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. VIII. (Book 8)

How Pantagruel being at Paris received let∣ters from his father Gargantua, and the Copy of them. (Book 8)

PAntagruel studied very hard, as you may well conceive, and profited accordingly; for he had an excellent understanding, and notable wit, together wtth a capacity in me∣mory, equal to the measure of twelveoyle budgets, or butts of Olives. And as he was there abiding one day, he received a letter from his father in manner as followeth.

Most dear sonne, amongst the gifts, gra∣ces and prerogatives, with which the Sove∣raign Plasmator God Almighty, hath endow∣ed and adorned humane Nature at the begin∣ning, that seems to me most singular and ex∣cellent, by which we may in a mortal estate attain to a kinde of immortality, and in the course of this transitory life perpetuate our name and seed, which is done by a progeny issued from us in the lawful bonds of Matrimony: whereby that in some mea∣sure is restored unto us, which was ta∣ken from us by the sin of our first Parents, to whom it was said, that because they

had not obeyed the Commandment of God their Creator, they should die, and by death should be brought to nought that so stately frame and Plasmature, wherein the man at first had been created.

But by this meanes of seminal propagati∣on, which continueth in the children what was lost in the Parents, and in the grand∣children that which perished in their fathers, and so successively until the day of the last judgement, when Jesus Christ shall have ren∣dered up to God the Father his Kingdom in a peaceable condition, out of all danger and contamination of sin; for then shall cease all generations and corruptions, and the ele∣ments leave off their continual transmutati∣ons; seeing the so much desired peace shall be attained unto and enjoyed, and that all things shall be brought to their end and pe∣riod; and therefore not without just and rea∣sonable cause, do I give thanks to God my Saviour and Preserver, for that he hath in∣abled me to see my bald old age reflourish in thy youth: for when at his good pleasure, who rules and governes all things, my soul shall leave this mortal habitation; I shall not account my self wholly to die, but to passe from one place unto another: consi∣dering that in and by that I continue in my visible image living in the world, visiting and conversing with people of honour, and

other my good friends, as I was wont to do: which conversation of mine, although it was not without sin, (because we are all of us tres∣passers, and therefore ought continually to beseech his divine Majesty, to blot our trans∣gressions out of his memory) yet was it by the help and grace of God, without all man∣ner of reproach before men.

Wherefore if those qualities of the minde but shine in thee, wherewith I am endowed, as in thee remaineth the perfect image of my body, thou wilt be esteemed by all men to be the perfect guardian and treasure of the im∣mortality of our name: but if otherwise, I shall truly take but small pleasure to see it, considering that the lesser part of me, which is the body, would abide in thee: and the best, to wit, that which is the soule, and by which our name continues blessed amongst men, would be degenerate and abastardised: This I do not speak out of any distrust that I have of thy vertue, which I have heretofore already tried, but to encourage thee yet more earnestly to proceed from good to better: and that which I now write unto thee, is not so much that thou shouldest live in this ver∣tuous course, as that thou shouldest rejoyce in so living and having lived, and cheer up thy self with the like resolution in time to come; to the prosecution and accomplish∣ment of which enterprise and generous un∣dertaking

thou mayest easily remember how that I have spared nothing, but have so help∣ed thee, as if I had had no other treasure in this world, but to see thee once in my life, compleatly well bred and accomplished, as well in vertue, honesty and valour, as in all liberal knowledge and civility: and so to leave thee after my death, as a mirrour, re∣presenting the person of me thy father, and if not so excellent, and such indeed as I do wish thee, yet such in my desire.

But although my deceased father of happy memory Grangousier, had bent his best endea∣vours to make me profit in all perfection and Political knowledge, and that my labour and study was fully correspondent to, yea, went beyond his desire: neverthelesse, as thou mayest well understand, the time then was not so proper and fit for learning as it is at present, neither had I plenty of such good Masters as thou hast had; for that time was darksome, obscured with clouds of ignorance, and savouring a little of the infelicity and ca∣lamity of the Gothes, who had, whereever they set footing, destroyed all good literature, which in my age hath by the divine good∣nesse been restored unto its former light and dignity, and that with such amendment and increase of the knowledge, that now hardly should I be admitted unto the first forme of the little Grammar-school-boyes:

I say, I, who in my youthful dayes was, (and that justly) reputed the most learned of that age; which I do not speak in vain boasting, although I might lawfully do it in writing unto thee, in verification whereof thou hast the authority of Marcus Tullius in his book of old age, and the sentence of Plutarch, in the book intituled how a man may praise himself without envie: but to give thee an emulous encouragement to strive yet further.

Now is it that the mindes of men are qua∣lified with all manner of discipline, and the old sciences revived, which for many ages were extinct: now it is, that the learned lan∣guages are to their pristine purity restored, viz. Greek, (without which a man may be ashamed to account himself a scholar,) He∣brew, Arabick, Chaldaean and Latine. Print∣ing likewise is now in use, so elegant, and so correct, that better cannot be imagined, al∣though it was found out but in my time by divine inspiration, as by a diabolical suggesti∣on on the other side was the invention of Ordnance. All the world is full of knowing men, of most learned Schoolmasters, and vast Libraries: and it appears to me as a truth, that neither in Plato's time, nor Cicero's, nor Papinian's, there was ever such conveniency for studying, as we see at this day there is: nor must any adventure henceforward to come in publick, or present himself in com∣pany,

that hath not been pretty well polished in the shop of Minerva: I see robbers, hang∣men, free-booters, tapsters, ostlers, and such like, of the very rubbish of the people, more learned now, then the Doctors and Preachers were in my time,

What shall I say? the very women and children have aspired to this praise and cele∣stial Manna of good learning: yet so it is, that in the age I am now of, I have been con∣strained to learn the Greek tongue, which I contemned not like Cato, but had not the lea∣sure in my younger yeares to attend the stu∣dy of it: and take much delight in the read∣ing of Plutarchs Morals, the pleasant Dia∣logues of Plato, the Monuments of Pau∣sanias, and the Antiquities of Athenaeus, in waiting on the houre wherein God my Cre∣ator shall call me, and command me to depart from this earth and transitory pilgrimage. Wherefore (my sonne) I admonish thee, to imploy thy youth to profit as well as thou canst, both in thy studies and in vertue. Thou art at Paris, where the laudable ex∣amples of many brave men may stirre up thy minde to gallant actions, and hast like∣wise for thy Tutor and Paedagogue the learn∣ed Epistemon, who by his lively and vocal do∣cuments may instruct thee in the Arts and Sciences.

I intend, and will have it so, that thou learn

the Languages perfectly: first of all, the Greek, as Quintilian will have it: secondly, the Latine; and then the Hebrew, for the holy Scripture-sake: and then the Chaldee and A∣rabick likewise, and that thou frame thy stile in Greek in imitation of Plato; and for the Latine, after Cicero, let there be no history which thou shalt not have ready in thy memory; unto the prosecuting of which designe, books of Cosmographie will be very conducible, and help thee much. Of the liberal Arts of Geo∣metry, Arithmetick and Musick, I gave thee some taste when thou wert yet little, and not above five or six yeares old; proceed further in them, & learn the remainder if thou canst. As for Astronomy, study all the rules thereof, let passe neverthelesse the divining and judicial Astrology, and the Art of Lullius, as being nothing else but plain abuses and vanities. As for the Civil Law, of that I would have thee to know the texts by heart, and then to conferre them with Philosophie.

Now in matter of the knowledge of the works of Nature, I would have thee to stu∣dy that exactly, and that so there be no sea, river nor fountain, of which thou doest not know the fishes, all the fowles of the aire, all the several kindes of shrubs and trees, whe∣ther in forrests or orchards: all the sorts of herbes and flowers that grow upon the ground: all the various mettals that are hid

within the bowels of the earth: together with all the diversity of precious stones, that are to be seen in the Orient & South-parts of the world, let nothing of all these be hidden from thee. Then faile not most carefully to peruse the books of the Greek, Arabian and Latine Physicians, not despising the Talmu∣dists and Cabalists; and by frequent Ana∣tomies get thee the perfect knowledge of the other world, called the Microcosme, which is man: and at some houres of the day apply thy minde to the study of the holy Scriptures: first in Greek, the New Testament with the Epistles of the Apostles; and then the Old Testament in Hebrew In brief, let me see thee an Abysse, and bottomlesse pit of know∣ledge: for from hence forward, as thou grow∣est great and becomest a man, thou must part from this tranquillity and rest of study, thou must learn chivalrie, warfare, and the exer∣cises of the field, the better thereby to de∣fend my house and our friends, and to suc∣cour and protect them at all their needs a∣gainst the invasion and assaults of evil doers.

Furthermore, I will that very shortly thou try how much thou hast profited, which thou canst not better do, then by maintaining pub∣lickly Theses and Conclusions in all Arts, a∣gainst all persons whatsoever, and by haunt∣ing the company of learned men, both at Pa∣ris and otherwhere. But because as the wise

man Solomon saith, Wisdome entereth not into a malicious minde; and that knowledge with∣out conscience is but the ruine of the soule, it behooveth thee to serve, to love, to feare God, and on him to cast all thy thoughts and all thy hope, and by faith formed in charity to cleave unto him, so that thou mayest ne∣ver be separated from him by thy sins. Su∣spect the abuses of the world: set not thy heart upon vanity; for this life is transitory, but the Word of the Lord endureth for ever. Be serviceable to all thy neighbours, and love them as thy self: reverence thy Praece∣ptors: shun the conversation of those whom thou desirest not to resemble, and receive not in vaine the graces which God hath bestowed upon thee: and when thou shalt see that thou hast attained to all the knowledge that is to be acquired in that part, return unto me, that I may see thee, and give thee my blessing before I die. My sonne, the peace and grace of our Lord be with thee. Amen.

From Vtopia the 17. day of the moneth of March.

Thy father Gargantua.

These letters being received and read, Pantagruel pluck't up his heart, took a fresh courage to him, and was inflamed with a de∣sire

to profit in his studies more then ever, so that if you had seen him, how he took paines, and how he advanced in learning, you would have said that the vivacity of his spi∣rit amidst the books, was like a great fire a∣mongst dry wood, so active it was, vigorous and indefatigable.