BMCR 2009.07.39: Ferriss-Hill on Moralejo, Horacio: Odas, canto secular, epodos. Biblioteca Cla/sica Gredos, 360

Jose/ Luis Moralejo (ed.), Horacio: Odas, canto secular, epodos.
Biblioteca Cla/sica Gredos, 360.  Madrid:  Editorial Gredos, 2007.  Pp.
583.  ISBN 9788424928797.  EUR 33.00.

Reviewed by Jennifer Ferriss-Hill, Hofstra University / University of
Miami ([email protected])
Word count:  1133 words
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"Horacio: Odas, canto secular, epodos" by Jose/ Luis Moralejo is an
edition of Horace's Odes, Carmen Saeculare and Epodes. It contains a
general introduction to Horace, an introduction specific to the works
contained in this volume, and prose translations of the works, with
explanatory notes. No Latin text is printed.

Moralejo 's work is volume 360 in the ambitious project undertaken by
Biblioteca Cla/sica Gredos to produce a full library in Spanish of all
Greco-Roman literature. In addition to canonical works and authors
covering a wide time-span, fragmentary and rare works are also
included, making this series the most complete collection in the world
of Greek and Latin authors translated into a modern language.
Biblioteca Cla/sica Gredos defines its mission as being to cater to a
wide readership, including both those with knowledge of Latin and
Ancient Greek, and those who are unable to access works of classical
literature in the original languages. In this way Biblioteca Cla/sica
Gredos is akin to the Loeb Classical Library ( neither series presents
--  or is intended to present -- innovative  interpretations or
comprehensive   critical editions), though its scope is rather greater.
Although Moralejo 's volume has much to recommend it, both this volume
and the others in the series seem unlikely to appeal to non-Spanish
speakers. Furthermore, Biblioteca Cla/sica Gredos 's stated desire to
appeal to both specialists and non-specialists seems to be the cause of
certain tensions that pervade and somewhat hamper this volume. The
explanatory notes accompanying each poem, being largely culled from
Fraenkel[[1]] and Nisbet-Hubbard[[2]], are of little use to a
classicist, who would undoubtedly prefer to read them in full in the
original commentaries, and to have a Latin text to consult. At the same
time, these notes occasionally seem unnecessarily extensive and
detailed for the non-specialist.

Moralejo's volume is structured as follows:

First is a General Introduction (pp. 7-119), helpfully divided into
individually-titled sub-sections. "Part I: Horace and his time"
presents the sources for Horace's life, discusses his identity as the
son of a freedman, the influence on him of the years spent at Athens,
the difficulties he experienced during the civil war and his subsequent
recovery, his place in Maecenas' circle and his relations with
Augustus, the writing of the Odes and the eventual transition to the
epistolary form, concluding with some thoughts on the mature Horace,
vates of Rome. The second part of this introduction is entitled "Horace
in Posterity: Antiquity and the Middle Ages", and presents a valuable
treatment of reception that is not ordinarily found in editions of
Horace. Part III discusses the manuscript tradition, gives a list of
the primary editions and translations since Basilius' editio princeps
of 1470,  some explanatory comments on the present translation, and a
bibliography. The decision to base the translations of the present
volume on the 1982 Teubner text of Klingner, rather than on Shackleton
Bailey's 1995 edition -- a decision that some might find curious -- is
explained here as being due to the editor's perception of the latter as
excessively innovative. Throughout this Introduction, and the one that
follows, there are occasional instances of Latin phrases left
untranslated or unexplained -- a habit that a reader lacking knowledge
of Latin might find distracting (e. g., p. 17, "dura tempora," "civilis
aestus"; p. 34, "poetae novi"; etc.).

The second section (pp. 121-243) is an Introduction specific to the
current work, once again sub-divided into individual sections. The main
topics include a history of the lyric genre, the role of other generic
sources such as epigram, the place of the Odes in Horace's literary
career, the primary themes and motifs of Horatian lyric, the
composition of the Odes and their arrangement into books, their
language, style and meter, and the survival of Horatian lyric since the
Renaissance, concluding once again with a bibliography. Although the
two Introductions are generally both to the point and comprehensive,
the inclusion of six pages of detailed metrical schemata in the second
seems peculiar, given that no Latin text is printed, and at odds with
the stated desire to appeal to the non-specialist lacking knowledge of
Latin.

Finally, the bulk of the work (pp. 245-563) is taken up by the
translation of and explanatory comments on each poem, followed by two
indices (565-583). A description of its contents, including
socio-cultural, political and historical detail, as well as remarks on
generic affiliations, introduces each poem. The translations themselves
into Spanish prose are both accurate and readable. Footnotes
explaining, inter alia, the meaning of particular phrases and,
especially, the identity of named places or individuals, typically
occupy between one third and two thirds of each page.

Exempli gratia, I present Moralejo's discussion of Odes II.20, as it
seems to me particularly representative of his method throughout. The
short introduction explains that the poem's placement at the end of the
second book is to be considered deliberate, as it exhibits certain
features typical of an epilogue (such as the claim to immortality and
to a fame that is destined to grow, combined with a mention of humble
origins) that make it akin to III.30. As does each introduction, the
one to Odes II.20 includes a short summary of the contents. The
translation is readable and clear, with line numbering that helpfully
follows that of the Latin original. In the notes Moralejo explains,
inter alia, that the poet is metamorphosing into a swan, and that this
is a poetic metaphor seen elsewhere; he notes that Fraenkel found the
graphic description contained in the third strophe ridiculous, and that
Peerlkamp proposed excising it altogether; he points the reader to
other places in the Odes where Horace mentions distant lands and
peoples; and he remarks that Ennius' epitaph is a likely model for the
reference to funeral dirges in lines 21-24. The note on the prevalence
of the swan as a metaphor for the poet in Graeco-Roman literature and
the explanation of geographical details are comments of the type that I
believe would be helpful to a non-specialist. The final comment on
Ennius' epitaph, however, is one of many that seems to embody the
difficulties inherent in a project such as Biblioteca Cla/sica Gredos:
a casual reader is unlikely to need or want such information, while the
Classicist is left to track down the epitaph in the original Latin.

My criticisms of Moralejo's work therefore center on the tension
resulting from trying to produce a work that caters to both
non-specialists and specialists. Overall, however, this volume has much
to recommend it, and, if it is at all representative of the series as a
whole, so do the other volumes in Biblioteca Cla/sica Gredos, which now
number almost 400. This series should find much success in the
Spanish-speaking world, among both scholars in fields related to
Classics and a general readership.


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Notes:


1.   Fraenkel, E. 1957. Horace. Oxford.

2.   Nisbet, R. G. M. and M. Hubbard. 1970. A Commentary on Horace,
Odes, Book I. Oxford. Nisbet, R. G. M. and M. Hubbard. 1978. A
Commentary on Horace, Odes, Book II. Oxford. Nisbet, R. G. M. and N.
Rudd. 2004. A Commentary on Horace, Odes, Book III. Oxford.