Horace, Odes 1.4

Carm. 1.4.1Solvitur ācris hiems grātā vice vēris et Favōnī
trahuntque siccās māchinae carīnās
ac neque iam stabulīs gaudet pecus aut arātor ignī
nec prāta cānīs albicant pruīnīs.

Harsh winter is loosening its grip with the welcome change to spring and the west wind, and the rollers are hauling the dry hulls down to the sea, and now the flock no longer enjoys its stalls nor the ploughman his fire, and the meadows are not white with hoar frost.

Note. Metre: Fourth Archilochian (a long line of dactyls plus trochees, then an iambic line). Solvitur ... hiems: winter 'is being loosened' (thawed). grātā vice vēris et Favōnī, 'by the welcome change of spring and the west wind'. māchinae are the rollers or windlasses used to haul ships back to sea after winter. canīs ... pruīnīs, 'with white hoar frosts'.

Carm. 1.4.5Iam Cytherēa chorōs dūcit Venus imminente lūnā
iūnctaeque Nymphīs Grātiae decentēs
alternō terram quatiunt pede, dum gravīs Cyclōpum
Volcānus ārdēns vīsit officīnās.

Now Cytherean Venus leads the dances under the overhanging moon, and the comely Graces, joined with the Nymphs, beat the ground with alternating foot, while blazing Vulcan visits the heavy workshops of the Cyclopes.

Note. Cytherēa Venus: Venus is called after Cythera, the island near which she rose from the sea. imminente lūnā, ablative absolute, 'under an overhanging moon'. Gratiae decentēs, 'the comely Graces'. alternō pede, 'with alternating foot', i.e. in the dance. dum ... Volcānus ārdēns vīsit, 'while blazing Vulcan visits'; gravīs Cyclōpum officīnās, 'the heavy workshops of the Cyclopes' (forging Jupiter's thunderbolts for the summer storms).

Carm. 1.4.9Nunc decet aut viridī nitidum caput impedīre myrtō
10aut flōre, terrae quem ferunt solūtae,
nunc et in umbrōsīs Faunō decet immolāre lūcīs,
seu poscat agnā sīve mālit haedō.

Now it is right to wreathe the gleaming head with green myrtle or with a flower that the loosened earth brings forth; now it is right also to sacrifice to Faunus in the shady groves, whether he asks for a lamb or prefers a kid.

Note. decet + infinitive, 'it is fitting to ...'. viridī nitidum caput impedīre myrtō, 'to bind the gleaming (oiled) head with green myrtle'. terrae solūtae, 'the loosened (thawed) earth', subject of ferunt. seu poscat agnā sīve mālit haedō: with an ablative of the victim, 'whether he asks (to be sacrificed to) with a lamb or prefers a kid'.

Carm. 1.4.13Pallida Mors aequō pulsat pede pauperum tabernās
rēgumque turrīs.

Pale Death knocks with impartial foot at the huts of the poor and the towers of kings.

Note. The famous turn of the poem. aequō pede, 'with impartial foot'. turrīs is the older accusative plural of turris (= turrēs). Rich and poor alike.

Carm. 1.4.14Ō beāte Sēstī,
15vītae summa brevis spem nōs vetat inchoāre longam;

O fortunate Sestius, the brief sum of life forbids us to begin a long hope;

Note. Sestius is Lucius Sestius, consul in 23 B.C., the year these odes were published. vītae summa brevis, 'the brief total of life', subject of vetat. spem inchoāre longam, 'to begin a long hope'.

Carm. 1.4.16iam tē premet nox fābulaeque Mānēs
et domus exīlis Plūtōnia;

soon night will press upon you, and the ghosts of story, and the meagre house of Pluto;

Note. iam ... premet, 'soon will press upon you'. fābulae Mānēs, 'the ghosts of legend' (fābulae is in apposition). domus exīlis Plūtōnia, 'the bare house of Pluto': the underworld, where there is nothing.

Carm. 1.4.17quō simul meāris,
nec regna vīnī sortiēre tālīs
nec tenerum Lycidān mīrābere, quō calet iuventūs
20nunc omnis et mox virginēs tepēbunt.

and as soon as you have gone there, you will not draw lots with the dice for the rule of the wine, nor gaze in wonder at tender Lycidas, for whom all the young men burn now and the girls will soon grow warm.

Note. quō simul mēāris: quō, 'to which place'; simul, 'as soon as'; mēāris is the contracted future perfect of meō (= mēāveris). At a Roman party the 'king of the drinking' was chosen by throwing knucklebones (tālīs). Lycidās is a beautiful boy; calet, 'is warm' with love; tepēbunt, 'will grow warm'.