Something that stands out in humanity’s most recent great achievements, many of which are related to technology, is that none of them possess a grandeur comparable to the great achievements of the past. This is noticeable because they are predominantly isolated feats of intelligence, for which no greater virtues were required. In contrast, we have the madmen of previous centuries, whose exploits always begin with an inalienable personal risk. It is true that, using different parameters, it is possible to choose the former, because they bring about more pronounced transformations. But there is perhaps none of these new luminaries whose mere idea of embarking on a sailboat and venturing out into a stormy sea with precarious equipment, or exploring unknown territory on foot, does not provoke the utmost terror.
Tag: history
The Fact That There Are Excellent Historians…
The fact that there are excellent historians recounting the events does not seem to fully justify the great interest aroused by Brazil during the Second Empire. There is certainly something else that makes it possible, more than a century later, to vividly feel the reality of a Gilberto Freyre’s pages. The rest of Brazilian history seems to be eclipsed by the second half of the 19th century, and much of what happened in those years is not included in historiography. Great men, great works being produced, the impression of a great country in development, creating and maturing. Even the disputes, the differences, the politics, carried something of timeless value. In other periods, only duty can cover the indifference that their successes arouse; and even so, it is difficult to transport oneself there…
The Most Important Book Yet to Be Written…
The most important book yet to be written by a new and necessary Gilberto Freyre will describe what happened in Rio de Janeiro in the last century. Such a work, if undertaken seriously, will be the most significant of the century. It is a perhaps unprecedented human catastrophe that separates the Rio de Janeiro of Machado de Assis from the Rio de Janeiro of the 2000s, and even though it is scandalous, it is difficult to trace the succession of events that made it possible. To do so, it would be necessary to gather documents and delve into history with unusual awareness and acumen, capable of identifying the psychological roots of a physically crystallized phenomenon. Someone will have to do it. From a destruction like this, something very important must be learned. Possibly, Brazil’s destiny depends on the success of such an undertaking.
There Seems to Be an All Too Obvious…
There seems to be an all too obvious moral distinction between the great argonauts of the past, separating those motivated by discovery from those motivated by domination. These are very different impulses, which only appear to be compatible. To discern them, it is often enough to analyze the successes after landing on the land found. It is therefore strange that all this is not very clear, allowing true glory to be conferred on the true and very brave heroes.