"The Odes of Horace" are the lyric masterpieces of the golden age of Latin literature. They speak of the politics of the time, of the return to peace after the agony of civil war; they are imbued with consciousness of the brevity of life and the inevitability of death; but they are also filled with the pleasures of friendship, wine and love. The English have always responded to their humanity and humour, and have translated and quoted them more than any other Latin poetry, so that they are woven into the fabric of English literature. This new verse translation departs from the vogue for...