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Why Latin Still Matters

July 15, 2025
By Ruben Santa-Cruz

At Smith Preparatory Academy, we are committed to forming students who love what is true, good, and beautiful. We want them to be prepared to serve the world as thoughtful, virtuous Christians with a desire to advance God's kingdom. One of the more distinctive aspects of our curriculum, and often the most questioned, is the study of Latin.
 

Why Latin? It’s a fair question in an age driven by practicality and immediate results. Latin, after all, isn’t spoken at the grocery store or used in daily conversation. But the value of Latin doesn’t lie in its marketability—it lies in its power to shape the mind, enrich the soul, and cultivate cultural literacy within a tradition that Christians have inherited and are called to steward.
 

Latin forms the intellect. As an inflected language, it requires close attention, careful analysis, and logical thinking—skills that are foundational not only to academic success, but to wisdom itself. Studying Latin teaches students to think slowly and carefully, to look beneath the surface, and to develop habits of clarity and precision.
 

Latin also connects us to the great tradition. It was the language of the Church, the classroom, and the courts for centuries. The writings of Augustine, Aquinas, and so many others were shaped by it. To engage with this heritage through the original language is to gain not just knowledge, but insight and communion with those who have come before us. It is one way we “honor our fathers and mothers,” as the fifth commandment instructs.
 

With this in mind, we see Latin not as a hurdle, but as a gift—a way of recovering our place within the story of Western civilization and the Church. It deepens students’ understanding of language (including their own), strengthens their ability to read and reason, and equips them for faithful service in the world.
 

And while we do not study Latin because it is “useful,” it turns out that it is. It helps students master English, understand the grammar of other languages, and even prepare for Christian ministry. But those are byproducts. The deeper aim is formation.
 

Latin at Smith Prep is not about elitism or nostalgia. It is about shaping souls—training young men and women to see, to think, and to love in light of the truth. In this way, Latin becomes not a relic of the past, but a vital instrument for renewing culture and advancing the kingdom of God.

Soli Deo gloria 

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