Latin
or, the Empire of a Sign
Published on 17. July 2001
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-1-85984-615-5 (ISBN)
Description
For almost three centuries, Latin dominated the civic and sacred worlds of Europe and, arguably, the entire western world. From the moment in the sixteenth century when it was adopted by the Humanists as the official language for schools and by the Catholic Church as the common liturgical language, it was the way in which millions of children were taught, people prayed to God, and scholars were educated. Francoise Waquet's history of Latin between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries is a highly original and accessible exploration of the institutional contexts in which the language was adopted. It goes on to consider what this conferring of power and influence on Latin meant in practice. Among the questions Waquet investigates are: What privileges were, and are still, accorded to those who claim to have studied Latin? Can Latin as a subject for study be anything more than purely linguistic or does it reveal a far more complex heritage? Has Latin's deeply embedded cultural legacy already given way to a nostalgic exoticism? Latin: A Symbol's Empire is a valuable work of reference, but also an important piece of cultural history: the story of a language that became a symbol with its own, highly significant empire.
Reviews / Votes
... [a] fascinating and lively survey of the place of Latin western culture during the past 400 years. * Independent * ... a lucid , learned retelling of the fortunes of the Latin language in the modern era. A scholarly work, this will nonetheless appeal to general readers as well. * History * ... an eloquent obituary ... * Spectator * ... detailed and wide-ranging ... * Los Angeles Times Book Review * ... richly researched and delightful ... with scholars of Waquet's generosity and ability, the old language might yet have a future. * New Criterion * ... the book is valuable if for no other reason than for the historical light is sheds on contemporary debates over the value of a 'traditional' education-and for reminding us that a classical education is sometimes more about class than about education. * Washington Times * A splendid book: original in method, suggestive in argument, and a pleasure to read. * London Review of Books * And for something completely differently serious, read part of Europe's future in part of its past: the fascinating Latin: or the Empire of a Sign. -- A.C. Grayling * Guardian, Summer Choice 2002 * It is a wonderful survey of the uses to which we have put Latin. -- A. N. Wilson Latin is dead and this book is its epitaph ... it is the merit and interest of Waquet's survey that she finds Latin not only deployed for the liturgy, but also to describe things carnal, pornographic, or otherwise shameful. * Daily Telegraph * Waquet.s wonderful, readable book (in Howe's fine translation) provides an intellectual history of the Latin language ... Waquet memorabluy charts Latin's reception in scholarly, comic, tender and exhaustive detail through learned, literary and popular sources. * Choice *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 163 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
687 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-85984-615-5 (9781859846155)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
12/2002
Verso Books
€24.00
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Persons
Francoise Waquet is director of research emeritus at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. Latin, or the Empire of a Sign is the opening volume in a highly praised sequence of books on the social worlds of intellectuals, continued most recently with Une histoire emotionnelle du savoir (2019).