One of the themes of both Horace and Catullus is that of
social justice and a feeling of unease at the state of Rome’s political circle.
As illustrated by Ode XIV in Book I, Horace addresses his opinion in an Alcaean
fashion, utilizing the Ship of State metaphor to hint cautiously at his
critique without expressly naming names. By contrast, Catullus’ poem 29
addresses specific corrupt acts of specific political figures in Rome at the
time, calling them out with invocations of their lack of national integrity and
crass language.
In
Horace’s poem, his use of the Ship of State is evident where he says, “O ship!”
and later “your mast is crippled…against the mounting tyranny”. Horace’s
perspective of the current state of the nation is bleak. The reader can tell
that he does not agree with the political direction of the nation because he
proclaims:
“What
are you doing? Make boldly
for
the harbor. Don’t you see how
your
side is stripped of its oars”
The image of a ship that has no oars represents that it is
uncontrollably floating in whatever direction without guidance. Horace further
explains the nation’s sorry state of affairs as he notes: “your sails are
unsound and so are the gods/ you call upon”. Here, Horace argues that the ship
is not even guided by its sails, and the gods that the state calls upon are
just as unsound, thus can do nothing to help. Because the nature of Roman
mythology is such that it assumes the gods as all-powerful above mortals, the
idea that gods can be incapable of anything is a highly dramatic statement.
Moreover, it is a statement that the gods called upon by the political leaders
causing the Ship of State to be in “dire distress” are, perhaps, false. This
would then imply that the political leaders are “unsound” religiously; similarly
to the false belief in powers of witchcraft. Horace alludes to the fact that he
is critiquing noble political leaders where he says “you are a…daughter of a
noble forest”. He also seeks to soften the blow by calling the state “a longing
and a deep love”. Thus, Horace is showing that he is loyal and loves his
nation, but he fears for its well-being. This is consistent with his other
poems regarding the civil war that threatens to destroy Rome from the
inside-out.
In Catullus’ poem, Mamurra (Tagus)
is directly called out without metaphor. Caesar is also called out as “Supremo”
and “Romulus”. None too kindly either, Caesar is referenced as “some gamester…voracious
and shameless gut” while Mamurra is referenced as “this shagged-out prick”.
While his name-calling may seem biting enough, Caesar is also called a “fag”,
which directly challenges his status as a citizen of Rome. Catullus is not
addressing civil war, but he is addressing the corruption of Mamurra and the
complacency of Caesar while Mamurra is allowed to “[skim] all the cream from…Gaul…and
Britain…[and]…work his stud’s routine through every bed around…[and]… [squander]…his
Black Sea pickings, and…his loot from Portugal”. Catullus uses no flowery
metaphors to dance around his subject. Catullus also references the lack of
true piety of Caesar and Mamurra as he sarcastically calls them the “ultra-pious
Roman pair”. The reader is aware of Catullus’ sarcastic tone because of his
pointedly obvious harsh view of Caesar and Mamurra throughout the poem. The
mention of impiety is the one time Horace is more direct about his perspective
than Catullus.
The difference in tone, diction,
and ability to say what they want to say directly is likely due to their
differing status as poets. Horace was writing a critique of his bosses,
Catullus was writing for his friends and the general public, but was not an
official poet of the court. Because of this difference, Horace was unable to be
as blatant as Catullus or risk losing his livelihood.
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