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instruction; or begging him to resolve some difficult problem or decide

some especially vexed question; and his explanations are so simple; so

clear; so logical that they are astonished at their own lack of

comprehension and their embarrassment。 (15/9。)



But there are few who venture within the walls of that enclosure; which

seems to shut out all the temptations of the outer world; the only intimate

visitors to the Harmas are the village schoolmasterfirst Laurent; then

Louis Charrasse (15/10。); and later Jullianand a blind man; Marius。



This latter lost his sight at the age of twenty。 Then; to earn a living; he

began to make and repair chairs; and in his misfortune; although blind and

extremely poor; he kept a calm and contented mind。



Fabre had discovered the sage and the blind man on his arrival at Sérignan;

and also Favier (15/11。); 〃that other native; whose jovial spirit was so

prompt to respond; and who helped to dig up the Harmas; to set up the

planks and tiles of the little kitchen…garden; a rude task; since this

scrap of uncultivated ground was then but a terrible desert of pebbles。〃 To

Favier fell the care of the flowers; for the new owner was a great lover of

flowers。 Potted plants; sometimes of rare species; were already; as to…day;

crowded in rows upon the terrace before the house; where all the summer

they formed a sort of vestibule in the open air; on either side of the

entrance; and these Fabre never ceased to watch over with constant and

meticulous care。 Both spoke the same language; and the words they exchanged

were born of a like philosophy; for Favier also loved nature in his own

way; and at heart was an artist; and when; after the day's work; sitting

〃on the high stone of the kitchen hearth; where round logs of green oak

were blazing;〃 he would evoke; in his picturesque and figurative language;

the memories of an old campaigner; he charmed all the household and the

evening seemed to pass with strange rapidity。



When this precious servant and boon companion had disappeared; after two

years of digging; sowing; weeding; and hoeing; all was ready; the frame was

completed and the work could be commenced。 It was then that Marius became

the master's appointed collaborator; and it is he who now constructs his

apparatus; his experimental cages; stuffs his birds; helps to ransack the

soil; and shades him with an umbrella while he watches under the burning

sun。 Marius cannot see; but so intimate is his communion with his master;

so keen his enthusiasm for all that Fabre does; that he follows in his

mind's eye; and as though he could actually see them; all the doings at

which he assists; and whose inward reflection lights up his wondering

countenance。



Marius was not only rich in feeling and the gift of inner vision; he had

also a marvellously correct ear。 He was a member of the 〃Fanfare〃 of

Sérignan; in which he played the big drum; and there was no one like him

for keeping perfect time and for bringing out the clash of the cymbals。



Charrasse was no less fervent a disciple; he worshipped science and all

beautiful things; and he could even conceive a noble passion for his

exhausting trade of school…teaching。



Like Marius; he ate 〃a bitter bread〃; and Fabre would get on with them all

the better in that they; like himself; had lived a difficult life。 〃Man is

like the medlar;〃 he liked to tell them; 〃he is worth nothing until he has

ripened a long time in the attic; on the straw。〃



〃L'homme est comme la nèfle; il n'est rien qui vaille

S'il n'a m?ri longtemps; au grenier; sur la paille。〃



These humble companions afforded him the simple conversation which he likes

so well; so natural; and so full of sympathy and common sense。 They

customarily spent Thursday and Sunday afternoons at the Harmas; but these

beloved disciples might call at any hour; the master always welcomed them;

even in the morning; even when he was entirely absorbed in his work and

could not bear any one about him。 They were his circle; his academy; he

would read them the last chapter written in the morning; he shared his

latest discoveries with them; he did not fear to ask advice of their

〃fertile ignorance。〃 (15/12。)



Charrasse was a 〃Félibre;〃 versed in all the secrets of the Proven?al

idiom; of which he knew all the popular terms; the typical expressions and

turns of speech; and Fabre loved to consult him; to read some charming

verses which he had just discovered; or to recite some delightful rustic

poem with which he had just been inspired; for in such occupations he found

one of his favourite relaxations; giving free vent to his fancy; a loose

rein to the poet that dwells within him。 These poems the piety of his

brother has preserved in the collection entitled 〃Oubreto。〃 It is at such a

moment that one should see his black eyes; full of fire; his power of

mimicry and expression; his impassioned features; lit up by inspiration;

truly idealized; almost transfigured; are at such times a thing to be

remembered。



Sometimes; again; in the shadow of the planes; on summer afternoons; when

the cigales were falling silent; or in the winter; before the blazing

fireplace; in that dining…room on the ground floor in which he welcomed his

visitors; when out of doors the mistral was roaring and raging; or the rain

clattering on the panes; the little circle was enlarged by certain new…

comers; his nephews; nieces; a few intimates; of whom; a little later; I

myself was often one。 At such times his humour and imagination were given

full play; and it was truly a rare pleasure to sit there; sipping a glass

of mulled wine; during those delightful and earnest hours; to taste the

charm of his smiling philosophy; his picturesque conversation; full of

exact ideas; all the more profound in that they were founded on experience

and pointed or adorned by proverbs; adages; and anecdotes。 Thanks to the

daily reading of the 〃Temps;〃 which one of his friends regularly sends him;

Fabre is in touch with all the ideas of the day; and expresses his judgment

of them; for example; he does not conceal his scepticism with regard to

certain modern inventions; such as the aeroplane; whose novelty rather

disturbs his mind; and whose practical bearing seems to him to be on the

whole somewhat limited。



Thus even the most recent incidents find their way into the solitude of the

Harmas and help to sustain the conversation。



〃The first time we resume our Sérignan evenings;〃 he wrote to his nephew on

the morrow of one of these intimate gatherings; 〃we will have a little chat

about your Justinian; whom the recent drama of 〃Théodora〃 has just made the

fashion。 Do you know the history of that terrible hussy and her stupid

husband? Perhaps not entirely; it is a treat I am keeping for you。〃

(15/13。)



The only subject which is hardly ever mentioned during these evenings at

Sérignan is politics; although Fabre; strange as it may seem; was one year

appointed to sit on the municipal council。



The son of peasants; who has emerged from the people yet has always

remained a peasant; has too keen a sense of injustice not to be a democrat;

and how many young men has he not taught to emancipate themselves by

knowledge? But above all he is proud of being a Frenchman; his mind; so

lucid; so logical; which has never gone abroad in search of its own

inspirations; and has never been influenced by any but those old French

masters; Fran?ois Dufour and Réaumur; and the old French classics; has

always felt an instinctive repugnance; which it has never been able to

overcome; for all those ideas which some are surreptitiously seeking to put

forward in our midst in favour of some foreign trade…mark。



Although his visit to the court of Napoleon III left him with a rather

sympathetic idea of the Emperor; whose gentle; dreamy appearance he still

likes to recall; he detested the Empire and the 〃brigand's trick〃 which

established it。



On the day of the proclamation of the Republic he was seen in the streets

of Avignon in company with some of his pupils。 He was agreeably surprised

at the turn events had taken; and delighted by the unforeseen result of the

war。



A spirit as proud and independent as his was naturally the enemy of any

species of servitude。 State socialism of the equalitarian and communistic

kind was to him no less horrifying。 Was not Nature at hand; always to

remind him of her eternal lessons?



〃Equality; a magnificent political label; but scarcely more! Where is it;

this equality? In our societies shall we find even two persons exactly

equal in vigour; health; intelligence; capacity for work; foresight; and so

many other gifts which are the great factors of prosperity?。。。A single note

does not make a harmony: we must have dissimilar notes; discords even;

which; by their harshness; give value to the concords; human societies are

harmonious only thus; by the concourse of dissimilaritie

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