— 14 — 



A Disclaimer. 



Dear Mr. Editor : 



In Ent. Amer.. vol. 3, p. 218, in a note on the 

 American species of Callimorpha, Mr. Lyman's work on the subject, and 

 my own are noticed. For myself I can but welcome criticism, and as in 

 the very paper noticed I claim full liberty to disagree with everybody, I 

 certainly do not dispute the right of others to disagree with me. But 

 your reviewer speaks in the plural, of a "Galileo consciousness." Now 

 o{ course it is known to all that Galileo made a discovery, which the 

 conservative and prejudiced intellect of the period deemed incredible, 

 and forced him to recant It was Galileo vs. the mob. Now Mr. Ly- 

 man and myself have made, or claim to have made certain discoveries, 

 which are not generally accepted, and it is hard that we should be placed 

 in the position of the inob, forcing the enlightened rank and file to recant 

 in spite of their belter knowledge. I dont want to be Galileo — but I do 

 object to being the mob ! 



Aggrievedly yours, 



JoHK B. Smith. 



* * 



* 



Note by Editor. — If Mr. Smith were one of the Priests he would 

 know that one of the rules of Biblical interpretation is, that a parable is 

 to be used to explain the object m view, and is not to be forced into 

 having a correspondence and lessons in every particular. Galileo recanted 

 because he was compelled to do so in view of certain '"arguments" such 

 as the thumb screw and stake. But he was unconvinced, and so ex- 

 pressed himself in a sort of a "sub rosa'' way. Now our friends Messrs. 

 Smith and Lyman have advanced arguments which force us to assent, 

 as we can not with corresponding study and argument controvert ; and we 

 must logically confess they are light. Yet, notwithstanding my con- 

 fession, we feel certain they are wrong. We are sorry we have not the time 

 properly to study up Callimorpha, and either convince or be convinced. 

 As it is, taking the pattern of ornamentation as the guide in the determ- 

 ination of species, and this is their guide, and taking Mr. Lyman's figures 

 as representing typical forms, we can see no diiference at all in pattern 

 between the first 9 figures of his plate, representing two of the species. 

 And, indeed, there is practical identity between figures i and 7, represent- 

 ing respectively C. Lecontei and C. confiisa. But far be it from us to 

 consider Messrs. Smith and Lyman the Priests of the Church (not the 

 mob) or ourselves Galileo. Note the comparison was not even with the 

 shake of Galileo's head, only a "sort of a Galileo shake," a sufficiently 

 modest comparison ! 



