Customer Reviews

Latin Via Ovid: A First Course Second Edition

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Those Romanophiles lacking proper schooling in Latin must take the pains to teach themselves the language. There are dozens of Latin textbooks in circulation. How is one to decide among them for the best tool in self-study?

The most standard text in North America used by universities and high schools is Frederick Wheelock's Latin. Unfortunately Wheelock's Latin does not commend itself to self-study. It is extremely grammar intensive from the beginning and may overwhelm those without the aid of an instructor. The readings are also mind numbingly dull, concentrating mostly on Cicero's insipid Stoic philosophy.

A little known alternative to Wheelock is Latin Via Ovid. This textbook introduces Latin's complicated grammar in less intensive, more manageable installments. As one might expect from the title, the reading passages are based on Ovid's poetry, specifically on his Metamorpheses. Here one can enjoy the colorful tales of Roman mythology instead of Cicero's dry lecturing. The text begins with a simplified version of Jupiter's rape of Europe, then progresses to more complex passages regarding the Trojan War.

The combination of delightful reading passages and manageable grammar exercises earns this book high marks for independent study. The text contains the usual exercises, charts, dictionaries, and cultural readings one expects from a language book. An optional workbook is available (for a cheap price), as are audio tapes (for a considerably greater price).

The proof is in the pudding, as they say. I've tried at least three or four textbooks in my Latin studies and discarded them all. They were all too complicated and boring to sustain my interest in independent study. With Latin Via Ovid I have progressed through the first few chapters with remarkable speed. Those who for some reason detest Roman mythology may find another text more suitable. Otherwise, I highly recommend this product.

I studied Latin in High School.

I took two semesters of Latin in College.

Then I got a real job, and my Latin was growing rusty. Oh I have Wheelock's, and the accompanying materials. Then I found "Latin Via Ovid."

Suddenly, I rediscovered the joy of studying this "dead" yet very "living" language by reading passages of the great Roman poets, in the original <more or less>, without the tedious declensions <which are included>, or conjugations <which are also present>, but I could READ Latin! I could READ and UNDERSTAND Latin! Suddenly, words became living organisms. . .I could listen to someone, and mind go into Latin, and make almost miraculous comebacks. . .breaking ordinary English into Latin roots. . .

Never mind that.

If interested in the Language of Scholarship, but don't know much about it <and I didn't learn the rules of grammar until I studied Latin>, this is the book (and please, get the accompanying workbook!) for you.

Buy Confidently! Study Hard!

Carpe Diem!

If you're learing Latin on your own and this is one of your first books, you may enjoy getting the recordings that go with this book. Even though pronouncing Latin is not hard, it helps to get used to it and it's more fun going through the book with recordings.

The wonderful thing about this book is that all the lessons consist of beautiful stories from Ovid's Metamorphosis. Instead of learning Latin by memorizing disjointed words, from the very beginning you get to read several paragraphs of text. You may discover that you already know more Latin than you thought. The stories are so enjoyable to read that you'll feel eager to continue until you get to the end of the book and discover how much you've learned almost effortlessly.

This is an excellent choice for those who are interested in Latin in order to read Roman poetry. Unlike texts that prepare students for Caesar or Cicero, this one prepares you for the Aeneid. The initial readings are prose adaptations from Ovid's Metamorphoses, which get closer and closer to the original poetry used from Lesson 30 on. The authors deserve credit for being good storytellers as well as good teachers, crafting prose versions of Ovid in simple Latin which nevertheless hold entertainment value over the multiple re-readings useful for drill; these are much more enjoyable to read than the stray bits of modified Cicero and Livy on which Wheelock's text is based. As a bonus, in addition to covering the basics of Latin the student will get a grounding in Classical mythology.

Goldman's text is wonderful for someone desiring to learn Latin on their own. From the second chapter onwards, all the readings consist of revised excerpts from Ovid's Metamorphoses. As you are taught more grammar and vocabulary, she gradually introduces more and more of the original into the readings until you are reading what Ovid actually wrote. And although there is no answer key, the excercises (of which there are plenty) are usually of just the right difficulty: just hard enough to help you in learning Latin, but not so hard that you can't figure them out on your own.
I would also recommend the accompanying workbook, which is a little more difficult, but does include an answer key.

As a highschooler, trying to find a Latin text that is easy to understand and to learn from is difficult. I had tried the Oxford series before, but had not gotten very far because I needed a teacher to explain, but LvO has a grammar section that is neatly divided up into different grammatical lessons. They are all pretty explanatory, I enjoyed how more verb tenses were introduced (more frequently), and I feel like this book is really better than others. I would definitely reccommnend this book.

If you are looking for a self-study book to learn Latin, look no further. I especially like the early (relative to Oxford and Cambridge Latin Courses) introduction of the the many uses of the ablative case, This is helpful, since one begins to learn and USE the complete declensions of the noun right from the start. This helps to reinforce the learning of the declensions at an early stage.

The stories are engaging, thereby sustaining and even increasing the motivation of the student to master the material quickly in order to proceed to the next chapter. One never gets the feeling one is reading a narrative intended for children.

The only drawback is that sometimes a difficult passage in the narrative sections, are not adequately elaborated in the subsequent grammer and exercises section. However, this is very infrequent.

Librum maxime laudo!

Though this is a challenging course for the diligent high school student, it requires no prior knowledge of the language. My home schooled daughter used it and was amazed at the amount of Latin she could grasp after one year. She said it was gratifying to translate Ovid instead of contrived readings written specifically for students.

I learned Latin using Wheelock's textbook, studying with an engaging instructor. That is an excellent text but, as many have noted, it is very dry. This book is more entertaining: less philosophy and more blood, sex, and other agreeable topics. Highly recommended.

I love the selections from Ovid in this book! I like the slow start, using words very similar to their English equivalents, and the series of exercises that follow the selection. I even enjoy the discussion of etymology at the ends of the chapters.
My only complaint is the lack of answers at the back for the exercises. I'm trying to learn Latin on my own, and having the help of seeing answers would make my task somewhat less daunting. Still, taking enough care, and looking back at the examples and reading excerpt, I think I'll learn Latin well enough to read it on my own. Eventually.