XXII
Integer uitae scelerisque purus
non eget Mauris iaculis neque arcu
nec uenenatis grauida sagittis,
Fusce, pharetra,
siue per Syrtis iter aestuosas 5
siue facturus per inhospitalem
Caucasum uel quae loca fabulosus
lambit Hydaspes.
Namque me silua lupus in Sabina,
dum meam canto Lalagem et ultra 10
terminum curis uagor expeditis,
fugit inermem,
quale portentum neque militaris
Daunias latis alit aesculetis
nec Iubae tellus generat, leonum 15
arida nutrix.
Pone me pigris ubi nulla campis
arbor aestiua recreatur aura,
quod latus mundi nebulae malusque
Iuppiter urget; 20
pone sub curru nimium propinqui
solis in terra domibus negata:
dulce ridentem Lalagen amabo,
dulce loquentem.
The man who is pure in his way of life
And is uninjured by wickedness, does not need
Darts of the Moors, nor bow or arrows loaded with
Venom, Fuscus,
Or if his way is through the glowing hot sandbanks of Syrtes
Or he makes his way through inhospitable Caucasus
Or the location which celebrates in story the
Hydaspes waters.
For and in fact I was singing of my Lalage
In my Sabine woods as a wolf of the boundary
Roamed while I was defenseless,
He fled with me unencumbered,
An omen not of the sort that the military
Daunus nurtures in her broad Italian oaks,
Nor the dry land of Juba which produces
Nurses of lions.
Put me on the dull plains where no tree
Revives on the summer breeze,
A part of the world which mist and evil
Jupiter besets;
Place me under the chariot of the sun
Which draws too near the earth, in a place denied for
Dwellings: I will love my sweetly laughing
Sweetly prattling Lalage.
The poem's title is Horace's "Odes 1.22"
The themes of the poem are virtue and love. The theme is assumed through diction. The themes are interwoven through the story.
The setting of the poem is not specified, but the setting of Horace's anecdote is in Horace's woods. It takes place one day while Horace is walking through the forest.
The narrator is Horace, who is implicit.
Horace speaks in the first person, and this doesn't change throughout the poem.
The poem invites the audience to equate the narrator to the author.
The poem has an internal addressee, named Fuscus (Hor. Odes 1.22.4).
The poem does contain other characters, including a wolf (Hor. Odes 1.22.9), Lalage (Hor. Odes 1.22.10+23), Daunus (Hor. Odes 1.22.14), and lions (Hor. Odes 1.22.12). Horace reports of these characters' actions.
The mood of the poem is of peace and happiness.
The implied world outside the poem is one of little peace.
Something has happened in Fuscus' life, causing him to worry a lot. By the end of the poem, Fuscus has taken Horace's knowledge, and will hopefully live a happier, more peaceful life for it.
The allusions are to the Moors [(An African people) (Hor. Odes 1.22.2)], to Syrtes [(A desert place) (Hor. Odes 1.22.5)], to Caucasus [(an inhospitable place) (Hor. Odes 1.22.7)], Hydaspes [(A place of flowing waters told of in stories) (Hor. Odes 1.22.8)], Sabine woods [(the woods where Horace wandered in his anecdote) (Hor. Odes 1.22.9)], Daunus [(a fierce god) (Hor. Odes 1.22.14)], Jupiter [(king of the gods) (Hor. Odes 1.22.20)], and Lalage [(A reference to a poem by Sappho) (Hor. Odes 1.22.10+23)] . They are cited and reinforce the explicit meaning.
In this poem, Horace talks to Fuscus, telling him to slow down, and stop worrying so much about life. Horace tells him that good things happen to good people, and that Fuscus is a good person, so he should not worry. He cites as an example a time in the forest when a wolf came upon him, and let him be. He also tells Fuscus that he should need no weapons, as none should attack him, for he is a great guy. Horace goes further then to say that not matter where he lives, no matter what the problems, he will always be the same, relaxing, and loving his sweetly prattling Lalage.
In the fist and third stanza, there are 2 proper nouns in each stanza, and in the second stanza, there are three proper nouns. For the second three stanzas, there is only one proper noun in every stanza. Horace tries to pull the readers in with many allusions that they can relate to, then he makes his point.
There is a powerful connotation between the words "scelerisque" and "purus" (Hor. Odes 1.22.1). They represent good and evil, respectively. Also the word "dulce" is used multiple times, representing all the sweet things in life.
The bows and arrows (Hor. Odes 1.22.2-3)symbolize war, which is what Horace is telling Fuscus not to do. Also, the wolf (Hor. Odes 1.22.9) symbolizes misfortune. It's passing by Horace shows how good things happen to good people, which is what Horace is trying to convince Fuscus of.
Many allusions show up in this poem. They include: The Moors, Syrtes, Caucasus, Hydaspes, Sabina, Daunus, Jupiter, and Lalage.The Moors, Syrtes, and Caucasus are all bad things in life, which Fuscus should not fear. Hydaspes is a river god of western India. The Sabina region is located in Italy. Daunus, in Greek mythology, is the most ancient among the ancestors of Turnus, Aeneas' major rival. Jupiter is the king of the gods, and Horace states that he would live even in a part of the world that could wage war with the king of the gods. Lalage means "to babble" or "to prattle." Horace loves Lalage, and will always sing about her. "Namque me silua lupus in Sabina, dum meam canto Lalagem et ultra terminum curis uagor expeditis, fugit inermem," and "pone sub curru nimium propinqui solis in terra domibus negata: dulce ridentem Lalagen amabo, dulce loquentem" support this. Sappho, the Greek canon poet, wrote a poem about Lalage, which this poem is based off of. Horace employs Sapphic stanza, an Aeolic verse form spanning four lines, in this poem to further pay tribute to Sappho.
Horace makes a point to start the poem with the word "integer" (Hor. Odes 1.22.1), meaning "untouched." It already sets up the poem to be about those untouched by sin or evil. No matter whether Horace is in a burning zone or frozen pole, he will remain "untouched." He also, in line one, sets up the conflict of the poem, with "scelerisque purus." He places two very powerful words and forces next to each other to show the everlasting conflict between them. He shows Fuscus that both of them are "untouched" by the struggle between good and evil. He also ends the poem with "loquentem" (Hor. Odes 1.22.24), the participial form of "loquor," "to speak." He is referring to his joyful, carefree Lalage, and how they should both be like Lalage, and relax.
Horace, in the end, is just telling Fuscus that the gods guard those that are pure in heart, so he should stop worrying. He tells Fuscus of a time when a wolf came upon him defenseless, and let him be. Therefore, Fuscus should slow down and take life one problem at a time, like Horace, who is without a care in the world, singing of his "sweetly prattling" Lalage.
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