The history of the valorous and vvitty-knight-errant, Don-Quixote, of the Mancha tr. out of the Spanish.

CHAP. XI.

Treating of the curious discourse made by Don-Quixote upon the Exercises of Armes and Letters.

Don-Quixote continuing his discourse, said, Seeing wee begin in the Student with Povertie and her parts, let us examine whether the Souldier bee Richer? Certainly wee shall finde, that no man can exceed the Souldier in Poverty it self: For hee is tyed to his wretch∣ed Pay which comes either late or never: Or else to his own shifts with notable danger of his life and conscience; And his nakednesse is oft times so much, as many times a leather Jerkin gashed, serves him at once for a shirt and ornament: And in the midest of Winter hee hath sundry times no other defence or help to resist the inclemencies of the aire in the midest of the open fields, then the breath of his mouth; which I verily believe doth against Nature come out cold, by reason it sallies from an emptie place; expect there till the night fall, that hee may repaire all these discommodities by the easinesse of his Bed, the which, if it bee not through his own default, shall never offend in narrownesse; for hee may measure out for it on the earth as many foot as hee pleaseth, and tumble him∣self up and down it without indangering the wrinkling of his sheets. Let after all this the day and hour arrive, wherein hee is to receive the degree of his profession. Let, I say, a day of Battail arrive; for there they will set on his head the Cap of his dignitie, made of lints to cure the wound of some bullet that hath past thorow and thorow his Temples, or hath maimed an arme or a leg. And when this doth not befall, but that Heaven doth piously keep and preserve him whole and sound, hee shall perhaps abide still in the same povertie wherein hee was at the first; and that it bee requisite that one and another Battail do succeed, and he come off ever a Victor, to the end that he may prosper and bee at the last advanced. But such miracles are but few times wrought; and say, good Sirs, if you have noted it, how few are those which the Warres reward, in respect of the others that it hath destroyed? You must answer without question, that there can bee no comparison made between them, nor can the dead bee reduced to any number; but all the living, and such as are advanced, may bee counted easily with three Arithmeticall figures; all which falls out contrary in Learned men, for all of them have wherewithall to entertain and maintain themselves by skirts; I will say nothing of sleeves: So that although the Souldiers labour is greater, yet is his reward much lesse. But to this may bee answered, That it is easier to reward two hundred thousand Learned men, then thirty thousand Souldiers; for they may bee advanced by giving unto them Offices, which must of necessity bee bestowed on men of their pro∣fession: But Souldiers cannot bee recompenced otherwise then by the Lords substance and wealth whom they serve: and yet this objection and impossibilitie doth fortifie much more my assertion.

But leaving this apart which is a Labyrinth of very difficult issue, let us return to the preeminencie of Armes over Learning, which is a matter hitherto depending; so many are the reasons that every one alleageth for himself: and among those which I my self have repeated, then Learning doth argue thus for it self, That Armes without it cannot bee long maintained, for as much as the Warre hath also Laws, and is subject to them, and that the Laws are contained under the Title of Learning, and belong to Learned men.

To this objection Armes doe make answere; That the Lawes cannot bee sustained without them, for Commonwealths are defended by Armes, and Kingdomes preser∣ved, Cities fenced, High-waies made safe, the Seas freed from Pyrats; and to bee briefe, if it were not for them, Commonwealths, Kingdomes, Monarchies, Cities, and wayes by Sea and Land, would bee subject to the rigour and confusion which attendeth on the warre all the time that it endureth, and is licensed to practise his Prerogatives and violence; and it is a known truth, That it which cost most, is or ought to bee most accounted of; that one may become eminent in Learning, it costs him time, watchings, hunger, nakednesse, head-aches, rewnesse of Stomack, and other such inconveniences, as I have partly mentioned already: But that one may arive by true termes to bee a good Souldier, it costs him all that it costs the Student, in so exceeding a degree, as admits no comparison, for hee is at every step in jeapordie to lose his life. And what feare of necessitie or povertie may befall or molest a Student so fiercely as it doth a Souldier, who seeing himselfe at the s••ege of some impregnable place, and standing Cen∣tinel in some Raveline or half Moone, feeles the enemies undermining neere to the place where he is, and yet dares not to depart or abandon his stand, upon any occasion whatsoever, or shun the danger which so neerly threatens him? but that which he onely may doe, is to advise his Captain of that which passeth, to the end hee may remedy it by some countermine, whilest he must stand still fearing and expecting when he shall sud∣denly fly up to the clowds without wings, and after descend to the depths against his will•• and if this appeare to be but a small danger, let us weigh whether the grapling of two Gallies, the one with the other in the midst of the spacious Maine, may be com∣pared, or doe surpasse it, the which nailed and grapled fast the one to the other, the Souldier hath no more room in them, then two footbroad of a planke on the battellings and notwithstanding, although he clearly see laid before him so many ministers of death, for all the Peaces of Artillery that are planted on the adverse side, doe threaten him, and are not distant from his body the length of a Lance; and seeing that if he slipt ever so little aside, he should fall into the deepes; doth yet neverthelesse with undaunted heart, borne away on the wings of honour, which spurreth him onward, oppose himself as a worke to all their shot, and strives to passe by that so narrow a way into the enemies vessell: And what is most to bee admired, is to behold how scarce is one falne into that place; from whence hee shall never after arise untill the worlds end, when an∣other takes possession of the same place: and if hee doe likewise tumble into the Sea, which gapes like an enemy for him also, another and another will succeed unto him, without giving any respite to the times of their death, valour, and boldnesse, which is the greatest that may bee found among all the trances of war-fare. Those blessed ages were fortunate, which wanted the dreadfull furie of the devillish and murdering Peeces of Ordnance, to whose inventor I am verily perswaded that they render in hell an eternal guerdon for his Diabolicall invention; by which hee hath given power to an infamous, base, vile and dastardly arme, to bereave the most valorous Knight of life; and that without knowing how or from whence, in the midst of the stomack and courage that inflames and animates valorous mindes, there arives a wandring bullet (shot off per∣haps by him that was afraid, and fled at the very blaze of the powder, as he discharged the accursed Engine) and cuts off and finisheth in a moment the thoughts and life of him who merited to enjoy it many ages,

And whilest I consider this, I am about to say, That it grieves mee to have ever under∣taken the exercise of a Knight Errant in this our detestable age; for although no danger can affright mee, yet notwithstanding I live in jealousie, to thinke how powder and

Lead might deprive mee of the Power to make my self famous and renowned by the strength of mine Arme and the edge of my Sword throughout the face of the Earth, But let Heaven dispose as it pleaseth; for so much the more shall I bee esteemed, if I can compasse my pretentions, by how much the dangers were greater to which I opposed my self, then those a••chieved in foregoing times by Knights Adven∣turous.

Don-Quixote made all this prolixe Speech whilest the rest of his Companie did eate, wholly forgetting to taste one bit, although Sancho Panca did now and then put him in remembrance of his Victuales, saying, That hee should have leisure enough after to speak as much as he could desire. In those that heard was again renewed a kind of com∣passion, to see a man of so good a wit as hee seemed to bee, and of so good discourse in all the other matters which hee took in hand, to remain so cleerly devoid of it, when any occasion of speech were offered, treating of his accursed Chivalrie. The Curate applauded his discourse, affirming that hee produced very good reasons for all that hee had spoken in the favour of Armes; and that hee himself (although hee was learned and Graduated) was likewise of his opinion.

The Beaver being ended, and the Table-clothes taken away, whilest Maritornes did help her Mistris••e and her Daughter to make ready the Room where Don-Quixote had slept, for the Gentlewomen, wherein they alone might retire themselves that night. Don Fernando intreated the Captive to recount unto them the History of his life, for as much as hee suspected that it must have been rare and delightfull, as he gathered by the tokens hee gave, by coming into the lovely Zoraida's company. To which the Captive re∣plyed, That hee would accomplish his desire with a very good will, and that only hee feared that the discourse would not prove so savory as they expected: But yet for all that hee would tell it, because hee would not disobey him. The Curate and all the rest thanked him for his promise, and turned to request him again to beginne his discourse: and hee perceiving so many to sollicite him, said, That prayers were not requisite when commandements were of force: and therefore I desire you, quoth hee, to bee atten∣tive, and you shall hear a true discourse, to which perhaps no feigned invention may bee compared for variety or delight. The rest animated by these his words did ac∣commodate themselves with very great silence, and hee beholding their silence and expectation of his Historie, with a modest and pleasing voyce, began in this manner.