Perhaps it is the greatest grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone.
Madeline MillerRead
When I first started studying Greek, one of my absolute favorite parts was realizing that so many English words had these old, secret roots. Learning Greek was like being given a super-power: linguistic x-ray vision.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Learning Greek reveals the ancient roots of many English words, enhancing one's understanding of language.
In this quote, Madeline Miller shares her excitement about studying the Greek language and highlights how it uncovers the hidden connections between words in English and their origins. She describes this experience as akin to gaining a superpower, suggesting that knowledge of Greek offers profound insights that deepen one's appreciation for language and its history.
Themes
GreekLanguageEducationWordsRoots
In practice
Example use cases
A linguistics professor could use this quote during a lecture about the importance of etymology.
More from Madeline Miller
All quotes →We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.
Madeline MillerRead
I found myself grinning until my cheeks hurt, my scalp prickling till I thought it might lift off my head. My tongue ran away from me, giddy with freedom. This, and this, and this, I said to him. I did not have to fear that I spoke too much. I did not have to worry that I was too slender, or too slow. This and this and this! I taught him how to skip stones, and he taught me how to carve wood. I could feel every nerve in my body, every brush of air against my skin.
Madeline MillerRead
I stopped watching for ridicule, the scorpion's tail hidden in his words. He said what he meant; he was puzzled if you did not. Some people might have mistaken this for simplicity. But is it not a sort of genius to cut always to the heart?
Madeline MillerRead
Chiron had said once that nations were the most foolish of mortal inventions. "No man is worth more than another, wherever he is from.
Madeline MillerRead
Similar quotes
We’ve educated children to think that spontaneity is inappropriate. Children are willing to expose themselves to experiences. We aren’t. Grownups always say they protect their children, but they’re really protecting themselves. Besides, you can’t protect children. They know everything.
Maurice SendakRead
Underlying the preaching of the Puritans are three basic axioms: 1. The unique place of preaching is to convert, feed and sustain, 2. The life of the preacher must radiate the reality of what he preaches, 3. Prayer and solid Bible study are basic to effective preaching.
J. I. PackerRead
All summer, I read fiction because you must read for the pleasure and beauty of it, and not only for research. I don't read thrillers, romance or mystery, and I don't read self-help books because I don't believe in shortcuts and loopholes.
Isabel AllendeRead
What if there was a library which held every book? Not every book on sale, or every important book, or even every book in English, but simply every book - a key part of our planet's cultural legacy.
Aaron SwartzRead
If all females were not only well educated themselves but were prepared to communicate in an easy manner their stores of knowledge to others; if they not only knew how to regulate their own minds, tempers, and habits but how to effect improvements in those around them, the face of society would be speedily changed.
Catharine BeecherRead
We recognize that real educational reform is essential if today's and tomorrow's children are to live in a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world.
Marshall B. RosenbergRead