Classical Liberal Arts Academy
TRIVIUM + QUADRIVIUM + PHILOSOPHY + THEOLOGY + HUMANITIES
The Trivium is a name for the the language arts in the seven liberal arts. The arts of the Trivium are Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric.
It is important to realize that these are not three levels of study or three stages of learning, but three separate arts to be studied and practiced. In fact, they are the three arts on which all philosophical studies depend.
Grammar is the art of speaking and writing rightly. This art is divided into four parts: Orthography, Etymology, Syntax and Prosody. Orthography is the study of the letters and sounds of a language. Etymology is the study of the words of a language, that is, the parts of speech. Syntax is the study of sentence-making, how words are joined together to express judgments, questions, commands, wishes, and so on. Prosody is the study of the rhetorical powers of a language, and include pronunciation, accent, meter and figures of speech.
Logic, or rational philosophy, is the art by which our ideas are ordered according to the truth. The art of logic is divided into six parts, each of which is taught in one of six books published by Aristotle in his “Organon“. In the Categories, we study disconnected ideas that exist in the mind. In “On Interpretation“, we study how ideas are joined together to form judgments (propositions). In Prior Analytics, we study how propositions are joined to form arguments (syllogisms). In Posterior Analytics, we study how demonstrative syllogisms are formed. In the Topics, we study how dialectical syllogisms are formed. In Sophistical Elenchi, we study how contentious or sophistical arguments are formed which are not true arguments but only appear to be so. These studies combine to form the art and science of Logic.
Rhetoric is the study of the means by which we may procure credibility in speaking. We study the effects of arguments (logos), character (ethos) and emotion (pathos) on the human will and how they may be affected by a speaker. The art of Rhetoric is learned through the study of Aristotle’s work “The Art of Rhetoric”, along with a number of books by the Roman philosophers Cicero and Quintilian.
In the Classical Liberal Arts Academy, we make the study of the Trivium simple–not easy, but simple. We provide self-paced, online courses on all of the authoritative works on Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric. From the first lessons in Grammar through the final lessons in Rhetoric, all of the ancient Trivium can be learned in one place.
To get started in our free courses, please see visit the Academy Study Center. For articles and videos on the Trivium, please use the links below.
If you have any questions about the Trivium, please contact us.
God bless your studies,
William C. Michael, Headmaster
Classical Liberal Arts Academy
In this lesson, we will begin studying the conjugation of Latin verbs. To complete the objectives of this lesson, complete the following tasks: Lesson I. Ut in declinandis nominibus necesse est cognitum habere genitivum singularem ad ceteros casus numeri utriusque rite flectendos; sic in verbis conjugandis praenoscendae sunt quaedam voces, … Read more
In this video, Mr. William C. Michael of the Classical Liberal Arts Academy puts ChatGPT to the test on the nature of light, which leads to a number of important conclusions. Mr. William C. MichaelClassical Liberal Arts Academy mail@classicalliberalarts.com For more resources from the Classical Liberal Arts Academy, visit: https://classicalliberalarts.com
To complete the objectives of this lesson, complete the following tasks: Lesson I. Pronomen est quod loco nominis positum certam finitamque personam vel remadsignificat. Translation: A Pronoun is that which in the place of a noun place a certain and finite person or thingsignifies. II. Pronomina partim sunt primitiva partim … Read more
To complete this lesson, complete the following tasks: Lesson In lesson 03, we were introduced to the “accidents” of the parts of speech. In that lesson, I said: “In this lesson, we will learn a little about each of these accidents, and then we will study them in detail throughout … Read more
To complete this lesson, complete the following tasks: Lesson In lesson 03, we were introduced to the “accidents” of the parts of speech. In that lesson, I said: “In this lesson, we will learn a little about each of these accidents, and then we will study them in detail throughout … Read more
In this lesson, we read a fifth letter written by Cicero to his wife Terentia. We have here a fascinating look into the personal relationship between good Cicero and Julius Caesar, the greatest of all Romans. Latin Text M.T.C. Terentiae S.P.D. Si vales, bene est: valeo. Redditae mihi jam tandem … Read more
In this short lesson, we learn of the formation of the accusative case in the third declension of the Latin language. Lesson 1. Accusativus Latinus in EM, ut sermonem; buris tamen cucumis, pelvis, securis, sitis, tussis, vis in IM exeunt, burim, etc. Clavis, febris, navis frequentius in EM quam in … Read more
1. But in the last figure, when the terms are universally joined to the middle, and both the propositions are categoric, if either of them is necessary, the conclusion also will be necessary. If, however, one of the propositions is privative, but the other categoric; when the privative is necessary, … Read more
1. In the second figure, however, if the privative proposition is necessary, the conclusion also will be necessary; but if the categoric proposition is necessary, the conclusion will not be necessary. 2. For, in the first place, let the primitive proposition be necessary, and let it not be possible for … Read more
1. It also sometimes happens that one of the propositions being necessary, a necessary syllogism will be produced, yet not of either proposition casually, but of that which contains the greater extreme. 2. For instance, if A is assumed to be present or not present with B from necessity; but … Read more