Porson, Richard

Porson, Richard

▪ English scholar

born Dec. 25, 1759, East Ruston, Norfolk, Eng.
died Sept. 25, 1808, London

      British master of classical scholarship during the 18th century, the most brilliant of the English school that devoted itself to the task of freeing Greek texts from corruption introduced through the centuries. His special critical talent lay in his insight into Greek metre and his unusual appreciation of the fine points of Greek diction.

      Porson began his serious critical studies at Trinity College, Cambridge, which he attended from 1778 to 1785, and was appointed professor of Greek there in 1792. His edition of the plays of Aeschylus was printed in Glasgow the same year. He later edited four plays of Euripides: Hecuba (1797; reprinted with a famous critical supplement in 1802), Orestes (1798), Phoenissae (1799), and Medea (1801). Porson drank to excess, was addicted to late hours, took no care of his health and appearance, and could be rude and boorish in company; however, his friends delighted in his wit and learning and his store of anecdotes and quotations and admired him for his devotion to truth, his indifference to worldly success, and his readiness to communicate knowledge. His work is marked by a sureness of touch and economy of expression that give the impression of effortlessness and conceal the hard work that lay behind it.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • PORSON, RICHARD —    eminent Greek scholar, born in Norfolk; was a prodigy of learning and critical acumen; edited the plays of Æschylus and four of Euripides, but achieved little in certification to posterity of his ability and attainments; was a man of slovenly… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Porson, Richard — (1759 1808)    Scholar, s. of the parish clerk of E. Ruston, Norfolk, was distinguished from childhood by a marvellous tenacity of memory which attracted the attention of the curate of the parish, who ed. him, after which he was sent by a… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Richard Porson — (* 25. Dezember 1759 in East Ruston, Norfolk; † 25. September 1808 in London) war ein britischer Klassischer Philologe. Er ist besonders durch seine Forschungen zur Textkritik und Metrik der griechischen Tragiker bekannt. Leben …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Richard Porson — (25 December 1759 ndash; 25 September 1808) was an English classical scholar. He was the discoverer of Porson s Law; and the Greek typeface Porson was based on his handwriting. Early lifeHe was born at East Ruston, near North Walsham, in Norfolk …   Wikipedia

  • Porson (typeface) — Porson is a typeface in the Greek alphabet based on the handwriting of the English classicist Richard Porson, who, as his biographer writes, excelled ... in writing with neatness and beauty and wrote notes on the margins of books with such… …   Wikipedia

  • Richard Bentley — (* 27. Januar 1662 in Oulton bei Leeds, Yorkshire; † 14. Juli 1742 in Cambridge) war ein englischer klassischer Philologe und Textkritiker. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Jugend und Studienjahre (1662–1689) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Richard Bentley — (January 27, 1662 ndash; July 14, 1742) was an English theologian, classical scholar and critic. Early life Bentley was born at Oulton near Leeds, West Yorkshire. His grandfather had suffered for the Royalist cause following the English Civil War …   Wikipedia

  • Porson's Law — is a metrical law concerning a bridge in Greek iambic trimeters, the most common dialogue meter in Greek tragedy and comedy. In its most general form it states that, in anceps cretic or cretic anceps meters, such as the iambic trimeter, no word… …   Wikipedia

  • Porson —   [ pɔːsn], Richard, britischer klassischer Philologe, * East Ruston (County Norfolk) 25. 12. 1759, ✝ London 25. 9. 1808; 1792 Professor in Cambridge, 1806 Bibliothekar der Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. Porson war nach R. Bentley… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Porson — (spr. porß n), Richard, bedeutendster engl. Philolog nach Bentley, geb. 25. Dez. 1759 in East Ruston (Norfolk), gest. 25. Sept. 1808 in London, studierte in Cambridge, ward daselbst Fellow und 1790 Professor der griechischen Sprache, verzichtete …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

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