Helpful Resources for Learning Latin
Intro
If you want to learn Latin, then you have come to the right place. We have compiled a list of the best books, articles, and videos for students of Latin and organized them into beginner, intermediate, and advanced resources. We hope that you can find something valuable.
Just like our Teacher Resource page, we hope for this list to grow over the years, so don’t forget to check back in occasionally.
DISCLAIMER: Many of the links below are affiliate links, which means that we receive a small cut of the profit should you decide to purchase anything through them. We have, nevertheless, only included items that we have personally used and vetted ourselves.
Contents
Beginner
For those who are just beginning to learn Latin
Books
If you have purchased this book and are having a little trouble getting started, we have a post to help you out: Familia Romana: 5 Tips
The next couple titles are in the Lingua Latina series of books, but are not full textbooks in their own right. If you have decided to purchase Familia Romana, I would recommend that you purchase these as well.
I had a Latin professor in college who had us purchase these texts, but warned against relying on it too heavily. I agree that this book should be used with care, since it has the potential to ruin the mystique of the original text. Part of what makes Familia Romana so great is that it forces the reader to make logical conclusions about the meanings of words, a process that makes learned vocabulary stick better. This text has the potential to deprive the student of the learning journey, but if used wisely, it has legitimate potential in the classroom.
This book makes the cut for me in part because it was the first book I ever used, but it also has some serious advantages that are worth highlighting. There is a plethora of exercises in this book, and it is perfect for a self-motivated learner, or a teacher looking to focus on a little more grammar. It is a good book to use in tandem with Familia Romana even though the two books do not introduce concepts in the same order. Some of the early sentences are a bit repetitive, since the vocabulary is so limited, but if you are looking for a textbook that hits all of the basic vocabulary and grammar beats with tons of exercises to boot, this is the textbook for you.
Henle Latin is a Christian themed book, and many of the early practice sentences are Christian mantras on repeat, but the book teaches classical Latin and ultimately prepares the student to read Caesar in the second-year book and then Cicero and Vergil.
Intermediate
For those who have learned all of the basic gramamr and vocabulary and are looking to continue to build upon those foundations.
Books
This book is applicable to all levels of students. Even if you have read through the whole book once (an admirable feat) the reader would benefit from multiple passes through this book in order to grow accustomed to some of Latin’s more frequent constructions and vocabulary. For this reason too, I would still recommend the College Companion to the intermediate student making use of this book.
RITCHIE'S FABULAE FACILES
Another graded reader with a gripping subject matter. The text guides its reader through various mythological stories while steadily increasing in difficulty. The truly intermediate student will find the grammar of the first several chapters quite simple, but may stumble through the vocabulary. Happily, though, all vocabulary is glossed and there are detailed explanations of more challenging concepts on the opposite page. There is a free PDF of this text on Geoffrey Steadman’s website.
Advanced
For students looking for more of a segue into authentic Classical prose or poetry. The jump is never quite as easy as you would like it to be, but there are plenty of books that will help you get to the other side.
Books
Ad Alpes is an excellent upper-intermediate/advanced text that is great for those who have a farily solid vocabulary and are looking for more practice with subordinate clauses. The story is charming and the text is approachable. You can find physical copies of this around, but there is a free PDF on Archive here.
Even if you have read through the first book once, Roma Aeterna is not exactly a walk in the park. The follow up text to Familia Romana is not nearly as intuitive as the first book, but it is also more grand in its scope. The first book’s goal was to introduce all of Latin’s high-frequency vocabulary and basic grammar. This book attempts to hand you off to unadulterated Latin prose, a difficult transition. Hans Orberg, the editor of these books, slowly removes the training wheels as you read through the early history of Rome according to Livy, Vergil, Eutropius, Sallust, and Cicero while continuing to introduce more morphology, syntax, grammar, and vocab through images and margin notes. Admitedly, the images are not always sufficient, especially when encountering things like the so-called “subjunctive of reported reason” or unreal conditions, but the general aesthetic and experience of reading this text with all of the unique pictures is still enjoyable, especially if you have a teacher or the college companion helping you along the way. You should get this book if you are an intermediate to upper intermediate student or even a veteran looking for more reading. There is nothing quite like it out there.
It is not impossible to work through Roma Aeterna without the companion book, but it will make your experience so much smoother. The author breaks down the grammar for each chapter and puts it into plain English. I personally bought the digital version of this book when I was working my way through Roma Aeterna a few years ago, and it saved me a lot of heartache. The digital version is searchable and it saved me a lot of time.
Geoffrey Steadman has done an amazing job at taking classics and adding copious notes to make them more accessible for students. A lot of his work is available for free online.
Videos
Our advanced listening youtube videos which you can also see on our youtube channel