“I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people.”

“One of the regrets of my life is that I did not study Latin. I'm absolutely convinced, the more I understand these eighteenth century people, that it was that grounding in Greek and Latin that gave them their sense of the classic virtues: the classic ideals of honor, virtue, the good society, and their historic examples of what they could try to live up to.”

“It’s in Latin.”“So? What does it say?”“I don’t read Latin!”“You’re kidding. I thought all geniuses read Latin. Isn’t that the international language for smart people?”

“I think of all those who believed in a Latin American paradise and died in a Latin American hell.”

“I attended Catholic schools at a time when Latin was still a living ritual language.”

“I was made to learn Latin and Greek, but I resented it, being of opinion that it was silly to learn a language that was no longer spoken. I believe that all the little good I got from years of classical studies I could have got in adult life in a month.”