BOOKTEXT5

YOUTHFUL ENDEAVOURS

INTRODUCTION

There are four love poems which apparently date from Horace's early years, subsequent to the rather angry young man of Satire 1, 2. The first, Epode 11, describes how Horace, recovering from an infatuation with Inachia, is ashamed at his boorish behaviour to his friends and asserts that he is no longer interested in writing little verses but that true love has overtaken him, making him yearn for young people, youths or maidens. However, on the rebound from Inachia, he has taken up with a certain Lyciscus, a young man as tender as a woman. He will do until love for a maiden or a youth with long flowing hair comes along.

The second, Epode 14, concerns Phrynea. a freedwoman, with whom Horace is having an affair. She is apparently very popular and Horace is greatly concerned to find that he is not the only lover that consoles the lady. His concern and jealousy is affecting his work and his output of poetry is suffering. At the peak of his misery Maecenas chances to ask what is wrong, why no poetry? In an acerbic reply, which is of course Epode l4, Horace retorts that no, he is not lazy, no, he has not forgotten how to write poetry; he is besotted by love for Phrynea who is playing around with other men and driving him to despair. He compares himself to Anacreon of old who, when besotted by the youth Bathyllus, was likewise affected. With this example, and an abrupt volte–face, Horace metaphorically turns the tables on Maecenas by saying that he, Maecenas, is in danger of being burnt by love's fires and that even if it be sweet at the moment, he should enjoy it while it lasts. This is the reference to Maecenas having a very torrid affair with a young Greek actor, also named Bathyllus, with whom Maecenas became so infatuated that he apparently lost all sense of proportion and his friends became very worried about his health and sanity.

Epode 15 is about Neaera, who swore eternal fidelity to Horace and then betrayed him regularly with a rival. Horace swears to find another love, more fitting and more true and will never look at Neaera ever again. To his rival he gives warning that though he might have all the material, sartorial and physical advantages over Horace, his turn will come and Horace will laugh last. Horace uses metaphor, first from nature, to signify the love he thought he shared with Nearea, and latterly, from the Greek myths, to paint a picture of his rival's wealth and standing in the community. It is unique in that Horace names himself within the poem: calling himself Flaccus he declares that he has had enough of the lady.

Ode 5 from Book I is the famous Pyrrha ode of which, it is said, more translations exist than of the remainder of Horace's poetry put together. It fully deserves that attention. It is Horace caught very much on the raw edge of emotion; Pyrrha would seem to have hurt him deeply. It gives us a close insight into Roman sexual practices and the name Pyrrha for instance is not thought to be a normal Roman descriptive cognomen but more epithetical in nature. At first it is possible to assume that it is a sexual connotation, more or less 'hot stuff', but later it would seem that it probably refers to temper and 'fiery' would be a more accurate interpretation. Again the verb describing the act of love itself hardly has connotations of a leisurely affair; urgeo suggests a more abandoned form of such activity. The venue of the coupling is clearly a grotto and rose petals form the couch on which the action takes place and this, with the later reference to the god of the sea, could very well indicate the form of the grotto that later became notorius under Tiberius. Constructed within the grounds of a villa, such a grotto contained pools and fountains in which statues of Neptune, Venus, Thetis and sea creatures featured largely and whose purpose, beside providing cool relief from the sun, seemed to have been to stimulate sexual appetites towards debauchery. Horace uses no invective in this poem but kills with kind words. The lady is all golden but uncomfortably superficial it seems; she is calm mirrored perfection until she is crossed; she is jewel–like, glittering but hard; she is exciting to be with but treacherous. Horace closes with the admission that he is still ensnared, remembering the mad infatuation that also caused him to lose his senses in that same grotto.

Aut teretis pueri, longam renodantis comam.

INACHIA

Pettius, it pleases me no longer, as before, to write

Small verse about love, having been stricken so as

To be burdened, by love, which beyond all seeks to

Burn me with passion for sweet youths and maidens.

This third December, since when I shook off passion

For Inachia, shakes off the glory from the woods.

Alas, it shames me, how much I have been the subject

Of malicious gossip around the city! I repent the

Social occasions in which silence and languor proved

Infatuation; to conceal the sighing brought forth

"A poor man's natural talents prove to be worthless

Against dazzling wealth! I was always complaining to

You, lamenting, once the impudent God's fiery, neat

Wine had warmed and brought forth from secret places.

"What if unbridled anger may boil within my breast so

As to disperse these thankless fomentations to the

Four winds, for not relieving the cowardly injustice,

Modesty will cease to struggle, defeated by inequality"

When I had praised this stern action in your presence and

Having been ordered to go home I was being helped away on

Uncertain foot alas to a door post unfriendly to me and

Alas, hard steps against which I dashed my side and loins.

Love from a little woman holds me now, of Lyciscus, boastfully

Claiming, if you please, to hold mastery over tenderness;

From whom no altruistic counsels and neither stern reproaches

From friends will be able to disentangle, but only another

Burst of passion, either from glittering, nubile maidens

Or from well rounded youths, with long, free flowing hair.

Contenta, Phryne macerat.

PHRYNE

You torment me, steadfast Maecenas, by asking

Many times why so great

An aversion to work has so diffused oblivion

Over my creative senses

As if, thirsty, I had drained the Letharean cup.

The same God forbids me

Begin, while also promising iambic metre to bring

Full circle to the Ode.

Phryne, a freedwoman, not content with a single

Lover, burns me. They say

That thus Telian Anacreon burned for Samian Bathyllus

And often lamented love,

Elaborating simple metre on Tortoise–shell Lyre. You

Yourself are so burnt, unhappy

One; in the hope that flame be not so fair as burned steady Troy

Rejoice in your fortune.

Ast ego vicissim risero.

NEAERA

Night, and in a serene sky the moon was incandescent

Amidst the fainter stars,

When you, about to flout the name of the great Gods

Were swearing your solemn oath,

While long limbs were binding us together as the Ivy

Makes flexible arms to the Oak,

As long as the wolf is hostile to cattle and Orion

With stormy seas, to sailors,

The breeze stir the hair of Apollo's unshorn head

Then so long this love of ours.

O Neaera, about to suffer much grief from my resolve

For if there is any manhood in Flaccus,

He will not bear others to possess and you to give

Nightly, but will angrily seek another.

Nor, once suffered offence will he yield his purpose

If stern anger has entered him.

And you, whosoever you are, happier and also proud

Now that you exult over my distress

You may be rich with many cattle and plentiful estates,

And Pactolus may flow for you,

Nor the magic of Pythagoras be hidden but rise again for you

And you may surpass Nireus in looks,

Alas you too will mourn affections given to another

I, on the other hand, will laugh in turn.

ODES I, 5

Vestimenta maris deo.

PYRRHA

What slender youth, upon a bed with many rose petals

And perfumed with sweet smelling liquids, makes love

To you now, Pyrrha, within the welcoming grotto?

For whom do you arrange your hair, so golden.

So simple. So elegant. Hah! How often will he be

Amazed when black and angry winds roughen the calm

Surface and he will lament changed fidelity

And indeed, changed Gods.

Who now delights in you easily believing the gold is

Real, who expects constant availability, constant

Amiability, unaware of the treacherous

Breath of favour. Yet to be pitied, they,

Not having experienced your brilliance. Within that

Same grotto, a sacred tablet vowing vestments to the

God of the Sea, records the drunken

Power you must have held over me.

ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

EPODE 11

Lines one to ten which form the opening of this Epode finds Horace in a very depressed state of mind, protesting that desire for love itself prevents him from writing any poetry at all. Regrets for an old infatuation make him dull company and a concern to his friends. Petti, nihil ... iuvat scribere ... percussum gravi. In effect, 'Pettius, having been stricken so as to be burdened by love, it pleases me no longer to write verses.' Horace then elaborates on his desire, amore, qui me praeter omnes expetit mollibus in pueris aut in puellis urere. 'By love, which, beyond all things, seeks to burn me with passion for delectable youths and maidens.' He then relapses into nostalgic brooding, hic tertius December ... destiti Inachia ... silvis honorem decutit. 'This, the third December since I shook off desire for Inachia, shakes off the glory from the woods.' Ruefully and then sorrowfully, heu me, per urbem, ... fabula quanta fui! 'Alas, it makes me ashamed how much an object of gossip I have been around the city!' Conviviorum et paenitet, ... languor et silentium ... latere petitus imo spiritus. 'I repent having sought languor and silence on social occasions to conceal the infatuation, yes and even the sigh which proved it.'

Lines ten to twenty–two see Horace reacting against this depression with an amusing account of himself in the thrall of it; quite under the influence of wine, belligerent, jocose and unsteady on his legs. "Contrane lucrum nil valere candidum pauperis ingenium!" querebar adplorans tibi. 'I was always complaining, lamenting to you, "to avail against wealth, the honest disposition of a poor man is as nothing."' Simil calentis ... fervidiore mero ... loco. 'As soon as the impudent God, Bacchus, had warmed with fiery wine it had brought forth from a secret hiding place.' "Quod si meis inaestuet praecordiis libera bilis, ... desinet imparibus certare summotus pudor." 'What if righteous anger, easing not the grievous wound, should boil within my breast in such a way that might scatter to the winds such thankless fomentations; modesty, having been compelled to give up, will cease to struggle with unequals.' Ubi haec severus te palam laudaveram, ... ferebar incerto pede ad non amicos ... limina dura ... lumbos et infregi latus. 'When I had sternly extolled this to you publicly, having been commanded to go home I was being borne away with uncertain foot towards, alas for me, an unfriendly door post and, alas, a hard threshold, against which I knocked my loins and side.'

In lines twenty–three to twenty–eight, Horace admits to a liaison with another man, as a temporary remedy, heedless to the advice of friends. He waits until a more permanent love comes along. Nunc gloriantis quamlibet mulierculam vincere mollitia amor Lycisci me tenet; 'Love of Lyciscus, ever so much a little woman, boasting to master tenderness, detains me now;' Unde expedire non amicorum queant ... sed alius ardor ... aut puellae ... longam renodantis coman. 'From whom no unsolicited counsels nor stern reproaches can hope to set me free but only another passionate love either from dazzling young women or graceful youth, with free flowing hair.'

This is a work from the early years of Horace and if it surprises us by its candid content, we should try to understand that he lived in a society which, in its social pretentions at least, temded to copy that of the golden age of Greece and Sparta. Therefore we should assume that its attitude to bisexual and homosexual behaviour mirrored those earlier societies, even if it was more the case of public utterance as against private belief. From the Satire I, 2, we learn that he advocates taking one's pleasures with whichever sex may be willing and available. Yet there is a distinct feeling that he is out to shock his readers in the last six lines. Whether this is youthful bravado or matter of fact comment is hard to determine. Certainly it is written on the rebound from Inachia and the bitterness of that rejection is very apparent. In such circumstances lovers are prone to move to extremes.

Fraenkel's comment, 'Epode XI ... is an elegant piece of writing but there is little real life in it' (Fraenkel Horace 67) tends to move one to a greater despair than even Horace shows.

EPODE 14

This sixteen line Epode can be regarded as being of two equal parts; the first eight lines being a rhetorical reply to criticism by Maecenas, the second eight lines drawing classical allusions and containing a pointed reference to Maecenas's own love life. Horace is in love again and it is again affecting his poetical output. He pleads his case to Maecenas and suggests there are classical precedents, completing the Epode with an elegant version of the aphorism on the pot calling the kettle black. The introduction to the Epode actually begins with line five, then proceeds from line one through to line eight where it picks up line fifteen point five and sixteen then completes from line nine through to line fifteen point four. Horace asks, plaintively, Candide Maecenas, occidis saepe rogando: 'Sincere Maecenas, you torment me by asking repeatedly,'. Mollis inertia cur tantam ... oblivionem sensibus 'Why so great an aversion to work has diffused indolent forgetfulness over my subconscious senses'. He then elaborates, referring to the mythical river Lethe that runs through Hades, a drink from whose water brings instant forgetfulness of the past. Pocula Lethaeos ut si ... traxerim, 'as if with throat, languishing from thirst, I had drained the cup that leads to Lethean sleep'. Stating his dilemma, Deus, deus nam me vetat incepto ... ad umbilicum adducere. 'The God promising iambic metre for me to bring full circle to my Ode, is the same God that forbids I begin.' Horace explains what has happened to him, me libertina, nec uno contenta, Phryne macerat. 'The freedwoman Phryne, not content with one man, tortures me.'

Horace then quotes the example of the classical Greek poet, Anacreon, who suffered similarly. Non aliter Samio dicunt arsisse Bathyllo Anacreonta Teium, 'They do say it was no different when Anacreon of Teius was on fire for Bathyllus of Samos.' So, Horace asserts, did his work. Qui persaepe ... elaboratum ad pedem 'who very often lamented his love to a tortoise shell lyre, elaborating to a simple metre'. Horace then returns to the present with a barbed remark to Maecenas, referring to Maecenas's current lover, also named Bathyllus. Ureris ipse miser: 'You, yourself are being burnt by love's fire, unhappy one': Then, relenting a little, but with a final elegant flip of literary wit, he returns to classical allusion and to the flame that was Helen's beauty, setting fire to Paris and, of course, Troy itself. quod si non pulchrior ignis ... obsessam Ilion, gaude sorte tua: 'in the hope that the flame is not more beautiful than that which burned down besieged Troy, rejoice in your fortune.'

Fraenkel is a little more forthcoming on this Epode but still groping a little for lack of a distinct literary hook into Greek classicism. He seizes avidly on the mention of Anacreon, mentions Catullus briefly in passing and grudgingly agrees that here, Horace might well have done his own thing. This 'thing' however, is revealed as a rather marvellous piece of poetry, elegant, witty, self deprecating and deliciously sarcastic. The tongue–in–cheek line about the effect of Helen on Troy and Bathyllus being too hot for Maecenas to handle, must be one of the most biting couplets in the history of literature.

EPODE 15

This Epode divides logically into three sections. In the first section, lines one to ten, Horace accepts the assurances of love and constancy from Neaera, despite misgivings. In the second section, lines eleven to sixteen Horace berates himself for being such a fool and vows to find another love. In the third section, lines seventeen to twenty–four, Horace addresses his rival telling him that he, in his turn, will be treated in just the same fashion.

The first section of this Epode has a most evocative opening, Nox erat et caelo fulgebat Luna sereno inter minora sidera, 'It was night and in the serene heavens the moon was glittering between the less bright stars.' Horace asks that his beloved pledge her love, Cum tu, magnorem numen laesura deorum, in verba iurabas mea 'when you, about to offend against the name of the great Gods, were swearing an oath in my words'. Horace describes the embrace in which she betarys him, Artius ... adstringitur ... adhaerens bracchiis 'Long slender arms binding together more closely than the flexible ivy adheres to the holm oak'. Then the words he asked her to swear were true for ever, Dum pecori lupus ... Orion turbaret hibernum mare, intonsosque agitaret Apollinis aura capillos, fore hunc amorem mutuum 'while the wolf is hostile to cattle and Orion stirs up the wintry sea for sailors, while the unshorn locks of Apollo's hair might be stirred by the motion of air, then so long this love of ours'.

The second section begins with a cry of vengeance, O dolitura mea multum virtute Neaera! 'O Neaera, about to suffer much pain from my resolution!' Horace, having found out about his rival, issues the anguished cry of betrayed lovers throughout the ages. Nam si quid in Flacco viri est, non feret adsiduas potiori, te dare noctes 'For, in the hope that there is anything of a man in Flaccus.' followed by the ineffective threat, et quaeret iratus parem 'and, having been made angry, will seek another just as beautiful'. Underlining the threat that there will be no reprieve, nec semel offensi cedet constantia formae, si certus intrarit dolor 'nor, once you have offended constancy, if determined animosity may have entered in, will it yield to beauty.'

In the third section, Horace addresses the other man. Et tu, quicumque es ... superbus incedis malo 'And you, whosoever you are, proud and happy, that now triumph over my misfortune'. Horace lists the assumed attractions of his rival, Sis pecore et multa dives ... Pactolus fluat ... Pythagorae fallant ... formaque vincas Nirea 'you may be rich in lands and many cattle, Pactolus may be permitted to flow for you, the secrets of Pythagoras to rise up again and deceive you not and you may surpass the beauty of Nireus'. Thus Horace mockingly equips the new paramour with the riches of this world and the mythical riches of the classical past; Pactolus, the river of Lydia with sands of gold, the unknown secrets of Pythagoras, killed at Syracuse before he had lived a full life and Nireus, said to be the most handsome man at the siege of Troy. However, he warns, Eheu, translatos alio maerebis amores. Ast ego vicissim risero 'Alas, you will mourn loves transferred to another. I, on the other hand, will laugh in turn.'

Fraenkel is more comfortable with this Epode and feels that it owes much to Hellenistic origins. He notes its jealousy and acrimony, attributing them elsewhere but he does not comment at all on this work as poetry in its own right. The theme of love, betrayal, jealousy and vindictive feelings is universal certainly but Horace's magnificent poetical treatment deserves some applause. It certainly does not merit being bound and gagged by the tendrils of classical literature.

BOOK I, ODE 5

This Ode divides, thematically, into three sections. Line one to line five point five poses certain questions, line five point six to line twelve point four lists certain consequences arising therefrom and line twelve point five to line sixteen is a reflection on past events. The voice is that of an erstwhile lover jealously contemplating the delights his successor is experiencing and cynically predicting his probable fate. At the same time he is experiencing his own onetime joy, disillusionment and final rejection.

Horace, who is the former lover, begins with a plaintive question, Quis ... gracilis te puer ... urget ... Pyrrha 'Pyrrha, what slender youth presses down upon you.' It is clear that the verb refers to the act of love but the use of the strong verb urgeo implies something more energetic than casual love making. One might therefore query the use of puer where one might expect amator. Young, strong and virile are naturally conjured up by its use but whether it implies a house slave and thereby, to use the Edwardian vernacular, 'a bit of rough trade', is open to question. It certainly seems to imply a preference for energetic ecounters on the part of the lady concerned. Horace paints the well remembered surroundings of the embrace, multa ... in rosa perfusus liquidis ... odoribus 'upon many rose petals and perfumed with sweet smelling oils' This brilliant descriptive passage sets a luxurious scene and places, for the mind, the image of the gleaming, interlocked bodies, engendered by the first statement, into an atmosphere heavy with perfume and placed upon a counterpane brightly coloured by rose petals. Horace now describes where the encounter will have taken place, grato ... sub antro 'within the welcome grotto'. Somewhere sheltered seems to be implied and, bearing in mind the climate of central Italy, somewhere cool. It is unlikely that a rural setting is implied also since, by the time of Tiberius, a grotto, either natural or artificially constructed, was the feature of many villas. Complete with pools of water and fountains, it supplied a welcome relief from the climate. By the archaeological evidence from the time of Tiberius the grotto seems to have been dedicated to Neptune, Thetis and the divinities of the sea in general. This idea may well have existed well before that time and explain the reference in this Ode. Horace now switches to the lady's appearance, cui flavam religas comam, simplex munditiis? 'For whom do you arrange your hair, so golden. so simple. so elegant?' Following on from such a vivid descriptive passage, this question might well be intended to increase the erotic image already given, by presenting the lady, while engaged in abandoned love–making, as immaculately groomed and elegant. However, it is essentially a pivotal phrase since it leads on into the next passage where Pyrrha is shown to be, potentially, anything but calm, elegant and mundane.

Horace now turns upon his successor with a cry of anger, and mockingly addresses him in the third person, heu quotiens ... emirabitur, 'Hah! How often will he be amazed.' A fierce snort, such as Hah! is to be preferred here rather than a plaintive Alas, since what follows is a remembered catalogue of Pyrrha's faults. ... Et aspera nigris aequora ventis ... insolens 'when black and angry winds roughen the calm surface.' This passage depends on the pivotal phrase, simplex munditiis for its effect, Horace using the simile of calm water suddenly lashed by a gale to reveal the sudden burst of temper that can emanate from Pyrrha. Horace pities his rival and predicts the effect that such outburts will have, fidem mutatosque deos flebit 'he will lament changed fidelity and indeed, changed Gods.' A much more elegant way of saying 'he will wonder where love has gone and what hit him'. Next, Horace cynically describes the false sense of euphoria that presently exists in the mind of the young man.

Qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea, 'who now delights in your company, believing in all you say and what you appear to be', implying possibly, that because the golden hair is not real, the lady is counterfeit all through. He continues, qui semper vacuam, semper amabilem sperat 'who expects you to be always available to him alone, always pleasant to be with'. There is a biting edge to this passage; Horace himself fell into the same trap. Explaining the gullibility of men with a beautiful play on the words aurea – gold and aurae – a zephyr of wind, soon gone. Nescius aurae fallacis, 'Not knowing the treacherous breeze of her favours'.

Horace, having spoken his mind to his rival, now becomes introspective. Miseri, quibus intemptata nites 'But, to be pitied, they not having experienced the brilliance.' Here, Horace admits that, despite everything that has happened, he would not have foregone his affair with Pyrrha. One knows the feeling all too well! He now remembers the foolish things he did for love of her. Tabula sacer votiva paries ... vestimenta maris deo 'In that same grotto there hangs a sacred tablet, vowing vestments to the God of the Sea.' The grotto, containing as it has been proved by excavation, statues of the marine deities, would be regarded as a quasi–temple. Despite its use for amorous purposes it would be a natural place for a lover, charged with the emotion of the moment, to hang a votive tablet. Just as naturally to dedicate it to Neptune, or better still, Aphrodite in remembrance of his own beloved. Vowing vestments to adorn the statue of a God was a commonplace occurence. Horace now ends with a volte face giving us a delicious joke at his own expense. Me ... indicat uvida suspendisse potenti ... 'Records the drunken power that you held over me.' The joke is, of course, that the marine deities are always depicted without vestments at all, that state being common to their natural environment. The implication is that anyone vowing vestments to them must therefore be completely out of their mind. It is not supposed that this actually happened; it is sufficient for Horace to suggest that he was capable of doing such a thing. It is in the mould of kind of dry, offbeat humour that is self–deprecating, self–revealing and quite devastating in its impact.

This Ode needs to be experienced as well as read; the images are so vivid. So vivid that any reader who has been in love will recognise the inherent emotion. To anyone who has loved deeply and subsequently lost that love, the message must be quite poignant. Fraenkel does not mention this Ode at all in his commentaries. Quinn sees the emphasis as being placed rather more on the participants than on the observer, as though Horace is neutral and commenting on a situation that is remote from him. This is surely only a valid argument if one accepts the premise that Horace wrote love poetry at second hand, sublimating theory for practice.

The four works comprising this section date from Horace's youth and therefore might well represent early experiences in love. In Epodes 11 and 14, Horace is seen to be established as a poet and, in 14 at least, already under the patronage of Maecenas. His wry comments on his social status in Epode 15 lead us to believe that he had not yet acquired his villa near Tiburnus. Ode I, 5 is also assumed to date from the same time. The general feeling is that Horace is experimenting with love, homosexual and heterosexual and still finding his own level of acceptable experience. Certainly, from this time until shortly before his death, when he is in his fifties, there are no further references to love affairs with men. We must presume, from the succession of names in his middle life, that he opted for heterosexual affairs.