Curious Facts in the History of Insects; Including Spiders and Scorpions. / A Complete Collection of the Legends, Superstitions, Beliefs, and Ominous Signs Connected with Insects; Together with Their Uses in Medicine, Art, and as Food; and a Summary of Their Remarkable Injuries and Appearances.

by Frank Cowan

So honor’d was a life in labor spent:

Such might she wish to have her monument.”[732]

The Septuagint has the following eulogium on the Bee in Prov. vi. 8, which is not found in the Hebrew Scriptures: “Go to the Bee, and learn how diligent she is, and what a noble work she produces, whose labors kings and private men use for their health; she is desired and honored by all, and though weak in strength, yet since she values wisdom, she prevails.”[733]

In Spain Bees are in great estimation; and this is evinced by the ancient proverb:

Abeja y oveja,

Y piedra que traveja,

Y pendola trans oreja,

Y parte en la Igreja,

Desea a su hija, la vieja——

The best wishes of a Spanish mother to her son are, Bees, sheep, millstones, a pen behind the ear, and a place in the church.[734]