6 FEBRUARY 1971, Page 25

Sir: It is one thing to find Profes- sor Trevor-Roper's

enlightened dis- missal of the Gospels in your pages; another to see an irrev- erent image of the Crucified on your front cover. There must still be a number of His followers among your subscribers and it seems a needlessly aggressive policy to assault their sentiments graphic- ally • as well as in print. Would you, for instance, accord similar treatment to the Koran and to the Prophet? I doubt it. You have too much care for the glass in your windows.

Richard Willson's drawing (cover, 23 January) was a sincere (and, we think, successful) attempt to repre- sent the Crucifixion in the light of recent excavations outside Jeru• salem.—Editor, SPECTATOR.