My Little Table 



which I was seeking in front of it. Giving 

 up the bad patch as hopeless, I would go on 

 and, after I had left it behind, discover the 

 dynamite capable of blasting it. 'Twas a 

 tiny grain at first, an insignificant ball rolling 

 and increasing as it went. From one slope to 

 the other of the theorems, it grew to a heavy 

 mass; and the mass became a mighty pro- 

 jectile which, flung backwards and retracing 

 its course, split the darkness and spread it 

 into one vast sheet of light. 



D'Alembert's precept is good and very 

 good, provided you do not abuse it. Too 

 much precipitation in turning over the intract- 

 able page might expose you to many a disap- 

 pointment. You must have fought the diffi- 

 culty tooth and nail before abandoning it. 

 This rough skirmishing leads to intellectual 

 vigour. 



Twelve months of meditation in the com- 

 pany of my little table at last won me my de- 

 gree as a licentiate of mathematical science; 

 and I was now qualified to perform, half a 

 century later, the eminently lucrative func- 

 tions of an inspector of Spiders' webs I 1 



'Cf. The Life of the Spider: chaps, ix and x. — Trans- 

 lator's Note. 



315 



