CHAPTER III 
ON ANIMAL LIFE — continued. 
We constantly speak of animals asfree. A 
fish, says Ruskin, “is much freer than a Man; 
and as to a fly, it is a black incarnation of 
freedom.” It is pleasant to think of anything 
as free, but in this case the idea is, I fear, to 
a great extent erroneous. Young animals may 
frolic and play, but older ones take life very 
seriously. About the habits of fish and flies, 
indeed, as yet we know very little. Any one, 
however, who will watch animals will soon 
satisfy himself how diligently they work. 
Even when they seem to be idling over flowers, 
or wandering aimlessly about, they are in truth 
diligently seeking for food, or collecting 
materials for nests. The industry of Bees is 
proverbial. When collecting honey or pollen 
73 
