CHAPTER VIII 



the schoolmaster: carpentras 

 (continued) 



I* F he had hearkened only to his tastes, the 

 -*- young schoolmaster of Carpentras would 

 have devoted to the world of animals all the 

 time that was not taken up by his pupils. But 

 his profession itself and the requirements of 

 his future prevented him from following the 

 dominant attraction unchecked. He had 

 formed a resolve " to raise himself above 

 the level of the primary school, which at that 

 time barely fed its teachers," and to make a 

 place for himself in the ranks of secondary 

 instruction. He had, therefore, to renounce 

 his natural history, since that as yet had no 

 place in the curriculum, and he had to take 

 up mathematics. 



So we see him submerged in conic sections 

 and the differential and integral calculus, 

 without a guide, without advice, confronted 

 for days on end by some obscure difficulty 

 which tenacious meditation eventually robbed 

 of its mystery. Mathematics, however, 



99 



