In her latest post marking the New York Review of Books’ fiftieth anniversary, Mary Beard reminisces and inter alia mentions something which should be part of our collective mission statement (do universities still have those):

“if we were to amputate the classics from the modern world, it would mean more than closing down some university departments and consigning Latin grammar to the scrap heap. It would mean bleeding wounds in the body of Western culture—and a dark future of misunderstanding.”

• via: New York Review of Books reaches 50 (Don’s Life)