John P. Piazza, M.A.
Some Useful and/or
Enjoyable Latin Links:
Contents of Page:
Latin textbooks
Online Text Resources
Online Tools and Dictionaries
General Latin Pages
Hear Latin
Reginald Foster
Latin
Textbooks:
The
best Latin textbook series for students of every age is without question Lingua Latina by Hans H. Ørberg. Books can be ordered
directly from Focus
Publishing, US distributor for Lingua Latina. Read about Hans’ recent visit
to the US, where he presided over a panel dedicated to his books and method.
Online
Text Resources
All
periods of Latin:
The Latin Library. Fairly reliable
texts covering the whole range of Latin literature.
A Latin
Dictionary, by Lewis and Short, still the standard for Classical and post
classical Latin, is online, and searchable in both English and Latin, thanks to
the Perseus Project.
NEW!
Read the Latin text of Quintilian
book 10, on the study and cultivation of Latin in reading, speech, and
writing. I have added chapter and section headings to make the text more
accessible.
Ecclesiastical,
Medieval, Latin Church Fathers:
Gregorian Chant. A colombian group, Schola Cantorum
Bogotensis, has built a site that is full of resources for anyone interested in
learning about or singing Gregorian Chant.
The IntraText Digital Library contains
over 700 texts. Mostly medieval and renaissance.
The New
Vulgate Bible (Nova Vulgata). The Vatican has made available to the public
its revision of Jerome’s Latin bible. They have tried (with arguable success) to
“fix” some problems in Jerome’s text, while staying close to the vocabulary and
spirit of that important work. It is definitely more readable in places.
Augustinus.it Most of St. Augustine’s works in Latin,
transcribed from Migne’s Patrologia
Latina
series. But for the Confessions, see James O’Donnell’s monumental online
edition and commentary
Corpus
Thomisticum. Almost all of Thomas Aquinas’ works are available online, at
this site.
Thesaurus Musicarum
Latinarum. An evolving database of the entire corpus of Latin music theory
written during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance
Also
see my compilation of Papal documents (work in
progress) which may be of interest to the Latinist and student of religion.
Renaissance
and Neo-Latin:
Erasmus’ Colloquia. Jennifer Nelson, grad student at the
University of Kentucky, has just compiled an online edition of selections from
the Colloquia,
with helpful introduction and commentary.
An Analytic
Bibliography Of On-line Neo-Latin Texts. Over 9000 listings for Latin texts
written during the Renaissance or later.
Italian
Poetry in Latin: 13th-16th cenuries. Some of the best Latin was coming out
of Italy during the Renaissance.
(For
a brief but detailed description to these authors, their works, and their
significance, see W. Leonard Grant, Neo-Latin Literature and the Pastoral (chapel Hill, 1965), chapter
2)
Harvard’s I Tatti
Renaissance Library is currently publishing bilingual editions of many
important Neo-Latin works.
Plato’s
Apology of Socrates—in Latin.
Translation by Friedrick Ast, who is known for his Lexicon Platonicum.
Online tools, lexica, etc. :
Latin Place
Names. This alphabetical site was established by the bibliographic
Standards Committee as a resource for librarians—and you
The Ancient Library. A
collection of scanned classics reference works from the 19th and 20th
centuries, including Smith’s massive Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography
and Mythology,
and Edwards’ English-Greek Lexicon.
Latin Lexicon
compiled by David Morgan of Furman University. Extensive English-Latin list of
modern terms, also organized by category, for ease of use.
Lexicon
Recentioris Latinitatis. An online dictionary which gives Latin
translations of modern words and concepts. Includes smaller lists of plant names and place names. Invaluable for
the living Latin enthusiast!
Vocabula
Computatralia. Ever wanted to know how to say “modem” in Latin?
Tolle, lege. Helpful reading
and vocabulary for the beginning/intermediate
Latinist.
Helpful list of the 1400 most common Latin words.
De Imperatoribus Romanis. Read about
the Roman Emperors (in English).
the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
provides much useful information to the Latinist.
the Catholic Encyclopedia is also a
great resource for the Latinist, especially this early 20th C. (i.e.
pre-Vatican II) edition.
General Latin pages:
Circulus Latinus
Lutetiensis. Home page of Parisian Latinists (the ancient name for Paris is
Lutetia). Click on “urbs nostra” and take a virtual tour of the city’s
monuments, with photos. For a bit of French attitude, click on the british
flag.
Rogueclassicism is
David Meadows’ daily ‘blog of all things ancient, taken from many different
media sources.
Vox Latina. Home of the
association headed by Prof. Sigrid Albert, author of Imaginum Vocabularium
Latinum. This site contains many helpful resources, both online and in print.
An
ever-useful page of Latin insults
Screenplay
of the movie Gladiator—in Latin
The Vatican
now has a Latin home page (tandem aliquando!).
Grex Latine Loquentium. Here’s where you can
find the complete Colloquia of Erasmus, as well as many
other items of interest.
Forum Romanum. Forum Romanum
is a collaborative project among scholars, teachers, and students with the
broad purpose of bringing classical scholarship out of college libraries and
into a more accessible, online medium.
Lingua Aeterna. A Russian website devoted
to the continuation of living Latin. Includes a library of interesting texts.
Dominus Anulorum.
A Translation in Progress of the Lord of the Rings.
Hear Latin:
Nuntii Latini. Weekly news summary
in Latin.
Radio Bremen in
Germany has its own version of the Latin news, also called Nuntii Latini
the Society for the Oral Reading
of Greek and Latin Literature (SORGLL). Hear renditions of passages from
the Latin poets.
Book 4 of Virgil’s Aeneid in its
entirety, read by Wilfried Stroh.
Daily Lauds
and Compline, chanted in Latin, via Vatican Radio.
Reginald Foster:
See
my Reginald Foster page