You've learned Latin, now what?

[mo2]

What would you do after completing something like Lingva Latina? Another Latin program or just read some texts in Latin? If you were going to do readings, what would they be and where do you purchase them? I want to make sure I am going to retain the Latin that I am taking the time to learn.

[latinteach]

What would you do after completing something like Lingva Latina? Another Latin program or just read some texts in Latin? If you were going to do readings, what would they be and where do you purchase them? I want to make sure I am going to retain the Latin that I am taking the time to learn.

Have you completed both volumes of Lingua Latina? The first volume is "Familia Romana" and the second is "Roma Aeterna." If you've read all of Roma Aeterna, you've had the opportunity to read material adapted from a number of authors.

If you want to keep on doing readings, two very good publishers are Focus Publishing and Bolchazy-Carducci. Both specialize in Latin (Greek, and the Classics) and publish transitional texts for intermediate and advanced readers of Latin, as well as original authors as well. You can find their books at their websites or Amazon and major bookstores. Bolchazy has a series of transitional Latin readers based on authors read by high school and college students: Cicero, Caesar, Ovid, Horace, Catullus, and Vergil. Another good book is the Wheelock Latin Reader, which is an anthology of Latin prose and poetry -- Caesar, Cicero, Ovid, Livy, Pliny, the Vulgate, and Medieval Latin. Gavin Bett's "Beginning Latin Poetry Reader" is good and highly glossed with vocabulary and helpful notes that almost make reading it too easy. There are also thematic readers like "Worlds of Roman Women: A Latin Reader" (Focus) and "On the Margins" by Maurice Balme and James Morwood (Oxford University Press). The first explores the lives of women in ancient Rome. The second explores family life, childhood, parenting, marriage, as well as the lives of servants, gladiators, immigrants, Christians, and other people who were not the politicians and generals in Roman society. Both these books have short selections with glossaries and notes as well and are drawn from a number of Roman authors.

Anthologies and readers are good places to start, because then you can decide which authors you want to continue reading.

[mo2]

Have you completed both volumes of Lingua Latina? The first volume is "Familia Romana" and the second is "Roma Aeterna." If you've read all of Roma Aeterna, you've had the opportunity to read material adapted from a number of authors.

If you want to keep on doing readings, two very good publishers are Focus Publishing and Bolchazy-Carducci. Both specialize in Latin (Greek, and the Classics) and publish transitional texts for intermediate and advanced readers of Latin, as well as original authors as well. You can find their books at their websites or Amazon and major bookstores. Bolchazy has a series of transitional Latin readers based on authors read by high school and college students: Cicero, Caesar, Ovid, Horace, Catullus, and Vergil. Another good book is the Wheelock Latin Reader, which is an anthology of Latin prose and poetry -- Caesar, Cicero, Ovid, Livy, Pliny, the Vulgate, and Medieval Latin. Gavin Bett's "Beginning Latin Poetry Reader" is good and highly glossed with vocabulary and helpful notes that almost make reading it too easy. There are also thematic readers like "Worlds of Roman Women: A Latin Reader" (Focus) and "On the Margins" by Maurice Balme and James Morwood (Oxford University Press). The first explores the lives of women in ancient Rome. The second explores family life, childhood, parenting, marriage, as well as the lives of servants, gladiators, immigrants, Christians, and other people who were not the politicians and generals in Roman society. Both these books have short selections with glossaries and notes as well and are drawn from a number of Roman authors.

Anthologies and readers are good places to start, because then you can decide which authors you want to continue reading.


Thank you. These are great suggestions. I have not yet completed Lingua Latina, just looking ahead. I printed your list and am going to keep it with my Latin books for future reference.