Thus much we have had to say in the interpretation of Horace. Our
interpretation has centered about his qualities as a person: his broad
experience, his sensitiveness, his responsiveness, his powers of
assimilation, his gift of expression, his concreteness as a
representative of the world of culture, as a son of Italy, as a citizen
of eternal Rome, as a member of the universal human family.
Let us now tell the story of Horace in the life of after times. It will
include an account of the esteem in which he was held while still in the
flesh; of the fame he enjoyed and the influence he exercised until Rome
as a great empire was no more and the Roman tongue and Roman spirit
alike were decayed; of the way in which his works were preserved intact
through obscure centuries of ignorance and turmoil; and of their second
birth when men began to delight once more in the luxuries of the mind.
This will prepare the way for a final chapter, on the peculiar quality
and manner of the Horatian influence.