ABSTRACT
FrancisRabelais, – “the great jester of France,” as he is designated by Lord Bacon; a learned scholar, physician, and philosopher, as he appears from other and eminent testimonies, – was one of the most remarkable persons who figured in the revival of letters. It is his fortune, like the ancient Hercules, to be noted with posterity for many feats to which he was a stranger, – but which are always to his disadvantage. Rabelais was born at Chinon, a small town of Touraine. The date of his birth is not ascertained; but the generally received opinion of his death, at the age of 70, in 1553, would place his birth in 1483. The cause, or the pretence, of Rabelais’s being thus buried alive, is described as “a scandalous adventure;” but differently related. According to some the scandal consisted in his disfiguring, by way of frolic, in concert with another young cordelier, the image of their patron saint.
