“The Satires of Horace
Translated by A.M. Juster
ISBN: 0812240901
University of Pennsylvania Press
160 pg, $34.95
Reviewed by Cheryl Snell
A.M. Juster's accessible new translation of The Satires of Horace combines elements of the English light verse with a close interpretation of the Latin text. Juster wanted to write a version of the satires faithful to the Latin, but one that was “fun to read” --one that brought out the true spirit of the poems. Fairclough, Alexander, Mueke, Rudd, Matthews and others had tried, and some would say, failed in various ways. So Juster took on a formidable task; he set about contemporizing the idiom while retaining rhythmic and formal patterns. He found cultural equivalents in the crossover of languages. He struck a conversational tone that captures the wit and enduring charm of Horace. And he did it in rhyming couplets.
On his choice of heroic couplets, Susanna Braund notes that “When we read this translation, if we find ourselves thinking of more elevated poetry in the same meter—for example, Dryden’s translation of Virgil’s Aeneid or Pope’s translation of the Iliad—this means that the translator has succeeded at duplicating the effect that Horace’s hexameters must have had on his contemporary audience.”
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65-3 B.C.) wrote two books of satires. They are not what we think of as satires today: there are no blood-thirsty political or personal attacks. These verses poke gentle fun at man’s foibles and vices, and the tone swings between elegiac and comic. The satire usually deals with one type of vice at a time, and the satirical attack is framed as an argument or a debate. Topics range widely, from greed and envy (1.1), to lust (1.8) to ambition (1.10—“I did make comments, undeniably,/stating Lucilius's poetry/stumbles on clumsy feet.”)
Book I opens with three “diatribe” satires which are like sermons carefully calculated not to offend those in power. They are didactic and dramatic, with well differentiated voices. A theme introduced with humor is often illustrated by a series of antithetical pairs before a second theme emerges. The Horatian persona mocks human failings, while an adversary eggs him on. In 2.1, Trebatius plays the role of such an adversary. The poem begins with Horace saying, “There is a group who claims my satire seems/too harsh... Others call it ‘slack’…” and he asks, “Trebatius, how should this be addressed? Decide.” (In his Notes, Juster explains why he chose “decide” over others scholars’ “tell me, “give me advice,” and “give a ruling”).
The difference between the Horatian persona in Book 2 and Book I occurs with the reply, “Give it a rest.” This advice, urging Horace to write a different type of poem, in praise of Caesar, perhaps, doesn’t appeal to Horace. He does not think he has the “motivation.” He will follow the example of his predecessor Lucilius, and write in only self-defense.
The Horatian persona’s reaction to Trebatius shows a change in him. He’s less self-assured than the narrator in Book 1, and from this point on, his self-deprecating humor reveals the same flaws in his own character that he once satirized in others. This opposition and contradiction, the balancing between extremes, is a typical strategy in Horace. Author and critic Michael Coffey calls 2.1 a “fundamentally frivolous piece,” but it does illustrate some of the pitfalls of writing satire. It should be sharp-edged and witty, but with its claws sheathed, or it might be misunderstood, with deadly results. Horace humbly suggests that that is his goal.
The Horace of 2.1 shares some traits with the Boor in 1.9. Both men describe their social-climbing plans with similar phrases. The doubling and self-parody does not make the narrator a less sympathetic character, though. He still delivers his moral with a quickness of line and pitch-perfect tone. In 1.9, when the Boor wants Horace to introduce him to his patron Maecenas, his imprecations cause Horace to react physically, another of satire’s trademarks. “…streams of sweat cascade onto my feet” and “I drop my ears like sullen donkeys do.” (referring to Horace’s nickname, Flaccus). There is irony in the difference between the language and the vice dramatized by the Boor. In satire, as Northrop Frye has said, irony is militant.
In 2.6, Horace pits the idyllic qualities of a country retirement against the chaos of city life. Maecenas had given him the Sabine farm, and this poem is a thank-you. It ends with the Aesop-like fable of the city and the country mouse, and the moral that life in the country is better. Contrast Juster’s opening to this poem, “These are the thing I hoped my prayers would bring:/some land, a kitchen garden and a spring/that’s always flowing by a house below/a modest stand of trees. The gods bestow/on me far more and better; I am content”, with Fairclough’s version--
This is what I prayed for ! -- a piece of land not
so very large, where there would be a garden, and
near the house a spring of ever-flowing water, and
up above these a bit of woodland. More and better
than this have the gods done for me. I am content.
…and you can see how Horace’s ancient wit and charm becomes fresh and immediate, concise and fluid in A. M. Juster’s hands. This work stands out. With meticulous scholarship and skillful poetics, Juster has given us a translation accessible enough for casual readers and intricate enough to interest classicists. The book can be ordered at Amazon, University of Pennsylvania Press website, and the author’s website http://www.amjuster.com/
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cherylsnell wrote this review Thursday, April 30 2009.
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