8 PROCEEDINGS OP THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



of the man. He was industrious, exceedingly rapid in acquirement, 

 always the resort of his schoohnates for aid in difficult tasks, always 

 giving assistance with cheerfulness and alacrity, never jealous, con- 

 stantly improving himself and amassing knowledge of all kinds. 

 Moreover, his delicacy of thought and conduct in early years was as 

 remarkable as his other traits ; and these peculiarities distinguished 

 him through his whole life. 



Beside the common-school training in the districts where his father 

 at different times resided, the entire period during which our associate 

 obtained the advantage of schooling in the classics was just one year 

 and nine months ; and yet, when, prompted by his teacher, he sought to 

 become a student of Harvard College, and offered himself for admis- 

 sion, his acquisitions, especially in the Greek and Latin classics, were 

 far beyond the requirements of that institution, and, under the cir- 

 cumstances, quite astonishing. He entered College in 1823, and re- 

 ceived the degree of A. B. in 1827, among the first scholars of his 

 class. He was eminent in every branch of the collegiate studies : 

 if superior to all others in any one respect, it was in the Greek lan- 

 guage and in general philology. His mind seemed to seize a lan- 

 guage with no painful effort in the mastery of its vocabulary or its 

 structure, and his memory retained it with an iron grasp. 



For two years after leaving College Mr. Felton was employed in 

 teaching school in Geneseo, New York. In 1829 he was appointed 

 Latin Tutor in Harvard College, and was transferred to the Greek 

 Tutorship in 1830. From his first appointment at Cambridge till his 

 death, his whole life was identified with that institution. Nearly a 

 generation of men have witnessed his untiring devotion as a teacher. 

 In 1832 he was made College Professor of Greek ; and in 1834 he 

 succeeded Dr. Popkin as Eliot Professor of Greek Literature, which 

 chair he filled with signal ability until the year 1860. He mastered 

 the whole classic literature of Greece, and became imbued with the 

 life and genius of her people in all the epochs of her eventful history. 

 He was familiar with the works of all the erudite Germans who have 

 wrought in the same rich mine, and his knowledge extended to other 

 realms of science. He also became a deep student of the English 

 language and literature, as well as of those of most European nations. 



Art also found in him a votary. He was evidently first won by its 

 illustration of his favorite authors. But soon his mind recognized the 

 creative genius of the artist as akin to that of the poet, and he woke 



