The Truth About Horace
It is very aggravatingTo hear the solemn pratingOf the fossils who are statingThat old Horace was a prude;When we know that with the ladiesHe was always raising Hades,And with many an escapade hisBest productions are imbued.
There's really not much harm in aLarge number of his carmina,But these people find alarm in aFew records of his acts;So they'd squelch the muse caloric,And to students sophomoricThey d present as metaphoricWhat old Horace meant for facts.
We have always thought 'em lazy;Now we adjudge 'em crazy!Why, Horace was a daisyThat was very much alive!And the wisest of us know himAs his Lydia verses show him,--Go, read that virile poem,--It is No. 25.
He was a very owl, sir,And starting out to prowl, sir,You bet he made Rome howl, sir,Until he filled his date;With a massic-laden dittyAnd a classic maiden prettyHe painted up the city,And Maecenas paid the freight!
Words in this poem
- aggravating a.
- Making worse or more heinous; as, aggravating circumstances.
- stating n.
- The act of one who states anything; statement; as, the statingof one's opinions.
- prude n.
- A woman of affected modesty, reserve, or coyness; one who is overscrupulous or sensitive; one who affects extraordinary prudence in conduct and speech. [F., prudish, originally, discreet, modest; shortened from OF. prudefeme, preudefeme, a discreet or excellent woman; OF. preu, prou, excellent, brave + de of + f]
- escapade n.
- The fling of a horse, or ordinary kicking back of his heels; a gambol. [F., fr. Sp. escapada escape, fr. escapar to escape; or F., fr. It. scappata escape, escapade, fr. scappare to escape. see Escape.]
- squelch v. t.
- To quell; to crush; to silence or put down. [Cf. prov. E. quelch a blow, and quel to crush, to kill.]
- caloric n.
- The principle of heat, or the agent to which the phenomena of heat and combustion were formerly ascribed; -- not now used in scientific nomenclature, but sometimes used as a general term for heat. [L. calor heat; cf. F. calorique.]
- sophomoric a.
- Of or pertaining to a sophomore; resembling a sophomore; hence, pretentious; inflated in style or manner; as, sophomoric affectation.
- metaphoric a.
- Of or pertaining to metaphor; comprising a metaphor; not literal; figurative; tropical; as, a metaphorical expression; a metaphorical sense. [Gr. métaphorique.]
- prowl v. t.
- To rove over, through, or about in a stealthy manner; esp., to search in, as for prey or booty. [OE. prollen to search about; of uncertain origin, perh. for proglen, a dim. of prog to beg, or proke to poke. Cf. Proke.]
- ditty n.
- A saying or utterance; especially, one that is short and frequently repeated; a theme. [OE. dite, OF. ditié, fr. L. dictatum, p. p. neut. of dictare to say often, dictate, compose. See Dictate, v. t.]
- classic a.
- Of or relating to the first class or rank, especially in literature or art. [L. classicus relating to the classes of the Roman people, and especially to the frist class; hence, of the first rank, superior, from classis class: cf. F. clas]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Truth About Horace is in the public domain. This text is taken from A Little Book of Western Verse, Project Gutenberg ebook #9606; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, The Truth About Horace, in A Little Book of Western Verse (1889), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #9606, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-western-verse/the-truth-about-horace.html, id L24627.
Form and metre
The Truth About Horace is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AAABCCCB, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%).
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AAABCCCB aggravatingA · pratingA · statingA · prudeB · ladiesC · hadesC · hisC · imbuedB
- 2 A-ABC-CB aA · carmina · aA · actsB · caloricC · sophomoric · metaphoricC · factsB
- 3 AAA-BBB- lazyA · crazyA · daisyA · alive · himB · himB · poemB · —
- 4 AAABCCCB sirA · sirA · sirA · dateB · dittyC · prettyC · cityC · freightB
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It is very aggravating | 8 | ··/˘/˘·˘ |
| To hear the solemn prating | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Of the fossils who are stating | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| That old Horace was a prude; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| When we know that with the ladies | 8 | ······/˘ |
| He was always raising Hades, | 8 | ··/·/˘/˘ |
| And with many an escapade his | 8 | ··/·/˘·· |
| Best productions are imbued. | 8 | ·˘/˘·˘/˘ |
| There's really not much harm in a | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Large number of his carmina, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But these people find alarm in a | 9 | ··/˘·˘/·· |
| Few records of his acts; | 6 | ·˘/··· |
| So they'd squelch the muse caloric, | 8 | ·····˘/˘ |
| And to students sophomoric | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| They d present as metaphoric | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| What old Horace meant for facts. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| We have always thought 'em lazy; | 8 | ··/···/˘ |
| Now we adjudge 'em crazy! | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| Why, Horace was a daisy | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| That was very much alive! | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| And the wisest of us know him | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| As his Lydia verses show him,-- | 8 | ··/˘/˘·· |
| Go, read that virile poem,-- | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| It is No. 25. | 3 | ··· |
| He was a very owl, sir, | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| And starting out to prowl, sir, | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| You bet he made Rome howl, sir, | 7 | ······· |
| Until he filled his date; | 7 | ····˘·· |
| With a massic-laden ditty | 8 | ····/˘/˘ |
| And a classic maiden pretty | 8 | ··/˘/˘/˘ |
| He painted up the city, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| And Maecenas paid the freight! | 7 | ······· |
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