false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173287447m/268210.jpg 268210 3 <div><div>The Latin language has been the one constant in the cultural history of the West for more than two millennia. It has been the foundation of our education, and has defined the way in which we express our thoughts, our faith, and our knowledge of how the world functions. Indeed, the language has proved far more enduring than its empire in Rome, its use echoing on in the law codes of half the world, in the terminologies of modern science, and until forty years ago, in the liturgy of the Catholic Church. It is the unseen substance that makes us members of the Western world.<br> <br>In his erudite and entertaining &#8220;biography,&#8221; Nicholas Ostler shows how and why (against the odds, through conquest from within and without) Latin survived and thrived even as its creators and other languages failed. Originally the dialect of Rome and its surrounds, Latin supplanted its neighbors to become, by conquest and settlement, the language of all Italy, and then of Western Europe and North Africa. Its cultural creep toward Greek in the East led it to copy and then ally with it in an unprecedented, but invincible combination: Greek theory and Roman practice, delivered through Latin, became the foundation of Western civilization. Christianity, a latecomer, then joined the alliance, and became vital to Latin&#8217;s survival when the empire collapsed. Spoken Latin re-emerged as a host of new languages, from Portuguese and Spanish in the west to Romanian in the east. But a knowledge of Latin lived on as the common code of European thought, and inspired the founders of Europe&#8217;s New World in the Americas. <i>E pluribus unum</i>.<br> <br>Illuminating the extravaganza of its past, Nicholas Ostler makes clear that, in a thousand echoes, Latin lives on, ad infinitum.</div></div> 260015 2007 Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin total:54|5:13|4:16|3:15|2:8|1:2| 54 192 177 24 4 0 false false Tue Jul 14 15:51:08 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 11:52:59 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 20:43:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 21 00:11:29 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Aug 08 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 02 16:30:11 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 08 14:19:03 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Oct 04 14:59:32 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 23 13:21:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Jan 11 07:14:56 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 07:19:35 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Thu Mar 26 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 08:47:44 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 08:51:14 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Jan 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 00:31:57 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 00:33:22 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Nov 26 19:20:53 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 19:27:05 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Tue Oct 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 07:38:58 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 20 07:42:04 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Mar 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jan 02 10:50:54 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 10:52:08 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Tue Jan 13 10:06:09 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 15:04:07 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Thu Oct 22 20:33:01 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 15:05:54 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Oct 20 14:44:37 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 20 14:49:41 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Nov 14 19:14:55 -0800 2007 Tue Jun 17 17:32:26 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Tue Mar 25 16:51:26 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 25 16:52:38 -0700 2008
I thought I would like this, but it ended up being a bit too dry for my taste. I like my history a little more fictiony.]]> 4 0 false false Thu Feb 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 11:39:22 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 14 13:12:39 -0800 2008
It did improve along with my lucidity, and I found it enjoyable to read and informative.]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jan 09 20:48:50 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 12 16:24:50 -0700 2008 Fri Jan 09 20:48:50 -0800 2009 1 3 0 false false Thu Sep 04 20:29:28 -0700 2008 Fri Dec 12 22:06:10 -0800 2008 2 0 true false Tue Sep 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 08:23:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 09 06:14:11 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Mon Feb 25 00:42:13 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 00:43:50 -0800 2008 empires of the word) comes a history of Latin in particular. Read it. Twice. At least. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=268210