The course is open to everyone who wants to read Latin: undergraduates, postgraduates and staff from all departments.

This series of weekly classes is intended to enable students to read Classical and Renaissance Latin. All the texts studied on this course are ‘real’ Latin: they have not been simplified for teaching purposes. The texts are drawn from three very different works of one of the greatest writer of the Renaissance, Desiderus Erasmus. They are chosen to illustrate a variety of styles, genres and topics. The first term (Term 2) will be mainly devoted to Erasmus' De copia verborum ac rerum; the second (Term 3) will include two other works by him, the Adagia, and the Praise of folly. Students are also encouraged to bring texts relevant to their own interests to the classroom. Grammatical and stylistic structures will be examined and explained as they occur in these texts. Electronic dictionaries and parsing tools will be introduced at an early stage, and their use strongly encouraged. A good foundation in Latin, very roughly equivalent to GCSE Level standard, will enable you to get the most out of this course. If you have any concerns about the suitability of this course for you, or any questions about the teaching methods which will be used, do come and speak Paul Botley, in room H513.

All classes will take place on a weekly basis during term time, Monday, 4.30-6.00pm in Room H450, 4th Floor extension of the Humanities Building. All welcome!

Term 2

Week 1: Erasmus, De copia verborum ac rerum, Prefatory Letters

Week 2: Erasmus, De copia, I, 1-4 (On verbal abundance)

Week 3: Erasmus, De copia, I, 5-6 (On verbal brevity)

Week 4: Erasmus, De copia, I, 7 (On double abundance)

Week 5: Erasmus, De copia, I, 8-9 (On variety of speeches)

Week 6: Reading Week. No class

Week 7: Erasmus, De copia, I, 10 (On the importance of knowledge while writing)

Week 8: Erasmus, De copia, I, 11-16 (Rules on variatio)

Week 9: Erasmus, De copia, I, 33 (131 ways to say 'Your letter pleased me a lot')

Week 10: Erasmus, De copia, I, 33 (200 ways to say 'I will never forget you')

Term 3 (tbc)

Week 1: Erasmus, De copia, II, 1 (On the abundance of thinking)

Week 2: Erasmus, De copia, II, 2-4 (Rules on variatio 1)

Week 3: Erasmus, De copia, II, 2-4 (Rules on variatio 2)

Week 4: Erasmus, Adagia, I, 1, 1 (Between friends all is common)

Week 5: Erasmus, Adagia, I, 1, 70 (Man is a wolf to man)

Week 6: Reading Week. No class

Week 7: Erasmus, Adagia, I, 2, 39 (Well begun is half done) and I, 4, 45 (You are counting the waves)

Week 8: Erasmus, Adagia, I, 4, 56 (You write in water) and I, 4, 57 (You are building on the sand)

Week 9: Erasmus, Adagia, I, 6, 95 (Know thyself) and I, 6, 96 (Nothing to excess)

Week 10: Erasmus, The Praise of Folly (The foolish ages of human life)