Poems
HORACE
iii.
28
To Lyde
What could be better to do on Neptune's day?
Lyde, go fetch the Caecuban wine, and hurry.
Let's strike a blow for folly . The sun is setting
And yet you tarry as if the hour stands still -
Bring out that jar of vintage wine from the cellar,
The one that dates from Bibulus' consulship.
We'll sing some songs together on the shore:
First I the one about the god of the sea
And the green-haired nymphs, the Nereids; then you,
In reply, will sing, accompanied by the lyre,
The hymn to Latona and fleet Diana, and fleet
Diana's arrows; and then the one about
The Queen of the shining Cyclades,
The Queen of Cnidos, and ho'Y, she comes to visit
Cyprian Paphos, drawn by her yoke of swans;
And then a song appropriate to the dark.
I.
17
To Tyndaris
Sometimes Faunus comes from Arcady
To fair Lucretilis, and while he's here
Sees to it that my goats are sheltered from
The summer heat and from the wind and rain.
