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How to Be Content: An Ancient Poet's Guide for an Age of Excess

Hardback

Main Details

Title How to Be Content: An Ancient Poet's Guide for an Age of Excess
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Horace
By (author) Stephen Harrison
SeriesAncient Wisdom for Modern Readers
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:256
Dimensions(mm): Height 171,Width 114
Category/GenreWestern philosophy - Ancient to c 500
Ethics and moral philosophy
Self-help and personal development
Popular psychology
ISBN/Barcode 9780691182520
ClassificationsDewey:874.01
Audience
General
Illustrations 2 b/w illus.

Publishing Details

Publisher Princeton University Press
Imprint Princeton University Press
Publication Date 20 October 2020
Publication Country United States

Description

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 over-consumption, 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.

Author Biography

Stephen Harrison is Professor of Latin Literature at the University of Oxford, where he is also a fellow of Corpus Christi College. His books include The Cambridge Companion to Horace. He lives in Oxford.

Reviews

"This book is a delight. . . . This should be in the pocket of every lover of Latin literature, and especially of Horace."---Peter Jones, Classics for All "Fantastic . . . a long and wonderfully informed conversation with [Horace]."---Steve Donoghue, Open Letters "[A]n elegant little volume."---Ron Charles, Washington Post "[How to Be Content] shines a light on the philosophical core of the great poet's [Horace] writing. . . . Stephen Harrison translates excerpts beautifully in modern English."---Steven Gambardella, The Sophist