ABSTRACT
This chapter presents arguments on the use and meaning of the word amice in Shackleton Bailey’s text of the opening sentence of Carm. 3. 2: Angustam amice pauperiem patirobustus acri militia puercondiscat. Among editors and commentators, amice is by now a well-known issue and has been so for at least 300 years. In a note, Bentley voted forcefully for voc. pl. amice, rejecting amice both as a voc. sing. (an amphibrach) and as an adverb (a bacchius). As to amice, the defenders are divided. Page took amice as ‘gladly’ and as “almost an instance of oxymoron”, whereby “such ‘endurance’ should be ‘welcome as a friend’ to him”, an idea which Williams found surprising but acceptable. But, the author finds no support for diluting amice to something like ‘libenter’, ‘gladly’, ‘happily’ or ‘contentedly’ and letting it refer to a personal and very special relationship towards angusta pauperies.
