upwards of a hundred verses, which have a great deal of vigor and feeling in them, corresponding to Horace's description. 405. Pieriis tentata modis;] The country of Pieria lay between Macedonia and Thessalia, north of the range of Olympus, and on the coast of the Sinus Thermaicus. This accounts for the Muses being both Pierian and Olympian; and as by the southern Greeks all the north went by the name of Thrace, this may account for the traditions which assigned the birth of poetry to bards of Thrace (v. 400, n.), a country of which the language was pronounced barbarous by the civilized Greeks. 406. Et longorum operum finis:] The rural Dionysia (v. 275, n.), called τὰ κατ ̓ ἀγρούς, οι τὰ μικρά, took place at the end of the year, in the month Hoσeidéwv, when the labors of the vintage were over. 408. Natura fieret laudabile] See v. 295, n. 413. Multa tulit fecitque puer,] He takes great pains when he is young,' 'puer' being emphatic, as in C. i. 9. 16. 414. qui Pythia cantat Tibicen] At the Pythian games there was a musical contest in which flute-players and harp-players took part, the subject being the contest of Apollo with the serpent Pytho. The name given to this music was νόμος Πυθικός. 417. Occupet extremum scabies ;] The Scholiasts say this expression was used by boys in their races. 419. Ut praeco,] See S. i. 6. 86, n. flattery. 422. unctum qui recte ponere possit] The rich poet, he goes on, purchases Who can put a good dinner before one handsomely.' As to 'spondere,' see S. ii. 6. 23, n. Levi paupere' 'is 'a poor man without weight,' whose name has as little weight as his purse. 'Atris' is melancholy,' as "minuentur atrae Carmine curae (C. iv. 11. 35). As to beatus,' see C. i. 4. 14, n. 431. Ut qui conducti] See S. i. 6. 43, n. 434. culullis] This the Scholiasts (on C. i. 31. 11) say was the name of earthen-ware cups used by the pontifices and Vestal Virgins. It was afterwards used generally for drinking-cups. With torquere mero compare Epp. i. 18. 38, "et vino tortus et ira." 437 animi sub vulpe latentes] If you ever write poetry, do not be taken in by flatterers, who have a bad heart under a cunning face.' 438. Quintilio] See C. i. 24, Introduction. 441. Et male tornatos incudi reddere] The metaphors of the turning-lathe and the anvil are common enough for the composition of verses. The lathe was used by the ancients in the polishing and turning of metals, as well as of wood and ivory. 450. Fiet Aristarchus ;] Aristarchus, whose name was proverbial among the ancients as a critic, was born in Samothracia about B. C. 230. He passed the greater part of his life at Alexandria, under the patronage of Ptolemæus Philopator, Epiphanes, and Philometor, the second of whom he educated. 453. morbus regius] This, which is otherwise called 'arquatus morbus,' aurugo,' and by the Greeks krepos, is the jaundice. Celsus says it is so called because the remedies resorted to were chiefly amusements and indulgences to keep up the spirits, such as none but the rich could afford. No disorder depresses the spirits more than jaundice. Here it is supposed to be infectious, which it is not. 454. Aut fanaticus error] Fanaticus' (from 'fanum ') was properly applied to the priests of Bellona. See S. ii. 3. 223, n., and Juvenal iv. 123, "fanaticus oestro Percussus, Bellona, tuo." Juvenal also applies it to the priests of Cybele (ii. 112), "crine senex fanaticus albo, Sacrorum antistes." The influence of the moon (iracunda Diana') in producing mental derangement is one of the earliest fallacies in medicine. The Greeks called persons supposed to be so affected σεληνιακοί. 455. tetigisse timent] The wise avoid him, as if he were infectious; fools run after him, like children after a crazy man in the streets.' 459. longum Clamet,] This is like Homer's μakpòv ävσe (Il. iii. 81). 464 Deus immortalis haberi] See Epp. i. 12. 20. There are various marvellous stories told of the death of Empedocles, suited to the character he bore in his life, of a magician, a controller of the elements, &c. This story of his throwing himself into Etna is supported by very insufficient authority. 467. Invitum qui servat] See Epp. i. 20. 15, n. This is apparently a proyerb. The construction of 'idem occidenti ' is Greek, rautò tô átokteívovTI. Orelli observes that this is the only spondaic hexameter in Horace. 469. Fiet homo] He keeps up the allusion to Empedocles, saying that the frenzied poet is as resolved to rush to his fate (that is, into verse) as the philosopher was, and if you save him he will not drop his pretension to inspiration. 470. Nec satis apparet] The crime for which he has been thus sent mad does not appear; whether it be for fouling his father's grave, or setting foot upon polluted ground. 'Bidental' was a spot struck by lightning, so called From the sacrifice offered upon it for expiation. I agree with Orelli in taking 'moverit' in the sense of 'violaverit,' as in " Dianae non movenda numina' Epod. xvii. 3). Some take it to mean the removal of the mark placed on he spot. |