The choices, preferences, experiences, and particular strengths and weaknesses of a given book’s creators will unavoidably shape its presentation of the Latin language. Any and every introductory text will have a bias of some sort or other.
The good news is that there’s something for everyone. There are books for folks who want or need lots of help, there are versions for those who just want to engage the plain Latin text. If you’re somewhere in between, well, you’re covered too.
So, in the end, the big question is this: do the strengths of the exclusive focus on Ovid outweigh the drawbacks? On the whole, I think they do . . . with conditions.Â
Phaedrus, it seems, had high expectations for children’s literary understanding.  Or maybe, as A.A. Milne does in his Winnie the Pooh stories, he wanted to throw in a little something for the benefit of the adults who do the actual reading.Â
And what, you may wonder, are the strongest features? Glad you asked.  As is the case with the first book in this series, clarity and thoroughness are the strengths of Jenney’s Second Year Latin.
With Caesar as teacher, we can be his co-teachers.  We can help our students see and feel the drama in his narrative.
The bottom line is that Latin for the New Millennium does at least reasonably well in all five categories, and better than reasonably well in most.  It’s a five tool player.Â
And if holding a century-old book in your hand can give a sense of a tangible connection to its readers over the past hundred years, what about reading the same words that have fired the imaginations of countless readers over the past hundred generations?
Ilium in Italiam Ilium in Italiam portans, that is, bringing Troy into Italy. This is one of Juno’s many complaints against Aeneas in the opening scene of Vergil’s Aeneid (I.68). Juno, however, is the villain of the story. Bringing Troy into Italy is, in fact, the theme of the epic. The blending of the valiant remnant of Ilium with … Read more
Clear and Thorough Clear and thorough are the first words that come to mind when I think of Jenney’s First Year Latin. No, those words don’t evoke a sense of excitement. But excitement is not the reason that this textbook series dominated high school Latin programs in the mid-late twentieth century. Excitement only goes so far. … Read more