Ellen Francis Mason (June 24, 1846 – 1930) was a

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

author, civic leader, trustee, and philanthropist. She is known today for her translations of

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 ...

Translations of Plato

Mason's annotated translations of Plato's dialogues in everyday English were published anonymously by

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan R ...

beginning in 1879, with a book titled ''Socrates'' that included translations of the Apology,

Crito ''Crito'' ( or ; grc, Κρίτων ) is a dialogue that was written by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. It depicts a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito of Alopece regarding justice (''δικαιοσύνη''), inj ...

, and parts of

Phaedo ''Phædo'' or ''Phaedo'' (; el, Φαίδων, ''Phaidōn'' ), also known to ancient readers as ''On The Soul'', is one of the best-known dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the '' Republic'' and the '' Symposium.'' The philosophica ...

. The book also included an introduction by

William Watson Goodwin William Watson Goodwin (May 9, 1831June 15, 1912) was an American classical scholar, for many years Eliot professor of Greek at Harvard University. Biography He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, the son of Hersey Bradford Goodwin and Lucretti ...

, professor of Greek at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. This book was followed by ''A Day in Athens With Socrates'' (1883; includes translations from Protagoras and The Republic), ''Talks with Socrates About Life'' (1886; Gorgias and The Republic), and ''Talks with Athenian Youths'' (1891; Charmides, Lysis, Laches, Euthydemus, and Theaetetus). Although her name did not appear on the title pages of any of these books, her identity as the translator was known to librarians by 1880. Her translations of Plato inspired

Jo Walton Jo Walton (born 1964) is a Welsh and Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel ''Among Others'', which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and '' Tooth and Claw'', a Victorian era novel ...

to include her as a character renamed Aristomache in her novel ''

The Just City ''The Just City'' is a science fiction/fantasy novel by Jo Walton, published by Tor Books in January 2015. It is the first book of the '' Thessaly trilogy''. The sequel ''The Philosopher Kings'' was published in June 2015, and the final volume, ' ...

'', where she has been transported to an experimental community based on Plato's Republic. Walton writes in an author's note that Mason's life "is like a type-example of how difficult it was for women to lead a life of the mind" in her day.

Personal life and organizational work

Mason was the daughter of Robert Means Mason (son of U.S. Senator

Jeremiah Mason Jeremiah Mason (April 27, 1768 – October 14, 1848) was a United States senator from New Hampshire. Early life Mason was born in Lebanon, Connecticut on April 27, 1768. He was a son of Jeremiah Mason (1729/30–1813) and the former Elizabet ...

), and Sarah Ellen Francis. She lived in Beacon Hill in Boston, where she was a patron of the arts, an Associate (trustee) of Radcliffe College., and a friend to authors like

Sarah Orne Jewett Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909) was an American novelist, short story writer and poet, best known for her local color works set along or near the southern coast of Maine. Jewett is recognized as an important ...

. She spent summers in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, where she lived in a mansion with her sister Ida Means Mason, and served as president of the Newport Civic League for many years. Her death was reported by the Newport Mercury on May 2, 1930. She and her sister (who died two years earlier) left estates of nearly $5 million to charity.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Ellen Francis 1846 births 1930 deaths 19th-century American translators 19th-century American women writers Writers from Boston