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Chapter 24 — The Natural History of the Selenites
Thelargestterrestrialinsects,livingorextinct,donot,asamatteroffact,measuresixinchesinlength;“buthere,againstthelessergravitationofthemoon,acreaturecertainlyasmuchaninsectasvertebrateseemstohavebeenabletoattaintohumanandultra-humandimensions.”
Hedoesnotmentiontheant,butthroughouthisallusionstheantiscontinuallybeingbroughtbeforemymind,initssleeplessactivity,initsintelligenceandsocialorganisation,initsstructure,andmoreparticularlyinthefactthatitdisplays,inadditiontothetwoforms,themaleandthefemaleform,thatalmostallotheranimalspossess,anumberofothersexlesscreatures,workers,soldiers,andthelike,differingfromoneanotherinstructure,character,power,anduse,andyetallmembersofthesamespecies.FortheseSelenites,also,haveagreatvarietyofforms.Ofcourse,theyarenotonlycolossallygreaterinsizethanants,butalso,inCavor’sopinionatleast,inintelligence,morality,andsocialwisdomaretheycolossallygreaterthanmen.Andinsteadofthefourorfivedifferentformsofantthatarefound,therearealmostinnumerablydifferentformsofSelenite.IhadendeavouredtoindicatetheveryconsiderabledifferenceobservableinsuchSelenitesoftheoutercrustasIhappenedtoencounter;thedifferencesinsizeandproportionswerecertainlyaswideasthedifferencesbetweenthemostwidelyseparatedracesofmen.ButsuchdifferencesasIsawfadeabsolutelytonothingincomparisonwiththehugedistinctionsofwhichCavortells.
