Oberlin Classics

[1] Celso...Albinovano: Dative because of refer in the following line. We believe this is the same Celsus of Ep. 1.3.15ff. His poetic activity there makes the poetic pretension of addressing the Muse particularly apt.
Albinovanus: an uncommon cognomen, connects him to Ovid’s friend (and poet) C. Pedo Albinovanus (Pont. 4.10 is addressed to him, and Seneca the Elder preserves some of his poetry at Suas. 1.15).
gaudere: would see to replicate the Greek greeting of χαίρειν.
bene rem gerere: “to fare prosperously” (Mayer 1994 ad loc.). Horace will repeat rem gerere at line 13.

[2] Musa rogata: One had to invoke the Muse before beginning an epic poem (see the opening lines of the Iliad and Odyssey, and Vergil’s Aeneid 1.8). Horace’s Musa has been asked to be the messenger of this epistle to Celsus . There is some humor in this Muse, but it also personifies the letter itself, which does the “action” of asking Celsus how/what he is doing and his current attitude. References to the Muse also appear in 1.3 and 1.19 - poems that explicitly deal with poetic matters.
refer: Remember dic, duc, fac and fer “have an ‘e’ that isn’t there” in the 2nd person singular imperative. The re- prefix makes this order seem like a response to an earlier letter and sets up the indirect statement of the first line’s gaudere and gerere.
comiti scribaeque: Celsus, like Florus in Ep. 1.3 has a position in Tiberius’ staff (Neronis). The “scribe” was an official secretary and Horace himself was a scriba quaestorius and Augustus wanted him to take on a more pronounced role in his own personal staff (see S. 2.6.36-37, Ep. 2.2.51-52, and the Vita Horatii). For a good analysis of Horace’s position see Emily Gower’s “Fragments of Autobiography in Horace Satires 1” Class. Ant. 22 (2003) 55-91, esp. pp. 67-68.

[3] Imagining the possible questions that Celsus would ask in return, Horace gives a view of himself that shows his own variability. He may not be practicing what he has been preaching.
quid agam: Indirect question. Quid agis? Was the common way to ask “How are you?” in Latin.
dic: The imperative sets up a long indirect speech beginning with accusative/infinitive construction.
multa et pulchra: Direct object of minantem. Hendiadys (A&G 640) “many fine things”.
minantem: Supply me. Probably less “threatening” but more “giving an indication of (a future action)” (OLD 3) and it parallels a similar potentiality at S. 2.3.9: vultus erat multa et praeclara minantis (“you had the look of someone promising many famous things” said of Horace himself). This can be seen as an intertext to that moment of Satires, where writer’s block was troubling him, although here it is more a question of action/living well.

[4] vivere nec recte nec suaviter: recte probably would indicate Stoic tenets, whereas suaviter would recall Epicurean ideals. For vivere recte, see Ep. 1.2.41 and 1.6.29 - recte appears over 10 times in the Epistles and will reappear at line 15 below. suaviter appears only here in Epistles.
haud quia: A series of negative statements dealing with life in the country/on the farm that may be expected to cause sadness and frustration - the previous epistle also outlined some of the problems of villa ownership. Horace’s depression is not dependent on such factors (indeed, Horace’s villa probably did not produce wine or olive oil, see Ep. 1.14.22-25).

[5] contuderit: Perfect subjunctive in the quia clause (A&G 540b). For the effects of hail on crops and a curious way of trying to avoid hailstorms, see Seneca NQ 4b.6.1-3. A chiastically arranged clause with subject verb object // object verb subject, which parallels the damage to the vines and olives.
momorderit aestus: Excessive heat and dryness in the summer can hurt/damage (mordeo) the olive crop.

[6] longinquis...in agris: the enclosing word order of longinquis...agris not only could be concrete in terms of the “far-off fields” but also would be the area where the herd would get sick and die. It was typical for many herds of goats or sheep to be moved in order to find the best pasturage at different times of year (transhumance).

[7] sed quia: The real reason that Horace is unwell.
mente: Ablative of specification (A&G 418). Mental malaise more than physical plagues Horace.
minus validus quam: The comparison with quam (A&G 407). By claiming that he is “less strong/healthy”, he implies that he has the potential to be validus with some improvement. Mental exercise may lead to strength as physical exercise would to the “whole body” (toto corpore).

[8] nil audire velim: The subjunctive is to be explained as a product of the causal clause in indirect discourse (dic, line 3) - see A&G 592.3. It may also be useful to remember that in indirect discourse (from line 3 until line 12 of this poem) all subordinate clauses take the subjunctive (A&G 580). Horace is deaf to possible advice. This pointedly contradicts his own strictures at Ep. 1.47-48 - see the note there and note the repetition of the verbs audire/discere. Horace shows himself to be a poor pupil to the teaching of others who would help his “sickness” (aegrum).
nil discere: supply velim.
quod: the antecedent is nil in a relative clause of purpose (A&G 531.2).
aegrum: Supply me. This recalls aegrotet in line 6. For the phrase, cf. S. 2.3.292-3: “Should luck or the doctor save the sick man from danger” (casus medicusve levarit / aegrum ex praecipiti).

[9] fidis...medicis: The doctors’ advice only causes Horace’s annoyance. S. 2.3.147 features a faithful physician (medicus...fidelis) who is able to revive his patient.
irascar amicis: One should distribute fidis with amicis as well. Other epistles focus on the topic of anger (Ep. 1.2), and it will lurk beneath the surface of later letters (e.g. Ep. 1.19.48-49).

[10] The question Horace asks himself about his friends’ interventions.
properent: “to hurry to, busy themselves with” + arcere.
funesto...veterno: Ablative of separation (A&G 401) with arcere. Horace hyperbolically identifies his malaise with a “deadly coma”, but there is also a reflection of its seriousness in the reaction of the friends who try to protect him from his condition.

[11] quae nocuere: Syncopated perfect nocuere = nocuerunt. The indicative is retained in a subordinate clause in indirect discourse when “it is a circumlocution for what might have been expressed substantivally” (Mayer ad loc.). Does this look back to Euripides’ Hippolytus and Phaedra’s claim, “We see and understand how to be good / But will not act that way…”. (380-81), which will be picked up by Ovid and Seneca.
sequar, fugiam: Chiastic structure stresses the complementary activity.
profore: “that will be beneficial/advantageous” fore = futurum esse (A&G 170a).

[12] Romae: locative (A&G 427). That same entry also notes the two forms of the locative for Tibur (Tiburi and Tibure).
Tibur: modern Tivoli lies about 20 miles northeast from Rome and is famous for its waterfalls and the subsequent villa that the emperor Hadrian built there (Villa Adriana). The form here is accusative.
ventosus: modifying Horace. He is as variable and fickle as the wind. At Ep. ad Fam. 11.9.1, Cicero remarks that Lepidus is ventosissimus and at Ep. 1.19.37, Horace uses this adjective to describe the opinion of the fickle plebs.

[13] post haec: Continuing with the fiction that the Muse has told Celsus of Horace’s condition and now asks Celsus about his own affairs. The verb percontare (line 14) governs these indirect questions.
ut valeat: “how he fares” but also picking up on the traditional use of valere in epistles (see Trapp 2003). This looks back to Ep. 1.3.12 (ut valet), where Horace was addressing a number of the members of the entourage of Tiberius.
quo pacto: “in what way”. A common circumlocution for “how”.
rem gerat et se: with se supply gerat as well. rem gerere recalls the opening line of the poem. Se gerat hits the major theme of this letter. Horace has been providing a glimpse of his own problematic self-management, and hopes that Celsus will keep in mind not only his own behavior, but also how it appears to others (hence Horace’s own comments about his faithful friends and doctors). Horace should be looked at as a faithful friend of Celsus who is giving his own advice/medicine.

[14] iuveni: Referring to Tiberius, who was in his 20s at the time. Dative with placeat.
percontare: 2nd singular present imperative of percontor-ari “to question/interrogate”.
cohorti: The additional members of the cohort, some of whom are named in Ep. 1.3.

[15] si dicet: The protasis of a future more vivid condition, with the apodosis supplied by the present imperative memento (line 16).
gaudere: Recalling the first line of the poem. Such strong ring composition aims to show how the pleasantries at the opening of a letter can be made to speak more emphatically to living well and not merely be platitudes. The Muse’s reaction to Celsus’ news may help to temper the forthcoming advice.

[16] praeceptum: Learning by precepts is a common strategy in Hellenistic philosophy more generally and led to collections of the maxims of Epicurus (Kyrai Doxai) as well as criticism by Seneca on their use by philosophers-in-training (Ep. 94 and opening of Ep. 95). Horace himself has dappled his collection with various proverbs such as Ep. 1.1.41-42 (virtus est vitium fugere, et sapientia prima / stultitia caruisse) and Ep. 1.11.27 (caelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt). The Muse will impart this final sententia and do it in a way that is unintrusive and, ideally, pleasant.
auriculis: Horace also uses the diminutive in the Satires (S. 1.9.20, 1.9.77, 2.5.33) and in Ep. 1.2.53. Remember that earlier Horace had a voice that repeatedly gave advice in his purgatam aurem (Ep. 1.1.7).
instillare: The advice is to be “dripped/poured in” like warm oil that will melt ear wax and allow one to hear better (see Ep. 1.2.53 and Cato de Agricultura 157.16 for a similar description).

[17] ut...sic: correlatives “just as...so”. The final line features five spondees, slowing down the reader to make the sentiment that much more striking.
fortunam: supply feres. Celsus should not celebrate his good fortune too excessively. His attitude towards his success directly impacts the (positive or negative) opinion his friends will have of him.
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