ABSTRACT
In his first epistle in the First Book of Epistles Horace, in search of models for his life, makes a survey of the moral stature of his fellow men. Some men rejoice to farm state-revenues; some with titbits and fruits hunt miserly widows, and net old men to stock their preserves; with many their money grows with interest unobserved. The viduae and senes, who are the targets of obtrusive attention from the legacy-hunters, have no characterizing adjectives except that the viduae are called avarae. The author's conclusion is that avaras needs emendation. The context decides the remedy. It is, of course, the legacy hunters who are greedy.
