THE LIFE and EXPLOITS Of the ingenious gentleman DON QUIXOTE DE LA MANCHA. Tranflated from the ORIGINAL SPANISH Of MIGUEL CERVANTES DE SAAVEDRA. By CHARLES JARVIS, Efq; The Whole carefully revifed and corrected, with a new The SECOND EDITION. VOLUME THE FIRST. LONDON: Printed for J. and R. TONSON and S. DRAPER in M DCC XLIX. THE TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. S much as I diflike the ufual practice of tranflators, who think to recommend their own by cenfuring the former translations of their author, I am obliged to affure the reader, that, had I not thought thofe of Don Quixote very defective, I had never given myfelf or him the trouble of this undertaking. There have been already three of Don Quixote in English. The firft by Shelton has hitherto paffed as tranflated from the original, though many paffages in it manifeftly fhew it to have been taken from the Italian of Lorenzo Franciofini. An Inftance or two will be fufficient. In the ninth chapter of the third book of the first part, Sancho's afs is ftolen by Gines de Paffamonte, while Sancho is afleep; and prefently after, the author mounts him again in a very remarkable manner, fideways like a woman, a la mugeriega. This ftory being but imperfectly told, Franciofini took it for a grófs overfight: he therefore alters it, indeed a little unhappily; for, in defect of the afs, he is forced to put Sancho's wallets and provender upon Rozinante, though the wallets were ftopt before by the inn-keeper, in the third chapter of the third book. This blundering amendment of the tranflator is literally followed by Shelton. Again, in pursuance of this, Franciofini alters another paffage in the eleventh chapter of the fame boɔk. Sancho fays to his mafter, who had enjoined hirr abfo A 2 lute lute filence; If beafts could fpeak as they did in the days of Guifopete (I fuppofe he means fop) my cafe would not be quite fo bad; for then I might commune with my afs, and fay what I pleafed to him. Here the Italian makes him fay "Commune with Rozinante; " and Shelton follows him, with this addition, "Since my niggardly fortune has deprived me of my ass.' But what if Cervantes made this feeming flip on purpose for a bait to tempt the minor criticks; in the fame manner as, in another place, he makes the princess of Micomicon land at Offuna, which is no fea-port? As by that he introduced a fine piece of fatire on an eminent Spanish hiftorian of his time, who had defcribed it as fuch in his hiftory; fo by this he might only take occafion to reflect on a parallel incident in Ariofto, where Brunelo, at the fiege of Albraca, fteals the horse from between the legs of Sacripante king of Circaffia. It is the very defence he makes for it, in the fourth chapter of the fecond part, where, by the way, both the Italian and old English tranflators have preserved the excufe, though by their altering the text they had taken away the occafion of it. The edition by John Stevens is but a bare attempt to correct fome paffages of Shelton, and, though the grammar be a little mended by the connecting particles, the antique ftile of the old one is entirely broken. This is therefore fo much the worse by altering the ridiculous of the old diction, without coming nearer to the fense or fpirit of the original. Stevens alfo has made the fame wife amendments with his predeceffors. That of Motteux is done by feveral hands, and is a kind of loose paraphrase, rather than a translation; and has quite another caft, being taken wholly from the French, which, by the way, was alfo from the Italian. It is full of what is called the Faux brillant, and openly carries throughout it a kind of low comic or burlesque vein. Motteux is fo injudicious as to value his verfion upon this very air of comedy, than which nothing can be more foreign to the defign of the author, whofe principal and distinguishing character is, to preserve the |