My argument for Latin, and Classical Civilisation
Molendinarius
I believe strongly that the intangible thought patterns that lead to Western Culture becoming what is is, are found in Latin, and in Ancient Greek.
Could we imagine a China, where the Chinese abandoned their ancestral language of culture, Chinese? A Europe without Latin, to my mind, would be like China without Chinese. This is the argument, and it is a purely cultural one.
I have no time for utilitarian approaches to studying the language - you'd be better off teaching advanced computer programming and formal logic.
In the UK, there is a a great deal of talk about the values of British Society undergoing rapid change - and that old poltical concepts are slipping away.
My suspicion, is that many of these 'British' concepts, are in fact classical Roman ones, what became part of the fabric of our society through Classical education.
Not all of these ideas are good ones, but some are - and I am no recidivist, harking back to a golden age. The present, in my view, is infinitely superior to the past, in just about every respect.......However, that being said, Roman History presents an object lesson in the fragility of republican freedoms, the dangers of an unedcuated society, etc etc.... Roman literature offers a severe and disciplined approach to creativity......
That is one strand of my thought, but it isn't the major one.......
The other argument I think that is the ultimate argument for Latin study, is more deep rooted - Latin had been the language of intellectual discourse in Europe from Roman times, until around 1750. Even after this date, discourse was still heavily coloured by Latin, right through to the 1800's."Civis Romanus Sum" Said Lord Palmeston in his famous speech to Parliament, as recently as 1850.
http://www.historyhome.co.uk/polspeech/foreign.htm
Indeed Lord Robert Cecil remarked subsequently, "I am aware that, whatever folly or madness an English Government may commit, the appeal to the Civis Romanus doctrine is rarely without its effect upon an English audience.
The days of an intense identification with Rome have slipped away, by accident. Baby and bathwater, down the plughole of history. What will replace it?
Wednesday 30 September 2009
Thursday 24 September 2009
Praefectus Classis Sum
Gilbert and Sullivan song sung in Latin - a rather sarcastic song about political advancement.
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