The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-10-30
TUESDAY. OCTOBER so, 1900.
a ,IoDEi,N SCHOLAR.


The part OF description of the late
!. Thomas Davidson. who died recently in.
j hospital in Montreal. To the great mass
CT English and American people this
Scotch American is an unknown person,
and yet his mental attachments, his
scholastic learning and his wide human
sympatllies have entitled him 10 a place
among The great scholars Of rhe world.
we think the description of his ability in
his chosen fields Of learning is SO great as
10 cntitle him to a full quotation here.
In order that others might see what the
human mind can do, and what vast feds
of knowledge may be accurately and use
fully carried within a COMPASS of one
I 4.,.nan brain.
Thomas Davidson would have de-
lighted Goethe; the Wandcrjahre Of
Wilhelm Meister was Davidson's own
1ss1f.>. He. toa. held that ito give room for
wandering the world was made SO wide"
had been born within the shadow of
Bunker Hill, he nevertheless was so
classic IN feeling that he yearned for the
palms and temple of the South, and
he had his wish gratified. Attached.
largely through Longfellow's generous
Influence TO the examination depart
ment of Harvard University, he soon had
the opportunity of repairing to Athens,
where he studied Greek archaeology.
And here il may be said that p:rEaps
Davidson was one of the greatest lin
gusts of his age. Well grounded in
Greek and Latin cable, after the good
old medzaepal plan, TO speak as well as
10 read Latin). he obtained complete
mastery of modern Greek within few
months of reaching Athens. He could
make speech in that language as easily
as did Mr.. Gladstone in the Ionian
Islands. He spoke and read French,
German. italian. Spanish. Morse with
absolute ease. He did his phiiosophic
thinking in German rather than in his
own tongue. Ee acquired later on COM
;,iete proficiency in Hebrew and Arabic,
and was fairly well yersed in Czech, Rus
sian, and Magyar. He never forgot a
single word he had ever learned. His
4
sion in Greek. He never missed once.
giving not only the ordinary, ,but ex-
ceptienal meaning. and stating in what
authors they We're to be found. He could
repeat most of Aristotle's Ethics from
end 10 end in the original. He knew, word
for word. that difficult second rart of
Faust which at times battles even Ger
man professors, but his supreme love was
iearte. He knew the whole of the D.vina.
Colnmed.a. and students who have read
his introduction to Scartazinnis hand
book TO the great Tuscan. know row
Dante. Thus did this simple. hearty
hig-sfrained Scottish-American wandert
ever the globe. To-day in his little Via
In the Italian Alps. Tomorrow in a lovely
.nse-corered villa in Capri. again among
the slashed-faced students of Hs!dclbcrg.
IN the halls of oxford and Cambridge. or
under the shadow of .he State House in
Classic Bosten-thus did he absorb Gull
ture, study the world, and charm and fn
icrtain his hundred trends.
IL is rather dangerous to be great
ltnsuist. for the chances are that you
will be nothing else-iike Ca dinal aiezz -
santl But Thomas Davidson was
rontradicaiion TO al rules. Though he
missed being great thinker. he had a
powerful phtlosophic mind Like all
Thai ST. Louis group. he had begun by be-
ing a strong Heselian. but he lived to-
depornce Hegei Us unfairly as he had once
praised him. Msdiaerai in his conception
of land ne might say in his psrsonationl
ne wandering scholar. Davidson became
sncdiaesai IN his philosophy. he took up:
me study Of Thomas Aauinas outs.ds.
si,e ranks OF the profound Catholic
scholar. there are few who can say that
4s,cy nave mastered the .ssumma.... one
or those few MAS alr. Davidson. One.
I sia,ist not hold him finally In anything
bit 1ale time he wrote his learned
81 RosIu,ini. the modern catholic
sla,1,,axonist OF the Jcsa he Ger. aii,lsi
s..sllsvsl that AqnInas. based on tho