[B-Greek] dead languages

Ed Walkwitz edwalkwitz at yahoo.com
Wed Mar 9 09:26:31 EST 2011


Came across this from Thomas Paine:
 
The study, therefore, of the Greek language (and in the same manner for the 
Latin) was no other than the drudgery business of a linguist...As there is now 
nothing new to be learned from the dead languages, all the useful books being 
already translated, the languages are become useless, and the time expended in 
teaching and in learning them is wasted...It would therefore be advantageous to 
the state of learning to abolish the study of the dead languages...
 
Thomas Paine in, "The Age of Reason." He goes on to describe how the study of 
dead languages in schools is a plot by Christians to suppress science. I, of 
course, do not agree with Thomas Paine. But I was amused enough by this quote 
that I thot I'd post it for yall's amusement. Note to Mark Lightman if you're 
reading this: You realize that Paine wrote before the invention of cell phones. 
Otherwise he would have realized how useful a knowledge of ancient Greek is.
 
Ed Walkwitz


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