James Bradstreet Greenough (May 4, 1833 in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

– October 11, 1901) was a

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

Life

He graduated at Harvard in 1856, studied one year at the Harvard Law School, was admitted to the Michigan bar and practised in

Marshall, Michigan Marshall is a U.S. city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Calhoun County. The population was 7,088 at the 2010 census. Marshall is best known for its cross-section of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture. It has been referred to by t ...

, until 1865, when he was appointed tutor in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

at Harvard. In 1873 he became assistant professor, and in 1883 professor of Latin, a post which he resigned hardly six weeks before his death at

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. Following the lead of Goodwin's ''Moods and Tenses'' (1860), he set himself to study Latin historical syntax, and in 1870 published ''Analysis of the Latin Subjunctive'', a brief treatise, privately printed, and in many ways coinciding with

Berthold Delbrück Berthold Gustav Gottlieb Delbrück (; 26 July 1842 – 3 January 1922) was a German linguist who devoted himself to the study of the comparative syntax of the Indo-European languages. Early life Delbrück was born in Putbus. He studied at the un ...

's ''Gebrauch des Conjunctivs und Optativs in Sanskrit und Griechischen'' (1871), which, however, quite overshadowed the ''Analysis''. In 1872 appeared ''A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges, founded on Comparative Grammar, by Joseph H. Allen and James B. Greenough'', a work done with great critical care with Joseph Henry Allen. His theory of cum-constructions is that adopted and developed by William Gardner Hale. In 1872-1880 Greenough offered the first courses in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and

comparative philology Comparative linguistics, or comparative-historical linguistics (formerly comparative philology) is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. Genetic relatedness ...

given at Harvard. His able scholarship was evident in his editing of the Allen and Greenough Latin Series of text-books. Also, he occasionally contributed to ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'' (founded in 1889 and endowed at his instance by his own class) papers on Latin syntax, prosody and

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

— a subject on which he planned a long work on Roman archaeology and on Greek religion at the time of the

New Comedy Ancient Greek comedy was one of the final three principal dramatic forms in the theatre of classical Greece (the others being tragedy and the satyr play). Athenian comedy is conventionally divided into three periods: Old Comedy, Middle Comedy, an ...

. He assisted in the founding of Radcliffe College. An able English scholar and an excellent etymologist, he collaborated with Professor George L Kittredge on ''Words and their Ways in English Speech'' (1901). He wrote light verse, including: * ''The Blackbirds'', a comedietta, first published in ''The Atlantic Monthly'' (vol. xxxix. 1877); *''The Rose and the Ring'' (1880), a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

adapted from

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

; *''The Queen of Hearts'' (1885), a dramatic fantasia; *''

Old King Cole "Old King Cole" is a British nursery rhyme first attested in 1708. Though there is much speculation about the identity of King Cole, it is unlikely that he can be identified reliably as any historical figure. It has a Roud Folk Song Index num ...

'' (1889), an operetta. Other Publications: *''Selections from the Poems of Ovid'' (1882) *''Select Orations of Cicero'' (1886)

References

*See the sketch by George L. Kittredge in ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', vol. xiv. (1903), pp 1-17 (also printed in ''Harvard Graduates Magazine'', vol. x., Dec. 1901, pp. 196-201). *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenough, James Bradstreet 1833 births 1901 deaths Harvard Law School alumni American philologists Etymologists American classical scholars Classical scholars of Harvard University