- Panurge
Panurge is one of the principal characters in the "Pantagruel" (especially the third and fourth books) of
Rabelais , an exceedingly crafty knave, a libertine, and a coward.At some point, he shows he can speak many languages (German, Italian, Scottish, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, Hebrew, Ancient Greek, Latin and French), including some of the first examples of a
constructed language .In French, he appears in the set phrase "mouton de Panurge", after a story in which he buys a sheep from the merchant
Dindenault and then, for revenge, makes the sheep jump off a cliff.The rest of the sheep in the herd stupidly jump after it in spite of the shepherd.Other uses
*Panurge is also the title of an
opera byJules Massenet .
* [http://www.panurge.net Panurge] is the name of a Canadian pop band.
*"The Advent of Panurge" is a song byGentle Giant .References
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=58152&pageno=1395 Project Gutenberg] : Nuttallhttp://www.avignon-et-provence.com/provence/provence-tourism/sheep-herds.htm
http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/provence/provence-tourism/sheep-herds.htm
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