Use sparingly to impress or heavily to crush brainy snobs.

books:


	• Amo, Amas, Amat and More (Hudson Group Books) Eugene H. Ehrlich Harper & Row, 1985 - 328 pages average customer review:based on 14 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Seize the day...

Eugene Ehrlich's 'Amo, Amas, Amat and More' is a wonderful shorthand guide to Latin literacy for those who are struggling with Latin, or those of us who had a lot of Latin but little use since our last conjugation, er, um, examination.

Gives new meaning to 'conjugal visit' now, doesn't it? (Well, look it up for the distinctions.)

There is a very interesting introduction by William F. Buckley, Jr., who has been known to drop the odd Latinate phrase here or there in writing or speech. 'I suppose I am asked [to write this introduction] because the few Latin phrases I am comfortable with I tend to use without apology,' Buckley writes. He uses Latin phrases, he says, 'that cling to life because they seem to perform useful duties without any challenger rising up to take their place in English.' But, Buckley states, 'Probably the principal Latin-killer this side of the Huns was Vatican II.' With the end of use of Latin by Roman Catholic church, Latin became an almost exclusively academic pursuit, and then most often in 'useful' segments--i.e., legal Latin, medical Latin, etc.

This book is arranged as an encyclopedic dictionary of sorts -- there is an entry, including pronunciation (do you know if Latin uses a hard c or hard g, for instance, without looking?). Ehrlich also puts in literary examples of how the Latin phrase has come to be known in English (which is sometimes something apart from its original Latin meaning).

I give you the example used in my title as an sample entry:

carpe diem
KAHR-peh DEE-em
enjoy, enjoy

This famous advice, literally 'seize the day', is from Horace's Odes. The full thought is carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero (kwahm MIH-nih-muum KRAY-duu-lah PAW-ster-oh), which may be translated as 'enjoy today, trusting little in tomorrow'. Thus, carpe diem from ancient times until the present has been advice often and variously expressed: Enjoy yourself while you have the chance; eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; make hay while the sun shines; enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. In another century carpe diem was also an exhortation to maidens to give up their virginity and enjoy all the pleasures of life.

Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

So, if your motto is omne ignotum pro magnifico est a la Tacitus, and you'd like a little less unknown in your life, or simply wish to amaze your friends, this book is for you. I'm not the advocatus diaboli here, and I certainly won't give this book the pollice verso, so rush to your nearest scriptorium now and find this scroll, er, um, book.

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Hic liber amo multus!

This is an excellent book! It is a great way to build vocabulary and learn those pesky endings. It also conatins many words of wisdom and wit. Using these phrases in writitng and speech will give you a flair of sophistication. This book taught me my favourite quote, from Horace "Dulce et decorem est pro patria mori" "There is no greater honour than to die for ones country" Being a die-hard Americo-Unian, I believe that! I reccomend this book to all lovers of Latin

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Mirabile Visus - Wonderful to behold!

This book can be used for many things. I like to e-mail people at work and finish with a Latin phrase, which makes them think 'he's smart'! (or a smart ar#e!)
There are many books on Latin, but this one is just full of phrase's that 'Stiff' text books would take a week to work out, like 'Patris est filius' or 'A chip off the old block' (literally - 'he is his father's son'). Just as good for a quick flick or end to end reading!
p.s. Another good book is 'Veni, Vidi, Vici' ISBN 0-06-273365-6 also by Eugene Ehrlich (the better of the 2, i think).

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De omni re scibili et quibusdam aliis

That quote, from this book, was developed for me personally: I know everything worth knowing, and more!

Use sparingly to impress or heavily to crush brainy snobs.

Latin is in baby! This book is basically"The Wit and Wisdom of Ancient Rome" presented in English and Latin. It's full of short snappy quotes that you can drop whenever a line from Shakespeare might seem trite. It's not a text or manual but it can be used in classrooms to mix things up a bit. The ancient Romans were funny at times and students can appreciate this. Let your students go over this book and then have them translate current phrases into Latin.I recommend this to anyone who likes or teaches ancient history or the latin language.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

A witty and entertaining guide to the use of Latin expressions for one's own advantage in the modern world. Illustrated.

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