At about three in the afternoon, Puerto Lápice came into view. As soon as he saw it, Don Quixote called to his squire. “Brother Sancho Panza, here we can plunge our hands into adventures up to the elbows. But let me warn you of one thing. Even should you find me in mortal peril, the worst there is, you are not to lay a hand on your sword in my defense.”
If his opponents were low rabble, Sancho might help, but not if they were knights. Until Sancho himself was dubbed a knight, Don Quixote said, the law of chivalry did not allow it. Sancho meekly agreed. “I’ll keep to that, master, don’t worry. I’m a peaceable man by nature and hate getting mixed up in fights or quarrels. But when it comes to defending my own skin, I won’t pay much heed to that law. God’s law and man’s law both say you can stop anyone who tries to hurt you.”
Don Quixote said he would not forbid that. Only when it came to helping him against knights, Sancho must keep his natural temper firmly in check. Sancho promised to keep that commandment as faithfully as the Sabbath.