[B-Greek] Thomas Paine on the value of learning Ancient Greek (was dead languages)

George F Somsel gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Fri Mar 11 09:20:20 EST 2011


I'm sure Paine had a copy of Aeschylus on his nightstand (although, to be 
honest, many at that time knew more about the writings of the Greeks than many 
supposedly well-educated persons today).   
 george
gfsomsel 


… search for truth, hear truth, 
learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth, 
defend the truth till death.


- Jan Hus
_________ 




________________________________
From: Mark Lightman <lightmanmark at yahoo.com>
To: Ed Walkwitz <edwalkwitz at yahoo.com>; b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Fri, March 11, 2011 6:42:14 AM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Thomas Paine on the value of learning Ancient Greek (was 
dead languages)

Ed wrote:

< 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.>

Hi, Ed,

Could Paine have written this:

"Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country."

had not Aeschylus written this?

νῦν ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀγών!          (NUN hUPER PANTWN AGWN)  (Persians, 405)

Seems like common sense to me...

Mark L
Φωσφορος


FWSFOROS MARKOS




________________________________
From: Ed Walkwitz <edwalkwitz at yahoo.com>
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Wed, March 9, 2011 7:26:31 AM
Subject: [B-Greek] dead languages

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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