New AP Vergil textbook

Bolchazy has sent me their latest AP textbooks. Setting my reservations about the AP aside, let's get to the Vergil book.

The new Vergil text is considerably thinner than previous editions, though its title is still every bit as big Vergil's Aeneid: Selected Readings from Books 1, 2, 4, and 6. The book is smaller for good reason, since the grammatical appendix, which should be familiar to those of you who know and love the Pharr Aeneid, is now online. This appendix is a great resource for all Latin students, not just those studying Vergil. It is now searchable and free. Bolchazy scores major points for this.

Previous editions of AP Vergil selections from Bolchazy have been, so far as I can tell, edited and expanded versions of the Pharr Aeneid, which is commendable and useful. This book is a completely new book. Boyd follows Pharr's format, but that is the limit of Pharr's intrusion into the book. Annoyingly this even extends to italicizing words in the poem that are part of the high-frequency list—but Boyd cannot be faulted for following Pharr's lead here. Otherwise, everything else is new.

The introduction is clearly written for AP users, but anyone should get good information out of it. The body of the text is well annotated. The notes in fact go beyond mere grammatical help but veer toward commentary. In fact, at some points it approaches philology. From a note on p. 75:

198. Hic: pronounce hicc (as if from the earlier spelling of the word, hicce).

Right on. This stuff is good for you. In other places Boyd indicates multiple interpretations. Again, p. 75.

solum, līmina: take either as obj. of sacrāverat (200), like ignem, or supply erant.

 I like this too. Language can be ambiguous, sometimes deliberately so. Boyd allows Vergil to be ambiguous, which is one of the joys of reading poetry. I am thrilled to see this built into a student edition. Boyd has also taken the -is accusative endings out for third declension nouns. I cannot say whether this is the right thing to do, but it will make the text more accessible to students. In my estimation, when the author of a book keeps that criterion in mind, the results will justify themselves.

And this book does for AP students, as well as first-time readers of Vergil.

 

Glossary of Terms

A Glossary of Terms is a handy little book with a narrow audience. If you aren't in that audience, it may be a wait for second edition.

This book is a glossary of linguistic and rhetorical terms that a student of Greek or Latin may run across. The author, R. U. Smith, Jr., has done a bang-up job. He illustrates terms with some nice examples and clear text. Since he realizes that students may not have the strongest grasp on Latin, he uses plenty of English examples. If one is so inclined, the occasional Old English example pops up. Happily, his language is a little old-fashioned in spots, as is befitting to a book like this. An example on p. 8:

The body of this handbook, like Gaul, is divided into three parts…

Or from p. 1:

All students of the classics, all classicists, are by necesity philologians (or philogogists)…

Anyway, I like that aspect of it. It's fun. More importantly, Smith has selected a set of terms that is broad enough to be useful but not so broad as to be cumbersome. He then goes on to tie it all up with good cross references.

But.

The problem is that this book is really written for people who can sort through its organization. The book is not friendly to beginners. Dividing the terms up by grammar, rhetoric and prosody is good if you're somewhat familiar with where each term goes, but it really limits the audience of the book. Where do you look for enallage? Personally, I'd rather look under E, but this book wants you to first know it is a rhetorical term. This would have been completely forgivable had an index been provided.

So, if you're willing or able to deal with an advanced-user layout, get this book. It's a gem. Otherwise, beg the publisher to make a beginners' glossary out of it. 

The Exile of Aeneas (Book Review)

The Aeneid is the epic from antiquity that most people are the least familiar with. The Exile of Aeneas is a step toward fixing that. Instead of a translation or adaption for children, Ed DeHoratius presents the story as a series of choices for the reader. Since the story is not as familiar to students and Aeneas is an all too-human hero, students will have a chance to see the story unfold for themselves as they are faced with the no-win choices Aeneas had to make. For students who are more familiar with the story, the choices available to Aeneas are made more immediate in this style of storytelling.

Bottom line: Making the Aeneid fun.

A Sallust Reader (Book Review)

Have you ever had a book show up two weeks after you needed it? Last semester I taught Cicero's First Catilinarian (and had a fabulous backup teacher too). But I wish I had more about Catiline. Enter A Sallust Reader two weeks too late.

The introduction helps get students acquainted with an author who isn't as read as he could be. Background on Sallust's life, his works and his style of writing are well worth the read for Latin and history students alike.

For Latin students, Sallust's Bellum Catalinae represents an interesting bit of reading. Sallust lived through the events he described and was quite possibly in Rome at the time. This is as close to a third-party primary source as it gets in antiquity. And what a ride! Pagán's selections for the Catilinarian section of the book are wonderful. They get right to the heart of why Catiline was an awful guy and tell the story briskly. Her notes are full enough for less advanced students, but include enough information to make them interesting for even those students who read fluently. My only gripe is that they are segregated in the back of the book.

What's more, is that this book isn't just for advanced Latin students. Motivated history students who are dealing with this bit of Roman history or the Jugurthine war will find plenty of red meat in this book, above and beyond their trusty Penguin translation.

I'd rate this book as a must add for anyone teaching Cicero's First Catilinarian.