Oberlin Classics

[1] conviva: nominative "as a guest" in apposition with tu.
Archiacis...lectis: here Horace is referencing the lounging couches (lectis) that were commonplace at Roman dinner parties but is also making a comment on the condition/quality of these couches through his use of the term Archiacis, who probably was the maker of simple and cheap furniture (think IKEA or Target).

[2] modica...patella: the plates will be humble, like the furniture, and it can also be assumed that the portions will be modest as well. Cf. C. 1.20.1-2: vile potabis modicis Sabinus / cantharis.
cenare times: cenare is a complementary infinitive here and the tone is rather tongue-in-cheek.
holus omne: here is describing the type of food being served, the word literally means “greens” but could also be referring to vegetables in general. Through this word choice, Horace is indicating that the meal was made up almost entirely of cheap, rustic fare.

[3] supremo...sole: ablative of time when (A&G 424), i.e. "early evening".
domi: locative A&G 427.
Torquatus: Refers to Manlius Torquatus, to whom Horace also wrote Ode IV.7. Torquatus is a lawyer who may have been the son of L. Manlius Torquatus who was the consul in the year 65 BC, which was also the year Horace was born. For more on the relationship between Horace and Torquatus and the poems addressed to Torquatus, see Kilpatrick 1986: 62-63 and Putnam 2006.

[4] iterum Tauro: "when Taurus was consul for the second time" (i.e. 26 BCE).
palustris: long -is for -es and is modified by Minturnas in the following line.

[5] Minturnas: Minturnae was a Roman town south of Rome near the coast.
Sinuessanumque Petrinum: One of Torquatus’ ancestors (T. Manlius Imperiosus) had fought and won a battle in this area in 340 BCE (see McCarter 102).
Sinuessa was a coastal city that was located along the Via Appia in Southern Italy.

[6] si… habes: Protasis of simple condition in present time, indicated by present active indicative verb; introduced by si (see A&G 514.a.1).
melius quid: A better wine. Vinum (vv. 4) is antecedent of quid, which is modified by melius; both are neuter accusative singular.
arcesse: Present active imperative verb serving as apodosis to conditional. Supply vinum for object.
imperium fer: A second, optional apodosis to the conditional. Here it means "bear my order" (i.e. the wine I serve) with Horace now the quasi-imperator of this dinner party (note line 21 below). Torquatus has the option to either have the wine sent to Horace’s home or put up with Horace's vintage.

[7] splendet: Take απο κοινου. Both the focus and the supellex ("furniture") are shining.
focus: “Hearth” or “fireplace,” a classical symbol of domesticity and hospitality. Used for both heating and cooking, the hearth can be viewed as the central feature of domestic life. Most dining took place in the triclinium, where couches were placed around the periphery of the room.
tibi: Dative of reference, or advantage (A&G 376).

[8] mitte: second person active present imperative verb; refers to both levis spes and certamina divitiarum.
levis: Literally “light” or “weightless” taken here to mean “inconsequential” or “trivial,” = the minutiae that plagues a lawyer’s daily life.

[9] Moschi causum: Mayer ad loc. identifies him as Volcacius Moschus, a declaimer from Pergamum who was tried in Rome for poisoning. Torquatus represented him in court, hence the details of the case may burden his mind.
nato Caesare festus: Take festus with dies in the following line. The festival of Caesar’s birth. Caesar here refers to Augustus (63 BCE-14 CE), who was princeps during the publication of the Epistles in 20 BCE. Horace suggests that his birthday, September 23rd, is a dies festus or holiday. Some have also thought it could refer to the birthday of Julius Caesar (esp. because of the aestivam...noctem in line 11).

[10] veniam somnumque: Caesar’s birthday, like many dies festus, appears to be a dies nefasti. This is a day in which no legal actions may take place. Hence, Torquatus may not conduct any legal work and will have the day off.
inpune: because it is a holiday, although the larger sense may also indicate that there is little riding on their conversation as opposed to his work in the forum, where lawsuits hinge on such punishments.
licebit: “it will be allowed,” impersonal verb which takes the infinitive tendere in the next line.

[11] aestivam...tendere noctem: "to stretch out the summer night".
sermone benigno: “pleasant discussion”. Horace focuses on their friendship and ability to speak together, which is so fundamental to the epistolary friendship on display. Note that Horace will call these poems sermones, so there is a sense that the poetry being created is also a mirror of their time together.

[12] quo mihi fortunam: "what good is my wealth?"

[13] Horace claims that people that are too stingy seem crazy.
ob heredis curam: preposition + accusative meaning “on account of” or “for the sake of” (A&G 220). See C. 2.3.20 and 2.14.25 for more about such concerns.

[14] adsidet: + dat. (insano). Horace has been redefining what it is to be sanus in earlier Epistles (1.1.8, 1.1.108, 1.2.34), and now finds another way to question this concept.
spargere flores: Flowers were a part of dinner and the post-dinner symposium often featured flowers (see C. 3.19.22: sparge rosas).

[15] vel: “even”. Paired with patiarque it means “and even I will allow”.
inconsultus: predicate nominative connects to the "I" subject of potare and spargere indicating the subject as “thoughtless” or “reckless”. Mayer ad loc. explores the legal resonance of this adjective.
haberi: present passive infinitive meaning “to be considered/to be thought of as”.

[16] quid non ebrietas dissignat: literally "what does drunkenness not contrive" although most of the examples are positive in nature here. Horace praises wine often in his Odes (e.g. C. 3.21.14-20).
operta recludit: In this context it is a positive trait of wine to be able to "reveal mysteries" i.e. "discovers things not understood in more sluggish moments" (Greenough ad loc.). Horace highlights the inspiration that wine can bring.

[17] Horace elaborates the “benefits” of drinking wine with examples, thus making the dinner invitation more appealing. Wine often causes one to act in an opposing manner.
spes: take with ratas. This picks up on the "fickle hopes" above (8).
inertem: is a substantive, “the weak”.

[18] sollicitis animis: ablative of separation (A&G 402).
addocet artis: addoceo is a neologism - is this new word likewise an inebriated "invention". One may wonder if it really helps to teach artes or if it just seemingly does so. After all, Horace will target the stinking drunks who fancy themselves poets at Ep. 1.19.3-11. Perhaps these artes refer to the skills to “live rightly”(vivere recte), which is a central theme throughout the Epistles.

[19] fecundi calices: "full wine glasses". The kylix was commonly used at symposia/convivia. Cucchiarelli ad loc. suggests that fecundi may evoke facundi, as this wine makes the drinker disertum ("eloquent").
fecere: syncopated 3rd person plural form of the perfect.

[20] supply fecere again and make solutum the predicate.
contracta...in paupertate: “in restrictive poverty”. The use of two consecutive questions in negative form elevates the tone of the invitation.

[21] haec: i.e. "the following".
procurare: dependent on imperor and suggesting some sort of official duty "to attend to". Horace is humorously suggesting that his procuratio of this dinner party is as important as the official duties Torquatus has.
imperor: "make it my duty", as Greenough notes "a rare middle use" (ad loc.).
non: with invitus in the next line. The first of many enjambments in these lines.

[22] ne as “lest” in a negative purpose clause (A&G 563). Its repetitions make it sound like he is cataloguing the various orders he is fulfilling in a checklist.
toral: the coverlet that protected the couch. Supply sit in this negative purpose clause.
sordida mappa: the napkins will be spotless. In Catullus 12, Catullus accuses Asinius Marrucineus of stealing a napkin from his dinner table.

[23] corruget: subjunctive in the negative purpose clause.
naris: long -is for -es. This line is very spondaic with lots of nasal sounds (all those “n”s). To wrinkle the nose would be a sign of disgust and the line makes us slow down.
ne non: “lest the dishes do not show....” = ut here.
cantharus: a drinking cup.
lanx: a plate. If the cup and plate are made of bronze or silver, they could act like a mirror.

[24] ostendat tibi te: if on the literal level this means your silverware will be polished, the larger idea is that the dinner itself will display you to yourself = reveal your true character. This is something Horace is trying to do in these Epistles as well (cf. Ep. 1.18.101). For Horace’s view of food and dining, see Gowers 1993: 126-79.

[25] [ne]...sit qui...eliminet: Horace will take care that nobody is present who will broadcast what happened to the outside world.
eliminet: subjunctive in a relative clause of purpose (A&G 531.2).
foras: “outside”.
coeat: Individuals will come together for the symposium.
par...pari: All are equal at this event.

[26] Butra...Septicium...[Sabinum]: We do not know who these individuals are, and it is possible that Horace’s readers did not know either. As an invitation letter to Torquatus, it increases the sense of reality in this “story world” (McCarthy 2019 has written about the “story world” of Augustan poetry).

[27] cena prior // potiorque puella : nice chiasmus (A&G 598f).

[28] adsumam: “to add to, take in addition (to you)" with tibi, (line 26).
locus est: “there is room for” (+ dat.)
et: adverbial, “also, in addition”.
umbris: Hangers-on are called “shades” (see Sat. 2.8.21-22).

[29] arta...convivia: The cramped conditions of Horace’s dining room are indicative of its modest nature. This is the accusative plural direct object and indicates the members of the party. It evokes the conviva in the first line.
premunt: in the sense of “oppress”.
olidae...caprae: “smelly armpits”. A Catullus reference with the goat-y armpits, cf. Cat. 69 and 71.1-2.

[30] quotus esse velis : indirect question with velis in the subjunctive (A&G 574).
rescribe: Horace is looking for a response and evoking epistolary conventions.
rebus omissis = ablative absolute (A&G 419).

[31] atria servantem...clientem: atria is the direct object of servantem, and the plural can be used of a single courtyard (cf. Verg. A. 2.483). Clients often waited on their patrons during the morning salutatio.
postico falle: “escape/evade by the back door”. Other poets write how their patrons deceive them in this manner of taking the back door when they are awaiting them.

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