Abstract

This article proposes and interprets a previously undiscussed connection between Horace'sCarmen2.15 and the description of the Corycian gardener at Virgil'sGeorgics4.125–48. It argues that this allusion to Virgil sharpens the moral pessimism of Horace's ode. It first considers the circumstantial, general and formal elements connecting these two poems; it then considers how the model of the Corycian gardener brings further point and nuance to the moralizing message ofCarmen2.15 and the way in which this allusion is meaningfully echoed atCarmen3.16.