Eutropius’ Hannibal (Bk 3 of Breviarium Historiae Romanae) is an early beta edition that includes a running core vocabulary, 12 pages of commentary, 6 text-only pages with Ørberg-style notes, and an alphabetized core vocabulary.

Eutropius’ prose is very accessible, and this selection is often read in 3rd and 4th year Latin classrooms to help students prepare for more challenging readings in Caesar and Cicero . While some readers and teachers may want to use the text-only pages exclusively, others can prepare a reading by using the commentary pages and then use the text-only pages in a classroom setting for review.

Livy recounts these same events in much greater detail in Books 21-30 of his Ab Urbe Condita.

Livy Ab Urbe Condita Book 1 will appear in paperback by September 1st. Livy is immensely enjoyable to read. If you are an independent reader up to the challenge, you are sure to be rewarded. With 12 lines of prose over 170 pages, it is easy to develop a reading regimen (a page or two per day?) that fits with the rest of your life.

There are currently four collaborative projects with different primary authors, and I have commitments through Summer 2020. I cannot consider any more projects at the moment. Some authors may choose to make their work available on this website, others may pursue traditional publication. In any case, I will post an update when these commentaries are available. The more choices readers have, the better off we all are.

New flashcards for most commentaries are now available through a link in the menu bar. These online flashcards are offered in addition to the .ppt, .jpg, and Quizlet cards offered for individual commentaries. The flashcards are in alphabetical order at the moment but will eventually include running vocabulary lists as well. Instructors are able to choose the words they wish students to review, send a short code to their students, and receive an email when the students have completed the review.  Many thanks to Russell Steadman, a chemical engineering major at Ohio State, for his work on this project.

Teachers have contacted me and offered a number of ways that they use the pdf to enhance instruction. Below are a few tips worth passing along:

(1) Enlarge the pdf on your desktop and connect the computer to a projector to create a quick and easy presentation.

(2) Enlarge the pdf on the desktop and take screenshot images of the selected text (Mac: shift-command-4, Windows: Snipping tool) to insert in presentations, quizzes, and tests. (Enlarging the pdf improves the image resolution.) This is a very easy way to maintain formatting between the book, presentations, and tests.

(3) Copy and paste the Greek or Latin text to insert in translation quizzes and tests.

(4) Use the search function in the pdf to find relevant grammar constructions throughout the commentary: e.g. search “subj” to find all labeled subjunctive constructions and “dat” to find labeled dative constructions.

(5) If the students have mastered the core vocabulary, copy and paste selected dictionary entries from the corresponding vocabulary sections (e.g. word occurring 3-8 times) as you read to create vocabulary lists for students to review and memorize.

(6) In a secondary school setting, post the pdf (or a link to the pdf) on your class website and ask that students use the paperback in class and pdf at home or vice versa and not carry the book in their book bags. This is an easy way to discourage daily wear-and-tear on your books and yet ensure that students always have access to the commentary.

(7) If you wish to add selected vocabulary to Quizlet or Anki to make flashcards, Quizlet and other programs allow you to copy and paste lists of vocabulary and then ask what punctuation you wish to use to divide up the word from the definition. Choose “:” and within seconds you will convert the vocabulary list copied from the pdf into a functional set of flashcards. Then, simply copy the link to the flashcard set and send it to your students.

If you have any other suggestions to add to this list, please let me know.