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2. Course Overview
Comprehensive Description: This elementary module builds upon foundational inflections by introducing structural complexity in both the nominal and verbal systems of Classical Latin. Students systematically transition from basic sentence structures to complex clauses through an inductive-contextual framework. The curriculum focus centers on the complete acquisition of the third declension, the introduction of the fourth and fifth declensions, and the consolidation of the active and passive present systems across all conjugations. Rather than presenting grammar as an isolated set of rule books, Level 2 treats morphology as a vital tool to unlock ancient perspectives on science, military infrastructure, and civic life, shifting the student from an elementary reader to a structurally aware analyst.
3. Methodology & General Description
This course utilizes Hans Ørberg's Lingua Latina per se Illustrata: Familia Romana. Each twelve-week term consists of bi-weekly sessions comprising two academic hours (90 minutes total).
As a unique pedagogical counterweight to traditional translation-heavy systems, our approach treats Latin as a live structural matrix. Students prepare for each session by reading 10–15 lines of the assigned narrative text. During class, these passages serve as the foundation for intensive, active drills designed to bypass mental translation and anchor intermediate syntax natively:
Active Class Disputation: Students formulate and answer targeted text questions entirely in Latin, practicing new verb tenses actively.
Visual Contextualization: Utilizing anatomical drawings, military blueprints, and historical maps to link abstract case modifiers directly to concrete physical realities.
Linguistic Paraphrase: Re-engineering complex sentences through synchronic active drills and immediate grammatical transformations (active-to-passive shifts).
Internalization: Gradually memorizing authentic idiomatic patterns and technical terms to build reading stamina.
Through these exercises, participants acquire not only the narrative lexicon but also the metalinguistic target-language terminology necessary to discuss advanced grammatical structures and syntax in Latin itself.
4. Proficiency & Requirements
Language Level:
Framework Reference: Beginner — Level 2 (Familia Romana, Capitula X–XVIII).
General Description: Intended for students who have successfully finalized Level 1 or its equivalent, possessing functional control over the first and second declensions, basic active verb paradigms, and preliminary immersive environments.
Estimated Self-Study Time:
Time Commitment: Approximately 3–4 hours per week (including a mandatory 20 minutes of daily retention review).
Preparation: Preliminary independent reading and structural parsing of 10–15 lines from the designated chapter are required prior to each session.
5. Thematic Extensions & Classical Intertextuality
While Familia Romana provides a highly accessible, immersive narrative for early language acquisition, its chapters introduce core themes of Roman science, military infrastructure, and educational institutions. For students interested in expanding their research or eventually exploring the authentic, unadapted prose and poetry that define these specific historical topics, the following primary sources offer the ideal thematic extension:
Anatomical Terminology & Clinical Diagnostics:
Aulus Cornelius Celsus (De Medicina): The specialized lexicon of body parts and historical medical paradigms introduced in Capitulum XI (Corpus Hūmānum) directly correlates with the clean classical prose of Celsus. Students seeking an authentic reference point for early diagnostics, surgical terms, and physiological descriptions can examine this foundational medical encyclopedia.
Roman Military Machinery & Strategy:
Flavius Vegetius Renato (Epitoma Rei Militaris) & Gaius Iulius Caesar (Commentarii de Bello Gallico): The technical specifications of Roman legionary impedimenta, camp fortifications (fossa, vallum), and tactical arrays treated in Capitulum XII (Mīles Rōmānus) mirror the administrative and narrative prose of early Roman military science. These texts provide the ideal extension for exploring historical conquest and imperial logistics.
Chronology, Calendar Systems & Cosmology:
Publius Ovidius Naso (Fasti), Varrō, Censorīnus, & Macrobius (Saturnalia): The historical division of time, the complex lunar-solar adjustments, and the mechanics of the traditional Roman calendar system (Kalendae, Nonae, Idus) explored in Capitulum XIII (Annus et Menses) track directly with the structural antiquarian research and poetic records of these authors.
Natural Sciences & Meteorology:
Plinius Maior (Naturalis Historia, Liber II): The meteorological taxonomy, wind alignments (Aquilo, Auster, Zephyrus), and seafaring vulnerabilities introduced in Capitulum XVI (Tempestas) align perfectly with the empirical catalogs and natural science inquiries compiled during the early Empire.
Satirical Urban Topoi & Noise:
Marcus Valerius Martialis (Epigrammata) & Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis (Satura III): The urban morning routines and environmental challenges depicted in Capitulum XIV (Novus Diēs) reflect a classic literary theme. The unrelenting sensory assault and social friction of early Imperial Rome are vividly documented across Martial’s brief stanzas and Juvenal's biting descriptions of city life.
Ancient Educational Institutions & Pedagogy:
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (Institutio Oratoria, Liber I), Horatius (Epistulae), & Suetonius (De Grammaticis et Rhetoribus): The schoolroom strictness, material tools (tabulae, stilus), and phonetic debates illustrated in Capitula XV and XVIII echo real debates surrounding Roman educational ideals. From Quintilian's structured advice to Horace's ironic description of the severe, lash-yielding schoolmaster (plagosus Orbilius), these texts document the concrete reality of ancient literacy.
6. Materials & Bibliography
Required Textbooks:
Hans H. Ørberg, Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, Pars I: Familia Romana (Hackett Publishing).
Hans H. Ørberg, Exercitia Latina I (Hackett Publishing).
Recommended Auxiliary Materials:
Hans H. Ørberg, Colloquia Personarum & Latine Disco.
Roberto Carfagni, Nova Exercitia Latina, Vol. 1.
Jeanne Marie Neumann, A Companion to Lingua Latina (Hackett Publishing).
7. Grammatical Syllabus
Morphology: Full systematic mastery of the 3rd declension (consonant, liquid, and vowel stems); introduction to the 4th and 5th declensions; full regular present indicative paradigms (active and passive voice) across all four conjugations; introduction to the perfect, imperfect, and future tense systems; introduction to present participial forms.
Syntax: Core operations of the Dative case (indirect object, reference, possession) and the Ablative case (instrument, agent, time, manner); syntax and implementation of the Accusative with Infinitive (A.c.I.) construction for indirect statements; comparative and superlative adjective degrees.
Orthoepy & Phonology: Advanced reading parameters, long and short vowel differentiation in verbal endings, and metrical values of vocalic quantity.
8. Chapter Coverage & Readings
This module covers approximately 1,200 verses of narrative prose text (~50 verses per instruction unit):
X. Bēstiae et Hominēs: Introduction to regular third-declension classifications.
XI. Corpus Hūmānum: Anatomical syntax and introductory Accusative with Infinitive (A.c.I.) structures.
XII. Mīles Rōmānus: The mechanics of the dative case within military settings.
XIII. Annus et Mēnsēs: Roman numerical systems and calendar divisions.
XIV. Novus Diēs: Ablative of time structures and daily routines.
XV. Magister et Discipulī: Systematic development of passive voice frameworks.
XVI. Tempestās: Third-declension adjective categories and maritime navigation.
XVII. Numerī Difficilēs: Advanced numeral usage and algebraic expressions.
XVIII. Lettērae Latīnae: Relative syntax clauses and phonetic classifications.
