HORACE HIS OUTLOOK ON LIFE

It is easy to see Horace on first reading as either pessimistic in his preoccupation with death or as a rather simple character who just advises us to have fun. But neither view is fully justified. His poems are both sublime and accessible. They are both wise and easy to understand. They have a profound message but one that is easy to comprehend and relevant to everyone. Certainly there is a very dark side to Horace. In many of his poems, notably Ode to Spring, We All Must Die and Enjoy Your Possessions he reminds us, sometimes cruelly it seems, of the inevitability of death. We are not immortal, he constantly reminds us. In some of his work, this creates a prevailing sad, even depressing, mood and taken in isolation could be seen as very gloomy. But there is also a lot of light and cheer in his poems, well out-weighing the darkness. In Gather Ye Rosebuds, Enjoy The Present Hour, Journey to Brundisium, we see that the other side of the coin is that, if we do not live forever, then surely we should not worry about anything too much and enjoy the good things in life while we can. Horace is very much at one with Augustus in his love for a simple, rustic lifestyle. In Rustic Joys, he (in the mind of

Alfius the money-lender) extols the trouble-free nature of country living, away from debts, politics, corruption and the excesses of urban life. But Horace is never simple, he understands the lure of profit and luxury. Horace admires moderation in all things, he does mention wine a lot, but you never feel he would have advocated binge drinking! He loves friendship, flirting and being in a beautiful place. You get the impression that his ideal is a lovely place, with friends and a glass of wine. He is not a frivolous person either. He makes it clear that he is concerned with moral standards and integrity, not just with personal happiness and enjoyment. Lastly, it would be wrong to see him as superficial or simple, just a stater of the obvious. He has a real understanding of human nature and all its weaknesses, perhaps especially his own. He is well able to laugh at himself, which is one of his most endearing characteristics. He captures the essence of what it is to be human in all its weakness and its strengths which is why his poems endure so well.