Age of Augustus

The Age of Augustus appears as a classical image of peace in contrast to the uproar at the inn. After quarrels are arbitrated and the outstanding costs are paid, the narrator describes the place as having changed from a scene of discord into one resembling the days of Octavianus. The allusion measures the completeness of the reconciliation, not the date of the action.

The Classical Comparison

The passage refers to the peaceful days of Octavianus, the name associated here with the Age of Augustus. It sets that image of tranquillity against the discord of Agramante’s camp, a comparison that makes the inn’s change in atmosphere legible through two sharply opposed literary reference points. The classical age functions as a figure for calm restored after conflict.

The Inn’s Settlement

The allusion follows the settlement of several practical disputes. The pack-saddles are exchanged, while their girths and head-stalls remain unchanged. The curate pays eight reals for the barber’s basin, which Don Quixote has mistaken for a helmet, and the barber provides a receipt agreeing to make no further demand. The innkeeper’s claim for the bill and for the damaged wine-skins is also resolved: the curate settles matters amicably, and Don Fernando pays.

Narrative Function

The reference to the Age of Augustus gives the scene a pointedly elevated measure of peace after comic disorder. That calm has been achieved through arbitration, payment, and the cooperation of those gathered at the inn; it is not presented as a separate historical episode. By contrasting the classical image of tranquillity with the quarrels just concluded, the passage marks a temporary clearing of the way for Don Quixote to resume the journey he believes will bring his adventure to its end.