Overview
I'm a Latinist with broad interests in Ancient Rome, the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment. I like to focus on big-picture issues in the western tradition. My latest book is an edition of Plato's Apology that examines free speech through the ages. Previous books covered wine, swine, mind, jokes, grief, breakups, willpower, and a good laugh. Oh, and a few years ago I was parodied on Saturday Night Live (really! see it here).
At Cornell I teach courses on Ancient Rome, Julius Caesar, the Art of Humor, Greek Mythology, Wine Culture, and Latin literature of all time periods. For business executives worldwide I teach eCornell courses on leadership from Ancient Rome and the effective use of humor in the workplace.
- Cornell students: click here for current course syllabi.
- Exec ed students: click here for course information.
I'm also the Director of Cornell's Program on Freedom and Free Societies. Our guest lectures aim to enhance understanding of liberty and free inquiry. Debate is encouraged and all are welcome.
Publications
For a complete list, click here. Book reviews are here. Popular press writings are here.
Latest Books
11. 2026. Plato. How to Speak Freely: An Ancient Guide to Free Speech and Dissent. Princeton University Press. Google Books link.
A vivid and timely new translation of Plato's Apology, in which Socrates defends his pursuit of truth, no matter the consequences, supplemented by Lucian's short dialogue The Gods in Council.
12. 2027. Killing Socrates: Four Dialogues by Plato, with Aristophanes' Clouds. Princeton University Press. (Fresh translations of these golden oldies, with original commentary.)
I'm now working on a book (or more) that draws on Lucian, Celsus, Euripides, Aristophanes, Gorgias, and a host of Latin authors from antiquity through the Renaissance. The working title is The Art of Bullshit.
Latest Articles
- In press (allegedly). “How to Make a Joke Without Getting Cancelled: Plutarch’s Survival Guide to Jesting Safely.” (On some passages in Table Talk and Macrobius' Saturnalia)
- In press (allegedly). "Humour as a Calculated Risk." (For a Cambridge Companion)
- 2026. "Clueless Strepsiades, Clueless Scribes? Recovering Two Lost Jokes in Aristophanes’ Clouds (234, 380–81)." Electryone.
Just for Fun
- 2026. Trump: Brutale Kämpfe zum 80. Geburtstag (video in German). Kulturzeit
- 2026. Trump celebrates 80th birthday with an Iran deal and UFC cage fights at the White House. AP.
- 2026. Did Ovid Bury Philippi in a Love Story? (Part 2 of 2) In Medias Res.
- 2026. Was Ovid Really Apolitical? (Part 1 of 2) In Medias Res.
- 2025. Caesar in the Kremlin: Vladimir Putin's Speeches in Latin. Antigone.
In the news
- Cornell classicist: White House UFC event mirrors Imperial Rome’s spectacles
- Back to in-person work? Classics professor offers tips on office humor
- Your September 2025 reads
- Listen to the ancients: Don’t cave to peer pressure, improper requests
- Your July 2024 reads
- In a new book, prof translates ancient advice for the lovelorn
- What to read in 2022? A&S faculty weigh in
- Translation updates Cicero’s treatise on jokes as ‘weapons’
- A 500-year-old book for our time, newly translated
- Einaudi Center awards eight faculty grants
- Professor publishes Placentius’ pugnacious pig poem
- Twitter has become the modern-day Colosseum
- Living language
- Einaudi Center announces grant recipients
- Grants fund 22 Cornell teams, community partners
- Nishii, Fontaine appointed to academic leadership
- Classicist Michael Fontaine examines mental distress in humanities podcast
- A new-old look at mental distress
- Contemporary bard to present ancient Odyssey in music
- Renowned Vatican Latinist joins classics faculty
- Volume in honor of classics professor Fred Ahl released
Courses - Spring 2026
- CLASS 3616 : The Rise and Fall of Julius Caesar, and the Death of the Roman Republic
- LATIN 2209 : Latin Poetry
- LATIN 5229 : Latin Poetry