[goodnesswins]

I don't remember much of the one year of Latin I took as a sophomore.....but, I'm the one who can ALWAYS decipher word meanings/definitions in our family, and I believe it is because of that BASE, and probably because I've always been a READING Freak.

[dk/coro]

When I entered Culver Military Academy as a young cadet in 1945, I was provided the choice of Greek or Latin. We could also take a romance language as well, but one or the other of the two classical languages was mandatory.

By the time I dogged my way through Cicero and Virgil, I found that English grammar and composition became ever so much easier and more enjoyable. My instructor was a gentleman of the old school; and he could impart historical references to our lessons that were most enlightening. There were only 10 to 12 cadets to a class, so skating through a session unprepared was out of the question.

I am most grateful for my early exposure to these treasures -- and for the dedication of the instructors who provided me that superb educational experience at such an early age.