Long Live Latin

The Pleasures of a Useless Language

By: Nicola Gardini, Todd Portnowitz

Narrated by: Todd Portnowitz

Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

"It's a genuine pleasure to hear spoken Latin - lots of it, and by many of the great classical authors, including Cicero, Ovid, and Virgil - and to follow the story of Gardini's lifelong infatuation with a language that is nowhere and everywhere in our modern lives.... This is an audiobook to appreciate on many levels, most of all, to hear the sound of Latin again, so familiar and so essential to the ear." (AudioFile Magazine) 

A lively exploration of the joys of a not-so-dead language

From the acclaimed novelist and Oxford professor Nicola Gardini, a personal and passionate look at the Latin language: its history, its authors, its essential role in education, and its enduring impact on modern life - whether we call it “dead” or not.

What use is Latin? It’s a question we’re often asked by those who see the language of Cicero as no more than a cumbersome heap of ruins, something to remove from the curriculum. In this sustained meditation, Gardini gives us his sincere and brilliant reply: Latin is, quite simply, the means of expression that made us - and continues to make us - who we are. In Latin, the rigorous and inventive thinker Lucretius examined the nature of our world; the poet Propertius told of love and emotion in a dizzying variety of registers; Caesar affirmed man’s capacity to shape reality through reason; Virgil composed the Aeneid, without which we’d see all of Western history in a different light. 

In Long Live Latin, Gardini shares his deep love for the language - enriched by his tireless intellectual curiosity - and warmly encourages us to engage with a civilization that has never ceased to exist, because it’s here with us now, whether we know it or not. Thanks to his careful guidance, even without a single lick of Latin grammar listeners can discover how this language is still capable of restoring our sense of identity, with a power that only useless things can miraculously express.

©2019 Nicola Gardini, Todd Portnowitz (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Thank you for the Inspiration

After this book I can’t wait to work rigorously on my beginning Latin course - and beyond- so that can translate the poets for myself. Thank you.

Almost sensuous experience

Sweet and poetic in best possible way. A dose of love for the language itself and authors who wrote in it.

Latin Is Eternal

A personal overview of the study of Latin, and what it has done for Nicola Gardini in his life and career.

Great narration by Todd Portnowitz.

Superb reading of an important book

This book is a beautiful and much needed apologia for Latin. Latin is the root of our own language and culture. If you want to understand why it is important, and why it is not a dead language (an accusation made by the ignorant), please read this.
The reader is incredibly able to give this book, and the many Latin extracts it contains, the great reading that it deserves. All extracts are translated, btw.

Pronunciation of Latin is lacking

Narrator’s pronunciation of Latin words and Roman names (Eurydice as yer-uh-dice?) was distracting. Otherwise, nice voice, a bit slow. Best to listen at 1.3x speed. The book itself is great for anyone familiar with Latin lit.

Latin is a Treasure

The author does a wonderful job explaining Latin history and culture, and why it is a beautiful and enduring language. As I am learning Latin now, this book has been inspirational! I highly recommend it.

Okay, but not great

The text itself is moderately interesting, To the extent that I can judge as a hobbyist rather than a proper classicist, the author seems to know the material reasonably well, and picks interesting topics to explore. However, I found the writing to be considerably less engaging than other audiobooks I have listened to in this genre (for example, "Carpe diem: Put a Little Latin in Your Life", by Harry Mount).

The real Achilles' heel of this audiobook, however, is the narration. On to plus side, the Latin pronunciation, though not perfect, is considerably better than is usual in audiobooks, as would be expected from a book dedicated to this topic (Latin pronunciation in, for instance, history audiobooks is routinely terrible). The narrator reads even the English in a slightly breathy timbre with a cadence more reminiscent of a preacher at prayer than an audiobook narrator, but at least in English, the effect is relatively subtle and only occasionally distracting. However, when he switches into extended passages in Latin, his pitch drops and his timbre becomes considerably breathier and more affected, which becomes very distracting, Additionally, he pauses far more frequently, typically every three to four words, rather than flowing naturally through sentences, which I also find distracting; although I can understand much of the Latin in this book, I found myself tuning out and waiting for the translation because I was becoming too distracted by the awkward delivery to pay attention to the meaning.

Interesting But Poorly Narrated

I love Latin. I suck at it, because I'm just not good at languages other than my mother tongue. But I love it. So I was intrigued by this book's title and subtitle, and I hoped for great things.

I got ... good things, overall. As a survey of important Latin writers, it's excellent, and the author makes a good case for promoting a few lesser-known authors to higher prominence in Latin curricula. I found the author's love of Latin compelling, and I discovered some new Latin writers that I want more exposure to. I also enjoyed the connections made between ancient Latin writings and modern literature.

But the narrator. I felt like he was bored most of the time, and like he wasn't really familiar with the Latin. His pronunciation was distracting. Too slow. Too precise. Lacking the musicality and intonation that I expected. If you've ever spoken with or listened to a native speaker of Italian or Spanish, you would expect that Latin, as their parent language, should also have a flowing, rhythmic tonality. The Latin here, delivered in a deep and serious voice, was unnaturally slow. It sounded more like pronouncements from The Godfather than lyric poetry or impassioned political speeches. It was a terrible disappointment. I want to give some credit, because it can't be easy to narrate a book in which half of the writing is a "dead language." But don't make the language sound dead; give it some life!