Macrobius
05-03-09, 18:28
(which is also identical, of course, to the British way from the time of John Colet and Erasmus at St Paul's, approximately, to the educational reforms at Oxford in the 1870s -- shared heritage). The 'American' style here is mildly retro compared to the British:
I occasionally get asked 'how to learn Latin'. Here's how:
(for background)
http://www.holycross.edu/departments/classics/wziobro/Readings/
For corroboration or nuances of the Southern spin: 'Teaching Latin the Southern Way' (which seems to have included Arabic among the 'classical' languages)
http://books.google.com/books?id=kU4FAAAAQAAJ&printsec=toc#PPA557,M1
Some actual materials at Google books:
Dialogues, Fables, selections from Erasmus -- very authentic and ante-dating the 1820+ reforms (which coincided with the dis-establishment of religion in some American states -- yes we had established religion down to 1832):
http://books.google.com/books?id=pqAAAAAAYAAJ
Pointers to various editions of the Orbis Sensualium
http://whigdev.weremight.com/wiki/index.php/Aryan:Orbis
So it's easy -- read the picture book, memorize the dialogues.
Here are three grammars, one for every taste:
The Eton Latin Grammar -- the government mandated standard for 300 years of British protestantism:
http://whigdev.weremight.com/wiki/index.php/Aryan:Eton_Latin_Grammar
A Jesuit grammar from Warsaw -- skip the Polish parts unless you are fluent :) Very typical of the late medieval tradition, and surprisingly readable, if you know Latin and not Polish. European culture used to be more unified:
http://books.google.com/books?id=LNwFAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0
Thomas Arnold's Rugby sequence (closer to modern classical tastes, which is to say starting to incorporate Prussian learning, and leaning a bit towards Judaising):
http://books.google.com/books?id=GYcXAAAAIAAJ
His 'A practical introduction to...' series will cover Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Very thorough and superior, in modern terms.
So there you have it -- three pre 1870 traditions, all superior to anything you will find now.
-----
And a bit of inspiration, in case you wonder what a 17th century 5-year old Aryan boy might be capable of, to set your standards high enough:
A mother's diary, 1658: My deare son Richard died. He had before his fifth year learned out Puerilis, got by heart almost the entire vocabulary of French and Latin primitives and words, could make congruous syntax, turn English into Latin ... and had made a considerable progress in Comenius' Janua.
Quotation from: http://books.google.com/books?id=O9UKAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=didactic&ei=EjD-ScmILqewkQTelZmqCw#PPA23,M1
Copy of Comenii Ianua Linguarum:
http://books.google.com/books?id=PFQTAAAAQAAJ
Or, forsitan, you wish to start with the aforesaid Puerilis (Sentences [or sayings] of Wise Men
collected for them that enter into the Latin Tongue.):
http://whigdev.weremight.com/wiki/index.php/Sententiae_Pueriles
http://books.google.com/books?id=AMUDAAAAQAAJ
Help with the same: http://books.google.com/books?id=YHkRAAAAIAAJ
Thread cross-posted from the Phora: http://www.thephora.net/forum/showthread.php?t=49868
I occasionally get asked 'how to learn Latin'. Here's how:
(for background)
http://www.holycross.edu/departments/classics/wziobro/Readings/
For corroboration or nuances of the Southern spin: 'Teaching Latin the Southern Way' (which seems to have included Arabic among the 'classical' languages)
http://books.google.com/books?id=kU4FAAAAQAAJ&printsec=toc#PPA557,M1
Some actual materials at Google books:
Dialogues, Fables, selections from Erasmus -- very authentic and ante-dating the 1820+ reforms (which coincided with the dis-establishment of religion in some American states -- yes we had established religion down to 1832):
http://books.google.com/books?id=pqAAAAAAYAAJ
Pointers to various editions of the Orbis Sensualium
http://whigdev.weremight.com/wiki/index.php/Aryan:Orbis
So it's easy -- read the picture book, memorize the dialogues.
Here are three grammars, one for every taste:
The Eton Latin Grammar -- the government mandated standard for 300 years of British protestantism:
http://whigdev.weremight.com/wiki/index.php/Aryan:Eton_Latin_Grammar
A Jesuit grammar from Warsaw -- skip the Polish parts unless you are fluent :) Very typical of the late medieval tradition, and surprisingly readable, if you know Latin and not Polish. European culture used to be more unified:
http://books.google.com/books?id=LNwFAAAAQAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0
Thomas Arnold's Rugby sequence (closer to modern classical tastes, which is to say starting to incorporate Prussian learning, and leaning a bit towards Judaising):
http://books.google.com/books?id=GYcXAAAAIAAJ
His 'A practical introduction to...' series will cover Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Very thorough and superior, in modern terms.
So there you have it -- three pre 1870 traditions, all superior to anything you will find now.
-----
And a bit of inspiration, in case you wonder what a 17th century 5-year old Aryan boy might be capable of, to set your standards high enough:
A mother's diary, 1658: My deare son Richard died. He had before his fifth year learned out Puerilis, got by heart almost the entire vocabulary of French and Latin primitives and words, could make congruous syntax, turn English into Latin ... and had made a considerable progress in Comenius' Janua.
Quotation from: http://books.google.com/books?id=O9UKAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=didactic&ei=EjD-ScmILqewkQTelZmqCw#PPA23,M1
Copy of Comenii Ianua Linguarum:
http://books.google.com/books?id=PFQTAAAAQAAJ
Or, forsitan, you wish to start with the aforesaid Puerilis (Sentences [or sayings] of Wise Men
collected for them that enter into the Latin Tongue.):
http://whigdev.weremight.com/wiki/index.php/Sententiae_Pueriles
http://books.google.com/books?id=AMUDAAAAQAAJ
Help with the same: http://books.google.com/books?id=YHkRAAAAIAAJ
Thread cross-posted from the Phora: http://www.thephora.net/forum/showthread.php?t=49868