But they are men!
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— Sei o que queres dizer; não partilho essas idéias que vogam entre os meus companheiros; para mim, os índios quando nos atacam, são inimigos que devemos combater; quando nos respeitam são vassalos de uma terra que conquistamos, mas são homens!
— I know what you mean; I do not share the ideas current among my companions. To me the Indians, when they attack us, are enemies we must fight; when they respect us, they are vassals of a land we have conquered — but they are men!
D. Antônio refuses the excuse. He does not share the ideas that circulate among his companions: to him the Indians, when they attack, are enemies to be fought; when they respect us, vassals of a conquered land — but they are men.
The moral heart of the chapter, and radical for its date: 'they are men.' D. Antônio grants the Indian a full humanity his settlers deny — the ground on which the whole Indianist novel stands.
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