Jack, of all of the courses I had in high school or college, I think the most valuable were Latin and geometry in high school. Latin because of an inspired teacher who made two years of it interesting and revalent [sp?] and geometry because it, more than any other course, taught you how to think. Thousands of times I have had the advantage of my Latin in figuring out words, meanings, etc. and the history it contained is even more valuable today.
I don't think my mom ever challenged me to translate Pliny [spelling?] as we were Swedes and had little Classic intuition. But, "Omnes Gallia est dividia in tres partes" -----was that Pliny ? Oh, the Gallic wars----it's coming back to me.
