Lost in the solitude of his immense power, he began to lose direction. He was bothered by the people who… — Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Lost in the solitude of his immense power, he began to lose direction. He was bothered by the people who cheered him in neighboring villages, and he imagined that they were the same cheers they gave the enemy. Everywhere he met adolescents who looked at him with his own eyes, who spoke to him with his own voice, who greeted him with the same mistrust with which he greeted them, and who said they were his sons. He felt scattered about, multiplied, and more solitary than ever. He was convinced that his own officers were lying to him. He fought with the Duke of Marlborough. "The best friend a person has," he would say at that time, "is one who has just died."
Extraviado en la soledad de su inmenso poder, empezó a perder el rumbo. Le molestaba la gente que lo aclamaba en los pueblos vencidos, y que le parecía la misma que aclamaba al enemigo. Por todas partes encontraba adolescentes que lo miraban con sus propios ojos, que hablaban con su propia voz, que lo saludaban con la misma desconfianza con que él los saludaba a ellos, y que decían ser sus hijos. Se sintió disperso, repetido, y más solitario que nunca. Tuvo la convicción de que sus propios oficiales le mentían. Se peleó con el duque de Marlborough. «El major amigo—solía decir entonces—es el que acaba de morir.»
p. 203Source: Wikiquote · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Aureliano gave her a look that wrapped her in an atmosphere of uncertainty.
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