42 GENERAL HISTORY OF 



wonderful than the contemplation of these atoms, these 

 limits of man's perception, endued with living faculties 

 and instincts, in all respects as perfect as those of any 

 other created being. 



The various methods of managing the microscope, and 

 the different apparatus subsidiary to it, have been so fully 

 expatiated upon by the late Dr. Goring, my much es- 

 teemed colleague, and myself, in our joint works, The 

 Microscopic Illustrations, Cabinet, Micrographia, ^c, that 

 it will only be necessary here to notice, briefly, a few par- 

 ticulars, which more especially relate to the subject before 

 us, and to refer the reader to those works for all further 

 information. As the expense of instruments, in the com- 

 mencement of our studies, is often an important consider- 

 ation, a few words on this head may not be considered 

 inappropriate, on this occasion. Dr. Ehrenberg informs 

 us, that he began his observations with a common micro- 

 scope, and, although by his superior talent and unwearied 

 labour, thus aided, he was enabled to make some important 

 discoveries, yet he delayed, for some years, the publication 

 of them, until he could verify them with better instruments. 



At the period when our first publication was announced 

 (1827) an interest in microscopic science had to be 

 created, to which I may add, that the achromatic micro- 

 scope was then in its infancy. Dr. Goring having only a 

 short time previous (1824) discovered the conditions on 

 which their efficacy depended, namely, large angular 

 aperture free from aberration. That publication aroused 

 the attention of scientific men to the subject, but instru- 

 ments, even such as those then made, were very difficult 

 to procure. To obviate this difficulty, Dr. Goring and 



