Latin Copy Work

St. Alphonsus di Liguori, a doctor of the Church, wrote The Glories of Mary to gather the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church in one place. Translators and editors have gone over the material and verified his ancient sources. In the footnotes throughout the book, the Latin text of the Fathers, Doctors or Scripture is noted.

Great writers such as Jack London and Benjamin Franklin attribute their command of the English language from their years of copying great works. How about applying this educational practice to the study of Latin?

For copywork, my daughter has been typing some of these Latin quotes found in the footnotes. She enjoyed this copywork, eventhough she didn't understand the complex Latin, sometimes she did recognize a word or a declension. In addition, this copywork had the benefit of speaking of the beauty of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

We discovered these quotes through Mary Vitamin's daily Marian meditation which often uses quotes from The Glories of Mary.

Sayings from the Doctors and Fathers of the Church
Concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary

Latin
Copy Work

Based on:
St. Alphonsus di Liguori’s
The Glories of Mary
Tan Publishers


Latin Sayings

Try to read out loud before copying.

1. “Silentium, et a strepitu quies cogit coelestia meditari.”

2. “Nihil… usquam sanctorum speciali privilegio concessum est, quod non a principio vitae accumulatius praefulgeat.”

3. “Imitamini signaculum fidei vestrae beatam Mariam.”

4. “Nata Virgine surrexit aurora.”

5. “Tanta fruit perfectio Virginis, ut soli Deo cognoscenda reservetur.”
St. Bernardine

6. “Terra repromissionis Maria, lacte et melle manans.”

7. “Tuam enim gloriam Creator existimat esse propriam.”

8. “Scire et cognoscere te est radix immortalitatis: et enarrare virtutes tuas est via salutis.”

9. Tibi vehiculum voluit providere.

10. Convenit ei nomen Maria, quae interpretatur Stella maris; quia sicut per stellam maris navigantes diriguntur ad portum, ita Christiani diriguntur per Marian ad gloriam.”

11. “Scala coelestis, per quam Superus Rex humiliates ad ima descendit, et homo, qui prostrates jacebat, ad superna exaltatus, ascendit.”

Translation

1.”For solitude, and the silence which is there enjoyed, force the soul to leave the earth in thought, and meditate on things of heaven.”
587

2. “Nothing was ever granted to any saint which did not shine in a much higher degree in Mary from the first moment of her existence.”
St. Thomas of Villanova
263

3. Imitate the singular faith of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
St. Ildephonsus
482

4. “A holy father says, ‘that in the birth of Mary the dawn appeared.’”
St. Peter Damian
625

5. “God alone can know the greatness of Mary.”
St. Bernardine
622

6. “She is the land overflowing with milk and honey promised by God.”
St. Bernard
222

7. “[T]hat God accepts the praises which are lavished on Mary, as if they were bestowed on Himself.”
St. George of Nicomedia
622

8. ‘Blessed are they who know thee, O Mother of God’, says Saint Bonaventure; ‘for the knowledge of thee is the high road to everlasting life, and the publication of thy virtues is the way of eternal salvation.”
213

9.”Saint Bernard calls our Blessed Lady ‘the heavenly chariot.’”
213

10. “For,’ says the angelical Saint Thomas, ‘as sailors are guided by a star to the port, so are Christians guided to heaven by Mary.’
213

11. ‘By Mary God descended from heaven into the world that by her men might ascend from earth to heaven.”
St. Peter Damian
213

The preceding Latin quotes were found in the footnotes of The Glories of Mary, published by Tan Publishers (1977). The translation is provided by St. Alphonsus di Liguori.