[专栏]为什么我们应该要读《唐吉诃德》？(2)

为人所知的“愁容骑士”。
Originally published in two volumes,
最早出版时有两册，
the narrative follows Don Quixote
故事开始于唐吉诃德
as he travels through central and northern Spain
穿越西班牙中部和北部的旅行，
fighting the forces of evil.
一路上对抗邪恶势力。
Despite Don Quixote’s lofty imagination,
尽管唐吉诃德的想像力很高，
his creator, Miguel de Cervantes,
他的创作者，米格尔德塞凡提斯，
could never have imagined his book would
从来没有想像过他的书
become the best-selling novel of all time.
会成为史上最热卖的小说。
Barring 5 years as a soldier,
塞凡提斯当了五年的士兵，
and 5 more enslaved by pirates,
又被海盗给奴役了五年，
Cervantes spent most of his life
他的人生大部分时间
as a struggling poet and playwright.
都是个挣扎的诗人和剧作家。
It wasn’t until his late 50’s
一直到快要六十岁时，
that he published his greatest creation:
他最伟大的创作才出版：
an epic satire of chivalry novels.
一部讽刺骑士道小说的史诗作品。
At this time,
此时，
medieval books chronicling the adventures
记载了骑士的冒险
of knights and their moral code
及其道德规范的中世纪书籍
dominated European culture.
主宰了欧洲的文化。
While Cervantes was a fan,
塞凡提斯虽然是这类书迷，
he was weary of these repetitive tomes,
但他也厌倦了这些不断重覆的书，
which focused more on listing heroic feats