The following annotated bibliography was originally published by Bruce McCrae, former head of the Classics Department of the Hawtreys Preparatory School, now the Cheam School. Mr McCrae has since retired, and his website is no longer in operation.
I have decided to publish Mr McCrae’s list in the hope that, one day, the mark of a fine education will again be the ability to write easily and elegantly in Latin and Greek.
Greek Prose Composition
Advanced Level Greek Prose Composition. A. H. Nash-Williams. Macmillan 1966. 130 good, testing proses, interspersed with advanced tips on composition. In retirement I completed all the exercises in this book: only two were really hard - numbers 119 and 120. Perhaps it is as well that I was not challenged to compose either when taking my A Levels in the 1960s. On the other hand some of the pieces are refreshingly non-PC in subject-matter and its pleasant to devise one or two phrases even neater than those given in the Key. There are useful pages on particles. The author spends a lot of space on abstract nouns, something which is vitally important, reflecting a major division between modern and ancient languages. It is great news to see that Duckworth have reissued this book as a paperback very recently: I heartily recommend it. The Key is valuable and interesting but, as with NWs excellent Introduction, be careful with his vocabulary: he uses some Homeric and Xenophontine vocabulary which detracts from a good Attic flavour to a few of his versions. On the other hand I find his solution to some thorny problems of translation both elegant and resourceful - which is the basis of all good work on this exercise.
Foundations for Greek Prose Composition. L. W. P. Lewis & L. M. Styler Heinemann. 1951 A very well liked introduction to an accurate understanding of Greek syntax. Its reputation is well deserved for the book covers all syntax carefully and will give any learner a thorough and accurate grounding together with confidence in dealing with Greek idiom. The Key is carefully printed, giving alternative versions where the grammar might allow: I have detected almost no errors.
Greek Prose Composition. S. O. Andrew. Macmillan 1959. A strangely alarming book because its exercises, both short sentences and long pieces, are often so difficult even from the outset. The hints beneath the prose passages are often designed to steer the student away from error rather than on to the right answer. 188 exercises. Although rather unsympathetic in its approach, there are some useful examples, prompting both pupil and teacher to use their wits and their reading rather than a simple solution to the hard problems of interpretation given in the book. And this, surely, is the chief fruit of doing Greek proses. If a careful student will master the various chapters on style and expression, he or she will perforce acquire a strength of logical thought as well as a truly refined ability to use Attic Greek. The labour of this book will slowly repay the toil of following its lessons. Key: Some of the versions are peculiarly convoluted. The exception are the pieces written by W G Rutherford, which are, as one would expect, simple, clear and stylish.
Greek Prose Composition. J. A. Nairn. Cambridge. 1927. This edition incorporates the Key. A guide to literary style and really for advanced students only. Much perceptive discrimination in the styles of the best Attic authors. There are excellent hints for capable composers which are well worth reviewing before tackling the 75 pieces which cover all the usual styles. The skill of Arbuthnot Nairn in his versions was quite remarkable but do be wary of some of his vocabulary: as with many of his generation, brilliant and innovative initiative in this work was often beset with unexpected misapprehensions of the true use and meaning of unusual Greek words.
Hints and Cautions on Attic Greek Prose Composition. F. St J Thackery. Eton. 1876. In 150 pages, this contains a great many useful points gathered into a number of chapters. It is probably best used, as no doubt it was designed, as a book to dip into from time to time. There are just over 20 proses at the back with versions. This book was written for Etonians and illustrates the doubts they may have had. There are cautions on Hellenistic words which they might have met: there is also a useful chapter on how to deal with modern terms.
Introduction to Continuous Greek Prose Composition + Key. A. H. Nash-Williams. Macmillan. 1964. Once the grammar is learnt, this book starts to build up a good periodic style, incorporating the resources of Greek idiom. The long chapter on abstract nouns is particularly instructive and will give plenty of clues, we think, for dealing with such items in Latin too. There are 80 short paragraphs to practise with, and 40 longer proses. Very sound instruction.
Introduction to Greek Prose Composition. Arthur Sidgwick. Longmans, Green 1957 & many other dates. What happy memories this book has for all who have used it. The curious stories beguile the chore involved in turning English to Greek and learning the multitude of syntactical forms from the most helpful and complete introduction. The later passages cannot fail to interest both pupil and teacher, as they often introduce authors whom otherwise we might never have searched out. Mrs. Hutchinson, Merivale and Prescott come immediately to mind, besides the worthier names of Addison, Bacon and Arnold. Few books can be more salutary for even an experienced teacher to read again: it tightens up loose connections and clears the dust from less noticed areas of the Greek language. The Key is usually reliable although AS occasionally uses some very late forms and avoids reflecting the full meaning of the English text. Of charity we may suspect the printer rather than the scholar may be at fault. This was our guide in happy student days and it continues to teach us some decades later.
Lectures on Greek Prose Composition. Arthur Sidgwick. Rivingtons. 1887. 20 proses demonstrated with the authors usual skill. These are followed by 50 proses for the student to try; there are references back to the introductory remarks.
Manual of Greek Prose Composition for the Use of Schools & Colleges. Henry Musgrave Wilkins. Longmans, Green 1883. This was even in its own day considered one of the chief guides to advanced work in the subject. It begins with 60 pages of notes on style, grammar and proverbs. There are then three parts to the proses. The first consists of 73 long passages translated literally from Greek originals with copious notes for turning these back into Greek. Part two contains 35 passages from demandingly hard English authors, each followed by an English version adapted for turning these into Greek: this is particularly instructive, showing both the natural directness of Greek and the convolutions of nineteenth century English. Part three contains 77 long passages translated from Greek originals into idiomatic English. Patience and a good library of Greek books would provide the Key needed for these prose passages. It was designed for forms at the top of Public Schools and for undergraduates in an age when boys [and some lucky girls too] had been writing Greek since the age of ten or even earlier.
Materials and Models for Greek Prose Composition. J. Y. Sargent and T. F. Dallin. Longmans, Green. 1892. No nonsense. Over 120 long pieces of rotund English for Greek composition, divided into six sections which include Pieces in the style of Herodotus and Satirical Pieces. We have the Key, Greek Version of 92 Selected Pieces from Materials and Models. Sargent worked hard but his motto was quantity ahead of quality. An earlier owner of my copy has corrected several blunders, as have I.
Primer of Greek Prose Composition. J. Y. Sargent. Clarendon Press. 1892. A slightly odd approach here. The book demands much more basic knowledge than the word Primer would suggest. There is a great emphasis on a very wide vocabulary for which a lot of help is incorporated in the exercises. There are plenty of Greek passages to read in order to exemplify specific rules being practised and there is perhaps a greater emphasis on Xenophon than would be expected these days. Sargent exemplifies a practice common in his day and much criticised by S O Andrew (q.v.) of getting boys to abstract phrases from authors as diverse as Herodotus and Lucian and intruding them into pieces intended as Attic. You will spot some unexpected rarities among the idioms and words which Sargent proposes to the beginner. The rules of syntax are not explained at all. Key to Greek Prose Primer. 1892. 96 pp.
Theory of Advanced Greek Prose Composition John Donovan. Blackwell 1921. Published in 3 parts which we have separately as well as bound into one handsome volume. This is a treasury of Greek usage in which it is very easy to become lost. Individual points of grammar are not easy to follow through. Yet the wealth of examples is greater than in any other book of its kind and there is, I believe, no problem in English which cannot be solved in the pages of this great work. If ever you get the chance to obtain a copy, do not let it pass by or you will rue the day! Although I have three complete copies of this great work, I lend them to no one. There is a complete index of English words but it is worth compiling a grammatical index (which I have done).
Latin Prose Composition
Aids to Writing Latin Prose. G. G. Bradley Longmans, Green. 1929. Dean Bradley famously rewrote Arnold’s book. The first 170 pages introduce the art of composition, with a particular strength in directing the student to a real understanding of the English original. As a result, this book is a very valuable tool for education. There are 144 long proses which appear in the Key (1908).
Bradley’s Arnold. Sir James Mountford. Longmans Green. 1958. A great standby to answer all questions and give wholly practical help with literary English to be put into correct and idiomatic Latin. This revision has 125 proses at the back, and all exercises are dealt with in the new Key (1949): the extra proses are turned by five first- rate scholars and experienced teachers, all gifted and most stylish writers of Latin.
Continuous Latin Prose. H. J. Dakers. Rivingtons. 1962. 150 pages of introduction cover all Latin syntax. The idioms involving prepositions are more fully discussed than in all other books we have seen. Over 170 proses follow this with clues and references to the introduction. The Key is excellent. Correct grammar, rather than style, is, we believe, the chief object of this big book.
Easy Passages for Translation into Latin. J. Y. Sargent. Clarendon Press. 1889. Although there are many interesting stories in this collection, not one of the 300 drawn up here could be called an easy passage. These days, even experienced pupils would find most pieces a real labour to complete. The Key was written by Sargent but the versions betray the fact that he was not able to write in a good Ciceronian style, however correct his grammar may have been.
Hints towards Latin Prose Composition. A. W. Potts Macmillan 1925. This is a marvellous book because it leads the reader into the true spirit of the Latin language, rather than worrying about trivial details. The effects of artistry are carefully described and rules for accomplishing similar polish are formulated with plenty of examples. As a result, its demonstrations achieve real style and elegance. In pursuit of the latter virtue this book is unparalleled. Of course it serves as a great introduction to the exercise book.
Latin Prose Composition. R. D. Wormald. Edward Arnold. 1958. This is the final book for grammatical correctness. Not the slightest deviation from the most pure Classical usage is countenanced, although every possible way of expressing English is dealt with. RDW was a fierce stickler for the right way of writing Latin and often, both here and elsewhere, makes clear his contempt for sloppy grammar and faulty style. The rules stick rigidly to Ciceronian usage and the exercises are demanding. However, although no Key was ever published, a careful working through each chapter should enable any teacher to compile an accurate one for class-room use. This book will clear up all possible doubts with oracular pronouncement and it is excellent.
Latin Prose Composition. W. R. Hardie. Edward Arnold 1908. This famous book aims exclusively at achieving a Ciceronian style. As a result the 124 pages of introduction are important and valuable, but not for the unambitious scholar. There are 315 pieces, covering all the literary styles. The Key breathes the very spirit of Ciceronian writing, even in its narrative pieces. Our copy (1/6) has one remark against a piece of oratory by a previous owner: This is wonderful
Passages for Translation into Latin Prose. A. W. Potts. Macmillan 1887. This is based on the doctrines outlined in the Hints Towards... There are 100 long pieces for translation. The Key is not entirely by Potts: his fellow contributors however match his fine taste and judgment and it is often hard to distinguish these versions from extracts taken from original Latin authors of the Golden Age.
Practical Introduction to Latin Prose Composition. T. K. Arnold / G. G. Bradley. Rivingtons 1884. This famous book has many good features of Classical pedagogy of the nineteenth century. Mountford cut out several exercises which are fully dealt with in the old Key (1911).
Writing in Latin. D. P. Simpson & P. H. Vellacott. Longman 1970. 148 pages of judicious remarks on style and discrimination in the choice of vocabulary rather than grammatical lore which the student is expected to have mastered. These are followed by 66 proses, with versions on the opposite page. An excellent book although it takes a while to get used to all Latin words being printed in capital letters.
Greek Verse Composition
Damon: A Manual of Greek Iambic Composition. J. H. Williams & W. H. D. Rouse. Blackie & Son. 1906. The theory inculcated in this primer is very good. The exercises however are often much harder than the authors expected, even though the first set was added to be easier than the selection in an earlier edition. Perhaps the sheer oddity of the vocabulary used in the exercises adds to the rocky progress for pupils. However, the technique is magnificently demonstrated and, once learnt, is scarcely forgettable as it shows how real tragedians set about the business of composing. The technique is ideal for the next book.
Demonstrations in Greek Iambic Verse. W. H. D. Rouse. Cambridge. 1899. This is superb and is founded on his Damon book. There are 22 passages from English drama which are brilliantly turned into very creditable iambics. The 76 pages of introductory notes form a real treasury for the study of the language of the tragedians. It is from a book like this that we can see how early Greek actors must have been able to compose lines for themselves if their memory failed in some scene - see Mary Renault’s Mask of Apollo.
Introduction to Greek Verse Composition. A. Sidgwick and F. D. Morice. Longmans Green 1955. Iambics only. This is justly regarded as the best guide - especially in conjunction with the Key written in equal measure by the authors. Students are quickly introduced to pieces of real English drama to work on. The abundant examples in the introduction sometimes tend to include variations found only in the less tidy writing of Euripides; nevertheless, the practical artistry that can be learnt from this book and the published versions is immense. Verse lessons were always great fun with this sympathetic and imaginative guide to hand.
Greek Verse Composition - Being a revised edition of the Greek Verses of Shrewsbury School. George Preston. Deighton Bell. 1869. The verses refer almost wholly to Iambics. There are 100 exercises with a decreasing amount of help given beneath each one. These are followed by many long passages of Shakespeare neatly rendered by the boys of The Schools. It is amazing to see how ingenious these boys were, even with the assistance of their ushers to iron out flaws. This book harks back to a quite different age: few undergraduates manage to write ten lines of Iambics these days. Such a book is a salutary reminder of what Classical education has lost, and perhaps what also it has gained in the intervening 140 years.
Models and Materials for Greek Iambic Verse. J. Y. Sargent. Clarendon Press. 1890. This book was clearly the result of a great deal of work by the indefatigable Sargent. The first 150 pages consist of passages from Greek tragedians - very frequently from the fragments attached to their works. The passages are grouped under themes which form the models of the title. The following150 pages contain selections of English poetry for turning into iambics. There are no technical hints but there are frequent references to parallel themes in Greek originals.
Key to Models and Materials. 1900. This is quite a rarity. Most of the versions are by Sargent himself but a selection is composed by A. B. Poynton. The whole thing is a tour de force. As in his prose compositions, there is a free use of the licenses granted to composers, sometimes at the expense of the best Sophoclean style.
Progressive Exercises in Greek Iambic Verse. H. Kynaston. Macmillan 1884. Nearly 90 pieces, some in Latin, to be turned into iambics. There is a brief introduction to the art and some easy exercises to this edition. There is a vocabulary and a long list of phrases but it is a book we are glad that we did not have when learning ourselves. No doubt much reliance could be placed on a teacher; but, if he were unsympathetic, the pupil would soon drown in baffling perplexities. There is a Key which is entirely the work of the author. My copy was issued in 1880.
Latin Verse Composition
Demonstrations in Latin Elegiac Verse. W. H. D. Rouse. Clarendon Press. 1899. Splendid guide to writing in the Ovidian style. As is often the case, the introduction serves as a real guide for work beyond the confines of the book. There are 40 pages of useful introduction, with numerous quotations from Ovid. There is no serious notice taken of the elegiacs by other, and therefore lesser, poets. As a result, the pupil is not tempted to copy the sloppy writing and crude makeshifts of Propertius and his like. Twenty five English poems are skilfully demonstrated and repay close study.
Elegeia - Passages for Latin Elegiac Verse with Hints. C. H. StL. Russell. Macmillan 1930. Though larger than many other books of its type, this was one of the most practical and useful. It leads the pupil gradually into the mysteries of elegiac composition and contains over 200 exercises. There are about 50 pages of valuable introductory material which can refresh the imagination of even experienced writers of elegiacs. The vocabulary is particularly full and correct: only Ovidian usage is permitted. Key. As usual, this is by no means the work of the author alone. In our copy, an earlier schoolmaster has neatly written in alternative, and usually better, versions of very many lines.
Exercises in Latin Verse of Various Kinds. George Preston. Macmillan 1889 This contains 71 English, and 3 Greek, poems for translation into Latin elegiacs, hexameters and a variety of lyric metres. Some hints are given under each poem but the helpfulness of these is decidedly mixed. Many of these exercises are really difficult and would require much help from the teacher. Key 1889. Again, these versions are very clever but often bear little similarity to the ways that good Roman authors thought and wrote. The author was the Headmaster of the King’s School Chester. The weariness of his pupils in plodding through this collection may be imagined. It did not go into a reprinted or second edition.
Introduction to Latin Elegiac Verse Composition. J. H. Lupton. Macmillan. 1898. After 24 preliminary exercises there are 76 English poems with English paraphrases for practice. As was all too common at the time of publication, the choice of themes is such as did never occur to Roman poets. A vocabulary is given and, in the introduction, much emphasis is given to the attempt to avoid words not found in Classical Roman authors. This is not always successful in the body of the book (e.g. ‘lacustris’ etc)
Introduction to Latin Lyric Verse Composition. J. H. Lupton. Macmillan. 1907. Seventy poems in nine Horatian metres. The book is planned in the same way as this author’s book on elegiacs. In this case the paraphrases are clearly based on the versions of other scholars, included in the Key. As a result, pupils had to be very adept at seeing what point was being made in the paraphrase or they would become lost. Again, the choice of poems reflected some of the sentimental conventions of the Victorian world, much at odds with the sunny outlook of Horace. Key 1888. The versions are taken from the works of 18 English scholars, some of whom are now forgotten. However, Kennedy, Shilleto, Paley and C. B. Scott are well represented, along with 12 pieces by Lupton himself. An interesting collection showing how ingenuity can overcome artistic and linguistic difficulties
Latin Elegiac Verse-Writing, modelled upon Ovid. W. J. Hemsley and John Aston. Blackie and Son. 1911. A sensible book which begins with 25 passages from Ovid and short notes for reading. There are 30 pages of notes on composition and 68 exercises with very spare hints. There is an English and a Latin vocabulary. As a class-room book, this is valuable but it really needs a teacher to give frequent demonstrations on the board. My esteemed predecessor, Rex Hamer, who used - I believe - to teach in Ceylon, compiled a version to several of these exercises which I have completed.
Latin Elegiacs and Prosody Rhymes for Beginners. C. H. St. L. Russell. Macmillan 1902. 120 exercises which consist entirely of passages from Ovid in which the Latin word order is reduced to an ordinary prose order. The pupil has to rewrite these as elegiacs, helped by a correct translation on the opposite page. The prosody rhymes are singularly unmemorable.
Latin Hexameter Verse. An Aid to Composition. S. E. Winbolt Methuen 1903. This is perhaps the final analysis of Virgil’s art. Apart from longer exercises and demonstrations at the end of the book, there are 363 short passages for turning into hexameter verse. No aspect of writing Latin verse in this metre is overlooked. Key This gives the versions of all the exercises in the larger book. Many of them are by the great T. S. Evans, perhaps the greatest writer of Latin verse in modern times.
Parallel Verse Extracts for translation into English and Latin. J. E. Nixon and E. H. C. Smith. Macmillan 1893. This is a real treasure store of good poetry, selected by the very similarity between the Latin and English themes. The exercises therefore make the student look at the Latin parallels while truly writing such a poem as a Roman author might also have written. The encyclopedic notes on metre, idiom and artistic technique cover more than 80 pages. The whole is divided into elegiacs, lyrics and hexameters. About 130 poems in each language are arranged on opposite pages. This is a valuable book. Translations of Parallel Verse Extracts. These came out in three parts, corresponding to the three principal metric schemes. Not every poem is rendered but the versions by many great 19th century scholars are both stylish and readable. There were help-notes to the Elegiacs section but we possess only a few pages of these.
Selections from Ovid. M J F Brackenbury. Percival & Co. 1893. This book is included here: for in the title are also the words Exercises for Translation into Latin Elegiac Verse. 40 passages from Ovid are followed by explanatory notes. There are 25 English poems up to 20 lines in length, based largely on the Ovidian passages with a few footnotes on the hardships in each. There is a complete vocabulary. The great advantage of the poems for translation is that they will perforce reflect the sentiments and themes which a real Roman poet (& in many ways the best too) actually chose to use in his own writing.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 5:42 PM | 
