about two in the afternoon
All knights have their own special parts to play ; let the courtier devote himself to the ladies , let him add lustre to his sovereign 's court by his liveries , let him entertain poor gentlemen with the sumptuous fare of his table , let him arrange joustings , marshal tournaments , and prove himself noble , generous , and magnificent , and above all a good Christian , and so doing he will fulfil the duties that are especially his ; but let the knight-errant explore the corners of the earth and penetrate the most intricate labyrinths , at each step let him attempt impossibilities , on desolate heaths let him endure the burning rays of the midsummer sun , and the bitter inclemency of the winter winds and frosts ; let no lions daunt him , no monsters terrify him , no dragons make him quail ; for to seek these , to attack those , and to vanquish all , are in truth his main duties . I , then , as it has fallen to my lot to be a member of knight-errantry , can not avoid attempting all that to me seems to come within the sphere of my duties ; thus it was my bounden duty to attack those lions that I just now attacked , although I knew it to be the height of rashness ; for I know well what valour is , that it is a virtue that occupies a place between two vicious extremes , cowardice and temerity ; but it will be a lesser evil for him who is valiant to rise till he reaches the point of rashness , than to sink until he reaches the point of cowardice ; for , as it is easier for the prodigal than for the miser to become generous , so it is easier for a rash man to prove truly valiant than for a coward to rise to true valour ; and believe me , Senor Don Diego , in attempting adventures it is better to lose by a card too many than by a card too few ; for to hear it said , ` such a knight is rash and daring , ' sounds better than ` such a knight is timid and cowardly . ' '' `` I protest , Senor Don Quixote , '' said Don Diego , `` everything you have said and done is proved correct by the test of reason itself ; and I believe , if the laws and ordinances of knight-errantry should be lost , they might be found in your worship 's breast as in their own proper depository and muniment-house ; but let us make haste , and reach my village , where you shall take rest after your late exertions ; for if they have not been of the body they have been of the spirit , and these sometimes tend to produce bodily fatigue . '' `` I take the invitation as a great favour and honour , Senor Don Diego , '' replied Don Quixote ; and pressing forward at a better pace than before , at about two in the afternoon they reached the village and house of Don Diego , or , as Don Quixote called him , `` The Knight of the Green Gaban . '' Don Quixote found Don Diego de Miranda 's house built in village style , with his arms in rough stone over the street door ; in the patio was the store-room , and at the entrance the cellar , with plenty of wine-jars standing round , which , coming from El Toboso , brought back to his memory his enchanted and transformed Dulcinea ; and with a sigh , and not thinking of what he was saying , or in whose presence he was , he exclaimed -- `` O ye sweet treasures , to my sorrow found ! Once sweet and welcome when 't was heaven 's good-will . `` O ye Tobosan jars , how ye bring back to my memory the sweet object of my bitter regrets ! ''