Recommend a graded reading list of Latin works starting with De Bello Gallico

Question

I'm about halfway through Caesar's De Bello Gallico which is typically considered the easiest work of Classical Latin for beginners. It would be good to know where to go next once I'm finished: whether De Bello Civili would be appropriate or something from a completely different author. Would be nice if the list were at the level of works rather than just authors. Poetry, prose, and theatre all welcome, but I'd like to keep the list to say, works predating 500 AD. Granted that after a certain point perceived difficulty is subjective but it would be nice to have a broader view of what I might expect to be able to read and when. Reasons for difficulty or lack thereof would also be appreciated.

My goal is to maintain an even level of difficulty, where the text is challenging me but not such that I'm forced to stop at every sentence to parse the grammar or look up new words - I'd like to be enjoying the reading experience.

Answer 1

You can read Caesar's Civil War, which is essentially identical in difficulty to his Gallic War, and is the next part of the "story" so to speak.

After Caesar I recommend Florus's "Epitome of Roman History" which is essentially a summary of Livy, but in Latin that is unquestionably easier than Livy's. Following this I would recommend the "Historia Augusta" (the authorship of which is uncertain) - I just finished reading the life of Hadrian from the HA, and grammatically and syntactically it seemed to be even easier than Caesar, although the vocabulary the author uses is far more broad. You could also try Paterculus's "Summary of Roman History" which is similar to the work of Florus previously mentioned, and a bit more difficult than Caesar.

After these authors I would advise you to attempt some of Cicero's easier writings, namely his Letters and some of his lighter philosophy (De Senectute and De Amicitia). At this point the works of Saint Augustine would be relatively accessible as well, especially his "City of God". Seneca would be appropriate here too since he uses many short, punchy sentences, which are not too difficult to follow (although since this is philosophy, the subject matter itself may pose an obstacle).

Livy's Ab Urbe Condita would then be a sensible option - the latin is by no means simple, and he employs many looooooooong sentences, but the content is easy to follow in the sense that it is narrative-driven history.

After Livy I would urge you toward Cicero's more challenging philosophical writings, notably De Natura Deorum and De Re Publica, or Tacitus's Annales. If you can handle these, there isn't anything in the way of classical prose you couldn't overcome.