| Primary Readings: Horace Odes 3.13 (O fons Bandusiae -
16v.), Horace Odes 1.11 (Tu ne quaesieris
- 8v.)
Readings in Translation: Horace Odes 1.7, 2.13; you will want to consider Odes 1.11 in conjunction of Odes 1.4
Listening Assignment: Odes 1.11 and 3.13
on CD
Additional Resources: You can listen to Odes 2.13 online.
Questions: A) The sacrifice of the kid (baby goat) in Odes 3.13 has struck many commentators as a macabre turn
unworthy of the beauty of the rest of the ode; how can
you reconcile this passage with the rest of the ode? What
does its presence add to the ode? What comment on Horace
as a poet can you detect in the final stanza of Odes
3.31? B) Odes 1.11 is most famous for
its line: carpe diem; how does Horace prepare the
reader for this admonition? C) Odes 1.11
is explicitly addressed to an otherwise unknown Leucono‘;
consider how the address to a particular person effects
your relationship to the narrator and the poem. D)
Odes 2.13 presents a dark reflection on mortality
prompted by the quasi-comical near-death of Horace, who
was nearly crushed by a tree. As so often, the inevitability
of mortality prompts Horace to turn to thoughts of poetry.
What poets does he mention and what effect of poetry does
he relate? What is the link between the opening of this
poem and the reflection on poetry? You may also wish to
read Odes 3.8, which marks the anniversary of Horace's
encounter with the tree. E) How would you characterize
Horace's attitude towards his Sabine farm?
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