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Frontispiece: PortraitinoilsofE.R.DoddsbyCorinnaMacNeice(1976?), ownedbytheFacultyofClassics,UniversityofOxford.Alsoprintedin Missing Persons:AnAutobiography (Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1977),opp.139. Reproducedbykindpermissionoftheartist.
Rediscovering E.R.Dodds Scholarship,Education,Poetry, andtheParanormal
Editedby CHRISTOPHERSTRAY, CHRISTOPHERPELLING, and STEPHENHARRISON
3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom
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PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica
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Preface ThisbookoriginatedinaconferenceonE.R.DoddsheldatCorpusChristi College,Oxford,on1March2014,undertheaegisoftheCorpus ChristiCollegeCentrefortheStudyofGreekandRomanAntiquity.The meetingwasorganizedbyStephenHarrisonandChrisStray,whothen askedChrisPellingtojoinacollaborationwhichhasprovedbothproductiveandenjoyable.
TheeditorsoffertheirthankstoDonaldRussell,Dodds’sliteraryexecutor,bothforhiscontributiontotheconferenceandnowtothevolume, andforgrantingpermissionforquotationfromDodds’spublishedwork.¹ TheyalsothankColinHarrisandJudithPriestmanforhelpwiththeDodds papersintheBodleianLibrary,andLukePitcher,AnneSheppard,and StephanieWestforhelpofvariouskinds.AtOxfordUniversityPress, CharlotteLoveridgeandGeorginaLeightonhaveprovidedsterlingsupport forthevolume.TheanonymousreviewersforthePresshavegivenushelpful suggestions,especiallythereviewerwhoalsosupplieda finalreview.
Anoteonarchivalsources:themajordepositofDodds’spapers(fifty-two boxes)isintheBodleianLibrary,Oxford,andisreferredtointhisvolumeas ‘DoddsPapers’;arecentadditionaldeposit(twoboxes)isreferredto as ‘DoddsPapersadditional’.Theseadditionalpapersarenotcatalogued, butaboxlistisavailableonsiteforthemaindeposit.Dodds’ spapers onpsychicresearch(thirteenboxes,catalogued)areheldinCambridge UniversityLibrary,MSSPR/67.
ChristopherStray,ChristopherPelling, andStephenHarrison
¹DonaldRussellhasnowbeensucceededbyChrisPellingasDodds’sliteraryexecutor.
ListofIllustrations ix
ListofContributors xi
1.Introduction:AMissingPerson?1 ChristopherStrayandChristopherPelling
2.AnIrishmanAbroad10 ChristopherStray
3.TheBattlefortheIrrational:GreekReligion1920–5036 RenaudGagné
4.TheRationalIrrationalist:DoddsandtheParanormal88 N.J.Lowe
5. TheGreeksandtheIrrational 116 RobertParker
6. ‘Theroadofexcess’:DoddsandGreekTragedy128 ScottScullion
7.DoddsonPlato:The Gorgias Edition149 R.B.Rutherford
8.Dodds’sInfluenceonNeoplatonicStudies167 AnneSheppard
9.PagansandChristians:FiftyYearsofAnxiety182 TeresaMorgan
10.Dodds,Plotinus,andStephenMacKenna198 JohnDillon
11. ‘Thelonely flightofMind’:W.B.Yeats,LouisMacNeice, andtheMetaphysicalPoetryofDodds’sScholarship210 TomWalker
12.TheDeathsofTragedy:The Agamemnon ofMacNeice, Dodds,andYeats228 PeterMcDonald
13.DoddsandEducationalPolicyforaDefeatedGermany244 DavidPhillips
14.MemoriesofE.R.Dodds264
RuthPadel, HelenGanly, OswynMurray, andDonaldRussell
ListofIllustrations Frontispiece:PortraitinoilsofE.R.DoddsbyCorinnaMacNeice(1976?), ownedbytheFacultyofClassics,UniversityofOxford.Alsoprintedin MissingPersons:AnAutobiography (Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress, 1977),opp.139ii
Reproducedbykindpermissionoftheartist
2.1PhotoofDoddsatthesiteofTroy,holdingagardenfork(1960)26 TakenbySusanMaryRileyClagettandreproducedbykindpermission ofKathleenWilliams
2.2EricRobertsonDoddsbyWalterStoneman,February1945.Given byWalterStoneman,1951.NPG 2054031 ©NationalPortraitGallery,London
14.1DetailofapencilportraitofE.R.DoddsbyHelenGanly(1979), inpossessionofOswynMurray273
Reproducedbykindpermissionoftheartist
ListofContributors JohnDillon isEmeritusRegiusProfessorofGreekatTrinityCollegeDublin.
RenaudGagné isReaderinAncientGreekLiteratureandReligionattheUniversity ofCambridge.
HelenGanly isFirstArtistinResidenceattheAshmoleanMuseum.
StephenHarrison isProfessorofLatinLiteratureattheUniversityofOxford.
N.J.Lowe isReaderinClassicsatRoyalHolloway,UniversityofLondon.
PeterMcDonald isProfessorofEnglishandRelatedLiteratureattheUniversity ofOxford.
TeresaMorgan isProfessorofGraeco-RomanHistoryattheUniversityofOxford.
OswynMurray isEmeritusFellowofBalliolCollegeattheUniversityofOxford.
RuthPadel isProfessorofPoetryatKing’sCollegeLondon.
RobertParker isEmeritusWykehamProfessorofAncientHistoryattheUniversity ofOxford.
ChristopherPelling isEmeritusRegiusProfessorofGreekattheUniversity ofOxford.
DavidPhillips isEmeritusProfessorofComparativeEducationattheUniversity ofOxford.
DonaldRussell isEmeritusProfessorofClassicalLiteratureattheUniversity ofOxford.
R.B.Rutherford isTutorinGreekandLatinLiteratureatChristChurch,Oxford.
ScottScullion isAssociateProfessorinClassicalLanguagesandLiteratureatthe UniversityofOxford.
AnneSheppard isProfessorEmeritaofAncientPhilosophyatRoyalHolloway, UniversityofLondon.
ChristopherStray isHonoraryResearchFellowintheDepartmentofClassics, AncientHistory,andEgyptologyatSwanseaUniversity.
TomWalker isUssherAssistantProfessorinIrishWritingatTrinityCollegeDublin.
1 Introduction AMissingPerson? ChristopherStrayandChristopherPelling
MissingPersons wasthetitleeventuallychosenbyEricRobertsonDoddsfor hisautobiography,publishedjusttwoyearsbeforetheendofhislonglife (1893–1979).Thetitlewasintendedtobringoutthedisconnectionsand discontinuitiesofhislife,therangeofhisinterests,thepathsnottaken.Yet notallhavefoundthetitleappropriate.Oneoftheearliestreviewers (Toynbee1977)immediatelypickedupontheunderlyingunityofpersonalitythatemergedfromabooksorichinretrospectiveself-analysisandso beautifullywritten(itwontheDuffCooperprize),andDonaldRussell returnedtothepointinhisBritishAcademyobituary(‘presentingan unusuallycoherentandconsistentcharacter’,Russell1981,357).¹Another obituarist,however,remarkedthat ‘thereaderfeelsthatsomethingisbeing withheld;therewasmoretoDodds’scomplicatedpersonalitythanthebook reveals’ (Lloyd-Jones1980);andinhisownautobiographyKennethDover referredtoDodds’ s ‘characteristiccharityandreticence’ (Dover1994, 39–40).Wehopethatthiscollectionmaycomplement MissingPersons (henceforth MP)anddosomethingtoilluminatethewaysinwhichthe variouselementsinDodds’slifecometogether.
Forcometogethertheydo.Hisdeepengagementwithmodernpoetry, enrichedbypersonalcontactswithYeats(inthatcaseratheruneasy, MP 57–61),Eliot,Auden,andespeciallyMacNeice,makesitunsurprisingthat his Bacchae commentaryisstillunsurpassedforbringingoutthebeautyand artistryoftheGreek.²Theearnestnesswithwhichhetookpoliticalissues andanypublicrole,whetherinhisearlystickingtohisconvictionsdespite
¹Cf.alsoMurray,p.276.Referencesofthiskindaretocontributionstothisbook.
²ThusLloyd-Jones1965,166,reviewingBarrett’ s Hippolytos (1964): ‘Inpointofpowerto communicateafullenjoymentofthebeautyofthepoetryandtheimpactofthetragedy,this commentary,likeallothersknowntome,fallsshortofDodds’ Bacchae. ’
ChristopherStrayandChristopherPelling, Introduction:AMissingPerson? In: RediscoveringE.R.Dodds Editedby:ChristopherStray,ChristopherPelling,andStephenHarrison,OxfordUniversityPress(2019). ©OxfordUniversityPress.DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198777366.003.0001
2
therisktohiscareerorinhislaterengagementwithGermany’seducational future(seePhillips),matcheshischoiceofthe Gorgias asasubject,a dialoguethatwrestleswiththefundamentalissueof ‘howoneshouldlive’ (ὅντινατρόπονδεῖ ζῆν:Dodds1959a,4,cf.e.g. Gorg. 507d).Thatearnestness toosometimesmeantthathewasatlessthanhisscholarlybest,especially whenconfrontingtextsrichinfrivolityorirony(Russell1981,369–70and inthisvolume).Thefascinationwithhumanpsychology,clearin MP not justintheruminationsonhisownpastselfbutalsoinhispen-picturesof others,³isseenacrossthewholerangeofhisinterests.Thatfascinationgrew particularlydeepwhenbehaviourwentbeyondthenormalandexpected, whetherthatwasamatterofbreakingconventionalsocietalbounds(Calliclesin Gorgias )orpushingoutintothemysticalandtheoccultinwhat othersderidedas ‘Neoplatonicpoppycock’ (DenysPage,citedatp.285 [Russell]).Theparanormalheldaparticularfascination,seenbothinhis lifelonginterestinpsychicresearch(seeLowe)andasoneoftheseveral differentareasthatheembracedin ‘theirrational’;yetthatco-existedwitha mindsetthathehimselfcharacterized,inanearlylettertohisfuturewife,as ‘incurablyrational’ (MP 59).Tellinghereishisdifferentiationofhisown andYeats’ attitudetotheoccult(MP 60–1): ‘whatIviewedcoldlyasa historianofideashesawwiththeinflamedimaginationofanoccultistwho happenedalsotobeagreatpoet’ . ‘Asahistorianofideas’,hesays,not ‘ asa scholarofancientGreekpoetry’ , ⁴ andhetookasimilarviewofhispriorities inthe Bacchae commentary(MP 169–70:seeScullion).Throughallhiswork runsthatoverwhelminginterestinthepeopleandtheirminds,notjusttheir words,sensitivethoughhewaswhenthosewordswerebeautiful;and insightsfromandintothemodernworldcanoftenbesensedinhisremarks ontheancient.AsParkersaysinthisvolume(p.123),itisoftenaboutusas muchasaboutthem.⁵
Itwouldbe ‘flat-footed’,saysDodds,toaskwhetherEuripideswasfor Dionysusoragainst, ⁶ anditwouldbejustas flat-footedtoaskifDoddswas pro-oranti- ‘theirrational’:itwassimplytobeacceptedasarecurrent
³E.g.Yeats, MP 57–61;MacKenna, MP 114–19and135–6(seeDillonandWalker); MacNeice, MP 119–23,seeMcDonald);Auden,136–7;andevenmoremarginal figureslike PercyUre, MP 73,andJohnBlofeld, MP 158.
⁴ Stilllessassomeonewhohadwrittenpoemshimself:onhisreticenceaboutthisin MP,see Stray,p.22.
⁵ AverdictthatDoddshimselfwouldhavewelcomed:cf. MP 180–1on TheGreeksandthe Irrational, ‘intryingtounderstandtheancientGreekworldIwasalsotrying,asIhadalways done,tounderstandalittlebettertheworldIlivedin’ ⁶ Dodds1960a,xlv,citedandcomparedwithanearlierversionbyOakley2016,92–3.
featureofhumanexperience,somethingthatahistorianofideashadaduty toexploreandacknowledge asheputsitinthelastparagraphof The GreeksandtheIrrational—‘thepower,thewonder,andtheperil’.Butthat rationaliststranddoessometimesemerge.Itisthereinaratherimmature impatiencethatisevidentintheearlyEuripidesarticles(seeScullion);itis stilltheremuchlaterwhenhetreatsAeliusAristides’‘neurosis’ orChristian ascetic ‘madness’ (seeMorgan).Wecanseeittooinanoptimisticvisionofa distantfuturewhenhumankindmayhaveprogressedfurther.Thevaluable elementsofparapsychologywillonedaybeexplicableinthetermsof physicalandbiologicalscience(seeLowe);therewillcomeatimewhen humanunderstandingwillbesufficienttocopewith ‘thefearoffreedom’ (thatlastparagraphof TheGreeksandtheIrrational again 1951,254–5:see Parker).Therational,hethought,wouldwinintheend,hardthoughitmust havebeentomaintainsuchtrustthroughtheturbulenttimeshelivedin.
Thehistoryofthenamingof MissingPersons itselfrevealsabsencesand contradictions:missingtitles,infact.Dodds’soriginaltitlewas ‘Castacold eye ’,aquotationfromthe finallinesofYeats’slastpoem, ‘UnderBen Bulben’ : ‘Castacoldeye/Onlife,ondeath/Horseman,passby!’⁷ Thiswas abandonedwhenitwasfoundthatithadbeenusedasthetitleofanovelby MaryMcCarthyin1952;aletterDoddswroteinMarch1976totheOUP’ s AcademicPublisher,DanDavin,referstotheabandonmentofhisoriginal title.⁸ TheOUPeditorial filesonthebook,whichdatefromtheprevious month,carryDodds’ssecondchoiceoftitle: PatternsinaPatchworkLife ⁹ Thisresonateswithseveralpassagesinthetextofhismemoir,inwhichhis lifeisdescribedapatchwork,andunifyingelementsasthreadswhichrun throughit.¹⁰ InSeptemberofthatyear,however,theauthorpublicityform Dodds filledinboreyetanothertitle, MissingPersons catchierandmore intriguingthanitspredecessor anditwasunderthattitlethatthebookwas publishedinthefollowingyear.¹¹Thechangeisreflectedinthebook’ s final paragraph,inwhichDodds firstreferstothepatchworkofhislife,andthen
⁷ ThestanzaiscarvedontheheadstoneofYeats’sgrave,andwassubsequentlyusedforthe autobiographyofthepoet’ssonMichaelB.Yeats(Yeats1998).Dodds’soriginaltitlewas reflectedinhisstylisticplans:ashetoldDavininthelettercitedabove,heintendedthestyle ofhismemoirtobe ‘coolandsimple’
⁸ DoddstoDanDavin,2March1976.OUParchives,PBEd1004962(publicity file).
⁹ OUParchives,OP708/4962(editorial file).
¹⁰ Thetwo ‘threads’ arehisfascinationwiththeparanormal(MP 97)andthe ‘daemon’ who ofteninspiredcrucialdecisions(MP 195).InhisEnvoihislifeisseenasapatchworklacking musicandchildren(MP 193).
¹¹Thenewtitle firstappearedintheauthorpublicityformof17September1976:OUP archives,OP708/4962.
4
inhis finalsentencedismisses ‘mylittlecompanyofincompatibleghosts, eachofwhomhaveinhabitedinhisowntimeandplacemybodyandmy namee,butwhonowhavenoabodesaveinmymemoryandnostatussave thatof “missingpersons”’ (MP 195).Healsoseemstohavechangedthe book’sepigraphsto fititschangingtitles.InthelettertoDavinofMarch 1976,hementionedthathehadhadadded ‘anewandmoreappropriate epigraph’.Aspublished,thebookcarriedtwoepigraphs.The firstcomes fromthenovelistJohnCowperPowys’sautobiography: ‘Thepersonswe havebeenarelostratherthanfulfilledinwhatwebecome’.¹²Thesecond, ‘Eachhalflivesahundreddifferentlives’,istakenfromMatthewArnold’ s ‘TheScholar-Gypsy’,aboutanOxfordscholarwhoabandonsthesearchfor conventionalsuccesstowanderthecountrysidearoundthecity.Arnold contraststhescholar-gypsy’sexistencetothelifeheleftbehind:
Olifeunliketoours!
Who fluctuateidlywithouttermorscope, Ofwhomeachstrives,norknowsforwhathestrives, Andeachhalflivesahundreddifferentlives; Whowaitlikethee,butnot,likethee,inhope.¹³
Inhisendwashisbeginning;butinthetextofhismemoir,hehasnothing elsetosayaboutthemultiplicityofselvesreferredtoinhisepigraphsandin his finalsentences.Instead,wehaveanelegantlycraftedchronological narrativewhichcombinesrevelationwithreticence.Thereisacertain tensionbetweenthecentrifugaltendencyof ‘incompatibleghosts’ and ‘missingpersons’,ontheonehand,andthe ‘daemon ’ whomDodds describesascontrollingmuchofhislifebymakingdecisionsforhimat crucialmoments.
MissingPersons hasbeendescribedas ‘surelythemostcharmingand therichestmemoirofanyBritishorIrishClassicistsurviving.’¹⁴ Itwas welcomedbyitsreviewers,thoughfromdifferentperspectives.Inthe Observer,GilbertMurray ’sgrandsonPhilipToynbeewrotewithinside
¹²J.C. Powys, Autobiography,1934,150.
¹³ThisquotationmakesitclearerthanDodds’sbrieferextractdoesthat ‘half ’ istobetaken with ‘lives’,notwith ‘each’.Dodds’snotionofmultipleselvesisreminiscentofhiscontemporary T.S.Eliot,whomV.S.Pritchettcalled ‘acompanyofcharactersinsideonesuit’ (Ackroyd1984, 188;cf.117–19).
¹
⁴ ThisistheopinionofananonymousreaderofthisvolumeforOxfordUniversityPress. Asurveyofthetwentyorsoothersuchmemoirssupportsthisopinion; TheStringsareFalse,the memoirofDodds’spupil,colleague,friendandfellow-IrishmanLouisMacNeice(MacNeice 1965)perhapscomesclosesttochallenging MP.
knowledgeofDodds ’ sdif fi cultreturntoOxfordbutsaidlittleofhis scholarship.Inthe TimesLiterarySupplement,thedismissalofDodds’ s classicalworkbythedistinguishedIrishhistorianF.S.LLyonsprovokeda rebuttalinthefollowingissue(seeMurray).TheOxfordphilosopherStuart Hampshiredweltonthefascinationwiththeparanormalofamanwhowas himself ‘alarminglysane’ (Hampshire1978).TheCanadianclassicistHarold EdingercomparedMPilluminatinglywithG.WilsonKnight’sbiographyof hisbrotherW.F.JacksonKnight,acontemporaryofDoddsandsimilarly, thoughlessrationally,engagedwiththepsychicworld.¹⁵
Inlookingforthepersonwhowas,ormighthavebeen,E.R.Dodds,we mightbeginbylistinghisnames.Heisusuallyreferredtointhisway,using initialsratherthanhis firstname.Thesameistrueofotherscholars andliterary fi gures(onethinksofA.E.Housman,G.K.Chesterton, D.S.Robertson,evenJ.R.Hartley);butinDodds’scase,itderivesfromhis dislikeforhis firstname,Eric.¹⁶ WhenhematriculatedatUniversityCollege, Oxford,in1912hepresumablyfeltconstrainedyetreluctanttousehisgiven name,andrebelliouslysignedhimself ‘Erik’,anditwasas ‘ErikRobertson Dodds’ thathewasannouncedasthewinneroftheCravenscholarshipin 1913andtheIrelandprizeinthefollowingyear.¹ ⁷ Itwaspresumably Dodds’suseofthis fierce,almostVikingversionofhisnameincorrespondencewithfriendsthatledSamuelBecketttorefertohimas ‘MrErikDodds’ inhisarticleon ‘RecentIrishpoetry’ in TheBookman (Beckett1934).Inhis correspondencewithhisfriendThomasMcGreevy,Doddssignedhimself ‘E.R.Dodds’ or ‘E.R.D.’,butinaletterof1922toMcGreevy,hismother referredtohimconsistentlyas ‘Erik’.¹⁸ Asforhissecondname,Robertson, itsoriginsareamystery:thenamewasprobablyrevivedfromanearlier generation,butevidenceislacking,andDoddshimselfdoesnotmentionit. Perhapsitwasfeltthatalongnamewasneededtobalancethebrevityof ‘Eric’ and ‘Dodds’;andhewas,afterall,thesonofRobertDodds.Once launchedasanacademic,Doddswasabletoavoidnamingproblemsby
¹
⁵ Edinger1979.Forotherreviews,seeToynbee1977;Jones1978;Shiel1978;Levi1979;of the2000reprint,Todd2000,2001.
¹⁶ SeePadel’schapter.The1901CensusofIrelandlistsDodds,butthe finallettersofhis secondnamearesquashedintotherelevantbox,andtheonlinetranscriptrecordshimas ‘Eric RobertaDodds’:http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/search/
¹
⁷ TheUniversityofOxford.FirstSupplementtotheHistoricalRegisterof1900,Oxford 1921,114,117.
¹
⁸ A.F.DoddstoMcGreevy,31Dec.1922.TrinityCollegeDublin,ManuscriptsandArchives ResearchLibrary,McGreevypapers,Ms8112/49.McGreevyhimselfbecameamissingperson: heisnowherementionedin MP.HewaslikeDoddsanominalpluralist,changingthespellingof hissurnameto ‘MacGreevy’ in1941.
becomingplain ‘Dodds’,aformofaddresswhichbecameuniversalexcept whennervousorremotecorrespondentsaddedhisprofessorialtitle.¹⁹ WithinhismarriagetoAnniePowell,Doddsbecame ‘Mister’,oftenshortenedto ‘Mit’,toher ‘Bet’,andinhisoldageitwasas ‘Mit’ thathepreferred tobeknowntoRuthPadel’sfamily(seePadel).
OnewayofplacingDoddsistocomparehimwithhispredecessorinthe OxfordGreekchair,histeacherGilbertMurray,whoineffectchoseDodds ashissuccessor,andhisprotégéKennethDover,themanhewantedto succeedhiminthechair.²⁰ AllthreemencombinedaconventionalvirtuosityinGreekandLatincompositionwithwiderinterests.Thepowerand breadthofMurray ’scommitmenttothetheatreandtointernationalpolitics arewellknown;Dodds’scommitmenttotradeunionismandtoeducational reconstructioninGermanymuchlessso(thelatterisexploredbyPhillipsin thisvolume).Doverachievedfameandnotorietybeyondthe fieldofclassicalscholarshipthroughhispublicationsonhomosexualityandthefrank revelationsinhismemoirs,butventuredbeyondprofessionalscholarship lessthanDoddsdid,andmuchlessthanMurray.²¹Allthreemenwrote autobiographies,thoughMurray ’sremainedunfinished(Murray1960, Dover1994).Allthreewereinterestedinhumanirrationality:Murrayand Doddsdevotedalotofefforttoresearchintotheparanormal,whileDodds andDoverwereearlyattractedtopsychoanalysis(seeLowe).
IncomparingDoddswithMurray,weshouldnotoverlooktheinteraction betweenthem.AfterDoddscaughtMurray ’seyein1917,theoldermanwill haveseenhimasacandidatetocarryonhisownvisionofClassicstolater generations.HencehisinvitationstoDoddstogivelecturesinthe ‘Seven againstGreats’ coursesofthe1920sand1930s(seeStray).Theywereboth outsiders,MurrayhavingbeenborninAustraliaandcomingtoBritainonly attheageof12;butMurray’s1889marriagetoLadyMaryHoward, daughteroftheEarlofCarlisle,plungedhimintotheupperreachesof Englishsociety.Doddshadnosuchentrée,norwouldhe,asalifelong Republican,havewantedit.
¹⁹ Cf.Housman’sremarktoCharoninTomStoppard’ s TheInventionofLove (1997): ‘Alfred Housmanismyname.MyfriendscallmeHousman.MyenemiescallmeProfessorHousman.’
²⁰ MurrayrecommendedDoddsin1936;DoddsrecommendedDoverin1960,whowas offeredtheRegiuschair,buttoDodds’schagrinrefusedit.
²¹InareviewofKennethDover’ s MarginalComment (Beard1995),MaryBeardcontrasted Dover’slifeinanexclusivelyacademicenvironmentwithDodds’srangeofacquaintances,and suggestedthat ‘thegrowingprofessionalismofClassicshasremoveditdecisivelyfromitsplace inthewider,non-university,intellectualcultureofBritain’ .
TocompareDoddswithDover:bothmenwereoutsiders,Doverbecause ofwhathesawasaphysicaldeformity(afunnelchest).Bothlookedattheir subjectwithafresheye,somethingreferredtointhetitleofDover’smemoir (andinthetitleinitiallychosenbyDodds).BothsawtheOxfordclassical courseasinneedofradicalreform;indeedDoverrefusedtosucceedDodds intheRegiuschairofGreekin1960becausehethoughtitimpossibleto carryoutthereformsDoddshadproposed(whichwereinfactcarriedouta decadelater).Bothwrotememoirswhichrangedwellbeyondthecautious limitsofearliergenerations.²²Theirsimilaritiesanddifferencescanbeseen bycomparingtheirtreatmentofsexualexperience.Inhisaccountofa ‘trial pre-honeymoon’ inatinyAustrianinnwithanIrish fiancéeduringashortlivedengagement,Doddsrecalledthatduringbadweather, ‘love-making apart,therewasnothingtodoexcepttalk’ (MP 81) somethingwhichthe late-VictorianMurraywouldneverhavedreamedofmentioning.Earlierin thebook,Doddsrecalledhisdiscoveringhehadanerectionwhenhesawa womanpassingwhilehewasurinatingintoahedge.Atthetime(hewasin hisearlyteens)hesuspectedelephantiasis(MP 10),butthepointisone aboutinnocenceratherthanexperienceandthejokeisonhim.Inhisown memoir, MarginalComment,DoverreferredtomasturbatingwhileadmiringasplendidruralviewinItaly(Dover1994:114);onecannotimagine Doddsincludingsuchanaccount.²³TheprogressionfromMurraytoDodds toDoverisinpartafunctionofwidershiftsinattitudesoverthetwentieth century,inpartamatterofindividualpersonalities.Doddshimselfrecognizedtheinteractionofthesedifferentlevelsincallinghislifea ‘patchwork’ , andacknowledgingthathesharedthiscondition ‘withamyriadofmy contemporariesacrosswhoselife-historiestwogreatwarsrunlikegeological faults’ (MP 192–3;cf.179).
Atseveralpointsinhislife,Doddshadtomakeimportantdecisions,and representsthemasbeingmadebyaforcehecouldnotcontrol hecalledit hisdaemon(MP 194–5),pickingupthenameusedbyPlato’sSocratesfor hisguardianspirit.²⁴ Itwasperhapsthedaemonwhichpreventedthe adolescentDoddsfromholdingouthishandtobecanedwhenhis
²²Dover’smemoir,likeDodds,changedtitlesduringitsgestation:Doverhadthoughtof callingit RoadsWithoutFences (Dover1994,vii).
²³ThiswasoneoftheaspectsofDover’sbookwhichledtoitsbeingrejectedbyOxford UniversityPress.RelevantcorrespondenceisheldintheDoverpapers,CorpusChristiCollege, Oxford.
²⁴ ThisisanotherlinkbetweenDodds’sscholarlyandpersonaloutlook.Thereismuchtalkof daemonsandthedaemonicin TheGreeksandtheIrrational,andtheidearecursinDodds’ s Epiphany,anearlypoem: ‘Inomnibuses,trains,andtrams|Itisthepracticeofthewise|Tosit
headmasterdemandedit(MP 10),andthatmadehimspeaksofranklyofhis politicalopinionsasayoungmanthatajobofferwaswithdrawn(MP 71). Whenin1936hewasofferedtheOxfordGreekchair,hehesitatedto exchangeahappyandsettledexistenceinBirminghamfor ‘anuncertain futureinanunknownandunlovedOxford.Yettheofferwasachallenge, andtodeclineachallengerancountertomyunspokencode’ (MP 125:the ‘code’ wasperhapsatransmutedformofthe ‘daemon’).Inthe1940s,Dodds becamereconciledtoEnglandandtoOxford(MP 159,169);andinthe followingdecade,hewasknownforhis ‘diffidentlyexpressedwisdom’ (Dover1994:82–3).Dodds’sjourneyfromyouthfulstroppinesstothe serenityofhislastyears(seeMurray)constitutesoneofseveralthreads thatholdtogetheralifecoursehehimselfsawasathingofshredsand tatters.
Thisbooktracesthroughsomeofthosethreads.Inthe firstsection,a generalsurvey(Stray)looksatthewayinwhichhisexperiencesinIreland, Reading,andBirminghambroughtwiderperspectivestohislaterworkin Oxford.Thenextthreechapters(Walker,Dillon,McDonald)dealwithhis involvementwithIrishandEnglishliterature;theyarefollowedbystudies ofhisworkontheparanormal(Lowe)andoneducationalreconstruction inGermany(Phillips).ThesecondsectionisdevotedtoDodds’swork onclassicalliteratureandreligion(Rutherford,Scullion,Parker,Gagné, Sheppard,Morgan).Thethirdand finalsectionismadeupofrecollections ofDoddsbythosewhoknewhimwell(Ganly,Murray,Padel,Russell). AbibliographyofDodds’spublicationsisincluded;thishasbeenmadeas comprehensiveaspossible,andisdesignedtoreplacethelistingsgivenin Todd1998b,2005.²⁵
AndDodds’sscholarlylegacy?Thestudiesinthisbookwillexplorehow farhisdistinctiveargumentsandideascanstillcommandassent.Somedo, manydonot.Yethisinfluencegoesfarbeyondthose:itisthewhole approach thecombinationofinterests,thefascinationwithhowpeople thought,therelationtothehereandnowaswellastotheancientworld thathasdonesomuchtoshapethesubject.Itisforsimilarreasonsthat TheGreeksandtheIrrational despiteits flawsremainsaclassic,andhas incornersverystill.|Soshalltheymeetbehindtheeyes|Ofsomeoneoftheirfellowshams|The unspeakabledaemonofthewill’ (1929,20).
²⁵ TheeditorswishtoacknowledgethepioneeringpublicationsofRobertB.Toddon Dodds’slifeandwork(Todd1998–2008).
beenreadbymanymorenon-classicalreadersthanthatothergreat mid-twentieth-centurywork,RonaldSyme’ s TheRomanRevolution (Syme 1939).ManyoftheissuesDoddsraisedremainasfascinatingtothemodern readerastheyeverwere,especiallyinaworldwhereanewirrationalism threatens. TheAmbivalencesofRationality:AncientandModernCrossCulturalExplorations isthetitleofaworkbyGeoffreyLloyd(2018);it couldhaveservedjustaswellformuchofDodds’swork.Manyofhisideas forthefutureofthesubjectalsoseemasappositetodayastheydidover fiftyyearsagowhenhedeliveredhispresidentialaddresstotheClassical Associationin1964,orindeednearlyahundredyearsagoinanessayfrom 1920(Stray,p.27):take,forinstance,histhoughtfulremarksin1964onthe valueofteachingClassicsintranslationcoupledwiththenecessityfor universitiestoteachthelanguagesfromscratch(MP 173–7).In1977, Doddsentitledthatchapterof MP ‘Adyingindustry?’,anddespitethe questionmarkinthattitlehefeltthattheimpliedprophecywas ‘wellon theroadtofulfilment’ (p.172).In1920,hehadbeenevenmoregloomy: ‘onlyafewisolatedclassicalscholarswillprobablybefoundacenturyfrom now ’.Ifin2018anewcompilationcouldstillbeechoingmanyofthesame concernsbutdoingsoundertheupbeattitle ForwardwithClassics,²⁶ no smallpartofthecreditisduetoDoddshimself.
²⁶ Holmes-Henderson,Hunt,andMusié2018.
AnIrishmanAbroad ChristopherStray EricRobertsonDoddswasborninthenorthofIrelandin1893.Hisfather diedwhenEricwasseven,andhewasbroughtupbyhismother,aschoolteacherwhotaught firstinBangorandlaterinDublin.Hewenttoschoolin Dublin,andthenatCampbellCollegeinBelfast,whencehewasexpelled bytheheadmasterforinsolence.HegainedascholarshiptoUniversity College,Oxfordin1912aCravenscholarshipin1913,andin1914a first inModerations,the firstpartoftheclassicalhonourscourse,andthe prestigiousIrelandscholarship.¹Thenwarintervened;asanIrishnational, DoddswasexemptfromBritishmilitaryservice,buthespentseveralweeks workingasanorderlyinahospitalinSerbia.²WartimeOxfordmusthave beenanuncannyplace in1914,undergraduatenumbersdroppedfrom 3,097to369.Dodds’sfutureReadingcolleagueJohnMabbott,whoreached StJohn’sCollegefromEdinburghin1918toreadGreats(thesecondpartof theclassicalcourse),rememberedthatalltheotherGreatspupilsofhistutor HughLastwereolderthanLasthimself:theyhadreadforModsbefore1914, whileLasthadgraduatedduringthewar.Mabbottrecalledthatall theotherundergraduatesatOxfordwere ‘ unfit,Indiansorconscientious objectors’,andfoundamongtheex-servicemen ‘amarkedintoleranceof non-combatants,thoughofcourseconscientiousobjectorsweretheprime targets’ (Mabbott1986,42).ThismusthavebeenanuncomfortableenvironmentforanyonewithDodds’sreligiousandpoliticalviews.Hehad
¹ThishadnothingtodowithIreland,butwasnamedforJohnIreland,DeanofWestminster,whohadfoundeditin1825.
²See MP 46–52, ‘InterludeinSerbia’.Thisisbasedinpartonhisdiaryfor6–29October 1915,inwhichhedescribedhis firstweekthereas ‘thestrangestweekIeverhad’.Thediaryis nowintheUniversityofLeedsLibrary,SpecialCollections,Liddle/WW1/SAL/020.Inthestaff listfortheBritishEasternAuxiliaryHospitalheappearsas ‘E.A.Dodds,orderly’:National Archives,ADM/171/133/577.EnroutetoSerbiahemetaWelshnursewithwhomhehadhis firstaffair(MP 46–7),andwithwhomhekeptintouchuntilherdeathinAustraliain1960.Her lastlettertohim,writtenjustbeforeherdeath,ended, ‘DeardearEric,whatawonderfulman youmusthavebecome’.GwendolineStrongtoDodds,12January1960.DoddsPapers,box6.
ChristopherStray, AnIrishmanAbroad In: RediscoveringE.R.Dodds.Editedby:ChristopherStray, ChristopherPelling,andStephenHarrison,OxfordUniversityPress(2019).©OxfordUniversityPress. DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198777366.003.0002
alreadycrossedswordswiththeDublin-bornmasterofhiscollege, R.W.Macan,overhisatheism(MP 44–5).Macanhimselfhadbeensomethingofahereticinhisyouth(Curthoys2012,271),butthoughhewasthe firstlaymasterofthecollegesincethesixteenthcentury,hetookpartin religiousservices.Hewouldinanycase,asaUnionist,nothaveapprovedof Dodds’snationalistpolitics(Darwall-Smith2008,424–5).In1916,Dodds’ s expressedsupportfortheEasterRisingledtohisbeingtoldtoleaveOxford, thoughhewasnotactuallysentdown.³Hewasallowedbackin1917tosit Greats,andgaineda first,thenreturnedtoIreland,wherehetaughtbrieflyat KilkennyCollegeandatDublinHighSchool(MP 69–70).
In1919,DoddswasappointedalecturerinClassicsatUniversityCollege, Reading,and fiveyearslatermovedtoBirminghamasprofessorofGreek. Ifonecomparesthethreefociofhisnon-Oxonianadultlife Reading, Birmingham,andDublin itisclearthattheyformedacontinuum.Reading wasclosetoOxfordinmorethanjustageographicalway,havingbegun lifeasanextensioncollegesetupbyChristChurchin1892;itbecamea fully-fledgeduniversityin1926.Ithadstrongcommerciallinkswithagricultureandwithlocalindustry,includingHuntleyandPalmer ’sbiscuit factory hencejokingreferencestotheReadingDB(doctorofbiscuits) degree.Dodds’sprofessoratReadingwasPercyUre,agentleandsupportive headofdepartmentwhomDoddsdescribedasa ‘non-careerist’;appointed tohischairin1911,Urestayedthereuntilhisretirementin1941.Dodds’ s accountofhisappointmentshowsthatthecollegewasrunbyaninner cabinetofthreeOxfordmen,ledbytheprofessorofphilosophy,the classicistWilliamdeBurgh,whowerewillingtotakechancesonrisky candidatesiftheywereguaranteedfromOxford.InDodds’scase,Gilbert Murray ’ssupportwasprobablythedecidingfactorinhisappointment (MP 72).OneofhiscolleagueswasthephilosophylecturerJohnMabbott, whomhefoundverycongenial.Inhis ODNB articleonMabbott,Donald Russellwrotethat ‘hehadastrainofanti-authoritarianism ...hehada gleefulsortofsympathyfortherebelliousandthetroublesome,solongas theirrebelliousnesswasofakindheapproved.’ Inhismemoirs,Mabbott referredtoDoddsasoneofthe ‘fascinatingpeople’ heencounteredat Reading,remarkingthatW.M.Childs,thecollegeprincipal,waskeen ‘to
³Theinformalityofhisrusticationwasprobablyintendedtoavoidembarrassment,since Doddswasarareacademicstarinthisperiodofthecollege’shistory.(MythankstoRobin Darwall-Smithfordiscussionofthispoint.)
appointthemostbrilliantscholarsavailable,nomatterhowodd,radical, unconventional,bizarreorwildtheymightbe’ (Mabbott1986,51).
TheUniversityofBirminghamhadbegunlifein1880astheMason ScienceCollege,foundedbyJosiahMason,ownerofthelargestpen-nib factoryintheworld,whowantedhisnewinstitutiontoavoidClassicsand religion.BirminghamofferedDoddsalarger fieldofoperationthanat Reading,andonemoredetachedfromOxford.MasonCollegehad expandedintothehumanitiesafterJosiahMason’sdeathin1881,evading hisownpreferences,andin1900becameafully-fledgeduniversity.Therole ofacademics,asopposedtothatoflocalbigwigs,expandedinthe1890s,in partbecauseofacampaignledbyEdwardSonnenschein,theprofessorof Classics. ⁴ Sonnenschein,anOxfordmanwhoseinterestsincludedPlautus andcomparativegrammar,wasappointedin1883andretiredin1918.⁵ AchairofLatinwasestablished,towhichJ.O.Thomsonwasappointed,but aGreekchairwassetuponlyin1924,whenDoddswasthe firstincumbent. Therewasneedaswellasscopeforchangein1924,andDoddsremarksin hisautobiographicalmemoir MissingPersons that ‘TheClassicsatBirminghamstoodinsomeneedofenlivening’ (MP 88).Hegoesontotellastoryof Sonnenscheinaskingacolleaguehewaswalkingwithwhathethoughtof God.Notgettinganimmediateanswer,Sonnenscheinexplainedthathewas notsurewhethertoclassify ‘God’ asacommonorasapropernoun.Butas wellastheneed,therewasalsothepossibilityofchange.InBirmingham betweenthewars,adepartmentalheadhadconsiderableautonomy.That wasonereasonwhyanotheroutsider,theMarxistGermanistRoyPascal, tookachairtherein1939inpreferencetostayinginwhatheregarded asadulldepartmentinCambridgecontrolledbytheBoardofModern Languages.⁶ HeretooDoddscouldtakechancesonappointments,asin thecaseofLouisMacNeice,anUlstermanlikehimself,appointedbeforehe hadtakenhis finalsatOxford.TheatmosphereoftheArtsfacultyinthis periodiscaughtinanobituaryofRonaldWilletts,whowashiredin1946by Dodds’ssuccessorGeorgeThomson:
Itisdifficultatthisdistancetoappreciatetheartisticandintellectual fermentoftheFacultyofArtsatBirminghaminthe1930s.Louis
⁴ Thecampaignis,surprisingly,notmentionedinWhyte2015,whichemphasizesthe genuinelynewethostheseinstitutionscreated.
⁵ ForSonnenschein,see ODNB,andonhiscampaignforparallelgrammars,Stray2004.
⁶ SeeSubiotto1981,450–1.In ODNB,M.Swalesreferstothe ‘humandbuzz’ ofthe departmentPascalbuiltup.HewaspresidentoftheAUTin1944–5,andamemberof theAUTdelegationtoGermanychairedbyDodds(seePhillips).
MacNeice,HenryReed,W.H.Auden,WalterAllenandtheother membersofthe ‘BirminghamGroup’ werearoundandveryactive;Sargent Florence’ssumptuoushousewasopentoallwithsomethingtocontribute tothediscussions.⁷
PhilipSargentFlorencewastheprofessorofeconomics;theMacNeiceslived inthecoachhouseofhisgrandresidence.The ‘BirminghamGroup’ was identifiedbyanAmericanliterarycriticasaliterarysetwithashared interestinrealisticdepictionsofworking-classlife,andafterthiswas publicized,thoselistedasmembersbegantoholdregularmeetings.Some ofthemwerepublishedbytheWoolfs’ HogarthPressandhadlinkswiththe Bloomsburyset.⁸ MacNeice’simpressionsofBirminghamcanbefoundin his1933poemnamedforthecity,inwhichhedeclaresthatinthemock half-timberedsuburbanhouses,menpursuedthePlatonicformswithwirelessandCairnterriers.Inhislongpoem AutumnJournal,hewrotethat:
Sunshineseasy,sunshinesgay
Onbug-house,warehouse,brewery,market, OnthechocolatefactoryandtheB.S.A., OntheGreektownhallandJosiahMason.⁹
Eightyearsbackaboutthistime
Icametoliveinthishazycity Toworkinabuildingcakedwithgrime TeachingtheclassicstoMidlandstudents; Virgil,Livy,theusualround, Principalpartsandthelostdigamma; Andtoheartheprison-likelectureroomresound ToHomerinaDudleyaccent. AutumnJournal (1939),33.
Inhisautobiography,MacNeicewrotethat ‘theprofessorofGreek, E.R.Dodds,mademefeelratherashamed ...Hecombinedarazor-keen
⁷ Nicholls2011.BothThomsonandWillettswereMarxists.Forasimilaraccountof BirminghamUniversityinthe1960s,seeHerrin2007,6.
⁸ ThiscuriousconnectionbetweenthesetwoverydifferentambiencesisdiscussedinFeigel 2007.The ‘Group’ makesaninterestingcomparisonwiththe ‘CambridgeRitualists’,anotherset ofpeoplewhoseinteractionshaveoftenbeenreifiedinto ‘ groupness ’ (Gold2003,189–210).
⁹ ThechocolatefactorywasCadbury’splantatBournville;theBSAwastheBirmingham SmallArmscompany.Themarblestatueofthefounder,JosiahMason,stoodinfrontofthe university.
