I have been better off in this life having had the opportunity to read some of the works of Cervantes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/19/opinion/cervantes-and-the-purpose-of-literary-idolatry.html?emc=edit_ty_20150319&nl=opinion&nlid=57476044&_r=0

Cervantes and Dumas and Malory (as well as his predecessor Geoffrey) and a host of other dreamers managed to take me to other universes.

Without Cervantes, how could we ever even begin to understand the motivations of characters such as Ahab in Moby Dick?

People (including yours truly) worship Don Quixote, for no discernable reason.

Quixote was psychotic of course even though Sancho Panza attempted to keep his sire's feet firmly attached to the ground.

And unlike Arthur, Quixote was funny, comical, humorous in his battles with the phantoms.

Purpose and intents sometimes trump what others might perceive as accomplishments.

According to the NYT, the body of the giant Cervantes was discovered recently. On April 22, 2016 we shall acknowledge the 400 year anniversary of the death of this great writer.

One might ponder the good and evil aspects of heroes such as Alexander or Caesar or William the Bastard...

But Don Quixote touches my heart in such a way that 'real' heroes do not.

You must know then, that the above-named gentleman, whenever he was at leisure (which was mostly all the year-round) gave himself up to reading books of chivalry with such ardour and avidity that he almost entirely neglected the pursuit of his field-sports, and even the management of his own property and to such a pitch in his eagerness and infatuation go that he sold many an acre of his tillage land to buy books to read and brought home as many of them as he could get.

http://www.online-literature.com/cervantes/don_quixote/5/

I had not thought about this great author in awhile!