This Commentary takes critical account of recent writing on the Odes. It deals with detailed questions of interpretation, and shows how Horace combined the tact of a court-poet with a humane individualism, and how he wrote within a literary tradition without losing a highly personal voice. Though the book is not intended for beginners, the editors aim throughout at clarity.

R. G. M. Nisbet was formerly Corpus Christi Professor of Latin Language and Literature, University of Oxford.
Niall Rudd was formerly Professor of Latin at Bristol University.

• General Introduction


• 1: Horace's early life


• 2: The date of Odes I-III


• 3: The `Roman Odes'


• 4: Horace and Augustus


• 5: Maecenas and the other addressees


• 6: Horace's `love-poems'


• 7: Religion in Horace


• 8: The meaning of the author


• 9: Ambiguity


• 10: Person and persona


• 11: Genre


• 12: Style


• 13: Structure


• 14: The arrangement of the book


• 15: The text


• 16: The ancient commentators


• 17: Metre


• 18: Bibliography


• Commentary


• Indexes