Odes, 1.31

A Prayer to the poetry-God

by Horace

The setting is the new temple dedicated to Apollo in Rome on 9October 28 BCE. Horace passes up the opportunity to make his poem one of praise to Augustus, who according to ancient sources vowed the temple during the civil wars, in favour of a very personal reflection on the things that matter to him, and a prayer for them to Apollo as the patron God of the arts. He prays for a long life, provided that it can be a healthy one, with his faculties unimpaired and, most importantly, retaining the ability to write his poetry.

The metre is Alcaics.

See the illustrated blog post here.

To listen, press play:

To scroll the original and English translation of the poem at the same time - tap inside one box to select it and then scroll.

Quid dedicatum poscit Apollinem
vates? quid orat de patera novum
fundens liquorem? non opimae
Sardiniae segetes feracis,

non aestuosae grata Calabriae
armenta, non aurum aut ebur Indicum,
non rura, quae Liris quieta
mordet aqua taciturnus amnis.

premant Calenam falce quibus dedit
fortuna vitem, dives ut aureis
mercator exsiccet culillis
vina Syra reparata merce,

dis carus ipsis, quippe ter et quater
anno revisens aequor Atlanticum
inpune. me pascunt olivae,
me cichorea levesque malvae.

frui paratis et valido mihi,
Latoe, dones et precor integra
cum mente nec turpem senectam
degere nec cithara carentem.

What does the poet ask of Apollo on the dedication of his temple? What does he pray for as he pours the new wine from the libation cup? Not the fruitful cornfields of fertile Sardinia, not the fine herds of sultry Calabria, not gold or Indian ivory, not the fields that the quiet river Liris nibbles at with its gentle waters. Let those to whom fortune has given vines prune them with the Calabrian hook, and let the rich trader drain from golden goblets his wine paid for by his Syrian merchandise; why, he must be dear to the Gods themselves, revisiting the Atlantic Ocean three and even four times a year with impunity! Me? My nourishment is olives, endive and digestible salads of mallow. Apollo, Latona’s son, may you grant me to enjoy what I have to hand in bodily health and, I pray, in soundness of mind, and to pass an old age which is honourable – and does not lack for the lyre.

`

More Poems by Horace

  1. Neobule
  2. O Fons Bandusiae
  3. Be your age, Chloris!
  4. Jupiter’s authority, and Caesar’s
  5. Awe for the Gods
  6. Some advice for Dellius
  7. Unrequited love
  8. Horace rests from his labours
  9. Stormy seas
  10. A prayer to Mercury
  11. Rome: disaster and salvation
  12. Jealousy
  13. Courage and decadence: the Regulus ode
  14. Leave the cares of state, Maecenas
  15. An invitation to Maecenas
  16. Gyges’s constancy
  17. The country is best
  18. Lalage is too young
  19. Horace’s monument
  20. A dedication to Diana
  21. Love lost and found
  22. Don’t worry, be happy
  23. Celebrating Neptune’s feast day
  24. Horace, the wolf and the upright life
  25. Roman values for the new age
  26. Last love
  27. Relief from care
  28. Horace’s reverence to Bacchus
  29. Postumus, the years slip by
  30. A Farewell to arms
  31. Romulus becomes a God
  32. The fleeting years slip by
  33. Horace’s Chloe
  34. What Roman youth should be
  35. A prayer to Venus
  36. The consolations of wine
  37. Here’s to Murena!
  38. Late stirrings
  39. Horace’s prayer to a wine-jar
  40. Gathering rosebuds: carpe diem
  41. Give me comfort, not riches
  42. Romulus in Heaven
  43. Horace’s Cleopatra ode
  44. New temples, new morals
  45. Nereus prophesies the Trojan War
  46. Luxury versus the simple life
  47. The tug-of-war for Nearchus
  48. A plea for burial
  49. Horace welcomes his army comrade
  50. Pindar and Augustus
  51. Fortuna
  52. An oath to Maecenas
  53. Pyrrha
  54. Europa’s lament
  55. A call for a moral renaissance
  56. Love a slave-girl? Oh, Xanthias!
  57. Glycera
  58. Locked out
  59. Caesar’s safe return
  60. Valgius and Mystes
  61. Wealth should be used, not hoarded
  62. The pleasures and dangers of wine
  63. A country sacrifice
  64. Carpe diem, Sestius
  65. The Golden Mean
  66. Lydia’s tragedy
  67. Lovely mother, lovelier daughter
  68. A garland from the Muses
  69. A prayer to Faunus
  70. Horace returns to lyric poetry
  71. Licymnia
  72. Horace’s limitations
  73. Poscimur
  74. An invocation to the lyre
  75. The lust for money versus the simple life
  76. Soracte
  77. The final ode
  78. Pollio’s histories of civil war
  79. Housman and Horace
  80. Diffugere nives
  81. Horace’s first Ode
  82. Augustus, master of the world
  83. Tibur or Tarentum: a poet’s dilemma?
  84. A day off for rain
  85. Curse you, tree!
  86. Iccius goes soldiering
  87. A change of mind
  88. Horace the peacemaker
  89. Numida’s back
  90. Horace the swan
  91. Mourning for a good man
  92. Horace’s wine
  93. Don’t trust Barine
  94. Diana and Apollo: a hymn
  95. A divine inspiration
    96. View Latin Poems
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.