Cambridge Latin Course, Unit 1

Cambridge Latin Course #1

by Cambridge School Classics Project, Stephanie M. Pope (Editor)

The North American Cambridge Latin Course is a well-established four-part Latin program whose approach combines a stimulating, continuous storyline with grammatical development, work on derivatives, and cultural information. There is also a complete Language Information section, plus numerous color photographs illustrating life in the Roman world. The Course has now been fully revised and updated in the light of feedback from user schools, and includes the very best in new research. The Fourth Edition continues to offer teachers and students alike a stimulating, reading-based approach to the study of Latin.

Genres: Language, Nonfiction, Textbooks, History, Reference, School, Classics

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Lizzy]

CAECILIUS EST IN HORTO

[max]

in hoc libro est familia Pompeiana, cuius servi sunt Grumio, Clemens, et Melissa, quam Caecilius a venalicio emit. Paterfamilias, vir magni dignitatis (et pecuniae), Caecilius est. Mater est Metella, quae saepe in atrio sedet aut Grumionem laudat (quod ille cenam optimam coquit) aut servos vituperat. Filius eorum est Quintus, iuvenis comis, studiosus, liberalis et benignus.

multae fabulae narrantur in hoc libro pertinantes ad vias, forum, thermas, amphiteatrum (ubi gladiatores sunt), theatrum (ubi actores fabulas agunt), ludum (ubi Quintus et alii iuvenes Linguam Latinam et Graecam a Graeco magistro discunt). Sunt multae personae per totum librum: venalicius (Syphax), ancilla (amica Grumionis nomine Poppaea), tonsor (nomine Pantagathus), pictor (Celer), candidati et eorum fautores et divisores, poeta (qui versus scurriles recitat), libertus (Felix), argentarius (Caecilius ipse), caupo (id est tabernarius), avarus (cuius serpens duos fures terret), iudex, mercator Graecus, nuntii, murmillones, bestiarii, funambulus, actores, rhetor, pastores et agricolae, pistores (sed non lanii), senes, iuvenes, pueri et puellae, etiam centurio qui se in versipellem mutat!

In capitulo duodecimo, multi homines tremores sensunt et sonos magnos audiunt. nubes atra (et mirabilis) ad terram descendit, et cinis densissimus de Monte Vesuvio incidere incipit. Multi Pompeiani in hac clade interficiuntur. Caecilius moritur; Cerberus (canis qui cum familia habitat), Grumio, Melissa et Metella periunt (putandum nobis est). Quintus tamen et Clemens supersunt.

[Baelor]

A generally excellent Latin textbook.

I am a Latin teachers who teaches both high- and middle-school Latin (emphasis on the former). My colleagues and I examined every Latin textbook written since 1900 in English in order to determine which would be most suitable for a streamlined 5-12 curriculum.

The CLC came out on top easily. The material is spread over enough chapters to make the content manageable to young and old students alike. More importantly, the CLC has the following strengths:

1) A focus on reading rather than translating/decoding Latin, although translation can be used to assess knowledge of the language in various ways. The books follow a narrative until partway through Unit 4 (which would be the third-year textbook). While the CLC stresses the importance of making the story interesting, older students will likely not find acting out characters, etc. to be intellectually stimulating enough. As a result, we breeze through the material relatively quickly -- about a unit a week.

2) A clear and detailed, but not overwhelming, treatment of history and culture. The first book takes place in Pompeii, but the scene switches to Britain in Unit 2, which obviously most relevant to UK students. Still, the material is complemented by drawings and photographs of Roman art, architecture, and artifacts and is impressively thorough.

3) Work with English derivatives. We probably spend 10-15 minutes weekly on English derivates, and thus involves an absurdly high ROI, if only in providing the students with habits of inquisitive examination of roots and semantics.

4) Massive support in the form of Teacher's Guides, activities, worksheets, Audio recordings, and tests. While most of these are not useful, there are enough nuggets (all carefully and centrally planned) to make a teacher's life easier.

The weakness lies in the grammar. We are switching over from Wheelock's, which provides an unrivalled technical knowledge of grammar. Only teachers with great facility with Latin grammar should commit to the CLC, since only by supplementing the curriculum substantially with independent grammatical instruction will the students receive adequate Latin instruction.

In brief, my colleagues and I are using the CLC as a framework which we bolster with Wheelock's grammar.

There are superior texts for the intellectual, viz. Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata, but for any aspiring Latinists who wish to read rather than decode and translate the language, the CLC is a good start.

[max theodore]

cannot believe this is on goodreads. stan grumio

[maryam aishah :)]

This one made my cry. Stunning.

[Dorito]

EHEU
MONTEM IRATUM FLOCCI NON FACIO

[Patrick Peterson]

2021-09-09 This was the text of our homeschool - co-op class that my 11-12 year old son and I took about 2009-10. I remember it as a very good text with excellent historical info, pictures, etc. besides going through vocabulary, grammar, etc.

[Olly]

eheu! caecilius est mortuus.

[aecoria]

comfort reading my 6th grade latin textbook and panicking because i accidentally chose french for next year instead of latin

[Jarrett Vandiver]

Hoc libro est fabula de Caecilius, civis Pompeii in 79 A.D. Caecilius uxor et filius habet: uxor Caecilii est Metella et filius Caecilii est Quintus. Caecilius quoque canes habet. Canes Caecilii est Cerberus. Familia Caecilii in Pompeii habitabant, sed mons iratus, Vesuvius, cecinit cinis et flammae. Eheu! Caecilius et familia Caecilii mortui sunt, quod cinis cecidit.

Great Latin introduction, depressing story.

[Chung Chung]

Good old Caecilius. Forever in the garden.

[Hunter Icundus]

Grumio vivit

[dilara]

Why did they make the finis so dramatic. I almost cried. I was so attached to them...🖤😞

[Kristina Jensen]

CAECILIUS EST IN HORTO!!! 😍

[Dave Maddock]

I am using this just for easy comprehensible input.

The text has a strong focus on reading comprehension but lacks grammar instruction. Based on Unit 1 alone, maybe a decent approach for high schoolers that can't handle the more rigorous Lingua Latina.

[Kamal]

The series of Latin textbooks is a favourite among both teachers and students alike. It has lots of charming features such as a continuous narrative, historical discussions and a comprehensive look at the Roman world outside of Rome itself. However, the historical data upon which this is all based is out-of-date. THis is particularly true regarding gender roles within Roman society. The female characters in this series of books are all negative stereotypes --nagging wives, village beauties and dutiful mothers-- however the archeological evidence suggests that while aristocratic women had very circumscribed lives, lower class women had more freedoms, such as owning their own businesses, etc. These books do show women doing things. They are always just props for the actions of the male characters and this simply isn't the way that Roman women lived their lives. In short, the books say a lot more about 1950s British attitudes about women than they do about ancient Roman gender roles.

[Andrew]

I have been using the Cambridge series for years.
Pros:
-Engaging story line (book 1) -personable characters
-Scaffolded expectations on word lists -never too much and most words don't pop out of no-where
-It is very easy to use this book as a jumping off point for other aspects of Latin (derivatives, culture, etc.)

Cons:
Grammar is just not there and what is there is not organized well. You get some chapters like ch. 6 which have multiple grammar ideas jammed in one i.e. imperfect and perfect and then many chapters (esp. in book 2) are fluff.

Even with all of those cons Cambridge is still the best book out there.

[Mathew Huff]

a great, engaging text that teaches grammar and vocabulary without hours spent memorizing declension and conjugation tables through rote. it teaches you how to read Latin, not to decode it. However! this should not, in my opinion, be studied on its own. As boring as pure grammar is, it is still important. It is just as dangerous, intellectually, to exclude reading focused works like these as it is to exclude grammar books like Wheelock. They go hand in hand.

optime!

[Julia]

I'm trying to learn Latin, mostly on my own, and I'm very glad that this book exists. It has interesting, fun stories in easy Latin that does not intimidate. However, I'm also thankful that this isn't the only Latin text out there, because it is very lacking in grammar explanations, which are important right from the beginning, I believe. Used in conjunction with a more traditional Latin text, Cambridge is very helpful in motivating one to read Latin. Now I'm on to Unit 2.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

Certainly much better than any Latin book I had in school, back in the dark ages.

The immersive approach and "just enough grammar to be helpful" are a good combination for me.

edit: I have ordered the second volume from Amazon. Hopefully it will be as good as the first.

[D'Lija Brown]

Latin- Sum es est sumus estis sunt. Difficult and sometimes fun. I've been reading this book since 7th grade. Temper fugit

[David Kowalski]

mihi valde placet quod totam rem intellego.

[Erin Lynn]

Ehhhh. I don’t know much about Latin, but I know this felt like a natural way to try to teach myself. I enjoyed learning about Caecilius and his family and the bits of the Roman Empire in Pompeii and the surrounding areas.

[Amber]

This course is easy to teach. The translation stories are fun and a little crazy at times. The book has a nice combination of culture, grammar, and translation practice. Though it's supposed to be a whole language approach, I found it better to teach the grammar paradigms alongside the text.

[Janice]

Optima fabula!

[Oscar]

Future tense and passive completely absent, as are many participles.

[Wayfarer]

Cæcilius is my best friend.

[Bryant Diaz]

You feel emersed in the world of Pompeii when you read this book.

[Anna C]

The only fun textbook!

If I taught Latin, all the kiddos would have to like Caecilius, or I would fail them...

[Lucy]

Lots of errors, not hugely engaging, very limited in diversity of characters for example, women. However, it has taught me some Latin so 3 stars overall