Onthophagi and Oniticelli 



For the more important work of life there 

 is nothing Hke the humble toilers for reali- 

 zing vast strength, made up of their joint 

 weaknesses. Swollen by numbers, the next 

 to nothing becomes an enormous total. 



Hurrying in detachments at the first news 

 of the event, assisted moreover in their 

 sanitary work by their partners, the Aphodii, 

 who are as weak as they, the tiny Onthophagi 

 soon clear the ground of its dirt. Not that 

 their appetite is equal to the consumption 

 of such plentiful provisions. What food do 

 these pigmies need? A mere atom. But 

 for that atom, selected from among the 

 exudations, search must be made amid the 

 wisps of masticated fodder. Hence, an end- 

 less division and dissection of the lump, re- 

 ducing it to dust which the sun sterilizes and 

 the wind dispels. As soon as the work 

 is done — and very well done — the troop 

 of scavengers goes in search of another 

 refuse-yard. Except for the period of in- 

 tense cold, which puts a stop to all activity, 

 they are never idle. 



And do not run away with the idea that 

 this filthy task entails an inelegant shape and 

 a ragged dress. Our squalor is unknown 

 to the insect. In its world, a navvy dons a 

 sumptuous jerkin; an undertaker decks him- 

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