The Satires is a collection of satirical poems written by the Roman poet, Horace. Composed in dactylic hexameters, the Satires explore the secrets of human happiness and literary perfection. Published probably in 35 BC and at the latest, by 33 BC, the first book of Satires represents Horace's first published work. It established him as one of the great poetic talents of the Augustan Age. The second book was published in 30 BC as a sequel.In his Sermones or Satires , Horace combines Epicurean, that is, originally Greek philosophy with Roman good sense to convince his readers of the futility and silliness of their ambitions and desires. As an alternative, he proposes a life that is based on the Greek philosophical ideals of autarkeia and metriotes . In S. 1.6.110–131, Horace illustrates what he means by describing a typical day in his own simple, but contented life.
“A host is like a general: calamities often reveal his genius.”
Sed convivatoris uti ducis ingenium res
Adversae nudare solent, celare secundae.
Sed convivatoris uti ducis ingenium res<br>Adversae nudare solent, celare secundae. <br class="br">Book II, satire viii, lines 73–74 http://books.google.com/books?id=hlgNAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Sed+convivatoris+uti+ducis+ingenium+res+Adversae+nudare+solent+celare+secundae%22&pg=PA360#v=onepage <br class="br">Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“What is to prevent one from telling truth as he laughs, even as teachers sometimes give cookies to children to coax them into learning their A B C?”
Quamquam ridentem dicere verum quid vetat? ut pueris olim dant crustula blandi doctores, elementa velint ut discere prima.
Book I, satire i, line 24
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“If my character is flawed by a few minor faults, but is otherwise decent and moral, if you can point out only a few scattered blemishes on an otherwise immaculate surface, if no one can accuse me of greed, or of prurience, or of profligacy, if I live a virtuous life, free of defilement (pardon, for a moment, my self-praise), and if I am to my friends a good friend, my father deserves all the credit… As it is now, he deserves from me unstinting gratitude and praise. I could never be ashamed of such a father, nor do I feel any need, as many people do, to apologize for being a freedman's son.”
Atqui si vitiis mediocribus ac mea paucis
mendosa est natura, alioqui recta, velut si
egregio inspersos reprehendas corpore naevos,
si neque avaritiam neque sordes nec mala lustra
obiciet vere quisquam mihi, purus et insons,
ut me collaudem, si et vivo carus amicis...
at hoc nunc
laus illi debetur et a me gratia maior.
nil me paeniteat sanum patris huius, eoque
non, ut magna dolo factum negat esse suo pars,
quod non ingenuos habeat clarosque parentis,
sic me defendam.
Book I, satire vi, lines 65–92
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work.”
Nil sine magno
vita labore dedit mortalibus.
Book I, satire ix, line 59
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“O Fortune, cruellest of heavenly powers,
Why make such game of this poor life of ours?”
Heu, Fortuna, quis est crudelior in nos
Te deus? Ut semper gaudes illudere rebus Humanis!
Book II, satire viii, line 61 (trans. Conington)
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“Then take, good sir, your pleasure while you may;
With life so short 'twere wrong to lose a day.”
Dum licet, in rebus jucundis vive beatus;
Vive memor quam sis aevi brevis.
Book II, satire viii, line 96 (trans. Conington)
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“So live, my boys, as brave men; and if fortune is adverse, front its blows with brave hearts.”
Quocirca vivite fortes, fortiaque adversis opponite pectora rebus
Book II, Satire II, Line 135-136 (trans. E. C. Wickham)
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“In peace, as a wise man, he should make suitable preparation for war.”
in pace, ut sapiens, aptarit idonea bello
Book II, satire ii, line 111
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“This to the right, that to the left hand strays,
And all are wrong, but wrong in different ways.”
Ille sinistrorsum, hie dextrorsum abit : unus utrique
Error, sed variis illudit partibus.
Book II, satire iii, line 50 (trans. Conington)
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
Book I, satire i, line 48
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“We rarely find anyone who can say he has lived a happy life, and who, content with his life, can retire from the world like a satisfied guest.”
Inde fit ut raro, qui se vixisse beatum
dicat et exacto contentus tempore vita
cedat uti conviva satur, reperire queamus.
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“The mind enamored with deceptive things, declines things better.”
Adclinis falsis animus meliora recusat.
Book II, satire ii, line 6
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“Tis not sufficient to combine
Well-chosen words in a well-ordered line.”
Non satis est puris versum perscribere verbis.
Book I, satire iv, line 54 (translated by John Conington)
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
Book I, satire i, lines 72-3, (transl. Rushton Fairclough, 1926)
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
“Adclinis falsis animus meliora recusat.”
The mind enamored with deceptive things, declines things better.
Book II, satire ii, line 6
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
Original: (la) Nil sine magno
vita labore dedit mortalibus.
Book I, satire ix, line 59
Book I, satire i, lines 92-94, as translated by N. Rudd
Satires (c. 35 BC and 30 BC)
