ComprehensibleLatin (@ComprehensLatin) profile picture

ComprehensibleLatin

@ComprehensLatin

For the promotion of reading authentic Latin texts, primarily from the medieval and modern periods. Personal account of Aaron Decker.

 Madison, WI
comprehensiblelatin.com
Joined June 2025
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For free electronic copies of my intermediate text series, just go to comprehensiblelatin.com/ and click the direct PDF links in the table. An Amazon link is also there in case you prefer paper copies.
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Replying to @bull_shiff
The closest I can think of is saxum,petra,lapis.
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Replying to @bull_shiff
Not a classicist, but I note the following: - St. Jerome uses stella for what the magi saw - Whereas Gregory of Tours uses sīdus to describe the exact same object Matthew 2: "vidimus enim stellam eius" Historia Francōrum Liber 1, pars 19: "Cuius immēnsum sīdus magī ab oriente cernentēs"
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Replying to @JohnSmith6qxd
That's a test of whether someone is highly literate, not whether they know a language. If you asked the average native English speaker to interpret a passage from Paradise Lost while citing grammatical principles, they likely wouldn't be able to do it.
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I'm going to tell my 5th grade Latin class that if they can't recite a full verb conjugation chart in English on demand then they don't know English. </s>
faustian alexander (@faustianspiritt) profile picturefaustian alexander@faustianspirittNov 11
Esse método é muito engraçado, a ideia é democratizar o latim com historinhas enfeitadas mas isso é impossível, latim é para um grupo seleto. Se você não sabe de cor as 60 desinências dos 6 casos das 5 declinações e muito +. você não sabe latim. Serve o mesmo para o grego.
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Replying to @actistonfos @dionysiusmaurus
Jumping on this thread to shill some free resources: once you get through about chapter 16 of Familia Romana you could try one of the simplified Latin texts I wrote here (available as a PDF download): comprehensiblelatin.com/
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Replying to @AntigoneJournal
That was an interview question when I got my current teaching job at a classical k-12 school. My answer was Athanasius' Life of St. Anthony, which the headmaster had also read.
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New tool that's out: a system that takes real texts and interweaves the original language with an English translation. The amount of interweaving appears to be dynamic & configurable.
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Timothy Kearns (@TimotheusKearns) profile pictureTimothy Kearns
@TimotheusKearnsNov 10
--LAUNCHING NOW-- LECTIO - Reading Greek and Latin Fluidly I have been teaching for a long time. And this is what I have wanted for students. Something to build joy and confidence and skill together. This is a new method of study: Interleaving--Explore it with me:
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Replying to @ashleysbored
Agreed. Familia Romana is a MUCH better curriculum.
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ComprehensibleLatin retweeted
τοῦτο βλέπω (@toutovlepo) profile picture
τοῦτο βλέπω@toutovlepoNov 10
Last year for the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, I began a translation of Gordon Lightfoot’s song. As fate would have it, I was satisfied enough with my work to share it today, for the 51st
Dūrat ab amne memorja fluēns vīvāx Michigantis ad mare pervastum nōmine Gitche Gumī. Aequor id effātur nōn umquam reddere captōs Cassiopē cum fert nūbila venta polō. Bis ter quīndeciēs lībrīs milliōnibus illa nāvis ferrātum plūsque ferēbat onus. Sīc velut ossa suīs cum nautīs illa Novembris mordenda est ventīs flantibus ante decet.

ALT Dūrat ab amne memorja fluēns vīvāx Michigantis ad mare pervastum nōmine Gitche Gumī. Aequor id effātur nōn umquam reddere captōs Cassiopē cum fert nūbila venta polō. Bis ter quīndeciēs lībrīs milliōnibus illa nāvis ferrātum plūsque ferēbat onus. Sīc velut ossa suīs cum nautīs illa Novembris mordenda est ventīs flantibus ante decet.

Nam fuerat prīnceps veniēns ōrīs Amerīcae dē Portū Geminō mōlibus inde gravis. Nāvis ut est solitum maior quam aliae gravitāte, doctīs cum nautīs, cum quoque dūce bonō. Factīs Cūm gregibus ferrī pactīs neque multīs sīc Cōjāhōgam plēna petīvit ope. Lūnā nunc ortā vigilisque sonō resonātō, ipsene eīs Aquilō, quī fuit aura mināx? Quī cecinit suprā nautās vinclīs quasi vātēs cum latus assūmpsit vastā aqua prīma tumēns. Extemplō cūnctī nōvēre, vigilque magister Quae raptūra est hūc esse Novembris Anum. Tardāta est Aurōra, morātaque pēnsa cibōrum, cum Brūmae ventus rumperet alta secāns. Tunc gelidō pluviī Zephyrō dūcente procellam. Quā cēlātus dum vertice Phoebus inest.*

ALT Nam fuerat prīnceps veniēns ōrīs Amerīcae dē Portū Geminō mōlibus inde gravis. Nāvis ut est solitum maior quam aliae gravitāte, doctīs cum nautīs, cum quoque dūce bonō. Factīs Cūm gregibus ferrī pactīs neque multīs sīc Cōjāhōgam plēna petīvit ope. Lūnā nunc ortā vigilisque sonō resonātō, ipsene eīs Aquilō, quī fuit aura mināx? Quī cecinit suprā nautās vinclīs quasi vātēs cum latus assūmpsit vastā aqua prīma tumēns. Extemplō cūnctī nōvēre, vigilque magister Quae raptūra est hūc esse Novembris Anum. Tardāta est Aurōra, morātaque pēnsa cibōrum, cum Brūmae ventus rumperet alta secāns. Tunc gelidō pluviī Zephyrō dūcente procellam. Quā cēlātus dum vertice Phoebus inest.*

Hōrā tunc cēnae, “Comitēs,” stabilis coquus inquit, “Flūctus tam validī, nē cereāle parem.” Crētīs nunc umbrīs, īdem iam tālia dīxit, “Esse sodālēs vōs est mihi magnus honōs.” Dux itaque ēmīsit, cava nāvigiī mare complēns crēscere, quō nautīs penditur ultima sors. Tēctō tum tenebrīs caelō, lūcēs abiērunt nāvis, et effectum est flēbile naufragium. “Quō sacer īvit amor? Dominum quis vīdit adesse?” hōrīs praeteritīs, dicta, furente mare. “Paulō,” dīcitur, “īvissent utinam magis ultrō, nam vēnissent ad lītora Tēquamenōn!” Aut hominēs disjectī sint, ēversave prōra, aut implēta gravī fissa carīna mare. Nunc, faciēs hōrum, vel sōlum nōmina dūrant cārās per spōnsās per quoque prōgeniēs.

ALT Hōrā tunc cēnae, “Comitēs,” stabilis coquus inquit, “Flūctus tam validī, nē cereāle parem.” Crētīs nunc umbrīs, īdem iam tālia dīxit, “Esse sodālēs vōs est mihi magnus honōs.” Dux itaque ēmīsit, cava nāvigiī mare complēns crēscere, quō nautīs penditur ultima sors. Tēctō tum tenebrīs caelō, lūcēs abiērunt nāvis, et effectum est flēbile naufragium. “Quō sacer īvit amor? Dominum quis vīdit adesse?” hōrīs praeteritīs, dicta, furente mare. “Paulō,” dīcitur, “īvissent utinam magis ultrō, nam vēnissent ad lītora Tēquamenōn!” Aut hominēs disjectī sint, ēversave prōra, aut implēta gravī fissa carīna mare. Nunc, faciēs hōrum, vel sōlum nōmina dūrant cārās per spōnsās per quoque prōgeniēs.

Volvit Hurōn undās; dē sēde suā canit altum per gelidās camerās sīc mare Gitche Gumī. Ē Michigante vapor juvenis quasi somnia surgit. Omnis vēnātus portus et īnsula dat. Īnferius tunc accipiēns situs est lacus undās, dē Ērieō missās ultimus Ontariō. Dum pergunt hodiē ferrātae per mare nāvēs, Vectus cūnctus habet corde Novembris Anum. Conveniunt, quoddam in fānum nōn grande, precantēs prō nautīs, positum lītore Detroitī. Tintinnābula sunt totiēs resonāta per aulās āmissī quotiēs sunt gelidīs sub aquīs. Dūrat ab amne memorja fluēns vīvāx Michigantis ad mare pervastum nōmine Gitche Gumī. Aequor id effātur nōn umquam reddere captōs Cum properāns rapiat nigra Novembris Anus.

ALT Volvit Hurōn undās; dē sēde suā canit altum per gelidās camerās sīc mare Gitche Gumī. Ē Michigante vapor juvenis quasi somnia surgit. Omnis vēnātus portus et īnsula dat. Īnferius tunc accipiēns situs est lacus undās, dē Ērieō missās ultimus Ontariō. Dum pergunt hodiē ferrātae per mare nāvēs, Vectus cūnctus habet corde Novembris Anum. Conveniunt, quoddam in fānum nōn grande, precantēs prō nautīs, positum lītore Detroitī. Tintinnābula sunt totiēs resonāta per aulās āmissī quotiēs sunt gelidīs sub aquīs. Dūrat ab amne memorja fluēns vīvāx Michigantis ad mare pervastum nōmine Gitche Gumī. Aequor id effātur nōn umquam reddere captōs Cum properāns rapiat nigra Novembris Anus.

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Replying to @HariSel57511397
Amen.
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Replying to @JMSterling5 @6079SmithWinsom
You just need the first book in the series (called Familia Romana). You don't need Roma Aeterna or the exercise book. Colloquia Personarum gives additional stories and is a fun supplement. Familia Romana is designed to not need a glossary, but I found chapter-specific glossaries to be helpful for my students. They are available for free here if you want them: comprehensiblelatin.com/reso…
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Replying to @richardrohlin
This is what our Latin program uses, starting in the 5th grade. After about chapter 18 or so students are ready for simplified prose texts, such as my reader's edition of the Nāvigātiō Sānctī Brendānī Abbātis (available for free at my site).
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Replying to @QuiltstarCo @richardrohlin
They did butcher your Latin education. Research into second-language acquisition indicates that rote memory is not a good methodology. Comprehensible input is required.
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Athanasius (@Athanasius_45) profile picture
Athanasius
@Athanasius_45Nov 6
A regular shout-out to David Chamberlain, on whose website you can not only find a fully scanned and voiced version of the Iliad, but also scanned versions of works of many other authors, including all sixteen volumes of the Greek Anthology. hypotactic.com/
Image from Athanasius (@Athanasius_45)
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Replying to @TimotheusKearns
Interested. Might be similar to the original-texts-in-two-levels that I have published.
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Neat to see another site publishing their reader's editions for free:
Lingua Deo Gloria (@LinguaDeoGloria) profile pictureLingua Deo Gloria
@LinguaDeoGloriaNov 3
Did you know all of the ancient Greek and Hebrew books we publish you can download for free on our website? Spread the word. We are trying to make biblical language education free for all people, especially those who could not otherwise afford it!
Image from Lingua Deo Gloria (@LinguaDeoGloria)
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Replying to @blessedabsalom
Quam bonum!
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ComprehensibleLatin retweeted
owen cyclops (@owenbroadcast) profile picture
owen cyclops
@owenbroadcastNov 3
there was a guy in a documentary about getting addicted to world of warcraft that said, "at first, you just play when you have free time. but then you discover, you have a lot more free time than you thought." i routinely return to this as a source of motivation. i have the time
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Stephen Wolfe (@PerfInjust) profile picture
Stephen Wolfe
@PerfInjustOct 31
guy: “separation of church and state!” same guy: “church membership should ground immigration policy”
Image from Stephen Wolfe (@PerfInjust)
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Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) profile picture
Nayib Bukele
@nayibbukeleOct 29
Pèp ayisyen, Nou prèske fin deplwaye sòlda nou yo ak ekipman nou yo sou tè Ayiti. Sa a se pa yon operasyon kont pèp ayisyen an, ni yon envazyon peyi Ayiti. Nou pa yon gwo pisans. Nou pa gen okenn enterè ni pou nou vin domine pèp ayisyen an, ni pou nou mete men sou richès Ayiti. Nou se yon peyi modès k ap devlope. Sèl sa nou vle, se pou kat teknisyen avyasyon nou yo tounen lakay yo. Epi n ap bay gang yo yon leson, gang sa yo k ap fè pèp ayisyen an soufri, ki touye moun pèp la renmen yo, k ap anpeche l viv yon lavi nòmal, lib, san laperèz. Se prèske nou menm sèl k ap peye pou operasyon sa a. Menmsi nou resevwa yon ti èd lojistik nan men kèk lòt peyi, se ak pwòp ti kès nou n ap kouvri 90% nan depans yo. Sa koute nou chè, men nou te aprann nan pwòp soufrans nou: jistis ak lapè pa gen pri. Nou te pase nan menm soufrans Ayiti ap travèse jodi a. Nou te viv yon beny san ki te pi terib toujou pase sa pèp ayisyen an ap sibi kounye a. Nou konnen sa sa vle di: viv nan laperèz, pa fè politisyen konfyans, pa kwè okenn moun ki pwomèt l ap ede w. Paske pèsonn pa t vin ede nou, e moun ki te vini yo pa t gen bon entansyon nan kè yo. Men nou te rive chape anba sa. Apre 200 lane soufrans, finalman n ap viv nan lapè, e jodi a nou se peyi ki gen plis sekirite sou kontinan an. Nou pa vin ann Ayiti pou nou touche lajan, paske pèsonn pa peye nou pou sa. Nou vin ann Ayiti pou nou goumen kont mechan yo. Men sa m ap mande nou: fè nou konfyans, lapriyè sèl vrè Bondye a, epi mande L pou L geri Ayiti. “Lè sa a si pèp ki pote non m lan lapriyè nan pye m, si yo soumèt devan mwen, si yo pran chache m ankò, si yo vire do bay vye peche yo t'ap fè yo, m'ap tande yo nan syèl kote m ye a, m'ap padonnen peche yo, m'ap fè peyi a kanpe ankò.” 2 Kwonik 7:14 Ede nou ede Ayiti. Epi lè misyon nou an fini, n ap tounen lakay nou. Petèt jenerasyon Ayisyen k ap vini yo ap sonje nou kòm zanmi ki te vin ede yon lè.
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