Humanitext Reader

Horace · Epistles §1.4.1-1.4.16

Letter to Albius on Living Each Day as the Last

Passage 5 of 29 · Latin

Summary

The poet inquires about his friend Albius's current life, praises his fortunate circumstances and talents, advises him to live each day as if it were his last, and humorously describes himself as a pig from Epicurus's herd.

§1.4.1Albi, nostrorum sermonum candide iudex, §1.4.2quid nunc te dicam facere in regione Pedana?
Albius, frank judge of my discourses, what should I say you are doing now in the region of Pedum?
§1.4.3scribere quod Cassi Parmensis opuscula vincat, §1.4.4an tacitum silvas inter reptare salubris, §1.4.5curantem quidquid dignum sapiente bonoque est?
Writing something that would surpass the minor works of Cassius of Parma, or strolling silently among the healthy forests, meditating on whatever is worthy of a wise and good man?
§1.4.6non tu corpus cras sine pectore: di tibi formam, §1.4.7di tibi divitias dederunt artemque fruendi.
You were not a body without a soul: the gods have given you beauty, the gods have given you wealth and the art of enjoying it.
§1.4.8quid voveat dulci nutricula maius alumno, §1.4.9qui sapere et fari possit quae sentiat, et cui §1.4.10gratia, fama, valetudo contingat abunde, §1.4.11et mundus victus non deficiente crumina?
What greater thing could a sweet nurse pray for her dear nursling, who is able to be wise and to express what he feels, and to whom favor, fame, and health fall abundantly, and a decent livelihood with a never-failing purse?
§1.4.12Inter spem curamque, timores inter et iras §1.4.13omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse supremum, §1.4.14grata superveniet, quae non sperabitur hora.
Amid hope and care, amid fears and angers, believe that every day that has dawned is your last; the hour which is not hoped for will arrive as a welcome addition.
§1.4.15me pinguem et nitidum bene curata cute vises, §1.4.16cum ridere voles, Epicuri de grege porcum.
You will visit me, fat and sleek, with my skin well cared for, when you want a laugh—a pig from Epicurus’s herd.

Notes

  1. §1.4.3quod Cassi Parmensis opuscula vincat — The subjunctive `vincat` is used with the relative pronoun `quod` in a relative clause of characteristic, describing works of such quality as to surpass those of Cassius of Parma.
  2. §1.4.6cras — The reading `cras` (tomorrow) in the provided text is a typographical error for `eras` (imperfect second-person singular of `sum`). The translation follows the standard reading `eras` ('you were not a body without a soul') to maintain syntactic coherence.
  3. §1.4.12timores inter — An instance of anastrophe where the preposition `inter` is placed after its first object `timores`, while also governing the subsequent `iras` ('between fears and angers').
  4. §1.4.16Epicuri de grege porcum — An accusative phrase in apposition to `me` in line 15. Horace humorously and self-deprecatingly applies to himself the contemporary popular caricature of Epicureans as pleasure-seeking swine ('a pig from Epicurus's herd').

Cite this passage

Horace, Epistles §1.4.1-1.4.16. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0893.phi005.humanitext-lat2:1.4.1-1.4.16

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

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