I would not be thought to recommend to the
ladies (for whose use I take your lucubrations
>> note 1 to
be chiefly intended) that severe and abstruse
part which would rob them of any portion
of their gaiety; — on the contrary,
I would not advise them to fill their heads
with the propositions of an Aldrovandus,
>> note 2 a
Malbranche,
>> note 3 or
a Newton, — the ideas of those great men are not suited to every capacity; — they
require a depth of learning, a strength of judgment, and a length of time
to be ranged and digested, so as to render them either pleasing or beneficial.
Not that I presume to deny, but that there
are some ladies every way qualified for the
most arduous labour of the brain; but then
I shall find little forgiveness from my own
sex to persuade those enliveners of society
to any thing which would deprive us of their
company for any long time.
No, no, I am not so great an enemy to myself: — what
I mean by the study of natural philosophy,
is only so much as nature herself teaches,
and every one's curiosity, if indulged,
would excite a desire to be instructed in.
Methinks, I would not have them, when the
uncommon beauty of any plant strikes the
eye, content themselves with admiring its
superficial perfections, but pass from thence
to the reflection with what wonderful fertility
it is endowed, and what numbers in another
season will be produced from its prolific
and self-generating seed: — even the
most common, which springs beneath their
feet as they are walking, has in it some
particular virtue, which it would not be
unbecoming them to be acquainted with * * *
But all those curiosities, which are discoverable
by the naked eye, are infinitely short of
those beyond it; nature has not given our
sight the power of discerning the wonders
of the minute creation; — art, therefore,
must supply that deficiency: — there
are microscopes, which will shew us such
magnificent apparel, and such delicate trimming
about the smallest insects, as would disgrace
the splendor of a birth-day: — several
of them are adorned with crowns upon their
heads, have their wings fringed with colours
of the most lively dye, and their coats embroidered
with purple and with gold. — Even the
common fly, black as it is, is not without
its beauties, whether you consider the structure
of its frame, the curious glazing of its
transparent wings, or the workmanship round
the edges of them: — but above all,
the eyes deserve attention: — they
are like two half moons encompassing the
head, both of which are full of an infinite
number of small eyes which at once penetrate
above, below, on each side, and behind, thereby
fully gratifying the curiosity of the creature,
if that term may be allowed to insects, and
enabling it to defend itself from any threatening
danger.
The glasses which afford us so much satisfaction
are as portable as a snuff-box, and I am
surprized the ladies do not make more use
of them in the little excursions they make
in the fields, meadows, and gardens.
There is indeed no part of this terrestrial
globe, but what affords an infinite variety
of living creatures, which, though not regarded,
or even not discernible, as to pass by, or,
perhaps, tread over them, would very much
enlarge our understanding, as well as give
a present agreeable amusement, if viewed
distinctly thro' one of those magnifiers * * *
The study of nature is the study of divinity. — None
versed in the one, I am confident, will act
contrary to the principles of the other;
and that all your fair readers would make
the experiment, is the wish of,
MADAM,
A sincere
admirer of your productions,
And
consequently your most devoted,
Faithful
humble servant,
Inner-temple, PHILO-NATURÆ
April 27, 1745