--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For where's the State beneath the…" description: "\"For where's the State beneath the Firmament, That doth excell the Bees for Government?\" — Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/guillaume-de-salluste-du-barta_bees_for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmam_901229.jpg" --- # For where's the State beneath the Firmament, That doth… ![“For where's the State beneath the Firmament, That doth excell the Bees for Government?” quote by Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/guillaume-de-salluste-du-barta_bees_for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmam_901229.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/guillaume-de-salluste-du-barta_bees_for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmam_901229.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/guillaume-de-salluste-du-barta_bees_for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmam_901229.jpg) > “For where's the State beneath the Firmament, That doth excell the Bees for Government?” [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The state is likened to bees, exemplifying organized, cooperative governance. **In simple terms:** Governance works best when organized like a bee colony. Key Takeaway Promote cooperation and structured leadership. Themes government cooperation nature metaphor Mood inspirational analytical Type political metaphorical When to use this quote - local councils - team projects - environmental management Key Concepts political theory social organization natural analogies Questions to Reflect On - What lessons can modern governments learn from bee colonies? - How to prevent hierarchy from stifling individual voices? A Different Perspective Bee societies also face hierarchy and conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) [Firmament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firmament/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) ## Related quotes > [We do not want to see a Hong Kong that enjoys freedoms on paper, but whose autonomous status conceals the workings of a totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/we-do-not-want-to-see-a-hong-kong-that-enjoys-freedoms-on-paper-but/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [Love is a condition so powerful; it may be that which pulls the stars in the firmament. It may be that which pushes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/love-is-a-condition-so-powerful-it-may-be-that-which-pulls-the-stars/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [What I saw was just one eye In the dawn as I was going: A bird can carry all the sky In that little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-monro/what-i-saw-was-just-one-eye-in-the-dawn-as-i-was-going-a-bird-can/) [Harold Monro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-monro/) > [The sight of stars always sets me dreaming just as naively as those black dots on a map set me dreaming of towns and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/the-sight-of-stars-always-sets-me-dreaming-just-as-naively-as-those/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [The spacious firmament on high, And all the blue ethereal sky, And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great Original proclaim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/the-spacious-firmament-on-high-and-all-the-blue-ethereal-sky-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“215. As in the stellar firmament there are sometimes two suns which determine the path of one planet, and in certain cases suns of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/215-as-in-the-stellar-firmament-there-are-sometimes-two-suns-which/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [So all night long the storm roared on: The morning broke without a sun; In tiny spherule traced with lines Of Nature’s geometric signs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/so-all-night-long-the-storm-roared-on-the-morning-broke-without-a-sun/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [Bianca Nazario stands at the end of the world. The firmament above is as blue as the summer skies of her childhood, mirrored in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-moles/bianca-nazario-stands-at-the-end-of-the-world-the-firmament-above-is/) David Moles > [Despotism can only exist in darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/despotism-can-only-exist-in-darkness/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) > [The firmament of the Bible is ablaze with answers to prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-l-cuyler/the-firmament-of-the-bible-is-ablaze-with-answers-to-prayer/) [Theodore L. Cuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-l-cuyler/) > [To one who has been long in city pent, ’Tis very sweet to look into the fair And open face of heaven, — to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-one-who-has-been-long-in-city-pent-tis-very-sweet-to-look-into-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And really, the reason we think of death in celestial terms is that the visible firmament, especially at night (above our blacked-out Paris with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/and-really-the-reason-we-think-of-death-in-celestial-terms-is-that/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Today the brightest light in the Scottish political firmament has gone out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-sillars/today-the-brightest-light-in-the-scottish-political-firmament-has/) Jim Sillars > [Just as the line of astronomical thinkers from Copernicus to Newton had destroyed the old astronomy, in which the earth was the center, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/just-as-the-line-of-astronomical-thinkers-from-copernicus-to-newton/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [Thoughts are like stars in the firmament; some are fixed, others like the wandering planets, others again are only like meteors. Understanding is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cavendish/thoughts-are-like-stars-in-the-firmament-some-are-fixed-others-like/) [Margaret Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cavendish/) ## More by Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas > [And swans seem whiter if swart crowes be by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/and-swans-seem-whiter-if-swart-crowes-be-by/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [Apoplexie and lethargie, As forlorn hope, assault the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/apoplexie-and-lethargie-as-forlorn-hope-assault-the-enemy/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [Who breaks his faith, no faith is held with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/who-breaks-his-faith-no-faith-is-held-with-him/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [Bright-flaming, heat-full fire,The source of motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/bright-flaming-heat-full-fire-the-source-of-motion/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [In every hedge and ditch both day and night We fear our death, of every leafe affright.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/in-every-hedge-and-ditch-both-day-and-night-we-fear-our-death-of/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [Night's black Mantle covers all alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/night-s-black-mantle-covers-all-alike/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [What is well done is done soon enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/what-is-well-done-is-done-soon-enough/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [The will for deed I doe accept.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/the-will-for-deed-i-doe-accept/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [There is no Theam more plentifull to scan, Then is the glorious goodly frame of Man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/there-is-no-theam-more-plentifull-to-scan-then-is-the-glorious-goodly/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [Much like the French (or like ourselves, their apes),Who with strange habit do disguise their shapes;Who loving novels, full of affectation,Receive the manners of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/much-like-the-french-or-like-ourselves-their-apes-who-with-strange/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [A good turn at need,At first or last, shall be assur'd of meed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/a-good-turn-at-need-at-first-or-last-shall-be-assur-d-of-meed/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [God quickened in the Sea and in the Rivers, So many fishes of so many features, That in the waters we may see all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/god-quickened-in-the-sea-and-in-the-rivers-so-many-fishes-of-so-many/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) > [I take the world to be but as a stage,Where net-maskt men do play their personage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/i-take-the-world-to-be-but-as-a-stage-where-net-maskt-men-do-play/) [Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) [Explore all 14 Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/) ## More Bees quotes > [Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/those-who-have-not-been-stung-will-hardly-fear-a-bee-the-same-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Arouse a bee and it will come at you with the force of a dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeda-shingen/arouse-a-bee-and-it-will-come-at-you-with-the-force-of-a-dragon/) [Takeda Shingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeda-shingen/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [You see, years ago I was just an ordinary bee minding my own business, smelling flowers all day, and occasionally picking up part-time work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-see-years-ago-i-was-just-an-ordinary-bee-minding-my-own-business/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [As the bee collecteth honey with great zest, so the fool collecteth wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/as-the-bee-collecteth-honey-with-great-zest-so-the-fool-collecteth/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [It is hard to imagine a world without bees. It would be even harder to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/it-is-hard-to-imagine-a-world-without-bees-it-would-be-even-harder-to/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [When I heard that the bees were in trouble, the fact that they're disappearing and not coming back to the hive, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-schwartzberg/when-i-heard-that-the-bees-were-in-trouble-the-fact-that-they-re/) [Louie Schwartzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-schwartzberg/) > [Precise, graceful, and generous, the poems in SuperLoop, seem to be born out of a deep, careful attention and a profound compassion. Sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-limon/precise-graceful-and-generous-the-poems-in-superloop-seem-to-be-born/) [Ada Limon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-limon/) > [The little bee returns with evening's gloom, To join her comrades in the braided hive, Where, housed beside their might honey-comb, They dream their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-tennyson-turner/the-little-bee-returns-with-evening-s-gloom-to-join-her-comrades-in/) [Charles Tennyson Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-tennyson-turner/) > [“This time of year, the purple blooms were busy with life- not just the bees, but butterflies and ladybugs, skippers and emerald-toned beetles, flitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/this-time-of-year-the-purple-blooms-were-busy-with-life-not-just-the/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [“Bees chase flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-l-shreve/bees-chase-flowers/) Tracy L. Shreve > [My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/my-banks-they-are-furnish-d-with-bees-whose-murmur-invites-one-to/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-are-certain-pursuits-which-if-not-wholly-poetic-and-true-do-at/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Bee Gees are a fly-by-night sort of group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gibb/the-bee-gees-are-a-fly-by-night-sort-of-group/) [Barry Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gibb/) > [“I don't like to hear cut and dried sermons. No—when I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-to-hear-cut-and-dried-sermons-no-when-i-hear-a-man/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 770 Bees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For where's the State beneath the Firmament, That doth excell the Bees for Government?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmament-that-doth-excell-the-bees/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bees" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmament-that-doth-excell-the-bees/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/guillaume-de-salluste-du-barta_bees_for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmam_901229.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/guillaume-de-salluste-du-barta_bees_for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmam_901229.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/guillaume-de-salluste-du-barta_bees_for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmam_901229.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For where's the State beneath the Firmament, That doth excell the Bees for Government?” — Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For where's the State beneath the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmament-that-doth-excell-the-bees/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillaume-de-salluste-du-bartas/for-where-s-the-state-beneath-the-firmament-that-doth-excell-the-bees/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```