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Intensive Latin (LAT 104)
William A. Johnson

MTWThF 10:00 Blegen 214 Fall 1999

There are a great many reasons to study classical Latin, and indeed to pursue an education in the Classics. Among these are very specific, practical goals: better understanding of both the elements and the nature of human language; increased command over vocabulary in both English and Romance languages; increased ability to comprehend difficult texts, including both the jargon of the scientific community and the classicizing English of earlier generations-- from Milton to James Joyce (both of whom were, of course, fluent in Latin). These specific skills will without doubt translate into better GRE and LSAT scores, better ability to read and write complex English, a better chance of forming yourself into a person who is articulate, cultured, powerful in the use of speech.

But surely the best reasons for studying Latin have to do with more diffuse, squishy goals. In part, these are intellectual: in learning to read an ancient language, you will memorize and gain control over a complex set of data, which you will then need to manipulate with imagination and insight. This ability -- to hold in your head many facts, and to be able to deploy this knowledge creatively -- is quintessential to just about any higher occupation you choose to pursue, from running a business to being a lawyer. This sort of intellectual development is, then, as important as can be. But there is another aspect to learning Latin: it is, to be blunt, good for that part of you that goes beyond eating, getting a job, paying taxes, that part which in Latin we call the animus, the "soul" or "spirit".  In learning to read Latin, you have the chance to meet some of the great minds of western culture on their own terms, to try to think as they thought: great poets like Catullus, Vergil, Horace; great historians like Livy, Tacitus; great philosophic and moral thinkers like Cicero, Seneca, Boethius, Augustine.

In this class, we will in the course of the year come to read substantial amounts of ancient Latin. In the first two quarters, we will concentrate on working our way through the elements of the language, as presented in our introductory textbook. Along the way, we will read passages of increasing length and complexity. By the third quarter, we should be able to focus less on the fundamentals of grammar, and more on the task of developing our reading skills proper.

Make no mistake: this is an intensive course. We meet 5 days a week, and I'll expect to see you 5 days a week. Roughly every other day, we'll move along to a new chapter in our introductory textbook, so you'll have to prepare yourself for unusually intense and consistent involvement if you hope to keep up. In the study of language, the main desideratum is consistency: there is nothing inherently difficult in the material, so if you apply yourself routinely and diligently to the exercises, you'll find --to your joy! -- that you'll be able to read simple Latin in a short time, and reasonably complex Latin by year's end.

Course goals:

Course textbook: Course requirements: Graded material will have the following significance: The lowest quiz score will be dropped from consideration in the final grade.

Office hours, et cetera: