There is an increasing number of Classics-related apps hitting the App Store over at Apple and with any amount of luck, I’ll find time to review most of them here. We’ll start with one which just hit the store: the Latin Proverbs app from the fine folks at Bolchazy-Carducci. This interesting little app, which costs $1.99 boasts to having some 1200 Latin proverbs contained within. When you start the app, you tap the screen and are presented with a new proverb everyday. Right now, e.g., I’m met with Bernard of Clairvaux’s dictum Necessitas non habet legem.
If you’re not satisfied with the random startup proverb, you can always swipe the screen and get another (n.b. for seasoned iPod users, shaking your iPod does nothing). If you’re looking for something on a specific topic, there is a search function with topics ranging from abstinence to year; you can also search by authors (ancient and less so) and work.
The proverbs themselves can be presented to you as Latin only, Latin with English translation, English only, or English with a Latin translation. All the Latin versions include, interestingly enough, macrons over the long vowels, suggesting Latin teachers might be a major target market for this one.
Outside of that, I’ve been playing with it for a few days and it functions exactly as advertised … an interesting way to start your day, whether a Latin teacher or not.
- Latin Proverbs (App Store – link probably only works in Safari)
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