spite of modifications wrought in the course of time, only Porphyrio's,
of all the commentaries of the first three hundred years, has preserved
an approximation to its original character and quantity. Acro's has been
overlaid by other commentators until the identity of his work is lost.
The purpose of Porphyrio was to bring poetic beauty into relief by
clarifying construction and sense, rather than to engage in learned
exposition of the subject matter.

Finally, in the year 527, the consul Vettius Agorius Basilius Mavortius,
with the collaboration of one Felix, revised the text of at least the
_Odes_ and _Epodes_, and perhaps also of the _Satires_ and _Epistles_.
That there were many other editions intervening between Porphyrio's and
his, there can be little doubt.

This review of scant and scattered, but consistent, evidence is proof
enough of Horace's hold upon the intellectual and literary leaders of
the ancient Roman world. For the individual pagan who clung to the old
order, he represented more acceptably than anyone else, or anyone else
but Virgil, the ideal of a glorious past, and afforded consequently
something of inspiration for the decaying present. Upon men who, whether
pagan or Christian, were possessed by literary enthusiasms, and upon men
who delighted in contemplation of the human kind, he cast the spell of
art and humanity. Those who caught the fire directly may indeed have
been few, but they were men of parts whose fire was communicated.

As for the influence exercised by Horace upon Roman society at large
through generation after generation of schoolboys as the centuries
passed, its depth and breadth cannot be measured. It may be partly
appreciated, however, by those who realize from their own experience
both as pupils and teachers the effect upon growing and impressionable