ARCOORLO BLOG URUGUAY ORLANDO VICENTE AND LEGAZCUE CUBA: JORGE LUIS BORGES. AUTOBIOGRAFÍA. EL ATENEO, Buenos Aires, 1999. Translated from Spanish by People have been inexplicably good to me. I have no enemies, and if certain people have put on that disguise, they have been so kind that they have not even hurt me. Every time I read something that has been written against me, I not only share the sentiment but I think that I could do the job much better myself

Monday, January 22, 2024

JORGE LUIS BORGES. AUTOBIOGRAFÍA. EL ATENEO, Buenos Aires, 1999. Translated from Spanish by People have been inexplicably good to me. I have no enemies, and if certain people have put on that disguise, they have been so kind that they have not even hurt me. Every time I read something that has been written against me, I not only share the sentiment but I think that I could do the job much better myself

La gente ha sido inexplicablemente buena conmigo. No tengo enemigos, y si ciertas personas se han puesto ese disfraz, han sido tan bondadosas que ni siquiera me han lastimado. Cada vez que leo algo que han escrito contra mí, no sólo comparto el sentimiento sino que pienso que yo mismo podría hacer mucho mejor el trabajo. Quizá debería aconsejar a los aspirantes a enemigos que me envíen sus críticas de antemano, con la seguridad de que recibirán toda mi ayuda y mi apoyo. Hasta he deseado secretamente escribir, con seudónimo, una larga invectiva contra mí mismo. ¡Ay, las crudas verdades que guardo! A mi edad uno debería tener conciencia de los propios límites, y ese conocimiento quizá contribuya a la felicidad. De joven pensaba que la literatura era un juego de variaciones hábiles y sorprendentes. Ahora que he encontrado mi propia voz, pienso que corregir y volver a corregir mis originales no los mejora ni los empeora. Supongo que ya he escrito mis mejores libros. Eso me da una cierta satisfacción y tranquilidad. Sin embargo, no creo que lo haya escrito todo. De algún modo, la juventud me resulta más cercana que cuando era joven. Ya no considero inalcanzable la felicidad como me sucedía hace tiempo. Ahora sé que puede ocurrir en cualquier momento, pero nunca hay que buscarla. En cuanto al fracaso y la fama, me parecen irrelevantes y no me preocupan. Lo que quiero ahora es la paz, el placer del pensamiento y de la amistad. Y aunque parezca demasiado ambicioso, la sensación de amar y ser amado. JORGE LUIS BORGES. AUTOBIOGRAFÍA. EL ATENEO, Buenos Aires, 1999.

Translated from Spanish by

People have been inexplicably good to me. I have no enemies, and if certain people have put on that disguise, they have been so kind that they have not even hurt me. Every time I read something that has been written against me, I not only share the sentiment but I think that I could do the job much better myself. Perhaps I should advise would-be haters to send me their criticisms beforehand, safe in the knowledge that they will receive my full help and support. I have even secretly wanted to write, under a pseudonym, a long invective against myself. Oh, the harsh truths that I keep! At my age one should be aware of one's own limits, and that knowledge may contribute to happiness. When I was young I thought that literature was a game of skillful and surprising variations. Now that I have found my own voice, I think that correcting and re-correcting my originals neither makes them better nor worse. I guess I've already written my best books. That gives me a certain satisfaction and peace of mind. However, I don't think I wrote it all down. In some ways, youth feels closer to me than when I was young. I no longer consider happiness unattainable as I did a long time ago. Now I know that it can happen at any time, but you never have to look for it. As for failure and fame, they seem irrelevant to me and I don't care. What I want now is peace, the pleasure of thought and friendship. And although it may seem too ambitious, the feeling of loving and being loved. JORGE LUIS BORGES. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. EL ATENEO, Buenos Aires, 1999.