The Spring Of Bandusia

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The Spring Of Bandusia, written by Horace in the Roman Era, is thought of as one of the classic Latin poems. It is the thirteenth ode from Horace's third book. The poem is thought to symbolise the simplicity for which Horace is well known. Horace is known to have adored the beauty of fountains. Furthermore, his poems emphasise his life of simplicity on his farm in the Sabine mountains.

The poem, and its translation, are shown below:

O fons Bandusiae splendidior uitro	O spring of bandusia
dulci digne mero non sine floribus	clearer than glass
cras donaberis haedo	tomorrow you will be presented with a kid
cui frons turgida cornibus	whose forehead is swollen with its first horn
primis et uenerem et proelia destinat.	promising love and battles.
frustra: nam gelidos inficiet tibi	In vain: for tomorrow your cold waters
rubro sanguine riuos	will be stained red
lasciui suboles gregis	with the blood of the wanton flock.
te flagrantis atrox hora Caniculae	The season of blazing dog star
nescit tangere, tu frigus amabile	cannot touch you, your cold waters, provide welcome relief
fessis uomere tauris	to the weary bulls
praebes et pecori uago	from the wandering herd.
Fies nobilium tu quoque fontium	You will become a famous fountain
me dicente cauis impositam ilicem	when I tell of the holm-oak which
saxis, unde loquaces	overhangs the hollowrocks
tymphae desiliunt tuae	from where the babbling waters leap down.

[edit] Discussion of the Poem

The ode opens in an extremely emphatic way - with 'O'. As in English, the Romans used this as a sign of great emotion in the words which followed, and often preceded prayers. The religious theme is maintained throughout the first stanza, as Horace gives a description of the fountain, complementing it by comparing its clearness to glass, just as would be done in a prayer. He states that the spring deserves sweet wine, and flowers, with 'non sine' being a double negative ('not without'), stressing that it deserves both of these gifts. However, Horace does not leave this as the extent of his offering; he then describes the kid which he will sacrifice for it on the following day, which is presumably the Fontinalia (the festival of springs), on October 13th. By stating that its horns are only just beginning to penetrate its forehead, he is stressing how young the kid is (probably only a few days old); note that 'primis' (meaning 'tips of' here) is on a different stanza to 'cornibus' (horns), building emphasis before the reader discovers just how young the kid is. Horace seems to get carried away, describing the life which the kid would lead as it aged, engaging in fights for mates (note that, to the contrary of the above translation, 'et venerem et proelia' could be an example of hendiadys, meaning 'battles of love'); this is abruptly cut short though, as Horace states simply that this is in vain.

He contrasts the cold, clear water of the spring with the red blood of the kid which will flow through it; he describes the kid as coming from a playful flock, which introduces pathos, since this small, playful animal has been killed, thus showing the magnitude of his sacrifice.

The final two stanzas, again, take the form of a prayer, praising the spring's attributes; the use of anaphora in the repition of 'tu' (as 'te' in the first line of the third stanza) is typical of a prayer addressing a deity. He explains how, when the dog-star is blazing (presumably in late July, the peak of summer), the coldness of the spring is not affected, and so provides rest for tired oxen and herds, with the latter being reminiscent of the 'frisky herd' of the sacrified kid.

In the final stanza, as a great honour, Horace promises the spring immortality, stating that it will be amongst the famous fountains in history. He continues his description, explaining that an evergreen oak overhangs it, providing shade and keeping cool, and that the waters flow from 'hollow stones' - possibly a cave. The final two lines of the ode describe the sound of the waters babbling (literally, 'loquaces' means talkative or chatty), with the very final word being 'tuae', stressing the personification of the spring.

Considering the entire ode, the one feature which stands out from the rest is the sacrifice. In contrast to the calm beauty of the scene described by Horace, the kid's sacrifice is brutal, since it is the death of a free animal (whereas normally, at the Fontinalia, a wild animal would be sacrificed by its hunter), and is somewhat grotesque, with the warm blood 'tainting' (as is another translation for 'inficiet') the crystal-clear waters.