Wiersze wiosenne Horacego

Abstract

The spring poems of Horace

The spring poems I 4, IV 7, IV 12 are very personal and true in Horace’s lyrical oeuvre. His actual fears and thoughts emerge here. The picture of spring stands as an amazing background for his reflections on the passing of time and on death. A good comparison is offered by the beginning of Eliot’s The Waste Land, which is without doubt modeled on Horace’s I 4. The rebellion against death in Ode I 4 is relived in his Odes IV 7 and IV 12, which were written later. In these odes death finds his acceptance and life, however short, is welcomed with joy, which is not overshadowed by his awareness of the end. The translation of these poems is preceded by a short introduction.