Gargantua and Pantagruel

FRANCOIS RABLAIS

GARGANTUA AND PANTAGRUEL

EDITORIAL COUNCIL

LIBRARIES

WORLD LITERATURE

Abashidze I. V.

Aitmatov Ch.

Alekseev M. P.:

Bazhan M. P.

Blagoy D.D.

Braginsky I. S.

Brovka P.U.

Bursov B. I,

Baekman V.E.

Vanag Yu.P.

Gamzatov R.

Grabar-Passek M. E.

Gribanov B. T.

Egorov A. G.

Elistratova A. A,

Ibragimov M.

Ivanko S. S.

Kerbabaev B. M.

Kosolapov V. A,

Lupan A.P.

Lyubimov N. M.

Markov G. M.

Mezhelaitis E. B.

Neupokoeva I. G.

Nechkina M. V.

Novichenko L. N.

Nurpeisov A. K.

Puzikov A.I.

Rashidov III. R.

Reizov B. G.

Samarin R. M.

Somov V.S.

Suchkov B. L.

Tikhonov N. S.

Tursun-zade M.

Fedin K. A.

Fedorenko N. T.

Fedoseev P.N.

Khanzadyan S. N.

Khrapchenko M.K.

Chernoutsan I. S.

Shamota N.Z.

Francois Rabelais

Gargantua and Pantagruel

Translation from French

PUBLISHING HOUSE

"FICTION"

MOSCOW · 1973

Introductory article I (Fr)

A. Dzhivelegova R 12

N. Lyubimova

Illustrations

Gustave Dore 7-3-4

Subp. ed.

A. Dzhivelegov.

RABLAIS

1

Rabelais was the greatest artist of the French Renaissance, perhaps the greatest French writer of all time, and one of Europe's greatest humanists. His activity is a great cultural milestone. His novel stands at the high rise of the Renaissance wave, just as Dante’s “Divine Comedy” stands at the origins of the Renaissance. Both books are encyclopedias in their scope: Dante’s poem is pathetic, Rabelais’s novel is ironic, both are militant, directed against antiquity, which is becoming obsolete at different stages, to varying degrees. Rabelais dealt heroic blows to this antiquity, from which its strongholds collapsed as uncontrollably as the towers and walls of the Vedas castle under the blows of Gargantua’s club. Rabelais was cursed from all sides. He defended himself, disguised himself, maneuvered and, despite the fierce onslaught of the reaction, managed - it was not easy - to avoid being burned. He thus saved his book and bequeathed it to his homeland and humanity as an arsenal of deadly weapons against opponents of ideological progress and enemies of human freedom.

François Rabelais (b. probably 1494, d. 1553) was born in Chinon. He was the youngest son of a minor court official. In 1510 he entered a Franciscan monastery and remained a monk in Fontenay-Lecomte until 1524. There he received the priesthood. But spiritual exploits did little to seduce the gifted young man. He wanted to study. To the great temptation of his comrades in the monastery, he sat down to study, easily mastered Latin, took up Greek, read Plato, and entered into correspondence with the head of the French humanists, Guillaume Budet. In the end, irritated by this extremely un-Franciscan way of life of Rabelais (“let not uneducated people try to acquire education,” St. Francis taught), the monks took away from him the Greek books that he had obtained with the greatest sacrifices. Rabelais was saved by his friends, who obtained papal permission for him to join the Benedictine order, which did not have such ardent obscurantist traditions. In the Benedictine abbey in Mallese, he was supported by the friendship of the local bishop d'Estissac. Here no one disturbed him. He not only continued his Hellenistic studies, but began to devote more and more time to natural science and medicine. In 1528 - still with the permission of his spiritual superiors - he went to Paris, and from there he moved on without permission, all for the same purpose.

It was still a time of tolerance. Defeated at Pavia by the leader of the Catholic reaction, Charles V, King of Spain, taken prisoner, released under very difficult conditions, Francis I naturally sought rapprochement with the German Protestant princes and pursued a very liberal religious policy. Guillaume Budet congratulated himself and his associates on the “return from exile” of free knowledge. Now Rabelais could more freely, without looking back at the monastery bell towers, devote himself to his studies. He first came (1530) to Montpellier, where he lectured, following the doctrines of Hippocrates and Galen, and earned his living either as a doctor or as a priest. In 1532 he was already in Lyon - a doctor in a large hospital. From here he began relations with Erasmus. Here he began to publish. The following year, 1533, the first part of Pantagruel appeared under the pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier (an anagram of his name) - “The Terrifying and Frightening Deeds and Exploits of the Most Famous Pantagruel.”

The impetus that prompted Rabelais to take up this topic was the appearance, not long before, of a popular book entitled “The Great and Inestimable Chronicles of the Great and Enormous Giant Gargantua,” which, as Rabelais reports, “in two months sold more than the number of Bibles in nine years." The main interest of this book was, on the one hand, its broad folklore basis, on the other, the obvious satire it contained on the fantasy and adventurous heroics of old knightly novels. Both, no doubt, attracted Rabelais, who decided to use the canvas of the popular print “Gargantua”. Pantagruel was conceived as a continuation of the folk book, preserving to some extent the style and imitating the naive epic nature of the original: the same plot, the same giants, but a completely different meaning and a completely different mood.

First of all, the imitation very soon, one might say from the first pages, begins to be interrupted by an ironic attitude towards the events being narrated, and this irony remains the leitmotif of the entire book until the end. In this regard, Rabelais followed the example of the Italian poets Luigi Pulci and Teofilo Folengo, from whom he also borrowed some of his images. But the ideological content with which Pantagruel was saturated was not borrowed from anyone. It was not entirely legal and therefore was disguised, although not so much that an attentive reader, especially a reader who was suitably disposed, would not notice it. This is, first of all, a whole series of bold parodies of the Bible in the description of miracles, for example, the resurrection of Epistemon, or the role of one of Pantagruel’s ancestors, the giant Hurtali, invented for laughs, in the flood: he saved himself by riding Noah’s ark, which, due to its size, could not fit inside. This is then ridicule of the popes who had recently left the stage - Alexander VI and Julius II. These are constant attacks on Catholicism, on the Catholic Church, on the cult, on preachers, on processions and at the same time constantly emphasizing that the real preaching of the Gospel must be done “purely, simply and completely,” that is, in the same way as among Protestants, and among pre-Calvin Protestants who did not yet have an official church. When Calvin creates his own community in Geneva and begins to oppress the free faith no worse than the Pope, Rabelais will laugh at him, and the executioner of Servetus will never forgive him for this.

All these things are found in Pantagruel at every step and merge into a definite declaration of free faith, adjacent to pre-church Protestantism, but already outgrowing it and barely hiding its atheistic tendencies. There is something else in Pantagruel, which is most clearly and fully expressed in Chapter VIII, containing the famous letter of Gargantua to his son, a genuine manifesto of the French Renaissance. This is an enthusiastic hymn to new knowledge and new enlightenment, a jubilant program of humanistic science, imbued with the same faith in its infallibility and the joy of familiarization with it, like the exclamation of Ulrich von Hutten: “Minds have awakened, life has become a pleasure!”

The tale of the terrible life of the great Gargantua, father of Pantagruel, once composed by Master Alcofribas Nazier, extractor of quintessence. A book full of pantagruelism

Books one and two

Addressing the venerable drunkards and venerable venereals, the author invites them to have fun and have fun while reading his book, and asks them not to forget to drink for him.

Gargantua's father's name was Grangouzier, this giant was a great joker, he always drank to the bottom and loved to snack on salty things. He married Gargamella, and she, having carried the child in her womb for 11 months, ate tripe at the festival and gave birth to a son-hero, who came out of her left ear. This is not surprising if we remember that Bacchus came from the thigh of Jupiter, and Castor and Pollux from an egg laid and hatched by Leda. The baby immediately screamed: “Lapping! Lapp!” - to which Grangousier exclaimed: “Well, what a hefty one you have!” (“Ke-gran-tyu-a!”) - meaning the throat, and everyone decided that since this was the father’s first word at the birth of his son, then he should be called Gargantua. The baby was given a sip of wine and, according to good Christian custom, was baptized.

The child was very smart and, when he was six years old, he already knew that the best wipe in the world was a fluffy gosling. They began to teach the boy to read and write. His mentors were Tubal Holofernes, then Duraco the Simpleton, and then Ponocrates. Gargantua went to Paris to continue his education, where he liked the bells of the Cathedral of Notre Dame; he took them home to hang them around his mare's neck, and with difficulty he was persuaded to return them to their place. Ponocrates made sure that Gargantua did not waste time and worked with him even when Gargantua washed himself, went to the latrine and ate. One day, Lernaean bakers were bringing flatbreads to the city. The shepherds of Gargantua asked to sell them some of the cakes, but the bakers did not want to, so the shepherds took the cakes from them by force. The bakers complained to their king Picrohol, and Picrohol's army attacked the shepherds. Grangousier tried to settle the matter peacefully, but to no avail, so he called on Gargantua for help. On the way home, Gargantua and his friends destroyed the enemy's castle on the banks of the Vedas River, and the rest of the way Gargantua combed out the cores of the Picrohol cannons that defended the castle from his hair.

When Gargantua arrived at his father's castle, a feast was held in his honor. The cooks Lick, Gnaw and Obsosi showed their art, and the treat was so tasty that Gargantua accidentally swallowed six pilgrims along with the salad - fortunately, they got stuck in his mouth, and he picked them out with a toothpick. Grangousier spoke about his war with Picrohol and highly praised Brother Jean the Teethbreaker, the monk who won the victory while defending the monastery’s vineyard. Brother Jean turned out to be a cheerful drinking companion, and Gargantua immediately became friends with him. The valiant warriors prepared for the campaign. In the forest, they came across Picrohol's reconnaissance under the command of Count Ulepet. Brother Jean completely defeated it and freed the pilgrims whom the scouts had managed to capture. Brother Jean captured the military leader Picrokholov of Fanfaron's troops, but Grangousier let him go. Returning to Picrokholov, Fanfaron began to persuade the king to make peace with Grangousier, whom he now considered the most decent man in the world, and stabbed Bedokur with a sword, who called him a traitor. For this, Picrohol ordered his archers to tear Fanfaron apart. Then Gargantua besieged Picrocholes in Laroche-Clermeau and defeated his army. Picrohol himself managed to escape, and on the way the old sorceress told him that he would become king again when the cancer whistled. They say that now he lives in Lyon and asks everyone if they have heard a cancer whistling somewhere - apparently, everyone hopes to return their kingdom. Gargantua was merciful to the vanquished and generously gifted his comrades. For his brother Jean, he built Theleme Abbey, unlike any other. Both men and women were allowed there - preferably young and beautiful. Brother Jean abolished the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience and declared that everyone had the right to marry, be rich and enjoy complete freedom. The Thelemite charter consisted of a single rule: do whatever you want.

Pantagruel, King of the Dipsodes, shown in his authentic form, with all his terrifying deeds and exploits, the composition of the late Master Alcofribas, extractor of quintessence

At the age of five hundred and twenty-four, Gargantua fathered a son with his wife Badbek, daughter of the King of Utopia. The child was so huge that his mother died in childbirth. He was born during a great drought, so he received the name Pantagruel (“panta” in Greek means “all”, and “gruel” in the Hagaran language means “thirsty”). Gargantua was very sad about the death of his wife, but then decided: “We need to cry less and drink more!” He began raising his son, who was such a strong man that he tore a bear into pieces while still lying in his cradle. When the boy grew up, his father sent him to study. On the way to Paris, Pantagruel met a Limousin who spoke such a mixture of learned Latin and French that it was impossible to understand a word. However, when the angry Pantagruel grabbed him by the throat, the Limousin screamed in fear in ordinary French, and then Pantagruel let him go. Arriving in Paris, Pantagruel decided to supplement his education and began to read books from the library of St. Victor, such as “Clicking each other on the nose by parish priests,” “Permanent almanac for gout and venereal diseases,” etc. One day Pantagruel met while walking a tall man beaten to bruises. Pantagruel asked what adventures had brought the stranger to such a deplorable state, but he answered all the questions in different languages, and Pantagruel could not understand anything. Only when the stranger finally spoke in French did Pantagruel realize that his name was Panurge and that he had arrived from Turkey, where he was in captivity. Pantagruel invited Panurge to visit and offered his friendship.

At this time, there was a lawsuit between Lizhizad and Peyvino, the matter was so dark that the court “understood it as freely as in the Old High German language.” It was decided to seek help from Pantagruel, who became famous in public debates. The first thing he did was order all the papers to be destroyed and forced the complainants to present the essence of the case orally. After listening to their senseless speeches, he passed a fair sentence: the defendant must “deliver hay and tow to plug the guttural holes twisted by oysters passed through a sieve on wheels.” Everyone was delighted with his wise decision, including both litigants, which is extremely rare. Panurge told Pantagruel how he was captured by the Turks. The Turks put him on a spit, stuffed him with lard, like a rabbit, and began to roast him, but the roaster fell asleep, and Panurge, contrivingly, threw a firebrand at him. A fire started that burned the entire city, but Panurge happily escaped and even protected himself from the dogs by throwing them pieces of lard with which he was stuffed.

The great English scientist Thaumaste arrived in Paris to see Pantagruel and put his learning to the test. He proposed to conduct the debate the way Pico della Mirandola intended to do in Rome - silently, with signs. Pantagruel agreed and prepared for the debate all night, reading Bede, Proclus, Plotinus and other authors, but Panurge, seeing his excitement, offered to replace him in the debate. Introducing himself as a student of Pantagruel, Panurge answered the Englishman so dashingly - he took out from his codpiece either an ox rib or an orange, whistled, puffed, chattered his teeth, performed various tricks with his hands - that he easily defeated Thaumaste, who said that Pantagruel's glory was insufficient, because it did not correspond and a thousandth of what it really is. Having received the news that Gargantua had been carried away to the land of fairies, and that, having learned about this, the Dipsodes had crossed the border and devastated utopia, Pantagruel urgently left Paris.

Together with his friends, he destroyed six hundred and sixty enemy knights, flooded the enemy camp with his urine, and then defeated the giants led by the Ghoul. In this battle, Pantagruel's mentor Epistemon died, but Panurge sewed his head back in place and revived him. Epistemon said that he was in hell, saw devils, talked with Lucifer and had a good snack. He saw there Semiramis, who caught lice from vagabonds, Pope Sixtus, who was being treated for a bad illness, and many others: everyone who was important gentlemen in this world drags out a miserable and humiliating existence in the next, and vice versa. Epistemon regretted that Panurge brought him back to life so quickly; he wanted to stay in hell longer. Pantagruel entered the capital of the Amavrots, married their king Anarch to an old whore and made him a seller of green sauce. When Pantagruel and his army set foot in the land of Dipsodes, the Dipsodes rejoiced and hastened to surrender. Only the almirods became stubborn, and Pantagruel prepared to attack, but then it began to rain, his warriors shook from the cold, and Pantagruel covered his army with his tongue to protect from the rain. The narrator of these true stories took refuge under a large burdock, and from there he passed along the tongue and landed directly in Pantagruel’s mouth, where he spent more than six months, and when he came out, he told Pantagruel that all this time he had been eating and drinking the same thing as him, “taking tax on the most delicious morsels that passed through his throat.”

Book three

The third book of the heroic deeds and sayings of the good Pantagruel, the work of Master François Rabelais, Doctor of Medicine

Having conquered Dipsody, Pantagruel moved a colony of Utopians there in order to revive, decorate and populate this region, as well as instill in the Dipsodes a sense of duty and the habit of obedience. He granted Panurge the castle of Ragu, which gave at least 6789106789 reals of annual income, and often more, but Panurge spent all his income for three years in advance in two weeks, and not on any trifles, but exclusively on drinking bouts and feasts. He promised Pantagruel to pay off all debts by the Greek calendar (that is, never), for life without debts is not life. Who, if not the lender, prays day and night for the health and longevity of the debtor. Panurge began to think about marriage and asked Pantagruel for advice. Pantagruel agreed with all his arguments: both those for marriage and those against, so the question remained open. They decided to tell fortunes according to Virgil and, opening the book at random, read what was written there, but interpreted the quote completely differently. The same thing happened when Panurge told his dream. According to Pantagruel, Panurge's dream, like Virgil's, promised him to be horned, beaten and robbed, while Panurge saw in it a prediction of a happy family life. Panurge turned to the Panzuan Sibyl, but they also understood the Sibyl’s prophecy differently. The elderly poet Kotanmordan, married to Syphilitia, wrote a poem full of contradictions: “Get married, don’t even think about getting married. / Take your time, but hurry up. / Run headlong, slow down. / Marry or not,” etc. Neither Epistemon, nor the learned husband Trippe, nor brother Jean the Teethbreaker could resolve the doubts that overwhelmed Panurge; Pantagruel called for advice from a theologian, doctor, judge and philosopher. The theologian and the doctor advised Panurge to marry if he wanted to, and regarding the horns, the theologian said that it would be as God pleases, and the doctor said that horns are a natural addition to marriage. The philosopher, when asked whether Panurge should marry or not, answered: “Both,” and when Panurge asked him again: “Neither.” He gave such evasive answers to all the questions that in the end Panurge exclaimed: “I retreat... I swear... I surrender. He's elusive." Pantagruel went after the judge Bridois, and his friend Carpalim went after the jester Triboulet. Bridois was on trial at the time. He was accused of bringing an unfair verdict using dice. Bridois, generously peppering his speech with Latin quotations, justified himself by saying that he was already old and had difficulty seeing the number of points that had fallen. Pantagruel made a speech in his defense, and the court, presided over by Sueslov, acquitted Bridois. Pantagruel and Panurge, as usual, understood the mysterious phrase of the jester Triboulet differently, but Panurge noticed that the jester had given him an empty bottle and suggested making a trip to the oracle of the Divine Bottle. Pantagruel, Panurge and their friends equipped the flotilla, loaded the ships with a fair amount of the miracle herb Pantagruelion and prepared to sail.

Book Four

The ships went to sea. On the fifth day they met a ship sailing from Lanaria. There were French on board, and Panurge quarreled with a merchant nicknamed Turkey. To teach the bully merchant a lesson, Panurge bought from him one ram from the herd of his choice for three Tours livres; Having chosen a leader, Panurge threw him overboard. All the rams began to jump into the sea after the leader, the merchant tried to stop them, and as a result, one of the rams carried him into the water and the merchant drowned. In the Procuration - the land of prosecutors and snitches - travelers were not offered anything to eat or drink. The inhabitants of this country earned money for food in an outlandish way: they insulted some nobleman until he lost patience and beat them - then they demanded a lot of money from him under pain of imprisonment.

Brother Jean asked who wanted to receive twenty gold crowns to be beaten like a devil. There was no end to those who wanted it, and the one who was lucky enough to receive a beating from Brother Jean became the object of everyone’s envy. After a strong storm and a visit to the island of Macreon, Pantagruel's ships passed by the island of Pitiful, where the Faster reigned, and sailed to the island of the Wild, inhabited by the sworn enemies of the Faster - the fatty Sausages. The Sausages, who mistook Pantagruel and his friends for Faster soldiers, ambushed them. Pantagruel prepared for battle and appointed Sausage Cutter and Sausage Chopper to command the battle. Epistemon noticed that the names of the commanders inspired cheerfulness and confidence in victory. Brother Jean built a huge “pig” and hid a whole army of brave cooks in it, like in the Trojan Horse. The battle ended with the complete defeat of the Sausages and the appearance in the sky of their deity - a huge gray boar, who dropped more than twenty-seven barrels of mustard, which is a healing balm for the Sausages, to the ground.

Having visited the island of Ruach, whose inhabitants ate and drank nothing except the wind, Pantagruel and his companions landed on the island of the Popefigs, enslaved by the Popefigs because one of its inhabitants showed a fig to the portrait of the Pope. In the chapel of this island a man lay in a font, and three priests stood around and conjured demons. They said that this man was a plowman. One day he plowed a field and sowed it with spelt, but an imp came to the field and demanded his share. The plowman agreed to share the harvest with him in half: the imp - what is underground, and the peasant - what is above. When the time came to harvest, the plowman got the ears of corn, and the little devil got the straw. The next year, the little devil chose what was on top, but the plowman sowed turnips, and the little devil was again left with his nose. Then the little devil decided to fight with the plowman on the condition that the loser loses his part of the field. But when the little devil came to the plowman, his wife sobbed and told him how the plowman, for training, scratched her with his little finger and tore her all over. To prove it, she lifted her skirt and showed the wound between her legs, so the little devil thought it best to go away. Having left the island of the Papomani, the travelers arrived on the island of the Papomani, whose inhabitants, having learned that they had seen the living pope, received them as dear guests and for a long time praised them for the Holy Decretals issued by the pope. Sailing from the island of the Papomans, Pantagruel and his companions heard voices, horses neighing and other sounds, but no matter how much they looked around, they saw no one. The pilot explained to them that on the border of the Arctic Sea, where they sailed, a battle took place last winter. Words and screams, the ringing of weapons and the neighing of horses froze in the air, and now, when the winter has passed, they thawed and became audible. Pantagruel threw handfuls of colorful words onto the deck, including curses. Soon Pantagruel's flotilla arrived on the island, ruled by the almighty Messer Gaster. The inhabitants of the island sacrificed all kinds of food to their god, from bread to artichokes. Pantagruel found out that none other than Gaster invented all the sciences and arts: agriculture - in order to grow grain, military art and weapons - to protect grain, medicine, astrology and mathematics - to store grain. When the travelers sailed past the island of thieves and robbers, Panurge hid in the hold, where he mistook the fluffy cat Saloyed for the devil and soiled himself from fear. Then he claimed that he was not at all afraid and that he was as good against sheep as the world had ever seen.

Book five

The travelers sailed to Zvonky Island, where they were allowed in only after a four-day fast, which turned out to be terrible, for on the first day they fasted through the roof, on the second - carelessly, on the third - as hard as they could, and on the fourth - in vain. Only birds lived on the island: clergy, priests, monks, bishops, cardins and one finger. They sang when they heard the bell ringing. Having visited the island of iron products and the island of tricksters, Pantagruel and his companions arrived on the island of the Dungeon, inhabited by ugly monsters - Fluffy Cats, who lived on bribes, consuming them in immeasurable quantities: entire ships loaded with bribes came to their harbor. Having escaped from the clutches of evil cats, the travelers visited several more islands and arrived at the harbor of Matheotechnia, where they were escorted to the palace of Queen Quintessence, who ate nothing except some categories, abstractions, secondary intentions, antitheses, etc. Her servants milked the goat and they poured milk into a sieve, caught the wind with nets, stretched legs over clothes and did other useful things. At the end of the journey, Pantagruel and his friends arrived in Lantern and landed on the island where the Bottle Oracle was located. The lantern escorted them to the temple, where they were led to Princess Bakbuk - the court lady of the Bottle and the high priestess of all her sacred rites. The entrance to the Temple of the Bottle reminded the author of the story of a painted cellar in his hometown of Chinon, where Pantagruel also visited. In the temple they saw a strange fountain with columns and statues. The moisture flowing from it seemed to the travelers like cold spring water, but after a hearty snack brought to clear the guests' palates, the drink seemed to each of them exactly the wine that he loved most. After that, Buckbook asked who wanted to hear the word of the Divine Bottle. Finding out that it was Panurge, she took him to a round chapel, where a Bottle lay half submerged in water in an alabaster fountain. When Panurge fell to his knees and sang the ritual song of the winegrowers, Bakbuk threw something into the fountain, causing a noise to be heard in the Bottle and the word “Trink” was heard. Bakbuk took out a book bound in silver, which turned out to be a bottle of Falernian wine, and ordered Panurge to drain it in one breath, for the word “trink” meant “drink.” At parting, Bakbuk handed Pantagruel a letter to Gargantua, and the travelers set off on their way back.

Retold

At first glance, Francois Rabelais's novel "Gargantua and Pantagruel" seems to be a simple, funny, comic and at the same time fantastic work. But in fact, it contains a deep meaning, reflecting the views of the humanists of that time.

These are pedagogical problems using the example of teaching Gargantua, and political problems using the example of relations between two states. The author did not ignore the social and religious issues that were relevant for that era.

"Gargantua and Pantagruel": summaryIbooks

The author introduces the reader to the parents of the main character and tells the story of his birth. After his father Grangousier married Gargamella, she carried the child in her womb for 11 months and gave birth to him through her left ear. The baby's first word was "Lap!" He was named after his father’s enthusiastic cry: “Ke grand tu a!”, which translated means: “Well, what a healthy throat you have!” What follows is the story of Gargantua's home education, his continued education in Paris, his battle with King Picrocholus and his return home.

“Gargantua and Pantagruel”: a summary of book II

In this part of the work we are talking about the marriage of the main character to Badbek, the daughter of the king of Utopia. When Gargantua was 24 years old, they had a son, Pantagruel. It was so huge that the mother died during childbirth. In due course, Gargantua also sent his son to receive an education in Paris. There Pantagruel became friends with Panurge. And after the successful resolution of the dispute between Peyvino and Lizhizad, he became known as a great scientist. Soon Pantagruel learned that Gargantua had gone to the land of fairies. Having received news of the Dipsod attack on Utopia, he immediately went home. Together with his friends, he quickly defeated the enemies, and then also conquered the capital of the Amavrots.

“Gargantua and Pantagruel”: a summary of book III

Dipsody is completely conquered. To revive the country, Pantagruel settled some of the inhabitants of Utopia in it. Panurge decided to get married. They turn to various fortune tellers, prophets, theologians, and judges. But they cannot help, since Pantagruel and Panurge understand all their advice and predictions in completely different ways. Eventually the jester suggests that they go to the Oracle of the Divine Bottle.

“Gargantua and Pantagruel”: a summary of book IV

The prepared ships soon went to sea. On their way, Pantagruel and Panurge visit several islands (Macreons, Papafigov, Thieves and Robbers, Ruach, Papomanov and others). Many fantastic stories happen to them there.

“Gargantua and Pantagruel”: a summary of Book V

The next destination was Zvonky Island. But travelers were able to visit it only after observing a four-day fast. Then there were also the islands of Plutney and Iron Products. On the island of the Dungeon, Pantagruel and Panurge barely escaped the clutches of the Fluffy Cat monsters inhabiting it, who lived solely on bribes received in immense quantities. The penultimate stop of the travelers was the harbor of Matheotechnia, where Queen Quintessence fed only on abstract categories. And finally, the friends landed on the island where the Bottle Oracle lived. After a warm welcome, Princess Bakbuk took Panurge to the chapel. There in the fountain lay a Bottle, half submerged in water. Panurge sang the song of the vinedressers. Buckbook immediately threw something into the fountain, as a result of which the word “trink” was heard in the Bottle. The princess took out a book framed in silver, which in fact turned out to be Bakbuk, who ordered Panurge to drain it immediately, since “trink” means “Drink!” Finally, the princess gave Pantagruel a letter for her father and sent her friends home.

François Rabelais (1494-1553): born in the vicinity of Chinon in the family of a wealthy landowner and lawyer, in his youth Rabelais entered a monastery, where he studied ancient writers and legal treatises along with theological treatises; but later leaves the monastery and in 1532 receives the position of doctor at the Lyon hospital; later, finding himself in the retinue of Cardinal Jean du Bellay, he makes two trips to Rome; then Rabelais spent two years in the service of Francis I, practicing as a doctor and serving in the royal chancellery; then he goes to Rome again and upon his return receives two parishes, in which, however, he does not work as a priest; in 1553 Rabelais dies in Paris.

Throughout his life, Rabelais also published his commentaries on editions of ancient works on medicine and old legal treatises, works on archeology, etc.; and Rabelais’ deep knowledge of many sciences and arts is clearly manifested in the work that glorified the French doctor - 5 books telling about the adventures of the giants Gargantua and Pantagruel, as well as their comrades and enemies.

The impetus for writing the book was the publication in 1532 in Lyon of the anonymous folk book “Great and Invaluable Chronicles of the Great and Enormous Gargantua.” In the same 1532, Rabelais published as its supplement the book “The Terrible and Terrifying Deeds and Exploits of the Glorious Pantagruel, King of the Dipsodes, Son of the Great Giant Gargantua,” signed with the pseudonym “Alcofribas Nazier” (an anagram obtained from rearranging the letters of the name F. Rabelais) , which later becomes the second book of the entire novel; in this book, Rabelais adheres to the folk scheme of the novel: the hero’s childhood, youthful wanderings and exploits, etc.; Along with Pantagruel, another hero of the epic comes forward - Panurge. In 1534, Rabelais, under his previous pseudonym, published the beginning of a story that was supposed to replace the popular book, under the title “The Tale of the Terrible Life of the Great Gargantua, Father of Pantagruel.” There is little left from Rabelais' folk book: the gigantic size of the hero and his entourage, the ride on a giant mare, the theft of the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral. The third book was published under the name of Rabelais himself in 1546, and by 1547 all three books were condemned by the theological faculty of the Sorbonne.

The first short edition of the “Fourth Book of the Heroic Deeds and Sayings of Pantagruel” was published in 1548 again under Rabelais’ own name; the book, being restrained for fear of persecution, was expanded by Rabelais, who found himself under the patronage of Cardinal du Bellay, in 1452 and published in Paris. 9 years after Rabelais’s death, a book entitled “The Sounding Island” was published, which is apparently a rough sketch of Rabelais; and in 1564, the complete fifth book was published again under the name of François Rabelais, apparently completed and revised by Rabelais’ friends or students.

The basis for Rabelais’s novel was many works: this is the folk book about Gargantua, and the grotesque-satirical poetry of Italy, and Lucian, and the poems of Villon, with which the author was closely familiar, and knightly novels (in the spirit of a parody of later adaptations of knightly novels, the final chapters of the second book, describing Pantagruel’s struggle with the hordes of King Anarch, it is in these episodes that the favorite technique of Rabelaisian comedy acquires a parodic character: exaggeration of numbers (for example, the number of the Anarch’s army), typical of medieval fiction, is, say, the same parody of chivalric novels; an episode with the revival of Epistemon, who died in battle, with a healing balm (let us remember that Don Quixote will firmly remember the recipe for one of these balms); it is significant that many heroes of the novels of the Arthurian cycle appear in Epistemon’s story about the “other world”; Latin pseudo-eloquence (I remember the episode where the representative of the Sorbonne asks for the return of the bells of Gargantua), and folklore, fabliau, as well as the mystery of how Proserpina presents Lucifer with 4 little devils, one of which, causing thirst, is called Pantagruel. The knowledge gained by Rabelais from ancient authors also constantly appears - Francois constantly quotes them and makes references to ancient books.

Its complex composition and plot are based on such features of the creation of the novel: the first and second books are a parody of hagiography, knightly romances and many other literary genres, representing the embodiment of optimism and “pantagruelism” - the ability to blithely have fun and rejoice, folk humor , buffoonization and carnivalization create a bright mood in the first two books of the novel. According to the plot, the first book is a description of the life and deeds, as well as the military exploits of Gargantua, defeating the greedy monarch Picrocholus. who attacked his country; the second book is similar to the first, it tells about the birth, growing up and training, wanderings and exploits of Pantagruel and his friends, and then how Pantagruel and his companions defend the fatherland from the attack of King Anarch. The third book is dedicated to the fact that Panurge and his friends turn to various judges, investigators, soothsayers, soothsayers, dying poets, and finally to the holy fool, in order to get an answer whether Panurge, who fears “horns,” should marry or not. Each of the speakers does not resolve Panurge’s doubts, and only the holy fool sends him to the Oracle of the Divine Bottle for an answer, on a journey to which the fourth and fifth books of the novel take place: having loaded the ships with the wonderful herb pantagruelion (hemp), Pantagruel, Panurge, brother Jean and their associates go to the Divine Buckbook. On the way, they end up on various islands - Ringing Island, Sausage Island, Fasting Island, etc., each of which depicts either monks, or judges, or fasting Christians and other groups of people satirically, grotesquely distorting them. Towards the end of the journey, the company sails to the island of Bakbuk, where, in a wonderful dungeon, the sacred Bottle rings “Trink”, which is interpreted as “Drink” - a call to drink wine, having fun, but also a call to drink knowledge, and advice to “drink your life”, accept fate is the way it is presented. This is the plot of the last two books, which can be interpreted as a search for truth.

The first book has three main thematic centers:

1) the upbringing of Gargantua, which contrasts medieval and Renaissance education, cramming under the leadership of Master Tubal Holofernes, which led to the fact that many years later Gargantua could read the alphabet backwards, but having barely heard the exquisite speech of the page invited to visit, Gargantua cannot resist him and sobs, is contrasted with the thoughtful, round-the-clock education led by Ponocrates, based on a rigid daily routine that allows the development of both the physical and mental abilities of Gargantua; Moreover, each subject studied is explained and discussed by Ponocrates with his student. However, Rabelais, in the tradition of carnival culture, which manifests itself literally everywhere in his novel, laughs at this system of education, dear to himself and to humanists in general, exaggerating it in such a way. that even in the latrine, a teacher stands next to Gargantua and explains to him incomprehensible passages from the books he has read before.

2) the image of an ideal ruler, embodied by the entire dynasty of giants - Grangusier, Gargantua and Pantagruel, who are contrasted with such rulers as Picrocholus; The giants are ideal enlightened absolutist rulers who, however, do not oppress their people and generally do not interfere in the affairs of their subordinates, but bravely protect them from the depredations of the enemy army. “The bloke” and the “drunkard”, as Picrohol’s commanders put it, Grangusier tries to the last to resolve the conflict peacefully, while Picrohol, insatiable for power, shows severe aggression, not wanting to put up with it, ruining Granguzier’s country and planning to follow the riches of the giant ruler and take over almost the entire world with his throne. However, the army of Picrohol. and he himself suffers crushing defeats in battle from Gargantua and his comrades; Grangousier shows the heights of mercy, not demanding ransom from the vanquished, as a result of which they voluntarily begin to send the giant more and more wealth in gratitude every year.

In addition, the third book begins by telling how Pantagruel colonizes the newly conquered lands in an absolutely peaceful way and achieves love and respect from his newly acquired subjects with his reasonable and merciful rule.

3) Thelema monastery, a utopia created on the advice of brother Jean in complete contrast to the then existing monasteries: this is a society of educated people who are fluent in at least 5 languages ​​and other important sciences (stupid, wretched, bigots, people who do not want to be enlightened, etc.) d. the entrance to the Thelema monastery is closed), spending time for pleasure, following only one rule written in the charter of the monastery: “Do what you want. The charter of the Thelema monastery is a consistent and cheerful, colorful and ironic antithesis of the usual monastic charter: this monastery “will accept such men and women who are distinguished by beauty, stateliness and courtesy,” it “should introduce a rule prohibiting women from avoiding male society, and for men - female society,” all those who entered the monastery are free to leave it whenever they want; and finally, the charter of the Thelema monastery recognizes “that everyone has the right to be legally married, to be rich and to enjoy complete freedom” (Chapter LII). Complete freedom in one's actions, if they did not affect the interests of others, became the basic principle of the life of Thelemites. In this natural, from the point of view of Rabelais, state, a person will be good, he will not know evil, “for people who are free, descended from good parents, enlightened, living in a decent society, are endowed by nature itself with an instinct and a driving force that constantly instructs them to good deeds distract from vice, and they call this power honor. But when the same people are crushed and oppressed by vile violence and coercion, they turn their noble ardor, with which they voluntarily rushed towards virtue, to throw off and overthrow the yoke of slavery.

This society of the future, however, having no government, is not subject to anarchy, since, according to some unspoken agreement, in this society the customs and orders of the monastery themselves are formed, which the Thelemites follow.

An important theme of the second book is the letter from Gargantua to Pantagruel, in which the relationship between Renaissance and medieval culture is revealed, when Gargantua complains that during his youth the world was dark, the sciences had not yet shone with their light, but Pantagruel has a wonderful opportunity to learn the most necessary sciences and read ancient authors who provided glimpses of the truth. This is how Rabelais expresses his vision of the difference between the cultures of the two eras.

Over the course of the five books of the novel, the main characters appear and develop. Apparently, the options for human development are:

1) Pantagruel, representing an ideal person and ruler, educated, wise and active, adhering to a supposedly deistic religion (talking about how, at the request of mysterious voices, he remembers someone and hears loud sighs from the shore, Pantagruel says , that God is apparently everywhere, in people and throughout the world), brave, ready for any adventure in order to help his neighbor, a giant who “changes his size” in different books and even chapters of the same book, then being simply a large person , then an unthinkable giant.

2) Panurge is a simple man, and this “ordinariness” of his manifests itself more and more clearly in the fourth and fifth books, where Rabelais, who has lost his former faith in man, describes Panurge as cowardly, indecisive, weak (one can recall Panurge’s behavior during and after the storm, which caught the ships of the Pantagruelists), although previously it represented the very triumph of courage, cunning, dexterity, etc. Researchers believe that Panurge represents the opposition of a real person to the ideal person Pantagruel.

3) Brother Jean is the personification of physical and moral health, rough cheerfulness, freed from the medieval shackles of human nature; he is not like other monks: he is brave and resourceful, cheerful and sociable, “he is not a saint, not a hungry person, he is well-mannered, cheerful, brave, he is a good drinking companion. He works, plows the land, stands up for the oppressed, comforts the mourning, provides assistance to the suffering, protects the gardens of the abbey.” He, while other monks pray for the salvation of the monastery, grabs the crossbar from the cross and with it easily crushes the enemy soldiers who are ravaging the monastery’s vineyards. He is drawn to humanistic education, and it is Brother Jean who comes up with the idea of ​​founding a monastery that is unlike any other.

4) in addition, one can also remember Epistemon, who clearly manifests himself only in one chapter - when they sew his severed head, and Epistemon tells about what he saw in Hell; but in the rest of the story he represents, although similar to brother Jean, an ideal figure, however, a paler and more blurred figure.

Rabelais's work is not an absolute fiction; the author leaves, hiding under a comic cover, for fear of persecution, many references to modernity and real events, which gives his novel a journalistic quality. Thus, there really was a drought at the time of Pantagruel’s birth in 1532. The episode where Panurge buys indulgences and at the same time improves his financial affairs correlates with the fact that in 1532 an extraordinary papal jubilee was held, and those churches that Panurge visited actually received the right to sell indulgences. The wars of Picrocholes and Anarch with Grangousier and Gargantua over a trifling reason in Rabelais parody the numerous conflicts that occurred between European states for minor reasons, in fact serving to start a war for territory and power; This is how Francis I and his enemy are depicted in the image of Picrocholus and Gargantua, although various researchers do not agree on who Rabelais portrays as the scoundrel Picrocholus and who as the noble Gargantua. In the book, Rabelais very clearly describes the places where Gargantua spent his childhood, since with this he describes the places in which he himself grew up. The description of the islands in the journey of Panurge and the Pantagruelists is deeply satirical, each of which vividly and hyperbolically represents some caste or community from modern Rabelais.

Here's a little more about the trinity of Panurge, brother Jean and Pantagruel from Dzhivlegov's article:

1) Panurge is a student, smart, cynic and foul-mouthed, impudent, mischievous slacker and dropout, a typical “bohemian”. There is something in him from Margutte from Pulci's poem, and from Chingara from Folengo's poem, and there is something from Villon, whose memory Rabelais tenderly honored. All kinds of knowledge are chaotically piled in his head, just as a pile of the most varied rubbish is piled in his twenty-six pockets. But both his knowledge, sometimes solid, and the arsenal of his pockets have one purpose. This is an offensive weapon against one’s neighbor, for carrying out one of the sixty-three ways of obtaining a livelihood, of which “the most honest and most common” was theft. There is no real, strong stability in his nature. At a critical moment, he can lose heart and turn into a pathetic coward who is only capable of emitting panicked, inarticulate sounds. At the time of his meeting with Pantagruel, Panurge was a typical declassed person with a corresponding, firmly established character, which he could not get rid of even when his proximity to Pantagruel plunged him into abundance. His declassed state fostered in him moral nihilism, complete disregard for ethical principles, and predatory egoism. There were many such adventurers roaming the world during the era of primitive accumulation. But at the same time he is not without some great charm. He has so much awkward Bursak grace and reckless prowess, he is so funny that men forgive him a lot, and women are in awe. And he himself adores women, for nature has endowed him with a volcanic temperament. He didn't have to complain about the coldness of women. But the trouble is for the one who rejects his advances. He will do the latest nasty thing to her - like the trick with the dogs, of which a Parisian lady became a victim. There is something else in Panurge, perhaps the most important. He vaguely, but excitedly and enthusiastically anticipates some better future, in which declassed people like him will find a better place in the sun, will be able to work and develop their abilities. Panurge is a plebeian, the son of a Renaissance city.

2) Brother Jean is also a plebeian, but a village plebeian. Rabelais made him a monk, but this is only a grotesque device. He never lumps Brother Jean together with other monks, who invariably suffer evil in the novel. He is the author's favorite. In only one respect is he similar to other monks: his unclean habits. Dirt doesn't bother him, and sometimes at lunch a drop hangs unappetizingly on the tip of his long nose. But what a wonderful man he is! Brave, energetic, resourceful, never lost in any danger and at the same time humane in the best sense of the word. He never uses the strength and dexterity that nature has endowed him with to the detriment of his neighbor. In this he is not at all like Panurge, whom he constantly mocks for his instability, cowardice and other weaknesses. And since Brother Jean is an integral type, accepting the world joyfully and fully, nothing human is alien to him. He loves pleasure, loves, knows and appreciates women. When Panurge hesitates, wanting to marry and fearing horns, the most practical advice is given to him by his brother Jean, who tells him a wise story about Hans Carvel's ring. Therefore, the eroticism of Brother Jean is free from the thick layer of obscenity characteristic of the eroticism of Panurge. Brother Jean's psyche is as strong and healthy as his physical being. He wants life to be open with all its bright sides not only to him - again not like Panurge, who does not care about others - but to everyone. He is full of love for people and wants to make life better for the entire human race. The idea of ​​Theleme Abbey originates in the head of this peasant scion, deprived of real education, but instinctively feeling and accepting the high ideals of humanism. Brother Jean is the personification of the people. This image created by Rabelais once again shows that the social mood of the great writer was brighter and more radical than the interests of the bourgeoisie. She was quite democratic.

3) The mutual friend of Panurge and brother Jean is Pantagruel, whose image ultimately absorbs the image of Gargantua and who absorbs everything that for Rabelais should have characterized an ideal sovereign and, perhaps, an ideal person. From his first appearance to the very end, he is invariably in the center of the story, although sometimes he gives way to the foreground to others. Balanced, wise, learned, humane, he managed to think about everything and form an opinion about everything. His calm, weighty word always brings peace to the most heated debates, calms the ardent impulses of Brother Jean, the cunning dialectic of Panurge and even the learned maxims of Epistemon. He is a real enlightened monarch, and, of course, identifying him with Francis or Henry II is nothing more than idle fantasy. Rabelais could officially praise Francis and call Henry a great king; for greater solemnity, he even came up with, either seriously or ironically, the Greek word le roi megiste, but nothing makes one think that he wanted to portray this or that in the person of his wonderful giant. another of the real sovereigns of his time. Pantagruel is an ideal figure. He is as much superior to both kings in his merits as he is superior to ordinary people in his stature. None of the ruling persons is forbidden to reach for Pantagruel: that is why he is shown. But Rabelais hardly had even the slightest hope that any of them would ever reach him.

Composition

The name of Francois Rabelais (c. 1494-1553), the great French writer of the Renaissance, is often mentioned in Russian periodicals of the 18th century, and the heroes of his satirical novel - Gargantua, Pantagruel, Panurge - appear as household names along with Don Quixote, Falstaff and Gulliver.

In 1790, “The Tale of the Glorious Gargantuas, the most terrible giant of all those hitherto in the world” was published in St. Petersburg. Until recently, it was considered a adaptation of Rabelais's novel, but in reality it is a translation of an anonymous popular print story from the early 17th century, dating back to the same folklore sources as the novel. “The Tale of the Glorious Gargantuas” was re-published in 1796. It was read by both adults and children, who thus became acquainted with the fairytale-folklore basis of Rabelais' book. In addition, teachers and mentors of noble children, carefully using the French text of the novel, extracted individual episodes from it for reading and retelling. The later adaptations of some episodes without indicating the name of the author (tales about the exploits of the giant Gargantua) were also far from the original.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, tsarist censorship suppressed all attempts to introduce readers to Gargantua and Pantagruel, prohibiting not only translations, but even articles that outlined the content of the novel. For example, the censor Lebedev, motivating in 1874 the prohibition of an article by the critic Bartholomew Zaitsev, intended for “Notes of the Fatherland,” essentially revealed the ideological orientation of Rabelais’s satire: “... it should be noted that most of the subjects submitted to Rabelais for public ridicule continue to exist today , somehow: supreme power, expressed in the person of Sovereigns; religious institutions represented by monastics and priests; wealth concentrated in the hands of either nobles or in the hands of individuals. And therefore, the acquaintance of the Russian public with the works of such a historical, so to speak, writer as Rabelais, cannot but be considered extremely reprehensible on the part of the editors.”

In the struggle against the feudal-church worldview, the leading figures of the Renaissance created a new, secular culture based on the principles of humanism. The heralds of this new culture came out with an open visor in defense of human personality and free thought, against feudal prejudices, the cynical pursuit of enrichment and the brutal exploitation of the masses. Rabelais' difficult life was filled with a tireless struggle for new humanistic ideals, which he defended by all means available to him. An excellent linguist, an expert on ancient antiquities, an outstanding naturalist and a renowned physician, Rabelais, relying on science, fought against the obscurantism of the clergy and overthrew the ascetic worldview of the Middle Ages. Rabelais's main merit is the creation of the five-volume satirical epic "Gargantua and Pantagruel" (1532 -1552], to which he devoted more than two decades of his creative life. According to Belinsky, this work "will always have its own lively interest, because it is closely related to the meaning and the significance of an entire historical era."

Rabelais himself warns readers in the preface that his book is something more than a simple heap of fabulous and fantastic adventures: “You need,” he says, “to chew a bone to get to the brain,” that is, behind a plot full of wonderful adventures, see deep content. The deafening laughter of the novel's heroes, their salty jokes and unbridled "Rabelaisian" fun express the attitude of people seeking to free themselves from medieval routine and church dogmatism. This healthy, cheerful principle, which is embodied in the images of Gargantua, Pantagruel and their friends, is contrasted with the ugly caricature masks of medieval monarchs and clergy, scholastics and routiners. Each comic episode contains philosophical thought and those “subtle potions” of life wisdom that Rabelais himself suggested looking for in his books.

“Gargantua and Pantagruel” is a real encyclopedia of humanistic ideas, reflecting all aspects of social life: ‘issues of government and politics, philosophy and religion, morality and pedagogy, science and education. For Rabelais, man, with his right to a free, joyful, creative life, is at the center of the world, and that is why the writer is most interested in the problem of raising a new man. In the chapters devoted to Gargantua, Rabelais mercilessly ridicules medieval scholastic pedagogy, contrasting it with a new, humanistic system of education in the person of Ponocrates: observation and study of nature and life, a combination of theory and practice, visual learning, harmonious development of both mental and physical abilities of a person. Throughout the novel, Rabelais acts as a zealous propagandist and a brilliant popularizer of natural science knowledge. Herzen noted in this regard that “Rabelais, who very vividly understood the terrible harm of scholasticism on the development of the mind, based the education of Gargantua on natural sciences.”

The episodes of the novel in which Rabelais touches on the problem of war and peace fully retain their political relevance. The image of the unlucky warrior King Picrohol, who took it into his head to conquer the whole world and enslave the peoples of all continents, is drawn with pamphlet-like acuity. He easily and quickly redraws the geographical map, turning it into a global Picrohol empire. “I am very afraid,” notes one of his advisers, “that this whole enterprise is similar to the well-known farce about that pot of milk, with the help of which one shoemaker dreamed of getting rich quickly, and when the pot broke, he had a ketch for lunch.” Picrohol's army, and with it his aggressive plans, are shattered at the very first clash with the giant Gargangua.