“... studying Latin also develops cognitive abilities that go far beyond the use of language. It sharpens the mind, strengthens problem solving capacity, and develops critical thinking.”
“... studying Latin also develops cognitive abilities that go far beyond the use of language. It sharpens the mind, strengthens problem solving capacity, and develops critical thinking.”
For example, rather than starting with the first words in the sentence and working forward, which might seem the obvious way to translate, they learn to first find the verb and, by paying attention to its form and endings, to decode it and use it as a“ key” with which they can begin to unlock and reveal the structure of the rest of a difficult sentence. Then, by applying their knowledge of the systems of endings of nouns and adjectives, and by synthesizing this with their understanding of the typical syntax used in Latin, along with their familiarity with grammar rules and vocabulary, they discover that they can translate even the most difficult sentences well.
In other words, these complex sentences can be seen as puzzles to be solved by the systematic application of a set of rules which students gradually learn during the course of their studies. Although the process, described in this way, may seem very abstract, in the classroom it takes place in the course of translating stories filled with suspense and humor( and a continuing cast of characters), making the experience engaging and fun.
So, in addition to learning more advanced Latin, students are developing the power to master and use sophisticated strategies for problem solving, acquiring cognitive skills that are transferable to a multitude of other contexts in which success involves the ability to recognize patterns, understand abstract concepts, and sequentially apply rules.
How Studying Latin Develops Critical Thinking
All language study provides access to other cultures. A great benefit of studying Latin, one not always mentioned, is that the culture to which it gives access was so very different from the one we live in today. This great contrast leads to fruitful areas of class discussion. How was the day organized, in a culture without electricity? How did the society cohere, without easy access to courts? How does a wronged person get satisfaction, in a culture without police? What were sanitary expectations, in a culture mostly without indoor running water? How did people understand their relationship with divinity, in a polytheistic culture where state and religion were intertwined? How was personhood understood, in a culture in which slavery was widespread and normative, and gender ideology was written into the law?
These contrasts can lead the enquiring student to begin examining his own modern American culture, and the textbook series introduces other topics, involving cultural interaction, whose very similarity, not difference, can also lead to reflection. The city of Alexandria was a port town, deliberately founded for commercial reasons, multi-ethnic from the start, and built on a grid pattern – all of which also describes New York.( In fact, there is a piece of Alexandria right here in our own backyard, in the form of Cleopatra’ s Needle.) Then the scene shifts: the Romans come to Britain, expand political control, and find a culture built tribally, just as Europeans came to the Americas, took political control, and found cultures built for the most part tribally. In both cases, some tribes cooperated with the new arrivals and some resisted. The presence of the new arrivals in both cases led to an ethnic self-consciousness that may not have existed before.
These topics are incorporated directly into the program. The Cambridge Latin Course was the pioneer, 50 years ago, of the reading method of learning Latin, and each stage contains a narrative built in many cases from historical events( the eruption of Vesuvius, the ethnic turmoil in Alexandria, the arrival of Romans in Britain) and historical personalities( Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, Tiberius Claudius Barbillus, Gaius Salvius Liberalis, Vitellia Rufilla, Gnaeus Julius Agricola) who had differing social and legal statuses; indeed, their names reveal their origins some as aristocracy, some as slaves.
This combination of skills is the great benefit of studying Latin. It gathers in one course the tools for the analysis of language, applicable to the study of any other tongue; the elements of cultural comparison, applicable to societies ancient and modern; and problem-solving proficiency, applicable even to mathematical and scientific study. These capabilities will serve students well at all levels of schooling, and beyond. •
Peter King is Classical Language Curriculum Chair and Latin Teacher, and Eugene Romanosky is Eighth Grade Homeroom, English, Religion, and Latin Teacher at Saint David’ s School.
Summer 2025 • 21