INTRODUCTION
The Odes in this group show Horace's attitude to Chloe some years apart, in years and poetical approach. In the first Ode, he pursues the very young Chloe with clear intentions of seduction. In the second he tries to persuade us that he is finished with love and Chloe can do as she pleases. However Chloe is mentioned in other, intervening poems, so we can assume that she has been more or less a constant factor in his life.
The first Ode is a charming pastoral and Arcadian interlude in which Horace proffers his love with beautiful imagery. If we feel that he is something of an elderly lecher, the language is gentle and soothing. He asks her not to flee like a deer in search of its mother amongst the wild mountains, where she will be even more frightened by the unfamiliar surroundings. He, at least, is not a savage tiger or lion wanting to tear her to bits. She should disentangle herself from her mother's apron strings and start thinking of men.
In the second Ode, Horace uses the imagery of war to liken love to a constant series of battles. He intends to hang up his weapons, which, in the case of love, includes the lyre. He will dedicate it to Venus herself and keep in her temple where he will not be able to use it again. However, to make sure he is not tempted, he intends to lock it away behind barred doors. As a last favour he asks Venus to arouse Chloe in favour of him just once more. Does he wish to test the efficacy of his precautions?
ODES I, 23
Vitas hinnuleo me similis, Chloe,
Quaerenti pavidam montibus aviis
Matrem non sine vano
Aurarum et siluae metu.
Nam seu mobilibus vepris inhorruit
Ad ventos foliis, seu virides rubum
Dimovere lacertae,
Et corde et genibus tremit.
Atqui non ego te tigris ut aspera
Gaetulusve leo frangere persequor:
Tandem desine matrem
Tempestiva sequi viro.
CHLOE 1
Chloe, you avoid me like a new born fawn
Seeking the distraught mother in desolate
Mountains, not without vain
Fear of zephyrs and forest.
For she trembles in heart and limb, whether
The leaves of the briar shiver with the wind or
When the green lizard agitates
The flexible bramble bush.
However, I do not pursue with hostile intent
To tear you apart as the savage tiger or Gaetulean
Lion; pray then, ignore mother,
To seek a man is more appropriate.
ODES III, 26 Vixi duellis nuper idoneus Et militavi non sine gloria; Nunc arma defunctumque bello Barbiton hic paries habebit, Laevum marinae qui Veneris latus Custodit. Hic, hic ponite lucida Funalia et vectes securesque Oppositis foribus minaces. O quae beatam diva tenes Cyprum et Memphin carentem Sithonia nive, Regina, sublimi flagello Tange Chloen semel arrogantem.
CHLOE 2
Until lately I served as a soldier, not
Without glory, well suited for love's battles;
Having been discharged from the warfare of love,
The lyre will now reside here. in this temple
Of sea born Venus, whose left side it once
Guarded. Here place a shining white torch, and
Here place the iron bars and steel axes that
Once threatened doors that closed against me.
O you, Divine Queen, who hold blessed Cyprus
And Memphis, absent yourself from Thracian snow,
And with a whip held high in the air
Strike arrogant Chloe one single time.
ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY
ODES I, 23
In this Ode Horace has designs on what seems to be a very young girl and seeks with blandishments to ally her fears at an older man's approach. Initially, he adopts an arcadian approach. Vitas hinnuleo me similis, Chloe, quaerenti ... matrem non sine ... metu 'Chloe, you avoid me like a fawn, seeking its distraught mother in desolate mountains, not without needless fears of gentle zephyrs and the forest.' He continues in the same vein, nam seu mobilibus vepris inhorruit ad ventos foliis, ... et corde et genibus tremit 'And heart and limb tremble; for whether the leaves of bramble bush trembles with the wind or whether a green lizard agitates the thorn bush'. There is an alternative reading, giving veris inhorruit adventus foliis instead of the above: 'the coming of spring trembles the leaves.' There has been some debate on this matter and while the latter version comes well attested, nature purists point out that so early a date would not admit to there being leaves on the bramble, particularly in the high mountains of central Italy. It also might be added that the fawn would be still in the mother's womb, not romping around on its own! Horace then presents himself, Atqui non ego te tigris ut aspera Gaetulusque leo frangere persequor; tandem desine matrem tempestiva sequi viro 'However I pursue not with hostile intent to dash you to pieces like a ferocious tiger or Gaetulian lion. Pray then, do not follow your mother, it is more appropriate to seek a man.'
'... we shall hardly be inclined to see in it much more than a pretty little artefact.'(Fraenkel, Horace, 184). Thus Fraenkel dismisses this Ode, having admitted its ornate style and noted its boldness in the Arcadian imagery. Quinn sees it as a study in a young girl's feelings as she reaches puberty and Horace certainly catches the moment very tenderly.
ODES III, 26
In this Ode Horace equates the field of love with the field of war and asks us to believe that he has quitted for good. Using a military context, he begins, Vix duellis nuper idoneus et militavi ... nunc arma defunctumque bello ... 'Up until now I existed well suited for love's battles and I served as a soldier, not without glory; having been discharged from the warfare of love' Barbiton hic paries habebit, laevum marinae qui Venris latus custodit 'the lyre, having been carried in battle, will live here, within the temple of sea–born Venus whose left hand side it guards' Horace now defends himself and his lyre against further temptation. Hic, hic ponite lucida funalia et vectes securesque oppositis foribus minaces 'Here place a shining white torch and placing here the (metaphorical) iron bars and axes that I used against the doors that love attempted to close aginst my efforts. It seems evident that, far from being a reference to axes and levers and weapons of real war, Horace, having placed his lyre in safe keeping, is determined to guard against its further use in the pursuit of love. He directs that it be placed behind locked doors, away from temptation and that all the artifices and aids he used with it, (his poetry?), be laid alongside.
Horace concludes with a mock invocation and plea, O quae beatam diva ... flagello tange Chloen semel arrogantem 'O Goddess, you hold well blessed Cyprus and Memphis keeping them free of Thracian snow, O Queen, with a whip held high touch proud Chloe a single time more.' In a malicious finale Horace suggests that Venus arouse Chloe one more time, presumably in his favour, knowing that he can no longer get to his lyre and love will go by default.
Fraenkel does not discuss this Ode and Quinn accepts the military theme of the Ode. However he does assume that Horace is referring to a military engineer, to explain vectes securesque ... foribus minaces. However the meaning would appear to be metaphorical and entirely in the context of love and its pursuit. Whether we can assume that this late Book III Ode also implies that he intends to write no more poetry at all, as Suetonius implies in his Life, is perhaps too much of a conjectural point.