Epist. 1.19.1Prīscō sī crēdis, Maecēnās docte, Cratīnō,
nūlla placēre diū nec vīvere carmina possunt,
quae scrībuntur aquae pōtōribus.If you believe old Cratinus, learned Maecenas, no poems can please for long or live which are written by drinkers of water. Epist. 1.19.3Ut male sānōs
adscrīpsit Līber Satyrīs Faunīsque poētās,
5vīna ferē dulcēs oluērunt māne Camēnae.Ever since Liber enrolled poets, half-mad, among his Satyrs and Fauns, the sweet Muses have usually smelled of wine in the morning. Epist. 1.19.6Laudibus arguitur vīnī vīnōsus Homērus;Homer is convicted of being a winebibber by his praises of wine; Epist. 1.19.7Ennius ipse pater numquam nisi pōtus ad arma
prōsiluit dīcenda.father Ennius himself never leapt forth to sing of arms unless he had been drinking. Epist. 1.19.8"Forum Putealque Libōnis
mandābō siccīs, adimam cantāre sevērīs :"
10hoc simul ēdīxī, nōn cessāvēre poētae
nocturnō certāre merō, putēre diurnō,
quid?'I shall assign the forum and the Well-head of Libo to the sober, and forbid the strait-laced to sing': as soon as I had issued this edict, poets did not stop competing in neat wine by night and reeking of it by day. What then?
Epist. 1.19.12Sī quis voltū torvō ferus et pede nūdō
exiguaeque togae simulet textōre Catōnem,
virtūtemne repraesentet mōrēsque Catōnis?If someone, wild with a grim face and bare feet and the weave of a scanty toga, were to imitate Cato, would he represent the virtue and character of Cato? Epist. 1.19.15Rūpit Iarbītam Timāgenis aemula lingua,
dum studet urbānus tenditque disertus habērī.His tongue, trying to rival Timagenes, burst Iarbitas, while he strove and strained to be thought urbane and eloquent. Epist. 1.19.17Dēcipit exemplar vitiīs imitābile: quod sī
pallōrem cāsū, biberent exsangue cumīnum.A model imitable in its faults deceives: but if I happened to grow pale, they would drink bloodless cumin. Epist. 1.19.19Ō imitātōrēs, servum pecus, ut mihi saepe
20bīlem, saepe iocum vestrī mōvēre tumultūs!O imitators, slavish herd, how often your fuss has stirred my bile, how often my laughter! Epist. 1.19.21Lībera per vacuum posuī vestīgia prīnceps,
nōn aliēna meō pressī pede.I was the first to set free footsteps through empty ground; I did not tread with my foot where others had. Epist. 1.19.22Quī sibi fīdet,
dux reget exāmen.He who trusts himself will lead and rule the swarm.
Epist. 1.19.23Pariōs ego prīmus iambōs
ostendī Latiō, numerōs animōsque secūtus
25Archilochī, nōn rēs et agentia verba Lycambēn.I was the first to show Parian iambics to Latium, following the rhythms and spirit of Archilochus, not his subjects and the words that hounded Lycambes. Epist. 1.19.26Ac nē mē foliīs ideō breviōribus ōrnēs
quod, timuī mūtāre modōs et carminis artem
temperat, Archilochī Mūsam pede mascula Sapphō
temperat, Alcaeus sed, rēbus et ōrdine dispār
30nec, socerum quaerit quem, versibus oblinat ātrīs
nec, spōnsae laqueum fāmōsō carmine nectit
hunc, ego nōn, aliō dictum prius ōre Latīnus,
volgāvī fidicen fidicen.And lest you crown me with scantier leaves because I feared to change his metres and his poetic art, masculine Sappho tempers the Muse of Archilochus with her metre, and Alcaeus tempers it too, but different in subjects and arrangement, who neither looks for a father-in-law to smear with black verses, nor weaves a noose for his bride with a defamatory song. Him, never sung by another mouth before, I, the Latin lyrist, have made known. Epist. 1.19.33Iuvat immemorāta ferentem
ingenuīs oculīsque legī manibusque tenērī.It delights me, bringing things unsung, to be read by the eyes and held in the hands of the freeborn.
Epist. 1.19.35Scīre velīs, mea cūr ingrātus opuscula lēctor
laudet ametque domī, premat extrā līmen inīquus:
nōn ego ventōsae plēbis suffrāgia vēnor
impēnsīs cēnārum et trītae mūnere vestis;You would like to know why the ungrateful reader praises and loves my little works at home, but unjustly disparages them outside his door: I do not hunt the votes of the fickle mob at the cost of dinners and gifts of worn clothing; Epist. 1.19.39nōn ego, nōbilium scrīptōrum audītor et ultor,
40grammaticās ambīre tribūs et pulpita dignor.I, a hearer and champion of noble writers, do not deign to canvass the tribes of critics and their platforms. Epist. 1.19.41Hinc illae lacrimae.Hence those tears. Epist. 1.19.41"Spissīs indigna theātrīs
scrīpta pudet recitāre et nūgīs addere pondus,"
sī dīxī, rīdēs, ait, "et Iovis auribus ista
servās: fīdis enim mānāre poētica mella
45tē sōlum, tibi pulcher."'I am ashamed to recite in crowded theatres writings unworthy of them and to give weight to trifles,' if I say this, someone says, 'You are joking, and are keeping these for the ears of Jupiter; for you are confident that you alone distil poetic honey, handsome in your own eyes.' Epist. 1.19.45Ad haec ego nāribus ūtī
formīdō et, luctantis acūtō nē secer unguī,
displicet iste locus, clāmō et dīlūdia poscō,
lūdus enim genuit trepidum certāmen et īram,
īra trucēs inimīcitiās et fūnebre bellum.To this I am afraid to sneer, and, lest I be scratched by my opponent's sharp nail, I cry 'This place does not suit me' and ask for an interval; for play has produced anxious rivalry and anger, and anger fierce enmities and deadly war.