Francis Macdonald Cornford (27 February 1874 – 3 January 1943) was an English

classical scholar 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 translator known for work on

ancient philosophy This page lists some links to ancient philosophy, namely philosophical thought extending as far as early post-classical history (). Overview Genuine philosophical thought, depending upon original individual insights, arose in many cultures ro ...

, notably

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

Parmenides Parmenides of Elea (; ; fl. late sixth or early fifth century BC) was a Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic ancient Greece, Greek philosopher from Velia, Elea in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy). Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Veli ...

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

, and ancient Greek religion. Frances Cornford, his wife, was a noted poet. Due to the similarity in their names, he was known in the family as "FMC" and his wife as "FCC".

Early life and family

Cornford was born in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

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, ...

, on 27 February 1874. He attended St Paul's School, London. In 1909 Cornford married the poet Frances Darwin, daughter of Sir Francis Darwin and Ellen Wordsworth Darwin, née Crofts, and a granddaughter of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

. They had five children: *Helena (1913–1994), who married Joseph L. Henderson in 1934 * John (1915–1936), poet and Communist killed in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

(1917–1993), artist and writer, the father of Adam Cornford *Hugh Wordsworth (1921–1997), medical doctor *Ruth Clare (1923–1992), mother of Matthew Chapman

Career

Cornford was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he was a Fellow from 1899 and held a teaching post from 1902. He became the first Laurence Professor of Ancient Philosophy in 1931 and was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

in 1937. He used wit and satire to propagate proposals for reforming the teaching of the classics at Cambridge, in '' Microcosmographia Academica'' (1908). Cornford coined the phrase "twin pillars of Platonism", referring to the theory of Forms on the one hand, and, on the other the doctrine of immortality of the soul.

Death

He died on 3 January 1943 in his home, Conduit Head in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. He was cremated at Cambridge Crematorium on 6 January 1943.

Works

''Thucydides Mythistoricus''
(1907) put the argument that

's ''

History of the Peloponnesian War The ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' () is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Classical Athens, Athens). The account, ...

'' was informed by Thucydides's tragic view. *'' From Religion to Philosophy: A Study in the Origins of Western Speculation'' (1912) sought the deep religious and social concepts that informed the early Greek philosophers. He returned to this in ''Principium Sapientiae: The Origins of Greek Philosophical Thought'' (posthumous, 1952). *'' Microcosmographia Academica'' (1908) was an insider's satire on academic politics. It was the source of catch phrases such as the "doctrine of unripeness of time", the "principle of the wedge" and the "principle of the dangerous precedent". *''Before and After Socrates'' (1932) *''Plato's Cosmology : The Timaeus of Plato.'' Hackett Publishing Company (1935) *According to the preface to '' The Republic of Plato'', translated with an introduction and notes (OUP, 1941), it "aims at conveying... as much as possible of the thought of the ''Republic'' in the most convenient and least misleading form."

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * *

External links

''Microcosmographia Academica'' onlineBritish Academy Fellowship entry''The Origin of Attic Comedy''
(1914)
''Greek Religious Thought from Homer to the Age of Alexander''
(1923)
''Greek Natural Philosophy and Modern Science''
a Lecture (1938) *
Trinity College Chapel
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornford, Francis 1874 births 1943 deaths 20th-century English male writers 20th-century scholars 20th-century English translators Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British scholars of ancient Greek philosophy Darwin–Wedgwood family English classical scholars English translators Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of classics People educated at St Paul's School, London People from Eastbourne Laurence Professors of Ancient Philosophy British satirists Commentators on Plato