Dear Editor,
It is with deep sorrow that I have learnt of the passing of Professor Frederick Case.
It is not often that one meets someone like Professor Case, he was humble yet so profound in his thinking and judgment; he made scholarship and the pursuit of knowledge seem to be the most worthwhile way of spending one’s sojourn here on earth.
I met Professor Case just twice yet the impression he left on me will last a life. On our first meeting, when I went to introduce myself to him, we talked for almost three hours about literature and religion. We exchanged ideas about all the different places we have both visited. I was then preparing to go to Papua New Guinea, his only objection to visiting that remote part of the globe is having to pass through Australia whose immigration policies he did not like. We talked about his work at the University of Guyana – he radiated intellectual energy for his subjects and great admiration for his students who worked so enthusiastically with limited tools. He was committed to bringing books from his colleagues in Canada to assist his students.
It was not just Literature that was safe in his hands; in his company one felt close to humanity personified. It is a great pity that in Guyana we were able to benefit from his vast knowledge, his wisdom and his refined mind for only a short time. I believe that his message for this time in Guyana , especially for his students, can be found in the words of this hymn:
Turn back, O Man, forswear thy foolish ways.
Old now is Earth, and none may count her days.
Yet thou, her child, whose head is crowned with flame,
Still wilt not hear thine inner God proclaim-
Turn back, O Man, forswear thy foolish ways.
Earth might be fair and all men glad and wise,
Age after age their tragic empires rise,
Built while they dream, and in that dreaming weep:
Would Man but wake from out his haunted sleep,
Earth might be fair and all men glad and wise.
Earth shall be fair, and all her people one:
Nor till that hour shall God’s whole work be done,
Now, even now, once more from earth to sky,
Peals forth in joy man’s old undaunted cry
‘Earth shall be fair, and all her folk be one!’
It was a great privilege and an enormous blessing to have interacted with this great man, this unique human being. We borrow the sombre words of Horatio to Hamlet to bid him a fitting farewell:
Good night, sweet Prince,
May flights of angels bear thee to thy rest.
I wish to extend heartfelt condolences to his family.
Yours faithfully,
Adeola James
