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<poem>
<poem>
Leaving great Rome<ref>Rome - The City on the Tiber, capital of the Empire. Founded by Romulus in 753BC on the feast of Pales, the Palilia, April 21st.</ref> for Aricia,<ref>Aricia - About fifteen miles south-east of Rome. Famous for its worship of Diana, see Frazer’s ‘The Golden Bough’ Chapter I.</ref> a modest inn
Leaving great Rome<ref>Rome - The City on the Tiber, capital of the Empire. Founded by Romulus in 753BC on the feast of Pales, the Palilia, April 21st.</ref> for Aricia,<ref>Aricia - About fifteen miles south-east of Rome. Famous for its worship of Diana, see Frazer’s ‘The Golden Bough’ Chapter I.</ref> a modest inn
Received me: the rhetorician Heliodorus
Received me: the rhetorician Heliodorus
Was with me, most learned of Greeks: to Forum Appi<ref>Forum Appi - The Market of Appius at the head of the canal to Feronia through the Pomptine Marshes.</ref>,
Was with me, most learned of Greeks: to Forum Appi<ref>Forum Appi - The Market of Appius at the head of the canal to Feronia through the Pomptine Marshes.</ref>,
Then, crammed with bargemen and stingy innkeepers. We
Then, crammed with bargemen and stingy innkeepers. We
Took this lazily in two days, though keener travellers
Took this lazily in two days, though keener travellers
Than us take only one: the Appian<ref>Appia, Via - The Appian Way from Rome to Capua and Brindisi. It was built by Appius Claudius Caecus in 312BC along with the accompanying aqueduct. The Forum Appi was also named for him.</ref>’s easier taken slow!
Than us take only one: the Appian<ref>Appia, Via - The Appian Way from Rome to Capua and Brindisi. It was built by Appius Claudius Caecus in 312BC along with the accompanying aqueduct. The Forum Appi was also named for him.</ref>’s easier taken slow!
Here because of the lousy water my stomach declares
Here because of the lousy water my stomach declares
War on me, and I wait impatiently while the others
War on me, and I wait impatiently while the others
Dine. Night’s already beginning to shroud the earth
Dine. Night’s already beginning to shroud the earth
In shadow, and sprinkle the heavens with stars.
In shadow, and sprinkle the heavens with stars.
Then its slaves shouting at bargemen, bargees at slaves:
Then its slaves shouting at bargemen, bargees at slaves:
‘Pull, over here!’ ‘You’re loading three hundred?’ ‘Oy,
‘Pull, over here!’ ‘You’re loading three hundred?’ ‘Oy,
That’s enough!’ A whole hour slips by, as they harness
That’s enough!’ A whole hour slips by, as they harness
The mule, and collect the fares. The marsh frogs and damned
The mule, and collect the fares. The marsh frogs and damned
Mosquitoes keep away sleep, while the boatman, drowned
Mosquitoes keep away sleep, while the boatman, drowned
In sour wine, sings of the girl left behind and a traveller
In sour wine, sings of the girl left behind and a traveller
Joins in. At last the traveller tires and falls asleep,
Joins in. At last the traveller tires and falls asleep,
And the lazy boatman turns out his mule to feed,
And the lazy boatman turns out his mule to feed,
Ties the rope to a stone, and snores away on his back.
Ties the rope to a stone, and snores away on his back.
When day dawns we discover our vessel’s not yet
When day dawns we discover our vessel’s not yet
Under way, till a hot-headed traveller leaps out
Under way, till a hot-headed traveller leaps out
thumping mule and man head and sides with a branch
thumping mule and man head and sides with a branch
Of willow. At ten we are barely landed at last
Of willow. At ten we are barely landed at last
And wash our faces and hands in Feronia’s stream..
And wash our faces and hands in Feronia’s stream..
Then after breakfast we crawl on three miles to Anxur.
Then after breakfast we crawl on three miles to Anxur.
Perched on its cliffs that gleam brightly far and wide.
Perched on its cliffs that gleam brightly far and wide.
Here Maecenas the best of men’s going to meet us,
Here Maecenas the best of men’s going to meet us,
An envoy, with Cocceius, on very important business,
An envoy, with Cocceius, on very important business,
Both of them used to settling feuds between friends.
Both of them used to settling feuds between friends.
Here I smear some black ointment on my sore eyes.
Here I smear some black ointment on my sore eyes.
Meanwhile Maecenas arrives, and with him Cocceius
Meanwhile Maecenas arrives, and with him Cocceius
And Fonteius Capito, a man so perfectly finished
And Fonteius Capito, a man so perfectly finished
That Antony owns to no greater friend than he.
That Antony owns to no greater friend than he.
We left Fundi with pleasure, and Aufidius
We left Fundi with pleasure, and Aufidius
Luscus its ‘praetor’, mocking that clerk’s mad reward,
Luscus its ‘praetor’, mocking that clerk’s mad reward,
Bordered robe, a broad-striped tunic, burning charcoal.
Bordered robe, a broad-striped tunic, burning charcoal.
Tired out we halted at the Mamurra’s town next,
Tired out we halted at the Mamurra’s town next,
Murena offered shelter, Capito the cooking.
Murena offered shelter, Capito the cooking.
The next day’s sunrise brings great joy: since Plotius
The next day’s sunrise brings great joy: since Plotius
Varius, and Virgil, meet us at Sinuessa:  no more
Varius, and Virgil, meet us at Sinuessa:  no more
Shining spirits did earth ever bear, and no one
Shining spirits did earth ever bear, and no one
Could be more dearly attached to them than I.
Could be more dearly attached to them than I.
O what embraces there were there, and what delight!
O what embraces there were there, and what delight!
In health, nothing compares for me with friendship’s joy.
In health, nothing compares for me with friendship’s joy.
A small villa by the Campanian Bridge offered us
A small villa by the Campanian Bridge offered us
Shelter, and the officers, as required, salt and fuel.
Shelter, and the officers, as required, salt and fuel.
Then to Capua, where the mules shed their loads early.
Then to Capua, where the mules shed their loads early.
Maecenas is off for sport, Virgil and I for sleep:
Maecenas is off for sport, Virgil and I for sleep:
Those ball-games are bad for sore eyes and stomachs.
Those ball-games are bad for sore eyes and stomachs.
Then Cocceius’ well-stocked villa welcomes us,
Then Cocceius’ well-stocked villa welcomes us,
That overlooks the inns of Caudium. Now, Muse,
That overlooks the inns of Caudium. Now, Muse,
Tell briefly of the fight ‘twixt Sarmentus the jester,
Tell briefly of the fight ‘twixt Sarmentus the jester,
And Messius Cicirrus, and who their fathers were
And Messius Cicirrus, and who their fathers were
That joined the fray. Messius of famous Oscan stock:
That joined the fray. Messius of famous Oscan stock:
Sarmentus’ owner, she’s still alive: from such ancestry
Sarmentus’ owner, she’s still alive: from such ancestry
Did they join battle. Sarmentus first to strike: ‘A horse,
Did they join battle. Sarmentus first to strike: ‘A horse,
I say, a wild one, is what you resemble.’ We roar,
I say, a wild one, is what you resemble.’ We roar,
Messius tosses his head, cries: ‘Yea’. Sarmentus
Messius tosses his head, cries: ‘Yea’. Sarmentus
Says: ‘Oh, if your forehead wasn’t short of a horn
Says: ‘Oh, if your forehead wasn’t short of a horn
Imagine what you could do, when you threaten us
Imagine what you could do, when you threaten us
Mutilated so!’ An ugly scar marred his hairy brow
Mutilated so!’ An ugly scar marred his hairy brow
On the left, you see. Mocking his ‘Campanian’ warts
On the left, you see. Mocking his ‘Campanian’ warts
And joking about his face, he begged him to dance
And joking about his face, he begged him to dance
A dance of the Cyclopean shepherd, while saying
A dance of the Cyclopean shepherd, while saying
He’d not need a mask or the thick soles of Tragedy.
He’d not need a mask or the thick soles of Tragedy.
Cicirrus struck back fiercely: ‘What about that chain
Cicirrus struck back fiercely: ‘What about that chain
He owed to the Lares? Though a clerk, his lady’s power
He owed to the Lares? Though a clerk, his lady’s power
Was no less: and finally he asked why he’d run away
Was no less: and finally he asked why he’d run away
Since a bag of meal a day’s enough for the slight and lean.
Since a bag of meal a day’s enough for the slight and lean.
So we prolonged that supper with all our laughter.
So we prolonged that supper with all our laughter.
   
   
On, straight, to Beneventum: where our busy host
On, straight, to Beneventum: where our busy host
Nearly burned the inn turning lean thrushes over the fire:
Nearly burned the inn turning lean thrushes over the fire:
As Vulcan’s fumes dispersed through the ancient kitchen,
As Vulcan’s fumes dispersed through the ancient kitchen,
Darting flames licked right up to the roof overhead.
Darting flames licked right up to the roof overhead.
You saw scared servants and famished guests snatch food
You saw scared servants and famished guests snatch food
And everyone tried to extinguish the roaring blaze.
And everyone tried to extinguish the roaring blaze.
From that point on Apulia begins to reveal
From that point on Apulia begins to reveal
Her familiar hills to me, scorched by scirocco,
Her familiar hills to me, scorched by scirocco,
And we’d never have crossed if a villa near Trivicum
And we’d never have crossed if a villa near Trivicum
Hadn’t received us, tearful with smoke from the stove
Hadn’t received us, tearful with smoke from the stove
That was burning up green wood, foliage and all.
That was burning up green wood, foliage and all.
Here like an utter fool I lay wakeful till midnight
Here like an utter fool I lay wakeful till midnight
Awaiting a cheating girl: till sleep carried me off
Awaiting a cheating girl: till sleep carried me off
Thinking of sex: then a dream full of sordid visions
Thinking of sex: then a dream full of sordid visions
Wet my nightshirt and belly, lying there on my back.
Wet my nightshirt and belly, lying there on my back.
From here we’re rushed on in a cart twenty-four miles,
From here we’re rushed on in a cart twenty-four miles,
To spend the night in a little town I can’t fit in the verse,
To spend the night in a little town I can’t fit in the verse,
Though here’s a clue: they sell what’s commonly free
Though here’s a clue: they sell what’s commonly free
There, water: but the bread’s the best by far, so wise
There, water: but the bread’s the best by far, so wise
Travellers carry a load on their shoulders for later,
Travellers carry a load on their shoulders for later,
‘cos it’s gritty at Canusium<ref>Canusium - A town in Italy, in Apulia, where Greek and Latin were both spoken. The dry region suffered from lack of water. The population was part Greek, part Oscan.</ref> (and your jug’s no more
‘cos it’s gritty at Canusium<ref>Canusium - A town in Italy, in Apulia, where Greek and Latin were both spoken. The dry region suffered from lack of water. The population was part Greek, part Oscan.</ref> (and your jug’s no more
Water in) a place brave Diomed<ref>Diomede - The son of Tydeus king of Argos, a Greek hero in the war against Troy. See Homer’s Iliad. He founded Arpi in southern Italy (Iapygia). - BkISatV:71-104 Horace suggests he founded Canusium also.</ref> founded long ago.
Water in) a place brave Diomed<ref>Diomede - The son of Tydeus king of Argos, a Greek hero in the war against Troy. See Homer’s Iliad. He founded Arpi in southern Italy (Iapygia). - BkISatV:71-104 Horace suggests he founded Canusium also.</ref> founded long ago.
Here Varius<ref>Lucius Varius, tragic and epic poet, edited the Aeneid with Plotius after the death of Virgil, performing the role of literary executors. He wrote tragedies, such as Thyestes performed in 29BC after Actium, and an epic On Death. Rufus, possibly synonymous with him, is given as a poet in Ovid’s list of his lesser contemporaries (Ex Ponto IV.16.28.)</ref> peels off, to the grief of his weeping friends.
Here Varius<ref>Lucius Varius, tragic and epic poet, edited the Aeneid with Plotius after the death of Virgil, performing the role of literary executors. He wrote tragedies, such as Thyestes performed in 29BC after Actium, and an epic On Death. Rufus, possibly synonymous with him, is given as a poet in Ovid’s list of his lesser contemporaries (Ex Ponto IV.16.28.)</ref> peels off, to the grief of his weeping friends.
So to Rubi<ref>Rubi, Ruvo - A town about thirty miles from Canusium.</ref> exhausted we come, after we’ve travelled
So to Rubi<ref>Rubi, Ruvo - A town about thirty miles from Canusium.</ref> exhausted we come, after we’ve travelled
A long stretch of roadway damaged by heavy rain,
A long stretch of roadway damaged by heavy rain,
Next day the weather was better, the road was worse,
Next day the weather was better, the road was worse,
Right up to fishy Bari<ref>Barium, Bari - The modern capital and a major port of Apulia. Noted in Horace’s time for its fishing industry.</ref>. Then Gnatia<ref>Gnatia, Egnatia - An Apulian town on the Adriatic coast, devoid of springs.</ref>, on whose building
Right up to fishy Bari<ref>Barium, Bari - The modern capital and a major port of Apulia. Noted in Horace’s time for its fishing industry.</ref>. Then Gnatia<ref>Gnatia, Egnatia - An Apulian town on the Adriatic coast, devoid of springs.</ref>, on whose building
The water-nymphs frowned, brought us laughter and mirth,
The water-nymphs frowned, brought us laughter and mirth,
As it tried to persuade us that incense melts without fire
As it tried to persuade us that incense melts without fire
On its temple steps. Let Apella the Jew credit that,
On its temple steps. Let Apella the Jew credit that,
I don’t: I’ve heard the gods live a carefree life,
I don’t: I’ve heard the gods live a carefree life,
And if nature works miracles then it isn’t the gods
And if nature works miracles then it isn’t the gods
Gloomily sending them down from their home in the sky.
Gloomily sending them down from their home in the sky.
Brindisi<ref>Brundisium, Brindisi - The famous port of Calabria, about 340 miles from Rome.</ref>’s the end of a long road and this story.
Brindisi<ref>Brundisium, Brindisi - The famous port of Calabria, about 340 miles from Rome.</ref>’s the end of a long road and this story.
</poem>
</poem>

Revision as of 12:24, 28 May 2008

4. A Defence of Satire Satires ~ I, 5. Journey to Brundisium
written by Horace
 6. On Ambition
Translation by A. S. Kline. Link to further information




Leaving great Rome[1] for Aricia,[2] a modest inn
Received me: the rhetorician Heliodorus
Was with me, most learned of Greeks: to Forum Appi[3],
Then, crammed with bargemen and stingy innkeepers. We
Took this lazily in two days, though keener travellers
Than us take only one: the Appian[4]’s easier taken slow!
Here because of the lousy water my stomach declares
War on me, and I wait impatiently while the others
Dine. Night’s already beginning to shroud the earth
In shadow, and sprinkle the heavens with stars.
Then its slaves shouting at bargemen, bargees at slaves:
‘Pull, over here!’ ‘You’re loading three hundred?’ ‘Oy,
That’s enough!’ A whole hour slips by, as they harness
The mule, and collect the fares. The marsh frogs and damned
Mosquitoes keep away sleep, while the boatman, drowned
In sour wine, sings of the girl left behind and a traveller
Joins in. At last the traveller tires and falls asleep,
And the lazy boatman turns out his mule to feed,
Ties the rope to a stone, and snores away on his back.
When day dawns we discover our vessel’s not yet
Under way, till a hot-headed traveller leaps out
thumping mule and man head and sides with a branch
Of willow. At ten we are barely landed at last
And wash our faces and hands in Feronia’s stream..
Then after breakfast we crawl on three miles to Anxur.
Perched on its cliffs that gleam brightly far and wide.
Here Maecenas the best of men’s going to meet us,
An envoy, with Cocceius, on very important business,
Both of them used to settling feuds between friends.
Here I smear some black ointment on my sore eyes.
Meanwhile Maecenas arrives, and with him Cocceius
And Fonteius Capito, a man so perfectly finished
That Antony owns to no greater friend than he.
We left Fundi with pleasure, and Aufidius
Luscus its ‘praetor’, mocking that clerk’s mad reward,
Bordered robe, a broad-striped tunic, burning charcoal.
Tired out we halted at the Mamurra’s town next,
Murena offered shelter, Capito the cooking.
The next day’s sunrise brings great joy: since Plotius
Varius, and Virgil, meet us at Sinuessa: no more
Shining spirits did earth ever bear, and no one
Could be more dearly attached to them than I.
O what embraces there were there, and what delight!
In health, nothing compares for me with friendship’s joy.
A small villa by the Campanian Bridge offered us
Shelter, and the officers, as required, salt and fuel.
Then to Capua, where the mules shed their loads early.
Maecenas is off for sport, Virgil and I for sleep:
Those ball-games are bad for sore eyes and stomachs.
Then Cocceius’ well-stocked villa welcomes us,
That overlooks the inns of Caudium. Now, Muse,
Tell briefly of the fight ‘twixt Sarmentus the jester,
And Messius Cicirrus, and who their fathers were
That joined the fray. Messius of famous Oscan stock:
Sarmentus’ owner, she’s still alive: from such ancestry
Did they join battle. Sarmentus first to strike: ‘A horse,
I say, a wild one, is what you resemble.’ We roar,
Messius tosses his head, cries: ‘Yea’. Sarmentus
Says: ‘Oh, if your forehead wasn’t short of a horn
Imagine what you could do, when you threaten us
Mutilated so!’ An ugly scar marred his hairy brow
On the left, you see. Mocking his ‘Campanian’ warts
And joking about his face, he begged him to dance
A dance of the Cyclopean shepherd, while saying
He’d not need a mask or the thick soles of Tragedy.
Cicirrus struck back fiercely: ‘What about that chain
He owed to the Lares? Though a clerk, his lady’s power
Was no less: and finally he asked why he’d run away
Since a bag of meal a day’s enough for the slight and lean.
So we prolonged that supper with all our laughter.
 
On, straight, to Beneventum: where our busy host
Nearly burned the inn turning lean thrushes over the fire:
As Vulcan’s fumes dispersed through the ancient kitchen,
Darting flames licked right up to the roof overhead.
You saw scared servants and famished guests snatch food
And everyone tried to extinguish the roaring blaze.
From that point on Apulia begins to reveal
Her familiar hills to me, scorched by scirocco,
And we’d never have crossed if a villa near Trivicum
Hadn’t received us, tearful with smoke from the stove
That was burning up green wood, foliage and all.
Here like an utter fool I lay wakeful till midnight
Awaiting a cheating girl: till sleep carried me off
Thinking of sex: then a dream full of sordid visions
Wet my nightshirt and belly, lying there on my back.
From here we’re rushed on in a cart twenty-four miles,
To spend the night in a little town I can’t fit in the verse,
Though here’s a clue: they sell what’s commonly free
There, water: but the bread’s the best by far, so wise
Travellers carry a load on their shoulders for later,
‘cos it’s gritty at Canusium[5] (and your jug’s no more
Water in) a place brave Diomed[6] founded long ago.
Here Varius[7] peels off, to the grief of his weeping friends.
So to Rubi[8] exhausted we come, after we’ve travelled
A long stretch of roadway damaged by heavy rain,
Next day the weather was better, the road was worse,
Right up to fishy Bari[9]. Then Gnatia[10], on whose building
The water-nymphs frowned, brought us laughter and mirth,
As it tried to persuade us that incense melts without fire
On its temple steps. Let Apella the Jew credit that,
I don’t: I’ve heard the gods live a carefree life,
And if nature works miracles then it isn’t the gods
Gloomily sending them down from their home in the sky.
Brindisi[11]’s the end of a long road and this story.

  1. ↑ Rome - The City on the Tiber, capital of the Empire. Founded by Romulus in 753BC on the feast of Pales, the Palilia, April 21st.
  2. ↑ Aricia - About fifteen miles south-east of Rome. Famous for its worship of Diana, see Frazer’s ‘The Golden Bough’ Chapter I.
  3. ↑ Forum Appi - The Market of Appius at the head of the canal to Feronia through the Pomptine Marshes.
  4. ↑ Appia, Via - The Appian Way from Rome to Capua and Brindisi. It was built by Appius Claudius Caecus in 312BC along with the accompanying aqueduct. The Forum Appi was also named for him.
  5. ↑ Canusium - A town in Italy, in Apulia, where Greek and Latin were both spoken. The dry region suffered from lack of water. The population was part Greek, part Oscan.
  6. ↑ Diomede - The son of Tydeus king of Argos, a Greek hero in the war against Troy. See Homer’s Iliad. He founded Arpi in southern Italy (Iapygia). - BkISatV:71-104 Horace suggests he founded Canusium also.
  7. ↑ Lucius Varius, tragic and epic poet, edited the Aeneid with Plotius after the death of Virgil, performing the role of literary executors. He wrote tragedies, such as Thyestes performed in 29BC after Actium, and an epic On Death. Rufus, possibly synonymous with him, is given as a poet in Ovid’s list of his lesser contemporaries (Ex Ponto IV.16.28.)
  8. ↑ Rubi, Ruvo - A town about thirty miles from Canusium.
  9. ↑ Barium, Bari - The modern capital and a major port of Apulia. Noted in Horace’s time for its fishing industry.
  10. ↑ Gnatia, Egnatia - An Apulian town on the Adriatic coast, devoid of springs.
  11. ↑ Brundisium, Brindisi - The famous port of Calabria, about 340 miles from Rome.


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