fThe Sisyphus: the Instinct of Paternity 



my boy, let us study as much as we can in the 

 open country, among the rosemary- and 

 arbutus-shrubs. By so doing, we shall gain 

 in vigour of body and mind; we shall find 

 more of the true and the beautiful than in 

 any old musty books. 



To-day we are giving the blackboard a 

 rest; it is a holiday. We get up early, in 

 view of the contemplated expedition, so early 

 indeed that you will have to start without 

 your breakfast. Have no fear: when your 

 appetite comes, we will call a halt in the shade 

 and you shall find in my bag the usual viati- 

 cum, an apple and a piece of bread. The 

 month of May is near at hand; the Sisyphus 

 must have appeared. What we have to do 

 now is to explore, at the foot of the mountain, 

 the lean meadows where the flocks have been ; 

 we shall have to break with our fingers, one 

 by one, the cakes dropped by the Sheep and 

 baked by the sun, but still retaining a kernel 

 of crumb under their crust. There we shall 

 find the Sisyphus huddled, waiting for the 

 fresher windfall with which the evening 

 grazers will supply him. 



Instructed in this secret, which I learnt 

 long ago from chance discoveries, little Paul 

 forthwith becomes a master in the art of 

 shelling Sheep-droppings. He displays such 



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