The Satires of Horace

Horace, A. M. Juster

• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9780812207699
• Topic: Letteratura
• Subtopic: Collezioni letterarie antiche e classiche

The Roman philosopher and dramatic critic Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65-3 B.C.), known in English as Horace, was also the most famous lyric poet of his age. Written in the troubled decade ending with the establishment of Augustus's regime, his Satires provide trenchant social commentary on men's perennial enslavement to money, power, fame, and sex. Not as frequently translated as his Odes, in recent decades the Satires have been rendered into prose or bland verse.Horace continues to influence modern lyric poetry, and our greatest poets continue to translate and marvel at his command of formal style, his economy of expression, his variety, and his mature humanism. Horace's comic genius has also had a profound influence on the Western literary tradition through such authors as Swift, Pope, and Boileau, but interest in the Satires has dwindled due to the difficulty of capturing Horace's wit and formality with the techniques of contemporary free verse.A. M. Juster's striking new translation relies on the tools and spirit of the English light verse tradition while taking care to render the original text as accurately as possible.

Book II

Satire 1

HORACE: “There is a group that claims my satire seems
too harsh and crosses lines in ways it deems
improper. Others call it ‘slack’ and say
that anyone could crank out in a day
my thousand lines. How should this be addressed, 5
Trebatius? Decide.”

TREBATIUS: “Give it a rest.”

HORACE: “You mean…stop writing verse?”

TREBATIUS: “That's what I feel.”

HORACE: “May I be ruined if that's not ideal—
but I can't rest.”

TREBATIUS: “Let those who need deep sleep
get rubbed down, do three Tiber swims, and keep 10
themselves, until the evening, marinated
in lots of wine that's unadulterated,
or if you're captivated by a passion
for composing verse, then dare to fashion
tales describing mighty Caesar's actions; 15
your labors will produce great ‘satisfactions.’”

HORACE: “Most wise advisor, that's my aspiration,
but I do not have the motivation;
some just can't paint an image that recalls
troops bristling with javelins or Gauls 20
expiring when impaled by splintered spears
or some hurt Parthian whose stallion rears
and throws him.”

TREBATIUS: “Yet you still could represent
his bold and even-handed temperament,
like wise Lucilius with Scipio.” 25

HORACE: “I will not stray from where I need to go—
when it is time. Until that time is here,
the words of Flaccus slide by Caesar's ear,
and if you stroke him in the wrong direction,
he will lash back for his own protection.” 30

TREBATIUS: “How much more practical that choice would be
than slamming with acidic poetry
a person such as ‘spendthrift Nomentanus’
or ‘the parasitic Pantolabus’
when everybody's fending off alarm 35
and hating you—although they've felt no harm!”

HORACE: “What can I do? Milonius will rise
to dance as soon as heat intensifies
in his wine-clobbered brain and lamps divide
in pairs. For Castor, horses are his pride 40
and joy; his twin, who shared his egg when hatched,
prefers it when two boxers have been matched.
As with Lucilius, a man far better
than us both, my pleasure is to fetter
words in feet. In days of long ago, 45
he poured his secrets into books as though
they were good friends; he had no other source
of help when things went well or far off course.
The old man's life was openly displayed
as if a votive tablet scene had laid 50
it out quite clearly. I'm a partisan
of him, but whether I'm Lucanian
or more Apulian is hard to say,
for in Venusia an émigré
plows fields on borders near both territories. 55
As reported in the musty stories,
once the Samnites were expelled, Rome sent
in colonists so that it could prevent
attacks by enemies through vacant land
no matter if the threats of war were planned 60
by tribesmen of Apulia or by
Lucanians—and yet this pen will shy
from groundless jabs at people still alive,
and it will even help me to survive.
As with a sheath that's wrapped around a blade, 65
why should I wield it when I'm unafraid
of vicious thugs? O Jupiter, my Lord
and Father, lay aside my rusty sword
and shield peace-loving me, though anyone
who riles me will regret what he has done 70
(it's better not to touch me, I declare!)
and will be scorned and slandered everywhere
around the city! Where there's provocation,
Cervius will threaten litigation
and the jurors' urns; for enemies 75
Canidia has lethal remedies
she uses that Albucius provides;
if you're in court when Turius decides,
he'll come down hard! Since everyone relies
upon his strongest weapon when he tries 80
to frighten those he fears, you must allow—
as I have always done—that this is how
almighty Nature reigns; the wolf will use
its fangs; the bull its horns. How do they choose
behaviors if they're not intuitive? 85
If Scaeva's mother, who intends to live
forever, is entrusted to the care
of her free-spending son, he'd never dare
to lift his trustworthy right hand to treat
a person badly (a surprising feat, 90
like wolves who won't attack you with their claws
or oxen who refuse to use their jaws).
In any case, some poisoned honey rich
with lethal hemlock will undo the bitch.
In short, regardless if the future brings 95
me Death that's circling on sable wings,
a calm retirement, financial need,
the open air of Rome—or, if decreed
by Fortune—exile, but however bright
or dull my life becomes, I will still write!” 100

TREBATIUS: “O lad, your life—and sidekicks who will freeze
you out—keep giving me anxieties!”

HORACE: “What? When Lucilius first boldly tried
some verses of this type, and stripped the hide
off those who, while in public, liked to preen 105
in spite of being inwardly obscene,
were Laelius or he who earned his name
by crushing Carthage feeling any shame
due to his talents? Were they greatly pained
by damage that Metellus had sustained 110
or Lupus being swamped by vitriol
in verse? Yet he excoriated all
the people's tribal clans and leaders, though
no doubt the only kindness he would show
was what he showed to Virtue and to men 115
who loved it. For indeed, at moments when
brave Scipio would join the gentle sage
called Laelius and fled the public stage
and crowds for private places, they would play
around with him and wile away the day 120
with tunics loose so they could have some fun
until their simmered vegetables were done.
Whatever I may be, although I lack
Lucilius' property and knack
for writing, Envy still can't hesitate 125
conceding I have lived among the great
and, while pursuing something soft to chew,
will break her tooth on something hard, if you,
well-versed Trebatius, do not dissent.”

TREBATIUS: “Indeed, I have no counterargument, 130
but you're on notice, which should give you pause,
since lack of knowledge of our sacred laws
can bring you trouble. If a person slights
another with vile verses, there are rights
of action he can use and remedies.” 135

HORACE: “Sure, if they're vile…What if they're good and please
the critic Caesar? Say he barks at one
who earned abuse, while he himself earned none?”

TREBATIUS: “They'll wipe all your official records clean,
and laugh as you, unpunished, leave the scene.” 140

Satire 2

HORACE: “The Definition and the Benefits
of Simple Living.

Dear associates,
this isn't yet another of my speeches—
it's what that unschooled sage Ofellus teaches
as his rustic wisdom:

‘Educate5
yourself, but not amid the silver plate
and tables where a person could go blind
from crazy glitziness and where the mind
will tend toward self-deception and reject
the opportunities it should select.10
While lunchless, seek the truth with me right here.’”

ANONYMOUS FOIL: “Why do that?”

HORACE: “If I can, I'll make it clear.
A judge who is corrupt is never fair
about truth. After you've been hunting hare,
or coming back exhausted since your horse15was very difficult to keep on course,
or acting Greek in Roman martial drills
or rapid-action ballgames where the thrills
ease hardships so they're easier t...