Horace’s first book of verse satires is the earliest fully extant example of the genre in European literature; it not only handles moral topics with a persuasive air of sweet reason but also reveals much of poet’s own engaging personality and way of life. This edition incorporates a new text and prose translation and is designed to make the poems readily accessible to the modern reader by elucidating their content, structure and background; it also explores the artistry which lies behind their easy informality of style.