falling behind...

Ack. I'm a bit behind schedule. I was hoping to have studied 30 chapters of Wheelock by September, but I've only just completed Chapter 17... I suppose if I work into September I might make it just before lectures start. Today I was feeling enthusiastic and read ahead a couple of chapters, but I still have to work through the exercises and sententiae antiquae.

Of course, actually reading and understanding the lessons isn't really the difficult part at this stage. Having stuff sink in and process at a deeper level is the problem, and that's definitely not something that can be rushed. Still, I'm happy I spent a lot of time on some of the fundamentals earlier. For example, I've noticed that lately I haven't had to think "Hmm... now is that an accusative or genitive or what?" For the most part I'm recognizing the endings without much effort. It's nice knowing all the practice is paying off! I just wish some topics like the subjunctive were introduced earlier in the text... it would be nice to get as much practice with that as I can.

Anyway, I've gained a solid appreciation for the importance of doing Latin daily. When I first took a Latin class years ago, most of my time was dominated by other coursework. Back then, 'learning Latin' really meant marathon sessions immediately prior to assignment due-dates. Naturally, I promptly forgot what I learned. I imagine this review project wouldn't have been necessary had I instead broken the Latin into bite-sized chunks and done a bit every day...

So if you're learning a new language, take heed: doing a little bit every day is preferable to learning in huge chunks sporadically.

Ok, so no big surprise here... :P
Still, it's easy advice to ignore, and probably one of the most important factors in learning a language efficiently. Of course, I don't think learning a huge chunk once a week on TOP of doing a little bit every day could hurt... but then you're probably spending too much time doing Latin and not enough time enjoying other things in life. :P

whoops...

castra hodie movi!

Well, I've returned from camping. I realized (while reading some Latin out in the wilderness) that I made a mistake in my previous post. I thought 'ponere' was a second conjugation verb, but it isn't...
so really, it should have read:

castra cras ponam

instead of:

castra cras ponebo

camping

Castra cras ponebo!

...although, my camp won't be

an encampment fortified by a ditch (fossa) and a mound (agger) surmounted by palisades (vallum),

the literal definition of castra, -orum n. in Cassell's Latin Dictionary. (The singular castrum, -i n. is simply a castle or fort.)

Skip a few entries up in the dictionary and we find the infinitely more useful word: castoreum, -i n., the aromatic secretion obtained from the beaver

edo, dormio, linguam latinam (et nunc graecam)

...haven't posted in a while because I've been doing Latin instead! (At least, I'd like to think so.) I bought Athenaze today. I've been so hard at work doing my Latin exercises that I needed a treat (which, according to Churchill, means learning Greek).

So I've started learning my alpha beta gamma's... I went hunting for some sound clips to help with pronunciation and came across Ancient Greek Tutorials. It's a great site hosted at Berkeley that has a very helpful pronunciation guide. I imagine the rest of the drills and whatnot will be equally helpful when I get that far. The site is designed for Mastronarde's Introduction to Attic Greek (see link in Athenaze post below...), and in fact the author is one of the voices in the pronunciation guide.

With or Without You

I was listening to some U2, so I thought this quick sentence would be appropriate:

nec tecum possum vivere nec sine te

Martial, Epigrams 12.47

I can live neither with you nor without you.

...hmm... maybe I should try translating some song lyrics into Latin...

Electronic Resources for Wheelock's Latin

This site at McMaster University, courtesy of Paul Barrette, is full of various Latin drills (vocab, declinations, principle parts, verb forms, etc.) and other excellent learning tools. Although it's designed to coincide with the older 5th edition of Wheelock, and there are a few bugs & mistakes here and there, the site is still a valuable resource. It's a nice way to quiz yourself and get some instant feedback.

(well. the feedback will be not-so-instant if your connection is slow... but almost-instant feedback is better than none at all, right?)

Cicero, On the Ethics of Waging War

Some Cicero (kind of...) today.  I'm catching up on some exercises in Wheelock, and this passage is found in Chapter 8 (6th ed).  Anyone who has been keeping track will notice that I mentioned reaching chapter 12 earlier... well, I tend to read a few chapters ahead and do most of the exercises later.  I find things tend to sink in a little better this way.  (Plus I'm a bit lazy sometimes. Heh.)

civitas bellum sine causa bona aut propter iram gerere non debet.  si fortunas et agros vitasque populi nostri sine bello defendere poterimus, tum pacem conservare debebimus; si, autem, non poterimus servare patriam libertatemque nostram sine bello, bellum erit necessarium.  semper debemus demonstrare, tamen, magnum officium in bello, et magnam clementiam post victoriam.

adapted from Cicero,
De Officiis 1.11.34-36 & De Re Publica 3.23.34-35

My translation:

A city should not conduct war without good cause or because of anger.  If we will be able to defend the fortunes, fields, and lives of our people without war, then we must conserve peace; if, however, we will not be able to save our country and liberty without war, war will be necessary.  We must always demonstrate, nevertheless, great duty in war and great clemency after victory.

TEXTKIT - Greek and Latin Learning Tools

I've been visiting this site daily for a while now - anyone learning a classical language will also want to visit TEXTKIT - Greek and Latin Learning Tools. The site is packed with Latin & Greek grammars and literature, and the forum is an excellent place to ask for help. There's also a place to converse in a classical language with others, which is a great way to practice. A new feature of the site is the vocabulary learning tool - have vocab e-mailed to you each day.

Athenaze

Come fall, I'm going to be starting ancient Greek. Apparently my prof has selected Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek for our text. I've heard mixed things about this book. I've read reviews that claim that the grammar content is seriously lacking; that by the time you finish the series you'll be ancient; that it assumes the student is an idiot... but I've also heard that it builds confidence and gets you reading (albeit simple) texts quickly.

So, I think I'll get a more intensive grammar to supplement it. I've been looking at these two...

1. Mastronarde, D. Introduction to Attic Greek
2. Hansen & Quinn. Greek: An Intensive Course

Any suggestions?

perfect system...

Well, I've reached chapter 12 of Wheelock. Chalk up another conjugation, personal pronouns, and FINALLY the perfect active system of all verbs. Looks like I'm on schedule to reach chapter 30 by September (yay!).

There's been a lot of memorization in the last few chapters - well... I suppose there's been a lot of memorization in every chapter, but especially in the last few. :) To accomplish the task, I've been filling a scrap notebook with the various paradigms and whatnot. After writing a declension out 100 times, it's hard to forget... perhaps a bit tedious, but an effective way of commiting things to memory (...my hic-haec-hoc's are getting faster too!)

Flashcards have been an effective way to learn vocabulary (surprise!). I've been using a freeware program on my palm pilot, "Learn?!". Any wasted time during the day (waiting in line, for example), I study some vocab... it helps pass the time and makes the task of learning all those new words less daunting.

Ancient Numismatics

No Latin this time, just a quick note. As a collector of Roman coins, HobbyBlog caught my eye. Anyone interested in ancient numismatics should also check out FORVM. The discussion board there is an excellent place to ask questions and learn about ancient coin collecting. The Romans minted in such large numbers that authentic coins (especially bronze coins from the 3rd century A.D. and onwards) may be purchased for a few dollars. (Sadly, the beautiful silver denarius of Augustus pictured here cannot...) There are plenty of ancient coin dealers on e-bay, but of course caveat emptor - it's always a good idea to educate yourself before making any large purchaes.

(There, I did sneak some Latin in.)

Sententiae

Nothing too involved tonight, just some quick sentences from Wheelock (chapter 10). First the Latin, then my translations and comments...

1. officium meum faciam
2. semper magno cum timore incipio dicere
3. fata viam invenient
4. vive memor mortis; fugit hora

1. 'I will do my duty.'
   This is Terence. I like this sentence - sounds neat, short, to the point...


2. 'I always begin to speak with great fear.'
   Adapted from Cicero. When I read through this, I wasn't sure if magno was modifying timore or not. It feels like magno should be after cum, but that's just my bias from English I suppose. If it was a dative, for example, I think it could be 'I always begin to speak to a great man with fear.'


3. 'The Fates will find a way.'
   So says Vergil.


4. 'Live mindful of death; time flees.'
   Happy thoughts... adapted from Persius.

Ok, getting sleepy. bonam noctem!

non vitae, sed scholae

Non vitae, sed scholae, discimus.
- Seneca the Younger, Epistulae Morales 106.12

This was a new use of the dative for me - 'dative of purpose'. Not a tricky concept, but nevertheless one that ambushed me when I came across this sentence.

Translated, this means, 'We do not learn for life, but for the lecture-hall.' This seems like an odd thing for Seneca to say, until we put it in context and realize that he was indicating the reality of the matter, not trying to suggest that it is how the world should be.

Seneca is misquoted all over the internet as 'Non scholae, sed vitae, discimus.' This, of course, has the appealing sentiment of 'We learn for life, not for school.'

What's in a name?

Vergil or Virgil? Which is correct?

Vergil's full name was Publius Vergilius Maro... so where did 'Virgil' come from? Professor William Harris offers some possibilities in his essay on The Secret Life of a Very Private Poet:

Donatus adds that Vergil was so pure in life, in speech and in spirit, that he was nicknamed "Parthenias" or "The Maiden" at Naples, where he habitually lived. (One thinks of "virgo", and the variant spelling of the name Virgilius, perhaps stemming from his mother's dream that she would bring forth a "rod" or virga.....)

One is certainly tempted to make the connection between Virgil and the Latin virgo, virginis m. (maiden, virgin)... (Harris continues to discuss possibilities for the origin of his nickname Parthenias.)

On this topic, N. S. Gill notes:

According to Gilbert Highet in The Classical Tradition, the misspelling (Virgil) began early, possibly as the result of Vergil's nickname Parthenias which was based on the poet's sexual restraint. In the Middle Ages the name Virgil was thought to refer to his magical (as in the virga magic wand) powers.

Thus, considered a wizard (and prophet) in medieval times, the alternate spelling may stem from the connection with virga, -ae f. (a rod, wand, broom).

(...then again, maybe someone just misspelled his name along the way, and it caught on...)

voces noctis

(meant to post this last night but Blogger was down...)

fessus sum, sed scribam. hodie longum erat, et tolerare laborem vix poteram. nunc requiescam -- fenestra aperta est et voces noctis audio.

Phew. Speaking of labour... three simple sentences but so much work! I tried to fit in some of the stuff I've been learning recently... third declension & third conjugation. I'm not entirely sure about the 'longum' - I was trying to say 'today was long', but I didn't really know what gender to use. The neuter seemed most appropriate.

I think tomorrow I'll try some Latin -> English instead.

Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata

I recently purchased Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, Pars I: Familia Romana and thought I'd mention it here. As the author, Hans Orberg, describes it,

"LINGUA LATINA provides a Latin text that students can read and understand immediately without any need for translation. In this text every sentence is intelligible per se because the meaning and function of all new words and forms is made plain by the context or by illustrations or marginal notes."

The whole thing is in Latin (really! - even the copyright reads 'omnia proprietatis iura reservantur'), and I think it accomplishes its task quite well - I find myself picking up new vocabulary straight from context. It's wonderful reading through a paragraph without having to dive for a dictionary. It's also nice to read and understand in Latin without having to translate into English as I go along. Hopefully one day I'll be able to read Vergil with as much confidence...

Update: As pointed out in the comments, a second book is also available: Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, Pars II: Roma Aeterna.

adnotatio prima

Salve, quid agis? Haec adnotatio in ephemeride meo est prima in lingua latina. Si erro, mone me et relinque sententias tuas, amabo te. Scribam cras denuo.

Well, there's my first entry in Latin. I was trying say something like, "This note in my journal is the first in Latin. If I err, advise me and leave your thoughts [ie. comments], please. I will write again tomorrow."

I imagine the Latin sounds rather clumsy, but it's a start. :)

Hic-Haec-Hoc-off

So, having reached chapter 9 of Wheelock, I've been practicing my newly-learned 'hic-haec-hoc's. I confess I'm not quite as hardcore as this girl yet, but maybe one day I too will be able to recite all 30 forms in 5 seconds while standing on my head...

Singular

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nom.	hic	haec	hoc
Gen.	huius	huius	huius
Dat.	huic	huic	huic
Acc.	hunc	hanc	hoc
Abl.	hoc	hac	hoc

Plural

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nom.	hi	hae	haec
Gen.	horum	harum	horum
Dat.	his	his	his
Acc.	hos	has	haec
Abl.	his	his	his

Hello World

If you're here (and you are not, in fact, me), then you are probably wondering why this blog exists. Simply put, I am trying to learn latin and thought that a journal of my studies might be helpful. I haven't quite determined why it will be helpful, but we'll see.

In any event, it's fun. :)

There will likely be random musings about various other (probably classics-related) topics. Comments are encouraged...especially if you notice a mistake in my latin (I imagine there will be plenty of them!)

valete!
(I had to have some latin in my first post...)