Latin Phrase Book

Rating:
Summary: A Roget's Thesaurus for Latin composition
Review: This little book would be helpful to anyone who wishes to write in Latin. What you are getting is, in essence, a Roget's style thesaurus of Latin idioms and phrases, organised loosely by the topics to which they relate. Given this fact, calling this a "Latin phrase book" is slightly misleading.

The topical arrangement presents minor problems; it is always possible to quarrel with the chosen classification of any particular phrase, or suggest that it should have been put in another topic. There is an alphabetical index in the back that may help you find the right place, though.

The idioms in the book are largely geared to classical times. You get an ample selection of Roman military, political, and legal terms. Only in a handful of places is there any attempt at supplying terms more appropriate for discussing modern life. The idioms, moreover, are strongly weighted towards classical Latin; Christian Latin usage is mostly neglected.

It is reasonably helpful for those who would write Latin. So, despite the misleading title, this is a handy little book.