The Sacred Beetle: the Pear 



the widest part.^ It is white and is 

 separated on all sides from the walls of the 

 chamber by a slight empty space, the only 

 contact being at the rear end of the egg, 

 which adheres to the top of the niche. 

 Lying horizontally, in conformity with the 

 normal position of the pear, the whole of it, 

 excepting the point of attachment, thus rests 

 upon an air-mattress, warmest and most 

 buoyant of beds. 



Now we know all about it. Let us next 

 try to understand the Scarab's logic. Let us 

 find out why she has to make that pear of 

 hers, so unusual a shape in insect structures; 

 let us seek to explain the suitability of the 

 egg's curious position. We are venturing 

 on dangerous ground when we enquire into 

 the how and wherefore of things. We 

 easily lose our footing in that mysterious 

 land where the moving soil gives way 

 beneath us, swallowing the foolhardy in the 

 quicksands of error. Must we abandon 

 such excursions, because of the risk? Why 

 should we? 



What does our science, so sublime 

 compared with the feebleness of our re- 

 sources, so contemptible in the face of the 

 boundless stretches of the unknown, what 



^ .39 X .19 inches. — Translator's Note. 



91 



