Silvio Berlusconi has been boasting about the quality of his Latin - I’m pleased that the BBC thought this was worth an article! He was asked the typical question about which historical figure he would most like to meet, and chose Julius Caesar.

Anyone else thought about this question? From the ancient world, I think Seneca (the younger) would be a good choice. Not only a great and varied writer, but a really complex person - a Stoic philosopher who believed in the simple life, while being a central advisor in Nero’s opulent court. I’ve been doing his tragedies this year, and I’d really love to get to know the man who wrote those tortured works. I’d love to hear everyone else’s historical dinner party guests.

Berlusconi evened out the amount of respect he deserves, though, by saying this. Ah well.