This course developes basic skills for reading Latin prose beyond the simple mastery of grammar and vocabulary accomplished in the first year.  Our work will form a solid foundation for continue in fourth-semester Latin, when students typically read Vergil, Ovid, Horace or Catullus, and beyond at the advanced level.  This semester we will begin with a comprehensive review of Latin morphology and syntax.  This review will involve not only regular exercises in the forms and functional units, but also simple prose composition and vocabulary building.  From the beginning of the term we will also learn sections of Latin prose from two major periods in Roman history, the Late Republic and the High Empire.  These readings will include excerpts from the historical biographies by Cornelius Nepos and letters by Cicero and Pliny the Younger.  As students become better readers, they will begin to appreciate these influential works as literary products, stylistic specimens, and sociohistorical artifacts.  Graded work will include assigned exercises and translations, quizzes, and three tests.

Last revised 6 September 2006