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The three states of the caterpillar, larva, and butterfly have, since the time of the Greek poets, been applied to typify the human being,--its terrestrial form, apparent death, and ultimate celestial destination.

Sir Humphry Davy (1870). “Salmonia: Or, Days of Fly Fishing. With Some Account of the Habits of Fishes Belonging to the Genus Salmo”, p.218
The three states of the caterpillar, larva, and butterfly have, since the time of the Greek poets, been applied to typify the human being,--its terrestrial form, apparent death, and ultimate celestial destination.