PREFACE 



THE INSECT'S HOMER 



(~\ RANGE and Serignan, the latter a lit- 

 ^-^ tie Provencal village that should be as 

 widely celebrated as Maillane, 1 have of 

 late years rendered honour to a man whose 

 brow deserves to be girt with a double and ra- 

 diant crown. But fame — at least that which 

 is not the true nor the great fame, but her il- 

 legitimate sister, and which creates more noise 

 than durable work in the morning and even- 

 ing papers — fame is often forgetful, negli- 

 gent, behindhand or unjust; and the crowd is 

 almost ignorant of the name of J. H. Fabre, 

 who is one of the most profound and inven- 

 tive scholars and also one of the purest 

 writers and, I was going to add, one of the 

 finest poets of the century that is just past. 



'Maillane is the birthplace of Mistral, the Provencal 

 poet. — Translator's Note. 



