{"id":287,"date":"2019-12-01T16:45:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T16:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/chapter\/second-part-chapter-li-2\/"},"modified":"2020-04-01T10:12:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T10:12:43","slug":"second-part-chapter-li","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/www.publiconsulting.com\/wordpress\/donquixoteoflamancha\/chapter\/second-part-chapter-li\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Part. Chapter LI"},"content":{"raw":"CHAPTER LI<\/a>\r\n
\r\n

Regarding the progress of Sancho Panza\u2019s governorship, and other matters of comparable interest<\/span><\/h2>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n

The day following the night of the governor\u2019s patrol dawned, and for the butler it was a sleepless night because his thoughts were filled with the face, elegance, and beauty of the maiden in disguise; the steward used what remained of the night to write to his master and mistress regarding what Sancho Panza had done and said, and he was astonished by his deeds and speech because his words and actions indicated an extraordinary mixture of intelligence and foolishness.<\/p>\r\n

Finally the governor awoke, and by order of Dr. Pedro Recio his breakfast consisted of a small amount of preserves and four swallows of <\/a>cold water, which Sancho would have exchanged for a piece of bread and a bunch of grapes; but seeing that this was more a matter of coercion than choice, he accepted it with a sorrowful heart and a troubled stomach, while Pedro Recio tried to persuade him that very small amounts of delicate food would enliven his wits, something that was necessary for persons occupying high positions of authority in which one must use the strength not so much of the body as of the mind.<\/p>\r\n

Because of this sophistry, Sancho suffered so much hunger that he secretly cursed the governorship, and even the one who had given it to him, but with his hunger and his preserves he began to judge that day\u2019s cases, the steward and the rest of the acolytes being present, and the first was an enigma presented to him by a stranger, who said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or, a very large river divided a lord\u2019s lands into two parts (and your grace should pay close attention, because the case is important and somewhat complicated). I say, then, that a bridge crossed this river, and at the end of it was a gallows and a kind of tribunal hall in which there were ordinarily four judges who applied the law set down by the owner of the river, the bridge, and the lands, which was as follows: \u2018If anyone crosses this bridge from one side to the other, he must first take an oath as to where he is going and why; and if he swears the truth, let him pass; and if he tells a lie, let him die by hanging on the gallows displayed there, with no chance of pardon.\u2019 Knowing this law and its rigorous conditions, many people crossed the bridge, and then, when it was clear that what they swore was true, the judges let them pass freely. It so happened, then, that a man once took the oath, and he swore and said that because of the oath he was going to die on the gallows, and he swore to nothing else. The judges studied the oath and said: \u2018If we allow this man to pass freely, he lied in his oath, and according to the law he must die; and if we hang him, he swore that he was going to die on this gallows, and having sworn the truth, according to the same law he must go free.\u2019 Se\u00f1or Governor, the question for your grace is what should the judges do with the man, for they are still doubtful and undecided. And having heard of your grace\u2019s acute and elevated understanding, I have been sent to entreat your grace on their behalf to give your opinion regarding a case that is so intricate and confusing.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

To which Sancho responded:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cCertainly those judges who sent you to me could have saved themselves the trouble, because I\u2019m more of a dullard than a shrewd man, but even so, tell me this business again so I understand it; then maybe I\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The questioner repeated what he had said earlier, and then Sancho said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIt seems to me I can pass judgment on this case in the blink of an eye, and it\u2019s this: the man swears he\u2019s going to die on the gallows, and if he dies there, his oath was true and by law he deserves to be free and cross over the bridge; and if they don\u2019t hang him, his oath was false, and by the same law he deserves to be hanged.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIt is just as your grace says, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d said the messenger, \u201cand as for the completeness of your understanding, there can be no question or doubt about that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWell then, I\u2019ll say now,\u201d replied Sancho, \u201cthat they let the part of the man that swore the truth pass freely, and hang the part that told a lie, and in this way the conditions for passing will be satisfied to the letter.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cBut, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d replied the questioner, \u201cit will be necessary for the man to be divided into two parts, the lying part and the truthful, and if he is divided, of necessity he will die, and then nothing that the law demands is fulfilled, and it is an express obligation that it be obeyed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cCome here, my good man,\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cThis traveler you\u2019ve described, either I\u2019m a fool or there\u2019s as much reason for him to die as to live and cross over the bridge, because just as the truth saves him, the lie condemns him; if this is so, and it is, it\u2019s my opinion that you should tell those gentlemen who sent you to me that since the reasons for condemning him or sparing him are balanced perfectly, they should let him pass freely, for doing good is always more praiseworthy than doing evil, and I\u2019d sign this with my own name if I knew how to write, and in this case I haven\u2019t said my own idea but a precept that came to mind, one of many that was given to me by my master, Don Quixote, the night before I came to be governor of this \u00ednsula, and it was that when the law is in doubt, I should favor and embrace mercy; it was God\u2019s will that I remembered it now, since it fits this case exactly.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d responded the steward, \u201cand in my opinion Lycurgus himself, who gave laws to the Lacedaemonians, could not have made a better judgment than the one the great Panza has given. And with this let the court close for the morning, and I will give orders for the governor to have food that he likes for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all I ask, and no tricks,\u201d said Sancho. \u201cGive me something to <\/a>eat, and let cases and doubts rain down on me, and I\u2019ll take care of them in midair.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The steward kept his word, for it seemed to him a matter of conscience not to starve to death so intelligent a governor; besides, he intended to be finished with him that night, when he would play the final trick on him that he had been commissioned to perform.<\/p>\r\n

So it happened that when the governor, having eaten that day in defiance of all the rules and aphorisms of Dr. Tirteafuera, stood up from the table, a courier came in with a letter from Don Quixote. Sancho ordered the secretary to read it to himself and, if there was nothing in it that had to be kept secret, to then read it aloud. The secretary did so, and having first examined it, he said:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cIt can certainly be read aloud, for what Se\u00f1or Don Quixote writes to your grace deserves to be inscribed and written in letters of gold, and this is what it says:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

LETTER FROM DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHA TO SANCHO PANZA,
GOVERNOR OF THE \u00cdNSULA BARATARIA<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When I expected to hear news of your negligence and impertinence, Sancho my friend, I have heard about your intelligence, for which I gave special thanks to heaven, which can raise the poor from the dungheap, and make wise men out of fools. They tell me that you govern as if you were a man, and that you are a man as if you were an animal, so humbly do you behave; and I want you to be aware, Sancho, that many times it is proper and necessary, because of the authority of one\u2019s position, to contravene the humility of one\u2019s heart, because the admirable qualities in the person who holds high office ought to conform to the demands of the office, not the measures to which his humble state inclines him. Dress well, for a neatly decorated stick does not seem to be a stick at all. I do not say that you should wear jewels and finery, or, being a judge, that you should dress as a soldier, but only that you should wear the clothing your office requires, as long as it is clean and neat.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

To win the good will of the people you govern, you must do two things, among others: one is to be civil to everyone, although this is something I have already told you, and the other is to attempt to provide them with the necessities of life, for there is nothing that troubles the heart of the poor more than hunger and need.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Do not issue many edicts, and if you do, try to make them good ones, and, above all, ones that are carried out and obeyed; for edicts that are not carried<\/span> <\/a> out are as good as nonexistent, and they let it be known that the prince who had the intelligence and authority to issue them did not have the courage to enforce them; laws that intimidate but are not enforced become like the log that was king of the frogs: at first it frightened them, but in time they came to despise it and climbed up on it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Be a father to virtues and a stepfather to vices. Do not always be severe, or always mild, but choose the middle way between those two extremes; this is the object of wisdom. Visit the prisons, the slaughterhouses, and the market squares, for the presence of the governor in these places is of great importance: it consoles the prisoners, who can hope for a quick release; it frightens the butchers, who then make their weights honest; it terrifies the marketwomen, and for the same reason. Do not show yourself to be, even if you are\u2014which I do not believe\u2014a greedy man, a womanizer, or a glutton, because if the people and those who deal with you learn your specific inclination, that is where they will attack until they throw you down to the depths of perdition.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Look at and examine, consider and review the advice and precepts I gave to you in writing before you left here for your governorship, and you will see that you can find in them, if you follow them, something to help you bear the trials and difficulties that governors constantly encounter. Write to your lord and lady and show them that you are grateful, for ingratitude is the daughter of pride and one of the greatest sins we know, while the person who is grateful to those who have granted him benefits indicates that he will also be grateful to God, who has granted and continues to grant him so many.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

My lady the duchess dispatched a messenger with your hunting outfit and another present to your wife, Teresa Panza; we expect a reply at any moment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I have been somewhat indisposed by a certain clawing that happened at the expense of my nose, but it was nothing, for if there are enchanters who mistreat me, there are also those who defend me.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Tell me if the steward who is with you had anything to do with the actions of Countess Trifaldi, as you suspected, and also tell me about everything that happens to you, for the distance is not very great; further, I intend to leave this life of leisure very soon, for I was not born to be idle.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A matter has been presented to me that I believe will discredit me with the duke and duchess, but although it concerns me a great deal, at the same time it does not concern me at all, for, in the end, I must comply with my profession rather than with their desires; as the saying goes:<\/span> Amicus Plato, sed magis <\/a>amica veritas.549<\/a><\/span><\/sup> I say this to you in Latin because I assume you must have learned it after you became a governor. May God be with you so that no one need feel sorry for you.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Your friend,<\/span>
DON<\/span> QUIXOTE OF<\/span> LA<\/span> MANCHA<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

Sancho listened very attentively to the letter, and it was considered and held to be very wise by all who heard it; then Sancho got up from the table, called the secretary, went with him to his room, and without further delay wished to respond immediately to his master Don Quixote; and he told the secretary that without adding or taking away anything, he was to write down what he dictated, and the secretary did; the letter of reply said the following:<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\r\n

LETTER FROM SANCHO PANZA TO DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHA<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I\u2019ve been so busy with my affairs that I don\u2019t have time to scratch my head or even to cut my nails, and so I\u2019m wearing them too long, God help me. I say this, dear master of my soul, so that your grace won\u2019t be surprised that I haven\u2019t told you anything until now about whether I\u2019m faring well or badly in this governorship, where I\u2019m hungrier than when the two of us were wandering through the forests and the wild places.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

My lord the duke wrote to me the other day, saying that certain spies had entered the \u00ednsula to kill me, and so far I haven\u2019t discovered any except for a certain doctor who is in this place on salary to kill all the governors who come here: his name is Dr. Pedro Recio, and he comes from Tirteafuera, and now your grace can see what a name he has and whether or not I should be afraid of dying at his hands! And this doctor says about himself that he doesn\u2019t cure diseases when they\u2019ve arrived but prevents them so they won\u2019t come, and the medicines he uses are diet and more diet until the person\u2019s nothing but skin and bones, as if being skinny weren\u2019t a worse ailment than having a fever. In short, he\u2019s starving me to death, and I\u2019m dying of despair because I thought I\u2019d come to this governorship and have hot food and cold drinks, and please my body with linen sheets and featherbeds, but I\u2019ve come to do penance, like a hermit, and since I\u2019m not doing it willingly, I think the devil will take me in the end.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So far I haven\u2019t touched a fee or taken a bribe, and I can\u2019t think what it <\/a>means because they\u2019ve told me here that people give or lend a good deal of money to the governors who usually come to this \u00ednsula, even before they arrive, and that this is common practice for everybody who takes a governorship, not only this one.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Last night, when I was on patrol, I came across a very beautiful maiden in a man\u2019s clothes, and her brother who was dressed as a woman; my butler fell in love with the girl and chose her in his mind to be his wife, according to what he has told me, and I chose the boy to be my son-in-law; today we\u2019ll put our thoughts into practice with their father, whose name is Diego de la Llana, a gentleman and as old a Christian as you could wish.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I visit the market squares, as your grace advises, and yesterday I found a marketwoman who was selling fresh hazelnuts, and I saw that she had mixed a<\/span> fanega550<\/a><\/span><\/sup> of fresh hazelnuts with a<\/span> fanega of ones that were old, worthless, and rotten; I took them all for the boys in catechism class, who\u2019ll know very well how to tell them apart, and I ordered her not to come to the market square for two weeks. People told me it was a good thing to do; what I can tell your grace is that in this village they say there are no people worse than marketwomen, because they\u2019re all shameless, hardhearted, and bold, and I believe it because I\u2019ve seen them in other villages.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I\u2019m very happy that my lady the duchess has written to Teresa Panza, my wife, and sent her the present your grace has mentioned, and I\u2019ll try to show my gratitude at the right time: your grace should kiss her hands on my behalf, saying that I say she hasn\u2019t thrown anything into a torn sack, as my actions will prove.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I wouldn\u2019t want your grace to have any unpleasant disputes with my lord and my lady, because if your grace argues with them, it will obviously harm me, and it wouldn\u2019t be right if after you advised me to show gratitude, your grace doesn\u2019t show it to those who have granted you so many favors and treated you so well in their castle.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I don\u2019t understand what you said about clawing, but I imagine it must be one of the evil villainies that wicked enchanters usually do to you; I\u2019ll find out when we see each other.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I\u2019d like to send your grace something, but I don\u2019t know what to send, except some very curious tubing for syringes that they make on this \u00ednsula to be used with bladders; though if my position lasts, I\u2019ll find something to send to you, one way or another.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If my wife, Teresa Panza, writes to me, would your grace please pay the <\/a>cost and send me the letter, for I long to know the condition of my house, my wife, and my children. And with this, may God free your grace from the evil intentions of enchanters, and take me from this governorship safe and sound, which I doubt, because according to how Dr. Pedro Recio treats me, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll get away with more than my life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Your grace\u2019s servant,<\/span>
SANCHO<\/span> PANZA THE<\/span> GOVERNOR<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

The secretary sealed the letter and dispatched the courier immediately, and then the men who were deceiving Sancho met and decided how to dispatch him from the governorship; Sancho spent the afternoon issuing some ordinances concerning the good government of what he imagined to be an \u00ednsula, and he ordered that there were to be no speculators in provisions in the nation, and that wine could be imported from anywhere, as long as its place of origin was indicated, so that it could be priced according to its value, quality, and reputation, and whoever watered it or changed its name would lose his life.<\/p>\r\n

He lowered the price of all footwear, especially shoes, because it seemed to him they were sold at an exorbitant price; he put a cap on the salaries of servants, which were galloping unchecked along the road of greed; he imposed very serious penalties on those who sang lewd and lascivious songs, either by night or by day. He ordered that no blind man could sing verses about miracles unless he carried authentic testimonies to their truth, because it seemed to him that most of the ones blind men sang about were false, bringing those that were true into disrepute.<\/p>\r\n

He created and appointed a bailiff for the poor, not to persecute them but to examine them to see if they really were poor, because in the shadow of feigned cripples and false wounds come the strong arms of thieves and very healthy drunkards. In short, he ordained things so good that to this day they are obeyed in that village and are called The Constitution of the Great Governor Sancho Panza.<\/span><\/p>\r\n","rendered":"

CHAPTER LI<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Regarding the progress of Sancho Panza\u2019s governorship, and other matters of comparable interest<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

The day following the night of the governor\u2019s patrol dawned, and for the butler it was a sleepless night because his thoughts were filled with the face, elegance, and beauty of the maiden in disguise; the steward used what remained of the night to write to his master and mistress regarding what Sancho Panza had done and said, and he was astonished by his deeds and speech because his words and actions indicated an extraordinary mixture of intelligence and foolishness.<\/p>\n

Finally the governor awoke, and by order of Dr. Pedro Recio his breakfast consisted of a small amount of preserves and four swallows of <\/a>cold water, which Sancho would have exchanged for a piece of bread and a bunch of grapes; but seeing that this was more a matter of coercion than choice, he accepted it with a sorrowful heart and a troubled stomach, while Pedro Recio tried to persuade him that very small amounts of delicate food would enliven his wits, something that was necessary for persons occupying high positions of authority in which one must use the strength not so much of the body as of the mind.<\/p>\n

Because of this sophistry, Sancho suffered so much hunger that he secretly cursed the governorship, and even the one who had given it to him, but with his hunger and his preserves he began to judge that day\u2019s cases, the steward and the rest of the acolytes being present, and the first was an enigma presented to him by a stranger, who said:<\/p>\n

\u201cSe\u00f1or, a very large river divided a lord\u2019s lands into two parts (and your grace should pay close attention, because the case is important and somewhat complicated). I say, then, that a bridge crossed this river, and at the end of it was a gallows and a kind of tribunal hall in which there were ordinarily four judges who applied the law set down by the owner of the river, the bridge, and the lands, which was as follows: \u2018If anyone crosses this bridge from one side to the other, he must first take an oath as to where he is going and why; and if he swears the truth, let him pass; and if he tells a lie, let him die by hanging on the gallows displayed there, with no chance of pardon.\u2019 Knowing this law and its rigorous conditions, many people crossed the bridge, and then, when it was clear that what they swore was true, the judges let them pass freely. It so happened, then, that a man once took the oath, and he swore and said that because of the oath he was going to die on the gallows, and he swore to nothing else. The judges studied the oath and said: \u2018If we allow this man to pass freely, he lied in his oath, and according to the law he must die; and if we hang him, he swore that he was going to die on this gallows, and having sworn the truth, according to the same law he must go free.\u2019 Se\u00f1or Governor, the question for your grace is what should the judges do with the man, for they are still doubtful and undecided. And having heard of your grace\u2019s acute and elevated understanding, I have been sent to entreat your grace on their behalf to give your opinion regarding a case that is so intricate and confusing.\u201d<\/p>\n

To which Sancho responded:<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly those judges who sent you to me could have saved themselves the trouble, because I\u2019m more of a dullard than a shrewd man, but even so, tell me this business again so I understand it; then maybe I\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The questioner repeated what he had said earlier, and then Sancho said:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to me I can pass judgment on this case in the blink of an eye, and it\u2019s this: the man swears he\u2019s going to die on the gallows, and if he dies there, his oath was true and by law he deserves to be free and cross over the bridge; and if they don\u2019t hang him, his oath was false, and by the same law he deserves to be hanged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is just as your grace says, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d said the messenger, \u201cand as for the completeness of your understanding, there can be no question or doubt about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell then, I\u2019ll say now,\u201d replied Sancho, \u201cthat they let the part of the man that swore the truth pass freely, and hang the part that told a lie, and in this way the conditions for passing will be satisfied to the letter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, Se\u00f1or Governor,\u201d replied the questioner, \u201cit will be necessary for the man to be divided into two parts, the lying part and the truthful, and if he is divided, of necessity he will die, and then nothing that the law demands is fulfilled, and it is an express obligation that it be obeyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome here, my good man,\u201d responded Sancho. \u201cThis traveler you\u2019ve described, either I\u2019m a fool or there\u2019s as much reason for him to die as to live and cross over the bridge, because just as the truth saves him, the lie condemns him; if this is so, and it is, it\u2019s my opinion that you should tell those gentlemen who sent you to me that since the reasons for condemning him or sparing him are balanced perfectly, they should let him pass freely, for doing good is always more praiseworthy than doing evil, and I\u2019d sign this with my own name if I knew how to write, and in this case I haven\u2019t said my own idea but a precept that came to mind, one of many that was given to me by my master, Don Quixote, the night before I came to be governor of this \u00ednsula, and it was that when the law is in doubt, I should favor and embrace mercy; it was God\u2019s will that I remembered it now, since it fits this case exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d responded the steward, \u201cand in my opinion Lycurgus himself, who gave laws to the Lacedaemonians, could not have made a better judgment than the one the great Panza has given. And with this let the court close for the morning, and I will give orders for the governor to have food that he likes for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all I ask, and no tricks,\u201d said Sancho. \u201cGive me something to <\/a>eat, and let cases and doubts rain down on me, and I\u2019ll take care of them in midair.\u201d<\/p>\n

The steward kept his word, for it seemed to him a matter of conscience not to starve to death so intelligent a governor; besides, he intended to be finished with him that night, when he would play the final trick on him that he had been commissioned to perform.<\/p>\n

So it happened that when the governor, having eaten that day in defiance of all the rules and aphorisms of Dr. Tirteafuera, stood up from the table, a courier came in with a letter from Don Quixote. Sancho ordered the secretary to read it to himself and, if there was nothing in it that had to be kept secret, to then read it aloud. The secretary did so, and having first examined it, he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can certainly be read aloud, for what Se\u00f1or Don Quixote writes to your grace deserves to be inscribed and written in letters of gold, and this is what it says:<\/p>\n

\n

LETTER FROM DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHA TO SANCHO PANZA,
GOVERNOR OF THE \u00cdNSULA BARATARIA<\/span><\/p>\n

When I expected to hear news of your negligence and impertinence, Sancho my friend, I have heard about your intelligence, for which I gave special thanks to heaven, which can raise the poor from the dungheap, and make wise men out of fools. They tell me that you govern as if you were a man, and that you are a man as if you were an animal, so humbly do you behave; and I want you to be aware, Sancho, that many times it is proper and necessary, because of the authority of one\u2019s position, to contravene the humility of one\u2019s heart, because the admirable qualities in the person who holds high office ought to conform to the demands of the office, not the measures to which his humble state inclines him. Dress well, for a neatly decorated stick does not seem to be a stick at all. I do not say that you should wear jewels and finery, or, being a judge, that you should dress as a soldier, but only that you should wear the clothing your office requires, as long as it is clean and neat.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

To win the good will of the people you govern, you must do two things, among others: one is to be civil to everyone, although this is something I have already told you, and the other is to attempt to provide them with the necessities of life, for there is nothing that troubles the heart of the poor more than hunger and need.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do not issue many edicts, and if you do, try to make them good ones, and, above all, ones that are carried out and obeyed; for edicts that are not carried<\/span> <\/a> out are as good as nonexistent, and they let it be known that the prince who had the intelligence and authority to issue them did not have the courage to enforce them; laws that intimidate but are not enforced become like the log that was king of the frogs: at first it frightened them, but in time they came to despise it and climbed up on it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be a father to virtues and a stepfather to vices. Do not always be severe, or always mild, but choose the middle way between those two extremes; this is the object of wisdom. Visit the prisons, the slaughterhouses, and the market squares, for the presence of the governor in these places is of great importance: it consoles the prisoners, who can hope for a quick release; it frightens the butchers, who then make their weights honest; it terrifies the marketwomen, and for the same reason. Do not show yourself to be, even if you are\u2014which I do not believe\u2014a greedy man, a womanizer, or a glutton, because if the people and those who deal with you learn your specific inclination, that is where they will attack until they throw you down to the depths of perdition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Look at and examine, consider and review the advice and precepts I gave to you in writing before you left here for your governorship, and you will see that you can find in them, if you follow them, something to help you bear the trials and difficulties that governors constantly encounter. Write to your lord and lady and show them that you are grateful, for ingratitude is the daughter of pride and one of the greatest sins we know, while the person who is grateful to those who have granted him benefits indicates that he will also be grateful to God, who has granted and continues to grant him so many.<\/span><\/p>\n

My lady the duchess dispatched a messenger with your hunting outfit and another present to your wife, Teresa Panza; we expect a reply at any moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

I have been somewhat indisposed by a certain clawing that happened at the expense of my nose, but it was nothing, for if there are enchanters who mistreat me, there are also those who defend me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tell me if the steward who is with you had anything to do with the actions of Countess Trifaldi, as you suspected, and also tell me about everything that happens to you, for the distance is not very great; further, I intend to leave this life of leisure very soon, for I was not born to be idle.<\/span><\/p>\n

A matter has been presented to me that I believe will discredit me with the duke and duchess, but although it concerns me a great deal, at the same time it does not concern me at all, for, in the end, I must comply with my profession rather than with their desires; as the saying goes:<\/span> Amicus Plato, sed magis <\/a>amica veritas.549<\/a><\/span><\/sup> I say this to you in Latin because I assume you must have learned it after you became a governor. May God be with you so that no one need feel sorry for you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your friend,<\/span>
DON<\/span> QUIXOTE OF<\/span> LA<\/span> MANCHA<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Sancho listened very attentively to the letter, and it was considered and held to be very wise by all who heard it; then Sancho got up from the table, called the secretary, went with him to his room, and without further delay wished to respond immediately to his master Don Quixote; and he told the secretary that without adding or taking away anything, he was to write down what he dictated, and the secretary did; the letter of reply said the following:<\/p>\n

\n

LETTER FROM SANCHO PANZA TO DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHA<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been so busy with my affairs that I don\u2019t have time to scratch my head or even to cut my nails, and so I\u2019m wearing them too long, God help me. I say this, dear master of my soul, so that your grace won\u2019t be surprised that I haven\u2019t told you anything until now about whether I\u2019m faring well or badly in this governorship, where I\u2019m hungrier than when the two of us were wandering through the forests and the wild places.<\/span><\/p>\n

My lord the duke wrote to me the other day, saying that certain spies had entered the \u00ednsula to kill me, and so far I haven\u2019t discovered any except for a certain doctor who is in this place on salary to kill all the governors who come here: his name is Dr. Pedro Recio, and he comes from Tirteafuera, and now your grace can see what a name he has and whether or not I should be afraid of dying at his hands! And this doctor says about himself that he doesn\u2019t cure diseases when they\u2019ve arrived but prevents them so they won\u2019t come, and the medicines he uses are diet and more diet until the person\u2019s nothing but skin and bones, as if being skinny weren\u2019t a worse ailment than having a fever. In short, he\u2019s starving me to death, and I\u2019m dying of despair because I thought I\u2019d come to this governorship and have hot food and cold drinks, and please my body with linen sheets and featherbeds, but I\u2019ve come to do penance, like a hermit, and since I\u2019m not doing it willingly, I think the devil will take me in the end.<\/span><\/p>\n

So far I haven\u2019t touched a fee or taken a bribe, and I can\u2019t think what it <\/a>means because they\u2019ve told me here that people give or lend a good deal of money to the governors who usually come to this \u00ednsula, even before they arrive, and that this is common practice for everybody who takes a governorship, not only this one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last night, when I was on patrol, I came across a very beautiful maiden in a man\u2019s clothes, and her brother who was dressed as a woman; my butler fell in love with the girl and chose her in his mind to be his wife, according to what he has told me, and I chose the boy to be my son-in-law; today we\u2019ll put our thoughts into practice with their father, whose name is Diego de la Llana, a gentleman and as old a Christian as you could wish.<\/span><\/p>\n

I visit the market squares, as your grace advises, and yesterday I found a marketwoman who was selling fresh hazelnuts, and I saw that she had mixed a<\/span> fanega550<\/a><\/span><\/sup> of fresh hazelnuts with a<\/span> fanega of ones that were old, worthless, and rotten; I took them all for the boys in catechism class, who\u2019ll know very well how to tell them apart, and I ordered her not to come to the market square for two weeks. People told me it was a good thing to do; what I can tell your grace is that in this village they say there are no people worse than marketwomen, because they\u2019re all shameless, hardhearted, and bold, and I believe it because I\u2019ve seen them in other villages.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m very happy that my lady the duchess has written to Teresa Panza, my wife, and sent her the present your grace has mentioned, and I\u2019ll try to show my gratitude at the right time: your grace should kiss her hands on my behalf, saying that I say she hasn\u2019t thrown anything into a torn sack, as my actions will prove.<\/span><\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t want your grace to have any unpleasant disputes with my lord and my lady, because if your grace argues with them, it will obviously harm me, and it wouldn\u2019t be right if after you advised me to show gratitude, your grace doesn\u2019t show it to those who have granted you so many favors and treated you so well in their castle.<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t understand what you said about clawing, but I imagine it must be one of the evil villainies that wicked enchanters usually do to you; I\u2019ll find out when we see each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to send your grace something, but I don\u2019t know what to send, except some very curious tubing for syringes that they make on this \u00ednsula to be used with bladders; though if my position lasts, I\u2019ll find something to send to you, one way or another.<\/span><\/p>\n

If my wife, Teresa Panza, writes to me, would your grace please pay the <\/a>cost and send me the letter, for I long to know the condition of my house, my wife, and my children. And with this, may God free your grace from the evil intentions of enchanters, and take me from this governorship safe and sound, which I doubt, because according to how Dr. Pedro Recio treats me, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll get away with more than my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your grace\u2019s servant,<\/span>
SANCHO<\/span> PANZA THE<\/span> GOVERNOR<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The secretary sealed the letter and dispatched the courier immediately, and then the men who were deceiving Sancho met and decided how to dispatch him from the governorship; Sancho spent the afternoon issuing some ordinances concerning the good government of what he imagined to be an \u00ednsula, and he ordered that there were to be no speculators in provisions in the nation, and that wine could be imported from anywhere, as long as its place of origin was indicated, so that it could be priced according to its value, quality, and reputation, and whoever watered it or changed its name would lose his life.<\/p>\n

He lowered the price of all footwear, especially shoes, because it seemed to him they were sold at an exorbitant price; he put a cap on the salaries of servants, which were galloping unchecked along the road of greed; he imposed very serious penalties on those who sang lewd and lascivious songs, either by night or by day. He ordered that no blind man could sing verses about miracles unless he carried authentic testimonies to their truth, because it seemed to him that most of the ones blind men sang about were false, bringing those that were true into disrepute.<\/p>\n

He created and appointed a bailiff for the poor, not to persecute them but to examine them to see if they really were poor, because in the shadow of feigned cripples and false wounds come the strong arms of thieves and very healthy drunkards. In short, he ordained things so good that to this day they are obeyed in that village and are called The Constitution of the Great Governor Sancho Panza.<\/span><\/p>\n

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