Spring New Bee Hiving Moon
Worked on Latin this morning. Greg (tutor) wants me to prepare for sight reading. That is, I read the Latin out loud, then translate it, using my memory of the work I’ve done in preparation. This is very demanding and requires, for me at least, going through the same material at least twice, once checking out definitions and grammar, putting together a more or less good literal translation, then going back over the same material a second time–which is what I did this morning.
(Pentheus has real mommy issues. That’s mommy to his right.)
The second time I check my first translation with my notes and sight reading, correct for errors, display considerable frustration where I miss obvious things or, more fruitfully, where I identify things I just don’t get and then try for an idiomatic translation.
I’m still not what I’d call fast or reliable, but I’ve improved a good deal over the place I started two years ago.
At my age I have to block out the mornings completely so I can get into flow with these projects. I’m no good with shifting out of them into something else. Maybe I never was, now I’m sure I’m not.