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This is a scholar who has devoted his life to the study of insects and is the first human to enter the insect kingdom. He wrote "Insects" in the history of literature and natural science history, have an important position, known as "the epic of the insect world."

He is Jean Henri Casimir Fabre, a famous French entomologist, writer and animal behaviorist.

Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre spent his life with insects, carefully observing their habits, not only accumulating rich first-hand information, but also revealing the little-known habits of insects. He eulogized these little beings in prose, recording the habits of insects and their struggles for survival and reproduction in a relaxed and witty tone, and the words were filled with praise for all things. Reading these essays, people unconsciously wake up the original innocence, arouse people's love for life, carry forward the infinite imagination of people, and penetrate the insect world to understand social life. Fabre's profound flavor of these great works, has become handed down masterpieces.

Fabre was born on December 22, 1823, in a peasant family in the village of Saint-Leon in the Lunag Mountains of Aveyron, southern France, and spent his youth in poverty and hardship. At the age of 14, he had to go out to earn a living. He worked as a laborer on the railway and sold lemon vendors. Although he often went hungry and did not avoid the cold at night, he never stopped reading and self-study. He was once fascinated by mathematics and chemistry, but later found himself more interested in biology. At the age of 19, Fabre decided to study insects, and since then, studying insects has become his life theme, fun and lifestyle.

Fabre insisted on self-study and obtained bachelor's degree in mathematics, bachelor's degree in natural science, master's degree and doctor's degree successively. He was fluent in Latin and Greek and loved the works of Horace and Virgil, which had a profound influence on his writing. In painting and watercolor, he is also self-taught, he left exquisite fungus illustrations and literary works, Nobel Prize winner, French poet Mistral praise.

Fabre's research laboratory In 1880, with the money he had saved, Fabre bought a wasteland near the town of Serignan and named it "The Garden of Waste Stones." There are flowers loved by bees, animal carcasses loved by flies, cabbage loved by butterflies, and piles of rocks loved by scorpions. Here, ants, spiders, dung beetles, beetles, wasps, cicadas, mantis and pine caterpillars abound, and Fabre built his own study, workshop and laboratory here. This isolated place, far from the hustle and bustle of the world, became a paradise for Fabre and insects, and a favorite place for nearby children to come and play. This place not only allowed him to think quietly, but also allowed him to devote himself to the observation and experiment of insects. It became the insect experimental base that he dreamed of in his life.

Fabre is constantly squatting in the Barren Stone Garden, year after year, day after day, doing insect research. He observed and experimented during the day and made experimental notes and observation notes at night. Farber spent 35 years of poverty, loneliness, joy and peace in the Stone Garden and wrote 10 volumes of the manuscript of Insects. In his works, insects exist and reproduce spiritually. For him, there are no pests and no insects. "What we call ugliness and cleanliness," he argued,"has no meaning in nature," adding,"It goes without saying that in the insect world there should be a little innocence. "He eulogizes dung beetles, which are generally despised, describes the spider world in vivid strokes, and writes anthropomorphic about the peculiar behavior of scorpions, crickets, and pine caterpillars. The nest that wasps built relentlessly, the wisdom of orbicularis, the cunning of parasitic bees, the colony life of ants, the underground palace that cicada larvae built tenaciously for more than ten or twenty years, and the wisdom of tarantulas were all vividly written by him.

Fabre's photographs taken in his studio in 1913 In 1910, Fabre's ten-volume Insects was published. In the preface, Fabre said with emotion: "To engage in these studies is the only comfort I have received in my life. Insects are among the most colorful creatures in the universe. Even if I were given a little more strength, perhaps even a few more lives, I would not be able to fully appreciate the interest of insects. Fabre was 87 years old when he said this.

In November 1915, the insect giant Fabre died at the age of 93. His stone garden has become the Fabre Museum, which is quietly located in the Botanic Garden of Provence, which has a strong French flavor.

A person's life is like a meteor passing through his eyes, passing by hurriedly. The most valuable thing is that he can leave beautiful things for the world. Fabre has left a valuable legacy for mankind, he has written 95 best-selling popular science books; for more than 100 years, his "Insects" has been translated into 13 languages, stimulating several generations of young people's interest in natural science and love for biology; he is also a mycologist and painter, personally painted more than 700 kinds of mushrooms, each of which can be called a first-class work; he also left many poems and composed music for them. After Fabre's death, his descendants compiled and published many works for him, and made them handed down to the world.

Fabre's works have been admired by famous scholars at that time, including British biologist Darwin, Belgian playwright Maeterlink, German writer Jung, French philosopher Bergson, poet Malami, Rumanier and others. Many world-famous scholars, including biologist Pasteur, philosopher Mill, politician Park Engalay and others, personally visited his Waste Stone Garden. Fabre has multiple identities and a wide variety of works. As a naturalist, he left many works on animals and plants, including Fine Grass: Patents and Papers, Animals of Avignon, Mushrooms on Olive Trees, Grape Rhizobium, etc. As a teacher, he wrote many chemistry and physics textbooks, and many of his works were incorporated into textbooks. As a poet, he wrote many poems in the Provencal language of southern France, known locally as the "gadfly poet." Among his numerous works, the most influential is his Insects, which not only shows his scientific research ability, but also his literary talent, and at the same time propagandizes the humanistic spirit and love for life to readers. Although he achieved many successes and was widely recognized by society, Fabre was simple and shy to continue his poor life.

Fabre is working In 1889, Fabre was awarded the highest honor of the French Academy Bouche Delmont Prize; in 1892 and 1894, Fabre was admitted to the Belgian and French entomological societies; in 1905, Fabre was awarded the Guinier Prize by the French Academy; On April 3, 1910, when Fabre was 87 years old, Fabre's friends, students and readers gathered to celebrate the publication of "Insects" and determined April 3, 1910 as the first "Fabre Day." From then on,"Insects" became famous in the world and was awarded the Order of Reziwang Denur again.

Fabre's research was different from orthodox entomological research, or he invented an alternative approach to entomology. In his words: "You disembowel insects, while I study them alive and kicking; you treat them as a pitiful and horrible mass, while I make people like them; you work in torture chambers and dismemberment yards, while I observe them under blue skies and amid the song of cicadas; you test hives and protoplasm with reagents, while I study their best instincts; you probe death, while I probe life! "Lu Xun once called The Insect Story a model for telling insect stories.

Source: 365 Days in the History of Science Author: Wei Fengwen Wu Yi Editor: Zhang Runxin This article comes from Weixin Official Accounts: Origin Reading (ID: tupyread), Author: Wei Fengwen, Wu Yi, Editor: Zhang Runxin

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