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was profoundly conscious of the truth of this precept of the great

Linnaeus。



The middle of the room is entirely occupied by a great table of walnut…

wood; on which are arranged bottles; test…tubes; and old sardine…boxes;

which Fabre employs in order to watch the evolution of a thousand nameless

or doubtful eggs; to observe the labours of their larvae; the creation and

the hatching of cocoons; and the little miracles of metamorphosis; 〃after a

germination more wonderful than that of the acorn which makes the oak。〃



Covers of metallic gauze resting on earthenware saucers full of sand; a few

carboys and flower…pots or sweetmeat jars closed with a square of glass;

these serve as observation or experimental cages in which the progress and

the actions of 〃these tiny living machines〃 can be examined。



Fabre has revealed himself as a psychologist without rival; of a consummate

skill in the difficult and delicate art of experimentation; the art of

making the insect speak; of putting questions to it; of forcing it to

betray its secrets; for experiment is 〃the only method which can throw any

light upon the nature of instincts。〃



His resources being slender and his mind inventive; he has ingeniously

supplemented the poverty of his equipment; and has discovered less costly

and less complex means of conducting his experiments; knowing the secret of

extracting the sublimest truth from clumsy combinations of 〃trivial;

peasant…made articles。〃



He has succeeded; in his rustic laboratory; in applying the rigorous rules

of investigation and experimentation established by the great biologists。

He has therefore been able to establish his beautiful observations in a

manner so indisputable that those who come after him and are tempted to

study the same things can but arrive at the same results; and derive

inspiration from his researches。



To note with care all the details of a phenomenon is the first essential;

so that others may afterwards refer to them and profit by them; the

difficult thing is to interpret them; to discover the circumstances; the

whys and wherefores; the consequences; and the connecting links。



But a single fact observed by chance at the wayside; and which would not

even attract the attention of another; will be instantly luminous to this

searching understanding; it will suggest questions unforeseen; and will

evoke; by anticipation; preconceived ideas and sudden flashes of intuition;

which will necessitate the test of experiment。



Why; for example; does the Philanthus; that slender wasp; which captures

the honey…bee upon the blossoms in order to feed her larvae; why; before

she carries her prey to her offspring; does she 〃outrage the dying insect;〃

by squeezing its crop in order to empty it of honey; in which she appears

to delight; and does indeed actually delight?



〃The bandit greedily takes in her mouth the extended and sugared tongue of

the dead insect; then once more she presses the neck and the thorax; and

once more applies the pressure of her abdomen to the honey…sac of the bee。

The honey oozes forth and is instantly licked up。 Thus the bee is gradually

compelled to disgorge the contents of the crop。 This atrocious meal lasts

often half an hour and longer; until the last trace of honey has

disappeared。〃



The detailed answer is obtained by experiment; which perfectly explains

this 〃odious feast;〃 the excuse for which is simply maternity。 The

Philanthus knows; instinctively; without having learned it; that honey;

which is her ordinary fare; is; by a very singular 〃inversion;〃 a mortal

poison to her larvae。 (7/31。)



As an accomplished physiologist; Fabre conducts all kinds of experiments。

Behind the wires of his cages; he provokes the moving spectacle of the

scorpion at grip with the whole entomological fauna; in order to test the

effects of its terrible venom upon various species; and thus he discovers

the strange immunity of larvae; the virus; 〃the reagent of a transcendent

chemistry; distinguishes the flesh of the larva from that of the adult; it

is harmless to the former; but mortal to the latter〃; a fresh proof that

〃metamorphosis modifies the substance of the organism to the point of

changing its most intimate properties。〃 (7/32。)



You may judge from this that he knows through and through the history of

the creatures which form the subjects of his faithful narratives。 He is

informed of the smallest events of their lives。 He possesses a calendar of

their births; he records their chronology and the succession of

generations; he has noted their methods of work; examined their diet; and

recorded their meals。 He discovers the motives which dictate their

peculiarities of choice; why the Cerceris; for instance; among all the

victims at its disposal; never selects anything but the Buprestis and the

weevils。 He is familiar too with their tactics of warfare and their methods

of conflict。



His gaze has penetrated even the most hidden dwellings; those in which the

Halictus 〃varnishes her cells and makes the round loaf which is to receive

the egg〃; in which; under the cover of cocoons; murderous grubs devour

slumbering nymphs; even the depths of the soil are not hidden from him; for


there; thanks to his artifices; he has surprised the astonishing secret of

the Minotaur。



He sifts all doubtful stories; anecdotes; statements of supposed habits;

all that is incoherent; or ill observed; or misinterpreted; all the cliches

which the makers of books pass from hand to hand。



In place of repetition he gives us laws; constant facts; fixed rules。



With incomparable skill; he repeats and tests the ancient experiments of

Réaumur。



He is not content to show us that Erasmus Darwin is mistaken; he points out

how it is that he has fallen into error。 (7/33。)



He sets himself to decipher the meaning of old tales; skilfully disengaging

the little parcel of truth which usually lies beneath a mass of incorrect

or even false statements。 He criticises La Fontaine; and questions the

statements of Horus Apollo and Pliny。 From a mass of undigested knowledge

he has created the living science of entomology; which had received from

Réaumur a first breath of vitality; in such wise that each individual

creature is presented in his work with its precise expression and the

absolute truth of its character and attitudes; the inhabitants of the woods

and fields; whether those which feed upon the crops or those which live in

the crevices of the rocks; or the obscure workers that crawl upon the

earth; all those which have a secret to tell or something to teach us; the

Cigale; so different from the insect of the Fable; and above all that

beetle whose name had hitherto been encountered arrayed in the most

fantastic legends; the famous Scarabaeus sacer of the tombs; which Fabre

preferred to place at the head of his epic as an agreeable prologue;

although the inquiry relative to his amazing feats belongs chronologically

to a comparatively recent period of his career。



How moderate he is in such suppositions as he ventures; how cautious when

his persistent patience has at last struck against 〃the inaccessible wall

of the Unknowable〃! Then; with admirable frankness; tranquil and sincere;

he simply owns that 〃he does not know;〃 unlike so many others; whose

uncritical minds are contented with a fragmentary vision; and run so far

ahead of the facts that they can only promote indefinite illusion and

error。



One is surprised indeed to remark how few even of the most learned and

well…informed of men have a real aptitude for observation; and a highly

instructive book might be written concerning the discrepancies and the weak

points in our knowledge。 If they were subjected to a sufficiently severe

test; how threadbare would appear many of those problems which nature and

the world present; and which are regarded as resolved!



How long; for instance; was needed to destroy the legend of the cuckoo;

incessantly repeated down to the days of Xavier Raspail; and to us so

familiar; to elucidate its history; and to set it in its true light!

(7/34。)



It is by means of such data as these that a science is founded; for

theories decay; and only well…observed facts remain irrefragable。 With

stones such as these; which are hewn by the great artisan; the structures

of the future will be built; and our own science; perhaps; will one day be

refashioned。



For this reason Fabre's books are an education for all those who wish to

devote themselves to observation; a manual of mental discipline; a true

〃essay upon method;〃 which should be read by every naturalist; and the most

interesting; instructive; familiar and delightful course of training that

has ever been known。



On the other hand; it is impossible to conceive what labour this delicate

work demands; what perseverance Fabre has required painfully to extract one

grain of gold; to glean and unite 

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