| Humano capiti ceruicem pictor equinam iungere si uelit et uarias inducere plumas undique collatis membris, ut turpiter atrum desinat in piscem mulier formosa superne, spectatum admissi, risum teneatis, amici? 5 Credite, Pisones, isti tabulae fore librum persimilem, cuius, uelut aegri somnia, uanae fingentur species, ut nec pes nec caput uni reddatur formae. "Pictoribus atque poetis quidlibet audendi semper fuit aequa potestas." 10 Scimus, et hanc ueniam petimusque damusque uicissim, sed non ut placidis coeant immitia, non ut serpentes auibus geminentur, tigribus agni. Inceptis grauibus plerumque et magna professis purpureus, late qui splendeat, unus et alter 15 adsuitur pannus, cum lucus et ara Dianae et properantis aquae per amoenos ambitus agros aut flumen Rhenum aut pluuius describitur arcus; sed nunc non erat his locus. Et fortasse cupressum scis simulare; quid hoc, si fractis enatat exspes 20 nauibus, aere dato qui pingitur? Amphora coepit institui; currente rota cur urceus exit? Denique sit quod uis, simplex dumtaxat et unum. Maxima pars uatum, pater et iuuenes patre digni, decipimur specie recti. Breuis esse laboro, 25 obscurus fio; sectantem leuia nerui deficiunt animique; professus grandia turget; serpit humi tutus nimium timidusque procellae; qui uariare cupit rem prodigialiter unam, delphinum siluis adpingit, fluctibus aprum. 30 In uitium ducit culpae fuga, si caret arte. Aemilium circa ludum faber imus et unguis exprimet et mollis imitabitur aere capillos, infelix operis summa, quia ponere totum nesciet. Hunc ego me, siquid componere curem, 35 non magis esse uelim quam naso uiuere prauo spectandum nigris oculis nigroque capillo. Sumite materiam uestris, qui scribitis, aequam uiribus et uersate diu quid ferre recusent, quid ualeant umeri. Cui lecta potenter erit res, 40 nec facundia deseret hunc, nec lucidus ordo. Ordinis haec uirtus erit et uenus, aut ego fallor, ut iam nunc dicat iam nunc debentia dici, pleraque differat et praesens in tempus omittat, hoc amet, hoc spernat promissi carminis auctor. 45 In uerbis etiam tenuis cautusque serendis dixeris egregie, notum si callida uerbum reddiderit iunctura nouum. Si forte necesse est indiciis monstrare recentibus abdita rerum, et fingere cinctutis non exaudita Cethegis 50 continget dabiturque licentia sumpta pudenter, et noua fictaque nuper habebunt uerba fidem, si Graeco fonte cadent parce detorta. Quid autem Caecilio Plautoque dabit Romanus, ademptum Vergilio Varioque? Ego cur, adquirere pauca 55 si possum, inuideor, cum lingua Catonis et Enni sermonem patrium ditauerit et noua rerum nomina protulerit? Licuit semperque licebit signatum praesente nota producere nomen. Vt siluae foliis pronos mutantur in annos, 60 prima cadunt, ita uerborum uetus interit aetas, et iuuenum ritu florent modo nata uigentque. Debemur morti nos nostraque. Siue receptus terra Neptunus classes Aquilonibus arcet, regis opus, sterilisue diu palus aptaque remis 65 uicinas urbes alit et graue sentit aratrum, seu cursum mutauit iniquom frugibus amnis, doctus iter melius, mortalia facta peribunt, nedum sermonem stet honos et gratia uiuax. Multa renascentur quae iam cecidere, cadentque 70 quae nunc sunt in honore uocabula, si uolet usus, quem penes arbitrium est et ius et norma loquendi. Res gestae regumque ducumque et tristia bella quo scribi possent numero, monstrauit Homerus. Versibus impariter iunctis querimonia primum, 75 post etiam inclusa est uoti sententia compos; quis tamen exiguos elegos emiserit auctor, grammatici certant et adhuc sub iudice lis est. Archilochum proprio rabies armauit iambo; hunc socci cepere pedem grandesque coturni, 80 alternis aptum sermonibus et popularis uincentem strepitus et natum rebus agendis. Musa dedit fidibus diuos puerosque deorum et pugilem uictorem et equom certamine primum et iuuenum curas et libera uina referre. 85 Discriptas seruare uices operumque colores cur ego, si nequeo ignoroque, poeta salutor? Cur nescire pudens praue quam discere malo? Versibus exponi tragicis res comica non uult; indignatur item priuatis ac prope socco 90 dignis carminibus narrari cena Thyestae. Singula quaeque locum teneant sortita decentem. Interdum tamen et uocem comoedia tollit, iratusque Chremes tumido delitigat ore; et tragicus plerumque dolet sermone pedestri 95 Telephus et Peleus, cum pauper et exul uterque proicit ampullas et sesquipedalia uerba, si curat cor spectantis tetigisse querella. Non satis est pulchra esse poemata; dulcia sunto et, quocumque uolent, animum auditoris agunto. 100 Vt ridentibus adrident, ita flentibus adsunt humani uoltus; si uis me flere, dolendum est primum ipsi tibi; tum tua me infortunia laedent, Telephe uel Peleu; male si mandata loqueris, aut dormitabo aut ridebo. Tristia maestum 105 uoltum uerba decent, iratum plena minarum, ludentem lasciua, seuerum seria dictu. Format enim natura prius non intus ad omnem fortunarum habitum; iuuat aut impellit ad iram, aut ad humum maerore graui deducit et angit; 110 post effert animi motus interprete lingua. Si dicentis erunt fortunis absona dicta, Romani tollent equites peditesque cachinnum. Intererit multum, diuosne loquatur an heros, maturusne senex an adhuc florente iuuenta 115 feruidus, et matrona potens an sedula nutrix, mercatorne uagus cultorne uirentis agelli, Colchus an Assyrius, Thebis nutritus an Argis. Aut famam sequere aut sibi conuenientia finge scriptor. Honoratum si forte reponis Achillem, 120 impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer iura neget sibi nata, nihil non arroget armis. Sit Medea ferox inuictaque, flebilis Ino, perfidus Ixion, Io uaga, tristis Orestes. Siquid inexpertum scaenae committis et audes 125 personam formare nouam, seruetur ad imum qualis ab incepto processerit et sibi constet. Difficile est proprie communia dicere, tuque rectius Iliacum carmen deducis in actus quam si proferres ignota indictaque primus. 130 Publica materies priuati iuris erit, si non circa uilem patulumque moraberis orbem, nec uerbo uerbum curabis reddere fidus interpres nec desilies imitator in artum, unde pedem proferre pudor uetet aut operis lex. 135 Nec sic incipies, ut scriptor cyclicus olim: "Fortunam Priami cantabo et nobile bellum". Quid dignum tanto feret hic promissor hiatu? Parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Quanto rectius hic, qui nil molitur inepte: 140 "Dic mihi, Musa, uirum, captae post tempora Troiae qui mores hominum multorum uidit et urbes". Non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucem cogitat, ut speciosa dehinc miracula promat, Antiphaten Scyllamque et cum Cyclope Charybdim. 145 Nec reditum Diomedis ab interitu Meleagri, nec gemino bellum Troianum orditur ab ouo; semper ad euentum festinat et in medias res non secus ac notas auditorem rapit, et quae desperat tractata nitescere posse relinquit, 150 atque ita mentitur, sic ueris falsa remiscet, primo ne medium, medio ne discrepet imum. Tu quid ego et populus mecum desideret audi, si plosoris eges aulaea manentis et usque sessuri donec cantor. "Vos plaudite" dicat. 155 Aetatis cuiusque notandi sunt tibi mores, mobilibusque decor naturis dandus et annis. Reddere qui uoces iam scit puer et pede certo signat humum, gestit paribus conludere et iram colligit ac ponit temere et mutatur in horas. 160 inberbus iuuenis tandem custode remoto gaudet equis canibusque et aprici gramine Campi, cereus in uitium flecti, monitoribus asper, utilium tardus prouisor, prodigus aeris, sublimis cupidusque et amata relinquere pernix. 165 Conuersis studiis aetas animusque uirilis quaerit opes et amicitias, inseruit honori, commisisse cauet quod mox mutare laboret. Multa senem circumueniunt incommoda, uel quod quaerit et inuentis miser abstinet ac timet uti, 170 uel quod res omnis timide gelideque ministrat, dilator, spe longus, iners auidusque futuri, difficilis, querulus, laudator temporis acti se puero, castigator censorque minorum. Multa ferunt anni uenientes commoda secum, 175 multa recedentes adimunt. Ne forte seniles mandentur iuueni partes pueroque uiriles; semper in adiunctis aeuoque morabitur aptis. Aut agitur res in scaenis aut acta refertur. Segnius inritant animos demissa per aurem 180 quam quae sunt oculis subiecta fidelibus et quae ipse sibi tradit spectator; non tamen intus digna geri promes in scaenam multaque tolles ex oculis, quae mox narret facundia praesens. Ne pueros coram populo Medea trucidet, 185 aut humana palam coquat exta nefarius Atreus, aut in auem Procne uertatur, Cadmus in anguem. Quodcumque ostendis mihi sic, incredulus odi. Neue minor neu sit quinto productior actu fabula, quae posci uolt et spectanda reponi; 190 nec deus intersit, nisi dignus uindice nodus inciderit; nec quarta loqui persona laboret. Actoris partis chorus officiumque uirile defendat, neu quid medios intercinat actus, quod non proposito conducat et haereat apte. 195 Ille bonis faueatque et consilietur amice et regat iratos et amet peccare timentis; ille dapes laudet mensae breuis, ille salubrem iustitiam legesque et apertis otia portis; ille tegat commissa deosque precetur et oret, 200 ut redeat miseris, abeat Fortuna superbis. Tibia non, ut nunc, orichalco uincta tubaeque aemula, sed tenuis simplexque foramine pauco adspirare et adesse choris erat utilis atque nondum spissa nimis complere sedilia flatu, 205 quo sane populus numerabilis, utpote paruos, et frugi castusque uerecundusque coibat. Postquam coepit agros extendere uictor et urbes latior amplecti murus uinoque diurno placari Genius festis impune diebus, 210 accessit numerisque modisque licentia maior. Indoctus quid enim saperet liberque laborum rusticus urbano confusus, turpis honesto? Sic priscae motumque et luxuriem addidit arti tibicen traxitque uagus per pulpita uestem; 215 sic etiam fidibus uoces creuere seueris et tulit eloquium insolitum facundia praeceps, utiliumque sagax rerum et diuina futuri sortilegis non discrepuit sententia Delphis. Carmine qui tragico uilem certauit ob hircum, 220 mox etiam agrestis Satyros nudauit et asper incolumi grauitate iocum temptauit eo quod inlecebris erat et grata nouitate morandus spectator functusque sacris et potus et exlex. Verum ita risores, ita commendare dicacis 225 conueniet Satyros, ita uertere seria ludo, ne quicumque deus, quicumque adhibebitur heros, regali conspectus in auro nuper et ostro, migret in obscuras humili sermone tabernas, aut, dum uitat humum, nubes et inania captet. 230 Effutire leuis indigna tragoedia uersus, ut festis matrona moueri iussa diebus, intererit Satyris paulum pudibunda proteruis. Non ego inornata et dominantia nomina solum uerbaque, Pisones, Satyrorum scriptor amabo, 235 nec sic enitar tragico diferre colori ut nihil intersit Dauusne loquatur et audax Pythias, emuncto lucrata Simone talentum, an custos famulusque dei Silenus alumni. Ex noto fictum carmen sequar, ut sibi quiuis 240 speret idem, sudet multum frustraque laboret ausus idem; tantum series iuncturaque pollet, tantum de medio sumptis accedit honoris. Siluis deducti caueant me iudice Fauni ne, uelut innati triuiis ac paene forenses, 245 aut nimium teneris iuuenentur uersibus unquam aut inmunda crepent ignominiosaque dicta; offenduntur enim quibus est equos et pater et res, nec, siquid fricti ciceris probat et nucis emptor, aequis accipiunt animis donantue corona. 250 Syllaba longa breui subiecta uocatur iambus, pes citus; unde etiam trimetris adcrescere iussit nomen iambeis, cum senos redderet ictus, primus ad extremum similis sibi; non ita pridem, tardior ut paulo grauiorque ueniret ad auris, 255 spondeos stabilis in iura paterna recepit commodus et patiens, non ut de sede secunda cederet aut quarta socialiter. Hic et in Acci nobilibus trimetris adparet rarus, et Enni in scaenam missos cum magno pondere uersus 260 aut operae celeris nimium curaque carentis aut ignoratae premit artis crimine turpi. Non quiuis uidet inmodulata poemata iudex, et data Romanis uenia est indigna poetis. Idcircone uager scribamque licenter? An omnis 265 uisuros peccata putem mea, tutus et intra spem ueniae cautus? Vitaui denique culpam, non laudem merui. Vos exemplaria Graeca nocturna uersate manu, uersate diurna. At uestri proaui Plautinos et numeros et 270 laudauere sales, nimium patienter utrumque, ne dicam stulte, mirati, si modo ego et uos scimus inurbanum lepido seponere dicto legitimumque sonum digitis callemus et aure. Ignotum tragicae genus inuenisse Camenae 275 dicitur et plaustris uexisse poemata Thespis quae canerent agerentque peruncti faecibus ora. Post hunc personae pallaeque repertor honestae Aeschylus et modicis instrauit pulpita tignis et docuit magnumque loqui nitique coturno. 280 Successit uetus his comoedia, non sine multa laude; sed in uitium libertas excidit et uim dignam lege regi; lex est accepta chorusque turpiter obticuit sublato iure nocendi. Nil intemptatum nostri liquere poetae, 285 nec minimum meruere decus uestigia Graeca ausi deserere et celebrare domestica facta, uel qui praetextas uel qui docuere togatas. Nec uirtute foret clarisue potentius armis quam lingua Latium, si non offenderet unum 290 quemque poetarum limae labor et mora. Vos, o Pompilius sanguis, carmen reprehendite quod non multa dies et multa litura coercuit atque praesectum deciens non castigauit ad unguem. Ingenium misera quia fortunatius arte 295 credit et excludit sanos Helicone poetas Democritus, bona pars non unguis ponere curat, non barbam, secreta petit loca, balnea uitat; nanciscetur enim pretium nomenque poetae, si tribus Anticyris caput insanabile nunquam 300 tonsori Licino commiserit. O ego laeuus qui purgor bilem sub uerni temporis horam! Non alius faceret meliora poemata; uerum nil tanti est. Ergo fungar uice cotis, acutum reddere quae ferrum ualet exsors ipsa secandi; 305 munus et officium, nil scribens ipse, docebo, unde parentur opes, quid alat formetque poetam, quid deceat, quid non, quo uirtus, quo ferat error. Scribendi recte sapere est et principium et fons. Rem tibi Socraticae poterunt ostendere chartae, 310 uerbaque prouisam rem non inuita sequentur. Qui didicit, patriae quid debeat et quid amicis, quo sit amore parens, quo frater amandus et hospes, quod sit conscripti, quod iudicis officium, quae partes in bellum missi ducis, ille profecto 315 reddere personae scit conuenientia cuique. Respicere exemplar uitae morumque iubebo doctum imitatorem et uiuas hinc ducere uoces. Interdum speciosa locis morataque recte fabula nullius ueneris, sine pondere et arte, 320 ualdius oblectat populum meliusque moratur quam uersus inopes rerum nugaeque canorae. Grais ingenium, Grais dedit ore rotundo Musa loqui, praeter laudem nullius auaris; Romani pueri longis rationibus assem 325 discunt in partis centum diducere. "Dicat filius Albini: si de quincunce remota est uncia, quid superat?.Poteras dixisse. -Triens. -Eu! Rem poteris seruare tuam. Redit uncia, quid fit? " Semis". An, haec animos aerugo et cura peculi 330 cum semel imbuerit, speramus carmina fingi posse linenda cedro et leui seruanda cupresso? Aut prodesse uolunt aut delectare poetae aut simul et iucunda et idonea dicere uitae. Quicquid praecipies, esto breuis, ut cito dicta 335 percipiant animi dociles teneantque fideles. Omne superuacuum pleno de pectore manat. Ficta uoluptatis causa sint proxima ueris, ne quodcumque uolet poscat sibi fabula credi, neu pransae Lamiae uiuum puerum extrahat aluo. 340 Centuriae seniorum agitant expertia frugis, celsi praetereunt austera poemata Ramnes. Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci, lectorem delectando pariterque monendo; hic meret aera liber Sosiis, hic et mare transit 345 et longum noto scriptori prorogat aeuum. Sunt delicta tamen quibus ignouisse uelimus; nam neque chorda sonum reddit quem uolt manus et mens, poscentique grauem persaepe remittit acutum, nec semper feriet quodcumque minabitur arcus. 350 Verum ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis offendar maculis, quas aut incuria fudit, aut humana parum cauit natura. Quid ergo est? Vt scriptor si peccat idem librarius usque, quamuis est monitus, uenia caret, et Citharoedus 355 ridetur, chorda qui semper oberrat eadem, sic mihi, qui multum cessat, fit Choerilus ille, quem bis terque bonum cum risu miror; et idem indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus; uerum operi longo fas est obrepere somnum. 360 Vt pictura poesis; erit quae, si propius stes, te capiat magis, et quaedam, si longius abstes; haec amat obscurum, uolet haec sub luce uideri, iudicis argutum quae non formidat acumen; haec placuit semel, haec deciens repetita placebit. 365 O maior iuuenum, quamuis et uoce paterna fingeris ad rectum et per te sapis, hoc tibi dictum tolle memor, certis medium et tolerabile rebus recte concedi; consultus iuris et actor causarum mediocris abest uirtute diserti 370 Messallae nec scit quantum Cascellius Aulus, sed tamen in pretio est; mediocribus esse poetis non homines, non di, non concessere columnae. Vt gratas inter mensas symphonia discors et crassum unguentum et Sardo cum melle papauer 375 offendunt, poterat duci quia cena sine istis, sic animis natum inuentumque poema iuuandis, si paulum summo decessit, uergit ad imum. Ludere qui nescit, campestribus abstinet armis, indoctusque pilae disciue trochiue quiescit, 380 ne spissae risum tollant impune coronae; qui nescit, uersus tamen audet fingere. Quidni? Liber et ingenuus, praesertim census equestrem summam nummorum uitioque remotus ab omni. Tu nihil inuita dices faciesue Minerua; 385 id tibi iudicium est, ea mens. Siquid tamen olim scripseris, in Maeci descendat iudicis auris et patris et nostras, nonumque prematur in annum membranis intus positis; delere licebit quod non edideris; nescit uox missa reuerti. 390 Siluestris homines sacer interpresque deorum caedibus et uictu foedo deterruit Orpheus, dictus ob hoc lenire tigris rabidosque leones; dictus et Amphion, Thebanae conditor urbis, saxa mouere sono testudinis et prece blanda 395 ducere quo uellet. Fuit haec sapientia quondam, publica priuatis secernere, sacra profanis, concubitu prohibere uago, dare iura maritis, oppida moliri, leges incidere ligno. Sic honor et nomen diuinis uatibus atque 400 carminibus uenit. Post hos insignis Homerus Tyrtaeusque mares animos in Martia bella uersibus exacuit, dictae per carmina sortes, et uitae monstrata uia est et gratia regum Pieriis temptata modis ludusque repertus 405 et longorum operum finis: ne forte pudori sit tibi Musa lyrae sollers et cantor Apollo. Natura fieret laudabile carmen an arte, quaesitum est; ego nec studium sine diuite uena nec rude quid prosit uideo ingenium; alterius sic 410 altera poscit opem res et coniurat amice. Qui studet optatam cursu contingere metam, multa tulit fecitque puer, sudauit et alsit, abstinuit uenere et uino; qui Pythia cantat tibicen, didicit prius extimuitque magistrum. 415 Nunc satis est dixisse: "Ego mira poemata pango; occupet extremum scabies; mihi turpe relinqui est et, quod non didici, sane nescire fateri." Vt praeco, ad merces turbam qui cogit emendas, adsentatores iubet ad lucrum ire poeta 420 diues agris, diues positis in fenore nummis. Si uero est unctum qui recte ponere possit et spondere leui pro paupere et eripere atris litibus implicitum, mirabor si sciet inter noscere mendacem uerumque beatus amicum. 425 Tu seu donaris seu quid donare uoles cui, nolito ad uersus tibi factos ducere plenum laetitiae; clamabit enim: "Pulchre, bene, recte", pallescet super his, etiam stillabit amicis ex oculis rorem, saliet, tundet pede terram. 430 Vt qui conducti plorant in funere dicunt et faciunt prope plura dolentibus ex animo, sic derisor uero plus laudatore mouetur. Reges dicuntur multis urgere culillis et torquere mero, quem perspexisse laborent 435 an sit amicitia dignus; si carmina condes, numquam te fallent animi sub uolpe latentes. Quintilio siquid recitares: "Corrige, soldes, hoc" aiebat "et hoc"; melius te posse negares, bis terque expertum frustra; delere iubebat 440 et male tornatos incudi reddere uersus. Si defendere delictum quam uertere malles, nullum ultra uerbum aut operam insumebat inanem, quin sine riuali teque et tua solus amares. Vir bonus et prudens uersus reprehendet inertis, 445 culpabit duros, incomptis adlinet atrum transuorso calamo signum, ambitiosa recidet ornamenta, parum claris lucem dare coget, arguet ambigue dictum, mutanda notabit, fiet Aristarchus, nec dicet: "Cur ego amicum 450 offendam in nugis?" Hae nugae seria ducent in mala derisum semel exceptumque sinistre. Vt mala quem scabies aut morbus regius urget aut fanaticus error et iracunda Diana, uesanum tetigisse timent fugiuntque poetam, 455 qui sapiunt; agitant pueri incautique sequuntur. Hic dum sublimis uersus ructatur et errat, si ueluti merulis intentus decidit auceps in puteum foueamue, licet "succurrite" longum clamet "io ciues", non sit qui tollere curet. 460 Si curet quis opem ferre et demittere funem, "qui scis an prudens huc se deiecerit atque seruari nolit?" dicam, Siculique poetae narrabo interitum. Deus inmortalis haberi dum cupit Empedocles, ardentem frigidus Aetnam 465 insiluit. Sit ius liceatque perire poetis; inuitum qui seruat, idem facit occidenti. Nec semel hoc fecit nec, si retractus erit, iam fiet homo et ponet famosae mortis amorem. Nec satis apparet cur uersus factitet, utrum 470 minxerit in patrios cineres, an triste bidental mouerit incestus; certe furit, ac uelut ursus, obiectos caueae ualuit si frangere clatros, indoctum doctumque fugat recitator acerbus; quem uero arripuit, tenet occiditque legendo, 475 non missura cutem nisi plena cruoris hirudo. |
If a painter had chosen to set a human head On a horse�s neck, covered a melding of limbs, Everywhere, with multi-coloured plumage, so That what was a lovely woman, at the top, Ended repulsively in the tail of a black fish: Asked to a viewing, could you stifle laughter, my friends? Believe me, a book would be like such a picture, Dear Pisos, if it�s idle fancies were so conceived That neither its head nor foot could be related To a unified form. �But painters and poets Have always shared the right to dare anything.� I know it: I claim that licence, and grant it in turn: But not so the wild and tame should ever mate, Or snakes couple with birds, or lambs with tigers. Weighty openings and grand declarations often Have one or two purple patches tacked on, that gleam Far and wide, when Diana�s grove and her altar, The winding stream hastening through lovely fields, Or the river Rhine, or the rainbow�s being described. There�s no place for them here. Perhaps you know how To draw a cypress tree: so what, if you�ve been given Money to paint a sailor plunging from a shipwreck In despair? It started out as a wine-jar: then why, As the wheel turns round does it end up a pitcher? In short let it be what you wish, but whole and natural. Most poets (dear sir, and you sons worthy of your sire), Are beguiled by accepted form. I try to be brief And become obscure: aiming at smoothness I fail In strength and spirit: claiming grandeur _he_�s turgid: Too cautious, fearing the blast, he crawls on the ground: But the man who wants to distort something unnaturally Paints a dolphin among the trees, a boar in the waves. Avoiding faults leads to error, if art is lacking. The humblest craftsman, down by Aemilius� School, Who moulds finger-nails in bronze, imitates wavy hair, Is unhappy with the result, because he�s unable To create a whole. Now if I wished to cast something, I�d no more wish to be him, than live with a crooked Nose, though admired for my jet-black eyes and black hair. You who write, choose a subject that�s matched by Your powers, consider deeply what your shoulders Can and cannot bear. Whoever chooses rightly Eloquence, and clear construction, won�t fail him. Charm and excellence in construction, if I�m right, Is to say here and now, what�s to be said here and now, Retaining, and omitting, much, for the present. Moreover as the author of the promised work, Liking this, rejecting that, cautious and precise, Weaving words together, you�ll speak most happily, When skilled juxtaposition renews a common word. If you need to indicate abstruse things by novel terms, It�s your chance to invent ones the kilted Cethegi Never heard: licence will be given you if wisely used: Indeed, new-minted words will gain acceptance That spring from the Greek fount, and are sparingly used. Why should Romans deny to Virgil and Varius What they allowed to Caecilius and Plautus? And why begrudge me adding a few if I can, When Cato�s and Ennius� speech revealed new terms, Enriched our mother-tongue,? It�s been our right, ever Will be our right, to issue words that are fresh-stamped. As the forests shed their leaves, as the year declines, And the oldest fall, so perish those former generations Of words, while the latest, like infants, are born and thrive. We�re destined for death, we and ours: no matter if Neptune, harboured inshore, guards our ships from northerlies, A royal project, no matter if an old barren marsh, that knew The oar, feels the plough�s weight, and feeds the towns nearby, Or that a river which ruined crops has changed its course, And learnt better ways: our mortal works will vanish, The beauty and charm of speech no more like to live. Many words that are now unused will be rekindled, Many fade now well-regarded, if Usage wills it so, To whom the laws, rules, and control of language belong. Homer�s shown the metre in which the deeds of captains And kings, and the sorrows of war, may be written. First, lament was captured in elegiac couplets, Then, expressions of thanks for prayers granted, too: Scholars dispute, though without final agreement, As to who first composed short elegies in this metre. Anger armed Archilochus with his own iambus: His foot fitted both comic sock and tragic buskin, Suited to dialogue, able to overcome the noise Of the pit, and naturally appropriate to action. The Muse granted the lyre tales of gods, and their sons, Of the victor in boxing, the winning horse in the race, The sorrows of youth, and the freedoms of wine. How can I be called a poet if I ignore, or fail to observe, The established functions and styles in my work? Why from diffidence would I prefer not to know, Than to learn? Comedy can�t be played in tragic mode. Likewise Thyestes� feast scorns being related In everyday terms suited to the comic sock. Let each thing keep to the proper place, allotted. Yet Comedy may sometimes elevate its voice, When an angry Chremes storms in swelling phrase: And often in tragedy, Peleus and Telephus, One exiled, one a beggar, lament in common prose, Eschewing bombast, and sesquipedalian words, When they want their moaning to touch the listener�s heart. It�s not enough for poems to have beauty: they must have Charm, leading their hearer�s heart wherever they wish. As the human face smiles at a smile, so it echoes Those who weep: if you want to move me to tears You must first grieve yourself: then Peleus or Telephus Your troubles might pain me: speak inappropriately And I�ll laugh or fall asleep. Sad words suit a face Full of sorrow, threats fit the face full of anger, Jests suit the playful, serious speech the solemn. Nature first alters us within, to respond to each Situation: brings delight or goads us to anger, Or weighs us to the ground, tormented by grief: Then, with tongue interpreting, shows heart�s emotion. If the speaker�s words don�t harmonise with his state, The Romans will bellow with laughter, knights and all. Much depends on whether a god or man is speaking, A mature old man, or one still flush with first youth, A powerful lady, or perhaps a diligent nurse, A wandering merchant, or tiller of fertile fields, Colchian or Assyrian, from Argos or Thebes. Either follow tradition, or invent consistently. If you happen to portray Achilles, honoured, Pen him as energetic, irascible, ruthless, Fierce, above the law, never downing weapons. Make Medea wild, untameable, Ino tearful, Ixion treacherous, Io wandering, Orestes sad. If you�re staging something untried, and dare To attempt fresh characters, keep them as first Introduced, from start to end self-consistent. It�s hard to make the universal specific: It�s better to weave a play from the poem of Troy, Than be first to offer something unknown, unsung. You�ll win private rights to public themes, if you Don�t keep slowly circling the broad beaten track, Or, pedantic translator, render them word for word, Or following an idea, leap like the goat into the well From which shame, or the work�s logic, denies escape. And don�t start like the old writer of epic cycles: �Of Priam�s fate I�ll sing, and the greatest of Wars.� What could he produce to match his opening promise? Mountains will labour: what�s born? A ridiculous mouse! How much better the man who doesn�t struggle, ineptly: �Tell me, Muse, of that man, who after the fall of Troy Had sight of the manners and cities of many peoples.� He intends not smoke from flame, but light from smoke, So as then to reveal striking and marvellous things, Antiphates, Charybdis and Scylla, the Cyclops. He doesn�t start Diomede�s return from Troy with his Uncle Meleager�s death, or the War with two eggs: He always hastens the outcome, and snatches the reader Into the midst of the action, as if all were known, Leaves what he despairs of improving by handling, Yet so deceptive, in blending fact with fiction, The middle agrees with the start, the end with the middle. Hear now what I, and the public also, expect: If you want us to stay in our seats till the curtain Call, when the actor cries out �All applaud�, You�re to note the behaviour of every age-group, Give grace to the variation in character and years. The lad who can answer now, and set a firm foot To the ground, likes to play with his peers, loses but Quickly regains his temper, and alters with the hour. The beardless youth, free of tutors at last, delights In horse and hound, and the turf of the sunlit Campus, He�s wax malleable for sin, rude to his advisors, Slow in making provision, lavish with money, Spirited, passionate, and swift to change his whim. Manhood�s years and thoughts, with altering interests, Seek wealth and friendship, devoted to preferment, Wary of doing what they may soon labour to change. Many troubles surround the aged man, because he Seeks savings, yet sadly won�t touch them, fears their use, And because in all he does he�s cold and timid, Dilatory, short on hope, sluggish, greedy for life, Surly, a moaner, given to praising the years when He was a boy, chiding and criticising the young. The advancing years bring many blessings with them, Many, departing, they take away. So lest we chance To assign youth�s part to age, or a boy�s to a man, Always adopt what suits and belongs to a given age. Events are either acted on stage, or reported. The mind is stirred less vividly by what�s heard Than by what the eyes reliably report, all that The spectator sees for himself. But don�t reveal On stage what should be hidden, keep things from sight That eloquence can soon relate to us directly: Folk shouldn�t see Medea slaughter her children, Impious Atreus mustn�t openly cook human flesh, Nor Procne turn into a bird, or Cadmus a snake. Any such scenes you show me, I disbelieve, and hate. No play should be longer or shorter than five acts, If you hope that, once seen, it�ll be requested, revived. And no god should intervene unless there�s a problem That needs that solution, nor should a fourth person speak. The Chorus should play an actor�s part, energetically, And not sing between the acts unless it advances, And is also closely related to the plot. It should favour the good, and give friendly advice, Guide those who are angered, encourage those fearful Of sinning: praise the humble table�s food, sound laws And justice, and peace with her wide-open gates: It should hide secrets, and pray and entreat the gods That the proud lose their luck, and the wretched regain it. The flute, once, not bound with brass as now to rival The trumpet, but simple and slender with few stops, Was used to lead and support the Chorus, and to fill The not over-crowded benches with its breath, While the people gathered were few indeed, easily Counted, and honest, and innocent, and modest. Later when victory enlarged their territory, Ringed their cities with wider walls, when placating The Genius with daylight drinking went unpunished, Then tempo and melody possessed greater freedom. What taste could the illiterate show, freed from toil, Where country mingled with city, noble with base? The flute-player trailing his robe across the stage Added interest and movement to an ancient art: The range of the lyre, once so grave, was extended, And an urgent delivery brought it new eloquence, While the words, practical wisdom and prophecy, Was not out of line with the Delphic oracles. The man who once competed for a lowly he-goat With tragic verse, soon stripped the wild Satyrs, And tried coarse jests without loss of seriousness, Since only the attractions and charms of novelty Held the spectator, drunken and lawless, after the rites. But to gain acceptance for cheeky, raucous Satyrs You need to pass from serious mood to light, Without the gods or heroes you�ve brought on stage Whom we�ve just seen dressed in royal purple and gold, Appearing in dingy taverns with vulgar language, Or, scorning the ground, grasping at air and clouds. Tragedy, to whom spouting low verse is unworthy, Like a lady forced to dance at a festival, Will join the insolent Satyrs with no small shame. As a writer of Satyr plays, dear Pisos, I�d not Embrace only tame and simple verbs and nouns, Nor strain so hard to avoid the tragic style Davus might as well be speaking, to shameless Pythias who�s just milked Simo of a talent, As Silenus, guardian and servant of his god. I�ll pursue poetry made of what�s known, so anyone Could hope to do it, yet, trying it, sweat and toil In vain: such is order and juxtaposition�s power, Such may its beauty crown the commonplace. In my opinion, Fauns introduced from the woods Shouldn�t rattle out indiscreet erotic verses, Or filthy and shameless jokes, almost as if they Were born at the crossroads, or in the marketplace: Some take offence, men with horses, ancestry, wealth, Who don�t take kindly to, or grace with a crown, What the buyer of roasted nuts and chickpeas approves. A long syllable after a short is called an iambus: A swift foot, therefore it ordered the name trimeter To be associated with iambics making six beats, First pair to last being alike. Not so long ago, Obliging and tolerant, it received the solid Spondee into the family inheritance, though not Kind enough to cede fourth place, or sixth, in its ranks. The iambus is rare in Accius� noble trimeters, And it levels the shameful charge at the verses Ennius trundled ponderously onto the stage Of careless and hasty work, or ignorance of art. Not every critic can detect unmusical verse, So Roman poets have been granted unearned licence. Should I run wild then, and write freely? Or, reflecting That all will see my faults, play safe, still courting hope Of pardon? At best I�d dodge censure, yet earn No praise. As for yourselves, have Greek models In your hands at night, and in your hands each day. But your ancestors praised Plautus, metres and wit? Too accepting and foolish, then, their admiration Of both, if you and I can in any way distinguish Unpolished from witty speech, and can mark The correct measures with our ears and fingers. Thespis, they say, discovered the Tragic Muse, An unknown form, presenting his plays from carts, Sung and acted by men, faces smeared with wine-lees. Aeschylus, after him, introduced masks, fine robes, Had a modest stage made of planks, and demanded Sonorous speech, and the effort of wearing buskins. Old Comedy came next, winning no little praise, But its freedoms led to excess, to unruliness Needing legal curb: the law was obeyed, the chorus, Shamefully, fell silent, losing its rights of attack. Our own poets have left nothing unexplored, And have not won least honour by daring to leave The paths of the Greeks and celebrate things at home, Whether in Roman tragedies or domestic comedies. And Latium would be no less supreme in letters Than in courage and force of arms, if all her poets Weren�t deterred by revision�s time and effort. O scions of Numa, condemn that work that many A day, and many erasures, have not corrected, Improving it ten times over, smoothed to the touch. Because Democritus believed talent a greater Blessing than poor old technique, and barred sane poets From Helicon, a good few don�t care to trim their nails, Or beards, haunting secluded spots, shunning the baths. Surely a man will win the honour and name of poet If only he doesn�t entrust Licinus the barber, With a noddle that three Anticyras couldn�t affect! Ah, fool that I am, taking purges for madness each spring! Though no one composes better poetry: it�s really Not worth it. Instead let me play the grindstone�s role, That sharpens steel, but itself does none of the cutting: Writing nothing myself, I�ll teach the office and function, Where to find resources, what feeds and forms the poet, What�s right, what�s not, where virtue and error lead. Wisdom�s the source and fount of excellent writing. The works of the Socratics provide you with content, And when content�s available words will quickly follow. Whoever knows what he owes his country and friends, What love is due to a parent, brother, or guest, What�s required of a senator or a judge in office, What�s the role of a general in war, he�ll certainly Know how to represent each character fittingly. I�d advise one taught by imitation to take life, And real behaviour, for his examples, and extract Living speech. Often a play with fine bits, good roles, Though without beauty, substance or art, amuses The public more, and holds their attention better, Than verses without content, melodious nonsense. The Muse gave the Greeks talent, rounded eloquence In their speech, they were only greedy for glory. Roman lads learn long division, and how to split A pound weight into a hundred parts. �Then, tell me Albinus� son, if I take an ounce from five-twelfths Of a pound, what fraction�s left? You should know by now.� �A third.� �Good! You�ll look after your wealth.� Add an ounce, What then?� �A half.� When this care for money, this rust Has stained the spirit, how can we hope to make poems Fit to be wiped with cedar-oil, stored in polished cypress? Poets wish to benefit or to please, or to speak What is both enjoyable and helpful to living. When you give instruction, be brief, what�s quickly Said the spirit grasps easily, faithfully retains: Everything superfluous flows out of a full mind. Fictions meant to amuse should be close to reality, So your play shouldn�t ask for belief in whatever It chooses: no living child from the Lamia�s full belly! The ranks of our elders drive out what lacks virtue, The Ramnes, the young knights, reject dry poetry: Who can blend usefulness and sweetness wins every Vote, at once delighting and teaching the reader. That�s the book that earns the Sosii money, crosses The seas, and wins its author fame throughout the ages. There are faults of course that we willingly ignore: The string doesn�t always sound as hand and mind wish, You call for a bass and quite often a treble replies: The arrow won�t always strike the mark it�s aimed at. Yet where there are many beauties in a poem, A few blots won�t offend me, those carelessly spilt, Or that human frailty can scarcely help. So what? As a copyist has no excuse if he always Makes the same mistake, no matter how often he�s told, As a harpist is mocked who always fluffs the one note: So to me one who often errs is a Choerilus, Whose one or two fine lines prompt startled smiles: And yet I�m displeased too when great Homer nods, Somnolence may steal over a long work it�s true. Poetry�s like painting: there are pictures that attract You more nearer to, and others from further away. This needs the shadows, that to be seen in the light, Not fearing the critic�s sharp eye: this pleased once, That, though examined ten thousand times, still pleases. O Piso�s eldest son, though accustomed to virtue, By your father�s voice, and wise yourself, take this Dictum to heart, the middling and just tolerable Is only properly allowed in certain fields. A lawyer, A mediocre pleader of causes, may fall short Of Messalla�s eloquence, know less than Aulus Cascellius, yet have value: but mediocrity In poets, no man, god or bookseller will accept. Just as a tuneless orchestra, a heavy perfume, Or poppy-seeds in tart Sardinian honey offend At a good dinner, the meal being fine without them: So a poem, born and created to pleasure the spirit, Sinks to the depths if it falls short of the heights. He who knows nothing of sport shuns the Campus� gear, Watches, if he�s unskilled with ball, hoop, or quoit, Lest the ring of spectators burst out laughing freely: Yet he who knows nothing of verse still dares to write. Why not? He�s freeborn and free, his total wealth�s rated As that of a knight, and he�s lacking in any defect. You at least will say and do nothing without Minerva, Such is your judgement and sense. Yet if you do ever Scribble, let it enter Tarpa the critic�s ears, Your father�s and my own, then put your manuscript Away till the ninth year: you can always destroy What you haven�t published: once out there�s no recall. While men still lived in the woods, Orpheus, the gods� Sacred medium, prevented bloodshed and vile customs, Hence it�s said that he tamed tigers and raging lions. It�s said too that Amphion, who built Thebes� citadel, Moved stones at the sound of his lyre, and set them Where he wished with its charmed entreaty. Once it was Wisdom to separate public and private, sacred And profane, to bar chance union, set marriage rights, Build towns, and inscribe the laws on pieces of wood. So divine bards and their poems achieved honour And fame. Following these, Homer was renowned, And Tyrtaeus whose verses inspired men�s hearts To battle in war: oracles were uttered in song, The right way of living was shown, and royal favour Wooed with Pierian measures, and tunes invented, To help on tedious work: in case you�re ashamed Of the Muse skilled with the lyre, or singing Apollo. Whether a praiseworthy poem is due to nature Or art is the question: I�ve never seen the benefit Of study lacking a wealth of talent, or of untrained Ability: each needs the other�s friendly assistance. He who�s eager to reach the course�s longed-for goal, Has done and suffered much as a lad, sweating, freezing, Abstaining from wine and women: the flautist who pipes At the Pythian Games, first learnt how: feared his master. Now it�s enough to say: �I compose marvellous poems: Let the itch take the last: I�ll not be left behind , Admitting I haven�t a clue about something I never learnt.� Like an auctioneer drawing a crowd to the sale, So a poet whose rich in land, with large investments, Is bidding flatterers come to him, and profit. If he can serve up a really fine dinner too, Or go surety for a dodgy pauper, or save A dismal lawsuit�s victim, I�d be amazed, if he, The lucky man, could tell false friend from true. You too, if you�ve given or mean to give someone A gift, don�t induce him while filled with delight To listen to your verse: he�ll cry: �Lovely! Fine! Grand!� Now he�ll grow pale, now he�ll even force dew From his fond eyes, leap, and strike the ground. As those hired to mourn at funerals do and say Almost more than those who are grieving deeply, The hypocrite�s more �moved� than the true admirer. They say kings anxious to test someone, to see if He�s worthy of friendship, urge on him many a glass, Ply him with wine: so, if you should fashion verses, Don�t be deceived by the fox�s hidden intent. If you ever read Quintilius anything, he�d say: �Oh do change this, and this.� If, after two or three Vain attempts, you could do no better, he�d order Deletion: �return the ill-made verse to the anvil�. If you chose to defend your fault rather than change it, He�d spend not another word or useless effort To stop you loving you, and yours, unrivalled, alone. An honest, sensible man will condemn lifeless verse, Fault the harsh, smear the inelegant with a black Stroke of the pen, cut out pretentious adornment, Force you to elucidate where it�s not clear enough, Denounce the ambiguous phrase, mark amendments, Be an Aristarchus: not say: �Why should I offend A friend for a trifle?� Such trifles lead to serious Trouble, once he�s been laughed at, or badly received. The sensible fear to touch, they flee, a crazy poet, As when the evil itch, or jaundice, plagues someone, Or fanatical delusions, or plain lunacy, Diana�s curse: children rashly follow and tease him. He, inspired, goes wandering off, spouting his verses, And if like a fowler intent on blackbirds, he falls Into a well, or a pit, however much he cries: �Help me, citizens!� none will bother to pull him out. If anyone did choose to help, and let down a rope, I�d say: �Who knows if he didn�t do that on purpose, And doesn�t want to be saved?� and I�ll tell the tale Of the Sicilian poet�s death, how Empedocles Keen to be an immortal god, coolly leapt into Burning Etna. Grant poets the power and right to kill Themselves: who saves one, against his will, murders him. It�s not his first time, nor, if he�s rescued will he Become human now, and stop craving fame in death. It�s not too clear why he keeps on making verses. Has he desecrated ancestral ashes, disturbed A sad spot struck by lightning, sacrilegiously? Yes, He�s mad: like a bear, that�s broken the bars of its cage The pest puts all to flight, learned or not, with reciting: Whom he takes tight hold of, he grips, and reads to death, A leech that never looses the skin, till gorged with blood. End of the Ars Poetica Translated by A. S. Kline � 2005 All Rights Reserved This work may be freely reproduced, stored, and transmitted, electronically or otherwise, for any non-commercial purpose. |