“ SHE.—I dote on Calaïs—and I Am all his passion, all his care, For whom a double death I'd die, So fate the darling boy would spare! HE.—What, if our ancient love return, And bind us with a closer tie, If I the fair-haired Chloë spurn, And as of old, for Lydia sigh? SHE.—Though lovelier than yon star is he, And lighter thou than cork—ah why? More churlish, too, than Adria's sea, With thee I'd live, with thee I'd die!" In this graceful trifle Horace is simply dealing with one of the commonplaces of poetry, most probably only transplanting a Greek flower into the Latin soil. ”
Sir Theodore Martin
Summary
Sir Theodore Martin’s Horace is a literary examination of the Roman poet’s life and writings, centering on themes of satire, companionship, and the transient nature of fortune and renown. Through poems that combine sharpness with contemplation, Martin explores Horace’s connections with Maecenas and Augustus, casting doubt on how contemporary literary brilliance is received.
The work highlights conflicts between individual satisfaction and social demands, ultimately asserting that genuine worth resides in appreciating the present rather than obsessing over the future.
Quotes from Horace (Sir Theodore Martin)
“ So, when from town and all its ills I to my perch among the hills Retreat, what better theme to choose Than satire for my homely Muse? No fell ambition wastes me there, No, nor the south wind's leaden air, Nor Autumn's pestilential breath, With victims feeding hungry death. Sire of the morn, or if more dear The name of Janus to thine ear, Through whom whate'er by man is done, From life's first dawning, is begun (So willed the gods for man's estate) , Do thou my verse initiate! At Rome you hurry me away To bail my friend ”
“ And you must pass from grave to gay,—now, like The rhetorician, vehemently strike, Now, like the poet, deal a lighter hit With easy playfulness and polished wit,— Veil the stern vigour of a soul robust, And flash your fancies, while like death you thrust; For men are more impervious, as a rule, To slashing censure than to ridicule. Here lay the merit of those writers, who In the Old Comedy our fathers drew; Here should we struggle in their steps to tread Whom fop Hermogenes has never read, Nor that mere ape of his, who all day long Makes Calvus and Catullus all his song. ”
