Chapter 43

'Raro antecedentem scelestum deseruit pede Poena claudo.'

iii. 3 touches intimately the political questions of the day. Pointed reference is made to Cleopatra; she is the _mulier peregrina_ (l. 20), the _Lacaena adultera_ (l. 25), who brought Troy low, and would bring Rome low, if she and her _famosus hospes_ (l. 26) could raise Troy again. The reference here is to a report current about Antony, that he intended to make Troy the capital. It is certain that he intended to restore to Cleopatra her kingdom with extended frontiers, and to make himself ruler of the Eastern empire. This, which would have meant the subjection of Rome to the Greeks and half-Greeks, was prevented by the 'iustum et tenacem propositi virum' (l. i), who for his services is honoured as one of the gods; ll. 11-12,

'Quos inter Augustus recumbens purpureo bibit ore nectar.'

In iii. 4 the poet's personality comes out strongest. He describes his protection by the Muses in his early years, and this leads him to speak of one of the monarch's chief works of peace, his encouragement of literature; ll. 37-40,

'Vos Caesarem altum, militia simul fessas cohortes abdidit oppidis, finire quaerentem labores Pierio recreatis antro.'

iii. 5 is a defence of Augustus' foreign policy. Publicly he kept up Caesar's war policy, hence ll. 2-5,

'Praesens divus habebitur Augustus adiectis Britannis imperio gravibusque Persis';

but that this concealed his real policy of non-intervention is shown by his action regarding Parthia. Hence Horace, by a speech put into the mouth of Regulus (l. 18 _sqq._) warns the Romans against trying to rescue the survivors of Crassus' army, who, by becoming captives, had ceased to be citizens. That some of the Senate wished to interfere in this matter is probably shown by ll. 45-6,

'Donec labantis consilio patres firmaret auctor numquam alias dato.'

iii. 6 refers (ll. 1-8) to Augustus' policy in restoring the ancient religion, as is seen by the fact that he rebuilt 82 temples. Lines 21-32 refer to a law of Augustus on adultery, the date of which is unknown.

In Book iv., Odes 2, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, are political. They show traces of adulation, and sing the praises rather of the imperial family than of the nation. Cf. iv. 2, 37 (of Augustus),

'Quo nihil maius meliusve terris fata donavere bonique divi,' etc.

The _Epistles_.--_Sermones_ is the name given them by Horace; they are also called _Epistulae_ in the MSS. Social, ethical, and literary questions are treated of, and the style is much more careful than that of the Satires. The motto, one might say, of the book is _Ep._ i. 1, 10.

'Nunc itaque et versus et cetera ludicra pono: quid verum atque decens, curo et rogo et omnis in hoc sum.'

The dates of _Ep._ ii. 1, 2, have already been mentioned. Both treat of literary criticism, and the first deals particularly with that of the drama. Iulius Florus, to whom _Ep._ ii. 2 is addressed, was the representative of the younger literary school at Rome. The _Epistula ad Pisones_ or _De Arte Poetica_ is an essay in verse on literary criticism, specially pointing out how necessary art is to composition. In it, according to Porphyrion, Horace 'congessit praecepta Neoptolemi +tou Parianou+[61] de arte poetica, non quidem omnia, sed eminentissima.' Horace probably was also indebted to Aristotle's _Poetics_. Porphyrion says that Horace wrote the _Ars Poetica_ 'ad L. Pisonem qui postea urbis custos fuit eiusque liberos.' This does not fit in with the probable date, B.C. 17 or 16, as L. Piso was born B.C. 49, and his sons could not have been old enough for the letter to be addressed to them. It is probable that Porphyrion is wrong, and that the _A.P._ was addressed to Cn. Piso, who served with Horace under Brutus, and his two sons.

_Horace and nature._--Besides references to his Sabine villa, Horace refers to natural scenery in many passages. Such are _Epod._ 2; _Od._ i. 7, 10; ii. 6, 13; iii. 13, 9; _Sat._ ii. 6, 1 _sqq._; _Ep._ i. 10, 6 _sqq._, i. 16, 1 _sqq._[62] Horace is fond of comparing dangers to the plague of floods,[63] a plague from which Italy has always suffered. Cf. _Od._ i. 31, 7,

'rura quae Liris quieta mordet aqua taciturnus amnis.'

So _Od._ iii. 29, 32 _sqq._, and many other passages.

_Popularity of Horace._--Horace's prediction that his works would become school-books, _Ep._ i. 20, 17,

'Hoc quoque te manet, ut pueros elementa docentem occupet extremis in vicis balba senectus,'

was early fulfilled. Cf. Iuv. 7, 226,

'Quot stabant pueri, cum totus decolor esset Flaccus et haereret nigro fuligo Maroni.'

CONTEMPORARY POETS:

The following writers were friends of Horace:

(_a_) _C. Valgius Rufus_, consul suffectus B.C. 12, belonged to the circle of Maecenas (Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 82).

Valgius' works, of which only a few lines are extant, included (1) Elegiae. Cf. Hor. _Od._ ii. 9, 9-12,

'Tu semper urges flebilibus modis Mysten ademptum, nec tibi Vespero surgente decedunt amores nec rapidum fugiente solem.'

(2) Epigrammata, (3) Miscellanies, (4) A translation of Apollodorus' +technê+. (See Quint. iii. 1, 18.) (5) A book on herbs. (Pliny, _N.H._ xxv. 4.) An epic was also expected of him, but whether written is unknown. Tibull. iv. 1, 179,

'Est tibi, qui possit magnis se adcingere rebus, Valgius; aeterno propior non alter Homero.'

(_b_) _M. Aristius Fuscus_, a poet and grammarian (Porphyr. _ad Sat._ i. 9, 60); _Od._ i. 22, and _Ep._ i. 10, are addressed to him.

(_c_) The _Visci_. Comm. Cruq. _ad Sat._ i. 10, 83, 'Visci duo fratres fuerunt optimi poetae et iudices critici.'

(_d_) _C. Fundanius_, wrote comedies (Porphyr. _ad Sat._ i. 10, 40).

(_e_) _Servius Sulpicius_, a love poet (Ovid, _Trist._ ii. 441; Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 86).

(_f_) _Iulius Florus_ was 'saturarum scriptor' (Porphyr. _ad Hor. Ep._ i. 3, 1). Hor. _Ep._ i. 3 and ii. 2, are addressed to him.

(_g_) _Titius_ wrote Pindaric odes, and tragedies, Hor. _Ep._ i. 3, 9-14.

(_h_) _Albinovanus Celsus_. See Hor. _Ep._ i. 3, 15-7.

(_i_) _C. Iullus Antonius_, B.C. 44-B.C. 2, was a son of the triumvir M. Antonius. The Schol. on Hor. _Od._ iv. 2, 2, says of him, "Heroico metro Diomedeam scripsit et nonnulla alia soluta oratione."

(_k_) _Furnius_, an orator; died B.C. 37. He is mentioned by Hor. _Sat._ i. 10, 86.

Other poets contemporary with Virgil and Horace are:

(_a_) _L. Varius Rufus_ (cf. Verg. _Ecl._ 9, 35). His works were:

(1) Epics (_a_) on the death of Julius Caesar (Macrob. _Saturn._ vi. 1, 39), (_b_) in praise of Augustus. Hor. _Ep._ i. 16, 27-29 is a quotation from this poem (Acron _ad loc._), and it is probably referred to in _Od._ i. 6, 1 (to Agrippa),

'Scriberis Vario fortis et hostium victor Maeonii carminis aliti, quam rem cumque ferox navibus aut equis miles te duce gesserit.'

(2) A tragedy, _Thyestes_, praised by Quint. x. 1, 98, 'iam Varii Thyestes cuilibet Graecarum comparari potest.'

(3) Elegies: Porphyr. ad Hor. _Od._ i. 6, 1, 'fuit L. Varius et ipse carminis et tragoediarum et elegiorum auctor.'

(_b_) _Aemilius Macer_ was a native of Verona, and died B.C. 16: Jerome yr. Abr. 2001, 'Aemilius Macer Veronensis poeta in Asia moritur.' He was a friend of Virgil, and was the 'Mopsus' of _Ecl._ 5, according to Serv. _ad loc._ Ovid in his youth enjoyed his acquaintance; cf. _Tr._ iv. 10, 43, where three didactic poems are referred to: (1) _Ornithogonia_, on birds; (2) _Theriaca_, on venomous serpents; (3) _De Herbis_, on plants.

For his obligations to Nicander, see under 'Virgil,' p. 158. Quintilian calls him 'humilis' (x. 1, 87).

(_c_) _C. Cornelius Gallus_ was born at Forum Iulii B.C. 70, and died by his own hand B.C. 27. Jerome yr. Abr. 1990, 'Cornelius Gallus Foroiuliensis poeta ... xliii. aetatis suae anno propria se manu interficit.' Having commanded a division in the war against Antony, he was appointed by Octavian the first prefect of Egypt, B.C. 30, but incurred his anger and was banished from Caesar's house and provinces (Sueton. _Aug._ 66). The cause of his downfall was indiscreet language about Augustus, according to Ovid, _Tr._ ii. 445,

'Non fuit opprobrio celebrasse Lycorida Gallo, sed linguam nimio non tenuisse mero';

and _Am._ iii. 9, 63,

'Tu quoque, si falsum est temerati crimen amici, sanguinis atque animae prodige, Galle, tuae.'

The tenth eclogue of Virgil is a testimony to his friendship for Gallus, l. 2,

'Pauca meo Gallo, sed quae legat ipsa Lycoris, carmina sunt dicenda; neget quis carmina Gallo?'

Lines 44-49 are said by Servius, _ad loc._, to be quoted from Gallus ('de ipsius translati carminibus'). For the tribute to Gallus in the original draft of _Georgic_ iv. see under 'Virgil,' p. 157.

He wrote four Books of love-poems to Cytheris, the _liberta_ who afterwards deserted him for Antony: Serv. _ad Ecl._ x. 1, 'amorum suorum de Cytheride scripsit libros iv.' According to Servius he also translated the poems of Euphorion of Chalcis. Cf. Verg. _Ecl._ x. 50,

'Ibo et Chalcidico quae sunt mihi condita versu carmina pastoris Siculi modulabor avena.'

Compared with Tibullus and Propertius, he was 'durior' (Quint. x. 1, 93).

(_d_) _Codrus_, mentioned by Virgil, _Ecl._ 7, 22 and 26; 5, 11, was a contemporary poet (Serv. _ad Ecl._ 7), and was praised by Valgius (Schol. Veron. _ad loc._), but nothing is known of his writings. The name is not Roman, and is probably a disguised form of Cordus. He is sometimes identified with the Iarbitas of Hor. _Ep._ i. 19, 15.

(_e_) _Bavius_ and _Mevius_ were enemies of Virgil and Horace. Verg. _Ecl._ 3, 90,

'Qui Bavium non odit, amet tua carmina, Mevi.'

Horace, _Epod._ 10, prays for the shipwreck of Mevius. He wrote about the prodigal son of the actor Aesopus (Porphyr. ad Hor. _Sat._ ii. 3, 239). Bavius died B.C. 35, according to Jerome.

(_f_) _Anser_ wrote a poem in praise of Antony, and was rewarded with a grant of land (Serv. _ad Ecl._ 9, 36; Cic. _Phil._ xiii. 11). He is mentioned by Ovid, _Tr._ ii. 435,

'Cinna quoque his comes est, Cinnaque procacior Anser.'

Servius sees an allusion to him in _Ecl._ 9, 36,

'Argutos inter strepere anser olores.'

(_g_) _Domitius Marsus_. His epigram on Tibullus (see p. 186) shows that he was alive in B.C. 19; he was, however, dead when Ovid was exiled in A.D. 8.

Ovid, _Ex Pont._ iv. 16, 3,

'Famaque post cineres maior venit; et mihi nomen tunc quoque, cum vivis adnumerarer, erat, cum foret et Marsus, magnique Rabirius oris, Iliacusque Macer sidereusque Pedo.'

He was a member of Augustus' literary circle. Mart. viii. 56, 21,

'Quid Varios Marsosque loquar, ditataque vatum nomina, magnus erit quos numerare labor?'

His works were:

1. _Cicuta_, a collection of epigrams, often referred to by Martial. Cf. ii. 71, 3,

'aut Marsi recitas aut scripta Catulli.'

2. _Amazonis_, an epic poem.[64] Mart. iv. 29, 7,

'Saepius in libro memoratur Persius uno quam levis in tota Marsus Amazonide.'

3. _Amores_ or _Elegiae_. Mart. vii. 29, 7,

'Et Maecenati, Maro cum cantaret Alexin, nota tamen Marsi fusca Melaenis erat.'

4. _Fabellae_.

5. _De Urbanitate_ (in prose). Quint. vi. 3, 102, 'Domitius Marsus, qui de urbanitate diligentissime scripsit.'

(_h_) _Pupius_, a tragedian, sneered at by Hor. _Ep._ i. 1, 67, 'lacrimosa poemata Pupi.'

(_i_) _C. Melissus_, a freedman of Maecenas, invented the _trabeata_, a variety of the _togata_.

Sueton. _Gramm._ 21, 'Fecit et novum genus togatarum inscripsitque trabeatas.'

TIBULLUS.

(1) LIFE.

Albius Tibullus (his praenomen was perhaps Aulus, which, from the abbreviation A. being followed by Albius, was lost in the MSS.) seems to have been born near Pedum in Latium. (1) Horace, in _Ep._ i. 4, 2, addressed to Tibullus, asks, 'Quid nunc te dicam facere in regione Pedana?' apparently referring to the 'sedes avitae' of Tibullus (Tibull. ii. 4, 53). (2) The Life contained in the best MSS., and probably to be attributed to Suetonius, calls him 'Albius Tibullus, eques Romanus' (codd. Paris. and Lips. 'regulis'). Bährens (_Tibullische Blätter_) holds that _Romanus_ is an erroneous correction of _regulis_, for which he proposes to read _R._ (= Romanus) _e Gabis_ (= Gabiis). Gabii was within a short distance of Pedum.

The date of his birth can be fixed only by indirect evidence.

(1) The Life says 'obiit adulescens,' and the epigram of Domitius Marsus, found in the best MSS., calls Tibullus 'iuvenis' at the time of his death, which must have occurred about the same time as Virgil's, in B.C. 19,

'Te quoque Vergilio comitem non aequa, Tibulle, mors iuvenem campos misit ad Elysios, ne foret aut elegis molles qui fleret amores aut caneret forti regia bella pede.'

(2) Ovid (_Tr._ iv. 10, 53) says of Tibullus,

'Successor fuit hic tibi, Galle, Propertius illi.'

Since Gallus was born B.C. 70, and Propertius about B.C. 49, the birth of Tibullus must have fallen between those years.

(3) Tibullus accompanied Messalla when he left for Aquitania, B.C. 30 or 29, according to the Life: 'Ante alios Corvinum Messallam oratorem dilexit, cuius etiam contubernalis Aquitanico bello militaribus donis donatus est.' Cf. Tibull. i. 7, 9,

'Non sine me est tibi partus honos; Tarbella Pyrene testis et Oceani litora Santonici.'

Putting together these references we may place the date of Tibullus' birth in B.C. 54. (The statement of the Life in the Codex Guelferbytanus, 'Natus est Hyrtio et Pansa coss.' is clearly wrong).

He was of equestrian rank, and at one time possessed considerable wealth, apparently inherited from a long line of ancestors; i. 1, 41,

'Non ego divitias patrum fructusque requiro quos tulit antiquo condita messis avo.'

Cf. ii. 1, 1; ii. 4, 53; Hor. _Ep._ i. 4, 7,

'Di tibi divitias dederunt.'

His family property, however, had been greatly diminished; i. 1, 19,

'Vos quoque, felicis quondam nunc pauperis agri custodes, fertis munera vestra, lares: tunc vitula innumeros lustrabat caesa iuvencos; nunc agna exigui est hostia parva soli.'

Cf. i. 1, 5 and 37.

It has been supposed that Tibullus suffered these losses in the agrarian disturbances of B.C. 41, and that his lands, like those of Virgil and Propertius, were confiscated. No town in Latium, however, is mentioned by Appian as having its territory thus assigned. Tibullus' property may possibly have been restored to him through the influence of Messalla.[65] Cf. Hor. _Ep._ i. 4, 11,

'Et mundus victus non deficiente crumena';

also Tibull. i. 1, 77,

'Ego composito securus acervo despiciam dites despiciamque famem.'

Of Messalla Tibullus always speaks with the greatest affection. He refused at first to accompany him to the East after the battle of Actium, but afterwards followed him, and was forced through illness to remain at Corcyra: i. 1, 53,

'Te bellare decet terra, Messalla, marique, ut domus hostiles praeferat exuvias: me retinent vinctum formosae vincla puellae';

i, 3, 3,

'Me tenet ignotis aegrum Phaeacia terris.'

In the Aquitanian campaign he was Messalla's _contubernalis_, and had military distinctions conferred on him (see p. 186).

No further particulars of Tibullus are known, save his love for his mistresses Delia and Nemesis, and the fact mentioned by Ovid, in a poem on his death, that his mother and sister survived him; _Amor._