Book IV: Ode XV: Phoebus Volentem
Of battles fought I fain had told,And conquer'd towns, when Phoebus smoteHis harp-string: "Sooth, 'twere over-boldTo tempt wide seas in that frail boat."Thy age, great Caesar, has restoredTo squalid fields the plenteous grain,Given back to Rome's almighty LordOur standards, torn from Parthian fane,Has closed Quirinian Janus' gate,Wild passion's erring walk controll'd,Heal'd the foul plague-spot of the state,And brought again the life of old,Life, by whose healthful power increasedThe glorious name of Latium spreadTo where the sun illumes the eastFrom where he seeks his western bed.While Caesar rules, no civil strifeShall break our rest, nor violence rude,Nor rage, that whets the slaughtering knifeAnd plunges wretched towns in feud.The sons of Danube shall not scornThe Julian edicts; no, nor theyBy Tanais' distant river born,Nor Persia, Scythia, or Cathay.And we on feast and working-tide,While Bacchus' bounties freely flow,Our wives and children at our side,First paying Heaven the prayers we owe,Shall sing of chiefs whose deeds are done,As wont our sires, to flute or shell,And Troy, Anchises, and the sonOf Venus on our tongues shall dwell.
Words in this poem
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- sooth a.
- True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
- squalid a.
- Dirty through neglect; foul; filthy; extremely dirty. [L. squalidus, fr. squalere to be foul or filthy.]
- parthian a.
- Of or pertaining to ancient Parthia, in Asia.
- fane n.
- A temple; a place consecrated to religion; a church. [L. fanum a place dedicated to some deity, a sanctuary, fr. fari to speak. See Fame.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- strife n.
- The act of striving; earnest endeavor. [OF. estrif. See Strive.]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- julian a.
- Relating to, or derived from, Julius Cæsar. Julian calendar, the calendar as adjusted by Julius Cæsar, in which the year was made to consist of 365 days, each fourth year having 366 days. [L. Julianus, fr. Julius. Cf. July, Gillian.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Book IV: Ode XV: Phoebus Volentem 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 IV: Ode XV: Phoebus Volentem, in The Odes and Carmen Saeculare (1863), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5432, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/horace-odes/book-iv-ode-xv-phoebus-volentem.html, id L13995.
Form and metre
Book IV: Ode XV: Phoebus Volentem is 32 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGHGHIJIJKLKLMNMNOPOP. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 38% 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGHGHIJIJKLKLMNMNOPOP toldA · smoteB · boldA · boatB · restoredC · grainD · lordC · faneD · gateE · controll'dF · stateE · oldF · increasedG · spreadH · eastG · bedH · strifeI · rudeJ · knifeI · feudJ · scornK · theyL · bornK · cathayL · tideM · flowN · sideM · oweN · doneO · shellP · sonO · dwellP
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Of battles fought I fain had told, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And conquer'd towns, when Phoebus smote | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| His harp-string: "Sooth, 'twere over-bold | 8 | ········ |
| To tempt wide seas in that frail boat." | 8 | ········ |
| Thy age, great Caesar, has restored | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| To squalid fields the plenteous grain, | 9 | ·/˘··/˘˘· |
| Given back to Rome's almighty Lord | 8 | /···˘/˘· |
| Our standards, torn from Parthian fane, | 8 | //˘··/˘· |
| Has closed Quirinian Janus' gate, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Wild passion's erring walk controll'd, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| Heal'd the foul plague-spot of the state, | 8 | ········ |
| And brought again the life of old, | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Life, by whose healthful power increased | 8 | ···/˘/˘/ |
| The glorious name of Latium spread | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To where the sun illumes the east | 8 | ········ |
| From where he seeks his western bed. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While Caesar rules, no civil strife | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Shall break our rest, nor violence rude, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Nor rage, that whets the slaughtering knife | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And plunges wretched towns in feud. | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The sons of Danube shall not scorn | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The Julian edicts; no, nor they | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| By Tanais' distant river born, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Nor Persia, Scythia, or Cathay. | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| And we on feast and working-tide, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| While Bacchus' bounties freely flow, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Our wives and children at our side, | 8 | /··/˘·/· |
| First paying Heaven the prayers we owe, | 8 | ·/˘/···· |
| Shall sing of chiefs whose deeds are done, | 8 | ········ |
| As wont our sires, to flute or shell, | 8 | ··/····· |
| And Troy, Anchises, and the son | 8 | ········ |
| Of Venus on our tongues shall dwell. | 8 | ·/˘·/··· |
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.