Notable people with sweet Aeolian song.
If I inspire and please; that I please is your breath.
Ode 15 – Phoebus volentem proelia me loqui victas et urbis increpuit lyra,:
Phoebus volentem proelia me loqui
Victas et urbes increpuit lyra
Ne parva Tyrrhenum per aequor
Vela darem. Tua, Caesar, aetas
Fruges et agris rettulit uberes
Et signa nostro restituit Iovi
Derepta Parthorum superbis
Postibus et vacuum duellis
Ianum Quirini clausit et ordinem
Rectum evaganti frena licentiae
Iniecit emovitque culpas
Et veteres revocavit artes,
Per quas Latinum nomen et Italae
Crevere vires famaque et imperi
Porrecta maiestas ad ortus
Solis ab Hesperio cubili.
Custode rerum Caesare non furor
Civilis aut vis exiget otium,
Non ira, quae procudit ensis
Et miseras inimicat urbes;
Non qui profundum Danuvium bibunt
Edicta rumpent Iulia, non Getae
Non Seres infidique Persae.
Non Tanain prope flumen orti;
Nosque et profestis lucibus et sacris
Inter iocosi munera Liberi
Cum prole matronisque nostris
Rite deos prius ad precati
Virtute functos more patrum duces
Lydis remixto carmine tibiis
Troiamque et Anchisen et almae
Progeniem Veneris canemus.
ODE IV, 15
When wishing to sing of battles fought and
Cities conquered, Phoebus witheld music from
My lyre lest I might offer too small
A sail to Tuscan seas. Caesar your times
Have brought back our standards and restored them to
Jupiter's temple, having removed them from
Parthian walls without conflict but
With abundant produce from the land and
Closing the gates of Quirinal Janus have brought back
Old customs, lustful ways are made correct thus
Unbridled liberty oversteps
The bounds of decency with blame removed.
Whereby Italian power and the Latin name
Has spread from the rising of the sun to its
Couch in the Hesperides but, with
It, fame and majesty has been laid low.
For it is Caesar, the guardian of affairs,
Who forges swords and makes unfriendly cities
Wretched, who will drive away ease, not
Wrath nor civil war nor internal strife;
For they who drink of Danube's waters will not
Break the Julian laws, neither the Thracian
Nor the Chinese nor faithless Persian,
Nor they born by the river Tanais;
On holy days you will lead us with wives and
Qffspring to pray before our ancestarl Gods
With all the appropiate forms in
The customs of our fathers and we will
Celebrate in song Troy, Anchises and his
Famous son; on other days, however, song
Having been mingled with the Lydian
Flute, to consort with Bacchus and Venus.
<
Ode 14 – Quae cura patrum quaeve Quiritum plenis honorum muneribus tuas:
Quae cura patrum quaeve Quiritium
Plenis honorum muneribus tuas,
Auguste, virtutes in aevum
Per titulos memoresque fastus
Aeternet, o qua sol habitabilis
Inlustrat oras. maxime principum?
Quem legis expertes Latinae
Vindelici didicere nuper,
Quid Marte posses: milite nam tuo
Drusus Genaunos, inplacidum genus
Breunosque velocis et arces
Alpibus impositas tremendis
Deiecit acer plus vice simplici;
Maior Neronum mox grave proelium
Conmisit immanisque Raetos
Auspiciis pepulit secundis,
Spectandis in certamine Martio
Devota morti pectora liberae
Quantis fatigaret ruinis,
Indomitas prope qualis undas
Exercet Auster Pleiadum choro
Scindente nubis, inpiger hostium
Vexare turmas et frementem
Mittere equum medios per ignis.
Sic tauriformis volvitur Aufidus,
Qui regna Dauni praefluit Apuli,
Cum saevit horrendamque cultis
Diluviem meditatur agris,
Ut barbarorum Claudius agmina
Ferrata vasto diruit impetu
Primosque et extremos metendo
Stravit humum sine clade victor,
Te copias, te consilium et tuos
Praebente divos; nam tibi quo die
Portus Alexandrea supplex
Et vacuam patefecit aulam,
Fortuna lustro prospera tertio
Belli secundus reddidit exitus
Laudemque et optatum peractis
Imperiis decus adrogavit.
ODE IV, 14
Augustus, with what honours of Senate or
Office of the People will the eternal
Calendar inscribe all your titles
And commemorate your many special
Qualities, O, most distinguished citizen,
Who lights up the habitable world, could you
Have brought the Vindelici the balm
Of Latin law without recourse to arms
And martial conquest; For Drusus, fierce soldier's
Offspring, hurled down the Genauni and Breuni
From strongholds in the awesome ramparts
Of the Alps, a simple, lasting and much
More effective solution having been found;
By and by, under the elder Nero, he
Next combined in heavy conflict and
Once again routed the savage Rhaetians.
Eager to shatter the enemy host and
Raging to send his horse into the midst of
The conflict, as the south wind, tearing
The clouds asunder soon converts untamed
Waters to the chorus of the Pleiades.
How great the martial conflict devoted to
Death, for the cataclysm to be
Beheld might trouble the hearts of free men.
So, as ox–like Aufidus sinuously
Flowing through the kingdom of Apulian
Daunus wreaks frightful inundation,
Yet is thought to cultivate farming land,
In the same way Claudius lays waste with steel
The barbarian host, the most civilized
Nation mowing down the least, when, as
Victor, he clears the ground with no great loss.
From you the order, from you the means, from your
Gods the blessing; after three lustrums the tide
Of war's fortune is reversed after
Another massacre, for, on this same
Day, suppliant Alexandria opened
Up its harbours and the empty palace gate.
Thus you will have again achieved an
Feat of war, long desired but falsely claimed.
Te Cantaber non ante domabilis
Medusque et Indus, te profugus Scythes
Miratur, o tutela praesens
Italae dominaeque Romae;
Te fontium qui celat origines
Nilusque et Hister, te rapidus Tigris,
Te beluosus qui remotis
Obstrepit Oceanus Britannis,
Te non paventis funera Galliae
Duraeque tellus audit Hiberiae,
Te caede gaudentes Sygambri
Conpositis venerantur armis.
O protector, the Cantabrian untamed
Before, the Median, Indian and the
Swift Scythian are amazed at you
Set over Rome, mistress of Italy;
As is the Nile, hiding its source, the lower
Danube, the rapid Tigris and the British
Ocean, having been free from you and
Such monsters as clamour against their shores
For Gaul and hard Iberia hears about
You without fear of imminent destruction,
The Sygambri are honoured by your
Failure to avenge their depredations.
Ode 4 – Qualem ministrum fulminis alitem:
Qualem ministrum fulminis alitem,
(Cui rex deorum regnum in aves vagas
Permisit expertus fidelem
Iuppiter in Ganymede flavo,)
Olim iuventas et patrius vigor
Nido laborum propulit inscium
(Vernique iam nimbis remotis
Insolitos docuere nisus
Venti paventem,) mox in ovilia
Demisit hostem vividus impetus,
Nunc in reluctantis dracones
Egit amor dapis atque pugnae,
Qualemve laetis caprea pascuis
Intenta fulvae matris ab ubere
Iam lacte depulsum leonem
Dente novo peritura vidit:
Videre Raetis bella sub Alpibus
Drusus gerentem Vindelici. Quibus
Mos unde deductus per omne
Tempus Amazonia securi
Dextas obarmet, quaerere distuli,
Nec scire fas est omnia; sed diu
Lateque victrices catervae
Consiliis iuvenis revictae
Sensere quid mens, rite quid indoles
Nutrita faustis sub penetralibus
Posset, quid Augusti paternus
In pueros animus Nerones.
Fortes creantur fortibus et bonis;
Est in iuvencis, est in equis patrum
Virtus, neque imbellem feroces
Progenerant aquilae columbam.
Doctrina sed vim promovet insitam,
Rectique cultus pectora roborant;
Utcumque defecere mores
Indecorant bene nata culpae.
Quid debeas, O Roma, Neronibus
Testis Metaurum flumen et Hasdrubal
Devictus et pulcer fugatis
Ille dies Latio tenebris,
ODE IV, 4
Such the winged servant of the thunderbolt,
Whom the king of the Gods allowed the kingdom
Of the roving birds, having proved true
In the matter of golden Ganymede,
At first youth and paternal vigour drives him
From the home nest ignorant of life's labours
Unaccustomed to being afraid of
Distant storms, spring winds have already
Taught him to fly, for by and by, true to form
He descends upon the sheepfold, now facing
Reluctant dragons, he needs the will
To fight for his sacrificial feast;
As the anxious roebuck in fruitful pastures
Has already seen the lion deprived of milk
From under its tawny mother about
To make trials with its new teeth
So the Vindelici saw Drusus bring war
To Raetia, under the Alps; from which action
Is culled the legend for all time to come
Of the Amazonian axe arming
Their right hands, I have neglected to enquire
Further, there is something to be said for not
Knowing everything, but within the days
Length, and by the counselling of youth,
The conquerors reconquered the conquered who
Saw that the young Nero's good luck might have been
Acquired from being under the cunning
Influence of Augustus in Rome.
The strong are produced by powerful and
Able, the quality of young men. as it is
For horses, is the quality of the
Sire, wild eagles do not sire mild doves.
Training improves but violence, being inbred,
Is reinforced in the breast by divine right
But, having been born noble, to rebel
Against the fault questions the custom.
Oh Rome, how much you may owe to the Neros.
Metaurus river and beaten Hasdrubal
Bear witness to that noble day you put
to flight black infamy from Latium,
Qui primus alma risit adorea
Dirus per urbis Afer ut Italas
Ceu flamma per taedas vel Eurus
Per Siculas equitavit undas.
Post hoc secundis usque laboribus
Romana pubes crevit, et inpio
Vastata Poenorum tumultu
Fana deos habuere rectos.
Dixitque tandem perfidus Hannibal:
'Cervi luporum praeda rapacium
Sectamur ultro, quos opimus
Fallere et effugere est triumphus.
Gens, qua cremato fortis ab Ilio
Iactata Tuscis aequoribus sacra
Natosque maturosque patres
Pertulit Ausonias ad urbis,
Duris ut ilex tonsa bipennibus
Nigrae feraci frondis in Algido
Per damna, per caedes ab ipso
Ducit opes animumque ferro.
Non hydra secto corpore firmior
Vinci dolentem crevit in Herculem,
Monstrumve submisere Colchi
Maius Echioniave Thebae
Merses profundo, pulcrior evenit;
Luctere, multa proruet integrum
Cum laude victorem geretque
Proelia coniugibus loquenda.
Carthagini iam non ego nuntios
Mittam superbos: occidit, occidit
Spes omnis et fortuna nostri
Nominis Hasdrubale interempto.'
Nil Claudiae non perficient manus,
Quas et benigno numine Iuppier
Defendit et curae sagaces
Expediunt per acuta belli.
That day the well earned merit for valour first
Smiled since the fearful African first campaigned
Through Italian cities as a flame
To pine trees or Eurus over seas.
After which the Roman people increased by
Continual dedication and temples,
Laid waste by godless Carthaginian
Tumult, were once more re–erected.
At length perfidious Hannibal exclaimed
'We may as well eagerly hunt stags, the prey
Of ravening wolves, whose splendid triumph
It is to deceive and fly away.
This hardy race, having survived the fire at
Ilium, brought to Italian towns with
The young, old and ancestral images
Scattering across the Tuscan seas,
No stronger grew the Hydra, having suffered
Pain and mutilation being overcome
By Hercules, neither from Colchis nor
Thebes came such a marvel to be slain.
Immerse in the deep, it comes forth more beauteous
Wrestle it, to great acclain it overthrows
Victors, and beginning all over again will wage
Wars that wives will speak of for ever.
Now I will send no more proud heralds to
Carthage: all our hope dies and the good fortune
Of our name has now died, having been
Annihilated with Hasdrubal.
There is nothing which the hands of the Claudians
Will not bring to an end, having been made sharp
By war and acute perceptions, that with
A friendly nod Jupiter defends.
Ode 5 – Divis orte bonis, optume Romulae custos gentis,:
Divis orte bonis, optume Romulae
Custos gentis, abes iam nimium diu;
Maturum reditum pollicitus patrum
Sancto concilio redi.
Lucem redde tuae, dux bone, patriae:
Instar veris enim voltus ubi tuus
Adfulsit populo, gratior it dies
Et soles melius nitent.
Ut mater iuvenem, quem Notus invido
Flatu Carpathii trans maris aequora
Cunctantmen spatio longius annuo
Dulci distinet a domo,
Votis ominibusque et precibus vocat,
Curvo nec faciem litore dimovet:
Sic desideriis icta fidelibus
Quaerit patria Caesarem.
Tutus bos etenim rura perambulat,
Nutrit rura Ceres almaque Faustitas,
Pacatum volitant per mare navitae;
Culpari metuit fides.
Nullis polluitur casta domus stupris,
Mos et lex maculosum edomuit nefas,
Laudantur simili prole puerperae,
Culpam poena premit comes.
Quis Parthum paveat, quis gelidum Scythen,
Quis Germania quos horida parturit
Fetus incolumi Caesare? Quis ferae
Bellum curet Hiberiae?
Condit quisque diem collibus is suis,
Et vitem viduas ducit ad arbores;
Hinc ad vina redit laetus et alteris
Te mensis adhibet deum;
Te multa prece, te prosequitur mero
Defuso pateris, et Laribus tuum
Miscet numen, uti Graecia Castoris
Et magni memor Herculis.
'Longas o utinam, dux bone, ferias
Praestes Hesperiae!' dicimus integro
Sicci mane die, dicimus uvidi,
Cum sol Oceano subest.
ODE IV, 5
O most excellent guardian of the race of
Romulus, having arisen fron the blessed
Gods, by now you are absent for too long, return
To ancient counsels as promised.
Good leader, restore the light to your fatherland
To where it once shone forth with true impact upon
Your people, it leaves us and you are used to more
Pleasant days that shine more brightly.
As a mother, with promises, exhortations
And prayers calls for her loitering son, who the South
Wind with envious blast keeps from his sweet home across
The surface of the Carpathian,
Sea for longer than a twelve month interval, moves
Not her countenance from the concave shore: in this
Manner, motivated by the wishes of friends,
The country asks after Caesar.
In the countryside, truly made safe, the ox roams,
Ceres and fruitful Faustitas nourish the farms
Sailors travel swiftly across the peaceful sea
Fidelity fears to be blamed,
No chaste house is being polluted by foul lust,
Custom and law has subjugated tainted sin
Nursing mothers are praised for a childs resmblance
Rightful punishment presses guilt.
Who would fear the Parthian, who the cold Scythian,
Who the shaggy brood which Germany brings forward,
With Caesar at large? Who would pay attention to
The war in wild Hiberia?
Everyone celebrates the day on their hillsides,
And marries the virgin vine to trees without spouse,
Hence wine is brought forth and, made glad by one or two,
To the God's tables you are brought;
As Greece, mindful of Castor and great Hercules
Strong wine is offered to you with many prayers, the
Libation poured from a shallow dish mixing it
For your divine status and the Lares.
'O good leader, would that you may answer for long
Holidays to the Western lands!', we say in the
Morning stone cold sober, so we say when drunk and
the sun dips under the ocean.
Ode 2 – Pindarum quisquis studet aemulari, Iulle,:
Pindarum quisquis studet aemulari,
Iulle, ceratis ope Daedalea
Nititur pinnis, vitreo daturus
Nomina ponto.
Monte decurrens velut amnis, imbres
Quem super notas aluere ripas,
Fervet inmensusque ruit profundo
Pindarus ore,
Laurea donandus Apollinari,
Seu per audacis nova dithyrambos
Verba devolvit numerisque fertur
Lege solutis,
Seu deos regesque canit, deorum
Sanguinem, per quos cecidere iusta
Morte Centauri, cecidit tremendae
Flamma Chimaerae,
Sive quos Elea domum reducit
Palma caelestis pugilemve equomve
Dicit et centum potiore signis
Munere donat,
Flebili sponsae iuvenemve raptum
Plorat et viris animumque moresque
Aureos educit in astra nigroque
Invidet Orco.
Multa Dircaeum levat aura cycnum,
Tendit, Antoni, quotiens in altos
Nubium tractus: ego apis Matinae
More modoque,
Grata carpentis thyma per laborem
Plurimum, circa nemus uvidique
Tiburis ripas operosa parvos
Carmina fingo.
Concines maiore poeta plectro
Caesarem, quandoque trahet ferocis
Per sacrum clivum merita decorus
Fronde Sygambros,
Quo nihil maius meliusve terris
Fata donavere bonique divi
Nec dabunt, quamvis redeant in aurum
Tempora priscum;
ODE 4, 2
Whomsoever studies to emulate Pindar,
Julius, ascends heights with Daedelian
Waxworked wings, and is about to give a name
To some crystal sea.
As with a storm lashed mountain stream, rushing down,
You may overflow the limit of the banks
In which Pindar, with profound voice, rushes on,
Reaching unfathomed depths,
To be honoured with Apollo's laureate crown
For setting free the bounds of lyric metre
Whether rolling off audacious dithyrambs
Or voicing new words,
Or, while you will show the Gods in a just light
He tells of the Gods thirst for blood through which the
Centaurs fell to death and the fire of savage
Chimaera was stilled
Or tells when a godlike athlete or rider
Brings back home to an emotional bride the
Elean palm, presenting to her a gift
More precious than
A hundred statues, or laments a golden
Natured youth torn from life and raises up his
Spirit to the skies begrudging the darkness
Of the underworld.
A great wind elevates the Dircaean swan
So often to reach the heights, Antonius
Dispersing the veil of clouds; I emulate
The Matinean bee
Sucking out the nectar from the grateful thyme
By the utmost labour around the grove and
Moist banks of Tibuli, in a small way I
Fashion painful verse.
When he drags the wild Sygambri along the
Sacred Way, having been granted a rightful
Laurel crown, you, much greater at lyric verse,
Shall thus praise Caesar
Concines laetosque dies et urbis
Publicum ludum super inpetrato
Fortis Augusti reditu forumque
Litibus orbum.
Tum meae. si quid loquar audiendum,
Vocis accedet bona pars et 'o sol
Pulcer, o laudande' canam recepto
Caesare felix.
Teque, dum procedis, 'Io Triumphe',
Non semel dicemus, 'Io Triumphe',
Civitas omnis dabimusque divis
Tura benignis.
Te decem tauri totidemque vaccae,
Me tener solvet vitulus, relicta
Matre qui largis iuvenescit herbis
In mea vota,
Fronte curvatus imitatus ignis
Tertium lunae referentis ortum,
Qua notam duxit, niveus videri,
Cetera fulvos.
'The fates have not presented to the world so
Good and great a leader at any time in
Golden past and ancient times recalled nor will
Nor will they ever';
You will also praise this festive day of the
City's public game, having won from above
The return of Augustus and a forum
Free from dissention.
If I may say ought worth the hearing, as the
Great one draws near, it will be 'Oh Glorious,
Praiseworthy!', or, sotto voce, 'happy for
Caesar, that retreat'!
From you, on meeting, 'hurrah for a triumph!'
Then we will say, 'hurrah for a triumph!' And
Not only once. Then we, the people, offer
Incense to the gods.
Having been vowed, ten bulls from you and the same
Of cows. Me, a tender bull calf, abandoned
By its dam and growing to abundant youth
On my green pastures!
Its curved forehead as the light of the new moon
That restores that heavenly source, seeming as
Snow white but really yellow. Is ignominy
To be disguised thus?
Ode IV, 9 – Ne forte credas interitura
Ne forte credas interitura quae
Longe sonantem natus ad Aufidum
Non ante volgatas per artis
Verba loquor socianda chordis:
Non, si priores Maeonius tenet
Sedes Homerus, Pindaricae latent
Ceaeque et Alcaei minaces
Stesichorique graves Camenae;
Nec, siquid olim lusit Anacreon
Delevit aetas; spirat adhuc amor
Vivuntque commissi calores
Aeoliae fidibus puellae.
Non sola comptos arsit adulteri
Crinis et aurum vestibus inlitum
Mirata regalesque cultus
Et comites Helene Lacaena,
Primusve Teucer tela Cydonio
Direxit arcu; non semel Ilios
Vexata; non pugnavit ingens
Idomeneus Sthenelusve solus
Dicenda Musis proelia; non ferox
Hector vel acer Deiphobus gravis
Excepit ictus pro pudicis
Coniugibus puerisque primus.
Vixere fortes ante Agamemnona
Multi; sed omnes inlacrimabiles
Urgentur ignotique longa
Nocte, carent quia vate sacro.
Paulum sepultae distat inertiae
Celata virtus. Non ego te meis
Chartis inornatum silebo,
Totve tuos patiar labores
Impune, Lolli, carpere lividas
Obliviones. Est animus tibi
Rerumque prudens et secundis
Temporibus dubiisque rectus,
Vindex avarae fraudis et abstinens
Ducentis ad se cuncta pecuniae,
Consulque non unius anni,
Sed quotiens bonus atque fidus
ODE IV. 9
Not powerful, born by long and full sounding
Aufidus, you may believe the words I speak,
With plucked strings. are about to perish,
Not yet having been made public knowledge;
The Camenaen Muse of Pindar and Ceos
And menacing Alcaeus and the weighty
Stesichorus are not hidden from
View though Maeonius Homer holds prior place
Neither has time destroyed that with which Anacreon
Amused himself; still the love of that Aeolian
Maid breathes and the passions live to be
Re–awakened by music from the lyre
Not only Lecadaemonian Helen
Glowed with adulterous love having been dazzled
By gold encrusted hair and vestments
And the regal bearing and attendants,
Nor Teucer the first to direct an arrow
From Cretan bow; nor Illium shattered a
Single time; nor huge Idomeneus
Nor Sthenelus alone fought battles to
Be spoken of by the Muse; nor courageous
Hector nor energetic Deiphobus the
First who endures a heavy blow in
Defence of virtuous wives and children.
Many great men lived before Agamemnon
But all are beset by endless night, unknown
And unlamented because they are
Left without a dedicated poet.
Having been concealed within the grave, little
Distinguishes the courageous from the coward.
I shall not be silent, Lollius, my pages
Having been left unadorned by your name,
Nor your many deeds pass by with impunity
Into forgetfullness. For you, it is the
Principle to be honest in things
Simple and devious in doubtful cause,
Restraining the punisher of greedy fraud
While drawing to himself all manner of bribe,
And not even Consul for one year!
But also, having been declared a judge
Iudex honestum praetulit utili,
Reiecit alto dona nocentium
Voltu, per obstantis catervas
Explicuit sua victor arma.
Non possidentem multa vocaveris
Recte beatum; rectius occupat
Nomen beati, qui deorum
Muneribus sapienter uti
Duramque callet pauperiem pati
Peiusque leto flagitium timet,
Non ille pro caris amicis
Aut patria timidus perire.
Self aggrandizement precedes goodness and truth,
He rejects damaging gifts with haughty mien,
A victor in arms he justifies
His actions at the head of an armed force.
You might not call taking riches from the rich
Unjust; more correctly, unjust is he who
Seizes it for himself; which is to use
The God's gifts far more intelligently.
It is thick–skinned to fear grinding poverty
Far worse than to suffer dishonour at death,
And not the reluctance to perish
On behalf of country or beloved friends.
Ode 7 – Diffugere nives, redeunt iam gramina campis:
Diffugere nives, redeunt iam gramina campis
Arboribusque comae;
Mutat terra vices et decrescentis ripas
Flumina praetereunt;
Gratia cum Nymphis geminisque sororibus audet
Ducere nuda choros.
Immortalia ne speres, monet annus et almum
Quae rapit hora diem.
Frigora mitescunt zephyris, ver proterit aestas
Interitura, simul
Pomifer autunmnus fruges effuderit, et mox
Bruma recurrit iners.
Damna tamen celeres reparant caelestia lunae;
Nos ubi decidimus,
Quo pius Aeneas, quo dives Tullus et Ancus,
Pulvis et umbra sumus.
Quis scit an adiciant hodiernae crastina summae
Tempora di superi?
Cuncta manus avidas fugient heredis, amico
Quae dederis animo.
Cum semel occideris et de te splendida Minos
Fecerit arbitria,
Non, Torquate, genus, non te facundia, non te
Restituet pietas;
Infernis neque enim tenebris Diana pudicum
Liberat Hippolytum,
Nec Lethaea valet Theseus abrumpere caro
Vincula Pirithoo.
ODE IV, 7
Now the grass returns to the field and the foliage to the trees
To make away with the snow;
Now the decreasing rivers flow freely within banks once more as
Earth mutates the interchange.
The Grace with twin sisters and Nymphs engages to lead the choral
Dances completely unclothed.
Time, by the hour, snatches away the indulgent day, and counsels
No hope for eternity.
The cold becomes milder with the spring zephyrs as it in turn is
Driven away by summer, itself about to perish when fruit
Bearing autumn pours forth its harvest, then presently, inactive
Winter hastens to return.
However the eternal cycle of the moons restore the heavenly
Balance; but when we descend,
To where dutiful Aeneas and where rich Tullus and Ancus lie,
We are but dust and shadow.
Who knows if the Gods of the upper world will apply tomorrow's
Time to the total sum of today? Everything which you might have
Gladly given to a dear friend will undoubtedly escape the
Clutches of a greedy heir.
Torquatus, once you are gone to dust and illustrious Minos
Will have made his decision
Concerning you, no family connection, no eloquence of yours
Will bring you to life again.
For neither may Diana set free from the darkness of grim death
Virtuous Hippolytus,
Nor is Theseus strong enough to break the Lethean bonds of
His own dearest Pirithous.
Ode 1 – Intermissa, Venus, diu rursus bella moves?
Intermissa, Venus, diu
Rursus bella moves. Parce, precor, precor.
Non sum qualis eram bonae
Sub regno Cinarae. Desine dulcium
Mater saeva Cupidinum
Circa lustra decem flectere mollibus
Iam durum imperiis: abi,
Quo blandae iuvenum te revocant preces.
Tempestivius in domum
Paulli. purpureis ales oloribus,
Comissabere Maximi,
Si torrere iecur quaeris idoneum.
Namque et nobilis et decens
Et pro sollicitis non tacitus reis
Et centum puer artium
Late signa feret militiae tuae;
Et quandoque potentior
Largi muneribus riserit aemuli,
Albanos prope te lacus
Ponet marmoream sub trabe citrea.
Illic plurima naribus
Duces tura lyraeque et Berecyntia
Delectabere tibia
Mixtis carminibus non sine fistula;
Illic bis pueri die
Numen cum teneris virginibus tuum
Laudantes pede candido
In morem Salium ter quatient humum.
Me nec femina nec puer
Iam nec spes animi credula mutui
Nec certare iuvat mero
Nec vincire novis tempora floribus.
Sed cur heu, Ligurine, cur
Manat rara meas lacrima per genas?
Cur facunda parum decoro
Inter verba cadit lingua silentio?
Nocturnis ego somniis
Iam captum teneo, iam volucrem sequor
Te per gramina Martii
Campi, te per aquas, dure, volubilis.
ODE IV, 1
You renew the contest, Venus,
Suspended for a long time. Mercy! I beg you.
I am not as I was under
The tyranny of gentle Cinara. Desist
Strict Goddess of sweet desires to
Entice me once again with sweet commands after
Ten hard lustrums. Begone to where
The flattering prayers of young men recall you.
More appropiately to the
House of Paullus Maximus, if you seek an area
Of passion ready to parch. There
You will carouse with noble, fledgling purple swans.
He will bear your symbols widely
A youth of many skills, not unmoved before such
A supplicant, but driven to
Rapturous extremes. Well known and made for the part.
And whenever rivals in love
Offer to give abundant gifts, he will triumph
Over them. He will build for you
A statue under a citrus roof, near Lake Alban.
There you will inhale the best grade
Incense and take delight in the mixed music of
The Berecynthian flute and
The Lyre, not forgetting that of the shepherd's pipe.
For there you are remembered twice
Daily, by young maidens and young men praising your
Majesty with artless rhythm
Like Salians, shaking the ground repeatedly.
For me now neither woman nor
Youth nor credulous hope of mutual spirit
It pleases no more to drink
In strong wine nor to grace the head with fresh blossoms.
But why, alas Ligurinus,
Why an unexpected tear courses down my cheeks.
Why does that eloquent tongue I
Possess, halt speech into inadequate silence.
Nightly, in dreams, I pursue you,
Hard to the touch, fleeting over the grasses of
The Field of Mars, now through swirling
Waters. Now, taking possession, I hold you tight.
Ode 10 – O crudelis adhuc et veneris muneribus potens
O crudelis adhuc et Veneris muneribus potens,
Insperata tuae cum veniet pluma superbiae
Et, quae nunc umeris involitant, deciderint comae,
Nunc et qui color est puniceae flore prior rosae
mutatus, Ligurine, in faciem verterit hispidam:
Dices 'Heu,' quotiens te speculo videris alterum,
'Quae mens est hodie, cur eadem non puero fuit,
Vel cur his animis incolumes non redeunt genae?'
ODE IV, 10
Ligurinus, still possessing the powerful gifts of Venus
And hitherto unfeeling, when that unlooked for down shall impinge
Upon your pride and the locks of hair, which now float fancifully
Over the shoulder, shall have fallen flat and the complexion,
Now the pale pink of a newborn rose, shall show a bristly visage:
How often, seeing this other you in the mirror, you will say,
'Alas! What person is it today? Why is it not the same youth
it was or why cannot these cheeks be restored to their perfection
Ode 12 – Iam veris comites, quae mare temperant,:
Iam veris comites, quae mare temperant
Impellunt animae lintea Thraciae;
Iam nec prata rigent nec fluvii strepunt
Hiberna nive turgidi.
Nidum ponit, Ityn flebiliter gemens,
Infelix avis et Cecropiae domus
Aeternum opprobrium, quod male barbaras
Regum est ulta libidines.
Dicunt in tenero gramine pinguium
Custodes ovium carmina fistula
Delectantque deum, cui pecus et nigri
Colles Arcadiae placent.
Adduxere sitim tempora, Vergili;
Sed pressum Calibus ducere Liberum
Si gestis, iuvenum nobilium cliens,
Nardo vina merebere.
Nardi parvus onyx eliciet cadum,
Qui nunc Sulpiciis adcubat horreis,
Spes donare novas largus amaraque
Curarum eluere efficax.
Ad quae si properas gaudia, cum tua
Velox merce veni: non ego te meis
Immunem meditor tinguere poculis,
Plena dives ut in domo.
Verum pone moras et studium lucri
Nigrorumque memor, dum licet, ignium
Misce stultitiam consiliis brevem;
Dulce est desipere in loco.
ODE IV, 12
Already Spring's attendants, the North winds of Thrace,
That moderate the sea, impel a vessel's sails;
No longer are the meadows stiff, nor the swollen streams
Crashing about, with winter's snow,
Ityn, unhappy bird, groaning tearfully, builds her
Nest, having brought eternal disgrace to Cecrop's
House and the race of birds because the fearful lust of
Kings was improperly avenged,
In the tender grass the guardian of placid sheep
Plays songs upon the shepherd's pipe to the delight
Of the Gods. But whom do such simple people please
In the black hills of Arcadia?
Virgil, a thirst to bring you back to the present;
With the juice of Bacchus having been pressed at Cales!
But if you wish to be a client of young nobles
You will need wine with spikenard.
The small onyx box of nard from Sulpicius's
Warehouse, that now lies by your place, will neutralize
A wine jar, to give you new hope and present a
Cure for that which is unpleasant.
If it is to such joyfullness you aspire, come
For your swift reward as there is plenty in the
House. I intend to make it safe for you, I do
Not wish to taint it with poison.
Put aside desire for revenge and, mindful of
Time's flight and death's dark night, mix brief folly with the
Funeral pyre's verdict insofar as it is sweet
To be foolish on occasion.
Ode 8 – Donarem pateras grataque commodus,:
Donarem pateras grataeque commodus,
Censorine, meis aera sodalibus,
Donarem tripodas, praemia fortium
Graiorum, neque to pessuma munerum
Ferres, divite me scilicet artium,
Quas aut Parrhasius protulit aut Scopas,
Hic saxo, liquidis ille coloribus
Sollers nunc hominem ponere, nunc deum.
Sed non haec mihi vis, non tibi talium
Res est aut animus deliciarum egens.
Gaudes carminibus: carmina possumus
Donare et pretium dicere muneri.
Non incisa notis marmora publicis,
Per quae spiritus et vita redit bonis
Post mortem ducibus, non celeres fugae
Reictaeque retrorsum Hannibalis minae,
Non incendia Karthaginis inpiae
Eius, qui domita nomen ab Africa
Lucratus rediit, clarius indicant
Laudes quam Calabrae Pierides neque,
Si chartae sileant quod bene feceris,
Mercedem tuleris. Quid foret Iliae
Mavortisque puer, si taciturnitas
Obstaret meritis invida Romuli?
Ereptum Stygiis fluctibus Aeacum
Virtus et favor et lingua potentium
Vatum divitibus consecrat insulis.
Dignum laude virum Musa vetat mori.
Caela Musa beat. Sic Iovis interest
Optatis epulis inpiger Hercules,
Clarum Tyndaridae sidus ab infimis
Quassas eripiunt aequoribus ratis,
Ornatus viridi tempora pampino
Liber vota bonos ducit ad exitus.
ODE IV,8
Censorinus, I might present to my intimate
Friends a charming and appropriate bronze dish,
I might give tripods, the rewards of courageous
Greeks, and nor would you be able to carry off
The meanest of trifles but not such wealth for me
Nor, of course, from such as I, such works of art that
Either Parrhasius or Scopas created,
This one in stone, the other in liquid colours,
Now to portray a man, now the likeness of a God.
Not for you such things nor the spirit in need of such.
You rejoice in lyrical song; we can put a
Value on such songs and make you a precious gift.
He, who came back from Africa, having won that
Name to more illustrious praise than even the
Muses of Calabria could proclaim, does not
Need stone monuments engraved with public records
By which the breath of life is given back to brave
Leaders, nor victory over the reversals
Of Hannibal and his rapid retreat, nor the
Razing of the godless City of Carthage nor,
Unless parchment is silent on what you have done,
Would you have earned that reward. What might have become
Of Romulus, the son of Ilia and Mars,
If envious silence had stood in merit's way?
Aeacus, having been snatched from the Stygian waves
Dedicates the virtue, goodwill and eloquence
Of fmous poets to the service of the Gods.
The Muse forbids heroes, endowed with praise, to die.
The Muse bestows immortality. So diligent
Hercules, Jove's client, is seated with the Gods.
The bright constellation of Castor and Pollux
Rescues a ship, shaken by storms, from the deep sea,
The temple, having been embellished with the green
Vine tendril, Bacchus leads good intentions astray.
Ode 6 – Dive, quem proles Niobaea magnae vindicem linguae:
Dive, quem proles Niobaea magnae
Vindicen linuae Tityosque raptor
Sensit et Troiae prope victor altae
Phthius Achilles,
Ceteris maior, tibi miles impar,
Filius quamvis Thetidis marinae
Dardanas turris quateret tremenda
Cuspide pugnax.
Ille, mordaci velut icta ferro
Pinus aut impulsa cupressus Euro,
Procidit late posuitque collum in
Pulvere Teucro.
Ille non inclusus equo Minervae
Sacra mentito male feriatos
Troas et laetam Priami choreis
Falleret aulam;
Sed palam captis gravis, heu nefas, heu,
Nescios fari pueros Achivis
Ureret flammis etiam latentem
Matris in alvo,
Ni tuis flexus Venerisque gratae
Vocibus divom pater adnuisset
Rebus Aeneae potiore ductos
Alite muros.
Doctor argutae fidicen Thaliae,
Phoebe, qui Xantho lavis amne crinis,
Dauniae defende decus Camenae,
Levis Agyieu.
Spiritum Phoebus mihi, Phoebus artem
Carminis nomenque dedit poetae.
Viginum primae puerique claris
Patribus orti,
Deliae tutela deae, fugacis
Lyncas et cervos cohibentis arcu,
Lesbium servate pedem meique
Pollicis ictum,
Rite Latonae puerum canentes,
Rite crescentem face Noctilucam,
Prosperam frugum celeremque pronos
Volvere menses.
Nupta iam dices 'Ego dis amicum,
Saeculo festas referente luces,
Reddidi carmen docilis modorum
Vatis Horati.'
ODE IV,6
O God, who the offspring of Niobe and
Ravisher Tityos saw as avenger
Of brash claims, as Phthian Achilles, nearly
Ancient Troy's victor,
Greater than the rest but a warrior no
No match for you even though a son of the
Sea Goddess Thetis, so fond of battle with
Terrible javelin.
He, even as a pine tree struck by biting
Steel, or cypress thrown to ground by the East Wind,
Fell forward full length and proffered the naked
Neck in Trojan dust.
He, not hidden within the horse, invented
As sacrifice to Minerva, that it might
Deceive Troy to holiday and Priam's court
To choral dancing;
But, without concealment, being brutal to
Captives, alas, alas the crime that he might
Burn hapless babies with Greek fire or concealed
Within mother's womb,
The father of the God's might have allowed this
Had not you and sweet Venus magically
Intervened, which was allowed so that Aeneas
Might build better walls.
Phoebus, lyrist and teacher of expressive
Thalia, you who wash a golden stream of
Hair, protector of streets, defend the Daunian
Muse's prophecies.
Phoebus gave me inspiration, Phoebus gave
Me the art of song and the name of poet.
Foremost among virgins and young men being
Born of great fathers,
As the fleeing stags and lynx, herded by the
Delian goddess, protected by her bow,
Observe the Lesbian metre and the lyre
Strings struck by my thumb,
In the rite that celebrates Latona's son,
As with a torch that rekindles the moonlight,
To bring back favourable prosperity
And swift fruitfullness.
Soon, having been married you will say, 'I a
Friend of the poet Horace, attentive to
His words took part in the Sacred Hymn to bring
Favours from the Gods.