Jordan Oates's Key Ideas from Don Quixote - 1st Edition
by Miguel De Cervantes

"So eagerly did he give himself up to these delectable studies that he spent whole days and nights over them; and thus by little and little his brain grew dry and he lost his judgment."

  "Finally, his wits being quite gone, he hit upon the strangest notion that ever madman in this world hit upon, and that was that he believed it was fitting and necessary, as well for his own honour as for the service of his country, that he should make a knight-errant of himself."

 "Having made these preparations, he would not delay any longer putting his design into execution, for he considered that his delay was a loss to the world, seeing the grievances that were righting, the wrongs that were redressing, the abuses that were amending, and the debts that were being satisfied."

"It was now drawing towards nightfall, and as his hack and he were tired and hungry, he looked all around to see if he could discover any castle, or shepherd's hut where he might take shelter and refresh himself."

  "It happened that the innkeeper was a very fat man, and one who, being of a peaceful disposition, when he saw such a figure armed in this fashion, was not at all pleased at the apparition."

  "'Sir Knight,' said the innkeeper, 'we have no chapel in this castle where you can watch your armour, for it has been pulled down in order to rebuild it.'"

 "Don Quixote believed that the innkeeper was making game of him, and said, 'Where I am watching my armour, there is no need of a chapel.'"

 "Thereupon he asked the landlord to give him a blow on the neck and shoulders by way of dubbing, using the formula and ceremonies he had read of in his books."

 "Scarcely had Don Quixote sallied forth from the inn, when a voice as of someone weeping piteously reached his ears from a thicket hard by."

  "'Discourtesy it is,' said Don Quixote, 'to smite one who cannot defend himself.'"

  "But no sooner had Don Quixote turned his back, than the farmer, recovering from his anger, seized his boy Andrés, and untying him, lashed him so soundly that he left him for dead."

 "'Let all the world stand!' cried Don Quixote. 'If all the world does not confess that in beauty there is none to compare with the Empress of La Mancha, Dulcinea del Toboso, I will never let you pass.'"

  "'Gentleman,' replied one of them, 'we do not know who this good lady is of whom you speak.'"

 "With this, making no further parley, he commended himself with all his heart to his lady Dulcinea, imploring her to succour him in this strait, and well covered with his buckler, he charged Rocinante at a clumsy half-gallop at the one who had spoken."

  "'Your worship must know, Master Nicholas,' said the curate, 'that Don Quixote has fallen into a very strange delusion.'"

"'Depend upon it, sir,' said the barber, 'that these books, and these alone, are the cause of all his mischief.'"

 "And so they went on emptying the shelves, burning one after another."

  "The neighbour, who had helped him home, related to the curate and the barber how he had found Don Quixote lying in the middle of the plain, unable to move."

 "Sancho Panza was his labourer, a poor man with very little wit in his pate."

 "'I will make you so rich that in a very short time you will be able to marry your children to lords and ladies,' with these and other promises he persuaded the poor clown, and he agreed to become his squire."

  "'Fortune,' said Don Quixote, 'is guiding our affairs better than we ourselves could have wished; for you see there, friend Sancho Panza, thirty or forty outrageous giants with whom I intend to do battle.'"

 "'Look, your worship,' said Sancho, 'what we see there are not giants but windmills, and what seem to be their arms are the sails that turned them.'"

"'They may be giants,' replied Don Quixote, 'and if you are afraid, move aside and begin to pray, while I engage them in fierce and unequal combat.'"

 "In this dread pass his sword hung useless by his side, and had not Dulcinea del Toboso come to his aid, he had been by this time in a parlous plight."

"But the misfortune of it is that the author of this history left this battle pending and unfinished."

 "But Heaven, or chance, brought into my hands an Arabic manuscript, which was found by a certain Morisco sage."

  "'You must know, Sancho,' said Don Quixote, 'that it is an honour to be a knight-errant.'"

"'All the same, your worship,' said Sancho, 'I should like to know what honour it is.'"

  "'I have already told you, Sancho,' replied Don Quixote, 'that it is the best and most honourable calling of all.'"

"They gave Don Quixote and Sancho a hearty welcome, and Sancho, without being pressed, seated himself at the tail of one of the tables."

 "'Happy times and happy ages were those that lacked the dreadful fury of infernal machines of artillery, whose inventor I am persuaded is now in hell receiving the reward of his diabolical invention.'"

 "'In those days, love-affairs were altogether of the spirit and the mind.'"

"'There was a certain youth in our village, the son of a very wealthy man, and his name was Chrysostom.'"

"'But the cruelty which Marcela showed him brought him in the end to his grave.'"

 "'And so he died, and we buried him, and it is not long since we found these verses that he left behind him.'"

"And as Marcela made her appearance, several of the shepherds, as well as many others who had come to the burial, recognized her."

 "'I know well enough that the beauty that heaven has given me is the cause that Chrysostom has come to his end.'"

 "'But for all that, I would have you know that I never encouraged Chrysostom with promises, nor did I ever boast of having his life at my disposal.'"

 "'I conjure you, forthwith to release those persons, for they are plainly being forced against their will.'"

  "All of them, thinking that this madman was about to fall upon them, began to make haste to secure themselves."

  "Don Quixote, seeing their fear, lowered his lance, and in a quiet voice said to them, 'Why do you fly, cowardly rabble?'"

  "It happened that there were grazing in this valley some scores of Galician mares belonging to certain Yanguesan carriers."

  "Rocinante, who was always peaceable and particularly so when he had had his fill, took it into his head, without anyone driving him, to mingle with the mares."

 "He fancied now that the inn was without a doubt a castle with its four towers and battlements of shining silver."

 "It happened that the hostess had a daughter who was an Asturian servant-girl, wide in the face, flat in the head, with a snub nose and one eye squinting a little."

 "Don Quixote believed that this was the daughter of the lord of the castle, and that she had come to solace him."

 "In short, the battle was joined, and they dealt one another so many fisticuffs and cuffs that more than half the teeth in the inn were knocked out."

 "Sancho, finding himself thus roughly handled, without knowing by whom, raised his voice and began to call out to his master to help him."

 "The innkeeper, seeing all the mischief that was being done, mounted upon the others and began to lay on blows right and left as fiercely as if he had been a madman."

 "'You must know, Sancho,' said Don Quixote, 'that it is no dishonour to change one's mind.'"

 "'But tell me, señor,' said Sancho, 'what is the meaning of these fulling hammers that seem to be beating the bowels out of the earth?'"

 "'Without any fear whatsoever, do you place yourself upon Rocinante, and I upon my Dapple, and let us go and see what this terrible noise is.'"

  "'Though you should see them brandishing a hundred arms apiece, and though they should be real Briarei, I will attack them.'"

  "And without paying any heed to Sancho’s cries, he spurred Rocinante and charged at full gallop down the slope."

  "But as he drew near, he reined in Rocinante, who, seemingly scenting the monsters, stopped so suddenly that Don Quixote was pitched head foremost over his withrs."

  "'My good friend,' said Don Quixote, 'you must know that fear is one of the passions most difficult to conquer, and that the smallest sign of cowardice will suffice to put down the most valiant heart.'"

  "The lion yawned several times and then put out his tongue a yard long, and with it he licked the dust out of his eyes."

  "Thereupon Don Quixote ordered the gentleman to open the cage, and the gentleman said that he would not do so on any account."

  "'See you not that cavalier who is coming towards us on a dapple-grey steed, and wears a golden helmet?'"

 "'But observe what I tell you, that the helmet which that cavalier wears is the identical helmet of Mambrino.'"

"And without another word he charged at him with such fury that if the barber had not slipped off his mule, he would have been sent flying."

 "'These persons who are going along in chains are men forced by the king's command to serve in the galleys.'"

 * "'But tell me, good sirs, for what offense do they take these poor men along?'"

"'I lay it upon you that you loose these bonds and let them go free.'"

"'Here it is, Sancho my friend, that we can thrust our hand up to the elbow in what they call adventures.'"

 "'I intend to remain in this wilderness, and do penance for the many sins that I have committed in this wicked world.'"

 "'And perchance, when your worship least expects it, you will find your Dulcinea’s letter lying on the ground.'"

 "'You will take this letter to Dulcinea del Toboso, and if she is not at home, you will give it to some damsel of her acquaintance.'"

 "'And as to the signs that she gives you in answer to my message, you will note them all down carefully, so that I may give them the credit they deserve.'"

 "'We are going, good Sancho,' said the curate, 'in search of a madman, who calls himself Don Quixote of La Mancha.'"

 "Thereupon Don Quixote proceeded to strip himself to his shirt-sleeves and breeches, and then cut a caper or two in the air, and two somersaults, heels over head."

 "Then he began to pluck out his hair by handfuls and fling it to the winds, and to give himself pinches that made the blood flow."

"'Oh Dulcinea del Toboso, mistress of my heart, you sorrowful pilgrim do I send you across these briny tears!'"

 "'Behold, O ye dwellers in these mountains, the sorrowful pilgrim Amadís of Gaul, for love of his lady Oriana!'"

"He would seat himself at the foot of some tall rock, and there, abandoning himself to his thoughts, would remain until nightfall."

 "But the thing that caused him the most pain was that he believed his breeches had been torn."

 "'Now, Master Nicholas,' said the curate, 'we have a plan for curing our friend Don Quixote.'"

 "'We will dress ourselves, you as a damsel in distress, and I as her squire.'"

"'And we will go to him in the Sierra Morena and beg him to right a great wrong that has been done to us.'"

"'Well, sirs,' said Sancho, 'when I gave my lady Dulcinea your worship's letter, she was sifting a sack of wheat.'"

 "'And what did she say?' asked the curate."

 "'She said... she said... that your worship should tell her knight to come and see her, and that she would be very glad to receive him.'"

 "'Know, valiant knight, that I am a princess, and the ruler of a great kingdom called Micomicona.'"

 "'A wicked giant, called Malambruno, has by his magic art robbed me of my kingdom.'"

"'And I have come to you, renowned Don Quixote of La Mancha, to beg you to redress this wrong.'"

 "'Sorrowful damsel,' said Don Quixote, 'dry your tears, for it belongs to me to remedy your misfortunes.'"

 "'I will go with you to the ends of the earth to avenge you on this wicked giant.'"

  "'And so, señora princess, you may command me as you please.'"

 "'Believe me, Sancho,' said Don Quixote, 'there is no greater pleasure than to conquer in battle.'"

 "'All the same, I think the pleasure would be greater if one conquered giants, as your worship says, and then the princess became queen and gave your worship a kingdom.'"

 "'That would not be amiss,' replied Don Quixote, 'but it is not always the case that those we conquer are princesses.'"

 "'Dry your tears, high and peerless lady,' said Don Quixote, 'for it belongs to me to remedy your misfortunes.'"

"'A good heart breaks bad luck,'" Sancho remarked.

 "'Tell me, Sancho,' said the curate, 'what do you know about proverbs?'"

 "'I am not, sirs, of the condition in which you see me, but heaven, for its own secret ends, has brought me to this pass.'"

 "'My name is Dorothea, and I am the daughter of rich parents, and of no mean rank.'"

"'It is not fitting that such beauty should be found in this desert, where there is no one to enjoy it.'"

 "'Know, valiant knight, that the giant of whom I spoke is called Malambruno.'"

  "'And he has carried me off from my kingdom, and transformed me into this rustic guise.'"

  "'It is for your prowess alone that I hope for a remedy to my misfortunes.'"

"'And so, valiant knight, you see the extent of the injury that Malambruno has done me.'"

 "'It only remains for you to promise me that you will go with me whither I shall lead you.'"

 "'There is no doubt,' said the curate to the barber, 'that this Dorothea is a very clever woman.'"

 "He dreamt that he had entered the kingdom of Micomicona, and that he was standing before the giant Malambruno."

 "And in the heat of the battle, he began to lay about him at the wine-skins with such fury that in a little while the whole room was afloat with wine."

"Dorothea then rose and curtsied to the company, and went to help the hostess mend the wine-skins."

 "'We must humour this poor gentleman in his delusion, until we can find some cure for it.'"

"'The best thing we can do is to continue the role we have begun.'"

  "'And so let us proceed with our story.'"

 "'Know, sirs,' said Don Quixote, 'that the profession I follow is the noblest and most excellent of all those in the world.'"

 "'What say you to the courtiers?' asked the curate. 'Do they not enjoy a good life?'"

"'They enjoy a life,' replied Don Quixote, 'which, for all its seeming pleasure, is full of anxiety and vexation.'"

 "'Perhaps heaven may have ordained that I should find some one in this company who knows me.'"

  "'I was born in a village in the mountains of León, and my father was a man of good standing.'"

  "'Fortune did not favour my design, for scarcely had we been two leagues out to sea when we were overtaken by two Turkish galleys.'"

 "'My misfortunes were so great that they ought to be written in letters of brass.'"

"'Among these ladies, one in particular took my fancy, and she was a Moorish lady of quality, and of great beauty.'"

 "'She proposed to me that I should fly with her to Christian lands.'"

"'This gentleman who is with me is a magistrate of the Royal Audience.'"

 "'And this young lady is his daughter, who is going to Seville to see a lawsuit that her brother has won.'"

"There arose a great uproar in the inn, for it happened that a certain muleteer and a daughter of one of the guests had come to words."

 "'There was in this inn a daughter of one of the guests from Aragon, a very graceful and pleasing maiden.'"

 "'And this muleteer fell in love with her.'"

"'They had agreed to meet that night, and the muleteer was waiting for her.'"

 "Don Quixote, who was always ready to right wrongs, believing that some distress was at hand, placed himself in the midst of the fray."

 "'Hold, sirs, hold!' cried he, brandishing his sword."

 "But the muleteer, without paying any heed to his words, continued his attack."

 "'Gentlemen,' said Don Quixote, 'there is no need of quarrels in this matter.'"

 "'Let the pack-saddle be worth as much as the helmet, and let each take his own.'"

 "And so the affair of the helmet and the pack-saddle was settled."

 "'This is the man,' said one of the officers, 'who rescued the galley slaves.'"

 "'Take care, your worships,' said Don Quixote, 'what you do, for these are not persons whom you have any right to arrest.'"

"Don Quixote stood up, and drew his sword, and placed himself before the door."

 "'It is necessary to try some other remedy for this poor gentleman's malady.'"

 "'We will have him carried off in this ox-cart, and we will pretend that he is enchanted.'"

"Don Quixote, believing all this to be true, quietly submitted to his fate."

 "'I am enchanted, and I must endure this until the heavens shall be pleased to release me.'"

 "'Take comfort, your worship,' said Sancho, 'for this enchantment will not last for ever.'"

 "Sancho entertained them so much with his remarks that the curate could scarcely restrain his laughter."

  "'My wife Teresa Panza gives me a thousand counsels as if I were her son.'"

 "'She wants me to be a governor, or something of the sort.'"

 * "'Let her manage her spinning-wheel, and not meddle with governments.'"

  "'Look you, Sancho,' said Don Quixote, 'I tell you that I am enchanted.'"

"'But I say that your worship is no more enchanted than my father was.'"

  "'Hold your peace, Sancho,' replied Don Quixote, 'and do not contradict your master.'"