The simplest explanation for this may be found in Flaubert’s words about Don Quixote : “I found my origins in this book, which I knew by heart before I learned how to read.” Indeed, at the core of Don Quixote is something essential that we knew even before we read it but which became part of our nature only after we completed its mesmerizing journey.
距离这部伟大著作诞生至今已有四个世纪了，但该作的作者和主角看起来都比我们年轻。福娄拜对《唐吉诃德》的评论也许最能解释这个原因：“我在这本书中找到了自己的根源，这种根源是我在识字以前就已经用心感受到。”事实上，《唐吉诃德》的核心正是那些我们在阅读这本书以前就已经知道的最基本的东西，但是这些东西只有在我们跟随唐吉诃德完成美妙之旅后才会成为我们天性中的一部分。毫无疑问，这是一个作家心中伟大之印记。