8The Life of the Bee, by Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist, Maurice Maeterlinck was originally published in 1901, as translated by English author, dramatist, and translator Alfred Sutro. The work is a poetic look at life through the consideration of bees, in which Maeterlinck outlines his philosophical view of the human condition. Maeterlinck himself was an avid beekeeper, however, despite his expertise, he did not intend to write a purely scientific work on the bees themselves. Instead he compares the architecture and social organisation of the bee to other forms of life. Demonstrating that no creature, great or small, has achieved any of the feats the bee has achieved, that they have in fact created the most orderly society in the world, and that they should be a lesson for us all.