And snatch a bracelet or a glove
From wrist or hand that scarce rebels.[72]
The first book of Epistles. After the three books of Odes were published in 23 B. C., Horace returned to his previous manner of composition in hexameters, but gave to the collection of twenty poems which he published in 20 B. C., the form of letters or Epistles. These are sometimes real letters to his friends, sometimes satires or “talks” in the form of letters. The subjects of these poems are as various as those of the Satires, but it is evident that the poet is turning more toward philosophy. He advises his friends to take things as they find them, without allowing themselves to be troubled or excited (vi), he teaches the Stoic doctrine that virtue suffices to make men happy (xvi), he advocates calmness and the avoidance of care, and urges Tibullus (iv, 13) to live as if each day were to be his last. But he also sings the praise of wine (v, 16 ff.) and of the quiet life in the country (x, xiv). In two epistles he gives practical advice concerning intercourse with persons of high station, and various practical suggestions are found scattered through the other poems. In a letter to Mæcenas (xix) he ridicules his imitators and mocks at his critics. The twentieth poem is an address to his book as he sends it into the world. In it he foretells the various fortunes of the book, and at the end he gives his age, saying that he has seen four times eleven Decembers in the year of the consulship of Lepidus and Lollius. In these letters Horace reveals his character more fully and with a more delicate touch than in any of his other works. The Odes are the works by which he will always be best known, and to which he owes his great fame as a poet, but nowhere so fully as in the Epistles does he disclose his kindly and genial, yet serious views of life as they ripened with his advancing years.
In the seventh Epistle of the first book Horace refuses, at least for the present, an invitation of Mæcenas, on the ground that his health is poor and that he needs the repose of the country and the seashore. At the same time he explains the manner in which he wishes his relation to his patron to be understood. He is not a parasite, and openly says that he must retain his freedom, and can not be at the beck and call even of Mæcenas. In the first Epistle (lines 4 and 10) he refuses to write more odes, because he is no longer young and is turning toward philosophy. The second book of Epistles. The same attitude is disclosed in the second Epistle of the second book (lines 25 and 141 ff.). The poet wished to retire and pursue the study of philosophy; but he had gained much experience in literary matters, and in three letters, written probably between 19 and 14 B. C., he records the results of this experience. The first letter is addressed to Augustus, the second to Julius Florus. These two form the second book of the Epistles. The Ars Poetica. The third letter, addressed to the Pisos, father and two sons, was originally published with the others, but was soon separated from them, and is known as the Ars Poetica. This is not a systematic treatise on poetry, but Horace’s views, derived in part from his own experience, in part from his reading, are set forth in the easy style of a letter or talk. He insists that each poem must have a consistent fundamental idea or plot, that the characters of a drama must speak as befits their age and station, and must be drawn from life, he advises care in the choice of a subject, points out that nobody cares for mediocre poets, and that what is once published can not be recalled. Throughout the letter or treatise he constantly impresses upon his readers his conviction that good poetry is the result of hard work. Many critical and historical remarks are scattered through the Ars Poetica as well as through the two other letters.
In spite of his desire to give up the writing of poetry and to devote himself to philosophy, Horace did not finish his career as a lyric poet with the completion of three books of odes. In 17 B. C. it was decided that the Sibylline books required the celebration of the ludi sæculares, which were supposed to recur at the end of every sæculum, or period of one hundred and ten years. An important part of the celebration was the singing of a hymn in honor of Apollo and Diana. This was to be sung by a chorus of boys and girls of pure Roman birth, both of whose parents were living, and whose mothers had married only once. Horace was asked by Augustus to compose this hymn, and could not refuse the honor, which distinguished him as the official poet laureate of the Roman Empire. The Carmen Sæculare. The hymn, called the Carmen Sæculare, is a somewhat formal poem, as is fitting for the solemn occasion at which it was first sung, but it shows real religious feeling, mingled with pride and confidence in the Roman greatness. It is the work of a masterly artist and an inspired poet.
In addition to appointing him to write the Carmen Sæculare, Augustus demanded of Horace a song, or songs, in honor of his stepsons, Tiberius and Drusus. The fourth book of Odes. Horace could not refuse, and composed odes in honor of the victories of Drusus (IV, iv) and Tiberius (IV, xiv), to which he added thirteen other poems, making a fourth book of fifteen odes, written apparently in the years 17-13 B. C. The fourth book of Odes is in no way inferior to its predecessors in variety of form or perfection of workmanship, and it contains a larger proportion of exalted, patriotic poems. The sixth ode, addressed to Apollo, seems to be a proœmium to the Carmen Sæculare, or at any rate to have some connection with the ludi sæculares. The fifth ode, to Augustus, urging his return to Rome, and the fifteenth, also to Augustus, on the restoration of peace, celebrate the greatness of Rome as well as its ruler. Horace, as well as Virgil, though in a different way, was a poet of the Roman Empire.
As we look back upon the literary activity of Horace, we find that he turned at first to satires in hexameters and epodes in the simple epodic metre. The literary activity of Horace. Then he enriched Roman literature by odes in imitation of the early Greek lyrists, to return afterward to his original style in the more refined form of epistles. It was only at the command of Augustus that he once more composed elaborate lyrics. His lyric poems are not natural outpourings of sentiment, but deliberate attempts to add to the beauty of Roman literature and thereby to the glory of the Roman Empire. And it is chiefly to these poems that he owes his fame. They are not equal in merit, but they are the most perfect productions of Roman lyric poetry. As such they were recognized in Horace’s own lifetime, and as such they have been admired and loved through the succeeding ages, never more than in recent times. Countless scholars, poets, and men of letters have read them with delight, and many have been the attempts to render their inimitable charm in translations. But their subtle beauty defies the translator’s art. None but Horace himself has been able to express his delicate feeling and poetic fancy in such perfect form. The Satires and the Epistles are full of brilliant and witty sayings, of critical and historical remarks; they throw much light upon the social and literary life of the period, and make us acquainted with the character of the poet; but the Odes are “a monument more enduring than bronze,” testifying to the genius, the industry, the good taste, and, in some cases, to the patriotic spirit of the most perfect of Roman lyric poets.