EL TESTIGO THE WITNESS

EL TESTIGO THE WITNESS En un establo que está casi a la sombra de la nueva iglesia de piedra, un hombre de ojos grises y barba gris, tendido entre el olor de los animales, humildemente busca la muerte como quien busca el sueño. El día, fiel a vastas leyes secretas, va desplazando y confundiendo las sombras en el pobre recinto; afuera están las tierras aradas y un zanjón cegado por hojas muertas y algún rastro de lobo en el barro negro donde empiezan los bosques. El hombre duerme y sueña, olvidado. El toque de oración lo despierta. En los reinos de Inglaterra el son de campanas ya es uno de los hábitos de la tarde, pero el hombre, de niño, ha visto la cara de Woden, el horror divino y la exultación, el torpe ídolo de madera recargado de monedas romanas y de vestiduras pesadas, el sacrificio de caballos, perros y prisioneros. Antes del alba morirá y con él morirán, y no volverán, las últimas imágenes inmediatas de los ritos paganos; el mundo será un poco más pobre cuando este sajón haya muerto. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 In a stable which is almost in the shadow of the new stone church, 1 a man with gray eyes and gray beard, lying amidst the odor of 2 the animals, humbly seeks death as one would seek sleep. The 3 day, faithful to vast and secret laws, is shifting and confusing 4 the shadows inside the poor shelter; outside are the plowed fields 5 and a ditch clogged with dead leaves and the tracks of a wolf 6 in the black mud where the forests begin. The man sleeps and 7 dreams, forgotten. He is awakened by the bells tolling the Angelus1. 8 In the kingdoms of England the ringing of bells is now one of 9 the customs of the evening, but this man, as a child, has seen the 10 face of Woden 2 , the divine horror and exultation, the crude 11 wooden idol hung with Roman coins and heavy clothing, the 12 sacrificing of horses, dogs and prisoners. Before dawn he will 13 die and with him will die, and never return, the last immediate 14 images of these pagan rites; the world will be a little poorer when 15 this Saxon3 has died. 16 Hechos que pueblan el espacio y que tocan a su fin cuando alguien se muere pueden maravillarnos, pero una cosa, o un número infinito de cosas, muere en cada agonía, salvo que exista una memoria del universo, como han conjeturado los teósofos. En el tiempo hubo un día que apagó los últimos ojos que vieron a Cristo; la batalla de Junín y el amor de Helena murieron con la muerte de un hombre. ¿Qué morirá conmigo cuando yo muera, qué forma patética o deleznable perderá el mundo? ¿La voz de Macedonio Fernández, la imagen de un caballo colorado en el baldío de Serrano y de Charcas, una barra de azufre en el cajón de un escritorio de caoba? 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Deeds which populate the dimensions of space and which reach 17 their end when someone dies may cause us wonderment, but one 18 thing, or an infinite number of things, dies in every final agony, 19 unless there is a universal memory as the theosophists4 have con-­‐ 20 jectured. In time there was a day that extinguished the last eyes 21 to see Christ; the battle of Junin5 and the love of Helen6 died with 22 the death of a man. What will die with me when I die, what 23 pathetic or fragile form will the world lose? The voice of Mace-­‐ 24 donio Fernández7, the image of a red horse in the vacant lot at 25 Serrano and Charcas 8 , a bar of sulphur 9 in the drawer of a 26 mahogany desk? 27 Jorge Luis Borges Translated by James E. Irby Angelus: [Latin for angel] a daily prayer of the Roman Catholic Church usually said 3 times daily—at 6:00 a.m., noon, & 6:00 p.m.—to honor the Incarnation of Christ 2 Woden: [aka Wotan or Odin] Supreme god of Anglo-­‐Saxon paganism who created the first man and woman and established laws governing the universe and control human destiny. Woden is the god of war, learning, poetry, and magic and the carrier-­‐off or receiver of the dead. 3 Saxon: Member of the Germanic tribe from Northern Europe who settled in England beginning 449 CE after the decline of Roman rule. In one year, 793 CE, nearly all of these Saxons were converted to Christianity by Augustine and about 40 monks by order of Pope Gregory I. 4 Theosophists: Philosophical/mystical tradition that attempts to reconcile humanity's varied scientific, philosophical, and religious disciplines and practices into a unified worldview. 5 Battle of Junin: Important hour-­‐long battle in war of Peruvian independence from Spain fought on August 6, 1824. Borges paternal great-­‐grandfather fought this battle. 6 Helen: Wife of Greek King Menelaus, presumably abducted by Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, leading to the 10-­‐year Trojan War about 1250 BCE. 7 Macedonio Fernández: (1874-­‐1952) Argentine writer, humorist, and philosopher whose writings included novels, stories, poetry, journalism, and works not easily classified. He was a close friend of Borges's father, Jorge Guillermo Borges Haslam, and significant mentor to Borges. 8 Intersection a few blocks from Borges’ childhood home at 2135 Calle Serrano, Buenos Aires. 9 Sulphur: The malodorous main ingredient in exfoliant facial cleansers. 1