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The Unknown Man
Modern critics have the most unfortunate custom of only discussing men who are well known, men of whose existence they are absolutely sure. The result is that no one has ever taken the trouble to write the biography of the Unknown Man.
I am not referring to the ordinary unknown person who may at any time be brought into the commonplace class of the known and the recognized. I mean the Unknown Man himself, the authentic Unknown Man whom nobody knows.
The critics, one and all, write only about the prominent, the illustrious, or at least about beings known to the police and listed in the directories.
They wouldn’t waste ink on a man without a name, a man who does not even possess one of those trivial pairs of names which the papers print just once: in the obituaries and death notices section.
They would ask: "How can we write the life of the Unknown Man, since the very fact that he is unknown prevents us from knowing anything about him"?
A foolish excuse! The most highly educational biographies are those of men of whom little or nothing is known. Those are the books that set forth the human ideal, that tell us what a man ought to be.
The critics may go their way, and I'll go mine. And you will see that I do not need to resort to fiction.
If it be true that men are known by their works, how much we know of the Unknown Man!
I might maintain that he has been the most important person in history, the greatest hero of humanity. If you don't believe it, I don't mind. But I do ask that you lend me your ears.
I am not referring to the ordinary unknown person who may at any time be brought into the commonplace class of the known and the recognized. I mean the Unknown Man himself, the authentic Unknown Man whom nobody knows.
The critics, one and all, write only about the prominent, the illustrious, or at least about beings known to the police and listed in the directories.
They wouldn’t waste ink on a man without a name, a man who does not even possess one of those trivial pairs of names which the papers print just once: in the obituaries and death notices section.
They would ask: "How can we write the life of the Unknown Man, since the very fact that he is unknown prevents us from knowing anything about him"?
A foolish excuse! The most highly educational biographies are those of men of whom little or nothing is known. Those are the books that set forth the human ideal, that tell us what a man ought to be.
The critics may go their way, and I'll go mine. And you will see that I do not need to resort to fiction.
If it be true that men are known by their works, how much we know of the Unknown Man!
I might maintain that he has been the most important person in history, the greatest hero of humanity. If you don't believe it, I don't mind. But I do ask that you lend me your ears.
8 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 26, 2013
2 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Giovanni Papini
229 books248 followersGiovanni Papini was an Italian journalist, essayist, literary critic, poet, and novelist.
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