- 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-lat2:1.18.57-1.18.112
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
Horace advises Lollius on maintaining social discretion, carefully selecting people to introduce, and guarding against envy and backbiting. He contrasts the anxious life of courtiers with his own tranquil retreat at his Sabine estate, where he seeks peace of mind from within.
nunc et, si quid abest. Italis adiudicat armis.
and now, if anything is still lacking, he adjudges it to Italian arms.
Ac ne te retrahas et inexcusabilis1 absis,
And lest you withdraw yourself and be absent without excuse,
quamvis nil extra numerum fecisse modumque
although you take care to have done nothing out of rhythm and measure,
curas, interdum nugaris rure paterno:
you sometimes play on your father’s estate:
partitur lintres exercitus, Actia pugna
the army divides the boats; the battle of Actium
te duce per pueros hostili more refertur;
with you as leader is reenacted by the boys in hostile fashion;
adversarius est frater, lacus Hadria, donec
your brother is the adversary, the lake is the Adriatic, until
alterutrum velox Victoria fronde coronet,
swift Victory crowns one or the other with foliage.
consentire suis studiis qui crediderit te,2
He who believes you agree with his pursuits
fautor utroque tuum laudabit pollice ludum.
will as a supporter praise your play with both thumbs.
Protinus ut moneam3 (si quid monitoris eges tu)
Further, to advise you (if you have any need of an adviser),
quid de quoque viro et cui dicas, saepe videto,
see to it often what you say of any man, and to whom.
percontatorem fugito: nam garrulus idem est,
Avoid an inquisitive person, for he is also a gossip;
nec retinent patulae commissa fideliter aures,
nor do wide-open ears faithfully retain what is committed to them,
et semel emissum volat irrevocabile verbum,
and a word once sent forth flies, irrevocable.
non ancilla tuum iecur ulceret ulla puerve4
Let no maidservant or boy inflame your liver
intra marmoreum venerandi limen amici,
within the marble threshold of your revered friend,
ne dominus pueri pulchri caraeve puellae
lest the master of the handsome boy or dear girl
munere te parvo beet aut incommodus angat.
make you happy with a small gift or torment you by being difficult.
qualem commendes, etiam atque etiam aspice, ne mox
What sort of person you introduce, look to again and again, lest soon
incutiant aliena tibi peccata pudorem,
other people’s sins strike shame into you;
fallimur et quondam non dignum tradimus: ergo
we are deceived and sometimes introduce one who is not worthy; therefore,
quem sua culpa premet, deceptus omitte tueri,
him whom his own fault presses down, cease to defend if you have been deceived,
ut penitus notum, si temptent crimina, serves
so that you may preserve him whom you thoroughly know, if accusations test him,
tuterisque tuo fidentem praesidio: qui5
and protect him who trusts in your patronage; who,
dente Theonino cum circumroditur, ecquid
when he is gnawed by the tooth of Theon, do you not
ad te post paulo ventura pericula sentis?
feel the dangers that will come to you a little later?
nam tua res agitur, paries cum proximus ardet,
For your own property is at stake when the next wall is on fire,
et neglecta solent incendia sumere vires.
and neglected fires are wont to gather strength.
Dulcis inexpertis cultura potentis amici:
Sweet to the inexperienced is the cultivation of a powerful friend;
expertus metuit. tu, dum tua navis in alto est,
he who has experience fears. You, while your ship is on the deep,
hoc age, ne mutata retrorsum te ferat aura.
attend to this, lest the changed wind carry you backward.
oderunt hilarem tristes tristemque iocosi,
The sad hate the cheerful, and the jocular the sad;
sedatum celeres, agilem navumque remissi;
the swift hate the calm, and the lazy the active and industrious;
potores6
Drinkers [hate]
porrecta negantem pocula, quamvis
him who refuses proffered cups, even though
nocturnos iures te formidare tepores.
you swear you fear the nightly heats.
deme supercilio nubem: plerumque modestus
Remove the cloud from your brow: often the modest man
occupat obscuri speciem, taciturnus acerbi.
takes on the appearance of a secretive person, and the silent man of a harsh one.
Inter cuncta leges et percontabere doctos,
Among all things you will read and question the wise,
qua ratione queas traducere leniter aevum,
by what means you can pass your life calmly,
num te semper inops agitet vexetque cupido,
whether unsatisfied desire always drives and vexes you,
num pavor et rerum mediocriter utilium spes,
or fear and hope of things only moderately useful,
virtutem doctrina paret Naturane donet,
whether learning produces virtue or Nature bestows it,
quid minuat curas, quid te tibi reddat amicum,
what diminishes cares, what restores you as a friend to yourself,
quid pure tranquillet, honos an dulce lucellum,
what purely tranquilizes: honor or sweet little gain,
an secretum iter et fallentis semita vitae.
or a secret path and the track of a life that escapes notice.
Me quotiens reficit gelidus Digentia rivus,
As often as the cold stream Digentia refreshes me,
quem Mandela bibit, rugosus frigore pagus,
which Mandela drinks, a village wrinkled with cold,
quid sentire putas? quid credis, amice, precari?
what do you think I feel? what do you believe I pray for, my friend?
sit mihi quod nunc est,7 etiam minus, et mihi vivam
”May I have what I have now, or even less, and may I live for myself
quod superest aevi, si quid superesse volunt di;
what remains of my age, if the gods wish anything to remain;
sit bona librorum et provisae frugis in annum
may there be a good supply of books and of provisions stored for the year,
copia, neu fluitem dubiae spe pendulus horae.
lest I drift, hanging on the hope of the uncertain hour.”
Sed satis est orare Iovem, qui ponit et aufert,
But it is enough to pray to Jupiter, who gives and takes away,
det vitam, det opes; aequum mi animum ipse parabo.
Let him grant life, let him grant wealth; an even mind I will provide for myself.
- 1.18.58inexcusabilis
Nominative adjective modifying the subject of absis predicatively, meaning "lest you be absent inexcusably (without excuse)."
- 1.18.65consentire suis studiis qui crediderit te
The relative clause introduced by qui (qui... crediderit) acts as the subject of the main verb laudabit in the next line. te is the subject accusative of the infinitive consentire in an indirect statement.
- 1.18.67ut moneam
A subjunctive clause of purpose functioning as an independent parenthetical clause ("To advise you..."). monitoris is a partitive genitive dependent on quid in si quid.
- 1.18.72non ancilla tuum iecur ulceret ulla puerve
Jussive subjunctive (ulceret) with the negative non expressing a negative command or warning. In Latin poetry, iecur (the liver) is conventionally treated as the seat of passion and desire.
- 1.18.81qui
A relative pronoun (qui) used as a connecting relative. Though its antecedent is fidentem (the one trusting you) from the previous sentence, it starts a new period and sets up the logical context for the rhetorical question ecquid... sentis? in lines 82-83.
- 1.18.91potores
The verb oderunt from line 89 is understood as the main verb here as well, yielding the structure "drinkers [hate] him who refuses..."
- 1.18.107sit mihi quod nunc est
Optative (or hortatory) subjunctive (sit) expressing a wish. mihi in mihi vivam is a dative of advantage or ethical dative, emphasizing self-sufficiency and autonomy ("live for myself").