BMCR 2009.06.16: Bulwer on Cottier, Profession latiniste. Profession

Jean-Franc,ois Cottier, Profession latiniste. Profession.  Montre/al:
Presses de l'Universite/ de Montre/al, 2008.  Pp. 66.  ISBN
9782760620971.  $9.95 (pb).

Reviewed by John Bulwer, European School, Brussels 1
([email protected])
Word count:  991 words
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This short pamphlet forms part of a series published by the University
of Montreal Press which covers various areas of the academic
professions, giving those hoping to enter the profession an idea of
what exactly is involved. Other areas include astronomer, musicologist,
lexicographer and translator. Its target audience is therefore
francophone Latinists who aim to become professional academics in any
French-speaking university.

The epigraph from Jacques Brel sets the tone: 'Rosa, rosa, rosam. . .
C'est le plus vieux tango du monde.' Francophone Latin begins with the
rhythmic repetition of the noun table; clearly the abstract nature of
language comes first. Contrast this with the way Caecilius est pater
takes the learner into a different world where we meet someone with a
strange name and his family. A mention of the church also reminds us
that francophone Latin has a not always easy but close relation to
Catholicism.

Passing elegantly and wittily with a reference to Montesquieu from the
question of what it is like to be a Latinist, the author explains his
own background and experience in the major centres of francophone
Latin: he is from Belgium where he was an undergraduate, studied
further in France and is now director of the Centre of Medieval studies
at Montreal.

Chapter 2 is a rapid, impressionistic view of Latin and the Romans:
Latin as the language of love, with an example from Rimbaud; Rome, the
centre of the world (St Paul); the language of empire (Ce/sar,
Aste/rix); the heritage of the Roman world passed on to us
(Charlemagne, Napole/on). We conclude that the Latinist is an
interpreter and ferryman who transmits the accounts of the past and
makes them understandable by editing them, translating them and
commenting on them.

Le latiniste est avant tout un philologue. Chapter 3 makes it
absolutely clear what it means to be a Latinist: the emphasis above all
is on the language and the literature. In addition Latin itself is not
just the mother tongue of the ancient Roman world: it is also the
paternal language of the western medieval world, of humanism and of the
later classical era. Although archaeologists and historians are
expected to know the languages of their documents, the profession of
the Latinist is seen throughout as distinct and separate. The Latinist
is expected to be involved with pale/ographie, codicologie and
l'ecdotique. These traditional skills of textual criticism, editing and
comparing manuscripts, translating texts and writing commentaries are
then developed individually. The emphasis in the translation section is
on a high level of mastery of the target language (French). Again the
remit goes well beyond the classical age into late antiquity and the
medieval and humanistic period, with a glance towards new areas of
study such as gender studies and reception.

After a special look at Latin in Que/bec and Nouvelle-France Cottier
concludes that Latinists should not just confine themselves to the pure
classical Latin of Cicero, but that they should be aware of the changes
that the language underwent and the extent of the literature from early
Rome to the Renaissance. He discusses the position of Latin in schools
and laments the present standard of French language usage, putting
forward a link between the two phenomena. The task of the Latinist,
among others, is to preserve the purity of the written language and to
pass on correct and elegant usage. He even recalls a proposal that
Latin should be the official language of the European Union. (A
proposal that makes this Brussels-based Latinist shudder: imagine the
complaints when a document on annual Belgian meat production contained
a grammatical error. And what is the Latin for annual Belgian meat
production?)

Perhaps the main interest for non-francophone readers of this text is
an anthropological one, for the viewpoint it opens up of
French-language Latin. The worlds of Classical studies are many and one
may speculate how much cross-over there is between them. This book will
give an excellent brief snapshot for anyone who wants to find out
quickly what it is like to be a Classicist whose first language is
French. The first clue is in the title: Profession Latiniste. The
emphasis is on Latin only, with a great deal of importance placed on
the acquisition of language-skills. Other professionals might prefer
Classicist to Latinist and would include Ancient History and Ancient
Philosophy as being within the remit of Classical Studies. For Cottier
these are clearly detached from the Latin faculty and are to be placed
within their own faculties of History or Philosophy, as are Archaeology
and Art. On the other hand Latin as a subject for Francophones extends
for a far longer period than would be normal in an Anglophone
university, where the second century CE is regarded as a bit late.
French-speaking Latin, however, includes Christian writers such as
Macrobius or Lactantius and goes as far as Erasmus; a medievalist is
also a Latinist. In addition Cottier takes time to explain and promote
the role of Greek in the life of a Latinist. I had a similar experience
recently where a French Classicist (or rather Latinist) at a conference
spoke at length of the importance of Greek language and culture to the
teaching of Latin. This was rather to the puzzlement of not only my
English-speaking colleagues but also to Dutch and German colleagues, to
most of whom, as classici or Altphilologen, Greek language and culture
is just as important as Latin and Roman culture and who were trained in
the two equally. Yet the close link between the teaching of French in
schools and the teaching of Latin (often by the same teachers) means
that Latin and French language work tend to come first in the minds of
professeurs de lettres classiques.

In conclusion, a pamphlet of interest to French-speaking graduates
thinking of becoming professional Classicists, but also of interest to
anyone involved in comparative education who wants to know what unites
and what divides Latinists over language and cultures.