The fifth book of The works of Francis Rabelais, M.D., contaning the heroic deeds and sayings of the great Pantagruel to which is added the Pantagruelian prognostication, Rabelais's letters, and several other pieces by that author / done out of French by P.M.

CHAP. XLIV. How the Pristess Bacbuc equipt Pa∣nurge in order to have the Word of the Bottle.

WHEN we had thus chatted and tippled, Bacbuc ask'd, Who of you ••ere would have the Word of the Bottle? 〈◊〉〈◊〉 your most humble little Funnel, an't ••lease you, quoth Panurge. Friend, saith 〈◊〉〈◊〉, I have but one thing to tell you, which 〈◊〉〈◊〉, that when you come to the Oracle, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 take care to hearken and hear the Word only with one Ear. This, cry'd ••riar Ihon, is Wine of one Ear, as Frenchmen all it.

She then wrapt him up in a Gaberdine, bound his Noddle with a goodly clean Biggin, clapt over it a Felt, such as those through which Hypocras is distilled, at the bottom of which, instead of a Cowle, she put three Obelisks, made him draw on a pair of old fashion'd Cod pieces instead of Mittins, girded him about with three Bagpipes bound together, bath'd his Jobbernol thrice in the Fountain; then threw a handful of Meal on his Phyz, fixt three Cock's Feathers on the right side of the Hypocratical Felt, made him take a jant nine times round the Fountain, caused him to take three little leaps, and to bump his A— seven times against the ground, repeating I don't know what kind of Con∣jurations all the while in the Toscan Tongue, and ever and anon reading in a Ritual, or Book of Ceremonies, carried after her by one of her Mystagogues.

For my part, may I never stir, if I don't really believe, that neither Numa Pompilius the Second King of the Romans, nor the Cerites of Tuscia, and the Old Hebrew Cap∣tain, ever instituted so many Ceremonies as I then saw performed; nor were ever half so many Religious Forms used by the Southsayers of Memphis in Egypt to Apis, or by the Embrians, or at Rhamnus to Rhamnusia, or to Jupiter Ammon, or to Feronia.

When she had thus accoutred my Gen∣tleman, she took him out of our Company and led him out of the Temple through a golden Gate on the Right, into a round Chappel made of transparent speculary Stones, by whose solid Clearness the Sun's Light shined there through the precipice of the Rock without any Windows or other Entrance, and so easily and fully dispersed it self through the greater Temple, that the Light seemed rather to spring out of it, than to flow into it.

The Workmanship was not less rare than that of the Sacred Temple at Ravenna, or that in the Island of Chemnis in Egypt. Nor must I forget to tell you, that the Work of that round Chappel was contriv'd with such a Symmetry, that its Diameter was just the heighth of the Vault.

In the middle of it was an Heptagonal Fountain of fine Alablaster most artfully wrought, full of Water, which was so clear, that it might have pass'd for Ele∣ment in its purity and singleness. The Sa∣cred Bottle was in it to the middle, clad in pure fine Christal, of an oval shape, except its Muzzle, which was somewhat wider than is consistent with that Figure.