Robert Gregg Bury (22 March 1869 – 11 February 1951) was an Irish clergyman,

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Cla ...

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined ...

, and a translator of the works 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 ...

and

Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus ( grc-gre, Σέξτος Ἐμπειρικός, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and ...

into English.

Early life and education

Born in Clontibret,

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, Bury was the son of Edward John Bury, the canon of

Clogher Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne ...

, and the brother of

John Bagnell Bury John Bagnell Bury (; 16 October 1861 – 1 June 1927) was an Anglo-Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his ''Lat ...

, an Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. It was pleasantly claimed by neighbors that the only language spoken in the Clontibret presbytery was

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

.Auguste Diès
"Robert Gregg Bury (1869-1951)"
In: ''Bulletin de l'Association Guillaume Budé'', No. 1, March 1952. p. 66. He studied classics under Professor Henry Jackson at

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. ...

, winning the Browne Medal Scholar in 1889 and graduating with first-class honours in classics in 1890. He graduated as M.A. in 1893 and received a Litt.D. in 1910."Robert Gregg BURY"
ACAD: A Cambridge Alumni Database, cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2017.

Academic career

In 1893-94 he was ''Bishop Berkeley Fellow'' in Ancient Philosophy at Owens College in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

and in 1895 he was appointed lecturer in Greek and Latin Literature at

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. He worked as Examiner in Classical Tripos at Cambridge University in the years 1899-1900 and 1905-6.

Career as clergyman

In 1895 Bury decided to become an Anglican clergyman. He was ordinated as a deacon in that year and as a priest in 1897. From this time onwards "il va consacrer sa vie d'une part au ministère des âmes, d'autre part à la philologie grecque et spécialement à Platon"Auguste Diès
"Robert Gregg Bury (1869-1951)"
In: ''Bulletin de l'Association Guillaume Budé'', No. 1, March 1952. p. 67. e devoted his life to ministering to souls on the one hand, and on the other to Greek philology and especially to Plato For several decades he was a curate successively at

Staplehurst Staplehurst is a town and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England, south of the town of Maidstone and with a population of 6,003. The town lies on the route of a Roman road, which is now incorporated into the course of the A ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

(1895–98), in the parish of

St Andrew Holborn __NOTOC__ St Andrew Holborn was an ancient English parish that until 1767 was partly in the City of London and mainly in the county of Middlesex. Its City, thus southern, part retained its former name or was sometimes officially referred to as ...

(1897–99), at Clontibret,

(1899-1900), and at Templecarn,

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrcon ...

(1900–01); then a vicar at Trumpington,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

(1903–18); and finally a rector at East Gilling,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

(1918–24), and at Dickleburgh and Langmere,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nor ...

(1924–28). He then retired and, following the death of his wife in 1934, worked peacefully in Cambridge until his death there in 1951. During these final years he continued to make regular contributions to academic journals such as the ''Classical Quarterly'', ''Classical Studies'', ''Revue des Études greques'', and ''Revue de philologie''.

Legacy

During the earlier part of his life Bury made a name for himself by creating authoritative new editions (with introductions, critical commentaries and notes) for the

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pr ...

of Plato's Socratic dialogues

Philebus The ''Philebus'' (; occasionally given as ''Philebos''; Greek: ) is a Socratic dialogue written in the 4th century BC by Plato. Besides Socrates (the main speaker) the other interlocutors are Philebus and Protarchus. Philebus, who advocates th ...

and

Symposium In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...

. Then he composed English translations (again accompanied by commentaries and notes) of Plato's Timaeus, Critias, Cleitophon, Menexenus,

Epistles An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...

and

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

and of the works of

for the bilingual

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and ...

. In late life he turned his mind to other areas of religion and philosophy, penning a study of the

logos ''Logos'' (, ; grc, λόγος, lógos, lit=word, discourse, or reason) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric and refers to the appeal to reason that relies on logic or reason, inductive and deductive reasoning. Aris ...

doctrine in the

Gospel of John The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

and study in the history of philosophy with the title of ''The Devil's Puzzle. A Survey of Men's Notions of Man''. Critics have remarked on the extensive nature of the introductions, commentaries, notes and appendices to be found in Bury's books (for example, the introduction of 75 pages in his ''Philebus'' and the 53 pages of notes out of a total of 80 pages in his ''The Fourth Gospel and the Logos-Doctrine''). Most of Bury's translations have been reprinted repeatedly and are still in print today. Professor Robert B. Todd remarked that " w British scholars have served served Greek philosophical studies as well without holding a formal academic position".

Personal life

In 1894 Bury married Eloise Ives Lanyon (1863-1934). They had one son, John Patrick Tuer Bury (1908–87), who became a fellow and university lecturer in modern history at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University.

Gregg Bury Prize

The Gregg Bury Prize has been established at the

University of Cambridge , 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 ...

and is "awarded for a distinguished dissertation on the subject of the

Philosophy of Religion Philosophy of religion is "the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions". Philosophical discussions on such topics date from ancient times, and appear in the earliest known texts concerning p ...

". Past recipients have included

Malcolm Jeeves Malcolm Alexander Jeeves (born 16 November 1926) is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of St Andrews, and was formerly President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He established the Department of Psychology at St Andrews and his ...

Ian Hacking Ian MacDougall Hacking (born February 18, 1936) is a Canadian philosopher specializing in the philosophy of science. Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards, such as the Killam Prize for the Humanities and the Balzan Prize, and been ...

, Neema Sofaer and K. M. A. (Karim) Esmail.

Select bibliography

Books: As editor and commentator

* ''The Philebus of Plato.'' Edited with Introduction, Notes and Appendices. Cambridge University Press, 1897
online
* ''The Symposium of Plato.'' Edited with Introduction, Critical Notes and Commentary. Cambridge, W. Heffer and Sons, 1909
online

Books: As translator, editor and commentator

* ''Plato in Twelve Volumes: IX. Timaeus. Critias. Cleitophon. Menexenus. Epistles. With an English Translation.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1929 (Loeb Classical Library, 234)
online
* ''Plato, with an English Translation: Volume IX: Laws. In Two Volumes. I.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, London, William Heinemann, 1926 (Loeb Classical Library, 187)
online
* ''Plato, with an English Translation: Volume IX: Laws. In Two Volumes. II.'' London, William Heinemann, New York, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1926 (Loeb Classical Library, 192)
online
* ''Sextus Empiricus. With an English Translation by the Rev. R. G. Bury, Litt.D. In Four Volumes.'' ** Vol. I: ''Outlines of Pyrrhonism.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, London, William Heinemann, 1933 (Loeb Classical Library, 273)
online
** Vol. II: ''Against the Logicians.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, London, William Heinemann, 1935 (Loeb Classical Library, 291)
online
** Vol. III: ''Against the Physicists. Against the ethicists.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, London, William Heinemann, 1936 (Loeb Classical Library, 311) ** Vol. IV: ''Against the Professors.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, London, William Heinemann, 1949 (Loeb Classical Library, 382)

Books: As critic

* ''The Fourth Gospel and the Logos-Doctrine.'' Cambridge, W. Heffer & Sons, 1940.Catalog Record: The Fourth gospel and the logos-doctrine, by R. G. Bury.
hathitrust.org. Retrieved 1 August 2017. * ''The Devil's Puzzle: A Survey of Men's Notions of Man.'' Dublin, At the Sign of the Three Candles Press, 1949. Introduction by

Shane Leslie Sir John Randolph Leslie, 3rd Baronet (Irish: ''Sir Seaghán Leslaigh''; 24 September 1885 – 14 August 1971), commonly known as Sir Shane Leslie, was an Irish-born diplomat and writer. He was a first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill. In 1908 ...

Articles

* "The Later Platonism", in: ''Journal of Philology'', vol. 23 (1895), pp. 161-201. * Review of R. K. Gaye, ''The Platonic Conception of Immortality'', in: '' The Classical Review'', vol. 19 (1905), pp. 160-62.
"Theory of education in Plato's « Laws »"
in: ''Revue des Études greques'', Volume 50 (1937), Numéro 236, pp. 304-320.