Don Quixote — Chapter 22 in Spanish
By Miguel de Cervantes
Cuenta Cide Hamete Benengeli, autor arábigo y manchego, en esta gravísima, altisonante, mínima, dulce e imaginada historia que, después que entre el famoso don Quijote de la Mancha y Sancho Panza, su escudero, pasaron aquellas razones que en el fin del capítulo veinte y uno quedan referidas, que don Quijote alzó los ojos y vio que por el camino que llevaba venían hasta doce hombres a pie, ensartados, como cuentas, en una gran cadena de hierro por los cuellos, y todos con esposas a las manos. Cide Hamete Benengeli, the Arab and Manchegan author, relates in this most grave, high-sounding, minute, delightful, and original history that after the discussion between the famous Don Quixote of La Mancha and his squire Sancho Panza which is set down at the end of chapter twenty-one, Don Quixote raised his eyes and saw coming along the road he was following some dozen men on foot strung together by the neck, like beads, on a great iron chain, and all with manacles on their hands. Venían ansimismo con ellos dos hombres de a caballo y dos de a pie; los de a caballo, con escopetas de rueda, y los de a pie, con dardos y espadas; y que así como Sancho Panza los vido, dijo: With them there came also two men on horseback and two on foot; those on horseback with wheel-lock muskets, those on foot with javelins and swords, and as soon as Sancho saw them he said:
— Ésta es cadena de galeotes, gente forzada del rey, que va a las galeras. "That is a chain of galley slaves, on the way to the galleys by force of the king's orders."
¿Cómo de por fuerza? "How by force?" —preguntó don Quijote—. asked Don Quixote; "is it possible that the king uses force against anyone?"
— No digo eso —respondió Sancho—, sino que es gente que, por sus delitos, va condenada a servir al rey en las galeras de por fuerza. "I do not say that," answered Sancho, "but that these are people condemned for their crimes to serve by force in the king's galleys."