Recommend Books on This Thread

10 posts

perkunos

Thanks for this; maybe I will some day learn Spanish to read this. You know about Baltasar Gracian right?

SixtusVIth
Thanks for this, I first encountered Olivares about ten years ago through my interest in Richelieu. I don't know if it is economical to import a copy to Spain, but if you can you might want to check out J.H. Elliott's comparative study of the two: http://amzn.com/0521278570

He also wrote a biography of Olivares: http://amzn.com/0300042183

This statement stood out for me:

That kind of gender essentialism seems out of place for a man of the Left, which is what Maranon was (per his wiki bio). Would you say that this more realistic appraisal of things is typical of an older generation of Spanish Leftists? I can't imagine the current left in Spain is anything other than utterly pozzed.

Was his failure do to micromanaging strategy from afar, or giving too much leeway to bad generals, or did he take the field himself?

His book about Tiberius is translated too: https://archive.org/details/tiberiusastudyin006458mbp
Cornelio
Thank you for the recommendations. Actually, the second one is sold in amazon.es at a very tempting price, in a recent spanish translation ; I might buy it.

Well, first of all one must remember that any moderate liberal of the 1930s would appear old-fashioned and even reactionary in comparison with today's Left (What was the opinion of early 20th century leftists on catamites?). But secondly, I don't think that Marañón was a that much of a liberal. He defined himself as a "liberal", sure, but what did he mean by that? He suscribed, along with other prominent intellectuals of the time (among them Ortega y Gasset) the 1931 manifesto "At the service of the Republic". Then, like so many others, he withdrew his support after he saw with his own eyes what the republican government, managed straight from Moscow, did with Spain. He exiled himself and he returned to Spain not long after the end of the war, being received by the then fascist regime with open arms. He lived the last decades of his life in his house in Toledo, in peace with Franco.

In the book we are discussing, Marañón expresses the following ideas:
  • "Gender essentialism" (as you define it). He establishes clear distinctions between the sexes in his analyses of relevant characters.
  • Belief in racial differences . An example: During Olivare's rule, Portugal broke free from Spain. Marañón speaks about it as something inevitable, speaking about the union as artificial and ill-fated, due to the ethnic differences between spaniards and the portuguese.
  • Homosexuality as an aberration . Marañón, in describing the decadent ways of the aristocrats, mentions one of them was a homosexual, and he speaks about it as a pathology born from sloth and idleness.
  • Religion as the backbone of society . Marañón wasn't a bible basher but he was certainly a pious man.
  • A profound contempt for the rabble . Extraordinary men are for Marañón superior to the plebs, and should be held to a different standard.
But again, what intelligent man back then, left or right, didn't believe in these ideas (with the exception of everything related to religion)? My impression is that Marañón was a Liberal only in the sense that he was not a Monarchist, nor was he a catholic traditionalist or a fascist. He was a wise man with common sense. A man like him, with his opinions, would be banned from academia nowadays.

According to Marañón, his failure was simply that he overstimated Spain's strength. The only source of income for the state was the gold from the Americas, and that wasn't enough to keep the war going. Also, the manpower became more and more scarce. Constant struggle drained Spain of young men apt for war. He emphasizes the point that Olivares was an anachronic character, trying to revive spanish glory at a moment in history when decline was inevitable. Marañón also criticizes his failure in dealing with the Catalonians, who rebelled against his centralism.

I'm dying to read that one. I will have to get it at a second-hand bookshop, though: all of Marañón's production save one book ( El Greco y Toledo , 1956) are out of print here. That should give one an idea of the dismal state of our cultural life.
perkunos

FWIIW, I have started reading Marañón's Tiberius (which is on Project Gutenberg in English); it is very good.

Cornelio
perkunos I would be very grateful if you would write a couple of lines on Robert Graves, his best works, similarities to Orwell, and anything else you find relevant about him.
perkunos
Well, the Claudius trilogy, as we discussed in the shoutbox, is a work of great genius. I also enjoyed Count Belisarius, though it was not as high in literary quality, it is perhaps a more interesting story. As a man, he was cut of similar cloth to TE Lawrence or Orwell; the type of British adventurer who is doomed to an interesting life. Unlike Lawrence or Orwell, he was a (relatively) happy family man who produced many children with two wives.

Two other works of his which are interesting for different reasons; "The White Goddess" and "Goodbye To All That"

1) "The White Goddess" is interesting in that it is a sort of continuation of "The Golden Bough" -a sort of mythopoetic contemporary survey of native European and near eastern pre-christian religion which was hugely influential in his day. It should be considered a work of art or literature rather than a serious work of anthropology, but he experienced many fascinating coincidences while writing this down, and I think he personally believed in the real existence of the White Goddess as personal muse and influence on European history. The best way to read this book is as poetic folklorism rather than some kind of histiography. I would not suggest this to anyone who was not suffering mystical delusions or who was uninterested in poetry or folklore, though I'd certainly recommend it in preference to Evolan or Crowleyan gorp.

2) "Goodbye to All That" is semiautobiographical in nature, but ultimately a philosophical work. Some of it is his younger years, but most important was his account of WW1 and the aftermath. It is instructive to contrast his reaction to the war to that of Junger; Graves noticed that the society he was fighting for was sick and dying and was disgusted by it. He moved to Spain and never really returned to England; a move I realize now that I will probably make myself (though Majorca is ruined for me, I think, by its regular invasions by slimey limey hooligans). I read it shortly after finishing grad school and leaving my field forever, and his disgust with his previous life and civilization had tremendous emotional resonance. In my present state of mind, it could bear a reread.

Graves was also a prolific essayist and poet, and while I generally dislike English language poetry of this era (Pound, Kipling and Eliot aside), I have enjoyed some collections of his essays. I can't think of any off the top of my head, as I mostly read these in my early-mid grad school days, but perhaps you will be similarly rewarded by some of his shorter pieces.

I want to thank you for the suggestion of Marañón. Unfortunately, I can not locate "The Count-Duke of Olivares" in English, but "Tiberius" was extremely rewarding as a psychological portrait. I've honestly never read such a long psychological portrait before, though this type of thinking is familiar to me from reading contemporary authors of the era. It was a cool glass of water on a hot day.
Welund

Can you talk more about The White Goddess? perkunos

Cornelio
Submission
Michel Houellebecq, 2015

Due to its title and general theme, the past Islam-related controversies the author has been involved with, and to the Charlie Hebdo attacks happening at the same time that this novel was published, with Houellebecq going into hiding and hiring bodyguards, some people might be inclined to think that this is an anti-Islam work, decrying the decadence of Europe and its weakness against the barbarian invaders who are coming to suppress our freedoms. That couldn't be further from the truth.

In this story, narrating the life and adventures of a nihilistic french professor, an specialist in Huysmans who consorts with prostitutes and his own students, during the ascent to power of the Muslim Brotherhood in France in the year 2022, the author welcomes the refreshingly traditional values of Islam, he's almost enthusiastic about the whole thing. For Houellebecq this is probably just another way of shitting on France's leftist intellectuals once again; a way of expressing how empty and ridiculous the european civilization has become.

This book has all the recurring themes our circle of forums has been obssessed about for ten years: the role of Christianity in european civilization, the decadence of the Church, the relationship between the far right and christianism, and between the far right and Islam, immigration, demography as destiny, traditionalism (with several pages devoted to Rene Guenon), the differences between islamic and christian cosmology, etc. I recommend it to anyone interested in gauging the political and philosophical climate in France and Europe in general.

perkunos Cro-Magnon Nelson Van Alden Broseph Welund Asterion President Camacho SixtusVIth Bronze Age Pervert Angocachi
Cornelio
Cornelio
Antonio Pérez

Gregorio Marañón, 1947

Probably Marañón's magnum opus, along with his study of Olivares . When the spanish civil war broke in 1936, Marañón exiled himself in Paris. There, surrounded by other expatriates, he began a series of essays on relevant spaniards who, throughout history, had to go into exile; among others he wrote about Luis Vives, Garcilaso de la Vega, or Antonio Pérez. While researching the latter, he became fascinated by his life and deeds, and decided to dedicate a full volume to his life.

Born in 1540, Antonio Pérez was the son of Gonzalo Pérez, secretary to the emperor Charles V. In time Antonio became secretary to Charles' son, Philip II. As such he exercised great authority over the spanish political destinies for a decade. His power though wasn't as complete as that of Olivares 60 years later; Philip II was a thorough administrator, and he had the final say in every affair -- but for a time he became heavily influenced by his secretary.

Antonio Pérez, a promiscuous bisexual pervert and descended from cristianos nuevos (converted jews) was an unlikely choice for secretary for Philip II, a pious king who directed all his actions on earth to the preservation of the threatened supremacy of Roman Catholicism in Europe. Perez's efficiency as administrator captivated the king, who felt the machine of the state would come to a halt without him.

In the end Pérez overreached:

Fallen from grace after murdering one his political enemies without the permission of the king, he escaped to Aragón (his family came from there). There he took refuge in the Fueros (the ancient privileges of this kingdom) and the favor of the local authorities to evade the king's justice, all while sending veiled threats to publish all his papers and thus compromise the king in the public (international) eye. The king, unable to force the Aragonian aristocrats to send Pérez back to Castilla, made the Inquisition intervene: the religious tribunal had limitless authority in every spanish territory. For that to work they had to make up a story about Perez being an heretic, which was not truly believable: Perez was a horrible sinner, but also a sincere catholic. Zaragoza raised in arms to protect Pérez, freeing him from the Inquisition's jail, and the king made the army intervine, occupying the city. Antonio fled to Bearn and began a exile of 20 years which took him to France and England, always conspiring with Spain's enemies. He died in Paris in 1612, without the pardon from Philip III he desperately sought in his last years.

A great book in so many ways, probably too detailed for those not harboring a deep interest in the man and the epoch, but a true delight for those of us who do. Marañón wrote this volume ten years after his Olivares : his insights (on the human condition, on Renaissance Spain, on separatism, on religious fanaticism, on exile, on nostalgia for the fatherland, on politics and power) reach new heights of wisdom, and his prose is as beautiful as ever.

perkunos SixtusVIth