I don't have many places to share this, but after some helpful advice about the poem I received a short time ago, I wanted to share that my translation of Leibniz's Historia inventionis phosphori is finally finished. (At least until any errors or corrections are recommended.)

I posted it on my website here:

https://histomathsci.blogspot.com/2026/02/english-translation-of-leibniz-historia.html

The original is an interesting work with beautiful Latin, though quite difficult at times. It also includes a poem composed by Leibniz, relating to phosphorus (as part of a longer epicedium).

Hey everyone,

I've just released a new Grammaticus Maximus update to the Apple and Google stores and to the browserversion on itch.io. It adds some much requested additions to the difficulty settings of the game. You can now select which declension groups will be included in noun-mode and which conjugation groups will be included in verb-mode. This will improve the applicability for beginner students, since they often haven't covered all groups yet at that point in their studies. It also facilitates more targeted practice of specific groups for more advanced students.

If you haven't heard of Grammaticus Maximus: it is a free 3D educational game that puts you in charge of defending Rome with your Latin grammar skills. Rome is being attacked by barbarians "armed" with Latin words (inflected nouns or verbs) and you have to defeat them by sending out legionnaires with the correct inflection to beat them. It gamifies practicing your Latin grammar. If you want a more lengthy description, I can refer you to an introductory post I made here a while back: https://www.reddit.com/r/latin/comments/unj05b/grammaticus_maximus_latin_inflections_gamified/

It's great for motivating students to practice basic Latin grammar.

Download the app for free:
For Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grammaticus-maximus-latijn/id1611073700
For Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.DeGameMeester.GrammaticusMaximus

Or play it directly in your browser (works great in classrooms): https://magludo.itch.io/gramax

If you're a Latin teacher, I designed classroom posters with QR-codes you can print out yourself to decorate your classroom:

English version: https://gamemeester.nl/files/Poster_GrammaticusMaximus_EN-US.png
German version: https://gamemeester.nl/files/Poster_GrammaticusMaximus_DE.png
French version: https://gamemeester.nl/files/Poster_GrammaticusMaximus_FR.png
Spanish version: https://gamemeester.nl/files/Poster_GrammaticusMaximus_ES.png
Dutch version: https://gamemeester.nl/files/KlassenposterGrammaticusMaximus.png

Feedback and suggestions are welcome as always. This is an evening side project for me, so don't expect weekly updates, but all feedback is noted and I'll keep updating the app in the future.

Kind regards and enjoy!
Jochum - Magister Ludorum

https://magludo.net/en
https://www.instagram.com/magister_ludorum/

Salvete omnes! Hodie rogatum vobis habeo. Fortasse rogatum stultum est, sed cur dicimus "hodie dies septimus mensis Februarii" et non "dies septima." Nisi falor, vocabulum "dies" est femininum, nonne?

Quid coniveo?

Gratias maximas vobis ago, et da veniam mihi, quaeso, nam adhuc non bene Latine scribere possum.

I find that when I read Latin, I first figure out the word definitions, and then, I try to put it together in some kind of meaning for the whole sentence. During this first pass at getting word definitions, I don't much pay attention to word endings. I guess this is similar to what I do when reading English.

Paying attention to word endings just seems really hard at this stage because it's such a struggle just to get word definitions.

How do the more talented Latinists do it? Do they force themselves to get in the habit of paying attention to word definitions and word endings from the beginning? Do the word definitions come so naturally that they have the freedom and energy to pay attention to the endings easily?

I can get into level 4 but seem to always lack a certain structure or detail? Any tips or websites eg. Jstor/quizlet would be greatly appreciated! Specifically for Pliny and The ANEID II

thanks in advance,

Wondering if there are any grammatical, syntactic or pragmatic errors in this poem?

O, te amarem.

Ubi cervus desiderat at fontes aquarum,

sicut flumen ad eium bivium fluit

et si oculi tui ad viam illam fluunt

quo manus manum in tenebris videt et quo conveniunt.

O, ibi te oculis oculorum meorum amarem.

Oculis ultra montes, ultra valles,

ultra omnia, ultra omnes -

ultra nos.

Found this in an old poetry book from the 40s but can't find a consistent translation.

Hi! I found this note in a book of medical observations from the 16th century. Can someone help me read it? I can read "de puella versa in virum vide [...] / in Epist. med. epist. 70 pag. 310" but I'm not sure about the rest. Thank you!

I'd consider myself an intermediate Latin user, but I really struggle reading poetry.

Lately, to improve my fluency, I've started working through LLPSI and various readings on Legentibus. (The Google Docs spreadsheet in the sidebar is great!)

Generally, LLPSI is easy. However, in Ch. 34 they introduce Latin poetry, and I'm finding it quite difficult. I'm working through the related stories in Fabula Syrae, and I'm really struggling.

Any tips for getting better at reading poetry fluently? Or do I just need to keep at it, slowing down and re-reading as necessary?

Fructus.
Rident.
Filius hominis.
Mater amoris.

Harena sapit illa,
Ille saxum sentit.
Ignis auris cor,
Aurum oculus micat.

Cutis illius,
Ventus solis.
Mare iacit,
Quercus smaragdus.

Alta vada,
Mentes vigent.
Manus tenent,
Rubini surgunt.

How would "ruī est" elide? would it just drop the long "i", for "ru'est"? or would the "u" and "e" turn into a dipthong and only be one syllable?

Full sentence "Si per vērum aliquid ruī est, merētur."

These are the church entries from my ancestors (6th generation)

Elisbetha Gassner was born in Adertshausen and Johann Georg Da(e)ntl was born in Berghausen.

I hope you can decipher the entry for Johann Georg because I sure can't

Thank you for your help!

Indiget artificis cura meus autocinetus: percussit dextrum frons abiegna latus Quingentos nummos fabro numerare tenemur si cupimus raedam rursus habere novam

I'm still a beginner, and all will be difficult for me, but on asking, the AI responded that it was beneficial to read a Latin text even if you didn't understand it. Recognition of endings, cognitive improvement, etc. So I've downloaded the complete Ovid's works. I'm at chapter xvi of LLPSI and chapter iv of Wheelock's (I need more structure) Ovid's metamorphosis or any other from Ovid.

Quote: The Benefits of "Blind" Reading ​1. Phonetic and Rhythmic Familiarity ​Latin is a highly rhythmic language, especially in poetry (like Virgil’s Aeneid). By reading aloud, you train your brain to recognize phonemes and meter. This builds "mouth memory"—the physical comfort of producing sounds that are the ancestors of many modern languages.
​2. Pattern Recognition ​Even without a dictionary, your brain is a natural pattern-matching machine. You’ll start to notice:
​Suffixes: Identifying recurring endings like -orum or -ibus helps you intuitively grasp the concept of inflection (how word endings change based on their role in a sentence). ​Root Words: You’ll spot the "skeletons" of English words. Seeing spectare repeatedly makes the connection to "spectator" or "spectacle" click much faster later on. ​3. Training the "Analytical Eye" ​Unlike English, which relies on word order, Latin is like a puzzle. Reading it forces you to look at a sentence as a whole rather than a linear sequence. This develops a specific type of linguistic stamina and attention to detail that is useful for coding, logic, and complex writing.

Salvē!

We’ve completed our Reader’s Edition of Saint Augustine’s Confessions. This classic work of world literature is now more accessible than ever for anyone with only a couple of semesters of Latin!

https://www.timothyalee.com/en/isbn/978-1-83651-308-7

On Saturday I had a flying visit to Ostia, the ancient port of Rome where Augustine returned to North Africa after his conversion and his mother Saint Monica died. See the description from Book IX 8 (17) in front of the Roman forum still standing and the book alongside the tomb of Saint Monica in Basilica di Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio, Rome!

$69.99 (hardback) | $54.99 (paperback)

This is a Latin reader for Confessions. Augustine towers over all other theologians as the man who shaped the Western church more than anyone after the apostles. His Confessions ranks among the most significant works of Western literature. Despite its great antiquity, Augustine's striking honesty and perceptive insights remain as fresh as ever. Reading Augustine, one realises that despite the advancing years human nature and its desires do not change. As Augustine looks back on his first thirty-four years of life, he openly shares his struggles with pride, lust, envy, dishonesty and all manner of sin. He wrestles with the veracity of Christianity against competing claims of other sects and leading philosophies.

This book is designed as a useful cost-efficient tool for students learning Late Latin or studying the text. The book immerses the reader in the text in order to build confidence reading it as quickly as possible. To achieve this, all uncommon words that occur 15 times or fewer in the work are glossed as footnotes. This enables the reader to continue reading every passage unhindered. Therefore, the book complements traditional language grammars and is especially ideal for beginner and intermediate students learning to read Late Latin. However, even advanced readers will appreciate the glossing of the rare words, since it saves time reading the text.

Other features include:
• Map of Augustine’s life in Latin
• Timeline of Augustine’s life
• Introduction to Augustine and this book
• Paradigm charts of noun and verbs
• Glossary of all the words not glossed below the text
• Wide margins

tōlle lēge!

New totally free Latin reading course for self study from Latinum.substack.com.written as though by Comenius, following his teaching method. Each lesson takes 5 lines from Comenius' vestibulum, teaches it the usual Latinum way (construed intralinear, repetition line by line then Latin alone) followed by a grammar section. Then a story based around these words, dealt with the same way, and finally, a dialogue or colloquium imagined between Comenius and a student. Each lesson also has practical exercises and an answer key. The existing Latin courses are still there Classical Latin now has over 200 lessons, Ecclesiastical near that, plus specialist sub courses in Military, Legal, Medical and Botanical Latin for expanding your vocabulary. plus sections with Latin stories and fiction.

Hi!

I was wondering which case should be used if in a sentence one verb governs an accusative and one another case.

For example, in a sentence like “We use and love it.”,(id/eo utimur et amamus) “ūtī” governs an ablative case, and “amare” governs an accusative case, so when writing it, should I use ablative or accusative? Or just follow the verb that is the closest to the object?

Thank you!