John Stuart Blackie was one of the most impressive and influential figures of nineteenth-century Scotland, as well as one of the most striking and flamboyant. As an intellectual he translated Goethe's Faust and brought first-hand knowledge of German philosophy to Scotland as a means of keeping the Enlightenment tradition alive. As first Professor of Humanity at Aberdeen from 1839 to 1852 and then as Professor of Greek at Edinburgh until 1882, he played a, perhaps the, central role in modernising the Scottish university curriculum, removing the dead hand of theological orthodoxy, raising standards (and the entry age), introducing tutorial teaching and establishing new chairs (including the Edinburgh chair of Celtic). His role in the reform of secondary school teaching was equally central. But Blackie was also a great 'public man', corresponding with great and famous throughout Great Britain and Europe, from Goethe and Carlyle to Ruskin and Gladstone, and filling the pages of newspapers and journals with writings on the major issues of the day. For the last thirty years of his life he became closely involved in issues of Scottish nationalism and home rule, and as champion of the crofters is largely responsible for their contemporary survival and unique status. Despite the existence of a rich archive of his papers and letters, there has been only one book devoted to his life: The Life of Professor John Stuart Blackie, the most distinguished Scotsman of the day, edited by J. G. Duncan and published in 1895.

John Stuart Blackie (1805-1895) trained in law and studied divinity in Scotland and Germany before becoming a professor of Classics. Confident, well-travelled, vivacious, and outspoken, he delivered numerous public lectures, was instrumental in the founding of the Gaelic Chair at Edinburgh University, and published translations of many German and Classical works, as well as an impressive body of literary criticism. He was active in Radical politics, a strong opponent of the 1867 Reform Bill, and well-known for his eccentric dress. Anna M. Stoddart's detailed biography of Blackie, published in 1896, provides captivating insights into this extraordinary man's life and times by drawing on letters and papers provided by Blackie's widow and colleagues soon after his death. It remains a useful source for scholars interested in Scottish education or the experience of Scots abroad, as well as those studying nineteenth-century literature and literary criticism.

Excerpt from John Stuart Blackie: A Biography Blackie's, for reminiscences and anecdotes of im portance to the presentation of his individuality; to Sir Theodore Martin, for greatly esteemed interest and suggestions; to the executors of the late Mr J. A. Froude, and to many others, for their kind permission to quote from letters written to Professor Blackie; to the executors of the late Sheriff Nicolson, for their kind permission to make quotations from his poems; to Mr David Douglas, for furnishing statistics of publications; and, finally, to Mr Black wood, for his unwearied interest and encouragement during the progress of the biography. The writer has taken advantage of the present edition to revise the whole very carefully; to make use of the many valuable suggestions to which the circulation of its earlier editions gave rise; and to correct slips in the original work. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.