Would you want to polish your speaking skills? Or be proficient in the art of winning an argument? Then look no further than a Latin text book. The classic languages are enjoying a worldwide revival, in Malta no less, and Kristina Chetcuti last week attended the official launch of the Malta Classics Association.

In a nation lagging behind in reading it is hard to imagine classics being promoted, but although Maltese may not be bookworms, they have an opinion about everything, according to a Latin lecturer at the University of Malta.

“The study of language makes our speech powerful because it gives you coherence and clarity of thought. In a democratic society, speech is everything and power in speech gives you an edge, as can be seen in the art of oratory of classical Rome and Athens,” Maria Zammit said.

The Malta Classics Association is made up of a small group of students and lecturers who are aware of the importance of having a society where people think and speak clearly.

You don’t need to be an academic to appreciate the joy of language and the joy of clear profound thought.

“Educated people are not necessarily those who have studied but people whose best part of themselves has been drawn out,” Michael Zammit, philosophy lecturer and founder member, said.

The association is offering courses in classical Greek, classical Latin and Sanskrit (the primary language of Hinduism and Buddhism). The courses are open to the public and anybody can enrol. But the association does not plan to be bound solely to classroom activities.

“We want to make a significant contribution to society,” said Joseph Debono, another founder member.

The association, he said, would take the classics to the public outside the confines of university.

“We’ll take them to children in schools and we’ll promote the beauty of Greek mythology. We’ll go to theatres, fields, pubs and we’ll take to the streets,” said Mr Debono, adding, with a touch of daring, that they even planned to hold a Roman banquet.

The MCA will also be translating texts: “Many local archives are packed with original works in Latin by Maltese authors and others which have never seen the light of day,” said Mr Debono.

This renaissance of the classics is being felt all over Europe. The Harry Potter books have been translated into Latin and ancient Greek to stimulate interest in the languages and to provide students of these languages with modern reading texts. Latin and Greek are taught in secondary schools all across Europe. In the UK, they’re even being introduced in primary schools.

“In the Western world, companies prefer to recruit classics’ graduates for managerial posts rather than graduates in management as people who have studied this subject tend to have a flexible mind, great discipline and are better thinkers than those moulded by rigid text book structures,” according to Dr Zammit.

However, he insists this is not exactly a revival: “It comes and goes in tides. Even if you look at the cinema, every couple of decades you get a movie with a plot based on the classical era. In the 1950s we had Ben Hur, this decade we had Brad Pitt in Troy. The classics never die,” he added.

The association is already offering three well attended courses. Lecturers volunteer their time out of dedication to the languages. The idea of an association sprouted when they started meeting regularly last summer to translate a text of Florentine philosopher Marsilio Ficino, called De Lumine.

“The text is about Ficino’s thoughts on light. But we had so much fun, we would take one sentence and examine it till our tongues ran dry and we’d have interminable discussions about the meaning of the language,” Mrs Zammit said.

She is quick to explain how the study of language sharpens the mind and attitude, because of the need for clarity and precision. When writing or translating classics you have to be constantly taking decisions – choosing what is the right or wrong. The classics train people to start making choices from the very minute they wake up.

Dr Zammit argues that in this day and age the classics are an education for the being, not just for the mind.

“We hope the association will be like a gym for the thinking man, where language stimulates the mind and strengthens the soul.”

How can they be so optimistic when even on the university campus – the nursery of mind and soul – the spirit is dead? Haven’t students been locked in a five-year debate about whether or not they should get a condom machine?

“Yes, students in Malta are ignoring the real, humane issues. Unfortunately, we’re producing people who are not trained in the faculty of choice,” Dr Zammit, adding the association aimed to combat this.

This attitude could also stem from the fact that there is an absolute disregard of the whole social body: “Life is not a mere quest of indulgence. Life should be all about learning about oneself. If we recognise our true self, we can improve. How long are you going to spend your life engaged in consumption? There is a limit to how much money can give you,” he added.

The association believes the answer is to go back to the roots. Classical texts can offer hope and consolation. “They can shape our heart, because language supports your being, not from the top of your head but from the bottom of your heart,” said Dr Zammit.

For more information, contact classicsmaltasoc@gmail.com.

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