patiently expected, were afterwards loft in the hurry of removing his effects at the time of the great fire.

In 1662, a grant of the forfeited impropriations in the kingdom of Ireland, was obtained from the king in Mr. Boyle's name, tho' without his knowledge, which did not hinder his interefting himself very warmly, for procuring the application of thefe impropriations, to the promoting true religion and learning. He interpofed likewife in favour of the corporation for propagating the gospel in New England, and was very inftrumental in obtaining a decree in the court of Chancery, for reftoring to that corporation an estate, which had been injuriously repoffeffed by one colonel Bedingfield, a papift, who had fold it to them for a valuable confideration. His activity in matters of this nature was fo much the more honourable, as he was naturally inclined to, and, generally fpeaking, followed that inclination in leading a private and retired life. But whenever the cause of virtue, learning, or religion required it, his intereft and endeavours were never wanting, and, by the peculiar bleffing of providence, were feldom employed but with fuccefs.

In 1663 the Royal Society being incorporated by king Charles II. by letters patent dated the twenty-fecond of April, Mr. Boyle was appointed one of the council, and as he might be juftly reckoned among the founders of that learned body, fo he continued one of

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its most useful and industrious members, dur ing 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 several occafions, to several perfons,and at different times; but as, notwithstanding 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 ticular friends had teftified on the perufal of parthem in writing. These 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 shews 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 publifhed this year his Confiderations on the Style of the Holy Scriptures, F2 which

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 reading, 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 treatises, either of religion or philofophy.

In 1665 came abroad his Occafional ReAlections 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 unjust, as it is trivial and indecent. A fhort time after he publifhed Experiments and Obfervations relative to an Experimental Hiftory of Cold, with feveral pieces there unte

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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 faid to have been the first work published, that gave inquifitive men any real light into the fubjects which are therein examined.

His majefty king Charles II. had now an opportunity of fhewing his own great judg ment 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 course 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 decifion 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 E 3

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peculiar gift of curing difeafes by ftroking, in which, tho' he certainly fucceeded often, yet he fometimes failed, and this occafioned a great controversy, in which moft of the parties concerned addreffed themselves to Mr. Boyle, who conducted himself with such wifdom and prudence, as to get out of this af fair 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 addreffed 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 Hydroftatical Paradoxes, made out by new Experiments, for the most part phyfical and eafy, 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, illustrated by Experiments; a treatife which did equal honour to the quickness 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

cated