The pigeon is very timid and difficult to tame, yet I
inspired mine with so much confidence that they followed me
everywhere, letting me catch them at pleasure, nor could I appear in
the garden without having two or three on my arms or head in an
instant, and notwithstanding the pleasure I took in them, their
company became so troublesome that I was obliged to lessen the
familiarity. I have ever taken great pleasure in taming animals,
particularly those that are wild and fearful. It appeared delightful
to me, to inspire them with a confidence which I took care never to
abuse, wishing them to love me freely.
I have already mentioned that I purchased some books: I did not
forget to read them, but in a manner more proper to fatigue than
instruct me. I imagined that to read a book profitably, it was
necessary to be acquainted with every branch of knowledge it even
mentioned; far from thinking that the author did not do this
himself, but drew assistance from other books, as he might see
occasion. Full of this silly idea, I was stopped every moment, obliged
to run from one book to another, and sometimes, before I could reach
the tenth page of that I was studying, found it necessary to turn over
a whole library. I was so attached to this ridiculous method, that I
lost a prodigious deal of time, and had bewildered my head to such a
degree, that I was hardly capable of doing, seeing, or comprehending
anything. I fortunately perceived, at length, that I was in the
wrong road, which would entangle me in an inextricable labyrinth,
and quitted it before I was irrevocably lost.
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