“We have called this book the ‘Book of the Bee,’ because we have gathered of the blossoms of the two Testaments and of the flowers of the holy Books, and have placed them therein for thy benefit. As the common bee with gauzy wings flies about, and flutters over and lights upon flowers of various colours, and upon blossoms of divers odours, selecting and gathering from all of them the materials which are useful for the construction of her handiwork; and having first of all collected the materials from the flowers, carries them upon her thighs, and bringing them to her dwelling, lays a foundation for her building with a base of wax; then gathering in her mouth some of the heavenly dew which is upon the blossoms of spring, brings it and blows it into these cells; and weaves the comb and honey for the use of men and her own nourishment: in like manner have we, the infirm, hewn the stones of corporeal words from the rocks of the Scriptures which are in the Old Testament, and have laid them down as a foundation for the edifice of the spiritual law.
And as the bee carries the waxen substance upon her thighs because of its insipidity and tastelessness, and brings the honey in her mouth because of its sweetness and value; so also have we laid down the corporeal law by way of substratum and foundation, and the spiritual law for a roof and ceiling to the edifice of the spiritual tower. And as the expert gardener and orchard-keeper goes round among the gardens, and seeking out the finest sorts of fruits takes from them slips and shoots, and plants them in his own field; so also have we gone into the garden of the divine Books, and have culled there from branches and shoots, and have planted them in the ground of this book for thy consolation and benefit.
When thou, O brother, art recreating thyself among these plants, those which appear and which thou dost consider to be insipid and tasteless, leave for thy companions, for they may be more suitable to others (than to thee); but, upon those which are sweet, and which sweeten the palate of thy understanding, do thou feed and satisfy thy hunger. If, however, owing to their fewness, they do not fill thee, seek in succession for their roots, and from thence shall thy want be satisfied. Know also, O brother, that where there is true love, there is no fear1; and where there is freedom of speech, there is no dread; and we should not dare to be so rash as to enter upon these subjects, which are beyond the capacity of our simple understanding, unless we relied upon thy immaculate love; because, in the words of one of the inspired, ‘When thou findest honey, eat (only) so much as is sufficient for thee, lest, when thou art sated, thou vomit it’; that is to say, do not enquire (too closely) into the divine words.”
I mean, you can read this entire thing online, right now. The Book of the Bee, compiled in the thirteenth century by Solomon of Akhlat, all about what bees carry on their thighs. What a time to be alive!
In related news, my father has no bees this spring. They swarmed last fall not long after he collected the honey. He is still depressed about this.
No! That’s so sad! The colony collapse thing is terrible for so many reasons but I admit it really gets to be because of the grief it causes all the wonderful gentle beekeepers I know.
damnit mallory why would you show me this website?? I just spent $20 on something called the “Magick and Mystery CD-ROM”
Truly I tell you, right until the last paragraph I believed this thing was written by the dread goddess Mallory, may she live forever.
Same
Have you guys read The Bees? Loved it AND it freaked me out for real.
I am deeply impressed by the author’s obvious appreciation of bees and their ways, as well as the lengths to which he is willing to stretch a metaphor. Something tells me that, no matter what the topic of discussion, he would find a way to bring the conversation around to bees. “Brother Anthony tells me that the monastery’s waggon has split its axle! Alas, if only it had been made as firm as the mighty thigh of a bee.”
Also, a cursory glance at the text in question reveals the intriguing fact that, according to medieval scholarship, the total elapsed time that Adam and Eve spent in the Garden of Eden before being evicted was SIX HOURS. That is, like, barely a ten-thousandth of the lifespan of a bee.
Honestly I’m actually surprised they lasted that long. I don’t know about Eve but if I’d spent SIX SOLID HOURS rambling around in the fresh air with nothing to eat I’d require absolutely nothing in the way of temptation to grab the first edible that presented itself. Never mind your healthy organic produce, that serpent would probably have ended up as snake kebab before it could even open its mouth.
HOW’D YA LIKE THEM APPLES
This is lovely on its own merits, but the true benefit to me was that link to the Bee Reproduction Chronicles, which I must have missed due to moving and stupid internet fails. Nice to know that I can have time-warped Toast nostalgia before it’s even gone.