X-Treme Latin: All The Latin You Need To Know For Surviving The 21st Century, by Henry Beard

This book is not meant to be taken seriously. I am not sure it is necessary for me to say this, but given that the Latin language is generally associated with a certain degree of pretentiousness and insider references, the author’s refreshing and somewhat lowbrow take on Latin is not likely to be to everyone’s tastes. If you consider the fact that Latin was, at least originally, a language spoken by a vulgar mass of people in the Roman Empire, the author’s sense of the humorous and contemporary use of Latin to get under the skin of people who view themselves too highly is a welcome and short volume. As long as you take this book as a humorous and irreverent guide to Latin that can be used in many circumstances (including political debate), where it has a surprising degree of relevance, and do not take this book or its approach too seriously, it is easy to enjoy what the author has to offer. Indeed, what I found myself wishing when I read the book was that there were more Latin phrases of a breezy and cutting nature and that there was less repetition between the images and the text, and that the book was longer, but a book whose greatest flaw is not being long enough has a great many virtues.

This book is a very brief one at just over 100 pages, and when you consider that this book has illustrations that take Latin phrases from the chapter in which they appear, it comes out even shorter in truth. The first chapter of the book consists of the author’s view of beginning Latin, including t-short slogans, bumper sticker phrases, sports references, graffiti, road and air rage comments, and warning labels. A chapter on intermediate Latin includes discussions of religion, references to Ceasar’s skill at powerpoint, phrases to use at barbarians, as well as Latin for the modern Vatican. The last chapter of the book contains advanced Latin, including references to how one would know that one is a Roman, winespeak, attack ads (some of which could actually be contemporary attack ads if people got the joke), ways to get out of jury duty, as well as stealth Latin. Given the fact that the author has written other books, there are likely other phrases that one could think of that might be included in other works by the author and not this one.

In many ways, this book manages to strike a populist chord at contemporary problems that is truly admirable and remarkable. See, for example: Nempe cibus dabatur etiam servis navalibus, which is translated: You know, even galley slaves were served meals (35), unlike contemporary plebian air travelers on domestic flights in the United States. Or how about this sage legal advice: Patrona mea, Sancta miranda, apparens mihi somni me iussit tacere, a reference to Miranda rights allowing an accused the right to remain silent, a right more often asserted than practiced (69). In these and other references, the author demonstrates himself to not only be a man of letters and of obvious classical knowledge, but also someone who appreciates the struggles and problems of common people. His even-handed attitude of ridicule makes it obvious that he has no obvious political ax to grind, but has a gleeful attitude of turning a bastion of elitist language use into a means by which to strike upwards at the corrupt and all-too-often unaccountable elites whose control and use of language is often used to enslave or take advantage of others rather than to serve them. This book serves the funny bone, but also expresses a certain degree of the latent hostility many readers feel about those in control over society.