- Source
- Horace, Satires, Epistles and Ars Poetica. Fairclough, H. Rushton (Henry Rushton), editor. London: William Heinemann Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1929.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0893.phi005.humanitext-lat2:1.12.1-1.12.29
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
The poet advises Iccius to be content with his present wealth and continue his philosophical studies, while encouraging him to welcome Grosphus as a friend and reporting Rome's recent military and diplomatic victories.
Fructibus Agrippae Siculis, quos colligis, Ieci,
If you make a right use of Agrippa’s Sicilian revenues, which you collect, Iccius,
si recte frueris, non est ut1 copia maior
there is no way that a greater abundance
ab Iove donari possit tibi. tolle querellas:
can be granted to you by Jove. Put away complaints:
pauper enim non est, cui rerum suppetit usus,
for he is not poor, who has the sufficient use of things.
si ventri bene,2 si lateri est pedibusque tuis, nil
If it is well with your belly, with your side, and with your feet, royal riches
divitiae poterunt regales addere maius.
will be able to add nothing greater.
si forte in medio positorum abstemius herbis
If by chance, abstemious in the midst of things set before you, you live on herbs
vivis et urtica, sic vives protinus, ut3 te
and nettles, you will go on living just so, even though
confestim liquidus Fortunae rivus inauret,
the clear stream of Fortune should suddenly gild you with gold,
vel quia naturam mutare pecunia nescit,
either because money cannot change nature,
vel quia cuncta putas una virtute minora.
or because you consider all things inferior to virtue alone.
Miramur, si Democriti pecus edit agellos
Are we to wonder if Democritus’s cattle eat his little fields
cultaque, dum peregre est animus sine corpore velox;
and crops, while his swift mind is abroad without his body,
cum4 tu inter scabiem tantam et contagia lucri
when you, amid such an itch and contagion of gain,
nil parvum sapias et adhuc sublimia cures:
taste of nothing small, and still care for sublime things:
quae mare compescant causae, quid temperet annum,
what causes control the sea, what regulates the year,
stellae sponte sua iussaene vagentur et errent,
whether stars wander and stray of their own accord or by command,
quid premat obscurum lunae, quid proferat orbem,
what hides the dark orb of the moon, what brings it forth,
quid velit et possit rerum concordia discors,
what the discordant harmony of things wills and can do,
Empedocles an Stertinium deliret acumen.
whether Empedocles or the genius of Stertinius is raving?
Verum seu piscis seu porrum et caepe trucidas,
But whether you slaughter fish or leeks and onions,
utere Pompeio Grospho et, si quid petet, ultro
make use of Pompeius Grosphus, and if he asks for anything, willingly
defer; nil Grosphus nisi verum orabit et aequum,
grant it; Grosphus will ask for nothing but what is right and fair.
vilis amicorum est annona,5 bonis ubi quid deest.
The market price of friends is cheap when good men lack anything.
Ne tamen ignores, quo sit Romana loco res,
Yet, lest you be ignorant of the state of Roman affairs:
Cantaber Agrippae, Claudi virtute Neronis
the Cantabrian has fallen by the valor of Agrippa, the Armenian by that
Armenius cecidit; ius imperiumque Phraates
of Claudius Nero; Phraates,
Caesaris accepit genibus minor; aurea fruges
on bended knees, has accepted the law and empire of Caesar; golden
Italiae pleno defudit Copia cornu.
Plenty has poured forth her crops from her full horn upon Italy.
- 1.12.2non est ut
The phrase 'non est ut' followed by the subjunctive (possit) is an impersonal construction meaning 'it is not possible that' or 'there is no way that.'
- 1.12.5si ventri bene
The idiom 'bene est' + dative (ventri, lateri, pedibus) means 'it is well with...' Here, the verb 'est' is omitted after 'ventri' and supplied by 'est' after 'lateri'.
- 1.12.8ut
Within the correlative structure 'sic... ut', the conjunction 'ut' introduces a concessive clause ('even though', 'although') with the subjunctive 'inauret'.
- 1.12.14cum
The conjunction 'cum' is used here in an adversative or concessive sense ('while', 'whereas'), governing the subjunctives sapias and cures, contrasting Democritus's detachment with Iccius's ability to maintain lofty interests in the very midst of worldly pursuits.
- 1.12.24vilis amicorum est annona
The word 'annona' (properly the price of corn or market value) is used metaphorically. It literally means 'the market price of friends is cheap when good men lack something,' implying that lasting friendship can be easily (and cheaply) acquired by helping them.