-M. Pade describing the opening of Lorenzo de Valla’s Elegantia Linguae Latinae (Classica et Mediaev
-M. Pade describing the opening of Lorenzo de Valla’s Elegantia Linguae Latinae (Classica et Mediaevalia 36, p.280):Translation:How long indeed, Citizens – (I mean the educated and the devotees of the language of Rome, who are the true and only Citizens, as the rest are mere migrants) How long indeed, I say, Citizens, will you suffer your city (I’m not talking about the dwelling of the empire but the parent of literature) to have been captured by Gauls (That is, good Latin to have been overwhelmed by barbarisms)!(inquilini of people who don’t use Ciceronian Latin is a brilliant touch, though.) -- source link
#cicero#quousque tandem#humanistic earnestness