Although Horace is most widely hailed as a [poet] and a wise man, [Howard Bloom] has cast him in a different light, in one of his books, [The Lucifer Principle]. Bloom accused Horace of ruining the [Cursus Honorum] through his poetry.

Bloom credits the [Cursus Honorum] with being excellent for the state, allowing [Rome] to acquire excellent magistrates through the fierce competition with [Rome]’s noble stock. Which is what Bloom says Horace had a problem with, Horace was not of noble birth. Through most of his upbringing, because he could afford it, he spent much of his time with the elite and noble-born, or, 'hobnobbing' with them, as Bloom put it. Despite his money, Horace could not participate in the [Cursus Honorum], so instead, he ended up being a [poet].

Bloom blames his poetry for making those who once strove to reach the highest for themselves and for [Rome] through the [Cursus Honorum] feel guilty about their desires and ambition. Horace talks about "the race for wealth and position, the folly of extremes, the desirability of mutual forbearance, and the evils of ambition"; he wrote against everything that the [Cursus Honorum] stood for.

Quote from: http://www.crystalinks.com/horace.html

Horace (person)