72 BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 
the microscope. His microscopes were of various sizes and 
curvatures, his microscopical glasses being of various diam- 
eters and focuses, and, from the least to the greatest, the best 
that could be procured, in regard to the exactness of the work- 
manship and the transparency of the substance. 
“But the constructing of very fine scissors, and giving 
them an extreme sharpness, seems to have been his chief 
secret. These he made use of to cut very minute objects, 
because they dissected them equably, whereas knives and 
lancets, let them be ever so fine and sharp, are apt to disorder 
delicate substances. His knives, lancets, and styles were so 
fine that he could not see to sharpen them without the assist- 
ance of the microscope; but with them he could dissect the 
intestines of bees with the same accuracy and distinctness 
that others do those of large animals. 
“He was particularly dexterous in the management of 
small tubes of glass no thicker than a bristle, drawn to a very 
fine point at one end, but thicker at the other.” 
These were used for inflating hollow structures, and also 
for making fine injections. He dissolved the fat of insects 
in turpentine and carried on dissections under water. 
An unbiased examination of his work will show that it is 
of a higher quality than Malpighi’s in regard to critical 
observation and richness of detail. He also worked with 
minuter objects and displayed a greater skill. 
The Religious Devotee.—The last part of his life was 
dimmed by fanaticism. He read the works of Antoinette 
Bourignon and fell under her influence; he began to subdue 
his warm and stubborn temper, and to give himself up to 
religious contemplation. She taught him to regard scientific 
research as worldly, and, following her advice, he gave up his 
passionate fondness for studying the works of the Creator, 
to devote himself to the love and adoration of that same 
Being. Always extreme and intense in everything he under- 
