Introduction to Latin Prose Composition

by Milena Minkova

A new approach to Latin prose composition, this book is concisely organized, giving easy and efficient reference. The ten chapters deal with conveying messages in simple sentences, connecting independent sentences to create a text, expressing relationships within a clause, use of word order, vocabulary, what vocabulary to choose, and subordination. Practical exercises guide students in reworking ancient texts and creating their own.

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

Reviews

[Ian]

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]

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]

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.