Basil L. Gildersleeve

Basil L. Gildersleeve
Born	Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve (1831-10-23)October 23, 1831 Charleston, South Carolina,U.S.
Died	January 9, 1924(1924-01-09)(aged 92) Baltimore,Maryland,U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Classical philologyprofessor
Known for	Founder of theAmerican Journal of Philology
Academic background
Alma mater	Princeton University(BA) University of Bonn University of Göttingen(PhD)
Academic advisors	Johannes Franz Friedrich Wilhelm Ritschl Friedrich Wilhelm Schneidewin
Academic work
Institutions	University of Virginia Johns Hopkins University
Signature

Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve(October 23, 1831 – January 9, 1924) was an Americanclassical scholar.An author of numerous works, and founding editor of theAmerican Journal of Philology,he has been credited with contributions to thesyntaxofGreekandLatin,and the history ofGreek literature.

Early life and education

Gildersleeve was born inCharleston, South Carolina,to Emma Louisa Lanneau, daughter of Bazille Lanneau and Hannah Vinyard, and Benjamin Gildersleeve (1791–1875). His father was aPresbyterianevangelist,and editor of the CharlestonChristian Observerfrom 1826 to 1845, of theRichmond, VirginiaWatchman and Observerfrom 1845 to 1856, and ofThe Central Presbyterianfrom 1856 to 1860.

His maternal grandfather was Bazile Lanneau (born Basile Lanoue), one of the manyFrench Acadianswho wereforcibly expelled by the Britishfrom present dayNova Scotiaduring theFrench and Indian War.His maternal grandmother was Hannah Vinyard.

Gildersleeve graduated fromPrinceton Universityin 1849 at the age of eighteen, and went on to study under Johannes Franz inBerlin,underFriedrich RitschlatBonnand underFriedrich Wilhelm SchneidewinatGöttingen,where he received hisPhDin 1853.

Career

Upon returning to the United States, he was offered a position as a Classics professor atPrinceton University,but he turned it down.From 1856 to 1876, he was professor ofGreekat theUniversity of Virginia,holding the chair ofLatinalso from 1861 to 1866.He married Eliza Fisher Colston on September 18, 1866 in Middlebury, Virginia. After service for theConfederate States Armyin theAmerican Civil War,during which Gildersleeve was shot in the leg, he returned to theUniversity of Virginia.

Johns Hopkins University

Ten years later, he accepted an offer fromDaniel Coit Gilmanto teach atJohns Hopkins UniversityinBaltimore.When the Johns Hopkins University opened in 1876, Gildersleeve was one of five original full professors and was responsible for setting up a program in the study of Greek and Roman literature, at which he succeeded admirably. He chose junior faculty and graduate students who went on to make a major impact in classical studies, at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere. His hiring also helped to reassure the Baltimore community that the new university was not just a northern institution transplanted south.Johns Hopkinswas known to beopposed to slavery,founding presidentDaniel Coit Gilmanwas fromConnecticut,and most other faculty were from the northern states, which led to suspicion regarding the intent of the new institution.

In 1880, theAmerican Journal of Philology,a quarterly published by the Johns Hopkins University, was established under his editorial charge, and his strong personality was expressed in the department of theJournalheaded "Brief Report" or "Lanx Satura," and in the earliest years of its publication every tiny detail was in his hands. His style in it, as elsewhere, is in striking contrast to that of the typical classical scholar, and accords with his conviction that the true aim of scholarship is "that which is." He published aLatin Grammar(1867; revised with the cooperation of Gonzalez B. Lodge, 1895 and 1899; reprinted 1997 with a bibliography of twentieth-century work on the subject)and aLatin Seriesfor use in secondary schools (1875), both marked by lucidity of order and mastery of grammatical theory and methods. His edition ofPersius(1875) has been attributed great value.

Gildersleeve's bent was toward Greek more than Latin. His special interest inChristian Greekwas partly the cause of his editing theApologiesofJustin Martyr(1877), which claimed to have "used unblushingly as a repository for [his]syntacticalformulae. "Gildersleeve's studies under Franz had no doubt quickened his interest in Greeksyntax,and hislogic,untrammeled by previous categories, and his marvelous sympathy with the language were displayed in this most unlikely of places. HisSyntax of Classic Greek(Part I, 1900, withCWE Miller) collects these formulae. Gildersleeve edited in 1885The Olympian and Pythian Odes ofPindar,with what was called "a brilliant and valuable introduction." His views on the function of grammar were summarized in a paper onThe Spiritual Rights of Minute Researchdelivered atBryn Mawron June 16, 1895. His collected contributions to literary periodicals appeared in 1890 under the titleEssays and Studies Educational and Literary.

The Atlantic Monthlypublished an article by Gildersleeve titled "The Creed of the Old South" in January 1892, and an essay, "A Southerner in the Peloponnesian War", in September 1897.Johns Hopkins Presslater published them in a book in 1915.

Gildersleeve's gravestone at theUniversity of Virginia CemeteryinCharlottesville, Virginia.

He was electedpresident of the American Philological Associationin 1877 and again in 1908 and became a member of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Lettersas well as of various learned societies. He was elected to theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciencesin 1896 and theAmerican Philosophical Societyin 1903.He received thehonorary degreeofLL.D.fromWilliam and Mary(1869),Harvard(1896),Yale(1901),Chicago(1901),andPennsylvania(1911);D.C.L.from theUniversity of the South(1884);L.H.D.from Yale (1891) and Princeton (1899); andLitt.D.fromOxfordandCambridge(1905).

Death and legacy

Gildersleeve retired from teaching in 1915. He died on January 9, 1924, and was buried at theUniversity of Virginia CemeteryinCharlottesville, Virginia.In a memorial published in theAmerican Journal of Philology,Professor C. W. E. Miller paid tribute to Gildersleeve, stating, "Of Greek authors, there were few with whom he did not have more than a bowing acquaintance."

In more recent years, Gildersleeve has received critical attention for his unapologeticdefense of slavery,during and after theCivil War.InSoldier and Scholar: Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve and the American Civil War,Ward Briggspublished editorials written by Gildersleeve while he served as a staff officer in theConfederate Armyand as a professor at theUniversity of Virginia,which feature vitriolic attacks on critics of slavery with parallels drawn to ancient Greek authors and situations. He expressed his contempt for Confederate PresidentJefferson Davis,whom he considered inept. Jews also came under attack in his writings, including Confederate cabinet officerJudah P. Benjamin,and those accused ofmiscegenation.

Gildersleeve House, one of the undergraduate dormitories atJohns Hopkins UniversityinBaltimoreand Gildersleeve Portal at Brown Residential College at theUniversity of VirginiainCharlottesville, Virginia,are both named in his honor. His granddaughterKatherine Lane Weemsmade the tworhinocerossculptures atHarvard University.

Fannie Manning Gildersleeve, ablackwoman born approximately 1869, lists Basil Gildersleeve as her father on her funeral records. Fannie Gildersleeve was married to Charlottesville, Virginia educator Benjamin Tonsler.

The University of Virginia's Classics program offers adistinguished professorshipin Gildersleeve's honor. It is currently held byAnthony Corbeill.

External links

• Basil L. Gildersleeveat the Database of Classical Scholars
• Works by Basil Lanneau GildersleeveatProject Gutenberg
• Works by or about Basil L. Gildersleeveat theInternet Archive
• Works by Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve,atHathi Trust
• Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve (1900),Syntax of Classical GreekArchived2015-05-01 at theWayback Machine
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Gilman, D. C.;Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Gildersleeve, Basil Lanneau".New International Encyclopedia(1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
• Gikandi, Simon:"Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve"