Time and Agency in Horace and Prudentius

This book investigates the nature of the relationship between time, human beings, and divine beings as depicted in the poetry of Horace and Prudentius. The four centuries that elapsed between Horace’s lifetime and that of Prudentius involved significant cultural and religious change. The pagan traditions and philosophies of Horace’s day were increasingly either replaced by or appropriated, adapted, and ultimately amalgamated with Christian thought. This ideological evolution is evident in the differences between Horace’s and Prudentius’ portrayals of the power dynamic between time, human beings and divine beings. While both poets view the passing of time as outside the control of human beings, Prudentius’ depiction of the relationship between divine beings and time is fundamentally different from Horace’s and reflects a synthesis of Christian beliefs with the Roman literary heritage he shares with Horace. For both poets, the question of how human beings and divine beings relate to time is not merely an esoteric theological problem; it is a vitally important question, the answer to which dictates the most beneficial way for human beings to spend their lifetimes and ultimately achieve a form of freedom from time’s progression.