PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR.

This Romance was the last work of Cervantes, the dedication¹ to the Count de Lemos was written the day after he had received extreme unction; he died four days after, on the 23rd of April 1616, aged² 67. On that same day in that same year England lost her Shakespeare.[A]

In the Preface to this edition, the Editor says, "Not a few are there among the wise and learned, who, notwithstanding the well-known merit of all the works of the famous Spaniard, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, and in spite of the oft repeated praises lavished³ especially upon the Life and Deeds of Don Quixote de la Mancha, which has ever held the foremost place in the estimation of the public, yet give the preference above all to The Troubles of Persiles and Sigismunda, which I am about to present to the public anew in this edition."

It seems, too, that this was the opinion of Cervantes himself; for in his dedication to the Count de Lemos, which is affixed⁴ to the second part of Don Quixote, he says, "offering to your Excellency the Troubles of Persiles and Sigismunda, a book I hope to finish in about four months (Deo volente), which is to be either the very best or the very worst hitherto composed in our language, I speak of books of entertainment, and indeed I repent⁵ of having said, the very worst, because, according to the opinion of my friends, it will reach the extreme of goodness."

Sismondi also says the same in speaking of this work, and of its estimation in Spain; but he goes on to observe, "a foreigner will not, I should imagine, concede to it so much merit: it is the offspring of a rich, but at the same time of a wandering imagination, which confines itself within no bounds of the possible or the probable, and which is not sufficiently⁶ founded on reality. He has entitled this Romance 'A Northern Story,' and his complete ignorance of the North, in which his scene is laid, and which he imagines to be a land of Barbarians⁷, Anthropophagi, Pagans, and Enchanters, is sufficiently singular."

The truth of this cannot be denied; but I believe that it has never yet been translated into English,[B] and, as it certainly possesses great merits in spite of the absurdities⁸, and a good deal of imagination as well as beauty (though I fear much of the latter will be lost in a translation) as a work of Cervantes it appears to me worthy⁹ of being introduced to English readers.

The plan of the story is plainly imitated from Heliodorus, Bishop¹⁰ of Tricca, in Thessaly, who in his youth wrote a Romance in the Greek language, called The Æthiopian History; or, the Adventures of two Lovers, Chariclea, the daughter of the King of Ethiopia, and Theagenes, a noble Thessalian. He lived in the reigns¹¹ of Theodosius and Arcadius, about the end of the fourth century.

Few modern readers, I imagine, would have patience to read this very heavy Romance; but in 1590, when Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia was published, stories of amusement and interest were not as plentiful¹² as in the present day, and it was a short time before that Romance appeared, that a translation of Heliodorus's Æthiopic History was published in England. The edition which I have seen is translated by N.

Tate, the first five books by "a Person of Quality." The date is 1753. The other editions are 1587, 1622, 1686.

But though the plan of Persiles and Sigismunda is taken from Heliodorus, I do not think they have any resemblance in style, and there is far more vivacity¹³ and humour in the narrative¹⁴ and characters, and more nature too, in spite of the high flown romance that surrounds them.

I fear the modern reader will find the numerous episodes tedious; and story after story, which every additional personage we meet, thinks it necessary to relate, will perhaps try his patience; yet there is great beauty in many of these, at least in the original language.

The remarkable¹⁵ ignorance which Cervantes displays on geographical¹⁶ points has a parallel in our own Shakespeare, who makes Bohemia a country with a sea coast.

Cervantes has evidently formed his ideas of the North only by the voyages and travels that were published at the time he lived. It is more surprising that he should know so little of England, considering how much his own country had been connected with her, and also from the knowledge and information he displays on other subjects.

The chief fault in the work is the remarkable want of keeping; for whereas he at once determines the period and date by bringing in the expulsion of the Moors¹⁷ and Soldiers who served under Charles the 5th, also speaking of Lisbon as belonging to Spain, at the same time he throws his personages into a perfect land of Romance, and speaks of all the northern countries, as if themselves, their manners and customs, were utterly¹⁸ unknown and barbarous; yet Elizabeth or James the 1st was reigning¹⁹ in England; the queen of James the 1st was a Danish princess, and Denmark and Sweden were assuredly not unknown to fame.

In fixing upon Iceland and Friesland as the dominions²⁰ of his hero and heroine, he gets upon safer ground, though by the way in which he speaks of them, he evidently considers this a sort of mysterious and only half understood land, which might serve a wandering prince or princess of romance, for a home, for want of a better.

The first and second part differ considerably²¹; when Cervantes gets home to his own bright clime and sunny skies, you feel the truth of his descriptions, which form a striking contrast to the icy seas and snowy islands among which his pilgrims are voyaging throughout the whole first volume.

I have taken some few liberties, omitted some pages, and occasionally shortened a sentence, but I do not think the English reader will feel inclined to quarrel with these abbreviations, and the Spanish student can refer to the original.

To those who feel for Cervantes as he deserves,—to those who have enjoyed the rich fund of amusement that Don Quixote affords, I need not apologise further for making them also acquainted with these wondrously²² beautiful and almost angelic pilgrims, who were the last productions of his lively imagination, for assuredly those blue eyes and golden ringlets must have been most unlike the visions of beauty that dwelt around him, in his own land of Spain.

Postscript²³.—For the Portrait of Cervantes, which enriches the title page, I have to thank the great kindness and friendly aid of one, who has gained a distinguished²⁴ name as an author, in the service of both Spanish Art and Spanish History, Mr. Stirling of Keir. I have also to acknowledge the courtesy of Sir Arthur Aston, to whom the original picture belongs, from which I have been permitted to take my engraving²⁵; it was brought by him from Madrid, and he found it in the possession of a family where it was highly prized, and considered as an undoubted Portrait of Cervantes.

July, 1853. L. D. S.

1 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 lavished   

v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I lavished all the warmth of my pent-up passion. 我把憋在心里那一股热烈的情感尽量地倾吐出来。 来自辞典例句
• An enormous amount of attention has been lavished on these problems. 在这些问题上，我们已经花费了大量的注意力。 来自辞典例句

4 affixed   

adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章）

参考例句：

• The label should be firmly affixed to the package. 这张标签应该牢牢地贴在包裹上。
• He affixed the sign to the wall. 他将标记贴到墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

6 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

7 barbarians   

n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人

参考例句：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

8 absurdities   

n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为

参考例句：

• She has a sharp eye for social absurdities, and compassion for the victims of social change. 她独具慧眼，能够看到社会上荒唐的事情，对于社会变革的受害者寄以同情。 来自辞典例句
• The absurdities he uttered at the dinner party landed his wife in an awkward situation. 他在宴会上讲的荒唐话使他太太陷入窘境。 来自辞典例句

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

11 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

12 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

13 vivacity   

n.快活，活泼，精神充沛

参考例句：

• Her charm resides in her vivacity.她的魅力存在于她的活泼。
• He was charmed by her vivacity and high spirits.她的活泼与兴高采烈的情绪把他迷住了。

14 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

15 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

16 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

17 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

19 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

20 dominions   

统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图

参考例句：

• The King sent messengers to every town, village and hamlet in his dominions. 国王派使者到国内每一个市镇，村落和山庄。
• European powers no longer rule over great overseas dominions. 欧洲列强不再统治大块海外领土了。

21 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

22 wondrously   

adv.惊奇地，非常，极其

参考例句：

• She grow wondrously fond of stealing off to corners by herself. 她变得出奇地喜欢独自躲在角落里。 来自辞典例句
• If you but smile, spring zephyrs blow through my spirits, wondrously. 假使你只是仅仅对我微笑，春天的和风就会惊奇的吹过我的心灵间。 来自互联网

23 postscript   

n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明

参考例句：

• There was the usual romantic postscript at the end of his letter.他的信末又是一贯的浪漫附言。
• She mentioned in a postscript to her letter that the parcel had arrived.她在信末附笔中说包裹已寄到。

24 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

25 engraving   

n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中）

参考例句：

• He collected an old engraving of London Bridge. 他收藏了一张古老的伦敦桥版画。 来自辞典例句
• Some writing has the precision of a steel engraving. 有的字体严谨如同钢刻。 来自辞典例句