Humanitext Reader

Horace · Epodes §6.1-6.16

Denunciation of a Cowardly Slanderer and Threat of Revenge

Passage 6 of 17 · Latin

Summary

The poet fiercely denounces a cowardly accuser, comparing him to a dog that threatens the helpless but flees from the strong, and warns that any attack on him will be met with a merciless retaliation modeled on the great ancient satirists.

§6.1Quid inmerentis hospites vexas, canis §6.2ignavos adversum lupos?
Why do you harass guiltless strangers, you dog who are cowardly against wolves?
§6.3quin huc inanis, si potes, vertis minas §6.4et me remorsurum petis?
Why do you not rather turn your empty threats hither, if you can, and attack me, who am ready to bite back?
§6.5nam qualis aut Molossus aut fulvos Lacon, §6.6amica vis pastoribus, §6.7agam per altas aure sublata nivis §6.8quaecumque praecedet fera; §6.9tu, cum timenda voce complesti nemus, §6.10proiectum odoraris cibum.
For like a Molossian or a tawny Laconian, a friendly power to shepherds, I will pursue through deep snow, with ears pricked up, whatever wild beast goes before; you, when you have filled the grove with your fearsome voice, sniff at the food thrown to you.
§6.11cave, cave, namque in malos asperrimus §6.12parata tollo cornua, §6.13qualis Lycambae spretus infido gener §6.14aut acer hostis Bupalo.
Beware, beware! For, most fierce against the wicked, I raise my ready horns, just like the son-in-law rejected by faithless Lycambes, or the fierce enemy to Bupalus.
§6.15an si quis atro dente me petiverit, §6.16inultus ut flebo puer?
Or if anyone attacks me with venomous tooth, shall I weep unavenged, like a child?

Notes

  1. §6.2ignavos — The accusative masculine plural of the adjective `ignavus` (cowardly, idle), modifying `lupos` (wolves) governed by the preposition `adversum`. Applying the epithet "cowardly" to wolves, which are naturally fierce, highlights the extreme cowardice of the "dog" (the addressee of `vexas`) who fails to confront even them.
  2. §6.4remorsurum — The future active participle of `remordeo` (to bite back) in the accusative masculine singular, modifying the preceding pronoun `me`. The future participle is used here to express a strong intention or readiness on the part of the subject ("ready/resolved to bite back").
  3. §6.6amica vis pastoribus — An appositive phrase to the preceding nouns `Molossus` and `Lacon`. The abstract noun `vis` (force, power) is used concretely to mean "a powerful entity or ally," and combined with the dative `pastoribus` (to the shepherds), it denotes how dependable these hounds are to their masters.
  4. §6.13gener — The subject of the comparative clause introduced by the relative adjective `qualis`. It refers to the poet Archilochus as the "rejected son-in-law" who avenged himself with fierce verses against his faithless prospective father-in-law Lycambes. The corresponding demonstrative adjective (`talis`) in the main clause is omitted, implying that the poet himself is an equally relentless avenger.
  5. §6.16inultus — The nominative masculine singular of the adjective `inultus` (unavenged, unpunished), functioning predicatively with the verb `flebo` (I shall weep). Rather than simply modifying a noun, it describes the state of the subject ("shall I weep without being avenged?").

Cite this passage

Horace, Epodes §6.1-6.16. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0893.phi003.humanitext-lat2:6.1-6.16

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