NEWS OF SPRING 



for a moment beside their heedless brides and the union is 

 accomplished, whereupon the victims drift away to perish, 

 while the wife, already a mother, closes her corolla, in which 

 lives their last breath, rolls up her spiral and descends to the 

 depths, there to ripen the fruit of the heroic kiss. 



Must we spoil this charming picture, which is strictly 

 accurate, but seen from the side of the light, by looking at 

 it also from the shadow? Why not? There are sometimes 

 on the shady side truths quite as interesting as those on the 

 bright. This delightful tragedy is perfect only when we 

 consider the intelligence and the aspirations of the species. 

 But, when we observe the individuals in this ideal plan, we 

 shall often see them act awkwardly and without rhyme or 

 reason. At one time, the male flowers will ascend to the sur- 

 face when there are not yet any pistilled flowers near. At 

 another, when the low water would permit them easily to 

 join their companions, they will nevertheless mechanically and 

 needlessly break their stalks. We here once more establish the 

 fact that all genius lies in the species, in life or in nature, 

 whereas the individual is nearly always stupid. In man alone 

 does a real emulation exist between the two intelligences, a 

 more and more precise, more and more active tendency to- 



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