This speech emphasizes the significance of living literatures and living cultures which owe a direct debt to the Romans and the Greeks from whom they can trace their origins. After commenting on typical rejoinders to the question "Why study classical languages?" and poking fun at those who advance jaded, esoteric responses, the author dispels the arguments that classical languages are linguistically superior and that Latin study helps students with English. A review of current ideas, ideals, and political institutions illustrates the continuing influence of Greek and Latin. Discussion of historical revolutionaries, the religious schism of Europe during the Middle Ages, and the discovery of the New World are viewed in terms of social relevance and the study of the classics. (RL)