Carmen Saeculare
Phoebus and Dian, huntress fair,To-day and always magnified,Bright lights of heaven, accord our prayerThis holy tide,On which the Sibyl's volume willsThat youths and maidens without stainTo gods, who love the seven dear hills,Should chant the strain!Sun, that unchanged, yet ever new,Lead'st out the day and bring'st it home,May nought be present to thy viewMore great than Rome!Blest Ilithyia! be thou nearIn travail to each Roman dame!Lucina, Genitalis, hear,Whate'er thy name!O make our youth to live and grow!The fathers' nuptial counsels speed,Those laws that shall on Rome bestowA plenteous seed!So when a hundred years and tenBring round the cycle, game and songThree days, three nights, shall charm againThe festal throng.Ye too, ye Fates, whose righteous doom,Declared but once, is sure as heaven,Link on new blessings, yet to come,To blessings given!Let Earth, with grain and cattle rife,Crown Ceres' brow with wreathen corn;Soft winds, sweet waters, nurse to lifeThe newly born!O lay thy shafts, Apollo, by!Let suppliant youths obtain thine ear!Thou Moon, fair "regent of the sky,"Thy maidens hear!If Rome is yours, if Troy's remains,Safe by your conduct, sought and foundAnother city, other fanesOn Tuscan ground,For whom, 'mid fires and piles of slain,AEneas made a broad highway,Destined, pure heart, with greater gain.Their loss to pay,Grant to our sons unblemish'd ways;Grant to our sires an age of peace;Grant to our nation power and praise,And large increase!See, at your shrine, with victims white,Prays Venus and Anchises' heir!O prompt him still the foe to smite,The fallen to spare!Now Media dreads our Alban steel,Our victories land and ocean o'er;Scythia and Ind in suppliance kneel,So proud before.Faith, Honour, ancient Modesty,And Peace, and Virtue, spite of scorn,Come back to earth; and Plenty, see,With teeming horn.Augur and lord of silver bow,Apollo, darling of the Nine,Who heal'st our frame when languors slowHave made it pine;Lov'st thou thine own Palatial hill,Prolong the glorious life of RomeTo other cycles, brightening stillThrough time to come!From Algidus and AventineList, goddess, to our grave Fifteen!To praying youths thine ear incline,Diana queen!Thus Jove and all the gods agree!So trusting, wend we home again,Phoebus and Dian's singers we,And this our strain.
Words in this poem 19
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- huntress n.
- A woman who hunts or follows the chase; as, the huntress Diana.
- dame n.
- A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
- 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,]
- festal a.
- Of or pertaining to a holiday or a feast; joyous; festive. [L. festum holiday, feast. See feast.]
- rife a.
- Prevailing; prevalent; abounding. [AS. rif abundant, or Icel. rifr munificent; akin to OD. riff, rijve, abundant.]
- wreathen a.
- Twisted; made into a wreath.
- suppliant a.
- Asking earnestly and submissively; entreating; beseeching; supplicating. [F., p.pr. of supplier to entreat, L. supplicare. See Supplicate, and cf. Supplicant.]
- alban n.
- A white crystalline resinous substance extracted from gutta- percha by the action of alcohol or ether. [L. albus white.]
- suppliance n.
- That which supplies a want; assistance; a gratification; satisfaction. [From Supply.]
- kneel v. i.
- To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; -- sometimes with down. [OE. knelen, cneolien; akin to D. knielen, Dan. knæle. See Knee.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- teeming a.
- Prolific; productive.
- palatial a.
- Palatal; palatine. Barrow.
- 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.]
- aventine n.
- A post of security or defense.
- diana n.
- The daughter of Jupiter and Latona; a virgin goddess who presided over hunting, chastity, and marriage; -- identified with the Greek goddess Artemis. [L. Diana.]
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- wend n.
- A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Carmen Saeculare 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, Carmen Saeculare, in The Odes and Carmen Saeculare (1863), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #5432, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/horace-odes/carmen-saeculare.html, id L13996.
Form and metre
Carmen Saeculare is 76 lines in a single stanza. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 4 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% 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 ABABCDCDEFEFGHGHIJIJKLKL-K--MNMNOPOPQRQRSTSTUVUVWXWXY-Y--Z-Z-a-abcbc-d-de-e- fairA · magnifiedB · prayerA · tideB · willsC · stainD · hillsC · strainD · newE · homeF · viewE · romeF · nearG · dameH · hearG · nameH · growI · speedJ · bestowI · seedJ · tenK · songL · againK · throngL · doom · heavenK · come · given · rifeM · cornN · lifeM · bornN · byO · earP · skyO · hearP · remainsQ · foundR · fanesQ · groundR · slainS · highwayT · gainS · payT · waysU · peaceV · praiseU · increaseV · whiteW · heirX · smiteW · spareX · steelY · o'er · kneelY · before · modesty · scornZ · see · hornZ · bow · ninea · slow · pinea · hillb · romec · stillb · comec · aventine · fifteend · incline · queend · agreee · again · wee · strain
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Phoebus and Dian, huntress fair, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| To-day and always magnified, | 8 | ···/·/˘· |
| Bright lights of heaven, accord our prayer | 8 | ···/˘//· |
| This holy tide, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| On which the Sibyl's volume wills | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That youths and maidens without stain | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To gods, who love the seven dear hills, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Should chant the strain! | 4 | ···· |
| Sun, that unchanged, yet ever new, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Lead'st out the day and bring'st it home, | 8 | ········ |
| May nought be present to thy view | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| More great than Rome! | 4 | ···· |
| Blest Ilithyia! be thou near | 7 | ······· |
| In travail to each Roman dame! | 8 | ·˘/··/˘· |
| Lucina, Genitalis, hear, | 8 | ········ |
| Whate'er thy name! | 5 | ˘˘/·· |
| O make our youth to live and grow! | 8 | ··/····· |
| The fathers' nuptial counsels speed, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Those laws that shall on Rome bestow | 8 | ······˘/ |
| A plenteous seed! | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| So when a hundred years and ten | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Bring round the cycle, game and song | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Three days, three nights, shall charm again | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The festal throng. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Ye too, ye Fates, whose righteous doom, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Declared but once, is sure as heaven, | 9 | ˘/·····/˘ |
| Link on new blessings, yet to come, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To blessings given! | 5 | ·/˘/˘ |
| Let Earth, with grain and cattle rife, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Crown Ceres' brow with wreathen corn; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Soft winds, sweet waters, nurse to life | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The newly born! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| O lay thy shafts, Apollo, by! | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Let suppliant youths obtain thine ear! | 9 | ·/˘˘·˘/·· |
| Thou Moon, fair "regent of the sky," | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Thy maidens hear! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| If Rome is yours, if Troy's remains, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Safe by your conduct, sought and found | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| Another city, other fanes | 8 | ˘/˘/˘/˘· |
| On Tuscan ground, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| For whom, 'mid fires and piles of slain, | 8 | ···/···· |
| AEneas made a broad highway, | 8 | /˘˘···/· |
| Destined, pure heart, with greater gain. | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Their loss to pay, | 4 | ···· |
| Grant to our sons unblemish'd ways; | 8 | ··/·˘/˘· |
| Grant to our sires an age of peace; | 8 | ··/····· |
| Grant to our nation power and praise, | 8 | ··//˘/·· |
| And large increase! | 4 | ··˘/ |
| See, at your shrine, with victims white, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Prays Venus and Anchises' heir! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| O prompt him still the foe to smite, | 8 | ········ |
| The fallen to spare! | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Now Media dreads our Alban steel, | 8 | ·/˘·//˘· |
| Our victories land and ocean o'er; | 8 | //˘˘··/· |
| Scythia and Ind in suppliance kneel, | 9 | ·····˘/˘· |
| So proud before. | 4 | ···· |
| Faith, Honour, ancient Modesty, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| And Peace, and Virtue, spite of scorn, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Come back to earth; and Plenty, see, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| With teeming horn. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Augur and lord of silver bow, | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Apollo, darling of the Nine, | 8 | ˘/˘/˘··· |
| Who heal'st our frame when languors slow | 8 | ··/····· |
| Have made it pine; | 4 | ···· |
| Lov'st thou thine own Palatial hill, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Prolong the glorious life of Rome | 8 | ˘/·/˘··· |
| To other cycles, brightening still | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Through time to come! | 4 | ···· |
| From Algidus and Aventine | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| List, goddess, to our grave Fifteen! | 8 | ·/˘·/·˘/ |
| To praying youths thine ear incline, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Diana queen! | 4 | ˘/˘· |
| Thus Jove and all the gods agree! | 8 | ······˘/ |
| So trusting, wend we home again, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Phoebus and Dian's singers we, | 8 | /˘·/˘/˘· |
| And this our strain. | 5 | ··/˘· |
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.