122 / H O RACE

Ans Po ET I CA / 123
• I
Ars Poet1ca chooses his subject with full control will not be abandoned by eloquence or
lucidity of a rrangeme nt.
Unity and Co,isistency As to arrangement: its excellence and charm, unless I'm very wrong, con-
b' e a horse's neck with a hurna sist in saying at this moment what needs to be said at this moment, and post-
11
Imagine a painter who wa nted to com in llection of limbs with vari 0 ,.
I h
head, and the n c ot e a misc
. ellaneous co b ·r
d t al the top as a eauti u) worna
.., poning and temporarily omitting a great many things. An author who has
undertaken a poem must be choosy-cling to one point and spurn another.
st
kinds of feathers, so that what arte ou e 1·n,iited as friends, lo the pr,~ As to words: if you're delicate and cautious in arranging them, you will
I fi h If you wer ' •
ended in a hideously ug Y s · . , L t me tell you, my Piso2 friends, 11ive distinction to your style if an ingenious combination makes a familiar
vate view. could you help laughrng. ~ p at random like a sick rna/ word new. If it happens to be necessary to denote hidden mysteries by novel
book whose differe~t features are ~\ eh~ad or a tail , is exactly like th~ symbol s, ISO] it will fall to you to invent terms the Cethegi in their loin-
dreams, with no unified form to ha,e cloths6 never heard-and the permission will be granted if you accept it
picture. . d recognized 3 rights to venture on modestly-a nd, moreover, your new and freshly invented words will receive
'Painters and poets have always .endJoyed . ask and grant this permission credit , if sparingly derived from the Greek springs. Is the Roman to give
·11 · [11) y,es, we know·' 111, ee ' wethat fierce a nd gentle can be
wh at t h ey w1 • Caccilius and Plautus privileges denied to Virgil and Varius?7 Why am I
turn and turn a bout. But it doesn t mea n . h . unpopular if I can make a few acquisitions, when the tongue of Cato and
. d k . d 'th birds or lambs wit ugers. Ennius8 so enric hed their native language and produced such a crop of new
umte , sna ·es pa1~e. wi . h ve a urple patch or two sewn on to
Serious and a mb1t1ous designs oftend. a :__ description of a grove and names for things?
. k ood show at a 1stance a
t h em Just to ma e a g · through pleasa nt mea.1-
altar of Diana ~ the meanderings of a stream runmng . . , h I ....,
. h : h . b . [l ) but the trouble 1s. 1t s not t e p ace for Fashions in Words
the River R me, t e ra111 ow. 9
It always has been, and always will be, lawful to produce a word stamped
them. , Wh t ' th od with the current mark. (60] As woods change in leaf as the seasons slide on,
Maybe you know how to do a picture of a cy~ress tree . a .s ego
·f h h · ·ng for the picture 1s a desperate ship-wrecked and the first leaves fall, so the old generation of words dies out, and the newly
0 f t h at, 1 t e man w o 1s pay, . . h h I
• · · to sacet}'' The J'ob began as a w111e-Jar: t eh w ee runs born bloom and ate strong like young men. We and our works are a debt
manner sw1mmmg 1' • • b ·1
round-why is that a tub that's coming out? In short, let 1t e w at you w1 I, owed to death. Here a land-locked sea protects fleets from the North
but Jet it be simple and unified. wind-a royal achievement; here a n old barren marsh where oars were piled
feeds neighbouring cities and feels the weight of the plough; here again a
river gives up a course that damaged the crops and learns a better way. But
Skill Needed to Avoid Faults whatever they are, all mortal works will die; and still less can the glory and
Most of us poets-father and worthy sons-are deceived by a~pe.arances of charm of words endure for a long life. [70) Many words which have fallen
will be born again, many now in repute will fall if usage9 decrees: for in her
correctness. I try to be concise, but I become obscure; my .aim 1s smooth-
hand is the power and the law and the canon of speech.
ness but sinews and spirit fail ; professions of grandeur end rn bombast; the
over~autious who fear the storm creep along the ground. Similarly, the
write r who wants to give fantastic variety to his single theme [30] pain.ts a Metre and Subject
dolphin in his woods and a wild boar in his sea. If a rt is wanting, the ~ 1.gh:
Histories of kings and generals, dreadful wars: it was Homer1 who showed
from blame leads to faults. The poorest smith near the School of Aem1hus in what metre these could be narrated. Lines unequally yoked in pairs2
will reproduce nails and mimic soft hair in bronze, though he has no l~ck formed the setting first for lamentations, then for the expression of a vow
with the over-all effect of his work, because he won't know how to orgamze fulfilled3 though who first sent these tiny 'elegies' into the world is a gram•
the whole. If I were anxious to put anything together, I would as soon be marians' quarrel and still s11b j11dice. Madness armed Archilochus with its
that man as I would live with a mis-shapen nose when my black eyes and
black hair had made me a beauty. 6. I.e., primitive Romans ltronslator's note]. treatises and history.
You writers must choose material equal to your powers. Consider long 7. Roma n poet (ca. 74-14 n.c.E.), friend of Virgil 9. Or "need'' ltranslntor's notcJ.
and Horace; author of the tragedy Tl1Jestc5, Cne- J. Greek epic pocl (8th c, e.c,E,) to whom the
what your shoulders will bear and what they will refuse. [40] The man who cilius Statius (d. ca. 168 e.c.E.), former slave from Jlia,l and OJ)"'')' arc traditionally a ttributed.
Gaul who wrote Latin comedies. Plautus (d. ca. 2. In elegiac couplets, formed by a dactylic hex•
184 e.c.E.), Roman comic dromatist whose plays amcter (a 6•foot line bused on the syllabic pattern
were modeled on Greek New Comedy originals. long-short-shorl) and o line re placing the 3d und
I. Translaled by D. A. Russell. In !his prose lrans- Virgil (70-19 e.c,E.), Romon poet and friend of 6th fool with one long syllable. The shorter sec-
lil'ely identified. ond line gives the couplet a sense of falling off.
lntion of Horace's \'Crse, subheads ha\'e been 3. Or "equal" [translator's note). ,,d Horace.
added br the translator. Numbers in square brack- 8. Roma n 1ragic and epic poet (ca. 239-169 u.c:E.) thought to impart mclnncholi•.
4. Roma n goddess of the hunt , the moon, 1 3. Horace is thinking of inscriptions accompany·
ers refe r lo line numbers in Horace's Latin poem. who tried to refine the Lotin longuage occordmg
childbirth. nze lo Greek example. Cato (234-149 B,C,E.), Roman ing dedications to gods ltranslator's note}.
2. Horace is thought to have addressed the Ars to 5. A school for gladiators, near the shops of bro
Lucius Calpurnius Piso (48 e.c.E.-32 c ,E.) and statesman, stern moralist, and prolific writer of
workers.
his sons , though none of the sons has been posi•
124 / H O R ACE ARs POETICA / 125

F hat the comic sock and tragic bus

own iambus:4 (80] that too was the oot t bl t0 subdue the sho . full of tears, lxi~n treacherous, lo never at rest, Orestes full of gloom.9 On
kin held, because it was suitable for dialogue, a . e 1i h I th uMts of the_ other hand, if you are putting something untried on the stage and ven-
r 1·t of action. o t e yre, e us
the mob, and intended by nature ior a I eh·ldren of god s, v1•c t on•ous b oxer e turing to shape_a new c~aracter, let it be maintained to the end as it began
1
granted the celebration of gods and t he c d generous wine.
. If I h . s,
ave neithe and be true to itself. It 1s hard to put generalities in an individua l way: you
, I
winning race-horses, you ng men s ove, an j , assigned f unctmns . d
a n tone
r do better to_reduce the song of Troy to acts than if you were the fi rst to bring
the ability nor the knowledge to keep t he d u ) b . s out something unknown and unsaid.' [131] The common stock will become
. • d , \" hy do I prefer to e ignora• nt tha_n
of literature, why am I ha1le as a poet. 'V • • you~ private property if you don't linger on the broad and vulgar round, or
learn, out of sheer false shame? A comic subJ~Ct will_not b~ set out_m tragic an~to_usl~ render word for word, a loyal interpreter, or again, in the process
verse; (90] likewise, the Banquet ofThyestes' disdains being_told m poetry of 1m1tat1on, find yourself in a tight corner from which shame or the rule of
th
of the private kind, that borders on the comic stage. Every ing must keep the craft, won't let you move; or, once again, if you avoid a beglnning like the
the appropriate place to which it was allotted. . cyclic poet 2-
6
Nevertheless comedy does sometimes raise her vmce, and angry C7h remes
0f Priam's fortune will I sing, a nd war
perorates with ~welling eloquence. Often too Telephus and ~eleus in trag-
well known to fame.
edy lament in prosaic language, when they are ?oth poor exil~s a nd throw
away their bombast and words half a yard long, 1f they are anxious to touch If he opens his mouth as wide as that, how can the promiser bring forth
the spectator's heart with their complaint. anyt hing to match it? The mountains shall be in labour, and there shall be
born-a silly mouse. [140] How much better was the way of that poet whose
every endeavour is to the point!
Emotion and Character
Tell me, 0 Muse, of him who, after Troy
It is not enough for poetry to be beautiful; it must also be pleasing and lead had fa llen, saw the man ners and the towns
the hearer·s mind wherever it will. [IOI] The human face smiles in sympathy of many men. 3
with smilers and comes to the help of those that weep. If you want me to cry,
mourn first yourself; tlien your misfortunes will hurt me, Telephus and Peleus. His plan is not to turn fire to smoke, but smoke to light, so as to relate mag-
If you.r words are given you ineptly, I shall fall asleep or laugh. Sad words suit nificent wonders thereafter-Antiphates and the Cyclops, Scylla and Cha-
a mournful countenance, threatening words an angry one; sportive words are rybdis.4 He doesn't start the Return of Diomedes from the death of Meleager, 5
for the playful, serious for the grave. For nature first shapes us within for any nor begin the Trojan war from the twin egg; 6 he is a lways making good
state of fortune-gives us pleasure or drives us to anger or casts us down to speed towards the end of the story, and carries his hearer right into the
thick of it as though it were al ready known. (150] He leaves out anything
the ground with grievous sorrow and pains us-(111) and then expresses the
which he thinks cannot be polished up satisfactorily by treatment, and tells
emotions through the medium of the tongue. If the words are out of tune
his fables and mixes truth with falsehood in such a way that the middle
with the speaker's fortunes, the knights and infantry of Rome will raise a
squares wit h the beginning and the end with the middle.
cackle. It will make a lot of difference whether the speaker is a god or a hero,
Let me tell you what I and the public both want, if you're hoping for an
an old man of ripe years or a hot youth, an influential matron or a hard·
applauding audience that will wait for the curtain and keep its seat until the
working nurse, a travelling merchant or the tiller of a green farm, a Colchian
epilogue-speaker says 'Pray clap your hands'.7 You must mark the manners
or an Assyrian, one nurtured at Thebes or at Argos.8
9. Son or Agamemnon and Cl)•temnestra who 2. That is, o port of the epic cyclr, writing poems
a,·enges his fother's murder by killing his mother in Homeric style and usually about C\'enls of the
Clioice and Handling of Myth and her lo\'er: he is gloomy because the Furies Trojan \Var.
hound him for 1he crime of matricide. ~·t t"dea: 3. Odpseyl.lff. [tra nsla tor's nole ).
Either follow tradition or invent a consistent story. (120] If as a writer you e ncha ntress of Greek myth who helps Jason ga in 4. Cha racters from Homer's OdJssey: Antiph-
the Golde n Fleece, a nd, after he aba ndons her. ates, king or the Laestrygones: C)'clops. Greek
are representing Achilles with all his honours, let him be active, irascible, murders their c hildren in revenge. lno: daugh• mythologic al giant with one eye; Sc ylla. holf-
implacable, and fierce; let him say 'the laws are not for me' and set no Jun.ii tor of Cadmus. wife of A1hamas; pursue d bi• human sea monster that takes men from passing
her enraged husbllnd after plotting against hrr ships: Churybdis , o dangero us whir lpool in the
to the claims that arms can make. Let Medea be proud and indomitable, )no stepchildren. she leaped into the sea with her son. woters bet,\een Sicily and Italy, regarded as a
Ixion: king who slew his fnther•in•law and is bound female monstrr.
to a perpetually rc\'olving whet! in the underworld 5. Uncle of Oiomcdes, o Gree k he ro in 1he Iliad,
4. Metrical foot mad<" of one shorl and one long as punishment for his attempted seduction of ond therefore of an older gt"neration.
; , father of the Gre ek hero Achilles, the centrtl 6. T he offspring of Leda ond Zeus we re tw ins.
syllable; iambic lrimetcr was the measure used in character in the Wad. Telephus: so n of Hera~ Juno. lo: daughter of lnac hus who was loved by
dialogue in both G reek comedies and G reek 1rag- Zeus and subsequently transformed into n cow, C lytemneSlra and Helen: Helen. taken from her
and Auge. wounded by Ac hilles' spear a nd cu husband by the Troja n prince Pa ris, is usually
edi,s. Archilochu, (ca. 7th c. I .C.E.), Ionia n lyric by us rust. goaded by gadflies senl by 1he nngry Hera. Zeus s
poet 1hough1 lo be the earliest writer or iambic wife. considered by poets t·o be the imme-diatc cause of
8· The Argn·e Aga memnon shows reserve a nd dig' the Trojan Wa r.
,~_rse. I. I.e., to im·ent names and c ircumstances for a
nicy. "-hikehe Theban Creon isa headstrong t}ran~ 7. The comedies of tht" Roman plo~•\\ rights Plou·
1

5. In Grttk mythology. Atreus murdered his general theme is undesir.1ble; if ) 'OU object 1hat
T~e As,yrian wo uld be effe minate . as com~ ,..! the known myths are hackneyed, t he remedy is in lus ond Terence close with plaudii, (opplaud!) or
brot her Tbye,ce, · son a nd served 1b, boy lo
wuh the Colchian, but both would be borban•nl the treatment of tht"m in a new way hranslator's an equivalent phrase.
Thyc,sres. who had seduced Atreus's wife.
6. l\li.srrty char.teter in the comedies of Terrncc (Assyna w·,u an ancient cmpi~ of west lt,siS note).
(Roman dramatist, ca. 190-cn. 159 e.c.E.). Colchi, bordered l he Black Seo).
 126 / HoMA CH
i\n~ Po n TI CA / 127
. te part to changing nan,..._
h ppropr1a .
of euch time of life, ond assign t e at words and planting h is . ....,
steps on tbe ,to nd oren. 1200) h should keer secreu entrusted to it, and beR and pray the
and oges. The child, just oble to repea la with his contempora ries. &cts li1
~ods that For1u ne m ay return lo the wretched a nd abandon the proud.
g round with confidence, is cager to p y and changes hour by hour. [1611
and out of a temper wit · hout m uch cause. · h.is h orses a....a
f the way, enJoys
'
The beardless yout h ' h is tutor at last out O • , -• Del'elopme111 of Trnged)
k Moulded like wax m_lo Vice, he le
dogs and the gross of the sunny Par ·d
for necessities, prodigal of moner, I he fl111 e u,ecl not to be, ns ii is "'"' • bound \\ ith copper and o rivnl to the
surly to would-be odvisers, slow 10 provt de the objects of his sudden I~ 1r11mpt:1 . II \HI S ,light and ~imple. wi1h few apertures, but serviceable 10 accom•
up in the air, eager, ond quick to aba~ :ind pursues wealth and infl-.. p,inv and aid 1hr c horus and to fill with its music the still not too crowded
Soon interests change: the grown mans d avoids doing anything he ma, iwndw,. \\ here a popu lation of no great si1..e gathered in numbers easily
tial connections, is enslaved to honou~. 8i"csses surround the old man lie crnml('(I. honest a nd decent and modesl. Rue when 1hnt same population won
soon be trying to change. [169] Many is hr . hand on what he has laid._ '4Ar5 nnd hegan 10 extend its territory. when longer walls came to
. . • d embrace the
1s ocqu1sit1ve, on , poor man, dnren't put is
h. b . css timidly and coldly, proc,.._ -r,
cicies. and r eople indulged themselves on holidays by drinking in the daytime,
he is afraid to use it. He goes ab~ul is ~:~ et greedy of his fut ure; he la and noh~y hlamed them, 121 1I then rhythm and tunes acquired greater
tinating, letting things drag on m ho~e.' yh y days when he was a boy ... licence. for what taste could the uneducated show, the holiday crowd of
aw kward an d grum bl m , g given to pramng t e
, . , . • Years as they come bri countrymen and townsmen. honest folk and rogues, all mixed up together?
to criticizing and finding fault with his Juniors.. Ti '"" l his is how the musician ca me 10 add movement and elaboration to his art,
many blessings with them, and as Ihey go take many away. o save you,_.
, I boy , and to l rni l his robe as he roamed the stage. This is how even the austere lyre
a grown mans, remember
g iving a young ma n an old man s roe or a . . ~a ined a sl roni;ten 'Oice, while loft y eloquence ·rroduced strange utterance a nd
that your character should a Iways remain · f81·1hful to what 1s assoetated with
chought that shrewd ly grasped practical needs and prophesied the future
his age and suits it. grew indislinguis hable from the oracles of Oelphi.1

' 8
Some Rules for Dra,,mtrsls
Satyr-Plays 4
Actions may be either performed on the stage or re~rt~d w_h e~ performed.
[2201 The competitor in tragic poetry. who strove for a worthless goat.~ next
[180J Whal comes in through the ear is less effective m stirring th~ mind showed the rustic Satyrs. naked. Preserving his seriousness despite his keen
than what is put before our faithful eyes and told by the s_rectator to hunsel(
wit. he made a n attempt at a joke. because the audience, drunk and lawless
However, you are not to bring on to the stage events which ought to be car-
at the end of the festival. had to be prevented from going away by tricks and
ried out within; you are to remove many things fro":1 sight, and, let them be pleasing innovations . But the way to recommend your laughing, joking satyrs,
related in due course by the eloquence of an eye-witness. Don t let Medea the way to turn seriousness to jest. is this: no god or hero you bring on the
murder the children before the people's gaze, or wicked Atreus cook human stage, if he was seen not long ago in royal gold and purple, must lower his
offal in public, or Procne be metamorphosed into a bird or Cadmus9 into a language and move into a humble cottage; not, on the other hand, must his
snake. Anything you show me like that earns my incredulity and disgust. effort s 10 get off the ground lead him to try to grasp clouds and void. [231]
A play that wants to be in demand and to be revived must not be shorter Tragedy docs nor deserve to blurt out trivial lines. but she will modestly con-
or longer than five acts. 1 sort a little with the forward satyrs, like a respectable lady dancing because
[191] There should be no god to intervene, unless the problem merits she must on a feast day.
such a champion. 2 As a Satyr-writer , my Piso friends, I shall not limit my liking to plain and
No fourth character should attempt to speak. proper terms. nor yet try to be so different from the tone of tragedy that
The chorus should play an actor's part, and do a man's duty. It should not the re is no difference between Oavus talking or bold Pythias, when she's
sing between the acts anything which has no relevance to or cohesion with just tricked Simon out of a talent,6 and Silenus, at once guardian and ser-
the plot. It should side with the good and give them friendly counsel, restrain va nt of the god he has brought up. [240) I shall make up my poem of known
the angry, and approve those who scruple to go astray. It should praise a fru· elements, so that anyone may hope to do the same, but he' ll swea t and
gal table's fare, sound justice, law, and times of peace when the town's gates labour to no purpose when he ventures: such is the force of arrangemen t

3. The oracle of Apollo. a nd 1he most imporlanl tor's notcJ. Silcnus: male spirit associated wi1h
8. Most of the precepts enumerated in this section ornrlf' in ancient Greece.
may be found in ARISTOTLE's Poetics (see above). I. Not AriSlolelian; but Menander seems nor Dionysus, later represented as a drunken old ma n.
mally lo have composed h is comedies in five acllo 4. These featured Silcnus and satyrs In burlesque ..Sat yrs": woodland spirits, usunlly part huma n,
9. Founder of The~es; in Ovid's Metamorpi,,,,,,, episodes of myth: sryle and meter were those of
Cadmus and hJS wife are changed into serpenls. separared by choral interludes [translaror's nd parl gont.
Menander (ca. 342-ca. 292 e.c.E.), a Jeaditll tragedy. not comedy. The piece was commonly 5. Horace believes that the Greek term tragijidia,
Atreus: father of Agamemnon and Menelaus· he performed as a fourth play after 1hree tragedies.
arranged the fea, 1 of Thyesres. Procne: wif~ of wriler of Greek New Comedy. literally, "gool song," took lls name from the pri,e
2 · The deus ex machina was a divine character Euripides' C1·clops lea. 410 e.c.E.j is the only corn- or a goat.
Tereu,, who punished h im for roping her sister by
lowered from above the stage ID convenientlf pleree.ron1 example. Aristotle believed satyr-ploys 6. Typical New Comedy names: slave. maid or
killing her own child and serving him to her hus-
were ar the origin of tragedy; others. es Horace prostitute, old man !tra nslator s note].
bandi late r all three were turned into birds. resolve the action at the end of a play.
here. that they were a later refinement [transla-

_J
 128 / HORACE ARS PoETIOA / 129
monplace words acquir
d that com b f e.
and combination, such the splen ou\d ement, should eware o behav.. height by their high boots. [281] Next came Old Comedy,3 much praised,
v di nd Fauns if you take my J g er and were creature s of th though its liberty degenerated into vice and violence deserving restrain
,our woo a , treet corn . t of
.
mg as 1•f they were born at the s Hant m . 1 guishmg verse or crack dirtye law; the law was accepted, and the chorus fell silent, its right of shamefu
an l
Forum- they shouldn't play the ga of horses7 or ancestors or property insult removed.
take
and disreputable jokes; possessors ' I ok kindly on work approve d by
the
offence at this sort of thing an~ do_n :h~ prize.
fried-peas-and-nuts public, or give 11 Inventiveness of the Romans
Our poets have left nothing unattempted. Not the least part of their
The Need for Technical Perfection glory
was won by venturing to abandon the footsteps of the Greeks and celebrat
8
e
makes an iambus. He is a qUick our own affairs; some produced historical plays, some comedies in
[251] A long syllable following a sh~~t on; be called trimeters, althoug h Roman
h dress. [289) Latium4 would have been as famous for literature as for
foot; this is why he ordered _iambicd mes ~e same in form from first to valour
las~ and deeds of arms if the poets had not, one and all, been put off by the
labour
was giving six beats to the !me, a~all\:::~er more slowly and weightily and time of polishing their work. Children of Numa,5 show your disappro
U{>on val
Not all that long ago, wanting 10 d to family privileg es-what of any poem which long time and much correcti on have not disciplin
our ears, he admitted the stat~ly spbon ~eths ut being quite so complais ed and
ama smoothed ten times over, to satisfy the well-pared nail.
a ble, easy-gom
. g ~Oot he isl- ut w1 o
r
com1ort • • . • the line Rarely does h
• h d d r th pos1t1ons
as to give up t e secon an ,our . .m . E · · • (260] e
appear in Accius,9 nobIe tnmeters
•
, an
d his rarity m nmus
. h h h ki we1"ghty The Poet6
lines as they fly out on the stage damns them wit 1. e s oc ng accusati .
on 7
Democritus thinks native talent a happier thing than poor, miserab
of hasty and careless craftsm anship- or else sheer ignoranc~ of the trade. le art,
and banishe s sane poets from his Helicon. 8 That's why so many don't
Of course, it's not every critic that notices lines that aren t tu~eful, and bother
to cut their nails or beard, but seek solitude and keep away from the
Roman poe ts h ave enJoye · d undeserved licence. But does that entitle me to bath.
[299) For a man is sure to win the reward and name of poet if he never
make mistakes and scribble away carelessly? Or should I rathe~ expe_ct every. lets
barber Licinus get hold of that head that three Anticyras9 won't make
one to see my mistakes, and so play safe and cautious, keepmg ~1thin sound.
~ I'm a fool to purge my bile when spring comes round. I could write
as good
bounds of what I can hope to be pardoned for? In that case, all Ive done,fs
poetry as any; but nothing is worth that price, and so I'll play the part
to avoid blame; I have not deserved praise. of the
whetstone, that can sharpen the knife though it can't itself cut. In other
words,
without writing myself, I will teach function and duty-w here the
poet's
Greek Models resources come from, what nurtures and forms him, what is proper and
what
not, in what directions excellence and error lead.
Study Greek models night and day. [270] Your ancestors praised Plautus'
Wisdom is the starting-point and source of correct writing. [310) Socratic
metre and his humour. On both counts their admiration was too indulgen books' will be able to point out to you your material, and once the materia
t, l
not to say childish, if it's true that you and I know how to distingu ish is provided the words will follow willingly enough. If a man has learned
a wit• his
less jest from a subtle one and if we've skill in our fingers and ears to
know duty to his country and his friends, the proper kind of love with which
par-
what sounds are permitted. ent, brother, and guest should be cherishe d, the function s of a senator
and a
judge, the task of a general sent to the front- then he automat ically
under-
Inventiveness of the Greeks in Drama stands how to give each characte r its proper attribute s. My advice
to the
skilled imitator will be to keep his eye on the model of life and manner
The hitherto unknown genre of the tragic Muse is said to be Thespis '1 s, and
inven· draw his speech living from there.
tion; he is supposed to have carried on a cart verses to be sung and [319] Sometim es a play devoid of charm, weight, and skill, but attractiv
acted e
by performers whose faces were smeared with wine-lees. After him with its common1;>laces and with the characte rs well drawn, gives
came the peo-
Aeschylus,2 the inventor of the mask and splendid robe; he gave the stage ple keener pleasure and keeps them in their seats more effectively than
a lines
floor of modest boards, and taught the actors to talk big and give themselv empty of substanc ~ and harmon ious trivialities.
es

3. The greatest writer of Old Comedy was Aris- note].

7. In th• Roman R.public. the eq•ites (horsemen
long syllables. tophanes (ca. 450-ca. 385 e.c .E.). 7. Greek philosophe r (460- 370 e.c .E.).
or "knights") Formed a wealthy class almost equal
to senators in social standing. 9. Roman playwright and literary critic (170-# 4. Area of central Italy that included Rome. 8. Mountain sacred to the Muses.
B.C.E.). 5. Numa Pompilius, half-legendary second king 9. Hellebore, proverbially a cure for madness,
8. Ho~•~ main theme in what preceded was
I. Pioneer of Greek tragedy (6th. c. e.c.E.) .ii, or Rome (traditional dates, 715-673 s.c.E.). came from Anticyra [translator's note].
propr1err, 1n th~ ~ext section it is perfection. He
introduced the actors reply to the chorus.. 6. From this point, the poem turns to topics con• I. The Greek philosophe r Socrates (469-399
marks the transillon by humorously giving some
~ry elementary metrical in.struction (translator's 2. Greek dramatist (525-456 e.c.s.) who ,,,_. cerned with the poet himself: inspiration, moral e.c.E.) leFt no writings, but he was the most
noteJ. A spondee is a metrical foot formed by two knowledge, care for posterity, commitment. This important speaker in the dialogu,s of his great-
duced the third actor to the Greek stage.
main theme continues to the end [translator's est pupil, PLATO (ca. 427-ca. 347 e.c.E.),
 130 / HoRACll Ans PO E TIC/\ / 131

n Attitudes pro~erl~ allowed. A mediocr e lawyer or advocate [370] is a long way from the
Groek and Roma 1\6 ·c and the power of we}I~ distincti on of learned Messalla and doesn't know as much as Aulus Cascd-
·f f nius from the. ,,usRoman ' d
boys . o Iong sulll, .; lius/ but he ha~ his value. But neither men nor gods nor shop-fro nts allow
a
The Greeks have the g1 t o ge I . but praise. poet to be medwcre . Just as music out of tune or thick ointmen t or Sardin-
ll
h Th y covet not 11ng d rts 2
rounded specc · eh . . to a hundre pa · •ncunx: what's left? ian honey with your poppy; gives offence at a nice dinner, because the meal
und learn to divide t cir as Ill uncia from a qui ..• could go on without them, so poetry, which was created and discover ed
'Young Albinus,3 subtract one . for
the pleasure of the mind, sinks right to the bottom the moment it declines
You could have told me by now·· · a
. little from the top. The man who doesn't know how to play keeps away from
'A triens.' k after your a ffairs · Now add an uncia. the sporting gear in the park. (380] The man who's never been taught ball
'Excellent. You'll be able to loo or
discus or hoop keeps quiet, so that the packed spectato rs can't get a free
What is ii now?' laugh. But the man who doesn't know how to make verses still has a go. Why
[330] 'A semis.' h tainted the soul, can we hope for shouldn' t he? He's free, and of free birth, he's assessed at an equestri
Once this rust and care for cash as. with cedar oil and keeping safe an
property rate, and he's not got a fault in the world.
poems to be written that descrve preservmg You. will never do or say anything if Minerva 8 is against you: your taste
in smooth cypress? . pleasur e-or, thirdly, to say things and intellige nce guarante e us that. But if you do write somethi ng some day,
. .I
Poets aim e1t 1er to d o good or .to give hie for life. let it find its way to critic Maecius' 9 ears, and your father's , and mine,
which are both pleasing and serv1c~f and
Whateve r advice you give, be ?ne
in your words quickly and retain t
h:; that the teachabl e mind can take
faithfully. Anythin g superflu ou,
be stored up for eight years in your noteboo ks at home. You will be able
erase what you haven't publishe d; words once uttered forget the way home.
to

overflows from the full mind. I . be near to truth. We don't want a

Whateve r you invent for pleasur~, cet 1t ('ke or draw a living child from Poetry and Its Social Uses and Value
h · g t 1ee1s 1 ,
anyt 10 J1Th
, i:
play to ask credenc e 1or ks of elder citizens chase things 1
1391] Orpheus , who was a holy man and the interpre ter of the gods, deterred
the ogress's belly after lunch. [341 . e rhanm and the high-spi rited young- the men of the forests from killing and from disgusti ng kinds of food. This
•f h •
off t he stage I t ere s no g ood meat h in t eho• combine s pleasure wit . h use- is why he was said to tame tigers and rabid lions. This too is why Amphio 2
sters won't vote for dry poetry. Th~ mahn w ader and also giving him advice· n,
the founder of the city of Thebes, was said to move rocks where he wished
.
f u Iness wins eyery su ffrage • delig ctinght ere S sii 4 goes overseas an d gives .
your
' by the sound of the lyre and coaxing prayers. In days of old, wisdom
this is the book that earns money ior t e O ' con-
sisted in separati ng public property from private, the sacred from the secu-
celebrat ed writer a long lease 0 ~ famke. ready to forgive. The string lar, in checkin g promiscu ity, in laying down rules for the married
H th e are some m1sta es we are , in
o';ever, e_r h h hand and mind intended : it often returns building cities, in inscribin g laws on wooden tablets. [400] And that is
how
doesn t always give the nokte} at ti e [350] The bow won't always hit what honour and renown came to divine poets and poetry. After them came
a high note when you as ior a ow. it the
. B h t features b ·11· I h ' be great Homer and Tyrtaeus ,3 who sharpen ed masculi ne hearts for war
threaten s to h 1t. ut w en mos of a poem are n iant, s ant by
their verses. Oracles were uttered in verse. The path of life was pointed
offended by a few blemishe s thrown around by careIessness o~ h u;a; ne g1· out
1- in verse. Kings' favours were won by the Muses' tunes. Enterta inment
gence. But what then? If a copyist goes on making the same m1sta e oweyer was
· warned h · ot 11c0 rgiven· if a lyre-player always gets the same found there also, and rest after long labour. So there is no call to
muc h h e 1s , e 1s n be
, , , ,:: • ashamed of the Muse with her skill on the lyre or of Apollo4 the singer.
note wrong, peopIe Jaug h at hl·m·, so• in my estimatio n,. if a poet 1a11s to come
off a good deal he's another Choerilu s, 5 whom I admire ')VJth ai smi•Je I•f h ,
.
es
good two or th;ee times. Why, I'm ang_ry even if ~ood Homer goes to sleep, Art and Nature
[360] though a doze is quite legitima te m a long piece of work. ,
. Do good poems come by nature or by art? This is a common question
Poetry is like painting . Some attracts you more if you stand near, some . For
if my part, I don't see what study can ,do without a rich vein of talent,
you're' further off. One picture likes a dark place, one will nee,d to be [410]
seen nor what good can come of untraine d genius. They need each other's
in the light, because it's not afraid of the critic's sharp judgem ~nt. help
One
gives pleasure once, one will please if you look it over ten times. . 6. Famous Augustan lawyer. Messalla Corvinus gion Orphism. His extraordina ry musical powers-
t

Dear elder son of Piso, though your father's words are forming you m ~he (64 a.c.E.-8 c .E.), Roman political leader, orator, said to be able to charm not only wild beasts but
au1hor, soldier, and a patron of the arts. also rocks and trees-mad e Orpheus a model of
right way and you have wisdom of your own besides, take this piece of advice 7. Poppy seeds, when roasted~an,d served with the poet.
away with you and rememb er it. In some things, a tolerabl e mfdiocr ity honey, were considered a delicacy; but they were 2. Son of Zeus and 1Anliope, responsibl e in part
is spoiled if the honey had a bitter flavor. for the miraculous constructi on of the walls of
8. Roman goddess of handicraft s and war, whose Thebes.
'
2. Twelve unciae= I &Si 5 unciae=qu incunx; one• known booksellers). '
attributes became conflated with those of. the
Greek goddess Athena.
3. Poet of the 7th c. e.c. E.-accord ing to lradi·
third as= triens; one-half as =semis [translator's 5. Minor poet of the 4th c. b'.c.E1 who a~comi;:i1 lion, a Jame Attic schoolma ster-who composed
note). An as was worth perhaps $3. 9. Roman author of 12 epigrams of whom noth• war songs and martini elegies for the Spartans,
nied Alexander the Great on his campaigns a ing is known excep~ his name.
3. Roman familv name. who sang them while marching.
4. Booksellers (ihe Sosii were brothers and well- was paid to celebrate him. I. A holy man because he founded the Greek reli• 4. Son of Zeus and Leto, god of music and poetry.
 132 / HOR ACE
LON C IN US / 13 3
bo ho wants to reach the hoped-fo
and work together in friendship. A Y w d freezes refrains f r immortal god. and so he ju d .
a lot. swe~tshan r of Ap.ollo learn roh'?1 . h d mpe , coo1 as you like, into burning Etna ·9 Let
goal in the race e ndures a nd does t h lh
poc s ave e. rag t an p · ·1 f d his will is
. h I . . h O . I ying m onou s ts . h ravi ege O eath. To sa,,e a man against
d
sex an wme. T e c an~et,st w •~Pa But nowadays it's enou h t he same as k I 11 mg im Th' 1sn •
· ' h only lime ·
he's done it. If he's pulled
, b · I t e
his master, h h ' d st' It's a d ,sgrace
IS
lesson first and stands m awe of ' g to out now, h•e wont hum an or Iay as1'd e h 1.s Iove of a notorious end.
The .llCh take t e m mo . f f ecome
say: ' I write marvellous poems. . [470) II s ar rom clear wh h k ..
poetr y. Has the villain
c me
,or . to be Ie f l bch m ' d and a d m1·1 I don't know ·something that, to be sure , · d h' c h , Y e eeps wntmg
sashes'· 0 r d·1sturbed t h e gram . of a lightning-s trike'
. site
p1sse on 1s. ,at er .
b'd h'15 fl • A nyway, h es raving a nd h' h h d' ·
I ne,~ r learned.' alterers corne tO A· ht l'k , b as ars rea mgs put learned a nd unlearned
(419} A t who is rich in land and investments I s l'k
I he catc hes
· r collecting a crowd to buy h'1s a e h'\ id' ea ear that 's broken the bars of his cage. If
a nd betterpoe themselves ·7 ·ust 1·kI e an aucuonee
wares. But if he's a man who can set out a good dinner p~perly and go bail al nyone,f he ok' s o_nll ~~d kills him with reading. He's a real leech that won't
et goo t es · m t1 11 s full of blood.
for a poor and impecunio us client and get him out of a gnm legal tangle, I
shall be surprised if the lucky fellow knows how to _disting~ish a false ,friend ca. IO B.C.E.
from a true. If you ha\'e given a man a present, or 1f yo~ \\ant ~o, don t ~hen 9. Europc-'s highesl acliv~ volcano, locatC'd in Sicily.
1
lead him. full of joy. to your n :rses. He's bound to say ~plend d , b~au~ful,
j ust right '; he'll grow pale here. he'll drip dew from loving e~es, he II Jump
about. he'll beat the ground with his foot. (431] Your mocker 1s more deeply
stirrnl tha n vour true admirer. just as hired mourners at a funeral say a nd
do almost m~re tha n those who genuinely grieve. Kings are said to ply a man
n ith ma ny c ups and test him with wine if they are trying to discover if he
desen-es their friendship. If you write poetry, the fox's hidden feelings will
ne,er escape you. If you read a nything aloud to Quintilius,~ he'd say 'pray
change tha t. and that '. You would say you couldn't do better, [440] though
Jou 'd tried t\\o or th.rce times. to no purpose. Then he'd tell you to sc ratch it
out and put the badly turned lines back on the anvil. If you preferred defend-
ing your error to amending it. he wasted no more words or trouble on pre-
~enting you from lo,-ing yourself a nd your handiwork without competitio n.
A ";se and good man wiU censure flabby lines, reprehend harsh ones, put a
black line with a stroke of the pen besides unpolished ones, prune pre ten•
tious omamrnts . force you to shed light on obscurities, convict you of ambi-
6
guity. mark OOV.TI what must be changed. [450) He'll be an Aristarchu s. He
won't say. 'Why should I offend a friend in trifles?' These trifles lead to seri·
ous troubles. if once you are ridiculed and get a bad reception.

11ie Mad Poet

~len of K"nse a re afraid to touch a mad poet and give him a wide berth. He's
like a man suffering from a nasty itch. or the jaundice, or fanaticism , or
Diana's ,uath." Boys chase him and follow him round incautiousl y. And if,
"-hilc he's belching out his lofty lil'lt's and wandering round, he happens 10
foU into a well or a pit. like a fowler intent on his birds, the n. however long
he shout.<1 'Help! Help! Fd""' citizens. help!' there'll be no one to bother 10
pick him up. {461 J And if a nyol'lt' should trouble to help and let down a ropt.
111) question will be. 'How do }'OU k"°" that he d idn't throw himself doWfl
delibaatet ,-? Are you sure he wanu r.o be saved?' And I sha ll tell the tale of
the death of rhc Sicilian poet. Empcdocles ' wanted to be regarded as an