Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome

p. 155

Tiro (Cicero’s slave/secretary) writes that he is resuming his account of Cicero’s life after a hiatus of two years. He writes that this elision “says much about human nature, for if you were to ask me, ‘Tiro, why do you choose to skip such a long period in Cicero’s life?’ I should be obliged to reply: ‘Because, my friend, those were happy years, and few subjects make more tedious reading than happiness.’”