Being fair to Canon Henry Scott-Holland

Henry Scott HollandTwo correspondents have pointed out to me that I have been unfair to the late Canon Henry Scott-Holland. The much quoted words "Death is nothing at all..." from his sermon The King of Terrors set out one of two positions which he was contrasting (the other was to recoil from death "as embodying the supreme and irrevocable disaster.") His conclusion was that both should be combined.

I would not go along with his thesis that "The contrasted experiences are equally real, equally valid" nor with some of the other things that he says, but I accept that the poor man has been badly served by having the "Death is nothing at all ..." section quoted so widely without the context of his argument and contrast.

Many thanks to those who educated me on this matter. I will make a memento for the Canon.

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