SHEEHAN AND ORTEGA
In his writings, interviews, and talks, Dr. George Sheehan (1918-1993), the cardiologist and guru runner, often mentioned Ortega, one of his intellectual mentors. José Ortega y Gasset (1883-1955) is not a household word in the Saxon world, nor is he in the Hispanic world. Ortega, as he is known by his readers and followers, is one of the 20th century's most important and serious European philosophers. I am rereading his La rebelión de las masas (1929), perhaps the most important literary works of the century, and where he coined the term "hombre masa", or mass man. Let me offer a few quotations about language from this book: "... la obra de caridad más propia de nuestro tiempo: no publicar libros superfluous." "... cuando el hombre se pone a hablar, lo hace porque cree que va a poder decir cuanto piensa. Pues bien: esto es lo ilusiorio. El lenguaje no da para tanto." "Se ha abusado de la palabra, y por eso ha caído en desprestigio." ...