Pantagruel's companion, Panurge, embarked on a voyage to the country of Lanternes. On the boat, he meets Dindenault, a sheep dealer who has brought a flock with him.
Panurge, having bought one of the animals at a high prices, siezed it and threw it into the sea. All the other sheep followed and threw themselves into the water, while the dealer tried to hold them back.
Since that time, the expression "the sheep of Panurge" designates who will let themselves be led by others without thinking.
"Suddenly, I do not know how, it happened, I did not have time to think, Panurge, without another word, threw his sheep, crying and bleating, into the sea. All the other sheep, crying and bleating in the same intonation, started to throw themselves in the sea after it, all in a line. The herd was such that once one jumped, so jumped its companions. It was not possible to stop them, as you know, with sheep, it's natural to always follow the first one, wherever it may go".
Rabelais, Pantagruel: Le Quart Livre, chapter VIII. |
