The ultimate Roman holiday – for mice
In 30 BC, Horace, the Dr Johnson of the Augustan age, wrote the parable of the town mouse and the country mouse.
Authors in those days did not attempt to be ‘original’ – the fable had been around for a long time before. Horace introduces it as ‘an old wives’ tale’.
The town mouse is devoted to activity, sociability and luxury, while the country mouse lives a life of genteel poverty, solitude and quiet reflection.
For Horace, the
