De Arte Epistolarum Scribendi

How to write a Latin Letter.

Epistolary writing represents perhaps the most accessible genre in Latin literature, both to read, and to emulate in writing. Latin literature is full of great letters full of simple phrases that we can steal and use for ourselves. Email is a great way to “do” Latin in a communicative way, and it helps to develop reading, writing, and speaking faculties almost simultaneously. Making use of the straightforward template of the ancients, we can immerse ourseves in this genre through active use. Below are a few resources which teachers, students, and enthusiasts, can use to get started. Many of the pages below are works in progress, so please do not be offended if some of them are in draft form. Also, I’d love to hear your feedback, or else, just write me a Latin letter, et respondebo quam primum!

Basic instructions

Excerpts from a Letter by Erasmus, in which he discusses the form.

Sentences from Cicero’s letters, compiled by Reginald Foster.