LATIN
When the Latin Group was formed in 2001, there were two aims. One was to reinvigorate the knowledge of those who'd learned Latin at school decades earlier, and the second was to introduce newcomers to the pleasures (and problems) of the language and its literature.
We worked through the five books of the Cambridge Latin Course, a series which gradually builds up an understanding of grammar and vocabulary in entertaining stories. We then progressed to the genuine Latin writers of the Latin Golden Age in the selections of the Oxford Latin Reader, and are following this with another set of extracts from poets and prose writers in the Cambridge Latin Anthology.
Our primary interest is to read and enjoy the writers of Classical Latin, but it isn't all noses to the grindstone. We once tried to follow the instructions for folding and wearing the toga. Unfortunately, we didn't have 5 metres of heavy woollen cloth; the effect with a candlewick bedspread was far from perfect.
This is not a closed group; we've had new members in recent years. It may not be easy for those who learned Latin some time ago to start again at this level, but we welcome potential members who would like to give it a try.
Eileen Davis, August 2010