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...with what great pleasure I filled him, when I showed him the Microscope, a very recent invention at that time and never before seen in any part of the world. It was prepared with such skill and such care that it clearly demonstrated the actual circulation of the blood The discovery that blood circulates through the body was still a relatively new and exciting concept in the 17th century, famously pioneered by William Harvey. (which others had believed to be impossible) within a living animal. I myself was present in London at the workshop of a truly great craftsman (whose name was Maling), and I did not regret looking quite deeply into the processing of that glass,

DEDICATION

which he arranged so carefully and skillfully with three small lenses perspicillis: small lenses or magnifying glasses adapted to the focus of the eyes. Once he had finally completed two Microscopes of rarest utility, he offered one to the Most Illustrious Royal Society The Royal Society of London, the UK's national academy of sciences, was a hub for experimental philosophy during this period. and granted the other to me through a financial arrangement, as a gesture of friendship. From this it can be understood that this most noble invention was not of the common sort, such as the Dutch original: Batavi produced some time ago—who otherwise labored with an industry not to be looked down upon—but it even rivaled those of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) was a Dutch scientist famous for his pioneering work in microscopy and his discovery of "animalcules" or microbes. himself, who leads the field...