John William Mackail O.M. (26 August 1859 – 13 December 1945) was a Scottish man of letters and socialist, now best remembered as a Virgil

Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...

 scholar. He was also a poet, literary historian and biographer.

He was born in Ascog

Ascog

Ascog is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is largely residential and is located on the east coast of the Isle of Bute. It contains Ascog House and the Italianate style Balmory Hall....

 on the Isle of Bute

Isle of Bute

Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...

, Strathclyde

Strathclyde

right|thumb|the former Strathclyde regionStrathclyde was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created by the Local Government Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc Act 1994...

. In his early career he worked at the Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education (United Kingdom)

The administration of education policy in the United Kingdom began in the 19th century. Official mandation of education began with the Elementary Education Act 1870 for England and Wales, and the Education Act 1872 for Scotland...

 (1884-1919). He was later Oxford Professor of Poetry

Oxford Professor of Poetry

The chair of Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford is an unusual academic appointment, now held for a term of five years, and chosen through an election open to all members of Convocation, namely, all graduates and current academics of the university; in 2010, on-line voting was allowed....

 (1906-1911), and President of the British Academy

British Academy

The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...

 (1932-1936). He was a friend of William Morris

William Morris

William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...

, and wrote the 1899 official biography. He also published works on Virgil

Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...

, the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 poets, the Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic sagas, Shakespeare and the sayings of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

. He married Margaret Burne-Jones (1866-1953), the only daughter of artist and designer Edward Burne-Jones

Edward Burne-Jones

Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet was a British artist and designer closely associated with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, who worked closely with William Morris on a wide range of decorative arts as a founding partner in Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, and Company...

. They lived in Kensington

Kensington

Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...

 and later Holland Park

Holland Park

Holland Park is a district and a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London, England.Holland Park has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, known for attractive large Victorian townhouses, and high-class shopping and restaurants...

. He became a member of the Order of Merit

Order of Merit

The Order of Merit is a British dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...

 in 1935. He died in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

The couple's elder daughter, Angela Margaret, and their son, Denis George, are better known as the novelists Angela Thirkell

Angela Thirkell

Angela Margaret Thirkell , was an English and Australian novelist. She also published one novel, Trooper to Southern Cross, under the pseudonym Leslie Parker.-Early life:...

 and Denis Mackail

Denis Mackail

Denis George Mackail was an English novelist and short-story writer, publishing between the two world-wars.Although his work is now largely forgotten, 'Greenery Street', a novel of early married life in upper-middle class London, was republished by Persephone Books in 2002.-Biography:He was born...

.

Works

• Love in Idleness: A Volume of Poems (1883) anonymous, with H. C. Beeching and J. B. B. Nichols
• The Aeneid of Virgil (1885) translator
• Virgil Eclogues and Georgics (1889)
• Select Epigrams From The Greek Anthology (1890)
• Love's Looking Glass (1892) with H. C. Beeching and J. B. B. Nichols
• Biblia Innocentium: Being the Story of God's Chosen People Before the Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ Upon Earth, Written Anew for Children (Kelmscott Press, 1892)
• The Georgics of Virgil (1899)
• The Life of William Morris, two volumes (1899)
• The Little Bible (1900)
• William Morris: An Address Delivered at Kelmscott House Hammersmith Socialist Society (1902)
• Addresses, four volumes (1902/5)
• The Parting of the Ways: An Address (1903) given in the William Morris Labour Church at Leek, 5 October 1902
• Socialism and Politics: An Address and a Programme (1903)
• Latin Literature
• Homer: An Address Delivered on Behalf of the Independent Labour Party (1905)
• The Sayings of the Lord Jesus Christ (1905)
• William Morris and His Circle (1907)
• The Hundred Best Poems in the Latin Language (1908)
• Latin Literature (1909)
• The Springs of Helicon: A Study of the Progress of English Poetry from Chaucer to Milton (1909)
• Swinburne (1909) University of Oxford lecture 30 April 1909.
• Lectures on Greek Poetry (1910)
• Pervigilium Veneris (1911) editor and translator
• Lectures on Poetry (1914)
• Russia's Gift to the World (1915)
• The Study of Poetry (1915) inauguration of the Rice Institute
• Penelope in the Odyssey (1916)
• Pope (1919) Leslie Stephen Lecture, University of Cambridge 10 May 1919
• The Hundred Best Poems (lyrical) (1920)
• Virgil and His Meaning to the World of To-day (1922)
• Shakespeare (1923) Inaugural Address to the Australian English Association
• Bentley's Milton (1924) British Academy Warton Lecture
• The Pilgrim's Progress (1924) Royal Institution Lecture 14 March 1924
• Life and Letters of George Wyndham (2 vols.) (1924) with Guy Wyndham
  Guy Wyndham
  Lt.Col. Guy Percy Wyndham CB MVO was a British Army soldier.Wyndham was born on 19 January 1865 as the son of Hon...
  
  
• Classical Studies (1925)
• James Leigh Strachan-Davidson, Master of Balliol. A Memoir (1925)
• Studies of English Poets (1926)
• Largeness in Literature (1930)
• The Approach to Shakespeare (1930)
• Coleridge's Literary Criticism (1931)
• Virgil (1931) Henriette Hertz Trust Lecture of the British Academy.
• The Odyssey (1932)
• Virgil's Work: The Aeneid, Eclogues, Georgics (1934)
• Studies in Humanism (1938)
• Poems by Bowyer Nichols (1943)
• An Introduction to Virgil's Aeneid (1946)
• Selections from the Georgics of Virgil (1948)
• Latin Literature (1962) Harry C. Schnur editor
• The Holy Bible for Young Readers, The New Testament

See also

• English translations of Homer: John William Mackail

External links