Author Archives: Peter Kruschwitz

About Peter Kruschwitz

Berliner. Classicist. Scatterbrain.

Sine fine, or: Imaginations of Infinity, Unlimitedness, and Limitlessness

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

Jupiter, in the first book of Vergil’s Aeneid, outlines his vision for the future and develops a strategy for the Roman Empire. One of the highlights of his speech is a well-known, rather extraordinary promise (Verg. Aen. 1.278-9): His ego … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Sine fine, or: Imaginations of Infinity, Unlimitedness, and Limitlessness

The Uses and Benefits of Multilingualism

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

The L’Africa Romana series is both a treasure trove and a complete nightmare. It comprises the proceedings of a series of broad international conferences, co-ordinated by the University of Sassari, dedicated to the study of Roman North Africa. They cover … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Epigraphy, Prose | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Grapes and Wrath, or: Phaedrus on Things Too High

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

Former UK Prime Minister Sir John Major recently expressed his shock at ‘at the way in which every sphere of modern public life is dominated by a private school-educated elite and well-heeled middle class’. ‘Our education system should help children … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Poetry | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Grapes and Wrath, or: Phaedrus on Things Too High

Imperialism, Linguistic Diversity, and Common Language

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

A few thoughts on occasion of Language Festival 2013. By the mid first century AD, when the Roman author Pliny the Elder wrote his monumental Natural History, Rome had become an empire of global significance and enormous dimensions. It held … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Prose | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Imperialism, Linguistic Diversity, and Common Language

Latin Greeting Rituals: ‘How are you’ vs. ‘Hope you’re well’

Posted on November 2, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

My son has an excellent, inspirational Latin teacher. Two months of Latin at school, and he has already written his first little (as in: six-act) play – called Quintus et Flavia – entirely in Latin. If only I could acquire … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Cicero, On Sustainable Government

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

Cicero’s work De Re Publica (‘On Commonwealth’) does for Classicists what Shakespeare will do for the Anglophone: it is so full of famous quotes that one begins to wonder if it is an authentic work, or just a string of … Continue reading →

Posted in Prose | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Cicero, On Sustainable Government

Looks right, therefore is right, or: the treacherous force of linguistic habit

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

An unexpected encounter On occasion of the 17th International Colloquium on Latin Linguistics, held at the Università degli Studi di Roma 2 ‘Tor Vergata’, I had the delightful opportunity to see the Roman funerary inscription CIL VI 11677. The inscription … Continue reading →

Posted in Epigraphy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

False Worship and Filthy Lucre

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

Thomas Bonney of Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1728, performed a Latin poem at Reading School. The poem, like several others from similar occasions, is reported in the addenda et corrigenda of Charles Coates’s marvellous 1802 The History and Antiquities of … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, History of Reading, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tragedy, Epic, and the Real

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

On 3 October, 2013, a boat sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa, a small island in the Mediterranean between Tunisia and the island of Malta, south of mainland Italy. The vessel is reported to have carried up to 500 … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Seneca on Higher Education in the Arts and Humanities

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Peter Kruschwitz

Originally published on the University of Reading’s Engage in Teaching and Learning blog: Seneca the Younger (4 B.C. – A.D. 65) was a famous Roman statesman and stoic philosopher. As the young Nero’s tutor, he at some point was de … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Prose | Tagged , | Comments Off on Seneca on Higher Education in the Arts and Humanities