The Life of Jean Henri Fabre 



the blow dealt him by the death of his be- 

 loved son Jules at the moment of writing 

 these lines on the first page of the second 

 volume of the Souvenirs, piously dedicated 

 to the memory of the lost child. 



Happily he found in his " insuperable 

 faith in the Beyond " ^ the courage to over- 

 come his grief and in his " love of scientific 

 truth " the possibility of taking up his life 

 again and resuming his work. 



Amid the ruins that surround me, one strip of 

 wall remains standing, immovable upon its solid 

 base; my passion for scientific youth. Is that 

 enough, O my busy insects, to enable me to add yet 

 a few seemly pages to your history? Will my 

 strength not cheat my good intentions? Why, in- 

 deed, did I forsake you so long? Friends have re- 

 proached me for it. Ah, tell them, tell those friends, 

 who are yours as well as mine, tell them that it 

 was not forgetfulness on my part, not weariness, 

 nor neglect: I thought of you; I was convinced 

 that the Cerceris' cave had more fair secrets to 

 reveal to us, that the chase of the Sphex held fresh 

 surprises in store. But time failed me; I was 

 alone, deserted, struggling against misfortune. Be- 

 fore philosophising, one had to live. Tell them 

 that; and they will pardon me.^ 



* Dedication of vol. ii. of the Souvenirs. 

 2 Souvenirs, ii., p. 4. The Life of the Fly, chap, i., 

 "The Harmas." 



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