Books for Learning Latin
1. LATIN WITHOUT TEARS OR ONE WORD A DAY (1877) by Favell Lee Mortimer. This is an absolutely delightful book. It will teach you how to read the Latin Bible. The book ends with extracts to be read from the Gospel of John. She also wrote READING WITHOUT TEARS for learning to read English for young children and A PEEP OF DAY.
2. Latin Primer: A First Book of Latin for Boys and Girls (1880) John Allen. This is a wonderful book for boys and girls as young as 10 years old. It starts out with a interlinear of the Biblical account of creation. Home school parents, who wish for their children to learn Latin, can do no better than start with this book.
3. A Beginner's Latin Book (1887) by Collar and Daniell. Good explanations and plenty of exercises.
4. Essentials of Latin for Beginners (1905) by Henry Carr Pearson. This is designed to enable the student to read Caesar's Gallic Wars.
5. Latin 1 (1929) by Henry Carr Pearson, Lillie Maria Lawrence and Nina francis Raynor. This book uses stories to teach Latin. I highly recommend this book. The story approach is how I learned Spanish myself. I also use the story approach to teach N.T. Greek.
6. Latin for Beginners (1911) by Benjamin L. D'ooge. This is one of my favorite beginning Latin instruction books. His book Easy Latin for Sight Reading (1897) is a book all interested in reading Latin rapidly for enjoyment will want to read. Teachers of ancient Greek and other ancients languages will want to follow the wise advice given in this marvelous work. HPV Nunn recommends D'ooge's Latin for Beginners.
7. A First Book in Latin (1848) by MClintock and Cooks. Here us their A Second Book in Latin.
8. Latin Primer (1878) by B. L. Gildersleeve. Gildersleeve was a great American Greek and Latin scholar. He taught Gresham Machen. There are some interlinear texts here to help the student.
9. An Inductive Latin Primer (1891) by W. R. Harper and Isaac Burgess. Harper also produced Greek and Hebrew primers along the same line. It begins with an excellent inductive introduction to English grammar - 66 pages! It is one of the most complete introductions to English grammar you will find anywhere, designed as a preparation for the study of Latin. The Latin text is interlinear. Highly recommend for the older student learning on his or her own. It would be a great blessing if a Latin scholar would make us a recording of the Latin. I would be very happy to make it available here. Here is Harper’s An Inductive Latin Method (1883).
10. A Latin Vocabulary, Arranged on Etymological Principles (1856) by B. H. Kennedy. The very best aid to learning Latin vocabulary and improving one's knowledge of the Romance Level of English. Here is his The Child's Latin Primer. It is most pages of accidence (morphology), not a real primer as we usually think of it.
11. Caesar's First Campaign: A Beginner's Latin Book (1910) by William Allen Jenner and Henry E. Wilson. A delightful beginner's book.
12. First Latin Lessons (1922) by Harry Fletcher Scott. This is one of the all time best Latin methods. There is also a teacher's manual that has not been published on Google Book yet. He also published A For Latin Book of Junior High Schools (1918). One outstanding feature of this latter book is a helpful introduction to English grammar as preparation for the study of Latin. The book has many other valuable features.
13. Initia Latina: A Latin Book for Beginners (1907) by E. D. Mansfield. Notable for its review of English grammar.
14. Easy Steps to Latin (1901) by Mary Hamer. A good book, but not necessarily all that easy.
15. First Steps in Latin (1885) F. Ritchie. A book that lives up to its title. It doesn't even assume that the student knows English grammar. Highly recommended. See his reader Fabulae Faciles below.
16. Latin in English (1896) by Harry Pratt Judson. An excellent beginning book, less intimidating than many.
17. First Latin Lessons (1920) Harry Fletcher Scott. Another very fine introductory grammar. Scott also wrote a First Latin Book for Junior High Schools (1918). It is lavishly illustrated. He also wrote Elementary Latin: An Introductory Course (1915). A good follow up would be A New Latin Book (1916) by Miller, Beeson and Harry Fletcher Scott.
18. A Latin Primer (1911) by Herbert Chester Nutting. A very attractive little primer with nice cultural note and pictures. Not overwhelming.
19. A Short and Easy Latin Book (1871) by Rev. Edmund Fowle. Neither short or easy, but quite helpful.
20. Vulgate Latin Course by William Dodds. Unique in its use of the Vulgate for reading exercises. Classical educators will love this book. Here is Dwane Thomas Material for studying Dodds’ Vulgate Late Course.
21. Archibald Bryce (1867) First Latin Book. This is a grammar and reader combined. The vocabulary for each lesson is organized by lesson near the back of the book.
22. Wheelock’s Latin, 6th Edition Revised (2005). A highly regarded college textbook.
23. Teach Yourself Latin ( 1948 ) by F. Kinchin Smith
24. Teach Yourself Beginner’ Latin by G. D. A. Sharpley. Noted for its interesting stories, a delightful introduction. He also wrote The Complete Latin Course (2014)
25. Latin: A Structural Approach (1955) by Waldo E. Sweet. Linguistically informed.
26. Latin Made Simple (1962) by Rhoda A. Hendricks. A really nice introduction. I taught myself Spanish from Spanish Made Simple.
27, College Latin (1954) by Normal Johnston De Witt, John Flagg Gummere, Annabel Horn. (Scott, Foresman and Company)
One of the most attractive beginning Latin textbook based on very interesting reading passage. i have profited greatly
from this fine book. It should be noted that this book can be downloaded in nice pdf.
28. Latin: First Year (1958) Robert Henle. Very popular with home schoolers. Latin: Second Year. Latin: Third Year. Latin:
Fourth Year. Latin Grammar. Notice that Answer books are available the textbooks.
29. Church Latin (1929) by Lloyd R. Manning. A very attractive little book.
30. Let’s Read Latin: Introduction to the Language of the Church (1995) by Ralph McInerny. Something of an inductive
approach.
31. Latin: An Intensive Course (1977, 1990) by Floyd L. Moreland and Rita M. Fleischer. Perhaps the best course for an adult
in a hurry to learn Latin, and learn it well. From Amazon.
32. Phonetica Latin - How to Pronounce Latin by Ray Cui. Excellent information. Very helpful.
33. Vox Latina (2004 ed.) by Sidney Allen. The standard work on Latin pronunciation. The pdf can be downloaded.
34. The entire Loeb classic library for download, both Greek and Latin. English translations included.
Readers and Things to Read
1. A First Latin Reader with Exercises (1913) by H. C. Nutting. This is the best reader I have been able to locate. It starts off with a story about the discovery of America. It is a truly delightful book.
2. Ritchie's Fabulae Faciles: A First Latin Reader (1904). Fables from Ancient Rome.
3. Latin Hymns (1904) by William Merrill. Not exactly a "reader" but plenty of lovely material to read of a most interesting and wholesome nature.
4. The Latin Vulgate New Testament with the Douay Version of 1482 in columns. Here is theVulgate with parallel Douay of 1582, published by Bagster in 1872.
5. Latin Reader (1882) by B. L. Gildersleeve. A worthy but difficult work - for advanced students.
6. A Latin Reader: Easy Selections for Beginners (1913) by Frank A. Gallup. This is a wonderful little book of easy stories with ample notes.
7. Pretty Lessons in Verse for Good Children with Some Lessons in Latin in Easy Rhyme (MDCCCLIII) by Sara Coleridge. The Latin section is rich with material for any level of learning. Below is the first Latin rhyme: A FATHER is pater a mother is mater
A sister is soror a brother is frater
A child should obey both his father and mother
And brothers and sisters should love one another
8. Lessons in Latin Parsing; Containing the Outlines of the Latin Grammar, Divided into Short Portions, and Exemplified by Appropriate Exercises in Parsing (1833, 20th ed, 1844). A superb Latin grammar for beginners. I have found it quite helpful in my own Latin studies. I think you will, too. He also wrote an useful book on Greek Parsing, which is featured on my Greek page.
9. Via Latina: An Easy Latin Reader (1897) by William C. Collar. One of the best Latin readers available.
10. A Term of Ovid: Ten Stories from Metamorphoses for Boys and Girls (1900) by Clarence W. Gleason. An delightful reader with vocabulary and notes.
11. Biblica Sacra. A course in Latin based on readings from the Vulgate.
12. John 1 - Latin Vulgate. An expressive reading of John 1 from the Latin Vulgate. Classical Academic Press.
13. Mark’s Gospel in Latin. Includes complete vocabulary. Very helpful.
14. Classical Education and the Home School.
15. Self-Educator: Latin (1901) By W A. Edward. An excellent approach to earning Latin.
16. Elementa Latina, or Latin Lessons for Beginners (1914). This is a cut-to-the-chase, no nonsense method for mastering Latin.
17. A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin (1985) by John F. Collins.
18. A Latin Reader: Easy Selections for Beginners (1913) by Frank A. Gallup.
Latin-English Machine Translator
http://imtranslator.net/translation/latin/to-english/translation/
Latin Reference Books
1. New Latin Grammar (1918) by Charles E. Bennett.
2. New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges, Founded on Comparative Grammar (1916) by Allen and Greenough.
3. The Pronunciation of Greek and Latin (1920) by E. H. Sturtevant. A justly famous and useful useful volume for teachers and advanced students.
4. Latin Manuscripts (1897) by Harold Johnston.
5. Latin Grammar, School Edition (1905) B. E. Gildersleeve. See his Primer above. Fans of Gildersleeve will enjoy these lectures, HELLAS AND HESPERIA OR THE VITALITY OF GREEK STUDIES IN AMERICA published in 1909. There is also a photograph of the distinguished scholar and his distinguished long beard!
6. Latin Pronunciation of the Roman, Continental, and English Methods (1883) by D. B. King.
7. The Three Pronunciations of Latin (1879) by M. M. Fisher. An American scholars discussion of the Continental, Roman, and English systems of pronouncing Latin.
8. Latin Pronunciation Demystified (2005) by Michael Covington. This is a very helpful explanation.
9. You will not want to miss Sidney Allen's very modern and helpful Vox Latina.
10. Study of Abililty in Latin in Secondary Schools: A Description of a Method of Measuring Ability in Latin, with a Statistical Study of the Results of a Survey in Latin in New Hampshire Secondary Schools (1919) of by Harry Alvin Brown. This monogram is a good model of how we can measure the development of students' ability in Latin.
11. Latin and Greek in American Education (1911) edited by Francis Kelsey. This is a symposium on the value of classical languages in American education. Another book along the same line is Teaching High-School Latin (1916) by Josiah Bethea Game. The book argues for the value of Latin in high-school.
12. Preparatory Latin Course in English (1884) by William Cleaver Wilkinson. While not a Latin grammar, the book will give students a background into Roman history and culture that will help spark their interest in learning Latin.
13. Rudiments of the Latin Tongue (1807) by Thomas Riddiman. An older work of considerable value.
14. Latin AudioHere is rich resource of links for listening to Latin audio recordings.
15. Here is a brief but valuable introduction to Latin Prounuciaton with mp3 files.
16. Dictionary of the Vulgate New Testament by J. M. Harden (1921). An indispensable for beginners learning to read the NT. Definitions are brief but helpful.
16. A Hand-book of the Engrafted Words of the English Language Embracing the Choice Gothic, Celtic, French, Latin, and Greek words (1854) by The Literacy Association.
17. An Etymology of Latin and Greek (1891) by Charles Storrs Hasley. A rather advanced text but exceedingly helpful for building a practical knowledge of Latin and Greek roots.
18. Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin (1922) H.V.P Nunn. This is for student who already know the elements. The Preface is very interesting.
19. Latin and Greek in Current Use (1939, 1949) A very valuable value blend book that follows parts of speech.
20. Dictionary of the Vulgate New Testament (1921) by J. M. Harden. Very valuable. An updated, revised (2007) edition is available in paperback.
Latin Audio
1. EFESIOS IN LATIN
My friend, Louis Tyler, made me a wonderful oral rendering of Ephesians in Latin, which I am making availables with his permission. You will be amazed how the text will leap life as you listen to the it over and over. I keep a copy in my Tundra pickup to listen to everywhere I go. This is the BEST WAY way to learn any language, living or "reportedly dead," which hardly applies to Latin since we can hardly read a page of English without encountering numerous words of Latin origin. Dr. Tyler uses classical pronunciation, Italian-accented. Here is a copy of the text so you can follow along as you listen to Dr. Tyler's recording: AD EPHESIOS. Just click on the Chapter for the mp3 recording:
Ephesians 1
Ephesians 2
Ephesians 3
Ephesians 4
Ephesians 5
Ephesians 6
2. Recordings of the Latin Vulgate. Note this can be listened to Online or downloaded for listening Offline.
3. Evan Millner is selling a lot of excellent Latin audio at Latinum. He also has some older material available for free at Latinum Podcast.
In 1988 F. F. Bruce included the following dedication in his book, The Canon of the New Testament (Glasgow, Chapter House): “to the Departments/of Humanity [=Latin and Greek/in the University of Aberdeen/ Founded 1497/Axed 1987/ With Gratitude for the Past/ and with Hope of their Early and Vigorous Resurrection.” from Bruce M. Metzger, “The Future of NT Textual Studies” in The Bible as Book: The Transmission of the Greek Text (2003).
Choice Links
1. Classical Academic Press. This company has available Latin and Spanish materials for children.
2. Magna Carta Latina. An excellent beginning Latin text that makes use of Christian literature. For more information regarding the author: Eugen Rosenstock-Hussen Fund.
3. Memoria Press sells lots of great Latin learning material for children and teens.
4. Here is a source for the Latin Vulgate with parallel English: Latin Vulgate Bible.The Perseus Project has the most servicable edition of the Latin Vulgate. Just click on a word and the Perseus tool will give you the definition, part of speech, and translation of the word, along with statistics. It is a most helpful scholarly tool for improving your Biblical Latin. Another great site for improving your Biblical Latin is: Fabulae Vulgatae
5. Textkit has a fabulous amount of free Latin materials.
5. Latin Resource Guide. This is a very rich site with lots of links.
Latin for Children Primer B by Aaron Larsen. Helpful notes on pronunciation, contrasting Classical and Ecclesiastical.
This Latin page was launched on May 26, 2008. Last updated 1/1/24.
