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Dorothy Sayers said it best:
"I will say at once, quite firmly, that the best grounding for education is the Latin grammar. I say this not because Latin is traditional and medieval, but simply because even a rudimentary knowledge of Latin cuts down the labor and pains of learning almost any other subject by at least 50 percent." -- From the National Review.
Quick pragmatic fact: Latin maximizes SAT Scores! This really sells Latin programs! Through Latin, test takers can guess at the meanings of new words because they already know the roots and prefixes. But it's not just enhanced vocabulary. Math scores also increase.
1. Latin builds English vocabulary like no other language--not even Anglo-Saxon. More than half of all English words derive from Latin (and another large chunk from Greek), and what's more, these are the $10 words. As a result, students of Latin routinely outperform students of all other foreign languages on the SATs.
2. Latin prepares students for the study of modern foreign languages. The Romance languages derive 90% or more of their vocabulary from Latin, and students of inflected languages like Russian or German will benefit from the training Latin provides.
3. Latin teaches grammar far more effectively than any English curriculum. This claim astounds and confounds many homeschoolers, but you need only look at the masters of English style from the Renaissance onward and ask what they all had in common. The answer: They did not study English, a subject not even available in their grammar schools, but Latin. Lots and lots and lots of Latin. The same was true of their counterparts in other countries. Think about it this way: You can teach English grammar, and your child knows English grammar. Or you can teach Latin, and your child knows Latin...and gets English grammar as a bonus.
4. Latin trains students in valuable habits of mind: memory, order, attention to detail. As one example in Climbing Parnassus shows, it takes no less than fourteen separate steps to translate a short Latin sentence--to say nothing of Virgil.
5. Latin translation provides admirable training in English composition. In addition to mastering the grammatical exigencies of the language, students of Latin must learn to choose words with care. They are encouraged to understand and imitate the beautifully balanced sentences of stylists like Cicero. They learn to appreciate the brevity of the Latin maxim and proverb. Again, some of the English language's greatest writers cut their teeth on Latin composition exercises, not English.
6. Latin study increases our knowledge of the past and of our own history. It is quite impossible to study Latin without delving into classical history. What is a "gladiator"? (If you know the meaning of the common second-declension noun gladius, you'll have an important clue.) Who is Caesar? What is an aqueduct and why were they built? What's more, this history is our history, the history of the West. We cannot understand the roots of our own government, legal system, or religious traditions without reference to Rome.
7. Latin study increases cultural literacy. European vernacular literature, art, and music take for granted a knowledge of classical languages and history. Dante, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Goethe, Keats, and the rest --there is no understanding them without a thorough grounding in Greco-Roman mythology, literature, and history. And that is to say nothing of the rich traditions of Christian Latin: theology, religious poetry, liturgy, and the musical delights of Gregorian chant, Mozart's "Requiem," and the countless Masses and Oratorios that crowd our classical music playlists.
8. Latin literature and history offer outstanding models of moral insight and virtue--and their opposites. The classical world first codified the great virtues of prudence, temperance, justice, and courage. Keeping before the student the "habitual vision of greatness" inspires and uplifts the mind and spirit toward the Good, while examples of perfidy and cruelty stir up our sense of justice and the desire to defend the innocent.
9. Latin provides us with a lifetime's worth of reading. A person who has sojourned with the ancients as a child may well find himself returning to them again and again throughout life, for their wisdom is undimmed by age--theirs, or ours.
10. Latin is, quite simply, beautiful. At its best, Latin is a model of ordered, polished, and balanced language. It is a pleasure to read, to write, to sing, and even to speak. - - From Latin Centered .Com
Other arguments for the benefits of studying Latin:
National Committee for Latin and Greek
http://www.promotelatin.org/
A great clearinghouse of information on the virtues of a Classical education.
Why your kids should learn Latin
http://ancienthistory.about.com/homework/ancienthistory/library/weekly/aa031798.htm?once=true&
This essay discusses how Latin aids one's English vocabulary, SAT scores, etc.
Why Learn Latin, by William Harris
http://www.classicalhomeschooling.org/celoop/latin.html#why
Dr. Harris has written several articles about the benefits of a Classical education. Here is one of them.
Why Study Classics
http://www.depts.drew.edu/classics/why_classics.html
Ideas on how Classics helps a person interested in law, medicine, writing, technology, and teaching, according to this Drew University site.
Why Study Greek and Latin Classics
http://www.nd.edu/~col/whyclassics.html
This set of arguments comes from the Classics department of Notre Dame University.
Some help and advice for studying Latin
Cambridge School Classics Program
Latin Centered .Com
The Latin Library
On-Line Exercises
- Internet Workbook for the Oxford Latin Course. Developed by Robert W. Cape, Jr., Austin College.
- On-line Drills to Accompany the Oxford Latin Course. Developed by Margaret Phillips, University of Missouri at St. Louis.
- Self-Help Quizzes to accompany the Oxford Latin Course, Part I. Developed by Barbara McManus using javascripts by Jean Alvares. Good review for tests.
- Downloadable Study Guides for each chapter of the OLC, Parts 1-2: grammar explanations, worksheets, vocabulary (Greg Swann)
- Color-coded vocabulary lists for each chapter, and more (Oxford Latin website)
- Latin Derivatives: English Words from Latin, arranged alphabetically by the Latin word, not only lists many English words derived from Latin, but also has quizzes. Great way to learn vocabulary, both Latin and English!
- Flashcards and Games for Oxford Latin (from the Quia! web site).
- Diagraming Latin Sentences. Developed by Barbara McManus.
- Cyber-Tutor: Grammar explanations, and exercises for the OLC, Part 3 (John Burroughs School)
- Scriba: Software to accompany the Oxford Latin Course, Part I. Developed by John Gruber-Miller.
- Help with English Grammar (Capital Community College, Hartford, CT)
- Easton Language Education's Latin On-line, with links on grammar, pronunciation, readings, culture, and lots more.
Quintus Horatius Flaccus
- A Brief Biography of Horace, based primarily on his own writings.
- The Life of Horace, attributed to Suetonius.
- Horace's Villa, a fantastic site that includes photographs, axonometric drawings, QuickTime movies of Horace's Villa in Licenza, plus descriptions of new excavations at the site sponsored by the American Academy in Rome and the Archaeological Superintendency for Lazio of the Italian Ministry of Culture.
- Famous Quotations from Horace, and many others. In Latin and English.
- University of Toronto Crest and Latin motto, based on Horace, Odes 1.12.
- Listen to Fons Bandusiae, Horace's famous poem about the fountain near his villa, plus other poems. Each poem includes the text in both English and Latin.
- Horace's Odes, in both English and Latin, located at the Perseus Project; the Latin text includes an on-line dictionary and morphological analyzer to help with tricky forms.
- Selections from Horace's Odes, translated by Steven Willett (Diotima).
- Selections from Horace's Epodes, with facing English and Latin, translated by John T. Quinn (Diotima).
- The Interlinear Horace (Greg Swann)
- Horace's Ars Poetica (The Art of Poetry), translated by Leon Golden.
- Q. Horati Flacci Opera, the complete works of Horace in Latin at The Latin Library.
- Modern Poetry based Classical Sources, compiled by Lisa Auanger. Go to Edit, Find in Page, to find works based Horace's poetry.
- Philodemus Project. In 1752 near Herculaneum, archaeologists discovered hundreds of papyrus rolls that contained the library of the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus. Learn more about the project of reading these badly-charred scrolls and about a philosopher who influenced Horace.
The Roman world
- Interactive Ancient Mediterranean Map Index: on-line and downloadable maps of of the ancient Greek and Roman world.
- Ancient Roman Technology explores how food and clothing were made, mining and quarrying, construction, medicine and science, and time-keeping (UNC-Chapel Hill)
- Augustus: Images of Power (Mark Morford)
- Exploring Ancient World Cultures: Ancient Rome. Includes a chronology, essays, images, texts, and other interesting stuff.
- Forum Romanum: Exploring an Ancient Marketplace, a site created by Dutch high school students; besides descriptions and images of the buildings in the Forum, the site includes biographies of famous Roman celebrities, anecdotes, information on history and religion, plus on-line quizzes to test your knowledge!
- Homo Faber. Nature, Science and Technology in Ancient Pompeii. How did Romans measure time, build roads, make pottery? Find out here.
- History for Kids: Rome contains articles about history, religion, daily life, etc., plus craft projects, parents' corner, and lesson plans for teachers.
- Imperium Romanorum, includes a complete list of consuls, censors, and emperors.
- Lacus Curtius: Into the Roman World. Includes a Roman Gazeteer, list of 1700 RomanSites, texts, atlas, Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, and selections from Platner's Topography of Ancient Rome.
- Riley Collection of Roman Portraits features portraits of emperors and senators, as well as men, women and children during the height of the Roman empire: images, descriptions, family trees, additional links and more (Cedar Rapids Museum of Art).
- The Rome Project, a vast collection of resources about the Roman world, including archaeology, literature, military, politics, philosophy, religion, theater, and maps of Rome.
- Roman Villa at Hechingen-Stein, Germany features a virtual tour through the villa!
- Vita Romana Cottidiana covers a wide range of topics on Roman daily life, such as the Roman family, the Roman house, art and architecture, money and the economy, entertainment, school, marriage, and the military, writing and literature (Austin College).
Easy Latin Texts and More
- Latin Songbook. Alphabetically organized compilation of familiar songs, translated into Latin. Includes "Ring Around the Rosie," "Adeste Fideles," "Bah, Bah, Black Sheep," "Itsy-Bitsy Spider," "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands," and more!
- Elementary Latin Readers features Anecdotes from Antiquity, Fables of Aesop, stories about early Roman history, and a selection from the Gospel of Mark (Claude Pavur).
- Tolle, Lege! "Pick it up and Read it." Easy Latin texts.
- Rude Words in Latin: insults, terms of affection, and interjections from Plautus (The Classics Pages)
- Roman tombstone inscriptions (Pyrrha's Roman Pages), including How to decipher tombstone inscriptions
- Latin inscriptions at Lacus Curtius. Teach yourself to read Latin inscriptions! A selection of photographed inscriptions, sorted by level of difficulty, solutions presented separately.
- Ritchie's Fabulae Faciles: Click on specific chapters in the left navigation frame to access notes and vocabulary (UNC-Charlotte)
The Story of Perseus
Hercules
Jason and the Argonauts
Roman History
- The Fables of Phaedrus completely glossed and annotated (CTCWeb)
- The Vindolanda Tablets On-Line
- A Hypertext Book of Hours. Based on a 1599 Psalter, it contains Gospel readings, psalms, prayers for saints' feastdays, and a daily calendar. Also includes facing English translation. (Glenn Gunhouse)
- Nuntii Latini, "News in Latin" is a weekly news show broadcast from Finland: taped broadcasts, transcripts, archives, and more.
- Radio Bremen also produces a Latin news broadcast.
- Hymnus Latinus Europae (Est Europa Nunc Unita)
- Current Weather (in Latin)
- The Latin Vulgate
- The Internet Ancient History Sourcebook--Rome: Republic and Empire (all in translation).
- Cicero's Home Page
- Vergil's Home Page
Latin Trivia
Links to More Information
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