PROS AND CONS

I felt remorse. About a month ago, I wrote an ingenuous note on forest fires. In this note, I attacked the imprudent people who set fire to our branches. Now, in writing this little article, I showed an annoyingly childish spirit. Yes yes. It was childish of me to imagine that our forests were burning because they had been set on fire. This was a child's idea; it was not a scientific idea that was neither profound nor bold…
The problem was, in truth, much more complicated. Scientists questioned about these forest grills had said very scientifically what needed to be said. Well! it was a mystery. So we were informed. The causes of these fires were completely unknown. It was unacceptable that such formidable fires were due to the imprudence of poor innocent smokers or of two walkers having lit small fires in the middle of the thickets roasted by the sun.
Such assumptions were not serious. Serious and learned men therefore formally declared: — Either these fires are due to fate. Or we must admit that, in certain atmospheric conditions and under the influence of certain excessive heatwaves, forests catch fire by themselves, without Swedish matches, without incendiaries.
I therefore felt a lot of remorse, having written a sad, childish article in which I had taken into account neither fatality, nor mystery, nor science. Fortunately, I am much lighter today. I no longer have any remorse...
Mr. Chéron, who is undoubtedly not a fatalist, has ordered an investigation into the causes of the sixty-three forest fires which ravaged the Var department this year. And these causes are known. And they are childish like my little article. These are causes which are causes, and not thick mysteries, and not inevitable fatalities. Forty-seven of these fires are due to carelessness duly noted and controlled. Six are definitely due to malice. Two are due to the railroad — smoking big brother. The investigation continues.
There is no longer any fatality, mystery or “scientific phenomena”. The fault lies neither with the oak, nor with the reed, nor with the umbrella pine, nor with the angel Gabriel, nor with the wild rabbit, nor with radio waves, nor with humus, nor with sap. The fault lies with men, with men alone, once again, with men who are careless when they are not foolish, who are careless when they are not mean... Our forests burned because we We set fires, recklessly, foolishly or criminally. This is the poor, stupid truth.
Will it serve as a lesson to us? I doubt. We get into the habit of blaming Fatality or Mystery (???) for all the stupid things we do, as if each time it were an earthquake or a tidal wave. in the Pacific...
A train derails? Fatality! A coach overturns? Mystery! A battleship tears, like a silk stocking, when it hits an unknown rock? Fatality! Our forests are burning on all sides? Fatality! Mystery!... Fate is the stupidity we do, mystery is the stupidity we hide.

Maurice Prax