Commentary

Abstract

This commentary has its origins in a neat coincidence: for the years 2015-2017, the prose text of the OCR Latin AS-Level specifications comes from a speech by Cicero, the pro (or de) lege Manilia ('In support of/ About the law of Manilius') or (our preference) de imperio Cn. Pompei ('On the command of Gnaeus Pompeius') that, for the last few years, has also been one of the set texts first-year Classics students read at the University of Cambridge. (Given that it is now part of the OCR examination, it's off the Cambridge syllabus from 2015.) Here was a perfect opportunity to link up the study of Latin at school and university. In the summer of 2013 a group of our so-called 'Prelims'undergraduates who arrive at Cambridge without having studied Latin or Greek at school and spend a 'preliminary year' bringing their Latin up to A-level standards, before starting our regular three-year degree programme-signed up to hammering out a commentary on the OCR set text. And in autumn 2013, they were joined by a group of first-year undergraduates who arrived at Cambridge with A-level Latin, happened to have their firstterm Latin literature supervision channelled to King's College, and thus got co-opted into the commentary project. All contributed key ideas and inspiring draft versions to the final product. The student co-authors, and their College affiliation, are George Lord (Christ's);