Harry Mount and John Davie unlock the wisdom of the past in this light-hearted and fascinating book, revealing how ancient Latin can help us to live better in the present.
There are so many Latin phrases in everyday use that often we use them without understanding the background and context within which they were actually used. 'Carpe diem'; 'Stet'; 'Memento mori'; 'Et tu Brute' - examples would fill a book. And often these phrases are also used in English translation: 'The die is cast'; 'crossing the Rubicon'; 'Rome was not built in a day'.
Many of these phrases are humorous, but they are also a rich source of wisdom: the wisdom of the ancients. The chapters of this book include: Latin for Gardeners, the Great Latin Love Poets, Cicero on How to Grow Old Gracefully and Seneca's Stoic Guide to Life. Each chapter starts with a quotation and is lightly sprinkled with many more, with accompanying English translations and entertaining cartoons and illustrations dotted throughout.
The background to each quotation is explained so that the context is fully understood. Who crossed the Rubicon and why, for example? At a time of great political and social turbulence, more and more people are turning back to ancient wisdom as a guide to life. Here they are in touch with two classical scholars of distinction who have the common touch and can help make Latin accessible to all, not to mention fun!

Harry Mount studied ancient and modern history and classics at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a First. He has written a number of books including the top ten bestseller Amo, Amas, Amat and All That (Short Books), A Lust for Windowsills (Little Brown) and How England Made the English (Viking). He is a former New York correspondent for The Daily Telegraph and has written for the Spectator, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail. He is now editor of The Oldie Magazine.

Introduction
A note on translation
A timeline of Julius Caesar and the Roman Emperors
1. Writing on the Wall - Latin graffiti, from Pompeii's brothel to Herculaneum's tavernas
2. Ruling Britannia - Roman Britain, from Londinium's first bankers to freezing legionaries on Hadrian's Wall
3. Sex in Rome and the Rudest Poem in Latin
4. True Romance - the Great Latin Love Poets
5. Latin Jokes and Insults
6. Latin for Gardeners
7. Bathtime, Feasts and La Dolce Vita
8. Bread, Circuses and Gladiators
9. Plebs and Patricians - the Roman Class System
10. Empire and Emperors
11. The Divine Family - Religion and the Gods
12. Christian Conversion - how Christ went from Roman Victim to Roman God
13. Vesuvius Erupts - Pliny Reports
14. What did you get for Saturnalia? Martial's Funny Festival Presents
15. Horace, the Sweetest Poet of All
16. Cicero on How to Grow Old Gracefully
17. Seneca's Stoic Guide to Life
18. Your Vade Mecum - the Latin-English Glossary
Roman Numerals
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Picture credits