Homeric Lessons on Virtue and Wisdom to Lollius — Horace, Epistles Book 1 (1.2.1–1.2.71), Latin & English

Troiani belli¹ scriptorem, Maxime Lolli,

The writer of the Trojan war, O Lollius Maximus,

dum tu declamas Romae, Praeneste relegi;

while you declaim in Rome, I have read again at Praeneste;

qui quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non,

who tells what is fair, what is base, what is useful, what is not,

planius ac melius Chrysippo et Crantore dicit,

more clearly and better than Chrysippus and Crantor.

cur ita crediderim, nisi quid te distinet, audi.

Why I have so believed, unless something keeps you back, listen.

Fabula, qua Paridis propter narratur amorem

The story, in which on account of Paris’s love

Graecia barbariae lento collisa duello,

Greece is said to have clashed with the barbarian land in a lingering war,

stultorum regum et populorum continet aestus.

contains the passions of foolish kings and peoples.

Antenor censet belli praecidere causam:

Antenor proposes to cut off the cause of the war;

quid Paris? ut salvus regnet vivatque beatus

what does Paris do? He denies that he can be compelled,

cogi posse negat.² Nestor componere litis

even that he may reign in safety and live happy. Nestor hastens to settle the disputes

inter Peliden festinat et inter Atriden;

between the son of Peleus and the son of Atreus;

hunc amor, ira quidem communiter urit utrumque,

love burns this one, but anger indeed burns both in common;

quidquid delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi.

whatever madness the kings commit, the Achaians suffer.

seditione, dolis, scelere atque libidine et ira

By faction, deceit, crime, and lust and anger,

Iliacos intra muros peccatur et extra.

sins are committed both within and without the walls of Ilium.

Rursus, quid virtus et quid sapientia possit,

Again, of what virtue and what wisdom can achieve,

utile proposuit nobis exemplar Ulixen,

he has set before us Ulysses as a useful exemplar,

qui domitor Troiae multorum providus urbes

who, the conqueror of Troy, providently inspected the cities

et mores hominum inspexit, latumque per aequor,

and customs of many men, and through the wide sea,

dum sibi, dum sociis reditum parat, aspera multa

while he prepared a return for himself and his companions,

pertulit, adversis rerum immersabilis undis.

endured many hardships, unsubmergeable in the adverse waves of fortune.

Sirenum voces et Circae pocula nosti;

You know the voices of the Sirens and Circe’s cups;

quae si cum sociis stultus cupidusque bibisset,

which if he had foolishly and greedily drunk with his companions,

sub domina meretrice fuisset turpis et excors,

he would have been debased and senseless under a mistress whore,

vixisset canis immundus vel amica luto sus.

and would have lived as an unclean dog or a sow that loves the mire.

nos numerus sumus et fruges consumere nati,

We are but a number, born to consume the fruits of the earth,

sponsi Penelopae nebulones, Alcinoique

the suitors of Penelope, spendthrifts, and the youth of Alcinous,

in cute curanda plus aequo operata iuventus,

employed more than was right in pampering their skin,

cui pulchrum fuit in medios dormire dies et

to whom it was beautiful to sleep until midday and

ad strepitum citharae cessatum ducere curam.

to banish care to the sound of the lyre.

Ut iugulent hominem, surgunt de nocte latrones;

To cut a man’s throat, robbers rise by night;

ut te ipsum serves, non expergisceris? atqui

to save yourself, will you not wake up? Yet

si noles sanus, curres hydropicus;³ et ni

if you will not run when sound, you will run when dropsical; and unless

posces ante diem librum cum lumine, si non

you call for a book and a light before daybreak, unless

intendes animum studiis et rebus honestis,

you apply your mind to studies and honest pursuits,

invidia vel amore vigil torquebere. nam cur

you will be tortured and kept awake by envy or love. For why

quae laedunt oculum festinas demere; si quid

do you hasten to remove what hurts the eye, yet if anything

est animum, differs curandi tempus in annum?

eats into your mind, do you defer the time of curing it for a year?

dimidium facti qui coepit habet; sapere aude;

He who has begun has half the deed done; dare to be wise;

incipe! qui recte vivendi prorogat horam,

begin! He who postpones the hour of living rightly

rusticus exspectat dum defluat amnis; at ille

is like the rustic waiting for the river to flow by; but it

labitur et labetur in omne volubilis aevum

flows and will flow, rolling on for all time.

Quaeritur argentum puerisque beata creandis

Wealth is sought after, and a fruitful wife to bear children,

uxor, et incultae pacantur vomere silvae:

and wild woods are subdued by the ploughshare:

quod satis est cui contingit, nihil amplius optet.

let him to whose lot falls what is enough, wish for nothing more.

non domus et fundus, non aeris acervus et auri

Neither house nor land, nor a heap of bronze and gold,

aegroto domini deduxit corpore febris,

has ever driven away fevers from the sick body of their master,

non animo curas; valeat possessor oportet,

nor cares from his mind; the possessor must be healthy,

si comportatis rebus bene cogitat uti.

if he thinks to make good use of his gathered stores.

qui cupit aut metuit, iuvat illum sic domus et res,

To him who desires or fears, house and wealth give just as much pleasure

ut lippum pictae tabulae, fomenta podagram,

as pictures to the sore-eyed, poultices to the gouty,

auriculas citharae collecta sorde dolentis.

or the lyre to ears that ache with gathered wax.

sincerum est nisi vas, quodcumque infundis acescit.

Unless the vessel is clean, whatever you pour in turns sour.

Sperne voluptates; nocet empta dolore voluptas,

Despise pleasures; pleasure bought with pain is harmful.

semper avarus eget; certum voto pete finem.

The covetous man is always in want; seek a fixed limit for your desire.

invidus alterius macrescit rebus opimis;

The envious man grows thin at the prosperity of another;

invidia Siculi non invenere tyranni

Sicilian tyrants have invented no torment

maius tormentum, qui non moderabitur irae,

greater than envy. He who will not moderate his anger,

infectum volet esse, dolor quod suaserit et mens,

will wish undone what grief and passion have prompted,

dum poenas odio per vim festinat inulto,

while he hastens to take vengeance by force for his unavenged hatred.

ira furor brevis est: animum rege; qui nisi paret

Anger is a short madness; rule your mind, which unless it obeys,

imperat;⁴ hunc frenis, hunc tu compesce catena.

commands; curb this with reins, coerce this with a chain.

Fingit equum tenera docilem cervice magister

The trainer moulds the horse while its neck is tender and docile,

ire viam qua monstret eques; venaticus, ex quo

to go the way which the rider points out; the hound, from the time

tempore cervinam pellem latravit in aula,

he barked at the stag’s skin in the hall,

militat in silvis catulus, nunc adhibe puro

does service in the woods. Now, while a boy, imbibe

pectore verba puer, nunc te melioribus offer,

my words with a pure heart; now offer yourself to your betters.

quo semel est imbuta recens, servabit odorem

A jar will long preserve the odor with which it was once

testa diu. quod si cessas aut strenuus anteis,

seasoned when new. But if you lag behind or vigorously press on ahead,

nec tardum opperior nec praecedentibus insto.

I neither wait for the slow nor press upon those who go before.

Syntax notes4 items

1.2.1Troiani belli
Troiani belli uses the genitive of the adjective Troianus agreeing with belli ('of the Trojan War'), modifying scriptorem to refer to Homer as the chronicler of the Trojan War.
1.2.11cogi posse negat
An instance of the omission of the subject accusative in an indirect statement (accusative with infinitive). The pronoun se (referring to Paris), which serves as the subject of the infinitive phrase cogi posse (that he could be compelled), is omitted after the main verb negat.
1.2.34si noles sanus, curres hydropicus
The infinitive currere (to run) is omitted after noles in the conditional clause. This metaphorical expression implies that if one refuses to run (exercise) while healthy (sanus), one will be forced to run later as a medical cure when afflicted with dropsy (hydropicus). It serves as an analogy for neglecting moral philosophy in youth.
1.2.62qui nisi paret imperat
The relative pronoun qui refers back to animum (the mind, passion) in the preceding clause. The relative clause contains a conditional sub-clause nisi paret (unless it obeys), forming a contrast: the mind is something that either obeys (reason) or, if it does not, commands (dominates the person).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0893.phi005.humanitext-lat2:1.2.1-1.2.71