HENRI FABRE 283 



entomology. It happened that a book by Leon Dufour, 

 devoted to the natural history of insects, fell into his 

 hands. The descriptions of insect life at once caused 

 him to begin observations on his own account. There 

 was an account of the wasp Cerceris, and its manner of 

 storing its prey. Fabre soon discovered how much 

 there was to learn, how extraordinarily inadequate and 

 fragmentary were the researches of those who stood high 

 in the world of science. Few had combined the genius 

 and the patience to see things through, to follow in 

 every detail the life of these small animals. Thus a 

 new field opened up before him, and he cultivated it 

 assiduously until from the infirmities of old age he could 

 work no more. In all this he was very happy, but 

 otherwise he was in the midst of difficulties. The 

 small salary of about $500 a year did not suffice for the 

 support of his growing family. He was obliged to do 

 all sorts of miscellaneous tutoring, in order to increase 

 his means. At length, utilizing his literary skill, he 

 began to write textbooks of elementary science, and 

 these in due time yielded a fair income. Thus it 

 eventually became possible, when harassed by those 

 who could not appreciate scientific teaching, for him to 

 retire from the duties of the schoolroom and devote 

 himself to research and writing. He lived in Orange, 

 but later moved to Serignan, a peaceful and obscure 

 village, where he could work undisturbed. 



5. In this modest retirement, far from the main cur- Fabre's 

 rents of the world's affairs, Fabre won fame without 

 seeking it. For many years his writings were well 

 known to entomologists, but it was not until near the 

 end of his life that the general public became aware of 

 his existence. The masters of literature had come to 

 realize that here was something more than a student of 



