Alle de brieven. Deel 15: 1704-1707

[p. 336]

Brief No. 267
17 Mei 1707

Gericht aan: John Chamberlayne.

Manuscript: Het oorspronkelijke manuscript is niet teruggevonden.

Niet gepubliceerd.

Korte inhoud:

Opsomming van brieven aan de Royal Society die nog niet beantwoord waren. Onderzoek aan een bezoarsteen. Aanbod om afschriften van brieven die L. aan anderen geschreven had aan de Royal Society te sturen.

Opmerkingen:

De hier afgedrukte tekst is een eigentijdse Engelse vertaling die zich bevindt te Londen, Royal Society, MS 2058, Early Letters L.4.7; 4 kwartobladzijden.

De brief werd voorgelezen op de vergadering van de Royal Society van 7 mei 1707 O.S. (Royal Society, Journal Book Original, Dl. 11, blz. 116). Zie voor de Oude Stijl (O.S.) de Opmerkingen bij Brief 249 van 22 juli 1704, in dit deel. Tevens staat hier vermeld dat The Society ordered Mr Hunt to send Mr Lewenhoeck the Transactions from N^o. 300 to this present time. L. bevestigde de ontvangst ervan in Brief 269 van 12 juli 1707, in dit deel. Zie voor Henry Hunt het Biogr. Reg., Alle de Brieven, Dl. 13, blz. 388.

[p. 337]

Letter No. 267
17 May 1707

Addressed to: John Chamberlayne.

Manuscript: The original manuscript has not been traced.

Not published.

Summary:

Enumeration of letters to the Royal Society, which had not yet been answered. Investigation of a bezoar stone. Offering to send copies of letters written by L. to other people to the Royal Society.

Remarks:

The text printed here is a contemporary English translation, which is to be found in London, Royal Society, MS 2058, Early Letters L.4.7; 4 quartos.

The letter was read in the meeting of the Royal Society of 7 May 1707 O.S. (Royal Society, Journal Book Original, vol. 11, p. 116). For the Old Style (O.S.) the Remarks on Letter 249 of 22 July 1704, in this volume. Here it is also noted that The Society ordered Mr Hunt to send Mr Lewenhoeck the Transactions from N^o 300 to this present time. L. confirmed the receipt of those in Letter 269 of 12 July 1707, in this volume. For Henry Hunt see the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 13, p. 389.

[p. 338]

Delft y^e 17.^th May 1707
N.S.¹

To M^r. Chamberlayne²

S^r

I received your acceptable Letter of the 20^th of March, deliver'd by your Nephew³ the 29^th of April last, wherein you are pleased to say, that the Hon:^ble Royal Society are very much concerned that they have had no acco.^a of my health for a great while, and that you had commanded your Nephew to wait upon me and desired me to let you know how I did.

Your Nephew delivered your Letter to my Daughter⁴, but I was not at home, and since that time I never saw him again. I am thankfull for your Civilities.

I take the Liberty to tell you S.^r that I received^a a letter from the Royall Society dated 30^th. of Octob.^r 1705.⁵ and a little while after I got the transactions Numb 290. to 300. for the which undeserved kindness I made my acknowledgm.^ts to the Gentlem.ⁿ of the Royal Society in my letter of the 29.^th of December 1705⁶. In which letter I also made mention of my obervacions of the Pumicestone.

The 19.^th of March 1706. I gave an account to the Royal Society of the Operations of two or three East India Seeds⁷.

The 20.^th of April 1706. I sent to the said Gentlemen my Observations of a piece of a gut of a woman who had been hanged here⁸.

The 1.^st of June 1706. I sent also my poor speculations about the Milt of Sheep⁹.

To these four Letters I never had any answer, and since that time I made some discoveries, but without setting them down, and so they are as much forgotten, as if I never had seen them.

⁺I also make bold to tell you how for these two years last passt my thoughts ran upon a piece^b of the Besoar Stone which some Apothecaries told me was the right Oriental Besoar Stone¹⁰.

1 N.S., New Style. See the Remarks on Letter 249 of 22 July 1704, in this volume.

2 The letter is addressed to John Chamberlayne (1666-1723) who from 1700 to 1723, with a few intervals, translated many of L.'s letters for the Royal Society. See Vermij & Palm, ‘Chamberlayne’, and the Biogr. Reg. Collected Letters, vol. 13, p. 339. L.'s previous letter to Chamberlayne is Letter 255 of 3 March 1705, in this volume.

3 This person has not been identified.

a hs: reced

4 L.'s daughter Maria van Leeuwenhoek (1656-1745). See the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 2, p. 461.

a hs: reced

5 This letter has not been preserved. Its text was discussed and approved in the meeting of the Royal Society of 31 October 1707 O.S. (Journal Book Original, vol. 11, p. 76).

6 See note 2 on Letter 261 of 29 December 1705, in this volume.

7 This is Letter 263 of 19 March 1706, in this volume.

8 This is Letter 264 of 20 April 1706, in this volume.

9 This is Letter 265 of 1 June 1706, in this volume.

+ Bezoar stone.

b hs: peice

10 The lapis bezoar or bezoar stone is a roundish shape, which occurs in the stomach and intestine of animals, usually ruminants, sometimes also among humans. Usually it consists of calcium phosphate strongly polluted by indigestible remnants of food, among animals often covered by layers of indigestible hairs of plants. The Eastern bezoar stone is the best; it is greenish black and consists of thin smooth layers, which can be peeled off one after the other. In medical science bezoar stones were used as antidotes. For L.'s earlier investigations of bezoar stones see Letter 106 [61] of 25 May 1688, Collected Letters, vol. 7, p. 229, n. 80; and Letter 107 [62] of 6 July 1688, ibid., pp. 243-259, with figs LVI-LVIII on Plate XIV, in which crystals from extracts of bezoar stones are depicted.

[p. 339]

I put the said Besoar Stone into post paper and so beat it to powder and infused it for a little time into clean rain water afterwards I examined in that water and tasted it, but cou'd not find any thing in it worth taking notice off.

Having done this I put the same powder into a clean Glass and had it boild, then tasted it and let the water evaporate to the End that I might discover such salt particles as were therein but I cou'd not see any thing in it but a few more particles than are in rainwater, when evaporated.

Then I burnt away a piece of the said Bezoar so farr that nothing remained but a Black Coal, out of w^ch when thrown into the water, I cou'd not discern any thing worthy of Observacion.

The said water I mixed with my Blood, w^ch I let out of my thumb by the prick of a needle and presently view'd it but cou'd not discover any thing more than if I had mixed my blood with rain water¹¹.

After this I put it into a little glass to see what the fire wou'd draw from it and observed presently a yellow sort of Matter which was mostly coagulated on the sides of the Glass but I cou'd not perceive any fluid matter to come from the Stone; and wherever the Stone had lain upon the Glass it left a Black crust behind it and some pieces of y^e Bezoar were black also.

Upon the said Matter I poured a little of rain water to try how the water might tast and

After the water had stood a little while upon it it acquired a Yellowish Coulour.

This water I tasted twice and cou'd discover nothing but a burnt and musty tast in it^a.

I caused that water to evaporate in three different places, but found nothing remarkable therein.

I laid also that Bezoar Stone upon a Charcoal and by a sharp fire I drove off the burnt matter and whereas many other things by an intense heat grow whitish, the remaining part was still black and became so light that it was blown away by a small^b breath of Air; from whence I concluded that there were no fixt Salts in the Bezoar Stone worth naming for if there had I shou'd have brought the remaining part into Fusion and it wou'd have turned into a Globular figure.

As soon as I had writ down my Observations I met w^th a learned Gentleman, and he asked me whether I had any new Observations in hand. I told him, how busy I had been w^th the Bezoar Stone and that my opinion was, that the Bezoar Stone was of no use, but to empty y^e rich men's pockets.

Hereupon that Gentleman replyed, that several learned men in England were of the same opinion, and accordingly he gave me a Book, translated out of English into Dutch, named the Frauds of Physic &c. (in my opinion an Excellent Book), wherein I observd what had been said of the Besoar Stone, & was glad of it¹².

11 L. had performed these kinds of experiments already earlier. See Letter 107 [62] of 6 July 1688, Collected Letters, vol. 7, pp. 247-257.

a hs: init

b hs: smal

12 L. here refers to List en bedrog der medicynen: ten toon gestelt in een ontdekking der laage prijzen van de beste, en een berisping van 't gebruik der kostelijke geneesmiddelen thans meest in agtinge.../ In't Engelsch beschreven door R. Pitt (Te Rotterdam: by Barent Bos, 1705). This is a translation of R. Pitt, The Craft and Frauds of Physick expos'd... (London, 1702, 1703^{2, 3}).

[p. 340]

Now as the Bezoar Stone is of no use in physick so neither are pearls as I have writ at large to his Excellency Francisco Cornaro¹³ Envoy, from y^e Republick of Venice to her Majesty of Great Brittain¹⁴. This Gentleman did me the honour one afternoon to come to me and see my Observations wherein he took much pleasure, & understanding that I never wou'd accept of any gifts, He nevertheless before his departure took care to send me his coat of Arms finely painted for w^ch I made him mij acknowledgm^ts. by a Letter into England and sent also his Excellency my Remarks about Pearls, viz. that they were of no use in physic, wherew^th his Excellency was much satisfyed & thanked me by way of Answer.

Signior Antony Magliabechi¹⁵ writes me from Florence, y^t he is sending me a book, for y^e w^ch I also returned him many thanks & besides my Observations of silver dissolved in aqua fort. and how that in the Aqua fortis thus impregnated with Silver, some Silver Particles were coagulated again and became as transparent as glass being of a sharp and Hexangular figure, like Diamonds and I give him my reasons also, that Diamonds never grow, but are coagulated in the beginning¹⁶, and are at first of the same magnitude as when they are discover'd¹⁷.

The said Gentleman has not only given my letter to be read by several at Florence, but sent it also to Rome, to be perused there by several Prelates and Nobles.

If I can serve you w^th a Copy of the said Observations and my opinion concerning them, I'll be very willing to do it¹⁸.

As to my health, thanks be to God, as long as I sit still I am without any pain, but if I do but walk a little I have pains in my leggs, but that is, I think caused by former colds and because they have carried my body so long¹⁹. Ending here²⁰

I rest w^th the Tender of my small Services

Honorable S^r.

Your most humble Servant
Antoni van Leeuwenhoek

13 From 1703 onwards Francesco Corner (1670-1734) was the ambassador of the Republic of Venice at the English court. See the Biogr. Reg. in this volume. The reference here is to Letter 260 of 18 December 1705, in this volume.

14 Queen Anne (1665-1714), second daughter of James II, was the last of the Stuarts. In 1702 she had succeeded her brother-in-law William III, and reigned as queen of Great Britain and Ireland until 1714. See the Biogr. Reg. in this volume.

15 For Antonio Magliabechi (1633-1714) see the Biogr. Reg., Collected Letters, vol. 6, p. 391.

16 In the beginning, i.e. when the world came into being, at the Creation. The same is meant by L. in the sequel of the sentence, with at first.

17 Here Letter 256 of 12 March 1705, in this volume, is referred to.

18 L. sent a copy of his letter to Magliabechi as an enclosure with Letter 268 of 5 July 1707, in this volume.

19 L. was born on 24 October 1632, and so rather more than 74 years old when he wrote this letter.

20 L.'s next letter to Chamberlayne is Letter 280 of 10 September 1709, Collected Letters, vol. 16 (Philosophical Transactions 26 (1708-1709), no. 324 (November and December 1709), pp. 493-498.