The volume on Horace and His Influence by Doctor Showerman is the second
to appear in the Series, known as "Our Debt to Greece and Rome."
Doctor Showerman has told the story of this influence in what seems to
us the most effective manner possible, by revealing the spiritual
qualities of Horace and the reasons for their appeal to many generations
of men. These were the crown of the personality and work of the ancient
poet, and admiration of them has through successive ages always been a
token of aspiration and of a striving for better things.
The purpose of the volumes in this Series will be to show the influence
of virtually all of the great forces of the Greek and Roman
civilizations upon subsequent life and thought and the extent to which
these are interwoven into the fabric of our own life of to-day. Thereby
we shall all know more clearly the nature of our inheritance from the
past and shall comprehend more steadily the currents of our own life,
their direction and their value. This is, we take it, of considerable
importance for life as a whole, whether for correct thinking or for true
idealism.
The supremacy of Horace within the limits that he set for himself is no
fortuity, and the miracle of his achievement will always remain an
inspiration for some. But it is not as a distant ideal for a few, but as
a living and vital force for all, that we should approach him; and to
assist in this is the aim of our little volume.
The significance of Horace to the twentieth century will gain in clarity
from an understanding of his meaning to other days. We shall discover
that the eternal verity of his message, whether in ethics or in art,
comes to _us_ with a very particular challenge, warning and cry.