The Processionary: the Community 



are the reasons that cause cenobitism to flour- 

 ish among the Processionaries. 



One answer suggests itself inevitably, to be- 

 gin with: the food problem, that terrible dis- 

 turber of the world's tranquillity, is here non- 

 existent. Peace reigns as soon as the stomach 

 is certain of being filled without a struggle. 

 A pine-needle or even less suffices for the 

 caterpillar's meal; and that needle is always 

 there, waiting to be eaten, is there in inex- 

 haustible numbers, almost on the threshold of 

 the home. When dinner-time arrives, we 

 caterpillars go out, we take the air, we walk 

 a little in procession; then, without laborious 

 seeking, without jealous rivalries, we seat our- 

 selves at the banquet. The table is plenti- 

 fully spread and will never be bare, so large 

 and generous is the pine; all that we need 

 do is, from one evening to the next, to move 

 our dining-room a little farther on. Conse- 

 quently, there are no present and no future 

 cares on the subject of provisions: the cater- 

 pillar finds food to eat almost as easily as he 

 finds air to breathe. 



The atmosphere feeds all creatures on air 

 with a bounty which it Is not necessary to 

 crave. All unknown to itself, without the 



49 



