Antonii a Leeuwenhoek ... Epistolae physiologicae super compluribus naturae arcanis

face to face, and to converse with you. Since, therefore, I must go without that honor, and I cannot exhibit my observations and inventions to Your Majesty in person, I take the liberty and license to dedicate and consecrate these mysteries of nature, which I have uncovered and committed to paper at over eighty years of age, to you, Most Invincible Emperor and Most Powerful King, with all the veneration I can. For, understanding that Your Majesty, though surrounded by an innumerable crowd of affairs, nevertheless favors the sciences most intensely and is very eager to know nature, I am moved by neither a slight nor an empty hope that this liberty of mine will not displease Your Majesty. Furthermore, I have trusted that what is contained in these letters will bring not a little pleasure, both to