Phil Lockhart |
Philip N. Lockhart, Asbury J. Clarke Professor Emeritus of Latin,
Professor Emeritus
of Classical Languages
Dr. Phil Lockhart epitomized everything that made a liberal-arts education at Dickinson
College so valuable in my life. Prof. Lockhart was brilliant, yet grounded in the real
world. He was so warm and personable that, despite his scholarship, I was never intimidated
and always felt comfortable asking questions and sharing my own ideas and translations,
even when they were somewhat divergent. I remember how I loved attending the seminars
he conducted for senior Latin majors at his home on Sunday evenings. While eating cake
and drinking coffee, I began to understand literary criticism.
From Dr. Lockhart, I learned that what the Romans thought and wrote about 2,000 years
ago has great relevance in today’s world, and I hope, above all else, that I was
able to share that concept with the Latin students I have taught over the years. One
of my most vivid memories at Dickinson was the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
Dr. Lockhart was able to help us deal with that tragedy by relating it to the death of
Julius Caesar.
He set high standards for me, encouraged me, then valued the work I produced. He taught
me to make connections and comparisons. He taught me to infer and to synthesize. He was
inspirational. I loved his lectures. Throughout my own career as a Latin teacher there
were times, as I stood before my own students, when I would hear his voice in my head.
Dr. Lockhart has been instrumental in building a strong classics department at Dickinson College, and
I have been proud to send some of my students to Dickinson but, even if I had never become a Latin
teacher, he made my Dickinson education a great investment!
Patricia Miller Gable ’65
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