PART II - CHAPTER XVII.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　WHEREIN IS SHOWN THE FURTHEST AND HIGHEST POINT WHICH THE UNEXAMPLEDCOURAGE OF DON QUIXOTE REACHED OR COULD REACH; TOGETHER WITH THE HAPPILYACHIEVED ADVENTURE OF THE LIONSThe history tells that when Don Quixote called out to Sancho to bring himhis helmet, Sancho was buying some curds the shepherds agreed to sellhim, and flurried by the great haste his master was in did not know whatto do with them or what to carry them in; so, not to lose them, for hehad already paid for them, he thought it best to throw them into hismaster's helmet, and acting on this bright idea he went to see what hismaster wanted with him. He, as he approached, exclaimed to him:"Give me that helmet, my friend, for either I know little of adventures,or what I observe yonder is one that will, and does, call upon me to armmyself."He of the green gaban, on hearing this, looked in all directions, butcould perceive nothing, except a cart coming towards them with two orthree small flags, which led him to conclude it must be carrying treasureof the King's, and he said so to Don Quixote. He, however, would notbelieve him, being always persuaded and convinced that all that happenedto him must be adventures and still more adventures; so he replied to thegentleman, "He who is prepared has his battle half fought; nothing islost by my preparing myself, for I know by experience that I haveenemies, visible and invisible, and I know not when, or where, or at whatmoment, or in what shapes they will attack me;" and turning to Sancho hecalled for his helmet; and Sancho, as he had no time to take out thecurds, had to give it just as it was. Don Quixote took it, and withoutperceiving what was in it thrust it down in hot haste upon his head; butas the curds were pressed and squeezed the whey began to run all over hisface and beard, whereat he was so startled that he cried out to Sancho:"Sancho, what's this? I think my head is softening, or my brains aremelting, or I am sweating from head to foot! If I am sweating it is notindeed from fear. I am convinced beyond a doubt that the adventure whichis about to befall me is a terrible one. Give me something to wipe myselfwith, if thou hast it, for this profuse sweat is blinding me."Sancho held his tongue, and gave him a cloth, and gave thanks to God atthe same time that his master had not found out what was the matter. DonQuixote then wiped himself, and took off his helmet to see what it wasthat made his head feel so cool, and seeing all that white mash insidehis helmet he put it to his nose, and as soon as he had smelt it heexclaimed:"By the life of my lady Dulcinea del Toboso, but it is curds thou hastput here, thou treacherous, impudent, ill-mannered squire!"To which, with great composure and pretended innocence, Sancho replied,"If they are curds let me have them, your worship, and I'll eat them; butlet the devil eat them, for it must have been he who put them there. Idare to dirty your helmet! You have guessed the offender finely! Faith,sir, by the light God gives me, it seems I must have enchanters too, thatpersecute me as a creature and limb of your worship, and they must haveput that nastiness there in order to provoke your patience to anger, andmake you baste my ribs as you are wont to do. Well, this time, indeed,they have missed their aim, for I trust to my master's good sense to seethat I have got no curds or milk, or anything of the sort; and that if Ihad it is in my stomach I would put it and not in the helmet.""May be so," said Don Quixote. All this the gentleman was observing, andwith astonishment, more especially when, after having wiped himselfclean, his head, face, beard, and helmet, Don Quixote put it on, andsettling himself firmly in his stirrups, easing his sword in thescabbard, and grasping his lance, he cried, "Now, come who will, here amI, ready to try conclusions with Satan himself in person!"By this time the cart with the flags had come up, unattended by anyoneexcept the carter on a mule, and a man sitting in front. Don Quixoteplanted himself before it and said, "Whither are you going, brothers?What cart is this? What have you got in it? What flags are those?"To this the carter replied, "The cart is mine; what is in it is a pair ofwild caged lions, which the governor of Oran is sending to court as apresent to his Majesty; and the flags are our lord the King's, to showthat what is here is his property.""And are the lions large?" asked Don Quixote."So large," replied the man who sat at the door of the cart, "thatlarger, or as large, have never crossed from Africa to Spain; I am thekeeper, and I have brought over others, but never any like these. Theyare male and female; the male is in that first cage and the female in theone behind, and they are hungry now, for they have eaten nothing to-day,so let your worship stand aside, for we must make haste to the placewhere we are to feed them."Hereupon, smiling slightly, Don Quixote exclaimed, "Lion-whelps to me! tome whelps of lions, and at such a time! Then, by God! those gentlemen whosend them here shall see if I am a man to be frightened by lions. Getdown, my good fellow, and as you are the keeper open the cages, and turnme out those beasts, and in the midst of this plain I will let them knowwho Don Quixote of La Mancha is, in spite and in the teeth of theenchanters who send them to me.""So, so," said the gentleman to himself at this; "our worthy knight hasshown of what sort he is; the curds, no doubt, have softened his skulland brought his brains to a head."At this instant Sancho came up to him, saying, "Senor, for God's sake dosomething to keep my master, Don Quixote, from tackling these lions; forif he does they'll tear us all to pieces here.""Is your master then so mad," asked the gentleman, "that you believe andare afraid he will engage such fierce animals?""He is not mad," said Sancho, "but he is venturesome.""I will prevent it," said the gentleman; and going over to Don Quixote,who was insisting upon the keeper's opening the cages, he said to him,"Sir knight, knights-errant should attempt adventures which encourage thehope of a successful issue, not those which entirely withhold it; forvalour that trenches upon temerity savours rather of madness than ofcourage; moreover, these lions do not come to oppose you, nor do theydream of such a thing; they are going as presents to his Majesty, and itwill not be right to stop them or delay their journey.""Gentle sir," replied Don Quixote, "you go and mind your tame partridgeand your bold ferret, and leave everyone to manage his own business; thisis mine, and I know whether these gentlemen the lions come to me or not;"and then turning to the keeper he exclaimed, "By all that's good, sirscoundrel, if you don't open the cages this very instant, I'll pin you tothe cart with this lance."The carter, seeing the determination of this apparition in armour, saidto him, "Please your worship, for charity's sake, senor, let me unyokethe mules and place myself in safety along with them before the lions areturned out; for if they kill them on me I am ruined for life, for all Ipossess is this cart and mules.""O man of little faith," replied Don Quixote, "get down and unyoke; youwill soon see that you are exerting yourself for nothing, and that youmight have spared yourself the trouble."The carter got down and with all speed unyoked the mules, and the keepercalled out at the top of his voice, "I call all here to witness thatagainst my will and under compulsion I open the cages and let the lionsloose, and that I warn this gentleman that he will be accountable for allthe harm and mischief which these beasts may do, and for my salary anddues as well. You, gentlemen, place yourselves in safety before I open,for I know they will do me no harm."Once more the gentleman strove to persuade Don Quixote not to do such amad thing, as it was tempting God to engage in such a piece of folly. Tothis, Don Quixote replied that he knew what he was about. The gentlemanin return entreated him to reflect, for he knew he was under a delusion."Well, senor," answered Don Quixote, "if you do not like to be aspectator of this tragedy, as in your opinion it will be, spur yourflea-bitten mare, and place yourself in safety."Hearing this, Sancho with tears in his eyes entreated him to give up anenterprise compared with which the one of the windmills, and the awfulone of the fulling mills, and, in fact, all the feats he had attempted inthe whole course of his life, were cakes and fancy bread. "Look ye,senor," said Sancho, "there's no enchantment here, nor anything of thesort, for between the bars and chinks of the cage I have seen the paw ofa real lion, and judging by that I reckon the lion such a paw couldbelong to must be bigger than a mountain.""Fear at any rate," replied Don Quixote, "will make him look bigger tothee than half the world. Retire, Sancho, and leave me; and if I die herethou knowest our old compact; thou wilt repair to Dulcinea--I say nomore." To these he added some further words that banished all hope of hisgiving up his insane project. He of the green gaban would have offeredresistance, but he found himself ill-matched as to arms, and did notthink it prudent to come to blows with a madman, for such Don Quixote nowshowed himself to be in every respect; and the latter, renewing hiscommands to the keeper and repeating his threats, gave warning to thegentleman to spur his mare, Sancho his Dapple, and the carter his mules,all striving to get away from the cart as far as they could before thelions broke loose. Sancho was weeping over his master's death, for thistime he firmly believed it was in store for him from the claws of thelions; and he cursed his fate and called it an unlucky hour when hethought of taking service with him again; but with all his tears andlamentations he did not forget to thrash Dapple so as to put a good spacebetween himself and the cart. The keeper, seeing that the fugitives werenow some distance off, once more entreated and warned him as before; buthe replied that he heard him, and that he need not trouble himself withany further warnings or entreaties, as they would be fruitless, and badehim make haste.During the delay that occurred while the keeper was opening the firstcage, Don Quixote was considering whether it would not be well to dobattle on foot, instead of on horseback, and finally resolved to fight onfoot, fearing that Rocinante might take fright at the sight of the lions;he therefore sprang off his horse, flung his lance aside, braced hisbuckler on his arm, and drawing his sword, advanced slowly withmarvellous intrepidity and resolute courage, to plant himself in front ofthe cart, commending himself with all his heart to God and to his ladyDulcinea.It is to be observed, that on coming to this passage, the author of thisveracious history breaks out into exclamations. "O doughty Don Quixote!high-mettled past extolling! Mirror, wherein all the heroes of the worldmay see themselves! Second modern Don Manuel de Leon, once the glory andhonour of Spanish knighthood! In what words shall I describe this dreadexploit, by what language shall I make it credible to ages to come, whateulogies are there unmeet for thee, though they be hyperboles piled onhyperboles! On foot, alone, undaunted, high-souled, with but a simplesword, and that no trenchant blade of the Perrillo brand, a shield, butno bright polished steel one, there stoodst thou, biding and awaiting thetwo fiercest lions that Africa's forests ever bred! Thy own deeds be thypraise, valiant Manchegan, and here I leave them as they stand, wantingthe words wherewith to glorify them!"Here the author's outburst came to an end, and he proceeded to take upthe thread of his story, saying that the keeper, seeing that Don Quixotehad taken up his position, and that it was impossible for him to avoidletting out the male without incurring the enmity of the fiery and daringknight, flung open the doors of the first cage, containing, as has beensaid, the lion, which was now seen to be of enormous size, and grim andhideous mien. The first thing he did was to turn round in the cage inwhich he lay, and protrude his claws, and stretch himself thoroughly; henext opened his mouth, and yawned very leisurely, and with near twopalms' length of tongue that he had thrust forth, he licked the dust outof his eyes and washed his face; having done this, he put his head out ofthe cage and looked all round with eyes like glowing coals, a spectacleand demeanour to strike terror into temerity itself. Don Quixote merelyobserved him steadily, longing for him to leap from the cart and come toclose quarters with him, when he hoped to hew him in pieces.So far did his unparalleled madness go; but the noble lion, morecourteous than arrogant, not troubling himself about silly bravado, afterhaving looked all round, as has been said, turned about and presented hishind-quarters to Don Quixote, and very coolly and tranquilly lay downagain in the cage. Seeing this, Don Quixote ordered the keeper to take astick to him and provoke him to make him come out."That I won't," said the keeper; "for if I anger him, the first he'lltear in pieces will be myself. Be satisfied, sir knight, with what youhave done, which leaves nothing more to be said on the score of courage,and do not seek to tempt fortune a second time. The lion has the dooropen; he is free to come out or not to come out; but as he has not comeout so far, he will not come out to-day. Your worship's great courage hasbeen fully manifested already; no brave champion, so it strikes me, isbound to do more than challenge his enemy and wait for him on the field;if his adversary does not come, on him lies the disgrace, and he whowaits for him carries off the crown of victory.""That is true," said Don Quixote; "close the door, my friend, and let mehave, in the best form thou canst, what thou hast seen me do, by way ofcertificate; to wit, that thou didst open for the lion, that I waited forhim, that he did not come out, that I still waited for him, and thatstill he did not come out, and lay down again. I am not bound to do more;enchantments avaunt, and God uphold the right, the truth, and truechivalry! Close the door as I bade thee, while I make signals to thefugitives that have left us, that they may learn this exploit from thylips."The keeper obeyed, and Don Quixote, fixing on the point of his lance thecloth he had wiped his face with after the deluge of curds, proceeded torecall the others, who still continued to fly, looking back at everystep, all in a body, the gentleman bringing up the rear. Sancho, however,happening to observe the signal of the white cloth, exclaimed, "May Idie, if my master has not overcome the wild beasts, for he is calling tous."They all stopped, and perceived that it was Don Quixote who was makingsignals, and shaking off their fears to some extent, they approachedslowly until they were near enough to hear distinctly Don Quixote's voicecalling to them. They returned at length to the cart, and as they cameup, Don Quixote said to the carter, "Put your mules to once more,brother, and continue your journey; and do thou, Sancho, give him twogold crowns for himself and the keeper, to compensate for the delay theyhave incurred through me.""That will I give with all my heart," said Sancho; "but what has becomeof the lions? Are they dead or alive?"The keeper, then, in full detail, and bit by bit, described the end ofthe contest, exalting to the best of his power and ability the valour ofDon Quixote, at the sight of whom the lion quailed, and would not anddared not come out of the cage, although he had held the door open everso long; and showing how, in consequence of his having represented to theknight that it was tempting God to provoke the lion in order to force himout, which he wished to have done, he very reluctantly, and altogetheragainst his will, had allowed the door to be closed."What dost thou think of this, Sancho?" said Don Quixote. "Are there anyenchantments that can prevail against true valour? The enchanters may beable to rob me of good fortune, but of fortitude and courage theycannot."Sancho paid the crowns, the carter put to, the keeper kissed DonQuixote's hands for the bounty bestowed upon him, and promised to give anaccount of the valiant exploit to the King himself, as soon as he saw himat court."Then," said Don Quixote, "if his Majesty should happen to ask whoperformed it, you must say THE KNIGHT OF THE LIONS; for it is my desirethat into this the name I have hitherto borne of Knight of the RuefulCountenance be from this time forward changed, altered, transformed, andturned; and in this I follow the ancient usage of knights-errant, whochanged their names when they pleased, or when it suited their purpose."The cart went its way, and Don Quixote, Sancho, and he of the green gabanwent theirs. All this time, Don Diego de Miranda had not spoken a word,being entirely taken up with observing and noting all that Don Quixotedid and said, and the opinion he formed was that he was a man of brainsgone mad, and a madman on the verge of rationality. The first part of hishistory had not yet reached him, for, had he read it, the amazement withwhich his words and deeds filled him would have vanished, as he wouldthen have understood the nature of his madness; but knowing nothing ofit, he took him to be rational one moment, and crazy the next, for whathe said was sensible, elegant, and well expressed, and what he did,absurd, rash, and foolish; and said he to himself, "What could be madderthan putting on a helmet full of curds, and then persuading oneself thatenchanters are softening one's skull; or what could be greater rashnessand folly than wanting to fight lions tooth and nail?"Don Quixote roused him from these reflections and this soliloquy bysaying, "No doubt, Senor Don Diego de Miranda, you set me down in yourmind as a fool and a madman, and it would be no wonder if you did, for mydeeds do not argue anything else. But for all that, I would have you takenotice that I am neither so mad nor so foolish as I must have seemed toyou. A gallant knight shows to advantage bringing his lance to bearadroitly upon a fierce bull under the eyes of his sovereign, in the midstof a spacious plaza; a knight shows to advantage arrayed in glitteringarmour, pacing the lists before the ladies in some joyous tournament, andall those knights show to advantage that entertain, divert, and, if wemay say so, honour the courts of their princes by warlike exercises, orwhat resemble them; but to greater advantage than all these does aknight-errant show when he traverses deserts, solitudes, cross-roads,forests, and mountains, in quest of perilous adventures, bent on bringingthem to a happy and successful issue, all to win a glorious and lastingrenown. To greater advantage, I maintain, does the knight-errant showbringing aid to some widow in some lonely waste, than the court knightdallying with some city damsel. All knights have their own special partsto play; let the courtier devote himself to the ladies, let him addlustre to his sovereign's court by his liveries, let him entertain poorgentlemen with the sumptuous fare of his table, let him arrangejoustings, marshal tournaments, and prove himself noble, generous, andmagnificent, and above all a good Christian, and so doing he will fulfilthe duties that are especially his; but let the knight-errant explore thecorners of the earth and penetrate the most intricate labyrinths, at eachstep let him attempt impossibilities, on desolate heaths let him endurethe burning rays of the midsummer sun, and the bitter inclemency of thewinter winds and frosts; let no lions daunt him, no monsters terrify him,no dragons make him quail; for to seek these, to attack those, and tovanquish all, are in truth his main duties. I, then, as it has fallen tomy lot to be a member of knight-errantry, cannot avoid attempting allthat to me seems to come within the sphere of my duties; thus it was mybounden duty to attack those lions that I just now attacked, although Iknew it to be the height of rashness; for I know well what valour is,that it is a virtue that occupies a place between two vicious extremes,cowardice and temerity; but it will be a lesser evil for him who isvaliant to rise till he reaches the point of rashness, than to sink untilhe reaches the point of cowardice; for, as it is easier for the prodigalthan for the miser to become generous, so it is easier for a rash man toprove truly valiant than for a coward to rise to true valour; and believeme, Senor Don Diego, in attempting adventures it is better to lose by acard too many than by a card too few; for to hear it said, 'such a knightis rash and daring,' sounds better than 'such a knight is timid andcowardly.'""I protest, Senor Don Quixote," said Don Diego, "everything you have saidand done is proved correct by the test of reason itself; and I believe,if the laws and ordinances of knight-errantry should be lost, they mightbe found in your worship's breast as in their own proper depository andmuniment-house; but let us make haste, and reach my village, where youshall take rest after your late exertions; for if they have not been ofthe body they have been of the spirit, and these sometimes tend toproduce bodily fatigue.""I take the invitation as a great favour and honour, Senor Don Diego,"replied Don Quixote; and pressing forward at a better pace than before,at about two in the afternoon they reached the village and house of DonDiego, or, as Don Quixote called him, "The Knight of the Green Gaban."