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Levi Arnold Post papers
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Held at: Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections [Contact Us]370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
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Levi Arnold Post was born in 1889, son of Isaac and Mary Arnold Post. He received both his B.A. and M.A. from Haverford College in 1911 as well as an honorary D.Litt. in 1958. He also received an M.A. from Harvard in 1912, a B.A. from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar in 1916, another M.A. in 1922 and he also studied at the University of Caen in France in 1919. Prior to returning to Haverford to teach, he taught Latin and math at Moses Brown School, 1912-13. He dedicated most of his writing to Plato and Menander. He was long affiliated with the Loeb Classical Library and served as editor of this association from 1940-1967 and was instrumental in the founding and development of the American Philological Association. He served in the U.S. army. L.A. Post died in 1971.
Post, a member of Haverford Monthly Meeting (Quakers), taught at Haverford College for 41 years and retired in 1958. During that period, he served as Professor of Greek, 1933-58, Associate Professor of Greek, 1928-33, Assistant Professor of Greek, 1922-28 and Instructor in Romance Languages & Greek, 1917-22. He received an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Haverford College in 1958. He spent one year as Sather professor at U.C.L.A in 1948, which resulted in his book From Homer to Menander. He was an eminent authority on the Greek classics, particularly the works of Plato and Menander, and many of his books and papers have become standard texts in the teaching of Greek. In 1932, he studied in Europe on a Guggenheim Fellowship. Among his books are Thirteen Epistles of Plato; Three Plays of Menander; The Vatican Plato and its Relations; and From Homer to Menander. He married to Grace Lickely in 1919 and had two sons and a daughter: Dr. Robert L. Post, Arnold R. Post and Jenifer Post Goetz. From Friends Journal, August 1/15, 1971, p. 418 and institutional and internal information.
Post's sister, Amy L. Post was an assistant librarian at Haverford College, 1928-1952
Information from: Biographical dictionary of North American classicists / edited by Ward W. Bringgs, Jr. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1994; a listing of Haverford faculty; and internal evidence
Papers of Greek Classicist, Levi Arnold Post, 1889-1971 who spent most of his career teaching and writing at Haverford College as a professor of Greek. Post was a prolific correspondent and most of the collection contains his correspondence, primarily with his peers, though there are some early letters to his mother, as well as letters by his sister, Amy, also to her mother. Renowned for his work on Plato, he was a national authority on Menander, a concentration reflected in his correspondence and prolific writing. He was affiliated with the Loeb Classical Library, including as an officer and wrote extensively for The Classical Weekly and The American Journal of Philology. Post's correspondents include: Benedict Einarson, Tage Ellinger, W. Geoffrey Arnott, Paul Clement, Phillip De Lacy, Ludwig Edelstein, Ilona Ellinger, William Green, Arthur Nock, Arthur Pease, Amy Post, Ira Reid, William Reitzel, Francis Walton and Tatiana Warsher. Among his typescripts and manuscripts are many on the topic of Menander and Menander's Dyscolus, as well as on Plato and Aristotle. His lectures were primarily on Aristotle, Sophocles and Feminism in Greek literature. Off-prints of Post's articles are being considered for Magill Library collections, as well as books and off-prints sent to Post, often signed by their authors.
Processed by Diana Franzusoff Peterson
This collection had no provenance, but presumably came through L. Arnold Post or his family.
This collection has been fully processed.
Some printed materials have been added to Magill Library collections.
People
- Diodore, of Tarsus, Bishop of Tarsus, d. ca. 392
- Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo.
- Post, Levi Arnold
- Plutarch
- Menander, of Athens
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections
- Finding Aid Author
- Diana Franzusoff Peterson
- Access Restrictions
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This collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Copyright restrictions may apply. Please contact the Archives with requests for copying and for authorization to publish, quote or reproduce the material.
Collection Inventory
See also the letters written by L.A. Post to his mother, 1931-1935 in this box.
The biographical materials include: L.A. Post's Guggenheim fellowship, 1932-33, including application statement by Post; Photographs: including one of L. Arnold Post in 1927; Haverford College scenes; the Menander production at Haverford; photographs of Dyscolus production, possibly at Haverford; Classical Greek play, n.p., n.d.; Letter to Mrs. Post re L.A. Post's illness, 1911; Letters from Stars and Stripes Association, including L.A. Post's discharge from the army to study at Oxford, 1919, 1919-38
Physical Description3 folders
Titles for the entire series are related to the box number, viz. title Correspondence 1 is the first box of correspondence. The arrangement of material within folders was created by the creator.
Physical Description7 folders
Post family letters (2 folders): These are letters of L.A. Post and his sister, Amy Post, to their mother Mary Arnold Post, Haverford, 1930-35. As George Badgley writes to Jane Smiley about these letters in 1986, that to some extent, they revealed "The social life of the Haverford College Community during the early 1930s." In L.A. Post's letters, there is mention of various Quakers, attending Meeting, Classics at Haverford, many members of the Haverford community, his academic work, gardening, staging of Greek plays. In Amy Post's letters, she mentions various Quakers, social events and other activities, many people related to Haverford and many mentions of L.A. Post, indicating the closeness of brother and sister, and refers to her job, about which she does not elaborate, but it was as assistant librarian at Haverford College.
Letters to Post, A-H, 1930s-40s Note: Most of the letter writers had connections to Haverford College, especially as past students of L.A. Post and report on their activities, including serving in the army or in graduate school or returning to Haverford or with queries concerning Greek or applying for jobs
Letter writers include: George Allen, Warren Anderson, Seymour Alden, Arthur [Aiton?], Kenneth Bache, Richard Baker, Thomas K. Brown III, R.S. Bluck, Warren Blake, Richard Bernheimer, Tristram Coffin, Christopher Cadbury, Arthur Crowell, John Diehl, George Davies, Ludwig Edelstein, Ilona Ellinger, Henry Fraser, Henry Chandlee Forman, Salter and Ruth Fales, Buz Gummere, William HuberRobert Hecht, Gsu-tu Hu, John Heller, Hoken Hsieh, Bill Hedges, Hanford Henderson, Elizabeth Haight, John Haviland, Mahlon Hepp
Highlights include: Crowell, Arthur. Avondale, PA., 1945 7/15. Read Post's account of Arishima Takeo, whom he (Crowell) considered a close friend and reports on interactions with Arishima over the years.
Gummere, Buz. Torresdale, PA., 1947 6/27. Has been teaching at Media Friends School and introduced the mostly non-Quaker children to attending Meeting. He and others will be starting an elementary school, The Alexander Foundation School, the following Fall. "The only things that are of great importance are the life and dignity and variety of human beings."
Letters to Post, I-Z, 1930s-40s Note: Most of the letter writers had connections to Haverford College, especially as past students of L.A. Post and report on their activities, including serving in the army or in graduate school or returning to Haverford or with queries concerning Greek and Greek texts or applying for jobs
Letter writers include: Mark Jupiter, J. B. Krauss, Daniel Lewis, George Mathues, Jerry Myers, Glenn Morrow, Henry A. Moe, Gilbert Murray, Nicholas Mimopoulos, Samuel McCulloch, Sam McCulloch, William McDermott, Sam Nock (V-P, Kansas State College), Richard Norton, William Osuga, Frederic Palmer, Ben Perry, Arnold Post, A.E. Raubitschek, C.A. Robinson, William Reitzel, Ruth Reese, William Salyer, Arnold Satterthwait, Victor SchoepperleRobert Scoon, Friedrich Solmsen, Franz Stoessl, Richard Sutton, Pendleton Tompkins, E. Vulliamy, Tatiana Warsher, Lloyd Williams, Richard Wister, L. Hollingsworth Wood, W.L.G. Williams, Bill Worman
Highlights include: Nock, Sam. Manhattan, Kansas, 1944 2/1. Board of Regents at Kansas State College barring Americans of Japanese ancestry]
Physical Description4 folders
Correspondence with Paul Clement re Plutarch, 1950-1967;
Letters from Edward O'Neill re Plutarch, 1964-67;
Letters from Harvard U. Press re St. Augustine's City of God and Plutarch, 1952-69;
Letters re St Augustine's City of God, 1949-53;
Letters re Plato's Epistles, 1953-1961
Correspondence with Random House re Post's Dyscolos translation, 1960-61
Requests for reading of Dyscolus by Post, 1960
American Literary Exchange correspondence re Post's Menander's Dyscolus play, 1960
Letter from Harvard U. Press re Menander publication, 1960
Correspondence with C.D. Rowan Robinson of William Heinemann re Diodorus and Plutarch's Moralia, 1948-58;
Correspondence re Diodorus and other topics, 1949-1963;
Classical correspondence, various topics, 1949-1954
Physical Description12 folders
Levi Arnold Post was a graduate of Haverford College in 1911. A good deal of the material in this box is letters and other information from members of the class of 1911, but all relate to Haverford College. Folders include: Letters primarily to L.A. Post from HC alums and also Pres. W.W. Comfort, 1919-51; Class of 1911 letters and some photos, 1921-49; Class of 1911 letters and some photos in 1946 re 35th reunion; Compiled information on alums in 1961; Letters from alums, 1954-62; Charles Wadsworth and the class of 1911 in 1967; Letters from alums, 1960s; Letters from alumni and others connected to Haverford, but not class of 1911, 1901-1954; Letters from Haverfordians, including Pres. Felix Morley and Pres. Gilbert White, 1940-1956; L.A. Post on Haverford coursework, 1953-1955
Physical Description1 boxes
Folders include: Letters from Alfred Andrews, 1953-54; Letters from Arthur Pease re Menander and other classics, 1958-63; Letters re Russell Geer's Diodorus, 1947-1952; Letters from Emerson and DeLacy re Plutarch's Moralia, 1955-58; Letters from friends, including William Reitzel, who taught English and Social Science at HC, but also served in the navy during WW II, a number from Ilona Ellinger and several from "Robert," 1930s & 1940s; Letters to L.A. Post, including from Tage Ellinger, Ludwig Edelstein, Thomas Means, William Reitzel and others, 1940s & 1950s. 3 folders
Physical Description1 boxes
Folders include: Letters to L.A. Post re Rhodes Scholars, 1953-68; Letters of various Scholars on various topics, 1938-47, including C.A. Robinson, Ludwig Edelstein, Rhys Carpenter, Tatiana Warsher giving a biographical outline of her life, Mark Jupiter, J.B. Conant, Tage Ellinger, Warren Blake, Arthur Nock; some letters from L.A. Post; Letters of William Green and Revilo Oliver re translation of St. Augustine's City of God; Letters of A.F. Schofield re translation of Aelian, 1956-59; Letters of various Scholars, including Howard Comfort and John Gummere from Haverford College, 1960s-71; Letters of F.H. Sandbach re Menander and Plutarch, 1960-65; Correspondence with Francis Walton re Diodorus, Siculus, 1940-67; Letter of Kagami Bunchi, 1939; Letters of P.J. Morin re St. Augustine's City of God, 1963-65; Letters of William Green re St. Augustine's City of God, 1964-65
Physical Description1 boxes
Folders include: Letters re index to Livy, 1952-60; Letters from Loeb Classical Library re De Malignitate H Eredote, Plutarch et al, 1958-60; Correspondence of L.A. Post re WFIL radio program "University of the Air, 1946-50; Correspondence with various authors, including Herbert Hoover and Henry J. Cadbury, 1940s-70s; Correspondence with Philip Levine re St. Augustine's City of God, 1960s; Correspondence re translation of City of God, especially with Robert Getty, 1950s; Correspondence with U.A Press re From Homer to Menander; also L.A. Post as Sather Prof. of Classical Lite (1947-48) at UC Berkeley, 1945-52; Letters to L.A. Post from friends, including at Haverford College Ralph Sargent, Ira Reid and John Ashmead; includes photo of L.A. Post, 1946-69; Letters from Benedict Einarson and Philip De Lacy re Plutarch's
Moralia, 1961-67; Letters to L.A. Post, A-K, including from W.G. Arnott, Warren Blake, J.M. Jacques; Letters to L.A. Post, L-Z, including from Katherine Lever, Hugh Lloyd-Jones, F.H. Sandbach, Eric Turner, H.H. Yeames Physical Description1 boxes
Folders include: Assorted letters, including from Geoffrey Arnott, L.A. Post and from Haverford College, 1945, indicating that under the three-college cooperative plan, Post will be paid by Bryn Mawr for teaching, as well as from Haverford; Correspondence with scholars, including Margarete Bieber and others; Correspondence re Plotinus, 1966; Letters re Lucian, 1952-57; Letters and reviews re Post's From Homer to Menander, 1953; Letters of Harold Cherniss re Plutarch, 1950-64; Letters of Herbert Bloch as trustee of Loeb Classics, 1964-69; Letters of Ben Perry re Babrius, 1954-65; Letters from Loeb Classical Library re Babrius, Phaedrus and City of God, primarily from Enid Hill, 1961-69; Letters re Plutarch IX, 1956-58; Letters from Louis Feldman re Josephus IX and job, 1956-67; Correspondence re Plutarch XI, primarily wit Lionel Pearson & John McDiarmid, 1951-58; Letters from David Wiesen re City of God, 1965-67; Correspondence primarily with Cornelia Coulter and Eva Sanford re publishing Classics with Loeb, 1950-61; Letters re Germanicus, 1942; Letters from various people re publishing with Loeb Classical Library, 1954-69; Correspondence with Harvard University Press re various publishing issues, 1943-55; Correspondence with various people, 1937-58, and also some of L.A. Post's writings on various topics
Physical Description1 boxes
The contents of the 3 folders are all either letters from friends or alphabetically arranged letters from the 1930s. Letters from friends include: Jack Lester, Howard Comfort, Lloyd Williams, Ilona Ellinger et al
Letters to L.A. Post, A-H, include: Francis G. Allinson, J.W. Hewitt et al
Letters to L.A. Post, K-Z, include: Ernst Kapp, L. des Places, W.S. Waddell et al
Physical Description1 boxes
Lectures primarily on Aristotle, also Sophocles, Feminism in Greek Literature and Oedipus
Physical Description2 folders
Typescripts, Box 9 (2 folders) include: Ancient Memory Systems; A Philosopher Attempt to Reform a State...; The Varieties of Fiction Studies in the Platonic Epistles...; A Corrector Corrected; Plato's Seventh and Eighth Letters...; Ancient Literary Criticism; Plato's Republic; ...Aristotle's Poetics; One World for Philologists; Summary of A World of Contrasts; The Preludes to Plato's Laws; The Seventh and Eight Platonic Epistles; Greek Political Philosophy; Is Thrasymachus treated seriously; Psychological Notes on Aristotle's Poetics; Dramatic Uses of the Greek Imperative; Woman's Place in Menander's Athens; Notes on Platonic Passages; Notes on Plato; Poetics; To enjoy Switzerland...; [Plato]; Communication; Table-talk; Feminism in Greek Literature; The Plato Manuscripts; Romantic Greece; The Epinomis; Lysias and Plato's Euthydemus; Plato's Epistles and Demosthenes; The Perpetual Problem of Civilization; An Attempt to reconstruct the first edition of Plato's Republic; A Psychological test of the Genuineness of the Platonic Epistles Light on Plato's Epistles from two Modern Instances
Typescripts, Box 10 (9 folders) include: Note: One item not by L.A. Post
The Dyscolus or Misanthropus of Menander of Athens; Menander, the Dyscolus (several); Menander: Prophet of Love (several); From the Helen to New Comedy; Menander 1; Rhythm and Assonance in Menander's Dyscolus; Special effects of rhythm and assonance in Menander's Dyscolus; Uplift in Menander's Dyscolus; Translating the Dyscolus of Menander; Introduction to concise Dyscolus; Menander for Collier's Encyclopedia;Relevant information about Menander' Life and work of Menander; Menander in current criticism;
Menander: Three plays;
Menander: introduction;
The Arbitration;
Shearing of Glycera;
Women in Menander;
Fragment of Menander;
Girl from Samos
The Stratford Oedipus; Aeschylean Onkos in Sophocles and Aristotle; Translating the Dyscolus of Menander;
Alcibiades: a play of Athens in the Great Age / by Charles Wharton Stork
Manuscripts (1 folder) include:
Reading Prize Thesis, 1910; The Style of Platonic Epistles; Some emendations of Plato's Laws; Walt Whitman
Physical Description1 folders