Ally McBeal-style lesson (age 13): 4-level grammar analysis of a 14th‑c Latin City of God sentence — legalese/law/finance homeschool

A playful, step‑by‑step 4‑level sentence analysis (parts of speech, parts of sentence, phrases, clauses) of a 14th‑century Latin sentence from City of God. Includes printable color cards, line‑by‑line literal translation with grammatical labels, paleographic notes, a mock contract clause and a courtroom‑brief version.

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Ally McBeal inner monologue — planning the grammar lesson

Okay, picture me — in my funky teaching heels — deciding how to turn a twisty 14th‑century Latin sentence into a 4‑level grammar lesson for a 13‑year‑old homeschooler who loves legal words and dancing. I want this to be fun, clear, and practical for law/finance vibes, so: short steps, bright cards, Latin pieces that map to English legal phrases. Deep breath — we can do this.

Lesson plan (quick)

  1. Show the sentence and read it aloud once.
  2. Use the four colored level cards to analyze: parts of speech, parts of sentence, phrases, clauses.
  3. Do a literal line‑by‑line translation together, marking case/tense/mood for each key word.
  4. Turn one clause into a mock contract line and make a courtroom brief rewrite — show how grammar becomes legal style.

The sentence (as given)

Quoniam de civitatis utriusque, terrenae scilicet et caelestis, debitis finibus, deinceps mihi uideo disputandum prius exponenda sunt quantum operis huius terminandi ratio patitur, argumenta mortalium quibus sibi ipsi beatitudinem facere in huius vitae infelicitate moliti sunt ut ab eorum rebus vanis spes nostra quid differat quam deus nobis dedit res ipsa, hoc est vera beatitudo, quam dabit non tantum auctoritate divina, sed adhibita etiam ratione qualem propter infideles possumus adhibere, clarescat

Note: punctuation and spacing follow a modernized editorial layout for reading. I will flag places where the manuscript is uncertain.

Printable color cards (four levels)

Print these blocks (use browser Print). Each card shows the level, a short instruction, and an example taken from the sentence.

Level 1 – Parts of Speech (Blue)

Find nouns, verbs, adjectives, preps, conjunctions, particles.

Example: clarescat — verb (3rd sing subj present); res — noun (fem nominative sing)

Level 2 – Parts of Sentence (Green)

Label subject, main verb, objects, complements, and modifiers.

Example: Subject = res ipsa, hoc est vera beatitudo; Main verb = clarescat.

Level 3 – Phrases (Yellow)

Spot prepositional phrases, genitives, ablative absolutes, infinitive phrases.

Example: in huius vitae infelicitate — prepositional + genitive phrase; adhibita ratione — ablative absolute.

Level 4 – Clauses (Red)

Find main clause and subordinate clauses (causal, relative, purpose/result, ablative absolutes, etc.).

Example: Quoniam ... clarescat — causal framing clause with main verb clarescat; quibus ... moliti sunt — relative clause of means.

Clause‑type cards (printable)

Causal clause (Quoniam)

Signals explanation/reason. Example: Quoniam ... clarescat — "Since ... let it be made clear."

Relative clause (quibus, quam)

Gives more info about a noun. Example: quibus ... moliti sunt; quam dabit.

Purpose/result or indirect question (ut + quid)

Shows why or what follows as result. Example: ut ... quid differat (see note: text is ambiguous).

Ablative absolute (adhibita ratione)

Two words in ablative forming a short clause/adverb: "with reason applied" — modifies the main verb clarescat.

Four‑level analysis applied (step by step)

Level 1 — Parts of Speech (select key words)

  • Quoniam — conjunction, causal "since".
  • de — preposition (normally takes ablative).
  • civitatis — noun, fem, (classically genitive singular of civitas) — "of the city" (note: 'de + genitive' unusual; see paleographic note).
  • utriusque — pronoun/adjective, genitive singular "of both" (modifies civitatis).
  • terr ena e & caelestis — adjectives in apposition "earthly and heavenly" (agreeing with civitatis presumed).
  • deinceps — adverb "from now on / next".
  • mihi — pronoun, dative sing "to me".
  • uideo — verb, 1st person singular present indicative "I see".
  • disputandum — gerund/gerundive form (verbal noun/necessity) "to be disputed/argued".
  • exponenda sunt — periphrasis (gerundive + sum) plural "must be explained"/"ought to be set forth".
  • argumenta — noun, neuter plural nominative/accusative "arguments".
  • mortalium — genitive plural "of mortals".
  • quibus — relative pronoun/dative or ablative plural "by/with which".
  • moliti sunt — verb, perfect deponent 3rd plural "they endeavored" or "they attempted".
  • ut — conjunction introducing purpose or result (ambiguous here).
  • res ipsa — noun phrase "the thing itself" (subject of the final clause).
  • clarescat — verb, 3rd singular present subjunctive (jussive/optative sense) "let it be made clear / may it be clear".

Level 2 — Parts of the Sentence (who does what?)

  • Main goal: make clear (main verb) — clarescat.
  • Main subject being clarified: res ipsa, hoc est vera beatitudo ("the thing itself, that is true beatitude").
  • Frame: Quoniam ... introduces a causal frame: "Since ... (these things), let the matter be made clear."
  • Embedded planning statements: speaker says "I see that next I must debate/discuss" (mihi uideo disputandum) and that some things must first be explained (exponenda sunt) — the things = argumenta mortalium.
  • Modifiers: many phrases and clauses tell us which arguments, why they matter, and how they differ from Christian hope.

Level 3 — Phrases (examples from sentence)

  • Prepositional phrase: de civitatis utriusque — (editorial note: de normally takes ablative; manuscript reading shows a genitive; see paleographic note.)
  • Appositive adjectives: terr ena e scilicet et caelestis — "namely earthly and heavenly" (describing the two cities).
  • Genitive phrase: argumenta mortalium — "arguments of mortals".
  • Ablative absolute: adhibita etiam ratione — "reason also being applied" (explains how something will be shown).
  • Infinitive phrase: beatitudinem facere — "to make beatitude" (what mortals tried to do).

Level 4 — Clauses (identify type + role)

  • Causal framing clause: Quoniam ... , clarescat — "Since ... let it be made clear." This is the overall frame: what follows is given as reason for the clarification.
  • Statement of plan (verbal phrase): deinceps mihi uideo disputandum — impersonal/gerundive notion: "I see that next there must be discussion / I will need to argue on."
  • Explanatory necessity: prius exponenda sunt — "first must be explained" (gerundive + sum indicating obligation for certain things).
  • Relative clause of means: argumenta mortalium quibus ... moliti sunt — "the arguments of mortals by which they attempted ..." (explains how mortals tried to obtain beatitude).
  • Purpose / result / indirect question (ambiguous): ut ab eorum rebus vanis spes nostra quid differat — this group of words shows why the author explains the mortal arguments: to see how our hope differs from their vain things (textually ambiguous whether it is purpose or an indirect question; see notes).
  • Relative clause modifying res ipsa: quam dabit non tantum auctoritate divina — "which will be given / shown not only by divine authority ..."
  • Ablative absolute modifying manner/method: sed adhibita etiam ratione qualem ... possumus adhibere — "but also with reason applied of the sort we can use because of the unbelievers."

Line‑by‑line literal translation with grammatical labels

I will translate each line literally, word by word (or short phrase), and add quick case/tense/mood tags. I will note paleographic or interpretation uncertainties where the manuscript reading allows more than one choice.

Line (1)
Quoniam — since (conjunction, causal)
de — about/concerning (preposition; normally + ablative; manuscript joins with genitive reading: see note)
civitatis — of the city (noun civitas, genitive singular) [PALAEOGRAPHIC UNCERTAINTY: after 'de' one expects ablative; medieval scribes sometimes show genitive; editor must decide]
utriusque — of both (pronoun/adjective, genitive sing agreeing with civitatis)
terrenae — earthly (adj., genitive sing feminine, appositive to civitatis)
scilicet — namely (parenthetical particle)
et — and (conjunction)
caelestis — heavenly (adj., genitive sing feminine, appositive)
debitis finibus — due limits / proper bounds (ablative plural? lit. "by the owed/bound limits") — [uncertain: exact case and sense of debitis vary]
deinceps — henceforth / next (adverb)
mihi — to me (dative singular)
uideo — I see / I think (verb, 1st sing pres ind)
disputandum — to be debated / disputandum gerund or gerundive verbal noun (accus/nom used in impersonal sense) — see note
Line (2)
prius — before / first (adverb)
exponenda sunt — must be set forth / ought to be explained (gerundive plural + present of sum = obligation; 3rd plural)
quantum — as much as / how much (relative adverb of degree)
operis — of the work (genitive singular of opus)
huius — of this (genitive sing demonstrative)
terminandi — of finishing (gerundive/gerund in genitive agreement, "of finishing this work")
ratio — the nature/reason (nominative singular; subject of patitur probably)
patitur — allows / permits / suffers (verb, 3rd sing present indicative — "permits")
, argumenta mortalium — the arguments of mortals (noun phrase: argumenta nom/acc pl; mortalium gen pl "of mortals")
Line (3)
quibus — by/with which (relative pronoun, ablative or dative pl — "by which" = means)
sibi ipsi — to themselves (reflexive dative pl; emphatic)
beatitudinem — beatitude / blessedness (accusative sing; object of facere)
facere — to make / to make for themselves (present active infinitive)
in huius vitae infelicitate — in the unhappiness / misery of this life (preposition + genitive phrase)
moliti sunt — they undertook / they endeavored (perfect deponent 3rd pl)
Line (4)
ut — that / so that / in order that (conjunction; often introduces purpose or result; ambiguous here)
ab eorum rebus vanis — from their vain things (ablative plural with ab)
spes nostra — our hope (nominative phrase)
quid differat — what (thing) differs (present subj/indirect question formula; differat here is 3rd sing subjunctive or potential subjunctive = "how it differs")
quam — than / from what (comparative particle or relative introducer)
deus — God (nom sing)
nobis — to us (dative pl)
dedit — gave (perfect indicative 3rd singular)
[INTERPRETATION NOTE] The clause structure here is difficult: ut ... quid differat quam deus nobis dedit likely means "so that it may be apparent how our hope differs from their vain things — [rather than] what God gave us". Some editors read this as a purpose clause introducing an indirect question (ut ... quid differat), but reading varies.
Line (5)
res ipsa — the thing itself (fem nominative sing subject)
hoc est — that is (this is — parenthetical explanatory phrase)
vera beatitudo — true beatitude (apposition identifying the thing)
quam — which (relative pronoun; introduces relative clause)
dabit — will give / will grant (future indicative 3rd singular) — [who gives what to whom? literal text suggests 'which will be given' or 'which will give'; context needed]
Line (6)
non tantum — not only
auctoritate divina — by divine authority (ablative; "by divine authority")
sed — but
adhibita etiam ratione — with reason also applied (ablative absolute: reason having been applied)
qualem — such as / of the sort which (accusative singular feminine or relative introducing quality)
propter infideles — because of / on account of unbelievers (prepositional phrase)
possimus adhibere — we can apply (present subjunctive or indicative per context; literal "we can apply")
clarescat — let it be made clear / may it be clear (3rd sing present subjunctive — main verb of final sentence)

Paleographic / interpretation notes (summary): There are several points where medieval manuscripts either compress words or use case forms differently than classical norms (e.g., de civitatis following de, the readings of dabit and the role of ut ... quid differat). I flag these as interpretive uncertainties: editors sometimes emend the case or reorder punctuation. For our grammar lesson we mark the alternatives rather than impose a single emendation.

Turning a clause into legal language

Choose the concluding clause about the subject being made clear (useful for law/finance style):

Original Latin clause (core):

res ipsa, hoc est vera beatitudo, quam dabit non tantum auctoritate divina, sed adhibita etiam ratione ... clarescat

Mock contract clause (plain‑legal style, modern English)

For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter (the thing itself, namely true beatitude) shall be demonstrated not only by the authority of the divine, but also by the application of reason in the manner that may be employed on account of unbelievers.

Courtroom brief (concise persuasive style)

Res ipsa — true beatitude — will be established not solely by divine authority but also by demonstrable reason applicable even when considering unbelievers; the combined evidence therefore supports the claim plainly.

Teaching tip: show both legal versions and ask your student which wording is clearer for a contract (the first) and which persuades a judge (the second). Then have them underline the grammatical parts that made you choose certain legal words (e.g., "shall be demonstrated" mirrors gerundive + sum; "applicable" echoes ablative absolute).

Short activity (5–10 minutes)

  1. Hand out the four color cards. Have the student point to words on a printed copy and stick the matching color card next to the word/phrase.
  2. Pick one relative clause (e.g., quibus ... moliti sunt) and rewrite it in simple English: "the arguments by which people tried to make themselves happy."
  3. Ask the student to convert that English phrase into a short legal sentence of 10–12 words (mock contract line).

If you want, I can generate a one‑page printable worksheet set with the sentence, the four colored cards formatted for A4/US Letter, and the line‑by‑line word labels as a PDF or printer‑friendly HTML.

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