70 THE LORE OF THE HONEY-BEE 



study of the bee and all her works, the more diffi- 

 cult it becomes to find a word that shall more 

 fittingly meet the case. Instinct will not do. 

 Instinct implies a dead perfection of motive, born 

 of omniscience, working through unthinking, un- 

 varying organisms to an equally perfect end. 

 But in neither project nor performance can the 

 honey-bee be said invariably to achieve, or even 

 to aim at, perfection. It will be seen hereafter 

 that her motives, her methods, the results she 

 brings about, all show frequent, undeniable error 

 or deviation. She attempts to carry through a 

 sound enterprise, but abandons it on finding un- 

 foreseen difficulties in the way. She will persevere 

 blindly in an obviously foolish piece of business, 

 and fail to see her mistake until both energy and 

 resources are at an end. Sudden emergencies 

 may find her ready with the saving stroke of last 

 ingenuity, or merely plunge her into listless despair. 

 Courage, industry, economy, wise forethought, or 

 still wiser afterthought, are all common traits in 

 her nature. But she may develop idleness, un- 

 thrift, slovenliness, or even downright dishonesty, 

 if chance or circumstance indicate the way. 



And what are all these but the defects or 

 attributes of reason? If bees and men, each 

 admittedly rooted in divinity, be prone to the like 

 failings and inconsequences, who shall discriminate 

 between them, dividing arbitrarily natural cause 

 and effect .■• 



