J. A.

COMENIUS

The vestibule of languages

Vestibulum Linguārum
Trilingue

Latinè, Græcè, Anglicè

 � The audio recordings for this book, in Latin and
Greek, are freely available for download in �

https://comeniustrilinguis.wordpress.com/soni

II Edition.
isbn: 978-84-09-30771-5
Copyright © 2021 Alvarus Alonsus Matritensis. Cum privilegio.
Todos los derechos reservados. Omnia proprietatis jura reservantur.
All rights reserved.
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In eorum gratiam, qui viva præceptoris voce
destituuntur, et litteras Græcas et Latinas
suo Marte discere coguntur

Αὐτῶν χάριν οὐδένα διδάσκαλον ἐχόντων,

οἱ αὐτοδιδάκτως τὴν Ἑλληνικήν τε καὶ
Ῥωμαϊκὴν γλῶτταν μανθάνειν ἀναγκάζονται

To all those who, lacking the living voice

of a teacher, are forced to learn
Latin and Greek by themselves
 Contents

Prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Author’s prologue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Prologus auctoris. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi

Præloquium. Προοίμιον. Prologue. 1

Caput I. Κεφάλαιον Α’. Chapter I. 2

Dē accidentibus rērum. Περὶ ἐπιθέτων τῶν ὄντων. Acci-
dents of things. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Colōrēs. Τὰ χρώματα. Colours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Sapōrēs. Oἱ χυμοί. Taste. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Aliæ quālitātēs. Ἄλλαι ποιότητες. Other qualities. . . . . 5
Comparātīva. Συγκριτικά. Comparatives. . . . . . . . . 7
Dēnōminātīva. Παρώνυμα. Derivations. . . . . . . . . . 8

Caput II. Κεφάλαιον Β’. Chapter II. 9

Dē rērum āctiōnibus et passiōnibus. Περὶ τῶν ὄντων ἐνεργη-
μάτων καὶ παθημάτων. Actions and passions of things. 9
Animālium. Τὰ τῶν ζῴων. Of animals. . . . . . . . . . 11
Hominis. Τὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Of human beings. . . . . . 12
Mentis. Τὰ τοῦ νοῦ. Of the mind. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Morbidōrum. Τὰ τῶν νοσηματικῶν. Of illnesses. . . . . 16
Opificum. Τὰ τῶν βαναυσουργῶν. Of workers. . . . . . 17
Verba impersōnālia. Ῥήματα ἀπρόσωπα. Impersonal verbs. 22

Caput III. Κεφάλαιον Γ’. Chapter III. 24

Adverbia. Ἐπιῤῥήματα. Adverbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Præpositiōnēs. Προσθέσεις. Prepositions. . . . . . . . . 27
Numerālia. Ἀριθμητά. Numerals. . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

i
Caput IV. Κεφάλαιον Δ’. Chapter IV. 31
Dē rēbus in scholā. Περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ σχολῇ. Things of the
school. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Caput V. Κεφάλαιον Ε’. Chapter V. 35

Dē rēbus domī. Περὶ τῶν οἰκείων. Things at home. . . . 35

Caput VI. Κεφάλαιον ς’. Chapter VI. 41

Dē rēbus in urbe et rēgiōne. Περὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ χώρᾳ.
Things in the city and the countryside. . . . . . . 41

Caput VII. Κεφάλαιον Ζ’. Chapter VII. 45

Dē virtūtibus. Περὶ τῶν ἀρετῶν. On virtues. . . . . . . . 45

Conclūsiō. Ἐπίλογος. Conclusion. 51

Index Latinus 55

Πίναξ Ἑλληνικός 79

English Index 103

 Prologue

Est hodie Latinum idioma nulli Nationi proprium, et tamen

toti Europæ commune. Johannes Caramuel de Lobkowitz.
Omnis lingua usu potius discatur quam præceptis, id est, audi-
endo, legendo, relegendo, transcribendo, imitationem manu et
lingua tentando quam creberrime. Comenius
Nec sum contentus eloquentia sæculi nostri. Plinius.
Neque tamen stultorum mores plus valere debent quam pru-
dentium industria. Nicolaus Clenardus.
Nam ipsum Latine loqui est... in magna laude ponendum. Ci-
cero.
Captivæ Græciæ lingua in paucorum eruditorum memoria hodie
vivit. Laborandum est, ne omnino intereat linguarum pul-
cherrima. Bohuslaus Balbinus, S.J.
Ἀρχή σοφίας ἡ τῶν ὀνομάτων ἐπίσκεψις. Ἀντισθένης.
Ταῦτα θαῦμα μὲν ὑπῆρχεν ἰδεῖν, κέρδος δὲ μαθεῖν, ἀδίκημα δὲ
σιωπῇ κατακρύπτεσθαι. Λιβάνιος.

I
n recent years there has been an exponential growth
in initiatives devoted to teaching Latin and Greek, La-
tin Circles and courses, which are held with ever in-
creasing success.
However, despite the number of courses, the improvement in
teaching methods and the growing quantities of speakers, I cannot
help but notice a series of problems which hamper our learning of
these languages, most notably regarding their vocabulary.
Even if textbooks currently in use are generally of good quality,
it so happens that even after finishing them we lack vocabulary apt to
describe our own realities. How can we say shirt? And glasses? And

iii
napkin? The words for inventions and concepts coined after the clas-
sical era (some of them already centuries old) are very difficult to learn
if one does not happen to have a Latin or a Greek speaker at hand.
We will look for them in vain in the Roman and Greek classics. So we
can read in Latin and Greek about military operations, philosophy,
architecture, epic poetry, all of them relative to the ancients, but we
lack the words to speak about things of our times, the state of our
science or our social, political and legal framework.
There is a void that prevents us from progressing, since by learn-
ing only ancient words we can only speak about ancient realities.
The sources to learn these kinds of words exist, but they are scat-
tered throughout many libraries, archives or documents and are some-
times difficult to find, either because they have not been digitised or
are antiquarian books which have not been published for decades or
centuries and are thus difficult to find, or our ignorance does not
allow us to ascertain whether the material is apt for learning or if
the vocabulary it presents is useful. The sources are varied in depth,
but we lack the means to find them or the judgement to choose and
use them correctly. Renaissance and baroque dialogue books or vo-
cabularies are very expensive on the antiquarian market, or difficult
to read if they are digitised, and the lack of appropriate dictionaries
turns finding the proper word into a veritable quest. In some cases
we must resort to coining a new word for concepts that have already
had one for centuries.
Thus, every Latin speaker must tread the same path of hardship
in search for the adequate words. If good books, able speakers or
other resources are not available, every student has to go through
the same problems, the same mistakes and the same detours, wast-
ing time while hoping to encounter everything they need, instead of
going somewhere where they can find it.
This is the reason why I decided to publish the books by Johannes
Amos Comenius. After learning with them over the last few years, I
have been convinced that they are the best means available to improve
vocabulary learning in Latin and Greek. What a better way to learn
than with the books of a humanist, latinist and pedagogue worried
about Latin teaching who created graded vocabulary methods?
I have considered these books and not those by other humanists,
such as Vives, Corderius or Erasmus, for several reasons.

iv
 First, because Comenius created a method to learn Latin through
vocabulary1 . The fact that he insisted on teaching vocabulary and not
only grammar, and that his books are written in a comprehensive,
systematic and progressive fashion makes them a more indispensable
tool to improve our skills more than the works of other great human-
ists. His manuals complement each other just like the gear assembly
of a watch: they are perfectly assembled in order to ease learning.
This will allow the student to take part in the great tradition of these
two languages with the best preparation possible, so that they can
become a speaker or an author in either of these languages.
Comenius provided his students, and students throughout Eu-
rope with easier methods and textbooks to learn languages in a time
which had far more limitations than ours2 . Comenius wanted his
students to access not only authors from the Latin and Greek clas-
sics, but also modern authors who published in his time about the
most varied questions. That is why he presented vocabulary about
the sciences, law, medicine, tools and machines, parts of the house,
food... How could his students follow university lectures and books
or travel abroad if not knowing these things?
Secondly, because these books have been written by the same au-
thor, following a plan and teaching principles, their main purpose
is to teach vocabulary in a graded, useful and effective way, with a
steady increase in difficulty, structured in levels and by collecting an-
cient and modern vocabulary alike.
In the third place, and as a corollary to that said above, the fact
that vocabulary is gathered into a series of books means that it will
not be necessary to buy or read dozens of different books to learn it,
since everything will be condensed into a handful of books. In just
such a fashion as we may see animals from very distant places in a
zoo without the need to spend money or time going to where they
originally lived and stumble across them. It is easier to find things
1 Although not exclusively, since he also wrote grammars to complement his work.

However, Comenius’ methods are completely active and endeavour to teach Latin
for what it is, a language, and not just an exercise in grammatical categories. This is
very important. Grammar is not an end in itself, but a means, a tool to structure and
improve our learning, which must be done by speaking, listening, reading and writing.
2 And not only for a formal education, but also for autodidacts, as he aknowledges

in his Opera Didactica Omnia. This is of utmost importance, considering that many
of those who learn these languages are also independent learners.

v
when they are all arranged in the same place. With these works we
spare ourselves from the toil of finding everything by chance; quite
the contrary, vocabulary will be learned so that we can better under-
stand the authors. Dwarves standing on the shoulders of giants are
able to see further than what they would normally be able to. By
standing on the shoulders of those more learned than ourselves we
are raised up and see further too.
The didactic books of Johannes Amos Comenius offer us the
shoulders on which we can stand and improve our Latin and Greek
in a comfortable and effective way, because these books are already
written, it is only a matter of publishing them.
I will now outline the general plan of Comenius’s works that I
intend to publish, and also a brief history of how it came into being.
Below in this prologue the reader will find a section with some advice
based on my experience as an independent learner, which I think will
be of use to those learning these languages, and also vocabulary learn-
ing techniques, methods and courses so as to make sure that everyone
can access to these languages even without speakers or means at their
disposal.
Comenius’ works are structured in a series of four main books,
in order to teach vocabulary:

• Vestibulum Linguārum. Around 1,600 words are taught in

small paragraphs in parallel columns. In the present edition
the texts are in Latin (from the original in his Opera Didactica
Omnia, Amsterdam, 1657), in Greek, from other editions, to
which I have added my English translation.

• Orbis Sēnsuālium Pictus. This book is divided into 150 lessons

which deal with a wide range of questions, with engravings,
and text in parallel columns. Among the different lessons we
will find the flora and fauna (and their parts), human beings,
professions and their tools, arts and sciences. The book pro-
vides some 3,500 words.

• Jānua Linguārum Reserāta. A hundred chapters structured

into a thousand paragraphs, which teach a vocabulary of some
8,000 words. This was the first vocabulary book that Come-
nius published, but given its complexity and thoroughness he

vi
 was forced to write another manual to introduce children to
its text. Such was the Vestibulum. However, since the leap
from a text of 1,600 words to another one of 8,000 was very
difficult, he conceived the Orbis as a middle step, in order to
ease the transition.
• Ātrium Linguārum. The last book of the series, it is a rhetor-
ical elaboration of the text of the Janua, which prepares the
student to read the authors. Its aim is to teach the language’s
characteristics, its phraseology and collocations, and also to
teach style and rhetoric. The original book has a section about
rhetorical figures, its treatment and use, etc3 .
The first three books where conceived in such a way that they
were, at least, bilingual, teaching Latin by the means of the native
tongue of the student, in parallel columns, to which other modern
and ancient languages were sometimes added. In the case of the Ātri-
um Linguārum, Comenius considered that the students would al-
ready have a level good enough and the text is only in Latin.
He designed, then, an architectural metaphor: a Vestibule or Por-
tal (Vestibulum) from which one could contemplate the World (Or-
bis) and, passing through the Door (Jānua) and a Courtyard (Ātri-
um), one could reach the Palace (Palātium), this is how he called the
Latin authors, be they ancient or contemporary. His success can be
seen in the countless editions and translations of his work, both dur-
ing his lifetime and after his death, and which encompass most Euro-
pean languages. Comenius writes admiringly in his Opera Didactica
Omnia that he had seen editions in Spanish, English, French, Ger-
man, Italian, Hungarian, Dutch, Danish, Polish, Greek and even in
Persian, Arabic, Turkish and Mongolian. However, about these last
ones I could not find information, and they are most probably out
of Europe or handwritten.
My objective is to rescue this system by means publishing these
books, in order to pave the way towards the Palace and to help the
student acquire the highest level in Latin, Greek, or both. And not
3 As I write these lines I am unsure whether I will be able to publish it, considering

the difficulty that translating such a Latin text (already in a native level and very literary
in style) into Greek will entail. I expect, nevertheless, that I will be able to publish it
sooner or later.

vii
only this. Since I myself have been an independent learner and had to
manage everything alone, I offer as well some advice on about how to
learn Latin or Greek in a more effective way. Thus I intend to prevent
the student from wasting time or learning things wrongly, which are
always difficult to correct afterwards.
I will provide some tips about methods, books and different cour-
ses so that, if the level of Latin and Greek is insufficient, it may be per-
fected before entering through this Vestibule. I hope that my opin-
ion as an autodidact can be of use to those who, like me, have lacked a
clear guide at the beginning of our studies, but also to those who have
been lucky enough to have a teacher who taught in an active way. Im-
proving our vocabulary is an ineluctable task to all those who want to
bear the name of Latinists and Hellenists. Learning these languages
should not be a hard and tiresome task. My purpose is to pave the
way to perfection in the swiftest and easiest manner.

About this method

Below you will find some advice on about how to proceed with the
readings, the use of the audios, vocabulary learning and finally, some
points of interest about Latin and Greek courses. Being an autodi-
dact is a laborious task, mostly at the beginning, but if done properly
it bears fruit. That is why I think that one of the most important is-
sues I can address, beyond publishing these books, is to provide some
light to all those desirous of learning Latin and Greek, as well as in-
formation about tools or courses to improve our knowledge.
The text comes divided into three columns with 427 small num-
bered paragraphs or periods. These columns show the Latin, Greek
and English texts. The numbers allow the student to find which sec-
tion corresponds to each other and also where the audios begin and
end. The Greek column shows numbers according to ancient At-
tic numerals. Besides, I decided to provide the English text so that
the other languages can be understood without having to resort to
dictionaries. I believe this follows Comenius’ precepts, who always
endeavoured to present the text also in the language of the students4 .
4 As he himself wrote in a 1630 letter: Ego interim, quod dixi, in Latina vernaculæ

viii
Wasting time looking up words in a dictionary detracts time from us
which could be better spent studying and understanding the text.
We should learn, not solve puzzles.

This book and the following ones in higher levels have the objec-
tive of being absolutely clear and transparent and striving to be self-
suficient, so that the student does not need to consult other sources,
dictionaries or external tools, having everything necessary. The main
purpose is to teach vocabulary and idioms, and for that reason every
language has its own index, with the declension, gender, verb con-
jugation, and so on, included. The English index will also allow for
this book to become a dictionary of use, making it easier to look up
unknown words or to finding them in the text. It also has record-
ings because languages settle in the mind not only through the eyes,
but also through the ears. I wanted it to be small, light, portable and
cheap, so that it can be read anywhere without spending too much
money or needing complementary exercises or explanations.
Now, I say that the purpose of this book is to teach vocabulary
because I assume that the reader has a decent foundation in Latin,
Greek, or both. A minimal active fluency is required, given that it
does not have grammar notes or tables. Only through some previ-
ous active use can we extract everything this book has to offer. This
would include, in my opinion, a basic vocabulary and knowing the
declensions and conjugations in an active way.

Courses and resources

In order to facilitate this and taking into account the difficulties which
an autodidact or even someone in a classroom environment can face
I have decided to include some tips about manuals and courses to
learn these languages.

Regarding the case of Latin, I would say that, in order to use this

ita connectenda, ut altera alteri comes, dux, lux, lex sit, omnem pono operam. ”Mean-
while, as I have said, I put all my effort in connecting the Latin to the vernacular in
such a way that they become a companion, guide, light and hallmark to each other.”

ix
book properly, the student should have finished the Lingua Latīna
per sē Illūstrāta books, at least the Familia Rōmāna (first volume of
the series) along with the exercise book. Familia Rōmāna is the book
with which I started and is one of the best textbooks there are, also
for independent learners. The course would also cover the exercise
book (called Exercitia Latīna), its audios and also the accompanying
explanation book called Latīnē Discō (’I learn Latin’) in which the
grammar points which appear throughout the text are treated, since
the original textbook has nothing written in a vernacular language,
and it is easy to overlook grammar or vocabulary points. The exer-
cises should ideally be corrected by someone else, because otherwise
some bad habits can develop, which are very difficult to correct af-
terwards. Despite that the second volume of the series, the Rōma
Æterna is not indispensable to access the content of this book, it is
nevertheless an excellent textbook to polish and improve it to a very
good level, so I recommend finishing it to everyone who reads this se-
ries. Given that there is some difference in complexity with respect to
the Familia Rōmāna, I would recommend reading this book again
before continuing to the second volume. The series also has some
small adapted classics in the same format to make the transition be-
tween the two textbooks easier. It would be advisable to obtain the
recordings of Familia Rōmāna. It is a shame that there are no record-
ings of the Rōma Æterna, if only the publishing house decided to
record them... As I have said, languages are learnt through the ears,
and Latin and Greek are no exception. These two textbooks cover all
of the grammar and a vocabulary of about 4,000-5,000 words.
If one is not able to lay their hands on these books, another pos-
sibility is to complete the free courses of the Schola Latīna Ūniver-
sālis for which Assimil’s Le latin sans peine is used. The textbook,
although it has explanations in French, is absolutely delightful and
it provides modern and ancient vocabulary of about 3,500 words. If
one doesn’t know French (or Italian or German, languages in which
the book is available), they provide working translations in English5 .
5 One of the advantages of this Assimil book is that many of the dialogues take place

in the modern world: characters travel by train, they reserve rooms in hotels, in Latin,
without neglecting classical authors like Saint Augustine, Plinius and other moderns,
like Erasmus. The scenes are about daily life with classics’ fragments here and there,
so it is a very interesting book for anyone interested in learning how to speak, and not

x
 If these books have not been used, it is likely that one may not
have enough active fluency in the language, knowing how to decline
and conjugate appropriately, the gender of words, being able to agree
them, or conjugating verbs when one wants to express something. If
that is the case I recommend the Schola Latīna Ūniversālis If you do
not have a teacher at hand, or do not know where to find it, or there
is not a Latin Circle where you live6 . It is absolutely worth it and will
help us pave the way to fluency.
Should presential courses be preferred, the summer ones held at
the Accademia Vīvārium Novum, near Rome, are very famous7 , and
also the ones by the Paideia Institute, the Polis Institute, in Jerusalem
and Rome, or the Schola Æstīva Posnaniēnsis en Poznań, Poland. In
Madrid there is the CÆLVM (Cursus Æstīvus Latīnitātis Vīvæ Ma-
trītēnsis)8 every sumer as well. Please mind that this is not a com-
prehensive list, there are many institutions and private teachers that
teach living Latin both in distant and in-person classes.
Special mention must be made of the different Circulī Latīnī
(Latin Circles), informal gatherings in which, more or less periodi-
cally, Latin speakers gather to speak, read and comment on texts in
the target language, and which are a meeting point for many latinists
who favour active use. For years there was a list which included their
locations but it was abandoned. I have been writing a catalogue of
Latin Circles since 2011 with the aid of Google Maps, adding to each
one its location, contact, how often they meet, etc.9 . These can be
very useful if one happens to be close enough.

This book will be very useful to all those who have a basic foun-
dation in active Latin and are able to conjugate, decline with the cor-
rect gender and dabble in the cōnsecūtiō temporum even if they are

only how to read the classics

6 By the way, I will state now that I have no links whatsoever with the Schola, al-

though I was a student there years ago and I have read the Assimil course a few times. I
am an enthusiast for this textbook, but I don’t have any connection to any institution
or school mentioned in this text, besides the Circulus Latīnus Matrītēnsis.
7 They also have the possibility of year-long courses during the school year, under

some conditions.
8 www.culturaclasica.com/?q=caelum
9 This Latin Circle Catalogue can be consulted in the web page of this project in

http://comeniustrilinguis.wordpress.com/circulilatini.

xi
not able to speak about very difficult matters. This book does not
provide grammar explanations, rather, it presents vocabulary in an
orderly fashion, so it is necessary to have some previous understand-
ing about how things work to follow what is happening in the text.
Please bear in mind that the vocabulary sometimes describes reali-
ties of the seventeenth century, when the book was written, so some
questions can be different now, considered unscientific or are in dis-
use10 . I don’t take any responsibilities for Comenius’ opinions or in-
accuracies.

In the case of Greek things become a bit tricky. The most known
books are the Ἀθήναζε (Athenaze) manuals published by Edizioni Ac-
cademia Vīvārium Novum and are of the most famous, especially in
its Italian version11 . I have used these, but in my opinion they are not
very useful to pure independent learners. This doesn’t mean they
are bad, only that without an experienced teacher who can speak the
language they are more difficult to follow. These textbooks, as far
as I know, lack audios too, which renders independent study ever
more difficult. This is one of the most salient shortcomings of this
method. They are nevertheless very useful and are used in several
schools where Greek classes are conducted in Greek, but for some-
one who is by themselves they can become, in my opinion, quite dry.
In recent years there has been, nevertheless, a blossoming of courses
and textbooks which focus on active teaching of the method, either
during the summer or throughout the year, like at the Polis Institute12
in Jerusalem and Rome (the summer courses), the Schola Æstiva Pos-
naniensis13 in Poznań, Poland, the ΟΥΡΑΝΟΣ course in Madrid,
twin of the Latin CÆLVM , or the Διάλογοι Ἑλληνικοί14 , to which
10 This should not be much of a problem, considering that classical Latin refers

more to distant realities (be they about social or political organisation, worldview, etc.)
to us than those of the seventeenth century. It is true that some clothes are in disuse,
no one wears ruffs anymore or washes his hands on ewers, but with these books we
can learn how to say fork, tablecloth, napkin, shirt, button, animals and their parts,
colours, professions... Not only about triclinia or about a social and political organi-
sation which is alien to us.
11 Although the English-speaking world tends to prefer the original English version,

I have gathered from reviews that it is inferior to the Italian ones.

12 https://www.polisjerusalem.org
13 https://scholaaestivaposnaniensis.wordpress.com
14 https://dialogoi.es, twice-yearly courses which took place in either Madrid or Val-

xii
we can add the Paideia Institute.
Regardless of these courses and resources, I didn’t learn Greek
until I found the Assimil course Le grec ancien, which has audios
and a more standardized and even format. If one lacks a teacher, the
best thing that can be done is start by this book, since it is a course
especifically conceived for independent learners. After all, there are
not many Greek teachers who are also speakers with a good level, and
not all those who want to learn Greek have the means or time to at-
tend one of the aforementioned courses; a book for autodidacts can
be, in many cases, the best option in order to acquire a level good
enough so as to continue solo afterwards15 .
Others learn modern Greek, for which there are more speakers,
manuals and resources, but since I have not treaded this path I have
no opinion about it, although I gather that is can be a good solution
to learn a variant of the Greek language in an active way and from
there proceed to the ancient one16 .
At any rate, there is no obstacle to combining classses with inde-
pendent learning, and without any doubt the best choice is to com-
bine different textbooks to learn everything in the most comprehen-
sive way.

Learning tips

One can learn how to learn a language, since no one is born know-
ing everything. There are several techniques and methods which can
make a great difference when learning a language and which are not
always taught. In Comenius’ original preface below the student will
ladolid in Spain.
15 The Ἀθήναζε books have explanations in Italian, and the Assimil ones are either

in Italian or French, so an English speaker will have trouble accessing these books.
Of course, nothing hampers combining both methods, one after the other, but if the
student knows some Italian of French I would advise to start by the Assimil and then
proceed to the Ἀθήναζε. Combining learning textbooks is always a good option.
16 The long-term solution is to have editions of methods similar to those of modern

languages but for Latin and Greek, distributed by the levels recognized in the Com-
mon European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which can allow a
purely active and communicative learning in both Latin and Greek.

xiii
also find as well some tips about how he inteded his book to be used.
Of course, these are only tips, something very interesting to one can
be boring to another. Take it as a map, the important thing is to end
up learning how to speak, write, read.

Regarding the study of language lessons, after years of dealing

with the Assimil method, I have adopted its study techniques, so I
will provide here a summary of them. In the first place, the text in
the target language must be read, while playing the audios, if possi-
ble, and even before opening the book. Once this is done, read again
comparing it to the English translation, observing the differences,
finding out which word corresponds to which one. Once the lesson
is read and its meaning clear, I recommend listening to the audios,
first with the book closed, then again but while reading the English
version. At that moment the meaning of the text should be clear and
one could safely listen to the audios again with the book closed. The
audios should be transparent by now. Note down any vocabulary in
the margins or in the free pages which seems more difficult or find
the declension and conjugation in the index.
After the lesson has been studied, one should listen to it a few
times more throughout the day or the day after during leisure or free
time: while waiting for the bus, in a queue, during a break. It is bet-
ter to listen to the lessons for a few days, even while reading the text
again. It is more useful to listen to the audios spaced out over a few
days while also reading the following lessons than listening to them a
hundred times in the first day and forgetting about them. The book
should also be read a few times (Comenius recommended his stu-
dents to read it ten times, copying it and translating back and forth
and so on). If the meaning of a sentence or word eludes us, it is not
wrong to look it up again or follow the English translation. The im-
portant matter is to reinforce vocabulary not only by reading but also
by listening. There are some reviews of the Assimil method on the
Internet which could be useful. Another tip would be, while cov-
ering the Latin and Greek column, to test if we know the lesson by
translating the English into the target language, then checking and
correcting.
The audios can be used for dictation and aural comprehension
exercises, be it for long vowels (in Latin), orthography (in Greek) or

xiv
just for perfecting one’s listening and writing at the same time. The
possibilities are endlessly adaptable. There is also the shadowing tech-
nique, which consists of listening to the audio of the lesson for that
day and repeating immediately after one hears the sentence (as an in-
terpreter would do while translating), in order to force oneself to imi-
tate the language, pay attention to pronuntiation, etc. Another tech-
nique is the scriptorium one, in which one reads out loud a sentence
to be copied, reads every word as they write it, and once copied it is
read out loud again. More references on these can be found through-
out the Internet.

The Assimil method has convinced me of its virtues for several

reasons and that is why I recommend it adapted for this book: be-
cause the text consists of short lessons that can be repeated, stud-
ied and understood, consolidating our learning in a very powerful
fashion. Secondly (and which to me seems crucial for independent
learning), because having the text in English and in the target lan-
guage at the same time spares us from wasting a lot of time looking
words up in dictionaries17 . And third, because at some point in the
Assimil books, the student is instructed to go back to the beginning
of the book and start translating the lessons into the target language,
all while continuing to make progress as they had been, so that they
can correct themselves and fine tune grammar points or vocabulary
usage. This procedure is crucial: all while reading the book, going
back to the beginning while half way through it and translating it
into the target language and then correcting makes for a very good
revision method, and it certainly consolidates and fixes vocabulary,
collocations and grammar. Finally, the Assimil books also have au-
dios, which considerably help independent learners absorb vocabu-
lary, grammar structures and make the language flow in an ever more
natural way. One can adapt this procedure to this book, which will
certainly be of use. If one does not read Latin or Greek fluently is not
because they did not translate enough, but because they have not lis-
tened and practiced them enough, just like any other language.
17 The Assimil books have grammar notes and explanations, but this book is just a

vocabulary one, so it is not exactly the same case. As stated before, one should have at
least some active knowledge of the language in order to squeeze everything this book
has to offer.

xv
 Another technique which has helped me considerably (mainly
for Greek verbs, which are so tangled) has been writing vocabulary
flashcards. Nowadays, there are free programs, such as Anki, but I
liked having them on paper. Cut a sheet of paper into 8, 16 or 32
parts, according to your preferences and write on one side the basic
information about a word, for instance its nominative and genitive
case forms (and gender if necessary), and on the other side its mean-
ing. For verbs, I only wrote down their conjugations considering the
tenses I already knew, so I had to update them if I learnt the aorist,
the perfect, etc. At the beginning I only wrote the present, but I kept
updating the flashcards or creating new ones with the full conjuga-
tion. If there were two flashcards for the same verb, I would just get
rid of the simpler one.
In order to revise, I took a few from the deck, 20 or 30 should be
enough, with the target language upwards, and I tried to guess the
meaning, which was written on the other side. I would then look at
it and, if correct, I would put the flashcard away; if wrong, I would
put it at the end so that it would appear again during that study ses-
sion. I would repeat until I had no cards left in my hands. I would
shuffle them and repeat the process but now with the meaning up-
wards, trying to guess the word in the target language. After I had
finished revising, I would put those 20 or 30 cards at the end of the
main deck. The Anki program does something similar to this and
ensures spaced repetitions of the vocabulary.
I fervently hope that these tips and also the books I publish will
help everyone to find their way to explore these immortal languages,
so that they can become a part of the rich tradition which these lan-
guages represent.

Dabam a. d. VI Non. Maj. an. MMXXI

xvi
 Author’s prologue

J
ust as a house has an entry door, so an entry door
has its own Porch, in which one can stand and con-
template the outside of the house, inspect the court-
yard and wait until a member of the household lets
one in. This is why, once our Jānua Linguārum was created, we hit
on the idea of constructing for it a porch or Vestibule, the worth of
which, good reader, I leave you to judge
2. I said in the prologue of my Jānua that it had been written
with beginners in mind, and that is how it was furnished to the press.
However, I began to worry that it would be too much to just cast
beginners into such a dense forest of words and ideas. It seemed more
sensible first to linger within a porch to explain general aspects of
the structure (that is, the main elements of those words and ideas)
before addressing more specific ideas. It is with that in mind that
the present book has been written, so that it can provide beginners’
exercises on declensions and conjugations, and an introduction to
the Janua itself.
3. I wondered whether it might not be better to present to chil-
dren some simple dialogues to make Latin easier, but I have kept the
structure of the Jānua so that it is a foundation for it, i.e. a device for
the proper expression of ideas. It is less important for children who
are learning Latin to get used to speaking it (which hitherto has been
poorly done) than to help them understand the meaning of each ele-
ment. But that way, you may say, they will have to pay closer attention.
So be it. Children need to be guided step by step; slowly, I say, but
sensibly. So I will tell you how I have set about this here.
4. First, I selected a thousand18 of some of the most common
words, and I used them to write very short sentences, mostly consist-
ing of two clauses. In the first chapter I covered nouns and adjectives;
in the second, nouns and verbs; in the third indeclinable particles (ad-
18 In fact some 1600 words.

xvii
verbs, prepositions, numbers). Conjugations and interjections are
spread throughout the text. The remaining chapters IV, V and VI
deal with matters to do with school, the home, and the city (to a de-
gree which seemed to me suitable for students); and finally there are
some precepts about virtue in chapter VII.
5. All this has been dealt with in a literal rather than figurative
way. Word order follows a natural pattern (nouns come first, fol-
lowed by adjectives and verbs). Word order follows a natural pat-
tern (nouns come first, followed by adjectives and verbs). At some
points, however, to help understanding in German19 I have tweaked
the word order: for instance: Discite Latīnam linguam instead of
Linguam Latīnam, because while nouns precede adjectives naturally
in Latin, in German the opposite is the rule. That is why I considered
this concession to German, which is quite strict, whereas Latin and
Polish are more flexible.
6. I have avoided elliptical forms in Latin, so as not to cause prob-
lems for students. For instance, “in spring” is translated in Vere, even
though in Latin the preposition is dispensable. Similarly I write ut
nē ruat (“so that it does not collapse”) instead of nē ruat. I thought
best to adapt to student’s unfamiliarity, and babble with those who
babble. It seemed the right thing to do. Since in the beginning ev-
erything lacks form, why would I do otherwise?
7. A few words about the use of this Vestibule. I. Beginners
can learn how to read and pronounce properly if the book is read
aloud twice in assigned periods. II. To become acquaintanced with
the meaning of the words, they should read the translation: for ex-
ample “come, children”, venīte, puerī, etc. Latin will stick twice as
easily if it is always conjoined to their mother tongue. III. Once the
book has been read twice, they should continue with memorisation
by studying two or three sentences an hour and reciting them from
memory.
8. This should be put together with declension exercises, for
which the first chapter provides material, using this easy method: 1)
Choose a noun. 2) Decline it with its adjective, initially the first de-
clension (e. g. Latīna Lingua pulchra, Terra īnfima, Nebula propin-
19 Note: The first edition of the Vestibulum had a parallel German text. Since this

edition is in Latin, Greek and English, this explanation is not as relevant as it was for
German students.

xviii
qua, Ārea lāta, etc.) then the second declension: (Deus æternus,
Mundus temporārius, Cælum suprēmum, etc.) finally, the third: (Ho-
mō mortālis, Pondus grave, etc.) after which the mixed declension
(which at first should not be shown) should follow: (Lingua ēlegāns,
Cāsa hūmilis, Vallis prōfunda, Turris excelsa, Medium facile, Tem-
pus opportūnum, Spīritus invīsibilis, Frūctus mātūrus, Rēs necessāria,
etc. 3) Students should decline not by rote, but by use (...). 4) So that
they understand better what they are doing, the cases should not be
mentioned, but questions should be asked: 1 Quid est hoc? Resp.
Lingua Latīna. 2. Cujus Linguæ vox est «venīte»? Resp. Linguæ
Latīnæ. 3. Cui rēī dabis tempus? Resp. Linguæ Latīnæ. 4 Quid dis-
cis? Resp. Linguam Latīnam. 5. Vocā eam. Resp. Ō lingua Latīna.
6 Quā linguā cupis loquī? Resp. Linguā Latīnā. 5) This should be
done at the start (they will learn how to name every case afterwards,
according to grammar, once they have learned them by use). This
general formula can be used for any type of nouns, in both plural
and singular, for example: 1) Ecce, tabula nigra! 2) Pars tabulæ ni-
græ. 3) Addō partem tabulæ nigræ 4) Videō tabulam nigram, 5) Ō tū
tabula nigra! 6) Videō aliquid in tabulā nigrā.
Pluraliter: 1) Ecce duæ tabulæ nigræ!. 2) Pars duārum tabulārum
nigrārum. 3) Addam aliquid duābus tabulīs nigrīs. 4) Videō duās
tabulās nigrās. 5) O duæ tabulæ nigræ! 6) Videō aliquid in duābus
tabulīs nigrīs. N.B. It is recommended that they decline not only
orally, but also in writing.
6) Once the sentences have been learned in the first class, the stu-
dents should write exercises in notebooks. This will be a prelude to
style exercises. They will learn the declensions as instructed.
9. The students should practise conjugations (from the second
chapter on) in conjunction with the table in the Vestibulum, ob-
viating the need for a grammar. Only the elementary forms of de-
clensions are given; this is enough for beginners, from whom com-
plications that might be discouraging should be avoided. With this
in mind I have omitted supines, gerunds and even infinitives, since
these forms are completely different from those of their own lan-
guage. There will be plenty of time to learn these things once they
enter the Jānua.
10. Thus (and almost without trying) students will gradually
learn the differences and inflections of nouns, adjectives, verbs, ad-

xix
verbs, prepositions and conjunctions, with more specific aspects be-
ing left to grammar.
11. Once they have completed the Vestibulum n this way they
should read it again, reading aloud whole pages so that it is fully un-
derstood. Once this is done they will be able to continue to the Jānua
without any trouble.
12. God forbid we take these children who are our students away
from the Gate of Heaven, that is Christ. I beg you, school principals,
for your salvation and the salvation of those who are entrusted to
your care. 4th January 1633.

xx
 Prologus Auctoris

U
t Domus omnis Januam, sic Janua quævis Vestibu-
lum suum habet: ubi ingresso licitum est subsistere,
domús exteriora contemplari, per ostia atrium inspec-
tare, et dum a domesticis exceptus introducatur, præs-
tolari. Non abs re igitur fit, quod nobis exstructæ nuper Linguarum
Januæ, Vestibulum nunc præstruere in mentem venit; cujus rei te,
Lector prudens, constituimus judicem.
2. Contestatus eram in Januæ illius meæ præfatione, eam La-
tinitatis tironibus parari; atque sic etiam publicé excepta est. Veru-
menimvero metuendum existimo, ne in tantam Rerum et Verborum
silvam Tirones ex improviso immitti, nimium sit. Tutius fuerit in
vestibulo detineri, generaliaque totius structuræ (id est summos Re-
rum et Verborum cardines) prius monstrari, quam ad particularia
lustranda intromittantur. Hoc consilo, præsens opusculum conscrip-
tum est, ut primis tironibus Declinationes et Conjugationes (saltem
analogas) exercendi prima sit materia, et ad Januam ipsam accessus.
3. Hæsitabam equidem, annon foret satius, Colloquia aliquot
puerilia pueris proponi, ad facilius eis Latina familiaria reddenda:
sed retinui Januæ formam, ut præparatio sit vere ad Januam, i. e.
Res proprie exprimendi artificium. In Latinitate enim discenda, non
primo enitendum est, ut Latiné garrire pueri consuescant (quemad-
modum adhuc præposteré factitatum fuit) sed ut proprio significatu
intelligere discant unum quodque. At majore sic attentione opus, in-
quies. Esto: consuescant igitur cum attentione in libris versari. Et
quid festinatione opus? Pueri sunt, lenté ducendi: lenté, inquam,
sed prudenter. Dicam igitur, quid híc actum sit.
4. Selegi Vocabula usitatiora supra mille: et redegi in sententiolas
brevissimas, plerasque duarum dictionum. In primo quidem capite
Nomina cum Adnominibus, sive (ut vocant) Substantiva cum Adjec-
tivis: in secundo capite, Nomina cum Verbis: In tertio particulas in-
declinabiles, Adverbia, Præpositiones et Numeralia, digessi: Conjunc-

xxi
tiones et Interjectiones usitatiores, passim sparsæ sunt. Reliqua, de re-
bus, quæ in Scholá, in Domo, in Urbe, sunt et fiunt (quantum qui-
dem eorum primo gustu propinari posse visum fuit) Capitibus IV,
V, VI locata sunt, tandemque de Virtutibus præceptiunculæ quæ-
dam capite VII.
5. Omnia vero usurpata sunt proprié, nihil tropicé. Ordo vocum
hic naturalis est (ut Nomen præcedat, Adnomen, vel Verbum sequa-
tur) alicubi tamen in Germanicæ linguæ gratiam (quo parallelé vox
voci respondeat) transpositio levis facta est. Ex. Gr. Discite Lati-
nam linguam pro Linguam Latinam. Substantiva enim naturá suá
præcedunt, sed Germanorum usu Adjectiva. Latinis autem, et Polo-
nis, quia æqué commodé sequuntur, ut præcedunt, dandum aliquid
existimavi Germanorum consuetudini, quæ mutari ægré patitur.
6. Sed et hoc: Ellipses Latinas vitavi, ne pueris offendiculo sint.
Ex Gr. in spring20 in Vere posui, quamvis præpositio Latina jucundi-
us dissimuletur. Sic, ut ne ruat, pro ne ruat. Putavi enim omni ra-
tione infirmitati serviendum, et cum balbutientibus eousque balbu-
tiendum. Nec aliter decuit. Quidquid enim incipit, informe est,
omni in re: cur hic aliter velimus?
7. Jam de Vestibuli hujus usu monendum aliquid. I. Poterunt
inde primi Latinitatis tirones prompté legere et legitimé pronuntiare,
doceri; prælecto nimirum, semel et iterum, per certa demensa, toto li-
bello. II. Et ut Vocum significationes paulatim innotescant, præmit-
tant semper vernaculam lectionem. Ex. Gr. «Venid, niños» Venite
pueri, etc. Ita enim duplo facilius Latina hærebunt, si vernaculis sub-
jungantur ubique. III. Percurso ita bis libello, accedatur ad memo-
riæ exercitationem. Addiscant proinde singulis horis binas vel ternas
sententiolas, et sub horæ finem memoriá reddant.
8. Adjungatur vero simul declinandi exercitium: cujus mate-
riam Caput primum suppeditabit, modo observetur modus facilis:
nempe, ut: 1) Primo Substantivum solum sumatur. 2) Cum adjec-
tivo simul declinetur ac primo quidem Declinationis ejusdem ab ini-
tio, primæ (ut Latina Lingua pulchra, Terra infima, Nebula propin-
qua, Area lata, etc.) deinde secundæ: (Deus æternus, Mundus tempo-
rarius, Cælum supremum, etc.) tum tertiæ (Homo mortalis, Pondus
grave, etc.) sequentur postmodum declinationes mixtæ: (Lingua el-
20 In German in the original.

xxii
egans, Casa humilis, Vallis profunda, Turris excelsa, Medium facile,
Tempus opportunum, Spiritus invisibilis, Fructus maturus, Res neces-
saria, etc.) quæ a principio dissimulanda sunt. 3) Declinent autem
non memoriter mandando, sed usu. (...) 4) Ut autem, quid híc fiat,
melius intelligant, non casus nominentur (Nominativus, Genitivus,
etc.) sed præmittantur quæstiunculæ: 1 Quid est hoc? Resp. Lingua
Latīna. 2. Cujus Linguæ vox est «venīte»? Resp. Linguæ Latinæ. 3.
Cui rēī dabis tempus? Resp. Linguæ Latinæ. 4 Quid discis? Resp.
Linguam Latīnam. 5. Vocā eam. Resp. O lingua Latina. 6 Quā
linguā cupis loquī? Resp. Linguā Latīnā. 5) Hæc, inquam, sic a
principio: (Casus enim nominare, usu eorum nunc ita facilius per-
cepto, e Grammaticá post discent). Generalior autem formula, quæ
omnibus Nominibus declinandis serviat, in utroque numero, et citra
quæstiones, talis, sit: 1) Ecce, tabula nigra! 2) Pars tabulæ nigræ. 3)
Addo partem tabulæ nigræ 4) Video tabulam nigram, 5) O tu tabula
nigra! 6) Video aliquid in tabulá nigrá.
Pluraliter: 1) Ecce duæ tabulæ nigræ!. 2) Pars duarum tabularum
nigrarum. 3) Addam aliquid duabus tabulis nigris. 4) Video duas
tabulas nigras. 5) O duæ tabulæ nigræ! 6) Video aliquid in duabus
tabulis nigris. N.B. Bonum autem erit, non solum ita voce viva de-
clinari (tabellas declinationum inspiciendo) singula, sed et scribi.
6) Mandatis ergo memoriæ primá horá sententiolis aliquot, se-
quenti mox in libellos, ad id paratos, scribant exercitia sua; nempe
eorundem, quæ didicerunt, eo, quo dictum est, modo, declinationes:
quod futurorum styli exercitiorum præludium erit.
9. Eodem modo (in cap. II et sequentibus) exerceantur Verbo-
rum Conjugationes; quarum tabella quoque adjiciatur ad Vestibuli
calcem, ne alio Grammaticæ compendio interim sit opus. Sed Con-
jugationum duntaxat primæ formæ terminationes ponuntur: suf-
ficit enim has tirones primos didicisse, quos studio celare debemus,
si quid inspectu primo difficultatem minari possit. Atque eadem in-
tentione Supina quoque et Gerundia, imo et Infinitivos præteriti et
futuri temporis, dissimulavimus: quia a vernacula consuetudine re-
cedunt. Illis addiscendis sat erit temporis, occasio vero longe oppor-
tunior, cum Januam fuerint ingressi.
10. Ita sensim (et quasi aliud agendo) Nominum, Adnominum,
Verborum, Adverbiorum, Præpositionum et Conjunctionum discrim-
ina, flexionumque differentiæ generales, innotescent, particularibus

xxiii
ad Grammaticam reservatis.
11. Absolutum hoc modo Vestibulum percurrant denuo, vel in-
tegras jam pagellas aut folia recitando, ut ad unguem teneant: et tum
demum securé ad Januam admitti poterunt.
12. Faxit autem Deus ne a Cæli Janua, Christo, aberremus, qui-
cunque Cælo natos Dei filiolos erudiendos suscipimus. Quod potis-
simum agite, o Scholarum Moderatores, per vestram et Vobis com-
missorum salutem obtestor. Valete, dabam 4 Januar. Anni 1633.

xxiv
 VESTIBULUM
LINGUĀRUM

ΤΟ ΠΡΟΘΥΡΟΝ
ΤΩΝ ΓΛΩΤΤΩΝ

THE VESTIBULE
OF LANGUAGES
 Præloquium. Προοίμιον.
Prologue.

1. Venīte, puerī, α’. Ἔρχεσθε, παῖδες, 1. Come, children,

discite Latīnam (et μανθάνετε γλῶτταν learn the Latin
Græcam) linguam, τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν (καὶ language (and
pulchram et Ἑλληνικήν), καλήν Greek), beautiful
ēlegantem. τε καὶ κομψήν. and elegant.
2. Comprehendite β’. Κατανοεῖτε 2. Understand it
eam, prō vestrō αὐτήν, κατὰ τὴν according to your
captū. κατάληψιν ὑμῶν. capacity.
3. Et variās rēs, γ’. Καὶ πράγματα 3. And diverse
sapientiæ sēmina. ποικίλα, τῆς σοφίας things, the seeds of
σπέρματα. Wisdom.
4. Deus vōs juvābit, δ’. Ὁ Θεὸς βοηθήσει 4. God will help
præceptōrēs ὑμῖν, οἱ διδάσκαλοι you, your teachers
amābunt, aliī ὑμᾶς ἀγαπήσουσιν, οἱ will love you, others
laudābunt, ipsī ἄλλοι ἐπαινέσουσιν, will praise you, you
gaudēbitis. ὑμεῖς αὐτοὶ yourselves will
χαρήσεσθε. rejoice.
5. Sī prīncipium erit ε’. Εἰ ἡ ἀρχὴ 5. If the beginning
difficile, medium δυσχερής, τὸ μέσον will be difficult, the
erit facile, fīnis εὐχερές ἔσται, τὸ middle will be easy,
jūcundus. τέλος τερπνόν. the end, pleasant.