Book III: Ode I: Odi Profanum
I bid the unhallow'd crowd avaunt!Keep holy silence; strains unknownTill now, the Muses' hierophant,I sing to youths and maids alone.Kings o'er their flocks the sceptre wield;E'en kings beneath Jove's sceptre bow:Victor in giant battle-field,He moves all nature with his brow.This man his planted walks extendsBeyond his peers; an older nameOne to the people's choice commends;One boasts a more unsullied fame;One plumes him on a larger crowdOf clients. What are great or small?Death takes the mean man with the proud;The fatal urn has room for all.When guilty Pomp the drawn sword seesHung o'er her, richest feasts in vainStrain their sweet juice her taste to please;No lutes, no singing birds againWill bring her sleep. Sleep knows no pride;It scorns not cots of village hinds,Nor shadow-trembling river-side,Nor Tempe, stirr'd by western winds.Who, having competence, has all,The tumult of the sea defies,Nor fears Arcturus' angry fall,Nor fears the Kid-star's sullen rise,Though hail-storms on the vineyard beat,Though crops deceive, though trees complain,One while of showers, one while of heat,One while of winter's barbarous reign.Fish feel the narrowing of the mainFrom sunken piles, while on the strandContractors with their busy trainLet down huge stones, and lords of landAffect the sea: but fierce AlarmCan clamber to the master's side:Black Cares can up the galley swarm,And close behind the horseman ride.If Phrygian marbles soothe not pain,Nor star-bright purple's costliest wear,Nor vines of true Falernian strain,Nor Achaemenian spices rare,Why with rich gate and pillar'd rangeUpbuild new mansions, twice as high,Or why my Sabine vale exchangeFor more laborious luxury?
Words in this poem
- avaunt v. t.
- To advance; to move forward; to elevate.
- hierophant n.
- The presiding priest who initiated candidates at the Eleusinian mysteries; hence, one who teaches the mysteries and duties of religion. Abp Potter. [L. hierophanta, hierophantes, Gr. hiérophante.]
- sceptre n.
- A staff or baton borne by a sovereign, as a ceremonial badge or emblem of authority; a royal mace. [F. sceptre, L. sceptrum, from Gr. shaft. See Shaft, and cf. Scape a stem, shaft.]
- wield v. t.
- To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
- competence n.
- The state of being competent; fitness; ability; adequacy; power. [Cf. F. compétence, from L. competentia agreement.]
- angry a.
- Troublesome; vexatious; rigorous. [See Anger.]
- sullen a.
- Lonely; solitary; desolate. Wyclif (Job iii. 14). [OE. solein, solain, lonely, sullen; through Old French fr. (assumed) LL. solanus solitary, fr. L. solus alone. See Sole, a.]
- vineyard n.
- An inclosure or yard for grapevines; a plantation of vines producing grapes. [For OE. winyard, AS. wingeard; influenced by E. vine. See Wine, and Yard an inclosure.]
- narrowing n.
- The act of contracting, or of making or becoming less in breadth or extent.
- clamber v. i.
- To climb with difficulty, or with hands and feet; -- also used figuratively. [OE clambren, clameren, to heap together, climb; akin to Icel. klambra to clamp, G. klammern. Cf. Clamp, Climb.]
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- falernian a.
- Of or pertaining to Mount Falernus, in Italy; as, Falernianwine.
- sabine a.
- Of or pertaining to the ancient Sabines, a people of Italy. [L. Sabinus.]
- vale n.
- A tract of low ground, or of land between hills; a valley. [OE. val, F. val, L. vallis; perhaps akin to Gr. Avalanche, Vail to lower, Valley.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book III: Ode I: Odi Profanum is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Odes and Carmen Saeculare, Project Gutenberg ebook #5432, the John Conington translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Horace, Book III: Ode I: Odi Profanum, in The Odes and Carmen Saeculare (1863), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5432, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/horace-odes/book-iii-ode-i-odi-profanum.html, id L13953.
Form and metre
Book III: Ode I: Odi Profanum is 48 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 -A-ABCBCDEDEFGFGH-H-I-I-JKJKLMLMMNMN-O-OPQPQR-R- avaunt · unknownA · hierophant · aloneA · wieldB · bowC · fieldB · browC · extendsD · nameE · commendsD · fameE · crowdF · smallG · proudF · allG · seesH · vain · pleaseH · again · prideI · hinds · sideI · winds · allJ · defiesK · fallJ · riseK · beatL · complainM · heatL · reignM · mainM · strandN · trainM · landN · alarm · sideO · swarm · rideO · painP · wearQ · strainP · rareQ · rangeR · high · exchangeR · luxury
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I bid the unhallow'd crowd avaunt! | 9 | ·······˘/ |
| Keep holy silence; strains unknown | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Till now, the Muses' hierophant, | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘˘ |
| I sing to youths and maids alone. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Kings o'er their flocks the sceptre wield; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| E'en kings beneath Jove's sceptre bow: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Victor in giant battle-field, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| He moves all nature with his brow. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| This man his planted walks extends | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Beyond his peers; an older name | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| One to the people's choice commends; | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| One boasts a more unsullied fame; | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| One plumes him on a larger crowd | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Of clients. What are great or small? | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Death takes the mean man with the proud; | 8 | ········ |
| The fatal urn has room for all. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| When guilty Pomp the drawn sword sees | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Hung o'er her, richest feasts in vain | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Strain their sweet juice her taste to please; | 8 | ········ |
| No lutes, no singing birds again | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Will bring her sleep. Sleep knows no pride; | 8 | ········ |
| It scorns not cots of village hinds, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Nor shadow-trembling river-side, | 8 | ·/·/˘/˘· |
| Nor Tempe, stirr'd by western winds. | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Who, having competence, has all, | 8 | ·/˘/˘˘·· |
| The tumult of the sea defies, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Nor fears Arcturus' angry fall, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Nor fears the Kid-star's sullen rise, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Though hail-storms on the vineyard beat, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Though crops deceive, though trees complain, | 8 | ··˘/··˘/ |
| One while of showers, one while of heat, | 8 | ···/···· |
| One while of winter's barbarous reign. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Fish feel the narrowing of the main | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| From sunken piles, while on the strand | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Contractors with their busy train | 8 | /·˘··/˘· |
| Let down huge stones, and lords of land | 8 | ········ |
| Affect the sea: but fierce Alarm | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| Can clamber to the master's side: | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Black Cares can up the galley swarm, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And close behind the horseman ride. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| If Phrygian marbles soothe not pain, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Nor star-bright purple's costliest wear, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Nor vines of true Falernian strain, | 9 | ····˘/˘˘· |
| Nor Achaemenian spices rare, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Why with rich gate and pillar'd range | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Upbuild new mansions, twice as high, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Or why my Sabine vale exchange | 8 | ···˘/·˘/ |
| For more laborious luxury? | 9 | ··˘/˘˘/˘˘ |
Notes from the edition 1
John Conington's own notes to his translation of the Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace (3rd ed.; Project Gutenberg #5432).
- Line 36 And lords of land Affect the sea. Terrae of course goes with fastidiosus, not with dominus. Mine is a loose rendering, not a false interpretation.
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.