Friday, April 06, 2007

Shallow Rivulets vs. Copious Rivers

I can't recall ever getting really excited about a piece of Latin literature; but, even though I've only begun to study Latin to enrich my Greek studies, I'm sincerely hoping that someday I will experience that excitement, once I gain some proficiency with the language. Still, at this point, I have to agree with what Erasmus wrote to a daughter of Sir Thomas More, quoted here from J.E. Sandys' A History of Classical Scholarship (v.II, p. 230):

"You are an eloquent Latinist, Margaret," he was pleased to say, "but, if you woulde drink deeplie of the Wellsprings of Wisdom, applie to Greek. The Latins have onlie shallow Rivulets; the Greeks, copious Rivers running over Sands of gold."