Career
Smith next turned his attention to lexicography. His first attempt was A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, which appeared in 1842, the greater part being written by him. Then followed the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology in 1849. A parallel Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography appeared in 1857, with some leading scholars of the day associated with the task.
Meanwhile he published the first of several school dictionaries in 1850, and in 1853 he began the Principia series, which marked an advance in the school teaching of Greek and Latin. Then came the Student's Manuals of History and Literature, of which the English literature volume went into 13 editions. He himself wrote the Greek history volume. He was joined in the venture by the publisher John Murray when the original publishing partner met difficulties.
Murray was the publisher of the 1214-page Latin–English Dictionary based upon the works of Forcellini and Freund that Smith completed in 1855. This was periodically reissued over the next thirty-five years. It goes beyond "classical" (100 BC-AD 100) Latin to include many entries not found in other dictionaries of the period, including Lewis and Short.
Perhaps the most important of the books Smith edited were those that dealt with ecclesiastical subjects. These were the Dictionary of the Bible (1860–1865); the Dictionary of Christian Antiquities (1875–1880), undertaken in collaboration with Archdeacon Samuel Cheetham; and the Dictionary of Christian Biography (1877–1887), jointly with Dr Henry Wace.
The Atlas, on which Sir George Grove collaborated, appeared in 1875. From 1853 to 1869 Smith was classical examiner to the University of London, and on his retirement he became a member of the Senate. He sat on the Committee to inquire into questions of copyright, and was for several years registrar of the Royal Literary Fund. He edited Gibbon, with Guizot's and Milman's notes, in 1854–1855.
In 1867, he became editor of the Quarterly Review, a post he held until his death.
Read more about this topic: William Smith (lexicographer)
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“From a hasty glance through the various tests I figure it out that I would be classified in Group B, indicating “Low Average Ability,” reserved usually for those just learning to speak the English Language and preparing for a career of holding a spike while another man hits it.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“Each of the professions means a prejudice. The necessity for a career forces every one to take sides. We live in the age of the overworked, and the under-educated; the age in which people are so industrious that they become absolutely stupid.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“I’ve been in the twilight of my career longer than most people have had their career.”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)