John Burnet (classicist)
Encyclopedia
John Burnet was a Scottish
classicist
.
, the University of Edinburgh
, and Balliol College, Oxford
, receiving his M.A.
degree in 1887. From 1890 to 1915, he was a Fellow
at Merton College, Oxford
; he was a professor of Latin at Edinburgh; from 1892 to 1926, he was Professor of Greek
at the University of St. Andrews. He became a Fellow of the British Academy in 1916. In 1909, Burnet was offered, but did not accept, the Chair of Greek at Harvard University
.
In 1894, he married Mary Farmer, the daughter of John Farmer
, who wrote the Preface for a collection of essays published after his death, Essays and Addresses.
Burnet is best known for his work on Plato
, particularly his argument that the depiction of Socrates
in all of Plato's dialogues is historically accurate, and that the philosophical views peculiar to Plato himself are to be found only in the so-called late dialogues. Burnet also maintained that Socrates was closely connected to the early Greek philosophical tradition, now generally known as Pre-Socratic philosophy
; Burnet believed that Socrates had been in his youth the disciple of Archelaus
, a member of the Anaxagorean
tradition (Burnet 1924, vi).
Burnet's philological
work on Plato is still widely read, and his editions have been considered authoritative for 100 years. His commentaries on Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito and on the Phaedo also remain widely used and respected by scholars. Myles Burnyeat
, for example, calls Burnet's Plato: Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, Crito "the still unsurpassed edition".
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
classicist
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
.
Education, Life and Work
Burnet was educated at the Royal High School, EdinburghRoyal High School (Edinburgh)
The Royal High School of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, and has, throughout its history, been high achieving, consistently attaining well above average exam results...
, the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, and Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, receiving his M.A.
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
degree in 1887. From 1890 to 1915, he was a Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
at Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
; he was a professor of Latin at Edinburgh; from 1892 to 1926, he was Professor of Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
at the University of St. Andrews. He became a Fellow of the British Academy in 1916. In 1909, Burnet was offered, but did not accept, the Chair of Greek at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
In 1894, he married Mary Farmer, the daughter of John Farmer
John Farmer (1835-1901)
John Farmer , from Nottingham, composed oratorios, cantatas, and other church music, and chamber music.His father, also John , was a Nottingham lacemaker and a cellist...
, who wrote the Preface for a collection of essays published after his death, Essays and Addresses.
Burnet is best known for his work on Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, particularly his argument that the depiction of Socrates
Socrates
Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...
in all of Plato's dialogues is historically accurate, and that the philosophical views peculiar to Plato himself are to be found only in the so-called late dialogues. Burnet also maintained that Socrates was closely connected to the early Greek philosophical tradition, now generally known as Pre-Socratic philosophy
Pre-Socratic philosophy
Pre-Socratic philosophy is Greek philosophy before Socrates . In Classical antiquity, the Presocratic philosophers were called physiologoi...
; Burnet believed that Socrates had been in his youth the disciple of Archelaus
Archelaus (philosopher)
Archelaus was an Ancient Greek philosopher, a pupil of Anaxagoras, and said by some to have been a teacher of Socrates. He asserted that the principle of motion was the separation of hot from cold, from which he endeavoured to explain the formation of the Earth and the creation of animals and...
, a member of the Anaxagorean
Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Born in Clazomenae in Asia Minor, Anaxagoras was the first philosopher to bring philosophy from Ionia to Athens. He attempted to give a scientific account of eclipses, meteors, rainbows, and the sun, which he described as a fiery mass larger than...
tradition (Burnet 1924, vi).
Burnet's philological
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
work on Plato is still widely read, and his editions have been considered authoritative for 100 years. His commentaries on Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito and on the Phaedo also remain widely used and respected by scholars. Myles Burnyeat
Myles Burnyeat
Myles Fredric Burnyeat CBE FBA is an English classicist and philosopher.-Life:Educated at Bryanston School and King’s College, Cambridge, Burnyeat was a student of Bernard Williams at University College London....
, for example, calls Burnet's Plato: Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, Crito "the still unsurpassed edition".
Major works
- Early Greek Philosophy. London and Edinburgh: A. and C. Black, 1892. 4th edition, 1930.
- Greek Philosophy: Thales to Plato. London, MacMillan, 1914.
- re-edited 2nd edition, 2010.
- Platonism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1928.
- Higher Education and the War, 1917.
- Essays and Addresses, 1930, includes a memoir by Godfrey Rathbone BensonGodfrey Benson, 1st Baron CharnwoodGodfrey Rathbone Benson, 1st Baron Charnwood was a British author, academic, Liberal politician and philanthropist....
.
Editions edited and annotated by Burnet
- The Ethics of Aristotle. London: Methuen, 1900. PDF
- Platonis Opera: Recognovit Brevique Adnotatione Critica Instruxit (as Ioannes Burnet). Oxford: Oxford Classical TextsOxford Classical TextsOxford Classical Texts , or Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis, is a series of books published by Oxford University Press. It contains texts of ancient Greek and Latin literature, such as Homer's Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid, in the original language with a critical apparatus...
, 1900–1907. - Plato: Phaedo. Oxford: Clarendon, 1911.
- Plato: Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, Crito. Oxford: Clarendon, 1924.
See also
- The Dictionary of British Classicists, ed. Robert Todd, Bristol: Thoemmes Continuum, 2004.
External links
- Works by John Burnet at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- John Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy, online text: http://www.classicpersuasion.org/pw/burnet/index.htm