Robert Hooke wrote Letter L-099 to inquire whether Leeuwenhoek would accept election to the Royal Society
On 23 January 1679/80 Old Style 2 February 1680 New Style, Hooke wrote to Leeuwenhoek, discussing Leeuwenhoek’s recent letters and asking whether he would be interested in becoming a fellow of the Royal Society.
I doe much wonder that your name is not in the list of the Royall Society. especially since I find Mr. Oldenburgh Received the favour of soe many excellent communications from you. If I thought it would be gratefull to you I would propound you at the meeting as a candidate, If you please to let me know your thoughts of it by your next I shall regulate my self accordingly and give you a speedy account there of. there will be nothing of charge to you upon that account and I doubt not of effecting it if you desire it.
Leeuwenhoek referenced this letter in Letter L-100 of 13 February 1680:
I see from your kind letter of 23 January, O.S., that you read out my last missives in a meeting of the Royal Society, that they were welcome and that you agree with me as regards the very small particles of water, which I was glad to read.”
Hooke’s previous letter to L. is Letter L-094 of 27 October 1679, in this volume. Leeuwenhoek responded with three letters:
Letter L-096 of 20 November 1679 about the tophi of gouty patients, the influence salt crystals on the human body, and the beneficial effect of drinking tea.
Letter L-097 of 12 January 1680 about, among other things, the vessels in a variety of wood, the circulation of water in trees and the quantity of water that is absorbed by them, as well as the sperm of a variety of fish.
Letter L-098 of 16 January 1680, with contains a copy of Letter 47 L-085 of 20 May 1679 to Constantijn Huygens with a further discussion of living organisms in pepper- and ginger-water.
MS. Sloane 1039, f. 172, British Museum, London
I have received the favour of yor two last letters and having translated them into English. I have communicated them to the Royal Society at their publike meetings who were extreemly pleased wth the great curiosity of your delineations and descriptions and desired me to returne you their hearty thanks for your soe freely and fully communicating to them what dicoverys you make wth your microscope. They are much surprised wth that discovery which you have made of small animals in the Sap which runs from trees and would be glad to be further informed whetter you have met wth them in the juice of any other vegatables or the parts of them as in fruits, flowers, leaves, roots, etc.
Heyr had seen some observations made at their meeting of the small animalls in Semine Animalium, wherby the vast numbers of those little creatures were made very visible in the liquor taken from the testicule of a stone horse. But they have not as yet examined the melt of fishes. On other occasions have hitherto hindered me from making such tryalls, though I determine within a little time to make some observations of that kind of wch I will give you an account.
I readely concurr wth you in the opinion of the exceeding smallness of the parts of water and that it will be exceeding difficult to dissect them by the microscope, though yt me thinks there seems to be a possibility of discovering the coloured parts of liquors they are very visible in ink and several other opacous coloured liquors, when the colour is made by a kind of precipitation (as the chymists speak) when the coloured parts ot the liquor are as it were thrown out by the liquor into disticnt particles and limps wth yet float up and down in it being still much of the same gravity, but wither microscopes will help us to distinquish the parts of water I yet doubt.
I wonder you did not receive the letter I sent wth the collections. I delivered them to a merchant here who promised me to get them safe conveyed to you. I doe much wonder that your name is not in the list of the Royall Society, especially since I find Mr. Oldenburgh received the favours of soo many excellent communications from you. If I thoughts it could be gratefull to you I would propose you at the meeting as a candidate. If you please to let me know your thoughts of it by next I shall regulate myself accordingly and give you a speedy account there of. There will be nothing of charge to you upon that account and I doubt not of effecting it if you desire it.
I am indeavouring to get the delineations of your former letter graven in order to have them printed of wth I may give you shortly a further account.
In the meantime I remaine
Sr. yor humble Servant
R.Hooke
