Latin is a language, not a logic puzzle.

Analytically-minded people like learning Latin because (at first) it seems well-structured and logical, not at all like English with its vagaries and imprecisions. Each word has a limited number of possible translations, and you try different combinations until you get the sentence right.

But Latin was a real language, every bit as messy and exception-riddled as any other. The Latin we study in classes is the Latin of the elite and the educated, who themselves tried to impose structure and uniformity on their language. Grammar was seen as an art, something to be shaped and sculpted to perfection. Ancient writers disliked inconsistencies and ambiguities as much as modern pedants and grammar snobs do. As such, Classical Latin writings are not terribly representative of how people actually spoke. Same with English: Nobody actually speaks the way they write. (No, you’re not the exception.)

Nonetheless, when you actually begin to read Classical Latin prose by the great writers, you quickly realize that you can no longer piece together the meaning of each sentence like a puzzle, one word at a time. Interpretations become ambiguous and subjective, and this is often frustrating to those who set out to enjoy such a highly-structured language. Suddenly it feels to them like they’ve abandoned logic for… literary studies. 😱

No matter how hard we try, language will never fit into the rigorous mold of logic. We must capture the infinitude of human experience in a finitude of words, with the result that language is fundamentally ambiguous. Unsurprisingly, it has long been recognized that tolerance for ambiguity is one of the capacities that makes for a good language learner.

So embrace the ambiguity in language. Learn to appreciate Latin (or any language) as the expressive, messy, vivacious vessel of human thought that it is.