— 200 — 



AH this displaj^ of learning and acute reasoning would 

 have been unnecessary if Bocliart had known that his pretended 

 honey-bees were no bees at ali, but two-winged flies. And 

 it is interesting to notice liow botli Swammerdam and Bochart 

 were led astray by their intense desire to give a literal inter- 

 pretation to the scriptural text, and to save Samson's bees at 

 any price, altliongli their starting-point was quite different, 

 because Bochart believed in the Bug orna and Swammerdam 

 did not. The former was hampered by the authority of the 

 ancient writers, as well as by that of the Holy Scriptnres : 

 Swammerdam by the Scriptnres alone. 



About the time when I published my above quoted article 

 in the Entom. Monthìy Magazine I communicated my solution* 

 of the question of the Bugonìa^ and its possible application 

 to the story of Samson, to the eminent Professor of scriptural 

 exegesis in Heidelberg Dr. Adalbert Merx. At the same time 

 I handed to him a box, containing about half a dozen of pin- 

 ned specimens of Eristalis tenax. He received this commu- 

 nication with evident delight, and recognized that it offered 

 a simple solution of a text which had been discussed for cen- 

 turies, Soon afterwards, he published in the german « Prote- 

 stantische Kirchenzeitung » N.'^ 17, 1887, p. 389-392 a learned 

 article, entitled: Ber Honig ini Cadaver des Lowen » (The 

 Honey in the carcass of the Lion). It contains a summar}'^ 

 of the discussions provoked by Samson's bees, and the contro- 

 versies of Alphons Tostatus, Bishop of Avila (-[- 1454), of 

 LoEiNus of AviGNON (1559-1634), and the Jesuit Bonfeeee 

 (1573-1643), Professor Merx concludes by accepting the re- 

 semblance of E. tenax to a bee as a naturai solution of the 

 question. « AH the persons, says he, to wliom I showed the 

 specimens of Eristalis at once recognized bees in them, except 

 a medicai man who had some knowledge of Entomology. » (1) 



(1) John Curtis, Brit. Ent. Diptera, N. 432. Eristalis mibilìpennis, says: « I have 

 had some difficurty to convince persons totaUy ignorant of Entomology, that the 



