Routledge Revivals
Horace
Two thousand years after his death Horace is still recognised as a unique poet, having exerted marked influence on later European literature. This collection, first published in 1973, explores the different aspects of Horaces poetic achievement in his main works: the Odes, Epistles, Satires and Ars Poetica.
The essays, written by internationally-known scholars, include a discussion of the three worlds of the Satires, and a study of Horaces poetic craft in the Odes his greatest technical accomplishment. The final chapter is devoted entirely to Horaces reputation in England up to the seventeenth century as The Best of Lyrick Poets, and concentrates on the many English translations which he inspired. The expert criticism is illustrated throughout by English translations from the original Latin texts.
Horace will appeal to students and scholars of Latin poetry alike, as well as to those interested in the reception of classical literature throughout European history.
Horace
Edited by
C.D.N. Costa
First published in 1973
by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd
This edition first published in 2014 by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
1973 C.D.N. Costa
The right of the editor to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Publishers Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.
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The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from those they have been unable to contact.
A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 73077038
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-74359-4 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-315-81358-5 (ebk)
Greek and Latin Studies
Classical Literature and its Influence
Horace
Edited by
C. D. N. COSTA
First published in 1973
by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd
Broadway House, 6874 Carter Lane, London EC4V 5EL and 9 Park Street
Boston, Mass. 02108, U.S.A.
Printed in Great Britain by
The Camelot Press Ltd, London and Southampton
Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd 1973
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except for the quotation of brief
passages in criticism
ISBN 0 7100 7597 9
Library of Congress Catalog Card
Number 7377038
Contents
C. D. N. COSTA, University of Birmingham
MARGARET HUBBARD, University of Oxford
DAVID WEST, University of Newcastle
M. J. McGANN, The Queens University of Belfast
O. A. W. DILKE, University of Leeds
D. A. RUSSELL, University of Oxford
VALERIE EDDEN, University of Birmingham
To the memory
of
D. R. Dudley
Introduction
It is fashionable to be defensive about the appearance of another book on a popular writer: with a poet as many-sided as Horace this is unnecessary. Though there has scarcely been a time when he was out of favour it is hard to imagine that critics could run out of original things to say about him which is not to deny that he has had his share of nonsensical criticism and survived undimmed. We owe it to the greatest authors to try always to look at them with fresh eyes, and a sign of the Horatian times is that a massive commentary on the Odes is currently being written in Oxford.
On this assumption, that we cannot have too many serious attempts to understand Horace and his world, and to show the possibilities and the limits of our interpretations of him, the present book offers a critical exploration of his main works. The fragmentation of the poets uvre entailed by the assembling of separate contributors is unfair to Horace, but the method allows enthusiasts to write on what interests them most. The viewpoints are of course individual, but together they may be taken to represent current ways of approaching the poems. For practical reasons the coverage is not complete: the Epodes, Carmen Saeculare and Epistles II are not treated at length, but their omission does not imply their unimportance. The Epodes are of great interest as Horaces early experimental work; the Carmen Saeculare was a major landmark in his life less important in itself than for what it symbolized in his poetic achievement; the second book of the Epistles contains much of his own mature views on literature.
In discussing the influence of Horace, whose impact on later literature is so pervasive and so elusive, one is well advised to do the job thoroughly and at length or not at all. Accordingly most of the contributors have been content to offer a few leads for the interested to pursue, while the final chapter is devoted entirely to Horaces reputation in England up to the seventeenth century, and concentrates on the many English translations which he inspired.
In the long run Horace speaks for himself, and those who befriend him are enriched. But new readers, especially in these days, can be helped to know him as Byron regretted that he had not been helped to feel the Soracte ode so that they may begin to understand why the grey-haired, quick-tempered little man, who liked the sun and wrote unique Latin poetry, has still after two millennia an unchallengeable place in European literature.
Abbreviations
AJP | American Journal of Philology |
CP | Classical Philology |
CQ | Classical Quarterly |
CR | Classical Review |
GR | Greece and Rome |
JRS | Journal of Roman Studies |
NQ | Notes and Queries |
RE | Realencylopdie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, ed. Pauly, Wissowa, etc., Stuttgart |
Rh. Mus. | Rheinisches Museum |
RSC | Rivista di Studi Classici |
TAPA | Transactions of the American Philological Association |
