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Intoxicated with these, and other such promises, Sancho Panza (so was the countryman called) deserted his wife and children, and enlisted himself as the neighbour’s squire.
Don Quixote recruits Sancho as his squire by promising to bring him wealth and one day make him governor of an island. Even though Don Quixote embarks on his quests in the name of chivalry, and therefore doing good deeds and saving others, his moral compass does not always point in the right direction. He gives no thought to Sancho’s family and their needs, and encourages Sancho to do the same.
Besides, gentlemen soldiers, added the knight, those poor people have committed no offence against you; and every body hath sins of his own to answer for. There is a God in heaven, who will take care to chastise the wicked and reward the righteous; and it is not seemly, that honest men should be the executioners of their fellow-creatures, on account of matters with which they have no concern.
When Don Quixote and Sancho encounter a group of prisoners and guards, Don Quixote asks each prisoner what crime he has committed, and tries to persuade the guards to free the prisoners. He sees the guards as usurping God’s role as judge, reminds them that they weren’t victimized by their crimes, and appeals to them to abandon their duly-appointed duty to convey the prisoners to justice. The prisoners eventually escape, stealing Don Quixote’s and Sancho’s belongings. This incident shows how Don Quixote’s misinterpretation of the chivalric code misleads his moral instincts.
