"One falls to the ground in trying to sit on two stools."

François Rabelais (c 1494 -1553) In 1546 he published his most profound work: Le Tiers Livre (Third Book). His works display a delight in words, a mastery of storytelling, and deep humanist learning in a mosaic of scholarly, literary, and scientific parody that is unlike any previous work in French. The books were banned by civil and church authorities for their satirical content and earthy humour, but they were nevertheless read throughout Europe.