登陆注册
4907800000012

第12章

Navarrete and Ticknor both incline to the belief that Cervantes knew who he was; but I must say I think the anger he shows suggests an invisible assailant; it is like the irritation of a man stung by a mosquito in the dark. Cervantes from certain solecisms of language pronounces him to be an Aragonese, and Pellicer, an Aragonese himself, supports this view and believes him, moreover, to have been an ecclesiastic, a Dominican probably.

Any merit Avellaneda has is reflected from Cervantes, and he is too dull to reflect much. "Dull and dirty" will always be, I imagine, the verdict of the vast majority of unprejudiced readers.

He is, at best, a poor plagiarist; all he can do is to follow slavishly the lead given him by Cervantes; his only humour lies in making Don Quixote take inns for castles and fancy himself some legendary or historical personage, and Sancho mistake words, invert proverbs, and display his gluttony; all through he shows a proclivity to coarseness and dirt, and he has contrived to introduce two tales filthier than anything by the sixteenth century novellieri and without their sprightliness.

But whatever Avellaneda and his book may be, we must not forget the debt we owe them. But for them, there can be no doubt, "Don Quixote" would have come to us a mere torso instead of a complete work. Even if Cervantes had finished the volume he had in hand, most assuredly he would have left off with a promise of a Third Part, giving the further adventures of Don Quixote and humours of Sancho Panza as shepherds. It is plain that he had at one time an intention of dealing with the pastoral romances as he had dealt with the books of chivalry, and but for Avellaneda he would have tried to carry it out. But it is more likely that, with his plans, and projects, and hopefulness, the volume would have remained unfinished till his death, and that we should have never made the acquaintance of the Duke and Duchess, or gone with Sancho to Barataria.

From the moment the book came into his hands he seems to have been haunted by the fear that there might be more Avellanedas in the field, and putting everything else aside, he set himself to finish off his task and protect Don Quixote in the only way he could, by killing him.

The conclusion is no doubt a hasty and in some places clumsy piece of work and the frequent repetition of the scolding administered to Avellaneda becomes in the end rather wearisome; but it is, at any rate, a conclusion and for that we must thank Avellaneda.

The new volume was ready for the press in February, but was not printed till the very end of 1615, and during the interval Cervantes put together the comedies and interludes he had written within the last few years, and, as he adds plaintively, found no demand for among the managers, and published them with a preface, worth the book it introduces tenfold, in which he gives an account of the early Spanish stage, and of his own attempts as a dramatist. It is needless to say they were put forward by Cervantes in all good faith and full confidence in their merits. The reader, however, was not to suppose they were his last word or final effort in the drama, for he had in hand a comedy called "Engano a los ojos," about which, if he mistook not, there would be no question.

Of this dramatic masterpiece the world has no opportunity of judging; his health had been failing for some time, and he died, apparently of dropsy, on the 23rd of April, 1616, the day on which England lost Shakespeare, nominally at least, for the English calendar had not yet been reformed. He died as he had lived, accepting his lot bravely and cheerfully.

Was it an unhappy life, that of Cervantes? His biographers all tell us that it was; but I must say I doubt it. It was a hard life, a life of poverty, of incessant struggle, of toil ill paid, of disappointment, but Cervantes carried within himself the antidote to all these evils. His was not one of those light natures that rise above adversity merely by virtue of their own buoyancy; it was in the fortitude of a high spirit that he was proof against it. It is impossible to conceive Cervantes giving way to despondency or prostrated by dejection. As for poverty, it was with him a thing to be laughed over, and the only sigh he ever allows to escape him is when he says, "Happy he to whom Heaven has given a piece of bread for which he is not bound to give thanks to any but Heaven itself." Add to all this his vital energy and mental activity, his restless invention and his sanguine temperament, and there will be reason enough to doubt whether his could have been a very unhappy life. He who could take Cervantes' distresses together with his apparatus for enduring them would not make so bad a bargain, perhaps, as far as happiness in life is concerned.

同类推荐
  • 王文端公集

    王文端公集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说孛经

    佛说孛经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 明太祖宝训

    明太祖宝训

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 宋词三百首

    宋词三百首

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 八十一难经

    八十一难经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • 农产品销售技巧读本

    农产品销售技巧读本

    《金阳光新农村丛书》围绕农民朋友十分关心的具体话题,分“新农民技术能手“新农业产业拓展和“新农村和谐社会三个系列,分批出版。“新农民技术能手系列除了传授实用的农业技术,还介绍了如何闯市场、如何经营;“新农业产业拓展系列介绍了现代农业的新趋势、新模式;“新农村和谐社会系列包括农村政策宣讲、常见病防治、乡村文化室建立,还对农民进城务工的一些知识作了介绍。全书新颖实用,简明易懂。
  • 没有如果,只讲结果

    没有如果,只讲结果

    打造不找借口的落实型员工,全面提升组织成员的执行力。杜绝即可,医治职场借口弊病,创造价值,锻造一流执行团队的终极宝典。
  • 情迷双城

    情迷双城

    近代的上海仍有过她几十年的辛酸史,梦魇一般的岁月在她丰腴的肌体上伤痕累累地划过。这种精神层面上的创伤所造成的心理扭曲,在这个城市的硬件和软件上都留下了永不可能被磨损去的印记。本次将作者在不同时期发表的中篇小说首次结集出版,再现了上海与香港两个大都市六十年来的剧烈变迁。
  • 量理宝藏论释(全集)

    量理宝藏论释(全集)

    《量理宝藏论释》属于佛学五部大论之因明学,具有较高学术价值的著作。经由索达吉堪布多年精心翻译而成。市场上目前无专业和系统的作品,该作品具有出版价值,属于常销书。佛学“五部大论” 是三乘佛教综合知识和哲学理论高度概括性的教课书。五部大论是指:《因明》、《般若》、《中观》、《俱舍》、《戒律》等五部内学显宗经典理论。 本稿以深入浅出的形式诠释了人世间从宏观到微观的世界应该以什么为正确的丈量工具,什么是颠倒,错误和犹豫识;本稿思维缜密,逻辑性强,观点尖锐,各派系辩论尖锐深刻,从字里行间让我们体会中国历代智者们对甚深真理智慧地探索和论证,是极为难得的著作。对于探求名言真相,寻求正理的人来说,这是一本完整汇集因明正理的宝典;对于现代社会妄念纷飞的人们来说,这本书可以说是一双慧眼,通过这双慧眼可以看透社会的真相,从而踏上智慧之道。
  • 重生之影后娇妻百分甜

    重生之影后娇妻百分甜

    一条关于“息影退圈多年的小花旦强势回归”的新闻刷上热搜第一。当事人却浑然不知,带着儿子匆匆奔向医院。六年前,她丢尽颜面,被黑粉骂到退圈。六年后,她站在超一流的舞台上领奖,她道:“打不倒我的,终将使我变得更强大。我做到了,谢谢你们还在。”粉丝齐道:“我的女孩,欢迎回家。”×某会所包间。卓云傲挪到角落处,说道:“听说她回来啦,你要不要去看看?”南霆钧不语。卓云傲又道:“新闻上还说,她身边跟着一个四五岁的小男孩。”南霆钧忽然起身,拿起桌上钥匙就走,“车借我开一下。”非传统重生文,虐渣只是一部分。甜甜的爱情,才是我们最终的追求。
  • 重生异世被流放,空间神助幸福长

    重生异世被流放,空间神助幸福长

    闫清大概是穿越史上最悲催的一个了,流放宁古塔的家眷?!宁古塔~那里环境恶劣,气候异常,寸草不生,五谷不长!!!金手指空间是有了,阳光沙滩海浪?我又不是来度假的!在这么艰苦的条件下确认不是开玩笑吗?说好的空间出品,必属精品呢?好吧~_~原来神奇的东西也有平凡的外表啊!
  • 浣溪铃

    浣溪铃

    金气秋分,风清露冷秋期半。凉蟾光满,桂子飘香远。世间有一地,称之花翎,此地赋灵,宛如仙府。多年前,有一女子,名为肖如颜,育有二女,长女字瑾,幼女字玲。游历四方,占此地为室,广收门众,称其花翎宫。花翎之人皆着素练宽衣,额间红雪。秋分袭来,霓裳乱,银桥无人,吹彻繁花,银铃声响。及至今日,“花翎宫”、“南屿阁”、“夜幽谭”、“巫溪岛”最负盛誉,其门下弟子人数众多,四大门派由此而立。世人传说,在地脉雪山深处,生长着一种奇物,名唤九穗禾。九穗禾一茎九穗,茎刺拥有剧毒,除穗叶不可解。穗叶食之,可灵力鼎赫,拥有仙身。世间之人趋之如鹜,但遍寻无迹。故事就是从九穗禾重现世间开始的…… 她是肖玲时,他化名旭尧…… 她化名榕冰时,她是岑溪…… 无奈成为这天选之人,她又该如何抉择? 背叛、欺骗……终有一日,凡此种种,皆会以血水浣尽……
  • 我要做好孩子

    我要做好孩子

    本书的主人公金铃是一个成绩中等,但机敏、善良、正直的女孩子,她为了做个让爸爸妈妈和老师满意的“好孩子”作出了种种努力,并为保留心中那份天真、纯洁,向大人们作了许多“抗争”,是一本相当值得大家看的好书,你一定会被小主人公为实现这个目标而坚持、努力的信念所感动,书中也以有趣的方式展现了当代孩子对现代教育的看法,比如,在金铃的联想中,猫就是一些因学习好被老师喜爱,被家长夸奖的好学生,而那些不被看重的孩子当然就是老鼠罗……
  • 落魄千金的修罗王

    落魄千金的修罗王

    噩运袭来的时候,萧舜英还只是一个天真的少女。期待着嫁给自己倾心的那个男人,对未来充满憧憬。命运却彻底改变她的一生。父死家灭,弱弟充军,千金之女沦为营妓。九死一生之际,意外获救,前途是吉是凶?浴死重归,她又将何去何从?
  • 影响你一生的100个名著故事

    影响你一生的100个名著故事

    有一种东西叫做钻石,如天上的星星,风雨的岁月和空间,凝固成人类精神的永恒,它跨越了,国界、语言、年龄。“注音版影响孩子一生的名著”系列图书,每一本都是你生命中不可不读的经典。