Humanitext Reader

Horace · Epodes §15.1-15.24

Renouncing the Faithless Neaera and Warning Her New Lover

Passage 15 of 17 · Latin

Summary

The poet addresses Neaera, who betrayed the solemn vows they once shared, declaring that his manly resolve will never allow him to forgive her. He also warns her current, boastful lover that he too will soon be abandoned, at which point the poet will have his turn to laugh.

§15.1Nox erat et caelo fulgebat Luna sereno §15.2inter minora sidera, §15.3cum tu, magnorum numen laesura deorum, §15.4in verba iurabas mea, §15.5artius atque hedera procera adstringitur ilex §15.6lentis adhaerens bracchiis; §15.7dum pecori lupus et nautis infestus Orion §15.8turbaret hibernum mare §15.9intonsosque agitaret Apollinis aura capillos, §15.10fore hunc amorem mutuom,
It was night, and the Moon was shining in a serene sky among the lesser stars, when you, destined to offend the divinity of the great gods, swore loyalty to my words, clinging more tightly than the tall holm-oak is clasped by the ivy, as you held me in your pliant arms; swearing that as long as the wolf should be hostile to the flock, and Orion, enemy to sailors, should trouble the winter sea, and the breeze should stir the unshorn locks of Apollo, this love of ours would be mutual.
§15.11o dolitura mea multum virtute Neaera: §15.12nam siquid in Flacco viri est, §15.13non feret adsiduas potiori te dare noctes §15.14et quaeret iratus parem §15.15nec semel offensi cedet constantia formae, §15.16si certus intrarit dolor.
O Neaera, destined to suffer much from my manly resolve: for if there is any manhood left in Flaccus, he will not endure your giving constant nights to a preferred rival, and in his anger he will seek a true mate, nor will the resolve of one once offended yield to your beauty, if a certain pain has once entered his heart.
§15.17et tu, quicumque es felicior atque meo nunc §15.18superbus incedis malo, §15.19sis pecore et multa dives tellure licebit §15.20tibique Pactolus fluat §15.21nec te Pythagorae fallant arcana renati §15.22formaque vincas Nirea, §15.23heu heu, translatos alio maerebis amores, §15.24ast ego vicissim risero.
And as for you, whoever you are, who are now more fortunate and walk proud of my misfortune, though you be rich in flocks and in much land, and though Pactolus flow for you, and the secrets of reborn Pythagoras do not elude you, and you surpass Nireus in beauty, alas, alas, you will mourn her love transferred elsewhere, but I, in my turn, will laugh.

Notes

  1. §15.3laesura — The future active participle `laesura` (nominative feminine singular, modifying `tu`) foreshadows Neaera's future action of breaking her oath, indicating that she was destined to offend the majesty of the great gods.
  2. §15.5artius atque — The combination of the comparative adverb `artius` (more tightly) and the conjunction `atque` introduces the standard of comparison, meaning "more tightly than...".
  3. §15.8turbaret — The verbs `turbaret` and `agitaret` in the `dum`-clauses (§15.7-9) are in the imperfect subjunctive because they are subordinate clauses within indirect speech (depending on the future infinitive `fore...` in §15.10). Since the governing verb `iurabas` is in a past tense, they follow the sequence of tenses.
  4. §15.12viri — A partitive genitive dependent on the neuter singular pronoun `siquid` ("if anything of a man"), meaning "if there is any manhood left in Flaccus."
  5. §15.15offensi — Genitive singular of the perfect passive participle used substantively ("of one who has been offended"), modifying `constantia` (resolve). It means "the resolve of one who has been once offended will not yield to your beauty."

Cite this passage

Horace, Epodes §15.1-15.24. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0893.phi003.humanitext-lat2:15.1-15.24

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