Roman History Books and More

definition of hendecasyllabos (pliny the younger letters)

Calling on the  experts:  I've  several times come across hendecasyllabos in Pliny's letters, and Betty Radice translated this as hendecasyllable.  A dictionary search gives me hendecasyllabic verse (with a reference to Catullus).  However, Wikipedia – as usual handle with care – insists on two different types of verse: hendecasyllable verse (Italian poetry) vs. hendecasyllabics (as used by Catullus – and Martial, it seems).  Is there a difference?

Latin text from The Latin Library.

IV.14

C. PLINIUS [DECIMO] PATERNO SUO S.

1 Tu fortasse orationem, ut soles, et flagitas et exspectas; at ego quasi ex aliqua peregrina delicataque merce lusus meos tibi prodo. 2 Accipies cum hac epistula hendecasyllabos nostros, quibus nos in vehiculo in balineo inter cenam oblectamus otium temporis. 3 His iocamur ludimus amamus dolemus querimur irascimur, describimus aliquid modo pressius modo elatius, atque ipsa varietate temptamus efficere, ut alia aliis quaedam fortasse omnibus placeant. 4 Ex quibus tamen si non nulla tibi petulantiora paulo videbuntur, erit eruditionis tuae cogitare summos illos et gravissimos viros qui talia scripserunt non modo lascivia rerum, sed ne verbis quidem nudis abstinuisse; quae nos refugimus, non quia severiores - unde enim? -, sed quia timidiores sumus. 5 Scimus alioqui huius opusculi illam esse verissimam legem, quam Catullus expressit:

the cambridge companion to horace

Our recent book chat on Horace' Satires really spurred my interest in Horace.  I finally got hold of The Cambridge Companion to Horace (Cambridge Companions to Literature), of which Google Books has a limited preview.

The essays are excellent and do invite deeper study of the poet.  Here is a Bryn Mawr Review:

Reviewed by Niall Rudd, University of Liverpool
Word count: 2475 words

This is a wide-ranging and successful collection, aimed at the scholarly non-specialist. The contents are as follows: Introduction (Harrison), Horace: Life and Chronology (Nisbet), Horatian self-representations (Harrison), Horace and archaic Greek poetry (Hutchinson), Horace and Hellenistic poetry (Thomas), Horace and Roman literary history (Tarrant), Horace and Augustus (Lowrie), The Epodes: Horace's Archilochus? (Watson), The Satires (Muecke), The Epistles (Ferri), The Ars Poetica (Laird), Carmina: Odes and Carmen Saeculare (Barchiesi), Philosophy and ethics (Moles), Gods and religion (Griffin), Friendship, patronage and Horatian sociopoetics (White), Wine and symposium (Davis), Erotics and gender (Oliensis), Town and country (Harrison), Poetics and literary criticism (Rutherford), Style and poetic texture (Harrison), Ancient receptions of Horace (Tarrant), The reception of Horace in the Middle Ages (Friis-Jensen), in the Renaissance (McGann), in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Money), and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (Harrison).

This arrangement provides full coverage with a certain amount of overlap. I offer comment on two general themes and then make some passing observations, in all of which there will be some friendly dissent; but a large measure of agreement may be taken for granted.

read on … and don't miss this response … and the response to the response

Niall Rudd himself is the translator of:

Horace, I, Odes and Epodes (Loeb Classical Library)
The Satires of Horace and Persius (Penguin Classics)

another horace biography

Earlier on, I bemoaned the fact that there are so few Horace biographies around.  Well, N.S. Gill found one:

The next Roman history book chat will discuss Horace. On Irene Hahn's blog, she mentions there is a shortage of biographical information on Horace. The Internet Archive provides a wealth of out-of-copyright material, including an old-fashioned biography of Horace: Horace by Wm. Tuckwell (1829-1919). London: G. Bell & sons. 1905. There are others to search for, but this first one I looked at seems to have the info.

read on

Author: Tuckwell, William, 1829-1919
Subject: Horace
Publisher: London : G. Bell & sons

It's  a concise (87 pages) introduction to Horace, nicely illustrated too.  And with a chapter on wine …

The Internet Archive (subscription is free)

seguing from horace into tiberius (our recent and upcoming book chats)

Horace wrote an Ode to Drusus and Tiberius

(Update July 4:  Oops, wrong Latin one)

Odes, Book 4, XIV

Quae cura patrum quaeue Quiritium
plenis honorum muneribus tuas,
     Auguste, uirtutes in aeuum
     per titulos memoresque fastus

aeternet, o qua sol habitabilis               5
inlustrat oras maxime principum?
     quem legis expertes Latinae
     Vindelici didicere nuper

quid Marte posses. Milite nam tuo
Drusus Genaunos, inplacidum genus,               10
     Breunosque uelocis et arces
     Alpibus impositas tremendis

deiecit acer plus uice simplici.
Maior Neronum mox graue proelium
     commisit immanisque Raetos               15
     auspiciis pepulit secundis,

continue reading Odes, Book 4, XIV, in Latin

What care the Citizens and the Senators
shall take in immortalising your virtues,
granting you full honours, Augustus,
with titles and memorial plaques, O,

greatest of princes, wherever the sun shines
over the countries where people can live, you,
whose power in war the Vindelici
free of our Roman laws, till now, have learnt.

For, with your army, brave Drusus, demolished
the Genauni, that implacable race, in more
direct retaliation, the swift
Breuni, and their defences, established

on the formidable Alpine heights:
and soon Tiberius, the elder Nero, entered
that fierce fight, with his favourable
omens, defeating the wild Rhaetians:

continue reading Odes, Book 4, XIV, in English translation

Original text:  Latin Library:  Q. HORATIVS FLACCVS
Translation:  A.S. Kline, Poetry in Tranlation: Horace

be happy wherever you are (i'm on a roll tonight)

Horace: Epistles, Book 1, XI

Quid tibi uisa Chios, Bullati, notaque Lesbos,
quid concinna Samos, quid Croesi regia Sardis,
Zmyrna quid et Colophon? Maiora minoraue fama,
cunctane prae Campo et Tiberino flumine sordent?
An uenit in uotum Attalicis ex urbibus una?               5
An Lebedum laudas odio maris atque uiarum?
Scis Lebedus quid sit: Gabiis desertior atque
Fidenis uicus; tamen illic uiuere uellem,
oblitusque meorum, obliuiscendus et illis,
Neptunum procul e terra spectare furentem.               10
Sed neque qui Capua Romam petit, imbre lutoque
aspersus uolet in caupona uiuere; nec qui
frigus collegit, furnos et balnea laudat
ut fortunatam plene praestantia uitam;
nec si te ualidus iactauerit Auster in alto,               15
idcirco nauem trans Aegaeum mare uendas.
Incolumi Rhodos et Mytilene pulchra facit quod
paenula solstitio, campestre niualibus auris,
per brumam Tiberis, Sextili mense caminus.
Dum licet ac uoltum seruat Fortuna benignum,               20
Romae laudetur Samos et Chios et Rhodos absens.
Tu quamcumque deus tibi fortunauerit horam
grata sume manu neu dulcia differ in annum,
ut quocumque loco fueris uixisse libenter
te dicas; nam si ratio et prudentia curas,               25
non locus effusi late maris arbiter aufert,
caelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt.
Strenua non exercet inertia; nauibus atque
quadrigis petimus bene uiuere. Quod petis, hic est,
est Vlubris, animus si te non deficit aequus.               30

horace: more carpe diem

Epistles, Book 1, IV

Albi, nostrorum sermonum candide iudex,
quid nunc te dicam facere in regione Pedana?
Scribere quod Cassi Parmensis opuscula uincat,
an tacitum siluas inter reptare salubris,
curantem quicquid dignum sapiente bonoque est?               5
Non tu corpus eras sine pectore; di tibi formam,
di tibi diuitias dederunt artemque fruendi.
Quid uoueat dulci nutricula maius alumno,
qui sapere et fari possit quae sentiat, et cui
gratia, fama, ualetudo contingat abunde,               10
et mundus uictus non deficiente crumina?
Inter spem curamque, timores inter et iras
omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse supremum;
grata superueniet quae non sperabitur hora.
Me pinguem et nitidum bene curata cute uises,               15
cum ridere uoles, Epicuri de grege porcum.

back to horace: carpe diem

Odes, Book 1, XI

Tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quem mihi, quem tibi
finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios
temptaris numeros. Vt melius quicquid erit pati!
Seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare               5
Tyrrhenum, sapias, uina liques et spatio breui
spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit inuida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

Leuconoë, don’t ask, we never know, what fate the gods grant us,
whether your fate or mine, don’t waste your time on Babylonian,
futile, calculations. How much better to suffer what happens,
whether Jupiter gives us more winters or this is the last one,
one debilitating the Tyrrhenian Sea on opposing cliffs.
Be wise, and mix the wine, since time is short: limit that far-reaching hope.
The envious moment is flying now, now, while we’re speaking:
Seize the day, place in the hours that come as little faith as you can.

Original text:  Latin Library:  Q. HORATIVS FLACCVS
Translation:  A.S. Kline, Poetry in Tranlation: Horace

another online translation of horace

Update:  Robert found the same translation at Wikisource: The Works of Horace, translated by By C. Smart. No date given though either, but looks like it's this Christopher Smart (1722 - 1771).  (Works by Christopher Smart).

• First Book of Satires
• Second Book of Satires

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At Authorama: 

Horace: The Works of Horace  (no translator name given)

• The First Book of the Satires of Horace
• The Second Book of the Satires of Horace

reading horace satires (ctd.)

Now here is a true satire!

Book II Satire V – Legacy Hunting

BkIISatV:1-22 Ulysses questions Tiresias. 4

BkIISatV:23-44 The path to riches. 4

BkIISatV:45-69 Will-hunting!5

BkIISatV:70-88 Try every trick, but be careful!6

BkIISatV:89-110 Be discrete even after inheriting

reading horace satires (ctd.)

Comparing Horace with Juvenal, I perceive Horace' Satires much less over the top, which when he describes scenes, gives us moderns a pretty good first hand impression of life in the Rome of his times.  A good example, I think, is Satire 1, V – Journey to Brundisium:

BkISatV:1-33 Off to meet Maecenas, going to Brindisi4

BkISatV:34-70 Onward to supper at Cocceius’ villa. 4

BkISatV:71-104 And so by stages to journey’s end

Of course, one has to chuckle quite a bit over Satire 2, VIII – A Dinner Party:

BkIISatVIII:1-19 Nasidienus’ dinner-party. 4

BkIISatVIII:20-41 The guests. 4

BkIISatVIII:42-78 The trials of being a host5

BkIISatVIII:79-95 The guests disperse!

Texts from A.S. Kline (Poetry in Translation)

reading horace satires …

… sitting outside on a nice summer day, with some iced tea by my side, reading Horace.  But a bit unhappy, as most translations of the Satires don't read well … Going back to A.S. Kline (Poetry in Translation) online, still the best (it also has the advantage of a linked glossary).  Somewhere I read that Horace is most difficult to translate.

Anyway, here is what Horace has to say about satire:

gaius maecenas, patron of the arts

Gaius Maecenas, friend and counselor of Augustus (until he fell from grace) was an important friend of Horace, whose Satires we will be discussing next week.  N.S. Gill has more: 

Who Was Maecenas

Definition: A wealthy descendant of Etruscan kings, Gaius Maecenas was a Roman literary patron and writer whose works have not survived except as titles and in fragments.  He was born April 13, c. 70 B.C.

The equestrian Maecenas was an advisor and friend of Augustus. Maecenas as well as Agrippa fought for Augustus during the civil wars;  Agrippa the more so since Maecenas was often in Rome where he served as magistrate. Maecenas is mentioned as having fought at Mutina, Philippi and Perusia, according to Propertius, in the 1911 Encyclopedia.

The name and patronage of Maecenas is associated with Vergil, Horace, Propertius, and Varius.  read on

Here is a typical 19th century Schinken, At Maecenas' Reception by Stepan Bakalovich:

Image Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
click on image to enlarge

gaius lucilius, writer of satires, and his influence on horace

Gaius Lucilius (Wikipedia, handle with care), c.160–103/2 BC, is considered the earliest Roman satirist.  (Other sites give his dates a c.180–102.)  Only fragments of his work remain.  He was a Roman citizen of the equestrian class and belonged to the circle of Scipio Aemilianus.  Horace was influenced by him, and Lucilius appears in several of the latter's satires:

BkISatIV:1-25 Horace praises and also criticises him.
BkISatIV:26-62 An example of a great Satirist.
BkISatX:1-30 Horace’s criticism of his style.
BkISatX:50-71 Lucilius’ own criticism of others.
BkIISatI:1-23 He wrote about Scipio Africanus.
BkIISatI:24-46 Horace considers Lucilius a better man than himself.
BkIISatI:47-86 Lucilius’ satires were tolerated.

Jacques Perret in his Horace points out similarities, such as being part of a circle around the patron:  Aemilianus/Maecenas, the independence of being an equestrian, chroniclers of little groups, etc.  He writes, "[Horace found], in Lucilius, the assurance that one could build a literary work around one's own person.  Perhaps no Greek author would have have encouraged him in that direction."

reading about horace

From what I can see, biographies of Horace do not abound – information to the contrary is greatly appreciated – but I found one at a library today when I searched for a print edition of the works of Horace:

Jacques Perret: Horace
with a foreword by Jotham Johnson
translated by Bertha Humez
New York University Press, 1964

AbeBooks.com has a number of inexpensive copies.

A glance through the book indicates that it is very readable.  Perret, a professor of Latin at the Sorbonne, has written about Vergil too.   JSTOR has several reviews indicating that the book is written for a general audience, i.e., us; three out of four reviews are favorable, with some reservations which probably would pass by the general reader.

next book discussion, july 1: the satires by horace

Update June 23: Google Books has limited previews of The Cambridge Companion to Horace and The Cambridge Companion to Roman Satire.

Scroll down here.

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Next we are going back to Roman satires, it's Quintus Horatius Flaccus this this time.

In print:  The Satires by Horace.  There are plenty more editions.

An excellent companion book is The Cambridge Companion to Roman Satire (Cambridge Companions to Literature), summarized in this BMCR review:

In sum, this volume proves to be a worthy companion.  Each author hands the traveler on to the next author, never isolating the reader but always providing connections by which to find a way back and to make the current scenery familiar.  Egressum magna me accepit Freudenburg Roma hospitio magno ...

looking ahead: the satires by horace a.s. kline's online translation – update & correction

Update:  I originally downloaded the wrong file   :(

Our next read on July 1 is Horace: The Satires.

A.S. Kline (Poetry in Translation) translated the entire Horace and put it online:

HORACE (Quintus Horatius Flaccus)
Translated by A. S. Kline © 2003, All Rights Reserved
This work may be freely reproduced, stored, and transmitted, electronically or otherwise, for any non-commercial purpose.

Those of you who like me prefer reading a PDF file rather than a browser file can download the entire file, and here it is for your convenience:

Download Horace: THE SATIRES, EPISTLES AND ARS POETICA (fully interactive)

There are other download options of the above file too.  Google Books has various editions of the Satires – look for "full view;" or you could search the Internet Archive if you like flipbooks.

who, catiline, can boast a nobler line

Juvenal Satires, Book III, Satire 8

[...]

Who, Catiline, can boast a nobler line
Than thy lewd friend Cethegus's and thine?
Yet you took arms, and did by night conspire
To set our houses and our gods, on fire
(An enterprise which might indeed become
Our enemies the Gauls, not sons of Rome;
To recompense whose barbarous intent,
Pitch'd shirts would be too mild a punishment)
But Cicero, our wise consul, watch'd the blow,
With care discover'd, and disarm'd the foe:
Cicero, the humble mushroom, scarcely known,
The lowly native of a country town
(Who, till of late, could never reach the height
Of being honour’d as a Roman knight),
Throughout the trembling city placed a guard,
Dealing an equal share to every ward;
And by the peaceful robe got more renown
Within our walls than young Octavius won
By victories at Actium, or the plain
Of Thessaly, discolour’d by the slain:
Him, therefore, Rome in gratitude decreed
The father of his country, which he freed.

(from Juvenal and Persius by G. G. Ramsay)

Satires of Juvenal

In Print:  Sixteen Satires (Penguin Classics)
by Juvenal (Author), Peter Green (Translator, Introduction)

Peter Green

mary beard on publishing in ancient rome

Illustration by Greg Clarke, New York Times

Mary Beard has an essay in this weekend's Books section at the New York Times:

Essay
Scrolling Down the Ages
By MARY BEARD

Published: April 19, 2009

There’s a lot in the Roman literary world that seems familiar: money-making booksellers, exploited authors.

“My book is thumbed by our soldiers posted overseas, and even in Britain people quote my words. What’s the point? I don’t make a penny from it.”  This is not the complaint of some young American author who has suddenly discovered that his contract pays him nothing for foreign sales.  These are the words of the Roman poet Martial, first-century satirist and defender of authors’ rights.   read on

Hat tip to David Meadow, who adds   [...]  If I think about it too hard, I start thinking of the ancient literate slave as the Roman equivalent of an iPod Touch, with a longer battery life.

Marcus Didius Falco, in Lindsey Davis' Ode to a Banker (just reissued) has plenty of experience with Roman Publishers.

titus maccius plautus and quintus ennius – playwright and poet

In Steven Saylor's novel Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome, our current read, one of the Kaesos is a patron of Plautus, and his friend Scipio Africanus is a fan of the poet Ennius.  (Wikipedia links, as usual handle with care)

N.S. Gill has an excellent write-up about Plautus at About.com, as well as links to Ennius.

Plautus at Britannica
Quintus Ennius at Britannica

Plautus at Smith's Dictionary
Ennius at Smith's Dictionary

more on ovid: peter green

(updated 8/4)

In our recent chats on Ovid, some of us used translations by Peter Green, and since then I have become a fan of his. I recently acquired for a pittance the 1989 hardcover edition of his collection of essays, Classical Bearings: Interpreting Ancient History and Culture, re-isssued on 1998 as trade paperback.

I don't think this Bryn Mawr Classsical Review does the book full justice. But then I'm not a professional historian, and much closer to Mr. Green in age and share some of his views on postmodern scholarship.  Certainly some aspects will be outdated by now and new historical or archaeological facts may have been discovered.  I found his approach to his subjects and his writing highly entertaining.  The essays roam all over the place; a chapter list follows further below.