IWC’s July series ends
with the poet Horace (65 BC – 8 BC), whose full name was Quintus Horatius
Flaccus. Although fashions have changed over the years, the central principles
for writing poetry have not. These quotes come from Horace’s essay on the art
of writing poetry, titled “The Art of Poetry to the Pisos.”
It is not enough
that poems be beautiful; let them be tender and affecting, and bear away the
soul of the auditor whithersoever they please. As the human countenance smiles
on those that smile, so does it sympathize with those that weep. If you would
have me weep you must first express the passion of grief yourself; then,
Telephus or Peleus, you misfortunes hurt me: if you pronounce the parts
assigned you ill, I shall either fall asleep or laugh.
* * *
As is painting, so
is poetry: some pieces will strike you more if you stand near, and some, if you
are at a greater distance: one loves the dark; another, which is not afraid of
the critic’s subtle judgment, chooses to be seen in the light; the one has
pleased once, the other will give pleasure if ten times repeated.
* * *
It has been made a
question, whether good poetry be derived from nature or from art. For my part,
I can neither conceive what study can do without a rich [natural] vein, nor
what rude genius can avail of itself: so much does the one require the
assistance of the other, and so amicably do they conspire [to produce the same
effect].
[BLOGMASTER'S NOTE: The bracketed words in the last quote were
in the original translation, presumably added by the translator.]
Good
advice to all writers.
__________
The picture at the top of
this post is Anton von Werner’s conception of how Horace may have looked. The
date of its creation is unknown, but it was published no later than 1905.
“The Art of Poetry to the
Pisos” was translated by Ben Johnson and published in 1640.
Both the picture and the
essay translation are in the public
domain because of their age.
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