Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

7 P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches Speech XVII Allow me to begin with the following verse: If I have assuaged the pain of one heart my life has served some purpose. These lines reflect the sentiment with which I return anew to Asturias, considering that it expresses not only the spirit with which I attend this ceremony, but also the very essence from which these Awards arose. Once more from Oviedo, we pay a tribute of admiration to individuals and institutions that offer us eminent examples of work well done, humanity and values of love that give insight and significance to our lives. A renowned Asturian historian wrote that “communities that forget their great men and their scientific, literary and political elucidations fall into decay because, with their ingratitude, they lose their memory, and with memory, science.” As those who identify with this idea, we should stress that we are on the threshold of the 1898 centennial, a transcendental date in our history that lent its name to a generation —as it was controversially baptised by Azorín— of intellectuals with exceptional creative capacity. With their patriotism wounded and anguishing over the events that brought that year to a close, they, like other disillusioned European intellectuals, wished to reclaim the most recondite and admirable from the past and to resolutely construct the future. The debt that we owe to this group of writers, thinkers and artists is indelible: that of the love for Spain and the sparkling recognition of the diversity that enriches our nation. The wanderings of the Basque Unamuno through the lands of Castile, the sensitivity of the gaze with which the Sevillian Antonio Machado regarded the great plains, the inland landscapes of Spain brought to life by the Levantine Azorín, the doleful and fraternal vision of the provinces of Castile and León —precisely the place I had the honour of travelling through this spring, which today is moving towards the consolidation of its progress after difficult secular ordeals— are several examples of what the year of 1898 brought about. They also serve as a permanent lesson. This idea of the harmony of our lands developed by the Generation of ’98 sheds light on the present because it is necessary to continue believing in a Spain that dialogues instead of opposes; that listens instead of confronts; that travels and opens itself fraternally instead of keeping silent and confining itself. At the heart of those authors’ sentiments, of their despair for what Spain had not been and for what it could become, of their sharp critique, was the shining example of their work, in which this inestimable ethical code germinated, which Unamuno referred to as “conscience”, “fellowship”, “brotherhood”; thanks to which —these are also his words— “we shall find understanding in the same heart”. These are exquisite concepts that erase differences, melt away anxieties and, finally, promote peaceful coexistence. The future that they dreamt of, thanks mainly to their efforts, is now ours. A Spain in tune with the world; a world in which humanity, at the same time as it journeys into outer space and advances on a fascinating adventure of exploration and conquest, reclaims new, simpler and deeper values, “It is necessary to continue believing in a Spain that dialogues instead of opposes; that listens instead of confronts; that travels and opens itself fraternally instead of keeping silent and confining itself.” Watch video