Latin Language Blog

Latin literature II

Posted on 29. Feb, 2012 by leire in Latin Language, Roman culture

Literary genres

Classical literature was divided into various literary genres, which remain to these days. However, the scope of this concept has changed: in Greece and Rome genres had a clear formal distinction, no one could write a play with dactylic hexameter verses. The formal distinction between genders was sharp and did not affect only the style and the topics covered, but even it affected the written dialect.

Traditionally there are three major genres called lyrical, epic and dramatic genres that are poetic, written in verse. We could that Aristotle in his Poetics was the first to theorize about literature. Following Aristotle, the Hellenistic World continued with the theoretical study of literature, from where it went to Rome.

We have in Horace’s Ars Poetica the continuation of this tradition in Rome. In this tradition was created, as happened in other disciplines, the terminology of the literature. Terms as ‘anaphora’, ‘poetry’, ‘synecdoche’ (of Greek origin) or verse, prose, literature (of Latin origin) were created.

But besides these major genres of poetry, other prose genres were also cultivated in antiquity. Among these I must highlight the philosophy and scientific and technical prose, the novel, historiography, and especially the rhetoric and oratory.

In Rome there were some literary genres themselves. The Romans distinguished in the theater among the works of native origin and of Greek origin: the first was called fabula togata (play performed in a toga) and fabula palliata (play performed with pallium), referring to the sartorial actors.

Probably the most important genuine literary genre of Rome is satire, satura in Latin, a stew that mixed all, was a poetic genre that mixed various contents, but had the common feature of being bitterly criticizing.

Latin literature I

Posted on 28. Feb, 2012 by leire in Latin Language, Roman culture

Literature is one of the great achievements of the classical world, and it still survives with great vigor. Giving the written word an aesthetic value is something that had happened before, but not with the intensity and importance that it acquired during classical antiquity.

A crucial aspect of the character of the Roman world was the literary creation. In Rome literature played a key role, without which we could not understand antiquity. In fact the literature, as we understand it today, is something truly classic. Western literature is the heir of classical literature in general, but usually through the Latin literature.

Making a brief tour through History it would be difficult to understand the Middle Ages without the classical tradition and the habit of translation and copying the classics. That would be the first step for the new languages that emerged in Europe.

Renaissance’s Humanism is a review of the classical authors. It would not be easy to understand authors as Machiavelli without the influence of Livy, Lucretius and Cicero, nor understand Garcilaso de la Vega without the influence of Virgil. Later Shakespeare would be decisively influenced by Latin authors like Seneca.

Later great authors as Moliere were based largely on the works of playwrights such as Plautus and Terence.To quote some of the authors with more weight of the twentieth century in western literature, M. Yourcenar with her Memoirs of Hadrian, James Joyce with his Ulysses or the poetry of Constantino Kavafis with poems like Ithaca, whose titles clearly show the influence of classical antiquity in their works. In Spain we can cite the Phaedra of Unamuno, the poetry of Cernuda and many more. But this influence is not limited to being a source of inspiration providing themes and content, is much deeper and reaches almost all procedural and substantive aspects of Western literature.

Latin literature and its evolution

The first literary works were oral and were often framed in religious ceremonies. Thus emerged the genres of epic, lyric, drama, historiography, rhetoric, and so on. After the adoption of writing and political development of the city of Rome to these oral manifestations begin to add the Greek letters that penetrated from the Magna Grecia in the world of the Romans. the Roman wisemen of the first republican period were surrounded by Greek sages also who taught them the Greek literary tradition.

Archaic period: From the beginning of the literature until 100 BC.
Classic Period: From 100 BC. until the death of Augustus, 14 AD.
Post-classical Period: Since the death of Augustus to year 200 AD.
Late Period: From 200 AD. until the end of the Latin, which is usually placed around the year 600. During this period, especially from the 4th century, we distinguish the Christian literature of other Latin literary work.
The Middle Ages: from 600 to the end of the Middle Ages. This period is often not included in the study of Latin literature.

Latin Numerals

Posted on 25. Feb, 2012 by leire in Latin Language

The cardinal numerals

The cardinal numerals express the number or quantity. Most of the cardinal did not decline, the only ones that were declined are:

UNO
UNO	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	unus	una	unum
Accusative	unum	unam	unum
Genitive	unius
Dative	uni
Ablative	uno	una	uno

DOS
DOS	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	duo	duae	duo
Accusative	duos	duas	duo
Genitive	duorum	duarum	duorum
Dative	duobus	duabus	duobus
Ablative	duobus	duabus	duobus

TRES
	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	tres		tria
Accusative	tres		tria
Genitive	trium
Dative	tribus
Ablative	tribus

The numeral centum (“hundred”) can not be declined, but the other hundreds are declined like the plural of an adjective of the first class.

The numeral mille (‘thousand’)can not be declined, but the other thousands are expressed by the plural milia, milium, which is declined as an neuter of the third declension.

The ordinal numerals

The ordinal numerals add to the idea of number the idea of order. They are declined like adjectives of the first class. It is usually used for years (anno vicesimo tertio), hours (hora nona), the books which are part of a work (liber septimus) in the names of kings (Ptolomaeus tertius) in the fractions (tertia pars), and with the duration accusative (vicesimum annum iam regnat).

simplex, simplicis: simple.
duplex, duplicis: double.
triplex, triplicis: triple.
quadruplex, quadruplicis: quadruple.
quintuplex, quintuplicis: quintuple.
decemplex, decemplicis: tenfold.
centumplex, centumplicis: hundredfold.

The distributive numerals

Indicate groups of individuals, so singular form does not exist. They are declined like adjectives of the first class. Retains its value distribution to indicate:

The distribution for person or objects: veteranis quingenos denarios dat (veterans are given five hundred pence each)
The multiplicand of a multiplication: quater septeni (four times seven)

With no distribution value, replacing a cardinal numeral, the distributive is used:

With names of objects that are paired: binos scyphos habebam (I had a couple of cups)
Accompanying nouns that are used only in plural: bina castra (two camps), ternae litterae (three letters)