Caesar: Invasion of Britain

This short reader, beginning with simplified Caesar broken into sense lines and progressing toward the real thing, offers a viable bridge from the isolated sentences found in most college level Latin textbooks to the reading of continuous, unadapted passages from the authors. The story of Caesar’s two invasions of Britain, fast paced and full of topical detail, has something to interest every reader. The full vocabulary and notes provide ample support for students reading their first Latin author. Highly recommended!

Caesar’s *De Bello Gallico* enjoyed pride of place in the traditional Latin curriculum. The student’s first task in translation (after mastering Latin grammar) was usually a slow and painstaking reading of Caesar, concentrating in great detail on the syntax of Caesar’s Latin, often to the exclusion of his narrative. In the mid-twentieth century a reaction set in which unjustifiably rejected Caesar as ‘boring’ and ‘unable to stimulate student interest.’ This prejudice probably reveals more about the methods used in the classroom than it does about the material, for there is no reason that Caesar should be thought ‘boring’: his story moves rapidly and is told with consummate skill; the clarity of his style is proverbial and provides the best possible model for the student just starting to read Latin. On both counts, Caesar deserves to be reinstated in the standard Latin curriculum in colleges and high schools. One of the most exciting episodes in the whole Gallic campaign was the invasion of Britain by the Roman army for the .rst time. Caesar’s .rst attempt, in 55 BC, was a near-disaster, but his second (the following year) was a military success that took the Roman standards from the coast of Kent as far inland as the River Thames and beyond. In books IV and V of the *De Bello Gallico,* Caesar provides a vivid and exciting account of these two campaigns that will certainly catch the interest of most students. It is presented in clear and .owing Latin, and the combination of readable Latin and the exciting tale (important to the history not only of Rome but of England as well) makes the British expedition particularly suitable for Latin students who have had the basic introductory sequence of courses. This text, *The Invasion of Britain,* was adapted from Caesar’s original by Welch and Duffield with just such students in mind. At first the Latin is simplified, but the students’ skills are carefully nurtured by the passages until they are reading Caesar’s Latin practically undiluted. Furthermore, the book provides illustrations, maps, notes, vocabulary, and composition exercises based on the passages, all of which enrich both its historical and paedagogical utility. Caesar should be returned to the Latin classroom as a model of style for students learning the language, and the reprinting of this excellent graded reader is an important step in that direction. As a university Latin teacher, I use the book in my own classes, and can warmly endorse its adoption by others.”