Edward Parmelee Morris (September 17, 1853 – November 16, 1938) was an American

classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

Life

He was born on September 17, 1853, in

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...

. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1874, then moved to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

where his father was living. On January 2, 1879, he married Charlotte Webster Humphrey; her father was the Reverend Z. M. Humphrey and a professor at

Lane Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood in Cincinnati. Its campus ...

in Cincinnati. Humphrey and Morris had four children, Frances Humphrey (born 1880), Edward (born 1885), Margaret (born 1886), and Humphrey (born 1987). Edward died in infancy. Frances and Margaret both attended

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh language, Welsh: ) is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as a ...

. Morris died on November 16, 1938, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Career

From 1876 to 1877, he taught Latin and history at Purdue College and from 1877 to 1879 he taught Latin and mathematics at

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducatio ...

. From 1879 to 1884, Morris taught Greek at

Drury College Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,590 undergr ...

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. In 1884, he became the Massachusetts Professor of Latin Language and Literature at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

and was first allowed a year's leave of absence, which he spent the universities of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

. He returned to Yale as a professor of the Latin language and literature in 1891. He became a significant influence on the work of Arthur Leslie Wheeler, who became Sather Professor at Princeton.

Honors

Morris received an L.H.D. from Williams in 1904 and a Litt.D. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1909, on the inauguration of President

Abbott Lawrence Lowell Abbott Lawrence Lowell (December 13, 1856 – January 6, 1943) was an American educator and legal scholar. He was president of Harvard University from 1909 to 1933. With an "aristocratic sense of mission and self-certainty," Lowell cut a large ...

Bibliography

Some of his notable books are: * '' The Mostellaria of Plautus; with explanatory notes'' (1880) *
The Study of Latin in the Preparatory Course
' (1886) * '' On the sentence-question in Plautus and Terence'' (1890) *
The Captives and Trinummus of Plautus
' (1898) * '' On principles and methods in Latin syntax'' (1901)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Edward Parmelee 1853 births 1938 deaths Yale College alumni 20th-century American philologists American classical philologists Classical scholars of Yale University Drury University faculty Purdue University faculty Williams College faculty