The Life of the Fly 



done better to strengthen the muscles of my 

 thighs by jumping and leaping, to increase 

 the suppleness of my loins with gymnastic 

 contortions. I have known some contor- 

 tionists who have prospered beyond the 

 thinker. 



See me then entering the lists as an in- 

 structor of youth, fairly well acquainted with 

 the elements of geometry. In case of need, 

 I could handle the land-surveyor's stake and 

 chain. There my views ended. To cube the 

 trunk of a tree, to gauge a cask, to measure 

 the distance of an inaccessible point appeared 

 to me the highest pitch to which geometrical 

 knowledge could hope to soar. Were there 

 loftier flights? I did not even suspect it, when 

 an unexpected glimpse showed me the puny 

 dimensions of the little corner which I had 

 cleared in the measureless domain. 



At that time, the college in which, two 

 years before, I had made my first appearance 

 as a teacher, had just halved the size of its 

 classes and largely increased its staff. The 

 newcomers all lived in the building, like my- 

 self, and we had our meals in common at the 

 principal's table. We formed a hive where, 

 in our leisure time, some of us, in our respect- 

 ive cells, worked up the honey of algebra 

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