SEnORA DE POLICHINELA. Mi hija en la miseria! Ese hombre es un verdugo!

SIRENA. Ved que el amor es nino delicado y resiste pocas privaciones.

DOCTOR. No ha de ser! Que el senor Polichinela firmara aqui mismo esplendida donacion, como corresponde a una persona de su calidad y a un padre amantisimo. Escribid, escribid, senor Secretario, que a esto no ha de oponerse nadie.

TODOS. (_Menos Polichinela._) Escribid, escribid!

DOCTOR. Y vosotros, jovenes enamorados..., resignaos con las riquezas, que no conviene extremar escrupulos que nadie agradece.

PANTALoN. (_A Crispin._) Seremos pagados?

CRISPiN. Quien lo duda? Pero habeis de proclamar que el senor Leandro nunca os engano... Ved como se sacrifica por satisfaceros aceptando esa riqueza, que ha de repugnar a sus sentimientos.

PANTALoN. Siempre le creimos un n.o.ble caballero.

HOSTELERO. Siempre.

ARLEQUiN. Todos lo creimos.

CAPITaN. Y lo sostendremos siempre.

CRISPiN. Y ahora, Doctor, ese proceso, habra tierra bastante en la tierra para echarle encima?

DOCTOR. Mi prevision se antic.i.p.a a todo. Bastara con puntuar debidamente algun concepto... Ved aqui: donde dice... Y resultando que si no declaro..., basta una coma, y dice: Y resultando que si, no declaro... Y aqui: Y resultando que no, debe condena.r.s.ele..., fuera la coma, y dice: Y resultando que no debe condena.r.s.ele...

CRISPiN. Oh, admirable coma! Maravillosa coma! Genio de la Justicia!

Oraculo de la Ley! Monstruo de la Jurisprudencia!

DOCTOR. Ahora confio en la grandeza de tu senor.

CRISPiN. Descuidad. Nadie mejor que vos sabe como el dinero puede cambiar a un hombre.

SECRETARIO. Yo fui el que puso y quito esas comas...

CRISPiN. En espera de algo mejor... Tomad esta cadena. Es de oro.

SECRETARIO. De ley?[104.1]

CRISPiN. Vos lo sabreis que entendeis de leyes...

POLICHINELA. Solo impondre una condicion. Que este picaro deje para siempre de estar a tu servicio.

CRISPiN. No necesitais pedirlo, senor Polichinela. Pensais que soy tan pobre de ambiciones como mi senor?

LEANDRO. Quieres dejarme, Crispin? No sera sin tristeza de mi parte.

CRISPiN. No la tengais, que ya de nada puedo serviros y conmigo dejais la piel del hombre viejo... Que os dije, senor? Que entre todos habian de salvarnos... Creedlo. Para salir adelante con todo, mejor que crear afectos es crear intereses...

LEANDRO. Te enganas, que sin el amor de Silvia, nunca me hubiera salvado.

CRISPiN. Y es poco interes ese amor? Yo di siempre su parte al ideal y conte con el siempre. Y ahora, acabo la farsa.

SILVIA. (_Al publico._) Y en ella visteis, como en las farsas de la vida, que a estos munecos como a los humanos, muevenlos cordelillos groseros, que son los intereses, las pasioncillas, los enganos y todas las miserias de su condicion: tiran unos de sus pies y los llevan a tristes andanzas; tiran otros de sus manos, que trabajan con pena, luchan con rabia, hurtan con astucia, matan con violencia. Pero entre todos ellos, desciende a veces del cielo al corazon un hilo sutil, como tejido con luz de sol y con luz de luna, el hilo del amor, que a los humanos, como a estos munecos que semejan humanos, les hace parecer divinos, y trae a nuestra frente resplandores de aurora, y pone alas en nuestro corazon y nos dice que no todo es farsa en la farsa, que hay algo divino en nuestra vida que es verdad y es eterno y no puede acabar cuando la farsa acaba.

NOTES

With few exceptions the Notes contain only words and locutions that require more than translation or a word or two of simple explanation; for other forms see vocabulary.

Grammatical references, when not given in full, are as follows:

Ramsey = M. M. Ramsey, _A Text Book of Modern Spanish_, New York, 1894.

Bello-Cuervo = Andres Bello, _Gramatica de la lengua castellana... con extensas notas y un copioso indice alfabetico de D. Rufino Jose Cuervo_, Paris, 1908.

SIN QUERER

This one-act comedy ill.u.s.trates Benavente's fondness for ironical and surprising situations. It is characteristic of the time when he was wont to make fun of the aristocratic circles of Madrid. The ostensible purpose of the play is to ridicule the traditional manner of arranging marriages in Spain. Joined to this is the more simple idea of amusing the audience. It is interesting to note that Benavente himself acted the part of Pepe in the first production of the piece, thereby demonstrating his close relationship with the practical side of the theater. The Teatro de la Comedia, where the sketch was first shown, is on the Calle del Principe, near the Puerta del Sol, in Madrid. It is devoted to high-cla.s.s comedy. Press notices attest that _Sin querer_ was well received by the public.

[3.1] =con que= 'provided,' 'if only.' The meaning of this conjunction varies according to whether it is followed by the indicative or the subjunctive. See vocabulary, under =con=.

[3.2] =que pase= 'let him come in.' Here que introduces the imperative of the third person; the different uses of =que= must be carefully distinguished in the three plays of this volume.

[3.3] =nos avisas.= The present indicative, instead of the future or imperative, for greater vividness.

[3.4] =Porque me haya usted oido= 'Because you may have heard me.' =Porque= does not influence the mood of =haya=; the subjunctive is governed by an idea of possibility not expressed, but which might be indicated by =es posible= or by =se puede=.

[3.5] =una.= An indefinite subject, indicated in English by 'one,' 'we,'

'you,' 'they,' 'people,' etc., is usually expressed in Spanish by the reflexive. The p.r.o.noun =uno= or =una= may, however, replace =se= and it tends to make the subject less vague.

[3.6] =Tratandose de usted= 'When you are concerned.' Participial constructions (whether the participle be present or past) are frequently best translated by dependent clauses.

[3.7] =al pasar= 'in pa.s.sing,' 'when you pa.s.s.' The common use of =al= with the infinitive, where English has a dependent clause or the present participle governed usually by 'in,' 'on,' 'upon,' 'while,' etc.

[4.1] =hombre.= A common form of emphatic address, sometimes to be translated and sometimes to be omitted according to the English context; =mujer= is similarly employed.

[4.2] =Ya supondras= 'Of course you must suppose' (or 'imagine'). The future tense denoting probability is especially prominent in conversation and therefore in the drama, and must be watched closely. It may be translated by 'must' or 'can,' or by such words as 'probably,'

'quite,' 'of course.' =Ya= frequently accompanies it.

[4.3] =nuestro corazon.= When reference is made to a part of the body common to two or more individuals of a group, or to an object possessed by each one of them, Spanish, unlike English, generally employs a singular noun.

[4.4] =de... a.= Correlative prepositions equivalent to 'between... and.'

[4.5] =hemos de= 'should.' Perhaps no Spanish locution a.s.sumes so many shades of meaning as =haber de=. It may be rendered by any of the large number of English words and phrases that denote a mild obligation. When it occurs in this text, the list of meanings in the vocabulary should be consulted and the most appropriate one chosen. Moreover, the reader has ample opportunity, in particular cases, to improve upon any given list of meanings.