THE EDITOR, Sir:
IN THE wake of the pope's death, a number of people have been asking me about the election process for a pope. I suspect that they have been doing this because I was christened a Roman Catholic and attended St. George's College.
However, I was prompted to write when two young men with university degrees asked me about the relevance of the word 'conclave' in reference to the cardinals going into a conclave to elect the new pope.
NO LONGER TAUGHT
I was about to refer them to its Latin origin when I realised that Latin was no longer taught in schools.
When I told them that the word referred to an ancient custom of locking up the Cardinals, who were selecting a pope, until they made a decision, and that it came from the Latin cum clavis meaning 'with key', they were enthralled by the present relevance of a 'dead language' and expressed an immediate interest in Latin.
Then I thought how unfortunate it is for a generation of students to have not learned Latin and its deep influence on all Romance and Saxony languages
The many beautiful English words that were influenced by Latin will not disappear from the English Language any time soon. Perhaps it is time to re-instate Latin as a necessary subject in schools.
If nothing else, its relevance and discipline will shape better minds.
I am, etc.,
BASIL NAAR
naarbasil@hotmail.com
