Latin for Beginners

Project Gutenberg's Latin for Beginners, by Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge

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Title: Latin for Beginners

Author: Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge

Release Date: April 25, 2006 [EBook #18251]

Language: English

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LATIN FOR BEGINNERS ***

Produced by Louise Hope, Dave Maddock and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was made using scans of public domain material by TextKit.com)

[Transcriber’s Notes:

This textbook uses many letters with macrons (straight line above vowel): ā ē ī ō ū ȳ Ā Ē Ī Ō Ū If these characters do not display properly—in particular, if the macrons do not appear directly above the letters—you may have an incompatible text reader or unavailable fonts. See if you can change the character set or file encoding to Unicode (UTF-8), or try a different font. As a last resort, you may need to use one of the simplified versions of this file: Latin-1 (Windows), Mac, or ASCII-7 (typewriter characters only).

Other combined forms occur much less often:

  ă ĕ ĭ ŏ ŭ (single letter with breve)

  o͝o (oo with breve)

  ē̆ ī̆(letter with combined breve and macron)

  ā́ ī́ ṓ ắ ĕ́ ĭ́ ŏ́ ŭ́ (letters with combined breve/macron and accent,

    used only in Pronunciation section)

Note that most accents will correctly appear after a letter:

  īn´sula, ha´bitat, illī´us

To make this unpaginated e-text easier to use, each chapter’s Special Vocabulary has been included with its chapter in addition to its original location near the end of the book. The same was done with the irregular verbs. The vocabulary lists are at the beginning of each chapter, as far as possible from the Exercises.

Boldface is shown by «guillemets», italics by lines.

The variation between æ (English text) and ae (Latin text) is as in the original. Bracketed passages in the original are shown in [[double brackets]].]

       * * * * *

           * * * *

       * * * * *

LATIN FOR BEGINNERS

BY

BENJAMIN L. D’OOGE, Ph.D.

Professor in the Michigan State Normal College

               Ginn and Company

      Boston · New York · Chicago · London

  Copyright, 1909, 1911 by Benjamin L. D’Ooge

          Entered at Stationers’ Hall

              All Rights Reserved

                     013.4

               The Athenæum Press

Ginn and Company · Proprietors · Boston · U.S.A.

* * * * *

PREFACE

To make the course preparatory to Cæsar at the same time systematic, thorough, clear, and interesting is the purpose of this series of lessons.

The first pages are devoted to a brief discussion of the Latin language, its history, and its educational value. The body of the book, consisting of seventy-nine lessons, is divided into three parts.

Part I is devoted to pronunciation, quantity, accent, and kindred introductory essentials.

Part II carries the work through the first sixty lessons, and is devoted to the study of forms and vocabulary, together with some elementary constructions, a knowledge of which is necessary for the translation of the exercises and reading matter. The first few lessons have been made unusually simple, to meet the wants of pupils not well grounded in English grammar.

Part III contains nineteen lessons, and is concerned primarily with the study of syntax and of subjunctive and irregular verb forms. The last three of these lessons constitute a review of all the constructions presented in the book. There is abundant easy reading matter; and, in order to secure proper concentration of effort upon syntax and translation, no new vocabularies are introduced, but the vocabularies in Part II are reviewed.

It is hoped that the following features will commend themselves to teachers:

The forms are presented in their natural sequence, and are given, for the most part, in the body of the book as well as in a grammatical appendix. The work on the verb is intensive in character, work in other directions being reduced to a minimum while this is going on. The forms of the subjunctive are studied in correlation with the subjunctive constructions.

The vocabulary has been selected with the greatest care, using Lodge’s Dictionary of Secondary Latin and Browne’s Latin Word List as a basis. There are about six hundred words, exclusive of proper names, in the special vocabularies, and these are among the simplest and commonest words in the language. More than ninety-five per cent of those chosen are Cæsarian, and of these more than ninety per cent are used in Cæsar five or more times. The few words not Cæsarian are of such frequent occurrence in Cicero, Vergil, and other authors as to justify their appearance here. But teachers desiring to confine word study to Cæsar can easily do so, as the Cæsarian words are printed in the vocabularies in distinctive type. Concrete nouns have been preferred to abstract, root words to compounds and derivatives, even when the latter were of more frequent occurrence in Cæsar. To assist the memory, related English words are added in each special vocabulary. To insure more careful preparation, the special vocabularies have been removed from their respective lessons and placed by themselves. The general vocabulary contains about twelve hundred words, and of these above eighty-five per cent are found in Cæsar.

The syntax has been limited to those essentials which recent investigations, such as those of Dr. Lee Byrne and his collaborators, have shown to belong properly to the work of the first year. The constructions are presented, as far as possible, from the standpoint of English, the English usage being given first and the Latin compared or contrasted with it. Special attention has been given to the constructions of participles, the gerund and gerundive, and the infinitive in indirect statements. Constructions having a logical connection are not separated but are treated together.

Exercises for translation occur throughout, those for translation into Latin being, as a rule, only half as long as those for translation into English. In Part III a few of the commoner idioms in Cæsar are introduced and the sentences are drawn mainly from that author. From first to last a consistent effort is made to instill a proper regard for Latin word order, the first principles of which are laid down early in the course.

Selections for reading are unusually abundant and are introduced from the earliest possible moment. These increase in number and length as the book progresses, and, for the most part, are made an integral part of the lessons instead of being massed at the end of the book. This arrangement insures a more constant and thorough drill in forms and vocabulary, promotes reading power, and affords a breathing spell between succeeding subjects. The material is drawn from historical and mythological sources, and the vocabulary employed includes but few words not already learned. The book closes with a continued story which recounts the chief incidents in the life of a Roman boy. The last chapters record his experiences in Cæsar’s army, and contain much information that will facilitate the interpretation of the Commentaries. The early emphasis placed on word order and sentence structure, the simplicity of the syntax, and the familiarity of the vocabulary, make the reading selections especially useful for work in sight translation.

Reviews are called for at frequent intervals, and to facilitate this branch of the work an Appendix of Reviews has been prepared, covering both the vocabulary and the grammar.

The illustrations are numerous, and will, it is hoped, do much to stimulate interest in the ancient world and to create true and lasting impressions of Roman life and times.

A consistent effort has been made to use simple language and clear explanation throughout.

As an aid to teachers using this book a Teacher’s Manual has been prepared, which contains, in addition to general suggestions, notes on each lesson.

The author wishes to express his gratitude to the numerous teachers who tested the advance pages in their classes, and, as a result of their experience, have given much valuable aid by criticism and suggestion. Particular acknowledgments are due to Miss A. Susan Jones of the Central High School, Grand Rapids, Michigan; to Miss Clara Allison of the High School at Hastings, Michigan; and to Miss Helen B. Muir and Mr. Orland O. Norris, teachers of Latin in this institution.

BENJAMIN L. D’OOGE

MICHIGAN STATE NORMAL COLLEGE

CONTENTS

Lesson Page

TO THE STUDENT—By way of Introduction 1-4

PART I. THE PRONUNCIATION OF LATIN

ALPHABET, SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS, SYLLABLES, QUANTITY, ACCENT, HOW TO READ LATIN 5-11

PART II. WORDS AND FORMS

      I-VI. FIRST PRINCIPLES—Subject and Predicate,

            Inflection, Number, Nominative Subject, Possessive

            Genitive, Agreement of Verb, Direct Object,

            Indirect Object, etc.—DIALOGUE 12-24

  VII-VIII. FIRST OR Ā-DECLENSION—Gender, Agreement of

            Adjectives, Word Order 25-30

      IX-X. SECOND OR O-DECLENSION—GENERAL RULES FOR

            DECLENSION—Predicate Noun, Apposition—DIALOGUE 31-35

XI. ADJECTIVES OF THE FIRST AND SECOND DECLENSIONS 36-37

XII. NOUNS IN «-ius» AND «-ium»—GERMĀNIA 38-39

XIII. SECOND DECLENSION (Continued)—Nouns in «-er» and «-ir»—ITALIA—DIALOGUE 39-41

XIV. POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE PRONOUNS 42-43

        XV. ABLATIVE DENOTING WITH—Cause, Means, Accompaniment,

            Manner—THE ROMANS PREPARE FOR WAR 44-46

XVI. THE NINE IRREGULAR ADJECTIVES 46-47

XVII. THE DEMONSTRATIVE «is, ea, id»—DIALOGUE 48-50

     XVIII. CONJUGATION—Present, Imperfect, and Future of «sum»—

            DIALOGUE 51-53

XIX. PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE OF «amō» AND «moneō» 54-56

        XX. IMPERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE OF «amō» AND «moneō»—

Meaning of the Imperfect—NIOBE AND HER CHILDREN 56-57

       XXI. FUTURE ACTIVE INDICATIVE OF «amō» AND «moneō»—

            NIOBE AND HER CHILDREN (Concluded) 58-59

      XXII. REVIEW OF VERBS—The Dative with Adjectives—

            CORNELIA AND HER JEWELS 59-61

     XXIII. PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE OF «regō» AND «audiō»—

           CORNELIA AND HER JEWELS (Concluded) 61-63

      XXIV. IMPERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE OF «regō» AND «audiō»—

The Dative with Special Intransitive Verbs 63-65

XXV. FUTURE ACTIVE INDICATIVE OF «regō» AND «audiō» 65-66

      XXVI. VERBS IN «-iō»—Present, Imperfect, and Future Active

            Indicative of «capiō»—The Imperative 66-68

     XXVII. PASSIVE VOICE—Present, Imperfect, and Future

            Indicative of «amō» and «moneō»—PERSEUS AND

            ANDROMEDA 68-71

    XXVIII. PRESENT, IMPERFECT, AND FUTURE INDICATIVE PASSIVE

            OF «regō» AND «audiō»—PERSEUS AND ANDROMEDA

            (Continued) 72-73

      XXIX. PRESENT, IMPERFECT, AND FUTURE INDICATIVE PASSIVE

            OF «-iō» VERBS—PRESENT PASSIVE INFINITIVE AND

            IMPERATIVE 73-75

       XXX. SYNOPSES IN THE FOUR CONJUGATIONS—THE ABLATIVE

            DENOTING FROM—Place from Which, Separation,

            Personal Agent 75-78

      XXXI. PERFECT, PLUPERFECT, AND FUTURE PERFECT OF «sum»—

           DIALOGUE 79-81

     XXXII. PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE OF THE FOUR REGULAR

            CONJUGATIONS—Meanings of the Perfect—PERSEUS

            AND ANDROMEDA (Continued) 81-83

XXXIII. PLUPERFECT AND FUTURE PERFECT ACTIVE INDICATIVE— PERFECT ACTIVE INFINITIVE 84-85

     XXXIV. REVIEW OF THE ACTIVE VOICE—PERSEUS AND ANDROMEDA

            (Concluded) 86-87

XXXV. PASSIVE PERFECTS OF THE INDICATIVE—PERFECT PASSIVE AND FUTURE ACTIVE INFINITIVE 88-90

     XXXVI. REVIEW OF PRINCIPAL PARTS—Prepositions, Yes-or-No

            Questions 90-93

    XXXVII. CONJUGATION OF «possum»—The Infinitive used as in

            English—Accusative Subject of an Infinitive—

            THE FAITHLESS TARPEIA 93-96

   XXXVIII. THE RELATIVE PRONOUN AND THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN—

Agreement of the Relative—THE FAITHLESS TARPEIA

            (Concluded) 97-101

XXXIX-XLI. THE THIRD DECLENSION—Consonant Stems 101-106

XLII. REVIEW LESSON—TERROR CIMBRICUS 107

XLIII. THIRD DECLENSION—I-Stems 108-110

XLIV. IRREGULAR NOUNS OF THE THIRD DECLENSION— GENDER IN THE THIRD DECLENSION—THE FIRST BRIDGE OVER THE RHINE 111-112

XLV. ADJECTIVES OF THE THIRD DECLENSION—THE ROMANS INVADE THE ENEMY’S COUNTRY 113-115

XLVI. THE FOURTH OR U-DECLENSION 116-117

     XLVII. EXPRESSIONS OF PLACE—Place to Which, Place from

            Which, Place at or in Which, the Locative—

            Declension of «domus»—DÆDALUS AND ICARUS 117-121

    XLVIII. THE FIFTH OR Ē-DECLENSION—Ablative of Time

           —DÆDALUS AND ICARUS (Continued) 121-123

      XLIX. PRONOUNS—Personal and Reflexive Pronouns—DÆDALUS

            AND ICARUS (Concluded) 123-126

         L. THE INTENSIVE PRONOUN «ipse» AND THE DEMONSTRATIVE

            «īdem»—HOW HORATIUS HELD THE BRIDGE 126-127

        LI. THE DEMONSTRATIVES «hic», «iste», «ille»—A GERMAN

            CHIEFTAIN ADDRESSES HIS FOLLOWERS—HOW HORATIUS

            HELD THE BRIDGE (Continued) 128-130

       LII. THE INDEFINITE PRONOUNS—HOW HORATIUS HELD THE

            BRIDGE (Concluded) 130-132

LIII. REGULAR COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES 133-135

       LIV. IRREGULAR COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES—Ablative with

            Comparatives 135-136

        LV. IRREGULAR COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES (Continued)—

            Declension of «plūs» 137-138

       LVI. IRREGULAR COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES (Concluded)—

Ablative of the Measure of Difference 138-139

LVII. FORMATION AND COMPARISON OF ADVERBS 140-142

LVIII. NUMERALS—Partitive Genitive 142-144

       LIX. NUMERALS (Continued)—Accusative of Extent—

            CÆSAR IN GAUL 144-146

LX. DEPONENT VERBS—Prepositions with the Accusative 146-147

PART III. CONSTRUCTIONS

LXI. THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD—Inflection of the Present— Indicative and Subjunctive Compared 148-152

LXII. THE SUBJUNCTIVE OF PURPOSE 152-153

     LXIII. INFLECTION OF THE IMPERFECT SUBJUNCTIVE—Sequence

            of Tenses 153-155

      LXIV. INFLECTION OF THE PERFECT AND PLUPERFECT

            SUBJUNCTIVE—Substantive Clauses of Purpose 156-159

LXV. SUBJUNCTIVE OF «possum»—Verbs of Fearing 160-161

LXVI. THE PARTICIPLES—Tenses and Declension 161-164

LXVII. THE IRREGULAR VERBS «volō», «nōlō», «mālō»— Ablative Absolute 164-166

LXVIII. THE IRREGULAR VERB «fīō»—Subjunctive of Result 167-168

      LXIX. SUBJUNCTIVE OF CHARACTERISTIC—Predicate

            Accusative 169-171

       LXX. CONSTRUCTIONS WITH «cum»—Ablative of

            Specification 171-173

      LXXI. VOCABULARY REVIEW—Gerund and Gerundive—

Predicate Genitive 173-177

LXXII. THE IRREGULAR VERB «eō»—Indirect Statements 177-180

    LXXIII. VOCABULARY REVIEW—THE IRREGULAR VERB «ferō»—

Dative with Compounds 181-183

     LXXIV. VOCABULARY REVIEW—Subjunctive in Indirect

            Questions 183-185

      LXXV. VOCABULARY REVIEW—Dative of Purpose or End for

            Which 185-186

     LXXVI. VOCABULARY REVIEW—Genitive and Ablative of

            Quality or Description 186-188

    LXXVII. REVIEW OF AGREEMENT—Review of the Genitive,

            Dative, and Accusative 189-190

LXXVIII. REVIEW OF THE ABLATIVE 191-192

LXXIX. REVIEW OF THE SYNTAX OF VERBS 192-193

READING MATTER

INTRODUCTORY SUGGESTIONS 194-195

THE LABORS OF HERCULES 196-203

P. CORNELIUS LENTULUS: THE STORY OF A ROMAN BOY 204-215

APPENDIXES AND VOCABULARIES

APPENDIX I. TABLES OF DECLENSIONS, CONJUGATIONS, NUMERALS, ETC. 226-260

APPENDIX II. RULES OF SYNTAX 261-264

APPENDIX III. REVIEWS 265-282

SPECIAL VOCABULARIES 283-298

LATIN-ENGLISH VOCABULARY 299-331

ENGLISH-LATIN VOCABULARY 332-343

INDEX 344-348

LATIN FOR BEGINNERS

TO THE STUDENT—BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION

«What is Latin?» If you will look at the map of Italy on the opposite page, you will find near the middle of the peninsula and facing the west coast a district called Latium,[1] and Rome its capital. The Latin language, meaning the language of Latium, was spoken by the ancient Romans and other inhabitants of Latium, and Latin was the name applied to it after the armies of Rome had carried the knowledge of her language far beyond its original boundaries. As the English of to-day is not quite the same as that spoken two or three hundred years ago, so Latin was not always the same at all times, but changed more or less in the course of centuries. The sort of Latin you are going to learn was in use about two thousand years ago. And that period has been selected because the language was then at its best and the greatest works of Roman literature were being produced. This period, because of its supreme excellence, is called the Golden Age of Roman letters.

[Footnote 1: Pronounce Lā´shĭ-ŭm.]

«The Spread of Latin.» For some centuries after Rome was founded, the Romans were a feeble and insignificant people, their territory was limited to Latium, and their existence constantly threatened by warlike neighbors. But after the third century before Christ, Rome’s power grew rapidly. She conquered all Italy, then reached out for the lands across the sea and beyond the Alps, and finally ruled over the whole ancient world. The empire thus established lasted for more than four hundred years. The importance of Latin increased with the growth of Roman power, and what had been a dialect spoken by a single tribe became the universal language. Gradually the language changed somewhat, developing differently in different countries. In Italy it has become Italian, in Spain Spanish, and in France French. All these nations, therefore, are speaking a modernized form of Latin.

«The Romans and the Greeks.» In their career of conquest the Romans came into conflict with the Greeks. The Greeks were inferior to the Romans in military power, but far superior to them in culture. They excelled in art, literature, music, science, and philosophy. Of all these pursuits the Romans were ignorant until contact with Greece revealed to them the value of education and filled them with the thirst for knowledge. And so it came about that while Rome conquered Greece by force of arms, Greece conquered Rome by force of her intellectual superiority and became her schoolmaster. It was soon the established custom for young Romans to go to Athens and to other centers of Greek learning to finish their training, and the knowledge of the Greek language among the educated classes became universal. At the same time many cultured Greeks—poets, artists, orators, and philosophers—flocked to Rome, opened schools, and taught their arts. Indeed, the preëminence of Greek culture became so great that Rome almost lost her ambition to be original, and her writers vied with each other in their efforts to reproduce in Latin what was choicest in Greek literature. As a consequence of all this, the civilization and national life of Rome became largely Grecian, and to Greece she owed her literature and her art.

«Rome and the Modern World.» After conquering the world, Rome impressed her language, laws, customs of living, and modes of thinking upon the subject nations, and they became Roman; and the world has remained largely Roman ever since. Latin continued to live, and the knowledge of Latin was the only light of learning that burned steadily through the dark ages that followed the downfall of the Roman Empire. Latin was the common language of scholars and remained so even down to the days of Shakespeare. Even yet it is more nearly than any other tongue the universal language of the learned. The life of to-day is much nearer the life of ancient Rome than the lapse of centuries would lead one to suppose. You and I are Romans still in many ways, and if Cæsar and Cicero should appear among us, we should not find them, except for dress and language, much unlike men of to-day.

«Latin and English.» Do you know that more than half of the words in the English dictionary are Latin, and that you are speaking more or less Latin every day? How has this come about? In the year 1066 William the Conqueror invaded England with an army of Normans. The Normans spoke French—which, you remember, is descended from Latin—and spread their language to a considerable extent over England, and so Norman-French played an important part in the formation of English and forms a large proportion of our vocabulary. Furthermore, great numbers of almost pure Latin words have been brought into English through the writings of scholars, and every new scientific discovery is marked by the addition of new terms of Latin derivation. Hence, while the simpler and commoner words of our mother tongue are Anglo-Saxon, and Anglo-Saxon forms the staple of our colloquial language, yet in the realms of literature, and especially in poetry, words of Latin derivation are very abundant. Also in the learned professions, as in law, medicine, and engineering, a knowledge of Latin is necessary for the successful interpretation of technical and scientific terms.

«Why study Latin?» The foregoing paragraphs make it clear why Latin forms so important a part of modern education. We have seen that our civilization rests upon that of Greece and Rome, and that we must look to the past if we would understand the present. It is obvious, too, that the knowledge of Latin not only leads to a more exact and effective use of our own language, but that it is of vital importance and of great practical value to any one preparing for a literary or professional career. To this it may be added that the study of Latin throws a flood of light upon the structure of language in general and lays an excellent foundation for all grammatical study. Finally, it has been abundantly proved that there is no more effective means of strengthening the mind than by the earnest pursuit of this branch of learning.

«Review Questions.» Whence does Latin get its name? Where is Latium? Where is Rome? Was Latin always the same? What sort of Latin are we to study? Describe the growth of Rome’s power and the spread of Latin. What can you say of the origin of Italian, French, and Spanish? How did the ancient Greeks and Romans compare? How did Greece influence Rome? How did Rome influence the world? In what sense are we Romans still? What did Latin have to do with the formation of English? What proportion of English words are of Latin origin, and what kind of words are they? Why should we study Latin?

PART I

THE PRONUNCIATION OF LATIN

THE ALPHABET

«1.» The Latin alphabet contains the same letters as the English except that it has no w and no j.

«2.» The vowels, as in English, are a, e, i, o, u, y. The other letters are consonants.

«3.» I is used both as a vowel and as a consonant. Before a vowel in the same syllable it has the value of a consonant and is called I consonant.

Thus in Iū-li-us the first i is a consonant, the second a vowel.

SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS[1]

[Footnote 1: N.B. The sounds of the letters are best learned by hearing them correctly pronounced. The matter in this section is, therefore, intended for reference rather than for assignment as a lesson. As a first step it is suggested that the teacher pronounce the examples in class, the pupils following.]

«4.» Latin was not pronounced like English. The Romans at the beginning of the Christian era pronounced their language substantially as described below.

«5.» The vowels have the following sounds:

VOWELS[2] LATIN EXAMPLES

  ā as in father hāc, stās

  ă like the first a in aha´,

    never as in hat ă´-măt, că-nās

  ē as in they tē´-lă, mē´-tă

  ĕ as in met tĕ´-nĕt, mĕr´-cēs

  ī as in machine sĕr´-tī, prā´-tī

  ĭ as in bit sĭ´-tĭs, bĭ´-bī

  ō as in holy Rō´-mă, ō´-rĭs

  ŏ as in wholly, never as in

hot mŏ´-dŏ, bŏ´-nōs

  ū as in rude, or as oo in

boot ū´-mŏr, tū´-bĕr

  ŭ as in full, or as oo in

foot ŭt, tū´-tŭs

NOTE. It is to be observed that there is a decided difference in sound, except in the case of a, between the long and the short vowels. It is not merely a matter of quantity but also of quality.

[Footnote 2: Long vowels are marked ¯, short ones ˘.]

«6.» In «diphthongs» (two-vowel sounds) both vowels are heard in a single syllable.

DIPHTHONGS LATIN EXAMPLES

  «ae» as ai in aisle tae´-dae

  «au» as ou in out gau´-dĕt

  «ei» as ei in eight dein´-dĕ

  «eu» as ĕ´o͝o (a short e

    followed by a short u in

    one syllable) seu

  «oe» like oi in toil foe´-dŭs

  «ui» like o͝o´ĭ (a short u

    followed by a short i in one

    syllable. Cf. English we) cui, huic

NOTE. Give all the vowels and diphthongs their proper sounds and do not slur over them in unaccented syllables, as is done in English.

«7.» «Consonants» are pronounced as in English, except that

CONSONANTS LATIN EXAMPLES

«c» is always like c in cat, never as in cent că´-dō, cĭ´-bŭs, cē´-nă «g» is always like g in get, never as in gem gĕ´-mō, gĭg´-nō «i consonant» is always like y in yes iăm, iŏ´-cŭs «n» before c, qu, or g is like ng in sing (compare the sound of n in anchor) ăn´-cŏ-ră (ang´-ko-ra) «qu», «gu», and sometimes «su» before a vowel have the sound of qw, gw, and sw. Here u has the value of consonant v and is not counted a vowel ĭn´-quĭt, quī, lĭn´-guă, săn´-guĭs, suā´-dĕ-ō «s» is like s in sea, never as in ease rŏ´-să, ĭs «t» is always like t in native, never as in nation ră´-tĭ-ō, nā´-tĭ-ō «v» is like w in wine, never as in vine «vī´-nŭm», «vĭr» «x» has the value of two consonants (cs or gs) and is like x in extract, not as in exact «ĕx´-trā», «ĕx-āc´-tŭs» «bs» is like ps and «bt» like pt «ŭrbs», «ŏb-tĭ´-nĕ-ō» «ch», «ph», and «th» are like c, p, t «pŭl´-chĕr», «Phoe´-bē», «thĕ-ā´-trŭm»

a. In combinations of consonants give each its distinct sound. Doubled consonants should be pronounced with a slight pause between the two sounds. Thus pronounce tt as in rat-trap, not as in rattle; pp as in hop-pole, not as in upper. Examples, «mĭt´-tō», «Ăp´pĭ-ŭs», «bĕl´-lŭm.»

SYLLABLES

«8.» A Latin word has as many syllables as it has vowels and diphthongs. Thus «aes-tā´-tĕ» has three syllables, «au-dĭ-ĕn´-dŭs» has four.

a. Two vowels with a consonant between them never make one syllable, as is so often the case in English. Compare English inside with Latin īn-sī´-dĕ.

«9.» Words are divided into syllables as follows:

1. A single consonant between two vowels goes with the second. Thus «ă-mā´-bĭ-lĭs», «mĕ-mŏ´-rĭ-ă», «ĭn-tĕ´-rĕ-ā», «ă´-bĕst», «pĕ-rē´-gĭt».[3]

[Footnote 3: In writing and printing it is customary to divide the parts of a compound, as «inter-eā», «ab-est», «sub-āctus», «per-ēgit», contrary to the correct phonetic rule.]

2. Combinations of two or more consonants:

a. A consonant followed by l or r goes with the l or r. Thus «pū´-blĭ-cŭs», «ă´-grī».

EXCEPTION. Prepositional compounds of this nature, as also ll and rr, follow rule b. Thus «ăb´-lŭ-ō», «ăb-rŭm´-pō», «ĭl´-lĕ», «fĕr´-rŭm».

b. In all other combinations of consonants the first consonant goes with the preceding vowel.[4] Thus «măg´-nŭs», «ĕ-gĕs´-tās», «vĭc-tō´-rĭ-ă», «hŏs´-pĕs», «ăn´-nŭs», «sŭ-bāc´-tŭs».

[Footnote 4: The combination nct is divided nc-t, as fūnc-tŭs, sānc-tŭs.]

3. The last syllable of a word is called the ul´-ti-ma; the one next to the last, the pe-nult´; the one before the penult, the an´-te-pe-nult´.

«10.» EXERCISE

Divide the words in the following passage into syllables and pronounce them, placing the accent as indicated:

Vā́dĕ ăd fŏrmī́căm, Ō pĭ́gĕr, ĕt cōnsī́dĕrā vĭ́ās ĕ́iŭs ĕt dĭ́scĕ săpĭĕ́ntĭăm: quae cŭm nōn hắbĕăt dŭ́cĕm nĕc praecĕptṓrĕm nĕc prī́ncĭpĕm, pắrăt ĭn aestā́tĕ cĭ́bŭm sĭ́bĭ ĕt cŏ́ngrĕgăt ĭn mĕ́ssĕ quŏd cŏ́mĕdăt.

[[Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which, having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer and gathereth her food in the harvest.]]

QUANTITY

«11.» The quantity of a vowel or a syllable is the time it takes to pronounce it. Correct pronunciation and accent depend upon the proper observance of quantity.

«12.» «Quantity of Vowels.» Vowels are either long (¯) or short (˘). In this book the long vowels are marked. Unmarked vowels are to be considered short.

1. A vowel is short before another vowel or h; as «pŏ-ē´-ta», «tră´-hō».

2. A vowel is short before nt and nd, before final m or t, and, except in words of one syllable, before final l or r. Thus «a´-mănt», «a-măn´-dus», «a-mā´-băm», «a-mā´-băt», «a´-ni-măl», «a´-mŏr».

3. A vowel is long before nf, ns, nx, and nct. Thus «īn´-fe-rō», «re´-gēns», «sān´-xī», «sānc´-tus».

4. Diphthongs are always long, and are not marked.

«13.» «Quantity of Syllables.» Syllables are either long or short, and their quantity must be carefully distinguished from that of vowels.

1. «A syllable is short»,

a. If it ends in a short vowel; as «ă´-mō», «pĭ´-grĭ».

NOTE. In final syllables the short vowel may be followed by a final consonant. Thus the word «mĕ-mŏ´-rĭ-ăm» contains four short syllables. In the first three a short vowel ends the syllable, in the last the short vowel is followed by a final consonant.

2. «A syllable is long»,

a. If it contains a long vowel or a diphthong, as «cū´-rō», «poe´-nae», «aes-tā´-te».

b. If it ends in a consonant which is followed by another consonant, as «cor´-pus», «mag´-nus».

NOTE. The vowel in a long syllable may be either long or short, and should be pronounced accordingly. Thus in «ter´-ra», «in´-ter», the first syllable is long, but the vowel in each case is short and should be given the short sound. In words like «saxum» the first syllable is long because x has the value of two consonants (cs or gs).

3. In determining quantity h is not counted a consonant.

NOTE. Give about twice as much time to the long syllables as to the short ones. It takes about as long to pronounce a short vowel plus a consonant as it does to pronounce a long vowel or a diphthong, and so these quantities are considered equally long. For example, it takes about as long to say «cŭr´-rō» as it does «cū´-rō», and so each of these first syllables is long. Compare «mŏl´-lis» and «mō´-lis», «ā-mĭs´-sī» and «ā-mi´-sī».

ACCENT

«14.» Words of two syllables are accented on the first, as «mēn´-sa», «Cae´-sar».

«15.» Words of more than two syllables are accented on the penult if the penult is long. If the penult is short, accent the antepenult. Thus «mo-nē´-mus», «re´-gi-tur», «a-gri´-co-la», «a-man´-dus».

NOTE. Observe that the position of the accent is determined by the length of the syllable and not by the length of the vowel in the syllable. (Cf. §13.2, Note.)

«16.» Certain little words called enclit´ics[5] which have no separate existence, are added to and pronounced with a preceding word. The most common are «-que», and; «-ve», or; and «-ne», the question sign. The syllable before an enclitic takes the accent, regardless of its quantity. Thus «populus´que», «dea´que», «rēgna´ve», «audit´ne».

[Footnote 5: Enclitic means leaning back, and that is, as you see, just what these little words do. They cannot stand alone and so they lean back for support upon the preceding word.]

HOW TO READ LATIN

«17.» To read Latin well is not so difficult, if you begin right. Correct habits of reading should be formed now. Notice the quantities carefully, especially the quantity of the penult, to insure your getting the accent on the right syllable. (Cf. §15.) Give every vowel its proper sound and every syllable its proper length. Then bear in mind that we should read Latin as we read English, in phrases rather than in separate words. Group together words that are closely connected in thought. No good reader halts at the end of each word.

«18.» Read the stanzas of the following poem by Longfellow, one at a time, first the English and then the Latin version. The syllables inclosed in parentheses are to be slurred or omitted to secure smoothness of meter.

EXCELSIOR [[HIGHER]]! [6]

  The shades of night were falling fast,

  As through an Alpine village passed

  A youth, who bore, ’mid snow and ice,

  A banner with the strange device,

           Excelsior!

      Cadēbant noctis umbrae, dum

      Ibat per vīcum Alpicum

      Gelū nivequ(e) adolēscēns,

      Vēxillum cum signō ferēns,

               Excelsior!

  His brow was sad; his eye beneath,

  Flashed like a falchion from its sheath,

  And like a silver clarion rung

  The accents of that unknown tongue,

           Excelsior!

      Frōns trīstis, micat oculus

      Velut ē vāgīnā gladius;

      Sonantque similēs tubae

      Accentūs lingu(ae) incognitae,

               Excelsior!

  In happy homes he saw the light

  Of household fires gleam warm and bright;

  Above, the spectral glaciers shone,

  And from his lips escaped a groan,

           Excelsior!

      In domibus videt clārās

      Focōrum lūcēs calidās;

      Relucet glaciēs ācris,

      Et rumpit gemitūs labrīs,

               Excelsior!

  Try not the Pass! the old man said;

  "Dark lowers the tempest overhead,

  The roaring torrent is deep and wide!"

  And loud that clarion voice replied,

        Excelsior!

      Dīcit senex, "Nē trānseās!

      Suprā nigrēscit tempestās;

      Lātus et altus est torrēns."

      Clāra vēnit vōx respondēns,

            Excelsior!

  At break of day, as heavenward

  The pious monks of Saint Bernard

  Uttered the oft-repeated prayer,

  A voice cried through the startled air,

        Excelsior!

      Iam lūcēscēbat, et frātrēs

      Sānctī Bernardī vigilēs

      Ōrābant precēs solitās,

      Cum vōx clāmāvit per aurās,

            Excelsior!

  A traveler, by the faithful hound,

  Half-buried in the snow was found,

  Still grasping in his hand of ice

  That banner with the strange device,

        Excelsior!

      Sēmi-sepultus viātor

      Can(e) ā fīdō reperītur,

      Comprēndēns pugnō gelidō

      Illud vēxillum cum signō,

            Excelsior!

  There in the twilight cold and gray,

  Lifeless, but beautiful, he lay,

  And from the sky, serene and far,

  A voice fell, like a falling star,

        Excelsior!

      Iacet corpus exanimum

      Sed lūce frīgidā pulchrum;

      Et caelō procul exiēns

      Cadit vōx, ut Stella cadēns,

          Excelsior!

    [Footnote 6: Translation by C. W. Goodchild in Praeco Latinus,

    October, 1898.]

PART II

WORDS AND FORMS

LESSON I

FIRST PRINCIPLES

«19.» «Subject and Predicate.» 1. Latin, like English, expresses thoughts by means of sentences. A sentence is a combination of words that expresses a thought, and in its simplest form is the