am- o, am- as, am- at ....

am- o, am- as, am- at, am- amaus, am-atis, am-ant

Several years ago while browsing in a book store, I came across Learn Latin by Peter Jones, with the following words blazed across the front cover, 'A lively Introduction to Reading the Language'. On the back cover, comments suggest, (but do not promise) the study of the book's twenty, clear, high-spirited, and anxiety-free chapters allows one to master enough grammar and vocabulary to read the poems of Catullus or the Latin Bible in just twenty weeks.

E gads! Twenty weeks?

That was enough of a 'come on', for me to read the rest of the blurb, but my skepticism was activated as I remembered the agony of studying Latin in high school. The only thing I remember from those classes is veni vedi vici.

The book comes from the serialization of a newspaper column. Charles Moore, who as editor of the British Sunday Telegraph, then of the Daily Telegraph, commissioned a weekly introduction to Latin in the Sunday from September 17 - December 24, 1995, and in a new, expanded format in the Daily from October 19, 1996 - March 1, 1997. The expanded format, and the book, is a result of reader demand.

What! Reader demand? What's that all about?
Did thousands of newspaper readers really enjoy learning Latin?

Thumbing through the chapters, each one being only a page or two, with brief grammar explanations and very short vocabulary lists, I thought to myself, hey, this can't be too hard! Being a sucker for "come on's" and a naïve believer of advertisements, it only took about three minutes to convinced myself that I, like British newspaper readers, could also learn enough Latin to read poems by Catullus. Maybe even read the historical descriptions of William, Duke of Normandy's invasion of England in 1066 which is depicted on the famous Bayeux tapestry.

I bought the book and enthusiastically studied the chapters and carried the book with me everywhere. If I had to wait for some reason, I spent the time studying my Latin. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the studying. Why hadn't my high school Latin classes been as interesting as Peter Jones made the newspaper lessons?

One day, my son drove me to the AT&T store to order a phone. I had taken the book with me thinking we would have to wait our turn, but we were in and out quickly. Leaving the store, I tripped getting into the car. The Latin book went flying through the air and I landed on my back with a broken hip. While we waited for the ambulance, a kind stranger collected my purse and its contents along with my Latin book and gave them to my son.

I've stopped studying Latin so assiduously, but from time to time I pick it up and review the lessons studied and often go on to another chapter before putting the book down. I find it just as enjoyable as when I first got the book. I can finally read some of the Bayeux tapestry phrases. I'm not kidding myself about becoming proficient in reading Latin. It's a fun hobby and I like dabbling in the language. I'm pleased the stranger retrieved the book for me. It has given me many hours of pleasure.



Learn Latin
The Book of the 'Daily Telegraph' Q.E.D.Series