Apology to Florus and Excuses for Ceasing to Write — Horace, Epistles Book 2 (2.2.1–2.2.71), Latin & English

Flore, bono claraque fidelis amice Neroni,

Florus, faithful friend to the good and illustrious Nero,

si quis forte velit puerum tibi vendere natum

if anyone should perchance wish to sell you a boy born

Tibure vel Gabiis, et tecum sic agat: “hic et

at Tibur or Gabii, and should deal with you thus:

candidus et talos a vertice pulcher ad imos

”This boy is both fair and beautiful from his head to his lowest ankles;

fiet eritque tuus nummorum milibus octo,¹

he shall become and be yours for eight thousand sesterces;

verna ministeriis ad nutus aptus erilis,

a home-born slave fit for services at his master’s beck,

litterulis Graecis imbutus, idoneus arti

imbued with a little Greek learning, suitable for any

cuilibet; argilla quidvis imitaberis uda;

art; you will fashion him into anything, like wet clay;

quin etiam canet indoctum sed dulce bibenti.

nay, he will even sing untutored but sweetly to you as you drink.

multa fidem promissa levant, ubi plenius aequo

Many promises diminish credit, when he who wishes to thrust out

laudat venalis qui volt extrudere merces,

his saleable wares praises them more fully than is fair.

res urget me nulla; meo sum pauper in aere.

No necessity presses me; I am poor within my own means.

nemo hoc mangonum faceret tibi; non temere a me

No other slave-dealer would do this for you; not easily from me

quivis ferret idem. semel hic cessavit et, ut fit,

would anyone carry off the same bargain. Once he shirked his duty and, as happens,

in scalis latuit metuens pendentis habenae:

hid under the stairs, fearing the hanging strap.

des nummos, excepta nihil te si fuga laedit:”²

Give me the money, if this running away, which is excepted, does not trouble you.”

ille ferat pretium poenae securus, opinor,

The seller would carry off the price, secure from penalty, I suppose;

prudens emisti vitiosum; dicta tibi est lex:

you bought a defective boy with your eyes open; the condition was stated to you.

insequens tamen hunc et lite moraris iniqua?

Do you nevertheless pursue him and delay him with an unjust lawsuit?

dixi me pigrum proficiscenti tibi, dixi

I told you when you were setting out that I was lazy;

talibus officiis prope mancum, ne mea saevus

I told you that I was almost crippled for such duties, lest you should fiercely

iurgares ad te quod epistula nulla rediret.

chide me because no letter of mine returned to you.

quid tum profeci, mecum facientia iura

What did I gain then, if you nevertheless attack the laws

si tamen attemptas? quereris super hoc etiam, quod

that side with me? You complain moreover about this, that,

exspectata tibi non mittam carmina mendax.

deceitful, I do not send you the poems you expected.

Luculli miles collecta viatica multis

A soldier of Lucullus, having collected his travel-savings through many

aerumnis, lassus dum noctu stertit, ad assem

hardships, while he snored at night, tired, lost to the last penny;

perdiderat: post hoc vehemens lupus, et sibi et hosti

after this, like a fierce wolf, angry equally at himself and the enemy,

iratus pariter, ieiunis dentibus acer,

sharp with hungry teeth,

praesidium regale loco deiecit, ut aiunt,

dislodged a royal garrison, as they say, from a place

summe munito et multarum divite rerum,

highly fortified and rich in many things.

clarus ob id factum donis ornatur honestis,

Famous for this deed, he is decorated with honorable gifts,

accipit et bis dena super sestertia nummum,

and receives besides twenty thousand sesterces of coin.

forte sub hoc tempus castellum evertere praetor

It happened about this time that the general, desiring to overthrow

nescio quod cupiens hortari coepit eundem

some fort or other, began to encourage the same man

verbis quae timido quoque possent addere mentem:

with words which could add courage even to a coward:

“i, bone, quo virtus tua te vocat, i pede fausto,

”Go, my brave fellow, whither your valor calls you, go with lucky foot,

grandia laturus meritorum praemia, quid stas?”

to bear away great rewards for your merits; why do you stand still?”

post haec ille catus, quantumvis rusticus: “ibit,

After this, that shrewd fellow, however rustic, replied:

ibit eo, quo vis, qui zonam perdidit,” inquit.

”He will go, he will go whither you wish, who has lost his purse.”

Romae nutriri mihi contigit atque doceri

It fell to my lot to be brought up at Rome, and to be taught

iratus Grais quantum nocuisset Achilles.

how much the angered Achilles had harmed the Greeks.

adiecere bonae paulo plus artis Athenae,

Kindly Athens added a little more of fine art,

scilicet ut vellem curvo dinoscere rectum

to wit, that I should wish to distinguish the straight from the crooked,

atque inter silvas Academi quaerere verum.

and to seek truth among the groves of Academus.

dura sed emovere loco me tempora grato

But the harsh times moved me from that pleasant place,

civilisque rudem belli tulit aestus in arma

and the tide of civil war bore me, inexperienced, to the arms

Caesaris Augusti non responsura lacertis.³

that were not to be a match for the muscles of Caesar Augustus.

unde simul primum me dimisere Philippi,

Whence, as soon as Philippi first discharged me,

decisis humilem pennis inopemque paterni

with wings clipped, humbled and destitute of my father’s house and land,

et laris et fundi, paupertas impulit audax

daring poverty impelled me to write verses;

ut versus facerem: sed quod non desit habentem⁴

but now that I have what is sufficient,

quae poterunt umquam satis expurgare cicutae,

what hemlock will ever be able to purge me sufficiently,

ni melius dormire putem quam scribere versus?

unless I were to think it better to sleep than to write verses?

Singula de nobis anni praedantur euntes;

The passing years plunder us of each thing one by one;

eripuere iocos, Venerem, convivia, ludum;

they have snatched away jokes, love, banquets, play;

tendunt extorquere poemata: quid faciam vis?

they are striving to wrest away my poems; what do you want me to do?

denique non omnes eadem mirantur amantque:

Lastly, not everyone admires and loves the same things:

carmine tu gaudes, hic delectatur iambis,

you rejoice in lyric song, this man is delighted with iambics,

ille Bioneis sermonibus et sale nigro.

that other with Bionean discourses and black salt.

tres mihi convivae prope dissentire videntur,

Three guests seem to me almost to disagree,

poscentes vario multum diversa palato,

demanding widely different things with a varied palate.

quid dem? quid non dem? renuis tu, quod iubet alter;

What should I give? What not give? You refuse what another orders;

quod petis, id sane est invisum acidumque duobus.

what you seek, that is indeed hateful and sour to the other two.

Praeter cetera me Romaene poemata censes

Besides other things, do you think that I can write poems at Rome,

scribere posse inter tot curas totque labores?

amid so many cares and so many labors?

hic sponsum vocat, hic auditum scripta, relictis

One calls me to be a surety, another to hear his writings, neglecting all

omnibus officiis; cubat hic in colle Quirini,

duties; this one lies sick on the Quirinal hill,

hic extremo in Aventino, visendus uterque;

that one on the furthest Aventine, both to be visited;

intervalla vides humane commoda. “verum

you see the distances, conveniently commodious for a human. “But,” you say,

purae sunt plateae, nihil ut meditantibus obstet.”

”the streets are clear, so that nothing blocks those who are meditating.”

Syntax notes4 items

2.2.5nummorum milibus octo
Ablative of price. It indicates the cost of transaction (eight thousand sesterces) dependent on the expression fiet eritque tuus (he shall become and be yours).
2.2.16excepta nihil te si fuga laedit
Anastrophe of the conjunction si, which is placed after excepta nihil te. The perfect participle excepta agrees with fuga, while the accusative nihil functions adverbially to modify the transitive verb laedit (troubles you in no way).
2.2.48non responsura lacertis
Future active participle used adjectivally. responsura modifies the preceding noun arma (arms) to express a destined or likely outcome (arms not destined to match). lacertis (muscles/strength) is the dative case governed by respondeo in the sense of matching or rivaling.
2.2.52sed quod non desit habentem
Present participle and relative clause. habentem agrees with the omitted accusative pronoun me (the object of expurgare poterunt). The relative clause quod non desit takes the subjunctive desit to express character or restriction (possessing that which is not lacking).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 2

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0893.phi005.humanitext-lat2:2.2.1-2.2.71