Things to consider if you’re wanting to learn Biblical languages

“If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.”

– The New Testament, “The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians,” Chapter 14, Verse 27 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)

This might seem a strange way to begin a blog post about Biblical languages … but most versions of contemporary Islam require their adherents to learn Classical Arabic. This is because they are expected to read the Quran in the original. To Muslims, translations of the Quran are not even the “Quran” at all. Reading the “Quran” in English would thus be unsatisfactory to them. Some versions of Judaism have a similar reverence for the Hebrew language, with even the characters of the Hebrew alphabet being considered sacred. By contrast, most Christian religions would be totally fine with their members reading the Bible in translation. More to the point, reading the Bible in translation does indeed count as “reading the Bible” in most Christian denominations.

The caves at Qumran, where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered

What languages did our Founding Fathers know?

“I was educated at William and Mary college in Williamsburg. I read Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, and English of course, with something of it’s radix the Anglo-Saxon.”

– Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Joseph Delaplaine (12 April 1817) – which seems to show that Jefferson thus studied what is now known as “Old English” (or, as he calls it here, “Anglo-Saxon”)

Our Founding Fathers were quite a knowledgeable group, who knew many foreign languages

The Founding Fathers of the United States are among the most brilliant collection of individuals in all of world history. Seldom, if ever, has there been such a remarkable collection of talent anywhere else. Our Founding Fathers were particularly well-versed in things like history – particularly that of Ancient Greece (including Athens), the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, the British Isles, and our own Colonial America. They also studied the greatest Greek and Roman philosophers, as well as relatively modern philosophers from Britain and France, with great skill. They studied prior laws from the British Isles (such as the Magna Carta), and the great British jurists who expounded on those laws. And, if I may offer an opinion, they helped to create the most successful Constitution that the world has ever known. Nonetheless, many of them were also accomplished polyglots, who attained fluency in a notable variety of foreign languages. Here, too, their genius shines through – with both ancient and modern languages.

Thomas Jefferson

To save time here, I’ll be focusing on some of the most prominent of our Founding Fathers

I have covered their accomplishments in these other spheres elsewhere. Thus, I will instead be focusing here on their attainments in the realm of foreign languages. Here as elsewhere, the Founding Fathers’ record can speak for itself, since I will be trying to use their own words here as much as possible. To shorten this discussion, I will focus entirely on some of the most prominent of our Founding Fathers. This will help to keep our discussion to a more manageable length. It will also help to showcase the knowledge of our Founding Fathers, which stands up well to any reasonable standard.

Thomas Jefferson

My inner conflicts about learning Latin

“In the last century [then the seventeenth century], Latin was the universal language of Europe. Correspondence among the learned, and indeed among merchants and men of business and the conversation of strangers and travellers, was generally carried on in that dead language. In the present century [then the eighteenth century], Latin has been generally laid aside, and French has been substituted in its place; but has not yet become universally established, and according to present appearances, it is not probable that it will. English is destined to be in the next and succeeding centuries, more generally the language of the world, than Latin was in the last, or French is in the present age.”

– John Adams, in “To the President of Congress, No. 6” (5 September 1780)

Anecdote about how our Founding Fathers were avid students of Latin

Our Founding Fathers were avid students of Greek and Latin. The following Founding Fathers had some proficiency in Latin. They included Alexander Hamilton – and, through independent study, Benjamin Franklin. They also included Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and John Adams. See the relevant evidence in this blog post. Over the years, John Adams wrote a number of letters to his son (and future president) John Quincy Adams. In 1781, specifically, John Adams once told his son: “You go on, I presume, with your Latin exercises: and I wish to hear of your beginning upon Sallust who is one of the most polished and perfect of the Roman historians, every period of whom, and I had almost said every syllable and every letter is worth studying.” (Source: Letter of 18 May 1781) In another letter, John Adams also told his son that “The writings of Cicero too, you should read in turn. When I speak of reading I dont mean holding a book in hand and dreaming over it— take your pen.—and make yourself master of every sentence.— By all means make yourself master of the Latin tongue and that immediately.” (Source: Letter of 4 October 1790) Thus, John Adams advised his son to “go on … with your Latin exercises,” and “By all means make yourself master of the Latin tongue and that immediately” (as cited above). Thus, John Adams must have considered the study of Latin to be valuable. More about his admiration for the Ancient Greek language here.

Cicero, Roman philosopher and statesman admired by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

Sallust, Roman historian admired by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

Why are certain European languages so often spoken in Africa? (Answer: History)

“A Declaration introducing into international relations certain uniform rules with reference to future occupations on the coast of the African Continent. And deeming it expedient that all these several documents should be combined in one single instrument, they (the Signatory Powers) have collected them into one General Act, composed of the following Articles …”

– “General Act of the Berlin Conference on West Africa” (26 February 1885) – an agreement among some of the European powers

Many of the contemporary languages of Africa came to the continent from elsewhere …

Many of the contemporary languages of Africa came to the continent from elsewhere. Even the Arabic language arrived from the Middle East, although this was fairly early in (North) African history. Arabic is the dominant language of Muslim North Africa today, as you may know. In fact, Arabic is the most spoken language in Africa today. But many other languages on the African continent arrived from Europe, during the “Scramble for Africa” – which was mostly during the nineteenth century. Thus, the languages of English, French, and Portuguese are among the most spoken languages on this continent. To a lesser degree, Spanish is also spoken in certain parts of Africa, and has a presence there. This would surprise many, because we expect Africans to speak various languages that are native to the continent (such as Swahili – or “Kiswahili,” as it is sometimes called). And, very often, they do speak native African languages. But the European languages also have a strong presence in Africa, which is a legacy of the past colonization there. How did all of this happen, you might be wondering? That is what this post will be undertaking to explain. I have discussed other African colonies from Germany and Italy in another post, and their various effects on the World Wars (more about that here). Thus, I will not attempt to duplicate much of that coverage here. Rather, I will instead focus this post on the bigger colonization by Britain, France, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal – some of which were very influential, as I will show later on. I will also throw in a number of country names – and, at times, dates. But it is not expected that the reader will remember any of these details. Rather, I just hope that I will convey the feeling of how complicated these geopolitics were, and answer a possible reader’s question about how these European languages came to be in Africa. This came in the context of European colonization elsewhere in the world.

Front view of fort São João Baptista – Portuguese Benin, 1917

A review of “Versailles” (French documentary)

“L’état, c’est moi.” (“I am the State.”)

– A line attributed to King Louis XIV of France – a line that he may or may not have actually said, but which nonetheless seems to accurately express his views on government (and himself)

Aerial view of the Palace of Versailles

A film about three kings of France, one of whom was executed …

In 1643, a new king was crowned in France. Officially, he would be known as Louis the Fourteenth, but he is also known by the nickname of “Le Roi Soleil” (or “The Sun King”). Some consider him the longest-reigning absolute monarch in history. The term “absolute” is appropriate here, because he ruled with an iron fist. But this film doesn’t just cover him – they also cover two other kings as well, both of whom were his descendants. One was Louis the Fifteenth, who is known by the nickname “Louis le Bien-Aimé” (“Louis the Beloved”). This nickname is somewhat ironic, because he became somewhat unpopular later on. And the other king was Louis the Sixteenth, who is best known for dying by the guillotine, when he was executed during the French Revolution. They were three kings in a row, with no other kings in between – either by the name “Louis,” or by any other name. Together, they reigned for a period of nearly a century and a half.

Execution of King Louis the Sixteenth by the guillotine, 1793

A few problems with Rousseau’s “The Social Contract”

“Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself the master of others, and still remains a greater slave than they. How did this change come about? I do not know. What can make it legitimate? That question I think I can answer.”

– Jean-Jacques Rousseau's “The Social Contract” (1762), opening lines of Book I, Chapter I

I first read this work in English translation for a history class …

In the spring semester of 2007, my history professor of that time assigned my class to read Jean-Jacques Rousseau's “Du contrat social, ou principes du droit politique” (“The Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right”). This assignment was for a Western Civilization class that I was then taking. At that time, I read it in English translation, which would contribute to my later desire to read it in the original French. But it would be several years before I ever got the opportunity to do so. Thus, by the time that I started this later project, more than a decade had passed since my first reading of the book for this history class in 2007.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

… but more than a decade later, I read it in the original French for my own amusement

When I started this project, I had just finished reading another Rousseau work in its original French. This work was Rousseau's “Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes” (“Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men”). I wanted to read this other work first, since it was written some seven or eight years before “Du contrat social, ou principes du droit politique.” The full English title of the work that I'm reviewing here is “The Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right.” But for simplicity's sake, I will just refer to it here as “The Social Contract.” I started this work in July 2018, and finished it some six months later in December 2018. Thus, I have now read this entire work in its original French. I can thus certify that my criticisms of this work are not based on mistranslation.

Statue of Rousseau, on the Île Rousseau, Geneva

Some thoughts about foreign language education

“What do you call someone who speaks three languages? (Trilingual.) What do you call someone who speaks two languages? (Bilingual.) What do you call someone who speaks one language? (American.)”

– An old joke, with an alternative punch line saying “British”

If we were to rank the world’s languages by the total number of speakers (native and non-native), the English language would be the most spoken language in the world. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage to native speakers of English. On the one hand, it makes it easier for us to find people that speak our language when we travel abroad, and this confers many advantages upon us when we travel. On the other hand, it means that we are seldom forced to learn a foreign language, the way that our counterparts elsewhere often seem to do (hence the joke above). Knowing a foreign language confers many benefits, and not just of the economic variety. Our brains benefit from this kind of education, and it allows us to see the world differently than monolinguals do. The benefits of knowing a foreign language are often advertised by professors of languages, at least when their languages are foreign to the places where they live and teach. But which languages should we teach in our school system? In my view, we should endeavor to teach something like all of them, whether they are ancient or modern or anything in between.

Rousseau's “Discourse on Inequality” is long on detail, but short on evidence …

“The first man, who, after enclosing a piece of ground, took it into his head to say, 'This is mine,' and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society. How many crimes, how many wars, how many murders, how many misfortunes and horrors, would that man have saved the human species, who pulling up the stakes or filling up the ditches should have cried to his fellows: Be sure not to listen to this imposter; you are lost, if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong equally to us all, and the earth itself to nobody!”

– Jean-Jacques Rousseau's “Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men” (1754), first paragraph of “Second Part”

I first read this work in English translation …

In the spring of 2007, I voluntarily read Jean-Jacques Rousseau's “Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes” (“Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men”) in English translation. This would contribute to my later desire to read it in the original French. But it would be several years before I ever got the opportunity to do so. Thus, by the time I started this later project, more than a decade had passed since my first reading of the book in 2007.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

But more than a decade later, I read it in the original French, too

But I had been laboring for some three years on another French work, which was “in line” ahead of it, so to speak. This other work was Montesquieu's “De l'esprit des lois” (“The Spirit of Laws”), which I describe here. In 2018, I finally finished this work by Montesquieu, and could thus finally start on Rousseau's “Discours sur l'origine et les fondements de l'inégalité parmi les hommes.” This book is known by many titles in English, including “Discourse on Inequality” and “Discourse on the Origin of Inequality” (both abbreviated versions of the full title). For simplicity's sake, I will use these abbreviated versions of this English title for the most part. I started this work in January 2018, and finished it some six months later in June 2018. Thus, I have read this entire work in its original French, including Rousseau's notes at the end. I can thus certify that my criticisms of this work are not based on mistranslation.

Statue of Rousseau on the Île Rousseau, Geneva

Where do I find Latin and Greek works in the original?

You might try the Loeb Classical Library, described at Wikipedia here and found at this website here. (The rest of this post is about how I searched for this prize.)

Reflections on studying the history of languages (and how they change over time)

So I recently read a book called "Historical Linguistics" (3rd edition), by Winfred P. Lehmann, which talks about the way that languages tend to change over time, and the way that modern scholars investigate this change. There's a strong emphasis on methodology in this book, but there are enough historical examples from actual data that I felt like I learned some interesting historical content as well - particularly from the regions I'm currently interested in most, which are the various parts of Europe. (Although there is a significant amount of content from India as well.) I feel like I learned a lot from the book.

The textbook that I read

Why I want to read philosophy in other languages

It is well-known among my friends that I am a foreign language buff. Some of my friends also know that I am a philosophy buff as well. These things might seem to be totally separate from each other, and to some degree they really are. But there is one way I'd like to combine them, which is to read some philosophy written in French, German, or Greek without the aid of translation. Why would anyone want to do this, you may be wondering? This post attempts to explain it.