This poem, heart-warming at the personal level, makes a political point as well. Who has allowed Pompeius (not Caesar’s dead opponent, another one) back to Rome and made him a full citizen (Quiritem) again? Augustus has. Many former enemies, including Horace himself, have long been forgiven, and now clemency is extended even to harder cases like Pompeius. The civil wars are well and truly over, and Rome is at peace, thanks to Augustus.
That throwing your shield away is embarrassing, but worth it if it saves your life, is a theme that goes back in Greek poetry 600 years before Horace. Being spirited away by a god in a mist happens in Homer. Smearing yourself with perfumed ointment before drinking would not appeal to me, but garlands of parsley or myrtle might raise the tone a bit down the Dog and Duck. The Edonians were Thracians, by stereotype a rough lot. Venus is a winning throw, with all four dice showing a different number.
The recording and translation are dedicated to Simon Gilbert: “O saepe mecum tempus in ultimum deducte Lunto militiae duce”.
Metre: Alcaic
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