The poetry of Horace (born 65 BCE) is richly varied, its focus moving between public and private concerns, urban and rural settings, Stoic and Epicurean thought. Here is a new Loeb Classical Library edition of the great Roman poet's "Odes and Epodes," a fluid translation facing the Latin text.

Horace took pride in being the first Roman to write a body of lyric poetry. For models he turned to Greek lyric, especially to the poetry of Alcaeus, Sappho, and Pindar; but his poems are set in a Roman context. His four books of odes cover a wide range of moods and topics. Some are public poems, upholding the traditional values of courage, loyalty, and piety; and there are hymns to the gods. But most of the odes are on private themes: chiding or advising friends; speaking about love and amorous situations, often amusingly. Horace's seventeen epodes, which he called iambi, were also an innovation for Roman literature. Like the odes they were inspired by a Greek model: the seventh-century iambic poetry of Archilochus. Love and political concerns are frequent themes; here the tone is generally that of satirical lampoons. "In his language he is triumphantly adventurous," Quintilian said of Horace; this new translation reflects his different voices.

This commentary fulfils the need for a student edition of Horace's literary epistles, which have recently been the subject of renewed scholarly interest. Professor Rudd provides a clear introduction to each of the three poems: the Epistles to Augustus, to Florus, and to the Pisones (the so-called 'Ars Poetica'). He sketches the historical context in which the poems were written, and comments on their structure and purpose. Attention is paid to the literary preoccupations of the individual epistles: the relations of poet and patron, and the role of poetry in the state (Augustus), the problems of a (professedly) tiring poet (Florus), and the presentation of classical poetic theory in the 'Ars Poetica'. Horace's influence on later criticism is noted, and there is a brief section on one of Alexander Pope's Imitations. In his commentary on the text Professor Rudd addresses problems of grammar and style, focusing on linguistic difficulties and on the subtle movement of the poet's thought.

This introduction to Juvenal features the Latin text, extensive notes -- with emphasis on grammar -- to help intermediate readers understand Juvenal's meaning, a biography of Juvenal, a bibliography, discussion questions, suggested exercises, and suggestions to students for further reading.

`However one defines Man, the same definition applies to us all. This is sufficient proof that there is no essential difference within mankind.' (Laws l.29-30) Cicero's The Republic is an impassioned plea for responsible governement written just before the civil war that ended the Roman Republic in a dialogue following Plato. Drawing on Greek political theory, the work embodies the mature reflections of a Roman ex-consul on the nature of political organization, on justice in society, and on the qualities needed in a statesman. Its sequel, The Laws, expounds the influential doctrine of Natural Law, which applies to all mankind, and sets out an ideal code for a reformed Roman Republic, already half in the realm of utopia. This is the first complete English translation of both works for over sixty years and features a lucid Introduction, a Table of Dates, notes on the Roman constitution, and an Index of Names. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

This book is a successor to the commentaries by Nisbet and Hubbard on Odes I and II, but it takes critical note of the abundant recent writing on Horace. It starts from the precise interpretation of the Latin; attention is paid to the nuances implied by the word-order; parallel passages are quoted, not to depreciate the poet's originality but to elucidate his meaning and to show how he adapted his predecessors; sometimes major English poets are cited to exemplify his influence on the tradition. In expounding the so-called Roman Odes the editors reject not only uncritical acceptance of Augustan ideology but also more recent attempts to find subversion in a court-poet. They show how Greek moralizing, particularly by the Epicureans, is applied to contemporary social situations. Poems on country festivals are treated sympathetically in the belief that the tolerant and inclusive religion of the Romans can easily be misunderstood. The poet's wit is emphasized in his addresses both to eminent Romans and to women with Greek names; the latter poems are taken as reflecting his general experience rather than particular occasions. Though Horace's ironic self-presentation must not be understood too literally, the editors reject the modern tendency to treat the author as unknowable. Although the text of the Odes is not printed separately, the headings to the notes provide a continuous text. The editors put forward a number of conjectures, most of them necessarily tentative, and in the few cases where they disagree, both opinions are summarized.

Juvenal, writing between AD 110 and 130, was one of the greatest satirists of Imperial Rome. His powerful and witty attacks on the vices, abuses, and follies of the big city have been admired and used by many English writers, including Ben Jonson, Dryden, and most notably, Dr Johnson, who described his writing as `a mixture of gaiety and statelines, of pointed sentences and declamatory grandeur'. Juvenal has been seen as a stern moralist and, more recently, as an extravagant wit, and is acclaimed for his vivid description of the scenes which aroused his anger. He coined the famous phrase designating people `eager and anxious for two things; bread and races' (panem et circenses'). Niall Rudd's translation reproduces the original style and metrical effect of Juvenal's hexameters. William Barr's Introduction and Notes provide literary and historical background to the sixteen satires. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Inspiring poets from Ben Jonson and Alexander Pope to W. H. Auden and Robert Frost, the writings of Horace and Persius have had a powerful influence on later Western literature. The "Satires" of Persius are highly idiosyncratic, containing a courageous attack on the poetry and morals of his wealthy contemporaries?even the ruling emperor, Nero. The "Satires" of Horace, written in the troubled decade ending with the establishment of Augustus's regime, provide an amusing treatment of men's perennial enslavement to money, power, glory, and sex. "Epistles I," addressed to the poet's friends, deals with the problem of achieving contentment amid the complexities of urban life, while "Epistles II" and the "Ars Poetica" discuss Latin poetry?its history and social functions, and the craft required for its success.

In these studies of Latin poetry Niall Rudd demonstrates a variety of critical methods and approaches. He shows how it can be fruitful at different times to consider the historical background of a poem, its language or structure, its place in a literary tradition, the role of critical paradigms, and so on. But if no single approach has special and invariable authority this does not imply critical anarchy. Each has its own validity for different purposes, its own strengths and limitations. The reader must be versatile and sensitive to a range of possibilities, but not doctrinaire.

'A systematic study of all the Satires, [this book includes] for each Satire an exposition of argument and structure illustrated by pieces of either idiomatic translation of paraphrase, a description ofhistorical and social background, and comments on the quality of the poem ... this happy blend of historical scholarship and literary criticism is aimed at a wide audience.' Michael Coffey, Classical Review

BLA new translation combining textual accuracy with colourful poetry Juvenal, whose work dates from the early second century AD, is commonly considered the greatest of Roman satirical poets. His sixteen satires are all concerned with contemporary Roman society. They are notable for their bitter, ironical humour, power of invective, grim epigrams, sympathy with the poor, and a narrow pessimism. Juvenal's influence was great among English satirists, notably Samuel Johnson. In this new translation of the Satires, Professor Rudd combines textual accuracy with colourful poetry. His verse vividly conveys Juvenal's gift for evoking a wealth of imagery with a few economical phrases. The introduction and notes provided by Dr Barr outline the background to the Satires and explain contemporary allusions. This translation should therefore be fully accessible to the modern reader.

This book is a successor to the commentaries by Nisbet and Hubbard on Odes I and II, but it takes critical note of the abundant recent writing on Horace. It starts from the precise interpretation of the Latin; attention is paid to the nuances implied by the word-order; parallel passages are quoted, not to depreciate the poet's originality but to elucidate his meaning and to show how he adapted his predecessors; sometimes major English poets are cited to exemplify his influence on the tradition. In expounding the so-called Roman Odes the editors reject not only uncritical acceptance of Augustan ideology but also more recent attempts to find subversion in a court-poet. They show how Greek moralizing, particularly by the Epicureans, is applied to contemporary social situations. Poems on country festivals are treated sympathetically in the belief that the tolerant and inclusive religion of the Romans can easily be misunderstood. The poet's wit is emphasized in his addresses both to eminent Romans and to women with Greek names; the latter poems are taken as reflecting his general experience rather than particular occasions. Though Horace's ironic self-presentation must not be understood too literally, the editors reject the modern tendency to treat the author as unknowable. Although the text of the Odes is not printed separately, the headings to the notes provide a continuous text. The editors put forward a number of conjectures, most of them necessarily tentative, and in the few cases where they disagree, both opinions are summarized.