I'm teaching an advanced Latin class this year. I'm writing about this so that all of you learning Latin can see what you are working toward.
I'm using the Vulgate—the Bible in Latin—as the text for class. Given that I am working with Christian homeschoolers, it may seem like I'm trying to curry favor. I'm not. I think the Bible is a great text to start students in on unadapted Latin literature. Here's why: students should be at least broadly familiar with many portions of the Bible. This will allow them to focus clearly on the language being used and not what is happening.
Twenty years on, I still remember my first encounter with Caesar. He's considered an easy author. But I always felt I was going so slow—and I suppose I was—that I couldn't ever get a feel for the larger context of the work. Then to compound matters, Caesar was talking about things I had never heard of. Who were the Allobroges and where were they from? The Vulgate gets around this. Students know many of the stories, which are (mostly) short episodes.
After students take their work home, we meet again to dissect the text bit by bit. This week we read Psalm 23 (or is it 22?). We shredded it to bits and put it back together in class. It was amazing. The best part? We do it every week.
If you're studying Latin, keep at it. Eventually you can get to where you are reading real, Latin literature. It is closer than you think. Keep it up.
I'm using the Vulgate—the Bible in Latin—as the text for class. Given that I am working with Christian homeschoolers, it may seem like I'm trying to curry favor. I'm not. I think the Bible is a great text to start students in on unadapted Latin literature. Here's why: students should be at least broadly familiar with many portions of the Bible. This will allow them to focus clearly on the language being used and not what is happening.
Twenty years on, I still remember my first encounter with Caesar. He's considered an easy author. But I always felt I was going so slow—and I suppose I was—that I couldn't ever get a feel for the larger context of the work. Then to compound matters, Caesar was talking about things I had never heard of. Who were the Allobroges and where were they from? The Vulgate gets around this. Students know many of the stories, which are (mostly) short episodes.
After students take their work home, we meet again to dissect the text bit by bit. This week we read Psalm 23 (or is it 22?). We shredded it to bits and put it back together in class. It was amazing. The best part? We do it every week.
If you're studying Latin, keep at it. Eventually you can get to where you are reading real, Latin literature. It is closer than you think. Keep it up.
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