“Why Latin and Greek must be studied”

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Hemustincrease

Puritan Board Freshman
CLAA Online

Just came across this article and thought others might find it helpful. Especially those who are home schooling and still wondering what approach to take. I teach my children Latin and Greek and sometimes forget why I am doing so. :duh: This article reminded me and has given me the umph required for this evenings verb drills.

Not a reformed author, quite obviously, but the points made stand regardless and I see no reason why the Catholics should produce better educated children than the rest of us. ;)
 
I appreciate some of the authors points and his high regard for logic in education. But a few things stand out as being questionable:

1) This may be my ignorance speaking, but how is it that the study of classical languages cultivates logic in a way that other languages don't? I highly value the study of language, but I don't understand how Latin teaches a kid logic more than German, Russian, French, etc.

2) His talk of the superiority of classical culture makes me a little nauseous. "Sublime"???

3) I couldn't disagree more with his point about classical literature being morally superior to mathematics. That is anti-Christian. We find God in mathematics, just as we do in the humanities.

4) His overall tone is, well, snooty. Or pompous. Again, I appreciate his high regard for proper education, but I don't think I'd want someone with that kind of attitude educating my child. This quote is an example of what I'm talking about:

Rather than pushing students into literary studies before they are prepared to appreciate them rightly, we would do better to teach them to read and use the original languages in their youth and give them the real thing when they are ready for it. This, however, is unacceptable to modern men and women who prefer to seem rather than to truly be well educated.

That's NOT to say I don't appreciate the study of Latin and Greek. I'm all for it. I just don't find it superior.
 
Thank you for your thoughts.
I can definitely see where you are coming from. I just found his points to be well expressed and worthy of consideration. Today, there is very little emphasis (if any) on logic/rhetoric etc and study of classical languages is rare enough for people to continually ask me why I would want to teach my children ‘dead’ languages. :)

Why do you think it is ‘anti Christian’ to exalt language study, along with the history which naturally accompanies it, above mathematics (so far as it’s ability to provide moral instruction)? Not wishing to speak for the author, but I feel reasonably confident that he was not suggesting mathematics did not point us to our Creator, only that the study of language cannot really fail to stimulate the mind to consider all things moral. Mathematics would not ordinarily involve such moral/ethical considerations, even if the instructor were diligent to give the glory to God (as they ought) for the perfection found within it’s study.

I didn’t find his tone offensive/pompous, but I can see why others might. I personally tend to agree with him. There are plenty of uneducated people around today who think they know it all, but when they open their mouth, prove their ignorance. ;) I was very poorly schooled as opposed to well educated, but I’m doing my best to make up for that in my latter years. True education is a humbling affair for sure. Or at least, I find it to be so.

The fact he is Catholic means his bias is understandably set towards history/classical literature in a different way than mine or any other reformed believer, however, for me that didn’t detract from the general ideas.thoughts he presented.
 
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