生物学 1677

关于小动物的观察（致皇家学会的信）

安东尼·范·列文虎克

仅仅一滴水，原来挤满了肉眼看不见的活物。

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荷兰小城里的一名布商，透过一颗自制的玻璃珠去看一滴水——却发现里头挤满了成千上万、从没有人见过的、游动着的生物。

核心想法

安东尼·范·列文虎克发现，这世界满是远小到肉眼看不见的活物。他透过一颗微小却异常强大的透镜，看见一滴水里挤满了他称之为「小动物」的东西——蠕动、窜动、旋转。我们今天知道，那些正是细菌和别的微生物，而他是第一个亲眼望见它们的人。

更叫人吃惊的，是它们的数目。他靠估算它们的大小，推算出仅仅一滴泡过胡椒的水里，就有逾一百万个活的生物——还说他大可老实地把这个数写成八倍。原来，一整个活着的世界，一直就藏在众目睽睽之下，藏在每一洼水、每一滴雨里。

它是如何诞生的

列文虎克并非科班出身的科学家。他是一名布商——卖布的——也是代尔夫特的一名市政小吏，没上过大学，也不懂当时做学问所用的拉丁文。布商查验布料的优劣，要用放大镜，而列文虎克对把放大镜做得更好这件事入了迷，竟学会了磨制、熔铸出比谁都强得多的微小玻璃透镜。他从不出售这个秘密，也从不说明自己究竟是怎么做的。

好奇心带他从布料走向一切：池塘水、雨水、血液、唾液、泡在水里的胡椒。1676 年，他用荷兰文给伦敦的皇家学会写了一封长信，描述他看见的「小动物」。学会秘书亨利·奥尔登堡把信译成英文、删减后发表。那些说法听起来太离奇，几乎无人相信——直到罗伯特·胡克亲自磨出足够好的透镜证实了它们，学会这才终于接纳这位自学成才的荷兰人为院士。

它为何重要

这是人类第一次瞥见微生物的世界——微生物学的根基。两个世纪后，「这些看不见的生物会引起疾病」这一认识，将经由巴斯德与科赫的工作彻底改变医学。从理解感染、到疫苗，到发酵面包与啤酒，再到绘制住在我们体内的细菌——一切，都始于列文虎克所确立的那个朴素而惊人的事实：在我们视线之下的尺度上，生命正密密麻麻地涌动。

一个可以想象的画面

想象肉眼，就像从飞机上俯瞰一座城市：你看得见楼房和马路，却看不见任何一个人。一片好的透镜，就像一路降到街面——城市忽然挤满了从高空根本认不出的人。列文虎克的透镜，把他降到了一滴水的「街面」，显露出一群熙熙攘攘、一直就在那里、却小到从我们这高度无从察觉的居民。

它的位置

十一年前，罗伯特·胡克的《显微图谱》（1665）曾透过显微镜，把软木的「细胞」展示给世人，但胡克看到的是结构，而非活着的微生物。列文虎克看到的，是生命本身。从他那滴水出发，路径一路向前，通往巴斯德的细菌理论，通往弗莱明那杀死细菌的霉菌（也在本馆收藏之中），再通往今天对微生物的基因解读——而它们每一个，都是「一名布商望进一滴水、看见它动了起来」那一刻的后裔。

The original document

Original source text

初见小动物

Antony van Leewenhoeck · in a Dutch letter of the 9th Octob. 1676, here English'd · Phil. Trans. 12 (1677): 821–831

In the year 1675, about half-way through September (being desirous to know what might be in rain-water, which stood but few days in a new tub, that was painted blew within), I discovered living creatures in rain, which had stood but few days in a new tub.

When these animalcules or living atoms did move, they put forth two little horns, continually moving themselves. … The whole body was somewhat flat, provided with divers incredibly thin little feet, or little legs, which were moved very nimbly.

浸过胡椒的水

I did, in the beginning of the year 1676, put some whole pepper in water, conceiving that the pepper would, in the water, dissolve the small particles of itself … and that, after some weeks of standing, I should be able to discover whether anything were in it.

The 24th of April [1676] … I saw therein, with great wonder, an incredible number of very little animals of divers kinds; and among others, some that were no less than a thousand times smaller than the smallest ones I had ever yet seen.

[ … ]

The 31th of May, I perceived in the same water more of those animals, as also some that were somewhat bigger.

And I imagine, that ten hundred thousand of these little Creatures do not equal an ordinary grain of Sand in bigness.

一滴水中有几何

When I had viewed the great number of little animals, and reckoned with myself how great the number might be in a quantity of water no bigger than a grain of millet-seed, I came to this, that in one drop of pepper-water there were upwards of one million of living creatures.

And when, in my letter of the 9th of October 1676, I set down that there were upwards of 1,000,000 living creatures in one drop of pepper-water, I might with truth have put the number at eight times as many.

Translation note: the following sign-off line is from Clifford Dobell, “Antony van Leeuwenhoek and his Little Animals” (1932), rendering the same Dutch letter.

For me, no more pleasant sight has yet met my eye than this of so many thousands of living creatures in one small drop of water, all huddling and moving, but each creature having its own motion.

Antony van Leewenhoeck · Delft · in a Dutch letter of the 9th October 1676