% SEMINAL VERMICULI. 3I7 



' lllos nondiim eo ufque profecifTe, ut res rede 



* obfervare valeant.' I muft be pardoned if 

 I make the fame anfwer to thefe new oppo- 

 nents ; for we muft fay their ohfervations have 

 'been very unfortunate, their vifion very bad, 

 their microfcopes good for nothing, or their 

 inaccuracy and ine:K:perience very great in the 

 art of obfervation. It is true M. de Bomare af- 

 ferts that his eyes are very good, and his micro- 

 fcopes excellent, and does not hefitate to fay, 

 ' We h?.^ .; repeated all the experiments of ani- 

 ' malculifts on femen ; and although our eyes are 



* very good, and our microfcopes excellent, we 



* have been able to difcover nothing (i).' I was 

 almoft prompted to exclaim, May heaven pre- 

 ferve us from fuch good eyes and fuch excellent 

 microfcopes ; for, with them, we fliould be in 

 great hazard of regarding as illufions, the moft 

 beautiful microfcopical difcoveries which philofor 

 phers have hitherto made ; and we fliould have 

 to dread that we and our pofterity would be forc- 

 ed to relinquifli the profped of making new 

 ones ! With this acutenefs of vifion, and this 

 perfedion of microfcopes, we Ihould have to rer 

 vifit the ignorance of our anceftors in the world 

 of invifibles. But I would rather beheve M. de 



Bomare*s 



( I ) Bomare Diftionnaire. Art. Semence. T, 10. p. 4^0^ 

 Edit. d'Yverdon, 



