,,the ,,natural ,,philosophy    ,,of    
,,love    ,,by    ,,remy ,,de ,,gourmont
    ,translated with a ,postscript ,by  
,,ezra ,,pound    ,,boni ,,and          
,,liveright    ,publishers    ,new ,york
    #aibb          ,,contents           
,i4 ,the ,subject of an ,idea           
,love's general psychology4--,love      
according to natural laws4              
--,sexual selection4--,man's place in   
,nature4--,identity of        human and 
animal psychology4--,the animal nature  
of love4          ,,ii4 ,the ,aim of    
,life          ,the importance of the   
sexual act4--,its ineluctable character4
        --,animals who live only to     
reproduce themselves4--,the strife      
for love1 and for death4--,females      
fecundated at the very        instant of
 birth4--,the maintenance of life4      
,,iii4 ,scale of ,sexes                 
,asexual reproduction4--,formation of   
the animal colony4        --,limits of  
asexual reproduction4--,coupling4--     
,birth        of the                    

sexes4--,hermaphrodism and              
parthenogenesis4        --,chemical     
fecundation4--,universality of          
parthenogenesis4          ,,iv4 ,sexual 
,dimorphism          #a4 ,invertebrates3
 formation of the male4--,primitivity of
        the female4--,minuscule  males3 
the bonellie4--,regression        of the
 male into the male organ3 the          
rirripedes4--,generality        of      
sexual dimorphism4--,superiority of the 
female in most        insect            
species4--,exceptions4--,numeric        
dimorphism4--,female                    
hymenoptera4--,multiplicity of her      
activities4--,male's purely             
sexual rle4--,dimorphism of ants and    
termites4--,grasshoppers        and     
crickets4--,spiders4--,coleoptera4--,glo
w-worm4--,cochineal's        strange    
dimorphism4          ,v4 ,sexual        
,dimorphism          #b4                
,vertebrates3--,unnoticeable in fish1   
saurians1 reptiles4        --,the bird  
world4--,dimorphism favourable  to      

males3 the        oriole1 pheasants1 the
 ruff4--,peacocks and turkey-cocks4     
--,birds of paradise4--,moderate        
dimorphism of mammifers4                
--,effects of castration on dimorphism4 
,,vi4 ,sexual ,dimorphism          #c4  
,vertebrates 7,continued73--,man and    
woman4--,characteristics        and     
limits of human dimorphism4--,effects of
 civilization4        --,psychologic    
dimorphism4--,the insect world and the  
human4        --,modern dimorphism1     
basis of the pair4--,solidarity of the  
human pair4--,dimorphism and            
polygamy4--,the pair favours the        
female4--,sexual sthetics4--,causes of  
the superiority of        feminine      
beauty4          ,,vii4 ,sexual         
,dimorphism and ,feminism               
,inferiority and superiority of the     
female as shown in animal               
species4--,influence of feeding on the  
production of sexes4        --,the      
female would have sufficed4--,feminism  
absolute1 and                           

moderate4--,pipe-dreams3 elimination of 
the male and human                      
parthenogenesis4          ,,viii4       
,love-,organs          ,sexual          
dimorphism and parallelism4--,sexual    
organs of man and        of             
woman4--,constancy of sexual parallelism
 in the animal        series4--,external
 sexual organs of placentary mammifera4 
--,form and position of the penis4--,the
 penial bone4--,the                     
clitoris4--,the vagina4--,the           
teats4--,forked prong of marsupials4    
--,sexual organs of reptiles4--,fish and
 birds with a penial                    
organ4--,genital organs of              
arthropodes4--,attempt to classify      
animals according to the disposition1   
presence1 absence of        exterior    
organs for reproduction4          ,,ix4 
,the ,mechanism of ,love          #a4   
,copulation3 ,vertebrates4--,its very   
numerous varieties and        its       
specific fixity4--,the apparent         
immorality of ,nature4        --,sexual 

ethnography4--,human                    
mechanism4--,cavalage4--,the form       
and duration of coupling in divers      
mammifers4--,aberrations of             
sexual surgery1 the ampallang4--,pain as
 a bridle on sex4                       
--,maidenhead4--,the mole4--,passivity  
of the female4--,the ovule1             
psychological figure of the             
female4--,mania of attributing          
human virtues to animals4--,the modesty 
of elephants4--,coupling                
mechanism in whales1 seals1             
tortoises4--,in certain ophidians       
and in certain fish4          ,x4 ,the  
,mechanism of ,love          #b4        
,copulation                             
7,continued7--,arthropodes4--,scorpions4
--,large        aquatic                 
crustaceans4--,small crustaceans4--,the 
hydrachne4                              
--,scutilary4--,cockchafer4--,butterflie
s4--,flies1 etc4--,variation        of  
animals' sexual habits4          ,,xi4  
,the ,mechanism of ,love p4 #ih         

#c4 ,of birds and fish4--,males without 
penis4--,coupling by simple             
contact4--,salacity of                  
birds4--,copulation  of batrachians3    
accoucheur toad1 aquatic toad1 earth    
toad1 pipa toad4--,ftal                 
parasitism4--,chastity of fish4--,sexes 
separated in love4        --,onanistic  
fecundation4--,cephalopodes1 the        
spermatophore4          ,,xii1 ,the     
,mechanism of ,love          #d4        
,hermaphrodism4--,sexual life of        
oysters4--,gasteropodes4        --,the  
idea of reproduction and the idea of    
pleasure4--,mechanism        of         
reciprocal reproduction3                
helices4--,spintrian habits4            
--,reflection on hermaphrodism4         
,,xiii4 ,the ,mechanism of ,love        
#e4 ,artificial                         
fecundation4--,disjunction of the       
secreting        apparatus from the     
copulating                              
apparatus4--,spiders4--,discovery       
of their copulative method4--,brutality 

of the female4--,habits        of the   
epeire4--,the argyronete4--,the         
tarantula4--,exceptions3        the     
reapers4--,dragonflies                  
7libellule74--,dragonflies 7demoiselle7 
virgins and jouvencelle4--,picture of   
their love affairs4          ,,xiv4 ,the
 ,mechanism of ,love          #f4       
,cannibalism in sex4--,females who      
devour the male1 those        who devour
 the spermatophore4--,probable use of   
these        practices4--,fecundation by
 the whole male4--,loves of the         
white foreheaded dectic4--,the green    
grasshopper4--,the ,alpine              
analote4--,the ephippigere4--,further   
reflections on the        cannibalism of
 sex4--,loves of the praying mantis4    
,,xv4 ,the ,sexual ,parade              
,universality of the caress1 of amorous 
preludes4--,their rle        in         
fecundation4--,sexual games of          
birds4--,how cantharides                
caress4--,males' combats4--,pretended   
combats of birds4--,dance        of the 

tetras4--,gardener bird4--,his country  
house4--,his taste        for           
flowers4--,reflections on the origin of 
his art4--,combats        of            
crickets4--,parade of                   
butterflies4--,sexual sense of          
orientation4--,the great-peacock        
moth4--,animals' submission to          
orders of ,nature4--,transmutation of   
physical values4--,rutting              
calendar4          ,,xvi4 ,polygamy     
,rarity of monogamy4--,taste for change 
in animals4--,rles        of monogamy   
and polygamy in the stability or        
instability        of specific          
types4--,strife of the couple against   
polygamy4        --,couples among       
insects4--,among fish1 batrachians1     
saurians4        --,monogamy of pigeons1
 of nightingales4--,monogamy in         
carnivora1        in rodents4--,habits  
of the rabbit4--,the                    
ichneumon4--,unknown        causes of   
polygamy4--,rarity and superabundance of
 males4        --,polygamy in           

insects4--,in fish4--,in gallinace1 in  
web-footed        birds4--,in           
herbivora4--,the antelope's             
harem4--,human polygamy4        --,how  
it tempera the couple among civilized   
races4          ,,xvii4 ,love among     
,social ,animals          ,organization 
of reproduction among                   
hymenoptera4--,bees4--,wedding        of
 the queen4--,mother bee1 cause and     
consciousness of the hive4              
--,sexual royalty4--,limits of          
intelligence among bees4--,natural      
logic and human                         
logic4--,wasps4--,bumble-bees4--,ants4--
,notes on        their habits4--,very   
advanced state of their civilization4   
--,slavery and parasitism among         
ants4--,termites4--,the nine            
principal active forms of               
termites4--,great age of their          
civilization4--,beavers4--,tendency of  
industrious animals to                  
inactivity4          ,,xviii4 ,the      
,question of ,aberrations          ,two 

sorts of sexual aberration4--,sexual    
aberrations of animals4        --,those 
of men4--,crossing of species4--        
,chastity4--,modesty4                   
--,varieties and localizations of sexual
 bashfulness4--,artificial              
creation of modesty4--,sort of modesty  
natural to all females4                 
--,cruelty4--,picture of carnage4--,the 
cricket eaten alive4        --,habits of
 carabes4--,every living creature is a  
prey4        --,necessity to kill or to 
be killed4          ,,xix ,instinct     
,instinct4--,can one oppose it to       
intelligence8--,instinct in man4        
--,primordiality of                     
intelligence4--,instinct's conservative 
rle4        --,modifying rle of         
intelligence4--,intelligence and        
consciousness4        --,parity of      
animal and human instinct4--,mechanical 
character of        the instinctive     
act4--,instinct modified by             
intelligence4--,habit        of work    
creates  useless work4--,objections to  

the identification        of instinct   
and intelligence taken from life of     
insects4          ,,xx4 ,tyranny of the 
,nervous ,system          ,accord and   
discord between organs and              
acts4--,tarses and sacred               
scarab4--,the hand of man4--,mediocre   
fitness of sexual  organs for           
copulation4--,origin of luxuria4--,the  
animal is a nervous system        served
 by organs4--,the organ does not        
determine the aptitude4        --,man's 
hand inferior to his                    
genius4--,substitution of one sense     
for another4--,union and rle of the     
senses in love4--,man and        animal 
under the tyranny of the nervous        
system4--,wear and tear        of       
humanity compensated by                 
acquisitions4--,man's inheritors4       
,translator's ,postscript               
,bibliography3 ,practical ,works        
,consulted          ,,the ,,natural     
,,philosophy ,,of ,,love                
,,chapter ,i    ,,the ,,subject ,,of    

,,an ,,idea            ,love's general  
psychology4--,love according to natural 
laws4--,sexual selection4--,man's place 
in ,nature4--        ,identity of human 
and animal psychology4--,the animal     
nature of love4      ,this book1 which  
is only an essay1 because its subject   
matter is so  immense1 represents1      
nevertheless1 an ambition3 one wanted to
 enlarge  the general psychology of     
love1 starting it in the very beginning 
of  male and female activity1 and giving
 man's sexual life its place in the  one
 plan of universal sexuality4           
,certain moralists have1 undeniably1    
pretended to talk about love in         
relation to natural causes1 but they    
were profoundly ignorant of  these      
natural causes3 thus ,snancour1 whose   
book1 blotted though it be  with        
ideology1 remains the boldest work on a 
subject so essential that  nothing can  
drag it to triviality4 ,if ,snancour had
 been acquainted  with the science of   
his time1 if he had only read ,raumur   

and ,bonnet1  ,buffon and ,lamarck2 if  
he had been able to merge the two ideas1
 man and  animal into one1 he1 being a  
man without insurmountable prejudices1  
might have produced a still readable    
book4 ,the moment would have  been      
favorable4 ,people were beginning to    
have some exact knowledge  of animals'  
habits4 ,bonnet had proved the startling
 relationships  of animal and vegetable 
reproduction2 the essential principle of
  physiology had been found2 the science
 of life was brief enough to be  clear2 
one might have ventured a theory as to  
the psychological unity  of the animal  
series4    ,such a work would have      
prevented numerous follies in the       
century then  beginning4 ,one would have
 become accustomed to consider human    
love as  one form of numberless forms1  
and not perhaps1 the most remarkable of 
the lot1 a form which clothes the       
universal instinct of reproduction2  and
 its apparent anomalies would have found
 a normal explanation amid  ,nature's   

extravagance4 ,darwin arrived1          
inaugurated a useful system1 but  his   
views were too systematized1 his aim too
 explanatory and his scale  of creatures
 with man at the summit1 as the         
culmination of universal  effort1 is of 
a too theologic simplicity4 ,man is not 
the culmination  of nature1 he is in    
,nature1 he is one of the unities of    
life1 that  is all4 ,he is the product  
of a partial1 not of total evolution2   
the  branch whereon he blossoms1 parts  
like a thousand other branches  from a  
common trunk4 ,moreover1 ,darwin1       
truckling to the religiose  pudibundery 
of his race1 has almost wholly neglected
 the actual facte  of sex2 this makes   
his theory of sexual selection1 as the  
principle  of change1 incomprehensible4 
,but even if he had taken account of the
  real mechanism of love1 his           
conclusions1 possibly more logical1     
would  still have been inexact1 foi if  
sexual selection has any aim it can be  
but conservation ,fecundation is the    

reintegration of differentiated         
elements into a unique element1 a       
perpetual return to the unity4    ,it is
 not particularly interesting to        
consider human acts as the fruits  of   
evolution1 for upon animal branches as  
clearly separate as those of  insect and
 mammifer one finds sexual acts and     
social customs sensibly  analogous1 if  
not identical in many points4    ,if    
insects and mammifers have any common   
ancestor1 save the primordial  jelly1   
there must indeed have been very        
different potentialities in its         
amorphous contours to lead it here into 
being bee and there into being  giraffe4
 ,an evolution leading to such diverse  
results has interest only  as a         
metaphysical idea1 psychology can get   
from it next to nothing of  value4      
,we must chuck the old ladder whose     
rungs the evolutionists ascended  with  
such difficulty4 ,we will imagine1      
metaphorically1 a centre  of life1 with 
multiple lives diverging from it2 having

 passed the  unicellular phase1 we will 
take no count of hypothetic             
subordinations4  ,one does not wish to  
deny1 one wishes rather not to deny1    
either  general or particular           
evolutions1 but the genealogies are too 
uncertain  and the thread which unites  
them too often broken3 what1 for        
example1  is the origin of birds1       
organisms which seem at once a progress 
and  a retrogression from the mammifer8 
,on reflection1 one will consider  the  
different love-mechanisms of all the    
dioicians as parallel and  contemporary4
    ,man will then find himself in his  
proper and rather indistinct place  in  
the crowd1 beside the monkeys1 rodents  
and bats4 ,psychologically1  one must   
quite often compare him with insects1   
marvellous flowering of  the life force4
 ,and what clarity from the process1    
lights showering  in from all corners4  
,feminine coquetry1 the flight before   
the male1  the return1 the game of yes  
and no1 the uncertain attitude seeming  

at once cruel and amorous1 and not      
peculiar to the female human8  ,not at  
all4 ,climne is of all species1 and     
heteroclite above all2  she is both mole
 and spider1 she is sparrow and         
cantharide1 she is  cricket and adder4  
,a celebrated author in a play called1  
,i think1 ,la  ,fille ,sauvage1         
represents feminine love as aggressive4 
,an error6 ,the  female attacked by the 
male thinks always of retreat1 she      
never1 never  attacks1 save in certain  
species which appear to be very ancient 
and  which have persisted to our time   
only by prodigies of equilibrium4 ,even 
there one must make reserves1 for when  
one sees the female aggressive1  it is  
perhaps at the second or fourth phase of
 the game1 not at the  beginning4 ,the  
female sleeps until the male arouses    
her1 then she gives  in1 plays1 or takes
 flight4 ,the virgin's reserve before   
man is but a  very moderate bashfulness 
if compared with the pell-mell flight of
 a  young mole intacta4    ,this is but 

one fact of a thousand4 ,there is not   
one way of instinctive  man with a maid 
which is not findable in one or other   
animal species2  this is perfectly      
comprehensible seeing that man is an    
animal1  submitted to the essential     
instincts which govern all animality2   
there  being everywhere the same matter 
animate with the same desire3 to live1  
to perpetuate life4 ,man's superiority  
is in the immense diversity of  his     
aptitudes4 ,animals are confined to one 
series of gestures1 always  the same    
ones1 man varies his mimicry without    
limit2 but the target is  the same1 and 
the result is the same1 copulation1     
fecundation and eggs4    ,belief in     
liberty has been born from the diversity
 of human aptitude1  from man's power to
 reach the necessary termination of his 
activity by  different routes1 or to    
dodge this termination and suicide in   
himself  the species whose future he    
bears4 ,it1 this liberty1 is an illusion
  difficult not to have1 an idea which  

one must shed if one wants to  think in 
a manner not wholly irrational1 but it  
is recompensingly  certain that the     
multiplicity of possible activities is  
almost an  equivalent of this liberty4  
,doubtless the strongest motive always  
wins1  but today's stronger is          
tomorrow's weaker1 hence a variety of   
human  gaits feigning liberty1 and      
practically resulting therein4 ,free    
will  is only the faculty of being      
guided successively by a great number   
of different motives4 ,when choice is   
possible1 liberty begins1 even  though  
the chosen act is rigorously determined 
and when there is no  possibility of    
avoiding it4 ,animals have a smaller    
liberty1 restricted  in proportion as   
their aptitudes are more limited2 but   
when life begins  liberty begins4 ,the  
distinction1 from this view-point1      
between man and  animal is quantitative1
 and not qualitative4 ,one must not be  
gulled by  the scholastic distinction   
between instinct and intelligence2 man  

is as  full of instincts as the insect  
most visibly instinctive2 he obeys them 
by methods more diverse1 that is all    
there is to it4    ,if it is clear that 
man is an animal1 it is also clear that 
he is a  very complex one4 ,one finds in
 him most of the aptitudes which are    
distributed one by one among beasts4    
,there is hardly one of his habits1  of 
his virtues1 of his vices 7to use the   
conventional terms7 which  can not be   
found either in an insect1 a bird or a  
mammifer3 monogamy1  adultery1 the      
consequences2 polygamy1 polyandry1      
lasciviousness1  laziness1 activity1    
cruelty1 courage1 devotion1 any of these
 are common  to animals1 but each as the
 quality of an whole species4 ,in the   
state  of differentiation to which      
superior and cultivated human species   
have  attained1 each individual forms   
surely a separate variety determined  by
 what is called1 abstractly1 the        
character4 ,this individual             
differentiation1 very marked in mankind1

 is less marked in other animal         
species4 ,yet we note quite distinct    
characters in dogs1 in horses and  even 
in birds of the same race4 ,it is quite 
probable that all bees have  not the    
same character1 since1 for example1 they
 are not all equally  prompt to use     
their stings in analogous circumstances4
 ,even there the  difference between man
 and his brothers-in-life and in        
sensibility is  but a difference of     
degree4    ,solidarity is but an empty  
ideology if one limit it to human       
species4  ,there is no abyss between man
 and animal2 the two domains are        
separated  by a tiny rivulet which a    
baby could step over4 ,we are animals1  
we live  on animals1 and animals live on
 us4 ,we both have and are parasites4   
,we  are predatory1 and we are the      
living prey of the predatory4 ,and when 
we follow the love act1 it is truly1 in 
the idiom of theologians1 more          
bestiarum4 ,love is profoundly animal2  
therein is its beauty4                  

,,chapter ,,ii    ,,the ,,aim ,,of      
,,life            ,the importance of the
 sexual act4--,its ineluctable          
character4--,animals who live only to   
reproduce        themselves4--,the      
strife for love1 and for death4         
--,females fecundated at the very       
instant of birth4        --,the         
maintenance of life4      ,what is      
life's aim8 ,its maintenance4    ,but   
the very idea of an aim is a human      
illusion4 ,there is neither  beginning1 
nor middle1 nor end in the series of    
causes4 ,what is has  been caused by    
what was1 and what will be has for cause
 the existent4  ,one can neither        
conceive a point of rest nor a point of 
beginning4  ,born of life1 life will    
beget life eternally4 ,she should1 and  
wants  to4 ,life is characterized on    
earth by the existence of individuals   
grouped into species1 that is to say    
having the power1 a male being  united  
with a female1 to reproduce a similar   
being4 ,whether it be the  internal     

conjoining of protozoaires1 or          
hermaphrodite fecundation1 or  the      
coupling of insects or mammifers1 the   
act is the same3 it is common  to all   
that lives1 and this not only to animals
 but to plants1 and  possibly even to   
such minerals as are limited by a       
non-varying form4 ,of  all possible     
acts1 in the possibility that we can    
imagine1 the sexual  act is1 therefore1 
the most important of all acts4 ,without
 it life  comes to an end1 and it is    
absurd to suppose its absence1 for in   
that  case thought itself disappears4   
,revolt is useless against so evident a 
necessity4 ,our finikin scruples        
protest in vain2 man and the most       
disgusting of his parasites are the     
products of an identical sexual         
mechanism4 ,the flowers we have strewn  
upon love may disguise it as one        
disguises a trap for wild beasts2 all   
our activities manuvre along the edge of
 this precipice and fall over  it one   
after another2 the aim of human life is 

the continuation of  human life4        
,only in appearance does man escape this
 obligation of ,nature4 ,he  escapes as 
an individual1 and he submits as a      
species4 ,the abuse of  thought1        
religious prejudices1 vices sterilize a 
part of humanity2  but this fraction is 
of merely sociological interest2 be he  
chaste  or voluptuary1 miserly or       
prodigal of his flesh1 man is in his    
whole  condition subject to the sexual  
tyranny4 ,all men do not reproduce their
  species1 neither do all animals2 the  
feeble and the late-comers among        
insects die in their robe of innocence1 
and many nests laboriously  filled by   
courageous mothers are devastated by    
pirates or by the  inclemency of the    
sky4 ,let the ascetic not come boasting 
that he has  freed his blood from the   
pressure of desire2 the very importance 
which  he ascribes to his victory but   
affirms the same power of the life-will4
  ,a young girl1 before the slightest   
love affair1 will1 if she is  healthy1  

confess naively that she wants to marry 
to have children4  ,this so simple      
formula is the legend of ,nature4 ,what 
an animal seeks  is not its own life but
 reproduction4 ,doubtless many animals  
seem1  during a relatively long         
existence1 to have but brief sexual     
periods1  but one must make allowance   
for the period of gestation4 ,in        
principle  the sole occupation of any   
creature is to renew1 by the sex act1   
the form wherewith it is clothed4 ,to   
this end it eats1 to this end  builds4  
,this act is so clearly the aim1 unique 
and definite that it  constitutes the   
entire life of a very great number of   
animals1 which  are1 notwithstanding1   
extremely complex4    ,the ephemera is  
born in the evening1 and copulates1 the 
female lays  eggs during the night1 both
 are dead in the morning1 without even  
having looked at the sun4 ,these little 
animals are so little destined  for     
anything else save love that they have  
not even mouths4 ,they eat  not1 neither

 do they drink4 ,one sees them hovering 
in clouds above  the water1 among the   
reeds4 ,the males1 although more        
numerous than  the females1 perform a   
multiple duty1 and fall exhausted4 ,the 
purity  of such a life is to be admired 
in many butterflies3 the silk-moths1    
heavy and clumsy1 shake their wings for 
an instant at birth1 couple  and die4   
,the ,great ,peacock or ,oak ,bombyx1   
much larger than they1 eats  no more    
than they do3 yet we see him traverse   
leagues of country in  his quest of the 
female4 ,he has only a rudimentary      
proboscis and a  fake digestive         
apparatus4 ,thus his two or three days' 
existence passes  without one egoistic  
act4 ,the struggle for life1 much       
vaunted1 is here  the struggle to give  
life1 the struggle for death1 for if    
they can live  three days in search of  
the female they die as soon as the      
fecundation  is accomplished4    ,among 
all solitary bees1 scolies1 masons1     
bembex1 and anthopores1  the males born 

soonest1 range about the nests awaiting 
the birth of  the females4 ,as soon as  
these appear they are seized and        
fecundated1  knowing1 thus1 life and    
love in the same shiver4 ,the female    
osmies and  other bees are keenly       
watched by the males who nab and mount  
them as  they emerge from the natal     
tube1 the hollow stalk of a reed1 flying
  at once with them into the air where  
the love-feast is finished4 ,then  while
 the male1 drunk with his work1         
continues his death-flight1 the  female 
feverishly hollows the house of her     
offspring1 partitions it1  stores the   
honey for the larv1 lays1 whirls for an 
instant and dies4  ,the year following3 
the same gestures above the same reeds  
split by  the reed-gatherers2 and thus  
in years following1 the insect permitted
  never the least design save the       
conservation of one fragile form2 brief 
apparition over flowers4    ,the sitaris
 is a coleopterous parasite in the nests
 of the anthopore4  ,copulation takes   

place on hatching4 ,fabre noticed a     
female still in her  wrappings1 whom a  
male already free was helping to get    
loose1 waiting  only the appearance of  
the extremity of the abdomen1 to hurl   
himself  thereupon4 ,the sitaris' love  
lasts one minute1 long season in a short
  life3 the male drags on for two days  
before dying1 the female lays on  the   
very spot where she has been fecundated1
 dies1 having known nothing  but the    
maternal function in the strictest limit
 of her birthplace4    ,no one has ever 
seen the female palingenia4 ,this       
butterfly is  fecundated before even    
getting rid of her nymph's corset1 she  
dies with  her eyes still shut1 mother1 
at once1 and infant in swaddling        
clothes4  ,moralists love bees from whom
 they distil examples and aphorisms4    
,they  recommend us work1 order1        
economy1 foresight1 obedience and divers
  virtues other4 ,abandon yourself      
boldly to labour3 ,nature wills it4     
,nature wills everything4 ,she is       

complacent to all the activities2 to    
our imaginings there is no analogy that 
she will refuse1 not one4 ,she  desires 
the social constructions of bees2 she   
desires also the ,life ,all  ,love of   
the ,great ,peacock1 of the osmie1 of   
the sitaris4 ,she desires  that the     
forms she has created shall continue    
indefinitely1 and to this  end all means
 are1 to her1 good4 ,but if she presents
 us the laborious  example of the bee1  
she does not hide from us the           
polyandrous example1  nor the cruel     
amours of the mantis4 ,there is not in  
the will to live  the faintest trace of 
our poor little human morality4 ,if one 
wishes an  unique sole morality1 that is
 to say an universal commandment1 which 
all species may listen to1 which they   
can follow in spirit and in  letter1 if 
one wishes in short to know the aim of  
life and the duty  of the living1 it is 
necessary1 evidently1 to find a formula 
which will  totalize all the            
contradictions1 break them and fuse them

 into a sole  affirmation4 ,there is but
 one1 we may repeat it1 without fear1   
and  without allowing any objection3 the
 aim of life is life's continuation4    
,,chapter ,,iii    ,,scale ,,of ,,sexes 
,asexual reproduction4--,formation of   
the animal colony4        --,limits of  
asexual                                 
reproduction4--,coupling4--,birth of    
the sexes4--,hermaphrodism and          
parthenogenesis4--,chemical             
fecundation4--,universality of          
parthenogenesis4      ,the primitive    
mode of reproduction is asexual1 or what
 one will so  consider provisorily1 in  
comparison with more complex mechanism4 
,in the  first living forms there are   
neither sexual organs nor differentiated
  sexual elements4 ,the animal          
reproduces itself by scissiparity or by 
budding2 the individual divides itself  
in two parts1 or a protuberance         
develops1 forms a new being and then    
separates4    ,scissiparity is an       
inexact term1 for the division is       

transversal1 and  the two parts far from
 equal2 it occurs in protozoaires1 and  
further  in worms1 star-fish and polyps4
 ,budding is common to protozoaires1    
infusoria1 clenterata1 to fresh-water   
polyps and to nearly all  vegetables4 ,a
 third primitive mode1 sporulation1     
consists in the  production inside the  
organism of particular cells1 spores1   
which  separate and become individuals2 
this occurs in protozoaires1 as well  as
 in ferns1 alg and mushrooms4    ,the   
first two modes1 division and budding1  
serve also for the formation  of animal 
colonies1 when the new individual       
retains a point of contact  with the    
generating individual4 ,it is by this   
notion of colony that  one explains     
complex beings1 and even superior       
animals1 in considering  them as        
reunions of simple primitive beings     
which have differentiated  themselves   
and still retained a solidarity1 sharing
 the physiological  work between them4  
,colonies of protozoaires are formed of 

individuals  having identical functions1
 living in perfect equality1 despite    
the hierarchy of position2 colonies of  
metazoaires are composed of  specialised
 members whose separation may be a cause
 of death for the  total individual4    
,there is then1 in the latter case1 a   
new being  composed of distinct elements
 which1 retaining a certain essential   
autonomy1 have become the organs of a   
new entity4    ,the first living        
organisms formed their hierarchies thus3
 individual  unicellular1 or plastide2  
group of plastides or meride4 ,the      
merides1  as the protozoaires1 can      
reproduce themselves asexually1 or by   
division or budding4 ,they may separate 
completely or remain attached  to their 
generator4 ,if they remain attached one 
has mounted a step and  attained the    
zoide4 ,thence1 by colonies of zoides   
one gets individuals  still more        
complex1 called demes4 ,none of these   
terms is much more  than a convenience  
for memory4 ,the nomenclature stops1 as 

does the  progression1 at a certain     
moment1 for the evolution has its limit1
 its  finality1 as does even the milieu 
in which life continues to evolve4  ,one
 might say that heaving up from the     
obscure vital centre1 the new           
animal-shoots branch upward until they  
knock their heads upon an ideal  or     
imaginary roof which prevents any       
further climbing4 ,this is the  death of
 the species1 and ,nature contemptuously
 abandoning her work1  begins to mate   
yet another mould of the initial ooze1  
to derive from  it a new form4 ,the     
dream of an unlimited transformation of 
actual  species is pure chimra2 they    
will disappear one by one1 according to 
their order of primogeniture1 according 
to their faculty for adapting           
themselves to the changing milieu1 and  
one might foresee1 if the earth  lasts1 
in a distant time an unimaginable fauna 
replacing the present  fauna1 and even  
replacing man4    ,man is a metazoaire1 
that is to say an animal with           

differentiated  pluricellules1 like the 
sponge1 the wheel animals1 and the      
annelids4  ,he belongs to the artizoaire
 series3 a head1 belly1 back1 bilateral 
symmetry2 to the vertebrate branch3     
internal skeleton1 cartilaginous  and   
osseous2 to the class of mammifers1 to  
the sub-class of  placentaires2 to the  
group of primates not far from the      
chiroptera  7bats7 and the rodents4     
,in regard to the life-transmitting     
mechanism the animals are  divided      
somewhat differently4 ,on one side      
budding and division1 or  scissiparity1 
is prolonged rather far into the        
metazoaire series  concurrent with      
sexual reproduction2 on the other hand  
there are1 among  protozoaires1         
phenomena of coupling1 unions of        
cellules which resemble  veritable      
fecundation and perform its rle2 without
 the nuclear  regeneration which is the 
aim and consequence1 neither            
segmentation  nor budding can take      
place1 at least not indefinitely4 ,in   

sum1 the  reproduction of beings is     
always sexual2 only in the one case1 the
  protozoaires1 it is produced by       
non-differentiated elements2 and in  the
 other1 the metazoaires1 by             
differentiated elements1 a male and a   
female4 ,if one clips off bits of a     
sponge1 a hydra1 one obtains as many    
new individuals1 which when they have   
grown one may again divide1 and  so on  
repeatedly1 but not indefinitely4 ,at a 
variable instant1 after  a certain      
number of generations by fragmentation1 
senescence appears  among the so        
produced individuals2 the clipped       
morsels remain inert4  ,thus this sort  
of artificial virgin birth has a limit1 
as has normal  parthenogenesis1 and in  
order that the individuals may regain   
their  parthenogenetic force one must   
give them time to regenerate their      
cellules by the coupling which          
fecundates them4    ,fecundation is in  
all cases1 doubtless1 merely a          
rejuvenation1 thus  considered it is    

uniform not only throughout the animal  
series1 but  throughout the vegetable4  
,one ought to experiment in             
slip-cutting1 and  discover at what     
point the slip cut from a slip begins to
 diminish  in vitality4 ,coupling and   
fecundation have the same result3 it is 
necessary that cellules ,a unite with   
cellules ,b 7macro-nucleus and          
micro-nucleus among protozoaires2 ovule 
and spermatozoid among  metazoaires71 in
 order that the organism may usefully   
exteriorize a  part of its substance4   
,when the too complex organism has lost 
the  primitive faculty of segmentation1 
it makes use1 directly1 to reproduce    
itself1 of certain cellules             
differentiated for that purpose3 it is  
these cellules united into a whole1     
which reintegrate and give birth to  a  
double of the generating individual or  
individuals4 ,from the top to  the      
bottom of the sexual scale the new being
 springs invariably from  a duality4    
,the multiplication takes place only in 

space4 ,in time the  product is a       
contraction1 two giving one4            
,scissiparity is compatible with the    
existence of separate sexes1 as in  the 
starfish4 ,this fantastic animal with no
 instrument save its suckers  opens     
oysters1 envelops them with its stomach 
which it unbellies  7vomits71 devours   
them4 ,it is not less curious in reason 
of its variety  of reproductive mode1   
serving itself of sexual apparatus1 or  
budding1  or casting an arm which       
becomes a new creature4 ,thus it is     
difficult to  class animals according to
 their manner of reproduction2          
hermaphrodism  is another block4 ,this  
mode is doubtless primitive1 since it is
 of  the type of protozoaire coupling1  
but it is greatly complicated when  it  
persists1 for example up to the moment  
where it disappears in the  mollusk     
series1 whereof some possess so         
luxurious a love-organism4 ,the  simple 
and very naive form1 that in which the  
sperm and the eggs are  produced        

simultaneously inside the same          
individual1 is found only in  inferior  
organisms4 ,normal parthenogenesis      
belong equally to summary  and to       
complicated animals1 to wheel-animals   
and to bees4 ,among  arthropodes1 that  
is to say among insects in general1 the 
sexes are  always separate1 save in     
certain tardigrade arachnids1 but these 
are  the ones which offer the finest    
cases of parthenogenesis1 generation    
without aid of the male4 ,the term need 
not be taken literally4 ,for  as there  
is no indefinite scissiparity without   
coupling1 there is no  unlimited        
parthenogenesis without fecundation3 the
 female is fecundated  for several      
generations which transmit this power1  
but there comes  a day when the female  
who has not encountered a male gives    
birth to  males and females4 ,they      
couple and produce females              
parthenogenetically  endowed4 ,this has 
been for long time a mystery1--it is    
still a mystery1  for side by side with 

normal parthenogenesis there is         
irregular  parthenogenesis1 there are   
cases where non-fecundated eggs behave  
exactly as fecundated eggs1 without     
anyone's knowing why4    ,the           
virgin-begotten cycle of plant-lice is  
famous1 that of  wheel-animals not less 
entertaining4 ,the males1 smaller than  
the  females1 live but two or three     
days1 couple and die4 ,the fecundated   
females lay eggs whence come nothing but
 females1 unless the eggs are  subjected
 to a temperature above #ah degrees     
7centigrade72 above that  the eggs hatch
 out males4 ,between the periods of     
coupling there are  long stretches of   
virgin-birth1 nothing but females       
producing females1  until the           
temperature permits a male hatch4 ,in   
two years the plant  louse runs through 
ten or twelve parthenogeneses2 in ,july 
of the second  year1 there appear winged
 individuals1 these are still female1   
but  double size1 and they lay two sets 
of eggs1 whereof the smaller hatch  male

 7the male is three or four times       
smaller than the female71 the  larger   
eggs hatch female2 there is coupling and
 the cycle begins again4    ,for long   
people believed the plant louse truly   
androgynous4 ,raumur  and ,bonnet1      
having seen isolated plant-lice         
reproduce themselves were  convinced of 
this1 when ,trembley1 a man of genius1  
celebrated also for  his observations of
 hydra1 threw out the idea3 ,who knows  
whether a  coupling of these lice does  
not fecundate them for several          
generations8  ,he had discovered the    
basis of parthenogenesis4 ,facts upheld 
him4  ,bonnet described the male and    
female1 and noted even the genital      
ardour  of this sticking leaf-louse1    
this milch-cow of the ants4             
,parthenogenesis is a sign-post4        
,nothing more clearly demonstrates the  
importance of the male or the precision 
of his function4 ,the female  appears to
 be the whole show1 without the male she
 is nothing4 ,she  is the machine and   

has to be wound up to go4 ,the male is  
merely the  key4 ,people have tried to  
obtain fecundation by false keys4 ,eggs 
of  sea-anemones1 and star-fish have    
been hatched by contact with exciting   
chemicals1 acids1 alkalines1 sugar1     
salt1 alcohol1 ether1 chloroform1       
strychnine gas1 carbonic acid4 ,but one 
has never been able to bring  these     
scientific larv to maturity1 and        
everything leads one to believe  that if
 one succeeded1 and that if these       
artificial beings were  capable of      
reproduction1 it would be but for a     
limited period4 ,this  provoked         
parthenogenesis is neither more nor less
 interesting than  the normal4 ,it is   
doubtless abnormal1 but abnormal        
parthenogenesis  is not infrequent in   
nature2 eggs of the bombyx1 of          
star-fish1 and  of frogs1 hatch         
sometimes without fecundation1 and very 
probably  because they have accidentally
 come up against the very stimulant     
which the excellent experimenters have  

lavished on them4 ,whether  sperm acts  
as an excitant or as fecundator1 the    
action is no easier  to understand by   
one label than by another4 ,the queen   
bee lays both  fecundated and           
non-fecundated eggs2 the first hatch    
female1 the second  invariably male1    
here the male element would seem to be  
the product  of parthenogenesis and the 
female to require previous fecundation4 
,in  contrast1 among plant-lice1 the    
generations of female continue for      
nearly two years4 ,there is an order in 
these things1 as in all things1  but it 
is not yet apparent2 one notes only1    
that however long and  varied be the    
parthenogenetic period1 it is limited   
somewhere by the  necessity of the      
female principle being united with the  
male principle4  ,after all1 hereditary 
fecundation is no more extraordinary    
than  particular fecundation1 it is a   
mode of perpetuating life which the     
exercise of one's reason should make one
 consider as perfectly normal4    ,one  

ought1 at the end of this summary       
chapter1 to be courageous enough  to say
 that fecundation1 as vulgarly          
understood1 is merely an illusion4      
,taking man and woman 7or no matter what
 dioic metazoaire7 the man  does not    
fecundate the woman2 what happens is at 
once more mysterious  and more simple4  
,from the male ,a1 the great ,male1 and 
from the great  ,female ,b are born     
without any fecundation whatever1       
spontaneously1  little males a and      
little females #f4 ,these little males  
are called  spermatozoides1 and the     
little females1 ovules2 it is between   
these new  creatures1 between these     
spores1 that the fecundating union      
occurs4 ,one  then observes that a and b
 resolve themselves into a third animal 
x1 which by natural growth becomes      
either ,a or ,b4 ,then the cycle  begins
 again4 ,the union between ,a and ,b is 
merely a preparation2 ,a and  ,b are    
nothing but channels carrying a and b1  
carrying them often  far beyond         

themselves4 ,like the plant-lice or     
drones1 the mammifers  called man are   
subject to alternate generation1 one    
parthenogenesis  always separating the  
veritable conjunction of the            
differentiated  elements4 ,coupling is  
not fecundation2 it is merely the       
mechanism2 its  utility is merely in    
that it puts two parthenogenetic        
products into  relation4 ,this relation 
occurs inside the female1 or outside the
 female  7as in case of fishes72 the    
milieu has an importance of fact1 not of
  principle4          ,,chapter ,,iv    
,,sexual ,,dimorphism            ,i4    
,invertebrates3 formation of the        
male4--,primitivity        of the       
female4--,minuscule males3 the bonellie4
        --,regression of the male into  
the male        organ3 the              
cirripedes4--,generality of sexual      
dimorphism4--,superiority of the female 
in        most insect                   
species4--,exceptions4--,numeric        
dimorphism4--,female                    

hymenoptera4--,multiplicity        of   
her activities4--,male's purely sexual  
rle4--        ,dimorphism of ants and   
termites4--,grasshoppers        and     
crickets4--,spiders4--,coleoptera4--,glo
w-worm4        --,cochineal's strange   
dimorphism4      ,i4                    
,invertebrates4--,at a moment fairly    
undecided in the general  evolution the 
male organ specializes into the male    
individual4  ,religious symbolisms may  
or might have been intended to mean     
this4  ,the female is primitive4 ,at the
 third month1 the human embryo has      
external uro-genital organs clearly     
resembling the female organs4 ,to       
arrive at complete female estate they   
need undergo but a very slight          
modification2 to become male they have  
to undergo a considerable  and very     
complex transformation4 ,the external   
genital organs of  the female are not1  
as has been often said1 the product of  
an  arrested development2 quite the     
contrary1 the male organs undergo a     

supplementary development1 which is     
moreover useless1 for the penis is  a   
luxury and a danger3 the bird who does  
without it is no less wanton  thereby4  
,one finds general proof of the female's
 primitivity in the extreme  smallness  
of certain male invertebrates1 so tiny  
indeed that one  can only consider them 
as autonomous masculine organs1 or even 
as  spermatozoides4 ,the male of the    
syngames 7an internal parasite of       
birds7 is less a creature than an       
appendix2 he remains in constant        
contact with the organs of the female1  
stuck obliquely into her side1  and     
justifying the name two-headed worm     
which has been given to this  wretched  
and duplex animalculus4 ,the female     
bonellie is a sea worm  shaped like a   
sort of cornucopia sack fifteen         
centimetres in length3  the male is     
represented by a minuscule filament of  
about one or two  millimetres1 that is  
to say about one-thousandth her size4   
,each female  supports about twenty4    

,these males live1 first in the         
sophagus1 then  descend into the oviduct
 where they impregnate the eggs4 ,only  
their  very definite function clears    
them from the charge of being parasites2
  in fact they were long supposed to be 
parasites1 while men sought  vainly for 
the male of the prodigious bonellie4    
,side by side with males who are merely 
individualized sexual organs1  one sees 
males who have lost nearly all organs   
save the male organ  itself4 ,certain   
hermaphrodite cirripedes 7mollusks      
attached by a  peduncle stalk7 cling as 
parasites to the coat of other          
cirripedes3  whence a diminution of     
volume1 a regression of ovaries1        
abolition of  nutritive functions2 the  
stalk takes root in the living1         
nourishing  milieu4 ,but one organ1 the 
male one1 persists in these diminished  
cirripedes1 and takes on enormous       
proportions1 absorbing the whole  of the
 animal4 ,with only a slight further    
change one would see the  transformation

 of male into male organ completely     
accomplished1 as one  does1 moreover1 in
 the hydraria4 ,become again an integral
 part of an  organism from which it had 
formerly separated to become an         
individual1  the male merely returns1 to
 its origins and clearly certifies what 
they  were4    ,the bonellie1 which is  
one of the most definite examples of    
dimorphism1  is also an example of the  
singular feminism which one normally    
finds in  nature4 ,for feminism reigns  
there1 especially among inferior species
  and in insects4 ,it is almost only    
among mammifers and in certain  groups  
of birds that the male is equal or      
superior to the female4  ,one would say 
that he has slowly attained a first     
place not intended  by nature for him4  
,it is probable that1 relieved of all   
care1 after  the fecundation1 he has had
 more leisure than the female wherein to
  develop his powers4 ,it is also       
possible1 and more probable1 that  these
 extremely diverse cases of resemblance 

and dissemblance are due  to causes too 
numerous and too varied for us to seize 
their logical  sequence4 ,the facts are 
obvious3 the male and the female differ 
nearly  always1 and differ often        
profoundly4 ,many insects vulgarly      
supposed  to be different species are   
but males and females of one race       
seeking  each other for mating4 ,it     
needs some knowledge to recognize a pair
 of  blackbirds1 the male black all     
over1 and the female brown-backed with  
grey throat and russet belly4    ,while 
hermaphrodism demands a perfect         
resemblance of individuals--save  in    
cases like the cirripedes1 where there  
is a male supplementary  parasite--the  
separation of the sexes leads1 in       
principle1 to  dimorphism1 the rle of   
the male1 his modes of activity differ  
from  those of the female2 a difference 
found also among dioic plants4 ,hemp  is
 a well known case1 although the taller 
shoots which the peasants  call male are
 in exact contrary1 the females4 ,the   

small garden-loving  nettle has two     
sexes on the same stalk2 the greater    
nettle1 found in  uncultivated land1 is 
dioic3 the male stalk has very long     
flopping  leaves and flowers hanging    
along the stem2 the leaves and flowers  
of the female stalk are short and stand 
almost upright4 ,here the  dimorphism is
 not in favour of the female1 but       
impartial4    ,of insects the female is 
nearly always the superior individual4  
,it is  not this marvellous small       
creature1 nature's divergent and        
minuscule  king who offers us the       
spectacle of the bilhargie1 spearwort1  
whereof  the female1 mediocre blade1    
lives1 like a sword sheathed in the     
hollow  stomach of the male4 ,this timid
 life and its perpetual amours would    
horrify the bold female scaraba1 adroit 
chalicodomes1 cold wise  lycoses1 and   
proud1 terrible1 amazonian mantes4 ,in  
the insect world the  male is the frail 
elegant sex1 gentle and sober1 with no  
employment  save to please and to love4 

,to the female the heavy work of        
digging1 of  masonry1 and the danger of 
hunt and of war4    ,there are          
exceptions1 but found chiefly among     
parasites1 among the  degraded1 like the
 xenos which lives without distinction  
upon wasps1  coleoptera1 and neuroptera4
 ,the male is provided with two large   
wings2  the female has neither wings1   
feet1 eyes1 nor antenn2 is a small worm4
  ,after metamorphosis the male emerges1
 flies a little1 then returns to  the   
female who has remained inside the      
nymphal envelope1 and fecundates  her in
 her wrappings4    ,other exceptions1   
this time normal1 are furnished by      
butterflies1 that  is to say by a sort  
of insect which is very placid1 and     
which1 at least  in the winged form1 is 
addicted neither to hunting nor to any  
trade  or business function4 ,one gives 
the name psyche to a very small         
butterfly which flutters out rather     
clumsily in the morning2 it is  the     
male4 ,the female is a huge worm1       

fifteen times as long1 ten times  as    
fat4 ,the lovers are in the proportion  
of a cock to a cow4 ,here the  feminism 
is wholly ludicrous4 ,there is the same 
disproportion in the  mulberry bombyx1  
of which the female is much heavier than
 the male2 she  flies with difficulty1 a
 passive beast who submits to a         
fecundation  lasting several hours2     
likewise in the autumn butterfly1       
cheimatobia1  the male sports two pairs 
of fine wings on a spindle body1 the    
female  is a gross fat keg with         
rudimentary wings1 incapable of flight2 
she  climbs difficultly into trees on   
whose buds her caterpillar feeds        
itself2 in the case of another butterfly
 which one calls1 absurdly1  the orgye1 
the male has all the characteristics of 
lepidoptera1 the  female is almost      
wingless with a heavy and swollen body  
and a carriage  about as pleasing as    
that of a monstrous wood-louse2 there is
 the same  disproportion in the         
graceful1 agile and delicate liparis1   

known as the  zig-zag because of his    
wing-markings2 he would hardly discover 
his mate  without aid from instinct1 she
 being a whitish beast with heavy       
abdomen  ruminating motionless in the   
tree-bark4 ,neighbouring species1 the   
monk1  the brown-rump1 the gold-rump    
show hardly any sexual differences4     
,numeric dimorphism follows dimorphism  
of mass2 the family of one sort  of     
butterfly of the ,marquesas ,islands is 
composed of one male and of  five       
females all different1 so different that
 one long supposed them  distinct       
species4 ,here the advantage is         
obviously on the side of the  male lord 
of this splendid harem4 ,nature1        
profoundly ignorant of our  sniveling   
ideas of justice and equality1 vastly   
pampers certain animal  species1 while  
showing herself harsh and indifferent to
 others2 now  the male is favoured1 now 
the female1 upon whom the greatest mass 
of  superiorities is heaped1 and upon   
whom likewise all the cruelties and     

disdains4 ,the hymenoptera include bees1
 bumble-bees1 wasps1 scolies1  ants1    
masons1 sphex1 bembex1 osmies1 etc4 ,the
 place of these among  insects is       
analogous to that of the primates or    
even of man among  mammifers4 ,but while
 woman1 not animally inferior to her    
male1 remains  below him in nearly all  
intellectual activities1 among the      
hymenoptera  the female is both brain   
and the tool1 the engineer1 the         
working-staff1  the mistress1 mother1   
and nurse unless1 as in the case of     
bees1  she casts upon a third sex all   
duties not purely sexual4 ,the males    
make love4 ,the male of the tachyte1 a  
sort of wasp rather like the  sphex1 is 
about eight times smaller than the      
female1 but he is a very  ardent small  
lover1 marvellously equipped for the    
amorous quest2 his  citron-coloured     
diadem is made of eyes1 is a girdle of  
enormous eyes1 a  lighthouse whence he  
explores his horizon1 ready to fall like
 an arrow  upon the loitering female4   

,when fecundated1 the she-tachyte       
constructs  a cellular nest which she   
packs with the terrible mantis1 of whom 
she is the always victorious enemy2 for 
knowing by incomprehensible  instinct   
whether she is about to lay a male or a 
female egg1 she  augments or diminishes1
 according to its sex1 the larder for   
the larv  the tiny male is allotted a   
dwarf provision4    ,the male hornet is 
notably smaller than the female1 and the
 neuter  hornet still smaller4 ,the male
 pine lophyr is black1 the female       
yellow4 ,the male of the chalicodome or 
mason-bee is russet1 the far  more      
beautiful female is a fine velvety black
 with deep violet wings4  ,while the    
male loafs and bumbles she artfully and 
patiently rears the  big-domed clay nest
 where her offspring pass their larv    
days4 ,this bee  lives in colonies but  
the labour is individual1 each doing her
 work  without bothering about that of  
her neighbour1 unless it be to rob her  
or spoil her construction1 as in a      

civilization not unknown to us4 ,the    
female mason is armed1 but by no means  
aggressive4    ,in many hymenoptera only
 the female carries the sword1 as in the
 case  of the gilded wasp1 gold-striped 
over blue or red1 who can project a     
long needle from her abdomen2 the female
 philanthe1 who is carnivorous1  while  
the puerile unarmed male lives upon     
flower-pollen4 ,not  disdaining this    
natural dessert1 the female philanthe   
will attack the  nectar-loaded bee with 
her great dart1 stab him and pump out   
his crop4  ,one may see the ferocious   
small animal knead the dead bee for half
 an  hour1 squeeze him like a lemon1    
drink him out like a gourd4 ,charming   
and candid habits of these winged       
topazes whirring among the flowers6     
,fabre has excused this sadique         
gourmandizing3 the philanthe kills bees 
in order to feed her larv1 who have1    
however1 so great a repugnance  for     
honey that they die upon contact with   
it2 it is therefore out of  sheer       

maternal devotion that she intoxicates  
herself with this poison6  ,all things  
are1 in nature1 possible4 ,but it might 
not be unreasonable  to say that if the 
larv of the philanthe hate honey1 it is 
because  their greatly honey-loving     
mother has never allowed them a drop of 
it4    ,one of the rare cases of        
hymenoptera where the female appears    
inferior  to the male is the mutille or 
ant-spider4 ,the male is larger1 has    
wings  and lives on flowers4 ,the female
 is apteral1 but provided with a noisy  
apparatus for attracting the male's     
attention4 ,the male of the cynips  of  
the oak-apple1 the terminal cynips1 has 
a blond body with large  diaphanous     
wings1 the brown and black female is    
wingless4 ,the male  yellow cimbex      
slender1 and brown with a spot of       
yellow1 is so different  from the round 
female with yellow belly and black head1
 that they were  long thought of        
different species4    ,ants like all    
social hymenoptera are1 as one knows1   

divided into three  sexes1 winged males 
and females and wingless neuters4       
,fecundation takes  place in the air2   
the lovers fly up1 join1 fall enlocked1 
a golden  cloud which the death of the  
males disperses1 while the females1     
losing  their wings1 re-enter the house 
for egg-laying4 ,the workers or neuters 
are generally smaller1 as noticeably in 
the great red wood-ants1 who  dig their 
shelters in stumps4 ,white ants or      
termites#a show very  accentuated       
dimorphism2 the female or queen having a
 head almost as  large as that of a bee1
 a belly the thickness of one's finger1 
long in  proportion1 and growing to be  
fifteen times as large as the rest of   
her body4 ,this sexual tub lays         
continuously without any let-up at the  
speed of an egg per second4 ,the male1  
as in ,baudelaire's vision of the       
giantess1 lives in the shadow of this   
formidable mountain of female  power and
 luxury4 ,among the termites there is   
not a fourth sex but a  fourth way of   

being sexless4 ,there are soldiers as   
well as workers1 the  soldiers having   
powerful mandibles mounted on enormous  
heads4 ,all the  termite customs are    
extraordinary1 and their conic nests    
reach a height  having a relation to    
them that a house five or six hundred   
metres high  would have to us4    ,of   
mosquitoes and maringouin mosquitoes and
 all insects of that sort1  the females 
alone prick and suck the blood of       
mammifers4 ,the males  live on flowers  
and tree-trunks4 ,one sees them in      
forest alleys and  clearings1 moving    
regularly as in army manuvres1 they are 
scouting1  watching for females2 as soon
 as a male has caught one he seizes     
her1 and disappears up into the air     
where the union is accomplished4  ,only 
the male cricket has a noise-machine1   
only the female a hearing  mechanism1   
situated in her front legs4 ,likewise it
 is the male  grasshopper who sounds4 ,a
 love-call8 ,people say so1 but there is
 no  proof4 ,grasshoppers live1 male and

 female in complete promiscuity  lined  
up on the tree-bark2 such a quantity of 
music is unnecessary1  and moreover if  
the female grasshopper isn't deaf1 she  
has an almost  insensible hearing4 ,it  
is probable that the song of insects and
 birds1  if it is sometimes a love-call1
 is more often only a physiological     
exercise1 at once necessary and         
disinterested4 ,fabre1 who lived all    
his life among the implacable noises of 
the ,provenal country-side1  sees in the
 violin of the locust1 in the bag-pipe  
of the tree-toad1  in the cymbals of the
 cacan only a means suitable to         
expressing the  joy of living1 the      
universal joy which each animal species 
celebrates  in its own fashion4#b ,why  
then is the female mute8 ,it is         
certainly  absurd and profoundly useless
 to summon1 in almost uninterrupted     
song1  from morn till eve1 a companion  
whom one sees seated beside one pumping 
the juice out of a plane-tree2 but it   
has perhaps not always been  so4 ,the   

two sexes may have had1 in the past1    
habits more divergent4  ,the plane-tree 
which unites them in the same           
feeding-ground has not  always grown in 
,provence4 ,the unending song may have  
been useful  at a time when the sexes   
lived separate1 and may have remained as
  evidence of ancient customs4 ,it is   
moreover a commonly observed fact  that 
activities long survive the period of   
their utility4 ,man and all  animals are
 full of maniac gestures whose movement 
is only explicable  on the hypothesis   
that it had once a different intention4 
,the female spider is nearly always     
superior to the male in size1  industry1
 activity1 and means of defence and     
attack4 ,we will note their  sexual     
habits later1 but must observe here     
their particular cases of  dimorphism4  
,the ,madagascar she-epeire is enormous1
 very handsome1  black1 red1 silver and 
gold4 ,she rigs up a formidable web in  
her tree1  near which one sees always a 
modest and puerile skein1 the work of a 

minuscule male keeping an anxious eye on
 the chance of sidling up to  his       
terrible mistress1 and risking his      
wedding-death4 ,the argyronete or       
water-spider1 returns the balance to the
 male1 who is fatter1 larger1  and      
provided with longer limbs4    ,the male
 triumphs again1 and more frequently1   
among coleoptera4 ,the  nasicom scarab1 
so called most aptly because he carries 
on his head a  long back-bending arched 
horn1 has all his chest solidly         
armoured2 the  female has neither horn  
nor cuirass4 ,everyone knows the        
flying-stag or  lucane 7stag-beetle1    
bull-fly71 enormous coleoptera which    
flies through  the summer evening       
buzzing like a top4 ,he is feared for   
the bold  appearance of his long        
mandibles which branch like stag's horns
 and  which the uninstructed take for   
dangerous pincers4 ,he is the male1 his 
war-gear pure ornament1 as he lives     
inoffensively by sucking tree-sap4  ,the
 much smaller females are devoid of     

warlike apparatus1 they are very  few in
 number1 and it is in the excitement of 
searching for them that  the male1 whose
 life is short and who knows it1 whirls 
like a maniac1  and bangs himself into  
our trembling ears4 ,here again one     
divines  animals who have changed their 
habits more quickly than their organs4  
,the old pirate has kept his daggers and
 axes1 but abandoned1 no one  knows why1
 to vegetarian diet1 he has lost all    
power to use them1 he  is merely a      
stage-super4 ,but maybe this gear       
impresses the female8  ,she cedes more  
willingly to this hector who gives her  
the illusion of  strength1 that is of   
the male's beauty4    ,the glow-worm is 
a real worm1 but a larva rather than a  
definitive  animal4 ,the male of this   
female is a perfect insect1 provided    
with  wings which he uses to seek in the
 darkness the female who shines more    
brightly as she more desires to be      
looked at and mounted4 ,there is a  kind
 of lampyre of which both sexes are     

equally phosphorescent1 one in  the air1
 the male1 the other on the ground where
 she awaits him4 ,after  coupling they  
fade as lamps when extinguished4 ,this  
luminosity is1  evidently1 of an        
interest purely sexual4 ,when the female
 sees the small  flying star descend    
toward her1 she gathers her wits1 and   
prepares  for hypocrite defence common  
to all her sex1 she plays the belle and 
the bashful1 exults in fear1 trembles in
 joy4 ,the fading light is  symbolic of 
the destiny of nearly all insects1 and  
of many animals  also2 coupling         
accomplished1 their reason for being    
disappears and life  vanishes from them4
    ,the male cochineal has a long body 
with very delicate wings1  transparent  
and which at a distance look like those 
of a bee2 he is  provided with a sort of
 tail formed of two silky strands4 ,one 
sees  him flying over the nopals1 then  
suddenly alighting on a female1 who     
resembles a fat wood-louse round and    
puffy1 twice as stout as the  male1     

wingless4 ,glued by her feet to a       
branch1 with her proboscis  stuck into  
it1 continually pumping sap1 she looks  
like a fruit1 like  an oak-apple or     
oak-gall on a peduncle for which reason 
,raumur called  her picturesquely the   
gall-insect4 ,in certain species of     
cocides the  male is so small that his  
proportion is that of an ant strolling  
over  a peach4 ,his goings and comings  
are like those of an ant hunting for  a 
soft spot to bite1 but he is seeking the
 genital cleft1 and having  found it1   
often after long and anxious            
explorations1 he fulfills his           
functions1 falls off and dies4      #a  
,these are neuroptera or                
pseudo-neuroptera1 but their habits     
bring  them noticeably near to social   
hymenoptera4    #b ,souvenirs           
entomologiques1 tome ,v4 p4 #bef4       
,,chapter ,v    ,,sexual ,,dimorphism   
,,ii4 ,vertebrates3--,unnoticeable in   
fish1 saurians1        reptiles4--,the  
,bird ,world4--,dimorphism favourable to

        males3 the oriole1 pheasants1   
the ruff4--,peacocks        and         
turkey-cocks4--,birds of                
paradise4--,moderate        dimorphism  
of mammifers4--,effects of castration on
        dimorphism4      ,,ii4          
,vertebrates4--,sexual differences are  
generally unnoticeable  in fish1        
reptiles and saurians4 ,they are        
accentuated when we come  to superior   
vertebrates1 to birds and mammals1 but  
without ever  attaining the extreme     
difference which characterizes a great  
number  of arthropodes4 ,in birds the   
disparity may be of colouring1 size1 or 
length1 form and curliness of the       
feathers2 among mammals1 of shape1      
hair1 beard or horns4 ,sometimes the    
female bird is finer and stronger2  thus
 stronger and of more powerful          
wing-spread in the case of the          
secretary1 the buzzard1 the falcon1 the 
ash-coloured vulture and many  birds of 
prey2 more beautiful as in the ,indian  
tumices4#a ,one of them1  the gray      

phalarope1 solves woman's dream in      
favour of the female1  leaving her the  
brilliant colours2 the male contents    
himself with more  sober clothing and1  
not being able to lay1 assumes at least 
the further  maternal cares3 sitting on 
the eggs4    ,in general1 nature is1 in 
the bird world1 favourable to the male4 
,he is a prince whose wife appears      
morganatic4 ,often smaller1 as the      
female canepetiere 7a sort of bustard71 
while the female garden  warbler is     
nearly always clothed as ,cinderella4   
,the birds which women  have massacred  
in millions in order to deck themselves 
as parrots and  jays1 are male birds for
 the most part2 their sisters bear more 
modest  clothing1 and one would say that
 this humility1 become favourable to    
their species1 had been developed by    
nature in provision of human  stupidity 
and badheartedness4 ,the gold-yellow    
oriole with black wings  and tail1 has  
for mate a brown sparrow with grey and  
greenish touches4  ,the silver pheasant 

7a false pheasant7 has a black tuft     
standing up  from his silver-white nape1
 his neck and back are of the same      
metal2  his dark belly has a blue       
shimmer1 his beak is blue1 his cheeks   
red1 and his feet1 red4 ,the smaller    
female covers her belly sadly  in a     
whitish chemise1 her back is russet4 ,in
 the true pheasant the  dimorphism is   
still more marked4 ,the large1 proud    
male 7we are dealing  with the common   
pheasant7 who has no objection to being 
admired1 is  deep green on nape and     
neck1 copper-red with violet shimmer on 
back1  flanks1 belly and breast2 his    
tail russet with black bands1 a reddish 
brown tuft spreads from his head1 and   
the eye-circle is vivid red4  ,the much 
smaller female has an earthy plumage    
speckled with black4  ,the fair ,golden 
,pheasant is really all golden over     
green4 ,his yellow  tail and wings and  
his saffron red belly complete this     
marvellous  masculine splendour4 ,the   
female must content herself with burnt  

sienna  back-covering which comes down  
onto her ochre-coloured belly4    ,a    
little head projecting from an enormous 
neck-circle of white  out-puffing       
feathers1 middle sized body1 and long   
legs4 ,it is the  combatant 7ruff-bird74
 ,one must add a tapering beak1         
ornamented at  the base by a sort of red
 grape4 ,one can't say what colour the  
male  is1 he is of all colours4 ,one    
leaves him white1 and finds him red2 he 
was black1 and is violet2 later he will 
be speckled or banded in most  varied   
hues4 ,his ruff is an ornament and a    
defence2 he loses both it  and his red  
grape with the passing of his fighting  
and loving season4  ,this instability of
 feathering accords curiously with the  
instability  of his character2 no animal
 is more irritable or cantankerous4 ,one
  can not keep him captive save solitary
 and in obscurity4 ,the female1         
somewhat less turbulent never changes   
her vestment1 an invariable gray1  with 
a small amount of brown on the back4    

,peacocks and turkey-cocks alone can    
spread wheel-wise their fan-tails1  as  
also the cock bustard2 they alone are   
provided with great wattles4  ,the      
menure hen lifts1 as the cock1 a lyre of
 feathers1 but it is a  tarnished and   
mediocre imitation of her master's1     
which glistens in all  shades rising and
 curving with such paradoxical grace4   
,the dimorphism of birds of paradise is 
even more marked than in the  preceding 
cases4 ,nape citron-yellow1 throat      
green1 forehead black1 back  in burnt   
chestnut1 the cock's tail has two long  
plumes1 his flanks  two fine tapering   
feathers of yellow-orange marked in red1
 which he  can spread branching or draw 
in at will2 the dim female is without   
ornament4 ,the sifilet1 a bird related  
to the birds of paradise has1  fixed    
between eye and ear a pair of fine      
plumes twice the length of his  body1   
which float as he walks like white      
blue-shimmering streamers4  ,it is a    
lover's paraphernalia1 which the female 

in consequence does  without1 while the 
male loses his after mating4    ,the    
dissemblance of barnyard cock and hen   
are well enough known to give  everyone 
a clear idea of dimorphism in birds and 
to show difference of  characters       
parallel with difference of form4       
,the dimorphism of mammals is even less 
often favourable to the  female than is 
that of birds4 ,one can cite but the    
sole example of  the ,american tapir    
where the male is smaller than the      
female4#b ,the  contrary is nearly      
always the case4 ,sometimes the two     
sexes have an  identical appearance3    
cougars1 cats1 panthers1 servals4 ,if   
there is  a rule1 it is difficult to    
formulate1 for side by side with these  
felines without sexual dimorphism1 the  
sex of lions and tigers clearly         
determines their forms4    ,among       
mammifers there are bizarre resemblances
 and baroque differences4  ,the he and  
she mole1 at first sight1 appear the    
same even to their  exterior sexual     

organs1 the female's clitoris is1 like  
the male's  penis1 perforated to let the
 ureter pass through it4 ,but here1 as  
we  shall see later1 the morphologic    
resemblance by no means indicates       
similarity of characters2 the female    
mole is excessively female4  ,there is  
baroque difference of sexes in the      
capped seal of ,greenland  and ,terra   
,nova4 ,the male can puff out his       
head-skin into an enormous  helmet4 ,to 
what purpose8 ,possibly to scare nave   
enemies4 ,true to her  rle of protg the 
female can not throw this bluff1 which  
is used by  ,chinese warriors1 by       
certain insects like the mantis and by  
the cobra  among serpents4    ,she-brown
 bears and she-kangaroos are smaller    
than males4 ,in all the  deer tribes    
save reindeer the male alone is horned1 
and this is the  by no means ridiculous 
origin of a very old joke1 for the does 
are  lascivious and are pleased to      
receive the attentions of a number of   
males4 ,the difference of bull and cow  

is distinct enough1 that of  stallion   
and mare less so1 diminishing still     
further between dog  and bitch1 and     
being almost null among cats4 ,in all   
cases where the  dimorphism is slight1  
and is the direct consequence of the    
possession  of sexual organs1 castration
 inclines the male toward the female    
type4#c ,this is as apparent in cattle  
as in eunuchs or gelded horses4  ,one   
may see in this yet another proof of the
 primitivity of the female1  since the  
abstraction of testicles suffices to    
give the male that  softness of form and
 character which typifies females4      
,masculinity  is an augmentation1 an    
aggravation of the normal type          
represented by  femininity2 it is a     
progress1 and in this sense it is a     
development4  ,but this reasoning1 good 
for mammals1 would be detestable among  
insects1 where the accentuation of type 
is nearly always furnished by  the      
female4 ,there are no general laws in   
nature1 unless they be those  which     

regulate all matter4 ,with the birth of 
life1 the unique tendency  diverges at  
once upon multiple lines4 ,perhaps we   
must throw this point  of divergence    
still further back1 for a metal like    
radium seems to  differ from other      
metals as much as an hymenopter from a  
gasteropod4      #a ,bird1 rather like  
quail4    #b ,translator's note4 ,o     
sinistre continent4    #c ,castration of
 females seems1 at least1 among humans1 
to bring  them nearer the male type4    
,effects of castration vary1            
necessarily1  according to the age of   
the subject4          ,,chapter ,,vi    
,,sexual ,,dimorphism            ,,iii4 
,vertebrates 7continued74--,man and     
woman4--,characteristics and limits of  
human        dimorphism4--,effects of   
civilization4--,psychologic             
dimorphism4--,the insect world and the  
human4--,modern        dimorphism1 basis
 of the pair4--,solidarity of the       
human pair4--,dimorphism and            
polygamy4--,the pair        favours the 

female4--,sexual sthetics4--,causes of  
the        superiority of feminine      
beauty4      ,,iii4 ,vertebrates        
7continued7--,man and woman4-- ,among   
primates  sexual dimorphism is but      
little accentuated1 especially when the 
male  and female live the same life in  
the open air and share the same         
labours4 ,the male gorilla1 very strong 
and very pig-headed1 flees from  no     
enemy2 the female on the contrary is    
almost timid3 when surprised  in company
 with the male1 she cries out1 gives the
 alarm and escapes4  ,but attacked when 
alone with her offspring1 she resists4  
,one can easily  distinguish the male   
and female orang-outang1 the male is    
larger with  longer more bristling hair1
 he alone has a ,horace ,greeley beard2 
in the  female the patches of bald skin 
are much less callous4 ,but the great   
difference between the sexes in gorilla 
and orang-outang is in the  males having
 vocal sacks descending over the chest  
to the arm-pits4    ,thanks to these    

air-reservoirs1 these bag-pipe bags1    
inflatable at  will1 the male can howl  
for a very long time and with great     
violence2  the females' sacks are very  
small4 ,other monkeys1 notably howling  
apes1 are provided with these           
air-chambers1 as are also certain other 
mammifers well known for the            
extravagance of their cries3 polecats   
and  pigs4 ,birds and batrachians have  
analogous organs4    ,dimorphism of men 
and women varies according to race or   
rather  according to species4 ,very     
feeble in most blacks and reds it is    
accentuated among ,semites1 ,aryans1 and
 ,finns4 ,but in man as in all  animals 
of separate sexes one must differentiate
 between the primary  dimorphism1 which 
is necessary and produced by the        
specialization of  sexual organs1 and   
the secondary dimorphism with which the 
relation  of sex is less evident or     
wholly uncertain4 ,limited to the       
non-sexual  elements1 human dimorphism  
is very feeble4 ,almost null in infancy1

 it  develops with approaching puberty1 
is maintained during the genital        
period1 and diminishes1 sometimes almost
 to vanishing point1 in  old age4 ,it   
varies individually1 even during the    
years of greatest  reproductivity1 in   
males feebly sexed and in women heavily 
sexed3 that  is to say there are men and
 women whose type closely approaches the
  type-ideal formed by the fusion of    
sexes2 neither one nor the other        
escapes the radical dimorphism imposed  
by the difference of sexual  organs4    
,leaving aside exceptions1 one observes 
a mediocre and constant  dimorphism     
between men and women1 which may be     
expressed as follows1  taking the male  
for type3 the female is smaller and has 
less muscular  force1 she has longer    
head hair1 but in contrast the          
hair-system  is very little developed   
over the rest of her body1 excepting in 
the armpits and pubis2 aside from the   
teats1 belly and hips1 whose  form is   
sexual1 she is normally fatter than the 

male1 and in direct  consequence of     
this1 her skin is finer2 her            
skull-capacity is  inferior by about #ae
 7man#ajj2 woman#he7 and her            
intelligence1 less  spontaneous1        
inclines in general to activities       
entirely practical4  ,there is hardly   
any difference in the male and female   
skulls of every  inferior human species1
 the contrary is true of civilized      
races4  ,civilization has certainly     
accentuated the initial dimorphism of   
man  and woman--at least unless one of  
the very conditions of civilizations  be
 not precisely a notable difference1    
morphologic and psychologic1  between   
the two sexes4 ,in that case            
civilization has but accentuated  a     
native dimorphism4 ,this is more        
probable1 for one does not see how      
civilization could have caused the      
dimorphism1 not at least unless it  had 
already existed as a very strong        
tendency4 ,identical work1 the  same    
utilization of instinctive activities   

have managed greatly to  reduce         
dimorphism of forms1 for example1 in    
dogs and horses1 but this  has had no   
influence on the psychologic dimorphism4
 ,cultivation of  instinct has never    
been able to efface1 in the most        
specialized breeds  of dogs1 the        
peculiar tonality which instinct        
receives from sex4 ,it is  improbable   
that intellectual culture could fashion 
women in such a way  as to rid them of  
the characteristic colour which sex     
imparts to their  intelligence4    ,one 
uses the words instinct and intelligence
 to flatter prejudiced  people4         
,instinct is merely a mode of           
intelligence4    ,dimorphism is a       
constant fact in the animal series4     
,favourable to  the male1 favourable to 
the female1 indifferent1 it starts      
always  from sexual necessity4 ,there is
 a job to be done3 nature divides it    
equally1 or not1 between male and       
female4 ,she knows neither justice  nor 
equality1 and lays heavy burdens upon   

some1 even to mutilation  and premature 
death1 while she gives to others        
liberty1 leisures1 and  long hours of   
pleasant life4 ,it is necessary that the
 couple reproduce  a certain number of  
beings1 equals of the unities of which  
itself is  formed3 all means are good   
which attain this end1 and which attain 
it most speedily and most surely4       
,nature who is pitiless1 is also  in a  
hurry4 ,her imagination1 always active1 
invents1 ceaselessly1  new forms which  
she casts into life1 in measure as the  
earlier born  finish their cycle4 ,in   
superior mammals1 and particularly in   
human  species1 division of labour is   
the means used by nature to insure the  
perpetuity of types4 ,the female insect 
7leaving aside for the moment  social   
hymenoptera7 is provided at once with   
the organs of her sex and  with tools of
 her trade1 with arms for guarding the  
race2 the female  human has ceded to man
 the tools and weapons1 here merged in  
the one  instrument1 muscle4 ,or rather1

 keeping her rights to the instrument1  
she gives up the use of it4 ,she is     
neither warrior1 huntress1 nor  mason1  
nor butcher2 she is the female1 and the 
male is the rest4 ,the  division of     
labour supposes community4 ,in order    
that the female may  cede the cares for 
subsistence and defence to the male1 the
 couple  must be established and        
permanent4 ,the male osmie 7sort of     
solitary  bee7 sees the light before his
 female2 he could prepare the nest1  or 
at least choose its situation1 guide the
 female to it1 work or  watch2 but he   
belongs to a series of animals in which 
the males are  merely male organs1 and  
all his rle is contained in the gestures
 of  mating4 ,the couple is not yet     
formed4 ,when it is formed1 as in other 
kinds of insects1 scarabs1 copris1      
sisyphs1 geotrupes1 the work is  equally
 shared between the two sexes4 ,here the
 parallel ends1 for the  social         
evolution of the insect has led to      
functional differentiations  extremely  

complicated1 and if not unknown1 at     
least abnormal1 to  humanity4 ,bee      
society has the female for base1 human  
society has the  couple4 ,they are      
organisms so different that no          
comparison of them is  possible1 or even
 useful4 ,only in ignorance of them1 can
 one envy bees2  a community without    
sexual relations is really without      
attraction for a  member of the human   
community4 ,the hive is not a society   
but a hatchery4    ,the couple is only  
possible with a dimorphism1 real but    
moderate4  ,there must be a difference1 
especially of strength1 in order for    
there to be a true union1 that is to say
 subordination4 ,a couple  formed of    
equal elements1 like a society of equal 
elements1 would be  in a state of       
permanent anarchy2 two creatures suffice
 for anarchy1  as for war4 ,a couple    
formed of elements too unequal1 would1  
by the  crushing of the weaker1 find    
itself reduced to tyrannized unity4 ,man
  and woman1 as is the case with other  

primates and the carnivora 7for  most   
herbivora are polygamous7 represent two 
sexes made to live united  and to share 
jointly in the cares for their          
offspring4 ,the state of  couple1       
demanding a certain dimorphism1 assures 
by it1 its perpetuity4  ,when the couple
 is dissolved1 be it by polygamy or by  
promiscuity1  as has happened among     
,mohammedans1 and among ,christians 7a  
religion1  long powerful1 functions both
 as race and as milieu7 the dimorphism  
is  accentuated1 each of the elements   
escapes1 in some measure1 the strict    
influence of the other sex4 ,likewise   
if1 in consequence of identical         
education1 the psychologic dimorphism is
 attenuated1 even slightly--it  never is
 attenuated more than slightly--or if   
physical games reduce a  little the     
physical differences1 the couple is less
 easily formed and  grows less stable3  
hence adultery1 divorces1 excess of     
prostitution4  ,in all monogamous       
society1 prostitution is the strict     

consequence3 it  diminishes more or less
 in polygamous societies where the free 
women  are rarer1 it would only         
disappear completely in promiscuity1    
that is  to say in universal            
prostitution4    ,polygamy1 apart from  
its indirect influence1 has1 by the     
internment  of women1 a direct one on   
the dimorphism4 ,set apart from the     
active  life of the outer world1 and    
even from the air and light1 the female 
of the male polygamous human becomes    
whiter1 whatever may have been  her     
initial colour1 fatter1 heavier1 and    
also more stupid and more  addicted to  
all sorts of onanism4 ,among ,indian    
,mussulmen the man and  woman appear to 
belong to different species1 the man    
being so tanned1  and the woman so      
colourless4 ,shut-in prostitutes of the 
,occident also  lose colour1 and one    
would with difficulty recognize two     
sisters in  the soft1 bleached whore and
 the sun-reddened1 hardy cow-girl4      
,woman's  liberty also accentuates the  

dimorphism but by another process4      
,freed  from the bridle of necessity1   
from the need of pleasing1 woman escaped
  from the couple1 exaggerates her      
feminism1 she becomes again the female  
in excess1 since it is in being more and
 more female that she has most  chances 
of seducing the male1 who is insensible 
to all other merit4  ,and1 inversely1 a 
woman having man's education is1 given  
equal beauty1  less than any other a    
seductress4    ,thus1 while the         
disintegration of the couple augments   
the feminine  dimorphism1 the diminution
 of the natural dimorphism renders the  
transformation of the couple more uneasy
 and more precarious4 ,the  human couple
 is an harmony difficult to realize1    
very easy to destroy1  but in measure as
 one destroys it one frees the elements 
which will1  necessarily1 re-create it4 
7,we will return later to polygamy1     
human  and animal2 but must here examine
 its relation to dimorphism4 ,all the   
questions treated in this book are1     

moreover1 so interlocked1 that it  will 
be difficult to prevent one or other of 
them from cropping up  apropos no matter
 what other4 ,if the method is less     
clear it is perhaps  more loyal4 ,far   
from wishing to impart human logic to   
nature1 one  attempts here to introduce 
a little natural logic into the old     
classic  logic47    ,the sole aim of the
 couple is to free the female from all  
care that is  not purely sexual1 to     
permit her the most perfect             
accomplishment of her  most important   
function4 ,the couple favours the       
female1 but it favours  also the race4  
,it is fully beneficial when the woman  
has acquired the  right of maternal     
laziness4 ,there is another reason for  
believing in  the legitimacy of such a  
sharing of useful work between the two  
members  of the couple1 it is that      
masculine work diminishes its           
femininity1  while feminine work        
feminizes the males4 ,in order that the 
necessary  and moderate dimorphism      

persist it would be necessary if the    
woman is  to take up male exercises that
 the male should assume all the         
accessory  labours of maternity4 ,this  
would not be contrary to supple natural 
logic2 there are examples of it among   
batrachians and among birds4 ,but  one  
does not see clearly either the utility 
or the possibility of such  a reversal  
of rles in the human species4 ,the duty 
of a being is to  persevere in its being
 and even to augment the characteristics
 which  specialize it4 ,the duty of     
woman is to keep and to accentuate her  
sthetic and her psychologic dimorphism4 
,the sthetic viewpoint obliges  one for 
the thousandth time to put1 but1        
happily1 not to resolve the  agreeable  
question of woman's beauty4 ,one may    
judge when it is a matter  of shape1 of 
muscular energy1 of respiratory         
amplitude3 these can be  measured and   
set down in figures4 ,when it comes to  
beauty1 it is a  matter of feeling1 that
 is to say of what is at once deepest   

and most  personal in each one of us1   
and which is most variable between one  
man  and another4 ,however1 the sexual  
element which enters into the idea  of  
beauty1 being here at its very root1    
since it is the question of  woman1 the 
opinion of men is nearly unanimous3 in  
the human couple1 it  is woman who      
represents beauty4 ,all contrary opinion
 will be for ever  considered as a      
paradox or as the most boring of sexual 
aberrations4 ,a  feeling does not adduce
 its reasons1 it has none4 ,it has to   
have them  lent to it4 ,the superiority 
of feminine beauty is real1 it has a    
sole  cause1 the unity of line4 ,what   
makes woman the more beautiful is the   
invisibility of her genital organs4 ,the
 male organ1 which is sometimes  an     
advantage1 is always a load1 and always 
a blemish2 it is made for  the race1 not
 for the individual4 ,in the male human1
 and precisely  because of its erect    
attitude1 the sex is the sensitive point
 par  excellence1 and the visible point1

 it is the point of attack in hand to   
hand struggle1 point of aim for the jet1
 obstacle for the eye1 be it as  a      
roughness of surface1 be it as a break  
in the middle of the line4 ,the  harmony
 of the female body is then             
geometrically1 much more perfect1       
especially if one consider the male and 
the female at the very hour  of desire1 
at the moment1 that is1 when they       
present the most intense  and most      
natural expression of life4 ,in the     
woman1 all movements are  interior1 or  
visible only in the undulation of her   
curves1 conserving  thus her full       
sthetic value1 while the man1 seeming at
 once to recede  toward the primitive   
states of animality1 appears reduced1   
putting off  all beauty1 to the bare and
 simple condition of genital organ4     
,man1  it is true1 has his sthetic      
compensation during pregnancy and its   
deformations4    ,one must admit also   
that the human form has grave defects of
  proportion1 and that they are more    

accentuated in the female than in  the  
male4 ,in general the trunk is too long1
 and the legs1 consequently1  too short4
 ,one says that there are two sthetic   
types in ,aryan  races3 one with long   
limbs and one with short limbs4 ,both   
types are  indeed1 easy enough to       
distinguish1 but they rarely present    
their  characteristics with sufficient  
distinction1 moreover the first  is     
rather rare3 it is the one which        
sculptors have vulgarized by            
amelioration4 ,compare a series of      
photographs of art with a series of     
photos from the nude1 and you have proof
 enough that the beauty of the  human   
body is an ideologic creation4 ,take    
away the egoistic sentiment  of the     
race1 and the sexual delirium1 and man  
would appear very  inferior in harmonic 
plentitude to most of the mammifers2 the
 monkey1  his brother1 is1 frankly1     
insthetic4          ,,chapter ,,vii     
,,sexual ,,dimorphism ,,and ,,feminism  
,inferiority and superiority of the     

female        as shown in animal        
species4--,influence of        feeding  
on the production of sexes4--,the female
        would have sufficed4--,feminism 
absolute1 and                           
moderate4--,pipe-dreams3 elimination of 
the male and        human               
parthenogenesis4      ,only after       
serious study of sexual dimorphism in   
the animal series  may one venture a few
 reflections on feminism4 ,one has      
noticed1 in  certain species1 the female
 more beautiful1 stronger1 more active1 
more intelligent2 and one has noticed   
the opposite4 ,one has seen the  male   
larger1 or smaller2 one has seen and    
will see him parasite1 or  provider1    
permanent master of the couple or the   
group1 fugitive lover1  a slave         
sacrificed by the female after the      
completion of her pleasure4  ,all       
attitudes1 and the same ones1 are       
attributed by nature to either of  the  
sexes2 there is not1 apart from the     
specific functions1 a male or a  female 

rle4 ,both or either according to the   
decalogue of their specie  put on the   
same costume1 don the same mask1 wield  
the same boar-spear1  tool or sabre     
without one's being able to discover1 at
 least not  without going back to the   
beginning of things and digesting the   
archives of life1 which of them is      
disguised and which acts according  to  
nature4    ,the abundance of food1      
especially nitrogenized 78 azotized7    
will  produce a greater number of       
females4 ,with certain animals at       
transformation one may act directly on  
individuals3 tadpoles gorged  on mixed  
food1 vegetables1 larv1 chopped meat1   
have given an excess  of females        
approaching totality 7#ie females to #e 
males74 ,on the other  hand over-feeding
 tends to abolish stamens in plants1 the
 stamens turn  into petals1             
suralimentation even moults the petals  
into leaves and  the buds into shoots4  
,richness of means1 well-being1         
intensive feeding  abolish sex1 but the 

last to be affected is the female1 which
 in sum1  perseveres obscurely in the   
unsexed plant1 forced back to its       
primitive  means of reproduction1 or to 
reproduction by slip cutting4 ,if       
excessive  alimentation tends to        
suppress the male1 it would then appear 
that the  separation into two sexes is a
 means of diminishing the costs of the  
total being4 ,the monoic type is a step 
toward this simplification of  labour2  
the female at a given moment eliminates 
her male organ1 refuses  to feed it1    
frees herself from the burden which has 
only a momentary  utility4 ,and1        
following this1 provided in herself with
 an overabundance  of all that maintains
 life1 she divests herself of the       
specialized  sexual apparatus1 unsexes  
herself1 that is to say1 the identity of
  contraries being here evident1 she is 
sexed throughout all her parts3  tota   
femina sexus4    ,the male is an        
accident3 the female would have         
sufficed4 ,brilliant as  are1 in certain

 animal species1 the destinies of the   
male1 the female  is primordial4 ,in    
civilized humanity she is born in       
proportion greater  as the civilization 
approaches a greater plenitude2 and this
 very  plenitude diminishes1            
proportionately1 the general fecundity3 
whether  we treat of man or of          
apple-trees1 the male element in- or    
de-creases  according to famine or      
abundance of nourishment4 ,but the human
 race is  not sufficiently plastic for  
the variation of births to be ever very 
great between the two sexes2 and no     
warm-blooded animal is sufficiently     
plastic for this cause1 so active among 
vegetables1 ever to lead to  the        
dissolution of the male4 ,there are no  
natural laws1 there are  tendencies1    
there are limits3 the fields of         
oscillation are determined  by the pasts
 of species1 trenches curving into      
cloisters which close1  in nearly all   
directions1 the alleys of the future4   
,it is a fact1 from henceforth          

hereditary1 that the male of the human  
species has centralized in himself most 
of the activities independent  of the   
sexual motor4 ,he alone is capable of   
disinterested works1 that  is to say of 
aims unconnected with the physical      
conservation of the  race1 but without  
which civilization would be impossible1 
or at least  very different from what it
 is and from the idea which we have of  
its  future4 ,doubtless in humanity1 as 
in the rest of nature1 the female       
represents the important sex4 ,in utter 
need1 as with the mason bee1 she  could 
serve for the absolutely necessary work1
 to build the shelter1  to gather the   
food1 and the male might1 without       
essential damage be  reduced to the rle 
of mere fecundating apparatus4 ,the     
number of males  could1 and even should 
in such case1 diminish with due         
rapidity1 but  then human society would 
in- or decline toward the type          
represented  by that of social bees3    
continual labour being incompatible with

  the periods of maternity1 the feminine
 sex would atrophy1 a single  female    
would be elevated to the dignity of     
queen and mother1 the  rest of the      
population would work stupidly for an   
ideal exterior to  its own sensibility4 
,even more radical transformations would
 not be  anti-natural4 ,virgin-birth    
might establish itself3 certain males   
could  be born in each century1 as      
happens in the intellectual order1 and  
they  could fecundate the generation of 
loins1 as genius fecundates the         
generation of minds4 ,but humanity1 by  
the richness of its intelligence1  is   
less than other animal species submitted
 to causal necessity2 by  constant      
squirming in its nets1 it has managed to
 displace a cord here  and there1 and   
makes now and again the unexpected      
movement4 ,the coming  of males once in 
a century would be unnecessary if some  
mechanical  device were found for       
exciting the life of woman's eggs1 as   
one excites  those of the sea-anemone4  

,if a few males were born from time to  
time1 by  an atavistic quirk of nature1 
they could be exhibited as curiosities1 
as we now exhibit hermaphrodites4       
,the feminist ideal leads us to these   
pipe-dreams4 ,but if it comes  to       
destroying the couple and not to        
re-forming it1 if it comes to           
establishing a vast social promiscuity1 
if feminism resolves itself  into the   
formula3 free-woman in free-love1 it is 
even more chimerical  than all the      
chimzera which have at least their      
analogy in the  diversity of animal     
habits4 ,human parthenogenesis is less  
absurd3 it  offers an order1 and        
promiscuity is a disorder4 ,but social  
promiscuity  is impossible by the       
further reason that woman1 the more     
feeble1  would be crushed by it4 ,she   
struggles against man only1 thanks to   
the  privileges which man concedes her1 
when troubled by sexual inebriety1      
intoxicated and drowsy with the fumes of
 desire4 ,the factitious  equality which

 she claims would re-establish her      
ancient slavery1 on  the day when most  
or all women wish to enjoy it3 that is  
still another  possible solution of the 
feminist crisis4 ,however one looks at  
it1 one  sees the human couple          
re-establish itself ineluctably4    ,it 
is very difficult1 from the standpoint  
of natural logic1 to  sympathize with   
moderate feminism1 one could more easily
 accept  feminism in excess4 ,for if    
there are in nature numerous examples of
  feminism1 there are very few of an    
equality of the sexes4                  
,,chapter ,,viii    ,,love-,,organs     
,sexual dimorphism and                  
parallelism4--,sexual        organs of  
man and of woman4--,constancy of sexual 
parallelism in the animal               
series4--,external        sexual organs 
of placentary mammifera4--,form and     
position of the penis4--,the penial     
bone4--,the        clitoris4--,the      
vagina4--,the teats4--,forked prong     
of marsupials4--,sexual organs of       

reptiles4--,fish        and birds with a
 penial organ--,genital organs of       
arthropodes4--,attempt to classify      
animals according        to the         
disposition1 presence1 absence of       
exterior        organs for reproduction4
      ,sexual dimorphism1 physic as well
 as psychic1 has evidently one sole     
cause1 sex2 nevertheless the organs     
which differ least from male and  female
 among species which differ most1 are   
precisely the sexual  organs4 ,that is1 
they are rigorously made the one for the
 other1 and  the accord in this case    
must be not only harmonic1 but          
mechanical  and mathematical4 ,they are 
cog-wheels which must bite one on the   
other with exactitude1 be it1 as in     
birds1 that there is but an  exact      
superposition of two orifices1 be it1 as
 in mammals that the  key must enter the
 keyhole4 ,there is a dimorphism1 but it
 is that of  the mould to the cast1 of  
the scabbard to the blade2 for the parts
  where the contact is less strict1 the 

parallelism is nevertheless  quite      
sensible and quite apparent4 ,this      
similitude in difference  has struck    
philosophers as well as anatomists in   
all ages from the  logical insinuations 
of ,aristotle to ,geoffroy              
,saint-,hilaire's theory  of analogies4 
,galien had already noted certain       
analogies1 more or less  exact3 greater 
labia1 and foreskin1 ovaries and        
testicles1 scrotum and  matrice4 ,he    
says1 textually3 ,all parts of man are  
found in woman2  there is but one point 
of difference1 woman's parts are        
interior1 man's  exterior1 parting from 
the perineal region4 ,imagine those     
which first  present themselves to mind1
 no matter which1 unfold woman's or fold
  man's inward and you will find either 
a replica of the other4 ,suppose  first 
man's organs pushed into him and        
extending interiorly between the  rectum
 and the vessie2 in this supposition the
 scrotum would occupy  the place of the 
matrice1 with the testicles placed at   

each side of  the exterior orifice4 ,the
 prong of the male would become the     
throat  of the cavity thus produced1 and
 the skin of the prong's extremity1     
called the foreskin would form the      
vagina4 ,suppose1 inversely1 that  the  
matrice should turn inside out and fall 
outside1 would not its  testicles       
7ovaries7 of necessity1 find themselves 
inside its cavity and  would not it     
envelop them as a scrotum8 ,would not   
the throat1 hidden up  to the perineum1 
become the male member1 and the vagina1 
which is but  a cutaneous appendix of   
the throat1 the foreskin8 ,this is the  
passage  which ,diderot has transposed  
and put au courant with science in his  
,rve d',alembert4 ,this page of literary
 anatomy retains its expressive  value3 
,woman has all man's parts1 the sole    
difference is like that  between a purse
 hanging outside and a purse stuffed    
inside2 a female  foetus resembles a    
male foetus1 so as to deceive anyone2   
the part which  occasions the error1    

sinks in the female foetus in measure as
 the purse  extends inward2 it is never 
obliterated to the point of losing its  
primitive form2 it also is the mover of 
pleasure1 it has its gland1 its         
foreskin1 and one notes at its extremity
 a point which appears to have  been the
 orifice of a urinary canal which has   
closed2 there is in man  from the anus  
to the scrotum1 the interval called the 
perinum1 and  from the scrotum to the   
end of the prong1 a seam which looks    
like the  resewing of a basted vulva2   
women with excessive clitoris1 have     
beards1  eunuchs have not1 their thighs 
increase1 their hips widen1 their knees 
round out1 and in losing the            
characteristic organization of one sex  
they seem to return to the              
characteristic conformity of the        
other4444  ,in terms less literary1 one 
considers as homologous1 in man and     
woman1  the ovary and the testicle1     
lesser labia1 clitoridian cap and       
sheath1  the hanging foreskin2 the      

greater labia and the envelope of the   
scrotum2 clitoris and penis2 the vagina 
and the prostatic utricle4 ,one  will   
find the details of these analogies in  
special works1 they can not  be given   
here with scientific precision4 ,the    
sole point to hold on to  is that the   
two sexes not only in man1 and not only 
in mammifers1 but  in nearly all the    
animal and vegetable series1 are but a  
repetition of  the same creature with   
specialization of function4 ,this       
specialization  may extend to functions 
other than sexual1 to work 7bees1 ants7 
to war  7termites74 ,the soldier termite
 is extraordinary2 he is not more so    
than the male4    ,the sexual           
parallelism is constant among nearly all
 vertebrates and  arthropodes2 it       
extends to identity among hermaphrodite 
mollusks if one  then compare not two   
sexes but two individuals4 ,it extends1 
for each  sex considered separately1    
along the whole zological chain4        
,parting  from link animals which       

separate into two parts1 one sees the   
sexual  organs design themselves in the 
form wherein they arrive in higher      
animals of great complexity1 such that1 
in acquiring differences of  form and   
position they retain a remarkable       
stability of structure2 one  would say  
almost of identity in marsupials1       
reptiles1 fish1 birds4 ,for  clarity one
 must proceed from the known to the     
unknown2 man is the  figure to whom one 
may compare necessarily the observations
 on other  animals4    ,there is no lack
 of point in knowing the normal         
love-mechanism1 since  moralists pretend
 to regulate its movements4 ,ignorance  
is tyrannic2 the  inventors of natural  
ethics knew very little of nature3 this 
permitted  them to be severe2 for no    
definite piece of knowledge interfered  
with  the certitude of their gestures4  
,one becomes more discreet when one     
contemplates the prodigious picture of  
the erotic habits of the animal  world1 
and even entirely incompetent to decide 

flatly1 yes or no1  whether a fact is   
natural or unnatural4    ,man is a      
placentary mammifer3 by this title his  
genital organs and  their mode of employ
 are common to him and to all hairy     
animals having  teats and an umbilicus4 
,he is not normally covered all over    
with hair1  but there is hardly a spot  
on his body where hairs may not sprout1 
and both sexes are hairy often with     
extreme abundance in pubis and          
arm-pits4 ,the male and active organ of 
mammifers is the penis1 usually         
completed exteriorily by the testicles4 
,the penis is1 at once1 the  excreting  
conductor of urine and sperm2 an        
analogous relation exists  in the       
female1 and it is with exactitude that  
these mingled organs  have been called  
genito-urinary or more recently1        
uro-genital2 it is  the same in all the 
animal series1 the urethra opens        
exteriorily or it  ends1 as in birds1 in
 a cloaca1 vestibule1 for all the       
excretions4    ,the penis of two-handed 

7bimanous7 creatures descends freely1 it
 hangs  before the pubis in quadrumanes1
 and in chiroptera 7bats74 ,the bat  is 
strangely like man1 and like primates in
 general3 five fingers  to the hand1 one
 a thumb1 five fingers on the foot1     
pectoral teats1  mensual flux1 free     
penis2 it is a little caricature of man1
 abrupt and  frightened in its evening  
flight about houses4 ,among             
flesh-eaters1  ruminants1 pachyderms1   
solipedes and several other families of 
mammals1 the penis is sheathed in a     
scabbard which stretches along the      
belly2 thus preserved against accidents 
and insect stings1 while its            
sensibility is maintained intact4       
,voyagers1 according to ,buffon1 have   
seen ,patagonians trying to get like    
results by tying the 'foreskin  above   
the gland1 like a bag with a cord4 ,thus
 man's hand permits him  to improve or  
mutilate his body4 ,mutilation and      
sexual deformations1  circumcision among
 ,semites and savages1 excision of      

,russian illuminati1  transversal       
perforation of the gland1 surgical      
flattening of the  prong1 are very      
frequent4 ,the hand of the chiroptera is
 shackled1 that  of quadrumanes has only
 one sexual rle1 masturbation4 ,it may  
also  serve as a shield against external
 danger2 many quadrumanes1 better       
protected1 make the same use of their   
tail when they curl it between  their   
legs1 this is sometimes a psychological 
gesture1 female modesty  or refusal1    
sometimes a gesture of preservation4    
,the movements of  ,venus modest1 of man
 coming naked from his bath1 have no    
other origin4  ,monkeys when they stop  
moving about1 place their hands on their
 sexual  parts4 ,the ,polynesians1      
before ,christianity1 had the custom    
when  standing upright1 of holding their
 scrotum in both hands with the prong   
hanging between the fingers3 the posture
 of the wild dandy4 ,certain  species   
lack scrotum as ,pliny had already      
remarked3 ,testes elephanto  occulti4   

,in camels the testicles roll beneath   
the skin of the groin2  rats' testicles 
are internal1 but emerge in the rutting 
season and  assume an enormous          
development4 ,apes often have the       
pouch-skin blue1  red or green1 like the
 other bald parts of their bodies4      
,camels1 dromedaries and cats have the  
end of the penis bent backward  7this   
explains the tom-cat's manner of        
urination71 the tip does not  straighten
 itself or point forward save in        
erection4 ,not only the prong  but the  
sheath of rodents points backward and   
ends near the anus1 and  in front of it4
 ,the penis is slender in ruminants1 and
 in wild boar2  thick and round in      
solipedes1 elephant1 lamentin 7sea-cow1 
manatee72  thick and conic in the       
dolphin1 cylindrical in rodents and     
primates4  ,the gland1 which takes all  
intermediary forms between ball and     
point1  has in the rhinoceros the shape 
of a gross fleur-de-lys4 ,in the cats   
small spikes rise and point toward the  

base1 and in agouti and gerboa  there   
are holding flanges which grip the      
organs of the female4    ,the prong of  
many mammifers1 a real member1 is held  
up by an interior  bone1 formed at the  
cost of the conjunctive partition which 
separates  the two hollow chambers4     
,this penial bone is found in many      
quadrumanes1  chimpanzees1              
orang-outangs1 most carnivora1 dogs1    
wolves1 felines1  martin1 otter1 badger1
 among rodents1 beaver1 seal1 and       
cetaceous  animals2 it is lacking in    
ruminants1 pachyderms1 insectivora1     
toothless  animals4 ,in man one         
sometimes finds a trace of it in the    
form of a  slender prismatic cartilage4 
,in the enormous penis of the whale it  
resembles a bell-clapper4 ,the penial   
bone diminishes the erectile  capacity  
of the prong in stopping the development
 of the hollow  chambers1 but it assures
 the rigidity of the member1 obtained in
 the  other penial type by the inflow of
 blood which causes the swelling4  ,man 

ought to have the penial bone2 he has   
lost it in the course of  ages1 and this
 is doubtless fortunate1 for a permanent
 rigidity1 or one  too easily obtained  
would have increased1 to madness1 the   
salacity of  his species4 ,it is perhaps
 for this reason that great apes are    
rare1  although they are strong and     
agile4 ,this view would be confirmed if 
the  penial cartilage were found        
regularly in very lustful men or with a 
certain frequency among human races most
 addicted to eroticism4    ,the penis is
 found in woman in the form of clitoris4
 ,this is almost as  voluminous as a    
true penis in quadrumanes2 it is        
atrophied in other  species4 ,it varies 
individually in women1 certain of them  
being in  this respect quadrumanes4     
,sometimes the clitoris is pierced for  
the  passage of the urethra 7certain    
apes and the mole72 a slight trace of   
this meatus is seen at the head of the  
woman's clitoris4 ,in species  whose    
males possess a penial bone the female  

has often a clitoridian  bone2 nothing  
more clearly affirms the parallelism of 
these two organs1  whereof one serves   
only for pleasure1 after having been1   
perhaps in a  long distant era1 when man
 romped among marine invertebrates1 a   
real  instrument of fecundation4 ,the   
greater labia1 limiting the general     
orifice of the vulva1 exist only in     
woman and1 less markedly1 in the  female
 orang-outang4 ,circular in rodents1    
transversal in the unique  case of the  
hyena1 a heteroclite animal1 the vulva  
is longitudinal in  all other mammifers4
 ,completely imperforate in the mole the
 vagina is  more or less closed by a    
membrane1 which the male penis tears in 
first  encounter1 in women1 and several 
quadrumanes1 certain small monkeys1  the
 marmoset1 certain carnivora1 the bear1 
hyena1 white-bellied seal1  the daman   
7nailed72 it is replaced in dog1 cat1   
ruminants by an annular  gripping       
between the vagina and the vestibule4   
,the maidenhead is1  therefore1 not     

peculiar to human virgins1 and there is 
no glory in a  privilege which one      
shares with the marmoset4               
,menstruation is found in quadrumanes1  
in bats2 other female mammals  show an  
emission of blood1 which is1 however1   
limited to the rutting  season4 ,the    
position of teats is variable1 as also  
their number1 they  are in the groin in 
ruminants1 solipedes1 cetaces2 ventral  
in dogs1  pigs2 pectoral and always two 
in nearly all primates1 chiroptera1     
elephants1 and sirenians1 who for this  
reason1 doubtless1 reminded the  sailors
 of the ancient world of their women4   
,other particularities and              
correspondences are examined in the next
  chapter which deals with the mechanism
 of love1 and the method used by  divers
 animals to make use of their organs    
according to the commandment  of nature4
 ,there remain for consideration the    
lesser mammals and other  vertebrates   
whose fecundatory instruments resemble  
those of mammifera4    ,in man and other

 placentaires1 the forked prong is a    
teratological fact  only encountered in 
incomplete double monsters4 ,it is1 on  
the contrary1  the most general form    
among marsupials4 ,a double vagina      
corresponds  to this penis1 double at   
least from the gland1 thus in kangaroo  
and  opossum4 ,this original biparity is
 found regularly in the uterus of       
certain placentaires1 hares1 rats1 bats1
 carnivora4 ,the uterus of  marsupials  
is simple without narrowing of the      
throat4 ,one knows that  their young    
stay there but a short time1 that they  
are born not as  foetus but as germs1   
and complete their development in the   
marsupial  pouch4 ,an opossum1 destined 
to attain about the size of a cat1 is at
  birth about bean-size4 ,these animals1
 therefore1 differ profoundly from      
other mammifera4    ,some reptiles1 like
 crocodiles and most chelonians1 have   
only a  simple prong2 some tortoises    
have a forked tip to the penis1 it is   
many-branched in the trionix1           

carnivorous tortoise rightly called     
ferocious4 ,the saurians and ophidians  
can deploy outside the cloaca  two      
erectile prongs2 in saurians1 lizards1  
they are short1 round and  bristle with 
prickles4 ,the females have no clitoris 
save when the male  has a single prong2 
at least the clitoris is only well      
constituted in  crocodilians and        
chelonians4    ,copulation is unknown to
 batrachians1 whose contact is          
nevertheless  very dose2 it is unknown  
to most fish1 whose amours are without  
even  contact4 ,certain selacians       
however 7dogfish1 skates71 and perhaps  
also  one or two teleostians 7bony      
fish71 and the lamprey1 have a          
copulating  organ which really enters   
the organ of the female4    ,the birds  
which have a penis or an erectile and   
retractile tubercle  which serves1 are  
the ostrich1 the cassowary1 the duck1   
the swan1  the goose1 the bustard1 the  
mandou and certain neighbouring species2
  their hens have a ditoridian organ4   

,the ostrich has a true prong1 five  or 
six inches in length1 cut by a groove   
which serves as conduit for  the seminal
 liquor2 it is enormous in erection and 
tongue-shaped4 ,the  ostrich hen has a  
clitoris and coition occurs exactly as  
among mammals4  ,the swan and duck are  
also very well provided with an erectile
 tubercle  suited for copulation1 and   
this explains at once the story of      
,leda1 the  libidinous reputation of the
 duck1 and his exploits in the          
barn-yards1  veritable abbeys of ,thlme4
    ,one can not here describe the      
copulative organs of arthropodes1       
comprising insects properly so-called4  
,enough to note that1 however  varied   
their forms1 they behave very much as   
those of superior  mammifers and are    
composed of two essential parts1 the    
penis1 sheathed  in a penial scabbard1  
and the vagina1 prolonged by the        
copulative pouch  which receives the    
penis4 ,fish and birds1 lacking external
 apparatus  are reduced to methods which

 will be later examined4 ,hermaphrodite 
mollusks1 with a marvellously           
complicated sexual apparatus1 ought also
  to be studied separately4 ,finally1   
the amorous habits of insects form a    
series of illustrative chapters4        
,from here1 taking count only of        
exterior male organs or of organs       
which1 internal when at rest1 emerge at 
the moment of coition1 one may  attempt 
a vague and new classification of animal
 series4    #a4 ,presence of penis1 or  
of an erectile copulating tubercle3     
placentary  mammals from man to         
marsupials exclusively2 certain runners 
and  palmipedes2 crocodilians1          
chelonians1 certain selacians1          
arthropodes1  the rotifera4    #b4      
,presence of a forked penis3 marsupials1
 saurians1 chelonians2  scorpionides4   
#c4 ,disjunction of the secreting       
apparatus from the copulating           
apparatus3 spiders1 dragon-flies4    #d4
 ,absence of penis1 copulation by       
contact3 monotremes 7omithoryncus71     

birds1 batrachians1 crustaceans4    #e4 
,no copulation2 exterior fecundation of 
eggs3 fish1 echinoderms4    #f4         
,indirect transmission of sperm with or 
without contact 7by the  spermatophore73
 cephalopodes1 orthoptera4    #g4       
,hermaphrodism3 mollusks1 tuniciers1    
worms4    #h4 ,monagamous reproduction3 
protozoaires1 and certain of the last   
metazoaires4    ,one needs many         
discriminations and exceptions to make  
this table more  precise4 ,it is        
however1 not untrue1 although incomplete
 and lacking  nuances1 and it permits   
one to see3 that the separation of sexes
  by well characterized copulating      
apparatus is not a sign of animal       
superiority1 although it is found among 
the most gifted animals2 that  birds    
with their genital system merely        
sketched in1 seem to represent  a type  
elevated in nature by the simplicity of 
organs and it means3  that the sexes in 
animals who are without copulation      
either profound  or superficial1 tend1  

as in fish1 to remain without           
difference2 that  all other modes of    
copulation are attributed exclusively to
 inferior  species2 that hermaphrodism  
was but a trial limited to a category of
  creatures lacking everything not      
exclusively designed for the process  of
 reproduction2 that the absence of sex  
characterizes only the  earliest forms  
of life4    ,if one considers no longer 
the mode of copulation but the apparatus
  itself1 with the male part1 penis1 and
 the female part1 vagina1 one  sees     
clearly that these extremely particular 
organs are hardly found  well designed  
save in two great branchings where the  
intelligence is  most developed3        
mammifera and the arthropodes4 ,there   
might be1 perhaps1  a certain           
correlation between complete and        
profound copulation and the  development
 of the brain4          ,,chapter ,,ix  
,,the ,,mechanism ,,of ,,love           
#a4 ,copulation3 vertebrates4--,its very
 numerous        varieties and its      

specific fixity4--,the apparent         
immorality of ,nature4--,sexual         
ethnography4--,human                    
mechanism4--,cavalage4--,the form and   
duration of        coupling in divers   
mammifers4--,aberrations of             
sexual surgery1 the ampallang4--,pain as
 a bridle        on                     
sex4--,maidenhead4--,the                
mole4--,passivity of        the         
female4--,the ovule1 psychological      
figure of        the female4--,mania of 
attributing human virtues        to     
animals4--,the modesty of               
elephants4--,coupling        mechanism  
in whales1 seals1 tortoises4--,in       
certain        ophidians and in certain 
fish4      #a4 ,,copulation3            
,,vertebrates4--,forberg's ,figur       
,veneris exhausts  in forty-eight       
illustrations the manners of coupling   
accessible  to the human species2 the   
erotic manuals of ,india imagine certain
  further variants and voluptuous       
perfectionings1 but many of these       

juxtapositions are unfavourable to      
fecundation1 and a majority of  them    
have only been invented in order to     
escape too logical and too  material a  
result4 ,animals surely1 the most       
liberated as well as the  most stupid1  
are ignorant of all modes of conjugal   
fraud2 needless to  say no dissociation 
can be made in their rudimentary minds  
between  the sexual sensation and the   
maternal1 between sexual and paternal   
sensation1 much less4 ,the ingenuity of 
each specie is small1 but the  universal
 ingenuity of total fauna is immense1   
and there are few human  imaginings     
among those which we term perverse and  
even monstrous which  are not the right 
and the norm in one or another region of
 animal  empire4 ,practices very        
analogous to 7although very different in
 aim  from7 divers onanist practices1 to
 spermatophagia1 even to sadism are     
imposed on innocent beasts and represent
 for them familial virtue  and chastity4
 ,a physician1 who has not obtained much

 glory thereby1  invented or proposed   
artificial fecundation3 he was imitating
 spiders  and dragon-flies2 ,m4 de ,sade
 liked to imagine ruttings where blood  
and  sperm flowed simultaneously2 mere  
kindergarten manual 7,berquinade7 if    
one contemplate1 not without            
bewilderment1 the habits of an ingenious
  orthopter1 the praying mantis1 the    
insect which prays to ,god1 la          
prego-,diou as the ,provenals call her1 
the prophetess as the ,greek  said6     
,baudelaire's verses ridiculing those   
who wish        aux choses de l'amour   
mler l'honntet      ,mix seemliness into
 affairs of ,love    have a value not   
only moral but scientific4 ,in love     
everything is just1  everything is      
noble1 as soon as1 among the maddest    
animals1 it is a  play moved by the     
desire of creating4 ,it is more         
difficult doubtless to  justify         
fantasies which are merely for the      
purpose of avoiding trouble1  especially
 if one allow oneself to be blinded by  

the idea of specific  finality2 one may 
however affirm1 and one will say nothing
 more about  the matter1 that animals   
are not ignorant either of sodomy or of 
onanism and that they cede to them by   
necessity1 in the absence of  females4  
,snancour has written wise and bold     
pages upon these practices  among       
humans4    ,sexual ethnography hardly   
exists4 ,the scattered data on this     
subject1  though extremely important1   
have not been co-ordinated4 ,that would 
be  a small matter4 ,they have not even 
been verified4 ,one knows nothing of    
coital practices save what life teaches 
one1 questions of this sort  being      
difficult to ask1 and answers being     
always equivocal4 ,there is  here an    
entire science which has been corrupted 
by ,christian prudery4  ,an order was   
issued long ago and is still obeyed2 one
 has concealed  all that unites1        
sexually1 man and animal1 everything    
that proves  the unity of origin for all
 that lives and feels4 ,physicians who  

have studied this question have known   
only the abnormal1 the malady3  it would
 be imprudent to base conclusions on    
general practices from  their           
observations4 ,the best source1 at least
 for ,europeans1 is still  the casuist  
writings4 ,from the enumeration of sins 
against chastity  gathered by           
professional confessors1 one could1     
after some study1  deduce the secret    
sexual habits of civilized humanity4    
,but one must  take care not to retain  
either the old idea of sin1 or the idea 
of the  same under modern cloak1 of     
fault1 crime or error4 ,practices common
 to  an entire ethnic group can not be  
judged to be other than normal1 it      
matters little whether they have been   
stigmatized by the apologists of  right 
living4 ,what is good is what is and    
what will continue to be4 ,it  is known 
that bimanes and quadrumanes are very   
libertine1 and that this  is in accord  
with their physical suppleness and their
 intelligence4  ,it is a fact undeniable

 and insurmountable1 even if annoying4  
,the  human couple has drawn from this  
tendency a thousand erotic fantasies1   
which1 in being disciplined have ended  
in the creation of a veritable  sexual  
method1 be it disinterested pleasure1 be
 it preservation  against fecundity2 is 
this of no importance8 ,how can one     
lecture about  depopulation if one lose 
sight of this primordial fact8 ,what can
  normal or patriotic reasoning do      
against an instinct which has become  or
 rebecome an intelligent and conscious  
practice1 bound to what is  deepest in  
human sensibility8 ,it is very          
difficult1 especially when  dealing with
 man1 to distinguish between normal and 
abnormal4 ,what is  the normal2 what the
 natural8 ,nature ignores this          
adjective1 and one  has dragged out of  
her bosom many illusions1 perhaps in    
irony1 perhaps  in ignorance4    ,it is 
not perhaps very useful to describe     
human cavalage1 which is not  strictly a
 cavalage1 as the woman is attacked from

 the front4 ,veritable  cavalage has    
been1 as one knows1 praised by          
,lucretius1 although1 it  has1 and this 
detracts nothing from its merits1 an air
 frankly animal2  it is the form of love
 called by the theologians more         
bestiarum and  by ,lucretius more       
ferarum which is the same thing3        
,et quibus ipsa modis tractetur blanda  
voluptas1      ,quoque permagni refert2 
nam more ferarum1      ,quadrupedumque  
magis ritu1 plerumque putantur          
,concipere uxores1 quia sic loca sumere 
possunt1      ,pectoribus positis1      
sublatis semina lumbis4    ,this mode1  
considered by ,lucretius as the more    
favourable to  fecundation1 is that of  
most mammifers1 of nearly all insects   
and  of many animal families4 ,apes     
great and small know no other4 ,the     
architecture of their bodies would make 
face to face copulation very  difficult4
 ,one must not forget that their upright
 position is never  more than momentary1
 even in orangs and chimpanzees2 they   

are not  much better equilibrated than  
bears1 much less so than kangaroos1     
marmosets#a and squirrels2 even when    
they stand up one feels that  they have 
four feet4 ,love among them is not free 
from the seasons1  and although they are
 libidinous all the year1 they do not   
seem fit  for generation save through   
the weeks of their rutting time3 then   
their genital organs acquire a permanent
 rigidity2 the udders of the  females1  
ordinarily as small as those of the     
males1 only swell during  this period4  
,there is1 therefore1 a vast difference1
 from the sexual  standpoint1 between   
man and the great apes1 his anatomic    
neighbours4  ,man even in the humblest  
species has mastered love and made it   
his  daily slave1 at the same time that 
he has varied the accomplishments  of   
his desire and made possible its renewal
 after brief interval4 ,this            
domestication of love is an intellectual
 work1 due to the richness and  power of
 our nervous system1 which is as capable

 of long silences as of  long           
physiological discourses1 of action and 
of reflection4 ,the brain  of man is an 
ingenious master which has managed1     
without possessing any  very evident    
superiority1 to get out of the other    
organs work of the  most complicated    
sorts1 and most finely-sharpened        
pleasures2 its 7the  brain's7 mastery is
 very feeble in quadrumanes and other   
animals2 it is  very strong in insects  
as will be explained in a following     
chapter4    ,one need not wait for a    
minute description of the exterior love 
mechanism of all animal species4 ,it    
would be long1 difficult and  boresome4 
,a few characteristic examples will be  
enough4 ,the duration  of the coition is
 extremely variable1 even in superior   
mammals4 ,very  slow for dogs1 coupling 
is but a thunderclap for the bull1 the  
ram's is  called the lutte 7strife74    
,the bull merely enters and leaves1 and 
it  is a spectacle for philosophers1 for
 one understands immediately that  what 

drives the fiery beast at his female is 
not the lure of a pleasure  too swift to
 be deeply felt1 but a force exterior to
 the individual  although included in   
his organism4 ,by its long grievous     
duration the  coition of dogs leads to  
analogous reflections        ,in triviis
 quum spe canes discedere aventes       
,diversi cupidine summis ex viribus     
tendunt4                                
--,,lucretius4    ,this is because the  
dog's penis contains a hollow bone      
giving passage  to the urethra4 ,around 
this bone are gathered the erectile     
tissues  whereof one1 the node of the   
prong1 swells disproportionately during 
coition and prevents the separation of  
the two animals after the act is        
accomplished4 ,they remain a long time  
uncomfortable1 not managing to  free    
themselves until long after their desire
 has turned to disgust1  grotesque and  
lamentable symbol of many a human       
liaison4    ,our other familiar animal1 
the cat1 is not more happy in his       

affections4 ,his penis is indeed        
furnished with thorns1 with homy        
papilla toward the tip1 and the         
intromission as well as the separation  
is only accomplished with groans4 ,what 
one hears at night are not  cries of    
voluptuousness but of suffering1 the    
bowlings of a beast  whom nature has    
caught in the trap4 ,this does not      
prevent the female  from being very     
enterprising2 responding to the cries of
 the pursuing  male she excites him in a
 hundred ways1 biting at neck and belly 
with an insistence which has1 they say1 
provided a metaphor in the  erotic      
vocabulary4 ,biting the neck is much    
more curious1 as it is of  a much less  
direct intention4 ,bitches also bite the
 neck of the dog  in prelude4 ,for near 
the neck is situated the bulb1 original 
knot of  nerves governing the secret    
parts and the genital region4    ,the   
pain which accompanies sexual acts ought
 to be differentiated1  with precision1 
from passive suffering4 ,it is very     

possible 7women can  testify to the     
fact7 that sighs and even cries emitted 
at such time are  the expression of a   
mixed sensation1 wherein joy has almost 
as great  a part as suffering4 ,we must 
not judge feline exclamations from the  
shrillness of timbre2 tortured by the   
male prong the she-cats howl1 but  they 
await the supreme benediction4 ,the     
rigour of the first approaches  is      
perhaps but the promise of deeper       
delights3 at any rate some women  have  
thought so4    ,one knows that a cat's  
tongue is rough3 so is the tongue and   
all the  mucous surfaces of negroes4    
,this roughness of surface notably      
augments  the genital pleasure1 as men  
who have known negresses testify4 ,it   
has  been perfected4 ,the ,dyaks of     
,borneo pierce the extremity of the     
penis1  through the navicular channel   
and fit into it a pin to both ends of   
which are attached tufts of stiff hair  
in the form of a brush4 ,before         
surrender the women by certain tricks   

and certain traditional gestures        
indicate the length of the brush        
desired4 ,in ,java one replaces this    
apparatus known as the ampallang1 by a  
sheath of goat skin1 more or  less      
thick4 ,in other countries there are    
incrustations of little  pebbles1 which 
give the gland the shape of an embossed 
mace2 and these  pebbles are sometimes  
replaced by tiny bells1 so that the men 
make in  running a sound like mules1 and
 attentive women can judge their value  
according to the intensity of their     
sexual music4 ,these customs1 noted  by 
de ,paw among certain aborigines of     
,america1 have not been recently        
observed1 doubtless because the         
,christian modesty of modern travellers 
has obliterated their eyes and ears at  
convenient moments4 ,no custom  is      
abolished save in the face of some other
 custom more useful to  sensuality1 and 
the imagination seems rather to advance 
than to recede  in these matters4 ,it is
 true that the inventors hide           

themselves1 even  in savage countries1  
sexual morality tending toward          
uniformity4    ,these artifices1 which  
appear curious to us1 have certainly    
been  created at the instigation of     
women1 since theirs is the profit of    
them4 ,males have submitted to them1    
happy no doubt to be delivered at  the  
price of passing pain from the terrible 
lasciviousness of their  females4       
,racked and flayed by such instruments  
the women ought1 at  least for a few    
days1 to flee the male and brood in     
silence upon  their luxurious memories4 
,chinese and ,japs1 whose women are     
likewise  lascivious1 are familiar with 
analogous means2 to dominate their      
companions they have also invented      
ingenious onanist methods which  give   
them time to attend to their own        
affairs1 while peace reigns  over their 
hearthstones4 ,in the strange           
dissemblance between human  races the   
,aryans have1 for the same purpose1 made
 use of the religious  check-rein1 of   

prayer1 of the idea of sin1 and finally 
of liberty1 that  is to say of the      
pleasure of vanity which bewilders the  
woman1 and  invites her to please       
someone else before satisfying herself4 
,woman is not the only mammal for whom1 
apart from the peculiar form  of the    
penis1 the first approaches are painful2
 but there is perhaps  no female who has
 better reason than the mole for fearing
 the male4  ,her vulva1 exteriorly      
unperforated1 is covered by hide1 downy 
as  that of the rest of her body2 she   
must1 to be fecundated1 undergo  a      
veritable surgical operation4 ,one knows
 how these beasts live1  burrowing in   
search of food1 in long subterranean    
galleries1 of which  the wastage1 pushed
 up here and there forms the mole-ridge4
 ,in rutting  time1 forgetting his      
hunting1 the male starts in quest of a  
female2 as  soon as he divines her1 he  
starts digging in her direction1        
furiously  excavating the hostile earth4
 ,feeling herself hunted1 the female    

flees4  ,hereditary instinct makes her  
tremble before the tool which shall     
open her belly1 before the redoubtable  
gimlet-armed penis which has  perforated
 her mother and all her female          
ancestors4 ,she flees1 digs1  as the    
male advances1 cross-hatching tunnels in
 which her persecutor  may end by losing
 his way2 but the male also is educated 
by heredity3  he does not follow the    
female but circles round her1 heads her 
off1  ends by catching her in an        
impasse1 and while she is still ramming 
her  blind muzzle into the earth1 he    
grips1 operates1 fecundates4 ,charming  
emblem of modesty1 this small1 soft1    
black-pelted beast4 ,what human  virgin 
would show such constancy in the defence
 of her virtue8 ,who1  alone in the     
night1 in a subterranean palace1 would  
use her hands to  open the walls1 all   
her strength to flee from her suitor8   
,philosophers  have believed that sexual
 modesty was an artificial sentiment1   
fruit  of civilizations3 they did not   

know the mole's story1 or any of the    
true stories in nature1 for nearly all  
females are timorous1 nearly  all react1
 at the appearance of the male1 in fear 
or in flight4 ,our  virtues are never   
more than psychological tendencies1 and 
the finest  of them are those whose     
explanation we are forbidden to seek4   
,why is  the she-bat violent1 the       
she-mole timorous8 ,without doubt the   
she-mole  observes the rule1 even in    
exaggerating its severity1 but why the  
rule8  ,there is no rule1 there are     
nothing but facts which we group in     
modes  perceptible to our intelligence1 
facts which are always provisory1 and   
which a change of perspective can       
denaturize4 ,the notion of a rule1 the  
notion of a law1 confession of our      
impotence to pursue a fact into the     
logical origins of its genealogy4 ,the  
law is a fashion of speaking1  an       
abbreviation1 a point of rest4 ,the law 
is half the facts plus one4  ,every law 
is at the mercy of an accident1 an      

unexpected encounter2  and yet1 without 
the idea of law all would be mere night 
in our  consciousness4    ,the male1    
says ,aristotle1 in his ,treatise on    
,generation1 represents  the specific   
form1 the female1 the matter4 ,she is   
passive1 in so much  as she is female2  
the male is active4    ,sexual modesty  
is a fact of sexual passivity4 ,the     
moment will come  for the female to be  
in her turn active and strong1 when she 
has been  fecundated1 and when she must 
give birth and food to the posterity of 
her race4 ,the male then becomes inert2 
equable sharing of the expense  of      
forces1 just division of labour4 ,this  
passivity of the female  element is     
found again in the very figuration of   
animality1 formed by  the egg and the   
spermatozoide4 ,one sees the play under 
the microscope3  the egg waits1 solid as
 a fortress or as a woman whom many men 
look  on and covet2 the little animals  
begin their attack1 they besiege the    
enclosure1 they butt it with their      

heads2 one of them breaks the wall1  he 
enters1 and as soon as his tad-pole tail
 passes the breach1 the  wound recloses4
 ,the entire activity of this embryonic 
female reduces  itself to this gesture2 
the greater part of her great sisters   
know no  other4 ,their free-will nearly 
always consists in this3 they receive   
one  among the arrivals1 without one's  
being able to know very well whether    
the choice is psychological or          
mechanical4    ,the female waits1 or    
flees1 which is but another way of      
waiting1 the  active way2 for not only  
se cupit ante videnti but she desires to
  be taken1 she wishes to fulfill her   
destiny4 ,it is doubtless for  this     
reason that1 in species where the male  
is feeble or timid1 the  female resigns 
herself to an aggression demanded by    
care for future  generations4 ,in short1
 two forces are present1 the magnet and 
the  needle4 ,usually the female is the 
magnet1 sometimes she is the needle4    
,these are details of mechanism which do

 not modify the general march  of the   
machine to its goal4 ,at the origin of  
all feeling there is a  fact irreducible
 and incomprehensible in itself4 ,common
 reasoning  starts from the feeling to  
explain the fact2 this gives the absurd 
result of making thought run in a set   
track1 like a horse in a circus4        
,kantian ignorantism is the masterpiece 
of these training exercises1  where1    
starting from the categoric stable the  
learned quadruped  necessarily thither  
returns1 having jumped through all the  
paper disks  of scholastic reasoning4   
,observers of animal habits fall        
regularly  into the prejudice of        
attributing1 regularly1 to beasts       
directive  principles which only a long 
philosophic education and especially    
,christianity have rammed into restive  
human docility4 ,toussenel and  ,romanes
 are rarely superior to the possessors  
of a prodigious dog or  miraculous cat3 
one must reject as apocryphal the       
anecdotes of animals'  intelligence1 and

 especially those boasting their        
sensibility1 or  celebrating their      
virtues2 not that these are of          
necessity1 inexact1  but because the    
manner of interpreting them has         
vitiated1 in principle1  the manner of  
observation4 ,one sole observer appears 
to me trustworthy  in these matters1    
namely ,j4 ,h4 ,fabre1 the man who1     
since ,raumur1 has  penetrated furthest 
into the intimacy of insects1 and whose 
work is  veritably the creator1 perhaps 
without his having suspected it1 of a   
general psychology of animals4    ,the  
madness of attributing to beasts the    
intuitive knowledge of our  moral       
catechism has created the legend of the 
elephant's sexual  modesty4 ,these      
chaste monsters hide1 they say1 to make 
love2 animated  by a wholly romantic    
sensibility1 they can not give way to   
their  feelings save in the mystery of  
the jungle1 in the labyrinth of the     
virgin forests3 that is why they have   
never been known to breed  in captivity4

 ,nothing is more idiotic2 the elephant 
in the public  garden or the circus is  
ready enough to make love1 although with
 less  enthusiasm than in his native    
forest1 as is the case with nearly  all 
beasts newly captive4 ,he breeds under  
man's eye with perfect  indifference1   
and no showman can prevent the          
she-elephant1 who is very  lecherous1   
from manifesting with full voice her    
shameless desires4  ,as her vulva opens 
not between her legs but toward the     
middle of her  abdomen1 ,buffon believed
 that she had to lie on her back to     
receive the  male4 ,this is not so1 but 
she has to make a particular gesture3   
she  kneels4    ,whales who are by far  
the greatest mammals1 obey a special    
rite1  imposed by their lack of members 
and the element in which they live2  the
 two colossi heave over on their sides  
like sprung ships1 and join  obliquely1 
belly to belly4 ,the male organ is      
enormous1 even in the  state of rest1   
six or eight feet long and fifteen or   

sixteen inches  in circumference4 ,the  
vulva of the female is longitudinal2    
near it is  found the udder which       
projects greatly when she gives suck4   
,this udder  has ejectory power1 the    
whale cub hooks on by his lips1 and the 
milk is  sent to him as from a pump1    
marvellous accommodation of organs to   
the  necessities of the milieu4         
,anatomy forces female seals and        
walruses to turn over to receive the    
male4 ,in the specie commonly called the
 sea-lion1 she seems according  to      
observations perhaps too sketchy1 to    
make the advances4 ,the male  being     
stretched out at rest she rolls before  
him1 plagues him1 while he  grumbles4   
,she succeeds in moving him1 and they go
 to play in the water4  ,on return the  
female lies on her back1 the male who is
 much thicker and  longer covers her1   
propping himself on his arms4 ,the      
coupling lasts  seven or eight minutes4 
,the posture of female seals is also    
that of  hedgehogs1 and truly the       

cavalage here must be particularly      
thorny4  ,despite his roof the male     
tortoise climbs onto the female and     
installs  himself there1 clinging to her
 shell with the nails of his forefeet2  
there he stays fifteen days having      
slowly introduced into her patient      
organs his long round prong1 ending in a
 sort of pointed ball1 pressing  with   
all his strength the enormous clitoris  
of the female4 ,we find  ourselves far  
from mammifers and from the excitability
 of the bull2  this coupling which lasts
 a whole season leads us toward the     
voluptuous  laziness of disgusting and  
marvellous gasteropodes4 ,according to  
tales  which are1 perhaps1 not          
contradictory1 crocodiles couple in the 
water1  according to some1 and on land  
according to others2 in water laterally2
  on land1 the female on her back4 ,it  
is said to be the male who puts her  on 
her back1 and who1 coition completed1   
helps her to right herself2  charming   
spectacle1 which ,i can not guarantee to

 be so1 but which would  improve our    
idea of the gallantry of these ancient  
divinities4    ,i don't know whether    
anyone has ever remarked that the       
caduceus of  ,mercury represents two    
serpents coupled4 ,to describe the      
caduceus is  to describe the love       
mechanism of ophidians4 ,the bifurcated 
penis  penetrates the vagina1 the bodies
 interlace fold on fold while the two   
heads rise over the stiffened coils and 
look fixedly at each other1 for  a long 
time1 eye gazing into eye4    ,certain  
fish have penial organs2 they can then  
realize true copulation2  thus dog-fish1
 bounce1 sharks1 sea-hinds 7biches74    
,the males grip  the females and hold   
them with hooks often formed at the     
expense of  the abdominal fin1 by       
cartilaginous pieces which penetrate the
 female  orifice and serve as slide to  
the penis4 ,the male skate seizes the   
female1 turns her over1 clamps himself  
to her1 belly to belly1 holds  her with 
his penial tentacles and finishes the   

coupling1 releasing his  seed which     
flows into the cloaca4 ,the operation is
 repeated several  times2 separated by  
the emission of skatelets who are born  
alive1 it  continues until the female   
has discharged the greater part of her  
eggs4      #a ,here ,r4 de ,g4 uses the 
term marmotte2 up to this the word ,i   
have  translated marmoset has been      
ouistiti4          ,,chapter ,x         
,,mechanism ,,of ,,love            ,,ii4
 ,copulation                            
7continued74--,arthropodes4--,scorpions4
--,large        aquatic                 
crustaceans4--,small crustaceans4--,the 
hydrachne4--,scutilary4--,cockchafer4--,
butterflies4--        ,flies1           
etc4--,variation of animals' sexual     
habits4      ,among insects1            
batrachians1 and mollusks one finds the 
most curious  modes of fecundation and  
those furthest removed from the usual   
mechanism of mammals2 before coming to  
that we will give a few  examples1      
toward forming an idea of the sexual    

habits of various  species chosen from  
the arthropodes4 ,in scorpions1 let us  
say1  terrestrial representatives of    
aquatic crustaceans3 the two sexes are  
identical1 genital organs usually       
invisible1 hidden between the abdomen   
and the cephalothorax1 the front part of
 it where the head without neck  is     
prolonged directly into the thorax4 ,the
 male is provided with two  rigid penes 
englobed in a sheath--double but forming
 a single canal2  holding the female    
belly to belly he inserts them in the   
vulva1 one  branch bending to the left1 
the other to the right toward each of   
the  two oviducts4 ,same mechanism in   
crustaceans1 save in the rare cases     
when they are hermaphrodite4 ,lobsters1 
langousts1 crevisses1 crabs1  like the  
scorpion1 couple in a manner singularly 
resembling that of  humans4 ,curious    
spectacle1 that of the hen lobster      
attacked by the  male1 turned on her    
back1 patiently permitting him to       
stretch over her1  enlacing her claws   

and his pincers6 ,vision of a sabbat    
which ,callot or  ,dor would only have  
painted in fear4 ,perhaps one would     
consider this  before opening the       
armoured belly of these beasts who have 
bred their  species among alg1 and in   
holes of the rocks8 ,the genital glands 
of  crustaceans are excellent2 people   
gladly eat those of the sea-anemone2    
the only good part of these spiny       
animals4 ,the males of the greater      
crustaceans have erectile ejectory      
canals1 rising in the form of double    
prong between the forefeet2 the females 
are correspondingly provided  with two  
vulv opening in the third sternal       
segment1 or at the base of  the feet    
corresponding to this segment4          
,copulation is effected by quick  acts1 
reiterated two or three times1 lasting a
 quarter of an hour4 ,the  male of the  
fresh water prawn who swims leaning on  
his side1 holds his  female between his 
claws and progresses by bounds2 she is  
much smaller  than he is4 ,same         

mechanism in aselle and talitre or      
sea-flea4    ,there are many            
singularities in the sexual habits of   
small crustaceans1  the male bopyre     
lives as parasite on the female1 who is 
four or  five times larger2 oddity      
increased by the female herself being   
the  parasite of the palemon4 ,it is she
 who forms the little bloatedness  which
 one notices1 grayish when cooked1 on   
the heads of shrimps1  turned pink4     
,fishermen state that this spot is a    
small sole1 but they  also tell other   
yarns3 for example1 that anatifes1 the  
peduncular  mussels which one sees on   
drift-wood are the embryos of           
wild-ducks1  and one noble sailor has   
himself seen them taking flight4#a ,the 
male linguatula is also smaller than the
 female1 he has one testicle  but two   
long copulating organs which            
simultaneously penetrate the  female1   
ejaculating toward the two ovaries4     
,another small male is the  hydrachne1  
water acarian1 two or three times       

smaller than the female1  he alone is   
provided with a tail at the end of which
 are his genital  organs2 the female's  
are formed by a papilla situated beneath
 the belly  and marked by a white patch 
surrounding the sluice4 ,the male swims1
 the  female comes to meet him1 lifts   
herself obliquely and brings her white  
spot into touch with her lover's caudal 
extremity1 the junction is              
accomplished4 ,one then sees the male   
drag along the kicking female2 the      
coupling1 with periods of rest1 but     
without interruption of profound        
contact continues for several days4     
,with insects of superior talents it is1
 on the contrary1 the female who        
carries off the male3 the ant carries   
hers on her back1 while he bends  his   
abdomen into a bow toward her vulva2    
thus weighted1 she flies1  mounts1      
planes1 then falls with him like a drop 
of water4 ,he dies on  the spot1 the    
female gets up1 returns to the nest1    
lays1 before dying4  ,the fetes of the  

ant are of the whole ant hill at once1  
the fall of  the lovers like a golden   
cascade1 and the resurrection of the    
females  gleams in the sun like a russet
 foam4 ,the scutilary is an insect      
sometimes squarish or shield-shaped     
resembling the green wood louse1        
sometimes long and cylindrical with     
points and lines of all colours  on its 
wings4 ,one of them1 scutiform1 known as
 lineata1 with red back  and black      
stripes1 is common on umbellifera4      
,copulation takes place  end to end2 one
 can see them thus1 the female towing   
the smaller male  from leaf to leaf1    
from umbel to umbel4#b ,the forficula   
also couple  end to end1 fleas1 whose   
male is smaller1 couple belly to belly  
with  feet enlaced2 the position        
recalling that of dragon flies is more  
remarkable1 in the louvette1 a small    
insect which lives on broom1 and        
readily throws itself upon man3 the     
vulva is in fact1 near the mouth4       
,coleoptera are given to cavalage1 of   

duration varying from ten hours  to two 
days4 ,the male cockchafer pursues the  
female with fervour1  he is so ardent   
that he often mounts other males1       
deceived by the  odour of rut floating  
in the air4 ,he seizes the female and   
holds her  clamped by his forelegs and  
genital hooks4 ,the union continues a   
day  and a night1 finally the male1     
exhausted1 falls over backward1 and     
still hooked by the penial pincers1 is  
dragged along on his back  by the       
impassive female who moves on feeding1  
pulling him over the  leaves until death
 detaches him2 then she lays and dies in
 her turn4  ,butterflies are likewise   
very fervent1 the males make veritable  
voyages  in quest of females1 as ,fabre 
has proved4 ,they often fly coupled1    
the stronger female easily carrying the 
male3 it is a quite frequent  sight in  
the country1 these butterflies with four
 wings who roll1 a  little bewildered   
from flower to flower1 drunken ships    
going where  the sails bid them4 ,with  

flies1 feminism is brought frankly into 
the  love mechanism4 ,the females have  
the copulative apparatus2 they force    
their oviduct1 then a veritable prong1  
into the male's belly2 it is  the       
females who make the mastering gesture1 
the male merely grips this  gimlet with 
the hooks which surround his genital    
fent4 ,it is this same  augur which the 
female uses to bore the wood1 or earth  
or flesh where  she deposits her eggs4  
,the coupling is end to end1 and one of 
the  easiest to observe4    ,here are   
enough examples to show what is         
permanent in the mechanism of  true     
copulation1 and what is variable in its 
exterior modes4 ,given the  two chief   
pieces of the apparatus1 the sword and  
the scabbard1 nature1  as one might say1
 leaves it to the imagination of each   
specie to decide  the best manner of    
using them2 all ways seem good if they  
fecundate4  ,nature has still more      
remarkable methods1 for the sexual      
inventions of  humanity are nearly all  

anterior or exterior to man4 ,there is  
not one  whose model1 even perfected1 is
 not offered him by the animals1 by the 
most humble of animals4    ,if there is 
no general rule1 if there is no one     
moral manner of  fecundating a female1  
one must recognize that the same mode is
 fixed  in the same specie1 in the same 
genus or family4 ,i do not think that   
anyone has observed variation in the    
sexual habits of an animal2 yet  acts of
 sheer disembarrassment being possible1 
one can not consider  the love method as
 being rigorously fixed4 ,it has varied 
in social  bees1 parting from the       
relation of the couple1 the aggression  
of the  male1 to end in the political   
and autocratic fecundation of a sole    
female by a sole male chosen among an   
hundred slave favourites4 ,the          
mechanism itself must have changed with 
the change of the organs1  complying    
with corporal circumstances and with    
those of the milieu1  under pressure of 
the nervous system which demands acts   

without  caring for the instruments     
which must execute them4 ,one finds     
proof  of these changes in the          
accidental hermaphrodism of a great     
number  of invertebrates and even of    
fishes1 such as the cod1 the herring1   
the scomber3 a fundamental change since 
it shifts the animal from a  superior to
 an inferior category2 a recall to      
origins1 doubtless1  and an indication  
that the species liable to such         
accidents are  far from being           
physiologically fixed4 ,it is very      
probable that  analogous accidents1 less
 accentuated1 visible sometimes in      
exterior  malformation1 invisible in    
their psychological influence1 are the  
cause  of certain tendencies in contrast
 to the sex apparent or even real4  ,but
 this does not yet answer the main      
question3 are there in animals1  apart  
from purely mechanical aberrations1     
erotic fantasies8 ,one can  not answer  
with certainty4 ,the animal merely      
follows a groove2 when he  has gone     

through it1 if he lives for another     
season1 he merely goes  over the same   
ground1 attentive to the same need1     
submitted always to  the same gestures4 
,very true1 but the animals familiar to 
man or his  neighbours1 the dog1 the    
ape1 perhaps the cat1 are assuredly     
capable  of erotic fantasies2 it is     
therefore difficult to deny this        
tendency  to other animals1 to the so   
intelligent hymenoptera1 for example4   
,who  knows1 moreover1 whether certain  
eccentric modes of copulation are not   
fixed fantasies1 become habit and having
 supplanted an anterior method1  the    
animal being little able to employ two  
customs at once8    ,what we have found1
 at least1 is that the love mechanism   
is1 in nature1  of infinite variety1 and
 that if it appears stable in most of   
the fixed  species1 it is1 in its       
entirety extremely oscillating1         
capricious1 and  fantastic4      #a ,the
 name of these cirripedes bears witness 
to this superstition3  anatife is the   

abridgement of anatifere1 duck-bearing1 
latin anas1  anatis1 ,a tree equally    
marvelous1 is that which produces       
barnacles1  for the fruits of this tree 
change into birds4 7,mandeville's       
,travels47    #b ,this does not seem to 
be general4 ,i have recently observed1  
on the  umbels of wild carrots1 numerous
 couples of scutilaries1 proceeding by  
cavalage1 the male inert1 couched on the
 walking female1 who started at  the    
least alarm4 ,form narrow1 almost       
cylindrical2 colour3 orange red1  with  
two short black bands3 strong sucker1   
long antenn4 ,union lasting  at least a 
day and a night4--,r4 de ,g4            
,,chapter ,,xi    ,,the ,,mechanism ,,of
 ,,love            ,,iii4 ,of birds and 
fish4--,males without                   
penis4--,coupling by simple             
contact4--,salacity of                  
birds4--,copulation of batrachians3     
accoucheur        toad1 aquatic toad1   
earth toad1 pipa toad4--,ftal           
parasitism4--,chastity of fish4--,sexes 

separated in        love4--,onanistic   
fecundation4--,cephalopodes1 the        
spermatophore4      ,,iii4 ,of birds and
 fish4 ,it is toward the middle of the  
second month  that the separation of the
 cloaca into two regions is marked in   
the  human foetus3 a partition is formed
 which will absolutely isolate  the     
digestive channel from the uro-genital4 
,the persistence of the  cloaca is not a
 sign of primitivity1 since one finds it
 in selacians1  batrachians1 reptiles1  
monotremes and birds4 ,the uro-genital  
region of  marsupials and of several    
rodents is submitted to a single        
sphincter1  witness of original union4  
,the bird's cloaca is divided into three
 chambers1 for the three  functions1 the
 outer orifice being necessarily unique1
 by definition4  ,it is with this       
rudimentary apparatus that most birds   
turn to the  pleasures of love4 ,the    
male being wholly deprived of any       
erectile  tissue1 coition is by simple  
contact1 a pressure1 perhaps a rubbing2 

displeasing as the comparison may be1 it
 is a play analogous to  the mouth to   
mouth kiss1 or1 if one prefer1 to the   
pressing of two  sapphists clasped vulva
 to vulva4 ,far from being a regression 
or a  stop1 it is perhaps a progress1   
the male at least gaining in security   
and vigour1 being obliged to very little
 muscular development4 ,the  salacity of
 certain birds is well known1 and one   
does not see that the  absence of an    
exterior penis diminishes their ardour1 
or attenuates the  pleasure which they  
find in these succinct contacts4        
,perhaps the direct  genital pleasure is
 concentrated in a vascular papilla     
which swells a  little at the moment of 
the approaches2 this is very            
rudimentary1 often  unnoticeable but it 
seems to be an exciting organ1 the      
producer of  pleasure4 ,the male mounts 
the female1 holds her with feet and     
beak1 the  two cloaca are superposed1   
the sperm flows into the oviduct4 ,one  
sees  sparrows repeat the sexual act as 

often as twenty times1 always with  the 
same excitement1 the same expression of 
contentment2 the female  tires first1   
and shows her impatience4 ,birds' habits
 are especially  interesting in reason  
of the play with which they surround    
their love  making1 their parades1 their
 combats2 we will deal with this in     
later  chapters4    ,batrachians live   
for hardly anything save reproduction4  
,outside their  season of love1 they    
remain stupefied4 ,the rut over-excites 
them1 and  these slow1 frozen animals   
then show themselves ardent and         
implacable4  ,the males fight for the   
possession of females2 having seized a  
female1  nothing will make the male let 
go4 ,one has seen him stick to his post 
even after his hind legs were cut off1  
even after losing half his  body4 ,yet  
the copulation is mere simulacrum1 it   
takes place by simple  contact in the   
absence of exterior organs1 even in     
salamanders1 despite  the pads which    
surround the cloaca1 sketch of an       

apparatus which has  remained extremely 
rudimentary1 or possibly problematic4   
,with anours1  the male1 smaller than   
the female1 climbs on her back1 passes  
his  forefeet1 his arms1 under her      
armpits and remains skin to skin for a  
month1 for two months4 ,at the end of   
this time the pressed flanks of  the    
female finally let fall the eggs1 and he
 fecundates them as they  fall4 ,such is
 the coupling of frogs1 lasting from    
fifteen to twenty  days4 ,the male      
clambers onto the female1 encircles her 
with his arms1  crosses his hands over  
her breast1 and holds her tightly       
embraced4  ,he then remains immobile1 in
 an ecstatic state1 insensible to every 
external shock1 to every wound4 ,it     
would seem that the sole aim of this    
enlacing is to exercise a pressure on1  
or to cause an excitement in1  the belly
 of the female and to make her deliver  
her eggs4 ,she lays a  thousand and the 
male sprays them with sperm as they     
pass4    ,all the anours 7tailless      

batrachians7 thus press their females   
like  lemons2 but the method of         
fecundating the eggs is quite variable4 
,the mid-wife toad enlaced like the     
others1 aids the emergence of the  egg  
garland with his hind feet1 he unrolls  
it grain by grain1 with  devotion1 while
 the female1 immobile emptier1 lends    
herself willingly  to this manuvre1     
which she feels perhaps as a caress4    
,the aquatic  toad does not pull at the 
garland1 he receives it in his paws1 and
 when  he has ten eggs or so1 he        
sprinkles them1 ejaculating with a      
movement  of the flanks1 which old      
,roesel#a compares to that of a dog's in
  coition4 ,as for the common land toad1
 whose note sounds like a pure  crystal 
bell in calm of the evening1 he waits   
until all the eggs have  emerged1 he    
arranges them in a heap1 then excited by
 somersaults1 he  drenches the lot of   
them4    ,but no batrachian patience is 
as curious as that of the pipa toad4    
,this is a hideous beast with small     

eyes1 mouth surrounded with             
whisker-prickles1 skin blackish green1  
full of warts and swellings4 ,as  the   
eggs are laid the male fecundates them1 
then taking them in his  large webbed   
feet he spreads them out on the female's
 back4 ,around  each egg there forms a  
little protective pustule1 in which the 
young  hatch4 ,the female on whom a     
hatch commences offers the odd spectacle
 of  a back whence1 here and there1     
heads and feet are sprouting1 or from   
which emerge little toads as if born of 
a paradox4#b ,this formation  is another
 proof that nature finds anything good  
which happens to  attain her purpose1   
and that she cares only for the         
perpetuation of  life4 ,an incubatorial 
pocket was necessary1 and she had       
forgotten it2  no matter1 the animal    
will make one for itself1 at its own    
expense or  at the expense of some other
 specie4 ,the small pipas exercize a    
real  parasitism1 ordered by an         
absent-mindedness of nature4 ,whether   

the  deposit of eggs be in the mother's 
back or in the tissue of some other     
animal the parasitism is no less        
evident1 at most it is a question  of   
degree4 ,from this point of view it will
 be possible to consider  the normal1   
internal evolution of sexual products as
 a parasitic  evolution3 the young of   
the mammal is a parasite of its mother1 
as the  little ichneumon is a parasite  
of the caterpillar which serves it as   
uterus4 ,thus considered the notion of  
parasitism temporary or larval  will    
disappear1 or1 rather1 take a much      
greater extension1 enveloping  a        
considerable number of facts up till now
 separated in irreducible  categories4  
,fecundation by contact is very rare in 
fish1 other than selacians4  ,one hardly
 finds it save in lophobranchi and      
certain other viviparous  fish1 such as 
the blenny2 the milt penetrates the     
female organs without  copulation1 and  
the eggs develop either in these organs1
 or in a pouch  which the male carries  

under his belly1 or even in the male's  
mouth1  he having thus the virtue of    
assuring the birth of his offspring4    
,the  lophobranchi are wholly singular  
fish1 one of them1 the sea-horse1       
horse-headed ludion1 gives a good idea  
of the family4 ,ordinary fish1  such as 
one knows and eats1 however ,m4 de      
,lacpde may have classified  them1 are  
chaste animals void of all erotic       
fantasy4    ,what would appear to be the
 essential of pleasure is unknown to    
them4  ,the males do not know possession
 nor the females surrender1 no touch1   
no rubbings1 no caress4 ,the object of  
male desire is not the female but  the  
eggs1 he watches for those she is about 
to lay1 he searches for  those she has  
laid1 an excitement quite like those    
produced by onanism1  or which are      
engendered by fetishism in certain      
distorted minds and  which operate at   
the sight of a slipper or ribbon1 and   
die down1 even  to frigidity in the     
presence of the woman herself4 ,the fish

 spends his  semen on eggs which he     
finds floating and whose mother he has  
never  seen4 ,often both eggs and male  
milt are left floating and meet only in 
the chance of current and wave4         
,sometimes fish form a separate couple4 
,the female swims up stream1 stops over 
a grass or sand bottom1 the male        
follows1 obeying her gesture4 ,such     
habits have permitted people to  breed  
fish with as great a certainty as they  
breed mushrooms1 or more  so4 ,one takes
 a female swelled with eggs1 squeezes   
her like an orange1  then one empties a 
male of his milt1 and nature takes      
charge of the  rest4 ,this procedure is 
not possible with certain species which 
act in  concert1 the male tilted onto   
his back1 his genital orifice beneath   
that of the female1 and ejaculating in  
time with her4    ,one knows that salmon
 swim up rivers in troops1 often very   
dense1  and into the branch streams and 
creeks1 to lay their spawn in quiet1    
favorable nooks4 ,then they go down     

stream worn out by the dams and         
waterfalls which they have mounted by   
tail-swishing1 and tired by their       
genital exercises4 ,the column is often 
led by a female1 the other  females     
follow4 ,then swim the old males and    
lastly the young males4  ,when the      
leaderess has found a suitable place1   
one of the roes stops1  hollows the sand
 with her belly1 leaves a packet of eggs
 in the hole1  an old male drenches them
 at once1 but the patriarch has been    
followed  by young bucks who imitate him
 and fecundate the same eggs4 ,thus1    
with  these fish there is a sort of     
school where the experienced teach the  
newcomers the procedure of fecundation4 
,this mixture of eggs and semen  from   
fish of all ages should be very         
favourable to the maintenance of  a     
specific type1 if the instability of    
milieu did not bring about the          
encounter of elements belonging to      
different neighbouring varieties3       
despite the good will of naturalists1   

salmon and trout form practically  only 
one family1 and nothing is more         
difficult1 for example1 than to         
determine the specie of a young salmon1 
or to state the difference  between a   
salmon and a sea trout4    ,the loves of
 fish 7and also of echinoderms1         
star-fish1 sea-anemones1  etc47 thus    
reduce themselves1 in the main1 to those
 of ovule and  spermatozoide4 ,the      
essential4 ,but such simplification is  
rather  shocking to the sensibility of a
 superior vertebrate1 or to an insect   
accustomed to the amorous parade1 to    
multiple and prolonged contacts1  to the
 presence and complexity of the opposite
 sex4 ,this fashion of  love is1        
admittedly1 not unknown to men1 but they
 seem to be led to  it rather by        
necessity than by taste1 by morals      
rather than by the  search for the      
maximum pleasure4 ,genital satisfactions
 obtained apart  from contact1 apart    
from being necessarily infecund1 save in
 scabrous  scientific experiments1 often

 cause a nervous and muscular depression
  greater even than excess committed in 
common4 ,but this result is not  so     
evident that one can convert it into a  
moral principle1 and the  fact remains  
that onanism1 carefully considered1 is  
one among nature's  gestures4 ,a        
different conclusion would be more      
agreeable2 but millions  of creatures   
would protest1 from all the oceans1 and 
from beneath the  reeds of all rivers4  
,one might go further1 and insinuate    
that this  method which appears to us   
monstrous1 or1 since it is a matter of  
fish1  singular1 is perhaps superior to 
the laborious method of cavalage1 so    
ugly1 in general1 and so inconvenient4  
,but there is not in terrestrial        
nature1 any more than in conceivable    
nature a high and low1 a wrong  side and
 a right side2 there is neither a good  
nor evil manner1 a  right nor a wrong1  
but there are states of life which      
fulfill their  purpose1 since they exist
 and since existence is their aim4      

,doubtless  the discord between the will
 and the organs is constant in all      
stages  of life1 and much accentuated in
 man where the wishes are multiplex1    
but where the nervous system remains1 in
 short1 the master1 and governs  even to
 the danger of its life4 ,it is not the 
chance of circumstances  and of milieu  
that has swelled the spermoduct of      
certain fish into  papilla1 and then    
into penis1 or formed a sheath for this 
penis at the  expense of the caudal fin2
 it is the will force of cerebral       
ganglia4  ,the evolution of the nervous 
system is always in advance of that of  
the organs1 this is a cause of          
incoherence1 and at the same time1 of   
progress and change4 ,the day when the  
brain has no more orders to give1  or   
when the organs have exhausted their    
faculties of obedience1 the  specie is  
fixed2 if fixed in a state of           
incoherence it moves toward  certain    
extinction1 as the monotremes4 ,many    
species seem to have been  destroyed in 

full evolution by the contradictory     
exigencies of a  tyrannous and          
capricious nervous system4    ,it is    
necessary that the male cephalopode     
fecundate the female4 ,how  will he do  
it1 having no organic sperm-vector8 ,he 
will make one4 ,one  thought for a long 
time that the female argonauts were     
preyed on by  a parasite4 ,this         
mysterious beast is nothing but the     
instrument of  fecundation4 ,the male   
has a pouch where sperm accumulates2 in 
this  pouch are made up little bags     
called spermatophores1 the animalcul    
move toward the third arm of the        
argonaut 7nautilus71 and this arm       
enlarges in spatula1 equips itself with 
a scourge1 loses its suckers1  and then 
when heavy with life as a ripe grape1 it
 falls off1 moves  toward the female1   
comes alongside her belly1 lodges in the
 palleal  cavity and oozes out its seed 
into the organs where this will         
encounter  the ovules4 ,the male organ1 
here1 appears as a temporary individual1

 a  third being between father and      
mother1 a messenger which carries the   
male genital treasure to the female4    
,neither of them knows the other4  ,the 
male is wholly ignorant of the female   
for whom he detaches a limb1  and the   
female knows nothing of her fecundator  
save the sole organ  which fecundates4  
,a little more complicated than that of 
the fish1  this method is probably      
older1 and seems possible only for      
aquatic  animals4 ,it is nevertheless   
that of many vegetables2 this swimming  
arm recalls the winged grains of pollen 
which travel far from their  pistils4   
,very few flowers can fecundate         
directly2 nearly all have need  of an   
intermediary1 the wind1 an insect1 a    
bird4 ,nature had given wings  to the   
phallus1 ages before the imagination of 
,pompeian painters2 she  had thought of 
this1 not for the pleasure of bashful   
women1 but for  the satisfaction of the 
most hideous beasts that people the     
ocean1  cuttlefish1 calamaries1 octopi4 

#a ,in his ,historia ,naturalis         
,ranarum1 #ageh1 ,bufo aquaticus4    #b 
,the back as gestative chamber is also  
found in woodlice1 during  one of their 
parthenogenetic phases1 cf4 ,fabre      
,souvenirs ,,vii1 les  ,pucerons du     
terebinthe4          ,,chapter ,,xii    
,,the ,,mechanism ,,of ,,love           
,,iv4 ,hermaphrodism4--,sexual life of  
oysters4--,gasteropodes4--,the idea of  
reproduction        and the idea of     
pleasure4--,mechanism of                
reciprocal reproduction3                
helices4--,spintrian                    
habits4--,reflections on hermaphrodism4 
,fish are the only vertebrates among    
whom one encounters hermaphrodism1      
either accidental3 cyprins1 herrings1   
scombers2 or regular1 sargue1           
sparaillon1 seran4 ,the myxines1 very   
humble fish living as parasites1  are   
alternative hermaphrodites1 like        
oysters1 like ascides2 the genital      
gland functions first as testicle1 then 
as ovary4 ,the amphioxus1 the  bridge   

between invertebrates and vertebrates1  
is not hermaphrodite4  ,the most        
strongly marked and most complicated    
forms of hermaphrodism  are found in    
mollusks1 and chiefly in gasteropodes4  
,the alternate  hermaphrodism of oysters
 produces effects which have been       
observed  throughout antiquity4 ,the    
advice to abstain from oysters during   
months  lacking an r is based on a fact1
 and that fact sexual4 ,from ,september 
to ,may1 they are males1 they are       
testicles1 they elaborate sperm1 they   
are good2 from ,june to ,august the     
ovaries bourgeon1 fill with eggs  which 
turn whitish as they ripen1 the oysters 
are females1 they are  bad2 fecundation 
takes place at this time1 the           
spermatozoides1 born  in the preceding  
period1 finally perform their office4   
,superstitions  before being rejected   
ought to be minutely observed and       
analysed1 there  is nearly always a     
kernel of truth in the gross envelope4  
,in the hermaphrodism of echinoderms1 of

 fish1 there is never  auto-fecundation2
 either the sexual products meet outside
 the animals1  which have neither       
copulating organs1 nor a related genital
 life2 it is  a simple growth of germs2 
or1 in a more complex phase the         
individuals  have exterior male organs1 
and female organs1 but they can not use 
them  without the aid of another        
individual acting either as male1 or as 
female4 ,here a new distinction is      
imposed3 either the animal will be      
successively male1 and then female2 or  
it will be both at once4 ,this  union of
 the two sexes seems useless1 according 
to human logic1 when  the two genital   
glands ripen at different seasons2 one  
understands it  better when the         
reciprocal fecundation is simultaneous1 
since this  doubles the number of       
females and better assures the          
conservation of  the specie4 ,one must  
set aside the idea of pleasure4 ,apart  
from the  fact that we can judge it only
 by a very distant and even dubious     

analogy considering the difference      
between the nervous systems of man  and 
mollusk1 one must set it aside as       
useless4 ,pleasure is a result  not an  
aim4 ,in most animal species coition is 
but a prelude to death1  and often love 
and death work their supreme act in the 
same instant4  ,copulation of insects is
 suicide3 would it be reasonable to     
consider  it as produced by a desire to 
die8 ,one must dissociate the idea of   
pleasure and the idea of love1 if one   
wants to understand anything  of the    
tragic movements which perpetually beget
 life at the expense  of life itself4   
,pleasure explains nothing4 ,people     
might simply be  commanded to die as a  
means of reproduction1 they would obey  
with  the same eagerness3 this is       
observed even in humanity4 ,dithyrambs  
on  pleasure would be misplaced apropos 
of the mutual ticklings of two  snails  
on a vine-leaf2 the subject is rather   
uncomfortable4    ,note then two        
helices1 both bisexual1 fulfilling      

exactly the biblical  phrase3 he created
 them male and female2 their genital    
organs are  very well developed2 the    
penis and oviduct opening into a        
vestibule1  which in the act of         
copulation unbellies itself in part1 so 
that the  penis and vagina come in touch
 with the orifice2 mutual intromission  
takes place4 ,a third organ comes from  
the vestibule1 without analogy in       
superior animals2 it is a little pocket 
containing a small stiletto1  a jewelled
 dagger2 it is an excitative organ1 the 
needle to prick up  desires4 ,these     
beasts who have prepared for love by    
fasting1 by long  rubbings1 by whole    
days of close pressure1 finally come to 
a decision1  the swords come out of     
their scabbards1 they conscientiously   
stab each  other1 this causes the penis 
to rise from its sheath2 the double     
mating  is accomplished4    ,there are  
species in which the position of the    
organs is such that the  same individual
 can not be at the same time the female 

of the one for  whom he acts as male1   
but he can at that moment serve as      
female to  another male1 who is female  
to a third1 and so on4 ,this explains   
the  garlands of spintrian gasteropodes 
which one sees realizing innocently  and
 according to the ineluctable wish of   
nature1 carnal imaginations  that have  
been the boast of erotic humanity4      
,facing this light from  animal habits1 
debauchery loses all character and all  
its tang1 because  it loses all         
immorality4 ,man1 who unites in himself 
the aptitudes of  all the animals1 all  
their laborious instincts1 all their    
industries1  could not escape the       
heritage of their sexual methods2 and   
there is no  lewdness which has not its 
normal type in nature1 somewhere4       
,before leaving this repugnant milieu1  
one may still consider the leech4       
,hermaphrodite1 they also practice      
reciprocal fecundation1 but the         
position of their organs compels them to
 assume a peculiar position3  the prong 

emerges from a pore near the mouth2 the 
vagina is above the  anus4 ,the         
copulation of these wretched animals    
forms1 therefore1 a  head-to-tail1 the  
bocal sucker coinciding with the anal   
sucker4    ,animals having both sexes1  
do not necessarily show sexual          
dimorphism4  ,but neither this exact    
likeness of individuals1 nor the double 
function  with which they are charged1  
contradicts the general law which seems 
to wish that an individual should be due
 to elements coming from  two different 
individuals4 ,autofecundation is        
exceptional1 is very  rare4 ,whether or 
no the individual possess the two       
genital glands1  or one of them only1 it
 needs a male1 or an individual acting  
as  male1 and a female or an individual 
acting as female1 to perpetuate  life4  
,alternative hermaphrodism confirms     
these propositions1 be it  that the same
 gland transforms itself totally1 turn  
by turn1 into  male principle1 then into
 female principle2 be it divided between

 a  male half and a female half1 these  
two halves ripen simultaneously or      
successively4 ,when there is total or   
partial alternation1 the male  principle
 is ready first1 and waits3 thus the    
aggressivity of the  male1 and the      
passivity of the female are visible in  
the most obscure  manifestations of     
sexual life3 the fundamental psychology 
of an ascide  does not differ from that 
of an insect1 or from that of a mammal4 
,,chapter ,,xiii    ,,the ,,mechanism   
,,of ,,love            ,v4 ,artificial  
fecundation4--,disjunction of        the
 secreting apparatus from the copulating
                                        
apparatus4--,spiders4--,discovery of    
their copulative                        
method4--,brutality of the              
female4--,habits        of the          
epeire4--,the argyronete4--,the         
tarantula4--,exceptions3 the            
reapers4--,dragon-flies                 
7libellule74--,dragon-flies 7demoiselle7
 virgins and                            

jouvencelle4--,picture of their love    
affairs4      ,the apparatus for        
secreting sperm and that for copulating 
are sometimes  separated4 ,the female   
has a vagina normally situated2 the male
 has no  penis1 or else it is situated  
in some part of the body not in symmetry
  with the receiving apparatus4 ,it is  
then necessary either for the male  to  
make an artificial penis1 as one has    
seen in the cephalopodes1  and as in the
 spider1 or for him to engage in        
complicated manuvres  to dominate the   
female1 and to engineer the conjunction 
of the two  apparatus1 as does the      
dragon-fly 7libellule74    ,the method  
of most arachnids strangely resembles   
the medical practice  called artificial 
fecundation1 although it is hardly more 
so than  normal fecundation4 ,in both it
 is a question of putting spermatozoides
  in the way of encountering ovules3 it 
matters little whether phallus  or      
syringe be the vehicle4 ,the spider uses
 a syringe4 ,for a long time  people    

thought that the whole genital apparatus
 was situated in the  feelers of the    
male1 but anatomy could find nothing    
there to resemble  it4 ,savigny thought 
that the introduction of the feelers    
into the  vulva was merely an excitative
 manuvre1 and that the true copulation  
followed4 ,one had only observed half   
the act1 the second phase4 ,the  first  
consists in the male's gathering up the 
semence in his own belly  with the      
feelers2 he then places it in the female
 organ4 ,the maxillary  peripalpe or    
antenna1 thus transformed into a penis1 
contains a spiral  canal which the male 
fills in placing it against the opening 
of his  spermatic canals4 ,one sees the 
joint of one of the knuckles open1      
letting appear a white bourrelet 7pad   
with a hole in the middle71 this  is    
bent1 and plunged into the vulva1 it    
emerges and the insect flees4  ,system  
marvellously adapted to the             
circumstances1 for the female is        
ferocious and quite ready to devour her 

suitor4 ,but is it the ferocity  of the 
female which has modified the           
fecundating system1 or is it the        
system1 so lacking in tenderness1 which 
has led the receptress to find  only an 
enemy in the aspirant who advances horn 
to the fore8 ,acts which  produce       
constant and useful results always seem 
to us ordered by an  admirable logic2   
one need only give oneself up to a      
certain laziness  of mind1 to be led    
quite gently to call them providential  
and to fall  little by little into the  
innocent nets of finalism4              
,doubtless--and undeniable--there is a  
general finality1 but one must  conceive
 it as represented entire by the present
 state of nature4  ,this will not be a  
conception of order1 but a conception of
 fact1  and in any case1 the means used 
to attain this fact should in no  way be
 integrated in the finality itself4     
,none of the procedures of  generation1 
for example1 bears the mark of          
necessity4 ,it is not the  ferocity of  

the she-spider which demands the sexual 
habit2 the female  mantis is still more 
savage1 and mantis' method is cavalage4 
,it does  not seem as if anything in    
nature were ordered in view of some     
benefit2  causes blindly engender       
causes2 some maintain life1 others force
 it to  progress1 others destroy it2 we 
qualify them differently1 according to  
the dictates of our sensibility1 but    
they are non-qualifiable2 they are      
movements1 and nothing else4 ,the pebble
 ricochets on the water1 or it  doesn't2
 this has no importance in itself1      
nothing more will come of it  and       
nothing less4 ,it is an image of supreme
 finality3 after eight or  ten bounds1  
life1 like the pebble thrown by a child1
 will fall into the  abyss1 and with it 
all the good and evil1 all facts1 all   
ideas1 and all  things4    ,the idea of 
finality leads one back to the idea of  
fact1 one is no  longer tempted to      
attempt an explanation of nature4 ,one  
would try  modestly to reconstruct the  

chain of causes and1 as a great number  
of  rings will always be lacking1 and as
 the absence of one ring alone  would   
suffice to unhook the whole reasoning1  
one will do this in a  piety tempered by
 scepticism4    ,the epirus1 although a 
spider1 is not an ill-conditioned beast2
 she is  episcopal1 she carries on her  
back a pretty white cross upside down4  
,the large ones are the females2 the    
very small ones1 the males4 ,both  hook 
their webs upon bushes1 on shrubs1 live 
without knowing each other  until       
instinct has spoken4 ,a day comes when  
the male is restless2 the  gnats fail to
 satisfy him2 he leaves1 he abandons the
 home he will  perhaps not see again4   
,he is not1 indeed1 without misgivings1 
and fear  is mingled with his desire1   
for the mistress he seeks is an ogress4 
,thus he prepares a way of retreat in   
case of combat2 he stretches a  thread  
from the female's web to a neighbouring 
branch1 road of entry1  gate of exit4   
,often1 the instant he shows himself    

with his excited  air1 the female epirus
 leaps on him and eats him without      
formality4  ,is it ferocity8 ,no1       
stupidity4 ,she also is awaiting the    
male1 but her  attention is distraught  
between the coming of the caller and the
 coming  of prey4 ,the web has shaken1  
she leaps1 enlaces1 devours4 ,perhaps  a
 second male if he attempt the pass1    
will be gladly received1 the  first     
sacrifice accomplished1 perhaps this    
mistake1 if it is one1 will  wake all   
the amorous attention of the distracted 
female8 ,ferocity1  stupidity2 there is 
another explanation which ,i will give  
later1  apropos the mantis and the green
 grass-hopper3 it is very probable  that
 the sacrifice of the male1 or of a     
male1 is absolutely necessary1  and that
 it is a sexual rite4 ,the little male  
approaches2 if he is  recognized1 and if
 his coming coincides with the genital  
state of the  female1 she merely behaves
 like all the rest of her peers1 and    
even  though she be the larger and      

stronger1 she flees2 she lets herself1  
full of coquetry1 slide down a thread2  
the male imitates the play1 he          
descends1 she mounts1 he mounts1 the    
acquaintance is made1 they feel  each   
other1 they pat each other1 the male    
fills his pump1 the mating  is          
accomplished4 ,she is rapid1 the male   
stays on guard1 ready to flee  at the   
least movement of his adversary2 often  
he hasn't time4 ,scarcely  has the      
fecundation been finished when the      
ogress turns1 leaping1 and  devours the 
suitor on the very spot of his amours4  
,they say that she  does not always wait
 for the end of the operation1 and that 
preferring  a good meal to a caress1 she
 interrupts the performance with a slap 
of  her mandibles4 ,when the male has   
the luck to escape he disappears like  a
 flash1 goes down his thread like       
greased lightning4 ,the argyronete  uses
 manuvres analogous1 but even more      
curious4 ,it is a water spider1  which  
goes under water in an ingenious small  

diving-bell1 a future  nest4 ,the female
 having made her diving-bell1 the male1 
not daring to  present himself thinks   
out the wheeze of making another bell   
just next  that of the female4 ,then at 
a propitious moment he breaks through   
the  dividing wall and profits by the   
surprise of his sudden entry4 ,when it  
is a matter of not being eaten1 all     
means are the right ones4    ,the       
tarantula1 whose habits are far from    
gentle1 is not cruel to  her suitor4    
,this monster who spins no web1 spins   
out a long idyllic  courtship4 ,extended
 preludes1 puerile games1 delicate      
caresses1  lambkins' leapings4 ,finally 
the female surrenders fully4 ,the male  
places her as he wishes1 chooses for her
 the pose most pleasing to  him1 and    
lies obliquely against her1 gently and  
repeatedly taking the  sperm from his   
abdomen he insinuates each of his       
palpes1 one after the  other in the     
swollen vulva of the female4 ,the       
break-away is sudden1  a jump4 ,still   

more tender are the courtships of the   
leaping spider2  they advance by little 
rushes1 stop1 watch1 leap on their prey1
 insect  or fly1 or else float at the   
wind's will on the end of a long hanging
  web-thread4 ,when male and female     
meet1 they approach1 tap each other     
with forefeet and tentacles1 separate1  
reapproach1 recommence4 ,after  a       
thousand salutations1 they pose head to 
head1 the male climbs onto  the female1 
stretches out until he reaches the      
abdomen4 ,then he lifts  the extremity  
of it1 applies his palpe to the vulva1  
and retires4 ,the  same act is begun    
again several times1 the female is all  
compliance  and offers no insult to her 
companion4 ,there are certain exceptions
 to  the method of spiders2 the reapers1
 little balls mounted on immense  legs1 
act by cavalage4 ,the males have a      
retractile prong fixed by two  ligaments
 to the abdomen1 the female an oviduct  
which opens in vulva  and spreads       
interiorly into a vast pouch1 the       

resting place for the  eggs4 ,the male  
does not manage this female1 a strong   
objector1 save  by seizing her mandibles
 with his pincers4 ,overcome by this    
bite she  submits2 the coupling lasts   
several seconds4    ,the dragon-fly1    
gracefully called la demoiselle1 is one 
of the  finest insects in the world and 
certainly the most beautiful of those   
which fly in our climate2 no soft       
butterfly colour is a match for the     
moving shimmer of its supple abdomen1   
and the bright head-colours as  of      
steely-blue helmet4 ,description8 ,it is
 difficult to find two alike2  one has  
tawny body and dove-grey abdomen1       
spotted with yellow1 and  black feet1   
transparent wings with brown borders or 
nerve-veinings1  or these in black and  
white2 another has a yellow head1 brown 
eyes1  brown corselet veined in green1  
an abdomen touched with green and       
yellow1 irised wings2 another called la 
,vierge is gilded green1 or  blue with  
green shimmer1 and spotless wings2      

another la ,jouvencelle  has wings thin 
to invisibility1 is clothed in all      
shades1 metallic  blue1 reddish-brown   
green1 iris violet1 tawny chrysanthemum1
 whatever  her fundamental colour she   
encircles her elegant barrel with rings 
of black velvet4 ,naturalists divide    
these insects into libellules1  shnes1  
agrions2 ,fabricius disputes with       
,linnus2 peasants and children  7for    
grown-ups despise nature7 call them     
demoiselles1 vierges and                
jouvencelles4#a ,some fly very high1 in 
the trees1 others along the  streams and
 over pond edges2 others over ferns1    
reeds1 broom4 ,i have  passed days in   
the sun watching them1 waiting to see   
their courtships2  ,i have seen them1   
and know that ,raumur has not deceived  
us4 ,it was  on the surface of a pond   
among the border flowers1 a morning of  
,july1  a flaming morning4 ,the ,vierge1
 corselet of blue green1 almost         
invisible wings1 fluttered in great     
numbers1 slowly1 as if seriously2  the  

hour of parade had arrived4 ,and        
everywhere couples formed1 rings  of    
azure hung from the grass blades1       
trembled on leaves of the  water-lentil1
 everywhere green arrows and blue arrows
 played at flight1  and wing-brushing1  
at joining4 ,the big eyes and strong    
head of the  libellule give an air of   
gravity to the brilliancy of this       
spectacle4    ,the ejaculatory canal    
opens at the ninth ring of the abdomen1 
that is  to say1 at the point2 the      
copulating apparatus is fixed at the    
second  ring1 that is1 near the neck1   
and is composed of a penis1 of hooks1   
and  a reservoir3 the male bending his  
long belly first fills the reservoir1   
then empties it into the organs of the  
female4 ,for a long time he  pursues the
 desired mistress1 plays with her1      
finally seizes her above  the neck with 
the terminal pincers of his abdomen1    
then1 turning like  a serpent1 he bends 
forward and continues to fly1 a beast   
with four  pairs of wings4 ,in this     

attitude1 the male1 sure of himself1    
with the  air of the hour's indifferent 
master1 chases midges1 visits flowers   
and the axilla of plants where the      
midges sleep1 nabs them with his  feet  
and puts them into his mouth4 ,finally  
the female accedes1 bends  downward her 
flexible abdomen and makes its orifice  
coincide with the  male's pectoral      
penis3 the two beastlets are but one    
splendid ring with  a double cup1 a ring
 trembling with life and with fire4     
,no gesture of love can be conceived    
more charming than that of the  female  
slowly bending back her blue body1 going
 half way toward her  lover1 who erect  
on his forefeet bears1 with taut        
muscles1 the full  weight of the        
movement4 ,it is so pure1 so immaterial1
 one would say  that two ideas joined in
 the limpidity of ineluctable thought4  
#a ,in ,america we have1 so far as ,i   
know1 only the terms dragon  fly and    
darning-needle1 and for the larger ones 
devil's  darning-needle4--,e4 ,p4       

,,chapter ,,xiv    ,,the ,,mechanism    
,,of ,,love            ,,vi4            
,cannibalism in sex4--,females who      
devour the        male1 those who devour
 the spermatophore4--,probable          
use of these practices4--,fecundation by
 the whole        male4--,loves of the  
white foreheaded dectic4--,the          
green grasshopper4--,the ,alpine        
analote4--,the                          
ephippigere4--,further reflections of   
the cannibalism        of sex4--,loves  
of the praying mantis4      ,the spider 
eats her male2 the mantis eats her male2
 in locustians1  the female is          
fecundated by a spermatophore1 an       
enormous genital  bunch-of-grapes4 ,she 
gnaws through this envelope of          
spermatozoides  to the last shred4      
,these two facts should be brought      
together4  ,whether the female swallow  
the male entire1 or only the product of 
his genital glands1 it is probably in   
both cases a complementary act  of      
fecundation4 ,there are possibly in the 

male1 assimilable elements  necessary   
for the development of the eggs1 almost 
as the albumen of  seeds1 little aborted
 plants1 is necessary for nourishing the
 vegetable  embryo1 surviving plantlet4 
,plants1 according to recent study1 are 
born  twins3 in order to live one must  
devour the other4 ,shifted to animal    
life1 and slightly modified1 this       
mechanism explains what one terms1  from
 sentimentalism1 the sexual ferocity of 
the she-mantis and the  she-spider4     
,life is made out of life4 ,nothing     
lives save at the expense  of life4 ,the
 male insect nearly always dies         
immediately after the  mating2 in       
locustians he is literally emptied by   
the genital effort3  whether the female 
respect1 or devour him1 his life would  
hardly be  longer1 or shorter thereby4  
,he is sacrificed2 why1 if this is for  
the  good of the species should he not  
be eaten8 ,anyhow1 he is eaten4 ,it is  
his destiny1 and he feels it coming1 at 
least the male spider does1 and  the    

male mantis allows himself to be gnawed 
with a perfect stoicism4  ,the spider   
jibs1 the other submits4 ,it is really a
 matter of ritual1  not of accident or  
of crime4 ,one might try experiments4   
,one might  prevent the female dectic   
from pecking the mistletoe berry which  
the  male has discharged on her2 one    
might watch the coupling of mantes and  
isolate them immediately3 and then      
follow all the phases from laying to    
hatching4 ,if the spermatophagy of the  
dectic is useless1 if the murder  of the
 male mantis is useless1 it will annul  
the foregoing reflections1  and others  
will rise4    ,the white-fronted dectic 
is1 like all the locustians             
7grass-hoppers71  a very ancient insect2
 it existed in the coal era1 and it is  
perhaps  this antiquity which explains  
its peculiar fecundative method4 ,as the
  cephalopodes1 his contemporaries1 he  
has recourse to the spermatophore2  yet 
there is mating1 there is embracing2    
there are even play and  caresses4 ,here

 are the couple face to face1 they      
caress each other  with long antenn fine
 as hair1 as ,fabre says2 after a moment
 they  separate4 ,the next day1 new     
encounter1 new blandishments4 ,another  
day1  and ,fabre finds the male knocked 
down by the female1 who overwhelms him  
with her embrace2 he gnaws her belly4   
,the male disentangles himself and      
escapes1 but a new assault masters him1 
he lies flat on his back4 ,this  time   
the female1 lifted on her high legs1    
holds him belly to belly2  she bends    
back the extremity of her abdomen2 the  
victim does likewise2  there is         
junction1 and soon one sees something   
enormous issue from the  convulsive     
flanks of the male1 as if the animal    
were pushing out its  entrails4 ,it is1 
continues the best observer 7,fabre1    
,souvenirs ,,vi71  an opaline leather   
bottle about the size and colour of a   
mistletoe  berry1 a bottle with four    
pockets at least1 held together by      
feeble  sutures4 ,the female receives   

this leather bottle1 or spermatophore1  
and  carries it off glued to her belly4 
,having got over the thunder-clap1  the 
male gets up1 makes his toilet2 the     
female browses as she walks4  ,from time
 to time she rises on her stilts1 bends 
into a ring1 seizes  her opaline bundle 
in her mandibles1 and chews it gently4  
,she breaks  off little pieces1 chews   
them carefully1 and swallows them4 ,thus
 while  the fecundative particles are   
extravasated toward the eggs which they 
are to animate1 the female devours the  
spermatic pouch4 ,after having  tasted  
it piece by piece she suddenly pulls it 
off1 kneads it1 swallows  it whole4 ,not
 a scrap is lost2 the place is clear1   
and the oviscapte  is cleaned1 washed1  
polished4 ,the male has begun to sing   
again1 during  this meal1 but it is not 
a love-song1 he is about to die2 he     
dies3  passing near him at this moment1 
the female looks at him1 smells him1    
takes a bite of his thigh4    ,fabre was
 unable to see the mating of the green  

grass-hopper1 which  takes place at     
night1 but he observed the long         
preludes2 he has seen  the slow play of 
soft antenn4 ,the result of the coupling
 is the same  as with all locustians2   
the female chews and swallows the       
genital  ampulla4 ,she is a terrible    
beast of prey who eats alive a huge     
cicada1  who fearlessly sucks the       
entrails of a wriggling cockchafer4 ,one
 can't  say whether she eats her male1  
dead or alive2 it is very probable for  
he is quite timid4 ,another dectic1 the 
,alpine analote1 has given ,fabre  the  
alarming spectacle3 a male on his back1 
a female on his belly1 the  genital     
organs joining end to end in this single
 contact1 and while  she was receiving  
the fecundative caress1 the enigmatic   
female1 with  the fore part of her body 
raised1 was gnawing with little         
mouthfuls1  another male held in her    
claws1 impassive1 his belly chewed open4
 ,the  male analote is much smaller and 
weaker than the female2 like his        

confrre the spider1 he flees with       
greatest possible speed after the  end  
of coition2 he is very often nipped4 ,in
 the case observed by ,fabre1  the meal 
was doubtless the end of a preceding    
amour3 these locustians  have the habit1
 rare among insects1 of receiving       
several suitors4 ,truly  this cannibal  
,marguerite de ,bourgogne is a fine type
 of beast1 and  gives a fine spectacle1 
not of immorality1 an empty term1 but of
 the  serenity of nature1 which permits 
all things1 wills all things1 and for   
whom there are neither vices nor        
virtues1 but only movements and chemic  
reactions4    ,the spermatophore of the 
ephippiger is enormous1 nearly half the 
size  of the animal4 ,the nuptial feast 
is finished according to the same  rite1
 and the female1 having finished the    
leather-bottle spermatophore1  adds     
thereto the poor emptied male4 ,she does
 not even wait until he is  dead2 she   
chops him up1 as he is dying1 limb by   
limb3 having fecundated  her with all   

his blood1 he must feed her with all his
 flesh4    ,this male flesh is doubtless
 powerful comforting to the mother to   
be4 ,female mammifers1 after delivery1  
devour the placenta4 ,one has  given    
different interpretations to this       
habitual act4 ,some see a  precaution   
against enemies3 it is necessary to     
obliterate traces of  a condition which 
clearly shows that one is feeble1       
defenceless1  surrounded by young1 a    
tasty prey at the mercy of any tooth2   
others  say it is a recuperation of     
energy4 ,this latter opinion seems more 
likely1 especially if one consider the  
habits of locustians4 ,the              
spermatophore is indeed the preceding   
analogy to the placenta4 ,on the  other 
hand1 fecundation1 before being a       
specific act1 belongs to the  general   
phenomena of nutrition3 it is the       
integration of one force in  another    
force1 and nothing more4 ,the devouring 
of the male1 partial or  complete1      
represents1 then1 only the most         

primitive form of the union  of         
cellules1 this junction of two unities  
in one1 which precedes the              
segmentation1 feeds it1 makes it        
possible during a limited time1 after   
which a new conjunction is necessary4   
,if the actual acts are only a          
survival1 if they have lasted after     
their utility has disappeared1 it  is   
another question1 and one which ,i leave
 again to experimenters4  ,it will be   
enough for me if ,i have gained         
acceptance of the general  principle    
that animals' acts1 whatever they may   
be1 can not be  understood unless one   
strip them of the sentimental           
qualifications  beneath which ignorant  
humanity has covered them1 corrupting   
them with  providential finalism4       
,while fully recognizing the immense    
social value of prejudices1  analysis   
should be permitted to excoriate them   
and to grind them4  ,nothing appears    
more dear than maternal love1 and       
nothing is more  widespread throughout  

all nature3 yet nothing gives a falser  
interpretation of the acts which these  
two words pretend to explain4  ,one     
makes a virtue of it1 that is to say1 in
 the ,christian sense1 a  voluntary act2
 one seems to think that it depends on  
the mother to  love or not to love her  
children1 and one considers culpable    
those who  relax or forget their        
motherly cares4 ,like generation1       
motherly love is  a commandment2 it is  
the second condition of the perpetuity  
of life4  ,mothers sometimes are without
 it2 some mothers also are sterile3 the 
will intervenes neither in one case nor 
in the other4 ,as the rest of  nature1  
as ourselves1 animals live submitted to 
necessity1 they do what  they ought to  
do1 so far as their organs permit them4 
,the mantis who  eats her husband is an 
excellent egg-layer who prepares1       
passionately1  the future of her        
progeny4    ,after ,fabre's observations
 of couples of these insects caged1 the 
female much stronger than the male      

mantes1 are the predatory ones1 who  do 
combat for love4 ,the combats are       
deadly1 the vanquished female is  eaten 
at once4 ,the male is bashful4 ,at the  
moment of desire he limits  himself to  
posing1 to making sheep's eyes1 which   
the female seems to  consider with      
indifference or disdain4 ,tired of      
parade1 he finally  decides1 and with   
spread wings1 leaps trembling upon the  
back of the  ogress4 ,the mating lasts  
five or six hours2 when the knot is     
loosed1  the suitor is1 regularly1      
eaten4 ,the terrible female is          
polyandrous4  ,other insects refuse the 
male when their ovaries have been       
fecundated1  the mantis accepts two1    
three1 four1 up to seven2 and           
,bluebeard1 eats  them regularly after  
the act is accomplished4 ,fabre has seen
 better4  ,the mantis is almost the only
 insect with a neck2 the head does not  
join the thorax immediately1 the neck is
 long and flexible1 bending  in all     
directions4 ,thus1 while the male is    

enlacing and fecundating  her1 the      
female will turn her head back and      
calmly eat her companion  in pleasure4  
,here is one headless1 another is gone  
up to the corsage1  and his remains     
still clutch the female who is thus     
devouring him  at both ends1 getting    
from her spouse simultaneously the      
pleasures  ac mensa ac thoro1 both bed  
and board from her husband4 ,the double 
pleasure only ends when the cannibal    
reaches the belly3 the male then  falls 
in shreds and the female finishes him on
 the ground4 ,poiret has  witnessed a   
scene perhaps even more extraordinary4  
,a male leaps on a  female and is going 
to couple4 ,the female turns her head1  
stares at the  intruder1 and decapitates
 him with a blow of her jaw-foot1 a     
marvellous  toothed-scythe4 ,without    
disconcertion the male1 wedges up1      
spreads  himself1 makes love as if      
nothing abnormal had happened4 ,the     
mating  took place1 and the female had  
the patience to wait for the end of the 

operation before finishing her wedding  
breakfast4    ,the headless nuptials are
 explained by the fact that the insects'
 brain  does not seem to have unique    
control of its movements2 these animals 
can live without the cervical ganglion4 
,a headless grasshopper will  still lift
 his bruised foot to his mouth1 after   
three hours1 with the  movement familiar
 to him in his complete condition4      
,the small mantis1 or colourless mantis1
 is almost as fierce as her  great      
sister1 the religious mantis2 but the   
empuse1 a kindred specie1  seems        
peaceful4          ,,chapter ,,xv       
,,the ,,sexual ,,parade                 
,universality of the caress1 of amorous 
preludes4--,their rle in                
fecundation4--,sexual        games of   
birds4--,how cantharides                
caress4--,males'                        
combats4--,pretended combats of         
birds4--,dance of the                   
tetras4--,gardener bird4--,his country  
house4--,his        taste for           

flowers4--,reflections on the origin    
of his art4--,combats of                
crickets4--,parade of                   
butterflies4--,sexual sense of          
orientation4--,the        great-peacock 
moth4--,animals' submission to orders of
        ,nature4--,transmutation of     
physical values4--,rutting              
calendar4      ,one has convinced       
oneself in the preceding chapters that  
the games of  love1 preludes1 caresses1 
combats are in no way peculiar to the   
human  race4 ,on nearly all rungs of the
 animal ladder1 or rather on all the    
branches of the animal fan1 the male is 
the same1 the female is the  same4 ,it  
is always the equation given in the     
intimate mechanism of  union of         
animalcule and ovule3 a fortress toward 
which amans volat  currit ac ltatur4    
,the whole passage of the ,imitatio 7,l4
 ,,iii1 chap4  iv1 #d7 is a marvellous  
psychological presentation of love in   
nature1  of sexual attraction as it is  
felt throughout the whole series of     

creatures4 ,the besieger must enter the 
fortress2 he uses violence1  sometimes  
gentle violence2 more often trickery1   
the caress4    ,caress1 charming        
movements1 grace1 tenderness1 we do all 
these things  of necessity1 not because 
we are men1 but because we are animals4 
,their aim is to liven the              
sensibilities1 to dispose the organism  
to  accomplish with joy its supreme     
function4 ,they are1 very probably1     
agreeable to the individual and they are
 perceived as pleasure only  because    
they are useful to the species4 ,this   
character of necessity is  naturally    
more apparent in animals than in man4   
,in animals the caress  has fixed forms1
 of which the kiss1 however1 gives a    
good example2 the  caress is an integral
 part of the cavalage4 ,a prelude1 but a
 prelude  which can not be omitted      
without compromising the essential part 
of  the drama4 ,it happens1 however1    
that man1 able to overexcite himself    
cerebrally1 may abridge1 or even neglect

 the prologue to coition3 this  is also 
noted in certain domestic mammifers1 the
 bull and stallion4 ,the  mere sight or 
smell of the other sex is doubtless     
enough to produce a  state permitting   
immediate union4 ,this is not the case  
with dogs1 who  are still more domestic1
 the two sexes give themselves up to    
play1 to  explorations1 they demand each
 other's consent1 courtship continues1  
sometimes the male1 despite his         
condition1 retreats2 more often the     
female lowers the draw-bridge of her    
tail1 and closes the fortress4 ,one     
knows the provocations of birds4 ,m4    
,mantegazza has agreeably recounted  the
 sexual play of two vultures1 the female
 shut in the carcass of an  almost      
devoured horse1 interrupted her pecking 
of carrion1 to groan  deeply1 turning   
her head to look up into the air4 ,a    
male vulture soared  above the larder1  
replying to the groans of the female4   
,however1 when  the overexcited male    
descended toward the supposedly willing 

vulturess1  she retreated into the      
carcass1 and after a short dispute she  
made him  understand that the time was  
not yet ripe1 and sent him off4 ,after  
which the groans recommenced2 the female
 seemed annoyed2 she mounted  the cage  
of bone1 swelling her wings1 lifting her
 tail1 cooing4 ,the  union finally took 
place in a great commotion of ruffled   
feathers and  shaken bones4    ,the same
 author has precisely noted the         
complicated preludes indulged  in by two
 sparrows4 ,i give the rsum1            
graphically3 ,a troop of sparrows  on   
the roof in the morning2 calm1 they make
 their toilet4 ,arrives a  large male   
who emits a violent cry2 one of the     
females replies at once1  not by a cry  
but by an act3 she leaves the group4    
,the male joins her1  she flies to a    
neighbouring roof2 there follows a long 
chatter beak to  beak4 ,new flight2 the 
male rests in the sun1 then rejoins the 
minx4 ,the  assaults begin1 the male is 
repulsed4 ,the female moves off1 in     

little  hops4 ,the edge of the roof     
stops the flight1 she profits by this   
excuse  and surrenders4    ,but it is   
the prodigious insect whom one must     
interrogate4 ,one knows  the            
cantharides1 these beautiful coleoptera 
on whom pharmacy has  inflicted so      
wicked a reputation4 ,the female gnaws  
her oak leaf1 the  male arrives1 mounts 
her back1 enlaces her with his hind     
feet4 ,then  with his stretched abdomen 
he flagellates the female alternately to
  right and left with frantic speed4 ,at
 the same time he massages her1  lashes 
her neck furiously with his front feet1 
all his body shakes and  vibrates4 ,the 
female remains passive1 awaiting the    
calm4 ,it comes4  ,without letting go   
the male stretches out his forelegs in a
 cross1  unbends a little1 wagging from 
head and corselet4 ,the female starts   
eating again4 ,the calm is short2 the   
male's follies recommence4 ,then  there 
is another manuvre1 with the fold of his
 legs and tarses1 he  seizes the        

female's antenn1 forces her to lift her 
head1 at the same  time redoubling the  
lashing of her flanks4 ,new pose2 new   
start of the  flagellation3 finally the 
female opens4 ,the coupling lasts a day 
and a  night1 after which the male      
falls1 but remains knotted to the female
  who drags him from leaf to leaf1 the  
penis attached to her organs4           
,sometimes he also takes a mouthful here
 and there2 when he drops off it  is to 
die4 ,the female lays the eggs and dies 
in her turn4 ,the cerocome1  an insect  
kin to the cantharide1 has analogous    
habits1 but the female  is even colder1 
and the male is obliged to tap more than
 one before  getting an answer4 ,in vain
 he beats the sides of his chosen       
companion  with his paws1 she remains   
insensible1 inert4 ,this action1        
moreover1  has the full appearance of   
having passed to a state of mania in the
  male muscles1 so much so that1 in     
default of females1 males mount and     
pummel each other4 ,as soon as a male is

 charged by another male he  takes the  
female attitude and remains quiet2 one  
sees pyramids of three  or four males2  
in which case the top one is the only   
one wildly waving  his feet2 the others 
remain immobile1 as if their position of
 mounts  transformed them into passive  
animals3 probably because their muscles 
are pinned down4 7,for these two        
observations see ,fabre1 ,souvenirs1    
vol4 ,,ii4 ,crocomes1 mylabres et       
zonitis47    ,it is rare for a female to
 assist the male in his work1 but there 
remains the obstacle of the other males4
 ,contrary to what one might  think1    
there is no relation between the male's 
social character and  his amorous       
character4 ,ferocious animals show      
themselves at the moment  of love-making
 much more placid than gentle or even   
timid animals4  ,the scary rabbit is an 
impetuous1 tyrannous and jealous lover4 
,if the  female does not accede to his  
first desire1 he rages4 ,she is1        
moreover1  very lascivious and gestation

 in no way interrupts her amours4 ,the  
hare1 who does not pass for audacious1  
is an ardent and heady lover2 he  fights
 furiously with his peers for the       
possession of a female4 ,they  are      
animals very well equipped for love1 the
 penis greatly developed1  clitoris     
almost as large4 ,the males make real   
voyages1 run for entire  nights in      
search of the doe-hare who is sedentary3
 like the doe-rabbit1  she never        
refuses1 even when pregnant4            
,martins1 polecats1 sables1 rats fight  
violently during the rutting  season4   
,rats accompany their fights with sharp 
cries4 ,stags and  wildboars1 and a     
great number of other species fight to  
the death for  the possession of        
females2 a practice not unknown to      
humanity4 ,even  heavy tortoises feel   
exasperation from love2 the defeated    
male is  tilted onto his back4          
,finer1 destined perhaps for a superior 
and charming civilization1 the  birds   
like combat2 sometimes the duel is      

serious1 as in gallinace1  cock-fights1 
often it is a courtesy1 a mimicry4 ,the 
female of  the rock-cock of ,brazil is  
tawny and without beauty1 the male is   
yellow-orange1 with crest bordered in   
deep red1 the long wing feathers  and   
tail feathers are red-brown4 ,one sees  
the females ranged in a  circle as a    
crowd about jugglers1 the males are     
strutting1 cutting  capers1 moving their
 colour-shot feathers1 getting          
themselves admired  and desired4 ,from  
time to time a female admits that she is
 moved1 a  couple is formed4 ,but the   
tetras1 heather-cocks of ,north         
,america1 have  still more curious      
customs4 ,their fights have become      
exactly what they  have with us1 that   
is1 dances4 ,it is no longer the        
tourney1 it is  the tour-de-valse4 ,what
 completes the proof that these parades 
are a  survival1 a transformation1 is   
that the males1 being amused by them1   
perform them not only before but after  
coupling4 ,they even practice  them for 

diversion while the females are sitting 
on the eggs1 absorbed  in maternal duty4
 ,travellers thus describe the tetras'  
dance 7,milton  and ,cheaddle1 ,atlantic
 to ,pacific1 p4 #aga of the ,french    
translation73  ,they gather1 twenty or  
thirty in a chosen place1 and begin to  
dance  like mad4 ,opening their wings1  
they draw together their feet1 like men 
doing the danse du sac4 ,then they      
advance toward each other1 do a  waltz  
turn1 pass to a second partner1 and so  
on4 ,this contre-danse of  prairie      
chickens is very amusing4 ,they become  
so absorbed in it that  one can approach
 quite near4    ,birds of ,australia and
 ,new ,guinea#a make love with a        
charming  ceremony4 ,to attract his     
mistress the male makes a veritable     
country-house1 or1 if he is less        
skilful1 a rustic bower of greenery4    
,he plants rushes1 green sprigs1 for he 
is small1 about the size of a           
blackbird2 he bends them into a vault1  
often a metre long4 ,he strews  the     

floor with leaves1 flowers1 red fruits1 
white bits of bone1 bright  pebbles1    
bits of metal1 jewels stolen in the     
neighbourhood4 ,they say  that when     
,australians miss a ring or a pair of   
scissors1 they search  these green      
tents4 ,our magpie shows a certain taste
 for bright objects3  people tell tales 
about him4 ,the gardener-bird of ,new   
,guinea is  still more ingenious1 to    
such a degree that his work is mistaken 
for  human work and people are deceived 
thereby4 ,with his beak and claws he    
manages as well and better than         
peasants1 often showing a decorative    
taste which they lack4 ,people search   
for the origin of art3 there  you have  
it1 in the sexual game of a bird4 ,our  
sthetic manifestations  are but a       
development of this same instinct to    
please which1 in one  specie            
over-excites the male1 in another moves 
the female4 ,if there is  a surplus it  
will be spent aimlessly1 for pure       
pleasure3 that is human  art2 its origin

 is that of the art of birds and        
insects4    ,the ,grande ,encyclopdie   
has given a picture of the              
gardener-bird's  pleasure house4 ,he is 
called in most scholarly parlance the   
,amblyornis  inornata1 because he is    
lacking in personal beauty4 ,one would  
take  his house for the work of some    
intelligent delicate pygmy4 ,we find    
the description of it1 after the        
,italian traveller ,m4 ,o4 ,beccari#b   
,in crossing a magnificent forest ,m4   
,beccari found himself suddenly  in the 
presence of a little conical cabin1 in  
front of which was a  lawn strewn with  
flowers2 he at once recognized the sort 
of hut which  ,m4 ,bruijn's huntsmen had
 described to him as the work of a dark 
bird  somewhat larger than a blackbird4 
,he made a very exact sketch of it1  and
 verifying the native's tales by his own
 observation1 he found  out how the bird
 makes this building which is not so    
much a nest  as a pleasure house4 ,the  
amblyornis chooses a little clearing    

with  unbroken lawn and a small tree in 
the middle4 ,around this tree or bush   
which serves as axis1 the bird places a 
little moss1 then he plants  slantwise  
the branches of a plant which will      
continue to grow for  some time2        
juxtaposition of branches form the      
inclined walls of the  hut4 ,on one side
 they are left open to make a doorway1  
before which  is the garden whose       
elements are gathered with difficulty1  
tuft by  tuft1 at some distance4 ,after 
having carefully cleaned the lawn1 the  
amblyornis sows it with flowers and     
fruits which he collects in the         
neighbourhood1 and which he renews from 
time to time4 ,this primitive  gardener 
belongs to the bird of paradise family1 
remarkable for  the beauty of their     
plumage4 ,it seems that not being able  
to dress  himself1 he has exteriorized  
his instinct4 ,according to travellers1 
these cabins are true houses of         
rendezvous1 the country-boxes of the    
seventeenth century1 the follies of the 

,x,v,i,i,ith4 ,the gallant bird         
ornaments it with everything that might 
please the invited female2 if  she is   
satisfied1 it is the abode of love1     
after having been that of  declarations4
 ,i do not know whether these oddities  
have been given the  importance which   
they should have been1 in the history of
 birds and of  humanity4 ,the scholar1  
the only person knowing such details1   
usually  fails utterly to understand    
them4 ,one savant whom ,i read1 thinks  
of  the thieving magpie1 and adds1 these
 traits which are common to them  ally  
them closely to birds of paradise and   
corvida4 ,doubtless1 but that  is not   
very important4 ,the grave fact is the  
gathering of the first  flower4 ,the    
useful fact explains animality2 the     
useless fact explains  man4 ,now1 it is 
of capital importance to show that the  
useless fact is  not peculiar to man    
alone4    ,crickets also have courting  
fights1 but perhaps for a different     
reason3  the feebleness of their        

offensive weapons1 and the solidity of  
their  armour4 ,there is1 however1 a    
winner and loser4 ,the loser decamps1   
the  conqueror sings4 ,then he shines   
himself1 stamps1 seems nervous4 ,fabre  
says that emotion often renders him     
mute2 his elytra 7wing-shells7  shake   
without giving a sound4 ,the female     
cricket1 witness of the duel1  runs to  
hide under a leaf as soon as it is over4
 ,she draws back the  curtain a little1 
and looks out1 and wants to be seen4    
,after this  play1 she shows herself    
completely1 the cricket rushes forward1 
makes  a half-turn1 rears up and slides 
under her belly4 ,the work finished1  he
 gets away as fast as possible1 for we  
are before an enigmatic  orthopter1 the 
female is quite ready to eat him4 ,it is
 the male's song  which attracts the    
female cricket4 ,when she hears it1 she 
listens1  takes her bearings1 obeys the 
call4 ,it is the same with cicadas1 even
  though the two sexes usually live side
 by side4 ,by imitating the sound  of   

the male1 one can deceive the females   
and make them come to one4    ,sometimes
 sight1 sometimes smell guides the male4
 ,many hymenoptera1  furnished with a   
powerful visual organ keep watch for the
 females1  spying the vicinity4 ,thus   
also many day butterflies4 ,when the    
male  notices a female1 he pursues1 but 
in order to get in front of her1  to be 
seen1 and he seems to tempt her with    
slow waving of his wings4  ,this display
 lasts often quite a long time4 ,finally
 their antenn  touch1 their wings stroke
 each other1 and they fly off in        
company4 ,the  coupling often takes     
place in the air2 thus among pierides4  
,in certain  species1 bombyx for        
example1 the females are heavy and even 
aptera1 the  male who is in contrast    
lively1 fecundates several1 going from  
one to  the other1 which is doubtless   
what gives butterflies their reputation 
for inconstancy4 ,they live too short a 
time to deserve it3 many born  in the   
morning do not see the next day's sun4  

,one might rather make  them a symbol   
for pure thought4 ,there are some who do
 not eat1 and  among those who do not   
eat there are some whom nature has vowed
 to  virginity4 ,hermaphrodites of a    
singular sort1 male on the right side1  
female on the left1 they seem to be two 
sexual halves welded together  along the
 medial line4 ,the organs whose centre  
is cut by this line are  but demi-organs
 good for nothing save the entertainment
 of observers4  ,hybrid butterflies1    
produced by crossing of two species1 are
 not very  rare2 they also are incapable
 of reproduction4    ,the coupling of   
day butterflies lasts only a few        
minutes1 among night  butterflies it is 
often prolonged for a day and a night1  
as in sphinx1  phalenes1 noctuelles4 ,if
 it is a reward1 it is due to their long
  courageous voyages in quest of the    
female whom they have divined4 ,the     
great-peacock moth covers several       
leagues of country in the attempt to    
satisfy his desire4 ,blanchard tells of 

a naturalist who having caught  a female
 bombyx and put her in his pocket1      
returned home escorted by  a cloud of   
over two hundred males4 ,in spring1 in a
 place where the  great-peacock is so   
rare that one with difficulty finds one 
or two per  year1 the presence of a     
caged female will draw a hundred males1 
as  ,fabre has shown by experiment4     
,these feverish males are endowed with  
very brief ardour4 ,whether or no they  
have touched a female1 they live  but   
two or three days4 ,enormous insects1   
larger than a humming-bird1  they do not
 eat2 their bocal pieces are merely an  
ornament1 a decor3  they are bora to    
reproduce and to die4 ,the males seem   
infinitely more  numerous than the      
females1 and it is probable that not    
more than one  in an hundred can        
accomplish his destiny4 ,he who misses  
the pursued  female1 who arrives too    
late1 is lost3 his life is so short that
 it  would be very difficult for him to 
discover a second4 ,it is true that  in 

normal circumstances the female should  
stop emitting her sexual  odour as soon 
as she has been ridden2 the males are   
thus attracted by  the same female      
through a proportionately shorter time  
and there is  this much less chance of  
their searches being unfruitful4 ,is it 
their  sense of smell alone that guides 
them8    ,at #h a4 m4 at ,fabre's place 
in ,serignan1 one saw the cocoon of a   
lesser-peacock moth open2 a female      
emerged and was immediately  imprisoned 
in a wire cage4 ,at noon a male arrived1
 the first that  ,fabre1 who had lived  
there all his life1 had ever seen4 ,the 
wind was  blowing from the north4 ,the  
male came from the north1 that is to    
say1  against the scent4 ,at two o'clock
 ten had arrived4 ,having come as far   
as the house without hesitation1 they   
were troubled1 got the wrong  window1   
wandered from room to room1 never went  
directly toward the  female4 ,one would 
say that at this point they should have 
used another  sense1 perhaps sight1     

despite their being crepuscular         
creatures1 or  that the cage bothered   
them4 ,perhaps also it is the custom for
 the  female to come and play before    
them8 ,it is1 in any case1 evident that 
sense of smell plays an important rle2  
the mystery would not be less  great if 
one supposed the bringing into play of a
 special sense1 that  of sexual         
orientation4 ,fabre has obtained equal  
success with the  female of a very rare 
butterfly1 the oak bombyx1 or banded    
minime3 in  one morning sixty males     
arrived1 turning about the prisoner4    
,one has  observed analogous if not     
identical things in certain serpents1 in
  mammifera3 everyone has seen dogs in  
the country1 drawn by a female in  heat1
 coming from a considerable distance1   
nearly a league1 without  one's being   
able to say how their organism had got  
the news4    ,explanations are vain in  
these matters4 ,they divert the         
curiosity  without satisfying the       
reason4 ,what one sees clearly is a     

necessity3  the act must be             
accomplished1 to this end1 all          
obstacles1 whatever  they are1 will be  
overcome4 ,neither distance1 nor the    
difficulty  of the voyage1 nor the      
danger of the approach can drive back   
the  instinct4 ,in man1 who has         
sometimes the power to escape the sexual
  commandments1 disobedience may have   
happy results4 ,chastity1 as a          
transmuter1 may change unused sexual    
energy into intellectual or social      
energy2 in animals this transmutation of
 physical values is impossible4  ,the   
compass needle remains in one immutable 
position1 obedience is  unescapable4    
,that is why there is so deep a rumble  
in nature when the  spring orders are   
posted4 ,vegetable flowers are not the  
only ones to  open3 sexes of flesh also 
flower4 ,birds1 fish take on new and    
more  vivid colours4 ,there are songs1  
plays1 pilgrimages4 ,salmon who live    
quietly at the river-mouths1 must       
gather1 depart1 climb the streams1  pass

 weirs1 scrabble against rocks which    
form the dams and cataracts1  wear      
themselves out leaping as arrows against
 all human and natural  obstacles4      
,males and females arrive worn out at   
the end of their  journey1 the frayre of
 fine sand where they are to lay their  
eggs1  and the males heroically to spend
 the milt distilled from their blood4   
,spring is not the only rutting season4 
,love's calendar covers the  year4 ,in  
winter1 wolves and foxes2 in spring1 the
 birds and fish2  in summer1 insects and
 many mammals2 in autumn the deer4      
,winter  is often the season chosen by  
polar animals2 the sable couples in     
,january2 the ermine in ,march2 the     
glutton1 at the beginning and end  of   
winter4 ,domestic animals have often    
several seasons2 for the dog1  cat and  
house-birds1 spring and autumn4 ,one    
finds young otters at any  time4 ,most  
insects die after mating2 but not all   
hemiptera1 nor the  queen bee1 nor      
certain coleoptera1 nor certain flies4  

,the stag and  the stallion empty       
themselves1 but not the ram1 nor the    
bull nor the  he-goat4 ,the duration of 
pregnancy in placentaires seems to have 
some  relation to the size of the       
animal2 mare1 eleven to twelve months2  
ass1 twelve months and a half2 cow1 doe1
 nine months2 sheep1 goat1  wolf1 vixen1
 five months2 sow1 four months2 bitch1  
two months2 cat1 six  weeks2 rabbit1 one
 month4    ,there are oddities3         
fecundated in ,august1 the roe is not   
delivered  until seven and a half months
 later1 the embryo remaining a long time
  stationary1 and waiting for the spring
 to start again4 ,in a she-bat          
ovulation does not take place until the 
end of winter1 although she has         
received the male in the autumn3 females
 caught during hibernation have  the    
vagina swollen with inert sperm which   
does not act until the spring  waking4  
#a ,one has the unpronounceable name1   
savants designating it by the  jumble of
 letters3 ,ptilinorhynches4 ,the other  

is called the gardener4    #b ,the title
 of his study is curious ,les ,cabanes  
et les jardins de  l',amblyornis4       
7,annales du ,muse d'histoire naturelle 
de ,gnes1 #ahgf74          ,,chapter    
,,xvi    ,,polygamy            ,rarity  
of monogamy4--,taste for change in      
animals4--        ,rles of monogamy and 
polygamy in the stability or            
instability of specific types4--,strife 
of the couple        against            
polygamy4--,couples among               
insects4--,among        fish1           
batrachians1 saurians4--,monogamy of    
pigeons1 of                             
nightingales4--,monogamy in carnivora1  
in rodents4--        ,habits of the     
rabbit4--,the ichneumon4--,unknown      
causes of polygamy4--,rarity and        
superabundance        of                
males4--,polygamy in insects4--,in      
fish4--,in        gallinace1 in         
web-footed birds4--,in herbivora4--,the 
antelopes harem4--,human polygamy4--,how
 it tempers the        couple among     

civilized races4      ,there are no     
monogamous animals save those which love
 only once during  their lifetime4      
,exceptions to this rule have not       
sufficient constancy  to be erected into
 a counter-rule4 ,there are monogamists 
in fact1 there  are none of necessity1  
from the time an animal lives long      
enough to  commit the reproductive act  
several times4 ,free female mammals     
nearly  always flee the male who has    
once served them1 they need a new one4  
,a bitch does not receive last season's 
dog save in direst extremity4  ,this    
appears to me to be the struggle of the 
specie against variety4  ,the couple is 
the maker of varieties4 ,polygamy drags 
them back to the  general type of the   
specie4 ,individuals of a specie frankly
 polygamous  should present a very great
 similarity2 if the species incline     
toward  a certain monogamy1 the         
dissemblances become more numerous4 ,it 
is not  an illusion which makes us      
recognize in human races almost         

monogamous1  a lesser uniformity of type
 than in polygamous societies or those  
given over to promiscuity1 or among     
animal species4 ,the example of  the dog
 seems the worst that one could have    
chosen4 ,it isn't1 it is  the best1     
considering that in receiving           
successively individuals of  different  
variety1 the bitch tends to produce     
individuals not of a  specialized breed1
 but on the contrary of a type where    
several breeds  will be mixed1          
individuals which in crossing and       
recrossing in their  turn1 will end1 if 
the dogs live in a free state1 in       
forming one  single specie4 ,sexual     
liberty tends to establish uniformity of
 type2  monogamy strives against this   
tendency and maintains diversity4#a     
,another consequence of this manner of  
seeing is that one must consider        
monogamy as favourable to intellectual  
development1 intelligence being  a      
differentiation which accomplishes      
itself more often1 in proportion  as    

there are individuals and groups who    
differ physically4 ,physical  uniformity
 engenders uniformity of sensibility1   
thence of intelligence2  this does not  
need to be explained2 now intelligences 
count1 and mark  only their differences2
 uniform1 they are as if they were not2 
impotent  to hook themselves one onto   
the other1 to react against each other1 
lacking asperities1 lacking contrary    
currents4 ,this is the flock1 in  which 
each member makes the same gesture of   
flight1 of biting1 or of  roaring4      
,neither the conditions of absolute     
monogamy1 nor those of absolute         
promiscuity seem to be found at present 
in humanity1 nor among animals2  but one
 sees the couple1 in several animal and 
human species1 either  in state of      
tendency1 or in state of habit4 ,more   
often1 especially  among insects1 the   
father1 even if he survives it a little 
while1  remains indifferent1 to the     
consequences of the genital act4 ,at    
other  times1 the fights between males  

so reduce their number that a sole male 
remains the master and servant of a     
great number of females4 ,so one  must  
distinguish between true1 and successive
 polygamy2 between the  monogamy of one 
season1 and that of an entire lifetime2 
and finally  one must set apart those   
animals who make love only once1 or     
during  one season which is followed by 
death4 ,these different varieties and   
nuances demand methodic classification4 
,it would be a long work1 and  would    
perhaps not attain true exactitude1 for 
in animals1 as in man1  one must count  
with caprice in sexual matters3 when a  
faithful dove is  tired of her lover1   
she takes flight1 and soon forms a new  
couple with  an adulterous male4 ,the   
couple is natural1 but the permanent    
couple is  not4 ,man has never bent to  
it1 save with difficulty1 even though it
 be  one of the principal conditions of 
his superiority4    ,the breasts of the 
male do not seem to prove the           
primordiality of  the couple in mammals4

 ,although there are veridic examples of
 the  male's having given suck1 it is   
difficult to consider the male udder  as
 destined for a real rle1 or for an     
emergency milking4#b ,this  replacement 
has been too rarely observed for one to 
use it as a basis  of argument4         
,embryology gives a good explanation of 
the existence  of this useless organ4   
,an useless instrument is1 moreover1    
quite as  frequent in nature as the     
absence of a useful instrument4 ,perfect
  concordance of organ and act is rare4 
,in the case of insects who  live but   
for one love-season1 sometimes for two  
real seasons if they  can benumb        
themselves for the winter1 polygamy is  
nearly always the  consequence of the   
rarity of males1 or the superabundance  
of females4  ,space is too vast1 their  
food too abundant for there to be truly 
deadly  combats between males4          
,moreover1 their love accomplished1 the 
minuscule  folk ask only to die1 the    
couple is formed only for the actual    

time  of fecundation1 the two animals at
 once resume their liberty1 that is  for
 the female to deliver her eggs1 and for
 the male to languish1 and  sometimes to
 cast a final song to the winds4 ,there 
are exceptions to  this rule1 but if one
 looks upon the exceptions with the same
 gaze as  on the rule1 one would see in 
nature only what one sees on the surface
  of a river1 vague movements and       
passing shadows4 ,to conceive some      
reality1 one must conceive a rule1      
first1 as an instrument of vision  and  
of measure4 ,with most insects the male 
does nothing but live2 he  deposits his 
seed in the female receptacle1 flies on1
 vanishes4 ,he does  not share any of   
the labours preparatory to laying4      
,alone the female  sphex engages in her 
terrible and clever strife with the     
cricket1 whom  she paralyzes with three 
stabs of her dagger in his three        
moto-nervous  centres2 alone she hollows
 the oblique burrow at the bottom of    
which  live her larv2 alone she adorns  

it1 fills it with provisions1 closes    
it4 ,alone the female cerceris heaps up 
in the deep gallery the stunned  weevils
 and burn-cows1 fruit of her            
excavations1 larder for her  progeny4   
,alone the she-osmie1 she-wasp1         
she-philanthe--one would have  to cite  
nearly all the hymenoptera4 ,one        
understands better1 when the  insect    
deposits her eggs by chance1 without    
prefatory manuvres1 or by  special      
instruments1 that the male co-operation 
is lacking2 only the  female cicada can 
sink her clever burrow in the olive     
bark4    ,there are however couples     
among insects4 ,among coleoptera there  
are the purse-maker1 the necrophore4    
,stercorian geotrupes1 lunar  copris1   
onitis bison1 sisyphus1 work soberly    
side by side preparing  the larder for  
their coming families4 ,in these cases1 
the male seems  master1 he directs the  
manuvres in the complicated operations  
of  the necrophores4 ,a couple get busy 
about a corpse1 say of a field  mouse2  

nearly always one or two isolated males 
join them1 the troop  is organized1 one 
sees the chief engineer explore the     
territory and  give orders4 ,the female 
awaits them1 motionless1 ready to obey1 
to  follow the movement4 ,as soon as    
there is a couple the male necrophore   
commands4 ,the male assists the female  
during the work of arranging the  cell  
and the laying4 ,most purse-makers1     
sisyphus or copris make and  transport  
together the pill which serves as food  
for the larv2 their  couple is just like
 that of birds4 ,one might believe that 
in this  case monogamy is necessitated  
by the nature of the work2 not at all3  
the male in other quite closely related 
species1 sacred scarab1 for  example1   
leaves the female alone to build the    
excremental ball in which  she encloses 
her eggs4    ,coming up to vertebrata   
one finds also certain examples of a    
sort  of monogamy3 when the male fish   
serves as hatcher for his own eggs1     
either carrying them in a special pouch1

 or heroicly sheltering them  in his    
mouth4 ,this is rare1 since1 usually1   
the two sexes of fish do  not approach  
each other1 do not even know each other4
 ,batrachians1  on the contrary1 are    
monogamous2 the female does not lay save
 under  male pressure1 and it is so slow
 an operation1 preceded by such long    
manuvres that the whole season is filled
 with it4 ,the male of the  common land 
toad rolls the long chaplet of eggs     
about his feet as  soon as it is        
divided1 and goes in the evening to     
place it in the  neighbouring pool4     
,nearly all saurians seem also to be    
monogamous4  ,the he and she lizard form
 a couple said to last several years4   
,their  amours are ardent1 they clasp   
each other closely belly to belly4      
,birds are generally considered         
monogamous1 save gallinace and          
web-footed birds2 but exceptions appear 
so numerous that one would have  to name
 the species one by one4 ,the fidelity  
of pigeons is legendary1  and is perhaps

 only a legend4 ,the male pigeon        
certainly has tendencies  to infidelity 
and even to polygamy4 ,he deceives his  
companion2 he goes  so far as to inflict
 upon her the shame of having a         
concubine under  the conjugal roof6 ,and
 these two spouses1 he tyrannizes over  
them1 he  enslaves them by beating4 ,the
 female1 it is true1 is not always of an
  easy disposition4 ,she has her        
caprices4 ,sometimes1 refusing her mate1
  she deserts him and gives herself to  
the first comer4 ,one will not find     
here any of the zological anecdotes on  
the industry of birds1 their  union in  
devotion to the specie4 ,the habits of  
these new-comers in the  world1 are very
 unstable2 yet among certain gallinace1 
monogamous  for exception1 like the     
partridge1 the males seem pulled by     
contrary  desires1 they undergo the     
couple rather than choose it1 and their 
share  in the rearing of young is often 
very slight4 ,one has seen the male  red
 partridge1 after mating1 abandon his   

female and rejoin a troop of  male      
vagabonds4 ,the nightingales1 perfect   
pair1 sit on the eggs turn  by turn4    
,the male1 when the female comes to     
relieve him1 remains near  by and sings 
until she is comfortably settled on the 
eggs4 ,still more  devoted is the male  
talegalle1 a sort of ,australian turkey4
 ,he makes  the nest1 an enormous heap  
of dead leaves2 when the female has     
laid1 he  watches the eggs1 comes from  
time to time to uncover them for        
exposure  to the sun4 ,he takes his     
share of watching the young1 sheltering 
them  under leaves until they are able  
to fly4    ,of mammals1 the carnivora   
and rodents often practice a certain1 at
  least temporary1 monogamy4 ,foxes live
 in couples1 and educate the  young     
foxes4 ,one finds their real habits in  
the old ,roman du ,renart3  ,renard the 
fox goes vagabond1 hunting for prey and 
windfalls1 while  ,madame ,hermaline1   
his wife1 waits at home1 in her bower at
 ,maupertuis4  ,the vixen teaches her   

children the art of killing and         
dividing2 their  apprenticeship is made 
on the still living game which the male 
purveyor  has brought to the house4 ,the
 rabbit is very rough in love2 the      
hamster1 another rodent1 often becomes  
carnivorous during the rutting  season2 
they say that he is quite ready to eat  
his young1 and that  the female1 fearing
 his ferocity1 leaves him before        
delivery4 ,these  aberrations are       
exaggerated in captivity1 and affect    
even the female4  ,one knows that the   
she-rabbit sometimes eats her young2    
this happens  especially when one has   
the imprudence to touch or even to look 
too  closely at the young rabbits4 ,this
 is enough to bring on a violent        
disturbance of maternal sentiment4 ,the 
same dementia has been observed  in a   
vixen who had kittened in a cage2 one   
day someone passed1 and  looked steadily
 at the young foxes1 a quarter of an    
hour later they  were throttled4        
,various explanations are given for this

 practice among she-rabbits1  the       
simplest being that they are driven by  
thirst to kill the young in  order to   
drink the blood4 ,this is rather        
,dantescan for she-rabbits4  ,they say  
also1 regarding both wild and tame      
rabbits1 that the female  when surprised
 kills the young because she has not    
industry like the  doe-hare1 cat1 or    
bitch1 to transport them to some other  
place or to  save at least one1 by the  
scruff of its neck4 ,the third          
explanation is  that1 devouring the     
afterbirth1 like nearly all mammals1 and
 this from  physiological motive1 the   
doe-rabbit acquires a taste1 and        
continues  the meal1 absorbing the young
 as well4 ,without rejecting any of     
these  explanations one may present     
several others4 ,first1 it is not only  
the  females who eat the young1 the     
males are equally given to it4 ,being   
very lascivious1 the male rabbit tries  
to get rid of his young1 in  order to   
stop suckling1 and have his female      

again4 ,on the other hand1  it is a     
regular fact1 that as soon as she has   
retaken the habit of  having the male1  
the mother rabbit1 even if she is still 
giving suck1  at once ceases to         
recognize her offspring1 her brief ideas
 already  turned toward her new1 coming 
family4 ,different causes may engender  
identical acts1 and different lines of  
reasoning bring the same  conclusions4  
,there is reasoning in this case of the 
rabbit2 there is  no reasoning save in  
case of initial error1 when there is    
trouble in  the intellect4 ,this trouble
 and the final massacre is all that one 
can  state definitely3 the reasoning    
escapes our analysis4    ,is the rabbit 
really monogamous8 ,perhaps1 with a     
monogamy for the  season1 or from       
necessity4 ,the male1 in any case pays  
no attention to  the young1 unless it be
 to throttle them2 thus the female as   
soon as  she is gravid1 takes refuge in 
an isolated burrow4 ,their coupling1    
which occurs especially toward evening1 

is repeated as often as five  or six    
times an hour1 the female crouching in a
 particular manner2 the  break away is  
very sudden1 the male throwing himself  
back1 sidewise and  uttering a short    
cry4 ,what really makes one doubt the   
monogamy of the  rabbit is that one male
 is enough for eight or ten females1    
that he is  a great runner1 that the    
males have murderous fights among       
themselves4  ,doubtless one must take   
each specie separately4 ,buffon pretends
 that  in a warren the oldest buck      
rabbits have authority over the young4  
,an  observer of rabbit habits1 ,m4     
,mariot-,didieux1 admits this trait of  
superior sociability in angoras1 which  
is just the specie ,buffon had  studied4
    ,buck rabbits have still other      
aberrations1 hunters pretend that they  
pursue doe-hares1 tire them and wear    
them out by their lustiness2 it is      
certain that these couplings give no    
result4    ,the ,egyptian ichneumon     
lives in families4 ,it seems that it is 

very  interesting to see them on a      
hunting expedition1 first the male1 then
  the female1 then the young in ,indian 
file4 ,female and young do not take     
their eyes off father1 and imitate all  
his gestures with care3 one  might think
 the train was a large serpent moving in
 reeds4 ,the wolf who  like the fox     
lives in pairs1 helps his female and    
feeds her1 but he  does not know his    
young and will eat them if they come to 
hand4 ,certain  great apes1 gibbon and  
orang are temporarily monogamous4       
,polygamy would be explained by the     
rarity of males2 which is not the  case 
with most mammals1 among whom the males 
are almost constantly  more numerous4   
,buffon was the first to note this      
predominance1 neither  has he nor has   
anyone since1 given a satisfactory      
explanation4 ,people  have said that in 
man1 at least1 the elder parent gives   
the sex to the  offspring1 and the more 
surely as the difference in age is      
greater1  but1 by this reckoning one    

would have almost nothing but males4    
,people  have also said that the younger
 the woman1 the more likely the child   
to be male4 ,the early marriages of the 
past are supposed to have  yielded more 
males than the late marriages of the    
present4 ,none of  these statements is  
serious4 ,what remains past doubt is    
that ,european  humanity1 to consider   
only that1 gives an excess of males4    
,the general  average is about #aje1    
with extremes of #aja in ,russia1 and   
#aac in  ,greece2 the ,french average is
 the same as the general average4 ,one  
has  not been able to make out1 in these
 variations1 either influence of  race1 
or of climate1 or of taxes1 or of       
nationality1 or anything else  in       
particular4 ,there are more male humans1
 more male sheep3 it is a  fact1 which  
being regular1 will be difficult to     
explain4    ,we find here               
superabundance1 there penury of males1  
but neither does  the abundance         
determine the customs1 nor is it likely 

the lack of males  would do so4 ,there  
are so few males among gnats that ,fabre
 was the  first to recognize them1 the  
proportion about one male to ten        
females4  ,this in no way produces      
polygamy1 for the male dies the instant 
after  coupling4 ,nine out of ten gnat  
females die virgin1 and even without    
having seen a male1 without knowing that
 males exist3 perhaps celibacy  augments
 their ferocity1 for it is the female   
gnat and she alone who  sucks our gore4 
,one supposes also that female spiders  
outnumber the  males ten or twenty to   
one3 perhaps the buck who has escaped   
the  jaws of one mistress has the       
courage to risk his life yet again8 ,it 
is possible1 the male spider who        
survives his amours may live on for     
several years4 ,polygamy seems to exist1
 and in its most refined form1  with one
 sort of spider1 the ctenize1 whose     
males are peculiarly rare4  ,the female 
digs a nest in the earth1 into which the
 male descends2 he  lives there some    

time1 then he leaves1 comes back3 there 
are several  houses between which he    
divides his time equitably4    ,the     
polygamy of a curious little fish1 the  
stickleback1 is of the same  sort1      
although more naive4 ,the male builds a 
grass nest1 then goes in  search of a   
female1 brings her back to the nest1    
invites her to lay2  scarcely has his   
first companion departed when he brings 
in another4  ,he only stops when there  
is a satisfactory treasure of eggs1 then
 he  fecundates them in the usual       
manner4 ,thence on he guards the nest   
against malefactors1 and watches the    
hatching4 ,in the odd reversal of  rles1
 the young recognize their father2 their
 mother may be the fish  passing between
 them1 or the one gliding off like a    
shadow1 or the one  chewing a grass     
blade4 ,when the stickleback world      
becomes reasonable1  that is to say     
absurd1 it will perhaps give itself up  
to the recherche  de la maternit8 ,their
 philosophers will demand ,why should   

the  father alone be charged with the   
education of his offspring8 ,up to  the 
present one knows nothing except that he
 educates them with joy  and affection4 
,among sticklebacks and among men there 
is no answer to  such question save the 
answer given by facts4 ,one might as    
well ask why  humanity is not           
hermaphrodite1 like the snails1 who     
strictly divide the  pleasures and      
burdens of love1 for all snails commit  
the male act1 and  all lay4 ,why has the
 female ovaries1 and the male testicles3
 and this  flower pistils1 and this one 
stamens8 ,one ends in baby-talk4 ,the   
wish  to correct nature is unnecessary4 
,it is hard enough to understand her1   
even a little1 as she is4 ,when she     
wishes to establish the absolute        
responsibility of the father1 she       
establishes the strict couple1 and      
especially1 absolute polygamy4 ,the     
pigeon is no longer certain of  being   
the father of his young2 the cock can   
not doubt it1 he being the  sole male   

among all his hens4 ,but nature has no  
secondary intentions1  she keeps watch  
that1 temporary or durable1 fugitive or 
permanent the  couples are fecund2 that 
is all4    ,gallinace and web-feet      
present certain birds best known and    
most  useful to us4 ,they are nearly all
 polygamous4 ,the cock needs about  a   
dozen hens1 he can do with a much larger
 number1 but in that case  his ardour   
wears itself out4 ,the duck1 very       
licentious1 is accused of  sodomy4 ,not 
only is he polygamous1 but anything will
 serve him4 ,he  might better be a      
natural example of promiscuity4 ,a      
gander is good  for ten or twelve geese1
 the cock-pheasant for eight or ten     
hens4 ,the  lyrure tetras needs many    
more1 he leads a sultan's harem behind  
him4 ,at  dawn1 in the season of amours1
 the male starts whistling with a noise 
like steel on a grindstone1             
simultaneously stretching himself up1   
and  spreading the fan of his tail1     
opening and puffing his wings4 ,when the

  sun clears the horizon he rejoins his 
females1 dances before them1  while they
 devour him with their eyes1 then he    
mounts them1 according  to his caprice1 
and with great vivacity4    ,polygamy is
 the rule among herbivora2 bulls1 bucks1
 stallions1 bison  are made to reign    
over a troop of females4 ,domesticity   
changes their  permanent polygamy into  
successive polygamy4 ,stags go from     
female  to female without tying up to   
any2 the females follow this example4   
,a specie immediately akin gives1 on the
 contrary1 an example of the  couple2   
the roebuck and his doe live in family1 
and bring up their  young until these   
are ready to mate4 ,the male of a       
certain ,asian  antelope needs more than
 a hundred docile females4 ,naturally1  
these  harems can only be formed by the 
destruction of other males4 ,this       
hundred females represents possibly more
 than a hundred males put out  of       
business1 males being always the more   
numerous sex1 among mammals4  ,the      

utility of such hecatombs to the race is
 not certain4 ,doubtless one  may       
suppose that the surviving male is the  
strongest1 or one of the  strongest of  
his generation1 that is the lucky       
element1 but whatever  his vigour it may
 be expected to wane at some point or   
other before  a hundred females desiring
 satisfaction4 ,some females are        
forgotten1  others fecundated in moments
 of weariness3 for a certain number of  
good products1 there are a number of    
mediocre creations4 ,true1 these  are   
destined1 if male1 to perish in future  
combats2 but if they are  female1 and if
 they receive the favours of the chief1 
this system might  have for consequence 
the progressive degradation of the      
specie4 ,it is  however1 probable that  
the necessary equilibrium is            
re-established2  combats between        
females1 combats of coquetry1           
incitements of  femininity1 doubtless   
take place1 and it is the triumph of the
 malest  male and of the most female    

females4    ,virey asserts1 in          
,dterville's ,nouveau dictionnaire      
d'histoire  naturelle1 that the greater 
polygamous apes get on very well with   
women indigenes4 ,it is possible1 but no
 product has ever been born  of these   
aberrations1 which we must leave to     
theological works on  bestialitas4 ,men 
and women1 even of the ,aryan race have 
at times  set out to prove the radical  
animality of the human specie by the    
peculiarity of their tastes4 ,the       
interest in these matters is chiefly    
psychological1 and if one can draw no   
proof of evolution from the  chance     
relations between woman and dog1 man and
 goat1 the coupling  of primates of     
different orders offers no evidence     
either4 ,there is  however a relation   
between man and apes1 it is that they   
are both  divisible into polygamists and
 monogamists1 at least temporary2 but   
this does not differentiate them from   
most other animal species4    ,in most  
human races there is a radical polygamy1

 dissimulated under a  show-front of    
monogamy4 ,here generalizations are no  
longer possible1  the individual emerges
 and with his fantasy upsets all        
observations1  and annihilates all      
statistics4 ,the monogamist's brother is
 polygamous4  ,a woman has known only   
one man1 and her mother was every one's 
fancy4  ,one may assert the universal   
custom of marriage and deduce monogamy  
as a conclusion1 and this will be false 
or true according to the  epoch1 milieu1
 race1 moral tendencies of the moment4  
,moral codes are  essentially unstable1 
since they represent only a hand-book   
ideal of  happiness2 morality will      
modify itself according to the mobility 
of  this ideal4    ,physiologically1    
monogamy is in no way required by the   
normal  conditions of human life4       
,children8 ,if the father's help is     
necessary  it can be exercised over the 
children of several women as well as    
over  those of one woman only4 ,the     
duration of tutelage among civilized    

people is1 moreover1 excessive2 it is   
dragged out1 when it is a  matter of    
certain careers1 almost until ripe age4 
,normally puberty  ought to liberate the
 young human1 as it liberates the young 
of other  mammals4 ,the couple need then
 last only ten or fifteen years2 but    
female fecundity accumulates children at
 a year's interval1 so that1  as long as
 the father's virility lasts1 there     
might be1 always one  feeble creature   
having right to demand protection4      
,human polygamy  could then1 never be   
successive polygamy1 save by exception1 
that is1  if man were an obedient       
animal1 submitting to normal sexual     
rules1  and always fecund2 but this     
successivity is frequent and divorce has
  legalized it4 ,the other and true     
polygamy1 polygamy actual1 temporary  or
 permanent1 is still less rare among    
people of ,european civilization1  but  
nearly always secret and never legal2 it
 has for corollary a  polyandry         
exercised under the same conditions4    

,this sort of polygamy is  very         
different from that of ,mormons1 ,turks1
 gallinace and antelopes1  it is nothing
 more than promiscuity4 ,it does not    
dissolve the couple1  in diminishing its
 tyranny it renders it more desirable4  
,nothing so  favours marriage1 and      
consequently1 social stability1 as the  
de facto  indulgence in temporary       
polygamy4 ,the ,romans well understood  
this1  and legalized concubinage4 ,one  
can not here deal with a question so    
remote from1 natural questions4 ,to     
condense one's answer into briefest     
possible space1 one would say that man1 
and principally civilized  man1 is vowed
 to the couple1 but he only endures it  
on condition  that he may leave and     
return to it at will4 ,this solution    
seems to  conciliate his contradictory  
tastes1 and is more elegant than the one
  offered by divorce1 which is always   
the same thing over again2 it is  in    
conformity not only with human1 but also
 with animal tendencies4 ,it  is        

favourable to the species1 in assuring  
the suitable up-bringing of  children1  
and also to the complete satisfaction of
 a need1 which1 in a  state of          
civilization is inseparable either from 
sthetic pleasure or  sentimental        
pleasure4      #a ,that is to say in the
 eye of some imaginary divinity who     
might be  supposed to regard humanity1  
or even the slower mammals from a       
timeless  or say five century           
altitude4--,translator's note4    #b    
,one believes nevertheless that the male
 bat suckles one of the two  young that 
the couple regularly produces4 ,but     
these animals are so odd  and so        
heteroclite that this example1 if it is 
authentic1 would not be  a decisive     
argument4          ,,chapter ,,xvii     
,,love ,,among ,,social ,,animals       
,organization of reproduction among     
hymenoptera4--,bees4--,wedding of the   
queen4--,mother bee1 cause and          
consciousness        of the             
hive4--,sexual royalty4--,limits of     

intelligence among bees4--,natural logic
 and human                              
logic4--,wasps4--,bumble-bees4--,ants4--
,notes on their        habits4--,very   
advanced state of their civilization4-- 
,slavery and parasitism among           
ants4--,termites4--,the        nine     
principal active forms of               
termites4--,great        age of their   
civilization4--,beavers4--,tendency of  
industrious animals to inactivity4      
,social hymenoptera1 bumble-bees1       
hornets1 wasps1 bees1 have peculiar     
love customs very different from those  
of other animal species4 ,it is  not    
monogamy1 since one finds in it nothing 
resembling the couple1  nor polygamy1   
since the males know only one female1   
when they have  even that adventure1 and
 since the females are fecundated for   
the  whole of their life by a single    
fecundation4 ,it is1 rather1 a sort of  
matriarchate1 even though the queen bee 
is not generally the mother of  more    
than a part of the hive whereover she   

rules1 the other part having  sprung    
from the queen who has gone off with the
 new swarm1 or from the  one who has    
remained in the former hive4 ,in very   
numerous hives there  are about six or  
seven hundred males to one female4      
,copulation takes  place in the air2 as 
is the case with ants1 it is only       
possible after  a long flight has filled
 with air the pouches which cause the   
male's  organ to emerge4 ,between these 
pockets1 or ariferous bladders shaped   
like perforated horns1 emerges the      
penis1 a small white body1 plump  and   
bent back at the point4 ,in the vagina1 
which is round1 wide and  shallow1 the  
sperm-pouch opens2 it is a reservoir    
which can contain  they say1 a score of 
million of spermatozoides1 destined to  
fecundate  the eggs1 during several     
years in proportion as they are to be   
laid4  ,the form of the penis and the   
manner in which the sperm is coagulated 
by a viscous liquid into a veritable    
spermatophore1 cause the death  of the  

male4 ,the copulation ended1 he wishes  
to disengage himself but  only manages  
to do so in leaving in the vagina not   
only the penis but  all the organs      
attached to it4 ,he falls like an empty 
bag1 while the  queen1 returned to the  
hive1 stops at the entrance1 makes her  
toilet1  aided by the workers who crowd 
about her3 with her mandibles she gently
  removes the spine which has remained  
in her belly1 and cleans the place  with
 lustral attention4 ,then she enters the
 second period of her life3  maternity4 
,this penis which remains fast in the   
vagina makes one think  of the darts of 
fighters which also remain in the wound2
 be it love or  war the over-courageous 
beastlet expires1 worn out and          
mutilated2 there  is in this a peculiar 
facility of dehiscence which seems very 
rare4    ,the wedding of the queen bee  
remained a long time absolutely         
mysterious1 and even today there are    
only a very few observers who  have been
 the distant witnesses of it4 ,raumur1  

having isolated a  queen and a male1    
witnessed a play or combat with         
movements which he  interpreted with    
ingenuity4 ,he could not see the actual 
coupling1 which  only takes place in the
 air4 ,his story1 is unique and nothing 
since  has confirmed it4 ,he shows us a 
queen approaching a male1 sucking him   
with her proboscis1 offering him honey1 
stroking him with her feet1 and  finally
 irritated by the coldness of her       
suitor1 mounting his back1  applying her
 vulva to the male organ1 which ,raumur 
describes very well  7,memoirs1 tome ,v7
 and which he represents as covered with
 a white  viscous liquid4 ,the real     
preludes1 at least in a state of        
liberty1  contradict the great observer4
 ,the female seems in no way aggressive4
  ,here are the three authentic accounts
 ,i have been able to discover3    #fth 
,july1 #ahdi1 ,m4 ,hannemann1 bee-keeper
 at ,wurtemburg1 ,thuringia was  seated 
near my hive when his attention was     
aroused by an unaccustomed  buzzing4    

,suddenly he saw thirty or forty drones 
7i4e41 false drones1  male bees7 rapidly
 pursuing a queen-bee1 about twenty or  
thirty feet  up in the air4 ,the group  
filled a space about two feet in        
diameter4  ,sometimes1 in their flight1 
they came as low as ten feet from the   
ground1 then rose1 flying north to      
south4 ,he followed them about a        
hundred yards1 then a building          
interrupted him4 ,the group of drones   
formed a sort of cone with the queen at 
the summit1 then the cone  enlarged into
 a globe of which she was the centre3 at
 this moment the  queen succeeded in    
getting away and rose vertically1 still 
followed by  the drones who had reformed
 the cone under her4#a    ,some years   
later the ,rev4 ,millette1 at           
,witemarsh1 observed the final  phase of
 the act4 ,during a hiving1 he noticed a
 flying queen1 who  an instant later1   
was stopped by a male4 ,after having    
flown about a  rod they fell to the     
ground hooked to each other4 ,he        

approached and  captured them both1 at  
the very moment when the male had       
abandoned  himself to the embrace2 he   
carried them to the house and let them  
loose in a closed room4 ,the queen1     
angry1 flew toward the window2 the  male
 after dragging himself for an instant  
across the open palm of the  observer's 
hand1 fell to floor and died4 ,both male
 and female had at  the tip of the      
abdomen drops of a milky white liquid2  
by squeezing the  male1 he saw that the 
male had lost his genital organs4       
7,farmer and  ,gardener1 #ahei47        
,having seen the queen go out1 ,m4      
,carrey closed the entrance of the      
hive4 ,during his absence1 which lasted 
a quarter of an hour1 three             
false-drones came to the entrance and   
finding it closed1 continued  flying4   
,when the queen on her return was only  
about three feet from  the hive1 one of 
the drones flew very rapidly toward her1
 throwing his  legs around her body4    
,they stopped1 resting on a long        

grass-blade4 ,then  an explosion was    
distinctly heard1 and they separated4   
,the drone fell  to the ground quite    
dead1 with abdomen much contracted4     
,after a few  circles in the air1 the   
mother entered the hive4 7,copulation of
 the  mother bee1 in l',apiculteur1 #f;e
 anne1 #ahfb47    ,save the remark about
 the final explosion1 these three       
accounts accord  well enough1 and give  
an exact idea of one of the couplings   
most  difficult to get sight of4    ,it 
is1 moreover1 the one half-obscure point
 in bee life4 ,one knows  all the rest1 
their three sexes1 rigorously           
specialized1 the precise  industry of   
the wax-workers1 the diligence of the   
collectresses1 the  political sense of  
these extraordinary amazons1 their      
initiatives1 when  the hive is too full1
 their starts for the formation of new  
swarms1  the duels of queens where the  
populace intervene1 the massacre of     
males as soon as they are useless1 the  
nurse's art in transforming a  vulgar   

larva into the larva of a queen1 the    
methodical activity of  these republics 
where all wills1 united in a single     
conscience1 have  no other aim but the  
common well-being and the conservation  
of the  race4 ,it is however these      
over-mechanical virtues which constitute
  the inferiority of the bee2 the       
workers are extremely laborious  and    
well-behaved1 but they lack even that   
slight personality which  characterizes 
sexed insects4 ,the much less reasonable
 queen is more  living1 she is capable  
of jealousy1 rage1 of despair when she  
feels  her royalty menaced by the new   
queen whom the nurses have bred up in   
secret4 ,even the useless1 noisy1       
pillaging1 parasitic males1 drunk and   
swollen with vain sperm are more        
attractive than the honest workers1  and
 handsomer also1 stronger1 more slender1
 more elegant4 ,bee-lovers  generally   
despise these musketeers1 yet it is they
 who incarnate the  animality1 that is  
to say the beauty of the specie4 ,if it 

is true as  ,m4 ,maeterlinck believes   
7,la ,vie des ,abeilles71 that the most 
vigorous  of seven or eight hundred     
males finally seduces the royal virgin1 
then  their laziness1 their greediness1 
their giddy staggering are but so  many 
virtues4    ,it seems that the queen and
 even the workers can without           
fecundation  lay eggs which will hatch  
into males2 but copulation is necessary 
in  order to produce females and queens2
 now as only the queen can receive  the 
male1 a hive without a queen is doomed4 
,that is the practical  point of view1  
the sexual point of view leads to other 
reflections4 ,a  female can1 quite      
alone1 give birth to a male3 but to have
 an egg hatch  female1 it must be       
fecundated by a male born spontaneously3
 one observes  here the real            
exteriorization of the male organ1 a    
segmentation of the  genital power1 into
 two forces1 the male force and the     
female4 ,thus  disunited1 it acquires a 
new faculty which will fully unfold     

itself  by the reintegration of the two 
halves of the initial force into a      
single force4 ,but why do the           
virgin-born ovules necessarily give     
birth  to males1 among bees1 and to     
females among plant lice8 ,that is the  
question defying answer4 ,all that one  
sees is that parthenogenesis is  always 
transitory1 and that after a number of  
virginal generations1  normal           
fecundation always intervenes4    ,one  
can not say that the mother bee is a    
true queen1 a veritable  chief1 but she 
is the important personage in the hive1 
the one without  whom life stops4 ,the  
workers have the air of being           
mistresses2 in  reality their nervous   
centre is in the queen2 they act only   
for her1  and by her4 ,her disappearance
 sets the hive crazy1 and drives it to  
absurd endeavours1 such as the          
transformation of a nurse into a layer1 
though she will give eggs of one sex    
only1 so many useless mouths4 ,in       
reflecting on this last expedient one   

can measure the importance of  sex1 and 
understand the absolutism of its        
royalty4 ,sex is king1 and  there is no 
royalty save the sexual4 ,the making    
neuter of the workers1  which sets them 
out of norm1 if it is a cause of order  
in the hive1 is  above all a cause of   
death4 ,there are no living creatures   
save those  who can perpetuate life4    
,the interest offered by bees is very   
great1 but does not pass that  offered  
by the observation of most hymenoptera1 
social or solitary1 or  of certain      
neuroptera1 such as termites2 or even by
 beavers1 and many  birds4 ,but bees    
have been through many ages our         
sugar-producers1 and  they alone2 hence 
man's tenderness for insects more       
valuable than all  others to him4 ,their
 intelligence is well developed1 but    
soon shows its  limitations4 ,people    
pretend that bees know their master1 a  
manifest  error4 ,the relations of bees 
and man are purely human4 ,it is evident
  that they are as ignorant of man as   

are all the other insects1 and all      
other invertebrata4 ,they allow         
themselves to be exploited1 in the sense
  of their instinct1 to the limit of    
famine and muscular exhaustion4         
,virgil's phrase is excessively true1 in
 all the senses one wishes to  take3    
,sic vos non vobis mellificatis apes4   
7,bees making honey not  for            
yourselves47 ,these clever1 witty       
creatures are fooled by the gross  fakes
 of our industrial cunning4 ,when they  
have stacked their winter's  provisions1
 honey1 into their wax combs1 one       
removes the honeycombs1  and replaces   
them by sockets of varnished paper3 and 
the solemn bees1  set themselves to     
forgetting their long labours2 before   
these virgin  combs1 they have but one  
idea3 to fill them4 ,they restart work  
with a  bustle which would excite       
veritable pity in any man but a         
bee-keeper4  ,these commercials have    
invented a hive with moveable combs4    
,the bees  will never know4 ,bees are   

stupid4    ,but we who see the limits of
 intelligence in bees1 should consider  
the limits of our own4 ,there are       
limits2 it is possible to conceive      
brains who observing us1 would say3 men 
are stupid4 ,all intelligence  is       
limited2 it is just this shock against  
the limit1 against the wall1  which by  
the pain it causes1 engenders           
consciousness4 ,we are not to  laugh too
 much at the bees who gaily furnish the 
mobile combs of their  improved hives4  
,we are perhaps the slaves of a master  
who exploits us1  and who will remain   
forever unknown4 ,the polygamy1 or if   
one wish1 the  polyandry of bees1       
pretext for this digression1 is then    
purely virtual2  it is in the state of  
possibility1 but it will never be       
realized1 since  the fecundity of the   
queen is assured by a single act4 ,the  
excessive  multiplicity of males        
corresponds doubtless to an ancient     
order in  which the females were more   
numerous4 ,in any case only two or three

  males out of about a thousand1 are    
used1 or let us say ten1 if you wish  to
 suppose very frequent swarming1 this   
demonstrates that one must not  prejudge
 the habits of an animal specie by the  
overabundance of one  sex or another1   
and that1 in a general fashion1 one must
 place natural  logic above our human   
logic1 derived from mathematical logic4 
,facts in  nature are connected by a    
thousand knots of which no one is       
solvable by  human logic4 ,when one of  
these tangles is unravelled before our  
eyes  we marvel at the simplicity of its
 mechanism1 we think we understand1  we 
make generalities1 we prepare to open   
neighbouring mysteries with  the same   
key3 illusion4 ,one always has to begin 
again at the start4  ,thus the sciences 
of observation become increasingly      
obscure as one  penetrates further into 
the labyrinth4    ,among wasps and      
hornets there is nothing resembling     
polygamy1 even  potentially4 ,a         
fecundated female after passing the     

winter1 constructs1  by herself1 the    
first foundations of a nest1 lays the   
eggs1 from which  sexless individuals   
are born2 these workers then assume all 
material  labours1 finish the nest1     
watch the larv which the female         
continues to  produce4 ,these are now   
males and females3 after coupling the   
males die1  then the workers1 the       
females become languid1 those who       
survive will  found as many new tribes4 
,the generation of bumble-bees is more  
curious1 the differentiation of  castes 
more complicated4 ,there are among them1
 males1 workers1 small  females1 great  
females4 ,a great female1 having passed 
the winter1  founds a nest in the earth1
 often in moss 7there is a sort called  
the  moss bee71 she constructs a wax    
comb1 lays4 ,from the first eggs come   
workers who1 as in wasps1 construct the 
definitive nest1 pillage1 make  honey1  
and being more industrious than the     
other sort of bees who fear  dampness1  
they scour the country long after       

sunset4 ,after the workers1  the little 
females see light2 they have no function
 save laying1  without fecundation1 the 
eggs which will hatch male4             
,simultaneously the  queen produces     
great females who will soon couple with 
the males4 ,then1  as with wasps1 all   
the colony dies except the fecundated   
great females1  by whom the cycle will  
recommence1 the following spring4       
,there are three casts of ants1 or four 
if one count1 the division  of neuters  
into workers and fighters1 as among     
termites4 ,here1 as  with bees1 the     
neuters are the base of the republic1   
the males die  after mating1 the females
 after laying4 ,there are1 says ,m4     
,janet  7,recherches sur l'anatomie de  
la fourmi7 workers so different from    
the others1 in the development of their 
mandibles and the largeness  of their   
heads that one calls them soldiers1 a   
name according with  the rle they fill  
in the colony4 ,these soldiers are also 
butchers1  who cut up prey which is too 

large or dangerous4 ,specialization is  
the only superiority of the neuters who 
for the rest seem inferior to  the      
females and to the males in size1       
muscling and visual organs4 ,the        
females are sometimes half as large     
again as the neuters1 the males  being  
between the two sizes4 ,the ant shows   
much more intelligence than  the bee4   
,before this tiny people one seems      
really to touch humanity4  ,consider    
that the ants have slaves1 and domestic 
animals4 ,first the  plant lice1        
preferably those who live on roots1 and1
 at need1 those of  the rose-bush1 who  
are milked1 and who permit it1 subjected
 by long  heredity4 ,aphis formicarum   
vacca1 says ,linnus briefly 7beetle the 
ants' cow74 ,but wandering herds are not
 enough for them1 they keep  in the     
interior of their ant-hills1 colonies of
 slave plant-lice1 of  domesticated     
staphylins4 ,the staphylins are small   
coleoptera with  mobile abdomen1 one of 
their species is only found among ants4 

,they are  domesticated to the point of 
no longer being able to feed themselves3
  the ants stuff the necessary food into
 their mouths4 ,in return the           
staphylins furnish their masters a      
revenue analogous to that which they    
get from the plant-lice3 from the bunch 
of hairs rising at the base of  their   
abdomen they seem to exude a delectable 
liquor1 at least one sees  the ants suck
 these hairs with great eagerness4      
,these animals permit  it4 ,they are so 
much at home1 that the same observer    
7,muller1 traduit  par ,brull1 dans le  
,dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle de   
,gurin1 au  mot ,pselaphiens7 has seen  
them coupling without fear in the midst 
of the busy ant people1 the male hunched
 on the back of the female1  solidly    
crammed against the mellifluous tuft of 
ant's delicacies4    ,one knows that the
 red ants make war on the black ants and
 steal their  nymphs1 who1 retained in  
captivity1 make them excellent          
domestics1  attentive and obedient4     

,white humanity also1 at one point in   
its  history1 found itself faced with a 
like opportunity1 but less prudent  than
 the red ant1 it let it pass1 from      
sentimentalism1 thus betraying  its     
destiny1 renouncing1 under ,christian   
inspiration1 the complete and  logical  
development of its civilization4 ,is it 
not amusing that slavery  is presented  
to us as anti-natural1 when it is on the
 contrary1 normal  and excessively      
natural to the most intelligent of      
animals8 ,and in an  order of ideas more
 closely related to the subject of this 
book1 if  the making neuter of a part of
 the population1 placing them in castes 
vowed to continence1 is an anti-natural 
attempt1 how is it that social          
hymenoptera1 ants1 bees1 bumble-bees1   
and termites among neuroptera1  have    
managed it so well1 and have made it the
 basis of their social  state8          
,doubtless there is nothing like it     
among animals2 but mammals1  apart from 
man1 that monster1 even including       

beavers1 are infinitely  inferior to    
insects4 ,if the habits of social birds 
7for there are such7  were better known1
 one might find analogous practices     
among them4 ,the  sexual co-operation of
 all the members of a people being      
useless so  far as the conservation of  
the race is concerned2 and on the other 
hand inferior species living as         
neighbours to a superior species being  
destined to disappear1 slavery is good  
for the inferiors as it assures  them   
perpetuity and a sort of evolution      
suited to their feebleness4    ,a little
 brown ant1 the anergates1 having no    
workers establishes itself  as parasite 
in an ant-hill and gets itself served by
 workers of another  species in order to
 live4 ,what ingenuity of the sexed1    
what docility  of the sexless6 ,the     
worker ants are clearly degenerate      
females1 among  whom sexual sensibility 
has been completely transformed into    
maternal  sensibility4 ,one observes1   
moreover1 in many species an            

intermediate  type of woman-worker1 who 
gives the key to this evolution4 ,one   
should  note that after fecundation the 
females do not all re-enter the city2   
where they fall1 they build1 as         
mother-bumble-bees1 a provisory nest1   
acting then like workers1 and await the 
first egg-laying1 which will  produce   
exclusively real workers and will       
thereby permit the normal  construction 
of the new ant-hill4    ,there are among
 ants1 as among butterflies1            
hermaphrodites along the  medial line1  
or sometimes along an oblique line3 this
 gives absurd  creatures1 half one      
thing1 half the other1 or singularities 
such as a  female with a worker's had   
who functions as a worker4#b            
,polygamy by massacre of males1 as among
 herbivora1 and gallinace seems  a step 
toward a more logical and more economic 
distribution of the  sexes4 ,if         
antelopes perpetuate themselves very    
well with one male to  an hundred       
females1 is it not an indication that a 

part at least of  the sacrificed males  
might have dispensed with being born8   
,and would  it not be better1 in the    
interest of the antelopes1 that a part  
of  these males1 if they ought to       
continue to be bora1 should be normally 
sexless1 as with termites1 and entrusted
 with some social duty8    ,the         
organization of termites is very pretty2
 it will do to finish off  this brief   
review of animal societies founded on   
the unsexing of sexes4  ,one has already
 noted1 in the chapters on dimorphism1  
the diversity  of sexual forms1         
corresponding to four quite distinct    
castes4 ,the  minute examination of one 
of their republics permits one to assert
  differentiations much more numerous1  
for each of the principal castes  passes
 through active larval and nymphal      
forms1 adolescent forms1 such  as most  
neuroptera and libellules also present4 
,in taking count of  all the nuances one
 may observe in a state 7to use the     
familiar word7  of termites fifteen     

different forms1 all with marked        
characteristics4  ,the principal are3   
#a4 ,workers1 #b4 ,soldiers1 #c4 ,small 
males1 #d4 ,small  females1 #e4 ,large  
males1 #f4 ,large females1 #g4 ,nymphs  
with little cases1  #h4 ,nymphs with    
long cases1 #i4 ,larv4 ,when one attacks
 an ant hill1 the  soldiers arrive at   
the breach1 very threatening1 odd1 with 
their bodies  all head1 all mandibles4  
,the enemy routed1 the workers come to  
repair  the damage4 ,there are sometimes
 several female egg-layers2 sometimes   
there is only one male3 copulation      
always takes place outside the hill1    
and as with ants1 the males perish1     
while the fecundated females become  the
 origin of a new state4 ,the expeditions
 of travelling termites1  common as     
fighting termites in ,south ,africa1 are
 naturally directed  by soldiers4       
,sparmann 7cited in ,gurin's            
,dictionnaire d'histoire  naturelle7    
observed them during his voyage to the  
,cape1 and says  they behave rather as  

non-coms in close rank1 or climbing onto
 grass  blades1 watch the defile1       
beating with their feet1 if the order   
were  bad1 or too slow4 ,the signal is  
at once understood1 and obeyed by the   
rank at once1 is answered by a whistle4 
,there is in this something so          
marvellous that one hesitates to accept 
the traveller's interpretation  in      
entirety4 ,it is not the spontaneous and
 mechanical discipline of  the ants1 but
 the consenting obedience1 so difficult 
to obtain from  inferior humanities4    
,after all1 nothing is impossible1 and  
without  being credulous in these       
matters1 one need be astonished at      
nothing4  ,nevroptera are1 moreover1    
exceeding old on the earth2 they date   
from  before the coal-beds3 their       
civilization is some thousands of       
centuries  older than human             
civilizations4    ,beavers are the only 
mammals1 man excepted1 whose industry   
indicates  an intelligence near that of 
insects4 ,but their societies offer no  

complication1 they are a simple grouping
 of couples4 ,they do not  construct    
their dams until the females have been  
delivered1 this  happens toward the end 
of ,july1 one sees no other connection  
between  their sexual habits and their  
remarkable works4    ,these enormous    
trees felled and made to lie where      
intended1 these  piles stuck in the     
river-bed and interbound with twisted   
branches1  these impermeable dams1 all  
this hard and complicated work1 the     
beaver  accepts when pushed by          
necessity4 ,he needs an artificial lake 
with  unvarying depth2 if he finds one  
made by nature1 he accepts it1 and      
limits himself to erecting his regular  
huts4 ,thus osmies1 chalicodomes1  or   
xylocopes1--or men1 if they find by     
chance a nest prepared1 hasten  to      
profit by it4 ,the instinct of          
construction is by no means blind2 it   
is a faculty which will not be employed 
very often save in extremity3  the      
present inhabitant of the ,loire valley 

still arranges the caves  for domestic  
use4 ,to its injury1 but of that it     
knows nothing1 the bee  profits by the  
artificial combs slid into its hive4    
,the ,rhone beaver  has rested ever     
since men erected such excellent dams   
there4 ,the fairy  palace which rises in
 mid forest for the rubbing of a ring is
 the  human1 and animal1 ideal4    ,i   
must dose these observations on natural 
societies1 in pointing  out that if they
 are today based on something quite     
different from  polygamy1 it seems      
likely that they were in origin         
societies either of  polygamy or of     
sexual communism4 ,if one starts from   
communism one will  very soon evolve    
either toward the couple1 or toward     
polygamy1 if it is  a matter of mammals2
 or toward sexual neutralization if it  
is a matter  of insects4 ,the couple1   
polygamy1 neutralization are methods2   
sexual  communism is not a method1 and  
for that reason one must consider it as 
the chaos from which order has little by

 little emerged4        #a              
,bienenzeitung 7,gazette des ,abeilles7 
janvier1 #ahej4    #b ,e4 ,rambert1     
after ,a4 ,forel1 les ,murs des fourmis 
7,bibliothque  universelle1 tome ,,lv74 
,,chapter ,,xviii    ,,the ,,question   
,,of ,,aberrations            ,two sorts
 of sexual aberration4--,sexual         
aberrations of animals4--,those of      
men4--,crossing        of               
species4--,chastity4--,modesty4--,variet
ies and        localizations of sexual  
bashfulness4--,artificial               
creation of modesty4--,sort of modesty  
natural to all                          
females4--,cruelty4--,picture of        
carnage4--,the cricket        eaten     
alive4--,habits of carabes4--,every     
living        creature is a             
prey4--,necessity to kill or to be      
killed4      ,sexual aberrations are of 
two sorts4 ,the cause of the error is   
internal1 or external4 ,the flower of   
the arum muscivorum 7fly-catching  arum7
 by its cadaverous odour attracts flies 

in search of rotting flesh  in which to 
lay their eggs4 ,schopenhauer has       
supported by this1 or  analogous1 fact a
 theory just1 but somewhat summary1 of  
aberration from  external cause4        
,aberration from internal cause is      
sometimes explained  by the statement   
that the same arteries irrigate and the 
same nerves  animate the region of the  
sacrum1 anterior and posterior2 the     
excretal  canals being always near each 
other1 and sometimes common1 at least   
for  part of their length4 ,one has     
spoken seriously of the drake's sodomy1 
but anatomy refuses to understand it4   
,whether a drake frequents another      
drake or a duck1 he addresses himself in
 both cases to the single  door of a    
vestibule into which all excretions are 
poured4 ,doubtless  the drake is        
aberrated1 and his accomplice still more
 so1 but nature  deserves part of the   
blame4 ,in general1 animal aberrations  
require very  simple explanations4      
,there is a keen desire1 and very urgent

 need1  which if unsatisfied produces an
 inquietude1 which may augment until  a 
sort of momentary madness takes hold of 
the animal1 and throws it  blindly upon 
all sorts of illusions4 ,this may go1   
doubtless1 to the  point of             
hallucination4 ,there is also a need1   
purely muscular1 of at  least sketching 
in the sexual act1 either passive or    
active2 one sees1  by singular          
inversion1 cows in heat mounting each   
other1 perhaps with  the idea of        
exciting the male1 or perhaps the visual
 representation  which they make        
themselves of the desired act1 forces   
them to try an  imitation3 it is a      
marvellous example1 because it is       
absurd1 of the  motor force of images4  
,there are two parts in the sexual act2 
that of the specie1 and that  of the    
individual2 but that of the specie is   
only given it by means  of the          
individual4 ,in relation to the male in 
rut1 it is a question  of a very simple 
natural need4 ,he must empty his        

spermatic canals3  lacking females they 
say the stag rubs his prong on trees to 
provoke  ejaculation4 ,bitches in heat  
rub their vulva on the ground4 ,such are
  the rudiments of onanism1 suddenly    
carried by primates to such a  high     
degree of perfection4 ,one has seen male
 cantharides1 themselves  ridden1 riding
 other males2 the argule1 a small       
crustacean parasite  of fresh-water     
fish1 is so ardent that he often        
addresses himself to  other males1 or to
 gravid or even dead females4 ,from the 
microscopic  beasts to man1 aberration  
is everywhere2 but one should1 rather1  
call  it1 at least among animals1       
impatience4 ,animals are by no means    
mere  machines1 they1 as well as men1   
are capable of imaginations1 they       
dream1 they have illusions1 they are    
subject to desires whose source  is in  
the interior movement of their organism4
 ,the sight or odour of  a female       
over-excites the male2 but far from any 
female1 the logic of  the vital movement

 suffices perfectly to put them in a    
state of rut2 it  is absolutely the same
 with females4 ,if the state of rut1 and
 if the  sensibilization of the genital 
parts is established far from necessary 
sex1 we have here a natural cause of    
aberration1 for it is this special      
sensibility which must be used3 the     
first simulacrum1 or even the first     
propitious obstacle will be the         
adversary against which the exasperated 
animal exercises the energy by which he 
is tormented4    ,one may apply the     
general principles of this psychology to
 man1 but on  condition that we do not  
forget that man's genital sensibility is
 apt  to be awakened at any moment1 and 
that for him the causes of aberration   
are multiplied ad infinitum4 ,there     
would be extremely few aberrated  men   
and women if moral customs permitted a  
quite simple satisfaction  of sexual    
needs1 if it were possible for the two  
sexes to meet always  at the opportune  
moment4 ,there would remain aberrations 

of anatomical  order2 they would be less
 frequent and less tyrannic1 if our     
customs1  instead of contriving ways to 
make sexual relations very difficult1   
should favour them4 ,but this easiness  
is only possible1 in promiscuity1  which
 is possibly a worse ill than           
aberration4 ,thus all questions are     
insoluble1 and one can only improve     
nature by disorganizing her4 ,human     
order is often a disorder worse than    
spontaneous disorder1 because it  is a  
forced and premature finality1 an       
inopportune turning of the vital  river 
out of its course4    ,sexual selection 
is probably not a source of variation   
7i4 e41 of  type72 its rle is1 on the   
contrary1 to keep the specie in statu   
quo4  ,the causes of variation are      
probably changes of climate1 the nature 
of  the soil1 the general milieu1 and   
also disease1 the troubles of blood  and
 nerve circulation--perhaps certain     
sexual aberrations4 ,i say1  perhaps1   
for the cross-breeding between          

individuals of different  species1      
living in liberty1 seems difficult1 as  
soon as the species  is really something
 different from a variety in evolution1 
a form  still seeking itself4 ,at that  
stage anything is possible2 but one is  
speaking of species 7i4e41 set species74
 ,mules1 bardots1 leporides  are        
artificial products2 one has never found
 them in free nature4 ,it  is very      
difficult to obtain the copulation of a 
hare and she-rabbit2  the she-rabbit is 
refractory and the hare lacking         
enthusiasm4 ,the mare  very often       
refuses the ass2 if she turns her head  
at the moment of  his mounting1 one has 
to bandage her eyes to overcome her     
disgust2 it  is the same with the       
she-ass whom one offers a stallion for  
producing  the bardot4 ,as for the      
product of bull and mare1 the celebrated
  jumart is a chimra3 comparison of the 
meagre prong of the bull to  the massive
 one of the stallion is enough to       
convince one that such  dissimilar      

instruments can not replace each other4 
,nevertheless it  would be imprudent    
wholly to rule out this form of sexual  
aberration  from the causes of          
variability of species4 ,that is perhaps
 one of its  justifications4    ,of all 
sexual aberrations perhaps the most     
curious is chastity4 ,not  that it is   
anti-natural1 nothing is anti-natural1  
but because of  the pretexts it obeys4  
,bees1 ants1 termites1 present examples 
of  perfect chastity1 but of chastity   
that is utilized1 social chastity4      
,involuntary1 congenital1 the neuter    
state among insects is a state  de      
facto1 equivalent to the sexual state1  
and the origin of a  characterized      
activity4 ,in humans it is a state1     
often only apparent or  transitory1     
obtained voluntarily or demanded by     
necessity1 a precarious  condition1 so  
difficult to maintain that people have  
heaped up about  it all sorts of moral  
and religious walls1 and even real walls
 made of  stones and mortar4 ,permanent 

and voluntary chastity is nearly always 
a religious practice4 ,men1 in all ages1
 have been persuaded that  perfection of
 being was only obtainable by such      
renunciation4 ,this  seems absurd2 it   
is1 on the contrary1 very direct logic4 
,the only means  of not being an animal 
is to abstain from the act to which all 
animals  without exception deliver      
themselves4 ,it is the same motive that 
has  made people imagine abstinence1    
fasting2 but as one can not live        
without eating1 and as one can live     
without making love1 this second  method
 of perfectionment has remained in the  
state of outline4    ,it is true1       
asceticism1 of which humanity alone is  
capable1 is one  of the means which may 
lift us above animality2 but by itself  
it is  insufficient to do this2 by      
itself it is good for nothing1 save     
perhaps  to excite sterile pride2 one   
must add to it an active exercise of the
  intelligence4 ,it remains to know     
whether asceticism1 which deprives the  

sensibility of one of its healthiest and
 most stimulating nutriments is         
favourable to the exercise of the       
intelligence4 ,as it is not the least   
necessary to answer this question here1 
we will say nothing save this1          
provisorily3 one need not scorn chastity
 nor disdain asceticism4    ,is modesty 
an aberration8 ,indulgent observers have
 believed that they  noticed it in      
elephants as well as in rabbits4 ,the   
modesty of the  elephant is a popular   
maxim which makes right-minded women    
cast sheep's  eyes1 in circuses1 at the 
great beast who hides for her amours4   
,during  copulation1 says a celebrated  
rabbit-raiser#a the male and female     
should be alone1 in demi-obscurity4     
,this solitude and obscurity are  more  
necessary in view of the fact that      
certain females show signs of  modesty4 
,the modesty of animals is a fancy4     
,like modesty among humans1  it is      
merely the mask of fear1 the            
crystallization of timorous habits1     

necessitated by the animals being       
unarmed during coupling4 ,this is very  
well known and needs no explanation4    
,but the need of reproduction is so     
tyrannic that1 even among the most timid
 animals1 it does not always  leave them
 presence of mind enough to hide        
themselves during the amour4  ,the most 
domesticated of animals1 one knows it   
only too well1 shows at  this moment    
neither fear nor shame4    ,in man1     
among the civilized and among the       
uncivilized1 sexual fear1  shame1 has   
taken a thousand forms which1 for the   
most part1 seem to  have no longer any  
relation to the original feeling whence 
they are  derived4 ,one notices however 
that if the milieu where the couple     
finds  itself is such that no attack1 no
 ridicule is to be feared1 shame        
vanishes1 in part1 or entirely1         
according to the degree of security1    
and the degree of excitement4 ,for a    
crowd of populace on a fete night  there
 is hardly any modesty save legal       

modesty2 the example of one  bolder     
couple is enough1 if there is no        
authority to be feared1 to set  loose   
all the appetites1 and one then sees    
clearly that man who does  not hide in  
order to eat1 only hides to make love   
under pressure of  usage4    ,from the  
genital act1 modesty is stretched over  
the exterior sexual  organs by a        
mechanism very simple and very logical4 
,but here1 ,i think1  one must          
distinguish between genital modesty bred
 from the custom of  clothing the whole 
body1 and that which has led men to     
cover only a  particular part4 ,heat1   
cold1 rain1 insects explain clothing1   
but not  the savage's cotton drawers or 
the fig leaf2 especially when the leaf1 
imposed on married women1 for example1  
is forbidden to virgins1 or  when this  
symbolic leaf is so reduced that it     
serves no purpose1 save  that of a sign4
 ,in this last case1 it has not even any
 direct relation  to genital modesty2 it
 is only a matrimonial ornament1        

analogous to  the ring or the collar1 a 
sign1 indeed indicating a condition4 ,it
 is  possible also1 that among certain  
peoples where the men go entirely       
naked1 the women wear an apron merely to
 keep off flies1 gad-flies1  rather as a
 peasant drapes his horse's muzzle with 
grass and leaves4  ,quite often1        
however1 one is forced to recognize in  
these customs1  the proof of a          
particular genital sensibility1         
analogous to civilized  modesty4 ,an    
,english sailor1 at the time of the     
first explorations got  himself rejected
 by the ,maori women not because he     
appeared without  clothing1 a state     
which custom required1 but because he   
appeared with  his organ unsheathed4    
,this detail shocked them extremely4 ,a 
curious  example of the localization of 
shame3 all parts of the body could and  
should show themselves1 all save this   
small surface4 ,on reflection1  the     
modesty of ,europeans at a ball or on   
the beach is almost as absurd  as that  

of the ,maoris1 or as that of the       
fellaheen women who at the  approach of 
a stranger remove their shirts1 their   
sole garments1 in  order to cover their 
faces4    ,sexual modesty1 as one       
observes it today1 among the most       
various  peoples1 is utterly artificial4
 ,livingstone assures us that he        
developed modesty in little ,kaffir     
girls by clothing them4 ,surprised  in  
neglige1 they covered their breasts--and
 this in a race where the  women go     
wholly naked1 save for a string round   
the middle1 from which  another string  
hangs4 ,clothing is only one of the     
causes of modesty1 or  of customs which 
give us the illusion of it1 and the     
sentiment of fear  associated with the  
sexual act does not explain all the     
rest4 ,there is  a shame particular to  
the female1 an ensemble of movements1   
which one  can assimilate to nothing1   
which one can attach to nothing4 ,the   
gesture  of ,venus modest is not purely 
a woman's gesture2 nearly all females1  

especially mammifers1 have it2 the      
female1 who refuses1 lowers her tail    
and clamps it between her legs2 there is
 here1 evidently1 the origin of  one of 
the particular forms of modesty4 ,we    
have given characteristic  examples in  
an earlier chapter4    ,man is          
un-get-at-able2 the slightest of his    
habitual sentiments has  multiple and   
contradictory roots in a sensibility    
variable and always  excessive4 ,he is  
the least poised and the least          
reasonable of all  animals1 although the
 only one who has been able to construct
 for  himself an idea of reason2 he is  
an animal lunatic1 that is to say one   
who flows out on all sides1 who unravels
 everything in theory1 and  tangles up  
everything in fact1 who desires and     
wills so many things1  who throws his   
muscles into so many divers activities  
that his acts are  at once the most     
sensible and the most absurd1 the most  
conforming and  the most opposed to the 
logical development of life4 ,but he    

profits  even by error1 especially by   
the error fatal to all animals1 and that
  constitutes his originality1 as       
,pascal noted1 and as ,nietzsche        
repeats4    ,if the word modesty        
7pudeur7 is not exact1 when applied to  
animals1  although one finds in their   
habits the distant origin of this       
complex  and refined sentiment1 the word
 cruelty1 is not so either1 when applied
  to their natural acts of defence or   
nutrition4 ,human cruelty is often  an  
aberration2 the cruelty of beasts is a  
necessity1 a normal fact1  often the    
very condition of their existence4 ,an  
anarchist philosopher1  ardent and naive
 disciple of ,jean-,jacques believed    
that he traced  an universal altruism in
 nature2 he has redone with other words 
and another spirit1 and a few new       
examples1 the infantile works of        
,bernardin de ,saint-,pierre1 and has   
abused1 under pretext of inclining      
mankind to kindness1 the right which one
 has to promenade about nature  without 

seeing and without understanding her4   
,nature is neither good1  nor evil1 nor 
altruist1 nor egoist2 she is an ensemble
 of forces  whereof none cedes save     
under superior pressure4 ,her conscience
 is that  of a balance2 being of a      
perfect indifference1 it is of an       
absolute  equity4 ,but the sensibility  
of a balance is of a single order1      
single  dimension2 the sensibility of   
nature is infinite1 to all actions and  
reactions4 ,whether the strong devour   
the weak1 or the weak the strong1  there
 is no compensation save in our human   
illusion2 in reality one  life is       
enlarged at the expense of another life1
 in one case as in the  other1 the total
 energy has been neither diminished nor 
augmented4  ,there is neither strong1   
nor weak1 there is a level which tends  
to  remain constant4 ,our sentimentalism
 makes us see dramas where nothing      
occurs more disturbing than the general 
facts of nutrition4 ,one may  however   
look at these facts a little more       

closely1 and then the parity  of animal 
organism and the human organism will    
lead us to qualify as  cruel1 certain   
acts which would deserve this title if  
committed by man4  ,one must say cruelty
 in order to understand it oneself2 it  
is also  necessary to remember that this
 cruelty is unconscious1 that it is not 
felt by the devouring animal1 that no   
element of ill-will enters into  its    
act1 and that man himself1 the judge1 in
 no way deprives himself of  eating live
 creatures when they are better raw than
 cooked1 living than  dead4    ,a       
philanthe1 sort of wasp1 catches a bee  
to feed its larv2 while  carrying the   
prey to his nest1 he presses the belly1 
sucks the bee1  empties it of all its   
honey4 ,but at the entrance of the nest 
a mantis  is waiting1 its double-saw of 
an arm is unfolded1 the philanthe is    
nipped in passing4 ,and one sees the    
mantis gnawing the belly of the         
philanthe while the philanthe continues 
sucking the bee's belly4 ,and  the      

mantis is so voracious that you can cut 
her in two without making  her let go2 a
 chain1 truly1 of carnage4    ,the larv 
of the sphex1 another wasp1 are fed on  
live crickets that  have been paralyzed 
by a stab4 ,as soon as it hatches the   
larva attacks  the cricket in the belly 
at the chosen spot where the egg has    
been  layed4 ,the poor insect protests  
by feeble movements of antenn1 and      
mandibles3 in vain2 he is eaten alive1  
fibre by fibre1 by a great worm  which  
gnaws his entrails1 and with so great a 
skill that it begins on  the parts not  
essential to life1 and thus keeps the   
prey fresh and  tasty to the last4 ,such
 is the gentleness of nature1 the good  
mother4    ,the carabes are fine        
coleoptera1 violet1 purple1 and golden4 
,they feed  only on living prey1 which  
they chew slowly1 beginning at the      
belly1  and boring slowly into the      
palpitating cavity4 ,helices1 and slugs 
are  thus tom apart by bands of carabes 
who dig them up and dissect them in  a  

boiling of saliva4    ,such are theft   
and murder1 in nature4 ,these are the   
normal acts4  ,herbivorous species alone
 are innocent perhaps from imbecility2  
always  occupied in eating1 because     
their food is so unsubstantial1 they    
have  not time to develop their powers3 
they are the inevitable prey1 a sort  of
 superior grass which will be browsed at
 the first opportunity4  ,but the       
carnivora are in the same way eaten by  
their stronger and  more adroit         
fellow-boarders4 ,very few beasts have a
 quiet death4 ,the  geotrupes1 scarabs1 
necrophores their work finished1 the    
egg-laying  accomplished1 devour each   
other to pass the time1 perhaps1 to lend
 a  little gaiety to their last moments4
 ,animals are of but two sorts1  hunters
 and game1 but there is scarcely a      
hunter who is not game in  his turn4    
,one does not find in nature the purely 
human invention of  breeding for        
slaughter1 or the more extraordinary one
 of breeding for  hunting4 ,ants know   

how to milk their cows1 the plant-lice1 
or their  goats the staphylins2 they do 
not know how to fatten them and to slit 
their gullets4    ,a hundred other signs
 of animal cruelty are scattered through
 this  book4 ,one may collect many      
others1 and this might form a work      
edifying  in this era of sentimentalism4
 ,not because one wishes--quite the     
contrary--to offer them to men as so    
many examples2 but because this  might  
teach them that the first duty of a     
living being is to live1  and that all  
life is nothing but a sum sufficient of 
murders4 ,men or  tigers1 sphex or      
carabes are under the same necessity3 to
 kill or to  die1 or to shed blood or   
eat grass4 ,but to eat grass1 is not    
much  better than suicide3 ask the      
lambkins4      #a ,mariot-,didieux1     
,guide pratique de l'ducateur de lapins4
  ,bibliothque des professions          
industrielles et agricoles1 srie ,h4    
,no4  #ag4          ,,chapter ,,xix     
,,instinct            ,instinct4--,can  

one oppose it to                        
intelligence8--,instinct in             
man4--,primordiality        of          
intelligence4--,instinct's conservative 
rle4--,modifying rle of                 
intelligence4--,intelligence        and 
consciousness4--,parity of animal and   
human        instinct4--,mechanical     
character of the instinctive            
act4--,instinct modified by             
intelligence4--,habit        of work    
creates useless work4--,objections to   
the        identification of instinct   
and intelligence taken        from life 
of insects4      ,the question of       
instinct is perhaps the most            
nerve-racking there is4  ,simple minds  
think they have solved it when they have
 set against  this word the other word3 
intelligence4 ,that is merely the       
elementary  position of the problem4    
,not only does it explain nothing1 but  
it  opposes all explanations4 ,if       
instinct and intelligence are not       
phenomena of the same order1 reducible  

one to the other1 the problem  is       
insoluble and we will never know what   
instinct is1 nor what is  intelligence4 
,in the vulgar contrast one overhears   
the considerable naivete that  animals  
have instinct and man1 intelligence4    
,this error1 pure rhetoric1  has        
prevented1 up to the present1 not the   
answer to the question  which still     
seems a long way off1 but the scientific
 exposure of the  question itself4 ,it  
includes but two formul3 ,either        
instinct is a  fructification of        
intelligence2 or intelligence is an     
augmentation of  instinct4 ,one must    
choose1 and know that in choosing one   
makes1 as the  case may be1 either      
instinct or intelligence1 the seed or   
flower of a  single plant3 the          
sensibility4    ,one will first         
establish that for manifestations of    
instinct and for  those of intelligence1
 there is no essential difference       
between man and  animals4 ,the life of  
all men1 quite as well as that of all   

animals1  is based on instinct1 and     
doubtless there is no animal who can not
  give signs of spontaneity1 that is to 
say1 of intelligence4 ,instinct  seems  
anterior because in all animals except  
man the quantity and  especially the    
quality of instinctive facts greatly    
surpasses the value  and number of      
intellectual facts4 ,this is so1 but in 
admitting this  hierarchy1 if one       
thereby explain with considerable       
difficulty1 the  formation of           
intelligence in man and in the animals  
which show more  or less perceptible    
gleams of it1 one also renounces by so  
doing1 all  later attempts that might   
furnish some notions as to the formation
 of  instinct4 ,if the bee makes his    
combs mechanically1 if this act is as   
necessary as the evaporation of warmed  
water1 or the crystallization  of       
freezing water1 it is useless to search 
any further3 one is in the  presence of 
a fact which will never yield anything  
else4    ,if1 on the contrary1 one      

consider intelligence as anterior1 the  
field  of investigation stretches out to
 infinity and instead of one problem    
radically insoluble1 one has a hundred  
thousand or more1 as many  as there are 
animal species1 and of these problems   
none is simple1  none absurd4 ,this     
manner of looking at it1 brings1 ,i     
admit1 grave  consequences4 ,one must   
then look at matter as a simple         
allotropic form  of intelligence1 or1 if
 you prefer1 consider intelligence and  
matter  as equivalents1 and admit that  
intelligence is merely matter endowed   
with sensibility1 and that its power of 
extremely diversifying itself  finds    
impassable limits in the very forms     
which clothe it4 ,instinct  is the proof
 of these limits4 ,when acts have become
 instinctive1  they have become         
invincible4 ,a specie is a group of     
instincts whose  tyranny becomes1 one   
day1 deaf to all attempts at movement4  
,evolution  is limited by the resistance
 of what is1 striving against what might

  be4 ,there comes a moment when a      
specie is a mass too heavy to be moved  
by intelligence3 then it remains in its 
place2 this is death1 but is            
compensated by the steady arrival of    
other species2 new forms assumed  by the
 inexhaustible ,proteus4    ,one will   
add nothing1 here1 to this theory1 save 
a few facts favourable  to it1 and a    
handful of objections4    ,the old      
distinction between intelligence and    
instinct1 although false  and           
superficial1 may be adapted to the views
 just abbreviated4 ,we will  attribute  
to instinct the series of acts which    
tend to conserve the  present condition 
of a specie2 and to intelligence1 those 
which tend to  modify that condition4   
,instinct will be slavery1 subjection to
 custom2  intelligence will represent   
liberty1 that is to say1 choice1 acts   
which  while being necessary1 since they
 occur1 have yet been determined  by an 
ensemble of causes anterior to those    
which govern instinct4  ,intelligence   

will be the deep1 the reserve1 the      
spring which after long  digging emerges
 between the rocks4 ,in everything that 
intelligence  suggests1 the             
consciousness of the species makes a    
departure2 what is  useful is           
incorporated in instinct1 enlarging and 
diversifying it2 what  is useless       
perishes--or perhaps flowers in         
extravagances1 as it does  in man1 in   
dancing and gardening birds1 or the     
magpies attracted by a  jewel1 larks by 
a mirror6 ,one will then call instinct1 
the series of  useful aptitudes2        
intelligence1 the series of aptitudes de
 luxe3 but  what is useful1 what        
useless8 ,who will dare brand a series  
of bird  notes or a feminine smile as   
lacking utility8 ,there is neither      
utility  nor inutility unless there be  
also finality4 ,but finality can not be 
considered as an aim2 it is nothing but 
a fact1 and one which might be  other4  
,this utilization of old terms1 if it   
were possible1 could never be  the      

pretext for a new radical               
differentiation between instinct and    
intelligence2 one could only use it to  
define by contrast two states  whose    
manifestations present appreciable      
nuances4 ,the great objection  to the   
essential identification of instinct and
 intelligence comes  from a habit of    
mind which spiritistic philosophy has   
for long imposed  upon us3 instinct     
should be unconscious1 intelligence1    
conscious4  ,but psychological analysis 
does not permit us rigorously to tie    
intellectual activity to consciousness4 
,without consciousness1 every  thing    
might happen1 even in the most          
thoughtful man1 exactly as it  does     
under the paternal eye of this          
consciousness4 ,in ,m4 ,ribot's         
interesting analogic comparison1        
consciousness is an interned candle     
lighting a clock-face2 it has the same  
influence on the movement of the        
intelligence that this candle has on the
 clock4 ,it is difficult to know        

whether animals have consciousness1 and 
it is perhaps useless1 unless  at least1
 one admit that this candle1 by its     
luminous or calorific  rays1 does1 as   
,m4 ,fouille teaches1 affect the march  
of the mechanism4  ,in sum1             
consciousness also is a fact1 and no    
fact dies without  consequences2 there  
are neither first causes nor last       
causes4 ,in any  case one will1 since it
 is evident1 cling to one statement that
 even if  consciousness is a possible   
reactive1 intelligence can act without  
it3  the most conscious of men have     
phases of unconscious intellectuality2  
long series of reasonable acts may be   
committed without their  reflection     
being visible in the mirror1 without the
 candle being lit  before the clock4 ,in
 brief1 it does not seem as if nervous  
matter could  exist without intelligence
 or sensibility2 but consciousness is an
  extra4 ,there is no need to take count
 of the old scholastic objection  to the
 identification of the intelligence and 

the instinct4    ,what is there serious 
in the other objection3 that man1 if he 
once had  instincts1 has lost them8     
,the animal having the richest instincts
 ought also to have1 or to have  had1   
the richest intelligence4 ,and          
reciprocally3 intellectual activity     
supposes a greatly varied instinctive   
activity1 either in the present  or in  
the future4 ,if man have not instincts1 
he ought to be in the way  of making    
them4 ,he has numerous instincts1 and   
makes more every day3  a part of his    
consciousness is constantly             
crystallizing itself into  instinctive  
acts4    ,but if one consider the       
different instincts of animal species   
one  will scarcely find any which are   
not also human4 ,the great human        
activities are instinctive4 ,doubtless  
man may refrain from building  a palace1
 but he can not dispense with a cabin1 a
 nest in a cave1 or  in the fork of a   
tree1 like the great apes1 many mammals1
 birds1 and  most insects4 ,his food    

depends very little on choice1 it must  
contain  certain indispensable elements3
 a necessity identical with that which  
rules the animals1 and even the plants  
whose roots reach down toward  the      
desired juice1 and whose branches reach 
toward the light4 ,song1  dance1 strife1
 and1 for the group1 war2 human         
instincts are not unknown  to all       
animals4 ,the taste for brilliant       
things1 another human instinct  is      
frequent enough in birds2 it is true    
that birds have not yet made  anything  
of it1 and that man has evolved the     
sumptuary arts4 ,there  remains love1   
but ,i think this supreme instinct is   
the consecrated  limit of the           
objections4    ,useful acts habitually  
repeated may become invincible1 like    
veritable  instinctive movements4 ,a    
hunter#a spending the winter in an      
isolated  cabin in ,canada engaged an   
,indian woman to keep house for him4    
,she  arrives in the evening1 melts the 
snow1 begins to wash up1 shifts         

everything1 prevents his getting any    
sleep4 ,he rages4 ,silence4 ,as soon  as
 he is asleep1 the woman mechanically   
begins to work again1 and so  on1 until 
the humble ,indian gets the last word4  
,here1 exactly as among  insects1 one   
has the example of work which once begun
 must go on until  it is finished4 ,the 
insect can not be interrupted2 if it is 
interrupted  by external cause it starts
 work again not at the point where it   
actually finds the work1 but at the     
point where it1 the insect1 left  off4  
,thus1 one entirely removed the nest    
which a chalicodome was  building on a  
shingle2 the bee returns1 finds nothing1
 since there is  nothing to find1 but   
instead of recommencing the building1   
continues  it4 ,there was nothing to be 
done but close the hole2 the bee closes 
it1  that is to say she deposits the    
last mouthful of mortar on the ideal    
dome of an absent nest3 then with       
instinct satisfied1 sure of having      
assured her posterity1 she retires1 she 

goes to die4 ,one can get the  same     
result with the plope1 and with other   
builders4 ,processional  caterpillars   
are accustomed to make long trips in    
,indian file on the  branches of their  
native pine-tree1 in search of food3 if 
one place  them on the rim of a basin   
they will stupidly circulate for thirty 
hours1 without one of them having the   
idea of interrupting the circle  by     
going off at a tangent4 ,they will die  
in their track1 stuck fast  in          
obedience2 when one falls another steps 
into his place1 the ranks  close1 that  
is all4 ,here are the extremities of    
instinct1 and to our  great surprise    
they are almost the same in an ,indian  
of the great lakes  and in a            
processional pine caterpillar4    ,but  
other cases of animal's instinct joining
 with free intelligence1  give examples 
of human sagacity4 ,we have seen these  
same mason bees and  xylocopes and      
domestic bees profit eagerly by a nest  
ready made1 by a  hole bored in wood1 by

 artificial combs set ready to take     
their honey2  the osmies1 who lay in the
 stalks of cut reeds1 in which they     
arrange a  series of chambers1          
accommodated themselves under ,fabre's  
guidance in  glass tubes which permitted
 the great observer to know them        
intimately4  ,instinct is by turns as   
stupid as a machine and as intelligent  
as a  brain2 these two extremes should  
correspond with very ancient and very   
recent habits4 ,it is certainly but a   
relatively short time since the         
peasant's pruning-bill began preparing  
cut reeds for the osmie2 before  that   
time she constructed her nest1 as she   
still does1 in empty snail  shells or in
 some natural cavity4 ,they are very    
interesting these  osmies1 extremely    
active solitary bees2 one sees them     
having exhausted  their ovaries1 but not
 their muscular force1 building extra   
nests1  provisioning them with honey1   
without having laid a single egg in     
them2  they will even make and close    

them without honey1 if they do not find 
more flowers1 thus showing a real       
craziness for work1 an authentic  mania 
analogous to that which moves man to    
move pebbles1 to smoke1 to  drink rather
 than remain immobile4#b ,if the osmie  
lived longer1 she  might perhaps invent 
some game which1 vain at the start1     
would end by  becoming both a need and a
 benefit to the whole species4    ,the  
theory which makes instinct a partial   
crystallization of  intelligence is     
extremely seductive3 ,i dare say we will
 have to accept  it as true4 ,yet the   
contemplation of the insect world raises
 an  enormous objection4 ,in the course 
of his wonderful memoirs ,fabre has     
formulated it ten times and with always 
fresh ingenuity4 ,here is the  insect1  
nearly always born adult1 and after the 
death of her parents1  she has received 
from them neither direct education nor  
education by  example1 as do the young  
of birds or mammals4 ,a hen teaches her 
chick  to scratch for worms 7it is true 

that she does not teach her ducklings   
to dabble in puddles1 and they are her  
despair1 to our amusement71 an  osmie   
can teach its young nothing4 ,yet now   
osmies do exactly what their  ancients  
have done4 ,the insect opens its shell1 
brushes its antenn1  performs its       
toilet1 opens its wings1 flies off for  
life1 moves  without hesitation toward  
the pasture it needs1 recognizes and    
flees  the enemies of its race1 makes   
love1 and finally constructs a nest     
identical with the cradle from which it 
has emerged4#c    ,one sees quite well  
that the acquisitions of the individual 
have  passed to the descendant1 but how8
 ,how have they fixed themselves in  the
 nerves and blood during a few short    
days of life8 ,without any              
apprenticeship the sphex paralyzes with 
three stabs the cricket which  is to    
feed its larv2 if the cricket is killed 
and not paralyzed1 the  larv will die1  
poisoned by the carrion2 and if the     
paralysis is not  durable the cricket   

will come to1 and destroy the sphex in  
the egg4  ,the manuvre of this wasp and 
of many other killing hymenoptera has   
this tiresome point for our reasoning1  
the act must be perfect1 on  pain of    
death4 ,nevertheless it must be admitted
 that the sphex has  formed itself      
slowly1 like all complex animals1 and   
that its genius is  only the sum of     
intellectual acquisition slowly         
crystallized in the  specie4#d ,as for  
the mechanism of this transformation of 
intelligence  into instinct1 it has for 
motive the principle of utility2        
intelligent  acts which are useful for  
the preservation of the specie1 are the 
only  ones which pass into instinct4    
,the science of these hymenoptera goes  
so far that it was ahead of  human      
science until yesterday4 ,the insect    
attacks the nervous system2  it knows   
that the power of beginning a movement  
lies in the nervous  system and not in  
the limbs4 ,if the nervous system is    
centralized  as in weevils1 their enemy 

the cerceris gives only one dagger-stab2
  if the movement depends on three      
ganglia1 it gives three stabs2 if  on   
nine ganglia1 nine3 thus does the shaggy
 ammophile when it needs  the           
caterpillar of the noctuelle1 commonly  
called the gray worm1 for  its larv2 if 
a single sting in the cervical ganglion 
appears too  dangerous1 the hunter      
limits himself to chewing it gently1 in 
order to  induce the necessary degree of
 immobility4 ,it is odd that the social 
hymenoptera who know how to do so many  
difficult things1 are ignorant  of this 
savant dagger-play4 ,the bee stings at  
random1 and so brutally  that she       
mutilates herself while often inflicting
 but an insignificant  wound on her     
adversary4 ,collective civilization has 
diminished the  individual genius4      
#a ,vide ,milton and ,cheaddle1 works   
already cited4    #b ,compare this with 
the valuable remarks of a gamekeeper1   
,one must  know the habits of animals1  
even their manias1 for they have them1  

just  as we do4 ,figaro1 #ca1 ,aug4     
#aijc4    #c ,to my mind a slight       
unsoundness creeps into ,chap4 ,,xvi1   
and here  both ,fabre and ,gourmont seem
 to me to go astray in considering the  
insect as a separate creature1 i4 e4 a  
creature cut off from its larva  or     
cocoon life4 ,surely the animal may be  
supposed to exist while in  its cocoon  
or larva1 it may reasonably be supposed 
to pass that period  in reflection1     
preparing for precisely the acts of its 
desire 7as for  example an intelligent  
young man might pass his years in a     
university  under professors1 awaiting  
reasonable maturity to act or express   
his  objections74 ,the larva has its    
months of quiet1 precisely the necessary
  pre-reflection for the two days'      
joy-ride of exterior manifestation1     
amours1 etc41 its contemplatio1 or what 
may be counted as analogous1  passing in
 its cell4 ,the perfection and precision
 of its acts1 being1  let us say1       
proportionate to the non-expressive     

period4 ,having spent  ,god knows how   
long in that possibly monotonous nest1  
it seems small  wonder that the insect  
should know the pattern by heart4 ,small
 wonder1  that is to say wonder not     
incommensurate with the general wonder  
of the  whole process4--,e4 ,p4    #d   
,vide translator's postscript4          
,,chapter ,,xx    ,,tyranny ,,of ,,the  
,,nervous ,,system            ,accord   
and discord between organs and          
acts4--,torses        and sacred        
scarab4--,the hand of man4--,mediocre   
fitness of sexual organs for            
copulation4--,origin        of          
luxuria4--,the animal is a nervous      
system served by organs4--,the organ    
does not        determine the           
aptitude4--,man's hand inferior         
to his genius4--,substitution of one    
sense for        another4--,union and   
rle of the senses in love4--,man        
and animal under the tyranny of the     
nervous        system4--,wear and tear  
of humanity compensated by              

acquisitions4--,man's inheritors4       
,it is a universal belief that nature or
 ,god1 in their wisdom1 have made  the  
corporal organs in the best possible    
form3 perfection of the eye1  of the    
hand1 of the paw-jaw of the mantis1 of  
the sexual apparatus of  man1 of the    
bird or the scarab1 the furnishing      
tarses of hymenoptera1  the beaver's    
tail1 the grasshopper's hams1 the       
cicada's tambourine4 ,it  is sometimes  
true and very often false4 ,it happens  
that there appears  an exact concord    
between the organ and the act which it  
is to perform2  but it happens also1 and
 that not rarely1 that the organs seem  
in no  way fashioned for the deed they  
must accomplish3 most of them are       
indeed chance tools1 with which the     
creature manages1 as he can1 the  acts  
which he wants to1 or should1 do4       
,the forefeet of scarabs are so little  
destined for modelling and  rolling     
mud-balls that their tarses are worn out
 in the process1 as  human fingers would

 perhaps be worn if they had to knead   
the raw clay  and mortar4 ,in           
considering the scarab one has to think 
of a humanity  lacking fingers1 having  
lost them by a long and slow diminution 
of  nails1 bones1 flesh4 ,the scarab is 
a modeller1 nothing would be more       
useful to him than fingers2 instead of  
losing them by use1 he ought to  have   
grown them longer and more supple4 ,he  
has lost them1 and it is  with the arm  
stumps that he turns the little balls   
which are to be food  for himself or his
 offspring4 ,this insect is condemned to
 a labour that  will become increasingly
 difficult as the species grows         
increasingly  older4 ,it remains to know
 whether the ancestors of the sacred    
scarab  had tarses4 ,horus ,apollo      
grants them as many fingers as the month
 has  days1 that is thirty1 which       
corresponds quite well with the six feet
  and five tarses of the scarab4 ,if he 
was a good observer1 the question  is   
answered1 but a single testimony is     

insufficient1 and moreover it is        
unlikely that so great a wearing-away   
would have occurred in so small a       
number of centuries4 ,horus1 and a      
savant like ,latreille himself1 have    
been the dupes of symmetry2 if either   
has looked closely at a scarab1  and if 
he has seen the forefeet lacking tarses1
 he has put this down  to chance or to  
accident4 ,fabre has at least noted one 
indisputable  fact1 it is that neither  
as nymph nor adult has the scarab tarses
 on  his forefeet4 ,if it ever had them1
 our reasoning draws new vigour  from   
the negation1 for then less than ever is
 it possible to find the  least logical 
concordance between the insect's stumps 
and the need of  modelling and turning  
to which nature condemns it4    ,this   
scarab is a type to which one can relate
 a great number of other  examples3     
purveyor hymenoptera are wholly deprived
 of tools adapted  to their work as     
quarry-men and well-diggers3 thus1 at   
the end of  their labours the greater   

part of these fragile insects are very  
much  damaged4 ,one knows the beaver's  
constructions1 but who without the      
certitude we have gained by observation1
 would have dared to attribute  them to 
these great rats8    ,eighteenth century
 philosophers set themselves the        
question3 ,is man  man because he has   
hands2 or has he hands because he is    
man8 ,one may  answer boldly1 that man's
 hands marvellous as they appear to us1 
add  almost nothing to his intelligence4
 ,one does not see that they are        
indispensable for anything save for     
playing the piano4 ,what constitutes    
man is his intelligence1 his nervous    
system4 ,the exterior organ is          
secondary3 no matter what exterior      
organ1 beak1 prehensile tail1 teeth1    
proboscis1 paws would have done the work
 of the hands4 ,there are birds'  nests 
which no manual cleverness could weave4 
,the reproductive organs are no better  
adapted to their purpose than  are the  
working organs4 ,doubtless they attain  

very often their end1  but at the cost  
of efforts which a better disposition   
would have  attenuated or eliminated    
altogether4 ,the interior mechanism is1 
or  seems1 marvellous2 the external     
mechanism is rudimentary and gives no   
result1 save1 as they say1 thanks to the
 ever-renewed ingenuity of the  couples4
 ,instinct1 in one of its most necessary
 acts1 is often put to  difficult proof4
 ,the plausible adventure of ,daphnis   
has been presumably  often repeated1    
even though the limberness of the human 
form is well  suited to coition2 but who
 has not been surprised to see a heavy  
bull  leap clumsily onto a lowing cow1  
bending his useless hocks along her     
back1 panting1 and often not succeeding 
save thanks to the good offices  of a   
farm hand8 ,among beavers1 says ,a4 de  
,quatrefages 7,orbigny's  ,dictionnaire 
d'histoire naturelle71 the external     
orifice of the  generative organs opens 
in a cloaca so placed under the tail    
that one  hardly understands how the    

coupling takes place4    ,certain       
matings are sheer tours de force1 and   
the animal whether it be  the scutilary1
 a tiny insect1 or the elephant1 a      
colossus1 is compelled  to take         
positions absolutely different from its 
normal postures4  ,nature who firmly    
intends the perpetuity of the species1  
has not yet  found a simple and unique  
means thereto2 or else1 having found it1
 in  budding1 she has cast it aside to  
adopt the diversity of organs1 means1   
and movements4 ,there are none1 even to 
those of our own specie which  man may  
not criticize1 even though he prize     
them2 he has criticized1  and his       
criticism has been to diversify them    
still further1 which  simplifies a fated
 necessity in making it pleasanter4     
,morals term this  diversification      
luxure4#a ,this term is a pejorative    
which may be  applied also to the       
exercise of our other senses4 ,all is   
but luxuria4  ,luxuria1 the variety of  
foods1 their cooking1 their seasoning1  

the  culture of special garden plants2  
luxuria3 the exercises of the  eye1     
decoration1 the toilet1 painting2       
luxuria1 music2 luxuria1 the  marvellous
 exercises of the hand1 so marvellous   
that direct hand work  can be mimicked  
by a machine but never equalled2        
luxuria1 flowers1  perfumes2 luxuria1   
rapid voyages2 luxuria1 the taste for   
landscape2  luxuria1 all art1 science1  
civilization2 luxuria1 also the         
diversity  of human gestures1 for the   
animal in his virtuous sobriety has but 
one gesture for each sense1 and that    
gesture unvarying2 or if the  gesture1  
as probable1 undergoes a change1 it is  
but a slow1 invisible  change1 and there
 is at the end but one gesture4 ,the    
animal is  ignorant of diversity1 of the
 accumulation of aptitudes2 man alone is
  luxurieux1 is libidinous4    ,there is
 a principle which ,i will call the     
individualism of species4  ,each specie 
is an individual which profits as best  
it may1 for its  useful ends1 by the    

instruments which have devolved to it4  
,a specie of  hymenoptera feels itself  
obliged to protect its eggs from new    
enemies1  by digging holes in the       
ground2 it makes use of the tools which 
it  has1 without taking count of the    
fact that these tools have not been     
made for excavation2 it acts thus at    
pressure of necessity1 as man  climbs   
trees in a flood1 or gets onto the roof 
in case of fire4 ,the  need is          
independent of the organ2 it precedes   
it1 and does not always  create it4 ,in 
the sexual act1 need commands the       
gesture3 the animal  adapts itself to   
positions which are strange to it1 and  
very difficult4  ,coupling is nearly    
always a grimace4 ,one would say that   
nature has  set the male organ here1 and
 the female there1 and left to specific 
ingenuity the care of effecting the     
junction4    ,it is1 ,i think1 permitted
 us to conclude from the mediocre       
fitness of  animals to milieu1 and of   
organs to acts1 that it is not the      

milieu  which absolutely fashions1 or   
the organs which absolutely govern1  the
 acts4 ,one then feels oneself inclined 
to reaccept ,bonald's  definition of    
man1 and even to find it admirable1     
just1 and strict3  ,an intelligence     
served by organs4 ,not obeyed1 not      
always1 but  served1 service implying   
imperfection1 a discord between the     
order  and its fulfillment4 ,but the    
phrase applies not to man only1 and its 
spiritualistic origin in no way         
diminishes its aphoristic value2 it     
qualifies every animal4 ,the animal is a
 nervous centre1 served by the          
different tools in which its branches   
terminate4 ,it commands1 and the  tools1
 good or bad ones1 obey4 ,if they were  
incapable of performing  their work1 at 
least the essential parts of it1 the    
animal would  perish4 ,there are forms  
of parasitism which seem to be the      
consequence  of a general renunciation  
of organs2 impotent to enter into direct
  relations with the outer world1       

unmanned by the softness of the         
muscles1 the nervous system brings the  
skiff it was piloting into some  harbour
 or other1 and beaches it4    ,fabre    
says1 thinking particularly of insects3 
,the organ does not  determine the      
aptitude4 ,and this most aptly confirms 
,bonald's manner  of seeing4 ,thrown in 
at the end of a chapter1 with scarcely  
anything  directly to justify it1 this  
affirmation but gains in value4 ,it is  
the  conclusion1 not of a dissertation1 
but of a long sequence of scientific    
observations4 ,as for the facts that one
 can set inside it1 they are            
innumerable2 one would group them under 
two heads3 ,the animal serves  himself  
as best he can with the organs he       
possesses2 he does not  always make use 
of them4 ,the flying-stag1 the best     
armed of all our  insects1 is           
inoffensive2 while the carabe1 of       
peaceful appearance1 is  a formidable   
beast of prey4 ,apropos of the pill in  
which the scarab  shuts its egg1 the    

skill with which it is worked up and    
felted1 in a  dark hole by a stump-armed
 insect1 ,fabre says simply3 ,it gave me
 the  idea of an elephant wanting to    
make lace4 ,but in what insect will we  
see perfect accord of work and organ8   
,in the bee8 ,it would scarcely  seem   
so4 ,the bee uses for building1         
modelling1 waxing1 bottling honey1      
exactly the same organs that her        
sisters1 the ammophile1 bembex1 sphex1  
ant1 chalicodome1 use for hollowing     
earth1 excavating sand1 making  cellars1
 mud houses4 ,the libellule does nothing
 with the hooks which  render the       
termite dangerous1 and she loafs1 while 
her industrious  brother1 also          
neuroptera and nothing more1 builds     
,himalayas4    ,the mole-cricket is so  
well organized for digging with her     
short  powerful bow legs that she could 
cut sandstone3 she frequents only  the  
soft soil of gardens4 ,the antophore1 on
 the other hand1 with no  instruments   
save her mediocre mandibles1 her velvet 

paws1 forces the  cement which holds the
 stone walls together1 and bores the    
hardened  earth of the slopes by the    
roadside4    ,insects1 like man1        
moreover1 ask nothing better than to do 
nothing and  to let their tools sleep2  
the xylocope1 that fine violet          
bumble-bee1  who ought to bore into     
wood1 a gallery twice a hand's length   
wherein  to lay her eggs1 if she finds a
 suitable hole ready made1 confines     
herself to the meagerest possible works 
of accommodation4 ,in sum1 the  insects 
who like the saw-fly 7tenthredes7 use a 
precise instrument for  a precise job1  
are almost rare4    ,man's hand1 to come
 back to this point1 is useful to him   
because he  is intelligent4 ,in itself  
the hand is nothing4 ,proof1 in the     
monkeys  and rodents who use their hands
 only to climb trees1 louse themselves1 
and crack nuts4 ,our five fingers6      
,really nothing is more broadcast  in   
nature1 where they are only a sign of   
age3 the saurians have  them1 and are   

not a bit more clever thereby4 ,it is   
without fingers1  without hands1 without
 members that the larv of insects       
construct  for themselves marvellous    
mosaic shells1 weave themselves tents in
  silk-floss1 exercise the trades of    
plasterer1 miner1 and carpenter4  ,but  
this hand of man1 become the world's    
marvel1 how inferior to his  genius1 and
 how he has had to lengthen it1 refine  
it1 complicate it1  in order to obtain  
obedience to the increasingly precise   
orders of  his intelligence4 ,has the   
hand created machines8 ,man's           
intelligence  immeasureably surpasses   
his organs1 and submerges them2 it      
demands of  them the impossible and the 
absurd3 hence the railway1 the          
telegraph1  the microscope and          
everything which multiplies the power of
 organs  which have become rudimentary  
in the face of the brains' exigence1 the
  brain being our master1 who has       
demanded also of the sexual organs more 
than they were able to give3 it is to   

satisfy these orders that the bed  of   
love has been scattered with so many    
dreams and rose-leaves4    ,it is       
difficult to make people understand that
 the eye sees1 not  because it is an    
eye1 but because it is situated at the  
tip of some  filaments of nerve which   
are sensitive to light4 ,at the end of  
filaments sensitive to sound1 the eye   
would hear4 ,doubtless it is  adapted to
 its function1 as the ear is to hearing1
 but this function  is an effect1 not a 
cause4 ,insects' eyes are very different
 from ours4  ,one has spoken of the     
experiments of a ,german savant who     
wished to  throw visual images on the   
brain without the eye's intervention4   
,this  is suspicious1 but not absurd3   
insects are gifted certainly with the   
power to smell1 but one has never been  
able to discover the organ  in any      
single one of them2 and1 also1 the rle  
of the antenn which  seems very         
considerable in their life1 remains very
 obscure1 since the  removal of these   

appendices has not always a measurable  
effect on their  activity4#b    ,organs1
 evidently the most useful1 are         
sometimes placed in a position  which   
diminishes their value4 ,notice a       
resting horse1 and another horse  coming
 toward him 7observation can be made    
quite easily in the streets  of ,paris71
 what is he to do to gauge the danger1  
and reconnoitre the  movement8 ,look at 
the other horse8 ,no4 ,his eyes are made
 to look  sideways1 not forward4 ,he    
uses his long ears1 raises them1 shifts 
their open side toward the noise4       
,reassured he lets them fall1 and       
re-establishes his calm4 ,the horse     
looks with his ears4 ,the blinkers by   
which people pretend to make him look   
forward1 merely blind him1 and  perhaps1
 thereby diminish his impressionability4
 ,blind horses moreover  do the same    
work as the others4    ,the senses1 as  
one knows1 are substitutable one for the
 other1 in a  certain degree2 but in the
 normal state they seem rather to       

reinforce  each other mutually1 and lend
 each other a certain support4 ,one does
  not shut the eyes to hear better1 save
 when one has determined the  source of 
the sound4 ,and even then1 is it to hear
 better8 ,is it not  rather to reflect  
and to hear at the same time1 to manage 
an interior  concentration with which   
the eye1 essentially an explorative     
organ1  would interfere8    ,it is in   
love that this alliance of all the      
senses is most intimately  exercised4   
,in superior animals1 as well as in man1
 each sense1 together  or in groups1    
comes to reinforce the genital sense4   
,none remain  inactive1 eye1 ear1 scent1
 touch1 even taste come into play4 ,thus
 one  explains the gleam of plumage1 the
 dance1 song1 sexual odours4 ,the       
female eye1 in birds1 is more sensitive 
than the male eye2 the contrary  is true
 of humanity2 but female birds and women
 are particularly moved  by song or     
words4 ,the two sexes in dogs have1     
equally1 recourse to  scent2 sight seems

 to play but an insignificant rle in    
their sexual  access1 since minuscule   
canine beasts do not fear to address    
themselves  to monsters1 which for man  
would be in proportion more than that of
  a mammoth4 ,insects before mating     
often caress each other with their      
mysterious antenn2 the male is sometimes
 given a sounding apparatus3  cricket   
and grasshopper drum to charm their     
companions4    ,it is not necessary to  
explain how in humans1 especially in the
 male1  all the senses concur in the    
amour1 at least when moral and religious
  prejudices do not stop their impetus4 
,it should be so1 in an animal  so      
sensitive1 and of so complex and        
multiple a sensibility4 ,the  abstention
 of a single sense from the coupling is 
enough to enfeeble  the pleasure very   
greatly4 ,the coldness of many women may
 proceed  less from a diminution of     
their genital sense1 than from the      
general  mediocrity of their senses4    
,intelligence1 being but the ripe fruit 

of the general sensibility1 its         
intensity is very often found to be  in 
a certain relation with the sexual      
sensibility4 ,absolute coldness  might  
signify stupidity4 ,there are1 however1 
too many exceptions for  one to         
generalize in this matter4 ,it happens  
indeed that intelligence  instead of    
being the sum total of the sensibility1 
is1 so to speak1 the  deviation or      
transmutation4 ,there remains very      
little sensibility2 it  is nearly all   
turned into intelligence4    ,every     
organized animal has a master3 its      
nervous system2 and there  is1          
doubtless1 no real life save where a    
nervous system exists1 be it  the       
magnificent infinitely branching tree of
 mammals and birds1 be it  the double1  
knotted cord of the mollusks1 or the    
nail head which is  planted1 in ascides1
 between the buccal and anal orifice4   
,as soon as  this new matter appears1 it
 reigns despotically1 and the unforeseen
  appears in the world4 ,one would say a

 conqueror1 or rather an intruder1  a   
parasite come in by stealth1 and lifting
 itself into the royal rle4    ,animals 
bear this tyranny better than man4      
,their master asks fewer  things4 ,often
 it only asks one3 to create a being in 
its exact  likeness4 ,the animal is     
sane1 that is to say1 ruled2 man is mad1
 that  is to say1 out of rule3 he has so
 many orders to execute at once1 that   
he scarcely does any one well4 ,in      
civilized countries he can hardly       
reproduce himself and the specie is in  
danger4 ,it would disappear1 if  the    
means of protecting it did not          
compensate the sterility4    ,one can   
not say that humanity has attained its  
intellectual limits1  although its      
physical evolution seems completed2 but 
as superior human  specimens are nearly 
always sterile1 or capable of only      
mediocre  posterity1 it is found that1  
alone among values1 intelligence is not 
transmitted by generation4 ,then the    
circle closes and the same effort  ends 

ceaselessly in the same recommencement4 
,however1 even here1  artificial means  
intervene1 and the transmission of the  
acquisitions  of intelligence is        
relatively assured by all sorts of      
instruments4  ,this mechanism1 much     
inferior to carnal generation1 permits  
us1 if the  most exquisite forms of     
intelligence disappear as fast as they  
flower1  to preserve at least part of   
their contents4 ,notions are            
transmitted1  that is a result1 even    
though most of them are vain1 in default
 of  sensibilities sufficiently powerful
 to assimilate them and make a real     
life of them4    ,finally1 if man ought 
to abdicate1 which seems unlikely1      
animality  is rich enough to raise up an
 inheritor4 ,the candidates for humanity
  are in great number1 and they are not 
those whom the crowd supposes4  ,who    
knows if our descendants may not some   
day find themselves faced  with a rival1
 strong and in the flower of youth4     
,creation has not gone  on strike1 since

 man appeared3 since making this        
monster1 nature has  continued her work3
 the human hazard might reproduce itself
 on the  morrow4      #a ,the ,latin    
luxuria and ,french luxure have no exact
 ,english  equivalent2 our luxury1 is   
the ,french luxe2 the phrase the        
exercise of pleasant lusts is perhaps as
 near as ,i can come to a  definition of
 luxure4--,translator4    #b ,fabre's   
experiments on mason bees1 the shaggy   
ammophile1 and  great-peacock moth4     
,,translator',s ,,postscript      ,il y 
aurait peut-tre une certain correlation 
entre la copulation  complte et profonde
 et le dveloppement crbral4      ,not   
only is this suggestion1 made by our    
author at the end of his  eighth        
chapter1 both possible and probable1 but
 it is more than likely  that the brain 
itself1 is1 in origin and development1  
only a sort of  great clot of genital   
fluid held in suspense or reserve2 at   
first  over the cervical ganglion1 or1  
earlier or in other species1 held in    

several clots over the scattered chief  
nerve centres2 and augmenting in        
varying speeds and quantities into      
medulla oblongata1 cerebellum and       
cerebrum4 ,this hypothesis would perhaps
 explain a certain number of as  yet    
uncorrelated phenomena both             
psychological and physiological4 ,it ,i 
would explain the enormous content of   
the brain as a maker or presenter  of   
images4 ,species would have developed in
 accordance with1 or their  development 
would have been affected by1 the        
relative discharge and  retention of the
 fluid2 this proportion being both a    
matter of quantity  and of quality1 some
 animals profiting hardly at all by the 
alluvial  ,nile-flood2 the baboon       
retaining nothing2 men apparently       
stupefying  themselves in some cases by 
excess1 and in other cases discharging  
apparently only a surplus at high       
pressure2 the gateux1 or the genius1    
the strong-minded4    ,i offer an idea  
rather than an argument1 yet if we      

consider sider that  the power of the   
spermatozoide is precisely the power of 
exteriorizing  a form2 and if we        
consider the lack of any other known    
substance  in nature capable of growing 
into brain1 we are left with only one   
surprise1 or rather one conclusion1     
namely1 in face of the smallness of  the
 average brain's activity1 we must      
conclude that the spermatozoic          
substance must have greatly atrophied in
 its change from lactic to  coagulated  
and hereditarily coagulated condition4  
,given1 that is1 two  great seas of this
 fluid1 mutually magnetized1 the wonder 
is1 or at  least the first wonder is1   
that human thought is so inactive4      
,chemical research may have something to
 say on the subject1 if it be  directed 
to comparison of brain and spermatophore
 in the nautilus1  to the viscous       
binding of the bee's fecundative liquid4
 ,i offer only  reflections1 perhaps a  
few data4 ,indications of earlier       
adumbrations of  an idea which really   

surprises no one1 but seems as if it    
might have  been lying on the study     
table of any physician or philosopher4  
,there are traces of it in the symbolism
 of phallic religions1 man  really the  
phallus or spermatozoide charging1      
head-on1 the female  chaos4 ,integration
 of the male in the male organ4 ,even   
oneself has felt  it1 driving any new   
idea into the great passive vulva of    
,london1 a  sensation analogous to the  
male feeling in copulation4    ,without 
any digression on feminism1 taking      
merely the division ,gourmont  has given
 7,aristotelian1 if you like71 one      
offers woman as the  accumulation of    
hereditary aptitudes1 better than man in
 the useful  gestures1 the perfections2 
but to man1 given what we have of       
history1  the inventions1 the new       
gestures1 the extravagance1 the wild    
shots1  the impractical1 merely because 
in him occurs the new up-jut1 the new   
bathing of the cerebral tissues in the  
residuum1 in la mousse of the  life sap4

    ,or1 as ,i am certainly neither     
writing an anti-feminist tract1 nor     
claiming disproportionate privilege for 
the spermatozoide1 for the sake  of     
symmetry ascribe a cognate rle to the   
ovule1 though ,i can hardly be  expected
 to introspect it4 ,a flood is as bad as
 a famine2 the ovular  bath could still 
account for the refreshment of the      
female mind1 and  the recharging1       
regracing of its traditional aptitudes2 
where one  woman appears to benefit by  
an alluvial clarifying1 ten dozen appear
 to  be swamped4    ,postulating that   
the cerebral fluid tried all sorts of   
experiments1  and1 striking matter1     
forced fit2 into all sorts of forms1 by 
gushes2  we have admittedly in insect   
life a female predominance2 in bird1    
mammal and human1 at least an increasing
 male prominence4 ,and these  four      
important branches of the fan may be    
differentiated according to  their      
apparent chief desire1 or source of     
choosing their species4    ,insect1     

utility2 bird1 flight2 mammal1 muscular 
splendour2 man1  experiment4    ,the    
insect representing the female1 and     
utility2 the need of heat being         
present1 the insect chooses to solve the
 problem by hibernation1 i4e41  a sort  
of negation of action4 ,the bird        
wanting-continuous freedom1  feathers   
itself4 ,desire for decoration appears  
in all the branches1 man  exteriorizing 
it most4 ,the bat's secret appears to be
 that he is not  the bird-mammal1 but   
the mammal-insect3 economy of tissue1   
hibernation4  ,the female principle     
being not only utility1 but extreme     
economy1  woman1 falling by this        
division into a male branch1 is the     
least  female of females1 and at this   
point one escapes from a journalistic2  
sex-squabble into the opposition of two 
principles1 utility and a sort  of      
venturesomeness4    ,in its subservience
 to the money fetish our age returns to 
the  darkness of medievalism4 ,two      
osmies may make superfluous egg-less    

nests1 but do not kill each other in    
contesting which shall deposit  the     
supererogatory honey therein4 ,it is    
perhaps no more foolish to go  at a     
hermit's bidding to recover an old      
sepulchre than to make new  sepulchres  
at the bidding of finance4    ,in his   
growing subservience to1 and adoration  
of1 and entanglement in  machines1 in   
utility1 man rounds the circle almost   
into insect life1  the absence of flesh2
 and may have need even of horned gods  
to save  him1 or at least of a form of  
thought which permits them4    ,take it 
that usual thought is a sort of shaking 
or shifting of a fluid  in the viscous  
cells of the brain2 one has seen        
electricity stripping  the particles of 
silver from a plated knife in a chemical
 bath1 with  order and celerity1 and    
gathering them on the other pole of a   
magnet4  ,take it as materially as you  
like4 ,there is a sort of spirit-level  
in the ear1 giving us our sense of      
balance4 ,and dreams8 ,do they not      

happen precisely at the moments when one
 has tipped the head2 are they  not1    
with their incoherent mixing of known   
and familiar images1 like  the pouring  
of a complicated honeycomb tilted from  
its perpendicular8  ,does not this give 
precisely the needed mixture of familiar
 forms in  non-sequence1 the jumble of  
fragments each coherent within its own  
limit8    ,and from the popular speech1 
is not the sensible man called          
level-headed1 has he not his head well  
screwed on or screwed on  straight2 and 
are not lunatics and cranks often       
recognizable from some  peculiar        
carriage or tilt of the head-piece2 and 
is not the thinker  always pictured with
 his head bowed into his hand1 yes1 but 
level so  far as left to right is       
concerned8 ,the upward-jaw1 head-back   
pose has  long been explained by the    
relative positions of the medulla and   
the  more human parts of the brain2 this
 need not be dragged in here2 nor do  ,i
 mean to assert that you can cure a     

lunatic merely by holding his head      
level4    ,thought is a chemical        
process1 the most interesting of all    
transfusions  in liquid solution4 ,the  
mind is an up-spurt of sperm1 no1 let me
 alter  that2 trying to watch the       
process3 the sperm1 the form-creator1   
the  substance which compels the ovule  
to evolve in a given pattern1 one       
microscopic1 minuscule particle1        
entering the castle of the ovule4       
,thought is a vegetable says a modern   
hermetic1 whom ,i have often            
contradicted1 but whom ,i do not wish to
 contradict at this point4  ,thought is 
a chemical process in relation to the   
organ1 the brain2  creative thought is  
act like fecundation1 like the male cast
 of the  human seed1 but given that     
cast1 that ejaculation1 ,i am perfectly 
willing to grant that the thought once  
born1 separated1 in regard to  itself1  
not in relation to the brain that begat 
it1 does lead an  independent life much 
like a member of the vegetable kingdom1 

blowing  seeds1 ideas from the paradisal
 garden at the summit of ,dante's ,mount
  ,purgatory1 capable of lodging and    
sprouting where they fall4 ,and         
,gourmont has the phrase fecundating a  
generation of bodies as genius          
fecundates a generation of minds4       
,man is the sum of the animals1 the sum 
of their instincts1 as ,gourmont  has   
repeated in the course of his book4     
,given1 first a few1 then as  we get to 
our own condition1 a mass of these      
spermatozoic particles  withheld1 in    
suspense1 waiting in the organ that has 
been built up  through ages by a myriad 
similar waitings4    ,each of these     
particles is1 we need not say1 conscious
 of form1 but  has by all counts a      
capacity for formal expression3 is not  
thought  precisely a form-comparing and 
form-combining8    ,that is to say we   
have the hair-thinning abstract thought 
and we have  the concrete thought of    
women1 of artists1 of musicians1 the    
mockedly  long-haired1 who have made    

everything in the world4 ,we have the   
form-making and the form-destroying     
thought1 only the first of which  is    
really satisfactory4 ,i don't wish to be
 invidious1 it is perfectly  possible to
 consider the abstract thought1 reason1 
etc41 as the  comparison1 regimentation1
 and least common denominator of a      
multitude  of images1 but in the end    
each of the images is a little spoiled  
thereby1 no one of them is the ,apollo1 
and the makers of this kind of  thought 
have been called dry-as-dust since the  
beginning of history4  ,the regiment is 
less interesting as a whole than any    
individual in it4  ,and1 as we are being
 extremely material and physical and    
animal1 in the  wake of our author1 we  
will leave old wives' gibes about the   
profusion  of hair1 and its chance      
possible indication or sanction of a    
possible  neighbouring health beneath   
the skull4    ,creative thought has     
manifested itself in images1 in music1  
which is to  sound what the concrete    

image is to sight4 ,and the thought of  
genius1  even of the mathematical       
genius1 the mathematical prodigy1 is    
really  the same sort of thing1 it is a 
sudden out-spurt of mind which takes    
the form demanded by the problem2 which 
creates the answer1 and baffles  the man
 counting on the abacus4    ,i query the
 remarks about the sphex in ,chapter    
,,xix1 que le sphex s'est  form         
lentement1 ,i query this with a         
conviction for which anyone is  at      
liberty to call me lunatic1 and for     
which ,i offer no better ground  than   
simple introspection4 ,i believe1 and on
 no better ground than  that of a sudden
 emotion1 that the change of species is 
not a slow  matter1 managed by          
cross-breeding1 of nature's leporides   
and bardots1  ,i believe that the       
species changes as suddenly as a man    
makes a song  or a poem1 or as suddenly 
as he starts making them1 more suddenly 
than he can cut a statue in stone1 at   
most as slowly as a locust or           

long-tailed ,sirmione false mosquito    
emerges from its outgrown skin4 ,it  is 
not even proved that man is at the end  
of his physical changes4 ,say  that the 
diversification of species has passed   
its most sensational  phases1 say that  
it had once a great stimulus from the   
rapidity of the  earth's cooling1 if one
 accepts the geologists' interpretation 
of that  thermometric cyclone4    ,the  
cooling planet contracts1 it is as if   
one had some mud in a tin  pail1 and    
forced down the lid with such pressure  
that the can sprung  a dozen leaks1 or  
it is as if one had the mud in a linen  
bag and  squeezed2 merely as mechanics  
7not counting that one has all the      
known and unknown chemical elements     
cooling simultaneously71 but  merely as 
mechanics this contraction gives energy 
enough to squeeze  vegetation through   
the pores of the imaginary linen and to 
detach  certain particles1 leaving them 
still a momentum4 ,a body should cool   
with decreasing speed in measure as it  

approaches the temperature of  its      
surroundings2 however1 the earth is     
still1 ,i think1 supposed to be  warmer 
than the surrounding unknown1 and is    
presumably still cooling1  or at any    
rate it is not proved that man is at the
 end of his physical  changes4 ,i return
 to homed gods and the halo in a few    
paragraphs4 ,it  is not proved that even
 the sort of impetus provided by a      
shrinking of  planetary surface is      
denied one4    ,what is known is that   
man's great divergence has been in the  
making of  detached1 resumable tools4   
,that is to say1 if an insect carries a 
saw1 it carries it all the time4  ,the  
next step1 as in the case of the male   
organ of the nautilus1 is  to grow a    
tool and detach it4    ,man's first     
inventions are fire and the club1 that  
is to say he  detaches his digestion1 he
 finds a means to get heat without      
releasing  the calories of the log by   
internal combustion inside his own      
stomach4  ,the invention of the first   

tool turned his mind 7using this term in
 the  full sense72 turned1 let us say1  
his brain from his own body4 ,no need   
for greater antenn1 a fifth arm1 etc41  
except1 after a lapse1 as a  tour de    
force1 to show that he is still lord of 
his body4    ,that is to say the        
langouste's long feelers1 all sorts of  
extravagances  in nature may be taken as
 the result of a single gush of thought4
 ,a  single out-push of a demand1 made  
by a spermatic sea of sufficient  energy
 to cast such a form4 ,to cast it as one
 electric pole will cast  a spark to    
another4 ,to exteriorize4 ,sometimes to 
act in this with more  enthusiasm than  
caution4    ,let us say quite simply    
that light is a projection from the     
luminous  fluid1 from the energy that is
 in the brain1 down along the nerve     
cords  which receive certain vibrations 
in the eye4 ,let us suppose man capable 
of exteriorizing a new organ1 horn1     
halo1 ,eye of ,horns4 ,given a brain  of
 this power1 comes the question1 what   

organ1 and to what purpose8    ,turning 
to folk-lore1 we have ,frazer on homed  
gods1 we have ,egyptian  statues1       
generally supposed to be symbols1 of    
cat-headed and  ibis-headed gods4 ,now  
in a primitive community1 a man1 a      
volontaire1  might risk it4 ,he might   
want prestige1 authority1 want them     
enough  to grow horns and claim a divine
 heritage1 or to grow a cat head2       
,greek philosophy would have smiled at  
him1 would have deprecated his          
ostentation4 ,with primitive man he     
would have risked a good deal1 he  would
 have been deified1 or crucified1 or    
possibly both4 ,today he would  be      
caught for a circus4    ,one does not   
assert that cat-headed gods appeared in 
,egypt after the  third dynasty2 the    
country had a long memory and such a    
phenomenon  would have made some stir in
 the valley4 ,the horned god would      
appear  to have persisted1 and the      
immensely high head of the ,chinese     
contemplative as shown in art and the   

,china images is another stray  grain of
 tradition4    ,but man goes on making  
new faculties1 or forgetting old ones4  
,that  is to say you have all sorts of  
aptitudes developed without external    
change1 which in an earlier biological  
state would possibly have found  carnal 
expression4 ,you have every exploited   
hyper-sthesia1 i4e41  every new form of 
genius1 from the faculty of hearing four
 parts in a  fugue perfectly1 to the ear
 for money 7vide ,henry ,james in ,the  
,ivory  ,tower the passages on ,mr4     
,gaw74 ,here ,i only amplify what       
,gourmont has  indicated in ,chapter    
,,xx4 ,you have the visualizing sense1  
the stretch  of imagination1 the        
mystics1--for what there is to          
them--,santa ,theresa  who saw the      
microcosmos1 hell1 heaven1 purgatory    
complete1 the  size of a walnut2 and you
 have ,mr4 ,w41 a wool-broker in        
,london1 who  suddenly at #c a4m4       
visualizes the whole of his letter-file1
 three  hundred folios2 he sees and     

reads particularly the letter at folder 
#aga1 but he sees simultaneously the    
entire contents of the file1 the  whole 
thing about the size of two lumps of    
domino sugar laid flat side  to flat    
side4    ,remains precisely the         
question3 man feeling this protean      
capacity to  grow a new organ3 what     
organ8 ,or new faculty2 what faculty8   
,his first renunciation1 flight1 he has 
regained1 almost as if the              
renunciation1 so recent in terms of     
biology1 had been committed in          
foresight4 ,instinct conserves only the 
useful gestures4 ,air provides  little  
nourishment1 and anyhow the first great 
pleasure surrendered1  the simple       
ambition to mount the air has been      
regained and regratified4  ,water was   
never surrendered1 man with sub-aqueous 
yearnings is still1  given a knife1 the 
shark's vanquisher4 ,the new faculty8   
,without then  the ostentation of an    
organ4 ,will8 ,the hypnotist has shown  
the vanity  and ,blake the inutility of 

willing trifles1 and black magic its    
futility4 ,the telepathic faculty8 ,in  
the first place is it new8 ,have  not   
travellers always told cock and bull    
stories about its existence  in savage  
,africa8 ,is it not a faculty that man  
has given up1 if not  as useless1 at any
 rate as of a very limited use1 a       
distraction1  more bother than it is    
worth8 ,lacking a localizing sense1 the 
savage  knowing1 if he does1 what       
happens somewhere else1 but never       
knowing  quite where4 ,the faculty was  
perhaps not worth the damage it does to 
concentration of mind on some useful    
subject4 ,instinct preserves the  useful
 gestures4    ,take it that what man    
wants is a capacity for clearer         
understanding1  or for physical         
refreshment and vigour1 are not these   
precisely the  faculties he is forever  
hammering at1 perhaps stupidly8         
,muscularly he  goes slowly1 athletic   
records being constantly worn down by   
millimetres  and seconds4    ,i appear  

to have thrown down bits of my note     
somewhat at random2 let me  return to   
physiology4 ,people were long ignorant  
of the circulation of  the blood2 that  
known1 they appeared to think the nerves
 stationary2  ,gourmont speaks of       
circulation nerveuse1 but many people   
still  consider the nerve as at most a  
telegraph wire1 simply because it  does 
not bleed visibly when cut4 ,the current
 is interrupted4 ,the  school books of  
twenty years ago were rather vague about
 lymph1 and  various glands still baffle
 physicians4 ,i have not seen the       
suggestion  that some of them may serve 
rather as fuses in an electric system1  
to  prevent short circuits1 or in some  
variant or allotropic form4 ,the        
spermatozoide is1 ,i take it1 regarded  
as a sort of quintessence2 the  brain is
 also a quintessence1 or at least in    
rapport with all parts  of the body2 the
 single spermatozoide demands simply    
that the ovule  shall construct a human 
being1 the suspended spermatozoide 7if  

my wild  shot rings the target bell7 is 
ready to dispense with1 in the literal  
sense1 incarnation1 en-fleshment4 ,shall
 we postulate the mass of               
spermatozoides1 first accumulated in    
suspense1 then specialized8    ,three   
channels1 hell1 purgatory1 heaven1 if   
one wants to follow yet  another        
terminology3 digestive excretion1       
incarnation1 freedom in  the            
imagination1 i4e41 cast into an exterior
 formlessness1 or into  form material1  
or merely imaginative visually or       
perhaps musically or  perhaps fixed in  
some other sensuous dimension1 even of  
taste or odour  7there have been perhaps
 creative cooks and perfumers874    ,the
 dead laborious compilation and         
comparison of other men's dead  images1 
all this is mere labour1 not the        
spermatozoic act of the brain4          
,woman1 the conservator1 the inheritor  
of past gestures1 clever1  practical1 as
 ,gourmont says1 not inventive1 always  
the best disciple of  any inventor1 has 

been always the enemy of the dead or    
laborious form  of compilation1         
abstraction4    ,not considering the    
process ended2 taking the individual    
genius as  the man in whom the new      
access1 the new superfluity of          
spermatozoic  pressure 7quantitative and
 qualitative7 up-shoots into the brain1 
alluvial ,nile-flood1 bringing new      
crops1 new invention4 ,and as ,gourmont 
says1 there is only reasoning where     
there is initial error1 i4e41  weakness 
of the spurt1 wandering search4    ,in  
no case can it be a question of mere    
animal quantity of sperm4 ,you  have the
 man who wears himself out and weakens  
his brain1 echo of the  orang1 obviously
 not the talented sieve2 you have the   
contrasted case  in the type of man who 
really can not work until he has        
relieved the  pressure on his spermatic 
canals4    ,this is a question of       
physiology1 it is not a question of     
morals and  sociology4 ,given the       
spermatozoic thought1 the two great seas

 of  fecundative matter1 the brain      
lobes1 mutually magnetized1 luminous in 
their own knowledge of their being2     
whether they may be expected to  seek   
exterior luxuria1 or whether they are   
going to repeat ,augustine  hymns1 is   
not in my jurisdiction4 ,an exterior    
paradise might not allure  them ,la     
btise humaine est la seule chose qui    
donne une ide de  l'infini1 says ,renan1
 and ,gourmont has quoted him1 and all  
flesh to  grass1 a superior grass4      
,it remains that man has for centuries  
nibbled at this idea of  connection1    
intimate connection between his sperm   
and his cerebration1  the ascetic has   
tried to withhold all his sperm1 the    
lure1 the ignis  fatuus perhaps1 of     
wanting to super-think2 the dope-fiend  
has tried  opium and every inferior to  
,bacchus1 to get an extra kick out of   
the  organ1 the mystics have sought the 
gleam in the tavern1 ,helen of  ,tyre1  
priestesses in the temple of ,venus1 in 
,indian temples1 stray  priestesses in  

the streets1 un-uprootable custom1 and  
probably with a  basis of sanity4 ,a    
sense of balance might show that        
asceticism means  either a drought or a 
crowding4 ,the liquid solution must be  
kept at  right consistency2 one would   
say the due proportion of liquid to     
viscous particles1 a good circulation2  
the actual quality of the sieve  or     
separator1 counting perhaps most of all2
 the balance of ejector and  retentive  
media4    ,perhaps the clue is in       
,propertius after all3    ,ingenium     
nobis ipsa puella fecit4    ,there is   
the whole of the ,x,i,ith century love  
cult1 and ,dante's  metaphysics a little
 to one side1 and ,gourmont's ,latin    
,mystique2 and  for image-making both   
,fenollosa on ,the ,chinese ,written    
,character1  and the paragraphs in ,le  
,problme du ,style4 ,at any rate the    
quarrel  between cerebralist and viveur 
and ignorantist ends1 if the brain is   
thus conceived not as a separate and    
desiccated organ1 but as the very  fluid

 of life itself4    ,ezra ,pound        
,june #ba1 #aiba4                       
,,bibliography    ,,principal ,,works   
,,consulted    ,annales des sciences    
naturelles 7zologie74 ,paris1           
#ahbd-aijb4    ,l',apiculture1 journal  
des cultivateurs d'abeilles1 anne #ahfb4
    ,o4 ,beccari1 ,les ,cabanes et les  
jardins de l',amblyornis2 ,annales du   
,muse d'histoire naturelle de ,gnes1    
#ahgf4    ,bienenzeitung 7,gazette des  
,abeilles7 janvier1 #ahej4    ,e4       
,blanchard1 ,mtamorphoses1 murs et      
instinct des insectes1 #bnd edtn4       
,paris1 #ahgg1 gr4 in #hvo4    ,bonnet1 
,considrations sur les corps organiss2  
,amsterdam1 #aggf4 #b  vols4 in #hvo4   
,brehm1 ,les ,mammifres2 ,les ,oiseaux2 
,les ,reptiles et les ,batraciens2  ,les
 ,poissons et les ,crustacs2 ,les       
,insectes1 les ,myriapodes et les       
,arachnides2 ,les ,echinodermes1 les    
,zoophytes et les ,protozoaires         
7ouvrage traduit de l',allemand sous le 
titre de ,merveilles de la  ,nature74   

,paris1 #ahfi-he1 #i vols4 gr4 in #hvo4 
,j4 ,chatin1 ,organes de nutrition et de
 reproduction chez les vertbrs2  ,chez  
les invertbrs4 ,paris1 #aijj1 #b vols4  
in #ab mo4    ,darwin1 ,la ,descendance 
de l'homme et la slection sexuelle4     
,paris1 s4  d4 in #hvo4    ,de ,paw1    
,recherches philosophiques sur les      
,amricains4 ,berlin1 #agfh4             
,d',orbigny1 ,dictionnaire universe6    
d'histoire naturelle4 ,paris1 #ahci-di1 
#bd vols4 in #hvo4    ,j4 ,h4 ,fabre1   
,souvenirs entomologiques1 ,etudes sur  
l'instinct et les  murs des insectes4   
,paris1 s4 d4 tome ,,viii is of #aijc4  
#h vols4 in #hvo4    ,farmer and        
,gardener1 for #ahei4    ,f4 ,c4        
,forberg1 ,antonii ,panormit            
,hermaphroditus1 primus in ,germania    
edidit et ,apophoreta adjecit ,f4 ,c4   
,forbergius4 ,coburg1 #ahbd1 in #hvo4   
,reprinted under title ,figur ,veneris4 
,a4 ,forel1 ,les fourmis de la ,suisse4 
,zurich1 #ahgd1 in #h4    ,a4 ,forel1   
,les ,facults psychiques des insectes3  

,revue gnrale des  sciences1 #ae4 ,feb41
 #aijb4    ,gurin1 ,dictionnaire        
pittoresque d'histoire naturelle4       
,paris1 #ahcc-ci4  #i vols4 in #d4      
,huber1 ,recherches sur les fourmis     
indignes2 ,genve1 #ahaj1 in #hvo4       
,dr4 ,issaurat1 ,le ,sinus ,uro-genital1
 son dveloppement1 ses anomalies4       
,paris1 #ahhh1 in #hvo4    ,janet1      
,recherches sur l'anatomie de la fourmi4
 ,paris1 #aijj1 in #hvo4    ,l4 ,laloy1 
,les ,cirripdes1 leur volution sexuelle3
 ,revue scientifique1  #ba ,march1      
#aijc4    ,f4 ,le,dantec1 ,la ,sexualit4
 ,paris1 s4 d4 ,scientia1 ,no4 #b4      
,m4 ,maeterlinck1 ,la ,vie des          
,abeilles4 ,paris1 #aija4 7,contains a  
bibliography of the bee47    ,p4        
,mantegazza1 ,l',amour dans l'humanit1  
,essai d'une ethnologie de  l'amour4    
,paris1 #ahhf1 in-#ah4    ,p4           
,mantegazza1 ,physiologie de l'amour4   
,paris1 #ahhf4    ,mariot-,didieux1     
,guide-pratique de l'ducateur de lapins4
 ,paris1 s4 d4