The Spanish Temper Quotes

“What do you think of life?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing. When one eats well, good. When one eats badly- well, good too. One remains living until one is put into the ground. Then nothing, man- nothing." p145”
― V.S. Pritchett, The Spanish Temper

“The Spaniards, who had become, by centuries of war, the knights of the new order and the purified faith, the superb conquistadors who founded the nations of America, had by a tragic retribution unfitted themselves for the rational tasks of civilization. They could conquer, win treasure, keep the faith, but not work. The humanism of the Renaissance had seemed weakness to them, the rebellion of the Reformation had seemed impiety- though it resembled their own effort to reform a pagan Church. They fought to preserve, and for a long time successfully preserved, the spirit of the Middle Ages. It was their triumph, their distinction, and their tragedy. p59”
― V.S. Pritchett, The Spanish Temper