#study latin

Here is a list of tips to help you learn these languages or improve them.

BUY A DICTIONARY. Some people prefer using online dictionaries, but in my experience it is much simpler and easier if you buy a dictionary because:

you can save a lot of time

you can remember the words faster 

Don’t try to memorize the vocabulary only the grammar. I've seen some posts here on Tumblr that recommend to memorize all the words. This is what you don’t have to do. I said it was important to buy a dictionary, here's why: each dictionary of Latin and Classical Greek comes with a small grammar book. That grammar is the basic content that you need to memorize in order to translate texts quickly and easily. Do not try to translate long texts until you have memorized it.

Don’t waste your time trying to translate Ovid’s works or Cicero’s works if you didn’t previously have managed to translate simple sentences. Unless you're able to translate basic phrases, don’t try to translate big texts. The truth is that there are latin/greek authors who are easier to translate and others that are more difficult, that is why we have to start with the easiest ones first, so you’ll be able to translate more complicated texts in the future.

Check different translations made by different people. It is a good way both to check if your sentence is well translated and to see if the sentence is too literal.

I could use friends as support but also help! We'll figure it out together.

Almost a year ago I asked people to suggest me something easy that I could read in Latin; now that I don’t need help myself anymore, I have thought about things I would have liked to have when studying Latin earlier and I wrote this: a version of Vergilius’ 10th eclogue in prose (because it’s my favorite of the eclogues). It’s for people who, like me, would like to read poetry but don’t yet cope with the sentence structure and some tricky poetic word forms (such as venere for venerunt). I have changed no words, except for replacing -que with et in some point, and I have tried to maintain the verse division wherever possible. I have added explanations in square brackets. The version is thought to be read side by side with the original text, but you can of course do however you want. If anybode reads and/or uses it, please comment and tell your opinion if this was a good idea, if it’s too difficult or easy etc.

Concede mihi, Arethusa, hunc extremum laborem:

[mihi] sunt pauca carmina dicenda meo Gallo,

sed quae [carmina] leget ipsa Lycoris: quis neget carmina Gallo?

Sic tibi, [Arethusa,] Doris amara suam undam non intermisceat,

cum subterlabēre [=laberis] fluctūs Sicanos.           5

incipe; dicamus sollicitos amores Galli,

dum capellae simae attondent virgulta tenera.

Non canimus surdis: respondent omnia silvae.

Quae nemora aut qui saltūs habuere [=habuerunt] vos,

puellae Naides, cum Gallus amore indigno peribat?             10

Nam neque Parnasi neque Pindi iuga vobis

ullam moram fecere [=fecerunt], neque Aonie Aganippe.

Illum [Gallum] etiam lauri, etiam flevere [fleverunt] myricae;

illum sub sola rupe iacentem etiam Maenalus pinifer

et Lycaei gelidi saxa fleverunt.              15

Stant et oves circum (nostri nec paenitet illas

nec te paenitet pecoris, divine poeta:

et formosus Adonis ovis [=oves] ad flumina pavit);

venit et upilio; tardi venere [=venerunt] subulci;

Menalcas de glande hiberna uvidus vēnit.                 20

Omnes rogant: “Unde amor iste tibi?” Apollo vēnit:

“Galle, quid [=quare] insanīs?” inquit; “tua cura Lycoris

perque nives perque horrida castra alium secuta est.”

Vēnit et Silvanus capitis agresti honore,

florentis ferulas et grandia lilia quassans.             25

Pan deus Arcadiae vēnit, quem vidimus ipsi

ebuli sanguineis bacis minioque rubentem:

“Ecquis erit modus?” inquit. “Amor non talia curat,

Amor crudelis non [saturatur] lacrimis, nec gramina rivis,

nec cytiso saturantur apes, nec fronde capellae.”              30

Tristis at ille [Gallus] inquit: “Tamen cantabitis haec,

Arcades, montibus vestris, soli cantare periti [sunt]

Arcades. O mihi tum quam molliter ossa quiescant,

si olim fistula vestra amores meos dicat!

Atque utinam ex vestris unus fuissem, vestrisque             35

aut custos gregis aut maturae vinitor uvae!

Certe sive Phyllis sive Amyntas mihi esset,

seu quicumque furor (quid tum, si fuscus Amyntas [est]?

et nigrae violae sunt et vaccinia nigra),

mecum inter salices sub lenta vite iaceret:              40

serta mihi Phyllis legeret, cantaret Amyntas.

“Hic gelidi fontes [sunt], hic mollia prata, Lycori:

hic nemus [est]; hic tecum consumerer ipso aevo.

Nunc insanus amor in armis duri Martis,

inter media tela atque [inter] hostis adversos me detinet.           45

Tu dura procul a patria (nec sit mihi credere tantum)

Alpinas nives et frigora Rheni vides

sola, sine me. A, te ne frigora laedant!

a, tibi ne glacies aspera secet plantas teneras!

Ibo et carmina, quae mihi Chalcidico versu condita sunt,            50

modulabor pastoris Siculi avenā.

Certum est malle pati in silvis inter spelaea ferarum

tenerisque arboribus meos amores incīdere:

[cum] crescent illae [arbores], crescetis, amores.

Interea lustrabo Nymphis mixtis Meanala                  55

aut venabor acris [=acres] apros; non me vetabunt

ulla frigora canibus circumdare Parthenios saltūs.

Iam mihi videor ire per rupes lucosque sontantis [=sonantes];

libet torquere Cydonia spicula Partho cornu;

tamquam haec sit nostri furoris medicina                 60

aut [tamquam] deus ille [=Amor] hominum malis mitescere discat!

Iam neque rursus Hamadryades neque ipsa carmina

nobis placent; ipsae rursus concedite, silvae.

Nostri labores non possunt mutare illum [Amorem],

nec si bibamus Hebrum mediis frigoribus                65

et Sithonias nives hiemis aquosae subeamus,

nec si, cum liber moriens in altā ulmo aret,

Aethiopum versemus ovis [=oves] sub sidere Cancri.

Omnia vincit Amor: et nos cedamus Amori.”

Haec sat erit, divae Pierides, vestrum poetam cecinisse,             70

dum [poeta] sedet et fiscellam texit gracili hibisco:

vos haec facietis maxima Gallo,

Gallo, cuius amor tantum mihi crescit in horas,

quantum vere novo se subicit viridis alnus.

Surgamus: umbra solet esse gravis cantantibus,                75

iuniperi umbra [est] gravis; nocent et frugibus umbrae.

It wasn’t a very productive day. It begins well with a good writing sessions but after that I rewarded myself with Gilmore Girls. Very bad idea. But I don’t care because it wasn’t a great day for me, I didn’t feel well. So slowing down is great sometimes. So today:

I wrote 1390 words for one hour, and I wasn’t really struggling!

I was studying a bit of latin during the afternoon.

I wrote more synonyms. This time it was for sadness and I started to search some synonyms for joy.

And I saw 8 episodes of Gilmore Girls.

So that’s all for today! Here a photo of my study session. I clearly miss it!

I have been super motivated this past few days. I have been studying Latin and Ancient Greek.⚜️ I also finished reading “a little life”. It had me crying in the last 200 pages, I couldn’t stop😭