Horace's Odes are among the most popular and the most misunderstood of ancient writings. In this new paperback edition, the authors discuss each ode against its Greek and Roman background to ensure a clearer understanding of its classical and scholarly nature. The commentary includes a large number of parallel passages--showing how Horace plays new variations on old themes--sections on chronology and meter, and a select bibliography for each ode. "The erudition of Professor Nisbet and Miss Hubbard is combined with wit and clear thinking, and the result is a work which will delight all who care for scholarship and literature...[their] commentary is a work of the highest quality."-- Classical Review "A great commentary of lasting importance and an essential possession for anyone seriously interested in ancient poetry."-- Journal of Roman Studies "The appearance of this commentary is a notable event in the world of Horatian scholarship. Only one book of the Odes is considered, there is no Latin text and no discussion of manuscripts; but for these very reasons the authors have been able to include more information, more illustrative material, and more scholarly argument than any of their predecessors."-- Hermathena R. G. M. Nisbet , Corpus Christi Professor of Latin Language and Literature, Oxford, and Margaret Hubbard , formerly Fellow, St Anne's College, Oxford