Chávez Eterno quotes Bolívar: Teacher “I followed the path you pointed out to me”

“Oh my teacher, oh my friend, oh my Robinson! You in Colombia, you in Bogotá and you have said nothing to me, you have written nothing to me, without a doubt you are the most extraordinary man in the world, you might deserve other epithets, but I want to give them because I don't want to be rude (Here it must be but I don't want to give them, a no is missing here) you might deserve other epithets, but I don't want to give them for not being rude to greet a guest who comes from the old world to visit the new one. Yes, to visit your country that you no longer know, that you had forgotten not in your heart but in your memory; no one but me knows what you want from our beloved Colombia. Do you remember when we went together to the Holy Mount, in Rome, to swear on that Holy Land, the freedom of the country? You certainly haven't forgotten that day of eternal glory for us, days that anticipated, so to speak, a prophetic oath to the same hope we should not have.

You, my teacher, how closely you must have contemplated me even if placed at such a remote distance, how eagerly you will have followed my steps, these steps directed very early by yourself (Here comes a wonderful phrase) you formed my heart for freedom, for justice, for the great, for the beautiful; I have followed the path that you pointed out to me, you were my pilot although sitting on one of the beaches of Europe, you cannot imagine how deeply the lessons you have given me have been engraved in my heart, I have not been able to I have never erased even a comma from the great sentences you have given me, always present to my intellectual eyes, I have followed them as infallible guides. In short, you have seen my behavior, you have seen my thoughts written, my soul painted on paper, and you will not have stopped saying to yourself, all this is mine, I planted this plant, I watered it, I straightened it tender, now robust, strong and fruitful, here are its fruits, they are mine, I am going to taste them in the garden I planted, I will enjoy the shade of your friendly arms, because my right is imprescriptible, private to everything.

Yes, my dear friend, you are with us; a thousand times happy the day you set foot on the beaches of Colombia, a wise man, just one more crowns the forehead of the upright head of Colombia, I despair to know what designs, what destiny you have, above all my impatience is mortal and I cannot hold you in my arms, since I cannot fly to you, you do it to me, you will not lose anything, you will contemplate with charm the immense homeland you have, carved in the rock of despotism by the victorious buril of liberals Tadores, of the brothers of you. No, you will not be satisfied with the sight of you in front of the paintings, the colosses, the treasures, the secrets, the wonders that this superb Colombia contains and encompasses. Come to Chimborazo, profane with your daring plan the scale of the titans, the crown of the Earth, the impregnable batten of the new universe, from so high you will have the view, and as you observe heaven and Earth, admiring the astonishment of earthly creation you can say, two eternities contemplate me: the past and the one to come, and this throne of nature, identical to its author, will be as lasting, indestructible and eternal as the Father of the universe.

From where, then, you can say the same thing so ersely. Friend of nature, come and ask him about his age, his life and his primitive essence, you have only seen in that obsolete world more than the relics and waste of the prosperous mother, there she is hunched over by the weight of years, diseases and the pestiferous breath of men. Here is this immaculate, beautiful maiden, adorned by the very hand of the creator. No, the profane touch of men has not yet withered their divine attractions, their wonderful graces, their intact virtues.

Friends, if such irresistible attractions do not propel you to a quick flight to me, I will succumb to a stronger appetite: friendship I invoke.

Present this letter to the Vice President, ask for money from me and come soon to meet me.”