Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee

Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee FRSE (15 October 1747 – 5 January 1813) was a Scottish advocate, judge, writer and historian who served as Professor of Universal History, and Greek and Roman Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh.

Tytler was born in Edinburgh, the eldest son of William Tytler of Woodhouselee (author of Inquiry into the Evidence against Mary Queen of Scots) and his wife, Ann Craig of Costerton.

In 1780 he was appointed joint professor of Civil History at Edinburgh University. In 1790 he became Judge Advocate of Scotland. In 1802 he became a Lord of Session in the Scottish Courts, with the judicial title Lord Woodhouselee.

Tytler's other positions included Senator of the College of Justice and George Commissioner of Justiciary in Scotland. Tytler was a friend of Robert Burns, and prevailed upon him to remove lines from his poem "Tam o' Shanter" which were insulting to the legal and clerical professions.

He died at his townhouse on Princes Street in Edinburgh and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. The vault lies on the west side of the section known as the Covenanter's Prison which is generally closed to public view.

In 1776 he married Ann Fraser of Balnain. Their son was Patrick Fraser Tytler, traveller and historian.

Tytler wrote a treatise that is important in the history of translation theory, the Essay on the Principles of Translation (London, 1791). It has been argued in a 1975 book by Gan Kechao that Yan Fu's famous translator's dictum of fidelity, clarity and elegance came from Tytler.

Tytler said that translation should fully represent the 1) ideas and 2) style of the original and should 3) possess the ease of original composition.

In his Lectures, Tytler displayed a cynical view of democracy in general and representative democracies such as republics in particular. He believed that "a pure democracy is a chimera", and that "All government is essentially of the nature of a monarchy".

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