Shaun Kenney | Politics and Religion in Virginia's Public Square


Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Slate: The Renaissance of Latin With a healthy dose of why a British bestseller is starting to move fast in the United States as well: Last year, a surprise best seller hit the British book market: a romp through Latin grammar, by a London journalist called Harry Mount. In Britain, the book was called Amo, Amas, Amat ... and All That, after the first verb (to love) encountered in elementary Latin class. But in the American edition, the title has become Carpe Diem. The phrase was coined by Horace in Odes 1. 11, a poem that recommends instant kicks (bad strained wine, quickie sex), since time is fleeting and the future unknowable. In American culture, however, the phrase has taken on a life of its own; in Robin Williams' famous speech from Dead Poets Society, seizing the day has something to do with self-fulfilment and the realization of the American dream. The change of title tells us a lot about the different cultural positions of Latin in British and American society. Most educated British people can, it seems, be expected to know a smattering of "school-boy" Latin. The term is revealing, since under the British educational system, those who know Latin usually learned the language at an expensive school (often all-male). State schools in Britain rarely offer Latin. Unsurprisingly, then, knowing Latin in Britain is closely associated with being posh—a situation Mount's book sets out to remedy, or at least modify. Interesting article, and apparently an interesting book if you want easy acceptance as one of the literati (of which sadly, I can only hope to become). posted by Shaun Kenney \| 12/19/2007 10:31:00 PM \| 0 comments 0 Comments: Post a Comment Home
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