Ode 4.12 is controversial among commentators. It is addressed to a “Virgil”: some argue that this can’t possibly be the author of the Aeneid, although we know that he and Horace were good friends, and the ancient life of Horace says that it was Virgil who introduced him to his great patron, Maecenas. Their reasoning is that Virgil died in 19 BCE, before the date of Odes book 4, and Horace would never have implied that he was a hanger-onto the rich or preoccupied with money, as this poem can be read to do. Others argue that it couldn’t possibly be anyone else, given of echoes of Virgil’s work that can be seen in Horace’s poem, and that anything seemingly uncomplimentary in the piece is no more than friendly banter.
To see what we think, see our introduction to the poem, plus the poem and our translation, here.
The illustration of a Roman bird comes from a first-century fresco.