born Sept. 29, 1864, Bilbao, Spain
died Dec. 31, 1936, Salamanca
Spanish philosopher and writer.
He served twice as rector of the University of Salamanca (1901–14; 1931–36); he was dismissed first for espousing the Allied cause in World War I and later for denouncing Francisco Franco 's Falangists. Though he also wrote poetry and plays, he was most influential as an essayist and novelist. In The Tragic Sense of Life in Men and Peoples (1913), he stressed the role spiritual anxiety plays in driving one to live the fullest possible life. His most famous novel is Abel Sánchez (1917), a modern re-creation of the biblical story of Cain and Abel. The Christ of Velázquez (1920), a study in poetic form of the great Spanish painter, is a superb example of modern Spanish verse.