The Best Reason to Study the Classics

This post will be a bit different because, while it heavily involves the Classics, it’s more about how we engage with and think about the classical world than discussing it. You see, I’ve been reading Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy, and while the book itself isn’t an ancient source, Livy is. As the title implies, Machiavelli extensively discusses ancient Rome throughout the book and uses the Roman Republic as a model to examine republics, a relevant topic since his country, Florence, was also a republic.

In addition to his examination of Roman history through Livy, Machiavelli often discusses recent history, referring to the events of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries in Italy. Machiavelli does something similar in The Prince, though his ancient references aren’t limited to ancient Rome; in Discourses, he does touch upon other ancient countries. However, since Machiavelli is commenting on Livy, these other ancient states are referenced only in how they appear in Roman history and interact with the Romans, such as the early wars the Romans fought against various Italic peoples.

Though it makes sense for Machiavelli to focus so much on the Romans because he’s analyzing Roman history through Livy, as I said, the political thinker also mentions the Romans numerous times throughout The Prince. Not only that, Machiavelli in Discourses, though mainly in his The Art of War (not his most famous work, but the one he personally valued the most), argues that the Italian armies of his day should have emulated the Roman legions.

And here we come to one of Machiavelli’s key points, which he makes throughout the three works: do as the Romans did. Machiavelli believed that if the Italian states of his time emulated the Romans, they could drive out the barbarians (primarily the French and Spanish) from Italy. Machiavelli believed that the solution to his contemporary problem of foreign intervention in Italy, given that the Italian states were too weak and disunified, was to copy the Romans.

This brings us to the classics. There are many reasons why you should study the Classics, and I talked about some in my first post, which will be linked down below, but I didn’t list Machiavelli’s reason for studying the Classics: to look to the past for answers to modern problems. Part of the reason people are drawn to the ancient past is that it offers a promise of ancient wisdom, which has withstood the test of time and remains as helpful today as it was in the past. As the old saying goes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” By studying the ancient past, we might be able to find solutions to our present problems. Machiavelli believed this; that’s why, throughout his works, he constantly argues that the Italians of his time should have followed in the footsteps of the Romans. Machiavelli emphasizes the importance of studying the classics to find solutions to contemporary problems, and this approach to the classics is perhaps the most utilitarian and justifiable reason to study the ancient past.

Yes, if you are interested in philosophy, you’ll need to read Plato. If you are studying ancient history, you are going to be reading about ancient Greece and Rome. If you are a Christian and are studying the early church, you are going to be using classical sources; likewise, if you are a modern pagan and are studying the worship of the Greco-Roman pantheon. Architectural and engineering students might be brought to the classics to study the design and structure of buildings that have lasted for millennia, or at least fifteen hundred years. Art students will be brought to the classics to study the fantastic art of the Greeks and Romans. Linguists might turn to the classics to study Latin or ancient Greece. Finally, you could be like me and choose Classical Studies as a major in college because it offers a broad scope of study, or you could have a fascination with the ancient world

However, none of these reasons is Machiavelli’s reason for studying the classics: to solve a modern problem. And Machiavelli’s reason, while it doesn’t need to be the only reason you study the classical world, it should be at least one of your reasons. After all, from a pragmatic point of view (which I think Machiavelli would approve of), what better reason is there for studying the people of millennia ago, other than to learn from them and apply the knowledge you learned from them to solve a modern problem. It doesn’t have to be a large, political problem like Machiavelli wanted to solve, and you don’t have to use classical history to find your solution either. If you ever solved a math problem with Pythagoras’ theorem, you’ve already solved a problem with knowledge from the classical world.

No matter what problem you are trying to solve, there’s no harm in looking to the ancient past for a solution or inspiration for a solution. I know that studying the classics isn’t viewed as the most useful subject to study by society. People wonder what centuries upon centuries of dead people can teach us. The answer is a lot, considering they are the giants whose shoulders our modern civilization stands on, and their experiences can be used as a reference point to bring into perspective the events of the modern day. Yet, Machiavelli had the most compelling reason: to use classical knowledge for the betterment of modern people.

By attempting to address the weaknesses of the Italian states, Machiavelli sought to improve the lives of his contemporaries. He believed Italy needed to be strong so that it could repel foreign powers and become unified, as he thought this was beneficial for the Italians. And to come up with a solution, he turned to the ancient past, particularly the Romans. There is no more justifiable, stronger, or more practical reason to study the classics than to use the information you gather to solve modern problems that will benefit modern people. It can be in the arts, mathematics, religion, literature, language, or history, as it was for Machiavelli; however, the best reason to study the classics is to help improve modernity through problem-solving.

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