BOOKTEXT11

ADVICE TO OTHERS

INTRODUCTION

The four Odes in this group are all fairly lighthearted in character, amusing and semi–serious at the same time. Horace remains objective throughout and advises,impartially. In II, 4, he advises a friend that falling in love with a slave girl is nothing to be ashamed of; such famous figures as Achilles and Ajax had fallen in love with captive women. Even Agamemnon, while besieging Troy, had taken time off for dalliance. Becoming practical, Horace adds, you never know your luck, she may be the daughter of a king and, in any case, so lovely and faithful is she that she cannot be of common stock. He hastens to add that, although he praises her beauty, there is no need for jealousy, he is far too old to be interested in her himself.

In II, 5, he speaks to another friend, advising him not to be too precipitate in attempting to make love to a young girl, emphasising that she is far too young for his lustful intentions. She is still of an age to play with her friends, not to enter into cohabitive domesticity. He cautions that unripe fruit is best left to mature on the vine, nature will eventually run its course and although patience will add years to him it will bring fulfilment to her. Then she will seek a lover of her own accord becoming more beautiful and desirable than either a certain Pholoe or Chloris. More beautiful even than Cnidian Gyges. Patience is the word!

II, 8 is different again. This time Horace addresses the lady concerned directly, a well known flirt and utterly faithless. He castigates her for her shameless infidelity and her worthless oaths. He charges that she renders love worthless by her behaviour, that there is no constancy any more and that even the Gods of love laugh outright at her protestations. He points out that every youth growing into manhood will eventually come under her spell, and that they will then join in the increasing number of her slaves from whom none are willing to depart. He sympathises with the wives and parents of the men she holds captive by her charms.

In III, 15, Horace addresses a certain Chloris, the wife of humble Ibycus, who had been famous for her beauty but now, quite elderly, has not the sense to withdraw from the party scene. He points out, a little cruelly, that she is nearer to her funeral than the glories of her youth and that cavorting amongst maidens is making her ridiculous. He suggests that she pass on to her daughter her experience and be content to live the life of a respectable Roman matron and concentrate on knitting!

These are delightful Odes but not strong in dramatic content, nor were they intended as such. They are amusing examples of social comment of the time but are really timeless in their implication. One could put contemporary names to the individuals described therein, if not from one's own experience then from a casual exploration of today's more lurid media coverage. Then, as now, the advice was valid; now, as then, one knows it would be unheeded. One should not complain, however, were one certain that it would, once again, produce such magnificent poetry.

Claudere lustrum.

PHYLLIS

Love for a maidservant should not be shameful

To you, Phocian Xanthias. Formerly the slave girl

Briseis, with snowy complexion, moved

Proud Achilles.

The beauty of captive Tecmessa moved her master

Ajax, son of Telamon; Agamemnon blazed with fire

For a captured maiden in the

Middle of triumph,

Allowing the victor of Thessaly to cut to pieces the

Barbarian host and, Hector having fallen, delivered

Pergamos over to the exhausted Greeks,

To be more easily destroyed.

You cannot know whether, as son–in–law, the parents

Of golden Phyllis, surely of regal descent, will

Honour you with riches and she must mourn

Cruel household Gods.

Believe that one so faithful, so beloved to you, so

Disinclined to avarice, is not from the common herd

Nor could be born from a mother of whom

She ought to be ashamed.

I praise countenance, arms and graceful calves quite

Free from desire, put to flight suspicion of one

Whose lifetime, with eight lustrums passed,

Hastens to its close.

Crinibus ambiguoque vultu.

LALAGE

She is not yet strong enough to bear the yoke

Upon the neck, nor yet be equal to the duties

Of a consort or be forced to tolerate

The roughness of a bull in sexual frenzy.

The spirit of your young woman is about the fields

Now assuaging the oppressive heat of the sun in

Flowing water, now desiring much more

To play with other young things within moist

Willow plantations. Rise above the desire for

Unripe fruit; already the stalk has a bluish tint

For you and soon Autumn will adorn

Completely with a manifold purple colour.

Soon she will follow you (for time runs on unbridled

And it adds to her stature, the years it disposes

From you), soon with impudent forwardness,

Lalage will reach out for a lover,

To be esteemed more highly, not as transient Pholoe

Nor Chloris, with shoulder so shining white as when

The alabaster moon shimmers over the

Nocturnal sea, and Cnidian Gyges,

Who, if intermingled with a crowd of maidens, might

Deceive the stranger, even with extraordinary senses

The dividing line having been obscured

With loosened hair and ambiguous countenance.

Aura maritos.

BARINE

If any penalty for forsworn vows

Had ever done harm to you, Barine,

If you might be made more ugly by one

Blackened tooth or nail,

I might believe. But no sooner have you bound

Your faithless word with vows than you gleam more

Beautiful, much younger and become a universal

Object of desire.

It is expedient to swear falsely upon the ashes

Of a mother, the secrets of Apollo, the silent

Icy cold constellations of the entire night sky

And the deathless Gods.

I say this, it ridicules Venus herself; they laugh

Out loud, the uncomplicated Nymphs and the unruly

Cupid, always sharpening his glowing arrows upon

A bloodstained whetstone.

The adult male population always increases, new

Ones served by you also increases nor previous ones

Abandon the roof of the reprobate mistress

But threaten often.

For the young men's sake, their mothers go in terror

Of you, old men to be spared unhappiness with you,

Brides, but recently virgins, lest your radiance

Detain their husbands.

Nec poti vetulam faece tenus cadi.

CHLORIS

Consort of wretched Ibycus,

Set a limit to your wantonness and renowned

Activities now, at last;

When nearly ripe for a funeral, cease

To play among maidens

And to scatter a miasma upon the shining stars.

If what becomes Pholoe

Suits you not enough; more suited your daughter

To storm young men's houses,

Beating the drum that summoned the Bacchanale.

She compels Nothus's love

In the manner of a frolicsome nanny–goat;

Old woman, neither the lyre

Nor the rose's purple blossom, nor drinking as far as

The dregs from a wine jar, becomes you,

The famous Lucerian shorn wool, next to you, does.

ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

ODES II, 4

Horace addresses Xanthias, his friend, who has fallen in love with a slave girl and quotes several examples from mythology by way of reassurance. He goes on to say that being a slave girl there is no knowing her antecedents; Xanthias might be on to a good thing. He finishes by stating that his passion is on behalf of his friend; he has no interest in the girl himself!

Horace begins, Ne sit ancillae tibi amor pudori, Xanthia Phoceu 'Love of a maidservant should not mean a feeling of shame for you, Phocian Xanthias.' Continuing with examples, prius insolentem ... movit Achillem, movit Aiacem ... captivae dominum Tecmessae; arsit Atrides ... virgine rapta, ... et ademptus Hector ... tolli Pergama Grais 'Formerly Briseis moved proud Achilles ... captive Tecmessa ... moved Ajax ... Agamemnon blazed for a captive maiden ... while successfully besieging Pergamos.' Thus in the first twelve lines Horace reassures his friend that there are many illustrious precedents, before descending to the mundane. Nescias ... te ... Phyllidis flavae decorent parentes, You cannot know whether the parents of golden Phyllis are rich and will honour a son–in–law.' Regium certe genus, et penates maeret iniquos 'maybe of royal descent, and how she must lament such cruel household Gods'. Horace offers further reassurance, crede non illam ... plebe ... sic fidelem, sic lucro aversam ... matre pudenda 'believe that one so faithful, ... so averse to gain is not of common stock ... not born of a shameful mother.'

Horace excuses his passionate outburst, bracchia et vultum ... laudo; fuge suspicari cuius ... trepidavit aetas claudere ... 'I praise her ... but please do not be suspicious ... my life hastens to its close!'

Fraenkel does not admit this Ode to his commentary at all. Quinn sees it as an amusing interlude, a view with which it is difficult to quarrel. It says more about Roman family life and values than it does about love and the semi–serious suggestion that Xanthias might end up marrying a servant–girl is very tongue–in–cheek. At the same time it gives an insight into just who was likely to become slaves of the Romans whose net of conquest was very wide. Horace's own disclaimer of an erotic interest in Phyllis is not too be taken too seriously; at forty Horace would have still been in full flight as regards amorous intent. This is an Ode best enjoyed for its own sake alone.

ODES II, 5

This Ode cautions restraint, on the part of a friend, in rushing his fences in the pursuit of what seems to be a young girl. The gist is that patience is required until the girl reaches the age of awareness, when she is likely to make the first move herself.

Horace begins by restraining his friend from behaving like a bull in frenzy, Nondum subacta ferre iugum valet cervice, ... nec tauri ruentis ... tolerare ... 'She is not yet strong enough to bear the yoke upon the neck, ... nor to tolerate the roughness of a bull in sexual frenzy.' He explains that she is still at the age of a child and of playing games with friends, circa virentes est animus tuae campos iuvencae, ... in udo ludere cum vitulis salicto praegestientis 'The spirit of your young woman is still about the fields, ... desiring to play with young friends in willow plantations.' He advocates patience, tolle cupidinem immitis uvae: ... distinguet autumnus racemos purpureo varius colore 'Rise above lust for unripe fruit: ... autumn will soon adorn with manifold purple.' Eventually will come the reward, iam te sequetur ... iam proterva fronte pete Lalage maritum 'Soon she will follow you ... soon, eager for knowledge, Lalage will seek a lover.' Dilecta, ... non Pholoe ... non Chloris ... Cnidiusque Gyges 'beloved, ... as was not Pholoe, ... nor Chloris ... and even Cnidian Gyges. Horace concludes, quem si puellarum insereres choro, ... sagacis falleret hospites ... solutis crinibus ambiguoque vultu 'who, if placed within a group of maidens, ... might deceive even a stranger with keen senses ... with loosened hair and ambiguous countenance.'

Fraenkel does not include this Ode in his book on Horace and Quinn regards it as a counterpart to Ode I, 5. There an experienced woman, an inexperenced man; here the reverse although the point here is also that age is also a significant differential. Quinn makes the assumption that the two are already married and that Lalage is a child bride of thirteen or so. This fact does not seem to be implied. Even though the man is not named, Lalage is surely too significant a name for there to be any doubt on identities. Socially, even in the easygoing circles inhabited by Horace and his friends, the subject of such a sensitive marriage would hardly be made the subject of such light hearted poetry. One must accept that the liaison is somewhat less formal than that, most probably a master/slave relationship, upon which public comment would be acceptable.

ODES II, 8

This Ode is more a censure than advice; Horace berates Barine for the easy way in which she will swear affection with no intention of observing it. The suggestion has been made that Barine is not a real person but a type and Horace is speaking for all men in his castigation on such behaviour. He begins directly, Ulla si iuris tibi peierati poena, Barine, ... dente si nigro ... una turpior ungui, crederem 'If any penalty for faithlessness ever caught up with you, Barine, ... a blackened tooth ... an ugly nail, I might trust you.' Then, enumerating her faults, ... sed tu simul obligast perfidum votis ... prodis publica cura 'But no sooner have you sworn your faithless vow ... you become an object of universal desire.' Expedit matris cineres ... fallere ... divus morte carentes 'To swear falsely by the ashes of a mother ... by Apollo ... by the stars and by the deathles Gods, is expedient.' Horace, indignant, explains how her behaviour denigrates the meaning of love, Ridet hoc, inquam Venus ipsa; rident ... Nymphae ferus et Cupido 'I say this, it ridicules love itself; ... making Cupid and the Nymphs laugh out aloud ...' Horace comments on the demoralising effect she is having on his contemporaries, adde quod pubes tibi crescit omnis, servitus crescit nova, nec priores ... relinquunt ... 'Added to which the adult male population grows up to serve you, adding to that already serving you, while the elderly do not abandon you, although they often threaten to do so.' Horace concludes, by commenting acidly on the feelings of their wives and parents, when she places them in such jeopardy: te suis matres metuunt ... te senes parci miseraeque, nuper virgines, nuptae ... retardet aura maritos 'Mothers and elders ... fear your beauty will detain their sons or newly wedded brides, their husbands.'

Fraenkel has no reference to this Ode and Quinn sees it as 'a lightheated attack (however ostensibly indignant) upon that notorious liar Barine, ('the girl from Bari') ... a variation upon ... the theme that lovers are not punished by the Gods ... if they break their promise of undying love: ...' (Quinn, Horace The Odes, 212). One cannot quarrel with that sort of diagnosis, it is certainly in the vein of semi–serious exasperation mixed with a little admiration. One does wonder, however, whether Horace was personally involved and was one of the growing population of admirers. It is certainly an interesting observation of Roman mores.

ODES III, 15

This Ode is addressed, if not out loud, to a woman who, although still bent on having a good time, is getting on in years and is making a fool of herself. She is married and since both she and her husband are named we can assume that, psuedonyms or not, she is a matter of common gossip. Horace begins forcibly and to the point, Uxor pauperis Ibyci, tandem nequitiae fige modum tuae famosisque laboribus 'Wife of poor Ibycus, set a limit now, at last, to your wantonness and renowned activities.' Maturo propior desine funeri inter ludere virgines et stellis nebulam spargere candidis 'Of ripe age and nearer to a funeral, cease to play amongst maidens and to scatter a cloud upon the shining stars.' Horace addresses. in his mind, the lady herself: non, si quid Pholoen, satis et te, Chlori. decet 'What is suitable for Pholoe, Chloris, is not fitting for you' He suggests that her daughter is more of an age for such behaviour: filia rectius expugnat iuvenum domos, ... illam cogit amor Nothi ... ludere capreae 'more fitting the daughter takes by storm the houses of young men ... love of Nothus compels her to play like a frolicsome roedeer.' In mock despair, Horace utters a final admonition, te lanae prope nobilem tonsae Luceriam, non citharae, nec ... rosae nec poti vetulam ... 'old woman, neither the lyre, nor the rose, not the dregs of a draught of wine become you; better the wool of Luceria to wear around you'.

Fraenkel ignores this Ode, as properly too lightweight to draw a satifactory literary comparison. Quinn suggests the Ode is advice to an ageing courtesan that it is time to hand over to her daughter and accepts, as such, that it was not intended to have any dramatic context at all. Certainly this Ode cannot compare with Ode III, 10, to Lyce, as regards dramatic context. Which may serve to underline how different is Horace's intensity of feeling when he is personally involved with the woman in question than when he is, as in this case, merely an observer. One cannot observe and distinguish the nature of these two Odes and continue to maintain that Horace was not a lover himself; the objective nature of this Ode compared with the anguish of his Odes to both Lyce and Lydia bears witness to this.