David Melling

[Valerie J Roebuck]

I am sorry to have to inform the list that David Melling died on
September 13th.  Members will perhaps know him best as the creator of
the 'Darshana' Indian philosophy website.

Lars Iyer, on the Philos-L list, posted the following obituary, which
he has given me permission to quote below.  I would just like to add
that David was everything that one could wish for in a colleague and
a friend.

Valerie J Roebuck
Manchester, UK


At 6:22 pm +0100 20/9/04, Lars Iyer wrote:
>David Melling, Senior Research Fellow at the Manchester Metropolitan
>University died on the 13th September 2004. He was 61.
>
>Those of you who knew David will remember a man who embodied the
>virtue Aristotle calls megalopsuchia, greatness of soul. He was a
>scholar and thinker who refused to be bound by the narrow research
>culture we find in the UK today. David was, among other things, an
>expert on Greek philosophy and Byzantine musicology, a highly
>proficient scholar of Indian philosophy and a respected broadcaster.
>His book on Plato, Understanding Plato, is a little gem; David also
>wrote several radio plays based on the life of Socrates.
>
>David taught Indian philosophy at the Manchester Metropolitan
>University for many years, filling students with admiration and
>enthusiasm for some uncompromisingly difficult texts. Students may
>also remember the fluent, impassioned and precise lectures he gave
>on a course on Plato at Manchester University. Others may recall his
>many kindnesses; his willingness to look after those who had nowhere
>to go and listen to those who had no one to listen to them.
>
>The funeral will be held at the Greek Orthodox Church in Broughton,
>Salford, on the 28th September. Please contact me for further
>details.