Friday, June 25, 2010

O Tempora, O Mores


The Borders bookstore in Metairie no longer carries any volumes of the Loeb Classical Library series, but they do keep whoopie cushions in stock.

Strange but true.

Latin isn't dead, our society and culture are. We might as well date the death certificate June 25, 2010 and wait for the parousia.

4 comments:

Dcn Latif Haki Gaba SSP said...

That is sad indeed. There is a number of volumes in the Loeb Classical Library which I'd love to have, such as Homer, Virgil, Eusebius, Augustine's Confessions, just to name a few off the top of my head. I wish more stores would make them more readily available on the shelf.

Rev. Eric J Brown said...

Even the Boarders doesn't? That's one of the few places you can find them I picked up 4 at a used book store in Berkeley, CA. It was enjoyable reading Plato in Greek on the flight home.

Rev. Larry Beane said...

Dear Br. Latif:

Supply and demand. What was once studied by most high school children is now a rarity even among graduate students and Ph.D.s

The times they are a changin'.

Rev. Larry Beane said...

Dear Eric:

That Borders has made some changes. No more Loeb. The children's section has fewer books and more toys - and even the books have been dumbed down.

I guess in the current economic climate, they're going to focus on the higher-markup items. Books are an investment and may sit on the shelf for a long time. But whoopie cushions and plastic wind-up toys are better impulse buys with more of a margin, I suppose.