SANITATIONPERSONAL BENEVOLENCE 



conclusion. The beautiful acts of unselfish devotion 

 to dependents, especially the helpless young, the self- 

 denial, the vicarious self-sacrifice, the utter elimination 

 of self so often seen all these spring solely from the 

 relations of ants to the commune. They are the acts 

 of the ant-citizen, in whom all the functions of life are 

 centred and absorbed, not of the ant - individual, an 

 independent living unit. 



Patriotism, communal loyalty, communism, or by 

 whatever name we may designate a sentiment or im- 

 pulse for which, in the poverty of our speech and the 

 limits of our sympathies with a sphere of life so far out- 

 side of our own, we have no exact word, is the one passion 

 that moves the typical ant in its varied acts. Personal 

 sentiment there is next to none. Outside the routine 

 of communal duty and service, the actors in an ant com- 

 mune know no law but the instinct to serve and preserve 

 the commonwealth. Even in satisfying the demands of 

 appetite the individual is lost (with the workers, at least) 

 in the public interests, for even the contents of one's 

 crop are held at the service of the community. 



Of course, there is reason for this condition. An im- 

 perious law of co-operation in the mass does not favor 

 the development of strong individual characteristics. 

 The mechanical order that assures the sodality and safety 

 of society among insects would be disturbed by strong 

 personal ties, which would thus introduce a divisive and 

 enfeebling force, especially in times of communal peril 

 when all sentiment and service should be concentrated 

 upon public interests. 



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