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J.H.H. Weiler[*]
[*]Manley Hudson Professor of Law and Jean Monnet Chair, Harvard. In the interest of transparency, the reader should know that Federico Mancini sent me a copy of his paper and, mindful of its highly critical tone and content, invited me to respond, and to respond in kind - Sii severo he volunteered. Headlines and inklings are usually not a good basis for a scholarly pursuit of the truth or even the Truth. But there is on occasion some utility, within the bounds of civility (and Mancini has certainly not come close to transgressing those bounds) of an exchange which sharpens rather than softens the issues, even if this is achieved at the cost of considerable simplification. I would not like, however, any mistake to be made about the spirit in which this response is written. It is best captured in the words of the illustrious medieval commentator of the Bible, a son of Gerona in the Kingdom of Aragon, Nachmanides -- a scholar, poet and physician, was also a great orator and attained fame by his role in the celebrated 1263 Barcelona Disputatio. In his introductory verses to his interpretation of Genesis he anticipates an ongoing conflict of views he will have with one of his illustrious predecessors. `And with Abraham the son of Ezra, We shall have open rebuke and hidden love' writes Nachmanides which is classically interpreted as indicating that, while he will criticise Ibn Ezra openly, his admiration for his work will not be lessened. I am no Nachmanides, but these beautiful words are apt. See annotation by C.B. Chavel in Nachmanides, Commentary on the Torah, Genesis, at 5 note 19 (Shilo 1971).