Michael Dummett has died

Yygdrasilian

Et in Arcadia ego☜

memento mori said:
"The most important difference between the two versions is that in the latter version, one of the two shepherds recognizes the shadow of his companion on the tomb and circumscribes the silhouette with his finger. According to an ancient tradition (see Pliny the Elder, nat. Hist. XXXV 5, 15), this is the moment in which the art of painting is first discovered. Thus, the shepherd's shadow is the first image in art history. But the shadow on the tomb is also a symbol of death (in the first version symbolized by a skull on the top of the tomb). The meaning of this highly intricate composition seems to be that, from prehistory onward, the discovery of art has been the creative response of humankind to the shocking discovery of mortality. Thus, death’s claim to rule even Arcadia is challenged by art (symbolized by the beautifully dressed maiden), who must insist that she was discovered in Arcadia too, and that she is the legitimate ruler everywhere, whilst death only usurps its power. In the face of death, art's duty—indeed, her raison d’être--is to recall absent loved ones, console anxieties, evoke and reconcile conflicting emotions, surmount isolation, and facilitate the expression of the unutterable." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Et_in_Arcadia_ego

And mine own death, that causeth thee such grief,
Would bring thee gladness, if thou couldst but know
A thousandth part of the joy that now is ♏ine.
 

Teheuti

I just saw this. Thank you for the notice. He was a great man, and left an invaluable legacy to us - even if he and I did have a few arguments about style and theory.