Lays of Ancient Rome
![Lays of Ancient Rome, 1881 edition (ISBN 0898759366)](/Images/godic/202501/23/Lays_of_Ancient_Rome4919.jpg")
![John Reinhard Weguelin, Horatius defending the Sublician bridge, from the 1881 edition.](/Images/godic/202501/23/HoratiusJRWeguelin18794919.jpg")
![John Reinhard Weguelin, Castor and Pollux fighting at the Battle of Lake Regillus, from the 1881 edition.](/Images/godic/202501/23/BattleOfLakeRegillus4919.jpg")
Lays of Ancient Rome is a collection of narrative poems, or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Four of these recount heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes, giving the collection its name. Macaulay also included two poems inspired by recent history: Ivry (1824) and The Armada (1832).