THEIR MARVELLOUS WORKS. 



some twelve or thirteen inches in diameter, or throw an arch of 

 stone over other roads leading from the metropolis into the 

 adjoining country to the distance of several hundred feet that 

 they should project and finish the, for them, vast interior stair- 

 cases or bridges lately described and, finally, that the millions 

 necessary to execute such Herculean labours, perpetually passing 

 to and fro, should never interrupt or interfere with each other, 

 is a miracle of nature, or rather of the Author of nature, far 

 exceeding the most boasted works and structures of man : for, 

 did these creatures equal him in size, retaining their usual instincts 

 and activity, their buildings would soar to the astonishing height 

 of more than half a mile, and their tunnels would expand to a 

 magnificent cylinder of more than three hundred feet in diameter ; 

 before which the pyramids of Egypt and the aqueducts of Rome 

 would lose all their celebrity, and dwindle into nothings. 



" The most elevated of the pyramids of Egypt is not more than 

 600 feet high, which, setting the average height of man at only 

 five feet, is not more than 120 times the height of the workmen 

 employed. Whereas the nests of the Termites being at least 

 twelve feet high, and the insects themselves not exceeding a 

 quarter of an inch in stature, their edifice is upwards of 500 times 

 the height of the builders ; which, supposing them of human 

 dimensions, would be more than half a mile. The shaft of the 

 Roman aqueducts was lofty enough to permit a man on horseback 

 to travel in them." ' 



44. The bodies of the Termites are generally soft and covered 

 with a thin and delicate skin, and being blind, they are no match, 

 on the open ground for the ants who are endowed with vision, and 

 whose bodies are invested in a strong horny shell. Whenever the 

 Termites are accidentally dislodged from their subterraneous 

 roads or dwellings, the various species of ants instantly seize 

 them and drag them away to their nests as food for their young. 



45. The Termites are therefore very solicitous about preserving 

 their tunnels and vaulted roads in good repair. If some of them 

 be accidentally demolished for a few inches in length, it is wonder- 

 ful how speedily they rebuild it. At first, in their hurry, they 

 advance into the open part for an inch or two, but stop so suddenly 

 that it is very apparent that they are surprised, for although some 

 run straight on until they get under the arch beyond the damaged 

 part, most of them run as fast back, and very few of them will 

 venture through that part of the track which is left uncovered; 

 In a few minutes, however, they will be seen rebuilding the arch, 

 and even if three or four yards in length have been destroyed, they 

 will reconstruct it in a single day. If this be again destroyed, 



*. Kirby, vol. i. p. 434. 



Ill 



