nd to such a ready utterance of the Latin, and that with
such a judgment as there be few now in both universities, or elsewhere
in England, that be in both tongues comparable with her Majesty." Mr.
Quick thinks that while Ascham may have thus flattered his royal pupil,
there is no doubt that she was an accomplished scholar.

We have seen that Sturm made some use of double translation, but Ascham
is entitled to full credit for the method, which he adopted from Pliny
and perfected. Many teachers of language since that time have employed
this method with excellent results.

RABELAIS[74] (1483-1553)

Though there is some obscurity as to the exact date of the birth of
Rabelais, it is generally believed that he was born the same year as
Luther, 1483. He was the son of a French innkeeper, and, after
completing a classical course, was consecrated to the priesthood. His
great ability and independent thinking, and his humanistic tendency
brought reproof from his superiors, and he was ordered to perform works
of penance in his cell; but through the influence of powerful friends he
was freed and allowed to go over to the Benedictines, with whom,
however, he did not remain long. He became an independent preacher, and
as such had many friends among the reformers, chief among whom was
Calvin. His intimacy with Calvin led the more radical reformers to be
suspicious of him, and not without reason. Walter Besant tells us that,
"One hears he is a buffoon--he is always mocking and always laughing.
That is perfectly true. He laughs at the pretensions of pope, cardinal,
bishop, and priest; he laughs at monkery and monks; he mocks at the
perpetual iteration of litanies; he laughs at the ignorance and
superstition which he thinks are about to vanish before the new day of
modern learning."[75] Nor was his sympathy with the reformers any more
marked. Besant further adds, "It was at that time all important that, as
in England, the scholars should range themselves on the Protestant side.
Rabelais refused to do this. More, he set an example which deterred
other scholars, and kept them, in sheer impatience, in the enemy's
camp."[76]

The great literary work of Rabelais is embodied in a series of
chronicles, the first of which is called "Gargantua" and the second,
"Pantagruel." It is believed that these were popular names of giants in
the Middle Ages. In these books we find Rabelais's pedagogy.[77] The
giant Gargantua attends a school in which