Everything about Charles Anthon totally explained
Charles Anthon (
November 19,
1797 –
July 29,
1867) was an
American classical scholar, born in
New York City.
After graduating with honors at
Columbia College in
1815, he began the study of
law, and in
1819 was admitted to the
bar, but never practiced. In
1820 he was appointed assistant professor of
Greek and
Latin in his old
college, full
professor ten years later, and at the same time headmaster of the
grammar school attached to the college, which post he held until
1864.
He produced, for use in colleges and schools, a large number of classical works, which enjoyed great popularity, although his editions of classical authors were by no means in favor with schoolmasters, owing to the large amount of assistance, especially translations, contained in the notes. He also wrote
A Manual of Greek Literature from the Earliest Authentic Periods to the Close of Byzantine Era providing a list of all Greek writers in that period, with a summary of their life and works and a bibliography of editions then in use. The overview is still useful today, but outdated. His intention to provide a similar volume for Latin Literature was never fulfilled.
Charles Anthon is famous among members of the
Latter Day Saint movement because of his interactions with
Martin Harris concerning a fraction of
Joseph Smith's translation of the
Golden Plates. According to Harris, Anthon wrote Harris a letter of authenticity declaring the Golden Plates to be "
reformed Egyptian" but then tore it up. However, Anthon later wrote two letters to acquaintances describing his encounter with Harris, in which he claims that the Golden Plates were a mishmash of Greek and Hebrew, with a crude reproduction of an
Aztec calendar at the bottom. Anthon also wrote in both these letters that he believed Smith to be a con man. In the first letter, he claims that he wrote a letter for Harris explaining that the characters were nonsensical and meaningless (which Harris or Smith, presumably, would have torn up by themselves). In the other letter, he denies having ever written a certificate of authenticity. Mormons see these two accounts as contradictory and claim their summary of the events has been verified by history. They point out that, following his encounter with Anthon, Harris mortgaged his farm to pay for the publication of the Book of Mormon, something he wouldn't have been likely to do had he been told the book was a fraud.
Dr. Anthon was a friend and correspondent of
Edgar Allan Poe whose acquaintance Poe attempted to use to gain a national reputation in literature and journalism as well as publication in 1845 of Poe's collected stories through Harper and Brothers which was however unsuccessful due to an accusation of plagiarism against Poe.
Dr. Anthon's work was carried on by his successor,
Henry Drisler.
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