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Extraordinary Romans

Once upon a time, in music, people were for the Beatles or for the Rolling stones: nobody liked them both (in classic music, people are for Verdi or for Mozart, they never like the two composers equally). The same phenomenon exists for the Greek and Roman civilizations. People who are more sensitive to art, creativity, beauty, epics, independence prefer the Greek world whereas people who like clarity of language, organization, the law, creative engineering prefer the Roman world. Of course Rome had beautiful art and the Greek were legislators too: this is just in terms of sensitivity and emotional connexion.
The Greek world consisted in a series of independent towns with a vast sphere of commercial and intellectual influence, the Romans built an empire by conquests, using the sheer strength of their army and their engineering skills, Many roads and bridges built by the Romans still exist today. The best ancient roads map I could find is here. Of course the network of roads was more complex than that; when I lived in France, there were two Roman roads next to the place I lived (about 25 miles west of Paris) which do not seem to be on any web page. You will find a timeline and kids' site here. and a real good site on PBS . One of the best site on Roman technological accomplishment is here.

Latin books to read

First humanist: Lucretius was not an atheist, he just thought that a) Gods did not care about us at all; b) there is a natural (scientific) explanation for everything that happens in nature c) humans should not live in fear. His book of poems de rerum natura (on the nature of things) is worth reading, if you are interested in human fears or in the way nature was described in ancient times (that is mainly at the end of the book). Many readers think that the best translation is still that of Rolfe Humphries The way things are (essential book).
First self-serving memoirs
Self-serving texts are as old as texts: every tyrant has always explained how great he was. But Julius Caesar certainly wrote the first bookseller on the most fascinating subject "ME". I am so used to the latin text, clear, incisive and full of punch, that I could not find a translation I like. Instead I found a book with military explanations I never had before, and how welcome are the maps! Start with Caesar's Gallic Wars 58-50 BC, by K. M. Gilliver.
You cannot ignore the Julius Caesar of Shakespeare Julius Caesar (Oxford School Shakespeare(essential book); it is beautiful and you can reward yourself with the DVD attesting the talent of Marlon Brando, James Mason and John Gielgud. Brando, always described as an instinctive actor makes you understand every nuance of Shakespeare's intentions, and nobody understands Shakespeare with only instinct and guts.
Satirists
Loads of people prefer Juvenal, but I have feelings for the meanness and vulgarity of Catullus. Go to this wonderful page and read carmen 36 in any language you like.
Most eloquent lawyer
If you are interested in eloquence, in speaking in public, in communication, there is no avoiding Cicero.
2000 years later, de oratore is still a good find (English translation: On the ideal orator).
Pastoral poet
Pastoral refers to the life of shepherds, and the concept is often linked to simple life, love songs, love of nature. The emperor of pastoral poetry was Virgil (search also Vergil). In my generation, you would not have been considered a person of culture if you did not have a cue about " Tityre tu patulae recubans sub tegmine fagi" (You, Tityrus, reclining in the shadow of a spreading beech), It is the beginning of the Eclogues, also called Bucolics. These poems have inspired thousands of poems in various European languages through the ages. I still enjoy an old book published in 1908 about The auditive imagination in Virgil (how he associates, for instance, forest and human singing).
Notes: 1. In latin, the order of words does not matter, because the declension tells you how words relate to one another whereas in English the order of words is much more meaningful. This allows the peculiar form of poetry that Virgil used: alternated words with long and short vowels in pre-ordained order.
2. It is sometimes hard to discern what Virgil had in mind: his Bucolics have always appeared to be written as a thanks to Augustus for giving him back his land (a lot of land had been taken from legitimate owners and given to war veterans). We also know that Augustus enjoyed Virgil's poems. But, at the same time, a modern reader can see criticism in these pages. In conclusion: pastoral, yes, but simple: certainly not. And if you end up liking it, there is a lot of pleasure in studying some more.