William Wyse
Encyclopedia
William Wyse was a classical scholar, noted for his work on the Attic orator Isaeus
, and a benefactor of the University of Cambridge
.
and as a scholar at King's School, Canterbury Wyse graduated with first class honours in the Classical Tripos
at Trinity College
, Cambridge University in 1882, being placed fourth in class. He won the Browne Scholarship and Powis Medal in 1880 and the Waddington Scholarship in 1881. After graduation he submitted a dissertation on Aristotle's Politics
to become a fellow
of Trinity before becoming a tutor at the London
firm of Wren and Gurney
. In 1892 University College, London split its previously combined chair in Greek and Latin, awarding the new chair in Greek to Wyse and in Latin to A.E.Housman. The position did not last long, however, as, disillusioned by the low calibre of his students, Wyse resigned in 1894 and resumed his fellowship at Trinity.
The classical scholars J.E.B. Mayor
and J.E.Sandys
spoke in high regard of Wyse's criticism of the newly discovered treatise by Aristotle
on the Constitution of Athens which (in Sandy's words) "give abundant proof not only of his acumen as a textual critic, but also of profound acquaintance with Greek History and Constitutional Antiquities."
In 1904, the year of his retirement from Trinity due to ill health, Wyse published his magnum opus
, a Greek text and commentary on the speeches of Isaeus
. Wyse rated Isaeus as "an unscrupulous falsifier of law and fact in the service of clients whose claims to the estates they contested were, without exception, fraudulent"; this view is, however, increasingly viewed as unjust by more modern scholars..
On his death in 1929 Wyse endowed the William Wyse fund, which was used in part to endow the new chair
, named in honour of Wyse, in social anthropology
at Cambridge in 1932.
Isaeus
Isaeus , fl. early 4th century BC. One of the ten Attic Orators according to the Alexandrian canon. He was a student of Isocrates in Athens, and later taught Demosthenes while working as a metic speechwriter for others. Only eleven of his speeches survive, with fragments of a twelfth. They are...
, and a benefactor of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
Life
After education at the King Edward VI School Stratford-upon-AvonKing Edward VI School Stratford-upon-Avon
King Edward VI School is a voluntary aided boys grammar school in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England...
and as a scholar at King's School, Canterbury Wyse graduated with first class honours in the Classical Tripos
Classical Tripos
The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the University of Cambridge, equivalent to Literae Humaniores at Oxford. It is traditionally a three year degree, but for those who have not studied Latin and Greek at school a four year course has been introduced...
at Trinity College
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, Cambridge University in 1882, being placed fourth in class. He won the Browne Scholarship and Powis Medal in 1880 and the Waddington Scholarship in 1881. After graduation he submitted a dissertation on Aristotle's Politics
Politics (Aristotle)
Aristotle's Politics is a work of political philosophy. The end of the Nicomachean Ethics declared that the inquiry into ethics necessarily follows into politics, and the two works are frequently considered to be parts of a larger treatise, or perhaps connected lectures, dealing with the...
to become a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of Trinity before becoming a tutor at the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
firm of Wren and Gurney
Wren and Gurney
Wren and Gurney was a crammer which specialised in preparing candidates for the public examinations of the army, the United Kingdom civil service and Indian civil service....
. In 1892 University College, London split its previously combined chair in Greek and Latin, awarding the new chair in Greek to Wyse and in Latin to A.E.Housman. The position did not last long, however, as, disillusioned by the low calibre of his students, Wyse resigned in 1894 and resumed his fellowship at Trinity.
The classical scholars J.E.B. Mayor
John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor
John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor was an English classical scholar.He was born at Baddegama, Sri Lanka , and returned to England to be educated at Shrewsbury School and St John's College, Cambridge....
and J.E.Sandys
John Edwin Sandys
Sir John Edwin Sandys FBA , was a classical scholar.He was born at Leicester on 19 May 1844, a son of the Reverend Timothy Sandys of the Church Missionary Society and Rebecca . Living at first in India, he returned to England at the age of eleven, and was educated at the Church Missionary Society...
spoke in high regard of Wyse's criticism of the newly discovered treatise by Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
on the Constitution of Athens which (in Sandy's words) "give abundant proof not only of his acumen as a textual critic, but also of profound acquaintance with Greek History and Constitutional Antiquities."
In 1904, the year of his retirement from Trinity due to ill health, Wyse published his magnum opus
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
, a Greek text and commentary on the speeches of Isaeus
Isaeus
Isaeus , fl. early 4th century BC. One of the ten Attic Orators according to the Alexandrian canon. He was a student of Isocrates in Athens, and later taught Demosthenes while working as a metic speechwriter for others. Only eleven of his speeches survive, with fragments of a twelfth. They are...
. Wyse rated Isaeus as "an unscrupulous falsifier of law and fact in the service of clients whose claims to the estates they contested were, without exception, fraudulent"; this view is, however, increasingly viewed as unjust by more modern scholars..
On his death in 1929 Wyse endowed the William Wyse fund, which was used in part to endow the new chair
William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology
The William Wyse Professorship of Social Anthropology is a professorship in social anthropology at the University of Cambridge. It was founded on 18 June 1932 and endowed partly with the support of Trinity College from money bequeathed to them by William Wyse, formerly Fellow and Honorary Fellow of...
, named in honour of Wyse, in social anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
at Cambridge in 1932.