VR: Lesson - Sight Reading Passage - Augustus
Sight Reading Passage
It is very important to practice reading and understanding Latin sentences. While working on the reading handout, read each sentence aloud and listen to the recitation. Be sure to look for ideas in the passage as you read: see if you can get a general sense of the story just from reading out loud. Then practice translating each sentence into English. As you encounter new vocabulary words in the story, think about English cognates and context within the sentences to help you decipher the meaning.
Sight Passage Documents - the Latin text
Download the VR Reading Log - Res Gestae Links to an external site. handout.
Complete this document to fully explore the story.
Be sure that it is complete before you move ahead in the course - the remaining content on this page is designed to assist you in the completion of the handout.
Augustus in His Own Words
The Res Gestae (the things which were done), also known as Index rerum a se gestarum, were a list of accomplishments written out by the Emperor Augustus on a set of bronze tablets. He instructed that the tablets be displayed on his tomb, so that all could see what he had done. The image to the right shows the Mausoleum of Augustus, which is where he intended to have his words displayed.
Because of the nature of the work, a great deal of it is in the 1st person: Augustus is recounting the acts of his own life, so “I prepared...I liberated...I refused...etc.” In this work, Augustus begins when he is 19, discussing how he raised an army on his own at that young age and it goes up to the year of his death, explaining all the ways in which he had helped “the republic” (could it still properly be called that after his reign?) and acted in ways that improved the lives of Romans. In the Sight Reading passage, you will get a chance to read through the first ten acts of the Res Gestae to get an idea of the types of things that Augustus thought was important about his own life. Be mindful, as you read, that you will not find a more biased source describing Augustus’ own life, but at the same time, you will never find one with so many insights into the thoughts and feelings of the man himself.
This is a street view of the Ara Pacis (Altar of Peace) in Rome, which displays a preserved copy of the Res Gestae.
Sight Passage Audio and Practice Exercises
Please listen to the narration of the Latin passage as you read along with the text in the handouts. There are also practice questions about the passage: please check your understanding of the story before completing the Reading Log Handout assessment.