Bulletin of the Santayana Society, No. 14 Fall 1996

              The Santayana Edition
The Letters of George Santayana and the Marginalia have been the center of our work for
several years, and now we are close to completing both. The Marginalia, edited by John
McCormick, is in its final stages, we have largely completed the first book of letters, edited
by William G. Holzberger, and the remaining four (perhaps five) books of letters are fully
underway.
We were fortunate that NEH renewed our funding through April 1997, even though
Congress significantly cut NEffs budget for this fiscal year. However, next year does not
look as positive, and it appears that many historical, literary, and philosophical editions will
not be funded. Obviously, all we can do is to work to complete as much of the project as
possible until we are no longer funded. Great credit should be given to the Santayana staff
for their work during difficult times, particularly Kris Frost (Associate Editor) and Brenda
Bridges (Assistant Editor).
Margot Cory died in March 1995. Since Daniel Cory's death in 1972, Margot served as
Santayana's literary executrix. I first met her in Rome in 1977, where she suggested I
become the General Editor for the Santayana Edition and where she helped me locate every
Caravaggio painting in Rome. Yielding her umbrella like a charging knight, she also taught
me an unusual way to cross safely the busy Roman streets. She was helpful and supportive,
and her move to England brought her closer to her family. Several times I visited her at
Richmond House in Hove, England, and her concern for Santayana scholarship remained
high even when her health was not. She had the forethought to give permission to the
Santayana Edition and MtT to publish all of Santayana's work. She is missed.
Another gracious Santayana scholar also died this past yean Rrederick C. Conner. You will
remember his "Beyond Truth: Santayana on the Functional Relations of Art, Myth, and
Religion," that appeared in this bulletin (No. 5, Fall 1987,17-26). Fred was one of those
unusual scholars who became an academic administrator, one of considerable success,
without losing his scholarly interest I was fortunate to meet Bred on several occasions,
including one meeting of the Santayana Society, and the impression he always left me was
that of a person with considerable integrity. Fred will also be missed.
Kris Frost, the Associate Editor of the Santayana Edition, and her husband presented me
with a gift this past fall — a World-Wide-Web site for the Santayana Edition:
http://www-phiLtamu.edu/Philosophy/Santayana/.
Hope you enjoy the site as much as I.
HERMAN J. SAATKAMP JR.
General Editor