The fimplicity of his diet was, in all appearance, that which preferved him fo long beyond all men's expectation. This he practifed fo ftrictly, that, in a courfe of above thirty years, he neither eat or drank to gratify the varieties of appetite, but merely to fupport nature; and was fo regular in it, that he never once tranfgreffed the rule, measure, and kind, which were prefcribed him.

In his first addreffes, when he was to speak or anfwer, he sometimes hefitated a little rather than ftammered, or repeated the fame word; and this, as it rendered him flow and deliberate, fo, after the firft effort, he proceeded without the leaft interruption in his difcourfe.

He was never married; but Mr. Evelyn was affured, that he courted the beautiful and ingenious daughter of Cary, earl of Mon+ mouth; and that to this paffion was owing his Seraphic Love: but it does not appear, from any of his writings, that he had ever entertained thoughts of this kind. To say the truth, he seems to have been perfuaded that he was born for nobler purpofes than the ordinary lot of men; or, at leaft, if he was not fo perfuaded, his actions were fuch as may fo perfuade us..

We have, by the help of thofe industrious and worthy perfons who had provided the materials, followed him from his infancy to the grave, with that degree of wonder, reverence, and refpect, which his knowledge, virtue,

and

and piety, demand. The learned prelate who preached his funeral fermon, and one who feldom wanted words when he meant to defcribe any character, owns himself at a lofs in the performance of this laft duty to Mr Boyle. We may, therefore, with greater reafon excufe ourselves, as well on account of the great length of this article, as the difficulties that lie in the way of framing a character for one, whofe memory, like the paintings of a great mafter, has been meliorated by time, and is now, not the object barely of admiration, but of veneration alfo. He was a man, who, in the beginning of his life, raised fuch hopes as hurt themselves, for thofe who confidered him moft attentively, fcarce thought it poffible that they should be answered, and yet, without fear of flattery, we may affirm, that these, even thefe, hopes, were exceeded. He attained the vigour of his age in thofe deplorable times, when the Church and State lay buried in confufion, which gave him so true a notion of the vanity of titles' and the danger of power, that he not only never courted either, but was induftrious in fhunning both. He made philofophy the business of his life, from the two nobleft motives man could poffibly conceive, the defire of doing good to others, and of manifefting the goodnefs of that Divine Being who is the parent of all. Yet, full of thefe ferious and fublime intentions, he not only condefcended to behave, in all the common offices

of

of life, like other men, but even with a peculiar civility, which he fhewed especially towards foreigners, by whom he was often vifited, and who never went away from him but with full fatisfaction.

His temper was naturally hafty; but he corrected this fo early in his youth, that, except now and then in his countenance, it was never difcerned afterwards. The fweetnefs of his difpofition, and that meekness of mind which difcovered itfelf in all he did, never led him into any of thofe faults which ufually attend the excefs even of those amiable qualities. He could be warm when there was a proper occafion for warmth; that is, in the cause of truth, which he always vigorously defended; and we have an inftance of his zeal for the effentials of religion, of which it would be an injury done his fame not to take notice.

As great as Mr. Boyle's moderation and charity was, in refpect to all the different fects in which Chriftianity was divided, yet he was a conftant member of the church of England, and went to no feparate affemblies; but, fome time before the restoration, either out of curiofity, or, perhaps, from some more weighty motive, he went to Sir Henry Vane's houfe in order to hear him, who, at that time, was at the head of a fect who called themselves Seekers: neither was this vifit of his attended with any difappointment, for he there heard him preach, in a large thronged VOL. VIII. G

room,

and piety, demand. The learned prelate who preached his funeral fermon, and one who feldom wanted words when he meant to defcribe any character, owns himself at a lofs in the performance of this laft duty to Mr Boyle. We may, therefore, with greater reafon excufe ourselves, as well on account of the great length of this article, as the difficulties that lie in the way of framing a character for one, whofe memory, like the paintings of a great mafter, has been meliorated by time, and is now, not the object barely of admiration, but of veneration alfo. He was a man, who, in the beginning of his life, raifed fuch hopes as hurt themselves, for those who confidered him moft attentively, fcarce thought it poffible that they should be answered, and yet, without fear of flattery, we may affirm, that these, even thefe, hopes, were exceeded. He attained the vigour of his age in thofe deplorable times, when the Church and State lay buried in confufion, which gave him fo true a notion of the vanity of titles' and the danger of power, that he not only never courted either, but was induftrious in fhunning both. He made philofophy the business of his life, from the two nobleft motives man could poffibly conceive, the defire of doing good to others, and of manifefting the goodness of that Divine Being who is the parent of all. Yet, full of thefe ferious and fublime intentions, he not only condefcended to behave, in all the common offices

of

of life, like other men, but even with a peculiar civility, which he fhewed especially towards foreigners, by whom he was often vifited, and who never went away from him but with full fatisfaction.

His temper was naturally hafty; but he corrected this fo early in his youth, that, except now and then in his countenance, it was never difcerned afterwards. The fweetnefs of his difpofition, and that meekness of mind which difcovered itfelf in all he did, never led him into any of thofe faults which ufually attend the excefs even of thofe amiable qualities. He could be warm when there was a proper occafion for warmth; that is, in the cause of truth, which he always vigorously defended; and we have an inftance of his zeal for the effentials of religion, of which it would be an injury done his fame not to take notice.

As great as Mr. Boyle's moderation and charity was, in refpect to all the different fects in which Chriftianity was divided, yet he was a conftant member of the church of England, and went to no feparate affemblies; but, fome time before the restoration, either out of curiofity, or, perhaps, from some more weighty motive, he went to Sir Henry Vane's houfe in order to hear him, who, at that time, was at the head of a fect who called themselves Seekers: neither was this vifit of his attended with any difappointment, for he there heard him preach, in a large thronged VOL. VIII. G

room,