Nunc et in umbrosis Fauno decet immolare lucis, Seu poscat agna, sive malit hædo Pallida Mors æquo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas Regumque turres. O beate Sexti, Vitæ summa brevis spem nos vetat inchoare longam. Jam te premet nox fabulæque Manes, Et domus exilis Plutonia; quo simul mearis, 16 gleba RESOLVIT.-11. Fauno. Faunus, the guardian of the fields and flocks, had two annual festivals, called Faunalia, one onthe Ides (13th) of February, and the other on the Nones (5th) of December. Both were celebrated with great hilarity and joy.-12. Seu poscat agna, &c., "Either with a lamb, if he demand one, or with a kid, if he prefer that offering." Many editions read agnam, but the text is in most MSS., and is acknowledged by Servius: besides immolare is construed either with an ablative or an accusative. Comp. Virg. Ecl. III., cum faciam vitula. 13-16. 13. Pallida mors, &c., "Pale death, advancing with impartial footstep, knocks for admittance at the cottages of the poor, and the lofty dwellings of the rich." Horace uses the term rer as equivalent to beatus or dives. As regards the apparent want of connexion between this portion of the ode, and that which immediately precedes, compare what has been said in the introductory remarks.-15. Inchoare, "To commence plans we cannot execute." "Inchoare, semper significat ita aliquid incipere, ut non finiatur.”– Orell.-16. Jam te premet nox, &c. The passage may be paraphrased as follows: "soon will the night of the grave descend upon thee, and the unreal Manes crowd around, and the shadowy home of Pluto become thine own." The zeugma in the verb premo, by which it is made to assume a new meaning in each clause of the sentence, is worthy of notice. The primary idea of the verb, however, is kept up, "the night of death shall oppress thee with its shade, the Manes hover above thy head, the hall of death cover and enclose thee." By "the unreal Manes" are meant, the shades of the departed, often made the theme of the wildest fictions of poetry. Some commentators, however, and amongst them Orellius, understand the expression in its literal sense, "the manes of whom all is fable," and suppose it to imply the disbelief of a future state. Comp. Tí dé Пourav; M50os; Call. Epig. XIV. 3. Fabula is the nom. plural, i. e. Manes fabulosi, inanes.-Brevis. Compare: But out! brief candle, Life's but a walking shadow-MACB., act v., s. 5. 17-18. 17. Simul, used for Simul ac.-Exilis, "Shadowy," "unsubstantial." Compare: Thou art come from the spirit's land, thou bird! Thro' the dark pine grove let thy voice be heard, MRS. HEMANS. Bentley explains the word bv "poor," "empty." Nihil ibi reperies, quo bere Nec regna vini sortiere talis, Nec tenerum Lycidan mirabere, quo calet juventus Nunc omnis, et mox virgines tepebunt. 20 CARMEN V AD PYRRHAM. QUIS multa gracilis te puer in rosa sit: neque conviviis nec amoribus indulgendi facultas erit. Exilis domus est, ubi non et multa supersunt, He compares 18. Talis. This may either be the adjective, or else the ablative plural, of talus. If the former, the meaning of the passage will be, "thou shalt neither cast lots, for the sovereignty of such wine as we have here, nor," &c. Whereas, if talis be regarded as a noun, the interpretation will be, "thou shalt neither cast lots with the dice, for the sovereignty of wine, nor," &c. This latter mode of rendering the passage is the more usual one, but the other is certainly more animated and poetical, and more in accordance, too, with the very early and curious belief of the Greeks and Romans in relation to a future state. They believed that the souls of the departed, with the exception of those who had offended against the majesty of the gods, were occupied in the lower world with the unreal performance of the same actions which had formed their chief object of pursuit in the regions of day. Thus the friend of Horace will still quaff his wine in the shades, but the cup and its contents will be, like their possessor, a shadow and a dream: it will not be such wine as he drank upon the earth. As regards the expression, "sovereignty of wine," it means nothing more than the office of arbiter bibendi, or "toast-master." (Compare Ode II. vii. 25). Anthon. However ingenious this interpretation may be, it is utterly unsupported; and all other commentators correctly understand by talis, the cast of the dye which appointed the vμoriagxos. Comp. Od. II. 7, 25. Quem Venus arbitrum dicet bibendi. Moreover the phrase, regnum vini, would be correct, but not so regnum vini TALIS, i.e. Tolo. 20. Mor, when the season of earliest youth is passed.- Tepebunt, "TIMIDIOREM magisque verecundum Virginum amorem significat, dum juvenes amore incensi calent." Orell. ODE V.-Pyrrha, having secured the affections of a new admirer, is addressed by the poet, who had himself experienced her inconstancy and faithlessness. He compares her youthful lover to one whom a sudden and dangerous tempest threatens to surprise on the deep; himself, to the mariner just rescued from the perils of shipwreck. 1-5. 1. Multa in rosa, "Crowned with many a rose." the Greek idiom, iv σreqάvois tivas. (Eurip. Herc. fur. 677.) An imitation of Orellius under Simplex munditiis? Heu! quoties fidem 5 Qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea; Fallacis. Miseri, quibus Intentata nites! Me tabula sacer stands by rosa, "a bed of roses." Non de coronis cogitandum, sed de lecto rosarum cumulo strato; and compares Seneca, Ep. 36. in rosa jacere.-2. Urguet, (Scil. te,) "Eagerly embraces thee."- Urguet would seem to imply an affected coyness and reserve on the part of Pyrrha, in order to elicit more powerfully the feelings of him who addresses her.-5. Simplex munditiis. "With simple clegance;" "Plain in thy neatness" (Milton.); also, But Eve, Undecked, save in herself.-PAR. L. I. 379. Fidem mutatosque deos-" Thy broken faith, and the gods adverse to his prayer." The gods, who once seemed to smile upon his suit, are now, under the epithet of "mutati, altered," represented as frowning upon it. 7-12. 7. Nigris ventis, "With blackening clouds." The epithet nigri, here applied to the winds, is equivalent to "cœlum nigrum reddentes." 8. Emirabitur insolens, "Unaccustomed to the sight shall be lost in wonder at." The verb emirabitur is an ära λtóμevov in classical Latinity, and denotes "to be lost in excessive wonder." In consequence of the word occurring only in this passage, Bentley rejects it, and reads the whole clause thus: heu quoties fidem Mutatosque deos flebit! et aspera Ut mirabitur insolens! and compares Virg. Ecl. Ut vidi, ut perii! ut me malus abstulit error ! 9. Aurea." All golden;" i. e. possessing a heart swayed by the purest affection towards him.-10. Vacuam, "Free from all attachment to another." Amabilem is here used actively, "always loving him." See note, Od. III. 22. 11. Nescius auræ fallacis, "And knows not that your love is fickle as the breeze." Pyrrha is likened, in point of fickleness, to the wind. Compare: Varium et mutabile semper Fœmina.-Æn. IV. 570. 12. Nites. An idea borrowed from the appearance presented by the sea when reposing in a calm, its treacherous waters sparkling beneath the rays of the sun. 13. Me tabula sacer, &c. Mariners rescued from the dangers of shipwreck were accustomed to suspend some votive tablet or picture, together with their moist vestments, in the temple of the god by whose interposition they believed themselves to have been saved. In these paintings the storm, and the circumstances attending their escape, were carefully delineated. Ruined mariners (as in our own day) frequently carried such pictures about with them, in order to excite the compassion of those whom they chanced to meet, describing at the same time, in songs, the particulars of their story. Horace, in like manner, speaks of the votive tablet which gratitude has prompted him to offer; his peace of mind having been nearly shipwrecked by the brilliant but dangerous beauty of Pyrrha. ODE VI.-M. Vipsanius Agrippa, to whom this ode is addressed, is supposed to have complained of the silence which Horace had preserved in relation to him throughout his various pieces. The poet seeks to justify himself on the ground of his utter inability to handle so lofty a theme. "Varius will sing thy praises, Agrippa, with all the fire of a second Homer. For my own part, I would as soon attempt to describe in poetic numbers the god of battle, or any of the heroes of the Iliad, as undertake to tell of thy fame and that of the imperial Cæsar." The language, however, in which the bard's excuse is conveyed, while it speaks a high eulogium on the characters of Augustus and Agrippa, proves at the same time how well qualified he was to execute the task which he declines. Sanadon, without the least shadow of probability, endeavours to trace an allegorical meaning throughout the entire ode. He supposes Pollio to be meant by Achilles; Agrippa and Messala, by the phrase duplicis Ulixei; Anthony and Cleopatra, by the "house of Pelops;" Statilius Taurus, by the god Mars; Marcus Titius, by Meriones; and Mæcenas, by the son of Tydeus. Flattery of Agrippa has never been imputed to Horace; in whose praises of the warriors in the present ode, even compliments must be allowed to be perfectly fair. His high fame, too, and popularity, even before the battle of Actium, and the splendid works of his ædileship (B. c. 33) are elsewhere (2 S. III. 185, and I. E. VI. 26) briefly touched upon. TATE. 1. Scriberis Vario, &c. "Thou shalt be celebrated by Varius, a bird of Mæonian strain, as valiant," &c. For alite other editors have aliti, which, as also Vario, Anthon supposed to be datives, put by a Græcism for ablatives. The poet, to whom Horace here alludes, and who is again mentioned on several occasions, was Lucius Varius, born A. v. c. 672, famed for his epic and tragic productions. Quinctilian (X. 1) asserts, that a tragedy of his, entitled "Thyestes," was deserving of being compared with any of the Grecian models. (Varii Thyestes cuilibet Græcorun comparari potest. Quinct. 10, 1, 98.) He composed also a panegyric on Augustus, of which the ancient writers speak in terms of high commendation. Macrobius (Saturn, VI. 1) has preserved some fragments of a poem of his on death (rather de morte Cæsaris. ORELL). Varius was one of the friends who introduced Horace to the notice of Mæce Victor, Maonii carminis alite, Quam rem cunque ferox navibus aut equis Nos, Agrippa, neque hæc dicere, nec gravem 5 nas, and, along with Plotius Tucca, was entrusted by Augustus with the revision of the Æneid. It is evident that this latter poem could not have yet appeared when Horace composed the present ode, since he would never certainly, in that event, have given Varius the preference to Virgil. For an account of the literary imposture of Heerkens, in relation to a supposed tragedy of Varius's, entitled Tereus, consult Scholl. Hist. Lit. Rom. vol. i. 212, sqq. Scriberis, comp. Milt. : To after age thou shalt be writ the man That with smooth air could honour best our tongue. 2-5. 2. Maeonii carminis alite. The epithet "Mæonian," contains an allusion to Homer, who was generally supposed to have been born near Smyrna and to have been consequently of Mæonian (i. e. Lydian) descent. The term alite refers to a custom in which the ancient poets often indulged of likening themselves to the eagle and the swan: Mourav guixes. Theocr. Id. VII.—3 Quam rem cunque. "For whatever explolt;" i. e. quod attinet ad rem quam cunque, &c. Bentley remarking that rem may indicate any very trivial matter nay even a defeat, and, therefore, would not serve as a subject for a panegyric, reads quâ rem cunque, &c.: but surely rem may be used emphatically to denote "an achievement," an "exploit." 5-12. 5. Agrippa. M. Vipsanius Agrippa, a celebrated Roman of humble origin, but who raised himself by his civil and military talents to some of the highest offices in the empire. He gained two celebrated naval victories for Augustus; the one at Actium, and the other over the fleet of Sextus Pompeius, near Mylæ, off the coast of Sicily. Agrippa was distinguished also for his successes in Gaul and Germany. He became eventually the son-inlaw of the emperor, having married, at his request, Julia, the widow of Marcellus. The Pantheon was erected by him.-6. Nec gravem Pelidæ stomachum, &c., "Nor the disastrous resentment of the unrelenting son of Peleus, alluding to the wrath of Achilles, which forms the basis of the Iliad, and his beholding unmoved, amid his anger against Agamemnon, the distresses and slaughter of his countrymen.-Gravem scil. Græcis, i. e. perniciosum. Orell.Pelida. A muse is invoked by Horace to celebrate so great a theme. II. I. 1. Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληϊάδεω Αχιλλέως. Stomachum. Compare. Which raised in me An undergoing stomach to bear up Against what should ensue.--SHAK. Temp. act 1, s. 1. 7. Nec cursus duplicis, &c. "The wanderings of the crafty Ulysses." The accusative of words whose genitive plural ends in ium, was anciently written in is; hence arose an ambiguity, some making duplicis agree with cursus; others with Ulyrei, which is the correct method. Comp. λurçórov, and ódi |