“I came to the conclusion – as one invariably does in philosophy – that I was up against a primary cause and therefore an insoluble one.”

Concluí, como se conclui sempre em Filosofia, que me encontrava diante duma Causa Primaria, portanto impenetrável.
"José Matias" (1897), collected in Contos (1902); translation by Luís Marques from The Yellow Sofa & Three Portraits (1993) p. 152.

Original

Concluí, como se conclui sempre em Filosofia, que me encontrava diante duma Causa Primaria, portanto impenetrável.

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José Maria Eça de Queiroz 14
Portuguese writer 1845–1900

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