Horace is a bottomless well of inspiration and fascination: every time I teach or read him, I spot something new. This has been going on, in my case, for 50 years.
I so appreciate you including audio versions of the original Latin or Greek in your blog.
By the time I completed my classics degree almost 40 years ago I rarely (possibly never) heard the original poetry read out loud by someone with the ability to place the stresses correctly and bring out the underlying rhythms. Latin and Greek were read and composed, but never heard.
Horace was my favourite classical poet at the time but the enjoyment would have been greater with access to such readings.
Yes, as you say, Horace's Odes never really leave you. They have an enduring quality.
They are elegant gems of expression, carefully designed, concise, full of ideas. The sound and rhythm are integral to the elegance and appeal.
Horace says things so well and many phrases have become much quoted:
carpe diem quam minimum credula postero - seize the day
iustum et tenacem propositi virum - the just and resolute man
I hadn't realised the persona in the poems may just be a construct, perhaps to fit with poetic conventions of how a poet should be. So, perhaps we don't really know Horace ....
Horace is a bottomless well of inspiration and fascination: every time I teach or read him, I spot something new. This has been going on, in my case, for 50 years.
As in mine!
I so appreciate you including audio versions of the original Latin or Greek in your blog.
By the time I completed my classics degree almost 40 years ago I rarely (possibly never) heard the original poetry read out loud by someone with the ability to place the stresses correctly and bring out the underlying rhythms. Latin and Greek were read and composed, but never heard.
Horace was my favourite classical poet at the time but the enjoyment would have been greater with access to such readings.
Thank you!
Thank you, Paul. I will now make a habit of it! So few classicists even today know how the metres work, unfortunately.
Yes, as you say, Horace's Odes never really leave you. They have an enduring quality.
They are elegant gems of expression, carefully designed, concise, full of ideas. The sound and rhythm are integral to the elegance and appeal.
Horace says things so well and many phrases have become much quoted:
carpe diem quam minimum credula postero - seize the day
iustum et tenacem propositi virum - the just and resolute man
I hadn't realised the persona in the poems may just be a construct, perhaps to fit with poetic conventions of how a poet should be. So, perhaps we don't really know Horace ....