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| image from American Antiquarian Society (I claim Fair Use) |
I tend to watch movies analytically. Of course, I pay
attention to the plot, but I more closely focus on production aspects such as
lighting, direction, camera angle and such. All such aspects inform me of the
ultimate situation and setting of the movie which then gives more insight and
enjoyment.
I tend to read analytically the materials I read in
much the same manner.
Reading from the Book of Genesis one day when I was
nine years old, I said out loud to my self “Wait a minute!” The thought occurred
to me that this Hebrew book had a Latin title. “Genesis”. The question followed…”Why
would a Hebrew book have a Latin title?”
The epiphany and question prompted me along an
analytical journey of Biblical content, context, and scriptural compilation
that eventually led me to preaching the Bible today as pastor.
As a teenager I had a similar epiphany regarding the
Constitution of the United States. “Wait a minute, why is this document,
written in English, constructed in major divisions according to Roman
numerals? Why not just use common colonial numbering ( see date in picture at top)?
Well, my analytical brain was then set in motion.
It appears from my background study of the founding
fathers that they, perhaps except for Washington, had a firmly classical education.
I mean to say that they studied Greek and Roman history, philosophy, language,
and statecraft.
I quote from an article on the website Memoria Press (
the link is found at bottom of post).
“When James
Madison applied at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton), he had already
read Vergil, Horace, Justinian, Caesar, Tacitus, Lucretius, Phaedrus,
Herodotus, Thucydides, and Plato. Other key figures in the American founding
received similar educations.”
Of course they would use Roman
numerals to indicate the anticipation of a long-living document rather than an
temporary disposable document like a newspaper.
Comparatively, the Declaration of Independence seems like an ephemeral news release item than a document of national formation as is the Constitution.
Another good source for
becoming informed of the education of the founding fathers is found in the book
“First Principles” by Thomas Ricks.
My point in presenting this
information is to make the following assertion:
To truly understand the ideas
and philosophy on which our nation was founded, a person must become somewhat
familiar with those Roman and Greek influences.
As an example, it appears that
Thomas Jefferson was influenced by Epicurus, known as a philosopher of “happiness”.
Recognizing this influence helps to make sense as to why Jefferson wrote in the
Declaration of Independence “Life. Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” rather
than “property” as a student of political theorist John Locke would write.
I assert that our nation was
founded on more ancient, classical influences rather than anything-but-British reactionism.
For James Madison, good public
order seemed to be a virtue influenced by Roman philosophers and statesmen.
American idealism didn’t just “pop
up” in 1776. It is rooted in a classical education which seems long detached
from our high school or college curricula.
I think, if we were to return
more broadly to a classical education, we would then have a society with a more
faithful and workable understanding of our foundational documents and how to
move forward more productively in our society. I don't mean that we should require students to learn the Latin language. I do mean that students should learn how much influence Roman and Greek cultural attributes and thought contributed to American national identity.
My next journey of discovery
regarding Roman numerals is to answer the question “Why does the NFL use Roman
numerals to designate Superbowl games?”
https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/classical-education-founding-fathers/
