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Virent Ova! Viret Perna!! (Green Eggs and Ham in Latin)

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I will like them in a school,
I will like them like a fool,
I will like them dressed in satin,
Yes, I'll like them, even in Latin!

I must confess, I do profess,
I do so like Green Eggs and Ham!

`Green Eggs and Ham' has been translated into many languages, just as other classic Dr. Seuss pieces have been so translated. So, why should it be unusual that `Green Eggs and Ham' would finally make it into Latin?

The publishers Bolchazy-Carducci, of Wauconda, Illinois, have devoted efforts toward an enterprise to publishing modern classics into Latin - and who ever said it was a dead language. There are many titles to be had, but few as well loved as Dr. Seuss, and few of those are as well known and loved as `Green Eggs and Ham'.

The listing of vocabulary words at the end includes entries for about 100 primary words (depending, of course, upon how you count the words). The original challenge to Dr. Seuss for `Green Eggs and Ham' was to produce a book with no more than 50 primary words. To keep the story line, in Latin there are a few more words to be used, but still this book can serve as a basic introduction to help with vocabulary for those studying Latin, and want a break from the Vulgate or from Cicero.

The story line proceeds apace, similar to the same story in English. This is a translation, after all, and not a revision or rewriting. However, because the Sam/ham rhyme doesn't neatly fit in Latin, one major revision is in the key rhyming phrase.

Non mi placent, O Pincerna,
Virent ova! Viret perna!

`Ova' is a recognisable word even to those who have not studied Latin - the ovum means `egg', the ovaries of course being the place eggs are produced. `Perna' is the word for ham. (Ironically, the word `ovum' is a neuter term in Latin, rather than female; the word `perna' is a feminine word.) The word `Pincerna' means waiter or server (it can even mean butler). Virent/viret is actually a verb, meaning `to be green'. So, the above phrase would roughly translate into

They do not please me, O waiter,
Eggs that are green! Ham that is green!

Yes, I know, it suffers a bit in translation; imagine the power of poetry and how sometime this can be lost in translation. Thus, it is important to understand the literary license with which Jennifer Tunberg and Terence Tunberg have translated the text. They have made an effort to make sure the meter, rhyme, and story fit the text as a Latin text, rather than a forced translation.
The story continues as the waiter tries to convince the reluctant diner to at least try the `virent ova/viret perna'. They are offered in a `cista' (box); they are offered with a `vulpes' (fox); they are offered `sub tecto' (in a house); they are offered with a `mus'(mouse) - all offerings are, of course, flatly rejected, until near the end, when a taste, just a taste, is accepted. And the rest is history (a seemingly ancient history in Latin, now, to be precise!).

Despite the fact that the authors, in their appendix, say that they have not in fact tried to duplicate the precise rhyme-and-rhythm system that Dr. Seuss developed in the English `Green Eggs and Ham', in fact many of the versicles throughout do have a cadence to them that is reminiscent of the beloved scheme for which Dr. Seuss is famous. For example, read the following lines aloud:

Dapem tuam vix probabo.
Tuos cibos non gustabo.

Or

Omni loco tuam pernam,
Semper ova tua spernam.

They employ in many cases (as can be seen above) an eight-syllable line of trochaic rhythm that conclude in end-rhymes of at least two syllables (not just the final syllable). This is a common rhyming pattern in ancient Latin, used in secular and religious verse, dramatic and comedic. This can approximate the pattern, if read with the right intonations, the same kind of feel one would get from Dr. Seuss!

While this is not a Latin grammar, and the construction of verbs, noun endings, etc. are not explicated, still one can begin to pick up the basics of Latin grammatical construction from texts like `Virent Ova! Viret Perna!' Jennifer Tunberg (Ph.D., Oxford) and Terence Tunberg (Ph.D., Toronto) are both educators, and thus have a care for the reader learning something from the text in addition to gaining enjoyment from it. While one could easily see the translation of a book such as `Green Eggs and Ham' into Latin as a purely academic exercise, in fact the book serves several purposes, including teaching (or re-teaching) Latin to students, and introducing the language to people who might not otherwise be exposed to it. Dr. Seuss eliminates somewhat the `intimidation factor' that Latin has for some, particularly when presented with Caesar or Cicero in long-winded passages.

This is a wonderfully fun book, a good gift for those who have everything, a good offering to the budding or the latent Latin scholar, and an interesting conversation piece even for those who have no Latin background at all. The classic line-art drawings, complete with green-coloured eggs and ham, the same Seussian characters, and the same wild drawings, are preserved here, so it looks at first glance like any ordinary Dr. Seuss book.

Like the Green Eggs and Ham themselves, you will enjoy this book QUOVIS LOCO - Anywhere!

This classic childrens book is a first rate way for a beginning latin student to practice reading skills.

It's a truly funny book. If you like Latin and want something to lighten the day try some green eggs and ham. They're delicious! My son, 3, likes this book a lot. The colorful pictures are attractive and the repetitive nature of the verses not only helps to learn and remember, but is also appealing to children. For a similar approach see Puer Zingiberi Panis: et Fabulae Alterae (Latin Edition) which is not really funny but quite charming and attractive for children.

great book! One page is in English, the other in Latin. My 11 yr old loved it as did the adults in the family.

My son is taking Latin in college so this book was a fun way to practice. He very much enjoyed sharing it with his class.