All Scholars
MCGUIRE, Martin Rawson Patrick.
- Date of Birth: December 30, 1897
- Born City: Whitinsville
- Born State/Country: MA
- Parents: Martin, a farmer, & Mary Ann Sheehan M.
- Date of Death: March 15, 1969
- Death City: Washington
- Death State/Country: DC
- Married: Florence Teresa Mattimore, 20 Aug. 1929.
- Education:
B.A. Coll. of the Holy Cross, 1921; L.H.D., 1946; A.M. Catholic U., 1925; Ph.D., 1927; L.H.D., 1969.
- Dissertation:
"S. Ambrosii de Nabuthae: A Commentary, with an Introduction and Translation" (Catholic U., 1927); printed CUAPS 15 (Washington, 1927);
- Professional Experience:
Span., Lat. & hist. tchr. Georgetown Prep. Sch. (Washington, DC), 1921-4; asst. Gk. & Lat. Catholic U., 1924-7; instr. to prof., 1927-68; dean grad. sch. Catholic U., 1937-43; chair dept. Gk. & Lat., 1949-62; asso. ed. Catholic Historical Review, 1939-69; chair exec, comm., Medieval and Renaissance Latin Translations and Commentaries; edit. bd. FOTC; sr. ed. The New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1962-9; pres. Am. Cath. Hist. Assn., 1942.
- Publications:
The Confessions of St. Augustine: Books I-IX (Selections), ed. with James M. Campbell (New York, 1931; repr. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1966); A Concordance of Ovid, with Roy J. Deferrari & Sister M. Inviolata Barry (Washington, 1939; repr. Hildesheim, 1968); An Introduction to Classical Scholarship: A Syllabus and Bibliographical Guide (Washington, DC, 1961, 1968); The Political and Cultural History of the Ancient World: A Syllabus with Suggested Readings (Washington, 1961); Introduction to Medieval Latin Studies: A Syllabus and Bibliographical Guide (Washington, 1964; 2d ed., rev. by Hermigild Dressier, 1977).
- Notes:
Martin R. P. McGuire's upbringing instilled in him a lifelong habit of hard work. Portly and robust in appearance, he led a simple and frugal life. His scholarly interests were wide ranging. He was trained in patristics, with a specialization in St. Ambrose. He enjoyed a solid command of ancient history and of Latin philology both ancient and medieval. His grasp of bibliography was astounding: he was thoroughly familiar with the enormous and complex corpora of primary and derivative sources for the languages, literatures, and civilizations of antiquity and the Middle Ages. Such bibliographic facility was possible only because of McGuire's own ready mastery of many ancient and modern languages. His foremost scholarly contribution was undoubtedly his service as the senior editor of The New Catholic Encyclopedia, for which he wrote 114 articles and revised countless others. It was largely through his efforts that the 15-volume work was brought to completion in an orderly and timely manner.McGuire was above all a dynamic and enthusiastic teacher. In his classes and seminars he left the mark of a rigorous training and attention to detail on several generations of students, and from those classes and seminars emerged publications which mirror his pedagogical flair for clear organization as well as his bibliographic strengths. While sensitive to literary nuance, he always insisted on sound philology, and in particular on a thorough knowledge of classical Latin, as the basis for further work in Latin patristics and medieval studies.
- Sources:
Robert Trisco, "In Memoriam Martin R. P. McGuire," CHR 55 (1969) 153-8; idem, "McGuire, Martin R. P.," The New Catholic Encyclopedia 16 (Supplement 1967-74) 269; WhAm 5:481.
- Author: Michael P. McHugh