Roberto Quesada Soto

Dē locūtiōnibus miscellānīs: conversiōnēs scriptūraeque

Translations and Writings

Welcome. This website is an archive of fiction and non-fiction texts I have read and written, which I created to share my interests in cyberspace. Understandably, I found a lot of what is displayed here in English, being the global lingua franca of our times. Therefore, I translated the material into Spanish, my native language, as well as vice versa, as needed.

My original writings have been and are developed in both of the aforementioned languages —in part arbitrarily, perhaps, given that I am equally proficient in both—, so I have also included the corresponding translations.

Visit this website's most general sections via the buttons at the top. I emphasize About because there I go into certain details and also refer to other matters of interest. Scroll down to directly explore some more specific contents.

Speculative Fiction Translations

The Chronicles of Quelouva, by Forrest Cameranesi: A science fantasy episodic series composed of multiple interconnected sagas, written in 2017.

Fragments from The Anax, by Herries Anderton: A collection of varied short stories including elements of science fiction, fantasy and magical realism, written since 2020.

Science Fiction Excerpts: Various passages from novels and other tales, as well as descriptions in video games.

Philosophy Translations

A Basis for Philosophy: An introductory text to understand what philosophy is.

Bunge's Dictionary Preface: A reverse translation, from Mario Bunge's Dictionary of Philosophy, published originally in English in 1999, and in Spanish in 2001.

Excerpt from Ortega y Gasset's The Revolt of the Masses: A notorious affirmation from said work, first published as a book in 1930.


Linguistically Relevant Quotes

On n'habite pas un pays, on habite une langue. Une patrie, c'est cela et rien d'autre.

No se habita un país, se habita una lengua. Una patria es eso y ninguna otra cosa.

One does not inhabit a country, one inhabits a language. A homeland is that and no other.

— Emil Cioran
Aveux et anathèmes (1987)
Confesiones y anatemas
Avowals and Anathemas


Psychologiquement, abstraction faite de son expression par les mots, notre pensée n'est qu'une masse amorphe et indistincte. Philosophes et linguistes se sont toujours accordés à reconnaître que, sans le secours des signes, nous serions incapables de distinguer deux idées d'une façon claire et constante. Prise en elle-même, la pensée est comme une nébuleuse où rien n'est nécessairement délimité.

Psicológicamente, aparte de su expresión en palabras, nuestro pensamiento no es más que una masa amorfa e indistinta. Filósofos y lingüistas han estado siempre de acuerdo en reconocer que, sin la ayuda de los signos, seríamos incapaces de distinguir dos ideas de una manera clara y constante. Tomado en sí mismo, el pensamiento es como una nebulosa donde nada está necesariamente delimitado.

Psychologically, apart from its expression in words, our thought is no more than an amorphous and indistinct mass. Philosophers and linguists have always agreed on recognizing that, without the help of signs, we would be unable to distinguish two ideas in a clear and constant way. Taken by itself, thought is like a nebula where nothing is necessarily delimited.

— Ferdinand de Saussure
Cours de linguistique général (1916)
Curso de lingüística general
Course in General Linguistics