great a perfection, such a Mechanical Hand, and so Philosophical a Mind.
But at last, being assured both by Dr. Wilkins, and Dr. Wren himself, that he had given over his intentions of prosecuting it, and not finding that there was any else design’d the pursuing of it, I set upon this undertaking, and was not a little incourag'd to proceed in it, by the Honour the Royal Society was pleas’d to favour me with, in approving of those draughts (which from time to time as I had an opportunity of deferring) I presented to them. And particularly by the Incitements of divers of those Noble and excellent Persons of it, which were my more especial Friends, who were not less urgent with me for the publishing, then for the prosecution of them.
After I had almost compleated these Pictures and Observations (having had divers of them ingraven, and was ready to send them to the Press) I was inform’d, that the Ingenious Physitian Dr. Henry Power had made several Microscopical Observations, which had l not afterwards, upon our interchangably viewing each others Papers, found that they were for the most part differing from mine, either in the Subject itself, or in the particulars taken notice of; and that his design was only to print Observations without Pictures, I had even then suppressed what I had so far proceeded in. But being further excited by several of my Friends, in complyance with their opinions, that it would not be unacceptable to several inquisitive Men, and hoping also, that I should thereby discover something New to the World, I have at length cast in my Mite, into the vast Treasury of A Philosophical History. And it is my hope, as well as belief, that these my Labours will be no more comparable to the Productions of many other Natural Philosophers, who are now every where busie about greater things; then my little Objects are to be compar'd to the greater and more beautiful Works of Nature, A Flea, a Mite, a Gnat, to an Horse, an Elephant, or a Lyon.
