Classical scholarship drove Nibley to religion

PROVO, Utah — That Hugh Nibley was a gifted scholar is not

a statement that is new to those who knew him. But the man who had an

extensive

amount of scholarship, especially in the classics, never intended to use

his

talents for anything but the gospel, according to one BYU scholar.

Eric D. Huntsman, a professor of ancient scripture at

Brigham Young University, showed how the Mormon scholar was shaped by

classical

studies, which were instrumental in his later work in LDS religious

studies and apologetics. The Thursday discourse, titled "Nibley and Classical

Scholarship" was given as the weekly Hugh Nibley lecture, sponsored by

the

Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship and hosted in the

Harold B.

Lee Library.

To begin his presentation, Huntsman, who also is a scholar

in the classics and ancient near eastern studies, began his presentation

by

outlining Nibley's career in classical scholarship, and highlighted

three

characteristics of "Nibleian writing:" His content, methodology and

style.

__IMAGE__Huntsman, who also sings with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir,

also referenced Nibley's 1939 Ph.D dissertation at the University of

California-Berkeley on the Roman New Year Games. In content, he added,

Nibley's