speaking. By his fiendish arts he spread dismay among the inhabitants
of the neighbouring country, doing all sorts of mischief, and
threatening still greater harm. The knights ascertained that the said
enchanter dwelt in a palace which, being continually enveloped in a
hazy cloud, was invisible even to those who had the courage to seek to
discover it.[X] But it happened that a virtuous princess, deeply versed
in the occult sciences of foresight and foreknowledge, seeing the
mischief wrought by the enchanter, declared that within a certain lofty
mountain-peak there was hidden a sword possessing singular power, as
was denoted by the following lines inscribed on it:--
“_‘Whosoever shall draw forth this sword from the stone within which it
is hidden, will terminate these evils, and dispel these enchantments;
and will restore to freedom the prisoners now languishing in cruel
captivity. Finally, he will hurl to destruction the enchanter’s gloomy
castle, and he will, moreover, achieve many other good deeds which,
though not here declared, are, nevertheless, promised and predestined.’_
“The knights implored the emperor’s permission to undertake this
mighty adventure. The permission was accorded, and the knights passed
two whole days in performing, in the presence of the emperor and the
prince, certain crazy exploits similar to those we read of in books of
chivalry--those mischevous creations of idle imagination. Now, I leave
you to weigh and consider (with the sound judgment which must dwell
in the mind of a Señor Bachelor of Laws)[63] the fact that the said
knights actually performed these feats, or rather these fooleries, and
that they were approved by the emperor and the prince Don Philip, who
derived therefrom much entertainment. And will it be said that there
are not other madmen in the world besides the ingenious knight of La
Mancha, when such as these find favour in the eyes of emperors and
kings?[Y] But the fools so thickly scattered through this Christian
realm cannot endure that the reading of this said book _Don Quixote_
should have the effect of convincing the unlettered common people that
romances of chivalry are filled with improbabilities alike adverse
to reason and common sense. Therefore it is that they attack the
book with such determined fury and perversity, picking faults in
it, and seeking to prove that there are no persons in the world so
mad as to put faith in the reality of the stories related in books
of chivalry. But the courts of kings, to say nothing of more humble
places, are full of such madmen, for courts are the birthplaces of
madness of every kind. These people say and do all sorts of crazy
things: they enter upon insane enterprises to their own injury, and
there is no possibility of convincing them of their errors. And these,
forsooth, are the persons who find fault with the illustrious knight
_Don Quixote_, the mirror not only of all crazy La Manchians, but
of all crack-brained Spaniards; indeed, it may be said, that he is
the clear reflection of all madmen throughout the world. For these
reasons, instead of being depreciated, the work deserves to be prized
and esteemed by all right-judging persons, inasmuch as it is the
only one of all the many stories of chivalry that has been written
with an honest and useful purpose. After all, the delusions of _Don
Quixote_ are less absurd than many things related in those romances:
and from time immemorial there have been numberless lunatics in the
world who have not, in the general opinion, been accounted mad. The
laudable intention of the author was to banish the false order of
knight-errantry, by the highly-seasoned dish of diversion presented in
his true history.”
Just as I uttered these words, the bachelor’s unlucky nag, by a sudden
leap, snapped the reins by which he was fastened up; he had taken a
fancy to sport with the mule who, tied to the trunk of an old oak,
was quietly reposing on the grass. The mule, however, with becoming
dignity, evinced her dislike of such familiarity by several smart
kicks. One of them, aimed at the one eye of the poor horse which still
retained some little power of vision, rendered it as blind as the
other. In another instant a severe kick laid him prostrate on the
earth, to all appearance bringing to an end the miseries of the horse,
and the falls of his rider.
At this unexpected disaster, and naturally expecting that the poor
animal, which lay struggling and gasping, was about to draw his last
breath, the bachelor vented his grief in a torrent of lamentations, at
the same time bitterly reproaching himself for the little caution he
had observed in securing the safety of the precious jewel which he had
probably hired from the stables of Colmenares.[64] He began to curse
the hour when he had set out on his luckless journey.
I, to console him, said, “After all, Señor Bachelor, this misfortune
has happened not inopportunely. But a minute ago you were observing
that the book called _Don Quixote_ is full of absurd extravagances.
Now, a truce with your lamentations, and recall to your memory that
famous adventure of the Knight of La Mancha when he encountered the
most disastrous of all his misfortunes--I mean when he met with the
Yangueses on his departure from Chrysostom’s funeral, on which occasion
Rosinante had a narrow escape with his life.”
“_Lléveme el Diablo!_” exclaimed the bachelor in a rage. “Truly I wish
you and your _Don Quixote_ were a hundred leagues off. Since the moment
when I first set eyes on you, as many disasters have beset me as though
I were under the ban of excommunication.” So saying, he made an effort,
though a vain one, to raise up his horse, which was sorely hurt, and
now quite blind; at every tug of the reins he slowly thrust forward one
or the other of his feet, with languid movements indicative of expiring
life.
Seeing that the disaster was past all remedy, and that the sun, already
receding over the mountain-tops, was about to set in his ocean-bed,
I took a courteous leave of my luckless companion. But he, wholly
engrossed by his great, albeit useless, efforts to raise up his horse,
neither heard my farewell, nor saw my departure. There I left him,
venting imprecations and uttering complaints against his evil star.
I can even fancy that I hear him now. What afterwards became of him
I know not, nor did I inquire. Mounting my trusty mule, I forthwith
pursued my way to Toledo, and evening had set in when I entered the
city gates.
I rode straightway to the house of one of my friends, where I for a
time took up my abode. Turning over in my mind what had occurred, I
resolved to write this my adventure, hoping thereby to undeceive the
many persons who fancy they see in the ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote,
that which the ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote is not. Therefore I give
to this little book[65] the name of _Buscapié_, hoping that they who
seek to discover the foot with which the Knight of La Mancha limps,
may find (God be praised) that he is not lame with either; but that
he stands stoutly and firmly on both, and ready to enter into single
combat with the stupid and grumbling critics, who, like wasps, buzz
about to the injury of society.
And now, Friend Reader, if I have given you some entertainment, or if
any of the observations I have made be worthy your remembrance, I shall
be much gratified, and may God have you in his holy keeping.
FOOTNOTES:
[48] Babieca was the name of the Cid’s favourite horse.
[49] The old Spanish poets occasionally lengthened their sonnets by
affixing to them a few additional lines. The lines so added were called
the _estrambote_.
[50] In the time of Cervantes the Spanish doctors used always to ride
on mules when they went to visit their patients.
[51] The delusion of the student, in respect to the merits of his
horse, would seem intended to have some reference to the hallucinations
and mistakes of the Knight of La Mancha. It may be mentioned, that
minute descriptions of animals, such as that here given above, are of
frequent occurrence in the works of Spanish writers, especially the
poets. Lope de Vega, in one of his comedies, describes in detail a
fish caught in the net of a fisherman on the bank of the Guadalquivir.
Another beautiful specimen of this kind of animal painting is given by
Antonio Mira Amescua, in his _Acteon i Diana_: the subject is a pack of
hounds, weary with the chase. Villaviciosa, in his _Mosquea_, pourtrays
with eloquent poetic colouring the death of a fly; and there is a
celebrated description of a horse by Pablo de Céspedes.
[52] Cervantes here alludes to a little work entitled:--_Conserva
Espiritual_, by Joaquín Romero de Cepeda.
[53] Spiritual verses for the conversion of the Sinner, and for shewing
the worthlessness of the world.
[54] “Praised be God.”
[55] The ardite is a small Spanish coin, of about the value of a
farthing.
[56] Mingo Rebulgo is an old Spanish eclogue written to satirise the
court of King John II. Its supposed author is Rodrigo de Cota, who
flourished in the commencement of the fifteenth century. It is written
in couplets, and is entitled “_Las coplas de Mingo Rebulgo_.” The
romance of the Moor Calaynos is one of the oldest compositions of its
class, and is supposed to have been written in the fourteenth century.
It is also in _coplas_, or couplets. In the course of time, and when
the forms of Spanish poetry began to improve, the old fashioned
commonplace language of the romance of Calaynos began to appear vulgar
and trivial, it gave birth to the proverb, “_este no vale las coplas
de Calaynos_.” (This is not worth the couplets of Calaynos.) A saying
which is employed to mark great depreciation of any object. In alluding
to the little affinity between Mingo Rebulgo and Calaynos, Cervantes
means to draw a very broad contrast between two things not merely
dissimilar, but differing very much in worth.
[57] “The talk of the prattler is not all truth.”
[58] “The mill gains in going, that which it loses in standing still.”
[59] A sort of hunting-jacket made of leather, formerly worn in Spain.
[60] This excursive flight into the region of romance would appear to
have been interpolated by Cervantes after the Buscapié was written,--it
has no direct bearing on the question under discussion between the two
interlocutors.
[61] _Monstruo de Fortuna_ is a designation frequently applied by old
Spanish writers to the celebrated Antonio Pérez. The term _Monster_ in
the sense of _prodigy_ is applied to Lope de Vega by Cervantes, who
styles his celebrated contemporary _Monstruo de Naturaleza_ (Monster of
Nature).
[62] It was formerly the custom in Spain to use small pebble stones for
counters in playing at cards.
[63] This is a stroke of satire aimed at the Spanish lawyers of that
period. In the time of Cervantes, the _Abogados_ (advocates) were
remarkable only for their ignorance and pedantry.
[64] At the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth
century, there lived in Burgos a tavern-keeper named Colmenares,
celebrated alike for his wealth, his social humour, and his witty
sayings. Many of his jests are collected and published in a volume
entitled “_Diálogos de apacible entretenimiento, por Gaspar Lucas,
Hidalgo_.” The inn in Madrid known in the time of Cervantes by the
appellation of the _Mesón de Colmenares_, was probably kept by the
witty _tavernero_ of Burgos, or some of his relations.
[65] Cervantes here uses the term _librillo_, the Spanish diminutive
for _libro_ (book). Were it allowable to make an English word for the
purpose of translating this Spanish term, _booklet_ might be suggested
as an appropriate synonym.
NOTES.
(A).
“Which brought to my recollection the stanzas in praise of hunch-backs,
written by the ingenious Licentiate Tamuriz.” (Page 102).
Tamariz, who lived in the latter part of the sixteenth century,
is noticed in terms of encomium by Don Argote de Molina, in his
_Discourse on Castilian Poetry_, which he published with an edition
of the old poem of the _Conde Lucanor_. Don Adolfo de Castro mentions
having seen several works of Tamariz in manuscript, and among them
were several novels; but of the stanzas alluded to in the text, he
states he has no knowledge.
(B).
“Even if I were as well skilled in the knowledge of medicine as Juan de
Villalobos of the bygone time.” (Page 103).
The name of this celebrated physician was Francisco, and not Juan, as
Cervantes styles him, apparently by mistake. Villalobos was a native
of Toledo, and one of the most distinguished men of his age. He was a
learned and skilful physician, a profound philosopher, and an elegant
poet. He was physician to King Ferdinand the Catholic, and afterwards
to the Emperor Charles V., in whose palace he resided until the death
of the Empress Isabel, in the year 1539. The cause of the empress’s
death is, by some authorities, alleged to have been a malignant
fever, whilst others state that she died in childbirth. But, be
that as it may, the event was a source of deep grief to Villalobos,
who reproached himself for not having succeeded in saving her life.
Having become very dejected in spirits, he solicited and obtained the
emperor’s permission to remove from court.
In his retirement Villalobos employed himself in writing several
works on medical and philosophic subjects. He conceived that
the services he had rendered to the Imperial family, were but
inadequately requited, and on this subject he gave vent to his
dissatisfaction both in verse and prose. In one of his writings he
makes the following reflections in allusion to the neglect with
which he felt himself treated: “Having served the court till the
age of seventy, I may say that my period of service has extended to
my death; for my remaining span of existence can scarcely be called
life, being merely the endurance of the pains and miseries of old
age. I have studied and exerted my faculties, not to enable poor
labourers to wear old men’s shoes, but to secure the blessings of
health to the greatest and best princes in the world. And to this
object I directed all my thoughts and efforts, often passing anxious
nights without sleep, and many times only resting my poor bones on
the floor. Their Majesties though knowing these facts which they
witnessed with their own eyes, neither afforded me the opportunity
of making my fortune nor of securing a subsistence for my son, which
might easily have been done. This neglect must be attributed to one
or two causes, or to both those causes conjointly. Either I have not
merited the reward to which I imagine myself entitled, or those by
whose advice and information their Majesties were guided, forgot me,
remembering others more near to them but whom perchance I preceded
both in priority of service as well as of age.”
Villalobos was the author of some notes and commentaries on _Pliny’s
Natural History_, which were published, but many other works which he
wrote in Latin were never submitted to the press. In noticing these
works, he himself says:--“Spanish printers will not print Latin books
unless the author himself defrays the expense from his own pocket.
And as I am not a bookseller, I hold it to be a hardship to study
and labour in the production of the work, and then to spend my money
for the advantage of those who after all will shew me but little
gratitude.”
In addition to his learning and scientific attainments, Villalobos
was distinguished for his humorous and satirical disposition, a
quality which is conspicuous in his spirited translation of the
_Amphytrion_ of Plautus. Moratin observes, that no other translator
has so happily transferred to the Spanish language the jests and
humorous sallies of the great comic dramatist of antiquity.
(C).
“Or a Nicolao Monardes of the present time.” (Page 103).
Monardes was a native of Seville, and an eminent physician in the
time of Cervantes. He was the author of several works on medicine and
natural history which enjoy well deserved celebrity. The following
are the titles of a few of his most celebrated writings:--
“_Primera Segunda i tercera partes de la Historia Medicinal de las
cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales que serven en
Medicina._” (First, second, and third parts of the medical history of
those objects, the growth of our Western Indies, which are made use
of in medicine.)
“_Tratado de la piedra Bezoar, i de la yerba escuerzonera._”
(Treatise on bezoar stone, and on the poison of the toad.)
“_Diálogo de las grandezas del hierro, i de sus virtudes
medicinales._” (Treatise on the importance of iron and its medicinal
properties.)
“_Tratado de la nieve, i del beber frío._” (Treatise on snow and on
cold drinks.)
The _Historia Medicinal_, rendered Monardes celebrated throughout
Europe. It was translated into Italian by Anibal Briganti di Chieti,
an eminent physician of the time, and the translation was published
in Venice, in the year 1576. Carlo Clusio transferred it to the Latin
tongue, and published it at Antwerp, in 1574. An English translation
by Mr. Frampton, appeared in 1577, and a French one by Antonio
Collin, in 1619.
In the preface Monardes makes the following observations: “From
the new regions, new kingdoms, and new provinces, which Spaniards
have discovered, they have brought home with them new medicines and
new remedies for the cure of many diseases, which if neglected,
would prove incurable. These things, though some few persons are
acquainted with them, are not known to every one; for which reason I
propose to treat in this work of those substances, the products of
our Western Indies,[66] which are employed in medicine as remedies
against the diseases and infirmities to which the human frame is
liable. By this means I may render no small service and benefit to
my contemporaries, as well as to future generations, and my labours
will serve as a groundwork for those who may follow me, and who may
add their increased knowledge and experience to mine. This city of
Seville, being the port for vessels coming from the Western Indies,
the products of those regions are brought hither before they reach
other parts of Spain, so that we obtain here the earliest knowledge
and experience of them. In addition to my own experience in the use
of those articles in the forty years during which I have practised
medicine in this city, I have carefully collected information from
those who have brought them to Spain, and I have with great assiduity
and attention observed their effects on many and various individuals.”
Though the works whose titles are quoted, are the most celebrated
writings of Monardes, yet he is the author of many others on the
subject of Medicine. In the _Biblioteca Hispana_, the learned Nicolás
Antonio, gives a list of his writings.
In the Museum of Gonzalo Argote de Molina, at Seville, there is a
portrait of Monardes; and under a drawing of an Armadillo, in the
same collection, Monardes himself wrote some lines of which the
following is a translation:--“This drawing is from an animal in the
Museum of Gonzalo de Molina of this city; which museum contains a
great number of books on various subjects, together with many kinds
of animals, birds, &c., from Eastern and Western India and other
parts of the world: also a great quantity of coins, antique stones,
and different kinds of arms which have been collected together by
dint of much curious research and liberal expense.”
The Museum of Argote de Molina, at Seville, was one of the first
institutions of its kind in Europe, and at that time probably the
only one existing in Spain.
(D).
“Now, had it so happened that instead of going from Madrid to Toledo,
we had been journeying from Toledo to Madrid, I could have shewn you
two excellent books, which have been sent to me as a present from
Señor Arcediano. These books are so full of knowledge, and they treat
of so many things that are or may be in this world, &c. (Page 109).”
Don Adolpho de Castro supposes that allusion is here made to two
curious old books, respecting which he furnishes the following
bibliographical particulars:--
One of the first books printed in Spain was entitled _De
Proprietatibus Rerum_, originally written in Latin, by Father Vicente
de Burgos, and afterwards translated into Castilian by the author,
under the title of _Libro de las Propiedades de las Cosas_. It is
described as a “Natural History, which treats of the properties
of all things--a Catholic and very useful work, containing much
theological doctrine in reference to God; and much moral and natural
philosophy in reference to his creatures--accompanied by great
secrets relating to astrology, medicine, surgery, geometry, music and
cosmography, together with other sciences, the whole in twenty books,
as here subjoined:--
“I. Of God and his essence. II. Of the angels, good and bad. III. Of
the soul. IV. Of matter and element. V. Of man and the parts of the
human body. VI. Of ages. VII. Of diseases. VIII. Of heaven, earth,
and the planets. IX. Of time. X. Of substance and form. XI. Of the
air and its impressions. XII. Of birds. XIII. Of water. XIV. Of
the earth and mountains. XV. Of the divisions of the world. XVI.
Of stones and metals. XVII. Of trees, plants, and herbs. XVIII.
Of minerals. XIX. Of colours, smells and tastes. XX. Of numbers,
measures, weights, instruments and sounds.”
At the end of the work is the following note:--
“Printed in the noble city of Toulouse, by Henry Meyer of Germany,
for the honour of God, and of our Lord, and for the benefit of many
ignorant persons. Finished in the year of our Lord, one thousand four
hundred and forty-nine, and the nineteenth day of September.”
This curious Encyclopædia was reprinted some years afterwards. At the
end of this second edition are the following words:--
“Thus ends the Catholic and very useful book of the properties of
all things, translated from the Latin into the Romance (Castilian)
language, by the Reverend Father Vicente de Burgos, and now newly
edited and reprinted in the city of Toledo, by Gaspar de Ávila,
printer of books, at the cost and expense of the most noble Juan
Tomás Fabio Milanés, of Segovia. Finished on the tenth day of July,
in the year one thousand, five hundred and twenty.”
Hence there is no doubt that the _Libro de las Propiedades de las
Cosas_ was originally written in the Latin tongue, by Father Vicente
de Burgos, and after being translated into Castilian by the author,
it was a second time submitted to the press, with the view of
rendering it more accessible to the mass of readers.
The dates of the Latin edition, and of the first Castilian edition,
were unknown to Nicolás Antonio, who was also ignorant of the name of
the author of this work, to which, in the _Biblioteca Hispana_, he
affixes the word _Anonimus_.
Indeed, some of the most learned Spanish Bibliographers appear to
have known very little about it. It is mentioned by the celebrated
Ambrosio Morales, in his narrative of the journey he undertook in
the year 1572, by command of King Don Philip II.,[67] when speaking
of the MS. works he examined in the monastery of the Order of San
Geronimo de la Mejorada, near Olmeda, says:--“_De proprietatibus
rerum_ in Latin, and the same in Castilian; very ancient and rare
books.”
Father Vicente de Burgos concludes his work with the following
observations:--
“I here protest, as I affirmed at the beginning of this work, that
the facts mentioned and contained in it, are not inferred by me,
but that I have cited the sayings and opinions of learned saints
and philosophers, who are allowed to have been profoundly versed in
the subjects of which they treat. I have done this, to the end that
persons who, by reason of their indigence, cannot obtain sight of
many books, may be made acquainted with the properties of things
mentioned in Holy Writ, by having them all brought together in this
one book.”
Don Tomás Fabio Milanés, at whose cost the _Libro de las propiedades
de las cosas_ was printed in 1529, in his dedication to Don Diego de
Ribera, Bishop of Segovia, says:--
“No little honour is due to the author by whom this book was
compiled, for though it does not contain much new information
proceeding from himself; yet he has, on every subject, given the best
intelligence supplied by ancient authors, and he has served up the
whole so free from errors and prejudiced opinions, that it is at once
savory to the taste, and wholesome to the understanding.”