Wrote Letter L-452 of 1707-05-17 to John Chamberlayne to complain that his four most recent letters to the Society had not been answered; about a bezoar stone and the visit of Corner; offered to send a copy of Letter L-436 to Magliabechi

Date: 
May 17, 1707
Standard reference information
L-number: 
L-452
Leeuwenhoek's number: 
172a
Collected Letters number: 
267
Collected Letters volume: 
15

Text of the letter in English translation only from Alle de Brieven. The Collected Letters at the DBNL - De Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren


The manuscript is lost. All that remains is the translation made by John Chamberlayne, Royal Society, MS 2058, Early Letters L.4.7; 4 quartos.

Leeuwenhoek wrote this letter to complain that his four most recent letters to the Royal Society had not been answered; about a bezoar stone; visit of Corner; offered to end copies of letters written by Leeuwenhoek to other people. Following up on that offer, Leeuwenhoek sent a copy of Letter L-436 of 12 March 1705 to Magliabechi as an enclosure with Letter L-454 of 5 July 1707 to the Royal Society.

Bezoar stone is found in the stomach and intestines of animals, usually ruminants.

The letter was read in the meeting of the Royal Society of 7 May 1707 O.S. (Royal Society, Journal Book Original, vol. 11, p. 116). It was noted that

The Society ordered Mr Hunt to send Mr Lewenhoeck the Transactions from No 300 to this present time.

Leeuwenhoek confirmed the receipt of those numbers in Letter L-455 of 12 July 1707.

He ended the present letter with a response to Chamberlayne's query about his health in Letter L-450

As to my health, thanks be to God, as long as I sit still I am without any pain, but if I do but walk a little I have pains in my leggs, but that is, I think caused by former colds and because they have carried my body so long.