Who we are – in short We are here to offer language courses in Latin (at various levels of proficiency), courses focused on reading manuscripts and old prints, as well as other thematic courses dedicated, for example, to specific authors or issues. These courses differ completely from those available in public education systems, which – in the case of Latin language – are dominated by outdated teaching methods based on old-fashioned beliefs and pedagogical concepts so wide-spread in the 19th century. Our primary goal is to teach Latin as a language – in an interesting, modern and accessible way, using the latest opportunities offered by the development of technology and scientific achievements in the field of language teaching and acquiring linguistic competences. We aim to prepare our students to independently read source texts and use online resources such as digital libraries and Latin podcasts. Knowledge of Latin is a great tool for learning about the past, discovering the centuries-old achievements of the Latin world, and for establishing contacts and friendships with other enthusiasts in this field who are scattered around the world. Vivat, crescat, floreat res publica litterarum!

For the past two millennia, the Latin language has been a universal and transnational tool of communication in science, education, philosophy, theology, and the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. Various types of documents were created in Latin (e.g., baptismal records, which served as population registers, correspondence, legal statutes, royal chancelleries), as well as literature (chronicles, poems, novels, plays) and professional works (the latest discoveries were described in Latin, making them accessible to scholars worldwide). The literature produced in this language was a common point of reference, influencing the development of cultures, languages, and societies in individual countries. In short, Latin and the texts produced in this language are a common heritage of Europe and beyond, and also a value that connects all European countries.

For many centuries, many of the aforementioned texts were available only to a narrow circle of scholars – those with access to appropriate libraries and knowledge of Latin (and it is worth remembering that in many circles, knowledge of Latin was considered a privilege available only to a few). Today, thanks to dozens of projects related to the digitization of library, archive, and museum collections, we have access to sources on a scale unprecedented in human history. Erasmus’ ad fontes in this dimension takes on new meaning and becomes even more relevant than ever before. Hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Latin books (including manuscripts, early printed books, and critical editions), available completely free in digital libraries, await their readers. The only thing we lack to discover these treasures is proficiency in Latin, allowing us to read and study them fluently without having to make working translations and check every word in a dictionary. In the 21st century, we need not only specialists in Latin who study antiquity and belles-lettres, but also specialists in various disciplines who know Latin, so they can read, understand, and develop historical sources and professional literature relevant to their respective fields (e.g., Latin treatises on medicine, mathematics, physics, mechanics, metallurgy, mining, military science, and many others).

Our mission is to teach Latin as a language in an interesting, modern, and accessible way, utilizing the latest possibilities offered by remote education and scientific advancements in language learning and the acquisition/development of language competencies. We aim to prepare our students for independent reading of source texts by offering Latin language courses (at various levels of proficiency), manuscript and early print reading courses, and thematic courses (dedicated to specific authors or topics) conducted in Latin. We want to prepare and provide educational resources, promote a modern approach to teaching Latin (and ancient Greek), and popularize the works of Latin writers (especially Polish ones). Our language courses are entirely different from those available in public education systems, where outdated methods based on 19th-century educational concepts still dominate. At that time, learning Latin through a tedious and difficult grammar-translation method (also known as the analytical method) served as an educational tool to instil patience, diligence, fortitude, and logical thinking in students. Latin lessons aimed to teach everything but Latin itself. The outcome of learning was not acquiring language skills, but gaining knowledge of descriptive Latin grammar and the ability to translate (or rather decipher information written in Latin text using knowledge of inflection, syntax, and a dictionary functioning as a codebook). This approach was developed and spread at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, as a result of the social changes that took place in Europe under the influence of Enlightenment ideas. Latin finally lost its status as the language of international communication and education at that time, and secular public schools began to emerge, where instruction was conducted in the national language (rather than Latin, as before). The methods and teaching goals developed then, along with the associated reasoning, were a response to the changing educational realities and needs of the era. We believe that we, too – like our ancestors over 200 years ago – are on the threshold of a new era, whose needs we must diagnose and respond to. These include, among others:

1. The development of technology and the digitization of library and archive collections provide us with vast access to sources on an unprecedented scale; therefore, we must prepare the next generation of researchers to efficiently and quickly use these resources.
2. The advancement of knowledge about the human brain and learning processes, including language acquisition. Using this knowledge, we can shape the teaching process of classical languages in such a way that it brings not only faster but also better results.
3. The omnipresence of social media and widespread internet access allow for the exchange of ideas at an unprecedented speed; they enable a teacher who previously struggled to gather a group of students interested in learning Latin in their local community to now bring together students from different continents in a single online lesson. Enthusiasts no longer have to rely on television and depend on tutors appearing on air; they can create and publish materials themselves on platforms such as YouTube, X, Instagram, etc., thereby reaching to Latin enthusiasts and creating an international community of contemporary Latin language users around these materials. This is a new dimension of the timeless space known as the res publica litterarum, in qua mortui vivunt et nobiscum loquuntur.
4. The changing educational needs and capabilities of students and the evolving expectations of society towards education. Latin has long ceased to be the first foreign language encountered by students on their educational journey. It is no longer knowledge of Latin that aids in learning English, but the other way around – knowledge of English vocabulary helps in building etymological connections during Latin learning. Students who take up Latin already have certain expectations about foreign language lessons and established (often good) learning habits; Latin lessons should not appear to them as a methodical museum.
5. The development of AI, including tools for quick translations, forces us to reevaluate the prevalence of translation exercises and the presence of such tasks in the evaluation and certification of acquired skills. The intermediate approach becomes a cage, a sort of captivity of modern languages, into which Latin – a language once used to communicate international content – is trapped.

These are not, of course, all the problems and challenges we face. Reality changes much faster today than it did in the past, and certainly, this list will become outdated much more quickly than similar proposals from 200 years ago. However, we can be certain that the timeless and transnational value of Latin culture will not become obsolete and will continue to influence our contemporary world, because the imprint it has left on the past – on the languages and cultures of countries (not only) in Europe – is indelible. It is up to us whether we can recognize and understand this imprint and pass on the information about it to future generations. Knowledge of Latin is thus the key to the treasury of (not only) European culture, of which we want to be conscious heirs (conscii heredes) and users. It is also a system of bridges between us and the world of our ancestors, connecting here and now all those who want to explore and delve into this world in its original language, thus building a unique community of contemporary Latin language users. We want to give our students the opportunity to consciously participate in this timeless and transnational community.