I have spent much time with sanabituranima in the last couple of days. I have borrowed her Greek grammar for the purpose of teaching myself Greek. I ought to know Greek; I know Latin, not to the degree of fluency but to the degree of being able to read it and understand 99% of it with the help of a dictionary, at least if it is in prose. Verse is more difficult to read, in Latin at least, because words which agree with each other are sometimes placed in very strange places, and I have not thus far succeeded in training my mind to think in such a way.
Latin is more important than Greek, of course; half of our great classic literature is in that tongue; it is, historically speaking, the common tongue of Western Europe; we still write in the Latin alphabet, for example; there are inscriptions in Latin all over Europe; the vast majority of everything that was written down was in Latin in Europe for a great amount of time; and the advantages of acquaintance with it are very obvious. Latin remains the official language of the Catholic Church, yet there are only a handful of people who can actually speak it.
I confess my own acquaintance with the literature of Greece and Rome is thoroughly insufficient. I have read the Iliad and little else. I approve of the Iliad. Lattimore's translation is excellent. I have been intending to read the Odyssey for ages, and have read the first eight books or so; but I will read the whole thing one of these days. Actually it will probably take more than a day. Especially must I read Homer and Aristotle. Belloc called Aristotle "the tutor of the human race." But now I shall sleep.