North American Scholar

STOUT, Selatie Edgar

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  • Date of Birth (YYYY-MM-DD): 1871-12-27
  • Born City: Jamesport
  • Born State/Country: MO
  • Date of Death (YYYY-MM-DD): 1969-12-05
  • Death City: Bloomington
  • Death State/Country: IN
  • Married: Frances Mabel Blodgett, 30 Dec. 1905.
  • Education:

    B.S. Grand River Coll. (Edin-burg, MO), 1891; A.B. William Jewell Coll. (Liberty, MO), 1901; LL.D. (hon.) 1942; study at U. Chicago; Ph.D. Princeton, 1910.
  • Professional Experience:

    Tchr., princ, & supt. Missouri public schools, 1891-1900; instr. to prof. Lat. William Jewell Coll., 1901-2, 1906-14; prof. Lat. Indiana U., 1914-42; asst. dean coll. arts & Sci., 1918-20; dean, 1920-42; pres. CAMWS, 1926-7.
  • Dissertation:

    "The Governors of Moesia" (Princeton, 1910); printed (Princeton, 1911).
  • Publications:

    "The Eight-Book Manuscripts of Pliny's Letters" TAPA 55 (1924) 62-72; "I. The Constructions Invideo Aliquid Alicui and Invideo Alicui Aliqua Re; II. Invideo Aliis Bonutn Quo or Invideo Aliis Bono Quo in Plin. Epp. i.10.12?," CP 20 (1925) 145-56; "A Defense of the Nine-Book Tradition of Pliny's Letters" TAPA 57 (1926) 5-31; "L. Antistius Rusticus," CP 21 (1926) 43-51; Scribe and Critic at Work in Pliny's Letters: Notes on the History and Present Status of the Text (Bloomington, IN, 1954);  "The Basis of the Text in Book X of Pliny's Letters" TAPA 86 (1955) 233-49; "The Coalescence of the Two Plinys," TAPA 86 (1955) 250-5; "The Origin of the Ten-Book Family of Pliny Manuscripts," CP 53 (1958) 171-3; "Note on Book V of the Aeneid," Studies Ullman 1:107-12; "Pliny's Own Manuscript," TAPA 98 (1967) 481-2.
  • Notes:

    Selatie Stout developed epigraphical expertise while completing his dissertation at Princeton. At IU, where he often conducted a graduate course in epigraphy, he was known for the personal interest he took in his students and for the pains he took to make his subjects interesting and relevant for his classes. His concern for the individual, whether student or faculty, characterized his service as dean. ,His interest in Pliny dates from early in his career, but decanal duties prevented him completing a full edition of the letters until after his retirement. The resulting volumes are remarkable for his elucidation of the MS tradition as well as his improvements to the text, gained by his relentless pursuit of photographs of MSS from all over Europe. He continued to publish on his beloved Pliny and maintained his interest well into his 98th year, enjoying remarkably good health until the close. According to the faculty minute written on his death, he had lived "a long life full of varied and valuable services. He had a dignity and serenity of bearing, not forbidding, but reflecting a sense of justice, order and patience."
  • Sources:

    Indiana University Archives; WhAm 5:700.
  • Author: Ward W. Briggs, Jr.