Greek ruins.(Americans losing classical knowledge)

From: National Review | Date: September 14, 1998| Author: | Copyright information

Greek and Latin studies, philosophy, and poetry used to be the foundation of education. Classical knowledge provides a context for understanding Western history. The decline of such education may not have direct tragic consequences, but it does leave a vacuum in American culture.

Mr. Simmons is the author of the forthcoming book Climbing Parnassus, a defense of classical education.

A speechwriter for Vice President George Bush once prepared a stump speech peppered with a bit of Thucydides, a Greek historian of the fifth century B.C. But after the Vice President tripped over the name ...

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