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Horace · Satires §1.4.1-1.4.72

Criticism of Lucilius and the Nature of True Poetry

Passage 7 of 30 · Latin

Summary

Horace criticizes Lucilius for his hasty and careless style of composition despite inheriting the tradition of Old Comedy, and goes on to discuss the definition of true poetry and the justification of his own satirical writing.

§1.4.1Eupolis atque Cratinus Aristophanesque poetae §1.4.2atque alii, quorum comoedia prisca virorum est, §1.4.3siquis erat dignus describi, quod malus ac fur, §1.4.4quod moechus foret aut sicarius aut alioqui §1.4.5famosus, multa cum libertate notabant.
The poets Eupolis and Cratinus and Aristophanes, and others, of which men there is Old Comedy, if anyone was worthy to be described, because he was evil and a thief, because he was an adulterer or an assassin or otherwise infamous, they would brand him with great freedom.
§1.4.6hinc omnis pendet Lucilius, hosce secutus, §1.4.7mutatis tantum pedibus numerisque, facetus, §1.4.8emunctae naris, durus conponere versus.
On this entirely depends Lucilius, having followed these, with only feet and meters changed, witty, of keen scent, harsh in composing verses.
§1.4.9nam fuit hoc vitiosus: in hora saepe ducentos, §1.4.10ut magnum, versus dictabat stans pede in uno; §1.4.11cum flueret lutulentus, erat quod tollere velles; §1.4.12garrulus atque piger scribendi ferre laborem, §1.4.13scribendi recte: nam ut multum, nil moror.
For he was faulty in this: often in an hour two hundred, as a great feat, he would dictate verses standing on one foot; when he flowed muddy, there was something you would wish to remove; talkative and lazy to bear the labor of writing, of writing correctly: for as to much, I do not care.
ecce, §1.4.14Crispinus minimo me provocat ‘accipe, si vis, §1.4.15accipe iam tabulas; detur nobis locus, hora, §1.4.16custodes; videamus, uter plus scribere possit. ’ §1.4.17di bene fecerunt, inopis me quodque pusilli §1.4.18finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis; §1.4.19at tu conclusas hircinis follibus auras §1.4.20usque laborantis, dum ferrum molliat ignis, §1.4.21ut mavis, imitare.
Look, Crispinus challenges me for a minimum stake: "Take, if you wish, take now the tablets; let place, hour, and keepers be given to us; let us see which of us can write more." The gods did well, because they fashioned me of a poor and tiny mind, speaking rarely and very few things; but you, the air enclosed in goat-skin bellows constantly laboring, until the fire softens the iron, as you prefer, imitate.
beatus Fannius ultro §1.4.22delatis capsis et imagine, cum mea nemo §1.4.23scripta legat, volgo recitare timentis ob hanc rem, §1.4.24quod sunt quos genus hoc minime iuvat, utpote pluris §1.4.25culpari dignos.
Happy is Fannius, his cases and image being voluntarily delivered, while no one reads my writings, and I fear to recite in public for this reason, because there are those whom this kind of genre does not please at all, as many are worthy of blame.
quemvis media elige turba: §1.4.26aut ob avaritiam aut misera ambitione laborat.
Choose anyone from the middle of the crowd: either from avarice or from miserable ambition he suffers.
§1.4.27hic nuptarum insanit amoribus, hic puerorum: §1.4.28hunc capit argenti splendor; stupet Albius aere; §1.4.29hic mutat merces surgente a sole ad eum, quo §1.4.30vespertina tepet regio, quin per mala praeceps §1.4.31fertur uti pulvis collectus turbine, nequid §1.4.32summa deperdat metuens aut ampliet ut rem.
This one is mad with love for wives, this one for boys; this one the splendor of silver captivates; Albius is dazed by bronze; this one exchanges merchandise from the rising sun to that with which the evening region is warm, indeed headlong through evils he is carried like dust collected by a whirlwind, fearing lest he lose anything of his total, or that he may increase his wealth.
§1.4.33omnes hi metuunt versus, odere poetas.
All these fear verses, hate poets.
§1.4.34‘faenum habet in cornu, longe fuge; dummodo risum §1.4.35excutiat sibi, non hic cuiquam parcet amico §1.4.36et quodcumque semel chartis inleverit, omnis §1.4.37gestiet a furno redeuntis scire lacuque §1.4.38et pueros et anus. ’ agedum pauca accipe contra.
"He has hay on his horn, flee far; so long as he strikes out a laugh for himself, he will not spare any friend here, and whatever he has once smeared on the paper, all, both boys and old women returning from the oven and the lake, he will be eager to know." Come now, receive a few words in reply.
§1.4.39primum ego me illorum, dederim quibus esse poetis, §1.4.40excerpam numero: neque enim concludere versum §1.4.41dixeris esse satis neque, siqui scribat uti nos §1.4.42sermoni propiora, putes hunc esse poetam.
First I shall exempt myself from the number of those to whom I would grant to be poets: for you would not say that to enclose a verse is enough, nor, if anyone writes things closer to common talk as we do, would you think him to be a poet.
§1.4.43ingenium cui sit, cui mens divinior atque os §1.4.44magna sonaturum, des nominis huius honorem.
To him who has genius, who has a more divine mind and a mouth that will sound great things, give the honor of this name.
§1.4.45idcirco quidam comoedia necne poema §1.4.46esset, quaesivere, quod acer spiritus ac vis §1.4.47nec verbis nec rebus inest, nisi quod pede certo §1.4.48differt sermoni, sermo merus.
Therefore some have questioned whether comedy is or is not a poem, because a sharp spirit and force is present neither in the words nor in the subjects, except that by a certain foot it differs from prose, being mere prose.
‘at pater ardens §1.4.49saevit, quod meretrice nepos insanus amica §1.4.50filius uxorem grandi cum dote recuset, §1.4.51ebrius et, magnum quod dedecus, ambulet ante §1.4.52noctem cum facibus. ’ numquid Pomponius istis §1.4.53audiret leviora, pater si viveret? ergo
"But a burning father rages, because his son, madly in love with a courtesan mistress, refuses a wife with a large dowry, and drunk, and, what is a great disgrace, walks before night with torches." Would Pomponius hear any lighter things than these, if his father were living?
§1.4.54non satis est puris versum perscribere verbis, §1.4.55quem si dissolvas, quivis stomachetur eodem §1.4.56quo personatus pacto pater.
Therefore, it is not enough to write out a verse in pure words, which if you dissolve, anyone would be angry in the same manner as the father represented in the play.
his, ego quae nunc, §1.4.57olim quae scripsit Lucilius, eripias si §1.4.58tempora certa modosque, et quod prius ordine verbum est §1.4.59posterius facias praeponens ultima primis, §1.4.60non, ut si solvas ‘postquam discordia taetra §1.4.61belli ferratos postis portasque refregit’, §1.4.62invenias etiam disiecti membra poetae.
From these lines which I now write, or those which Lucilius once wrote, if you take away certain times and measures, and make that word posterior which was first in order, putting the last before the first, it will not be as if you dissolve "after foul discord broke the iron posts and gates of war", where you would find even the limbs of the dismembered poet.
§1.4.63hactenus haec: alias, iustum sit necne poema. §1.4.64nunc illud tantum quaeram, meritone tibi sit §1.4.65suspectum genus hoc scribendi.
So far these things; at another time, whether it is a true poem or not; now I shall only ask this, whether justly to you this kind of writing is suspect.
Sulcius acer §1.4.66ambulat et Caprius, rauci male cumque libellis, §1.4.67magnus uterque timor latronibus; at bene siquis §1.4.68et vivat puris manibus, contemnat utrumque.
Keen Sulcius walks and Caprius, hoarse and with their indictments, each a great terror to robbers; but if anyone lives well and with clean hands, he may despise both.
§1.4.69ut sis tu similis Coeli Birrique latronum, §1.4.70non ego sim Capri neque Sulci: cur metuas me?
Even if you are like the robbers Coelius and Birrius, I would not be like Caprius or Sulcius; why should you fear me?
§1.4.71nulla taberna meos habeat neque pila libellos, §1.4.72quis manus insudet volgi Hermogenisque Tigelli,
No bookshop or pillar should have my booklets, on which the hands of the common people and of Hermogenes Tigellius sweat,

Notes

  1. §1.4.3dignus describi — The adjective `dignus` (worthy of) usually takes a relative clause (`qui` with the subjunctive) in classical prose, but here it is followed directly by the passive infinitive `describi`, showing poetic usage and Greek influence.
  2. §1.4.8durus conponere versus — The adjective `durus` (harsh, clumsy) is followed by the infinitive `conponere`. This is a poetic construction mimicking the Greek 'adjective + infinitive' (infinitive of respect), meaning 'harsh in composing verses'.
  3. §1.4.11erat quod tollere velles — The verb `tollere` can mean either 'to remove, erase' (i.e., filtering out impurities from a muddy stream) or 'to lift up, praise'. Given Horace's criticism of Lucilius's lack of polish, the former reading of 'rubbing out' or 'discarding' is widely preferred.
  4. §1.4.34faenum habet in cornu — A metaphorical idiom derived from Roman agricultural and social customs. Since hay was tied to the horns of dangerous, goring bulls as a warning sign, the phrase here refers to a 'dangerous, aggressive person (satirist) who attacks anyone at random'.
  5. §1.4.39dederim quibus esse poetis — The perfect subjunctive `dederim` is used for potentiality with a modest tone ('I might grant'). The noun `poetis` (to be poets), which would normally be in the accusative, has been attracted into the dative case by the relative pronoun `quibus` (to whom).

Cite this passage

Horace, Satires §1.4.1-1.4.72. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0893.phi004.humanitext-lat2:1.4.1-1.4.72

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