Love and beauty are the best subjects for lyric, says Horace, finding compliments for his patron Maecenas and the Emperor Augustus along the way. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

You can’t do anything about what is happening on the frontiers – have a drink instead, says Horace. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

If you want to live well, says Horace, then avoid extremes, accept the worst if it comes, but hope for the best. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Horace tells a writer of sad love elegy to put grief behind him and celebrate the latest victories of the emperor Augustus. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Lalage

Be patient, she’s too young, Horace advises an anonymous addressee. Hear the poem in Horace’s original Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Horace tells Xanthias the Greek that it’s absolutely fine to be in love with a slave, but does he mean it? Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Echoing Stoic philosophy, Horace commends indifference to riches and makes the point that they are of value only when put to use. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

Horace compliments a fellow-author who is also a prominent public figure with an outstanding political and military career, in the process giving a vivid evocation of the tragedy of civil war. Hear Horace’s Latin and follow in English here; see the illustrated blog post here.

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