Abstract

The liberal arts today bear little resemblance to what they originally were. The roman model, which made its way into the Middle Ages, did not regard grammar as simply the parts of speech; reading and writing were supplmeneted by the interpretation of texts, chiefly poetry; making grammar more than the parts of speech and their incorporation into sentences. Humanism, which could not have come into existence without the liberal arts, transformed them into 'litterae humaniores,' often translated as humane letters, except that 'humaniores' is the comparative, suggesting texts that make one 'more human.' But a text cannot accomplish this purpose if it cannot be interpreted. For the humanities to regain their pride of place, the written word must be treated with more respect than it currently receives.