How to Be Content

An Ancient Poet's Guide for an Age of Excess

By: Horace, Stephen Harrison - editor translator introduction

Narrated by: P.J. Ochlan

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 for more than 2,000 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.

©2020 Princeton University Press (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Important ideas agreeably delivered

Horace was not well known to me but I am sure glad we got acquainted. Often Lyrically whimsical and sometimes poignant, these verses more than stand the test of time. The only complaint is this poetic sampling’s brevity.

Philosophy and Poetry

What interested me about this book was the topic (How to Be Content) and how the philosophical ideas were expressed using poetry. There is more than one way to express philosophical ideas. I usually read collections of quotes and essays on philosophy. Poetry is another way of expressing these ideas, and this book is a good introduction to Horace’s philosophy and poetry.

I read this book with the audible version. I don’t read a lot a poetry and the audible helped me get into the book and the flow of poetry as the poet intended when recited. It helped me enjoy the book more and awaken my interest in learning more about Horace and in reading more poetry.

Frustrating narration

I couldn’t finish the audiobook because the narrator only does one cadence and vocal pattern. He has an incredible and unique voice, but doesn’t quite know how to use it in a wider range of emotion… which seems necessary for a poetic book.

A wonderful poetic look at life

Beautiful ancient poems by Horace that help the reader understand the beauty and wonder of life….and death

Good material, bad audiobook

Material seemed good. The audiobook was lacking. I felt like the narrator was just reading words on a page here without trying to understand what they meant together. I’ll buy print copy.