at some of the Senate wished to interfere in
this matter is probably shown by ll. 45-6,

'Donec labantis consilio patres
firmaret auctor numquam alias dato.'

iii. 6 refers (ll. 1-8) to Augustus' policy in restoring the ancient
religion, as is seen by the fact that he rebuilt 82 temples. Lines
21-32 refer to a law of Augustus on adultery, the date of which is
unknown.

In Book iv., Odes 2, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, are political. They show traces
of adulation, and sing the praises rather of the imperial family than
of the nation. Cf. iv. 2, 37 (of Augustus),

'Quo nihil maius meliusve terris
fata donavere bonique divi,' etc.

The _Epistles_.--_Sermones_ is the name given them by Horace; they are
also called _Epistulae_ in the MSS. Social, ethical, and literary
questions are treated of, and the style is much more careful than that
of the Satires. The motto, one might say, of the book is _Ep._ i. 1,
10.

'Nunc itaque et versus et cetera ludicra pono:
quid verum atque decens, curo et rogo et omnis in hoc sum.'

The dates of _Ep._ ii. 1, 2, have already been mentioned. Both treat
of literary criticism, and the first deals particularly with that of
the drama. Iulius Florus, to whom _Ep._ ii. 2 is addressed, was the
representative of the younger literary school at Rome. The _Epistula
ad Pisones_ or _De Arte Poetica_ is an essay in verse on literary
criticism, specially pointing out how necessary art is to composition.
In it, according to Porphyrion, Horace 'congessit praecepta Neoptolemi
+tou Parianou+[61] de arte poetica, non quidem omnia, sed
eminentissima.' Horace probably was also indebted to Aristotle's
_Poetics_. Porphyrion says that Horace wrote the _Ars Poetica_ 'ad L.
Pisonem qui postea urbis custos fuit eiusque liberos.' This does not
fit in with the probable date, B.C. 17 or 16, as L. Piso was born B.C.
49, and his sons could not have been old enough for the letter to be
addressed to them. It is probable that Porphyrion is wrong, and that
the _A.P._ was addressed to Cn. Piso, who served with Horace under
Brutus, and his two sons.

_Horace and nature._--Besides references to his Sabine villa, Horace
refers to natural scenery in many passages. Such are _Epod._ 2; _Od._
i. 7, 10; ii. 6, 13; iii. 13, 9; _Sat._ ii. 6, 1 _sqq._; _Ep._ i. 10,
6 _sqq._, i. 16, 1 _sqq._[62] Horace is fond of comparing dangers to
the plague of floods,[63] a plague from which Italy has always
suffered. Cf. _Od._ i. 31, 7,