Alle de brieven. Deel 11: 1695-1696

[p. 116]

Brief No. 159
31 Oktober 1695

Gericht aan: Antonio Magliabechi.

Manuscript: Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze, Mss. Magl. Classe VIII, Codice 547, fol. 4^r-5^v; octavo.

Gepubliceerd in:

D. Carbone 1930: ‘Contributo alla storia della microbiologia’, in Bolletino dell'Istituto Sieroterapico milanese, 9 (1930), blz. 529. -Citaat, niet volledig.

Korte inhoud:

Bevestiging van de ontvangst van Magliabechi's brief van 12 oktober 1695. Het pakje boeken is meegegeven aan baron Bettino Ricasoli. L. bericht nogmaals boeken aan M. gezonden en een brief aan de keurvorst van de Palts geschreven te hebben; hij is dankbaar voor het nieuws uit Italië.

Opmerking:

De tekst van de brief staat op fol. 4^r-5^r.

[p. 117]

Letter No. 159
31 October 1695

Addressed to: Antonio Magliabechi.

Manuscript: Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze, Mss. Magl. Classe VIII, Codice 547, fol. 4^r-5^v; octavo.

Published in:

D. Carbone 1930: ‘Contributo alla storia della microbiologia’, in Bolletino dell'Istituto Sieroterapico milanese, 9 (1930), p. 529. - Quotation, not complete.

Summary:

Acknowledgment of the receipt of Magliabechi's letter of 12 October 1695. The parcel of books has been sent along with Baron Bettino Ricasoli. L. reports once more having sent books to M. and having written a letter to the Elector Palatine; he is grateful for the news from Italy.

Remark:

The text of the letter is to be found in fol. 4^r-5^r.

[p. 118]

Domin[o An]tonio Magliabechi
Antoniu[s] a Leeuwenhoek S.P.D.¹⁾

Nobilissime, Doctissime, a Celeberrime. D. Literae N.T. mihi acceptissimae, de 12 octob 1695²⁾. Antwerpiae a Reverendo Patre Daniele a Papenbroek 28 istius Mensis, sunt traditae mihi. Intellecto N.T. Literarum argumento obstupui omnia humanitatis indicia, in illis contenta, ac quoq. cum intelligebam, meas ad te literas missas³⁾ in tanto apud N.T. esse pretio, ut easd. postero die communicares Celsissimo Duci ac Principibus, quod mihi gratum auditu erat: sed mihi dicendum est, meas contemplationes ne millesima quidem parte mereri istam N.T. existimationem, quam istis attribuis.

Dedicationem⁴⁾ quod attinet, nec doctiorem, nec majoris nominis dominum novi, pro ut⁵⁾ N.T. est, et hoc non habeo ex me ipso, verum enim vero hoc omnes peregrinantes affirmant, quibus ille fuit honor N.T. et conspiciendi et alloquendi, imo praeterea addunt, et gloriantur de innata N.T. beneficentia, ac humana receptione, qua continuo a N.T. excipiuntur, quapropter mihi iterum dicendum, me in omni mea electione non majoris existimationis dominum, nec doctiorem potuisse invenire, a quo exiguus ille meus labor per totam Italiam, ac alibi (ut statuo) majorem existimationem recepturus sit.

Proposui quidem, ut librorum sarcinulam, cujus in meis praecedentibus literis⁶⁾ mentionem feci, Rotterodamo Liburnum mitterem, nam eum in finem erat compacta et consignata.

Sed quoniam tempore eo observantissimus ac Nobilis D. Baro Bettino Ricaroli⁷⁾ me illo dignabatur honore, ut me inviseret, ac sese in quibusdam mearum contemplationum recrearet, et praeterea conspiciens dedicationem libri, (quem D. Baro ilico ad Typographum emptum ibat) petebat, ut illi liceret portatorem sarcinulae esse.

1) S.P.D., Salutem plurimam dicit.
Het ms. van deze brief is aan de bovenrand van de drie bladzijden door vochtvlekken en beschadigingen in fotokopie moeilijk leesbaar. De Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale te Florence, waar het ms. berust, heeft welwillend hulp verleend bij de ontcijfering. Ontbrekende letters zijn op de gebruikelijke wijze tussen vierkante haken gezet. [Dam.]

2) Een Nederlandse vertaling van deze brief, die oorspronkelijk in het Italiaans geschreven was, werd door Rabus gepubliceerd in de Boekzaal van Europe (November en December 1695), blz. 538-543. Magliabechi bedankt L. hierin voor de opdracht van L.'s laatst gedrukte boek aan hem, bericht hem dat de groothertog blij zal zijn met de mededeling dat zijn dochter een bezoek aan L. gebracht heeft, wacht de aankomst van de boeken af en vult zijn brief met enig Italiaansch Boeknieuws, onder welk hoofdje Rabus de brief publiceerde. Ook later zou deze nieuws over in Italië verschenen boeken publiceren afkomstig uit verdere brieven van Magliabechi. Zie hiervoor Van der Saag, ‘Rabus en Van Leeuwenhoek’, blz. 361-363.

3) Daar L. in de volgende alinea in het bijzonder over de Dedicatio van de Arcana Naturae Detecta van 1695 spreekt, doelt hij hier waarschijnlijk op Brief 153 van 16 augustus 1695, in dit deel. [Dam.]

4) Zie Brief 152 van 1695, in dit deel.

5) pro ut is in deze betekenis in het klassiek Latijn ongebruikelijk. Vermoedelijk is het een vertaling van het Nederlandse als. [Bor.]

6) Zie Brief 153 van 16 augustus 1695, in dit deel.

7) L. had dit reeds in zijn Brief 158 van 18 oktober 1695, in dit deel, geschreven, maar minder uitvoerig. Over de naam van de baron zie men aant. 1 aldaar. [Dam.]

[p. 119]

To Mr. Antonio Magliabechi
respectful greetings from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek¹⁾.

Very Noble, Very Learned, and Very Famous Sir,

Your very welcome Letter of 12 October 1695²⁾ was delivered to me on the 28th of this Month by the Rev. Father Daniel van Papenbroek of Antwerp. After noting the content of your letter, I was astonished about all the tokens of goodwill contained therein, and also when I learned that my letter to you³⁾ was appreciated so greatly by you that you communicated it the next day to the Eminent Duke and the Princes, which I was very pleased to hear. But I must say that my speculations do not deserve even one thousandth part of the appreciation You bestow upon them.

As regards the dedication⁴⁾, I do not know any more learned Gentleman of greater reputation than You are, and I do not have this from myself, but it is affirmed by all the travellers who have had the honour of seeing and talking with You. Nay, they even speak of and extol Your native gentleness and the kind reception they always receive from You. I therefore cannot but say once again that in my whole choice I have not been able to find a Gentleman of greater reputation or a more learned one, from whom this modest work of mine will receive greater appreciation in the whole of Italy and elsewhere (as I establish).

I had intended to send the parcel of books, of which I spoke in my previous letter⁵⁾, from Rotterdam to Livorno, for it had been packed and sealed up for that purpose.

But since at that time the very obliging and Noble Lord Baron Bettino Ricaroli⁶⁾ did me the honour of visiting me and of diverting himself with some of my observations, and because moreover he saw the dedication of the book (which the Baron at once went to buy at the printer's office), he asked whether he might

1) The Ms. of this letter is barely legible in the photostat copy at the upper edge of the three pages, on account of damp stains and damage. The Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Florence, where the Ms. is kept, kindly helped to decipher it. Any missing letters have been put between square brackets in the usual way. [Dam.]

2) A Dutch translation of this letter, which was originally written in Italian, was published by Rabus in the Boekzaal van Europe (November and December 1695), pp. 538-543. In this letter Magliabechi thanks L. for the dedication to him of L's recently printed book, informs him that the Grand Duke will be pleased with the information that his daughter has paid a visit to L., awaits the arrival of the books, and further fills his letter with some Italiaansch Boeknieuws (Italian book-news), the heading under which Rabus published the letter. Later, too, the latter was to publish information about books that had come out in Italy, originating from further letters of Magliabechi. For this, see Van der Saag, ‘Rabus en Van Leeuwenhoek’, pp. 361-363.

3) Since in the next paragraph L. speaks in particular about the Dedicatio to the Arcana Naturae Detecta of 1695, he is probably referring here to Letter 153 of 16 August 1695 in the present volume. [Dam.]

4) See Letter 152 of 1695 in the present volume.

5) See Letter 153 of 16 August 1695 in the present volume.

6) L. had already written this in his Letter 158 of 18 October 1695 in the present volume, but less fully. On the name of the baron, see note 1 there. [Dam.]

[p. 120]

Sub hac conditione [ut i]pse N.T. in manibus traderet, quia tum temporis erat ex ministris Celsissimi M. Ducis, adjungens, se brevi ad patriam suam reversurum, sed ill[i] primo tendendum in Brabantiam, et in revertendo ex Brabantia per urbem nostram, spondebat, se sarcinulam ad se recepturum: in recipiendo igitur dicebat. N. Baro sibi non directe ad patriam suam, sed Viennam proficiscendum esse, qua propter, ut sibi liceret, flagitabat sarcinulam sumere secum Dusseldorpium, ad quam urbem Celsissim[us] ac Nobilissimus Dux mulas quasdam rebus quibusd[am] oneratas ex Italia mittere consuetus erat ad filiam suam Principem Electorem Palatinatus, ac istis mulabus revertendum esse ad Italiam, cum quibus sarcinula absq. errore dimitteretur, cum affirmatione plena, libros absq. dubio ad N. Dominum delatum iri, cujus casus N.T. hisce quoq. scientem facio.

Hodie quoque ad majorem certitudinem unum librum compactum et unum incompactum⁸⁾ mitto Rotterodamum, ut navi deportetur Liburnum (ob defectum temporis) qui libri jam demum latinitate donati sunt, ac quoque unum incompactum librum antehac latinitate donatum: quem ultimum librum ego in praeterlapsis annis per Reveren: Patrem Daniel a Papenburg⁹⁾ ad te misi, partim isto animo, si una sarcinula ad N.T. non bene perferebatur, ut altera sarcinula saltem in tuas perveniret manus, et si illae duae incolumes perferantur, de illis ultimatis disponito pro N.T. lubitu.

Hanc sarcinulam secundum petitionem N.T. misi ad Consulem sive Directorem Belgicae natio[nis] hac petitione addita, ut eadem ad N.T. dimitteretur, et data occasione indicabo, cum quo nauta sarcinula sit missa¹⁰⁾.

Ad Celsissim[um] Electorem Palatinatus dedi litteras contin[en]tes contemplationes meas de generatione piscium quorundam Testaceorum (qui in hac nostra regione in aquis nostris intestinis reperiuntur) in quibus litteris tracto tam de piscium istorum ovis, de nondum natis piscibus, quam de illorum semine virili, qui pisces testacei nominantur conchae palustres, sive ostreae palustres, quae epistola intra paucas septimanas belgice imprimetur:¹¹⁾ si igitur N.T. inservire possum, ut eandem in latinum sermonem verti curarem, ac ita translatum ad N.T. transmittere, nusquam deero.

8) L. zendt dus nóg twee exemplaren van zijn boek. Dat het ene nog niet gebonden is en dat hij ook van een ouder werk - dit moet wel de Continuatio epistolarum van 1689 zijn - een niet gebonden exemplaar zendt, vindt waarschijnlijk zijn oorzaak in de omstandigheid, dat de brieven afzonderlijk werden verkocht. [Dam.]

9) Lees: Papenbroek.

10) Zie Brief 162 van 22 december 1695, in dit deel.

11) L. doelt hier op Brief 157 [95] van 18 september 1695, in dit deel.

[p. 121]

deliver the parcel. Engaging to hand it to You himself, because at that time he was among the servants of the Eminent Grand Duke, adding that he was to return shortly to his native country, but that the first had to travel to Brabant, he promised that upon his return from Brabant to our town he would take delivery of the parcel. When therefore he received it, the noble Baron said that he could not go direct to his native country, but had to leave for Vienna. He therefore asked permission to take the parcel along to Düsseldorf, to which town the Eminent and Very Noble Grand Duke used to send from Italy some mules laden with certain goods to his daughter, the Electress Palatine, [saying] that those mules had to return to Italy and the parcel would be sent through them without fail, and fully assuring me that the books would without doubt be delivered to the Noble Lord, of which fact I notify You herewith.

Today, to be on the safe side, I am also sending one bound and one unbound copy of the book⁷⁾ to Rotterdam, in order that it may be taken to Livorno by ship (for lack of time), which books have now at last been translated into Latin, and also one unbound book previously translated into Latin. I sent this latter book to you in the past through the kind offices of the Rev. Father Daniel van Papenburg⁸⁾, partly with the intention that if one parcel should not be properly delivered to You, the second parcel should at least get into Your hands; and if both are delivered undamaged, You may do with the last-mentioned as you please.

In compliance with your request I sent this parcel to the Consul of the Netherlands, with the request that it might be sent to You, and I will mention in good time by what skipper it has been sent⁹⁾.

To the eminent Elector Palatine I have written a letter containing my observations concerning the generation of certain Shellfishes (which are found by us in this our [part of the] country in our inland waters), in which letter I deal with the eggs of those fishes as well as the unborn fishes and their male sperm, which shellfishes are called fen-mussels of fen-oysters; this letter will be printed in Dutch

7) L. is therefore sending two more copies of his book. The fact that one copy is not yet bound and that of an older work, too - this must be the Continuatio epistolarum of 1689 - he is also sending an unbound copy is probably due to the circumstance that the letters were sold separately. [Dam.]

8) Read: Papenbroek.

9) See Letter 162 of 22 December 1695 in the present volume.

[p. 122]

Maximas habeo gratias pro novo ex Italia, in nostra autem regione eximia illa dona promulgabo, quibus D. Angelus Marchielli 22 annorum juvenis praeditus est¹²⁾.

Si dignus sim, humillimum meum studium ac officium offeras quaeso Celsissimis D.D. Ducibus.

Interim Manebo
Clarissime, Doctissime, ac Celeberrime Domine
Nobilitatis Tuae hummillimus ab¹³⁾ observantissimus Servus.

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek¹⁴⁾

Delft den 31^e Octob. 1695

12) Ongetwijfeld doelt L. hier op Angelo Marchetti over wiens pas verschenen boek Magliabechi in zijn brief van 12 oktober 1695 mededeling doet. Rabus geeft de titel als volgt: La natura della proporzione, e della proporzionalita, con nuovo, facile, e sicuro metodo spiegata da Angelo Marchetti Academico dell' Arcadia di Roma, & dal medesimo dedicata al Ser. mo Cosmo III Gran Duca di Toscano (Boekzaal (November en December 1695), blz. 542-543; zie ook het Biogr. Reg. in dit deel).

13) ab, verschrijving voor ac. [Bor.]

14) Alleen de ondertekening en de dagtekening zijn door L. zelf geschreven. De brief is mogelijk geschreven door de vertaler. Zie voor de verschillende handschriften Brief 153 van 16 augustus 1695, in dit deel, aant. 1. [Dam.]

[p. 123]

within a few weeks¹⁰⁾. If it is any to You that I have this letter translated into Latin and have it sent to You in such a translation, I will not omit to do so.

I am very grateful to you for the news from Italy, but I will make known in our regions the exceptional talents with which Mr. Angelo Marchielli as a boy 22 years of age is endowed¹¹⁾.

If I am worthy of it, I request You to offer my humble offices and services to the Eminent Dukes.

Meanwhile I remain,
Very Noble, Very Learned and Very Famous Sir,
Your very humble and very obedient Servant

Antoni van Leeuwenhoek¹²⁾

Delft, the 31st of October 1695.

10) Here L. is referring to Letter 157 [95] of 18 September 1695 in the present volume.

11) No doubt L. is referring here to Angelo Marchetti, whose recently published book is mentioned by Magliabechi in his letter of 12 October 1695. Rabus gives the title as follows: La natura della proporzione, e della proporzionalita, con nuovo, facile, e sicuro metodo spiegata da Angelo Marchetti Academico dell' Arcadia di Roma, & dal medesimo dedicata al Ser. mo Cosmo III Gran Duca di Toscano (Boekzaal (November and December 1695), p. 542-543; see also the Biographical Register in this volume).

12) The signature and the date alone were written by L. himself. The letter may have been written by the translator. For the different handwritings, see Letter 153 of 16 August 1695 in the present volume, note 1. [Dam.]