i68 



THE WOODLANDS. 



while they themselves look directly forward ; and as 

 the sun appears to proceed in the heavens in a course 

 contrary to the signs, thus the Scarab ai turn their 

 balls toward the west, while they themselves continue 

 creeping towards the east ; by the first of these motions 

 exhibiting the diurnal, and by the second the annual 

 motion of the earth and the planets. 



As to the beetle-worship of Egypt, Pliny writes : 

 "The greater part of Egypt honour all beetles, and adore 

 them as gods, or, at least, having some divine power 



f in them." Not only 



were they venerated 

 during life, but em- 

 balmed after death, 

 in which state they 

 are found at Thebes. 

 A colossal Egyptian 

 beetle in stone may 

 be seen in the lower 

 room of antiquities 

 in the British Mu- 

 seum. Small images 

 of the Scarabaeus in 

 baked earth, or other 

 material, are found 

 in great number with the mummies of Egypt. Placed 

 over the stomach, it was deemed a talisman to 

 shield the soul of its wearer against the evil spirits. 

 Watching the Dung-beetle pursuing the same instinct 

 which has guided its progenitors for thousands of years, 

 we shall scarce fail to be reminded of its association 

 with some of the oldest nations of the world. 



THE SCARABAEUS. 



