Latin 101: Learning a Classical Language

448 Pages·2013·5.9 MB·English

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Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller serves as the Thomas B. e
Lamont Professor of Ancient and Modern Literature and
Chair of the Department of Classics at Union College in
Schenectady, New York. He earned his Ph.D. in Latin from The
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has received
the American Philological Association’s Award for Excellence
in the Teaching of Classics at the College Level. In addition to
numerous articles, Professor Mueller is the author of Roman
Religion in Valerius Maximus and the editor of an abridged
edition of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
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Course No. 2201 © 2013 The Teaching Company. PB2201A k
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The Teaching Company.
Hans-Friedrich Mueller, Ph.D.
Thomas B. Lamont Professor of Ancient
and Modern Literature and Chair of the
Department of Classics
Union College
Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller serves
as the Thomas B. Lamont Professor of
Ancient and Modern Literature and Chair
of the Department of Classics at Union College in
Schenectady, New York. Professor Mueller received
his B.A. in Latin from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1985 and,
for the next six years, taught Latin and German at Countryside High School
in Clearwater, Florida. He earned his M.A. from the University of Florida
in 1989 and returned to graduate school in 1991, receiving his Ph.D. in
1994 from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Subsequently,
Professor Mueller spent a year at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences in
Munich, Germany, where he worked on entries for an encyclopedic Latin
dictionary, the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae.
Under Professor Mueller’s direction, the Union College program in Classics
has been noted especially for its interdisciplinary curriculum. Professor
Mueller received the American Philological Association’s Award for
Excellence in the Teaching of Classics at the College Level in 2000, as well
as two awards for excellence in teaching at Florida State University. At the
University of Florida, he developed a graduate distance-learning program in
Classics for high school teachers. In addition to numerous articles, Professor
Mueller is the author of Roman Religion in Valerius Maximus, the editor of
an abridged edition of Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and
the translator of Andreas Mehl’s Roman Historiography: An Introduction
to Its Basic Aspects and Development. He is also the author of Caesar:
Selections from his Commentarii De Bello Gallico and coauthor of Caesar:
A LEGAMUS Transitional Reader.
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In German, the surname Mueller means “miller.” Both the German surname
Mueller and the English surname Miller, however, derive from Molinarius, a
Latin word for “miller” and the professor’s preferred pseudonym. ■
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Professor Biography ............................................................................i
Course Scope .....................................................................................1
LECTURE GUIDES
LECTURE 1
Pronouncing Classical Latin ...............................................................3
LECTURE 2
Introduction to Third-Conjugation Verbs ...........................................10
LECTURE 3
Introduction to the Subjunctive Mood ...............................................19
LECTURE 4
The Irregular Verbs Sum and Possum .............................................29
LECTURE 5
Introduction to Third-Declension Nouns ...........................................39
LECTURE 6
Third-Declension Neuter Nouns .......................................................51
LECTURE 7
First- and Second-Declension Adjectives .........................................62
LECTURE 8
First- and Second-Declension Nouns ...............................................72
LECTURE 9
Introduction to the Passive Voice .....................................................83
LECTURE 10
Third -io and Fourth-Conjugation Verbs ...........................................92
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Table of Contents
LECTURE 11
First- and Second-Conjugation Verbs.............................................100
LECTURE 12
Reading a Famous Latin Love Poem .............................................108
LECTURE 13
The Present Passive of All Conjugations........................................113
LECTURE 14
Third-Declension Adjectives ...........................................................120
LECTURE 15
Third-Declension I-Stem Nouns .....................................................131
LECTURE 16
The Relative Pronoun .....................................................................138
LECTURE 17
The Imperfect and Future Tenses ...................................................144
LECTURE 18
Building Translation Skills ...............................................................155
LECTURE 19
Using the Subjunctive Mood ...........................................................161
LECTURE 20
Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns ........................................166
LECTURE 21
The Perfect Tense Active System ...................................................174
LECTURE 22
Forming and Using Participles........................................................184
LECTURE 23
Using the Infinitive ..........................................................................195
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Table of Contents
LECTURE 24
Reading a Passage from Caesar ...................................................206
LECTURE 25
The Perfect Tense Passive System ................................................211
LECTURE 26
Deponent Verbs ..............................................................................221
LECTURE 27
Conditional Sentences....................................................................232
LECTURE 28
Cum Clauses and Stipulations .......................................................240
LECTURE 29
Reading Excerpts from Roman Law ...............................................250
LECTURE 30
Interrogative Adjectives and Pronouns ...........................................256
LECTURE 31
Fourth- and Fifth-Declension Nouns...............................................266
LECTURE 32
Gerunds and Gerundives ...............................................................275
LECTURE 33
Counting in Latin.............................................................................285
LECTURE 34
More on Irregular Verbs ..................................................................294
LECTURE 35
Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs ..........................................302
LECTURE 36
Next Steps in Reading Latin ...........................................................311
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Table of Contents
SUPPLEMENTaL MaTERIaL
Vocabulary (Verba) .........................................................................317
Answer Key ....................................................................................347
Appendix.........................................................................................382
Resources for Further Study ..........................................................436
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Latin 101: Learning a Classical Language
Scope:
This course provides a thorough introduction to the pronunciation,
morphology, and syntax of classical Latin to enable you to read
Latin prose and poetry with confidence, precision, and pleasure. No
prior experience is required. We begin where the action is, with the Latin
verb, and work our way systematically through the formation of nouns,
adjectives, participles, infinitives, relatives, interrogatives, and more. All
grammatical terms are explained, and all Latin is translated, both literally
and idiomatically. Every lecture includes opportunities for participation
through repetition, translation, and pop quizzes—the answers to which are
always supplied so that you may check your work.
Throughout the lectures, we combine the brass tacks of mastering the
grammatical building blocks of Latin with exercises in reading authentic
Latin texts, and we do not shy away from challenge. Early and frequent
exposure to authentic passages from the works of ancient authors is
essential for gaining an understanding of Latin syntax. Learning the forms
of individual words is not enough. Without a sound grasp of syntax, we
cannot understand how grammatical links allow us, as readers, to re-create
and comprehend authors’ statements and thoughts. Building these skills
requires exposure to a range of syntactical patterns. Practice is essential for
nourishing confidence and fostering a love for the seductive beauties of Latin
prose and poetry on the solid basis of morphology and syntax.
To learn to read Latin with understanding, we must also adjust our cultural
expectations. Ancient Romans were not modern Americans. We thus read
authentic texts that help us appreciate ancient Roman attitudes toward war,
love, marriage, the gods, death, and the afterlife. How did Julius Caesar
justify his invasion of Gaul? Why, according to the late imperial historian
Eutropius, did Caesar’s fellow senators stab him 33 times? How many kisses,
according to Catullus, were enough if young lovers wanted to frustrate
gossipy old men? Why did Roman jurists justify a legal ban on the exchange
of gifts between husbands and wives? What did ancient Roman law have
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to say about divorce or debt? What can Jerome’s Latin version of the Bible
teach us about classical Latin? What can an inscription from a Roman tomb
tell us about ancient Roman views on death and the afterlife? Such texts do
more than allow us to observe how Latin works as a language. They have
much to tell us about ancient expectations, the awareness of which likewise
plays a crucial role in reading classical Latin with understanding.
Our approach is always comparative. Whether we study grammar or
vocabulary, we use Latin to illuminate English. Almost every Latin word
has been productive in shaping the words we use every day. We use
these contributions both to acquire Latin vocabulary and to deepen our
understanding of English. Our exploration of Latin grammar and syntax and
ancient Roman thought sheds comparative and illuminating light, too. The
more we study, read, learn, and understand Latin, the better sense we gain of
who we are today and why. We inhabit a linguistic and cultural world shaped
by the words and thought of ancient Rome. Latin reveals these many secrets
and more, but only to those who make the journey in Latin. ■
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