The odes and carmen saeculare of horace quintus horatius flaccus 8 dec 65 bc 27 nov 08 bc translated into english verse by john conington, m. The odes were developed as a conscious imitation of the short lyric poetry of greek originals pindar. Horaces latin is not easy reading, but if you can gain enough fluency to read him in the original. Book 1, ode 22 the man, my friend, whose conscious heart with virtues sacred ardour glows, nor taints with death the envenomd dart, nor needs the guard of moorish bows. The complete odes and epodes classics kindle edition by horace, betty radice, w. Poetry in translation is a niche, digital publisher providing modern, highquality open access translations of classic texts by famous poets, plus original poetry and critical works.
He has put aside his relationship with the woman who is now engaging in a tryst with a man he, rather condescendingly, calls a gracilis puer simple boy. Odes horacebook i wikisource, the free online library. Mcclatchy has assembled renders the totality of horaces four books of odes. Iulus, whoever tries to rival pindar, flies on waxen wings, with daedalean art, and is doomed, like icarus, to give a name. A veritable parnassium of poets has brought us horace, not just in todays terms but in yesterdays glory. This edition of the odes was first published in the outstanding red macmillan series, in which it finally replaced the late nineteenth century edition of t. Carmina are a collection in four books of latin lyric poems by horace. The complete odes and epodes oxford worlds classics horace. Then neither my mind nor my color remains in a sure seat, and a tear secretly slips down my cheek, proving.
The opening lines, especially, seem important because they say so much about what a translator interprets the original. The first poem of the collection announces to maecenas the poet s intention to retire from rome in general and poetry in particular in order to study philosophy, or, as he puts it, what is true and fitting. Maecenas, born of monarch ancestors, the shield at once and glory of my life. The complete odes and satires of horace horace, sidney. Horace has long been revered as the supreme lyric poet of the augustan age. Horace joined brutuss army and later claimed to have thrown away his shield in his panic to escape. Horace quintus horatius flaccus was a roman poet, satirist, and critic. That is, we first must recognize the limits of translation, while also acknowledging and appreciating, i think what the translator adds to the translation. Those wishing to understand the precise scansion of latin lyric verse should consult a. The horatian ode format and style has been emulated since by other poets. Horace earned his place in the canon of latin literature by writing his odes, a collection of short lyric poetry in four books.
As well as editing the translation of livys the war with hannibal she translated livys rome and italy, plinys letters, the letters of abelard and heloise and erasmuss praise of folly, and also wrote the introduction to horace s complete odes. Buy the complete odes and epodes classics by horace, betty radice, w. Horace is a great poet, much loved and imitated in the past, and in recent ye. A fourth book, consisting of 15 poems, was published in bc. Torquatus, ill expect to see you here at sunset youll drink wine bottled in taurus second term. I hold you prisoner, or follow you in flight, over the grassy fields of mars, or wing with you above the inconstant waters. Horace odes translation life of horace quintus horatius flaccus was born in 65 bc to a freedman in venusia, southern italy, who gave his son the best education his limited means could aspire to, sending him to rome at the age of twelve and then to athens.
Mcclatchy has assembled renders the totality of horace s four books of odes. Click anywhere in the line to jump to another position. Here is a new loeb classical library edition of the great roman poets odes and epodes, a fluid translation facing the latin text horace took pride in being the first roman to write a body of lyric poetry. This edition reproduces the highly lauded translation by james michie. Horace s odes enjoys a long tradition of translation into english, most famously in versions that seek to replicate the quantitative rhythms of the latin verse in rhymed quatrains. All or almost have had some experience translating from a classical language. The complete odes and epodes classics kindle edition. I have followed the original latin metre in all cases, giving a reasonably close english version of horace s strict forms. As with the rest of his works, horace presents the first book of epistles as a poetry book, introduced by a programmatic poem and closed by a poem addressed to the book itself. Or where the famd hydaspes spreads his liquid wealth oer barbarous lands. Horace s ode to pyrrha can be interpreted in many ways, but ive always detected a note of jealousy over a woman and a love that eluded him. In his perceptive introduction to this translation of horaces odes. Literal english translation original latin line when you, lydia, praise the red neck of telephus, the waxen arms of telephus, alas, my burning liver swells with hard bile.
Quinns edition is designed to meet the need for a modern approach to students in upper school and. David ferry, the acclaimed poet and translator of gilgamesh, has made an inspired translation of the complete odes of horace, one that conveys the wit, ardor and sublimity of the original with a music of all its own. The satires, epistles and ars poetica with an indepth hyperlinked index. The odes, book one, ix, translated by john dryden behold yon mountain. When i began this translation, horace was very much on my mind. Timeless meditations on the subjects of wine, parties, birthdays, love, and friendship, horace s odes, in the words of classicist donald carneross, make the commonplace notable, even luminous. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the complete odes and epodes classics. Topics include war including some very good poems touching on the civil wars and the roman victory at actium, love, and abuse. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The complete odes and satires of horace princeton university press. Horace in english poets in translation, penguin paperback may 1, 1996. The collins latin dictionary, for example, includes a good summary.
The odes of horace johns hopkins university press books. A new complete downloadable english translation of the odes and other poetry translations including lorca, petrarch, propertius, and mandelshtam. The poetry of horace born 65 bce is richly varied, its focus moving between public and private concerns, urban and rural settings, stoic and epicurean thought. Book 4, ode 1, to venus venus, again thou movst a war venus, again thou movst a war the academy of american poets is the largest membershipbased nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting american poets. Odes and epodes horace, niall rudd harvard university. Horace fully exploited the metrical possibilities offered to him by greek lyric verse. If you value our work, please consider supporting us. There are those whom it delights to have collected olympic dust in the chariot race. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. Better far to bear the future, my leuconoe, like the past, whether. These poems, collected here in david wests translation of horace s odes and epodes, are some of the most charming, warm, lovable, and humorous works to be found among the roman poets of the augustan age, even though they may be equally. This may vary slightly for effect two beats substituted for three etc. This book contains both the odes and epodes of horace, written between about 30 and b. Horace the odes, epodes, satires, epistles, ars poetica and carmen saeculare.
The odes of horace are the cornerstone of lyric poetry in the western world. Stanley lombardo, one of our preeminent translators of classical literature, now gives us a horace for our own day that focuses on the dynamics, sense, and tone of the odes, while still. The number of syllables most commonly employed in each standard line of the verse is given. Horace developed his odes in conscious imitation of the short lyric poetry of greek originals such as pindar, sappho and alcaeus. In his perceptive introduction to this translation of horace s odes and satires, sidney alexander engagingly spells out how the poet expresses values and traditions that remain unchanged in the deepest strata of italian character two thousand years later. Alternatively these epistles are intended, of 20bc, when augustus was in the east. The metres used by horace in each of the odes, giving the standard number of syllables per line only, are listed at the end of this text see the index below. Born in venusia in southeast italy in 65 bce to an italian freedman and landowner, he was sent to rome for schooling and was later in athens studying philosophy when caesar was assassinated. His first threebook collection of odes was published in 23 bce he was commissioned to write a hymn, the carmen saeculare. Horace s original, with an interesting modern american translation and helpful commentary by william harris, is here.
No doubt each reader will prefer this translation to that, but it is a choice among succulents. Some notes on translations of horace the the poetry blog. New translations by contemporary poets facing pages 9780691119816. Though earlier roman poets, for example, catullus, had dabbled with lyric meters from the greek poetic tradition, horace was the first to publish books of poems composed exclusively in greek lyric meters. His odes sought to earn the poet fame and immortality as a roman. His genius lay in applying these older forms, largely using the ancient greek sapphic and alcaic metres, to the social life of rome in the age of augustus.
Though scythias icy cliffs he treads, or horrid africs faithless sands. The translations are from contemporary englishspeaking poets of all varieties, from paul muldoon to charles simic to rosanna warren. Here is a new loeb classical library edition of the great roman poets odes and epodes, a fluid translation. The metres used by horace in each of the odes, giving the standard number of syllables. This ebook edition includes only the english language translation of the odes. None in book i horace quintus horatius flaccus the odes. The project gutenberg ebook of the works of horace, by c. Maecenas, descended from royal ancestors, o both my protection and my darling honor. His lyrics in greek metres in four books in a new english translation. Better far to bear the future, my leuconoe, like the past, whether jove has many winters yet to give, or this our last. Book 4, ode 1, to venus by horace poems academy of.