Now that a firm faith in science is regarded as brutish and inelegant, they fancy that they rid themselves of their caste by feigning amiable doubt, and ignorance, and innocence.

What they most fear is that they may carry a scent of the schools about with them, so they put on extremely Parisian airs, venture on somersaults and slang, and assume all the grace of dancing bears in their eager desire to please.

From that desire spring the sarcastic shafts which they aim at science, they who pretend that they know everything, but who go back to the belief of the humble, the _naive_ idealism of Biblical legends, just because they think the latter to be more distinguished." Francois began to laugh: "The portrait is perhaps a little overdrawn," said he, "still there's truth in it, a great deal of truth." "I have known several of them," continued Pierre, who was growing animated.

"And among them all I have noticed that a fear of being duped leads them to reaction against the entire effort, the whole work of the century.

Disgust with liberty, distrust of science, denial of the future, that is what they now profess.