i8o ESSAYS OF A BIOLOGIST 



scient, was confronted by another power, 

 the power of disorder, of irregularity, who 

 prevented tasks, put temptations in the way 

 of workers, and was in fact the genius of Evil. 



(2) Further, it was a received tradition among them 

 that there had been a fall from the grace of 

 a Golden Age, when there were no neuters, 

 but all enjoyed married bliss ; and the ant- 

 cows gave milk and honey from their teats. 



(2. 1 ) And that this was forfeited by a crime (unmen- 

 tionable, I regret to say, in modern society) 

 on the part of a certain Queen of Ants in 

 the distant past. The Golden Age was 

 gone j the poor neuters — obligate spinsters 

 — were brought into being ; work became 

 the order of the day. Ant-lions with 

 flaming jaws were set round that kingdom 

 of the Golden Age, from which all ants 

 were thenceforth expelled. 



(2.2.1) This being so, it was natural to conclude 



that the fall from grace involved a certain 

 loss of divine qualities. 



(2.2.2) The general conclusion to be drawn was 



that in the race of ants there still resided 

 a certain quantity of these virtues that 

 give regularity to things and events ; 

 although not sufficient wholly to counter- 

 balance the machinations of the power of 

 evil and disorder. 



