Theos-Talk Archives (October 2001 Message tt00455)

The passing from this life of Emmett Small is a great loss of 
Theosophical scholarship. Whether or not Emmett would have regarded 
himself as a scholar, I do not know; I do know, however, that he embodied 
more of the qualities of the true scholar in this field than many who lay 
claim to such a title. John Cooper and I once light-heartedly discussed 
the possibility of writing a "Good Food" guide to Theosophical 
scholarship wherein we would rate resources for research. We decided 
that, as entertaining as such a project might be, the fact that those who 
would like what we had to say about them were far fewer than those who 
would sue us made this too risky a venture. But had such a review been 
written, Emmett would have had to be awarded more "stars" than many, if 
not any others. I recall with great affection and gratitude my brief time 
with him, and our correspondence. He was honest, open, generous and 
enthusiastic, eager to share what resources and information he had, even 
when he did not necessarily agree with the position being taken by the 
enquirer. The sparkle in his eyes was not that of the narrow-minded 
fanatic, but that of the inspired and inspiring enthusiast - and, I would 
have to add, that of a man with a great sense of humour whose vision went 
far beyond mortal pecularities and politics and thus enabled him to see 
both in true, and appropriately amusing, perspective. For Emmett, 
Theosophy was not a patch of territory to be controlled or defended, but 
a philosophy of life to be lived. Dr Gregory Tillett