That Horace
was preserved for hundreds of years by monastery and school, that the
fact of acquaintance with him is due to his place in modern systems of
education, are not mere statements empty of life. They represent the
noble enthusiasms of enlightened men. The history of human progress has
been the history of enthusiasms. Without enthusiasms, the fabric of
civilization would collapse in a day into the chaos of barbarism.
To give greater completeness and reality to our account of Horace's
place among men, ancient and modern, we must in some way add to the
narrative of formal fact the demonstration of his influence in actual
operation. In the case of periods obscure and remote, this is hardly
possible. In the case of modern times it is not so difficult. For the
recent centuries, as proof of the peculiar power of Horace, we have the
abundant testimony of literature and biography.
Let us call this influence the Dynamic Power of Horace. Dynamic power is
the power that explodes men, so to speak, into physical or spiritual
action, that operates by inspiration, expansion, fertilization,
vitalization, and results in the living of a fuller life.
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