The importance of Latin for western Civilization

In response to a Guardian article, "Latin lovers are enjoying a boom", by Will Griffiths on the increased popularity of Latin

Link to article and thread at The Guardian.

One of my biggest regrets is not having learned Latin, 1) because it impairs my understanding of and facility with English, my native tongue (not to mention French, Italian, Spanish, etc), and 2) because it cuts me off from DIRECT contact with so much European history and culture - going back more than 2000 years!

Why is Latin referred to as a "dead language" when it is the language in which so much of our history and culture was originally written?

Surely it is up to US (notwithstanding my own miserable failure!) to keep it not just alive, but a vibrant and essential part of our culture that maintains, cultivates and celebrates the vital bonds to OUR past.

What are we without OUR history - so much of which is written in Latin, and some (perhaps the very spirit) of which is surely lost in translation.

2nd Post

How many people are aware that the founding works of Western science and philosophy, on which our civilisation is very largely based, are nearly all written in Latin?

I can barely express the thrill of reading about Joseph Priestley's discovery of oxygen (dephlogisticated air, as he called it) and photosynthesis ("one of nature's ways of restoring air damaged by the burning of a candle" ) in his own words - which, fortunately for me, were in beautifully comprehensible English.

What I wouldn't give to be able to read Pliny's Natural History in the original Latin, explaining, among other things, to his skeptical readers, that the Earth is spherical (more than 1000 years before it was first circumnavigated) and why people on the other side don't fall off or realize that they are upside-down. Or the dedication of Copernicus's famous work to the Pope. Or Tycho Brahe. Or Johannes Kepler. Or Isaac Newton. Or . . . .Or . . . Or . . .

My homepage: http://www.spaceship-earth.org

To: Comment at the Guardian Re: The importance of Latin for Western Civilization Date: Wednesday 20 December 06

In response to a Guardian article, "Latin lovers are enjoying a boom", by Will Griffiths on the increased popularity of Latin Link to article and thread at The Guardian. One of my biggest regrets is not having learned Latin, 1) because it impairs my understanding of and facility with English, my native tongue (not to mention French, Italian, Spanish, etc), and 2) because it cuts me off from DIRECT contact with so much European history and culture - going back more than 2000 years! Why is Latin referred to as a "dead language" when it is the language in which so much of our history and culture was originally written? Surely it is up to US (notwithstanding my own miserable failure!) to keep it not just alive, but a vibrant and essential part of our culture that maintains, cultivates and celebrates the vital bonds to OUR past. What are we without OUR history - so much of which is written in Latin, and some (perhaps the very spirit) of which is surely lost in translation. 2nd Post How many people are aware that the founding works of Western science and philosophy, on which our civilisation is very largely based, are nearly all written in Latin? I can barely express the thrill of reading about Joseph Priestley's discovery of oxygen (dephlogisticated air, as he called it) and photosynthesis ("one of nature's ways of restoring air damaged by the burning of a candle" ) in his own words - which, fortunately for me, were in beautifully comprehensible English. What I wouldn't give to be able to read Pliny's Natural History in the original Latin, explaining, among other things, to his skeptical readers, that the Earth is spherical (more than 1000 years before it was first circumnavigated) and why people on the other side don't fall off or realize that they are upside-down. Or the dedication of Copernicus's famous work to the Pope. Or Tycho Brahe. Or Johannes Kepler. Or Isaac Newton. Or . . . .Or . . . Or . . . My homepage: http://www.spaceship-earth.org