Learning Christian and Classical Latin Together a Self-Study Program
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Learning Christian and Classical Latin Together A Self-Study Program “Latin is dead, dead, dead as dead can be. First it killed the Romans, now it’s killing me.” -A person who was alive when he invented this saying While the little rhyme above is popular among those who are unwillingly forced to learn Latin, aspiring and eager Latin students may perhaps instead prefer Veni, vidi, vici--Caesar's famous saying, "I came, I saw, I conquered." But Christians submit to Christ before Casear—so they are more likely to value Ego sum via et veritas et vita (John 14:6) far more highly than veni, vidi, vici—Christ's “I am the way, the truth, and the life” above Caesar's bloody conquests? What if, while viewing as valuable arma virumque cano—Virgil’s “Arms and the man I sing,” the conquests of the “pious” Greek and Roman war hero—and idolatrous fornicator—Aeneas, they would rather learn Christ’s in me pacem habeatis (John 16:33), “in Me ye may have peace”? Or what if they recognize the value of classical Latin to Western civilization, but they wish to learn both Christian and classical Latin at the same time, instead of only focusing on classical pagan authors to the exclusion of the writers of Christendom? What if they want to learn the language that has had such an incredible impact on Christianity for over 1,500 years—the language of the Old Latin and Vulgate Bibles; the language known by Biblical writers such as John Mark, by early Christians, by patristic writers, by the writer and audience of the Athanasian Creed, by influential medieval theologians, by reformers and Puritans, and by many influential Baptist leaders? What if they want to understand 1 the untranslated portions of Keil & Delitzch’s Commentary on the Old Testament and many other technical and historically important commentaries? What if, rather than only focusing upon the approximately 0.01% of all extant Latin that is the classical Roman authors, they are interested in the approximately 80% of extant Latin writings composed by those who professed to be Christians (Derek Cooper, Basics of Latin: A Grammar with Readings and Exercises from the Christian Tradition [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020], xvii)? Can such people learn both Christian and classical Latin together, at their own pace? Yes they can—using the curriculum outlined below. Latin is learned inductively using the Familia Romana series. Written entirely in Latin, the student text presents an engaging story of a Roman family with all its adventures. It has pictures, side- notes, and other helps so that the student can understand the Latin in Latin. How does this work? Consider how the first chapter begins. After the following two pretty pictures the first block of text reads: 2 Rōma in Italiā* est. Italia in Eurōpā est. Graecia in Eurōpā est. Italia et Graecia in Eurōpā sunt. Hispānia quoque in Eurōpā est.* Hispānia et Italia et Graecia in Eurōpā sunt. 3 [5] Aegyptus in Eurōpā nōn est, Aegyptus in Āfricā est. Gallia nōn in Āfricā est, Gallia est in Eurōpā. Syria nōn est in Eurōpā, sed in Asiā. Arabia quoque in Asiā est. Syria et Arabia in Asiā sunt. Germānia nōn in Asiā, sed in Eurōpā est. Britannia quoque in Eurōpā est. Germā nia [10] et Britannia sunt in Eurōpā. Estne Gallia in Eurōpā? Gallia in Eurōpā est.* Estne* Rōma in Galliā? Rōma in Galliā nōn est. Ubi est Rōma? Rōma est in Italiā. Ubi est Italia? Italia in Eurōpā est. Ubi sunt Gallia et Hispānia? Gallia et Hispānia in Eurōpā [15] sunt. Estne Nīlus in Eurōpā? Nīlus in Eurōpā nōn est. Ubi est Nīlus? Nīlus in Āfricā est. Rhēnus ubi est? Rhēnus est in Germāniā. Nīlus fluvius est. Rhēnus fluvius est. Nīlus et Rhēnus fluviī sunt.* Dānuvius quoque fluvius [20] est. Rhēnus et Dānuvius sunt fluviī in Germāniā. Tiberis fluvius in Italiā est. * -a -ā: Italia… in Italiā * est sunt: Italia in Eurōpā est; Italia et Graecia in Eurōpā sunt * est-ne…? * –ne = …? * -us -ī: Nīlus fluvius est; Nīlus et Rhēnus fluviī sunt Can you understand what the Latin means? Why yes you can—you are learning Latin in the same sort of way that you learned English as a child (or whatever other language was your first language). By comparing the text with the pictures and the marginal notes (reproduced below the text in the quotation in this blog post), you are able to understand what is taking place. The successive chapters build gradually on each other and you learn Latin naturally. For students learning Latin without a teacher, the teacher’s books and guides enable students to be sure that they are getting everything straight. (While the student textbook is entirely in Latin, the grammatical and other material in the other works are in English and present the material in a way that a dedicated student can successfully learn the language on his own.) After grammatical concepts are learned and reviewed through the Familia Romana series inductively, they are then reinforced through both the teacher’s materials and the student’s materials in that series. They are then employed in a specifically Christian or Ecclesiastical Latin setting, through the grammars by John Collins and Derek Cooper. (Interestingly, while classical Latin is the focus of the Familia Romana series, Christians do enter the story—how? You’ll have to read it to find out!) By combining all three of these works—inductive learning of classical Latin with many exercises and plenty of review in the Familia Romana series and the Latin of 4 Christendom in the works by Collins and Cooper, the student may, through the completion of the regimen below, gain a solid grasp of both Christian and classical Latin and open a door into this incredibly influential language for both the Christian tradition and Western civilization in general. Textbooks: 1.) Ørberg, Hans H., Familia Romana, Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2003. 2.) Ørberg, Hans H., Latine Disco: Student’s Manual, Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2005. 3.) Ørberg, Hans H., Colloquia Personarum, Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2005. 4.) Ørberg, Hans H., Familia Romana: Exercitia Latina I, Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2005. 5.) Ørberg, Hans H., Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Teacher’s Materials. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2005. 6.) Neumann, Jeanne Marie, Lingua Latina: A College Companion Based on Hans Ørberg’s Latine Disco, with Vocabulary and Grammar, Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2016. 7.) Brown, C. G. & Luigi Miraglia, Latine Doceo: A Companion for Instructors, Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing, 2004. 8.) Cooper, Derek, Basics of Latin: A Grammar with Readings and Exercises from the Christian Tradition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020. 9.) Cooper, Derek, Basics of Latin Video Lectures: For Use with Basics of Latin: A Grammar with Readings and Exercises from the Christian Tradition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020. 5 10.) Collins, John. A Primer on Ecclesiastical Latin. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1985. 11.) Dunlap, John R., An Answer Key to A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin: A Supplement to the Text by John F. Collins. Washington, D. C.: Catholic University of America, 2006. 12.) Ørberg, Hans H., Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Pars II: Roma Aeterna, 2nd ed. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 1990. 13.) Ørberg, Hans H, Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Pars II: Roma Aeterna: Exercitia Latina II. Newburyport, MA: Focus Publishing, 2007. 14.) Neumann, Jeanne Marie, A Companion to Roma Aeterna: Based on Hans Ørberg's Instructions, with Vocabulary and Grammar. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2017. 15.) Carfagni, Roberto, Epitome Historiae Sacrae. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2009. 16.) Simpson, D. P., Cassell’s Latin Dictionary: Latin-English & English-Latin, 5th ed. New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing, 1968. Recommended: 17.) Ørberg, Hans H., Grammatica Latina, Lingua Latina: Per Se Illustrata. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing, 2006. 18.) Carfagni, Roberto, Nova Exercitia Latina I. Montella, Italy: Schola Latina, 2016. 19.) Carfagni, Roberto, Nova Exercitia Latina I Soluta. Montella, Italy: Schola Latina, 2016. Order of Learning for Familia Romana: Note that with each chapter below, when a chapter in Familia Romana (FR) is assigned below, the associated exercises, helps, and other tools will be read along with it. Along with each chapter of Familia Romana, the equivalent chapter in Latine Disco: Student’s Manual (LD), Colloquia Personarum (CP—only goes through the first 24 chapters) and Neumann’s Lingua Latina: A College Companion (LLCC) must also be read, and all the exercises in Exercitia Latina I (EL I) 6 and Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Teacher’s Materials (LLTM) must be completed and checked with the answer key in LLTM. If the student feels he needs additional exercises to really grasp the material, he can also complete the exercises in Nova Exercitia Latina I and check his answers using Nova Exercitia Latina I Soluta. The works above will be studied in the following order. Only when all of the below is completed will the chapter in Familia Romana be considered to have been learned. I.) Overview reading: the chapter in Familia Romana will be read carefully, paying special attention to the pictures and marginal notes. No words will be looked up, and whatever is not understood will be passed by at this time. II.) The chapter in Lingua Latina: A College Companion will be read carefully. After reading the chapter carefully, the new paradigms, syntactical features, and vocabulary for the chapter will begin to be memorized.