Note 18 — Chapter XI · THE PROFESSOR: AVIGNON (CONTINUED)
Bernard Miall translation
Without going to extremes, Fabre benefited by this twofold lesson. No one had a greater respect for his masters; he quotes them readily and is chary neither of praising their works nor of expressing his gratitude to them;18 but no one was ever more independent in his researches and his conclusions, which are often the very contrary of theirs. If he revered his masters he revered the truth still more, and he might well have made his own the celebrated maxim: Amicus Plato, magis amica veritas.