EXTRAORDINARY NOTIONS (UFFENBACH) 67 
was certainly wonderful. . . . At this point Mr. Leeuwen- 
hoek remarked that he must show us that men also have 
scales. Accordingly, he took a pen-knife, and scratched 
his arm several times; then took a glass tube and with it 
scraped several times the place that he had scratched. 
He then let us look at this tube through his mzcroscopiwm, 
whereupon many little particles, like scales, were visible 
lying upon it. These the good man takes to be scales, 
which a human being is provided with in order that the 
extremities of the nerves may not be injured, as also to 
prevent his sensations being too strong ; for if the nerves 
were not so guarded, he would be unable to stand pain, or 
irritation, nor could he do any work. It is surely quite 
sufficient, however, that man is clothed with several skins, 
as is known from anatomy, and he has no need of scales 
like a fish: and what the good Mr. Leeuwenhoek takes for 
scales are really only the particles, or scurf, from the outer- 
most skin, which are commonly present, especially in per- 
sons of adry habit, and particularly on the head, and which 
are cast off from the cuticwla as it dries up and peels off 
under the influence of the external air, but chiefly through 
the internal heat of the body, though it always forms 
anew underneath. Mr. Leeuwenhoek showed us further 
the eye of a fly, which appeared very remarkable under 
the microscopium, and had the appearance of veritable 
hexagona lying alongside one another; which Mr. 
Leeuwenhoek considers actually are eyes, and consequently 
makes flies into something better than so many Arguses ; 
for he is of opinion that a fly, according to his view, has 
more than a hundred, nay, more than a thousand, eyes ; 
which is only one of this good man’s extraordinary notions, 
which seem wont to have more of ingenuity than founda- 
tion. Further, he showed us the wing of a fly, which also 
appeared very wonderful . . . The sting of a fly appeared 
also very singular .. . Finally, Mr. Leeuwenhoek showed 
us his cabinet, in which he had at least a dozen little 
lacquered boxes, and in these quite a hundred and fifty of 
the little cases before mentioned, in each of which there 
