On Saturday, I took a whack at a hornet’s nest.
I suggested that perhaps there was something better to read than hundreds of pages of history of hundreds of headless Gauls.
Several people contacted me. Among other things, they wanted to know… well, what should they read instead of Caesar?
First of all, I am not saying you should never read Caesar’s commentaries on the Gallic Wars.
You can read it if you want to. If you are on your way to a Classics degree, you will have to. Of course, I strongly recommend you do not pursue a Classics degree, but, that is another blog post for another time.
So, after you complete Visual Latin, what should you read?
The following is an excerpt from my book, Via.
Read one of the New Testament gospels in Latin.
I recommend that you do this for multiple reasons.
First, the Bible is available in Latin. Here it is again, in case you missed it in the last chapter: http://www.bible.is/LTNNVV/Matt/1
Second, the writing of the New Testament is clear, simple, and direct. Written on a sixth-grade reading level, it is the perfect starting place.
Third, the New Testament should be familiar ground for you. Chances are, you know much of the story already. This familiarity will help you as you read.
Fourth, the Bible is the most famous book in the world. Whether you believe the teachings of Jesus or not, to be ignorant of the Bible is to be, well, ignorant.
There is more you can read, naturally, but the New Testament is the place to start.
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If you are learning Latin, I have written a book with all of my best tips and strategies. It’s available as a free download here: https://dwanethomas.com/downloads/via-latin-lost/
If you are interested in learning Latin, you can go through the classes on my site 24/7. I recommend the book Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg. If you tackle the book and find yourself bogged down, you may find the classes on my site helpful. To join, just click here: https://dwanethomas.com/join/
If you want a more professionally filmed experience, check out the best-selling DVD series: Visual Latin.
Or, if you want to skip Latin, and just jump right into learning English words from Latin and Greek roots, you may enjoy the series Word up! Warning. Word up! is a bit wacky. You will learn a lot… but, you may find yourself rolling your eyes, too.
