I'm prettyclose to being fluent in latin. Took it all my years of middle school and highschool. Going to take it in college, I have a knack for languages. I've read the aeneid (I reccomend it) and ciceros oration against catiline. I assume you mean in latin right? Oh and I've done some seneca on my own

Oh and for advice don't go into latin thinking you will walk around speaking it, its a pain in the ass to speak translations and readings are much much easier

Yeah, centurion, I meant in the language. ;)
Thanks for the advice. I have little intention of speaking it, though, unless I get an audience with the pope. =D but somehow that seems unlikely....

Can anyone tell me what you do with a Classics Major? Not trying to start anything; I legitimately want to know.

I actually just graduated with a degree in classical languages. Did Greek, Latin, and a little classical Hebrew just for kicks. In Greek I very much enjoyed reading Xenophon. The Odyssey is probably more fun (and easier) to read that the Iliad, unless you want to know 500 words for "stabbed in the spleen." In Latin, I very much enjoyed Livy's 'Ab Urbe Condita" as well as the poems of Catullus (though the latter can be quite racy at times...okay, most of the time).

@abgemacht - Lots of people who get classics degrees go on to (1) seminary, since many Christian documents are written in Greek/Latin, (2) law school, since many of the best works on rhetoric are written in Latin, (3) med school, since most medical terminology comes from either Greek or Latin. Really this just scratches the surface though. I've got a friend who got a degree in classics and then got a job in computer programming (with little to no prior computer experience). She said in her interview "I can learn Greek and Latin, I can learn your programming language." They agreed and hired her.

Studying classics is not just about the languages and the cultures (though that's what draws most classics students to the programs). It's about learning critical thinking on a scale not often reached in any other discipline (in my humble opinion).

I, too, am cur ious aas to this point.

Ah I've read chunks of AB urbe condita as Wellbutrin is rather good

I know a bit of Latin (I'm Catholic and took a year of it in school), but I'd be into learning more. Any suggestions on learning materials?

My brother majored in Latin, but unfortunately, I know almost nothing about it.

"Can anyone tell me what you do with a Classics Major? Not trying to start anything; I legitimately want to know."

My brother's going to Harvard Law. So would that qualify?

"It's about learning critical thinking on a scale not often reached in any other discipline (in my humble opinion)."

I'd say philosophy (taught by a good program) would probably be better. But again, that's opinion. I am neither a philosophy major or a classics major.

*nor

I majored in philosophy and minored in English (mostly linguistics). Everyone should double major in philosophy and whatever else they want to study, then maybe people wouldn't sound like f#$&tards...well, they still would, but less of them would I'd imagine.

@ Steevo:

I disagree. A philosophy major doesn't guarantee that at all.
Plus many majors don't have time. I have to take 19 hours each semester if I want to graduate in four years. I really don't have room for a philosophy major. Besides, you're better off just reading philosophy (What I do) on your own than taking classes on it, in my opinion.

@lumley

If people actually studied thought from different angle it would greatly reduce the number of people graduating from college that can't understand simple (commonsense-level) logic. For most people this would require at least some instruction from a well-read person.

Obviously there's roadblocks to anyone getting a truly rounded education as specialized as everything is (half the high schools in my city have programs for law, med school, c.s., etc.), but ideally people would be able to do more with the amount of money we spend on education (I'm in the USA).

Most people I know don't graduate in four years anymore, just not realistic for a lot of people. At my school a philosophy major was 30 credits, which would easily fit in with my majors at my school given the fact most people stay at LEAST four years at the schools in my neck of the woods.

Well, for what it's worth, I took two philosophy classes for my two arts and humanities requirements. :-)

Philosophy ftw! I just think exploration and exercising the noodle in general is important. I tried stuffing myself into some elective math classes for that reason...and got pwnd...

@rlumley,

I suppose my question is, what do you do with a Classics Major that you couldn't do with something else (besides reading latin/greek)

For instance, people with degrees in history and philosophy (all else being equal) can just as easily get into Law School, no?

After 25 years' experience in business, including recruiting a lot of graduates, I don't think the subject makes a lot of difference, it simply shows ability to learn something. One of my first bosses, now a very senior accountant at a major multinational, has a first in physics from Cambridge. One of the best that I hired, for a job in purchasing, had a great degree in medieval poetry. What stood out in his case was HOW he had approached his thesis (statistical analysis of a famous poem) not the topic.

@ abgemacht:

Well to be fair, that wasn't his only major. He was a dual major in Classics and Economics with minors in History, Latin, and Business.

I think diplomat summed it up pretty well. Ultimately, if you're a smart person, your major doesn't matter much (Unless you're going into the sciences - then you pretty much have to learn the field).

Thanks rlumley, I should have emphasised the context of my comments is a career in Business.

Lol if more people got something like an engineering degree instead of philosophy unemployment would go down.

Nah I'm just kidding lol.

I saw something a few years back indicating that liberal arts majors on average make more money than any other set of degrees.

Granted many liberal arts majors go to graduate school (something like law or business school), but even those who don't are able to be very successful in lucrative fields - often because of the skills gained from the sort of critical thinking/writing assignments they receive.

you shouldn't count grad school, law, medicine.

But within their field you either suceed or fail.

@abgemacht - Do you need a reason besides being able to read Greek/Latin?

I read plato's the republic (but an english translation) it is some interesting political science/philosophy, but i really hate hte style (written as a dialogue) and the arguements sometimes jump to the conclusion without ocnvincing me (perhaps they were made by some trick of language which didn't translate well)

I read Dante's Inferno for a class last year and it gave me double orgasms. I'm an economics major though :-)

I tried to read a class copy of Dante's Inferno this year, but all the pages were stuck together for some reason.

Nothing wrong with Dante, but his literature does not fall under "the Classics."

Sure. I understand that anything after Virgil is considered un-Kosher in the Classics Kingdom, and I won't question your authority on this. To mention some other favorites that can be considered classics:

Plato's 'Apology', Laches, Niccomachean Ethics and the Iliad.

I think Anabasis and Herodotus are my favorite classics.

@Triumvir

I don't "need" a reason; I just feel that after 4 years in college, you should be able to do something other than read two dead languages.

@ ava

Plato's "Apology" is great. I never really could get into Aristotle, though.

@ abgemacht

Touche. I hope my previous most shed more light on what a classics degree is actually useful for. Personally, I am a minister (where I find knowing the languages very helpful) and I also just got a part-time job at a bookstore (where knowing the languages was a big part of me getting the job over other candidates).

@Abgemacht: they might be dead languages, but there is A LOT written in Latin/Greek etc. And the words can be just as alive as 2000 years ago :P

I applaud people that study a subject out of pure interest (or love). I mean without a clear idea what they "should be able to do" after they finish. I agree with others saying that smart people will find their way, even when its not in the field they studied.

I'm with sqrg. Besides, as a linguist once said in an interview that asked why people learn stuff like Klingon, there isn't any common pool of effort that people use. The amount of work I'm willing to put into learning Esperanto is nowhere near the amount of work I'd be willing to put into learning Klingon or Hebrew or C++. People do the work they want to.