Frank Lepper
Frank Lepper died in September, but I didn't hear until last week. He was Tutor in Ancient History at Corpus until just before I arrived; I was never taught by him, though I have a dim notion he may have been present when I was interviewed. Anyway, I thought I would quote a few lines from his Aristophanic comedy The Bees, which he wrote for the college's 450th anniversary in 1967.
But we prefer to retire before the arrival
Of this Utopia, this Blue-print for Britain's Youth
With its sinister talk of shackles to be cast aside,
Of clean breaks to be made, dead wood excised,
Problems to be thrashed, and anomalies ironed out:
For such anomalies and anachronisms
Include ourselves and everything we hold dear.
And you, dear friends, should wish us well on our journey
And shed a courteous tear at our departure,
If only for the rather sentimental reason
That when we are gone you may not see our like again.
But we prefer to retire before the arrival
Of this Utopia, this Blue-print for Britain's Youth
With its sinister talk of shackles to be cast aside,
Of clean breaks to be made, dead wood excised,
Problems to be thrashed, and anomalies ironed out:
For such anomalies and anachronisms
Include ourselves and everything we hold dear.
And you, dear friends, should wish us well on our journey
And shed a courteous tear at our departure,
If only for the rather sentimental reason
That when we are gone you may not see our like again.