What do you think?
The Essential Horace: Odes, Epodes, Satires and Epistles
A new translation of poems by the Latin writer focuses on the disintegration of a civilization and the gradual disappearance of freedom
- GenresPoetry
274 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1983
About the author
Burton Raffel
142 books31 followersBurton Raffel was a translator, a poet and a teacher. He has translated many poems, including the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 26, 2014
It pays to go as far as our feet will take us,
Though there's farther to go,
And we can never go that far.
Gosh, I love Horace. This book has travelled with me throughout my many moves over the last thirty or so years, and I feel blessed to have it in my collection. Every once-in-a-while, I will take it out and sit in the sun and read a few pages. Horace is as valid now as he was more than two thousand years ago, perhaps more so as we become a world dominated by the elite and wealthy, where Horatian platitudes are few and far between.
Why try to own the world?
Those who desire too much, miss
More; the gods' true blessing
Is exactly enough, not a grain over.
Amen. I'll join Horace and admire the bees (those that remain), the trees, and the majesty of a simple lifestyle. For Horace, I learned Latin (or made the attempt).
This edition has the French Flap and a wonderful Foreword and Introduction. The translation by Raffel was a bit offputting, as he usually is for me. Burton Raffel believed in making ancient poetry relevant for the modern world, so in this edition we get Wall Street, for example, as a translation. Hmmmm. Not really in agreement, but damnit, it's Horace, so I'll accept it. I would simply say that Horace is so essential for a well-mannered bookshelf that more than one translation is needed.
Show yourself brave in misfortune,
Prove yourself strong: and when the wind
Is too good to believe, pull in
Your sails.
Book Season = Spring (when stones float)
Though there's farther to go,
And we can never go that far.
Gosh, I love Horace. This book has travelled with me throughout my many moves over the last thirty or so years, and I feel blessed to have it in my collection. Every once-in-a-while, I will take it out and sit in the sun and read a few pages. Horace is as valid now as he was more than two thousand years ago, perhaps more so as we become a world dominated by the elite and wealthy, where Horatian platitudes are few and far between.
Why try to own the world?
Those who desire too much, miss
More; the gods' true blessing
Is exactly enough, not a grain over.
Amen. I'll join Horace and admire the bees (those that remain), the trees, and the majesty of a simple lifestyle. For Horace, I learned Latin (or made the attempt).
This edition has the French Flap and a wonderful Foreword and Introduction. The translation by Raffel was a bit offputting, as he usually is for me. Burton Raffel believed in making ancient poetry relevant for the modern world, so in this edition we get Wall Street, for example, as a translation. Hmmmm. Not really in agreement, but damnit, it's Horace, so I'll accept it. I would simply say that Horace is so essential for a well-mannered bookshelf that more than one translation is needed.
Show yourself brave in misfortune,
Prove yourself strong: and when the wind
Is too good to believe, pull in
Your sails.
Book Season = Spring (when stones float)
July 24, 2020
Did I read it all? No, I jumped here and there, reading what caught my fancy, mostly probably from the odes.
November 30, 2010
According to the translator, around four fifths of Horace's poems are included in this book. It was very well done - I liked most of the Odes and Epodes. In particular, there were about four poems mentioning a tree which fell or nearly fell on him, and he seemed to be obsessing on it. I thought that was very interesting. A couple of the Epodes were really mean poems about older women - he's definitely not just writing about beautiful things.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews