Editing Horace (section)

===Adulthood===

Horace left Rome, possibly after his father's death, and continued his formal education in Athens, a great centre of learning in the ancient world, where he arrived at nineteen years of age, enrolling in [[Platonic Academy|The Academy]]. Founded by [[Plato]], The Academy was now dominated by [[Epicureans]] and [[Stoics]], whose theories and practices made a deep impression on the young man from Venusia.<ref>V. Kiernan, ''Horace: Poetics and Politics'', 25</ref> Meanwhile, he mixed and lounged about with the elite of Roman youth, such as Marcus, the idle son of [[Cicero]], and the Pompeius to whom he later addressed a poem.<ref>''Odes'' 2.7</ref> It was in Athens too that he probably acquired deep familiarity with the ancient tradition of Greek lyric poetry, at that time largely the preserve of grammarians and academic specialists (access to such material was easier in Athens than in Rome, where the public libraries had yet to be built by [[Asinius Pollio]] and Augustus).<ref>E. Fraenkel, ''Horace'', 8–9</ref>

Rome's troubles following the assassination of [[Julius Caesar]] were soon to catch up with him. [[Marcus Junius Brutus]] came to Athens seeking support for the republican cause. Brutus was fêted around town in grand receptions and he made a point of attending academic lectures, all the while recruiting supporters among the young men studying there, including Horace.<ref>E. Fraenkel, ''Horace'', 9–10</ref> An educated young Roman could begin military service high in the ranks and Horace was made [[tribunus militum]] (one of six senior officers of a typical legion), a post usually reserved for men of senatorial or equestrian rank and which seems to have inspired jealousy among his well-born confederates.<ref>''Satires'' 1.6.48</ref><ref name="Nisbet">R. Nisbet, ''Horace: life and chronology'', 8</ref> He learned the basics of military life while on the march, particularly in the wilds of northern Greece, whose rugged scenery became a backdrop to some of his later poems.<ref>V. Kiernan, ''Horace'', 25</ref> It was there in 42 BC that [[Octavian]] (later [[Augustus]]) and his associate [[Mark Antony]] crushed the republican forces at the [[Battle of Philippi]]. Horace later recorded it as a day of embarrassment for himself, when he fled without his shield,<ref>''Odes'' 2.7.10</ref> but allowance should be made for his self-deprecating humour. Moreover, the incident allowed him to identify himself with some famous poets who had long ago abandoned their shields in battle, notably his heroes [[Alcaeus of Mytilene|Alcaeus]] and [[Archilochus]]. The comparison with the latter poet is uncanny: Archilochus lost his shield in a part of Thrace near Philippi, and he was deeply involved in the Greek colonization of [[Thasos]], where Horace's die-hard comrades finally surrendered.<ref name="Nisbet"/>

Octavian offered an early amnesty to his opponents and Horace quickly accepted it. On returning to Italy, he was confronted with yet another loss: his father's estate in Venusia was one of many throughout Italy to be confiscated for the settlement of veterans ([[Virgil]] lost his estate in the north about the same time). Horace later claimed that he was reduced to poverty and this led him to try his hand at poetry.<ref>''Epistles'' 2.2.51–52</ref> In reality, there was no money to be had from versifying. At best, it offered future prospects through contacts with other poets and their patrons among the rich.<ref>V. Kiernan, ''Horace: Poetics and politics''</ref> Meanwhile, he obtained the sinecure of ''scriba quaestorius'', a civil service position at the ''aerarium'' or Treasury, profitable enough to be purchased even by members of the ''ordo equester'' and not very demanding in its work-load, since tasks could be delegated to ''scribae'' or permanent clerks.<ref>E. Fraenkel, ''Horace'', 14–15</ref> It was about this time that he began writing his ''Satires'' and ''Epodes''.

He describes<ref>''Epistles'' 1.16.5-16 </ref> in glowing terms the country villa which his patron, Maecenas, had given him in a letter to his friend Quinctius:

{{Quotation|"It lies on a range of hills, broken by a shady valley which is so placed that the sun when rising strikes the right side, and when descending in his flying chariot, warms the left. You would like the climate; and if you were to see my fruit trees, bearing ruddy cornils and plums, my oaks and ilex supplying food to my herds, and abundant shade to the master, you would say, [[Taranto|Tarentum]] in its beauty has been brought near to Rome!

There is a fountain too, large enough to give a name to the river which it feeds; and the [[Maritsa|Hebrus]] itself does not flow through Thrace with cooler or purer stream. Its waters also are good for the head and useful for digestion. This sweet, and, if you will believe me, charming retreat keeps me in good health during the autumnal days."}}

The remains of [[Horace's Villa]] are situated on a wooded hillside above the river at [[Licenza]], which joins the Aniene as it flows on to Tivoli.

====Poet====
[[File:Fedor Bronnikov 014.jpg|thumb|Horace reads his poems in front of [[Gaius Maecenas|Maecenas]], by [[Fyodor Bronnikov]]]]
[[File:Adalbert_von_Rössler_Horaz.jpg|thumb|Horace reciting his verses, by [[Adalbert von Rössler]].]]

The ''Epodes'' belong to [[iambic poetry]]. Iambic poetry features insulting and obscene language;<ref>Christopher Brown, in ''A Companion to the Greek Lyric Poets'', D.E. Gerber (ed), Leiden 1997, pages 13–88</ref><ref>Douglas E. Gerber, ''Greek Iambic Poetry'', Loeb Classical Library (1999), Introduction pages i–iv</ref> sometimes, it is referred to as ''blame poetry''.<ref>D. Mankin, ''Horace: Epodes'', C.U.P., 8</ref> ''Blame poetry'', or ''shame poetry'', is poetry written to blame and shame fellow citizens into a sense of their social obligations. Each poem normally has a archetype person Horace decides to shame, or teach a lesson to. Horace modelled these poems on the poetry of [[Archilochus]]. Social bonds in Rome had been decaying since the destruction of [[Carthage]] a little more than a hundred years earlier, due to the vast wealth that could be gained by plunder and corruption.<ref>D. Mankin, ''Horace: Epodes'', 6</ref> These social ills were magnified by rivalry between Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and confederates like [[Sextus Pompey]], all jockeying for a bigger share of the spoils. One modern scholar has counted a dozen civil wars in the hundred years leading up to 31 BC, including the [[Third Servile War]] under [[Spartacus]], eight years before Horace's birth.<ref>R. Conway, ''New Studies of a Great Inheritance'', 49–50</ref> As the heirs to Hellenistic culture, Horace and his fellow Romans were not well prepared to deal with these problems:

{{Quotation|At bottom, all the problems that the times were stirring up were of a social nature, which the Hellenistic thinkers were ill qualified to grapple with. Some of them censured oppression of the poor by the rich, but they gave no practical lead, though they may have hoped to see well-meaning rulers doing so. Philosophy was drifting into absorption in self, a quest for private contentedness, to be achieved by self-control and restraint, without much regard for the fate of a disintegrating community.|[[V. G. Kiernan]]<ref>V. Kiernan, ''Horace: Poetics and Politics'', 18–19</ref>}}

Horace's Hellenistic background is clear in his Satires, even though the genre was unique to Latin literature. He brought to it a style and outlook suited to the social and ethical issues confronting Rome but he changed its role from public, social engagement to private meditation.<ref>F. Muecke, ''The Satires'', 109–10</ref> Meanwhile, he was beginning to interest Octavian's supporters, a gradual process described by him in one of his satires.<ref name="Satires 1.6"/> The way was opened for him by his friend, the poet Virgil, who had gained admission into the privileged circle around Maecenas, Octavian's lieutenant, following the success of his ''[[Eclogues]]''. An introduction soon followed and, after a discreet interval, Horace too was accepted. He depicted the process as an honourable one, based on merit and mutual respect, eventually leading to true friendship, and there is reason to believe that his relationship was genuinely friendly, not just with Maecenas but afterwards with Augustus as well.<ref>R. Lyne, ''Augustan Poetry and Society'', 599</ref> On the other hand, the poet has been unsympathetically described by one scholar as "a sharp and rising young man, with an eye to the main chance."<ref>J. Griffin, ''Horace in the Thirties'', 6</ref> There were advantages on both sides: Horace gained encouragement and material support, the politicians gained a hold on a potential dissident.<ref name="ReferenceB">R. Nisbet, ''Horace: life and chronology'', 10</ref> His republican sympathies, and his role at Philippi, may have caused him some pangs of remorse over his new status. However, most Romans considered the civil wars to be the result of ''contentio dignitatis'', or rivalry between the foremost families of the city, and he too seems to have accepted the principate as Rome's last hope for much needed peace.<ref>D. Mankin, ''Horace: Epodes'', 5</ref>

In 37 BC, Horace accompanied Maecenas on a journey to [[Brundisium]], described in one of his poems<ref>''Satires'' 1.5</ref> as a series of amusing incidents and charming encounters with other friends along the way, such as Virgil. In fact the journey was political in its motivation, with Maecenas en route to negotiate the [[Treaty of Tarentum]] with Antony, a fact Horace artfully keeps from the reader (political issues are largely avoided in the first book of satires).<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Horace was probably also with Maecenas on one of Octavian's naval expeditions against the piratical Sextus Pompeius, which ended in a disastrous storm off [[Palinurus]] in 36 BC, briefly alluded to by Horace in terms of near-drowning.<ref>''Odes'' 3.4.28</ref><ref group="nb">''Odes'' 3.4.28: "nec (me extinxit) Sicula Palinurus unda"; "nor did Palinurus extinguish me with Sicilian waters". Maecenas' involvement is recorded by [[Appian]] ''Bell. Civ.'' 5.99 but Horace's ode is the only historical reference to his own presence there, depending however on interpretation. (R. Nisbet, ''Horace: life and chronology'', 10)</ref> There are also some indications in his verses that he was with Maecenas at the [[Battle of Actium]] in 31 BC, where Octavian defeated his great rival, Antony.<ref>''Epodes'' 1 and 9</ref><ref group="nb">The point is much disputed among scholars and hinges on how the text is interpreted. ''Epodes'' 9 for example may offer proof of Horace's presence if 'ad hunc frementis' ('gnashing at this' man i.e. the traitrous Roman ) is a misreading of 'at huc...verterent' (but hither...they fled) in lines describing the defection of the Galatian cavalry, "ad hunc frementis verterunt bis mille equos / Galli canentes Caesarem" (R. Nisbet, ''Horace: life and chronology'', 12).</ref> By then Horace had already received from Maecenas the famous gift of his [[Horace's Villa|Sabine farm]], probably not long after the publication of the first book of ''Satires''. The gift, which included income from five tenants, may have ended his career at the Treasury, or at least allowed him to give it less time and energy.<ref>E. Fraenkel, ''Horace'', 15</ref> It signalled his identification with the Octavian regime yet, in the second book of ''Satires'' that soon followed, he continued the apolitical stance of the first book. By this time, he had attained the status of ''[[Equites|eques Romanus]]'' (Roman 'cavalryman', 'knight'),<ref>''Satires'' 2.7.53</ref> perhaps as a result of his work at the Treasury.<ref>R. Nisbet, ''Horace: life and chronology'', 11</ref>

====Knight====

''Odes'' 1–3 were the next focus for his artistic creativity. He adapted their forms and themes from Greek lyric poetry of the seventh and sixth centuries BC. The fragmented nature of the [[Greek world]] had enabled his literary heroes to express themselves freely and his semi-retirement from the Treasury in Rome to [[Horace's Villa|his own estate]] in the Sabine hills perhaps empowered him to some extent also<ref>V. Kiernan, ''Horace: Poetics and Politics'', 61–62</ref> yet even when his lyrics touched on public affairs they reinforced the importance of private life.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Nevertheless, his work in the period 30–27 BC began to show his closeness to the regime and his sensitivity to its developing ideology. In ''Odes'' 1.2, for example, he eulogized Octavian in hyperboles that echo Hellenistic court poetry. The name ''Augustus'', which Octavian assumed in January of 27 BC, is first attested in ''Odes'' 3.3 and 3.5. In the period 27–24 BC, political allusions in the ''Odes'' concentrated on foreign wars in Britain (1.35), Arabia (1.29) Hispania (3.8) and Parthia (2.2). He greeted Augustus on his return to Rome in 24 BC as a beloved ruler upon whose good health he depended for his own happiness (3.14).<ref>R. Nisbet, ''Horace: life and chronology'', 13</ref>

The public reception of ''Odes'' 1–3 disappointed him, however. He attributed the lack of success to jealousy among imperial courtiers and to his isolation from literary cliques.<ref>''Epistles'' 1.19.35–44</ref> Perhaps it was disappointment that led him to put aside the genre in favour of verse letters. He addressed his first book of ''Epistles'' to a variety of friends and acquaintances in an urbane style reflecting his new social status as a knight. In the opening poem, he professed a deeper interest in moral philosophy than poetry<ref>''Epistles'' 1.1.10</ref> but, though the collection demonstrates a leaning towards stoic theory, it reveals no sustained thinking about ethics.<ref>V. Kiernan, ''Horace: Poetics and Politics'', 149, 153</ref> Maecenas was still the dominant confidante but Horace had now begun to assert his own independence, suavely declining constant invitations to attend his patron.<ref>''Epistles'' 1.7</ref> In the final poem of the first book of ''Epistles'', he revealed himself to be forty-four years old in the consulship of Lollius and Lepidus i.e. 21 BC, and "of small stature, fond of the sun, prematurely grey, quick-tempered but easily placated".<ref>''Epistles'' 1.20.24–25</ref><ref>R. Nisbet, ''Horace: life and chronology'', 14–15</ref>

According to Suetonius, the second book of ''Epistles'' was prompted by Augustus, who desired a verse epistle to be addressed to himself. Augustus was in fact a prolific letter-writer and he once asked Horace to be his personal secretary. Horace refused the secretarial role but complied with the emperor's request for a verse letter.<ref>E. Fraenkel, ''Horace'', 17–18</ref> The letter to Augustus may have been slow in coming, being published possibly as late as 11 BC. It celebrated, among other things, the 15 BC military victories of his stepsons, Drusus and Tiberius, yet it and the following letter<ref>''Epistles'' 2.2</ref> were largely devoted to literary theory and criticism. The literary theme was explored still further in ''Ars Poetica'', published separately but written in the form of an epistle and sometimes referred to as ''Epistles'' 2.3 (possibly the last poem he ever wrote).<ref>R. Ferri, ''The Epistles'', 121</ref> He was also commissioned to write odes commemorating the victories of Drusus and Tiberius<ref>''Odes'' 4.4 and 4.14</ref> and one to be sung in a temple of Apollo for the [[Secular Games]], a long-abandoned festival that Augustus revived in accordance with his policy of recreating ancient customs (''Carmen Saeculare'').

Suetonius recorded some gossip about Horace's sexual activities late in life, claiming that the walls of his bedchamber were covered with obscene pictures and mirrors, so that he saw erotica wherever he looked.<ref group="nb">Suetonius signals that the report is based on rumours by employing the terms "traditur...dicitur" / "it is reported...it is said"  (E. Fraenkel, ''Horace'', 21)</ref> The poet died at 56 years of age, not long after his friend Maecenas, near whose tomb he was laid to rest. Both men bequeathed their property to Augustus, an honour that the emperor expected of his friends.<ref>E. Fraenkel, ''Horace'', 23</ref>