EditBiography
James Adam was born on April 7th 1860 in the small parish of Keithhall, near Aberdeen. He was the second born to Barbara Anderson and James Adam, who kept a countryside shop. Adam’s father died in 1866, leaving Barbara to continue the business while raising six children. She sent Adam to the local parish school, and then on to the Old Aberdeen grammar school where he won a bursary to enter the University of Aberdeen in 1876. He graduated with first class honours in 1880, and was granted a place as a classical scholar at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. In 1884 he won the first chancellor’s medal.
The same year he was elected a junior fellow at Emmanuel College, and soon progressed to the status of classical lecturer. He continued teaching for the rest of his life, also taking classes at Girton College, where he lectured on topics such as Plato, Aristotle, Lucretius, and the Greek lyrical poets. It was at Girton where he met Adela Marion, one of his pupils. They married in 1890. In 1900, he succeeded William Napier Shaw as senior tutor of his college. Four years later he delivered his Gifford lectures on ‘The religious teachers of Greece’ at the University of Aberdeen. This would prove to be the untimely pinnacle of his career.
EditIntellectual Career
Adam is chiefly remembered for his translations of Platonic dialogues. He published his first – the
Apology - in 1887. He went on to produce editions of the
Crito, Protagoras, Euthyphro, and the
Republic. His editions of the
Republic and
Protagoras were republished as late as 1962 and 1971 respectively. His considerable classical scholarship, particularly in ancient philosophy and Greek, allowed him to produce what remain amongst the most concise yet extensively illuminating accompanying notes to these texts available.
His philosophical views were firmly in line with Plato’s, as can be seen in his posthumously published collection of essays and lectures,
The Vitality of Platonism, and other Essays (1911). As a teacher he frequently lectured to his students on philosophical and textual matters in Plato. His interests were not confined to Plato, however. He was a firm believer in the value of the classics, and fought to ensure that every student had an educational grounding in Greek thought.
EditDeath and Legacy
Adam died aged just 47, on August 30th 1907, in Aberdeen after a few months of illness. He was survived by his wife, who went on to edit and publish his remaining unpublished material, including his Gifford lectures.
EditBibliography
Plato,
Apology (1887),
Crito and
Euthyphro (1888),
Protagoras (1893),
Republic, (a) Text (1897), (b) Text and Commentary (1902),
The Nuptial Number of Plato (1891), ‘On the Divine Origin of the Soul’, in
Cambridge Praelections (1906),
The Religious Teachers of Greece (1908),
The Vitality of Platonism and other Essays, (1911). A short memoir written by Adam’s widow can be found in
The Religious Teachers of Greece.