Cleopatra: A Life

* Nicolaus of Damascus was quick to assert that even as a teenager, even at the age when youth “are most wanton,” Octavian had abstained from sexual gratification for an entire year. And in the face of all evidence to the contrary, it was inevitably asserted that he lived simply and austerely. In truth Octavian was as fond of costly furniture and Corinthian bronzes as the next man, more fond yet of the gaming table.