English translations of the aphorisms of Nicolás Gómez Dávila
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.
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.
"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.
The original Spanish is:
ReplyDeleteEl 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.
"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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