Skip to content
Storgy

The Annotated Edition

HORACE III. 13 by Eugene Field

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

This poem pays homage to the beautiful, life-giving spring known as the Fountain of Bandusia.

Poet
Eugene Field
The PoemFull text

HORACE III. 13

Eugene Field

O fountain of Bandusia, Whence crystal waters flow, With garlands gay and wine I'll pay The sacrifice I owe; A sportive kid with budding horns I have, whose crimson blood Anon shall dye and sanctify Thy cool and babbling flood. O fountain of Bandusia, The dog-star's hateful spell No evil brings unto the springs That from thy bosom well; Here oxen, wearied by the plough, The roving cattle here, Hasten in quest of certain rest And quaff thy gracious cheer. O fountain of Bandusia, Ennobled shalt thou be, For I shall sing the joys that spring Beneath yon ilex-tree; Yes, fountain of Bandusia, Posterity shall know The cooling brooks that from thy nooks Singing and dancing go!

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

This poem pays homage to the beautiful, life-giving spring known as the Fountain of Bandusia. The speaker vows to honor it with a sacrifice and a song, claiming that his poetry will ensure the fountain's lasting fame. It's a celebration of nature's gifts and the ability of art to keep our cherished experiences alive.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. O fountain of Bandusia, / Whence crystal waters flow,

    Editor's note

    The speaker begins by speaking directly to the fountain—this rhetorical technique is known as an *apostrophe*—which instantly elevates it to an object of reverence. He depicts its waters as crystal-clear, creating a vivid image of purity and abundance. He then declares that he owes the fountain a debt, intending to repay it with garlands, wine, and the blood of a young kid (a baby goat). In ancient Roman religion, animal sacrifice was a common method of honoring sacred places or deities, indicating that the speaker views the spring as genuinely holy.

  2. O fountain of Bandusia, / The dog-star's hateful spell

    Editor's note

    The dog-star, known as Sirius, rises in late summer, a time when the Romans linked it to intense heat and drought. The speaker emphasizes that the fountain remains unaffected by this harshness — it continues to flow cool and clean, regardless of how tough the season becomes. He then moves from the abstract to the tangible: weary oxen and stray cattle arrive here to drink and take a break. This connection anchors the poem in the daily life of farming and highlights the fountain's generous, practical nature. It provides relief to the hardest-working animals without demanding anything in return.

  3. O fountain of Bandusia, / Ennobled shalt thou be,

    Editor's note

    The final stanza showcases the speaker's most daring assertion. He claims the fountain will be *ennobled* — raised to a lasting dignity — because he plans to write about it. The ilex tree (a type of evergreen oak found in Italy) provides shade and grounds the image in a vivid, sensory setting. The closing lines depict the fountain's streams as if they are singing and dancing, infusing the water with a joyful, almost human spirit. The speaker essentially promises: my poem will endure beyond us both, allowing this spring to live on forever.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

The tone remains both reverent and celebratory, yet it avoids feeling stiff or excessively solemn. Field creates a warm and intimate atmosphere — this speaker truly cherishes this place and aims to honor it. In the final stanza, there's a quiet confidence, where the poet essentially pledges immortality to a spring through writing. The repeated phrase "O fountain of Bandusia" lends the poem a hymn-like, incantatory feel, as if the speaker is engaging in a ritual, using words alongside wine and garlands.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The Fountain of Bandusia
The spring is not only a physical location but also represents nature's generosity and purity. It offers its gifts freely to everyone — animals, farmers, travelers — without expecting anything in return. Additionally, it symbolizes what poetry can capture: the beautiful, transient moments of the natural world.
The kid (young goat)
The sacrificial kid symbolizes true devotion and the price of heartfelt gratitude. Its youth and innocence, highlighted by its budding horns, make the sacrifice feel meaningful rather than customary. This act shows that the speaker's tribute is genuine, not merely empty words.
The dog-star
Sirius, the dog-star, represents the harsh, uncaring forces of nature — heat, drought, and struggle. Its failure to affect the fountain gives the spring an air of protection, making it feel like a sacred refuge from the world's difficulties.
The ilex-tree
The evergreen ilex oak, which remains green all year, subtly supports the poem's theme of permanence. It provides shade for the fountain and, much like the poem, implies an enduring presence through all seasons.
Singing and dancing brooks
In the final lines, the water is described as singing and dancing. This turns the fountain from a passive natural feature into an active, joyful presence — reflecting what the poem itself does: it gives voice and movement to something that cannot speak for itself.

§06Historical context

Historical context

Eugene Field was an American journalist and poet, primarily recognized today for his children's verse, particularly "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod." However, he was also a dedicated classicist who enjoyed translating and adapting Latin poetry. This poem is his take on Ode III.13 by the Roman poet Horace (65–8 BCE), one of the most renowned short poems in Latin literature. Horace's original was crafted in Sapphic meter and addressed to the Fons Bandusiae, a spring near his farm in the Sabine Hills. It was well-known in ancient times and throughout the Renaissance as a prime example of how to celebrate a humble, local subject with grand, enduring art. Field's adaptation, published in the late 19th century, retains the three-stanza structure and the central theme — that the poet's song will immortalize the spring — while translating it into a more accessible, musical English verse form that appealed to a popular American audience.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

It's a spring close to the farm of the Roman poet Horace in the Sabine Hills of Italy. Horace wrote the original Latin ode that this poem is based on, and the spring gained fame mainly because of that poem — which is precisely the point Horace (and Field after him) is highlighting about the influence of poetry.

Read next

Poems in the same key

Similar poems

ODE TO A NIGHTINGALE. — John KeatsODE ON A GRECIAN URN. — John KeatsTO AUTUMN. — John KeatsLines Written in Early Spring — William Wordsworth

More by Eugene Field

Browse all Eugene Field poems →

Themes in this poem

Poems about artPoems about beautyPoems about mortalityPoems about nature