Quinctius Hirpinus to enjoy life wisely, and not to fret. II.12, Nolis longa ferae bella Numantiae... – The Charms of Licymnia – Horace pleads the unfitness of his lyric poetry to record the wars of the Romans or the battles of mythology. He advises Maecenas to write in prose the history of Caesar's campaigns, while he himself will sing the praises of Licymnia (some commentators say that Licymnia was another name for Terentia, the wife of Maecenas). II.13, Ille et nefasto te posuit die... – A Narrow Escape – This ode owes its origin to Horace's narrow escape from sudden death by the falling of a tree on his Sabine estate. (This same event is also alluded to in Odes, II.17 line 28 and III.4 line 27.) After expressing his indignation against the person who planted the tree, he passes to a general reflection on the uncertainty of life and the realms of dark Proserpine. II.14, Eheu fugaces, Postume... – Death Inevitable – Addressed to Postumus, a rich but avaricious friend. Nothing can stay the advance of decay and death, the common doom of all on earth. Men pile up wealth, only for another to waste it. II.15, Iam pauca aratro iugera regiae... – Against Luxury – Horace describes the extravagant luxury prevalent among the rich, and praises the simplicity and frugality of the old Romans. II.16, Otium divos rogat in patenti... – Contentment With Our Lot the Only True Happiness – All men long for repose, which riches cannot buy. Contentment, not wealth, makes genuine happiness. II.17, Cur me querellis exanimas tuis?... – To Maecenas on His Recovery from Illness – Horace says that the same day must of necessity bring death to them both – Their horoscopes are wonderfully alike and they have both been saved from extreme peril. II.18, Non ebur neque aureum... – The Vanity of Riches – The poet, content with his own moderate fortune, inveighs against the blindness of avarice – for the same end awaits all men. II.19, Bacchum in remotis carmina rupibus... – Hymn to Bacchus – The poet celebrates Bacchus as all-powerful, all-conquering, and lord of creation; whom the earth, the sea and all nature obey; to whom men are subject, and the giants and the monsters of Orcus are all brought low. II.20, Non usitata nec tenui ferar... – The Poet Prophesies His Own Immortality – Transformed into a swan,