Milton, Paradise Lost, ii. 1-5.
[12.] Help through a Knowledge of the Order of Words in Latin.—If you study the examples already given of the Period you will see that the Order of Words in English differs very much from the Order of Words in Latin.
Dr. Abbott writes as follows: ‘The main difference between English and Latin is that in English the meaning depends mainly on the order of words, and the emphasis mainly on the voice, while in Latin the meaning depends almost entirely on the inflexions, and the emphasis upon the order.’
Thus, if we take the English sentence, Caesar conquered the Gauls, we cannot invert the order of Caesar and Gauls without entirely changing the meaning. In Latin, however, we may write (since each Latin word has its own proper inflexion, serving almost as a label)
Caesar vicit Gallos: Gallos Caesar vicit: Caesar Gallos vicit, without any change of meaning except that of shifting the emphasis from one word to another.
The usual order of words in a Latin Prose Sentence may be said to be
(1) Particles, or phrases of connection (with some exceptions, e.g. vero, autem, quidem, enim, which stand second).
(2) Subject.
(3) Words, phrases, clauses, as enlargements of Subject.
(4) Adverbial enlargements of Predicate (though an Ablative Absolute must generally stand first).