My son is in his third year of Latin - he just turned 15. His class really impressed their Latin teacher, and she offered on her own an extra third year course - they do it on Saturdays. (I think she charged $200 for the year! Including summer.)
My wife thought it would be too much for him but I figured he could at least give it a try. I researched a bunch of stuff on the benefits of Latin to try to convince her. Lots of logical thinking, etc. He has a very rational mind, and does very well in it. As well as Spanish now too.
I keep meaning to read some of the classics like he does, but....
“I keep meaning to read some of the classics like he does, but...”
___________________________________________
For the shear joy of it, consider starting with Robert Fagel’s translation of the Iliad, and then his Odyssey as well.
Then The Oresteia of Aeschylus, and The Three Theban Plays of Sophocles - both books also wonderfully translated by Fagels.
Then Plato - I’d avoid the Republic if you’re not ready for it, maybe work up to it with the Apology, Crito and Phaedo, and then some other approachable stuff like Euthyphro, Sophist, Phaedrus and such.
Unless you really like Aristotle, just stick to the Nicomachean Ethics - which should not be missed. If you like him, read it all: Well worth the struggle, and Thomas Aquinas and others wrote some great commentaries to help us through it as well.
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, and the Discourses of Epictetus, Plutarch’s Lives of Famous Greeks and Romans, and Cicero’s De Officiis (a great translation can be found in the Oxford World’s Classics series, entitled On Obligations) should round out a wonderful beginning education.
Hope you can get to some of those treasures. And glad to hear about your son.
Knowing Latin makes it much easier to pick up other Romance languags (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French), plus makes it easier to use Engish grammar correctly and helps a lot with English vocabulary. It even helps with non-Romance languages, at least other Indo-European languages which retain some similar grammatical features (such as Greek, German, or Russian).