Horatius Cocles

“ There is an obvious resemblance between the legend of Horatius Codes and that of the Horatii and Curiatii. In both cases three Romans come forward as the champions of Rome at a critical moment of her fortunes, and only one successfully holds his ground. In the one case, the locality is the land frontier, in the other, the boundary stream of Roman territory. E. Pais finds the origin of the story in the worship of Vulcan, and identifies Cocles (the “one-eyed”) with one of the Cyclopes, who in mythology were connected with Hephaestus, and later with Vulcan. ”

“ Other authorities put the appointment three years later, when the plebeians refused to serve against the Latins until they had been released from the burden of their debts. He opposed harsh measures against the Latins, and also interested himself in the improvement of the lot of the plebeians. His brother, Spurius, is associated with Horatius Cocles in the defence of the Sublician bridge against the Etruscans. ”

“ The name Herminius occurs only twice in the Fasti, and has only one cognomen, Aquilinus. [Aquilinus.] Whether this gens were of Oscan, Sabellian, or Etruscan origin, is doubtful. An Herminius defends the sublician bridge against an Etruscan army, and probably represents in that combat one of the three tribes of Rome. Horatius Cocles, as a member of a lesser gens, the Horatian, is the symbol of the Luceres; and therefore Herminius is the symbol either of the Ramnes or the Titienses. ”

“ Horatius Cocles opposed singly the army of Porsenna; and from it, in subsequent times, the bodies of Commodus and Heliogabalus were thrown into the Tiber. In the pontificate of Nicholas V. it was destroyed by an inundation. There are also the remains of a large brick edifice, supposed to have been the Curia, erected by Tullus Hostilius, which was destroyed by fire when the populace burned in it the corpse of Clodius. Julius Cæsar commenced its restoration; and Augustus finished it, and gave it the name of Curia Julia, in honour of his father by adoption. ”

“ Then Horatius threw himself into the Tiber and swam in safety to the shore. A statue was erected in his honour in the temple of Vulcan, and he received as much land as he could plough round in a single day. ”

“ Many persons without experience often carry things through by the violence of their spirit, but those who fail of the discipline which they have learned lose also their strength of purpose. This caused the defeat of the Romans. (Mai, p.154. Cp. Zonaras, 7, 23.)
3. Coclius Horatius was by race a Roman. He, when on one occasion the army of the Romans had been routed, so that there was danger of their opponents occupying Rome, alone withstood them all at the wooden bridge, while Marcus cut it down behind Minucius. ”

“ Nothing had as yet occurred to shake Cocles’ belief; the last month’s payment had been made with the most scrupulous exactitude; Cocles had detected an overbalance of fourteen sous in his cash, and the same evening he had brought them to M. Morrel, who, with a melancholy smile, threw them into an almost empty drawer, saying:
“Thanks, Cocles; you are the pearl of cashiers.”
Cocles went away perfectly happy, for this eulogium of M. Morrel, himself the pearl of the honest men of Marseilles, flattered him more than a present of fifty crowns. ”

“ And as the enemy stayed a while for fear, Horatius turned him to the river and said, “O Father Tiber, I beseech thee this day with all reverence that thou kindly receive this soldier and his arms.” And as he spake he leapt with all his arms into the river and swam across to his own people, and though many javelins of the enemy fell about him, he was not one whit hurt. Nor did such valor fail to receive due honor from the city. For the citizens set up a statue of Horatius in the market-place ”

“ In all this, and even in the emperor-worship, now in its first stages at Rome and more political than religious, he acquiesces, though he may himself be a sparing frequenter of the abodes of worship. For him, as for Cicero, religion is one of the social and civic proprieties, a necessary part of the national mechanism.
But the great Olympic deities do not really stir Horace's enthusiasm, or even evoke his warm sympathy. The only Ode in which he prays to one of them with really fervent heart stands alone among all the odes to the national gods. ”

“ Horatius.
Whither will you, my lord?
Lucretius.
No matter where,
If from the court. I’ll home to Collatine
And to my daughter Lucrece: home breeds safety,
Danger’s begot in court; a life retired
Must please me now perforce: then, noble Scevola,
And you my dear Horatius, farewell both.
Where industry is scorned let’s welcome sloth.
Enter Collatine.
Horatius.
Nay, good Lucretius, do not leave us thus.
See, here comes Collatine; but where’s Valerius?
How does he taste these times?
Collatine.
Not giddily like Brutus, passionately
Like old Lucretius with his tear-swollen eyes ”

“ To judge by Horace's narrative, all the friends who accompanied Maecenas on this occasion, except his coadjutor, Cocceius Nerva, who had three years before been engaged with him on a similar mission to Brundusium, were men whose thoughts were given more to literature than to politics. Horace starts from Rome with Heliodorus, a celebrated rhetorician, and they make their way very leisurely to Anxur (Terracina) , where they are overtaken by Maecenas. ”

“ After supper, Frölich, being called to entertain the company, imitated the alchemist, and brought in some dirt in a crucible. Such a joke caused Augustus to look gloomy. Cosel, who had heard something about Bottiger, began to inquire about him in a whisper. The King was unwilling to speak of the matter, but to please his favourite he told her all about the alchemist, what a valuable man he was, and how they always kept watch over him, lest he should escape.
"Your Majesty," said Frölich, "so long as he is not watched by a very strong man, the possibility is that he will escape. ”

“ Horatius, finding himself alone with the hostile army in front and the foaming Tiber behind him, bravely plunged into the swift-flowing river, though clad in full armor, and swam safely to the opposite bank, greatly to the rejoicing of his fellow countrymen, Horatius has been widely popularized as a hero by Macaulay's poem in the Lays of Ancient Rome. ”

“ In the midst of these sorrows, Horace himself felt that he was growing old. The hour when one finds one's self face to face with age is a serious one. Cicero, when approaching it, tried to give himself courage in advance, and being accustomed to console himself for everything by writing, he composed his 'De Senectute,' a charming book in which he tries to deck the closing years of life with certain beauties. ”

“ They called him Horatius Co ́cles, which meant the "one-eyed Horatius," because he had lost an eye in defending the bridge; they caused a fine statue of brass to be made in his honor; and they gave him as much land as he could plow around in a day. ”

“ They demanded that Lucius Valerius and Marcus Horatius, two of the senators who favored their cause, be sent to them, saying that through these men they would make their reply. Owing to the fear of the ten magistrates (for they were now all on the scene) that the people would employ the two as leaders against them they were not sent, whereupon the populace grew still more angry. As a consequence the senators were inspired with no slight fear and against the will of the magistrates they sent Valerius and Horatius to the people. ”

“ Cochius was again sent for. He found the King in very pious mood, but in great distress, and afraid he might yet have much pain to suffer. Cochius prayed with him; talked piously. "I can remember nothing," said the King; "I cannot pray, I have forgotten all my prayers."—"Prayer is not in words, but in the thought of the heart," said Cochius; and soothed the heavy-laden man as he could. "Fare you well," said Friedrich Wilhelm, at length; "most likely we shall not meet again in this world." Whereat Cochius burst into tears, and withdrew. ”

“ This collection of eighty-eight lyrics was at once taken to the heart of the world. Before a volume of which every other line is as familiar as a proverb, which embodies in a quintessential form that imperishable delight of literature to which the great words of Cicero already quoted [7] give such beautiful expression, whose phrases are on all men's lips as those of hardly any other ancient author have been, criticism is almost silenced. In the brief and graceful epilogue, Horace claims for himself, with no uncertainty and with no arrogance, such eternity as earth can give. ”

“ Don't fancy, my dear Cicero, that I say this to please you; there is not in Athens a more lovable young man than your son, nor one more devoted to those high pursuits in which you would have him interested."
Among the contemporaries of the young Cicero was, as has been said, the poet Horace. His had been a more studious boyhood. He had not been taken away from his books to serve as a cavalry officer under Pompey. In him accordingly we see the regular course of the studies of a Roman lad. ”

“ Lucretius.
Come, you’re mad.
Collatine.
The foe comes on, and we in trifling here,
Hazard ourself and people.
Horatius.
Save them all;
To make Rome stand, Horatius here will fall.
Brutus.
We would not lose thee; do not breast thyself
’Gainst thousands; if thou front’st them thou art ringed
With million swords and darts, and we behind
Must break the bridge of Tiber to save Rome.
Before thee infinite [65] gaze on thy face
And menace death; the raging streams of Tiber
Are at thy back to swallow thee.
Horatius.
Retire;
To make Rome live, ’tis death that I desire. ”

“ Vergilius, post hunc Varius dixere quid essem ...
Abeo, et revocas nono post mense iubesque (l. 61)
esse in amicorum numero.’
In Sat. ii. 6, 40-58 Horace describes how intimate he was socially with Maecenas, who, however, did not make him a confidant in political matters. The most noteworthy event of this period is described in Sat. i. 5, viz. Horace’s journey to Brundisium in the train of Maecenas and Cocceius, who went to arrange some matters between Augustus and Antony. His companions were Virgil, Varius, Plotius, and the Greek rhetorician, Heliodorus. ”

“ Augustus did not answer; and Cosel laughed bitterly.
"To expect pity from you, vile tyrant! From you who break your promises and then imprison those who ask you to fulfil them! What do you care for human life? What do you care for human heart? Cosel, a prisoner, despises you and curses you: yourself, your family and your country! Die, you villain!"
She aimed and fired at the King. The pistol shot resounded in the castle mingled with laughter. The King, hearing the whizz of the ball, came to his wits; he saluted smiling, and galloped off in the direction of Pillnitz. ”

“ We regret to believe that instances have been known of parsons employing their time far worse than in an adventurous ramble across the American continent. Mr. Coke, nevertheless, thinks proper to veil his chaplain’s identity under the heroic cognomen of Julius Cæsar, against which distinguished Roman, could he be recalled to life, we would unhesitatingly back the reverend gentlemen to box a round, wrestle a fall, or handle a rifle, for any number of ponies the ancient backers might be disposed to post. ”

“ On the whole, Ritter seems right, after Acron, in understanding curæ sagaces of the counsels of Augustus, whom Horace compliments similarly in the Fourteenth Ode of this Book, as the real author of his step-son's victories. He is certainly right in giving the stanza to Horace, not to Hannibal. Even a courtly or patriotic Roman would have shrunk from the bad taste of making the great historical enemy of Italy conclude his lamentation over his own and his country's deep sorrow by a flattering prophecy of the greatness of his antagonist's family. ”

“ Such men were sure to find themselves brought before a friendly, not to say a corrupt, tribunal, and Hortensius, according to Cicero (Div. in Caecil. 7) , was not ashamed to avail himself of this advantage. Having served during two campaigns (90-89) in the Social War, he became quaestor in 81, aedile in 75, praetor in 72, and consul in 69. In the year before his consulship he came into collision with Cicero in the case of Verres, and from that time his supremacy at the bar was lost. After 63 Cicero was himself drawn towards the party to which Hortensius belonged. ”

“ In 1540 he was one of the fifteen divines to whom were referred crucial questions on the sacraments and the seat of authority in the Church; his answers (printed in Pocock’s Burnet, iii. 443-496) indicate a mind tending away from Catholicism, but susceptible to “the king’s doctrine”; and, indeed, Cox was one of the divines by whom Henry said the “King’s Book” had been drawn up when he wished to impress upon the Regent Arran that it was not exclusively his own doing. ”

“ The best judges and the greatest masters of style in the best period of Roman literature were his chief admirers in ancient times. Cicero frequently reproduces his expressions, applies passages in his plays to his own circumstances, and refers to his personages as typical representations of character. [2] Julius Cæsar characterizes him as "puri sermonis amator." Horace, so depreciatory in general of the older literature, shows his appreciation of Terence by the frequent reproduction in his Satires and in his Odes of his language and his philosophy of life. ”

“ For a Roman to have more than one counsel to plead for him 28was as common as for an Englishman. Cicero was therefore added to Hortensius, and the two great advocates of the day spoke on the same side. We are told that Hortensius managed the evidence, showing, probably, that Clodius struck the first blow. Cicero then addressed the judges with the object of gaining their favor for the accused. In this he was successful, and Sextius was acquitted. As regards Sextius and his quarrel with Clodius, the oration has but little interest for us. There is not, indeed, much about Sextius in it. ”