The Life of the Bee 
accident suddenly to destroy a hive full of 
honey. But in this case even there would 
be no fatal glass, no boiling sugar or cloying 
syrup; no death or danger, therefore, other 
than that to which every animal is exposed 
while seeking its prey. 
Should we be more successful than they 
in preserving our presence of mind if some 
strange power were at every step to ensnare 
our reason? Let us not be too hasty in 
condemning the bees for the folly whereof 
we are the authors, or in deriding their 
intellect, which is as poorly equipped to foil 
our artifices as our own would be to foil 
those of some superior creature unknown to 
us to-day, but on that account not impos- 
sible. None such being known at present, 
we conclude that we stand on the topmost 
pinnacle of life on this earth; but this 
belief, after all, is by no means infallible. 
I am not assuming that when our actions 
are unreasonable, or contemptible, we merely 
fall into the snares that such a creature 
has laid; though it is not inconceivable 
that this should one day be proved true. 
On the other hand, it cannot be wise to 
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