“ for as fire cannot be hidden or kept secret, virtue cannot escape being recognised ”
Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote (1605). copy citation
| Author | Miguel de Cervantes |
|---|---|
| Source | Don Quixote |
| Topic | virtue hiding |
| Date | 1605 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by John Ormsby |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/996/996-h/996-h.htm |
Context
“Don Quixote was amazed to see how many people gazed at him, called him by his name, and recognised him, and turning to Don Antonio, who rode at his side, he observed to him, "Great are the privileges knight-errantry involves, for it makes him who professes it known and famous in every region of the earth; see, Don Antonio, even the very boys of this city know me without ever having seen me." "True, Senor Don Quixote," returned Don Antonio; "for as fire cannot be hidden or kept secret, virtue cannot escape being recognised; and that which is attained by the profession of arms shines distinguished above all others." It came to pass, however, that as Don Quixote was proceeding amid the acclamations that have been described, a Castilian, reading the inscription on his back, cried out in a loud voice, "The devil take thee for a Don Quixote of La Mancha!”
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