Latin Alive and Well: An Introductory Text. By P.L. CHAMBERS. Norman, OK: 

University of Oklahoma Press, 2007. Pp. xv + 350. Paper, $24.95. ISBN 

978–0–8061–3816–5.



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The title of this book sounds slightly defensive, as if the author had 

heard the phrase “dead language” too often. Readers should not be faulted, 

therefore, for expecting a markedly innovative approach to teaching and 

learning basic Latin. What they receive instead is a highly traditional 

grammar-translation textbook, very similar to Wheelock’s. This is not a bad 

book; it simply does not offer much that is not presented equally well 

elsewhere.



There are certainly a few innovations. Learning objectives are boxed off at 

the start of every chapter, giving the teacher and student a concrete idea 

of what is to come. Some material that is scattered in other books is 

presented here in a single chapter. By Chapter V, the student has been 

introduced to the present indicative of all conjugations; the present, 

imperfect and future indicative of sum; and first- and second-declension 

nouns and adjectives. Perfect, imperfect and future tenses for all four 

conjugations are each presented within a single chapter. This is a sensible 

decision, since imperfect and perfect endings are the same for all regular 

verbs, and it does students no favor to let them believe that all future 

tense verbs end in -bo, -bis, -bit, -bimus, -bitis and -bunt, only to have 

them find out otherwise when they learn the third and fourth conjugations. 

The method of teaching the present tense of the third conjugation is also 

clever, since it avoids the pitfall students often experience when they 

reach this conjugation. If they have previously been told to drop -re from 

the infinitive and add -o, -s, -t, -mus, -tis and -nt, they may become 

confused when that suddenly will not work. Instead, they are told here to 

“Find the verbal stem [[by dropping the last three letters of the 

Infinitive]]” [boldface (marked "[[ ]]") is original] and then add the 

endings -o, -is, -it, -imus, -itis and -unt (p. 29). The six tenses of the 

indicative active are introduced quickly, in the first third of the book. 

The five declensions are all presented by Chapter XIX (of 36). Covering so 

much material so quickly inevitably leads to important topics being put off 

a long time, for example comparative and superlative adjectives (Chapters 

XXIV and XXV). There is an even longer wait for adverb comparison (Chapter 

XXIX). The oddest postponement, however, is numbers, which are relegated to 

the penultimate chapter. Why should students of Latin wait so long for 

numbers, something those learning modern languages typically cover early 

on?



The readings are initially presented Wheelock-style, as “Sentence 

Translations” consisting of sentences created by the author (Fortuna 

patriae est magna) and/or snippets adapted from ancient authors (Puella 

poetam non amat. Vale, puella! —Catullus). Beginning in Chapter V, Chambers 

adds connected passages (“Text Translation”). The choice of material for 

the latter is very traditional: first the story of Aeneas adapted from 

Vergil, and then passages adapted from Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita. These 

include a version of Livy’s Preface, which represents a very challenging 

reading for Chapter VIII of a beginner’s text. Later chapters contain 

readings from authors such as Caesar (particularly his invasion of 

Britain), Cicero, Seneca, Nepos, Martial and Horace. Chambers also throws 

in the occasional Latin for All Occasions-type quotation (Est bonum esse 

rex! —Mel Brooks). In addition, the Text Translations contain two “fun” 

passages, one on “Procurator Nihil Nihil Septem” (p. 86) and one on “Bella 

Stellarum” (p. 213). The book could have used more of these, since many of 

the other sentences and readings may not be intrinsically engaging even to 

more mature college students. A passionate and enthusiastic teacher can 

make the material interesting, but it would be nice not to have to do so 

much of the author’s work for her.



There are some exercises apart from readings; these tend to be “write out 

the declension/conjugation of…,” “write the ___________ forms of 

______________,” or other short-answer activities requiring plugging in a 

form or two. Only occasionally does the student write Latin of his/her own 

creation that is not a direct translation. At the end of the chapter on 

present subjunctive formation, there is an assignment to “Write a tombstone 

inscription in Latin including at least six of the following grammatical 

constructions…” (p. 204). Had the book included more such exercises, the 

student might gain a better feel for Latin as a language, not a puzzle that 

one either translates into English or translates English into. Nor does it 

help that the book’s cultural information is scanty. There is no systematic 

presentation of Roman daily life, mythology, Roman history after the death 

of Romulus or even the history of Roman literature. There are a few 

visuals, in a welcome contrast to Wheelock’s text, but they are infrequent 

and sometimes random. Barocci’s Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius Fleeing Troy 

is reproduced at the start of a chapter containing a reading on Aeneas, but 

other shots of Roman ruins, such as the Curia or the Colosseum, seem 

haphazardly placed. The most effective visual aid is a series of cute 

drawings of a goldfish in a bowl that accompanies the chapter on 

prepositions (p. 54).



Among the Sentence Translations is this one by the French philosopher Rene 

Boylesve, which the author quotes in English in her “Note to the Student” 

on p. xi: “Memoria teneamus nos non discere Latinam linguam ut declinemus 

verba et in investigationibus splendeamus sed ut hac lingua penetremus in 

regnum … cogitationis humanae. We do receive some glimpses into the 

cogitatio humana of the Romans in this text, but all too often we are left 

with the impression that the be-all and end-all of Latin study is indeed ut 

declinemus verba (et nomina et adiectiva).



MARIANTHE COLAKIS 

Townsend Harris High School





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