Don Quixote (Vol. 1, Part 1, Ch. 1-2), by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

<p>Reading too many romances of knights and valorous deeds caused a poor Spanish gentleman to polish up his great-grandfather's armor, rechristen his old nag, and sally forth. "Don Quixote," besides holding a secure niche in literature as the work that quashed the romantic school of knight-errantry, is at the same time one of the most widely-read stories in the world. (Volume 14, Harvard Classics)</p> <p>Cervantes receives the last sacraments April 18, 1616.</p> <p> </p>