The Life of the Bee 
between the man who marches in the van 
of progress and the other who is blindly 
dragged at its tail ceases to be very con- 
siderable. Among these young rustics, 
whose mind is haunted only by formless 
ideas, there are many who have in them- 
selves the possibility of attaining, in a short 
space of time, the degree of consciousness 
that we both enjoy. One often is struck 
by the narrowness of the dividing-line be- 
tween what we regard as the unconscious- 
ness of these people and the consciousness 
that to us is the highest of all. 
“Besides, of what is this consciousness 
composed whereof we are so proud? Of 
far more shadow than light, of far more 
acquired ignorance than knowledge, of far 
more things whose comprehension, we are 
well aware, must ever elude us, than of 
things that we actually know. And yet 
in this consciousness lies all our dignity, 
our most veritable greatness; it is probably 
the most surprising phenomenon this world 
contains. It is this which permits us to 
raise our head before the unknown prin- 
ciple, and say to it, ‘What you are I know 
278 
