Lingua Latina vivit! (Latin lives!)

Check out this great article in New Oxford Review, a journal for traditionalist Roman Catholics (thanks to Rev. Dr. John Stephenson for sending this to me).

The author makes a great point why Roman Catholic seminarians should learn Latin.

Many of the same arguments can be made for Lutheran seminarians - as well as all Lutherans who want to be educated - to learn Latin. There is a direct correlation over time connecting the removal of Latin from school curricula and the increasing illiteracy among young people - not to mention the lack of understanding of grammar, the inability to compose verse and prose, and the disadvantage Americans have in learning foreign languages.

The loss of Latin has cut off most Americans from the rich literary and historical heritage that formerly bound educated modern people to their past with its roots in Greco-Roman civilization - a past, from which Christianity was spawned and grew. Today's citizens (myself included) are woefully ignorant of pre-Christian mythology (which is needed in order to read works of literature that make references to these mythological characters), the great political ideals of a free Republic seeking to stave off despotic imperialism, as well as classical philosophy and early and medieval Christian theology.

Of course, one can always read these works in translation - assuming translations exist, and assuming that an educational paradigm that no longer has room for Latin still has a place for classical mythology, history, philosophy, and theology. Of course, something is always lost in translation, which is why (to the great credit of our Lutheran seminaries) pastors ought to be able to read Holy Scripture in the original Greek and Hebrew. To study only an English translation of Cicero or Augustine with no knowledge of the underlying Latin is to miss out on wordplay, nuances, and alternate readings and interpretations that may differ from the translator or editor of a particular English rendering.

Latin was the main lingua franca for the west from the days of the Roman Republic and Empire well into the middle ages. Large numbers of philosophical and theological works (including numerous volumes of Lutheran theology) exist only in Latin to this day, never having been translated. As of now, these works are lost to all but a few scholars who are able to read them. Who knows how many treasures are lying dormant, entombed in dusty tomes that sit idle century after century in storage rooms of libraries and museums?

But even if one's desire isn't to read Julius Caesar's account of the Gallic Wars or Plutarch's histories or Martin Luther's lectures on the Book of Genesis in the original tongue, there is still much to be gained by learning to read Latin. More than half of all words in the English language are Latin derivatives - and these English words tend to be longer, more difficult words than those descended from Anglo-Saxon. To learn Latin is to lay the groundwork for a vast and diverse English vocabulary. It is also the optimal way to learn how grammar and syntax work. In the age of text messaging and e-mail, much of our communications skills - especially of the written word - have become sloppy and imprecise. Latin is a sorely-needed corrective.

Children who study Latin typically score higher on SATs and have a much better command of the English language. They also have a leg up in learning foreign languages - especially (but not limited to) the lingustic descedants of Latin, e.g. French, Spanish, and Italian.

Students who pursue medicine, the sciences, law, theology, or classical history will especially appreciate learning Latin - as well as anyone who reads journals and textbooks that still make use of Latin abbreviations and words.

One of the more colorful professors at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Rev. Dr. David Scaer, begins all of his classes by requiring the students to rise and recite (or read) the Nicene Creed in Latin. A lot of my fellow students rolled their eyes and griped about it, not seeing the value, taking the tack that Dr. Scaer was just being obnoxious. However, without even studying, we ended up having the Creed virtually memorized in Latin by the end of the class - which familiarized us with a great deal of theological terminology we would encounter in other classes and in theological texts both modern and ancient - all in a painless way. The less time spent running to a theological dictionary to look up a Latin phrase from a book translates to more time spent actually pondering the text and learning concepts instead of individual words. Learning at least basic Latin is simply a part of being a well-rounded educated person.

Fortunately, after being forsaken in the 20th century (especially in the freewheeling 1960s in which avant-garde "educators" radically altered school curricula) - Latin is coming back. It is once again being offered in high schools and universities in America. Some grade schools are even offering Latin - including Salem Lutheran School - where I teach very basic Christian Latin to junior high students. Many American private schools - including Lutheran schools - are reintroducing the classical curriculum - opting to rid themselves of the failed 1960s experiments that brought about the rumor of Latin's demise and the introduction of "Social Studies" and feminist propaganda instead of geography, history, and rhetoric. Latin is a big part of this renaissance of education and the restoration of real learning.

So don't believe it when someone tells you Latin is a dead language. It never died, but rather evolved into a slew of modern languages - even contributing greatly to the English language.

Long live Latin!