Hearing this, Sancho said to him, "Your worship should bear in mind,Senor Don Quixote, that if the knight has done what was commandedhim in going to present himself before my lady Dulcinea del Toboso, hewill have done all that he was bound to do, and does not deservefurther punishment unless he commits some new offence."
"Thou hast said well and hit the point," answered Don Quixote; andso I recall the oath in so far as relates to taking fresh vengeance onhim, but I make and confirm it anew to lead the life I have said untilsuch time as I take by force from some knight another helmet such asthis and as good; and think not, Sancho, that I am raising smokewith straw in doing so, for I have one to imitate in the matter, sincethe very same thing to a hair happened in the case of Mambrino'shelmet, which cost Sacripante so dear."
"Senor," replied Sancho, "let your worship send all such oaths tothe devil, for they are very pernicious to salvation and prejudicialto the conscience; just tell me now, if for several days to come wefall in with no man armed with a helmet, what are we to do? Is theoath to be observed in spite of all the inconvenience and discomfortit will be to sleep in your clothes, and not to sleep in a house,and a thousand other mortifications contained in the oath of thatold fool the Marquis of Mantua, which your worship is now wanting torevive? Let your worship observe that there are no men in armourtravelling on any of these roads, nothing but carriers and carters,who not only do not wear helmets, but perhaps never heard tell of themall their lives."
"Thou art wrong there," said Don Quixote, "for we shall not havebeen above two hours among these cross-roads before we see more men inarmour than came to Albraca to win the fair Angelica."
"Enough," said Sancho; "so be it then, and God grant us success, andthat the time for winning that island which is costing me so dearmay soon come, and then let me die."
"I have already told thee, Sancho," said Don Quixote, "not to givethyself any uneasiness on that score; for if an island should fail,there is the kingdom of Denmark, or of Sobradisa, which will fitthee as a ring fits the finger, and all the more that, being onterra firma, thou wilt all the better enjoy thyself. But let usleave that to its own time; see if thou hast anything for us to eat inthose alforjas, because we must presently go in quest of some castlewhere we may lodge to-night and make the balsam I told thee of, forI swear to thee by God, this ear is giving me great pain."
"I have here an onion and a little cheese and a few scraps ofbread," said Sancho, "but they are not victuals fit for a valiantknight like your worship."
"How little thou knowest about it," answered Don Quixote; "I wouldhave thee to know, Sancho, that it is the glory of knights-errant togo without eating for a month, and even when they do eat, that itshould be of what comes first to hand; and this would have beenclear to thee hadst thou read as many histories as I have, for, thoughthey are very many, among them all I have found no mention made ofknights-errant eating, unless by accident or at some sumptuousbanquets prepared for them, and the rest of the time they passed indalliance. And though it is plain they could not do without eating andperforming all the other natural functions, because, in fact, theywere men like ourselves, it is plain too that, wandering as they didthe most part of their lives through woods and wilds and without acook, their most usual fare would be rustic viands such as thosethou now offer me; so that, friend Sancho, let not that distressthee which pleases me, and do not seek to make a new world orpervert knight-errantry."
"Pardon me, your worship," said Sancho, "for, as I cannot read orwrite, as I said just now, I neither know nor comprehend the rulesof the profession of chivalry: henceforward I will stock thealforjas with every kind of dry fruit for your worship, as you are aknight; and for myself, as I am not one, I will furnish them withpoultry and other things more substantial."
"I do not say, Sancho," replied Don Quixote, "that it isimperative on knights-errant not to eat anything else but the fruitsthou speakest of; only that their more usual diet must be those, andcertain herbs they found in the fields which they knew and I knowtoo."
"A good thing it is," answered Sancho, "to know those herbs, forto my thinking it will be needful some day to put that knowledgeinto practice."
And here taking out what he said he had brought, the pair made theirrepast peaceably and sociably. But anxious to find quarters for thenight, they with all despatch made an end of their poor dry fare,mounted at once, and made haste to reach some habitation beforenight set in; but daylight and the hope of succeeding in theirobject failed them close by the huts of some goatherds, so theydetermined to pass the night there, and it was as much to Sancho'sdiscontent not to have reached a house, as it was to his master'ssatisfaction to sleep under the open heaven, for he fancied thateach time this happened to him he performed an act of ownership thathelped to prove his chivalry.
CHAPTER XI
OF WHAT BEFELL DON QUIXOTE WITH CERTAIN GOATHERDS
HE WAS cordially welcomed by the goatherds, and Sancho, having asbest he could put up Rocinante and the ass, drew towards the fragrancethat came from some pieces of salted goat simmering in a pot on thefire; and though he would have liked at once to try if they were readyto be transferred from the pot to the stomach, he refrained from doingso as the goatherds removed them from the fire, and layingsheepskins on the ground, quickly spread their rude table, and withsigns of hearty good-will invited them both to share what they had.Round the skins six of the men belonging to the fold seatedthemselves, having first with rough politeness pressed Don Quixoteto take a seat upon a trough which they placed for him upside down.Don Quixote seated himself, and Sancho remained standing to servethe cup, which was made of horn. Seeing him standing, his mastersaid to him:
"That thou mayest see, Sancho, the good that knight-errantrycontains in itself, and how those who fill any office in it are on thehigh road to be speedily honoured and esteemed by the world, Idesire that thou seat thyself here at my side and in the company ofthese worthy people, and that thou be one with me who am thy masterand natural lord, and that thou eat from my plate and drink fromwhatever I drink from; for the same may be said of knight-errantryas of love, that it levels all."
"Great thanks," said Sancho, "but I may tell your worship thatprovided I have enough to eat, I can eat it as well, or better,standing, and by myself, than seated alongside of an emperor. Andindeed, if the truth is to be told, what I eat in my corner withoutform or fuss has much more relish for me, even though it be breadand onions, than the turkeys of those other tables where I am forcedto chew slowly, drink little, wipe my mouth every minute, and cannotsneeze or cough if I want or do other things that are the privilegesof liberty and solitude. So, senor, as for these honours which yourworship would put upon me as a servant and follower ofknight-errantry, exchange them for other things which may be of moreuse and advantage to me; for these, though I fully acknowledge them asreceived, I renounce from this moment to the end of the world."
"For all that," said Don Quixote, "thou must seat thyself, becausehim who humbleth himself God exalteth;" and seizing him by the armhe forced him to sit down beside himself.
The goatherds did not understand this jargon about squires andknights-errant, and all they did was to eat in silence and stare attheir guests, who with great elegance and appetite were stowing awaypieces as big as one's fist. The course of meat finished, theyspread upon the sheepskins a great heap of parched acorns, and withthem they put down a half cheese harder than if it had been made ofmortar. All this while the horn was not idle, for it went round soconstantly, now full, now empty, like the bucket of a water-wheel,that it soon drained one of the two wine-skins that were in sight.When Don Quixote had quite appeased his appetite he took up ahandful of the acorns, and contemplating them attentively deliveredhimself somewhat in this fashion:
"Happy the age, happy the time, to which the ancients gave thename of golden, not because in that fortunate age the gold socoveted in this our iron one was gained without toil, but because theythat lived in it knew not the two words "mine" and "thine"! In thatblessed age all things were in common; to win the daily food no labourwas required of any save to stretch forth his hand and gather itfrom the sturdy oaks that stood generously inviting him with theirsweet ripe fruit. The clear streams and running brooks yielded theirsavoury limpid waters in noble abundance. The busy and sagaciousbees fixed their republic in the clefts of the rocks and hollows ofthe trees, offering without usance the plenteous produce of theirfragrant toil to every hand. The mighty cork trees, unenforced save oftheir own courtesy, shed the broad light bark that served at firstto roof the houses supported by rude stakes, a protection againstthe inclemency of heaven alone. Then all was peace, all friendship,all concord; as yet the dull share of the crooked plough had not daredto rend and pierce the tender bowels of our first mother thatwithout compulsion yielded from every portion of her broad fertilebosom all that could satisfy, sustain, and delight the children thatthen possessed her. Then was it that the innocent and fair youngshepherdess roamed from vale to vale and hill to hill, with flowinglocks, and no more garments than were needful modestly to cover whatmodesty seeks and ever sought to hide. Nor were their ornaments likethose in use to-day, set off by Tyrian purple, and silk tortured inendless fashions, but the wreathed leaves of the green dock and ivy,wherewith they went as bravely and becomingly decked as our Courtdames with all the rare and far-fetched artifices that idlecuriosity has taught them. Then the love-thoughts of the heart clothedthemselves simply and naturally as the heart conceived them, norsought to commend themselves by forced and rambling verbiage. Fraud,deceit, or malice had then not yet mingled with truth and sincerity.Justice held her ground, undisturbed and unassailed by the effortsof favour and of interest, that now so much impair, pervert, and besether. Arbitrary law had not yet established itself in the mind of thejudge, for then there was no cause to judge and no one to be judged.Maidens and modesty, as I have said, wandered at will alone andunattended, without fear of insult from lawlessness or libertineassault, and if they were undone it was of their own will andpleasure. But now in this hateful age of ours not one is safe, notthough some new labyrinth like that of Crete conceal and surround her;even there the pestilence of gallantry will make its way to themthrough chinks or on the air by the zeal of its accursedimportunity, and, despite of all seclusion, lead them to ruin. Indefence of these, as time advanced and wickedness increased, the orderof knights-errant was instituted, to defend maidens, to protect widowsand to succour the orphans and the needy. To this order I belong,brother goatherds, to whom I return thanks for the hospitality andkindly welcome ye offer me and my squire; for though by natural lawall living are bound to show favour to knights-errant, yet, seeingthat without knowing this obligation ye have welcomed and feastedme, it is right that with all the good-will in my power I should thankyou for yours."