"Throughout my studies in literature and the humanities, I’ve been surprised to discover that many of the figures I find most relatable belong to a period much detached from my own — Ancient Rome. Despite the huge temporal disparity between us and the Romans (or perhaps precisely because of it), the accounts of writers like Horace, Seneca and Tacitus may feel more familiar to a modern reader than even those of later writers, revealing societal conditions unexpectedly reminiscent of our current age.
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Rather than fix our eyes exclusively on the history of the past century or two, we ought to extend our gaze further and consider the lived experiences of the people whose situations were most congruent with ours. For Cornell students, this is an easy step to take. Whether you are seeking to engage in politics and the pressing issues of the day, or are simply searching for advice in negotiating the demands of your everyday life, the answer remains the same: take a classics course. Read beyond the scope of your own era, and be willing to acknowledge that it might not be as special as we love to think."
Max Nam ‘26 is part of the Milstein Program in Technology and Humanity, the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and the Humanities Scholars Program.
