The Secret of Don Quixote' s Appeal
For more than three centuries readers in all countries have been delighted by the adventures of an absurd gentleman named Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza.The masterpiece of Miguel de Cervantes，a Spanish contemporary of Shakespear，Don Quixote tells of a poor gentleman who tries to relive the heroic days of old by seeking adventure in the manner of the knight-errant of medieyal romance.
Don Quixote's popularity is not caused merely by his being delightfully ridiculbus，a comical nuisance，an absurd figure apt to get into trotlble wherever he goes.Beneath his humorous surface Don Quixote is the embodiment，even though he is also the exaggeration，of a great idea——that life holds more than the humdrum routine of everyday affairs，that true greatness is to be found only in the spirit of service to an ideal.
That for Don Quixote the ideal is an illusion does not detract from its fascination，though it does make him a pathetic figure.To attemp the impossible for the sake of honor，to add to the store of human greatness by risking everything without the hope of material gain，to endure danger and hardship because endurance itself is noble——this is the quixotic ideal； this is the secret of Don Quixote's universal appeal.
We must laugh at this absurdity，but we are moved by it as well； if there is any chivalry or generosity in us，we cannot help being on his side，however，innocent his victims.We know he cannot win，but his misguided valor excites our pity with our laughter .
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