The Swarm 



some God? I can see nothing that 

 governs their actions. The little things 

 that one day they appear to collect and 

 build up, the next they destroy and scatter. 

 They come and they go, they meet and 

 disperse, but one knows not what it is they 

 seek. In numberless cases the spectacle 

 they present is altogether inexplicable. 

 There are some, for instance, who, as 

 it were, seem scarcely to stir from their 

 place. They are to be distinguished 

 by their glossier coat, and often too by 

 their more considerable bulk. They 

 occupy buildings ten or twenty times 

 larger than ordinary dwellings, and richer, 

 and more ingeniously fashioned. Every 

 day they spend many hours at their meals, 

 which sometimes indeed are prolonged far 

 into the night. They appear to be held 

 in extraordinary honour by those who 

 approach them ; men come from the 

 neighbouring houses, bringing provisions, 



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