Buch, Englisch, 432 Seiten, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 590 g
Buch, Englisch, 432 Seiten, Format (B × H): 140 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 590 g
ISBN: 978-0-19-928874-8
Verlag: OUP Oxford
influence on the tradition.
In expounding the so-called Roman Odes the editors reject not only uncritical acceptance of Augustan ideology but also more recent attempts to find subversion in a court-poet. They show how Greek moralizing, particularly by the Epicureans, is applied to contemporary social situations. Poems on country festivals are treated sympathetically in the belief that the tolerant and inclusive religion of the Romans can easily be misunderstood. The poet's wit is emphasized in his addresses both to
eminent Romans and to women with Greek names; the latter poems are taken as reflecting his general experience rather than particular occasions. Though Horace's ironic self-presentation must not be understood too literally, the editors reject the modern tendency to treat the author as unknowable.
Although the text of the Odes is not printed separately, the headings to the notes provide a continuous text. The editors put forward a number of conjectures, most of them necessarily tentative, and in the few cases where they disagree, both opinions are summarized.