The Electronic Resources site disappears...

Electronic Resources for Wheelock's Latin seems to have been taken down recently. All that is left: "Site Closed Until Further Notice". This is really too bad - it was an excellent and useful resource for students. I wonder what happened? Does anyone know?

If you're looking for online resources related to Wheelock's Latin, you can check this list at the official Wheelock website. You'll find plenty of links to other helpful Latin sites.

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.

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.

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!