“Kritikon” Graciana in brief summary
In his address to the reader, the author says that, while creating his work, he was guided by what he liked most in the works of Plutarch, Apuleius, Aesop, Homer, or Barkley. Trying to combine such different properties in one text, Gracian begins his novel, consisting of the main “crises” so.
On the sea route from the Old World to the New, near the island of St. Helena, frantically fighting for life, clinging to the board, the Spaniard Kritilo. He is helped by a handsome young man who, as it turned out, when trying to speak, does not understand any of the famous Cretilo languages and does not speak any language at all. In the process of communicating, Critilo gradually teaches him the Spanish language and gives a name – Andrenio. Critilo, according to Andrénio, was the first person he saw, and that, being raised by the female wild beast, he does not know where he came from, and he once felt utterly alien to animals, although the animals with him were always
Having gone ashore and went into the depths of the country, friends are attacked by the insidious leader of the robbers, from whom they were repulsed by another female leader. On the way, they meet Centaur Chiron, who brings friends to the village, where thousands of beasts walk. The amazed Kritilo and Andrenio see a lot of striking: the people walking on their hands and backwards; riding a fox; blind, who lead sighted, and much more. Next, sitting in an unexpectedly appeared carriage with a monster, they become witnesses of even greater miracles: the source, having drunk from which people turn inside out; a charlatan that feeds people with abomination, and many other fantastic visions.
Andrenio, deceived by miracles, solicits ranks at the court of the local ruler, and Critilo flies from the palace to the domain of Queen Artemia. Introducing to Artemia, he asks to release his second “I” – Andrenio from the power of Falchemir. The queen sends the chief minister to rescue Andrenio, finding which the minister, having revealed to him the surrounding deceit, convinces him to leave the deceitful kingdom. In the realm of Artemia, friends enjoy conversation with the queen, while Falchemir sends Flattery, Evil and Envy to their possessions. Rebellious mob besieges the palace, which Artemy saves by spells. Artemia decides to move to Toledo, and friends say goodbye to her and continue their journey to Madrid.
In Madrid, Andrenio unexpectedly handed a note allegedly from his cousin Fadzirena, who welcomes his arrival in Madrid and invites to his place. Andrenio, without telling Critilo, goes to Falsirena, who tells him about her mother, who, she says, is the beloved of Kritilo. Critilo, busy looking for a lost lover, goes for a walk around the city, is at the closed door of the “cousin’s” home. On his interrogation the neighbors describe the dwelling as the home of the disgusting deceiver Circe. Since Critilo can not understand anything and find Andrenio, he decides to go to Artemia.
On the way, he meets Ehenio, a man endowed with a sixth sense – Nuzhda, who agrees to help him. Returning to the capital, they for a long time can not find Andrenio and only on the place of the house where he is lost, they find out the door to the dungeon, where they find him greatly changed. Having extinguished the magic flame, they manage to awaken Andrenio to life and move on to Torzhishche. The sellers of the shops are famous people: Thales Miletus, Horace, the shining princes and barons.
Cristilo and Andrenio are sent to Aragon, and on the way they meet a multi-eyed man – Argus, who explains to them the purpose of each eye. On the way, they pass through the “Customs of the Ages”, under the influence of what they see, their “worldview and health” is changing. Met on the road servant sends greetings from his master Salastano, the collector of miracles, and asks from Argus one of his eyes for the collection of Salastano. Critilo and Andrenio decide to inspect the collection and go along with the servant. There they see many unusual things: magnificent gardens of rare plants and insects, a bottle of laughter joker, drugs and antidotes, daggers of Brutus and much more. Enthusiastic about the charms of France, friends decide to visit it; Overcome the high peaks of the Pyrenees and find themselves in the palace.
Examining the rich decoration of the palace, they are surprised to find the master in a dark, poor room without light, in the old clothes of a miser. With difficulty having got rid of courtesies of the owner, friends unsuccessfully try to leave the palace, filled with all kinds of traps: pits, loops, nets. Only a casual encounter with a man who has wings instead of arms helps them escape captivity or death. Continuing to move to France, friends meet a new monster with retinue. This semi-human semi-human quickly disappears, and with it, Andrenio, fascinated by curiosity. Critilo, along with the Winged, rushes after Andrenio to the palace shining in the distance.
The palace turns out to be built of salt, which the people surrounding it gladly lick. In the first hall of the palace they see a beautiful woman musician playing alternately on a zither of pure gold and other unusually decorated instruments. In the other hall of the palace there is a nymph, half of whose face is old, half is young, surrounded by writers and poets. In the next room there was a nymph Antiquary, surrounded by treasures. And so it goes on until Critilo embraces the desire to see Sophisbella herself – the mistress of the whole palace.
As for Andrenio, he finds himself on a vast area of artisans: pirogones, boilers, potters, shoemakers, filled with such an outrageous crowd in appearance that Andronio rushes headlong off.
Critilo, accompanied by satellites: a courtier, a student and a soldier, climbs a mountain and on its very top unexpectedly meets the missing Andrenio. Glad to meet, they tell their stories and move on. On the way, they meet with Sophisbella-Fortuna, the mistress of mortals, who has a strange look: instead of shoes – castors, half of the dress is mourning, half is smart. At the end of the conversation, she gives out gifts, and friends get the Mirror of Insight. Meanwhile, a rabid crush begins, in which they remain alive only because the daughter of fortune – Luck has time to grab them by the hair and send them to another peak. She shows them the way to the Virtelia Palace – the Queen of Bliss.
Encountered by Critilo and Andrenio, the hermit leads them to a building resembling a monastery in which the Hermit talks about ways of finding Happiness and shows the way to the Virlelia Palace. Along the way, they enter the house, where they get acquainted with the weapons of all the famous hero stories and are armed with the swords of truth, with the helmets of prudence and shields of patience. Friends have to enter into a battle with three hundred monsters and defeat them. Finding themselves at the entrance to the magnificent palace, they meet the Satyr, showing them a lot of monsters, who set out to capture them.
Having overcome many difficulties, friends reach the palace, where they see a friendly and beautiful queen, giving an audience to many who wish. Everyone gets wise advice from Virtueil, and friends ask the way to Felixinde. Calling on four friends: Justice, Wisdom, Courage and Temperance, she tells them to help the travelers find what they want. Critilo and Andrenio are sucked in by the wind, and they find themselves on the road leading to Virtelia’s assistant Gonogia. Their path turns out to be heavy and long, at the foot of the Alps, Andrenio’s head begins to turn white, and “swan’s down Critilo is thinning.” If the Pyrenees they were sweating, then in the Alps – coughing. “How much in a youth you will sweat, so much in an old age you will cough”.
Slowly moving, friends are at the half-collapsed, dilapidated building. Accompanying them Janus – a man with two faces, introduced him as the palace of Old Age. At the entrances to the building the porter removes armor and signs of dignity from many heroes: Alba, Caesar, Antonio de Leyva and many others, and lets some at the door of honors, and others – at the door of sorrows. Critilo falls into the first and attains higher honor among his companions, where there was no mob. Andrenio, who got into the second door, is tortured and, having reached the throne of old age, sees Critilo on the other side of the throne. The Secretary of Old Age reads the protocol on the rights of both.
After these adventures, friends find themselves in the palace of Veselia, filled with merry people. Andrenio falls asleep with a dead dream, and Critilo inspects the palace, where he discovers a mass of abominations associated with drunkenness and debauchery. Returning to Andrenio with a new companion – Ugadchik, they go to Italy. Many miracles they see on the road, the meaning of life and death is increasingly revealed to them. The Encounter, the Charlatan, and the Deceiver, they each give their explanation of the meaning of everything, the main conclusion of which is that “Seduction is at the entrance to the world, and Insight at the exit.”
Andrenio, being deceived in a way by the palace of the Invisible, disappears from the sight of his companions, and they further go alone. The new satellite Kritilo – the Clairvoyant calms him and promises to find Andrenio. Indeed, one of the forks of the road appears Andrenio, and the disappearing Clairvoyant inspires to go to the “Capital of Crowned Knowledge” that lies in Italy.
They experienced a lot on the way to Rome, approaching the coveted Felixinde. Dismantling the two fighting, Pugnacious and Lazy, friends move first for Kichliv, and then for Lazy. Finally they find themselves in a blossoming locality, amidst the merry Italians on the threshold of the Cave of Nihil, where all those who dared to step over its threshold failed. Lazy tries to push Andrenio into the cave, and Ambitious – to draw Critilo to the palace of Vanity. Friends, clutching hands, resisted this evil. and with the help of pilgrims came to the palace of the Spanish ambassador. From the palace, grieved by the news of the death of Felicinda, they go to inspect Rome and stop to spend the night in a hotel. At night, the Resident comes to them and, warning of the trap, which is prepared for them, opens a secret laz that led them into the terrible caves. In the caves, they see ghosts from the retinue of Death, which before their eyes is ruled by the court. From the cave they are taken out by the Pilgrim – never an aging person, and calls to visit the Island of Immortality. On the Island of Immortality, the friends face the bronze gates, where the Merit – the guard of the gate asks the incoming letters, “verified by Courage and confirmed by Rumor”. Seeing the signatures of Philosophy, Reason, Vigilance, Self-Consciousness, Hardness, Caution, Sharpness, and so on, the guard misses Andrenio and Critilo in the abode of Eternity.
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