XXXVII
Nunc est bibendum, nunc pede libero
pulsanda tellus, nunc Saliaribus
ornare puluinar deorum
tempus erat dapibus, sodales.
Antehac nefas depromere Caecubum 5
cellis auitis, dum Capitolio
regina dementis ruinas
funus et imperio parabat
contaminato cum grege turpium
morbo uirorum, quidlibet impotens 10
sperare fortunaque dulci
ebria. Sed minuit furorem
uix una sospes nauis ab ignibus,
mentemque lymphatam Mareotico
redegit in ueros timores 15
Caesar, ab Italia uolantem
remis adurgens, accipiter uelut
mollis columbas aut leporem citus
uenator in campis niualis
Haemoniae, daret ut catenis 20
fatale monstrum. Quae generosius
perire quaerens nec muliebriter
expauit ensem nec latentis
classe cita reparauit oras,
ausa et iacentem uisere regiam 25
uoltu sereno, fortis et asperas
tractare serpentes, ut atrum
corpore conbiberet uenenum,
deliberata morte ferocior:
saeuis Liburnis scilicet inuidens 30
priuata deduci superbo,
non humilis mulier, triumpho.
Est-3rd person singular present active indicative of "esse" meaning "to be"
Ornare-present active infinitive meaning "to decorate"
Erat-3rd person singular imperfect active indicative of "esse" meaning "to be"
Depromere-present active infinitive meaning "to draw out"
Parabat-3rd person singular imperfect active indicative of "parare" meaning "to prepare"
Sperare-present active infinitive meaning "to hope"
Minuit-3rd person singular present active indicative of "minuere" meaning "to lessen"
Redegit-3rd person singular perfect active indicative of "redigere" meaning "to drive back"
Daret-3rd person singular imperfect active subjunctive of "dare" meaning "to give"
Perire-present active infinitive meaning "to die"
Expauit-3rd person singular perfect active indicative of "expavescere
meaning "to become"
meaning "to become"
Reparauit-3rd person singular perfect active indicative of "reperare" meaning "to prepare"
Uisere-present active infinitive meaning "to visit"
Sereno-1st person singular present active indicative of "serenare" meaning "to clear up"
Tractare-present active infinitive meaning "to haul"
Conbiberet-3rd person singular imperfect active subjunctive of "conbibere" meaning "to drink completely"
Ferocior-1st person singular present passive indicative of "ferocire" meaning "to rampage"
Triumpho-1st person singular present active indicative of "triumphare" meaning "to triumph over"
Now is the time to drink, now the earth
Beats with the feet of free men, now,
Comrades, is the time for a splendid banquet
To decorate the couch of the gods.
Before this time, to fetch the Caecuban wine
From the ancestral wine cellar was a sin, while deranged
Queen of the Capitol prepares for
The fall of death and authority.
You will defile the impure herd with
The sickness of venom, drunk was her hope
To do whatever was her fortune and
Pleasure. But her ships on a fire frenzy,
Barely a ship safe and sound,
In Marea, madness of mind
Was lessened to pure fear
Of Caesar, his oars close as she fled
From Italy, Just as a hawk hunts
A cowardly pigeon or a swift hare
In a snow-covered plain
Of Thessaly, so that he might give restraint
To a deadly monster. Anybody can seek
To die nobly: She was not frightened
Like a woman by the sword, and her
Fast navy moved to no hidden coasts,
To visit her palace that had fallen to ruins
Boldly and with an expression of gladness, to handle
The snake was strong and violent, while
The body drank completely the deadly venom,
Being determined for her death:
Certainly jealous of the savage Liburnian galleys
Descended from her personal arrogance,
Humble was this woman who was not in triumph.
The poem has a title, it is Horace's "Odes 1.37"
The theme is to rejoice over the fall of a great and terrible woman, named Cleopatra.
The theme is directly stated.
There are two themes, and the poem shifts between them. The first theme is to celebrate the fall of the power-hungry Cleopatra (Hor. Odes 1.37.11), but the second theme paints Cleopatra in a nobler light, showing that she was bold (Hor. Odes 1.37.25) and unafraid even in death. The second theme is that even the terrible Cleopatra has some honorable characteristics.
The setting of the poem is in the Sea of Marea (Hor. Odes 1.37.14) near the city of Actium, where Cleopatra eventually loses and commits suicide. The battle took place September 2nd, 31 BC.
The narrator is someone making a speech at a celebration, so it might very well be Horace. The narrator is implicit and is third person omniscient.
The implied reader is the assumed audience.
The characters in the poem are Cleopatra and Octavian, and these characters acted in their own right. Horace is reporting on their actions.
The mood of the poem is celebratory, then triumphant, then humble.
Octavian has just finished off Mark Antony and Cleopatra, ending the Final War of the Roman Republic.
The poem had just summarized the battle, and is anticipating a new Rome under Octavian.
The poem alludes to sweet Caecuban wine (Jor.Odes 1.37.5) in the celebration. It also refers to the Roman Capitol, on which Jupiter's temple was located (Hor. Odes 1.37.6). There is also an allusion to the Sea of Marea (Hor. Odes 1.37.14). These allusions reinforce the explicit meaning.
Horace's "Odes 1.37" tells of the Battle of Actium and celebrates Octavian's victory over Antony and Cleopatra.
Celebrations are starting (Hor. Odes 1.37.1-4) because of the fall of Cleopatra. Cleopatra was losing a naval battle (Hor. Odes 1.37.12), and so fled to Actium, with Octavian in hot pursuit. Cleopatra knew she had lost, so she committed suicide by asp bite (Hor. Odes 1.37.28)
The poem has a pretty solid pattern of two long lines with 11 syllables each, followed by two short lines with 10 syllables each. This pattern really only deviates at line seven (Hor. Odes 1.37).
The connotation of an animal like the hawk (Hor. Odes 1.37.17) is that of a predator animal, making Cleopatra the prey.
The asp and its bite (Hor. Odes 1.37.26-27) is used as a symbol of death. The venomous asp's bite is fatal. Cleopatra chose life over death, and found the fastest way possible to get there.
The poem alludes to the sweet Caecuban wine (Hor. Odes 1.37.5). It also alludes to the Sea of Marea (Hor. Odes 1.37.14), where Cleopatra was losing a naval battle to Octavian.
Horace chooses to begin the poem with word "nunc" (Hor. Odes 1.37.1), showing that he is enjoying living in the now, after the fall of Cleopatra. He also choose s to end the poem with the word "triumpho" (Hor. Odes 1.37.32), ending the poem on a good note, a note of looking forward to a better Rome, a note of celebration.
Horace chooses a little after the middle of the poem to completely switch sides on his opinions of Cleopatra, showing a little more that there are two sides to every story.
