Why read Long Live Latin?

Book cover of Long Live Latin: The Pleasures of a Useless Language

Book description

A lively exploration of the joys of a not-so-dead language

From the acclaimed novelist and Oxford professor Nicola Gardini, a personal and passionate look at the Latin language: its history, its authors, its essential role in education, and its enduring impact on modern life―whether we call it “dead” or not.

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Rome
Cicero

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Why read it?

1 author picked Long Live Latin as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Scott Samuelson

Author

As someone who spent part of the pandemic trying to keep sane by translating ancient Roman poems, I’m definitely part of this book’s target audience.

But Long Live Latin is much more than a spirited ode to the pricelessness of a useless language. In swift and insightful chapters, the Italian writer Nicola Gardini takes us—regardless of how much or little we know about Latin—on a tour of the greatest ancient Roman poets and philosophers—Catullus, Cicero, Lucretius, Virgil, and Seneca, among others.

Like la bella figura, so characteristic of Romans throughout history, these essays are a celebration of how…

From Scott's list on The best books for finding the meaning of life in Rome.