Customer Reviews

Oxford Latin Reader

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is at this point in the Balme and Morwood series that we finally can break away from the children's books. Up until this point the users have been forced to deal with cartoons, which are disgustingly badly drawn, and end chapter questions fit for a monkey. Now, however, real literature is set forth and we may all rejoice.

Ceasar, Cicero, Catullus, Virgil, Livy, and Ovid now replace the story of Quintus, which surely had become dear to our hearts.

One problem with this freedom, though, is that it is quite the leap of knowledge. As I had said, we jump from children's tales to literature and it is not without great effort that we may do so successfully. Be aware that this book is like the prior book squared. Buy a dictionary and make sure it is a good one. Also, in this book you will realize that though you thought you could read Latin by sight, you are now proven wrong. But, it is worth the hard work and this realization to get through this book.

(P.S. the teachers' book is no help!)

In their preface, the authors say, "The transition from adapted Latin to unadapted Latin texts is always traumatic and many courses fail at this point." They surely succeed in this difficult task. The accompanying Teacher's Book is indispensable in self study.

These four books make a great introductory course. They many not be the easiest, by any means, but they are far and away one of the best and most rewarding. While on one level it is definitely a "reading course" (i.e., it has you reading extended narrative prose from the very beginning) it really does combine the best of the modern and traditional approaches. The course develops reading skills as much as any "inductive" textbook (even one at the end of the spectrum like Cambridge Latin Course), and yet it teaches grammar explicitly and from the very beginning. Furthermore the grammar is presented in manageable amounts (though not in dribs and drabs), and authors tend to present things in a more sensible sequence than a strictly traditional textbook. Thus someone who finishes this course will have very strong reading skills and yet will have as solid an understanding of grammar and syntax as someone who has used an old-fashioned grammar-translation textbook like Wheelock.

The premise of the course, which follows the life of the Roman poet Horace, is absolutely brilliant. We know a fair amount about the personal life of Horace through his Satires and Odes, and Horace lived through (and was even an active participant in) some of the most interesting events in Roman history. Hence, the entire course breaths Roman history. Also, the Latin of the narrative passages -- almost from the very beginning -- feels like real Latin (much more so than almost any beginning Latin book), and at times can be quite lovely. Book III (the last third of course that presents basic Latin grammar and syntax) introduces extended excerpts from the poetry of Horace and Vergil. This is a bit of a stretch for the beginner, but it's well worth the effort. Someone who has completed this course, unlike most other textbook, will have had some significant contact with the grandeur of Roman literature.

The Reader (the fourth book in the series) is a bit of a stretch for beginning students. There are no long marks (though an argument can be made that this is a good time to dispense with them), and the selection of authors, on whole, is a bit tough (Caesar being by far the easiest). An easier author like Eutropius or Nepos might have been a good addition to this reader (of course, it could be supplemented with War with Hannibal: Authentic Latin Prose for the Beginning Student or Cornelius Nepos: Three Lives -- Alcibiades, Dion, Atticus, or the like). On the other hand, perhaps the students' exposure to Horace and Vergil in Book III prepares them for the tougher literature.

There is also a very good teacher's manual that gives both historical background to each chapter (remember this course is absolutely saturated with Roman history!) as well as a full answer key to the exercises and reading passages. This would make the course very user-friendly for the independent learner.

I am in Honors third year Latin, and this is my textbook for the class. This book has interesting background on all of the writers and presents their writings in a very readable format.

I bought this book for help with the reaer. But, it was no help at all. Most of my time with the teachers' book was spent correcting it.

I do not know who wrote the translations, but they surely know little Latin. This is a worthless book and a waste of both time and money.

Beyond that, most of the things in the book can be easily found in a decent University liberary. And, there you will get a good translation, by somebody that knows Latin.