Introduction

A word from WCD (and Mr Toad) about the course, and this reader.

Hello. This is a picture of me (WCD) and Mr Toad, the genius loci of Toad Hall, located at 36 Union Street.

I'm the one with the beard. Mr Toad is the one with the flower.

Our course this time is pretty complex. We're going to spend the last month or so studying the Augustan idea of "imitation," and the idea of human nature that it implies, both as a moral ideal and a subject for poetry.

Doing that means that we'll be spending a good deal of time reading Horace's Ars Poetica (in Latin) and Boileau's Art poétique (in French) alongside Pope's Essay on Criticism, which is the great poetic statement of Augustan ideas about art and human moral nature.

If you're enrolled in the class, you already read English and French. I know from my e-mail correspondence that about 30% of the class reads both Latin and French. Here, I want to say a word both to those who feel their Latin has gotten rusty and to those who read French but not Latin.

If You Read Latin

The selections from Horace are followed by a dictionary that I've created especially for this reader, with definitions keyed to the words you'll actually be encountering in the selections.

What this means, basically, is that you can take the definition I've given and disregard all the others in your Latin dictionary. For grammatical function, I've given the usual dictionary form -- nominative and genitive for nouns, 1st person present and present infinitive for verbs -- plus, when appropriate, a note about what the word is doing in this sentence.

This "mini-dictionary" should make it incredibly easy for you to read the Ars Poetica selections with good comprehension. I've put a lot of work in on this specialized dictionary, and I want you to repay me by putting in enough time that, with the help of the dictionary, you're "hearing" Horace's voice in the selections.

This is something you ought to be able to do even if you've only had two years of high school Latin: the dictionary is the key to comprehension. Just sit down with a will and put in the time and you will be reading Horace the way you read Pope in English. Trust me.

The test of whether you're putting in the necessary amount of time will be the Latin passages on the weekly quizzes. On these, I will never ask you the grammatical stuff that Latin teachers always want you to specify -- case, number, "ablative of walking counterclockwise in a circle while pouring libations," etc -- but I will ask you commonsense grammatical questions: what noun does this adjective modify? What is the subject of this verb?

These questions will have exactly the same form as those I'm asking about Pope in English. If you really understand the passage, the quiz will be a piece of cake. If you don't -- if you're faking it, or didn't put in the time to read it properly -- you will go down the tubes. But this is also true for all the English poetry we'll be reading.

Don't be nervous about the quizzes. If you are nervous, talk to someone who's taken a course with me before this one. They'll calm you down and tell you how to do well on the quizzes. But do put in your time with the Ars Poetica: Horace is incredible, and this is your chance to make his acquaintance as a poet in a way that you'll probably never have again.

If You Only Read French

One of my main purposes in constructing specialized a Horace dictionary that practically leads a reader through the poetry is to allow even those who don't read Latin to have something of the experience of reading Horace in the original.

I always encourage my students to study languages -- serious literary study in English is simply impossible unless you know Latin, French, and (depending on the period you're studying) either Italian or German -- and I hope that our experiment in trying to make sense of "the Augustan universal" will give you a taste for what it's like to be able to read earlier English literature as it deserves to be read, against the background of Greek and Roman civilization and other European literatures.

Some of you will know Italian or Spanish as well as French. Since French, Italian, and Spanish are simply evolved dialects of Latin -- they are the version of Latin that was spoken in those respective geographical areas when Rome was a world power -- you will be able to make some sense of the Horace just by sitting down with the selections and trying to make sense of them with my customized dictionary as a help.

I've given the meaning of every single word in every Horace selection that we'll be talking about in the course. If you sit down with a selection and piece out the meaning with your own common sense and the dictionary in hand, you'll understand far more than you ever thought you could. And you'll have some experience about what it's like to "think inside" Latin.

All this is simply meant as an invitation to literary and linguistic exploration on your part. I will never quiz the "French only" students on the Horace selections, and you will have an entirely separate assignment on the final paper than your classmates who are writing about the problem of "voice" in Horace and Pope (or, for a few students in the class, all three poets). So the Horace dictionary is from your point of view simply "value added": something you can use to expand your sense of literary and imaginative possibilities as we study the origins and development of Augustan poetry in the 18th century.

 The Horatian Voice

Horace, Boileau, Pope

Horace, Ars Poetica, 32-35:

Æmilium circa ludum faber imus et ungues
Exprimet et molles imitabitur ære capillos,
Infelix operis summa, quia ponere totum
Nesciet.

Now read: Pope, Essay on Criticism, 243-252.

Horace, Ars Poetica, 268-274:

Vos exemplaria Græca
Nocturna versate manu, versate diurna.
At vestri proavi Plautinos et numeros et
Laudavere sales: nimium patienter utrumque,
Ne dicam stulte, mirati, si modo ego et vos
Scimus inurbanum lepido seponere dicto,
Legitimumque sonum digitis callemus et aure

Now read: Pope, Essay on Criticism, 124-129

Horace, Ars Poetica, 309-318

Scribendi recte sapere est et principium et fons:
Rem tibi Socraticæ poterunt ostendere chartæ,
Verbaque provisam rem non invita sequentur.
Qui didicit, patriæ quid debeat et quid amicis,
Quo sit amore parens, quo frater amandus et hospes,
Quod sit conscripti, quod judicis officium, quæ
Partes in bellum missi ducis, ille profecto
Reddere personae scit convenientia cuique.
Respicere exemplar vitæ morumque jubebo
Doctum imitatorem et vivas hinc ducere voces.

Now read: Pope, Essay on Criticism, 68-79

Horace, Ars Poetica, 347-353:

Sunt delicta tamen quibus ignovisse velimus;
Nam neque chorda sonum reddit, quem volt manus et mens,
Poscentique gravem persæpe remittit acutum,
Nec semper feriet quodcumque minabitur arcus.
Verum ubi plura nitent in carmine, non ego paucis
Offendar maculis, quas aut incuria fudit,
Aut humana parum cavit natura.

Now read: Pope, Essay on Criticism, 253-262

Horace, Ars Poetica, 357-364:

Sic mihi, qui multum cessat, fit Chœrilus ille,
Quem bis terve bonum cum risu miror; et idem
Indignor quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus.
Verum operi longo fas est obrepere somnum.
Ut pictura poesis: erit quæ, si proprius stes,
Te capiat magis, et quædam si longius abstes;
Hæc amat obscurum; volet hæc sub luce videri,
Judicis argutum quæ non formidat acumen.

Now read: Pope, Essay on Criticism, 171-180

Boileau, Art poétique, Canto I, 1-6:

C'est en vain qu'au Parnasse un téméraire auteur
Pense de l'art des vers atteindre la hauteur;
S'il ne sent point du ciel l'influence secrète,
Si son astre en naissant ne l'a formé poète,
Dan son génie étroit il est toujours captif;
Pour lui Phébus est sourd, et Pégase est rétif.

Now read Horace, Ars Poetica, 366-389:

O major juvenum, quamvis et voce paterna
Fingeris ad rectum et per te sapis, hoc tibi dictum
Tolle memor, certis medium et tolerabile rebus
Recte concedi. Consultus juris et actor
Causarum mediocris abest virtute diserti
Messalæ, nec scit quantum Cascellius Aulus,
Sed tamen in pretio est; mediocribus esse poetis
Non homines, non di, non concessere columnæ.
Ut gratas inter mensas symphonia discors
Et crassum unguentum et Sardo cum melle papaver
Offendunt, poterat duci quia cena sine istis:
Sic animis natum inventumque poema juvandis,
Si paulum summo decessit, vergit ad imum.
Ludere qui nescit, campestribus abstinet armis,
Indoctusque pilæ discive trochive quiescit,
Ne spisse risum tollant impune coronæ;
Qui nescit versus tamen audet fingere. "Quidni?
Liber et ingenuus, præsertim census equestrem
Summam nummorum, vitioque remotus ab omni."
Tu nihil invita dices faciesve Minerva;
Id tibi judicium est, ea mens. Si quid tamen olim
Scripseris, in Mæci descendat judicis aures
Et patris et nostras, nonumque prematur in annum,
Membranis intus positis.

Boileau, Art poétique, Canto I, 7-12:

O vous donc qui, brûlant d'une ardeur périlleuse,
Courez du bel esprit la carrière épineuse,
N'allez pas sur des vers sans fruit vous consumer,
Ni prendre pour génie un amour de rimer;
Craignez d'un vain plaisir les trompeuses amorces,
Et consultez longtemps votre esprit et vos forces.

Now read Horace, Ars Poetica, 38-40:

Sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, æquam
Viribus, et versate diu quid ferre recusent,
Quid valeant humeri

Boileau, Art poétique, Canto I, 167-180:

J'aime mieux un ruisseau qui sur la molle arène
Dans un pré plein de fleurs lentement se promène,
Qu'un torrent débordé qui, d'un cours orageux,
Roule, plein de gravier, sur un terrain fangeux.
Hâtez-vous lentement; et sans perdre courage,
Vingt fois sur le métier remettez votre ouvrage;
Polissez-le sans cesse et le repolissez;
Ajoutez quelquefois, a souvent effacez.
C'est peu qu'en un ouvrage où les fautes fourmillent,
Des traits d'esprit semés de temps en temps pétillent.
Il faut que chaque chose y soit mise en son lieu,
Que le début, la fin, répondent au milieu;
Que d'un art délicat les pièces assorties
N'y forment qu'un sel tout de diverses parties.

Now read Horace, Ars Poetica, 289-294:

Nec virtute foret clarisve potentius armis
Quam lingua Latium, si non offenderet unum-
Quemque poetarum limæ labor et mora. Vos, o
Pompilius sanguis, carmen reprehendite, quod non
Multa dies et multa litura coercuit atque
Perfectum decies non castigavit ad unguem.

Boileau, Art poétique, Canto I, 183-207:

Craignez-vous pour vos vers la censure publique?
Soyez-vous à vous-même un sévère critique;
L'ignorance toujours est prête à s'admirer.
Faites-vous des amis prompts à vous censurer;
Qu'ils soient de vos écrits les confidents sincères,
Et de tous vos défauts les zélés adversaires.
Dépouillez devant eux l'arrogance d'auteur,
Mais sachez de l'ami discerner le flatteur—
Tel vous semble applaudir, qui vous raille et vous joue,
Aimez qu'on vous conseille, et non pas qu'on vous loue.
Un flatteur aussitôt cherche à se récrier;
Chaque vers qu'il entend le fait extasier;
Tout est charmant, divin; aucun mot ne le blesse;
Il trépigne de joie, il pleure de tendresse;
Il vous comble partout d'éloges fastueux.
La vérité n'a point cet air impétueux.
Un sage ami, toujours rigoureux, inflexible,
Sur vos fautes jamais ne vous laisse paisible;
Il ne pardonne point les endroits négligés,
Il renvoie en leur lieu les vers mal arrangés,
Il réprime des mots l'ambitieuse emphase;
Ici le sens le choque, et plus loin c'est la phrase.
"Votre construction semble un peu s'obscuricir;
Ce terme est équivoque, il le faut éclaircir,"
C'est ainsi que vous parle un ami veritable.

Now read Horace, Ars Poetica, 419-437:

Ut præco, ad merces turbam qui cogit emendas,
Assentatores jubet ad lucrum ire poeta
Dives agris, dives positis in fænore nummis.
Si vero est unctum qui recte ponere possit,
Et spondere levi pro paupere, et eripere atris
Litibus implicitum, mirabor, si sciet inter-
Noscere mendacem verumque beatus amicum.
Tu seu donaris, seu quid donare voles cui,
Nolito ad versus tibi factos ducere plenum
Lætitiæ; clamabit enim "Pulchre! Bene! Recte!"
Pallescet super his, etiam stillabit amicis
Ex oculis rorem, saliet, tundet pede terram.
Ut qui conducti plorant in funere, dicunt
Et faciunt prope plura dolentibus ex animo, sic
Derisor vero plus laudatore movetur.
Reges dicuntur multis urgere culullis
Et torquere mero quem perspexisse laborant,
An sit amicitia dignus: si carmina condes,
Numquam te fallant animi sub volpe latentes.

Boileau, Art poétique, Canto IV, 71-90:

Faites choix d'un censeur solide et salutaire,
Que la raison conduise et le savoir éclaire,
Et dont le crayon sûr d'abord aille chercher
L'endroit que l'on sent faible, et qu'on se veut cacher.
Lui seul éclaircira vos doutes ridicules,
De votre esprit tremblant lèvera les scrupules;
C'est ui qui vous dira par quel transport heureux
Quelqufois dands sa course un esprit vigoureux,
Trop resserré par l'art, sort des règles prescrites,
Et de l'art même apprend à franchir leurs limites.
Mais ce parfait censeur se trouve rarement;
Tel excelle à rimer qui juge sottement,
Tel s'est fait par ses vers distinguer dans la ville,
Qui jamais de Lucain n'a distingué Virgile.
Auteurs, prêtez l'oreille à mes instructions.
Voulez-vous faire aimer vos riches fictions?
Qu'en savants leçons votre muse fertile
Partout joigne au plaisant le solide et l'utile.
Un lecteur sage fuit un vain amusement,
Et veut mettre à profit son divertissement.

Now read Horace, Ars Poetica, 438-452:

Quintilio si quid recitares, "Corrige sodes
Hoc," aiebat, "et hoc;" melius te posse negares
Bis terque expertum frustra, delere jubebat
Et male tornatos incudi reddere versus.
Si defendere delictum quam vertere malles,
Nullum ultra verbum aut operam insumebat inanem,
Quin sine rivali teque et tua solus amares.
Vir bonus et prudens versus reprehendet inertes,
Culpabit duros, incomptis adlinet atrum
Transverso calamo signum, ambitiosa recidet
Ornamenta, parum claris lucem dare coget,
Arguit ambigue dictum, mutanda notabit,
Fiet Aristarchus; non dicet, "Cur ego amicum
Offendam in nugis?' Hæ nugæ seria ducent
In mala derisum semel exceptumque sinistre.

Now read: Pope, Essay on Criticism, 631-646 and Pope, Essay on Criticism, 141-60.

Boileau, Art poétique, Canto IV, 91-96:

Que votre âme et vos mœurs, peintes dans vos ouvrages,
N'offrent jamais de vous que de nobles images.
Je ne puis estimer ces dangereux auteurs
Qui de l'honneur, en vers, infâmes déserteurs,
Trahissant la vertu sur un papier coupable,
Aux yeux de leurs lecteurs rendent le vice aimable.

Now read: Pope, Essay on Criticism, 530-531

Boileau, Art poétique, Canto IV, 111-126:

Fuyez surtout, fuyez ces basses jalousies,
Des vulgaires esprits malignes frénésies.
Un sublime écrivain n'en peut être infectê;
C'est un vice qui suit la médiocrité.
Du mérite éclatant cette sombre rivale
Contre lui chez les grands incessamment cabale,
Et, sur les pieds en vain tâchant de se hausser,
Pour s'égaler à lui, cherche à te rabaisser.
Ne descendons jamais dans ces lâches intrigues;
N'allons point à l'honneur par de honteuses brigues.
Que les vers ne soient pas votre éternel emploi;
Cultivez vos amis, soyez homme de foi.
C'est peu d'être agréable et charmant dans un livre,
Il faut savoir encore et converser et vivre.
Travaillez pour la gloire, et qu'un sordide gain
Ne soit jamais l'objet d'un illustre écrivain.

Now read: Pope, Essay on Criticism, 508-525.

Boileau, Art Poétique, Canto IV, 133-166:

Avant que la raison, s'expliquant par la voix,
Eût instruit les humains, eût enseigné des lois,
Tous les hommes suivaient la grossière nature,
Dispersés dans les bois couraient à la pâture;
La force tenoit lieu de droit et d'équité;
Le meurtre s'exerçait avec impunité.
Mais du discours enfin l'harmonieuse adresse
De ces sauvages mœurs adoucit la rudesse,
Rassembla les humains dan les forêts épars,
Enferma les cités de murs et de remparts,
De l'aspect du supplice effraya l'insolence,
Et sous l'appui des lois mit la faible innocence.
Cet ordre fut, dit-on, le fruit des premiers vers.
De là sont nés ces bruits reçus dans l'univers,
Qu'aux accents dont Orphée emplit les monts de Thrace,
Les tigres ammolis dépouillaient leur audace;
Q'aux accords d'Amphion les pierres se mouvaient,
Et sur les murs thébains en ordre s'élevaient.
L'harmonie en naissant produisit ces miracles.
Depuis, le ciel en vers fit parler les oracles;
Du sein d'un prêtre ému d'une divine horreur,
Apollon par des vers exhala sa fureur.
Bientôt, ressuscitant les héros des vieux âges,
Homère aux grands exploits anima les courages.
Hésiode à son tour, par d'utiles leçons,
Des champs trop paresseux vint hâter les moissons.
En mille écrits fameux la sagesse tracée
Fut, à l'aide des vers, aux mortels annoncée;
Et partout des esprits ses préceptes vainqueurs,
Introduits par l'oreille, entrèrent dans les cœurs.
Pour tant d'heureux bienfaits, les Muses révérées
Furent d'un juste encens dans la Grèce honorées;
Et leur art, attirant le culte des mortels,
A sa gloire en cent lieux vit dresser autels.

Now read Horace, Ars Poetica, 391-407:

Silvestres homines sacer interpresque deorum
Cædibus et victu foedo deterruit Orpheus,
Dictus ob hoc lenire tigres rabidosque leones.
Dictus et Amphion Thebanæ conditor urbis
Saxa movere sono testudinis et prece blanda
Ducere quo vellet. Fuit hæc sapientia quondam,
Publica privatis secernere, sacra profanis,
Concubitu prohibere vago, dare jura maritis,
Oppida moliri, leges incidere lingno.
Sic honor et nomen divinis vatibus atque
Carminibus venit. Post hos insignis Homerus
Tyrtæusque mares animos in Martia bella
Versibus exacuit; dictæ per carmina sortes,
Et vitæ monstrata via est; et gratia regum
Pieriis temptata modis, ludusque repertus
Et longorum operum finis; ne forte pudori
Sit tibi Musa lyræ sollers et cantor Apollo.

Boileau, Art poétique, Canto IV, 223-235:

Pour moi, qui, jusqu'ice nourri dans la satire,
N'ose encor manier la trompette et la lyre,
Vous me verrez pourtant, dans ce champ glorieux,
Vous animer du moins de la voix det des yeux;
Vous offrir ces leçons que ma muse au Parnasse
Rapporta, jeune encore, du commerce d'Horace;
Seconder votre ardeur, échauffer vos esprits,
Et vous montrer de loin la couronne et le prix.
Mais aussi pardonnez, si, plein de ce beau zèle,
De tous vos pas fameux observateur fidèle,
Quelqufois du bon or je sépare le faux,
Et des auteurs grossiers j'attaque les défauts;
Censeur un peu fâcheux, mais souvent nécessaire,
Plus enclin à blâmer qu savant à bein faire.

Now read: Pope, Essay on Criticism, 739-744.

ab: away from

abest: is far removed (absum, -esse)

abstes: you stand (away); (absto, -stare)

abstinet: stays away from (abstineo, -ere)

actor: plaintiff, one who pleads a cause in Roman law (actor, -oris, m.)

acumen: judgment (acumen, -inis, n. lit. ‘sharpness')

acutum: (a) treble (tone); (acutus, -a, -um)

ad: to

adlinet: will blot out (adlino, -linere)

agris in fields; dives agris ‘rich in land'

aiebat: he would always say

amandus: to be loved; sit amandus ‘ought to be loved or valued'

amares: from being made happy by; (amo, amare, lit. ‘that you should love')

amat: favors; (amo, amare, lit. ‘loves')

ambigue: ambiguously; ambigue dictum ‘what is ambiguously expressed'

ambitiosa: the most pretentious

amicis: (to his) friends; (amicus,-i, m.)

amicitia: friendship; dignus amicitia ‘worthy of friendship'; (amicitia, -ae, f.)

amicum: friend; see verumque

Amphion: legendary Greek poet and singer, said to have been able to move stones through the magic of his song

an: or

animi: (those whose) minds

animis: (our) minds; (animus, -i., m.)

animo: the heart; ex animo ‘from the heart'

animos: spirits; see mares

annum: year (annum,-i, n.)

Apollo: Greek god of poetry

arcus: the bow (i.e., bow used by an archer); (arcus, -us, m.)

arguit: he will find fault with; (arguo, arguere)

argutum: acute, penetrating (argutus, -a, -um_

Aristarchus: a second Aristarchus (famous Alexandrine critic)

armis: arms, weapons (arma, -orum, n. pl.)

assentatores: flatterers (adsentator, -oris, m.)

at: but

atris: horrible, depressing (ater, -tra, -trum, lit. ‘black')

atrum: a black

audet: (nonetheless) dares to (audeo, -ere)

Aulus: see Cascellius

aure: with our ear (i.e., as one ‘hears' measures in music); (auris, -is, f.)

aures: the ears (auris, -is, f.)

aut: or; aut . . . aut: either . . . or
Æmilium: see ludum: name of a gladatorial school in Rome

æquam: equal (as in ‘equal to your strength')

ære: in bronze (aes, aeris, n.)

beatus: (this) happy (man); beatus, -a, -um, adj. as noun)

bella: wars (bellum,-i, n.); Martia bella ‘wars presided over by Mars as the god of war'

bellum: war; in bellum ‘into war'

bene!: excellent!

bis: twice

blanda: compelling (blandus, -a, -um, lit. ‘having a winning address')

bonum: good (as a writer); Choerilus, quem bonum: read as ‘Choerilus, who when he does manage to write a good line'

bonus: the good (Homer);
(bonus, -a, -um)

calamo: with a pen (calamus,-i, m. lit. ‘reed')

campestribus: having to do with the Campus Martius in Rome, where martial games were held (campester, -tris, -tre)

cantor: singer (i.e., poet); (cantor, -oris, m.)

capiat: will attract, delight (capio, -ere, lit. ‘seize')

capillos: hair (capillus,-i, m.)

carmen: a poem; (carmen, -inis, n.)

carmina: poems (n. acc. pl.)

carmine: in a poem

carminibus: (and to their) songs

Cascellius: Cascellius Aulus, a great Roman orator of the Ciceronian period

castigavit: rigorously criticized (castigo, -are)

causarum: of legal cases (causa, -ae, f.)

cavit: guarded against (caveo, -ere, cavit)

cædibus: from slaughters (of each other); (cædes, -is, f.)

cena: meal, banquet; (cena, -ae, f.)

census: (he is) rated on the tax rolls

certis: in certain (things); (certus, -a, -um)

cessat: is mediocre (cesso, -are)

chartæ: (philosophical) writings; (charta, -ae, f. lit. ‘paper, papyrus'

chorda: the string (of a lyre or other stringed instrument); (chorda, -ae, f.)

Chœrilus: Chœrilus (a bad poet)

circa: around, in the neighborhood of

clamabit: he will cry out, exclaim (exclamo, -are)

claris: (by its) illustrious or renowned; parum claris ‘parts too unclear'

coercuit: has (not) pruned (i.e., revising a poem as one prunes a vine to improve its growth; (coerceo, -ere)

coget: will bring pressure (on the poet); (cogo, -ere)

cogit: gathers (turbam: ‘a crowd')

columnæ: the kiosks on which Roman booksellers posted the titles of new books (column, -ae, f.)

concedi: is to be allowed; (concedo, -cedere)

concessere: permit or put up with; see concedi

concubitu: sexual coupling, copulation (concubitus, -us, m.)

condes: you do compose (poetry); (condo, -are)

conditor: founder (here, Amphion, who built the walls of Thebes with his music)

conducti: (who are) hired mourners (a custom at Roman funerals)

conscripti: a senator (conscriptus, -I, m.)

consultus: i.e., consultus iuris, a lawyer

convenientia: suitable characteristics (part. convenio, -ire)

coronæ: circle of spectators (corona, -ae, lit. ‘circle')

corrige: correct this! (corrigo, -ere, imperative)

crassum: thick, dense. (Here, ‘pungent,' as of an air thick with strong perfume.) (crassus, -a, -um

cui: to someone

cuique: to each (read as cuique personae)

culpabit: will find fault with (culpo, -are, lit. ‘blame')

culullis: cups, glasses (of wine); multis urgere culullis ‘to urge on to drink many glasses); (culullus,-i, m.)

cum: with

cur: why

dare: to cast (light); (do, dare, lit. ‘to give'); dare jura ‘to give laws'

debeat: he owes (lit. ‘should give,' subj. debeo, -ere)

decessit: fall short of (decedo, -cedere, lit. ‘cease, subside')

decies: ten times over

defendere: to defend

delere: to delete, eliminate (deleo, -ere)

delicta: faults (errors of taste); (delictum,-i, n.)

delictum: the fault (in your poem); (delictum,-i, n.)

deorum: of the gods (deus,-i, m.)

derisor: a flatterer, sycophant (derisor, -oris, m. lit. ‘someone who mocks')

derisum: someone who has been made a fool of (derideo, -ere, part.)

descendat: let it be passed over for judgment (descendo, -ere, lit. ‘penetrate' [the ears of])

deterruit: deterred (deterreo, -ere, lit. ‘frighten away from')

di: gods (deus,-i, m.)

dicam: I will [not] say (ironic); (dico, -ere)

dices: you will say (nihil: nothing): i.e., will write nothing as a poet

dicet: non dicet ‘he will not say'

dictæ: were spoken

dicto: witty saying, joke; (dictum,-i, n.)

dictum: maxim, (wise) saying; (dico, -ere, part.); see also ambigue

dictus: he was said (to); (dico, -ere, part.)

dicunt: say (what is proper or fitting)

dicuntur: are said to

didicit: has learned (disco, discere, didici)

dies: days (see multa)

digitis: (by counting on) your fingers: i.e., as one counts measures in music (digitum,-i, n.)

discive: (or) quoit (ring used in a Roman game resembling horseshoes (discus,-i, m.)

discors: discordant, out of tune (discors, -cordis, adj.)

diserti: (from) the eloquent (disertus, -a, -um)

diu: for a long time

diurna: (and also) by day (diurnus, -a, -um, adj. as noun)

dives: rich (dives, -itis, adj.)

divinis: (to) divine; divinis vatibus ‘to poets considered as divinely inspired'

doctum: (a) learned (in earlier poetry); (doctus, -a, -um)

dolentibus: than those who mourn (doleo, -ere, part.)

donare: to give

dormitat: falls asleep at the wheel (as we would say)—i.e., seems to have slipped up through inattention

ducent: will lead

ducere: to summon; nolite ducere ‘do not bring (him) in'
duci: to progress to its end (as a banquet or meal of many courses); (duco, -ere, lit. ‘lead, conduct')

ducis: of a military commander; (dux, ducis, m.)

duros:harsh (verses); (durus, -a, -um)

ego: I

emendas: for the purpose of buying (ad merces emendas)

enim: for; clamabit enim ‘for he will cry out'

equestrem: belonging to the ranks of the Roman ‘knightly' order; equestrem summam ‘a fortune large enough to put him in the ranks of Rome's wealthiest class'

eripere: set free; (eripio, -ripere, lit. ‘snatch away')

erit: there will be; erit quae: read as ‘there will be one')

esse: to be

est: is (sum, esse, fui)

et: and; et . . . et: both . . . and

etiam: even, also

ex: from, out of

exacuit: stirred up (exacuo, -uere, -ui, -itum)

exceptumque : and who has been treated; (excipio, -cipere)

exemplar: (literary) model; (exemplar, -aris, n.)

exemplaria: examples (of poetry and drama)

expertum: (you) having already tried (experior, -periri)

exprimet: model, make an imitation of (exprimo, -primere)

faber: workman, craftsman

faciesve: (or) will make (i.e., creat as a poet) (facio, -ere)

faciunt: do (what is proper or fitting)

factos: made; versus factos tibi ‘verses made by you'

fallant: allow to deceive; (fallo, -ere, subj.)

fas: fas est: it is allowable

fænore: what gains interest as a loan (fænus, -oris, n. lit. ‘what is bred')

feriet: will it hit; (ferio, -ire)

ferre: to bear or carry; (fero, ferre)

fiet: he will be

fingere: (how to) compose

fingeris: you have been trained; (fingo, fingere, lit. ‘shaped')

finis: the end (of long labors)

fit: appears: (fio, fiere, lit. ‘becomes')

foedo: abominable, horrible

fons: source; (fons, fontis, m. lit. ‘fountain')

formidat: be afraid of, dread (formido, -are)

frater: a brother; (frater, -tris, m.)

frustra: in vain

fudit: poured forth (in haste); (fundo, fundere, fudi, fusum)

fuit: was; fuit haec sapientia ‘this was wisdom'

funere: at a funeral; (funus, funeris, n.)

grata: favors (sought from someone in power or authority)

gratas: pleasing (but here with the implication that the gratas menses ‘pleasing banquet' is agreeable because it is a meal given gratis by the host to his guests); (gratus, -a, -um)

gravem: (a) low (tone) in music; (gravis, -e)

Græca: Greek (adj); see exemplaria

hæ: these; hae nugae ‘these "little" faults'

hæc: this one

hinc: from this source

his: these; pallescet super his ‘he will turn pale over these verses of yours'

hoc: this

Homerus: Homer

homines: men (human beings); (homo, hominis, m.)

honor: honor

hos: these things; post hos: i.e., after the deeds of Orpheus and Amphion

hospes: a guest (hospes, -itis, m.)

humana: human (humanus, -a, um)

humeri: shoulders

id: that; see iudicium

idem: (I) the same (person)

ignovisse: to be forgiven (ignosco, ignoscere)

ille: he (that person)

imitabitur: will imitate, reproduce, copy; (imitor, -ori)

imitatorem: poet writing in the spirit of earlier models; (imitator, -oris, m.); note that our Augustan term "imitation" derives from this Latin meaning

implicitum: someone who is entangled in

impune: with impunity (i.e., without having to worry that anyone wil rebuke them for it)

imum: to the bottom (imus, -a, -um, adj. as noun)

imus: the most obscure

in: in, into

inanem: worthless, useless; (inanis, -e, adj.)

incidere: to engrave

incomptis: the inelegant (verses); (incomptus, -a, -um, lit. ‘unkempt,' as with hair)

incudi: to the anvil; (incus, incudis, f.); see reddere

incuria: (mere) carelessness; (incuria, -ae, f.)

indignor: become indignant; (indignor, -ari)

indoctusque (and he who is) unskilful (indoctus, -a, -um)

inertes: clumsly, unskilful; (iners, -ertis, adj.)

infelix: (but will be) unsuccessful; (infelix, -icis, adj.)

ingenuus: (he is a) free-born Roman (ingenuus, -a, -um)

insignis: the world-renowned (insignis, -e, lit. ‘illustrious')

insumebat: he would waste; (insumo, -sumere, lit. ‘expend')

inter-: see noscere

interpresque : (and) interpreter, intermediary; (interpres, -etis, m.f.)

intus: in your desk; (lit. ‘at home,' ‘chez vous')

inurbanum: coarse, crude; (inurbanus, -a, -um)

inventumque: (and) created; (inventus, -a, um, part. invenio, lit. ‘discovered')

invita: unwillingly; verba non invita: read as ‘the words (will) without effort; (invitus, -a, -um); also, see Minerva

ire: to go (to his house to praise his poems); (eo, ire)

istis: (without) these things

jubebat: he would command (you); (iubeo, -ere)

jubebo: I will advise (iubeo, -ere)

jubet: invites, encourages

judicis: of a judge; (iudex, -icis, m.); Maeci judicis ‘of Maecius, who is a good critic'

judicium: (good) judgment; id iudicium ‘that much good judgment'; (iudicium,-i,m.)

jura: laws (ius, juris, n.)

juris: see consultus

juvandis: for the purpose of delighting (iuvo, -are, w. noun as subj.)

juvenum: of (two) young men; (iuvenis, -is, m.); Horace's Ars Poetica is addressed to his young friends the Piso brothers, one of whom is writing a long dramatic poem)

labor: the work or toil; (labor, -oris, m.)

laborant: they (the kings) are working hard (to put to the test); (laboro, -are)

latentes: lying hidden; (lateo, -ere, part.)

Latium: Latium, the part of Italy in which Rome is situated (see map in The Romans)

laudatore: than someone who praises (your poetry)

laudavere: praised, applauded (laudo, -are)

lætitiæ: joy, gladness (lætitia, -ae, f.); see plenum

leges: laws (lex, legis, f.)

legitimumque: (and) a regular or proper (legitimus, -a, -um)

lenire: to tame (lenio, -ire, lit. ‘to soothe')

leones: lions

lepido: from a (polished, sophisticated); (lepidus, -a, -um)

levi: see paupere

liber: (he is) of age; (liber, -era, -erum, lit. "uncontrolled')

limæ: of the file (i.e., of the work needed to ‘file away' the unnecessary parts of a poem; (lima, -ae, f.)

lingno: on wood (i.e., on wooden tablets, so that the laws may be made known to the people)

lingua: language; (lingua, -ae, f.); quam lingua ‘as much for its language'

litibus: lawsuits; (lis, litis, f.)

litura: erasures (made to improve a poem); (litura, -ae, f.)

longius: farthe away

longo: (a) long (work)

longorum: (of) long; longorum operum ‘of long labors'

luce: the light; (lux, lucis, f.)

lucem: light; (lux, lucis, f.)

lucrum: gain, profit; ad lucrum ‘for what they can get out of it'; (lucrum,-i, n.)

ludere: to practice fighting as a soldier or gladiator (ludo, -ere, lit. ‘to play')

ludum: a school for gladiators; (acc.sg. ludus,-i, m.)

ludusque: (and) festivals; (ludus,-i, lit. ‘games')

lyræ: on the lyre; Musa lyrae sollers ‘the Muse so skilful on the lyre'

maculis: (at a few) faults, blemishes; (macua, -ae, f.)

magis: more greatly

major: older (of two)

mala: errors, evils; (malum,-i,n.)

male: badly; see male tornatos

malles: (if) you preferred; (malo, malle)

manus: the hand (as in ‘the hand striking the string'); (manus, -us, f.)

mares: the manly spirits (i.e., courage); (mas, aris, m. lit. ‘males')

maritis: to married people; (maritus, -a, -um, adj as noun)

Martia: see bella

materiam: the subject of a literary work; (materia, -ae, f.); (219ers: remember Prufrock's ‘here's no great matter'?)

Mæci: of Mæcius, a competent judge of poetry

mediocribus: mediocre

mediocris: average (in ability); (mediocris, -e, adj.)

medium: a (mere) average (ability); (medium,-i, n.)

melius: better; melius posses ‘that you could do better'

melle: (mixed with) honey; (mel, mellis. n.)

membranis: parchments (on which the poems are written); (membranum,-i, n.)

memor: read as ‘(and) remember (it)'

mendacem: false, deceitful; mendacem amicum ‘false friend'

mens: the mind (mens, mentis, f.); ea mens ‘that much good sense'

mensas: banquet; (mensa, -ae, f., lit. ‘tables' or courses of a meal)

merces: goods, wares; see emendas

mero; with strong wine; (merus,-i, m. lit. ‘wine unmixed with water')

Messalæ: (from the eloquent) Messala, a famous Roman lawyer and orator

mihi: to me

minabitur: it is aimed at; (minor, -ari, lit. ‘threaten')

Minerva: goddess of poetry; invita Minerva ‘if Minerva is unwilling to inspire you'

mirabor: I would be amaze

mirati: having admired; (miror, -ari)

miror: I look at in amazement; (miror, -ari)

missi: sent out (missus, -a, -um, part. misso)

modis: verses (modus,-i, m.) lit. "rhythmical measures"

modo: only (as in ‘if only')

moliri: to build; (molior, -ire, dep. lit. ‘to construct with labor')

molles: soft, wavy; (mollis, -e, adj.)

monstrata: point out, shown; via monstra ‘the way was shown'

mora: the delay (i.e., needed to polish a poem); (mora, -ae, f.)

morumque: and of manners; (mos, moris, m.)

movere: to move

movetur: (appears) to be moved

multa: many; multa dies ‘many days' (i.e., a long time); multa litura ‘many an erasure'

multum: often, frequently

Musa: Muse; see lyrae

mutanda: things that are to be altered

nam: for

natum: created, designed; (natus, -a, -um, part. nascor, lit. ‘born')

natura: nature (natura, -ae, f.)

ne: not; ne resum tollant ‘so that they will not laugh'

nec: nor; nec Latium foret ‘nor would Latium be'

negares: you might deny; (nego, -are)

neque: neither (does)

nesciet: he does not know how (nescio, -scire)

nescit: does not know how; see qui nescit

nihil: nothing

nimium: too much, excessively

nitent: shine forth (niteo, -ere)

nocturna: by night; (nocturnus, -a, um, adj. as adv.)

nolito: do not

nomen: fame; (nomen, -inis, n. lit. ‘name')

non: not, (does) not; non . . . non . . .: neither . . . nor . . . nor

nonumque: (and until) the ninth (annum: ‘year')

noscere: to distinguish between (internoscere)

nostras: our own (i.e., Horace's)

notabit: he will mark out

nugæ: trifles; in nugae ‘about tiny things'

nullum: not a; see verbum

numeros: verses (numerus,-i,m., poetic measure)

nummis: in money; dives nummis positis in fænore ‘rich in money lent out at interest'

nummorum: of money; (lit. ‘of nummi,' a common Roman coin)

nunquam: never

O: O!

ob: because of; ob hoc ‘because of that'

obrepere: to steal over (like sleep); (obreop, -repere)

obscurum: gloom, darkness; (obscurus, -a, -um, neut. As noun)

oculis: from (his) eyes; ex amicis oculis ‘from his sympathic eyes'

offendam: should I offend [(amicum) a friend]

offendar: will [not] take offense

offenderet: had not offended (i.e., if our poets had not been so lazy)

offendunt: are offensive

officium: duty; (officium,-i, n.)

olim: hereafter (i.e., in the future)

omni: (from) every

operam: pains, labor (opera, -ae, f.)

operi: a literary work; (opus, operis, n.)

operis: of (his) work

operum: of labors completed (i.e., of planting, harvesting, etc.)

oppida: towns; (oppidum,-i, n.)

ornamenta: decorations (i.e., ‘fancy language'); ornamentum,-i, n.)

Orpheus: legendary poet and singer who was said to have held the wild beasts spellbound with his music

ostendere: to show, make known; (ostendo, -ere)

pallescet: he will grow pale (i.e., pretend to be profoundly moved); (palleo, -ere)

papaver: poppy (seeds), which do not improve the taste of bitter Sardinian honey; (papaver, -eris, n.)

parens: a parent; (parens, -entis)

partes: qualities; quae partes ‘what are the qualities'; (pars, partis, f.)

parum: too little, insufficiently; see also claris

paterna: paternal (of a father); (paternus, -a, -um)

patienter: patiently (patiens, -entis)

patriæ: (to his) country; (patria, -ae, f.)

patris: of (your) father; (pater, patris, m.)

paucis: (at a) few; (paucus, -a, -um)

paulum: (by only) a little; (paulum,-i, n. acc. as adv.)

paupere: a poor man; levi paupere: a poor man with a bad credit rating

pede: with (his) foot; (pes, pedis, m.)

per: through; per te ‘in or by yourself'

perfectum: see unguem

persæpe: very often

personae: (to a) character (in a literary work); (persona, -ae)

perspexisse: to have taken a close view of (i.e., discover the real character of); (perspicio, -ere)

pictura: a painting, picture; (pictura, -ae, f.)

Pieriis: inspired by the muses (Pieris, -ides, daughter of Pieros)

pilæ: ball (used in a game); (pila, -ae, f.)

Plautinos: Plautus's; see numeros et sales

plenum: full; plenum lætitiæ ‘full of joy'

plorant: cry, lament; (ploro, -are)

plura: a great many [excellent things]; (plus, pluris, vide. multus, -a, -um)

poema: a poem; (poema, -atis, m.)

poesis: the art of composing poetry; (poesis, -is, f.)

poeta: poet; (poeta, -ae, m.)

poetarum: of (our) poets

poetis: poets

Pompilius: sanguis Pompilius ‘descendants of Numa Pompilius'

ponere: to put together; (pono, -ere)

poscentique: (and) to someone who was asking for; (part. posco, -ere)

positis: having been hidden away; (pono, ponere, posui, positum lit ‘lay away'); nummis positis: see nummis

possit: he is able; ponere possit ‘is able to give' (a feast)

post: a little later (lit. ‘afterwards')

potentius: more powerful, greater

poterat: could (just as well) have

poterunt: will be able to; (possum, posse, potui)

præco: an auctioneer, one who sells his wares in public; (præco, -onis, m.)

præsertim: (and perhaps) above all

prece: prayer (here, a sung devotion); (prex, precis, f.)

prematur: and let (your poem) be kept unpublished; (premo, -ere, lit ‘suppressed')

pretio: (in high) esteem; (pretium,-i, n., lit. ‘price, value')

principium: foundation, first principle of; (principium,-i, n.)

privatis: private (things affecting only the individual); (privatus, -a, -um, adj. as noun)

pro: for, on behalf of

proavi: ancestors (proavus, -I, m.)

profanis: (from) profane things; (profanus, -a, -um, adj. as noun)

profecto: certainly

prohibere: to prohibit

prope: almost

proprius: closer

provisam: having been foreseen (see rem); (provideo, -ere)

prudens: sensible; (prudens, -entis, adj.)

publica: public matters (things affecting the entire community); (publicus, -a, -um, adj. as noun)

pudori: a (misplaced) sense of modesty; (pudor, -oris, m.)

pulchre!: beautiful!

quamvis: although

quandoque: whenever

quantum: as much as

quas: which; maculis quae ‘faults which'

quæ: one (which)

quædam: another one (lit. ‘a certain one')

quem: which; whom; he whom

quemque: see unumquemque

qui: he (who); qui nescit ‘yet he knows nothing about'; qui scribitis: see scribitis

quia: because

quid: what, the thing which; si quid ‘if you (write) anything; quid ferre recusant ‘what (your shoulders) are unable to bear'

quidni?: "and why not?" (I can hear someone asking)

quiescit: lies low (i.e., does not expose himself); (quiesco, -ere)

quin: so as (to stop you)

Quintilio: to Quintilius Varus, a noted critic)

quo: with what; quo amore ‘with what love'; quo vellet ‘to the place that he wished' (them to be in)

quod: carmen quod: any poem which

quodcumque: whatever (thing or object)

quondam: once upon a time (lit. ‘formerly')

rabidosque: (and the) ferocious; (rabidus, -a, -um, lit. ‘furious')

rebus: in [certain] things; (res, rei, f.)

recidet: he will lop off; (recido, -ere)

recte: rightly, properly, well; (adv., see scribendi)

recte!: perfect!

rectum: what is right or sound; (rectus, -a, -um, adj. as noun)

recusent: refuse (are unable to); (recuso, -are, lit. ‘be reluctant to')

reddere: to attribute to (a character); (reddo, -ere); reddere incudi ‘to return to the anvil' (as with a piece of bronze that needs reworking)

reddit: give back, make (as in ‘make a sound'); see sonum

reges: kings (rex, regis, m.)

regum: of kings; gratia regum ‘favors sought from kings'

remittit: gives off, makes (a sound); (remitto, -ere)

remotus: free from; (remotus, -a, -um, lit ‘far from')

repertus were invented; (reperio, -ire, lit. ‘discovered')

reprehendet: will find fault with; (reprehendo, -ere)

reprehendite: reject, refuse to accept (imperative)

res: subject (of a literary work); res, rei, f.)

respicere: to look back to; (respicio, -ere)

risu: (with an amazed) laugh

risum: a laugh; (risus, -us, m.)

rivali: any rival (i.e., you may be your own greatest admirer)

rorem: tears; (ros, roris, m., lit. ‘dew')

sacer: holy; (sacer, sacra, sacrum); sacer Orpheus ‘Orpheus of divine powers'

sacra: sacred things (n. pl. adj. as noun)

sales: jokes; (sal, salis, m., lit ‘salt,' fig. ‘wit')

saliet: he will jump around; (salio, salire)

sanguis: blood; see Pompilius

sapere: to have good judgment, to be wise; (sapio, sapere)

sapientia: wisdom

sapis: you are wise; (sapio, -ere)

Sardo: Sardinian (find Sardinia on your map of Roman provinces)

saxa: the stones; (saxum, -a, n.)

sciet: (if such a man) should know how

scimus: know (how to); (scio, scire)

scit: (he) knows; scit quantum ‘does he know as much'

scribendi: of writing (composing poetry); (scribo, -ere)

scribitis: (those of you who) write (poetry)

scripseris: should write; (scribo, -ere, lit. ‘will have written')

secernere: to distinguish between; (secerno, -cernere)

sed: but

semel: once, one time

semper: always

seponere: distinguish; to tell one thing from another; (sepono, -ere)

sequentur: will follow (read as verba sequentur); (sequor, sequi, secutus)

seria: serious; seria mala ‘serious errors'

seu: whether; seu . . . seu: if either . . . or

si: if; si quid recitares ‘if you ever read anything'

sic: thus

signum: mark; atrum signum ‘a heavy black line'

silvestres: wild; (silvestris, -e, adj. silvestres homines ‘primitive men')

sine; withou

sinistre: deceitfully (lit. ‘wrongly')

sit: ought to be (see amandus officium); (subj. esse); ne sit tibi pudori ‘so that you should not be embarrassed' (about trying your hand at poetry)

Socraticæ: Socratic (i.e., the writings of Socrates' school of philosophy)

sodes: if you please (contr. of ‘si audes')

sollers: the skilful (sollers, -ertis)

somnum:drowsiness, sleep; (somnus,-i, m.)

sono: with the sound (sonus, -I, m.)

sonum:rhythm, cadence; (sonum, -i., m. lit. ‘sound'); sonum reddit ‘make the sound'

sortes: divinely inspired prophecies; (sors, sortis, f.)

spisse: thickly (i.e., thickly crowded with spectators)

spondere: to sponsor or provide security for a loan

stes: you stand; (sto, stare, subj. lit. ‘if you should stand'

stillabit: he will cause tears to trickle; (stillo, -are)

stulte: stupidly

sub: under

sumite: choose; (sumo, -ere, lit. ‘take up')

summa: in the total effect (summa, -ae, f., sc. res)

summam: sum (of money); see equestrem

summo: the highest point of achievement; (summum, -i., n.)

sunt: there are

super: over (i.e., in response to)

symphonia: music; (symphonia, -ae, f.)

tamen: however; sed tamen ‘but nevertheless'

te: you (acc.)

temptata: were asked for; (tempto, -ere, lit. ‘make trial of')

teque: yourself; teque et tua ‘yourself and your own works'

terque: and three times

terram: the ground; (terra, -ae, f. lit. ‘earth')

terve: (or even) three times

testudinis< of (his) lyre (i.e., instrument to which ancient poets recited their verses); (testudo, -inis, f.)

Thebanæ: of Thebes

tibi: to you, by you, to yourself; tibi est ‘you have'

tigres: the tigers

tolerabile: passable, tolerable; (tolerabilis, -e)

tollant: should raise up (a laugh); (tollo, -ere, subj. w. ne)

tolle: take, accept; (tollo, tollere, imperative, as in Augustine's famouse "tolle, lege")

tornatos: (badly) made; male tornatos ‘badly turned' (as on a lathe)

torquereto put to the test; (torqueo, ere, lit ‘stretch on the rack')

totum: the whole; (totus, -a, um, adj. as noun)

transverso: drawn across (it)

trochive: (or) hoop [used in a Roman game]; (trochus,-i, m.)

tu: you (nom. sg.)

tua: see teque

tundet: he will pound; (tundo, -ere)

turbam: see cogit

Tyrtæusque: (and) Tyrtæus, the great Greek poet of war

ubi: where

ultra: in addition; see verbum

unctum: a rich feast; (unctus, -a, -um, neut. as noun0

unguem: detail [lit. ‘even to the fingernails']

unguentum: perfume, ointment; (unguentum,-i, n.)

ungues: fingernails; (unguis, -is, m.)

unumquemque: every one

urbis: of the city; Thebanae urbis ‘of the city of Thebes'; (urbs, urbis, f.)

urgere: see culullis

ut: (is) like; as; in the same way as

utrumque: both, each of the two; see numeros et sales

vago: promiscuous, indiscriminate; (vagus, -a, -um, lit. ‘wandering')

valeant: might be strong enough to; (valeo, -ere)

vatibus: (to) poets considered as divinely inspired beings; (vates, -is, m.f., lit. ‘soothsayer')

velimus: we should wish (subj. volo, velle, volui)

vellet: that he wished; see quo vellet

venit: was given to; (venio, -ire, lit. ‘came')

verbaque: (and) the words (verbum,-i, n.)

verbum: a word; nullum ultra verbum ‘not a word more'

vergit: sinks down; (vergo, vergere, lit. ‘turns')

vero: indeed; si vero ‘but if, indeed'; vero laudatore ‘one who praises in truth' (i.e., who means it)

versate: turn over (leaves of a book); (imperative of verso, -are); versate diu ‘consider for a long time' (versate = ‘turn over in your mind')

versibus: with their verses

versus: verses (poetry); (versus, -us, m.); see factos

vertere: to correct (it); quam vertere ‘than to correct it'

verum: but in truth

verumque: and a true; verum amicum ‘a true friend'

vestri: your (pl.); vester, -tra, -trum)

via: road, path; via vitae ‘course of life'

victu: food; (victus, -us, m.)

videri: to be viewed; (video, -ere, pass. part.)

vir: man; vir bonus ‘an honest man' (vir, viri, m.)

viribus: (to your) strength; (vires, -ium, f. pl.)

virtute: in ability; (virtus, -tutis); virtute potentius: ‘greater by reason of military prowess'

vitæ: of life; (vita, -ae, f.)

vitioque: vice, vicious habit; vitioque: read as ‘and from every vice"

vivas: living, true to life; (vivus, -a, -um)

voces: voices (i.e. registers of literary or poetic expression); (vox, vocis, f.)

voles: you are willing to

volet: would prefer (volo, velle, lit. wishes, desires to)

volpe: a deceitful exterior; (volpes,-is, f., lit. ‘a fox')

volt: (vult) wishes, wants

vos: you (pl.); you, my friends

vox: voice (of a father giving advice); (vox, vocis, f.)