The sacred beetle : and others / by J. Henri Fabre ; translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos.

  • Fabre, Jean-Henri, 1823-1915.
Date:
[1918], ©1918
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The sacred beetle : and others / by J. Henri Fabre ; translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/328
    Authors Preface In the building of the nest, the family safeguard, we see the highest manifestation of the faculties of instinct. That clever architect, the bird, teaches us as much ; and the insect, with its still more diverse talents, repeats the lesson, telling us that maternity is the supreme inspirer of instinct. Entrusted with the preservation of the species, which is of more importance than the preserva¬ tion of individuals, maternity awakens in the drowsiest intelligence marvellous gleams of foresight ; it is the thrice sacred hearth where are kindled those mysterious psychic fires which will suddenly burst into flame and dazzle us with their semblance of infallible reason. The more maternity asserts itself, the higher does instinct ascend. In this respect no creatures are more deserving of our attention than the Hymenoptera, upon whom the cares of maternity devolve in their fulness. All these favourites of instinct prepare board and lodging for their offspring. They become master-craftsmen in a host of trades for the sake of a family which their faceted eyes will never behold, but which is nevertheless no stranger to the mother’s powers of foresight. One turns cotton-spinner and produces cotton-wool bottles ; another sets up as a basket-maker and weaves hampers out of bits of leaves ; a third becomes a mason and builds rooms of cement and domes of road-metal ; a fourth opens pottery-works, where clay is kneaded into shapely vases and rounded