position I hold today. Yes, Maecenas, it is you who surmounted the powerful reasons<hr>
of Agrippa that day when Octavius was debating within himself whether he should retain the supreme power or<hr>
surrender it into the hands of the people. This great emperor wanted to divest himself of the crown<hr>
on his head, abandon the reins of the empire, descend from the throne he had reached<hr>
after such long labours and, in a disregard more disgraceful than Antony's flight at the battle of<hr>
Actium, lose the reward of so many victories won. It could be said that Antony's flight was caused by<hr>
love, but here Octavius' could only be justified by weakness. It was asserted that his hand was not strong enough to carry the sceptre he held,<hr>
and that he was renouncing what he could not preserve.<hr>
       Maecenas, you had no weak enemies to face for you were before Octavius and<hr>
Agrippa, and they opposed you. Their view seemed the most just, for it appeared the most<hr>
altruistic. And it would have looked like there was more honour in dissolving the Empire than consolidating it,<hr>
and more advantages in obeying than commanding. But you were the victor in this struggle, and <hr>
extraordinarily, the vanquished remained crowned. And you were content to obey<hr>
the one to whom you allowed the authority to be preserved. This debt that the emperor owes you is undoubtedly very great, but he is even more indebted to you for the effort you made to bring him closer to the favour of the Muses. By this means you can offer him<hr>
immortality and confer it on yourself. Thus can the age of Octavius be termed<hr>
fortunate. And I believe it is more advantageous for the emperor to be loved by Virgil,<hr>
Horace, Livy and famed Maecenas, than to be feared by all the earth. Fear might make him awe-inspiring to all nations and make them obey for as long as he lived,<hr>
but the praises of Virgil and Horace will render him memorable for all the centuries that<hr>
will follow ours.<hr>
      Clearly, Maecenas, if all kings were driven by desire and glory, they<hr>
should consider winning the affection of those whom the gods have chosen to convey this<hr>
glory. It is through history and poetry that they can hope to immortalise their names and strive to live on after their death, in the face of the ravages of time and fate. But among these two means leading to eternity, poetry seems to have the special privilege of deifying<hr>
men. It is wholly celestial and divine. The flame that fires it illuminates and purifies all those whom it lauds, and without distorting the truth, it excuses faults and accentuates virtues in all their splendour. History shows virtue in all its nakedness, while poetry adorns it with its finest trappings. History is so scrupulous it dares not come to any conclusion, it just content with recounting things without judging them. But poetry judges everything.<hr>
It glorifies, censures, metes out punishments, bestows rewards, hands out crowns and punishments, it illuminates or darkens the lives of those about whom it speaks. In nutshell, it encompasses all the advantages of history and eloquence, and it imparts this immortal glory that is the most noble reward of all the deeds of heroes.<hr>
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