Gaius Salvius Liberalis (fiction)

The Cambridge Latin Course (CLC) is a series of textbooks published by Cambridge University Press, used to teach Latin to secondary school students. First published in 1970, the series is now in its fifth edition, and has sold over 3.5 million copies. It has reached high status in the UK, being the most successful Latin course in the country and used by 85% of Latin-teaching schools.

The course consists of a series of chapters, each of which includes stories in Latin as well as vocabulary and grammar explained in English. There is a short history section at the end of each chapter to provide context on Ancient Rome.

The first story "Cerberus" begins:

Caecilius est in horto. Caecilius in horto sedet. servus est in atrio. servus in atrio laborat.

which means, in English:

Caecilius is in the garden. Caecilius is sitting in the garden. The slave is in the atrium. The slave is working in the atrium.

The book tells the adventures of Caecilius, a banker and paterfamilias in Pompeii from the reign of Nero to that of Vespasian. Sometimes the book deviates, to talk about Caecilius's two slaves, Grumio and Clemens, and their frequent humorous mishaps. The book also discusses Metella (Caecilius's wife) and her slave Melissa. The book ends when Mount Vesuvius erupts, and Caecilius is killed in Pompeii. However, the book leaves the reader wondering whether Caecilius' son, Quintus, survived, as indeed he did, along with the slave, Clemens. Cerberus is Caecilius' guard dog; he sits by his master as the volcano erupts. The beginning of the book is very simple, but each stage develops more complicated grammar and vocabulary. This book introduces the nominative, dative and accusative cases and different verb tenses including present, perfect and imperfect.

The beginning of the second book is set in Roman Britain near Fishbourne Roman Palace under Agricola, where Quintus meets Salvius and King Cogidubnus, who are historical figures. The book starts by introducing a new family, a Roman aristocrat, Salvius, who is a successful lawyer and senator in Rome. His family includes his wife, Rufilla, and many slaves, some of whom are Britons, others foreign. In the second half of the book, Quintus tells King Cogidubnus about his journey to Alexandria, where he met Barbillus, a friend of his father. Barbillus later dies of a wound during a hunting trip, and tells Quintus to find his son Rufus, who lives in Britain, thus explaining the reason for Quintus' visit.

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