Autobiografía De Nikola Tesla (Inglés)

My Inventions:
The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla
Chapter 1—Early Life
The progressive development of man is vitally dependent on invention. It is the most important
product of his creative brain. Its ultimate purpose is the complete mastery of mind over the
material world, the harnessing of the forces of nature to human needs. This is the difficult task of
the inventor who is oftenmisunderstood and unrewarded. But he finds ample compensation in
the pleasing exercises of his powers and in the knowledge of being one of that exceptionally
privileged class without whom the race would have long ago perished in the bitter struggle
against pitiless elements. Speaking for myself, I have already had more than my full measure of
this exquisite enjoyment; so much, that for many years mylife was little short of continuous
rapture. I am credited with being one of the hardest workers and perhaps I am, if thought is the
equivalent of labour, for I have devoted to it almost all of my waking hours. But if work is
interpreted to be a definite performance in a specified time according to a rigid rule, then I may
be the worst of idlers.
Every effort under compulsion demands asacrifice of life-energy. I never paid such a price. On
the contrary, I have thrived on my thoughts. In attempting to give a connected and faithful
account of my activities in this story of my life, I must dwell, however reluctantly, on the
impressions of my youth and the circumstances and events which have been instrumental in
determining my career. Our first endeavors are purely instinctiveprompting of an imagination
vivid and undisciplined. As we grow older reason asserts itself and we become more and more
systematic and designing. But those early impulses, though not immediately productive, are of
the greatest moment and may shape our very destinies. Indeed, I feel now that had I understood
and cultivated instead of suppressing them, I would have added substantial value to my bequestto the world.
But not until I had attained manhood did I realize that I wasan inventor. This was due to a
number of causes. In the first place I had a brother who was gifted to an extraordinary degree;
one of those rare phenomena of mentality which biological investigation has failed to explain.
His premature death left my earth parents disconsolate. (I will explain my remark about my"earth parents" later.) We owned a horse which had been presented to us by a dear friend. It was
a magnificent animal of Arabian breed, possessed of almost human intelligence, and was cared
for and petted by the whole family, having on one occasion saved my dear father's life under
remarkable circumstances.
My father had been called one winter night to perform an urgent duty and while crossing themountains, infested by wolves, the horse became frightened and ran away, throwing him
violently to the ground. It arrived home bleeding and exhausted, but after the alarm was sounded,
immediately dashed off again, returning to the spot, and before the searching party were far on

the way they were met by my father, who had recovered consciousness and remounted, not
realizing that he hadbeen lying in the snow for several hours. This horse was responsible for my
brother's injuries from which he died. I witnessed the tragic scene and although so many years
have elapsed since, my visual impression of it has lost none of its force. The recollection of his
attainments made every effort of mine seem dull in comparison. Anything I did that was
creditable merely caused my parents tofeel their loss more keenly. So I grew up with little
confidence in myself.
But I was far from being considered a stupid boy, if I am to judge from an incident of which I
have still a strong remembrance. One day the Aldermen were passing through a street where I
was playing with other boys. The oldest of these venerable gentlemen, a wealthy citizen, paused
to give a silver piece to each of us....