t. ANIMALCULA OF INFUSIONS. II9 



* my duty to preftnt him a long treatife with this 



* motto, Si par-va licet componere magnis^ — in 

 ' which I demonftrated, from analogy, the fallacy 

 ' of the opinion advanced ; and then pointed out, 

 ' that it was not the confequence of experiment, 



* Befides, I employed moft of my leifure hourSp 



* for two years, in experiments on what feemed 

 ' fo interefling a fubjeft ; and fucceeded in dif- 



* covering, i. How infufions diffolved the fixed 

 ' falts of the fubftances, carrying them to the 



* edge and diffipating the volatile part, as is evi- 

 ' dent by the tafte and fmeil, and leaving a gela- 

 ' tinous matter well adapted to colled and feed 

 ' animalcula ; i. That animalcula have a proper 



* internal and fpontaneous motion, in addition to 

 ' the charafteriflics of avoiding obftacles, chang- 



* ing their direftion, and pafTmg above them ; alfoj, 



* the two following, thus defcribed in my Treatife, 

 ' Luccm refiigiunt, paulo in-vidiorem^ putrein inch- 

 ' teriam appetunt^ <iuafi iit 'vefcaiihir. A fmgular 

 ^ fad:, relative to the multiplication of animal- 



* cula, cannot have efcaped your penetration. I 



* have often remarked, that at full fize they 



* feemed in copulation. Tvv^o animalcula are fre- 

 ' quently feen at the circumference of a drop of 



* putrid matter, one fupported by a particle or 



* joined to it, or, to fpeak more certainly and 



* adhering to appearances, in contad: with it, and 

 ' continually vibrating or ofcillating in the direc- 



H 4 ' tion 



