Horace Book IV

The fourth Book of Horace was the most unique book of his four Books in many aspects. Horace's Book I-III were published in 23 BC when he was 42 years old, whereas he published Book IV 10 years later in 13 BC at the age of 52 years old. The first three books were written consciously to pay tribute to a number of great proper Greek poets, such as Sappho, Alcaeus and Pindar, and meanwhile applying the classical forms of lyric poetry to a Roman context. However, Book IV drew exclusively and explicitly on Pindar. The first three Book were commissioned by Maecenus, while the last Book was commissioned by Augustus. The Odes in the first three books covered a variety of themes, such as love, symposium, morality, and patriotism. The last Book was constrained by a limited number of themes--either the praising of Augustus and his family, or the addressing of the passing of time, or both. The summary and theme of each of the 15 poems are as follows:

1: Horace opens the book with the sad poem mourning about old age and incapability to love. He begs Venice and Cupids to spare him from love, but direct the command of love to a younger friend--Paulus Maximus. Theme: aging, new generation, humbleness as a poet
2: Ths poem addresses Iullus, the poet of the new generation. In the first half of the poem, Horace pays tribute to Pindar's by using his poetic style of leaping from one topic to another to enumerate the legacy of Pindar. In the second half, he encourages Iullus to continue to write great poems for Augustus, while humbling the achievement of himself. Theme: aging, new generation, humbleness as a poet, Augustus
3: Horace thanks the Muse Melpomene for giving him the poetic skills fittingly, which bring him the honor as a great poet. Theme: humbleness
4: Celebrates Drusus, the stepson of Augustus. Theme: Augustus and his family
5: Horace begs that Augustus return to Rome, and praises his many deeds in building a great empire. Theme: Augustus
6: Horace thanks Phoebus for giving him the poetic skills. Theme: humbleness as a poet
7: Even though the nature repeats in cycles, humans are mortal. Even gods are not able to immortalize human beings. Theme: aging and mortality
8: Horaces could not afford to give Marcius Censorinus expensive gifts. Instead he is giving him this poem, which is able to immortalize his great deeds. Theme: humbleness and immortality
9: Similar to 8, Horace gives the immortality of a poem as a gift to Lollius. Theme: humbleness and immortality
10: Horace mourns about being old. Theme: aging
11: Horace invites Phyllis to celebrate Maecenas' birthday at Horace's farm. He tells Phyllis, who is also old, to not seek an unequal and young partner, because both he and Phyllis are too old to love. Theme: aging, respect to Maecenas
12:  Horace invites Virgil, his fellow poet, to his house. Virgil has been dead for six years when the book is published. Horace wrote this poem prior to Virgil's death when they were both young, or wrote this poem imagining that Virgil was still alive and they were both young. In either case, Horace chooses to include his poem in the book to express a nostalgia feeling and the sense of aging. Theme: aging.
13: Horace mocks his early lover Lyce, who was beautiful at once, but was old and ugly now. Theme: aging
14: Horace praises Tiberius, the stepson of Augustus, for his victory in the Raetian Alps. Theme: Augustus and his family
15: Horace celebrates Augustus by enumerating a list of his achievements: agricultural prosperity, Julian Laws, artistic recovery, conquest of the world, ending of the civil war, etc. Theme: Augustus