How Pantagruel adviseth Panurge to consult with the Sibyl of Panzoust.
A little while thereafter Pantagruel sent for Panurge and said unto him, The affection which I bear you being now inveterate1 and settled in my mind by a long continuance of time, prompteth me to the serious consideration of your welfare and profit; in order whereto, remark what I have thought thereon. It hath been told me that at Panzoust, near Crouly, dwelleth a very famous sibyl, who is endowed with the skill of foretelling2 all things to come. Take Epistemon in your company, repair towards her, and hear what she will say unto you. She is possibly, quoth Epistemon, some Canidia, Sagana, or Pythonissa, either whereof with us is vulgarly called a witch,— I being the more easily induced to give credit to the truth of this character of her, that the place of her abode4 is vilely5 stained with the abominable6 repute of abounding7 more with sorcerers and witches than ever did the plains of Thessaly. I should not, to my thinking, go thither8 willingly, for that it seems to me a thing unwarrantable, and altogether forbidden in the law of Moses. We are not Jews, quoth Pantagruel, nor is it a matter judiciously9 confessed by her, nor authentically10 proved by others that she is a witch. Let us for the present suspend our judgment11, and defer12 till after your return from thence the sifting13 and garbling14 of those niceties. Do we know but that she may be an eleventh sibyl or a second Cassandra? But although she were neither, and she did not merit the name or title of any of these renowned15 prophetesses, what hazard, in the name of God, do you run by offering to talk and confer with her of the instant perplexity and perturbation of your thoughts? Seeing especially, and which is most of all, she is, in the estimation of those that are acquainted with her, held to know more, and to be of a deeper reach of understanding, than is either customary to the country wherein she liveth or to the sex whereof she is. What hindrance16, hurt, or harm doth the laudable desire of knowledge bring to any man, were it from a sot, a pot, a fool, a stool, a winter mitten17, a truckle for a pulley, the lid of a goldsmith’s crucible18, an oil-bottle, or old slipper19? You may remember to have read, or heard at least, that Alexander the Great, immediately after his having obtained a glorious victory over the King Darius in Arbela, refused, in the presence of the splendid and illustrious courtiers that were about him, to give audience to a poor certain despicable-like fellow, who through the solicitations and mediation20 of some of his royal attendants was admitted humbly21 to beg that grace and favour of him. But sore did he repent22, although in vain, a thousand and ten thousand times thereafter, the surly state which he then took upon him to the denial of so just a suit, the grant whereof would have been worth unto him the value of a brace23 of potent24 cities. He was indeed victorious25 in Persia, but withal so far distant from Macedonia, his hereditary26 kingdom, that the joy of the one did not expel the extreme grief which through occasion of the other he had inwardly conceived; for, not being able with all his power to find or invent a convenient mean and expedient27 how to get or come by the certainty of any news from thence, both by reason of the huge remoteness of the places from one to another, as also because of the impeditive interposition of many great rivers, the interjacent obstacle of divers28 wild deserts, and obstructive interjection of sundry29 almost inaccessible30 mountains,— whilst he was in this sad quandary31 and solicitous32 pensiveness33, which, you may suppose, could not be of a small vexation to him, considering that it was a matter of no great difficulty to run over his whole native soil, possess his country, seize on his kingdom, install a new king in the throne, and plant thereon foreign colonies, long before he could come to have any advertisement of it: for obviating34 the jeopardy35 of so dreadful inconveniency, and putting a fit remedy thereto, a certain Sidonian merchant of a low stature36 but high fancy, very poor in show, and to the outward appearance of little or no account, having presented himself before him, went about to affirm and declare that he had excogitated and hit upon a ready mean and way by the which those of his territories at home should come to the certain notice of his Indian victories, and himself be perfectly37 informed of the state and condition of Egypt and Macedonia within less than five days. Whereupon the said Alexander, plunged38 into a sullen39 animadvertency of mind, through his rash opinion of the improbability of performing a so strange and impossible-like undertaking40, dismissed the merchant without giving ear to what he had to say, and vilified41 him. What could it have cost him to hearken unto what the honest man had invented and contrived42 for his good? What detriment43, annoyance44, damage, or loss could he have undergone to listen to the discovery of that secret which the good fellow would have most willingly revealed unto him? Nature, I am persuaded, did not without a cause frame our ears open, putting thereto no gate at all, nor shutting them up with any manner of enclosures, as she hath done unto the tongue, the eyes, and other such out-jetting parts of the body. The cause, as I imagine, is to the end that every day and every night, and that continually, we may be ready to hear, and by a perpetual hearing apt to learn. For, of all the senses, it is the fittest for the reception of the knowledge of arts, sciences, and disciplines; and it may be that man was an angel, that is to say, a messenger sent from God, as Raphael was to Tobit. Too suddenly did he contemn45, despise, and misregard him; but too long thereafter, by an untimely and too late repentance46, did he do penance47 for it. You say very well, answered Epistemon, yet shall you never for all that induce me to believe that it can tend any way to the advantage or commodity of a man to take advice and counsel of a woman, namely, of such a woman, and the woman of such a country. Truly I have found, quoth Panurge, a great deal of good in the counsel of women, chiefly in that of the old wives amongst them; for every time I consult with them I readily get a stool or two extraordinary, to the great solace48 of my bumgut passage. They are as sleuthhounds in the infallibility of their scent50, and in their sayings no less sententious than the rubrics of the law. Therefore in my conceit51 it is not an improper52 kind of speech to call them sage49 or wise women. In confirmation53 of which opinion of mine, the customary style of my language alloweth them the denomination54 of presage55 women. The epithet56 of sage is due unto them because they are surpassing dexterous57 in the knowledge of most things. And I give them the title of presage, for that they divinely foresee and certainly foretell3 future contingencies58 and events of things to come. Sometimes I call them not maunettes, but monettes, from their wholesome59 monitions. Whether it be so, ask Pythagoras, Socrates, Empedocles, and our master Ortuinus. I furthermore praise and commend above the skies the ancient memorable60 institution of the pristine61 Germans, who ordained62 the responses and documents of old women to be highly extolled63, most cordially reverenced64, and prized at a rate in nothing inferior to the weight, test, and standard of the sanctuary65. And as they were respectfully prudent66 in receiving of these sound advices, so by honouring and following them did they prove no less fortunate in the happy success of all their endeavours. Witness the old wife Aurinia, and the good mother Velled, in the days of Vespasian. You need not any way doubt but that feminine old age is always fructifying67 in qualities sublime68 — I would have said sibylline69. Let us go, by the help, let us go, by the virtue70 of God, let us go. Farewell, Friar John, I recommend the care of my codpiece to you. Well, quoth Epistemon, I will follow you, with this protestation nevertheless, that if I happen to get a sure information, or otherwise find that she doth use any kind of charm or enchantment71 in her responses, it may not be imputed72 to me for a blame to leave you at the gate of her house, without accompanying you any further in.
1 inveterate | |
adj.积习已深的,根深蒂固的 | |
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2 foretelling | |
v.预言,预示( foretell的现在分词 ) | |
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3 foretell | |
v.预言,预告,预示 | |
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4 abode | |
n.住处,住所 | |
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5 vilely | |
adv.讨厌地,卑劣地 | |
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6 abominable | |
adj.可厌的,令人憎恶的 | |
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7 abounding | |
adj.丰富的,大量的v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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8 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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9 judiciously | |
adv.明断地,明智而审慎地 | |
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10 authentically | |
ad.sincerely真诚地 | |
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11 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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12 defer | |
vt.推迟,拖延;vi.(to)遵从,听从,服从 | |
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13 sifting | |
n.筛,过滤v.筛( sift的现在分词 );筛滤;细查;详审 | |
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14 garbling | |
v.对(事实)歪曲,对(文章等)断章取义,窜改( garble的现在分词 ) | |
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15 renowned | |
adj.著名的,有名望的,声誉鹊起的 | |
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16 hindrance | |
n.妨碍,障碍 | |
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17 mitten | |
n.连指手套,露指手套 | |
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18 crucible | |
n.坩锅,严酷的考验 | |
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19 slipper | |
n.拖鞋 | |
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20 mediation | |
n.调解 | |
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21 humbly | |
adv. 恭顺地,谦卑地 | |
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22 repent | |
v.悔悟,悔改,忏悔,后悔 | |
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23 brace | |
n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备 | |
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24 potent | |
adj.强有力的,有权势的;有效力的 | |
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25 victorious | |
adj.胜利的,得胜的 | |
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26 hereditary | |
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的 | |
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27 expedient | |
adj.有用的,有利的;n.紧急的办法,权宜之计 | |
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28 divers | |
adj.不同的;种种的 | |
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29 sundry | |
adj.各式各样的,种种的 | |
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30 inaccessible | |
adj.达不到的,难接近的 | |
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31 quandary | |
n.困惑,进迟两难之境 | |
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32 solicitous | |
adj.热切的,挂念的 | |
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33 pensiveness | |
n.pensive(沉思的)的变形 | |
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34 obviating | |
v.避免,消除(贫困、不方便等)( obviate的现在分词 ) | |
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35 jeopardy | |
n.危险;危难 | |
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36 stature | |
n.(高度)水平,(高度)境界,身高,身材 | |
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37 perfectly | |
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地 | |
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38 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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39 sullen | |
adj.愠怒的,闷闷不乐的,(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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40 undertaking | |
n.保证,许诺,事业 | |
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41 vilified | |
v.中伤,诽谤( vilify的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42 contrived | |
adj.不自然的,做作的;虚构的 | |
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43 detriment | |
n.损害;损害物,造成损害的根源 | |
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44 annoyance | |
n.恼怒,生气,烦恼 | |
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45 contemn | |
v.蔑视 | |
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46 repentance | |
n.懊悔 | |
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47 penance | |
n.(赎罪的)惩罪 | |
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48 solace | |
n.安慰;v.使快乐;vt.安慰(物),缓和 | |
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49 sage | |
n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的 | |
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50 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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51 conceit | |
n.自负,自高自大 | |
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52 improper | |
adj.不适当的,不合适的,不正确的,不合礼仪的 | |
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53 confirmation | |
n.证实,确认,批准 | |
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54 denomination | |
n.命名,取名,(度量衡、货币等的)单位 | |
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55 presage | |
n.预感,不祥感;v.预示 | |
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56 epithet | |
n.(用于褒贬人物等的)表述形容词,修饰语 | |
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57 dexterous | |
adj.灵敏的;灵巧的 | |
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58 contingencies | |
n.偶然发生的事故,意外事故( contingency的名词复数 );以备万一 | |
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59 wholesome | |
adj.适合;卫生的;有益健康的;显示身心健康的 | |
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60 memorable | |
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的 | |
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61 pristine | |
adj.原来的,古时的,原始的,纯净的,无垢的 | |
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62 ordained | |
v.任命(某人)为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 );授予(某人)圣职;(上帝、法律等)命令;判定 | |
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63 extolled | |
v.赞颂,赞扬,赞美( extol的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64 reverenced | |
v.尊敬,崇敬( reverence的过去式和过去分词 );敬礼 | |
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65 sanctuary | |
n.圣所,圣堂,寺庙;禁猎区,保护区 | |
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66 prudent | |
adj.谨慎的,有远见的,精打细算的 | |
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67 fructifying | |
v.结果实( fructify的现在分词 );使结果实,使多产,使土地肥沃 | |
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68 sublime | |
adj.崇高的,伟大的;极度的,不顾后果的 | |
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69 sibylline | |
adj.预言的;神巫的 | |
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70 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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71 enchantment | |
n.迷惑,妖术,魅力 | |
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72 imputed | |
v.把(错误等)归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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