Read Tacitus in Latin

I’m giving up on this esoteric goal – but I will not forget about you!

Actually, it’s a fair sight more interesting than a lot of the philosophy texts in Latin. More blood, for instance.

Education is wasted on the young. A tired saying but one I recognize the wisdom in more each day. I took four years of Latin in high school, enough that I should be able to meet this goal. Problem is, I cheated so much that I never really learned the language half as well as I might have if I’d just applied myself. At the time, I thought, why would I ever really need more than the Hail Mary in Latin. Then it turns out I develop an abiding interest in roman history and a deep appreciation for romance languages. On top of that, I get intrigued by issues of historiagraphy among the early romans. Serves me right to have to relearn it, along with the Math I’ve forgotten.

I think my first step is going to be to finish the Annals in english, and then sign up for a Latin class at The Seattle Language Academy.

I just finished Latin 101, wherein we technically did read several short sentences from Tacitus. However, I am really looking forward to the time where I can curl up with a book of Catullus poetry. Right now, I mostly use my blossoming skills to annoy people with comments on the Latin roots of common phrases. For example- Did you know that word supercilious comes from the Latin word for eyebrow: “supercilium” ? !!!!

Unfortunately, I’ve since forgotten how to translate Latin, but I wrote a paper once called “Signicance of Portents in the Annals of Tacitus”.

Maybe after I pick up Esperanto I’ll revisit Latin. Yeah, that sounds delightfully impractical and cool.