Micrographia: Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses with Observations and Inquiries ThereuponHooke, Robert
History
Micrographia: Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses with Observations and Inquiries Thereupon
Hooke, Robert
Magnifying glasses -- Early works to 1800; Microscopy -- Early works to 1800; Natural history -- Pre-Linnean works
It was more then half the bigness of an Earwig, of a dark brown, or reddish
colour, with long legs, on the hinder of which it would stand up, and raise
its head as high as it could above the ground, that it might stare the
further about it, just after the same manner as I have also observ’d a
hunting Spider to do: and putting my finger towards them, they have at
first all run towards it, till almost at it; and then they would stand
round about it, at a certain distance, and smell, as it were, and consider
whether they should any of them venture any further, till one more bold
then the rest venturing to climb it, all the rest, if I would have suffered
them, would have immediately followed: many such other seemingly rational
actions I have observ’d in this little Vermine with much pleasure, which
would be too long to be here related; those that desire more of them may
satisfie their curiosity in _Ligons_ History of the _Barbadoes_.
Having insnar’d several of these into a small Box, I made choice of the
tallest grown among them, and separating it from the rest, I gave it a Gill
of Brandy, or Spirit of Wine, which after a while e’en knock’d him down
dead drunk, so that he became moveless, though at first putting in he
struggled for a pretty while very much, till at last, certain bubbles
issuing out of its mouth, it ceased to move; this (because I had before
found them quickly to recover again, if they were taken out presently) I
suffered to lye above an hour in the Spirit; and after I had taken it out,
and put its body and legs into a natural posture, remained moveless about
an hour; but then, upon a sudden, as if it had been awaken out of a drunken
sleep, it suddenly reviv’d and ran away; being caught, and serv’d as
before, he for a while continued struggling and striving, till at last
there issued several bubbles out of its mouth, and then, _tanquam animam
expirasset_, he remained moveless for a good while; but at length again
recovering, it was again redipt, and suffered to lye some hours in the
Spirit; notwithstanding which, after it had layen dry some three or four
hours, it again recovered life and motion: Which kind of Experiments, if
prosecuted, which they highly deserve, seem to me of no inconsiderable use
towards the invention of the _Latent Scheme_, (as the Noble _Verulam_ calls
it) or the hidden, unknown Texture of Bodies.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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