Um conceito simples e um site excelente - um excerto da correspondência (ou, ocasionalmente, dos diários) de escritores célebres para cada dia do ano. A entrada de ontem reproduzia uma carta de Henry James a William Dean Howells:
«. . . I don’t at all agree with you in thinking that “if it is not provincial for an Englishman to be English, a Frenchman French etc, so it is not provincial for an American to be American.” So it is not provincial for a Russian, an Australian, a Portugese, a Dane, a Laplander, to savour of their respective countries: that would be where this argument would land you. I think it is extremely provincial for a Russian to be very Russian, a Portugese very Portugese etc; for the simple reason that certain national types are essentially & intrinsically provincial.»
«. . . I don’t at all agree with you in thinking that “if it is not provincial for an Englishman to be English, a Frenchman French etc, so it is not provincial for an American to be American.” So it is not provincial for a Russian, an Australian, a Portugese, a Dane, a Laplander, to savour of their respective countries: that would be where this argument would land you. I think it is extremely provincial for a Russian to be very Russian, a Portugese very Portugese etc; for the simple reason that certain national types are essentially & intrinsically provincial.»
(Desconheço se a grafia 'portugese' era a utilizada na época, se foi distracção do transcritor, ou se Henry James cometeu o mesmo erro que eu tenho de corrigir aos meus patrões pelo menos uma vez por ano.)
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