PART II - CHAPTER XXVII.

by Miguel de Cervantes

　　WHEREIN IT IS SHOWN WHO MASTER PEDRO AND HIS APE WERE, TOGETHER WITH THEMISHAP DON QUIXOTE HAD IN THE BRAYING ADVENTURE, WHICH HE DID NOTCONCLUDE AS HE WOULD HAVE LIKED OR AS HE HAD EXPECTEDCide Hamete, the chronicler of this great history, begins this chapterwith these words, "I swear as a Catholic Christian;" with regard to whichhis translator says that Cide Hamete's swearing as a Catholic Christian,he being--as no doubt he was--a Moor, only meant that, just as a CatholicChristian taking an oath swears, or ought to swear, what is true, andtell the truth in what he avers, so he was telling the truth, as much asif he swore as a Catholic Christian, in all he chose to write aboutQuixote, especially in declaring who Master Pedro was and what was thedivining ape that astonished all the villages with his divinations. Hesays, then, that he who has read the First Part of this history willremember well enough the Gines de Pasamonte whom, with other galleyslaves, Don Quixote set free in the Sierra Morena: a kindness for whichhe afterwards got poor thanks and worse payment from that evil-minded,ill-conditioned set. This Gines de Pasamonte--Don Ginesillo de Parapilla,Don Quixote called him--it was that stole Dapple from Sancho Panza;which, because by the fault of the printers neither the how nor the whenwas stated in the First Part, has been a puzzle to a good many people,who attribute to the bad memory of the author what was the error of thepress. In fact, however, Gines stole him while Sancho Panza was asleep onhis back, adopting the plan and device that Brunello had recourse to whenhe stole Sacripante's horse from between his legs at the siege ofAlbracca; and, as has been told, Sancho afterwards recovered him. ThisGines, then, afraid of being caught by the officers of justice, who werelooking for him to punish him for his numberless rascalities and offences(which were so many and so great that he himself wrote a big book givingan account of them), resolved to shift his quarters into the kingdom ofAragon, and cover up his left eye, and take up the trade of apuppet-showman; for this, as well as juggling, he knew how to practise toperfection. From some released Christians returning from Barbary, it sohappened, he bought the ape, which he taught to mount upon his shoulderon his making a certain sign, and to whisper, or seem to do so, in hisear. Thus prepared, before entering any village whither he was bound withhis show and his ape, he used to inform himself at the nearest village,or from the most likely person he could find, as to what particularthings had happened there, and to whom; and bearing them well in mind,the first thing he did was to exhibit his show, sometimes one story,sometimes another, but all lively, amusing, and familiar. As soon as theexhibition was over he brought forward the accomplishments of his ape,assuring the public that he divined all the past and the present, but asto the future he had no skill. For each question answered he asked tworeals, and for some he made a reduction, just as he happened to feel thepulse of the questioners; and when now and then he came to houses wherethings that he knew of had happened to the people living there, even ifthey did not ask him a question, not caring to pay for it, he would makethe sign to the ape and then declare that it had said so and so, whichfitted the case exactly. In this way he acquired a prodigious name andall ran after him; on other occasions, being very crafty, he would answerin such a way that the answers suited the questions; and as no onecross-questioned him or pressed him to tell how his ape divined, he madefools of them all and filled his pouch. The instant he entered the inn heknew Don Quixote and Sancho, and with that knowledge it was easy for himto astonish them and all who were there; but it would have cost him dearhad Don Quixote brought down his hand a little lower when he cut off KingMarsilio's head and destroyed all his horsemen, as related in thepreceeding chapter.So much for Master Pedro and his ape; and now to return to Don Quixote ofLa Mancha. After he had left the inn he determined to visit, first ofall, the banks of the Ebro and that neighbourhood, before entering thecity of Saragossa, for the ample time there was still to spare before thejousts left him enough for all. With this object in view he followed theroad and travelled along it for two days, without meeting any adventureworth committing to writing until on the third day, as he was ascending ahill, he heard a great noise of drums, trumpets, and musket-shots. Atfirst he imagined some regiment of soldiers was passing that way, and tosee them he spurred Rocinante and mounted the hill. On reaching the tophe saw at the foot of it over two hundred men, as it seemed to him, armedwith weapons of various sorts, lances, crossbows, partisans, halberds,and pikes, and a few muskets and a great many bucklers. He descended theslope and approached the band near enough to see distinctly the flags,make out the colours and distinguish the devices they bore, especiallyone on a standard or ensign of white satin, on which there was painted ina very life-like style an ass like a little sard, with its head up, itsmouth open and its tongue out, as if it were in the act and attitude ofbraying; and round it were inscribed in large characters these two lines--They did not bray in vain,

　　Our alcaldes twain.From this device Don Quixote concluded that these people must be from thebraying town, and he said so to Sancho, explaining to him what waswritten on the standard. At the same time he observed that the man whohad told them about the matter was wrong in saying that the two whobrayed were regidors, for according to the lines of the standard theywere alcaldes. To which Sancho replied, "Senor, there's nothing to stickat in that, for maybe the regidors who brayed then came to be alcaldes oftheir town afterwards, and so they may go by both titles; moreover, ithas nothing to do with the truth of the story whether the brayers werealcaldes or regidors, provided at any rate they did bray; for an alcaldeis just as likely to bray as a regidor." They perceived, in short,clearly that the town which had been twitted had turned out to do battlewith some other that had jeered it more than was fair or neighbourly.Don Quixote proceeded to join them, not a little to Sancho's uneasiness,for he never relished mixing himself up in expeditions of that sort. Themembers of the troop received him into the midst of them, taking him tobe some one who was on their side. Don Quixote, putting up his visor,advanced with an easy bearing and demeanour to the standard with the ass,and all the chief men of the army gathered round him to look at him,staring at him with the usual amazement that everybody felt on seeing himfor the first time. Don Quixote, seeing them examining him soattentively, and that none of them spoke to him or put any question tohim, determined to take advantage of their silence; so, breaking his own,he lifted up his voice and said, "Worthy sirs, I entreat you as earnestlyas I can not to interrupt an argument I wish to address to you, until youfind it displeases or wearies you; and if that come to pass, on theslightest hint you give me I will put a seal upon my lips and a gag uponmy tongue."They all bade him say what he liked, for they would listen to himwillingly.With this permission Don Quixote went on to say, "I, sirs, am aknight-errant whose calling is that of arms, and whose profession is toprotect those who require protection, and give help to such as stand inneed of it. Some days ago I became acquainted with your misfortune andthe cause which impels you to take up arms again and again to revengeyourselves upon your enemies; and having many times thought over yourbusiness in my mind, I find that, according to the laws of combat, youare mistaken in holding yourselves insulted; for a private individualcannot insult an entire community; unless it be by defying itcollectively as a traitor, because he cannot tell who in particular isguilty of the treason for which he defies it. Of this we have an examplein Don Diego Ordonez de Lara, who defied the whole town of Zamora,because he did not know that Vellido Dolfos alone had committed thetreachery of slaying his king; and therefore he defied them all, and thevengeance and the reply concerned all; though, to be sure, Senor DonDiego went rather too far, indeed very much beyond the limits of adefiance; for he had no occasion to defy the dead, or the waters, or thefishes, or those yet unborn, and all the rest of it as set forth; but letthat pass, for when anger breaks out there's no father, governor, orbridle to check the tongue. The case being, then, that no one person caninsult a kingdom, province, city, state, or entire community, it is clearthere is no reason for going out to avenge the defiance of such aninsult, inasmuch as it is not one. A fine thing it would be if the peopleof the clock town were to be at loggerheads every moment with everyonewho called them by that name,--or the Cazoleros, Berengeneros,Ballenatos, Jaboneros, or the bearers of all the other names and titlesthat are always in the mouth of the boys and common people! It would be anice business indeed if all these illustrious cities were to take huffand revenge themselves and go about perpetually making trombones of theirswords in every petty quarrel! No, no; God forbid! There are four thingsfor which sensible men and well-ordered States ought to take up arms,draw their swords, and risk their persons, lives, and properties. Thefirst is to defend the Catholic faith; the second, to defend one's life,which is in accordance with natural and divine law; the third, in defenceof one's honour, family, and property; the fourth, in the service ofone's king in a just war; and if to these we choose to add a fifth (whichmay be included in the second), in defence of one's country. To thesefive, as it were capital causes, there may be added some others that maybe just and reasonable, and make it a duty to take up arms; but to takethem up for trifles and things to laugh at and he amused by rather thanoffended, looks as though he who did so was altogether wanting in commonsense. Moreover, to take an unjust revenge (and there cannot be any justone) is directly opposed to the sacred law that we acknowledge, whereinwe are commanded to do good to our enemies and to love them that hate us;a command which, though it seems somewhat difficult to obey, is only soto those who have in them less of God than of the world, and more of theflesh than of the spirit; for Jesus Christ, God and true man, who neverlied, and could not and cannot lie, said, as our law-giver, that his yokewas easy and his burden light; he would not, therefore, have laid anycommand upon us that it was impossible to obey. Thus, sirs, you are boundto keep quiet by human and divine law.""The devil take me," said Sancho to himself at this, "but this master ofmine is a tologian; or, if not, faith, he's as like one as one egg islike another."Don Quixote stopped to take breath, and, observing that silence was stillpreserved, had a mind to continue his discourse, and would have done sohad not Sancho interposed with his smartness; for he, seeing his masterpause, took the lead, saying, "My lord Don Quixote of La Mancha, who oncewas called the Knight of the Rueful Countenance, but now is called theKnight of the Lions, is a gentleman of great discretion who knows Latinand his mother tongue like a bachelor, and in everything that he dealswith or advises proceeds like a good soldier, and has all the laws andordinances of what they call combat at his fingers' ends; so you havenothing to do but to let yourselves be guided by what he says, and on myhead be it if it is wrong. Besides which, you have been told that it isfolly to take offence at merely hearing a bray. I remember when I was aboy I brayed as often as I had a fancy, without anyone hindering me, andso elegantly and naturally that when I brayed all the asses in the townwould bray; but I was none the less for that the son of my parents whowere greatly respected; and though I was envied because of the gift bymore than one of the high and mighty ones of the town, I did not care twofarthings for it; and that you may see I am telling the truth, wait a bitand listen, for this art, like swimming, once learnt is never forgotten;"and then, taking hold of his nose, he began to bray so vigorously thatall the valleys around rang again.One of those, however, that stood near him, fancying he was mocking them,lifted up a long staff he had in his hand and smote him such a blow withit that Sancho dropped helpless to the ground. Don Quixote, seeing him soroughly handled, attacked the man who had struck him lance in hand, butso many thrust themselves between them that he could not avenge him. Farfrom it, finding a shower of stones rained upon him, and crossbows andmuskets unnumbered levelled at him, he wheeled Rocinante round and, asfast as his best gallop could take him, fled from the midst of them,commending himself to God with all his heart to deliver him out of thisperil, in dread every step of some ball coming in at his back and comingout at his breast, and every minute drawing his breath to see whether ithad gone from him. The members of the band, however, were satisfied withseeing him take to flight, and did not fire on him. They put up Sancho,scarcely restored to his senses, on his ass, and let him go after hismaster; not that he was sufficiently in his wits to guide the beast, butDapple followed the footsteps of Rocinante, from whom he could not remaina moment separated. Don Quixote having got some way off looked back, andseeing Sancho coming, waited for him, as he perceived that no onefollowed him. The men of the troop stood their ground till night, and asthe enemy did not come out to battle, they returned to their townexulting; and had they been aware of the ancient custom of the Greeks,they would have erected a trophy on the spot.