of London call the ferkers in and in. As for
breaking his head with over-much study, he had an especial
care not to do it in any case, for fear of spoiling
his eyes. Which he the rather observed, for
that it was told him by one of his teachers, there
called regents, that the pain of the eyes was the most
hurtful thing of any to the sight. For this
cause, when he one day was made a licentiate, or graduate
in law, one of the scholars of his acquaintance, who
of learning had not much more than his burden, though
instead of that he could dance very well and play
at tennis, made the blazon and device of the licentiates
in the said university, saying,
So you have in your hand a racket,
A tennis-ball in your cod-placket,
A Pandect law in your cap’s tippet,
And that you have the skill to trip it
In a low dance, you will b’ allowed
The grant of the licentiate’s hood.
How Pantagruel met with a Limousin, who too affectedly
did counterfeit the French language.
Upon a certain day, I know not when, Pantagruel walking
after supper with some of his fellow-students without
that gate of the city through which we enter on the
road to Paris, encountered with a young spruce-like
scholar that was coming upon the same very way, and,
after they had saluted one another, asked him thus,
My friend, from whence comest thou now? The
scholar answered him, From the alme, inclyte, and celebrate
academy, which is vocitated Lutetia. What is
the meaning of this? said Pantagruel to one of his
men. It is, answered he, from Paris. Thou
comest from Paris then, said Pantagruel; and how do
you spend your time there, you my masters the students
of Paris? The scholar answered, We transfretate
the Sequan at the dilucul and crepuscul; we deambulate
by the compites and quadrives of the urb; we despumate
the Latial verbocination; and, like verisimilary amorabons,
we captat the benevolence of the omnijugal, omniform
and omnigenal feminine sex. Upon certain diecules
we invisat the lupanares, and in a venerian ecstasy
inculcate our veretres into the penitissime recesses
of the pudends of these amicabilissim meretricules.
Then do we cauponisate in the meritory taberns of
the Pineapple, the Castle, the Magdalene, and the
Mule, goodly vervecine spatules perforaminated with
petrocile. And if by fortune there be rarity
or penury of pecune in our marsupies, and that they
be exhausted of ferruginean metal, for the shot we
dimit our codices and oppignerat our vestments, whilst
we prestolate the coming of the tabellaries from the
Penates and patriotic Lares. To which Pantagruel
answered, What devilish language is this? By
the Lord, I think thou art some kind of heretick.
My lord, no, said the scholar; for libentissimally,
as soon as it illucesceth any minutule slice of the
day, I demigrate into one of these so well architected
minsters, and there, irrorating myself with fair lustral
