I finished Wheelock’s a while back and have been sort of thumbing through the LI, but I want to read a book in Latin. Because I sort of have a heavy reading load, I wanted something that wasn’t too long, that was of my level (i.e. finished Wheelock’s), and that was poetry. I really wanted poetry because I really loved the poetry samples in the book. My favorite sentences were always’s Virgil’s, I HATED Martial, I like Catullus at times, and really like both Ovid and Horace. Could you guys recommend me something? It doesn’t have to be poetry by the way. I thought about reading Caesar but it seems really long, and though I will read it, I just haven’t the time now. If it’s excellent, I could consider reading a modern book written in Latin.
Would you consider a modern book translated into Latin? I recommend the justly celebrated children’s classic Le Petit Prince in its Latin incarnation: Regulus.
(But obviously it’s not poetry.)
-David
Yes, but I read that book in Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, and French; I’m afraid I have the book memorized by this point and I guess it wouldn’t do much. I’m also going to make it more specific and say that in the ballpark of 100 to 150 pages, though a collection of poems can be read and put down easily.
What did you hate about Martial?
I think Ovid is an absolute joy to read, and is one of the easiest poetry authors. If you want something you can finish, try some of his love poetry - a book of the Ars Amatoria or Amores should fit the length requirement.
My vote has to go with Lingua Latina — this book teaches you how to read Latin poetry in Latin. I think that’s pretty amazing.
Eveything he wrotes sounds like this:
“Hey Gaius, guess what?
You suck ahahaha”
Maybe it’s just the epigrams that Wheelock chose, but I thought they got old and stupid.
And thanks Luce, I’ll look into that book, though your link doesn’t work.
Just bought a book of Ovid’s Amores and Metamorphoses fyi thanks guys
Hm, I rather like Martial’s sardonic style. Perhaps it’s satire in general you dislike, Agrippa? A lot of the poetry of John Dryden and Alexander Pope has about the same purpose and effect as Martial’s epigrams.
Also, the whole point is not the “you suck” part, but rather the clever way he gets there. Isn’t there an art to making insults?
One of my favorites is this one:
Quem recitás meus est, ó FÃdentÃne, libellus:
sed male cum recitás, incipit esse tuus
David
PS - But I hope you enjoy reading through Ovid. I’ve been meaning to read Ars Amatoria for some time. Maybe I’ll order it online. (I really need some help, you know…)
[quote=“bellum paxque”]Hm, I rather like Martial’s sardonic style. Perhaps it’s satire in general you dislike, Agrippa? A lot of the poetry of John Dryden and Alexander Pope has about the same purpose and effect as Martial’s epigrams.
Also, the whole point is not the “you suck” part, but rather the clever way he gets there. Isn’t there an art to making insults?
One of my favorites is this one:
Quem recitás meus est, ó FÃdentÃne, libellus:
sed male cum recitás, incipit esse tuus
[quote]
I guess I tend to exaggerate, but I don’t hate Martial, but I just don’t like satire as much or other types of poetry, and I like that little epigram too, but I prefer something with more, I guess, meat and potatoes. I also love Pope and Dryden, and (this is a complete aside) the reason why I began to teach myself Latin was because after reading Dryden’s gorgeous translation of the Aeneid.
Link corrected.
You seem more advanced than what Lingua Latina’s first volume caters to; the second volume may even be better for you ultimately, but the first is just so darn comprehensive. Other people here have used the book; I’d welcome their opinion.
Lingua Latina is good for building comprehension in a way that other courses aren’t. I’m going through it again not just for review, but to learn things I never knew well (like the subjunctive). Before I read a chapter, I look at the vocabula nova to see what words I don’t know, write them down, and then make note of their usage as they come up, which works very well. I also do the pensa orally to practice listening and replying. It seems to be quite effective.
I’d recommend either volume, depending on what you feel most comfortable with. (I could be on Vol. II, but as I said I’m going through Vol. I again first).
Oh man, I love Ovid. I’m still in the first one of his amores, but I’m enjoying it.