Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
In this clip, Dr Conlon reflects on a phrase that once reflected a real way of life. To be "a man of letters" is not simply to be well read. It is to receive what has been written to us. To open the pages of the past as one opens a letter, addressed across centuries, and to read it with the care it merits.
Petrarch felt himself to be ever in the company of the great minds who had written before him. Their words kept him company. They sharpened him and consoled him.
To study the humanities in this spirit is to discover that the past is not silent but is always there, ready and waiting to speak to us still.
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If you would like to explore the great letters of the past with the care and curiosity they deserve, apply to our MA in the Humanities. Full and partial scholarships are available; deadline closes on 27 February. Apply here: ralston.ac/apply
In this clip, Dr Conlon reflects on a phrase that once reflected a real way of life. To be "a man of letters" is not simply to be well read. It is to receive what has been written to us. To open the pages of the past as one opens a letter, addressed across centuries, and to read it with the care it merits.
Petrarch felt himself to be ever in the company of the great minds who had written before him. Their words kept him company. They sharpened him and consoled him.
To study the humanities in this spirit is to discover that the past is not silent but is always there, ready and waiting to speak to us still.
---
If you would like to explore the great letters of the past with the care and curiosity they deserve, apply to our MA in the Humanities. Full and partial scholarships are available; deadline closes on 27 February. Apply here: ralston.ac/apply
