« (…) we ask UNESCO to invite European Governments to engage in the protection of Latin and Greek languages, as the highest expression of the cultural substance of Europe and to declare them “intangible patrimony of humanity” (…) »
YOUR PARTICIPATION IS IMPORTANT PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION, AND HELP US TO SAVE YOUR CULTURE! - An Appeal to UNESCO On Behalf of the Latin and Greek “Heritage of Humanity”
SIGN PETITION - http://www.petitiononline.com/heritage/petition.html
Human culture in the West as in the East has often sensed the need for languages which are designed not only to overcome the confines of space but also the tyranny of time. Such languages bring together the wisdom of diverse epochs by ensconcing it in an immutable form. In this way the wisdom of past ages has been preserved alive and well in such a way that it may be of help to the wisdom seekers of today. While these languages have never been or no longer are spoken in any nation, they have played a fundamental role in the history of ideas and culture more generally. Moreover, they still constitute an inestimable treasure for all humanity. Just as Sanskrit, not only in India, has transmitted intact the doctrines and philosophical speculations from very ancient times until today, so too the classical Arabic and Medieval Persian languages have provided us with the meditations of Sufi mystics and of thinkers who deeply speculated on both sacred texts and the works of Plato and Aristotle. Likewise, the Hebrew language which only recently has been revived, has passed on the wisdom of its people for almost two thousand years in the form of sacred texts. Likewise, the ancient Chinese language enables us to hear the lessons of Confucius and Laozi even today. All these languages and the civilizations for which they stand are a great heritage which must be protected and defended.
The whole of Europe recognizes in Greek and Roman civilization the historical roots of the present age and the inexhaustible treasure that resides in the common memory of the Old World. The Greek language, by taking advantage of its extreme malleability and its formidable expressive power, has given voice to philosophical thought and, through it, to concepts such as liberty, virtue, democracy, and political science, as well as the ideas that transcend the misery of the ephemeral. It is the language in which the intellectual vocabulary of Europe was forged. What is more, today this vocabulary is still adopted by the entire western world each time it concerns itself with the creations or discoveries of the human spirit, of the sciences, of medicine, or of philosophy.
The Latin language, with its solemnity and its concreteness, has upheld the legacy of Greece, and has established itself, well beyond the temporal confines of the political empire that sustained and propagated it, as the common vehicle of European culture. It has done so by allowing diverse peoples, despite their particular nationality, religions, and customs, to understand that they are citizens of a single Res Publica, which, although it has lost the material unity guaranteed it by Rome, has retained the two priceless gifts of Latin language and Roman laws.
The Christian message, the third root of our civilization, made a vital contribution to human culture through the immortal notes of the liturgy; this same Christian message was nourished by the Latin language. Moreover, the political and civil action of Charlemagne and his successors, let alone the important ramifications of monasticism and the work of Renaissance humanists, diffused widely the use of Latin language amongst all the people of Europe and transformed it into the cement which has culturally unified the dappled mosaic of races by which Europe is constituted. The Latin language has preserved, in the course of its history, an incredible vitality, because it has been able from time to time to renovate and adapt itself to the diverse exigencies of the world in which its range of expression has grown. In Latin Saint Thomas and Dante, Giordano Bruno and Erasmus, Thomas More and Galileo, Descartes and Leibniz, Newton and Gauss, all expressed themselves together with the harmonious chorus of the many thousands of voices, those of scientists, writers, jurists, philosophers, mathematicians, and humanists who have made Europe.
Latin and Greek, until the middle of the 20th century, formed the foundation of the education of every well educated person in the West because of its beneficial influence on our entire civilization.
Europe is now moving towards a new unity: the European Union, which is gradually realizing itself. We already live in a state of financial union, the free circulation of people, goods, capital, and services.
Moreover, we are beginning to embody financial unity in its fullest sense.
It is fitting then that Europe should recover its cultural identity and above all consciousness of the singular history and the languages that have produced it. This may be achieved by the cultivation of these languages as a collective good and a universal expression of the concepts and concerns of European origin.
The latest pragmatic needs are slowly marginalizing the study of Latin and Greek in schools all over Europe. The next generation of cultivated men are, therefore, likely to be ignorant of nearly all the roots of our civilization and thought. Further, it should not be a comfort to us that Latin and Greek are taught in specialized schools which aim at the formation of future antiquarians; for, these schools do not seek to guide students in a way that assures easy access to the roots of our collective past. Rather, these kinds of schools function only to prepare students for their future professions.
Italy was the place were Greek culture developed flourishing colonies and important schools of philosophical thought. Furthermore the city of Rome was the driving force of the empire that bears her name and continues to be the primary point for the irradiation of Christian culture. It should therefore be considered the perfect confluence of the three roots of European Civilization - Latin, Greek, and Christianity.
That is why we ask UNESCO:
- To invite European Governments to engage in the protection of Latin and Greek, especially within their scholastic policies, as the highest expression of the cultural substance of Europe.
- To declare Latin and Greek the “intangible heritage of humanity” and not only that of Europe but the whole world on account of its ability to unify Western civilization and its status as a legacy of inestimable value passed on for more than twenty seven hundred years.
- To invest the Italian government with the responsibility as “guarantor of the preservation of Latin and Greek language” in a way that supports their study as formative disciplines which aim to train a new generation of well rounded educated people rather than professional antiquarians.
- To appoint Italy “a symbolic treasure” on account of its location and its history as a crossroads of Latin and Greek language and culture so that schools, scientific fields, the mass media, and the world of entertainment may be encouraged to preserve all aspects of this culture.
SIGN PETITION - http://www.petitiononline.com/heritage/petition.html
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