The Life of the Bee 
into the world. But this prodigious con- 
juncture does not scatter their wits; they 
still contrive to reconcile the two princi- 
ples that they appear to regard in the light 
of divine commands. The first is that of 
unique maternity, never infringed except 
in the case of sterility in the reigning 
queen, and even then only very excep- 
tionally ; the second is more curious still, 
and, although never transgressed, suscepti- 
ble of what may almost be termed a Judaic 
evasion. It is the law that invests the 
person of a queen, whoever she be, with a 
sort of inviolability. It would be a simple 
matter for the bees to pierce the intruder 
with their myriad envenomed stings ; she 
would die on the spot, and they would 
merely have to remove the corpse from 
the hive. But though this sting is always 
held ready to strike, though they make 
constant use of it in their fights among 
themselves, they will never draw it against 
100 
