Clifford Herschel Moore

Clifford Herschel Moore (born March 11, 1866 in Sudbury , Massachusetts , † August 31, 1931 in Cambridge , Massachusetts) was an American classical philologist and religious scholar .

Life

Clifford Herschel Moore, the son of the farmer and privateer John Herschel Moore, studied classical philology at Harvard University from 1885 , where he received his bachelor's degree in 1889 . He then taught Latin at a high school in Belmont, California . From 1892 to 1894 he was Professor of Greek at the Phillips Academy in Andover (Massachusetts) . In 1894 he moved to the University of Chicago as an Instructor of Latin . At the suggestion of William Gardner Hale , he went to Germany for a year in 1896/97 to deepen his studies at the University of Munich . There, Moore, under the influence of Eduard Wölfflin, was particularly interested in late Latin poetry and was awarded a Dr. phil. doctorate (with the grade summa cum laude ). In his dissertation, he demonstrated that the writings Mathesis and De errore profanarum religionum come from the same author, Julius Firmicus Maternus , who had converted to Christianity before De errore was written.

Upon his return (1897) Moore was appointed Assistant Professor of Latin and in March 1898 was appointed Dean. In June 1898 he moved to Harvard University (as Assistant Professor of Greek and Latin), where he worked until the end of his life. In 1905 he was appointed Professor of Latin, in 1925 Pope Professor of Latin. During his time at Harvard, Moore made a special contribution to university administration. As acting dean (1918/19) he reorganized the tutorials, student selection and Bachelor examination regulations after the First World War . He helped ease the transition from high schools to university. From 1925 until his death (1931) he was Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Moore also distinguished himself as a researcher and lecturer during his time at Harvard. From 1902 he was a lifelong trustee of the Phillips Academy, 1905/1906 visiting professor at the American School of Classical Studies in Rome , 1914 lecturer at the Lowell Institute in Boston , also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1910), the Classical Association of New England (President 1910/1911) and the American Philological Association (President 1919/1920). The Colorado College awarded him in 1914 the honorary doctorate (Litt.D.).

Scientific work

Moore dealt with wide areas of ancient literature, both Greek and Roman. His main research focus has been ancient religion since his doctorate. In addition to numerous individual studies on the Attic drama, the Roman epic, ancient historiography and oriental cults, Moore also presented text editions and monographs. The comprehensive, detailed monograph Religious Thought of the Greeks (1916) emerged from his lectures at the Lowell Institute (1914 ). Shortly before his death he completed a comprehensive study on the immortality of the soul according to ancient beliefs, which appeared posthumously.

Moore's first text edition was a revision of Euripides ' Medea (1900) after the edition of his academic teacher Frederic De Forest Allen , which had appeared in 1876. In 1902 Moore published an annotated edition of the Odes and Epodes of Horace . A late work was the bilingual edition of Tacitus ' Historien for the Loeb Classical Library (published 1925–1937).

Moore was also active as a didactic specialist: he published Latin elementary books for school and university.

Fonts (selection)

• Julius Firmicus Maternus, the Pagan and the Christian . Munich 1897 (dissertation)
• The Medea of ​​Euripides . Second edition, Boston 1900
• Horace. The Odes, Epodes and Carmen Saeculare . New York 1902
• A First Latin Book . New York 1903
• with John J. Schlichter: The Elements of Latin . New York 1906
• Religious Thought of the Greeks . Cambridge (MA) 1916. Second edition, Cambridge (MA) 1925
• Cornelius Tacitus: The Histories . Two volumes, London / New York 1925–1937 ( LCL )
• Ancient Beliefs in the Immortality of the Soul . London / New York 1931

literature

• Ward W. Briggs : Moore, Clifford Herschel . In: Derselbe (ed.): Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists. Greenwood Press, Westport CT et al. 1994, ISBN 0-313-24560-6 , pp. 421-422.

Web links

Wikisource: Clifford Herschel Moore  - Sources and full texts (English)

• Entry on Clifford Herschel Moore in the Database of Classical Scholars (English)