Horace, Odes 3.30

Carm. 3.30.1Exēgī monumentum aere perennius
rēgālīque sitū pȳramidum altius,
quod nōn imber edāx, nōn aquilō impotēns
possit dīruere aut innumerābilis
5annōrum seriēs et fuga temporum.

I have finished a monument more lasting than bronze and higher than the royal structure of the pyramids, which neither devouring rain nor the raging north wind could destroy, nor the countless succession of years and the flight of time.

Note. Metre: First Asclepiadean, as in Odes 1.1: the last poem of Books 1–3 answers the first. Exēgī mōnumentum, 'I have completed a monument'; aere perennius, 'more lasting than bronze'; rēgālīque sitū pȳramidum altius, 'and higher than the royal structure of the pyramids'. quod nōn ... possit dīruere, 'which ... could not destroy': rain (imber edāx, 'devouring'), the north wind (Aquilō impotēns, 'raging'), the years, the flight of time.

Carm. 3.30.6Nōn omnis moriar multaque pars meī
vītābit Libitīnam;

I shall not wholly die, and a great part of me will escape Libitina;

Note. Nōn omnis moriar, 'I shall not wholly die'. multa pars meī, 'a great part of me'. Libitina was the goddess of funerals; her name stands for death.

Carm. 3.30.7usque ego posterā
crēscam laude recēns, dum Capitōlium
scandet cum tacitā virgine pontifex.

I shall go on growing, ever fresh with the praise of posterity, as long as the high priest climbs the Capitol with the silent Vestal.

Note. usque, 'continually'. posterā laude recēns, 'ever fresh with the praise of posterity'. dum Capitōlium scandet cum tacitā virgine pontifex: 'as long as the high priest climbs the Capitol with the silent Vestal', i.e. as long as Rome stands.

Carm. 3.30.10Dīcar, quā violēns obstrepit Aufidus
et quā pauper aquae Daunus agrestium
regnāvit populōrum, ex humilī potēns,
prīnceps Aeolium carmen ad Ītalōs
dēdūxisse modōs.

I shall be spoken of, where the violent Aufidus roars and where Daunus, poor in water, ruled over country peoples, as one who, powerful though from humble beginnings, was the first to bring Aeolian song to Italian measures.

Note. Dīcar ... dēdūxisse, 'I shall be said to have brought'. quā ... quā, 'where ... and where': the Aufidus is the river of Apulia, Horace's birthplace, and Daunus its legendary king, pauper aquae, 'poor in water', who ruled (regnāvit + genitive, a Greek construction) country peoples. ex humilī potēns, 'powerful from humble origins' (Horace was a freedman's son). prīnceps, 'the first': Horace claims to be the first to have brought Greek lyric (Aeolium carmen, the poetry of Sappho and Alcaeus) into Latin measures.

Carm. 3.30.14Sūme superbiam
15quaesītam meritīs et mihi Delphicā
laurō cinge volēns, Melpomenē, comam.

Take the pride earned by merit, Melpomene, and graciously crown my hair with Delphic laurel.

Note. Sūme superbiam quaesītam meritīs, 'take the pride earned by merit'. Delphicā laurō, 'with Delphic laurel', sacred to Apollo; cinge ... comam, 'crown my hair'; volēns, 'graciously, willingly'. Melpomene, the Muse, is asked to crown him.