My Latin is not very advanced and I should like to read some Latin literature. It is difficult for me to ascertain my skill/knowledge, but I am not capable of understanding chunks of Virgil etc. quoted in Montaigne or the like. What would you recommend I start with? I shall try that and report back regarding difficulty and enjoyment.
The original Latin that I tend to be able to understand are short maxims and the like that can stand alone, and with a push I understand the adapted Livy/Tacitus in O-Level papers - but they are so dreary. Perhaps there is some resource designed for my needs, maybe a compilation of appropriate texts or a modern composition, or even Mediaeval Latin might offer something.
For now, though, I remain deferential to the more accomplished members of this forum.
I suggest getting a grammar/exercise book with key and methodically go through it, doing all the exercises from Latin to English and from English to Latin. I don’t see any benefit from cutting corners. Of course, we are here to help and you are encouraged to post your questions in the forum.
As for the choice of book, today many swear by Lingua Latina per se illustrata. Here on Textkit we provide several old texts with keys. For example,
Latin For Beginners, by Benjamin L. D’Ooge and Latin for Beginner’s Key. You can find cheap reprint of this on Amazon.
I do not mean to help my studies, which I shall continue doing, but to enjoy and get a flavour for the language. I understand that there may not exist texts which are both interesting and comprehensible for me.
I do enjoy English to Latin translations, is there a repository of interesting ones with explanations?
When I was at your level the most helpful things to read were the Vulgate Bible and certain easy medieval texts, such as the Gesta Romanorum. Beeson’s Primer of Medieval Latin is full of short, entertaining, and easy selections and I recommend it highly:
https://www.amazon.com/Primer-Medieval-Latin-Anthology-Poetry/dp/0813206359
If you are interested in Christian material the Toronto Medieval Latin Texts series has a wide variety of short, reasonably-priced, easy, and enjoyable things to read. I read a lot of them when I was in the early post-grammar stage but couldn’t read much classical stuff yet. Most of the texts are devotional or religious but the most recent, I see now, is the Historia Apollonii Regis Tyri, which is a fun quasi-novel similar to the ancient Greek novels:
https://pims.ca/publications-list/catalogue/?order=DESC&categoryId=42
Later I discovered Orberg’s Lingua Latina and worked through the course, doing all the exercises, and read all the ancillary books. This brought my reading ability to a level high enough to be able to read most of the texts I was interested in on sight.
“I do enjoy English to Latin translations, is there a repository of interesting ones with explanations?”
I talked about a number of these a few years ago here, though I now regret the tone of some of my remarks:
https://textkit.com/greek-latin-forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=59714
Catullus might be an enjoyable introduction to Latin verse, particularly the 11-syllable (hendecasyllables) and iambic verse at the beginning of the collection. They’re not too difficult and not too long, and they’re anything but dreary.
I would recommend Quinn’s edition with annotations:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Catullus-Poems-Latin-Gaius-Valerius/dp/1853994979/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=catullus+quinn&qid=1575995144&sr=8-1