Quiñones My master Don Antonio
is arriving with two pilgrims.

Don Antonio Were your pious intentions955
an excuse for the harshness
of avoiding us?

Cardenio Yes señor, but I would be happy
for this debt to be paid off
in instalments, and if possible960
after my pilgrimage,
from which I cannot be excused.

Don Antonio Fulfilling my wishes
easily lets you off.

Cardenio Is this my lady and my cousin?965

Don Antonio The very same.

Cardenio Oh my lady,
you are a precious archive
where beauty’s greatest treasure is stored.
Do not deny me these feet,970
since I do not deserve those hands.

Dorotea [aside] These are very courteous pilgrims!

Don Antonio Do not overdo the courtesy, dear cousin—
my sister is ignorant of the matter.

Muñoz [aside] What he has in mind975
has more to do with courting
than with courtesy! ²⁰

Marcela May I know your name señor,
so I may afford you due respect?

Cardenio Your cousin don Silvestre de Almendárez,980
shortly to be your husband.

Marcela I will proceed quite differently
with such a celebrated guest.
I must give you my arms,
not my feet, dear cousin.985

Muñoz [aside] I vouch these beginnings are sickly sweet
rather than affectionate!

Cardenio It is as if the hurricane
could not thwart our fleet,
nor the rough, rebellious sea divert our course,990
and as if my poor ship was not split
from mainmast to keel,
since I have arrived in such a port
and set foot on such a shore.
My riches were not consumed995
by the waters that swallowed them
since, by leaving me your goodness,
they have left me wealthier.
Today my fortunes swell
since, with new life and being,1000
I, a pilgrim, come to see
the image of your beauty.

Ocaña My customary sadness
might perhaps attain some portion
of this common happiness.1005
From here I wish to look at you,
if you, the bitter impediment
of my misfortune,
the sum and all the parts
of my well-being1010
will let yourself be looked at.
Standing in this corner,
like some luckless lackey,
perhaps I will see
some resurrection1015
of my dead ambition.

Marcela The greatest and most feared misfortune
is to lose one’s life.

Don Antonio Greater is to lose one’s honour.

Marcela It is true, and since you come1020
with life and honour, cousin,
you would do badly to feel bad
about the bad that I esteem as good.
And by arriving here you must agree
that you have found shelter in a port1025
where you will restore the fortune
cast into the ever-greedy sea.

Cardenio Were I to be your husband
my good fortune would be assured.

Torrente Are you a maiden of this house?1030

Cristina No, of the street.

Torrente Surely not.
That figure is worthy of a palace.
Do you serve here?

Cristina It seems I am well-served.1035

Torrente That was a sharp riposte

Ocaña Stay silent, my pretty.
Keep your lips sealed,
for you are already lost.

Torrente What is your name?1040

Cristina Cristina.

Torrente How sweet, but to come to my point,
do you like lying down?

Cristina I do not ‘lie down’
That’s enough of that.1045
The Basque from the Indies ²¹
is full of himself!

Torrente Señora, as you see,
I am a creole from Peru,
though I am drawn towards Burgundy.1050

Don Antonio You must rest, dear cousin,
and afterwards I should like to know
of the welfare of my aunt,
your father and my uncle.

Ocaña Treacherous pilgrim,1055
how you look at her!
Oh, false woman,
how you keep pouring on the sauce
to please his tastes!

Torrente Would to God I had never come,1060
or, since I am here, that I had never loved,
or that, since I loved, love had shown itself
not hard as steel but soft as wax…

Cardenio Your cards and presents
were deposited in the sea.1065

Ocaña My heart is in my mouth.
I am about to die!

Torrente …or that this warrior kitchen-maid
did not fire such sharp arrows
from out of the two suns1070
set in her beautiful face,
or was less lovely and more human…

Marcela Go in, señor, where you can
change into some decent clothes.

Cardenio My promise to God does not allow that favour.1075

Muñoz [aside] His tempest does not seem to be a fake!
I do not, therefore, expect calm after the storm,
but a much more serious shipwreck.

Cardenio I am temporarily unable to change my clothes.
The storm has brought about this poverty.1080

Torrente …Oh Love, restorer of life,
cure the anxieties of my soul,
which I cannot fit into a poem.

Don Antonio If your pilgrim’s plan were not so pious
I would have someone else perform it.1085

Muñoz Don’t speak to me, brother Torrente.
Someone may be listening,
and I feel that staying silent
is the healthiest course of action.