Latin Phrase-Book

Meissner, Carl, 1830-Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 407K words
Chapters: 41

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Latin Phrase-Book by Carl MeissnerAuthor: Meissner, Carl, 1830-,Language: Latin, Class: PA: Language and Literatures: Classical Languages and Literature, Release Date: Oct 22, 2015

Editor's review

This Latin Phrase-Book is a practical reference compiled by the German classical philologist Carl Meissner, grouping Latin idiomatic expressions by theme so that readers can look them up by situation. Its value lies not in systematic grammar instruction but in the ready-to-use phrase material it provides, helping learners move from recognizing individual words to writing idiomatic sentences. As a public-domain e-book, it serves as a supplementary resource for Latin composition and translation, and works best alongside a dictionary and the reading of original texts. It need not be read cover to cover; treat it as a desk reference, looking up entries by category when an expression is needed, and pay attention to the contextual limits and case constructions of each phrase. For self-learners, it is also a window onto Latin habits of expression.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners who already know basic Latin grammar and need richer expressive material
University students doing Latin composition or Chinese-Latin translation exercises
Teachers of classical languages selecting example sentences for lesson preparation
Classics enthusiasts interested in Latin idioms who wish to expand their vocabulary

Not a good fit for

Complete beginners who have not yet studied Latin declensions and conjugations
Readers seeking a systematic grammar course; this book does not serve as a textbook
Readers who only want to read original Latin texts; a phrase collection is not a reader

Reading tips

First browse the table of contents to understand how the book is organized, then locate relevant themes as needed.
Check the case and collocation of phrases against a Latin dictionary to avoid mechanical copying.
After studying each category of phrases, try writing three to five imitation sentences and have them corrected.
When encountering similar expressions in original texts, consult this book for comparison and accumulation.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for someone learning Latin from scratch?

Not really. This book is a phrase collection that assumes readers already know declensions, conjugations, and basic syntax. Beginners should first build a foundation with a systematic textbook; otherwise it is hard to judge the grammatical structure and conditions of use of the phrases, and misuse is likely.

Does this book need to be read from cover to cover?

No. It is better used as a reference to consult by theme. You can read through the table of contents to build an awareness of the index, then look things up as needed when writing or translating; steady accumulation over time is more effective than a single cover-to-cover reading.

Can the phrases in the book be applied directly to writing?

Most can, but you need to watch context, case, and collocation constraints. It is advisable to check a dictionary first to confirm usage, then adjust to the specific sentence, so as to avoid forcing fixed expressions into passages where they do not fit.

Comments

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About the author

Meissner, Carl, 1830- Author · German · 1830

Carl Meissner (1830–) was a German classical philologist born in 1830. Public information about his early education, academic posts, and specific career is limited; what is known is his identity as a scholar of classical philology and a compiler of Latin reference works. One work by him is held in the collection, the Latin Phrase-Book. This is a reference compilation of Latin idioms and vocabulary intended for learners of Latin and for readers who need to write in Latin, gathering common expressions and collocations by theme or usage for easy consultation and imitation. Such compilation requires familiarity with the corpus of classical Latin literature and careful classification and explanation, and its value lies chiefly in practicality and ease of reference; it remains a useful resource for the study of Latin idioms.