Editing Classics (section)

==Etymology==
The word ''classics'' is derived from the [[Latin adjective]] ''[[wikt:classicus|classicus]]'', meaning "belonging to the highest class of [[Citizenship|citizens]]." The word was originally used to describe the members of the [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|Patricians]], the highest class in [[ancient Rome]]. By the 2nd century AD the word was used in [[literary criticism]] to describe writers of the highest quality.<ref name="Ziolkowski07-17">{{harvnb|Ziolkowski|2007|p=17}}</ref> For example, [[Aulus Gellius]], in his ''Attic Nights'', contrasts "classicus" and "[[wikt:proletarius|proletarius]]" writers.<ref>Aulus Gellius, ''Noctes Atticae'', 19.8.15.</ref> By the 6th century AD, the word had acquired a second meaning, referring to pupils at a [[Education in ancient Rome|school]].<ref name="Ziolkowski07-17"/> Thus, the two modern meanings of the word, referring both to [[Latin literature|literature]] considered to be of the highest quality and the standard texts used as part of a [[curriculum]], were both derived from Roman use.<ref name="Ziolkowski07-17"/>