Ode I.11
by Horace (circa 84-54 BC)
translated from Latin by Mary Jane Myers
Locónoé, the gods decree
the destined lives of you and me.
Toss out Chaldean horoscopes,
we’re not to know, though we have hopes.
It’s better patiently to bear
the firm diktats of Jupiter.
We might live many winters more,
or right now on this Tyrrhen shore
as waves drum on the pumice cliff
we might drop dead.
we might drop dead. Dear, here’s my riff:
filter your new-pressed wine; curtail
plans to a Lilliputian scale.
Time’s vanished, even as we speak,
as grapes ooze juices at their peak.
You can’t control the Fates’ design.
So pluck this day from life’s lush vine.
Latin Original
Tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quem mihi, quem tibi
finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios
temptaris numeros. Ut melius quicquid erit pati
Seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare
Tyrrhenum, sapias, vina liques et spatio brevi
spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit invida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.
Ode III.30
by Horace
translated from Latin by Mary Jane Myers
I’ve raised a monument more adamant
than bronze: the pharaohs’ pyramids aren’t as tall;
unruly north winds, or Tempestus’ squall
can’t ruin it; nor the years’ relentless count,
that marks the pitiless onrush of time.
I’ll never wholly die, my vibrant heart
will parry Death, perpetual seeds will sprout
from fresh-sung praise, as long as priests still climb
with silent virgins up the temple hill.
A poor Apulian, I; where Daunus ruled
with humble means my people, wild, unschooled.
The Aufidus convulses there. Through skill—
Aeolic meters merged with Roman vowels—
I’ve triumphed. Take a bow, Melpómené,
you gifted lyric genius to me.
Be kind, and crown my head with Delphic laurels.
Aufidus: a river in southern Italy
Melpómené: the Muse of tragedy
Original Latin
Exegi monumentum aere perennius
regalique situ pyramidum altius,
quod non imber edax, non aquilo impotens
possit diruere aut innumerabilis
annorum series et fuga temporum.
non omnis moriar multaque pars mei
vitabit Libitinam; usque ego postera
crescam laude recens, dum Capitolium
scandet cum tacita virgine pontifex.
dicar, qua violens obstrepit Aufidus
et qua pauper aquae Daunus agrestium
regnavit populorum, ex humili potens,
princeps Aeolium carmen ad Italos
deduxisse modos. sume superbiam
quaesitam meritis et mihi Delphica
lauro cinge volens, Melpomene, comam.
Mary Jane Myers resides in Springfield, Illinois. She is a retired JD/CPA tax specialist. Her debut short story collection Curious Affairs was published by Paul Dry Books in 2018.
