Decimus Magnus Ausonius of Bordeaux, whose life spanned the greater part of the fourth century AD, was one of the most significant literary and political figures of his age. After an academic career in his native Gaul he was appointed tutor to the future emperor Gratian, a position through which he achieved great power for himself and his family. He was made consul in 379 and later lived to enjoy a ripe old age as the grand old man of Latin letters.

In this modern edition of Ausonius' short poems, collected together under the general heading of epigrams, N.M. Kay gives a...