Commentaries on Latin Letters

UVM Student Commentaries: what to expect

• Text
• The texts are not critical texts with apparatus: they are good texts intended for student use. Textual problems are occasionally noted, but not thoroughly addressed. The source of the text is always given.
  
• Introduction
• The introduction generally discusses the "contents" of the letter but not the Latin. If your interest is the content, read the introduction.
  
• Commentary
• Usually, the Latin text is included here again, one section at a time, followed by commentary, so that one can see the text and the comments on one screen.
  
• Often, there is also a comment about the contents of the section. This is a paraphrase of the section, not a translation. Additional information needed to understand the thought of the passage is often found here.
  
• The commentary section is intended to explain everything that is likely to puzzle an intelligent student who has completed a full year of college-level introductory Latin.
  
• The syntax is analyzed in grammatical terms:
  
• All subjunctives are identified.
• Idioms are identified and explained, insofar as possible.
• Gerundives and gerunds are explained.
• Various less common case usages are noted.
• Any difficult passage is analyzed as fully and compendiously as possible.
  
• Long sentences are dissected into clauses.
• A translation is occasionally offered of a single word or short phrase, but translation is never given in lieu of commentary: every difficult bit is explained.
• The pedagogical rationale behind this style of commentary is that as students leave introductory Latin behind, they often face a sea of vocabulary that absorbs a great deal of their attention, to the detriment of syntax. Describing the syntax of real Latin is different from textbook Latin, and students need to get used to it. Too many commentaries simply "punt" when it comes to difficult passages: in lieu of explanation of why and how it means what it does, they offer a translation of the difficult passage. Generally speaking, however, good translations are readily available and students are excellent researchers when it comes to finding translations: they don't need help with that. They need help with the explanation of the grammar so that they can judge a translation.
  
• Vocabulary
• Most letters have vocabulary at the end.
  
• Almost every word in the letter has an entry, but words such as et, cum, qui are usually omitted.
  
• The standard information is given (verb conjugation, principal parts, gender, etc.).
  
• Variant spellings and forms are usually included with a cross-reference to standard forms.
• One or more meanings that are appropriate for the letter's use of the word are given. Meanings that are not found in the letter are not given. This saves considerable time: looking in the dictionary requires sifting through many meanings to find the one that is appropriate. While students should develop skills at that, they need even more to read a lot of Latin, which is what the tailor-made vocabulary for each text allows.
  
• Sometimes bibliography or other relevant material is offered.

Many of the original authors of these commentaries wrote the commentaries as assignments in Professor Bailly's classes. Generally speaking, Prof. Bailly's "revision" was a thorough revision which involved many changes, additions, omissions, and verification of vocabulary. He should be held responsible for any problems. Sometimes the original commentary is no longer recognizable in the revisions. Occasionally, Prof. Bailly is listed as 'editor,' which means that the listed author should receive credit for the final product and Prof. Bailly offered comments and suggestions rather than full revision. Student commentaries are a wonderfully rewarding assignment for all involved: students make many astute points and learn a lot in the process. But even their mistakes are important and valuable too, not only for the learning that the student does when a mistake is pointed out: one can assume that if an intelligent student made a mistake, the matter needs a comment in this sort of commentary. Thus they help steer the nature of the commentary.