Micrographia (1665) turned the compound microscope into an instrument of scientific culture. Robert Hooke showed the European reading public detailed images of fleas, lice, cork fibers, and needle points with unprecedented detail. In describing the cavities of cork, he coined the term "cell," which would become fundamental to biology two centuries later. In the chain of optics, Micrographia represents the leap from artifact to program: not only can one see smaller, but looking small reveals an entirely new nature.