Dedication
THE DUKE OF BEJARA, THE MARQUIS OF GIBRALEO, THE COUNT OF BENALCAZAR AND BANNAREZ, THE VISCOUNT OF ALCOZERA, THE LORD OF CAPILLAS, OF CURIELS AND OF BURGUILLOS
In view of the fact that you, Your Lordship, being one of the nobles so inclined to encourage the fine arts, give a warm and honorable welcome to all kinds of books, especially those that, in their nobility, do not demean themselves to selfishly please the mob, I decided to publish the Cunning Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, under the protection of the illustrious name of your Lordship, and now, with the reverence which your greatness inspires in me, I beg you to accept him under your merciful protection, so that, although deprived of the precious ornaments of grace and learning, which usually make up the decoration of works coming out of under the pen of enlightened people, he dared, under the shadow of Your Lordship, to fearlessly appear before the judgment of those who, going beyond the limits of their own ignorance, are in the habit of, when analyzing the works of others, passing not so much a fair, but rather a harsh sentence - You, Your Lordship, fixing the eyes of wisdom With your good intentions, I hope you will not reject such a weak expression of my deepest devotion.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Prologue
Idle reader! You can believe without an oath how I would like this book, the fruit of my understanding, to represent the height of beauty, grace and profundity. But it is not in my power to abolish the law of nature, according to which every living creature gives birth to its own kind. And if so, then what else could my barren and undeveloped mind give birth to in prison, if not the story of a bony, skinny, eccentric son, full of the most unexpected thoughts that had never occurred to anyone before - in a word, about such a one as only it was possible to give birth in a dungeon, a place of all kinds of disturbances, to an abode of only dull sounds. A quiet corner, peace, welcoming valleys, cloudless skies, murmuring streams, a peaceful spirit - this is what can fertilize the most barren muse and thanks to which her offspring, as soon as they are born, fill him with delight and surprise. It sometimes happens that someone will have an ugly and awkward son, but love hastens to put a blindfold on the father’s eyes, and he not only does not notice his shortcomings, but, on the contrary, in these very shortcomings he finds something witty and attractive and in when talking with friends, he passes them off as examples of intelligence and grace. I am only considered the father of Don Quixote - in fact, I am his stepfather, and I am not going to follow the beaten path and, as others do, almost with tears in my eyes, beg you, dear reader, to forgive my brainchild for his shortcomings or to look at through their fingers: after all, you are not his relatives or friend, there is a soul in your body, your will is as free as that of any experienced husband, you have the same power to dispose of your home as a king has the power to establish any tax, and you The saying should be known: “Let me cover myself with my cloak - then I will deal with the king.” All this frees you from the need to flatter my hero and frees you from any obligations - therefore, you can say whatever you want about this story, without fear that you will be judged if you blaspheme it, or rewarded , if you praise.
The only thing I would like is for it to appear before you unsullied and naked, unadorned either by a prologue or by the countless number of unchanging sonnets, epigrams and laudatory poems with which our book usually opens. I must admit that although I spent a lot of work on my book, it was even more difficult for me to compose this very preface that you are about to read.
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CHAPTER III,
which tells how Don Quixote was knighted.
Prompted by the impatient desire to become a real knight as quickly as possible, Don Quixote suddenly jumped out from behind the table, called the owner, took him into the stable and, closing the door, covered with cracks and holes, more tightly, fell on his knees in front of the amazed fat man and said:
“I will not rise until you, noble knight, agree to my request, the fulfillment of which will illuminate not only you with glory, but perhaps the entire universe.”
Confused by Don Quixote's strange behavior and no less strange words, the tavern keeper tried in vain to convince him not to humiliate himself before him; but the stubborn hidalgo only rose from his knees when he received a promise that his request would be fulfilled.
“I expected this from your generosity,” Don Quixote then said. “My request, which you so kindly promised to fulfill, is that tomorrow, at dawn, you knight me.” But before I am awarded this high title, which I seek with all the strength of my soul, allow me to spend the coming night in the chapel of your hospitable castle, “on guard of arms,” after which, according to the statutes of chivalry, I will have the legal right to seek adventure in the whole world, defending the oppressed, punishing the guilty and, in general, fulfilling everything that the title of knight-errant, which I accept, obliges me to do.
The tavernkeeper, as an experienced man, who had already suspected him of insanity from the very moment Don Quixote appeared, was now finally convinced of the abnormality of his guest’s mental abilities and, rejoicing at the opportunity to laugh a lot, with a serious look gave his consent to his idea.
Having said that the intention adopted by Don Quixote testifies to his high intelligence and is completely natural on the part of such a highly noble hidalgo, as he immediately showed himself to be with his refined manners, the tavern added that he himself had been a knight errant in his youth.
“In search of adventure,” said the fat man, “I visited the outskirts of Malaga and Seville, the markets of Segovia, the olive groves of Valencia, the outskirts of Grenada, the coast of San Lucar and the slums of Toledo[*], experiencing in all these places the lightness of my feet and the strength of my hands .
Everywhere I left indelible traces of my stay, leading inexperienced young people astray and robbing orphans, so that I became famous in almost all Spanish courts. Now, sheltered in this castle, living on the money acquired by such glorious labors, I cordially welcome all knights-errant out of respect for this glorious class. Of course, in gratitude for my warm welcome, they never forget to share their wallet with me... But I must confess to you, noble knight, that, unfortunately, I do not have a chapel in which you could spend the night “guarding arms.” When I was going to build a new one, I broke the old one. As far as I know, however, the laws of chivalry allow, as a last resort, to spend the night “guarding arms” wherever necessary. Therefore, I take the liberty of inviting you to spend the night “guarding arms” in my yard, and tomorrow morning, with the help of God, I will perform the rite of knighting on you. Consequently, in a few hours you will already fully belong to this glorious class. Let me just ask you one question: do you have money with you?
“Not a single maravedis,” answered Don Quixote. - Yes, I haven’t read anywhere that knights-errant had money with them.
- In vain! - said the innkeeper, shaking his head. - If this is not mentioned in any book, it is only because it is generally not customary to write about such ordinary things as, for example, money and clean linen - it goes without saying that every decent knight should have both. Although I have not read books of chivalry, I know very well that knights-errant always stocked themselves with tightly stuffed wallets and a jar of ointment for wounds. Indeed, in their continuous wanderings and battles, they could not count on constantly finding people who could bandage their wound, unless some wizard who patronized them undertook, in case of need, to send to them on a cloud a fairy or a dwarf with a bottle of living water, two drops of which were enough to save a dying person. But since the wizards did not patronize everyone, the knights-errant began to instruct their squires to stock up on sufficient amounts of money, ointment and lint. And whoever of them did not keep a squire with him, he himself carried all this with him in a small bag tied to the saddle so that it would not catch the eye of ill-intentioned people. Therefore, I advise you and, as your godfather in arms, I even order you never to set off on a journey without these things, especially without money, and you will be spared a lot of unnecessary troubles and inconveniences.
Don Quixote promised to follow in everything the advice of the “owner of the castle,” as he began to call the tavern, and then wished to quickly stand in the courtyard “guarding weapons.”
The owner led him into the backyard of his tavern and began to curiously wait for what would happen.
Having collected his armor and put it in a trough near the well where the horses were watered, Don Quixote took a shield in one hand and a spear in the other and began to walk around the well with a proud look and measured steps.
The tavern owner, having admired his fill, went to his guests and told them about the trick of the crazy knight. The muleteers, who had never seen such wonders, poured out in a crowd onto the back porch and began to watch with curiosity as the crazy hidalgo walked around the well; from time to time, however, he stopped, leaned on his spear and directed thoughtful glances at the trough in which his armor lay.
Although night had already fallen, the moon was shining so brightly that one could easily discern his slightest movements.
But one of the mule drivers, who spent the night in the tavern, wanted to water his animals, for which, of course, he needed to take the armor out of the trough; but Don Quixote, seeing the driver approaching the well and understanding his intention, loudly shouted to him:
- Unwise knight, wishing to approach the armor of the most fearless of all mortals who ever girded himself with a sword, first think about what you intend to do, and let not your hand touch the armor lying before you, if you do not want to pay with your life for yours. insolence!
The driver, not paying attention to Don Quixote's words, grabbed his armor and cuirass by the straps and threw them into the corner of the yard.
Raising his lightning glance to the sky and entrusting himself to his Dulcinea, our hero exclaimed:
“Lady of my heart, watch over me at the moment of this first insult experienced by the knight you have enslaved!” May your favor support me in this first struggle of mine!
Following this, he threw down his shield and grabbed the spear with both hands and dealt such a blow to the unfortunate driver’s head that he fell unconscious to the ground; a second blow like this would probably have saved the poor guy from having to call a doctor for help.
Having thus punished the daredevil, Don Quixote collected his armor, put it in its original place and, as if nothing had happened, began to walk around the well again.
A little later, another driver, unaware of the fate that befell his comrade, also wanted to water his mules and, in turn, touched Don Quixote’s armor.
Without saying a word this time and without further appealing to Dulcinea, the brave knight again raised his spear and with it struck his other imaginary insult with the same strong blow on the head, causing him to fall. At the cry of the wounded man, who remained in his memory, all his comrades came running, having already retired to the tavern.
Seeing them, Don Quixote, shaking his spear and grabbing a sword leaning against a trough near the armor, shouted, turning again to his imaginary mistress:
- Color of beauty, hear me at this moment and turn your wonderful gaze to the knight enchanted by you, who is threatened by a new, even more terrible danger!
After this proclamation, he felt such strength within himself that all the mule drivers in the world, gathered together, could not force him to retreat.
The wounded man's comrades, seeing the latter's position, began to throw stones at Don Quixote; but the brave knight, defending himself with a shield, fearlessly remained at the trough, without retreating a single step.
The tavern keeper shouted in vain as much as he could, convincing the drivers to leave alone the madman, who, taking advantage of the privilege of the insane, would remain right even if he killed them all - his cries remained the voice of one crying in the desert, drowned out by the loud voice of Don Quixote, who called the enemies vile and low rabble, and the “lord of the castle” himself, who allows such treatment of knights-errant, is an oathbreaker.
“Oh,” he screamed loudly, “if I were knighted, I would prove to the owner of this castle that he is a traitor!” And you, pathetic people,” he continued, turning to the mule drivers, “come closer, attack me with the whole crowd at once, and you will see how I will be able to punish your unheard-of insolence!”
His courage finally triumphed: the enemies retreated, taking their wounded with them, and the winner, with the same majestic calm, again stood “on guard of the weapon.”
Meanwhile, the tavern owner, convinced that the antics of the crazy hidalgo were not so funny at all, decided to quickly perform a knighting ceremony on him in order to get rid of such a guest.
He asked Don Quixote to excuse the rudeness of the ignoramuses who came to the castle from nowhere and were so well taught by the valiant hidalgo that next time they would not poke their noses where they shouldn’t, and he swore that he himself had nothing in common with them. Then, repeating that he did not have a chapel, he assured his guest that when knighting him he could do without it, since this rite, well known to him, as well as all the details of knightly customs and morals, consists of only two blows with a sword - one on the shoulder, and the other on the back of the head of the initiate. It is clear that these blows can be given anywhere, even in the middle of an open field, as has been done many times.
“As for standing “on guard of arms,” he concluded, “you have been on this guard for more than four hours, while according to the knightly charter, two hours is completely enough.”
Don Quixote, without the slightest doubt, believed the words of the “owner of the castle”, expressed his complete readiness to obey him in everything and asked to immediately perform the dedication rite.
“If I am subjected to a new attack here, having already been knighted,” he added, “then I will not let anyone out of this castle alive, except, of course, those entrusted to my protection by my noble godfather in arms.”
The tavern keeper hurriedly went home to get a book in which he recorded the barley and straw given to the mule drivers, and soon returned with it to his guest, accompanied by two women already known to us and a boy carrying a lighted candle.
Ordering Don Quixote to kneel and pretending to read the established rule from a book, he took the initiate’s sword, with which he hit him first on the shoulder and then on the back of the head. Then he invited one of the women to gird the knight with a sword, which she did quite deftly, although she could hardly restrain herself from laughing for fear that she too would get hurt by the crazy knight. Beyond expectations, she even managed to say to Don Quixote:
- May the Lord make you a happy knight and may He strengthen your weapons!
The newly initiated knight asked her name, wanting to know to which noble lady he owed the honor bestowed upon him.
The “noble lady” replied that her name was Toloza, and added that her father was a patchworker who traded in Toledo, in the ranks of Sancho Benaya, and that she would always and everywhere try to be useful to him in any way she could.
Don Quixote begged her, in the name of friendship for him, to add the title of “Donna” to her name and henceforth be called only Donna Toloza, and she gave him her word to fulfill his request.
Another “lady” put on his spurs, which he had also removed, and also had to say her name.
Having learned that her name was Molinera and that she was the daughter of a miller from Antequerra, he took from her a promise to be called Donna Molinera from now on, showered gratitude to both “ladies” and offered them his services.
Having then thanked no less warmly the “lord of the castle,” who had become his “godfather in arms,” Don Quixote, burning with impatience to begin his exploits as soon as possible, hastened to saddle Rocinante.
The tavernkeeper, of course, did not detain him and did not even demand anything for his stay, only wanting to get rid of him as quickly as possible.
Having said goodbye to everyone in such exquisite expressions that no pen can reproduce with infallible accuracy, the newly initiated knight set off on his further journey, full of the most rosy expectations and hopes.
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