Tantum eruditi sunt liber

There is an interesting review in the New York Times assessing two books on the Latin language. It's history is far different than most of us perceive. The review covers our world from the virtual Mrs. Brad Pitt to ancient conscript spear-carriers being forced to learn the Empire's mother tongue.

For example, did you know that "The uneducated communicated in rustica romana lingua, or hick Latin, better known today as Italian, Portuguese, French, Spanish and Romanian."

Books of The Times
Perhaps There’s Some Life in the Old Corpus Yet
By William Grimes

"Latin might be dead, but it continues to twitch. Long after its disappearance as the common tongue of Europe, it survives as a remarkably successful brand, exuding dignity and permanence. Its numerals add prestige to luxury cars, the dials of expensive watches and every new edition of the Super Bowl. A Latin inscription, like nothing else, indicates lofty purpose and high culture, even when it appears on celebrity flesh. Quod me nutrit me destruit (What nourishes me destroys me), proclaims the stomach of Angelina Jolie. Much more impressive than the now effaced Billy Bob."