Hi all,
I am working through LLPSI:FR and at Chapter 27. I am trying to start reading through the Roman Breviary with Jerome’s traditional Latin Psalter, but the style of the Latin in the Psalms seems very different from the LLPSI book even with my phone handy to look up unknown words. Can anyone recommend any material that explains the main grammatical and style differences between Classical Latin and the Biblical/Ecclesiastical Latin, particularly Jerome’s Psalter? Or is the solution here to simply patiently work with a translation until I “get” Jerome’s style because it’s so different?
Thank you!
The Wikipedia article has some general information about the Latin Psalter. St. Jerome made two versions. You probably are thinking about the Gallican Psalter, which is still used liturgically and is translation from the Greek, which is a translation of the Hebrew. If I were a beginner, I wouldn’t use it as a learning device. Other parts of the Vulgate follow more closely the classical patterns (e.g., the story of Joseph).
“A Dictionary of the Psalter,” edited by Dom Matthew Britt, has an introduction that explains some of the differences between classical Latin and the Latin of the Psalter. See the section “The Latinity of the Vulgate Psalter” starting on p. xix here: https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofpsal0000domm/page/n21/mode/2up
However, if you are only on chapter 27 of Familia Romana, you are just starting to encounter the subjunctive. I would recommend finishing the book before turning to the Psalter. Finishing Familia Romana and possibly Fabulae Syrae and Epitome Historiae Sacrae, both available in the Lingua Latina series, would give you a thorough grounding in Latin grammar, including the subjunctive. You should be able to make better progress through the Psalter at that point.