Learn Latin: A Lively Introduction to Reading the Language

184 Pages·1998·18.472 MB·

by  Peter Vaughan Jones, Benoit Jacques

Latm
Learn
to f^eAM4^
Peter
Jones
—
Learn
Latin
Latin is a sreat lansuage. Considering how many
classics were written in it, how many English
words derive from it, and how many Latin
expressions continue in use today it's amazing
that anyone would call it a "dead language."
Through Learn Latin's twenty clear, high-
spirited, and anxiety-free chapters, you can
master enough grammar and vocabulary to con-
fidently read the poems of Catullus or the Latin
Bible inJusttwentyweel<s. Ifyourgoal is simply
to pick up a bit more of the genius of Latin
embedded in our culture, no problem. These
pages will allow you to immerse yourself in the
richest ofall linguistic pools.
Originally written as a series of articles in
London's Daily Telegrapti and Sunday
Telegraph, the lessons were enormously and
instantly popular, not only because they work,
butbecause PeterJonesadded livelyfeatureson
—
Roman history and Roman personalities allow-
ing readers to get inside the heads that first
formed the words. In addition to its exercises
(and answers!) Learn Latin includes a grammati-
cal summary, a vocabulary listing and eighteen
—
or, ratherxviii charming illustrations.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2012
in
http://archive.org/details/learnlatinlivelyOOpete

Learn
Latin

Learn
Latin
PeterJones
Barnes
S^NOBLE
BOOKS
NEW YORK
©
Textcopyright 1997 byPeterJones
©
Illustrations copyright 1997byBenoitJacques
&
Thisedition publishedbyBarnes Noble, Inc.,
byarrangementwith GeraldDuckworth andCompanyLtd.
Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthisbookmaybe usedorreproduced
inanymannerwhatsoeverwithoutthewrittenpermissionofthe Publisher.
&
1998 Barnes NobleBooks
ISBN 0-76070-842-8 casebound
ISBN 0-76070-843-6 paperback
Printedandboundin the UnitedStatesofAmerica
MC
98 99 00 01 02 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
98 99 00 01 02 MP 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
BVG
CONTENTS
Preface 8
Introduction 9
1. amo, amas, amat ... 15
The world ofRome: From Romulus to Empire
Wordplay: Romans in Britain
2. More verbs: moneo, rego, audio, capio 21
The world ofRome: From rape to republic
Wordplay: Anglo-Saxons andNormans
3. Nouns: Corinna and Delia 29
CarminaBurana
The world ofRome: The first Roman emperor
Word play: The Normaninfluence
4. Nouns: William, Harold andthe great'I am' 37
The world ofRome: The Roman Empire
Wordplay: The 16th-20th centimes
5. Prepositions, prohibitions andposswm 43
The world ofRome: The rape ofLucretia
Wordplay: prefixes and suffixes
6. Nouns: the third declension 49
The world ofRome: the treacherous schoolmaster
Word play: False derivations
7. Givingorders andlearningplurals 55
BayeuxTapestry
The world ofRome: Hannibal crosses the Alps
Wordplay: Spelling conventions
8. The perfect active andvocatives 63
BayeuxTapestry, Carmina Burana
The world ofRome: The grandest oldRoman
Word play: tense and aspect
CONTENTS
9. Personal pronouns and the dative case 71
Martial
The world ofRome: The Ides ofMarch
Word play: Word order and case
10. More datives andeo 77
StJohn 12, St Luke 6
The world ofRome: An emperor's legacy
Word play: Augustus
11. The imperfect active 83
StJohn 1, adestefideles, St Luke 2
The world ofRome: Worshippingstrange gods
Word play: Gerundives
12. Perfects and participles 89
StJohn 19
The world ofRome: Dealingwith Christians
Word play: '-ant' or'-ent'?
13. volo, nolo, malo: the ace. andinf. 95
The world ofRome: Caesarin Britain
Word play: Se-xy stuff
14. The perfect passive 101
Catullus 85, 70
The world ofRome: Roman democracy
Word play: Latin roots, modem meaning
15. The ablative and adjectives 109
The world ofRome: Women's liberation
Word play: Family mottoes and the ablative
16. The genitive 115
Catullus 86
The world ofRome: Citizenship
Wordplay:pes, foot
17. The pluperfect active and more passives 121
The world ofRome: Slavery
Word play: Indo-European
18. The subjunctive 127
The world ofRome: Slave makes good
Word play: ancient concepts, modemlanguage
19. The Bayeux Tapestry aind CarminaBurana 133
Word play: Doublets
20. Catullus 87 and StJohn 19-20 189
Word play: Zeus
6