FORMICID.E — ANTS. 153 



volume, are looked upon by these people with the same 

 respect. 



Moufet says : " In Isthmus the priests sacrificed Pismires 

 to the sun, either because they thoufjht the sun the most 

 beautiful, and therefore they would offer unto him the most 

 beautiful creature, or the most wise, as seeing all thinjrs, 

 and therefore they offered unto him the wisest creature."^ 



In the twenty-seventh chapter of the Koran, which was 

 revealed at Mecca, and entitled the Ant, we find, among 

 other strange things, an odd story of the Ant, which has 

 therefore given name to the chapter. It is as follows : "And 

 his armies were gathered together unto Solomon, consisting 

 of genii, and men, and birds; and they were led in distant 

 bands, until they came to the valley of Ants.^ And an Ant, 

 seeing the hosts approaching, said, Ants, enter ye into 

 your habitations, lest Solomon and his army tread you under 

 foot, and perceive it not. And Solomon smiled, laughing 

 at her words, and said, Lord, excite me that I may be 

 thankful for thy favour, wherewith thou hast favoured me, 

 and my parents ; and that I may do that which is right, and 

 well pleasing unto thee : and introduce me, through thy 

 mercy, into paradise, among my servants, the righteous."^ 



Thevenot mentions " Solomon's Ant" among the "Beasts 

 that shall enter into Paradise" in the belief of the Turks, 

 and gives the following reason : " Solomon was the greatest 

 king that ever was, for all creatures obey'd him, and brought 

 him presents, amongst others, an Ant brought him a Locust, 

 which it had dragged along by main force : Solomon, per- 

 ceiving that the Ant had brought a thing bigger than itself, 

 accepted the present, and preferred it before all other crea- 

 tures."^ 



Plutarch, speaking of the Ant, says : " Aratus in his prog- 

 nostics setteth this down for a rain toward, when they bring 

 forth their seeds and grains (pupae), and lay them abroad to 

 take the air : 



1 Theatr. Tns., 246. Topsel's ^/.?< of Beasts, p. 1079. 



2 The valley seems to be so called from the great number of Ants 

 which are found there. Some place it in Syria, and others in 

 Tayeb. — Al Beidawi, Jallalo'ddin. 



3 The Koran, p. 310. Translated by Geo. Sale. 

 * Trav. in the Levant, Pt. I.»p. 41. 



