Learning/Re-Learning Latin after age 60: What might be the advantages?

[GammaGlobulin]

Dear Folks,

 

Just please think back to when you were in Form One, years ago, struggling with your Latin, and not knowing why.

 

You knew that nobody in the world spoke Latin, and therefore, you logically reasoned, learning Latin was a pastime mostly for fools.

 

These days though, maybe you have gained a new perspective on the purpose of learning Latin. And, possibly you wonder if you might take a year or two, these days, to polish and reinvigorate your long-lost Latin skills.

 

What might be the Real-World benefits to you of further Latin study, after you may have long-ago forgotten what you learned when you were just a mere tot?

 

And, is there even any requirement that one might benefit from learning something, just to justify the spending of time learning it?  (I think not.)

 

Still, what might be some good reasons for learning/re-learning Latin?

(I am NOT joking, this time.)

 

a.   You could improve yourself.

b.   You could speak Latin to the girls in Pattaya, just to astound them, and maybe to get them to buy you a drink.

c.    You could use Latin roots to improve your understanding of Science Terminology, or Medical Terminology.

d.   Most importantly, it is said that RIGOROUS study of LATIN might improve Cognitive Functioning.  This is a BIG plus for those in the Farang Pub…who are now in Obvious Cognitive Decline.

I ask you:  Would you be willing to join me in learning Latin, on Sundays?  Or, would you prefer to learn Latin at home, by yourselves?

 

And, can you add to the short list of advantages that I have posted in this Topic?

 

Naturally, we will need one of the best Latin Primers.  So…Can you suggest at least three choices for our class?

 

My first PRIMER CHOICE would be a free one from Project Gutenberg. Free is Good.

Also, when learning such an old and obsolete language, the OLDER the Primer...the better.....so...

Here is my preliminary choice:

Here is an excerpt from Lesson XIX  (And, don't you just LOVE these outdated Roman Numerals???  i DO....!!!)

 

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/18251/pg18251-images.html

 

In addition, there are many good websites extolling the advantages of other primers. For example, here is just one that I found, and an excerpt from same:

 

https://fivebooks.com/best-books/learning-latin-harry-mount/

 

The above link provides insight into several good primers, and is written with much Love of Latin, presumably provided by some Latin Lover.

 

Further to the above links, there is always YT content.  I particularly enjoy this woman from PBS News Hour.

To me, she is one very HOT Lady, meaning her sexy mannerisms...

If I had someone like her teaching me, I could make some amazing progress, absolutely.

She is my kind of girl....BIG TIME....!!!

She even wears glasses....!!!!

 

 

It is my contention that anyone who is aging might benefit from setting aside about 45 minutes of the day to sit in a quiet place, maybe under a coconut tree, or a palm tree, by the shore, and focus on one’s gradually improving Latin skills, including Latin verbs, noun cases, verb conjugations, and adjective inflections.

 

Moreover, learning Latin is one of the best ways to distract the learner from worry over things in life beyond his control. Seems to me that such a pursuit is most important for the expat living in Thailand, what with visa worries, and such.

 

It should be very obvious that when one is forced to learn Latin in school, at a very young age, one just does not adequately appreciate the privilege that one has been afforded.  This time around, now that I am older, I will work harder.

 

How difficult can it be?

Like riding a bicycle?

One never forgets?

 

A facile mind, one focused on Latin learning,  is a clean mind.

A clean mind is also one that is never tempted to visit local bars.

 

Wishing you Happy Latin-Learning…soon…

Best regards,

Gamma

 

Note:  If you have any suggestions for better Latin Primers..then please add here.  Thank you.

 

Note2:  After we finish with Latin, then we might consider mastering Attic-Greek. And, from there, we can progress to the reading of Ancient Scripture, and Sacred Texts. Fun!

 

=======================

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  I just must tell you....

 

The PBS girl in the video I posted above is....

 

TRULY....MY KIND OF GIRL...in almost every way.

 

Why cannot I meet a wonderful, and COMPLETELY CUTE girl like her?????

 

Maybe I should have decided to study Latin before waiting so long, I am thinking.

 

She is just SOOOOOOO  CUTE....

 

I love her mannerisms....to death....

Or, did I already mention this....

 

I might try to write to her, tomorrow....

But, for now, I will just dream of her...and then wake up tomorrow...

Completely refreshed.

 

She is REALLY my kind of woman.....

 

I bet she, too, spent her early years in Greenwich.

 

 

[1FinickyOne]

no advantages I can see... 

[Lacessit]

One of my favorite Latin expressions is " Si tacuisse, philosophus mansisses"

 

Loosely translated, it means " If you had kept your mouth shut, we might have thought you were clever".

 

Exeunt jubilate.

[henryford1958]

One of my regrets in life is not learning Latin when i had the chance in school 60 years ago.

[simon43]

My polyglot father resorted to using Latin on a train in Romania yonks ago when he and a Romanian professor could find no common language.  They chatted fine in Latin.

 

I started learning Latin at 5 years old at my grammar school, and hated it.

 

Nowadays, I use that language knowledge every single day!  I teach science and my knowledge of Latin helps me to understand the meaning and origin of many technical and scientific words.

 

As to impressing bar-girls, I do that with my Thai fluency, and when they switch to speaking Issan/Lao (so that I don't understand them), I impress them again by speaking Lao to them 🙂  I then get them completely 'orgasmic' by speaking Burmese to them...

 

I don't chat up Khmer bar-girls......

[The Old Bull]

9 minutes ago, henryford1958 said:

One of my regrets in life is not learning Latin when i had the chance in school 60 years ago.

I hated Latin in school, dropped out after a year. It was a requirement back then if you wanted to go into law, so I became an engineer not a lawyer. Win or loose a lawyer gets paid even if his client hangs. With engineering you have to win every time or you are in a load of trouble. That's why I would have preferred to be a lawyer, less liability ,less pressure.

[save the frogs]

veni, vedi, vici 

 

i'm sure a lot of folks on AN can proudly claim they came, they saw, they conquered thailand. 

 

[1FinickyOne]

3 hours ago, Lacessit said:

One of my favorite Latin expressions is " Si tacuisse, philosophus mansisses"

 

Loosely translated, it means " If you had kept your mouth shut, we might have thought you were clever".

 

Exeunt jubilate.

now that's funny... 

[black tabby12345]

Chiefly, Brain Rejuvenation/Revitalization.

Also Reducing the Effects of Aging.

 

Positive curiosity and learning something new spontaneously, will often have positive impacts on us, refreshing heart and mind.

It is also scientifically proved.

does learning new thing vitalize our brain? - Google Search

 

Good Luck, to the ageless challenger.

 

 

 

 

[herfiehandbag]

Advantages, well you would be able to have a conversation with my dog: Mr Pom also answers to "canis ineptus".

[Smokin Joe]

My school used to offer Latin but ended up cutting it from the curriculum.

 

Too many cases where someone would mispronounce something and accidentally summon a demon.

[Jack100]

Amo Amas I forget the rest !

[Lacessit]

7 hours ago, The Old Bull said:

I hated Latin in school, dropped out after a year. It was a requirement back then if you wanted to go into law, so I became an engineer not a lawyer. Win or loose a lawyer gets paid even if his client hangs. With engineering you have to win every time or you are in a load of trouble. That's why I would have preferred to be a lawyer, less liability ,less pressure.

Engineers are risk averse, that's why they build safety factors into just about everything constructed.

 

IME when engineers fail, it is usually because someone - not necessarily an engineer - has cut corners. Bean counters are likely suspects.

 

I loved Latin. The Romans had a gift for compressing thoughts into a simple, sometimes brutal, very few words.

 

Dixi.

 

 

[phetphet]

With my daughter learning French and Spanish, and now looking at learning Italian, learning Latin might have been a good aide, seeing as all three have latin roots.

 

it would certainly help with the understanding of many English words that derive from it.

 A little late in life for me though. It would probably be far more useful to me to have a go at learning Thai, or brush up on my  French, which is rapidly receding from memory due to lack of use.

 

Cogito Ergo Sum

 

 

 

[NoDisplayName]

'cause you can get around easier and don't need a translator when you visit Latin America!

[fondue zoo]

Which one?  medieval Latin or renaissance Latin.

 

 

[cdemundo]

Another pathetic attempt to seem intellectual or HISO by GG.

Seems like his thread starting is getting more frequent.

As I have said before, he would be an object of pity were he not so thoroughly unlikeable.

 

[spidermike007]

Have you become the new Bob Smith? Too much time on your hands? Are you trying to create the most posts every day? If you do so, can I suggest some actual content? 

[GammaGlobulin]

44 minutes ago, cdemundo said:

Another pathetic attempt to seem intellectual or HISO by GG.

Seems like his thread starting is getting more frequent.

As I have said before, he would be an object of pity were he not so thoroughly unlikeable.

 

 

So then.

Please remind me to not come to you for references requested by future prospective employers.

 

Or, do you think there might be any chance of my winning you over to my side?

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

Amo amas amat. I have no idea if Latin improved my life, but I suspect it didn't. The only thing I learned at school is that the world is full of nasty people, bullies and idiots. Far as useful things, I learned them on my own time after I left school.

[thaibeachlovers]

21 hours ago, Smokin Joe said:

My school used to offer Latin but ended up cutting it from the curriculum.

 

Too many cases where someone would mispronounce something and accidentally summon a demon.

Knowing Latin in the middle ages would have been useful as apparently the church services were all in Latin. Kept the peasants from learning their lords and masters were hypocrites.

[Ben Zioner]

On 2/2/2025 at 9:03 AM, simon43 said:

My polyglot father resorted to using Latin on a train in Romania yonks ago when he and a Romanian professor could find no common language.  They chatted fine in Latin.

 

I started learning Latin at 5 years old at my grammar school, and hated it.

 

Nowadays, I use that language knowledge every single day!  I teach science and my knowledge of Latin helps me to understand the meaning and origin of many technical and scientific words.

 

As to impressing bar-girls, I do that with my Thai fluency, and when they switch to speaking Issan/Lao (so that I don't understand them), I impress them again by speaking Lao to them 🙂  I then get them completely 'orgasmic' by speaking Burmese to them...

 

I don't chat up Khmer bar-girls......

 

It is staggering that a man of your stature could mingle with bar girls.