What do you think?
Rate this book
Et tu, Brute?: The Best Latin Lines Ever
Harry Mount and John Davie unlock the wisdom of the past in this light-hearted and fascinating book, revealing how ancient Latin can help us to live better in the present.
There are so many Latin phrases in everyday use that often we use them without understanding the background and context within which they were actually used. 'Carpe diem'; 'Stet'; 'Memento mori'; 'Et tu Brute' – examples would fill a book. And often these phrases are also used in English 'The die is cast'; 'crossing the Rubicon'; 'Rome was not built in a day'.
Many of these phrases are humorous, but they are also a rich source of the wisdom of the ancients. The chapters of this book Latin for Gardeners, the Great Latin Love Poets, Cicero on How to Grow Old Gracefully and Seneca's Stoic Guide to Life. Each chapter starts with a quotation and is lightly sprinkled with many more, with accompanying English translations and entertaining cartoons and illustrations dotted throughout.
The background to each quotation is explained so that the context is fully understood. Who crossed the Rubicon and why, for example? At a time of great political and social turbulence, more and more people are turning back to ancient wisdom as a guide to life. Here they are in touch with two classical scholars of distinction who have the common touch and can help make Latin accessible to all, not to mention fun!
There are so many Latin phrases in everyday use that often we use them without understanding the background and context within which they were actually used. 'Carpe diem'; 'Stet'; 'Memento mori'; 'Et tu Brute' – examples would fill a book. And often these phrases are also used in English 'The die is cast'; 'crossing the Rubicon'; 'Rome was not built in a day'.
Many of these phrases are humorous, but they are also a rich source of the wisdom of the ancients. The chapters of this book Latin for Gardeners, the Great Latin Love Poets, Cicero on How to Grow Old Gracefully and Seneca's Stoic Guide to Life. Each chapter starts with a quotation and is lightly sprinkled with many more, with accompanying English translations and entertaining cartoons and illustrations dotted throughout.
The background to each quotation is explained so that the context is fully understood. Who crossed the Rubicon and why, for example? At a time of great political and social turbulence, more and more people are turning back to ancient wisdom as a guide to life. Here they are in touch with two classical scholars of distinction who have the common touch and can help make Latin accessible to all, not to mention fun!
272 pages, Hardcover
Published January 17, 2023
70 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 4, 2023
A very enjoyable tour through Ancient Rome and the Latin language. This has sections on Roman religion, gods, politics, emperors, poetry and graffiti to show the wide ranging uses of Latin. This has inspired me to read/reread some ancient literature such as Horace, Pliny, Cicero, Tacitus, Suetonius.
Mount’s love of Latin is clear and I think it is a shame that Latin is seen nowadays as a dead, boring and useless language only for posh people to study in private schools when it is so influenced and so much Latin is used in English today.
Mount’s love of Latin is clear and I think it is a shame that Latin is seen nowadays as a dead, boring and useless language only for posh people to study in private schools when it is so influenced and so much Latin is used in English today.
August 24, 2025
I knew a lot of it already but I also thought the explanation about each quote was too brief and the selection a bit random
July 23, 2024
Perhaps it's structure is more rambling than intended, but as a slice of what Latin brought to the Roman Empire, and how it continues to influence the English language, this was a delight to read.
June 22, 2023
Many fun parts but my favorite was glossary!!
September 22, 2025
Thoughts from September 2023:
Et Tu, Brute? by Harry Mount and John Davie is a fantastic collection of Latin sayings. The spirit of the Roman Empire itself is captured by this eclectic mix of philosophy, poetry, literature, and general other writings of the Roman times. If you would like a brief overview of the pervasiveness of Latin and how it has influenced the English language, this would not be the worst book to consult. Sure, it’s not written in a very scholarly manner, but it doesn’t really matter when the main content is sourced from material that has stood the trials of 2,000 years and not just survived, but thrived. Some context about myself before getting too far in: I took six years of Latin in school and have a decent interest in all things Roman.
Virgil, Catullus, Suetonius, Seneca, Juvenal, Martial, Pliny, Petronius, Ovid, Plautus, Terence, random soldiers, sniggering graffiti artists, Julius Caesar, Tacitus, and Cicero among others all have sayings collected here. And of course, the Grand Daddy of them all, the man who I was not very familiar with until starting this book, the contemplative horndog poet himself, Mr. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, alias Horace. My word, that man had range. I can’t get enough of Horace. Gimme Gimme Gimme as ABBA would say. Horace was an absolute menace in the streets. Ovid was a dirty old wanker, and Catullus twice in one poem said, “Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo”. If anyone thought of the Romans as this rigid Spartan-like culture of order, well maybe they were in some aspects but the debauchery and deviancy ran hot with these fellas.
The book is divided into chapters (fantastic review, yes thank you very much), with each section addressing a different facet of Roman culture or focusing on the works of a single artist. I learned some etymology, got some new facts on the life of Romans in Londinium (London), acquired some botanical knowledge regarding the naming of plants. Other cool sections included documenting the rise of Christianity or going through all the major players of the Divine Family of Roman Gods.
While the quotes/lines/phrases were excellent, this book suffers when it tries to become a history book. It comes across as a best-of / all the hits of the Roman times, a collection of fun facts instead of a comprehensive historical narrative. You might be thinking, well yeah it’s not going to be great as a history book because that’s outside the scope of the purpose. This is true, but in attempting to provide context for the quotes, Mount and/or Davie in my opinion got in way too deep over their heads.
To wrap this up succinctly, Carpe Diem, quam minimum credula postero.
Tolle lege, if you wish.
Et Tu, Brute? by Harry Mount and John Davie is a fantastic collection of Latin sayings. The spirit of the Roman Empire itself is captured by this eclectic mix of philosophy, poetry, literature, and general other writings of the Roman times. If you would like a brief overview of the pervasiveness of Latin and how it has influenced the English language, this would not be the worst book to consult. Sure, it’s not written in a very scholarly manner, but it doesn’t really matter when the main content is sourced from material that has stood the trials of 2,000 years and not just survived, but thrived. Some context about myself before getting too far in: I took six years of Latin in school and have a decent interest in all things Roman.
Virgil, Catullus, Suetonius, Seneca, Juvenal, Martial, Pliny, Petronius, Ovid, Plautus, Terence, random soldiers, sniggering graffiti artists, Julius Caesar, Tacitus, and Cicero among others all have sayings collected here. And of course, the Grand Daddy of them all, the man who I was not very familiar with until starting this book, the contemplative horndog poet himself, Mr. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, alias Horace. My word, that man had range. I can’t get enough of Horace. Gimme Gimme Gimme as ABBA would say. Horace was an absolute menace in the streets. Ovid was a dirty old wanker, and Catullus twice in one poem said, “Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo”. If anyone thought of the Romans as this rigid Spartan-like culture of order, well maybe they were in some aspects but the debauchery and deviancy ran hot with these fellas.
The book is divided into chapters (fantastic review, yes thank you very much), with each section addressing a different facet of Roman culture or focusing on the works of a single artist. I learned some etymology, got some new facts on the life of Romans in Londinium (London), acquired some botanical knowledge regarding the naming of plants. Other cool sections included documenting the rise of Christianity or going through all the major players of the Divine Family of Roman Gods.
While the quotes/lines/phrases were excellent, this book suffers when it tries to become a history book. It comes across as a best-of / all the hits of the Roman times, a collection of fun facts instead of a comprehensive historical narrative. You might be thinking, well yeah it’s not going to be great as a history book because that’s outside the scope of the purpose. This is true, but in attempting to provide context for the quotes, Mount and/or Davie in my opinion got in way too deep over their heads.
To wrap this up succinctly, Carpe Diem, quam minimum credula postero.
Tolle lege, if you wish.
July 10, 2023
Absolutely delightful excursion through the history, glory, and current use of Latin. For anyone who has studied Latin or is interested in ancient Rome, this is a wonderful review of a language that unified an empire and provided the basis for many of our languages today. Written in an easy,informative style that is not preachy or dry. I loved the historical anecdotes, the descriptions of events in Rome, and the glossary at the end. Learned many interesting things by reading this book. Well done Mr Mount.
April 24, 2023
I don't speak Latin, nor did I really learn any from reading this book. However, the authors introduced Latin's history and influence in ancient and modern society in a clever and light way. It was an entertaining read. Learning how deeply Latin and the Romans are etched into our modern society was revelatory.
September 12, 2023
I would have thought this book would be right up my alley. I enjoy learning languages; love running across the linguistic cross-pollinations between them; and took a couple of years of Latin in school. But this book mainly bored me. Apparently I need a few more years of Latin before it will sound as enchanting to me as it does to the authors.
December 11, 2025
On the whole I did enjoy this book. A fairly easy read, well except for the Latin. I really just wanted to know how much we still use, or just recognise, Latin words and phrases. This gives that and much more. Didn’t do Latin at school but I have always been fascinated by our language.
June 13, 2023
Very interesting and entertaining
July 7, 2023
Enjoyable and nerdy. If you took Latin as a class at any point, and you enjoy Roman history this book is for you. Oh, caveat emptor: there’s some material that’s not appropriate for children.
July 17, 2023
My two years of Latin in high school weren't a waste!!
August 9, 2023
Great Fun. No Plot. Chock full of pearls.
August 12, 2023
A fun tour of Latin and it's ongoing impact today.
January 3, 2024
I really enjoyed the Roman history. Just an overview of Latin and it’s role in other languages would have suited me better. More than I needed or could appreciate.
May 11, 2024
Learned a lot but was a few chapters too long for someone who doesn’t know anything about the subject. Took me awhile to finish.
June 18, 2025
This was not what I expected, I guess I misread the summary. Despite that, I really enjoyed it.
October 17, 2025
Makes etymology a friend.
Latin is beautiful and alive in the words I speak everyday.
Latin is beautiful and alive in the words I speak everyday.
Read
June 6, 2024You don't actually need to know Latin to enjoy this book. In everyday language, whether you speak English, French, German or Swedish as a rule, there are certain expressions, usages and even numbers in Roman numerals - that you resort to almost unthinkingly: ‘alibi’, ‘alias’, ‘i.e.’, ‘ergo’, I, II III, ‘habeas corpus,’ and ‘etcetera.’ In school, in medicine when the doctor explains your symptoms, in law when you're reading a courtroom thriller or a murder mystery, even in traffic signs, Latin is used as an everyday part of whatever European language you speak.
The authors show how Latin enriches our daily lives, taking examples from rhetoric, poetry, war, racing, gambling, brothels, philosophy, literature and law - in a friendly, light-hearted style, illustrating their book lavishly with photographs and examples. The book is a fun way of understanding that the words you use so casually are the same that Julius Caesar used to his soldiers, to his friends or rivals in the Senate of Rome, even if their pronunciation has changed slightly over two thousand years.
The authors show how Latin enriches our daily lives, taking examples from rhetoric, poetry, war, racing, gambling, brothels, philosophy, literature and law - in a friendly, light-hearted style, illustrating their book lavishly with photographs and examples. The book is a fun way of understanding that the words you use so casually are the same that Julius Caesar used to his soldiers, to his friends or rivals in the Senate of Rome, even if their pronunciation has changed slightly over two thousand years.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews