Bibliograph

How to be content, an ancient poet's guide for an age of excess, Horace

Type

Label

How to be content, an ancient poet's guide for an age of excess, Horace

Language

eng

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technical information on music

Form of composition

not applicable

Format of music

not applicable

Literary text for sound recordings

other

Main title

How to be content

Responsibility statement

Horace

Sub title

an ancient poet's guide for an age of excess

Summary

What the Roman poet Horace can teach us about how to live a life of contentment What are the secrets to a contented life? One of Rome's greatest and most influential poets, Horace (65-8 BCE) has been cherished by readers for more than two thousand years not only for his wit, style, and reflections on Roman society, but also for his wisdom about how to live a good life-above all else, a life of contentment in a world of materialistic excess and personal pressures. In How to Be Content, Stephen Harrison, a leading authority on the poet, provides fresh, contemporary translations of poems from across Horace's works that continue to offer important lessons about the good life, friendship, love, and death. Living during the reign of Rome's first emperor, Horace drew on Greek and Roman philosophy, especially Stoicism and Epicureanism, to write poems that reflect on how to live a thoughtful and moderate life amid mindless overconsumption, how to achieve and maintain true love and friendship, and how to face disaster and death with patience and courage. From memorable counsel on the pointlessness of worrying about the future to valuable advice about living in the moment, these poems, by the man who famously advised us to carpe diem, or "harvest the day," continue to provide brilliant meditations on perennial human problems

Target audience

adult

Transposition and arrangement

not applicable

Contributor