It takes some effort to break through the surface and appreciate the depth of Teixeira de Pascoaes’ artistic motivation. On the surface, words are always words, and poetry is nothing more than idealization. But if we ask ourselves: “What is behind the words? What kind of experience motivated them?”—with some effort, something reveals itself, and this something, in Teixeira de Pascoaes, is beautiful and sincere. But it is hard to experience it, since selfishness is constantly working to destroy it. Connecting the past to the present and, above all, looking at it and the whole of existence with benevolent eyes, is something that only a great spirit can do.
The Positive Function of Dreams…
The positive function of dreams is usually nothing more than a stimulus to the imagination. One can dream a lot without doing anything; one can even live in one’s dreams, enjoying oneself and truly feeling when dreaming. However, in the most common type of conscious dream, there is something that, if not exactly playful, is certainly free of the weight of real action. All this changes when the dream takes the form of a design, a purpose, which usually occurs when one gives up something for it. Here, the dream densifies, the dream already influences life and, to a certain extent, begins to materialize. It’s true, it’s true: it often remains unrealizable, or at least does not come true. That may not matter; the seriousness it takes on is enough to differentiate it from ordinary dreams and, above all, to decide.
An Authentic Philosopher
The impression we get after going through these almost six hundred pages of Schopenhauer’s biography signed by David Cartwright is just one: Schopenhauer is an authentic philosopher. This can be seen because, for anyone familiar with Schopenhauer’s work, his biography holds no surprises, which is tantamount to saying that his life was consistent with his philosophy or, rather, that his philosophy was real. To measure the difficulty, and perhaps the greatness of this feat, it is enough to compare it to the abundant miseries described by Paul Johnson in the lives of his intellectuals. In Schopenhauer, we see a personality engraved in every act, in every reaction; we see a man who, despite what can be said about him, neither betrayed nor falsified himself. Such integrity, which is extremely rare, deserves the highest recognition.
It Is Really a Miracle That Which…
It is really a miracle that which is often observed in the construction of poems, when sometimes a single word is changed, this or that edge is trimmed, and a dull, repetitive, banal whole changes character as if completely, and the expression, previously frustrated, finally seems to satisfy the initial intention. The lesson of this experience is that the poet must continue at times when the creation is unsatisfactory, he must strive to give the poem at least a cohesive structure, a fundamental structure so that the brilliant and sometimes unexpected details can stand out.