Horace
(65 B.C.–8 B.C.)
The son of a freed slave, Horace received a first-rate education through his father’s efforts. He fought along with Brutus in the civil wars and found his small landholdings confiscated in the resettlement that followed. However, he proved to be remarkably resilient and soon became friendly with the literary patrons surrounding Augustus. Horace assumed a position as a man about town, genially critical of the follies of society, possessing the sense of humor to take neither himself nor anyone else too seriously, and in his poetry calling for common-sense resignation and moderation in personal conduct.
Consequently, Horace’s poetry tends to moralize. His sentiments are seldom profound. His genius lies in his expression of ideas rather than in their content. Although he has been cleverly imitated by later poets, Horace’s own unique style has never been successfully captured in translation.
Horace’s poems range through an imposing array of both light and serious subjects, including praise of Augustus and comments on contemporary events (Epodes and Odes), satires and conversations in verse (Epistles and Satires), and a poem about poetry-writing and literary criticism (The Art of Poetry).
