Living

Odes 1.36: Et Thure, Et Fidibus

by Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus) 65–8 BC

Translated by John Conington (3rd ed., before 1869) · From Odes, Book I

Living

Bid the lyre and cittern play;
Enkindle incense, shed the victim's gore;
Heaven has watch'd o'er Numida,
And brings him safe from far Hispania's shore.
Now, returning, he bestows
On each, dear comrade all the love he can;
But to Lamia most he owes,
By whose sweet side he grew from boy to man.
Note we in our calendar
This festal day with whitest mark from Crete:
Let it flow, the old wine-jar,
And ply to Salian time your restless feet.
Damalis tosses off her wine,
But Bassus sure must prove her match to-night.
Give us roses all to twine,
And parsley green, and lilies deathly white.
Every melting eye will rest
On Damalis' lovely face; but none may part
Damalis from our new-found guest;
She clings, and clings, like ivy, round his heart.

MLA

Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus). “Odes 1.36: Et Thure, Et Fidibus.” Translated by John Conington. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/horace/34/.

Chicago

Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus). “Odes 1.36: Et Thure, Et Fidibus.” Translated by John Conington. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/horace/34/.

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