Prince of Asturias Awards 1981–2014. Speeches

3 P rince of A sturias A wards 1981-2014. S peeches Speech V May my first words at this ceremony be used to send from here —and from this Prince of Asturias Foundation that, with so much interest and concern, directs its gaze toward the peoples of Ibero-America— a message of support and affection to Mexico and the Mexican people that are experiencing, with firmness and courage, moments of anguish and misfortune 1 . As The King, my father, pointed out a few hours after the catastrophe, “Spain is with you.” And I am sure that Asturias, linked with Mexico through so many deep-seated bonds, feels more united than ever to those who suffer there. This pledge to extend a helping hand to those in need, to unite races and peoples, to promote communication among human beings, to vitalise cultures and aggrandise the common spaces of civilization, is also the service to which the Foundation is committed. In this new edition, which provides me with another welcomed opportunity to be among you, the essential values of the arts, sciences, literature, and Ibero-American cooperation are consecrated and embodied in the outstanding personality of the Laureates. From them we learn the most important lesson of all: the value of our lives depends on how much we place ourselves at the service of others. And we have to thank them again and again because they have dedicated the best of their endeavours to us, investigating Truth, successfully trying to reflect and describe Beauty, introducing an element of Goodwill into the relationships among individuals and communities. These three goals —and I am especially qualified to say what I am about to say by virtue of my age— sometimes appear to be utopias to us when we still do not have much experience. We youth reach out for this trilogy: Truth, Beauty, Goodwill, a trilogy we consider far removed, perhaps unreachable. Yet we must not renounce what may seem like a dream, but rather exert ourselves to the utmost day after day so that it becomes a reality, because it has been made clear to us that this is not impossible. Without men of science, without researchers and teachers, without artists and poets, without individuals of good will, societies would grope blindly ahead and end up dying. For this reason, we ought to feel proud of your permanent dedication to the tasks in which your own brilliance makes you stand out. With this brilliance, you are lighting our individual path and that of the society in which we live. The Prince of Asturias Awards constitute no more than an acknowledgement of your labour. An acknowledgement limited in its material sense, but infinite in its moral stimuli and in the desire to constantly enliven the spirit of progress within the scope of Spain and the nations of Latin America. We must all be prepared to take on the work that will be demanded of us in a not-so-distant future. We have the obligation to follow the example given to us by those who stand out for their efforts. It must be understood that when we achieve something authentic and truthful, beautiful and good, it serves not only us, but also those around us and those generations yet to come. Asturias is a region where these goals are understood very well, because life and work represent a daily duty here. We all fulfil this duty with honour and steadfastness, without pessimism or despair. 1 On 19th September 1985, Mexico suffered an earthquake of magnitude 8.1 with its epicentre in the Pacific Ocean, in which an estimated 10,000 people were killed. “We youth reach out for this trilogy: Truth, Beauty, Goodwill, a trilogy we consider far removed, perhaps unreachable.” Watch video