Francis Macdonald Cornford (1874-1942). Courtesy Trinity College Chapel.
Francis Macdonald Cornford (27 February 1874 - 3 January 1943) was an English poet and classical scholar.
Life[]
Cornford was educated at St Paul's School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a fellow from 1899 and held a university teaching post from 1902.[1] He became Laurence Professor of ancient philosophy in 1931 and was elected a fellow of the British Academy in 1937.
He married poet Frances Darwin, daughter of Francis Darwin and granddaughter of Charles Darwin — she became known under her married name. They had 5 children; Christopher, Clare, Helena, Hugh, and poet John Cornford. Matthew Chapman is their grandson through Clare.
Writing[]
His work Thucydides Mythistoricus (1907) argued that Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War was informed by Thucydides' tragic view. From Religion to Philosophy: A Study in the Origins of Western Speculation (1912) sought out the deep religious and social categories and concepts that informed the achievements of the early Greek philosophers. He returned to this theme in Principium Sapientiae: The Origins of Greek Philosophical Thought (posthumously published, 1952). In some circles he may be better known for his Microcosmographia Academica (1908), the classic insider's satire on academic politics. It is the source of a number of catchphrases, such as the doctrine of unripeness of time, The Principle of the Wedge, and Principle of the Dangerous Precedent.[2][3]
Publications[]
Non-fiction[]
- Thucydides Mythistoricus. London: Edward Arnold, 1907.
- Microcosmographia academica: Being a guide for the young academic politician. Cambridge, UK: Bowes & Bowes, 1908.
- Religion in the University. Cambridge, UK: Parr & Tyler, 1911.
- From Religion to Philosophy. London: Edward Arnold, 1912; New York: Cosimo Classics, 1912.
- The Origin of Attic Comedy. London: Edward Arnold, 1914.
- Greek Religious Thought: From Homer to the age of Alexander. London & Toronto: J.M. Dent / New York: E.P. Dutton, 1923.
- Before and After Socrates. Cambridge, UK, & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1932.
- The Unwritten Philosophy, and other essays (edited by W.C.K. Guthrie). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1950.
- Principium Sapientiae: The origins of Greek philosophical thought. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1952.
Translated[]
- Plato, Plato's Theory of Knowledge: The Theaetetus and the Sophist of Plato. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul / New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1935.
- Plato, Plato's cosmology: The Timaeus of Plato. London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner / New York, Harcourt, Brace, 1937.
- Plato & Parmenides, Parmenides' 'Way of Truth' and Plato's 'Parmenides'. London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1939.
- Plato, The Republic of Plato. London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1945.
Letters and papers[]
- Selected papers of F.M. Cornford (edited by Alan C. Bowen). New York & London, 1987.
See also[]
References[]
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Cornford, Francis Macdonald (1874–1943), by Reginald Hackforth, rev. David Gill.
Notes[]
- ↑ Cornford, Francis Macdonald in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.
- ↑ Peter Wilby Pass the sickbag, Alice New Statesman 30 April 2009
- ↑ Slavery was theft: we should pay New Statesman 10 September 2001
External links[]
- Prose
- F.M. Cornford at PhilPapers.
- Books
- Microcosmographia Academica online
- F.M. Cornford at Amazon.com
- About
- British Academy Fellowship entry
- Francis MacDonald Cornford at Trinity College Chapel
- F.M. Cornford at Find a Grave
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