The wishes of the self

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Gegorio Luri considers the Spanish 16th century in terms of the self, not any particular self. In the preface to his latest book, The Axis of the World (Ed. Rosamerón), he tells us, “There is no less conqueror of the geographies of the souls than the lands of America.” And so, in effect. Our inner self, which reflects a certain love, a certain longing, is projected outward, just as the outer world – its dreams, its greatness, but also its misery – finds an echo in our consciousness. The same Spain, which set out to explore the Americas and will reach the Pacific, wanders in its barren interiors the secret path of mysticism, the experience – and transformation of the self – in contact with the highest transcendence. “Francis, the monarch of France, Luri says, I would say that he could see himself happy because his children were born armed. They were born naked like everyone else but grew up with dreams of greatness. Transferred to the example of Spain, it promoted an awakening, as always guided by a culture of exploration, play, going further; this is the exact opposite of the culture of existential pessimism, of insoluble crisis. Although some may confuse it, pessimism has nothing to do with either common sense or conservative skepticism, but with a general state of discouragement – in a way, that defeatism was the evil of ’98 – and no good fruit can be expected from it. This is not the state of self described in the Axis of the World, ready to be seduced by one or a few ideals, and looking confidently at life and the world for that very reason.

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