GRICE ED ORAZIO: L'IMPLICATURA CONVERSAZIONALE -- ROMA -- FILOSOFIA ITALIANA -- LUIGI SPERANZA

 

Grice ed Orazio: l’implicatura conversazionale -- Roma – filosofia italiana – Luigi Speranza (Venosa). Filosofo italiano. Orazio fu attirato dai problemi morali ed estetici. Quinto Orazio Flacco. Muore a Roma. Soltanto nelle "Epistole," Orazio dichiara di sentirsi attirato dalla filosofia morale per la quale vuole abbandonare la lirica (I, 1, 10-23; II, 2, 141-144. Si è notato che dal v, 145 alla fine questa epistola è un protrettico. Ma anche negli scritti precedenti Orazio tocca spesso argomenti filosofici. Scherzosamente, Orazio si chiama Epicuri de grege poreus (Epist. I, 4, 16). Effettivamente egli, che dichiara di non voler giurare sulle parole di nessun maestro, non appartiene ad alcun indirizzo determinato. Nei suoi studi in Atene conosce dottrine di scuole diverse, vede nelle sette filosofiche una disciplina che non deveno essere ignorate. Orazio s’interessa soprattutto per la morale applicata ai casi della vita. La sua indole, amante dell’equilibrio, della tranquillità, della serenità, gli fa considerare con simpatia l’etica del Giardino d'Epicuro, di cui si scorge l’influsso nella seconda satira del primo libro, e nella terza di questo, in versi che abbondano di reminiscenze a Lucrezioe. Orazio ri-assume la teoria del Orto d’Epicuro sull’origine del diritto e delle leggi. Più volte, satireggia paradossi del Portico: tutte le colpe sono uguali, il sapiente è re e conosce ogni cosa. Orazio disegna la caricatura degli stoici capelluti e barbuti che, predicatori ambulanti, espongono precetti ai quali non sempre fanno corrispondere la vita. Ma Orazio mostra di apprezzare maggiormente la severa nobiltà degl’ideali del Portico. Orazio si avvicina sia all’Orto che al Portico quando loda la vita semplice e sana della campagna. Ma quando sferza la caccia alle riechezze e al lusso, Orazio si collega al Cinargo, delle cui diatribe si avverte l'influsso nelle sue satire. Nell'insieme, la morale di Orazio è utilitaria ed è diretta dall’esigenza dell’equilibrio e della misura. La sua non è una teoria filosoficamente fondata e perciò non manca di incoerenze. Nell’"Arte Poetica" si riconoscono abitualmente riflessi di teorie del “Lizio” e particolarmente di Neottolemo di Pario, che assegna alla poesia il duplice ufficio di dilettare e di giovare. Da Panezio si fa provenire il concetto del "decorum", che ha un posto centrale nella dottrina estetica che Orazio propugna. Quinto Orazio Flacco. Best known as a poet, Orazio was sent by his father to study philosophy. His studies were cut short when civil war broke out after the assassination of Giulio Cesare. His works, frequently advocate the simple country life, and a number of letters he published indicate a continuing interest in philosophy. Although he had friends that followed the doctrine of The Garden, and he was clearly familiar with these doctrines, it is not clear that he ever belonged to any particular ‘school.’ Complete Works, Dent. In an examination of Horace's philosophy, we should not look for that comprehensive love of wisdom generally termed philosophy by the ancients, including science, ethies, and speculative thought. Horace was not the speculative type of man to be interested in the composition of the universe, "Quae mare compescant causae, quid temperet annum, Quid velit et possit rerum Empe 00168 at Stert tan doddret acunen, fre Wetaer the pLanete wander ad rol Fone spontareduer) 18 pedoedes or subt1e dtortinius that Is Crazed."). Horace was a realist, concerned with the ethical side of wisdom--with the conduct of life. Horace was thoroughly Roman, and the Romans, except only a few lofty souls such as Lucretius, Cicero, and Virgil, were of a practical, mundane nature. They cared little for the abstractions of speculation. They were born to rule-- parcere subleatio et debellare superdos.*2 than oupire, titg Shail be tnite are, to ozdain the law of peace, to be merciful to the conquered andbeat the haughty down."). The philosophy which appealed to the Romans was that which would give them mastery over self, and hence over the world. But everywhere around him Horace saw the tremendous waste of human energy, struggling nen, feverishly pursuing the bubbles that do not satisfy, frittering away their man-hood, consuming time and not achieving the mastery of life to which their heritage entitled them. For such an audience, then, in whi h the will to live was the dominant characteristie, norace, the sane, tolerant, and sympathetic man of the world, with the insight which comes from contemplation and the inspiration which comes from a realization of the dignity of his task, formulated his philosophy of living, a simple, practicable oode of ethios, to help men to saner, worthier, happier lives; & code which furnished a solution to the problems of life. It is not an explanation of life, but a way of life, something tangible, a touchstone by which men may test their own worth and contentment. How keenly he felt the importance of his mission we may know from "Sic nihi tarda fluunt ingrataque tempora, quae spem Consitiumque, morantur agendi naviter id quod alike to the poor, alike to the rich, and the neglectThe mature sorace was unusually well qualified to undertake this office of sage, monitor, and guide, for he was the product of unusual home training, thorough training 1n the schools of philosophy, and a very varied experience. Horace was ver, fortunate in his home influence. Born of a freedman father, who knew life from the point of view of the toiler, he early aoquired the common sense which 1s the basis of sound living. His father gave him an insight into the things worth seeking, by pointing out the conspiou-ous failures in his own vicinity. Instead of merely advising his son to lite frugally, he called his attention to a certain well-known fellow who had squandered his patrimony. Others he indicated as shameful examples of the effects of lust. By taking as a precedent the action of certain men whose lives were an example to the wole comunity, and shunning the practices which had made others infamous, he could always have a criterion of conduct. Further than teaching his son to distinguish clearly between vice and virtue, keep his eyes open to the lives of those arourd him, and profit by their mistakes, his father could not go, saying that others could explain to him the reasons for shunning vice, and that he might learn these reasons, horace was sent to the best possible schools, no doubt at no small sacrifice. It 18 the finest possible tributeto the fundamental worth of this rustic freedman that norace speaks ever gratefully and without shame of his humble birth and boyhood training. just what norace's life at the 'University' of Athens may have been, we do not know. sut he gives ample proof of nis entire familarity with both Epicureanism and stoloism. The former, so ably expounded by lucretius, must have made a profound impression on norace, the lover of life. That he had a sympathy with their doctrine of impassiveness (to them the duty of man being to increase to the utmost his pleasure, decrease to the utmost his pain, and the highest pleasure being peace of mind) is proved byTempora momentis Tapora potent. Oat qua gordine Dulla ("Not to be exoited about anything, Numicius, is almost the one and only thing that can make and keep a Ion sun and stars and the seasons departing in fixed course there are who view with no tinge of and again "Gaudeat an doleat capiat metuatre, quid ad rem ntere 1, ral eerento ne has esea beeter oat matters it, worse than BotE In body and soudii, hs eyes stare and he ds dased In another place he allies himself playfully with the more material enjoyments of the Epicureans--Once he admits, hafe shamefacedly, his weakness for the hedonism of Ceristippus ("Now imperceptibly I slip back to the terets of et, tot ne to the worla ate the rorta to And in a second passage he praises the adaptability of Aristippus,3 contrasted with the cynio. But a man with the rigid training of Horace's early years could not be completely satisfied with the superficialities of the Epicureaniem and Cyrenaism. He valued happiness, but he had too much moral fibre to find it either in impassiveness or pleasure for its own sake, and so in spite of his repugnance to the sternness of stoician, and the severity of its "Sapiens", he was drawn toward the positive virtue of the Stoias. No utterance could ring more clearly Stoic than the following: "Vir bonus et sapiens audebit dicere: 'Pentheu, 'Adiman bona.''Nempe pecus, rem,Comed bas entro toste httote tenth maniodsette sub custode tenebo.'hoo sentit, 'Moriar.'("The good and wise man will make bold to say, 'Pentheus, Ruler of thebes, what will you force an undeserving man like me to suffer and endure?' 'I will take keep you under the charge of a grim "The deity himself will free me as soon as I I suppose thig is what he means, 'I will die.' Death is the final goal of things." ) Although he appreciates the value of the stoic tenets he cannot take their asceticism altogether seriously, nor adopt them in their entirety, and fling this jest at them: "Ad summem; sapiens uno munor est cove, dives, Liber, honoratus, pulcher, rex Denique Pree iple sanus, nisi oun pituita molesta est. "?("To sum up, the philosopher is inferior to jove alone;tingo inga aborea noalthg, sare winen troubiedThus we see that horace was an folectic, sifting from all the schools of philosophy what wis finest, sanest and best adapted to his needs. If there appear to be inconsistencies in his system of ethics, and there are countless ones, we must remember that he regards himself as the physician of morals, ministering to many kinds of ailmente, each one demanding a diiferent prescription, and he knows all too well that life is too complex to be reduced to a simple formula. To the Stoics Horace owes his positive dootrine of self control, of a life in accordance with nature and controlled by virtue, and his superiority to misfortune. To the Epioureans, Horace owes his theory of the wise enjoyment of life, and to the Cyrenaics his theories of moderation. Of nis own foibles and changeableness he says Cone todtur t tale thdate pocune ("I commend the safe ana humble when funds are low, brave enough in a poor environment; but when aught better and more sumptuous falls to my good fortune,Horace's life experience had been a kaleidoscopic one. His youth had been spent in association with the sons of the wealthy and well-born,andthus he acquired that tact and urbanity which were so valuable in his later relationships, and which enabled him to give advice on matters of social conduct. Then followed his attachment to the hopeless cause of the Republicans, with the disillusionment, loss of property, position, and purpose. such a complete alteration of nis entire life scheme could not but have a tremendous effect. Any faith that he might have had in politios as worthy of a man's best efforts, was of course completely shaken. From that time on he could write with thorough conviction of the insubstantiality of "Ambitio". Besides he realized keenly the moral evils that followed the civil ware, and pessimism and general contempt for nis shameful countrymenHis fresh beginning in kome in a most humble position, gave him the first taste of the real struggle of the great mass of men for the mere means of existence. From this position he could see the weaknesses of the poor, their unrest, and idle craving for the wealth which they failed to see wis not conducive to happiness. It is perhaps from this phase of his existence that orace gained an appreciation of the simple joys of life wich are attainable for all--sunshine, the shade of tree, the river, wine, etc. Tastly nis friendship with waecenas, coming after the bitterness of life, afforded him the leisure to devote himself to poetry. ue had learned too well the instability of position to value it over highly, but from this relationship he draws the principles which he lays down as guides for patron and client.The burthen of Horace's philosophy of life is the attainment of happiness. Since he has tasted of the sweetness and bitterness of life, and now by virtue of his devotion to poetry is somewhat removed from the toil and moil of the world, he thinks that he has a better perspective, oa. better judge of the eternal values than the great majority of men, blinded to the larger view by the details, and hence first undertakes an explanation of the nature of happiness. Ultimately happiness is the product of a definiteattitude toward life. It is not a mere matter of chance. It is within the reach of all who care enough for it to pursue it in the right way. An idle, aimless, drifting existence will never attain the goal. the thoughtless, short sighten so man world must be brought to realize this, must be aroused to a contemplation of the issues of life, for he who neglects them will suffer for his neglect. "et miPosces ante diem librum cum lumine, si non ("and if you will not call for a book with a light before dawn, if you will not apply your mind to the pursuit of honorable ends, you will be kept awake and racked with jealousy and 1ove.") Men's bodily well-being, in wich they take such a keen interest, 18 not half so important as right living. Si latus aut renes morbo temptantur acutoQuaere fugen morbi. Vis reate vivere: Quis non?"l who does not?") And yet they place every other interest belore the wise regulation of life, either because they are too ignorant to realize its importance, or because they are too slothful and cowardly to face the issues. "Nam our Bet andaum, ditters Surand tompue inatun,2 ("When you make haste to remove what hurts the eye, Then let every man take thought of whither his life 1s trending-- "Inter cuneta leges et percontabere doctos, Qua ratione queas traducere leniter sevum; ("In the midst of all you must read and question the what lessens care, what makes you your own friend, we aud walk, and tae pata of a iise mo 10e4. When once men do come to acknowledge that nappin-ess in not an accident, but tie logical outcome of & well considered and consistently pursued course of life, they should give prompt attention to these matters of vital moment,and thus horace indicates the first step toward the new life.Multit e arttase fygere et sapteatia prineAnd once aroused it will not seem so difficult, for"Dope up taot que coopst habit; aapeze aude; If a man really desires happiness he must have an aggressive attitude toward it, for what is worth achieving can be won only atthe expense of vigorous effort."Sedit qui timuit ne non succederet. "3 osame has beer afraid of fallure, has remainedAnd again,"Ho onus horret,10oodt at persert, ro cospore matus. One shudders at the load as too great for his fueble spirit and feeble frame; another takes it on his back and carries it to the end. Lest anyone should think that because his past life has not been a worthy one it is useles or ridiculous to attempt any serious reformation. Norace invites him to draw inspiration from his own altered ideals. Quem tenues decuere togae nitidique capilli, quem sois immunem Cinarse placuisse rapaci,Quem bibulum liquia1 media de luce ralerni,, Cena brevis luvatet prope rivum sommus in led luglise puaet, sed non incidere ludum. "Leroa.("I, whom fine togas ana perfumed hair became, I whom you know witnout a gift pleased grasping leinars,the rill; I am not ashamed to have had my sport, but would be, not now to out it short.")Inconsistency 1s no disgrace, if you have veered to a wiser course, jut whatever you do, don't delay, but act at once!"Qui recte vivendi prorogat horam("He wao postpones the season of upright living is like It gidea and will glide, rolling on to all time.""out downWith this awakened interest, norace thinks it wellfor each man to test to the fill each of the things wich men from time immemorial have deemed the "gunmum bonum", with a view to adopting as his one, whichever one seems to have the most real vaiue, to bring the calmand contentment that are significant of a life well lived. The decision is amomentousone :"Non qui Sidonio contendere callidus ostro lescit Aquinatem potantia vellera fucumOcrtius accipiet damnum propiusque medullis, Quan qui non poterit vero distinguere falsun. "3 ("He who has not skiil to know now to distinguish from the purple of sidon, fleeces steeped in Aquinun, will not sustain a more certain loss or one nearer his heart than he who will not be able to discriminate the false from the true.")Try virtue first of all. "Si virtus hoc una potest dare, fortis omissisHoo age delioiis. "1("If virtue alone can bestow this, manfully give up pleasures, and make her your aim.") Or try the pursuit of wealth;1 Tme tepates ous, 108 postrene ontts. 2part that squares the heap.")Or try ambition:"Si fortunatum species et gratia praestat, Meroemur servum qui diotet nomina, laevumQui fodicet latus et cogat trans pondera dextram Porrigere. *4("If pomp and popularity secure bliss, let us buy a slave to tell us the names, to nudge our left side, and force us to stretch our hand over the counter.")And"Caude quod spectant ocull te mille loquentem. "5"elonge that a thousand eyes gaze on you as youOr test the pleasures of food and wine--Ne let fileen Cruad Tumaigue trons,Quad deceat, guid non, oblitt."b10tus 0 mere apetie eadenith tod unagesteproper, witt not "gt us takebaths, forgetful what 18Or the satisfaction of mirth--jests.")Then, having advised each man to try for hinself, for each must be the best judge of his own life."Metiri se quemque suo modulo ao pede verun est. "2 a 100t-leht For caoh one to measure hamsel or hieAnd he will never be sure that one of these thinge might not have proved the key to happiness until he has used it and found Its futility, Horace sung up the decision which each is bound to reach.Abstract virtue is a hollow thing,"Virtutem verba putas etLnoun 11gna, "3("You think virtue words, and a holy-grove sticks.")As Cioero says, 4 suitable for a community of disembodied spirits, but hardly fitted to men who consist of both body andsoul. It is too cold, too remote, andVre guan satte ca virea, ge petat naen-s Nor will men find wealth any more satisfactory thanvirtue as a "summum bonun", for its weaknesses are all too evident. Even granted that it does have many undoubted advantages,"Soilicet uxorem cum dote fidenque et amicosL Bone numa doret Suadele eaus due, w2("For of course queen Cash bestows a wife with a dowry,ney tan le acornid mith Sua bon and Lode .ho man ofhundred; so you will be one of the masses.")Yet how fleeting wealth 1s!"Quiequid sub terra est in apricum proferet aetas;Defodiet condetque nitentia. And the summum bonum must be a permanent thing. rurther-more peace of mind and good health are not conferred by it--Non animo curas."4ind poia gat ar res tover son the asting oods bratheir lord, or troubles from his soul.") Nor is pleasure a necessary accompaniment of riches. Nam neque divitibus contingunt gaudia 80118. "5("I'or pleasures do not fall to the rich alone.")And his advice is bad who bide you get money rightly or not,by hook or crook, just so that you may get a nearer view of the plays of Pupius, for after all, they are lachrimose plays, and why see them nearer?Besides, in the gest for wealth alone, you areprone to lose the sense of all other values--("He has lost his armour, has deserted the post ofполог,who is always slaving, entirely absorbed in augmenting his fortune.") Ambition cannot satisfy any more than virtue or wealth, for see the ignominy that it carries with it. One must seek thefavor and the gifts of the fickle Roman mob"Plausus et antoi dona Quiritis, "3and make friends of all sorts of peopleUt oulque est atra, Tia quengue deotus adopta teand although the world applauds a man today, tomorrow its fickle favore may be given to someone else, leaving 1ts former favorite stranded, so that only a small taste of the pursuitof ambition will convince a man that"Nex vixit male, qui natus moriensque fefellit. "5 pass de not de bad life whose barta and deata have Furthermore the unrestrained indulgence of theappetite is sure to result disastrously to both body and mind,there is no ultimate good to be derived from a life of excess, so men must rejectit, too, as the "summum bonum.""Sperne voluptates; nocet empta dolore voluptas, "I•("Scorn delights; delight bought with pain is hurtful.")None of these external things, then, can be regardedas the "gummum bonum", since not only do they fail to bring the happiness all men are longing for, but are the osuse of so much of the uncertainty and distress which plague theworld."Qui timet hig adversa fere miratur eodem Quo cupiens pacto; pavor est utrobique molestus,Improvisa simul species exterret utrumque.Sa guto ue ast mette poutare sie ofe ad romDeflixis oculis animoque et corpore torpet?"?("He who fears their opposites excites himself much in the same way as he who covets them, the flurry in both cases is a torment,whenever the unexpected appearanceagitates the one or the other.Whether one joys orif at every-It is not that in themselves these things are wrong--only that they are externals and one must not attach too much significance to them. It is because men have overestimated them that the three greatest ourses of the age have come upon the world--superficiality, restlessness, and greed.Since men are always looking for something tangibleas the secret of happiness they have bedome shallow, have grown to care far too much for outward appearance, and far too little for inward appearance, and far too little for inward worth."Si curatus insequali tonsore capilloslee mediai credis neo curatoria egere("If I have met you with my hair dressed by theha hare & hreed fa be ants beeatt a fosey tuno,or if my toga sits unevenly and awry, you laugh;whole round of life, pulls down, builds up, exchanges the square for the round?lou thinkmine an ordinary madness and do not laugh, nor yet imagine I want a leech, or a trustee appointedtortune8, and tume aboutn 12-out na1102 thean ill-out nail of theAnd this same belief that happiness lies inexternals makes men restless--a feverishness that manifests itself in the iorm of travelling, forever pursuing the happiness which forever escapes them. now foolish it is to try to escape the things which batfle one by seeking another clime!"Sed neque qui Capua romam petit imbre lutoque Aspersus volet in caupona vivere; nee qui Frigus collegit, furnos et balnea laudat Lt fortunatam plene praestantia vitam. leo si te validus lactaverit Auster in alto, Idcirco naven trans Aegaeum mare vendas. Incolumi Rhodos et mytilene pulohra facit quodr ben 11078, Sextl nonae oantnusrs.Dum licet et volutem servat fortuna benignum, Romae laudetur, samos et Chios et Fhodos absene. "2AAQpraise bake-houses and baths as fully making up thebe praised, and uhois, and far-off Rhodes.")The peace for which men are searching may be attained anywhere if they only know the secret."Nam si ratio et prudentia curas,Non locus effusi late maris arbiter aufert.Caelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt.Strenua nos exercet inertia: navibus atque("So that in whatmay Bay You have lared a pleasent Lite, tor seineit is common sense and wisdom that remove cares, and not a spot which commands a wide sweep of sea, their climate, not their mind,they change whorun across the sea.An active idleness busies us,in ships and carswe seek to live aright.Te Por totH at u20ra0, 1 a contented sptritThe people are merely consuming time, not living, who are forever on the march. They exhaust their energies and gain nothing but discontent.And of these curses of looking to externals forhappiness perhaps the worst is the ourse of avarice. Why seek for much in the world when one can use so little and more cannot delight?"Quod satis est ous contingit ninil amplius optet. "2' dia to whose lot 1a118 a competency, desire nothingThe grasping continually after more only breeds dissatisfao-tion---There can be no tranquillity so long as one is subject to an ever-increasing desire."Semper avarus eget; certun voto pete finem. "3 praye iser 18 ever in want; aot a fixed 80a1 to yourWhat a misshapen monster avarice is anyway--"Belua multorum es capitum. Nam quid sequar aut quem?"4("A many-headed monster you are; for wnat or whom shall I follow:")As soon as one head is cut off new heads appear, so that it seems inconquerable."Verum Ta de po sun horan turare preantes, "5How helpless men are in the olutch of such a power as this, which never gives them a moment's real rest and peace of mind!How wretched the heat of their desires has always made mankind, and how heroie 1g the figure of the man who has risen above them, is well illustrated by Homer's tale of the Trojan war, wherein the struggling, feverish, dissatisfied Agamemnon and Achilles and Paris arecontrasted with sane, calm, and prudent men like Ulysses and westor."Nestor componere litesInter Peliden festinat et inter Atriden; Huno amor, ira quidem communiter urit utrunque Seditione, dolis, scelere atque libidine et ira Iliacos intra muros peccatur et extra.Rursus quid virtus et quid sapientia possetUtile proposuit nobis exemplar ulixen,aspera multa Pertulit, adversis rerum immersabilis undis. "I ("Nestor makes haste to settle the strife between the son of Peleus and the son of Atreus; the one is fired by love and both in common by wrath.and angerThere as Bannin nithin the valls o ofun and with-Again as to what efficacy there is in virtue in Ulixes.many a hardship over thewide ocean, a man not to be sunk in the adverse wave of things.") If the seoret of happiness lies not in wealth, ambition, mirth, or any of these external things, which in a limited measure may contribute to the richness of life, but beyond the golden mean, pursued as an end in themselves, are the cause of so much misery, discarding all such inoidentals men must look for the real source of happiness within themselves. When men are dissatisfied, it is not the world which is wrong, but their own attitude toward the world.In culpa est animus, qui se non eifugit unquam. "Ihates his own. with the harmless place; it is the mind that is at fault which never escapes itself.") Two great doctrines Horsoe presones--the wise controlof life and the wise enjoyment of life.the first thing men must learn is to adapt themselves to circumstances, to frankly face the fact of the evil and injustice in the world, to realize that such a thing as periect happiness is nowhere existent and that all life 18 an adjustment.solue puae posot eret estare beatum,2 Saost the one ate ony thng Lhat on rate andkeep a man happy.")Chafing and fretting against the established order of the universe, against life's seening inequalities, only serve to augment their hardships. When once men do face the facts of life and bring themselves Into accord with them, things wich fornerly seemed of greatest moment will be looked upon with indifference.("Yon sun and stars and the seasons departing infixed courses there are who view with no tinge of dread.")And it 18 not only for his individual well-being, but for the benefit of the state as well, that he have this philosophical outlook upon life. and Bet, to take up beae, Ios nen to are deer toour country, dear to ourselves.")for ii we are dissatisfied with our fortunes, our bitterness will taint every relationship in life, but if we are sane, life will look back at us with the same calm expression--"Sincerum est nisi vas, quodoumque infundis acescit."?Brow Sout,, ressel 18 olean, Whaterer jou pour 1aOf prime importance i8 integrity of life. It is not enough that a man assume all the outward appearance of goodness and make a great parade of virtue. Qui consulta patrum, qui leges iuraque servat;Quo multae magnae que secantur iudice lites; Quo res sponsore et quo causae teste tenentur. sed videt huno omnis domus et vicinia tota introrsum turpem, speciosum pelle decora. "3evidence cases are gained.but all his household and theNo Bod thout he 18, Wit beautoous brtn) taz Unless the people no know him best find him honourable and sincere, he need lay no olaim to worth. Low senseless 1t 18 to delight in being called good by the world in general, forthat very world will perhaps tomorrow call him a thief, or unchaste, or say that he strangled his father. de deserved the commendation they gave him yesterday no more than the slander they heap upon him today.caliny terig put ede manwao te Fosous and Leedeto be reformed? It is perfectly clear how pernicious this false praise is and to what lengths it leads men."Leu, si te populus sanum recteque valentem Dictitet, occultam febrem sub tempus edendi Dissimules, donec manibus tremor incidat unctis. If the people keep saying you are in sound and perfect health, you conceal a hidden fever up to the hour ofR2E2™E60a：till paralysis seize your hands wile filledIn order to deceive the world they offer sacrifices publioly to the gods, while secretly they are praying to the gods of trickery to shield their crimes from detection. 3ecause one is not a thief or a murderer he has no right to demand praise, for he has his reward already in freedom from pun-ishment. or is it virtue to avoid evil merely for fear of the consequences--"Iu nihil admittes in te formidine poenae. "*("You will commit no crime through fear of punishment.")Good men desire virtue for calm and peace that it brings them--"Oderunt peccare boni virtutis amore."("Good men hate sinning through love of virtue.")For it is what you are that really counts, not what the world thinks. Even the school boy realizes this.("Yet the boys at their games say: 'You will be king if you act rightly.'However many of the externals of life fortune man have given a man, if he is weighed down by the sense of his own guilt or unworthines, he cannot enjoy them. But the manconsoious of his own rectitude feare neither loss of property or of life."Si forte in medio positorum abstemius herbiscontestin 1lquidus sortunae ctrus inauret;vel quia naturam mutare pecunia nescit, Val quia cunota putas una virtute minora. "2forward, even though Fortune's clear stream wereFreedom is another element in this wise regulationof life--freedom from all these externals which so often bring disaster."Ne cOtia divitiis Arabun liberrima muto. Lor the riones or the drabs,"t freedon of my ledsuz1oon oiet etterr sede fehe tbao edntere: when hestoops down for a copper fixed in the orossings, not see; for he who shall desire shall also fear: further, the man who shall live in fear, I will never regard as free. Once the love of riches has fastened itself upon a man he cannot escape it. If he only realized what a hard master it was he would flee from it as the fox did from the lion in the old fable.Omnia te angersue pattent a renta retroraum."tad, an oe be aai0, a2 polateIf then, he have wealth, he must place it in its proper position, else it may take out of his hands the direction of his life--it will either be his master, or his slave."Imperat aut servit collecta pecunia culgue, "3("Each man's hoard of money is his master or his slave.")Horace boasts of his own freedom from the opinionof the masseg--Noamai ons anotre trote ot putpite afeo, I do not hunt for the suffrages of the fickle crowd by expensive banquets, and a gift of threadbard olothes.Not only must a wise man control externals toattain perfect freedom, but he must practise self-control.He must restrain his anger lest it be a source of shame and humiliation to him."Qui non moderabitur iraeinfectum voletesse dolor quod suaserit et mens, dum poenas odio per vim festinat inulto.Tiperat, hune ente, hune Tu oupese oatera, 2t.that whion vexation and passion nace prompted, waitoehurrying on with violence the punishment for his unavenged hate.Ilese 1t 1f the elave, It' 18 theo1ourb it with the bit, yea, curbAnd his envy, too, must be mastered, or it willmake him utterly miseraole."Invidus alterius macrescit rebus opimis, invidia Siouli non invenere tyranni maius tormentum."2("The envious man repines at his neignbour's goodly• treater foreat than atos t hare not dtscoveredFor while he is covetous of others' material blessings, he poisons his enjoyments of what is his own.auriculas citharae collecta sorde dolentes. "3Bre he sane peaure ta pantie faro to theateof filth.")Let no man surrender to envy of his neighbor's lot, as did the ox and the nag in the fable."Optata ephippia bos, pigre optat arare caballugQuan soit uterque libens densebo exerceat artem. "IWhen men do yield once to the domination of avarice, envy, anger, public opinion, they have lost their freecom just as did the horse which summoned man to help him drive out the stag, and then could not shake the rider from his baok.?And of no less importance is self confidence.A man will accomplish only so much as he feels himself oapable of. Let hin therefore trust in his own ability and others will have faith in him.Dux reset examen,n3"Qus elb1 fldot,("Whoso has self-confidence, will be king and head the swarm.")The second doctrine is the wise enjoyment oflife. Happy indeed whould you be 11--"Di tib1----dederunt artemque fruend1. "*("The gods have given you the art of enjoyment.")But at any rate men may develop their powers of enjoyment. Life 13 so uncertain and so brief, death so final and always imminent --"Ire tamen restat Numa quo devenit et Anous. "5("It remains for you to go where iuma and Anous have descended.")There is no hope of a life after death in norade--it ig an eternal exile. Yet he is not pessimistic about 1t. Death18 Inevitable; accept 1t as such, and since there 18 only this brief span of years for every man, ending all too soon in oblivion, let him on that account make the best possible use of each day--"Carpe Diem" --so that thedoom of death will appear only as a dark background enhancing the brightforeground of life. Looking foward, looking backward breed discontent. Think only of the present.The surest way to get all the possible joy out oflife is to live every day as though it were the last--Grata superveniet quae non sperabitur hora. "I("Amid hope and care, amid fears and passions, believe every day has dawned for you the last; so, welcome shall arrive the hour your will not hope for.")If men keep this thought ever in mind they will f1ll each moment so full of the richness of living that there will beno regrets, no joys postponed to a future day which will never be theirs, when the summons of death does come.This means that to avoid disappointment men mustenjoy right now whatever the gods may have given them--"Tu quamcumque deus tibi fortunaverit horam grata sum manu, neu dulcia differ in annum;HE 200619e 2000 Ter18 133e 21beater("Whatever hour the deity has blessed you with, dosoever you have been, you may say you have lived apleasant life.If among these blessings wealth is numbered, let men not hoard it, but enjoy its benefits--("Po what end have I a fortune if I am not permittedThe man who spares in anxiety for hisneima., no 18 all too severe 18 next door to a For there is much to enjoy in ine world--andmost of the really worth while sources of pleasure are within the reach of all. shere 18 health--There are all the delights of the country and out-of-door life--"Ego laudo ruris amoenirivos et musco circumlita saxa nemusque.brown rocks and wood.king, as soon as I have lorsaken tnose soenes you extol to the skies with loud acclaim.") And--"Novistine locum potiorem rure beato? Tenat ef Taoe conle er onete ont ura Cumsemel accepit Solem furibundus acutum? Est ubi divellat somnos minus invida cura?Deterius Mbyois olet aut nitet herba lapillis?"4("Know you a place preferable to the blessed country?I nore Leasant bree2e allays ailke te tury of treDogstar and the commotions of the Lion, when once he has gone mad by receiving the stings of the Sun?Is there a spot where envious care less distraots our slumbers? Is the scentThere is simple food which nourishes without distressing--"Pane egeo iam mellitis potiore placentis. "I"Besad, is what I want now more pleasant than hondedThere is sunshine, free to all, of which norace is 8o fond--"golibus aptum. How foolish it is to want more when these things, if properly regarded, will make one's life rich and blessed--The wise nan will learn to value and employ what is within his reach.Not the least of the joys of life is friendship.There is a deal of the utilitarian point of view in orace's advice about sooial interoourse. The life of a reculse cannot be the richest one, contact with other people is both necessary and valuable. Ae Epicurius said, "Friendship enhances the charm of life; it nelps to lighten sorrowe and heighten ine joys of fellowship." Hence it is to a man's advantage to make himself as agreeable as possible. temust not pry into people's secrets--"Arcanum neque tu sorutaberis illius unquam. "1nYou must never po dato secret on the meetbut when they have been confided to him, he must keep them--"Commissumque teges et vino tortus et ira. "2"a teraladon a trust, thouga plied alike mita vineFor"Et senel emissum volat irrevocabile verbum. A word once let slip, flies beyond recall.")He must not be boorish, merely to prove that he 18 a man of Independence and stannia, for thereby he simply makes himselfObnoxioug~~"Asperitas agrestie et inconcinna gravisque. A boorish rudeness, at once unlovely and offensive.")When he takes up the oudgels in defence of some trifle--"Alter rixatur de lana saepe caprina,Propugnat nugis armatus. Equally disgusting is the fellow who slavishly bows to every opinion of his host merely to keep his favour--"Sic iterat noces et verba cadentia tollit,Ut puerum saevo credas dictata magistro Reddere vel partes mimum tractare secundas. "6actor in a farce handling the seoond part.")Horace gives a deal of sound advice about the relationship of client and patron. There are numerous duties whioh a client owes to his patron in return for his favor.First, he should be grateful for the gifts he receives:-An rapias. "Pistat, sunasne pudenteror tense a tans erence waether you take with modestySeoond, he should be willing to share cheerfully in his patron's chosen pastimes.or blamebe you for composing poetry.")"¿u cede potentia amici"So do you give way to the mild requests of your power-Because even the closest bonds of friendghip have been broken because of dissimilarity of tastes and unwillingness to compromise. It is foolish to try to dress and live in anextravagant way as one's patron does. The patron knows only too well his client's ciroumstances and will despise him for trying to imitate him when he cannot afford it. By all means let him not complain of trifles, but bear hardships without grumbling."Brundisium comes aut Surrentum ductus amoenumQui queritur salebras et acerbum frigus et imbres, Aut cistam effractam et subducta viatica plorat,("He who has been taken as a companion to Brundisium, or lovely Surrectum, and complains of the jolting roadsSion one ote 1059 014 Ba11 ao an ance,Beatet.-poon erer her real 10sse8 and sortowe get noAnd further he should try to appear cheerful for the benefit of those around, for--"Demesupercilio nubem; pleurumque modestus Occupat obscuri speciem, taciturnus acerbi."3If the client finds that he is humiliated by patronage, loses his independence and his self respect, if his patron i8 the sort of man no makes presents only of what he cares nothing ior and dislikes, as the host woo pressed upon his guest pears that were so plentiful that wat he refused, went to the pigs, then he had much better break off therelationship, for it is degradation.Wen should be most careful of their choice offriends, so that when accusations assail one who is well known, they may protect him and back him up. I and it pays to have a rezard for the wishes of others, even if it costs a little effort, for--"Vilis ancorun est annona, bonis ubi quid desset."? went are & of arlends  Low, when those who wantAnd it is a source of shame to a man to be mock-modest and refuse to help another when it is in his power to do so--("But I was afraid I might be thought to have undervalued my influence, a dissembler of my true power, profitable to mygelf alone.") Tact is absolutely necessary to success in a social way. There is a proper time for everything, as Horace warns Vinius Asina when he commissions him to present books to Caesar. One must be careful not to intrude upon the great, but must await a suitable opportunity, lest by his excessive zeal he offends the one he would please. Conceit is unbearable and will destroy friendship. Ut tu fortunam, sio nos te, Celse, feremus. "5("As you bear your fortune, so shall we yourself, Celsus.") Just how highly dorace valued social interoourse isshown by his careful instruotions to orquatus on the duties of host and guests. The host should be most discriminating in his choice of guests so that all may be congenial--Jungatur que part, "loeat par("That like meet and be associated with like.") and that all be the kind which will not make friendly table conversation a matter of gossip outside--sit qus atota forae edemthet. andoos("That amidst our faithful friends there be none to carry our talk abroad.") A friendship of long standing is an invaluable thing and not lightly to be broken, as he warns Florus, who has become estranged from lunatius. The best possible summary of O.'s philosophy of life is his own prayer. Sit mihi quod nuno est, etiam minus, et mihi vivamQuod superest aevi,si quid superessevolunt diSit bona librorum et provisae frugis in annumneu fluitem dubise spe pendulus horae.Sed satis est orare Iovem quae donat et aufert;Det vitam, det opes, aequum mi animum ipse parabo. "4Inay ire 2or aselt the renaindes ofidarg, 1onsI may live for myself the remainder of my gods will any to remain for me.May I havegood stock of books and of provisions for each year, trembling on the hopes of the man. Orazio.