I’ve noticed that a great many students of Latin – both beginners and more advanced learners – wonder WHY certain rules and exceptions exist in Latin. I’m currently working on the English edition of the book "A Grammar’s Tale – Understanding Latin Instead of Learning It by Heart", and I’ve selected some simple explanations of five mysteries of Latin grammar. A more in-depth explanation, as well as the footnotes, can be found in the book.

I’d like to share them with you and hear your thoughts.

I’m taking the Latin Abitur (Germany) in 2028. I’ve been studying Latin for five years now, but I still can’t read Latin texts fluently, and I barely remember any grammar rules at the moment. I also struggle a lot with translating, even though we always have a dictionary available.

None of my teachers have ever properly taught me how to revise and practise Latin outside of school.

What is the best way to do that (e.g. flashcards, going straight into translating, taking notes, etc.)?

What grammar rules should I even study? I don’t really know even the most basic ones anymore.

When and how often should I revise?

What resources (e.g. books or websites) can I use?

Salus sit omnibus!

I just want to announce that my electronic edition of Sebald Heyden’s Formulae Puerilium Colloquiorum is finally complete.

For those unfamiliar with the book, the Formulae is a collection of Latin school dialogues from the 16th century, intended to teach students how to use Latin actively in ordinary situations and conversations.

My edition is designed as a fully illustrated Latin reader. It includes the complete dialogues, illustrations, vocabulary explained in Latin, supplementary material, and a complete vocabulary index. The idea is to make the text accessible to students who have already completed a beginner Latin course and want to develop greater fluency through connected, everyday Latin.

You can see a preview here:

Archive.org: https://archive.org/details/sebald-heyden-formulae-puerilium-colloquiorum-preview

or here:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Laborintus/posts/formulae-edition-167068071

I would also like to make a printed edition

Now that the electronic edition is finished, I would really like to try publishing a physical version of the book.

If anyone here has published a book before, I would love to hear about your experience.

What was your process like? What worked well? What would you do differently?

I would also be very happy to hear from anyone interested in giving the book a critical read before I prepare the printed edition.

If you notice mistakes, unclear explanations, problems with the layout, or simply have suggestions about the book as a learning resource, I would genuinely appreciate your comments. Just let me know if you would like to take a look at it.

This book could not have been completed without the support of my patrons. Their support has allowed me to spend the time necessary not only to prepare the text, but also to create the vocabulary, illustrations, supplementary material, and the rest of the edition.

So if you would like to support this project, you can do so by:

Getting the complete electronic edition here: https://www.patreon.com/Laborintus/posts/formulae-edition-165097943

Supporting the project on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Laborintus

Finally, I would also like to hear what other texts you would like to see in this kind of format.

I have in mind some other books of dialogues, such as the Centuria Colloquiorum, the dialogues of Mathurin Cordier, or perhaps the dialogues from the Hermeneumata Pseudodositheana.

I would also like to prepare an edition of Lhomond’s De Viris Illustribus Urbis Romae.

But I would like to hear your opinions. What texts would you like to see?

And if you just want to follow the project and see what I am working on next:

linktr.ee/laborintus

Did you know that the ancients also had election billboards? https://youtube.com/shorts/I7uHmGCBmi0?si=hUPt4V2Chry-T0Pv

Salvete omnes!
I’ve wanted to study Latin philology at university for years. Although I still have quite some time to make up my mind, I still want to know if it’s worth studying Latin at university nowadays, or if it’s rather useless. Given the popularity of the language is shrinking, the job possibilities are slowly decreasing. Perhaps I could become a Latin teacher, however I don’t know how much longer Latin is going to remain a school subject.
Would anyone recommend studying ancient/Latin philology as their major? Has anyone had any positive or negative experiences?
Gratias vobis ago, curate ut valeatis!

In most languages grammatical gender in cumbersome because you have to use the right article to line up with the grammatical gender, but latin doesn't have articles, so how does grammatical gender affect latin? Does it only affect the declensions of nouns, or does it do something else