Writing about writing
One of my readers sent me this insightful comment: “My grandfather detested Latin and even into his late 80s, expressed doubt as too why he had to learn it. He said late in life, “I thought I would have found out by now”. He died at 89 (not of old age).”
I’m tempted to say ‘sic transit gloria mundi’ but I agree with him! 
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Matthew Stibbe is Writer in chief at Articulate Marketing and editor of Golf Hotel Whiskey, the free online magazine for pilots.
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Damnit, Man. You’re missing the gravy train. You could still become the only copywriter writing ads in Latin.
You’d dominate the niche. Dominate it.
There are only two guys that I know of who have the job of composing Latin and neither of them gets paid for it. One is the priest in the Vatican whose job it is to come up with Latin words and phrases for things that didn’t exist in the classical era. For example, gummi masticandum for chewing gum. Then there is the public orator at Oxford who composes speeches in praise of the recipients of honorary degrees (which are sometimes spoofed in Private Eye).
I took a year of Latin from a German-American who screamed at us for being lazy Americans, which we were. I took it more or less for the same reason I took Ute, Navajo, Russian, and German–just to get a feel for the language. What I gained from studying Latin as an adult was 1) amazement that people actually spoke a language where word endings are so important; 2) insight into that crazy ancient Roman mind and heritage; 3) an understanding of some of the more inane English grammar rules that we adapted from them; and 4) the joy of studying. At the end of the year, the screaming German-American proved that she was really a softie because she gave those of us who survived an ice cream and blueberry pie party.
In high school, we were required to translate parts of Julius Caesar’s Gallic chronicles. This task was way beyond my abilities and interest. So, I bought a translation, and in an attempt to cover my tracks, made sure to insert various mistakes in the copy I turned in as my own. The teacher wrote the following on my first paper: “You have obviously bought one of the better translations. In the future, please copy it correctly.
Having the classics under your belt is probably very useful if you work for one of those branding companies that come up with quasi-classical names for bog cleaners, pharmaceutical companies, web 2.0 site names…
db
David Bradley is exactly right: since leaving academentia, I get the most use of my degree(s) in Classics when I do naming gigs, particularly if the product is pharmaceutical or high-tech. Nevertheless, Latin is handy for building vocabulary, and I always thought it was fun, though I came to like Greek rather more. And Julius Caesar, one finds after wrestling with Tacitus, actually writes very clean, simple Latin, much the equivalent of the kind of writing one is encouraged to do for business even today.
I never use Latin per se…….
I went to a Catholic girls school where Latin was mandatory. I loved it!
Knowing the root of so many words makes it easy to understand countless English words and to pick up the basics of any Romance language.
As they say: Amor caecus est. (Love is blind.)
Matt, One other comment on latin, every year, since the first grade or so, I can remember receiving valentine’s day cards. Unfortunately, a lot fewer than I expected, and not from people that I wished. The one that is most memorable, was the one I received from my daughter last year, which was the only one I received, which stated: Patermea: Te amo! Sous Fillia.
Two points here. 1. My daughter is obviously better educated than I ever was, and 2. She actually had to think in giving the card, beyond standing in line at the local card shop to simply buy it and sign her name.
Learing some Latin is the only way to understand some English. Vita est difficilis vicis. Quam decet facillimus. (Life is the tricky time. Then it becomes easier.)
As a child I found everything hard at school and later found out at the old age of 35 I had dyslexia. This insane one thing has launched me into developing my language skills.
I have now time to invest in learning Latin, mainly for the reasons others have stated. Isn’t it about time that the level of education was raised instead or reduced? I can see the benefit of learning Latin, especially after a life time of hardship when I came to learning.
Our school didn’t teach us grammar in the 70′s and 80′s. What a massive mistake.
I can suggest to anyone who’s looking for improvement to learn it.
My little Latin book helped me in Turkey reading some writings of the Knights, quiet amazing.