Could use some encouragement

[derfner]

I did a couple years of Latin in high school and some Greek in college but that was two decades ago (God, I'm old). Early this year I decided to take up Latin again (perhaps Greek will come) and have worked through Ørberg book 1 and the first couple hundred pages of Ørberg book 2 (the prose adaptation of the Aeneid and the adaptation of Livy book 1). I'm also reading Cicero's Catalinarians, in a student edition.

Well, I just picked up an unadapted edition of Livy, and I'm depressed at how much trouble I had making even the slowest progress. Obviously I'm a journeyman and not an expert, but it's hard for me to see how to get from where I am now to a place where I can read with something like comfort, if not ease.

Anybody have any words of encouragement?

[Gaius]

Reading Latin is definitely a process. And Livy isn't as easy as Cicero or Caesar! Perhaps this recent thread can give you a little encouragment about the time it takes to read some of the classical authors:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=44238

I would recommend reading some more student editions. I find them very helpful and can feel my comprehension in reading grow as I get helpful tips that I use when I read without notes. I worked through the Cicero: Legamus Transitional Reader this summer and found it helpful with syntax and grammar that I often don't look for when I read. It is nice too because it works through the same passage twice. Once with helps and then the whole text mostly by itself.

Vale,
Gaius

[derfner]

Thanks, Gaius. The thread you linked to is indeed very helpful, and I also didn't know about the Legamus Reader series, so I've ordered the Cicero and am looking forward to it.

Interestingly (to me, at least), once I gave up on Livy's preface and went to the actual history, things got much easier (still not easy, by any means, but not defeatingly difficult). I'm using a student edition with helpful notes. I wonder what it is in the preface that's different from the history--I suppose there's a lot more counterfactual stuff, and a lot more speculation and musing, whereas the history itself is very much about "this happened and then this happened" and so feels more straightforward.

In any case, thanks so much for your reply, which was just what I needed in the moment.

Vale!

[Nesrad]

Keep at it. As you will note on the other thread mentioned, Livy really helped me, and I got a lot of pleasure out of it, especially his account of the Second Punic War.