Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Carmen Saeculare

RE: Horace in general, but the Carmen Saeculare particularly

Horace is a tough poet. Sometimes it takes a long time to understand his poetry--like the hour it took me last night with the Carmen Saeculare, a celebratory hymn on the occasion of the ludi Saeculares in 17 BC. It was so confusing in places that I wondered if the Romans could even understand it themselves--or even Augustus. 

Of course, they could. Easily. But I feel less bad about my own Latin skills if I imagine that even Romans had trouble with it. 

Sorry for not putting this one in Latin, but I didn't know how to say "Smashing," "old boy," or "the deuce" in Latin. 

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