2022-23

The Consolation of Philosophy, which Boethius wrote in prison after a life of study and public service, offers a view on Roman politics and culture after Rome ceased to be an imperial capital.  The Consolation is also a poignant testament from a man divided between Christianity and philosophy. About 45 pages of the text are read in Latin, and all of it in English.   Secondary readings provide historical and religious context for the early sixth century AD. 

With emphasis on major stylistic trends in our authors.

We shall read extended selections from poetry writers of recognized importance to the Latin tradition. Our sampling of texts will emphasize writers of the Late Republic and Early Principate. 

The Practice of Carolingian Saints’ Tales. Spoken “Lingua Romana rustica” departed from canonical Ancient Latin long before the late eighth century. But at this time the renewed study of the Classics and grammar soon prompted scholars and poets to update the stories of their favorite saints and to inscribe some for the first time. We shall examine examples of ninth-century Carolingian “réécriture” and of tandem new hagiography in both prose and verse by authors such as Lupus of Ferrières, Marcward of Prüm, Wandalbert of Prüm, Hildegar of Meaux, and Heiric of Auxerre. All source readings in Classical Latin adapted to new Carolingian purposes, which we shall also explore historically in their own right.

Readings include tragedies of Seneca the Younger along with their classical Greek precedents and their early modern English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish successors. Students taking this course as a Latin course will read at least one tragedy of Seneca in the original. Students taking it as a Comparative Literature course will read at least one non-English tragedy in the original language. Students taking it as as a Classical Civilization or Fundamentals course may read all the plays in English translation.

Latin reading will focus on Book 8 of the Aeneid together with selected passages from other books (especially 1, 6, 10, and 12). The remainder of the epic will be read in translation. Topics will include the representation of Augustus, civil war, vengeance and clemency, and whether the poem envisages Rome's refoundation under the new leader as leading to a more secure future. 

This course examines the development of the Latin elegy from Catullus to Ovid. Our major themes are the use of motifs and topoi and their relationship to the problem of poetic persona.

This course is a reading of selections from a major monument of Roman literature, such as Vergil’s Aeneid. There will be discussion of the relationship between language and literary art, and the legacy of the work or works studied.

This course is a reading of selections from Roman poetry, especially the works of Ovid. The class involves discussion of poetic language, versification, and the literary and historical context of Roman poetry.  

Readings concentrate on works of Roman prose, especially Cicero. The aim is to improve reading skills, discuss key concepts in Roman history and culture, and study problems of grammar as necessary.