Introduction to Latin Prose Composition

by Milena Minkova

The book is an entirely new introduction to Latin prose composition. It is of interest and use to anyone already acquainted with the fundamentals of Latin. The work is concisely organized, enabling easy and efficient reference. The ten chapters deal with the following how to convey every possible message in a simple sentence; how to connect independent sentences in order to create a text; how to communicate complex messages using subordination; how to express relations within a clause; what word-order to use; what vocabulary to choose. It provides everything one needs to know in order to write in Latin. The last two chapters propose practical exercises of reworking ancient texts and creating one's own. The book fosters a close familiarity with the Latin language, which in turn makes access to any Latin text an easier and more pleasant task.

150 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only a very helpful reference for those wanting to write good Latin, Minkova's treatise is practically a self-contained education in the trivium, treating, as it does, of the most important rudiments of both grammar and rhetoric. Also one of the clearest and most succinct expositions of Latin syntax I have seen.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is misleading. One will find no exercises here designed to lead a student toward proficiency in actual prose composition. This is, rather, a concise guide to Latin grammar and sentence structure, and as such it is very good. The explanations are clear and the examples are well chosen.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Milena Minkova's INTRODUCTION TO LATIN PROSE COMPOSITION is a brief handbook to the general principles of writing in that language. Besides covering the basics of sentence construction, Minkova even give examples of the vaster rhetorical tricks employed by various classical writers. Examples abound for each point, though sadly they are not cited.

While none of the information inside is exactly wrong, the book will probably prove unusable to most interested readers. There are no exercises, so students can't gradually build up their skills chapter by chapter. The production of the book is amateur, with poor typesetting and limited editing. If you actually want to learn to actively write in Latin, the standard textbook remains BRADLEY'S ARNOLD LATIN PROSE COMPOSITION, which in spite of its age is extremely rigorous, getting you on the path to comfortable expression in Latin in no time.