The Practical Case for Studying Latin
31st December 2024
Latin is useful, however; and unlike the sciences, it is not only useful to those who practise it. Indeed, Latin is useful to anyone who wishes to learn another language, or to anyone who hopes to become a doctor or a lawyer. It is useful to anyone who simply wants to improve their mental faculties, or expand the horizons of their perception, and that is without making the oft-repeated case – as I have avoided doing – that a knowledge of Latin deepens one’s understanding of Western culture, of art, philosophy and literature. If, as Phillipson maintains, students ought to “get a richer, broader, cutting-edge school experience”, the solution is to expand, rather than curtail, access to the world’s most influential language. We may not have the same use for Latin as the Romans did, but we can still make immense use of it nonetheless.
I’ve used my high-school Latin far more than I’ve ever used my high-school physics or chemistry or (dare I say it) math.
UPDATE: The Value of Latin Best Appreciated Sub Specie Aeternitatis