From mcmahon@mail.lemoyne.edu Wed Jun  4 09:55:40 2003
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Date: Wed, 04 Jun 2003 12:54:43 -0400
From: "John M. McMahon" <mcmahon@mail.lemoyne.edu>
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To: classics@u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Declining Western Civ.
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James Butrica wrote:
> 
> >David - it's obvious! The 5th Harry Potter book will never be written!
> >Panic! Riot in the streets! Mourn the new death of Western Civilisation!
> >(again)
> >
> >Chris Elliott-Butcher

> But will any of them still be translated into Latin -- or Attic Greek?
> Surely *that's* the test of decline and fall.

So. Accepting for the sake of argument that we could
actually measure the scores on a (standardized?) "test of
decline and fall," can we assume that *Winnie Ille Pooh* and
*Tela Charlottae* have failed to halt our current
precipitous and Icarian crash-and-burn? Or is it rather the
Potterian (!) content itself -- but only if reconfigured
through those august linguistic media -- that will save us?

John McMahon
LMC
.