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Carmen Saeculare

The Carmen saeculare ("Song of the ages") is a Latin hymn written by Horace and commissioned by Augustus. It was sung by a choir of girls and boys at the secular games in 17 BC. It is written in Sapphic meter and follows the themes of the poets of the day, in particular Vergil.

The poem is a prayer dedicated to Diana and Apollo, and secondarily to Jupiter and Juno. It asks for their protection of Rome and its laws, as well as their favor in granting descendants to the Roman people. For Horace, prosperity and wealth returned to the city after Augustus took power and established peace. Making references to Aeneas and Romulus, he celebrates the reign of Augustus, which brought in a new era and ensured the future of Rome.


This poem marked Horace's return to lyrical poetry and raised him to the level of national poet.

History[edit]

The secular games of 17 BC[edit]

After his return from the east in 19 BC, Augustus established laws regarding the family and adultery.[1] He then held celebration of the secular games in 17 BC. These celebrations were to be held every saeculum, or the maximum human lifespan, which Romans considered to be one hundred or one hundred and ten years. But the term was interpreted more generally to denote an era and were not held at a regular period. It is difficult to find evidence for a continuing tradition. The games were celebrated with a song in 294 BC during the First Punic war and later in the 140s.[2] Soon before the Augustan secular games, a tradition was discovered supposedly discovered in ancient texts, dating back to 456 BC, with a period of 110 years (which would make the correct date 16 BC). However, it is not certain that these texts were authentic or partly composed to provide a reason for holding a celebration in that year.[3]

Interpretations[edit]

As a religious hymn[edit]

The Latin word carmen, related to the word cano (literally "I sing"), denoted a poem, song or incantation: all these aspects of the word are found in the Carmen.[26]

In the Middle ages is found a for the Carmen saeculare[32]

neume

A version first performed at the in London, written by François-André Danican Philidor.

Freemasons' Hall

Occasional poetry

Barchiesi, A. (2002) "The Uniqueness of the Carmen Saeculare and its Tradition", in Feeney, D.; Woodman, T. (eds.) Traditions and Contexts in the Poetry of Horace. Cambridge University Press

Beard, M.; North, J; Price, S. (1998) Religious of Rome: Volume 1, A History. Cambridge University Press

Fraenkel, E. (1966) Horace. Oxford: Clarendon Press

Friis-Jensen, K. (2007) "The reception of Horace in the Middle Ages", in Harrison, S. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Horace (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press, pp. 291-304

Lewis, A.-M. (2023) Celestial Inclinations (1st ed.). Oxford University Press

Lowrie, M. (2007) "Horace and Augustus", in Harrison, S. (ed.) The Cambridge Companion to Horace. Cambridge University Press, pp. 77-90

Lowrie, M. (2009) Writing, Performance and Authority in Augustan Rome (1st ed.). Oxford University Press

McDonald, G. (2022) "Before Melopoiae: Conrad Celtis, Laurentius Corvinus, Arnold Wöstefeld and the Use of Music in the Teaching and Performance of Horace's Metres around 1500", in Enenkel, K. and Laureys, M. (eds.) Horace across the Media. Brill, pp. 335-398

Perret, J. (1964) Horace. New York University Press

Pirenne-Delforge V. and Scheid J. (2023) "Archives of piety: ritual norms and authority between Greece and Rome", in Cheng A. and Stéphane F. (eds.) All about the Rites: From Canonised Ritual to Ritualised Society. Paris: Collège de France, pp. 412-421

Putnam, M. (2001) Horace's "Carmen Saeculare": Ritual Magic and the Poet's Art. Yale University Press

Schmidt, P. (2009) "Horace's Century Poem: A Processional Song?", in Lowrie, M. (ed.) Horace: Odes and Epodes. Oxford University Press, pp. 122-140

Tarrant, R. (2020) Horace's Odes. Oxford University Press

Voltaire, F.M.A. (1764) "Oraison, prière publique, action de grâce, etc", in Dictionnaire philosophique

Zosimus (1814) New History. Translated by W. Green and T. Chaplin. London

 Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: Carmen Saeculare

The text of the Carmen Saeculare in Latin

English translation of the Carmen Saeculare

Latin Text of Carmen Saeculare at the Latin Library

Commentary on Latin text by Paul Shorey

public domain audiobook at LibriVox

Carmen Saeculare

The Carmen Saeculare recited in Latin by Thomas Bervoets.

Carmina Horatiana