2014 Ovatio: Daniel Tompkins

    Daniel Tompkins, Temple University, presented by Donald Lateiner, Ohio Wesleyan University


Daniel Tompkins, Temple University, presented by Donald Lateiner, Ohio Wesleyan University

Ovatio: Daniel P. Tompkins

    Miraturi salutamus praeceptorem facultatibus egregiis praeditum, qui memoriam rerum gestarum Atheniensium et maxime aestimat et ingeniose explicavit.  Saepe pernoctavit ad explicandas orationes belli Peloponnesiaci scriptas ab auctore praeclaro propter amorem veritatis; opera nostri collegae immutaverunt quomodo hic scriptor difficillimus legatur a doctissimis. Insuper, numine lyraque tibiaque Musae Clius inspirante, suscepit non solum celebrare sed etiam intellegere mentem operaque, hominis novi virique eruditissimi inter doctissimos amatores  antiquae historiae. Adeptus gradum Baccalaurei Artium apud universitatem in deserto vocis clamantis, est ingressus in immortalem ordinem caeruleorum veterum ut adipisceretur gradum Doctoris Philosophiae. Universitas, ubi perseverantia vincit, in cunabilis libertatis, labores eius discendi docendique causa, et ad sustinendum patrimonium mundi classici, dilexit. Societas collegarum venerantium philologiam similiter eum honoravit. Cogitat argute et sic eruditior fit, et cogitando agendoque facit multos alios peritiores omnium rerum antiquarum. Plaudamus igitur Daniel P. Tompkins.

Judith P Hallett, University of Maryland, College Park

We hail, as we are about to admire, a teacher endowed with exceptional talents, and a scholar who both highly esteems and brilliantly analyzes ancient Athenian history. His tireless efforts to interpret the speeches of Thucydides have transformed how scholars interpret this most truthful and difficult historian. What is more, inspired by Clio, the Muse of History, he has undertaken not only to recognize but also appreciate the thought and writings of Sir Moses Finley, an ancient historian accorded lofty status among his peers.  After he earned his BA at Dartmouth College, he joined the Yale University learning community for his doctoral degree. Temple University in urban Philadelphia, where he taught for decades and chaired the classics department for eleven years, has accorded high value to his work with learning communities, coordinating peer review of teaching programs and directing their intellectual heritage program.  The American Philological Association likewise honored him with its Collegiate Teaching Award. Here is a colleague who becomes more knowledgeable by thinking shrewdly, and makes many others more knowledgeable about the ancient world by his thoughts and his actions.  Let us thus applaud Daniel P. Tompkins.