Passing over four centuries, we come to an even more interesting description of the operation from the pen of Bartisch of Dresden: “The day being decided upon, on which the operation is to be performed, the doctor who is obliged to, or who wishes to do it, must abstain from wine for two days beforehand. The patient must also fast the same day, and must neither eat much nor little till an hour after the operation. Given the aforesaid conditions, try and procure a well-lighted room, in which the patient may have everything necessary for going to bed and remaining there, as he ought not to be taken to any place far off; the nearer to bed the better. Set thyself on a bench in the light and turn thy back to the window. The patient may be seated on a chair, a stool, or on a box, before thee and near to thee; in any case he is to be seated lower than thyself. His legs between thine and his hands on thy thighs. A servant stands behind to hold the patient’s head. The servant should bend a little, so that the patient may rest his head against him (Fig. 1). When the patient is blind of one eye only, the other eye should be bandaged with a cloth and a pad so that he cannot see. Then take the instrument or the needle in one hand, so that the right hand will be for the left eye, and _vice versa_. With the other hand separate with great care the upper lid from the lower, using the thumb and the first finger, so that thou canst see how to direct the needle into the eye. When thou wishest to introduce the needle, the eye must be turned towards the light and looking straight at thee; also, I should make the patient turn his eye a little towards his nose, so that thou canst use the instrument better and that thou wilt not injure the small veins of the eye, but respect them. Direct the needle straight and with attention over the membrane called the conjunctiva, straight towards the pupil and uvea, at the distance of two blades of a knife from the membrane called cornea or from the grey that is in the eye. Hold the needle quite straight, hold it steady so that it will not deviate or slip. Hold the needle and press it, and turn it with the fingers in the eye with great gentleness, according to the instructions you may gather from the figure, which shows an eye in which the cataract has been taken away, while the other eye has not been touched (Fig. 2). Hold the needle firmly while turning it round, and be careful always to have the point towards the middle of the eye, that it almost touches the pupil and the uvea; and not to oscillate by any chance towards one side. When thou feelest that the needle has penetrated into the eye, that it almost touches the pupil and the uvea, and when thou hast proved to be really in the eye, hold the needle securely and move it, letting it slip backwards and forwards towards the pupil till thou art certain of being in the substance of the cataract, which thou canst easily be sure of by the movement of the cataract material.