Odes

Horace

Horace. The Odes and Carmen Saeculare of Horace. Conington, John, translator. London: George Bell and Sons, 1882.

  • And thrones be tumbled in the mire.
  • Necessity precedes thee still
  • With hard fierce eyes and heavy tramp:
  • Her hand the nails and wedges fill,
  • The molten lead and stubborn clamp.
  • Hope, precious Truth in garb of white,
  • Attend thee still, nor quit thy side
  • When with changed robes thou tak'st thy flight
  • In anger from the homes of pride.
  • Then the false herd, the faithless fair,
  • Start backward; when the wine runs dry.
  • The jocund guests, too light to bear