Sir Henry Desmond Pritchard Lee (30 August 1908 – 8 December 1993) was an English classical scholar specialising in

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 ...

who became a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

and

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...

of Corpus Christi College at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, a lecturer in the university, and then Headmaster successively of

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

and

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

, before ending his career back at Cambridge University as President of Hughes Hall.

Early life

Born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, the son of the Rev. Canon Henry Burgass Lee, the young Lee was educated at Arden House,'LEE, Sir Henry Desmond Pritchard, Kt.' in ''The International Who's Who: 1990–91'' (Europa Publications Limited, 1990), p. 930: "b. 30 Aug. 1908, Nottingham; s. of Canon HB Lee; m. Elizabeth Crookenden 1935; one s. two d.; ed. Arden House, Repton School, Cambridge Univ." then at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, ...

, where he held the

George Denman George Denman (23 December 1819 – 21 September 1896) was an English barrister, High Court judge, and Liberal politician. Early life Denman was born at 50 Russell Square, London, the fourth son of Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, of Dov ...

scholarship, before going on to

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, where he was again a scholar and gained a

Double First The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

, with Firsts in Part 1 of the

Classical Tripos The Classical Tripos is the taught course in classics at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. It is equivalent to Literae Humaniores at Oxford. It is traditionally a three-year degree, but for those who have not previously studied L ...

in 1928 and in Part 2 in 1930. He also gained a Charles Oldham scholarship.'LEE, Sir (Henry) Desmond (Pritchard)', in '' Who Was Who 1996–2000'' (London: A. & C. Black, 2001, ) While he was still an undergraduate at Cambridge, Lee became a friend of the Austrian philosopher

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...

(1889–1951), in 1930 staying with the Wittgenstein family in Austria. Many years later, in editing ''Wittgenstein's Lectures: Cambridge, 1930–1932'', Lee wrote an account of their friendship, which came to an end after the focus of Lee's academic career turned to

. His other friends during this period included

William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his first ...

.John Thorn,
Obituary: Sir Desmond Lee
in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' dated 21 December 1993, at independent.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2011

Career

Lee was elected a

of Corpus Christi College in 1933. The same year, he was admitted to the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, but he did not go on to practice as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. From 1935 to 1948 he was also a college tutor, from 1937 to 1948 a University Lecturer in Classics, and in 1944 he became a member of the University's Council of the Senate, serving until 1948. From 1941 until 1944, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he also worked in the Regional Commissioner's Office at Cambridge, assisting

Will Spens Sir William Spens, CBE (31 May 1882 – 1 November 1962) was a Scottish educationalist, academic and Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Life Born in Glasgow on 31 May 1882, one of four sons of John Spens and Sophia Nicol, Spens was ed ...

. In 1948, by which time he had become Senior Tutor of his college, Lee was persuaded to go to

as Headmaster, and in 1954 proceeded from there to serve as head of

, where he remained until 1968. In 1958–59 he was a member of the Anderson Committee on Grants to Students and was twice Chairman of the

Headmasters' Conference The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC) is an association of the head teachers of 361 independent schools (both boarding schools and day schools), some traditionally described as public schools. 298 Members are based in the Unite ...

, first in 1959–1960 and again in 1967. In 1968 he returned to Cambridge as a Fellow of

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

(which was renamed Wolfson College in 1973). In 1973, he became President of Hughes Hall, serving until 1978, when he retired and was made an Honorary Fellow.

Scholar

Lee published a study of the

pre-Socratic Pre-Socratic philosophy, also known as early Greek philosophy, is ancient Greek philosophy before Socrates. Pre-Socratic philosophers were mostly interested in cosmology, the beginning and the substance of the universe, but the inquiries of thes ...

Greek philosopher

Zeno of Elea Zeno of Elea (; grc, Ζήνων ὁ Ἐλεᾱ́της; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of Magna Graecia and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. Aristotle called him the inventor of the dialectic. He is best known fo ...

(1935), and translations with commentary of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's ''

Meteorologica ''Meteorology'' (Greek: ; Latin: ''Meteorologica'' or ''Meteora'') is a treatise by Aristotle. The text discusses what Aristotle believed to have been all the affections common to air and water, and the kinds and parts of the earth and the affect ...

'' (1952),

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

's ''

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

'' (1955) and his

dialogue Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...

s '' Timæus'' and ''

Critias Critias (; grc-gre, Κριτίας, ''Kritias''; c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian political figure and author. Born in Athens, Critias was the son of Callaeschrus and a first cousin of Plato's mother Perictione. He became a leading ...

'' (1971). In his edition of the ''

'' of Plato, Lee defended Plato against criticism based on the term "

noble lie In politics, a noble lie is a myth or a lie typically of religious nature, knowingly propagated by an elite to maintain social harmony or advance an agenda. The noble lie is a concept originated by Plato as described in '' The Republic''. In reli ...

", and translated ''γενναίον ψεύδος'' (''gennaion pseudos'') as "magnificent myth".Desmond Lee, trans. & ed., ''Plato: The Republic'' (Penguin Classics), p. 177 He wrote: In 1971 Desmond Lee added an ''Appendix on Atlantis'' to his translation of Plato's Timaeus-Critias: While conceding a possible historical background for Atlantis Lee at the same time called the Atlantis story "imaginary history" and "science fiction" in the past.

Private life

In 1935, Lee married Elizabeth, daughter of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

A. Crookenden

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

DSO, and they had one son and two daughters. An art collector, his paintings included an

Ivon Hitchens Ivon Hitchens (born London, 3 March 1893 – 29 August 1979) was an English painter who started exhibiting during the 1920s. He became part of the 'London Group' of artists and exhibited with them during the 1930s. His house was bombed in 1940 du ...

landscape. In an

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

, a Clifton colleague wrote of him: Lee died on 8 December 1993, after many years of retirement, with his mental powers failing. At the time of his death he was living at 8, Barton Close, Cambridge. He had become an active supporter of the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

Grantchester Grantchester is a village and civil parish on the River Cam or Granta in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about south of Cambridge. Name The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Grantesete'' and ''Grauntset ...

Honours

*Knighthood, 1961 *Honorary D. Litt,

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

, 1963

Publications

*''Zeno of Elea: a text and notes'', 1935 *''Aristotle, Meteorologica'', 1952 *''Plato, Republic'', 1955, revised edition 1974 *''Plato, Timæus and Critias, with an appendix on Atlantis'', 1971Robert L. Maxwell, ''Maxwell's guide to authority work'' (2002), p. 99 (NB: The 2008 revised edition omits the ''Appendix on Atlantis'') *''Entry and Performance at Oxford and Cambridge'', 1966–71, 1972 *''Wittgenstein's Lectures 1930–32'' (ed.), 1980

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Desmond 1908 births 1993 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of University College, Cambridge Fellows of Wolfson College, Cambridge People educated at Repton School Headmasters of Clifton College Headmasters of Winchester College People from Nottingham