Don Quixote — Chapter 39 in Spanish
By Miguel de Cervantes
— «En un lugar de las Montañas de León tuvo principio mi linaje, con quien fue más agradecida y liberal la naturaleza que la fortuna, aunque, en la estrecheza de aquellos pueblos, todavía alcanzaba mi padre fama de rico, y verdaderamente lo fuera si así se diera maña a conservar su hacienda como se la daba en gastalla. My family had its origin in a village in the mountains of Leon, and nature had been kinder and more generous to it than fortune; though in the general poverty of those communities my father passed for being even a rich man; and he would have been so in reality had he been as clever in preserving his property as he was in spending it. Y la condición que tenía de ser liberal y gastador le procedió de haber sido soldado los años de su joventud, que es escuela la soldadesca donde el mezquino se hace franco, y el franco, pródigo; y si algunos soldados se hallan miserables, son como monstruos, que se ven raras veces. This tendency of his to be liberal and profuse he had acquired from having been a soldier in his youth, for the soldier's life is a school in which the niggard becomes free-handed and the free-handed prodigal; and if any soldiers are to be found who are misers, they are monsters of rare occurrence. Pasaba mi padre los términos de la liberalidad, y rayaba en los de ser pródigo: cosa que no le es de ningún provecho al hombre casado, y que tiene hijos que le han de suceder en el nombre y en el ser. My father went beyond liberality and bordered on prodigality, a disposition by no means advantageous to a married man who has children to succeed to his name and position. Los que mi padre tenía eran tres, todos varones y todos de edad de poder elegir estado. My father had three, all sons, and all of sufficient age to make choice of a profession. Viendo, pues, mi padre que, según él decía, no podía irse a la mano contra su condición, quiso privarse del instrumento y causa que le hacía gastador y dadivoso, que fue privarse de la hacienda, sin la cual el mismo Alejandro pareciera estrecho. Finding, then, that he was unable to resist his propensity, he resolved to divest himself of the instrument and cause of his prodigality and lavishness, to divest himself of wealth, without which Alexander himself would have seemed parsimonious; and so calling us all three aside one day into a room, he addressed us in words somewhat to the following effect:
»Y así, llamándonos un día a todos tres a solas en un aposento, nos dijo unas razones semejantes a las que ahora diré: ''Hijos, para deciros que os quiero bien, basta saber y decir que sois mis hijos; y, para entender que os quiero mal, basta saber que no me voy a la mano en lo que toca a conservar vuestra hacienda. "My sons, to assure you that I love you, no more need be known or said than that you are my sons; and to encourage a suspicion that I do not love you, no more is needed than the knowledge that I have no self-control as far as preservation of your patrimony is concerned; therefore, that you may for the future feel sure that I love you like a father, and have no wish to ruin you like a stepfather, I propose to do with you what I have for some time back meditated, and after mature deliberation decided upon. Y lo que he pensado es hacer de mi hacienda cuatro partes: las tres os daré a vosotros, a cada uno lo que le tocare, sin exceder en cosa alguna, y con la otra me quedaré yo para vivir y sustentarme los días que el cielo fuere servido de darme de vida. You are now of an age to choose your line of life or at least make choice of a calling that will bring you honour and profit when you are older; and what I have resolved to do is to divide my property into four parts; three I will give to you, to each his portion without making any difference, and the other I will retain to live upon and support myself for whatever remainder of life Heaven may be pleased to grant me. Pero querría que, después que cada uno tuviese en su poder la parte que le toca de su hacienda, siguiese uno de los caminos que le diré. But I wish each of you on taking possession of the share that falls to him to follow one of the paths I shall indicate. En esta España nuestra hay un refrán, que a mi parecer es muy verdadero, como todos lo son, por ser sentencias breves, sacadas de la larga experiencia; y el que yo ahora refiero dice: 'La Iglesia, o la Mar, o la Casa Real;' que es lo mismo que decir, por más llana lengua, que quien quiere medrar y hacerse rico, siga la Iglesia, o navegue en la carrera del comercio, o se acomode al servicio de reyes en sus casas; que dicen: 'Más vale migaja de rey que merced de señor.' In this Spain of ours there is a proverb, to my mind very true--as they all are, being short aphorisms drawn from long practical experience--and the one I refer to says, 'The church, or the sea, or the king's house;' as much as to say, in plainer language, whoever wants to flourish and become rich, let him follow the church, or go to sea, adopting commerce as his calling, or go into the king's service in his household, for they say, 'Better a king's crumb than a lord's favour.' Digo esto porque querría, y es mi voluntad, que uno de vosotros siguiese las letras, el otro la mercancía, y el otro sirviese al rey en la guerra, pues es dificultoso entrar a servirle en su casa; que, ya que la guerra no dé muchas riquezas, suele dar mucho valor y mucha fama. I say so because it is my will and pleasure that one of you should follow letters, another trade, and the third serve the king in the wars, for it is a difficult matter to gain admission to his service in his household, and if war does not bring much wealth it confers great distinction and fame. Dentro de ocho días, os daré toda vuestra parte en dineros, sin defraudaros en un ardite, como lo veréis por la obra. Eight days hence I will give you your full shares in money, without defrauding you of a farthing, as you will see in the end. Decidme ahora si queréis seguir mi parecer y consejo en lo que os he propuesto''. Now tell me if you are willing to follow out my idea and advice as I have laid it before you."
Y, mandándome a mí, por ser el mayor, que respondiese, después de haberle dicho que no se deshiciese de la hacienda, sino que gastase todo lo que fuese su voluntad, que nosotros éramos mozos para saber ganarla, vine a concluir en que cumpliría su gusto, y que el mío era seguir el ejercicio de las armas, sirviendo en él a Dios y a mi rey. Having called upon me as the eldest to answer, I, after urging him not to strip himself of his property but to spend it all as he pleased, for we were young men able to gain our living, consented to comply with his wishes, and said that mine were to follow the profession of arms and thereby serve God and my king. El segundo hermano hizo los mesmos ofrecimientos, y escogió el irse a las Indias, llevando empleada la hacienda que le cupiese. My second brother having made the same proposal, decided upon going to the Indies, embarking the portion that fell to him in trade. El menor, y, a lo que yo creo, el más discreto, dijo que quería seguir la Iglesia, o irse a acabar sus comenzados estudios a Salamanca. The youngest, and in my opinion the wisest, said he would rather follow the church, or go to complete his studies at Salamanca. Así como acabamos de concordarnos y escoger nuestros ejercicios, mi padre nos abrazó a todos, y, con la brevedad que dijo, puso por obra cuanto nos había prometido; y, dando a cada uno su parte, que, a lo que se me acuerda, fueron cada tres mil ducados, en dineros (porque un nuestro tío compró toda la hacienda y la pagó de contado, porque no saliese del tronco de la casa), en un mesmo día nos despedimos todos tres de nuestro buen padre; y, en aquel mesmo, pareciéndome a mí ser inhumanidad que mi padre quedase viejo y con tan poca hacienda, hice con él que de mis tres mil tomase los dos mil ducados, porque a mí me bastaba el resto para acomodarme de lo que había menester un soldado. As soon as we had come to an understanding, and made choice of our professions, my father embraced us all, and in the short time he mentioned carried into effect all he had promised; and when he had given to each his share, which as well as I remember was three thousand ducats apiece in cash (for an uncle of ours bought the estate and paid for it down, not to let it go out of the family), we all three on the same day took leave of our good father; and at the same time, as it seemed to me inhuman to leave my father with such scanty means in his old age, I induced him to take two of my three thousand ducats, as the remainder would be enough to provide me with all a soldier needed. Mis dos hermanos, movidos de mi ejemplo, cada uno le dio mil ducados: de modo que a mi padre le quedaron cuatro mil en dineros, y más tres mil, que, a lo que parece, valía la hacienda que le cupo, que no quiso vender, sino quedarse con ella en raíces. My two brothers, moved by my example, gave him each a thousand ducats, so that there was left for my father four thousand ducats in money, besides three thousand, the value of the portion that fell to him which he preferred to retain in land instead of selling it. Digo, en fin, que nos despedimos dél y de aquel nuestro tío que he dicho, no sin mucho sentimiento y lágrimas de todos, encargándonos que les hiciésemos saber, todas las veces que hubiese comodidad para ello, de nuestros sucesos, prósperos o adversos. Finally, as I said, we took leave of him, and of our uncle whom I have mentioned, not without sorrow and tears on both sides, they charging us to let them know whenever an opportunity offered how we fared, whether well or ill. We promised to do so, and when he had embraced us and given us his blessing, one set out for Salamanca, the other for Seville, and I for Alicante, where I had heard there was a Genoese vessel taking in a cargo of wool for Genoa.
Habrá agora veintidós años que salí de la casa de mi padre, y en todo este tiempo, aunque he escrito algunas cartas, no he tenido noticia alguna dél ni de mis hermanos; mis aventuras de aquel tiempo brevemente contaré. It is now some twenty-two years since I left my father's house, and all that time, though I have written several letters, I have had no news whatever of him or of my brothers; my own adventures during that period I will now relate briefly. Embarcóme en Alicante, llegué a Génova después de próspera navegación, y de allí procedí a Milán, donde me proveí de armas y de algunos pertrechos de soldado; desde allí era mi intención irme a servir en Piamonte, mas como ya estuviese en el camino de Alejandría de la Paja, supe que el gran Duque de Alba iba camino de Flandes. I embarked at Alicante, reached Genoa after a prosperous voyage, and proceeded thence to Milan, where I provided myself with arms and a few soldier's accoutrements; thence it was my intention to go and take service in Piedmont, but as I was already on the road to Alessandria della Paglia, I learned that the great Duke of Alva was on his way to Flanders. Mudé de propósito, me uní a él, serví a sus órdenes en las campañas que hizo, estuve presente a las muertes de los Condes Egmont y Horn, y fui promovido a alférez bajo un famoso capitán de Guadalajara, Diego de Urbina de nombre. I changed my plans, joined him, served under him in the campaigns he made, was present at the deaths of the Counts Egmont and Horn, and was promoted to be ensign under a famous captain of Guadalajara, Diego de Urbina by name. Algún tiempo después de mi llegada a Flandes llegó nueva de la liga que Su Santidad el Papa Pío Quinto, de dichosa memoria, había hecho con Venecia y España contra el enemigo común, el Turco, que entonces con su armada había tomado la famosa isla de Chipre, que a los venecianos pertenecía, pérdida lamentable y funesta. Some time after my arrival in Flanders news came of the league that his Holiness Pope Pius V of happy memory, had made with Venice and Spain against the common enemy, the Turk, who had just then with his fleet taken the famous island of Cyprus, which belonged to the Venetians, a loss deplorable and disastrous. Era cosa sabida y cierta que el Serenísimo Don Juan de Austria, hermano natural de nuestro buen rey Don Felipe, venía como capitán general de las fuerzas confederadas; y corrían rumores de los grandes aparatos bélicos que se estaban haciendo, todo lo cual me movió el corazón y me llenó de deseo de tomar parte en la campaña que se esperaba; y aunque tenía razones para creer, y casi certísimas promesas, de que a la primera ocasión que se presentase sería promovido a capitán, preferí dejarlo todo e irme, como en efecto me fui, a Italia; y fue mi buena ventura que Don Juan acababa de llegar a Génova, y se iba a Nápoles para unirse con la armada veneciana, como después lo hizo en Mesina. It was known as a fact that the Most Serene Don John of Austria, natural brother of our good king Don Philip, was coming as commander-in-chief of the allied forces, and rumours were abroad of the vast warlike preparations which were being made, all which stirred my heart and filled me with a longing to take part in the campaign which was expected; and though I had reason to believe, and almost certain promises, that on the first opportunity that presented itself I should be promoted to be captain, I preferred to leave all and betake myself, as I did, to Italy; and it was my good fortune that Don John had just arrived at Genoa, and was going on to Naples to join the Venetian fleet, as he afterwards did at Messina. Pues diré que tuve parte en aquella gloriosa jornada, promovido a ser por entonces capitán de infantería, a cual honroso cargo me levantó mi ventura antes que mis merecimientos; y aquel día tan venturoso para la cristiandad, porque en él se desengañaron todos los pueblos del error en que estaban, imaginando ser invencibles los turcos por la mar, aquel día, digo, en que fue quebrantado el orgullo y arrogancia otomana, entre todos los dichosos que allí se hallaron (que los cristianos que en él murieron fueron más dichosos que los que vivos y vencedores quedaron), sólo yo fui desdichado; que, en lugar de alguna naval corona que en tiempo de los romanos pudiera haber esperado, en la noche que al día siguiente se siguió de aquel famoso día, me vi con grillos a los pies y esposas en las manos. I may say, in short, that I took part in that glorious expedition, promoted by this time to be a captain of infantry, to which honourable charge my good luck rather than my merits raised me; and that day--so fortunate for Christendom, because then all the nations of the earth were disabused of the error under which they lay in imagining the Turks to be invincible on sea-on that day, I say, on which the Ottoman pride and arrogance were broken, among all that were there made happy (for the Christians who died that day were happier than those who remained alive and victorious) I alone was miserable; for, instead of some naval crown that I might have expected had it been in Roman times, on the night that followed that famous day I found myself with fetters on my feet and manacles on my hands.