Reflecting superficially on the orthographic reforms that the Portuguese language has gone through, the impression is that the language has become uglier, poorer, and sometimes confusing. It is always a pity for any language when “authorities” sit down to regulate it. It is as if the work of grammarians, who progressively record the mutations that the language undergoes, has no value whatsoever. The pattern, whose evolution is the work of centuries, is suddenly broken: time is scratched, and a “right” and a “wrong” are established, with the naive hope that a living language can be tamed by conventions… The result is something that sounds unnatural. The consolation is to know that, although abounding in defects, Portuguese is strong enough to overcome these deliriums and nonsenses…
The Future Is a Hypothesis
The future is a hypothesis; concretely, it does not and will never exist. To understand it is to orient oneself. Possibilities open up to the man in a fleeting lapse and continually demand immediate action to materialize, until the day when they all close forever. Meditate, and thought points to the best path: then it is to act, or annul itself in uselessness.
The State of Mind That Favors Good Manifestations…
The state of mind that favors good manifestations is not reached in a sudden burst, it is a long, daily and fragile construction, extremely fragile… One slip, and one returns at square one. After a long effort, it becomes commonplace in the transformed daily life what once seemed impossible. Stumbling, throwing oneself back to the previous paltry reality, what one experiences is an affliction that weighs heavy on the back and smashes the face against the ground…
Perhaps Mozart Was the Most Genuine and Genial Artist
Among all of them, Mozart was perhaps the most genuine and genial artist. It is absolutely impressive to see the vastness and quality of his work, and if we consider his modest three and a half decades of life… There seems to be no one who comes close to him. A work so vast, so beautiful, so touching and so powerful seems inexplicable and impossible. An artist of inexhaustible and ever-excellent manifestations: the Mozart of the sonatas captivates, the Mozart of the concerts enchants, the peerless Mozart of the Réquiem amazes. How is this? how from a single man? In Mozart’s case, having the questions more than satisfies…