1. potes,
can bear, to dine in such humble guise.
Archiacis: probably
the well-known name of a cheap wooden triclinum made by a carpenter,
Archias. Cf. "Windsor chairs." lectis:
cf. Sat. II. 8. 20 and note.
2. modica:
not sumptuous, such as the great man would be accustomed to.
holus omne: any
kind of vegetables, lit. all kinds, not excluding the poorer.
patella,
dinner service, the characteristic plate offered to the Lares
being put for the whole. Cf. patera, Sat. I. 6.
118.
3. supremo:
cf. primo sole, prima luce. The dinner hour varied
from early afternoon to evening. Cf. Sat. I. 6. 114.
manebo, I
shall expect.
4. iterum
Tauro (sc. consule): the date
is B.C. 26, and the wine would be about five or six years old, respectable
but not choice. palustris,
etc.: a region of good wines, among which was the Massic.
diffusa, bottled,
drawn off from the great jars, in which it was first made, into the
amphora.
6. si melius,
etc.: Torquatus is bidden to come, unless he himself has something
better to offer in the way of entertainment, in which case he is to
invite Horace instead. Cf. St. Jerome, Ep. 48 (Migne, Vol.
I, p. 509), Aut profer meliores epulas et me conviva utere aut
qualicumque nostra cenula contentus esto, where the Father is
evidently thinking of this passage. arcesse,
send for me, invite me. imperium
fer, submit to my orders, as host or master
of the feast.
7. focus:
the sacred symbolic hearth, dedicated to the Lares, to whom every
meal was in a manner of sacrifice. This had been polished in anticipation
of the occasion. Cf. Epod. 2. 66. supellex:
the table service, which also had been put in order.
8. mitte:
i.e. dismiss all cares of business and ambition.
9. Moschi
causam, a cause célèbre of the time in which
Torquatus was engaged. Caesare:
apparently Julius, whose birthday, July 12th, agrees better than Sept.
23, the day of Augustus' birth, with aestivam noctem.
festus:
the next day being a holiday gives excuse for festivity, and at the
same time allows a later hour of rising after the indulgence.
11. tendere,
while away, lit. extend the night with, etc., for extend
through the night.
12. quo
mihi, etc.: the strenuous and sober Torquatus seems to
have been thought to need some apology from Horace, or an exhortation,
as it were, to indulgence. fortunam:
cf. quo sumere? Sat. I. 6. 24, and unde mihi lapidem?
Sat. II. 7. 116.
14. adsidet,
is next neighbor to. Cf. "next door to a fool."
16. designat,
contrive, i.e. stimulate the mind to activity so
as to make any undertaking seem possible. Cf. Od. III. 21.
13; Ter. Ad. 87. operta
recludit: reveals mysteries, i.e. discovers
things not understood in more sluggish moments. The divulging of secrets
is out of place here.
17. Cf. Od.
III. 21. 18, and I. 7. 31.
18. addocet,
etc.: teaches new arts.
19. fecundi:
as producing a copia loquendi, suggesting ideas.
20. solutum,
free, i.e. from the benumbing influence of poverty.
21. haec:
referring to the following, the duties of host, and opposed to the
idea of v. 30. imperor:
make it my duty, a rare middle use.
26. Butram,
etc.: persons unknown.
28. umbris:
cf. Sat. II. 8. 22.
29. sed
nimis, etc.: but not too many, lest if they recline too
close to each other, they should be mutually disagreeable.
30. tu:
opposed to ego, i.e. all you have to do
is to say how many we shall be, and dodge a waiting client, and come.
atria:
the great hall was the common reception room in which the visitors
of a great man waited for his appearance from the more private parts
of his house. Here Torquatus is to slip by a back door, and so avoid
the importunities which might hinder him from coming. |
