Ronald Edward Latham (1907–1992) was an English classicist best known for his translation of ''

On the Nature of the Universe (; ''On the Nature of Things'') is a first-century BC didactic poem by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius () with the goal of explaining Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, written in some 7,400 dactylic hexameters, is di ...

'' by

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ; – October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...

. He also translated ''

The Travels of Marco Polo ''Book of the Marvels of the World'' ( Italian: , lit. 'The Million', possibly derived from Polo's nickname "Emilione"), in English commonly called ''The Travels of Marco Polo'', is a 13th-century travelogue written down by Rustichello da Pis ...

'' and revised

Leo Sherley-Price Lionel Digby (Leo) Sherley-Price (1911–1998) was a Church of England clergyman and Oblate of Saint Benedict who translated medieval Christian literature for the Penguin Classics series. Life Sherley-Price was a student at Sidney Sussex College, ...

's translation of

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

's ''

Ecclesiastical History of the English People The ''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'' (), written by Bede in about AD 731, is a history of the Christian Churches in England, and of England generally; its main focus is on the growth of Christianity. It was composed in Latin, and ...

''.

Education

Latham was educated at

Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne The Royal Grammar School (RGS), Newcastle upon Tyne, is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for pupils aged between 7 and 18 years. Founded in 1525 by Thomas Horsley, the Mayor of Newca ...

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 read '' Literae humaniores''.Editors: R. E. Latham
/ref>

Career

In 1934, he was appointed Assistant Keeper at the

Public Record Office The Public Record Office (abbreviated as PRO, pronounced as three letters and referred to as ''the'' PRO), Chancery Lane in the City of London, was the guardian of the national archives of the United Kingdom from 1838 until 2003, when it was m ...

.''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The Gazette'', is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, i ...

'', 7 September 1934
p.5961
/ref> His 1938 lectures at the

Working Men's College The Working Men's College (also known as the St Pancras Working Men's College, WMC, The Camden College or WM College), is among the earliest adult education institutions established in the United Kingdom, and Europe's oldest extant centre for adu ...

were published in book form as ''In Quest of Civilization'' (1946). In 1968, he was appointed the first editor of the ''

Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources The ''Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources'' ("DMLBS") is a lexicon of Medieval Latin published by the British Academy. The dictionary is not founded upon any earlier dictionary, but derives from original research. After decades of ...

''. In 1977 he retired, and was succeeded by David Howlett.

Works

* ''In Quest of Civilization''. London: Jarrolds, 1946. * (tr.) ''On the nature of the universe'', by

. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1951. * (tr.) ''The travels of Marco Polo'', by

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1958. * ''Finding out about the Normans''. London: Frederick Muller, 1964. * (ed.) ''Revised medieval Latin word-list from British and Irish sources''. London: Published for the British Academy by the Oxford University Press, 1965. * ''Calendar of Memoranda Rolls - Exchequer - preserved in the Public Record Office, Michaelmas 1326 - Michaelmas 1327''. London: Public Record Office, 1968. * (tr.) ''Ecclesiastical history of the English people, with Bede's letter to Egbert and Cuthbert's letter on the death of Bede''. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Latham, Ronald Edward 1907 births 1992 deaths English classical scholars 20th-century English translators Latin–English translators British medievalists Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford