SOMEONE once said that he was "sentimental", and he said this was "true". But I don't think so. Until his death of pancreatic cancer in Paris two weeks ago, aged 74, Jacques Derrida was not an intellectual who spoke because he was easily moved. And his language, far from being smooth, was often difficult. He didn't come across as despondent. No, he was no `sentimental' thinker. Derrida was a pensive voice.

He did of course live in a time when people