Downing Street saw its fair share of farewell speeches this year, each with their own lectern. Both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss reached for a reference from ancient Rome. Mr Johnson, a famous lover of classics, referenced Cincinnatus, a patrician who turned to farming after leaving Rome only to return when his country needed him. Ms Truss opted for the statesman and philosopher Seneca, when she said: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that they are difficult.”