The Virgilian fable of Aristæus misunderstood, 293 Intended by the poet as a parable of immortality, 294 The writer was accidentally led to an understanding of its true significance, 295 A visit to the cemetery of Père-Lachaise, 295 Here certain lonely graves were haunted by a flight of bees, 296 Yet they were not true bees; they were two-winged, 297 They were "the Bees" of which Virgil had sung, 298 CHAPTER VII.--THE BEE IN THE FIELDS. Contrast between the Plant and the Animal, 301 Yet the one life in some points approaches the other, and a certain sympathy exists between the flower and the winged insect, 302 What the flower owes to the bee, 303 And how far the bee is indebted to the flower, 303 A panegyric upon the bee, which gives new life to vegetation, 304 The bee's visit to the flower, and what takes place, 305 It gives and it receives; evening and morning, 306 How the bee suffers from cold, keen airs, 307 "Farewell, madam, and many thanks!" 308 CHAPTER VIII.--THE BEES AS ARCHITECTS: THE CITY. Artistic character of the bee-hive, 311 Its government democratic, or a modified constitutional monarchy, 312 The writer traces the foundation and erection of the hive, 313 Its division into cells, and their differences of construction, 314 The thoughtful skill of the builders illustrated, 315 As in their improvised defence against the ravages of the Sphinx Atropos, 316 Which may be accepted as a proof of the intelligence of insects as distinguished from instinct, 317 CHAPTER IX.--HOW THE BEES CREATE THE PEOPLE AND THE COMMON MOTHER. Care of the bee for the nymph, or larva, 321 As it grows, so does its wonderful organization develop, 322 Special care bestowed on the future queen, 323 The queen bee has attributes of its own, 324 Her rage, when she becomes aware of the existence of possible rivals, 325 The community divided between the old love and the new, 325 An emigration takes place, 325 And a new commonwealth is established, 326 Sometimes the old queen and the new encounter one another, 327 In which case a deadly combat ensues, 328 And the victor becomes the idol of the people, 328 If both perish, the community, in a state of great excitement, proceed to feed and bring up another, 329 Whom they will guard with loving loyalty, 329 CONCLUSION. A comparison, and a contrast, between the bee and the ant, 333 All insects teach certain noteworthy lessons, 334 And, primarily, a reverence for life, 335 Various anecdotes from the writer's own experience are here brought forward, in defence of the thesis that life is more precious than science, 336 Illustrative Notes, 341 [Illustration] * * * * * End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Insect, by Jules Michelet