Henry John Roby (1830–1915) was a Cambridge-educated classicist whose influential career included periods as a schoolmaster, professor of Roman law, businessman, educational reformer and Member of Parliament. His two-volume Grammar of the Latin Language reveals his innovative, descriptive approach to grammar, which situates thorough analysis of the Latin language within the historical context of the writings themselves, or, as Roby puts it, setting 'example above precept' in order to put grammar 'in the proper light, as an account of what men do say, not a theory of what they should say'. Drawing examples from the corpus of classical writings dating from circa 200 BCE. to 120 CE; this second volume (1875) is devoted to syntax, including a complete analysis of cases, tense, and mood. A work of remarkable breadth and depth, Roby's book remains an essential resource for both historical linguistics and the study of Latin grammar.
