Maecenas atauis edite regibus,
o et praesidium et dulce decus meum,
sunt quos curriculo puluerem Olympicum
collegisse iuuat metaque feruidis
euitata rotis palmaque nobilis 5
terrarum dominos euehit ad deos;
hunc, si mobilium turba Quiritium
certat tergeminis tollere honoribus;
illum, si proprio condidit horreo
quicquid de Libycis uerritur areis. 10
Gaudentem patrios findere sarculo
agros Attalicis condicionibus
numquam demoueas, ut trabe Cypria
Myrtoum pauidus nauta secet mare.
Luctantem Icariis fluctibus Africum 15
mercator metuens otium et oppidi
laudat rura sui; mox reficit rates
quassas, indocilis pauperiem pati.
Est qui nec ueteris pocula Massici
nec partem solido demere de die 20
spernit, nunc uiridi membra sub arbuto
stratus, nunc ad aquae lene caput sacrae.
Multos castra iuuant et lituo tubae
permixtus sonitus bellaque matribus
detestata. Manet sub Ioue frigido 25
uenator tenerae coniugis inmemor,
seu uisa est catulis cerua fidelibus,
seu rupit teretis Marsus aper plagas.
Me doctarum hederae praemia frontium
dis miscent superis, me gelidum nemus 30
Nympharumque leues cum Satyris chori
secernunt populo, si neque tibias
Euterpe cohibet nec Polyhymnia
Lesboum refugit tendere barbiton.
Quod si me lyricis uatibus inseres, 35
sublimi feriam sidera uertice.
Edite-2nd person plural present active imperative of "edere" meaning " to eat"
Sunt-3rd person plural present active indicative of "esse" meaning "to be"
Iuuat-3rd person singular present active indicative of "juvare" meaning "to help"
Euehit-3rd person singular present active indicative of "evehere" meaning "to carry away"
Certat-3rd person singular present active indicative of "certare" meaning "to contest"
Tollere-present active infinitive meaning "to raise"
Condidit-3rd person singular perfect active indicative of "condere" meaning "to put away"
Uerritur-3rd person singular present active indicative of "verrere" meaning "to sweep clean"
Findere-present active infinitive meaning "to divide"
Secet-3rd person singular present active subjunctive of "secare" meaning "to sever"
Laudat-3rd person singular present active indicative of "laudare" meaning "to praise"
Reficit-3rd person singular present active indicative of "reficere" meaning "to rebuild"
Pati-present active infinitive meaning "to suffer"
Est-3rd person singular present active indicative of "esse" meaning "to be"
Ueteris-2nd person singular present passive subjunctive of "vetare" meaning "to forbid"
Demere-present active infinitive meaning "to remove"
Spernit-3rd person singular present active indicative of "spernere" meaning "to scorn"
Iuuant-3rd person plural present active indicative of "juvare" meaning "to help"
Manet-3rd person singular present active indicative of "manere" meaning "to remain"
Est-3rd person singular present active indicative of "esse" meaning "to be"
Rupit-3rd person singular perfect active indicative of "rumpere" meaning "to break"
Miscent-3rd person plural present active indicative of "miscere" meaning "to mix"
Secernunt-3rd person plural present active indicative of "secernere" meaning "to separate"
Cohibet-3rd person singular present active indicative of "cohibere" meaning "to hold together"
Refugit-3rd person singular present active indicative of "refugere" meaning "to flee"
Tendere-present active infinitive meaning "to stretch"
Inseres-2nd person singular future active indicative of "inserere" meaning "to plant"
Maecenas, descendant of kings,
Oh, and my protector and sweet honor,
There are some whom amassing Olympic chariot dust
Pleases, and turning points in a circus
Avoided by glowing wheels, the noble palm
Exalting the gods, lords of the world;
This man, if an uproar of easily swayed Romans
Fights to raise him by threefold honors;
That, if he puts away in his own granary
Whatever has been swept up from the Libyan threshing floor.
Rejoice to split by hoe the ancestral
Fields, never on Attalicis terms
Could you move him, a ship to Cyprus
He, a fearful sailor, divided the Myrtoan Sea.
Struggling against and fearing the African flood,
Merchants praise the peace and lands
Of his farm; Soon, he repairs the battered
Boat, ignorant to allow poverty.
There is he who forbids neither a Massici cup of wine
Nor to take away and spurn a part of the work day,
Now laying out his limbs beneath a strawberry tree,
Now off to the gentle head of some sacred spring.
The camps please many, and the sound of trumpets
Mixed with cornets for war are hated by mothers.
The hunter remains under the frigid Jupiter,
Forgetful of his tender wife,
Whether a doe is with her faithful fawns,
Or if a Marisian boar breaks down his well-wound nets.
Ivy, the prize of my learned brow,
Mix with the gods above; My icy woods
And a capricious chorus of nymphs and satyrs
Separate the population, if Euterpe's flute
Does not hold together, nor does Polyhymnia
Of Lesbos flee to stretch his lyre.
But if you insert me as a lyric poet,
The crown of my head will strike the stars.
The poem has a title, it is Horace's "Odes 1.1."
The theme is that Maecenas is not like everyone else in the way he gains happiness and fame. Maecenas likes a simpler lifestyle (Hor. Odes 1.1.17).
The poem takes place in Horace's time, when Maecenas is his patron.
The narrator is implicit; it is Horace. He is third person omniscient in this poem, and the poem does invite one to equate the author and the narrator.
The poem has an internal addressee, namely Maecenas (Hor. Odes 1.1.1)
This poem has many characters including the gods, Romans, merchants, a hunter, a doe and her fawns, a boar, nymphs, satyrs, Euterpe, and Polyhymnia. These characters act in their own right.
The poem has a cheerful mood, praising Maecenas.
Maecenas has chosen to be Horace's patron, and this set the poem in motion.
Maecenas has been thanked and praised by the end of this poem. Horace has also asked to be a lyric poet of the Greek canon (Hor. Odes 1.1.35-36)
Horace alludes to the Greek Olympics (Hor. Odes 1.1.3), the Libyan threshing floor, nymphs, satyrs, Euterpe, and Polyhymnia. These allusions reinforce the explicit meaning.
Horace praises Maecenas and tells about how many others obtain fame and fortune. He then states that in contrast, Maecenas is a simpler kind of guy, who finds pleasure with the little things in life. Horace then asks to be a lyric poet of the Greek canon.
Horace has a pattern of placing proper nouns throughout the poem. He also waits until the very end, after he has stroked Maecenas' ego, before asking to be a lyric poet.
Horace uses average words to describe others' lifestyle, but words like "laudat" (Hor. Odes 1.1.17) to describe Maecenas' lifestyle, praising him like a god.
In this poem, the farm ("rura" Hor. Odes 1.1.17) stands for an Epicurean lifestyle. Euterpe and Polyhymnia are also used as symbols for culture. Horace is saying the Maecenas is a cultured man.
Horace alludes to the Greek Olympics, one of the multiple allusions to Greek culture in this poem. He alludes to the Olympics to show the contrast between glory won by sporting events and glory gained by Epicureanism. He also alludes to the Libyan threshing floor, as the Libyans provided wheat for much of the Roman Empire. Horace also alludes to the Greek canon, a set of nine famous lyric poets. He wishes to be one of them.
Horace chooses to address Maecenas in the first word of the poem (Hor. Odes 1.1.1), making it clear that the poem will be about him. Horace nears the ends of the paragraph before he pulls in the nymphs, satyrs, and muses, suggesting that Maecenas is worthy to be in their presence, as they may exist even in Maecenas' woods (Hor. Odes 1.1.30) on his estate. He also ends with the word "uertice" (Hor. Odes 1.1.36), a word which can also mean "top" or "summit" ending the poem on a high note (literally).
