Day 115: You Will Win, But You Will Not Convince

Today, I saw on the news a demonstration in defense of the documents from the Civil War Archive in Salamanca. The slogan of the demonstration was: "You will win, but you will not convince," the famous phrase by Miguel de Unamuno. I won’t discuss whether the transfer of these documents is appropriate or legal, but I would like to recall the origin of the phrase, which, as you will see, is not the most fitting for the circumstances:

It was October 12, 1936, Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) in Francoist Spain. The elite of the Nationalist Spain gathered in the auditorium of the University of Salamanca, an event presided over by its rector, Miguel de Unamuno.

Seated at the main table were Doña Carmen Polo (Franco’s wife), Unamuno himself, General Millán Astray (founder of the Spanish Legion and a war amputee from the conflict in Africa), the Bishop of Salamanca Pla y Deniel, and José María Pemán (a fascist poet).

Francisco Maldonado, a professor of literature, took the floor and delivered a harsh, violent speech filled with references to the so-called anti-Spain of separatism.

At that moment, noticing the increasingly heated atmosphere and fed up with hearing attacks against Catalans and Basques, Unamuno abruptly stood up to deliver a verbal reprimand to the audience:

"I said I did not want to speak because I know myself, but I have been provoked, and I must do so. It has been said here that this is an international war in defense of Christian civilization. I myself have said so before, but no, ours is merely an uncivil war. I was born amid the lull of a civil war, and I know what I am talking about. To win is not to convince, and convincing is paramount. Hatred cannot convince; hatred leaves no room for compassion, nor for intelligence, which is critical and differentiating, inquisitive, but not in the sense of the Inquisition. There has also been talk of Catalans and Basques as the anti-Spain. Well, they could say the same about you. Here is Bishop Pla, a Catalan whether he likes it or not, to teach us the Christian doctrine that you refuse to know. And I, who am Basque, have spent my entire life teaching you the official language, which you do not know..."

At that moment, his words were so explosive that General Millán Astray stood up as well, asked for the floor, and, upon being denied, raised his voice louder than his opponent’s.

"Catalonia and the Basque Provinces, the Basque Provinces and Catalonia, are two cancers in the body of the nation! Fascism, Spain’s remedy, has come to exterminate them, cutting through the living and healthy flesh like a cold scalpel!"

Unamuno, barely managing to control his nerves, responded:

"General Millán Astray is a mutilated man who wishes to create a new Spain—undoubtedly a negative creation, modeled after his own image. And that is why he longs for a mutilated Spain."
At this, the founder of the Spanish Legion, beside himself, slammed his fist on the table and shouted:

"Death to intelligence! Long live death! Enough of these bastard intellectuals who are poisoning the minds of our youth! Long live death, long live death a thousand times!"

The Falangist poet José María Pemán attempted to intervene, correcting him:

"No! Long live intelligence! Death to the bad intellectuals!"

Fed up with the military-style speeches and the audience’s cheers, Unamuno added:

"This is the temple of intelligence, and I am its high priest! You are profaning its sacred precinct. You will win, but you will not convince, because to convince means to persuade, and to persuade, you need something you lack: reason and right in the field of battle. I find it useless to ask you to think about Spain..."

At that moment, as Millán Astray reached for his pistol, Carmen Polo intervened, taking Unamuno by the arm and leading him out of the auditorium. They left the university amid boos, insults, and threats from the audience.

Days after the incident, Unamuno was removed from his position as honorary rector of the University of Salamanca and placed under house arrest, where he died on December 31 of that same year.

Source: La Guerra Civil mes a mes, Biblioteca El Mundo.

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