— 194 — 



tame bees witli two wiiigs »). He adds: « quite clifferent 

 from wliat Goedart taught us », a reproacli wliicli, as I ha ve 

 sliown, is undeserved. 



Swammeedam's (1637-1680) principal work, the « Biblia 

 naturae », (Leyden, 1737-38; in German, Leijjzig, 1758), was 

 published more thau half a centiiry after his death. 



Swammerdam, in two passages of his « Biblia », comes 

 very near connecting Eristalis tenax with the Bugoìiìa, and 

 it is only his bias for a literal interpretation of a scriptural 

 text which prevents him from taking the last step that was 

 needed. In his chapter on bees^p. 210-212) he says that be- 

 cause bees are cleanly animals, and never aliglit on carcasses, 

 the story of Samson lias appeared to many strange and in- 

 credible. He offers an explanation very similar to that of 

 Bochart (1) (whona he does not quote and does not seem to 

 know), that the lion was not a corpse, but a skeleton. It was 

 in the height of summer; the larvae of- certain flies always 

 occurring in carcasses have, in a very short time, devoured 

 ali the flesh; the remaining skeleton was soon freed from ali 

 bad smells by the combined action of snn, rain and dew; 

 under sudi circumstances it is possible (« es làsst sich ohn- 

 schwer begreifen ») that the skeleton may have become the 

 habitation of bees during the swarming season (1. e. p. 211, 

 right column.). On p. 212 Swammerdam continues: « This 

 story of Samson and his bees, misunderstood as it was, has 

 undoubtedly given rise to the common ignorant craze that 

 bees originate from lions, oxen and horses. The craze was 

 probably confirmecì by the sight of the great mass of worms 

 which occur in sudi carcasses in summer, the more so as 

 these worms are somewhat (« einigermassen ») like the larvae 

 of bees. This apparent resemblance has undoubtedly fortified 

 this error, which, ridiculous and groundless as it is, has 

 found advocates even among the most learned men. The 



(1) Bocharf's explanation will be given further on. 



