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The Path to Rome · Chapter

Praise of This Book explained

The narrator explains how the book came to be written: while visiting his native valley, he saw the old church restored, was moved by a statue of Our Lady, and vowed to go on pilgrimage to Rome on foot, starting from his place of military s

What happens

The narrator explains how the book came to be written: while visiting his native valley, he saw the old church restored, was moved by a statue of Our Lady, and vowed to go on pilgrimage to Rome on foot, starting from his place of military service. He then discusses the conventions of prefaces, praises his own book, and launches into a playful, Rabelaisian call to arms for his words and style, also addressing the inclusion of his own drawings.

Themes in this chapter

  • Pilgrimage and Faith

    The narrator makes a vow to go on pilgrimage to Rome, inspired by a statue of Our Lady in his childhood church.

  • The Art of Writing and Style

    The narrator discusses prefaces, style, and launches a Rabelaisian call to arms for his words, celebrating rhetorical freedom.

  • Nostalgia and Home

    The narrator returns to his native valley and feels deep attachment to the old church, calling it 'the kernel of that nut.'

Characters to notice

  • Narrator

    The narrator recounts his vow and the origin of the book, and speaks directly to the reader.

  • Bacchus

    Mentioned among the muses and graces to whom thanks are owed.

  • Acedes

    Referenced as the discoverer of the Water of Youth in a hollow of the hill Epistemonoscoptes.

Key passages

  • “I noticed behind the high altar a statue of Our Lady, so extraordinary and so different from all I had ever seen before, so much the spirit of my valley, that I was quite taken out of myself and vowed a vow there to go to Rome on pilgrimage”

    Seeing a remarkable statue of the Virgin Mary in the church, I was so moved that I promised to make a pilgrimage to Rome.

    This is the pivotal moment where the narrator makes his pilgrimage vow.

  • “I will start from the place where I served in arms for my sins; I will walk all the way and take advantage of no wheeled thing; I will sleep rough and cover thirty miles a day, and I will hear Mass every morning; and I will be present at high Mass in St. Peter's on the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.”

    I will begin my journey from my former military post, walking the entire distance without any vehicle, sleeping outdoors, traveling thirty miles daily, attending Mass each morning, and arriving in Rome for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

    The narrator details the strict terms of his vow.

  • “Write as the wind blows and command all words like an army!”

    Write freely and with authority, marshaling your words as a commander would an army.

    This captures the narrator's exuberant, Rabelaisian approach to style.

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The Path to Rome — Praise of This Book Explained