San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-06-08
A High Endorsement.
HIGH SCHOOL, JUNO 5, ISL


the Quijote, when she came to my
room ready for examination, ] sur
prised her by writing on the blank.
Examination for the graduating
class:
"Que piensa V del Quijote?"
what do you think of the Quijote?)
and she wrote the composition in
question, and after / spoke to you
about publishing it, l called her
and asked to make the transla-
tion which l now send you.
She, Miss Symington,is thorough
ly competent to speak Spanish and
to teach it. Always industrious,
pleasant and courteous, such was
Miss Symington during the eight
years | had the pleasure Of in
structing her.
Once more many thanks for
your kindness.
Yours truly,
r. G. GUERRERO.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF "QUI-
JOTE?"
That it is the work of a man of
very powerful genius; one whose
imagination, extending over all
the situations of life, absurd, eX-
travagant, amorous and beautiful
could not be COMPOUNDED by any
contrary circumstance, and could
never refuse obedience to the COM
mand of its master; whose ideas
flowed so rapidly that the hands
and the pen of the author could
scarcely move fast enough to trans
fer them to paper.
y Genius, to whatever class it may
belong, always commands the ad-
miration of those who can under
stand it; authors, poets, artists, all
those to whom nature has given
genius, hold in their own hands
the key to success and fame. Such
a person was Miguel Cervantes,
whose famous book has been and
must always be, the monument Of
his fame and of the glory of his
genius. "QuijOte" is the work Of a
man whose life was full of troubles,
in the midst of which the brillian-
cy of his genius cleaned like the
sun among the clouds. Poverty,
obscurity, and the Indifference of
the people. could not lower the
grandeur Of his genius and of his
mind.
"QuijOte" is full of beautiful
thoughts, pure ideas, elevated SEN
timents, noble feelings, and tender
expressions; the words, chosen
more for their faculty of express
ing the sentiments of the heart
and soul, than for their sound,
seem, for that very reason, more
beautiful and more satisfactory.
The purpose Of the book is not
that which is generally under
stood; Cervantes did not write to
make the ancient chivalry of
Spain absurd; that had disap-
peared before the time of our au-
thor; but the books of his age were
presenting false and affected pic
lures of thivalry, and the creator
of "Quijots" wished to change these
ideas. The popularity Of his book
is the best proof of his success.
The style Of the "Quijote" is dis
tinguished by its humor, brillian-
cy, vivacity of expression, and ele-
walton of ideas and sentiments;
and when we read it, we must
laugh at the conversations of San
Cho PanZa, the "prince of philoso-
piers" with their triviality, their
humor, their falsities, and the
truths that, although seemingly
senseless, really contain the fruits
Of profound observation and power
full reasoning. We can almost see
his small, round figure, and hear
his voice, in the lively, picturesque
words of Cervantes.
The gentleman of the sad fig
ure" also seems to pass before us.
The basin on his head, and the eX-
preston of sincerity and gloom on
his cOuntenanCe, make us laugh
and his views of the world, of life,
and of his own mission on earth,
would be absurd, if they were not
so pathetic. The purity of his sem
Jiments makes us admire him; the
beauty of his language charms us
his character is a strange mixture
If the sensible and the foolish, Of
Jhe educated and the ignorant;
n short, "Don QuijOte" is
he creation of Cervantes' genius.
We must read this book more
han once to appreciate and under
stand it completely, for it has
many ideas, many scenes, whose
can only be cOmpre-
lended by study and thought and,
although the simplicity Of lam
,uage and of expression makes it