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Meditaciones del Quijote
Meditaciones del Quijote es una de las cumbres de la literatura en español. Su publicación en 1914 consagró a José Ortega y Gasset como portavoz de la generación de intelectuales que se levantaba contra la «vieja política». Europa, ciencia, competencia eran sus lemas. Ortega quería «salvar» algunos momentos culminantes de la cultura española. Entre ellos, el «estilo poético» de Cervantes, en el que encontraba «una filosofía y una moral, una ciencia y una política» con las que emprender una modernidad distinta a la idealista.
155 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 1914
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About the author
José Ortega y Gasset
630 books774 followersJosé Ortega y Gasset was a Spanish liberal philosopher and essayist working during the first half of the 20th century while Spain oscillated between monarchy, republicanism and dictatorship. He was, along with Kant, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche, a proponent of the idea of perspectivism.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
December 5, 2017
Like the varnish on a painting, the critic aspires to put literary objects in a purer atmosphere, the high mountain air, where the colors are more vibrant and the perspective more ample.
Ortega published this, his first book, in 1914 when he was 31 years old. It was meant to be only the opening salvo of a continuous barrage. According to his plan, this book was to be followed by nine other “Meditations”: on Azorín, Pío Baroja, the aesthetics of The Poem of the Cid, a parallel analysis of Lope de Vega and Goethe, among others. But, like so many youthful plans, this ambitious scheme was soon abandoned and this brief essay now stands alone.
As is the custom, Ortega fashions himself a follower of Cervantes; but he distinguishes his “quijotismo” by asserting that he worships, not the character Don Quixote, but the book. Ortega sees in this novel a repudiation of an earlier form of literature. By having his titular character rattle his brains by reading romantic tales of knights and adventure, only to go out into the world and make a fool of himself, Cervantes condemned all literature based on unusual people and events, replacing it with the literature of realism.
This is most dramatically portrayed in the episodes involving Maese Pedro, a picaresque character whom Quixote frees in the first part, and who returns in the second part to put on a puppet show for our hero. Unable to distinguish the puppets from his reality, the knight promptly charges and destroys them. This little episode demonstrates that romantic characters, such as Maese Pedro, reside in an imaginative space clearly delineated from the reality we know; but for Don Quixote imagination and reality are one seamless blend.
Apart from this discussion of the novel, Ortega roams far and wide in this essay, comparing Mediterranean and German cultures, discussing the epic form and Charles Darwin, and also including a germ of his later philosophy: “I am myself and my circumstances.” This collection also includes a long essay on Pío Baroja, which I could not properly appreciate since I have yet to read any of Baroja’s novels.
Ortega is his usual charming self. His prose is fluid and clean; his sentences sparkle with epigrams. He scatters his thoughts here and there with youthful zeal, not properly developing, clarifying, or defending any of them, but pushing joyfully on to the next point. I have heard some people describe Ortega as “dense,” but to me he is remarkably readable. Indeed I would describe Ortega as more of an intellectual essayist than a disciplined thinker. And the more I read of him, the more I am impressed.
February 26, 2012
A pleasant read, short chapters, exhilarating ideas. The big concern here is the history and proper uses of the novel and what Quixote can teach us about it, being the occasion of the art form's birth.
To enjoy this book you only have to be familiar with the most famous episodes from Quixote, like the mistaking windmills for giants, discussed here:
"It is true that Don Quixote is out of his senses but the problem is not solved by declaring Don Quixote insane. What is abnormal in him has been and will continue to be normal in humanity. Granted that these giants are not giants, but what about the others? I mean, what about giants in general? Where did man get his giants? Because they never existed nor do they exist in reality...
"Justice and truth, too, like all expressions of the spirit, are mirages produced on matter. Culture-- the ideal side of things-- tries to set itself up as a separate and self-sufficient world to which we can transfer our hearts. This is an illusion, and only looked upon as an illusion, only considered as a mirage on earth, does culture take its proper place."
or the puppet show, discussed here:
"[The] collapse of the poetic is the theme of realistic poetry. I do not believe that reality can enter into art in any way other than by making an active and combative element out of its own inertia and desolation. It cannot interest us by itself... Therefore it does not actually matter what objects the realist chooses to describe. Any one at all will do, since they all have an imaginary halo around them, and the point is to show the pure materiality under it. We see in this materiality its final claim, its critical power before which, providing it is declared sufficient, man's pretension to the ideal, to all that he loves and imagines, yields; the insufficiency, in a word, of culture, of all that is noble, clear, lofty-- this is the significance of poetic realism. Cervantes recognizes that culture is all that, but that, alas, it is a fiction. Surrounding culture-- as the puppet-show of fancy was surrounded by the inn-- lies the barbarous, brutal, mute, meaningless reality of things."
A lot of my favorite books in recent years have been about culture, specifically literary culture-- all of Bolano's stuff, later Lethem, Humboldt's Gift, Vargas Llosa's shorter novels, the best of Percival Everett. One reason I like Ortega y Gasset's book is that he builds a case that these books taken together represent not just the "identity literature" of writers and MFA students, but that they actually hold true to the core project of the novel that Cervantes set out hundreds of years ago.
To enjoy this book you only have to be familiar with the most famous episodes from Quixote, like the mistaking windmills for giants, discussed here:
"It is true that Don Quixote is out of his senses but the problem is not solved by declaring Don Quixote insane. What is abnormal in him has been and will continue to be normal in humanity. Granted that these giants are not giants, but what about the others? I mean, what about giants in general? Where did man get his giants? Because they never existed nor do they exist in reality...
"Justice and truth, too, like all expressions of the spirit, are mirages produced on matter. Culture-- the ideal side of things-- tries to set itself up as a separate and self-sufficient world to which we can transfer our hearts. This is an illusion, and only looked upon as an illusion, only considered as a mirage on earth, does culture take its proper place."
or the puppet show, discussed here:
"[The] collapse of the poetic is the theme of realistic poetry. I do not believe that reality can enter into art in any way other than by making an active and combative element out of its own inertia and desolation. It cannot interest us by itself... Therefore it does not actually matter what objects the realist chooses to describe. Any one at all will do, since they all have an imaginary halo around them, and the point is to show the pure materiality under it. We see in this materiality its final claim, its critical power before which, providing it is declared sufficient, man's pretension to the ideal, to all that he loves and imagines, yields; the insufficiency, in a word, of culture, of all that is noble, clear, lofty-- this is the significance of poetic realism. Cervantes recognizes that culture is all that, but that, alas, it is a fiction. Surrounding culture-- as the puppet-show of fancy was surrounded by the inn-- lies the barbarous, brutal, mute, meaningless reality of things."
A lot of my favorite books in recent years have been about culture, specifically literary culture-- all of Bolano's stuff, later Lethem, Humboldt's Gift, Vargas Llosa's shorter novels, the best of Percival Everett. One reason I like Ortega y Gasset's book is that he builds a case that these books taken together represent not just the "identity literature" of writers and MFA students, but that they actually hold true to the core project of the novel that Cervantes set out hundreds of years ago.
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January 17, 2018I read this book for the first time a year ago. It's a great way to start the year. I don't know how to convince or move others to read this book, but I wished it were more widely read. It's very thin, a jewel.
I understand how it fits a specific reader's criteria. It is difficult to describe this book, but it's not about Don Quijote only, or not about the contents of the book as much as about ideas, literature, the epic books, such as Homer works, as opposed to novels, of which Don Quijote is pioneer.
Ortega y Gasset discusses the Mediterranean and Germanic spirits, and their influence in culture and literature, he talks about many things in this essay. His style is so beautiful, clever, and one feels two inches taller after reading him.
I understand how it fits a specific reader's criteria. It is difficult to describe this book, but it's not about Don Quijote only, or not about the contents of the book as much as about ideas, literature, the epic books, such as Homer works, as opposed to novels, of which Don Quijote is pioneer.
Ortega y Gasset discusses the Mediterranean and Germanic spirits, and their influence in culture and literature, he talks about many things in this essay. His style is so beautiful, clever, and one feels two inches taller after reading him.
October 5, 2013
"...o homem sente-se "chamado", invocado a ser alguém, e isto é a vocação, o destino; este , sem embargo, não é imposto ao homem, mas lhe é proposto; o homem não escolhe o seu destino, que por isso mesmo é destino; mas tem que escolher entre ser fiel a este ou não; com outras palavras - as de Ortega nesta página- tem de querê-lo ou não; ao herói - ao homem autêntico - é essencial querê-lo: é autêntico quem quer seu destino, quem adere a si mesmo. O outro ponto é este: 'a volição libérrima inicia e engendra o processo trágico. E este 'querer' criador de um novo âmbito de realidades que só por causa dele existe - a ordem trágica - , é, naturalmente, uma ficção para quem não existe outro querer que o da necessidade natural, a qual se contenta só com o que é'. A liberdade engendra ou 'cria' um âmbito de realidades distintas do meramente natural, a respeito da qual constituem 'ficção'; e com isso, ao lado que é, introduz outro modo de realidade, à qual pertence essencialmente o que não é; e essa realidade é, justamente, a vida humana". Página 367
May 30, 2021
You actually don't have to first read Don Quixote to understand this wonderful work of philosophy! Gasset was once more well known and more well read than today, and that's too bad, because his philosophy is powerful. He is best known for Revolt of the Masses, but this earlier work provides great insight into what would come, and it an important and enjoyable read. Basically, Gasset argues that for his nation's progress, rank idealism must be tempered with what is rational. I was suprised to infer echos of Nietzsche and particularly Machievelli.
Some wonderful quotes that make you think permeate this short work: "In order to master the unruly torment of life the learned man meditates, the poet quivers, and the political hero erects the fortress of his will...the death of what is dead is life..." remarks Gasset.
The echos of Quixote albeit tempered by rationalism also permeate the work. "...It is a fact there are men who decide to not be satisfied with reality. Such men aim at altering the course of things; they refuse to repeat the gestures that custom, tradition or biological instincts force them to make. These men we call heros, because to be a hero means to be one out of many, to be oneself..." One can even hear Nietzsche in this with his bold rejection of tradition for the advancement of the superman...
One also hears echos of Machievelli's famous warning that there "nothing so dangerous as to impose a new order of things" when Gasset writes: we usually cherish a great distrusttowards anyone who wants to start new ways... the reformer, the one who attempts a new art... spends his lifetime in a hostile, corrosive environment... the instinct of inertia and self-preservation cannot tolerate it and avenges itself...."
This is a slim volume, but one which makes you think, and you see the interaction with other philosophies of the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries. Having read this, I want to re-read Revolt of the Masses because I think now I will understand it even better.
My only complaint is in a few places in this book, Gasset quotes writings in other languages which are not translated, but the internet makes short work of translating these for you!
This book is well worth a careful read! Gasset deserves more attention than he currently receives!
Some wonderful quotes that make you think permeate this short work: "In order to master the unruly torment of life the learned man meditates, the poet quivers, and the political hero erects the fortress of his will...the death of what is dead is life..." remarks Gasset.
The echos of Quixote albeit tempered by rationalism also permeate the work. "...It is a fact there are men who decide to not be satisfied with reality. Such men aim at altering the course of things; they refuse to repeat the gestures that custom, tradition or biological instincts force them to make. These men we call heros, because to be a hero means to be one out of many, to be oneself..." One can even hear Nietzsche in this with his bold rejection of tradition for the advancement of the superman...
One also hears echos of Machievelli's famous warning that there "nothing so dangerous as to impose a new order of things" when Gasset writes: we usually cherish a great distrusttowards anyone who wants to start new ways... the reformer, the one who attempts a new art... spends his lifetime in a hostile, corrosive environment... the instinct of inertia and self-preservation cannot tolerate it and avenges itself...."
This is a slim volume, but one which makes you think, and you see the interaction with other philosophies of the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries. Having read this, I want to re-read Revolt of the Masses because I think now I will understand it even better.
My only complaint is in a few places in this book, Gasset quotes writings in other languages which are not translated, but the internet makes short work of translating these for you!
This book is well worth a careful read! Gasset deserves more attention than he currently receives!
July 30, 2020
Muito bom!!!
March 19, 2024
not to be sensitive but the word “womanish” made me instantly stop reading this it’s so bad
November 28, 2025
"El hombre rinde el máximum de su capacidad cuando adquiere la plena conciencia de sus circunstancias" -Circum-stantia-
"Desconocer que cada cosa tiene su propia condición y no la que nosotros queremos exigirle es, a mi juicio, el verdadero pecado capital..."
De los seres "aproximarlos para que convivan y a la vez distanciarlos para que no se confundan y aniquilen."
"Porque ser un héroe consiste en ser uno, uno mismo."
"Desconocer que cada cosa tiene su propia condición y no la que nosotros queremos exigirle es, a mi juicio, el verdadero pecado capital..."
De los seres "aproximarlos para que convivan y a la vez distanciarlos para que no se confundan y aniquilen."
"Porque ser un héroe consiste en ser uno, uno mismo."
May 30, 2021
Gustav Teichmüller, el olvidado filósofo alemán, es el hilo conductor de Ortega a Heidegger.
Ortega utiliza las etimologías que aprendió de Teichmuller, las mismas que usaría después Heidegger, en especial alé-theia, que Ortega traduce como revelación, Heidegger como descubrimiento.
Más que una filosofía, Ortega mantiene vivo el arte de la contemplación, del aire de monasterio que Heidegger también mantiene vivo.
La intuición del mediterraneo, de que la diferencia entre Cartago Y Roma fue más de suerte que de razas, es todo un adelanto a Braudel y Nassim Taleb.
Muy poco hay del quijote, habla del heroísmo aunque se le olvida a Ortega que el héroe más que ser él mismo, es el que se juega su propia vida.
Igual es una prosa fantástica de gran actualidad, Ortega sigue siendo oro.
Ortega utiliza las etimologías que aprendió de Teichmuller, las mismas que usaría después Heidegger, en especial alé-theia, que Ortega traduce como revelación, Heidegger como descubrimiento.
Más que una filosofía, Ortega mantiene vivo el arte de la contemplación, del aire de monasterio que Heidegger también mantiene vivo.
La intuición del mediterraneo, de que la diferencia entre Cartago Y Roma fue más de suerte que de razas, es todo un adelanto a Braudel y Nassim Taleb.
Muy poco hay del quijote, habla del heroísmo aunque se le olvida a Ortega que el héroe más que ser él mismo, es el que se juega su propia vida.
Igual es una prosa fantástica de gran actualidad, Ortega sigue siendo oro.
April 7, 2010
This little meditation on DON QUIXOTE blew my mind almost as intensely as the original Cervantes, with intense thoughts on heroism, reality, and culture. A perfect compliment to DON QUIXOTE and definitely inspires me to read more Ortega.
June 20, 2021
Ensayo que pretende ser un estudio penetrante sobre el Quijote, pero se desvía a exponer las concepciones filosóficas de Ortega y Gasset; aborda su teoría de la realidad a partir del perspectivismo.
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January 9, 2025Pois esta moi ben a verdade. Xa actualizarei como co de Rebelión das Masas, cando analicie mais, pero de momento moi dacordo coa súa visión sobre a traxedia e a comedia.
October 19, 2024
ORTEGA’S FIRST BOOK
José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He wrote in the “To the Reader” section of this 1914 book, “Under the title of ‘Meditations’ this first volume announces several essays on various subjects of no very great consequence … Some of them, like this series of ‘Meditations on Quixote,’ deal with lofty subjects; others with more modest, even humble, subjects; but they all end by discussing Spanish ‘circumstances’ directly or indirectly. These essays are for the author… different means of carrying on one single activity, of expressing the same feeling of affection… The devotion which moves me to it is the keenest one which I find in my heart.” (Pg. 31)
He clarifies, “I hope that, on reading this, no one will draw the conclusion that I am indifferent to the moral ideal. I don’t disdain morality for the sake of toying with ideas. The immoralist doctrines which thus far have come to my knowledge lack common sense. And, to tell the truth, I do not devote my efforts to anything but the attainment of a little common sense.” (Pg. 36)
He suggests, “All knowledge of facts is really incomprehensive and can be justified only when used in the service of a theory. Ideally speaking, philosophy is the opposite of information or erudition. Far be it from me to scorn the latter; factual knowledge has doubtless been a form of science. It had its hour.” (Pg. 39)
He adds, “These Meditations, free from erudition---even in the best sense of the word---are propelled by philosophical desires. Nevertheless I would be grateful if the reader did not expect too much from them. They are not philosophy, which is a science.” (Pg. 40)
He asserts, “I do not believe that the important mission of criticism is to appraise literary works, dividing them into good or bad. I am becoming less interested every day in passing judgment; I feel more inclined to love things than to judge them.” (Pg. 49-50)
He begins the 15th essay with the statement, “A problem is not a problem unless it contains a real contradiction. Nothing is so important for us today, in my opinion, as to sharpen our sensitivity to the problem of Spanish culture, that is, to feel Spain as a contradiction. Those who are incapable of this, or do not perceive the underlying ambiguity beneath our feet, will be of little use to us.” (Pg. 105)
These meditations will be of great interest to anyone studying Gasset, and the development of his thought.
José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) was a Spanish philosopher and essayist. He wrote in the “To the Reader” section of this 1914 book, “Under the title of ‘Meditations’ this first volume announces several essays on various subjects of no very great consequence … Some of them, like this series of ‘Meditations on Quixote,’ deal with lofty subjects; others with more modest, even humble, subjects; but they all end by discussing Spanish ‘circumstances’ directly or indirectly. These essays are for the author… different means of carrying on one single activity, of expressing the same feeling of affection… The devotion which moves me to it is the keenest one which I find in my heart.” (Pg. 31)
He clarifies, “I hope that, on reading this, no one will draw the conclusion that I am indifferent to the moral ideal. I don’t disdain morality for the sake of toying with ideas. The immoralist doctrines which thus far have come to my knowledge lack common sense. And, to tell the truth, I do not devote my efforts to anything but the attainment of a little common sense.” (Pg. 36)
He suggests, “All knowledge of facts is really incomprehensive and can be justified only when used in the service of a theory. Ideally speaking, philosophy is the opposite of information or erudition. Far be it from me to scorn the latter; factual knowledge has doubtless been a form of science. It had its hour.” (Pg. 39)
He adds, “These Meditations, free from erudition---even in the best sense of the word---are propelled by philosophical desires. Nevertheless I would be grateful if the reader did not expect too much from them. They are not philosophy, which is a science.” (Pg. 40)
He asserts, “I do not believe that the important mission of criticism is to appraise literary works, dividing them into good or bad. I am becoming less interested every day in passing judgment; I feel more inclined to love things than to judge them.” (Pg. 49-50)
He begins the 15th essay with the statement, “A problem is not a problem unless it contains a real contradiction. Nothing is so important for us today, in my opinion, as to sharpen our sensitivity to the problem of Spanish culture, that is, to feel Spain as a contradiction. Those who are incapable of this, or do not perceive the underlying ambiguity beneath our feet, will be of little use to us.” (Pg. 105)
These meditations will be of great interest to anyone studying Gasset, and the development of his thought.
March 31, 2025
A work as profound as Don Quixote, the author says, must not be attacked straight on, but "taken as Jericho was taken... in wide circles... pressing in on it slowly," which accurately describes the structure of the book: successive two-page essays that build on each other, conveying a few interesting things about Spain, Cervantes, and "the novel" by way of saying some very profound things about the struggle and the joy of being a living, perceiving human. They feel deeply informed by scholarship but ultimately grounded in close personal observation.
December 16, 2021
Um livro de ensaios e ensinamentos. José Ortega Y Gasset nos fala de Espanha e do povo espanhol, de Cervantes e seu D. Quixote. Mas o filósofo vai além. Ele passa pela Europa onde alude às diferenças de percepção e embates de culturas entre os povos mediterrâneos/latinos vs germânicos. Ele trânsita entre os vários gêneros literários desde Homero até Goethe e seus espíritos. Sim, é um livro que vale a pena pelo seu conteúdo e por sua escrita, um livro que faz reflectir e encantar.
November 4, 2023
З Ортеґою-і-Гассетом відчуття, неначе ми розмовляємо на кухні з чаєм, печивом та томиками «Дона Кіхота», він дуже комфортний
January 22, 2018
Meditation 1:
Metaphysics of Love:
Love is a divine architect who, according to Plato, came down to the world "so that everything in the universe might be linked together".
An objects meaning is the mystic shadow which the rest of the universe casts on it
We want to place the objects of all kinds which life, in its perpetual surge, throws at our feet like the useless remains of a shipwreck, in such a position that the sun as it strikes them may give off in-numerable reflections.
In this sense i consider philosophy to be the general science of love; it represents the greatest impulse toward an integrated whole.
Metaphysics of Love:
Love is a divine architect who, according to Plato, came down to the world "so that everything in the universe might be linked together".
An objects meaning is the mystic shadow which the rest of the universe casts on it
We want to place the objects of all kinds which life, in its perpetual surge, throws at our feet like the useless remains of a shipwreck, in such a position that the sun as it strikes them may give off in-numerable reflections.
In this sense i consider philosophy to be the general science of love; it represents the greatest impulse toward an integrated whole.
June 17, 2025
Libro publicado en 1914 que muestra muy bien el modo de pensar y escribir del filósofo-ensayista Ortega y Gasset. Es un ensayo filosófico que se quiere centrar en el tema de los géneros literarios, aunque lleno de digresiones y reflexiones subjetivas que le llevan a considerar también otros campos de alguna manera relacionados con la idea temática central.
El autor, sin duda culto y muy influido por la cultura alemana, muestra, según mi opinión, ser poco natural y sencillo; por el contrario, yo lo veo un tanto afectado y engreído en su modo de expresarse y con una ideología que francamente no me gusta.
El autor, sin duda culto y muy influido por la cultura alemana, muestra, según mi opinión, ser poco natural y sencillo; por el contrario, yo lo veo un tanto afectado y engreído en su modo de expresarse y con una ideología que francamente no me gusta.
May 8, 2022
Las meditaciones del Quijote tienen momentos muy brillantes ("yo soy yo y mi circunstacia, si no la salvo a ella, no me salvo a mi [...] hay que buscar el sentido de los que nos rodea") y merece la pena leerlo si estas interesado en la filosofía y la meditación. Lo del Quijote del título es casi amecdótico.
Dicho esto, es algo irregular y hay una divagación tan superflua como estereotípica (y larga), intentando contraponer lo germánico a lo mediterraneo, que no le hace ningún bien al libro.
Yo lo he disfrutado casi de principio a fin, pero no es una lectura para todos los públicos.
Dicho esto, es algo irregular y hay una divagación tan superflua como estereotípica (y larga), intentando contraponer lo germánico a lo mediterraneo, que no le hace ningún bien al libro.
Yo lo he disfrutado casi de principio a fin, pero no es una lectura para todos los públicos.
August 7, 2012
Many fine insights on the origin of the novel out of The Epic, The Tragic, and The Comic. And his style can't be beat.
July 7, 2025
"A hero, I have said, is one who wants to be himself. The root of heroic action may be found, then, in a real act of the will. There is nothing like that in the epic. For this reason Don Quixote is not an epic figure, but he is a hero. Achilles makes the epic, the hero wants it. So that the tragic character is not tragic, and therefore, poetic, in so far as he is a man of flesh and blood, but only is so far as he wills. The will--that paradoxical object which begins in reality and ends in the ideal, since one only wants what one is not--is the tragic theme, and an epoch for which the will does not exist, a deterministic and Darwinian epoch, for example, cannot be interested in tragedy." (Ortega Y Gasset, pg. 152).
The above quote occurs near the terminus of Ortega Y Gasset's wonderful book "Meditations on Quixote," and it is typical of the sharply acute ruminations that occur in this short yet effusive philosophical treatise on many things, including "Don Quixote." Having been a newcomer to Ortega Y Gasset's body of work prior to purchasing this book, I was unprepared for how accessible and prescient the author was in his philosophical musings, seemingly predicting the phenomenological trends of twentieth century European thought back in 1914 (the date of the publication of this book, Oretega Y Gasset's first). But these trends are all here, embodied as they are in smooth, jargon-free prose that makes easy to understand seemingly quite opaque and difficult ideas. To add on, the actual criticism and discussion of the Cervantes book doesn't occur until page 105 of a 165 page tome, so it is obvious that the author has more on his mind than the vicissitudes of the character of the Man from La Mancha. And this first segment of the book was, for me, the most interesting of the entire work. For here, in (mostly) brief chapters, the author discusses "Mediterranean" vs. Northern European culture, the nature of Phenomenology, and the difference between 'depth' and 'surface' that is inherent in the cultural dichotomy thus described, that were as erudite in nature as they were entertaining to peruse. Like a fine, genteel table mate at a late night dinner in some European capital, Ortega Y Gasset has theories, and the weightiness of intellect to properly instruct and entertain, concerning, seemingly, everything philosophical under the sun: the reader, intrigued and satiated, basks in the the 'light' of these discussions, secure that 'truth' is being approached, and treated well, in a delightful and fact-filled manner. As an artifact of the 'time' it was penned, as an example of philosophizing at its best, as an example of Ortega Y Gasset's nascent, soon-to-be-fully born ideas, this is a truly fine book that needs to be read by all concerned with Spanish thought in particular and European thought of the early 20th century in general: highly recommended it is!
The above quote occurs near the terminus of Ortega Y Gasset's wonderful book "Meditations on Quixote," and it is typical of the sharply acute ruminations that occur in this short yet effusive philosophical treatise on many things, including "Don Quixote." Having been a newcomer to Ortega Y Gasset's body of work prior to purchasing this book, I was unprepared for how accessible and prescient the author was in his philosophical musings, seemingly predicting the phenomenological trends of twentieth century European thought back in 1914 (the date of the publication of this book, Oretega Y Gasset's first). But these trends are all here, embodied as they are in smooth, jargon-free prose that makes easy to understand seemingly quite opaque and difficult ideas. To add on, the actual criticism and discussion of the Cervantes book doesn't occur until page 105 of a 165 page tome, so it is obvious that the author has more on his mind than the vicissitudes of the character of the Man from La Mancha. And this first segment of the book was, for me, the most interesting of the entire work. For here, in (mostly) brief chapters, the author discusses "Mediterranean" vs. Northern European culture, the nature of Phenomenology, and the difference between 'depth' and 'surface' that is inherent in the cultural dichotomy thus described, that were as erudite in nature as they were entertaining to peruse. Like a fine, genteel table mate at a late night dinner in some European capital, Ortega Y Gasset has theories, and the weightiness of intellect to properly instruct and entertain, concerning, seemingly, everything philosophical under the sun: the reader, intrigued and satiated, basks in the the 'light' of these discussions, secure that 'truth' is being approached, and treated well, in a delightful and fact-filled manner. As an artifact of the 'time' it was penned, as an example of philosophizing at its best, as an example of Ortega Y Gasset's nascent, soon-to-be-fully born ideas, this is a truly fine book that needs to be read by all concerned with Spanish thought in particular and European thought of the early 20th century in general: highly recommended it is!
March 30, 2020
“For the person for whom small things do not exist, the great is not great.” This was pretty great!
I find Nietzsche and Ortega to be similar in writing styles. They both wrote passionately with punctuated moments of poetic beauty. They both are also cryptic at times and require a sensitivity, because as the man himself states, “there are things which, when revealed openly, succumb or lose their value and, on the other hand, reach their fullness when they are hidden or overlooked.”
Some of this text was inaccessible to me, but, what I could penetrate, was deeply interesting/satisfying.
One could read this book having read none of Don Quixote (i got through half of it) and still find incredible moments of joy and illumination in its passages.
The chapters are short, but potent.
This book says more about Ortega’s philosophy on open mindedness, love, identity, metaphysics, literature/art and the heroes journey, than of Cervantes text
Which is fine with me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There were moments I wanted to skip. The second half of the book seemed like i wouldn’t enjoy it as much as the first, then it packed a punch at the end.
I find Nietzsche and Ortega to be similar in writing styles. They both wrote passionately with punctuated moments of poetic beauty. They both are also cryptic at times and require a sensitivity, because as the man himself states, “there are things which, when revealed openly, succumb or lose their value and, on the other hand, reach their fullness when they are hidden or overlooked.”
Some of this text was inaccessible to me, but, what I could penetrate, was deeply interesting/satisfying.
One could read this book having read none of Don Quixote (i got through half of it) and still find incredible moments of joy and illumination in its passages.
The chapters are short, but potent.
This book says more about Ortega’s philosophy on open mindedness, love, identity, metaphysics, literature/art and the heroes journey, than of Cervantes text
Which is fine with me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There were moments I wanted to skip. The second half of the book seemed like i wouldn’t enjoy it as much as the first, then it packed a punch at the end.
February 3, 2025
citEști „Meditații despre Don Quijote/ Gânduri despre roman” de Jose Ortega Y Gasset: Cum te regăsește un mit
https://youtu.be/ud7LV6rQVf8
„Iubirea ne leagă de lucruri, chiar dacă legătura e trecătoare” (p.39) Jose Ortega Y Gasset, „Meditații despre Don Quijote/ Gânduri despre roman”, traducere Mianda Cioba, Humanitas, 2024
Te-ai lovit din plin, sunt sigur, de interpretări ale lui Eminescu de pe urma cărora ai păstrat mai degrabă un sentiment de respingere a poveștii. Dar poezia face și drumul invers, de la ceea ce este imposibil spre realitatea cea mai concretă. Iar în „Meditații despre Don Quijote/ Gânduri despre roman” Jose Ortega Y Gasset îți arată în ce fel o figură pe care credeai că ai deslușit-o după ce i-ai aflat povestea poate să regenereze legătura ta cu realitatea. Cu o realitate a referințelor de zi cu zi atât din punct de vedere intelectual, cât și concret.
„Lirismul se naște pentru a fi văzut din afară ca o statuie, ca un templu grecesc”(p.195) Jose Ortega Y Gasset, „Meditații despre Don Quijote/ Gânduri despre roman”, traducere Mianda Cioba, Humanitas, 2024
https://youtu.be/ud7LV6rQVf8
„Iubirea ne leagă de lucruri, chiar dacă legătura e trecătoare” (p.39) Jose Ortega Y Gasset, „Meditații despre Don Quijote/ Gânduri despre roman”, traducere Mianda Cioba, Humanitas, 2024
Te-ai lovit din plin, sunt sigur, de interpretări ale lui Eminescu de pe urma cărora ai păstrat mai degrabă un sentiment de respingere a poveștii. Dar poezia face și drumul invers, de la ceea ce este imposibil spre realitatea cea mai concretă. Iar în „Meditații despre Don Quijote/ Gânduri despre roman” Jose Ortega Y Gasset îți arată în ce fel o figură pe care credeai că ai deslușit-o după ce i-ai aflat povestea poate să regenereze legătura ta cu realitatea. Cu o realitate a referințelor de zi cu zi atât din punct de vedere intelectual, cât și concret.
„Lirismul se naște pentru a fi văzut din afară ca o statuie, ca un templu grecesc”(p.195) Jose Ortega Y Gasset, „Meditații despre Don Quijote/ Gânduri despre roman”, traducere Mianda Cioba, Humanitas, 2024
April 7, 2023
The most clickbait title. Almost no substantial analysis of the Quijote. A lot of words but very little actually said. Genuinely unreadable. This seems like a man longing for a Spain of grandeur that never existed. Or maybe this is a masterpiece, and I think it’s rubbish because I’m Latin American.
December 7, 2024
Raczej rozważania nad powieścią jako gatunkiem, ponieważ don Kichot pojawia się jedynie anegdotycznie. Sporo ciekawych spostrzeżeń, a jeszcze więcej impresji i poezji. Dziś już się tak nie pisze, ani nie czyta.
February 3, 2025
Uma bela reflexão. Ortega é um grande prosista, muito erudito. Porém, creio que ele é um tanto anti-metafísico. É necessária uma maturidade para compreender sua obra de uma maneira que separa o trigo do joio, com muitos pontos fortes e muitas lacunas.
January 5, 2026
(3.5)
"Flaubert no siente empacho en proclamarlo: «Je retrouve -dice-mes origines dans le livre que je savais par cœur avant de savoir lire, don Quichotte». Madame Bovary es un Don Quijote con faldas y un mínimo de tragedia sobre el alma."
"Flaubert no siente empacho en proclamarlo: «Je retrouve -dice-mes origines dans le livre que je savais par cœur avant de savoir lire, don Quichotte». Madame Bovary es un Don Quijote con faldas y un mínimo de tragedia sobre el alma."
February 25, 2026
Sin perjuicio que se agradecen las citas eruditas de Julián Marías, la claridad de don José Ortega en muchos casos las hacía innecesarias o redundantes. Un gran texto que desentraña el ser del Quijote en una verdadera clase de filosofía.
May 28, 2021
Gran, impresionante y profundo libro como se espera de José Ortega y Gasset. Los lectores deben tomar en primer lugar este libro si no leen ningún libro de Gasset.
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