After finishing Wheelock’s, I decided to find some unadopted original Latin text to read. To my dismay, Caesar’s works still seemed too hard for me to read it comfortably. Then I found that the Biblica Sacrem were really much much easier. However, I am now also aware that Vulgate Bible was written around 400 AD and in a more colloquial Latin language. Do you guys feel that this is a good reading material? Do you think it is too different from the classical Latin that it will be a distraction rather a stepstone for me to study the more elegant Latin texts?
mea sententia, the Vulgate is an excellent supplement for students of Latin. I’ve read in it extensively during my two years of study, and I’ve found it especially helpful as a continuous reading exercise. Because the syntax and vocabulary are simple and straight-forward (especially to anyone familiar with the Bible in their own language), it is possible to read much more Latin in the Vulgate than in, for instance, Caesar.
It should not be your only source of Latin, however, since it is filled with colloquialisms as well as Greekisms and Hebraisms. As you know, the Vulgate is a translation from the Greek, and the Greek itself adopts many of the Hebrew idioms. This sometimes produces questionable Latin. In particular, indirect statements (as in English) are often finite verb phrases following quod, quia, or quoniam (instead of infinitive phrases), much of the vocabulary diverges from the classical standard, and duration of time is expressed by the ablative, not the accusative (multis diebus vs. multos dies).
So, in a word, use it as a supplement.
Best,
David
PS - If you’re looking for a graded reader that is based on classical Latin, not late Latin, consider Ritchie’s Fabulae Faciles, available at numerous locations online. He takes several myths and renders them in the idiom of Caesar.
I think it might be fun to try starting with Phaedrus, who wrote versions of Aesop’s fables. The grammar is pretty simple; the stories are short and simple enough that you can actually get through and understand one in a sitting; the vocabulary will take some dictionary work, but that will be true of any author you start with.
They (as well as just about everything else) are online at www.thelatinlibrary.com
I read from the Vulgate frequently, especially for Dante studies. Yes, the syntax is easier (very little indirect discourse) and you’ll pick up a lot more vocabulary without wrestling with complex sentence structures. Unfortunately you’ll also miss out on the great rolling cadences of Cicero’s orations or Virgil’s poetry. The Vulgate’s beauties are rather more stark.
You’ll also be less concerned with quantity, especially in the versification (e.g. the Psalms). My impression is that Jerome simply translated the Hebrew/Aramaic/whatever directly, with no attempt at reproducing whatever poetic effects exist in the original. Alas, I have no Hebrew or Aramaic, perhaps one of the multilingual gurus on Textkit can tell us more ?
Btw, if your studies tend towards the Medieval then the Biblia Sacra are essential reading.
This site has a Second Year Latin book for download that I’ve been using. It includes some Phaedrus and Ritchie, along with a fairly wide variety of other authors. The selections are all reasonably short and there are notes at the end that are helpful.
I’ve been having the same problem. Caesar was a bit much for me. It gets kind of frustrating spending so much time on a sentence or two. And quite frankly, politics and military strategy don’t interest me in any language. Now I’m trying to mix it up a bit, the book I mentioned is good because it already offers a variety (I think even our good friend Caesar is in there) But I’ve also downloaded some other works that I can’t quite read yet, but I like to keep on hand to look forward to. I think as long as you enjoy reading it, any Latin is good Latin.
If you want a good program to compare the Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and English of the Bible side by side: www.e-sword.net has a good, free program for use.