Alle de brieven. Deel 12: 1696-1699

[p. 64]

Brief No. 175
7 September 1696

Gericht aan: Antonio Magliabechi.

Manuscript: Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze, Mss. Magl., Classe VIII, Codice 547, fol. 7^r-8^v; octavo.

Gepubliceerd in:

[G. Targioni-Tozzetti] 1745: Clarorum Belgarum ad. Ant. Magliabechium..., Dl. 2, blz. 351-352 (Florentiae:... Platea...). - Latijnse tekst [TT].

D. Carbone 1930: ‘Contributo alla storia della microbiologia’, in Bolletino dell'Istituto Sieroterapico milanese 9 (1930), blz. 521 en 529. - Vermelding van het bestaan van de brief met een kort citaat.

Korte inhoud:

L. bedankt voor Magliabechi's brieven van 5 juni en 8 juli 1696; hij verzoekt voortaan van overdreven lof verschoond te blijven.

Opmerkingen:

De tekst van de brief bevindt zich op fol. 7^r-8^r. De brief is niet ondertekend. Op fol. 8^v staat naast een rood lakzegel de door L. eigenhandig geschreven adressering: Illustrissimo, Doctissimo, Celeberrimoque Viro D^o Antonio Magliabechi. Franco per Mantua. Florencen.

[p. 65]

Letter No. 175
7 September 1696

Addressed to: Antonio Magliabechi.

Manuscript: Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze, Mss. Magl., Classe VIII, Codice 547, fol. 7^r-8^v; octavo.

Published in:

[G. Targioni-Tozzetti] 1745: Clarorum Belgarum ad. Ant. Magliabechium..., vol. 2, pp. 351-352 (Florentiae:... Platea...). - Latin text [TT].

D. Carbone 1930: ‘Contributo alla storia della microbiologia’, in Bolletino dell'Istituto Sieroterapico milanese 9 (1930), pp. 521 and 529. - Mention of the existence of the letter with a short quotation.

Summary:

L. thanks Magliabechi for his letters of 5 June and 8 July 1696; he requests him to spare him exaggerated praise henceforth.

Remarks:

The text of the letter is to be found on fol. 7^r-8^r. The letter has not been signed. On fol. 8^v, by the side of a read wax seal, is the address, written by L. himself: Illustrissimo, Doctissimo, Celeberrimoque Viro D^o Antonio Magliabechi. Franco per Mantua. Florencen.

[p. 66]

Illustrissimo, Doctissimo, Celeberrimoque Viro D^o. Antonio Magliabechi¹⁾ Serenissimi Magnae²⁾ Etruriae Ducis Bibliothecae Praefecto Antonius a Leeuwenhoek S: D.³⁾

Litteras Tuas, Vir Illustris, ad me datas VIII. Idus Julias per Reverendum Patrem Danielem a Papenbroek⁴⁾, mihique gratissimas, justo debitoque tempore accepi; quoniam vero tum paratus eram ad iter in aliam regionem, hoc in causa fuit, cur non citius^a) Tibi ad eas responderim quam A: D: V Kalendarum Septembris⁵⁾.

Post illud tempus accepi humanissimas Tuas litteras, datas Ipsis Nonis Junii^b), quas Celeberrimus Gronovius⁶⁾ per Urbem Nostram iter faciens, quum ipsi non vacaret domum meam adire, per alium ad me misit. Atque adeo quia hae tam sero mihi ad manus venerunt, non citius ad eas respondere potui.

In utraque hac epistola, Vir Illustris, tam honorificis me cumulas titulis, ac tantopere extollis cum libri mei dedicationem, Illustri Tuo Nomini factam⁷⁾, tum res eo contentas, ut non sine pudore horum meminerim ego, ne millesimam quidem meritus partem eorum, quae Tu de me meisque praedicare non dedignaris^c).

Satis superque sane mihi Gloriae acquisitum censeo, si viles mei labores aliquo inter Eruditos habeantur loco, et multo adhuc magis si digni videantur^d), quibus in Instructissima Bibliotheca Serenis simi Ducis⁸⁾, nec non Eminentissimi Principis Cardinalis⁹⁾, locus concedatur, quod factum esse ex litteris Tuis didici.

Interim supplex te oro, ut, si quas in posterum ad me dederis litteras, tantis nominibus titulisque me extollere supersedeas, nec aliter ad me scribas, quam ad civem mediocri ex loco natum, atque adeo in quem honorifici illi tituli minime quadrant; et hoc pacto multis me nominibus Tibi obstrinxeris.

1) Antonio Magliabechi (1633-1714) was bibliothecaris van de groothertog van Toscane, Cosimo III de' Medici. Zie het Biogr. Reg., Alle de Brieven, Dl. 6, blz. 390.

2) Magnae, blijkbaar een verschrijving voor Magni.

3) S:D., Salutem dicit.
De brief is geschreven door dezelfde hand als Brief 153 van 16 augustus 1695 (Alle de Brieven, Dl. 11, blz. 48-52) en Brief 173 van 28 augustus 1696, in dit deel. Zie aant. 1 bij Brief 153 van 16 augustus 1695, Alle de Brieven, Dl. 11, blz. 50. [Dam.]

4) De jezuïet Daniël (van) Papenbroek (1628-1714), die later bij de Bollandisten zou behoren, was een lid van L.'s kennissenkring. Zie het Biogr. Reg., Alle de Brieven, Dl. 6, blz. 390-392.

a) TT: citus.

5) Zie Brief 173 van 28 augustus 1696, in dit deel, waarin L. veronderstelde dat de betreffende brief van Magliabechi verloren was gegaan.

b) TT: Iuniis.

6) Jacobus Gronovius (1645-1716), die sedert 1679 hoogleraar in de geschiedenis en het Grieks te Leiden was, stond in correspondentie met Magliabechi en belastte zich zo nu en dan met het doorgeven van brieven aan L. Zie het Biogr. Reg., Alle de Brieven, Dl. 6, blz. 386.

7) L. doelt hier op de in 1695 verschenen Arcana Naturae Detecta, welke hij aan Magliabechi opdroeg. Zie Brief 152 van 1695, Alle de Brieven, Dl. 11, blz. 42-46.

c) TT: indignaris

d) et multo... videantur ontbreekt in TT.

8) L. doelt op Cosimo III de' Medici (1642-1723), vanaf 1670 groothertog van Toscane. Zie het Biogr. Reg. Alle de Brieven, Dl. 11, blz. 338.

9) De prins-kardinaal is Cosimo's broer Francesco Maria de' Medici (1660-1710). Zie het Biogr. Reg., Alle de Brieven, Dl. 11, blz. 338.

[p. 67]

To the Illustrious, Very Learned, and Very Famous Gentleman,
Mr. Antonio Magliabechi¹⁾,
Prefect of the Library of the Most Serene Grand Duke of Tuscany,
respectful greetings from Antoni van Leeuwenhoek²⁾.

I received at the due and proper time Your very welcome Letter of the 8th of July, Illustrious Sir, through the intermediary of the Reverend Father Daniel van Papenbroek³⁾: since, however, at that time I was about to start on a journey to another region, this was the reason why I did not reply to it before the 28th of August⁴⁾.

After that time I received Your most kind letter of the 5th of June, which the Very Famous Gronovius⁵⁾, when travelling through Our City, sent to me through the intermediary of someone else, since he himself had no time to visit my house. And it is just because this letter came so late into my hands that I have not been able to reply to it sooner.

In both these letters, Illustrious Sir, you lavish such honourable designations on me and you extol so greatly both the dedication of my book to Your Illustrious Name⁶⁾ and the matters contained therein that I remember them not without shyness, because I do not even merit a thousandth part of the things which You do not disdain to say about me and my work.

Indeed, I consider that I have acquired enough and more than enough Fame if my modest work is somewhat appreciated by the Learned, and even much more so if my work seems to be worthy of being given a place in the Well-furnished Library of the Most Serene Duke⁷⁾ and of the Most Eminent Prince and Cardinal⁸⁾, which I learn from Your letter has taken place.

Meanwhile I humbly beg you, if in future you should send me a letter, to refrain from extolling me with so many names and titles and only to write to me as to a citizen of modest birth, whom these titles do not fit at all, and thus You will oblige me very much.

1) Antonio Magliabechi (1633-1714) was librarian to the grand duke of Tuscany, Cosimo III de' Medici. See the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 6, p. 391.

2) The letter was written by the same hand as Letter 153 of 16 August 1695 (Collected Letters, vol. 11, pp. 49-53) and Letter 173 of 28 August 1696, in this volume. See note 1 to Letter 153 of 16 August 1695, Collected Letters, vol. 11, p. 51. [Dam.]

3) The Jesuit father Daniël (van) Papenbroek (1628-1714), who was later to be associated with the Bollandists, was a member of L.'s circle of acquaintances. See the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 6, pp. 391-393.

4) See Letter 173 of 28 August 1696, in this volume, in which L. assumed that the respective letter of Magliabechi had been lost.

5) Jacobus Gronovius (1645-1716), who was a professor of history and Greek at Leiden since 1679, carried on a correspondence with Magliabechi, and now and then undertook to pass on letters to L. See the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 6, p. 387.

6) Here L. refers to the Arcana Naturae Detecta, which appeared in 1695 and which he dedicated to Magliabechi. See Letter 152 of 1695, Collected Letters, vol. 11, pp. 43-47.

7) L. refers to Cosimo III de' Medici (1642-1723), from 1670 grand duke of Tuscany. See the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 11, p. 339.

8) The prince-cardinal is Cosimo's brother Francesco Maria de' Medici (1660-1710). See the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 11, p. 339.

[p. 68]

Nunc temporis 13 aut 14 Epistolae, a me scriptae post finitam versionem ac impressionem praeteritarum, in Latinam vertuntur Linguam ac imprimuntur; has ego impressas Tibi mittere denuo non dubitabo¹⁰⁾. Vale, Vir Illustris, et me ama.

Dabam Delfis Batavorum
VII. Idus Septembris 1696.

10) Zeer waarschijnlijk doelt L. hier op de Continuatio Arcanorum Naturae Detectorum, dat in 1697 te Delft verscheen. Zie ook Van Rijnberk, ‘Briefwisseling’, blz. 3154. [Dam.]
L. berichtte Magliabechi het boek daadwerkelijk verstuurd te hebben in Brief 185 van 6 juni 1697, in dit deel. Zie voor L.'s contacten met Magliabechi ook Van der Saag, ‘Rabus’, blz. 361-366.

[p. 69]

At present 13 or 14 Letters, written by me after the completion of the translation and printing of the preceding ones, are being translated into Latin and printed; when they have been printed⁹⁾, I will again not hesitate to send them to You. Farewell, Illustrious Sir, and be kindly disposed towards me.

Delft, in Holland,
the 7th of September 1696.

9) In all probability L. here refers to the Continuatio Arcanorum Naturae Detectorum, which appeared in 1697 at Delft. See also Van Rijnberk, ‘Briefwisseling’, p. 3154. [Dam.]
L. informed Magliabechi that he had actually sent the book in Letter 185 of 6 June 1697, in this volume. See for L.'s contacts with Magliabechi also Van der Saag, ‘Rabus’, pp. 361-366.