The Swarm 
some God? I can see nothing that 
governs their actions. The little things 
that one day they appear to collect and 
build up, the next they destroy and scatter. 
They come and they go, they meet and 
disperse, but one knows not what it is they 
seek. In numberless cases the spectacle 
they present is altogether inexplicable. 
There are some, for instance, who, as 
it were, seem scarcely to stir from their 
place. They are to be distinguished 
by their glossier coat, and often too by 
their more considerable bulk. They 
occupy buildings ten or twenty times 
larger than ordinary dwellings, and richer, 
and more ingeniously fashioned. Every 
day they spend many hours at their meals, 
which sometimes indeed are prolonged far 
into the night. They appear to be held 
in extraordinary honour by those who 
approach them; men come from the 
neighbouring houses, bringing provisions, 
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