The Odes () are a collection in four books of Latin lyric poems by Horace. The Horatian ode format and style has been emulated since by other poets. Books 1 to 3 were published in 23 BC. A fourth book, consisting of 15 poems, was published in 13 BC.
The Odes were developed as a conscious imitation of the short lyric poetry of Greek originals – Pindar, Sappho and Alcaeus are some of Horace's models. His genius lay in applying these older forms to the social life of Rome in the age of Augustus. The Odes cover a range of subjects – love; friendship; wine; religion; morality; patriotism; poems of eulogy addressed to Augustus and his relations; and verses written on a miscellany of subjects and incidents, including the uncertainty of life, the cultivation of tranquility and contentment, and the observance of moderation or the "golden mean."For a discussion of the classification of Horace's Odes, see The Works of Horace Rendered into English Prose by James Lonsdale, M.A. and Samuel Lee, M.A. London: Macmillan and Co., 1883, p. 22 and Horace: The Complete Works by Charles E. Bennett and John Carew Rolfe. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1901, pp. xvii-xxii.
The Odes have been considered traditionally by English-speaking scholars as purely literary works. Recent evidence by a Horatian scholar suggests they may have been intended as performance art, a Latin re-interpretation of Greek lyric song. The Roman writer Petronius, writing less than a century after Horace's death, remarked on the (studied spontaneity) of the Odes (Satyricon 118). The English poet Alfred Tennyson declared that the Odes provided "jewels five-words long, that on the stretched forefinger of all Time / Sparkle for ever" (The Princess, part II, l.355).Pollard, A. (1982). "Three Horace Translations by Tennyson". Tennyson Research Bulletin. Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 16-24; see p. 19.
Summary The four books of odes contain 103 poems in total (104 if the is included). They are not all of equal length. Books 1, 2, 3, and 4 have 876 lines, 572 lines, 1004 lines, and 582 lines respectively. (The has 76 lines.) The number of poems in each book is 38, 20, 30, and 15. The odes range from 8 lines to 80 lines in length, the average being about 30 lines.
Book 1 Book 1 consists of 38 poems. The opening sequence of nine poems are all in a different metre, with a tenth metre appearing in 1.11. It has been suggested that poems 1.12–1.18 form a second parade, this time of allusions to or imitations of a variety of Greek lyric poets: Pindar in 1.12, Sappho in 1.13, Alcaeus in 1.14, Bacchylides in 1.15, Stesichorus in 1.16, Anacreon in 1.17, and Alcaeus again in 1.18.Lowrie, M. (1995). "A Parade of Lyric Predecessors: Horace, C. 1.12–1.18". Phoenix, 49(1), 33–48.Hutchinson (2002), p. 529. The book contains many well-known phrases, such as (1.37.1), (1.11.8), and (1.7.27).
The poems can be summarised as follows:Summaries are taken from: The Works of Horace Rendered into English Prose by James Lonsdale, M.A. and Samuel Lee, M.A. London: Macmillan and Co., 1883; Horace: The Complete Works by Charles E. Bennett and John Carew Rolfe. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1901; The Works of Horace, with Explanatory Notes by Charles Anthon, LL.D. London: Tegg & Son, 1835; The Works of Horace with English Notes by J.L. Lincoln. New York: D. Appleton & Co, 1851.
I.1, – Dedication of the First Three Books of the Odes to Maecenas (Horace's Patron) – Every man is governed by his ruling passion: the Olympian charioteer, the politician, the trader, the husbandman, the merchant, the man of pleasure, the soldier, and the hunter. To win the title of a lyric poet is all that Horace desires.
I.2, – To Octavian, The Deliverer and Hope of the State – The subject of this ode is the overflowing of the Tiber, which recalls to the poet the flood of Deucalion. He imagines that the disaster is caused by the wrath of Ilia (the wife of Tiber), the civil wars, and the assassination of Julius Caesar. Octavian, as Mercury in human shape, is invoked to save the empire.
I.3, – To Virgil, Setting Out for Greece – The ode begins with a prayer for the safe voyage of Virgil to Athens, which suggests the daring of the earliest mariners and the boldness of men in overcoming difficulties set by Nature.
I.4, – A Hymn to Springtime – The changing season warns us of the shortness of life. Horace urges his friend Sestius – vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam (The brief sum of life forbids us cling to far-off hope).
I.5, – To the flirt Pyrrha, who is as faithless as the winds or seas, and whose fancy no lover can hold onto. (See Odes 1.5.)
I.6, – Horace pleads his inability to worthily sing the praises of M. Vipsanius Agrippa, the distinguished Roman Commander.
I.7, – Fairest of Spots, O Plancus, is Tibur – There, or wherever you may be, drown your cares in wine.
I.8, – To Lydia, who has transformed Sybaris from a hardy athlete into a doting lover.
I.9, – Winter Without Bids Us Make Merry Within (Soracte) – (with borrowing from an original by Alcaeus) – To Thaliarchus. The snow is deep and the frost is keen – Pile high the hearth and bring out old wine – Leave all else to the gods.
I.10, – Hymn to Mercury – Mercury is addressed as the god of eloquence and the promoter of the civilization of man; as the messenger of the gods and the inventor of the lyre; skilled in craft and cunning; and the conductor of souls to the Underworld.
I.11, – Carpe Diem! – The poet seeks to dissuade Leuconoe from giving heed to the false arts of astrologers and diviners. It is vain to inquire into the future – Let us enjoy the present, for this is all we can command. It closes with the famous line: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero (Seize the day, trusting tomorrow as little as possible).
I.12, – The Praises of Octavian – The poet praises Octavian by associating him with gods and heroes, and distinguished Romans of earlier days.
I.13, – Jealousy – Addressed to Lydia – The poet contrasts the misery of jealousy with the happiness secured by constancy in love.
I.14, – The Ship of State – Horace refers to a period during which the Roman state was tossed and nearly wrecked by perpetual storms. He exhorts it to beware of fresh perils and keep safely in harbor.
I.15, – The Prophecy of Nereus – As Paris hurries from Sparta to Troy with Helen, Nereus stills the winds and prophesies – Ilium's doom is inevitable.
I.16, – An Apology – The poet has offended some lady by the intemperate utterances of his verse; he now seeks forgiveness for the fault. He describes the sad effects of unbridled anger, and urges her to restrain hers.
I.17, – An Invitation to Tyndaris to Enjoy the Delights of the Country – Horace invites Tyndaris to his Sabine farm, and describes the air of tranquility and security there, blessed as it is with favoring protection of Faunus and the rural deities.
I.18, – The Praise of Wine, and the ill effects of intemperance.
I.19, – The Poet's Love for Glycera
I.20, – An Invitation to Maecenas – You will drink poor Sabine wine in modest bowls when you visit the poet.
I.21, – Hymn to Diana and Apollo and their mother Latona
I.22, – Upright of Life and Free from Wickedness – Addressed to Aristius Fuscus – Begins as a solemn praise of honest living and ends in a mock-heroic song of love for sweetly laughing "Lalage" (cf. II.5.16, Propertius IV.7.45).
I.23, – Fear Me Not, Chloe, and do not shun me. (See Odes 1.23.)
I.24, – To Virgil – A Lament for the Death of Quintilius
I.25, – Lydia, Thy Charms Are Past – Horace taunts Lydia with her approaching old age and her lack of admirers.
I.26, – In Praise of Aelius Lamia – The poet bids the Muses to inspire him to sing the praises of Aelius Lamia, a man distinguished for his exploits in war.
I.27, – Let Moderation Reign – At a wine party, Horace endeavors to restrain his quarrelsome companions – He asks the brother of Megilla of Opus to confide the object of his affections.
I.28, – Death, The Doom of All – An unburied corpse first addresses the deceased philosopher Archytas with some philosophical reflections, then requests a passing merchant to stop and bury him.According to the interpretation of Nisbet, R. G. M. & Hubbard, M. (1970). A Commentary on Horace Odes Book 1, pp. 317–8. Others see it as a dialogue between a passing merchant and the deceased Archytas; but Nisbet and Hubbard argue that the first sentence of the ode rules this out.
I.29, – The Scholar Turned Adventurer – A remonstrance addressed to Iccius on his intention of giving up philosophy and of joining the expedition to Arabia Felix.
I.30, – A Prayer to Venus – Venus is invoked to abandon for a while her beloved Cyprus, and to honor with her presence the temple prepared for her at the home of Glycera.
I.31, – Prayer to Apollo on the consecration of his temple.
I.32, – Invocation to the Lyre – The poet addresses his lyre, and blends with the address the praises of the Greek poet Alcaeus.
I.33, – The Faithless Glycera – A consolation to the contemporary poet Tibullus over a lost love.
I.34, – The Poet's Conversion from Error – After hearing thunder in a cloudless sky, Horace renounces his former error and declares his belief in Jupiter, Fortuna, and the superintending providence of the gods.
I.35, – Hymn to Fortuna – The poet invokes Fortune as an all-powerful goddess. He implores her to preserve Octavian in his distant expeditions, and to save the state from ruinous civil wars.
I.36, – An Ode of Congratulation to Plotius Numida, on his safe return from Spain, where he had been serving under Octavian in a war against the Cantabrians.
I.37, – Now Is the Time to Drink! – An ode for Octavian's victory at Actium, the capture of Alexandria, and the death of Cleopatra (30 BC). The poem's tone over the fallen queen is tempered by a tribute to her pride and courage.
I.38, – Away With Oriental Luxury! – Horace directs his servant to make the simplest preparations for his entertainment.
Book 2 Book 2 consists of 20 poems. This book is noticeably different in style from book 1: the great variety of metres of book 1 has gone: instead, all but two of the odes are either Alcaic or Sapphic. The odes are a little longer on average than those in book 1: only one ode has less than 6 stanzas, compared with 24 in book 1; also there are no odes longer than 10 stanzas, a contrast with book 3, where 10 of the odes are longer.Nisbet & Hubbard (1978), A Commentary on Horace Odes, Book II, p. 1. The poems seem carefully arranged: the first and last are addressed respectively to Pollio and Maecenas (Horace's two patrons), and the two central odes (10 and 11) are addressed to Lucius Licinius Varro Murena, who was Maecenas's brother-in-law, and a certain Quinctius, who may have been Pollio's brother-in-law.Nisbet & Hubbard (1975), p. 168. 13 of the 20 poems are addressed to living individuals, a higher proportion than in books 1 and 3.Nisbet & Hubbard (1978), p. 2. In many of them Horace gives advice drawn from different philosophical schools.
II.1, – To Asinius Pollio, the writer of tragedy, who is now composing a history of the civil wars. A lament for the carnage caused by the conflicts of the Romans with their fellow-citizens.
II.2, – The Wise Use of Money – To Sallustius Crispus (nephew of the historian Sallust). The love of gain grows by self-indulgence. The moderate man is the genuine king.
II.3, – The Wisdom of Moderation, The Certainty of Death – To Quintus Dellius. Let us enjoy our life while we may, for death will soon strip us all alike of our possessions.
II.4, – To Xanthias Phoceus – Horace encourages his friend on his love for Phyllis, his slave.
II.5, – Not Yet! –