72 BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 



the microscope. His microscopes were of various sizes and 

 curvatures, his microscopical glasses being of various diam- 

 eters and focuses, and, from the least to the greatest, the best 

 that could be procured, in regard to the exactness of the work- 

 manship and the transparency of the substance. 



"But the constructing of very fine scissors, and giving 

 them an extreme sharpness, seems to have been his chief 

 secret. These he made use of to cut very minute objects, 

 because they dissected them equably, whereas knives and 

 lancets, let them be ever so fine and sharp, are apt to disorder 

 delicate substances. His knives, lancets, and styles were so 

 fine that he could not see to sharpen them without the assist- 

 ance of the microscope; but with them he could dissect the 

 intestines of bees with the same accuracy and distinctness 

 that others do those of large animals. 



"He was particularly dexterous in the management of 

 small tubes of glass no thicker than a bristle, drawn to a very 

 fine point at one end, but thicker at the other." 



These were used for inflating hollow structures, and also 

 for making fine injections. He dissolved the fat of insects 

 in turpentine and carried on dissections under water. 



An unbiased examination of his work will show that it is 

 of a higher quality than Malpighi's in regard to critical 

 observation and richness of detail. He also worked with 

 minuter objects and displayed a greater skill. 



The Religious Devotee.- -The last part of his life was 

 dimmed bv fanaticism. He read the works of Antoinette 



J 



Bourignon and fell under her influence; he began to subdue 

 his warm and stubborn temper, and to give himself up to 

 religious contemplation. She taught him to regard scientific 

 research as worldly, and, following her advice, he gave up his 

 passionate fondness for studying the works of the Creator, 

 to devote himself to the love and adoration of that same 

 Being. Always extreme and intense in everything he under- 



