In estimating the effect of Horace upon his own and later times, we must
take into account two aspects of his work. These are, the forms in which
he expressed himself, and the substance of which they are the garment.
We shall find him distinguished in both; but in the substance of his
message we shall find him distinguished by a quality which sets him
apart from other poets ancient and modern.
This distinctive quality lies neither in the originality nor in the
novelty of the Horatian message, which, as a matter of fact, is
surprisingly familiar, and perhaps even commonplace. It lies rather in
the appealing manner and mood of its communication. It is a message
living and vibrant.
The reason for this is that in Horace we have, above all, a person. No
poet speaks from the page with greater directness, no poet establishes
so easily and so completely the personal relation with the reader, no
poet is remembered so much as if he were a friend in the flesh. In this
respect, Horace among poets is a parallel to Thackeray in the field of
the novel. What the letters of Cicero are to the intrigue and turmoil of
politics, war, and the minor joys and sorrows of private and social life
in the last days of the Republic, the lyrics and "Conversations" of
Horace are to the mood of the philosophic mind of the early Empire. Both
are lights which afford us a clear view of interiors otherwise but
faintly illuminated. They are priceless interpreters of their times. In
modern times, we make environment interpret the poet. We understand a
Tennyson, a Milton, or even a Shakespeare, from our knowledge of the
world in which he lived. In the case of antiquity, the process is
reversed. We reconstruct the times of Caesar and Augustus from fortunate
acquaintance with two of the most representative men who ever possessed
the gift of literary genius.
It is because Horace's appeal depends so largely upon his qualities as a
person that our interpretation of him must center about his personal
traits. We shall re-present to the imagination his personal appearance.
We shall account for the personal qualities which contributed to the
poetic gift that set him apart as the interpreter of the age to his own
and succeeding generations. We shall observe the natural sympathy with
men and things by reason of which he reflects with peculiar faithfulness
the life of city and country. We shall become acquainted with the
thoughts and the moods of a mind and heart that were nicely sensitive to
sight and sound and personal contact. We shall hear what the poet has to
say of himself not only as a member of the human family, but as the user
of the pen.
This interpretation of Horace as person and poet will be best attempted
from his own work, and best expressed in his own phrase. The pages which
follow are a manner of Horatian mosaic. They contain little not said or
suggested by the poet himself.