John Chamberlayne wrote to Hans Sloane about difficulties translating Leeuwenhoek's letters, full of "frequent tautologies, incoherent expressions, ungrammatical & unsyntaxical sentences without number"
This letter was dated 29 October 1700 O.S. by Chamberlayne in London. He was trying to translate Leeuwenhoek's Letter L-377 218 [132] of 7 September 1700 to Hans Sloane about the larvae of cheese flies.
Chamberlayne to Sloane, Sloane Manuscripts 4038 p. 86
I found it one of the most intricate letters that I ever read in my life, and that, not so much upon ye Account of several words, whereof for want of Dictionary, I knew not the signification, as of the frequent tautologies, incoherent expressions, ungrammatical & unsyntaxical sentences without number; many of which I took the liberty to correct, and some I have expressly inserted for your information, and now I am finding fault with him, I will add one more accusation more, which is, that if all the expressions in that letter which are extreamly trivial and of no consequence were omitted, the letter would want almost half its length but not one jot of its meaning.