Meetings with Remarkable Men

«I now propose to give a form understandable for everyone to everything I have written down for the second series» — el propósito declarado de esta serie, y su contraste con la primera: aquí se busca ser entendido.

«always to strive that the wolf be full and the sheep intact» — una de sus máximas de conducta, y la que mejor resume su ética práctica: satisfacer sin destruir.

«Only he will deserve the name of man and can count upon anything prepared for him from Above» — la condición que pone al título de hombre.

«EXACTLY A MONTH HAS ELAPSED since I finished the first series of my writings—just that period of the flow of time which I intended to devote exclusively to resting the parts of my common presence subordinate to my pure reason.» — abre la segunda serie declarando que la reanuda tras un mes exacto de descanso que él mismo se había fijado: la escritura es aquí un régimen con plazos, no una tarea continua.

«And indeed, the mind of contemporary man, of whatever level of intellectuality, is only able to take cognizance of the world by means of data which, whenever accidentally or intentionally activated, arouse in him all sorts of fantastic impulses.» — su diagnóstico del lector al que escribe, y la razón que da para escribirle de otro modo: la mente contemporánea solo conoce por datos que, al activarse, levantan impulsos fantásticos.

«I wish to follow somewhat the example of the Great Beelzebub and imitate the form of thinking of one highly respected by him and by me» — declara que fija el ritmo de su pensamiento imitando el de la primera serie; el vínculo entre los dos libros que anuncia es de cadencia, no solo de materia.

«The point is that during this time appointed for my rest, despite all my automatic desire, I could not limit myself to the fifteen remaining bottles of old calvados» — narra en broma su propio incumplimiento del descanso, y con ello inaugura el tono en que se cuenta a sí mismo a lo largo del libro.

«I do not know about you, brave reader, but the rhythm of my thinking is now established, and I can begin again, without forcing myself, to wiseacre in full blast.» — cierra el preámbulo con wiseacre, verbo de su propio léxico que emplea para nombrar el discurrir del que se burla y que a la vez se atribuye.

«It is interesting to note that among the many proverbs and ingenious solutions of tricky problems habitually used by various Asiatic tribes, there is one—in which a wolf and, instead of a sheep, a goat also play their part—that corresponds very well, in my opinion, to the gist of the ancient saying I have quoted.» — remite su máxima del lobo y la oveja a un acertijo asiático del lobo, la cabra y la col, y presenta la máxima como herencia recibida, no como invención propia.

«that without his direct observation and influence the wolf can always destroy the goat, and the goat the cabbage.» — la moraleja que saca del acertijo: conservar los opuestos exige vigilancia continua, y no admite una solución de una vez.

«Returning to the meaning of the ancient saying chosen by me, and keeping in mind the gist of the correct solution of this popular riddle, then, if one thinks about it without any of the preconceptions always arising from the results of the idle thoughts usual to contemporary man, it is impossible not to admit with one’s mind and agree with one’s feelings that anyone calling himself a man must never be lazy» — de la máxima deriva una exigencia práctica: quien se llame hombre ha de urdir compromisos sin descanso para preservar intactos dos animales opuestos confiados a su razón.

«When I understood this I experienced, for about half an hour, the state which Mullah Nassr Eddin defines by the words ‘to feel oneself plunged in galoshes up to the eyebrows’; and I was ready at first to resign myself, and came to the decision to rewrite this entire chapter from beginning to end.» — cuenta su propio desconcierto en la fórmula de Mullah Nassr Eddin, el sabio a quien cita de continuo y que en este libro funciona como autoridad proverbial.

«In fact, what I had written during the first two years of this new profession of mine—which I was forced to adopt—could no longer correspond to what was now required, since I had then put down everything as a first version in the form of a synopsis understandable only to myself, intending to develop all this material in thirty-six books, devoting each book to one special question.» — refiere que el plan primitivo era una sinopsis escrita para sí mismo y repartida en treinta y seis libros, y que hubo de rehacerlo.

«But since, little by little, I had become more adroit in the art of concealing serious thoughts in an enticing, easily grasped outer form, and in making all those thoughts which I term ‘discernible only with the lapse of time’ ensue from others usual to the thinking of most contemporary people, I changed the principle I had been following and, instead of seeking to achieve the aim I had set myself in writing by quantity, I adopted the principle» — declara el procedimiento con que están escritas las tres series: esconder el pensamiento serio bajo forma atractiva, y cambiar cantidad por calidad. El pasaje continúa en la plana siguiente con of attaining this by quality alone.

«And this solution will be all the better both for me and for the reader, since I will thus be spared any extra new exertion of my already over-exhausted brains, and the reader, particularly if he has read through everything I have written before, will be able, owing to this digressive development, to represent to himself what kind of objectively impartial opinion is formed in the psyche of certain people, who have by chance been more or less correctly educated, concerning the results of the manifestations of the people of present-day civilization.» — justifica la digresión que sigue como un digressive development, y anuncia que lo que va a leerse es la opinión de otro, no la suya.

«In this connection, as I have already said, I introduced the speech which I had heard long ago in my youth, when I was in Persia for the first time and happened one day to be in a gathering of Persian intelligentsia where contemporary literature was being discussed» — el marco explícito de las páginas que siguen: lo que va a leerse es un discurso ajeno que él dice haber oído de joven en Persia y reproduce aquí.

«One of those who spoke a great deal that day was the elderly, intelligent Persian whom I have mentioned—intelligent not in the European sense of the word, but in the sense in which it is understood on the continent of Asia, that is, not only by knowledge but by being» — presenta al orador y de paso fija una distinción que recorre su obra: inteligente por el ser y no solo por el saber.

«He said, among other things: ‘It is a great pity that the present period of culture, which we call and which people of subsequent generations will of course also call the “European civilization”, is, in the whole process of the perfecting of humanity, as it were, an empty and abortive interval.» — la tesis con que abre el persa: la civilización europea es un intervalo vacío y abortado en el perfeccionamiento del hombre. La voz es la del orador citado.

«‘For example, one of the chief means for developing the mind of man is literature.» — el persa parte de que la literatura es uno de los medios principales de desarrollo de la mente, y de ahí mide su corrupción.

«‘The fundamental cause of this corruption of present-day literature is, in my opinion, that the whole attention in writing has gradually, of itself, come to be concentrated not on the quality of the thought and the exactitude with which it is transmitted, but only on the striving for exterior polish or, as is otherwise said, beauty of style—thanks to which there has finally resulted what I called word prostitution.» — la causa que el persa adjudica: el desplazamiento del pensamiento al estilo, que él nombra word prostitution.

«‘All contemporary literature falls by content into three categories: the first covers what is called the scientific field, the second consists of narratives, and the third of what are called descriptions.» — la clasificación con que el persa ordena su crítica, y que aplica luego una por una.

«‘Strange as it may seem to you, in my opinion a great deal of harm to contemporary literature has been brought about by grammars, namely, the grammars of the languages of all the peoples who take part in what I call the “common malphonic concert” of contemporary civilization.» — el persa adjudica a las gramáticas modernas buena parte del daño, y llama a esa civilización un common malphonic concert.

«‘As one who has now become to some degree a “linguist”, I consider it necessary to remark here, by the way, that it is never possible to think in a foreign language, even though knowing it to perfection, if one continues to speak one’s native language or some other language in which one is accustomed to thinking.» — el persa niega que se pueda pensar en lengua ajena mientras se siga hablando la propia, con el límite que él mismo pone: mientras se continúe hablándola.

«However, it turned out that in modern Russian there is no such word at all, but instead a word is used, namely, yah gohvahriou, which means in Persian myan-soïl-yaram, in French je parle and in English “I speak”» — el caso con que el persa prueba su tesis: el ruso moderno carece de palabra para lo que el persa dice con myan-diaram y ofrece solo el equivalente de hablar.

«Of course not: soïl-yaram and diaram—or “speak” and “say”—are two quite different “experienced actions”.» — la distinción que sostiene el argumento: hablar y decir son acciones experimentadas distintas, y una lengua que las funde impide transmitir la diferencia.

«And my study of its history proved to me that formerly it had contained exactly corresponding words for all the experienced actions already fixed in the process of the life of people.» — el persa sostiene que la carencia es reciente: la lengua tuvo antes las palabras exactas y las perdió.

«To sum up everything that has been said about the literature of our times, I cannot find better words to describe it than the expression “it has no soul”.» — el resumen del persa sobre la literatura de su tiempo.

«Contemporary civilization has destroyed the soul of literature, as of everything else to which it has turned its gracious attention.» — el persa extiende el juicio de la literatura a todo lo que la civilización contemporánea toca.

«‘In my opinion, the quintessence of an idea can sometimes be very well transmitted to others by means of certain anecdotes and proverbs formed by life.» — el persa opone al libro moderno la anécdota y el proverbio como vehículos de una idea, y los ejemplifica acto seguido.

«‘In the present civilization, as in former civilizations, literature exists for the purpose of the perfecting of humanity in general, but in this field also—as in everything else contemporary—there is nothing substantial for our essential aim.» — el fin que el persa le reconoce a la literatura, y el juicio de que la contemporánea no lo sirve.

«‘A European’s understanding of an object observed by him is formed exclusively by means of an all-round, so to say, “mathematical informedness” about it, whereas most of the people of Asia grasp the essence of the object observed by them sometimes with their feelings alone and sometimes even solely by instinct.» — la oposición de modos de comprender con que el persa explica el desinterés asiático por los libros europeos.

«‘The people of Asia were at one time greatly interested in European literature but, soon feeling all the emptiness of its content, they gradually lost interest in it, and now it is scarcely read there at all.» — el persa data ese desinterés como un abandono posterior a un interés real, no como ignorancia previa.

«I myself have seen how hundreds of illiterate people will gather round one literate man to hear a reading of the sacred writings or of the tales known as the “Thousand and One Nights”.» — el persa opone a la lectura europea el auditorio analfabeto que escucha; el criterio de valor que aplica es el efecto sobre el oyente.

«These texts—and I speak particularly of the “Thousand and One Nights”—are works of literature in the full sense of the word.» — el persa reivindica las Mil y una noches como literatura en sentido pleno, frente a la novela contemporánea.

«Anyone reading or hearing this book feels clearly that everything in it is fantasy, but fantasy corresponding to truth, even though composed of episodes which are quite improbable for the ordinary life of people.» — el criterio que propone el persa: una fantasía que corresponde a la verdad aunque sus episodios sean improbables. Conviene leerlo junto al estatuto disputado del propio libro que lo reproduce.

«‘The requirements of contemporary civilization have engendered yet another quite specific form of literature called journalism.» — el persa introduce el periodismo como forma engendrada por las exigencias de la civilización contemporánea.

«‘I cannot pass by in silence this new form of literature, since, aside from the fact that it offers nothing whatsoever for the development of the mind, it has, from my point of view, become the fundamental evil in the life of people today because of the poisonous influence it exerts on their mutual relations.» — el juicio del persa sobre el periodismo, con su motivo: no lo condena por vacío sino por su efecto sobre las relaciones entre las personas.

«‘This form of literature has become very widespread in recent times because, according to my unshakeable conviction, it answers more completely than anything else to the weaknesses and demands which lead to the ever-increasing will-lessness of man.» — el persa explica la difusión del periodismo por la falta de voluntad que a la vez agrava.

«‘Besides, owing to this unprincipled daily literature, the thinking function of people has come to be even further separated from their individuality; and thereby conscience, which was occasionally awakened in them, has now ceased to participate in this thinking of theirs.» — el daño que el persa describe está formulado en términos del sistema: el pensar se separa de la individualidad y la conciencia deja de participar en él.

«‘Finally all this so tempted him that, although neither he nor his family cared for sausages very much, as all of them had been raised in Armenia where sausages are not eaten, he went and bought some.» — el persa narra el caso de la familia envenenada por unas salchichas anunciadas en los diarios; el episodio se da como testimonio suyo, y así queda consignado.

«the aim of Beelzebub’s Tales was ‘to destroy mercilessly the beliefs and views rooted for centuries in the mind and feelings of man’» — del prólogo de esta edición, citando al autor sobre la PRIMERA serie: es la formulación más clara del fin de aquélla, y llega aquí.

«He calls because he suffers from the inner chaos in which we live» — del mismo prólogo, sobre por qué el autor escribe. Voz del prologuista, no suya.

«This idea of master, so familiar in the East, is hardly accepted at all in the West» — del prólogo: la dificultad de recepción que la relación maestro-discípulo plantea en Occidente.