The Life of the Bee 
that, to the alcohol, are due the children 
whom you see there: the dwarf, the one 
with the hare-lip, the others who are 
knock-kneed, scrofulous, imbecile. All 
of them, men and women, young and old, 
have the ordinary vices of the peasant. 
They are brutal, suspicious, grasping, and 
envious; hypocrites, liars, and slanderers ; 
inclined to petty, illicit profits, mean in- 
terpretations, and coarse flattery of the 
stronger. Necessity brings them to- 
gether, and compels them to help each 
other; but the secret wish of every indi- 
vidual is to harm his neighbour as soon 
as this can be done without danger to 
himself. The one substantial pleasure of 
the village is procured by the sorrows of 
others. Should a great disaster befall one 
of them, it will long be the subject of 
secret, delighted comment among the rest. 
Every man watches his fellow, is jealous 
of him, detests and despises him. While 
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