horace - 2.2 satire

explain two reasons from ‘the butler’s off, a dark and wintry sea hides its fish’ why someone may not get the dinner they want

• the butler is absent, who serves the wine

• the winter has made the sea dark and hostile, so no fishing boats can go out and there won’t be any fish on the table

explain the phrase ‘obtain your sauce by seating’ line 20

the sweat acts as a natural trigger that makes even plain bread taste like a delicacy as you are ‘earning your appetite’

what does horace criticise about people’s priorities when eating

• people eat dinner with their eyes, not stomachs. he mocks the preference to eat peacock over pullet

• dinners are corrupted by vanity ‘a rare bird costs gold’, he believes the diners will not enjoy the meal if it is not expensive

• people do not value the fish, for example, for quality but how much it defies its natural ‘type’ - ‘its the size that attracts you i see’

how does horace use language ti make his criticism light and humorous

• hyperbole - ‘madman’ strong word to describe someone looking at a fish

• rhetorical questions - ‘do you ever eat those feathers you admire’ exposes the stupidity of status-seeking

• vivid animal imagery - the ‘gasping’ pike characterise the greed of the diners, turning a serious vice into a cartoonish trait

explain why horace makes the references to the harpies (line 40) to enhance his points

‘cries a throat that would be worthy of the harpies’ - in mythology harpies were winged monsters that snatched food away and fouled it with their presence. horace suggests gluttony is not a refined hobby, but a disgusting impulse which strips the diner of human dignity reducing them to a scavenger

explain why horace references the southerlies to enhance his points (line 41)

‘come you southerlies, and spoil their fare!’ south wind was known in rome for being hot and humid, causing meat to rot quickly

explain why horace references gallonius to enhance his points (line 47)

‘the auctioneer gallonius’ serving sturgeon’ gallonius is a real-life roman known as a gourmet and a glutton, who was famously mocked by author lucilius for being the first person to serve a whole sturgeon. shows dinners aren’t chasing quality, they are chasing what is currently fashionable

why does horace reference the praetor to enhance his points (line 50)

‘till a creative praetor led you astray!’ popularises the eating of storks and turbots. highlights herd mentality of roman diners, what was once considered safe (not food) became popularised because it was eaten by someone influential. mocks how ‘refined’ taste is easily manipulated

what is the difference between ‘mean’ and ‘plain’ in the line ‘ofellus judges a mean life is different to a plain one’

the plain life is ideal - living on little out of wisdom and self-control and the mean life is represented by avidienus (‘the dog’) implies a filthy animalistic lack of self-respect. means living on little out of greed and misery

what does horace think ‘the Dog’ is a suitable name for avidienus

• avidienus lives in a state of constant filth as he eats ‘five-year-old olives’ and ‘soured’ wine. like a dog, he consumes what humans deem inedible. horaces notes ‘you would detest the smell of his olive oil’ in a culture that prized themselves in clean baths, avidienus’ stench marks him as sub-human

what are the benefits of plain living

• physical health: “ill-assorted” mixtures rot in the stomach, leading to indigestion, ‘thick bile’ and a ‘pale’ complexion

• mental clarity: heavy indulgent meal physically weighs down the mind. being temperate avoids ‘nailing the divine spirit to the earth’ keeping their soul unburdened by the excess that plagues the glutton

• greater productivity and energy: plain-living man requires less recovery. the gluttonous individual is incapacitated by his meal

when can someone reward themselves with richer food

three legitimate occasions:

• festivals and holidays - horace is not a monk, he believes in celebrating communal and religious traditions with better food

• physical recovery - if the body has become weak or thin from hard work or illness it is a necessary medicine

• indulgence of old age - as a person become physically weak due to years, naturally they require more nourishing and more pleasant treatment to sustain the falling strength

why do ‘huge dishes of turbot bring huge disgrace and loss’

• financial ruin - a ‘giant turbot’ is one of the more expensive items a roman could buy

• disgrace - your ‘reputation’ was the most valuable asset. spending fortunes on food while neglecting duty was seen as moral failure

• self-disgust - the glutton eventually reaches a state of such misery and poverty that he longs for death but is so destitute he can’t even afford a ‘rope’ to end it

what can we deduce about the reputation of trausius

used as a cautionary tale, people say ‘its fine to criticise trausius like that’ suggests his name is synonymous with reckless spending. he is likely a real or well-known person who spent a fortune on ‘giant turbots’ and ended up in the ‘loss’