I just wish to place into context the Unamuno quote that Gibson used. He said it publicly in one of the most embarrassing moments for Spanish intellectuals, the 12th October 1936, in correspondance with the blog. In that National holiday, in the middle of the Spanish Civil War, general Millán Astray, founder of the Spanish Foreign Legion, war hero and cripple (missing and arm and an eye), one of Franco's main supporters, gave an inflammatory speech at Salamanca's University, the oldest and greatest then in Spain. Besides presenting the virtues of military life and unthinking obedience, it criticised all attempts of decentralisation and self-government, specially in the Basque Country and Catalonia (still resisting the military coup).

Millán Astray concluded the discourse with the shouts "¡Viva la Muerte!"(Hail to Death!, the legionnary motto), chorused by the attendants.

Unamuno, as senior Professor and personality, answered:

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You are waiting for my words, You know me, and know that I cannot keep silent. I have not learnt in my seventy three years. And I do not wish to learn now. At times, to be silent is to lie. Because silence can be taken as consent. I wish to make some comments to the speech- to call it something- from General Millán Astray, who is with us. I will ignore the personal offense of his attack to Basques and catalans. I, as you know, was born in Bilbao. The bishop, whether he wants it or not, is catalan, born in Barcelone. But I have just heard that necrophile and senseless cry, hail to Death, and I, who have spent my life composing paradoxes to anger those who did not understand them, have to say as an expert on this subject that this ridiculous paradox is repellent. General Millán Astray is a cripple. There is no need to lower the voice. He is a war cripple. As Cervantes was one. But unfortunately today in Spain there are too many cripples, and unless God helps us, tomorrow there will be many more. I am tormented by the thought that General Millán Astray can dictate the psychology of the people. A cripple, lacking Cervantes' greatness of spirit, may find a terrible solace in seeing cripples multiplying around him.

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At this point Unamuno was interrupted by Millán Astray shouting "¡Muerte a la inteligencia! ¡Viva la muerte!"

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This is Intelligence's temple. And I am her High Priest. You desecrate her holy precint. You will win because you have enough raw strength. But you will not convince. To convince you have to persuade. And to be persuasive you need what you lack: Reason and Right to fight. It is useless to ask you to think of Spain. That is all.

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All mistakes on translation are my own, as it sounds quite impressive in Spanish.

Unamuno had already been arrested and exiled in 1924-1930, for talking against the dictatorial policies of the monarchy. He died the 31st December 1936, at home, as Franco's wife had succeeded in keeping him out of prison.

José

Thank you for posting that. I didn't know Unamuno.

Because of the debates I have been thinking a lot about the type of 'conservatives' we are dealing with right now - who hate (and fear) the intellectuals as they hate (and despise) the poor. It is the revenge of the 'Spiessere' - I don't know any English word that is totally equivalent, 'petit-bourgouis' doesn't seem to convey the same sense of selfish and judgemental ignorance.

Knowledge and compassion both stand in the way of the Spiesser greed and disturb the Spiesser righteousness.

Besides anti-intellectualism and religious zealotry, Spiessere differ from real conservatives in being aggressive and full of anger. This always makes me wonder - why? It is a class of people who are accustomed to material comfort, political freedom and social opportunity. So why do they waste their time hating and condemning others. Why do they wage senseless wars when they come to power? Why is revenge so important to them?

Spiessere who come to power will most likely be corrupted by it, not as everyone is, but to the degree of farce (or tragedy). At the same time, most of them show a deference towards certain, random symbols that is ridiculous.

Any Spiesser hates change, and will fight the future so hard that even the now suffers. Sometimes I think that fear of the future is the very core of Spiesser hating.

Why aren't the real conservatives more angry about this? These people are already committing crimes. In the end, the crimes will be so horrific, they will discredit conservatism for ages.

We had a similar problem, but in part thanks to the national feeling of shame that only a seventy year old professor reacted when someone shouted "Death to Intelligence!", conservatives here are still quite keen to keep in touch with intelligence, after the dictatorship had helped associate intellectuals with subversives and the Left, and that became also a positive association. Part of the project of the Right to squat in the center.

I have seen however, more outside my country, how political views become a new discrimination tool, making good ideas despised because the source was not "one of us".

We have a sore need of good ideas. So when one is rejected despite its merits because the origin was some intellectual, ergo, a godless leftist intending to undermine the great values..., I just get angry with my fellow conservatives.

I do not know where it arises from, but it seems to be associated with the disappeareance of career politicians, whose aim was to serve the community (with their own views on priorities, means, etc.) and getting professional demagogues, whose aim is just to be reelected, and any good that is done, is done in order to improve the chances of holding the post longer. As we all know, it is easy to get people angry than happy. So instead of a cosntructive policy, let's embark in a destructive policy. Even if people are very unhappy, if they are unhappier about the other than me, I am still on top...

I would devolve power down the line, including the citizen. We should get more involved. Pity that no party here likes the idea.

José

Thank you for a beautiful thread, Jose. In three posts flat, you provide us with the two most powerful statements I've read in some time. The first, from Unamuno:

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A cripple, lacking Cervantes' greatness of spirit, may find a terrible solace in seeing cripples multiplying around him.

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The second from you:

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We have a sore need of good ideas. So when one is rejected despite its merits because the origin was some intellectual, ergo, a godless leftist intending to undermine the great values..., I just get angry with my fellow conservatives.

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A powerful and telling quote from Unamuno. I have read a few of his stories (en español, tambien) with appreciation. His sense of existential melancholy, and of a sort of rational vertigo are quite powerful; his writing seems a bit like Camus, yet with more empathy, more subtlety. In regards to politics, though initially supporting the marxists, Unamuno did break from the stalinists, but he certainly was not a rightist or royalist; in fact I believe the franco royalists arrested him or put him under house arrest. His wife may have prevented him being imprisoned again, but I think he was under a type of house arrest by the francoists when he died.

As far as "godless leftists" (I happen to be one), Unamuno was certainly no traditional religious thinker, and though some scholars claim he is a sort of Kierkegaardian, I think he is more properly viewed as a type of skeptical rationalist, with a well-honed sense of the absurd. (He was quite well read in chemistry and attended medical school for some time, did he not). I do not think he was either conservative or pious, but a moderate leftist in the orwellian sense.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: perezoso,

Miguel de Unamuno, politically, was very close to what later would become the Christian Democracy movement after WWII. He supported at start the military uprising, as he was more concerned for the marxists than the reactionnaries. His christianism was quite heterodox, but quite similar to the position lately taken by the Catholic Church after the 2nd Vatican Council.

His embrace of irrationality, as well as individualism, do put him close to Kierkegaard in my book.

Thanks for your kind words, Splitcoil. Sometimes, like Unamuno, I feel a country ache, when country becomes more important than people (taken as group of individuals), and there is no further look to an individual than the labels (political, religious, personal) they wear.

José

[bump]

Just in the hopes that a few more people will read it. Don't know that there's a whole lot more to be said.

'Twas lovely.

Thanks for the bump, hurts. I missed this thread the first time 'round, and it would have been a pity to not read this. Good thread, Jose.

Franco took a Cayce in the face at however many sudden knots.

Very nice, Unamuno.

Rereading it, there are some things I would have changed. Specially translating "Viva la Muerte" as "Hail to Death" when it actually means "Long Live Death", which is what makes Unamuno make that commentary on repellent paradoxes.

As can be expected, there are no transcription of the speeches, only (possibly censored) notes of the journalists and intellectuals attending, so I have found several different versions. The one I referred to is the more complete one, which is why I chose it.

For those who wish to see the original text I used, here it is:

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Estáis esperando mis palabras. Me conocéis bien, y sabéis que soy incapaz de permanecer en silencio. No aprendí hacerlo en los setenta y tres años de mi vida. Y ahora no quiero aprenderlo. A veces, quedarse callado equivale a mentir. Porque el silencio puede ser interpretado como aquiescencia. Quiero hacer algunos comentarios al discurso -por llamarlo de algún modo- del general Millán Astray que se encuentra entre nosotros. Dejaré de lado la ofensa personal que supone su repentina explosión contra vascos y catalanes. Yo mismo, como sabéis, nací en Bilbao. El obispo, lo quiera o no, es catalán, nacido en Barcelona. Se detuvo. En la sala se había extendido un temeroso silencio. Jamás se había pronunciado discurso similar en la España nacionalista. Pero ahora -continuó Unamuno- acabo de oír el necrófilo e insensato grito Viva la muerte y yo, que he pasado mi vida componiendo paradojas que excitaban la ira de algunos que no las comprendían, he de deciros, como experto en la materia, que esta ridícula paradoja me parece repelente. El general Millán Astray es un inválido. No es preciso que digamos esto con un tono más bajo. Es un inválido de guerra. También lo fue Cervantes. Pero desgraciadamente en España hay actualmente demasiados mutilados y, si Dios no nos ayuda, pronto habrá muchísimos más. Me atormenta el pensar que el general Millán Astray pudiera dictar las normas de la psicología de la masa. Un mutilado que carezca de la grandeza espiritual de Cervantes, es de esperar que encuentre un terrible alivio viendo cómo se multiplican los mutilados a su alrededor.
Millán Astray le interrumpe con el gritó de: Muerte a la inteligencia Viva la muerte. Pemán, presente allí también, contesta: Mueran los intelectuales los falsos intelectuales, traidores.
Unamuno continuó: Este es el templo de la inteligencia. Y yo soy su sumo sacerdote. Estáis profanando su sagrado recinto. Venceréis porque tenéis sobrada fuerza bruta. Pero no convenceréis. Para convencer hay que persuadir. Y para persuadir necesitaríais algo que os falta: razón y derecho en la lucha. Me parece inútil el pediros que penséis en España. He dicho.

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The Spanish Civil War was the last Romantic war for many people, and its roots lie as far back as 1812.

But what Unamuno represented is the aware observer, the one who sees the wrong, and has to point it out. Because the fact that your opponents do wrong does not justify you to do the same. Silence indeed is a lie, when you know better.

Affiliation to a cause should not mean a surrender of a critical spirit. And although that may not help to sway the people, at least it will help those who come behind to see more clearly.

As long as people remember what Unamuno stood for, and the shame of the silence of the others, there is hope. It is when we forget when we risk it happening again.

And before someone complains, there are orders of magnitude of difference between the situation in the USA that made WG quote Unamuno, and Spain in 1936. But the risk is still there.

José

Thank you for this Jose.

You all know how anticonservative I am. But I have quite a few friends who are conservative and did indeed vote for Bush; some very inteligent people. I don't know, in my mind this justifies certain things and I thank you for that.

And thank you httf, cause I had missed it the first time around.

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Originally posted by JRE:
Rereading it, there are some things I would have changed. Specially translating "Viva la Muerte" as "Hail to Death" when it actually means "Long Live Death", which is what makes Unamuno make that commentary on repellent paradoxes.

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Is it really "long live death"? I'm no expert, but it looks like simply "Death Lives!" - in this context it seems like it must have been as much a threat as a motto.

Viva (present subjunctive of verb "vivir", to live) is one of the standard support exclamations in Spanish (coming from "¡Que viva X!", where X is the person being hailed or cheered), mostly devoid of its meaning.

The subjunctive and structure gives it the meaning of "May X live on" that I opted not to translate, but that I feel that should be translated keeping both the use as cheer and the meaning. Hence "Long live Death".

The hymn of the Spanish Foreign Legion is "Soy el novio de la Muerte", I am Death's fiancé...

José

[sober bow]

Glad to be of service.