278 CONCLUSION 



forth the moon to give new life to the world. .Like 

 the sun, she has her plants, her insects, her birds, 

 her quadrupeds; it is by her doubtful light that the 

 mirabilis, and other nocturnal plants, open their (low- 

 ers ; that various Species of fish pursue their progress 

 to another clime; that the tortoise lays her eggs on 

 the solitary strand ; and that the nightingale, the bird 

 of spring, delights to make the echoes of the forest 

 resound with its song. 



l( Many insects live only during one of the lunar 

 quarters; others live a fortnight, others a month; some 

 go through an entire season, and die at the summer 

 solstice ; but the greater number perishes at the au- 

 tumnal equinox, at the time when the sun proceeds 

 io enlighten another hemisphere. It is then that the 

 marmot retires and falls asleep in the hollow rock, 

 to awaken only at the return of the spring equinox ; 

 for to her the year seems a day and a night of six 

 months each. A crowd of animals suspend their 

 labours, in our hemisphere, at the same season ; the 

 bees take rest in their hives; several species of birds, 

 like the quail and swallow, follow the course of the 

 sun, and pass into the hemisphere which he warms; 

 While a multitude perishes in that which he aban- 

 dons. Carnivorous animals are dispersed in all di- 

 rections to devour their remains; the furred fox, and 

 the white bear, penetrate even into the bosom of the 

 frozen zone, into regions of snow and ice, which 

 hardly any living animal can inhabit. The currents 

 of the ocean still carry to the shore a quantity of ma- 

 rine substances coming from the temperate and tor- 



