XII 



THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS 



XjLarmony is beauty. An organism in which "all parts subordinate 

 their activities to the whole, and each acts and lives in each," must 

 produce on us the effect of a work of art. Not the tiniest little part 

 is superfluous ; each has its significance for the whole. Even the good 

 architect seeks to ensure the beauty of his house not by applied 

 ornament, but by its main plan and elevation, and its purposeful 

 construction. 



We have seen, in the two foregoing chapters, that Brazil received 

 its fauna countless thousands of years ago, and that its animal 

 inhabitants have subtly adapted themselves to mutual co-operation 

 in the environment of the Brazilian landscape ; and it follows that 

 the beauty of the land depends on its native flora and fauna. Nature, 

 in Brazil, is like a vast mosaic. Every plant, every animal is a coloured 

 tessera, a work of art in itself, but whose real significance is first 

 perceived when we see that in combination with the rest it forms 

 a work of art. Consequently, to exterminate any one species of 

 animal is like striking a coloured stone out of a mosaic. The greater 

 the destruction of life, the greater the destruction of the picture. And 

 no one can replace the stones once they have been destroyed, for 

 they come from the hand of One compared with whom man is but 

 a creation, never a creator. 



We have seen that the virgin forest of Brazil is characterized by 

 its abundant sunlight and the glitter of its foliage. The Humming- 

 birds, with their bronze-green plumage, are in tune with the metallic 

 lustre of the leaves ; and so is the Jacamar, flashing like a great 

 Humming-bird. The Rainbow Tanagers too, and many of their 

 relatives, have a metallic lustre ; while the Surucuas, various swallows 

 and pigeons, and the bare neck of the White Ferreiro or Bell-bird 

 look as though their scaly feathers were covered with a verdigris- 

 coloured patina. 



Many of the snakes and lizards have a metallic lustre, while 

 others, like the Coral Snake and its harmless relatives, as well as 

 the lovely Emerald Snake, shine as though they were varnished; 

 and so do certain flowers. 



Hosts of insects have a splendid metallic lustre. I have already 

 described the Splendid Phanaeus ; and there are many great beetles 

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