Member-only story
An Ode to Latin
When I was about 15 years old, I came across an unusual book in my unremarkable local library. It was a self-teaching book to learn Latin. I was fascinated and even stunned by the possibility to learn, at least up to some extent, the language of the ancient poetry of Ovid and Horace, of law and philosophy, of science and medicine, as I perceived it at that time. Being raised in a predominantly agnostic environment, the connection between Latin and the Catholic culture was obscure to me at that age. Except for the vague memories of Latin words found in some religious paintings of old masters, I did not think of Latin as one of the ever-lasting imprints left by the Judeo-Christian tradition on the western civilization, and even beyond that.
Sure enough, I was not even thinking in those terms at that tender age, but my curiosity and excitement to get familiar with the language used by some of the greatest minds of human history took over my hesitation, and I borrowed the book. And I did spent weeks and even months with it going through some basic vocabulary and grammar. I could not get too far without practicing it, but I was able to grasp the sense of exceptional brevity of Latin, which in my opinion made it sound so noble and wise that it forever filled my heart with awe and respect.
Many years later since that accidental one-on-one encounter with Latin, I was lucky enough to visit some of the oldest European universities in Italy (Padua), Spain (Oviedo), Germany (Heidelberg), France (Sorbonne) and the UK (Oxford). The thrill and chill I felt within the stunning beauty of the medieval walls of academia would unavoidably make my mind sing “Gaudeamus igitur”, the sacred — for me, despite the lighthearted Latin lyrics. — hymn of the youthful joy and the wonderful spirit of university life.
I used to be a part of it too, for many years, and I loved every minute of it… So much so, that my heart would always skip a bit when I enter any university, either old or not so old, and feel the breeze of those ancient times when science and religion was residing in one domain, and the spoken language of that territory was Latin, of course… No wonder that many universities these days use Latin mottoes as a symbol of history, tradition, and the origin of universities rooted from medieval Europe.
