The beautiful woodcut here is from a website on Alcatio's Book of Emblems, but more on that in a moment. I love old writings for two reasons: first, because of the mystery held in an old paper that gives a glimpse into realities not touched by history books; and second, because with the online materials available from universities (for example: Vindolanda Tablets Online) it's an interest I can develop cheaply.
It's a slight setback that I always have to look for the English translations, but I'm still working on my Latin and have just purchased the first few actual books to do with this. That's right, up until now, I have been relying on the free textbooks, grammars and readers available on the internet. This is the real reason why I have been suggesting free learning sites and materials -- I can't afford the latest book, much less a university course, in my current situation. I'm not rich or successful in society's terms, and I suspect I'm not going to be because it's not important enough to me. I haven't sold our car to pay for one of the government's new training programmes in heating or plumbing. I already owe enough that I won't be renting a year's tuition from Open University. We've cut off our cable and cut back on the broadband because the broadband is a higher priority.
All this, and here's the kicker -- I'm not that financially bad off. In fact, even working temporary contracts, I'm well above the poverty line. Which stuns me, when I consider that many people aren't. And yet the skills and knowledge needed to develop careers and make money are by tradition closed off by coin-operated gates guarded by guns. If knowledge is power, then the withholding of knowledge is profit.
While I was looking for small Latin texts to practice translating last night, I saw something that struck home (cue paleography again):
Alciato's Book of Emblems
Poverty hinders the greatest talents from advancing
My right hand holds a stone, my other hand bears wings. As the feathers lift me, so the heavy weight drags me down. With my intellect I could be soaring among the highest peaks, if envious poverty did not pull me down.
http://www.mun.ca/alciato/e121.html (Latin at http://www.mun.ca/alciato/121.html ) There are links to the rest of the book from there, as well.
Andrea Alciato's Book of Emblems began a tradition of emblem poetry that still exists in some modern combinations of verse and artwork. The emblem is intended to encompass the story of the verse to prompt memory and recognition. The poems begin with a few tributes to patrons and proud familes, but most combine legends with moral lessons reminiscent of Aesop's Fables. I recommend at least a quick browse to enjoy a few of the beautiful illustrations and a few of the ideas on Alciato's mind in 1531.
Later in the year I will be blogging on the progress of a great experiment -- the first tuition-free online university, University of the People, which just opened its virtual doors in April. Registrants pay a (very modest by European standards) scaled registration fee and fees for exams, which depend on the student's country, but tuition is free.
Open University is also offering some lower-level material for free online at OpenLearn.
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