Texts:1971 Man and his circumstances part 1: Difference between revisions
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<h2>A Spaniard and His Circumstances</h2> | <h2>A Spaniard and His Circumstances</h2> | ||
<h3>I — Aspirations</h3> | <h3>I — Aspirations</h3> | ||
<blockquote>I am I and my circumstances, and if I do not save my circumstances, I cannot save myself. <i>Benefac loco illi quo natus es</i>, we read in the Bible. And in the Platonic school we are given this as the task of all culture: "save the appearances," the phenomena; that is to say, search for the sense of that which surrounds us.</blockquote> <p class="source">Ortega <span class="cite"></span></p> | <blockquote>I am I and my circumstances, and if I do not save my circumstances, I cannot save myself. <i>Benefac loco illi quo natus es</i>, we read in the Bible. And in the Platonic school we are given this as the task of all culture: "save the appearances," the phenomena; that is to say, search for the sense of that which surrounds us.</blockquote> <p class="source">Ortega <span class="cite"></span></p> | ||
<blockquote>The chronology of life is very rigorous.... With the most substantial, most human themes, it is during the twenty-sixth year that the life-span is lighted by its first <i>extasis</i> in which the great eagles that are our future ideas sink their talons in our brains and carry us towards the heights, as if we were innocent lambs. Great ideas are not ours; instead, we are their prey. They will not let us alone for the rest of our lives: ferociously, tenaciously, ceaselessly, they tear at the viscera of Prometheus.... There is nothing mysterious about this date in life. It is the year, generally, when we cease to be mainly receptive, and hoisting our bag of learning onto our back, we turn our clear eyes upon the universe.<p class="source">Ortega<ref>"El intellectual y el otro," 1940, <i>Obras</i> V, p. 510. Cf. <i>Prólogo para alemanes</i>, 1933, 1958, <i>Obras</i> VIII, p. 32, 34-5.</ref></p></blockquote> | <blockquote>The chronology of life is very rigorous.... With the most substantial, most human themes, it is during the twenty-sixth year that the life-span is lighted by its first <i>extasis</i> in which the great eagles that are our future ideas sink their talons in our brains and carry us towards the heights, as if we were innocent lambs. Great ideas are not ours; instead, we are their prey. They will not let us alone for the rest of our lives: ferociously, tenaciously, ceaselessly, they tear at the viscera of Prometheus.... There is nothing mysterious about this date in life. It is the year, generally, when we cease to be mainly receptive, and hoisting our bag of learning onto our back, we turn our clear eyes upon the universe.<p class="source">Ortega<ref>"El intellectual y el otro," 1940, <i>Obras</i> V, p. 510. Cf. <i>Prólogo para alemanes</i>, 1933, 1958, <i>Obras</i> VIII, p. 32, 34-5.</ref></p></blockquote> | ||
<p>Bilbao, March 12, 1910. Members and friends of the Society "El Sitio" were seated in their accustomed corner, awaiting their speaker with curiosity. They were confident that of all audiences in Spain, they most appreciated cultural attainments. Tonight they would prove their prowess; tonight they would take a chance and identify youthful talent, rather than savor mature repute. Usually they invited only the better speakers, men of established reputation. But almost twelve years had passed since national disaster had awakened the power of self-criticism in Spain. During those years many established reputations had fallen before the acerbity of critics who realized that, indeed, the given Spain was not the best of all possible ones. The time had come to hear what the young activists had to say for themselves.</p> | <p>Bilbao, March 12, 1910. Members and friends of the Society "El Sitio" were seated in their accustomed corner, awaiting their speaker with curiosity. They were confident that of all audiences in Spain, they most appreciated cultural attainments. Tonight they would prove their prowess; tonight they would take a chance and identify youthful talent, rather than savor mature repute. Usually they invited only the better speakers, men of established reputation. But almost twelve years had passed since national disaster had awakened the power of self-criticism in Spain. During those years many established reputations had fallen before the acerbity of critics who realized that, indeed, the given Spain was not the best of all possible ones. The time had come to hear what the young activists had to say for themselves.</p> | ||