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nothing left to do, the devoted creature 

 perishes. 



Yes, amid the general indifference of the 

 fathers towards their offspring, Minotaurus 

 displays a most remarkable zeal where his 

 family is concerned. Forgetful of himself, 

 refusing to be led away by the rapturous de- 

 lights of spring, at a time when it would be 

 so pleasant to see a little of the country, to 

 feast among his fellows, to tease and flirt 

 with his fair neighbours, he sticks to his work 

 underground and wears himself out to leave 

 a fortune to his family. Here is one who, 

 when his limbs stiffen in death, is well en- 

 titled to say: 



"I have done my duty; I have worked.'* 



Now whence did this industrious labourer 

 derive his self-abnegation and his ardour for 

 the welfare of his young? Men tell us that 

 he acquired them by a slow progress from 

 middling to good, from good to excellent. 

 Fortuitous circumstances, hostile one day, 

 favourable the next, have taught him what 

 he knows. He has learnt, as man does, by 

 experience : he too develops, progresses and 

 improves himself. 



In his little Dung-beetle brain, the lessons 

 of the past leave lasting impressions which, 

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