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English to Spanish: Jason Gurney: Crusade in Spain
Source text - English George Nathan had made such a good reputation for himself in command of the English Company on the Toledo Front that he had now been appointed Chief of Staff of the newly-formed XVth Brigade. He is the only personality serving with the International Brigades who emerges as an authentic hero figure, with a mythology of his own. A number of individuals of all nations behaved magnificently but none of them had the essential larger-than-life quality that distinguished George Nathan. However, the legends which have grown up around him bear little relation to the man as he really was. The myth of his gold-topped swagger-stick which appears in practically every book on the Civil War is a typical example. What he really carried was a good, solid walking-stick - a very practical and useful object for climbing over rough mountain territory. Another myth continually recounted of him is that he rode around the hills of Jarama on a "magnificent charger". In fact he always travelled around at the Front on the pillion of a despatch rider's motor-cycle, simply because that was the most effective transport available. Naturally there were no roads up on the hills amongst the rough scrub and olive groves, but a good and determined rider could always find a route - albeit a rough one - anywhere over the hills, far more quickly than someone on horseback or in a car could. It is true that Nathan was something of a showman, but most certainly there was nothing of the clown in his make-up. He was always immaculately clean and well turned out in the Spanish Regular Army uniform without embellishments of any kind, as befitted the totally dedicated, military professionalism which was the basis of his life.
Physically, he was well above normal height, broad-shouldered and slim, with a very erect and military carriage. His features were unmistakably Semitic: long-faced, with a rather hawkish nose and black, curly hair. He had the most tremendous stamina and appeared to be completely impervious to physical exhaustion. I never saw him carry a weapon of any sort and although the wearing of large pistols had become a status symbol among those in positions of power, he regarded it more as an encumbrance than an asset. He had an excellent and ready sense of humour, together with enormous charm. Probably his greatest merit was his magnificent air of authority and decision. His self-assurance was so complete that he never felt the need to shout or to give orders in anything other than a quiet and normal voice. And I have never heard of his orders being questioned, as he possessed the gift of being able to instill into others the unquestionable certainty that he knew what he was doing and that it was for the best.
It has often been said that he was a homosexual. While it is true that he did build up a personal entourage of chauffeur, batman and so forth which may have been suspect, he always behaved with such admirable personal discretion that there was certainly never any overt suggestion of homosexual tendencies. Thirty years ago people felt much more strongly about these things than they do today, and had there been any serious hint of something of this sort at the time, he would have never emerged with such an untarnished image from the history of the period.
He was neither a Communist nor a mercenary. It was not in his nature to think deeply on political questions but was content to trust his own feelings, and I knew him well enough to know that he believed strongly in the justice of the cause for which he thought he was fighting. He was a Jew of working-class origins but was almost totally unconcerned with Judaism or class sympathy. I am quite certain that when he resigned his hard-won commission in the British Brigade of Guards, after the First World War, he can only have done so as a matter of principle - his exceedingly strong sense of sympathy for the under-dog. Nathan's special quality was his pride, which he nursed as other men nurse their most precious possessions, and it was the greatest form of pride that I have ever known for it would not permit him to perform any action which was below the immaculate standard of perfection which he had set himself.
All this may seem a little bit too good to be true but the man was well known by several thousand officers and men over a period of two years. Most of them were very tough characters indeed. Many of them were fanatical Communists whose very instinct caused them to mistrust a man whose characteristics of speech and behaviour derived from essentially upper-class attitudes. Nathan made no attempt to conceal his lack of political enthusiasms in any Party sense. The whole army was riddled with intrigues between factions out to destroy one another, but in spite of all these things Nathan emerges from the history of these events as the only person who was universally admired.
Translation - Spanish George Nathan se labró tal reputación al mando de la compañía inglesa del frente de Toledo que fue elegido jefe militar de la recién formada 15ª Brigada. Es el único individuo al servicio de las Brigadas Internacionales que destaca como modelo de héroe, con su dosis propia de leyenda. Muchos individuos de numerosas naciones sirvieron de forma magnífica, pero ninguno de ellos poseía esa cualidad sobrenatural que distinguía a George Nathan. No obstante, la leyenda que se ha formado en torno a su figura tiene poco que ver con el hombre que realmente fue. la leyenda de su bastón de mando tocado en oro, que se cuenta en prácticamente cada libro sobre la guerra civil es un ejemplo típico. Lo que llevaba era un robusto bastón que le resultaba muy útil al ascender por territorio montañoso." También se cuenta que recorrió las colinas de Jarama en un magnífico corcel, cuando en realidad viabaja siempre alrededor del frente en el asiento trasero de una motocicleta de dos plazas, simplemente porque era el transporte más efectivo de entre los disponibles. Lógicamente no había carreteras que condujeran a la cima de las colinas entre la tupida maleza y los olivares, pero un piloto hábil y decidido siempre encontraría una ruta en los cerros antes que un hombre montado en caballo o incluso en coche, aunque fuera una ruta difícil. Es cierto que Nathan era una suerte de hombre espectáculo, pero el suyo era un espectáculo repleto de seriedad. Siempre iba inmaculadamente limpio y muy bien ensartado en un uniforme del ejército regular español sin ornamentos de ningún tipo, de acuerdo con la dedicada profesionalidad militar que regía su vida.
Físicamente era bastante más alto de lo normal, esbelto y de hombros anchos, y tenía un porte muy rígido y militar. Tenía unas características inequívocamente semíticas: de rostro alargado, con una nariz más bien aguileña y un cabello oscuro y rizado. Poseía un vigor termendo y aparentaba ser completamente inmune al cansancio físico. Nunca le vi llevar un arma de ninguna clase: aunque llevar dos pistolas era un símbolo de status entre aquellos que ocupaban posiciones de poder, él las veía más como un engorro que como un ornamento. Tenía un sentido del humor excelente y despierto que iba de la mano con su gran encanto personal. Su mayor mérito fue quizá su logrado aire de autoridad y decisión. Tenía tanta confianza en sí mismo que nunca le hizo falta gritar para dar una orden: le bastaba con una voz normal y calmada. Y que yo sepa, nunca nadie cuestionó sus órdenes, ya que poseía el talento de inspirar en los demás la incuestionable certeza de que saber lo que estaba haciendo, y que lo hacía para bien de todos.
A menudo se ha dicho que era homosexual. Aunque es cierto que el séquito que reunió en torno a su persona, con chófer, sirviente y etcétera movía a la sospecha, actuó siempre con tanta discreción personal que desde luego nunca se sugirió nada abiertamente sobre sus tendencias homosexuales. Hace treinta años la gente miraba estas cosas con mucho más recelo, y de haberse revelado alguna señal importante sobre su condición, jamás habría pasado a la historia con una imagen tan impecable.
No era comunista ni un mercenario. Pensar en profundidad sobre cuestiones políticas no estaba en su naturaleza; le bastaba con confiar en su propio instinto y le conocí lo suficiente como para saber que creía firmemente en que había justicia en la causa por la que creía luchar. Era un judío con orígenes de clase baja al que no le importaba el judaismo ni sentía la menor simpatía por su clase. Estoy seguro de que, si renunció a su preciado cargo en la Brigada de la Guardia Británica, al término de la primera guerra mundial, lo hizo únicamente por principios, por la exagerada simpatía que sentía por los desfavorecidos. La cualidad más especial de Nathan era el orgullo, que protegió como los demás protegen sus más preciadas posesiones, y que era la más noble forma de orgullo que he conocido, ya que se basaba en él para no hacer nunca nada por debajo del impoluto estándar de perfección que se había marcado.
Todo esto puede parecer demasiado bonito como para ser cierto, pero al hombre lo conocieron miles de oficiales y soldados durante un período de dos años. Algunos de ellos eran también personajes extremos; había muchos comunistas fanáticos que tendían a desconfiar de un hombre cuyo discurso y comportamiento derivaban básicamente de los patrones de la clase alta. Nathan no intentó alterar la falta de entusiasmo que sentía por cualquier partido político de cualquier clase. En el ejército abundaron las conspiraciones entre facciones que pretendían destruirse mutuamente, pero a pesar de todo esto, Nathan figura en la historia de los hechos como el único a quien todos admiraban.
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Years of experience: 12. Registered at ProZ.com: Feb 2013.
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