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Horace 3.30

My poetry will outlive everything known to man and through it, I will be immortal.

Click on the words in the poem below to get vocabulary information.

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Exegi monumentum aere perennius
regalique situ pyramidum altius,
quod non imber edax, non Aquilo impotens
possit diruere aut innumerabilis
annorum series et fuga temporum. ......rbl........rbl.....5
non omnis moriar multaque pars mei
vitabit Libitinam; usque ego postera
crescam laude recens. dum Capitolium
scandet cum tacita virgine pontifex,
dicar, qua violens obstrepit Aufidus ......rbl........rbl..10
at qua pauper aquae Daunus agrestium
regnavit populorum, ex humili potens,
princeps Aeolium carmen ad Italos
deduxisse modos. sume superbiam
quaesitam meritis et mihi Delphica ......rbl........rbl.....15
lauro cinge volens, Melpomene, comam.

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Meter: First Asclepiadean
1. aere: Ablative of Comparison with perennius;
  perennius: neuter comparative adjective modifying monumentum.
2. regali situ: Ablative of Comparison with altius.
3. quod: antecedent is monumentum.
6. omnis: adverbial, "wholly."
7. Libitinam: the temple of Venus Libitina was used to store funeral supplies.
9. tacita virgine: i.e., a Vestal Virgin.
11. aquae: Genitive with pauper.
12. regnavit: takes a Genitive object (Greek grammatical construction);
  humili: sc. origine.
13. Aeolium: "Greek", but more specifically, "Aeolian," an allusion to the island of Lesbos, the birthplace of the poets Sappho and Alcaeus whom Horace greatly admired.
15. mihi: Dative of Reference, take with comam (line 16);
  Delphica: Ablative with lauro (line 16).
16. volens: adverbial.
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last updated October 17, 2003
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