The Decline of Language

I was skimming through a book on Winston Churchill this morning, published in 1963. The chapter headings were colorful and inviting. So was the text. Juicy bits of memories, on trains, in lecture halls, this author accompanied the giant of Britian and wrote a journal of their experiences.
As I flipped through the pages I began to notice that this 40+ year old book was filled with rich, descriptive language. I didn't even know what some of the words meant! (Was I the only one whose father would never tell you what a word meant, but simply say "Look it up. You'll never forget it!)
I realized that most of what I read today is "lingo-lite", geared for an audience with a junior high reading level. Not to mention the ever increasing dimunintion of words, propgated, no doubt by the use of text messages.
How sad.
I am also in the middle of a translation of Interior Castles by St. Teresa of Avila. A typical paragraph of her writings (16th century Spain)consists of one sentence! And the general syntax would probably not impress a modern high school English teacher. However, ingesting all this inspired woman wrote is a delightful meal, where I linger at the table, taking small portions and savoring each morcel.

This is a challenge to today's writers. Be adventurous in your compositon! Be innovative in your verbiage. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite, until your ideas could sail into future centuries captured in the language of kings and poets.