I have oft-times been besought, by divers gentlemen, to set down on paper what I have beheld through my newly invented microscopia, but I have generally declined.
Interpretation
Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek expresses reluctance to share his discoveries made with the microscope despite being urged to do so.
In this quote, Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek reflects on the numerous requests he has received from various gentlemen to document and share the findings he has observed through his invention of the microscope. His general decline suggests a sense of modesty, caution, or perhaps a belief that true understanding comes from personal observation rather than mere documentation for others.
In practice
In a scientific seminar discussing the importance of empirical evidence.
People who look for the first time through a microscope say, 'Now I see this, and then I see that,' and even a skilled observer can be fooled. On these observations I have spent more time than many will believe, but I have done them with joy, and I have taken no notice of those who have said, 'Why take so much trouble,' and, 'What good is it?'
[M]y work, which I've done for a long time, was not pursued in order to gain the praise I now enjoy, but chiefly from a craving after knowledge, which I notice resides in me more than in most other men. And therewithal, whenever I found out anything remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, so that all ingenious people might be informed thereof.
I sometimes think that the universe is a machine designed for the perpetual astonishment of astronomers.
Certainly I see the scientific view of the world as incompatible with religion, but that is not what is interesting about it. It is also incompatible with magic, but that also is not worth stressing. What is interesting about the scientific world view is that it is true, inspiring, remarkable and that it unites a whole lot of phenomena under a single heading.
Nobody ever told us all matter radiated. We just assumed it did.
Our best theories are not only truer than common sense, they make more sense than common sense...
Science offers us an explanation of how complexity (the difficult) arose out of simplicity (the easy). The hypothesis of God offers no worthwhile explanation for anything, for it simply postulates what we are trying to explain. It postulates the difficult to explain, and leaves it at that.
If global warming is not contained, the West will face a choice of a refugee crisis of unimaginable proportions, or direct complicity in crimes against humanity.
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