Horace: Satires and Epistles/Persius : Satires

by Horatius, Persius

The Satires of Horace (65 8 BC), written in the troubled decade ending with the establishment of Augustus' regime, provide an amusing treatment of men's perennial enslavement to money, power, glory and sex. Epistles I, addressed to the poet's friends, deals with the problem of achieving contentment amid the complexities of urban life, while Epistles II and the Ars Poetica discuss Latin poetry its history and social functions, and the craft required for its success. Both works have had a powerful influence on later western literature, inspiring poets from Ben Jonson and Alexander Pope to W. H. Auden and Robert Frost. The Satires of Persius (AD 34 62) are highly idiosyncratic, containing a courageous attack on the poetry and morals of his wealthy contemporaries even the ruling emperor, Nero.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Roman, Satire, Literature, Ancient, Nonfiction

193 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 25

About the author

Odes and Satires Roman lyric poet Quintus Horatius Flaccus exerted a major influence on English poetry.

(December 8, 65 BC – November 27, 8 BC)

Horace, the son of a freed slave, who owned a small farm, later moved to Rome to work as a coactor, a middleman between buyers and sellers at auctions, receiving 1% of the purchase price for his services. The father ably spent considerable money on education of his son, accompanied him first to Rome for his primary education, and then sent him to Athens to study Greek and philosophy.

After the assassination of Julius Caesar, Horace joined the army, serving under the generalship of Brutus. He fought as a staff officer (tribunus militum) in the battle of Philippi. Alluding to famous literary models, he later claimed to throw away his shield and to flee for his salvation. When people declared an amnesty for those who fought against the victorious Octavian Augustus, Horace returned to Italy, only to find his estate confiscated and his father likely then dead. Horace claims that circumstances reduced him to poverty.

Nevertheless, he meaningfully gained a profitable lifetime appointment as a scriba quaestorius, an official of the Treasury; this appointment allowed him to practice his poetic art.

Horace was a member of a literary circle that included Virgil and Lucius Varius Rufus, who introduced him to Maecenas, friend and confidant of Augustus. Maecenas became his patron and close friend and presented Horace with an estate near Tibur in the Sabine Hills (contemporary Tivoli). A few months after the death of Maecenas, Horace died in Rome. Upon his death bed, Horace with no heirs relinquished his farm to Augustus, his friend and the emperor, for imperial needs, and it stands today as a spot of pilgrimage for his admirers.

Reviews

[Марија Николовска]

Only read Horace's satires, so up until 40%.

[Unknown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Settle down then please and pay attention. I’m talking to all
who are plagued by the curse of ambition or a morbid craving for money,
all who are obsessed with self-indulgence or gloomy superstition. —Horace, Satires, 2.3

There are certain people, you see, who detest this kind of writing.
for most deserve a scolding. —Horace, Satires, 1.4.24-25

Don’t seek mass adulation . . .
. . . I’m happy if the better classes applaud me . . . 
. . . only contempt for the rest. —Horace, Satires, 1.10
__________
But if you were able
to get rid of your worries—those cold showers that damp you down—
You would soar above to the place where heavenly wisdom leads.
That is the task, that’s the pursuit we should all engage in. —Horace, Epistles, 1.3
__________
I’d exclude myself from those who can properly be called
poets. You would not consider it enough simply to turn
a metrical line. Nor, if a man wrote, as I do
in a style rather close to prise, would you count him as a poet.
The honour of that name should be kept for someone with a natural
gift, an inspired soul, and a voice of mighty music. —Horace, Satires, 1.4.39-44

__________
Some good stuff from Horace. I especially like his Epistles. I also think I preferred this verse translation to the praise one of Satires and Epistles offered by OWC.

I didn't re-read Persius .
__________
Satires
How is it, Maecenas, that no one is content with his own lot--
whether he has got it by an act of choice or taken it up
by chance—but instead envies people in other occupations? (1.1.1-3)

But if you don't spend it, what's the attraction in a piled-up heap? (1.1.43-44)

Tell me, if a man lives within nature's
limits, what matter whether he ha a hundred or a thousand acres
of ploughed land? (1.1.49-51)

It's as if you needed only a jug or a glass of water
and said "I'd sooner draw it from a big river than from this
piddling stream, although the amount would be just the same." (1.1.55-57)

When I urge you not to be a miser
I'm not saying you should be a rake and a wastrel. There is
a stage between the frigid midget and the massive vassal.
Things have a certain proportion. In short, there are definite limits;
if you step beyond them on this side or that you can't be right. (1.1.104-108)

She may be decked in emeralds and snowy pearls, but that
doesn’t give her a straighter leg or a softer thigh than Cerinthus
boasts. (1.2.80-82)

When your throat is parched with thirst, do you insist on having 
a golden tankard? When famished do you turn up your nose at all
but peacock and turbot? When your organ is stiff, and a servant girl
or a young boy from the household is near at hand and you know
you can make an immediate assault, would you sooner burst with tension? (1..114-118)

Singers all have the same fault. When asked to perform
for their friends they never will; when no one asks them they never
stop. (1.3.1-3)

He never went to bed until dawn,
and then snored all day. (1.3.17-18)

Before examining your own faults you smear ointment
on your bloodshot eyes, but when it comes to your friends’ foibles
your sight is as sharp as an eagle’s or the Epidaurian snake’s. (1.3.25-27)

If he’s miserably undersized,
as was the case with Sisyphus at the dwarf, he’s called ‘Small’. (1.3.45-46)

How casually
we endorse a law that is against ourselves. (1.3.66-67)

It’s fair that anyone who asks
indulgence for his faults should grant the same in return. (1.3.74-75)

Those who hold that sins are largely the same are floored
by real situations. (1.3.96-97)

Reason will never drive that the man who breaks off a juicy
cabbage from someone’s garden and the man who makes off at night
with sacred emblems are committing one and the same offence. (1.3.115-117)

I . . .
. . . though a commoner, shall live a happier life than Your Majesty.(1.3.141-142)

Each night he would be awake until dawn, then spend the whole day snoring. (1.3.17-18)

No one is born free from faults . . . (1.3.68)

As a tour de force he would often
dictate two hundred lines an hour standing on his head.
As he flowed muddily on, there were things you’d want to remove.
A man of any words, he disliked the effort of writing—
writing properly, that is; I don’;t care a hoot for quantity. (1.4.9-13)

Suppose you destroyed
the regular quantities and rhythm . . . (1.4.57-58)

It appeals
to empty heads, who never reflect . . . (1.4.76-77)

. . . the truthful god of freedom unlocks his inner heart. (1.4.89)

I am free from the graver vices and have to cope
only with milder, more venial, faults. (1.4.130-131)

These are the thoughts I keep turning over in my head . . . (1.4.137-138)

The greatest scholar in the land of Greece. (1.5)

No finer men have ever walked the face
of the earth; and no one is more dearly attached to them all than I am. (1.5)

The scenes from a dirty
dream pattered my nightshirt and stomach as I lay on my back (1.5)

A man’s parentage makes no difference
provided he himself is a gentleman. (1.6)

So what is the right
course for us who live in a different world from the masses? (1.6)

It wasn’t chance that brought you into my life. (1.6)

Everywhere he goes, he makes the girls eager to ask about details . . . (1.6.31-32)

For me the great thing is that I won
the regard of a discriminating man like you, not by having
a highly distinguished father but by decency of her and character. (1.6)

In this and a thousand other ways I’ve an easier life
than you, my eminent senator. (1.6)

I stay in bed till ten, then walk . . . 
A light lunch—enough to save me from having to go
through the day on an empty stomach; then I laze about at home. (1.6)

That’s what life is like when you’re free from the cruel compulsion
to get to the top. So I comfort myself that I’ll live more happily
than if my grandfather, father, and uncle had all been Quaestors. (1.6)

If you hope to deserve a second reading you must often employ
the rubber at the end of your pencil. (1.10)

In short, whether a serene old age awaits me or whether
death is already hovering near on sable wing,
in Rome or if fortune so ordains in exile—whatever
the complexion of my life, I’ll continue to write. (2.1)

Your judgement
is impaired by what doesn’t count. (2.2)

But I have a large income and a bigger fortune
than three kings put together.
Well then, can’t you think of a better way
to get rid of your surplus? Why should a decent man
be in need when you are rich? (2.2)

And as a reward may heaven send you—a barber. (2.3)

. . . your hair. Look at it! Matted and thick with dandruff. (2.3)

Wake up then and live. (2.3)

. . . and in their decadent tastes,
lunched on nightingales. (2.3)

The source must remain a secret. (2.4)

The average person cannot lay claim to the art of dining. (2.4)

Imagine someone whose sole concern was decent wine. (2.4)

I ask for nothing else. . . 
. . . except that you make these blessings last. (2.6)

But go I must. (2.6)

Why do you want you, idiot? (2.6)

That’s how the day is wasted. (2.6)

When shall I be free
to browse among the writers of old, to sleep or idle,
drinking in a blissful oblivion. (2.6)

So my dear chap, while there’s still time, enjoy the good things
of life, and never forget your days are numbered. (2.6)

This isn’t the life for me. (2.7)

Come on, it’s December. (2.7)

He rang the changes: lecher in Rome and scholar in Athens. (2.7)

You can’t stand so much as an hour of your own company
or spend your leisure properly; you avoid yourself like a truant
or fugitive, hoping by drink or sleep to elude Angst.
But it’s no good, for that dark companion stays on your heels. (2.7)

I’ve never had such a time
in all my life. (2.8)

This is the law which governs life. So it is
that your best efforts will never achieve the fame they deserve. (2.8)

. . . whose breath is more deadly than an African snake’s. (2.8)
__________
Epistles
For me any time at all is tedious and unrewarding
if it hinders my hopes and plans for following that pursuit
which brings an equal advantage to rich and poor alike,
whereas its neglect will harm young and old alike. (1.1)

We can all make some progress, in spite of our limitations. (1.1)

Stop caring for the things you foolishly gaze at and long for. (1.1)

So let this be your wall of brass:
to have nothing on your conscience, nothing to give you guilty pallor. (1.1)

If I’ve had a haircut from a rather uneven barber, you laugh
when you meet me; if a grubby vest is visible under my smart
tunic, or say my toga is askew and sloppily folded,
you laugh. Yet what if my mind is all at odds with itself,
rejects what it asked for, returns to what it has just put down,
ebbs and flows, and disrupts my life’s entire pattern
demolishing then rebuilding, changing square to round?
you accept my madness as normal. You don’t laugh at all,
nor do you think I need a doctor or a guardian assigned
by the court. And yet you are in charge of all my affairs;
you even become annoyed with the friend who looks to you
For support and protection, if his nails have not been properly trimmed. (1.1)

Send for a book and lamp before daylight, and focus
your mind on noble aims and pursuits . . . (1.2)

A jar retains for years the smell with which it was tinged
when new. But mind, don’t dawdle or press keenly ahead.
I never wait for the slow-coach or try to catch the leaders! (1.2)

. . . or taking a stroll through the fresh woodland air,
pondering on all that befits a man who is wise and good. (1.4)

The gods
have given you good looks, wealth, and the sense to enjoy it.
If a man can judge what’s right, express what he feels, and also
claim a generous share of charm, prestige, and health,
with a decent style of living and wallets that’s never empty,
what further gift could a nurse desire for her darling baby? (1.4)

Imagine every day that dawns is the last you’ll see. (1.4)

Tomorrow I Caesar’s birthday, and so
we have an excuse for sleeping in. (1.5)

What’s the point of money if you haven’t the chance to enjoy it? (1.5)

Think of the wonders unlocked by wine! (1.5)

Well then,
if wealth is the only thing that can make you happy,
every day be the first at work, and the last to leave. (1.6)

If good food is the secret of the good life . . . (1.6)

If, as Mimnermus holds, without sexual pleasure
no joy exists, devote your life to sexual pleasure. (1.6)

Go down to the seaside and take it easy . . . (1.7)

It isn’t royal Rome
that attracts me now, but quiet Tibur or peaceful Tarentum. (1.7)

You look like a man that’s overworked
and over-anxious! (1.7)

Let me return to my old life. (1.7)

When a person sees how his former condition surpasses the one
he is in, he should hurry back, and resume the things he abandoned. (1.7)

They’re physically fit, but spiritually ill. (Personal re-working of 1.8)

Avoid what’s big. In a humble house
you can beat kings and the friends of kings in the race of life. (1.10)

If you are happy with the deal you’ve received, you’ll live wisely. (1.10)

I’m writing this letter behind Vacuna’s crumbling temple,
perfectly happy—except for the fact that you aren’t with me. (1.10)

Whatever lucky hour heaven has offered you, take it
gratefully; don’t postpone your blessings to another year. (1.11)

We are worn out by the strain of doing nothing; we search for
the good life with yachts and cars. The thing you’re searching for
is here—or at Úlubrae, if you preserve a balanced mind. (1.11)

Have no mean thoughts but keep your mind on higher things. (1.12)

Let me explain,
as I am older. (1.17)

My way
Is more honest and splendid. (1.17)

. . . who is dressed and perfumed beyond his means to satisfy vanity (1.18)

Don’t try to keep up; you can’t afford it. (1.18)

May I have what I have now, or less, and live for myself
What’s left of my life (if heaven decides that any is left). (1.18)

True, with the Greeks the oldest writing in every genre
is quite the best. (2.1)

As the years go by they rob us of one thing after another. (2.2)

People who write incompetent verse are a joke; however,
they enjoy composing and treat themselves with sincere respect,
and if you say nothing they’ll actually praise their own productions. (2.2)
__________
Good-bye and good luck. If you know anything better, be sure to
pass it on; if not, you can share the above with me. (Episitles, 1.6)

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horace's satires masterfully blend sublime wit and subtle insight with brilliant writing and structural styles. Topics range from lust and humourous fictional stories to technical critique of other satirists, sketching out theories of satire and (an often repeated theme) criticism of stoic philosophy.

The epistles I found less interesting, structured as letters to friends.

Persius's satires tend to be more serious in subject matter and tone, criticising Roman culture, people's attitudes towards religion, sin etc.

If I liked the epistles more I would've given 5 stars.

[Justin Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although less biting than Juvenal, both Horace and Persius are much easier reading- the historical particulars aren't as important, the narratives are a bit more gripping, and the poems are more varied. Rudd's translation is clear and strikes a nice balance (very Horatian, that) between keeping some reminder that the poem isn't just prose chopped into shorter lines and accuracy. It's nice to read pre-Whitmanians, to remind oneself that the masses are often wrong:

"the people.../ often confer/ office on worthless candidates and are stupidly enthralled by fame,/ gaping entranced at inscriptions and busts. So what is the right/ course for us who live in a different world from the masses?" (I.6 15ff).

while also noting, in an Epistle, that

"We are the mass, whose role is merely consuming produce," Ep I.2 26.

Horace's second book isn't as much fun as his first, but it's fun to read a satire on ancient foodies and realize that it's okay to hate people who insist on drinking 90 minute IPA beers that taste more like steel than any potable food or beverage. His Epistles are even milder, but continue on the same themes: country vs city, the nature of the good life, reflections on the art of poetry and so on.

The real gems in this book all belong to Persius, particularly satire 5: are you free? You think so, but only because you fail to recognize that a person can be in thrall to many things other than a direct and obvious cane-wielding master. And you're in thrall to things without number. Persius is just as convincing as Horace when setting out a positive ideal, and far more convincing when he's scouring others for failing to live up to it.

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horace was The Dude of ancient Rome. The man could turn a verse like no one else. Yet, he wasn't of the florid lurid style, he was more like the Phil Collins of the classics. Middle-class and pragmatic, which closely resembled the Roman masses themselves.

This volume collects Horace's satires along with those of Persius, who is a bit more of a prude. Persius wasn't too crazy about Nero and his extravagances and he is basically wagging a finger at the wicked one with his satires. Horace is more stolid.

...for I have learned that the gods live a life of calm,
and that if nature presents some strange occurrence it is not
sent down by the gods in anger from their high home in the sky.

Niall Rudd does an excellent job with the translation, making it easy to follow where each poet is heading. This is a classic to keep on the bookshelf, needed in times when the modern world seems as familiar as that of Imperial days.

Book Season = Year Round

[JV]

Muitas vezes durante a leitura das odes tentei conceber que tipo de pessoa tinha surgido com tantos poemas originais e perfeitos. Imaginei algo como um jovem elegíaco como Catullus mas moderado pelo patriotismo e uma legítima curiosidade intelectual. Pesquisei no google alguma imagem e na única que achei lá estava um senhor de cãs brancas como a neve, o rosto sulcado, vestido como um senador sob um arco romano e segurando uma taça de vinho. Naquele momento não reconheci a figura mas agora, com a leitura das Sátiras a vejo diante de mim.

Aqui, no primeiro livro do autor, vemos o louvor das virtudes romanas, do mérito e do bucolismo. O alvo concreto das sátiras é o epicurismo, cujos excessos que Horácio tenta moderar. O Horácio das sátiras é mais parecido com Cícero e Virgílio, as odes são provavelmente uma obra de absorção da lírica grega no contexto romano.

[Jenn Phizacklea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horace is amazing; but this translation is, to put it politely, not to my taste.
The translated terminology is so modern it’s jarring. For example: ‘a thousand pounds’; ‘the Stock Exchange’ and ‘sofa’.
The translating of names also drove me crazy - For example: ‘Newman’ instead of Novius; ‘King’ instead of Rex; ‘Floppy’ rather than Flaccus; and ‘Miss Tree’ instead of Arbuscula. This should be in the notes, rather than the other way around.
Speaking of the notes - They are pretty shabby, too. They are numbered in such a way that you waste time trying to find the line you want, and there are many of these modern & name translations where the original Latin isn’t noted. I found myself searching the internet to fill the gap, which I find irritating. After all, if I wanted to read this online, I wouldn’t have bought the book; so it signally fails in what’s most important to me as a reader.

[Anthony Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was time to read some Horace which I should have done 50 years ago at university.

Well, I didn’t get much out of the Satires as I had to spend more time in the notes than the text. At least I realised where Pope was coming from in his Satires, but of course the recourse to notes when reading Pope is just as time-consuming.

For the same reason, I didn’t get on with Persius.

However, Horace’s Epistles, in spite of having to refer to the notes again, I very much enjoyed. Their bounty of gentleness, friendship, wisdom, enjoyment of his villa and farm, and considered views on verse writing were all a pleasure. I write a lot of letters myself, but don’t think I’ll ever aspire to emulate Horace.

I think I should chase down copies of Martyn Skinner’s ‘Letters to Malaya’ now, and see how they compare.

[James Carrigy · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

Regarding Horace, it doesn't take too long to settle in Rudd's rambunctious and ribald groove as translator, bringing to life the entertaining poetry of a sharp raconteur with the second collection of Epistles being the highlight. A shame then that I can't say the same of his approach to Persius, perhaps a case of one author being superior to the other, but in my view it coming across as more of a lack of interest on the part of the translator, coupled with his self-admitted difficulties in transcribing an author whose Latin appears to be comparitively difficuly to render.

[Zachary Rudolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I had the luck to be raised in Rome, where I learned from my teacher how much harm was done to the Greeks by the wrath of Achilles. Then a little more training was added by Athens the good, so that at least I was keen to distinguish straight from crooked and to go in search of truth among the Academy’s trees.”

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

How refreshing would it be if satirists that political figures actually listened to still existed? Horace and Persius, two satirical gentlemen of ancient times, gather in this book binding with their scathing and quite truthful takes on art, living, money, and politics with all the remarkable wit you’d imagine them having and doling out without much regard for retribution.

[Sarah Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only finished what I needed to for school - but Horace is one big suck up to Augustus. Nonetheless, my fave Roman poet from the time.

[Monique]

I read Horace's Epistles, Book One. Twenty substantial poems, urbane but not unserious.

(Now want to read Epistles Two and Ars Poetica.)

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember as a student translating the satires of both Horace and Persius. Translating biting humor is difficult, in that it requires supreme understanding of language and the frequent double use of meaning to achieve comedic effect. In this, Rudd does an incredibly good job.

Horace, the oldest satirist in the Latin language for which we still have writings, is the formulator of what is called satirical style. Improving upon such writers as Lucilius, he strove to provide a middle path between humor and criticism, and strove for a simplicity in language and style. He summarizes his classical theory of satire in Satire 10:
“So it’s not enough to make your listener bare his teeth
in a grin—though I grant there’s some virtue even in that.
You need terseness, to let the thought run freely on
without becoming entangled in a mass of words that will hang
heavy on the ear. You need a style which is sometimes severe, sometimes gay, now suiting the role of an orator or poet
now that of a clever talker who keeps his strength in reserve
and carefully rations it out. Humour is often stronger
and more effective than sharpness in cutting knotty issues.” (79)

Indeed this is true. Most readers will alternate between shock and mild boredom at reading both Horace and Persius. The shock is how direct and bawdy some of the satires are. Horace directly refers to people and their sins, criticizing them bluntly and without political correctness in a way that is public and shocking for us in the post-Victorian era. However, once past this, the satires themselves, as well as the Epistles, don’t relate too much to the present day very well, with a few exceptions. Notably, I’m a fan of two statements of Horace in particular. I very much appreciate his appreciation of merit over birthright in Satire 6:
“Yet Glory drags in chains behind her dazzling car
the obscure no less than the noble.” (67)
In spite of distinguished ancestry, some are less than successful. Horace is satirizing those people whose snobbery prevents them from recognizing the success of those of humble birth.
I also appreciate his outlook on life, and how to navigate through triumphs and travails: “For my part, whether sailing in cruiser or dinghy, I shall remain myself. My sails are not puffed out with the north wind in my favour, nor am I beating into the southern gales of affliction.” (188)

The writings of Persius are similarly interesting, but after reading Horace, are difficult to appreciate without historical context. He died early and so the writings are few, but they are more philosophical, and directly criticize Nero and his fawning nobility.

Rudd’s translation is direct and true. Readers of classical literature and history will thoroughly enjoy this volume.

[Alejandro Teruel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely not to my taste - I found the satires tedious, shallow and snobbish. How much of this impression is due to what appears to be a lackluster translation is hard to say.

I only enjoyed Horace's Satire 5 from Book 1, which comes across as a diary of a fortnight's journey from Rome to Brindisi which Horace made with Maecenas. Having recently read "Shadows in Bronze", which was one of the first Marcos Didius Falc mysteries, It helped me appreciate the care Lindsey Davis' took in researching the backgrounds to these novels.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The translator, Niall Rudd, did an amazing job of making the topical allusions in these 2,000 year old poems accessible to the modern reader. Philosophic and humorous looks at life in Roman times, sometimes X-rated and misogynistic. I was surprised to find the story of the country mouse and the town mouse goes back (at least) to Horace.

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read six or seven of Horace's Satires, I think I can safely conclude that I would not want to be friends with this simpering ego of a man.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed most in this order:
Horace Epistles
Horace satires
Perseus satires

[Robert Frecer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lost in translation, mostly.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

It must be that I just don't find any charm in Roman poetry, compared to the much more interesting and dynamic Greeks. I thought, perhaps, that I would, but I find Horace terribly boring and difficult to read. I appreciate his role in being an Everyperson's Poet, but I just don't "get" him and am glad to be done with this lot (all the while I look to the Odes and Epodes with great disdain and anxiety, but nevertheless, I will continue to read on).