The works of the famous Mr. Francis Rabelais, doctor in physick treating of the lives, heroick deeds, and sayings of Gargantua and his son Pantagruel : to which is newly added the life of the author / written originally in French, and translated into English by Sr. Thomas Urchard.

CHAP. XIX. (Book 19)

The Oration of Master Jonatus de Bragmardo, for recovery of the bells. (Book 19)

HEm, hem, Gudday Sirs, Gudday & vo∣bis my masters, it were but reason that you should restore to us our bells; for we have great need of them. Hem, hem, aihfu∣hash, we have often-times heretofore refused good money for them of those of London in Cahors, yea and of those of Bourdeaux in Brie, who would have bought them for the substantifick quality of the elementary com∣plexion, which is intronificated in the terre∣streity of their quidditative nature, to ex∣traneize the blasting mists, and whirlwindes upon our Vines; indeed not ours, but these round about us: for if we lose the piot and liquour of the grape, we lose all both sense and law. If you restore them unto us at my request, I shall gaine by it six basketfuls of sauciges, and a fine paire of breeches, which will do my legs a great deal of good, or else they will not keep their promise to me. Ho by gob domine, a paire of breeches is good, & vir sapiens non abhorrebit eam. Ha, ha, a paire of breeches is not so easily got, I have

experience of it my self. Consider, Domine, I have been these eighteen dayes in metagra∣bolising this brave speech, Reddite quae sunt Caesaris, Caesari, & quae sunt Dei, Deo. Ibi jacet lepus, by my faith, Domine, if you will sup with me in cameris, by cox body, charitatis nos faciemus bonum cherubin; ego occidit unum porcum, & ego habet bonum vino: but of good wine we cannot make bad Latine. Well, de parte Dei datè nobis bellas nostras; Hold, I give you in the name of the facul∣tie a Sermones de utino, that utinam you would give us our bells. Vultis etiam pardonos? per diem vos habebitis, & nihil payabitis. O Sir Domine, Bellagivaminor nobis; verily, est bonum vobis. They are useful to every bo∣dy, if they fit your mare well, so do they do our facultie; quae comparata est jumentis insi∣pientibus, & similis facta est eis, Psalmo nescio quo; yet did I quote it in my note-book & est unum bonum Achilles, a good defend∣ing argument, hem, hem, hem, haikhash; for I prove unto you that you should give me them. Ego sic argumentor, Omnis bella bella∣bilis in Bellerio bellando, bellans bellative, bellare facit, bellabiliter bellantes: parisius ha∣bet bellas; ergo gluc. Ha, ha, ha, this is spoken to some purpose; it is in tertio primae, in Darii, or elsewhere. By my soul, I have seen the time that I could play the devil in arguing, but now I am much failed, and

henceforward want nothing but a cup of good wine, a good bed, my back to the fire, my belly to the table, and a good deep dish. Hei domine, I beseech you, in nomine Patris, Filii, & Spiritûs sancti, Amen, to restore unto us our bells: and God keep you from evil, and our Lady from health; qui vivit & regnat per omnia secula seculorum. Amen. Hem, hashchehhawksash, qzrchremhemhash, verùm enim vero, quandoquidem, dubio procul, aedepol, quoniam, ità certè, medius fidius; A Town without bells is like a blinde man without a staffe, an Asse without a crupper, and a Cow without Cymbals; therefore be assured, until you have restored them unto us, we will never leave crying after you, like a blinde man that hath lost his staffe, braying like an Asse without a crupper, and making a noise like a Cow without Cymbals: A certain Latinisator dwelling near the Hos∣pital, said since, producing the authority of one Taponnus, I lie, it was Pontanus the se∣cular Poet, who wish't those bells had been made of feathers, and the clapper of a fox∣tail, to the end they might have begot a chronicle in the bowels of his braine, when he was about the composing of his carmini∣formal lines: but Nac petetin petetac tic torche Lorgne, or Rot kipipur kipipot put pantse malf. He was declared an Heretick; We make them as of wax. And no more said the de∣ponent.

Valete & plaudite. Calepinus re∣censui.