its most useful and industrious members, during the whole courfe of his life. In the month of June 1663, he published his Confiderations on the Usefulness of Experimental Natural Philofophy, which confifted of feveral effays on ufeful and curious fubjects, in which they are handled with great freedom, from a juft zeal for truth, and for the common benefit of mankind, the points which he had always in view when he took his pen in hand. Thefe pieces, thus published, were, as himself tells us, written on feveral occasions, to several perfons,and at different times; but as, notwithftanding this, they hada mutual relation to each other, which made them fall very aptly under one common title, he took this method of fending them abroad, that the world in general mght receive that fatisfaction, which particular friends had teftified on the perufal of them in writing. Thefe were followed by Experiments and Confiderations upon Colours, to which was added, a letter, containing Obfervations upon a diamond that shines in the dark, a treatise full of curious and useful remarks, on the hitherto unexplained doctrine of light and colours; in which he fhews great judgment, accuracy, and penetration, and may be faid to have led the way to that mighty genius, who has fince fet that important point in the clearest and most convincing light poffible.

He likewife published this year his Confiderations on the Style of the Holy Scriptures,

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which was extracted from a much larger work, intitled, An Effay on Scripture, that was afterwards published by P. P. A. G. F. I. that is, Peter Pett, Attorney-General for Ireland, afterwards Sir Peter Pett, a man of great read. ing, a voluminous writer, but of an unfettled judgment, for whom, on account of his wellmeaning and upright intention, Mr. Boyle had a great regard.

In 1664 Mr. Boyle was elected into the company of Royal Mines, and was all this year taken up in the profecution of various good defigns, and more especially in promoting the affairs of the corporation for propagat ing the gospel in New England, which, in all probability, was the reafon that he did not fend abroad this year any treatifes, either of religion or philofophy.

In 1665 came abroad his Occafional Reflections upon feveral Subjects, to which is prefixed, A Difcourfe concerning the Nature and Ufe of fuch Kind of Writings. This piece, tho' now published, had been written many years before, when the author was a young man, at times, and under circumftances, when few would have written any thing, and none could have written better. The attack made upon it, therefore, by a ludicrous writer, may be truly affirmed to be as cruel and unjuft, as it is trivial and indecent. A fhort time after he published Experiments and Obfervations relative to an Experimental Hiftory of Cold, with feveral pieces thereunte

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annexed. This work of his, as it was juftly admired then, fo it has been always in great efteem fince, and may be truly said to have been the first work published, that gave inquifitive men any real light into the subjects which are therein examined.

His majefty king Charles II. had now an opportunity of fhewing his own great judgment in men, from his esteem and affection towards Mr. Boyle, for Dr. John Meredith, Provost of Eaton, dying in August 1665, the king, unafked and unfollicited, appointed Mr. Boyle for his fucceffor. This was certainly, all circumftances confidered, the fittest employment for him in the kingdom; yet, after mature deliberation, tho' contrary to the advice of his friends, he abfolutely declined it, because he thought the duties of the em ployment might interfere with his ftudies; he was unwilling to quit that courfe of life, which, by experience, he found fo fuitable to his temper and conftitution; and, above all, he was unwilling to enter into holy orders, which he was perfuaded was neceffary to qualify himself for it.

In this year, and in the next, he was pretty much exercised in looking into an affair that made a very great noife in the world, and the decision of which, from the high reputa tion he had gained, was in a manner univer fally expected from Mr. Boyle. The cafe was this, one Mr. Valentine Greatraks, an Irish gentleman, perfuaded himself that he had a

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peculiar gift of curing diseases by ftroking, in which, tho' he certainly fucceeded often, yet he fometimes failed, and this occafioned a great controversy, in which most of the parties concerned addreffed themselves to Mr. Boyle, who conducted himself with fuch wifdom and prudence, as to get out of this affair without any lofs of credit, which, all things confidered, cannot but be esteemed a very high proof of his wisdom.

In 1666 Dr. John Wallis addressed to Mr. Boyle An Hypothefis about the Flux and Reflux of the Sea. The famous phyfician," Dr. Thomas Sydenham, dedicated to him, in the fame year, his Method of curing Fevers, grounded upon his own Obfervations, a little piece, written in Latin, and truly worthy of fo great a man. Himself likewife publifhed that year, his Hydrostatical Paradoxes, made out by new Experiments, for the most part phyfical and easy, which he fent abroad at the request of the Royal Society, thofe experiments having been made at their defire about two years before. He also published that year another celebrated treatife of his, intitled, The Origin of Forms and Qualities, according to the Corpufcular Philofophy, illuftrated by Experiments; a treatife which did equal bonour to the quicknefs of his wit, the depth of his judgment, and his indefatigable pains in fearching after truth.

We must likewife obferve, that both in this, and in the former year, he communi

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cated to his friend, Mr. Oldenburgh, feveral curious and excellent fhort treatises of his, upon a great variety of fubjects, and others. tranfmitted to him by his learned friends both at home and abroad, which are printed and preferved in the Philofophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

It is very obfervable, that in the warm controverfy raised in relation to that fociety, Mr. Boyle efcaped all cenfure, which is more extraordinary, confidering that Mr. Stubbe, who was the great antagonist of the learned hiftorian of that fociety, was one who fet no bounds to his rage, and feemed to make it a point, to raise his refentment in proportion, as there wanted grounds for it. Yet even this choleric and furious writer had fo high an esteem for Mr. Boyle, that at the very time he fell upon the fociety in a manner fo excufable, he failed not to write frequently to our author, in order to convince him, that how angry foever he might be with that body of men, yet he preferved a juft refpect for his great learning and abilities, and a true fenfe of the many favours he had conferred upon him.

About this time our author refolved to settle himself for life in London, and removed for that purpose to the houfe of his fifter, the lady Ranelagh, in Pall Mall, to the infinite benefit of the learned in general, and particularly to the advantage of the Royal Society, to whom he gave great and continual affistance.