[1] Quibus...oris: quibus is an interrogative adjective. ora-ae (f.) “region” and not os-oris (n.) “mouth” as below.
militet: subjunctive in indirect question (A&G 586).
[2] Claudius refers to Tiberius Claudius Nero, future Tiberius Julius Caesar, second emperor of Rome. privignus “stepson” is premature, as he wasn’t formally adopted by Augustus until 4AD.
scire: complementary infinitive with laboro.
laboro: There may be some irony between the labor that this military mission undergoes in comparison with Horace’s own “work”. For laboro+inf. = “take pains, strive” (OLD 2), see Ars 25 brevis esse laboro “I strive to be brief”.
[3] In 21 BCE, Tiberius is on his way to Armenia to place Tigranes on the throne. We imagine they would have travelled along the Via Egnatia.
Hebrus: A river in Thrace. Also mentioned at Ep. 1.16.13. The places mentioned map the route from west to east and all of these nominatives (Thraca, Hebrus, freta, campi, colles) are the subject of morantur (5).
vos: The direct object of morantur. Indicates that Horace is thinking about more than Florus.
nivali compede: Ablative of means with vinctus. The ice is considered “fetters” (compes), although one might remember Xerxes’ throwing fetters into the Hellespont when his first attempt at bridging it was thwarted by storm (Hdt. 7.24-25).
vinctus: From vincio “to bind” and not vinco-ere. The seasonal freezing of the rivers of Thrace and the Black Sea are frequently remarked upon by Roman writers (e.g. Ovid Tristia 3.10.25ff.).
[4] freta: The Hellespont (a.k.a. The Dardanelles).
vicinas...turres: That there were towers on both sides of the Hellespont (at Sestos and Abydos) may be part of the story of Hero and Leander (as Mayer 1994 notes) and may be the sort of story that Florus, who writes amabile carmen (12), may know. The action of the water running between the towers is signified in part by the concrete word order of currentia between vicinas...turres and the separation of inter from its accusatives.
[5] pingues: Asia was proverbially rich and fertile. En route to Armenia, the mission would pass through most of modern-day Turkey (ancient Bithynia, Galatia, and Cappodocia). The richness would also indicate the spoils that most troops/staff members expected for their service in the east - a sore point for Catullus, who was not enriched during his service in Bithynia.
campi collesque: The alliterative collocation was rather frequent in Latin authors, e.g. Lucr. 4.389, 5.784, Livy 1.12.1.
[6] quid...operum: opus for a work of literature (OLD 9c), cf. S. 2.1.2.
studiosa cohors: The “learned entourage” of Tiberius includes Florus, Titius, and Celsus, all of whom Horace mentions in this poem.
struit: “to compose (literary works)” (OLD 3a), but Horace utilizes this verb as well as opus above to elide the work being done by the military force (struere can indicate building in general or arranging battle lines) and by this literary group.
curo: Horace’s “care” here evokes his care for philosophy at Ep. 1.1.11.
[7] sibi: dative reflexive pronoun with sumit = “takes it upon himself” (OLD 15a).
res gestas: The phrase is clearly a way to conceive of the deeds/achievements (OLD 9b) of Augustus, cf. Sal. Cat. 3.2: res gestas scribere and Lucr. 5.1444. It is, of course, the title of Augustus' autobiography. The first (unnamed) writer would be engaged in epic or historical writing.
Augusti: It is interesting that they are writing about Augustus and not Tiberius himself. Clearly Tiberius is here considered as an ambassador for Augustus himself and acting at his command.
[8] longum...in aevum = “for the future”. For more on in aevum see R. Thomas 2011 on C. 4.14.3: ad loc.
bella...et paces: For Augustus this would indicate especially the civil war against Antony culminating in the Battle of Actium of 31 BCE (and the subsequent suicides of Antony and Cleopatra). He mentions the wars in section 3 of his Res Gestae.
diffundit: This verb has “watery” connotations that will fit later figurations/analogies between poetry and water. Here it means “to extend (in time)”.
[9] Titius: Otherwise unknown. It appears he is interesting in writing lyric poetry in the style of Pindar.
Romana...in ora: “onto Roman lips”, i.e. about to be known/recited/read by all Romans.
brevi: supply tempore.
[10] Pindarici fontis: Take with haustus as a genitive of source or material (A&G 344). Pindar’s poetry was considered to be extremely difficult to emulate, see C. 4.2.1-24 - where his poetry is compared to a mountain river in flood. Pindar writes of Dirce the fountain of Thebes, his home town, relatively often in his poetry (Ol. 10.85, Pyth. 9.88, Isthm. 1.29, 6.74, 8.20). There were myriad connections between poetry in water in the ancient mind and Horace is touching upon a number of them in these (and the following) lines.
expalluit: from expallesco “to turn pale with fear of”. He is not scared to drink from Pindar’s fount.
haustus: the accusative plural of the noun indicating “the drawing (of water)” or “draughts (of water)”.
[11] fastidire: take this infinitive with ausus. Cf. Ep. 1.17.15. Titius scorns more easily accessible sources of inspiration (here figured as public reservoirs and rivers). Exclusivity is important for one to create novel and inspired poetry in the Roman (and Hellenistic) sensibility, see e.g. Callimachus’ Hymn to Apollo 105-112 and Prop. 3.1.1-6.
lacus et rivos...apertos: The objects of scorn. These would, metaphorically, be Greek writers easily emulated, but there is also the contrast between the water of springs and that of public water sources, cf. C. 1.26.6 and the note of Nisbet and Hubbard there. Vitruvius mentions that rivers in the plains (and not in mountains) often has worse water quality (8.1.7).
[12] ut valet?: “How is he faring?” While this would evoke traditional epistolary tropes (i.e. vale or cura ut vales are common wishes at the conclusions of letters), it also probably hints at the strength necessary to vie with Pindar.
ut meminit nostri? “Is he mindful of me?” Again, the epistolary commonplace (i.e. “does he think of me?”) now may have metaliterary implications - is he mindful of my own attempts at lyric and rendering Greek material in Latin metres?
fidibusne Latinis: the -ne suffix indicates this is part of a question (A&G 332 a-c). fidibus is from fides “string, stringed instrument” and not fides “faith”. Here fidibus Latininis probably indicates Latin meter as opposed to the lyre per se. Cf. Ep. 1.19.32-33.
[13] Thebanos...modos: Pindar was from Thebes. Note C. 3.30.13-14: “I who was the first to adapt Aeolian song to Italian meters” (princeps Aeolium carmen ad Italos / deduxisse modos)
aptare: “to fit, adapt, accommodate”. Cf. C. 2.12.1-4 and Prop. 3.3.6 for a similar use about the propriety of certain meters.
studet: Picks up the studiosa cohors of line 6 as well as the drive and erudition necessary for such a poetic task.
auspice Musa: Ablative absolute (A&G 419). auspex here in the sense of “patron, supporter” (OLD 3), but it also highlights the religious connotations of poetry and the power of the muse.
[14] tragica...in arte: The most famous tragedy of the day was the Thyestes by Lucius Varius Rufus, a friend of Horace (cf. S. 1.5, Ep. 2.1.247), which had been performed at the triple-triumph of Augustus in 29 BCE. Only six words of the play survive (Quint. I.O. 3.8.45). Horace writes elsewhere of the “Classics” of Roman drama still being performed in the theaters (i.e. Pacuvius, Accius, Plautus, Terence, and more; Ep. 2.1.60-1). Tragedies were being written with Ovid’s (lost) Medea soon to appear and we should look at this line as giving a sense of the excessive passions and heightened language typical of Roman tragedy (cf. Seneca’s plays).
desaevit: “to vent one’s rage”. There is the sense that the author embodies the rage of the characters in tragedy. Cf. Ov. Rem. 375 for rage as the emblematic passion of tragedy (grande sonant tragici; tragicos decet ira cothurnos).
ampullatur: A neologism created from ampulla “oil flask”, which came to mean “bombast” in part because of the scene of Aristophanes’ Frogs 1200ff. between Euripides and Aeschylus. If desaevit indicated the excessive emotions of tragic characters, this hints at tragic diction, cf. Ars 97: proicit ampullas et sesquipedialia verba.
[15] mihi: Ethical dative (A&G 380). Translate “tell me…” or, more archaically, “pray, what is Celsus doing”.
Celsus: The addressee of Ep. 1.8. See the introduction to that commentary.
monitus multumque monendus: Alliteration and anaphora of the verb stress the warning against plagiarism to come (and express that this is not the first time he has had to warn Celsus).
[16] privatas...opes: Horace wants Celsus to rely on his own ideas/language/resources (hence opes) and not those of others. All Latin poets relied on others (allusion and intertextuality), but one needed to draw the line (see Ars 131, and Horace’s comments on imitators in Ep. 1.19).
ut quaerat: Indirect command (A&G 588).
tangere vitet: tangere is a complementary infinitive with vitare. vitet is another subjunctive in the indirect command.
[17] scripta: The books that were kept in the public library that was part of the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine. This library was established in 28 BCE and there were both Greek and Latin wings. These would not only possess the “Classics” but recent works of note as well (see Ovid Tristia 3.1.63). Propertius writes about the opening of the porticoes that joined the libraries to the temple (2.31).
Palatinus...Apollo: Apollo was Augustus’ patron god and the temple of Palatine Apollo was promised for victory over Sextus Pompey and Antony at Actium. The temple was the most famous temple of Apollo in Rome.
recepit: The librarian, C. Iulius Hygenus, a learned former slave of Augustus probably had final say for the books that would be included.
[18] ne...moveat: Negative purpose clause in the place of the apodosis of a future more vivid with the sense of futurity implicit in the subjunctive mood (A&G 516d) and the use of olim “at some future day” (OLD 3).
si...venerit: Protasis of a future more vivid with a future perfect standing in for the future (A&G 513). Translate simply as a present “If the flock returns…”.
suas...plumas: This story hearkens back to a fable of Aesop about the “Proud Jackdaw and the Peacock” (Phaedrus 1.3) in which the jackdaw puts on the feathers of a Peacock and attempts to join their flock. When found out, and stripped of feathers, he is not welcome back in his own flock either.
repetitum: The accusative Supine of Purpose (A&G 509) with a verb of motion (venerit). repetere “to claim back” has legal overtones (OLD 9), fitting for this “theft” of personal property (furtum is a common term for such literary “borrowings” and note furtivis below).
[19] grex avium: In the fable these are peacocks, but poets are often compared to birds in antiquity from Pindar as eagle (because of his majesty and force) to Horace’s own self-transformation into a swan in C. 2.20 (see Nisbet and Hubbard ad loc. for more examples).
cornicula: Celsus (the “high” one) is now nothing more than a little crow (the diminutive is only found here).
moveat...risum: The laughter here is at the expense of Celsus/crow. For the expression movere+ risum, see Cic. Fam. 7.32.3. Laughter is found elsewhere in the Epistles (see commentary to Ep. 1.1.9, 95, and 1.13.9) with various levels of malice implied.
[20] furtivis nudata coloribus: nudare “to strip, divest of” (+Abl. of separation, A&G 401). These stolen “colors” are the peacock feathers, but color can be used figuratively of “the materials of a writer or orator” (OLD 2c) and even the particular “bent” or line of argument in a rhetorical case (compiled in Seneca the Elder’s Controversiae).
ipse: Turning back to the addressee, Florus.
quid audes: The daring involved hints at the risks involved in poetic composition (and competition? - note line 11 above). Cf. Ars 125-26: siquid inexpertum scaenae committis et audes / personam formare novam... and Ars 382: qui nescit, versus tamen audet fingere.
[21] quae...thyma: thymum (n.) was especially valued for its nectar made into honey. While this may simply be a poetic plural, it is also indicative of the numerous plants bees must visit to create honey. Bees are a traditional figure for the poet who can distill, blend, and mix the “flavors” of different source material into a delicious compound. See Sen. Ep. 84.2-10 for the analogy and Hor. C. 4.2.27-32 for Horace’s own self-comparison with a bee (ego apis Matinae / more modoque, 27-28). Worman’s Landscape and the Spaces of Metaphor in Ancient Literary Theory and Criticism (Cambridge 2015) examines the bee-poet metaphor extensively.
circumvolitas agilis: Like a bee, which moves from flower to flower. agilis repeats Horace’s Stoic stance of Ep. 1.1.16, but now from the perspective of the busy and energetic bee and should be translated adverbially (“energetically”). Florus’ name may have also suggested the bee metaphor.
non...non: The strong anaphora underscores the immense talent Horace believes Florus has.
[22] ingenium: The inborn talent of an individual and, by Horace’s time, a term of literary criticism often compared with ars (“skill”). The proper blend of these two forces would lead to the finest poetry, but it is hard to find the individual with such gifts (see Ars 295 and the comments of Brink 1971 ad loc.).
non incultum et turpiter hirtum: This shows that Florus’ ingenium has been honed and is not wild. These terms also have possible agricultural resonance (again, playing off Florus’ name) - his ingenium is cultivated and not rough. Hirtus-a-um and hirsutus-a-um can also signify an old-fashioned poetics, in line with archaic Latin poets like Ennius (Ov. Am. 1.15.19, Tr. 2.259; Prop. 4.1.61) who had plenty of ingenium but often were thought to lack ars (by the Augustan poets).
[23] Florus’ activities in the courtroom or the poetic arena will lead to victory.
seu...seu...seu: Tricolon of possible activities.
linguam...acuis: The metaphor of sharpening the tongue is also found in Cicero’s De Oratore (3.121) and Brutus 331. West compares it to a bee “whetting his sting for battle” (cf. Verg. G. 4.74).
causis: These would be law cases (causa, OLD 1). It is a dative of the purpose or end (A&G 382). Additional addressees of Horace’s letters also practice law, cf. Torquatus’ causa at Ep. 1.5.9.
civica iura: These “civil laws” indicate Florus’ interest in jurisprudence (usually referred to as civile ius).
[24] respondere: A technical term indicating “to pronounce one’s ruling on a point of law” (with ius, OLD 4c).
condis: The verb recalls Ep. 1.1.12 and befits the activity of the poet-bee as well as the work of poets more generally (S. 2.1.82, OLD 14). Horace uses it of honey at Epod. 2.15: pressa puris mella condit amphoris.
amabile carmen: A poem that causes pleasure in the reader. Mayer 1994 believes this would be light verse, but it is possible that he likewise is interested in Pindaric lyric (e.g. Pyth. 6 involves bee imagery). This would put him in competition with Titius (and he would win the crown - see the following line).
[25] prima...praemia: “first prize” poetic plural.
feres: future tense of ferre.
hederae victricis: Gen. of material (A&G 344), cf. Verg. G. 3.49. Ivy befits the victorious poet’s garland, see Verg. E. 7.25, Hor. C. 1.1.29-30: me doctarum hederae praemia frontium / dis miscent superis...
quodsi: “but if…” introducing a present contrary-to-fact condition with posses and ires (A&G 517).
[26] frigida curarum fomenta: A difficult expression. The “cold compresses for your cares/anxieties” would be the potential therapy for his curae. frigidus-a-um would evoke the cold water cure of Antonius Musa, which Horace will refer to later in Epistles 1.15, but the idea here is that if Florus could get over his worries (and the contrary-to-fact would seem to imply this is not the case), he could really excel and reach the heights. It is our hypothesis that these curae are to be tied to those mentioned in line 30 - namely the rift that has occurred in his relationship with Munatius. This would tie together these two sections of the poem and hint at the benefits of resolving the problems in their friendship - Florus himself will be able to reach his true potential.
[27] quo: Introducing an indirect question (A&G 573). Take ires first in your translation. “You would go where[ever]…”.
te: Direct object of duceret.
caelestis sapientia: This phrase is unattested elsewhere in Latin, but wisdom often has a touch of the divine/celestial about it (see Sen. Ep. 66.12). Wisdom may be aspirational at this point in Florus’ life, but the hope is that by tending his ingenium, he will eventually attain such understanding. Sapientia is the leader now, not Tiberius.
[28] hoc opus: Strong recollection of line 5 at this moment makes for a mini-ring composition for the main body of the letter. While opus indicates the need to follow wisdom, it can also be tied into the opera of poetry that the entourage is engaged in. See Ars 309: scribendi recte sapere est et principium et fons “understanding is the beginning and fount of writing well” - reciprocal relationship on display (one gains wisdom through writing and the wisdom accrued will lead to better writing?).
hoc studium: As befits the studiosa cohors. The anaphora of hoc indicates that there are two parts of the process - study and action.
parvi...et ampli: “Small and great alike” - everyone should do this, no matter their station in life.
properemus: Hortatory subjunctive (A&G 439). The emphasis on immediate action resembles Horace’s calls elsewhere in the Epistles (e.g. 1.2.40-43).
[29] patriae: with cari “dear to the fatherland” (carus takes the dative, OLD 2b).
volumus: take vivere with this verb and then supply volumus in the second half of the line.
nobis: A life of consequence will be dear/valuable both to the fatherland and to the individual. For those such as Florus, a scribe and comrade of Tiberius, the different facets of his “self” will be beneficial to Rome (the “royal” family) and also his own person (poetry and philosophy especially).
[30] hoc: anticipatory of the indirect question that follows (A&G 297e).
etiam: “also, in addition” (OLD 3).
rescribere: “to write back”. The epistolary relationship is stressed here and it makes it sound much more like a personal letter to Florus. Horace does this in part to highlight the “non-fictional” nature of these Epistles, but also to make Florus’ relationship with Munatius emblematic of amicitia and the problems that can arise when such friendship is threatened.
sit tibi curae: The double dative construction with esse, see A&G 282.1. Munatius is the subject of sit = “is Munatius a concern to you” (lit.) “Do you care about Munatius as much as you should? (quantae conventiat)”. This cura may be Horace’s way of indicating that this is one of the anxieties troubling Florus (line 26 above).
[31] conveniat: Take impersonally = “as it befits” (OLD 6b).
Munatius: Although we don’t know much about him, his name is “suggestive of the new aristocracy” (see Mayer 1994: 8) and he may be the son of L. Munatius Plancus, cos. 42 BCE and the subject of C. 1.7 (see Nisbet and Hubbard ad loc. for his political career).
an: “or” - continuing the question, but now in direct speech.
male: Take with sarta “poorly”
sarta: Perfect Passive Participle of sarcio = “to mend”. The imagery is from surgery.
[32] gratia: “goodwill, friendship, amity” (OLD 2). Such gratia is a motif in later poems of the Epistulae as well (see 1.4.10, 1.6.49). Also see Epode 1.24 for Horace’s hoped-for gratia with Maecenas.
coit: “to close up, mend, knit” (OLD 5).
rescinditur: The poorly-mended friendship has ripped open again like a poorly-stitched up wound.
vos: Accusative direct object of vexat in the following line, to be further modified by indomita cervice feros of line 34.
[33] seu...seu: Repetition of the syntax of line 23-24 above.
calidus sanguis: These two youths are “hot-blooded” i.e. quick to anger/passion. It is notable that Horace uses calidus to discuss his own “hot-headed” behavior of his youth, during Plancus’ consulship (C. 3.14.27-28). Do Plancus and his descendents somehow evoke calidus tendencies for Horace?
rerum inscitia: Their “ignorance of affairs” posits a lack of knowledge as the reason for their feud reigniting. Passion or ignorance instead of the wisdom/understanding of sapientia that Florus has within and should foster (line 27 above).
[34] indomita cervice: Ablative of quality with feros - physical qualities are often denoted by this ablative (A&G 415a). Horace imagines the two young men like bullocks (Verg. G. 3.174) or horses (S. 2.2.10 and Ep. 1.2.64-65). The phrase struck Lucan, who utilizes it at B.C. 9.380.
feros: Modifies vos.
ubicumque locorum: locorum is a partitive genitive with ubicumque. Equivalent to “wherever in the world….” and recalls the opening line of the letter where he wonders where Florus may be. The use of loci, however, may have some metaliterary resonance (OLD 23 for locus as a “part of a speech, book, or other composition”).
[35] vivitis: A vivid way of saying sumus.
indigni: Nom. plural taking the infinitive to complete its sense. Lit. “unworthy to, too good to” but translate as “it is wrong to”. Both of these young men need to show themselves dignus of their bond.
fraternum...foedus: Acc. direct object of rumpere. Their relationship makes them like brothers.
[36] The final line echoes Vergil G. 3.219: pascitur in magna Sila formosa iuvenca “A beautiful heifer is being raised on great Mount Sila” where this heifer goads the bullocks to fight (see how Vergil then transfers this situation to that of Aeneas and Turnus in Aen. 12.715-24). Horace is raising a heifer to sacrifice at the return of Munatius and Florus from their campaign. If the poem has been, in part, about poetic composition and the need to be circumspect in one’s allusive material and sources, Horace shows the influence of Vergil on his Epistles and this intertext may indicate that a romantic rivalry is behind their split. If so, Horace provides his solution to the romantic complication - she will be dispatched when they return.
in vestrum reditum: “in expectation of your return” (OLD 22c).
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