XI. 
wards republished in the Annals and Magazine, he says: ‘“ My residence on the 
sea-side enables me to increase my collection of marine genera [of fishes] . . . but 
my grand desire is to increase my collection of Annulose animals.” 
Mr. W.S. Macleay was among the early contributors to a knowledge of Australian 
» 
insects, though his contributions were only two in number,* for his attention and 
interest were concentrated chiefly on the philosophical aspect of zoology, in investi- 
gating natural affinities and analogies, and in endeavouring to discover the natural 
system of classification, and consequently mere systematic work as such had no 
attraction whatever for him. That he was “satisfied that natural history had higher 
objects in view, than either to name the contents of a museum, to describe new 
species, institute new genera, or even to unravel the intricacy of synonyms” may be 
said of him as he himself says of a few French naturalists after “the majestic 
eloquence of Buffon and the profound observations of Bernard Jussieu were publicly 
known;”f at the same time he recognised “that the student in the more profound 
branches of the science ought to have already paved the way for this sort of research, 
by that intimate and extensive knowledge of species which can always be most easily 
acquired by artificial methods”; and he adds further: “We see, therefore, that 
naturalists must always owe a large portion of gratitude to those who may by the 
help of artificial systems have made the productions of nature generally known.” 
(Hor. Ent. p. 51). 
From the “ Horz Entomologicze” in which were first broached the author's 
views to which at a later stage the epithets of the “Circular System” and 
“ Quinarianism”{ were applied, the following passage is worth quoting, 
“Had therefore my fears of criticism been given way to, I should certainly never have ventured on a 
work where I must be sure to merit it, and on the publication of new opinions which scarcely ever escape it ; 
but I reflected that in the study of nature, the will to criticise produces investigation, and that investigation 
must always tend to the development of the truth; so that if I should be altogether in the wrong, the 
probability is that some good to natural history will have been occasioned in calling forth that investigation 
which is to convince the public that I am mistaken.” 
because his theories were hailed with acclamation by some of his scientific friends, 
more particularly the ornithologists Vigors and Swainson who pushed them to 
extremes so that they fell into disrepute, with perhaps some consequent obscuration 
* An appendix to Part i. of the ‘‘ Hor ” contains the descriptions of a number of peculiar Australian lamellicorns, 
for in defining genera he was strongly impressed with the value of a knowledge of exotic species (p. 89). The ‘‘ Catalogue 
of Insects collected by Captain King, R.N.,” appeared as an Appendix in that distinguished navigator’s ‘‘ Survey of the 
Intertropical and Western Coast of Australia” (1826). 
+ Hor. Ent. preface p. xxiii. 
{A passage from the ‘‘ Annulosa of S. Africa” will furnish a clue to the origin of these terms: ‘‘ The conclusion to 
which we tend by such an analysis as the foregoing, is, that the lowest group in which species combine will be found, 
provided all the species are known, to return unto itself so as to form as it were a circle; and if we could suppose no 
species to be lost or to remain undiscovered, we should further find five of these lowest groups to form another circle, and 
five of these last circular groups to form another, and so on until we arrived at that grand circular group which is called 
the Animal Kingdom” (p. 52). 
