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of Caricature 
Grotefque 
and 
and, wishing to hear service, she went to the church where the cure was ofiiciating. 
When it came to the Passion, he said it in his own manner, and made the whole 
church ring again when he said Quem qmrirn? But when it came to the reply, 
_')'qfum Nazarenum, he spoke as low as he possibly could. And in this manner he 
continued the Passion. The lady, who was very devout, and, for a woman, well 
informed in the holy scriptures, and attentive to the ecclesiastical ceremonies, felt 
scandalised at this mode of chanting, and wished she had never entered the church. 
She had a mind to speak to the cure, and tell him what she thought of it; and for 
this purpose sent for him to come to her after the service. When he came, she said 
to him," Monsieur le Cure, I don't know where you learnt to officiate on a day like 
this, when the people ought to be all humility; but to hear you perform the 
service, is enough to drive away anyhody's devotion." 'How so, madame? said 
the cure. ' How so?" said she, ' you have said a Passion contrary to all rules of 
decency. When our Lord speaks, you cry as if you were in the town-hall; and 
when it is a Caiaphas, or Pilate, or the Jews, you speak softly like a young bride, 
Is this becoming in one like you ? are you fit to be a cure? If you had what you 
deserve, you would be turned out of your benefice, and then you would be made to 
know your f'ault!' When the cure had very attentively listened to her, he said, 
' Is this what you had to say to me, madame P By my soul! it is very true, what 
they say; and the truth is, that there are many people who talk ofi things which 
they do not understand. Madame, I believe that I know my ofiice as well as 
another, and I beg all the world to know that God is as well served in this parish, 
according to its condition, as in any place within a hundred leagues of it. I know 
very well that the other cures chant the Passion quite differently; I could easily 
chant it like them if I would ; but they do not understand their business at all. I 
should like to know if it becomes those rogues of Jews to speak as loud as our 
Lord ! No, no, madame ; rest assured that in my parish it is my will that God he 
the master, and He shall be as long as I live; and let the others do in their parishes 
according to their understanding)"  
Another frory, equally worthy of Ulric von Hutten, is Iiatirical enough 
on prieilly pedantry  
" There was a priest of a village who was as proud as might be, because he had 
seen :1 little more than his Cato; for he had read De -Sjynraxi, and his Faufie premr 
gelida [the first eclogue of Baptista Mantuanus]. And this made him set up his 
feathers, and talk very grand, using words that filled his mouth, in order to make 
people think him a great doctor. Even at confession, he made use of termswhich 
astonished the poor people. One day he was confessing a poor working man, of 
whom he asked, '1-Iere, now, my friend, tell me, art thou ambitious?" The poor 
man said ' No," thinking this was a word which belonged to great lords, and almost 
repented of having come to confess to this priest; for he had already heard that he 
was such a great clerk, and that he spoke so grandly, that nobody understood him, 
which he now knew by this word ambirious; for although he might have heard it 
somewhere, yet he did not know at all what it was. The priest went on to ask, 
' Art thou not a fornicator?' ' No," said the labourer, who understood as little as 
before.