François Rabelais Quotes

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The great reproach always brought against Rabelais is not the want of reserve of his language merely, but his occasional studied coarseness, which is enough to spoil his whole work, and which lowers its value.

Thirst, for who in the time of innocence would have drunk without being athirst? Nay, sir, it was drinking; for privatio praesupponit habitum.

I am going to seek a great perhaps; draw a curtain, the farce is played out.

Then I began to think that it is very true which is commonly said, that the one half of the world knoweth not how the other half liveth.

"High and mighty guzzlers, and you, O all you precious pox-ridden — while you have the leisure and I have nothing else more important to do, let me ask you a question: why does everybody say, as if it were proverbially true, that the world is no longer flat? Understand, please, that "flat" here means "without zest, unsalted, insipid, washed-out": taking it metaphorically, it signifies "crazy, foolish, senseless, rot-brained." Would you argue, as indeed one might logically infer, that if we say that the world has been flat, now we have to say that it's become wise? What was it that made it flat? Why was it flat? Why should it be wise? What do you think ancient stupidity was? What do you think constitutes our present wisdom? What made it flat? What has made it wise? Are there more lovers of flatness or more lovers of wisdom? Just exactly when was it flat? Just exactly when was it wise? Who's responsible for that earlier flatness? Who's responsible for that later wisdom? Why did that ancient flatness end right now, and not at some other time? Why did our present wisdom begin right now, and not sooner? What harm did our earlier flatness do us? What good is this new wisdom? How did we get rid of our ancient flatness? How was our present wisdom brought about?"

A mother-in-law dies only when another devil is needed in hell.

Un homme de bien, un homme de bon sens, croit toujours ce qu’on lui dit et ce qu’il trouve dans les livres.

And so on to the end of the chapter.

Nothing is so dear and precious as time.

La verité dans sa matière brute est plus fausse que la faux.

Le bonhomme Grandgousier buvant, et se rigolant avec les autres entendit le cri horrible que son fils avait fait entrant en lumière de ce monde, quand il bramait demandant : «à boire, à boire, à boire», dont il dit, «que grand tu as supple le gosier». Ce qu'oyant les assistants, dirent que vraiment il devait avoir par ce le nom Gargantua, puisque telle avait été la première parole de son père à sa naissance, à l'imitation et exemple des anciens Hébreux.

it behoves you to develop a sagacious flair for sniffing and smelling out and appreciating such fair and fatted books, to be swiff: in pursuit and bold in the attack, and then, by careful reading and frequent meditation, to crack open the bone and seek out the substantificial marrow – that is to say, what I mean by such Pythagorean symbols – sure in the hope that you will be made witty and wise by that reading; for you will discover therein a very different savour and a more hidden instruction which will reveal to you the highest hidden truths and the most awesome mysteries

I have a remedy against thirst, quite contrary to that which is good against the biting of a mad dog. Keep running after a dog, and he will never bite you; drink always before the thirst, and it will never come upon you.

This flea which I have in mine ear.