José Ortega y Gasset – Luis Díez del Corral. Correspondence (1945-1953)

Abstract

This paper presents the previously unpublished correspondence between José Ortega y Gasset and his disciple Luis Díez del Corral, scholar and Professor of the History of Political Ideas and Forms. The exchange, comprising twenty-one letters –thirteen from Díez del Corral and eight from Ortega–, covers the period 1945-1953, coinciding with the end of the Second World War, Ortega’s return to the Iberian Peninsula, and the years of international isolation under the Franco regime. The letters provide valuable evidence of the continuity of a liberal and humanist tradition in post-war Spain. Their tone, initially that of a disciple and gradually more intimate, reveals an evolving intellectual and personal collaboration between master and student. Beyond their biographical interest, the letters include technical reflections on philosophical and political work, shedding light on the historical and intellectual context in which projects such as the Institute of Humanities were conceived. Particular attention is given to the technical concepts of Mixed Constitution and Translatio Imperii, which appear throughout this correspondence and in Ortega’s own writings.