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Microcosmographia Academica
Subtitle: Cambridge's Classic Guide to Success in the World
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1908
8 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Francis Macdonald Cornford
106 books45 followers1874-1943. Classicist
Cornford was educated at St Paul's School and was admitted to Trinity in 1893, being elected a Scholar the following year. Cornford obtained firsts in both parts of the classical tripos in 1905 and 1907; he was awarded the Chancellor's Classical Medal in the latter year. In 1897 he applied for the Chair of Greek at Cardiff, but was unsuccessful. However, in 1899 he was elected a Fellow of Trinity. He was appointed Assistant Lecturer in Classics in 1902 and Lecturer in 1904. In 1909 he married Frances Darwin, daughter of Ellen Crofts of Newnham College and the botanist Francis Darwin.
During the First World War Cornford was a musketry instructor at Grantham and rose to the rank of Captain before transferring to the Ministry of Munitions.
In 1921 and 1928 Cornford was unsuccessfully a candidate for the Regius Chair of Greek. In 1927 he was appointed Brereton Reader in Classics and four years later became the first to hold the Laurence Chair in Ancient Philosophy, a post which he held until retirement in 1939. He was elected FBA in 1937.
Early in his academic career, Cornford became disenchanted with "Cambridge classics" with its emphasis on philology, and published The Cambridge Classical Course: an essay in anticipation of further reform in 1903. He soon allied with like-minded persons such as Jane Ellen Harrison, Gilbert Murray and A.B. Cook in a group that became known as the "Cambridge Ritualists" who looked for the underlying thoughts and myths that underpinned classical Greece. A string of publications ensued: Thucydides Mythistoricus (1907), From Religion to Philosophy: a study in the origins of Western speculation (1912), The Origins of Attic Comedy (1914), Greek Religious thought from Homer to Alexander (1923), The Laws of Motion in Ancient Thought (1931), Before and After Socrates (1931), Plato's Theory of Knowledge: the Theaetetus and Sophist of Plato (1935), Plato's Cosmology: the Timaeus of Plato (1937), Plato and Parmenides (1939). Unwritten Philosophy and Other essays was published posthumously.
Cornford was also active politically on the Cambridge scene. In 1897 he organised a student petition in favour of degrees for women and in 1904 published an anonymous flysheet on the subject of compulsory chapel. To support rationalist moves in the University he joined with C.K. Ogden in founding the Heretics. His most famous excursion into University politics was Microcosmographia Academica, first published anonymously in 1908 and reissued many times since. In it he satirises the Cambridge system and the types of administrator that it produced. During WWI, when Bertrand Russell was deprived of his College lectureship, Cornford was one of the body of Fellows that attempted to get him reinstated.
Cornford died at his home, Conduit Head on 3 January 1943.
Cornford was educated at St Paul's School and was admitted to Trinity in 1893, being elected a Scholar the following year. Cornford obtained firsts in both parts of the classical tripos in 1905 and 1907; he was awarded the Chancellor's Classical Medal in the latter year. In 1897 he applied for the Chair of Greek at Cardiff, but was unsuccessful. However, in 1899 he was elected a Fellow of Trinity. He was appointed Assistant Lecturer in Classics in 1902 and Lecturer in 1904. In 1909 he married Frances Darwin, daughter of Ellen Crofts of Newnham College and the botanist Francis Darwin.
During the First World War Cornford was a musketry instructor at Grantham and rose to the rank of Captain before transferring to the Ministry of Munitions.
In 1921 and 1928 Cornford was unsuccessfully a candidate for the Regius Chair of Greek. In 1927 he was appointed Brereton Reader in Classics and four years later became the first to hold the Laurence Chair in Ancient Philosophy, a post which he held until retirement in 1939. He was elected FBA in 1937.
Early in his academic career, Cornford became disenchanted with "Cambridge classics" with its emphasis on philology, and published The Cambridge Classical Course: an essay in anticipation of further reform in 1903. He soon allied with like-minded persons such as Jane Ellen Harrison, Gilbert Murray and A.B. Cook in a group that became known as the "Cambridge Ritualists" who looked for the underlying thoughts and myths that underpinned classical Greece. A string of publications ensued: Thucydides Mythistoricus (1907), From Religion to Philosophy: a study in the origins of Western speculation (1912), The Origins of Attic Comedy (1914), Greek Religious thought from Homer to Alexander (1923), The Laws of Motion in Ancient Thought (1931), Before and After Socrates (1931), Plato's Theory of Knowledge: the Theaetetus and Sophist of Plato (1935), Plato's Cosmology: the Timaeus of Plato (1937), Plato and Parmenides (1939). Unwritten Philosophy and Other essays was published posthumously.
Cornford was also active politically on the Cambridge scene. In 1897 he organised a student petition in favour of degrees for women and in 1904 published an anonymous flysheet on the subject of compulsory chapel. To support rationalist moves in the University he joined with C.K. Ogden in founding the Heretics. His most famous excursion into University politics was Microcosmographia Academica, first published anonymously in 1908 and reissued many times since. In it he satirises the Cambridge system and the types of administrator that it produced. During WWI, when Bertrand Russell was deprived of his College lectureship, Cornford was one of the body of Fellows that attempted to get him reinstated.
Cornford died at his home, Conduit Head on 3 January 1943.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 23, 2016
It's funny that an essay from 1908 is still so relevant today. I've seen many examples of the Principle of the Wedge ("you should not act justly now for fear of raising expectations that you may act still more justly in the future") and, in particular, the Principle of the Dangerous Precedent:
It's quite an interesting and short read for anyone familiar with universities or similar bureaucracies. I enjoyed lines like "If you will scratch my back, I will scratch yours; and if you won't, I will scratch your face" and "When attention is entirely concentrated on punctuation, there is some fear that the conduct of business may suffer, and a proposal get through without being properly obstructed on its demerits."
"... you should not now do an admittedly right action for fear you, or your equally timid successors, should not have the courage to do right in some future case, which, ex hypothesi, is essentially different, but superficially resembles the present one"
It's quite an interesting and short read for anyone familiar with universities or similar bureaucracies. I enjoyed lines like "If you will scratch my back, I will scratch yours; and if you won't, I will scratch your face" and "When attention is entirely concentrated on punctuation, there is some fear that the conduct of business may suffer, and a proposal get through without being properly obstructed on its demerits."
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December 19, 2024Bazı şeyleri devam ettirmeme, hayallerimi tamamen geride bırakıp farklı bir yola gitme nedenlerimin en etkili isminin bize önerdiği kitaptır. Öneren kişi ile kitap içeriği ilginç bir okuma "deneyimi" yarattı.
"... Kendilerini bilime vermiş insanlardan meydana gelmiş bir topluma en çok gerekli olan, siyasal kaygılardan kurtulmuş olmaktır." (s.15)
"... Kendilerini bilime vermiş insanlardan meydana gelmiş bir topluma en çok gerekli olan, siyasal kaygılardan kurtulmuş olmaktır." (s.15)
July 11, 2023
Ok honestly I was sort of dreading reading this, but it’s got such a long name I thought I ought to be able to reference it in important conversation. “Ah I saw an interesting theory in Microcosmagraphia Academia by F M Cornford that…” you get the picture. but looking at it, I thought oh, just a tory politics book. however, don’t judge a book by it’s cover and all. to my surprise, there were actually moment when i chuckled to myself. It’s so satire in the way it’s written, in that it’s so unbelievably accurate. the fact that it talks at the beginning about how people thought the government would change after WW1 but he disagreed, and then the going on of realising everything he describes still applies today is the most funny and depressing part of all (first published in 1908). It’s surprising how many bits I want to quote so here are some favourites:
“Remember this: the men who get things done are the men who walk up and down King’s Parade, from 2 to 4, every day of their lives.”
“motions for adjournment, made less than fifteen minutes before teatime or any subsequent moment, are always carried.”
And finally the list of Bugbears (ways to strike fear into the public and the opposition, so they agree with you)
“Giving yourself away;
Females;
What Dr—- will say;
The Public Washing of Linen;
Socialism, otherwise Atheism;
The Great World; etc. etc. etc.”
“Remember this: the men who get things done are the men who walk up and down King’s Parade, from 2 to 4, every day of their lives.”
“motions for adjournment, made less than fifteen minutes before teatime or any subsequent moment, are always carried.”
And finally the list of Bugbears (ways to strike fear into the public and the opposition, so they agree with you)
“Giving yourself away;
Females;
What Dr—- will say;
The Public Washing of Linen;
Socialism, otherwise Atheism;
The Great World; etc. etc. etc.”
September 1, 2022
(read this for gov 1023 because apparently i no longer read for fun. someday. hopefully soon) my guy begins this book saying he's not a satirist. but this is some clever & pointed stuff! i guess the non-satirical nature is the lack of exaggeration in which case: sometimes the satire was the real life we observed along the way.
this is about politics in academia, so there's some specific stuff about that which is familiar, relevant, and overall quite funny as someone who goes to ~ivory tower~ school, and also makes me intrigued to see how this gets connected to the course as a whole bc i assume there's differences in governments of universities and e.g. governments of nations. particularly liked the section on professors writing books (Don't) and implicitly how snobby academia and teaching is.
also, so many good definitions — good in terms of cleverness and also just straight up putting names to familiar phenomena e.g. principle of the wedge. there's a very specific picture being presented here, in the way that sometimes hypotheticals and generalizations give you a better understanding than long-term observation.
there is some stuff that i am just not 1900s enough to understand (misogyny + wtf is belling a cat) but i did learn the word bugbear which is really good & i will be bringing that one back.
this is about politics in academia, so there's some specific stuff about that which is familiar, relevant, and overall quite funny as someone who goes to ~ivory tower~ school, and also makes me intrigued to see how this gets connected to the course as a whole bc i assume there's differences in governments of universities and e.g. governments of nations. particularly liked the section on professors writing books (Don't) and implicitly how snobby academia and teaching is.
also, so many good definitions — good in terms of cleverness and also just straight up putting names to familiar phenomena e.g. principle of the wedge. there's a very specific picture being presented here, in the way that sometimes hypotheticals and generalizations give you a better understanding than long-term observation.
there is some stuff that i am just not 1900s enough to understand (misogyny + wtf is belling a cat) but i did learn the word bugbear which is really good & i will be bringing that one back.
June 8, 2025
ilk bölüm 1908 yılında yazılmış eleştirel bir metin. Kitabın başında metin hakkında güzel bir önsöz var, oradan detaylı bilgi edinilebilir.
ikinci bölüm ise 1969 yılında yayınlanmış, hemen önceki yıllarda yayınlanan gazeteye yazılarından oluşuyor. Bu bölüm, Türkiye'de o döneme dair söz konusu olan üniversite sorunlarıyla, siyasal iktidar ile üniversiteler kanunu ve yürürlükteki düzenlemeler çerçevesinde ilgileniyor.
Her iki metin de üniversite sorunları hakkında olmaları sebebiyle bir arada yayınlanmış, ki bu bağlamda birbirleriyle ilişkiler diyebiliriz ancak bence illaki bir arada okunmaları gerekmiyormuş. Ben bu şekilde basıldıkları için birbirleriyle daha ilişkili metinler olduğunu düşünmüştüm. Oysa ki doğrudan birbirleriyle ilişkili olduklarını söylemek mümkün değilmiş. Ancak her iki metin de yüksek öğretim araştırmaları ve üniversite kavramı araştırmacıları için değerli metinler.
ikinci bölüm ise 1969 yılında yayınlanmış, hemen önceki yıllarda yayınlanan gazeteye yazılarından oluşuyor. Bu bölüm, Türkiye'de o döneme dair söz konusu olan üniversite sorunlarıyla, siyasal iktidar ile üniversiteler kanunu ve yürürlükteki düzenlemeler çerçevesinde ilgileniyor.
Her iki metin de üniversite sorunları hakkında olmaları sebebiyle bir arada yayınlanmış, ki bu bağlamda birbirleriyle ilişkiler diyebiliriz ancak bence illaki bir arada okunmaları gerekmiyormuş. Ben bu şekilde basıldıkları için birbirleriyle daha ilişkili metinler olduğunu düşünmüştüm. Oysa ki doğrudan birbirleriyle ilişkili olduklarını söylemek mümkün değilmiş. Ancak her iki metin de yüksek öğretim araştırmaları ve üniversite kavramı araştırmacıları için değerli metinler.
June 19, 2023
If you are young, do not read this book; it is not fit for you;
If you are old, throw it away ; you have nothing to learn from it;
lj you are unambitious, light the fire with it,· you do not need its guidance.
But, if you are neither less than twenty-five years old, nor more than thirty;
And, if you are ambitious withal, and your spirit hankers after academic politics;
Read, and may your soul (if you have, a soul) find mercy!
If you are old, throw it away ; you have nothing to learn from it;
lj you are unambitious, light the fire with it,· you do not need its guidance.
But, if you are neither less than twenty-five years old, nor more than thirty;
And, if you are ambitious withal, and your spirit hankers after academic politics;
Read, and may your soul (if you have, a soul) find mercy!
April 21, 2022
I picked up this book to compare academic politics from 1908 (when this book was published) to 2022 as it claimed to still be perennial in 1970.
I mean, it's not wrong about a lot of things (if cynical in its satire) though a scholarship of £200 wouldn't get as much at the bar nowadays!
I mean, it's not wrong about a lot of things (if cynical in its satire) though a scholarship of £200 wouldn't get as much at the bar nowadays!
February 7, 2025
Harder to see it these days, but still true
May 22, 2025
Really funny! Like reading Private Eye written by Sir Humphrey in Yes Minister!!
January 23, 2018
Clever, scathing stuff that reflects what is probably the opinion of many people of the operation of democratic Westminster bicameral systems parliaments. Enjoy with a good laugh, masking annoyance at the inefficiencies of free government.
September 3, 2023
This is a real mixture. There are some useful insights on university politics (which has changed less than we might hope) and dry wit mixed with very "in" jokes from the Cambridge of 1908. It has the advantage of being a very short book and the good bits outweigh the bits that have dated badly IMO (though some may find those charming).
March 30, 2010
Peter Keller, president of polling company YouGov has chosen to discuss F M Cornford's
Microcosmographia Academica
, on FiveBooks as one of the top five on his subject - British Democracy, saying that:
"This wonderfully elegant Edwardian satire is really a passionate demand for honest politics. Cornford was a Cambridge academic and he wrote this very short book, not much more than a pamphlet, on university politics. In fact it is a wonderful satire on all politics."
The full interview is available here: http://five-books.com/interviews/Peter-Kellner
"This wonderfully elegant Edwardian satire is really a passionate demand for honest politics. Cornford was a Cambridge academic and he wrote this very short book, not much more than a pamphlet, on university politics. In fact it is a wonderful satire on all politics."
The full interview is available here: http://five-books.com/interviews/Peter-Kellner
July 9, 2012
Mr. Cornford's more generalised comments and wisdom are striking, witty, and very on-point. However his delving into political affiliations and political convictions is not really of my interest. I do gather, however, that this was primarily geared towards a 'Young Politician'...so i cannot fault him excessively; however it is this focus which prevented this otherwise interesting short piece from being something that would have universal appeal. In summary, an interesting read.
October 2, 2012
Boringgggggggggggg
December 28, 2015
I don't think I get it. Seems like a satire on all politics.
February 24, 2019
It is equally disturbing and hilarious to see that academic life has not changed much.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews