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Fabre。 This memoir marked the second stage of his scientific career; and

followed; at an interval of two years; the magnificent observations on the

Cerceris。



These two studies; true masterpieces of science; already constituted two

excellent titles to fame; and would by themselves have sufficed to fill a

naturalist's whole lifetime and to make his name illustrious。



》From that time forward he had no peer。 The Institute awarded him one of its

Montyon prizes (4/11。); 〃an honour of which; needless to say; he had never

dreamed。〃 (4/12。) Darwin; in his celebrated work on the 〃Origin of

Species;〃 which appeared precisely at this moment; speaks of Fabre

somewhere as 〃the inimitable observer。〃 (4/13。)



Exploring the immediate surroundings of Avignon; he very soon discovered

fresh localities frequented almost exclusively by other insects; whose

habits in their turn absorbed his whole attention。



First of these was the sandy plateau of the Angles; where every spring; in

the sunlit pastures so beloved of the sheep; the Scarabaeus sacer; with his

incurved feet and clumsy legs; commences to roll his everlasting pellet;

〃to the ancients the image of the world。〃 His history; since the time of

the Pharaohs; had been nothing but a tissue of legends; but stripping it of

the embroidery of fiction; and referring it to the facts of nature; Fabre

demonstrated that the true story is even more marvellous than all the tales

of ancient Egypt。 He narrated its actual life; the object of its task; and

its comical and exhilarating performances。 But such is the subtlety of

these delicate and difficult researches that nearly forty years were

required to complete the study of its habits and to solve the mystery of

its cradle。 (4/14。)



On the right bank of the Rh?ne; facing the embouchure of the Durance; is a

small wood of oak…trees; the wood of Des Issarts。 This again; for many

reasons; was one of his favourite spots。 There; 〃lying flat on the ground;

his head in the shadow of some rabbit's burrow;〃 or sheltered from the sun

by a great umbrella; 〃while the blue…winged locusts frisked for joy;〃 he

would follow the rapid and sibilant flight of the elegant Bembex; carrying

their daily ration of diptera to her larvae; at the bottom of her burrow;

deep in the fine sand。〃 (4/15。)



He did not always go thither alone: sometimes; on Sundays; he would take

his pupils with him; to spend a morning in the fields; 〃at the ineffable

festival of the awakening of life in the spring。〃 (4/16。)



Those most dear to him; those who in the subsequent years have remained the

object of a special affection; were Devillario; Bordone; and Vayssières

(4/17。); 〃young people with warm hearts and smiling imaginations;

overflowing with that springtime sap of life which makes us so expansive

and so eager to know。



Among them he was 〃the eldest; their master; but still more their companion

and friend〃; lighting in them his own sacred fire; and amazing them by the

deftness of his fingers and the acuteness of his lynx…like eyes。 Furnished

with a notebook and all the tools of the naturalistlens; net; and little

boxes of sawdust steeped in anaesthetic for the capture of rare specimens

they would wander 〃along the paths bordered with hawthorn and hyaebla;

simple and childlike folk;〃 probing the bushes; scratching up the sand;

raising stones; running the net along hedge and meadow; with explosions of

delight when they made some splendid capture or discovered some unrecorded

marvel of the entomological world。



It was not only on the banks of the Rh?ne or the sandy plateau of Avignon

that they sought adventure thus; 〃discussing things and other things;〃 but

as far as the slopes of Mont Ventoux; for which Fabre had always felt an

inexplicable and invincible attraction; and whose ascent he accomplished

more than twenty times; so that at last he knew all its secrets; all the

gamut of its vegetation; the wealth of the varied flora which climb its

flanks from base to summit; and which range 〃from the scarlet flowers of

the pomegranate to the violet of Mont Cenis and the Alpine forget…me…not〃

(4/18。); as well as the antediluvian fauna revealed amid its entrails; a

vast ossuary rich in fossils。



His disciples; all of whom; without exception; regarded him with absolute

worship; have retained the memory of his wit; his enthusiasm; his geniality

and his infectious gaiety; and also of the singular uncertainty of his

temperament; for on some days he would not speak a word from the beginning

to the end of his walk。



Even his temper; ordinarily gentle and easy; would suddenly become hasty

and violent; and would break out into terrible explosions when a sudden

annoyance set him beside himself; for instance; when he was the butt of

some ill…natured trick; or when; in spite of the lucidity of his

explanations; he felt that he had not been properly understood。 Perhaps he

inherited this from his mother; a rebellious; crotchety; somewhat fantastic

person; by whose temper he himself had suffered。



But the young people who surrounded him were far from being upset by these

contrasts of temperament; in which they themselves saw nothing but natural

annoyance; and the corollary; as it were; of his abounding vitality。

(4/19。)



It was because he was the only university teacher in Avignon to occupy

himself with entomology that Pasteur visited him in 1865。 The illustrious

chemist had been striving to check the plague that was devastating the

silkworm nurseries; and as he knew nothing of the subject which he proposed

to study; not even understanding the constitution of the cocoon or the

evolution of the silkworm; he sought out Fabre in order to obtain from his

store of entomological wisdom the elementary ideas which he would find

indispensable。 Fabre has told us; in a moving page (4/20); with what a

total lack of comprehension of 〃poverty in a black coat〃 the great

scientist gazed at his poor home。 Preoccupied by another problem; that of

the amelioration of wines by means of heat; Pasteur asked him point…blank

him; the humble proletarian of the university caste; who drank only the

cheapest wine of the countryto show him his cellar。 〃My cellar! Why not

my vaults; my dusty bottles; labelled according to age and vintage! But

Pasteur insisted。 Then; pointing with my finger; I showed him; in a corner

of the kitchen; a chair with all the straw gone; and on this chair a two…

gallon demijohn: 'There is my cave; monsieur!'〃



If the country professor was embarrassed by the chilliness of the other; he

was none the less shocked by his attitude。 It would seem; from what Fabre

has said; that Pasteur treated him with a hauteur which was slightly

disdainful。 The ignorant genius questioned his humble colleague; distantly

giving him his orders; explaining his plans and his ideas; and informing

him in what directions he required assistance。



After this; we cannot be surprised if the naturalist was silent。 How could

sympathetic relations have survived this first meeting? Fabre could not

forgive it。 His own character was too independent to accommodate itself to

Pasteur's。 Yet never; perhaps; were two men made for a better

understanding。 They were equally expert in exercising their admirable

powers of vision in the vast field of nature; equally critical of self;

equally careful never to depart from the strict limits of the facts; and

they were; one may say; equally eminent in the domain of invention;

different though their fortunes may have been; for the sublimity of

scientific discoveries; however full of genius they may be; is often

measured only by the immediate consequences drawn therefrom and the

practical importance of their results。



In reality; were they not two rivals; worthy of being placed side by side

in the paradise of sages? Both of them; the one by demolishing the theory

of spontaneous generation; the other by refuting the mechanical theory of

the origin of instincts; have brought into due prominence the great unknown

and mysterious forces which seem destined to hold eternally in suspense the

profound enigma of life。



Now he was anxious not to leave the Vaucluse district; the scene of his

first success; and a place so fruitful in subjects of study。 He wished to

remain close to his insects; and also near the precious library and the

rich collections which Requien had left by will to the town of Avignon。 In

spite of the meagreness of his salary; he asked for nothing more; and; what

is more; by an inconsequence which is by no means incomprehensible; he

avoided everything that might have resulted in a more profitable position

elsewhere; and evaded all proposals of further promotion。 Twice; at

Poitiers and Marseilles; he refused a post as assistant professor; not

regarding the advantages sufficient to balance the expenses of removal。

(4/21。)



It is true that his modest position was slightly improved; at the lycée he

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