Latin Online

Lesson Text

Translation

Grammar

46 Texts.

As a result of the long and detailed attention, the texts of the Latin authors have been fixed. For example, the texts of the first two lessons are identical in the publication by Mauritius Mueller (Leipzig: Teubner, 1892) and that of the Loeb Classical Library published in 1919 and reprinted numerous times to 1998. And the text of Einhard's biography of Charlemagne was fixed after numerous other editions in that of O. Holder-Egger (Hannover, 1911), which has subsequently been reprinted.

Unless a text with extensive commentary is desired, readers of the Latin texts will do well to use the editions of the Loeb Classical Library, which have the added advantage of including translations. These are readily available from the Harvard University Press (Cambridge, Mass. and London, England). The texts that have been widely read in schools and universities, such as those of Caesar and Virgil, are readily available. They have been published with introductions and commentaries, often also with glossaries. References may be found in catalogues of libraries and publishers.

47 Grammars.

In much the same way, the grammars of Latin are based on long attention. The fullest grammar is that of Manu Leumann, Joh. Bapt. Hofmann and Anton Szantyr, Lateinische Grammatik. I. Laut-und Formenlehre (Munich: Beck, 1977), II. Syntax und Stilistik (Munich: Beck, 1965). For ready reference, most readers will find useful a shorter grammar, such as A Latin Grammar of 1903, by William Gardner Hale and Carl Darling Buck (Tuscaloosa: Alabama University Press, 1966).

For a historical treatment, see the Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, by Carl Darling Buck (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1933). A successor is the New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, by Andrew L. Sihler (Oxford: University Press, 1995); it is written like a novel -- no references, no bibliography.

48 Dictionaries.

Dictionaries of various extent are also readily available. A Latin Dictionary, by Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (Oxford University Press, 1956) is extensive. The companion Elementary Latin Dictionary by Lewis (Oxford University Press, 1969) is also comprehensive, and less costly.

49 Specialized handbooks.

As catalogues in libraries and in lists of the concerned publishers indicate, one may readily find handbooks dealing with all aspects of Roman culture and history. Among examples, the Oxford University Press (2001 Evans Road, Cary, NC 27513) has published The Oxford History of the Roman World, eds. John Boardman, Jasper Griffin, Oswyn Murray (2001), The Oxford Illustrated History of the Roman World by the same editors (2001), Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, by Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins (1998), Slaves and Masters in the Roman Empire, by K.R.Bradley (1987), Rome, by M. Rostovtzeff (1960), among many other more specialized works. References works like A Smaller Classical Dictionary, ed. E.H.Blakeney (New ork: Dutton, 1928) provide compact entries on persons, places and things in the Roman and Greek world.

One should not overlook the essays in encyclopedias, such as those in the celebrated 13th edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica. These deal with various aspects of culture and history.

50 The Legacy of the Roman World.

The Roman world has exerted massive influence on the western world, as its linguistic effects and institutions indicate. An example is Salus Mundi 'welfare or prosperity of the world', the name of the foundation that sponsored the present work. Among many other examples, we may cite Cursor Mundi, the name of an English epic poem of the 13th century that sketches the history of the world according to the Old and New Testaments. Its unidentified author explains the title with the lines:

Cursur of werld man aght it call
For almast it overrennes all.

(Cf. Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 7, p. 650. London: The Encyclopedia Britannica Co., 1926, 13th ed.) Another expression, E pluribus unum -- one out of many -- was selected as characterizing the United States. And Summa cum laude -- with the highest praise -- indicates academic excellence.

James Bradstreet Greenough and George Lyman Kittredge state in their work Words and their Ways in English Speech (New York: Macmillan, 1902) p. 93: "The influence of Latin is not confined to the technical vocabulary. It is felt in almost every sentence that we utter. It pervades the whole system of English speech." A sentence like the first in this section provides ample support for the statement. They also point to the Roman numerals and the symbol &c for Latin et cetera. Moreover, they cite doublets, like reason, ration and ratio, the first of which was taken from the Old French reflex of the Latin word, the second somewhat later from French in military use, and the last directly from Latin in mathematical use.

The institutions are of lesser concern here, but as the linguistic importations indicate, they as well as our clerical, military and educational terms are heavily based on those developed in the Roman world. Such effects indicate excellent reasons for reading Latin texts, as promoted by this series of online lessons.

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