The next meeting of the Latin Lovers Book Club will be at 6pm on Monday, December 12th, at Waterstones, Gower Street. We’ll be meeting in the ‘philosophy turret’, which is on the top floor, turn left, right at the end.
For this meeting we’ll be reading:
1. The Letters of Pliny the Younger.
We’ll be homing in on the two letters he wrote about the eruption of Vesuvius, in which his uncle, Pliny the Elder, died.
The text of these letters is available in English here and in Latin here
2. Virgil the Aeneid Book II.
This is the book where Aeneas goes back in time to tell Dido the story of how a wooden horse brought about the downfall of his city, Troy. If you think this book of the Aeneid is no longer relevant, remember that it tells the story of a refugee from war in the Middle East. (NB for this reason the Aeneid has been recommended as one of the best books on refugees by the Guardian’s migration correspondent, Patrick Kingsley.)
3. The Poems of Catullus
We’ll be reading what is probably his most famous love poem — no. 5, addressed to Lesbia.
The text is available in English here and in Latin here
Book & reading notes
The Loeb Classical Library editions of Virgil, Pliny and Catullus have both the original Latin and an English translation so you can compare and constrast the two, but please note that knowledge of Latin is not a prerequisite for participating in our book club, which is open to all.
Join us!
Email Katie at [email protected] to sign up or if you have any questions.
