Page:The History of the Valorous and Wity Knight-Errant, Don-Quixote of the Mancha.djvu/43

Book I. justly complain on your Beauty. And also when he read — the high Heavens, which with your Divinity do fortify you divinely with the Stars, and make you Deserveress of the Deserts that your Greatness deserves, etc. With these and other such Passages the poor Gentleman grew distracted, and was breaking his Brains Day and Night, to understand and unbowel their Sense. An endless Labour! for even Aristotle himself would not understand them, tho' he were again resuscitated only for that purpose. He did not like much the Unproportionate Blows that Don Belianis gave and took in Fight; for, as he imagined, were the Surgeons never so cunning that cured them, yet was it impossible but that the Patient's Face, and all his Body, must remain full of Scars and Tokens: Yet did he praise notwithstanding, in the Author of that History, the Conclusion of his Book, with the promise of the endless Adventure; and many times he himself had desire to take Pen and finish it exactly as it is there promised; and would doubtlesly have perform'd it, and that surely with happy Success, if other more urgent and continual Thoughts had not disturb'd him.

Many times did he fall at variance with the Curate of his Village (who was a learned Man, graduated in Ciguenca) touching who was the better Knight, Palmerin of England or Amadis de Gaule: But Master Nicholas the Barber of the same Town would affirm, that none of both arriv'd in worth to the Knight of the Sun, and if any one Knight might paragon with him, it was infallibly Don Galaor, Amadis de Gaule's Brother, whose Nature might fitly be accommodated to any thing; for he was not so coy and whining a Knight as his Brother, and that in Matters of Valour he did not abate him an Ace.

In Resolution, he plunged himself deeply in his reading of these Books, as he spent many times in the Lecture of them whole Days and Nights; and in the end, thro' his little Sleep and much Reading, he dry'd up his Brains in such sort, as he lost wholly his Judgment. His Fantasie was filled with those things that he read of

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