[Glenn Wright]

This ode is addressed to Licinius. It contains another famous phrase in line 6 showing Horace’s Epicurean philosophy: auream . . .mediocritatem “the golden mean” or more loosely, “nothing in excess.” It is written in Sapphic stanzas
(— = long/stressed syllable, * = short/unstressed syllable):

— * — — — / * * — * — —
— * — — — / * * — * — —
— * — — — / * * — * — —
— * * — —

(Note: Traditionally, in Sapphic stanzas the fourth syllable of the first three lines is anceps, meaning it may be long/stressed or short/unstressed. In Horace, this syllable is always long/stressed.)

Latin poetry uses long syllables (like half-notes in music) and short syllables (like quarter notes) to determine meter. English uses stressed and unstressed syllables. Because Sapphic stanzas have a high proportion of stressed syllables relative to unstressed, it is difficult to write them in English without sounding as though you are shouting. In my translation, I chose to render the ode into 4-line stanzas of anapestic tetrameter rhyming AABB. Horace used a wide variety of meters in his odes, but almost all of them use four-line stanzas. I chose anapestic meter to highlight the sunny, optimistic tone of the poem, and the rhyme scheme is intended to evoke the philosophical subject matter of the admirers and imitators of Horace who lived during the Age of Reason and wrote about philosophical topics in rhyming heroic couplets: Dryden, Pope, Swift, and their ilk. This form, I felt, approximated most closely the mood and music of Horace’s poem.

Odes: Book 2, Poem 10
by Quintus Horatius Flaccus

Licinius, your life will be vastly more worthy
if prudence is used to determine your journey,
not always daring the dangerous deep,
nor, storm-frightened, hugging the coastline so steep.

A wiser and soberer sailor is seen
in the person who prizes the great golden mean,
who has neither a filthy and tumbledown shanty,
nor a palace to kindle the envy of many.

Quite often in windstorms a huge pine will smash
to the ground, and tall towers will fall with a crash;
from nowhere the lightning bolts flash in a streak
and strike the high summits of each mountain peak.

The heart hopes in dangers and fears to lose favor,
prepared well, no matter how fortunes may waver;
Jupiter marshals the threatening storms,
himself leading in the clouds’ ominous forms,

then he drives them away. If things are bad now,
soon they will not be: with leaves on his brow
Apollo will raise the mute Muse with his lyre,
not bend back his bow with vengeance and ire.

In difficult times, appear lively and brave;
at the same time, when sailing is smooth on the wave,
take a moment to shorten your billowing sail
so the fortunate winds may not cause you to fail.

————————
Edits:
S1L2: if you let caution in storms guide your journey, > if prudence is used to determine your journey,
S1L4: nor hugging the shore, so rugged and steep. > nor, storm-frightened, hugging the coastline so steep.
S2L3: who has neither a filthy, tumbledown shanty, > who has neither a filthy and tumbledown shanty,
S4L2: well-prepared, no matter how fortunes may waver; > prepared well, no matter how fortunes may waver;
S6L3: have a caution to shorten your billowing sail > give a thought to shortening your billowing sail > take a moment to shorten your billowing sail


Original Latin from Perseus Project

Odes: Liber II, Carmen x
Quinti Horati Flacci

Rectius vives, Licini, neque altum
semper urgendo neque, dum procellas
cautus horrescis, nimium premendo
litus iniquum.

auream quisquis mediocritatem
diligit, tutus caret obsoleti
sordibus tecti, caret invidenda
sobrius aula.

saepius ventis agitatur ingens
pinus et celsae graviore casu
decidunt turres feriuntque summos
fulgura montis.

sperat infestis, metuit secundis
alteram sortem bene praeparatum
pectus, informis hiemes reducit
Iuppiter, idem

submovet. non, si male nunc, et olim
sic erit: quondam cithara tacentem
suscitat Musam neque semper arcum
tendit Apollo.

rebus angustis animosus atque
fortis adpare: sapienter idem
contrahes vento nimium secundo
turgida vela.


Crib:

You will live more uprightly, Licinius, neither by
always pushing out into the deep, nor, cautious, while
you dread storms, by pressing too close
to the treacherous/rugged shore.

Whoever prizes the golden mean,
who lacks a tumbledown, filthy hut,
who lacks an enviable palace,
is considered more sober.

Quite often, driven by the winds,
the huge pine and lofty towers with a very heavy fall
crash down, and lightning bolts strike
the tops of the mountain range.

The heart hopes in dangers, fears in prosperity,
well-prepared for either of the two fortunes,
Jupiter brings back shapeless winters/storms;
he himself

drives them away. If it is bad now,
in the future it will not be so: sometimes,
the lyre raises the silent Muse,
nor does Apollo always bend his bow.

In difficulties/dire straits appear spirited/lively
and strong/brave: at the same time, wisely shorten,
when the wind is too favorable,
[your] billowing/inflated sail.