The Mason-Wasps 



ing to the laws of a curve known as the loga- 

 rithmic spiral, a transcendental curve com- 

 pared with which the hexagon is extremely 

 simple. The study of this line, with its re- 

 markable properties, has long delighted the 

 meditations of the geometricians. 



How did the Snail take it as a guide for 

 his winding staircase? Did he arrive at 

 it by means of intersecting spheres, or 

 other combinations of forms dove-tailed one 

 into the other? The foolish notion is not 

 worth stopping to consider. With the Snail 

 there is no conflict between fellow-work- 

 ers, no interpenetration of similar, adjoining 

 structures. Quite alone, completely isolated, 

 peacefully and unconsciously he achieves his 

 transcendental spiral with the aid of glaire- 

 ous matter charged with lime. 



Did the Snail even invent this cunning 

 curve himself? No, for all the molluscs with 

 turbinate shells, those which dwell in the sea 

 and those which live in fresh water or on 

 land, obey the same laws, with variations of 

 detail as to the conoid on which the typical 

 spiral is projected. Did the present-day 

 builders accomplish it by gradually improv- 

 ing on an ancient and less exact curve? No, 

 for the spiral of abstract science has presided 

 over the scrollwork of their shells ever since 

 238 



