Sir, – It was with considerable sadness that I learnt of the passing of Prof Sean Freyne (TCD). Though not a theist, I had the great pleasure of being taught a number of courses on the New Testament by Prof Freyne. He was a rare Irish academic insofar as he combined visibility in the popular media with internationally respected scholarship while all the while remaining an excellent teacher of undergraduates. He imparted a vast knowledge of and passion for his subject, and he did so with much modesty and a very Irish wit. My favourite phrase of his could well serve as a maxim for any student of the humanities: “The library is your lab.” – Yours, etc,
ATK SMITH,
Junior Researcher,
Dept of Social and
Political Philosophy,
Radboud University,
Nijmegen, The Netherlands.