I received this comment recently:
“I just discovered your site and plan to use it to augment your VL course that my daughter and I are taking (home school)..and enjoy. I also purchased your “Word Up!” which she really enjoyed. My daughter is a writer. She loves Mythology and had asked for several years to study Latin. As I thought that it was not a good use of her time–I directed her to Spanish. She was not happy, and eventually, I reconsidered and found your course. Apparently, it was designed for Christians. Even though we are not Christians, we decided to give it a try. We may be the only non-Christians using your course! My daughter has been dying to read some non-religious material, so we will be using the primers you offered on Compass-thank you! In the future, I will be looking at your live classes…
Thank you for VL!
Here is my reply:
Hi,
Glad to hear you and your daughter are enjoying Visual Latin and Word Up! She and I share a common interest, by the way. I am fascinated by mythology. Keep in touch. As she improves in Latin, I will be able to recommend an old Latin book or two about mythology. It’s fun to read these legends in ancient Latin.
Visual Latin was sort of designed for Christians, and I myself am a Christian. But, more than that, I designed Visual Latin based on the Vulgate, because the Vulgate is one of the easiest places to start when learning Latin. It is so much easier to read one of the gospels than to read the Gallic Wars, by Julius Caesar. The gospels are written at about a 6th-grade reading level, while the classical Roman authors write at a much higher, scholarly level.
I chose the Vulgate at the base of Visual Latin to make things easier for my students. Were I teaching them English, I would do the same. I would have them read one of the gospels in English before tossing them into Shakespeare.
And, by the way, you are not alone. There are other non-Christians using the course. Though, I will say, you have certainly displayed a more open mind and more charity than many of them have.
All the best,
Dwane
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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.
