BEES 41 
And with a tiled roof let the room be crowned; 
Four windows full ope then to the four winds, 
To let in light, life's maker, without blinds. 
A fine young bull I then would have thee take, 
(Now hearken well, that there be no mistake) 
He must be wearing newly his curved horn; 
Scarce three years may have passed since he was born; 
His noble vigor will his roar proclaim, 
That echoing loud puts thunder, e'en, to shame. 
Now, haply, hast thou heavy boughs and sound 
To beat the calf till he fall on the ground; 
Then, having shut him in the walled space. 
Fresh poplar twigs and willow thou must place 
Under the body, and on top be spread 
Thyme and serpellium; cassia's for the head. 
This must occur in the fair time of Spring, 
When, to the Alps, on ever hastening wing. 
The cranes return in a long, fleeting tribe 
And the Greek delta in the air describe. 
Now from the bullock's tender, yielding bones 
A tepid humor gently oozing comes. 
(Oh, Power of God, how measureless Thou art!) 
Marvel of marvels ! Now, from every part. 
There come forth animals of simple kind. 
Formless at first, dragging no legs behind. 
Wingless, mere worms, that scarcely seem in motion. 
What they may be, at first, one has no notion; 
But soon the spirit does in them create 
The members all, and limb to limb relate, 
And many varied colors charm the eye. 
As with spread wings the creatures humming fly; 
Like misty rain, they seem, as on they come, 
Lashed by the wind and sparkling in the sun; 
Or like bright arrows from the bended bow 
Of Turk or Parthian, they swiftly go." 
Among the Greeks and the Latins there were many 
poets, who described this origin of bees, or alluded to it 
in various writings; Philetas of Cos, preceptor of Ptolo- 
