Difference between revisions of "Philological Inquiries"

}}[[File:HarrisPhilologicalInquiries1781Frontispiece.jpg|left|thumb|250px|<center>Frontispiece.</center>]][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harris_(grammarian) James Harris] (1709-1780), a philosopher and music patron, attended both [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadham_College,_Oxford Wadham College] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%27s_Inn Lincoln’s Inn], but graduated from neither.<ref>Rosemary Dunhill, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12393 “Harris, James (1709–1780)”] in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed October 18, 2013.</ref> He and his wife Elizabeth had five children, but only three of them lived infancy.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Harris was a great admirer of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Frideric_Handel Handel’s], and even wrote a first draft of one of the composer's librettos, ''L'allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato''.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Harris served as a member of parliament for Christchurch, as commissioner of admiralty and, eventually, as secretary and comptroller for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_of_Mecklenburg-Strelitz Queen Charlotte].<ref>Ibid.</ref> Harris had close royal ties, was elected as a fellow to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Society Royal Society], and held a Trustee position in the British Museum for the fifteen years leading up to his death in 1780.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Harris’ writings held great significance among his contemporaries.<ref>Ibid.</ref> Although his writings are unfamiliar to many today, with ''Philological Inquiries'', Harris made a significant contribution to historical linguistics.<ref>Clive T. Probyn. “Johnson, James Harris, and the Logic of Happiness.” The Modern Language Review , Vol. 73, No. 2 (April 1978), 256-266: Modern Humanities Research Association. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3727099.</ref>

Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as "Harris's Philological enquiries. 8vo." This was one of the titles kept by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. Jefferson later sold a copy to the Library of Congress in 1815, but the volume no longer exists to verify Wythe's prior ownership.<ref>E. Millicent Sowerby, ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson'', 2nd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983), 5:40 [no.4697].</ref> Both [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s. v. [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe "Member: George Wythe"], accessed on February 26, 2014.</ref> on LibraryThing and the [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> list the first (1781 &mdash;we don't know if there were others) edition. The Wolf Law Library followed their recommendations and purchased a copy of the first edition for the [[George Wythe Collection]].