Don Juan Tenorio | Page 9

y amatorio between quarreling and Love's net,
en mi puerta este cartel: I posted a sign to let them know: Aquí está don Juan Tenorio
'Here's Don Juan Tenorio, para quien quiera algo de él. for whoever wants to have a go.'
De aquellos días la historia I wont relate the story a relataros renuncio: of those days, my
recreation, remítome a la memoria I'll leave it to the memory que dejé allí, y de mi gloria
that I left there, and my glory podéis juzgar por mi anuncio. you can judge from my
declaration. Las romanas caprichosas, The Roman women: capricious, las costumbres
licenciosas, their customs: licentious, yo gallardo y calavera, I: a gallant rake ¿quién a
cuento redujera who on earth could make mis empresas amorosas? the count of my
amorous adventures? Salí de Roma por fin I finally left Rome's eyes, como os podéis
figurar, as you can imagine, sadly, con un disfraz harto ruin, in a quite lowly disguise, y a
lomos de un mal rocín, on a nag that was hardly a prize, pues me querían ahorcar. since
they truly wanted to hang me. Fui al ejército de España, I went to the Spanish army mas
todos paisanos míos, but all were my kinsmen, soldados y en tierra extraña, soldiers, and
in a strange country, dejé pronto su compaña I soon left their company, tras cinco u seis
desafíos. after five or six duels, again. Nápoles, rico vergel Naples, a rich love-garden de
amor, del placer emporio, an empire of pleasure, and so vio en mi segundo cartel: it saw
my second proclamation: Aquí está don Juan Tenorio, 'Here's Don Juan Tenorio y no hay
hombre para él. who has no competition. Desde la princesa altiva From the princess who
will not bend a la que pesca en ruin barca, to a fishergirl in a lowly boat, no hay hembra a
quien no suscriba; there's no female who does not attend, y a cualquier empresa abarca no
enterprise he will not float, si en oro o valor estriba. whether it smacks of gold or valour.
Búsquenle los reñidores; Let the quarrelsome ones, cérquenle los jugadores; and the
gamblers, come: quien se precie, que le ataje; whoever is proud, let him see Y a ver si
hay quien le aventaje if he can take advantage of me, en juego, en lid o en amores. in
gaming, in loving, or fighting!' Esto escribí; y en medio año That's what I wrote, and in
the half-year que mi presencia gozó that Naples enjoyed my presence there, Nápoles, no
hay lance extraño, there was no strange affair, no hay escándalo ni engaño no scandal or
fraud, I fear, en que no me hallara yo. towards which I didn't steer. Por dondequiera que
fui Wherever I strayed la razón atropellé, I trampled on right, la virtud escarnecí, virtue,
the jade, a la justicia burlé, I scorned, tricked the might y a las mujeres vendí. of the law,
and women betrayed. Yo a las cabañas bajé, I went down the alleys. yo a los palacios
subí, and up to the palaces, yo los claustros escalé, boarded cloisters, like galleys, y en
todas partes dejé and wherever I sallied, memoria amarga de mí. left bitter memories, Ni

reconocí sagrado, knew nothing holy. ni hubo ocasión ni lugar There was no occasion or
place por mi audacia respetado; respected by my audacity, ni en distinguir me he parado
nor did I stop, for veracity, al clérigo del seglar. to distinguish a lay from a clerical face.
A quien quise provoqué, Any whose wish I detected con quien quiso me batí, I
challenged, and any I chose, y nunca consideré and I never once reflected que pudo
matarme a mí that any I killed of those aquel a quien yo maté. might have had me
dissected. A esto don Juan se arrojó, This is what Don Juan undertook, y escrito en este
papel and written on this sheet está cuanto consiguió, is what he made of his luck, y lo
que él aquí escribió and what he wrote here, look, mantenido está por él. is vouched for
by him, and complete.
DON LUIS: Leed, pues. Read it then.
DON JUAN: No, oigamos antes No, first lets hear news vuestros bizarros extremos, of
your extravagant acts, y si traéis terminantes and if you've the proof, vuestras notas
comprobantes, that will show us the truth, lo escrito cotejaremos. let's hear the facts.
DON LUIS: Decís bien; cosa es que You speak well, yes, that's right está, don Juan, muy
puesta en razón; Don Juan, its said with reason; aunque a mi ver poco irá though in my
opinion it's slight, de una a otra relación. any small difference between them.
DON JUAN: Empezad, pues. Begin then.
DON