The arrangement of Odes Book II is
remarkable compared to the other books of Horace’s odes because he draws a life
of a human being and what he or she should pursue in order to fully enjoy life.
Horace’s broad range of themes includes war, Rome, love, Gods, friendship,
maturity, Gods, wine, death and modesty. By beginning the Odes with the theme
of war, in Poem I and wealth in Poem II, Horace emphasizes the virtues that
younger generations are interested in. Horace also includes the theme of love
in Poem IV, seduction in Poem VIII and friendship in Poem VII that usually all
begin in the youth. Towards the end of Book 2, Horace seems to focus on the
theme of death in Poem XIII, XVII, XX and the importance of pursuing modesty in
one’s life in Poem XVI, and XVIII. The way Horace arranges these themes is to show
the big picture or outline of one’s life. One starts to learn the virtues that
attract the minds of youth; however, eventually learns the true meaning of
living a “good” life is to be modest and “stop worrying about the needs of
life.”
The ongoing image that persists
throughout the Odes Book II and other books of odes of Horace is that he
frequently describes himself as a rustic man. In Poem II, he writes, “man alone
who sees great wealth heaped up and gives it now a backward glance” to set the
image of himself being far from wealth. Also in Poem XVI, Horace states, “To me
Fate, untreacherous, has a given a small farm and the modest breath” to once
again apart himself from “the mob,” whom he criticizes for their greed in terms
of achieving wealth.
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