ABSTRACT
As the outpouring of affection at the meeting to commemorate his death demonstrated, Merton Gill ended his career as a beloved figure. He earned our admiration and loyalty through his generosity to all persons of good will, his infectious good humor, his profound commitment to psychoanalysis as an intellectual discipline, and his courteous regard for views different from his own. Although he loved a good argument pursued with passion, Merton was always ready to acknowledge error. He was a modest person, mildly surprised by the esteem he received for his published work: he once told me that he did not regard himself as a theoretician. On another occasion, he said he wished he could espouse his views with greater self-confidence.
