CHAPTER III 



THE SACRED BEETLE : THE MODELLING 



How does the Scarab obtain the maternal pear ? It 

 is certain, to begin with, that this is in no wise shaped 

 by the mechanism of conveyance along the ground : 

 the shape is incompatible with a rolling in every direc- 

 tion, at haphazard. We might accept that for the belly 

 of the gourd ; but the neck, the ellipsoid nipple, hollowed 

 into a hatching-chamber ! This delicate work could 

 never result from violent, unmeasured jerks. The gold- 

 smith's jewel is not hammered on the blacksmith's anvil. 

 Together with other reasons, all good in evidence, already 

 quoted, the pear-shaped outline delivers us, I hope, once 

 and for all, from the antiquated belief that placed the 

 egg inside a roughly- jolted ball. 



To produce his masterpiece, the sculptor retires to his 

 den. Even so the Sacred Beetle. She shuts herself 

 down in her crypt, to model, in contemplative seclusion, 

 the materials introduced. Two opportunities offer for 

 obtaining the block to be worked. In the one case, the 

 Scarab gathers from the heap, according to the method 

 which we know, a choice block, which is kneaded into a 

 ball on the spot and which is already spherical before 

 it is set in motion. Were it only a question of pro- 

 visions intended for her own meals, she would never act 

 otherwise. 



32 



