CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, thir-van'tes si-A-v3-drii, Miguel de, Spanish poet and novelist, one of the great writers of modern times: b. Alcali de Henares, 9 Oct. 1547; d. Madrid, 23 April 1616. His parents removed to Madrid when he was about seven years old. Their limited means made it desirable that he should fix on some professional study, but he followed his irresistible. inclination to poetry, which his teacher, Juan Lopez, encouraged. Elegies, ballads, sonnets and a pastoral, 'Filena,) were the first productions of his poetical genius. Poverty compelled him to quit his country at the age of 22, to seek maintenance elsewhere; he went to Italy, where he became page to the Cardinal Giulio Acquaviva, in Rome. In 1570 he served under the papal com mander, Marco Antonio Colonna, in the war against the Turks and African corsairs, with distinguished courage. In the battle of Le panto in 1571, he lost his left hand. After this fie joined the troops at Naples, in the service of the Spanish king. In 1575, while returning to this country, he was taken by the corsair Arnaut Mami, and sold in Algiers as a slave. He remained in slavery for seven years, but servitude, far from subduing his mind, served to strengthen his faculties. Vin cente de los Rios and M. F. Navarrete, his chief biographers, relate the bold but unsuccess ful plans which he formed to obtain his free dom. In 1580 his friends and relations at length ransomed him. At the beginning of the following year he arrived in Spain, and from this time lived in seclusion, entirely devoted to the muses. It was natural to expect some thing uncommon from a man who, with inex haustible invention, great richness of imagina tion, keen wit, and a happy humor, united a mature, penetrating and dear intellect, and great knowledge of real life and mankind in general. But it rarely happens. that expecta tion is so much surpassed as was the case with Cervantes. He began his new poetical career with the pastoral novel (1584), in which he celebrated his mistress. Soon after the publication of this he married. Being thus obliged to look out for more lucrative labor he employed his poetical genius for the stage; and in the course of 10 years furnished about 30 dramas, among which his tragedy called (Numancia) is particularly valued. He was not so successful in another kind of drama particularly favored by the Spaniards, a tangled mixture of intrigues and adventures; and this was doubtless the cause of his being supplanted by Lope de Vega, who was particularly quali fied for this kind of composition. He conse quently gave up the theatre, but it seems not without regret. From 1588 to 1599 he lived retired at Seville, where he held a small office.
He did not appear again as an author till 1605, when he produced the first portion of that work which has immortalized his name,— Don Quixote.' Cervantes had in view by his work to reform the taste and opinions of his country men. He wished to ridicule that adventurous heroism with all its evil consequences, the source of which was the innumerable novels on knight-errantry. The beginning of the
work was at first coldly received, but soon met with the greatest applause, in which at a later period the whole of Europe joined. Cervantes' true poetical genius was nowhere so powerfully displayed as in his (Don Quixote,' which, not withstanding its prosaic purpose and its satirical aim, is full of genuine poetry. While it strug gles against the prevailing false romance of the time, it displays the most truly romantic spirit. The extraordinary good fortune of the work did not extend to the author. All his at tempts to better his condition were unsuccess ful, and he lived contented with his genius and his poverty, and a modest though proud esti mation of his merits. After an interval of some years, he again appeared before the pub lic in 1613, with Twelve Novels> (which may be placed by the side of Boccaccio's), and in 1614 his ( Journey to Parnassus' — an attempt to improve the taste of his nation. In 1615 he published eight new dramas, with intermez zos, which, however, were indifferently re ceived. Envy and in the meantime, as sailed him, and endeavored to deprive the neglected author of his literary fame; for which the delay of the continuation of Quixote' afforded the pretext. An unknown writer published, under the name of Alonzo Fernandez de Avellaneda, a continuation of this work, full of abuse of Cervantes. He felt the malice of the act painfully, but revenged him self in a noble manner by producing the con tinuation of his (Don Quixote' (1615), the last of his works which appeared during his lifetime; for his novel (Persiles and Sigis munda) was published after his death. He found a faithful friend in the Count of Lemos, but poverty, his constant companion through life, remained true to him till his last moments. He died on the same day as Shakespeare, in Madrid, where he had resided during the last years of his life, and the tercentenary anni of his death was celebrated in many opean and American literary centres, con ittnineously with the Shakesperian tercen tenary celebration in 1916. He was buried without any ceremony, and not even a com mon tombstone marks the spot where he rests. In addition to his celebrity as an author, he left the reputation of a man of a firm and noble character, clear-sighted to his own faults and those of others. (See Don QUIXOTE; EXEM PLARY NOVELS). Among the best early editions of Quixote) are the one published at Madrid by Joaquin Ibarra in 1780, considered a masterpiece of typography; that of Pellicer (Madrid 1798), and that of D. Diego Clemen cin, with an excellent commentary (Madrid 1833-39).Many of his works are translated; 'Don Quixote) into all the languages of Europe. Among early English translations may be mentioned those of Motteux (1719) ; Jarvis (1742) ; and Smollett (1755). A more recent notable translation is that of Ormsby, J.
(1885), containing life of the author, notes, bibliography, etc., republished with critical in troduction by Fitzmaurice-Kelly, J. (Glasgow 1901).