Masterclass: Democracy and communication (reflexions)

Abstract

On entering the old Caserón in San Bernardo this morning, I was reminded of the pre-university course I attended at the Cardenal Cisneros Institute. I had the good fortune to be a disciple of Don Andrés Ramiro Aparicio, who, taking Virgil's "Aeneid" as a motif, would talk  to us about the immortal Rome and its meaning in universal culture. The important thing, he said, is to be a citizen, a member of the community, of the civitas, and to intervene in one's own future and in the common destiny. And of Don Francisco Rodríguez Adrados, who, to the Homeric sound of "The Iliad", would explain to us the meaning of democracy and the essence of human freedom. Latin and Greek or Greek and Latin, disciplinary and formative teachings that, unfortunately, and with the passing of ignorance, have become part of the academic romanticism. Let these words serve as a grateful remembrance of two people who preached freedom, two worthy professors and two great lecturers.