Moses Hadas
Encyclopedia
Moses Hadas was an American teacher, one of the leading classical
scholars of the twentieth century, and a translator of numerous works.
Raised in Atlanta
in a Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish
household, his early studies included rabbi
nical training; he graduated from Jewish Theological Seminary of America
(1926) and took his doctorate in classics in 1930. He was fluent in Yiddish, German, ancient Hebrew, ancient Greek
, Latin
, French, and Italian, and well-versed in other languages.
His most productive years were spent at Columbia University
, where he was a colleague of Jacques Barzun
and Lionel Trilling
. There, he took his talent for languages, combined it with a popularizing impulse, to buck the prevailing classical methods of the day—textual criticism
and grammar
—presenting classics, even in translation, as worthy of study as literary works
in their own right.
This approach may be compared to the New Criticism
school: even as the New Critics emphasized close reading, eschewing outside sources and cumbersome apparatus
, Hadas, in presenting classical works in translation to an influx of post-war G.I. Bill students, brought forth an appreciation of his domain for those without the specialized training of classicists.
His popularizing impulse led him to embrace television
as a tool for education, becoming a telelecturer and a pundit on broadcast television. He also recorded classical works on phonograph
and tape
.
His daughter Rachel Hadas
is a poet, teacher, essayist, and translator.
.
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...
scholars of the twentieth century, and a translator of numerous works.
Raised in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
in a Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
household, his early studies included rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nical training; he graduated from Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
(1926) and took his doctorate in classics in 1930. He was fluent in Yiddish, German, ancient Hebrew, ancient 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...
, 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...
, French, and Italian, and well-versed in other languages.
His most productive years were spent at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where he was a colleague of Jacques Barzun
Jacques Barzun
Jacques Martin Barzun is a French-born American historian of ideas and culture. He has written on a wide range of topics, but is perhaps best known as a philosopher of education, his Teacher in America being a strong influence on post-WWII training of schoolteachers in the United...
and Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling
Lionel Trilling was an American literary critic, author, and teacher. With wife Diana Trilling, he was a member of the New York Intellectuals and contributor to the Partisan Review. Although he did not establish a school of literary criticism, he is one of the leading U.S...
. There, he took his talent for languages, combined it with a popularizing impulse, to buck the prevailing classical methods of the day—textual criticism
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
and grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
—presenting classics, even in translation, as worthy of study as literary works
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
in their own right.
This approach may be compared to the New Criticism
New Criticism
New Criticism was a movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of literature functioned as a self-contained, self-referential aesthetic...
school: even as the New Critics emphasized close reading, eschewing outside sources and cumbersome apparatus
Apparatus
Apparatus may refer to:*Technical term for body of the Soviet and post-Soviet governments *Machine*Equipment*Critical apparatus, the critical and primary source material that accompanies an edition of a text-See also:*Fire apparatus...
, Hadas, in presenting classical works in translation to an influx of post-war G.I. Bill students, brought forth an appreciation of his domain for those without the specialized training of classicists.
His popularizing impulse led him to embrace television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
as a tool for education, becoming a telelecturer and a pundit on broadcast television. He also recorded classical works on phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
and tape
Tape recorder
An audio tape recorder, tape deck, reel-to-reel tape deck, cassette deck or tape machine is an audio storage device that records and plays back sounds, including articulated voices, usually using magnetic tape, either wound on a reel or in a cassette, for storage...
.
His daughter Rachel Hadas
Rachel Hadas
Rachel Hadas is an American poet, teacher, essayist, and translator. Her most recent essay collection is Classics: Essays , and her most recent poetry collection is The Ache of Appetite . Her honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, Ingram Merrill Foundation Grants, the O.B...
is a poet, teacher, essayist, and translator.
Selected works
- Sextus Pompey. 1930
- Book of delight, by Joseph ben Meir Zabara; translated by Moses Hadas; with an introduction by Merriam Sherwood. 1932
- History of Greek literature. 1950
- History of Latin literature. 1952.
- Greek poets. 1953
- Ancilla to classical reading. 1954
- OedipusOedipusOedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
. translated with an introd. by Moses Hadas. 1955 - History of Rome, from its origins to 529 A.D., as told by the Roman historians. 1956
- ThyestesThyestesIn Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, King of Olympia, and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. Thyestes and his twin brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympia...
. Translated, with an introduction by Moses Hadas. 1957 - Stoic philosophy of Seneca; essays and letters of Seneca.. 1958
- Hellenistic culture: fusion and diffusion. 1959
- Humanism: the Greek ideal and its survival. 1960
- Essential works of Stoicism. 1961
- Old wine, new bottles; a humanist teacher at work. 1962
- Hellenistic literature. 1963
- Style the repository. 1965
- Heroes and gods; spiritual biographies in antiquity, by Moses Hadas and Morton SmithMorton SmithMorton Smith was an American professor of ancient history at Columbia University. He is best known for his controversial discovery of the Mar Saba letter, a letter attributed to Clement of Alexandria containing excerpts from a Secret Gospel of Mark, during a visit to the monastery at Mar Saba in...
. 1965 - Introduction to classical drama. Foreword by Alvin C. Eurich. 1966
- Living tradition. 1967
- Solomon MaimonSalomon MaimonSalomon ben Josua Maimon was a German philosopher born of Jewish parentage in Belarus.-Early years:...
, an autobiography / edited and with a preface by Moses Hadas. 1975
Discography
During the fifties, Hadas recorded several albums of Latin and Greek works on Folkways RecordsFolkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
.
- The Story of Virgil's Aeneid: Introduction and Readings in Latin (and English) by Professor Moses Hadas (1955)
- The Latin Language: Introduction and Reading in Latin (and English) by Professor Moses Hadas of Columbia University (1955)
- Plato on the Death of Socrates: Introduction with Readings from the Apology and the Phaedo in Greek & in English trans. (1956)
- Caesar: Readings in Latin and English by Professor Moses Hadas (1956)
- Cicero: Commentary and Readings in Latin and English by Moses Hadas (1956)
- Longus - Daphnis and Chloe: Read by Moses Hadas from His Translation (1958)
External links
- "The Many Lives of Moses Hadas" by Rachel Hadas, Columbia University Alumni Magazine, Fall 2001
- Faculty Profile of Moses Hadas - Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...