ABSTRACT
The most imperious need a living being feels is to go on living, and man is no exception to the rule. First and foremost, he must eat, drink, and preserve himself from being eaten. Hence a series of inventions, for hunger, thirst, and the instinct of conservation are the first and most potent stimulants to toil. Not without reason did Rabelais 1 call “Messer Gaster”, that is, the belly, the first master of arts in the world, and see in him the inventor of all devices, trades and refinements. You cannot, he says, make him believe anything, remonstrate with him or persuade him, for he has no ears. He will have no delays when he calls; when he issues an order, you must obey at once or die. The wild animals inhabiting the forest, the air or the water obey at the first sign. Everything turns upon him: “All for tripe” as Rabelais says in his own uncompromising manner.
