54 THE LIFE AND LOVE OF THE INSECT 



polio's date. The hypogea which so religiously guard 

 the cat, the ibis and the crocodile must also contain the 

 sacred insect. All that I have at my disposal is a few 

 figures representing the Sacred Beetle as we find him 

 engraved on the monuments or carved in fine stone as an 

 amulet for the mummies. The ancient artist is remark- 

 ably faithful in the execution of the whole ; but his 

 graver, his chisel have not troubled about details so 

 insignificant as those of the tarsi. 



Ill-supplied though I be with documents of this kind, 

 I greatly doubt whether carving or engraving will solve 

 the problem. Even if an image with front tarsi were 

 discovered somewhere or other, the question would be no 

 further advanced. One could always plead a mistake, 

 carelessness, a leaning towards symmetry. The doubt, 

 as long as it prevails in certain minds, can only be 

 removed by the ancient insect in a natural state. I will 

 wait for it, convinced beforehand that the Pharaonic 

 Scarab differed in no way from our own. 



Let us not take leave of the old Egyptian author just 

 yet, in spite of his usually incomprehensible jargon, with 

 its senseless allegories. He sometimes has views that 

 are strikingly correct. Is it a chance coincidence ? Or 

 is it the result of serious observation ? I should be gladly 

 inclined to adopt the latter opinion, so perfect is the 

 agreement between his statements and certain biological 

 details of which our own science was ignorant until quite 

 lately. Where the intimate life of the Scarab is con- 

 cerned, Horapollo is much better-informed than ourselves. 



In particular, he writes as follows : 



" The Scarab buries her ball in the ground, where she 

 remains hidden for twenty-eight days, a space of time 



