266 THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 



THE BALLOONING SPIDERS 



In these parachutists, some of which have 

 their faces set towards flying, we get a glimpse 

 of what is certainly a quality of living crea- 

 tures the quality of endeavour and experi- 

 ment, of insurgence and adventure. We can- 

 not get the right word for it, because it is a 

 characteristic of life itself, asserting itself at 

 many levels. We find it among the simple 

 primeval creatures of the Open Sea, which do 

 not form "bodies" in the strict sense, but ex- 

 pend all their endeavour in fashioning their 

 single "cell," so that it is often like a fairy 

 palace, and is a little world of internal micro- 

 scopic complexity. We find it in the simple 

 sedentary creatures of the shallow water, 

 whether seaweeds or sponges, zoophytes or 

 corals, which add to the self-preservation law 

 of the firstlings, as Dr. Church says, the sec- 

 ond great law that no race will continue un- 

 less the individual members do their bit in 

 securing its continuance. We find it in the 

 instinctive behaviour of ants and bees, in the 

 instinctive and intelligent behaviour of birds 

 and mammals, in the instinctive, intelligent, 

 and rational behaviour of man. 



