Amo, Amas, Amat and More (Hudson Group Books) (Paperback)

~ (Author), William F. Buckley Jr. (Introduction) "One who argues ab absurdo seeks to establish the validity of his position by pointing out the absurdity of his opponent's position..." (more)
Key Phrases: asino lanam, sub iudice, uno disce omnes, United States, Horace's Odes, Virgil's Aeneid (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I know of no book to contend in usefulness with this resourceful, voluminous, and appetizing smorgasbord." -- William F. Buckley, Jr.,From the Introduction

Product Description

A witty and entertaining guide to the use of Latin expressions for one's own advantage in the modern world. Illustrated.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Harper & Row (September 3, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062720171
• ISBN-13: 978-0062720177
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #92,033 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a smorgasbord for the mind, May 12, 2000

By	Richard A. Weaver (lawrenceville, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An informative and fun book! The author includes hundreds of Latin mottoes, sayings, bon mots, and proverbs. They are ordered alphabetically, each followed by its pronunciation (in an informal but generally useful transcription), and general sense. Most of the entries have an explanatory sentence or two, giving the background, source, and literal translation. A fun and educational book; helpful to the student of Latin, and entertaining and educational to the general reader. Well worth the money!

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seize the day..., May 17, 2003

By	FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

Eugene Ehrlich's 'Amo, Amas, Amat and More' is a wonderful shorthand guide to Latin literacy for those who are struggling with Latin, or those of us who had a lot of Latin but little use since our last conjugation, er, um, examination.

Gives new meaning to 'conjugal visit' now, doesn't it? (Well, look it up for the distinctions.)

There is a very interesting introduction by William F. Buckley, Jr., who has been known to drop the odd Latinate phrase here or there in writing or speech. 'I suppose I am asked [to write this introduction] because the few Latin phrases I am comfortable with I tend to use without apology,' Buckley writes. He uses Latin phrases, he says, 'that cling to life because they seem to perform useful duties without any challenger rising up to take their place in English.' But, Buckley states, 'Probably the principal Latin-killer this side of the Huns was Vatican II.' With the end of use of Latin by Roman Catholic church, Latin became an almost exclusively academic pursuit, and then most often in 'useful' segments--i.e., legal Latin, medical Latin, etc.

This book is arranged as an encyclopedic dictionary of sorts -- there is an entry, including pronunciation (do you know if Latin uses a hard c or hard g, for instance, without looking?). Ehrlich also puts in literary examples of how the Latin phrase has come to be known in English (which is sometimes something apart from its original Latin meaning).

I give you the example used in my title as an sample entry:

carpe diem
KAHR-peh DEE-em
enjoy, enjoy

This famous advice, literally 'seize the day', is from Horace's Odes. The full thought is carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero (kwahm MIH-nih-muum KRAY-duu-lah PAW-ster-oh), which may be translated as 'enjoy today, trusting little in tomorrow'. Thus, carpe diem from ancient times until the present has been advice often and variously expressed: Enjoy yourself while you have the chance; eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; make hay while the sun shines; enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. In another century carpe diem was also an exhortation to maidens to give up their virginity and enjoy all the pleasures of life.

Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will be dying.

So, if your motto is omne ignotum pro magnifico est a la Tacitus, and you'd like a little less unknown in your life, or simply wish to amaze your friends, this book is for you. I'm not the advocatus diaboli here, and I certainly won't give this book the pollice verso, so rush to your nearest scriptorium now and find this scroll, er, um, book.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Use sparingly to impress or heavily to crush brainy snobs, March 16, 2000

By	Mike Noga (Cicero, IL United States) - See all my reviews

Latin is in baby! This book is basically"The Wit and Wisdom of Ancient Rome" presented in English and Latin. It's full of short snappy quotes that you can drop whenever a line from Shakespeare might seem trite. It's not a text or manual but it can be used in classrooms to mix things up a bit. The ancient Romans were funny at times and students can appreciate this. Let your students go over this book and then have them translate current phrases into Latin.I recommend this to anyone who likes or teaches ancient history or the latin language.