Everybody knows that Giants are very queer people and require a great deal of care, even when they are the mildest, and Gargantua was such a Giant that the measures of all the Tailors of Paris at that time couldn't have told him how tall he was, and all the weights known in his day couldn't possibly have balanced his big body.
Master Ponocrates, who had no idea of making the Prince's mind strong at the expense of his body,—being too good a teacher for that,—arranged it in such a way that, every day after the Latin lesson, Gargantua was allowed, after changing his clothes, to leave his hotel with his Squire1 Gymnaste, who had been chosen specially2 to teach him the noble art of horsemanship. Once on horseback, Gargantua would first give his steed full rein3; then make him leap high in air; then jump a ditch; then scale a fence; then turn quickly in one half of a circle, and back again around the other half, before one could count thirty seconds. Then calling for a lance—the keenest, the sharpest, and the strongest that could be had—he would ride full-tilt against the heaviest door or the stoutest4 oak, piercing the one through and through, or uprooting5 the other by sheer force with as much ease as a common man would tear up a sapling. As for the flourishes on horseback, no one could compete with Gargantua. The great acrobat6 of Ferrara was only a monkey in comparison with him. Gargantua was taught to leap from one horse to another while both were at full gallop7, without touching8 the ground, or, with lance at rest, mounting each horse without stirrup or bridle9, and guiding it as he pleased. As Ponocrates said, "all these things help to make a good soldier."
Yet this was only a trifle. Every fine day the Prince would go hunting. He would shine as brightly there as he had done in horsemanship. He would always be the first when the chasing the deer, the doe, the boar, the partridge, the pheasant, and the bustard.
Next to hunting came swimming. Gargantua, being so bulky, never would strike a stroke unless he was in deep waters. He would play such tricks in the water as only good swimmers know—swimming on his back, or sideways, or with all his body, or sometimes with his feet only. He laughed at the idea of crossing the Seine. It was his daily pastime, holding a book with one hand high above the water, to reach the other side without wetting a single page of it. One day, Gargantua, being praised for all this, was asked if he had any model. All he said was:—
"Perhaps, Julius C?sar used to do something of the same kind."
GARGANTUA LEARNS TO SHOOT.
On coming out of the water, he would of course feel chilled through, and then to get well warmed he would run up a hill, and then rush down, taking the trees on the way, up which he would dart11 like a cat, leaping from one branch to the other like a squirrel, and breaking down great limbs to the right and left like Milo of old. He would next pay his attention to the houses which, with the aid of two steel poniards, he would climb, jumping down from them without ever being the worse for it. After this he would exercise with the bow, often strongest bows in drawing, shooting at targets from below upwards12, from above downwards13, sideways, and at last behind him, like the Parthians.
Engraving
GARGANTUA LEARNS TO CLIMB.
But there was something more. Every day after these feats15 were over, they would drop a big cable from some high tower to the ground. Gargantua would go hand over hand up this chain, and descend16 it with so sure a grip that, among the active men of Paris, there could not be found his equal. Then came what Ponocrates called strengthening his nerves. For this purpose, two great weights of lead had been specially made—each one weighing eight hundred and seventy thousand pounds—which Gargantua would take up, one in each hand, raise them above his head, and keep them there, without moving, three quarters of an hour and more. All who saw this great feat14 wondered, and swore that the like of it had not been seen in the world. Being still out in the open air, he would exercise his throat and his lungs by shouting like a wild man. Why, he was one day heard calling Eudemon from the Gate of Saint Victor, by a man who was standing17 in the street at Montmartre,—any map of Paris will show you how far that is. Everybody has heard about Stentor and his great voice. Well, Stentor never had such a voice at the siege of Troy as Gargantua had at the gate of St. Victor.
When the weather was bright, he would play a game in which he would imitate Milo, the famous strong man, by standing on his feet, and daring any number of the strongest men to make him move. This was the last of the hard work for the day. He would be allowed to rest time enough to be bathed, rubbed down, and given clean clothes. He and his companions would return very slowly home, stopping on the way by certain fields or grassy18 plains, where they examined the trees and plants, consulting over them with the books of old-time greybeards who had written about them, their arms full of specimens19 which they would throw to the page Rhizotome, who was charged to take good care of them, together with the pickaxes, hoes, spades, scrapers, pruning-knives, and other implements20 which his master had used in the work.
Of course this had brought them home, where they had to wait sometimes for supper. If they happened to wait, they would repeat certain passages from what had been read or spoken of at dinner. At the supper-table, they would continue their wise talk. After supper they used to sing musically, to play on harmonious21 instruments, and to pass the time away in those little games which wise men know how to play with cards, dice22, and goblets23. His companions never found these very interesting. No more did Gargantua.
Engraving
GARGANTUA STUDIES ASTRONOMY.
When bed-time came, Gargantua used to walk with Ponocrates as far as the lodge24, looking upon the open street, whence they could better see the face of the sky. There he watched the comet—there happened to be one then—and the figure, situation and aspect, opposition25 and conjunction of the stars. Then, with his good teacher, he would briefly26 sum up in the way of the Pythagoreans all that he had read, seen, known, thought, and done in the course of the day.
Then the tired young Giant, tucking his bedclothes lazily around him, would commend himself to Heaven, and stretch his big limbs out on a bed that I am afraid was rather short for him.
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1
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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rein
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| n.疆绳，统治，支配；vt.以僵绳控制，统治 | |
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stoutest
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| 粗壮的( stout的最高级 )； 结实的； 坚固的； 坚定的 | |
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5
uprooting
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| n.倒根，挖除伐根v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的现在分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园 | |
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6
acrobat
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| n.特技演员，杂技演员 | |
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7
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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8
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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9
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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10
engraving
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| n.版画；雕刻（作品）；雕刻艺术；镌版术v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的现在分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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11
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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12
upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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13
downwards
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| adj./adv.向下的（地），下行的（地） | |
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14
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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15
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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16
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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grassy
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| adj.盖满草的；长满草的 | |
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specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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20
implements
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| n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效 | |
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21
harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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dice
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| n.骰子；vt.把（食物）切成小方块，冒险 | |
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23
goblets
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| n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 ) | |
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24
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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25
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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26
briefly
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| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
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