Horace was a Roman lyric poet, writing in the reign of Augustus. He is most famous for his Odes, written on a variety of subjects. Due to their short length and simple use of Latin, the Odes have been popular school texts since antiquity and as a consequence have become very influential. Phrases from the Odes, such as ‘Carpe Diem’ have found their way into modern language.

This edition was produced by Robert Estienne, one of a printing dynasty in Paris, who produced numerous Greek and Latin classics, and was responsible for the Latin dictionary Thesaurus linguae latinae, considered to be the foundation of Latin lexicography. His son Henry would go on to produce the equivalent for Greek.