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A Horace Reader for Advanced Placement* 

A Horace Reader for Advanced Placement* 

Henry V. Bender

The Hill School

1998 • 0-941051-67-6 • paper • 160 pages • 8 ½ x 11 • $19.95

For college or AP* courses.

| About the Author | Table of Contents | Ancillaries | Preface |

 Description                                             

Intended for the Latin student with three years of Latin experience who is preparing for the Advanced Placement* examination in Latin literature, this text offers a complete and thorough preparation, including an introduction to Horace's life and work, Latin text of 28 poems with facing notes, glossaries on meter and figures of speech, and a complete vocabulary. Each poem is introduced by a brief summary in English.

 Author                                                    

Henry V. Bender is Chair of Humanities, Isaac Thomas Chair of Classical Languages, and instructor of humanities and classics at the Hill School, as well as adjunct faculty at Villanova University and St. Joseph's University. He earned his PhD from Rutgers. He is the author of several works for AP courses.

 Table of Contents                                      

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
Table of Important Dates
On Horace
Odes I
Odes II
Odes III
Odes IV
Sermones
Meter
Figures of Speech
Vocabulary

 Ancillaries                                              

Teacher's Edition

1998 • 0-941051-68-4 • paper • 80 pages • 8 ½ x 11 • $19.95

 Preface                                                     

      My intention in writing this book is to provide students of Latin with a relatively easy access to the poetry of Horace, which has often been considered difficult and remote. I wanted to make available a full assortment of Horace’s poems which have been and are now the selections of the Educational Testing Service for the Advanced Placement Examination in Latin Literature.

      Vocabulary has been supplied on the left page of the open book, as well as, when possible, below the Latin text which appears on the right page. Nouns are all listed with full nominative and full genitive case forms. Second-declension nouns whose stem ends in “i” are shown with a genitive singular “i(i)”; all third-declension adjectives with two terminations are listed with full forms separated by a dash; single terminations appear in nominative and genitive. The fourth part of a verb is always listed in a final “um”. Standard abbreviations for gender, parts of speech, and number are used throughout. When a word is given in the vocabulary, only meanings that can work in the translation of the poem are supplied. The full vocabulary at the end of the text lists all vocabulary words supplied by the textbook. A brief introduction accompanies each poem. The print is 14 point, which allows for quicker and more comfortable study. There are more selections in the book than those required by the new A.P. syllabus, which justifies the title, A Horace Reader, and will afford the ambitious student the opportunity to read more than the A.P. requires.

      I hope that students who use this textbook will read and understand Horace much more easily. A student’s mastery of vocabulary and grammar should produce a smooth and clear translation of the Latin poem. The student should be able to translate the poem accurately in class without reference to any secondary material such as notes or an English translation. In order to obtain a complete understanding of each poem, a student should pay particular attention to any background material supplied in the notes.

      Since the Advanced Placement examination does not use macrons, no attempt has been made to indicate long vowels. When this is a problem, the teacher’s guidance is expected; a dictionary can always be consulted. Supplements include a chapter on meter and one on figures of speech. The student must understand that to learn anything effort must be put forth. Patience, consistency, and dedication will assure the student’s success in the challenging but rewarding endeavor to read the poems of Horace.

      To the study of Horace a student should bring three years of high school Latin, a compelling interest in ancient poetry, and some understanding of Roman history and culture. When an ode is assigned to the class, each student should practice reading the poem aloud in its meter. Attention needs to be paid to rhythm, scansion, and tonal variations, since meter was the music of the poet. The student should be able to recognize subtle figures of speech and to connect them with the more important question of developing the theme of the poem.

      At the discretion of the teacher, students may have access to secondary literature (commentaries as well as in articles) to enhance their understanding of and response to the poems. In class, the testing of the poems should be thorough, reflecting a combination of grammar, syntax, identification, background, interpretation, and translation.

      The student should be prepared to think about and to discuss the meaning of each poem. Ideally each poem should be studied as an entity in itself, and then be compared to its neighboring pieces (when this is possible). The poetry of Horace forms a magnificent mosaic composed of pieces of varying size and dimension. Each piece is a whole by itself, but acquires greater importance when placed in its proper setting in the whole.

      It is a great achievement to be able to read Horace, as others before us have done, and to relate so much of what he has to say to the human condition which we all share.