Part 5 Chapter 29

How Epistemon disliked the institution of Lent.

Pray did you observe, continued Epistemon, how this damned ill-favoured Semiquaver mentioned March as the best month for caterwauling? True, said Pantagruel; yet Lent and March always go together, and the first was instituted to macerate¹ and bring down our pampered² flesh, to weaken and subdue³ its lusts⁴, to curb⁵ and assuage⁶ the venereal rage.

By this, said Epistemon, you may guess what kind of a pope it was who first enjoined⁷ it to be kept, since this filthy⁸ wooden-shoed Semiquaver owns that his spoon is never oftener nor deeper in the porringer of lechery⁹ than in Lent. Add to this the evident reasons given by all good and learned physicians, affirming that throughout the whole year no food is eaten that can prompt mankind to lascivious¹⁰ acts more than at that time.

As, for example, beans, peas, phasels, or long-peason, ciches, onions, nuts, oysters¹¹, herrings, salt-meats, garum (a kind of anchovy), and salads wholly made up of venereous herbs and fruits, as —

Rocket, Parsley, Hop-buds,
Nose-smart, Rampions, Figs¹²,
Taragon, Poppy, Rice,
Cresses, Celery, Raisins¹³, and others.

It would not a little surprise you, said Pantagruel, should a man tell you that the good pope who first ordered the keeping of Lent, perceiving that at that time o’ year the natural heat (from the centre of the body, whither it was retired¹⁴ during the winter’s cold) diffuses¹⁵ itself, as the sap does in trees, through the circumference¹⁶ of the members, did therefore in a manner prescribe that sort of diet to forward the propagation of mankind. What makes me think so, is that by the registers of christenings at Touars it appears that more children are born in October and November than in the other ten months of the year, and reckoning backwards¹⁷ ’twill be easily found that they were all made, conceived, and begotten¹⁸ in Lent.

I listen to you with both my ears, quoth Friar John, and that with no small pleasure, I’ll assure you. But I must tell you that the vicar of Jambert ascribed this copious¹⁹ prolification of the women, not to that sort of food that we chiefly eat in Lent, but to the little licensed²⁰ stooping mumpers, your little booted Lent-preachers, your little draggle-tailed father confessors, who during all that time of their reign²¹ damn all husbands that run astray three fathom²² and a half below the very lowest pit of hell. So the silly cod²³’s-headed brothers of the noose²⁴ dare not then stumble any more at the truckle-bed, to the no small discomfort²⁵ of their maids, and are even forced, poor souls, to take up with their own bodily wives. Dixi; I have done.

You may descant²⁶ on the institution of Lent as much as you please, cried Epistemon; so many men so many minds; but certainly all the physicians will be against its being suppressed, though I think that time is at hand. I know they will, and have heard ‘em say were it not for Lent their art would soon fall into contempt, and they’d get nothing, for hardly anybody would be sick.

All distempers are sowed in lent; ’tis the true seminary and native bed of all diseases; nor does it only weaken and putrefy bodies, but it also makes souls mad and uneasy. For then the devils do their best, and drive a subtle trade, and the tribe of canting dissemblers come out of their holes. ’Tis then term-time with your cucullated pieces of formality that have one face to God and another to the devil; and a wretched clutter²⁷ they make with their sessions, stations, pardons, syntereses, confessions²⁸, whippings, anathematizations, and much prayer with as little devotion. However, I’ll not offer to infer from this that the Arimaspians are better than we are in that point; yet I speak to the purpose.

Well, quoth Panurge to the Semiquaver friar, who happened to be by, dear bumbasting, shaking, trilling, quavering cod, what thinkest thou of this fellow? Is he a rank heretic? Fri. Much.

Pan. Ought he not to be singed²⁹? Fri. Well.

Pan. As soon as may be? Fri. Right.

Pan. Should not he be scalded first? Fri. No.

Pan. How then, should he be roasted? Fri. Quick.

Pan. Till at last he be? Fri. Dead.

Pan. What has he made you? Fri. Mad.

Pan. What d’ye take him to be? Fri. Damned.

Pan. What place is he to go to? Fri. Hell.

Pan. But, first, how would you have ‘em served here? Fri. Burnt.

Pan. Some have been served so? Fri. Store.

Pan. That were heretics? Fri. Less.

Pan. And the number of those that are to be warmed thus hereafter is? Fri. Great.

Pan. How many of ‘em do you intend to save? Fri. None.

Pan. So you’d have them burned? Fri. All.

I wonder, said Epistemon to Panurge, what pleasure you can find in talking thus with this lousy tatterdemalion of a monk³⁰. I vow³¹, did I not know you well, I might be ready to think you had no more wit in your head than he has in both his shoulders. Come, come, scatter³² no words, returned Panurge; everyone as they like, as the woman said when she kissed her cow. I wish I might carry him to Gargantua; when I’m married he might be my wife’s fool. And make you one, cried Epistemon. Well said, quoth Friar John. Now, poor Panurge, take that along with thee, thou’rt e’en fitted; ’tis a plain case thou’lt never escape wearing the bull’s feather; thy wife will be as common as the highway, that’s certain.

1 macerate   

v.浸软，使消瘦

参考例句：

• I like to macerate the food in liqueur for a few minutes before serving.我喜欢先把这种食物在利口酒里浸泡几分钟再端上桌。
• That kind of force would macerate his internal organs.那种力量会浸软他的内脏。

2 pampered   

adj.饮食过量的，饮食奢侈的v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The lazy scum deserve worse. What if they ain't fed up and pampered? 他们吃不饱，他们的要求满足不了，这又有什么关系？ 来自飘（部分）
• She petted and pampered him and would let no one discipline him but she, herself. 她爱他，娇养他，而且除了她自己以外，她不允许任何人管教他。 来自辞典例句

3 subdue   

vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制

参考例句：

• She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。
• He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

4 lusts   

贪求（lust的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• A miser lusts for gold. 守财奴贪财。
• Palmer Kirby had wakened late blooming lusts in her. 巴穆·柯比在她心中煽动起一片迟暮的情欲。

5 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

6 assuage   

v.缓和，减轻，镇定

参考例句：

• The medicine is used to assuage pain.这种药用来止痛。
• Your messages of cheer should assuage her suffering.你带来的这些振奋人心的消息一定能减轻她的痛苦。

7 enjoined   

v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The embezzler was severely punished and enjoined to kick back a portion of the stolen money each month. 贪污犯受到了严厉惩罚，并被责令每月退还部分赃款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She enjoined me strictly not to tell anyone else. 她严令我不准告诉其他任何人。 来自辞典例句

8 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

9 lechery   

n.好色；淫荡

参考例句：

• When they are idle,they indulge themselves into comfort,lechery,crapulence and gluttony.他们闲散时，就沉溺于安乐、纵欲、暴饮、暴食。
• His lechery made him the enemy of every self-respecting husband and father in the county.他的好色放浪使他成为全县所有自尊自重的丈夫和父亲的公敌。

10 lascivious   

adj.淫荡的，好色的

参考例句：

• I was there to protect her from the importunities of lascivious men.我在那里保护她,不受那些好色男子的纠缠不休。
• In his old age Cato became lascivious and misconducted himself with a woman slave.到了晚年,卡托沉溺于女色,跟一个女奴私通。

11 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

12 figs   

figures 数字，图形，外形

参考例句：

• The effect of ring dyeing is shown in Figs 10 and 11. 环形染色的影响如图10和图11所示。
• The results in Figs. 4 and 5 show the excellent agreement between simulation and experiment. 图4和图5的结果都表明模拟和实验是相当吻合的。

13 raisins   

n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These raisins come from Xinjiang,they taste delicious. 这些葡萄干产自新疆，味道很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother put some raisins in the cake. 母亲在糕饼中放了一些葡萄干。 来自辞典例句

14 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

15 diffuses   

（使光）模糊，漫射，漫散( diffuse的第三人称单数 )； （使）扩散； （使）弥漫； （使）传播

参考例句：

• A gas in solution diffuses from region of greater to one of less concentration. 溶液中的气体由浓度较高的区域向浓度较低的区域扩散。
• The sun diffuses light and heat. 太阳发出光和热。

16 circumference   

n.圆周，周长，圆周线

参考例句：

• It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
• The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。

17 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

18 begotten   

v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 )；产生，引起

参考例句：

• The fact that he had begotten a child made him vain. 想起自己也生过孩子，他得意了。 来自辞典例句
• In due course she bore the son begotten on her by Thyestes. 过了一定的时候，她生下了堤厄斯式斯使她怀上的儿子。 来自辞典例句

19 copious   

adj.丰富的，大量的

参考例句：

• She supports her theory with copious evidences.她以大量的例证来充实自己的理论。
• Every star is a copious source of neutrinos.每颗恒星都是丰富的中微子源。

20 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

21 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

22 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

23 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

24 noose   

n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑

参考例句：

• They tied a noose round her neck.他们在她脖子上系了一个活扣。
• A hangman's noose had already been placed around his neck.一个绞刑的绳圈已经套在他的脖子上。

25 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

26 descant   

v.详论，絮说；n.高音部

参考例句：

• You need not descant upon my shortcomings.你不必絮说我的缺点。
• An elderly woman,arms crossed,sang the descant.一位双臂交叉的老妇人演唱了高音部。

27 clutter   

n.零乱，杂乱；vt.弄乱，把…弄得杂乱

参考例句：

• The garage is in such a clutter that we can't find anything.车库如此凌乱，我们什么也找不到。
• We'll have to clear up all this clutter.我们得把这一切凌乱的东西整理清楚。

28 confessions   

n.承认( confession的名词复数 )；自首；声明；（向神父的）忏悔

参考例句：

• It is strictly forbidden to obtain confessions and to give them credence. 严禁逼供信。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Neither trickery nor coercion is used to secure confessions. 既不诱供也不逼供。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

29 singed   

v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿]

参考例句：

• He singed his hair as he tried to light his cigarette. 他点烟时把头发给燎了。
• The cook singed the chicken to remove the fine hairs. 厨师把鸡燎一下，以便去掉细毛。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

30 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

31 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

32 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。