Canon Law

Liturgy

Catholic Issues

This website is best

viewed 1152 x 864

Dr. Edward Peters

Updated

28 Aug 2011

Be sure to check my SHMS Students Page for general information pertaining to all

of my courses!

Note: I allow students who have a bachelor's degree to opt out of quizzes, in which case the final exam is 75% of their grade, and class performance is 25%. Let me know by the beginning of the third class if you want to take this option.

Study Organizers for

Collins: Chap. 1-5

Collins: Chap. 6-10

Collins: Chap. 11-15

Sacred Heart Major Seminary Students

Beginning Ecclesiastical Latin I (LAT 121)

Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:30 - 4:50 pm, Room 110

General Remarks

This is the first semester of a four semester sequence of courses intended to prepare one to read, with the aid of a lexicon, ecclesiastical Latin prose texts with difficulty levels akin to those found in the Nova Vulgata, sacred liturgy, and some kinds of modern ecclesiastical documents. Command of grammatical forms is essential at introductory levels, so plan to memorize these patterns as they are encountered. I test on forms frequently, with or without notice, orally and in writing. All tests/quizzes/class drills count and are cumulative (less one low or missed quiz). From time to time you might want to access materials from my Ecclesiastical Latin webpages as a study aid. Grade is one-fourth class performance, one-fourth pop quizzes, one-half Final Exam. No midterm exam.

Required Text

• John Collins, A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin (Catholic University of America, 1988 or later). Always bring this book to class! We will cover twelve chapters of Collins in this first semester.

Henry VIII pops a Latin quiz on folks

in A Man for All Seasons

Optional Texts

• J. Dunlap, An Answer Key to A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin (Catholic University of America, 2006 or later). Most students make better use of this in their second year, but I do not object to students using it in their first. The danger is in consulting the answer key before one has really thought-out the exercises.

• R. Prior & J. Wohlberg, 501 Latin Verbs fully conjugated in all the tenses (Barron's Educational Series, 1995 or later). Very useful by second year.

• Leo Stelten, Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin (Hendrickson, 1995 or later). Quite well done.

LAT 121, Course Format/Syllabus

We have approximately 12 weeks (leaving some time for reviews, finals, and "things that come up") to cover twelve chapters of Collins. Our pace is brisk, so keep up. We will generally cover one chapter per week, in numerical order. A few points in later chapters are important for first semester Latin students, and I flag them accordingly. We generally do the grammar for a given chapter on Wednesdays, and the sentences for that chapter on the following Monday. You will also have some texts (usually prayers) to memorize and recite that provide, besides occasions for grace, important grammatical illustrations and augment one's appreciation of the history and universality of Catholic liturgy.

At the end of LAT 121, the successful student will:

be able to explain the fundamental difference between word-order and case-driven languages;
be able to parse Latin nouns and adjectives in the first two declensions.
be able to parse Latin verbs, in both voices, of the Declarative mood;
have a strong grasp of prepositions and adverbs, and be able to explain why these words are especially important to students;
recognize some basic syntactical structures (e.g., dative of the possessor);
have a vocabulary commensurate with the mid-point of beginning Latin studies;
be able to recite with understanding some prayers of the Rosary, including the Pater Noster, Ave Maria, and Gloria Patri.

O lente, lente, currite noctis equi!

Dr. Faustus invented the "Prayer of

Latin Students the Night before Finals"

Top || Home || Canon Law || Liturgy & Sacraments || Catholic Issues || Personal