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 and non-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...