Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro (29 October 1819 – 30 March 1885) was a

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classical scholar.

Biography

Munro was born at Elgin, Moray,

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, the illegitimate son of Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar by Penelope Forbes, and educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into ...

, where he was one of

Benjamin Hall Kennedy Benjamin Hall Kennedy (6 November 1804 – 6 April 1889) was an English scholar and schoolmaster, known for his work in the teaching of the Latin language. He was an active supporter of Newnham College and Girton College as Cambridge University ...

's first pupils. He went on to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, in 1838, becoming a scholar in 1840, second classic and first chancellor's medallist in 1842, and fellow of his college in 1843. He became classical lecturer at Trinity College, and in 1869 was elected to the newly founded chair of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

at Cambridge, but resigned it in 1872. The great work on which his reputation rests is his edition of

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( , ; – ) 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, and which usually is translated into En ...

, the fruit of many years' efforts (text only, 1 vol., 1860; text, commentary and translation, 2 vols, 1864). As a textual critic his knowledge was profound and his judgment unrivalled; and he studied

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, being a frequent traveller in

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and

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. In 1867 he published an improved text of ''

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'' with commentary, and in the following year a text of Horace with critical introduction, illustrated by specimens of ancient gems selected by

Charles William King Charles William King (5 September 1818 – 25 March 1888) was a British Victorian writer and collector of gems. Early life King was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, and entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1836. He graduated in 1840, and ob ...

. His knowledge and taste are nowhere better shown than in his ''Criticisms and Elucidations'' of

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His ...

(1878). He was a master of the art of

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and Latin verse composition. His contributions to the famous volume of Shrewsbury verse, ''Sabrinae corolla'', are among the most remarkable of the collection. He communicated with

Thomas Saunders Evans Thomas Saunders Evans was an eminent British scholar of and translator into Latin and Ancient Greek.preface of ''Latin and Greek verse'', by Thomas Saunders Evans, ed. Joseph Waite, Cambridge University Press, 1893, anonline .pdf here Waite collec ...

. His ''Translations into Latin and Greek Verse'' were privately printed in 1884. Like his translations into English, these are characterized by minute fidelity to the original, but never cease to be idiomatic. He died while visiting

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. A ''Memoir'' by J. D. Duff was prefixed to a re-issue of the translation of Lucretius in "Bohn's Classical Library" (1908).

References

External links

Lucretius ''On the Nature of Things''
at the

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* * *
Manuscripts relating to Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro
at Trinity College, Cambridge {{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, Hugh Andrew Johnstone 1819 births 1885 deaths People from Elgin, Moray Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Scottish classical scholars People educated at Shrewsbury School Scholars of Latin literature Burials in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome British Latinists Hellenists Translators to Latin Translators to Greek 19th-century translators Kennedy Professors of Latin 19th-century Latin-language writers