A Statue of Horace

Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 65–8 BCE) was born at Venusia, the son of a freedman clerk who had him well-educated in Rome and Athens.  Horace supported the ill-fated killers of Caesar and lost his property, but managed to become a secretary in the Treasury.  During that time he began to write poetry, both lyric (in various meters) and other types (in hexameters) that were Roman in spirit, yet Greek in technique.  In the two books of Satires, Horace is a moderate social critic and commentator; his two books of Epistles are more intimate and polished, the second book being literary criticism, as is also the Ars Poetica.  Horace went on to write many odes and satires, all later used in commentaries throughout the Medieval and Renaissance periods. His meter helped students learn how to correctly enunciate and pronounce Latin meter.[1]

How Did Teachers Utilize Horace in the Classroom?

Young poets used the The Ars Poetica as a guide on the art of crafting poetry.  Herein Horace advises on the do's and don'ts of creating verse.  The Ars Poetica was written in a textbook form instead of as a poetic analysis.  Horace instructed on the mindset and considerations a poet needs for composing: a poet must choose a subject that he/she can handle and have a plan to keep the writing organized; a poet must read as much as possible; aim for precision; and actively search for the best criticism available.  Ars Poetica was one of Horace's most influential works in the realm of poetry. [2]

"Horace...was first published in 1493; up to 1500 it went through seven editions, and a further 41 editions before 1594."

Mancinelli praises Horace above all lyrical poets because, as well as giving pleasure and information about myths, history, and places, his poems "also contain that part of philosophy that teaches about life and morality."

That same life and morality was key to teaching in the classroom:  "In 1567 the Venetian Senate ordered the humanists who were teaching in the publicly supported sestiere schools to teach Cicero in the morning, then Virgil, Terence, or Horace in the afternoon." [3]