Horace's Original: Carmina 1/11
An illustration for: Nine Maxims On Translation
E Bruce Brooks / University of Massachusetts / 5 Dec 2002
Horace's original is in a quantitative meter for which the only workable English equivalent is syllable; the syllable form consists of two stanzas, each with four lines having 6 + 4 + 6 syllables (there are length requirements also, but we ignore these as not linguistically transferable). Identifying glosses have been appended to give an idea of where the morphemes are, not to constitute a translation. The Latin elements must be rearranged to work as an English statement. For one such rearrangement, see the Anonymous interlinear gloss. Where an adjective and its associated noun have been separated by an intervening word, they have been marked by [brackets]. Doing this is a major point of artistry with Horace. The separations are modest in this poem; they can be much greater.
[The elements of the translations corresponding to the Latin oppositis and pumicibus, which in the original, below, are separated by the verb debilitat, are shown in red both here and in the following translations, for easier technical comparison].
Carmina 1/11
8(6 + 4 + 6 syllables)
04
08
tu ne quaesieris -
you / should not / seek -finem di dederint,
end / the Gods / have given,temptaris numeros.
try / [numbers]Seu plures hiemes
whether / more / wintersquae nune oppositis
which / now / [on opposed]Tyrrhenum. sapias
Tyrrhenian. / Be wisespem longam reseces.
hope / long / cut back.aetas: carpe diem,
Time. Pluck / the day;scire nefas -
to know / is wrong -Leuconoë,
Leuconoë,Ut melius,
How much / better,seu tribuit
[or] whether / allotsdebilitat
wears outvina liques,
wines / strain outdum loquimur,
while / we speak,quam minimum
[as little as possible]quem mihi, quem tibi
what / to me / [or] what / to theenec Babylonios
nor [Babylonian]quicquid erit, pati!
whatever / shall be, / acceptIuppiter ultimam,
Jupiter / the lastpumicibus mare
[worn rocks] / the seaet spatio brevi
and / to a space / shortfugerit / invida
there shall flee / jealouscredula postero.
put faith / in later time.
Commentary at this point would spoil the chances of the examples. But readers may wish to try their hands with a version of their own, to see how much they can see, and how many difficulties they can solve, before turning to the published translations.
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