“I have made it a rule to adopt the method of ignorance in my investigations into instincts. I read very little. ... I know nothing. So much the better : my queries will be all the freer, now in this direction, now in the opposite, according to the lights obtained.”
“Without feeling abashed by my ignorance, I confess that I am absolutely unable to say. In the absence of an appearance of learning, my answer has at least one merit, that of perfect sincerity.”
Jean Henri Fabre
“But what is the use of this history, what the use of all this minute research ? I well know that it will not produce a fall in the price of pepper, a rise in that of crates of rotten cabbages, or othe...”
Jean Henri Fabre
“Do you know the Halicti ? Perhaps not. There is no great harm done: it is quite possible to enjoy the few pleasures of life without knowing the Halicti. Nevertheless, when questioned with persistence,...”
Jean Henri Fabre
“In many cases, ignorance is a good thing : the mind retains its freedom of investigation and does not stray along roads that lead nowhither, suggested by one's reading. I have experienced this once ag...”
Jean Henri Fabre
“The best thing is to say good-bye, not without a certain regret on my part. One of these days. I will take you and scatter you in your territory, the rock-strewn slope where the sun is so hot. ... The...”
Jean Henri Fabre