Louis Claude Purser, FBA (28 September 1854 in

Abbeyside Abbeyside () is a townland in Dungarvan in County Waterford, Ireland. It lies on the east bank of the Colligan River. History MacGrath's Castle was a notable landmark in Abbeyside, overlooking Dungarvan Harbour, until it collapsed in January ...

– 20 March 1932 in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

) was an Irish classical scholar. Purser was educated at

Midleton College Midleton College is an independent co-educational boarding and day school in Midleton, County Cork, Ireland. In past centuries it has also been called Midleton School. Although founded in 1696, the school did not open until 1717. It went thr ...

, County Cork,''The New International Encyclopædia'', Volume 19 (Dodd, Mead, 1922), p. 387 and

Portora Royal School Portora Royal School located in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, was one of the 'free schools' founded by the royal charter in 1608, by James I, making it one of the oldest schools in Ireland at the time of its closure. Origina ...

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

, where a fellow pupil and student of classics was

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

. Purser was a tutor at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, from 1881 to 1898. In 1897, he was appointed as Professor of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

there. He collaborated with Dr.

Robert Yelverton Tyrrell Robert Yelverton Tyrrell ( ; 21 January 1844 – 19 September 1914) was an Irish classics, classical scholar who was Regius Professor of Greek (Trinity), Regius Professor of Greek at Trinity College Dublin. He was a prominent figure in the "Du ...

on the translation of the letters of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

. Purser and Arthur Palmer completed the editorial work for the final volumes of James Henry’s ''Aeneidea'', a detailed commentary on

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

’s ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'', after the death of John Fletcher Davies, the editor originally appointed by Henry’s trustees. He was the brother of the Irish artist

Sarah Purser Sarah Henrietta Purser RHA (22 March 1848 – 7 August 1943) was an Irish artist mainly noted for her portraiture. She was the first woman to become a full member of the Royal Hibernian Academy. She also founded and financially supported An T� ...

. His niece Olive Purser was the first woman scholar in TCD. He is buried at

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium () is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemetery, Roman Catholics have a ...

References

External links

* 1854 births 1932 deaths Irish translators Latin–English translators People from County Waterford Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium People educated at Portora Royal School People educated at Midleton College {{Ireland-translator-stub