Odes

By Ferry David, Horatius, James Michie, et al.

Book Overview

The Odes of Horace are a treasure of Western civilization, and this new English translation is a lively rendition by one of the prominent poet-translators of our own time, David R. Slavitt. Horace was one of the great poets of Rome's Augustan age, benefiting (as did fellow poet Vergil) from the friendship of the powerful statesman and cultural patron Maecenas. These Odes, which take as their formal models Greek poems of the seventh century BCE--especially the work of Sappho and Alcaeus--are the observations of a wry, subtle mind on events and occasions of everyday life. At first reading, they are modest works but build toward a comprehensive attitude that might fairly be called a philosophy. Charming, shrewd, and intimate, the voice of the Odes is that of a sociable wise man talking amusingly but candidly to admiring friends.
This edition is also notable for Slavitt's extensive notes and commentary about the art of translation. He presents the problems he encountered in making the translation, discussing possible solutions and the choices he made among them. The effect of the notes is to bring the reader even closer to the original Latin and to understand better how to gauge the distance between the two languages.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 029929854X
• ISBN13: 9780299298548
• Release Date: August 2014
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Length: 206 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.9" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Original not a translation

Introduction and commentary are in English but the Odes themselves are in the original so unless you read Latin or want to learn, get another edition

Marvellous collection

This collection of creative translations by some of the best of contempory poets is marvellous. For those of us who are somewhat Latin-challenged, the Latin on facing pages is very helpful.

Just wonderful

If you love poetry, treat yourself to this spelendid collection. Horace's Latin is too difficult for most of us whose high school education is distant. These translations are never less than readable and often beautiful. This may be a book that reminds us of why Horace has been read and loved for two thousand years.

Best available English translation

Of the various translations of Horace's Odes into English, this is the best I have found. The translations stay close to the literal meaning and sequence of the originals, yet are rendered into English poetry (not a prose crib.) Horace is a frequently complicated, dense poet, so the translations are often rather complicated and dense. A reasonable number of explanatory notes are provided in the back. My main reason for withholding a fifth star is the cheapness of the physical presentation: in order to save space, the poems are run together rather than being presented on separate pages, and the typeface is small.

Horace in the "Chaotic Age"

This is one of the finest translations of Horace ever compiled, all done by modern poets. Each translation seem done with care, more for the spirit of the poem than its transliterative meaning. The method of approaching Horace, by distributing the odes among some forty poets, keeps the timeless beauty of his poetry fresh. This is also a bilingual edition of Horace, which is an indispensable condition. Harold Bloom concurs that this is the best English translation of Horace's Odes.

Uncommon Poems of the Commonplace

No doubt that a command of Greek and Roman mythology adds immeasurably to the enjoyment of Horace's Odes but in many cases the context explains the reference. Horace's commonplace themes are deeply imbedded in our culture and he illuminates them with uncommon insight and poetry: love is cruel, seize the day, greed wants more, death equalizes, happy the one who wants nothing, don't be beguiled by past success, luck changes, accept your place, beauty fades, death comes, money can't buy peace, a friend is our other half. I love Horace the man, the Odes and the Ferry translation which brings a contemporary idiom to the poems without seeming contrived.