God bless me, gentle (or it may be plebeian) reader, how eagerly must thou be looking forward to this preface, expecting to find there retaliation1, scolding, and abuse against the author of the second Don Quixote — I mean him who was, they say, begotten2 at Tordesillas and born at Tarragona! Well then, the truth is, I am not going to give thee that satisfaction; for, though injuries stir up anger in humbler breasts, in mine the rule must admit of an exception. Thou wouldst have me call him ass4, fool, and malapert, but I have no such intention; let his offence be his punishment, with his bread let him eat it, and there’s an end of it. What I cannot help taking amiss is that he charges me with being old and one-handed, as if it had been in my power to keep time from passing over me, or as if the loss of my hand had been brought about in some tavern5, and not on the grandest occasion the past or present has seen, or the future can hope to see. If my wounds have no beauty to the beholder’s eye, they are, at least, honourable6 in the estimation of those who know where they were received; for the soldier shows to greater advantage dead in battle than alive in flight; and so strongly is this my feeling, that if now it were proposed to perform an impossibility for me, I would rather have had my share in that mighty7 action, than be free from my wounds this minute without having been present at it. Those the soldier shows on his face and breast are stars that direct others to the heaven of honour and ambition of merited praise; and moreover it is to be observed that it is not with grey hairs that one writes, but with the understanding, and that commonly improves with years. I take it amiss, too, that he calls me envious8, and explains to me, as if I were ignorant, what envy is; for really and truly, of the two kinds there are, I only know that which is holy, noble, and high-minded; and if that be so, as it is, I am not likely to attack a priest, above all if, in addition, he holds the rank of familiar of the Holy Office. And if he said what he did on account of him on whose behalf it seems he spoke9, he is entirely10 mistaken; for I worship the genius of that person, and admire his works and his unceasing and strenuous11 industry. After all, I am grateful to this gentleman, the author, for saying that my novels are more satirical than exemplary, but that they are good; for they could not be that unless there was a little of everything in them.
I suspect thou wilt12 say that I am taking a very humble3 line, and keeping myself too much within the bounds of my moderation, from a feeling that additional suffering should not be inflicted13 upon a sufferer, and that what this gentleman has to endure must doubtless be very great, as he does not dare to come out into the open field and broad daylight, but hides his name and disguises his country as if he had been guilty of some lese majesty14. If perchance thou shouldst come to know him, tell him from me that I do not hold myself aggrieved15; for I know well what the temptations of the devil are, and that one of the greatest is putting it into a man’s head that he can write and print a book by which he will get as much fame as money, and as much money as fame; and to prove it I will beg of you, in your own sprightly16, pleasant way, to tell him this story.
There was a madman in Seville who took to one of the drollest absurdities17 and vagaries18 that ever madman in the world gave way to. It was this: he made a tube of reed sharp at one end, and catching19 a dog in the street, or wherever it might be, he with his foot held one of its legs fast, and with his hand lifted up the other, and as best he could fixed20 the tube where, by blowing, he made the dog as round as a ball; then holding it in this position, he gave it a couple of slaps on the belly21, and let it go, saying to the bystanders (and there were always plenty of them): “Do your worships think, now, that it is an easy thing to blow up a dog?" — Does your worship think now, that it is an easy thing to write a book?
And if this story does not suit him, you may, dear reader, tell him this one, which is likewise of a madman and a dog.
In Cordova there was another madman, whose way it was to carry a piece of marble slab22 or a stone, not of the lightest, on his head, and when he came upon any unwary dog he used to draw close to him and let the weight fall right on top of him; on which the dog in a rage, barking and howling, would run three streets without stopping. It so happened, however, that one of the dogs he discharged his load upon was a cap-maker’s dog, of which his master was very fond. The stone came down hitting it on the head, the dog raised a yell at the blow, the master saw the affair and was wroth, and snatching up a measuring-yard rushed out at the madman and did not leave a sound bone in his body, and at every stroke he gave him he said, “You dog, you thief! my lurcher! Don’t you see, you brute23, that my dog is a lurcher?” and so, repeating the word “lurcher” again and again, he sent the madman away beaten to a jelly. The madman took the lesson to heart, and vanished, and for more than a month never once showed himself in public; but after that he came out again with his old trick and a heavier load than ever. He came up to where there was a dog, and examining it very carefully without venturing to let the stone fall, he said: “This is a lurcher; ware24!” In short, all the dogs he came across, be they mastiffs or terriers, he said were lurchers; and he discharged no more stones. Maybe it will be the same with this historian; that he will not venture another time to discharge the weight of his wit in books, which, being bad, are harder than stones. Tell him, too, that I do not care a farthing for the threat he holds out to me of depriving me of my profit by means of his book; for, to borrow from the famous interlude of “The Perendenga,” I say in answer to him, “Long life to my lord the Veintiquatro, and Christ be with us all.” Long life to the great Conde de Lemos, whose Christian25 charity and well-known generosity26 support me against all the strokes of my curst fortune; and long life to the supreme27 benevolence28 of His Eminence29 of Toledo, Don Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas; and what matter if there be no printing-presses in the world, or if they print more books against me than there are letters in the verses of Mingo Revulgo! These two princes, unsought by any adulation or flattery of mine, of their own goodness alone, have taken it upon them to show me kindness and protect me, and in this I consider myself happier and richer than if Fortune had raised me to her greatest height in the ordinary way. The poor man may retain honour, but not the vicious; poverty may cast a cloud over nobility, but cannot hide it altogether; and as virtue30 of itself sheds a certain light, even though it be through the straits and chinks of penury31, it wins the esteem32 of lofty and noble spirits, and in consequence their protection. Thou needst say no more to him, nor will I say anything more to thee, save to tell thee to bear in mind that this Second Part of “Don Quixote” which I offer thee is cut by the same craftsman33 and from the same cloth as the First, and that in it I present thee Don Quixote continued, and at length dead and buried, so that no one may dare to bring forward any further evidence against him, for that already produced is sufficient; and suffice it, too, that some reputable person should have given an account of all these shrewd lunacies of his without going into the matter again; for abundance, even of good things, prevents them from being valued; and scarcity34, even in the case of what is bad, confers a certain value. I was forgetting to tell thee that thou mayest expect the “Persiles,” which I am now finishing, and also the Second Part of “Galatea.”
上帝保佑，尊贵或普通的读者，您现在大概正渴望看到这篇序言，以为可以从中看到对《唐吉诃德》另一部下卷的作者极尽诅咒辱骂之能事，回敬那本据说怀胎于托德西利亚，落生于塔拉戈纳的书吧。可是，我不能给您以这种快乐。虽然再谦恭的人受到污辱时也会勃然大怒，但我是个例外。您大概想让我骂他是驴，愚蠢妄为吧，而我却从未想过这么做。罪有应得，自食其果，由他自便吧。最令我痛心的就是他说我风烛残年，缺胳膊短臂，好像我有了胳膊就可以青春常驻，不失年华，好像我的胳膊是在酒馆里，而不是在那次过去、现在乃至将来都可以称得上最神圣的战斗中失掉的①。如果某些人对我的伤不以为然，那么，至少了解实情的人很看重它。作为战士，战死比逃生光荣。假如现在让我重新选择，我仍然会选择那场惊心动魄的战役，而不会选择逃避战斗以求得安然无恙。战士脸上和胸膛上的伤痕是引导人们追求至高荣誉和正义赞扬的明星。应该指出的是，写作不是靠年迈，而是靠人的思维完成的，而人的思维却可以随着年龄的增长而不断完善。还有，令我遗憾的是，他竟说我羡妒别人。恕我孤陋寡闻，请他告诉我羡妒究竟是什么意思。这个词包括了两种涵义，我只知道那种神圣、高尚和善意的意思，所以我决不会去诋毁任何一位教士，更何况他是宗教裁判所的使节呢。如果这位作者是要替某人②说话，那么他就大错特错了。那位天才才华横溢，我推崇他的著作和他那道德卫士的职务。尽管如此，我还是感谢这位作者说我的小说里更多的是讽世而不是示范，这还算不错。如果不是讽世与示范相结合，那就称不上好了。
①此处指莱潘托战役。塞万提斯在那场战役中胸部中了三弹，失掉了左手。
②此处指洛贝·德·维加。维加曾任宗教裁判所使节。
也许你会说我这个人对自己太约束，认为不该穷追猛打，对人太客气了。这位大人大概已经很不好受了，因为他竟不敢光明正大地站出来，而只能隐姓埋名，虚报祖籍，好像犯了什么欺君之罪。如果您有机会见到他，就请代我告诉他，我并没有感到自己受了伤害，我知道完全是魔鬼的意图在作祟，而其中——最大的意图就是想让某个人绞尽脑汁，靠编印一本书获得名和利，获得利和名。为了证明这点，我希望以开玩笑的口吻给他讲讲这个故事：
从前在塞维利亚有个疯子，可以说是疯得滑天下之大稽。他把一节竹管的一头削尖，然后只要在街上或什么地方碰到狗，就一只脚踩住狗的后爪，一只手抬起狗的前爪，把竹管插到狗身上拼命吹气，一直到把狗吹得像个圆球似的，才在狗肚子上拍两下，把狗放开。周围有很多人看。他就对围观的人说：
“你们以为吹狗是件容易事吗？”
您现在还以为写一部书是件容易事吗？
如果这个故事还不够，读者朋友，你可以再给他讲一个故事，也是疯子和狗的事情。
在科尔多瓦也有个疯子，他有个习惯，就是在脑袋上顶一片大理石或一块重量不轻的石头。哪条狗若是不小心碰到他，他就会过去把石头砸在狗身上。狗被砸得晕头转向，连跑过好几条街还狂吠不止。结果有一次他砸了一个制帽匠人的小狗。那个工匠特别喜欢他的小狗。石头砸到小狗的头上，小狗疼得狂吠起来。工匠看见了，非常心疼，抓起一把尺子，追上疯子，把疯子打得浑身青一块紫一块的。工匠边打边说：
“你这个狗贼，竟敢打我的小猎兔犬！你没看见我的狗是小猎兔犬吗？”
工匠一边重复着“小猎兔犬”，一边狠狠抽打疯子。这回疯子可长了记性，此后一个多月，他一直藏在家里没露面。可是，后来他又故伎重演，但现在总是站在狗身边，仔仔细细地看，不敢再贸然砸石头了，嘴里还说着：
“这是小猎兔犬，小心点。”
结果他只要碰到狗，不论是猛犬还是小狗，都说是小猎兔犬，不再用石头砸了。大概这位故事作者将来也会遇到这种情况，弄不好，可能比这还厉害呢，这样他就不会把他的才能用于编书了。
你还可以告诉他，至于他出这本书对我造成的经济损失，我一点儿也不在乎。我引用著名的幕间喜剧《拉佩伦登加》里的话，那就是我的市议员大人和所有人都万岁！伟大的莱穆斯伯爵大人万岁，他的仁慈与慷慨为人所共知，是他在我坎坷的命运中阻止了各种打击，扶植了我。大慈大悲的托莱多主教大人唐贝尔纳多·德桑多瓦尔及罗哈斯万岁，即使世界上没有印刷术，即使攻击我的书比《明戈·雷布尔戈诗集》①的字数还要多！这两位主教并未要求我对他们进行奉承或某种形式的恭维。他们仅仅是出于仁慈之心，给予我很多关照。假如命运能正常地把我推向幸运的顶峰，我会引以为幸福和光荣。穷人可以得到荣誉，而坏人却不能。贫穷可能会玷污人的高贵品质，但并不能完全埋没它。美德有时也会像透过一丝缝隙那样发出自己的光亮，并且因此受到贵人的器重和照顾。
①这是讽刺恩里克四世王朝的诗集。
无须赘言，我只需告诉你们，我献给你们的《唐吉诃德》下卷取材于同一个人的同一素材，我把唐吉诃德的事情扩展开来，直到他最后去世，这样就不会再有人编造出新的版本了，已有的版本已经足矣。
某位体面的人物将这些疯癫之举公之于众后，就希望别人别再搅进去了。好东西多了并不会显示其贵重性，东西少了反倒值点钱。我还应该告诉你们，《佩西莱斯》我就要写完了，你们就等着看吧。此外，还有《加拉特亚》的第二部。
收听单词发音 |
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retaliation
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begotten
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humble
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ass
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tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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envious
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| adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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wilt
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inflicted
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majesty
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aggrieved
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| adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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sprightly
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| adj.愉快的，活泼的 | |
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absurdities
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| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
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vagaries
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catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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belly
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slab
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brute
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ware
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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generosity
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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benevolence
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eminence
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| n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家 | |
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virtue
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penury
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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craftsman
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| n.技工，精于一门工艺的匠人 | |
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scarcity
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