The Life of the Fly; With Which are Interspersed Some Chapters of AutobiographyFabre, Jean-Henri
Science
The Life of the Fly; With Which are Interspersed Some Chapters of Autobiography
Fabre, Jean-Henri
Diptera; Flies
More or less everywhere, at any spot which the light touches, are
crudely colored pictures, pasted on the walls. Here is Our Lady of the
Seven Dolours, the disconsolate Mother of God opening her blue cloak
to show her heart pierced with seven daggers. Between the sun and moon,
which stare at you with their great, round eyes, is the Eternal Father,
whose robe swells as though puffed out with the storm. To the right
of the window, in the embrasure, is the Wandering Jew. He wears a
three-cornered hat, a large, white leather apron, hobnailed shoes and a
stout stick. 'Never was such a bearded man seen before or after,' says
the legend that surrounds the picture. The draftsman has not forgotten
this detail: the old man's beard spreads in a snowy avalanche over the
apron and comes down to his knees. On the left is Genevieve of Brabant,
accompanied by the roe, with fierce Golo hiding in the bushes, sword in
hand. Above hangs The Death of Mr. Credit, slain by defaulters at the
door of his inn; and so on and so on, in every variety of subject, at
all the unoccupied spots of the four walls.
I was filled with admiration of this picture gallery, which held one's
eyes with its great patches of red, blue, green and yellow. The master,
however, had not set up his collection with a view to training our minds
and hearts. That was the last and least of the worthy man's ambitions.
An artist in his fashion, he had adorned his house according to his
taste; and we benefited by the scheme of decoration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account