Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty Two

Gao Kangda's game Then, absent-mindedly read another passage of scriptures, drank a few glasses of wine so full that the wine flowed down his hands, and gnawed on a pig's foot, chatting happily with the people with him.Next, lay out the green carpet, lay out decks of cards, many dice and chess boards.So he played various games: ? .①After playing enough, throwing enough, and killing enough time, go to drink a few glasses of wine—11 "cups plus" per person②—after drinking, lie down on a large long chair. He slept on a stool or a comfortable soft bed for two or three hours without thinking of bad things or speaking bad words.

When I woke up, I shook my ears.Someone brought fresh wine, and he drank it most comfortably. Bonokrates told him that it was not a good habit to drink after waking up from sleep.Gao Kangda replied: "This is the real life of priests, and besides, I am naturally thirsty when I sleep. Sleeping is like eating bacon." After drinking, I only read a little, and I have to rush to read patenostres④.In order to read the scriptures well, he rode on an old mule that had already carried nine kings, and while chanting words, he shook his head and watched others catch rabbits with nets. When I came back, I ran straight to the kitchen to see what kind of meat was roasting on the fire.

I also ate a lot for dinner, to be honest!I often invite a few neighbors who love to drink to drink with them while talking about the past and the present.Among these people, there are Mr. Du Fu ①, Mr. de Gourville ②, Mr. de Grinau ③, Mr. de Marigny ④ and so on. After supper, lay out the game-box like a hardcover Gospel book, that is to say, the deck of cards, or play the charming "one two three"⑤ or, if you want to play fast, "one sweep" , or else, go to visit the girls in the neighborhood, have snacks and supper with them.Then, I fell asleep until eight o'clock the next day.

① Here the author lists 217 kinds of games, which can be roughly divided into four categories: cards, chess, wits, guessing games, and several outdoor games.Some of these games involve gambling, and some have unclear meanings, so they are deleted. ② Each "cup plus" equals about sixty liters. ③ The author satirizes the Benedictine priests drinking while chanting. ④ Latin: "Our Father". ① Refers to Jacob du Foux, the steward of the king in 1514, the lord of the castle of Lusignan. ② Angumoya nobles. ③ A dignitary at the time of King Francois I of France. ④ De Marini refers to Jacob de Chateon, a prominent family of Boiado.

⑤ A popular card game in the sixteenth century.