Alle de brieven. Deel 14: 1701-1704

[p. 22]

Brief van Hans Sloane
16 September 1701 O.S.

Gericht aan: Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.

Manuscript: Het oorspronkelijke manuscript is verloren gegaan.

Niet gepubliceerd.

Korte inhoud:

Dankzegging voor recent ontvangen brieven van L. Alvast een persoonlijke dank voor het na L.'s dood te verwachten legaat bestaande uit 26 microscopen.

Opmerkingen:

Een kladversie van de brief bevindt zich te Londen, British Museum, Sloane MS, No. 4068, fol. 27-28; 2 foliobladzijden, welke hier is afgedrukt. Zie voor de Oude Stijl (O.S.) de opmerkingen bij Brief 228 [140] van 2 augustus 1701, in dit deel.

[p. 23]

Letter from Hans Sloane
16 September 1701 O.S.

Addressed to: Antoni van Leeuwenhoek.

Manuscript: The original manuscript has been lost.

Not published.

Summary:

Expression of thanks for recently received letters of L. Meanwhile a personal word of thanks for the bequest to be received after L.'s death, consisting of 26 microscopes.

Remarks:

A rough draft of the letter is to be found in London, British Museum, Sloane MS, No. 4068, fol. 27-28; two folios, which is printed here. See for the Old Style (O.S.) the remarks on Letter 228 [140] of 2 August 1701, in this volume.

[p. 24]

London Sept. 16. 1701.

S^r.

I have rec.^d two or three letters from you whereof one came very lately to my hands. I thank you for the severall informations you give in them. I am firmly persuaded that the account you mention (out of a French book) of microscopes in London whereby the influences of the starrs, the exhalations of bodies &c. might be seen is certainly a fable. I have lived in London many years & have known a great many curious persons in this way & never heard of any such thing but the whole relation of the matter seems to be Romantick, or if there be any manner of foundation for this story it must come from the causes you mention whereby the persons imagination who made use of the glasses have been imposed on¹. [I must needs do you this Justice to say that you by Yo.^r glasses have first discovered to the society many extraordinary fine things many of which have afterwards been confirmed by other observers and farther that the society have very much depended upon what you say for truth which you have declared without being led away by the opinions of other men.]² The R^ll Society ordered me to return you their thanks for Yo^r account of spiders which I read to them & w^h which they & all curious persons here were extreamly pleased³. The like thanks they give you for Yo^r farther informations. I have rec^d a letter from you whereby you are pleased to say you intend to leave the Royall Society Yo^r glasses⁴. They are now adjourned but when they meet you may be sure they will take this great favour extream kindly of you⁵. I may say this also on their account that they will be very sorry to receive Yo^r present these many years for then they will not have Y^e farther happinesse to hear from you which is very gratefull to them. I in particular wish you long life all health & happinesse as much on Yo^r own acc.^t as that I desire the increase of knowledge & nothing to conduce more. Whereunto then these microscopical observations bodies being so viewed before any fire or violent agent has spoild them. There are some persons who pretend to see in the livers of creatures & in their other viscera small microscopicall animals pray have you seen any such small creatures in the bowells of living creatures that have not been diseased. There is an Italian I think his name is Bonhuomo⁶ who pretends to find that the itch is from small insects burrowing in the skin pray have you seen any such things⁷, or do you believe or have discovered that

1 Sloane here refers to Letter 227 [139] of 21 June 1701, adressed to him, Collected Letters, vol. 13, pp. 367-379, in particular pp. 369-371.

2 The passage between brackets has been crossed out in the ms.

3 Sloane here refers to Letter 226 [138] of 21 June 1701, addressed to the Royal Society, Collected Letters, vol. 13, pp. 317-365.

4 With this Sloane answers L.'s Letter 228 [140] of 2 August 1701, in this volume, in which L. announced his bequest.

5 In the next letter of Sloane to L. of 7 November 1701, in this volume, he wrote that the Royal Society, after having been informed about the bequest, was very grateful for this.

6 Sloane here refers to Giovan Cosimo Bonomo (1663-1696) who identified the itch-mite as the cause of scabies. See the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 9, p. 427.

7 The itch-mite has never been investigated by L. For L.'s investigation of mites see Van Bronswijk, ‘Two Fellow Students’, in particular pp. 115-117. See for L.'s views on the cause of itching Letter 205 [120] of 1699, Collected Letters, vol. 12, p. 359, and the further references in n. 4 on that passage.

[p. 25]

there are in the air or humane blood any animalicula imperceivable to Y. naked sight that may occasion infectious diseases &c. In answering this you will very much oblige

Yo.^r most obed.^t serv^t.
H.S.⁸

8 As is evident from the handwriting and the initials, the letter is from Hans Sloane (1660-1753), one of the two secretaries of the Royal Society. See the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 12, p. 407.