Latin lovers.

Discovering the Beauty of Latin

Why Learn Latin?

As Latin teachers, we often face the question, “Why are we learning Latin?” It’s a valid question, especially when it comes to a dead language. However, British classicists Harry Mount and John Davie have an answer in their book, Et tu, Brute?: The Best Latin Lines Ever. Their goal is to show that Latin is worth the effort.

The Art of Brevity

The authors begin by highlighting Latin’s concision. They challenge the idea that Latin is “pompous and grandiloquent” by pointing out that Latinate English words tend to be long and highfalutin, but the Latin language itself is marked by economy. The book sets Latin lines alongside English translations and thereby demonstrates Latin’s aptitude for brevity. For example, the beautiful line, “There are tears at the heart of things” (Aeneid 6.847) in Seamus Heaney’s translation is just three words in Vergil’s original (sunt lacrimae rerum).

From Pompeii to Vatican City

The authors take readers on a journey through Roman history and culture, including baths and feasts, bread and circuses, the class system, the political system, religion and family values, Christianity’s rise, Mount Vesuvius’s eruption, and more. Along the way, they examine some of the best of Roman thought, including Cicero’s beautiful and touching reflections on growing old and plenty of Latin maxims worth remembering.

From Obscenity to Gardening

The book seems aimed at those who’ve left their schooldays behind yet feel some pull to explore the classics. The authors try enticing readers with obscenity and sex, which presumably would’ve spiced up class in high school. It’s shock value and education on Roman social mores. Students generally haven’t learned about Baiae, “a favourite haunt of the idle rich on the coast of Campania,” but visiting it shows how elites cavorted. After the horticultural interregnum, the book runs through Roman history and culture, including baths and feasts, bread and circuses, the class system, the political system, religion and family values, Christianity’s rise, Mount Vesuvius’s eruption, and more.

Is Latin Worth Learning?

The book provides food for thought about pithy writing, but it doesn’t leave you thinking Latin is “the language of Western civilization” as much as it’s a language of Western civilization. Does it contain “secrets” that necessitate learning it? Et tu, Brute? surely shows there’s a lot of salacious writing in Latin that you didn’t hear in school, but the book is less likely to convince you to learn Latin yourself.

Final Thoughts

Et tu, Brute?: The Best Latin Lines Ever is a readable highlight reel of Roman history for novices or those looking to brush up. It provides fun nuggets throughout and is handy for its glossary of common Latin phrases. However, some ideas work against the book as a whole, and the title itself is misleading. Nevertheless, it’s worth a read for those interested in discovering the beauty of Latin.