Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin (25th Anniversary Edition)

On the 25th Anniversary of Climbing Parnassus

The contemporary revival of classical learning owes a debt of gratitude to Tracy Lee Simmons. For many readers, Climbing Parnassus has served as a first introduction to the forgotten educational tradition that shaped Greece, Rome, medieval and modern Europe, and America. This tradition, as Simmons reminds us, consists of both the liberal arts and the humanities—and much more specifically, of the Greco-Roman humanities, taught in Latin and Greek, tempered by Christianity. The hope found in Parnassus has already inspired many a reader not to live as a mere laudator temporis acti, a sulking nostalgic, but to strike out as a cheerful renovator rei publicae litterarum, a renewer of that society of thoughtful, spirited and lettered men and women who embody our culture’s highest ideals, who contemplate them and who set them to work.

This new 25th Anniversary Edition is presented in hardcover, with a new introduction by Spencer A. Klavan, featuring a new interior layout designed for optimal readability and annotation, and includes several pages of advance praise and expert endorsements.

What Readers and Industry Leaders Are Saying:

“Athens required Themistocles. We needed Simmons. Inspired by Parnassus, these men steered their fellow citizens clear of self-destruction. Thank you Mr. Simmons!” —Dr. Kenneth Calvert, Professor of Ancient History, Hillsdale College

"Tracy Lee Simmons elucidates the values inherent in a classical education, i.e., the Greek and Latin languages and literatures, and these ideals shape this intelligent, passionate, and articulate book.” —Choice

“Over a decade ago, I found in these pages the key to a glorious, lost world of learning that—with joyful persistence—could still be found. It has shaped the way we homeschool ever since. Read it, and find yourself climbing with your family through the realms of gold.” —Allison Ellis, Founder, Mount Titano Media

"The luminous book shows that writing precisely and clearly demonstrates an allegiance to civilization itself." — Jeffrey Hart, author of Smiling Through the Cultural Catastrophe

“With elite universities no longer requiring Greek or Latin even for Classics majors and AI threatening language learning at all levels, there is now more urgency in Tracy Lee Simmons’ Climbing Parnassus than ever before. — David V. Hicks, Norms & Nobility

Mount Titano Media publishes single works & collections of the greatest spoken and written words of all time in the fields of history, literature, poetry, philosophy, and politics for the benefit of families, schools, colleges, universities, and independent lovers of learning and culture.