Bonnet was distinguished, on the contrary, by his extreme 

 straightforwardness and his intolerant relations with his 

 theoretical opponents. Bonnet became a supporter of 

 preformation mainly on the basis of his discovery of 

 parthenogenesis in aphids, i.e. the development of their 

 ova without fertilization, and many other observations, in 

 particular of reproduction of the colonial flagellate 

 Volvox. These data, especially about virginal reproduction 

 in aphids Aphis rosae, were taken by the supporters of the 

 theory of "enclosing" as grounds for the triumph of ovists 

 over animalculists. (18) 



Bonnet, more decidedly than Haller, defended the 

 hypothesis of "enclosing" and spoke about it as the greatest 

 triumph of reason over sensual perception. Bonnet objected 

 to epigenetic presentations, which judged the moment of 

 organ formation to be when these organs become visible. 

 Bonnet suggested that "inactivity, a state of quiescence, 

 or transparency of some of these parts can make them invisible 

 to us when, in fact, they do exist." 7 To the hypothesis of 

 "enclosing" Bonnet added one more arbitrary assumption, 

 calling for explanation of the phenomena of vegetative 

 reproduction and regeneration: he considered that in animal 

 bodies there are preformed organ rudiments for the restora- 

 tion of any disturbed unity of the organism. 



The idea of "enclosing" was strongly related by the 

 animalculists to spermatozoids, and was related by the ovists 

 to the ova. The fantasy of animalculists was repeatedly 

 ridiculed by the contemporaries, including ovists such 

 as Vallisneri. Greater material for mockery than these 

 fantasies, especially the idea of "enclosing" of countless 

 generations in each other, is reflected by one who was not 

 directly connected with science, but who soberly evaluated 

 the scientific theories of his time. Jonathan Swift's immortal 

 book, which has provided favorite reading for nearly three 

 hundred years of adults and children, satirizes the imagina- 

 tions of his contemporary microscopists, hinting at the 

 hypothesis of "enclosing" as: 



7. Ch(arles) Bonnet. CONSIDERATIONS SUR LES CORPS 

 ORGANISES (Amsterdam: Chez Marc-Michel Rey, 1762) , 

 part 1 , p . 87 . 



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