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

"The Roman poet Horace (65-8 BC) has long been read as a wise and pragmatic guide to living a good life. Writing at the very moment when Rome was transitioning from a republic to an empire, Romans found the advice in his poems appealing: live quietly andnon-extravagantly amid the excesses of a materialistic society, avoid extreme emotions of any kind as psychologically damaging, place a value on friendship of all kinds, do not be afraid of death, and most famously live every day to the full as tomorrow may never come (carpe diem). But above all else, Horace advocated a life of contentment and self-sufficiency"--
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.Featuring translations of, and commentary on, complete poems from Horace’s Odes, Satires, Epistles, and Epodes, accompanied by the original Latin, How to Be Content is both an ideal introduction to Horace and a compelling book of timeless wisdom.