Portrait : Sir Temi Zammit

Abstract

Temi Zammit (1864-1935), born at Valletta, is one of the more important personalities in the long list of prominent people connected with the Malta University. His significance transcends the limits of literature, although he is mainly remembered as a writer. He contributed towards the recognition of Maltese not only through his works but also through the dignity of his unique personality as a prominent man of culture. His merits in the fields of archaeology and medicine are not totally alien to the real substance of his literary output. If considered from a purely social point of view, these aspects of his personality may be considered as a further proof of how decisive his choice of the literary medium was in an environment which was not yet mature enough to favour the cultivation of Maltese for aesthetic purposes.