author
W. Y. (William Young) Sellar
1825–1890
A leading Scottish classicist of the 19th century, he is remembered for bringing Roman poetry vividly to life for generations of readers and students. His books on Virgil, Horace, and other Latin poets helped make ancient literature feel human, memorable, and close at hand.
3 Audiobooks
The Roman Poets of the Republic, 2nd edition
by W. Y. (William Young) Sellar
The Roman Poets of the Augustan Age: Virgil
by W. Y. (William Young) Sellar
The Roman Poets of the Republic, 3rd edition
by W. Y. (William Young) Sellar
About the author
Born in Sutherland, Scotland, in 1825, William Young Sellar was educated at the Edinburgh Academy, the University of Glasgow, and Balliol College, Oxford. He went on to build a distinguished academic career, teaching at Durham and Glasgow before becoming Professor of Greek at St Andrews and later Professor of Humanity at the University of Edinburgh.
Sellar is best known for his warmly written and deeply learned studies of Latin literature, especially The Roman Poets of the Republic and The Roman Poets of the Augustan Age. Rather than treating classical authors as distant monuments, he wrote about them as living writers with distinct voices, which helped his criticism remain appealing beyond specialist scholarship.
He died in 1890, but his work continued to be read for its blend of scholarship, literary feeling, and clarity. For listeners coming to him today, he offers a thoughtful guide to the great Roman poets and to the enduring pleasures of classical reading.