Latin poetry exhibition on The Moor

[Jahanshahad]

Hi Everyone,

 

Ages ago I posted a translation I'd done of a Latin poem by Horace. I got some really good feedback from you guys (for which thanks!) and it is now being exhibited at the top of The Moor in Sheffield city centre.

 

All I really wanted to say now was that if you find yourself in town sometime it'd be great if you could check it out and let me know what you think.

 

Also, I have set-up a facebook page called 'Sheffield Latin'. The link to that is hopefully in my signature and on there you can find the full text, the original Latin, some notes and a couple pictures. If you could check that too it'd be mighty fine.

 

Regards,

 

James

 

PS: Here is the translation for anyone who is interested in just having a read:

 

 

The Odes of Horace - IV.7

 

Translated in Sheffield by James Blackwell

 

Fallen away the snows,

To the fields now grass returns

And leaves to the trees;

The earth goes through its changes,

And to within its banks withdrawing

The once-swollen river flows past.

 

Daring Grace, with the Nymphs

And her twin sisters, shuns clothes

To lead nude a choral dance.

Do not hope for immortality

Warns the passing year

And the hour

Which hounds and hastens the fresh-born day.

 

Chill winter’s becalmed;

Spring will be trampled by summer

And summer itself to be pummelled prepares

As fruit-bearing autumn pours forth,

And soon

Winter stands back inert.

 

Yet how quickly new moons repair emptied heavens!

We, when we sink down

To where dutiful Aeneas,

To where rich Tullus and Ancus are,

Dust and shadows are we.

 

Who knows whether the gods above

Will add time tomorrow

To our sum today?

Only those things you spend on yourself, Torquatus,

Will escape the hands of a greedy heir.

 

For when once you are dead

And Minos his judgement

About you has given

Not you your family,

Not you your eloquence,

Nor you your piety they will restore;

 

Not even Diana

From the underworld dark

Chaste Hippolytus frees,

Nor can strong Theseus

From dearest Pirithous

Break the Lethean chains.

 

 

Notes:

 

Grace:

A goddess representing beauty, here she braves winter frost to celebrate the coming spring.

 

Nymphs:

Divine, beautiful creatures who live in the woods and love to dance and sing.

 

Aeneas (pronounced i-nee-us):

A great hero, Aeneas founded the Roman race after defeat in the Trojan War and escape to Italy - but greatness did not stop his soul from sinking down to the underworld when he died.

 

Tullus Hostilius:

Seven ancient kings founded the city of Rome. Romulus was the first, Tullus the third.

 

Ancus Marcius:

Ancus was the fourth ancient king of Rome. In the poem, Horace compares human life to the phases of the moon. A new moon appears every month, but no matter how great the man – whether hero or king - once he is dead and gone he is dead and gone for good.

 

Torquatus:

A friend of Horace, and the person to whom the poem is addressed. Seize the day is Horace’s advice.

 

Minos:

Sat in judgement on dead souls as they entered the underworld. The good he would send one way and the wicked another, but regardless of how you had lived, your life would not be given back to you.

 

Diana:

Powerful goddess of the moon and hunting, but even she was unable to save her devoted follower Hippolytus from being dragged to death and the underworld by wild horses.

 

Hippolytus:

Spurned the amorous advances of his step-mother, who in revenge claimed that Hippolytus had raped her. Cursed by his family, he was dragged to death and the underworld by wild horses. Not even Diana, of whom he was a devoted follower, could save him.

 

Theseus:

Mythical founder of Athens who endured many labours to prove his strength. In one adventure he went down to the underworld with his friend Pirithous to try and snatch a bride. They were captured and held fast in chains. Eventually Theseus escaped, but he could not rescue Pirithous.

 

Pirithous (pronounced pi-rith-u-us):

The king of a Greek tribe and friend of Theseus.

 

Lethe (pronounced lee-thee):

One of several rivers in the underworld. Those who drank the Lethean waters would experience complete forgetfulness of the past.

 

Horace and his Odes:

Quintus Horatius Flaccus, otherwise known as Horace, was a leading poet of the first century BC. After fighting in the civil wars which erupted following the assassination of Julius Caesar, he led a simple, contemplative life. In his poetry he pokes fun at himself and the daily life of Rome. He wrote four books of odes and this is the seventh ode of the fourth book. It has been called the most beautiful poem in ancient literature.

 

An ode was an ancient type of Greek poetry, sung to the accompaniment of music. The odes of Horace were not meant to be sung, but were his attempt to introduce Greek poetical rhythms into the Latin language.

[Jahanshahad]

Hey All,

 

Just wanted to say thank you for viewing my post - dunno if anyone has chanced by the exhibition but hope you liked it if yes.

 

Errr, secondarily, if you wouldn't mind please going to 'Sheffield Latin' facebook page and clicking the Like button that would be surely appreciated. I need to get 25 likes before I can get a proper http://www.facebook.com/Sheffield_Latin web-address, and at the moment I am on a meagre, much-measled seven...

 

Thank you.

 

James