Eric Seal was born in Surrey, England in 1919 and emigrated with his parents to Australia in 1922. His schooling began at the Xavier Preparatory School in Melbourne and later at the senior Xavier College, conducted by the Society of Jesus. While at Xavier he distinguished himself as an outstanding' scholar and athlete and was Dux of the school in 1937. In 1938 he became a resident of Newman College, a residential college in the University of Melbourne also conducted by the Jesuits.

At school Eric exhibited a great love of classical literature, and concentrated his study especially upon classical literature, including Latin and Ancient Greek. He enrolled in Law/Arts at Melbourne University but at first concentrated on an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree, which he completed in 1942. He then decided to embark upon a career in medicine, graduating in 1947. He was now able to bring together his love of classical literature and devotion to medicine by spending a few years in writing a thesis on Hippocratic medicine, which he completed in 1951 and for which he was awarded a Master of Arts Degree.

While at school he had established himself as one of the greatest athletes the school had ever known; in each of two years’ competition at the senior open he had been the champion in the 100 yards and 220 yards events. His sporting prowess was now shown by being the inter-varsity champion in the same events. His fleet, graceful, gazelle-like movements were remarkable. He seemed clearly destined to represent Australia in the Olympic sprint championships but this hope ended with the outbreak of World War II; the Olympics scheduled to be held in Japan in 1940 were abandoned.

His medical career now continued with successive years of residence at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne where he spent one year as registrar in the Neurosurgical Unit headed by Mr. Francis Morgan, the first specialist neurosurgeon to begin practice in Melbourne. It was at this time that he decided to specialise in Psychiatry and with further studies he was award a Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. He rose to be the Senior Psychiatrist at St Vincent’s, where he also became a founding member of the St Vincent’s Bio-Ethics Department.

While he was at school at Xavier, Eric developed the remarkable talent he had as a poet. He took a particular interest in writing poems of religious devotion. He married Joan Walshe in 1955 and the happiness of this marriage and the family of six children it produced, together with his strong Catholic faith were the solid foundation of his own happiness, his contribution to the integrity and solidarity of his family, and his dedication and obvious compassion in his professional work as a psychiatrist. He saw great symbolism in the Cross, teaching his children that the vertical limb reminds us of our duty towards God and the horizontal limbs, the sequential responsibility we have towards our neighbour, the two great virtues taught by Christ.

His children speak of his great sense of humour, his love of music and fine architecture, his ability always to find time for the children, being ready to talk to them even though exhausted when he came home from a long day of counselling and soothing, pacifying and gently absorbing the suffering of his patients.

He recorded in his poetry his distress, as he perceived that particularly during the second half of the 20th century the medical profession had reached a stage of crisis because it had deserted its fundamental ethic that it would always protect life and never destroy innocent human life.

Eric was always held in great respect by his medical colleagues, and by everyone who knew him. When asked to sum him up, it was not so much a particular talent that was described but just the simple statement, “He is a good man” which really says it all.

His final test came during the suffering he experienced in the few years before his death when he was struggling with the severe pain of metastatic bone cancer, affecting especially the vertebral column. His patience and courage were evident in a poem which he wrote during this time. He gave the poem the title De Profundis (Out of the Depths), taken from the passage in Psalm 129: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord, Lord, hear my voice!”

Eric wrote:
“I had supposed
Myself till now secure, ... and privileged to win
Peaceful senescence. You had other plans,
Dear Lord, which show me how your wisdom spans
Our life and hopes, and how your quiet love
Dispenses graces far outreaching man’s
Discernment, far beyond our pleading hands.
Lead me from depths, not heights, my love to prove.”

These words express his total acceptance of God’s will and could be a fitting epitaph.

It was a privilege for many people to have known and loved such a man, who will always be remembered and honoured for acknowledging the dignity of and trust due to a profession which is truly honourable.