In short, he became so absorbed in his books that he spent his nights from sunset to sunrise, and his days from dawn to dark, poring over them; and what with little sleep and much reading his brains got so dry that he lost his wits. His fancy grew full of what he used to read about in his books, enchantments, quarrels, battles, challenges, wounds, wooings, loves, agonies, and all sorts of impossible nonsense; and it so possessed his mind that the whole fabric of invention and fancy he read of was true, that to him no history in the world had more reality in it.

...he spent whole days and nights over his books; and thus with little sleeping and much reading his brains dried up to such a degree that he lost the use of his reason.

In short, our gentleman became so caught up in reading that he spent his nights reading from dusk till dawn and his days reading from sunrise to sunset, and so with too little sleep and too much reading his brains dried up, causing him to lose his mind.

with little sleep and much reading his brains got so dry that he lost his wits.

In short, our gentleman became so immersed in his reading that he spent whole nights from sundown to sunup and his days from dawn to dusk in poring over his books, until, finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind. He filled his imagination with everything he had read, with enchantments, knightly encounters, battles, challenges, wounds, with tales of love and its torments, and all sorts of impossible things, and as a result had come to believe that all these fictitious happenings were true; they were more real to him than anything else in the world.

And thus, from too little sleep and too much reading, his brain dried up and he completely lost his judgment.

In short, our gentleman became so caught up in reading that he spent his nights reading from dusk till dawn and his days reading from sunrise to sunset, and so with too little sleep and too much reading his brains dried up, causing him to lose his mind. His fantasy filled with everything he had read in his books, enchantments as well as combats, battles, challenges, wounds, courtings, loves, torments, and other impossible foolishness, and he became so convinced in his imagination of the truth of all the countless grandiloquent and false inventions he read that for him no history in the world was truer. He would say that El Cid Ruy Díaz4 had

En resolución, él se enfrascó tanto en su lectura, que se le pasaban las noches leyendo de claro en claro, y los días de turbio en turbio, y así, del poco dormir y del mucho leer, se le secó el cerebro, de manera que vino a perder el juicio. Llenósele la fantasía de todo aquello que leía en los libros, así de encantamientos, como de pendencias, batallas, desafíos, heridas, requiebros, amores, tormentas y disparates imposibles, y asentósele de tal modo en la imaginación que era verdad toda aquella máquina de aquellas soñadas invenciones que leía, que para él no había otra historia más cierta en el mundo.

انْكَبَّ على القراءة بسرعة وشراهة وأعصاب متوترة فلم يتمتع بقراءة مجدية ولا نافعة، وأصابه سوء هضم عقلي، فكان يعرف أشياء وأشياء ولكنه لم يتقن شيئًا أبدًا، ولم يتعود عقله التفكير مطلقًا ولكن كانت الكتب تفكر له وتتأمل بدلا منه. ولم يكن يعنيه التفكير ولا التأمل وإنما كان همه الحقيقي أن يحدث الغد بما قرأ بالأمس، وأن يحاضر الزملاء من الموظفين والصحاب -بلهجة الفيلسوف المعلم- فيما وعته الذاكرة وحفظته

zaga. En resolución, él se enfrascó tanto en su letura, que se le pasaban las noches leyendo de claro en claro, y los días de turbio en turbio; y así, del poco dormir y del mucho leer, se le secó el celebro, de manera que vino a perder el juicio.

Reading remained Musk’s psychological retreat. Sometimes he would immerse himself in books all afternoon and most of the night, nine hours at a stretch.

É assim, do pouco dormir e do muito ler se lhe secou o cérebro, de maneira que chegou a perder o juízo.

E assim, do pouco dormir e do muito ler, se lhe secou o cérebro de maneira que acabou por perder o juízo. Encheu-se-lhe a fantasia de tudo aquilo que lia nos livros, tanto de encantamentos como de pendências, batalhas, desafios, feridas, requebros, amores, tormentas e disparates impossíveis; e firmou-se-lhe de tal modo na imaginação, que era verdade toda aquela máquina daquelas sonhadas invenções que lia.

So he went on stringing together these and other absurdities, all in the style of those his books had taught him, imitating their language as well as he could; and all the while he rode so slowly and the sun mounted so rapidly and with such fervour that it was enough to melt his brains if he had any.