The Life of the Bee 



prudence that we at first could not grasp. 

 In the little circle, even, that our eyes 

 embrace we are constantly shown that 

 what we regarded as nature's blunder 

 close by was due to her deeming it 

 well to adjust the presumed inadvertence 

 out yonder. She has placed the three 

 flowers we mentioned under conditions 

 of such difficulty that they are unable to 

 fertilise themselves ; she considers it ben- 

 eficial, therefore, for reasons beyond our 

 powers of perception, that they should 

 cause themselves to be fertilised by their 

 neighbours ; and, inasmuch as she en- 

 hances the intelligence of her victims, she 

 displays on our right the genius she failed 

 to display on our left. The byways of 

 this genius of hers remain incomprehen- 

 sible to us, but its level is always the 

 same. It will appear to fall into error — 

 assuming that error be possible — there- 

 upon rising again at once in the organ 

 290 



