42i 



THE PHILOSOPHY 



of intelled, a fubftratum to be aded upon, otbprwife no impulfe 

 could be felt, and, of courfe, no adlon nor mark of intelligence could 

 poffibly be produced. 



That the intelligence, the government, and the fagacity of bees, have 

 been frequently exaggerated, and as frequently mifunderftood, no real 

 philofopher, or natural hiftorian, will pretend to deny. But the late in- 

 genious Count de BufFon, through the whole of his great work, betrays 

 the ftrongeft inclination to deny that brutes, even thofe which are e- 

 fteemed to be the moft fagacious, as the dog, the elephant, &c. not to 

 mention the inferior tribes, as birds, fifties, and infers, are endowed 

 with the fmalleft portion of mind or intelled, but that all their move- 

 ments, their expreffions, their defires, their arts, are folely the refults 

 of mechanical impulfes. The Count is peculiarly fevere in his decla- 

 mations againft the fagacity of the honey-bees, and the celebrators 

 of their oeconomy and manners. ' The genius of folitary bees,' he 

 remarks, ' is vaftly inferior to that of the gregarious fpecies ; and 

 ' the talents of thofe which aflbciate in fmall troops are lefs confpi- 

 ' cuous than of thofe that aflemble in numerous bodies. Is not this 



* alone fufBcient to convince us, that the feeming genius of bees is 

 ' nothing but a refult of pure mechanifm, a combination of move- 



* ments proportioned to numbers, an effedt which appears to be com- 

 ' plicated, only becaufe it depends on thoufands of individuals ? It 

 ' mufl:, therefore, be admitted, that bees, taken feparately, have lefs 

 ' genius than the dog, the monkey, and moft other animals: It will 

 ' likewife be admitted, that they have lefs docility, lefs attachment, 

 ' and lefs fentiment ; and that they poflefs fewer qualities relative to 



* thofe of the human fpecies. Hence we ought to acknowledge, 

 ' that their apparent intelligence proceeds folely from the multitude 

 ' united. This union, however, prefuppofes not intelleSual powers; 

 ' for they unite not from moral views : They find themfelves to- 

 ' geth?r without their confent. This fociety, therefore, is a phyfical 



' affemblage 



