40 Best 'Don Quixote' Quotes From The First Modern Novel
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The first half of the book was published in 1605, and the second followed in 1615. It follows a countryman who has his heart set on becoming a knight-errant.
Don Quixote is well-known as a parody of the chivalric romances that were popular in the 1600s. Moreover, the book is also regarded as 'the first modern novel' as the author gave value to its characters' thoughts and beliefs by adding dimensions.
Reading quotes from Don Quixote will provide you with a fair idea about the significance laid down by Miguel de Cervantes. The main message remains to serve your country as a knight, live a chivalrous life and strive to be better.
If you find the Don Quixote quotes captivating, check out Dante's Inferno quotes and War and Peace quotes for more bookish recommendations.
'Don Quixote' Famous Quotes By Miguel De Cervantes
As one of the most notable works of literature, 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes has some great quotes. Here are some of them.
1. “Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
2. “Hunger is the best sauce in the world.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
3. “What man can pretend to know the riddle of a woman's mind?”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
4. “The maddest thing a man can do in this life is to let himself die.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
5. “There is only one thing, which somebody once put into my head, that I dislike in sleep; it is, that it resembles death.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
6. “All human things, especially the lives of men, are transitory.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
7. “The poor gentleman lost his senses, in poring over, and attempting to discover the meaning of these and other such rhapsodies, which Aristotle himself would not be able to unravel, were he to rise from the dead for that purpose only.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
8. “There is a God in heaven, who will take care to chastise the wicked and reward the righteous.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
9. “Destiny guides our fortunes more favorably than we could have expected.”
Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
10. “Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
11. “Her courteousness and fair looks draw on everybody to love her; but then her dogged stubborn coyness breaks their hearts, and makes them ready to hang themselves.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
12. “If thou sendest for thy wife she ought to take of her husband's good-fortune, teach her, instruct her, polish her as best thou canst, till her native rusticity is refined to handsomer behavior.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
13. “A child may persuade him it is night at noonday, and he is so simple, that I cannot help loving him with all my heart and soul, and cannot leave him in spite of all his follies.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
14. “Don Quixote was enraged, when he heard such blasphemies uttered against his mistress Dulcinea, and lifting up his lance, without speaking a syllable, or giving the least notice of his intention, discharged two such hearty blows upon the squire, as brought him instantly to the ground.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
15. “This refusal but added love to love and flame to flame; for though they enforced silence upon our tongues they could not impose it upon our pens, which can make known the heart’s secrets to a loved one more freely than tongues.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
16. “The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces above lies.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
'Don Quixote' Comedy Quotes
Because 'Don Quixote' was written as a parody, Cervantes filled it up with hearty jokes to make the readers laugh. Have a look at some of them.
17. “There is no book so bad but it has something good in it.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
18. “Wit and humor do not reside in slow minds.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
19. “He pays me very well, he has given me three colts, and I am so very true and trusty to him, that nothing but death can part us.”
‒ Sancho, Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
20. “Even the very goatherds and shepherds were now fully convinced that Don Quixote's brains were turned topsy-turvy.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
21. “Revels, feasting, and repose were invented by effeminate courtiers; but, toil, anxiety, and arms are peculiar to those whom the world calls knights-errant.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
22. “In like manner, Sancho, Dulcinea del Toboso is as proper for my occasions as the highest princess upon earth.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
23. “He is mad past recovery, but yet he has lucid intervals.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
24. “Don Quixote seeing that none of the travelers took the least notice of him, or made any answer to his defiance, was transported with rage and vexation.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
25. “Knights-errant are not permitted to complain of any wound, even though their bowels be coming out through it.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
26. “What they call fortune is a flighty woman who drinks too much, and, what's more, she's blind, so she can't see what she's doing.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
27. “For me alone Don Quixote was born and I for him. His was the power of action, mine of writing.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
28. “He has an oar in every man's boat, and a finger in every pie.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
29. “Is it possible, good sir, that the idle and unlucky reading of books of chivalry, can have so far impaired your judgment, as that you should now believe yourself enchanted.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
30. “Do you see over yonder, friend Sancho, thirty or forty hulking giants? I intend to do battle with them and slay them.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
Quotes About Chivalry And Loyalty
Cervantes’ purpose to write Don Quixote was to portray the hollow ideals of the society, and to bring out the silliness of knights and their acts of chivalry. Here are some instances of it.
31. “If this be the case, we may, with admiration, conceive how firm the fellowship of those two peaceable animals must have been.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
32. “The divine Tobosan, fair
Dulcinea, claims me whole;
Nothing can her image tear;
'Tis one substance with my soul.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
33. “Having thus lost his understanding, he unluckily stumbled upon the oddest fancy that ever entered into a madman’s brain.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
34. “Sancho was very uneasy at hearing that knights errant were out of fashion, and books of chivalry full of nothing but folly and fiction; he resolved, however (in spite of all their contempt of chivalry) still to stick by his master.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, ‘Don Quixote’.
35. “By the Mass, she is a notable, strong-built, sizable, sturdy, manly lass, and one that will keep her chin out of the mire, I warrant her.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, ‘Don Quixote’.
36. “Consider, that no jewel upon earth is comparable to a woman of virtue and honor.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
37. “Virtue is persecuted by the wicked more than it is loved by the good.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
38. “Thou art a very simple fellow, Sancho, answered Don Quixote.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
39. “If you won't receive me as what I really am, your lawful wife, at least, admit me into the number of your slaves.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, ‘Don Quixote’.
40. “And since in all this the fault is yours, your grace, you ought to punish yourself.”
‒ Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Don Quixote quotes then why not take a look at 'Havamal' quotes, or Shakespeare love quotes.
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Bachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English
Rajnandini RoychoudhuryBachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English
With a Master of Arts in English, Rajnandini has pursued her passion for the arts and has become an experienced content writer. She has worked with companies such as Writer's Zone and has had her writing skills recognized by publications such as The Telegraph. Rajnandini is also trilingual and enjoys various hobbies such as music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading classic British literature.
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