Sterne's Rabelaisian Fragment: A Text from the Holograph Manuscript

Author(s): Melvyn New

Source: PMLA, Vol. 87, No. 5 (Oct., 1972), pp. 1083-1092
Published by: Modern Language Association
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Rabelaisian
Sterne's A TextfromtheHolograph
Fragment:
Manuscript
Introduction
BECAUSE the canon of Laurence Sterneis
small in comparisonwith those of other
eighteenth-century authorsof equal stature,
it becomesespeciallydesirable,indeed necessary,
forthe studentof Sterneto give fullattentionto
everyavailablescrapofhiswriting. Thatfullatten-
tionhas notbeengivenis suggestedbythehistory
ofthe"scrap" whichis thesubjectofthisessay: a
manuscriptof twenty-three leaves, in Sterne's
hand,now in the PierpontMorganLibrary,New
York, whereit has the numberM.A. 1011.1The
holographmeasures19.3X 11.7 cm., and is now
bound in fullgreenstraight-grain levantmorocco,
by MacDonald. It is probablya roughdraftand
has frequentcancellations,some of whichtotally
obscurethe textwrittenbeneath.Writtenon the
rectosoftheleaves of whitelaid paper,theversos
are blank,exceptfora canceledreadingon folio
11, an insertionin the texton folio 19, and what
maybe the numeralone on folio7, the last folio
of Chapteri. Chaptersi and ii are indicatedat the
top of folios 1 and 8 respectively. The leaves are
numberedin a modernhand.
The manuscript was firstpublishedsevenyears
afterSterne'sdeath in his daughter'scollection
of his letters.2
It appears at the end of the third
volume,underthetitle,"The FRAGMENT"; on the
titlepage affixedto each volumeit is called, "A
FRAGMENT in the Manner of Rabelais." Lydia
Sterne Medalle took many libertieswith her
father'swriting, in particularbowdlerizing several
passages to make them acceptable to the un-
Rabelaisian sensibilitiesof the late eighteenth
century. LatereditorsofSterne'sWorks,including
the editorsof the standardeditionsof 1904 and
1927, simplyreprintedMrs. Medalle's text. The
textpresentedhereis,then,thefirsttruetextto be
publishedof Sterne'sRabelaisianfragment.
Conjecturesas to Sterne's intentionsin the
fragmentare limitedby the slightnessof what
1083
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MELVYN NEW
remains-less than 1,500words. Nevertheless,a
few suggestionscan be made. Most obviously,
Sterneseemsto have had a satireon learningand
sermonwritingin mind. One characterin the
fragment is LonginusRabelaicus,whoproposesin
Chapter i to writea Kerukopaedia, an Art of
Sermon-writing. Although this work is never
actually begun, its author's name suggests a
parodyof Peri Hupsous(On theSublime),perhaps
in themannerof Pope's Peri Bathous.3
At the same timethat LonginusRabelaicus is
makingthisproposal,theclericHomenas4is dis-
coveredinthemidstofstealinghis Sundaysermon
fromthe Sermonsof Dr. Samuel Clarke, often
consideredthe"gloomyClerk" of Book Iv ofthe
Dun1ciad.In TristramShandy(p. 427), Yorick is
said to have writtenon thefirstleaf of one of his
sermons:"-For thissermonI shall be hanged,-
for I have stolen the greatestpart of it." That
Sterneis recallinghis own career as a sermon
writer(and sermonthief)in these passages has
been documentedin Lansing Hammond's study
of Sterne's sermons.' Sterne's capacity to see
"himselfin thetruepoint of ridicule,"as he says
ofYorick(p. 19),is clearlyevident.
These twocharacters,LonginusRabelaicusand
Homenas, are surroundedby a congenialgroup
ofRabelaic fellows:Panurge,Gymnast,Triboulet,
and Epistemonare specifically named. While a
gatheringof wits is certainlyone of Rabelais's
favoritedevices,thegroupmay also call to mind
Sterne'sparticipationin the Demoniacs--a Shan-
dean gatheringof Yorkshiremen who seemedto
sharea commondelightin wine,in bawdy,and in
Rabelais. Indeed, one of the group, Robert
Lascelles,was nicknamedPanty,fromPantagruel.6
Such a gatheringalso mightremindus of the
Scriblerians,out of whose association came,
amongotherproductions, Peri Batho-us.
Sterne'sattemptat the Rabelaisianstylein the
fragment remindsus once again of his immense
1084 Fragment
Sterne'sRabelaisian

PLATE1.FoliosI and2 ofSterne's

Rabelaisian
fragment. Library.
Morgan
Pierpont

debt to and love forthe Frenchsatirist.Yorick, Swiftand yetkeepa "due distance"fromthem

we remember, carriesa vofumeof Gargantuaand
Pantagruelin his "right-handcoat pocket" and
reads from it the fight between Tripet and
Gymnast(pp. 387-89). Moreover,Sterneinvokes
the name of Rabelais severaltimesin the work
itselfand in writingabout Tristram to correspon-
dents.In a letterto an unknowncritic,writtenin
1759,Sternetellshimthat"I denyI have gone as
farr as Swift-He keeps a due distance from
Rabelais-& I keepa due distancefromhim ...";
and to StephenCroftin March 1761 he linkshim-
selfto thesametradition:". . . tillI shallhavethe
honourto be as much mal-treatedas Rabelais,
and Swiftwere,I mustcontinuehumble;forI have
not filledup the measureof half theirpersecu-
tions."7
Sterne'seffortsboth to be like Rabelais and
areclearlyillustratedinthefragment. On theone
hand,thereis theRabelaisian freedom withlan-
guageandthechurch. "Shit"is usedas an exple-
tive severaltimes;and the divine,Homenas,
imagining himself fallingfromthepulpit,cries
thathehasfractured hisskull"andbeshithimself
intotheBargain."On theotherhand,signsofa
newrestraint are also evidentin theholograph.
Sterne'sfirstintentionwasto haveHomenassteal
hissermon fromDr. JohnRogers,enabling him
topun:"HomenaswhohadtopreachnextSunday
... was all thiswhileRogering it as hardas He
coulddrivein theverynextRoom."Thisbitof
bawdyoccursonfolio8,andonfolio14Sterne is
still usingRogers.He had secondthoughts,
however, andultimately changed all thementions
ofRogersto Clarke,including thejokeoffolio8,

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 MelvynNew
whichbecomes the veryinnocent,"was all this
whileat it." Again, on folio 7, Sternehad origi-
nally written"every Sir Reverence& Licenced
Preacher";"Sir Reverence"has been canceled,a
correctionalmost certainlydeterminedby the
phrase'suse as a canttermforfeces-by Rabelais
among others.8And again, on folio 13, the am-
biguous apostrophe,"Dearly BelovedRoger,the
Scripturemoveththee& me in sundryPlaces," is
canceled,Sterneperhapsfeelingthatthe parody
of the Book of CommonPrayer("Dearly beloved
brethren,the Scripturemoveth us in sundry
places") was too bold or too licentious.Such self-
censorshipcomes nowherenear the bowdleriza-
tionperformed by Mrs. Medalle, but it does sug-
gestthatSternewas aware of changingtastesand
changingstandardsof decorum,althoughhis at-
titudetowardthis change is perhapsbest repre-
sentedby thesummoningof thecouncilsof con-
cupiscence and delicacy in TristramShandy
(p. 348).
Sterne'sdebt to Rabelais is also evidentin his
phrasing.The Rabelaisianpenchantforthecomi-
cal anatomyis evidentin such sentencesas "the
Art of making all kinds of your theological,
hebdomadical, rostrummical, humdrummical
whatd'ye call 'ems" (fol. 3); and again, "but the
mosttrue,themost strong,the mostphilosophi-
cal, and themosthydrostratical Reason,why. . ."
(fol. 20). But it is in Sterne'spervasiveand persis-
tent echoes of short,seeminglyrandomphrases
that he most clearlydemonstrates how carefully
he had masteredtheidiomofhispredecessor.The
followingRabelaisian words and phrases are
found in the fragment: "thrice-Reverend,"
"thorough-stitch'd," "Half in Half," "as ... as
everpiss'd," "Sir Reverence,""nimming, "done
his Business,""tickleit off,""ding dong," "slap
dash," and "crack,again."9If Sternedid indeed
capturethe flavorof Rabelais, it was, I believe,
his ear forthe Rabelaisianvocabularythatmade
his efforts successful.
The Rabelaisian fragmentis interesting also
because of its relationshipto TristramShandy.
Most obviously,the characterHomenas returns
in Book iv, as noted earlier: "I'm to preach at
courtnextSunday,said Homenas-run over my
notes. . ." (p. 315); and Sterne'sinterestin sermon
writingis perhapscontinuedin Yorick's several
discussionsof his sermons(p. 317; pp. 426-30).10
We can also hearan echo of theKerukopaediain
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1085
the Tristrapaedia-thesimilarthrustat the ency-
clopedic catalogingof knowledgewhich has al-
ways been a primetarget(and parodic form)of
satire. Finally, Sterne's attentionto details of
physicaldescription, so obviousa facetofTristram
Shandy,is readilyseen in the fragment,as in
the descriptionof the tears on folios 15-16.
This close scrutinyof physical reality by the
authoris clearlyRabelaisianin originand satiric
in intention. Hence we see Panurgemisstheright
answer by "twelve feet & about five Inches"
(fol. 4); we see Homenassteal"Five wholePages,
nineroundParagraphs,and a Dozen and a halfof
good Thoughts"(fol. 10); and we see Homenas
weep for "Six Minutes and almost twentyfive
seconds" (fol. 15). Sterne'ssimilarattentionto
minutiaein TristramShandymay owe more to
Rabelais's satiricrealismthan is oftenassumed.
WilburCross has suggestedthat the fragment
is most comparableto the Visitationdinnerin
TristramShandyand suggeststhatit was written
in theautumnof 1760,and abandonedforuse in
Book iv as too ribald,perhapson the advice of
StephenCroft.1'1 would argue insteadthat the
fragment was writtenafterSterne'ssuccesswith
the Political Romance(1759), and was his first
attempt at what ultimatelybecame Tristram
Shandy.This wouldplace thedate of composition
in Januaryor Februaryof 1759,sinceby the end
of May Sternewas alreadyoffering Volume i to
Dodsley and promisingVolume ii by Christmas
(Letters,pp. 74-75).
Evidencefortheearlierdate is foundprimarily
in severalpassagesof thefragment whichrecurin
TristramShandy.In the fragment, for example,
Sternehad originally written:
I maysitup wholeWinterNightsbakingmyBlood
withhecticWatchings andwriteas solidas a Fatherof
theChurch-or,I maysitdownwholesummer Days
evaporating mySpiritsintothefinest Thoughts, and
writeas floridas a Motherofit,& ineither Case,im-
pairmyHealth,wastemyanimalStrength, dryup my
radicalMoisture,bringmyselfinto a mostcostive
HabitofBody,& hastenall theInfirmities ofmyold
age,-In a Word,I maycomposemyself offmyLegs,
& preachtillI burst,-andwhenI've done,'twilbe
worse,thanifnotdoneat all.- (fols.12-13)
In TristramShandy(ii, Ch. iii),an apostropheis
addressedto Toby:
Is itfit,good-natur'd
man!thoushould'stsitup,with
thewounduponthygroin,wholenightsbakingthy
1086 Sterne'sRabelaisianFragment
bloodwithhecticwatchings ?-Alas! 'twillexasperate Tristram (i, Ch. iii),Tristram writesofhismother:
thysymptoms,-check thyperspirations,-evaporate ". . . but she knew no more than her backside
thyspirits,-waste thyanimalstrength,-dry up thy whatmyfathermeant"(p. 7). Finally,in Volume
radicalmoisture,-bring theeintoa costivehabitof II, Chaptervi, Tristramtalks about "that orna-
body,impairthyhealth,-andhastenall theinfirmities mentalfigurein oratory,whichRhetoriciansstile
of thyold age. (p. 90)12
the Aposiopesis"and explainsit thus: "Make this
Significantly, Sternecanceledthatportionof the dash,-'tis an Aposiopesis.-Take thedash away,
fragment closestto thepassageinTristram Shandy, and writeBackside,- 'tis Bawdy" (p. 100). In the
the catalog of effectsthat "hectic watchings" fragmentSterne wrote of an "aposiopesistic
will bring. While it is of course possible that Break, marktthus--" and then had canceled
SterneimitatedTristram in thefragment, it seems "aposiopesistic"(fol. 21).
far more likelythat he produced the fragment This lastexampleactuallyfindsa closerparallel
earlierand kept it by his side, waitingfor the in Volumeiv,Chapterxxvii,theVisitationdinner:
propermomentto use it. As he waitedhe found " ... that initerjection of surpriseso much dis-
occasion to use the passage underdiscussionand canted upon, withthe aposiopestickbreak after
deleteda portionof it fromthefragment without it,markedthus,Z-ds . . ." (p. 322). In the same
damagingthe meaningof thepassage. chapter,thereis anotherinteresting parallel be-
Other similaritiesbetweenthe fragmentand tweenTristram Shandyand thefragment. Tristram
TristramShandylend supportto this view. For writesof Phutatorius:
example,in a discussionbetweenthe Shandysin
So thatnotwithstanding he lookedwithall theatten-
Volumeii, Chapterxvii-significantly, on sermon tionintheworld,andhad
gradually skrewed upevery
writing-Waltersays: nerveand musclein hisface,to theutmost pitchthe
. .. and if the clergyof our church... would take instrument wouldbear,in order,as itwasthought, to
partinwhattheydeliver, as deeplyas thispoorfellow givea sharpreplyto Yorick,who sat over-against
has done,-as theircompositions are fine;(I denyit, him-YetI say... (p. 319)
quothDr. Slop)-l maintain it,thattheeloquenceof
In thefragment it is Panurgewho is described:
our pulpits. .. would be a model forthewhole world
"
. . . (p. 141) That notwithstanding Panurgehad open'dhisMouth
as wideas he couldforhis Blood in orderto givea
In thefragment, LonginusRabelaicusdefendshis
roundAnswer... And tho' his Head was full of
idea of theKerukopaediaby sayingthatifall the Matter,& hehadskrew'dupeveryNerveand Muscle
rules of sermonwritingcould be bound up and belonging to it,tillall cryed,crack,again,in orderto
"put intotheHands ofeveryLicencedPreacherin givea dueprojectile ForcetowhatHe wasgoingto let
great Britain& Irelandjust beforehe began to fly.... Yet forall that... (fols.17-19)
compose,I maintainit-I denyit flatly, quoth
In view of the severalparallelpassages cited,I
Panurge-What? answer'd LonginusRabelaictis
withall theTemperin the World" (fol. 7). To be would arguethatSternehad writtenthe Rabelai-
sian fragment beforehe began TristramShandy;
sure, Sternedid not cancel this passage in the
fragment, and henceitis morepossibleto consider that he had kept itbyhissideduringthewriting of
the passage in Tristramas its source.Taken with at least the first four books, hoping to fitit in
the parallel passages cited earlier,however,the somewhere,borrowingoccasionallyfromit; and
probabilityis strongthat Sterneis continuingto that afterthe Visitationdinner in Volume iv,
cull the fragment forideasas he writeshismaster- where it had probablyseemedmost suitablefor
piece. insertion, and yetwas neverfoundquitefit,Sterne
A slighterexampleis foundperhapsin Sterne's more or less abandonedthefragment as unusable.
originalphrase,"littleDevil astridea Mortgage" It seems evident to me, then, that the "Fragment
on folio 10; thishas been changedto "littleblack in the Manner of Rabelais" was Sterne's first
Devil" and "astridea Mortgage"is canceled.In attempt at creative writing after the success of the
Volume i, Chapterviii of TristramSternewrote: Political Romance. As such, it is a significantpart
"... like so many little party-colour'ddevils of theSternecanon,and deservesbettertreatment
astride a mortgage . . ." (p. 14). Again in the thanMrs. Medallegave itin 1775.
fragmentSternehad written,"I know no more ofFlorida
University
of Greek & Latin than my Arse" (fol. 5); in Gainesville

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 MelvynNew
Notes
II wish to thank the Pierpont Morgan Library for
permission to publish this edition of the fragment,and
Douglas C. Ewing of thatlibraryforhisvaluable assistance;
a grantfromtheJohnsonFund oftheAmericanPhilosophi-
cal Society for the preparationof this edition is gratefully
acknowledged.
2 Letters of the Late Rev. Mr. Laurence Sterne ... pub-
lished by his Daughter, Mrs. Medalle. In Three Volumes
(London: T. Becket, 1775).
3 In his sermon, "Search the Scriptures," Sterne calls
Longinus "the best criticthe easternworld ever produced"
(The Sermonisof Mr. Yorick,Shakespeare Head Press ed.,
Oxford: Basile Blackwell, ii, 230); and in TristramShandy,
we are told to read him: "read away-if you are not a jot
the wiser by reading him the firsttime over-never fear-
read him again-" (ed. James Aiken Work, New York:
Odyssey,1940, p. 282; hereaftercited in text).Interestingly
enough, Tristramencourages us, in a similar manner,to
read Rabelais: "Read, read, read, read, my unlearned
reader! read,-" (p. 226).
4The name of thebishop of Papimanyin the fourthbook
of Gargantua and Pantagruel. The name is first spelled
"Homenaz" and annotated as: "a production of that of
Homme. They use it, in Laniguedoc,whentheywou'd say, a
great Loggerheaded Booby, that has neither Wit nor
Breeding" (The Works of Francis Rabelais, M.D. Now
carefullyrevised,and comparedthroughout withthelate new
Editionof M. Le du Chat,by Mr. Ozell, London: Printedby
J. Hughs ... For J. Brindley... and C. Corbett ....
1087
1737,iv, 195; hereafter
citedas Urquhart-Motteux
Rabelais.)
Cf.Work'snoteinTristram Shandy,p. 315,whereHomenas
reappears,preparinga sermonto be preached"next
Sunday."It shouldbe remembered, indiscussing
Rabelais's
influence on Sterne,
thatSterne's"Rabelais"was thisfree-
wheelingRenaissancetranslation by Urquhartand Mot-
teux.
5 Laurence Sterne's Sermonsof Mr Yorick(New Haven,
Conn.: Yale Univ.Press,1948).
6 Wilbur L. Cross, The Life and Times of Laurence
Sterne,3rd ed. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press,
1929),p. 132.A discussionoftheDemoniacscan be found
on pp. 131-34.
7Letters of Laurence Sterne, ed. Lewis PerryCurtis
(Oxford:OxfordUniv.Press,1935),pp. 76, 132.
8 See,e.g.,Urquhart-Motteux,Rabelais, iv, 275.
9 See thenotesto thetextforcitations.
10On fol.12 ofthefragment, Homenasbewailshimself,
"Alass poorHomenas!"Is it possiblethatthisphrasegave
Sternetheinspiration formaskinghimself as the Shake-
speareanjesterin TristramShandy?
11 Life, pp. 522, 623-24. The letterto Croftcan be
foundinLetters,
pp. 126-27.
12 Cf. AniApologyJortheLife of Colley Cibber . .. Writtena
byHimself,2 vols.(London:Printed byJohnWattsforthe
Author,1740),p. 12: "Can it be worthmywhileto waste
myspirits,
to bakemyBlood,withseriousContemplations,
and perhapsimpairmyHealth,in thefruitless
Studyofad-
vancingmyself.. ."

A Noteon theText
In editingSterne'sholographI have attempted Italics: I haveconsistently italicizedpropernames,
to record,in the textualnotes, a completeand thoughSterneis inconsistent in doing so. Where
accurate reading of Sterne's cancellationsand Sterneusesoversized ordistinctive ora double
letters,
revisions. Some normalizingof the text was underscoring, I haveusedcapitals.
required,since Sterneis inconsistent about capi- Punctuation:(a) apostrophes in an elidedpasttense
endingare silently suppliedwhenrequired;(b) quota-
talization,italics, and the like. I have silently
tionmarksarounddirectdiscourse, wheninitiated by
normalizedthe following:
Sterne,havebeencompleted whererequired;quota-
Capitals: I havefollowedSterne'scapitalization
in tionmarkswhenrepeated at thebeginning ofa lineare
almosteverycase; in a fewinstanceswherehe begins omitted; (c) Sterne'suseofthedoublehyphen and of
sentenceswitha lowercaseletter
I havecapitalizedthe superscript abbreviations
has beenmodernized; punc-
letter;whereSterne'sintention is doubtful, I have tuationof abbreviations has beensuppliedwhenre-
chosenthereadingmostconsistent withhisownprac- quired.
tice.Long"s" hasbeenmodernized.

Key to Symbols
Pointedbracketsenclosecancellations.
A A Carets enclose readingswhich Sternein-
sertedabove or below a line.
V V Inverted carets enclose readings which
Sterneappears to have insertedon a line
aftertheline was firstinscribed.
Wavy lines enclose a reading which is
superimposed on the canceled reading
whichimmediately precedesit.
An italicquestionmarkin frontof a can-
celed readingindicatesa conjecturalread-
ing.
A singleverticalline indicatesthe end of
a line in the manuscript;it is used only to
clarifyrevisions.
AdoptedfromLaurenceSterne,A Sentimental Journey,
ed. Gardner D. Stout (Berkeley and Los Angeles:
Univ. of CaliforniaPress,1967).

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1088 Sterne'sRabelaisianFragment
[A Fragmentin theMannerof Rabelais]
Chapt. 1st

Shewingtwo Things;First,Whata Rabelaic Fellow,

LonginusRabelaicus,is;-and Secondly,How CavalierlyHe
beginshis Book.- -
My dear and thrice-Reverend' Brethren,as well/1/
and
Arch-Bishops Bishops as the Rest of theInferior 5
Clergy!Would it not be a gloriousThing,If any Man of
Genius and Capacityamongstus forsucha Work,was fully
bentwithinHimselfto sitdown immediately and compose a
thorough-stitch'd Systemof theKERUKOPAEDIA,2 daintily3
settingforth,to thebest of his Wit and Memory,& 10
collectingforthatPurposeall thatis needfulto be
known& /2/ understoodof thatArt?4 -Of whatArt,cryed
Panurge?--Good God! answer'dLonginusRabelaicus(making
an Exclamation,but takingCare to moderatehis Voice at
the same Time)5Why,-of theArtof makingall kindsof your 15
theological,hebdomadical,rostrummical, humdrummical
whatd'ye call 'ems I'll be shot/31 quoth Epistemon
if all thisStoryof thineof a roastedHorse6is simply
no morethanS-- SAUSAGES?,quothPanurge.Thou hast
fallentwelvefeet& about fiveInchesbelowthe Mark, 20
answer'dEpistemon, forI hold themto be, SERMONS,which
said word,(as I take thematter,)beingbut a Word of low
Degree,fora Book of highRhetoric;LonginusRabelaicus
was foreminded to usher& lead intohis Dissertation,with
as muchPomp & Parade as he could afford;and /4/ formy 25
own Part,eitherI knowno moreof Greek & Latin thanmy
Arse,7or the KERUKOP,EDIA,is nothingbut theArtof making
'em-And, whynot,quoth Gymnast of preaching'em,when
We've done?-Believe me,dear Souls! This is Half in Half-8
& ifsome SkillfulBody would butput us in a Way to do 30
thisto some Tune -Thou wouldstnot have 'em chanted
surely/5/quoth Triboulet, laughing?-No, nor canted
neitherquoth Gymnast, crying9--ButwhatI mean,myLittle
Cods,10saysLonginusRabelaicus(who is certainlyone of
thegreatestCritick'sin thewesternWorld,and as Rabelaic 35
a Fellow as everpiss'd)11whatI mean,sayshe, interrupting
themboth,& resuminghis Discourse,is this,That if all
the scatter'dRules of theKERUKOP,EDIA, could be but once
carefullycollectedintoone Code, as thick/6/ as Panurge's
Head, and theWhole cleanlydigested-(Shite!saysPanurge,'2 40
who felthimselfaggrieved-) and bound up, continued
Longinus,by way of a regularInstitute, and thenput into

8 [Above"compose"are threemarksof unknownpurpose;see Plate 1] 12 Art,(says) AcryedA

17-18shot/3/Aquoth ifallAall this/4/ 19 [Before"Thou" intheleft-hand
Epistemon marginis a
caretbelowthelineand a crossabovetheline] 24 usherV&VI AleadA
into 27 Arse,( ? if)-or-
29Believeme,(Good FoIksxAdear SoulsA 32 quoth(Panurge) ATribouletA 35 World,()) and 36
as ever(liv'd)Apiss'dA

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 MelvynNew 1089
the Hands of everyLicencedPreacherin greatBritain&
Irelandjust beforeHe beganto compose,I maintainit -
I denyit flatly,quothPanurge -What? answer'dLonginus 45
Rabelaicuswithall theTemperin theWorld.

/7/
Chap. 2d

In whichtheReader willbeginto forma Judgment, of what

an Historical,Dramatical,Anecdotical,Allegoricaland
Comical Kind of a Work,He has got hold of.-- 50

HOMENAS who had to preachnextSunday(beforeGod

knowswhom)- knowingNothingat all of the Matter--was all
thiswhileat it as hardas He could drivein theverynext
Room: forhaving/8/ foul'dtwo clean Sheetsof his own,
and beingquite stuckfastin theEnteranceupon his third 55
GeneralDivision,"3 & findingHimselfunableto geteither
forwardsor backwards-withanyGrace "d -n it,"'"says
He, (therebyExcommunicating everyMother'sSon who should
thinkdifferently) "Why,maynot a Man lawfullycall in for
Help, in this,as well as any otherhumanEmergency?"So 60
withoutany moreArgumen-/9/tation,exceptstarting up
and nimming15 down fromtheTop Shelfbut one,thesecond
Volume of Clark"6tho' withoutanyfeloniousIntentionin so
doing,He had begunto clapp me"7in (makinga Joyntfirst)
Five wholePages, nineroundParagraphs,and a Dozen and 65
a halfof good Thoughtsall of a Row; and becausethere
was a confoundedhighGallery, -was transcribing it away,
Like a littleblack Devil. /10/Now-quoth Homenasto
Himself,"Tho' I hold all thisto be fairand square Yet,
ifI am foundout,therewillbe theDeuce & all to pay.- 70
Whyare theBells ringing backwards;"8You Lad!-What's all
thatCrowdabout,honestMan! Homenaswasgot uponDr.
Clark'sback,Sir and whatof that,myLad? WhySir,
He has brokehisNeck,andfractured hisSkulland beshit9
himself intotheBargain,byafall /11/fromthePulpit 75
twoStorieshigh.Alass poor Homenas!-Homenashas done
his Business!20-HomenaswillneverpreachmorewhileBreath's
in his Body!--No, Faith. I shall neveragain,be able to
tickleit off2as I have done. I maysitup wholeWinter
NightsbakingmyBlood withhecticWatchingsand writeas 80
43 every(Sir Reverence&) Licenced 43-44A& IrelandA 45A flatlyA 50 Comical (a) Kind
53 while (Rogering)AatA it 57 backwards-(withany Grace) Awith any (Credit)GraceA
59 differentlyv)v (fromhim)) 63 of (the abovesaid participleDoct. (you know who)) AOf
(Norris)ClarkA 67 AitA 68 littlevblackvDevil (astridea Mortgage)[The "k" in "black"
appearson fol.11inthelowerrighthandmargin. Sterneappearsto havewritten offtheedgeoffol.10
ontotheleafsticking outbeneathit.] 71 backwards K?)-; Lad ( ?) vIv 72 about(?) ,
Man (? )! 72-73Dr. (Rogers's; AClark'sA 76 [On fol.I v opposite"Homenas! .. . has" is
thecanceledreading:"In thefirst,I maysquarecutall my";Sternemayhaveintended to insertthis
readingafter"done" (1.79).] 77 neverK[three or fourwords,canceledbyheavyloopings;thelast
wordmaybe "more"])Apreach morewhileBreath'sinhisBody! -- !-No,

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1090 Sterne'sRabelaisianFragment
solid as a Fatherof theChurch--or, I maysitdownwhole
summerDays evaporatingmySpiritsinto/12/thefinest
Thoughts,and writeas floridas a Motherof it,-In a Word,
I maycomposemyselfoffmyLegs, & preachtillI burst,-
and whenI've done. 'twilbe worse,thanifnot done at all. 85
/13/Pray,Mr. Such a one, Whoheldforth last Sunday?
DoctorCLARK,I trow,says one. Pray whatDoctorCLARK,
quoth a second? Why,HOMENAS's DoctorCLARK,quoth a third.
O Rare HOMENAS!criesa fourth-yourSer-vant,Mr. HOMENAS,
quoth a fifth.- 'twilbe all overwithme beforeG-d,-I 90
may as well shiteas shoot.--"122 Here,Homenasburstintoa
Flood of Tears /14/whichfallingdown helterskelter,
dingdong,23 withoutany kindof Intermission forSix
Minutesand almosttwentyfiveseconds,had a marvellous
Effectupon his Discourse; for,the aforesaidTears,do 95
you mind,did so tempertheWind24 thatwas risingupon
the aforesaidDiscourse,-but fallingforthe mostpart
perpendicularly, & hittingthe Spiritsat rightAngles
whichweremountinghorisontally all overthe Surface
of his Harrangue,theynot onlyplay'dthe Devil and all, 100
withthe /15/Sublimity--But moreover,the said Tears,
bytheirnitrousQualitydid so refrigerate, precipitate,
& hurrydown to the Bottomof his Soul, all theunsavory
Particleswhichlay fermenting (as you saw) in the middle
of his Conception,That He wenton in thecoolest & 105
chastestStile(fora Soliloquy,I think)thatever
mortalMan utter'd.-
"This is really& truelya veryhard Case," continued
Homenas,to himself(Panurge,by the by,and all /16/the
Companyin the nextRoom hearingall along everySyllable 110
He spoke; foryou mustknow,That notwithstanding Panurge
had open'd his Mouth as wide as he could forhis Blood in
orderto givea roundAnswerto LonginusRabelaicus's
Interrogation whichconcludedthe last Chapter-Yet Homenas's
Rhetorichad pour'd in so like a /17/Torrent,slap dash25 115
thro'the Wainscotamongstthem,and happeningat that
uncritical CrisiswhenPanurgehad just put his uglyFace
intothe above-saidPostureof Defence,--That He stopt
short, He did indeed.And tho' his Head was fullof
Matter,& he had skrew'dup every/18/Nerveand Muscle 120

81or,(on theotherhand),I 83 it,(& ineitherCase,impairmyHealth,wastemyanimalStrength,

dryupmyradicalMoisture, bring myself intoa AmostA HabitofBody,& hastenall theInfirmities
costive
of AmyAold age,)-In 85 be K"DeairlyBelovedRoger,theScripturemoveththee& mein sunidry Plcces"
'tisso recenta Stoty,& willbearso /13/villainousan Application I shall neverhearan End on't.)
Aworse, thanifnotdoneat all.-A/13/ 87-88Doctor (RoGERS) ACLARKA [threeoccurrences] 88
HOMENASA'SA Tears,do youmind,A
95-96 the(y) (said Tears) Aaforesd did 96-97upon (it) Athe
aforesdDiscourseA 97 ApartA 100 AtheyA 101 Sublimity A(WCI1 is inseparablefromHeat,)-A
104 A(as you saw)A 107 Man (heard?Autter'dA 108-109[Theclosingquotationmarkis after
"himself" intheMS.] 111know.(tho'I absolutely totellyoubefore,)
forgot That 113to (make
a properReply)Agivea roundAnswerA to 115in (slapdash)-so likea- 119short,--[Almost
fourlinesarecanceledherewithheavyloopingand a line;thepassageends"gapingandstaring likea
stuckPig"]-He

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 MelvynNew 1091
belongingto it,tillall cryed,crack,26 again,in orderto
givea due projectileForce to whatHe was goingto let fly
fullin LonginusRabelaicus'sTeeth,who sat over against
him,-Yet forall that,He had the Continenceto contain
himself,-hehad indeed-for He stoptshort,I say,without 125
uttering one Word,exceptDamn it.27/19/Many reasons may be
assertedforthis,but themosttrue,themoststrong,the
mostphilosophical,and the mosthydrostratical Reason, why
Panurgedid not go on,-was,-That theforemention'd Torrent
his
did so drown Voice, that he had none leftto go on with. 130
God help him, poor Fellow!-So He stopt short,(as I've
told you /20/twicebefore)and all theTime Homenaswas
speaking,He said not anotherWordgood or bad but stood
gaping& staringlike anywhatyou please.28
So thatthe Break,marktthus- whichHomenas's 135
Griefhad made in themiddleof his Discourse,whichHe
could no morehelp thanHe could fly-producedno other
Change in theRoom whereLonginusRabelaicus,Epistemon,
Gymnast, Tribouletand nineor ten morehonest/21/Blades,
had got kerukopaedizing together,-But,thatit gave Time 140
to Gymnast to givePanurgea good squashingChuckunderhis
double Chin; whichPanurgetakingin Good Part,& just as
it was meantby Gymnast;He forthwith shuthis Mouth-and
gentlysittingdown upon his broad Arse,29 tho' somewhat
excentrically & out of Neighbour'sRow, but listening, as 145
all the restdid, withMight& Main, Theyplainly/22/and
distinctlyheardeverySyllableof whatyou willfindrecorded
in the verynextChapter.) --

125 A-he had indeed A short,(as I toldyou) Al sayA, without 126 except(it was Zounds.-
Whichwhetherit was any Thing/19/lose a Shillingby the EvidenceI gave,I shouldsay the
same Thingoveragain, That Aafter all,AI believein myConscience,AThatA [A crossover"Con-
on fol.19vopposite thereading"ThatAaftelall,A I believeinmyConscience. . . ";
science"is repeated
bythecrossis theuncanceledreading"manyreasonsmaybe [ ?asserted;?assessed]forthis,butthe
mosttrue "]) ADamnit. A /19/ 127["themosttrue"appearsbothintheuncanceled readingon
fol. 19vand on fol. 20 afterthe canceledreading"Conscience,That"] 128 AtheA 130 AonA
133Agoodor badA 134like(a stuckPig) Aany whatyoupleaseA 135 the(aposiopesistic) Break,
A([?one word]) marktthus A 136 AhisA 140 got (? paedopaedizing)AkerukopaedizingA
143AforthwithA 144-45 Asomewhat & outofARow, (&) AbutA 146AallAplainAlyA
excentrically

Notes
1 Sterneuses this formulain his Author'sPreface,
Tristram Shandy,III, Ch. xx: "Now, mydearAnti-Shan- Urquhart-Motteux
deans,andthrice ablecritics. . ." (p. 193).It is usedbythe
Urquhart-Motteux Rabelaisin the prologuesto Books I,
II, III, and v.
2 A coinage fromthe Greek Kpv-,ua, preaching,sermon;
cf.theEnglish"kerygma"
and "kerystic."
"fairly"in the Medalle ed., iI, 166.
Cf. TristramnSlhandy:". . . so that Slawkenbergiushis
book may properlybe considered, not onlyas a model,
but as a thorough-stitch'd
DIGEST and regularinstitute
[see the fragment,
fol. 7] of noses;comprehending in it,
all that is . .. needful to be known about them . . ."
(p. 232). Variantsof "thorough-stitch'd" are used by the
Rabelaisin iII, 325and v, 18.
5 Cf. Tristrani Shandy, i, "Good G-! cried my father,
makingan exclamation, but takingcare to moderatehis
voice at the same time . . . " (p. 5).
6 Cf. Tristram Shandy, iv, ". . . tellingthe world a
storyof a roasted horse . . ." (p. 281). See Cotgrave's Dic-
tionary:s.v. Cicogne: "Contes de la cicogne.Idle his-
tories; vaine relations;tales of a tub,or, of a roastedhorse.
Cf. Thomas Fuller, A Collection of English Proverbs
(London: H. Serjeant[1732?]),No. 2833:"It amountsto
no morethantheTail ofa roastedHorse."

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1092 Sterne'sRabelaisianFragment
7". . . I knowno moreof Latinthanmyhorse ." in the people." W. C. Hazlitt, Faiths and Folklore of the
theMedalleed.,iii, 167. BritishIsles (London:Reevesand Turner,1905),i, 44.
8 Cf. TristramShandy,p. 325 and p. 352. The OED cites 19"befouled"in the Medalle ed., iII, 172.
thelatterunderthedefinition:"half(to orbyhalf)thetotal 20 Cf. the Urquhart-MotteuxRabelais, IV, 176: .. . the
amount."The phrase occursin the Urquhart-Motteux firsttimethatthegreedyThiefswallow'dthem,theyhad
Rabelais, iv, 66. liketo havedonehisBusiness."
9 Cf. thetreatisebythehackauthorofA Tale ofa Tub: 21 Cf. TristramShandy: ". . . how shouldI tickleit off"
"A criticalEssayupontheArtofCanting, philosophically, (p. 194). GardnerD. Stout,Jr.,notesthatthe phraseis
physically.and musicallyconsidered." usedbytheUrquhart-Motteux Rabelais,prologueto Book
0 "myfriends" in theMedalleed., iiI, 168. iv; see "Some Borrowings in SternefromRabelais and
""existed" intheMedalleed.,iii, 168.Cf.theUrquhart- Cervantes,"ELN, 3 (1965), 113.
MotteuxRabelais, Prologueto Book iv: .. . as trileCods 22" 'Twillbe all overwithme,byHeav'n I mayas well
as everpiss'd" (iv, lxxvi). putthebook fromwhenceI tookit" in the Medalleed.,
2 "pooh,saysPanurge"in theMedalleed.,iI, 169. iII, 174.
18 Cf. TristrainShandy:". . . and my uncle Toby having 23 Cf. TristramShandy, wherethe critics"tickledoff"
some measuresto take about his breeches-and Yorick Tristram's dingdong,cut
jerkin,"pellmell,helterskelter,
generaldivision . . thecompanybroke
abouthisfourth and thrust. . ." (pp. 161-62); and where Toby and Trim
up . . ." (p. 590). mount: ". . . fall in upon them, pell-mell Ding dong,
4 "Curseit" in theMedalleed., iii, 171. addedTrim. Horseandfoot,saidmyuncleToby. Helter
15 "To take.In cant,to steal."Johnson'sDictionary.In skelter,said Trim .. ." (p. 380). The Urquhart-Motteux
the Urquhart-Motteux Rabelais, iii, 256, Tribouletis de- Rabelaisuses "dingdong"in thismannerin v, 99,and v,
scribedas a "Nimmingand filching" fool. 146.
16 The canceledreadings heresuggestthatSterne'sfirst 24 An interesting anticipationof Sterne'smost often
intentionwasto haveHomenasborrowfromthesermons of quoted line: "God tempersthewinzd . .. to the shornlamb."
Dr. JohnRogers(1679-1729),the "abovesaidparticiple See Stout,ed. A Sentimental Journiey (Berkeley:Univ. of
Doct.,"whosenameconveniently enabledhimto indulgein California Press,1967),p. 272andn.
a bawdyplayon "Rogeringit,"i.e.,copulating (see fol.8). 25 Cf. Tristram Shandy: ". . . the baptizing all the

AftercancelingRogers,Sterneappearsto have written HOMUNCULI at once,slap-dash,by ii4jectioni . . ." (p.

"Norris"(Dr. JohnNorris,1657-1711), and thencanceled 62). The termis used in theUrquhart-Motteux
Norris,writing "Clark"alongside.Thisis undoubtedly Dr.
Samuel Clarke (1675-1729).For the extentof Sterne's
borrowings fromall threedivines,see LansingV. D. H.
Hammond, LauirenceSterne's Sermonsof Mr Yorick(New
Haven,Conn.: Yale Univ.Press,1948).
17 Presumably an ethicaldativeas in Shakespeare, Rom.
iii. i. 5-7: "Thou artlikeoneofthesefellows that,whenhe
enterstheconfines of a tavern,claps me his swordupon
thetable.... "
18". . . ancientlya practiceto whichtheauthorities of
towns,&c., resorted or as an alarmto
as a signofdistress,
Rabelais,
iv, 58.
26 Cf. the Urquhart-Motteux Rabelais: .... they did
eat . . . till their Belly was like to crack with it again"
(iI, 1 2).
27 "z.. . ds" in theMedalleed., iii, 177.
is
28 Here,and in thecanceledpassageon fol.18,Sterne
perhapsrecallingthe imagefromthe Urquhart-Motteux
Rabelais: "Paniurgestar'dat him like a dead Pig..."
(v, 30); and: ". . . staringat each other,like so many dead
Pigs . . ." (v, 66).
29 "a stool"in theMedalleed.,iii, 179.

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