Ernest James Myers (born at Keswick 13 October 1844; died at

Etchingham Etchingham is a village and civil parish in the Rother District, Rother district of East Sussex in southern England. The village is located approximately southeast of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent and northwest of Hastings, on the A265 road ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, 25 November 1921), was a British poet,

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 ...

and author. He was the second son of the Rev. Frederic Myers, author of ''Catholic Thoughts'', and Susan Harriett Myers (née Marshall). His elder brother was F W H Myers, the

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

and psychical researcher.

Early life

Educated at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, (where he won the Gaisford Prize for Greek Verse in 1865), Ernest Myers became a fellow of

Wadham College Wadham College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham, a ...

in 1868, teaching there for three years. In 1871, he moved to London, joining the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

and being

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

; however, he never practised as a barrister. Instead, he made his living as a translator and editor and also joined the committees of organisations such as the University Extension Society, the Charity Organisation Society, the Society for the Protection of Women & Children, and the Hellenic Society of which he was a founder member.

Writing

Myers published poetry in ''The Puritans'' (1869), translated the ''Odes'' of

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

(1874), followed in 1877 by a volume entitled ''Poems''. A further, larger volume of his own poetry followed in 1880, ''The Defence of Rome and Other Poems'', and he contributed an article on

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

to a collection of Classical essays edited by

Evelyn Abbott Evelyn Abbott (; 10 March 1843 – 3 September 1901) was an English writer and classical scholar. He is best known for his book ''History of Greece'', which includes a sceptical viewpoint of Homer's ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey''. He is also very w ...

. In 1882 he collaborated with

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a folkloristics, collector of folklore, folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectur ...

and

Walter Leaf Sir Walter Leaf (26 November 1852, Upper Norwood – 8 March 1927, Torquay) was an English banker, classical scholar, and psychical researcher. He published a benchmark edition of Homer's Iliad and was a director of Westminster Bank for many ...

on books XVII-XXIV of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' (a companion volume to a translation of the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

''). Further volumes of poetry followed in the coming years: ''The Judgement of Prometheus'' (1886); and ''Gathered Poems'' (1904). He also wrote '' Lord Althorp: a biography'' (1890).

Family

In London, in 1883, Myers married Nora Margaret Lodge (1858–1952) (a sister of George Edward Lodge), and they had five children. The family moved from London to

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater ...

in 1891. Their elder son - who may have been the subject of Myers’ poem ''Infant Eyes'' - died as a soldier in France in 1918, the last year of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Myers maintained a love of physical exercise throughout his life, including swimming, riding, lawn tennis, walking, and golf. He died on 25 November 1921 at Etchingham, Sussex, aged 77. Obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', Monday 20 November 1921

Works

*''The Puritans''

References

External links

* * *
A summary of Myers’ life, together with some of his poetry‘’The Times’’ archive online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Ernest 1844 births 1921 deaths People educated at Cheltenham College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English classical scholars English male poets Translators of Homer People from Keswick, Cumbria People from Etchingham