author
William Johnson Cory
1823–1892
An Eton master and poet shaped by the classics, he wrote graceful, melancholy verse that stayed with generations of readers. He is especially remembered for Ionica and for a much-loved English rendering of Callimachus's elegy "Heraclitus."
1 Audiobook
Ionica
by William Johnson Cory
About the author
Born William Johnson in Devon in 1823, he was educated at Eton and at King's College, Cambridge, where he won distinction for classical scholarship and poetry. He later became a master at Eton, earning a strong reputation as a gifted and influential teacher.
Alongside teaching, he wrote poems in English and Latin. His best-known work is the collection Ionica, admired for its polished style, classical feeling, and emotional directness. Many readers also know him for his translation of Callimachus's "Heraclitus," one of the pieces most often linked with his name.
After leaving Eton, he added "Cory" to his surname and spent much of his later life in quieter circumstances. Today he is remembered both as an educator and as a poet whose brief, elegant lyrics carry unusual tenderness and depth.