German composition

Section 72 On Instinct⁠1

The⁠2 following most curious instance of a change of instinct is mentioned by Darwin. The bees carried⁠3 over to⁠4 Barbadoes and the Western Isles ceased⁠5 to lay up any honey after the first year, as⁠6 they found it not useful to them. They found the weather so fine, and the materials⁠7 for making honey so plentiful, that they quitted⁠8 their grave, prudent⁠9, and mercantile⁠10 character, became exceedingly profligate and debauched⁠11, ate⁠12 up their capital, resolved to work no more, and⁠13 amused themselves by flying about the sugar-houses and stinging the blacks. The⁠14 fact is, that⁠15, by⁠16 putting animals in different situations⁠17, you may⁠18 change, and even reverse, any of their original propensities. Spallanzani⁠19 brought⁠20 up an eagle upon⁠21 bread and milk, and fed a dove on⁠22 raw beef.—Rev. S. Smith.

Notes

1 Über den tierischen Instinkt.

2 This clause requires a different rendering; let us say ‘Darwin gives the following most (höchst) curious example of a change of the animal instinct’. The last noun requires the def. art., as explained in S. 3, N. 2.

3 to carry over, hinü´berbringen. The Perfect Participle qualifies the noun ‘bees’. According to S. 7, N. 3, the words ‘carried — Isles’ may be rendered either by the attributive construction or by forming of them a relative clause. I venture to propose the use of the attributive construction as the more elegant of the two modes of rendering, and more especially in order to avoid a repetition of subordinate clauses.

4 When the preposition ‘to’, in connection with a verb denoting motion, stands before the names of countries, towns, islands, etc., it must be rendered by ‘nach’.

5 Here follow the words ‘after — year’, to lay up honey, einen Vorrat von Honig an´sammeln.

6 See S. 41, N. 6; it = this; not useful, nicht mehr von Nutzen.

7 materials — plentiful, Materialien zur Honigbereitung in solchem Überflusse vorhanden.

8 auf´geben.

9 prudent = cautious.

10 merkantilisch.

11 unmäßig.

12 to eat up, auf´zehren.

13 und sich daran ergötzten. For rendering the passage ‘by — blacks’ see S. 1, N. 3. To fly about, umschwär´men, v. tr.

14 The — is, Es ist eine ausgemachte Thatsache.

15 Here follows the subject ‘you’ (comp. S. 66, N. 15), which translate by the impers. pron. man.

16 by — animals, durch Versetzung der Tiere, i.e. by a removal of the animals. In = into; different = other.

17 Here follows the object and its attributes, ‘their original (angeboren) propensities (Trieb, m.)’.

18 may = can; reverse, in entgegengesetzte Richtungen leiten.

19 Lazaro Spallanzani, berühmter italienischer Anatom und Naturforscher, geb. 1729, † 1799.

20 to bring up, groß ziehen.

21 bei.

22 mit.