|
Although I did Latin at secondary school up until 'O' Levels (1968-1973), I don't retain much these days. Amo, amas, amat and mensa, mensa, mensam is about all I remember. I read Latin (and Greek) authors in translation nowadays.
As far as I can recall, the main use of Latin (especially for Victorian authors) was to be able to write about pornography and deviancy so that women and servants who chanced on the passage would not be able to understand it. I think Gibbon did that when writing about the homosexual amours of the Roman emperors.
The other use was to display your classical education for all to see by the use of apposite quotations.
|