Sir, - Could John Banville tell us which of Bertrand Russell's political views, apart from his championing of Che Guevara, could be justly described as "fatuous", or "naive, misconceived and plain silly" (Books, October 28th)? Would his passionate opposition to the Vietnam War merit such epithets? Would his support for nuclear disarmament qualify as one of the low concerns to which he turned his fine mind?
In a 1995 essay, significantly entitled Writers and Intellectual Responsibility, Noam Chomsky referred to the scandalous abuse that was Bertrand Russell's penalty for integrity and honesty. Its a pity that Mr Banville has chosen to turn his own fine mind to the perpetuation of such slander. - Yours, etc.,
Raymond Deane, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.