How to Use this Sourcebook

Most texts in this sourcebook appear in a set of 3 blocks.

The First Block presents the text in glorious Latin. Identifying the Message in the Latin words on the page is just the first, most mechanical, part of our studies. We often devote good amount of our effort to grappling with both the mechanical and the interpretive aspects of reading Latin. We also want to interpret and understand what we have read. These texts will often be introduced by a brief summary, to help orient your reading.

After the text you will see the Second Block, a “commentariolum” — a section of notes that are intended to provide context and assistance on grammar. This help will not, typically, be translation but prompts to prod your memories on forms and syntax that you have learned, which you now need to activate (or re-activate) in order to become more fluent readers of Latin.

To stimulate the process of interpretation, you will often find a Third Block immediately after your text and commentary that invites you to think further about what you are reading and how it might apply to your own situation in the world.

For some longer sections, these blocks may repeat on a given page, or they may be divided into different pages.

Vocabulary?

Vocabulary is not provided for most texts in the book, but most of our texts are available in The Bridge, an on-line tool that allows you to create customizable vocabulary lists. You can use The Bridge to create exactly the list you need, excluding those words you know (or should know) or by creating lists of important vocabulary within each reading that you want to make sure you have mastered. The Bridge is available on-line at: bridge.haverford.edu.