Epistles by Horace

First transcribed:Epistulae, book 1, c. 20 b.c.e.; book 2, c. 15 b.c.e. (English translation, 1567)

Type of work: Poetry

The Work:

The close and intimate life of the Greek city-state gave rise to most of the literary forms of ancient literature, the greater number of which were adopted and adapted by the Romans. However, the epistle, the letter in verse, was a Roman literary invention brought to perfection by Horace during the first days of the Roman imperial period. With Rome administering most of the known world, friends would often be separated in different parts of the empire for years; even those who remained in Italy would often, as did Horace, retire to their country estates. Letter writing in verse not only became a matter of occasional necessity but also was often the only means of communication. It was natural that poets and men of letters should turn the epistle into a literary form so that even at a distance friends could share both poetry and, in some measure, epistolary conversation.

Horace’s epistles were published in two books: The first, containing twenty letters, or verse poems, appeared about 20 or 19 b.c.e. The second, containing two long letters, probably appeared in 13 b.c.e. Some scholars argue that the second book of epistles should contain the famous Epistle to the Pisos, the Ars Poetica. However, this work has traditionally been published separately.

In his first book, Horace is a moralist; in the second, he is a literary critic. The shorter epistles in the first book, some less than fifteen lines long, are familiar and intimate; there is no doubt that they were written as letters first and poems second. In these shorter letters Horace, a man of forty-five, claims his days of writing lyric poetry are finished, expressing interest in the writing of the younger generation, inviting a friend to dinner, and the like. The longer epistles of the first book, however, are much more formal and tend to be didactic; they smack of the tour de force, and although they may well have been sent to the people to whom they are addressed, they read more like open letters to the poet’s general audience. Typical of these longer letters, and setting the moral tone of the first book, is epistle 1, addressed to the poet’s friend and patron, Maecenas. In it the poet bids farewell to poetry and states that in his declining years he will devote himself to philosophic inquiry. He will, however, be an eclectic, limiting his speculation to the precepts of no single school of philosophy, for his interest is to find what is ultimately and lastingly profitable for the achievement of virtue. The calm pursuit of wisdom, he states, is the highest good, not the frantic pursuit of things. Showing himself to be as much a Stoic as anything else, he claims that the secret of happiness is not to value anything too much. Other matters he speaks of in the first epistle are the need to control the passions so as not to ruin enjoyment, the need to train one’s character, and the need to adapt oneself to both company and oneself alone. In conclusion, Horace’s wish from life is enough books and enough food to keep him comfortable.

Thus setting the tone, Horace proceeds to write of the following matters in the successive epistles of the first book. Epistle 2, to Lollius, begins with the old doctrine that important moral lessons are to be learned from the study of Homer. Horace quickly turns to his real subject, however, which is the foolishness of putting off or not exerting the effort requisite for moral self-improvement. Epistle 3, to Julius Florus, was written to a friend who was abroad campaigning with Claudius; the poet inquires about other young friends on Claudius’s staff. He is particularly interested in their literary activity. Epistle 4, to Tibullus, the poet, is a short note of warm friendship in which Horace gently recommends the Epicurean idea that one should live each day as if it were the last. Epistle 5, to Torquatus, is an invitation to a frugal but cheerful and friendly dinner party. Epistle 6, to Numicius, is a lay sermon on the famous Horatian phrase Nil admirari (wonder at nothing). The wise man should love nothing but virtue: Live, and be happy. Epistle 7, to Maecenas, is a note of appreciation for various favors. Horace apologizes for absenting himself from Rome for so long, and he uses the occasion to describe the ideal giver and, with some humor, the ideal receiver. Self-sufficiency, he claims, is preferable to all other blessings. Epistle 8, to Celsus Albinovanus, is a letter to a member of Tiberius’s staff. The poet describes his own ill health and admonishes Celsus to bear up well under prosperity. Epistle 9, to Claudius Tiberius Nero, is a graceful letter of recommendation for Horace’s friend Septimus. Epistle 10, to Aristius Fuscus, praises the superiority of country life as being more conducive to the contented mind and more favorable to liberty of spirit than the city life of Fuscus.

Epistle 11, to Bullatus, is an attempt to call this friend back to Rome from the East, where he retired because of his despair over the civil wars. Happiness, Horace says, is not in travel but in the mind and is to be achieved anywhere or nowhere. Epistle 12, to Iccius, ironically ridicules miserliness, introduces a friend, and gives news of recent events in the empire. Epistle 13, to Vinnius Asina, cautions Asina, Horace’s emissary, to present certain of Horace’s writings to Augustus at a propitious and proper moment and with due decorum. Epistle 14 chastises the caretaker of his farm, to whom the letter is written, for missing city life. Horace briefly reminisces about his wild younger years and then advises the wisdom of contentment. Epistle 15, to C. Numonius Vala, asks about the situation and conditions of the town of Velia, where Horace was advised by his physician to take a cure. Again he comments on country life. Epistle 16, to Quinctius, describes the situation and advantages of Horace’s Sabine farm. His description is detailed enough that its position can be determined. The poet goes on to philosophize on the nature of true virtue and the self-sufficiency and freedom of the virtuous man. Epistle 17, to Scaeva, is a letter of advice to one who would seek advantage by frequenting the company of the great. The friendship of the great, the poet says, is a good thing, but one must always solicit favors from them with modesty and caution. Epistle 18, to Lollius, in a more elaborate way treats the same topic as the seventeenth. Horace discusses the tact and discretion a client of the great must have; he concludes with remarks concerning peace of mind, a quality difficult to achieve when one depends on the favor of the great. Epistle 19, to Maecenas, is a review of the poet’s literary career; he decries the folly of slavish imitation, and he attacks his detractors. Epistle 20, addressed to his book, is developed as an argument between the poet and his now-completed first book of epistles. The book is addressed as if it were a young slave, a favorite of his master, who wants to be sold out of a quiet country household and into an exciting city house where he can seek advancement. Horace explains all the troubles and changes he must undergo. He ends the poem with remarks on what he expects from posterity. The tone of the nineteenth and twentieth epistles implies that the poet is finished now with his writing career.

The impression left is that middle-aged Horace is feeling old and in delicate health, and that he will write no more. Perhaps he really did believe he was through with poetry; however, he still had a few more poems to write, and among them were the two long discourses on literature (companion pieces, in effect, to the Ars Poetica) that make up the second volume of epistles.

The first of these two letters is to Augustus. After first paying the emperor the highest kind of compliments, Horace plunges into a consideration of the current state of literature. First he intervenes in the then raging Roman “battle of the ancients and the moderns.” He acknowledges the greatness of the earlier Greek poets, but he wants to have the early Latin poets respected more than they usually are. Horace sketches out the history of Latin poetry from the beginnings up through the Greeks’ “capture” of their captor, Rome, and then on to his own day. Looking at the present state of letters, Horace judges (and history shows him to have been quite correct) that the drama would not reach great heights in Rome: The taste of the people was for spectacle, mimes, and elaborate staging. Nondramatic poetry, he thinks, will do very well, for Augustus, whose taste is impeccable, will encourage poetry and will not be deceived by second-rate poets.

The second epistle of the last book is to Julius Florus, a friend of the poet who apparently wanted also to be a poet. This letter is much more personal in tone than the letter to Augustus and full of intimate detail. Horace begins by testifying that he is rather lazy and undependable now that he no longer must write poetry in order to stay alive, as he did when he was young. Moreover, poetry is one of the follies of the young and, now that he is growing old, he must give it up as he has his other youthful pastimes. How, he asks, can a man write real poetry amid the hustle and bustle and distractions of Rome? The real poet must live and write in the quiet countryside. The poets who stay in the city form worthless mutual admiration societies out of which come no true criticism. A good poet is a good critic, too, and he can take and use valid criticism of his own work. Bad poets hate criticism of any kind. Perhaps the happiest writer is the madman who writes very badly but who thinks he writes divinely. At any rate, Horace concludes, at his age it is proper to think of gaining happiness, which is found in calm and in contentment, not in wealth.

Bibliography

Armstrong, David. Horace. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1989. A general introduction to Horace’s works that covers the developing stages of his life and his relation to his changing society. Chapter 4 on the Epistles, which analyzes important themes in the poems, is especially good. Includes a useful index, notes, and a rewarding bibliography of primary and secondary sources. An excellent source for beginners.

Fraenkel, E. Horace. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1957. An important analysis of the major aspects of Horace’s life and the relationships among his works. Provides an introduction to issues of classical scholarship in the study of Horace.

Harrison, Stephen, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Horace. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Critical overview of Horace’s life and work. Some of the essays discuss Horace and ancient Greek and Hellenistic poetry, Horace and Roman literary history, and Horace and Augustus, while others explore the themes and style of his work. Chapter 9 is devoted to an examination of Epistles.

Hills, Philip D. Horace. London: Bristol Classical Press, 2005. An introductory overview of Horace’s life, times, work, and literary influence. The two parts of Epistles are examined in chapters 5 and 7.

Kilpatrick, Ross. The Poetry of Friendship. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1986. A detailed and scholarly discussion of Horace’s first epistle and its thematic relation to other works in the ancient world.

Oliensis, Ellen. Horace and the Rhetoric of Authority. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. Examines how Horace created a public self-image in his work. Oliensis argues that Horace shaped his poetry so he could promote his authority and remain deferential to his patrons, while taking account of the jealousy of rival poets and the judgment of posterity. Chapter 4 focuses on Epistles.

Reckford, Kenneth J. Horace. New York: Twayne, 1969. An extremely accessible introduction to Horace that provides a solid overview of the important issues in his poetry. Includes an excellent section on the Epistles as well as a useful chronology of Horace’s life, an index, and a rewarding bibliography of primary and secondary sources

Rudd, Niall. Introduction to The Satires of Horace and Persius: A Verse Translation. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Books, 1973. A thoroughly enjoyable translation of Horace’s Epistles. Provides useful notes and commentary to the text and translation and offers a sound introduction to the poems, life, and influence of Horace. An excellent source for beginners who seek both a lively translation and a solid basic introduction.