堂吉訶德·上卷（英文版）

經典之所以是經典，老堂對中世紀黃金時代淳樸自然生活的讚美和對當下世風日下的批評，呼喚騎士精神的迴歸和拯救。 那是一個快樂幸福的時代，賦予了黃金時代的美名；那個時代不分你我，和諧共處，彼此友愛；泉水清冽豐盈，大地母親物產豐富、慷慨共給，養育着快樂生活的子女； 淳樸善良、戴着香柏花冠的牧羊女，輕盈的身影穿峽谷、過草坡，衣帶飄飄、身心逍遙無所憂懼。欺詐、惡毒還不曾染指真誠善良；公平正義還沒有被貪婪利慾傷害。 我，堂吉訶德，要爲那樣一種良善正義的迴歸而戰；爲騎士精神的迴歸而戰，保護弱女、解救貧孤、救助急難是我從今往後一切歷險的職責。 “Happy the age, happy the time, to which the ancients gave the name of golden” In that blessed age all things were in common; Then all was peace, all friendship, all concord; The clear streams and running brooks yielded their savoury limpid waters in noble abundance. the tender bowels of our first mother that without compulsion yielded from every portion of her broad fertile bosom all that could satisfy, sustain, and delight the children that then possessed her the innocent and fair young shepherdess roamed from vale to vale and hill to hill, the wreathed leaves of the green dock and ivy, wherewith they went as bravely and becomingly. wandered at will alone and unattended, without fear of insult from lawlessness or libertine assault, Fraud, deceit, or malice had then not yet mingled with truth and sincerity. Justice held her ground, undisturbed and unassailed by the efforts of favour and of interest, In defence of these, as time advanced and wickedness increased, the order of knights-errant was instituted, to defend maidens, to protect widows and to succour the orphans and the needy.

Through the lens of Don Quixote’s frequently absurd adventure-seeking, Cervantes demonstrates the social realities of the 17th-century Spain. His unwavering belief in a world that is filled with chivalry suggests his unrealistic idealism, leading to the perception of windmills as giants, inns as castles. However, this story reminds us that the pursuit of dreams and fight for what we believe in would make our life more meaningful despite the harsh realities we often encounter .