Sunday, December 16, 2012
Alone
G.W. Bowersock, "Ronald Syme (March 11, 1903-September 4, 1989)," Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 135.1 (March 1991) 118-122 (at 120):
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Like most great humanistic scholars, he worked entirely alone—apart from the solace of a cheap cigar. He had no interest in collaborative research projects and specious programs for which funding could easily be raised. It was more with pride than bitterness that he wrote in the preface to his Tacitus,
The task has been long and laborious (for all that ostensible drudgery can be sheer delight). It has been hampered by various delays and vexations. Nor, in making the written text fit for publication and compiling the vast index, can aid or alleviation be recorded from any academic body, from any fund or foundation dedicated to the promotion of research in history and letters.
