84 THE LIFE OF THE BEE 



thirty times in an hour. Their admirable labours, there- 

 fore, are inspired by a single desire : zeal to bring as much 

 wealth as they can to the home of their sisters, the home 

 of the future. When we discover a cause as disinterested 

 as this for the follies of men, we are apt to call them by 

 another name. 



45 



However, the whole truth must be told. In the 

 midst of the marvels of their industry, their policy, their 

 sacrifice, one thing exists that must always check and 

 weaken our admiration ; and this is the indifference with 

 which they regard the misfortunes or death of their com- 

 rades. There is a strange duality in the character of the 

 bee. In the heart of the hive all help and love each 

 other. They are as united as the good thoughts that 

 dwell in the same soul. Wound one of them, and a thou- 

 sand will sacrifice themselves to avenge its injury. But 

 outside the hive they no longer recognise each other. 

 Mutilate them, crush them — or rather, do nothing of the 

 kind ; it would be a useless cruelty, for the fact is 

 established beyond any doubt — but were you to mutilate, 

 or crush, on a piece of comb placed a few steps from their 

 dwelHng, twenty or thirty bees that have all issued from 

 the same hive, those you have left untouched will not even 

 turn their head. With their tongue, fantastic as a Chinese 

 weapon, they will tranquilly continue to absorb the liquid 

 they hold more precious than life, heedless of the agony 

 whose last gestures are almost touching them, of the cries 



