Abstract:
Machado de Assis (1839-1908), one of the most well-known Brazilian writers, offers a portrait of Baruch Spinoza in a sonnet of 1880. In its verses, the poet combines the image of the thinker as a craftsman (polisher of lenses) and as a philosopher (creator of a philosophy). This article intends to show that despite the inaccuracy in the sonnet’s portrayal of certain aspects of its subject, it can nevertheless, just like the poem “Spinoza” written by Jorge Luis Borges, act as a first call to the study of Spinozism. Without intending to perform a proper literary exegesis of the poem, the article seeks to unveil the singularities of Machado’s image of Spinoza, confronting it with the philosopher’s works and biography.
Keywords:
Spinoza; Machado de Assis; Sonnet