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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2022
Tony Woodman's commentary has provided a convincing explanation of the apparently contradictory message of Odes 3.6. If the closing stanza does indeed allow the corruption of Roman morals to be reversed, the poem is best understood as a contribution to the celebrations in February 28 BC of Imperator Caesar's vow to restore the temples that had been allowed to fall into neglect by the corrupt oligarchy defeated in the civil wars. The widely held belief that Horace's references to performance are all metaphorical is shown to be unjustified.
I am very grateful to Tony Woodman and to the journal's referees for their comments on an earlier draft of this article. Translations are mine unless otherwise stated.