Don Quixote

By David Berg January, 1973

"Don Quixote De La Mancha", the amusing crazily crusading hero, a caricatured figure of mingled fun and pathos, was the gallivanting knight out of time with his generation, who was so demented he thought he was still living in the days of ancient chivalry, so that he rode around gallantly on his old nag in a patchwork suit of Armour with a pot for a helmet, faithfully followed on a funny little donkey by his fat and fuming "squire", Sancho Panza, gravely concerned for his odd master's safety during such ridiculous exploits as challenging windmills to battle whom he thought to be giants and rescuing fair ladies whom he supposed to be in distress, residing in an old inn he imagined to be a castle!

He was really very noble, good-hearted and well-meaning, though somewhat misguided by his dementia and delusions of grandeur. However, in a way, he was a sort of fictional characterisation of his author's, Cervantes', own colourful life, a young Spanish idealist who went from job to job and battle to battle and bad to worse in his financial, military and marital difficulties. With a household of women to support, including his sisters, nieces, wife, mistress and daughter, he was frequently imprisoned for his debts, and wrote "Don Quixote" while in jail, about 1603 when he was 53 years of age, received nearly nothing for it, and died in poverty and near disgrace!

The book itself is now considered the first and greatest of modern novels, and has been translated into more languages than any other book in the world outside the Bible! In fact, the first English translation was published in 1612, only one year later than the world-famed King James Bible of 1611! Set in Cervantes' native land of Spain long after the Crusades were over, "Don Quixote" revives the crusading spirit, searching for meaning and purpose to life, the nature and reality of truth, the relativity of judgement and values and innersprings of character with a constant delving beneath the surface of appearances and experience for a deeper significance and an all-pervading sense of the frailties of humanity.

Don Quixote has even inspired movies, such as "The Man of La Mancha" and "The Adventures of Don Quixote". While viewing the end of the latter on TV, we were suddenly struck by his resemblance to ourselves and the reaction of his followers to his return to sanity on his deathbed. A poor young girl like one of you asks him sadly, "But how can you have been mad when you were so beautiful; so good and so poetic?"--To which he wanly replies, "I suppose wise madness is better than foolish sanity!"--TO which we suddenly received the witness of the Spirit with the first of the following verses, the remainder of which were inspired during the night.

He lived in a world of fantasy
Where all were mad but he.
He lived in a world of madness
Where he alone was free!

He lived in a world of madness
Where only he was sane
He brought them joy and gladness
They only brought him pain!

He lived in a world of madness
Where only he was wise.
They lived in a world of sadness
'Twas folly in disguise!

Where happiness is madness
'Tis wisdom in disguise--
Where sanity is sadness
'Tis folly to be wise!

(see complete letter - DeepTruths)

We had also just seen the awful "Death of Adolph Hitler", and could not help but see the tremendous contrast between the lives of these two madmen--one good and one bad, one loved and one hated. Yet the bad man was long considered sane by the world, and the good man has always been thought crazy! You see, it all depends on who is calling who mad! But odd men trying to do good, like Quixote, Pied Piper, Rasputin, Moses, Simple Simon, Russia's "Idiot", Jesus, Paul and we, are so honest and loving we're insane!



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