Quotes from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“Seeing how sorrow eats you, defeats you.
I'd rather write about laughing than crying,
For laughter makes men human, and courageous.”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“the wise may be instructed by a fool”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“Readers, friends, if you turn these pages
Put your prejudice aside,
For, really, there's nothing here that's outrageous,
Nothing sick, or bad — or contagious.
Not that I sit here glowing with pride
For my book: all you'll find is laughter:
That's all the glory my heart is after,
Seeing how sorrow eats you, defeats you.
I'd rather write about laughing than crying,
For laughter makes men human, and courageous.”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“it behoves you to develop a sagacious flair for sniffing and smelling out and appreciating such fair and fatted books, to be swiff: in pursuit and bold in the attack, and then, by careful reading and frequent meditation, to crack open the bone and seek out the substantificial marrow – that is to say, what I mean by such Pythagorean symbols – sure in the hope that you will be made witty and wise by that reading; for you will discover therein a very different savour and a more hidden instruction which will reveal to you the highest hidden truths and the most awesome mysteries”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“This is the true nature of gratitude. Time gnaws and diminishes all things, but it increases and adds to our good deeds: anytime we have extended a generous hand to a rational human being, that goodness keeps growing and glowing in the man's heart, forever remembered, constantly contemplated.”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“This year there will be an eclipse of the Moon on the fourth day of August.9 Saturn will be retrograde; Venus, direct; Mercury, variable. And a mass of other planets will not proceed as they used to.10 As a result, crabs this year will walk sideways, rope-makers work backwards, stools end up on benches, and pillows be found at the foot of the bed;11 many men’s bollocks will hang down for lack of a game-bag;12 the belly will go in front and the bum be the first to sit down; nobody will find the bean in their Twelfth Night cake; not one ace will turn up in a flush; the dice will never do what you want, however much you may flatter them;13 and the beasts will talk in sundry places.”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“Mais, concluent, je dys et mantiens qu'il n'y a tel torchecul que d'un oyzon bien duveté, pourveu qu'on luy tienne la teste entre les jambes. Et m'en croyez sus mon honneur. Car vous sentez au trou du cul une volupté mirificque, tant par la doulceur d'icelluy dumet que par la chaleur temperée de l'oizon laquelle facilement est communicquée au boyau culier et aultres intestines, jusques à venir à la region du cueur et du cerveau. Et ne pensez que la beatitude des heroes et semi dieux, qui sont par les Champs Elysiens, soit en leur asphodele, ou ambrosie, ou nectar, comme disent ces vieilles ycy. Elle est (scelon mon opinion) en ce qu'ilz se torchent le cul d'un oyzon, et telle est l'opinion de Maistre Jehan d'Escosse. "
Gargantua, 1534”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“Idite, prijatelji, i neka vas hrani ona umna sfera, čije je središte svuda a obim nigde, i koju mi zovemo bog. A kada dođete u svoj svet, posvedočite da pod zemljom ima velikog blaga i divnih stvari. Nije pogrešila Cerera, koju je cela vasiona već uvažavala, – jer je ljude poučila veštini zemljoradnje i pronalaskom žita prekinula sa njihovom grubom pićom žirovkom, – što je toliko naricala kada joj je kći u podzemlje odvedena. Ona je svakako predviđala da će njena kći pod zemljom naći više dobra i prevashodnosti no što je to ona, mati njena, iznad zemlje stvorila.
Šta je bilo sa veštinom koju je mudri Prometej nekada pronašao: da se izaziva grom s neba i nebeski oganj? Svakako ste je izgubili. Napustila je vašu hemisferu, a ovde, pod zemljom, ona je u upotrebi. Vi se ponekad zgražate, videći da vam gradovi gore i da ih obuhvata plamen od groma i ognja eterskog, a ne znate ko to čini, gde to čini i s koje strane na vas navodi tu napast, koja je vama grozna, a mi smo na nju svikli i njom se koristimo po svom nahođenju. Vaši filozofi koji se žale da su drevni pisci već sve napisali i da im nisu ostavili ništa novo da otkriju, svakako nisu u pravu. Ono što vam se s neba javlja i što vi nazivate pojavama, ono što vam zemlja pokazuje, ono što sadrže more i druge reke, ne da se uporediti sa onim što zemlja skriva.”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“and his peers are not many. You may like him or not, may attack him or sing his praises, but you cannot ignore him. He is of those that die hard. Be as fastidious as you will; make up your mind to recognize only those who are, without any manner of doubt, beyond and above all others; however few the names you keep, Rabelais' will always remain.”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“No hay peor pérdida de tiempo que la de contar las horas ¿que se consigue con eso? Y no hay mayor quimera que quererse gobernar a golpe de campana y no por la razón y el buen sentido.”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“The great reproach always brought against Rabelais is not the want of reserve of his language merely, but his occasional studied coarseness, which is enough to spoil his whole work, and which lowers its value.”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

“El hombre no val más de lo que él mismo estima.”
― François Rabelais, quote from Gargantua and Pantagruel

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About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.