What to read next?

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robinschweitzer

New Member

I have read Peter Needhams Philosophi Lapis three times, and Camera Secretorum 2.5 times ( got bored third time, Mirabile magis Oz twice, half of Regulus (Le petit prince), a third of Robinson Crusoe, ( can't remember the translator) and some of Arcadius Avellanus's Insula Thesaurae. Can anyone suggest neo Latin which is half way between Peter Needham and Avellanus' stuff? His Fabulae Mirabiles is also very readable, but I prefer to read easier stuff quickly rather than hard stuff slowly. I have read the the first chapter of Tom Cotton's Aura inter Salices which is very good, and perhaps a bit easier than Avellanus's stuff.
Really looking forward to any replies! I would accept recommendations that include ancient latin authors, but I have been a bit put off by Caesar. I love Aesop or Phaedrus or stuff like that.
 
Pacifica

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis
Location:
Belgium
For fun ancient stuff, try the Satyricon or Plautus and Terence. Gellius's Noctes Atticae are fun too. As are Apuleius's Metamorphoses, but Apuleius's style is a bit more complex.

Caveat: I haven't read any of the works you've mentioned, so I may have misjudged the level of difficulty required.
 
 
Dantius

Dantius

Homo Sapiens

  • Civis Illustris
Location:
in orbe lacteo
If you want more like Phaedrus, there's Avianus, another author of fables
 
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robinschweitzer

New Member

I really appreciate the advice, but want to stick to neo Latin as much as possible. It's how I learnt French and Spanish, and it works for me. I have started learning Phaedrus, however and love it. I'll answer more when I have access to a pc.
 
B

Bitmap

Guest

I can understand how you can develop a desire for Neo-Latin after having read some of the classics ... I find it a bit weird to read it instead of the classics.
 
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robinschweitzer

New Member

I do it for several reasons.
  • As a learning theory, it's best to increase difficulty gradually, so insteading of taking on hard Latin and serious philosophy/history etc at the same time, I prefer to read simple stuff, preferably stuff I already know, in an increasing level of latin difficulty.
  • I have read Caesar in English and thought it ok, but would prefer to read a modern biography of him. I tried it recently in Latin and found it very dull. The vocabulary is incredibly limited.
  • One Latin genre I do read is fables. The vocab is varied and I already know them, and love them.
  • It's how I learnt Spanish and French. Among the first French books I read were about five translations of Roald Dahl. The vocab is broad, the stories addictive, and you can also compare the translation with what you know the original is like.
  • Following from above, for example, I have found Harry Potter in Spanish and Latin to be very good but I disliked them in English and French. Go figure.
  • I believe the motive behind most of the neo Latin was to read it before the classics, so when you read them you already have the vocab etc. This is definitely the reason Avellanus cites.
BTW, I have been undertaking a project of converting neo latin available online to ebooks. I have read all my Latin, beyond the basics, on an ereader. I have converted Avellanus's Fabulae Faciles, his Insula Thesauriae, Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapidis, Magis Mirabilis Oz into kindle friendly format. It's a major hassle, and the kind of work I don't like, but means I can read fairly quickly wihout ever having to use a paper dictionary. I am willing to share the Avellanus books with any forum members with the caveat that they do contain errors. The other two are probably still copyrighted.
I forget to mention Winnie Ille Pu, The little prince, Robinson Crusoe. These are all out of copyright.
Have you any suggestions? I would also appreciate help with the process, from any forum members who know word processing well.
yours
Robin
 
Pacifica

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis
Location:
Belgium
Well, if I may advertise myself, I have published a book of Latin translations, which contains three Edgar Allan Poe stories and another, longer and more obscure story called Vathek. The book can be ordered from Lulu here. I don't know if it can be called "easy Latin", though. A Latin podcaster sort of reviewed it and said he recommended it magistris rather than discipulis... but all is relative. I always find it difficult to gauge this sort of thing, let alone when I'm the author.

Regarding your ebooks, I think you can post that in the "Latin Resources" section.
 
 
Dantius

Dantius

Homo Sapiens

  • Civis Illustris
Location:
in orbe lacteo
robinschweitzer dixit:
  • I have read Caesar in English and thought it ok, but would prefer to read a modern biography of him. I tried it recently in Latin and found it very dull. The vocabulary is incredibly limited.
Click to expand...

Suetonius' biography of Caesar certainly does not have limited vocabulary. It's pretty difficult, but has some fun anecdotes.
 
AoM

AoM

nulli numeri

  • Civis Illustris
This thread saddens me.
 
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robinschweitzer

New Member

Pacifica dixit:
Well, if I may advertise myself, I have published a book of Latin translations, which contains three Edgar Allan Poe stories and another, longer and more obscure story called Vathek. The book can be ordered from Lulu here. I don't know if it can be called "easy Latin", though. A Latin podcaster sort of reviewed it and said he recommended it magistris rather than discipulis... but all is relative. I always find it difficult to gauge this sort of thing, let alone when I'm the author.

Regarding your ebooks, I think you can post that in the "Latin Resources" section.
Click to expand...
Pacifica, I look forward to checking your books out on Lulu. Available for download as well as hard copy, I hope?
 
Pacifica

Pacifica

grammaticissima

  • Aedilis
Location:
Belgium
I liked the idea of a real, physical book. I've always kept in mind the possibility of making an e-book as well later, but I haven't gotten round to it yet.
 
Petrus Cunīculus

Petrus Cunīculus

New Member

Location:
WA, United States
I'm not sure if this response is too late, but I'm a fan of Neo-Latin for the same reasons robinschweitzer called out. This is best list of Neo-Latin works that I have found: https://latin4everyone.wordpress.com/2009/03/15/a-short-bibliography-of-modern-childrens-books-in-latin/. Unfortunately, it's more difficult to get your hands on copies of these books since many of them are only available in physical form and had limited prints (at least compared to all of the reprints of classic authors). There is also less of a guarantee that the quality of writing is as good as classical Latin (see threads on Hobbitus Ille for an example). Many of them though can still be found used on Amazon with comments that indicate how good or bad the translations are.

I really enjoyed Tela Charlottae. It was the first chapter book that I read in Latin. I thought it was very approachable. If you enjoyed Harrius Potter, you might also enjoy Ursus Nomine Paddington. I can't speak to the difficulty of it (it's sitting on my shelf, but I haven't read it yet), but it is by the same translator, Peter Needham.

Hopefully this helps!
 
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