BOYLE (Robert)

, one of the grea est philosophers, as well as best men, that any country has ever produced, was the 7th son and the 14th child of Richard earl of Cork, and was born at Lismore in the province of Munster in Ireland, the 25th of January, 1626-7; the very year of the death of the learned Lord Bacon, whose plans of experimental philosophy our author afterwards so ably seconded. While very young, he was instructed in his father's house to read and write, and to speak French and Latin. In 1635, when only 8 years old, he was sent over to England, to be educated at Eton school. Here he soon discovered an extraordinary force of understanding, with a disposition to cultivate and improve it to the utmost.

After remaining at Eton between 3 and 4 years, his father sent our author and his brother Francis, in 1638, on their travels upon the continent. They passed through France to Geneva, where they settled for some time to pursue their studies: here our author resumed his acquaintance with the elements of the mathematics, which he had commenced at Eton when 10 years old, on occasion of an illness which prevented his other usual studies.

In the autumn of 1641, he quitted Geneva, and travelled through Switzerland and Italy to Venice, from whence he returned again to Florence, where he spent the winter, studying the Italian language and history, and the works of the celebrated astronomer Galileo, who died in a village near this city during Mr. Boyle's residence here.

About the end of March 1642, he set out from Florence, visited Rome and other places in Italy, then returned to the south of France. At Marseilles, in May 1642, Mr. Boyle received letters from his father, which informed him that the rebellion had broken out in Ireland, and with how much difficulty he had procured 250l. then remitted to help him and his brother home. This remittance however never reached them, and they were obliged to return to Geneva with their governor Mr. Marcombes, who contrived on his own credit, and by selling some jewels, to raise money enough to send them to England, where they arrived in 1644. On their arrival they found that their father was dead, and had left our author the manor of Stalbridge in England, with some other considerable estates in Ireland. |

From this time Mr. Boyle's chief residence, for some years at least, was at his manor of Stalbridge, from whence he made occasional excursions to Oxford, London, &c; applying himself with great industry to various kinds of studies, but especially to philosophy and chemistry; and seizing every opportunity of cultivating the acquaintance of the most learned men of his time. He was one of the members of that small but learned body of men who, when all academical studies were interrupted by the civil wars, secreted themselves about the year 1645; and held private meetings, first in London, afterwards at Oxford, to cultivate subjects of natural knowledge upon that plan of experiment which Lord Bacon had delineated. They styled themselves then The Philosophic College; but after the restoration, when they were incorporated, and distinguished openly, they took the name of the Royal Society.

In the summer of 1654 he retired to settle at Oxford, the Philosophical Society being removed from London to that place, that he might enjoy the conversation of the other learned members, his friends, who had retired thither, such as Wilkins, Wallis, Ward, Willis, Wren, &c. It was during his residence here that he improved that admirable engine the airpump; and by numerous experiments was enabled to discover several qualities of the air, so as to lay a foundation for a complete theory. He declared against the philosophy of Aristotle, as having in it more of words than things; promising much, and performing little; and giving the inventions of men for indubitable proofs, instead of building upon observation and experiment. He was so zealous for this true method of learning by experiment, and so careful about it, that though the Cartesian philosophy then made a great noise in the world, yet he could never be persuaded to read the works of Descartes, for fear he should be amused and led away by plausible accounts of things founded on conjecture, and merely hypothetical. But philosophy, and enquiries into nature, though they engaged his attention deeply, did not occupy him entirely; as he still continued to pursue critical and theological studies. He had offers of preferment to enter into holy orders, by the government, after the restoration. But he declined the offer, choosing rather to pursue his studies as a layman, in such a manner as might be most effectual for the support of religion; and began to communicate to the world the fruits of these studies. These fruits were very numerous and important, as well as various: the principal of which, as well as of some other memorable occurrences of his life, were nearly in the following order.

In 1660 came out, 1. New experiments, physicomechanical, touching the spring of the air and its effects.—2. Seraphic love; or some motives and incentives to the love of God, pathetically discoursed of in a letter to a friend. A work which it has been said was owing to his courtship of a lady, the daughter of Cary earl of Monmouth; though our author was never married.—3. Certain physiological essays and other tracts, in 1661.—4. Sceptical chemist, 1662; reprinted about the year 1679, with the addition of divers experiments and notes on the producibleness of chemical principles.

In the year 1663, the Royal Society being incorporated by king Charles the 2d, Mr. Boyle was named one of the council; and as he might justly be reckoned among the founders of that learned body, so he continued one of the most useful and industrious of its members during the whole course of his life. His next publications were, 5. Considerations touching the usefulness of experimental natural philosophy, 1663.— 6. Experiments and considerations upon colours; to which was added a letter, containing Observations on a diamond that shines in the dark, 1663. This treatise is full of curious and useful remarks on the hitherto unexplained doctrine of light and colours; in which he shews great judgment, accuracy, and penetration; and which may be said to have led the way to Newton, who made such great discoveries in that branch of physics.— 7. Considerations on the style of the holy scriptures, 1663. This was an extract from a larger work, intitled An essay on scripture; which was afterwards published by Sir Peter Pett, a friend of Mr. Boyle's.

In 1664 he was elected into the company of the royal mines; and was all this year occupied in prosecuting various good designs, which was probably the reason that he did not publish any works in this year. Soon after came out, 8. Occasional reflections upon several subjects, 1665. This piece exposed our author to the censure of the celebrated Dean Swift, who, to ridicule these discourses, wrote A pious meditation upon a broomstick, in the style of the honourable Mr. Boyle.— 9. New experiments and observations upon cold, 1665. —10. Hydrostatical paradoxes made out by new experiments, for the most part physical and easy, 1666.— 11. The origin of forms and qualities, according to the corpuscular philosophy, 1666.—Both in this and the former year, our author communicated to his friend Mr. Oldenburgh, then secretary to the Royal Society, several curious and excellent short pieces of his own, upon a great variety of subjects, and others transmitted to him by his learned friends, which are printed in the Philos. Trans.

In the year 1668 Mr. Boyle resolved to settle in London for life; and for that purpose he removed to the house of his sister, the lady Ranelagh, in Pall-Mall. This removal was to the great benefit of the learned in general, and particularly of the Royal Society, to whom he gave great and continual assistance, as abundantly appears by the several pieces communicated to them from time to time, and printed in their Transactions. To avoid improper waste of time, he had set hours in the day appointed for receiving such persons as wanted to consult him, either for their own assistance, or to communicate new discoveries to him: And he besides kept up an extensive correspondence with the most learned men in Europe; so that it is wonderful how he could bring out so many new works as he did. His next publications were, 12. A continuation of new experiments touching the weight and spring of the air; to which is added, A discourse of the atmosphere of consistent bodies, 1669.—13. Tracts about the cosmical qualities of things; cosmical suspicions; the temperature of the subterraneous regions; the bottom of the sea; to which is prefixed an introduction to the history of particular qualities, 1669.—14. Considerations on the usefulness of experimental and natural phi- | losophy, the 2d part, 1671.—15. A collection of tracts upon several useful and important points of practical philosophy, 1671.—16. An essay upon the origin and virtues of gems, 1672.—17. A collection of tracts upon the relation between flame and air; and several other useful and curious subjects, 1672. Besides furnishing, in this and the former year, a number of short dissertations upon a great variety of topics, addressed to the Royal Society, and inserted in their Transactions.— 18. Essays on the strange subtilty, great efficacy, and determinate nature, of effluvia; with a variety of experiments on other subjects, 1673.—19. The excellency of theology compared with philosophy, 1673. This discourse was written in the year 1665, while our author, to avoid the great plague which then raged in London, was forced to go from place to place in the country, having little or no opportunity of consulting his books.—20. A collection of tracts upon the saltness of the sea, the moisture of the air, the natural and preternatural state of bodies; to which is prefixed a dialogue concerning cold, 1674.—21. A collection of tracts containing suspicions about hidden qualities of the air; with an appendix touching celestial magnets; animadversions upon Mr. Hobbes's problem about a vacuum; a discourse of the cause of attraction and suction, 1674. —22. Some considerations about the reasonableness of reason and religion; by T. E. (the final letters of his names). To which is annexed a discourse about the possibility of the resurrection; by Mr. Boyle, 1675. The same year several papers communicated to the Royal Society, among which were two upon quicksilver growing hot with gold.—23. Experiments and notes about the mechanical origin or production of particular qualities, in several discourses on a great variety of subjects, and among the rest on electricity, 1676.—He then communicated to Mr. Hook a short memorial of some observations made upon an artisicial substance that shines without any preceding illustration; published by Hook in his Lectiones Cutlerianæ.—24. Historical account of a degradation of gold made by an anti-elixir.—25. Aerial noctiluca; or some new phænomena, and a process of a factitious self-shining substance, 1680. This year the Royal Society, as a proof of the just sense of his great worth, and of the constant and particular services which through a course of many years he had done them, made choice of him for their president; but he being extremely, and, as he says, peculiarly tender in point of oaths, declined that honour.—26. Discourse of things above reason; inquiring, whether a philosopher should admit any such, 1681.—27. New experiments and observations upon the icy noctiluca; to which is added a chemical paradox, grounded upon new experiments, making it probable that chemical principles are transmutable, so that out of one of them others may be produced, 1682.—28. A continuation of new experiments, physico-mechanical, touching the spring and weight of the air, and their effects, 1682.—29. A short letter to Dr. Beale, in relation to the making of fresh water out of salt, 1683.—30. Memoris for the natural history of human blood, especially the spirit of that liquor, 1684.— 31. Experiments and considerations about the porosity of bodies, 1684.—32. Short memoris for the natural experimental history of mineral waters, &c, 1685.— 33. An essay on the great effects of even languid and unheeded motion, &c, 1685.—34. Of the reconcileableness of specific medicines to the corpuscular philosophy, &c, 1685.—35. Of the high veneration man's intellect owes to God, peculiarly for his wisdom and power, 1685. —36. Free inquiry into the vulgarly received notion of nature, 1686.—37. The martyrdom of Theodora and Didymia, 1687. A work he had drawn up in his youth.—38. A disquisition about the final causes of natural things, and about vitiated light, 1688.

Mr. Boyle's health declining very much, he abridged greatly his time given to conversations and communications with other persons, to have more time to prepare for the press some others of his papers, before his death, which were as follow:—39. Medicina Hydrostatica, &c, 1690.—40. The Christian virtuoso, &c, 1690. 41. Experimenta et Observationes Physicæ, &c, 1691; which is the last work that he published.

Mr. Boyle died on the last day of December of the same year 1691, in the 65th year of his age, and was buried in St. Martin's church in the Fields, Westminster; his funeral sermon being preached by Dr. Gilbert Burnet bishop of Salisbury; in which he displayed the excellent qualities of our author, with many circumstances of his life, &c. But as the limits of this work will not allow us to follow the bishop in the copious and eloquent account he has given of this great man's abilities, we must content ourselves with adding the following short eulogium by the celebrated physician, philosopher, and chemist, Dr. Boerhaave; who, after having declared lord Bacon to be the father of experimental philosophy, asserts, that “Mr. Boyle, the ornament of his age and country, succeeded to the genius and inquiries of the great chancellor Verulam. Which, says he, of Mr. Boyle's writings shall I recommend? All of them. To him we owe the secrets of fire, air, water, animals, vegetables, fossils: so that from his works may be deduced the whole system of natural knowledge.”

Mr. Boyle left also several papers behind him, which have been published since his death. Beautiful editions of all his works have been printed at London, in 5 volumes folio, and 6 volumes 4to. Dr. Shaw also published in 3 volumes 4to, the same works “abridged, methodized, and disposed under the general heads of Physics, Statics, Pneumatics, Natural History, Chymistry, and Medicine;” to which he has prefixed a short catalogue of the philosophical writings, according to the order of time when they were first published, &c, as follows: