“Never look for birds of this year in the nests of the last.”

About Cervantes

- A laconic Jabberwocky.

“Let the stormy winds bluster … we will set sail tonight”, ordered the reckless captain of Algerian pirates’ ship, which in the wake of its cruise in north-western Mediterranean confronted a horrendous thunderstorm. Captive, in the lowest deck among the shackles, was hostage in a state of decrepitude and physical impairment, who had got his left arm amputated when he braved three bullets in the battle of Lepanto, 1571, and who used to say that, “I had lost the movement of the left hand for the glory of the right”. Moral!

Caught by those corsairs in their hunt somewhere near Iberia. He had – as a natural spirited reaction – made a few unsuccessful escape attempts. Had he knew then, the reckless captain of pirates, that this man will have his impressions on the Euro coins of Spain centuries ago? I guess not. Since, had it been the case then he also would have the exposure to the fact that this man with his role in European history would become one of the greatest literary figures of all times to the extent that his day of decease i.e. April 23 will be remembered as International Day of the Book specifically by UNESCO and generally by the world at large. It was due to his works that shaped the direction of future European literature and triggered the evolutionary phase of modern European Novel.

It was for the work, for which, Dostoevsky said “the ultimate and most sublime word of human thinking", Britannica says "Great Books of the Western World", Wikipedia quotes as a founding classic of Western literature that regularly figures among the best novels ever written. Oxford Reference attributed as the work that greatly influenced the development of the novel. And which is among exemplary novels of Project Gutenberg. Same has been translated into all major languages of globe and has 700 editions. It is his magnum opus ‘Don Quixote’ and the writer was ‘Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’ ( 1547–1616).Commonly known as Cervantes.

Don Quixote, which was realized in two volumes first one in 1605 titled as ‘El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha’, and second after arduously and painfully long interval of several years, not earlier than 1615 to be named as ‘Segunda parte del ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha’. Notwithstanding, the first volume which immediately earned him popular acclaim had innocence but immaturity, emotions but irregularity and affection but asymmetry. The latter one was more mature, improved and was based on realism indifferent from idealism of previous part. It was all the way through that part one, then interval of several years and to the chapter no. LXXIV of the part two where Cervantes learned to hold that;

“Never look for birds of this year in the nests of the last.”

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