August 28, 2010

#1,761

The metic’s fascinated imitation is the solvent of cultures.
A culture, in fact, does not perish by absorbing exotic elements, but rather by being assimilated and spread by foreign minds.

Escolios a un Texto Implícito: Selección, p. 291

2 comments:

  1. The original Spanish is:

    El mimetismo embelesado del meteco es el disolvente de las culturas.
    Una cultura, en efecto, no perece absorbiendo elementos exóticos, sino siendo asimilada y difundida por mentes foráneas.

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  2. "Metic" is not an everyday word, nor is its Spanish equivalent meteco. Both words come from the Greek μέτοικος and mean "a resident alien." In Athens, the μέτοικοι paid a tax for the right to live in the city, but they did not enjoy the full rights of citizens.

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