Origins & Early Life

Richard Bentley (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, Anglican cleric, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellenism. In 1892, A. E.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Housman called Bentley "the greatest scholar that England or perhaps that Europe ever bred". Bentley's Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris, published in 1699, proved that the letters in question, supposedly written in the 6th century BCE by the Sicilian tyrant Phalaris, were actually a forgery produced by a Greek sophist in the 2nd century CE. Bentley's investigation of the subject is still regarded as a landmark of textual criticism. He also showed that the sound represented in transcriptions of some Greek dialects by the letter digamma appeared also in Homeric poetry, even though it was not represented there in writing by any letter. Bentley became Master of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1700.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

His autocratic manner and contemptuous treatment of the college fellows led to extensive controversy and litigation, but he remained in that post until his death, more than four decades later. In 1717 Bentley was appointed...

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