Here are the reasons why one would learn Latin. 1. Converse with the great ideas of the past directly (definitely still true.) 2. Enrich one's mind by learnin

Here are the reasons why one would learn Latin. 1. Converse with the great ideas of the past directly (definitely still true.) 2. Enrich one's mind by learning a superior language (like learning Haskell to write better PHP...speak better English by learning Latin. Still true.) 3. Learn a language found everywhere (not so true anymore.) 4. Learn the language of law, medicine and theology (sort of still true.) 5. Learn a foundation to learn Romance languages more quickly, as has been said. 6. Learn it just because it's there and a Renaissance Man has to take a crack at everything. Will be true as long as the language exists! Finally, I strongly object to the idea that the purpose of Latin is to be "elite." Back then, anyone who went to school would at least learn a little Latin. So, you can say the purpose of having school is to be elite but not the purpose of Latin, because Latin wasn't taught to a subset of children until the 20th century. Today, Latin is taught to anyone who wants to learn, regardless of whether they go to school. My wife is a Latin tutor and about half of her students are below the poverty line or minorities -- and several adults are also receiving instruction from her.