Part 26
[390] =Bolívar= (Simón). Together with San Martín he brought about South American independence. He had been triumphant in the North and founded the republic of Gran Colombia, now Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1783, and died in 1830. The hopes and ambitions for which he had fought (a great republic by the name of Gran Colombia) had been set at naught in his own times by the revolt of the constituent members.
[391] =Chimborazo=, lofty mountain and volcano in Ecuador.
[392] =Pichincha=, volcano in Ecuador; the allied troops of Bolívar and San Martín won a decisive victory over the Spaniards in this vicinity in 1822. Cf. 126, 1.
[393] =que=. The antecedent is =genio=, referring to =Bolívar= in line 3.
[394] =todo lo refería a=, _considered everything in relation to_.
[395] =Astrea=, the goddess of Justice in Greek mythology.
[396] =vaso opaco de la Escritura=, _unassuming chosen vessel of the Scriptures_.
[397] This sentence has no principal verb. Supply =murió=--.
[398] =la una=, _i.e._, =de Bolívar=.
[399] =la otra=, _i.e._, =de San Martín=.
[400] =su=, _i.e._, =del Perú=.
[401] =su=, _i.e._, =de San Martín=.
[402] =Macabeo=. Judas Maccabeus, of the Maccabees, led the Jews against the tyrant Antiochus IV, assuming the leadership of the revolt in B.C. 164, upon the death of his father Matathias.
[403] =Moreno= (Mariano), Argentine patriot and statesman. Cf. 195.
[404] =todos cuantos=, _all who_.
[405] =Misiones=. V. map.
[406] =Alto Perú=, old name of the present republic of Bolivia. It became an independent state in 1825, with Bolívar as its first president.
[407] =Artigas= (José, 1746-1826). Although Mitre speaks thus of Artigas, present-day Uruguayans regard him as their national hero. Works published lately on his life show that he was misunderstood. The federal system of government for which he stood obtains to-day in Argentina, though not in Uruguay.
[408] =Güemes= (Martín), Gaucho leader in northern Argentina, whose deeds are commemorated in many tales. He may be compared with Marion, the American guerrilla fighter in the Carolinas during the American War of Independence.
[409] =Rivadavia= (Bernardino), first president of Argentina and supporter of the unitarian or centralized form of republican government. During his presidency he established primary education and encouraged the University of Buenos Aires, which had come into being under his tutelage. He was far in advance of his time.
[410] =en tal sentido=, _of this type_.
[411] =cuyo sentimiento=, _the sentiment for which_.
[412] =Cuyo=. Previous to his invasion of Chile, San Martín was ostensibly Governor of Cuyo, a region including the present provinces of Mendoza, San Juan, and San Luis. It was in this capacity that he made ready his _Ejército de los Andes_ to attack the Spaniards in Chile.
[413] =las del Norte=. This includes the provinces of Salta, Tucumán, Jujuy, and what was known as Alto Perú, or Bolivia.
[414] =_encabezar partidos_=, _i.e._, =secundarios=. Cf. 181, 17.
[415] =dos derrotas=. The Argentine army of the North had been defeated twice: at Huaquí in June, 1811, and in the battle of Nazareno in January, 1812.
[416] =haciendo por último pie firme=, _making at last a resolute stand_.
[417] =como el vacío de la máquina neumática que apaga los oídos=, _like the vacuum of the pneumatic pump which deadens the hearing_.
[418] =tres Repúblicas=. Argentine by birth, Las Heras fought for the independence of Peru and Chile besides that of his own country.
[419] =en ella=, _i.e._, =en la época colonial=.
[420] =Bayardo=, famous French knight of the fifteenth century who was called "_le chevalier sans peur et sans reproche_", "_the fearless and faultless knight_".
[421] =No se le vió nunca=, _He was never seen_.
[422] =y no... manifestaciones=, _and were felt only through the hidden and persevering force of their cold manifestations_.
[423] =sin que él reclamase jamás su competencia=, _without his ever putting forward his fitness_.
[424] =Huaquí=. The Argentine forces under the command of Balcarce suffered here a severe defeat, after which Pueyrredón took command of the retreating forces.
[425] =algo de interno y de poderoso=, _something profound and powerful_.
[426] =lo manejaba... severidad=, _he wielded it even in the extremes of firmness and severity_.
[427] =compañero de Logia=. Francisco Miranda, a Venezuelan patriot, had been the prime mover in establishing a vast secret society with branches in Europe and America. The purpose of this society was to bring about a republican form of government in all South America. San Martín established a chapter of it in Buenos Aires under the name of =Logia de Lautaro=, and with its support carried through his invasion of Chile and Peru, despite party opposition. =Lautaro= was synonymous with patriotism because it was the name of an Araucanian chief famous for his fierce resistance against Valdivia, the conqueror of Chile.
[428] =con quien... personal=, _with whom he held political views in common and whom he resembled in his personal character_.
[429] =solemnidades patrias=, _national holidays_.
[430] =sol=. The Argentine flag has two horizontal blue stripes and in the middle a white one with the image of the sun in it.
[431] =mayo de 1810=. A reference to the 25th of May, 1810. The first cry of independence was heard in Buenos Aires, and Cisneros, then Viceroy, was put out of power. V. Introduction.
[432] =no él=, _i.e._, he made no efforts at self-glorification.
[433] =Quiere... propios=, _He wishes as it were to do away with the very names_.
[434] =Colonia=, _i.e._, Argentina, prior to its independence.
[435] =Tácito=, Tacitus, famous Roman historian (55-120 A.D.).
[436] =y... chispa=, _hardly any light_.
[437] =Vieytes= (Hipólito), one of the leaders of the Argentine revolution and member of the Junta Gobernativa.
[438] =Virreinato=, _i.e._, Spanish rule in Argentina.
[439] =árbitro de=, _free to_.
[440] =ejerciendo=, _by exercising_.
[441] =Manzanares=, river in Spain, on the banks of which Madrid is located; here synonymous with Spain.
[442] =Congreso=, reference to the Congress of Tucumán, in 1816, which declared the independence of Argentina. Cf. 222.
[443] =El rumbo... estrella=, _The course was pointed toward the best star_, _i.e._, democracy.
[444] =su modo de ser definitivo=, _its established form of government_.
[445] =Salta=, province of Argentina, and its capital. Güemes used to refer to Salta as mi provincia.
[446] =sea que..., sea que=, _whether... or_.
[447] =país accidentado=. Salta and Jujuy, as can be seen from the map, are in a mountainous region.
[448] =la resistencia de la población en masa=. While San Martín was conquering Chile in 1817 and invading Peru in 1821, the Spaniards were trying to fight their way down from Peru into Argentina. Güemes' efforts were most important in holding the Spanish forces back until San Martín struck at the heart of their power, Lima.
[449] =dirección más inteligente=, _i.e._, de San Martín.
[450] =se veía... entrañas=, _saw its very vitals torn_.
[451] =un ejército=, _i.e._, =el ejército del Norte= under Belgrano's command.
[452] =de otro=, _i.e._, San Martín's army.
[453] =guerra civil=. From the very beginning there was, as in the United States, a "Tory" party in Argentina that stood against independence.
[454] =aquél=, _i.e._, Belgrano, who defeated the Spaniards in the battles of Salta and Tucumán.
[455] =el general La Paz= (José María), Argentine statesman and general who, in defense of the unitarian cause, fought against Rosas and made himself famous during the eight-year siege of Montevideo (1835-1843).
[456] =el Dr. Vélez Sársfield=, famous Argentine statesman and jurist; author of the Argentine Civil Code.
[457] =constituído=, _placed_.
[458] =Alí-Bajá de Monvoisin=, reference to the painting by the French artist Monvoisin of Ali Pasha, who was known for his cruelty in Albania and put to death in 1822.
[459] =Ravel= (Pierre-Alfred), French actor of the nineteenth century.
[460] =estudiante de Brienne=, _i.e._, Napoleon, who studied at the military school of that name.
[461] =Mameluco oscuro=, _i.e._, Mehemet-Ali, who, though not a Mameluke himself, fought with the Mamelukes against Napoleon in 1798, and later became Viceroy of Egypt. Cf. 70, 3.
[462] =Medusa=, one of three sisters in Greek mythology, whose hair was turned into a tangle of serpents because she incurred the wrath of Minerva. Any one who looked at her was turned to stone.
[463] =no había cómo hacerlo callar=, _there was no way of making him keep quiet_.
[464] =famoso expediente=. When two women came before Solomon, each claiming a newly born child as hers, he ordered that the child be cut into two parts so that each claimant might have a half. The true mother was found to be the one who, for the love of her son, abandoned her claim rather than cause his death.
[465] =amanezca mañana=, _appears at dawn tomorrow_.
[466] =¡tú eres...!= _you are the culprit!_
[467] =que está=... The antecedent is =él=, referring to =Facundo=.
[468] =que nada desmiente=, _that nothing can belie_.
[469] =Júpiter Tonante=. Jupiter was represented as the Thunderer in Greek mythology.
[470] =después de habérselo anunciado=. The more correct usage is, =después que se lo han anunciado=.
[471] =continuando de=, unusual for =continuando a=.
[472] =el movimiento revolucionario de nuestra literatura=. The publication of Echeverría's _La Cautiva_ in 1837 inaugurated a movement towards the Americanization of literature in Argentina. Cf. 24, 13.
[473] =Podría presentársele=, _He might be presented_.
[474] =las obras de Echeverría=. His most important works are _Elvira o la novia del Plata_, _Los Consuelos_, _Lara o la Partida_, _Las Rimas_ (which contain among other shorter poems _La Cautiva_), _El Dogma Socialista_, and _Cantos a Mayo_.
[475] =Cuando se trata de evitar que los hombres de letras se puerilicen=, _When it is a question of keeping men of letters from becoming childish_.
[476] =desdeñoso como Horacio=. The Latin poet Horace has expressed his distaste for the rabble in his often-quoted verse: _Odi profanum vulgus_, "_I hate the ignorant rabble_."
[477] =el bienvenido=, _i.e._, =el escritor bienvenido=, _the favorite writer_.
[478] =el malogrado argentino=. Besides his voyage to Europe in 1825, Echeverría had to exile himself from his country twice owing to the persecution of the Dictator Rosas.
[479] =que se refieren al bien de la sociedad=, _which deal with the welfare of society_.
[480] =la invisible confidente=, _i.e._, =la musa=.
[481] =Rompió la tradición clásica=. Cf. 24, 13.
[482] =perdiendo=, with concessive force, _though losing_.
[483] =Tucumán=. V. map.
[484] =las Provincias Unidas de la Plata=. Until 1853, the date of the adoption of the Federal Constitution, the republic of Argentina was known by the above name.
[485] =del pueblo que la realizaba=. The pronoun =la= refers to =declaración=, in the previous sentence; trans., _of the people that proclaimed it_.
[486] =seis años después=, etc. The first revolutionary uprising took place the 25th of May, 1810. The great victories of Chacabuco and Maipo did not come until 1817 and 1818.
[487] =las armas=, _the armies_--by metonymy.
[488] =Proclamada=, with concessive force, _Though proclaimed_.
[489] =que habría de retardar por otro medio siglo=, _which was to retard for another half century_. It was not till 1853 that the Constitution was adopted. Even then it took some ten years more before the old feud between federalists and unitarians was settled.
[490] =las dos grandes revoluciones=, _i.e._, in North and in South America.
[491] =a que se lanzara Francia=, _upon which France had embarked_.
[492] =un gobierno propio=, _a government of their own_.
[493] =imperio militar=, _i.e._, of Napoleon Bonaparte.
[494] =Año Terrible=. The period in French history from May 31, 1793, (that is, from the fall of the Girondins), to July 27, 1794, (date of the fall of Robespierre), is known as the "Reign of Terror".
[495] =antes bien=, emphatic form of =antes=, _rather_.
[496] =a la del Sur=, _i.e._, =por lo que toca a la América del Sur=, _as regards South America_.
[497] =una como presunción=, _a certain superior assumption_.
[498] =se aguardan=. V. 2, 9.
[499] =se apresura=, _is anxious_.
[500] =y de aquí=, _and hence it is_. The verb =es= is understood.
[501] =esos próceres=, _i.e._, the leaders of the Revolution.
[502] =habría pecado por exceso=, _would have gone too far_.
[503] =excepto en cuanto reconocían=, _except in so far as they recognized_.
[504] =por razón de su origen=, _i.e._, by reason of their common nationality.
[505] =hace notar=, _brings out_.
[506] =el cabildo abierto=, _the town meeting_.
[507] =nunca se insistirá demasiado=, _one can never insist too much_. Notice that =insistirá= is future of probability or possibility.
[508] =cuando no=, _if not_.
[509] =puesto que=, _since_.
[510] =plantea=. The subject is =democracia=.
[511] =haciendo que los representantes lo sean en común de las grandes divisiones políticas=, lit., _bringing it about that the representatives be so in common from the great political divisions_; trans., _electing their representatives at large from the great political divisions_, _i.e._, the representatives represent a province and not a district.
[512] =se pretendía hacerle desempeñar=, _they_ (=la gente culta de las ciudades=) _intended to have it_ (the people) _play_.
[513] =exteriorizando los cuales=, _upon manifesting which_.
[514] =Aunque figuras menores=. The verb =son= is understood.
[515] =habiendo algunos=, _there being some_.
[516] =o sea el voto secreto=, _that is, the secret ballot_. Mr. Hipólito Irigoyen, the present incumbent of the presidency, is the first Argentina president to have been elected by the secret or Australian ballot.
[517] =esa ley=, _i.e._, of the Australian ballot.
[518] =su= refers to =poder=.
[519] =inhibiendo=, trans., _to prevent_.
[520] =de cuya presión... los sirven=, _the results of whose pressure oftentimes are laws favorable to them, though ostensibly not meant to be such_.
[521] =que en el acto de celebrarse el Congreso de Tucumán=, _than on the occasion when the Congress of Tucumán was held_.
[522] =después de seis años de rotas las hostilidades=, _six years after the breaking out of hostilities_.
[523] =llevaba involucrados=, _carried within itself_.
[524] =de este último=, _i.e._, =el proceso idealista=.
[525] =Uno de ellos=, _i.e._, one of the =caudillos=. V. Introduction.
[526] =a su alrededor=, _around it_.
[527] =que habría de regir=, _which was to rule_.
[528] =Córdoba=. V. map. Its university, having been founded in 1613, is the third oldest in South America, that of San Marcos in Lima (which was founded in 1551) and that of Bogotá (founded in 1572) having preceded it.
[529] =Charcas=, capital of Bolivia, to-day called Sucre. It used to be known also under the names of Chuquisaca and La Plata. Its famous university was founded in 1623. It has a school of law, theology, and medicine.
[530] =Santiago de Chile=, capital of Chile. V. map. The university was founded in 1738.
[531] =Colegio de San Carlos=, in Lima, Peru.
[532] =véase el estado general del país=, _see the general condition of the country_.
[533] =uno de los más ilustres miembros del Congreso=, _i.e._, Fray Cayetano Rodríguez. Cf. 240, 3.
[534] =chocados=, _clashing_.
[535] =negándose algunos=, _some being opposed_.
[536] =habría que agregar=, _there ought to be added_.
[537] =Alto Perú=, name applied to the present republic of Bolivia during the colonial and revolutionary period.
[538] =la aproximación del enemigo=. The last secret session of the Congress of Tucumán was held January 17, 1817, when the Spanish forces were advancing from the north, after invading the province of Jujuy.
[539] =Lima=, capital of Peru, was founded in 1535 by Pizarro. It was by far the most important South American city during the colonial period.
[540] =a quien tocaría=, _whose lot it would be_.
[541] =el golpe definitivo=. The battle of Ayacucho (1824), fought between the Spaniards and the combined Colombian and Argentine forces under the command of Sucre, Bolívar's lieutenant, put an end to Spanish domination in South America. As a feat of arms it stands among the most brilliant of those recorded in the annals of South American history. Sucre, though his forces numbered but half those of the Spaniards, completely routed them, capturing about one-third of their army, including La Serna, the commander-in-chief, as well as all their baggage and ammunition.
[542] =describiera=. Cf. 66, 16; 223, 16.
[543] =Fray Cayetano Rodríguez= (1761-1823), historian of the proceedings at the Congress of Tucumán. As a poet he wrote a sonnet _Al 25 de Mayo_, and versified on other events of his time.
[544] =no es de extrañar=, _it is not to be wondered at_.
[545] =Se pensó en traer=, _Some thought of bringing_.
[546] =San Martín=, =Belgrano=. Cf. 18, 17, and Introduction.
[547] =uno de los detractores de la monarquía=. One of the few voices raised against the monarchical idea was that of the deputy Anchorena, but his arguments were so specious that they rather strengthened the supporters of the monarchy.
[548] =una mano firme=. Argentina owes in large measure her present republican form of government to Fray Justo de Santa María de Oro, who at the Congress of Tucumán stood out firmly and energetically in behalf of a republic.
[549] =la vía=, _i.e._, of democracy.
[550] =de aquél=, _i.e._, =del Congreso=.
[551] =la larga noche de la anarquía=. The period of internecine struggles, from the expulsion of the Spaniards till the downfall of Rosas and the subsequent adoption of the Federal Constitution.
[552] =el _tercero_ del sur=. On rainy days the streets of Buenos Aires were turned into veritable brooks, which were named numerically, first, second, third, etc.
[553] =D. Juan María Gutiérrez=. Cf. Biographical Notes, p. liii.
[554] =se reducía=. The verb is in the singular because the subjects, =la mesa y el mantenimiento=, are taken to be one and the same thing.
[555] =En toda la línea del norte=, _All along the northern boundary_.
[556] =prebostes de la Hermandad=. The =Santa Hermandad= was a police institution founded in the fifteenth century in Spain, and carried over into her colonies. Its purpose was to keep the highways and the country clear of robbers. A =preboste= was an officer of the =Hermandad=; he exercised both judicial and police powers.
[557] =revolucionaria=. The term _revolutionary_, after the French Revolution, was synonymous with _progressive_.
[558] =brazos aptos=, _men suited for the task_.
[559] =hacían que apenas hubiese una que otra calle, malísimamente empedrada=, _were the cause of there being only a few paved streets, and very poorly paved at that_.
[560] =calle _del Empedrado_=, _Paved Street_.
[561] =las había=, _were there any_.
[562] =la reputación de la belleza=, _a reputation for beauty_.
[563] =su revolución=. The revolution for independence in 1810 was mainly the work of the population of Buenos Aires, whereas the civil revolution that followed later was started by the provinces.
[564] =el poeta de la revolución=, _i.e._, Vicente López y Planes, the author of the _Himno Nacional_.
[565] =el _centro_=, _the "down-town" section_.
[566] =mostrador democrático=, _a people's store_.
[567] =de mostrador corrido=, _with its long counter_.
[568] =penetrar a=, unusual for =penetrar en=.
[569] "=ese caballero=", _i.e._, her husband.
[570] Something similar in the way of courtesy used to be the habit among shop-keepers in this country. Nowadays we find it only with the older generation. Although the author here complains that these pleasant customs have already disappeared in Argentina, it is nevertheless true that Spaniards and Spanish-Americans prefer to do business in a way that still savors of social relationship.
[571] =para sentarse los tertulianos habituales del establecimiento=, _where the habitúes of the establishment could sit_.
[572] =de Aubusson y de Gobelinos=. =Aubusson=, city in France, famous for tapestries; =Gobelinos=, the Gobelins, in the fifteenth century, established a tapestry factory in Paris which is now famous throughout the world.
[573] =dejándolo amontonarse ampulosamente sobre el mostrador=, _permitting it_ (=el lote vendido=) _to heap up in folds on the counter_.
[574] _La Argentina y sus grandezas_.
[575] =vivos de=, _alive with_.
[576] =la guitarra ibera=. The guitar is the national musical instrument of Spain.
[577] =grupa=, here, _poop_, carrying out the figure implied in =los gigantes marinos=.
[578] =El azul blanquecino del cielo=. The verb is =yace=, understood.
[579] =revelan únicamente=, _alone reveal_.
[580] =inmóvil, encantado en medio de la inmensidad=. Cf. _Ancient Mariner_, Part II, 8:
"As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean."
[581] =no sabe salirse de él=, _cannot leave it_.
[582] =tragaderos insaciables=, _i.e._, =las costas de una inmensa nación=.
[583] =Salomón=, king of the Israelites, famous for his wealth as well as for his wisdom.
[584] =la torre de Babel=. According to biblical tradition Noah's sons attempted to build a tower reaching unto heaven.
[585] =Semíramis=, legendary queen of Assyria, said to have founded Babylon and built its storied hanging gardens.
[586] =ciudades-esperanza=, _cities of hope_. A noun is seldom used in Spanish as an adjective to modify another noun, but when that occurs the modifying noun is placed after the noun modified, not before, as in English.
[587] =que veían en ella un escenario sonoro de su actividad intelectual=, _who saw in her an attractive field for their intellectual activity_.
[588] =lo=. Note the use of the neuter article to sum up a preceding idea. In this case the clauses beginning with =lo que= in lines 9 and 10 are recapitulated.
[589] =Bagdad=, city on the banks of the Tigris, in Arabia. It was the capital of an important caliphate, from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, and its name was synonymous with riches and wonders in the Moslem world.
[590] =Toledo=, city in Spain, famous for its Gothic cathedral, which contains many historical and artistic treasures. The metal industries of Toledo were justly renowned in the Middle Ages.
[591] =próximos a=, _ready to_.
[592] =Salónica=, city and port in northern Greece, captured from the Turks during the recent Balkan War (1912). When the Jews were expelled from Spain during the reign of Philip II, they took refuge in Turkish lands, particularly in Salonica, which to this day is largely populated by them. Their language, a form of Spanish corrupted by years of separation from Spanish-speaking peoples, is called =ladino= and can be easily understood by one speaking Spanish. In New York there is published to-day a =ladino= newspaper in Hebrew characters.
[593] =Potosí=, city in Bolivia famous for its silver mines.
[594] =Midas=, king of Phrygia about whom mythology has woven various legends. Besides the one referred to here, he is said to have irritated Apollo, who inflicted the ears of a donkey upon him.
[595] =Vellocino=, _the Golden Fleece_. Jason and the Argonauts, Greek mythological characters, went to Colchis and brought back the Golden Fleece, after slaying the dragon which kept guard over the fabled treasure.
[596] =tierras de pan llevar=, _grain-producing lands_.
[597] =El Dorado=. The early _conquistadores_ imagined there existed a country marvelously rich somewhere in America, which they called _=El Dorado=_, i.e., _The Golden_.
[598] =la famosa ciudad del Alto Perú=, _i.e._, =Potosí=.