A question for people who know Latin?

Question

I just completed four years of Latin through my high school. I'm in college now but I couldn't afford one that offers Latin, I had to go to a community college. I really liked Latin and don't want to forget all that I've learned. But what use is Latin anyway? And how can I further my education in Latin when I can't afford a school that offers it? And I'm really concerned that I might slowly be forgetting all that I've learned. Like I couldn't, with out looking it up, decline a 2nd declension noun. There are a few things of course that I don't think I could ever forget..."Arma virumque cano Troia qui primus ab oris..." So anyway what should I do, any suggestions?

Answer 1

Have you read Robert Frost's "Death of the Hired Man"?    Remember the line, "He studied Latin like the violin, because he loved it"?  You don't NEED to have a use for your Latin!  nevertheless, it comes in very useful when you're taking a Romance language--which is one thing you can do at that community college.  French of Spanish.  Either should help you retain your Latin.

Latin also helps you builld your English vocabulary and, believe it or not, to write English more clearly.  You probably know this already.  And it's useful when you have to learn medical or scientific or legal terminology.

Now, let's look at the near future.  Your first semester of college has probably already begun.  However, late registration and drop/add are probably in full swing.  If yoru're not already taking French or Spanish and decide that you want to, you can probably still get in, and the instructor is likely to be delighted to have another interested student.  Then, somewhere on that campus, likely in the library or the counseling center, there are lots of college catalogues.  Start looking for colleges that DO offer Latin.  A state one near home is likely to be the most affordable, but don't limit your search to those.  If you find one that looks like what you want, you might actually write to the head of the classics department and tell him/her what you said here--that you really like Latin and want to continue, but finances are putting obstacles in the way of your going to a college that offers it--so can he/she offer any advice or help?  (And I don't mean this advice for when you've completed your two years and are looking for a four- year college for your last two.  I mean ASAP!)

In addition, your former guidance counselor from high school may know of some resources that somehow didn't come up when you were doing applications last year--not only colleges that have what you want but scholarship opportunities.  The very fact that you took four years of Latin in high school.suggests that you're a serious, high-achieving student, and your counselor may be glad to set you, belatedly, on a higher road.  And he may also know or be able to find out about some scholarships for which only certain students are eligible--and you may be one.  (For instance, does the word "Catholic" have any relevance to all of this?)

Finally, don't worry too much about forgetting your Latin too soon.  I had two years in high school, then went two years without it, and wound up majoring in it in college and using it in graduate school as well.  So I just don't BELIEVE that you've already forgotten the second declension!  The fourth of fifth, maybe, with all those buses, but not us, i, o, um, o.  (One of my students came up with the mnemonic "US Indians Owe yoU & Me One.")

Excelsior!

..    

Answer 2

Latin is invaluable if you study biological science, since plant and animal names use Latin or Greek for formal nomeclature. It is also useful in any study of Western languages, including English, since much of the vocabulary comes from Latin. Reading Latin texts is a good way to keep your memory refreshed. Latin-English crosswords are another way to keep in touch (London Times xword club does one I think).