The Life of the Bee 
devour, and the mother has to display 
the utmost stubbornness in their defence. 
Then having freed himself from his most 
dangerous vices, each individual has to 
acquire a certain number of more and 
more painful virtues. Among the humble- 
bees, for instance, the workers do not 
dream of renouncing love, whereas our 
domestic bee lives in a state of perpetual 
chastity. And indeed we soon shall show 
how much more she has to abandon, in 
exchange for the comfort and security of 
the hive, for its architectural, economic, 
and political perfection ; and we shall re- 
turn to the evolution of the hymenoptera 
in the chapter devoted to the progress of 
the species. 
34 
