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RABELAIS 
 
 IN HIS WRITINGS 
 
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 C. F. CLAY, Manager 
 
 LONDON 
 Fetter Lane, E.G. 4 
 
 EDINBURGH 
 100 Princes Street 
 
 NEW YORK : G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 
 
 BOMBAY, CALCUTTA, MADRAS : MACMILLAN AND CO., Ltd. 
 
 TORONTO: J. M. DENT AND SONS, Ltd. 
 
 TOKYO: THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 
 
 All fights reserved 
 
RABELAIS 
 
 IN HIS WRITINGS 
 
 BY 
 
 W. F. SMITH, M.A. 
 
 FELLOW OF ST JOHN's COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 
 
 CAMBRIDGE 
 
 AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 1918 
 
PREFACE 
 
 THIS little book is intended to furnish a kind of 
 running commentary on the various phases of 
 the life and writings of Frangois Rabelais in the light 
 of modern research, and to present the opinions ex- 
 pressed by the several characters in his books on matters 
 that arise from the monkish, religious, legal, medical 
 and other points of view, as expressed in the narrative 
 or by interlocutors in the dialogue, and to point out 
 some of the sources of the erudition embodied in the 
 romance. 
 
 In order rightly to appreciate the work of this 
 author it is more than usually necessary to examine 
 with minute care the writings themselves, the fortunes 
 and circumstances of the writer at the various times 
 of their composition, and the position and influence of 
 ^he personages in the political and religious world who 
 encouraged or thwarted his efforts to comfort his 
 patients, support his country, advocate the cause of 
 his friends and requite the ill-usage of his enemies, by 
 his genial humour, his stinging satire and powerful 
 invective. 
 
 He had attained this power and the means for these 
 purposes by strenuous work in the humanistic studies 
 so vigorously prosecuted at that time and by thus 
 becoming a learned and skilful opponent of his lifelong 
 adversaries. To follow this up it has been necessary, 
 
vi Preface 
 
 among other things, to investigate the sources from 
 which he derived his wide and varied learning, whether 
 from Homer, Hesiod and the Latin poets, the Vulgate, 
 the ancient historians, philosophers, physicians, anti- 
 quarians, legists and geographers, and the voluminous 
 humanistic writers and commentators thereon, or again 
 from the poets, satirical writers and romancers of his 
 own times as well as the moralities and mystery-plays, 
 and the fugitive broadsides hawked about by itinerant 
 pedlars. A complete bibliography would occupy many 
 pages. 
 
 From such a medley Rabelais composed the four or 
 five " bopks " which he wrote to forward the interests of 
 his friends and his patients and to exasperate his enemies. 
 He not only succeeded in these purposes, but he has 
 given a book"to the world which has instructed, puzzled 
 and amused later writers and has helped to pass on the 
 torch of learning and literature to many leading spirits 
 of other ages and countries, to keep alight for future 
 generations. 
 
 W. F. S. 
 
 i8 August 1917 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 
 page 
 
 ^ -Rabelais in his Writings . 
 
 1-2 1 
 
 LES GR ANDES CROmCQUES . 
 
 21-26 
 
 Pantagruel 
 
 27-41 
 
 — Gargantua and after 
 
 41-64 
 
 The Third Book 
 
 64-76 
 
 C> Rabelais at Metz 
 
 76-77 
 
 The Fourth Book (A) 
 
 78-81 
 
 SCIOMACHIA .... 
 
 81-84 
 
 The Fourth Book (B). 
 
 84-99 
 
 The Fifth Book 
 
 99-112 
 
 -Language and Style . 
 
 Il^Off " 
 
 'On Religion 
 
 120-128 
 
 ''As Legist .... 
 
 128-132 
 
 On scenic Representations, etc 
 
 132-137 
 
 -*As Physician 
 
 137-153 
 
 Plants mentioned by Rabelais 
 
 154-160 
 
 , t'As a Humanist . 
 
 -1 61-17 1 " 
 
 Historical Allusions . 
 
 I7I-I84 
 
 *^LovE of Geography and Travel 
 
 184-187 
 
 The Prologues . 
 
 188-199 
 
 Lists, Blazons and Litanies 
 
 200-211 
 
 On Art 
 
 2II-2I4 
 
 Epilogue .... 
 
 215-218 
 
 Chronological List 
 
 219-220 
 
 Index 
 
 221-230 
 
EXPLANATION OF REFERENCES 
 
 G.C. Les grandes Cronicques. 1532. 
 
 P. Pantagruel. 1532-42. 
 
 P.P. Pantagrueline Prognostication. 1533. 
 
 G. Gargantua. 1534-42. 
 
 Ill, IV, V. The third, fourth and fifth books. 
 
 A. P. Ancien prologue to the fourth book (A). 
 
 Epp. Rom. Three letters from Rome to the Bishop of 
 Maillezais (1535-6). 
 
 R.R. Le Roman de la Rose, ed. Francisque Michel. 
 
 C.N.N. Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles. 
 
 A .P.P. Anciennes podsies franjaises des xv^n^^ et xvi™^ 
 si^cles. 
 
 R.E.R. Revue des 6tudes rabelaisiennes. 1903-. 
 
RABELAIS IN HIS WRITINGS 
 
 In recent times much has been achieved by careful 
 research in determining the status and surroundings of 
 Frangois Rabelais and his family, as well as in fixing 
 the date of his birth and the sources of his learning and 
 inspiration. 
 
 The old view that he was born in 1483 — the birth- 
 year of Raphael, Luther and old Thomas Parr — at the 
 inn La Lamproie in a street in Chinon, and that he was 
 the son of the inn-keeper, has been completely disproved 
 and exploded by the careful investigations of MM. 
 Lefranc, Grimaud and H. Clouzot, and other members 
 of the Societe des Etudes Rabelaisiennes, published in 
 their Review (R.E.R.). The results have been obtained 
 by minute examinations and interpretations of the 
 writings of Rabelais, as well as by collating and sifting 
 external evidence in the way of local registers and 
 deeds in various provinces of France. 
 
 First as to his birth-year, which rests on the evidence 
 of a note of his burial at St Paul's cemetery, rue des 
 Jardins, Paris, to the effect that at that time (April 
 1553) he was 70 years of age. This would make him 
 out to be born in 1483. M. Lefranc has shewn, and 
 careful readers readily admit, that Rabelais' statements 
 of fact, even in the midst of his highest flights of 
 imagination, are nearly always exact. In the Gargantua 
 
-2 Rabelais, in his Writings 
 
 Grandgousier represents Rabelais' father — we shall 
 recur to this — and throughout the Pantagruel and 
 the Gargantua may be found frequent references to 
 the author's relatives and personal friends, and the 
 romance is very often autobiographical. M. Lefranc 
 draws attention (R.E.R. vi. p. 266) to G. 4-7, where 
 Gargantua's birth is fixed on the 4th of February and 
 it is recorded that Gargamelle, his mother, had eaten 
 a quantity of tripe, most of which was to be salted 
 on Shrove Tuesday, so as to be eaten during that 
 Lenten season. He then examines the calendars for 
 the years 1488-96, and finds that only in the year 1494 
 does Shrove Tuesday fall at a time when such salting 
 could have taken place; for Easter fell on March 30, 
 and therefore Shrove Tuesday is fixed for February 12, 
 and cattle that were killed on February 3 might supply 
 beef which could be salted on February 12. M. Lefranc 
 then goes on to point out from Rabelais {G. 13) that 
 at the end of the fifth year of Gargantua's life his 
 father Grandgousier returning from the conquest of 
 the Canarians paid a visit to his young son. This is 
 with great reasonableness referred to the return of 
 Louis XII from the conquest of the Milanese between 
 August and October 1499. This would fix the birth-year 
 of Rabelais at 1494. Another point is made in noting the 
 age of Panurge when he first meets Pantagruel {Pant. 
 c. 9). He is said to be 35, and the date of this meeting 
 is naturally placed in 1530, at the time "when all 
 disciphnes are restored and -the teaching of the ancient 
 tongues is renewed." In March 1530 the royally 
 appointed lecturers began to teach, while Gargantua's 
 letter to his son Pantagruel containing his scheme of 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 3 
 
 education [Pant. c. 8) is dated March 17. Thus if 
 Panurge is 35 when he meets Pantagruel in 1530 he 
 must have been born about 1494 or 1495. 
 
 Another suggestion based also on an interpretation 
 . of our author's words is permissible. In c. 9 of the 
 Pantagrueline Prognostication we read : " The Stars have 
 been there [in the heavens] / assure you, more than 
 sixteen thousand and I know not how many days." 
 16,070 days is 44 years. This second part of the 
 Prognostication was written in 1533. If this means 
 that he was 44 years of age then, his birth-year would 
 be 1489. ., 
 
 The origin and relationships of Rabelais may best 
 be seen by the following scheme, compiled from the 
 investigation given in the R.E.R. 
 
 Few writers have suffered so much as Rabelais 
 from prejudice, caused, in part at least, by the attitude 
 of his own writings. Fired by the recently developed 
 Humanism, he adopted all too easily the belief so much 
 fostered by Horace that no one who was a water- 
 drinker, who was not devoted to the inspiration from 
 Bacchic enthusiasm, could achieve the distinctive title 
 of poet. Alcaeus, Homer and Ennius are claimed as 
 instances of the truth of this theory, which also seems 
 to derive considerable support from the Platonic 
 theory of "enthusiasm" developed in the Phaedrus. 
 It is supported in Erasmus' Adagia by articles such as 
 Multi thyrsigeri pauci Bacchi, and seems to have been 
 accepted as a truism. Thus then Rabelais represented 
 his Pantagruel as the hero who abolished thirst in the 
 land of the Dipsodes (the thirsty race), the hero of 
 jollity and contentment in spite of all the attacks of 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 
 
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Rabelais in his Writings 5 
 
 fortune. The repetition of this characteristic, little as 
 it is borne out by the actual conduct of the humane, 
 kindly and highly educated prince Pantagruel, has gone 
 very far to cause the writer to be looked upon as a 
 drunken buffoon. Added to this the subsequent trans- 
 ference of the hostelry known as La Lamproie to a house 
 that had belonged to the Rabelais family has confirmed 
 and stereotyped assertions to this effect, till the belief 
 has become inveterate and all but ineradicable. 
 
 A house in the street La Lamproie, No. 15, belonged 
 to Rabelais' father, and in 1590 was turned into an 
 inn ; later, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, 
 this hostelry was transferred to its present site No. 2, 
 where it still exists as an inn. Another assertion, that 
 his father was an apothecary, is demonstrably false. 
 The son of an apothecary was received into the medical 
 profession without fees, whereas the record of the fees 
 paid by Fran9ois Rabelais is extant at Montpellier. 
 
 In fact the father of Rabelais, M« Antoine Rabelais, 
 licencie es lois, was a considerable person in Chinonais 
 and the possessor of various properties in the neighbour- 
 hood : (I) La Deviniere, the farm and vineyard where 
 Frangois Rabelais was born, belonged to Antoine 
 Rabelais I (1505-34) ; it devolved to Antoine II, our 
 author's brother, till 1559, when it descended to his 
 son Thomas, who was an apothecaire. (II) Chavigny- 
 en-Vallee in the commune of Varennes-sur-Loire. This 
 came to the family through Andree Pavin, grandmother 
 of F. Rabelais. (Ill) Gravot in the commune of 
 Bourgueil. (IV) La Pommardiere in the commune of 
 Senium. Smaller properties also belonged to the family : 
 (1) Les Quinquenais, a small country-house, (2) 1^ clos 
 
6 Rabelais in his Writings 
 
 Rabelais in the commune of Seuille, (3) le grand clos 
 Rabelais, (4) half-an-acre near the Mill-bridge {moulin 
 du pont), (5) le pre Rabelais, in the commune of Sinais, 
 near Pontille, where the cows fed that provided milk 
 for the child Gargantua. All these places are mentioned 
 in the course of the story, some of them several times. 
 , ^y Fran9ois Rabelais was born then about 1490 at 
 La Deviniere, a small hamlet close to Seuille and three 
 or four miles from Chinon. and it is of this neighbourhood 
 and the country-side that he delights to speak in his 
 "books," especially in the Gargantua. He had two 
 brothers Antoine and Jamet and a sister Fran9oise, 
 all older than himself, and being the youngest he was 
 destined for a life in the cloister. Of this he seems to 
 speak with some bitterness in the Fifth Book, c. 4, 
 emplojnng, as he so often does, an illustrative story 
 which he found in Athenaeus or Erasmus {Apophtheg- 
 mata) and adapts thus : " I do marvel whether the 
 mothers in the other world can bear their children 
 nine" months in their womb, seeing that they cannot 
 bear them nor brook them in their houses nine years, 
 nay most often not seven ; but by putting only a shirt 
 over their robe and cutting a few hairs on the top of 
 their heads, together with certain expiatory words, 
 they... transform them into birds (i.e. monks), such as 
 you see before you." 
 
 This makes it extremely probable that the youthful 
 Fran9ois was given the tonsure at the age of seven. 
 He was sent to school at the neighbouring Cluniac, or 
 Benedictine, monastery at Seuill6. As a boy we may 
 fancy him roaming about the country in obedience to 
 his inquisitive nature and making acquaintance with 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 7 
 
 all the villages within a radius of fifteen miles or so. 
 The numerous properties of his father in the neighbour- 
 hood would enable him to wander considerably in 
 visiting them, and he would naturally visit the paternal 
 house in Chinon and learn all about the streets and the 
 castle which dominates the town. All this appears in 
 the pages of the Gargantua and in various allusions in 
 other books. 
 
 Besides the documentary evidence that has been 
 got together by the local antiquaries, it is to the 
 Gargantua that we must specially look for indications 
 of the circumstances of Rabelais' early life, just as we 
 find in the Pantagruel autobiographical touches con- 
 cerning his early manhood in Poitou and Paris. 
 
 In the fourteenth chapter of Gargantua we find a 
 list of books which formed his early studies. Some 
 allowance must be made for exaggeration, but undoubt- 
 edly the books there recited formed the staple education 
 of the boys of that time. This is confirmed by similar 
 allusions in Erasmus, Maturin Cordier the grammarian, 
 and others. 
 
 His first preceptor was Thubal Holofernes. The 
 name is derived frorii a Pronostication nouvelle, one of 
 the many broad-sheets hawked about by pedlars at 
 that time, which formed so much of the reading among 
 such of the people as could read. It is one of the eight 
 Pronostications which have been collected and published 
 by A. de Montaiglon and James de Rothschild in the 
 thirteen volumes of their Anciennes poesies frang-aises 
 inedites des xv^'^" et xvi^'^^ siecles. They date its appear- 
 ance about 1525. Curiously, Holofernes is the name 
 of the pedagogue in Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost. 
 
8 Rabelais in his Writings 
 
 How Shakespeare, who does not appear to have had a 
 first-hand acquaintance with Rabelais, came to adopt 
 this name is difficult to say. No doubt numerous 
 parallel expressions are to be found employed by both 
 writers, but they are generally proverbial phrases 
 current both in England and in France; these may 
 be due to the frequent presence in France of English 
 soldiers during the Hundred Years' War; many such 
 parallels may be found in the Anciennes poesies fran- 
 gaises. Very few resemblances of a striking kind 
 appear to be common to Rabelais and Shakespeare. 
 It is also curious to note that several coincidences may 
 be discovered in Chaucer and Rabelais, due of course 
 to their deriving from a common source. Shakespeare 
 also may have learnt something from the more learned 
 Ben Jonson, who certainly possessed a copy of Rabelais. 
 After Thubal Holofernes had taught him the 
 alphabet forwards and backwards Rabelais learnt 
 Donatus, or his Latin grammar, and Facetus, Theodolet 
 and Alanus in Parabolis. These three books were 
 comprised in the Autores octo morales, a school-book 
 much in vogue then, though now not easily found. 
 They contained precepts in conduct and morals, mostly 
 in leonine or rhyming Latin hexameters, with occasional 
 pentameters. Other tracts of this series were the 
 Moral Distichs of Dionysius Cato, consisting of sentences 
 in terse Latin, followed by a number of maxims in 
 pairs of Latin hexameters. They form a contrast to 
 the other tracts by being written in good, not monkish, 
 Latin, having been composed probably in the fifth or 
 sixth century. Then follow a selection of Aesop's 
 Fables in elegiacs and a paraphrase of the book of 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 9 
 
 Tobias (Tobit) in the same metre. In the margin of 
 these tracts were printed maxims derived from Latin 
 poets. It seems probable that this book {Autores octo 
 morales) formed part of the educational system on 
 which the youthful Rabelais was brought up ; some of 
 these maxims are to be found in his writings. 
 
 These books are followed in the list by others of a 
 more advanced stage, dictionaries and grammar-books 
 mixed with ecclesiastical manuals such as the Computus, 
 a book of calculations for finding Easter, and even a 
 book of sermons in four volumes under the name of 
 Dormi secure. This title means that the preacher may 
 sleep soundly by the aid of this book, which will provide 
 him with matter for many sermons. 
 
 All this instruction rendered Gargantua an utter 
 booby, and when he was brought in contact with 
 another young French gentleman who had been brought 
 up under another system — probably intended for that 
 of Erasmus— and who makes an address after the model 
 given by Erasmus in his Monita paedagogica, or hints 
 on education, in the Colloquia, the contrast was. too 
 striking for his father Grandgousier. He at once 
 placed the boy under another tutor, who took him to 
 Paris and put him under a rational system, which 
 Rabelais now describes in contrast to the discarded 
 method. 
 
 This new plan is probably one which Rabelais had 
 carefully elaborated by the aid of Erasmus's Institutio •• 
 Principis Christiani, drawn up for the benefit of the 
 youthful Charles V, and also of the system of the great 
 Mantuan educationalist Vittorino da Feltre. Hints 
 may also have been taken from Guillaume Bude 
 
lo Rabelais in his Writings 
 
 (Budaeus), the learned French scholar who befriended 
 Rabelais and Pierre Amy his brother-student in the 
 cloister, and with whom a correspondence had passed, 
 which fortunately is preserved. 
 
 It must not be taken for granted that this was the 
 education that Rabelais enjoyed, excepting perhaps 
 the first part of it, at the seminary at Seuille. He 
 probably learned but little there, and subsequently as 
 little at the clerical institution of La Baumette, near 
 Angers, whither, according to tradition, he Was sent to 
 complete his education before entering the cloister. 
 
 Of his life at La Baumette we know but little. It 
 was a Franciscan convent and seminary for priests 
 founded by Rene d'Anjou on the model of Sainte- 
 Baume in Provence. Rabelais is said to have formed 
 a friendship there with a fellow-student, Geoffroi 
 d'Estissac, afterwards bishop of Maillezais in Poitou, 
 and with Jean, the second son of the great du Bellay 
 family, which possessed large estates in Maine as well 
 as at la Sarthe near Angers. This however is only 
 tradition. Du Bellay was afterwards Bishop of Paris 
 and Cardinal, and both these prelates exercised later 
 a considerable influence on the fortunes of Rabelais. 
 
 If he learnt but little in the way of books at La 
 Baumette, traces of his residence at Angers, on the 
 borders of Brittany, are to be found in his romance. 
 He mentions La Baumette in G. 12, shewing some 
 acquaintance with its topography. Angers was visited 
 by the youthful Pantagruel in P. 5. There lived Canon 
 Frapin, Seigneur de St George, son of Rabelais' grand- 
 mother en secondes noces; in iv. A.p. he is styled "an 
 old uncle." It is mentioned in iv. 13 as celebrated for 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 1 1 
 
 its miracle-plays. Rennes in Britanny is noted for 
 its beUs (P. 26). The Channel Islands are visited 
 (IV. 66) and St Malo is the harbour from which Panta- 
 gruel's fleet sets out (iv. i). In iii. 30 Judge Bridle- 
 goose is styled deputy-governor of Fonsbeton. As 
 Myrelingues, the province in which this place is situated, 
 is almost certainly intended for Brittany, it seems 
 permissible to conjecture that Fonsbeton is intended 
 for Beton or Betton, a small place a few miles N. of 
 Rennes — du fin fons Betton, just as Thaumast in P. 20 
 said that he had come du fin fond d' Angleterre. In the 
 Grandes Cronicques de I'enorme giant Gargantua, known, 
 and possibly written by Rabelais, some of the scenes 
 are laid in Brittany. All this exhibits Rabelais in the 
 light in which we constantly see him throughout his 
 books, eagerly acquainting himself with the features of 
 the country in which he happens to reside. 
 
 About 1511 tradition tells us that he was transferred 
 to the Franciscan convent at Fontenay-le-Comte near 
 Niort in Poitou, and here it was that he laid the foun- 
 dation of his extraordinary erudition. He woiild be 
 about 17 at this time, supposing him to have been 
 born in 1494, and we learn from his "Petition on 
 account of Apostasy" addressed to Paul III that he 
 was admitted as a Brother Minor of the Observance, 
 the strictest sect of the Franciscans, and that he pro- 
 ceeded to all the orders up to the Priesthood. Our 
 information on this important period of his life is 
 derived almost entirely from this petition, from corre- 
 spondence of his friends and contemporaries as well 
 as his own correspondence (three letters) with Guillaume 
 Bude. It may be gathered with a fair amount of 
 
12 Rabelais in his Writings 
 
 certainty that he had formed a close friendship with 
 Pierre Amy, one of the brothers, and that the two had 
 worked together to good purpose in acquiring a know- 
 ledge of classical writers and especially of Greek. 
 Amy had been known to Bude and no doubt the two 
 studious brethren had been prompted and assisted by 
 the great scholar to become humanists and follow his 
 own example. For after wasting his early years of 
 instruction in Paris and at Orleans, where he was 
 supposed to study law, Bude took up classical learning 
 with such unremitting ardour that he became the first 
 scholar in France. Among his correspondence are 
 two letters to Amy in Latin and two in Greek, also 
 one in Latin to Rabelais and one almost entirely in 
 Greek. The genuineness of the letter of Rabelais to 
 Budaeus can hardly now be questioned, for it has been 
 published in the R.E.R. in photogravure and is mani- 
 festly in the beautiful handwriting of Rabelais. 
 
 The glimpses we get of his life in the convent at 
 Fontenay, derived mostly from letters and writings of 
 his friends, reveal to us a man such as we should expect 
 from his book, kindly, sociable, witty, studious, and 
 after he has been prompted by the companionship of 
 Amy and the favour of Bude, keenly anxious to master 
 the newly-discovered Hellenic literature. He was 
 visited occasionally by learned friends, Andr6 Tiraqueau, 
 a distinguished jurist of Poitou, afterwards member of 
 the Parlement of Paris, the advocate Jean Bouchet, 
 Amaury Bouchard, a King's Counsel and Master of 
 the Requests, and Geoffroi d'Estissac, Bishop of 
 Maillezais, his old acquaintance at La Baumette, when 
 the friends had discussions on various points of learning 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 13 
 
 under "the arbour of laurels" in the convent garden. 
 The harmony of this coterie was curiously disturbed by 
 the publication of a book by Bouchard in defence of 
 the female sex against a treatise of Tiraqueau de legihus 
 connubialibus etjure maritali, in which women had been 
 treated with scant respect. This had been published 
 in 1513, while Bouchard's book appeared from the 
 house of Badius Ascensius in Paris (Almarici Bouchard! 
 feminei sexus apologia adversus Andream Tiraquellum. 
 Paris, Josse Badius Ascensius, 1522). In this book is 
 to be found the following reference to Amy: "quae si 
 alio animo impositae videantur judicet ille sodalis 
 Francisci : qui quod est, id vere et amicus nuncupatur ; 
 quem veluti testem incorruptum industriis et ignaviis 
 his affuturum spero." A letter from Pierre Amy to 
 Tiraqueau also is extant, in which he seems to refer 
 to a breach in the friendship of Bouchard and Tira- 
 queau. It contains the following passage: "Angor 
 enim vehementer cum prospicio sicuti, Almarici causa, 
 a te atque a nostro Rabeleso eruditissimo sodalium 
 Franciscanorum, quorum desiderio maceror, diu ab- 
 ductus fui: ita ad vos...redire non posse nisi ab 
 Almarici delitiis vicissim divellar." 
 
 In 1524 Tiraqueau published at the press of Galliot 
 du Pre, the Paris printer, a second edition of his book 
 Commentarii in Pictonum consuetudines . Sectio de 
 legihus connubialibus, and in the preface he complains 
 bitterly of his friend Bouchard for attacking and 
 inveighing against the first edition, which he declares 
 had been purloined and printed without his leave or 
 knowledge, being only the first part, while he was 
 busy preparing the rest. There is a tradition arising 
 
14 Rabelais in his Writings 
 
 from this that Rabelais and Amy were called in to 
 arbitrate on this point between the two friends. In 
 a later passage f". 117, 2 Tiraqueau recurs to this 
 action of Bouchard, in which he repeats the charge of 
 attacking a book written by a very young man, and 
 a book that had been printed without the author's 
 knowledge. He speaks of Bouchard ut qui semper 
 feminis placere quam viris potius studuit, and two pages 
 later writes thus, addressing Bouchard : " Sed temperare 
 non possum quin dicam id quod et noster ille Franciscus 
 Rabelesus, sodalis Franciscanus, vir utraque lingua 
 doctissimus pronuntiavit simul ac librum tuum perlegit, 
 Invidia scilicet maxima apud mulieres me flagraturum 
 esse si librum tuum yvvai,KOKpaTovfiev6<; Tt?, id est tui 
 similis, in vernaculum verterit." 
 
 In a letter of dedication prefixed to an edition of 
 the Epistolae medicinales of Manardi, a distinguished 
 Ferrarese physician, Rabelais speaks with great com- 
 mendation of the treatise of Tiraqueau, which he styles 
 virojjjvrjiiara in Pictonum leges municipales. The Sectio 
 de legibus connubialibus was a part of this, and Rabelais 
 earnestly begs for the completion of it. It was com- 
 pleted in 1545, and the Sectio was still farther developed, 
 with large additions and some suppressions, and pre- 
 pared for the press by his kinsman Michel Tiraqueau. 
 Rabelais must have seen this either in manuscript or 
 while it was passing through the press, because the 
 bulk of the thirty-first, thirty-second and thirty-seventh 
 chapters of the Third Book, published early in 1546, as 
 well as much matter in other parts of the same book, 
 are obviously derived from Tiraqueau, whose book, as 
 well as Rabelais' Third Book (1552), was published by 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 15 
 
 Fezandat. These chapters are given as the discourse 
 of Rondibilis the physician, and deal minutely with 
 the sexual conditions and relations of women, and it 
 seems fairly probable that offence was thus given to 
 Tiraqueau, who was now member of the Parlement of 
 Paris; for there is no trace of any further relations 
 between the two men; and moreover Tiraqueau was 
 one of the twelve members of the Conseil du Parlement 
 when Rabelais' Fourth Book was brought up for dis- 
 cussion in the beginning of 1552. The printer was 
 censured {R.E.R. iv. 388) and Tiraqueau uttered no 
 word of defence on behalf of his former friend. 
 
 This controversy between Bouchard and Tiraqueau 
 is important as forming an episode in the Querelle des 
 Femmes, dating in France perhaps from the Roman de 
 la Rose of the fourteenth century. The second writer 
 of this book, Jean de Meung, who continues the poem 
 of Guillaume Loris from line 4668 to the end (line 22, 
 818), shews himself a most strenuous vilifier of the 
 female sex. Writers on both sides appeared from time 
 to time in the succeeding centuries, one of the best 
 defenders of women being the elegant writer Christine 
 de Pisan. Rabelais by the plan of his Third Book was 
 bound to be adverse to women, but from the extract 
 of Tiraqueau given above, he was already claimed as 
 a partisan. 
 
 But the turning-point in Rabelais' life was to come 
 about this time. The Lutheran revolt had culminated, 
 and going on pari passu with it was the Renaissance 
 movement of Humanism, with its Greek and Hebrew 
 studies and the translation of Aristotle and the Bible. 
 Erasmus's edition of the New Testament and his Para- 
 
1 6 Rabelais in his Writings 
 
 phrases had caused alarm in many of the monasteries, 
 where the monks were sluggish and ignorant by choice, 
 ana'-could barely read their Breviary and Vulgate, to 
 say nothing of understanding them. The Franciscans 
 of Fontenay now took fright and visited the two 
 studious brothers Amy and Rabelais with their dis- 
 pleasure, confiscated their books and treated the 
 brothers rigorously. This is established by Bud6's 
 second letter to Rabelais dated Paris January 27, 1524 
 (a date established by Mr Tilleyin R.E.R. vi. 47), and 
 by another to Amy of February 26, beginning : "O by 
 the God of Friendship and the Founder of your Brother- 
 hood, what is this that we have just heard? I learn 
 that you, my valued friend, and your Theseus, Rabelais, 
 have been mvaded and harassed by these culture- 
 hating brethren of yours on account of your excessive 
 zeal in Greek studies, and are vilely and shamefully 
 ill-treated. O the unconquerable perversity of these 
 men ! " The letter concludes : " Farewell, and give a 
 fourfold greeting from me to the wise and gifted 
 Rabelais, either by word of mouth or by letter when 
 you write." An earlier letter to Amy ends thus: 
 " Please greet from me Rabelais, who is associated with 
 you and the sharer of your studies." 
 
 The brothers were restored to their studies by 
 powerful influence, but they naturally could not feel 
 themselves secure. Amy made his escape from the 
 convent by some means or other, taking the hint as 
 Rabelais tells us (ill. 10) from the line "Heu fuge 
 crudeles terras, fuge litus avarum ! " which turned up 
 when he consulted the Sortes Vergilianae. Of his 
 subsequent fate we are not informed, excepting that 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 17 
 
 Erasmus tells us in a letter to Jacobus Tussanus 
 (xxvi. ep. 4 fin.), dated Freiburg, March 12, 1531, 
 that the Petrus Amicus, to whom Budaeus had addressed 
 letters, had been brought to Bale by Joannes Lascanus 
 Polonus, and that he had taken a chill and died and been 
 buried as a layman among the Franciscans. 
 
 Rabelais escaped in another way. He obtained an 
 indult from Pope Clement VII permitting his trans- 
 ference from the Order of Brothers Minors to that of 
 St Benedict in the Church of Maillezais, in the diocese 
 of which Geoffroi d'Estissac was bishop. This was a 
 relief to him and an agreeable change ; the bishop was 
 learned himself and a patron of learned men, whom he 
 delighted to gather round him. This we know from a 
 rhyming letter of Rabelais to Jean Bouchet inviting 
 him to the Bishop's seat at Liguge and from Bouchet's 
 answer. It seems that the Bishop, who was a learned 
 canonist, delighted to get round him the legal luminaries 
 who had formed part of the cdterie at Fontenay, and 
 to enjoy their conversation and discussions on literary 
 and legal questions. To all these worthies Rabelais 
 when established at Lyons in 1532 dedicated some of 
 his work and fortunately the letters of dedication have 
 been preserved, giving us some idea of their gifts and 
 of the kindly relations subsisting between them and 
 our author. The transference to the Benedictines took 
 place probably towards the end of 1524, or even later, 
 for it would take some time to get an indult from Rome, 
 even with the help of the Bishop's influence. 
 
 And now we come to a period in which Rabelais' 
 movements are not definitely known. In the second 
 petition which he made to Paul III he says that he 
 
 s. R. 2 
 
1 8 Rabelais in his Writings 
 
 remained at Maillezais several years {in eoque -per plures 
 annos mansit). In Pant. c. 5 the youthful Pantagruel 
 starting from Poitiers visits the other Universities of 
 France, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Montpellier, Avignon, 
 Valence, Angers, Bourges, Orleans, Paris. Antoine 
 Leroy, who was cure of Meudon (about third in 
 succession after Rabelais) and who collected stories 
 from the old inhabitants concerning his predecessor, 
 wrote in his Elogia Rabelaisiana : " Rabelaesus Gallicus 
 omnes scientiarum bonarumque artium academias 
 sub Pantagruelis nomine peragravit." Evidently a 
 reference is intended to this chapter and it is to be 
 taken as true that Rabelais did at some time in his 
 life visit these places. Angers, we have seen, he knew 
 before ; in the other places he passed a short time, and 
 studied law at Bourges, which he mentions again in 
 P. 29, whereas it has been established by Mr Tilley 
 in his book Frangois Rabelais, chapter i, pp. 29-30, 
 that he must have studied medicine in Paris during 
 the years 1528-30 in order to take his degree 
 of Bachelor of Medicine at Montpellier in December 
 1530, of which the attestation in the records of that 
 University is in Rabelais' own handwriting. M. Lefranc 
 comes to the same conclusion (R.E.R. vi. 40) on other 
 grounds, and both writers appeal to the extraordinarily 
 exact acquaintance with Paris shewn in the sixteenth 
 and other chapters of the Pantagruel. M. Lefranc also 
 points out that in all probability Rabelais resided at the 
 Hostel St Denis (Pantagruel's lodging in P 18), which 
 from being originally a royal residence had become 
 towards the end of the fifteenth century a college for 
 Benedictine students, St Denis being closely connected 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 19 
 
 with the Benedictines of Maillezais. He suggests also 
 that it was not till he left Paris for Montpellier, in 1530 
 that Rabelais abandoned the monkish habit. . Rabelais' 
 own account is : "absque licentia sui superioris a dicta 
 Ecclesia discedens, regulari dimisso et Praesbyteri 
 secularis habitu assumpto, per seculum diu vagatus 
 fuit, eoque tempore durante Facultati Medicinae 
 diligenter operam dedit et in ea gradus ad hoc requisitos 
 suscepit et publice prof essus est. " In a later suppUcatio 
 (dated probably 1536) he says: "Postmodum sine 
 Religionis habitu profectus est in Montem-pessulanum 
 ibidemque in facultate Medicinae studuit, publice legit 
 per plures annos et gradus omnes, etiam Doctoratus, 
 ibidem in praedicta facultate Medicinae suscepit et 
 praxim ibidem et alibi in multis locis per annos multos 
 exercuit." There is every reason for believing in a 
 two-year residence in Paris, and this confirmation is 
 very welcome. 
 
 His matriculation and baccalaureat in Medicine are 
 attested in his own handwriting in the registers of the 
 University of Montpellier dated respectively September 
 17 and December i^, 1530. As a bachelor he gave 
 courses of lectures on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates 
 and the Ars Medica of Galen to crowded audiences 
 with great success. Besides this and his mention of 
 Scurronus (= Jean Schyron) the Chancellor of Mont- 
 pellier in IV. 43, there is but little to record of his 
 residence in Montpellier. 
 
 In the beginning of 1532 Rabelais migrated from 
 Montpellier to Lyons, with the object of getting his 
 
 1 By a slip Rabelais has written November i instead of 
 December i. 
 
20 Rabelais in his Writings 
 
 lectures published by Sebastian Gryphius, the celebrated 
 printer, who was to Lyons almost what Aldus Manutius 
 was to Venice. Whereas Aldus printed many Greek 
 books, Gryphius printed a few Greek and many Latin 
 books, nearly all ancient classics, or commentaries and 
 translations from the Greek by the humanists, and he 
 is recorded to have published only two books in French. 
 But at Lyons, which was at this time an intellectual 
 centre hardly second to Paris, there were many printers 
 and among them Claude Nourry and his successor Fran- 
 9ois Juste, who printed the Pantagruel and the Gargan- 
 tua. It is probable that Rabelais was soon employed 
 by Gryphius as corrector of his press ; but his reputation 
 in humanism as well as in medicine had preceded him 
 and he was doubtless welcomed by the learned printers 
 of Lyons. This enabled him to amuse his leisure time 
 in reading the chivalric romances, which presented in 
 vigorous prose the subjects of the Chansons de geste. 
 These were eagerly read at the time, notwithstanding 
 their almost interminable length; their influence may 
 easily be seen not only in the Grandes Cronicques, 
 which is formed on the Arthurian Merlin and Lancelot 
 du Lac, but in the Pantagruel which is founded on the 
 Carolingian romances such as Fierabras, Galien R6thore 
 and others. After the publication by Gryphius of the 
 Medical Letters of Manardi (June 3, 1532), the Aphorisms 
 of Hippocrates (July 15), the Will of Cuspidius etc. 
 (September 4), Rabelais was appointed physician to 
 the Hospital at Lyons at the rate of 40 livres a year, an 
 advance of 10 livres on the salary of his predecessor. 
 
 Inspired by the reading of the chivalric romances 
 Rabelais either composed or edited a crude giant-story 
 
Rabelais in his Writings 21 
 
 entitled Les grandes et inestimables Cronicques du grand 
 et enorme giant Gargantua, founded, as has been said, on 
 the Arthurian romances of Merlin and Lancelot du Lac. 
 King Arthur himself furnishes the title for a Breton 
 and British romance, while J;Jie giant Gargantua and 
 his feats, with traces of his presence, are to be found in 
 many places in France, especially in Brittany. The 
 slight framework of the story is simply the creation of 
 Grand Gosier and Galemelle by Merlin, the birth and 
 apparelling of their son Gargantua, his transport over 
 the sea to England on a cloud raised by Merlin, his 
 taking service with King Arthur in England and his 
 conquest of the Irish and the Hollanders for the King. 
 Several of the episodes of this fabliau are adopted later 
 in Rabelais' Gargantua, and it is this book that is so 
 warmly commended in the Prologue to the Pantagruel, 
 whether it was written by Rabelais or not. 
 
 LES GRANDES CRONICQUES 
 
 The authorship of Les grandes et inestimables 
 Cronicques du grand et enorme geant Gargantua has been 
 much disputed. It has been maintained that Rabelais 
 was the author, principally on the ground that the 
 Prologue to Pantagruel is occupied almost entirely by 
 a panegyric on its transcendent merits, and in promising 
 Pantagruel as another book of the same kind but still 
 better credit. There is also the fact that in the Gar- 
 gantua Rabelais employs several of the episodes re- 
 corded in this fabliau. This has led to the belief that 
 
22 Les grandes Cronicques 
 
 the Gargantua was intended to be a much improved 
 edition of the Grandes Cronicques. An objection has 
 been raised that the style is too crude and almost 
 puerile to allow the composition of it by the gifted 
 author of the Gargantua. Against this it has been 
 argued that the style as well as the matter of the 
 fabliau has been imitated in this piece; also that the 
 style of the Gargantua is very much superior to that of 
 the Pantagruel, and that Rabelais progresses in power 
 as he gains experience. 
 
 On the other side M. Lefranc urges that nowhere in 
 this Prologue does Rabelais declare himself the author 
 of the little book, notwithstanding his strong com- 
 mendations of it ; that the crudeness of it is too great 
 to allow of its composition by the great Tourangeau. 
 The publication of it was not entrusted to Nourry or 
 Juste, who were the printers of the Lyons editions of 
 Pantagruel and Gargantua. M. Seymour de Ricci, who 
 gives a facsimile reprint from the unique copy in the 
 Munich library (R.E.R. viii. 57-92), inclines to ascribe 
 it to the press of Jacques Moderne de Pinguente, who 
 published a number of literary pieces in French in the 
 years 1529-56. This was published in 1532, and there 
 is a copy of the Cronicques containing some additions 
 dated 1533, bound up with the Pantagruel of 1533 and 
 the Pantagrueline Prognostication of the same date, in 
 the royal library at Dresden. 
 
 A point of considerable interest is to be found in the 
 possible origin of the name "Gargantua" in a way 
 indicated by an episode in the Grandes Cronicques 
 (chap. 8). In this story Grand Gosier and Galemelle, 
 the father and mother of Gargantua, are represented 
 
Les grandes Cronicques 23 
 
 each carrying a rock out into the sea from St Malo and 
 setting them down at a distance (ij miles) from each 
 other. One of these rocks is St Michel and the other 
 Tombelaine. The latter actually contains Druidic 
 remains, while the word has been explained as tombe 
 d'HeUne or tumha Belenis. It has occurred to me that 
 the word may be derived from tv/x^o'? Xdivo-i, i.e. the 
 rock that has been the tomb of many mariners. 
 
 In the Legenda Aurea, c. 145, and in the Breviary, 
 die VIII Mali, In apparitione S. Michaelis Archangeli, 
 is given the legend of an appearance of St Michael. 
 Some herdsmen on Mons Garganus in Apulia (mentioned 
 in Horace, C. 11. 9. 7), following a bull that had strayed, 
 found him in the mouth of a cavern, and when one 
 of them shot an arrow at him the arrow turned back 
 and struck the bowman. In the Legenda Aurea the 
 cavern is called Tumha, and some notion of a tomb 
 seems to be involved. In consequence of this miracle 
 and of an appearance of St Michael to Pope Gelasius 
 in 493, the Bishop of Sipontum was commanded to 
 build a sanctuary in honour of St Michael on Mons 
 Garganus, afterwards called Monte St Angelo. Similarly 
 about the year 710 in consequence of a vision of Saint 
 Michael to Hubert, Bishop of Avranches, a sanctuary 
 was built on the height called Tumha near the sea, 
 about six miles from Avranches. St Michael's Church 
 is built on a tremendous summit and is only accessible 
 at ebb-tide. It was much visited by pilgrims who are 
 called "Micheletz" or "Micquelots" in Rabelais^. In 
 the ninth and tenth centuries the relations between 
 Mont St Michel and Monte Gargano were well main- 
 1 G.C., P.P. 5, G. 38. V. 25. 
 
24 Les grandes Cronicques 
 
 tained. Courageous pilgrims in their itinerary of Italy 
 and the Gauls almost always included Rome, Monte 
 Gargano, St Martin of Tours and Mont St Michel. 
 
 On Cape Malea (C. Matapan), the most southerly 
 point of the Peloponnese, except Taenarum, was 
 formerly placed a statue of Apollo, and subsequently 
 a church was dedicated in honour of the specially 
 Greek Saint Michael, whose aid was invoked by mariners 
 in the dangerous strait between C. Malea and the island 
 Cythera (Cerigo). 
 
 The mihtant figure of St Michael with his uplifted 
 sword trampling the dragon underfoot appealed 
 strongly to the imagination of the chivalrous Normans, 
 and this saint was adopted by them for their special 
 cult from their first initiation to Christianity, to take 
 the place of the ancient warrior gods whom they gave 
 up on being converted and baptized. St Michael's 
 Mount in Cornwall is another instance of a Norman 
 church dedicated on a height to this Saint. 
 
 Mont St Michel in Normandy was formerly called 
 Mont Gargan, a name probably derived from Monte 
 Gargano in Apulia, on which the former St Michael's 
 Church had been built. The same appellation was 
 bestowed on various mountain heights in Normandy 
 and Brittany. From the sixth century it got the name 
 of Mont Tombe; in the eighth it was called after 
 St Michael, to whom were almost always dedicated 
 churches on the summit of hills and by the sea-coasts, 
 so as to serve for beacons. Hence he obtains the title 
 of St Michel au pdril de mer and St Michel d'Aure 
 (iv. 19) and perhaps St Adauras (P. 17). It seems 
 therefore a tenable proposition that the beneficent 
 
Les grandes Cronicques 25 
 
 French giant Gargantua, traces of whom may be found 
 in all parts of France from Brittany to Provence, may 
 have derived his name from Mons Garganus in Apulia. 
 Besides Les Grandes Cronicques Rabelais published 
 about this time (1532-3) a Pantagrueline Prognostication 
 consisting of a prologue and six (afterwards ten) 
 chapters. This was adapted freely from two similar 
 ones in Latin in the appendix to the Facetiae of 
 Heinrich Bebel and a Prognostication of Heinrichman 
 of Sindelfingen. It is a burlesque on the numerous 
 Prognostications, which were eagerly read and perhaps 
 believed in at this time. They were of the same kind 
 as Old Moore's Almanack and The Limping Messenger 
 {Der hinkende Bote), both of which are still current 
 after more than a century's existence. In this we find 
 Rabelais running riot in his copious vocabulary as he 
 does later in the "litanies" lists of arms, viands, fish, 
 serpents, etc. 
 
 Rabelais also brought out at this time an Almanack 
 for 1533. We are fortunate in having the preface to 
 this as well as that to his Almanack for 1535 still 
 extant. They shew his real attitude towards the 
 quack prophetic publications, and exhibit him in the 
 light of a genuine believer in the gracious providence 
 of an inscrutable and beneficent Creator. He denounces 
 in the strongest terms the attempts to pry into the 
 designs of the Deity and insists on patient submission 
 to this decrees. This attitude may be exemplified from 
 other parts of his writings. 
 
 M. Lefranc has shewn the probable dates of these 
 early publications : (i) Les Grandes Cronicques August 
 3, 1532. (2) Pantagruel November 3, 1532. (3) Pan- 
 
26 Les grandes Cronicques 
 
 tagrueline Prognostication the Monday after Epiphany 
 1533- He bases his calculations on the dates of the 
 book-fairs of Lyons, which had been fixed by Louis XII 
 in July 1498 and confirmed by Francis I in February 
 1536 and April 13431. 
 
 Other Almanacks were pubhshed for the years 1541, 
 1546, 1548, 1550; we have only the title-pages pre- 
 served, but they are useful in helping to determine 
 the dates of Rabelais' presence at Lyons or Paris at 
 certain periods. 
 
 Rabelais probably met Clement Marot, the French 
 poet, in Paris in 1528-30, but it does not seem likely 
 that Marot was resident at Lyons in 1532 or except 
 occasionally, for he preferred Paris and his books were 
 printed there till Dolet (who came to Lyons in 1534) 
 printed the completed edition of his poems in 1538. 
 The Adolescence Clementine, containing Marot's earlier 
 poems, was piablished in 1529 and 1532 ; from this 
 Rabelais borrowed phrases. Besides Marot's own 
 poems, his editions of Le Roman de la Rose (Galliot du 
 Pr6, Paris 1527) and of Villon's poems (1532) were 
 employed in the Pantagruel and Gargantua, as was also 
 an edition by Blanchet of La Farce de Maistre Pierre 
 Pathelin restitue A son naturel (Galliot du Pre 1532). 
 Rabelais also employed editions of Gringore, Coquillart 
 and Le Maire de Beiges. 
 
 1 R.E.R. IX, 152. 
 
Pantagruel 27 
 
 PANTAGRUEL 
 
 It was towards the close of 1532 that Rabelais 
 finished the Pantagruel, the first instalment of the 
 romance that was to confer immortality on his name. 
 The plan of the story is the same as that of the Grandes 
 Cronicques and the chivalric romances, viz. : the origin, 
 birth, apparelling, youth, education of the giant prince, 
 and later a tremendous battle between Pantagruel and 
 Loupgarou with his three hundred giants ; all imitated 
 from and following the lines of the romances ; inter- 
 posed between these accounts are various events of 
 Pantagruel's life at Orleans and Paris (cc. 6-23), whither 
 he had proceeded after visiting other French univer- 
 sities. This is a burlesque on Rabelais' own life, and 
 it is in this that it differs from the Cronicques, in being 
 to a considerable extent autobiographical. 
 
 After the episode at Orleans of the Limousin 
 scholar, who affected Latinized speech (c. 6), Pantagruel 
 proceeds to Paris where he stays till c. 23. He was 
 then recalled by the news of the death of his father 
 Gargantua and the invasion of his country Utopia by 
 the Dipsodes. In the meantime the chapters relating 
 to his stay in Paris are instructive as to the life 
 of the students there and of the studies at the 
 University. In the seventh chapter is given a list of 
 books in the library of St Victor, originally a burlesque 
 on the goody-goody text-books on religious subjects, 
 interspersed with a few book-titles containing reflexions 
 on some prominent members of the University and 
 
28 Pantagruel 
 
 others. In the two latest editions authorized by- 
 Rabelais a list of books is inserted quite as long as the 
 original catalogue, bearing in several instances on the 
 quarrel of the Cologne doctors with the great Hebraist 
 Reuchlin, which is the special subject of the Epistolae 
 Obscurorum Virorum (1517), as well as on some points 
 of the Lutheran revolt. 
 
 The eighth chapter is very important as giving a 
 scheme of education in a letter from Gargantua to his 
 son Pantagruel, reprobating the previous neglect of 
 learning in the times of the Goths (i.e. the Schoolmen) 
 and full of enthusiasm for the restoration of letters by 
 the Humanists of the Renaissance. This is followed 
 by a list of studies to be recommended, Latin, Greek, 
 Hebrew, Arabic, the Trivium and Quadrivium, Civil 
 Law, Natural Science and the Greek, Latin and Arabic 
 physicians, as well as the Old Testament in Hebrew 
 and the New Testament in Greek. This is a list that 
 might have been inspired by Budaeus himself, whom 
 Rabelais closely followed in the ardour wth which he 
 prosecuted Greek- and Latin reading. These studies 
 are intended as a contrast to the books of instruction 
 in the library of St Victor. 
 
 The next chapter (the ninth) furnishes an episode 
 full of importance for the rest of the romance — the 
 introduction of Panurge to Pantagruel. As Panurge 
 is almost the hero of the Third, Fourth and Fifth Books, 
 it may be well here to give some account of his charac- 
 teristics and Rabelais' manner of dealing with them. 
 He is derived from the Cingar of Merlin Cocai, the 
 pseudonym of Hieronimo (in the cloister Teofilo) 
 Folengo (1492-1544) who was at one time a Dominican, 
 
Pantagruel 29 
 
 but who unfrocked himself and led a roving life. If 
 not the originator, he was one of the earliest writers 
 of macaronic verse, that is, a mixture of Latin hexa- 
 meters and burlesque Italian. His poem Baldus is 
 written in twenty-five books, the three last of which 
 are a fantastic description of the lower world. This 
 poem is employed considerably in the account of the 
 tricks of Panurge in P. 14-17 and iv. 5-8, 18-24, and 
 the author is mentioned three times {P. i, 7 and iii 11). 
 Panurge's prototype Cingar is himself formed to some 
 extent on the Marguite of Pulci's Morgante Maggiore 
 (Venice, 1488), as Folengo points out. There is a 
 portrait of the author in the Uffizi Gallery at Florence. 
 
 But it is not only Cingar (or Panurge) who is 
 borrowed from Merlin Cocai; a representative of 
 Pantagruel may be found in Baldus, the hero of the 
 poem. And although Pantagruel takes the place of 
 Baldus, his actual name and attributes (especially that 
 of causing thirst) are derived from the Mystere des 
 Actes des Apostres of Simon Greban, in which Pantha- 
 gruel is a small devil who represents water, or rather 
 sea-water, as distinguished from the others, who repre- 
 sent air, fire and earth {R.E.R. X..482). 
 
 Again Carpalim, the swift runner (perhaps a Basque 
 lackey of Rabelais' acquaintance who furnished him 
 with the Basque speech in this chapter), is derived from 
 Falchettus, and Eusthenes, the strong man, from 
 Fracassus in Folengo's poem; he is also put down in 
 P I as one of the giant progenitors of Pantagruel. 
 Thus, four of the five standing characters in the 
 Pantagruel represent to a great extent persons in the 
 Baldus of Folengo. 
 
30 Pantagruel 
 
 The fifth, a most important personage, Epistemon, 
 the tutor of Pantagruel, was most likely a fellow-student 
 of Rabelais at Montpellier, as was also Ponocrates, the 
 tutor of Gargantua (cf. ill. 34). The two are differen- 
 tiated in Rabelais in the first being described as weakly, 
 and Ponocrates as sturdy and able. Some day perhaps 
 they may be identified on the Montpellier registers. 
 Epistemon is also represented as present at the death 
 of Guillaume du Bellay (iv. 27). Thus we may see 
 how Rabelais combines his reading and his personal 
 experiences in the composition of his story. A curious 
 slip is made in the last edition (D). In c. 9 Eudemon 
 is introduced as making a comment on Panurge's 
 Basque speech. Eudemon is the accomplished page 
 introduced in c. 15 of the Gargantua by Don Philippe 
 des Marays (who proves to be Don Philippe of Castile, 
 father of Charles V), and th»s Eudemon may be 
 intended as the youthful emperor, to whom was 
 dedicated Erasmus's treatise Institutio Principis Chris- 
 Hani in 1516. At all events he ought not to appear in 
 the Pantagruel, as being a Gargantuine character. 
 
 Cingar (akin to the Spanish Zingari and the German 
 Zigeuner), the wanderer or vagabond, is adapted from 
 Folengo's crude robber of hen-roosts and player of 
 heartless pranks — of which a number are instanced in 
 the early part of Pantagruel — and is skilfully developed 
 into a courtier with the self-same moral proclivities, 
 kept in due restraint by his new surroundings. His 
 Greek name Panurge is taken from a speech of Cicero 
 {Panurgus, Roscii servus) through Budaeus (de Asse, 
 lib. II. p. 239), and the word in its full, unamiable 
 meaning is richly deserved. Thus we find that the 
 
Pantagruel 3 1 
 
 Grecised names attached to the several personages 
 sufficiently indicate their character. 
 
 The construction of the chapter in its component 
 parts deserves consideration. At the beginning Panta- 
 gruel sees through the woe-begone appearance of 
 Panurge traces of a man of mark and ability. This is 
 from the Odyssey, bk vii. as given in Erasmus, Ad. iii. 
 10. 51- Pasquier (Recherches de la France, viii. 59) is 
 probably right in attributing the polyglot speeches of 
 Panurge to the suggestion from the speeches in different 
 patois uttered by Patelin of the Farce in his pretended 
 delirium, while the general plan and bearing of the 
 chapter are modelled on the visit of Ulysses to the 
 Phaeacians in Od. vii. 203 sqq. and the actual speech 
 of Panurge at the end is that of Ulysses, Od. vii. 
 216-21 and XIV. 193-8. 
 
 The claim of Panurge to be one of the thirty-two 
 French prisoners who were taken by the Turks at the 
 siege of Mitylene in 1502 is very fantastic, but is used 
 as the substructure of the fourteenth chapter, where 
 Panurge records a fanciful account of his escape. 
 
 Panurge, Carpalim and Eusthenes all make their 
 first appearance in c. 9, Epistemon in c. 5. This name 
 is perhaps derived from the Panepistemon of Politian, 
 the great Florentine scholar. 
 
 The tenth chapter is devoted to an account of a 
 controversy between two great Lords, which was too 
 obscure for the Paris lawyers to unravel. They appeal 
 for help to Pantagruel who had made a great name for 
 himself by public disputations; this enables him to 
 denounce the study and practice of law then existing, 
 viz., a blind deference to the glosses of practitioners 
 
32 Pantagruel 
 
 that had grown round the Corpus Juris; these were 
 followed more scrupulously than the text itself. In 
 reality this is the attitude of Budaeus in his Annotations 
 on the first twenty-four and the last four books (47-50) 
 of Justinian's Pandects, while Budaeus is to some 
 extent indebted to the work of Lorenzo Valla and 
 Pohziano, who had made a study of the original litera 
 Pisana, the copy of the Pandects now in the Medicean 
 Library. But at the same time Rabelais pleads for a 
 broader study of law on a philosophical basis of juris- 
 prudence and inveighs against the narrowing practice 
 of case-law in the spirit of Plato (Theaet. 172 D-173 b) 
 and of Bishop Thirlwall, when explaining why he gave 
 up forensic for ecclesiastical studies {Letters, p. 63), 
 and of Sir H. Maine in advocating the study of Roman 
 Law in "Cambridge Essays," 1856. 
 
 The eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth chapters give 
 the unintelligible pleadings of the plaintiff and defendant 
 and the equally unintelligible judgement of Pantagruel. 
 Two or three historical allusions scattered up and down 
 may be intended to mislead, but hardly to enlighten 
 the reader. 
 
 The fourteenth chapter describes Panurge's escape 
 from the Turks in a very burlesque fashion, the 
 fifteenth an absurd and undesirable theory for building 
 the walls of Paris, the sixteenth and seventeenth all 
 kinds of mischievous student tricks of which he was 
 guilty ; they are derived for the most part from Merlin 
 Cocai. The eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth 
 chapters introduce us to Sir Thomas More under the 
 name of Thaumast, arguing with Panurge (who takes 
 Pantagruel's place) by signs, without speaking. In 
 
Pantagruel 33 
 
 this book Rabelais is indebted to More's Utopia, of 
 which an early edition had been published in Paris by 
 Gilles de Gourmont 1517-18. Utopia is placed near 
 Cathay in Upper India, or China, and twice it is made 
 the goal of a Pantagrueline voyage; the first time in 
 this book, by following the route of the Portuguese 
 round the Cape of Good Hope to India by Ceylon, and 
 secondly in the Fourth Book by the North- West passage 
 above Canada, which was not achieved till 1857-9 by 
 McClintock. It is interesting to note that Pantagruel 
 (i.e. Rabelais) lodged at the Hotel St Denis (cf. p. 18) 
 and Thaumast at the H6tel de Cluny. (In G. 39 
 Brother John declares that he kept open house in Paris 
 more than six months, which seems to point in the same 
 direction.) At the same time the H6tel de Cluny was 
 the residence of distinguished Englishmen who might 
 be staying in Paris, while the contiguous Palais des 
 Thermes was occupied by taverns frequented by 
 students, especially by les maistres de la nation d'Angle- 
 ierre. 
 
 The significance of signs and symbols seems greatly 
 to have taken Rabelais' fancy. He recurs to it in 
 III. 19, where he praises the counsel of the dumb, and 
 in IV. 37, where he instances the oqie^js and significance 
 of names, a science which he calls Onomatomancy 
 (hi. 25). In the present chapter and in iii. 19, where 
 the dumb Goatsnose gives his advice by gesticulation, 
 the intention may have been to ridicule the minute 
 directions given by Quintilian (xi. 3. 92 sqq.) to the 
 orator concerning the use of fingers and arms in 
 rhetorical argument ; but from this Rabelais proceeds 
 to argue as to the imposition of names, whether it is 
 
 s. R. 3 
 
34 Pantagruel 
 
 by nature or arbitrarily. He probably derives his 
 ideas from Plato's Cratylus, to which he refers in iv. 37, 
 but he may also have had in view the question of the 
 imposition of names by Adam in Genesis ii. 19 which 
 was much debated by the schoolmen and is referred 
 to by Cornelius Agrippa de occulta philosophia i. 70. 
 Hippocrates also, de arte medendi § 2, puts it that forms 
 are natural, but that words are made by custom. 
 
 Again this dispute is intended as a caricature of 
 keeping an act in the Paris University. "The process," 
 says Mr Tilley, "is hardly more absurd, the result not 
 a whit more barren, than many of the disputations 
 which took place in the Paris schools" {Franpois 
 Rabelais, p. 108). In reference to a disputation he 
 had at Oxford in 1554 Bishop Ridley said : " That when 
 he studied at Paris he remembered what clamours were 
 used in the Sorbon, where Popery chiefly reigned : but 
 that was quite a modesty in comparison with this 
 present thrasonical ostentation. Whence he concluded 
 very truly that they sought not for the sincere truth in 
 the conference, and for nothing but vain-glory" 
 (Strype's Memorials of Cranmer iii. p. 115). 
 
 After a disgraceful adventure of Panurge (cc. 21, 22) 
 Pantagruel gets news of his father's translation by the 
 fairies (i.e. his death) and learns that the Dipsodes have 
 invaded his territory of Utopia. He at once starts for 
 Rouen and from there to Honfleur, whence he and his 
 four companions set sail. And now we have an indica- 
 tion of the interest Rabelais found in geography. In 
 the twenty-third preliminary chapter we find an 
 allusion to Canaria, which had been discovered for 
 France and partly annexed by Jean de B6thencourt. 
 
Pantagruel 35 
 
 It is mentioned also P. 11, 24, G. 13. 31. 50, though in 
 one or two instances with the purpose of disguising 
 some other place. But Rabelais had also read about 
 the Canary Islands in Pliny (6. 203) and was concerned 
 about geography, historically as well as patriotically. 
 It was his wont to keep before him two or even three 
 points of view and he delighted in finding modern 
 parallels with classical instances. 
 
 But now he conducts his hero to Utopia from 
 Honfleur, following the route of the Portuguese round 
 the Cape. In his itinerary he simply copies a passage 
 from the preface of Simon Grynaeus to a book of 
 travels of various explorers collected by Jo. Hervagius 
 (Basel 1532). There was also a map or cosmography 
 by Seb. Miinster made for his edition of Ptolemy in 
 1545. The list of explorers in this volume coincides 
 to a great extent with one given in v. 31 (MS.), thus 
 affording a slight confirmation of the belief in the 
 authenticity of the Fifth Book. 
 
 After rounding the Cape they come to Melinda, 
 which had been reached by Vasco da Gama in 1498. 
 He passed over from there to Calicut in India, whereas 
 Pantagruel passes by Meden, Uti, Uden, Gelasim, the 
 Isles of the Fairies and the Kingdom of Achoria, to 
 Utopia. It is a question whether these are merely 
 fanciful names derived from the Greek fx-qhev, ovhev, etc., 
 or whether, as M. Lefranc suggests, Meden and Uden 
 are intended for Medina and Aden, while Gelasim 
 stands for Ceylon. Shortly after they had arrived in 
 the harbour of Utopia they were approached by 660 
 knights in hostile f ashfon, but these were all discomfited 
 and burnt up by a scheme of the ever-ready Panurge. 
 
 3—2 
 
36 Pantagruel 
 
 The travellers set up a burlesque trophy; when the 
 one prisoner whom they had taken alive informs them 
 that Anarchus, king of the Dipsodes, accompanied by 
 Loupgarou and three hundred giants and an immense 
 army, is coming to attack them. Pantagruel sends the 
 knight to his master to inform him that he has a 
 tremendous force at sea, and also to take him a box 
 full of condiments to make him drink. This was 
 successful, and the king and his whole camp drank so 
 furiously that they were soon all fast asleep. Carpalim 
 {The Swift one), one of Pantagruel's attendants, stole 
 into their camp by night and fired it ; in the end the 
 foes are all slain. The next chapter (twenty-nine) is 
 devoted to a combat between Pantagruel and the giant 
 Loupgarou in the style of the chivalric romances. The 
 prayer of the weaker combatant, his dexterity in 
 avoiding the crushing blows of his huge adversary and 
 his ultimate victory are successfully imitated and told 
 with great spirit. The next chapter (thirty) is perhaps 
 the most important of all ; it narrates the resuscitation 
 of Epistemon, whose head had been struck off in the 
 struggle, his return to life and the account he gives of 
 \ the other world. The original of this is of course the 
 : '^veKvta, the eleventh book of the Odyssey, but there is 
 '' also an imitation of the similar case of Er the Armenian 
 ^i in the tenth book of Plato's Republic, who comes to 
 ' life after twelve days. In the account of the inversion 
 of lives in the other world where kings are beggars and 
 the rich are poor, Rabelais employs Lucian's Menippus 
 with good effect. But I thmk he also has in mind an 
 incident which happened in Paris in September 1528, 
 soon after his arrival. It is recorded in the Journal d'un 
 
Pantagruel 37 
 
 Bourgeois de Paris. A young man had been hanged at 
 the Place Maubert and after half-an-hour was taken 
 away, but as he shewed some signs of life he was set 
 down before a statue of the Virgin in the Carmelite 
 Church and subsequently placed in a room before a fire, 
 bled and physicked. Afterwards his throat and neck 
 were rubbed and anointed with oil, and he remained 
 without speaking or drinking till the next day ; at last 
 he drank and ate a little, and ultimately recovered and 
 remembered everything. A similar story is also to be 
 found in the Morte d' Arthur, vii. 22. The names of 
 persons whom Epistemon saw in the other world are 
 derived from Herodotus, Plutarch, the chivalric 
 romances and Homer. There are also half-a-dozen 
 popes. The usurers, against whom Rabelais shews 
 special rancour, are assigned a pitiful life. Anarchus, 
 king of the Dipsodes, is given over by Pantagruei to 
 Panurge, who makes him a crier of green sauce. The 
 thirty-second chapter is derived mostly from Lucian's 
 Vera Historia and describes how Rabelais himself 
 entered into Pantagruel's mouth and saw wonderful 
 sights. In the next chapter Pantagruel is ill and cured 
 by sixteen enormous pills containing pioneers who 
 emerge from the pills, clear away obstructions and 
 restore him to health. The last chapter ends with a 
 violent tirade against the Mendicants, and also the 
 promise of a voyage of Pantagruel, which-is carried out 
 in the Fourth and Fifth Books. 
 
 The sources of the Pantagruel, heterogeneous as 
 thej*. are, have a great bearing and throw much light 
 on the author's methods. He says very justly {G. 45) 
 that the good workman puts all pieces of timber to 
 
38 Pantagruel 
 
 use. To a certain extent his books are a record of his 
 reading, and, as with Lucilius in Horace (S. 11. i. 30), 
 his "faithful books" reflect his life and occupation at 
 the time. In the composition of the first chapter of 
 Pantagruel the genealogy is founded first on that in 
 St Matthew and St Luke and also on the Genealogies 
 des Roys de France, composed by his friend Jean 
 Bouchet (Pictavii 1531). These contained the list of 
 fifty-seven kings from Pharamond to Louis XII. 
 Rabelais gives fifty-nine giants, making the two last 
 to be Gargantua and Pantagruel, thus for a long time 
 inducing the belief that these two represented Francis I 
 and Henry II throughout, and causing numberless 
 "keys" to all the characters to be prepared and 
 advocated by their authors. The list of giants is 
 formed first by some distorted biblical Hebrew names, 
 perhaps changed from the names of some of the early 
 French kings. These are followed by a string of names 
 from Classical sources ; they prove to have been taken 
 bodily from a strange book, the Officina of Ravisius 
 Textor, a sort of dictionary of antiquities, containing 
 lists of gods, heroes, giants, dwarfs, serpents, etc., etc., 
 followed by explanations as to who and what they were. 
 After this come a number of giants from various 
 chivalric romances, and other names, perhaps fanciful 
 and invented by Rabelais himself. Grandgousier 
 occupies the place that would be that of Louis XII in 
 Bouchet's hst, and Gargantua and Pantagruel close the 
 list of fifty-nine. 
 
 The list in the thirtieth chapter contains also a 
 number of names from chivalry, and it may be useful 
 here to append a list of such books and the places where 
 
Pantagruel 39 
 
 Rabelais inserts them, as an indication of his reading 
 at this time : 
 
 Pantagruel c. i. 
 Fierabras Lyon, B. Chaussard, 1496. 
 
 Ferragus in Turpini Chronicon c. 17. 
 
 Galehaut in Lancelot du Lac. 
 
 GalafEre in Huon de Bordeaux c. 9. 
 
 Roboastre in Guerin de Montglave. 
 
 Sortibrant killed by Regnier in Fierabras c. 39. 
 
 Bruyer in Ogier le Dannois c. 16. 
 
 Mabrian in Les IV filz Aymon. 
 
 Pantagruel c. 30. 
 Lancelot du Lac Paris, Phil. le Noir, 1533. 
 
 Charlemagne et les douze 
 
 pairs de France Lyon, B. Chaussard, 1561. 
 
 Valentin et Orson Lyon, J. Amouillet, 1495. 
 
 Giglain and Gawaine Ariosto Or. Fur. xix. 38. 
 Geofiroi k la grant dent Lyon, O. Amouillet, 1525. 
 
 Paris, Jean Petit, 1504. 
 
 Venetus, 1488. 
 
 Lyon, O. Amouillet, 1516?. 
 
 ? Lyon, Pierre Sale. 
 
 Lyon, 1496. 
 
 Paris, Galhot du Pr6, 1528. 
 
 Lyon, CI. Nourry, 1525. 
 
 Lyon, CI. Nourry, 1525. 
 
 Lyon, J. de Vingle, 1495. 
 
 Lyon, Ortuin et Schenck, 1500. 
 
 in Godefroi de Bouillon. 
 
 Godefroi de Bouillon 
 Morgante Maggiore 
 Huon de Bordeaux 
 Jean de Paris 
 Artus de Bretaigne 
 Perceforest 
 Ogier le Dannois 
 GaUen rethor^ 
 IV filz Aymon 
 Melusine 
 Matabrune 
 
 After the publication of the Pantagruel at the end 
 of 1532 Rabelais continued his practice at the Hospital 
 and his labours of correcting the press for Gryphius. 
 It appears pretty certain that besides making alterations 
 in the Pantagruel, which appeared again under his 
 direction in 1535, 1537 and 1542, he was writing his 
 Gargantua in 1533, though the date of the first edition 
 
40 Pantagruel 
 
 is somewhat uncertain. The first edition (A), of which 
 only one copy survives, in the Bibliotheque nationale, was 
 pubUshed before 1535, but unfortunately the first leaf 
 containing the title-page is lost and it can only be put 
 down as of the date of 1534 by conjecture. Rabelais 
 accompanied Bishop du Bellay to Rome January- 
 March 1534; thus it is possible that he had finished 
 his Gargantua and that he published it that year. 
 Juste pubhshed a second edition (B) in 1535 and 
 another (C) in 1537, while he published the definitive 
 edition both of Gargantua and Pantagruel (D) in 1542. 
 
 M. Lefranc has made it very probable {R.E.R. x. 
 151) that Rabelais was inspired to compose his Gar- 
 gantua by a visit to his native Touraine in September 
 1532 (cf. Pant, prol.) and by the lawsuit between his 
 father and Gaucher Sainte-Marthe, and that he finished 
 it in 1533, but that it did not appear till October 1534, 
 before the affair of "the Placards," when heretical 
 Protestant placards were introduced into the Palace 
 and even into the King's private apartments. This 
 led to furious reprisals and persecutions. It is possible 
 that the Gargantua was published in August 1534 before 
 the affair of "the Placards." This would make the 
 publication of such a book extremely dangerous. 
 
 M. Bourrilly has also pointed out in the Introduction 
 to his edition of the Letters of Rabelais from Rome 
 (p. 8) that the amusing episode of the kitchen-loving 
 Monk in Florence (iv. 11) must have taken place on 
 the return of Bishop du Bellay from his first mission to 
 Rome (January-March 1534) when he and his suite 
 were travelling in a leisurely fashion. This has hitherto 
 been accepted as occurring during their second journey 
 
Pantagruel 41 
 
 to Rome in August 1535, or on their return in 1536. 
 The reason for this belief is that Rabelais in the first 
 edition of the Fourth Book (A 1548) says that the 
 episode took place "about 12 years ago" and in the 
 second edition (B 1552) "about 20 years ago" — neither 
 of the dates being quite exact. Du Bellay left Rome 
 on April i, 1534, and did not reach Paris till May 18, 
 thus allowing plenty of time for a stay in Florence, 
 whereas in 1535 every step of their journey to Rome is 
 accounted for ; they came by Ferrara straight through 
 the Romagna, while Florence, then under the domina- 
 tion of Duke Alexander de' Medici, the destined son- 
 in-law of Charles V, was hardly a place to receive the 
 French envoy. In his hurried return, when the Emperor 
 was expected in Rome, the Cardinal left on February 
 29, 1536, and his retinue on April 11, when the Pope 
 signed a safe-conduct for them. The Emperor was 
 daily expected in Rome, and after his violent speech 
 in the Consistory his attack on Provence was looked 
 for. It actually was begun in July. 
 
 GARGANTUA AND AFTER 
 
 The Gargantua is on the same lines as the Pantagruel, 
 but longer and more elaborate in its details. There 
 is the birth, childhood and apparelling of the giant 
 prince, his education under the old and the new sys- 
 tems, his journey to Paris on the Great Mare and the 
 episode of the bells of Notre-Dame. Several points of the 
 feeding and apparelling, the great mare that carried 
 
42 Gargantua 
 
 him to Paris and the removal of the bells, are derived 
 from the Grande^ Cronicques. Instead of the account 
 of the law-courts and keeping acts at the University 
 we have the elaboration of the educational system. 
 But while Gargantua is busy studying at Paris a war 
 has been raised between the cake-bakers of Lerne and 
 the shepherds of Grandgousier, Gargantua's father, 
 and he is recalled to conduct his father's army. (This 
 has been shewn in R.E.R. ill. 241-52 to be an allegorical 
 account of the law-suit between Rabelais' father and 
 Scevole de Sainte-Marthe on the rights of navigation 
 and fishing on the river Vienne.) An elaborate account 
 of the war and its episodes occupies chapters 24-51, 
 while the remainder of the book is devoted to the 
 foundation, endowment and regulations of the Abbey 
 of Thelema. 
 
 The Prologue is specially important as putting 
 forward the claim of the author to an inner meaning 
 intended by his drolleries, more than is apparent in a 
 cursory perusal; he therefore requests his readers to 
 examine his writings carefully, like the philosophical 
 dog which breaks a bone to get the marrow; and he 
 declares that thus will be revealed "high Mysteries as 
 much in that which concerns our Religion as also the 
 public Polity and private Life." This declaration is 
 very similar to one made by Galen {de usu partium, 
 VII. 14) where he claims the discovery of many points 
 of anatomy, and begs not less attention to his exposi- 
 tion than is given by persons on initiation to the 
 Eleusinian or Samothracian mysteries. 
 
 At the very outset Rabelais takes three whole para- 
 graphs from the Adagia of Erasmus, thus inaugurating 
 
Gargantua 43 
 
 a system of compiling his book from various sources. 
 It is possible that he intended the early chapters of his 
 Third Book to some extent as an apology for this style 
 of writing. Certainly Erasmus is laid under contri- 
 bution much more in the Gargantua than in the Panta- 
 gruel. 
 
 The extracts — often lines or merely tags — which 
 Rabelais borrows from various authors, especially the 
 French poets of that time, are often deftly interwoven 
 in the narrative and descriptive passages, so as almost 
 to defy detection. But in this we should remember 
 that he is only following the example of the humanist 
 writers, Budaeus and Erasmus, who were so steeped 
 in the writings of Cicero, Virgil, Terence and other 
 classical authors that their letters and essays are almost 
 made up of phrases and expressions adapted from the 
 older writers to suit the matter which they were 
 expressing. This was carried to excess by the Cicero- 
 niani. Rabelais, as he was entitled to do, goes beyond 
 this and adapts short sentePf'^'t":!'^ p":;::ag^-?lot only 
 from the classical authors, but from the humanists 
 themselves, as well as from the French poets, Gringore, 
 Le Maire, Cretin, Coquillart, Clement Marot, Saint- 
 Gelais, La farce de Patelin, Villon, and even from the 
 broad-sheets and fugitive pieces that were hawked 
 about by pedlars. If in addition to these we examine 
 attentively the Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris, 15 13- 
 36, comprising the greater part of the reign of Francis I, 
 we are enabled to form a tolerable idea of the world in 
 which Rabelais lived. 
 
 It appears to have been especially delightful to him 
 to take a book of a contemporary and play with it, as 
 
44 Gargantua 
 
 it were, for a chapter, or sometimes for two or three 
 chapters, constructing an episode out of a single book : 
 thus, Geoffroy Tory's book serves for the display of the 
 vagaries of the Limousin scholar in the Pantagruel, 
 Cornelius Agrippa's de occulta philosopMa, aided by 
 Pliny and other sources, furnishes the bulk of the chapter 
 on Her Trippa (iii. 25) and the principal contributions 
 on divination proper. In Pantagruel's journey by the 
 N.W. passage the Odyssey and Lucian's Vera Historia 
 are never lost sight of, while the fantastic voyage is 
 used to satirize various points in European and papal 
 history and surroundings. These examples are taken 
 almost at random, but it may be seen throughout that 
 it is Rabelais' settled principle. 
 
 In the Gargantua especially to be noticed is the 
 change of place from that of the Pantagruel. In the 
 latter the scene is laid in Poitiers, which is made the 
 head-quarters of Pantagruel's excursion to the country 
 toy^d about, and from which he starts for his visits to 
 the UniN^ersi^'".": of -Erajice, finally settling in Paris to 
 prosecute his medical studies. There we have an 
 account of his student-life till he starts on his interesting 
 geographical tour round the Cape of Good Hope to 
 Utopia, or Cathay. Then come the war-like adventures 
 following the hnes of the chivalric romances ; and the 
 promise of further adventurous voyages, to be ulti- 
 mately realized in the Fourth and Fifth Books. 
 
 In Gargantua the venue is changed. The action of 
 the piece is laid in Touraine, or rather Chinonais, with 
 La Devinifere (the birthplace of Rabelais) as the centre. 
 The whole country-side is made the scene of the 
 tremendous campaign carried on in this book between 
 
Gargantua 45 
 
 Gargantua and Picrochole. This episode and indeed 
 the whole construction of Rabelais' romance has been 
 made of greatly increased interest by the recent 
 investigations of MM. Lefranc and Clouzot in the 
 R.E.R. vol. III. These scholars have turned into 
 historical certainty the assertions of MM. de Sainte- 
 Marthe in the seventeenth century, viz., that Grand- 
 gousier represents Rabelais' own father and that 
 Picrochole is intended for Gaucher, or Scevole, Sainte- 
 Marthe, their great-grandfather, physician to the Abbess 
 of Fontevrault. MM. de Sainte-Marthe had published 
 an edition of three letters which Rabelais had sent 
 from Rome to the Bishop of Maillezais in 1535-6. 
 This edition was published in Paris in 1651 and again 
 in Brussels, 1710. In the Menagiana (vol. 11. p. 226) 
 Menage (1613-92) asserts that their great uncle Jacques 
 de Sainte-Marthe was the original of Picrochole. 
 A note insists that it could not have been Jacques, 
 who was essentially a man of peace, but that it was 
 probably his father Gaucher, who was choleric and a 
 physician. Picrochole gets the addition tiers de ce nom 
 because he succeeded his father and grandfather as 
 physician to the Abbesses of Fontevrault. 
 
 Moreover there survive, in the Collection Dupuy in 
 the Bibliotheque nationale at Paris some curious notes 
 on the subject of Rabelais' characters in the Gargantua, 
 which have considerable bearing on this subject. They 
 are by a certain Sieur de Bouchereau, who was certainly 
 of Touraine, and possibly a magistrate of Loudun or 
 Chinon. These notes have been transcribed carefully 
 by M. H. Clouzot and are given in R.E.R. in. 405 sqq. 
 They confirm to a great extent the assertion of 
 
46 Gargantua 
 
 MM. de Sainte-Marthe, and add identifications of several 
 of the characters in Gargantua with persons living in the 
 neighbourhood of Chinon. According to Bouchereau 
 there was a law-suit between Picrochole, or Gaucher 
 Sainte-Marthe, and the monks of Seuille, and Frere 
 Jean des Entommeures was their procureur. This in 
 Rabelais' hands becomes the defence of the Abbey- 
 close. Marquelt (c. 25) was father-in-law of Gaucher, 
 and Gallet an inhabitant of Lerne. Other identifica- 
 tions less important and less exact are given. This is 
 set forth by Marty-Laveaux in his edition of Rabelais 
 (1881), vol. IV. p. 122. This editor records them tenta- 
 tively and does not insist strongly on the correspon- 
 dences, but the investigations of MM. Lefranc and 
 Clouzot have confirmed these views so much that the 
 explanation may be looked upon as certain. The 
 former "keys" of Rabelais, although full of dis- 
 crepancies, had gained so strong a hold that they could 
 be displaced only by the proof afforded by the patient 
 and careful examination of local archives and registers. 
 This has been done by the researches of these 
 scholars, and we now know that Rabelais' work is 
 throughout autobiographical and that the military 
 preparations and achievements, which shew our author 
 in the light of a well-read military tactician, are de- 
 rived by him from ancient writers, such as Herodotus 
 and others, as well as from observation of more recent 
 campaigns. This feature is well brought out in a 
 paper by M. Gigon in R.E.R. v. 3-23 {L'Art militaire 
 dans Rabelais). But it is made more interesting by 
 the review of this subject in the light of recent in- 
 vestigations. We learn from the diligent enquiries of 
 
Gargantua 47 
 
 MM. Lefranc and Clouzot that the father of our satirist, 
 Antoine Rabelais, licencie es lots, avocat au siege de 
 Chinon, was Seigneur of Chavigny-en-Vallee and thus 
 lord of a whole number of lands and rights (especially 
 fishing rights) on the right bank of the Loire to within 
 ten kilometres of Saumur, and also within the same 
 distance of Le Chapeau, which was on the same bank, 
 separated from Chavigny only by the village Ville- 
 bernier. Thus the Rabelais estate was contiguous 
 with that of Gaucher Ste-Marthe, lord of Le Chapeau, 
 just as their estate of La Deviniere adjoined that of 
 Ste-Marthe at Lerne. Antoine Rabelais possessed 
 fishing rights on the Loire contiguous with those of 
 Ste-Marthe, and these were damaged by the unlawful 
 encroachments of the physician of Fontevrault. He 
 had constructed a mill and made enclosure by piles 
 and dams and otherwise, to the prejudice of the 
 riparian owners higher up the Loire and the Vienne, 
 which rivers are united at Cande about nine miles above 
 Saumur. This came before the Parlement in 1529 and 
 there were constantly orders in council made on the 
 subject. There was a respite till September 7, 1532, when 
 matters were more vigorously prosecuted and various 
 influences were brought to bear, till ultimately at the end 
 of 1536 Ste-Marthe had to give way to superior rights. 
 Then the agent who conducted these negotiations is 
 Jehan Gallet of Chinon, avocat du roi, a near relative of 
 Antoine Rabelais; in the Gargajntua Ulrich Gallet is 
 maistre des requesies of Grandgousier, "a wise and 
 discreet man, whose worth and good counsel he had 
 proved in difficult and contentious affairs," and he is 
 the envoy to Picrochole. 
 
48 Gargantua 
 
 Antoine Rabelais in 1506 had become possessor, 
 through his mother, Andree Pavin, of the "chastel 
 et noble maison " of Chavigny, in the parish of Varennes 
 [sur Loire] with all its appurtenances,. . . meadows, woods, 
 waters and fisheries, etc. Thus we see how he became 
 the champion of the rights of the smaller riparian 
 owners and we learn in G. 47 how a great number of 
 adjacent places, on account of their "ancient con- 
 federation," offered him help in every way possible in 
 men, money and other munitions of war. In examining 
 the names of the thirty-one places named here it is 
 found that nine are on or near the Loire and the others 
 on or near the Vienne; thus their interests were 
 endangered by the unlawful usurpations of Sainte- 
 Marthe. 
 
 The allegorical representation of these acrimonious 
 disputes under the guise of a war stirred up by the 
 cake-bakers of Lerne (Picrochole's men) and the 
 shepherds of Grandgousier is very entertaining. The 
 first apparent object of this is to shew the frivolous 
 causes which may be the origin of cruel and devastating 
 wars, and the foolish ambitions that may promote 
 them. Rabelais draws on his reading in Greek, Latin 
 and later writers to illustrate this, and evidently wishes 
 to enforce the moral insisted on by Erasmus, that a 
 prince should never enter upon war until it is absolutely 
 necessary, but when once he has been forced to take it 
 up he should prosecute it with all his vigour and thus 
 bring it to a close as quickly as possible. Unless it had 
 been made clear by documentary evidence it would 
 hardly be believed that it is a prolonged law-suit that 
 is the basis of this campaign, narrated with circum- 
 
Gargantua 49 
 
 stantial minuteness and enlivened by anecdotes of 
 several actions in the field. 
 
 It has been pointed out, however, by M. Lefranc 
 that in September 1532 Rabelais had come from Lyons 
 to visit his "cow-country," i.e. his native place, "to 
 see if any of his kindred were still living," that he had 
 his Pantagruel nearly completed, and that the finishing 
 touches and the Prologue were written then. While 
 he was in Chinonais (September-October 1532) the 
 law-suit between his father and Sainte-Marthe was 
 proceeding vigorously and the strife culminated in a 
 brawl between certain cake-bakers of the village of 
 Lerne, where was some of Sainte-Marthe's property, 
 and the peasants of SeuiUe, where lay the contiguous 
 property of Antoine Rabelais. This was the inspiration 
 which impelled him to compose the Gargantua. The 
 Pantagruel was published on his return to Lyons at the 
 time of the next book-fair, November 3, 1532, and his 
 hospital practice, his journey to Rome in 1534 and the 
 publication of Marliani's Topographia Romae occupied 
 his time, so that his Gargantua was not ready for 
 publication till the middle of 1534. It must have been 
 published either just before the affair of " the Placards," 
 or if afterwards, only then because it could not be with- 
 drawn. 
 
 Another important point in this book which has 
 come into prominence within the last twenty years is 
 the influence in the Gargantua and in the Fifth Book — 
 and almost only in these two books^of that strange 
 compilation, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, or "the 
 Strife of Love in a Dream." It is the work of a 
 Dominican, Francesco Colonna, who was widely read 
 
 s. R. 4 
 
50 Gargantua 
 
 and a skilful architect, like many of his order, among 
 them the celebrated Fra Giocondo. The book was 
 composed about 1460 and published by Aldus Manutius 
 in 1499, and again by the same house in 1546. It has 
 become known among bibliophiles mostly on account 
 of some illustrations in line-engraving, which have 
 been attributed by connoisseurs to various distinguished 
 artists. ' The text is an extravagant jumble in thirty- 
 eight chapters, the first letters of which many years 
 afterwards revealed the name of the writer in the 
 sentence: Poliam Frater Franciscus Columna 
 PERAMAVIT. The hero Poliphilus is taken through 
 many strange scenes, a wood infested by savage beasts, 
 through the stomach of a giant in which all the organs 
 etc. are labelled, a desert in which are pyramids and 
 obelisks, the palaces of two queens, with every kind of 
 detail discussed, a fountain and a temple, etc., etc. The 
 architect's fancy runs riot in all these details and a 
 most fantastically tedious book is the result. It is 
 written ~»i Lombardese Italian plentifully interspersed 
 with words formed from Latin and Greek. 
 
 Rabelais seems to have had a fancy for weird books. 
 In the Pantagruel he had pressed into his service 
 -Maldus, the macaronic poem of Folengo — as strange a 
 medley as ever was penned — and in the Gargantua we 
 find the Hypnerotomachia supplying the basis of a good 
 deal in the construction of his anti-monastery of 
 Thelema, besides isolated passages in other chapters; 
 attention should be paid particularly to the strange 
 feats of Gymnast in the thirty-fifth chapter, which 
 surely owe much to a passage in the Living Chess-game 
 which is described in the Fifth Book. As I have not 
 
Gargantua and after 51 
 
 seen this correspondence pointed out, it may be well 
 to put it down here in the original setting, so much 
 abridged in the Old Enghsh translation : "Per la quale 
 cosa immediate se uide, una pugna, uno torniamento, 
 tanto delectabile cum tanto praesto & subitanea 
 uehementia cum inclinarse fina in terra, fasciendo poscia 
 uno repente & torculario salto & quale Mymphurio 
 tornatorio, cum due reuolutione nel aere, una opposita 
 ad laltra. Et poi sencia mora posto il pede dextro ad 
 terra tre fiate rotauase. Et poi subito laltro pede al 
 contrario intorniaua, Tutta questa actione ad uno 
 tempo consumauano, Tanto accomodamente & cum 
 tanta agilitate che niente sopra. Cum le sue profunde 
 inclinatione & composite uertigine & facile saltatione 
 cum uenusti gesti quanto mai di tale & simigliante cosa 
 se uedesse ne unque spectare potesse, ne mai tentata" 
 {Hyp. c. 10 h. r°.). The apparelling of the ladies of 
 Thelema seems to owe something to this book, as well 
 as the caskets containing scents, and other small but 
 curious matters. At the end of the Fifth Book whole 
 chapters are bodily transferred or pieced together from 
 various chapters of the Hypnerotomachia. 
 
 After the publication of the Gargantua 1534-5, we 
 read of a meeting of the governors of the Hospital 
 discussing Rabelais' supersession, on the ground "that 
 he had twice absented himself from his duties without 
 lea^ve." The first case was probably to be attributed 
 to his journey to Rome in January 1534 with du Bellay ; 
 the second is open to some doubt. In the discussion 
 of the governors, one of them suggested that Rabelais is 
 said to be at Grenoble, and proposed that they should 
 wait for his return ; at a later meeting he was actually 
 
 4—2 
 
52 Gargantua and after 
 
 superseded in favour of Pierre du Castel who was 
 appointed at a salary of 30 livres annually instead of 
 the 40 livres received by Rabelais. It seems probable 
 that Rabelais was in hiding on account of religious 
 persecutions that were rife, and on account of his 
 Gargantua. It has been plausibly suggested that he 
 was at this time under the protection of the Bishop of 
 Maillezais, before going to Rome in the company of 
 Bishop du Bellay. This suggestion is supported by the 
 three letters which he despatched to Bishop d'Estissac 
 from Rome, and the record that two other similar ones 
 had been sent previously; these are now lost. This 
 points to an arrangement made with the bishop before 
 the journey, which could hardly have been made other- 
 wise than by personal communication. 
 
 Jean du Bellay was in Paris July 3, 1535, at Lyons 
 July 15, invalided for a few days, at Carmagnola on the 
 1 8th. He declined an invitation of the Duke of Savoy 
 for political reasons and hastened on to Ferrara (July 22) 
 to make peace between Duke Hercules and his wife 
 Renee de France, sister of Claude, the wife of Francis I 
 (we hear of this in one of Rabelais' letters), and at the 
 very end of July he is in Rome. He was admitted to 
 a consistory on August 2 in company of Charles 
 Hemart de Denonville, Bishop of Macon. The object 
 of this mission was to gain over the new Pope Paul III 
 to the interests of France, and to detach him as far as 
 possible from Charles V, especially in view of the 
 Emperor's approaching visit to Rome. In order to 
 harass Charles on the Hungarian side Francis had been 
 making overtures to Soliman, the Sultan, at Con- 
 stantinople and thus had laid himself open to the 
 
Gargantua and after 53 
 
 charge of trafficking with the Infidels. This had been 
 rendered worse by the activity of the cofsair Barbarossa 
 on the ItaHan coasts. Again (and this was the principal 
 matter) the conduct of the King of England in throwing 
 off the papal supremacy had to be palliated in some 
 way. The negotiations were most delicate and it 
 cannot be doubted that du Bellay acquitted himself 
 with great tact. Much of this is recorded in the 
 confidential letters of Rabelais, but the influence of 
 Charles, when he arrived (April 5) after the departure 
 of du Bellay, proved too strong. The King of England 
 was excommunicated and Charles prepared for his 
 expedition into Provence. 
 
 At this time we learn from the third letter to 
 d'Estissac that there was much talk of a Church 
 Council. Paul III did not want it, but he was obliged 
 to listen to suggestions. It was first convoked in 
 Mantua in 1536 and again at Trent in 1542, but no 
 resolutions were passed till 1547, and very little but 
 adjournments were carried out till much later (1363). 
 
 Du Bellay left Rome February 29, 1536, secretly, 
 but with the connivance, if not by the advice of the 
 Pope. He left his suite to return later. A safe- 
 conduct dated April 11 was granted by Paul, while 
 the baggage was to go by sea. And here arises an 
 interesting question, whether Rabelais did not accom- 
 pany the baggage on a coasting voyage to Marseilles 
 at this time and perhaps encounter a storm at sea, 
 which enabled him to describe so graphically the 
 celebrated storm of the Fourth Book. The reasons for 
 this conjecture are that he mentions in iv. 25 Monte 
 Argentaro and Piombino as very subject to storms; 
 
54 Gargantua and after 
 
 the former bears an extraordinary likeness to the two- 
 peaked rock described on the Isle of Ganabin (iv. 66). 
 He also describes the grasping nature of the Genoese 
 at the end of the Prologue to the Fourth Book. The 
 large number of Italian nautical terms in the description 
 of the storm in iv. i8 may thus be accounted for. 
 Moreover in V. 34 the wine of Taggia, in the Genoese 
 territory close to San Remo, is mentioned, and also 
 the orange trees of San Remo itself. These identifi- 
 cations form a cumulative presumption that Rabelais 
 had seen these places, and it is not easy to find a 
 period in his life so suitable as this to give him the 
 opportunity. 
 
 The Cardinal's personal object had been gained — 
 that of receiving the red hat — but his diplomatic mission 
 can hardly be characterized as successful. Rabelais 
 had been quite successful in obtaining relief from his 
 "apostasy" of quitting the clerical habit, and in gaining 
 permission to practise medicine to the full extent that 
 was allowed to an ecclesiastic, a permission couched in 
 flattering terms. 
 
 On his return from Rome Cardinal du Bellay was 
 at Lyons for some time, sending at once a full account 
 of the Emperor's violent speech before the Pope (in 
 Spanish) against the French king. Diplomacy and 
 warlike preparations went on apace and on July 21, 
 1536, Jean du Bellay was appointed lieutenant-general 
 in the government of Paris and I'lle-de-France. 
 
 After his return to Lyons Rabelais soon came to 
 Paris to resume his duties with the Cardinal; at this 
 time he probably gained some knowledge in fortifica- 
 tions, etc., which he utilized afterwards in the Prologue 
 
Gargantua and after 55 
 
 to his Third Book. June 7 hostilities began, and in 
 July 1536 Charles V carried out his threat and the 
 imperialist troops invaded Provence. The Constable 
 Anne de Montmorency prudently retreated before 
 them, devastating the country as he went. Probably 
 the title of one of the books in the hbrary of St Victor, 
 P. 7 (added in D 1542), refers to this incident — Entr&e 
 d'Anthoine de Leive es terres du Bresil. It is a parody 
 of a romance-title such as Entree de Charlemagne en 
 Espagne, and refers to Bresil as "the burnt up land." 
 A matter affecting Rabelais, begun in Rome in 1535-6, 
 seems to belong to this time. There survives a peti- 
 tion of Rabelais to Paul IIT asking for an indult to 
 regularize his position as Canon of the Abbey of St Maur- 
 les-Fosses near Paris, to which Jean du Bellay, the 
 Abbot, had appointed him as one of the Canons. The 
 irregularity lay in this, that the Monastery had been 
 secularized and the Monks made Canons of the Priory, 
 but that Rabelais had been made a Canon before 
 the bull that secularized the Monastery had been 
 fulminated. 
 
 This petition was probably due to the appointment 
 of Rabelais as a ninth canon in addition to the eight 
 previously existing and the protest made by the 
 canons in possession. No answer of the Pope is known 
 to this "supplication," and, as Rabelais never gave 
 himself the title of Canon of St Maur, we may fairly 
 conclude that the appointment was never carried out. 
 The date of the petition would therefore fall in 1536 
 rather than at any other time. Our author's residence 
 at St Maur, of which he speaks in such eulogistic terms, 
 especially as to its salubrity, should probably be fixed 
 
56 Gargantua and after 
 
 in 1544-5, but at the chateau of du Bellay, which had 
 been built for him by Philibert de rOrme, the first 
 among contemporary architects to attach importance 
 to the situation of his buildings in the matter of the 
 salubrity of aspect, etc. Consequently this chateau was 
 placed on a hill of moderate elevation, and due regard 
 was given to the laying of the foundations of a sufficient 
 depth. It was probably at this " paradise of salubrity " 
 that Rabelais wrote the great part of his Third Book, 
 which he had begun at St Ayl near Orleans after the 
 funeral of Guillaume du BeUay at Le Mans in March 
 
 1543- 
 
 After the failure of the Emperor's attack Rabelais 
 remained in Paris till about April 1537. His presence 
 is attested by a Latin poem of Etienne Dolet [Doleti 
 carmina, 1538) descriptive of a banquet given in the 
 printer's honour by his literary friends, while he was 
 seeking a remission of a penalty for an involuntary 
 homicide. Rabelais is spoken of as present^, together 
 with the best of the French litereiry world, Budaeus, 
 Danes, Toussain and others. 
 
 He now proceeded to Montpellier, to obtain his 
 licentiate and doctorate. In the transactions recorded 
 in the Registre des Matricules 1502-61 is an entry: 
 A Licentiandis ; Magistro Francisco Rabelesio libr. 4, 
 
 1 Franciscus Rabelaesus, honos et gloria certa 
 Artis Paeoniae, qui vel de limine Ditis 
 Extinctos revocare potest et reddere luci. 
 Hos inter multus sermo turn nascitur, orae 
 Externae quid docti habeant scriptoris ; Erasmus, 
 Melanchthon, Bembus, Sadoletus, Vida, Jacobus 
 Sannazarus plena laudantur voce vicissim. 
 
 Doleti Carmina, p. 59. 
 
Gargantua and after 57 
 
 vij. den. Although the fee was paid April 3, 1537, the 
 licentiate was not conferred till somewhat later, and 
 the Doctor's degree was taken on May 22 of the same 
 year. A small question has been raised as to the fact 
 that Rabelais in his petitio pro apostasia records that 
 he has practised medicine and taken the degrees 
 required for that purpose, while the Pope in his reply 
 (dated January 17, 1536) credits him with the degrees 
 of Bachelor, Licentiate and Doctor. Again in the 
 second petition to the Pope touching his appointment 
 to a canonry of St Maur-les-Fosses Rabelais claims 
 that he has taken the degree of doctor. This docu- 
 ment is of uncertain date and might perhaps be used 
 to shew that Rabelais did not attempt to take up his 
 position as Canon of St Maur till at least the middle 
 of 1537. It is made very probable, however, that the 
 title of Doctor of Medicine was sometimes assumed 
 by competent persons before the degree had been 
 conferred, while no importance is attached to the 
 assumption of M.D. by Rabelais in the preface to his 
 Almanacks of 1533 and 1535 (cf. R.E.R. 11. 115, iv. 
 270). 
 
 It was about this time that he had a painful 
 experience of being a suspect of the Roman church. 
 He was in Lyons at the end of May, after taking his 
 degrees at Montpellier, and had sent a letter to some 
 Reformer in Rome (probably Gaucher, brother of the 
 great Reformer Guillaume Farel) and the letter had been 
 intercepted by Cardinal Tournon, one of the strictest 
 and most uncompromising maintainers of the Roman 
 tenets. Rabelais was put under strict surveillance, 
 from which he was not released till the arrival of 
 
58 Gargantua and after 
 
 Guillaume du Bellay coming from court (August 28)^ 
 (M. Bourrilly in R.E.R. iv. 105-14). This may well 
 afford the substratum for the threadbare story of the 
 niauvais quart d'heure de Rabelais: 
 
 Two years later he had a similar experience, which 
 perhaps it will be better to mention here, especially as 
 it is a somewhat obscure affair, and only recently 
 cleared up by M. Bourrilly (R.E.R. iv. 115-26) . Jean de 
 Boysonne, a great friend of Rabelais (cf. ill. 29), wrote 
 from Chambery to Guil. Bigot, a secretary of Jean du 
 Bellay, a postscript to a letter dated December 12, 1540, 
 in the following terms : " Coteraeus rem omnem mihi in 
 Aula narravit de Fossano et Rabelaeso, et de litteris e 
 Roma in Aulam perlatis, et est quod uterque reprehendi 
 possit : hie quod de tam magnis, non habito delectu 
 ad quos scribat et de quibus, scribat; ille quod amici 
 litteras passim omnibus ostendat.'' M. Bourrilly shews 
 clearly that Fossanus is intended for the Sieur de la 
 Fosse, Barnabe de Vor6, who was a relative of the 
 du Bellay-Langeys. He had been employed by Guil. 
 du Bellay on confidential political missions to Germany 
 from 1532 to 1538, and from that time to 1540 he is 
 lost to sight. From this it may be seen that he was 
 a trusted envoy of the du Bellays, who were for treating 
 
 ^ The following extracts from a letter of Card. Tournon to the 
 Chancelier du Bourg : 
 
 ...II est pass6 par cette ville ung frfere de Farellus le plus grand 
 mutin et le plus mauvays paillard qu'il est possible, lutherien 
 et zvynglien jusques aux dents, et est de Gap en Dauphin^.... 
 je vous euvoye una lettre que Rabelezus escryvoyt a Rome, par 
 oil vous verrez de quelles nouvelles il advertissoit ung des plus 
 maulvays paillards qui soit a Rome. Je luy ay faict commande- 
 ment que il n'eust a bouger de ceste ville jusques a ce que j'en 
 s^eusse vostre voulentS. 
 
Gargantua and after 59 
 
 the Reformers in Germany with moderation; on the 
 other side the Chancellor Poyet and Cardinal de Tournon 
 advocated most rigorous measures against them. 
 Francis I being plied by both these influences, as usual 
 vacillated. The influence of the du Bellays was waning. 
 At this time Fossanus changed sides and went over to 
 the Tournon party and helped them in a Machiavellian 
 plot. He proposed to join an embassy despatched by 
 Francis and conducted by Guil. de Fiirstenberg to the 
 German protestants, and to induce the French pro- 
 testant refugees to return to France under promise of 
 pardon, so that the Tournon party should get hold of 
 them and persecute them. Cardinal du Bellay had 
 been able to write to Bucer, October 28, warning them 
 of their danger, but Rabelais, in ignorance of this 
 volte-face, had written to Fossanus in full confidence on 
 most important and intimate concerns. Fossanus had 
 no scruples in shewing these revelations to his new 
 allies, and he thus rendered Rabelais open to censure 
 for incautious dealings with traitors. 
 
 To resume our biography from May 1537. The 
 letter of the Cardinal de Tournon was dated August 10, 
 1537, so that Rabelais must have gone to Lyons soon 
 after his doctorate. He was probably busy correcting 
 the press for Gryphius. Among other books an edition 
 of Politian's writings in three volumes was published 
 by this press in 1537-9 ^o that Rabelais may have 
 made near acquaintance at this time with this Italian 
 writer, whom he alludes to in his Gargantua and from 
 whom he undoubtedly borrows in the Third and 
 Fourth Books. 
 
 After this he returned to Montpellier to deliver his 
 
6o Gargantua and after 
 
 lectures for the grand ordinaire, which commenced on 
 St Luke's Day (October i8). The Liher Lectionum 
 contains the following entry, dated September 27, 
 
 1537: 
 
 Anno Domini millesimo quingentesimo trigesimo 
 
 septimo, facta fuit congregatio per fidem 27* septembris, 
 
 in qua comparuerunt.... 
 
 Custodes clavium, D. Cancellarius, D. Johannes 
 Falco, decanus, D. primus procurator, et D. junior 
 doctor Franciscus Rabelaesus. 
 
 D. Franciscus Rabelaesus, fro suo ordinario, elegit 
 lihrum Prognosticorum Hippocratis, quern graece inter- 
 pretatus est (cf. R.E.R. iii. 309-10). 
 
 The parts of this notice which are in italics are 
 thought to be in Rabelais' handwriting, and it seems 
 most probable from the perfect tense interpretatus est 
 used here, that he made the entry himself after he had 
 given the lectures, so that he was not present at the 
 meeting of September 27, but was at Lyons during the 
 stay of Francis I and his court (October i-ii), including 
 probably the Seigneur de Langey. M. Bourrilly, to 
 whom this suggestion is due {R.E.R. iv. 112-14), 
 carefully guards us against taking it as more than a 
 conjecture, but it certainly appears to be most probable. 
 He goes on to point out how Rabelais resorted to Lyons 
 almost every year from his first acquaintance with it 
 in 1532. He was there in 1532, 1533, 1534, 1535, 1536, 
 
 1538, 1539. 1540, 1541-2- 
 
 Thus we see that in 1537 at Montpellier during the 
 grand ordinaire from October 18 till Easter, 1538, he 
 occupied the chair corresponding to that of pathology. 
 Graece interpretatus est must be taken to mean, not that 
 
Gargantua and after 6i 
 
 he lectured in Greek but that he expounded the text 
 linguistically as well as physiologically. 
 
 A letter from Boysonne to Maurice Sc^ve, dated 
 1537. speaks of him lecturing at Montpellier on the 
 Prognostic of Hippocrates to a crowded audience. 
 
 Hubert Susanneau in one of his Luii dated 1537 
 highly commends the Doctor, whom he finds busy with 
 his lectiures, for the great personal charm of his presence, 
 enough of itself, he says, to banish sickness from a 
 patient. 
 
 Etienne Dolet also, the impetuous humanist and 
 printer, who had established himself at Lyons in 1534, 
 speaks in a humorous poem published in 1538 of the 
 great reputation as a physician and anatomist enjoyed 
 by Rabelais. In an epitaph on a criminal who had 
 been hanged and afterwards used as an object lesson 
 for anatomy, he congratulated the "subject" on 
 having ended a worse than useless life in so serviceable 
 a fashion as that of illustrating the prelection of the 
 learned Doctor. 
 
 Salmo Macrinus, one of the guests at the banquet 
 in honour of Dolet, celebrates in two odes the medical 
 skill and learning of his great compatriot in Chinonais, 
 acknowledged, he declares, in Paris, Narbonne, on the 
 banks of the Aude as well as at Lyons. 
 
 The following year (1538) his name is again to be 
 found on the medical register as the recipient of a 
 sun-crown in gold for a lecture on anatomy, paid 
 through Jean Schyron, the dean. 
 
 From the middle of 1538 — except for a short visit 
 to Aigues-Mortes {fossa Mariana, v. 36), where he was 
 present at the meeting of Charles V and Francis I, 
 
62 Gargantua and after 
 
 July 14-16 {R.E.R. III. 335) — when he left MontpeUier, 
 till 1540 we have but little trace of the whereabouts of 
 Rabelais. It is not improbable that he visited Nar- 
 bonne, Castres and other towns in the south of France 
 and, among other places, Hyeres and its islands 
 {Stoechades insulae, in. 50), thus qualifying for the title 
 "Calloier des Isles Hiferes [lepai) " which he gives him- 
 self on the title-page of the first edition of the Third 
 Book (1546). 
 
 About the middle of 1540 Rabelais took service with 
 Guillaume du Bellay, Seigneur de Langey, at Turin, 
 where he received letters from Bishop Pellicier, am- 
 bassador of France at Venice, on literary matters. 
 The letters are dated July 25, October 17, 1540, and 
 March 20, 1541. The first is on a question of the 
 legitimacy of a child which was said to be a seven- 
 months birth. He mentions Pliny (vii. 5) and Hippo- 
 crates. This may well have been suggested by the 
 third chapter of Gargantua in which the birth of the 
 giant-prince is discussed and in which these same refer- 
 ences are given, with others in addition. The second 
 letter requests Rabelais to use his influence and learning 
 to obtain Hebrew and Syriac MSS. and Greek books 
 for the king's library. The third letter (March 20, 
 1541) begs the good offices of Rabelais to ask the 
 Seigneur de Langey to accept the dedication of an 
 edition of some Orations of Cicero by Paulus Manutius, 
 the Venetian printer. He also speaks of some plants 
 — amouron and origanum heracleaticum of Candia — 
 which he had already mentioned. In July Langey 
 lost his wife, who is duly deplored by Boysonne in 
 some Latin elegiacs addressed to Rabelais. 
 
Gargantua and after 63 
 
 In November 1541 Langey took Rabelais with him 
 to Paris, whence they returned in May 1542. Ben- 
 venuto Celhni was at Fontainebleau in the employ of 
 Francis I from 1540 to 1545, so that it is possible that 
 these two geniuses may have forgathered. The story 
 of Friar John ripping up the old woman's feather-bed 
 (v. 15) closely resembles one in Cellini's Vita (i. 79), 
 which was not published till 1728; it may therefore 
 have been told orally. The date of the occurrence is 
 given in Cellini as 1535. 
 
 M. Heulhard quotes a poem of Claude Chappuis, 
 which seems to indicate that Rabelais was now made 
 Maistre des requestes to the King. If the chapter of 
 the Apedefis (v. 16) is authentic, this would be the time 
 to obtain the information requisite for its composition ; 
 perhaps a slight argument for the authenticity of the 
 chapter may be derived from this visit. The journey 
 to and from Paris at this time also allowed an oppor- 
 tunity to publish a revised edition of Gargantua and 
 Pantagruel (D) which appeared from the press of 
 F. Juste in 1542. This is the authoritative edition 
 from which all trustworthy reprints ultimately derive. 
 
 Before Langey left Turin the French ambassadors 
 Rincon and Fregoso had been assassinated on the way 
 to Venice, July 3, 1541, by order of the Spanish com- 
 mander, Marquis del Vasto (cf. Martin du Bellay's 
 memoirs, lib. ix.). Their despatches were saved; 
 Langey had induced them to leave them behind. On 
 his return to Turin (May 11) the Viceroy found in- 
 creasing cause for vigilance. He had suffered much 
 from gout, and now found himself terribly ailing. 
 Notwithstanding this, he set out for Paris in January 
 
64 Gargantua and after 
 
 1543 to consult the King on state affairs. He was 
 seized by a final access of his malady and obliged to 
 halt at St Symphorien between Lyons and Roanne, 
 where he died January 9 (not the loth as Rabelais puts 
 it). There are touching allusions to this in ill. 21 and 
 IV. 27. Du Bellay left his protege an annuity of 150 
 livres Tournois till he should have 300 livres from 
 benefices, an engagement carried out probably by the 
 Cardinal in appointing Rabelais cure of Meudon and 
 St Christopher of Jambet in 1551. 
 
 After helping to embalm the body and assisting at 
 the obsequies in the Cathedral of Le Mans, Rabelais 
 passed some time at St Ayl near Orleans, under the 
 protection of Etienne Lorens, the Seigneur of the 
 place, and here commenced writing the Third Book. 
 
 THE THIRD BOOK 
 
 After the death of the Seigneur de Langey Rabelais 
 and Gabriel Taphenon of Savigliano embalmed the 
 body, and the former accompanied Etienne Lorens in 
 the funeral cortege to St Ayl on January 30 and to 
 Le Mans March 5, where the great statesman and patriot 
 was laid to rest in the Cathedral. After this there is 
 a blank in the account' of our author's life, but one 
 which may be filled with considerable probability. 
 Most likely he paid a short visit to his native Touraine 
 and then proceeded to take up his abode, for a time at 
 least, in a retreat in the Orleanais found for him by 
 Lorens, near his own chateau. There is a tradition. 
 
The Third Book 65 
 
 still persistent, which speaks of "the fountain of Rabe- 
 lais" and of an arbour where he worked; this is quite in 
 harmony with what we know of his movements, so that 
 it may be accepted, at all events provisionally. 
 
 Here then "having lost his all by shipwreck at the 
 Light-house of Misfortune" he set to work, as he says 
 in the Prologue, "to roll his Diogenical tub," that is, to 
 continue his romance ; and he seems to have remained 
 in this quiet corner till after March 1544, for that is the 
 most probable date of a jovial letter of his addressed 
 to the bailiff Antoyne Hullot of Court Compin, N.E. of 
 Orleans, near Combleux. It is eminently characteristic 
 of its author, being an invitation to a fish dinner in 
 Lent, with a mocking allusion to that institution, and 
 a request for the loan of a copy of Plato. 
 
 Some time in this year probably Rabelais was 
 installed by Cardinal du Bellay in his chateau at 
 St Maur-les-Fosses near Paris. It had just been built 
 for him by Philibert de I'Orme, the Lyons architect, 
 who had achieved a distinguished position — that of 
 chief architect to the King of France {King Megistus, 
 IV. 61). This chateau had been built near the Abbey 
 of St Maur for Jean du Bellay, who was Bishop of 
 Paris, Abbot of this Convent and Prior after it had been 
 secularized. It occupied a rising ground to the south of 
 the Abbey and its praises are sung most enthusiastically 
 by Rabelais in the Epistle of Dedication to the Fourth 
 Book. It is described as a "Paradise of salubrity, 
 amenity, serenity, conveniency, delights and all honest 
 pleasures of agricultural life." The building was begun 
 about 1541 and was dedicated in 1544. Francis I 
 visited the chateau from July 7 to August 4. Our 
 
 s. R. 5 
 
66 The Third Book 
 
 author seems to have taken up his residence soon after, 
 and while there to have finished his Third Book, for 
 which he obtained the King's privilege dated September 
 
 19. 1545- 
 
 Till recently it was believed that the Third Book was 
 composed at the Abbey of St Maur, because of the 
 Supplicatio to Paul III (without date) requesting that 
 the position of Rabelais as one of the canons should be 
 regularised. An informality had been committed in 
 making him a Canon of the Priory when it was secu- 
 larized, whereas he had not been made a complete 
 Monk while it was still a Monastery. M. Clouzot has 
 shewn [R.E.R. vii. pp. 259-84) that Rabelais was 
 probably made a canon by du BeUay, but that great 
 opposition was raised to his admission by the eight 
 existing canons, that this Supplicatio (of which we hear 
 no more) was presented in 1536, that Rabelais did 
 not keep residence there as canon, or at all events not 
 more than six months, and that the appointment was 
 allowed to lapse. There is no mention of him as 
 canon in any other quarter, nor does he himself aUude 
 again to his possession of this title. 
 
 The Third Book therefore was written in 1543-5, 
 probably at St Ayl and St Maur-les-Fosses near Paris. 
 The composition is more finished than that of any of 
 the other "books," though in constructive ability it is 
 not equal to the Gargantua. In fact the commence- 
 ment is quite undecided. It takes up the thread from 
 the Pantagruel, in which Rabelais, as Master Alcofribas, 
 was made Governor of Salmigondin. This office is 
 now bestowed on Panurge, who at once runs headlong 
 into debt, and when taken to task by Pantagruel on 
 
The Third Book 67 
 
 this subject enters upon a whimsical but most eloquent 
 defence of debtors, interpreting indebtedness as the 
 mutual interdependence of every element in the 
 universe, every organ and limb in the human anatomy 
 and every person in human society, on others for 
 support and convenience of existence. The first 
 chapter is a kind of preface to this, being a panegyric 
 on the able and righteous rulers of states and strenuous 
 benefactors of the human kind, whereby they deserve 
 divine honours. It is an expansion of one of the 
 Adagia of Erasmus (i. i. 69), Homo homini deus, just 
 as the opposite attitude of the tyrant who indulges his 
 own lust of power at the expense of his subjects, and 
 the man who will lend nothing, that is, who will not 
 give help and who keeps selfishly aloof from his fellows, 
 is developed from the contrasted Adage (i. i. 70), 
 Homo homini lupus. These truly eloquent chapters 
 are worked out with a wealth of illustration from Plato, 
 Plutarch, Cicero, Virgil, with his commentator Servius, 
 Macrobius and other classical writers, shewing that 
 Rabelais, having lost his employment as physician and 
 secretary to Guillaume du Bellay, has taken up 
 humanism in earnest; this book with its constant 
 references to Erasmus and its borrowings from the 
 Classics, as well as the writer's own experiences of 
 daily life, thus becomes a finished treatise on many 
 subjects, especially divination and medical botany, as 
 it was then known. 
 
 The book goes on tentatively at first. Panurge 
 having been freed from debt by Pantagruel affects to 
 be miserable and then suddenly goes into strange 
 vagaries of dress — a brown toga and spectacles on his 
 
 5—2 
 
68 The Third Book 
 
 cap — and makes up his mind to marry. His master 
 Pantagruel in a most amusing chapter, laughingly 
 chimes in with each of his arguments for and against 
 marriage, and ultimately in the next chapter advises 
 him to explore his future good or bad luck in marriage 
 by means of the Sortes Vergilianae. This proving 
 unsatisfactory to Panurge, dreams are tried and then, 
 one after another, every known method of divination, 
 till these chapters (9-28) may be looked upon as a 
 valuable treatise on the methods of divination then 
 known. The knowledge in support of these methods 
 is derived from the books already mentioned, especially 
 from the de Divinatione of Cicero, while the matter of 
 the twenty-fifth chapter is to a very great extent 
 derived from the de occulta pMlosophia of the celebrated 
 Henricus Cornelius Agrippa. He had been appointed 
 historiographer to Charles V, and was really a learned 
 man, but suspected of necromancy, thanks to this 
 book. Rabelais makes fun of him under the name of 
 Her Trippa. Besides this, Panurge consults his friends 
 Epistemon and Friar John, but is always confirmed in 
 the answer he has already obtained from his various 
 oracles, that his future wife will turn out to be an 
 unfaithful, pilfering termagant. The twenty-ninth 
 chapter introduces a new element into the enquiry, 
 a symposium modelled on that of Macrobius, in which 
 the question is referred to a theologian, a physician, a 
 lawyer and a philosopher, but the result is no more 
 encouraging than the preceding attempts, although the 
 conversations are in the highest degree diverting. As 
 in the Saturnalia of Macrobius the lawyer Postumianus 
 is unable to appear, so in the Third Book the legist, 
 
The Third Book 69 
 
 Judge Bridlegoose, is absent, having been put on trial 
 himself and summoned to appear on a charge of having 
 given a decision by the chance of the dice. The main 
 current of the story is agreeably diversified by the 
 episode of the Trial of Judge Bridlegoose, at which 
 Pantagruel determines to appear. The defence of the 
 Judge occupies six chapters; and now, as the appeal 
 to the judgement of the learned has not been satis- 
 factory, the opinion of Triboulet, the court fool of 
 Francis I, is asked on this subject. Pantagruel had 
 already advised this consultation in a chapter which is 
 remarkable for its intrinsic merit as a piece of learned 
 drollery, and also for the fact that it is adapted through- 
 out from the treatise of Rabelais' friend Tiraqueau On 
 the Marriage Laws of Poitou, to which we have already 
 alluded. The whole of this scene, beginning with the 
 thirtieth chapter (or even the twenty-seventh) is more 
 or less indebted to Tiraqueau, but the thirty-seventh 
 chapter, in which the advice of a fool is advocated, is 
 taken from it throughout, with the exception of one 
 paragraph on the attribution of the role of the fool or 
 jester to the most finished actor of a company. This 
 paragraph was added in the second edition (F) of 
 1552. But the proverb of the fool instructing the wise 
 man, and the assertion that Kings and States have 
 been preserved by the advice of fools is from Tiraqueau's 
 book, with the difference that Tiraqueau gives many 
 historical instances of benefits to States having been 
 attributable to the advice of Women while Rabelais 
 gives the merit to the advice given by Fools. How 
 he must have chuckled as he made this change ! Also 
 from Tiraqueau comes the thought that the worldly- 
 
70 The Third Book 
 
 minded, sagacious, successful man of business may be 
 a fool in the estimation of the Celestial Intelligences, 
 while the charming story from the gloss of Giovanni 
 Andreae is also given by the Poitevin jurist, though it 
 is developed by Rabelais in his own inimitable manner. 
 Noticeable also in this connexion with Tiraqueau is a 
 passage in the forty-ninth chapter, when Pantagruelion, 
 or hemp, is being discussed and our author is giving 
 a world of instruction on botany — mostly derived from 
 Pliny — and the subject of the sexes of plants is men- 
 tioned. The plants given in illustration of this theory 
 are clearly taken from a passage of Tiraqueau on this 
 topic. Well may Rabelais in dedicating his edition 
 of the Medical Letters of Manardi to the learned jurist 
 have expressed an ardent expectation and hope for 
 the appearance of this third edition of the "Poitou 
 Laws," which as a matter of fact were published in 
 Paris in 1546, practically synchronizing with Rabelais' 
 own Third Book. 
 
 The conclusion of the Book is aptly given in a 
 paean in praise of the herb Pantagruelion, or Hemp. 
 Panurge, dissatisfied with all the answers given him 
 by the various oracles he has consulted, is bent on 
 travelling to consult the oracle of the Holy Bottle, 
 which is in Cathay, or Upper India; Pantagruel, who 
 is all good nature, gets permission from his father 
 Gargantua to make the voyage, and great preparations 
 are made in the formation and equipment of a fleet of 
 twelve ships for that purpose. Among other stores 
 that are put on board there is a great quantity of hemp ; 
 and this leads to a disquisition on the great merits of 
 this plant in providing for so many uses among men 
 
The.' Third Book 7 1 
 
 (including that of hanging), and especially in making 
 sails by which ships are propelled ; also on the virtues 
 of asbestos, the flax that cannot be consumed by fire. 
 The natural history required for an account of this 
 plant and a great number of others incidentally 
 mentioned are derived directly from Pliny, and this 
 loan practically concludes this book. 
 
 Thus we may see that though in the main current 
 this book is greatly indebted to Erasmus ; divisions of 
 it are derived in their turn from anatomical writers, 
 especially Galen; from Cicero and Cornelius Agrippa 
 in divination, from Tiraqueau in divinity and domestic 
 discipline, and from Pliny in botany. But besides 
 these main sources it must not be forgotten that there 
 are very many other writers whom Rabelais has dili- 
 gently studied ; specially to be mentioned are Plutarch's 
 Moral treatises — Rabelais' own copy still survives in 
 the Bibliotheque nationale — Catullus, and many others. 
 With all his enthusiasm for medicine and natural 
 science, this writer never ceased being a humanist; 
 he carefully followed the writings of Budaeus, Erasmus, 
 Poliziano, especially noting studies on Civil and Canon 
 law. 
 
 The Prologue of this "book" is to be noticed for 
 the patriotic note that is struck in it. It is with a 
 strong feeling of regret that the author takes to rolling 
 his "Diogenical tub," only because he is unable to take 
 part himself in the defence of his country. The account 
 of Diogenes at the siege of Corinth is from Lucian, but 
 it is derived through the preface of Budaeus's Anno- 
 tations on the Pandects, most graphically amplified in 
 Rabelais' best vein. In its patriotism this Prologue 
 
72 The Third Book 
 
 contradicts previous utterances on war given in the 
 Gargantua (c. 46) that "what was formerly called 
 Prowess is now called Robbery and Wickedness." 
 Now, however, the Prologue combats the view of 
 Erasmus in his essay of Dulce helium inexpertis {Ad. iv. 
 I. i) which insists that War is anything but beautiful; 
 it declares that "the ineffable Perfection of the Divine 
 Wisdom'' is comparable to the Array of an Army in 
 the Field. This is now the ruling idea, while France 
 is resisting the attacks of Charles V, and surely such 
 patriotic feeling is fully justified. 
 
 In composing the Third Book Rabelais appears to 
 have been genuinely doing what he professes, namely 
 writing a patriotic book in support of his fellow- 
 countrymen in their resistance to the enemy, and then 
 compiling his treatise on divination, a subject which 
 had always interested him, if we may judge by his 
 Pantagrueline Prognostication and his Almanacks, and 
 the allusion he makes to the book of Prognostications 
 in a letter from Rome to the Bishop of Maillezais. 
 His treatment of the various forms of divination is 
 directed to the solution of the question of marriage 
 and the imperfections of the female sex, — for he takes 
 part against women in the discussion of the querelle 
 desfemmes — but underlying this is intended the conduct 
 of life in general, of which marriage is taken as one of 
 the most critical steps. The line taken up by the 
 writer is indicated two or three times over, viz. that 
 in such near concernments a man should be his own 
 counsellor and not consult extraneous advice, in fact 
 that he should exercise the liberum arbitrium, though 
 Rabelais would scarcely wish to draw special attention 
 
The Third Book 73 
 
 to ihis subject on its theological side, where it was the 
 source of bitter controversy, in opposition to pre- 
 destination. A curious side-light on this subject may 
 be seen in that strange book Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, 
 in the list of contents of which Queen Eleutherillida is 
 said to be el libera arhitrio. This cardinal point in life 
 is brought out by Rabelais on every possible occasion. 
 The cramping discipline of the cloister-life had caused 
 him to rebel sturdily and to insist that freedom from 
 unnecessary restraint was the only rational government 
 for rational spirits, who were not of themselves inclined 
 to evil. 
 
 The Third Book (published with the Royal Privilege 
 of September 19, 1545) might have passed without 
 opposition from the Sorbonne, but for the end of the 
 Prologue in which the "Levitical Hypocrites'' (i.e. the 
 Theological Faculty of Paris) are warned off from 
 drinking at the Rabelaisian tun, the final warning of 
 Raminagrobis in c. 21, and the comments in the 
 next two chapters (22, 23). The description of the 
 various monastic orders by Raminagrobis (derived for 
 the most part from Cornelius Agrippa) and the pre- 
 tended defence of them by Panurge in the succeeding 
 chapters were admirably calculated to irritate the 
 monkish fraternity in holding up their practices to 
 ridicule, especially that of hunting out bequests for 
 their Orders. 
 
 First the Franciscans and Dominicans are pointed 
 out as the guiding spirits of the Roman Church in 
 scenting out heresy; then the Capuchins and Minims 
 are scoffed at for their wretched and woe-begone 
 conditions of Ichthyophagy. Panurge, the soi-disant 
 
74 The Third Book 
 
 defender of the Orders, reviles the old poet Ramina- 
 grobis on the ground that his poem is written in 
 sophistical disjunctives, by which his statements need 
 be true in only one part in order to gain acceptance. 
 Next Epistemon undertakes the defence, pointing out 
 that Raminagrobis meant literally what he said, when 
 he complained of fleas and other noxious insects, and 
 did not refer to the good, holy fathers at all. This 
 only accentuates the comparison and makes it worse. 
 Unfortunately Rabelais was betrayed into the per- 
 petration of what was probably a common joke in the 
 Cloister — "son asne (for dme) s'en va a trente mille 
 charrettees de diables." This gave the Sorbonne a 
 handle for a charge of heresy. In vain Rabelais 
 excused it later in the Epistre dedicatoire of the Fourth 
 Book. 
 
 In the next chapter (c. 23) Panurge proceeds to 
 make the case worse by his pretended advocacy. He 
 refers pointedly and particularly to the obits and 
 anniversaries in honour of departed saints, as being 
 so many excuses for gormandizing, and also alludes 
 to the notorious case of the Franciscans of Orleans 
 (whom he styles "hobgoblins," as he does also in P 7) 
 and their pretence of the ghost of the Provost's wife, 
 who had been buried, but who returned to scare them 
 with her knockings. This knavery had been spoken of 
 by Sleidan in his de statu religionis et reipublicae (1534), 
 by H. Estienne in the Apologie pour Herodote and by 
 G. Buchanan in his poem Franciscanus. Later it is 
 fully recorded by R. Scot in his Discovery of Witchcraft 
 
 (1584)- 
 
 It was a very sore point. Another charge is hinted 
 
The Third Book 75 
 
 at in the pseudo-defence — the presence of the Monks 
 and Friars at the burial services of the wealthy, and 
 their neglect of the poor, from whom they can expect 
 nothing. This is reinforced by the story of the Fran- 
 ciscan Observantin who rather than carry money about 
 him throws into the deep water the tax-collector whom 
 he was carrying pickaback across a mill-stream. 
 
 The gibe against the Cloister-monks for their 
 gormandizing and putting the beef on to stew while 
 they were mumbling through their long Matins-service 
 (c. 15) was so hackneyed that it might have gone 
 unnoticed, but the sustained raillery of cc. 21-23 could 
 not be allowed to pass without a retort of some kind, 
 and the chargfe of heresy in the substitution of asne 
 for dme was that retort. 
 
 Another point is dealt with in ill. 48, viz. the 
 subject of the marriage of children without the parents' 
 presence or consent, if a priest is there to give his 
 consent and blessing. This priestly privilege and its 
 abuse had grown up from Roman imperial times, when 
 divorce had become so scandalously frequent that the 
 bishops of the newly established Christian Church had 
 been able to put a ban on such laxity among their own 
 flock and induce them to practice a greater purity and 
 strictness of life ; thus by degrees in the decadence of 
 the Empire the Church had gained control over the 
 celebration of marriage and later had exalted it into 
 a sacrament. In bringing this about the clergy had 
 weakened the bond of the patria potestas, to suit cases 
 of a pagan father and a Christian son, and they went 
 so far as to absolve a son from obedience to his father 
 in order to submit himself to a more holy bond with 
 
76 The Third Book 
 
 the Church. In course of time this led to great 
 irregularities, and cases occurred in which a cleric, 
 abusing his powers in these matters, brought about 
 great trouble and scandal in family relations. It had 
 become flagrant, and a remedy was proposed and 
 carried at the Council of Trent, in spite of much 
 opposition. 
 
 Rabelais writes forcibly on this subject and un- 
 doubtedly by this helped to incense the theological 
 faculty, when it came on the top of other scandals in 
 previous chapters. All these girds at the abuses of 
 the Roman Church were matters of common gossip 
 and may be found up and down in the Colloquies of 
 Erasmus; indeed some of them are derived from that 
 source, but Erasmus wrote in Latin ; whereas the racy 
 stories in the Pantagruel and Gargantua and in the other 
 books were written in colloquial French and accessible 
 to everyone. Hinc illae lacrymae, and the Sorbonne 
 was delighted to be able to seize upon the asne for 
 and to found a charge of heresy upon it. 
 
 RABELAIS AT METZ 
 
 At the beginning of 1546, on the publication, or 
 even before it, of his Third Book Rabelais found it 
 prudent to make his escape to Metz. Here he was 
 again under the protection of M. de Sainct-Ayl (Etienne 
 Lorens) who possessed property there and in the 
 neighbourhood. His presence in Metz is proved by a 
 letter to Cardinal du Bellay from Jean Sturm, director 
 of the gymnasium at Strassburg and one of the chief 
 
Rabelais at Metz 77 
 
 leaders of the Protestant movement, to the effect that 
 Rabelais had been driven out of France by the un- 
 toward state of affairs and that he had come to Metz. 
 The letter is dated Saverne, March 28; the year is 
 fixed by the mention in the same letter of the Emperor's 
 arrival at Speyer on the 24th of March ; this we know 
 was in 1546. At the end of March St Ayl returned to 
 Metz from a diplomatic visit to the German princes. 
 Rabelais, whose Third Book had been censured before 
 Easter 1546, got an appointment as physician to the 
 hospital at 120 livres a year, and soon afterwards 
 received a visit from some Paris courtiers, presenting 
 him with a silver wine-flask in the shape of a breviary 
 and requesting him to continue his writings. This is 
 attested by the Ancien Prologue to the Fourth Book, or 
 rather, to the instalment of ten chapters, which he 
 proceeded to write. A year later St Ayl returned from 
 another conference with his Protestant friends Sturm 
 and Sleidan, but he had not managed to see du Bellay. 
 Upon this Rabelais wrote a letter dated Metz, February 
 6, to the Cardinal, asking for pecuniary assistance in a 
 manner that seems somewhat exaggerated. The year- 
 date of this letter is in question. It is probably 1547, 
 after the return of St Ayl, which it mentions {R.E.R. 
 III. 350-60). It seems curious that he should complain 
 of poverty, when the payment of 120 livres up to 
 Midsummer is mentioned in the records at Metz. 
 A slight resume of the rudimentary Fourth Book will 
 be in place here. 
 
78 The Fourth Book 
 
 THE FOURTH BOOK, Ed. 1548(A) 
 
 The episodes of this partial edition of the Fourth 
 Book are, the blazoning of the twelve ships of the 
 expedition; an account of their departure from the 
 harbour of Thalassa and the purpose of their voyage 
 • — not to follow the route of the Portuguese round the 
 Cape of Good Hope, as they did on their previous 
 voyage to Cathay, but to go round by the north-west 
 passage north of Canada, avoiding the Arctic ocean 
 and then descending on the other side to Cathay which 
 was in the same latitude as Olonne (46°). After three 
 days' sailing they met with a slup that was returning 
 from Lantern-land, their own destination before going 
 to the Holy Bottle. On board this vessel was a sheep- 
 dealer with a number of sheep. Panurge and he 
 get up a quarrel which resulted in the purchase of a 
 sheep from the merchant. Panurge throws it over- 
 board and the other sheep follow and drag all the 
 shepherds, who try to hold them back, into the sea 
 and all are drowned. The travellers next land at the 
 Island Ennasin, where all the people have snub-noses 
 like the ace of clubs and are all related together. Next 
 follows the Isle of Cheli, where the Queen and Princesses 
 all kiss the travellers. Friar John objects to this and 
 finds his way into the kitchen. This introduces a 
 story in Rabelais' own life on a visit to Florence (cf. 
 p. 40). They pass by the Isle of Procuration, where 
 Friar John accepts the invitation of one of the Catch- 
 pole inhabitants to belabour him mercilessly for money. 
 
The Fourth Book 79 
 
 The Islands of Tohu and Bohu succeed, where Nose- 
 slitter devours windmills, saucepans and pots and 
 pans, but dies by being choked by a lump of fresh 
 butter. This leads to a disquisition on a number of 
 strange deaths, which is followed by the description of 
 a Storm which has become celebrated, recording the 
 different conduct of Panurge and Friar John. Their 
 escape from this storm abruptly concludes this frag- 
 mentary book. 
 
 M. Romier {R.E.R. x. 113-42) is of opinion that 
 the letter to the Cardinal was dated February 6, 1547, 
 and that the answer was a summons to accompany 
 him to Rome. Accordingly Rabelais drew his salary 
 as physician to the hospital up to Midsummer, was in 
 Paris by July 10, the date of the duel of Jarnac and 
 Chataigneraye (cf. Sciomachia init.), and left Reims 
 with the Cardinal, who had attended the coronation 
 of Henry II, and reached Rome September 27, 1547. 
 Du Bellay had not been in disgrace at the accession of 
 Henry, but had enjoyed the support of the Constable 
 Montmorency, insomuch that he alone of all the 
 former ministers had remained on the royal council. 
 It was rather a mark of distinction that he should be 
 appointed plenipotentiary at the Roman Court during 
 two years. He was there from September 27, 1547, till 
 September 22, 1549, attended by his trusty physician, 
 at the Palazzo SS. Apostoli. 
 
 Rabelais, as may be seen from the last part of his 
 Ancien Prologue to the Fourth Book and the account in 
 the Epistle of Dedication of the second edition to 
 Cardinal Chatillon, had been disgusted at the outcry 
 raised against him, especially at the charge of heresy, 
 
8o The Fourth Book 
 
 and laid down his pen, determined to write no more. 
 On his journey from Metz to Rome in 1547 he had left 
 with the printers his MS. of the rudimentary Fourth 
 Book as well as an Almanack for 1548, probably with 
 the object of obtaining money. We have another 
 record of this in the shape of a money-order for thirty- 
 two gold crowns sent by the banker Arnauld Combraglia 
 of Paris, which he cashed in Rome July 18, 1548. 
 
 In March 1549 ^^ ^^^ present at the Sciomachia, or 
 sham fight, given by Cardinal du Bellay in the Piazza 
 SS. Apostoli, to celebrate with suitable honours the 
 birth of Louis d'Orleans, second son of Henry II and 
 Catharine de' Medici, who, however, died in infancy. 
 Rabelais sent an account of this in a letter to the 
 Cardinal de Guise, which he afterwards edited with 
 additions, published by Seb. Gryphius. One of the 
 chief reasons for this was a desire to advocate the cause 
 of Cardinal du Bellay and his family and to make 
 known the services they had rendered to their country. 
 The Sciomachia was held March 14, 1549, but a few 
 days afterwards Cardinal du Bellay learned that some 
 intrigue had been set on foot against him by his enemies 
 the Guises, and soon afterwards^ he was informed that 
 the office of "Protector of the affairs of France" had 
 been transferred from him to Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, 
 who arrived in Rome on June 13. Du Bellay was 
 ordered to remain, but soon there was friction between 
 the two ambassadors, and in reply to his request to be 
 recalled his brother Martin, Seigneur de Langey, 
 announced to him, about September 15, that leave had 
 been granted. Accordingly he left Rome September 22 
 with "ten or twelve of his servants," among whom was 
 
Sciomachia 8 1 
 
 Rabelais. He arrived at Lyons in the beginning of 
 November, but very soon afterwards heard of the death 
 of Paul III and received a royal command to embark 
 at Marseilles for Rome, so as to take part in the conclave. 
 Leaving Lyons about November 20 du Bellay reached 
 Rome on December 12 accompanied by Cardinals de 
 Guise, Chatillon and Vendome, and they immediately 
 joined the conclave, which lasted from November 29 
 till February 7, 1550, and resulted in the election of 
 Cardinal del Monte, Julius IIL 
 
 Rabelais had been left at Lyons in November and 
 occupied himself in editing the letter he had sent to 
 Cardinal de Guise on the Sciomachia of March 14, and 
 in preparing an Almanack for the year 1550. The 
 following is an account of the Sciomachia : 
 
 Sciomachia 
 
 Cardinal du Bellay in Rome determined to celebrate 
 the birth of the royal Prince in a striking manner, 
 especially by a sham-fight (Sciomachia) in the Piazza 
 SS. Apostoli, where stood the Palazzo Colonna, which 
 was now his residence. This piazza had been the 
 scene of extravagant festivities in 1473 given by 
 Cardinal Riario, "nephew" of Sixtus IV, to celebrate 
 the meeting of Ercole d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, and 
 Leonora of Aragon. Jean du Bellay determined that 
 his entertainment should not be inferior to this. He 
 had intended also a Naumachia, or sham sea-fight, 
 opposite the Castle of St Angelo, which had been 
 
 1 An Italian account of the Sciomachiais given R.E.R. ix. 321, 
 which confirms much of the detail. 
 
 S. R. 6 
 
82 Sciomachia 
 
 formerly, in 1527, the scene of distinguished courage 
 and generalship on the part of Guillaume du Bellay 
 against the attacks of the Bourbon troops. This had 
 to be given up on account of an abnormal rising of the 
 Tiber, which rendered impossible any manoeuvres in 
 the river at that time. The land-fight, however, took 
 the form of a bull-fight, a siege and fireworks, which 
 were carried out with great elaboration, many of the 
 Italian nobles taking part in the various engagements. 
 The whole was followed by a magnificent banquet, at 
 which were present many Cardinals and the principal 
 personages in Italy. A careful and detailed description 
 of this was written by Rabelais in the form of a letter 
 to the Cardinal de Guise and published by Gryphius. 
 Even in this letter may be remarked the readiness with 
 which Rabelais records parallels from his classical 
 reading on every possible occasion, whether it be in 
 instances of news of great events being announced by 
 rumour in an impossible or incredible space of time, 
 the tutelary divinities of Plato, or the dish of Vitellius, 
 etc. 
 
 On the return of the Cardinals from Rome to Lyons 
 Rabelais was approached by Cardinal de Chatillon and 
 requested to finish his Fourth Book, but, feeling bitterly 
 the injustice with which his Third Book had been 
 treated, he declined, as he did also later in Paris. It 
 was not tiU Chatillon had obtained a royal privilege, 
 dated August 5, 1550, for the continuation of the 
 Fourth Book and the revision of the Third Book, and 
 had assured him of the goodwill towards him felt by 
 the late King Francis and the present King Henry, 
 that he would consent to proceed. He was also induced 
 
Sciomachia 83 
 
 by the additional persuasion of Cardinal du Bellay, and 
 was made cure at St Martin at Meudon in the diocese 
 of Paris January 9, 1551 (n.s.), and of St Christopher 
 of Jambet in the diocese of Le Mans, of which Rene 
 du Bellay, the Cardinal's brother, was bishop. This is 
 pointed out by M. Romier as the result of a close 
 examination of the Epistle of Dedication to the Fourth 
 Book, dated January 28, 1552 (n.s.), and prefixed to 
 the Book. It was therefore at St Maur-les-Fosses and 
 Paris that the completed Fourth Book was composed. 
 
 This is supported by a statement of Antoine le Roy 
 in his Floretum Philosophicum, seu ludus Meudonianus 
 (40 Paris 1649). He says: "in praedicto Fossatensi 
 agro suum Pantagruelismum confecisse narratur Rabe- 
 laesus." 
 
 It is to be noted that a crise Gallicane, or strained 
 relations, had arisen between the French King and the 
 new Pope on the question of Parma and the maintenance 
 in that duchy of Orazio Farnese, grandson of Paul III, 
 who had married Diana, a natural daughter of Henry II. 
 It had become acute in the middle of 1551, so much so 
 that in August a proposition had been made in the 
 French Council to set up a patriarch in France endowed 
 with spiritual supremacy. Henry, however, was un- 
 willing to become guilty of schism, and in this he was 
 influenced by the Cardinal of Lorraine and the Jesuits, 
 while the Pope's resentment was moderated by the 
 Duke of Ferrara, and the crisis came to an end in the 
 beginning of 1552. In the Prologue to the Fourth Book 
 the arrangement of Parma is slightly mentioned; 
 while the subject of the Prologue itself is that of modera- 
 tion in Wishes, based on Aesop's Fable of "Mercury and 
 
 6—2 
 
84 The Fourth Book 
 
 the Woodman" as set forth by Erasmus, Adag. iv. 3. 57 
 (Fluvius non semper feri secures) . 
 
 It seems most Hkely then that, prompted by 
 Chatillon and du Bellay, Rabelais completed his 
 Fourth Book at the chateau of St Maur-les-Fosses 
 during the year 1551. The resignation of his two 
 cures at Meudon and St Christopher of Jambet was 
 made two years later, January 9, 1553 (n.s.). 
 
 TN£ FOURTH BOOK, Ed. 1552(B) 
 
 As has been said, the voyage to Cathay, where is 
 the oracle of the Holy Bottle, is to be followed out this 
 time by the N.W. passage to the north of Canada, or 
 la nouvelle France, as it was called, instead of following 
 the route of the Portuguese round the Cape of Good 
 Hope, by which Pantagruel and his followers had 
 previously reached the same destination. This course 
 was supposed to be much shorter and less perilous. 
 In several respects this edition is more definite and 
 detailed than A. Among other points the name of 
 the pilot is added, and it is interesting to find that he 
 is called Jamet Brahier. He has been identified by 
 M. Lefranc and M. de Grandmaison as the husband of 
 Jehanne Gaudete, sister of Marie Gaudete, the wife 
 of Jamet Rabelais, our author's brother. He was a 
 merchant who trafficked on the Loire and its affluents 
 {R.E.R. IV. 154, 184). This is another instance 
 pointing to the close personal connexion between this 
 
The Fourth Book 85 
 
 romance and its author, such as has been made out in 
 the Gargantua. 
 
 . We are also told in this second edition (iv. i) that 
 Xenomanes, the chief director of their course, had left 
 with Gargantua an Hydrography, marking out the 
 route they intended to take. M. Margry in his Navi- 
 gations fmngaises, p. 338, had identified him with 
 Jean Alfonse of Saintonge, who had written a Cosmo- 
 graphie for the use of Francis I, which was published 
 later (1559) at Poitiers. It has been re-published 
 (Paris 1904) by M. Georges Musset. This suggestion 
 was adopted by Dr Le Double and M. Lefranc, but 
 recently (R.E.R. x. 1-67) it has been shewn conclusively 
 by M. Sainean that this Cosmography is a shameless 
 piece of plagiarism from the Spanish Suma de geografia 
 of Fernandez Enciso. This Spanish work was published 
 in 1519 whereas the Cosmographie was totally unknown 
 till 1867. The clue that Rabelais himself has given is 
 the title of Xenomanes, traverseur des voyes perilleuses, 
 and this is the title assumed by J. Bouchet in a volume 
 published in 1526. It has been seen how Rabelais 
 delights in using the names and titles of his friends and 
 acquaintances in his books, and it seems possible that 
 Bouchet is thus intended for identification with 
 Xenomanes, notwithstanding the fact that he was no 
 traveller. The title must suffice. But it is not 
 improbable that the navigations of the great explorers 
 Jacques Cartier and Jean Alfonse are here in view. 
 
 The N.W. passage is indicated in B as before, but 
 with some slight additions. A new "Island" is now 
 inserted, Medamothi (Nowhere), and this has been 
 plausibly identified with Newfoundland, while a 
 
86 The Fourth Book 
 
 reference is suggested to the royal princes Francis 
 and Henry and the marriage of the latter in 1533. 
 This is in accordance with the present purpose of the 
 book, to conciliate the favour and maintain the cause 
 of the royal house. 
 
 The travellers make purchases at a fair that is being 
 held there, each according to his taste; meantime a 
 despatch is received from Gargantua in a specially 
 swift-sailing boat " The Sea-swallow," which is described 
 in accordance with the natural history of the Flying- 
 fish given by Pliny (9. 82) and Pierre Gilles. The 
 Esquire who brings the despatch is feted and Panta- 
 gruel prepares an answer, informing his father that he 
 has procured for him a tarand, which by the description 
 given is clearly a reindeer, and three "unicorns" which 
 prove to be giraffes. Such presents were in fashion at 
 the time. D'Albuquerque gave an elephant to Leo X 
 and Sultan Soleiman had presented a giraffe to Lorenzo 
 de' Medici in 1480. 
 
 At the outset of their journey as they are beginning, 
 after four days sailing on a route they had traversed 
 before, to wind about the pole (i.e. to steer westward), 
 after going far enough north to be above the land, 
 which is described as Medamothi, they fall in with 
 a merchant-vessel coming in the opposite direction 
 from Lantern-land. This was their first objective 
 before they reach Cathay, and it has been supposed 
 with some probability that this vessel is one of the 
 two sent back by the explorer Roberval to Francis I, 
 according to the order made to bring him news. But 
 Rabelais proceeds to adapt and elaborate an episode 
 of Merlin Cocai (Baldus, bk XI.) describing a trick 
 
The Fourth Book 87 
 
 of Cingar (the prototype of Panurge), by which he 
 causes a number of sheep and their Ticinese shepherds 
 to be drowned near Chioggia, by throwing one of the 
 biggest of the sheep into the sea, whereat all the others 
 follow and drag the shepherds with them. This story 
 with its dramatic incidents occupies two chapters in A 
 and three in B. It is developed most graphically and 
 is one of the most successful pieces of our author's art 
 of story-telling. They then proceed to the island of 
 Ennasin, or noseless (i.e. senseless) people, who are 
 described as having red faces and ridiculously snub 
 noses. These characteristics have been noted as the 
 peculiarities of the Red-skins of N. America and of the 
 Esquimaux and therefore lying on the way of Panta- 
 gruel's journey. Great fun is made of their intimate 
 relationships, which seem like those of the community 
 of wives and children in Plato's Republic, book v. 
 Proceeding towards the N.E. they come to the island 
 of Cheli which was subject to King Panigon, where the 
 court ladies kiss the travellers all round. This has 
 been paralleled by the description of a similar practice 
 among the English ladies of that time in a letter of 
 Erasmus, though of course it is impossible from this 
 to say that England is intended. They then proceed 
 to Procuration Island, which is "scribbled all over" 
 and inhabited by Catchpoles, who make a living by 
 compensation for beatings that they endure. After an 
 illustration from Gellius of similar conduct in a Roman 
 gentleman, Friar John goes ashore and asks in a loud 
 voice, who wished to be beaten for a money payment. 
 Several men rush up, crying "lo" (the Italian for "I") 
 to signify their readiness, and one of them is beaten 
 
88 The Fourth Book 
 
 unmercifully and liberally rewarded. Next they pass 
 the islands of Tohu and Bohu (Hebrew words taken 
 from the first chapter of Genesis, signifying "Solitude" 
 and "Void"), and here we have the story of the giant 
 Bringuenarilles, or Nose-slitter, who lives on windmills, 
 but has had to subsist on the frying-pans, etc. of the 
 country, and who ultimately is choked by a piece of 
 fresh butter. This is abridged and altered from a 
 ridiculous story in the Disciple de Pantagruel, and 
 illustrated from Erasmus, Pliny, Suetonius, Baptista 
 Fulgosius and others; the illustrations are amplified 
 in B. Episodes are also taken from the same source 
 in chapter 44. 
 
 We now come to the great storm, the account of 
 which is founded on Merlin Cocai {Baldus xi.-xii.), 
 and the storm given in the first book of Virgil's Aeneid; 
 this is made more than probable by citations from Virgil 
 himself and extracts obviously taken from Servius's 
 commentary on the passage Aen. 1. 93 sqq. Among 
 other sources there is a curious one from Budaeus's 
 translation of the Pseudo-Aristotelian treatise deMundo, 
 in which French names formed on the model of the 
 Graeco-Latin words descriptive of " squalls," etc. are 
 given in the exact order which they occupy in Budaeus. 
 In the additions of B some lively touches are derived 
 from a Colloquy of Erasmus, entitled Naufragium. After 
 escaping from this storm they land at the Isle of the 
 Macraeons, or the Long-livers. Here the first edition A 
 ends; the story is resumed from this point in B, 
 chapter 25, for this edition expands the ten chapters 
 of A to twenty-five. 
 
 The identification of the Isle of the Macraeons with 
 
The Fourth Book 89 
 
 some place on the N.W. passage presents considerable 
 difficulty. At the outset the description of the island 
 closely resembles a passage at the beginning of the 
 Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, utilized in the Gargantua 
 and in the Fifth Book ; indeed reference to it is pointedly 
 made in a note of the Iriefve declaration d'aulcunes 
 dictions plus obscures on quatriesme livre, a short 
 explanation of difficulties, which is appended to this 
 Book, manifestly by Rabelais himself. An account is 
 found in the note of "Obelisks, Pyramids, etc., with 
 divers inscriptions," such as are actually to be found 
 in the Hypnerotomachia. The next chapter is composed 
 of a long passage of Eusebius de praeparatione evangelica, 
 V. 17, §§ lo-ii. This, however, is copied from Plutarch, 
 de defect, orac. c. 18, a favourite treatise of Rabelais in 
 the Third Book. The passage describes the island as 
 one of the Sporades, or Scattered Islands in the Ocean, 
 and subject to the ruler of Britain; and it goes on to 
 say that it is the habitation of heroes whose abiding 
 there brings blessing to the place, while the decease of 
 one of them is attended with disturbances in the sky, 
 the sea and the land. As this passage is translated 
 pretty closely, it is not easy to say what place is intended ; 
 the Channel Islands, the Isle of Anglesey or the Scilly 
 Islands have been suggested. It may easily stand for 
 any unknown region. 
 
 The account of the decease of the heroes is then 
 pointedly referred to the death of Guillaume du Bellay 
 and illustrated by passages from Virgil, Phny and 
 Josephus, ending with a longish passage from Baptista 
 Fulgosius (who was cited and mentioned in A) and a 
 passage of seven or eight hnes translated almost 
 
90 The Fourth Book 
 
 literally from Erasmus, supported by references to 
 Dion Cassius and Suidas. Thus this chapter, made up 
 as it is almost entirely of passages from Classical and 
 Renaissance writers, can hardly have more than a 
 general reference to one of Pantagruel's stopping- 
 places. Besides the circumstances of Langey's death, 
 there is a mention of the names of those present, 
 among whom are Rabelais and Epistemon (who is 
 designated in in. 34 as a fellow-student of Rabelais 
 and Ponocrates at Montpellier) . This parade of 
 learning fires the emulation of Brother John, who would 
 himself also be a scholar. The next chapter gives the 
 story of the death of Pan and the identification with 
 Christ, taken from Eusebius de praep. evan. v. 17, §§ 5-9, 
 though again that is derived from Plutarch. It has 
 been pointed out by M. Reinach [R.E.R. iv. 100) that 
 Plutarch's recital of the proclamation of the death of 
 Pan is really a confused account of the Syrian lament 
 for Adonis (Thammuz), in which a refrain was repeated 
 three times ©afiov'; TrafM/j,i'ya<; TedvrjKev. Cf. Milton, 
 P. L. I. 446. 
 
 We now come to "Sneaking Island, where Lent 
 reigned," with an anatomical account of his organs and 
 limbs, borrowed mostly from Galen's de usu partium, 
 together with a comparison of these parts in detail with 
 various objects of common life. Two of these com- 
 parisons may be found in the great surgeon Ambroise 
 ■ Pare, and throughout the resemblances (which formerly 
 were looked upon as fanciful) have been justified by a 
 careful piece of work by Dr Le Double. Lent is thus 
 represented as a pitiful, even a revolting creature, and 
 compared with ^wo^Mwi z.nADiscordance, two misshapen 
 
The Fourth Book 91 
 
 beings described in an Apologue of Celio Calcagnini, 
 a Ferrarese physician. Rabelais goes on to insist that 
 Antiphysis (Anti-Nature) afterwards produced similar 
 beings in Calvin and Gabriel de Puy-Herbaut, who had 
 formerly assailed him with invective. 
 
 A monstrous Physeter, or whale, is now descried 
 coming to attack the fleet. The description of it is 
 borrowed from Pliny, and the conduct of the Pilot in 
 command of the fleet is taken from the similar practice 
 of Alexander's admiral Nearchus, reinforced by a 
 quotation from Cicero. The incident, however, may 
 well have been suggested by the fact that for a long 
 time past Breton and Basque sailors had carried on 
 whale fishery in these northern seas, so that it is 
 natural to use this as an episode in the present voyage. 
 Pantagruel for once resumes his gigantic proportions 
 and powers, and slays the monster which had struck 
 terror into the navigators, especially Panurge. 
 
 They now land at "Wild Island" and proceed to 
 cut up and stow away certain parts of the Physeter. 
 After a repast certain "Chitterlings" are noted spying 
 on their movements, and they were concerned to find 
 huge battaHons of them marching to attack them. 
 These are defeated however and literally " cut to pieces " 
 by Friar John and an army of Cooks, whom he had 
 ensconced in a military engine called a Sow [Truye), 
 from its resemblance to the wooden Horse of Troy 
 {Troye). It can hardly be disputed that the Swiss 
 are aimed at in this satire, indeed Rabelais hints it 
 himself. A good deal of Classical and other learning 
 is expended on this episode and allusion is made to 
 the Council of Trent, in which the observance of Lent 
 
92 The Fourth Book 
 
 had been insisted on, thus causing much heart-burning. 
 The Queen of the Chitteriings makes peace and a 
 treaty with Pantagruel, and the travellers go on to the 
 Island of Ruach, or wind. This has been identified 
 with the Island of Aeolus in the Aeneid and also 
 tentatively with Avignon, which is notoriously subject 
 to such visitations. Swift and Sterne are indebted to 
 these chapters. Another partial source is the treatise 
 of Hippocrates de Flatihus. 
 
 The wretched Island of Popefigs, or people who made 
 "the fig at" (or scorned) the Pope, is next visited, and 
 a story is told of a husbandman who got the better of 
 a devil in disposing of his produce ; they then go on to 
 the Papimanes, or the people who are madly devoted 
 to the Pope and live only in longing for the time when 
 they will see him among them. This leads to the pane- 
 gyric of the Decretals, or book of Papal government, 
 which is extolled by Homenas, the bishop of the 
 Papimanes, as the cause and source of every blessing. 
 This exaggerated laudation is of course only satire in 
 the thinnest disguise, and it was probably this portion 
 of the book more than any other that led to its censure 
 by the Parlement and a year later to the compulsory 
 resignation by Rabelais of his two cures. 
 
 The episode of the Frozen Words, which follows, is 
 held to refer specially to the actual voyage by the 
 N.W. passage, for it is placed at the end of June, when 
 the Arctic ice would be melting, so that the ships 
 which were coasting under the pole, i.e. about 67° N., 
 would experience the effect of this. Pantagruel 
 standing up discovers that strange noises are in the 
 air and the travellers' own sense of hearing soon con- 
 
The Fourth Book 93 
 
 firms this. They are then assured by the Pilot that 
 in the preceding winter a terrible battle took place 
 there between the Arimaspians and the Cloud- walkers. 
 This has been taken to refer to the battle of Marignano, 
 between the French and the Swiss in September 1515 ; 
 at all events many of the cries that are recorded here 
 are to be found in the chorus of the celebrated song 
 composed by the French musician Jannequin, called 
 Deffaide des Suisses a Marignan. 
 
 Chapters 57-62 are devoted to the consideration 
 of the bad and good points of Messer Gaster, the first 
 master of arts in the world, the text being taken from 
 the prologue of the Latin poet Persius : Magister artis 
 ingenique largitor VENTER. The considerations, which 
 are followed out in detail, seem to be suggested by the 
 Plutus of Aristophanes, in which play all works of 
 utility and common life, not to speak of the arts and 
 elegances, are said to be due to the compelling power 
 of Penia or Poverty, whereas Plutus, or Wealth, indis- 
 poses men to exertion. After a general introduction 
 on these lines (c. 57) Rabelais inveighs against the 
 impostures of the Engastrimythes or Diviners (i.e. the 
 pretenders to sanctity and power) with the gluttonous 
 sacrifices of the Gastrolaters, in Lent and at other times, 
 to Manducus, their " ventripotent God" (cc. 58-60). 
 On the other side two chapters (61-2) are devoted to 
 the various useful inventions that have been brought 
 into vogue by the necessities of Messer Gaster. 
 
 The next episode is a calm and the method of 
 raising the wind by a good meal, and its sufficiency in 
 answering a number of problems proposed for con- 
 sideration. Into this is introduced a long list of 
 
94 The Fourth Book 
 
 serpents and noxious creatures, mostly derived from 
 Pliny, Avicenna and Nicander, the poet-priest of Claros. 
 
 The last two chapters (66-7) are taken up with 
 the firing of the cannons of the fleet while Panurge 
 is in the bread-room between the decks, as a practical 
 joke to scare him, and the result of his fright. 
 
 In this book is to be noticed the prevalence of 
 Italian words and phrases, which might be expected 
 from a continued residence in Rome of nearly two 
 years (1547-9), ^^'^ ^^° the Hebrew names employed 
 to designate many of the places visited by the fleet. 
 
 It may be fanciful to find a resemblance between 
 the voyage of Pantagruel and that of Ulysses, and the 
 places visited by them, but taking into consideration the 
 many allusions to the Odyssey (and also to the strange 
 voyages in the Vera Historia of Lucian) that may be 
 discovered in Rabelais, a parallel list of places mentioned 
 in both may not be without interest. 
 
 Ennasin The Ciconicins 
 
 Cheli The Lotos-Eaters 
 
 Bringuenarilles The Cyclops 
 
 The Macraeons Aeolus (ist visit) 
 
 Sneaking Island The Laestrygonians 
 
 'Wild Island Circe and her animals 
 
 Ruach Aeolus (2nd visit) 
 
 The Frozen Words The Sirens 
 
 The Popefigs ScyUa 
 
 The Papimanes Charybdis 
 
 Messer Gaster The Oxen of the Sun 
 
 Chaneph Calypso 
 
 Ganabin Alcinous 
 
 Of course only the most general of resemblances 
 can be traced, and the Isle of Procuration has no 
 counterpart in this list. In the same way only a few 
 
The Fourth Book 95 
 
 resemblances can be made out for the peoples along the 
 north of Canada, and it is clear that the Isle of the 
 Macraeons is derived from the account in Plutarch's 
 de defect, orac, while Bringuenarilles and the Wild 
 Island are taken from the Disciple de Pantagruel, the 
 last being evidently aimed at the Swiss. 
 
 There is also another possible source, viz. a con- 
 jecture that in 1536 Rabelais returned from Rome with 
 the Cardinal's baggage on board a merchant vessel 
 called the Telamonia (from Porto Telamone in Tuscany) 
 and visited an island (St Antiochia, S.W. of Sardinia, 
 actually bearing the name Enosis in Pliny, 3. 84) in 
 order to find out what Charles V had been doing there 
 on his visit to the island in the previous year. Re- 
 turning from there by the S.W. wind he would coast 
 along as far as Marseilles, and thus be able to see 
 personally Mont Argentaro, Piombino, and other 
 places along that coast, such as Genoa, San Remo, 
 Taggia and the Fossa Mariana, which are mentioned 
 in the Fourth and the Fifth Books. If this supposition 
 should prove correct, a point would be made in dis- 
 covering the source of the Italian nomenclature of the 
 shipping-tackle and the sails, etc., which is so strikingly 
 displayed in his description of the storm. 
 
 Noticeable also is the Italianizing tendency of the 
 language employed in the Fourth Book, such as the 
 constant use of the title Messer as well as the repeated 
 allusions to the jardins secrets, or private gardens, and 
 casinos of the Pope and of some of the nobles in Rome, 
 while the magistrates of some of the islands where the 
 travellers land are styled podestd. An interesting 
 point also is the list in the Prologue of musicians of 
 
96 The Fourth Book 
 
 two periods with thirty-seven years interval. The years 
 indicated are probably 1513 and 1550, the accessions 
 respectively of Leo X and Julius III. The introduction 
 of profane airs into cathedrtd services by the singers 
 of the Pope's choirs is alluded to in the Prologue, but 
 seriously reprobated in a somewhat enigmatical passage 
 in IV. 62 which perhaps refers to Papal legislation on 
 that subject (cf. Extrav. Commun. in. i. i). 
 
 The object of this part of the Fourth Book is to 
 support the French cause in the crise Gallicane and to 
 dwell on the merits of the du Bellay family, as had 
 already been done in the Sciomachia. This would 
 sufhciently account for the extremely anti-Roman 
 attitude of the chapters on Lent, on the Popefigs, the 
 Papimanes and Messer Gaster. These are relieved by 
 the geographical features of the voyage and the atten- 
 tion drawn to the colonizing policy of the French king. 
 Other points to be noticed are a kind of excuse for 
 Francis I in the story of the Lord of Basch6 and the 
 Catchpoles (iv. 12), where Basche, maddened by the 
 persecution of the Prior of St Louant, threatens to 
 leave the country and to take sides with the Sultan. 
 This may be an allusion to the odium raised by 
 Charles V against the French king, when he entered 
 into relations with the corsair Barbarossa and the 
 Sultan, so as to harass the Emperor in the Mediterranean 
 and his brother Ferdinand in Hungary. It was made 
 a great scandal that a Christian monarch should give 
 any countenance to the Moslems. This remark in 
 Rabelais may be intended as a palliation of the 
 conduct of Francis. 
 
 Again in the Sciomachia, published in 1549, after 
 
The Fourth Book 97 
 
 Cardinal du Bellay had been superseded by Ippolito 
 d'Este, a long account is given of Diana and her 
 nymphs, who are represented as leading personages 
 in the sham-fight, in fact as affording the subject of 
 strife between the contending parties. This has been 
 explained as a compliment to Diane de Poitiers, the 
 King's mistress, who was all powerful at court {R.E.R. 
 VII. 279). There is also a complimentary allusion to 
 "Messer Philibert de I'Orme, chief Architect of King 
 Megistus" in iv. 61. At this time he was high in 
 favour at court. 
 
 The arguments that Rabelais did not return to 
 Rome with Cardinal du Bellay in November 1549 are, 
 that on the return journey, while passing near Florence, 
 the Cardinal was detained by sickness at a little village 
 named Scarperia and, not having a physician with him, 
 he applied to Cosimo de' Medici to send him one. Two 
 letters of his on this subject survive. Also there 
 exists a list of the attendants of our Cardinal at the 
 conclave, and Rabelais is not found among them, 
 although physicians and surgeons are among the 
 attendant officers. Moreover, although there was 
 plenty of matter for satire in this conclave, there is 
 no allusion to it in the Fourth Book or elsewhere, unless 
 the additions made in F (ed. 1552) to the blazon of 
 Triboulet (in. 38), "Conclavist fool, bulhst f. summist 
 f. abbreviating f.," be considered as referring ever so 
 slightly to this. 
 
 The Fourth Book then in its finished form, containing 
 an Epistle Dedicatory to the Cardinal Odet Coligny of 
 Chatillon, a Prologue and sixty-seven chapters, was 
 published January 28, 1552. The first twenty-five 
 
 s. R. 7 
 
98 The Fourth Book 
 
 chapters consisted of the ten chapters of the old 
 Fourth Book of 1548 reviewed and amplified, with the 
 addition of cc. 2-4, cc. 13-15 and c. 12 very largely 
 increased in bulk. The other chapters (25-67) are all 
 new and contain much interesting matter. 
 
 Very soon after its publication, on March i, 1551 
 (i.e. 1552 n.s.), the Parlement de Paris through its 
 Council of twelve members (of whom Tiraqueau was 
 one), cited the publisher and forbade him to expose 
 for sale any more copies till the King's good pleasure 
 should be known. This was in consequence of the 
 censure of the Faculty of Theology, imposed notwith- 
 standing the Privilege of the King. The ban was 
 removed on the return of the King in triumph from 
 Metz, April 18. In copies sold after that date, the 
 reading of the text in the Prologue was changed from 
 tant riche et triumphant royaulme de France to tant noble, 
 tant antique, tant beau, tantflorissant, tant riche royaulme 
 de France, and Tiraqueau instead of Conseiller du roy 
 Henri second is styled Conseiller du grand victorieux, 
 triumphant roy Henri. 
 
 It seems likely that the Fourth Book having served 
 its purpose and the crise gallicane having passed, the 
 author was left to his fate to be dealt with by his 
 enemies. At all events Rabelais resigned his two 
 cures of St Martin of Meudon and St Christopher of 
 Jambet on the same day (January 9, 1553), and tra- 
 dition tells us that he died in April, 1553, and that he 
 was buried in the cemetery of St Paul in the Rue des 
 Jardins in Paris. No trace of his remains or any record 
 has been discovered, but there seems no reason for 
 discrediting this tradition. 
 
The Fourth Book 99 
 
 It is to be observed that Andre Tiraqueau was one 
 of the twelve members of the Conseil du Parlement and 
 it does not appear that he raised his voice in defence of 
 his old friend. He was more sensitive on the subject 
 of plagiarisms from his books than many of the authors 
 of that time, as he had suffered from the unwarranted 
 publication of the first edition of his de legibus con- 
 nubialihus. He had reason then to resent the whole- 
 sale borrowing from his third edition, which was 
 published about the same time as the Third Book 
 (1546), whether Rabelais gained his knowledge by- 
 seeing the book in MS. by the kindness of the author, 
 or whether he was corrector of the press for Fezandat 
 the publisher, or found other means to read it before 
 it appeared, and utilize it in his own Third Book. 
 
 THE FIFTH BOOK 
 
 The Fifth Book, which was published posthumously 
 in 1562 and 1564, has been much suspected and 
 questioned in the matter of authenticity. The first 
 sixteen chapters were published under the title of 
 L'Isle Sonante in 1562 as Rabelais' posthumous 
 work ; an edition containing forty-seven chapters was 
 published in 1564, and a sixteenth century manuscript 
 of it containing forty-eight chapters was discovered in 
 the Bibliotheque nationale in 1840. In all these editions 
 there are differences in matter included or excluded; 
 the result of much discussion seems to be the admission 
 generally of the book as genuine work by Rabelais, with 
 
 7—2 
 
loo The Fifth Book 
 
 the exclusion of certain parts as interpolated by the 
 editor. It is also supposed that the parts were com- 
 posed at different times and thrown aside by the author, 
 or partially utilized in other portions of his work. The 
 prologue especially has been questioned, as containing 
 several pieces which appear in the prologue to the 
 Third Book and in that of the Fourth Book. It has 
 seemed to me possible that the parts composing the 
 Fifth Book may have been written, not only before 
 the Fourth but before the Third Book, and then laid 
 aside, discovered after the author's death and put 
 together so as to form a continuation of the voyage in 
 the Fourth Book. 
 
 The considerations that have led me to this belief 
 are the following. The last chapter of the Pantagruel 
 undoubtedly promised some such voyage as that to 
 Cathay by some westward passage, whether taking the 
 route of Columbus or the North- West passage. This 
 idea was interrupted by the Gargantua, which repre- 
 sented allegorically the law-suit between Antoine 
 Rabelais, the author's father^ and Gaucher Sainte- 
 Marthe, the neighbouring proprietor of Lerne. 
 
 The notion of the voyage was resumed at the end 
 of the Third Book, as the culminating attempt at 
 solving by divination the problem of Panurge's intended 
 marriage. There is a very large amount of matter 
 borrowed from the Hypnerotomachiain the twenty- fourth 
 and twenty-fifth chapters and in the seven or eight final 
 chapters in the Fifth Book, and also an appreciable 
 number of passages from the same source in the 
 Gargantua; but only two or three slight allusions to 
 it in the Fourth Book ; and nowhere else. This points 
 
The Fifth Book loi 
 
 to the probability that the latter portion of the Fifth 
 Book was written soon after the Gargantua, seeing the 
 other references to it in the Fourth and other portions 
 of the Fifth Book seem to be reminiscences rather 
 than direct extracts. Thus I would suggest that 
 the episode of Queen Entelechia (cc. 18-25) was 
 written after the last part (cc. 32-fin.) and before 
 the first part (cc. 1-15). This first part seems to me 
 to have been written soon after the second visit to 
 Rome (1535-6) because it gives so vivid an account — 
 allegorical no doubt — of the Papal Court and sur- 
 roundings, and moreover because the interval of 1540-2, 
 the period when Rabelais was physician to Langey at 
 Turin, would otherwise be entirely unoccupied ^ with 
 literary work, and the period between 1535 and 1543 
 quite barren of any production of his pen, except for 
 the revision of the two or three editions of his Pantagruel 
 and Gargantua, which books he published definitively in 
 
 1542. 
 
 Also the books from which extracts are taken in the 
 Fifth Book are those from which he derived help in his 
 two first books, such as Budaeus in Pandectas and 
 de Asse, and his translations from Plutarch (de placitis 
 philosophorum) , Gellius, Lucian, Athenaeus, Herodotus. 
 From Marot, whose poems were published in 1538, there 
 are some loans, and fromie Disciple de Pantagruel, 
 which was published in the same year, and which is 
 put to service in the Fourth Book. 
 
 Rabelais also mentions in the Fifth Book the "two 
 
 1 There is, however, account to be taken of the Styategemata 
 of W. du Bellay written by Rabelais in Latin and translated by 
 Claude Massuau into French (Seb. Gryphius 1542). 
 
I02 The Fifth Book 
 
 little Cardinjays," who seem to suggest the two 
 " Cardinalicules " of his third letter to the Bishop of 
 Maillezais (1536). Panurge again is represented (c. xi. 
 fin.) wearing a doublet and hose, not the brown toga 
 and the spectacles in his cap which he adopted in iii. 7, 
 and which he wears thenceforth in the Third and 
 Fourth Books. 
 
 In the Fifth Book are mentioned places along the 
 French and Italian coasts, as well as places south of 
 Montpellier, where Rabelais was mostly from September 
 27, 1537, till 1540. He was at Aigues-Mortes July 14-16, 
 1538 {R.E.R. III. 335) ; this place is spoken of in V. 36, 
 as are the orange trees of San Remo in v. 34, and the 
 wine of Taggia, a little N.E. of San Remo. In the 
 Third Book he styles himself Calloier des Isles Hiires, 
 i.e. Patriarch of the Sacred Islands, a punning indication 
 of Hyeres (lepaCj, which he mentions in ill. 50 as mes 
 isles Hieres; thus making it almost certain that he 
 -visited these islands on a botanical excursion about 
 1538-9 before taking service with Guillaume du Bellay 
 in 1540 at Turin. 
 
 The Fifth Book begins with a continuation of the 
 voyage, but the account differs in the editions and the 
 MS. ; this makes it likely that it is due to the editor. 
 An "Island" is then described, full of the sound of 
 bells and of singing, and the travellers land at a small 
 rocky islet, where Aedituus (i.e. the Sacristan) insists 
 on their undergoing a four days' fast before they can 
 be received on the Ringing Island. This is clearly 
 intended for an cdlegorical description of Rome, as 
 inhabited by birds, Popejay, Cardinjays, Priest] ays, 
 etc. with their various parti-coloured dresses. These 
 
The Fifth Book 103 
 
 birds do nothing but live sumptuously and warble to 
 the sound of bells. There is an allusion to the time 
 when there were rival Popejays, evidently referring to 
 one of the schisms; it seems most reasonable, by the 
 indication of the time given, to refer it to 1328, when 
 Lewis the Bavarian set up an anti-pope. Reference is 
 also made to the places from which these birds come; 
 they come, we are told, mostly from Breadlessday, 
 being generally fugitives from justice, disappointments 
 in love and life, the rejectanea of society ; some of them 
 moreover are Germander birds. This refers to the 
 Military Orders, Templars, Hospitallers, etc. A visit 
 is made with much difficulty to see Popejay. 
 
 The Island of Tools is next visited, where trees are 
 laden with Tools, which fall into handles that are ready 
 awaiting them (cf. Galen u. p. xv. 4 (iv. 226)). This 
 is derived from Le Disciple de Pantagruel, but is hall- 
 marked as written by Rabelais, by the insertion of a 
 passage from Plutarch and another from Pliny in 
 support of such a portent. The Island of Sharping 
 follows, in a day's journey. Gambling and the In- 
 vocation of Devils are the occupation of the inhabitants, 
 and loss of life and property are the consequences. It 
 was here that a flask of San Graal was shewn, and with 
 greater pomp and ceremony than was the case with 
 the liber Pandectarum of Justinian which were shewn 
 in Florence, as we may learn from Budaeus in Pandectas, 
 p. 47, one of the books employed by Rabelais in the 
 Pantagruel and in the Third Book. 
 
 Another episode follows (cc. 11-15) — that of the 
 Furred Law-cats {Chats-fourres with a pun on chaffoures, 
 found in P. 7), whose villainy and grasping propensities 
 
I04 The Fifth Book 
 
 are described. The curious provision of pieds poudreux, 
 changed in English to "pie-powder," is enlarged upon, 
 and a contrast is pointed out between the justice of 
 other ancient courts and the enormities of this one. 
 Grippeminaud, the Archduke of the Furred cats, 
 propounds a riddle, which is solved by Panurge, and 
 the company escape by paying a bag of gold for the 
 Cats to scramble for. They then escape, but still have 
 to pay fees to apparitors, etc., till Friar John loses 
 patience and threatens them with his cutlass. Panurge 
 opposes a motion of Friar John to put to sack these 
 villains, and they rejoin Pantagruel, who has been left 
 outside; he thereupon composes some elegies on the 
 subject, recalling the practice of Gargantua under the 
 tuition of Ponocrates (G. 24). Now in the seventeenth 
 chapter they pass "Forth" {nous passons outre) as 
 they had passed "Procuration" and "Condemnation." 
 Here the word outre is made to serve for a pun between 
 its meaning ultra and outres, blown out people, whose 
 ridiculous customs are now described. By stuffing 
 themselves and gormandizing they attain an excessive 
 bulk; this is relieved from time to time by gashing 
 their skin and fat, like trees, till at last they die in 
 bursting with a tremendous report. One feature in 
 this chapter deserves special notice. The heading of 
 the chapter is " How we passed Forth, and how Panurge 
 had like to have been killed there." There is nothing 
 in the chapter itself to justify the second part of this 
 heading; therefore it seems a fair inference that the 
 writer intended to give some further matter which 
 would have explained this, but that for some reason 
 or other he did not; the good faith of the editor or 
 
The Fifth Book 105 
 
 copyist is shewn in that he did not himself add to the 
 chapter, but allowed it to stand as he found it. 
 
 Next for consideration comes the sixteenth chapter 
 which stands practically alone, without connexion with 
 any other part of the book. It is an account of the 
 Chamhre des Comptes at Paris, under the disguise of 
 a large wine-press and certain smaller ones, which 
 squeeze taxes and fines from every one. To me it 
 appears to be a result of Rabelais' visit to Paris in 
 1541-2 in company with Guillaume du Bellay, at which 
 time it is suggested by some commentators that he was 
 made maistre des requestes. The sixteenth chapter is 
 inserted in various places by different editors, some 
 making it c. 7 and others c. 18. It is first placed as 
 the last chapter of L'Isle Sonante and there only; but 
 it seems to be work of Rabelais for which he had found 
 no proper place. 
 
 On this journey to Paris and the return from it he 
 must have seen to the definitive edition of Pantagntel 
 and Gargantua (D) pubUshed by Juste at Lyons in 1542. 
 
 Chapters 18-25 form the episode of Queen 
 Entelechia, which might stand quite by itself, but 
 seems almost certainly to be written by Rabelais, as 
 it possesses distinct marks of his style and is indebted 
 for several of its features to the Hypnerotomachia, 
 quite apart from the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth 
 chapters which are palpably adapted from it, forming 
 as they do the celebrate_d living chess-tournament. 
 The speeches of Queen Entelechia are quite in the vein 
 of those of Queen EleutheriUida of the Hypnerotomachia, 
 and the tremendous banquet which is elaborately 
 described there is here alluded to and wisely omitted. 
 
io6 The Fifth Book 
 
 Erasmus is put to considerable use in this part ; indeed 
 throughout the entire Fifth Book the sources which are 
 so much in evidence in the Gargantua and the Pantagruel 
 are those which are employed here. 
 
 An argument that is much pressed by the critics 
 who deny the authenticity of the Fifth Book is the 
 citation of Scaliger, Bigot, Chambrier and Frangois 
 Fleury as disputants in the question of evreXe^eta. 
 This is undoubtedly a difficulty, especially in the case 
 of Scaliger. He had written on ivTekexeia in the 307th 
 of his Exercitationes ad Hier. Cardanum, which was not 
 published till 1557, while Rabelais, who died in 1553, 
 could not have seen this. It is quite possible however 
 to look upon this passage as the interpolation of an 
 editor, without surrendering the other part, which 
 undoubtedly derives considerable support from the 
 fact that Argyropylus, Theodore Gaza, Cicero and 
 Budaeus are all spoken of in the first chapter of 
 Politian's Miscellanea as supporting ivreKexeia; they 
 are also quoted in this chapter (with the addition of 
 Diogenes Laertius), while the writings of Politian had 
 been published by Seb. Gryphius (1537-9) ^^'^ ^^^ 
 often a source for Rabelais. On the other hand many 
 instances may be found in those times of books circu- 
 lating in manuscript long before they were printed; 
 indeed there is the pertinent instance in the Third Book, 
 where considerable use is made of the third edition of 
 Tiraqueau's Leges Connubiales. 
 
 Chapter 26 is developed from a passage in the 
 Hypnerotomachia on Moving roads. This idea is 
 noted by Pascal in his Pensees, where he speaks of 
 les rivieres as les chemins qui marchent; the suggestion 
 
The Fifth Book 107 
 
 has been carried out in practice recently in Paris and 
 elsewhere by means of slopes, etc., moved by machinery 
 to take the place of staircases, etc. Rabelais proceeds 
 to speak of frozen rivers serving as roads, and again of 
 Greek mathematicians who had held that the earth 
 was not stationary but revolved round the central 
 fire or the sun. This is derived from Plutarch's de 
 placitis philosophorum (translated by Budaeus into 
 Latin) which was utilized in the Pantagruel. Another 
 point of legal learning on the care for the embankments 
 of the Nile and the punishment inflicted on persons who 
 damaged them, is derived from the Pandects (xlvii. ii, 
 10) through Budaeus in Pandectas. 
 
 The next three chapters (27-29) are very disputable, 
 but with the exception of c. 28 — a bad imitation of a 
 novel of Desperiers — I am more inclined to admit their 
 authenticity than formerly. The twenty-seventh 
 chapter is weak indeed for Rabelais' work, but there 
 are several points in it which make for his authorship. 
 The musical puns are feeble, but in Rabelais' vein, 
 and there are classical allusions from Ovid and Cicero, 
 Martial and Horace, and imitations from Le Disciple 
 de Pantagruel. Altogether it seems to be careless work, 
 but of the right stamp. The twenty-ninth chapter, 
 on the institution of Lent and the stimulating vegetable 
 and fish diet ordered in its observance, with advocacy 
 of it by physicians for their own profit, derived from 
 Charles Etienne de re hortensi and from Erasmus, 
 makes very strongly for its authenticity. 
 
 Chapters 30 and 31 are very interesting and 
 scarcely admit of doubt. The idea of c. 30 which is 
 on the Land of Satin, i.e. unreal imitation, is taken 
 
io8 The Fifth Book 
 
 from the Hypnerotomachia (c. lo h. iv. r".) where it is 
 presented hterally. It refers to the representation of. 
 various birds and animals, more or less fabixlous, 
 embroidered on tapestry. Rabelais takes this up but 
 represents it as "embroidery" of another kind, viz., 
 travellers' tales, exaggeration, l3dng and false testimony. 
 He brings to bear on this as illustrations a number of 
 strange narrations in Aristotle, Pliny's Natural History, 
 Caelius Rhodiginus' Antiquae Lectiones, Pierre Gilles, 
 Erasmus and others. The next chapter carries this 
 notion farther, and describes a curious being named 
 Hearsay, who lives in the Land of Satin. This seems 
 to be aimed at the marvellous accounts to be found in 
 Herodotus, who specially asserts that he "puts down 
 by hearsay {aKoy) what is told to him by others." 
 A large number of other authors, ancient and modern, 
 are given as writing with about as good a warrant. 
 Some of the names of the moderns are very interesting, 
 as being travellers and geographers from whom Rabelais 
 derived instruction, and as being authors, some of 
 whose treatises are collected in the Novus Orhis of 
 Grynaeus. These are Cadamosto, Lodovico Romano, 
 Pedro Alvarez, Marco Polo, Hayton the Armenian, 
 Paulus Jovius, Peter Martyr. To these names must be 
 added Thenauld the traveller, who is also quoted in 
 the Gargantua. Cadamosto had furnished geographical 
 information in Pant. c. 24 descriptive of the first 
 voyage of Pantagruel to Utopia round the Cape of 
 Good Hope. 
 
 Considerable resemblance is also to be remarked 
 between these two chapters and iv. 62-4, especially in 
 the great use of Pliny in them. It might be argued that 
 
The Fifth Book 109 
 
 all the five chapters were written at the same time 
 but that V. 30, 31 were laid aside as superseded by 
 the others; in any case it is fair to consider them as 
 work of the same pen and also as by the author who 
 wrote the Pantagruel and the Gargantua. 
 
 We now come to the third section of this book, 
 which is so greatly derived from the Hypnerotomachia. 
 The first two chapters are introductory, bringing the 
 mariners to Lychnopolis or Lantern-land, the harbour 
 which is to be their stopping-place before coming to 
 the Oracle. The description of Lychnopolis some- 
 what confuses La Rochelle, where was a celebrated 
 light-house, with the Lantern-land, the idea of which 
 is derived from Lucian, who, it will be remembered, is 
 much employed in the Pantagruel and elsewhere. 
 
 Chapter 33* follows. It is to be found only in 
 the MS. and may perhaps be looked upon as Rabelais' 
 work, as to the first and the last part, but certainly 
 not as to the middle, which consists of a number of 
 crudely fanciful dishes made up of reminiscences of 
 unpresentable words and phrases in divers other parts 
 of Rabelais. The list of dances given is taken with 
 slight alterations from Le Disciple de Pantagruel and so 
 may pass muster. The plan of the chapter is simply 
 a menu for Panurge's wedding breakfast made up from 
 animals mentioned in the mythology of Ovid and 
 Virgil, the unsavoury messes spoken of above, a feast, 
 more or less oily, for the Lady Lanterns, the dances 
 just spoken of, and the return from the dance. 
 
 The thirty-fourth chapter brings the travellers to 
 the island in which was the Oracle of the Bottle. There, 
 to reach the Oracle, they have to go through a vineyard 
 
no The Fifth Book 
 
 of vines of every kind, to pass under an arch where-were 
 drinking vessels, barrels, etc., of all sizes and shapes, 
 hams, etc., etc., provocative of thirst, cups and tankards 
 in every form. Then they pass through an Alley of 
 Trellis-work of Vines in every variety, colour and shape, 
 and they were commanded to cover their heads with 
 Ivy-wreaths and put vine-leaves in their shoes (as 
 directed in Plutarch), metaphorically signifying that 
 they were not dominated by wine, whereas most 
 women had the moon in their head and consequently 
 were lunatic, thus differing from the one whom Brother 
 John remembers in Revelation (xii. i), who had the 
 moon under her feet. 
 
 They now (c. 35) go down a staircase to the Temple 
 decorated with frescoes, which the patriotic Pantagruel 
 compares with those of the Painted Cellar in Chinon 
 (or Caynon), which is proved to be the first city in the 
 world, having been built by Cain, the first builder of cities. 
 They are met by the Governor of the Holy Bottle with 
 his guard of French Bottiglioni, and they are conducted 
 (c. 36) down the mystic tetradic (Pythagorean) steps, 
 as though they were going into the cavern of Trophonius. 
 Panurge is seized with a sudden fright, but is reassured 
 by the valiant Brother John, who makes an important 
 geographical allusion to the stone-covered tract of 
 Fossa Mariana (Aigues-Mortes) . Rabelais had been 
 present here (July 14-16, 1538) at the meeting of 
 Francis I and Charles V, and probably derived his 
 knowledge of this region from his own observation, 
 as well as from the note of Pomponius Mela, which he 
 here partly translates. At the bottom of the steps 
 they come upon a Doric Portal of the Temple (c. 37) 
 
The Fifth Book iii 
 
 when the gates open of themselves. On the front of 
 the Portal was inscribed in Greek "In Wine is Truth," 
 and the opening of the gates is described with much 
 detail, all translated from the Hypnerotomachia. The 
 pavement of the Temple is described in the next 
 chapter (38) in three or four passages from the same 
 source. The walls and vault of the Temple were in 
 mosaic work descriptive of the battle and victory of 
 Bacchus over the Indians, but the description of this 
 in cc. 39, 40 is taken from the Dionysus of Lucian eked 
 out by extracts from various sources, such as Ovid, 
 Cornelius Agrippa, Pliny, Herodotus, Plutarch. Chapter 
 41 is taken up with a wonderful lamp derived from the 
 Hypnerotomachia (c. 17), Phny and Pausanias, while 
 the long forty-second chapter is devoted to an account 
 of a fantastic Fountain, the description of which is 
 translated from the twenty-second and twenty-third 
 chapters, helped out by shorter extracts from many 
 other parts of the same book, so that the chapter itself 
 is a veritable mosaic of architectural details, variegated 
 marbles, precious stones and statues in different metals ; 
 Pliny, Ovid, Budaeus and Erasmus supply a few 
 passages here and there.. Goblets are now brought 
 (c. 43), so that the travellers may drink of the pure 
 water of this fountain, the property of which is so 
 wonderful that it represents to each drinker the flavour 
 of any wine that he may choose to think of, like the 
 Manna in the wilderness which seemed to the Israelites 
 to taste of whatsoever food they longed for {Wisdom 
 xvi. 20, 21). Chapter 44 represents the equipment 
 of Panurge in a fantastic garb, the reading of Etruscan 
 rituals and an extraordinary number of rites and 
 
112 The Fifth Book 
 
 ceremonies, all derived from Colonna's book. There 
 is also an account of a circular chapel which furnishes 
 its own light, and is constructed in true architectural 
 proportions. In this chapel was a heptagonal fountain 
 of pure water, in which was partly immersed the Holy 
 Bottle of pure Crystal in an oval wicker case. Panurge 
 is now (c. 45) instructed to kiss the brink of the fountain, 
 dance round it, sing a vintage-song and listen. The 
 Priestess threw something into the Fountain and the 
 word Trinc was then heard. This was declared to be 
 the most perfect answer that had ever been given (c. 46). 
 Panurge has then to drink from a silver vessel in the 
 shape of a Breviary a gloss or commentary on the word 
 "Drink," which is declared to be " panomphaean '' or 
 intelligible to all nations and necessary to everybody, 
 for "in Wine is Truth." After this draught Panurge 
 becomes inspired and spouts doggerel, and in the next 
 chapter (47) is followed by Brother John and they rime 
 in antiphone. The forty-eighth and last chapter is 
 taken up with farewells to the Priestess, who discourses 
 philosophically on the treasures of wealth and wisdom 
 which are hidden in the earth ; she then furnishes them 
 with a favourable wind, as Aeolus did to Ulysses, and 
 they pass through a beautifully pleasant and fertile 
 country — the description is borrowed from the Hyp- 
 nerotomachia — and so they return home. 
 
Rabelais Language and Style 1 1 3 
 
 RABELAIS' LANGUAGE AND STYLE 
 
 The decadence of the pure Latinity observable in 
 the writers of the so-called Silver age, as instanced in 
 Juvenal, Persius, Tacitus and others, and its further 
 decline in Ausonius, Sidonius Apollinaris, Apuleius, 
 Marcianus Capella and others of the fourth and fifth 
 centuries is a matter of common knowledge. That it 
 retained its purity as much as it did was due to the 
 schools of rhetoric, among which were celebrated those 
 of Lyons, Bordeaux, and Madaura in Africa, as well as 
 those in Spain. 
 
 The policy pursued by the Romans of sending out 
 colonies of veterans to garrison their distant conquests 
 had some effect in propagating the Latin language, 
 but as the soldiers used in defence of the Imperial 
 conquests were to a great extent recruited from the 
 Germans and barbarians on the Rhine and in Thrace, 
 the influence from this source for preserving Latin was 
 not great. 
 
 Latin was also widely spread by the system of 
 Roman law, as administered by the praetors, especially 
 after it had been codified by Justinian and his chancellor 
 Tribonianus (529-34 a.d.). But the glosses used to 
 explain the matter and make clear the ambiguities of 
 the laws made for the corruption of the language; 
 they were much employed later in the eleventh century 
 and afterwards by the jurists, who wrote in a debased 
 style and cared for nothing but a sound exposition that 
 would be intelligible to their readers, who welcomed 
 
 s. R. 8 
 
114 Rabelais Language and Style 
 
 the explanation of the professional lawyers. In time 
 the glosses were accepted and read in preference to the 
 laws themselves. 
 
 Again the Vulgate which was used in the Roman 
 Church services, even in St Jerome's edition did much 
 to debase the purity of the language. The translation 
 of the Bible is there given in a Latin so simple as to 
 suggest the efforts of a modern school-boy in writing 
 Latin; this is from a conscientious determination to 
 render the Hebrew original with exactness. Many 
 words also are used in it which had crept into the 
 language from barbarous sources, and others which 
 had become distorted from their former usage. (One 
 example of this may suffice: "A little child shall lead 
 them" (Isaiah xi. 6), puer parvulus minabit eos. Here 
 the active minabit governing the accusative eos has 
 grown from the deponent minabitur, which governs 
 the dative. From the word minare is derived the 
 French mener.) 
 
 The study of Aristotle, which was introduced 
 through the Arabic philosophers and was taken up by 
 Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas, did much to 
 debase Latinity. For as Aristotle was known in a 
 Latin translation which had come from the Arabic 
 through the Syrian from the original Greek, many 
 errors had naturally resulted. But the scrupulous 
 examination of theological definitions by means of 
 Aristotelian logic had introduced in Latin translations 
 a number of philosophical terms such as entitas, quid- 
 iitas, qualitas, etc., while Latin constructions had been 
 simplified so as to obtain precision at the expense of 
 elegance of expression. Good examples of this kind 
 
Rabelais Language and Style 1 1 5 
 
 of Latin may be noted in the vigorous sentences and 
 scholastic style of Dante's Latin treatises and letters. 
 This was the Latin in use among the learned in the 
 various European countries, while the language of the 
 common people was made up of the native speech with 
 a large admixture of the Latin element; and it was 
 from Latin of this kind that the Romance languages 
 were formed, with differences produced by varieties of 
 climate, temperament, natural aptitudes, etc., in the 
 different countries. 
 
 French was the eldest of these languages, and it was 
 French of this kind that formed the language of the 
 troubadours in their chansons de gestes, which were 
 translated in the fourteenth century into stories told in 
 a more modern, but still very masculine prose ; in that 
 form the knights and ladies delighted to read the 
 exploits of King Arthur and the knights of his round 
 table, or those of Charlemagne and his peers, derived 
 from the Latin Chronicle of Turpin, full of all manner 
 of fabulous exploits in various countries, often founded 
 on the slenderest basis of historical fact. The source 
 of the main story is the entrance of Charles into Spain 
 and his journey to Compostella, and afterwards, on 
 his return, the destruction by the Basques of his rear- 
 guard under his nephew Roland, told in the famous 
 Chanson de Roland. This story was amplified in the 
 most fantastic way by accounts of divers fictitious 
 expeditions, such as a visit to King Hugh of Con- 
 stantinople and others. Considerable traces of these 
 stories and allusions to other fables may be found 
 frequently in the earlier books of Rabelais. 
 
 The prose in which these narratives are told is often 
 
 8—2 
 
1 1 6 Rabelais Language and Style 
 
 interlarded with words and phrases taken more directly 
 from the Latin, and it is this form of expression that 
 Rabelais delights in employing; while occasionally he 
 himself forms words from the Latin or Greek, which 
 diversify his writing, sometimes to the point of 
 grotesqueness, though it diminishes nothing from its 
 vigour. From the old romances, such as Fierabras, 
 Huon de Bordeaux, Perceforest, Mabrian, Melusine 
 and many others, from le Roman de la Rose, les Cent 
 Nouvelles NouveUes, and also from the Chroniclers 
 Froissart and Monstrelet, he derives words such as 
 occir, Decision, internition, tollir, ferir, felonnement, 
 greigneur, mire, gueule bayee, ruer jus, metes, d, tout 
 (= avec), etc. 
 
 The mysteries and morality-plays also formed a 
 source of amusement and instruction at this time. The 
 language in which they were written, though often 
 grotesque, was occasionally elevated, and therefore 
 borrowed more from the court -language of the learned 
 and approached nearer to the Latin. Many of the 
 sermons too appealed in their quaintness to the feelings 
 and understanding of the people to whom they were 
 addressed, while they were occasionally interspersed 
 with phrases from the Vulgate, as well as homely 
 sentences in the Latin of the preacher, sometimes 
 rendered into French for the benefit of the more un- 
 learned. In Rabelais' time and just before it, were 
 three celebrated preachers of this type, Michel Menot, 
 Olivier Maillard and Jean Bourgeois. He speaks of 
 the last two in his books. In the Gesta Romanorum 
 may be seen the style of stories that were woven into 
 sermons in the Middle Ages; histories of the Roman 
 
Rabelais Language and Style 1 1 7 
 
 emperors, sometimes distorted out of all recognition, 
 while appended to each of them is a " Moralisation," 
 giving a religious explanation of the story. In his Hst 
 of books of education of the old school Rabelais includes 
 a book of sermons entitled Dormi secure (sleep soundly) 
 composed by a Carmelite friar, named Richard de 
 Maidstone (f 1396), intended to furnish stories and 
 moralisations to preachers, so as to enable them to 
 sleep undisturbedly while they are in possession of 
 such a stock of matter for their sermons. It may be 
 noted that two of Rabelais' best stories (iii. 9. 34) are 
 derived from sermon-books. 
 
 Another element in his writings is the influence 
 (especially in the Fourth Book, after two years residence 
 in Rome) of the Italianizing spirit that prevailed in 
 the court of Catharine de' Medici, although it was 
 reprobated by some French writers. His residence 
 at Toulouse gave him a few Gascon words and phrases, 
 while later on at Metz he picked up a German word or 
 two. 
 
 It may be noticed, moreover, that although at this 
 time it was almost a fashion for scholars like Erasmus, 
 Budaeus, Vives and others to compose Institutiones 
 Principis Christiani, etc., following no doubt the 
 example of Xenophon in his Cyropaedia, over and 
 above these Rabelais found models in the old romances, 
 in which the early years of a future hero played no in- 
 considerable part. He seems certainly to have borrowed 
 an episode or two from les enfances de Roland, and to 
 have been influenced by it, like Baldus, the hero of 
 Merlin Coccai's macaronics, 
 
 Qui quater Orlandi fuerilia tempova legit. 
 
ii8 Rabelais' Language and Style 
 
 While he was in the cloister at Fontenay-le-Comte 
 Rabelais seems to have formed his style, perhaps un- 
 consciously, on the easy flowing periods of Herodotus, 
 full as they are of conversations, as well as on the 
 cynicism of Lucian, from whom he borrows freely. 
 From Tiraqueau^ we learn that he translated the first 
 book of Herodotus, traces of whose writings may be 
 found in the military operations of the Gargantua, as 
 well as several direct quotations in the Fourth Book. 
 Of course other classical writers influenced him, Plato 
 — his Aldine copy (1513) still exists — the Odyssey, 
 which appealed to his love of travel and of the mar- 
 vellous, and Hippocrates and Galen, whom he often 
 quotes and more often follows. Rabelais' folio copy 
 of Galen (Aldus 1525) in six volumes is now in the 
 University Library of Sheffield. _ Although his reading 
 of Cicero lay almost entirely in the Moral Essays 
 (Gryph. 1532) and the de Divinatione in the Third 
 Book, and slightly in the de Orator e (Gryph. 1533), he 
 could scarcely help being affected to some extent by 
 the " Ciceronianism " of the printer Dolet and other 
 enthusiasts, whose excesses Erasmus vainly tried to 
 check by his sensible dialogue Ciceronianus, 1528. 
 This drew down upon him angry diatribes of J. C. 
 Scaliger, to which Rabelais alludes in his letter to 
 Erasmus, so long supposed to be addressed to an un- 
 known Bernard Salignac. The imitation of Cicero by 
 Rabelais may be seen in the protest of Grandgousier 
 and in the harangues of Gallet and Gargantua in the 
 Gargantua. 
 
 It may easily be imagined that the Comedies of 
 1 Legg. connub. fol. 74 v". (ed. 2», 1524), R.E.R. ix. 73. 
 
Rabelais' Language and Style 119 
 
 Plautus would be to the taste of Rabelais. He refers 
 to him twice in the Gargantua and in the Third Book; 
 in the Fifth Book the citation totidem hostes quot servi 
 is wrongly assigned to him, but the strangely com- 
 pounded words in iv. 15 must surely be invented in 
 imitation of Plautine combinations, Pyrgopolinices and 
 others, unless they are to be considered as Aristophanic 
 compounds. Gryphius published an edition of twenty 
 plays of Plautus in 1535. 
 
 In the borrowings from the scholars Bude, Erasmus, 
 Tiraqueau and Caelius Rhodiginus, it is not only the 
 faculty of assimilation and adaptation that is remark- 
 able, but the power of transmutation and amplification 
 in the same strain. In the passages taken from Erasmus 
 perhaps the changes are not so great (for instance in the 
 first paragraphs of the Gargantua Prologue, adapted 
 from the Sileni Alcibiadis of the Adagia, ill. 3. i) as in 
 the Prologue to the Third Book, where Bude's trans- 
 lation and adaptation of Lucian on Diogenes and his 
 Cask is itself adapted and amplified with marvellous 
 dramatic skill, or again in iii. 3y where Tiraqueau's 
 bald statement of the decision of a Paris fool in 
 accordance with a gloss on a papal rescript in the 
 Decretals, is transmuted into the highly graphic story 
 of Seigny John giving his award in the dispute of the 
 Cook and the Porter. In these cases and many more, 
 whatever is borrowed is transformed and, if necessary, 
 amplified in a manner that is truly wonderful; the 
 mere matter and substratum are retained, but the 
 presentation is so graphic and the dramatic ethos of 
 the speakers so vividly maintained that the original 
 story is almost lost and the pure Rabelais stands out. 
 
I20 Rabelais on Religion 
 
 RABELAIS ON RELIGION 
 
 That Rabelais was inspired by genuine religious 
 feeling can hardly be doubted by any one who reads 
 attentively the prefaces to his Almanacks for 1533 and 
 1535; in the first he protests strongly against the 
 curiosity of mortals who would pry into the hidden 
 secrets and purposes of the Almighty; the fragment 
 concludes with a quotation from Proverbs xxv. 27 
 (Vulg.) "Whoso prieth out His Majesty shall be crushed 
 thereby." This is curiously supported by Panurge's 
 exclamation in in. 30, where he resents the conditional 
 "if it please God," as being an invitation to search out 
 the fore-knowledge of the Deity. "You refer me to 
 God's privy council," he cries in an expression that is 
 comically echoed in Butler's Hudihras, where so much 
 of Rabelais is repeated : 
 
 Others still gape t'anticipate 
 The cabinet designs of Fate, 
 Apply to wizards to foresee 
 What shall and what shaU never be. 
 
 Hud. II. 3. 23. 
 
 In the Almanack for 1535 Rabelais adduces an 
 argument for the immortality of the soul from the 
 impossibility of satisfying man's desire for knowledge 
 in this life. This desire being implanted by nature, 
 which gives nothing in vain, must needs find satis- 
 faction, otherwise the desire would be nugatory. As 
 it does not find satisfaction in this life there must be 
 another life. Tunc satiabor cum apparuerit gloria tua, 
 Ps. xvi. 15. 
 
Rabelais on Religion 121 
 
 Again at the end of the Prologue to the Fourth Book, 
 after an amusing tirade against immoderate desires, 
 exemplified so instructively by his version of the fable 
 of Mercury and the Woodman, he advises his patients 
 to restrict their desires to wishes for health, and 
 imagining them to reply that "to the Almighty a 
 million of gold is as little as an obol," he administers 
 the rebuke: "By whom were you taught to discuss 
 and talk in this way of the power and predestination 
 of God ? Hush ! Humble yourselves before His sacred 
 presence and recognize your own shortcomings." 
 
 In the Gargantua, c. 38, he scoffs lightly at the 
 "apphcation" of the 124th Psalm by the pilgrims who 
 had escaped being swallowed by Gargantua in a salad, 
 and in the fortieth chapter he inveighs seriously against 
 the idle monks who do nothing but devour the offerings 
 collected from the workers of the world, and "mumble 
 through their Legends and Psalms without under- 
 standing them, and count Paternosters and Ave Marias 
 without thinking of them or their meaning." This he 
 calls "a mocking of God and not Prayer; whereas all 
 true Christians pray to God and the Spirit prayeth 
 and intercedeth for them and God receiveth them into 
 favour." In this the monks are contrasted with the 
 resolute and active Brother John, who works "and 
 defends the oppressed, comforts the afflicted and guards 
 the Abbey-close." 
 
 In c. 45 he represents Grandgousier venting 
 righteous indignation against the preachers who 
 affirm that diseases are sent by various saints to plague 
 men for their sins, as Homer represents Apollo plaguing 
 the Greeks at the request of the priest Chryses. Here 
 
122 Rabelais on Religion 
 
 Rabelais is probably following Hippocrates (on Epilepsy 
 c. i), who protests strongly against the gods being made 
 responsible for diseases. Grandgousier also warns the 
 pilgrims against the idle and unprofitable pilgrimages 
 which were then so much in vogue, bidding them rather 
 follow the precepts of St Paul to care for their families 
 and to labour each one in his vocation. Also in iv. 23 
 he insists that prayer ought to be accompanied by our 
 own efforts; we ought to be fellow-workers with God 
 (i Cor. iii. 9). 
 
 Chapter 46 discourses against wars and invasions 
 of neighbouring territories as opposed to the teaching 
 of the Gospel, by which we are enjoined each to ad- 
 minister his own possessions and not to invade others. 
 Men are taught not to seek their own advantage to the 
 detriment of the public good, and to avoid war by every 
 possible means of conciliation. Later in the Prologue 
 to the Third Book he is full of praise of the glory and 
 beauty of war — probably in opposition to Erasmus 
 (Duke helium inexpertis, Adag. iv. i. i) — but in this 
 Rabelais is speaking of the defensive war of France in 
 1544, when he patriotically prophesies an enlargement 
 of her dominions. 
 
 In the chapters on the Abbey of Thelema willing 
 obedience and mutual consideration are insisted on, as 
 well as rational pursuits in education mental and 
 physical, combined with recreation; this is instead of 
 cramping regulations which stunt the development of 
 cheerful compliance with reasonable discipline. 
 
 On the other side every opportunity is taken to 
 jdiscredit monasteries and nunneries and their inmates^ 
 I They are looked upon as so many retreats for cowardly 
 
Rabelais on Religion 123 
 
 persons who shirk their duties in this world in order to 
 live in the idleness of routine and enjoy uninterrupted 
 gluttony and frivolity and oftentimes debauchery and 
 immorality. The inmates are mostly rejectanea and 
 offscourings, the useless or deformed scions of noble 
 families, the failures, ne'er-do-weels and criminals of the 
 world, who enjoy a careless life freed from necessary 
 and reasonable labour. How opposed is this system 
 to that of the Vestal Virgins, who were chosen from the 
 best families in Rome and carefully scrutinized to see 
 that they should be without the smallest spot or blemish 
 of body or mind ! (G. 52, iv. 46. 58, v. 4). 
 
 These were no new charges. Indeed Rabelais 
 Ijprrows the indictment and often its very words from 
 Cornelius Agrippa de vanitate scientiarum, c. 62. Clement 
 Marot [chants divers, 11.) brings similar accusations; 
 this system of refuges appears to have furnished 
 commonplaces for invectives. See for instance Tacitus, 
 Ann. III. 60, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, vi. 46 (on the 
 Mons Sacer), Plutarch, de Superstitione, 166 e. Many 
 examples may be found in the Italian Novelle, in the 
 Cent Nouvelles nouvelles and the Heptameron. The 
 " Cave of Adullam " naturally suggests itself. 
 
 But it was above all the Mendicants whom he 
 satirized with all his weapons; against them were 
 levelled violent terms of abuse and injurious names. 
 He looked upon them, as he had reason to do, as the 
 ignorant, debauched, frivolous hinderers of karning. 
 Such indeed he had found them at Fontenay-le-Comte, 
 and when once he was enlisted on the side of the 
 Humanists by Pierre Amy and Guillaume Bude, he 
 could feel towards them nothing but antipathy. For 
 
124 Rabelais on Religion 
 
 the Benedictines, who had shewn themselves for ten 
 centuries the fosterers of learning and the patrons of 
 industry and hospitality, he entertained kindly feelings, 
 and we cannot forget that Brother John, the resolute, 
 helpful, ever-ready Brother John, ignorant of everything 
 but his breviary, but handy and resourceful in every 
 difficulty, was a Benedictine and a sturdy maintainer 
 of the virtues of the frock and cowl. 
 
 His attitude towards the Roman Church, in which 
 he was born and in which he had belonged to one of 
 the strictest orders, resembled that of Erasmus. He 
 could not be blind to the serious charges to which that 
 Church had been exposed by the simony and nepotism 
 of the Popes and by the scandals of pluralism. The 
 vicious and unclerical lives of many of the higher 
 clergy, and of the Popes at the head of them, were a 
 grave offence, and the building of St Peter's, which 
 required extraordinary outlays, only to be met by 
 special collections of pardon-money and exactions, 
 annates, indulgences and tithes gathered for pretended 
 crusades, caused deep searchings of heart in many 
 devout Romanists, even before the Lutheran revolt. 
 In France many persons of high birth and station were 
 well-affected to what were called the new doctrines, 
 for instance, Margaret, Queen of Navarre, sister of 
 Francis I, and Renee, duchess of Ferrara, his sister- 
 in-law, extended their protection to many men of 
 learning and culture who were suspected of heretical 
 leanings. Renee was treated harshly by her husband 
 on this account {Epp. Rom. i. § 3), and Noel Beda, the 
 Sorbonnist doctor, had the assurance to attempt 
 charges against Margaret, which Francis, who was 
 
Rabelais on Religion ' 125 
 
 tenderly attached to his sister, strongly resented, so 
 much so that he had the accuser imprisoned. 
 
 Rabelais was naturally alive to all this and, living 
 in Lyons, could scarcely help sympathizing with the 
 movement; for it ran to a great extent in parallel 
 lines with the Humanism which was one of the guiding 
 principles and objects of his life; indeed these lines 
 often were thought so much to converge that persons 
 of humanistic tastes were suspected of the Lutheran 
 taint. This is evidenced in Bud6's second letter to 
 Rabelais, noting that he was suspected and badly 
 treated by the Fontenay brothers on account of the 
 recently published Commentaries of Erasmus on 
 St Paul's epistles; again we see in IV. 46 the junior 
 Devil attributing to the study of St Paul the difficulty 
 experienced in providing souls of students for Lucifer's 
 breakfast. 
 
 It seems that both Erasmus and Rabelais felt 
 antipathy to the established religion much more on 
 account of the persistent Jgnorance of the monks ^nd 
 the persecutions designed for the suppression of the 
 revived learning than because of doctrinal differences, 
 though these were not ignored by them. But men who 
 deliberately guenche(i_tlie__sacred 4Grch of-literature 
 for themselves and for others incurred the contempt 
 and hostility of these pioneers of learning and civiliza- 
 tion. 
 
 In a few places a cautious protest is ventured 
 against the merciless persecutions that were being 
 directed against heresy or the suspicion of it, but such 
 protests were necessarily more or less veiled. Two 
 cases may be cited — one in iii. 29, where the "whole 
 
126 Rabelais on Religion 
 
 and sole occupation of the good Theologians" is said 
 to be "in extirpating Errors and Heresies by deeds, by 
 words, by writings, and in planting deep in the hearts 
 of men the true and lively Catholic Faith." Another 
 very dexterous instance is in ill. 51, where "we have 
 heard others, at the moment when Atropos was cutting »/' 
 the thread of their life, complaining that Pantagruel 
 held them by the throat; but it was not Pantagruel 
 a bit ; it was Pantagruelion (hemp) serving them for a 
 collar....! swear that the noble Pantagruel never took 
 any one by the throat, unless it were those who were 
 neghgent in preventing the coming Thirst." And (] 
 when we find that occasionally in these books par ma 
 soif is substituted for par ma foi it is permissible to 
 suspect covert allusions. 
 
 HIS RELATION TO BIBLICAL 
 STUDIES 
 
 As might be expected, Rabelais in the cloister had 
 made an intimate acquaintance with the service-books, 
 the Breviary and the Missal, which were necessary for 
 every priest, monk and friar; but he shews that he 
 had done more than that; for although most of his 
 biblical quotations and allusions may be traced to the 
 Breviary or the Missal— indeed Brother John scarcely 
 knew anything beyond his matiere de Breviaire — 
 Rabelais had characteristically gone beyond this and 
 
His relation to Biblical Studies 127 
 
 read his Vulgate in the light of the explanations of 
 Nicholas de L;<^ra (1270-1340), the converted Jew, 
 whose commentary was in vogue till the Reformation 
 times, and the Pauline Epistles with the commentary 
 of Erasmus, as we learn from the second letter from 
 Budaeus. Indeed he seems to have learned something 
 of the Hebrew text and the Massoretic interpretation, 
 as well as of the Chaldaic version or Targum, which is 
 commended to Pantagruel by his father (P 8), and 
 referred to in the preface to his Almanack of 1533 in 
 "Tibi silentium Deus in Sion" (Psalm Ixiv. i), though 
 this may have been derived from Politian, Miscell. 83. 
 Notwithstanding this, M. Plattard does well to 
 point out that Rabelais' acquaintance with the 
 Scriptures did not extend beyond that of an ordinary 
 well-instructed Churchman. The impropriety or pro- 
 fanity in his quotations was less thought of than it is 
 in our own times. It could easily be paralleled from 
 sermons of contemporary preachers. This appears 
 pretty clearly from an examination of the scriptural 
 passages which were altered in the Pantagruel and 
 the Gargantua, to disarm the susceptibilities of the 
 Theological Faculty. The propositions that were 
 looked upon as "scandalous, heretical and offensive to 
 pious ears," were (i) offences against Mariolatry and 
 worship of the saints. Rabelais changed "une liasse 
 d'oignons liee de trois cents Ave Mariatz" into "trois 
 cents naveaulx" [P. 12) in 1542. In G. 6 he omitted 
 an allusion to St Margaret and in G. 17 he omitted a 
 long list of adjurations of numerous saints of different 
 nationalities. (2) He makes no omission of the few 
 gibes at the pardoners, etc. (3) On the translation 
 
128^ His relation to Biblical Studies 
 
 and interpretation of the Scriptures, on which the 
 theologians were very touchy, he makes one alteration. 
 In P. 34 he had written (A) "Ce sont beaux textes 
 d'6vangiles en franfois"; this is changed in 1542 (D) 
 to "ce sont belles besoignes." (4) He had made fun 
 of the professors of theology, and had spoken irreve- 
 rently of " the Sorbonne " and " theologians." In every 
 case these words are altered -into sophiste and sophis- 
 ticquement, etc. He also changes frater de Cornibus into 
 frater Luhinus,. so as not to attack, even in fun, a well- 
 known Franciscan preacher. Though these were the 
 real grievances with the Sorbonne, it was easy for the 
 theologians to attack the Rabelaisian books on the 
 score of coarseness and as being contra bonos mores. 
 In point of fact his sympathies were clearly on the side 
 of the early Reformers, and this was the true cause of 
 the hostility of the Sorbonne. 
 
 RABELAIS AS LEGIST 
 
 As a legist Rabelais shews traces of the different 
 influences to which he had been subjected in the very 
 varied experiences of his life. In the cloister at 
 Fontenay-le-Comte from 1511 till 1524, when he was 
 released by the indult of Clement VII, it was his duty 
 to acquaint himself with the Canon Law — the Decretum 
 of Gratian and the Decretals of Gregory IX and other 
 Pontiffs — by which he and his cloister were governed, 
 
Rabelais as Legist 129 
 
 and no doubt he read diligently Bude's Commentary 
 on 24 Books of the Pandects (or Digest) and other parts 
 of Roman Law, for in his second letter to Rabelais 
 Bude credits him with considerable knowledge of law. 
 In his residence at Liguge under the protection of his 
 enlightened friend Geoffroi d'Estissac, the Bishop of 
 Maillezais, he was evidently in constant communication 
 with the distinguished lawyers and scholars, Andre 
 Tiraqueau, Amaury Bouchard and Jean Bouchet, as 
 we may gather from his Letters prefixed to the works 
 he dedicated to them and from his rhymed letter to 
 Bouchet and Bouchet's response. It may also be 
 presumed that he studied law at Poitiers about this 
 time (1524-5) from the record of his travels that he 
 gives in P 5 — it is generally accepted that Pantagruel's 
 travels roughly describe the writer's own journeyings^ 
 and in iii. 41, where he is represented by Judge Bridle- 
 goose. At Bourges also he studied law, perhaps under 
 Alciati, and attained considerable proficiency, but his 
 bent was undoubtedly towards medicine and natural 
 science, as may be seen in the itinerary he attributes 
 to Pantagruel in P. 5, as well as in his SuppUcatio pro 
 Apostasia addressed to Paul III in January 1536, 
 where he declares: "the aforesaid Petitioner departing 
 from the said Church [Maillezais] without leave of his 
 Superior, having laid aside the regular habit and taken 
 that of secular priest, had long time gone abroad 
 through the world, and during that time devoted 
 himself diligently to the faculty of Medicine and taken 
 in it the degrees required for that purpose." 
 
 But notwithstanding the fact that Rabelais definitely 
 took up the study of medicine he did not lose sight of 
 
 s. R. 9 
 
130 Rabelais as Legist 
 
 the study of law; but he was more inclined to adopt 
 the standpoint of the humanists Valla, Politian, 
 Budaeus, Erasmus and others, who decried the barbarous 
 Latinity and the absurdity of the glosses of Accursius 
 Bartolus, Baldus, etc., in the civil law and those of 
 Giovanni Andreae, Durand, Panormitanus, Bcirbatia in 
 the canon law. Rabelais was more -disposed to treat 
 law on its scientific and philosophical side than to 
 regard it as a mere bundle of case-law reinforced and 
 illustrated by moral maxims from classical authors, 
 the ethical poetry of the first four or five centuries and 
 the rhyming hexameters of grammarians and monkish 
 writers. 
 
 Consequently we have in the Pantagruel, cc. 11-13, 
 a tissue of incoherence, with an allusion here and there 
 to contemporary events, probably designed to set his 
 readers guessing at the meaning of what was intention- 
 ally without meaning, and to hold up to ridicule such 
 unintelligible pleadings. 
 
 In the Third, Book at the trial of Judge Bridlegoose 
 (cc. 39-44) we find the old Judge very exact and 
 punctilious in recounting the forms of procedure in 
 their due order of summoning, the preparation of the 
 papers for the plaintiff and the defendant and the 
 examination of the testimony for both sides, the shifts 
 and evasions of the litigants (these had been alluded 
 to in the Pantagruel under the head of cautelae) and 
 the judgement and its execution. Most of his know- 
 ledge on these points is derived from the Forensia, or 
 Practice of the Courts, of Budaeus (cf. R.E.R. xi. 31-9). 
 The judge then explains that after having several times 
 examined these papers he gives his decision according 
 
Rabelais as Legist 131 
 
 to a throw of the dice. This is taken exception to by 
 the judge presiding at the trial and defended most 
 ingeniously by the old Judge with a parade of legal 
 learning that is quite bewildering. No statement of 
 the most trivial kind is put forward without the support 
 of five or six quotations from the Digest, the Code or 
 the Decretum and Decretals to back it, generally eked 
 out by some hexameter or pentameter, which was the 
 form of many of the glosses, to give point to the con- 
 tention. It is true that in the special case of Judge 
 Bridlegoose, which furnishes the greatest display of 
 legal learning in Rabelais, the sympathies of the reader 
 are enlisted on the side of the humorous old Judge and 
 the shrewd common sense and worldly wisdom which 
 he displays : but for all that the summary of the affair 
 in the chapter succeeding the account of the trial 
 (ill. 44) is very severe, even on the Pandects and their 
 compiler Tribonianus, when it is declared that cases 
 may as well be decided by a throw of the dice as by 
 the ordinances of laws got together in shreds and 
 patches as were the laws of Justinian. The tenor of 
 this agrees perfectly with what Pantagruel declares in 
 P 10 in depreciation of the legists and canonists, while 
 in P 8 he is required by his father Gargantua to 
 acquaint himself with the admirable texts of the laws 
 and to compare them with philosophy; meaning, no"^ 
 doubt, that law should be studied in its broad principles 
 of equity rather than in minute technicalities, which 
 are hable to perversion by the chicanery of case- 
 lawyers. All this is in keeping with the breadth of 
 view that Rabelais exhibits on every subject that he 
 sets before us. 
 
 9^-2 
 
132 Rabelais as Legist 
 
 In the Fourth Book, cc. 48-53, instigated by Cardinals 
 du Bellay and Chatillon, Rabelais ventures to attack 
 the Roman Church on a vulnerable side, which would 
 render it obnoxious to French policy, viz., on the 
 exactions authorized by the Decretals in the form of 
 annates and other dues payable to the Roman Church. 
 He asserts that by the aurifluous energy of certain of 
 the Decretals 400,000 ducats and more are drawn yearly 
 from France to Rome. This is the charge that would 
 bear heavily against Rome ; the extravagant laudation 
 of the Decretals put into the mouth of Homenaz, the 
 Roman bishop, is the sheerest mockery. 
 
 In the Fifth Book, cc. 11-14, there is only a general 
 invective against the exactions and corruption of the 
 law-courts ; the main charge is that the laws resemble 
 spiders' webs, through which the big malefactor wasps 
 break their way, while the tiny gnats and moths are 
 held fast in the meshes. It is the execution rather 
 than the sentence of the laws that is here reprobated. 
 An instance of the evasion and defiance of the execution 
 is already to be found in iv. 12-15, where the Lord of 
 Basch6 has the Catchpoles beaten within an inch of 
 their lives by his servants, under pretence of celebrating 
 a wedding, in which one of the ceremonies consisted 
 of giving slight fisticuffs as a memorial. 
 
On Scenic Representations, etc. 133 
 
 ON SCENIC REPRESENTATIONS, etc. 
 
 Rabelais seems to have resembled the Bourgeois de 
 Paris, who has given us in his journd so minute and 
 detailed an account of the events that were to be 
 witnessed during a long part of the reign of Francis I, 
 that we are often reminded of the delightful gossip of 
 Samuel Pepys in his Diary (1659-69). The allusions 
 to mystery-plays and other scenic representations, 
 especially the songs, mountebank tricks and farces 
 presented by Jehan de I'Espine du Pontalletz, better 
 known as Songecreux, are particularly interesting. He 
 is mentioned under the name of Pontalais in the Dizain 
 in honour of Rabelais prefixed to the Pantagruel in later 
 editions of P. de Tours and in the edition of Four Books 
 published in 1553. In the Journal d'un Bourgeois de 
 Paris we are told that he was imprisoned in 1516 
 together with two other joueurs de farce for saying that 
 Mere Sotte (i.e. Louise de Savoye) governed France. 
 Rabelais speaks of him in Pant., c. 7, as representing in 
 a ballade, that is in a poem accompanied by dancing, a 
 Prognostication. The practice of presenting songs with 
 a dancing accompaniment was very common in France ; 
 a good instance may be seen at once in the list of songs 
 given with dancing in the Fifth Book, c. 33* (whether it 
 was written by Rabelais or not), and the practice in 
 antiquity is proved (if proof were necessary) by a line 
 in Ovid, Trist. 11. i. 519, "Et mea sunt populo saltata 
 poemata saepe." In Garg., c. 20, Songecreux is again 
 alluded to as provoking laughter in his audience to an 
 extraordinary degree. There survive of this farceur Let 
 
134 ^^ Scenic Representations, etc. 
 
 contredictz de Songe Creux and Pronostication de maistre 
 Albert Songe Creux {A.P.F. xii. 168-92). Again in 
 Garg., c. 17, the people of Paris are taunted with siUiness 
 to such an extent as to delight in the tricks of a mounte- 
 bank or a fiddler more than in the preaching of the 
 Gospel. Another kind of entertainment alluded to is 
 the Asnerie (or Asinaria) of Plautus in ill. 38, but an 
 oblique reference is intended to the Feste des Asnes, by 
 which was represented at Beauvais and other places 
 the flight into Egypt, when an ass with a young woman 
 on it was led up to the altar and the priest instead of 
 saying Ite missa est sang three times hihan or inian, 
 imitating the braying of an ass. This exclamation is 
 put into the mouth of Homenaz, the bishop of the 
 Papimanes, in iv. 52. 
 
 In III. 38 Rabelais, in pointing out that the Quirinalia 
 in ancient Rome was known as the Stultorum festa, 
 practically identifies it (for his present purpose) with 
 the Feste des Folz in France. The Feste des Folz, des 
 Diacres, des Innocents or de I'Asne were of the same 
 nature in France, according to the period or locality. — 
 They were definitely suppressed in 1547. — Bishops were 
 elected and sometimes a Pope, who, clad in pontifical 
 vestments, was paraded through the streets and brought 
 into the choir of the churches with all kinds of disorderly 
 revelry and songs, and games of cards and dice. Per- 
 haps an allusion to this may be traced in le maulgouvert 
 (the Lord of Misrule), de Louzefougerouse or Loge- 
 Fougerouse, a town near La Chataigneraie (Vendee) 
 (cf. R.E.R. II. 164). Another allusion to this may be 
 found in the Anciennes podsies frangaises, vol. iii. p. 19 : 
 "L'abb6 de Maugouverne aussi." Scott in his Abbot, 
 
On Scenic Representations, etc. 135 
 
 chap. 14, describes a scene of this kind and appends 
 an instructive note (Note E) on the subject. Cf. also 
 Frazer, G.B.^, The Scapegoat, p. 313. 
 
 Rabelais also mentions the basauchiens {Garg. 54), 
 the clerks of the Bazoche {Basilica), i.e., the Palais de 
 Justice, or Law-court in Paris. They were a very old 
 Guild (1302) and appointed their own King, Chancellor, 
 etc. They played at an early period" /arces, soties and 
 moralites, but they and the Enfants Sans-souci were 
 looked upon as amateurs, as distinguished from the 
 Jongleurs and the Confrairies de la Passion. He also 
 mentions the Bazoche again in iii. 21 and IV. 32 but in 
 a manner that has little or no bearing on the present 
 subject. 
 
 He was evidently interested in representations of 
 the Passion, for we find several allusions to such pieces. 
 In III. 3 La passion de Saulmur is spoken of as a very 
 grand and solemn function. It is probably the Mystery 
 written by Jean Michel de Pierrevive and given at 
 Angers during four days from August 12, i486 ; played 
 again at Saumur in July, 1534. On the other hand he 
 twice mentions the Passion at Doue as very confused 
 and disorderly. Twice also he speaks of the Passion 
 played at St Maixent in Poitou {111.27, ^v. 13), but on 
 both occasions considerable confusion resulted from 
 causes detailed, and they may be considered as very 
 disorderly. 
 
 The phraseology of Rabelais is full of allusions to 
 scenic representations, most, if not all, of which have 
 been got together in R.E.R. viii. 1-68 {Rabelais et le 
 Thedtre). We find him speaking of political and other 
 events as tragicomedies ; the end of Guillaume du Bellay 
 
136 On Scenic Representations, etc. 
 
 is spoken of as la fin et catastrophe de la comoedie {Fabulae 
 catastrophe, Erasm. Adag. i. 2. 36). He gives a spirited 
 account in iii. 34 of the moral comedy of the man 
 who married a dumb wife, played at Montpellier by 
 F. Rabelais and other medical students. It has been 
 supposed by some that Rabelais himself composed it. 
 This is quite possible, the leading ideas in it being 
 borrowed from Terence, Andria, 463 "Utinam aut hie 
 surdus aut haec muta facta sit," and Horace, Sat. 
 II. 3. 30 "ut lethargicus hie cum fit pugil et medicum 
 urget," while the severing of the string of the tongue 
 is from St Mark vii. 35 "Solutum est vinculum linguae 
 ejus et loquebatur recte," and the very word ayKvXo- 
 yXacraov occurs in Manardi Epistolae Med. vii. 3, which 
 were edited by Rabelais. The description of the 
 Sciomachia or sham-fight in Rome in 1549 testifies 
 clearly ejcough to his delight in all manner of theatrical 
 display. 
 
 Allusions abound to the diableries or representa- 
 tions of the inhabitants of the lower world, which 
 survived from the mystery and moralityplays. Lucifer, 
 Mahoun, Proserpine, Megaera, Allecto, Ashtaroth, etc., 
 meet us as well as Demogorgon, probably derived from 
 Ravisius Textor, who speaks of him as one of the 
 Di superni, repertus in viscerihus terrae. 
 
 A list of places where diableries were represented 
 is put in Villon's mouth in iv. 13 — Saumur, Done, 
 Montmorillon, Langes, St Espain, Angers and Poitiers, 
 places in Touraine, Anjou and Poitou — shewing the 
 gusto Rabelais found in such representations. 
 
 Gargantua (c. 24) "went to see the Jugglers, 
 Conjurors, and Quacksalvers, and paid attention to 
 
On Scenic Representations, etc. 137 
 
 Antics, Tricks and Somersaults, etc." This furnishes 
 a hint of the observant character of our author, even 
 though the idea be to a certain extent paralleled in 
 Athenaeus xi. 464 e, which of itself would commend 
 the notice to the humanistic side of his character. 
 
 The number of citations from La farce de Maistre 
 Pierre Patelin point in the same directions as do the 
 "Morris-dances, Masks, Mummeries, Farces, Comedies 
 and Merry Tales" played by Rhizotomus at a wedding 
 (iv. 52), when the use of the leaves of an old copy of the 
 Sextum in the Decretals for masks led to the miraculous 
 disfigurement of the wearers. 
 
 In III. 37 les Jongleurs are spoken of, practically 
 corresponding to our "Strolling Players," and among 
 them is mentioned le Sot et le Badin. 
 
 RABELAIS AS PHYSICIAN 
 
 Besides the lists in "the Anatomy of Lent" in 
 IV. 30, 31, there is a great deal of medicine and surgery 
 to be found in Rabelais, shewing that he took up the 
 profession of his life as earnestly as he had done the 
 two faculties of divinity and law, to which he had 
 previously devoted himself. The number of citations 
 and allusions to passages in Scripture and his references 
 to Church government and Canon law are sufficient 
 proof in one case, while his manyreferences to Justinian's 
 Digest and Code and the glosses thereon argue con- 
 siderable familiarity with the legal studies of his time 
 
138 Rabelais as Physician 
 
 on the other side. But his interest in Medicine seems 
 even greater than is shewn in the other two studies. 
 
 The Pantagrueline Prognostication, as we might 
 expect, refers to the Arabic physicians and philosophers 
 Averroes and Avicenna, as well as Albumazar, Aven- 
 zagul, Hali Abbas and Avenzouar, but in a Prognostica- 
 tion of this kind, mostly intended to raise a laugh, it is 
 natural to expect reference to the Arabs, who have 
 always been looked upon as astrologers par excellence. 
 But even in this burlesque writing a reference may be 
 found to the Colliget, the great medical treatise of 
 Averroes (c. 3), to an Aphorism of Hippocrates (v. § 39), 
 and to a dictum of Galen contraria contrariis curantur 
 {Method, medendi XI. 12). Again in the Almanack to 
 1533 Rabelais quotes the celebrated first aphorism of 
 Hippocrates, Vita brevis, ars longa, and in that of i535 
 Galen's frequently repeated declaration that "Nature 
 has made nothing without reason." 
 
 In Pantagruel, c. i, there is an allusion to the ptisane, 
 the celebrated diet-drink of barley-water, to which both 
 Hippocrates and Galen have devoted a treatise; c. 8 
 speaks of "the Microcosm" which Galen ascribes to 
 older physicists. Twice (P. 18 and in. 32) Rabelais 
 derives from Galen {de us. part. viii. 2) an exclamation 
 against those who dispute rather to maintain a thesis 
 than to find out the truth. 
 
 Rabelais is learned on the subject of hot mineral 
 springs in c. 33 but his learning is derived from Hippo- 
 crates and Pliny, and he furnishes a list of a dozen 
 places in France and Italy where mineral waters were 
 drunk or used in baths ; after which he gives a gigantic 
 prescription of scammony, cassia and rhubarb for his 
 
Rabelais as Physician 139 
 
 giant prince. Besides this, two or three ordinary- 
 medical allusions may be found, as well as some mention 
 of medicinal plants. 
 
 In the Gargantua prologue he cites Galen {de us. part. 
 XI. 18), somewhat incorrectly, on the substance of the 
 marrow, and in the third chapter parades an array of 
 learning on the possible legitimacy of a child born in 
 the eleventh month after the death of the father. 
 Most of his authorities (among them Hippocrates de 
 alimento) are simply taken from a passage in GelHus, 
 while Rabelais adds two of his own, one of which is a 
 passage in Servius' commentary on Virg. Eel. iv. 61. 
 This derives additional interest from being used again 
 in III. 12 and 51. Later on in 1540, Pellicier, Bishop 
 of Maguelonne, French ambassador at Venice, con- 
 sulted our author on this very point. The letter is 
 still preserved. 
 
 In the sixth chapter the birth of Gargantua from 
 the left ear of his mother, at first sight merely a piece 
 of indecent profanity, proves on nearer examination 
 to be a parade of anatomical knowledge grafted on to 
 a singular materialistic piece of theology of the Roman 
 Church. It is an almost literal interpretation of the 
 text Verbum caro factum est, which may be found in 
 painted windows in France and elsewhere. The speech 
 of the angel is represented as a ray of light penetrating 
 the ear of the Virgin, and the figure of a small child 
 may be seen depicted in the ray. There is also a hymn 
 of St Ephrem containing the words : 
 
 Gaude, virgo, mater Christi, 
 Quae per aurem concepisti 
 Gabriele nuntio; 
 
140 Rabelais as Physician 
 
 and still more outspokenly the pious peroration of the 
 Liber Thobiae in the Autores odo morales gives : 
 
 Felix coniugium, dum se sacra verba maritant 
 Auriculae, verbum fit care patre carens. 
 
 Angelus obstetrix; pater infans, sermo maritus, 
 Auris sponsa, parens nata, creatur homo. 
 
 Galen supplies anatomical passages by which such a 
 birth might be miraculously possible: "And so in our 
 account we have brought the vena cava to the dia- 
 phragm" {de usu part. vi. i) and "conducting upwards 
 the vena cava from the diaphragm to the throat" 
 {id. VI. 4). 
 
 Galen is quoted {de simpl. med. ix. 2. § 9) on the green 
 jasper, as formerly worn by King Nechepsos. It was 
 worn as an amulet against epilepsy and divers ailments. 
 Here Rabelais wrote probably with his tongue in his 
 cheek {G. 8). In the tenth chapter he is again cited 
 on the subject of snow-blindness, when he quotes from 
 Xenophon's Anabasis, and in the same chapter three 
 of his passages are referred to on the subject of death 
 from excessive joy when it comes unexpectedly. Two 
 passages in Avicenna are correctly cited on an over- 
 dose of saffron producing the same result, as also a 
 problem of Alexander of Aphrodisias in support of this 
 experience. The Problems of Aristotle and Alexander 
 had been translated by Theodore Gaza. Ten instances 
 of deaths from excessive and sudden joy are now given, 
 apparently from Cicero, Pliny, Livy, Gellius and others, 
 but they are really derived from the Officina of Ravisius 
 Textor. 
 
 The treatise on education, cc. 23, 24, is supported 
 by references to Greek medical writings. The precepts 
 
Rabelais as Physician 141 
 
 followed are ascribed to "Master Theodorus, a learned 
 physician," and it is amusing to find that in the earlier 
 editions Seraphin Calobarsy (an anagram on Phrancoys 
 Rabelais) is the name given to the physician. After 
 bearing with the vicious system by which his pupil 
 had been indoctrinated, because Nature does not well 
 endure sudden changes (Hippocr.) Ponocrates, the 
 tutor, has Gargantua purged by hellebore, so as to rid 
 him of his perverse habit of brain, and then puts him 
 under his own system and, among other items of 
 instruction, causes him to learn passages bearing on 
 the meals that come to table, written by Pliny, 
 Athenaeus, Galen, Aristotle and others; and after- 
 wards in botanical excursions instructs him out of 
 Theophrastus, Pliny, Dioscorides, Nicander, Galen and 
 others. From this we learn where to look for the 
 information that Rabelais scatters so profusely in his 
 "books." 
 
 The war between Grandgousier's army, conducted 
 by Gargantua, and that of Picrochole is rich in 
 anatomical passages and quite Homeric in the details 
 of the wounds given. The sutures of the skull, the 
 various parts of the neck and body, as they are gashed 
 by Brother John, allow of the display of considerable 
 surgical knowledge, which is pronounced to be quite 
 correct by Dr Le Double (Rabelais Anatomiste). 
 Rabelais and Gcden give only two meninges or mem- 
 branes to the brain, whereas three are known to 
 modern anatomists; otherwise the account given is 
 that of a skilful anatomist. 
 
 The Third Book is full of humanistic learning and 
 more carefully elaborated than any other. It was 
 
142 Rabelais as Physician 
 
 begun in 1543 at St Ayl near Orleans, and completed 
 probably at Cardinal du Bellay's chateau at St Maur- 
 les-Fosses near Paris. 
 
 In III. 2 is a quotation from an aphorism (i. 13) of 
 Hippocrates that "Youth is impatient of hunger," but 
 in c. 4 there is an elaborate account of the " Hierarchy," 
 i.e. the due arrangement and subordination of the 
 organs and limbs of the "Microcosm," i.e. little World, 
 that is Man (cf. Galen, de us. part. iii. 10). The whole 
 of this eloquent and highly wrought passage is founded 
 on a passage of Hippocrates, de alimento 11. 20, a treatise 
 previously referred to in G. 3, Karh, /Mev ovXo/ieXirjv irdvra 
 avfiTradea Kara fJ,ipo<; Be ra iv eKaaTO) fxtpei fiipea Trpo<; 
 TO epyov. This is interpreted by Galen {de us. part. i. 8) 
 to mean "the parts of the body are all in S3mipathy 
 with each other, that is, they are in agreement for the 
 combined performance of one task." Rabelais pro- 
 ceeds to describe in detail the formation of the blood, 
 and then its conveyance by the arteries and veins to 
 and from the various organs set apart for that purpose. 
 Much of this is doubtless derived from the fourth and 
 sixth books of Galen's de usu partium, but there is also 
 a passage very similar in matter and arrangement in 
 Cicero, de Nat. Deor. 11. §§ 133-8, which is quoted by 
 Budaeus, de Asse, lib. i. p. 45, so that here we may 
 be pretty sure we have Rabelais' source. There is 
 a considerable amount of anatomical writing in the 
 Timaeus of Plato, who was well acquainted with 
 Hippocrates' work, and our accomplished French 
 physician had certainly read the Timaeus as well as 
 several other dialogues. One point is corrected by 
 modern anatomy. The rete mirabile (to KaXov/ievov 
 
Rabelais as Physician 143 
 
 ot/cTuoeiSe? irKer^fia fie-^iaTOV dav/ia rmv evravdoi, Gal. 
 de Hippoc. et Plat. vii. 4) (v. 611-17) is spoken of here 
 and III. 31 and iv. 30. It is described as a labyrinthine 
 system of innumerable arteries, veins and glands 
 situated in the brain on the mucous membrane. In 
 this are retained the vital spirits {^frv-x^iKov TrveCfxa) 
 during their elaboration into animal spirits {^wtikov 
 ■Trvevfia). Dr J. F. Payne in his Hunierian Oration 
 1896 says that "the description of the rete mirabile is 
 a mistaken notion of Galen's detected by Vesalius." 
 
 Rabelais cites Galen in the sixth chapter on the 
 danger of living in newly whitewashed houses, and in 
 the seventh he claims his authority for the assertion 
 that the head is made for the eyes, as lighthouses 
 are constructed on heights near seaports. In the 
 thirteenth chapter he refers to Hippocrates and Galen 
 among others for the conditions necessary to be 
 observed in divination from dreams, insisting that 
 the mind must free itself from all passions, and the 
 body must be kept clear from perturbations arising 
 from improper or excessive food and drink, though on 
 the other hand a long fast is not conducive to secure 
 trustworthy visions, for that, in order to remedy 
 hunger and the cravings of the stomach, the veins 
 suck for themselves the substance belonging to the 
 fleshy members (Gal. de us. part. iv. 19) and so draw 
 down again the spirit which was roaming from the 
 body towards its celestial home. In the fourteenth 
 we are told from the physicians (Hipp. Epid. vi. 5. 5 
 and Galen's Commentary on it, iv. 20) that sleep 
 strengthens the powers of digestion and that a sudden 
 waking from this state signifies and portends evil. In 
 
144 Rabelais as Physician 
 
 the twenty-second chapter Epistemon, who, we learn 
 from III. 34, was at MontpeUier with Rabelais, like a 
 true medico suggests from Hippoc. {Aph. iii. § 26) that 
 the old poet Raminagrobis may be suffering from 
 worms in his body, or from the filaria Medinensis or 
 guinea-worm, a sort of subcutaneous worm which in 
 Arabia attacks the arms and legs. This is interesting 
 as being discussed in Galen, de locis affectis, vi. 3, 
 Avicenna's Canon, iv. 3. 2. 21, and Ambroise Pare, 
 VI. 23. 
 
 In c. 24 the learned Epistemon, after rall3nng Pan- 
 urge on the vagaries of dress which he had adopted 
 in his perplexity, is called in to give his opinion on the 
 subject of the proposed marriage. After citing the 
 first Aphorism of Hippocrates on the hazard of empirical 
 treatment and the difficulty of judgement, he gives a 
 learned account of various oracles in the world, but 
 advises that, since their authority has ceased, he should 
 not put his faith in them too readily. He also refuses 
 to listen to Panurge's suggestion to consult Saturn, who 
 is chained in the Ogygian islands. Most of this learning 
 comes from Plutarch. 
 
 In c. 25 Her Trippa pronounces unfavourably on 
 the formation of Panurge's chest. Hippocrates [Epid. 
 VI. 3. 10) asserts that such persons are subject to 
 catarrh. In c. 29 Brother John ventures on the 
 assertion that nurses lose their milk if they desist from 
 suckling children. This is from Galen de loc. affect. 
 VI. 6. In c. 29 Galen's dictum that medicine is the 
 art of healing the sick and preserving the health of 
 the sound {Thrasyb. c. 5) is propounded. 
 
 In c. 31 the physician Rondibilis, giving his advice 
 
Rabelais as Physician 145 
 
 on the subject of marriage, is naturally full of all manner 
 of preventives in the interests of continence. He pre- 
 scribes (i) excess in drinking (from Plutarch), {2) the use 
 of certain herbs (from Pliny), (3) assiduous labour (from 
 Aristotle, Tiraqueau and Hippocrates), also a warning 
 against idleness, with instances derived from Tiraqueau, 
 (4) fervent study, mostly suggested from Cicero's 
 Tusculans, i. §§ 74-5, and enforced from Plutarch, 
 Lucian and Hippocrates, (5) unstinted indulgence. 
 
 Chapter 32 is devoted by Rondibilis, who represents 
 Rondelet the Montpellier professor, to the causes of 
 infidelity among women, and naturally the treatment 
 of the subject is from a medical standpoint. After 
 citing from a letter of Hippocrates to a friend, directing 
 him to keep a watch on his wife during his absence on 
 a visit to Democritus — not that he has reason to mis- 
 trust her, but simply because she is a woman — Rondibilis 
 goes on to speak of the inconstancy and imperfection of 
 women, and then proceeds to maintain a thesis of Plato 
 in the Timaeus, where he asserts that the uterus is i^tpov 
 ivov e-iriBvfirjTLKOv tjJ? TratSoTroi't'a? (91 b) and that unless 
 this animal is assuaged dire disorder results. Although 
 a good deal of this is taken from Tiraqueau's book, it is 
 reinforced from Avicenna and Plato, insisting that it 
 exists as an animal apart from the control of the rest 
 of the body. This is opposed by Galen [de loc. affect. 
 VI. 5) who maintains that this loss of self-control 
 is caused by noxious humours which arise. Galen is 
 accused of conceit and prejudice against his elders. 
 
 At the end of this chapter is a little allusive medical 
 banter, when Panurge offers Rondibilis some quince- 
 jelly and some white hippocras. The former he credits 
 s. R. 10 
 
146 Rabelais as Physician 
 
 with a pleasing astringency (cf. Avicenna, Canon, v. 18, 
 Cydonia confita quae conveniunt ad confortandum 
 stomachum at stringunt naturam), and assures the 
 doctor that in the latter there is no squinanthi {crx°'''' 
 vavOo<;, thescented reed, juncus odoratus of Pliny 21. 120) 
 so that he need have no fear of esquinances or quinsy. 
 There is an oblique thrust at the doctor here, implying 
 that he would call quinsy squinantia, cf. Bud. Pand. 
 p. 543, ab ignaris medicis non synancha {avvwyxVt cf. 
 IV. 56) sed squinantia dicitur, simili errore slqae... sciatica 
 pro ischiade vel ischiaco dolore, qui et ischiadicus dicitur. 
 In c. 34 Rondibilis, at the suggestion of sickness in 
 a wife, is prompt with a quotation from Hippocrates 
 (Aph. II. 35), while Panurge as a legist supplies a rubric 
 from the Digest. At the end of the consultation and 
 of the chapter, on the subject of a fee, Rabelais develops 
 a delicious phrase of Merlin Cocai, the macaronic poet, 
 medicorum more negantum; he is himself improved on 
 later by Moliere [Medecin malgre lui, 11. 8). In c. 35 
 he speaks of a neuter in medicine and a mean in 
 philosophy, referring probably to Galen's definition: 
 Medicina scientia est salubrium et insalubrium et 
 neutrorum [ars med. c. 2). In c. 36 Panurge in distress 
 at the contradictory answers of Trouillogan, the 
 Ephectic or Pyrrhonian philosopher, records his 
 symptoms and fears he is bewitched. These symptoms 
 are put down in the Aphorisms (iv. § 49) as indicative 
 of approaching death in the case of a continuous fever. 
 Later he declares that his digestion is impeded and 
 that his phrenes, metaphrenes and diaphragms are in a 
 state of tension to understand these varying remarks. 
 This is merely a distortion of anatomical terms. 
 
Rabelais as Physician 147 
 
 Even Judge Bridlegoose in c. 40 parallels his 
 delaying process with the medical practice (Hipp. 
 Aph. I. 22) of waiting for the development of an ulcer 
 before lancing it, and in c. 41 cites a proverb: "Happy 
 is the Physician who is called in at the declension of 
 a disease." 
 
 In c. 45 physicians testify that the hmbs are caused 
 to tremble when sudden inspiration affects a small body 
 (cf. Hipp. Prorrh. 1. 14). This is asserted in Shakespeare 
 {Hamlet in. 4. 14), "Conceit in weakest bodies strongest 
 works. " Avicenna is quoted in the next chapter as saying 
 that the kinds of madness are infinite. The same thing is 
 said by Galen [de loc. affect, in. 7). The list of medical 
 extracts for the Third Book concludes in the last 
 chapter (52) by observations in natural science on the 
 indestructibility by fire of the salamander and of larch- 
 wood. The first is from Galen [de temper, in. 4) and 
 the second from Pliny (16. 45) and Vitruvius (11. 9. § 14). 
 
 In the Fourth Book the Prologue to the first (partial) 
 edition (1548) refers to precepts given by Hippocrates 
 and Galen to the Physician to be extremely careful to 
 avoid giving offence to the Patient. He is to be 
 scrupulously observant in every point — gestures, face, 
 clothes, words, look, touch; he even particularises 
 the nails. From this he turns to another passage in 
 the Epidemia of Hippocrates in which a theory is 
 started, not as to whether the countenance of the 
 physician, downhearted or joyful, depresses or elates 
 the patient — that may be taken for granted — but 
 whether there is an actual transfusion of spirits from 
 the physician. All this is repeated in the Epistle of 
 Dedication of the completed Fourth Book to the 
 
148 Rabelais as Physician 
 
 Cardinal of Chatillon, with some additions and illustra- 
 tions. The practice of medicine is compared by 
 Hippocrates^ (he says) to a farce played by three 
 characters, the Physician, the Patient and the Disease. 
 The combination of any two of them defeats the other. 
 Bacon, Afoph. 152, attributes this to a Dr Johnson. 
 Rabelais also gives three illustrations from Galen of 
 the contrary practice in the case of some physicians 
 who scared and disgusted their patients by brutal 
 answers to anxious questions. These were the Aber- 
 nethys of the time. 
 
 In the Prologue to the new and completed Fourth 
 Book Galen is held up as an example of a physician 
 who was not only a successful practitioner in the case 
 of others but also careful of his own health. For he 
 says the Physician will hardly be credited with care 
 for the health of others who is neglectful of his own. 
 The same is asserted of Asclepiades, a fashionable doctor 
 of Pliny's time (7. 124). Galen is also said to have 
 conversed with Christians, and three references to his 
 writings are given to support the fact that he had 
 some reverence for Holy Writ. It is amusing to find 
 that it is the obstinacy of the Christians in matters of 
 faith that is most dwelt upon by Galen — "you woiild 
 as easily convince Christians of their error as the 
 leaders of the sects of medicine and philosophy." 
 Another passage Rabelais quotes as of doubtful 
 authenticity, which ascribes to Christians the power of 
 faith-healing. 
 
 In the body of this book there is not much to interest 
 us in medical matters except occasional obiter dicta and 
 ^ Epid. I. II. § 5. 
 
Rabelais as Physician 149 
 
 minor observations about teeth and unimportant points 
 of the pharmacopoeia, and the mention of the peri- 
 cardium as the capsule {aK\r)po<; 'x^ircav in Galen) of the 
 heart. Attention may be drawn to one point at the 
 termination of the celebrated storm. Epistemon the 
 medico is speaking of the fright of Panurge and insists 
 that he felt as much fear himself but that it did not 
 prevent him from doing his utmost to help. He goes 
 on to say that death in this or that way is partly in the 
 will of God and partly in one's own discretion ; there- 
 fore it is our duty to implore the help of the Gods, but 
 not to make an end there; we ought to use our best 
 endeavours to help them. From this it seems certain 
 that this dictum is taken from Hippocrates [de victims 
 ratione, lib. iv., de insomn. § 87) and not from the 
 commonplace book of Plutarch {Lac. Inst. c. 29) 
 copied by Erasmus. Of course the heathen "gods" 
 are changed in the second edition and an apposite 
 text is given from St Paul on cooperation with the 
 Deity (i Cor. iii. 9). 
 
 The Hst of the internal organs and the limbs of 
 Lent have been spoken of (p. 90) as derived from 
 Galen and illustrated by contemporary objects. Here 
 perhaps the portrait of Lent as deduced by Dr Le 
 Double from the comparisons supplied by Rabelais 
 may be given. He was an old, lean, gawky, weak 
 creature, tormented by repentance and physical 
 infirmities, none too reputable. He had a round head, 
 hollow cheeks, eyes drenched with tears, ears up- 
 standing and ill-marked, a nose like a boot and wide 
 nostrils, a wide mouth furnished with long yellow 
 teeth, no beard or hair, by reason of the tonsure. 
 
150 Rabelais as Physician 
 
 Altogether he was an unpleasant person. Later on 
 in the Windy Island (c. 43) every malady is due to 
 Ventosity, according to Hippocrates de Flatibus, and 
 the hypenemian Podesta, the magistrate hatched from 
 a wind-egg (from Galen), is spoken of. A story of 
 Brother John's of a serpent being enticed out of a 
 man's stomach by a bowl of milk is gravely corrected 
 by Pantagruel out of Hippocrates. In c. 50 Rabelais 
 recurs to a point insisted on in Gargantua (c. 45), that 
 it is wicked to attribute to the Deity and to the saints 
 the infliction of maladies. This is also the doctrine 
 of Hippocrates. In c. 54 the sphragitid vermilion 
 earth from Lemnos is spoken of. (A long account of 
 it may be found in Galen.) In c. 58 a passage on 
 "Ventriloquists," or Engastrimythes, is taken, with 
 references to Aristophanes, Plato, Sophocles and the 
 Decretum, from Caelius Rhodiginus. Rabelais charac- 
 teristically adds a passage from Hippocrates, and calls 
 such persons diviners and deceivers of the people, 
 identifying them evidently with the pardon-pedlars 
 and their false relics, etc. 
 
 In the Fifth Book not much medical lore is to be 
 found; there is more in the episode of Queen Quint- 
 essence, cc. 18-25, but throughout the book small 
 allusions are let fall, which go to prove that the writer 
 was versed in anatomy and medical science. In the 
 Prologue a dictum of Avicenna is quoted, Maniae 
 infinitae sunt species [Canon, ill. i. 4. ig), and another 
 of Hippocrates [Aph. iii. 20) to the effect that madness 
 generally shews itself in spring. In c. 9 there is a 
 passage probably suggested by Galen [de us. part. xv. 4) 
 to the effect that under the tool-bearing trees the 
 
Rabelais as Physician 151 
 
 proper handles were growing, each suitable to its kind 
 of tool, and that they always selected the ones fitted 
 to them. Later the quinsy and King's evil (xoipdSe'i, 
 Hipp. Aph. III. 26) are mentioned, and in c. 21 an 
 interesting point in anatomy is brought out — that the 
 second vertebra is called "dentiform." This is from 
 Galen {de us. part. xii. 7), who asserts that by Hippo- 
 crates it was known simply as "the tooth." The three 
 kinds of dropsy are mentioned here, and hot and cold 
 gout. Hippocrates seems to have known only two 
 kinds of dropsy, but Aretaeus speaks of three. Ophiasis 
 (falling of the hair), which is identified by Avicenna 
 with Alopecia and mentioned by Galen, Method, med. 
 XIV. 16 and Pliny, 28. 163-6, is spoken of in this 
 chapter. The pilulae aggregativae (pills that collect 
 and dispel all peccant humours) of Avicenna (v. i. 9) 
 are alluded to in c. 30, and in c. 42 occurs " the canon 
 of Polycleitus," i.e. the statue of Polycleitus which was 
 itself the rule of perfection (Galen, de us. part. xvii. i), 
 and the vena cava entering the heart by the right 
 ventricle (Galen, de Hipp, et Plat. vi. 3). Chapter 43 
 corrects "the opinion of Plato, Plutarch, Macrobius 
 and others" that the drink descended into the lungs 
 by the trachea and not into the stomach by the 
 oesophagus. This error is interesting as having been 
 maintained by these writers and combated by Hippo- 
 crates, de morbis, iv. 54-6, Aristotle, part. an. iii. 3. 
 664 B and Galen, de Hipp, et Plat. viii. 9, de usu part. 
 vii. 16, Sir T. Browne, Pseud. Epid. iv. 8 (cf. Mayor's 
 Juvenal, iv. 138). 
 
 As a practising physician Rabelais evidently sets 
 before himself the highest traditions of his predecessors. 
 
152 Rabelais as Physician 
 
 beginning with Hippocrates and Galen, whom he cites 
 as examples. The object he assigns for his "books" 
 and his purpose in writing them is to beguile the 
 tedium of his patients in the suffering caused by their 
 maladies, and he cites both of the great Greek doctors 
 and others to shew that the physician's duty is in every 
 way, even in the smallest particular, to consult and 
 indulge the well-being and the wishes of his patients. 
 It is unnecessary, he says, to prove that the cheerful 
 bearing or the reverse of the doctor is communicable 
 to the patient — that is self-evident — he even goes so 
 far as to believe in the possibility of the actual trans- 
 fusion of spirits of the one to the other. That his own 
 cheeriness of disposition was beneficial, is testified by 
 his friends and his patients in epigrams and poems that 
 survive. 
 
 In botany perhaps Rabelais has been credited with 
 too great knowledge, so as to be considered almost in 
 the light of a pioneer of botanical science. This is 
 carrying it too far. True it is, he had studied the 
 knowledge of the plants in use in ancient and modern 
 medicine, the de simplicium medicamentis of Galen, the 
 plants mentioned by Dioscorides, as well as the long 
 lists in Pliny and some in Theophrastus, though in 
 almost every case it is Pliny quoting Theophrastus 
 rather than the Greek author himself who is the source 
 of his quotation or reference, as may be seen in the 
 forty-ninth, fiftieth and fifty-first chapters of the Third 
 Book. He was also acquainted with the pharmacopoeia 
 of Avicenna and other Arabic physicians. A sentence 
 at the end of iii. 49, in which he shews acquaintance 
 with the sexes of plants is hardly enough to support 
 
Rabelais as Physician 153 
 
 the claim that is made for him, seeing that this know- 
 ledge is shared with him by Herodotus, Theophrastus, 
 Pliny and others and the sentence itself is derived from 
 Tiraqueau. In fact, the knowledge of botany had 
 come to the end of a long chapter about 1530, in 
 Rabelais' time, and a new and more scientific phase 
 was just beginning. It is not a little, however, to say 
 that he knew much that was to be known in his time 
 about botany, as well as the other numerous branches 
 of study, and that he did himself follow up independent 
 research in plants and their history ; and it should be 
 remembered that the plants which he mentions, long 
 as the list is, are only those which occur to him in 
 illustration of the subjects immediately before him; 
 it by no means exhausts the knowledge he had acquired 
 in botany. It would have been difficult to display a 
 greater knowledge of this study in a book of the kind 
 Rabelais was writing, and he certainly has succeeded 
 in shewing that his acquaintance was considerable for 
 the time in which he lived, and that with better 
 opportunities he would have made himself master of a 
 more scientific acquaintance of this subject. But the 
 scientific study was only then beginning. 
 
154 Plants mentioned by Rabelais 
 
 PLANTS MENTIONED BY RABELAIS 
 
 Reff. : Pliny, Hist. Nat. ; Galen, de simpl. medicam. ed. 
 Kiihn ; Avicenna, Canon, ii. 2 ; Dioscorides, ed. Kiihii. 
 
 F.R. 
 
 III. 50 Achillea, PI. 8. 42 ; D. iv. 36 alii 
 
 sideritin; 32 aliqui Heraclean. 
 III. 51, V. 36 Aconite, 8. 99; 27. 7. 
 
 III. 50, IV. 24 Adiantum (capillus Veneris), 26. 62; 
 G. 7. I. 7; D. IV. 134. 
 
 III. 51 Aegilops, 18. 155; G. 7. I. 8; D. iv. 
 
 137- 
 
 IV. 63 Aethiopis, 26. 18 ; D. iv. 103. 
 
 IV. I Agalloch, Avicenna, 11. 2. 733; D. i. 21. 
 
 III. 49, 52 Agaricum, 16. 33; G. 7. i. 5; D. iii. i. 
 
 III. 31 Agnus castus, 24. 59, 62; D. i. 134. 
 
 III. 50 Agrimonia Eupatoria, 25. 65 ; D. iv. 41. 
 
 III. 50 Alcibiadion, 27. 39 ; D. iv. 23-4. 
 
 P. 24 Alicacabut, 21. 177; D. iv. 72-5 
 
 de strychno halicacabut. 
 III. 18 Alkermes, D. iv. 48 de cocco tinctili. 
 
 III. 51, IV. 62, V. 37 Allium, Plut. Quaest. Conv. 11. 7. 1. 
 641 C a-Kopobov; D. III. 115. 
 Alopecurus, 21. loi. 
 Alyssum, 24. 95; D. iii. 95. 
 Amaracus [marioletz) , 21. 61. 
 Anacampseros (sedum), 24. 167. 
 Anemone (tria genera), (i) coronaria, 
 
 (2) medica, (3) phrenion, 21. 164. 
 Anetum (dill), 20. 196. 
 AnthylUs {barba Jovis), 16. 76. 
 Antranium (ateramon), 28. 155. 
 Apsinthium (santonica), 27. 45. 
 
 Ill, 
 
 ■ 50 
 
 III. 
 
 50 
 
 p.p. 5 
 
 V. 
 
 31 
 
 IV. 
 
 43 
 
 G. 
 
 13 
 
 III. 
 
 50 
 
 III. 
 
 51 
 
 III. 
 
 50 
 
Plants mentioned by Rabelais 155 
 
 F.R. 
 
 P.P. 4, G. 9 Aquilegia [I'ancolie). 
 
 Ill- 49, 50 Aristolochia, 25. 95 ; D. iii. 4. 
 
 ni. 50 Artemisia {armoise), 25. 73 ; D. iii. 117. 
 
 in. 51 Arundo, 25. 85. 
 
 III. 50 Asarum {sang de Mars), 12. 47; cf. 
 
 baccaris, 12. 45; D. i. 9; in. 44. 
 
 III. 52 Asbestos, 19. 19. 
 
 IV. 7, V. 7 Asparagus, 19. 54, 151. 
 
 V. 7 Avena fatua, 18. 149; a. sativa L. 
 
 HI. 50 Baccaris, 12. 45; of. Asarum. 
 
 III. 50 Bechium (tussilago), 26. 22 ; D. in. 116. 
 
 G. 13. Beta, 20. 69. 
 
 III. 51 Betulla, 16. 75. 
 
 V. 18 Botrychium lunaria. 
 
 G. 13, III. 13, IV. 7 Brassica, 20. 78-96. 
 
 III. 50 Buglossum, 25. 86. 
 
 III. 51 Caepe, 19. loi. 
 
 III. 50 Callitriche, 22. 62. 
 
 III. 49, 52 Cannabis, 19. 174, 20. 259; D. in. 145. 
 
 III. 51, IV. 63 Caprificus, 23. 130. 
 
 in. 32 Cardamom seed [graine de Paradis), 12. 
 
 50. 
 
 III. 50 Castaneae, 15. 23, 25. 
 
 in. 51 Celtis australis (fenabregue, micoculier 
 
 Littre), ope'a, Ath. in. 78 b. 
 
 III. 49 Centaurea (Smyrnium olusatrum), 27. 
 
 133- 
 
 III. 13, 50 Cerasus, 15. 102. 
 
 III. 50 Cicer, 18. 10; ipi^ivQos D. in. 126. 
 
 III. 31 Cicuta, 25. 151; G. de temper amentis. 
 
 III. 50 Citron (Medica mala), 15. 47. 
 
 in. 50 Clymenus (honeysuckle), 25. 70. 
 
 III. 52 Colocasia, 21. 87. 
 
 G. 13 Condurdum (Fr. consolde, Angl. com- 
 
 frey), 26. 26. 
 
 III. 51 Cornus, 16. 103. 
 
 III. 50 Coronopfls, 2i.48;G. 8. i.44;D.ii. 157. 
 
 P. 7, III. 51 Cotton, 12. 30, 39. 
 
 III. 50 Crocus, 21. 137; zajferan in Avicenna. 
 
156 Plants mentioned by Rabelais 
 
 F.R. 
 
 G. 13 Cucurbita, 20. 13. 
 
 III. 49 Cupressus, Theoph. H.P. iii. 3. 
 
 III. 51 Cuscuta (epilenium), cf. C. Stephanus, 
 
 de re hoftensi, p. 60. 
 III. 32 Cydonia (quinces), 15. 37; Avic. Can. 
 
 V. I. 8. 
 Cynara scolymus L. ; Athen. 70 a, 71 c. 
 Daphne cnidiorum (coccognide), 13. 
 
 114, 27. yo; KOKKos KviSios G. fac. 
 
 nat. I. 13. 
 Delphinium, D. ill. 77. 
 Dictamnus, 8. 97; D. in. 34. 
 Dipsacus fuUonum, labrum Veneris, 
 
 25- 171. 27. 71. 
 Echium {personata), 21. 87. 
 Ephemerum, 25. 170. 
 Equisetum, 18. 259, 26. 132; D. iv. 46. 
 Eruca, 19. 155. 
 Eiyngium maritimum (panicault). 
 
 „ campestre, 22. 18; oi 8e n&Xv 
 
 D. III. 21. 
 Euphorbia, 25. 77; D. lii. 86. 
 Fabae (beans), 18. 40. 
 Fenabregue (Celtis australis), Athen. 
 
 III. 79 B 6p4a. 
 Faeniculum, 20. 254. 
 Ferula, 13. 22; D. in. 81. 
 Ficus, 15. 47 ; Ath. in. 78 b. 
 FiUces, 27. 80. 
 Faenum graecum, 24. 174; D. i. 57 
 
 (r^Xif ) . 
 Gentiana, 25, 71 ; D. in. 3. 
 Glaucium, 20. 19 § 78 ; firjKwv Keparlns 
 
 G. 7. 12. 14; D. IV. 66, 
 Hedera, 16. 144. 
 Hehotropium (marigold), 22. 57, cf. 
 
 Solsequium. 
 Helleborus, 25. 47; D. iv. 148; 
 
 Theoph. H.P. ix. 10. 
 
 III. 
 
 p. 
 
 50 
 28 
 
 Ill, 
 
 IV. 
 
 in. 
 
 50 
 63 
 50 
 
 IV. 
 
 III. 
 
 52 
 50 
 
 III. 
 
 p. Rom 
 
 P. 
 
 IV. 
 
 51 
 
 L. 12, V. 
 
 33 
 62 
 
 P. 28, 
 III. 13, 
 III. 
 
 III. 50 
 49, 50 
 51 
 
 G. 
 
 III. 
 
 13 
 51 
 
 III. 51 
 
 in. 49, 51 
 
 in. 50 
 
 III. 49, 50 
 V. 29 
 
 G. 24, 
 III. 
 
 III. 51 
 50 
 
 G. 23, 
 
 III. 24 
 
Plants mentioned by Rabelais 157 
 
 F.R. 
 
 III. 50 Helxind, 22. 41 ; G. 7. 5. 10. 
 
 III. 50 Henbane (hyoscyamus), 25. 35. 
 
 III. 50 Hermodactylus (tuberosus) = Colchi- 
 
 cum autumnale, Burton's Anat. 
 
 II. 4. I. 2. 
 III. 50 Hieracium, 20. 60; D. iii. 65. 
 
 III. 51 Hierobotane (peristereon), 25. 105. 
 
 III. 50 Hippuris, 26. 132; G. 7. 9. 4. 
 
 III. 50 Holosteum (Stellaria holostea L.), 27. 
 
 91 ; D. IV. II. 
 V. 42 Hyacinthus (orientalis L.), 21. 66. 
 
 III. 50 Hyoscyamus, 25. 35; G. 8. 20. 4; 
 
 D. IV. 67. 
 III. 49 Ilex (Fr. houx), 16. 32. 
 
 III. 27 Indica herba, 26. 99; Theoph. H.P. 
 
 IX. 18. 9. 
 III. 50 Iris, 21. 44. 
 
 V. 29 Juglans, 23. 147. 
 
 III. 32 Juncus odoratus, 12. 104, 21. 120 
 
 {(TXoi-vavBos, squinanthi), 
 III. 50 Juniperus Sabina, 24. 102; D. i. 104; 
 
 G. 7. 2. 15 ifipdev). 
 
 G. 13 Lactuca, 20. 58-68. 
 
 III. prol., IV. 7, V. I Lapathium, 20. 231. 
 
 P. 32, IV. 52 Lappa (Arctium) (Fr. bardane), 27. 33 ; 
 
 D. V. 106. 
 III. 52 Larix, 16. 45. 
 
 III. 49, 50 Laurus Daphne, Ov. M. 1. 452. 
 
 III. 50 Lavandula (Stoechas), 27. 131 ; D. iii. 
 
 28. 
 III. 50 Lentes, i8. 40. 
 
 III. 50 Lepidium, 19. 166. 
 
 III. 50 Lichen, 26. 22. 
 
 III. 50 Ligusticum, 19. 165; D. in. 41. 
 
 III. 49 Linum, 19. i ; D. 11. 125. 
 
 V. 18 Lunaria. 
 
 V. 29 Lupulus (Fr. houblon), C. Stephanus, 71. 
 
 III. 50 Malum granatum, Punica mala, 13. 
 
 112. 
 
158 Plants mentioned by Rabelais 
 
 F.R. 
 
 III. 13 Malum (curtipendium), de court pendu. 
 
 III. 45 ,, (blandureau). 
 
 G. 13, III. 50 Malva, 20. 222. 
 
 III. 31, 49 Mandragora, 25. 147. 
 
 G. 13, P.P. 5 Mariolaine (marjoram) amaracus, 21, 
 
 61. 
 III. 51 Melitenses vites, 12. 38; Cic. Verr. 11. 
 
 ii. § 176, iv. § 103. 
 V. 31 Mentha, 19. 159; rfbioa-fuiv D. III. 36. 
 
 G. 13, III. 50 Mercurialis, 25. 38. 
 
 P. I Mespilus (medlars), 15. 84; D. i. 169; 
 
 G. 7. 12. II. 
 III. 50 Myosota, 27. 23 and 105 ; D. 11. 214 
 
 oKaivT}; G. 7- !■ 25. 
 Myrica (tamarisk), 25. 67. 
 Myrobalanus, 12. 109; Avic. 11. 2. 79. 
 Myrtus (myrsine), D. i. 155. 
 Narcissus, Ov. M. in. 339. 
 Nardus (Spica celtica), 12. 42, 14. 109. 
 Nasturtium (cardamus), 19. 155; D. 11. 
 
 184. 
 Nuces Juglandes, 23. 147. 
 Nuphar luteum, 25. 76. 
 Nux, Athen. iii. 78 b. 
 Nymphaea heraclea (nenuphar), 25. 
 
 76; D. III. 138. 
 Olivae colymbades, 15. 16. 
 Orchis parva, 26. 95. 
 Orobanche (Lat. ervangina), 18. 155, 
 22. 162; D. II. 171; G. 7. 15. 15. 
 Paeonia, D. in. 149. 
 Panacea, 25. 30. 
 
 PentaphyUum, 25. 109; D. iv. 42. 
 Periclymenus, 25. 70 ; D. iv. 14. 
 Persica, 15. 44; D. i. 164. 
 Personata (carduus), D. iv. 105, of. 
 Echium. 
 III. 50 Petasites (tussUago), D. iv. 108; 
 
 G. 8. 16. 15. 
 
 III. 
 
 25 
 
 III. 
 
 50 
 
 III. 
 
 50 
 
 III. 
 
 50 
 
 III. 
 
 50 
 
 III. 50, 
 
 , V. 29 
 
 V. 
 
 29 
 
 III. 3 
 
 1,51 
 
 III. 
 
 51 
 
 III. 3 
 
 I. 51 
 
 IV. 
 
 59 
 
 III. 
 
 31 
 
 III. 
 
 51 
 
 HI. 
 
 49 
 
 III. 
 
 50 
 
 III. 
 
 50 
 
 III. 3 
 
 .1, 50 
 
 in. 
 
 50 
 
 IV. 
 
 52 
 
Plants mentioned by Rabelais 159 
 
 F.R. 
 
 p. 6 Petroselinum, 20. 12; D. iii. 70. 
 
 V. 29 Phaseolus, 18. 125; D. 11. 130. 
 
 G. 13 Pliloinis(verbascuni),25.i2o; D.IV.102. 
 
 III. 50 Picea (Pitys), i6. 40. 
 V. 26 Pinaster, 16. 38. 
 
 IV. 54 Pirus, 23. 11,5 {bon christian). 
 
 III. 13 „ crustumenia, 15. 50. 
 
 P.P. 4 ,, anginaria, (poyre d 'angoysse) of 
 
 Dordoigne. 
 
 IV. 60 Pistacia, 13. 51. 
 III. 50 Pisum, 18. 40. 
 
 III. 50 Polemonia, 25. 64. 
 
 G. 13 Polygonuin(persicaria),27. 113; D.iv. 4. 
 
 III. 51 Populus, 16. 85. 
 
 111.13,51 Portulaca (Fr. pourpier), 20. 211; 
 avSpd^vrj D. II. I50. 
 
 III. 50 Psyllium, 25. 140. 
 
 III. 50 Punica, cf. Malum granatum, 13. 112. 
 
 III. 49 Quercus robur, Athen. lii. 78 b. 
 III. 49 ,, ilex, 16. 32. 
 
 III. 50 Rha barbarum, D. ill. 2. 
 G. 13 Rosa, 21. 14. 
 
 III. pr., IV. 7, V. I Rumex (patientia), lapathium, 20. 231. 
 
 IV. 43 Ruta, 20. 135," D. III. 45 TTTfyavov. 
 
 III. 50 Sabina, 24. 102, see Juniperus. 
 
 III. 31, 51 Salix (alba L.), 16. no, 24. 58. 
 
 III. 31 „ Amerina, 24. 58. 
 G. 13 Salvia, 26. 31. 
 
 IV. 62 Sambucus (Fr. sureau), 16. 179; dxrij 
 
 D. IV. 171. 
 
 P. 17, G. 25, IV. 12 Secale, 18. 140. 
 
 III. 51 Securidaca (pelacinon), 18. 155. 
 
 V. 31 Sedum anacampseros, 24. 167. 
 P. 15 ,, telephium, 25. 42. 
 
 III. 51 Serica, 12. 17. 
 
 III. 50 Serpyllum, 20. 245. 
 
 III. 51 Smilax (aspera L.), 16. 154; D. 11. 175. 
 
 III. 49 Smymium olusatrum, 13. 109, 27. 
 133 ; D. III. 72, cf. Petroselinum. 
 
i6o Plants mentioned by Rabelais 
 
 F.R. 
 
 p, 24 Solanum (Physalis alkekengi L.), 21. 
 
 177; Avic. II. 2. 369 kekengi = sol- 
 anum halicacabum. 
 
 III. 50 Solsequium (Sousil, marigold), 2. 109, 
 
 27. 57, cf. Heliotropium. 
 
 III. 50 Stoechas (lavandula), 27. 131. 
 
 III. 51 Taxus, 16. 51. 
 
 III. 50 Telephium (sedum), 25. 42; D. 11. 217, 
 
 cf. Achillea. 
 
 III. 49 Terebinthus, 13. 54; Theoph. H.P. in. 
 
 15- 
 V. 5 Teucrium, 21. 44; D. in. loi; tri- 
 
 polium, D. IV. 133 ; polium, in. 114. 
 Tithymallus, 26. 62 ; D. iv. 162. 
 Trifolium, 21. 54. 
 Verbascum (muUein), 25. 12; <^Xd/ios, 
 
 D. IV. 102; Av. II. 2. 98. 
 Verbena (hierobotane), 19. 5, 25. 105 ; 
 
 Treptorepecov, D. IV. 6o. 
 
 Vitex (Agnus castus), 24. 59, 62. 
 Ulmus, 24. 48. 
 Urtica, 10. 163. 
 Vitis, 17. 152 sqq. 
 
 Yvraye aera, lolium temulentum L. 
 (tares), 8. 155, 25. 85. 
 
 As in nearly every case the reference is to Pliny, 
 his nomenclature has been given, and it has not been 
 thought necessary to prefix PI. to the references to 
 him. G. and D. mean respectively Galen and Dios- 
 corides. The sections of Sillig have been employed in 
 Pliny references, rather than the old method of chapters 
 and paragraphs, as being more exact and less cumbrous. 
 This notation is adopted in all later editions. 
 
 P. 24 
 
 
 III. 50 
 
 
 G. 13 
 
 
 III. 51, IV. 
 
 3 
 
 III. 31 
 
 
 III. 51 
 
 
 G. 13 
 
 
 III. 51 
 
 
 III. 51 
 
 
Rabelais as a Humanist i6i 
 
 RABELAIS AS A HUMANIST 
 
 The account of Gargantua's reading in the fourteenth 
 chapter is probably intended to represent Rabelais' own 
 experiences. Thubal Holofernes may be the village 
 schoolmaster, who taught the alphabet forwards and 
 backwards, at which he was engaged "five years and 
 three months." This would perhaps bring him to his 
 seventh year. Next came the Autores octo morales in 
 the Convent school at Seuille, which occupied thirteen 
 years six months and two weeks. The De modis 
 significandi with its commentaries and the Computus 
 or tables by which to find Easter and the holy days, 
 and the books for an intending ecclesiastic which were 
 taught by Jobelin Bride, completed his education. 
 
 The purpose of the chapter is to ridicule the books 
 of instruction and the methods of teaching then in 
 vogue, and to contrast them with the more enlightened 
 method employed by Ponocrates. Possibly Rabelais 
 has in view not only his own case but also the experience 
 of Bude, who first at Paris and then at Orleans, where 
 he studied jurisprudence, made but little progress, but 
 spent his time at tennis and other games and in 
 hawking, of which he has left a long account in his 
 commentary on the Pandects. Much use is made of 
 the de Asse and Annotationes in Pandectas in the 
 Pantagruel and the Third and Fifth Books. No doubt 
 it was Bude's example that first caused Rabelais to 
 follow the teaching of the humanists Valla, Poliziano, 
 and above all Erasmus, whom he has laid so much 
 under contribution. 
 
 S. R. II 
 
1 62 Rabelais as a Humanist 
 
 The course of reading marked out for Charles V by 
 Erasmus in the Institutio Principis Christiani (1516) is 
 eminently characteristic. A prince, he says, should 
 read the Proverbs of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus and the 
 Liber Sapientiae, also the Gospels, the Apophthegmata 
 and Moralia of Plutarch, Seneca, Aristotehs PoUtica, 
 Cicero de Officiis, Plato and Cicero de Legibus. With 
 the exception of Aristotle's Politics traces of all these 
 books may be found in Rabelais. 
 
 The employment of Proverbs by great writers is 
 remarkable, but not surprising when we find them so 
 much employed in early Greek Philosophy. In fact 
 the earliest form of philosophy consisted of maxims 
 which embodied in a crystallized form the broad 
 outlines of moral philosophy, as it was then known. 
 The dicta of the Seven Wise Men and the Symbola of 
 Pythagoras are of this nature, and throughout the 
 ages this kind of portable wisdom was much in use. 
 Such again are the glosses to the laws, civil and canon, 
 so often in the mouths of lawyers and magistrates, to 
 clinch their judgements. Shakespeare's lawyer is "full 
 of wise saws and modern instances." Erasmus attached 
 much importance to his book of Adagia, with its com- 
 mentaries on more that 4000 proverbs, and we find 
 Rabelais constantly borrowing from this book, but 
 quoting also proverbs of physicians, theologians and 
 lawyers to support the contentions of his interlocutors. 
 In Don Quixote not only Sancho Panza, but the Knight 
 himself resorts to this kind of support ; in a way they 
 may be compared with the Solomon and Marculphus 
 of the queer medieval book to which Rabelais once 
 refers, where the clown Marculphus is represented as 
 
Rabelais as a Humanist 163 
 
 capping the refined dicta of Solomon with the coarse, 
 homespun witticisms from the fields or the stable. 
 
 The influence of Ovid on the medieval romances 
 and writings was very great, and as there was an aetas 
 Vergiliana in the eighth and ninth centuries, an aetas 
 Horatiana in the tenth and eleventh, so there was an 
 aetas Ovidiana in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries ; 
 and although the Metamorphoses with its mythological 
 lore is mostly drawn upon — so much so that it is styled 
 Ovidio maggiore by Dante [Conv. in. 3. 1. 50) — ^yet the 
 erotic poetry of the Heroides, the Ars, the Amores and 
 the Remedia was much read and copied, to a great 
 extent on account of its easy Latinity and the facility 
 given by Elegiac verse to detach maxims from their 
 setting. This made these books favourites with the 
 "glossers" of the Roman and Church laws. The old 
 educational book known as Maximianus is full of 
 citations from these parts of Ovid, and for this it is 
 pilloried by the Doctrinale of Alexander de Villedieu, 
 who proposes to substitute his own wholesome teaching 
 "pro nugis Maximiani," though neither his book nor 
 the Grecismus of Everard of Bethune, the two treatises 
 which held the field of instruction in Latin Grammar 
 and versification from the thirteenth to the sixteenth 
 centuries, are by any means blameless in this respect. 
 
 It is as a humanist that Rabelais first made acquaint- 
 ance with hterature properly so called. After Bude, 
 Erasmus served as a guide and a source from whom 
 extracts are taken without stint, particularly from his 
 Adagia, Apophthegmata and Colloquia. Lorenzo Valla 
 also, the Canon of St John Lateran (a post to which 
 he was wisely promoted by Pope Nicholas V, who 
 
 II — 2 
 
164 Rabelais as a Humanist 
 
 chose to have the great scholar as an ally rather than 
 an enemy, after the publication of the defida donatione 
 Constantini), influenced Rabelais considerably. In the 
 proem to the first book of the Elegantiarum linguae 
 Latinae libri sex Valla inveighs bitterly against the 
 corrupters of Latinity, comparing it with Rome when 
 captured by the Gauls. "For these many centuries," 
 he says, "not only has no one spoken Latin, but even 
 read Latin books so as to understand them." 
 
 In the proem to the Second Book he deals well- 
 merited castigation to the grammarians who succeeded 
 Donatus, Servius and Priscian, such as Isidorus, 
 Eberardus and Hugutio. The proem to his Third Book 
 deals similarly with the barbarous latinity of the 
 lawyers, civil and canon cJike. He declares that as 
 the Goths and Vandals invaded and destroyed Rome, 
 so these lawyers have invaded the Latin language with 
 their Gothic jargon and writings. In the proem to the 
 Fourth Book St Jerome is chidden for discouraging Latin 
 '^Scholarship, when he said that he had been scourged 
 before God's tribunal and accused "quod Ciceronianus 
 esset et non Christianus." 
 
 Rabelais^i^as also weU acquainted with the writings 
 of the great Italian scholar Angelo Poliziano, whom he 
 mentions once or twice and from whom he borrows. 
 An edition of the Epistolae, the Miscellanea and the 
 Prologues of Poliziano, as well as his Silvae and his 
 translation of Herodian, was published by Gryphius 
 in 1537-9, which Rabelais may have seen through the 
 press. He also takes something from Johannes Jpvianus 
 Pontanus, the head of the Neapolitan "Academy," 
 and also from the Dies Geniales of Alexander ab 
 
Rabelais as a Humanist 165 
 
 Alexandre; from Eliseus Calentius he borrows the 
 name Rodilardus, the great cat, although in his Latin 
 translation of the Homeric Batrachomyomachia, Rodi- 
 lardus is the king of the mice. The last-mentioned 
 scholars were members of the same Neapolitan Academy. 
 
 Next to Erasmus, Caelius Rhodiginus of contem- 
 porary scholars supplies most material in the Fourth 
 Book. His real name was Lodovico Celio Riccheri of 
 Rovigo (1450-1525), and he had been made professor 
 of Greek and Latin at Milan by Francis L He wrote 
 a huge volume in sixteen books . (afterwards divided 
 into thirty) on 'every conceivable subject of literature 
 and antiquities, which Rabelais found useful in his 
 comfiilations. Caelius Calcagninus also, professor of 
 belles-lettres at Ferrara, supplies an important apologue 
 on the children of Physis (Nature) and Antiphysis. 
 
 Hints and names are also derived in the Pantagruel 
 from Sir T. More's Utopia, which first appeared in 1516 
 and of which an edition was published at Paris by Gilles 
 de Gourmont in 1517 and one by Froben at Basel in 
 1518. , 
 
 In the Third Book, which turns very much on 
 methods of divination, very great use is made of the 
 de occulta pM^osophia and the de vanitate scientiarum 
 of that curiously^learned scholar, Henricus Cornelius 
 Agrippa of Nett^heim. The first of these treatises 
 gained for the wri'ter the reputation of a necromancer 
 — not without some reason — while the second is 
 practically a recantation of the speculations and the 
 mysticism contained in the first, as being the errors 
 and vagaries of youth. 
 
 The relations of Rabelais with the printers and their 
 
1 66 Rabelais as a Humanist 
 
 productions are of great importance in connexion with 
 his life and writings. We cannot lose sight of the fact 
 that the Renaissance could not have had such far- 
 reaching influence but for the invention of printing 
 and the wonderful activity of the presses of that time. 
 Although Aldus Manutius and his partners and 
 successors at Venice stand first, there were others who 
 deserve special commendation for the diffusion of 
 knowledge and learning, ancient and modern, such as 
 Robert Stephen and his son Henry at Paris, the 
 Giuntas at Florence, Froben at Basel, Quentel at 
 Cologne and many others. For our present purpose 
 we are more concerned with the presses at Lyons, 
 whither Rabelais had betaken himself at the beginning 
 of 1532. Here, in a most intellectual centre of France, 
 he found himself in congenial surroundings and was 
 able to slake his thirst for knowledge from the shelves 
 of Sebastian Gryphius, the great printer of classical 
 books at Lyons. Gryphius printed for the most part 
 only Latin and a few Greek books, and was a great 
 benefactor to the reading public of that time by 
 publishing, like Teubner of the present day, handy 
 editions of the Latin classics. These had a very wide 
 circulation, and to this day one finds on bookstalls in 
 Rome and other cities more old editions of Latin books 
 such as Suetonius, Valerius Maximus, Macrobius, 
 Gellius, etc., issued by this press than by any other. 
 It is said that the only French books that he pubHshed 
 were CI. Marot's translation of the first book of Ovid's 
 Metamorphoses and the Arrets d' Amour or Judgements 
 in the Court of Love, with a legal commentary on each 
 by a trained lawyer and scholar, Benoit k Court, 
 
Rabelais as a Humanist 167 
 
 supported by references to the Pandects and Code and 
 a varied array of classical learning. From this press 
 issued Erasmi Adagia (1529 and 1530), also a Latin 
 translation of several of Lucian's treatises by Erasmus 
 and Sir T. More (1534) , and a Latin translation of the 
 Odyssey by Raphael Volaterranus (1541). Recently 
 M. Baudrier has published in the eighth volume of the 
 Bibliographie lyonnaise an almost complete list of the 
 books that issued from this press. Sebastian Gryphius 
 was born at Reutlingen in Suabia (? 1491) and died at 
 Lyons September 7, 1556. His publications range 
 from 1528 to 1556, but other members of his family 
 had presses at Lyons, in cities of Italy and elsewhere. 
 He has been accused, possibly with justice, of publishing 
 pirated reprints of many of the Venetian productions; 
 be that as it may, he did great service to education. 
 It is more than probable that Rabelais acted as reader 
 for the press in the case of many of his books. This 
 would be about the years 1532-5 and 1537-9. I* 
 might account for his singular familiarity with books 
 like Maturin Cordier's de corrupti Latini sermonis 
 emendatione, which Gryphius brought out in 1532 after 
 it had been badly treated by R. Stephen of the Paris 
 press in 1531. 
 
 But there were many presses in Lyons before the 
 arrival of Gryphius in 1528. First in interest for us 
 stands Frangois Juste, who succeeded Claude Nourry, 
 and issued books from 1529 to 1547. Nourry pubHshed 
 the first edition of Pantagruel in 1532. The only 
 surviving copy is in the Bibliotheque nationale, but 
 unfortunately the title-page is lost. Of the second 
 edition (B) one copy svu-vives in the "Royal Library of 
 
1 68 Rabelais as a Humanist 
 
 Dresden. It is described as AugmenU et corrige 
 fraischement and published at Lyons by F. Juste in 
 1533- It has been reproduced in phototype facsimile 
 (December 1903) by MM. Leon Dorez and Pierre Paul 
 Plan. Another edition in 1534 and a definitive one 
 in 1542, also by Juste, complete the tale of the editions 
 which we can look upon as authoritative. They are 
 all enlarged in bulk and altered in the arrangement of 
 the chapters. Similarly Juste published a Gargantua 
 in 1534, 1535, 1537 and 1542. It is important also to 
 notice in the list of Juste's publications La grande nef 
 des folz (1529) a translation of the Navis stultifera of 
 Sebastian Brandt, Les oeuvres de Guillaume Coquillart 
 (1535), Les oeuvres de Franfois Villon (1537), all which 
 books furnished Rabelais with something in his writings. 
 Again, the lists of other Lyonnais printers give 
 works of which Rabelais had certainly seen the titles, 
 if he had not read the books. Such are the list of 
 Olivier Arnouillet, Lyon, pres nostre Dame de Contort 
 (1517-58). It comprises 
 
 Galien r6thore, 1525 ... ... of. Pant. cc. 24, 30. 
 
 Valentin et Orson, 1526 ... ... Pant. cc. i, 24. 
 
 Le Blason des Couleurs, 1528 ... Garg. c. 9. 
 
 Menus propos de la M^re Sotte, 1535 of. Pant. c. 4, v. 47. 
 
 Melusine, 1544 iv. 38. 
 
 Geoffroi k la grant dent ... ... Pant. c. 5. 
 
 Huon de Bordeaux ... ... Pant. c. 30, Garg. prol. 
 
 and that of Jehan de Vingle (1494-1511) : 
 
 Les IV filz Aymon, 1495 ... ... Garg. c. 27. 
 
 Fier-S,-bras, 1496 ... ... ... Pant. i. 30. 
 
 Olivier Maillard, Serwoues ... iv. 8. 
 
 Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini, 1497 Pant. c. 7, v. 31. 
 
 Pragmatica Sanctio Caroli VII, 1499 Pant. c. 12, iii. 39. 
 
Rabelais as a Humanist 169 
 
 Jehan Trechsel came from Germany to Lyons and 
 was perhaps the first to set up a press there. For 
 correctors of the press he had first Janus Lascaris (of. 
 Gayg. c. 24) and afterwards Josse Bade of Assche 
 (Josse Badius Ascensius), who was born 1462 and 
 came from Brussels to Lyons in 149 1, where he stayed 
 till 1510, after marrying Trechsel's only daughter 
 Thalia. He afterwards became celebrated as a printer 
 in Paris. He printed an edition of the Philohiblon of 
 Richard de Bury together with Jean Petit in 1500. 
 
 Trechsel's list contained : 
 Guillermi de Vorrilong opus, folio 1489 ... Pant. c. 7. 
 Practica Valesci de Tharenta, quae alias Phi- 
 Ionium dicitur, 4°, 1490 ... ... ... iv. Ep. Ded. 
 
 Roberti Gaguini...de origine at gestis Fran- 
 corum. Lugduni impensis Johann. 
 Trechsel... at diliganti accuratione Jodoci 
 Badii Ascensii, folio 1497 ... ... of. iv. 49. 
 
 Melchior and Gaspar Trechsel published 
 Symphoriani Campegii Clysteriorum campi, 
 contra Arabum opinionem, pro Galani 
 santantia ... ... ... ... ... Pant. c. 7. 
 
 This was also published at Basal, 1532. 
 
 Jehan du Pre, who set up presses in many places : 
 Paris 1481, Sahns 1484, Lyons 1487, Paris 1489. 
 From his press have been noted: 
 
 Terentii comoediae VI, 1488. 
 
 Liber qui compoius dicitur, 1488-9 ... ... Garg. 14. 
 
 Auctores octo morales cum glossa, 1491 ... „ 
 
 Eberhardi Grecismus, 1493 ... ... ... „ 
 
 Vie des anciens Peres hermites, 1494 ... Garg. 22. 
 
 Galliot du Pre was also a printer in Paris, and his press 
 seems to have supplied books to Rabelais, who used his 
 motto Vogue la gaUe a couple of times. Garg. 3, iv. 23. 
 
lyo Rabelais as a Humanist 
 
 Very important in this connexion is the name of 
 Barnabd Chaussard, who printed at Lyons from 1496. 
 From his press we find 
 
 Le roman de Fier-a,-Bras, 1496. 
 
 La conqueste du grand roy Charlemagne, 1501. 
 
 Also sans date : 
 
 Le caquet des bonnes chamberidres. 
 
 Les Cent nouvelles nouvelles. 
 
 Le debat de rhomme et de I'argent. 
 
 Les faintises du monde. 
 
 Le recueil des hystoires des repeues franches. 
 
 This printer was evidently one of those who issued 
 ballads and other fugitive pieces which were sold by 
 pedlars (bissouarts) and eagerly bought and read by 
 Rabelais and many more. The thirteen volumes of 
 this kind of literature, collected and published in the 
 edition ehevirienne by de Montaiglon and James de 
 Rothschild are of great value in illustrating Rabelais 
 [Anciennes poesies frangaises inedites des xv^'^ et 
 xvi^me siecles). In the plays that are brought together 
 in the Ancien Theatre Frangais by Violet le Due, several 
 are printed a Lyon, a la maison feu Barnabe Chaussard 
 pres Nostre Dame de Confort; among them are 
 
 Sermon joyeux des Foux Vol. 11. pp. 223-43. 
 Farce des cris de Paris „ 303-25. 
 
 La Vie du Maulvais Riche Vol. iii. pp. 267-99. 
 Farce des Cinq Sens ,, 300-24. 
 
 Morality de Charity ,, 337-424. 
 
 The value of such collections is clearly seen in the 
 light they throw on the writings of a man of Rabelais' 
 mould, one who saw and seized at once any piece of 
 information or drollery that chance threw in his way. 
 
Rabelais as a Humanist 171 
 
 He evidently enjoyed this kind of literature and on 
 occasions adapted its phrases, proverbs and sentiments. 
 The ballad-like poems in the volumes of the 
 Anciennes poesies frangaises run through the gamut 
 of common life and may be paralleled in many cases 
 with the dramatis personae of the Plautine plays; the 
 braggart captain, the cheating servants, male and 
 female, the diviners and prognosticators are common 
 to both. In the French list are to be found also the 
 doctrinale, or instruction in piety and good manners, 
 the debates between good and evil tendencies, between 
 wine and water for instance, and between the worldly 
 and religious man and so on; there are also cris, or 
 proclamations, as well as poems on events of national 
 history. Naturally fugitive pieces of this kind, which 
 then formed part of men's daily life, as they did also 
 in Shakespeare's time (cf. 2 Hen. IV, iv. 3. 52) and 
 afterwards, supplied material from which a versatile 
 writer, such as Rabelais, readily borrowed. 
 
 HISTORICAL ALLUSIONS 
 
 Rabelais was so many-sided and had experienced so 
 many changes in his life and professions that in his 
 writings he alludes in passing to events, policies and 
 tendencies that are often forgotten or lost, except to 
 professed historians ; hence it is sometimes difficult to 
 catch the meaning of a reference that is so elusive. It 
 may be a battle or a Church Council or a piece of poUcy 
 
172 Historical allusions 
 
 of the Roman Church, or an allusion to a bygone 
 scandal, skilfully woven in the web of his grotesque 
 story. The allusions also are short and sometimes 
 enigmatic, so that their point is easily missed, while 
 at times he seems to drop hints that are purposely 
 misleading and susceptible of two or more interpre- 
 tations. 
 
 In the very first chapter of the Garganiua there is a 
 reference to the celebrated Translation of the Roman 
 Empire to Charlemagne, whom Rabelais conveniently 
 considers to be a Frenchman, notwithstanding the 
 generally accepted belief that he was a German^. 
 Again in the first chapter of the Third Book he speaks 
 of the transplanting by Charlemagne of some Saxons 
 into Flanders and of Flemings into Saxony, which 
 proved unsuccessful ; this is also mentioned by Shake- 
 speare^. 
 
 To the earlier history of France there are two or 
 three allusions: (i) The great Truye or Sow, a pent- 
 house used at the siege of Bergerac^. (2) The defeat 
 of Philip van Artevelde by Charles VI of France at 
 Roosebeke in 1382, and the insurrection ten years 
 later of the Maillotins in Paris against the gabelle, and 
 their submission, before the king would enter the city*- 
 The troubles caused by the long minority of Charles VI 
 and probably by that of Henry VI of England seem to 
 be referred to^. Also the appointment by Louis XII 
 of Antoine de Croye as tutor of Charles V, who was 
 entrusted to him by the Archduke Philippe. The 
 
 ' Decretal. 1. 6. 34 {Venerabilem). Agrippa de Van. Scient. 
 c. 80. Gibbon, c. 49. Bryce H.R.E. cc. 7, 13. 
 
 " Henry V, 1. 2. 43-53. ' iv. 40. 
 
 * IV. 36. 5 G. 50. 
 
Historical allusions 173 
 
 saying of the Duke of Bedford at Orleans when he 
 refused to raise the siege: "He would not beat the 
 bushes for another to take the birds" is in the list 
 of Gargantua's proverbs^. 
 
 Of the semi-fabulous history of the early Kings of 
 France there are hints and gibes at the claim of the 
 French to be descended from Francus, second son of 
 Hector son of Priam, King of Troy^. In the genealogy 
 of Pantagruel in P. i the three first names, Chalbroth, 
 Sarabroth and Faribroth, seem to be Hebraized forms 
 (on the analogy of Nembroth = Nimrod) of Childebert, 
 Charibert, and Farabert, sixth, eighth and twenty- 
 eighth kings of the old dynasty, according to the 
 account of Jean Bouchet in his Genealogies des Roys 
 de France. 
 
 There is a curious reference to the battle of St Aubin 
 du Cormier in Brittany (July 28, 1488), as a result of 
 which Brittany became part of France by the marriage 
 of Charles VIII to Anne de Bretagne. It is given in 
 an allegorical description of a battle between flocks of 
 jays (who represented by their plumage the azure and 
 argent of France) and pies, who bore the Breton 
 ermines in their feathers. This took place, according 
 to Poggio in his Facetiae, No. 234, on the confines of 
 Brittany in April 1451. To add point to the story 
 Rabelais represents one of the jays, who returned 
 wounded from the war, to have belonged to an old 
 uncle of his own living at Angers. 
 
 Naturally there are several allusions, direct and 
 indirect, to the battle of Marignano, near Milan (Sep- 
 
 1 G. II. 
 
 2 P.P. 5 ; P. I ; III. prol. ; iv. prol. 
 
174 Historical allusions 
 
 tember 15, 1515). Francis I, who had just succeeded 
 to the throne, took a great part in it, and the defeat 
 of the Swiss did much to break down their arrogance 
 and presumption, inspired by the defeat of Charles le 
 Temeraire of Burgundy. Matthieu Schinner, Cardinal of 
 Sion, had got together 50,000 Swiss troops to assist the 
 Pope and Maximilian of Austria against Francis, who 
 was coming to occupy Milan. In the absence of the 
 Cardinal and Colonel Rost, their commander, terms had 
 been made to allow Francis to enter Milan peaceably, 
 but when they came up they induced the Swiss to 
 break the treaty and to attack the French. The 
 result was one of the most obstinate battles on record, 
 in which the Swiss axe said to have lost 15,000 
 men. The Swiss minimized the crushing nature of 
 the defeat by insisting that they were allowed to draw 
 off unmolested, but a contemporary letter of Erasmus 
 from Basel (October 1515) shews that they felt the 
 reverse deeply^. Their defeat was celebrated in a 
 song, which still survives, by the French composer 
 Jannequin^. It contains several cries and exclamations 
 of the battlefield which Rabelais has helped to per- 
 petuate; he has also preserved the chorus: tout est 
 frelore, la tintelore, tout estfrelore, bigoth. It is employed 
 as the despairing cry of Panurge in the height of the 
 storm^ and in the word tintelorise ( = crestfallen) in one 
 of the litanies*. This chorus is given by Scott in 
 Peveril of the Peak, c. 47. 
 
 The treachery of the Swiss in this matter is insisted 
 on^, and they are compared with Chitterlings or 
 
 1 Erasm. Ep. 360, ed. Allen. ' iv. prol. ^ iv. 18. 
 
 ' HI. 38. 6 IV. 36. 
 
Historical allusions 175 
 
 Sausages, which are sold in double links, doubles having 
 also the meaning of double-dealing. Their squat, burly 
 figures are also a source of merriment in the chapters 
 devoted to them^; among them is signalized "the great 
 Bull of Berne^," named Pontiner, according to Paulus 
 Jovius, lib. XV. 
 
 In P. II (which is throughout a tissue of incoherence 
 with a hint dropped here and there) is an obscure 
 allusion to the engagement at la Bicocca, formerly a 
 hunting-seat of the Visconti near Milan, where the 
 French general Lautrec sustained a reverse by the 
 Imperialists under Prospero Colonna, owing to the 
 disaffection of 16,000 Swiss mercenaries. This was on 
 April 27, 1522. 
 
 Francis I had tried to arrest Charles de Bourbon, 
 constable of France, at his castle at Chantelle (1523)^. 
 Charles had slighted advances from Louise de Savoye, 
 the king's mother, and was suspected of disloyalty. 
 Bourbon withdrew from his allegiance, and joined 
 Charles V. He did great mischief to the French in 
 the Milanese, especially at Pavia, and ultimately led 
 his mercenaries, Spanish and German, to Rome where 
 he was struck down by a cannon-shot while leading a 
 storming party against the Castle of St Angelo, May 6, 
 
 1527- 
 
 The king being unable to take the command in the 
 
 Milanese, sent his favourite Bonnivet, with Bayard and 
 
 Montmorency as lieutenants. Bonnivet mismanaged 
 
 affairs, and was deserted by 5000 Swiss troops ; he was 
 
 only saved by being wounded and having to entrust 
 
 1 jy. 36-42. " P. I ; IV. 41. 
 
 ' P. 5- 
 
176 Historical allusions 
 
 the command to Bayard, who succeeded in bringing 
 off his troops, but was himself killed. 
 
 Francis now (1524) marched to the relief of Mar- 
 seilles, which had offered a stout resistance to Bourbon. 
 He retired into the Milanese, followed by the king, who 
 instead of marching into Milan, as he was advised 
 by his lieutenants Chabannes and Montmorency, laid 
 siege to Pavia. Francis had been solicited by Pope 
 Clement VII to undertake the conquest of Naples as 
 well as that of Milan and had detached a part of his 
 army under James Stewart, Duke of Albany, for 
 service against Naples, thus considerably weakening 
 his own forces. Rabelais protests against this mistakes- 
 Things, however, were going on weU with the 
 French, when Bourbon with 16,000 German mercenaries 
 suddenly arrived and joined the Imperial forces. The 
 experienced French generals were for allowing him to 
 pass into Pavia, where was a dearth of provisions, and 
 entrenching themselves at the Certosa, which was 
 exceedingly strong; famine would then do its work 
 with the enemy. Through the influence of Bonnivet 
 this prudent advice was rejected and the disastrous 
 battle of Pavia was risked, February 24, 1525. The 
 king was taken prisoner, while the due d'Alenfon, 
 husband of Margaret, the king's sister, was one of those 
 who fled at the beginning of the engagement. 
 
 Francis was imprisoned first at the Certosa and 
 afterwards at Madrid, where he was treated with 
 considerable harshness. Ultimately he was released, 
 March 10, 1526, through the good offices of his sister 
 Margaret. Rabelais comments in bitter terms on this 
 ' Epp. Rom. I. § I. 
 
Historical allusions lyy 
 
 conduct of the Emperor, who had been styled the 
 Catholic by Papal authority^ 
 
 Bourbon had been appointed by Charles V to 
 succeed his general Pescara, who had died during the 
 siege of Milan. But taking offence at the non-fulfilment 
 of the Emperor's promises to him, and finding himself 
 at the head of a powerful army, he conceived the design 
 of getting possession of Naples, and in order to provide 
 his mercenaries with pay he promised them that they 
 should be rewarded with the sack of Rome. They 
 marched on and laid siege to the Holy City. Bourbon 
 was struck down at the first assault, but the sack of 
 Rome followed on May 7, 1527, and proved the most 
 dreadful on record in barbarity and destruction of 
 buildings and property. The Emperor reaped the 
 advantage of it in the ransom of the Pope and many 
 Cardinals, after a seven months' siege in the Castle of 
 St Angelo. Rabelais refers to it in Epp. Rom. i. § i 
 and also enigmatically in P. 30, where in the next world 
 Nero is represented as a fiddler and Fierabras as his 
 serving-man, who played him mischievous tricks, 
 starving him on bad bread and wine, while he himself 
 lived sumptuously. Nero may well be intended to 
 represent Clement VII, with his beard (Ahenobarbus) 
 and his musical tastes, while Fierabras stands for the 
 epicmre Charles V, who pretended devotion to the Pope 
 while he allowed him to be maltreated and took a large 
 ransom from him. It is also to be noted that in the 
 romance Fierabras the first division is entitled "La 
 Destruction de Rome," 
 
 In 1534 the divorce of Henry VIII from Catharine 
 
 1 G. 50. 
 
 S. R. 12 
 
178 Historical allusions 
 
 of Aragon brought about the rupture between England 
 and the Roman Church after Charles, Catharine's 
 nephew, had insisted on the excommunication of 
 Henry, notwithstanding the efforts of Jean du Bellay, 
 Bishop of Paris and French minister at Rome. 
 Rabelais was present and speaks of the episode^ and 
 also of the death of Catharine, January 6, 1536^. 
 
 Naturally Rabelais was au courant with contem- 
 porary history, especially where the Popes were 
 concerned. He reprobates more than once the bellicose 
 nature^ of JuHus II and alludes to his beard*, which is 
 so well known to us in Raphael's representation of 
 him, and in Michael Angelo's Moses. He alludes to 
 the long-standing difference between the Popes and 
 the Ferrarese and also to the quarrels between Louis 
 XII and the Venetians, Maximilian and the Swiss, and 
 the cat- and dog-like attitude of the English and the 
 Scotch^, of which he records a concrete instance — the 
 battle of Inchkeith in 1548*. He even instances the 
 fighting of the Russians and the Tartars' and the con- 
 temporary battles between the Sultan and the Sophy, 
 or Shah of Persia, in 1535*. 
 
 In the Prologue to the Fourth Book, written in 1551, 
 a review of European events is given by Jupiter pre- 
 siding over a Consistory or Council of the Gods. The 
 quarrels of the Turks and Persians, and of the Russians 
 and the Tartars, are put aside as settled. The piracy 
 of the Infidels on the Mediterranean coasts is also set 
 aside. The tedious siege of Magdeburg had been 
 
 ^ Ep. ded., Marliani Topographia. 2 Epp_ Rom. iii. § i6. 
 
 » IV. 12. 50. « P. 30. 6 iij 41 6 IV. 67. 
 
 ' III- 41- ° Epp. Rom. I. § I, n. § 9, Paulus Jovius. 
 
Historical allusions 179 
 
 finished and the quarrel on the subject of Parma and 
 Mirandola had been settled. This was the most 
 important for Rabelais, for it was the bone of contention 
 between Henry II and Julius III, the newly elected 
 Pope, who wished to deprive Orazio Farnese of these 
 towns, but as Orazio Farnese was married to Diane, 
 a natural daughter of the French king, strained relations 
 resulted between the Pope and France. It has been 
 shewn by M. Romier^ that this was the cause of the 
 crise gallicane, when Rabelais was instigated to write 
 in support of the French cause against Rome in his 
 Fourth Book. 
 
 As might be expected from a man who had been a 
 Franciscan Friar and a Benedictine Brother, he has 
 many allusions, open or covert, to the Church services 
 and to the Church Councils ; also to the policy, enact- 
 ments and general conduct of the Roman Church and 
 the guiding spirits thereof ; especially noting the abuses, 
 which were crying for reformation. 
 
 In IV. prol. is an allusion to M^ Pierre de Cugnieres, 
 who in 1329 had maintained the authority of the king 
 against the Church. The clergy caused stone marmosets 
 resembling him in face to be placed at the corners of 
 the chapels, against which tapers were extinguished. 
 There is still one in Notre-Dame. 
 
 Clerical immunity from punishment in the secular 
 courts, which had been conceded by Charlemagne and 
 had grown into notorious abuse, is covertly alluded to 
 in IV. 49. 
 
 The excessive power in shaping the counsels of the 
 Roman Church which had been attained by the 
 1 R.E.R. X. 140. 
 
i8o Historical allusions 
 
 Mendicant orders, and their practice of grasping at 
 bequests from dying persons, notwithstanding their 
 professions of poverty, is strongly reprobated in ill. 
 21-3 in the episode of the dying poet Raminagrobis. 
 
 The abuse of pluralities is glanced at in P.P. 5, where 
 it is asserted that the dearth of church-folk will be so 
 great that four and eVen more benefices will have to 
 be conferred on one person. An allusion is also given 
 in G. 52. 
 
 Two Popes — Boniface VIII and Nicholas III — 
 are gibbeted for simony, which however was so 
 common that it hardly called for special reprobation 
 
 {P- 30). 
 
 The legatus a latere, punningly styled alter i (thirsty), 
 and a number of officers of the Papal chancery are 
 ridiculed by their functions forming part of the blazon 
 of Triboulet the court fool (ill. 38). 
 
 The sham Crusades got up by the Medici Popes, so 
 that they could pocket the results of the taxes {decimae) 
 levied for the Crusades, are pointed out in Epp. Rom. 
 I. § I, P. 17, III. 7. 
 
 The shameful tax (cullagium) levied to allow 
 Church dignitaries to maintain concubines is obliquely 
 alluded to in P. 7. 
 
 The Council of Constance was convoked by the 
 Emperor Sigismund in 1414, to put an end to the 
 schism caused by the three claimants to the Papacy, 
 Gregory XII, Benedict XIII and John XXIII. This 
 event is girded at by a quaestio of Rabelais inserted in 
 the list of books in the St Victor library^. It is put 
 in the usual scholastic form. Quaestio subtilissima, 
 
Historical allusions i8i 
 
 Utrum Chimaera in vacuo bombinans possit comedere 
 secundas intentiones ; et fuit debatuta per decern heb- 
 domadas in Concilia Constantiensi. Whether the 
 Chimaera, the Homeric monster consisting of a Hon, 
 a goat and a serpent (i.e. the triple Pope), buzzing in 
 a vacuum (i.e. without a see), can devour second 
 intentions (i.e. can swallow its promises to surrender 
 the Papacy when requested by the Council). 
 
 The Council of Basel, convoked in 1431 under 
 Martin V and concluded under Eugenius IV in 1439, 
 was celebrated for the endeavours of the Popes to 
 maintain their supremacy and the struggles of the 
 Council against this contention^. One of the principal 
 results affecting the French Church was the re-afErma- 
 tion of the Pragmatic Sanction^. This enactment had 
 been agreed to by Clement IV and Louis IX in 1268, 
 and renewed in 1438 at Bourges by Charles VII, but 
 with considerable differences. This new Pragmatic 
 Sanction adopted many of the decrees of the Council 
 of Basel, which had been passed against the will of the 
 Pope and in his absence. Among other things annates 
 were abolished, by which the Popes received payments 
 for the appointments, confirmations or collations to 
 benefices. Also many of the appeals to the Roman 
 chancery courts were declared unnecessary; they 
 might be decided in the courts of the country con- 
 cerned. University nominees to benefices and graduates 
 had previously been expected to get confirmation of 
 their appointments by a personal visit to Rome. 
 A curious allusion to this is found in La ramasse des 
 
 1 IV. 56. ' P. 11; III. 41. 
 
1 82 Historical allusions 
 
 nommez etgraduez^ (The Alpine sledging of the nominees 
 and graduates) alluding to the difficulties of crossing 
 the Alps to get to Rome. 
 
 The enactments of the Pragmatic Sanction were 
 hateful to Rome and the Popes continually tried to 
 evade them. An amusing reference is found to the 
 tricks of Pius II, who as Aeneas Sylvius, when secretary 
 to the Council of Basel, had strenuously maintained its 
 rights against Eugenius IV. When he became Pope 
 in 1458, Pius issued bulls against the claims of the 
 Council, setting aside his former contentions as youthful 
 indiscretions. This is put in the form of a volume in 
 the library of St Victor: Pronosticatio quae incipit 
 " Sylvii triquebille," balataper M. N. Songecrusion^ (The 
 Prognostication which begins: "The Volte-face of 
 Sylvius" danced by "Our Master" Songecreux). Pro- 
 nosticatio quae incipit is intended as a parody of a 
 formal papal edict such as Constitutio quae incipit, 
 etc., while Songecreux, the mountebank Pontalais, is 
 given the pompous title Magister noster, so much 
 affected by University graduates. 
 
 The Pragmatic Sanction was abolished by Francis I 
 at the instance of Leo X at the fifth Lateran Council 
 (1517). Both Pope and King obtained advantages by 
 the substitution of the Concordat for the Pragmatic 
 Sanction. The Pope regained many of his perquisites 
 such as annates, etc., while the King obtained the power 
 of appointment to benefices, etc. The Concordat was 
 enacted in spite of the Parlement, who, however, 
 insisted on putting on record their opposition. Rabelais 
 speaks of the Council of Lateran as wearing a Cardinal's 
 ' -P. 7- " P. 7. 
 
Historical allusions 183 
 
 hat and as being the husband of Pragmatic Sanction^. 
 In another passage^ the Concordat is styled a bailiff. 
 Very Uttle is to be made of these allusions, but the 
 transactions were recent in 1546 and the mere mention 
 of them was intelligible, while plainer speech might be 
 dangerous. 
 
 The Lateran Councils, of which there were at least 
 five, are alluded to mockingly as "Lantern" Councils; 
 Lanterns and "lanternize" are several times applied 
 to the members and their proceedings. Thomas Becon, 
 Cranmer's outspoken secretary, is still more uncom- 
 plimentary when he speaks of Concilium Latronense 
 (a Council of Robbers). 
 
 The Council of Trent is foreshadowed^ as being 
 pressed by the Laity on an unwilling Pope. It was 
 first convoked at Mantua in 1536, but adjourned to 
 Vicenza and afterwards to Trent by a bull of Paul III, 
 for May 22, 1545, but it transacted no actual business 
 till March 1547 when seven sessions were held and 
 some decisions were taken. Nothing was passed that 
 concerned Rabelais till April 28, 1552, after his Fourth 
 Book had been published. He only hints that some 
 measures were expected, and he styles it the Council 
 of Chesil, a Hebrew word which means "mad" or 
 "stormy." There were hopes that the rigours of 
 Lenten observance would be softened, but these seem 
 to have been disappointed, judging by a remark that 
 Lent was strictly forbidden to enter into any covenant 
 with the Chitterlings*. The fish diet of Lent is glanced 
 at more than once^; Lent is held up to contempt as 
 
 1 III. 41. * III. 28. ' Epp. Rom. III. § 16. 
 
 4 IV. 35. 5 Ep_ HuUot. 
 
184 Historical allusions 
 
 the banner-bearer of the Ichthyophagi^, and Lenten 
 fare is declared on medical authority to be the fosterer 
 of diseases and therefore advocated by physicians^. 
 This is following the lead of Erasmus in his " Colloquy" 
 of I^dvo<f>a'yia. 
 
 A very serious chapter* decries the enactment in 
 the Roman Church that a marriage was lawful and 
 valid without the consent or presence of the parents, 
 if only a priest were there to solemnize it. The point 
 and some of the language is derived from Erasmus's 
 Colloquium (Virgo /iia-oyafioi;). The phrase of the 
 Church was matrimonium de praesenti {Decretal, iv. 
 I. 9 and 31). The Council of Trent did in fact 
 remedy this to some extent in 1563 by an enact- 
 ment de clandestinis. This matter has been examined 
 (P- 75)- 
 
 LOVE OF GEOGRAPHY AND 
 TRAVELS 
 
 That Rabelais delighted in geography, travel and 
 adventure, is shewn not only in the accounts he gives 
 of the environs of Chinon and of the places he records 
 in Brittany, Poitou and Languedoc and even in his 
 allusion to the forest of Ardennes to the north of Metz, 
 
 ' IV. 29. » V. 29. 8 III. 48. 
 
Love of Geography and Travels 185 
 
 but also in the journeys and voyages by which he 
 conducts his hero round about Poitiers and Liguge and 
 after that to the various university towns in France. 
 His allusions to the Canary Islands shew that he had 
 found an interest in the conquests of Jean de Bethen- 
 court, while Pantagruel's first voyage to Utopia round 
 Africa proves that he had read not only Sir T. More, 
 but accounts of the rounding of the Cape of Good 
 Hope by the Portuguese and their passage to Melinda 
 and to India ; and in the second voyage in the Fourth 
 Book he is alive to the attempts of Verrazano, Rober- 
 val, Cartier and other French travellers to explore 
 Canada and achieve the North- West passage to Cathay, 
 or China, which had been so curiously described by 
 Marco Polo, the Venetian. It is eafey to see how he 
 had familiarized himself with the fabulous stories of 
 travel in the Odyssey, and the Vera Historia and other 
 writings of Lucian, besides reading the Orbis Nevus of 
 Grynaeus, which contains accounts of travel by Thenaud, 
 Cadamosto, Peter Martyr and others, whose names are 
 mentioned in v. 30. Several incidents recorded of the 
 storm suffered by Columbus are paralleled in Panta- 
 gruel's second voyage to Cathay, such as the throwing 
 overboard of an account of his discoveries in a carefully 
 fastened cask, the cry of "Land ! Land !," the account 
 of St Elmo's fire, the desire of Columbus to be the first 
 ashore, and the landing at the Azores, adapted to 
 Plutarch's account of the Macraeons. Rabelais de- 
 lighted thus to indulge his taste for illustrating his 
 humanistic reading by the events and incidents of his 
 own time; though in tracing a general resemblance 
 we must beware of looking for too great exactness in 
 
1 86 Love of Geography and Travels 
 
 all points. Also, now that the political purpose of the 
 second edition of the Fourth Book has been made out 
 by M. Romier^, the state of affairs in Europe must not 
 be lost sight of, when we attempt to find exact geo- 
 graphical counterparts N. of Canada to the "Islands" 
 at which Pantagruel touches. 
 
 In the Gargantua^ allusions are to be found to the 
 discoveries of Columbus, Isabella {Hispaniola) and the 
 Perlas Islands*, while mention is made of Java and 
 Madagascar {Phehol), Greenland and Iceland* in the 
 Third Book. 
 
 Although he followed the voyages of all these 
 travellers, Rabelais did not altogether attach credence 
 to their marvellous accounts. In iv. 63 considerable 
 incredulity is manifested towards Pliny's wonders, who 
 has already been stigmatised as a liar*, and the travellers, 
 of whom a list is given in v. 30, are treated with con- 
 siderable disrespect when they are said to have got 
 together their narrations "by hearsay." This Herodotus 
 honestly declares in certain cases, though it is only 
 right to note that he is often confirmed by fuller know- 
 ledge; in one curious point incredulity on his part is 
 proved by later experience to be unwarranted. He 
 discredits the claim of the Phoenicians to have circum- 
 navigated Africa, because they asserted that after 
 sailing certain days the sun which had been on their 
 left appeared on their right, thus making it certain to 
 us that they had crossed the line at least. In the 
 fanciful list of books in P. 7 the title of one is "Travellers' 
 
 1 R.E.R. X. 134-140. 2 c. 56. 3 cc. 56 and 58. 
 
 * III. 51. ' G. 6. 
 
Love of Geography and Travels 187 
 
 Tales" (Les hrimbelettes des voyageurs) ; in this Strabo^ 
 had preceded him when he remarks: "Every one is a 
 boaster in recounting his travels." Shakespeare is 
 kinder and perhaps juster when he says: 
 
 travellers ne'er did lie. 
 Though fools at home condemn them^. 
 
 The same love of investigation in topography may 
 be observed in Rabelais, when we find attributed to 
 Panurge a special knowledge of the streets and lanes of 
 Paris, as it is exhibited in the Pantagruel; also in the 
 ardour with which Rabelais took up the description of 
 Roman topography on his first visit to that city in 
 1534, ^•iid which he only abandoned when he found 
 himself anticipated by Marliani in this task. He caused 
 Marliani's book to be reprinted at Lyons, and himself 
 prefixed an explanatory dedication to Bishop du 
 Bellay. 
 
 An instance of the powers of general observation 
 in Rabelais may be seen in the extraordinary number 
 of places mentioned by him which may be found in 
 modern railway time-tables (Livret Chaix) of the 
 Orleanais district and that of Bordeaux, the South 
 of France or the Paris-Lyon-Mediterranee district. 
 
 1 I. p. 30. ' Temp. III. 3. 26. 
 
The Prologues in Rabelais 
 
 THE PROLOGUES IN RABELAIS 
 
 The Prologues in Rabelais are extremely interesting, 
 and sometimes useful in explaining the position and 
 circumstances of the writer at the time he is composing 
 them, or the purpose he has in publishing the "book" 
 to which each of them forms the introduction. It is 
 also instructive to note who and what are the writers 
 from whom he borrows his material ; for that occasion- 
 ally furnishes a clue to the date and surroundings in 
 which he was at the time of composition. 
 
 Roughly speaking, we may learn by examination 
 of his books, what writers were most laid under con- 
 tribution for a particular portion; for although he 
 made considerable use of contemporary writers and 
 of those of the time immediately preceding his own, 
 such as Marot, Gringore, Cretin, Coquillart, Villon, 
 Patelin, as well as the Roman de la Rose and the old 
 French Romances — the last especially in his earlier 
 books, Pantagruel and Gargantua — it is as a Humanist 
 that he is most at home, and his borrowings are mostly 
 derived from Cicero's Moral writings, from PHny and 
 Plutarch's Moralia, from Homer (especially the 
 Odyssey), from Lucian and Virgil with the commentary 
 of Servius, from Gellius and Macrobius and several other 
 classical authors. At the same time he delights to 
 follow in the footsteps of the earlier Humanists, 
 especially of Budaeus and Erasmus, his earliest guides, 
 as well as Valla and Politian ; in the Fourth Book and 
 in the revision of the Third Book he makes much use 
 
The Prologues in Rabelais 189 
 
 of Caelius Rhodiginus. It will be noticed also that 
 Erasmus and Pliny are less employed in the earlier 
 books and increasingly so in the later ones, when he 
 becomes more practised in the art of composition and 
 less satisfied with the cruder work of the earlier French 
 romances. This will be observed generally, as also in 
 the Prologues, which although introductory in manner, 
 were written later, after the books to which they refer 
 were completed. 
 
 The Prologue to the Pantagruel (which was the 
 first "Book" in date, though the second in the usual 
 arrangement) is devoted to a panegyric on les grandes 
 Cronicques du grand geant Gargantua, which is allowed 
 by some critics, though denied by others, to be Rabelais' 
 work. This is followed by a recommendation of the 
 Pantagruel as a book of the same kind but a little more 
 reasonable and worthy of credit. A personal note is 
 also struck at the end, to the effect that the author — 
 who is described on the title-page as "the late Master 
 Alcofribas" — has just returned "to visit his native 
 country and to know if any of his kindred are there 
 alive." This has been cleverly used by M. Lefranc to 
 fix the date of pubhcation for this book (October 1532) 
 and also to help to settle the date of the Gargantua as 
 in October 1534 {R.E.R. ix. 155). In this Prologue 
 very few loans from other writers are to be noted. 
 There is one from Cornelius ^Agrippa de vanitate scien- 
 tiarum, c. 47, on the Cabala, and a number of chivalric 
 romances are mentioned by name; otherwise it is 
 simple, almost burlesque, in its imitation of the old 
 French romance writers. 
 
 In the Prologue to the Gargantua a great change is 
 
190 The Prologues in Rabelais 
 
 to be remarked. First, the crude simplicity of the 
 Pantagruel is laid aside, and a serious tone replaces' it. 
 But most noticeable is the fact that the first three 
 paragraphs are taken bodily, with a few burlesque 
 , additions, from the Adagia of Erasmus, on the admirable 
 qualities of the ugly Socrates, as represented by Plato. 
 The following passage, which resents the disparagement 
 of comic and droll representations as containing nothing 
 of value, is from Lucian, and the next which forbids 
 the estimation of men by their dress is from Erasmus. 
 Then comes an application of a passage of Plato ^ in 
 praise of the philosophical dog, which breaks the bone 
 to get at the marrow so highly commended by Galen. 
 So also the author claims for his composition an 
 inner meaning such as is involved in allegory, so 
 much observed in sacred mysteries and Pythagorean 
 symbols. This again is derived from 'Erasmus' Adagia, 
 or a passage very similar in thought and expression in 
 Galen's de usu partium (vii. 14). Rabelais goes on to 
 say that Homer never dreamed of the allegories'^ that 
 have been squeezed out of his writings by the critics, 
 and especially by Politian, whom (following Budaeus) 
 he unjustly accuses of plagiarizing. He next accuses 
 a certain friar of foolishly deriving absurd moralisings 
 from Ovid. He now declares that he himself when 
 writing his Books thought no more of such things than 
 Homer did, though, like him and Ennius, he wrote 
 them while eating and drinking, as Horace (quoted by 
 
 1 Plato's passage is also given in Plut. Is. et Osir. c. 11, and 
 the notion is reinforced by Erasmus (Ad. 11. 9. 35) in a line 
 from Plautus (Cure. 55), quoted by Jerome : Qui e nuce nuculeum 
 esse vultfrangii nucem. 
 
The Prologues in Rabelais 191 
 
 Erasmus) asserts. Again Erasmus supplies a story 
 that Demosthenes spent more on oil than wine; 
 Rabelais makes a merit that he spent more on wine 
 than on oil. Therefore, concludes the jovial author, 
 do you, my readers, interpret my deeds and sayings 
 in the best sense, and make merr}' over my humorous 
 writings. 
 
 The Prologue to the Third Book begins by drawing 
 attention to the old Cynic philosopher Diogenes. 
 Asking his French readers whether they have heard 
 of him, Rabelais assumes that they have, since they are 
 of Phrygian descent, like King Midas, for they are 
 derived from Priam (if the claim of descent from 
 Francus, second son of Hector, which they make, is 
 just). At all events, if they have not the wealth of 
 Midas they have his long ears. This is a scoff at the 
 curiosity of the French which he gibes at elsewhere 
 (P.P- prol.). Erasmus is drawn upon for the account 
 of the wealth and the asinine ears of Midas. An 
 account is then given of the conduct of Diogenes at 
 the siege of Corinth by King Philip, when finding 
 himself unemployed in helping in the defence of the 
 city, he set himself to work to roll his tub up and down 
 the Craneium. All this is greatly amplified with truly 
 Rabelaisian humour and spirit. Hints are taken from 
 Erasmus in describing the activity used in preparing 
 the fortifications, and from Gellius in the list of the 
 various weapons. In the same way and from the same 
 motive Rabelais explains that in the expected siege of 
 Paris by Charles V in 1544, while the citizens are all 
 busily employed in preparing the defence, he, having 
 nothing to do and being unable to give active help, 
 
192 The Prologues in Rabelais 
 
 will employ himself as best he can and roll his Diogenical 
 Tub, i.e. give all the assistance he can by his writings. 
 This is derived from Budaeus in the preface to his 
 Annotationes in Pandedas, where he translates and 
 adapts Lucian's account of the siege of Corinth and the 
 conduct of Diogenes. The Prologue goes on to commend 
 War as, in the opinion of Heraclitus, the Father of all 
 good things, and, in the judgement of Solomon, resem- 
 bling the perfection of divine wisdom. This is directly 
 contradictory of what Rabelais said in the Gargantua 
 (c. 46), but it maybe explained that he is now speaking 
 as a patriot in the defence of his country, ana thus 
 opposing the thesis of Erasmus {Ad. iv. i. i) that 
 "War is sweet only to those who never tried it." 
 
 In these circumstances, after drinking in his in- 
 spiration, as did Aeschylus (Erasm. Ad. iv. 3. 58), Ennius 
 and Cato, according to Horace, the author determines 
 to help on the work by casks of his writings in eulogy of 
 his countrymen's deeds of arms. Notwithstanding, he 
 fears lest his grotesque writings may give offence where 
 he intends to give pleasure, but relying on the kindly 
 nature of his readers he will set to work with his Tub, 
 from which all may drink without paying. There is 
 no fear of the wine running short, for he will pour in 
 at the bung as his readers shall draw out at the tap. 
 The wine is for drinkers of good qualities and for "gouty 
 blades of the highest walk" who will take all in good 
 part. But it is not intended for corrupt judges and 
 advocates, or for ill-natured critics, who only pry out 
 errors for correction, still less for the hypocritical 
 mendicants, who are for reading the books themselves 
 and smelling out heresies. For them he has the 
 
The Prologues in Rabelais 193 
 
 cudgel of Diogenes, which he ordered to be laid beside 
 his dead body to drive away roving curs. 
 
 The Prologue to the first (partial) edition of the 
 Fourth Book (written in exile at Metz) begins with the 
 acceptance of a silver flask made in the shape of a 
 breviary, presented to Rabelais at Metz by some 
 French courtiers from Paris, who requested him to 
 continue his writings. On the outside this flask was 
 decorated with hooks and magpies [crocs et pies), 
 which served as a reius on crocquer pie, a proverbial 
 phrase signifying "to drink lustily." The author 
 proceeds to explain this by giving a spirited account 
 of a terrible battle between magpies and jays, which is 
 said to have taken place at St Aubin du Cormier in 
 Brittany and to have furnished an augury for the 
 battle between Charles VIII and Louis, Duke of Orleans 
 (afterwards Louis XII), in which the Breton ermines, 
 as represented in colour by the magpies, were utterly 
 defeated by the azure and argent of the French jays. 
 The story is told in Poggio, Facetiae, No. 234, but it 
 seems to have been common gossip on the borders of 
 Brittany and France. A jay belonging to an old uncle 
 of Rabelais at Angers is stated to have broken out of 
 his cage and to have joined the forces of the jays, 
 returning a few days afterwards badly wounded, but 
 the magpie of a neighbouring barber never returned. 
 She had been eaten {la pie a este crocquee) , for crocquer pie 
 must have been the watchword on the day of battle. 
 After this explanation, Rabelais expresses his willing- 
 ness to accept this present and to crocquer pie. But 
 the request had involved the words do, dico, addico, 
 the Roman praetor's phrase for his functions on the 
 
 s. E. 13 
 
194 T"^^ Prologues in Rabelais 
 
 days that were fasti. (This is from Ovid and Macro- 
 bius.) The gift {do) being accepted, the saying (dico) 
 is next examined. You say, continues the author, that 
 my writings have pleased you and you invite me to 
 continue them. This is practically assented to, with 
 a reciprocal compliment. Thirdly you adjudge {addico) 
 the old quarters of the moon to the lunatic calumniating 
 monks and friars, who in imitation of the diabolos, or 
 calumniating spirit, have decried the Pantagrueline 
 writings, only in order to keep them for their own 
 reading, and thus to take them from the sick folk for 
 whose delectation they had been composed. According 
 to a passage in the Epidemia of Hippocrates patients 
 are undoubtedly cheered and elated by a cheerful 
 bearing of the physician, and depressed by the contrary, 
 perhaps also there is actually a transfusion of spirits, 
 gay or gloomy, between patient and physician. Con- 
 sequently our Doctor, unable to be present, writes 
 his books to console his patients in his absence. 
 Nothing, therefore, is left for his calumniating enemies 
 but to select a tree and hang themselves. This offer 
 is in imitation of that which Timon made to the 
 Athenians, of the fig-tree which he was intending to 
 cut down. 
 
 M. Romier has estabhshed {R.E.R. x. 113-42) 
 almost for certain that Rabelais, utterly disgusted (at 
 Metz) with the persistent attacks on his books on the 
 score of heresy, laid down his pen and determined to 
 write no more, after having written his fragmentary 
 Fourth Book. Being in straits for means, he wrote his 
 appeal to Cardinal du Bellay, dated March 6, 1547, the 
 reply of the Cardinal being a summons to accompany 
 
The Prologues in Rabelais 195 
 
 him to Rome after King Henry II's coronation at 
 Reims. Accordingly we find that Rabelais, after 
 taking his salary as physician at Metz up to Midsummer 
 1547. was in Paris on July 10, and from there joined 
 the Cardinal at Reims, which they left together for 
 Rome, July 22, passing Lyons, where Rabelais (ca. 
 August 15) left with the printers his first instcdment 
 of the Fourth 5oo^ without corrections, and an Almanack 
 for 1548 (the title-page of which has survived) to be 
 published at the next November book-fair. He stayed 
 with du Bellay in Rome from September 27, 1547, till 
 September 22, 1549, when the Cardinal, having been 
 superseded by Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, returned to 
 Lyons early in November with Rabelais and some of 
 his suite. Here du Bellay was commanded to return 
 to Rome, to take part in the conclave, at which 
 Julius III was elected (Nov. 29 — Feb. 7, 1550). After 
 the election, he was detained by some intrigues till 
 July 19, when he returned at once to St Maur. 
 Rabelais had been left at Lyons. He had informed 
 Cardinal de Chatillon of his resolve not to continue his 
 Pantagruel] but the Cardinal had obtained for him a 
 privilege from the King to publish his writings, and 
 by this and his efforts, backed by the request of du 
 Bellay at St Maur-Ies-Fosses, had induced Rabelais to 
 finish his Fourth Book. Very strained relations had 
 occurred between the French Court and the Vatican, 
 and M. Romier urges that this and the former slight on 
 Cardinal du Bellay prompted the tone and the substance 
 of this book, viz., a panegyric on G. du Bellay and 
 his family and strong attacks on the policy of Rome. 
 This, M. Romier suggests, is explained by the 
 
 13—2 
 
196 The Prologues in Rabelais 
 
 Epistle of Dedication to Cardinal de Chatillon of the 
 second (complete) edition of the Fourth Book. 
 
 The Epistle of Dedication begins by saying that the 
 author has been importuned to continue his "Panta- 
 grueline Mythologies''; that he had written them 
 entirely in the interest of his patients; setting forth 
 that the duty of the physician is to cheer and please 
 his patients in every way possible, in dress, bearing, 
 speech, etc. He repeats from the Prologue of the 
 incomplete Fourth Book the passage from Hippocrates 
 on the necessity of a cheerful bearing on the part of a 
 physician. He then proceeds to say that above all 
 things a physician ought to be careful in his conversa- 
 tions, giving three instances from Galen of misconduct 
 of physicians in this respect. After this he complains 
 bitterly of the calumnies that have been raised against 
 him by " certain Cannibals, Misanthropes and Agelasts," 
 accusing him of heresies in his books. This he indig- 
 nantly denies, but says that he had lost patience and 
 had resolved not to write a jot more. He had set it 
 forth to Cardinal de Chatillon himself, but the Cardinal 
 had obtained from King Henry a privilege for the Fourth 
 Book, which he had shewn to him afterwards, and again, 
 together with Cardinal du Bellay at St Maur-les-Fosses, 
 had persuaded him to continue his writings. Therefore, 
 Rabelais says, under this protection he continues to 
 write, but he asks his readers to attribute every success 
 he may enjoy to his kind patron. 
 
 The Prologue to the Fourth Book, after a profession 
 of good health and cheerfulness, which the writer 
 attributes to the favour of God, cites the precept of 
 the Gospel, which enjoins that a physician should see 
 
The Prologues in Rabelais 197 
 
 that he enjoys good health himself before he presumes 
 to heal others. This is backed by an extract from 
 Erasmus on Galen and one from Pliny on Asclepiades, 
 another physician. But if health have escaped you, 
 the writer goes on, see to it that you secure it, like a 
 runaway slave, as is enjoined by the learned jurist 
 Tiraqueau in his recent treatise Le mort saisit le vif, 
 i.e. by the death of the possessor the heir is seised of 
 the property. Do you therefore pray for health and, 
 as that is a moderate prayer, you may hope that God 
 will hear and answer it. Prayers and wishes should 
 always be moderate. Instances of moderate prayers 
 obtaining an answer may be found in the case of 
 Zacchaeus, who wished to see Christ, and in the son 
 of the prophet, who wished that his hatchet which had 
 fallen into the river might be restored to him (2 Kings 
 vi. 1-7). On the subject of Hatchets an illustration is 
 given from Aesop the Phrygian, i.e. the Frenchman, cf. 
 III. prol. (init.). The fable is given in Erasmus Ad. 
 (iv. 3. 57 Fluvius non semper fert secures), but it is here 
 told of a woodcutter of Gravot near Chinon. Rabelais 
 gives reins to his fancy and pictures Jupiter holding 
 a Council or "Consistory" of the Gods and interrupted 
 in his affairs of arranging the politics of the world by 
 the cries of the Woodman praying for his hatchet. 
 The well-known story of the gold and silver hatchets 
 is told with very graphic amplifications, such as a 
 survey of European politics and the squabbles in the 
 University of Paris, while Priapus gives advice, with 
 precedents from mythology and illustrations of his own 
 experiences as tutelary god of the gardens, where he 
 heard madrigals sung by musicians in May at the times 
 
198 The Prologues in Rabelais 
 
 of the election of Popes Leo X and Julius III (1513 and 
 1550 respectively). This gives an opportunity to 
 furnish a list of fifty-nine contemporary musicians, 
 singers in the choir of the Popes and other princes; 
 which list has been useful in recording the names of 
 musicians of that time. Jupiter instructs Mercury to 
 give the Woodman his choice of the hatchets, — gold, 
 silver, and his own. He chooses his own and is en- 
 riched. His neighbours sell their possessions to buy 
 hatchets, but by choosing the gold one instead of their 
 own subject themselves to the penalty of losing their 
 heads. Thus, the Prologue says, it will be if you 
 do not indulge your wishes in moderation. A racy 
 illustration is given of two immoderate wishers, who 
 paid a heavy penalty. Consequently, do you wish and 
 pray for health, in sure faith that such a moderate 
 wish will be granted. Do not imitate the Genoese, 
 who after looking over their swindling transactions, 
 go out in the morning and wish one another "Health 
 and Gain" and consequently are often disappointed 
 of both. 
 
 PROLOGUE TO THE FIFTH BOOK 
 
 This Prologue is also founded on the Adagia of 
 Erasmus from which are taken several allusions. Rabe- 
 lais begins with salsiitido non inest illi [Ad. 11. 3. 51), 
 then expands a text of Ecclus. vii. 10 "Why were 
 the former days better than these?" and afterwards, 
 by the help of an old French proverb to the effect that 
 
Prologue to the Fifth Book 199 
 
 fools are most in season when beans are in flower, 
 advises his readers to eat copiously of beans in pod, 
 which he figuratively explains to be his own books. 
 This, he says, should be done without scruple by his 
 readers notwithstanding the prohibition of Pythagoras 
 afabis abstineto (Erasm. Ad. i. 2. p. 17) ; for Pythagoras, 
 he declares, only forbade them to others in order that 
 there might be the more for himself. The Prologue 
 then proceeds to say that although the author cannot 
 pretend to rival the excellent compositions of Colin, 
 Marot, Heroet, Saint-Gelais, Salel, Masuel and, above 
 all, those of Margaret of Navarre, whom he must be 
 satisfied to hear and commend, yet he hopes to be 
 accepted as the Rhyparographer, or genre-palntex and 
 comic writer, as compared with the writers of high 
 rhetorical style. There are passages and expressions 
 in this Prologue nearly identical with several in that 
 of the Third Book, and some that correspond very 
 nearly with others in that of the Fourth Book. This is 
 made out by some critics to be an argument against 
 the authenticity of the Fifth Book. On the other hand 
 it may be used to maintain the thesis that the Fifth 
 Book was written eariier than the other two and laid 
 aside by the author, possibly for further elaboration, 
 or perhaps altogether, and therefore passages and ideas 
 in it were employed for the other two books. This 
 was the case, we know, with the Old Prologue of the 
 Fourth Book, which was made by the writer to supply 
 matter for the Epistle of Dedication and for the 
 Prologue of the Fourth Book (B). 
 
200 Lists, Blazons and Litanies 
 
 LISTS, BLAZONS AND LITANIES 
 
 One of the features of the Pantagruel and Garganiua 
 is the lists of persons, books, games, fishes, serpents, 
 etc., and those of epithets or blazons of persons, with 
 which Rabelais regaled his readers. He readily fell 
 in with the fashion of his times, and perhaps was 
 enabled to go beyond his contemporaries in having at 
 command lists of plants, animals and all sorts of 
 collections in Athenaeus, Pliny and other writers. He 
 seems to have revelled in taking a long catalogue from 
 some source or other and in adding to it an3rthing that 
 was suggested to him by his own experience, observation 
 ot fancy. To begin with the long list of persons or 
 characters subject to the various planets in c. 5 of the 
 Pantagrueline Prognostication; in the compilation of 
 this he was following a widespread fashion. He also 
 translates some Latin Prognostications which had been 
 printed in Germany. This is made more interesting 
 from the fact that many of the curious names that 
 he has got together reappear later in various parts of 
 his "books." In the first chapter of Pantagruel we 
 find the pedigree of Pantagruel adapted from the 
 genealogies of the Kings of France composed by his 
 friend Jean Bouchet, the Poitevin jurist. The form 
 in which it is put is clearly an imitation of the genea- 
 logies of our Lord in St Matthew and St Luke, while 
 the names are derived from the Old Testament, 
 classical writers and the names of heroes in chivalric 
 romances, such as Fierabras, Morgante Maggiore and 
 others. This goes to shew that he had used the 
 
Lists, Blazons and Litanies 201 
 
 opportunity afforded him by the Lyons printers to 
 read these prose romances. 
 
 In the seventh chapter of Pantagruel is a fanciful 
 catalogue of books supposed to be found in the theo- 
 logical library of St Victor in Paris. It consists of a 
 number of pious books with the titles burlesqued and 
 a few books relating to contemporary events ; but it is 
 important to observe that in the first two editions 
 (A 1532, B 1533) the hst is comparatively short, while 
 in the third and fourth editions (C 1537, D 1542) an 
 addition is made as long as the original list ; this allows 
 the introduction of books suggesting comments on 
 various political and religious events of the time ; much 
 of the matter therein is derived from that strange book 
 composed and edited by Ulrich von Hutten and his 
 friends under the name of Epistolae Ohscurorum 
 Virorum, a most powerful satire against the ignorance 
 and debauchery of the monks and friars. This was 
 quite to the taste of Maistre Fran9ois and he makes 
 much use of it in the later part of the chapter. Un- 
 fortunately for modern readers this chapter can only 
 be rendered intelligible by a commentary, which must 
 needs be much longer than the original, though 
 historically the titles are very interesting. One 
 instance may be given to illustrate the double-edged 
 point of much of Rabelais' satire: L' entree d'Anthoine 
 de Leive es terres du Bresil. This is an imitation of a 
 well-known historical romance L' entree de Charlemagne 
 en Espagne, but the reference is to the attack on 
 Provence by Antoine de Leyva, Charles V's general in 
 1536, when Constable Anne de Montmorency forced 
 him to a disastrous retreat by devastating and burning 
 
202 Lists, Blazons and Litanies 
 
 up {Bresil = burnt up) the country before him. Brazil 
 had not long been discovered by the Portuguese Pedro 
 Alvarez Cabral. 
 
 .The thirtieth chapter gives a list of Heroes and 
 Heroines in Hades and their various employments 
 (generally reversing their position and importance) 
 furnished by Epistemon, who has been restored to life 
 by Panurge after the battle with the Giants. It is 
 imitated from the tenth book of Plato's Republic and 
 modelled on the veKvia, or account of the dead, as 
 told by Ulysses in the eleventh book of the Odyssey, 
 aided by some amusing touches from Lucian. A long 
 list is provided, first from characters in Herodotus and 
 Plutarch, with occupations found for each of them, 
 sometimes on the principles of contrariety (i.e. great 
 kings are made beggars, etc.) or sometimes to be 
 explained by historical adaptations, as when Marcellus 
 is a bean-sheller {esgousseur de febves) because he 
 superseded Fabius, and Scipio Africanus cried lye in 
 a sabot [cornoit la lie), from his gentile name Cornelius, 
 and many others, the explanation of which is not easy. 
 Then come a number of Roman emperors, heroes of 
 chivalry. Popes, etc., Homeric and historical heroes 
 and heroines, followed at the end by Diogenes the 
 Cynic and Epictetus the needy philosopher, who are 
 paralleled with Minos and Orion in Homer, while 
 Patelin, Le Maire, Villon and the braggart poltroon, 
 the Franc-Archier de Baignolet, occupy the places of 
 Tityos, Tantalus, Sisyphus and Heracles. Some of the 
 strokes of satire are exceedingly comic, but it must be 
 confessed that other comparisons have lost their 
 point, if they ever had any. 
 
Lists, Blazons and Litanies 203 
 
 In the Gargantua, the eleventh chapter is mostly 
 taken up with a list of Proverbs, or rather Anti-Proverbs, 
 which the vicious education of the old monkish system 
 causes the young prince to follow, so as to act in 
 immediate contradiction of accepted maxims of wise 
 and correct conduct. The proverbs are gathered from' 
 Hesiod and old-world philosophy, nearly a dozen are 
 from Cordier's de corrupti sermonis emendatione (Gry- 
 phius 1532), which gives a long list of phrases in the 
 Latinity of the Paris University followed by the French 
 equivalent and then by the proper Latin phrase. Many 
 others are simply current proverbial philosophy of the 
 period, but reversed. The object of the chapter is to 
 burlesque the result of the monkish education in 
 contrast with that provided by Rabelais' own system 
 of moral, intellectual and physical training, which is 
 described later on (cc. 23, 24). 
 
 The twenty-second chapter of Gargantua supplies 
 a list of games (about 120) which the youthful hero 
 played after dinner. It begins with games at cards, 
 dice, draughts, chess and backgammon. Interesting 
 among the card-games is the game of cent, or a hundred, 
 which proves to be the well-known game of picquet, 
 according to the judgement of "Cavendish." Other 
 games given here are simpler parts of this rather 
 complicated game, out of which it seems to have grown. 
 These games are followed by others such as shovel- 
 board, fox-and-geese and other social games; then 
 come hunt-the-slipper, forfeits and the like. These 
 are succeeded by games indoors and outdoors, in 
 fact any kind suggested by the fertile imagination or 
 retentive memory of the author. It is to be observed 
 
204 Lists, Blazons and Litanies 
 
 that the same games are sometimes introduced under 
 different provincial names. The moral intended is that 
 the youth under such training finds recreation in any 
 and every pastime, whether useful or not, but that he 
 merely fritters away his time, the most valuable of all 
 things. In contrast to this the new system in c. 23 
 supplies cards, "not to play with, but to learn from 
 them a thousand pretty tricks and new inventions, 
 which were all derived from arithmetic." 
 
 The Third Book furnishes two litanies and a blazon, 
 which are the best known of aU these lists. Urquhart 
 has done a great disservice to Rabelais by indefinitely 
 increasing the number of epithets, in a spirit of bravado, 
 as it seems. The first litany in c. 26 consists of a 
 number of epithets hurled by Panurge at Brother John 
 as a mocking compliment to his virile powers; this is 
 retorted in c. 28 by Brother John taunting Panurge 
 as being weak and forlorn in respect of such qualities. 
 Each list has very nearly the same number of epithets. 
 Another injury has been done in the second edition by 
 the printer Fezandat (F. 1552), in arranging the lists 
 with two epithets in a line, instead of three, as was the 
 case in the first edition {W. 1546). A careful examina- 
 tion of the epithets shews that the system of three in a 
 line was the one Rabelais intended, and moreover it is 
 essential to the proper setting forth of the qualities 
 attributed to each character. For instance, "ebony, 
 brazil-wood, boxwood" are bracketed; they also come 
 together in P. 19, where they occur before. Then there 
 are "Raphe-like, Guelphic, Ursine," and three lines in 
 a sequence "gerundive, genitive, active," "gigantal, 
 vital, oval," "magistral, claustral, monachal." The 
 
Lists, Blazons and Litanies 205 
 
 same feature is to be observed in the litany in c. 28, 
 where may be noticed "choused, cosened, cajoled," 
 "foundered, spavined, galled," from veterinary surgery, 
 and "drawn, cupped, scarified," from the process of 
 cupping. To break up these trios merely to form the 
 list in two Hues is to destroy the sequence of ideas. 
 Both in this Third Book and in the Fourth Book, as 
 printed by Fezandat, much carelessness is to be found, 
 and many misprints, which are corrected in a later 
 edition by Aleman. In iv. 59 a Hst of dishes, obviously 
 intended by Rabelais for a litany, is spoiled by ignoring 
 the proposed bracketing of similar dishes and printing 
 the dishes mentioned all in one sequence, notwith- 
 standing that there are two lists of twenty-eight each. 
 A few additional names are supplied in each of the 
 litanies of the Third Book, furnished either by 
 Rabelais or the printer, and their insertion undoubtedly 
 breaks the three-word arrangement, but the spirit of 
 each chapter is so entirely spoiled by their introduction 
 that I would rather insert them at the end in a note. 
 In this connexion also I would note that in in. 22 
 Demogorgon is changed to Demiourgon in ed. 2, and that 
 Demiourgon is read in iv. 47 by Fezandat. " Demogor- 
 gon " is a fiend and should properly find place in both 
 chapters ; Demiourgos is a creator in Plato and Galen. 
 The change I attribute to Fezandat. 
 
 In c. 38 we have the celebrated blazoning of the 
 fool Triboulet by Pantagruel and Panurge in antiphone. 
 Blazon, of course, is a heraldic term signifying a shield, 
 the arms represented upon it, and the description of 
 such arms by heralds, who to the cry "largesse" which 
 followed added an enumeration of the exploits and 
 
2o6 Lists, Blazons and Litanies 
 
 attributes of an in-coming champion. Afterwards, 
 losing its heraldic significance, the word came into 
 common use, and became "a perpetual praise or 
 continued vituperation of him who is its object" 
 (Ch. Fontaine 1548). Thus it became a kind of 
 rhetorical exercise. Sicile, herald at arms to Alphonso, 
 King of Aragon, taking the word partly in its heraldic, 
 partly in its poetical sense, composed a Blason de toutes 
 armes (1495) and later a Blason des Couleurs, which 
 Rabelais mercilessly ridicules in G. 9. Coquillart 
 (1421-1519) wrote le Blason des Armes et des Dames, 
 and in 1504 Gringore inserted le Blason de Practique 
 in his Folles-Enterprises. These Blasons soon became 
 fashionable and everything conceivable was blasonne. 
 Rabelais here follows this fashion and adapts a Cri du 
 Prince des Sotz of Gringore's (vol. i. p. 201, ed. Elz.) 
 beginning Sotz lunaticques, sotz estourdis, sotz saiges, and 
 borrows somewhat from a Monologue des nouveaulz 
 sotz, of which two examples may be found in the An- 
 ciennes poesies frangaises (vol. i. pp. 11-16, vol. ill. 
 pp. 13-18), compiling a kind of litany descriptive of 
 Triboulet. To him must attach the credit or discredit 
 of giving this Blason in antiphone. Epithets derived 
 from any and every source may be found in these lists, 
 from medicine, from the kitchen, from grammatical 
 treatises, from falconry, from astrology, etc., but I think 
 that two sources stand out particularly — terms derived 
 from the office-holders in the Roman Church and a 
 longish list of epithets belonging to birds. These are 
 reminiscent of the Fifth Book cc. 2-6, in which all the 
 orders of that church are compared to birds, such as 
 Pope-jay, Cardin-jay, etc.; also a quotation from 
 
Lists, Blazons and Litanies 207 
 
 Pliny is given (iv. 58) comparing the cuculli or cowls 
 of the monks and friars with the coquilles or shells 
 which nature has formed in endless variety of shapes, 
 colours, and streaks. It seems as though Rabelais had 
 been struck by the clerical dresses, the singing and 
 bell-ringing attached to the Roman services and had 
 whimsically recorded them in several places of his 
 book. 
 
 To these perhaps should be added the list of verbs 
 in the Prologue to the Third Book, grotesquely describing 
 the manner in which Diogenes is represented as rolling 
 his tub up and down the Craneium at Corinth. It 
 should be observed that of the sixty-one verbs de- 
 scriptive of his action the first part merely treats of 
 him turning and twisting the tub about, the second 
 part consists of words relating to the direction of a 
 carriage and horses, while the third part is applicable 
 to the preparation and limbering of a piece of artillery ; 
 so that Rabelais is guilty of a very comic anachronism 
 in representing Diogenes as treating his tub as though 
 it were a mortar or a similar piece of ordnance for the 
 purpose of defending the city. 
 
 The anatomy of Lent as to his organs and limbs 
 given in iv. 30, 31 may fairly be looked upon as a list 
 or litany of somewhat the same kind as the others. 
 Till recently this anatomy of Lent and the comparison 
 of each of the organs and members with some object 
 to which a resemblance is traced was looked upon as 
 a mere trick of a grotesque fancy, but in 1899 Dr Le 
 Double, a Touraine physician, published a book in 
 which these resemblances were carefully made out and 
 shewn to be reasonable and real. In a few cases the 
 
2o8 Lists, Blazons and Litanies 
 
 comparisons may seem far-fetched, but generally the 
 drawings of the anatomical parts contrasted with the 
 representations of their counterparts as given by 
 Dr Le Double from drawings of the objects to which 
 they are compared — in most cases contemporary with 
 Rabelais — are striking in their similarity. In ana- 
 tomical books that were accessible in the sixteenth 
 century possibly the same or similar comparisons were 
 to be found ; in two caises — the mediastinum compared 
 to a leather-bottle, and the pleura to a crow's-bill — the 
 same resemblances may be seen traced by Ambroise 
 Pare, the celebrated surgeon, who was a younger con- 
 temporary of Rabelais (lib. ii. c. 8 and lib. ix. c. 4 and 
 lib. X. c. 22), -so that the source of the other comparisons 
 may perhaps be found. What Dr Le Double does not 
 point out is that the anatomical lists given in these two 
 chapters are derived from the de usu partium of Galen, 
 with two or three items taken from Avicenna's book 
 on Anatomy : but as Avicenna's treatise was probably 
 derived to a great extent from Galen, who also includes 
 these special features in his treatise, it would seem that 
 this was only introduced by a fondness for variety, 
 exhibited elsewhere by our author, or from a com- 
 plaisance to his medical confreres, who still held to the 
 Arabian nomenclature. 
 
 In c. 40 a list of cooks is introduced under the 
 command of Brother John, drawn up in eight bands 
 for the purpose of fighting against the Chitteriings, 
 who are attacking the Pantagruelists. This is perhaps 
 intended as a parody of the enrolment of a force of 
 condottieri, and serves to exemphfy the fertiUty of 
 invention required for this bestowing of nicknames. 
 
Lists, Blazons and Litanies 209 
 
 It is a trait worthy of Plautus, whose genius in many 
 ways seems to have descended to his French disciple. 
 Otherwise there is little to remark in this exuberant 
 display. 
 
 In the list of foods (c. 59) sacrificed by his followers 
 to Messer Gaster, a slight examination will, I think, 
 shew that the printer, as I have pointed out, was careless 
 in not arranging the dishes as aresponsive litany, which 
 was intended by the author. He has merely printed 
 in sequence two lots of twenty-eight dishes which were 
 intended to be in parallel columns. Thus we should 
 read: 
 
 Legs of Mutton with garlic Shoulders of Mutton with 
 
 sauce, capers, 
 
 Pasties with hot sauce. Pieces of Beef i la royale, 
 
 Pork-cutlets with onion Breasts of Veal, 
 
 sauce, Boiled Hens with blancman- 
 Capons roasted in their relish, ger, 
 
 Woodcocks, Snipes, Hazel-hens, 
 
 etc., etc. etc., etc. 
 
 A very slight re-arrangement would make a double 
 hst of twenty-eight dishes very nearly corresponding 
 in character. The intention of all this chapter 
 is to point out the self-indulgence of Messer Gaster 
 (i.e. the high dignitaries of the Roman Church) in the 
 matter of gormandizing. 
 
 The sixtieth chapter proceeds to set forth the 
 dietary of Messer Gaster on the "interlarded" (for 
 "intercalated") lean days. First we find a number of 
 appetizing dishes such as caviar, herrings, etc., to pro- 
 voke thirst, which must needs be appeased. This is 
 followed by a list of eighty-four fishes, which may be 
 
 S. R. 14 
 
2IO Lists, Blazons and Litanies 
 
 served to the gluttonous churchman. In the com- 
 position of this list Rabelais has had recourse to the 
 ninth and thirty-second books of his faithful Pliny, in 
 which a list and sometimes an account of a large number 
 of fishes is put down. He also employs the book {de 
 Piscihus) of his old friend the Montpellier professor 
 Rondelet, and that of Pierre Gilles De piscium Mas- 
 siliensium gallicis et latinis nominibus, which had been 
 published by Seb. Gryphius, 1533. He may also have 
 consulted Athenaeus. This is succeeded by more egg- 
 dishes and salt-fish and then wine, and lastly by dried 
 fruits, etc. 
 
 The last list in the Fourth Book (c. 64) is devoted to 
 serpents, reptiles, etc. It is introduced on a very slight 
 pretext. In the previous chapter Eusthenes, during 
 the calm, which had put the travellers out of sorts, had 
 proposed a problem, "why a fasting man's spittle is 
 dangerous to a fasting serpent" ; Pantagruel had wisely 
 answered their problems and dissipated their ennui by 
 ordering dinner. After this all the company one after 
 another declare themselves satisfied, and Eusthenes 
 declares that for the whole of this day all serpents may 
 abide in safety from his exscreation. He then proceeds 
 to enumerate a list of ninety-seven noxious creatures 
 which are in this category. The list is interesting to 
 us principally from the sources from which it is derived. 
 These are Pliny, libb. 8 and 29, Avicenna's Canon, 
 libb. IV. and v., Nicander's Theriaca, and one or two 
 more isolated instances. Interesting cases are the 
 serpent arges which proves to be the oc^i? apyi)<; of 
 Hippoc. Epid. V. § 36, a passage employed in iv. c. 44 
 in refutation of a story of Brother John taken from a 
 
Lists, Blazons and Litanies 211 
 
 Colloquy of Erasmus, and the serpent Cychriodes 
 (Kvx^peiBrj'i o0t?) which was nurtured by Cychreus, and 
 became the famulus of Demeter at Eleusis (Strabo, 
 IX. 393). (The list itself seems to be merely a parade 
 of erudition.) 
 
 In the Fifth Book there is only one long list and that 
 is taken almost unaltered from Le Disciple de Panta- 
 gruel. It is a list of dance-songs and it occurs in c. 33*, 
 a chapter which is found only in the MS. of the Fifth 
 Book, and of which the authenticity has been much 
 questioned. The list, however, is interesting, as it 
 furnishes the titles of many of the songs and ballads 
 which were popular in the fifteenth and sixteenth 
 centuries. 
 
 RABELAIS ON ART 
 
 In art Rabelais seems to have cared but little for 
 painting or sculpture, notwithstanding the wonderful 
 achievements in painting in Rome just before his visits 
 in 1534-6. He knows nothing of the Stanze of Raphael 
 which had only just been completed; he only knows 
 of the portrait of Alexander VI by Pinturicchio in the 
 Borgia apartments owing to a scandalous story attached 
 to it. He just mentions the paintings of Charles 
 Carmoy and the pictures on each side of the window on 
 the H6tel Jacques Coeur at Bourges. On the other 
 hand he is keenly interested in the Castles on the 
 Loire which were built or in course of construction by 
 the Kings or great nobles of France, and his own Abbey 
 
 14—2 
 
212 Rabelais on Art 
 
 of Thelema is the result of his love for Architecture. 
 Although the details are incorrect, not to say impossible, 
 the general idea is sound and several of the features are 
 suggested by the King's castle at Blois. The Abbey 
 was to be more magnificent than Bonnivet, Chambort 
 or Chantilly, but the number of chambers assigned to 
 it (9332) is enormously in excess of the space for their 
 accommodation. The Hypnerotomachia, from which 
 much is borrowed in the details of the Abbey, was the 
 work of a Dominican, the Order which paid special 
 attention to architecture. Rabelais also mentions the 
 two bridges over the Seine, connecting the Ville with 
 the Cite and the Universite, which were constructed 
 from the designs of Fra Giocondo, another Dominican. 
 He gives also two or three allusions to Vitruvius, and 
 was a personal friend of Philibert de I'Orme, the 
 distinguished architect from Lyons. 
 
 His other penchant was Music. Several poems and 
 songs are inserted in his books, whether from his 
 friend San-Gelais, or from old French song-books; 
 the most curious contribution that he makes is the 
 list of fifty-nine musicians in the Prologue to the 
 Fourth Book. They are mostly Flemings or Hollanders, 
 for it was in those countries that music found most 
 encouragement, especially at the court of Margaret of 
 Austria, the aunt of Charles V. In Rabelais' list they 
 bear names of a French form, and there are also of 
 course some French musicians. Nearly all of them 
 were trained in the choirs of various European courts, 
 and had achieved distinction as singers before they 
 attained fame as musicians. One point in the time 
 indicated as iheiv floruit is that about half of them are 
 
Rabelais on Art 213 
 
 mentioned as preceding the other division by thirty- 
 seven years. This seems to point to the accession to 
 the pontificate of Leo X (1513) for the first group, and 
 that of Julius III (1550) for the second. Many of these 
 musicians have been recorded in the History of Music, 
 and their compositions pubHshed in Venice and else- 
 where. 
 
 Another enigmatical mention of musical history is 
 to be found in iv. 62, where flutes made from the wood 
 of the elder-tree that has grown far from human 
 habitation are preferred to those made from ordinary 
 elder-wood which sprouts from ruinous buildings in 
 peopled neighbourhoods. This is interpreted to mean 
 that sacred music devoted to church services should 
 be "celestial, divine and more abstruse" rather than 
 common and trivial. This refers to a long-standing 
 quarrel between composers who preferred the old 
 Gregorian chants, which admitted only semibreves and 
 the heavy notes, as opposed to the lighter music which 
 allowed quavers and other quicker notes. There exists 
 in the Decretals an order of John XXII, dated Avignon 
 1224 {Extrav. Comm. iii. i. i), setting forth a detailed 
 prohibition of every note save those of the more solemn 
 church music. Rabelais illustrates all this curiously 
 by citing the proverb : Non ex quovis ligno Mercunus, 
 i.e. the god Mercury is not to be represented by a statue 
 carved from any chance wood but from the thyine wood. 
 In this case the meaning is that teaching should be 
 adapted in every case to the learner's capacity. The 
 musical point here mentioned is also brought out with 
 a number of puns in v. 27, a chapter which many 
 critics will not allow to be Rabelais' work. 
 
214 Rabelais on Art 
 
 There is a note by Antoine Leroy, who was cure of 
 Meudon with two or three cures intervening between 
 himself and Rabelais, to the effect that he had learnt 
 from old men in his parish, who had heard from their 
 fathers, of their former pastor Francois Rabelais. They 
 describe him as very expert in singing, and assert " that 
 he trained chorister-boys in what was called plain- 
 chants with wonderful kindness and gentleness, that 
 he arranged everything with exactness and order, and 
 that he administered everything in the Church with 
 the utmost vigilance, and that his house afforded 
 refuge and protection to all." This is from a volume 
 called Floretum philosophicum (Paris, 1649). 
 
EPILOGUE 
 
 An attempt has been made here to give a short 
 account of the hfe and Hterary activity of one of the 
 most elusive geniuses that have lived. Rabelais filled 
 so many important positions, generally behind the 
 scenes, and his writings have been so much misjudged 
 and directed to ends quite foreign to their original 
 purpose, that it is still difficult to see them in their 
 proper perspective. The times in which he Hved were 
 so stirring and changeful that the policy and aims of 
 the principal actors in the scenes of the pohtical and 
 religious life are very liable to distortion. Much more 
 is this the case with a subordinate under the direction 
 of others, who stand out more clearly to view. 
 
 A writer who had played so many different parts 
 in the drama of life, one so versatile in his various 
 duties and occupations and so widely read in ancient 
 literature as well as that of his own country and times, 
 must needs be full of instruction and many-sided in 
 his writings, and therefore difficult to follow exactly 
 by readers four centuries removed from his age. For- 
 tunately the Renaissance, by reason of its intense in- 
 terest, has been so much studied by historians, artists 
 and others that it is now better understood than some 
 periods less remote in time. 
 
 Francois Rabelais is seen as the son of a considerable 
 
2 1 6 Epilogue 
 
 proprietor of land and vineyards in a part of France of 
 the greatest interest, roaming the country round and 
 noting its remarkable features and capacities for hawking 
 and other field-sports, as well as the historical associa- 
 tions of Chinon and elsewhere. This observant nature 
 he carries with him in all his later surroundings, topo- 
 graphical and literary, whether as a theological student 
 at Angers, a Franciscan friar at Fontenay-le-Comte, 
 a Benedictine brother at Maillezais, a student at Paris, 
 or a physician at Lyons, Turin, Rome and Metz. 
 Added to this he had a great capacity for forming 
 friendships, which served him well. 
 
 The dead set of his convent at Fontenay against 
 the studies in which he had delighted roused in him a 
 spirit of intense hatred of bigotry, which lasted all his 
 life. In the preface to his Almanack of 1535 and in 
 the last chapter of the Fijth Book he quotes approv- 
 ingly Aristotle's dictum that "all men by nature have 
 an eager desire for knowledge," and it seemed to him 
 unnatural and monstrous that men should set their 
 faces against such a desire. Hence came his lifelong 
 rancour against the Mendicants, which was repaid with 
 interest by the Sorbonne. He had also stirred up 
 another enemy in Charles, nephew of Gaucher Sainte- 
 Marthe, whom he had held up to ridicule as Picrochole 
 in the Gargantua. Again, his broad philosophical out- 
 look had come into collision with Calvin's doctrine of 
 predestination. Thus he had aroused the enmity of 
 powerful interests which never ceased their persecution 
 during his life. 
 
 Of his presumed legal studies at Bourges and Or- 
 leans we have but Httle information. His medical 
 
Epilogue 2 1 7 
 
 studies at Paris are more surely known by their results 
 in the degrees at Montpellier. 
 
 His life with the printers and in the hospital at 
 Lyons, and his visits to Rome with Bishop (afterwards 
 Cardinal) du Bellay, are better known than other periods. 
 Then comes his stay at Turin with Guillaume du Bellay ; 
 his subsequent life at Orleans and St Maur were eventful 
 in producing his Third Book, while his third visit to 
 Rome, of two years' duration, and the composition of 
 the Fourth Book under the direction of Cardinals 
 Coligny and du Bellay were very momentous. After 
 this came the censure of his books, the resignation of 
 his cures of Meudon and St Christopher of Jambet and 
 his death in 1553, of which last there is only a tradi- 
 tional record. 
 
 Of his books, the Pantagruel and Gargantua are 
 claimed as written to cheer the tedium of his patients 
 in the hospital, the Third Book is in the interest of his 
 fellow-countrymen in the war against Charles V, while 
 the Fourth Book is purposed to support the policy of 
 France in opposition to the usurpations of the Roman 
 Church and its doctrine, or rather the perversions of it. 
 
 The coarseness of some parts of the book has pre- 
 vented it from being universally read and known. 
 The excuse that this style of writing was employed as 
 a stalking-horse, behind which the real shafts of his 
 satire were directed, can hardly be accepted by modern 
 critics. Outspokenness generally was tolerated and 
 excused more at that time than now. Even Erasmus 
 was not clear of this charge. A French writer has 
 asserted bluntly that, as the early part of Rabelais' 
 life was spent among monks and friars and the later 
 
2 1 8 Epilogue 
 
 part in the medical world, it is not surprising that he 
 fell in with the freedom of speech usual in those pro- 
 fessions. We can only admit the fact and deplore it. 
 Tiraqueau's outspoken book de legibus connubialibus, 
 from which Rabelais borrows considerably towards the 
 end of the Third Book, must be held responsible for 
 much that is objectionable. 
 
 As he borrowed freely from other sources, ancient 
 and modern, so his own books have supplied much 
 matter and many idea5 to writers who succeeded him. 
 Brantome and Pasquier were steeped in his writings, 
 while careful readers will see that Montaigne owes more 
 than he acknowledges. Moliere of course is deeply 
 indebted, but it is surprising how little Balzac and 
 Victor Hugo have penetrated beneath the surface of 
 this writer. It is to the credit of English writers that 
 many of them have seen the merit of the Gargantua and 
 Pantagruel ; Ben Jonson employs the book, though less 
 than we should expect, while Shakespeare's debts in 
 that quarter are very small. Of our other dramatists 
 Nashe and the author of the play Lingua are remarkable 
 for the amount of their borrowings. Bacon has several 
 allusions and excerpts, the universally learned Burton 
 in his Anatomy of Melancholy derives much from this 
 source. Sir Thomas Browne takes large handfuls, Butler's 
 Hudibras echoes style as well as matter, while the 
 pillagings of Sterne in Tristram Shandy are notorious. 
 It is not so well known that Scott in many of his 
 Waverley Novels has drawn much from this source. 
 
A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST 
 
 OF THE EXTANT WRITINGS AND CORRE- 
 SPONDENCE OF- FRANg;OIS RABELAIS AND 
 OF SOME DOCUMENTS BEARING ON HIS LIFE 
 
 Letter of Rabelais to Budaeus ... 
 Letter of Budaeus to Rabelais . . . 
 Letter of Budaeus to Rabelais ... 
 Rhymed letter to Boucliet 
 Rhymed letter of Bouchet in reply 
 Matriculation of Rabelais at Montpellier 
 Baccalaureat of Rabelais at Montpellier 
 Epistle of dedication (Manardi Episiolae medi- 
 
 cinales) to A. Tiraqueau (Lyons) ... 
 Epistle of dedication (Hippocratis Aphorismi) to 
 
 Geoffroi d'Estissac ... 
 Epistle of dedication (Testamentum Cuspidii) to 
 
 Amaury Bouchard ... 
 Letter to Erasmus 
 [Grandes Cronicques 
 Appointment as Physician to the Hospital at 
 
 Lyons 
 
 Pantagruel (also 1533, 1537, 1542) 
 
 Pantagrueline Prognostication ( ? Monday 
 
 after Epiphany) 
 Almanack (Preface) 
 Epistle of dedication (Marliani Topographia 
 
 antiquae Romae) to Bp du Bellay ... 
 Gargantua (also 1535, 1537, 1542) ... (? 
 Almanack (Preface) 
 Supersession as Physician at Lyons 
 SuppUcatio pro Apostasia 
 
 ist Letter to the Bishop of Maillezais 
 
 Answer to petition by Paul III 
 
 2nd Letter to the Bishop of Maillezais 
 
 3rd Letter to the Bishop of Maillezais 
 
 Second Petition (SuppUcatio Rabelesi) to Paul III 
 
 (cf. R.E.R. VII. 260-9) 
 
 March 4, 
 
 1520 
 
 April 12, 
 
 1521 
 
 Jan. 27, 
 
 1524 
 
 Sept. 6 ( 
 
 1525) 
 
 Sept. 8 ( " 
 
 1525) 
 
 Sept. 17, 
 
 1530 
 
 Dec. I, 
 
 1530 
 
 June 3, 
 
 1532 
 
 July 15, 
 
 1532 
 
 Sept. 4, 
 
 1532 
 
 Nov. 30, 
 
 1532 
 
 ? Aug. 3 
 
 1532] 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1532 
 
 ( ? Nov. 3) 
 
 1532 
 
 
 1533 
 
 
 1533 
 
 Aug. 31, 
 
 1534 
 
 Aug. Oct.) 
 
 1534 
 
 
 1535 
 
 March 5, 
 
 1535 
 
 
 1535 
 
 Dec. 30 
 
 1535 
 
 Jan. 17, 
 
 1536 
 
 Jan. 28, 
 
 1536 
 
 Feb. 15, 
 
 1536 
 
 (?)1536 
 
2 20 
 
 Chronological List 
 
 
 May- 
 
 22, 
 
 1537 
 
 
 Sept. 
 
 27. 
 
 1537 
 
 to 
 
 
 
 
 7. 
 
 
 
 1540 
 1541 
 
 
 March 
 
 1(? 
 
 1544) 
 
 
 Sept 
 
 19, 
 
 1545 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 1546 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 6(? 
 
 1547) 
 1548 
 1548 
 1549 
 
 and 
 
 Doctorate at Montpellier 
 
 Lectures on Hippocrates' Prognostic 
 
 Three letters from Bp Pelhcier at Venice 
 
 Rabelais at Turin. July 23, Oct. ] 
 
 March 20 
 Letter from Rabelais to Antoine HuUot 
 Privilege of Francis I for Third Book ... 
 Third Book (W). Ch. Wechel, Paris ... 
 Letter from Metz to Card, du Bellay ... 
 Fourth Book (A). P. de Tours, Lyon 
 Almanack (title-page) 
 SciOMACHiA. Seb. Gryph., Lyon 
 Privilege of Henry II for Fourth Book 
 
 revised Third Book 
 Collation to St Martin of Meudon ... Jan. 18, 1551 (n. s.) 
 
 Epistle of Dedication of Fourth Book to Odet 
 
 Coligny, Cardinal of Ch3,tiUon 
 Third Book revised (F). Fezandat, Paris 
 Fourth Book (B). Fezandat, Paris ... 
 Resignation of the cure of Meudon 
 Resignation of the cure of St Christopher 
 
 Jambet 
 Death of Fran9ois Rabelais 
 
 LTsle Sonante (16 chapters) 
 
 Fifth Book (47 chapters) 
 
 MS. of Fifth Book (48 chapters) discovered 
 
 Aug. 6, 1550 
 
 of 
 
 Jan. 28, 
 
 1552 
 
 Jan. 28, 
 
 1552 
 
 Jan. 28, 
 
 1552 
 
 Jan. 9, 
 
 1553 
 
 Jan. 9, 
 
 1553 
 
 ? April 
 
 1553 
 
 
 1562 
 
 
 1564 
 
 
 1840 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abbey of St Maur 55 ; Thelema 
 
 212 
 "Academy," Neapolitan 165 
 Adauras, St 24 
 Aeschylus a drinker 192 
 Aesop's fables (the Phrygian) 
 
 8, 197 
 Agelasts 196 
 Agrippa (H. C), de occulta 
 
 philosophia 34, 44, 68, 165 ; 
 
 de van. scient. 165, 189 
 Aigues-Mortes 61, 102, in 
 Alanus in parabolis 8 
 Albany, Duke of 176 
 Alcaeus a drinker 3 
 Alexander of Aphrodisias 140 ; 
 
 ab Alexandro, dies geniales 
 
 164; VI, portrait of 2H ; 
 
 de' Medici 41 
 Alfonse, Jean, Cosmographie 85 
 Almanacks, Rabelais' 25, 26, 
 
 120 
 Alopecia 151 
 
 Amodunt and Discordance 90 
 Amy, Pierre 10, 12, 16, 17 
 Anarchus 36, 37 
 Anatomy of Lent 137 
 Anciennes poSsies franfaises 7, 
 
 169 
 Andree Pavin, mother of Ant. 
 
 Rabelais 48 
 Angers, R.'s uncle at 10, 173 
 Annates 181 
 
 Appeals in person to Rome 181 
 Application of Psalm (124) 121 
 Arabic physicians 138 
 Architecture 211 
 Ardennes, forest of 184 
 Aretaeus 151 
 
 Argentaro, Monte 53, 93, 95 
 Arges, serpent 210 
 
 Argyropylus 106 
 Aristophanes cited 150 
 Aristotle, studies in 114 
 Aristotle's Problems 140; de 
 
 Mundo 88 
 AyrHs d'amouy 166 
 Art, R. on 211 
 L'Art militaive dans R. 46 
 Arthurian romances 20, 115, 
 
 173 
 
 Asclepiades 148 
 
 Asne for Ante 74 
 
 Athenaeus 210 
 
 Autores octo morales 8, 9, 140, 
 l6l 
 
 Averroes, Colliget 138 
 
 Avicenna's dictum 150; ser- 
 pents 210 
 
 Bacchus, conquest of India in 
 
 Baldus 29 
 
 Ballads, poetry of common life 
 
 171 
 Barbarossa, corsair 52 
 Basauchiens 135 
 Basch6, Lord of 132 
 Basel, Council of 181 
 Baudrier, Bibliographic lyon- 
 
 naise 167 
 la Baumette 10, 12 
 Bayard killed 176 
 Bazoche 135 
 Bearing of physician 152 
 Bebel, Facetiae 25 
 Beda, Noel 124 
 du Bellay, Guil. 30; death 64, 
 
 89, 136; Bp 41, 51-2, 53; 
 
 Card. 54, 79, 81 ; chateau 56 
 Bells of Notre-Dame 41 
 Benedictines approved 124 
 Benoit a Court 166 
 
222 
 
 Index 
 
 Bernard Salignac ii8 
 B^thencourt, Jean de 185 
 la Bicocca 175 
 Bigot, Guil. 58, 106 
 Birth from left ear 139 
 Bonnivet, Admiral 175; chat- 
 eau 212 
 Book-fairs at Lyons 26 
 Botany in R. 152 
 Bottiglioni no 
 Bottle, Oracle of 109 
 Bouchard, Amaury 12, 129; 
 
 feminei sexus apologia 13 
 Bouchereau, Sieur de 45 
 Bouchet, Jean 12, 17, 85, 129, 
 
 173, 200 
 Bourbon, Constable 175, 177 
 Bourgeois, Jean 116 
 Bourges 129 
 Bourrilly (V. L.) 40, 60 
 Boysonue, Jean de 58, 61 
 Brahier, Jamet 84 
 Breviary, gloss on Trinc J12 
 Bridlegoose, Judge 69, 129, 131 
 Briefue declaration 89 
 Bringuenarilles 88, 95 
 Brother John guards Abbey 
 
 close 121 
 Budaeus, Annotationes in Pan- 
 
 dectas 32, loi, 129, 161, 192; 
 
 deAsse 101,161 ; Forensiai^o 
 Bud4, G. 10, 12, 43, 106; 
 
 Letters 11, 16, 125 
 Bull of Berne 175 
 Butler's Hudibras 120, 218 
 
 Cabral discovers Brazil 202 
 Cadamosto 185 
 Caelius Calcagninus 91, 165 
 Caelius Rhodiginus 108, 150, 
 
 165 
 Cake-bakers of Lern4 48 
 Calentius 165 
 Calvin 91 
 Canada 78, 84 
 Canaria 2, 34, 35 
 Canary Islands 185 
 Cape of Good Hope 108, 185 
 Capuchins 73 
 Cardinalicules 102 
 Cardinjays 102 
 
 Carmoy, Charles 211 
 Carolingian romances 20 
 Carpalim 29, 31, 35 
 Cartier, Jacques 185 
 Castles on Loire 201 
 Catchpoles 79 
 Cathay 44, 70, 84 
 Cato (Dionysius) 8 
 Cato a drinker 192 
 Catullus 71 
 
 Cellini at Fontainebleau 63 
 Certosa di Pa via 176 
 Chabannes (Mar^chal) 176 
 Chalbroth, etc. 173 
 Chambre des comptes 105 
 Chambrier (Camerarius) 106 
 Chanson de Roland 115 
 Chansons de gestes 115 
 ChanteUe 175 
 Chappuis on Rab. 63 
 Charlemagne 115, 172 
 Charles V invades Provence 55 ; 
 
 the Catholic 177 
 Charles VIII 193 
 Chatillon, Card. 79, 97, 195 
 Chaussard, Barnab6 170 
 Chavigny-eu-VaUee belonged 
 
 to Ant. Rabelais 5 
 Cheli, Island of 78, 87 
 Chesil, Council of 183 
 Children may marry, priest 
 
 present 75 
 Chinon 6; (= Caynon) no 
 Chitterlings, the 91, 175; 
 
 Queen of 92 
 Cicero 106; de Divinatione 68, 
 
 118 
 Ciceronianism 43, 118 
 Cingar 29, 30, 87 
 Clement VII put to ransom 
 
 177; = Nero 177 
 Clerical immunity 179 
 Clouzot, M. H. 45, 46, 47, 66 
 Cluny, Hotel de 33 
 Coeur, Jacques 211 
 Colonna, F., Hypnerotomachia 
 
 50, 112 
 Columbus' travels 185 
 Computus 9, 161 
 Concordat enacted 182 
 "Confederation of owners" 48 
 
Index 
 
 223 
 
 Confrairies de la Passion 135 
 Constance, Council of 180 
 "Cook and Porter" 119 
 "Cooperate in prayer" 149 
 Coquillart 26, 43 
 Cordier, de corrup. serm. emend. 
 
 7, 167 
 Corinth, siege of (Lucian) 191 
 Cretin 43 
 
 Crise gallicane 83, 98, 195 
 Crocquer pie 193 
 Crusades (pretended) i8o 
 Cuculli (coquilles) 207 
 Cugniferes, Pierre de 179 
 Cullagium 180 
 Cuspidius, will of 20 
 Cychriodes (serpent) 211 
 
 Dances, list of 211 
 Dante's vigorous Latin 115 
 Dates of Pantagruel 25 
 Death partly in our own hands 
 
 4- 149 
 Decadence of Latinity 113 
 Declension of disease ,147 
 Decretals attacked 131 
 Decretum and Decretals 128 
 De modis significandi 161 
 Demogorgon, not Demiourgon 
 
 204 
 Demosthenes spent more on oil 
 
 than wine 191 
 Dentiform vertebra 151 
 Diableries in Anjou, etc. 136 
 Diabolos 194 
 
 Diana, and her nymphs 97 
 Diane de Poitiers 97; d. of 
 
 Henri II 83, 179 
 Diogenes and his Tub 191, 207 ; 
 
 his cudgel 193 
 Dion Cassius 90 
 Dioscorides 141 
 Disciple de Pantagruel, le 88, 
 
 loi, 109, 211 
 Divorce of Catharine of Aragon 
 
 178 
 Do, dico, addico 194 
 Dog and marrow-bone 190 
 Dolet at Lyons 26; Carmina 
 
 56, 61 
 Dominican architects 212 
 
 Douatus 164 
 
 Drink does not descend into 
 
 lungs 151 
 Due d'Alengon 176 
 
 Eberardi Grecismus 164 
 
 Elephant given to Leo X 86 
 
 Eleutherillida, el libera arbitrio 
 73, 105 
 
 Eleven months' child legiti- 
 mate (?) 139 
 
 Emperor Charles V 41, 54 
 
 Enfances de Roland 117 
 
 Engastrimythes , the 93, 150 
 
 England, king of 53 
 
 English fashion of kissing 87 
 
 Ennasin, Island 78, 87 
 
 Ennius a drinker 3, 192 
 
 Enosis, island 95 
 
 Enrolment of condottieri 208 
 
 Entelechia 101, 105 
 
 Entree ^s terres du Brdsil 55, 201 
 
 Epistemon 30, 31, 35, 69, 90; 
 account of Hades 37, 202; 
 on oracles 144 
 
 Epistle of Dedication (1. iv. ) 74, 
 79, 97. 196 
 
 Epistolae obsc. viror. 28, 201 
 
 Er the Armenian 35 
 
 Erasmus 6, 7, 43, 106, 125, 127, 
 161; copied 43 ; Adagia 162, 
 190; Colloquiag, 76, 184; In- 
 stitutio 9, 30; Paraphrases 15 
 
 d'Estissac (Geoffroi) 12, 17, 125 
 
 Etruscan ritual in 
 
 Eudemon 30 
 
 Eusebius (praep. evan.) 89 
 
 Eusthenes 29, 31, 210 
 
 Facetus (a grammar-book) 8 
 Falchettus = Carpalim 29 
 Farel, Gaucher 57 
 Farnese, Orazio 83 
 Fasti dies 194 
 Ferrara, Duke of 52, 81 
 Fezandat (printer) 204-5 
 Fierabras 200 ; = Charles V 1 77 
 Fifth Book 99, 105, 107; Pro- 
 logue, part in Prologue to 
 III. and IV. 100 
 Fishes, list of 209 
 
224 
 
 Index 
 
 Fishing rights on Loire 47 
 Fleury, Fran9ois 106 
 Floretum philosophicum 83, 214 
 Foleugo (Merlin Cocai) 28, 50 
 Fonsbeton 11 
 Fontenay-le-Comte 11 
 Fools may instruct wise 69 
 Fossa Mariana (Aigues-Mortes) 
 
 95- no 
 
 Fossanus 58 
 
 Fountain in Temple 1 1 1 
 
 Fourth Book (A) 78 ; Prologue 
 
 193. 195; (B)82, 84,97. 195; 
 
 censured 98; italianizes 117 
 Fracassus = Eusthenes 29 
 Fra Giocondo 50, 212 
 Francis I and SoEman 96 
 Franciscans and Dominicans 
 
 73; at Orleans 74 
 Frapin (Canon) 10 
 Frater de Cornibus 128 
 Frazer, Golden Bough 135 
 Fregoso and Rincon 63 
 French, kings (57) 38 ; princes 
 
 86 ; descended from Francus 
 
 173 ; resemble Midas 191 
 Froben, printer at Basel 165 
 Frozen words 92 
 Fulgosius, Baptista 89 
 Furred Law-Cats 103 
 Fiirstenberg 59 
 
 Galemelle 21 
 
 Galen, de usu partium 90, 142 ; 
 on marrow 139 ; green jasper 
 140 ; vena cava 140 ; dreams 
 143 ; speaks of two meninges 
 141 ; on newly whitewashed 
 houses 143 ; on snow-bUnd- 
 ness 140; maxim 138; head 
 made for eyes 143 ; opposed 
 145 ; conversed with Chris- 
 tians 148 
 
 Gallet, Jean 47 
 
 Ganabin, Isle of 54 
 
 Gargamelle ate tripes 2 
 
 Gargantua beneficent giant 25 ; 
 born Feb. 4 2 ; visits jugglers 
 136 ; born from mother's ear 
 139 ; death (P.) 34 ; conducts 
 army (G.) 141 
 
 Gargantua gives R.'s life 7; 
 (? 1534) 40, 49; revised 
 (1542) 63; scene laid in 
 Chinonais 44 
 
 Gargantua's games 203 ; pro- 
 verbs 203 
 
 Garganus mons 23, 24 
 
 Gaster, Messer 93, 209 
 
 Gastrolaters 93 
 
 Gaudete, Jehanne 84 ; Marie 84 
 
 Gaza, Theodore 106 
 
 Gelasim (? Ceylon) 35 
 
 Gelasius, Pope 23 
 
 Gellius, passages on legitimacy 
 139 
 
 Genealogies des Roys de France 
 
 173 
 
 Genoa 95 
 
 Geoffroy Tory 44 
 
 Gesta Romanorum 116, 127 
 
 Gilles, Pierre 108, 210 
 
 Giraiie, present to Lorenzo de' 
 Medici 86 
 
 Giuntas at Florence 166 
 
 Glossers of Laws ridiculed 
 130 
 
 Good Hope, Cape of 44, 84 
 
 Gormander-birds 103 
 
 Gourmont, Gilles de 165 
 
 Grand Gosier 21 
 
 Grandes Cronicques 20, 21, 22 
 
 Grandgousier (= Ant. Rabe- 
 lais) 2, 45 ; ( ? = Francis I) 
 38 ; denies plagues sent by 
 saints 121 ; decries pilgrim- 
 ages 122 
 
 Gravot 5 ; woodcutter of 197 
 
 Great mare 41 
 
 Greenland 186 
 
 Gringore 26 
 
 Grippeminaud 104 
 
 Grynaeus, orbis novus 35, 185 
 
 Gryphius (Seb.) 20, 59, 80, 164, 
 166 
 
 Guinea-worms 144 
 
 Guise, Cardinal, letter to 82 
 
 Guises, the 80 
 
 Hatchets, fable of 197 
 Health to be secured 195 
 Hearsay (dico^) 108, 186 
 
Index 
 
 225 
 
 Heinrichman's Prognostication 
 
 25 
 Henri II 83 
 Henry VIII excommunicated 
 
 178 
 Herodotus 108; justified 186 
 Heroet 199 
 
 Her Trippa 44, 68, 144 
 Heulhard (M.) 63, 102 
 Hippocrates, Aphorisms 20, 
 
 138, 144 ; de arte medendi 34 ; 
 
 de flatibus 92 ; on dreams 
 
 143; on madness 150; on 
 
 women 145 
 Hispaniola (Isabella) 186 
 Holofernes 7, 161 
 Holy Bottle 70, 84 
 Homenaz, bishop 132 
 Homer a drinker 3 ; never 
 
 thought of allegories 190 
 Homeric heroes in Hades 202 
 Honfleur, port 34 
 Hubert, Bp of Avranches 23 
 Hugutio 164 
 HuUot, Antoine 65 
 Humanism and Lutheranism 
 
 125 
 Humanists in legal studies 130 
 Hyferes islands 62 
 Hypnerotomachia 49, 89, 180 
 
 Iceland 186 
 
 Ichthyophagi 184 
 
 Idle monks and their services 
 
 121 
 Immoderate wishes 121 
 Imposition of names 34 
 Inchkeith, battle of 178 
 Institutio Principis Christiani 
 1 117, 162 
 
 Ippolito d'Este 80, 97, 195 
 Isidorus 164 
 risle Sonante 99 
 Italian names used in R. 54, 95 
 
 Jambet, curi de 83 
 
 Jannequin 93, 174 
 
 Jardins secrets 95 
 
 Jarnac, duel of 79 
 
 Java 186 
 
 Jays against magpies 173, 193 
 
 Jean des Entommeures 46 
 
 Jerome, St 164 
 
 Jobelin Bride 161 
 
 John XXII insists on solemn 
 music 213 
 
 Jongleurs 137 
 
 Jonson, Ben, possessed a Rabe- 
 lais 8 
 
 Journal d'un Bourgeois de Paris 
 37. 43. 133 
 
 Julius II bellicose 178 
 
 Julius III Pope 81 ; opposes 
 Orazio Farnese 179 
 
 Jupiter presides over Council 
 197 
 
 " Keys " to Rabelais 46 
 King Arthur in England 21 
 
 La Devini^re, R.'s birthplace 
 
 5. 6, 47 
 La grande nef des folz 168 
 La Lamproie 5 
 Lamp in Temple in 
 Langey, Martin, Seigneur de 80 
 Lantern-land (Lychnopolis) 109 
 La PommardiSre belonged to 
 
 Ant. R. 5 
 La Rochelle 109 
 Lateran Council 182-3 
 Le Double, Dr 90, 141, 207 
 Lefranc (M. Abel) 45, 46, 47 
 Legatus h latere 180 
 Le Maire de Beiges 26 
 Lemnian vermilion earth 150 
 Lent, fosterer of diseases 184; 
 
 limbs and organs of 149; 
 
 opposed to Chitterlings 183; 
 
 comparisons 207 
 Lerne 42 
 
 Leroy, Antoine 18, 83, 214 
 Letter to Cardinal du Bellay 
 
 194 
 Lewis the Bavarian 103 
 Liberum arbitrium 72 
 Ligug6 17, 185 
 Limousin scholar 27 
 List of birds 206 ; Roman office- 
 holders 206 ; of cooks under 
 
 Brother John 208 
 Litany of foods 209 
 
 15 
 
226 
 
 Index 
 
 Liter a Pisana (= libey Pandect- 
 arum) 32, 103 
 Living chess-game 50 
 Lorens, Etienne (St Ayl) 64 
 Louis XII 2, 193 
 Louise de Savoye (M&re Sotte) 
 
 133 
 
 Loupgarou 56 
 
 Lucian 109 ; Menippus 36, 202 ; 
 Vera Historia 37, 94, 185; 
 Diogenes 119; Dionysus iii 
 
 Lutheran revolt 15 
 
 Lyranus (de Lyra), commen- 
 taries 127 
 
 Mdcon, Bp of 52 
 
 Macraeons 88, 95, 185 
 
 Macrinus, Salmo 61 
 
 Macrobius, symposium 68 
 
 Madness, kinds infinite 147 
 
 Madrid, Francis I at 176 
 
 Maillard, Olivier 116 
 
 MaiUezais, R. at 17 
 
 MaiUotins 172 
 
 Maine, Sir H. on Roman Law 32 
 
 Maladies due to Wind 150 
 
 Malea, Cape 24 
 
 Manaxdi Epist. med. 14, 20, 136 
 
 Manducus 93 
 
 Manutius 166; Hypnerotom. 
 
 1499 and 1546, 50 
 Marcellus, esgousseur de febves 
 
 202 
 Marco Polo 185 
 Margaret of Navarre 124, 176, 
 
 199 ; of Austria 212 
 Margry, Navigations franfaises 
 
 85 
 Margutte 29 
 
 Marignano, battle of 93, 173 
 Marliani, Topographia Romae 
 
 49, 187 
 Marot, CI. 26, 43, loi, 166, 199 
 Marquelt 46 
 
 Marriage one's own afiair 72 
 Marseilles, siege of 176 
 Marseilles, voyage to (?) 53 
 Marty-Laveaulx (ed. Rab.) 46 
 Massoretic interpretation 127 
 Matins, long service 75 
 Matrimonium de praesenti 184 
 
 Meats discussed 141 
 Medamothi (?=Newfoundland) 
 
 85 
 Meden (? = Medina) 35 
 Mediastinum, like a leather- 
 bottle 208 
 Medici, Cosimo de' 97 
 Medicine (i) prophylactic, (2) 
 
 therapeutic 144 
 Medicorum more negantum 146 
 Meeting of Francis I and 
 
 Charles V 61 
 Melinda 35 
 Mendicants censured 37, 123; 
 
 direct Roman policy 179; 
 
 grasp at bequests 180 
 Menot, Michel 116 
 Mercurius non ex quovis ligno 
 
 213 
 MerHn Cocai 28, 87 
 Merlin creates Grand Gosier 21 
 Metz, R. at 76, 193 
 Meudon, cur& of 83, 84 
 Micquelots 23 
 Microcosm 138, 142 
 Military Orders 103 
 Minims 73 
 
 Minority of Charles VI 172 
 "Misanthropes" 196 
 Mitylene (siege of) 31 
 Molifere 146 
 
 Monasteries decried 123 
 Monks gormandizers 75 
 Montmorency, Constable55, 79, 
 
 175 
 Montpellier 59, 136 
 Moral comedy 136 
 More, Sir T. 32 
 Morgante Maggiore 29 
 Le mort saisit le vif 197 
 Moving Roads 106 
 Munster (Seb.), cosmography 
 
 35 
 Music, R.'slove of 212 ; Church, 
 
 divine, not trivial 213 
 Musicians, lists of 96, 198, 212, 
 
 213 
 Myrelingues (= Brittany) 11 
 
 Nature opposed to sudden 
 changes 141 
 
Index 
 
 227 
 
 Naufragium (Erasmus) 88 
 Nearchus, Alexander's admiral 
 
 91 
 Neuter in Medicine 146 
 Nicander 94, 141, 210 
 Nile embankments 107 
 North-west passage 33, 78, 84, 
 
 185 
 Nose-slitter 79 
 Nourry printed Pantagruel (A) 
 
 20, 167 
 
 Odyssey 36 
 
 Olonne 78 
 
 Onomatomancy 33 
 
 Ophiasis 151 
 
 Orleans, Prince Louis of 80 
 
 Outris, les 104 
 
 Palais des Thermes 33 
 
 Pandects only shreds of laws 
 131 
 
 Panigon, King 87 
 
 Pantagruel 27, 40, 63 ; date 
 iSg ; scene laid in Poitou 44 
 
 Pantagruel abolishes thirst 3 ; 
 meets Panurge 2, 28; sick- 
 ness 37 ; genealogy 38 ; tra- 
 vels 44 ; pedigree 200 
 
 Pantagruel and Gargantua (D) 
 
 105 
 
 Pantagrueline Prognostication 
 22, 25, 138 
 
 Pantagruelion (hemp) 70 
 
 Panthagruel, a small devil 29 
 
 Panurge 30; escapes from 
 Turks 32 ; will marry 68 ; 
 quotes Digest 146 ; refuses to 
 sack Law-cats 104 ; wedding- 
 breakfast 109 
 
 Papefigues 92, 96 
 
 Papimanes, the 92, 96 
 
 Paris Fool 119 
 
 Parma 83 
 
 Pascal's Pensies 106 
 
 Pasquier, Recherches de la 
 France 31 
 
 Pass Forth [passons outre) 104 
 
 Passion de Saulmur 135 
 
 Patelin, Farce de 26, 31, 137 
 
 Paul III 52 ; death 81 
 
 Paulus Jovius 175 
 
 Payne, Dr J. F. 143 
 
 Pellicier, Bp of Maguelonne 
 
 62, 139 
 Pericardium 149 
 Perlas Islands 186 
 Peter Martyr 185 
 Petition to Paul III (i) 17, 
 
 (2) 55 
 
 Philibert de I'Orme 56, 65, 97, 
 212 
 
 Philippe des Marays 30 
 
 Phrenes, metaphrenes, etc. 146 
 
 Physeter, the 91 
 
 Physician, observant of patient 
 147 ; Ph., patient and disease 
 148; himself healthy 148, 
 197; sometimes rude 148 
 
 Picrochole = Gaucher de Sainte- 
 Marthe 45 
 
 Piedspoudreux (pie-powder) 1 04 
 
 Pierre du Castel 52 
 
 Pilulae aggregativae 151 
 
 Piombino 53, 95 
 
 "Placards," the 40 
 
 Plato, Cratylus 34 ; Republic 
 35 ; Timaeus 142 
 
 Plautus, plays 171; imitated 
 209 
 
 Pleadings in Pantagruel 130 
 
 Pliny's botany 71 
 
 Plutarch, list of worthies 202 ; 
 Moralia 71 ; plac. phill. 107 
 
 Podestci 95, 108, 150, 181 
 
 Poggio, Facetiae 173, 193 
 
 Poitiers 185 
 
 Politian 59, 106, 161 
 
 Polycleitus, canon 151 
 
 Ponocrates 30, 141 
 
 Pontalais (Songecreux) 133 
 
 Pontanus 164 
 
 Popejay 102; P.'s schism 103 
 
 Popes opposed to Ferrara 178 
 
 Portuguese route 78 
 
 Poyet, Chancellor 59 
 
 Pragmatic sanction 181; re- 
 newed by Charles VII 181; 
 abolished 182 
 
 Prayers, moderation in 197 
 
 Priapus gives advice 197 
 
 Priest-jays 102 
 
228 
 
 Index 
 
 Prince should avoid war 48 
 
 Prior of San Louant 96 
 
 Priscian 164 
 
 Privilege, Fourth Book 83, 195 
 
 Procuration Island 78, 87 
 
 Profane music in church ser- 
 vices 96 
 
 Profanity in quotations 127 
 
 Prologue to Fifth Book con- 
 tains passages from Prols. 
 III. and IV. 199 
 
 Pronosiicatio quae incipit, etc. 
 182 
 
 Protests against persecutions 
 125 
 
 Proverbs employed 162; com- 
 mon to England and France 
 8 
 
 Puy-Herbaut 91 
 
 Pythagoras, symhola 162 
 
 Quentel, printer at Cologne 166 
 Querelle des femmes 15, 72 
 Quinquenais, les 5 
 Quintessence 150 
 
 Rabelais (Antoine), lawyer and 
 landowner 5 ; held lands con- 
 tiguous to Ste-Marthe 47 
 
 Rabelais (Francois), birth-year 
 1-3 ; burial place i ; his 
 brothers and sister 6 ; scheme 
 of family 4; tonsured at 7 
 years 6 ; Brother Minor 1 1 ; 
 a Benedictine 17 ; visits Uni- 
 versities 1 8 ; studied at Paris 
 18; M.Bac. at MontpelUer 
 
 18, 19; at Hotel St IJenis, 
 Paris 18; quits monkish 
 habit 19; at Lyons (1532) 
 
 19, 81 ; physician at Lyons 
 2 1 ; corrector of press 39, 
 167; visits Touraine 40,49; 
 in Florence 40; superseded 
 at Hospital 5 1-2 ; Licentiate 
 and Doctorate (1537) 56-7; 
 Lectures at Montpellier 60; 
 visits S. of France 62 ; with 
 Guil. du Bellay 62 ; in Paris 
 63 ; Maistre des Requestes ( ?) 
 63, 105; roUs his Diogenical 
 
 Tub 65; objects to Cloister 
 rule 73; at Metz 75, 77; 
 physician to Hospital 76; 
 letter to Card, du Bellay 77 ; 
 hands MS. of Fourth Book 
 (A) to printer 80; returns 
 from Rome with du Bellay's 
 baggage (?) 95; did not re- 
 turn to Rome in 1549 97 ; 
 resigns cures 98 ; dies 1553 
 98 ; plagiarized Tiraqueau 
 99 ; at Aigues-Mortes at 
 meeting of Charles V and 
 Francis I no; style formed 
 on Herodotus and Lucian 
 118; letter to Erasmus 118; 
 genuinely religious 120; de- 
 cries prying into future 120; 
 maintains soul's immortality 
 120; on Rdman Church and 
 its abuses 124; on biblical 
 studies 126; ifavours Re- 
 formers 128; Legist 128; 
 at Metz 76 ; correct in Ana- 
 tomy 141 ; learned botanist 
 153; fond of topography 
 184; knowledge of Paris 
 and Rome 187; employs 
 contemporary writers, but 
 rather Classics and Hu- 
 manists 188 ; his books pro- 
 fess inner meaning 190; they 
 are as wine for worthy 
 drinkers 192; in Rome 1547 
 -9 195 ; refers to Arab 
 physicians 208; his conduct 
 as cur6 214 
 
 Rabelais, Jamet (brother) 84 
 
 Ramasse des graduez, la 182 
 
 Ramiuagrobis 73, 144 
 
 Ravisius Textor (Officina) 38 
 
 Ren^e, duchess of Ferrara 124 
 
 Rennes 11 
 
 Rete mirahile 143 
 
 ReuchUn 28 
 
 Riario, Card. 81 
 
 Roberval 86, 185 
 
 Rodilardus 165 
 
 Roman de la Rose 15, 26 
 
 Romances (old) 20, 39, 116 
 
 Rome, sack of 175 
 
Index 
 
 229 
 
 Romier (M.) 79, 83, 179 
 Rondelet, de piscibus 210 
 Rondibilis 15 ; on continence 
 145 ; on women's non-control 
 145 ; quotes Hippocrates 145 
 RooselDeke, battle 172 
 Rost, Swiss colonel 174 
 Royal lecturers appointed 2 
 Ruach, Island of 92 
 
 Sack of Rome 177 
 
 St Angelo 175; Christopher of 
 Jambet 84; Aubin du Cor- 
 mier 173, 193 ; Ayl, Seigneur 
 de 77; Denis, Hostel 18, 33 ; 
 Ephrem 139; Gelais 199; 
 MaixentdePoitoui35 ;Maur- 
 les-Foss6s 57, 65, 83, 142 ; 
 Chateau at 65 ; Michael's ap- 
 parition 23; SanRemo54, 95, 
 102 
 
 Sainte-Marthe, de 40, 42, 45, 47 
 
 Salamander resists fire 147 
 
 Salel 199 
 
 San Graal 43, 103 
 
 Satin, Land of 107 
 
 Scaliger 166 
 
 Scarperia 97 
 
 Scenic representations 133 sqq. 
 
 Scfive, Maurice 61 
 
 Schools of rhetoric at Lyons, 
 etc. 113 
 
 Scipio cornoit la lie 202 
 
 Scyron, Jean 61 
 
 "Sea-swallow" 86 
 
 Seigny, John 119 
 
 Seraphin Calobarsy 141 
 
 Serpents, list of 210 
 
 Servius on Virgil 139, 164 
 
 Senilis monastery 6, 161 
 
 Sexes of plants 153 
 
 Sextum in Decretals 137 
 
 Sharping Island 103 
 
 Sheep-dealer 78 
 
 Siege of Paris (i544) i9i 
 
 Signs and Symbols 33 
 
 Sileni Alcibiadis (Erasmus) 119 
 
 Silver flask to R. 193 
 
 Simony of Boniface and Nicho- 
 las III 181 
 
 Sion, Cardinal of 174 
 
 Sleep strengthens digestion 143 
 Sleidan 77 
 Sneaking Island 90 
 Socrates described 190 
 Songs with dancing 133 
 Sow, The (Truye) 91 
 Sporades, The 89 
 Squinanthi {esquinances) 146 
 Stars in heaven, 16,070 days 3 
 Stephen (R. and H.), printers 
 
 166 
 Storm, the 79, 86 
 Sturm's letter to du Bellay 76 
 Suidas 90 
 
 Sultan 52 ; attacks Sophy 178 
 SuppUcatio pro apostasia I2g 
 Susanneau 61 
 Swiss (Chitteriings) 91 ; heavily 
 
 defeated at Marignano 174 
 
 Taggia 54, 95, 102 
 Taphenon, Gabriel 64 
 Teaching adapted to learner 
 
 213 
 Telamonia, the 95 
 Temple of the Bottle no 
 Texts of laws before glosses 131 
 Thalassa 78 
 Thaumast 32 
 
 Thelema, Abbey of 50, 122 
 Thenaud, traveller 185 
 Theodoret a grammarian 8 
 Third Book 66, 73 ; begun at 
 
 St Ayl 142 
 Thirlwall, Bp, onlegalstudies 32 
 Thobiae liber, in elegiacs 9, 140 
 Tilley on University "act" 34 
 TintelorisS 174 
 Tiraqueau 12, 15, 90, 119, 129, 
 
 145; de legg. connub. 13, 14, 
 
 69, 106 
 Tohu and Bohu 79 
 Tombelaine 23 
 Tools, Island of 103, 151 
 Tournon, Cardinal 57 
 Tout estfrelore 174 
 Transference of Empire 172 
 Transfusion of spirits 147 
 Translation of Bible 128 
 Travellers' tales 187 ; in Fifth 
 
 Book 108 
 
230 
 
 Index 
 
 Tree to be chosen for hanging 
 
 194 
 Trent, Council of 76, 92, 183 
 Tribonianus 113, 131 
 Triboulet 69, 180, 205 
 Trinc panomphaean 112 
 Trivium and Quadnvium 28 
 Truye at Bergerac 172 
 Turpin's Chronicle 115 
 
 Ulrich von Hutten 201 
 Urquhart enlarges litanies 204 
 Utopia 27, 33, 35, 44, 108, 165 
 Utrum Chimaera, etc. 181 
 
 Valla, Lorenzo 32, 130, 161 
 
 Vasco da Gama 35 
 
 Vena cava enters right ven- 
 tricle 151 
 
 Venetians opposed to Maxi- 
 milian 178 
 
 Ventriloquists 150 
 
 Vergilianae sortes 16, 68 
 
 Verrazano 185 
 
 Veterans, colonists from Rome 
 
 "3 
 Victor (St), library 27, 201 
 Vienna, fishing rights 42 
 
 Villon 26, 43, 168 
 Virgil, Eel. IV. 61 (gloss) 139 
 Vitruvius 147, 212 
 Vittorino da Feltre 9 
 Vulgate debased Latinity 114 
 
 Wait for development in dis- 
 ease 147 
 
 War to be avoided as being 
 robbery 72 ; is beautiful 72, 
 112, 192 
 
 Water tasting like wine iii 
 
 Whale-fishery by Bretons and 
 Basques 91 
 
 Wild Island 91, 95 
 
 Wine is Truth, in in, 112 
 
 Woman in Revelation no 
 
 Xenomanes, traverseur des voyes 
 perilleuses 85 
 
 Young man recovered from 
 
 hanging 36 
 Youth impatient of hunger 
 
 (Hipp.) 142 
 
 Zacchaeus 197 
 
 Cambridge: printed by j. o. peace, m.a., at the university press 
 
THE LITERATURE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 FRENCH RENAISSANCE 
 
 By ARTHUR TILLEY, M.A. 
 
 FELLOW AND LECTURER OF KINg's COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE 
 
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