--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I studied Latin in high school, and I was…" description: "\"I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff from Cicero. And that signal took a few thousand years to get to me. But I was still interested..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/seth-shostak-2047_cicero_i-studied-latin-in-high-school-and-i-was_126366.png" --- # I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff… ![“I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff from Cicero. And that signal took a few thousand years to get to me. But I was still interested in what he had to say.” quote by Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/seth-shostak-2047_cicero_i-studied-latin-in-high-school-and-i-was_126366.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/seth-shostak-2047_cicero_i-studied-latin-in-high-school-and-i-was_126366.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/seth-shostak-2047_cicero_i-studied-latin-in-high-school-and-i-was_126366.png) > “I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff from Cicero. And that signal took a few thousand years to get to me. But I was still interested in what he had to say.” [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ancient ideas survive across millennia, showing timeless relevance. **In simple terms:** Old thoughts still matter today. Key Takeaway Value historical wisdom. Themes history continuity knowledge timelessness Mood reflective inquisitive Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - classroom discussions - public lectures - personal study Key Concepts philology cultural transmission Practical Applications - share ancient quotes on modern platforms Questions to Reflect On - How do you connect ancient ideas to modern life? - What risks arise from misinterpreting old texts? A Different Perspective Context may alter original meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cicero/) [Cicero Signal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cicero-signal-1461777/) [Few](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/few/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested/) [Latin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/latin/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Signal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signal/) [Still](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/still/) [Studied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studied/) [Studied Latin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studied-latin-1461776/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Stuff Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff-cicero-1461778/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/took/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I studied Latin and did Latin declamation and also English language declamation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayo-edebiri/i-studied-latin-and-did-latin-declamation-and-also-english-language/) [Ayo Edebiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayo-edebiri/) > [Consider: Life arose on Earth close to four billion years ago. Four billion years of slithering, swimming, and soaring life forms. But only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/consider-life-arose-on-earth-close-to-four-billion-years-ago-four/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [ “It is more important to have greatly extended the frontiers of the Roman spirit than the frontiers of the Roman empire. \[Speaking of Cicero\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-more-important-to-have-greatly-extended-the-frontiers-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“For what is the life of a man, if it is not interwoven with the life of former generations by as sense of history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-goldsworthy/for-what-is-the-life-of-a-man-if-it-is-not-interwoven-with-the-life/) [Adrian Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-goldsworthy/) > [It is observed by Cicero, that men of the greatest and most shining parts are most actuated by ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/it-is-observed-by-cicero-that-men-of-the-greatest-and-most-shining/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Speak as educated nature suggests to you, and you will do well, but let it be educated and not raw, rude, uncultivated nature. Demosthenes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/speak-as-educated-nature-suggests-to-you-and-you-will-do-well-but-let/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“And yet in the weakest of men, in moments when they are alone and themselves, I have found veins of strength like gold in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edward-williams/and-yet-in-the-weakest-of-men-in-moments-when-they-are-alone-and/) [John Edward Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edward-williams/) > [“The sword must yield to the toga, Cicero had told the Roman Senate, and the friars in the Philippines thought a cassock was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/the-sword-must-yield-to-the-toga-cicero-had-told-the-roman-senate-and/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [Who does not more admire Cicero as an author than as a consul of Rome?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/who-does-not-more-admire-cicero-as-an-author-than-as-a-consul-of-rome/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Cicero, in his treatise concerning the Nature of the Gods, having said that three Jupiters were enumerated by theologians, adds that the third was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lactantius/cicero-in-his-treatise-concerning-the-nature-of-the-gods-having-said/) [Lactantius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lactantius/) > [“Cicero considera ca tot ce se intampla dupa o lunga asteptare e mai usor de suportat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristian-niculcea/cicero-considera-ca-tot-ce-se-intampla-dupa-o-lunga-asteptare-e-mai/) [Cristian Niculcea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristian-niculcea/) > [“No one can really claim to know politics properly until he has stayed up all night writing a speech for delivery the following day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/no-one-can-really-claim-to-know-politics-properly-until-he-has-stayed/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [To live without having a Cicero and a Tacitus at hand seems to me as if it was aprivation of one of my limbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/to-live-without-having-a-cicero-and-a-tacitus-at-hand-seems-to-me-as/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [Cicero most reminds me of Harold Wilson. Both men knew how to keep the show on the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/cicero-most-reminds-me-of-harold-wilson-both-men-knew-how-to-keep-the/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [What Cicero said of men-that they are like wines, age souring the bad, and bettering the good-we can say of misfortune, that it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/what-cicero-said-of-men-that-they-are-like-wines-age-souring-the-bad/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) ## More by Seth Shostak > [Studying Sol's interior by looking for analogous patterns on its incandescent face is known as helioseismology, an active - if largely unpronounceable - research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/studying-sol-s-interior-by-looking-for-analogous-patterns-on-its/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Some pundits have proposed that the aliens have come here to breed with us. Apparently, too much bike riding or something similar has rendered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/some-pundits-have-proposed-that-the-aliens-have-come-here-to-breed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Give consideration to the fact that alien astronomers could have scrutinized Earth for more than 4 billion years without detecting any radio signals, despite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/give-consideration-to-the-fact-that-alien-astronomers-could-have/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [In a movie, it's often important to have aliens whose gestures and facial expressions can be 'read' by humans. And in the days before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/in-a-movie-it-s-often-important-to-have-aliens-whose-gestures-and/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Sure, nobody will make a fortune if we figure out why the Big Bang happened. But just about everyone would like to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/sure-nobody-will-make-a-fortune-if-we-figure-out-why-the-big-bang/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [If you could drive straight down, into a tunnel bored through the crust of the planet, you'd hit this molten mess in about an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/if-you-could-drive-straight-down-into-a-tunnel-bored-through-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [While I have always thought that the motivation for looking for E.T. was both self-evident and patently worthy, it's possible that I'm a victim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/while-i-have-always-thought-that-the-motivation-for-looking-for-e-t/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [About the only things that are unique to Earth are our biota and our culture. If aliens ever come here, they'd most likely be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/about-the-only-things-that-are-unique-to-earth-are-our-biota-and-our/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [This plucky NASA telescope is able to find planets en masse. If you compare planet hunting to prospecting for gold, then Kepler is equivalent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/this-plucky-nasa-telescope-is-able-to-find-planets-en-masse-if-you/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [The most attractive habitats for synthetic sentience might be the vicinities of exceptional sources of energy - for example black holes, or even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/the-most-attractive-habitats-for-synthetic-sentience-might-be-the/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Buying insurance is no one's idea of fun. And it's especially easy to berate something as funky-sounding as writing checks to defend our neighborhoods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/buying-insurance-is-no-one-s-idea-of-fun-and-it-s-especially-easy-to/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > ['Eternal inflation,' as it's called - the endless generation of new universes - may be a hyper-cosmic imperative. It seems that it must happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/eternal-inflation-as-it-s-called-the-endless-generation-of-new/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) [Explore all 189 Seth Shostak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) ## More Cicero quotes > [What Cicero said of men-that they are like wines, age souring the bad, and bettering the good-we can say of misfortune, that it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/what-cicero-said-of-men-that-they-are-like-wines-age-souring-the-bad/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Cicero most reminds me of Harold Wilson. Both men knew how to keep the show on the road.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/cicero-most-reminds-me-of-harold-wilson-both-men-knew-how-to-keep-the/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [To live without having a Cicero and a Tacitus at hand seems to me as if it was aprivation of one of my limbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/to-live-without-having-a-cicero-and-a-tacitus-at-hand-seems-to-me-as/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [“No one can really claim to know politics properly until he has stayed up all night writing a speech for delivery the following day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/no-one-can-really-claim-to-know-politics-properly-until-he-has-stayed/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“Cicero considera ca tot ce se intampla dupa o lunga asteptare e mai usor de suportat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristian-niculcea/cicero-considera-ca-tot-ce-se-intampla-dupa-o-lunga-asteptare-e-mai/) [Cristian Niculcea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristian-niculcea/) > [Cicero, in his treatise concerning the Nature of the Gods, having said that three Jupiters were enumerated by theologians, adds that the third was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lactantius/cicero-in-his-treatise-concerning-the-nature-of-the-gods-having-said/) [Lactantius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lactantius/) > [Who does not more admire Cicero as an author than as a consul of Rome?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/who-does-not-more-admire-cicero-as-an-author-than-as-a-consul-of-rome/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“The sword must yield to the toga, Cicero had told the Roman Senate, and the friars in the Philippines thought a cassock was as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/the-sword-must-yield-to-the-toga-cicero-had-told-the-roman-senate-and/) [José Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [“And yet in the weakest of men, in moments when they are alone and themselves, I have found veins of strength like gold in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edward-williams/and-yet-in-the-weakest-of-men-in-moments-when-they-are-alone-and/) [John Edward Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edward-williams/) > [“Speak as educated nature suggests to you, and you will do well, but let it be educated and not raw, rude, uncultivated nature. Demosthenes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/speak-as-educated-nature-suggests-to-you-and-you-will-do-well-but-let/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [It is observed by Cicero, that men of the greatest and most shining parts are most actuated by ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/it-is-observed-by-cicero-that-men-of-the-greatest-and-most-shining/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“For what is the life of a man, if it is not interwoven with the life of former generations by as sense of history.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-goldsworthy/for-what-is-the-life-of-a-man-if-it-is-not-interwoven-with-the-life/) [Adrian Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-goldsworthy/) > [ “It is more important to have greatly extended the frontiers of the Roman spirit than the frontiers of the Roman empire. \[Speaking of Cicero\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-more-important-to-have-greatly-extended-the-frontiers-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cicero smiled at us. 'The art of life is to deal with problems as they arise, rather than destory one's spirit by worrying about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/cicero-smiled-at-us-the-art-of-life-is-to-deal-with-problems-as-they/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“Kant’s conception of dignity is indebted to Cicero and the Roman conception of dignitas, according to which dignity is an elevated position or rank.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sensen/kant-s-conception-of-dignity-is-indebted-to-cicero-and-the-roman/) [Oliver Sensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sensen/) [Browse all 63 Cicero quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cicero/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I studied Latin in high school, and I was reading stuff from Cicero. And that signal took a few thousand years to get to me. 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