[27] =absoluto=, taken in its literal sense here, _apart_, _by himself_. [28] =_volteadas_=, Argentinism; separation and selection of cattle without previously rounding them up; hasty selection of cattle. Cf. Darwin's _The Voyage of the Beagle_: "About two leagues beyond this curious tree we halted for the night; at this instant an unfortunate cow was spied by the lynx-eyed gauchos, who set off in full chase, and in a few minutes dragged her in with their lazos, and slaughtered her." [29] =leyes positivas=, _established laws_. [30] =con sendas o vados=, etc., _i.e._, =cerca de su choza=, _nearby_. [31] =género de vida que hacían=, _kind of life they led_. [32] =lo hacían... tiempo=, _gave him an air of mystery and dignity at the same time_. [33] =voz cubierta=, _soft voice_. [34] =con el monosílabo=, _by a monosyllabic remark_. [35] =introdujo una revolución social=, _i.e._, the internal revolution that followed immediately upon the heels of the struggle for independence. [36] =por esto=, _on this account_. [37] =vecindarios=. This word means both _district_ or _ward of a town_, and _vicinity_; hence the statement that follows. [38] =si es que=, _i.e._, =si es verdad que=. [39] =a la altura... se nutren=, _on a par with the social milieu in which they are born and grow_. [40] =Eso sí=, _Of course_, _Most assuredly_. [41] =Tomaba partido... y por pasión=, _He took sides, guided by his personal sentiments and emotions_. [42] =a su modo=, _peculiar to himself_. [43] =por escapar=, lit., _for the sake of escaping_; translate as if it were =para escapar=. There is very little difference between =por= and =para= when followed by an infinitive: =para= is by far the commoner preposition used. [44] =San Martín=, =Belgrano=, the two greatest military leaders of Argentina during the period of the struggle for independence. [45] =cuerpo de doctrina=, _system of dogmas_. [46] _=sui generis=_, Latin for =a su modo=. V. note 18, 10. [47] =de que no se daba otra cuenta... superior=, lit., _of which he gave himself no other account save as of a superior fact_, i.e., _of which he knew nothing save that it was a divine fact_. [48] =le venía impuesto=, _was imposed upon him_. =Venir= is here used as an auxiliary for the passive voice instead of =ser=. [49] =doctrina=. Notice the use of a general term for a concrete term. What is meant here by =doctrina= is not _teaching_ but _teachers_. [50] MOTTO. _The steppes, like the ocean, fill the soul with the feeling of the infinite._ Taken from Humboldt's _Voyages aux régions équinoxiales du nouveau continent._ [51] =no puede... negarse=, _it cannot be denied_. Cf. 2, 9. [52] =lucha imponente=. The indefinite article is regularly omitted in Spanish with nouns in apposition. [53] =están combatiendo=. The first edition of Sarmiento's _Facundo_, the work from which this extract is taken, appeared in 1845; hence the use of the present. [54] =Echeverría=, one of Argentina's foremost poets.