Rinconete y Cortadillo
References and translations
Translation
To which the boy replied, Sir, I don't get mixed up in things
I don't understand; what I know is that each one in his profession
can praise God, and especially when things are so well ordered as
they are under Monipodio.
Without doubt,
said Rincón, it must be a good and
holy order since it makes thieves serve God.
It is so holy and so good,
replied the boy, that I
don't know if it would be possible to improve on it in our craft. He
has laid it down that out of what we steal we give something by way
of alms to pay for oil for the lamp which burns in front of a most
sacred image in this city, and indeed we have seen great things as a
result of this good work. Some days ago they inflicted the
ansia three times on a cuatrero who had stolen a
couple of roznos, and although he was thin and sickly,
he endured it without squealing, as if it were nothing. We in the
profession attribute this to his piety, for he's not really strong
enough to suffer the primer desconcierto of the
torturer's rope. And because I know you are going to ask me about
some of the words l've been using, prevention is better than cure,
so l'll tell you before you ask me. You must know that a
cuatrero is a horsethief; ansia is a
torture; roznos are asses, speaking with respect;
primer desconcierto is the first twist of the rope.
Other things we do, like saying our rosary once a week, and many of
us don't steal on a Friday, nor do we speak to a woman called Mary
on a Saturday.
All this seems delightful to me,
said Cortado, but tell
me, is any other restitution or penance demanded apart from what
you've said?
There's no question of restitution,
answered the boy.
That is impossible; for the stolen goods are divided up, and each
one of the members and contracting parties takes his share. So the
one who first did the stealing cannot give anything back, especially
since there is no one to make us do it, for we never go to
confession. And if they excommunicate us, the news never reaches us,
because we never go to church at the time when the decrees are read,
except on feast days, for the sake of the profit which the crowds
provide.
And do these gentlemen say,
asked Cortado, that their
life is holy and good just because they do things like that?
Well, what's wrong with it?
replied the boy. Isn't it
worse to be a heretic or a renegade, or to kill one's father and
mother, or to be a solomite?
You must mean sodomite,
said Rincón.
That's what I soy,
said the boy.
It's all just as bad,
Cortado went on. But since our
fate has decreed that we should join this brotherhood, let's get
moving, for l'm. dying to meet Mr Monipodio, of whose many virtues I
hear so much.
Your wish will soon be fulfilled,
said the boy, for you
can see his house from here. Stay at the door, and 1'11 go in and
see if he's free, because this is the time when he usually sees
people.
All right,
said Rincón.
And going on a little, the boy went into a house, which didn't look very impressive - in fact it looked exactly the opposite and the two of them wáited at the door. He soon came out and called them, and they went in. Their guide told them to wait in a little courtyard paved with brick, which was so spotlessly clean that it shone as if it had been rubbed with the finest vermilion. On one side was a three-legged-stool and on the other a pitcher with a broken lip, with a little jug on top, suffering from the same complaint as the pitcher; on the other side was a rush mat, and in the middle a pot, which they call a maceta in Seville, with sweet basil in it.