Learning Latin

Roman relief of teacher and pupils

Members of Kosmos Society are meeting in Latin study groups. For those who wish to learn or continue Latin, there are a number of resources available online. Here are a few resources we have found useful (links to external resources):

Learning Latin language

Wheelock

The text that members of Kosmos Society are using is Wheelock’s Latin (Collins Reference, 7th edition). https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061997211/wheelocks-latin-7th-edition/

Here is the link to The Official Wheelock’s Latin Series Website, which has a lot of interesting things, including audios of pronunciation.
http://www.wheelockslatin.com/

This website from the University of Victoria, British Columbia (UVic) has interactive practice exercises to accompany Wheelock’s Latin, and downloadable flashcards for vocabulary:
https://web.uvic.ca/hrd/latin/wheelock/

This playlist from Dylan Nickelson provides vocabulary revision:

Grammar

For the principal parts of verbs, this chart from campus.com shows the tenses you can build on each of the principal parts.
http://thecampvs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Using-Principal-Parts.pdf

Kosmos Society Study Group

Latin Wheelock group Tuesdays 3 p.m. ET. Currently partway through the book.

Roman monument

Other Latin resources for beginners

OpenLearn (The Open University in the UK) has a couple of short free online courses so you can get a taster of the language:

Getting started on classical Latin

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/getting-started-on-classical-latin/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab

Continuing classical Latin

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/history/classical-studies/continuing-classical-latin/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab

Discovering Ancient Greek and Latin

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/discovering-ancient-greek-and-latin/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab

Reading Latin texts

Geoffrey Steadman: Latin Texts with Facing Vocabulary and Commentary

Geoffrey Steadman has produced some free digital files featuring a selection of passages from Latin (and Greek) texts with vocabulary and commentary. Members of the Kosmos Society have used some of the Greek ones and found them helpful.
His Latin texts include selections from Caesar, Vergil, Fabulae, Livy, Ovid, Eutropius, Petronius, and Sallust.
You can find the available texts on his website:
https://geoffreysteadman.com/

Textkit

This website has a number of free downloadable Latin textbooks and Reading Texts for students. You can find the collection on this page:
https://www.textkit.com/latin_grammar.php

Texts and dictionaries on Perseus

Perseus has a number of Latin texts, many with associated English translations:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/collection?collection=Perseus%3Acorpus%3Aperseus%2CLatin%20Texts

Free online Latin dictionaries available on Perseus (which are also available via look-up links from the Latin texts):

Lewis, Charlton, T. An Elementary Latin Dictionary. New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago. American Book Company. 1890.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.04.0060

A Latin Dictionary. Founded on Andrews’ edition of Freund’s Latin dictionary. revised, enlarged, and in great part rewritten by. Charlton T. Lewis, Ph.D. and. Charles Short, LL.D. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1879.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.04.0059

Meter: Hypotactic

For meter, you might also find this site useful:
http://hypotactic.com/latin/index.html?Use_Id=about
Hypotactic: Greek and Latin Meter by David Chamberlain, University of Oregon: scanned versions of selected texts (CC-BY 4.0)

Kosmos Society Study Groups

We hope to start a reading study group in the near future.

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Look for associated threads in the Kosmos Society Discussion Forum where you can ask questions and talk with others who may be working through these materials.

Image credits

Roman school, cast in Pushkin Museum of relief c 180–185 CE.
Photo: Shakko Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license via Wikimedia Commons

Roman building.
Photo: Kosmos Society