Grammar of the Latin Language : From Plautus to Suetonius

Henry John Roby's two-volume descriptive Grammar of the Latin Language, first published in the 1870s, offers thorough linguistic analysis based on the works of classical writers from the early Latin period to the Silver Age. This first volume focuses on phonetics, noun and verb inflexions, and word formation.

Henry John Roby (1830–1915) was a Cambridge-educated classicist whose influential career included periods as a schoolmaster, professor of Roman law, businessman, educational reformer and Member of Parliament. His two-volume Grammar of the Latin Language went through seven editions during his lifetime. It provides in-depth analysis of Latin phonetics, noun and verb construction, and syntax and morphology, taking a descriptive approach. Drawing examples from the corpus of classical writings dating from circa 200 BCE. to 120 CE, this first volume (1872) discusses sounds and syllable quantities, noun and verb inflexions, and the basic elements of word formation, organized according to noun and verb stems. Appendices include pronoun tables, lists of weights and measures, and a chronological compilation of inscriptions from the republican era. A work of remarkable breadth and depth, Roby''s book remains an essential resource for both historical linguistics and the study of Latin grammar.