Chapter 18

XVIII WHAT THEY SAW IN THE COUNTRY OF EL DORADO. XVIII CE QU'ILS ONT VU DANS LE PAYS D'EL DORADO.

Cacambo expressed his curiosity to the landlord, who made answer:

"I am very ignorant, but not the worse on that account. «Je suis très ignorant, mais pas le pire pour cela. However, we have in this neighbourhood an old man retired from Court who is the most learned and most communicative person in the kingdom." At once he took Cacambo to the old man. Candide acted now only a second character, and accompanied his valet. They entered a very plain house, for the door was only of silver, and the ceilings were only of gold, but wrought in so elegant a taste as to vie with the richest. Ils entrèrent dans une maison très simple, car la porte n'était que d'argent, et les plafonds n'étaient que d'or, mais travaillés dans un goût si élégant qu'ils rivalisaient avec les plus riches. The antechamber, indeed, was only encrusted with rubies and emeralds, but the order in which everything was arranged made amends for this great simplicity. L'antichambre, en effet, n'était incrustée que de rubis et d'émeraudes, mais l'ordre dans lequel tout était arrangé faisait amende honorable à cette grande simplicité.

The old man received the strangers on his sofa, which was stuffed with humming-birds' feathers, and ordered his servants to present them with liqueurs in diamond goblets; after[Pg 81] which he satisfied their curiosity in the following terms: "I am now one hundred and seventy-two years old, and I learnt of my late father, Master of the Horse to the King, the amazing revolutions of Peru, of which he had been an eyewitness. «J'ai maintenant cent soixante-douze ans, et j'ai appris de mon défunt père, Maître du Cheval du Roi, les étonnantes révolutions du Pérou, dont il avait été témoin oculaire. The kingdom we now inhabit is the ancient country of the Incas, who quitted it very imprudently to conquer another part of the world, and were at length destroyed by the Spaniards.

"More wise by far were the princes of their family, who remained in their native country; and they ordained, with the consent of the whole nation, that none of the inhabitants should ever be permitted to quit this little kingdom; and this has preserved our innocence and happiness. «Plus sages étaient de loin les princes de leur famille, qui sont restés dans leur pays natal; et ils ont ordonné, avec le consentement de toute la nation, qu'aucun des habitants ne soit jamais autorisé à quitter ce petit royaume; et cela a préservé notre innocence et notre bonheur. The Spaniards have had a confused notion of this country, and have called it  El Dorado ; and an Englishman, whose name was Sir Walter Raleigh, came very near it about a hundred years ago; but being surrounded by inaccessible rocks and precipices, we have hitherto been sheltered from the rapaciousness of European nations, who have an inconceivable passion for the pebbles and dirt of our land, for the sake of which they would murder us to the last man." Les Espagnols ont eu une idée confuse de ce pays et l'ont appelé El Dorado; et un Anglais, qui s'appelait Sir Walter Raleigh, s'en est approché il y a environ cent ans; mais étant entourés de rochers et de précipices inaccessibles, nous avons été jusqu'à présent à l'abri de la rapacité des nations européennes, qui ont une passion inconcevable pour les cailloux et la saleté de notre terre, au nom desquels ils nous assassineraient jusqu'au dernier homme. " The conversation was long: it turned chiefly on their form of government, their manners,[Pg 82] their women, their public entertainments, and the arts. La conversation fut longue: elle tourna principalement sur leur forme de gouvernement, leurs manières, leurs femmes, leurs divertissements publics et les arts. At length Candide, having always had a taste for metaphysics, made Cacambo ask whether there was any religion in that country.

The old man reddened a little. Le vieil homme rougit un peu.

"How then," said he, "can you doubt it? «Comment alors, dit-il, pouvez-vous en douter? Do you take us for ungrateful wretches?" Vous nous prenez pour des misérables ingrats? " Cacambo humbly asked, "What was the religion in El Dorado?" The old man reddened again.

"Can there be two religions?" said he. "We have, I believe, the religion of all the world: we worship God night and morning." "Nous avons, je crois, la religion du monde entier: nous adorons Dieu nuit et matin." "Do you worship but one God?" "N'adorez-vous qu'un seul Dieu?" said Cacambo, who still acted as interpreter in representing Candide’s doubts.

"Surely," said the old man, "there are not two, nor three, nor four. I must confess the people from your side of the world ask very extraordinary questions." Candide was not yet tired of interrogating the good old man; he wanted to know in what manner they prayed to God in El Dorado.

"We do not pray to Him," said the worthy sage; "we have nothing to ask of Him; He has given us all we need, and we return Him thanks without ceasing." «Nous ne le prions pas», dit le digne sage; "nous n'avons rien à lui demander; il nous a donné tout ce dont nous avons besoin, et nous lui rendons grâce sans cesse." Candide having a curiosity to see the priests[Pg 83] asked where they were. The good old man smiled.

"My friend," said he, "we are all priests. The King and all the heads of families sing solemn canticles of thanksgiving every morning, accompanied by five or six thousand musicians." Le roi et tous les chefs de famille chantent chaque matin des cantiques solennels d'action de grâce, accompagnés de cinq ou six mille musiciens. " "What! have you no monks who teach, who dispute, who govern, who cabal, and who burn people that are not of their opinion?" n'avez-vous pas de moines qui enseignent, qui se disputent, qui gouvernent, qui cabale, et qui brûlent des gens qui ne sont pas de leur avis? "We must be mad, indeed, if that were the case," said the old man; "here we are all of one opinion, and we know not what you mean by monks." «Nous devons être fous, en effet, si c'était le cas,» a dit le vieil homme; "ici, nous sommes tous d'un même avis, et nous ne savons pas ce que vous entendez par moines." During this whole discourse Candide was in raptures, and he said to himself: Pendant tout ce discours, Candide était ravi, et il se dit:

"This is vastly different from Westphalia and the Baron’s castle. Had our friend Pangloss seen El Dorado he would no longer have said that the castle of Thunder-ten-Tronckh was the finest upon earth. It is evident that one must travel." Il est évident qu'il faut voyager. " After this long conversation the old man ordered a coach and six sheep to be got ready, and twelve of his domestics to conduct the travellers to Court. Après cette longue conversation, le vieillard fit préparer un carrosse et six moutons, et douze de ses domestiques pour conduire les voyageurs à la cour.

"Excuse me," said he, "if my age deprives me of the honour of accompanying you. The King will receive you in a manner that cannot displease you; and no doubt you will make[Pg 84] an allowance for the customs of the country, if some things should not be to your liking." Le roi vous recevra d'une manière qui ne peut vous déplaire; et vous ferez sans doute [Pg 84] une compensation pour les coutumes du pays, si certaines choses ne vous conviennent pas. " Candide and Cacambo got into the coach, the six sheep flew, and in less than four hours they reached the King’s palace situated at the extremity of the capital. The portal was two hundred and twenty feet high, and one hundred wide; but words are wanting to express the materials of which it was built. It is plain such materials must have prodigious superiority over those pebbles and sand which we call gold and precious stones. Il est clair que ces matériaux doivent avoir une prodigieuse supériorité sur ces galets et ces sables que nous appelons l'or et les pierres précieuses.

Twenty beautiful damsels of the King’s guard received Candide and Cacambo as they alighted from the coach, conducted them to the bath, and dressed them in robes woven of the down of humming-birds; after which the great crown officers, of both sexes, led them to the King’s apartment, between two files of musicians, a thousand on each side. Vingt belles demoiselles de la garde du roi reçurent Candide et Cacambo en descendant du carrosse, les conduisirent au bain et les habillèrent de robes tissées de duvet de colibris; après quoi les grands officiers de la couronne, des deux sexes, les conduisirent à l'appartement du roi, entre deux files de musiciens, mille de chaque côté. When they drew near to the audience chamber Cacambo asked one of the great officers in what way he should pay his obeisance to his Majesty; whether they should throw themselves upon their knees or on their stomachs; whether they should put their hands upon their heads or behind their backs; whether they should lick the dust off the floor; in a word, what was the ceremony? Lorsqu'ils s'approchèrent de la salle d'audience, Cacambo demanda à l'un des grands officiers de quelle manière il devait rendre hommage à Sa Majesté; s'ils doivent se jeter à genoux ou sur le ventre; s'ils doivent mettre leurs mains sur la tête ou derrière le dos; s'ils doivent lécher la poussière du sol; en un mot, quelle était la cérémonie?

"The custom," said the great officer, "is to[Pg 85] embrace the King, and to kiss him on each cheek." Candide and Cacambo threw themselves round his Majesty’s neck. Candide et Cacambo se jetèrent autour du cou de Sa Majesté. He received them with all the goodness imaginable, and politely invited them to supper.

While waiting they were shown the city, and saw the public edifices raised as high as the clouds, the market places ornamented with a thousand columns, the fountains of spring water, those of rose water, those of liqueurs drawn from sugar-cane, incessantly flowing into the great squares, which were paved with a kind of precious stone, which gave off a delicious fragrancy like that of cloves and cinnamon. En attendant, on leur montra la ville, et vit les édifices publics élevés à la hauteur des nuages, les places de marché ornées de mille colonnes, les fontaines d'eau de source, celles d'eau de rose, celles de liqueurs tirées de la canne à sucre, sans cesse. coulant dans les grandes places, pavées d'une sorte de pierre précieuse, qui dégageait un parfum délicieux comme celui du clou de girofle et de la cannelle. Candide asked to see the court of justice, the parliament. They told him they had none, and that they were strangers to lawsuits. He asked if they had any prisons, and they answered no. But what surprised him most and gave him the greatest pleasure was the palace of sciences, where he saw a gallery two thousand feet long, and filled with instruments employed in mathematics and physics.

After rambling about the city the whole afternoon, and seeing but a thousandth part of it, they were reconducted to the royal palace, where Candide sat down to table with his Majesty, his valet Cacambo, and several ladies. Après avoir parcouru la ville tout l'après-midi, et n'en avoir vu qu'un millième, ils furent reconduits au palais royal, où Candide s'assit à table avec Sa Majesté, son valet Cacambo et plusieurs dames. Never was[Pg 86] there a better entertainment, and never was more wit shown at a table than that which fell from his Majesty. Jamais [Pg 86] n'y eut un meilleur divertissement, et jamais plus d'esprit ne fut montré à une table que celui qui tomba de Sa Majesté. Cacambo explained the King’s  bon-mots to Candide, and notwithstanding they were translated they still appeared to be  bon-mots . Cacambo expliqua les bon-mots du roi à Candide, et bien qu'ils fussent traduits, ils paraissaient encore être de bons mots. Of all the things that surprised Candide this was not the least. Из всего, что удивляло Кандида, это было не в последнюю очередь.

They spent a month in this hospitable place. Candide frequently said to Cacambo:

"I own, my friend, once more that the castle where I was born is nothing in comparison with this; but, after all, Miss Cunegonde is not here, and you have, without doubt, some mistress in Europe. «Je reconnais, mon ami, que le château où je suis né n'est rien en comparaison de cela; mais, après tout, miss Cunégonde n'est pas ici, et vous avez, sans doute, une maîtresse en Europe. If we abide here we shall only be upon a footing with the rest, whereas, if we return to our old world, only with twelve sheep laden with the pebbles of El Dorado, we shall be richer than all the kings in Europe. Si nous demeurons ici, nous ne serons que sur pied avec les autres, tandis que, si nous retournons dans notre ancien monde, seulement avec douze moutons chargés des cailloux d'El Dorado, nous serons plus riches que tous les rois d'Europe. We shall have no more Inquisitors to fear, and we may easily recover Miss Cunegonde." This speech was agreeable to Cacambo; mankind are so fond of roving, of making a figure in their own country, and of boasting of what they have seen in their travels, that the two happy ones resolved to be no longer so, but to ask his Majesty’s leave to quit the country. Ce discours était agréable à Cacambo; les hommes aiment tant se déplacer, se faire une figure dans leur propre pays et se vanter de ce qu'ils ont vu au cours de leurs voyages, que les deux heureux ont résolu de ne plus l'être, mais de demander la permission à Sa Majesté de quitter le pays. .

"You are foolish," said the King. "I am sensible that my kingdom is but a small place, but when a person is comfortably settled in any[Pg 87] part he should abide there. «Je suis conscient que mon royaume n'est qu'un petit endroit, mais quand une personne est confortablement installée dans une partie [Pg 87], elle doit y demeurer. I have not the right to detain strangers. Je n'ai pas le droit de détenir des étrangers. It is a tyranny which neither our manners nor our laws permit. All men are free. Go when you wish, but the going will be very difficult. It is impossible to ascend that rapid river on which you came as by a miracle, and which runs under vaulted rocks. Il est impossible de remonter ce fleuve rapide sur lequel vous êtes venu comme par miracle, et qui coule sous des rochers voûtés. The mountains which surround my kingdom are ten thousand feet high, and as steep as walls; they are each over ten leagues in breadth, and there is no other way to descend them than by precipices. Les montagnes qui entourent mon royaume ont dix mille pieds de haut et sont aussi raides que des murs; ils ont chacun plus de dix lieues de largeur, et il n'y a pas d'autre moyen de les descendre que par des précipices. However, since you absolutely wish to depart, I shall give orders to my engineers to construct a machine that will convey you very safely. Cependant, puisque vous souhaitez absolument partir, je donnerai ordre à mes ingénieurs de construire une machine qui vous transportera en toute sécurité. When we have conducted you over the mountains no one can accompany you further, for my subjects have made a vow never to quit the kingdom, and they are too wise to break it. Quand nous vous avons conduits sur les montagnes, personne ne peut vous accompagner davantage, car mes sujets ont fait le vœu de ne jamais quitter le royaume, et ils sont trop sages pour le briser. Ask me besides anything that you please." Demandez-moi en plus tout ce que vous voudrez. " "We desire nothing of your Majesty," says Candide, "but a few sheep laden with provisions, pebbles, and the earth of this country." The King laughed.

"I cannot conceive," said he, "what pleasure you Europeans find in our yellow clay, but take as much as you like, and great good may it do you." «Je ne peux pas concevoir, dit-il, quel plaisir vous, Européens, trouvez dans notre argile jaune, mais prenez-en autant que vous voulez, et que cela vous fasse un grand bien. At once he gave directions that his engineers should construct a machine to hoist up these two[Pg 88] extraordinary men out of the kingdom. Aussitôt, il ordonna à ses ingénieurs de construire une machine pour hisser ces deux hommes extraordinaires hors du royaume. Three thousand good mathematicians went to work; it was ready in fifteen days, and did not cost more than twenty million sterling in the specie of that country. Trois mille bons mathématiciens se sont mis au travail; il était prêt en quinze jours et ne coûtait pas plus de vingt millions de livres sterling en espèces de ce pays. They placed Candide and Cacambo on the machine. There were two great red sheep saddled and bridled to ride upon as soon as they were beyond the mountains, twenty pack-sheep laden with provisions, thirty with presents of the curiosities of the country, and fifty with gold, diamonds, and precious stones. Il y avait deux grands moutons rouges sellés et bridés pour chevaucher dès qu'ils étaient au-delà des montagnes, vingt moutons de bât chargés de provisions, trente avec des cadeaux des curiosités du pays, et cinquante avec de l'or, des diamants et des pierres précieuses. The King embraced the two wanderers very tenderly. Le roi embrassa très tendrement les deux vagabonds.

Their departure, with the ingenious manner in which they and their sheep were hoisted over the mountains, was a splendid spectacle. The mathematicians took their leave after conveying them to a place of safety, and Candide had no other desire, no other aim, than to present his sheep to Miss Cunegonde. Les mathématiciens prirent congé après les avoir conduits dans un lieu sûr, et Candide n'avait d'autre désir, aucun autre but que de présenter ses moutons à miss Cunégonde.

"Now," said he, "we are able to pay the Governor of Buenos Ayres if Miss Cunegonde can be ransomed. "Maintenant", dit-il, "nous pouvons payer le gouverneur de Buenos Ayres si Miss Cunégonde peut être rachetée. Let us journey towards Cayenne. Faisons route vers Cayenne. Let us embark, and we will afterwards see what kingdom we shall be able to purchase." Embarquons, et nous verrons ensuite quel royaume nous pourrons acheter. "