Category: …
1 Introduction
Hymns, being practical as well as poetic texts, are not always particularly elegant or informative works. They do not need to be. Some ancient hymns, however, do marry economy of expression, subtlety of style and the generic requirements of the hymnic form – which unfortunately also makes them much harder to translate satisfactorily. Perhaps none is so successful in this respect as the hymn to Mercury that constitutes Ode 1.10 of the Latin poet Horace. At any rate, I do not know any other Greco-Roman text that encapsulates the nature of a god so completely in so few words.
Because I am well aware of the inexactness of my translation, I include not only the Latin text (as I usually do with hymns) but also two sets of ancient scholia, both in translation and the original, which make the somewhat difficult Latin text far more intelligible, and round out what the poet leaves implied.
The meter of the poem is Sapphic hendecasyllable, a strophic meter in which each stanza […]
– ⏓ – ⏓ – ⏑ ⏑ – ⏑ – –
– ⏓ – ⏓ – ⏑ ⏑ – ⏑ – –
– ⏓ – ⏓ – ⏑ ⏑ – ⏑ – –
– ⏑ ⏑ – –
2 Translation of the Hymn
(1–4) Mercury, eloquent grandson of Atlas,
who, when humanity was young, wisely formed its wild habits
through speech and the manners of
the graceful wrestling court!
(5–8) I sing of you, the messenger of great Jupiter
and of the gods, and father of the curved lyre,
shrewd in stealing away whatever pleased you
by jesting theft!
(9–12)
(13–16)
(17–20)
per dolum amotas, puerum minaci
voce dum terret, viduus pharetra
risit Apollo.
(13–16) quin et Atridas duce et superbos
Ilio dives Priamus(9–12) tē, bovēs ōlim nisi reddidissēs
per dolum āmōtās, puerum minācī
vōce dum terret, viduus pharētrā
rīsit Apollō.
(13–16) quīn et Ātrīdās duce et superbōs
Īliō dīves Priamus relictō
Thessalōsque ignīs et inīqua Troiae*
castra fefellit.
(17–20) tū piās laetīs animās repōnis
sēdibus virgāque levem coercēs
aureā turbam, superīs deōrum
grātus et īmīs.
3 Scholia of Pomponius Porfyrio, translated
“Mercury, eloquent grandson of Atlas”: This is a hymn to Mercury, (imitated) from the lyric poet Alcaeus. And he has called Mercury ‘eloquent’ (facundus) because he is the inventor of oratory (or ‘speech’, oratio), and the ‘grandson of Atlas’ because he is the son of Maia, and Maia is one of the Atlantids.
“”:
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“”: Meaning ‘hostile’ (inimica).
“”: The Elysian fields.
“”: Namely, the shades (umbrae).
“”: That is, the caduceus.
4 Scholia misattributed to Acro (“Pseudacro”), translated
Meter: Sapphic hendecasyllable.
“”:
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“”:
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“”:
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“”: Priam, led by Mercury, left Ilium, went to Achilles and asked for the body of Hector, his son.
“”:
“”: The Elysian fields.
“”:
5 Latin text (ed. …)
(1–4) Mercurī, fācunde nepōs Atlantis,
quī ferōs cultūs hominum recentum
vōce fōrmāstī catus et decōrae
mōre palaestrae,
5–8) tē canam, magnī Iovis et deōrum
nuntium curvaeque lyrae parentem,
callidum quidquid placuit iocōsō
condere furtō.
(9–12) tē, bovēs ōlim nisi reddidissēs
per dolum āmōtās, puerum minācī
vōce dum terret, viduus pharētrā
rīsit Apollō.
(13–16) quīn et Ātrīdās duce et superbōs
Īliō dīves Priamus relictō
Thessalōsque ignīs et inīqua Troiae*
castra fefellit.
(17–20) tū piās laetīs animās repōnis
sēdibus virgāque levem coercēs
aureā turbam, superīs deōrum
grātus et īmīs.
*pronounce Thessalōsqu’ ignīs et inīqua Troiiae,
ii representing a geminated [j] sound.
SARTRIX 