El Imparcial. (San Juan, P.R.) 1918-197?, 1919-07-02
THE PRESENT, NOT
THE PAST.


highly interestinghas furnished us with material suff
cent to write than one book if we had the time
However we shall write few lines about it. and try to
prove that friend utterly mistaken in some of his
views AT least the information we possess about some
of the matters discussed lead usto hold entirely differ
ent opinion than Martinez Plee's.
In the course of the conversation remarked that the
influence of individual thinkers in the history of every
country is always overestimated that in fact don't
believe much in the permanent influence of any thinker
on the life of any nation Martinez Plee expressed his
surprise at views this connection, and bnty told
that think that way simply because of our imperfect
knowledge of History According to Martinez PIee for
instance the debauchery of many of the Roman eperors
due to the influence of Lucretus works epcurean
materaism while the model emperors of Antonine dynas
were all good readers of certain autor stole philo
sophy From the emperors the good or bad influence
down to the people, and therefore the fact is est
bshed that particular thinker may be able to influence
even The whole world, for time, ~.. Il a.#ta<
We are very far from agreeing with NJ Martinez Pee
nd with whichever historian holds the opinion Ours
is that the contrary the true philosophical thinker is
nothing but good interpreter of his tme he obtains his
inspiration from his people and discovers its traits; he
creates and nvents nothing, and teaches nobody When
we Roosevelt for instance Representative
Of scountry it is clearly meant that he true inter
prefer of the ideals of his countrymen at the particular
period of history when he lived An interpreter merely
something echoing the voice Of his people, and nothing
else.
The trouble is that we talk too much about races ,
and if do naturally have to go further and talk
about the individual men who seem to incarnate the
peculiar traits of that race and the real fact is that
only one although its various divisions act differ
emily according to the particular part OF the planet they
occupy.
Many learned men, however all the time doing their
best fad the and thousand small details which here
and there establish sapparent difference and show
decided superiority in of those groups the
others Just the world has gone through the great
est of wars, Of the of which-perhaps the
principal the pretended superiority of the do
liococephaous over the brachicephaous Do you ask
what do these long words mean? Really we don't know
and Weodon't care know; some stupid casscations
about the size shape Of the head meant by the but
German professor who invented the terms
We have here in Porto Rico, the Latin race i
arean essentially Latin people But what does that
mean2 Will Mr.. Martinez Plee tell us, and PROVE his
explanation? We confess that because of absolute
contempt for conventional studies fail to see in the
people country nothing except part of poor huma
struggling hard against ignorance; and the duty Of
all contribute in the best toward the diffusion
of truth, taking due account Of present conditions
ana nos 70 pefoa 100 wnen T. Is nafa 20