Why We Study the Classics
Rudyard Kipling believed that a better appreciation of ancient Greece and Rome could help the English be less insular.
May 1912
King George V 1910-1936
Rudyard Kipling believed that a better appreciation of ancient Greece and Rome could help the English be less insular.
May 1912
King George V 1910-1936
As the twentieth century progressed, more and more people asked why English schools taught Latin and Greek. Rudyard Kipling was one of those who resisted the trend. The value, he said, lay not in ‘intellectual training’, which can be acquired in other ways, but in the development of humility and respect — like playing cricket long enough to realise just how good Ranjitsinhji was.
Our ancestors were not fools. They knew what we, I think, are in danger of forgetting — that the whole background of life, in law, civil administration, conduct of life, the terms of justice, the terms of science, the value of government, are the everlasting ramparts of Rome and Greece — the father and mother of civilisation.
And for that reason, before they turned a man into life at large, they arranged that he should not merely pick up, but absorb into his system (through his hide if necessary) the fact that Greece and Rome were there. Later on, they knew, he would find out for himself how much and how important they were and they are, and that they still exist.Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
In what way, according to Kipling, were previous generations of Englishmen wise?
They appreciated Britain’s debt to classical civilisation.
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
The English talk a lot about democracy. They learnt it from ancient Greece. They forget this.
See if you can include one or more of these words in your answer.
IMuch. IIRemember. IIITeach.