What is a book? Jorge Luis Borges in English [LECTURE]

[@NONOBoy1920]

Great work! Thank you! Borges is a pure god of literature

[@diccionariosxxi]

No problem. Borges converted everything to literature; philosophy, art, history, religion, science, mathematics, etc., he turned all that into literature. Thank you for commenting.

[@josephasghar]

Well I never quite expected JLB to sound like this. Very interesting.

[@diccionariosxxi]

I see Borges the same way Nietzsche saw Schopenhauer, as an Educator. But there are times when I also see him as a friend and at others as a hero.

[@IlIlIlIlIlIlIllIlIII]

@@diccionariosxxi Might not be the best example unless you plan on absolutely loathing everything about JLB in a few years.

[@diccionariosxxi]

​@@IlIlIlIlIlIlIllIlIII ​ No, never. I used the analogy focusing only on the essay Nietzsche wrote, "Schopenhauer as Educator". You probably say it because Nietzsche started admiring Schopenhauer but as the years passed, he distanced himself from his philosophy. That will not happen to me regarding Borges, don't worry. Thanks for commenting

[@leandromartinez5163]

Idk how explain but the way JLB speak English is similar to the way he speak Spanish,like the same flows and pauses in the sentences.

[@pablonicolasangulo4356]

Yeah but he’s vocabulary seems to be quite more narrow in English than in Spanish, despite I know that Borges was almost a native speaker of English (and that he speaks several related languages) it still seems he has a basic English.

[@lukehardin9]

One of the most lovable figures in the humanistic tradition.

[@prometheusboat]

Our meetings with books create a reality each time we read them. Something that did not exist in the books themselves.

[@diccionariosxxi]

Yes, I agree, thank you for the comment

[@Rafael-oi6dj]

No doubt Borges was one of the greatest philosophers of the twentieth century

[@miloshp7399]

This is a perfectly fine Nobel prize acceptance speech 🙂

[@castelodeossos3947]

“A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer. It dies by the same token. It is therefore risky to send it out into the world. How often it must be impaired by the eyes of the unfeeling and the cruelty of the impotent.” Mark Rothko

[@charlytaylor1748]

gosh, I must be one of the unfeeling impotent. I can't stand Rothko.

[@edgeofthought]

Fantastic! This video is my first-ever intro to JLB, never heard of him before. And I say this while studying Seneca, with a giant personal library behind. I really really appreciate this video, thank you Diccionarios XXI. 👏👏👏 .... I have subscribed.

[@diccionariosxxi]

Hi, I am glad you liked the video. I certainly recommend all his lectures at Harvard University. Thank you for subscribing.

[@edgeofthought]

@@diccionariosxxi good yeah. I went looking for the whole single lecture where this came from, in the past few days. Found it/them, several, and heard more. He thinks exactly like me and probably you, and it makes me think that we all are going through successful ego deaths and finding the healthy divine spirits toward what can be the best mortal human life. The “daemon of Socrates” isn’t only that of his own, I keep trying to find it in others, it’s everywhere. 🙂

[@diccionariosxxi]

@@edgeofthought That's an excellent observation but I don't know if "daemon" is the right word, maybe "spirit" or "ghost". You are very fortunate to have come across Borges' work and have been able to appreciate it. It is life changing event, even more when one is at a young age. Thanks for commenting

[@მალხაზ-ვ4მ]

Amazing. Thank you for sharing this sir.

[@diccionariosxxi]

You're welcome, share with others. Thanks for commenting.

[@gibsonraymonda]

If a book has anything to say, it burns with a quiet laugh, because any book worth its salt points up and out of itself. -Bohumil Hrabal, from Too Loud a Solitude

[@paulklee5790]

His joke about buying too many new books is especially poignant as by the time of this talk he was completely blind…

[@carbonc6065]

Excellent

[@kaynetuohy7588]

He sounds Irish at times to me…

[@TheMLMGold]

Haha I heard that too...esp how he says 'what is a book in itself'

[@simonreilly7020]

I think his knowledge of old English influenced his English accent. If you listen to the first lines of Beowulf the h and r sounds are quite similar. He was also a fan of Scottish literature and philosophy (Hume) and I think you hear that in the quick he trills some of the words. There’s also some carry over from his Spanish. I find Borges’ language fascinating because his Spanish is very influenced by the English language yet is still Spanish

[@demoniqpng8623]

​@@simonreilly7020Possibly for the Irish/galish settlements in Argentina.

[@jayedgardyson1920]

That he does, to be sure…

[@themagikian4237]

He sounds Irish as he flattens and hardens his As. Harder Hs and Ws too. More emphasis on Cs and Ks, which sound the same. He definitely picked up some of his English from an Irish person. It's too strong and distinctive, and he does it everytime. It's not just inflection.

[@stalkek]

Strange how Irish he sounds.

[@pablonicolasangulo4356]

I would say rather Greek. But actually this is the most pure Argentinian accent. I am telling you as an Argie

[@mansichaudhary5206]

Where can I listen whole lecture?

[@diccionariosxxi]

Hi, this lecture is called, "The Riddle of Poetry", you can easily find it on KZbin.

[@gabrielcaprav]

This lecture is part of a larger series of lectures Borges gave at Harvard. The series is called ''This Craft of Verse.'' I think you can find it in its entirety here on KZbin.

[@nipasy]

Does anyone know the source for the Plato quote at 1:50? I asked ChatGPT (yes, I know...) and it told me there's no book of Plato that mentions that.

[@marktheaustin]

Phaedrus (274d-275e) scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg012.perseus-eng2:274-275

[@prometheusboat]

It may very well be that it was a false memory, or "borgian trolling". Borges often created fictions out of authors, and wrote stories based on books that were never written.

[@prometheusboat]

Or it could be his interpretation of a section of Phaedrus like the following: "They (book readers) will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks."

[@sloaiza81]

Its in Timaeus, the book plato holds in the school od Athens.

[@sloaiza81]

​@@prometheusboatit's in Timaeus. The book he holds in the school of Athens.